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 Post subject: Re: The Hurricane Cometh
PostPosted: Mon Oct 19, 2009 6:11 pm 
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Whether or not Akizetsumei understood Eld's position was no longer consequential--and likewise, the same applied to whether or not she understood the situation in general anymore. Something happened. This man before her hurt someone close to her, and that person close to her wasn't going to come back. This man before her was supposed to be a kind and gentle person. What more could she feel beyond the utmost betrayal? Did betrayal instigate a need for hate, or was this purely a reaction of the utmost sadness and anger? Did she truly hate Eld? Well, to hate a man required knowledge of him and his crimes.

And Akizetsumei long since forgot that.

"Who's doing this? Can someone make weather?" Akizetsumei asked on instinct; her voice was downtrodden, but it could only fall so much: it was raspy with stress and, beyond that, she sounded downright tired. "I . . . don't know. But I'm not . . . leaving. Until I find my brother . . . and take him back, I'm not leaving. So you . . ."

Akizetsumei began to say something, but all of what she wanted to say was not entirely verbal. At that moment, she moved her right hand. It wasn't to slash Eld's throat, however. Instead, it was to flip open her steel fan. In an instant, she slammed her right arm down, barreling the open fan towards the ground and stopping it just inches from it, even bending over to complete the movement--and as soon as she did that, throwing her arm down as she did, Eld would experience a sudden momentum that would throw him from his feet--and not just a short distance, either.

Eldridge Tsukimono could create blasts of wind. That was, by nature, the form his powers took. However, to this point, he'd never created a wind this strong, a wind capable of throwing a human being dozens upon dozens of feet away--one that could perhaps leave a body uncontrollably airborne for some period of time before receiving a sharp, breaking landing upon the moist earth below.

And, unfortunately, it wasn't anything that could be subtly avoided, either. To be anywhere near where Akizetsumei pointed, even off to the right or left, was to be taken by the gust . . .

And this time, she was much, much more authoritative with her tone: ". . . need to leave."

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 Post subject: Re: The Hurricane Cometh
PostPosted: Mon Oct 19, 2009 9:58 pm 
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Eld's eyes widened; it may not have been Qi, and he may not have been able to sense it, but he quickly recognized the attack. His own Qi took the form of wind naturally, it seemed, so while attacks from her family previously had often caught him off guard, he could see this one.

Unfortunately, diving to the side did little good--the blast was large enough that he was flung, and quite far. Much farther than he'd ever sent anyone else with his powers. He couldn't tell precisely how far, because after rolling to a stop he could no longer see Kaze due to the thick fog.

Groaning slightly, he braced himself against a tree and pulled himself to his feet. The one advantage of mud was that it was much softer than dirt. He didn't seem to be injured, but he was quite dirty again. He'd need yet another bath, which was sounding like a good idea at this point.

I'm not sure there's anything more I can do, at least not without making things worse. Kaze wasn't even willing to tolerate his presence; not that he could blame her, but despite knowing that...it still hurt.

He waited for a minute, just to make sure she wasn't going to come after him through the fog...and if not, he'd simply turn around and head back the way he came.

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 Post subject: Re: The Hurricane Cometh
PostPosted: Mon Oct 19, 2009 10:19 pm 
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Akizetsumei watched as Eld was flung away from her. She delivered the last part of her demand once he was sufficiently distant from her. She could no longer see him, and something about that made her feel better, and . . . and it also made her feel worse, both at the same time. Akizetsumei half shut her eyes. She shook her head to try and dash away those thoughts, and after standing up straight again, she folded her steel fan back up and turned away from Eld's direct, to disappear into the fog just as well.

Perhaps it would have been best to leave the two be. Or perhaps not . . .

Before Eld could opt to leave, though, Kageko had a concern of her own. She observed it all, silently so not to bother Eld and throw him up (not that it would have really mattered in the end), and now that it seemed there was a quiet again, she was able to vent her concerns.

Master--it is getting worse . . .

Kageko was still concerned about this weather pattern--namely the fact that it was getting worse. The mud in which Eld stood was practically a stream by this point.

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 Post subject: Re: The Hurricane Cometh
PostPosted: Mon Oct 19, 2009 10:37 pm 
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Eld looked around him; indeed, not only was the wind picking up, but the water was rising. Underneath him wasn't mud anymore so much as just dirty water. He didn't want to confront Kaze, but...if he left things alone, and the weather kept getting worse, someone was going to get hurt. He thought of the clinic...flooding could really do some damage there.

"Dammit," he muttered, before sloshing forward through the muck back to where he'd been before he was thrown. More or less, anyway; it was getting tough to make much of anything out.

Where did she go? he wondered. "Kaze!" he called, but even if she were willing to answer it was unlikely she'd hear him over the storm.

Kageko...do you think with your help I'll be able to see farther? He wasn't entirely sure; would the fog confuse her senses even more, or would she be able to pick her way through it with her enhanced senses?

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 Post subject: Re: The Hurricane Cometh
PostPosted: Mon Oct 19, 2009 10:53 pm 
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As one might expect, when Eld returned to the clearing, Akizetsumei was gone. She'd gone north, and disappeared into the fog up there. Incidentally, that appeared to be where the fog was thickest.

Kageko shut her eyes and tried to focus on Eld's experiences. If she could smell what he could smell, what more could she do? Perhaps see what he could see? She could do that when Eld spoke the incantation important to the weapon, but she shouldn't have been able to smell what he could smell, or see what he could see, at least not like this.

Though she didn't make mention of it, she could.

She could see clear as day.

Yes, I do.

This she was sure of. If Kageko could see perfectly in deepest darkness, then a little bit of fog would be a cinch for Eld. He may have only shared a bit of her sensory abilities when he made full use of the weapon (really, only a small portion of them; so far, Eld didn't share her sense of smell, even after releasing the weapon), but a little bit of a sight enhancement would be more than enough in this situation. The fog wasn't nearly thick enough this.

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 Post subject: Re: The Hurricane Cometh
PostPosted: Tue Oct 20, 2009 1:34 pm 
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Eld gave the mental equivalent of a nod; a silent feeling of affirmation to her response. If she could help him see, then he needed to use it. He'd lucked running into Kaze as he did, but he couldn't count on getting lucky twice. He needed to be able to see farther than a few feet in front of him.

Though, he didn't like having to draw his weapon to do it; Kaze reacted bad enough just seeing him. Seeing him with a weapon--the weapon that killed her father, no less--might garner an even worse one. And he didn't want to find out what she could do that was worse than flinging a person dozens of feet through the air with a flick of her wrist.

But he had no choice; better he find her and put in her in a bad mood than not find her at all, at the rate things are going. Actually, he'd settle for finding Oboreru too, when he thought about it. He'd probably have to fight him and knock him out, but he could just dump him off with Kaze with minimal talking and leave. He would have much rather confronted a person he didn't like much anyway than someone he cared about even a little bit.

"Infusco orbis terrarum," he intoned quietly, "Kageko."

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 Post subject: Re: The Hurricane Cometh
PostPosted: Tue Oct 20, 2009 4:09 pm 
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With the release of the scythe came its ideal edge: a twin bladed weapon with distinct curves, shaped much like an S that's been smashed sideways and tugged on both ends. The change of its shape went unseen, as a dark mist overtook the basic farming scythe and disappeared just as quickly, leaving the double-bladed weapon in Eld's hand instead. It was odd, though. There were absolutely no details within the scythe, as if it were a weapon of pure darkness, crafted into a shape and made solid, yet given no craftsman's details. It may have been rather detail-less before, but now it was practically devoid of even the small ones.

Not that it would matter much.

Just as Kageko said, Eld would be given a tremendous boost for his sight. Of course, it wasn't immediate. It required focus. As usual, most of what was around Eld would be blurry to him if he focused on nothing at all--yet when he did focus, and tunnel vision kicked in, he'd see as if there wasn't a trace of fog at all. He'd see all the trees ahead of him, the individual leaves if he paid them any mind, and even the sky, he'd be able to see the dark clouds and how they so expertly covered the blue sky above, no matter how many holes it poked the clouds in attempt to be free of their torment.

Eld might even be able to feel a pair of eyes on him again.

In the distance, there was the lake . . . the only body of water large enough to produce this amount of precipitation, however unnatural it might be.

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 Post subject: Re: The Hurricane Cometh
PostPosted: Tue Oct 20, 2009 8:06 pm 
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Eld didn't notice that the scythe was a bit different than usual; perhaps Etsu, who had an eye for weapon craftsmanship, might, but it was the kind of thing he overlooked. He was more concerned about simply seeing; it was difficult at first, as while he could focus on opponents and make them visible, he had none to focus on.

He did manage to focus in a direction though; upon doing that, he found he could see perfectly, but at the cost of much of his peripheral vision. It was a cost he'd have to accept for the time being.

A prickly sensation was climbing up the back of his neck, however...once more, he felt like someone was watching him. Had Kaze or Oboreru spotted him? But as he looked around, he could not find anyone, and chided himself for being paranoid.

The lake was ahead; whoever was responsible for the storm would be there. Oboreru, most likely, if Kaze's power was wind, though she was certainly not helping matters.

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 Post subject: Re: The Hurricane Cometh
PostPosted: Tue Oct 20, 2009 10:14 pm 
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The closer Eld got to the lake, the less rain fell upon him. Were he to look back, he'd find effective chaos behind him. The fog . . . even he wouldn't be able to see through it back there. One could only imagine how thick the fog was in Hillcrest, all kicked up by the rain unnaturally produced and poured in such mass. In Hillcrest, there was probably a massive chance of flooding. It was probably happening at that very moment, in fact--an inevitable conclusion for the scientific minded, as the closer one came to the lake, the less intense the rain was.

The sight Eld would be greeted by might be a strange one. The lake itself was at half capacity, with a streamline waterfall set within its center. Rather than flooding the lake, however, the lake was flooding the sky, spilling its contents from one focal point and filling the clouds of moisture--clouds which filled to the brim and burst as they extended onward, spilling insurmountable gallons of water at a horribly rapid pace.

And before that, the waterfall which ignored the laws of gravity, there was Oboreru. He was poised atop the tumultuous lake, standing straight up with his boots settled upon its surface as if it were as thick as concrete. Even his weapon, his steel quarter staff, was set upon the water as if it were a solid mass.

Oboreru's wounds no longer seemed to be a problem. Where he stood, his foot was perfectly aligned with his leg again, and the blood that once lined his forehead, nose, lips, and chest were long gone. All of those physical problems had simply washed away with the tide. That was the amazing thing about water, really. It kept on moving. It might have been unpredictable and violent at times, but it kept moving and could not be scarred--it could only be changed.

"It really was only a matter of time before you noticed, wasn't it," Oboreru called out as soon as he saw Eld emerge from the fog--his voice was cheery. Noticeably cheery. He held his arms out as if inviting Eld upon the lake's shore, "Eldridge Tsukimono?"

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 Post subject: Re: The Hurricane Cometh
PostPosted: Tue Oct 20, 2009 10:41 pm 
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Eld was dismayed for multiple reasons. The first was that Oboreru's wounds seemed to be healed, or at least not bothering him as much as they had earlier. He'd hoped that if he found him knocking him out would be a simple matter, but that wasn't going to be the case.

The second was that he was clearly powerful; had that been why he'd been so elusive until now? Was he trying to find a nearby water source to fuel his powers?

And the third was that he was getting tired of people trying to get his attention by messing with the people around him. That was a very quick way to get on his bad side, which this new group seemed especially determined to do, with a few exceptions.

"Why are you doing this?" Eld asked, trying not to be overwhelmed by the display before him. He reminded himself that thus far, despite his age, Oboreru acted like a brat. "Your grudge is with me, not the entire village. You're going to hurt people at this rate."

He was unsure whether Oboreru had a better nature to appeal to, or if like Toushikyo he was callous towards everyone.

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 Post subject: Re: The Hurricane Cometh
PostPosted: Tue Oct 20, 2009 11:30 pm 
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"See . . ." Oboreru hissed.

Indeed, his happiness quickly turned to seething hate once again. Acting as a brat may or may not have been the case, really. Just like Akizetsumei, Illorex, and Toushikyo seemed to have their problems and difficulties--Toushikyo unable to feel anything outside of various degrees of hate, Illorex unable to come to any sound decision on his own, forced to second guess himself a dozen or more times, and Akizetsumei's memory span lasted a total of five minutes, if not less.

No doubt Oboreru's emotional difficulties fell into the same categories.

"That's the whole point!"

With this declaration, his already somewhat open arms were thrown out hard, extended out from his sides as much as he could manage, prompting an overflow of water, but not within the reverse waterfall itself. Rather, as Oboreru threw his arms out, he'd be blurred as the liquid about him rose up in an instant, filtering into the sky in droves.

This left only a silhouette of Oboreru within it--yet not without a pocket of air left for himself, either. Clearly, he was standing right in the midst of a new reverse waterflow to further saturate the sky . . .

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 Post subject: Re: The Hurricane Cometh
PostPosted: Wed Oct 21, 2009 5:54 pm 
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"I see..." Oboreru didn't just want revenge on him, then; he planned to drown the whole village. It explained why he'd been hiding for so long, as it certainly couldn't have been difficult to find him once he was already in Hillcrest.

He didn't understand these people; why did they value the lives of others so little? Only Kaze seemed to have any objection to hurting others. Even despite her clear dislike for him now, she didn't act like she wanted revenge; rather, she just wanted to find Oboreru and leave as soon as possible.

"In that case...I won't hold back." Gather as much Qi in a few seconds as he could, he shot a blast of air across the lake at Oboreru, knowing he'd need that extra power to break through the geyser he surrounded himself with.

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 Post subject: Re: The Hurricane Cometh
PostPosted: Wed Oct 21, 2009 8:06 pm 
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It wasn't that Oboreru erected another reverse waterfall to surround him--no, judging by the silhouette within the tower of water, the way his clothes and hair seemed to rise up against gravity and flow the same as the water . . . he was entirely submerged, yet the force of the water wasn't even altering his position. For so much to be pulled up at once, there had to be tremendous force pulling it all up. Eld could cause wind with his power, but he couldn't create a sustained waterfall working against gravity. In its own right, this was a stronger manipulation than Tsukimono could muster, comparatively.

And as such, Eld did little more than blow a mid-sized gap within the tower of water, but did little beyond this. The gap didn't even reach Oboreru, let alone effect him. It was quickly filled, in perhaps a fraction of a fraction of a second, as the stream continued upward and forced the gap away.

Eld's use of Qi, while potentially effective in many a situation, might not have had any real use under these circumstances. He did little more than waste his own power there--and extremely precious time . . .

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 Post subject: Re: The Hurricane Cometh
PostPosted: Sat Oct 24, 2009 10:39 pm 
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Eld frowned slightly; his Qi blast did not penetrate the geyser of water. While if it were directed straight at him he might have been overpowered, but by all means the blast of air should have gotten through the rising stream, unless it was much denser than he thought.

Unsure he wanted to take the time to gather enough Qi to be effective, he opted for a different method instead. Breaking into a sprint, he reached the edge of the water (much closer than it would have been if the lake were still full) and leaped with a burst of strength from his legs.

Rather than leaping high, however, he jumped forward with all his might, not directly at Oboreru but just to the side of the geyser--and as he passed, his hand whipped his kusari-gama at him. With powers of water, there was no way he could fight the man as long as he remained on the lake; instead, he'd wrap his weapon around Oboreru and pull him out of the water--a feat made possible by the dramatically increased momentum a boosted jump gave him and the lowering of the water level.

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 Post subject: Re: The Hurricane Cometh
PostPosted: Sat Oct 24, 2009 11:23 pm 
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The weapon struck the raging pillar of water blade first, but the effect was not the one Eld was ultimately hoping for. Rather than striking Oboreru and wrapping its chain around him, it struck head on against the momentum of a reverse waterfall, and was pulled up into the sky in an instant. It didn't clear Oboreru entirely, though. The tip of the weapon came close to his head, and would have cut him on the forehead . . .

Were it not for his reaction. It was batted away in an instant, smacked at a regular speed within the torrent of water--a strict impossibility, to say the least, but Oboreru managed it fine. It was as if the consistency of water didn't effect him in the least. With his quarter staff, he bereaved the weapon before it could strike him, but twisted it intentionally, smacking forward but then down, as he drilled the quarter staff into it and downwards, to curl about the chain of the weapon and hold it there. Eld wasn't getting it back now, especially since he wouldn't be able to get the tension on his side again. While Oboreru might have had the kusari-gama by the sickle, the torrent of water still had the rest of the chain--which was, by that point, lifting harshly towards the sky, dragged up by the momentum of the reverse waterfall.

Controlling it in a useful way, at that point, would be a stark impossibility . . .

Not that it would really matter, would it? For almost immediately after Oboreru had the sickle under his control, the top of the lake immediately before Eld churned and spit forth a singular mass of liquid, approximately the size of a fist, at concussion force and bullet speed, a blunt force trauma aimed straight for Eld's ribcage.

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