sakurasuka

[COLOR=DarkGreen][B][SIZE=1][FONT=Franklin Gothic Medium]Well, this is currently the ONLY RPG I'm in, so it's apparently my most exciting ^^ Okay, seriously, I kinda don't know where my person fit in. I love the RPG and it was really fun at first (And in my opinion, still is) but I don't know... I won't be able to post much in it either way, due to the re-start of my busy schedule. If it keeps going, I'll keep posting and having fun in doing so, but if it doesn't, I guess I won't ^^[/FONT][/SIZE][/B][/COLOR]

[B][SIZE=1][COLOR=DarkGreen][FONT=Franklin Gothic Medium]((OOC: Sorry I haven't posted in forever... I've had no time off, and then the internet connection didn't work, and then I could go to OB, but it wouldn't let me post anything, my comp. is just screwed up. I'm on someone else's lap-top now... It works, so I'm happy.)) "Hello. My name is..." Gabriel started to introduce himself, but Kotoku's eyes went blank "You're one of them..." Kotoku's body lurched forward and she fell face-first to the ground. "Kotoku! What's wrong?!" Alex tried to catch her but she fell through his bad arm. "It's not them... Stop... Leave her alone! NO!!!" Kotoku moved into a sort of feetle position with her face in her hands. "She's seeing something... Painful... Maybe a vision of the future. Should I wake her or let her remain in trance until she's seen what she's meant to see?" Gabriel walked around the table in two long strides, joining Kotoku and Alex, now beside her on the ground. Gabriel looked at the girl. He (I'm using 'he', okay?) kneeled down, wondering if waht she was seeing was important enough to let her see it through. "... You can't... Just LEAVE her like this! Kotoku, wake up! Are you alright? Kotoku!" Alex shook her shoulders, but she just kept whispering in a terrified tone. "May the demons leave your soul, Kotoku." Gabriel placed one hand on her head and she stopped shaking and opened her eyes. "Alex... They..." Kotoku broke down into tears and collapsed into Alex. "Listen carefully, Kotoku, we need your help. Please tell us what you saw." Gabriel reached a hand under Kotoku's chin and pulled her head foreward. "Look at me, Kotoku, you have a gift. You can see into the future, something not even I can do like you. What you are seeing is..." "Death. The death of Angels and Angels that have chosen to betray thier King. That's what the book said..." Kotoku slapped Gabriel's hand away. "Just because you're an Angel doesn't mean I trust you. You could turn and become like... Them... Just like that" Kotoku snapped her fingers. "Kotoku... There's something I should probably tell you." Alex put his good arm around her. "You're one of them, aren't you?" She looked at him with no emotion. "I... How..." Alex stumbled "I was right... You are my guardian angel... But you have to answer something." She sounded like she was about to cry. "Do you... Hate me Kotoku?" He asked somberly "Hate you?" "You hate everything about anyone with any powers... Good or evil... And I lied to you..." "Ssshh..." Kotoku put a finger to his lips to stop him from talking. "I could never hate you, no matter what. You're my only friend... The only person I've ever cared about this much..." She blinked. "But how can a perfect being like you care about a human... About me... When there are other people... People like you..." "There are no perfect beings except the Lord himself, Kotoku. Alex obviously loves you, why question him when he's given you the benifit of the doubt all along?" Gabriel stood up and returned to his seat. "Oh... I forgot you were here ^^' Heh... I guess you're right... Gabriel, was it?" Kotoku suddenly looked so much happier. [I]I do love it when you smile, Kotoku... I'm so sorry...[/I] "Well... I guess you wanna know what... I saw..." She sat up and realized Alex's bandages were covered in blood. She got him up and started re-wraping his shoulder. She reached into the bag of stuff she'd bought for his wounds and pulled out some medical tape. "Yes, that'd be nice." Gabriel took another sip of his coffee. "Mm-hm." Kotoku tore a strip of tape off with her teeth and secured his new bandage. "It wasn't like... It wasn't like before. I saw a... A shadow... And a forteress... It was all blurry... I don't... Remember..." She drifted off and rubbed her forehead. "Kotoku, it's alright." Alex put his arm around her shoulders. "Hm." She nodded. "I don't remember what it looked like. The shadow went into it. Inside, there were a bunch of... Voices... Winged bodies with no face... Just like the one at the hospital. The shadow spread inside, and some of the white winged beings turned black, and some just exploded into puddles of blood. Then the shadow turned into a bunch of dark winged-faceless bodies, and they all laughed and the white bodies all went away and then I... I saw something else... It was on the street we saw... Dumah before. There was blood... Lots of blood... And one of... Them... And Angels... They were fighting him... He was winning... One of them screamed 'Uriel!' There was more blood, and then it all went white. I heard a voice that told me to relese the demons inside me... I got all calm, and I woke up... What does it... Mean?" "Our own men are in trouble. Our secondary base is in danger. I'll warn everyone, you deal with Uriel. I'm counting on you, Alexander." Galadriel strode to the door. "You'll be a great help to us, Miss Kotoku. You already have been. Let's hurry before it's too late." And he left. "I'll go deal with Uriel. You wait here for me." Alex stood up. "No way! You're crazy. I'm involved in this war now, too, you're not going alone. Wait, though, I need to call Satoshi... But I can do that after we get back. Those Angels are in danger. Wait, though, I have something that will heal your wounds much faster." Kotoku returned with one of those 2-liter Gatorade bottles filled with silver shiney stuff. She pulled out a pinch of it and pulled Alex's bandage aside and spread the powder on his wound. "What is... That stuff?" Alex asked her as his shoulder got all tingly. "It was my mom's. I don't know where she got it, but she told me it stopps bleeding. I've tried it before, it works." The shiny stuff got all glow-y. "How does this stuff...?" Alex stopped talking. His shoulder didn't hurt anymore. He felt it and it felt like normal skin had re-formed over it, only it was kinda shiny. "Alrighty, let's go." Kotoku threw his bandage away. "But..." Alex didn't like this. "I'm coming weather you like it or not, Alex. You're not gonna die on me. Besides, you might need my help, think?" *Sigh*[/FONT][/COLOR][/SIZE][/B]

[B][SIZE=1][COLOR=DarkGreen][FONT=Franklin Gothic Medium]"You know, Minaru-Senpai, you are quite the sleepy head. Even with war circling this very street you remain asleep." Kotoku blinked groggily up at a familiar boy with brown hair and wire-rimmed glasses. "Sato-kun! What are you... How did you know I was... Where's Alex..." Kotoku couldn't seem to finish her sentences, so a seemingly annoyed Satoshi placed his hand over her mouth. "She just died." "Who just... What are you talking about?" Kotoku leaned back and took a large gulp of air. "The girl you saw. The one slashed in half. What you saw must have been some sort of prediction, an image of the future." Satoshi pushed his glasses up his nose. "The war is already begun. "How do you know...?" I see them as well. More often so than you, I'd say. Lately though, I've heard only voices. Your voice mainly, and your boyfrie... aquaintance. I'd rather not say this, but you're rather thick for such a brilliant one." "What do you think you're..?!" "He's right in front of your face, yet you don't see him. He's made his way into your heart, yet you don't sense who he really is. You think about him all the time, yet you lack the knowledge of anything about him." Satoshi sneered in disguist. "I still don't know what you're talking about. What about a war? And how did you know about the girl? She was already dead, I saw her die! Right in front of my eyes!" Kotoku sat up abruptly and glared at him. "Fine, don't listen to me, but you'd better not come crying to me when your whole world comes tumbling down." He stood up to leave but nodded his head toward her as he pulled open the curtain. "Watch your back. There are more creatures on earth than earthly creatures." "That's what... He said..." She layed back down. She didn't understand any of this. She wanted it all to just go away. [I]What does Sato-Kun know about them? Alex seems to know more than he lets on too... Why do I see these things when noone else can? What's different about... Me? Why did they single me out? Who... Or WHAT rather, is the dark figure that haunts me? Who was the winged figure that I saw earlier? Nothing makes sense anymore... It has gone from a haunting shadow to a dark cloud threatening to consume everyone around me... Why...?[/I] "Minaru Kotoku?" A tall muscular young man eased the curtain open and let himself in. "Who was the young man whom I saw leaving moments ago? You are not stable enough for visitors. You need to be more careful. Witnesses who called 911 claimed you collapsed and started screaming." He checked something off his clipboard. "I need to leave now, sir." Kotoku sat up again. "My friend doesn't know where I am. He'll be worried about me." "No, you won't be leaving for a while yet. You need to be more worried about yourself than your friend." He smiled. "No, you don't understand, there's a war, and the girl died, and..." Kotoku's head was spinning. she closed her eyes and saw two people on a rooftop... Dead bodies surrounded them... Dead winged bodies... "No... They've killed more of them... I need to find help! Satoshi can help! Let me out of here, sir, this is a matter beyond your understanding!" Kotoku took a minute to think about what she was saying. The doctor no doubt thought she had brain damage now. "What I mean is, I've had another dream. My friend helps me sort out what they mean. I don't feel bad at all, I think I'll be fine if I just leave now." She flashed the doctor an award-winning smile and tipped her head to one side expectantly. "I don't know about that, little miss Minaru. You should stay and rest. Oh, the young man who came to see you dropped off this book. It went through security and checked out, so I'm sure it won't matter that I give it to you. It is... Distubing, though..." He held out the book Satoshi had given her. The disturbing part was there was a number written on the front... 756. It was written in blood. "Thank you very much, sir." Kotoku flipped through to page 756 of the obnoxiously large book. On the page was a bunch of fine print, and pictures... The page spoke of creation. Bibolical creation. It spoke of many things from the scripture. Many biblocal craetures, mainly. One thing caught Kotoku's eye. A passage about Lucifer and the angels that chose to betray thier king. Outlawed beings who've survived the fires of hell yet they still remain among the world, and it spoke of the angels attempting to defeat the evil and protect God's creations. It caught her eye not because she at the time realized that passage was prominent, but because it too was circled in blood. It all made sense now. The war, the demons, everything. "I need to leave now!" Kotoku didn't feel like arguing anymore. she stood up and was dressed in a matter of seconds, and she had passed the doctor and was running toward the door before he was any the wiser. "Get back here! You can't leave yet..." His voice trailed off. The next thing Kotoku knew, she was at her house (Which was consiquently only a 2 minute walk from the hospital) "Alex!"[/FONT][/COLOR][/SIZE][/B]

[B][SIZE=1][COLOR=DarkGreen][FONT=Franklin Gothic Medium]OOC: Sorry I haven't posted in so long. Vacation >.< Kotoku paid the young woman behind the counter for the blank talismans and other odd things. She then piled all of the items in her arms, denying a plastic bag as it is bad for the environment to discard of them, and walked out the door, vision only slightly obscured by her large purchase. "Have a nice day, miss Kotoku." The woman behind the counter waved. "Tell Shinji I said hi, 'kay?" She didn't wait to hear an answer before she let the door fall back into place. She sighed. The main reason she'd come up to this over-priced shop was in hope of seeing Shinji. He used to be her best friend, when they were young. They grew up across the street from each other and were never seen apart. She'd missed him since he moved across town. He never came to see her anymore, and she didn't know where he lived, or where to meet him except his old work place. "NO! GET AWAY FROM ME!" a girl no older than Kotoku with purple hair and a short purple skirt dashed toward Kotoku as she rounded the corner. Neither saw each other and they collided, talismans everywhere. The girl quickly stood up and kept running. The street got all hazy and everyone around her dissapeared, just like when they met the demon. The girl fell to her knees and tried to un-sheath a short purple katana from her side, but a tall dark figure appeared and knocked it from her hands with a long weapon, Kotoku couldn't see it. Odd purple feathers grew from the girl's back and formed wings. She tried to take off, to no avail. The figure sliced her in two with one fell sweep of his weapon. It then looked over it's shoulder at Kotoku. It started to speak, but she passed out before she heard what it said. Next thing she knew she was laying in a white bed with beeping monitors all around her and a curtain blocking her vision. "Kotoku." "Where am I? I'm in the hospital... But the girl needs help, not me! She needs..." But then Kotoku remembered the severity of the blow... There was no way she was still alive. But that wasn't what bothered her the most... It was the wings... She must have been one of them... But that would mean they kill each other, too... The girl didn't seem evil, though... So there are good ones and bad ones? Maybe. Kotoku didn't know. "Who are you?" "My name is of no importance. You've been through much, Kotoku, I am here bearing good news." The curtain dissapeared and behind it was only lightness and a winged figure. The bright light blocked his face from her. A warmth came over her. "There is good and evil in this world. You've experienced much evil, yet you haven't succumbed to it. So much temptation, yet you haven't fallen to it. It is said in verses of the scripture that the Lord will not allow you to be tempted beyond you can bear, but when you are tempted, he will provide a way for you to stand up under it. Your way will show itself soon enough. There is good still in this world, Kotoku, and there are more creatures then just earthly creatures walking this land." The boy dissapeared, and Kotoku drifted off into a peaceful, demon-less sleep.[/FONT][/COLOR][/SIZE][/B]

[B][SIZE=1][COLOR=DarkGreen][FONT=Franklin Gothic Medium]"Alex, you're so sweet... Thanks for being my friend." Kotoku smiled as Alex shut the burgandy book at the close of the story about a king and his armies, and the betrayal of one, and how that one meant all the difference. "Yeah, it is a pretty good story." Alex had already picked up another book and started thumbing through it. "You know, I don't know what I'd do if I ever were to lose you. You and Aisuru are my only real friends." She leaned in and whispered, "Without you, my best friends would consist of random librarians and employees at coffee bars." "Yeah, really? That's hard to believe, you're a great friend." Alex didn't realize how lonely she was. He knew it must be hard to be a human without going to school and having parents, but Kotoku seemed to have it more difficult... "Noone cares how good of a friend I am, they just think I'm a nutcase." She gave him a hug and said, "Even though I have seen plenty to make me not believe so, I know there's a God out there. That's the only thing that makes sense, too... You're alot like my... Guardian Angel." Kotoku prayed a silent prayer... [I]Dear God, Thank you for all the blessings you give me, for the strenth to get on with my life everyday... For all the people that give a kind word. And thanks for Alex. He's the best friend I could ever have. Oh, last but not least, thanks for putting up with my mindless banter day in and day out. Amen.[/I] "Kotoku..." [I]How odd... It's amazing how very close to the truth she truly is...[/I] "But you're hiding something... I can tell. You don't have to tell me anything. I don't know what it is, but I know there are things you aren't telling me. I love ya' all the same, though." Kotoku stood up and grabbed his hand, "We have to find some more stuff on the goings-on of stuff." She went this time, over to a spot two shelves over. "I'm sorry..." Alex and Kotoku were now sitting on the floor in front of the shelf, books everywhere. "Nah, I still mean it, I think you're the best friend I could ever have. There are plenty of things about me you don't know..." Kotoku put another book in the 'done' stack and picked up another off the shelf. "Really? Well..." Alex didn't know what to say. Did it really count as a secret if it was to protect her? "Well, I think we've done about all we can here... Besides," Kotoku glanced at her green/silver watch. The glowing numbers read 9:54 p.m. "I'm about to be late for my job at the library... The other one. I put all the books where they go after everyone leaves." "Alright." Alex started putting the books back where they go. "May I come with? I could help you." "You wouldn't get paid ^^" Kotoku laughed and gave him a quick hug before finishing up. [I]She always sees everything sunny-side up. That may be what I like so much about her...[/I] Alex and Kotoku left the building, Kotoku showed Alex that she even knew where the hide-a-key went, and left the key there. "Wanna stop at Kino's and get some coffee before work?" Kotoku asked. "Sure. When do you have to be there?" Alex yawned. He wasn't tired, he just yawned for no apparent reason. "Well, I'm supposed to be there at 9:30, but Satoshi never tells the boss unless I'm there after 10..." Kotoku shook her head. "But... You'll be late, then, won't you?" Alex looked at her quizzically. "Yeah, well, Sato most likely won't tell the boss anyway. He'll cover for me. I cover for him, too, it's just what we do. He's kinda creepy, though." Kotoku smiled. "So you're just expecting him to do your job so you can get coffee?" Alex patted her on the head. "Pretty much. Hey, Kino! You're actually workin' today?" Kotoku yelled to a rather gruff looking man behind the counter of a coffee bar across the street. They waited for the light and crossed the street. "Koto, whacha doin' in the city this time a night? You need ta be a little more careful, hon, you gonna get ur self kidnapped or somethin' and I can't afford ta lose my best customer!" The man reached over and ruffled Kotoku's hair. "Who's yer friend? You gotta date, hon?" "N-n-no! He's my best friend Alex. Alex, meet Kino-san, Kino, Alex." They shook hands and Kotoku smiled. "Kino's been kinda like a dad to me since... Well, we'll have two coffees to go, Kino, we're in a bit of a hurry." Kotoku slapped a thousand yen on the counter. "Nah, hon, you keep yer money. I know how harda worker ya are, ya need it moren' me, thas fer damn sure. It's on the house." He handed Kotoku two drinks and her money. "Thank you so much, Kino-san." Kotoku started to bow, but changed her mind halfway and reached over the counter and gave him a hug. "Aw, ya don' need ta thank me, Koto. See ya later, hon." Kino waved at them as they left. "Good kid she is. Good kid..." "You seem pretty close to him. When'd you meet him?" Alex sipped his coffee. "I've known him... Since he gave me a job when mom died. I still work there. Employee of the month thirty-six months and counting." Kotoku punched the air. "Is this the library?" Alex pointed at a large grey building they were standing directly in front of. "Yeah..." Kotoku pulled a gold key out of her pocket and unlocked the door, entered, and locked it back up. "You're almost an hour late, Minaru-Senpai." Kotoku and Alex wheeled around to find themselves face-to-face with a tall, rather young looking man. He wore glasses and had brown hair, he was rather good looking, and he wore a black suit. "Oh, Sato-kun, long time no see..." Kotoku pointed at Alex, "This is Alex." "A boyfriend?" Satoshi crossed his arms. "NO! Oh, sorry, I mean, he's my best friend." [I]Why does everyone think he's my boyfriend >///< What's up with that!?[/I] "Ah... Well, I didn't tell the boss you were late. I really wish you'd make more of an attempt not to be tar-" "Thanks, Sato-kun! You're the greatest!" She blew him a kiss and yanked Alex over to a bin full of books. "This my friend, is how I spend my evenings." She picked up a stack and darted around, putting things on shelves. "Wow, you really are efficient." Alex noted, looking for the number on his fifth book. Kotoku was already on her third stack. "I try." She smiled, easing a huge book into it's space. -An hour and a half later.- "Alrighty then, we're done ^^" Kotoku took a deep breath. "You may go home now if you wish." Satoshi sighed. He had been typing things on the computer behind the counter the whole time. "Hey, Sato-kun, what's on your mind? You look perturbed." Kotoku leaned on the counter. "Well, I have to find an apartment by next week. I'm 18 then. Mom and Dad won't let me stay with them any longer." Satoshi brushed his hair out of his eyes. "Well, I wouldn't mind keeping an eye out for a place." Kotoku replied. "Hey, Thanks." Kotoku smiled and turned to leave "Minaru-Senpai! Wait a minute, I found this book you might like..." Satoshi tossed her a quite large leather-bound book with it's title engraved in gold, 'Beings of the Earth and sky' "Hey, thanks! Is this the library's?" Kotoku turned a few pages. "And you can call me Kotoku" "No, it's just something I found at some old store with odd knick-nacks in it. It's right beside that new electronics store on 2nd. You can have it." He slid his laptop into a bag and stood up. "I think I'll check it out. C'mon, Alex, I think it's time to leave." She looped her arm through his and dashed to the door, "Sato-kun, you'll lock up, right?" "Yeah. You go ahead." "See you later!" "Kotoku, you know all these people, and they all like you, why don't you have more friends? Why are you always alone?" Alex stared at the ground. "You mean like Ms. Kyosuke and Kino and Sato? They're all co-workers and parent-like-people. They only put up with me out of pity. Well, I think Sato may just be a bit scared of me. And I can't very well 'hang out' with Kino, you know. Nor Ms. Kyosuke. They are nice people, but just not... People I ever see outside of work, really. They have thier own lives. That a good enough answer?" Kotoku smiled. She always smiles. "Yeah, I guess."[/FONT][/COLOR][/SIZE][/B]

[B][SIZE=1][COLOR=DarkGreen][FONT=Franklin Gothic Medium]Kotoku woke with a start. Another of them was born, she could feel it... It wasn't just a dream, true betrayal had been done while she slept. [I]Great, now there's another one of... Them...[/I] She slided out of her smooth sheets and took a deep breath through her nose, remembering Alex. "Is he... Still here...?" She went slowly down the stairs, taking each step one at a time. "Merow" Aisuru(The cat) rounded the corner and brushed against her legs, startling her. "Oh, it's just you, hon'." She stooped down and picked him up and stuck her head in all the rooms downstairs, trying to locate Alex. She looked out her front door window, and Alex was out there sitting on the porch swing, deep in his thoughts. She opened the door slowly and walked silently toward him, sitting down. "Hey, Kotoku. Have a good sleep?" Alex broke his blank gaze and smiled at her. "Yeah. Thanks for comforting me. Umm... I had a wierd dream... Only, it wasn't a dream, but it was like a vision, only I was asleep..." Kotoku stopped before she confused herself too much. "Really? What about?" Alex asked. "Well, there was one of... Them... and there was a kid... The demon-thing... Tried to kill him I think... I can't remember anything else, only I got this wierd feeling of darkness... I think he joined them... I had this aweful feeling and then I woke up..." She shook her head. "Wha... Are you sure?" Alex's pupils shrunk and he stared at her. "Umm... I'm pretty sure. I've never had a dream like that... I'm sorry, I have to think... Would you mind if I went to the library? I'll try not to be too long. There's food in the fridge, and hundreds of cups of Ramen in the cupboard, you can help yourself. I want to see what literature has to say about this..." She stood up and entered the house to retreive her bookbag. "I don't mind if you go if you don't mind if I go with you." Alex certainly wasn't letting her go ANYWHERE alone right now. "Umm... Alright. I'm hoping it was just a bad dream... I had a dream before that I swore was real and it wasn't, remember? Beings with white wings falling from the sky... And then all thier wings turned to black... That never happened. I'm sure everyone would notice if hundreds of people just fell from the sky." Kotoku smiled at the thought it might just be a dream after all. [I]Yeah, I remember. That wasn't a dream, Kotoku, that was portraying the purity of the angels when they entered earth... They entered into temptation, into greed, and some succumed to defeat by it. Pure beings turned dark to some degree... Exactly like your 'dream'.[/I] Alex thought. She had some powerful sixth sence. Where that will come into play, noone yet knows, but it was starting to become clear that she meant more than the average human. "Let's go." Kotoku emerged from her room seconds later, she had re-dressed, brushed her teeth, and washed her face. "Alright." He opened the door and they both left, deep in thought. -A good while later, at the library.- "Hey Ms. Kyosuke! I brought back all the books you lent me!" Kotoku ran up to the front desk to an elderly woman and pulled a large stack of books from her bag and handed them to the woman. "My favorite costomer. Hello, little miss Minaru." The elderly lady smiled and took the books. "Do you have anything on..." "Demons and beings with wings? I think you've memorized all of my mythical creature books, miss Minaru." The elderly woman looked at Kotoku with an odd expression of amusment and annoyance. "In fact, you've probably memorized ALL the books here." "Okay, Ms. Kyoskuke. I'll just look around, then." Kotoku sighed. "Who's your friend?" Ms. Kyosuke leaned in and whispered, "Nice looking kid, is he your boyfriend? You two'd be cute together." "N-n-no! He's a good friend and I'm lending him a place to stay. His prediciment is similar to mine to some degree. His name's Alex." "Is he obsessed with demons and dragons too, then?" She shook her head. "No, he believes me, though, but he's not obsessed." Kotoku smiled. [I]Such a small amout you know, Kotoku. *Sigh* I wish I didn't have to keep a secret from you...[/I] "Hello, Ms... Kyosuke, is it? My name is Alexander." He smiled at her. "Well, go ahead and look around, then. I'm sure you two have things to find. We close in and hour." She handed Kotoku a small shiny key "But knowing you, Kotoku, I'm sure you'll be here a while longer. Lock up for me when you're done." They walked away from the desk and Kotoku thanked the lady. "You have alot of friends, don't you?" Alex was impressed with how many people trust her that much. "I get around. This isn't even the library I have a paying job at. This one has a larger selection, though..." Kotoku started flipping through books. "I see." Alex did the same, not really paying attention, though.[/FONT][/COLOR][/SIZE][/B]

[B][SIZE=1][COLOR=DarkGreen][FONT=Franklin Gothic Medium]You know, Sciros does make a compelling arguement, I know 'cause I tried drawing real true-to-life portraits and things (My mom's a great artist and I wanted to be like her ^^) But I always liked Manga-style more, and it always came more naturally and easier for me. I do believe it takes loads of talent and patience to be a Manga artist, no, I re-phrase that, it takes loads of talent and patience to be a good artist, Manga or otherwise. I enjoy drawing in general. Manga though, is something I want to pursue rather than any other art. I'd much rather draw a Manga-style comic than any other style of art 'cause I like it more. Super simple. And I, for one, have a certain amount of dislike for most American comics, (Superman, Batman, etc.) mostly because they portray everyone in thier own 'perfection' through the artist's eyes.(As CrimsonDreamer said.) Nothing against the comix themselves, just sayin' there's enough in this world to make people feel self-concious and those kinds of art styles don't help.[/FONT][/COLOR][/SIZE][/B]

[B][SIZE=1][COLOR=DarkGreen][FONT=Franklin Gothic Medium]"Hey, why're you acting so... Wierd? I mean..." She closed her eyes a minute. She felt it, a blatently evil presence. "I'm not... Acting wierd. Thank you again for allowing me to stay with you." He glancced half-heartedly over his shoulder, as if maybe to catch a glimpse of Dumah "I feel one of them. This is the same feeling I got when... He dissapeared..." Kotoku, abandoning all reason, twirled around on her heel and dashed in the direction she'd just come, the direction Alex saw Dumah. "Kotoku! GET BACK HERE!!!" Alex chased after her. [I]I'm gonna catch it this time... I have to... I'll never be able to get on with my life untill I find out what happened to him...![/I] "Kotoku, you can't... You can't beat him!" Alex lost sight of her when she rounded the corner, but only for a second or two. "You... Who are you?" Kotoku growled angrily at the tall shadow of a person that she faced... There was noone else on the street or sidewalk... They were all alone with Dumah... "Hmmm... Hello Alexander." Dumah stepped foreward. His voice was cold... Like ice... It chilled Kotoku to he bone, more so even than the rain... "Leave her alone, Dumah!" Alex stepped between Kotoku and Dumah, his aqua eyes flaming. Dumah gripped Silence excitedly. Alex knew he'd have to run or fight... "What did you people... (If I should even call you that)... Do to my father?" She stepped sideways, out of Alex's shadow. "Why do you... All of you... Follow me everywhere...?" tears formed in the corners of her eyes. Dumah loved it. The pain, the fear, the bad memories, it was great... But soething about her disturbed him. [I]Well... You seem to have quite the sixth sence for a human. I'll see you again, no doubt...[/I] Kotoku heard his voice, but his mouth wasn't moving. She wondered if Alex heard it, too. Huge wings fluttered from his back, lifting him up, over the buildings, and out of sight. Dumah wondered as well why she was the only human to have seen them multiple times. She may be important... In finding the Key. He wouldn't kill her yet. Nor Alex. Let him squirm a bit longer... "Evil bastard..." Alex saw the look in his eyes. He craved blood... "That's the second time I've spoken to one..." Her expression made her look as if she was about to cry, but she just turned around and walked. "The... Second? Who else did you..." Alex walked right beside her. "The one... Who killed my mom. It tried to kill me, too, but I ran when I saw mom's body... It was terrible... All mangled and bloody... I was just scared... Just like the other day when I saw that... Thing... But this time I wasn't scared. Even though all common sence told me to turn and run, this time I wasn't frozen with fear... Thank you." She smiled at him. "I... Didn't know... Why are you thanking me?" He looked at her questioningly. "I think... Maybe I wasn't scared because you were there. Hey, we're almost to my house..." About 15 minutes later. Kotoku skipped up the steps, opening the door and entering. Her house was painted orange. She said it used to be grey, but it made her too sad when she looked at it. It was similar to a condo, only it wasn't quite attached to the houses next to it, and it was a bit bigger. It was located in the outskirts of Tokyo. A small grey and black cat greeted them at the door, and spoke... "Welcome home, Kotoku." ""Hi, Aisuru!" She picked up the talking cat and Alex stumbled backwards, "Your cat... Talks?" "Yep. Well, it's not really a cat... I got lonely here all alone, but I can't have a pet 'cause I never know when I'll be at the library all night or get a christmas bonus and decide to head off to some other country for a week or something. Yeah, I'd forget to feed it since I'm not home very often, so I made a robotic cat. It talks, it purrs, and it's a good friend." She scratched the cat behind it's ears and it meowed. "Oh... Okay..." Alex stepped inside. He was relieved Dumah didn't try to hurt Kotoku. He wondered why, though... She was just a human in his eyes, why wouldn't he... Dumah was most likely spying on him, not her. Alex didn't want Kotoku in the path of danger again, but he couldn't leave her now. There was a reason Dumah spared her.[/FONT][/COLOR][/SIZE][/B]

[B][COLOR=DarkGreen][SIZE=1][FONT=Franklin Gothic Medium]OOC: This is mostly talk, 'cause my person can't do anything of any importance yet, since she's a human... _________________________________ Kotoku stepped inside a nearby shop, yanking Alexander's arm behind her "You really aren't all that smart, are you? Do you realize that it's freezing and raining out there? Sheesh!" Kotoku shook her head and the water in her long orange hair speckled Alex and the wall behind him. "Hey, watch it!" Alex blocked his face with his arm. "Hey, Alex, it's been awhile." Kotoku smiled warmly at him and laughed, letting go of his arm and sitting at one of the tall round tables. Alex followed. "You know, earlier... I saw something else... That was really wierd. I saw another one of them... Bloody and broken, this time, dragging themself into an alley... I tried to talk to it, but it just... Collapsed... I was so scared, I just ran... Why is it that noone else sees them?" Kotoku was reffering to Angels and fallen Angels. She didn't know Alex was one of them. He didn't tell her because they scared her to death. "Really? You saw a dead Fallen An... I mean, you saw one of them die? What did it look like?" Alex wondered... Maybe Lucifer was the one killed... One could only hope. "I don't... I don't really know... It was just... Evil..." Kotoku shook her head. "I really don't remember all that well. Umm... Do you want a hot chocolate? My treat!" She smiled and pulled out five thousand yen from her pocket. "The librarian says she'll pay me for putting books on the shelves! Hehe!" Kotoku didn't wait to hear if he wanted any or not, she just jumped off of the stool. "Be back in a sec...!" [I]She's so... Naive. Well, that's what;s interesting about her. She has three part time jobs, spends most of her free time at the library, inherited her dad's house so she doesn't have to worry about an apartment, yet she's still always broke. She gives half of all her paychecks to hospitals/charities/libraries and then spends the rest on books and food and stuff for her friends. She's an odd one, alright.[/I] Alex let his thoughts wander away from the painful ones he was just minutes away thinking. It was much easier just to not worry about anything, like Kotoku. "I'm baaack!! A mocha latte for me, and... Get this, I thought I'd go crazy, a peppermint cappuccino with caramel whipped cream and a cute little candy cane stirrer for you ^^ Neat, huh?" Kotoku put the drinks on the table and went to sit down. "Umm... Yeah, sure..." Alex sipped his odd peppermint/caramel mixture. Mostly out of politness, rather than taste. "You like? The guy behind the counter said he'd never made somethin' like that before, and he muttered something about crazy dames and their drinks..." She looked thoughtfully into space. "Sure. It's fine." He leaned back in his chair/stool thing. "Well, it's been years now... D'you think I'll ever find my dad? Do you think maybe that demon thingie had anything to do with the ones that took him?" Kotoku realized that it is 99% sure her dad was dead, killed by the beasts, but she just needed closure. [I]I don't know, Kotoku, I really don't know...[/I][/FONT][/SIZE][/COLOR][/B]

[B][SIZE=1][COLOR=DarkGreen][FONT=Franklin Gothic Medium]I watched Card Captors and Sailor Moon and all of the other 'old' Toonami stuff YEARS ago... I was like, 4 maybe... Yeah, 'cause my little brother grew up watching it. He never knew the difference between one thing and the next until he was older, but I was a hard-core anime fan since I could tell the difference (Maybe 6 or 7?) Yeah... It was kinda odd though, 'cause once toonami went all action-y, I still liked it... Dragon Ball and DBZ I still enjoy/collect/obsess over. Since I can no longer find a telivision station that runs Card Captors anymore, I just read the manga... Yeah, the good ol' days of racing through the bookstore to find the manga section and buying out everything we found interesting... Hmm... Well, the times have changed and now I have to scrape quarters out of my piggy bank and scrounge through my wallet for the rest of my allowance to be able to buy the next Kindaichi or Tokyo Mew Mew of Ruro. Ken or some other random thing...[/FONT][/COLOR][/SIZE][/B]

[B][COLOR=DarkGreen][FONT=Franklin Gothic Medium]Name: Kotoku Minaru Race: Human Sex: Female Age: 16 Appearance: (I drew her but my scanner's screwed up >.

[B][COLOR=DarkGreen][FONT=Franklin Gothic Medium]Really, constructive criticizm only goes so far. You say HE'S the one being un-original, but everyone else here seems to be the ones falling into ditches and not thinking-outside-the-box. The main complaint of about two thirds of the people here was that it was 'too much like Inuyasha' which may or may not be true, but EVERY anime is going to remind EVERYONE of something different, catch my drift? The only EVER (In my opinion) totaly unique mangas/animes were Dragon Ball (At the time it came out) Inuyasha (Though it does remind me a bit of some other stuff, you know?) and .hack//. I have had 3 manga ideas that EVERYONE I ASKED replied simply: 'Tweak it a little so it won't be so much like Inuyasha' but do you know why it's like Inuyasha? Because Inuyasha has such a vast amount of characters/themes/time settings/abilities/I can go on and on forever-ness that EVERYTHING MADE AFTER INUYASHA WILL REMIND MOST PEOPLE OF INUYASHA. It's just way too loaded with a bit of everything (Which isn't a bad thing. I haven't met one person who hates it, it appeals to everyone.) On a lighter note, I can see thier point, but still... Great idea! Way better than most of mine! I can see myself as one of the total junkies that loves and collects all your stuff. Are you even going with this as a game anymore? I really hope you will, it's got an awesome plot, it would probably make a good Manga, too -hint hint- ;) I'm not gonna say 'it needs to be tweaked' or whatever because everyone else here had good ideas, what with the whole not-in-Tokyo thing and all. Really, I didn't find much of anything wrong with it. Keep it up, I'll keep an eye out for ya in a few years! P.S. I, too, really enjoy the kingdom hearts battle system. Really, go for it![/FONT][/COLOR][/B]

[B][COLOR=DarkGreen][FONT=Franklin Gothic Medium]Comment in Inuyasha pic: Okay, it looks great as a picture, but as Inuyasha, not quite as much. You have some talent, you just need to find your style. I think you (Like me) may not be quite as fan-art oriented, since you then have to copy someone else's style and can't be quite so loose. That's just what I see, anyway. I might be wrong. Profile pic: The eye needs to be pulled down and forward a bit, and the face needs a little more depth rather than height before you reach the hairline. Not bad by any means, just mis-proportioned, as KarmaofChaos mentioed. Not bad, considering profiles are (In my opinion) the hardest things to do >.< Full-body pic: Good. Really, I like that you pay close attention to the detail of the clothes and hair. I can't in good concious comment on anything else about it, since it seems quite smudged (It may be the paper, maybe you just didn't go back and fix it up.) Either way, it's a good pic, I just can't see it well enough to comment further. You are very good as an artist. Keep it up![/FONT][/COLOR][/B]

[B][FONT=Franklin Gothic Medium][COLOR=DarkGreen]That's not bad. Not bad at all. Awesome really, considering the time it was drawn. Well, really, that's about when I draw too, considering I homeschool and my parents are really not into my drawing/playing guitar/video games/listening to music on the weekdays for the most part, except that hour from 9-10pm when I can do whatever I want... Total freedom (Kinda...) So I compensate by staying up 'till 4 in the moring and sleeping in... But really, that is really good. I agree with PiroMunkie, the shading is unique and really fits the circumstances ^^ Really, keep up the good work![/COLOR][/FONT][/B]

[B][COLOR=DarkGreen][FONT=Franklin Gothic Medium]You know, this is one of the hardest questions in all of everything. There are so many Anime/Manga titles I like, cutting down ONE PERSON out of everyone is next to impossible... Sazuke (From Naruto) is absolutely awesome, in that he's never skittish and he's always on top of things. Then there's Sakura (Also from Naruto) and hey, ya gotta love it when 'inner Sakura' pops up and tells ya what she's really thinking. And she's brilliant. 'Nuff Said. Sagara Sanosuke (Rurouni Kenshin) is the coolest strong-guy portrayal I've seen in any anime/manga. Stereotypical 'Tough guys' are stupid and all brawn, so it's a nice breath of fresh air to see some originality. Scuichi Minomino (Can't spell it)/Kurama (From YuYuHakusho) Yeah, I love the plant-demon-power-ness, but his sweet 14-year-old self is awesome, too. You just gotta love a thorn-whip swingin' demon with red hair and green eyes ;) Tetsuo (Hikaru no Go) and Akira are both geniouses, and I love both of thier hair! Well, though there's many hundreds more where that came from (Including Ryou from Tokyo Mew Mew and Syaoran from Card Captor Sakura) I think I've touched on the most prominent. Oh, yeah, Sesshoumaru rocks, but so many people have put in there two cents about him, I'd rather not add. P.S. Please don't even TRY to count the grammar/spelling mistakes I made in this post, for it will likely be catostrophic.[/FONT][/COLOR][/B]

I for one totally agree that art is very much the majority of the work itself, in being an aspiring artist myself, and I am particularly drawn to animes/mangas with better art. As for Poke'mon being a total money-maker, wasn't it always in America? I mean, wasn't that the whole point? It worked in Japan, heck, why not over-use it to death here? Okay, I know I'm kinda dumb, but I have an idiot obsession with 2 people from Yu-Gi-Oh and can't help but stand up for it's art (And the manga is pretty cool, too.) But it is, while a brilliant idea, way too over-merchandised. The sheer amount of cards out is just massive. Okies, Naruto (IMO) is totally the BEST example of a manga/anime made NOT to just rake in big bucks, Kishimoto wanted to make a ninja comic. You know, he's never been late for a deadline (supposedly) which I find oddly amazing. Dagger: Really? I heard something about that, but I haven't actually read it in the series yet. So, in conclusion, Poke'mon is a total scandal (Though the games rock) but in general, most comix start out just as something the artist wanted to do (From interviews I've read, and stuff)

[COLOR=DarkGreen][B][FONT=Franklin Gothic Medium]OOC: I'm just gonna put what's goin' on with Aku and Katai real quick.... (That's funny, I'm grounded, too. Nice. Mom's gonna kill me...) Oh, yeah, eclips is gonna be back soon... So I'm gonna try and refrain from having anything important happen (Like entering the wierd world or something... He really seems to have a thing with making non-real realms and trapping people in them... Don't ask. Long story.) _________________________________________________ "Katai, where do you think they're taking us?" Aku whispered. The guards were now leading them down a dark dungeon. "I... Don't know..." Katai looked really sad. "I wish Dark were here..." Aku whispered aloud. "What? Dark? Why?" Katai looked up and Aku narrowed her eyes, but didn't say anything. Katai continiued. "Don't tell me you've got a thing for Dark?" "Yeah? And? What's wrong with Dark, huh?" Aku glared. "At least I only like one guy. Unlike you, 'dear sister', what with Unmenia and Satoshi and that other guy, what was his na-" "Umm... Huh... Yeah, well... Let's not argue, 'kay?" Katai laughed nervously. "And Satoshi is just a friend!" "Yeah, whatever. Hey, do ya think you can get me out of these shakles? Anything that can melt them in you're bag? If you can get me out, we're home free..." Aku whispered really really quietly. "Oh, yeah!" Katai rumaged through a pouch on her side. She did so quietly so she wouldn't alert the guards. She pulled out a small machine that was about the size of a lip-stick tube. She clicked a button on the bottom with one of her hands (It must be hard to move in huge-chained restraints) and held it close to Aku's chains. A fairly large blue flame poped out of the end (A lot bigger than the flame that comes out of the end of a lighter). The guards noticed, but there was nothing they could do in the 2 seconds it took to melt it. Aku was gone in a flash. Now she had a choice. She could 1) Go back for Katai and most likely get captured again. 2) Leave now with about and 80-90% success rate. 3) Think of something else. She didn't like any of the ideas, but she knew the first one was the one to do. She was ahead of the guards. She needed to find a way to get Katai and herself on the other side of them. She decided to take the risky way out... Ummmmm..... Is RP dead or is everyone just on an over-extended vacation????[/FONT][/B][/COLOR]

[B][COLOR=DarkGreen][FONT=Franklin Gothic Medium]Aku blinked repetedly out of nervousness and her face turned a violent shade of redish pink and (After she got over the initial shock,) she smiled. "No... Don't be sorry..." She shook her head and leaned in close to Dark and he thought she might kiss him back, but she just whispered, "Umm... I guess what I'm trying to say is... You shouldn't hold back you're feelings. I'm one to do so, but I just realized... That I felt different about you... At first, I couldn't put my finger on it, but now I understand..." She closed her eyes in a vain attempt to figure out how to put her next sentance. "I don't know how to say this with words, so..." She stood on her tip-toes and kissed him softly and pulled away slowly. "Umm..." Dark was now the one blushing. "We should... Go back... Katai knows I left... She might come to find me..." Aku snapped back into reallity. "Uhh... Yeah, I guess..." He really didn't think he wanted to go back, but she was right. They walked slowly back to camp, but niether really knew what to say, so there was mostly silence. When they got back, Satoshi was up and he was stuffing things back into his back pack very un-orderly. Katai was up as well, but she was still laying down. "Where were you guys?" Satoshi looked at them quizically. "Yeah, what were you doing back there? Aku, you've been gone for about half an hour..." Katai kind of half-smiled implyingly. "Ahh, umm... I got lost, but then I found Dark and umm..." Aku saw Katai smiling, and knew what she was most likely thinking, "NO! What's that look? UGH! I can't believe you, Katai!" Aku started blushing again, only this time it was a little more angry than last time... "So defensive. I was just asking..." "NO!" "Umm... Can we eat now?" Dark kinda wanted to change the subject. "Yes. Good idea..." Aku looked at Dark and almost smiled at him, but stopped herself... Katai would have a hay-day with that one. "Fine. *Sigh* Where are we going, by the way?" Katai shook her head. "We're going to-" Dark heard something. Apparently Aku heard it, too. There was a rustling in the bushes. Satoshi stood up, hand on Mightenna's Poke'ball. Ruby and Emrald appeared beind him and Katai, now standing. Blade and Dil came, too. They had apparently been just outside of the clearing. Dark didn't want to make any sudden movements, because it might just be a wild PKMN and it would be dumb to scare it if it was just walking by, but his gut told him it wasn't a PKMN... It was something else... "They are... Dark trainers..." Dark and Aku both got a tiny glimpse of a DT logo through the bushes. They wispered "1... 2... 3..." They were going to attack on '10', but before they even got to '4', the DT's jumped into the clearing. The one leading the group though, had a TA(Team Aqua) logo on his chest, and a DT logo on his hat... The boy was about the height of Dark, maybe an inch or two shorter, and his hair stuck out everywhere. He looked about 14, and his eyes were mostly hidden by his hair (His hair was red. The two chunks of hair in the front were blue, though.) "I am here for the Anizakis." The boy's voice was kind of scrachy... Evil sounding. (Like a mix between Noah and Seto Kaiba, if you watch Yu-gi-oh.) "What are you doing here?" Aku took a step toward the boy. "Do you not remember me, my dear Aku? Does... Tanji Satoshi ring a bell?" The boy tilted his head and laughed a little. "Sato... Hey, you're Satoshi's little brother!" Katai looked from the boy to Satoshi, who now had an expression of extreme dislike on his face. Like he was looking at some nasty thing on the bottom of his shoe. "Tanji... You left. We never wanted to see you again. What gives you the right to come back here?" Satoshi (Oh, yeah, his first name is 'Tajiri', but he deasn't like that name, so Katai and everyone just calls him Satoshi.) narrowed his eyes angrily, "And what the h*** do you want with Katai and Aku?" "Well, you've not heard? Why, my dear brother, always the last to know things like this, are you not? And you're the spy of the family! Dear lord, our whole family is quite a joke, do you not agree, Tajiri?" "I despise you. Why would you speak like that of our family?" "Likewise, dear brother. We all despise each other. Now, no more dawdling, come, Aku! Katai! Or will you give me no choice but to use force?" "What do you want with us?" Katai looked on the verge of tears. "I do believe Aku knows. Ask her. No, wait, don't. We haven't the time for this." "What are you talking about?" Dark stepped out in front of Aku. "No. I know what he's talking about. Yet... For some reason, I don't wish to accompany you. Isn't that a pity?" Aku took on similar speech paterns to Tanji, mocking him. "I appologize, but you've no choice, as I've previously announced. Now come." "Not until you explain why you're here." Aku stepped out of Dark's shadow. "Fine. *Sigh* If I must. But you know already, Aku... Well, I suppose the rest of you are totally in the dark on this, but you know Katai, about Unmenia? How when you were born, you're parents chose him as a suitor for you? Well, Aku's parents did the same. She is engaged (So to speak, though forced, but either way,) to yours truly." Everyone gasped and a few (Including Dark) looked at Aku, who stood defiantly beside Dark. "But I refused." Aku added, "Once I was old enough to know." "Yes, but by then, you're parents were dead. Things like this can only be changed through the consent of said parents, or by the death of one of the members. You'd never kill me, meaning we'd be married in a matter of maybe a decade. I do not like this. I wish not be betrothed to the likes of a homeless penniless weakling as yourself. Now, before you're parents were killed and lost thier fortune, it would have been fine, but I'm no longer allowning it. I did rather like you're personallity, though, but it wouldn't be proper for us to wed anymore. You must either change you're identity, or have the choice to be put to death at my hand." "So you mean to kill me? This is an all time low." Aku shook her head, smiling evil-ly "But why bring Katai, too? What's the point? What did she ever do to you?" "Ah, yes, lovely Katai. Unmenia just so happens to be my boss. He spends all of his time and money hiring spies to look out for you and such, and it's quite annoying. I won't kill you if I'm not forced to, but you must... 'Go missing.' Yes, the Anizaki twins are quite the troublesome duo." "Well, what if we refuse to go?" Aku narrowed her eyes, as well. "This is really stupid. From what I got out of this, Aku's parents have passed away, and Tanji ran away or something, who cares if you're moms and dads want you to get married? They aren't really a part of you're life anymore, are they? And if Katai went missing, then wouldn't the Unmenia dude just be looking even harder? You're thinking skills are really lacking, if you ask me..." Dark scoffed. He was kind of mad that Aku didn't bother to mention that she was engaged before he kissed her, but she apparently didn't want to be, so he'd not get too mad over it... "You know, Dark is right..." Katai added. "Yes... But wasn't my way much more fun? SEIZE THEM!" About 30 DT members (And random wierd people that apparently were just hired for this) jumped out into the clearing. 3 jumped toward Aku. She kicked one in the stomach, but the other two held onto her. They were much taller than her. A few tried to hold Dark back, but he smashed through to Aku. They were pulling her up a tree. He grabbed her hand, but didn't get a good enough hold and tried to climb after her, but they were on a Dragonite and away before he could even call for Flame. Satoshi and Katai were having trouble, too, Dark tried to help them. Just because they get Aku, doesn't mean he needed to forget Katai and Satoshi. He got punched in the nose and Satoshi got a cut accross his face, and they still got away. Emrald and Ruby tried to help her, but Tanji shot some wierd purple spray at them and they sunk to the ground sputtering. A few DTs lay unconcious, and the not-unconcious ones carried them away, leaving Tanji, Satoshi, Dark and a few PKMN alone in the clearing. Satoshi's face was in his hands, and Dark thought he was crying, but a few seconds later, he leaped toward Tanji and pinned him to a tree. "Where did you take Katai? She didn't do anything to you!" Dark noticed that Satoshi had pulled a knife out of his sleeve. "Now, now. Let's not be hasty." He said, totally un-afraid. "I'm not messing around! Either you tell me where you took them, or you die here!" "Hmm. Really, now?" Tanji snapped his fingers and two laser beam looking things shot at Satoshi's stomach, knocking him back into Dark. Satoshi stood up, coughing up blood, but Tanji was gone. They heard his voice echo through the trees, "Try as you might, you'll never find them. You don't want me as you're enemy, dear brother..." Satoshi cursed and pounded his fist on a tree. Dark felt just as angry as Satoshi acted. "We have to find them before something really bad happens to them..." Dark took a sharp breath and looked up at Satoshi. "Hmm. Yes. We shouldn't lose our cool. That's what those bastards want us to do. We work as a team, okay? Until we find Aku and Katai, at least." Satoshi held out his hand. "Okay." Dark shook his hand in agreement. [COLOR=DarkRed][SIZE=4]-Adding on stuff-[/SIZE][/COLOR] -To Katai and Aku- "What's you're problem? Let us go!" Katai and Aku were both in shackles and in a small cell with bars. "TANJI!!! Let us out, you jerk!!!!!!!" Aku slammed her metal restraints against the stone wall. "Well well, what have we here? Not so confident anymore, are you Aku?" Tanji stepped in front of the cell. "Satoshi knows where we are... He'll come for me! You'll be sorry you ever messed with us!" Katai's voice broke a little and she mumbled under her breath, 'Satoshi... Please help us...' over and over again. "My moron of a brother knows nothing. I am sure of that. Now, why don't we have some fun before I off the both of you?" Tanji pulled a key from his pocket and un-locked the door. Aku leaped at him, but the chain was just half an inch short to reack him. "You... What is you're problem?!" Aku yelled. "I don't have a problem." Tanji mocked her by standing as close as posible without actually being in her reach. "What do you mean 'have a little fun'?" Katai was still slumped against the wall. "Well, every evil genious has to have an odd yet somehow ingenious fortress, no? Well, do you wish to see mine? I believe you'll have... Fun testing mine out for me." "What?" Aku slumped back. Her wrists were bleeding and she was tired. "Oh, I have created a world... A fun world. On this island. It is a bubble that covers the island. Inside is the most entertaining world ever created. The best part: I control everything." "Why don't you just shoot us or something instead of toying with our minds?" Aku stood back up. "Well, I believe I've said this before, have I not? 'Yes, but my way is much more fun!' That is my policy in life, and I do not wish to change it now, thank you very much." "You psycopath..." -Back to Dark and Satoshi- "He's in the Orange Islands. We can get there by morning if we fly. We'll need help, though." Satoshi pulled out a strange cross between a Poke'nav and a Poke'gear, an invention that just came out. It was invented by Katai herself ((OOC: See the last PKMN RP I was in. She made it in that one and handed it out to everyone...)) He dailed a number and Kin's head poped up on the screen. "Hello?" "I need you're help. No, correction, Katai and Aku need you're help. We'll pick you up when we get there. You'd better be ready to leave when I get there. Bye." *Click!* "Now to call the rest..." Satoshi dailed another number and Zan's head poped up on the screen. "Hello? Oh, it's you." "Yes, it's me. Listen, Aku and Katai need our help. They were kidnapped. I know where they are and what he's planning to do with them... It's awful. And he has quite a few groups of DTs on his side. He's paying them, no doubt. I don't care if we've got pur differences, I'm gonna need you're help. Andrea's, too. And anyone else you can find to help... This isn't just about saving Katai and Aku, if we help them, we might be able to get Unmenia on our side!" "Who's Unmenia?" "This super-rich looser who has a whole lotta PKMN and would be a good ally. As thing are, he hates me." "Who doesn't?" "I'll ignore that. So, will you help?"[/FONT][/COLOR][/B]

[B][COLOR=DarkGreen][FONT=Franklin Gothic Medium]"Hmmm..." Aku rubbed her arm where it had been sliced open, not opening her eyes or speaking for a while. She was half awake kinda, and then she smelled the soup and opened her eyes. She felt warm. Litterally and mentally, for the first time since she won that tournament. She intook a deep breath and smelled Dark... She realized she was sleeping on his sleeping-bag and she looked around to see where he went. She decided she he'd just gone to get more fire-wood or something, and would wait here and rest. For some reason though, she missed him. She wished he were there. She sat by the fire, but kept Dark's blanket wraped around her. She stirred the soup a little, but not being all that great a cook, she didn't want to mess with it too much. Satoshi was laying against a tree. He seemed to be the only one that wasn't hurt or anything. She herself had gotten a few wounds from the volcano and such, Katai had sliced herself open as well, and Dark was probably the worst off. Aku crawled to her bag and pulled out a first aid kit. She didn't like it, but her best skill was probably healing, as was Katai's. It just came natural to the Sakurai/Anizaki family. She put some medicine goop on her arm and wrapped it in gause, wincing, for the midicing stung. She then tended to Katai, who had only minor cuts and things, and went back to the fire. There she sat for a while, pondering her thoughts. She wondered where Dark had gone, but knew she probably couldn't find him even if she tried, so there she remained. After a few minutes, she noticed Katai's and her own Venonat sleeping exhaustedly next to Satoshi. Katai's Venonat and her own were good friends. She knew Blade was probably wherever Dil was, but she didn't seem to know where Azzura was. She checked to see if it was in it's poke'ball... No. She looked around camp... No. She cursed and kicked a tree, but it hit her toe too hard and she cursed again, this time holding her toe. "Aku?" Katai sat up. She had been laying flat on the ground. "What do you want?" Aku angrily replied. "I just wanted to know why you were kicking that tree." Katai combed her fingers through her hair to straiten it. "I lost Azzura. Again." Aku shook her head. "She most likely isn't lost, just... Well, yeah, she's probably lost." Katai smiled, remembering how bad Azzura was at knowing where to go. "Just go back to sleep. I'm gonna go find her." "Okay." Katai knew it was pointless to argue. Katai layed back down and Aku wandered around a bit, not straying too far from where they were camped. She heard the sound of running water and wondered if Azzura or Dark had gone there. Water was usually a good sign. She walked through a few briar patches, but otherwise it was a pretty clean path. When she got there, she did see Dark, but not Azzura. He was soaking wet and wearing only his pants. He had apparently gone to take a bath. He noticed Aku when he reached for his shoes. "Aku!" He jumped to his feet, "How long have you been standing there?" "Ahh! Oh, umm... Only a few seconds... I just went to look for..." Aku just now remembered what she had come to find, but didn't really care anymore. "Oh, I'm sorry!" She turned around and allowed him to finish dressing. "Umm... I thought you were asleep..." Dark blushed. "I... I was, but I woke up... Umm... Thank you, though..." Aku blushed, too.(If Katai was there, she would've said 'Aww') "For... What?" "Everything. You saved me in the volcano, told Flame to save me when we got out, gave me you're blanket, I don't know... Everything..." Her hands shook just a little as she spoke. "Nah... I should thank you, too." He ran his fingers through his wet hair to help it dry. "Umm... What did I do?" She was still blushing and shaking, but not quite as much. "You stayed with me in the volcano, you risked you're life to save me from the rock slide... You gave me this..." He pointed at the pin on his chest. "Yeah... I guess... Dark...?" She looked at him. "What?" "Umm... I have something to say, but I don't really know how to... Umm..." She looked at the ground and dug her shoe into the dirt, wondering what to say and how to say it.[/FONT][/COLOR][/B]

[FONT=Century Gothic][COLOR=DarkOrange]OOC: SakuraMinomino returns! *Millions applaud and call for encore* No, just kidding. Okay, I'm back. (Of my own accord, not through the encouragement of others. I just thought that, seeing noone had posted for over a week, this rp needed a little pick-me-up.) _____________________________________________ "Yo, Kazu!" Katai smiled and called his name. "Yeah?" Kazu replied hesitantly. "What did you think of my fiance?" Katai snickered. "Er..." [I]Why did she have to bring that up?[/I] He thought. It was bad enough to live it once, let alone talk about it. "A memory I'd rather not re-live is all I have to say, I guess." "Aww, but I think he's sweet ^^ He liked you!" Katai snickered again. This time it was more of a girly gigle, though. "Liked me? Oh, yeah, my friends normally give me daily death threats." Kazu replied sarcastically, wrinkling his nose. "Well, at least he didn't call in all of TA to have you slaughtered." Katai stopped smiling and looked around, "He really didn't like Satoshi, apparently." "He called in all of TA to slaughter Satoshi?" Kazu blinked out of amazement, but then remembeered that it was Unmenia they were talking about and shook his head. "Who did?" Carter spoke up. Katai jumped. She had forgotten about the rest of the people there. "Oh, my... That guy who kiddnapped us. His name is Unmenia." Katai didn't really want everyone knowing that she was already engaged, so she shot a desperate look at Kazu to keep up the story. He complied be ceasing to speak at all, but merely nodding. He dare not say anything bad about Unmenia... "What did you say about him being you're fiance?" Aura looked puzzledly amused. "Katai and Unmenia have been engaged since birth. They had no say. I rather dislike Unmenia, though." Josh said while flicking a rock at Carter. "Aww, how come? He's so sweet ^^" Katai sarcastically laughed. "Hey, how do you know that?" She shot a puzzled look at Josh. "I dunno." Josh was now flicking another rock at Carter since the first one missed. "Whatever. I'm going to go train." Katai's PKMN followed her, and Kazu watched her untill she dissapeared into the woods. He was going to mention something about Katai's uncoordination and bad sence of direction, maybe make a joke, but he decided against it. She had a way of finding out things, and he didn't exactly feel like making fun of her right now. "Well, where to start?" Katai smiled at her PKMN, who all smiled back except Beedrill, who merely stared.[/COLOR][/FONT]

[B][COLOR=DarkGreen][FONT=Franklin Gothic Medium][I]What... Was that about?[/I] Anizaki was thinking back to when Dark had re-gained conciousness. She must have blushed, because Katai commented, "Aww, how sweet ^^ The darling little newbie trainers are in lo-o-ve!" Katai and Satoshi snickered. Aku noted they they seemed more immature than Dark and herself, andd should stop calling them newbies. She didn't say it aloud, she was quite enjoying the ride and didn't want to ruin it by defending her standpoint again. She had to hold onto Dark to keep him from slipping of Flame's back, though. Yet again, she didn't seem to mind. [I]This is... Wierd... It's like I actually have... Friends? There's Satoshi... Nice when he wants to be, and Katai... She's just a bit off, but still somewhat of a friend, I guess... And then there's Dark... He's...[/I] Aku drifted off into thought, trying to find an explanation for why she liked Dark... She could find none that left her in a position to be evil, so she changed her train of thought. [I]Why did I allow Flame to take me somewhere, when I didn't even know where it was gonna take me?[/I] Aku thought about how out-of-character this was for her. She could find no explanation. The only thing that was even slightly phesable was that Dark had told them to, and she trusted Dark. She didn't like that explanation, either, for that would mean she was depending upon and trusting a single person. Not all that evil. "Where are they taking us?" Aku looked at Dark, who opened his eyes just slightly and drifted off again. He was really out. It didn't matter to Aku either way. With him awake, she seemed to concentrate mostly on him, leaving her venerable. She disliked the feeling, but enjoyed Dark's company. For once in her life, Aku could not explain her thoughts and feelings. By this time, Satoshi and Katai had grown tired of being carried by Red, and decidedly followed along by ground route directly below Flame. [I]They really do like to show off thier speed,[/I] Aku noted. She suddenly felt drowsy. She didn't know why, she just did. Dark blinked again and Aku started to ask where they were going once more, but no words came out. She passed out on his shoulder and didn't wake for quite a while. Katai 'Aww'-ed. ___________________________________ OOC: Sorry for the short post >.< (Yeah, it's not that short, but I normally try to make mine pretty long...)[/FONT][/COLOR][/B]

[B][COLOR=DarkGreen][FONT=Franklin Gothic Medium]"Katai... Katai, wake up!" Satoshi held Katai in his lap, she must have passed out ((OOC: They DID go through a colapsing tunnel, you know.)) "Ugh... Oww..." Katai lifted her head up a little bit and blinked. Her face was covered in dirt-smudges, as was Satoshi's. "Katai! You're okay!" Satoshi hugged her, but she squeaked a little and muttered that he was hurting her and he relesed her. "Oh, sorry." "Where's Aku...?" Katai was trying, with the help of Satoshi, to get to her feet, but with no prevail. "Aku didn't... Her and Dark are still..." Satoshi, who didn't know whether or not they got out, didn't know what to say. "They aren't dead. I know they aren't. Aku is a survivor, first and foremost, why did she stay back?" translucent tears rolled down Katai's face. "Let's try to... Find them..." Satoshi stood, letting Katai lean on him, since she seemed to have a sprained/broken ankle. Satoshi leapt up onto a tree, and was gone in a flash to find Dark and Aku. All of Katai and Satoshi's PKMN were looking, too. -Meanwhile- Azzura bounced down the side of the volcano, smile on her face. She knew Aku must have gotten out, and wasn't worried. All of Aku's PKMN have total faith in her. Azzura then noticed something odd... -Meanwhile... Again- Aku blinked her eyes open. She couldn't move very much. She notices that she was being carried by Flame... [I]Where was Dark? What happened? Dark must've... Saved me...[/I] "Flame... FLAME!" Flame looked down at Aku and slowed down, "STOP! Where's Dark? Put me down! Where's Dark?" "Char... Charizard char char charizard." (He told me to take you away from there) ((OOC: Aku can understand PKMN langauge. She has lived with only PKMN all har life.)) Charizard roared, speeding back up again. "No!" [I]Dark... Wanted to save me? Not himself... Me? but... Why?[/I] "No, bring me back to him! He might need our help!" Aku didn't want to be helpless this time. She had a very bad feeling in the pit of her stomach, and she was scared of what it might mean. After a lot of pursuading and a threat to sic Azzura on him, Flame finnaly (But very reluctantly) agreed to go back and help Dark. Aku seemed to have gotten all of her energy back, as she was trying to escape Flame's grip. -Meanwhile... (Grr.... This is getting old...)- Azzura saw something rolling down the side... It was even with her, about 10 feet away. At first, she didn't notice what it was, but now she did. It was Dark! Azzura tried desperately to keep up with him, but yet again, to no prevail. She just couldn't hop fast enough ^^ -AGAIN?!- "I don't see them anywhere..." Satoshi glanced around, running as fast as humanly posible to cover as much ground as he could, all with Katai on his back. "Do you think this means..." Katai looked like she was about to cry again, "No! We have to believe they are okay!" "Aku can take care of herself. Dark is pretty good at that too, it seemed." Satoshi tried to comfort her. "But Aku has never been anywhere that hot before... How would her body handle it? She's used to snowey places, not places with gushing lava and molten stuff everywhere!" "I don't think anyone is accustomed to that, Katai." "Yeah, well..." Katai stopped talking when she noticed something... Light blue? Well, a nice time to see Aku's Azzurill. -And back to Anizaki- "Look! Down there! I can see Satoshi's hair!" (It's bright orange. Kinda hard to miss.) Aku pointed, and Flame 'swooshed' down and landed. Azzura was yelling something. Aku and Katai (Both knowing PKMN language) could easily decipher what it was saying: 'Dark is in trouble' "Dark? Where?" Aku looked in the direction of where Azzura was pointing and saw Dark in a small rock-slide rolling down the mountain. Flame quickly shot off to save him, and Aku jumped on it's back. In no time at all, Flame was above Dark, but couldn't find a way to help him. If flame landed in the rock slide, he would be in as much trouble as Dark. Aku had an idea. "Flame, lower down right above Dark!" Aku climbed down Flame's side, and Flame obeyed. Flame was now holding Aku by the ankles and she was inches from Dark. She grabbed Dark's arm and tried to lift him up without letting rocks hit him. After about 30 agonizing seconds, she managed. Aku held onto him and Flame flew back and lowered them down at aboout where Satoshi and Katai stood. Aku hovered over Dark, brushing dirt off of him, trying to wake him up, wraping his many wounds in bandages and such. "Hey, Aku," Katai said in a sing-song voice, "Do you know what will wake him?" "What?" Aku stood up, sceptically asking her cousin. "True love's first kiss! HA! ^^ HAHAHA!" Katai doubled over laughing, and aku threw a rock at her, but missed. Katai tried to dodge the rock that missed, but tripped on a tree root. "I believe that's sleeping beauty, Katai." Satoshi snickered. "That's not funny!" Aku was getting mad that Dark was seriously hurt and they didn't care. Then she started wondering why she DID care... "Ugh..." Dark blinked and tried to sit up. "Dark!"[/FONT][/COLOR][/B]

[COLOR=DarkGreen][B][FONT=Franklin Gothic Medium]OOC: Sorry I haven't posted in a while, but... I'm kinda busy with school and all... (And we went on a weekend vacation thing and I just got back yesterday...) Oh! Spring break! I totally didn't think about that. Okay, spring break it is. (If thst's okay with everyone else. I just needed it to be a holiday because all of my people would have school otherwise.) [CENTER]____________________________________________[/CENTER] [FONT=Arial][COLOR=Black]"I'm sorry," [/COLOR] [/FONT] The clerk shook his head. [FONT=Arial][COLOR=Black]"I don't believe I've seen him since you checked in. But I will keep and eye out."[/COLOR][/FONT] [FONT=Book Antiqua][COLOR=DarkSlateGray]"... Thank you."[/COLOR][/FONT] He started wringing his hands. He didn't want to further stress Kitsune, but it looked like if he didn't find Jason soon he'd have to. Kitsune already had enough on her plate without her little brother running away again... [CENTER]-At a small dinner outside of the hotel-[/CENTER] Kitsune sighed quite noisily, turning a few heads as she swirled a drink-stirer around in a half empty martini glass. She heard a small crash from behind the counter, but thought nothing of it. She really needed to relax, but all she really wanted to do was be with Jason and Christopher. She knew, though, that this would cause only more problems. Jason didn't like herself and Christopher together. He was probably jelous, but there's nothing Kitsune could do about that. She still spent just as much time with her brother as before, but the problem seemed to be in Christopher himself. As Kitsune was pondering her thoughts, a short, quite plump lady walked up to her. The lady asked if Kitsune minded if she sat across from her at the table and Kitsune motioned for her to sit down. She didn't mind company, it didn't really matter who. Kitsune was a people-person. She disliked being alone. [COLOR=Sienna]"Hello, m' dear," [/COLOR] The woman had a thick accent, and it was quite difficult to understand what she was saying. [COLOR=Sienna]"What are you doing all by yourself? I don't think I've ever seen a teenager all by herself during spring break."[/COLOR] Kitsune looked at her curiously, but answered her question. [I][COLOR=DarkOrange]"I'm not by myself... I mean, I am now, but I came with my little brother and my boyfriend. They are going to go surfing, and told me to take the day off and relax."[/COLOR][/I] [COLOR=Sienna]"Oh, but you miss them ever so much. I see. Why do you not go to them now? If you're lonely, then you shouldn't be alone, darling." [/COLOR] The woman smiled and then stood up, [COLOR=Sienna]"Well, I've got errends to attend to. Go find you're brother before he gets himself into trouble. I believe he is now on the 12th floor, you're boyfriend is desperately trying to find him. He is in the dining hall. They aren't doing so well without you. Well, goodbye." [/COLOR] The woman walked off, with a slight spring in her step. [I][COLOR=DarkOrange]"Wha... Wait, what do you mean? How do you know that? Wait!" [/COLOR] [/I] Kitsune watched the woman dissapear in the crowd, and wondered what to do. If the woman was right, she needed to go back now and kill her day off. If the woman was wrong, then Christopher would call her paranoid and send her away again. Either way, she probably needed to head back to check on them. [CENTER]-On the 12th floor, now-[/CENTER] [I]Well, I've avoided them for about 30 minutes, now.[/I] Jason thought to himself. He was starting to get angry. Either Kisune had gone stupid, or she didn't yet notice/care that he was gone. ((OOC: He thinks Kitsune is still in the building. He knows Kisune would know that he would be on the top floors, that's just the way he thinks.)) [COLOR=Indigo]"Where is she?" [/COLOR] A young girl, maybe 21 or so opened her door slightly and glanced around. Her eyes rested uneasily on the little boy. [COLOR=Indigo]"Where are you're parents, kid?" [/COLOR] She opened the door a little wider to get a better look. Normally little kids don't wander in circles around the hallways in these hotels. thier parents stay by thier side, for the most part. [COLOR=DarkRed][FONT=Comic Sans MS]"In France." [/FONT] [/COLOR] He truthfully answered, and returned to his pacing. [COLOR=Indigo]"Umm... Them what are you doing here? Why aren't you in-"[/COLOR] [COLOR=DarkRed][FONT=Comic Sans MS]"I don't speak to strangers. Even pretty strangers." [/FONT] [/COLOR] Jason stoped pacing long enough to get a good look at the girl, then he resumed muttering something about ruining his rythym or something. [I]Eew... Is this little kid hitting on me? [/I] Samantha thought. [I]What's up with that?[/I] [FONT=Comic Sans MS][COLOR=DarkRed]"Don't flatter yourself. I was just stating simple facts. Your friend should be here momentarily, now would you please leave me alone?" [/COLOR] [/FONT] Jason took anouther look at her face and read her thoughts by her expression, [FONT=Comic Sans MS][COLOR=DarkRed]"No, I don't read minds. I merely read the expression and body language. For example, You looked at me with a slightly angry digust, covering yourself with the door. That means you were being protective in this case, of yourself. That wouldn't work in every situation, because that couyld also mean that you see someone you don't like and want them to go away, but reading beetween the lines tells me that you didn't want to cease you're conversation with me, even though it has become more of a monolaugue, and I appologize. Please, don't stare at me like that, like I'm some kind of freak. I don't like it." [/COLOR] [/FONT] Jason turned toward the elevator, and Samantha tilted her head, wondering what was up with this kid. [CENTER]-At the first floor-[/CENTER] [I][COLOR=DarkOrange]"Christopher! Where's Jason?"[/COLOR][/I] Kitsune ran up to him and saw the look on his face. Apparently, the woman was right. [FONT=Book Antiqua][COLOR=DarkSlateGray]"I didn't want to bother you... He wouldn't leave the hotel, I didn't think, and I would find him really soon..." [/COLOR] [/FONT] Christopher drifter off. [I][COLOR=DarkOrange]"He's on the top floor. Let's go." [/COLOR] [/I] Kitsune looped her arm through his and practically dragged him out of the dining hall. [FONT=Book Antiqua][COLOR=DarkSlateGray]"Wait, how do you know-" [/COLOR] [/FONT] His train of thought was stopped abruptly as he got to the elevator. Sitting on the floor, shocked, was a tall man, Alicia, and a lot of ice.[/FONT][/B][/COLOR]

[COLOR=DarkGreen][B][FONT=Franklin Gothic Medium]Satoshi glanced over his shoulder and noticed that Dark was no longer following. They went back only to discover Dark lying almost unconcious some 20-30 feet away from them. The ground they were standing on started to detatch itself, and began to float. "Aku!" Katai grabbed her arm as she and Satoshi jumped back on the attached land. "Get off that! We need to get out of here!" "Katai! You get Aku out of here! I'll try to get Dark. He looks like he's gonna make it... He isn't out yet, at any rate." "What?!" Aku glanged around aprihensively but stood her ground. "I'm not leaving without Dark! I'll help you, we can stop it!" "You have to get out of here!" Katai held her arm up to block an oncoming rock that crumbled away from the wall. "It's too dangerous! You kids, get away! Satoshi and I will deal with this! It's big enough to destroy the entire city if we don't stop it!" Katai's PKMN all apeared behiind her ready to fight the volcano. "No. I don't know that any of us can stop it. We need just get away and make sure the lava doesn't reach the town." Satoshi threw his arms around Katai to protect her from the splashes of lava licking at thier heels. "At any rate, we won't last much longer in here." "NO! DARK!" The rock Dark was on cracked and drfted even further away from Aku and Satoshi and Katai. Aku noticed he was trying to stand, but half of what was left of his rock was already under the lava. Aku called on Blade and Dill "Blade! Dil! C'mon, we have to help Dark!" Aku grabbed onto Blade's back and Blade lifted her off the ground. Dil went to the side of his master in a vain attempt to save him. "Aku, no!" Satoshi reached out an arm, but Aku dodged, yelling, "We'll get out! I swear it! You guys just leave!" Aku then turned all of her attention to holding on. Blade seemed to be affected by the heat, and stopped to rest on a ledge far enough that Satoshi couldn't jump to them. A boulder fell at Satoshi's feet, and the wall began to cave. He had no choice but to leave and pray for the best. He put his arm around Katai's waist and pulled the both of them to safety some 10 feet outside of the entrance. Way out of Aku's sight. She was relieved. Even though she despises her cousin and Satoshi, she doesn't want them to get hurt. "Blade... Can you go... Just a little further...? Come on... For Dark...?" Aku was also out of breath. Too much longer and they may all die from lack of heat exausten... Aku, just now thinking of this from the fact that the entrance they came in just collapsed, was at lack of seeing another way out. Oh, well. I'll think of that when I get there. She thought. First she needed to get to Dark. That's all that mattered. Dark's rock remained intact, but barely. He allowed Dil to pull him into a sitting position. He groggily glanced around through narrowed eyes. The only thing he saw, despite the flaming lava and scorching, heavy boulders bouncing off of the walls, was Aku. She and Blade had positioned themselves in an inset ledge on the wall. Fear flooded him. Fear for his life, Dil's life, Blade's life, and Aku's life. More Aku's than the rest. The PKMN could make thier way out, but Aku couldn't. There was no way... They needed to get out. Lava started to rise, now at Aku's feet... She started to climb up the wall. Dark tried to stand, but his legs wouldn't hold him. He looked down at his rock... It was quickly diminishing... He needed something to help him get his energy back... Without warning, a blast of icy water hit Dark. He stood, looking around angrily to see who doused him, and noticed a tiny blue dot on another rock, bouncing from rock to rock. Azzura. Man, that little fluff ball has good timing. Dark shook the excess water out of his hair and picked up Azzura who was now on a rock only about 5 feet from his, and grabbed onto Dil's back. "C'mon, let's go save Aku and Blade!" At the mention of 'Blade', Dil shot off like a cannon. Just in time, the minute thier feet left the rock, it exploded into flame. Dark hurled Azzura toward a ledge and it smiled, bouncing it's way out and to safety. Aku and Blade ended up seperated as they climbed the sheer cliff to escape the flaming liquid, just inches from thier feet. The wall was colapsing as they went. Aku thanked her lucky stars that she hadn't have left. If she had, Blade wouldn't have left, due to the fact that Dil hadn't, and Blade would've tried to get Dil and Dark to safety, only leading to Blade's own downfall...And Aku wouldn't know any of this till it was too late... But it's hard to think of being lucky when you are developing 3rd degree burns on the entire bottom half of you're body. Aku looked to her left and found that she could no longer see Blade. Aku reached for a Poke'ball and re-called it. There. It's safer now. Aku thought. Now she could find Dark and they could get out of here... Dark and Dil hovered a few feet behind Aku. She had climbed a few feet ahead of the lava, and was now on a small ledge. Dark noticed how exhausted Dil was, and it only kept going to get to Blade, who was nowhere in sight. Dark jumped onto the tiny ledge and re-called Dil. A few more seconds and it would collapse, it looked like. Dark then turned to Aku, on the brink of collaping herself, and gave a sigh of relief. Now they only had to get out. Dark's clothes were already bone-dry again, and he was starting to get drowsy... "Dark! You're okay!" Aku looked like she could hug him, but hey, she's Aku. Aku doesn't hug. "Yeah, thanks to you're Azzuril! That thing has some power!" Dark joked, helping Aku to the next ledge. They only had to climb to the top and they were home-free. That seemed like the only way out, now. "Oh... Is Azzura okay?" Aku winced as a sharp rock jutting out from the wall sliced her right arm. Dark winced as well, but at the sight of the blood gushing from it. It looked painfull. "You okay?" "Yeah. Fine... Ahhh!" Dark covered Aku as a huge boulder fell from the wall and threatened to smash her. It rolled off of Dark and he relesed her hesitantly. "Umm..." Dark mumbled something about a stupid rock, or something like that. "Thank you..." Aku reallized he just saved her life, but didn't want to admit it. She was alot scrawnier than he, if she would've been hit with that, she'd be lucky to escape alive and she knew it. "... No problem..." Dark blinked and looked down at his feet and noticed he'd stopped climbing. He wondered why he hadn't gotten burned yet? He risked a glange behind him and noticed that the lava was no longer rising... It wasn't geting lower, but this could definitely be a good sign! "... Hey... The lava isn't rising anymore..." Aku seemed to notice at the exact time as Dark. Happy to find a new subject, she looked up and down the wall. They were at least 50 feet from the top still, but it didn't really matter. "Does this mean it won't erupt?" She looked at him happily. "Nah. You know all of the crevices on the sidesof the walls? Lava flows through there as much as the top, you know. Well, this was probably just a small eruption and didn't quite reach the top yet, but there's no doubt there's gonna be a load of lava all over the outside of the volcano already, though. But it most likely won't be enough to reach the town." Dark wiped the sweat off of his forehead. "Well, then that's good news!" Aku sighed, out of breath. "You okay?" Dark looked at her sceptically. "What, do you just really like saying that? I'm fine!" Aku faked her evil-ness. She didn't know why, but ever since she saw her Scyther and Dil, she hasn't felt all that evil. She didn't know what she was feeling, but it was... Nice. And she didn't like it. Not a bit. Dark sighed and shook his head. She wasn't all that good a lier. Or faker, for that matter. "Well, let's get going." Dark helped Aku back to her feet, but she stumbled a bit and he caught her. ((OOC:That would really suck of they got all this way just for Aku to fall to her death, doncha think?)) Aku was shaking. Dark tried to let her go, but she didn't seem able to stand very well and the moment turned really awkward really fast. The lava started to get higher again and now it was sure that the top was gonna blow at any minute, and Aku was totally exhausted. Dark wasn't doin' all that great himself...[/FONT][/B][/COLOR]

[COLOR=DarkGreen][B][FONT=Franklin Gothic Medium]OOC: What time of year is this? (Like, summer, right? It would have to be... Kitsune would be in school right now, otherwise.) Oh, they are in room 309... Unless you want them to be in a different room. I just like the number ^^ [CENTER]_________________________________________[/CENTER] Kitsune sighed and put her head in her hand, taking a sip of her drink. [I][COLOR=DarkOrange]"Christopher, do you think it was alright to leave Jason up in the room all alone? You don't think he'll get lost? Or hurt himself?" [/COLOR] [/I] Kitsune's hands started to shake. ((OOC: She gets super-paranoid sometimes.)) [FONT=Book Antiqua][COLOR=DarkSlateGray]"Hey, baby, don't say things like that! There's not anything dangerous. He's just on the computer, that's all." [/COLOR] [/FONT] Christopher sat down in a bar-stool beside Kitsune and put his arm around her shoulder. [FONT=Book Antiqua][COLOR=DarkSlateGray]"But if it makes you feel better, I'll go up and check on him."[/COLOR][/FONT] [I][COLOR=DarkOrange]"Oh, would you? I'll go, too!" [/COLOR] [/I] Kitsune stood up, but christopher motioned for her to sit back down. [COLOR=DarkSlateGray][FONT=Book Antiqua]"No, you really need to relax. You came here to get away from all of the stress. I'll tell you what, I'll take Jason down to the gift shops and buy him something, then we'll go down to the beach and I'll teach him how to surf. You just take the day off. Take a nap, relax, do whatever." [/FONT] [/COLOR] Christopher patted her on the shoulder and she smiled weakly. [I][COLOR=DarkOrange]"Thank you. I think I'm gonna go shopping..." [/COLOR] [/I] Kitsune hugged him and then went back to her drink, that she drained in one sip, and grabbed her purse. [FONT=Book Antiqua][COLOR=DarkSlateGray]"Okay. Well, see you later." [/COLOR] [/FONT] Christopher kissed her on the top of the head and turned down the hall. As he entered the elevator, he noticed a young woman running from the dining hall to the elevator asking him to hold it for her, so he did. When she entered, he noticed how odd the clothing she wore was. She wore a flowered dress at least 5 sizes too big, and a huge floppy hat with the same flower markings. She wore neon pink slippers. She thanked him and introduced herself as Jessica, shaking his hand vigorously. [FONT=Book Antiqua][COLOR=DarkSlateGray]"Hello. Christopher Shafer." [/COLOR] [/FONT] Christopher pried his hand away from hers. It was like she was trying to yank his arm off. [COLOR=Indigo][FONT=Fixedsys]"Hello, hello!" [/FONT] [/COLOR] The woman smiled. She looked very pretty, dispite the odd clothing. When he got off the elevator at floor 3, the woman followed him. He asked her what room she was in, and she just shook her head and bounced off, still smiling. He sighed and slid the card key through the door and waited for it to beep, then he opened it with a slight 'click'. When he entered the room, he called around for Jason. Seeing that he wasn't there, Christopher paced around a bit, then decided to go looking for him. He glanced longingly at his cell phone, but then thought against it. Kitsune didn't need to be bothered with this. [CENTER]-10 minutes later, at the front desk-[/CENTER] [FONT=Book Antiqua][COLOR=DarkSlateGray]"Hello Mister... Jameson." [/COLOR] [/FONT] Chrostopher paused, looking at his nametag. [FONT=Book Antiqua][COLOR=DarkSlateGray]"I need to know... Have you seen a little kid about... This height, shortish hair and black clothes, always carries a laptop bag... He had glasses, but he might not be wearing them..." [/COLOR] [/FONT] Chris motioned a height and then pulled out a picture from his wallet of Kitsune and Jason. Mr. Jameson squinted his eyes at the tiny picture, trying to recall this little boy. [CENTER]-Meanwhile, on the 11th floor-[/CENTER] Jason walked down the hall with his hands in his pockets. He was muttering thing to himself. [COLOR=DarkRed][FONT=Comic Sans MS]"I can't believe Kitsune likes that moron more than me." [/FONT] [/COLOR] He angrily aimed a kick at the wall. [COLOR=DarkRed][FONT=Comic Sans MS]"It's not fair. Every day I've been her little brother, and the minute he comes around, I get left there forgotten. What did I ever do to deserve that?" [/FONT] [/COLOR] Jason wrinkled his nose and brushed his hair out of his face. [COLOR=DarkRed][FONT=Comic Sans MS]"Well, I'll show them."[/FONT][/COLOR] He stopped kicking the wall when he saw one of the hotel workers walk by and tell him off. He headed for the elevator.[/FONT][/B][/COLOR]