RPG Final Fantasy: Memoirs [M-VLS]

[Meggido]

Pralle's Upgrades:
Magic upgrades: Fire 1
Special upgrade: Multiplication 1


Pralle wasn't exactly sure what he was supposed to be doing. He was walking the streets searching for information on how the others and maybe himself ended up here. He wasn't sure how this could be possible because it was not likely that the people of this world could explain it.

He decided that instead if he was from this world and not Aron's he may be able to find out something about himself. After some search he was beginning to lose hope. Know one seemed to know him or have heard of him.

[COLOR=Red]"You know as well as I that this is just going to be hopeless."[/COLOR] The other voice said. [COLOR=Red]"We don't even know where to start."[/COLOR]

[COLOR=Blue]"Just shut up,"[/COLOR] Pralle replied.

AS he turned a corner he saw a girl who looked similar to the one from his memory. She looked back at him and began to walk away. He began to follow quickly. She turned a corner into an alley and he called after her.

[COLOR=Blue]"Wait!"[/COLOR]

He turned the corner but she was no where in site. What was strange was the alley also had a dead end. Suddenly a screeching sound began in his head. the sound forced him to his knees as he brought his hands to his head. All of a sudden he blacked out.

[I]He looked across the landscape. There was a small kid. Pralle wasn't sure but maybe this kid was him when he was young. It all got mixed in between. As Pralle walked closer he saw that the boy was playing with a young girl. Though she was younger there was no denying that the girl was definitely the one from his previous dream. Maybe the young boy was him then.

He followed the two out to a lake. They didn't seem to notice him. There was a small raft by the lake that the two kids hoped on. He seemed to be able to walk on the water. So maybe this was a memory or dream of sorts. He followed the kids out into the middle of the lake where they began fishing.

After a while the raft began to rock heavily and the girl fell in. The boy made a grab at her and missed. It appeared that she wasn't able to swim. The boy dived in after her. Pralle found himself holding his breath as he watched. They seemed to be down for ages. Soon the two of them surfaced. The boy pulling the girl along. The boy pulled the girl onto the raft and just watched, waiting to see what happened. After a while the girl sat up. She looked around a bit and then wrapped her arms tightly around the boys neck.[/I]

OOC: ok anyone can take it from here and find Pralle.

[You Don't Care]

[COLOR=Sienna][B]Upgrades: Ice1 and Weapon Throw[/B][/COLOR]

"Damn it, kid! Lyin' on the ground like it's a bed!" Cid had shook Pralle violently, who had suddenly passed out. Cid stopped when he finally came to.

"The hell's going on," Pralle stood up abruptly and frantically looked about.

"Decided to take a beauty nap, eh?" Cid got to his feet and readjusted his gloves. "Couldn' let ya have it though. Somen' might take that as an invitation to yer wallet." He chuckled.

"Whatever."

The two walked a ways down the street until they noticed Yuri. "Hey! Done 'ere with my errands," Cid shouted to the man, waving a fist to the air. The leather bag was clenched between his fingers.

[COLOR=Sienna]O.O.C.: It's short, but it gets the job done.[/COLOR]

[Heartless Me]

Chases' upgrades

Multiplication1
Weapon Throw

Chase had just walked out of the dojo where he had been able to talk the sensei into teaching him the art of cloning himself with illusions when some kid bumped into him and started to run off into the crowd. At first reada thought nothing of it until he went t o purchase an apple from a vender in the market when he found his coin purse was missing. Giving a curse he thought back to the young boy who bumped into him and realizing it must have been a cutpurse. Returning the apple to the vender he grimaced explaining the situation. The vender mentioned something about a seedy tavern on the south side of town and that what he is looking for might be there.

The Iron Stallion wasn't the largest Tavern in town but it was certainly the busiest especially at this time of day when it just starts to get dark out. Chase walks into the room and glares around. Many people, filled tables, no open seats at the bar. The barkeep had hired a bard to sing his tails but the place was too loud for anyone to hear him though he sang his hardest. In a far corner of the tavern the ninja's eyes stopped on a mountain of a man surrounded by three lanky street rattish looking children all between the ages of eleven and fourteen aparrently.

Witha slight scowl Chase approached the rag tag group of misfits lead by the oversized meathead. The huge humanoid looked up and tilted his head in confusion as the ninja sat across from him. they lock eyes for several minutes until Chase spoke. His voice was sounded friendly enough but anyone with the slightest bit of empathic ability could tell that it was so laced with threats that he might as well be spitting poison.

Chase: I believe you or one of your childer have something of mine. I would like it back if you don't terribly mind.

Man: And what if I don't?

Child A: Yeah! What if he doesn't?

Chase: It would be in your best interest to do so.

Man: Don't mess with me kid.

The ninja stands up grabbing the daishuriken from his back and flicks his wrist making the blades fan out into a four pronged throwing star much the size of a half again buckler. The man simply laughs but the barkeep doesn't seem to pleased about it. Nearly leaping over the bar he runs over to Chase and the Man.

Barkeep: Hey, if you guys are gonna scrap take it outside.

Man: Fine by me.

A moment later the relative quietness was interrupted by the door swinging open and a black clad figure being thrown into the street followed by a large four pronged weapon. Chase slowly got up and dusted himself off then picked up his daishuriken as the large man walked out the front door laughing.

Man: I told you not to mess with me.

The tall man turns and starts to walk back inside.. that is until a small piercing pain wracked his leg right behind his knee and he dropped to one knee yelling out. The ninja was immediately on top of him grabbing the warriors right arm and yanking it behind his back while throwing his other arm around his neck.

Chase: And someone should have told you never to turn your back on a ninja. Now am I going to get my money back or are you going to get your spinal cord seperated from your brain?

The wide eyed giant sobbed slightly gesturing to one of the kids who were likewise hiding behind the door telling her to give up the pouch. The young girl of maybe 13 slinked forward handing him a heavy sack of coins and zipped back into the bar. After a moment of examination He smiled slightly.

Chase: This isn't my pouch but it will do. It's compensation for wasting my time.

Chase started to walk away as the cursing giant threw threats and angry words at him. "with this much money i can get myself another skill trained" he thought as he strolled down the street past the city guard training ground where something conveniantly crossed his eyes. 'discounted training today only!' Grinning, Chase walked through the gate and in to gain his other skill.

[Kamuro]

[FONT=Book Antiqua][CENTER][COLOR=Teal][SIZE=4][B]Chapter 3[/B][/SIZE]

[B]Aron's Time[/B]
Luna sat in a dark corner of the store she'd been pulled into to avoid the attack of an oncoming dragon. She was wrapped in a towel sitting next to a fire to keep warm. She sipped some hot water and stared aimlessly. The man who saved her earlier walked over and sat by the fire. "Well, I found some stuff out about whats going on..." he paused waiting for Luna to speak, but she said nothing. "Apparently theres been rips in time forming all over Earth, the dragon chasing you was from a time far before this one. I'm not quite sure how all this works, but its not safe here."

Luna sipped from the cup and spoke quietly "I don't want to go, I have to stay here and look for Aron. Hes all I have left you know." The man looked concerned "I know, after hearing your story I completely understand, but we're not going to find him here. All we'll find here is even more dangerous creatures. If we move then we'll probably be able to come back and search for him once things settle down." Luna sighed and nodded "Guess I'll get some sleep then." The man handed her a wool blanket as she laid her head down upon the cold floor, dreaming of Aron.

- - - - - - -

[B]Flora Time[/B]
Everyone gathered around a table at the inn. It was early in the morning and most people looked tired. "What are we getting up so early for, geez..." Kiru asked drained of her usually energetic state. Cid laughed "Awe c'mon, its not all that early, ya gotta get up early to catch tha worm...or somethin' like that." Aron laughed a bit and began to speak "Ok everyone, our next destination is Tresora. Its quite a ways from here so we'll be stopping in the small town of Kiko along the way. We'll have to go through the Mountains of Dunn as soon as we leave Hunds, once we reach the other side it'll be a short walk to Kiko and then a mild one to Tresora."

Pralle looked at Aron confused "Why are we going to Tresora? Did you find something out?" Aron shook his head "Just call it an inclination." Yuri stood up and surveyed the room "We have another problem, wheres Azalea?" Aron sighed "She won't be with us any longer, she'll be staying here in Hunds, shes not very good with good-byes, so she asked me to relay the message to you all." Yuri shrugged "Oh well, one less mouth to feed I guess." Aron nodded silently and walked from the table.

There everyone stood, looking up at the large red mountains of Dunn. There were several paths leading from the original one and Aron wasn't quite sure how to begin. Chase quickly interrupted his train of thought "All these paths lead to the other side of the mountain you know." Aron's eyes widened "Really? So it doesn't matter which one we take?" "Nope, but I have an idea. Lets race. Everyone can take a different path and we'll see who reaches the other side of the mountain first." Aron looked to the others trying to gauge their reactions. Garrek was first to speak "Sure, why not? I'm up for it." Everyone else followed in suit except Yuri, who looked somewhat concerned "I'm not so sure about this Aron, is it really a good idea to split up?" Aron had really already decided, he was interested to see what each of his teammates held in store for him and figured a race would be the best way to find out, and have some fun as well.

Aron nodded "We'll be fine Yuri, each of us can take care of ourselves, your not scared are you?" Aron spoke, winking at him. Yuri laughed "Hah, guess we'll see." Just then he burst into a run down the middle path. "Hey no cheating!" shouted Aron. And with that each person took a different path up the mountain.

- - - - - - -

Ok, in this chapter each of us are in a race to reach the other side of the mountain first. However, on the way there we'll meet our rivals. These are people chosen specifically to fight and counteract each character. They've been sent by a higher power, whoever it may be, to stop the group from achieving their goal. Everyone may create their own rival who they feel will counteract their character best. When you meet your rival you'll engage in a fight with no winner, after which they'll disappear. You'll see why the fight wasn't finished a little later on. Be sure to create your rival well, since this won't be your last run in with them.

There will be no upgrading in this chapter since we're in a geographical area rather then a town or city. Whoever I believe made the best series of posts throughout the journey of the Mountains of Dunn will win the race, I'll alert the winner of this via PM. They'll get a special prize when we reach Tresora, so do your best! After a winner has been selected they'll post, probably a short post, of their character reaching the other side of the mountain before everyone else. I'll clarify what happens next after that.[/COLOR][/CENTER][/FONT]

OOC: Sorry if I cut our visit to Hunds a little short, but I wanted to really get this thing rolling. If you have any questions concerning this chapter PM me.

[Kitty]

[color=blue][size=1]Rin had chosen one of the various paths up the mountain that was more out-of-the-way than the others. She hadn't wanted to race. She never was any good at competitions, anyway. But it was all in good fun.

The large sword on her back normally would've slowed her down, but over the past few hours, she'd gotten used to the extra weight, and could move just as easily as if she hadn't had it on at all.

Twenty or so minutes passed before she was forced off the beaten path. Several trees had fallen down the obvious road, and it had been uprooted a bit beyond the trees.

"What a mess," Rin sighed. It would be more difficult manuevering between bushes and trees and such with her sword. Running in a straight line was much easier. "Don't want to come in last," she shuttered. Coming in last was something she was never very fond of, but could always do. Losing everything from raffles to cards, Rin could rarely win at anything involving chance or physical skill.

"Damn it," she grunted, examening her leg. It was a small, but painful, cut caused by stepping in a thorn bush.

"I'm in another time period all together, and I [i]still[/i] can't get away from these things," Rin laughed.

More time passed by as she crawled in between trees, over and around stumps and fallen logs. The further she got, the harder the path was to travel. [i]'This is so bizzarre,'[/i] she thought while climbing under an unusually placed bush.

"A person did this," she thought aloud, closely inspecting a tree with many of its larger branches snapped off. "There's no way it could've happened naturally. And I don't think an animal would do this, either," she reasoned. Just then, she spotted some footprints.

Human footprints.

"I knew it!" she cheered in triumph. While completely lacking in the strength or endurance department, Rin could outwit and outsmart nearly anyone. Puzzle solving was a fun game of hers. Curiousity got the better of her, and she decided to follow the footprints.

The path became slightly less difficult to travel through, the further she went. As if someone was leading her.

"Nah," Rin shook it off, feeling like she was growing too paranoid.

No sooner had the footprints stopped that she noticed she'd reached the end of all the broken and misshapen trees, and was back at the other end of the path. "Hmm.." she sighed, taking a moment to think it over.

A moment or two after she'd stopped, she was flung a good five feet across the ground. There she lay, startled and dazed. Bruised, but not in pain. She easily got to her feet, though she had a bit of trouble staying upright.

"Who are you?" she shouted immediatly, though she hadn't seen who hit her, nor did she see anyone now. But she recieved silence in response. Cautiously, she began to take a few steps backwards, onward on her path. The sooner she got out of here, the better.

Suddenly, there was a sharp pain in her calf and she was sent to the ground again. Sitting up sharply, she looked at it carefully. A large cut on her leg where the pain had been. It was beginning to bleed, though she doubted it would bleed much.

She staggered to her feet once more, this time steadying more quickly. She pulled her new weapon off her back and held it in front of her.

Though she hadn't recieved an answer last time, she decided to give asking one more try.

"Who are you?"

Glancing about, she saw no one. Heard nothing, with the exception of some chirps and fluttering wings of a few birds. "Come out, come out," she chanted, trying to psyche up her attacker.

"Shut up," ordered a voice. It was deep, and had come from behind. Spinning around, Rin caught a glance of a boy. From what she saw, he looked her age. But she hadn't gotten a good look at his face. "What do you want?" she demanded, sick of the pointless game she was unvoluntarily a part of.

"I want you [b]dead[/b]," the voice laughed. It was sharp, distinct. The voice of a cruel and vicious person. "And why is that?" Rin asked, stalling. Looking for an opening.

Her eyes scanned everything around her, and she was on her toes, moving this way and that. Staying still left her open. Moving gave him a harder target.

"Because.." the voice taunted. Suddenly, she heard it. Footsteps. His precise motions were now different; faulted, trackable. Rin listened carefully, finally standing still. She was no longer as vulnerable, for her opponent had lost one huge advantage.

".. I just [b]do[/b]!" the voice cried finally in answer. The footsteps' pace changed, becoming quick and few. But she could track them. A trick she'd picked up from many years babysitting her neighbor's son, who would constantly hide right before she arrived, and would try to sneak up on her. The first few times, it had worked. But Rin caught on quickly, and began counterattacking each time.

The memory of her babysitting played through her mind in the few seconds she had spun around and deflected the boy's blow.

He skidded back, shocked by the deflection. He had expected nothing of the sort. "How.. How did you?" he stuttered, taking a few moments to regain his composure. "Heh. Babysitting eight year-old Carter for three years. That's how," Rin told him, her confidence gaining. She'd deflected the blow and left him stunned. The rush was amazing.

[i]'I should've started fighting long ago,'[/i] Rin chuckled as she thought this.

Now she examined her opponent. A young man, definately her age. He was tall and skinny, but by no means weak. He had strength enough to knock her around like a bag of feathers, after all. He had malicious eyes, but a kind face. The contrast was surprising, but she had very little time to ponder over it.

"I want you dead," he repeated.

"Tell me your name," Rin demanded. She wasn't going to back down now. Not after she'd gotten that rush. The adrenaline excited her, fueled her, drove her. Nothing could stop her now. Not now.

He smirked at her order. He wasn't going to comply with her requests, if he could help it. "Now, now, Rin. Of course you can know my name. After all, it wouldn't be very gentleman-like to rush off without telling you, would it?"

The young man was confident, too. But much more. He was cocky; foolish. Rin was more sensible, but was also angered and startled by his statement. "How do you know my name?"

"Ah. I know much about you, dear Rin. I'm surprised that you aren't with your companions, though.."

The smirk. The damn smirk. It was beginning to irritate her. He could tell, and refused to let it off his face. "My name is Marr. Now that you know, I have even more reason to kill you," he sighed. He paused for a moment, enjoying the silence between the two.

Then he disappeared again. But his footsteps were still trackable. He was letting his confidence confront his better judgement. Rin stood still, awaiting the inevitable attack. Again, she heard the rushing of the footsteps, nearing her from a single direction.

As she turned to defend herself, she was startled by the sudden sound of the steps coming from an entirely different direction. But she was quick, and turned right around, and managed to both block the attack, and get in a large swing at Marr's stomach. Only the tip of the blade knicked him as he leapt back, but it was still quite painful looking.

He stumbled in his landing, the pain in his stomach weakening his knees. He knelt down, one hand on his stomach, the other on the ground.

"You.. bitch.." he coughed. He looked, and acted, as if he'd never been hit before. Never been blocked before. Never lost before.

"Well, Marr," Rin growled as she let his name flow from her lips, "It seems you should be leaving now."

"Oh?" he managed to spit out, though his sarcasm was easily heard in his voice.

"Unless, of course.. You'd like another beating," Rin teased.

He stayed silent. He pushed himself off the ground, and he looked directly into her eyes. Her chuckling subsided, and they stood in tense, menacing silence. After what seemed like hours, the Marr turned to leave.

"Will you be coming back?" she called after him, as if they were old friends parting ways again.

"Of course," he laughed over his shoulder. "Though I didn't kill you this time, I'll certainly be coming back to do away with you. It's not like I couldn't right now, but.. I'm tired. And this scrape you gave me needs a bandage."

He scoffed as he disappeared once again.

"Jerk," she spat.

Marr's voice, appearance, and overall personality reminded her of one of her close friends, though last time she'd seen him, the two were fighting. She let out a gasp as she realized something.

"I never said I was sorry.."

Shaking it off, she turned and continued down the path, not even remembering why she'd been in such a hurry before. The race had been completely shoved out of her mind.

--
OOC: Hope this is something along the lines of what you were hoping for. ^_^;;[/size][/color]

[Redemption]

[FONT=Trebuchet MS][COLOR=#9933ff][b]OOC: I'm going to lengthen my posts out a fraction. How many posts do you think would be good? 3-4? I'm aiming for that anyway.[/b]

" Split up? Now who's great idea was that?" Kira growled. She took the middle path. It twisted and turned up the barren mountainside. Nothing but rocks and stones could be seen either side of the track.

" Such a barren land. What a way to go! Note to self: never let Aron pick my path again."

Trudging along, Kira found a small bubbling stream that flowed out of the mountain. She sniffed the water, testing whether it was safe to drink. Deciding it was safe, Kira took a handful and drank. It was cold and crisp.

" Good stuff."

She stood and yawned. The road up the mountainside grew steeper and steeper. Kira sighed in disbelief.

" Note to self: kill Aron when I get back."

Again, Kira set out. The sun was beating down on her. She could see the waves of heat coming off the barren mountainside. Her two katanas on her back were becoming increasingly heavier everytime she took a step.

However, something caught her attention. Something was shifting out in the rocky wasteland at her left side. It was following her, flanking her a safe distance away - a safe enough distance that whoever or whatever it was thought they wouldn't be noticed.

" If they had done their research, they'd know that samurai can feel the presence of others around them." Kira sighed. " Doesn't look like I will have any decent challengers in the near future."

Keeping a constant knowing of their whereabouts, Kira trudged up the mountainside. She shifted her weapons on her back and wiped the sweat from her forehead. Soon the day began to turn into night. The soft calls of hunting birds now on their daily hunt echoed down the mountains. Kira's follower managed to keep up with her quick pace despite the steep hillside.

Now Kira had found a grove of pine trees to rest in for the night. The grove was fairly large, spanning at least a few miles long - perfect for her if anything happened. She made a small fire and caught a few fish from a nearby mountain-stream. They were fresh-water fish, so their taste was a bit muddy. She cooked them over the fire. The smell was almost mouth-watering. Kira's stomach grumbled.

" I know, I know. Soon... they'll be coming soon."

Her stomach seemed to grumble in reply. She laughed.

The sudden disturbance of animals nearby caught Kira's attention. Her sense picked up not only her lone follower, but now a whole troop of followers. She smiled to herself, seemingly ignoring their presence. However, she kept a close sense on them.

Eating her two fish, Kira munched on them happily. That troop crept closer and closer. Kira kept eating, finishing them in a matter of minutes.

" Ahh.... that was good. Nothing like fire-grilled fish in the wilderness," Kira said to herself, giving the impression that she had no idea that people were surrounding her, preparing themselves for an attack. Stretching, she laid down, ready for bed. She clutched her two katanas to her body tightly.

Thinking it was the perfect time to attack, the troop charged in. In an instant, Kira leapt to her feet and unsheathed her mother's katana.

" Heh. Idiots!"[/color][/font]

[Blayze]

[SIZE=1]Garrek leapt from tree-top to tree-top, the thin palm trees bending as he landed and pushed off again. Leaves fell, but then he moved to slightly safer territory as the trees thickened. Now, instead of thin palm trees there were thick, sturdy oak trees, easily capable of supporting his weight. He continued jumping, flipping around, swinging from branch to branch, disturbing the animals, possibly not taking the most nature-friendly path through the forests to the other side of the mountain.

Suddenly, from nowhere, something flew through the air and knocked Garrek off his path. He fell to the floor, and whatever it was that had hit him bounced off onto a tree-branch. Garrek flipped to his feet, and drew his swords.

"Who's there?" he asked. In reply, the figure flipped down and kicked him again. He managed to deliver a swift kick, throwing the figure to the floor. He got up and pointed one sword at the figure's throat. It was a young man, dressed in black, with short cropped black hair and a small goatee beard. On his back was a long pole, presumably his weapon.

"Who are you?" asked Garrek. The figure squirmed a little, then kicked Garrek's sword out of the way and jumped to his feet. He drew his pole, and looked directly at Garrek.

"My name is Bain. Remember it, as it is the last name you will ever hear," said the figure. He charged at Garrek, his pole swinging...[/SIZE]

[Kamuro]

[FONT=Book Antiqua][COLOR=Teal][CENTER]Aron walked silently down the dirt path, hands in his pockets. He knew it was a race to the other side, but he figured he'd lose anyway. He also wanted to take in the scenery. He remembered what Azalea had told him, he'd probably never be here again, and he wanted to make the best of his time here. He too, remembered Earth, how busy and crouded it always was. He had never been to a place so quiet and peaceful, and he planned to enjoy every minute of it.

As he neared the top of the mountain he heard someone quietly calling his name. He spun around searching franticly for the source of the voice he'd just heard. He saw no one but continued to hear a low rough voice almost moaning his name. He ran forward, hearing the voice echo off the high walls of the mountain. Sweat dropped from his head as he ran faster towards the voice. It became louder and louder as he ran. Aburptly the voice stopped and so did Aron. Not by choice, but the feeling of cold steel drape across his neck haulted his movement. Behind him stood the man who had killed Azalea. Aron, however, would not suffer the same fate, and quickly darted from under the sword and escaped the man's grip.

"I am Luke" the man spoke, lowering his sword to his side. Aron breathed heavily "You! You killed Azalea! What are you doing here?!" Luke just smiled and brushed the hair from his face "I've come to kill you..."[/CENTER][/COLOR][/FONT]

OOC: Everyones doing great. Keep it up and Reiku, you're right I expected around 4 posts, but use as many as you need.

[Meggido]

Pralle was off like a shot, no one was going to beat him. Not that carrying an oversized scyth really helped his running. It more had a habit of holding him back. He wasn't able to see where any of the others were. After a while he he came to a tree where he decided to rest. He wasn't going to get anywhere running himself into the ground. As he sat there a shadow came over the top of him. There was someone in the tree. Pralle grabbed his scyth and jumped to his feet, moving away from the tree.

[COLOR=Blue]"Hello friend,"[/COLOR] He called. [COLOR=Blue]"What's your name and what brings you here."[/COLOR]

The person jumped from the tree. They did a mid-air flip before landing on the ground. Now that the person was out of the shadow of the branches, Pralle was able to make out their appearance. The person was a girl who seemed to be no older than he was. She had obviously seen battle. A scar ran from her left eye down her cheek. She carried a katana across her back. She wore long black pants and a dark red sleeveless top. Her dark hair was tied back.

"I am Tael," She said. " And I am here for you."

[COLOR=Blue]"So you found me. What now?"[/COLOR] Pralle asked acting a bit naive.

"Now I take your life"

[COLOR=Red]"I knew you'd say that now bring it on bitch,"[/COLOR] Pralle's alt replied taking control.

"Ah the split personality. I'd heard about that," Tael said.

[COLOR=Red]"I'm not a split personality. Just one person. Now bring it on."[/COLOR]

"As you wish. Your death will be swift."

The two charged at each other.

[Redemption]

[FONT=Trebuchet MS][COLOR=#9933ff]Kira dodged one easily, moving to the side. She kept both katanas in their sheaths but she decided to strap them onto her back. Twirling around her ninja-clad opponents like a ballet dancer, Kira almost sighed to herself bored.

[i]Who the hell do these guys think they are? I mean, they can't even land one hit on me, let alone get 6 inches near me.[/i]

Her amatuer opponents slashed at her with swords, knives, kadochis, anything that was a weapon was flung, sliced or drawn at her. The astonished expressions on their faces showed through their ninja masks. How could this little girl dodge every attack without drawing either of her swords or manage to get away without a scratch? It was impossible in their eyes.

Kira smiled to herself smugly. It was easy to read their movements, therefore, she could get out of their way easily and quickly. But to inexperienced warriors, it looked like she was moving at an unbelievable speed. A small chuckle eminated from Kira as she began to enjoy toying with these idiots. She wasn't doing anything to them. It was just the pathetic attempts to claim her life were starting to get ridiciously funny.

Backflipping, Kira now stood with her back to a large trunked elm tree, an exception to the pines.
" Oh no, what are you going to me now?" Kira said sarcastically, dramatically putting her palm to her forehead in a fake faint. As her arm went up, a small knife was thrown from an unknown source and headed for the middle of Kira's palm. Hearing the knife be released, Kira was ready for it. She swiped it out of mid air, now with a look of seriousness in her eyes and dropped the knife to the ground.

" So, someone wants to play more seriously than the others. Fine. I'll rid these pests so there will be nothing interferring us," Kira said, a deadly serious tone in her voice. In a few instants, each ninja lay on the ground unconscious. Kira held her father's sword, relaxed, in her right hand. Each sword had a preferred hand - her mother's, left, and her father's, right.

" Show yourself," Kira demanded coolly. Her whole persona changed within the instance of hearing the knife be released. Now a lethal glint lit her icy blue eyes.

There was silence - absolute silence. But it was only silence for the ones who couldn't truly listen. Kira heard faint whooshs of air being moved as the mastermind behind the attack revealed themselves.

When Kira looked up into the face of the agressor, she thought she was looking in a mirror. But reality suck in, and the slight changes in the two's appearances became clear.

It was a man, approximately the same age as Kira, with long blue-mauve hair and fiery red-orange eyes. Shock must have been evident on her face because the man smirked.

" A mirror you think..." he said softly. " How interesting..."

Kira stood firm, but her thoughts were jumping around like rabbits. [i]This guy can read thoughts?[/i]

" Exactly Mayaoko. You are advanced in your training as a samurai, but, as your sensei says, you aren't a samurai just yet..." the man said again.
" Excuse me."
" Your sensei, Mr Jina Akatomo I believe. He told me a few little facts about you. Such as your ability to improve your skills when you are angered. Most warriors lose concentration in such a state. However..."

The man looked as if what he was saying was just ordinary conversation. To Kira, however, having an opponent who knows what she is capable of without witnessing first-hand was disturbing. But, her serious face didn't change a bit. The man looked at her with his red-orange eyes.

" And then, there's the ability of Ryuugan - the Dragon Eyes. It is a gift passed down from parent to child, in your case, both of your parents had it, therefore it was inevitable that you, too, would possess this rarest of warrior gifts. The ability itself is the ability to see through an opponent's attack and find their weakness almost instantly. Isn't that true?"

Kira looked at him coldly. " I think that's enough talking." Her eyes started have orange rings around them.

One of the man's eyebrows arched. " Getting agitated are we?"

" No. Just sick of pointless chit-chat. Fine. You know what I am capable of. Now how about your introduction?"

The man smiled. " Quite rude of me. I know everything about you Mayaoko, but you know nothing about me. Quite unfair. I will give you my name only, since that's where I started my search."

It was Kira's turn to arch the eyebrow. " Search? Please, spare me the drama. Name. Now."
The man clicked his tongue disapprovingly. " I know now what your sensei said was true. You are too rash, too impatient."

Without even seeing what would happen next, Kira suddenly found a katana blade underneath her chin. The man smiled.

" My name is Yuki.... Yuki Ayaoko."


[b]To be continued...[/b]

[i]Attached below is a picture of Yuki (guy).[/i][/color][/font]

[Kitty]

[color=blue][size=1]"Marr.." Rin sighed, walking down the path. Since she'd passed the area that was mangled and uprooted by the young man she'd confronted, it had been smooth sailing. The foresty area had turned into a great big plain, covering all but the path she walked on.

She wondered if Marr would come for her again, but doubted it. He had no place to hide, after all. Unless he could shrink to the size of a blade of grass and trail after her. But then he wouldn't do much damage, anyway. With Marr being less of a threat, she calmed down. The adrenaline had run its course, and now she felt the throbbing in her shoulder and the large cut on her leg.

"Shake it off," she told herself. "You won't be able to find the others if you sit down and try to wait out the pain. Which wouldn't work anyway, now that I think about it."

Having forgotten why she'd been traveling in the first place, she walked slow, and constantly looked around for her companions.

"Maybe they followed..?"

But they hadn't. And it wouldn't be to long until she remembered why she'd split up with them in the first place. But until then, she glanced over her shoulder, hoping to spot Aron or the others.

Suddenly, her memory rushed back to her and the impact hit her like a speeding locamotive.

"The race!" she shouted.

She stood silently, gaping at the plain. How could she have forgotten? Sparing no more time, she broke out into a run. But she stopped soon after, sharp pains coming from the cut on her leg.

"Damnit," she cursed.

Then she heard it. It was a howl. "A wolf? Here?" Rin laughed it off at first, but then the howl came again. Her pace quickened each time the eerie moan sounded.

Each time she heard it, it sounded louder. As if the source was coming closer. [i]'Maybe it is,'[/i] she thought silently. A shiver went down her spine as the howl came again. It was so close. Threatening and taunting her, both at the same time.

"Damnit, you stupid leg," she growled, looking down at her wound. "Damn you Marr."

The howl came again. This time so close she had to spin around to make sure it wasn't on the path behind her. "I'm in deep shit," she moaned, walking as fast as she could without pain shooting through her leg.[/size][/color]

[Heartless Me]

OOC: Reiku.. You mean Sharingan right? : ;)


Chase knew the mountains here better than any other person in the group. after all he'd spent three years of his training on the mountain. Travelling, Fighting, Surviving, Learning. When he suggested his plan of a race he had already picked his plan of action for he knew exactly which was the quickest path through the mountain range to the other side. Unfortunately, He also knew that It put him past an orc camp and a Griffon roost. Silently he sat in preparation, of course that was after the last person dissappeared behind their respective hill or corner. Past experiences knew that he had time for an hour of preparation, that was including the two combat encounters he had to factor into the race.

Closing his eyes in the butterfly position with his legs bent and bottoms of his feet togather, his elbows rested off his knees comfortably. Taking a deep breath he expanded his conciousness and felt his chakra power rise. The mystical energy started to course around his body as he picked off bits and pieces infusing the energy into certain body parts. His joints, so that they would wear longer. Leg muscles so they would be stronger for running. And eyes so that he could be more perceptive to environmental mishaps. The small remaining amounts of chakra left over he preserved for the combat situations he needed against the griffons.

Finally Chase willed himself from his higher state of conciousness. His eyes opening slowly as he took a deep breath righting himself with his normal state of mind then opening them he stretched his body. as his chest arched he looked up and smiled seeing that the sun had only moved a little bit stating he had not taken as long as he thought it would. Only about a half an hour had gone by.

Kneeling slightly he got in the sprinting position and started running full speed, which is when he noticed the string tied to his leg. When it strung straight sending him flying and landing on his arm and head he noticed that it was tied to tree trunk behind him. As he grumbled and cut himself loose he heard a small girlish chuckle.

Chase Who is there?

Before he had time to answer he felt himself being lifted off the ground helplessly and a small figure in the shadows. The only thing he could tell is the figure was about 3'8" tall and seemed to be wearing some sort of wide frilly dress.

OOC: My rival is sooo evil.....

[Kamuro]

[CENTER][COLOR=Teal][FONT=Book Antiqua]Both men stared each other down, Aron's sword drawn, he contemplated his next move. But before he could attack, Luke was gone and all he saw was a white flash darting towards him. Aron leapt from the ground the very second a sword swiped through the air where he once stood. He stumbled back, off balance from the previous attack. Once again Luke burst into a run towards his opponent. However, Aron was ready this time, and quickly parried the attack. Swords clashed and both men gritted their teeth as sparks flew. Luke jumped back in an attempt to regain himself. Aron took advantage of this and within seconds he was behind Luke, executing his speed slash attack. His sword was almost invisible as it glided through the air slicing three times hastily.

Aron jumped back and watched his opponent fall to the ground. Luke breathed heavily, the sword hadn't pierced his flesh but he was hit hard and the wind was knocked from him. "Had enough?" Aron asked with an accomplished voice. Luke slowly rose to his feet, wiping a drip of blood from his mouth "We're just beginning..."[/FONT][/COLOR][/CENTER]

OOC: Everyone is doing well, Kairi had to resign so I'll be taking care of his character accordingly. Good job everyone.

[Blayze]

[SIZE=1]Bain's pole smashed into Garrek's swords, the blades wedging into the shaft of the pole. Bain drove Garrek down onto his knees. This guy was strong, much stronger than Garrek.

Garrek flipped his legs out from under him, kicking Bain in the chest, knocking him backwards. Garrek's swords released their grip on Bain's pole, and Garrek rolled backwards onto his feet. Bain came charging at him again. This time, the pole smacked into Garrek's face, knocking him to the floor.

Bain stood over him, laughing, and said:

"Had enough yet, Garrek?"

"Nowhere near," said Garrek grimly, lying through his teeth. He couldn't take much more of this punishment. Bain was much stronger, much faster and a much better fighter than Garrek was, and Garrek knew that if he continued, then he would almost definitely lose. He flipped onto his feet, simultaneously kicking Bain in the chest again, and flipped high into the air, using Bain's chest as a springboard. He fell back to Earth, his swords ready to take Bain out, but Bain rolled out of the way at the last minute, sending Garrek's swords plunging straight into the hard ground.

"You might as well give up, Garrek," he said, seeing Garrek breathless on the floor, "You know you can't win against me. I'm much more powerful than you."

Garrek saw what was coming. A speech about how much better Bain was than him. He smiled, knowing that this was the chance he needed. He yanked his sword out of the ground, and swung it towards Bain's crotch in one fluid motion. Bain only just managed to dodge the strike, jumping backwards to avoid the blade.

He looked surprised.

"I must say, I didn't see that one coming, Garrek. Especially not from one of your kind."

"What's that supposed to mean?" asked Garrek.

"I know your kind, Garrek. They are all weak. Or should I say, they were all weak."

"What are you talking about? What have you done to them?" shouted Garrek.

"I found your people, Garrek. All of them. All the Forest People. All the Rangers. I found them all, and I killed every last one of them, trying to find you. But you turned out to be following someone from Earth instead. I am surprised at you, Garrek!"

"You killed them all? Just to try and find me? But why? Why do you want to find me?"

"That's for me to know, and you to die before you find out!" Bain pressed a switch on the shaft of his pole, and blades shot out of both ends. He jumped towards Garrek, blades flashing through the air...

(OOC: I put in a little of Garrek's history here, I hope you don't mind, kakashi. Also, attached is a picture of Bain. Yes, I know it's Raijin from Final Fantasy 8, but that's just what I imagined him to look like)[/SIZE]

[Redemption]

[FONT=Trebuchet MS][COLOR=#9933ff]Icy eyes met a fiery gaze. Both warriors were locked by each other's gaze, neither wanting to back down.

" Well, it seems you're one not to take lightly," Yuki said, glaring at her.
Kira stared back coldly. " And it seems you are not one to have an honorable fight."

She slowly got to her feet, her eyes never quiverring from the two's locked gaze. Yuki smirked.
" That was a bit harsh. But, you are like your eyes, harsh and cruel as ice."
" I'll take that as a compliment."

An instant passed and Yuki suddenly found a katana under his chin. There was a look of surprise on his face at first, but it soon turned to glee.

" I'm impressed."
" Give me an inch, and I'll take a mile," Kira replied. The two were now on even grounds. " Shall we start? I'm getting rather tired of just standing here."
Yuki smiled. " Agreed. This shall be an honorable duel."
" Very well."

The two lowered their weapons at the same time and made preparations for the duel. Kira took off her overcoat and mediatated for a few minutes, focusing herself. Yuki made sure his clothing wasn't restricting any of his movements as he half-showed off his style of swordsmanship. However, he was disappointed to learn that Kira was completely ignoring him.

After a few minutes passed, the two faced each other, katanas at their sides.
" Rules?" Yuki asked.
" Only those of the samurai code," Kira replied.
" Deciding a winner?"
" The last one standing."
" Very well."

All of a sudden, the two disappeared. Random clashes of swords were heard in the clearing the two found in. Their speed was god-like, impossible to see with an untrained eye. And, even if it is was trained, they would have difficulty keeping up with their unfathomable pace. You could see glimpses of the glimmer of the katanas clashing when the moonlight caught the blades.

[b]To be continued...[/b][/color][/font]

[Heartless Me]

Reada stared into the shadows at the figure as it emerged to show a.. little girl? That's right, as though she were straight out of a childs nursery rhyme she looked no older than eight or nine years old. The young girl had long curly blond hair so thick that it looked like a sword couldn't chop through it, the tresses layed long over her back straight down to her knees. She wore a frilly wide bottom pink dress and had cute rosey little cheeks. The only thing that wouldn't show off that she really was an innocent little girl was the red tint to her green eyes. Reada tried throwing a star at the little demon child but with a flick of her wrist the shuriken was thrown off course by some unknown force the girl controlled.

'what is going on, i dont understand'

Reada muttered staring at the girl as she let out a small wicked girlish laugh.

"You needn't understand anything except that you are going to die. Daddy wants you to die so I am going to do it and make daddy happy."

He looked at the little girl strangely and frowned. For the first time in his life he was genuinely helpless. He couldn't fight her because she deflected his attacks, he had no ranged magic powers yet and he couldn't run because she had seemed to cast some variation of float spell on him. Exasperated he looked at the girl and frowned.

'Well if you are going to kill me then do it and don't waste time on explanations.'

"If you are that eager to die."

With that reada felt his body whip into the side of the mountain along with the crushing of bones. A loud pained scream erupted from Chase's lips as before he was finished crying out he felt himself zip thorugh the air again and crash into the tree next to the girl. and dropping him to the ground, bruised and beaten within an inch of his life.

"Well I would love to finish you off but Daddy is calling me. It was fun playing with you."

With a giggle she steps back into the shadows again, her right wrist sparkles and she's gone.

[Redemption]

[FONT=Trebuchet MS][COLOR=#9933ff]Clash after clash echoed through the night air. Kira and Yuki glared at each other silently as their swords did the talking between them. Kira used her newly found ability of Teleportation to dodge Yuki's well-aimed slashes. The two weaved and dodged each other's attacks until they both appeared immediately.

Both were panting heavily. Their skills were evenly matched. Neither could get the advantage over the other in a fair fight. Kira stood, breathing heavily. Yuki was bent over, but a smile creased his lips.

" Well, this does present a problem."
Kira looked at him, a steely glint in her eyes. " Indeed it is."
Yuki looked up at Kira who had now fully recovered. He too had recovered. " It seems that neither of us have been using our full abilities. How about we raise the bar?"
Kira glared at him. " You sure you want to taste the dirt?"
" I believe you re mistaken. You will be the one who will be face down on the ground."
" Words are just words Yuki. Actions speak louder."
" Agreed."

Kira's eyes began to turn a deep sunset orange, accompanied by red flecks. They looked glazed over as if they were windows. Her whole presence seemed to become more menacing, more swordsman-like. Yuki took a step back when he saw her eyes. They were the most horrifying thing he had ever seen. Kira held her katana, ready to start. Yuki took up his katana shakily.

" You should be scared, Yuki," Kira said, her voice almost like a growl of a preying tiger.

She attacked.

In an instant, Yuki found himself flat on the ground with Kira's katana under his chin. His eyes were wide with horror. He didn't even see her start her attack, let alone finish it. Her katana glistened in the moonlight.

" Never underestimate an opponent. That lesson was taught to me by a man I have to defeat. Now, you're in my way."

Yuki sniggered. " You're the one who underestimated your opponent." He looked up with icy-blue eyes with white flecks in them. And they had the same glazed over look as Kira's. Kira stumbled back.

Yuki got to his feet. " It seems you still haven't learnt that lesson."

Kira regained her composure. " So, you have the ability of Ryuugan too. Then let's go. I want to test myself against you."

Yuki smiled. " I thought you'd never say that. This is exciting!"

Two flamings auras built up around the two samurai - Kira's white, Yuki's icy blue.

[center]------------------------------[/center]

Meanwhile, from the darkness, Yuri Rein watched the two samurai manifest their swordsman spirits within themselves. He watched with interest as this new foe pushed Kira to use her now trained Ryuugan. Yuri was a calculating type of guy, so he wanted to know about his opponent, who had trained non-stop since their first meeting, just for the purpose that she could defeat him. He found it slightly amusing.

However, now Yuri realised that she may have surpassed him in ability. But she was pushing herself beyond her physical limits at this stage. That concerned him. Yuki seemed much better in technique and ability, but Kira had the raw talents of a samurai - something Yuri had yet to see from Yuki. Yuri had been watching the fight all along, and he knew Kira felt his presence. Was that why she was pushing herself? No. Like any true warrior who met a stronger opponent, it was only natural to push themselves to the brink of life and death.

[center]------------------------------[/center]

Yuki suddenly looked over to the side, where Yuri stood.
" It seems we have a visitor."

Quicker than lightning, he threw a throwing knife at Yuri, who dodged it with relative ease, revealing himself. Walking out to join the two, he froze for a second, the two sets of Ryuugan eyes now upon him. It felt like a bucket of ice cold water was poured over his head. He shivered slightly before regaining his composure.

" Yuri Rein, ex-Commander of the Knights of Adrae. There seems to be a price on your head for treason," Yuki said, his gaze firmly on Yuri.
Yuri smiled. " I suspected as such."
" So, what are you doing interrupting our fight? It was quite enjoyable without your interference."
" I was merely watching how Kira was progressing in her training since our first meeting."
" Ah. A history between you two? I'm rather jealous."
" Heh. Don't be."

While the two men talked, Kira grew more and more infuriated. How dare Yuri interfere with their match! It was theirs, and theirs alone. It was just like him. Her flaming aura increase in feriocity. This wasn't what Kira wanted to do. Her power was starting to increase tenfold, however, her control over it was become lesser. Soon, she wasn't in control of her body, Ryuugan was.

With a loud warcry, Kira attacked. She now unsheathed her second katana and took both Yuri and Yuki on. Both men were taken by surprise. Her ability was becoming like her Sensei's - all-powerful and unforgiving. Yuri and Yuki took heavy damage, their clothes becoming tattered and their bodies being treated as if they were at a butcher.

Soon, both were under the mercy of Kira's blades. All were breathing heavily. Kira's eyes looked pure evil. She stood there, panting, but as still as death. Her grip was firm on her blades.

" Even with my use of Ryuugan, I was yet to defeat her. How amusing," Yuki remarked.
Yuri just looked at Kira, ignoring Yuki's comments. [i]So this was Ryuugan at it's most lethal, its most uncontrollable. Unable to differentiate between friend and foe. Even against the two of us, she was unstoppable.[/i]

" She's about to finish us," Yuki said quietly. It seemed like he was scheming something.

Kira lunged forward for the finishing blow. Yuki, using his Ryuugan, dodged it. However, Yuri wasn't as lucky.

The blow was aimed at their throats. But Yuri dodged, and instead, it pierced his heart. He gagged, blood frothing at his mouth. Yuki thought he had his chance and slashed at Kira. Miraciously, she blocked it behind her back, using her free katana. Yuki jumped back.

" It does seem I've underestimated you. Next time, I won't be so unprepared." With that, he vanished.

Kira dropped to her knees, her Ryuugan finally giving her back the control to her body. Her first sight was seeing Yuri dying. Tears started to leak out of her eyes. She scrambled over to him, laying his head in her lap.

" Looks... like you... defeated me..." Yuri coughed. Tears splashed onto his cheek from above.
" No I didn't. It wasn't a fair fight. I didn't beat you," Kira cried.
Yuri coughed some more, blood again frothing at his mouth. He smiled weakly. " Fair or not... you defeated me..."
" Yuri... I'm so sorry..."
" There's nothing... to be sorry for... I died like a warrior... and by the hand of... the one who said... she would defeat me... I couldn't... ask for more than... that."

[center]----------------------------------------[/center]

[i]That day, it felt like I won something, but in return, lost somethings else that were more important.

I buried Yuri at the summit of the mountain range where my path led. I found the most beautiful headstone I could and carved remembering words into it. Every traveller that would pass by would stop to read those sorrowful words.[/i]

[center][b]Yuri Rein
Commander of the Knights of Adrae
A man who died a warrior's death by the hands of the one who vowed to defeat him from the beginning, the one who loved him from the beginning.

May he rest in peace.[/b][/center]

DONE[/font][/color]

[Kamuro]

[CENTER][COLOR=Teal][FONT=Book Antiqua]Luke and Aron stood still once again, neither showing any real wounds besides the slight blood dripping from Luke's mouth. He began to laugh loudly as Aron watched on curiously "What are you laughing for?! Finally give up?!" Luke sighed, a smile draped across his face "Quite the contrary. You, Aron, are a fool, and have power so far from my own its unfathomable. Your little tricks won't defeat me, I am superior."

Aron gritted his teeth and ran towards his adversary, swingly briskly through the air. The swords met right before his eyes, cold steel scraping together in metallic harmony. Luke returned with an attack of his own, a barrage of sword blows, each striking Aron in the chest, leaving several indentations which began to seep blood on impact. His vest turned from a light blue to a dark crimson red as he fell to the ground, gasping for breath. His hand rose to his chest, becoming encased in his own blood he punched the ground in anger, his knuckles soft to the touch.

Slowly rising to his feet he regained his balance, stumbling slightly. Luke began to laugh once again "Why don't you just surrender already, theres no point in continuing this, you can't win." "Shut up!" shouted Aron, frustrated and annoyed by the situation. [I]I have to do this, for me, and for Azalea. What would she think? Watching me get my ass beat like this...[/I] he thought to himself. However, his thoughts were interrupted by a screaming Luke sprinting towards him, sword in hand. But just before they engaged Luke's scream was met by that of Aron's, and he dropped to the ground instantly.

Dust and rocks rose from the ground, spinning around Aron rapidly as he continued his mind-numbing scream. Luke watched on in amazement, unsure of what was happening. Within the core of the cyclone Aron felt himself changing, he had initiated his Battle Cry technique. He felt his muscles expanding slightly and he clenched his fist, feeling the power course through him. [I]It's my turn...[/I] [/FONT] [/COLOR] [/CENTER]

[Blayze]

[SIZE=1]Garrek's swords smashed against the blades on the ends of Bain's pole, and again. The blades crashed against each other, the sound ringing across the forest. Garrek blocked Bain's strikes with hardly any distance between them. The blades pushed closer and closer to Garrek's throat, his swords barely keeping them from slicing through the flesh of his neck. Sweat beaded on Garrek's forehead, and he stared into the face of his foe. His eyes lit up, and he remembered something he had picked up in Hunds.

He concentrated hard on the image of Bain's face bearing down upon him, and closed his eyes, almost entering into a meditative state. He floated around in his own consciousness for a while, working out how to put his purchase to best use.

Then, his eyes flicked open, and his hands crackled with power. His eyes turned lightning-blue, and a pulse of pure electrical energy blasted out from Garrek's body, throwing Bain backwards. He smashed into a young sapling, which shattered into splinters. Garrek flinched, feeling pain shoot through his body. It passed after a second, and he got to his feet. He walked over to where Bain was lying, but he was no longer there, leaving instead a trail of debris and shattered wood.

Garrek sheathed his swords, and jumped back into the trees, swinging and jumping from tree to tree, until he stopped halfway through a jump. His side started hurting immensely, and he dropped from the tree-top to the ground, landing hard on his back. He lifted his shirt, and found a rib sticking through the skin, with blood dribbling down his chest. Blood soaked his shirt, and he felt dizzy. He passed out on the floor, lying there until someone found him...[/SIZE]

[Heartless Me]

Beaten and broken Chase lay on the ground his body barely able to move, mind in a daze. His hazey eyes stared off blood mixing with moisture in his eyes as he lay there trying to compute just what happened. He knew he was attacked by a young girl but not how or why especially since she never touched him. The little demonic child just looked at him and he took a very violent trip into a mountainside. Slowly he began to use what chakra he had left over to enter his metitation trance again drawing upon his deep seeded memories to the talk of his original sensei.

"some day, my student. You will come across a foe that you will not be able to defeat by might alone. That is when you must outsmart your opponant. Perhaps their armor protects them totally. Then use that armor against them. Maybe they use strange mind powers to make themselve's untouchable. If so, then you have to trick them or distract them long enough for you to be able to hit them. Remember the ten percent rule. If you are ten percent smarter than your foe you'll always stay at least one step ahead of them."

'Yes sensei, I understand. One question sensei..? What if they are too strong or too smart or both?'

The dojo master stopped and looked up giving him a very serious glare. His steel grey eyes seemed to pierce through the young Chase's soul sending a shiver down his spin. Stroking his long thin white beard he opened his mind to speak.

"Then you better hope by buddha's good grace you have alot of friends, or an opening for a hasty retreat."

Slowly the vision faded as he searched his memories for more information that could help him. After a moment something came into view, a scene where he and the sensei were sittign in the middle of the dojo during a tea ceremony honoring the gods.

"Tommorow, you go out on your first mission. When you first came to me you were just a snot nosed kid. Now look at you, almost a fully growned ninja. I am proud of you Chase."

Chases eyes lit with pride he kept a serious composure with only the slightest hint of a smile. Giving a low bow excepting the tea cup and holding it in both hands.

"Thank you sensei, I will always honor and remember you're words."

'Chase, I have a gift for you. But only use them when you have need for this gift is few and far between.'

The ancient monk reached into his robes and seemed to be searching for something as the young ninja held the tea cup still. Slowly as if attempting to draw anticipation he drew his hand from the robes pulling out two small golden leaves.

"This is a very special leaf from a very special tree. It's highly magical and has powerful healing qualities. When you eat the leaf, NOT the stem. All bones in your body will be instantly healed and wounds will fade into nothingness. In addition to all of this, it draws out your souls potential restoring your chakra completely. Beware, however, because this draws on your bodies natural state so in essense shortening your life some to heal you now."

Chase's eyes widen at the small golden leaves before drinking the tea in the cup and setting it down. Sensei gave a nod and bow extending the leaves. Chase returned the bow recieving the leaves.

'Thank you sensei I will make sure they serve me well.'

Then the ninja's eyes snapped open. He left the trance just as quickly as he entered it and found himself able to move at least somewhat.

'the leaf! where did i put it?'

Instantly his hand went to the locket he had around his neck under his suit, the one with his mother and fathers picture inside it and opened it... there were two small leaves folded neatly within. Slowly taking one out he removed the stem as his sensei had warned him and placed the small leaf in his mouth. As soon as he began to chew it, the leaves power released into his body, the healing process was quick. bones mended and healed producing more bone for the ones that shattered the pieces being absorbed by his body, wounds quickly healing and fading scarless. He felt a warm softness growing in his heart as his magical energies began to refill. Before he knew it, Chase was back up to full strength and ready to go.

Dropping down to one knee he went through his motions again but this time puting more energy into his speed and legs than anything else... This ninja knew the mountains better than anyone and that little girl wasn't going to keep her from his victory!

[Kamuro]

[COLOR=Teal][FONT=Book Antiqua]Aron burst from the cyclone of dirt around him towards his enemy. Debris flew through the air and Luke was almost blind as Aron's sword struck his shoulder, slicing through clothes as well as skin. Luke fell to the ground gripping his wound as blood began to flow from. Aron returned to the ground and turned to his opponent who knelt and winced in pain. Luke rose, roaring and sprinting towards Aron. Again swords swung rapidly, almost invisible as they clashed in the air. Aron's power had increased greatly and Luke was angry at his own underestimation of his opponent.

He jumped back breathing heavily. His shoulder seeped even more blood, staining his shirt falling to the ground blending with dirt and causing a dark crimson color to emerge. He shook off the pain and ran towards Aron, who sheathed his sword immediately and swung his fist towards Luke. His gloved hand pounded Luke's face and his sword flew through the air landing a number of feet away from him. He fell to the ground, Aron almost immediately jumping on top of him. He straddled his opponent and struck his face wildly. Blood and spit shot in every direction as Aron's onslaught continued. With all his might he swung, his knuckles hardening under his rough gloves.

Luke attempted to regain himself, kicking Aron to the ground and running to his sword. However, he stopped abruptly before reaching it. He turned to Aron and laughed, blood and cuts covering his face. "We'll continue this later, my job is done." And with that he disappeared.

DONE[/FONT][/COLOR]

OOC: I'm done with my series. When your finished your series of posts please post "DONE" at the end so I know you're done. If you've finished already just go back and edit. Thanks everyone, its going well.

[Blayze]

[SIZE=1]Garrek coughed and spluttered into consciousness, his chest crying out in pain where the rib had punctured the skin. He knew he had to set the bone back into place, otherwise he could run the risk of becoming completely crippled.

He grabbed the bone, a weird, tingling sensation runnning through his chest, and after a couple of seconds' wait, he wrenched the bone round, snapping it back into his chest. It was roughly in the right place, and would do until he could get proper medical attention. He screamed in pain as the feeling washed over him, and he could barely stand, struggling to his feet shakily.

He began to walk slowly towards where he was headed, where hopefully someone would be able to cure him. He stumbled along, stopping every few seconds due to immens pain in his chest, and carried on his journey in this fashion for a little while...

DONE[/SIZE]

[Heartless Me]

Sprinting with all his might he lept over large rocks with ease, Chase nimbly evaded fallen branches from dead trees. Even the sharp turn ahead didn't slow him down. With a slight change of angle he was running toward the outer chasm wall leaping several feet away from it, after a flip he placed his feet on the mountainside and lept off of it pushing off to the other side of the corner on the outside. Landing at half the height he pushed off again landing on the ground facing the new direction down the continued path. The whole maneuver took a matter of seconds. That's right, A sharp turn in the chasm wasn't going to slow him down, A camp of orcs on the other hand... That was more tricky.

One of the ogres stood up after noticing the black clad man and yelled something in orcish. the rest grabbed their weapons and started to get up. There were five in all... four in all, Chase counted as he buried a Shuriken into the back of the neck of one of them dropping it immediately. Another one nearby started to chant, it looked like some kind of shaman but had black robes. Groaning with disgust Chase Tossed another shuriken at a charging orc catching the large green humanoid in the leg. Chase was outnumbered but he was alot smarter than a bunch of dumb greenskins.

The two uninjured ones met him first, the one on the left which was wielding a blood crusted axe was quickly felled by an upward slash from his katana. The other however he couldn't turn fast enough to avoid or counterstrike an attack with a large club. The log almost as large as he is clashed into his body sending him reeling into the wall where he crumpled.

When he awoken he'd noticed he was left on the floor though weaponless the orcs seemed to be preparing a large pot. Looking into the sky Chase knew by the position of the sun that not much time had gone by. He thanked the gods that orcs were dumb and didn't know that a ninja was just as lethal without his weapons as he is with them. Putting his hands togather in a short series of runic gestures he whispers the word "multiply" pulling on the skill he just lurned to replicate illusions of himself. After that he willed the illusions to create a diversion for him. SLowly and silently he got up and slid into the shadows while the illusions started jumping up and down creating their diversion. one even went as far as to yell out. That got their attention. The started to scramble again but one was knocked silly by a hit in the head wiht a stone. Chase zipped from the shadows driving his elbow into the gut of one of the orcs causing it to double over. When his face was in range he proceeded to drive his nose into his brain with an open palmed strike. Grabbing the club the dead on his feet orc dropped he swung wildly at a second approaching orc knocking him over but not hurting the creature.

A split second survey showed him where his weapons were and in a blinks time he was on top of them snatching a star and throwing it at the shaman targeting his neck in midspell. Grabbing his sword from the pile of weapons he spun around to face the orc coming apon him with bare hambone hands only to run himself onto Chase's blade. Cursing his carelessness and waste of time he grabbed what few supplies he had left and bursted again at full speed but keeping mind to remember where that griffin roost was.

An indeterminable amount of time later he seen a shadow flying overhead... He knew that One griffin would be too much for him let alone it's mate as well so he stayed to the shadows. Whenever the griffon made a circle over the chasm he entered the shadows outside of the creatures range of vision. This was time consuming but safer and being a ninja helped him keep silent while doing so as not to alert any threat that may be ground side say perhaps a hunting griffon pup.

After passing the griffons hunting ground and nesting area he only had one more test to pass. The bottomless gap. He was always afraid to leap it as a child growing up because it was so wide and he was young but he knew if he had any hope of winning this race than he'd have to make it now, after all he wasn't going to back track all this way. Turning the corner about a fields lenght ahead he saw the gap. It was nearly five meters across and spanned both sides of the pathway making the only way across to jump it. Chase stopped and took a deep breath. He envisioned the path and his abilities. He's made three meter jumps and a four meter jump but never has he cleared fifteen feet. Then he got inspiration. Thinking back to earlier he remembered what got him into trouble earlier and thought that this time it just might save him.

With a grunt and a push off he sprinted towards the gap chasm inside the mountain path, one foot infront of the other pushing himself faster and faster, focusing his chakra into his knees and legs drawing himself past the limits of his speed and then he jumps. but not across the chasm, at the wall, just as he did earlier he lept nearly six feet into the air alone and landed on the wall, the chakra aligned to his feet giving a slight adhesion with just enough strength with the momentum he had built from the run to push off, launching himself like a bird takes flight toward the other side of the chasm. At that point it almost feels like time slows for Chase, his blue eyes looking down into the hole as he seemingly glides over it approaching the other side. Even before he knew it the ground reappeared underneath him and time sped up to catch with him, before his body to could react to his mind yelling ROLL! he hit the ground with several feet to spare, unfortunately feeling the ground connect with his legs at the speed and force he was travelling was too much, there was a loud popping noise with a ripping sound and Chase felt his fractured leg bone rip out through his calf muscle.

The ninja let out a hellish cry and rolled to a stop grabbing his leg at the knee. Chase had no potions. there was noone here to help him. He only had one alternative, he knew he didn't want to die here and he didn't want to use the other leaf now but he had no choice. His quivering hand went to open the locket again as he felt himself go into shock from blood loss. Looking down at his wound he slide the last of the two leaves into his mouth biting it off at the stem and felt the accursed rejuvination go to work draining his time on this plane in exchange for his health. Anyone watching might be both amazed and disgusted at the sight of the bone melting off where it was exposed to the air. The plant taking the easiest and most direct course in rebuilding his body getting rid of unecessary parts, the wound pressing out several bone chips as it closes. The wierdest feeling however was the painless sensation of a regrowing bone. He felt his limp leg expand and harden the lower and upper parts of the legbone reconnecting with a fresh center piece. Waiting a moment after it seemed fully healed chase suprising himself got to his feet.

'I made it, I actually made it! I cleared the gap!'

Turning around his hope restored, ego boosted, and health imbued he turned the next corner approaching the exit. Nothing was going to stop him now!

DONE.

[Kitty]

[color=blue][size=1]OOC: Sorry it took so long for me to post! My access to the computer has been limited all weekend, and might continue to be all week (but hopefully not). I'll post as much as possible, but I wanted to let you all know. ^_^;;
--

The howling continued, growing louder each time. Rin had stopped in her tracks, attempting to locate the source of the frightening calls. But it was no use. Everytime she thought she knew where it was coming from, the next time it sounded as if it had come from a completely different direction.

"Damnit," she grunted in frustration.

The pain in her leg was beginning to subside, but only because she was standing still. The moment she tried to turn around and begin walking again, both the howl and the pain stopped her.

"Stupid Marr," she mumbled.

Up ahead, she could just make out the shape of trees. They were dense, and seemed to appear out of nowhere, just as this large grassy plain had appeared out of nowhere. The only constant of this area was the path. And even that wiggled around oddly.

The howling subsided, and she felt safe. The rest of Rin's walk to the edge of the forest was silent, other than the sound of the wind blowing through the grass. It was calming. With all the other shit that had been going on, this was some of the most relaxation she had gotten in the past few days. As she reached the edge of the tree-infested area, she looked in. She spotted a few tails and a bird or two, but nothing much.

"Maybe I was just imagening the howls," she told herself. But as soon as she took a step inside the foresty area, the howl picked up again. It was far off, but still very loud. Her pace picked up, and she walked as fast as she could without feeling too much pain in her leg.

Suddenly, she heard the sound of many footsteps. She spun around, but saw nothing. Turning to her left, she expected to see a pack of dogs bounding her way, but again, saw nothing. She cursed fiercely under her breath, then turned to run.

The pain in her leg was sharp now, and made her eyes tear up. But she knew standing around or walking slowly would get her killed.

But what bothered her the most was what was howling, and how it managed to avoid being located. Normally, she would have been able to figure out where the source was hidden based on the direction of the noise, yet the source in this case was masterfully hidden. Frustrating her further, she was loosing energy quick, and the howls followed her the entire way.

[i]'I have to find the others,'[/i] she thought anxiously.

"Hello.. Rin."

She froze. She slowly placed her right foot back on the ground, wincing a bit as the same shiver of pain zipped from her leg to her brain.

"Meet Vin."

Though she was still not facing Marr, she knew he was smiling. He was the type to grin uncontrollably at the misfortune of his prey. Rin knew that he'd done this many times before. He had been toying with her during their previous engagement.

"Bastard," she spat, spinning around. At Marr's feet sat a large wolf, though its features were more fox-like. His lip curled to reveal shimmering teeth, sharp enough to pierce almost anything Rin could have used to defend herself.

"How'd you do it?" she asked immediately.

"How'd I do what?" he asked with fake surprise, unable to hide his grin.

"Hide yourselves, amplify the sound of your footsteps, and change the volume of this mutt's howl so that it sounded as if he was a mile away one moment, and right behind me the next?"

Rin took a breath after her long question, and waited for an answer. But Marr didn't feel like being nice and telling her. Instead, he made a small gesture, one that most wouldn't be able to see, towards his pet. Rin's back foot scraped along the ground behind her as she readied herself for an attack from 'Vin'.

But it didn't come from where she thought it would.

A few moments after Marr had gestured, Vin leapt forward. Instinctively, Rin grabbed her sword and pulled it out in front of her. As soon as her sword was out and ready and she took a step forward to block, however, Vin disappeared like a puff of smoke.

"What the--?" she began, but was cut off by a strong force that sent her forward onto the ground. Luckily, she didn't land on her sword, or else it would've gone straight through her head. She rolled onto her back and scanned for her attacker. It was none other than Vin, who sat calmly with his tail wagging.

"Stupid dog," she spat, getting up.

"Ah ah ah," Marr's taunting voice snuck into her ear. "He doesn't like being called a dog."

"Bite me," Rin said calmly, holding her sword out again.

"You heard her Vin," Marr chuckled. Though her eyes were not on Marr, she knew he made a small motion with his hands because no sooner had he said "Vin", the wolf was bounding her way.

But this time, she did not take a step forward. She merely held out her weapon and waited for Vin to try disappearing again.

Disappear he did, but she jumped seconds after, and saw Vin lunge forward where she had been moments before. "Brat. Can't you stay put," she heard Marr grumble as she landed. The moment her leg returned to the ground, she barely managed to stifle a loud yelp.

[i]'Okay. Jumping. Bad,'[/i] she thought sarcastically in her head.

Vin got to his feet and shook off his fur before looking to Marr for direction. "Give him another order," Rin barked. Marr was silent. "If you say so," he sighed after a long pause.

More gestures, and Vin was on the attack again. "Die mutt!" Rin shouted as she leapt forward. Vin, while limber, was too slow, and fell victim to the large blade. It lodged in his gut, and he fell to the floor in whines and howls of pain.

She turned to Marr, and expected to see him with a look of shock or sadness on his face. But he was completely calm, and his face still had that same annoying smirk on it.

"You're a prick," she growled through clenched teeth.

"Heh. I know," he smiled back.

Marr pulled out a pair of knives that he hadn't used in their previous encounter and wasted no time. Almost immediatly, he sent one screaming past Rin's head.

"DUDE!" she shouted at him. He seemed taken aback by the new word. "What the HELL was THAT?! Are you [i]insane[/i]?!"

Her new-self- the warrior, swift, cunning and tactful- was suddenly replaced by her old-self- irritable, loud, and clumsy. It was surprising that she already had two ways of acting already, having only been there a few days, and only having her weapon for one.

"I can't believe you tried to [i]take off my face[/i]," she screamed, putting emphasis on the last part of the phrase. Startled and confused, Marr stood, mouth agape, staring at her, listening to her rant.

--
OOC (2): I'm not quite finished yet. I'll finish their battle in my next post. Hope you don't mind that I'm so slow! ^_^;[/size][/color]

[Kamuro]

[FONT=Book Antiqua][COLOR=Teal][CENTER][SIZE=4]Chapter 4[/SIZE]

[SIZE=3]Flora Time[/SIZE]
Aron walked along the dirt path towards the other side of the mountain. He winced with each step, the blood seeping from his wounds and falling to the ground through his tattered clothes. As he approached the end of his journey he stood up straight, putting on a confident face as the others watched him walk. He surveyed the team, everyone was there, it seemed as though he'd lost the race. He sighed, after all he went through he didn't even win.

After further observation, he realized Yuri was missing. "Has anyone seen Yuri?" he asked inquisitively. Silence struck the group and everyone stood still except Kira, who stepped forward. "Hes dead, I came across someone along the road, he killed him." she spoke calmly. Aron was suspicious, but there was nothing he could do. He sighed "Another lost soul, our journey will have many casualties, but we must press forward. I'm counting on all of you. Protect each other." Everyone nodded and looked at each other in agreement.

Aron noticed how tired everyone looked after the long trek over the mountain. Dunn had taken quite a bit out of them and he suggested they take a short walk to Kiko to stay the night before continuing to Tresora. Everyone agreed and as they walked the path each person shared the events of their journey over the mountain. It seemed as though everyone had met a "rival," as they called them, on their travels. Aron wasn't quite sure why anyone would be opposed to their quest to find a way home, but he hoped to learn more when they reached Tresora.

As they approached Kiko through the trees Aron stopped, haulting the group "I smell smoke..." he spoke quietly. The rest of the team began to sniff and agreed with him, the forest air was muffled by a fire of some sort. [I]We'll continue this later, my job is done[/I] he recalled the words of Luke. [I]Kiko![/I] exploded in his man as he ran in the direction of the town. He shoved branches and vines out of his way as he burst from the forest to the surrounding plains of Kiko. The first thing he saw was the raging fire engulfing the town. He stood and stared in amazement, the others behind him, as cinders flew through the air and people ran wildly from the flames.

- - -

Ok everyone, Reiku is the winner of the trip over the mountain and she'll get her prize when reach Tresora. The rest of you did quite well and I might have something in store for you too *winks*. We won't be able to rest at Kiko since its been destroyed. The next series of posts will surround our walk from Kiko to Tresora. Don't be afraid to interact with each other as well as the people from Kiko if you like. The walk between towns is mildly long, however its quite dangerous. Tresora is an immensely large kingdom surrounded by canyons and gorges making it difficult to get to. Keep this in mind as you travel. Also, everyone will be quite tired and worn out from the previous journey, so don't go to hard, or you might just run out of energy. If you hadn't finished the Mountains of Dunn quest then you may do so in your first post of this chapter, seperating it from current events. Have fun with this part, this plenty of time for character interaction and development, so go wild. I expect about 2-3 posts per person. Thanks.[/CENTER][/COLOR][/FONT]