Serious: Anubis and Kiya clash again , the land that isnt there, the Isle of Tyria ((Closed to only cryptic and nikz))

[DEAMONBEAST]

Kiana's blood races with fury as she watched the battle. Every second she wanted to step in, to take the blows, to do anything ... but she couldn't. This was not her battle and to interfere would bring dishonor them all. She would sacrifice her own but not his... it was not hers to give up.
Mixed with rage, her brows were knitted with worry - what was wrong with Satoshi? It looked as though the Nightingale creature wasn't even trying but he was getting the better of Satoshi. She wasn't believing what she was seeing - it was as though Satoshi was holding back but everything seemed correct. Who was this monster? Something was very wrong ...
Every strike made her more nervous as Satoshi's strikes caused no damage and he was repeatedly victimized by the bizarre and unorthodox movements of this strange and dangerous creature. His words troubled her ... lost instinct? Robbing senses? Fallen sight? An audible gasp escaped her as, in slow motion, she saw every moment of the arcing slash that made contact with Satoshi's face.
She doesn't remember moving... or even deciding to. Steam rose from her body, almost creating a mist cloud as she stood there with quickened breath. I white glow was seen behind the mist as her eyes flickered with heat, pupils no longer visible ... the blades in her hands glowed with similar ferocity. Her superheated skin sizzled as every surrounding bit of moisture in the surrounding air was vaporized against it. Her voice was a sort of an unnatural cracking growl "... what have you done ..." Her blades were at the ready and her patience was at an end. Something horrible had just happened and she could stand no more. Her rage was unchained and not even her worry could tame her at the moment.

[SANDFLAME]

Kiya snaked through the cave along with Anubis, carefully avoiding the offending rocks. As they neared the sound which she wasn't entirely concerned about, she chattered on. It already knew where they were so there was no point in silence. "At last - interesting company approaches. I was growing wary of your monotony. Speaking of which, what are we going to do when we get out of here? We have to inhabit the same territory for a time - we can't afford to fight each other. I ... find you to be an insufferable plague to endure and I'm sure the sentiment is mutual ... but we have to get along or at least not kill each other. I'll give you the resources you require, simply in exchange for never having to be with 100 yards of you ... if we survive this. Bloody Yonkou."
As they approached the creature, her clear emerald eyes took in the sight. She raised a brow quizzically at Anubis. "...and just what ... in hell... is that? ... a mythical canine? Prehistoric? Damnit ... every where there is a decent supply of sandstone there is always some sort of hideous annoyance, such as this, lurking in wait. ... always a bloody catch."
She sighs, exasperated and annoyed. Not sure why Anubis decided that now would be a great time to play in the dirt, she steps forward. And audible sound is heard a flash of fire and bone extends from beneath her wrist with lighting speed - a hinged claw-harpoon made razor-sharp sea king spine bones, each coated in a different element and all drenched in flame launch forward, connected to a chain attached with a torsion retraction device. The clawed points launch at the creatures chest hoping to embed and either draw it to her or the other way around. Either way, her other hand had a nasty surprise in wait.

[WOG]

Facon may have been in hell. Were these people part of the mutiny or were they just morons?! Why in hell were they laughing? She felt like she was on another plain of reality. Falcon stared blankly ahead before she realized she was being spoken to -- someone was asking her an aimless inane question. Yes. She was definitely in hell. "I am your commanding officer and you will not address me as ma'am. My tenure is none of your concern and more importantly, is not relevant nor important at this juncture. If you want to take your green ass back to the ship's study to read the bios of all of the officers, be my guest - perhaps you can have a coffee and have small talk with someone who isn't on a mission and simultaneously trying to track a rogue agent. Don't bother coming back either. Be useful or be gone."
The birds? That idiot made it sound like this was a damn aviary and he was a tourist. Where was HQ getting these kids?! - quality was at an all time low for the organization - everyone saw it but no one said anything. Small wonder there was a rogue agent - and where there was one, there would be more. Had Eagle really come out of that golden age of talent? What in hell happened to him? ... what happened to all of them? ... trying to hunt a Yonkuo and a mob boss may not have been the best idea at this point. Eagle had to be hiding something. No way a train wreck this big would just happen.

[DemonBeast]

Nightingale felt the heat , the girl was eminating it so strongly, her hatred and her anger. Nightingale knew those feelings well. Nightingale lifted up his blade and swished it, making the blood splatter onto the trees from it. He then sheathed his sword, and began walking away, past Kiana , leaving Satoshi on the ground "Your actually quite lucky today, the woman has shown enough affection for you to live on, i will give you two days to sharpen your fangs, cause as you are now, you are fangless, and a fangless beast has no way of beating a bird with sharp talons, ive already prepared your grave, there are ruins to the east of this island, remember, i will only give you two days, if you decide to run away, keep this in mind, if you decide to do something stupid like that , ill hunt down the woman, and kill her , do not mistake me for a kind man....." As Nightingale walked past the trees and past the falls, he wondered why he did not kill Satoshi then and there, why did he spare him, was it pity? No it couldnt be pity, pity was something few in his profession could afford for anyone. Nightingale held his head, it must have been the womans anger. It was too familiar for him. All too familiar from his memories. A woman standing over him, protecting him as a child with a sword. The woman he knew as his mother. Nightingale needed these two days to rid himself of these feelings, the hesitation he felt when the girl reacted. He had to rid himself of it.

[[SandFlame]]
Anubis held the ground, trying to soak up the fluids in the surrounding area so he could use his power without being weakened, but this left him exposed. Anubis trusted the fact that Kiya would be there, and sure enough she began her attack.Anubis saw what a impressive looking weapon she had and couldnt help but grin. The weapon was intimidating enough to be considered a true weapon of horror with its style.
The beast felt the claws sink into his shoulder as he barged downwards so that it wouldnt hit its chest. The creature felt the pain, and roared as it bared its teeth at Kiya in attempt to gore her down.


[[WOG]]
The other bounty hunters laughed as the guy who asked her the question backed away as well sighing "Yes yes, i just wanted to tell you... if you have been with us for a long time, then you would know, no one is more reliable in a pinch than Mr Eagle san..... but dont take my word for it , sir" The soldiers walked along following behind Eagle who was now leading the way. Eagle took a look around "Hmmm..... a......he is around here isnt he..... that Ibis guy.... somewhere close......., ok, check the enclosing, he most likely moved to higher ground, that guy wouldnt risk being in the open, start a sweep and keep den den mushi on at all times. Falcon, you are with me, the rest of you, start flushing him out, and radio me as soon as you see him, do not engage without either me or falcon there...." He then let out a breath, he hated talking for that long. This was such a major bother but he had a duty , a duty to the wings of glory. The scouts began scaling the area, covering parameters by moving in a circular spreading fashion. Fanning out the area and the hills nearby.

[DEMONBEAST]

Kiana's blade went up to precisely where she knew the blade would strike - precisely where every ounce of her training told her it should go, given the angle - but a unique curve caused the blade to skim against her own with astonishing strength, and at the opposite angle she anticipated.  The wicked edge of sharp steel impacts her skin, cutting effortlessly through her flesh while still sending her backwards.  She catches her self on a knee while gripping her arm to slow the bleeding.  A deep gash runs from the top of her shoulder, along her upper arm, narrowly missing an artery but still bleeding heavily.  
She knows if she doesn't calm, her elevated blood pressure will cause her to lose consciousness and bleed out.  She tears a piece of fabric from the hem of her pant to tie a messy bandage around the middle of the cut.  It quickly saturates and leaks, but is slowed enough.  She rises again with her blade just in time to see him departing while leaving a threat.  "Coward ... don't dare use my life as bait for your honorless battle schemes ... If you want my blood, spill it now ... I am NOT your pawn .... " It takes a bit of effort to control her temperature and temper as she starts to go after him - the fury driving her toward a suicide mission, but she didn't care ...but something stops her.  
She turns back and sees Satoshi still there on the ground - something was horribly wrong.  With a last glance, a tremor of frustration runs through her body as she watches the man depart - she could not - would not leave Satoshi like this.  She kneels at his side, she releases her arm and wipes the blood away into her leg.  "Satoshi? ... What's happened?"  She runs her gaze over him until she finds a pooling of blood at his chest. She nearly chokes but forcibly calms herself. Shivering with rage and worry, she carefully pull his head on her lap as she tears the abdominal portion of her shirt and carefully wraps his wound. She was horrified by his stillness - he's had worse wounds that this and still got up. Is this was fear felt like? A soft steam rises from her face as the moisture vaporizes on her hot skin. She hoped he wouldn't notice her smoky eyes but, instead is shocked to discover the distinctive wild searching of sightless eyes, her breath catches in her throat - it couldn't be... "No ... how can this be?!"
Not sure if her was just stunned because of the blow or if her really could not see, she had to get him to a safe place.

[SANDFLAME]

The satisfying dull sound of the claws impacting flesh gently echoed as the claws of the device find their mark.  The barbed protrusions on the backside of the spiked bones make sure the claws tightly embed and will not come out without tearing a significant chunk of flesh with them. She lurches forward as the beast struggles the drag her along.  The torsion retraction had incremental locks so she could retract or loosen the chain by specifies increments. Getting too close may be a mistake but, despite her nagging, she wasn't the most cautious creature.
She set the device to auto retract and due to the creatures weight, it instead pulled her at high speed to latch onto the creatures shoulder where the hooks were embedded.  At this point, the second layer of her attack emerged.  A staff containing two fused rows of the sea kings tail spikes, cloaked in flame, the other end tipped with a black tooth as a spear point.  Her free arm took lead the staff into a cruel arc attempting to drive the burning bones into the creatures skin. "Thanks for letting me have all the fun, Sand Prince - I'm quite enjoying this!"

[WOG]
She ignored the doting chatter of Eagles typical flock of fanboys.  She was almost ready to tell them to get a room when, to her amusement, she was called sir.  Well played. She was still annoyed but at least there was a redeeming cleverness to the lad.  She quirked a brow, pausing, pleased to see Eagle finally seemed to be taking things seriously.  She was never sure what was going on with him.  She was rarely on the same missions as he was so she found him methods confusing and erratic, not because they didn't make sense, but because his communication was so minimal.
Somewhere in the darkness, a radio signal was intercepted.  An early laughter echoes through the caves as the man move carefully though the twists of his subterranean layer. He murmured in the darkness with a sadistic grin on his face.  "Yessss, Eagle - go an send you perfect little flock of duckings out to find me... I hope you remembered to count your flock, you may be a fuck ducks short by the end of the day ... they should have been my men anyway, you sniveling kiss ass. Everything by the book, the lot of you." she gives a distasteful spit on the Wings of Glory pin that he removes from his coat lets fall to the ground before a heavy steel-toed boot grinds it into the dirt as he moves forward to begin his hunt.

[[Demonbeast]]

The Nightingale walked away as Satoshi was reaching for his blades, looking everywhere, trying to feel where they had fallen. Satoshi was unable to speak, right now there was a mixture of emotions inside him, none he could express right now, he didnt feel safe until his swords were in his hands again. Satoshi then called out "Kiana san... we need to leave.... you should find a safe place.... i... i....." Satoshi didnt have the strength to say anything, he tried standing up, grasping against a tree nearby he found by groping his hands around to try and find something that felt firm and like bark. He pulled himself up panting, felt his leg shaking slightly.

[[Sandflame]]

The creature roared as Kiya had jumped and tried to impale it with the burning weapon, the creature tossed and turned trying to throw Kiya off balance, before it was finally impaled and burnt, the creature tried to then slam Kiya against the wall, even with its injuries it was still ferocious and angry as ever, Anubis was shocked the creature was still standing after all that. The monster let out a vile howl as it swiped its claws onto its own back trying to slap Kiya and slamming against the wall of the cave.

[[WOG]]
The men begin moving out, searching around the area. Eagle was sitting in the centre of the circular radius from which they had dispersed. Eagle kept his den den mushi close to him to see if they could pick out where he was coming from. One of the soldiers move through, looking for clues. Finally after a few minutes of searching one of the men radioed in "Sir, we picked up some strange signals... it must be Ibis's den den mushi, but we cant seem to see him... all we know is the signal is getting weaker...."

Eagle sighed , again this would be hard "Find anything, a enclosing, check the trees as well, he might be operating from them.... ah... im hungry now... where was i? Oh yeah, check the area...." Eagle sat back pulling out a candy bar from his pocket and opening the wrapper, he began munching when his den den mushi rang again "Sir, we found something, its a entrance.... i think there is a cave entrance here!!! He might be inside , permission to enter? Ill begin engaging the enemy if he is in here" Eagles eyes sharpen "NO DONT GO IN THERE!!!!"

[DEMON BEAST]

Kiana glared at the retreating Nightengale, torn apart --- wanting to chase and shred him but unable to leave Satoshi. Her proprity was clear and, for once, it was not vengeance. Her skin was cool now as her eyes spilled moisture over her cheeks as she watched him grope for his blades. It was the single worst thing she had ever seen. Not was not the time to shatter. She sheathed her own blades and shivered as she gathered his own, carefully as though they were sacred relics of delicate glass. She swallowed hard as she pressed them into his hands - even if he could not use them now, he needed them - more than anything. "Satoshi ...Whatever happened - you have not become the best by accident - what you see is outside of yourself and useless - what make you the best is your spirit - harness this. No one can ever take this from you"
She cradles his face in her hands for a moment but her voice caught in her throat. Her rage was worthless; it could not help now. She silently slipped one of his hands over her shoulders and tugged gently, allowing him to lean upon her as heave as needed. "Safety has never been one of my frequent haunts - I'll not leave you for the wide world and every mineral it has to offer. Can you walk?" She feared that his chest wound was too much for travel. Everything she had ever done up to this point seemed worthless and insignificant seemed worthless before the task of protecting and helping to repair this broken soul. She would give her last breath to take his place but this world could not run on "what if".

[SANDFLAME]

Kiya held tightly as the creature thrashed about, her staff embedding deeper. She stayed longer than she should to gain a few more inches just as the creature lashed, briefly slamming her against the wall. She grunted slightly as her eyes closed. Her staff suddenly incinerates with fresh flame as her eyes open with a pale green glow with pupils no longer visible. She smirks as she licks the blood from her mouth. "Oh I did hope you'd be a good playmate."
She twists her staff to inflight ore damage before tugging it violently out of the flesh. She backflips off of the creatures shoulder as she depresses the chain release from the hook still embedded in its flesh. As she falls near its chest, she engages the lock, pausing her decent. She laterally bounces off the creature with her feet, as through repelling, propelling herself to the opposite shoulder before shifting up to the back of the neck, dragging the chain with her. Tugging back on the chain she attempts to create a harness effect as the chain is now in front of the creatures neck to create a choking effect.

[WOG]

Falcon's arms were crossed as she surveyed the area and watched the parameter. She watched some of the men getting tangled in vines and sinking in mud - these recruits were too green - used to sterile obstacle courses which were poor preparation for feral islands. Then needed a greater volume of man power to pull off this job so the too damn near everything at headquarters with a pulse. Probably not the best idea.
Somehow they could not figure out he had gone underground and, instead, they chose to make as much noise as possible while fruitlessly tramping around leaving no doubt of their position for anyone underground to follow. Her eyes wander over to eagle who has stopped for a snack. Her arms flail wildly as she approaches them, her teeth sharpening to offensive dagger points. "Is this really the BEST time you can find for a snack?!"
Below the man darted deeper to the islands core as the loud vibrations above gave him an audible map of his victims. The louder the vibration, the easier they would be to catch. This fresh new batch was no where near ready, and for once, Ibis was glad to NOT have a class under his misguided command.

[[Demonbeast]]
Satoshi felt Kiana stay with him, he felt her anger ebbing away, he knew that she had forgone her anger in order to stay with him. But this did not make him pleased, it did not invoke relief in him that he once thought it would. Instead, Satoshi was furious at himself, he had failed to defeat his foe, he was now incapable of fighting at all, he was just dead weight on Kianas shoulder and that made him furious. He felt as if he had shamed his families blade, at a time he was meant to be so strong, he had failed them.
Satoshi staggered along with Kiana, his eyes were welling, even now he began to further shame himself by shedding tears for his futility, his precious sight robbed from him, Satoshi began to understand his predicament. He turned his face away from Kiana, hoping that she did not see him disgrace himself any further than this. Satoshi felt a wave of emotion at once, this was what defeat felt like, it felt like hatred, it felt like sadness and sorrow, it felt like a never ending waterfall of self loathing and hate and weakness. Why did he lose? Wasnt he supposed to be the most proclaimed warrior when it came to swordsmanship? What would his father say if he could see him now? What was going through Kianas heart mind, surely she would not wish to follow a defeated swordsman. The thing that Satoshi feared the most was , what if Anubis was to hear of him defeated, would he discard him? Would Anubis choose to throw him aside once he learnt that Satoshi was blind? All these things ran through Satoshis head and hence he became speechless, only able to look away and fight the tears back.

[[Sandflame]]
The creature chokes , coughing and wheezing as it falls over, unable to breath, the chupacabra felt the excruciating pain of the oxygen lessening and tried hard to fight Kiya, but the damage it had sustained was far to great. It finally laid down permanently. Anubis then breath a sigh of relief, he had not been able to fully draw all the moisture from the cave, but a good fraction of it. Anubis grinned "As usual, your talent for violence never seems to wane ......" Anubis stood up as he heard more noises, he stood for a bit. What on earth was that?

[[WOG]]

Eagle listened to the den den mushi, one of his surbodinates discovered a cave entering not too far from there. Eagle held his hand up "Falcon, we need to keep alert now.... one of the guys went into the cave entrance... he might be trying to take on Ibis himself....... we should go to that cave entrance, it fits Ibis perfectly to be skulking around waiting for a chance to drag his prey into hell..... " Eagle stood steady waiting for Falcon to acknowledge what he had just said, he had to go and stop Ibis from killing that soldier in the caves.

The lone soldier walked into the cave entrance, turning on his flash light, and searching around, he saw what seemed like outline of footprints earlier on, but they seemed to have disappeared. He turned around, and checked if anything was behind him, could never be too cautious. He lifted up his rifle, he had been a lone bounty hunter on the West blue before this, earning scraps here and there trying to make a good living, but the pirates up the grandline were even more harsher, and more tougher to beat. So rather than fight alone, he decided to dawn the uniform of the Wings of Glory. They were paid a salary, it was organized, they fought as a unit and had strong commanders to help them against the most powerful enemies. The hunter stopped and thought to himself whether or not he should wait for back up. He thought carefully, but then knew that, if he could somehow take down Ibis himself, then Eagle would recommend him for promotion, and maybe Falcon would think he was cool... or something. He shook his head, a girl like that would never like a nobody like him, who was he anyway, some washed up bounty hunter from West Blue, a pretty girl like falcon, wouldnt end up with him ever.

[DEAMONBEAST]

Kiana's rage was not gone, just re-channeled to a worthier location.  Her energies were now focused on Satoshi alone.  She knew it was dangerous for anyone to see him like this, not just because he was weakened but the world would notice if the 1st division commander of a Yonkou was defeated and in obvious peril like this.  
She tugged him slightly, leading him into some hidden underbrush. Quickly her deft fingers unraveled the spare cloak wound about her shoulder strap.  She loops it about his shoulders and just as she is about up pull the hood over his head, she notices his face and it almost shatters her. As a blade bearer herself, she recognizes the devastating look of a swordsman defeated. She cradles his face in her hands as her lips gently brush aside tears, without a word. She presses her lips to his forehead for a brief moment. "Satoshi, when this is over, you can thank that bastard for giving the opportunity to destroy him while blindfolded, making you that much stronger - and you will.  It is only sight you have lost, not skill ... you still have everything you need. Trust your ears, your blades, your instinct - I will train with you every day for as long as we can stand up ... always. No on must know of this." She presses the softest of kisses to his lips as she pulls the hood over his head. "You were defeated by trickery, not skill."
She spots more concealing foliage overlooking the docking location of the invasive pirates. She knows she will be able to see any departures from that vantage.  
She removes the bandage from her arm and with a finger, she runs it down the wound of her arm, reopening it and tearing it further. She drags her arm all along her side so her it looks like a continuous wound along her side. She had to make this convincing.  She gently guides his arm around her waist as she slips an arm around his shoulder, supporting and guiding his weight but adjusting her stride so it would appear like she was leaning on him - with a heavy blood gash all the way down her side. With any luck, it would appear that he was helping her move. He could never know of this. She added a slight limp for effect as she guided him toward the brush. "I'm sorry for my irregular stride, there is a vine around my leg. This way - I will make sure no one leaves with Anubis while their ship is here. I will fight for him. "  That much was true - she knew how much Anubis meant to Satoshi so she would fight to the last breath defending him but she would not ever leave Satoshi if he was in danger - she would not say this because he would protest and feel worse. It was painful to see him like this - but she knew he was too good of a swordsman to be limited by sight, she just needed him to believe it too.

[SANDFLAME]

Kiya narrows her gaze as the creature sputters and dies.  "I'm not sure I believe you're dead - that was too easy."  Cautiously, she keeps her hands wound about the chains, holding tight to the choke, just in case. As a second layer of caution, she dragged the sharp barbed point of her staff along the creatures soft throat, spilling its contents. She turned to Anubis, raising a brow with disdain.  "Don't patronize me, prince, if you are quite finished paying in the dirt, shall we proceed...?  ...and indeed, should you prove to be a bother, I shall ... share my violent ... 'talents' with you. These relics make a pretty death, which do you fancy?" Without another word, she treads into the darkness, ears tuned to the bizarre noise dancing about the cave being tossed this way and that.
She lets the condensing droplets falling from various portions of the caves ceiling fall on her staff and hooks to rinse the blood from their prongs.  satisfied, she puts them back in there respective places and resets the spring release.  She never bothers to remove the bit of blood from around her mouth.  Faces wouldn't rust but weapons would. The sound grows greater and more ominous causing her to quicken her pace as a sadistic grin passes over her face. "Are you coming, Yonkou?

[WOG]

Falcon's every narrowed with annoyance as she received new of the soldiers entering the cave.  "DAMNIT - What the hell was that guy thinking. I knew this batch was too green and untrained for this mission. We need to get his ass out of that cave and for the love of god tell him do not fucking engage."  Her hands went to her temples, stressed and annoyed.  The worst thing the kid could have done was go into a cave he knew nothing about where a spider waited in his territory for the meal at his front door. Not even volume of soldiers would help - your numbers mean nothing if you don't know where the hell you are going and death is around every corner.  She never understood how Eagle was so calm all the time.  It confused her as much as it annoyed her. She wasn't the wild and violent type buy she certainly worried about every possible thing that could ever go wrong in any given situation.

A faint laughter echoed in the darkness ... first to the left, then the right - direction meant nothing in the tight walls of the cave system - sound bounced and traveled like a pingpong ball. Dark eyes rimmed in crimson lurked silently there. He recognized the clumsy, practiced movements of one of the new reconnaissance recruits.  While the best thing for them was experience, even Ibis knew these guys were too untrained to be in the field.  It took away the fun of the hunt - but it didn't matter, he needed this kid to send a message to his fine former comrades.  A muffled choke lingers for a moment before dying into an eerie silence.  He left the body at the mouth of the cave where it was sure to be found and before leaving, he cuts the throat with a sharp black blade, smirking as pure blackness oozes from the gaping wound.  He always thought that kid smiled too much ... now he had a second one.

[[Demonbeast]]

Satoshi couldnt react to Kianas kiss, his mind had blanked out at the moment due to the rush he was feeling from over thinking , he simply followed Kiana, with about no strength of his own. Something about trickery she had said? Was it trickery? Did that man really trick him? Satoshi didnt understand , he didnt believe that he was tricked... was a mere trick enough to beat him? After all the training he did to beat Todd? After all the fights he had been in? After all of it? Was trickery all it took? It seemed so distant now, all those countless battles he had , all those never ending swings of his blade, all those lessons he learnt from swordsmen who guided him in his path. It couldnt be only trickery that beat him here, that alone would not be enough surely? His countless battles should allow him to wield his blade to outdo trickery right? Satoshi didnt know what to think anymore.

At a distance, there would be a clearing which Satoshi and Kiana struggled into, it was small pond in the middle of the forest.However, water attracted all nature of beasts, including the fearsome beasts known as the man eating bears. This bears were huge hulky creatures which lived usually in caves on the edge of the forest. They only entered the forest to gather food (usually meat) and water for the day. On this day, a company of 5 huge bears, happen to be sitting at the other side of the pond, drinking water, one of them smells something, the bear stood up as they realised they smelt blood. The bears looked to the side , seeing Kiana limp towards the area, and they roared. One of them burst off on its hind legs, and attempted to close in against Kiana, and try to swipe her down with one powerful blow with its sharp claws on its massive paws.

[[Sandflame]]
Anubis simply shrugged his shoulders at Kiyas comments, "Having to explain to you the intricacies of my abilities would be a waste of my considerable time, not to mention there would be no need to ......" Anubis stopped talking, the noises were getting louder. Then Anubis saw what it was, it was an entire pack of Chupacabra, all together, snarling, they were smaller than the one Kiya had killed, Anubis simply sighed "Oh dear, you killed their leader, and now they want us dead for it......" One of the chupacabra jumped with amazing speed, slicing its fangs into Anubis's shoulder, however, Anubis had already used his sand to block the attack, having gathered sand earlier, he then held his arm up "DESERT BARCHAN!!!!" He sliced the chupacabra down with his blade of sand, absorbing all the moisture from the creature, leaving it a dry empty shell of near dead sand unable to move. Anubis then turned around, seeing the pack of chupacabra, about 15 of them standing ready to attack.

[[WOG]]

Eagle rushed , he began running to the cave, trying to reach the cave , he had hoped that Falcon was running along as well, it would be bad if she fell behind. Eagle knew he would have to consider the worst possible outcome from this, the boy was most likely dead. Eagle grit his teeth, before muttering " Gold Gallop!!!" His legs pressed , as the space behind the soles of his feet began resonating, and he began running , as if rockets were blasting out of his feet with each stride, he hoped he could get there in time.

But as Eagle reached the entrance, he saw the body, his feet stopped moving, right where the body lay. Eagle kneeled down, the mans throat had been slit.This was the man who was talking or trying to talk to Falcon earlier. Eagle grasped and lifted the mans head, and closed his eyes, sitting silently. The other men began to converge on the entrance of the cave, and saw Eagle with the body "Sir? What happened? Sir? Sir........." They stopped talking, there was no point in talking. Anyone could see Eagles face now knew that there were no words. Eagle then asked for a flask of water , which one of the men gave to him, he poured it on himself, making his hair straight from the wetness and folded his hair back, straightening it and making it look different, he know looked sleek, almost unrecognizable from earlier. He didnt talk other than saying the words "All of you will stay out here... no one is allowed in this cave except for me or Falcon if she so chooses......." The men were all about to start protesting.

[DEMONBEAST]

Kiana had been looking for a spot covered in underbrush so she could keep Satoshi hidden until she figured out how to get him safely off the island. Unfortunately, since she was in such an awkward stance, she misjudges the brush-line and ended up in a clearing. Her eyes lock on a group of bears.  Their combined footfalls had been quiet enough but the breeze changed, carrying her bloody scent to them.  She only had moments to gently press Satoshi against a tree, so he could lean against if for a while.
 
She knew what was approaching and since she was touching Satoshi, she could not charge her attack and risk burning him.  She barely had enough time to turn as the bear reached her, the claws grazing across her back.  In second her scythe was in her hand, black sheen flickering across its blade.  She uses its spear tip it to drive the beast back, away from Satoshi.  She stays near enough to be able to get to him in time if the others approach but for now, her pupils recede an steam begins to rise from her body.  All of the blood one her skin vaporizes into a yellowy red steam as a white glow is emitted from her eyes.

The bear did not realize what it had almost done.  She could feel Satoshi's close presence behind her and it only made her angrier - hungrier for the blood that did this to him. The poor bears would receive all of the wrath she suppressed when she watched Nightengale walk away.  She would not allow these creatures to threaten the greatest swordsman the world had seen before he reached his potential.  This was always something she's be willing to fight and die for.

In an elegant and silent arc, she brings the blade at an angle to avoid the powerful bear's arms readying another blow ... cleanly the blade penetrates the soft throat of the creature ... but in an act of fury, she pushes the curve of the blade off to the side and behind the bear before giving a quick jerk. Her expertly honed and impossibly sharp blade had a terrifying ease with removing heads, like a knife through butter.

The breeze ripples over her, tossing her hair back and pushing the steam from her body around her eyes.  Her heat was now causing the metal of her scythe to glow red.  She scanned the area for the creature - they would not draw her away from Satoshi. She muttered with a growl under her breath "...come on, bastards..." Just so Satoshi could rest and not worry, she called out to him in a sweet and uncharacteristically friendly voice that she only reserved for Satoshi.  "Just catching some lunch, bushido-san! Please rest!"

[SANDFLAME]

Kiya smirked at Anubis - his legendary arrogance was a bit of an understatement at this point.  "Ah yes, by all means, do not allow me to waste the valuable resource of your time - I know you have a pressing engagement here in this cave, but let me know when you can explain the intricacies of failure, you arrogant son of a -----" Her words were cut short by an approaching noise - her eyes settle on the pack of animals approaching.  

Seeing one lunge at Anubis, she spins her staff up in front of his shoulder to intercept to attack.  Just as her head turns to see the creature intercepted by a blade of sand, shortly before being relieved of it's moisture so thoroughly that a stiff breeze could carry off the dehydrated remains.  Such elegance and beauty in the attack ... so violent but so clean and bloodless.  It was so artfully done - he eyes sparkled with admiration that he would never see because she was facing the other way.  She knew of his talents but she would never offer him anything more than blatant ridicule. That jackass did not deserve a compliment, no matter how impressive - he was already too adept at putting himself on a pedestal without her help. Ass.

Without a word her clawed-hook was at the ready, snatching the next beast out of the air before depressing the retraction lock to draw it toward her and into her ready spear.  The animals open maw was the first to encounter the speared end of her staff and the device skewered it completely.  The slant of the barbs went in with ease but when she pulled back against their angle, they tugged vital bits of internal tissues and entrails back out with them. Her face was peppered with blood spatters, without looking toward him, she speaks coldly to Anubis, "These lowly creatures are not worthy of such a beautiful death, yonkou."

[WOG]

Falcon also dashed toward the entrance of the cave.  She already knew what to expect but hoped she would be wrong.  Upon coming face to face with the young thing there - an artful carving of a second smile carved into his neck - oozing blackness - the new signature of ibis, her lips curled into a snarl.  Fury seized her frame - nothing made her angrier than someone using the weak as a pawn to bait the stronger into battle.  She hated strategic cowards.  Fortunately, her judgement and actions were never corrupted by anger. Falcon and Eagle had an edge over the dead man in front of them - they had been through the same advanced training for hunting and recon that Ibis had - they could systematically search and block off the cave as they advanced.  The uneasy men following them had no such training or experience.  They would be easy prey for this sick bastard.  

Falcon turns toward the unhappy group of soldiers, her eyes glazed with coldness.  "Do not doubt Eagle's orders - this monster has been trained to be unseen agent of death and now has a new power to go with it.  Caves have always been his playground and he knows these subterranean hunting grounds well.  In this place, our numbers count for nothing and every man in is just another sacrificial trophy - just like this man.  This is what you are up against..."  She takes the fallen soldier's head in her hands, gently pulling up - the hot sticky substance had cooked away the skin and the connective tissue so much that the head pulled free of the spine, dripping blackness. "Do not doubt Eagle's orders and do not underestimate your enemy.  Follow orders and stay out of the caves."

Somewhere deep in the cave laughter echoed, the acoustic quality throwing sound this way so that it was unclear if he was approaching or retreating.  Deep in the sanctum a dark voice beckoned, " ... come to me little birds ... if ... you ... dare." This would be a satisfying victory that would atone for every missed promotion. What a pathetic organization that would ignore such talent for the sake of logistics.

[[Demonbeast]]

Satoshi could hear the growling and the noises, but then he heard Kiana say that she was catching lunch. What kind of lunch was she catching? Satoshi took a heavy breath but lay back, in his current state what can he possibly do anyway. He grasped his blades and held them close to him as he leaned back. He nearly lost his blades just now, that would have been really bad, he couldnt afford to lose his weapons, they were too precious to him.

The bears begin backing away as their comrade is sliced by Kiana violently at the throat, and start to circle kiana instead, deciding that they should attack her one on one. The remaining four bears began to understand that her movement was more flexible than theirs. One of the bears, went for a low swipe, while the other tried to flank Kiana with a huge swipe of his paw, claws bare and all.

[[Sandflame]]
Anubis looked up as she said that these creatures do not deserve a beautiful death. Anubis chuckled as she said that while she dismembered the creature into the ground, and then continued to hold a collection of heavy sand in the palm of his hand, it started spinning as he threw it at the creatures muttering "SABLES" , the gust of the wind in the tunnel was empowering as it flung the creatures backwards, a powerful shockwave emitting through the cave, making it shake slightly. Anubis simply recollected his sand " I think that shade of red really does bring the sparkle of madness out in your eyes, but if its all the same to you, i rather not dirty my skin with such filthy blood...."

[[WOG]]

Eagle walked into the cave, signaling for Falcon to follow along, he also signaled to her that talking was not permitted inside the cave, since it would only make it easy for Ibis to find and dispatch of them quickly if they gave their position away by talking too much. Eagle walked in slowly and proceeded to slowly pace around as silently as possible. He signalled for falcon to take cover as he walked more openly, he was hoping that Ibis hadnt picked up her location yet.

Outside the men bury their fallen comrade who had died earlier, some of them crying, but some remaining absolutely firm, hoping for Eagle and Falcons victory. Some stood guard and pointed their guns at the entrance of the cave, certain that in the case of Ibis killing the two, they would take it upon themselves to execute ibis before he has a chance to leave the cave.

[DEMONBEAST]

Kiana eyed the circling bears. Annoying, such collaboration was odd for bears. She couldn't risk allowing any of them to reach the wounded swordsman. Her clear blue eyes glistened like chips of ice as steam rose around her frame, making her dimensions and movements unclear. She knew should would have to pick a bear and pick and injury. Very well. It was worth it.

She kept her eye on the bear in front of her as her scythe spun. in a split second alteration of trajectory, the blade turned at an oblique angle and caught the bear at the flank in a long cut through the scull traveling front the left eye socket and out the right jaw. She spun as she did so causing the other bear's frontal attack graze across her back in four parallel, oblique slashes.

Just as quickly as she had turned to accept the blow, her free hand had unsheathed her katana, taking the bear across the middle in an artful backward slice as she turned. Her katana had exited the abdominal flesh of the animal before it even finished its claw mark upon her back. She had carefully made sure to never make a sound as she was injured.

The swordsman had suffered enough and he would only torture himself more if he had the slightest idea what was going on .. right now she wasn't protecting him from bears, she was protecting him from himself. The harsh judgement and standards he inflicted upon himself was significantly worse than anything the bears could do to him. Though, oddly, she wouldn't have him any other way. Being the best was not without sacrifice, was not without facing fear, and not without conquering one's self.

[SANDFLAME]

Kiya's fascination with creative death allowed her to let that strange compliment slip out of her mouth. The sand - it was indeed an elegant manner of killing which was somewhat wasted on the grotesqueness living in the depths of the cave. Such savage beasts deserved a savage death. Anubis completely missed the point and laughed at her. It wasn't the amount of blood spilled that made the killing elegant, it was the amount that wasn't. Spilled or not, the blood was savage, but not spilling it as they died was better than they deserved.

Of course he would be guided by snobbery and his general inability to soil those precious, princely hands of his. She wondered if that man even knew how to fight on his own ... how to truly fight, without leaning on that devil's fruit like a crutch. Would he be helpless if she wrapped her seastone tentacles around him? Would he cry out for his his white-haired lap-dog with the swords to protect him? She wondered and had dangerous thoughts. She never wanted to be like that - to hide behind a devils fruit or an officer ... but she still knew she was protected by her father's reputation and that tempered her disdain - but only slightly.

"It's nothing to me, actually. Do as you like, sand prince - build a sand castle amongst the stars for all I bloody care. ... and thank you, I shall sleep most soundly after knowing those precious royal fingers of yours have gone without the soil of unworthiness."

Her hook of bones had been depressed once more as she was spitting acid words at her unlikely companion. As the hook closed and embedded in the flesh of a creature that had just leaped toward Anubis, she harshly pulled it free, tearing out the esophagus, along with the carotid artery, creating something of a blood fountain so that precious, unsullied prince would either have to dodge it or construct one of his clever little sand-shields to avoid being spattered with crimson chupacabra life droplets. "Sorry, 'Nubi. You looked a bit parched - sand has that effect."

[WOG]

Falcon seemed to disappear, moving like liquid shadow, her movements matching the angles of the light that was brought. Her vision was actually better in the darkest of places. She had been top of her class in recon at the academy. She was always silent as a cat and undetectable, unlike that idiot they were hunting. She kept a fair distance away from Eagle. If one of them was detected, it may give the other enough advantage of invisibility to go in for the kill. She was in prowl-mode now and completely in her element. Oddly, it seemed to calm her significantly. At last, she felt in control.

Flickers of light appear in a tunnel off to the left, then the right, down the middle then behind - just distress flares planted and going off in patterns. It was a code ... and the message was a taunt. "Come and find me, brother ..."

[Demonbeast]

The bears suddenly felt very warm , it was clear the heat was eminating from Kiana. As they attacked her , one of the bears was cut with her scythe in a brutal fashion through the skull. The other bear though he had landed some form of a attack was cut down by Kianas katanas. The two bears died on the spot from severe wounds and trauma. The other bears who had stopped mid way began to cower back a bit, snarling and keeping a distance from Kiana. They then began to pull back, grunting and recognizing the fact that attacking her now would be futile. They had just lost two of their pack members. The bears began retreating slowly, they knew there would be other chances.

Satoshi slowly calmed himself "Kiana... are you.... is everything alright? Why is it so quiet suddenly... where did the creatures go..." Suddenly Satoshi had a bad thought, what if the animals had hurt kiana badly and dragged her off. Satoshi was trying to stand up using the tree he was sitting against as his support. He couldnt smell blood, at least not human blood, Satoshi holstered his swords, but before he could move, fell to his knee grimacing in pain from the wounds he gained earlier. "GAhhh" His blood soaked torn yukata the only thing shielding his injuries.

[[Sandflame]]
Anubis immediately raised a small sand shield to block the blood splatter, he then raised 4 sand blades running concurrently to slice through more charging chupacabra. Anubis walked foward " And you lack class, i guess being a simpleton has that effect." Anubis wrapped his hands, creating a sand tornado, the chupacabra all looking angry and hungry at the same time, charged straight without even thinking , as Anubis threw his tornado "SABLES!!!!" He sent most of the chupacabra flying as some tried to charge on Kiya. Anubis looked to his side "These insects are starting to annoy me deeply...." The only reason Anubis was not using his more higher level attacks, was due to the fact that if he did, it could cause the cave to collapse, and that would not benefit anyone.

[[WOG]]

Eagle clenched his fist as Ibis called to him, the flickers of light, the tricks , this was Ibis's Modus operandi. This was how he fought, Eagle knew that well. Still in Eagles mind , all he was seeing was the dead mans face, the face of the young man who had joined the WOG to serve and to seek fortune. Eagle, gritted his teeth "Ibis.... this is insanity.... these are your men too!!!, YOUR FAMILY!!! How could you murder them in cold blood?!!! How could you do all that and still call me brother!!! " Eagle looked as he kept walking to the light, he knew Falcon was hiding herself well, he wasnt going to look for her, it would give her away in a bad way if he gave any indication that he had planned a ambush. "Ibis, ...... please..... stop this ...... give yourself up and i promise you will face a fair court martial..." Eagle was trying to lure Ibis into the open, hopefully he had done a convincing job, talking was never one of his strong suits.

[DEMONBEAST]

Kiana had ever intention of slicing her bizarre foes to pieces - the rage and heat ran off of her body in beads. The blood that seeped from the slash across her back quickly vaporized into an eerie orange smoke. She pressed forward on her enemies as they began their retreat.

Satoshi's stirring caught her attention but she would not turn her back on the retreating bears. She heard him shuffling about, trying to stand - this would only tear his wounds further. "Nothing happened." His yell of pain catches her off guard. She didn't expect agony that wasn't hers to effect her so deeply. She wanted nothing more than to take it away, absorbing it - to trade places.

She pulls some of the metal shard from the pouch at her side. She places them in her mouth while rotating her katana rapidly be the end of its bindings like a morning star to create a propeller like effect. As the metal heats to molten state, she blows it into the spinning blade to creature a broad shower of liquid metal which rains upon the muzzles of the retreating bears.

She backs all the way to where Satoshi is and positions herself to still face her enemies as the scream and scrape at the hot metal coating their faces, running further away. She draws Satoshi close against her so, bearing most of his weight so she can ease him back against the tree. The wound was seeping too much blood. She tore away at his yukata to examine the wounds. "I'm sorry - this will hurt." Extreme heat pulses through her body as her fingers traces over his wounds, the intense heat instantly cauterizing the wounds to hinder the heavy bleeding. She pulss him against her again - she had to get him somewhere safe and quickly. Her ship was still well hidden if they could get to it.

[SANDFLAME]

A smirk passed over Kiyas lips as she watched Anubis refuse to get dirty while her grappling blade removed the head of another charging creature in one swift motion. The flying sand mingled with spraying blood was a surreal mixture - the tangible shrapnel of vivid death. The textures and colours of their methods of destruction seemed to fly in slow motion as the creatures fell around them. The animosity hung heavy in the air to the point that the creatures dying around them were only a mere background to their rising hatred of one another, only mitigated by their unfortunate and expedient need to collaborate at the moment.

Kiana watched the creatures fall after being violently lashed by a cyclone of sand. The creature fell, lifeless with no actual wounds, elegantly preserved. She wanted to bloody it a bit for good measure, but there was plenty of blood to be had. She was almost impressed by Anubis, and his ability not to get a single drop of crimson life on his pale attire, despite the messy battle with savage creatures. His disdain scraped like nails against the chalkboard of her angry soul.

"So the exiled prince who couldn't wait his turn in line and decided to become a thuggish pirate in protest wants to give me a lesson in class? ... that's rich." Her annoyance was beginning to effect her battle methods. Each death became more violent and bloody than the last ... limbs and heads of the creatures not litter the cave floor, covered in crimson sprinkles of blood-soaked sand. You became an orphan on purpose and if you weren't such a necessary nuisance, I would have your head over my fire place and would used your flag to wipe your blood from my hands..." After so many years of minimal words and only having people cower at her feet, it was almost enjoyable to have an antagonist - even this self-serving, arrogant bastard from the sands of hell.

[WOG]

A ghostly laughter flickers through the cave and approaching shadow appears in a corridor near Eagle .. then disappear, only to reappear elsewhere. "I knew you wouldn't be able to resist that old code - ever the silent beacon of perfection ... always ruining everything for the rest of us..." Ibis threw his voice and shadows, as he worked, connecting the delicate network of tiny wires. Soon, everything standing in his way would be neutralized.

Falcon had slipped through half a dozen corridors, her slight frame, clad in shadows disappearing against every wall. She tried to follow the vibrations of movement, rather than the echos bouncing off of the walls. Ibis had spent too much time in caves and knew the percussive quality of winding sanctums all too well ... the tricks of light and sound were his specialty, making zeroing in on his location particularly annoying. She tried to ignore all of his illusions and follow tangible movement of mass - which couldn't be faked.

She neared a grinding humming vibration, only to discover a timed device perched against the ceiling. The edged of parts of the cave were cracked and full of rubble - she spotted another like device in a similar location along the ceiling. As she made her along, she saw them all over the damn place except along the central vein of passages. This crazy bastard meant to shut off every stray corridor, trapping everyone who pursued him. Worse still, there were puddles of sticky tar near every explosive location to trap anyone who came near them. She had to warn Eagle- she knew exactly where he was, but she also had to find this bastard before he detonated all of the explosives that could collapse half the island and destroy its precious resources. Either decision was a huge risk...

((we dont have to close it just yet))

((If you say so.))

[[ 15 years ago]]
[[Dokomi Island/Grandline]]

The sakura dropped like pink rain on a warm summer day, it was a sign of prosperity , good health and to some extent a chance for romance for many of the women in Dokomi. But it meant nothing to the dojo up the hill. It was especially quiet there, and the atmosphere wasnt one that emitted prosperity or romance, what it did emit was a sense of calm, and tranquility. This was often the life of a swordsman, even in the rampaging era of pirates. A wizened man, no older than 35 years of age sat on the mat, he had grey hair with white stripes along the breadth of his sharp hair. His stare was cold and indifferent, his demeanor was one of dignity and poise. The two men sitting before him handed him a bag "Here are the supplies you requested for Master Saitome, i hope you will accept my son into your swords school...." Saitome looked through the bag, it had food and provisions for the month. Saitome looked away before looking back "Very well, i shall take your son into my pupilage, however, he shall not learn the Lightning Sword Style.... it cannot be learnt by anyone other than those in my family...." The parent and son looking a bit crestfallen got to their feet "Its quite alright Master Saitome, as long as you can teach him any of the swords styles you know i would be in your debt." Saitome got up and bowed in agreement, allowing the father and the son to leave his dojo. It was a rundown place, but even so had a charm of tradition and honour to it. Saitome slid the door close , it was yet another family, trying to steer their child to learn about the way of the sword so they may be able to protect themselves. But Saitome knew, that boy wouldnt last a week of the training he was going to dish out. Saitome knew this and tried to explain earlier, however the father had insisted and paid him in way of supplies, something Saitome treasured. There was a noise from the next room, Saitome raised his eyebrow in slight annoyance, he walked into the next room, it was a open air room, where the swords were placed and the dojo banner stood. In the middle of the room, stood a short young boy, with curly white hair and green eyes. He was also wearing a grey yukata with the word lightning on the back. He was furiously swinging his sword through the air, his small body trying hard to maintain balance as he swung, even an amateur could see it, Saitome thought to himself in dismay. "Satoshi, what are you doing? Practice isnt till the afternoon?" The boy looked up, a smile on his face as he stood up straight and bowed "Good morning father, i was hoping to train before we practiced in the afternoon, im hope you'll let me learn some techniques today"

[[Satoshi Miroku]]
[[11 years old]]

Saitome sighed before walking away "Fine, you may do as you please, however, i better see your letter writing excercises on my desk before we start training, or else you will have to do without sparring or swing practice, understood?" Satoshi laughed a bit, he had spent all night doing the letter excercises his father had prepared for him. Saitome walked away, with a look of annoyance on his face. Satoshi sighed as he went back to swinging the bokan, the training katana made of straw. HIs father had made the bokan in this dojo heavier, this so to improve the trainees ability to swing against resistance. Satoshi was really hoping to learn new techniques, his father however could not be even further from receptive, he would not tell him anything about their family style, which was a lightning blade style. His father simply taught him about foot movement and about swing styles, nothing further than that. Satoshi pondered as to why his father was so cold to him when it came to sword fighting, it made no sense at all, especially since satoshi really did want to learn. Satoshi put it away from his mind as he placed the sword back into the stand, Satoshi could hear talking outside, it seemed another one of his fathers friends had come to talk to him, this was a common occurance around the dojo. Satoshi walked out to go get a drink as he overheard. "Saitome san, at least you have a heir, most swordsmen your age would be so eager to train their sons, and yet you still treat the boy like that, hahahah" Satoshi recognized the voice, it was Kagou san from the local bar here to drop his fathers monthly sake. Saitome remained seated, smoking on his pipe as he looked up "I never wanted a warriors life for that boy, it wasnt something his mother and i discussed, in truth, she wanted him to be a scholar, it was one of the wishes she had when she died.... she was such a great poet ..... before she died she told me to try and give him the chance to choose and i did that...." Kagou sat solemnly "And he chose swordmanship, isnt that great?" Saitome shook his head "Its not, because now, i am certain that he doesnt have what it takes...." Satoshis eyes fell in sadness as the news hit him, his father didnt think he had any talent? But why? Kagou sat steady "How come? He practices right? He is only 11 he will get better, im sure your just prematurely talking here Saitome san, ahhaha" Saitome remained steadfast, his cold piercing eyes looking into the valley below the hill "No, he wont..... maybe he will eventually gain skills or physical abilities to become a swordsman, but he lacks the mentality..... he lacks the conviction of a swordsman, it will become evident at some point, which is why he cannot carry on my family style... which is why i shall only teach him basics" Kagou shrugged his shoulders as Satoshi reeled away looking sad and dejected. Kagou left as Saitome put away his pipe and stepped into the house.

[[ 2 years later]]

Satoshi began moving with the sword, he was now trying to mimic his fathers movements he had seen earlier. Satoshi now at the age of 13 was looking taller and more toned, he had a more calmed expression on his face. He had taken it upon himself to spy on his father as he trained, this in the hope of seeing and then adopting some of the techniques that were denied to him by his father. Satoshi's personal relationship with his father had become estranged, his heart filled with malcontempt for his father for saying that he would never make it. Satoshi aggressively trained in secret, trying to learn the lightning blade techniques, so far coming close to grasping two concepts. Saitome who was sitting in the study room was reading through the paper, the news filled with pirates and battles happening across the sea. There was suddenly a ring on the front door bell. Satoshi who had finished with training walked out "Ill answer it," He slid the door open, at the door stood 3 different people, travellers with cloaks and straw hats, with some sort of emblem on their yukatas. One was a woman with purple hair and dark eyes, she was carrying a staff of some kind. The other two was a man who was bald and had scars on his face, carrying dual katanas on either side and the final man was a tall man, about 7 ft with a muscular frame and a hunched demeanor. He seemed to be carrying some sort of strange looking jagged longsword on his back. SAtoshi was shocked to see these people, who were they? What was going on? Satoshi then asked "Y..ess... how may we help you?" The bald man tipped his hat "Good day young one, i was hoping to ask, is Master Saitome Miroku at home?"

[[Juei Hiruken]]
[[1 of the 12 Execution Ronin]]

The woman stood foward giggling eyeing Satoshi up and down "Oh my... what a cute boy he has, it seems he might actually live here, hehe"

[[Akane Morikawa]]
[[1 of the 12 execution Ronin]]

The biggest man then stepped out looking around, he scratched himself before speaking "Im sure this is the place, absolutely positive Juei, this is the only house on a hill on this island so far!!"

[[Todou Miyashi]]
[[1 of the 12 execution Ronin]]

Satoshi was shaking in fear, these people had the smell of blood and death on them, it was a horrific taste in his mouth , it made him want to vomit, however, his father arrived at the door, he didnt seem as shcoked as one should be in this situation. "Well then.... who ordered it ?" The oldest grinned "It came from high up... you know the rules Saitome, you dont give secrets about your country and hope not to get caught...." Satoshi wanted to say something, but Saitomes gaze was so intense that the words could not come out of his mouth. Saitome sighed "I know u will not believe when i say, i have never sold secrets of my home country of Wano to any person in this world... however i see that words are useless here, your minds are made , and now you wish to kill me...." Saitome turns to Satoshi "Go outside and wait by the tree... do not come out from there till i tell you..." Satoshi grimaced "No father, i will stay with you!! I will protect you!!" Saitome gave him a stern stare "Obey and go now SAtoshi!!" Satoshi unable to say anything ran to the tree as Saitome stepped out " A duel then... between the three of you and me...." The three grinned as they drew their weapons, nodding in agreement, Saitome on the other hand simply drew one sword, Satoshi knew that sword well, it was the God of Lightning, the family sword, his father never drew that blade, he had never seen it being unsheath until today. It had a beautiful gleam that shone of the surface also indicating how sharp it was. Satoshi was in utter awe of this legendary blade and his father wielded it with such experience and poise. Saitome then dissapeared in an instant, Satoshi shocked as his father dissappeared from sight. He placed his eyes at the three who were hunting his father, and then caught a glimpse of his father behind the the biggest fighter. However the big one known as Todou, swung his own blade around, creating a clash of two blades. Juei the bald headed man tried to use his twin blades to try and break Saitomes balance, but to no avail as Saitome shifted his feet dragging Todous weapon into the crosshairs to clash with Juei. As Saitome planned , he then realized the girl had plenty of time, she was twirling her huge staff around and finally slammed it into the ground "DEAD BELL!!!" The power of the slam, created a huge shockwave explosion, the dust and wind settling as a crater was revealed where they had fought. It seemed the fight switched to the roof top. Juei sweating as he spoke "As expected.... you live up to your nickname from back home... "Storm King" Saitome......" Saitome held his blade foward, his eyes and focus sharp, "I left my name a long time ago, but for today, i will show you the validation you crave..." The three of them charged Saitome at once, Akane, tried to strike from distance, but was brushed aside by Saitomes sharp shoulder movements which made it look effortless to slap away the staff tip. He then proceeded to swing against Jueis blade , but extended his arm so as to keep Juei from coming close and using Juei as a pivot to go closer to Todou where Saitome extended his unarmed arm back, curling it up into a palm, he then struck his palm hard against Todous chest, sending Todou flying off the roof against the wall, coughing blood. Juei and Akane were shocked, Todou was already beaten? Saitome cracked his knuckles, as he flashed his feet, several cuts , Satoshi recognized this as the storm technique , a flurry of blades aimed at overwhelming the enemy. However Juei and Akane were able to hold of each of the strikes from Saitome, but were both clearly overwhelmed. Akane gasped as she grinned "Oh... my he is strong isnt he.... that strength is so tasty......" Juei scowled at Akane "Do not lose focus Akane, he already killed Todou with his bare palm, he will kill us if we give him the chance...." Akane didnt wait, she swung and twirled her staff trying to kill Saitomes movement and to smash his head to bits. Saitome side stepped, his defensive stance now obvious. Saitomes then stepped foward into Akanes blind spot trying to cut down Akane at close range. However Akane with her instincts pull back and drive the staff straight into Saitomes gut where Saitome simply stepped back so he could block the staff again with his blade. Saitome didnt smile or grin, his eyes were still cold and calculative , looking for openings, he wasnt even hunched he was straight and true. "It would seem that you are both not without skill, but yet, you are clearly lacking in training!!" Juei then threw his sword at Saitome, who blocked it, but could not block Akanes twirling strike aimed at his back. Saitome staggered as he got hit , feeling the heavy pain but standing steady. He looked up, Juei picking up his blade "Give this up already Saitome san... i have great respect for you, but if you admit your guilt, ill grant you a swifter death" Saitome twirled his blade around and around "I will not simply give you my life over something that is clearly a lie.... so this means this is the end..." Juei grimaced as Akane simply jumped foward "Hai Mr Handsome Saitome, while i would love to hear you talk, you die now, no choice, die die die die die!!!" She struck her staff down thinking she got him but to only discover she hit an after image "WHAT?!!" Saitome then appeared "Lightning Beast illusionary style... MULTIPLA!!!" He sliced across Akanes arm, cutting her arms off as she fell into a bloody heap. Saitome then walked above her, ready to administer the killing blood, she screamed "WAIT!! IM A WOMAN, SURELY YOU WOULD SPARE A WOMAN LIKE ME!!! PLEASEEE!!!" Saitome grimaced giving a foul look of hatred "You disgust me... once you pick up a weapon and fight in a duel there is no man or woman, child or adult, father or son or even friends... there is only the winner and the loser... which unfortunately, is you...." He then slit her throat leaving her dead, as Juei watched , shivering in fear. The rooftop now filled with holes and damage. Juei raised his blades and dashed to Saitome, it was raining now, something that Saitome did not noticed until now, perhaps a appropriate battle place. He exchanged precise strikes with Juei, both of them fighting and exchanging for over 20 minutes, before suddenly, Saitome slips, Juei aiming a sharp cut into theside of Saitome who coughs blood adn feels the bleeding, Saitome however, holds the blade in place of the wound, Juei stunned as the bald man says "Damn....well played....." Saitome angled his sword downwards, cutting through Juei killing him instantly. Juei falling to a bloody heap. Saitome staggering as he removed the blade from his abdomen then slipped and fell off the roof onto the soggy and muddy ground below.

Satoshi who was watching from the beggining was utter shocked and in awe, he ran towards his father who was on the floor "FATHER!!!!"

[[1 year later]]

Satoshi sat over his father with so much worry, he rolled the towel against the water adn then rubbed it onto his fathers head looking down , his father burning up. It had been a year since the big battle, and while the enemies were all dead, Saitome had suffered a internal rupture which was causing heavy pain, even though the doctors did what they could in town, they simply could not cure the damage. Satoshi shed tears, watching his father lie on the bed writhing in pain, the doctors had advised him to end his suffering, but Satoshi didnt want to kill his father, he had held the hope that there was some cure somewhere in town. As Satoshi went to put away his towel "Sato...shi....." It was Saitome in a weakened state, Satoshi ran to his side "Yes father... what is it? Are you ok? Do you need water? " Saitome reached over and waved his hand "Its enough... enough Satoshi... end it please.....you must end it......" Satoshis face grimaced upon the receiving his fathers request, he didnt know what to do, why must he kill his father? Why? Saitome coughed "Father i have no wish to end your life, u will get better, we will find medicine and better doctors!!" Saitome leaned back and coughed "Satoshi.... u cannot lie to yourself... u know the outcome... it is the truth of all swordsmen... this is our fate..."

Satoshi started feeling tears trickle down his face as he leaned over, saitome then continued "Im sorry.... im sorry that ive never... been as nice to you as your mother would have ... been... im sorry that i did not teach you our family style" Satoshi got up and walked to get his bokan, he stood steady and then thrusted foward, his eyes focused , his thrust strong and creating a nice vacuum from his strike. Saitome's eyes widened "You learnt... Bolt.... it was perfect.... hahaa" Satoshi knelt down "I watched you and trained... i trained hard father... all i ever wanted was to fight and be strong enough to take off the pressure from you.... what was it that i lacked... i ... i dont understand..... father"
Saitome then coughed after a short silence "I see.... urghh.... the truth is.... you will become a wonderful swordsman... but you lack one of the necessary attributes to become a swordsman satoshi... cough" Satoshi wiped his tears as Saitome continued "What you lack is ferocity... you are too kind... you get that from your mother...... gurghh, your kindness and your softness will lead you down a path that could lead to death Satoshi... please..... i dont ....." Satoshi let out more tears, hugging his father "Ill become better father.. i promise, i will, ill become the best....." HIs father smiled "From the start.. i never wanted that... i just want you to.... be happy Sato......shi.. " The rain continued to pour that night heavily. At around 1:30 am Saitome Miroku, ceased to exist in that world.

[[Sandflame]]

Anubis released another sables, making the cave shake as he sent more of the creatures flying. He made the sand do that work for him blocking and cutting and hacking his way through. As Kiana spoke he simply laughed to himself "And if you were not such a unnecessary nuisance i would cut you into pieces and then feed what was left to my pet lizard... but in life we cant always have what we want can we?" Anubis dropped off the rock deposit he was standing on, a clear path now open to him, as he looked further down "There is an exit, when your done being unseemly as possible, perhaps u might want to tag along?" Anubis had begun to notice how violent she was getting, if they were here all day killing these cockroaches so extravagantly it could be a terrific waste of time, besides the true monsters he wanted to destroy lay above this area.

[[WOG]]

Eagle stood in wait he couldnt seem to see Falcon at all now, he stood steady "If you really want me dead Ibis, ill let you kill me, you can do as you wish, but none of this will end, you have committed treason and im not sure about old man Owl, but Hawk wont let you live, she will kill you, you know how much of a temper she has...." Eagle was trying to garner a sense for this surroundings, trying to get a good grip of his location, he was bad in caves, he was better fighting in the open.

[SANDFLAME]
"UN-necessary, am I? - Why, my sweet prince is FAR too pragmatic to tolerate that which is not utterly essential ... so why is it that you so graciously offer that I 'tag along'? Has my prince grown a soft spot for the non-essential or is it just a way to trivialize my utility?"
She licked her lips as another creature fell at her feet under the influence of her blades. She drew a swisted pleasure from torture. A characteristic glimmer danced in the emerald eyes - seething with mischief as she moved ever closer to the Arabastian Prince, daringly invading his personal space, amused by how much disdain he had for her. As her eyes locked with his, she leaned in close, still thinking she retained the intimidating influence of her flame cloak, "You do know this is the place don't you?  The Elusynian tunnels..." Her voice was measured with the danger associated with the implication of the place which also prompted her with the need for proximity and whispering - it wasn't exclusively obnoxious desire to make him uncomfortable.  Who knew what lurked in this dark place. The world would shatter into imbalance if they never returned.
She leaned away from him, her green eyes flickering with adventure, thinking about this place holding that legendary key to power... "You know what lies there, Anubis." She softly bit her soft, pale lower lip - holding back her excitement for the place. - this was her second time here but she's been a child the first time. " I am the only map alive - now, please tell me more about how unnecessary I am. Care to tag along?" Her nose wrinkled in triumphant amusement as her eyes glittered with leverage she knew his pride would never would tolerate - and yet there was a primal pleasure antagonizing him. Too late she realized her mistake - he'd never let her get to it and now that he knew where he was, he would never leave without it. She never really had the problem of being outmatched but being here with the yonkou was most inconvenient and her mouth had gotten her into trouble again.

[WOG]
The smirk of Ibis; his face widened with these last words, "Eagle- do you know me at all, brother - don't disappoint me with pathetic martyrdom or I shall sacrifice you all - you know I do no jest- but face me fairly - all your wit against all of mine and we shall find the worthy leader." Lexana stiffened, noting the exchange, and challenge - she knew Eagle would never allow her to interfere, unless he was unconscious, and the worst she always prepared for.

[DEAMONBEAST]
After she had sealed Satoshi's wounds with searing heat, she rested her his against against the tree with her cloak behind it and slipped carefully away from him. The calmness in her pale blue eyes suddenly melted away into a bristling rage. She couldn't go after the bastard that took his sight - the the bears happened to be in her path when she was at her worst. The gash she inflicted has already singed closed, vaporizing any blood flow. The heat of her presence wilted the vegetation around her as she hot blades tore the the flesh the animals as she hunted the last of them down systematically, their instincts drawing them close her her, despite the danger. Her position always carefully guarded Satoshi's as the battles continued. In vengeful act of savagery, she cut away the claws from the animals' corpse. She collected them all in a pouch, saturated with warm blood as her own blood cooled. Her hands were cleaned before she returned to Satoshi - she didn't with to alarm him with the strong stench of blood.
Approaching him again was difficult. From afar, he looked the same - like he could spring to his feet, ready for adventure and battle at any moment. As she got close, his movements seemed so unnatural. Her stomach ached to see him like this - a beautiful talent so shattered. She was confident he could and would somehow find a way to be a formidable force despite his loss - and she would help him in every way she could - but while once can compensate for sight, one can never replace it. She would give him her own eyes if she could - they would be so out of place -- blue orbs of rage replacing his tranquil green ones. They always had a way of calming her - but now their sightlessness drove her to greater fury. There would be blood for this - she'd see to it.
For now she knelt next to him, examining his wound, making sure it was well sealed. She tore a piece of fabric from her top and looped it around him to help keep pressure on the gash so it wouldn't open again. She gently wrapped her arms around him, speaking calmly "We should go ..." She tried to pull him up to his feet as gently as possible, allowing him to lean against her in whatever way needed. She had to get him to her ship without further issue. Usually the sight of him was enough to cause most enemies to think better of bothering with him so she tried to make it look like she was the injured one.

[[Anubis]]

Anubis grumbled under his breath but simply flickered his hand "Fine, if you insist, i will allow you to take the lead, after all its better i dont waste my abilities on such trivialities , i have far more pressing things to use my strength for..." Anubis was holding his power in check for two reasons 1. was to not destroy the cave and sink them along in it, the other reason was because, he knew there were some formidable insects to be smashed later on.

[[WOG]]

Eagle then calmed his breathing, the attack could come from anywhere, literally any place within this cave, Ibis could strike him first and make him lose his footing, something that Eagle could not afford. Eagle then spoke "Fine then Ibis.... one on one... lets do it then.... u should know better than anyone, if i use my ability, this entire cave to be destroyed....."

[[Demonbeast]]

Why was he remembering all of this? Why was he remembering his father dying? What was the point of it ? Was it going to make him feel better? Was it going to bring his dead father back? Was it a sense of failure? Satoshi had nothing but time to think, in his mind, he was pretty sure he was dead, yet, he could still feel the warmth, someone.... some..... Satoshis mind wavered back to his father. Such a strong commanding man, such a skilled swordsman, able to kill 3 master class fighters all by himself, such dedication and integrity. Satoshi wondered if he was even half the man his father was. Satoshi himself had become a guard captain for Dokomi island, which was destroyed by Wally, he joined Anubis and became famous through that method. Fought battles, killed to survive. Was it worth it? In the end this is what his life had given him. Loss of sight, and injuries which could be fatal.

Satoshis concentration was now wavering, "no... no i shouldnt...." he thought to himself , "If i stop thinking , ill lose all bearing... ill die....." Satoshi didnt know whether to feel glad about dying or not, he didnt know whether he could truly call himself a true swordsman after that defeat to a opponent who had clearly been training and preparing , who had dedicated himself to his craft rather than constrain himself. Satoshi then remembered , the swordsman threatened Kiana. "he... almost hurt her... i almost couldnt protect her.... i almost lost her....." Satoshi coughed as he muttered "Ki.....a....Ki.......a.." the words couldnt fully come out, he cursed himself as he was unable to gather the strength to say her name and thank her, he knew now that the warmth belonged to her, he clutched her as she carried him, hugging on to her "Im... sorry...."

[SANDFLAME]

Kiya raised a brow in amusement. "ALLOW me?  You hold no dominion over me, Arabastian. Furthermore, you don't even hold dominion in your own bloody kingdom.  You may me a Yonkou but you are only a pawn - just as you were at home ... but sure, play your little game as you like with your delusions of grandeur so you can forget the petty, rejected child you actually are."

She seemed relieved.  Perhaps he hadn't noticed her allowing such precious knowledge of the cave's contents to slip.  He did have a particular skill for completely ignoring her. She had not yet gotten used to not having her cloak, causing her a perplexed distress when her usual means of space-invading proximity for intimidation didn't work as she was accustomed and probably seemed a bit - creepy. Despite her harsh words, she was just as spoiled as he was and was not used to people not fearing her presence. Everything she resented about him was what she hated about herself but was too blind or proud to have such introspection.

She moved carefully though the cave, thick and sticky blood still dripped from her weapon, spatters dotting her arms and abdomen from the violent sprays inflicted from her vicious methods of battle. She eyes Anubis who was still as clean as if he had just dressed moments ago.  How does that even happen?  She wasn't sure what to make of his pristine methods but she found a certain liberation in being able to be free of her station, afforded with the rare opportunity of getting dirty.

Despite her resentment of every facet of her unlikely partner in battle, her alliance was too useful for her to botch since he controlled the territory most useful to her business - of course he would have to be the most completely insufferable individual she ever had the misfortune of being near. A flicker of steel dances across her visage and a straggling creature falls at her feet.  Her weapon once more drips freely with fresh blood. A head rolls away with a bit of a spin.  The wicked grin on her lips suggested that she was likely seeing the severed head of a certain Arabastian rather than the chupacabra she just decapitated.

[WOG]

A dark voice semed to echo from all around them. "Yes, brother - how could I forget you possess the power to end every conflict there has every been between us or otherwise - you never LET me forget, in fact. I have this place running with blood but you can trump all eliminating the entire environment - now ..."

Lexana, oddly, seemed to be more brooding than anxious and after a heavy sigh, she cut of the droning Ibis. "GREAT - now if you two are quite finished comparing genital girth, could we bloody get on with it? Not that I have any great desire to see you two battle - but either you are stalling so you can continue your cowardly cloak and dagger ambushes or you have have run out of ideas - what's your game, Ibis? If you want to fight, shut your mouth of once and get your ass out here.  The world will shatter before you finish your angsty whine-fest  of pitiful jealousy."

Ibis was a bit taken aback but never without retort. "Then I shall end you first so you never have to see the world shatter or hear my bothersome voice. Call it a gift for making my objective so much easier."

[DEMONBEAST]

The deep gashes inflicted from the bear claws still burned, despite the wounds being sealed. She bit her lip as his weight shifted, causing the wound to compress - never allowing him to know. His broken words troubled her - his wounds were deep and his spirit was broken. Everything out of his mouth was more painful than those bear gashes ever though about being.  This man was in pieces and the only thing he could find to worry about was the fact that his opponent could have harmed her.

Always cold of demeanor, and only accustomed to feeling anger, the pain she felt seeing him this was was suffocating.  She pause in the shadows of the trees, very gently pressing his back against a tree while allowing him to still lean against her so he could rest a bit.
"Satoshi ... we cannot treasure victory without first knowing defeat - it is defeat, not triumph which shows our weaknesses and how we must grow."
She cradles his face, forcing herself to look at his sightless eyes.
"You just saved my life - I only wish I were more useful to you. Rumor has it you can beat the best of swordsmen blindfolded - you've beaten me blindfolded and I still never learned how to perry your attacks - what you do is beyond technique. We'll train again - every day for as long as it takes - and I will be there that day - to watch you return the favor to the man who showed you just how strong you are."

She fixes his blades to her back treating them with the care of the most precious and delicate of relics. She presses her staff into his free hand so he can have additional support. She pulls him tightly against her again, carefully shifting his weight to her frame as they move toward the hidden grotto where she moored her ship in secrecy. "Stay with me - please. I need you ..." Her voice almost betrayed how frightened she was to see him this way.  She did believe he would rise from these ashes like a phoenix as he always had - and she would be there every day to help an any way he require - but it still tore her apart to see him like this.

Aboard her ship, she leads him, not to a cabin but to her forge, the most secure place on the vessel. She frequently slept here, never comfortable away from her blades. She lowers him onto the futon where she usually sleeps. After carefully depositing his blades near her anvil, she returns with a medical kit and begins cleaning and dressing his wounds. Once more she relied on her singing heat to seal the wounds. "I'm sorry - I know you need rest but I need you to stay away until you can replace the blood loss."

After bringing and encouraging him to drink a rich, nourishing broth, she begins to clean and sharpen his blades - hoping the distinctive song of their steel preparing for battle will boost his strength. They felt so wrong in her hands - emitting uncomfortable energy as though they were rejecting her and calling out for their master. Even the one forged by her own hand pushed her away now. "Amazing. You can actually hear the purity of the steel - they call to you and will be waiting when you wish to train - and so will I - but for now you must push your energy into healing your body and your spirit." She moves back to toward him placing one of the swords near by so he can feels its strong energy. She lightly presses her lips to his forehead. "I'll be right here ..." She goes back to sharpening the other katana - slowly and methodically - the rhythm of the perfect edge.

[Sandflame]

Anubis scoffed sarcastically as he walked ahead "Foolish girl, i have already taken my kingdom, but for you, who go everyday trying to live out as your father, i wonder who is the one within their own delusion? The truth is, you have always seeked your daddys approval, but daddy isnt here is he? Tragic, a little girl playing dress up , trying to be a man, trying to run her little make believe empire that she believes she is entitled to, everything i have , i have clawed through the much to get it, i didnt sit at home in the comfort, i went out, i TOOK and KILLED, the countless men who looked me in the eyes which such confusion, Why did you do it? Anubis , why did u kill us? Their deaths are on my hands, unlike you who have never ventured outside your fathers enterprise and have to kill people you once held close to you in the name of liberation!!.

Anubis calmed himself, he just realised he was close to going beserk, he hated it when he lost control, it was like a poker game, the one with the better bluff face wins, no point showing all your cards. Anubis raised his hands up "At this point in time, while i like our little dialogue, im afraid we still need to find our way, and since you claim that you are the all seeing and all knowing map of these tunnels, perhaps you can lead our way? Oh would you like me to fetch you your daddy?"

[[WOG]]

Eagle heard Falcons voice and just placed his hand to his head, she had revealed herself now??!! This wasnt good, now Ibis would know that he can pick them off one at a time and no one would figure out what he did. Eagle had heard enough "OK, enough of this Ibis, i hope you realize....." Eagles arms started glowing, his entire figure not changing along with his right arm which was glowing gold now, Eagle then lifted his heavy arm, and then with one lift he smashed it against the cave wall, creating a huge explosion following with a huge gong. Eagle then raised his head "I hope you realize, from this point on, you are dead to me, you stubborn fool!!!"

[[Demonbeast]]
The one thing that was keeping Satoshi from simply just not moving was Kiana, her warmth had somehow given him strength, the sort of warmth that he wasnt very accustomed to either. He sat up and ran his hands along the ground, he could somehow feel the heat in the air, the ash on the floor, this was the forge of Kianas ship, he could also feel his blades resonating to him, the steel trying to look for his grasp. Satoshi bit his lip as he sat back, he couldnt see anything, not a damn thing. EVen though he felt, heard and could smell, he couldnt see the colours, he couldnt see Kianas beautiful face as she kissed him on the forehead. He couldnt see any of it, and it was not something he could simply accept. He felt weak and defeated, the bleeding he suffered was intensive and it seemed he lost blood. Satoshi then gripped the edge of one of Kianas workbenches, trying to stand.

Satoshi grunting in pain "I have..... to tra..in..... hav..e.... to ...." Satoshi lowered his head and faced away , he did not know what this sensation in the pits of stomach was , he didnt know what this was, it was more than anger, it was more than frustration of being defeated, it was more than sadness, or the feeling of seeking justice. No, what Satoshi was feeling was far more primal, it was far more brutal. For the first time in his life, Satoshi wanted to KILL. He wanted to absolutely slaughter that man for taking his sight, he wanted to impose absolute violence on him. Satoshi grit his teeth as roared loudly trying to reach for his sword, despite stumbling and his body battered and weak.

[SANDFLAME]

Kiyas eye's flickered brightly as, at last, the Yonkou was brutally honest for her - lashing out and pointing out what she already knew. She knew what she was and she resented herself enough for the both of them - and despite having successfully convinced thousands of underlings that her father had never actually left - she was never good enough for her own standards and hated the empire that was dropped on her lap by a man she spent less than a month with over her entire life. She never wanted the empire, just her father when she was a child - but now she hated both of them but felt obligated to fulfill this duty. She certainly couldn't deny his attacks but she wouldn't allow him such viciousness without defending herself so that the extent of her insecurity and resentment would not be detected.

"What would you have me do, Yonkou? Leave this empire to fall to ash, or more likely into the hands of the World Government? We both know what they would do with it. My practice isn't even supposed to be LEGAL - but it's large enough, benefits them enough, and is such a massive weight in the balancing act of our entire world that they wouldn't dare to interfere. You don't know me - you don't know the blood I've been force to spill - the innocence I have had to destroy to keep worse from happening to more people - bartering lives that were never mine to give."

She steps closer to the Yonkou, fire blazing behind narrowed serpentine green eyes.
"You're right ... I didn't 'kill' or 'take' - I'm not self absorbed enough to view everything the light touches as my personal playground. I kill when I have to and take when I need to ... as little as I can and just enough to continue to balance upon a knife's point in this world. I know I will never be my father and after years, I'm thankful for that ... and as much as this may surprise you, it has never been my goal to be like you, Anubis, and as long as I breathe, I will never begin my days with your standards in mind."

She found it ironic that he lived with such brutality but his actual killing methods were so tidy. She brushes past him taking another moment to enjoy the rage radiating from his face knowing that she hit a nerve of the mighty Yonku who would never be bothered by the opinions of such a lowly creature as herself. The satisfaction more than paid for enduring the savagery of his words.

"I never asked for this and more than you asked to be born into your station - the difference is that you view it as entitlement and I view it as a duty - you will always have a higher body count because I could never assume that all lives are mine to do as I please with - not even my own ...and you can fetch whatever you think will get you out of the labyrinth alive and neither my father nor that tongue of your will be much help."

[WOG]

The sudden explosion in the cave was met with silence. Falcons voice was echoed through the opposite end of the cave from it's previous position. "Damnit, Ibis. I knew you would ass around and cause this... "
A few moments later Falcon appears behind Eagle, holding some wires attached to percussion pads. "I should have mentioned - I found how that slippery bastard was throwing his voice around. I see my test run was less than successful. The next sound we hear from him should reveal his actual location - without his toys, he can't hide."

A vague laugh echoes quite suddenly. "BROTHER, I --- DAMNIT!" His words are cut short as Ibis realizes too late that his acoustic hiding place has been destroyed. No more words follow and the occasional shifting of stones echo thought the chambers. Ibis was on the run.

[DEMONBEAST]

Kiana watched him with frustration - knowing how much of his identity was tied up in being one of the best at what he does and right now he didn't know how to battle against sightlessness. It was like sealing potential away in a bottle. Her insides twisted in a bizarre pain she'd never felt before - Her heart was breaking watching him but should needed to be strong enough to stand in his way at his moment - for his own good. She even would risk him hating her to prevent his recklessness.

Her eyes were deep blue pools of unusual calm as her hand came out to intercept the hand the moved toward the blade. She felt the awful energy of interfering with a blade calling for its master which got worse during his terribly uncharacteristic roar that curled the edges of her soul - but it couldn't be helped. She gripped his hand firmly, pushing him back wards forcing him back onto the futon. "Not right not. Not like this."

Her eyes narrowed darkly as she slowly climbed over him, straddling his hips. She pressed his captured hand over his head as her hair slipped over her shoulders and lightly brushed against his cheek. "I will hold you down like this for as long as I have to for you to rest long enough to let your body heal."
She releases his hand and sits up, still pinning him down by the hips while glaring down at him. He would not recognize the look on her face as he had never before inspired her anger.

"You know better than this. How will it serve you to put your rage before your technique ... to further tear apart a wounded body? If you make this injury worse right now, it will take 3 times longer to recover. You must be patient and you must be lucid. You must be strong enough to bury your rage and save it for the battle you seek. All greatness is defined by limitation - your senses are too keen to be completely reliant upon the function of one. You are better than this."

She was thankful he could not see her anger - it wasn't the usual sort, her eyes deep blue and moist rather than their typical cold, pale glow. If she let him leave, he'd die trying to train in his condition - somehow he had to know this but he valued his revenge more than his own life and every purpose he fulfilled in this world. It was painful to see him this way.

"You won't achieve victory because you, for once, happen to be angry - you have to earn victory - and that starts with healing. Satoshi - I will help you heal, I will help you train, I will help you track the bastard down and melt his rotting corpse when you're finished with him but I will NOT help you into your grave with this recklessness. You will have to kill me before I will let you leave - you will only walk out of this place with my blood on your blade."

She leans over him, lightly crossing her arms over his chest and perching her chin over her crossed arms, shifting most of her weight to her legs, as to not harm his wounded body with too much weight. "I've got more blood than you do right now ... you're on simple slash away from improving your odds - what's it going to be, Miroku?"

She suddenly felt quite bad for treating him so harshly after he's been through so much. She cradled his face gently in her hands, her voice soft and and almost pleading. "Please - Satoshi ... let me help you." Before she could knew what happened and before she could catch it or hide it, a single drop of moisture escaped her eye and shattered against the swordsman's cheek.

[Sandflame]

Anubis laughed when Kiya brought out the world government "The world government , hahahahahaha please, the last time the world government tried to kill me, i took my country back from those imputent fools, and before that when they did something i didnt approve of, i went over and battled all of them at enies lobby, it was glorious, ahahahaha" Anubis then went quiet for a bit, remembering that he nearly died from that experience, he remained quiet as Kiya was talking about her father and her responsibilities. Anubis then walked ahead, seeing something shiny "What .... wait a minute..." Anubis stood by, the cave was shaking for a bit, there was some big collision, which caused the deposit of rock to shatter revealing some sort of golden looking rock, Anubis crumbled the rock in his hand, allowing him to create golden sand , Anubis grinned "Unbelievable... to think that this cave had something like golden sand... truly magnificient.. it weighs more as well, yes.... "

[[WOG]]

Eagle lifted up his huge golden arm as soon as he heard Ibis voice, he swung his arm in that direction, causing another huge explosive punch followed by a gong noise, Eagle panted as he walked foward, this arm was heavy in hybrid mode, it made him less mobile "Its alright Falcon, go after him, we need to find a way to contain him in here, we cant have him on the surface again, otherwise he will run off and hide again!!"

[[Demonbeast]]

Satoshi was pinned down by Kiana and just like that he calmed down, every word by Kiana stopped him in his tracks as he started to breath normally. He could sense the frustration from Kianas mouth as he calmed down, follow by the tear from her face, as it dripped onto him, he sat quietly, he had made Kiana cry, something that seemed like a near impossible feat. Satoshi sat back and stopped struggling, his stomach had ceased the earlier feeling it had. Now he simply stayed still with Kiana holding him, he leaned over reaching for her and pulling her to him, hugging her tight as he kissed her, it was something about this moment that drove him, he never wanted to make her cry, he never wanted to hurt her, he had done so much damage and now he was losing his mind, acting on however he felt, as soon as he realised that he was kissing her and hugging her, he quickly let go, "Oh... why... im sorry .. im really sorry... i dont know why i did that... Kiana san, please , please forgive me......."

[SANDFLAME]

"I am not arguing their idiocy and inadequacy but they do have a way of throwing around their resources to make creatures who displease them disappear. If they knew about the other side of my business, my head likely would be more valuable to them. They are certainly an incompetent nuisance that I would love to see wiped from the face of the world but I won't go out looking for a reason to battle them - something which nearly ended badly for yourself, if the papers can be believed. Is it painful to contain so much obnoxious arrogance within a single body, you overgrown sandbag?"
Kiya paused as something almost like an explosion reverberated though the cave.

"What the devil was--" Her words were cut short as the rock smashed to the ground and she saw the shimmering flakes of golden dust dance away from the yonkou's fingers as he picked it up. The loose golden dust in the area seemed highly responsive to the nature of his powers - the beautiful warm hue reflected against his skin as it stirred ... the ethereal adding an odd, rich warmth to such a cold. She was momentarily by the striking beauty of the disintegrated metallic. " ... so it's true..."

She was filled with a childlike excitement of finding a legend is actually true it was the only piece of her childhood that really meant anything to her... but the feeling was tempered with dread. As much as she wanted to find this place, she also hoped it was a legend because she didn't want to fight yonkou and his henchmen over this place. It was much too valuable to walk away from - a necessity for the production of her sandstone wares - so there was no choice in the matter. She knew what fighting him would mean - the devils fruit attached to her head peace weighed heavy on her head - haunting and taunting her, knowing it was necessary to acquire what she needed.

This, more than anything was at the core of her dread. For now still had to worry about getting out of these caves alive and uncaptured by their mutual enemies. Still, she knew that everything had just changed. The stakes were much higher and collaboration would be even more strained. No matter how things passed, there would be a battle - in the end there can be only one master of Elusys. She tried to hold on to how things were only a moment ago, the venomous antagonism that was almost amusing - as she tried to ignore the eventuality of what must occur.

Something in the wall catches her eye. Knocking away the dust, she finds an oil basin embedded in the wall. She timidly presses her torch against the opening - as soon as the oil is set alight the angle of the flame bounces back and a golden light illuminates a corridor. Looking up, she finds a system of mirrors that carry the light further into the cavern, Following the light, she finds an oil basin on the opposite wall to freshen the intensity of the light.

She takes another step. A soft thud is heard as her torch slips from her fingers, eyes wide and her mouth agape at what is before her. Every legend she heard as a child was true - in a moment she gets lost in her excitement like a giddy child and forgets every complication of what finding this place means - in the worst incarnation of her excitement, she throws her arms around the yonkou. "They're real! The Elusynian tunnels are not just a myth!" Much too late, she catches herself - and it was as though her skin were melting away ... the look on her face is somewhere between embarrassment, hatred, and disgust ... "I - I got carried aw-... " As she steps back away from him, she trips over the lit torch and falls backward, resulting in her cloak catching fire. She flails wildly to remove it, as apparently this wasn't the sort of "flame cloak" she was accustomed to. She then bounces on the cloak to extinguish the flames which have progressed half way up the garment, leaving her with only a charred half-cloak. Calmly, she tried to pretend nothing happened. Puts her torched cloak back on, gives Anubis a cool look of annoyance and walks away.

[WOG]

Falcon was not around to hear eagle as she had already dashed back into the depths of the cave, following the breadcrumbs of sounds that Ibis left during his flight. Every time she thought she grew closer, the sounds grew further away and changed directions.
Ibis knew the implications of what Eagle had done, the thing he could become and his inability to walk away from anything. One of them would die in this cave system - likely all three of them if things got out of hand - and all of his plans will have been a waste. He needed to focus on finding the alternate route out of this place. He was trained for stealth and deal in dark, unforgiving environments but it's not something that could be endured long term.

[DEAMONBEAST]
Kiana was not without anger over what happened to Satoshi - far from it. Unspeakable things crossed her mind concerning what she'd like to do to the creature who did this to him ... and every heartbreaking little thing Satoshi did only made her crave fashioning an intricate torture for the bloody bastard. But right now, she was focused - One of them had to be clear headed - and while she had Satoshi's health, recovery, and training to focus on she was calm, ignoring her rage to push all of her energy into only those three things - which mattered so much more than revenge.

Kiana blinked hard trying to push back and more unwanted moisture, though she had already been given away. She suddenly gasped as Satoshi unexpectedly pulled her down to him. She shivered in his arms as his lips met hers, taking her breath away like he always did - breaking down her walls and finding the softness buried within a monster. Distracted by the sweetness of his mouth she almost forgot what happened and how wounded he was until he suddenly released her, shyly apologizing as he always did - still worked up and worried about her, despite his condition.

She couldn't take it - he had endured so much, she would not allow him to worry about her. She softly presses a finger to his lips to silence him for a moment. "Satoshi ... there is nothing to forgive ..." Leaning over and pressing against him, she lightly brushes her lips against his before kissing him with a slightly higher intensity hoping to calm and reassure him to not worry about her. She tried to be gentle enough to not irritate his wounds, battling to not get carried away - after everything they've been through she found herself even more drawn to the swordsman. She was almost thankful he could see the effect he hand on her at the moment, though he could probably taste it on her lips.