Welcome Guest [Log In] [Register]
The Restless…

That was the funny thing about being dead. In life you got used to certain things; technology and modern inventions like firearms. They were a part of your life and you never once thought about how they worked. Now, with no machines and computers, they were all relying on their memories and the scrapes of trivia that they knew in order to reinvent the most basic of things. An automatic pistol would have been nice right about now, as would have a good cup of coffee…

Create your Character!!


Log in to join the fight:


Username:   Password:
Locked Topic
No place like home
Topic Started: May 25 2009, 04:11 PM (502 Views)
Yusuke
Member Avatar

Vertigo didn’t begin to describe the feeling of utter chaos Yusuke was thrown into. Inky darkness pulled at his mind and for a brief moment he feared there would never be anything else. There was no up, no down to the cyclone he found himself in. Wind ripped at his clothes, yet there was no sound. He wasn’t cold, wasn’t warm, wasn’t anything at all. The sudden urge to scream until he could hear himself was almost overwhelming. But Yusuke couldn’t seem to draw enough of a breath to even attempt it. There simply was no air to breathe in.

And just as quickly as it had all started, Yusuke was back on solid ground. He stumbled from the unexpected transition and went to his knees before he could catch himself. His gun skittered out of his grip and slid to a stop a few feet away. His hands came to a stop on cobble stone and Yusuke’s mind slowed at the sight. He’d been standing on concrete only moments before. The ground had a thin layer of what looked like ash on it and his hands came back up smeared with it. His mind was suddenly racing again. Where in the hell was he?

Sounds to his left had Yusuke snapping his head up to look around. He saw a man standing there staring back at him. He was filthy, tattered clothes and dirt smeared over his arms and face. But it was his eyes that worried Yusuke the most. They were glassed over and all but rolling in the man’s head. The man stumbled forward with a speed that defied his shuffling gate. Yusuke had only a moment to roll out of the way as the man closed in. His mouth was gaping open, and he was mumbling something over and over again, but Yusuke couldn’t make out the words.

Somehow the image of a zombie game he’d once played came to mind. The man in front of him had the same vacant, hungry appearance. Yusuke came to his feet as the man lunged forward again, this time not getting out of the way fast enough. The man caught him by the edge of his jacket and pulled with more strength then Yusuke thought possible.

“Give it to me. Give me more now.” The man’s rasping words forced his acrid breath into Yusuke’s face and the younger man almost gagged. He put both hands against the man’s chest and shoved him back.

Yusuke stumbled when the man’s grip finally slipped and he almost hit the ground again. Instead he spun, sliding to his knees by his gun and taking aim. The safety was still off and he fired twice into the man’s chest. He watched in awe as the man stumbled and went to his knees before his body dissolved into ember and ash.

It didn’t make any damn sense at all. His chest still ached from the blade Yogensha had slid through it. He knew he was dead, he had to be. What he didn’t understand was what in the hell his mind had come up with to cope with the fact. Yusuke stayed there on his knees, gun resting in his lap and he looked up and took in the burning sky above him. He was going to have to find answers, and soon.
Offline Profile Goto Top
 
Hazuki
Member Avatar
Just a step away from Hell...
Claws shredded through skin, blood pooling as they went. It felt like butter, soft and pliable and it made him feel sick. He could smell the blood, taste it in his mouth and feel it running all over him. Jaws opened and Hazuki knew that it was the end.

Bolting upright in bed, Hazuki panted, his hair plastered to his face and his feet tangled in the blanket. It wasn’t his room, he knew that instantly, and the alien feeling had him instantly on edge.

It took him far too long to realise that he was in fact sitting upright and breathing heavily with almost no pain at all.

Standing shakily to his feet, Hazuki’s hand prodded at his ribs. Instant pain, that was all he felt but somehow it wasn’t as bad.

Hazuki could remember it all; the pain, the foggy memories that had come to him when Yuusuke had been there when he woke up. He remembered how hard it was to even move and breathe let along climb the stairs. It was all there, all clear and focused and yet Hazuki couldn’t make any sense of how he was currently standing. He even flexed his jaw back and forth, feeling almost no resistance and only the slightest pull of bruises that must have already been mostly healed. It was a surreal feeling, slightly frightening and eerie, especially as the two gunshots sounded in the background.

Hazuki blinked, his jaw motions stopping as his head tilted to the side.

Gun shots?

Hazuki was moving, taking the corridor at a run and the stairs two at a time. He hadn’t heard that sort of noise in a long time. A glock, as far as he could tell, probably a 36 with .45 calibre rounds. There was no way that that sort of gun was created here and to Hazuki that could only mean one thing.

Another cop was dead.

Hazuki counted his lucky stars as he reached the bottom floor. He bolted into the foyer, ignoring the smell of blood and the table in the corner that held fuzzy memories of a medic he didn’t know working over him. None of that mattered; another cop dead and an armed one at that. It was a godsent.

Of course there was the issue of what said cop was shooting at, but Hazuki was pretty sure they could deal. They just had to get to the new officer before he took any fatal wounds and ended up be-all dead.

He ignored the startled glances from the men. Maybe he had just been asleep for longer than he thought he had. Maybe they were looking at him due to the fact that he was finally awake and not because he still shouldn’t be able to move.

“Man the doors,” Hazuki ordered as he brushed past them. The men seemed to be responding better now; there was no wrath hanging in the air to cloud their minds and they again resembled the military operation that Hazuki had worked so hard to establish. Even if they did cast him suspicious sidelong glances. “I want a dozen of you up on the top floors and the roof to provide cover.

“You, you and you, come with me,” Hazuki picked three man at random before turning and once again sliding open the heavy doors. It felt like just yesterday that he had done this in order to face Wrath though obviously that couldn’t be the case. Not with the way he was healing though fucked if he could work out how long ago that fight had been.

Peering down the street, Hazuki saw a dark figure crouched in the middle of the road, his back to them and facing the last remains of burning ash from a dead soul. Not an overly trusting man, Hazuki gripped the sai tighter in his hand and signalled his men to stay put. He himself inched forward, his weapon ready as he took in the sight.

He got about fifteen paces closer when he stopped, his eyes snapping to one of the far of shadows. It was the tiniest of all movements – completely microscopic – but Hazuki was drawn it to. The blowing of hair in the breeze; it flicked out from the shadows between him and the newly dead policeman. Hazuki knew what it was, hell, the more he stared the more convinced he became that he could actually see the person in the darkness.

“Sin takers!” Hazuki hissed and instantly the three men ran forward, flanking him, and took up a defensive position, each of them forming a corner so that their backs were protected. Hazuki could hear the sound of shuffling feet upstairs and somehow he could even hear the sound of crossbows locking into place and the flints of the old pistols being drawn back.

“Behind you!” Hazuki yelled to the stranger. At the moment he was willing to go on a little faith with the stranger even if it was just a matter of being the enemy of his enemy.
Offline Profile Goto Top
 
Yusuke
Member Avatar

Shuffling echoed down the side streets all around him, punctuated at random by eerie moans and whimpers. He could see the crawling shadows at the edge of his vision and knew that in a few more moments he would be completely surrounded. This area wasn’t defendable. It was really that simple. He’d either have to move or be flanked by whatever the hell these things were. And he didn’t have an endless supply of rounds either. His mind did the quick count, three rounds down, four remaining in the clip and seven in his spare. Not good odds if the swarming mass of shadows was any inclination.

No sooner had he made up his mind to move when a shout caught him off guard. The voice was clear, nothing like the mumbling slur that the other creature had used, so without a thought he reacted. He spun on his knees, planting the balls of his feet onto the stone street and aimed down the length of his gun. He didn’t see the creature immediately. Then his eyes caught the faintest of movements and he fired. His shot was true and within seconds he saw that faint red glow as the thing burned away to ash. Four rounds gone now.

Yusuke’s eyes slid over to take in the newcomer. The man was only a bit taller then he himself was, though definitely more muscular. He had a sai in his hand and three men flanked out around him. He didn’t move like the thing that had just attacked so Yusuke immediately slotted him in his mind as normal. Someone else that was like himself, trapped in whatever twisted world he’d ended up in. Another normal person was a good thing. It meant backup, at least for the moment. He could work out the details of whom or what the stranger was later. Yusuke didn’t like that the man had what appeared to be blood dried on his clothing, but he couldn’t be too picky.

Without hesitation Yusuke was up on his feet and moving. He kept both hands on the gun, its barrel pointed at the ground to his right side. His eyes watched the side streets as he closed the distance between him and what appeared to be his newest allies. If they turned out to be anything different he still had three rounds in his current clip. He was pretty sure he could handle himself should the situation call for it. He was really hoping it wouldn’t go that way. He still wasn’t sure exactly what was happening. Though the pain in his chest, whether real or just a vivid memory, told him all too clearly that he was dead. There was just no way he couldn’t be.

Moaning to his left had him spinning, bringing that gun up as another creature ventured out of the gloom. Yusuke hesitated immediately. It was a woman, her clothing ripped and hanging off of her starved looking body. Blood stained pieces of the material and her skin, dirt and filth covered the rest. Her feet were bare and bleeding, one breast was exposed and the way she was running her hands across her body made his stomach turn. She looked at him with eyes glazed over by need. But he had nothing she wanted, of that he was sure. Yusuke took a hesitant step backwards, trying to keep distance between himself and the woman.

“What the hell is going on here? What’s matter with her?”

His words were soft, questioning no one in particular. He didn’t really expect an answer after all. His mind was cycling through all of the possibilities he could come up with already. Everything from his soul making this version of the world from his twisted imagination, to all of the afterlife myths he’d heard while growing up. This didn’t look like any heaven he could think of. And he didn’t think it was bad enough to be hell, though he was sure that there had been plenty of mistakes he’d made throughout his short life that would warrant hell as a destination. Maybe he was stuck somewhere in between. Not good enough to find eternal peace waiting for him, and yet not damned enough to burn for eternity.

Either way, he was here and facing down a woman that was looking at him like he was made of something tasty. She reached one hand out, grasping at him in desperate need. And Yusuke was unwilling to fire at her, though he did keep the gun trained on her face. He took one final step backwards before deciding he would go no further; if she wouldn’t back up he’d defend himself. Even if it left a bad taste in his mouth to think of it.

“Look lady, step back or I’ll shoot, got it?” His eyes slipped over to the man to his right and then back to watch her.

“Damn, can she even understand what I’m saying to her at all?”
Offline Profile Goto Top
 
Hazuki
Member Avatar
Just a step away from Hell...
It was a kid. A fucking kid. That was the first thing that Hazuki noticed when he stood up and turned around. A fucking kid and probably not even into his twenties yet.

Gone was the idea of some seasoned cop coming to join them. In a way Hazuki should have been expected it, prepare for the unexpected and all that shit.

Turning to one of the men beside him, Hazuki slipped his free hand to the back of the other’s pants and pulled out a long, slightly curved knife.

“Guard the doors,” Hazuki ordered the other three men. Spinning the sai in his hand, Hazuki inched forward, not too sure what his plan was. All he knew was that he needed to do something. For better or worse he couldn’t leave the poor kid out there by himself. The woman wasn’t going to back off and Hazuki knew it.

Idly he wondered why the hell he was going out onto that bloody street again but one look at the defensive position the kid had and Hazuki understood. Maybe Yuu was right; maybe Hazuki had some strange hero complex or something. Either way, all he knew was that he had to help this kid and if he didn’t then he was no better than the average sin sentencing people to die. It was his compassion that set him apart.

It was compassion that had him stepping forward, the top of the blade held between his thumb and index finger and his eyes narrowed in on the frantic woman. It was his sense of compassion that told him to take one life in exchange for another.

Throwing the knife, it caught the woman in the left eye and Hazuki stood there, gaping somewhat dumbfounded as the addict dissolved into ashes.

“I actually didn’t think that would work,” Hazuki said as he approached the kid cautiously. No matter what, that cop training was still there. This kid was armed and he was in a bad situation; that created panic. All it would take was a jump or a start and Hazuki would find himself supporting yet another wound. All things considered he didn’t quite think that he was ready to deal with anything like that just yet.

“Take it easy, kid. I’m not like them.” He knew that he probably didn’t look so good – he hadn’t even changed since his fight with Mao, however long ago that was. Blood had to be everywhere and god only knew how well healed his bruises and scratches were; he probably looked just as scary as the addicts.

Holding his hands out in the open, Hazuki opted to treat the stranger like a terrified animal. At least, that had been his plan until he felt his own head tilting randomly to the side.

Pausing, Hazuki held his hand out to the kid, quietly telling him not to answer. Something strange was happening.

“There’s more,” Hazuki mouthed, his head cocking to the side as he continued to listen. He didn’t know how he was doing it, or what was really happening, but he felt like he could feel the entire street, feel it buzzing with life and moving. The crawl of insects, the laboured breath of the Sin taker and the quicken heartbeats of the kid beside him and the men up in The Grandeur.

He could sense everything and for a brief moment Hazuki was sure that he was about to snap and sink into insanity.

There was a shuffle behind them, a strange scratching sound from in front and a horrible sense of hatred and need from the distance. Hazuki cringed at the feeling, wondering what the hell it had to do with anything.

That small distraction seemed to break the strange connection and just as quickly as the senses had come, Hazuki again felt nothing but normal.

And then they hit. It was like a wave, a huge crashing force bearing down on them and almost instantly Hazuki watched as their pathway to the gate was cut off. It was though no strategic planning and Hazuki was pretty sure that it was just an accident that saw the addicts cornering them in. All they cared about was their fix after all, and for whatever reason they seemed to think that Hazuki and this kid could help them.

Glancing around, Hazuki saw the three men by the door pushing the gates back as the hoard tried to rush them. The numbers were a lot less then what Wrath had brought down upon them, but it was still worrying. And without Wrath here to infect them all, the men were holding their own. Already those on the roof were starting to fire down into the mess, centring on the spot between Hazuki and the hotel and oddly enough, Hazuki didn’t worry too much about the idea of getting shot from above.

A hand clawed at his shoulder as he oversaw the guard’s efforts. “Fuck,” he cursed, all too aware that he had let his guard down.

Grabbing the hand, Hazuki rolled his shoulders forward and ducked his head. He kicked back with one foot, his weight oddly balanced and threw the creature clear over his head. It crashed against the wall of the building, a howl on its lips.

“Save your fucking rounds, kid” Hazuki swore. He couldn’t blame the guy for shooting but that gun… it was a one off thing here and Hazuki wasn’t about to let the kid go and render it useless by wasting the bullets. Stupid as it was, they needed to see that gun, pull it apart and have some of their gear heads working on the prospect of new parts.

Another creature came up on their right and Hazuki stepped towards it while pulling the kid out of the way.

His right hand curled into a fist. Bracing it with his left, Hazuki used the tension in his arm to force his elbow into the throat of one of the closest creatures. Jabbing upwards, he took the mindless creature out by snapping its head up and severing the spinal cord.

The body fell to the ground, the head rolling on the shoulders like jelly. It took a moment for true death to settle in but once it did the corpse started to melt into a hollow shell of red embers and ash.
Edited by Hazuki, May 26 2009, 03:48 PM.
Offline Profile Goto Top
 
Yusuke
Member Avatar

There was nothing in his life that had prepared him for this moment. Not a single memory that offered any aid. The fear and pain of the creatures closing in around them was almost tangible. Yusuke swore for a moment that he was choking on it. His breathes came in short bursts as he spun in a slow circle, taking in the stumbling forms that had surrounded him in an instant. Three men were shoving a gate closed, keeping the creatures out, keeping him out. The sound of that metal latch finally sliding home was like a gunshot in his mind, sudden and final.

There was a moment of panic as his mind raced through all of the horrible ways he could die out here in this crowd of monsters. Only a single brief second passed, where Yusuke teetered on the edge of making the right decision and the wrong one. Everything that wasn’t rational in his brain screamed to run, to flee the sickening sound of their moaning, the sudden press of clammy skin. And in that hysteria Yusuke found the strength he was looking for. Somehow he managed to grab a hold of his thoughts and shove the fear back down and out of the way.

He didn’t answer the man as he spoke, instead holstering the gun and moving to pick up the knife that had clattered to the ground as the body incinerated. Logic told him that a bladed weapon would be more efficient in the long run. He just didn’t have the rounds needed to take down this swarm, and the gun was all but useless without ammo. With the knife in hand Yusuke spun, whipping that blade out and across the throat of the first creature that got too close to the young man.

Blood poured from the wound and he paused to watch it. He hadn’t expected them to bleed for some reason. Even as the thing went to its knees before burning to ash it bled out on the stone street. Somehow that bothered Yusuke, but he couldn’t take the time to care at the moment. There were too many of them still. They moved in waves, pushing against each other in an attempt to get at the two men standing in the street with them. He couldn’t figure out what they wanted, but he was sure he didn’t have it and wouldn’t survive them finding that out unless he fought back.

Without another thought Yusuke flew into motion. He brought that knife up and into the chest of a man directly in front of him, using the moment of extra leverage to lean forward and throw his foot out behind him to catch another in the throat. That knife was ripped free as he spun and slid it across the stomach of a woman before shoving her aside to get to the man coming up behind her. He rammed that knife hilt deep into his chest, reached up and snapped his neck to the side quickly enough to pull that knife free just as the man began to burn.

He was beginning to realize that they didn’t have any fighting skills to speak of. They were just a bunch of mindless drones swarming at him. That made Yusuke step in closer, slamming his palm up and into one of their noses. As that man went down Yusuke stepped over him and sent a round house into the face of another, dropping his foot down hard onto his neck the moment the man hit the ground. He felt a tug on his sleeve and didn’t hesitate to bring his elbow up and into the things face before spinning to slide that knife through their neck.

Yusuke was quickly getting covered in blood and gore as he moved, but he wouldn’t let his mind react to it just yet. Survival was so much more important than him freaking out over how he managed to live through it. With that in mind Yusuke circled around and ended up back to back with the man that had addressed him earlier. He had to trust the fool, even if he’d wandered right out into this mess for no apparent reason. If they survived this, Yusuke planned on explaining to the old timer exactly why that had been a bad idea.
Offline Profile Goto Top
 
Hazuki
Member Avatar
Just a step away from Hell...
Glancing behind him, Hazuki was just in time to see the kid pull off a rather effective roundhouse kick. His eyebrows shot up momentarily; he was impressed. The kid wasn’t too bad; even Hazuki had to admit that. He was no cop and Hazuki guessed it all came down to how the kid’s mind worked as to whether he would cope with the situation afterwards, but for the time being, he was a perfect damn soldier. Only time would tell.

Hazuki had seen it before; it was basic human instinct and survival to fight when pushed. Time and time again souls ended up here, lost and confused only to meet with immediate danger. Some cracked straight away, either slipping a needle filled with Sin into their arms or becoming food for the demons. Others run from one horror to the other, only to meet their end before their first night was through.

Then there were the ones that struggled and fought, survived and got themselves safe. They cracked after that, their mind falling to pieces and their body shutting down entirely. Hazuki had seen that far too many times. Especially with those used to hard lives; cops and criminals alike. No amount of inner walls could protect you from the harrowing results of your own fears realized.

Of course there were a few, a select little handful like Yuusuke and himself who managed to stay almost sane. Hazuki wasn’t going to lie to himself; neither of them were fully right in the head, but at least they could still function, still work and strive for a sense of normalcy that most seemed to leave behind in the human realm.

Ironic really, and even Hazuki could see the paradox of the situation as he used the butt of his weapon to collapse a soul’s windpipe. Yes, he was the sane one.

Flipping the weapon in his hand, Hazuki turned to the right before stabbed it backwards, the blade running along close to his side. It slowed down once it hit flesh, the sharp point piercing and sliding straight through what would have been the Sin takers chest. Crossing his left arm over, Hazuki gripped the tsukagashira, his palm closing over it to help add force. He gave it one hard shove, bent his elbow and then yanked the whole weapon upwards. Behind him there was a scream, foul breath cold on his neck and then he felt that slight burn of ash and embers as the creature exploded in its death.

Another one was at him in an instant, snapping jaws and glassy eyes. It wasn’t a fighter, but it was desperate. Hazuki could guess the main thought in its mind – other than Sin of course – and that was to force the kid and him to slow down. Wounded them in anyway that would make searching for the drug easier. They didn’t carry weapons and none seemed able to fight, so that left them with their hands and teeth and somehow, it made them even more twisted and akin to the monsters in zombie horror films.

Hazuki moved just in time. There was no chance of getting completely away from the creature but he managed to get the weapon up and in front of his face. The addict’s teeth clamped down on the blade and Hazuki lifted his arm up, pushing the man’s head back painfully as he hooked the blade in behind the canine teeth.

Lifting his left leg up, Hazuki snatched the small knife he kept stashed in his boot. It was a pretty typical place but it served its purpose well. He held the blade parallel with his left forearm, the butt of the handle held tightly with his thumb and index finger. With another push of his sai, Hazuki swept his left hand in a wide, fast arch, his fist moving back over his right shoulder. A spray of blood coated him as the blade flicked out through the movement, catching the creature across the throat. The pressure on his sai disappeared as the hollow man body crumpled. Only then did Hazuki see the extent of the damage; that one fatal swoop had almost taken the head clean off the shoulders.

He swiped his right hand out to the side, cutting through lip and cheek as he pulled the sai free. At the same time he ducked under another swing as his head, instepped to the right and sent his left boot up high and into the creature’s stomach. Righting himself, he flipped the sai over in his hands, adjusting his grip to mirror how one would hold a sword and sent the tip straight into the creature’s Adam’s apple.

Stepping backwards Hazuki’s back bumped into something though somehow he knew it wasn’t a threat. Just the kid. “Behind you,” he muttered quickly, hoping that the crazy little guy wouldn’t try and take him out through pure adrenaline rush.

Hazuki wasn’t used to fighting alongside anyone. It felt weird to have the presence at his back and he wasn’t too sure if it was the sort of thing he could get used to. Part of him was freaking out, constantly monitoring the movements behind him and trying to sense the world around him. Was the other human alright? Did they need help? It was a steady string of questions that all revolved around the other person’s well being. Again he had the brief thought that perhaps Yuusuke's snide hero complex accusations had been right. At least on some level.
Offline Profile Goto Top
 
Yusuke
Member Avatar

Strangled moans echoed in his ears and Yusuke swung that blade out in a deadly arch. The edge found his target and slid almost effortlessly through skin and cartilage. The blood that poured out and over his hand did nothing to faze him as he leaned back and planted a foot into a woman’s chest and sent her flying back into three others that were approaching. He was trying to keep them at a distance as much as possible, all the while keeping an eye on the old man behind him. He was sure the guy had to be half dead already, with the mottling of bruises covering his face and neck and the blood crusted all over his clothes.

The last thing Yusuke needed was to have his only ally pass out in the middle of this mob, and he wasn’t sure what was up with the guy anyway. He seemed to have the oddest issue of staring off into space at random intervals. It was unnerving as all hell and didn’t have him putting much faith in the man. But he was at least holding up well enough on his end of things. They weren’t being overrun completely just yet. So Yusuke was holding out hope that they might actually make it out of this mess alive, and with some luck, mostly intact.

His next opponent came in faster than the rest and it was all Yusuke could do to get that blade flipped around to rest along his forearm as the thing charged. Its mouth was open, full of rotting teeth, as it lunged for his arm. Yusuke tightened his grip on the hilt and forced his forearm up and into that gapping mouth. The blade sliced deep, clear through both cheeks and into the bone beyond. A horrible gurgling erupted from the man’s throat as Yusuke flexed his hand and swung that knife back off his forearm and out. The man slid along that blade and hit the ground with a thud, thrashing there for several seconds before finally igniting.

Yusuke didn’t bother trying to find the end to the whole mess; he just swung that blade back into his left hand and used it to pierce through another throat, then into a chest, then out and into his right hand again to slide into the eye of an approaching woman. The air around him was full of burning embers and ash. The ground under his feet was quickly becoming slick with blood and he could feel his boots sliding slightly in all the mess. But he couldn’t be bothered by the thought. He’d arrived in this hell and had been attacked. He wouldn’t feel sorry for them; he wouldn’t regret fighting to survive.

At some point he knew that he’d have to deal with it. He could already feel that steady push of denial and the numbness of shock trying to take over his thoughts. Yusuke shoved them back as far as he could and kept moving. He couldn’t afford to lose control yet, not yet. Instead he stepped forward, spinning on one foot to swing his knee up and into another creature’s chest. He felt brittle bones snap under the blow and didn’t care. His life was more important to him, him and the man that had come wading out into this mess to help him. There was no doubt in his mind that this moment would haunt his dreams the next time he tried to sleep. But he wanted to be alive to have those nightmares.

A scream echoed off to his left and Yusuke’s head snapped that direction, for a moment thinking another innocent person was in danger. For a split second he took his eyes off the things in front of him, looking for the source of the sound, and one of them took the opportunity to grab his arm and sink in teeth before he could react. Yusuke let out a pain filled cry and switched that knife into his other before ramming it into the things face. It took a moment for the man to succumb to death and burn away. Yusuke’s arm was throbbing from the ragged wound already. He’d been careless and had paid for it.

With a snarl Yusuke flipped the blade through his fingers and thought about advancing again. But those things had swarmed forward at his cry, closing in like sharks scenting blood in the water. He didn’t think that they would be able to hold their ground for too much longer. He stepped back, feeling the brush of the other man’s shoulder against his. At least the guy was still alive, even if he looked half dead. Maybe they could make a push for the gate. Their best bet was to get behind that fence and let the men with what appeared to be crossbows pick them off. It occurred to him how odd it was that they didn’t have rifles, or at least handguns. It was just one more question to add to the mountain of others.

Shaking his head to clear his thoughts he reached back and tapped the other man on the shoulder to get his attention. He didn’t look at him, didn’t want to risk opening himself up for attack again.

“You think maybe now would be a good time to get on the other side of that fence?” Yusuke’s voice was calm and controlled as he spoke, his eyes rolling across the creatures in between them and the gate.

“I think we can make a push, we’ve gotten rid of enough of them to force our way through.”
Offline Profile Goto Top
 
Hazuki
Member Avatar
Just a step away from Hell...
The man behind him cried out and for a moment Hazuki was sure that it was all over. His attempts at saving the kid had failed, his soul would be lost forever and it was just another thing to rack up on Hazuki’s current guilt and frustration scale. He tried to take a moment to look, to see if there was anything he could do to help but the press of damned souls bore down on him again. Hazuki wasted no time, his strikes aiming for fatal wounds to throat, heart and stomach. It wasn’t until there was a very real, very humanish tap to his shoulder and a rather smart assed comment that Hazuki even knew the kid was still alive. Not even Hazuki could explain how grateful he was in that very moment.

“Man the gates!” he yelled out in response to the kid’s suggestion. Now was as good a time as any, he guessed, just as long as the guards were waiting for them. The fence gates were heavy and bulky; it wouldn’t do to have them stuck there waiting as the souls pressed forward.

Besides, Hazuki was starting to feel it. Waking up had been strange, the bolt from the alien room to downstairs and the adrenaline of the fight had kept him going, kept his mind off the pain.

But now his body was starting to get sluggish again. Swipes of his sai weren’t as fast as they should have been and it wasn’t until just after his shouted command that one of the addicts took a swipe at him that he couldn’t block. It caught him in the chest, right against his bruised ribs and that was all it took for Hazuki to really remember that something was wrong.

Whatever was going on in his body, it was starting to feel the pinch and Hazuki knew that it wasn’t a good thing.

Stumbling backwards a few paces, Hazuki felt his ribs scream in agony and for a horrifying moment he was sure he was going to lose his rather feeble grip on consciousness. His eyes blurred, his body shutting down in a horrible re-enactment of the climatic end of his last fight.

Then he heard it; the one sound that could force his mind out of anything and his head snapped up even as his arms circled around his middle.

It was one of those funny moments where time seemed incomprehensible. For all he knew, the sirens of the Grandeur could have still been ringing from his fight with Wrath and maybe he had just been blocking them out all this time. Either way, one minute it seemed quiet and the next the night was alive with the high pitched screeching of their rather archaic alarm system.

Loud and true, it echoed off the surrounding buildings and something inside of Hazuki was more aware then he could have ever imagined. He knew that the siren wasn’t because of this fight; he knew that, despite their often stupid actions, the guards wouldn’t have sounded the alert for something so trivial as a new soul and a handful of Sin addicts.

He knew it and it made him stop and look towards the hotel.

It was like a scene out of a morbid painting. The dark, swirling sky backlighting the crumbling hotel, the high fence was grey, the sweeping lights acting like odd paint splodges as they dragged languidly across the scene. It looked like the gates of hell itself and Hazuki had the mind to shudder at the place he called home.

And in the background he could see smoke.

He could see smoke. It rose in think, bellowing clouds, darkened the red streaked sky like ink strokes across paper. He didn’t even need to think about where it was coming from; there was no other option. Nothing behind Shanty Town that could really be

Fire. Shanty Town. He couldn’t think of anything else. Just those three desperate words rolled over and over in his head, clouding his judgement and chilling him to the bone.

Distraction.

It was the same creature as before that struck and Hazuki gathered that it wasn’t long on the drug. It seemed to have more motor function than most and unlike the others, it seemed to have some form of brain power. Its shoulder connected with Hazuki’s middle, the weakness identified and zeroed in on, and just like that Hazuki was stumbling backwards again. The man pushed forward, his emasculated shoulder crushing against Hazuki’s ribs and driving the air clean out of him.

Doubling over, Hazuki struggled to get air back into his lungs. It felt all too familiar; terrifyingly so. This street, the sirens, the blood and that single weapon clutched in his hands. Hell, he was sure he could even feel Wrath’s influence weighing down on him again, crushing against his own need to keep the vice out of his mind and heart.

His back crashed into the wall and the creature was on him in an instant, fingers clawing and mouth open. Hazuki’s knee lifted, ramming into the man’s side twice before Hazuki was able to get a grip on the man’s flailing arms. Shoving back, Hazuki applied a swift kick to the man’s midsection, finally putting some distance between them.

As the creature came at him again, Hazuki snarled, his top lip curling up and his forehead creasing heavily. His body reacted to the threat, his shoulders hunching as his back curved inwards. His knees bent down, his feet apart as he stood his ground. Even his fingers seemed to have a mind of their own, the joints snapping inwards as his hands twisted into a strange parody of claws. Hazuki could feel it, feel the way he was tensing and reacting and yet his mind didn’t seem to understand. He couldn’t control it, couldn’t even guess at why he was reacting in such a strange way. It just was, and it felt like second nature.

Teeth beared, he snarled again and the addict took a step back.

He didn’t break eye contact with the creature. Somehow its glassy eyes seemed locked with his, even as Hazuki started to slowly circle away from the wall and back towards the kid. The creature circled with him, keeping a constant breadth between them. Even the rest were starting to get edgy, their pushing attack slowing as they took in the sight before them. They were staying back, their jittery bodies tense and rigid and their milky eyes shifting left and right as if terrified and looking for an escape.

Reaching behind him, Hazuki shoved at the kid, motioning him towards the gate. Hazuki sure as hell didn’t know why the damned souls were keeping their distance all of a sudden but there was no way he was going to question it.
Offline Profile Goto Top
 
Yusuke
Member Avatar

Yusuke had been so terribly wrong. This was Hell. There was nothing else to describe the pain and anguish that was reflecting back at him in the eyes of the people he was killing. At some point in all the chaos his mind had shuffled those around him from creatures to humans and that caused his heart to ache. Even as the blade slid out and into another exposed throat, even as he fought to survive as the next wave pushed in on him, he couldn’t help but pity each one of them. Maybe this was what he would become at some unknown point in his future. Maybe this was all he had to look forward now.

He was getting ready to move again when suddenly the night air was filled with a high shrill sound. Yusuke tilted his heard upward to see what looked like old style speakerphones hooked to the top of the guard tower. It had to be an alarm system of some kind. But why had they waited till now to set it off? They’d been fighting for what seemed like a small eternity and the guards were only know thinking to turn the thing on, it didn’t make any sense. The sound was agony to his ears though, reminding him of the wail of something damned. It was funny that it happened to sound exactly how felt.

He kicked his foot out again and forced another man away from him. Yusuke spun to see his companion getting backed against the wall. He was in the process of reaching for his gun when something about the man’s stance had him hesitating. For a moment the only thing his mind could come up with was feral. There was something feral and animalistic about the other man and Yusuke watched in awe as the people all around them reacted to it. They backed up, cringing and flinching as they watched him move.

The shove on his shoulder was all he needed to get him moving again. He could question the odd behavior later and he made a mental note to do just that. The immediate danger was gone, and Yusuke and his escort were moving through the crowd with little to no effort after his display. That siren echoed out across the street as he moved towards the gate. He glanced at the man next to him and started for a moment. He was ashen looking, much paler then he remembered. It was a good possibility that his old injuries hadn’t been healed well enough, or had been damaged again in the fight.

Without a thought Yusuke slipped a steadying arm around the man’s waist and kept an eye out on those that still milled around them. Maybe it was the combination of losing so many of their numbers, the siren, and the other man’s strange gift that had them keeping their distance. Whatever it was, Yusuke was not going to complain. Instead he shoved through the gate as it was opened for them and kept moving, trusting the men behind him to get it shut and locked. Yusuke paused letting his arm fall and watching to make sure his companion could stand on his own. He had a thousand questions running through his mind and he was about to voice them when the sick orange glow on the horizon caught his attention.

Something nearby was on fire. Had those people that attacked him started it? Suddenly the reason for the siren made horrible sense. Yusuke didn’t ask what the other man was going to do, didn’t wait for any instruction at all, he just took off at a full run towards the source of that glow. If there was a fire then there were people that would no doubt need his help. It didn’t occur to him that he had no idea the danger he was running headlong into. But he figured he wasn’t the only one with the idea when he heard the footsteps beside him. The man that had fought with him was to his left and looking as worried and Yusuke felt.

They slid around one corner of what appeared to be a hotel and Yusuke came up short at the sight. There was a town behind it, and he could already see the angry orange flames reaching up towards the grey sky. There was fire in the clouds above him as well, and for a moment, it looked like the whole world was burning. This was Hell indeed. He snapped his head towards the stranger and reached a hand out to stop him for a moment.

“Okay, my name’s Yusuke. I only know basic first aid and some menial mechanical shit. Where do you want me, other than pulling people out?” Something told him that this man was someone that gave orders and he figured he would know where Yusuke could help the most. With that said he started moving again, waiting for orders as the two of them closed in on the inferno and the people scattered throughout it.

People were running everywhere and the smoke and ash were already burning his lungs. He didn’t see anything that he could use immediately to help start putting the fire out, and he only hoped that they had some kind of plan in case something like this happened. If not, Yusuke didn’t think the town was going to survive the blaze.
Offline Profile Goto Top
 
1 user reading this topic (1 Guest and 0 Anonymous)
« Previous Topic · The Grandeur · Next Topic »
Locked Topic

Username: Password: