Fandom Death City

[Sir Les Paul]

Stage Name: The Dark Eye
Location: Behind Mystic Lounge
Partner: Morgenstern Stein
Tags: SavingStar RANGYOKU Phayne One Mean Ghost

It was true that Taz was fast. Mido had to give it to him. In fact, Taz was likely tied with Stein in sheer speed and each of them were only a hair under himself. This didn't impress him, though; for the same reason Conor hadn't impressed him. Speed, strength and even raw skill itself are completely pointless if you cannot apply it. Still, keeping up with Taz proved difficult. Unlike Taz, he didn't have the ability to just activate his wavelength and amplify his vision; and, unlike Jayson, he didn't have a special eye that enhanced his visual prowess.

What he had was training. Years of training. His whole young life dedicated to it, actually. The Hoshi differed from the Star Clan in this way; probably because the infidels from the Star Clan never carried over or even completed the upper echelons of the Old Ways. The way the Star Clan fought, they honed their body and amplified it with their wavelength. Most of the Ninja Arts were techniques derived from breaking down their muscles while utilizing their wavelength to such a degree that their muscles healed while being accustomed to that wavelength, and thus could use higher levels of it. SpeedStar was an example. The Hoshi was a far more extended approach. Years of not just breaking down muscles, but refining techniques. Refining skills. Even when muscles were resting, a member of the Hoshi Clan was doing something else. The Hoshi honed their bodies to a much further, sharper point than the Star Clan--so much so that even a weapon without direct wavelength control was dangerous.

This is what made Taz nothing more than a showboat.

Midori took a neutral stance. His feet separated out with one in front of him, bearing little weight, while his back leg was planted more firmly behind him, letting his hips remain a free pivot. One arm extended in front him, but barely any further than his shoulder. His index and middle finger curled while his other fingers and thumb wrapped inward. His other hand a fist closer to his hip, turned upward with his forearm bearing up. It was a flawless stance, really. Fluid. Loose. Midori didn't lock himself into any one place, either. This is what differentiated them.

"No, dumbass," Midori replied. His tone was exactly the same as the one he used with Kuro. He was treating Taz exactly like Kuro, in fact. Kuro had a spell that could get him killed and Taz was showboating in a way that only made things worse for him. This was evident with the other enhanced senses of the Hoshi. More so, their specific focus on a target. Midori was fixated on Tazmuir. Even in his movement, Midori could hear his heartbeat. Read his movements. Listen to his breath. He didn't have enhanced hearing or any special trait like the others. This was another trait derived from the Old Ways. In this moment, nothing else existed--except for Tazmuir. True, he didn't know which afterimage was real, but he didn't have to. The six figures in front of him were all the same person.

"I can hear your heart. Your breath. I can hear your muscles scream at you while you stress them. You can do that for... a minute, tops?" Midori commented, explaining his entire rationale. "I can hold this stance for days. I'll wait 'til you're done, then I'll smash your face into the ground," Midori explained. All the while, he was waiting. He was waiting for Taz to leap. He was waiting to trigger the petulant, prideful punk in front of him to do something stupid. Why? Because Taz already did.

There existed far more than one way to win a fight. Even against a stronger opponent can be worn down and defeated. Tazmuir used Speedstar to create a defensive trap. A setup of afterimages he couldn't conceivably maintain. He was already the weaker, more exhausted one and he put himself into a position where he was expending even more of his energy. Midori had no reason to go after him. He was going to defeat himself at this rate. Even in his goading, Midori was waiting for Taz to attack and make a fatal mistake. This was by far not a contest of strength. Or speed, for that matter.

Taz may have been brilliant fighter, sure, but he was a terrible strategist.

 

[The Regal Rper]

Tazmuir V. Klovic​

Mystic Lounge​

Taz didn't know it, but right before he got called a major dumbass, infighting occurred in the battleground of his mind. Ego and rage, came out victorious in round one. But in round two, the tables had been flipped. Where Taz had slipped up and made the same mistakes he made in the past with his match against Dark☆Star, Common Sense and reason worked together to challenge the very things that had put him in this bad situation.

And from the looks of it, reason had won. He was overexerting himself. And no matter how hard he pushed, he was still human. He couldn't beat Midori or even give him a decent match, if he was exhausted. Taz realized, he'd fucked up. And that only made him all the more madder.

SHIT!, was probably the best thing he could think to say in this situation. He'd fallen into this trick a hundred times before, and here he was letting his anger get the better of him and doing it again. As if that wasn't bad enough, there was a dull ache. A burn that went through his quads from the effort. Midori was right. He couldn't keep this up forever. He was pushing himself to exhaust his reserves and the longer he maintained these five images, the shorter his own stamina and energy became.

He had to think of an alternative. He had to think of a way to clean this up, he had to adapt to the situation he'd put himself in because if he didn't that snobby groomed lesser, would make him taste dirt once more and Taz would rather burn in Tartarus then deal with such an insulting blow. If Midori thought he was going to jump him, then he'd let him think that was exactly what he was going to do. Even if the guy was his superior in speed, and even if he was feeling tired, Taz believed in his skill far more than he believed this guy could just clobber him. And he was going to show it.

Because this could buy him some time.

Six copies dropped to five. Five went to four. Four to three and three to two. Then it stopped and there were just two. Two solid version's of Taz with the exact same pose; arms slightly down but bobbing to every step, fists balled and moving at a constant pattern that one Taz always mirrored from the other. Right now, he was using half his full speed. But he was maintaining all his focus.

Taz's focus wasn't his speed, it was his afterimages. He needed to make them real. Not solid so they tricked the eyes, real so that they tricked the mind and body. Real enough so that when he lifted his foot, so would his copy echo his every movement. His breathing, his heartbeat, his muscles contracting and relaxing, it had to be in sync. Focus. He thought as he stared at Midori and felt the anger flicker back on. Let go of the distractions and focus he could hear Chidori say. They had to match-- even as one Taz switched to the Hoshi's left, while another Taz switched to his right. It may have been easier to see, but this time, it didn't take four seconds for the after image to disappear.

No it took longer. Because Taz wasn't using just his speed to create afterimages anymore. He was reflecting every nanosecond of movement off a silhouette of his wavelength and in turn projecting an image of himself so that it formed a strange blend of Taz's that mirrored every action he made. It required more spiritual energy to do it, and by diverting some of his attention off his muscles Taz could feel the ache double into a burn, but he ignored it. His eyes were on Midori, or to be more precise, their surroundings.

They were in a clearing. A clearing, made by Midori's own slices to grant them the sight they needed to see each other. Fog still prevailed, but at this point it was diminishing. It wasn't as thick as before, but it was thick enough that they still couldn't see Jayson or Stein just yet. Kuro had done Taz a favor. He didn't know if the cat could've dispelled it, and he didn't know if Crowley chose not to dispel it himself for a reason, but whatever the case was- Taz was going to use this. Because he needed Midori to believe that he was about to attack. Cause I can't keep this up much longer

They launched together. Both Taz's moved together at the exact same time. One was a second faster, while another was a second slower. They switched positions as they moved; right and left and right and left and right and left, then on one single foot, one launched ahead of the other, and the other launched a nanosecond later. The first Taz headed straight for Midori, the second Taz came from behind. The first Taz threw a fist forward, while second launched right past Midori in a direction that put him out of physical reach, at least three arm length's distance to Midori's far right. Then in with a furious amount of force that made a wave of pain travel through Taz's leg muscles, he slammed 40 out of 50 of his wavelength down on the table and launched himself into the mist like a bottle rocket set on fast forward.

The moment he did that, Taz felt his focus slip as pain reminded him he was scratching the surface of his limit, but the good news was, he got to see Midori like an ant as he disappeared into the mist. "If you're hearings that good, finding me again, shouldn't be a problem." Was the last thing he said, before both him and that fraud that attacked Midori were gone.

Interaction(s): Sir Les Paul

Mention(s): N/A

 

[RANGYOKU]

方比喻
BIYU FĀNG

♤​

LOCATION
Mystic Lounge​

INTERACTION
Crowley
Max Holiday
Kuroneko “Kuro” Blair
Conor O’Neill​

MENTIONED
The Regal Rper
One Mean Ghost
Sir Les Paul ​

Not a thing? Biyu, yet caught within the emotional scope of her outburst, would have been quick to intervene once more if not for the arrival of one more presence summoned into the designated space to snap her out of it. Crowley's intentions had been made clear in what he desired to accomplish with his interrogation: to drive her out of a state of placitude and stasis. But one thing was to rush and act impulsively, another altogether was to not be complacent to one's surroundings. The True Mage had a point to his actions, all should be revealed in due time. Taking a deep breath, the Demon Weapon settled down, indulging in a bit of a rest by taking a seat before greeting Max properly with a nod of acknowledgement.

From this point onward, she was able to pick up on what could be the bigger picture. It truly did appear that the pair of Stein and Hoshi had been assigned to the original trio as far from a whim on Crowley's part. He had been planning it all along, making her question how this would exactly strengthen the group if now set up duels. Moreover, she was certain that the pair had been expected to make their decision on the matter of their opponent. And she could not forget the combinations of demon weapon-meister going on ... It was as Crowley said, it all felt fated to end on a derogatory note. Even if not done in the heat of the moment, to start a duel out of personal feelings towards someone, as she had no idea of knowing if Stein or Hoshi did indeed know their opponents or not, could implicate a whole other angle of conflict wrapped into it, thus influencing both its outline and outcome.

But this time, she refrained from engaging any further in attempting to make sense of Crowley's machinations, intention of his own or not. His enigmatic smile further reinforce such a resolve, just as much as a source of relief for the exchange back there to be solely shared between them as to remind her to not allow it to become undone by slipping back into her zone of comfort. Although she could not reciprocate the smile, Biyu responded to it with an intense gaze of her own, as if to thank the sponsor and recognize his gesture. Hearing him elaborate on one of the students involved brought her attention towards the screen once more.

Suspicions confirmed and arrangements settled, she could be tempted to find awfully convenient for all this to have worked out the way it was. She could only wonder if Crowley had expected the choice of each newcomers' opponent at all. Not a stretch of the mind, as much like her, he had a firm grasp of the importance of intel of those you interact with. The difference here lied in practice, as well as respect for one's privacy in her case. However, she understood why there would be such distinctions to their approach. Crowley was, after all, an instructor first and foremost, he had a duty to know those under his wing well enough. In due time, all should be revealed, or so she hoped. Besides, Kuro, for as wilful as he appeared to be, was far from a lost cause in following orders, she knew that much. A promise of proceeding with the exercise in the future was one of note, in particular, as to his plans for the rest of them. Including herself, she hoped deep down. Denying it was a futile notion, after her breakdown, she felt more than ever to prove herself.

Warmth spread across her lap at the return of none other than the beautiful creature she had been graced with the chance to grow closer with before this whole exercise came crashing down on her as of yet. Her features softened considerably at the sight of Kuro choosing her, albeit she could not overlook the lack of option thereof, all things considered. What’s more, judging by his body language, one individual among them explicitly had invoked his contempt, whom did not take Biyu a whole lot of analysing in the slightest to recognize. Of course, the mage was not unreasonable but naturally, he was no pushover. She could not help herself from finding it charming, a behaviour much like that of the species he took form of alternative of his human one. Oh. Right. Having actually seen his true appearance did have an impact on how she perceived Kuro, even as of right now. Being someone as timid as she was, to become fully aware of her actions towards another student was troubling. But then again … shaken up as she was from before, plus the frustration consuming her as of the scenario at hand, she found herself, little by little, allow Kuro to become a source of comfort for her, scritching the back of his ears. ❝ … Thank you.❞ A whisper shared between the two of them, one she let out close to involuntarily. Who knows, perhaps it would be of mutual effect for him. She was never much for words of comfort, anyway … little touches, a shoulder to lean on, to show you were there for them felt much more intimate, realer.

Gasping softly, the vibration emitted by her phone abruptly prompted her to put a hold on her instrospection. Instructions from the Agency? New intel on her mission? Or just another text from Naran or any of the others? She was left suprised as none of her hypothesis came to be the case. It was an unknown number. She was taken back for a moment, while this was not the first occurence of this sort, she was certain no one could access her contact on a whim, especially taking in account her affiliations. Perhaps the contents of the messages would shed some light as to who it could be, so she clicked on it, revealing to be just as much as she hoped the case. A search through her other messages proved her right, as well as what to make of how the sender had her number. The corners of her smile curled ever so slightly, as if his words were somewhat infectious in how they conveyed enthusiasm, imagining his voice in her head telling her the news. It was reassuring to know Conor had fared better, in spite of leaving the group on a bad note, going as far as to earn the mentorship of such an illustrious figure as assassin Shadow Weapon Meister Black☆Star. Softly tapping the keys on the screen of the device, she would write three replies of her own to his, as if something akin to impulse. Albeit hesitant in her writing, going back and forth in regards to her choice of words and concerned with sounding too formal or intrusive, just like with Kuro, Conor had taken her mind off her negative experience. Both had her gratitude, even if they were never meant to know so ...

Conor O’Neill

them

I got a new mentor

them

He was not happy about the pic but isnt this the best?!

me

Given the stories I have heard of him and his training on the Path of the Warrior, yes, I believe you've could not have found a more perfect mentor.

me

Congratulations. I am glad for you.

me

Once we see each other again, I hope we can show one another the results of our respective training.

Now then ... Shifting her focus back at the events happening on the screen as the duelists took center stage, as well as putting her nails to work on pampering Kuro once again after putting her phone into her pocket, Biyu assessed what she knew so far. It was sure to not come off as a surprise for her to favor the pair that involved her meister partner. Having lost a sense of responsability towards what was going on, although eager to expand her knowledge on Stein and Kilbane's combat style and skills up close, her priority towards Taz preceded that of her own interests. Not simply on the basis of her assignment as such, but his opponent and his reasons for targetting him. She had inferred his presence in the area prior to this, as a natural conclusion to come to once she was able to sense his partner's soul. But the same could not be said on his own. The art of muting one's wavelenghts and soul signature alike was one Biyu felt a mixture of appall and vexation, as someone whom relied on Soul Perception perhaps significantly more than the average user. It was not impossible to gain one such ability, mages themselves were a true statement to it through the manifestation of Soul Protect. But for Biyu ... it was as if she felt blind to her surroundings, to think to face one such handicap. Taz himself was no longer at the prime of his stamina, given the fact that unlike the demon weapon facing him, he had been acting upon it until now.

Taking such factors into account, as well as considering the heated animosity towards one another, the idea of Taz being at a slight disadvantage could not be overlooked by Biyu. To say she was not concerned for her partner's performance and, above all, health, would be a lie.

But she held her tongue, she refrained from even so much moving a muscle. One wrong move was sure to cause a rift between their partnership if she were accused of lacking faith on Taz. Far from it. It was not just that she was certain of his ability to take down Hoshi in battle, no. Even if that were not the case, she could not interfere either way. This was Taz's duel, his fight, as well as Hoshi's. She promptly cast away her doubt as to faith in Taz's skill and strength and severing the chances of this being a fair match between two powerful DWMA students. Unless Stein were to make such a move, she would stay put and observe the duel, awaiting for Taz to emerge victorious and put Hoshi in his place.

 

[The Regal Rper]

Mystic Lounge​

Crowley​

In total, seven minutes had passed and right now the time read a quarter to 12. Crowley, however remained silent. Even when Kuro popped back and turned his back to him, he didn't say a word. In truth? He was somewhat relieved. He'd done his research and he knew the dangerous hand he'd played by ending Kuro's game so suddenly. But, it had to happen. Games had their twists and Crowley was a man who liked twists quite a bit.

He was just glad Biyu's presence had been enough to bring the cat mage back.

There was a vibration, the sort that came from the sound of a cell's notification. Crowley glanced Biyu's way only once, then seeing it was her who had received it he turned his attention back to the screen, not saying a word. His attention was on Midori and Taz, as well as Stein and Jayson. Ending Kuro's game may have put him on the bad end of a horrible prank if his peace offering failed to do anything for the cat mage, but it was a must. A deal had been made and Crowley was a man who only made deals he could keep. Plus it made things simpler for him. Not only had he seen enough to understand how skilled Kuro was in Calculation Magic, but now he could see how Stein did against someone like Jayson and how Taz handled someone like Midori.

After all, he was a instructor first. And a friend to his students, second. I just hope making peace with you doesn't end up draining me of last week's pay check he thought with an amused smile. One that appeared as he watched Taz rocket clear of Midori's reach and into the cover of mist.

Hm, eyebrows rose, hadn't expected that. Even he'd thought Taz would go rushing in after being insulted in such a way. Perhaps there was more to the boy than his incendiary after all. Speaking of which, he had a cat mage's co-operation to buy back.

Wand twirled between fingers and as it did there was a second of bright green glow. A simple barrier spell. Not one, not two, but five layered over each other and covering the entirety of Crowley's body. He'd heard rumors about Kuro's forms of retaliation when angered and he wasn't about to do something stupid like entering a public hot spring naked without a single towel. After all, when entering a lion's den, one always brought protection of some sort to get the job done.

"Kuro", his eyes glanced over to the mage in Biyu's lap and he was sure he saw the cat's ear twitch, not that he expected a reply anyway not from Kuro at least, the mage continued with "I suppose the lack of communication on my part wasn't particularly funny?" Jokes, were never his strong suite. He had no idea why he was trying it now.

Waiting a few seconds for some sort of response Crowley sighed, this brought back memories. Painfully infuriating memories of teaching other True Mages. Memories that at one point in his life, had made him question why he thought teaching was something he should do with his life-- the pranks, the alchemichal explosions, the constant plants trying to eat you, madness and chaos at it's finest. There had once been a time where Crowley thought of quitting. That teaching kids, 'whom he never really liked as a young adult', wasn't his thing. But time changed people, instead of going back to his studies in discovering other unexplored forms of magic or expand on his own research he did a thing and surprised all his living mates after the war. And picked up teaching.

Crowley's sigh turned into a chuckle just at it ended, I'd be lying if I said I wouldn't do it all again though.

"Perhaps I should clarify. Communication is key to being a leader and my error was not informing you of this arranged set up. Midori and Morgenstern were meant to join this group at some point in time. I myself wasn't entirely sure they'd be here today but our agreement, at least between Midori and I was that if he found someone that particularly piqued his interest, he would want to engage in an experiment of his own with them. I allowed it, and was only aware of their presence because of the sensory spells I set up across this entire area." Not exactly the truth, but not exactly a lie either. The sensory spells weren't true but Crowley was not lying when he said he knew Midori and Stein had been in the background watching things play out. As one who learned the shamanic customs of his mother's family, he had his ways and he was not about to reveal them just yet.

"The point is, the agreement had been arranged before hand. I simply chose not to inform you since I was not certain they would make an actual appearance today. Both had their schedules busy as I'd been told and I was told there was a chance they may or may not come today. So, I apologize for the rather sudden surprise and interruption, but now that you understand I'm sure there is nothing else needed, no?" It wasn't a question if Kuro was satisfied with his explanation. It was a question of whether he wanted anything else. "But of course if there is", he quickly cut in, "I'm certain you'd be willing to say so?"

Sid now a occasional instructor for Beta's be it N.O.T, E.A.T, or Magi- was a saint Crowley thought as he waited for the boy's response. If the man hadn't told him of Kuro and his familiar's favorite types of fish and catnip, all of which he'd taken note of, he wasn't sure what chip he would have left to use. Now it was just a matter of waiting. Waiting and watching.

Interaction(s): One Mean Ghost

Mention(s): RANGYOKU

 

[Sir Les Paul]

Midori vs Tazmuir

]b]Characters:[/b] Midori, Tazmuir
Location: Behind Mystic Lounge
Tags: SavingStar RANGYOKU Phayne One Mean Ghost The Regal Rper

“Again, no, dumbass,” Mido replied. His stance was solid and his words were cold. His dark eyes didn’t need fall on his opponent. His hyper focused state never let him completely vanish.

This focus made fights within his clan intense as well. Practitioners of the Old Ways could focus on various aspects of their customs. For some, it was stealth. It was called Nightstalking within the Hoshi. The ability to suppress the soul and body to such a point it was virtually imperceivable. For others, it was Deathmark. The ability to enhance the senses for one particular target. When practitioners of both dueled in the Clan, it was a sight to behold. An imperceivable target fighting unavoidable eyes.

This is why Midori was dangerous, even if not the most skilled combatant--at least compared to others in the Clan. Being a weapon, he had no real ability to use Soul Force and no ability to use Soul Perception. He had to learn and hone both Nightstalking and Deathmark, and did so at a young age. This is what pushed him to become an elite of his generation. Not raw skill, but the dedication required to overcome the setbacks of being a weapon.

“If I chase you into the fog, you’ll never get to actually see Starlight Waltz,” he explained. It was yet again another very simple fact that emphasized the unthoughtful nature of his opponent. He wasted his energy with a futile display. He darted into the fog when the clearing was made for him. His bruised ego caused him to lose sight of why he was ever challenged. His Star clan techniques.

“Stop fucking around. Get back here, take a stance, and I’ll attack,” Midori added with a clear amount of spite in his tone. Not hateful spite. The type of spite you got from the lady at the DMV when you came with all of your paperwork except the lien release on your car, so you ultimately wasted two hours of your own time in line and twenty minutes for her gathering shit. That type of spite.

Unaware of the pulsating vein on his temple, Taz’s teeth grinded against each other slowly. This was frustrating. Midori’s constant use of the word ‘dumbass’ was starting to get on his nerves but what really grinded his gears was that now he was calling him back there- like he was his parent and he was the kid who’d just been caught stealing sweets from the cookie jar at an hour past his bedtime.

The way he he saw it, Taz had two options. One of which made his nose wrinkle in disdain. Option one: He could stay up here, in this tree and watch Midori from above, only to get hunted down. Or, option two: he could go back down there, take Midori’s challenge, thereby submitting his will, instead of buying himself time.

Not all in favor of option number two, Taz decided, he would take his chances. But then came upon a conundrum that made him rethink that decision. If Midori really did come after him, he was in no state to actually avoid him. Not only did he not know what his opponent could do, he couldn’t out maneuver him when he only had enough energy to go on the defense at best and a weak offense at worst. Endurance would do him good, but not forever. Not when he was on the bad end of this deal.

Stretching his sore legs, the meister grimaced at what the only reasonable option was; he had to go back down there- after wasting that much energy to get up here. For a few brief seconds, as Taz scowled in utter begrudgement, he wondered why he should even bother. Midori had chose to challenge him, he hadn’t chose to pick this fight. But logic informed him, he had accepted the challenge and now it was his duty to see it through to the end.

Unconvinced, Taz bided for time. He didn’t mind stacked odds, but he wasn’t about to disgrace himself after some nobody made it clear what he thought of his skills.

Kicking a leg out Taz made a face. The ache in his legs was slowly fading and it’d only been two minutes now. Looking around to see how much the fog had lifted, Taz was disappointed to find it hadn’t done much. You’re being stupid. He was a stupid guy, this was nothing new. There are people waiting down there-- waiting to watch you fight.

This...caught Taz’s attention. The tag team duo of common sense and logic had a point. He had chosen to accept the match, if he wanted he could’ve told Midori to go frack himself, but he hadn’t and here he was now. Up in a tree, like Tarzan, buying time due to his own doubts and assumptions. Regardless, he found a reason to defend his own actions. Then again, upon bitter reflection, Midori was also….ugh....right.

He had put himself in this situation. And now he was paying for it, just like all those other times before.

Angry, annoyed, and feeling like he’d just been played for a fool- the assassin jumped from branch to branch making his descent back down to the Weapon. But, he took his time doing it. If Midori was going to command he come back down, then he was going to take satisfaction in buying as much time as possible, so it was only four minutes when Taz made it back to the clearing and an extra one before he stood a good distance in front of Midori.

Needless to say, despite wasting as much time as he thought possible, the meister did not look amused. If anything, he was peeved. Taking that anger, and focusing it into the fight, Taz borrowed a move from Dark☆Star, and released his suppressor yet again, just as he had for max Speed☆Star before.

Only this time he didn’t use it to enhance his body, he let it flow through him, focused it into a single point right below his feet, and then like a olympian runner ready to launch he shot himself forward by using those focal points as propulsions to push him forward. Reducing friction, doubling distance, and focusing on controlling his breathing, Taz ran forward, giving both his opponent and himself, what they all wanted.

He didn’t come at Midori anywhere near as fast as he had before.If anything he was moving at track level speeds, but that was the point. Taz wasn’t trying to go reach his original enhanced levels of speed where he was hard to track and even harder to see, no, he was trying to reach levels of speed that only the fittest humans could attain and the round house kick he sent Midori’s way, was sure enough to close that six inch gap as his right foot went like a magnet to the Weapon’s cheek.

This was the exact moment Midori was waiting for. In fact, he was waiting for this, and the potential of the next moment after it. If Taz were to attack, Midori had no intention of moving. No change in stance. Not even a word out of him. He waited. Taz wanted to bide his time, fine. It made no difference in the end. Midori was going to respond at the very last second of this attack, but that left an opening. A predictability. There always existed a handful of ways people reacted to a certain attack, and Midori had no intention on doing any of of those.

So it came. Eight inches. Seven inches. Then hit a blazing increase in speed, but Midori was still watching close. He was prepared. Six. Five. Four. Three. Two. One--bam. Taz was close enough that if his foot was truly a magnet, he could have felt the pull. Then Midori moved. He did not sidestep or dodge, but instead ducked. It was an obvious counter offense, but it was not over.

Midori lunged forward when he ducked, but then stopped. Stopped because an after image of himself was darting off to the side and performing a leg sweep. A moment later, another after image had slid back to the side and darted around Taz, no real attack but a reposition. The final afterimage was directly behind Taz with a chop to the back of his neck. All of these after images existed simultaneously. And, the time between their creation was… was what? Just moments apart. The speed wasn’t the most impressive part; Midori wasn’t moving that fast. It was the completed after images, complexity of the after images, and fact they all had different movements.

This wasn’t SpeedStar. This was a whole level beyond.

Then the absolute difference in the techniques came to fruition. It was not the duck with an uppercut that followed through. Nor was it the leg sweep or the chop. The Midori that was freeze framed in shifting between the front side and back side of Taz as his roundhouse kick was flying through the air was the one to break the stillness, and by Death itself, did it. The speed Midori travelled at now was comparable to Taz when he was at his fastest, if not a little faster. Midori followed through with a jab at Taz, aimed right at his kidney, and with the full force of an assassin.

This is when Taz also got a glimpse of Midori’s soul. It was human, sure, but deep down, it was black. Filled with nothing but murderous intent. In this brief moment, when his soul shone as it was released for his attack, the true terror of an assassin was released.
One second he was on his way to putting his foot back down, about to guard, the next he had faltered. Wobbled, really. In the few seconds right before Midori’s fist hit him square, Taz caught sense of a familiar feeling one often caught from the vile things agents of their kind hunted.

Only this time, the intensity was different. What Taz sensed made his heart rate quicken and his pillar left leg, that had been holding him through the kick, buckle. Unable to move out of the way or shift his left arm down quick enough to move the blow elsewhere, Taz braced himself for pain, but caught more than that as he took the hit and used it to send himself rolling painfully to the ground.

Taking a knee now but a yard away from Midori, Taz sucked in air and felt his left side scream at him in agony. He hadn’t been able to activate his wavelength in time to shave off some damage and he hadn’t been expecting….well, he hadn’t been expecting that. And now as he stared at Midori, guard all the way up, and trying to stabilize his breathing he wondered:That was a Hoshi art? Taz was not jus impressed, he was surprised and the lidded glare of his left eye reflected that also. Midori had not only landed his blow but he’d made him flinch. Not just flinch, but he’d made him hesitate. It was brief, it may have lasted only two seconds, but… He tried to take a breath in and only winced from the pain in his side

Taz, having abandoned anger, now gave Midori his full attention once again. He rose, stumbled on his first attempt, but caught himself immediately and slouched back up again. Despite wincing as he shifted to a guarded stance, Taz managed a wry sneer, “Nice shot” he said in a raspy voice and considering he wasn’t back to prancing on his feet, he had to agree with that statement.

It was a nice shot. One he planned to return. Midori, however, was not a man of words. He told Taz that once he entered the clearing, he would attack. He intended to follow through with that.

The killing intent was gone. As was Midori’s Soul Signature. It became evident that the only time it was released was during an attack. Now, this much made sense. Even the Star Clan reserved their real power for the moment of impact; the Hoshi just took it to the extreme. The difference in Midori before he attacked and during was glaring.

The distance between them was not great. Maybe a body length after his strike connected. This was not necessarily to his advantage. Midori straightened his body and took a single step back, then came the same sequence of events from just moments prior. A hastened afterimage appearing in front of him. This one throwing a swift right jab. Another ducking to the left, throwing an elbow at Taz’s right, lower abdomen. The third, closest image lunged forward with its body weight into a solid knee at Taz’s core.

Without affording Taz any time to really recuperate, Midori executed his next attack. This time, Midori followed through with this jab. The very first image, the least likely one, the most forward one--it was the one that Midori burst out of. His speed yet again a whole step above the images themselves. This was Starlight Waltz. The dance of the assassin. It was easy to see how Speedstar was derived from it and just as easy to see why Midori called it a bastard technique.

From its two uses, the images created by Starlight Waltz seemed slightly slower than those of Speedstar but were absolutely flawless in their appearance and were each completely different. The final burst of speed, however, was slightly faster than even a maximum Speedstar. It was obviously a trade-off, and it made sense. A slower initial speed while the utility of the technique was in play to setup the sudden, dangerous, and even deadly burst of speed when the attack was executed. This was how you killed a man, not just incapacitated them. This was the Old Ways.

Every ounce of his intention was present the moment his empowered fist neared Taz. That same chilling sense of impending doom that came from the glimpse of Midori’s soul. This time, however, Midori was actually on the attack; not just a counter attack. This time, his fist carried the weight of his malice. Behind it was not just the force of his muscles, but his desire to bring an end. This was power. Perhaps not Soul Force, but it didn’t need to be. The blunt force of the fist was compounded by the sharp force that followed.

And boy did it follow.

The instant Midori shifted to move his foot back, Taz abandoned guarding. His defensive position of arms out, palms open and facing forward didn’t change but his focus of utilizing his wavelength to increase his coverage was abandoned to focus on enhancing the sight of his eyes, even if they were just barely rheumy with liquid pride.

Midori, although he hated to admit, was something else. If the guy in front of him had been a meister, he wondered if he would’ve stood a chance at all. The first, second, and then third afterimage came, and Taz immediately tensed the muscles of his abdominal but by the time he’d done it a disturbance had come through. Won’t do much, he knew it wouldn’t do anything at all, but at least I won’t pass out right from this next hit.

Perhaps, if Midori had carried the same muscle mass he did, added with the enhancement of his own wavelength, Taz was certain that this shot that made his breathe stop and made his lungs burn would’ve knocked him out instantly. Of that, he was certain.

Instead, he wheezed a horrible shaky breath full of spittle and felt a dire lack of oxygen that he sorely needed. Taking the hit with barely only a crack opportunity to safeguard the region of impact, Taz felt the strength of his legs drain from the hit and found even after he mentally counted up to five, that he still hadn’t sucked in a hint of that sweet sweet air.

This brought back memories. Painfully sweet memories of that one time he’d foolishly asked Chidori, to seriously spar with him. Not teach him how to handle combat with his mentor’s partners, Suzuki or Alvin, but just brawl with him in pure hand-to-hand, one-on-one with his real strength. As Taz’s eyes stung and glazed with the sweet burn of tearful agony and he felt gravity bring him back to his unsteady feet, he realized: I guess I still gotta ways to go.

Time resumed, he clutched his gut, there was a couple steps away from Mido and then two knees hit the ground.

In time’s like this, taunting was his forte. A rude remark, a sardonic comment, something to show that he was still good to go. Taz found he could not taunt or jest this time. Because he was still trying to get air down and release the tension building in his chest. Nanoseconds went by, and muscles finally relaxed enough for him to do so, he huffed one long exhale, choked, then-- upchucked nothing but saliva. Digging his nails into the dirt and grabbing a handful, the downed lesser-classman, pummelled the ground with a shaky fist. All in an attempt to keep himself awake so he didn’t pass out.

That all happened within almost a minute, and it took Taz almost two before he was able to get up again without falling. The first attempt failed when his legs wouldn’t listen, the second ended with him falling back down and the third, came with a slow steady process where his legs quivered as he sucked in painful breaths and he blinked away the gloss only to his utter annoyance, find one eye clear as he felt a single tear slide down and stain the ground.

It’s not over. Is what he felt something defy from within. The show has just started, and to this he agreed completely. Breathing slow, heavy, sharp breaths, as he stared at the ground, Taz coughed again and winced from the pain as he rose, straightened himself and in doing so was forced to a slouch from the pain in his gut, one that gave him the opportunity to ‘exaggerate’ that pain to wobble a couple steps back and make their distance further.

A small part of his conscience told him to call it quits here. He had nothing to prove-- except everything. He had to show he wasn’t a quitter. He had to show he wasn’t just some copycat. Even if it hurt like a bitch to do it.

Taking a slower stance, one with far more openings, Taz concentrated on his breathing. Closed his eyes. And focused.

Midori was right. He had to accept that. The sheer difference between these techniques was clear. One focused on raw power and force, while another focused on technique and skill. The only time Taz felt his presence was the precise moment he attacked, which meant the only way he could hope to counter, if he could even manage to counter, was by trading blows.

Opening his eyes, still breathing heavy, Taz let out a grin. One that showed teeth. With two fingers he waved Midori on to continue. It was a sign that told him he could take more. Defense was his only option. And he’d use it like a sword in the next couple strikes, to find his opening. He doubted Midori was a wuss to think that he would kill him with just this. Knock him out, sure. But die? Taz, wouldn’t let that happen.

Not on my life. Besides. This was how he learned. Getting his ass beat. And coming up with a counter along the way. Goading Midori to attack, now feeling his breathing slowly resuming pace, Taz rolled his wrist once and waited.

“You ain’t….gonna get rid of me that easily”, his voice may have been lower but it still dripped with foolish pride.

And it was exactly that kind of behaviour that would get him killed one day. “ Alright Taz, Midori, that’s enough. I believe you’ve both gotten a decent sense of what the other has to offer.” Sore, but still standing Taz, acted like he hadn’t heard those words but he still chose to respond. “I can still keep going.” His eyes hadn’t left Midori for a second while saying that and even if his stance was shaky he didn’t seem like he was going to budge.

Crowley, in response, chuckled. It was the kind of amused chuckle one had when they saw someone do something absolutely stupid. The next thing he said made it quite clear what he thought:“ I can see why you would think that. But, no, you can’t.” Then just like that, a white spell circle appeared right under Midori and with a whirl of wind, he was teleported right to Crowley’s side and kept steady with a firm hand on a shoulder.

“ Come back to the sidelines Taz. I’ll answer any question you might have that makes you think I’m in the wrong.” He could practically see a smile in that statement.

Sore, bitter, and now boiling a piping hot stew of fury- Taz approached the others. Ready to wage war with his sponsor. If Crowley thought he was going to let this slide after his first fight’s interruption- he had another thing coming. And Taz had quite a lot to say. Swearing would be used. And by GOD, he would be heard.

 

[The Regal Rper]

Tazmuir V. Klivoc​

Crowley​

Crowley || Tazmuir
Mystic Lounge​

Two minutes. That was how long it took Taz to get back to the sidelines and rejoin Crowley and the others. The term 'rejoin', may however, have been a major understatement. While everyone else was on one side watching the fight between Jayson and Morgenstern transpire, Taz, stood the closest to the light green barrier that acted as a giant box for its current fighters, and he showed no signs of coming any closer.

So Crowley did him a favor and closed the gap between them with a couple steps. Something that not only made Taz's distasteful frown shift into a nasty scowl that made his nose wrinkle with displeasure, but something that forced him to take notice of something he thought he hadn't cared about before.

Crowley's height. He was taller than him. Tall enough that as the two stood staring at each other, Taz had to slightly tilt his head up, just to look into the man's sky blue eyes. Without even knowing it, Crowley had taught something Taz had never noticed till now. He didn't like it when someone used their height advantage over him to act patronizing. He didn't like it at all.

"I see you came back." Crowley mused, and the humor in his voice was almost so strong Taz thought the man might as well have slapped him in the face called himself his long lost uncle, something he found could neither deny nor confirm considering he knew nothing of his devil of a mother or jerk of father's nuclear or extended family.

Breathing may have still slightly hurt whenever the muscles in his diaphragm moved, but letting that comment slide without a rebuttal would've hurt his pride more. "Of course I came back" he spat, doing surprisingly well in keeping his voice level for someone who had had it placed on his records he had horrible anger management issues. "So," he continued, eyes narrowing into slits that he wished could burn that calm smile off this tall ginger's face, "why don't you tell me why you decided to interrupt my fight not once- but twice! Hm? Tell me, sir. What was the point of having me fight that cat", and he visibly pointed at Kuro, "and a Hoshi, if you intended on just interrupting both of our fights!"

Crowley's smile, didn't waver. Even when Taz's voice had rose at the last sentence and his breathing came out in heavy huffs and puffs, the mage kept his cool and didn't say a word. Not even at the spittle that had gently lashed his face during Taz's outburst. He didn't seem to even care- his eyes hadn't left the boy once.

"Tell me Taz-- no, Tazmuir." At the full use of his name, Taz visibly paused and gave Crowley a blank stare that was devoid of all emotion. He hadn't calmed, but he was now clearly listening- and that was something that caught even him off guard. For Biyu's sake, the man hoped she was paying attention. He was giving her in particular subtle lessons, things she could attempt to do if her partner ever got out of control. Just like Tsubaki had done for a young Black☆Star, getting used to someone like Taz would take time- and like any partnership, he had no right to force things on another. All he could do was guide and hope they reached a stable conclusion.

"Tell me Tazmuir", Crowley continued when he'd seen Taz was now giving him his full attention, "why do you think I stopped your fight with Kuro? And then again with Midori? Kuro, was also displeased with the results of Midori's interruption, an action I had gambled on and one I will have to pay for. Chesh here" he gestured with his eyes to the cat sitting on his head, "and I have discussed things already. I'll see to it a recompense is made on Kuro's behalf, but, if you feel what I did is so wrong why don't you tell me what exactly was wrong with what I did? Did I not tell you, Kuro, Max, and Jayson that through the entirety of the game you all would play roles? Because if you think I didn't-" he lifted his wand and pointed to the mirror that was allowing them to all watch the fight between Morgen and Jayson, "I can show you from my own memories that I did in fact tell you all what you would be doing and what my as well as Biyu's roles would be. That we would be referee's and you would be the players. So go on, tell me, aside from failing to inform you on Midori and Stein's possible emergence which I admit to being wrong in doing, what did I do wrong in interrupting your fight like any good referee would when a player is no longer able to continue?"

Blinking, Taz stared. It was rare to have his first name said like that by a teacher. It was why his stage name was: Taz The Great. In Taz's head, the full use of only his first name always related to something he'd done wrong when used by someone he saw of authority; when Chidori had used it, it was in reprimand for a wrong action or disobedience. When Lord Symmetry had used it, it was in discussing his possible expulsion from DWMA if he kept acting up. When Jamey, Bee, and Timmy had used it, it was to end their partnership for good with no second chances. When his mother had used it, it was to say 'goodbye'. So when Crowley used it...he felt a powerful need to listen, and unlike all those times when he was stewing in rage, he listened to that need and shut his mouth to listen.

His lips pressed into an angry thin line, but he found he had nothing to say because he couldn't think of anything immediately. And when he finally had after seconds of silence, he found the same excuse popping into his head. "I could handle it. Him. Both of them." And he believed it, Crowley could see it as he looked him in the eye and said it.

And that's where Crowley's smile disappeared, and the wind decided to blow a dramatic breeze through their scene. "No." He finally said. "No, you could not Tazmuir. And you need to realize that. Before you end up hurting yourself beyond magical or supernatural repair, or worse- hurt someone in your team for your own actions." With a sigh, Crowley turned his attention behind him and glanced at Max, Midori, Biyu, and Kuro for but a second, before he turned his attention back to Taz.

"It is rare to see a person of the Hoshi style and Star style fight, and I don't need to explain the reasons to you all why. You've all had your history lessons. Midori was curious, sensing that I allowed him to act. If I wanted to, I could've let all three of you fight till I decided to end it myself or pull one of you out when I saw it necessary. Instead, I pulled Kuro out, not because I wanted to interrupt your game but so I could learn more about each of you. As an instructor of DWMA, my first duty is ensuring a student is trained properly so that when they go on a mission, we do not need to have other agents go out to retrieve their bodies. As a sponsor, it is my job to understand those I am sponsoring.

Your mistake in thinking you could handle Midori in that fight, as tired as you were, was you failed to consider one thing--"

"And what was that?!" Taz snapped, and for a good few seconds he forgot the gentle ache in his sides.

"That he was not using his Weapon form when he punched you." Crowley said simply. And just like that Taz was silenced and Crowley? Crowley waited for a rebuttal. But he found none.

Pursuing his lips in a thin line, Taz stared at Crowley for one long second. Searching for something. Like a part of him felt the extra need to look for some kind of lie despite his brain already knowing this statement to be a truth and fact. A second later, he closed his eyes, relaxed his tense muscles with a long exhale, and walked right past the mage, past the others and towards a tree with particularly large roots. When he got to that tree, he sat down and leaned on it. Not saying a word to anyone. He just turned his attention to the mirror and watched Morgen and Jayson's fight.

He had nothing to say. Crowley was right, and not even his pride could challenge that when he knew it was true. If it had been an actual fight- while he wasn't in his prime, Midori could've finished him instantly. And if Kuro had fought seriously enough to want to kill, Taz knew he stood no chance. A fact that pained him greatly. Because all it really told him, was that he still wasn't anywhere near close to the level of strength he wanted to be to reach his goal.

Sitting in silence and brooding, Taz ignored everyone, and focused on the match instead.

Crowley for his part, merely watched the boy for a few seconds, then with his own thoughts stirred anew, he too turned to watch the match. Hoping to find something new.

Mentions: Sir Les Paul One Mean Ghost RANGYOKU Phayne SavingStar

 

[Sir Les Paul]

Stage Name: The Dark Eye
Location: Behind Mystic Lounge
Partner: Morgenstern Stein
Tags: SavingStar RANGYOKU Phayne One Mean Ghost The Regal Rper

In response to the future collab...​

Crowley stopped his foot. Fine. Crowley offered Jayson some elixir. Fine. But, then Crowley decided to punish him. Not fine. Crowley could have intervened at any point in time, but actively chose to let it go on this far. This didn't sit well with Midori.

"No, Professor Crowley, I don't believe there will be any punishment and I stand by what I said. I have trained for months with Morgenstern. I know her patterns, her strengths, and her flaws better than any piece of paper you have read. I just defeated Taz, so my input on his poor strategy should be entirely valid. You believe I lashed out at Jayson due to anger, but I couldn't care less. If you wanted the fight to end when he called out, I know factually you're strong enough to stop us all in our tracks. You let it go on and I played your game. Your game." Midori responded, his tone still elevated above those around him.

"You're soft on them. Giving them potions for tiny-ass cuts as if they need it. Coddling them when criticism is thrown their way. That's how people end up dead. Besides the point of this being your charade, my arsenal is not exclusive to Starlight Waltz. If I really wanted to hurt Jayson, I wouldn't have gone so easy," Midori continued. There was no intent here. His Soul Signature wasn't hidden either. There was no spike in him. He was calm. Angry, but calm. His eyes fell on Jayson for a moment when he implied he was going easy. If he could have seen Taz, they might have darted onto him as well. But, it was only for a second before they returned to Crowley.

"Although, if you want to relegate your highest ranked student to toilet duties, we can always see how Akane feels about your use of manpower and coddling of your students," Midori ended off with, name-dropping one of the most influential Meisters in the international space. At this point, Midori had his arms crossed and eyes thrust forward like daggers. It was apparent that Crowley perhaps made a mistake, at least in his eyes, in discerning the fault of the situation he created. Midori drove a real hard deal. The Hoshi were known as one of the harshest clans of elitists in the DWMA, and their training was brutal. It had garnered them respect, fear, and a lot of animosity for generations... and Midori had no qualms in using that for himself.

 

[RANGYOKU]

方比喻
BIYU FĀNG

♤​

LOCATION
Mystic Lounge​

INTERACTION
Tazmuir V. Klovic
Kuroneko “Kuro” Blair​

MENTIONED
The Regal Rper
One Mean Ghost ​

Crowley's voice served more than a sole purpose as it reached the ears of those involved in the exercise but to its observers, in particular in regards to his assigned assistant of sorts. Bringing the duel between her partner and the demon weapon, Biyu would come to realize she had been holding her breath for quiet a while, lost in a state of hypnosis as she would not take her eyes away from the mirror. A mesmerizing performance on both opponents' part but ultimately, she had to consent to the instructor's decision to intervene. Why extend which had been made clear as of the moment?

Losses are not all due to a lack of ability. It was a concept she had come to grasp over the years. A far cry from her mentality as a nephilim, now that she thought about it. No, to say the great difference between their techniques was what erased any chances for Taz to stand victorious was something she could not accept as a certainty. She did not repent of her belief that her partner could turn the board around in his favour. Far from it, she'd say his display cemented her acknowledgment of his skill and strength. But she knew better than to be delusional.

Headstrong as she had make him out to be, be it by looking at his reports or the few occasions they had engaged with one another, the female had anticipated a negative response from Taz upon having his duel disrupted at Crowley's command. She, herself, felt somewhat thorn about it. A sentiment which did not abandon her even after Taz made his presence known among those observing the exercises. Rather than indulge on her whim to approach him, she stood back silently, awaiting for Crowley to say his piece and put this matter to rest. Taz's frustration did not instigate nothing short of understanding on her part as well, as she had too been left perplexed at the instructor's actions up until this point. She could see why he would be lead to think this man was purposely driving them against the wall over and over, to no avail. But, much like with her, Crowley was simply a man of no clear cut reflection, a fact strengthened by his speech.

Yet, Biyu could not allow what preceded it to go by unnoticed. Namely, a name, no, rather, what it mean to use of a name. She took caution to imprint this aspect of Taz's in her mind and with it, she had to wonder if Crowley had expected such a thing to concern her. Knowing him ... that would not be a stretch of the mind, would it? A grim premonition crossed her, a scenario which would drive her to grasp Taz's full attention, to leave him in the very state of alert he was in. Consequences could not be overlooked while considering it, the idea that she would find herself incapable of handling her partner's unpredictable nature without resorting to something which likely preyed upon he unknown of his character.

His response, overall, did not fail to capture her attention throughout the duration of their exchange, giving just as much insight into him as Crowley allowed her to make something out of his objectives. For a moment, she felt it, what it all build up towards to the very end, how it shook him to his core. The instructor was truthful in his assessement, there was no denying it. No longer she was left an idle observer to what was before her. It was just as the instructor had told her before, she could not afford to act demure, be it towards those above her or by her side. It dawned on her. Trusting her partner blindly and refraining from closing in their distance from one another ... it was not right. If they'd ever want to make this work, fleeting as it could reveal itself to be given their circumstances, she had to force herself to break through her faults, for the sake of not only her partnership but her team as well.

Thus, when she walked up to the tree with large roots, it was not out of a sense of duty, rather a desire to act upon her feelings. Quietly, she took a seat next to Taz, careful not to disturb Kuro as she moved positions. It was a possibility to expect him to be displeased by it, given his mood, but she was resolute in daring each other's boundaries. Step by step, she would make sure to do her part in making this work. She was not fearful of his wrath or his resentent, she reassured herself as she assumed a calm and serene posture. Giving him some time to mull Crowley's words over, she offered him an unwavering presnece of support, rather than empty words of encouragement or half-hearted space for nought.

 

[The Regal Rper]

Tazmuir V. Klovic​

Mystic Lounge​

Lost in thought, it was by instinct Taz's eyes moved in the direction of a sound. One step, two steps, his mind wasn't on it. His mind was on him and the comparisons he was making with the others. Three steps, four steps, the sound was getting closer. It was a familiar sound. It was....Biyu's sound.

Eyes narrowed, but there was no nose crinkling in a natural sign of pompous disgust or disdain. Taz was calm, displeased, annoyed, and a weighing both Midori and Crowley's words in heavily, but he wasn't angry anymore. He was sour, but he was calm. Biyu moving towards him, had just upped that sourness by throwing lemon juice into the mix. What does she want? Hadn't he had enough humiliation already? Was she really going to come here and criticize him even further on his actions, bring up the very things he was thinking about despite not reading the mood he wasn't in the mood to talk about it. Had he completely misread her when they first met?

With narrowed eyes he didn't say a word. He watched her. Watched her approach, watched her move towards him, then watched her take a seat.

Silence.

Taz waited. He'd been through this enough times with his partners. Whenever he did something stupid or whenever he'd done something wrong, they lectured him or most had at least tried to. Jamey had done it whenever he attempted to challenge someone on their first year as betas. Had constantly told him to stop picking fights with people because it was just going to rake in bad cred later. Bee had in most occasions left him alone to screw up and then when he had, she'd smugly chide him like a mother would with that 'I told you so' tone. Timmy would always beg him not to get in over his head or let his anger get the better of him when someone said something that just seemed to completely rub him the wrong way or completely get on his nerves. Cash had always nonchalantly warned him that constantly bragging made him look more like a huge prick than an actual decent victor.

So what is it this time? he thought turning his attention away from Biyu, a subconscious attempt to spare her from this feeling anymore awkward than it already was, not that he cared either way. If he wanted he could just stare and stare at her till Kuro said something that he could use to start a argument or she herself said something that he could use to re-fuel his anger. But, for once, he wasn't in the mood. His ego was silent. Nothing spoke in his head to start something, that he was being made fun of and that he had a right to be angry and to defend himself like when he was younger. Perhaps the counselling had helped the few times he actually went, perhaps it was just reason actually working correctly for once this time around, he didn't no and he didn't care.

A minute-- no no, now it was two, going to three. Stein and Jayson were still at it, Midori looked like he was getting bored but Taz frankly couldn't care less. His mind was on her and it was also on Kuro but just barely. Why haven't they said anything? his foot moved in agitation, impatience. Was this just a new way to get on his case after he'd just received his lashings? The silent treatment. Blue eyes, changed to bright blue with just a little sunlight and Taz glanced at Biyu, face as calm as ever, mind a raging storm of impatience and annoyance.

She still hadn't said anything. He knew it. He knew this would happen. Just like all the others. She wasn't speaking because she was giving him the silent treatment. Show them his worst, and what happened? They left. His mother was right. 'Don't trust anyone. Don't show weakness. Not until you have a single ally you trust with your life.' And look where that got him? A bunch of dropout partners, one of whom was fucking dead, and not a single thing better afterward except some lessons in how to act, so much good that had done anyway.

With Jamey it'd been his constant fights. With Bee it'd been his obsession with his first partner and constant anger, with Timmy it'd been just his anger. With Chidori it'd been the reports he'd been getting about Taz's increasingly bad behavior. It was why they hadn't talked in nearly two years now. His mentor had woken up to the coffee and didn't like how it tasted. And then there was Cash...well with Cash he'd ended that one himself. But Biyu? She was new. She didn't know him personally. She could've heard anything and as much as Taz really didn't give a crap on what anyone thought of him as a person, he did not like the concept of a partner thinking him as scum. It irked him. It bugged a part of him he did not get and he did not get why it affected him which only made him angrier and made him want to distance himself even more.

Tapping his foot away, hands folded as arms braced against his lap and he leaned in to watch the fight as he kept waiting. At this point a scowl formed. Say something! he thought in utter annoyance. One of you say something for crap's sake this is awkward as fuck!, still nothing.

"For fuck's sa-- what do you-- why are you sitting here Biyu? Kuro? Hm, what's up, huh? Wha-w-what do you want? Want to lay it on me? Go ahead." He said simply, venting his frustrations but being earnest. "I'm all ears, go ahead. Tell me how horrible I am. Better yet, I'll do you a favor if you want to end this partnership, I'll go right over to the office after this with you and end it, if that's what you want. Oh- no, don't look surprised" he continued, nostrils flaring but still not a hint of genuine disdain or disgust on his face, in fact he kept himself completely away from Biyu as he spoke. He was standing and pacing now right in front of them, "I can see that look in your eye. You don't want this. Want a good partner and you get that jackass in class because you were forced into it because of--" he had just noticed both Mido and Crowley were gone....huh, whatever, he let out a long exhale and sighed a angry grunt.

"Look..." he ran a hand through his dark curly locks with hints of fading blonde and sighed a frustrating breath. "I get it, I'm shit. I don't care. Don't sit there and act like you're cool with this when you're not. You got something on your mind, say it. Be straight with me. You aren't a wimp and neither is that cat there, you two got something on your mind, fucking say it, or get the fuck out of here and leave. Because if you're joining this team" -he said bluntly, staring both of them down- "then you're dealing with this sweet piece of cake for as long as we're teammates. And as for you Kuro...." he stared at the cat in silence for a few seconds before turning his attention back to Biyu, "first chance we get next time, I call first punch on Midori."

And then he was done. Waiting to hear what they'd say, if they'd say anything at all. If he didn't. He'd just move. He had thoughts to mull over and having this awkward silence wasn't going to get him anywhere.

Interaction(s): RANGYOKU One Mean Ghost

Mention(s): Sir Les Paul

 

[Phayne]

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  “Wait a sec...Oh….oh. Ohhhhhhh shit. Yeah, sure. Yeah, uh, tag in, you can take my place. I’ll tag back in later so I can settle things with Kuro.” - Maximillian

  
  
  With these parting words, the silver-haired meister watched as the oh so glorious Max Holiday scampered away, more than merely disturbed by her sudden appearance. If she did not know that he was hesitant, if not fearful, of engaging with her in combat, she would have taken offense to his running away. Though, she did not. After all, what kind of idiot WOULD remain standing on the battlefield when a rather formidable opponent arrived and gave you only the choice: willingly leaving, or risking having to be scraped off of the ground and carried away to the infirmary.
  
  She could not help but chuckle. “If I did not know any better as to the fact that he is, indeed, of human origin, I would compare him to the likeliness of a canine, a mere dog, running away with his tail between his legs, heading to cower in fear behind the sanctuary of his master.” Her tone placed emphasis on the word ‘master’ nearly in a condescending way, as if she were implying that Max was playing right into the plans of Crowley- a man that common sense dictated that she should not trust. And, in all honesty, he was. Just like she and Mido were most likely doing as well, but what other choice did she have? At the moment, she was partnerless, her weapon somewhere else in the soccer-field sized arena, most likely engaging Tazmuir in a similar situation.
  
  She would not outwardly admit it, but she was worried for Midori. She knew that he was a more than capable weapon, with incredibly admirable strength he had garnered from the years and years of training he had undergone with his mentor as he grew up. He had skills far beyond the typical weapon was capable of, and sheer willpower-usually. She was sure that he would be more than fine.
  
  But...he was fighting Tazmuir Klivoc. A young meister who had been trained by the one and only BlackStar in the way of the assassin arts. He had speed, both physical and mental prowess, and wavelength skills that neither Midori or herself did not possess. It would be a close fight for sure, and she was nearly positive that it would not stop until either Crowley pulled them apart, or one had to concede for fear of dying.
  
  Even then....she did not know if either would surrender even under that condition.
  
  Shaking off her thoughts, Morgenstern reminded herself that she did not need to worry about Midori. He was more than capable of defending himself-after all, he was a Two Star weapon trained in the Old Ways, damn it! She -may have been worried about him, but she also had nothing but the utmost confidence in him. It was a trait that only the strongest of partnerships were build upon-if she did not have faith in him, then their resonance would be weak. She would be weak.
  
  

  “Looks like a threesome is out of the question. It’s a pleasure to make your acquaintance. I’d offer a handshake… but considering your introduction with the scalpel… I doubt you’re here for some late night fun or to make friends...correct me if I’m wrong? Because I’m up for a little late night fun...assuming you could handle me.”- Jayson

  
  Bringing her mind back to the situation at hand, Morgenstern crossed her arms. She arched a silver-colored eyebrow, visibly surprised that he had even bothered reacting to her comment about a threesome. Though, at the same time...she liked it. It was not every day that you came across either a meister or weapon with that certain type of humor visibly on display for all to see. After all, Lord Symmetry was...a very conservative headmaster, dare she admit it. He was a kind person that she rather admired, but he could easily be...stiff.
  
  “I’m surprised,” the silverette female mused as her own eyes raked Jayson up and down. “Normally people would be running away screaming by now.” Releasing another low chuckle, she reached up to run a hand through her long hair, taking a moment to lazily braid it back into a ponytail, allowing the end to run free down her neck in the loose grouping.
  
  The minor apathy she now felt was painstakingly obvious. Her weapon partner had truly worn off on her, both for the better and worse. She was being rather careless about who she was about to face off with, but on the same page, she was not afraid. She was not anxious, nor was she hesitant. She would give this her all, for she was a Stein-the partner of Midori Hoshi. If she broke down, what kind of partner would she reflect upon him? Two powerful families, working together as one in a weapon-meister duo that was easily capable of scaring most people shitless-the only exceptions knowingly being Aella Han and Apex, the rather ruthless teachers that Lord Symmetry had brought in from out of town, and even out of the country, to supervise them.
  
  Slowly, Morgenstern made her way forward, towards Jayson. “As for your comment,” she continued, reaching down to grab her scalpel. “Talk to me after we’re done here. If you’re still up for it, let me know.” She shot him a cocky grin as she straightened out. “Because I’m always game if you are.” Without missing a beat, she cast Jayson a wink in return for his own before daring to turn her back towards him, aware that his left hand was still pointed at her, directly at the back of her head. But she did not care.
  
  Making her way towards one of the nearby trees, she turned around to face him again before leaning back against the strong trunk of the oak. She shoved her hands in the pockets of her long white coat before she braced her right foot, clad in a grey knee high boot, flat upon the wood. She then proceeded to stare him down, acting as if she did not notice the mock barrel of a gun aimed straight at her head. Lazily, she smiled.
  
  

  “Is it safe to assume that someone’s interrupted Kuro’s play time as well?” - Jayson

  
  A wry smile came to twist upon Morgenstern’s features. “An astute observation” she complimented him, closing her eyes. “Yes. My own weapon, Midori, should be challenging either Tazmuir or Kuro at this very moment. Though, my hypothesis is that he will elect to face against Tazmuir, as he expressed rather...intense...interest in his assassin abilities. I would assume that he wishes to get a closer look at Tazmuir’s capabilities in a one-on-one game of ‘my dick is bigger than yours'.” She closed her eyes, releasing a slight hum as she did so.
  
  She may have seemed as if she were tuned out of reality, but she was a skilled meister, and had formidable soul techniques as a result of her long periods of time spent as a solo meister. This meant that she was still listening. For, while Jayson could see almost anything, Morgenstern could hear it. His breathing, the sound of his heart. Any move he made, she would be ready. For, as they stood there, she was charging her wavelength, and preparing herself for the battle.
  
  All was quiet. It seemed as if she were taunting him, her relaxed state proving to be a bit unnerving for almost anyone. What she had planned, nobody would be able to tell. Not until she truly got started, which would not be much longer, if tensions had anything to tell.
  
  CRACK!
  
  The sound of electricity crackling shot to life as Morgenstern snapped open her eyes again, now visibly a different color, her wavelength at nearly full capacity...ready to attack.
  

  
• 
  
  

  
  "...and what would running accomplish?" replied Jayson, tilting his head to one side and raising a brow all the while keeping his 'gun' pointed at her. Not once did his gaze shy away from the white haired lass opposite him; his gaze focused solely on Morgenstern and her alone, watching every little movement she made; observing her body for any 'tells' that she may have. "... we are enclosed in a little box, running now would only end up with me getting cornered" he added, before a soft smile crept upon his face, "though.. even that doesn't sound like a bad idea... being trapped, up close and intimate with a vixen" he laughed for a few moments allowing his guard to drop a little as he did so. "... However unlike Max, I'd rather tackle you head on, I'll ride anything wild and threatening" he winked back at her whilst simultaneously licking his lips. He hadn't felt a thrill like this in such a long time; the suave almost seductive tone in which Morgenstern spoke in sending a welcomed chill down his spine. Lord only knows that he may have misfired had she whispered in his ear at this very moment. Rosalia in the next life would probably murder him for having such a thought.
  
  As Jayson allowed himself to momentarily indulge in such notions, Morgenstern had taken several steps forwards retrieving the scalpel she had earlier thrown. The slow yet elegant movement of her lithe frame almost lulling him into a primitive state of lust. Jayson gulped as a bead of sweat began to form against his brow; though this was not born from fear but rather evoked through his instinctual desire. Given how intently Jayson had been watching her with his keen eyes, he could not help but notice the subtle yet elegant allure of her features', such as the faint contours that meandered past her neck and into the recesses of her attire. Jayson gulped once more.This girl...she's dangerous.. he thought, the danger not residing within her physical capabilities; Jayson had seen very little evidence of that, but more to do with how her simple words and movements were affecting his trail of thought and actions which in turn could potentially be very bad news for him should his own partner find out.
  
  Adrenaline and excitement began to swell within him as she spoke, seemingly given birth through the sheer recklessness that Jayson was entertaining. It was as if he was balancing on a tight rope, caught in the middle of both ends with either side carrying their own potential dangers. Alas, Jayson was not a conservative individual nor was he one to shy away from a quick thrill, thus it came as no real surprise that Jayson decided to take the chances with his partner later in exchange for the short term thrill that Morgenstern was able to provide him. A ‘reward’ without risk was unworthy of the name.
  
  

  “Talk to me after we’re done here. If you’re still up for it, let me know.”- Morgenstern

  
  Her words snapped him back to reality. The carrot held beyond the stick; Jayson was enamoured with the idea, despite the obviously false premise of her words. It was a few moments before he could stifle a response, lost in the wave of nostalgia that he was feeling. Aspects of this snowy haired Vixen had reminded him of a woman long since departed from the realm of the living. "Win or lose.. I am up for it" replied Jayson the words he spoke betraying the concern that had entered his thoughts 'Oh god.. I hope Muon is not watching..' Jayson gave a soft somewhat uneasy smile.
  
  As Morgenstern walked, Jayson's left hand moved along with her, not once allowing her to escape from his sights. Since her arrival, Morgenstern had moved quite a lot, walking towards him with such ease and composure that she felt confident enough to turn her back towards him, despite the threat of being shot from behind and now casually leaning against the trunk of tree and effectively having one line of escape blocked off. Jayson gritted his teeth at the realization of what was going on. Morgenstern was not taking him seriously, she did not see him as a threat whatsoever. 'This girl is great!" he thought to himself once again, unperturbed by her apparent arrogance implied by her casual demeanour thus far. Was it over confidence on her part? or was she simply that 'strong' that she didn't need to worry? She did after all send Max running with his tail between his legs and small droplets of piddle along the ground as he disappeared into the fog. Jayson grinned, she was a mountain before him and he had every intention of scaling her.
  
  

  “Yes. My own weapon, Midori, should be challenging either Tazmuir or Kuro at this very moment. Though, my hypothesis is that he will elect to face against Tazmuir, as he expressed rather...intense...interest in his assassin abilities. I would assume that he wishes to get a closer look at Tazmuir’s capabilities in a one-on-one game of ‘my dick is bigger than yours.”
  - Morgenstern

  
  “Thats a shame then.. I'd have probably won that contest” quipped Jayson, “I do quite literally have the longest barrel out of the lot” he added before he erupted in laughter. His right hand now pressed firmly against his forehead as he struggled in vain to maintain any semblance of composure. Even the left hand which he had stoically held firm in the direction of Morgenstern was now finding itself victim to Jayson's inability to maintain a straight face at his own inward joke.
  
  All the while as he made a caricature of himself, Morgenstern had been charging up her wavelength, the silence amid Jayson's foolish laughter signalling the beginning of their spar. The calm before the storm, that’s what this was. A momentary reprieve from any form of great activity or conflict, the peace that betrayed the true nature of what was about to happen. Only a fool would lower their guard and relax at such a moment; the brief last minute chance to turn tail and run or face the storm head on. Jayson wasn't going to run.
  
  CRACK!
  
  Jayson almost instinctually and against his own will, took a slight step backwards as the sound of electricity cackled through the air, the demeanour and general aura around Morgenstern changing rather drastically in the process.
  
  "Seems like the foreplay is over then?" he asked rhetorically in response to the sudden increase in output emanating from Morgenstern, the change in her eye color mirrored with Jayson's own purple iris. Ensuring the best use of his right eye, Jayson tucked the strands of loose hair into the top of his bandanna. Though rather than retaining the gun barrel on his left hand, Jayson had instead chosen to return it to its original form; his left hand now clenched into a fist, as did his right upon returning to chest level.
  
  Body half turned, shoulders slacked and free of unneeded tension, Fist clenched and feet spread evenly apart with his right foot slightly ahead of the left, Jayson stood there smiling, his eyes fixed on the prize. With an aura of cockiness on his part, Jayson twisted his wrist slightly and unballed his left fist, keeping the four fingers between his index and pinky pressed tightly together and gestured, his fingers moving forwards and backwards in unison.
  
  "Bring it.. I'm ready to get intimate" he taunted.
  
  God he hoped Muon was not here to see this.
  

  
• 
  
  

  
  “Well aren’t you ballsy?” Morgenstern mused, flipping the newly retrieved scalped in between her fingers. She kept her eyes on the weapon standing before her as she did, barely observing the light reflecting off of its sleek metal surface as it easily flipped between pale phalanges before burying itself within a pocket of her jacket. “Not many people would even think about having any sort of sexual relations with a Stein.” A curt laugh was given and a wry smile curled it’s way onto her light pink lips.
  
  Jayson smiled as she said this, the fact that she was a Stein had not bothered him at the start of the fight, why would if have done so now?
  
  Reaching up, Morgenstern intertwined her hands together and rested then behind her, at the spot where her upper cervical vertebrae met with the base of her skull. Leaning back, she released a sigh of relief and content. “As for what running will do...many believe that it will save them in the case that one should anger me. Unfortunately for them,” she sighed, pushing herself forward and standing straighter than before. “No matter how fast they run, or how much of a head start they have gotten…” Her unyielding golden eyes shone dangerously in the light. “...If they truly rub me wrong, I will find them, and I will annihilate them.”
  
  “..and have I rubbed you wrong?” interjected Jayson, not once lowering his arms as he observed Morgenstern, the smile still present on his face.
  
  “There’s no way to tell,” the meister hummed as she looked down at well-manicured nails, gently picking at the cuticles that attached skin to the square-tipped plates of keratin protruding from it. “At least, not for you. Why would I tell you now and spoil the fun?”
  
  Cocking a hip to one side, Morgenstern put her right palm on the body part and looked to Jayson almost as if she was expecting something. Though, it would have seemed that their interaction was paced just so that she had no chance to answer him before the topic of conversation had hit another.
  
  

  ”That’s a shame then… I’d have probably won that contest. I do quite literally have the longest barrel out of the lot!” - Jayson

  
  In a standard society, a young woman with a nature unlike that of Morgenstern would have been taken aback by his rather brash insinuation. However, the young silver-haired vixen took it in stride and shot back a retort without missing even a fraction of a beat. “Is that so?” She asked, arching an eyebrow. “Well then, if that’s the case, maybe you’ll have to prove it sometime soon. After this whole little debacle is over, of course.” As if to accentuate her words, she flicked her wrist in such a fashion that she motioned to the area around them, emphasizing the fact that they were supposed to be engaged in combat at the present moment.
  
  Now, the young Stein was no idiot. She knew that she could have very well made a move during the time that he was cracking himself up over his own comment, with minimal repercussions. Though, a stunt of that magnitude would most certainly go against her principles of observation and experimentation. That being said, she decided to keep her tactics to herself for now, as to keep herself out of trouble.
  
  It would seem as if Jayson, too, realized that he was in a wide open area to be attacked at that very moment. For, only a brief minute passed before he had cleared himself of all traces of his prior amusement in return for a stoic expression, once again armed and at the ready. His barrel pointed directly at Morgenstern, seemingly giving the young meister no means of escape.
  
  Though, what he did not know was that Morgenstern had been charging her wavelength the entire time, only for her to let the electric impulses of her wavelength beat within her, propelling to almost act upon instinct. As the crackling intensified with the explosion of her soul force, Morgenstern’s wavelength seemed as if it was...growing. Not becoming its own sentient being, but as if it were feeding off of another energy.
  
  Ares’ soul shard that had been implanted years prior.
  
  

  “Seems like the foreplay is over then? Bring it. I’m ready to get intimate - Jayson

  
  “As much as I hate it, it’s the truth. Foreplay just isn’t my thing. Call me selfish, but I prefer the hot and heavy.” A low, rumbling laugh erupted from her throat. It was akin to a sound that one might hear upon thinking of a mentally deranged being. “You know, I like you. Maybe we could go get coffee or something, if we don’t murder each other during this.”
  
  A few parting words were mumbled under her breath. None of them would be heard by the naked eye. Then, with her foot braced against the tree, Morgenstern then shoved herself forward. Her speed was incredible, as if she herself had been charged only minutes before. It was almost unnatural.
  
  “Lightning Bolt”
  
  The words would float to Jayson and meet his ears as a whisper as she practically flew by him to the tree his back was facing. The parting words had been the name of a soul technique.
  
  If Jayson had been paying attention in any of his classes-whether it be Dr. Macson or surely Aella Han’s, he would have heard about these nearly impulsive techniques. Meister would only display proficiency using them in battle scenarios. It was if their soul had become a sentient being, and was only using Morgenstern’s conscious body as a vessel. This was known as a ‘Battle-Born’ technique by several, as it had no true name, and they remained hidden for long periods of time before coming to light.
  
  In this particular instance, it was Lightning Bolt, a technique that had seemingly mutated from Marie Mjolnir’s Lightning Rope, which was a weapon capability to give a meister enhanced physical characteristics and abilities through pulses of soul electricity pulsing through muscles. Rather than Ares, her weapon brother, inheriting their grandmother’s skills, it had been hers-Ares had developed his own set, more geared towards his personality than Marie’s would ever be.
  

  
• 
  
  

  
  Bringing us back to the present, we see the battle between meister and weapon beginning to unfold.
  
  Morgenstern made contact with the tree, causing a resounding “snap” as bark was pulled from the sturdy trunk. Jumping back down behind Jayson, she made a lunge for the weapon, using her palm to aim a Soul Menace attack directly between his shoulder blades, at a capacity that was sure to shock him into a stun, if not put him on his ass.
  
  

  "You know, I like you. Maybe we could go get coffee or something, if we don’t murder each other during this.” - Morgenstern

  
  "I'll hold you to it" he replied, the mischievous grin ever present on his face. "Perhaps afterwards I'll even show you a thing or two about what real foreplay is, y’know, change your mind. Perhaps your current partner just isn’t as stimulating" he winked, though unlike before he did not lower his guard. Even a jovial fool such as himself was more than capable of knowing when and where he could take the piss out of the situation and since this wasn't one of those moments Jayson made sure to keep on guard, his right eye focused squarely on his opposites figure.
  
  Whilst Jayson was unaware of the state of Morg's soul, it didn't stop him from knowing exactly when she was going to make her move. Eyes on her like a hawk, Jayson was watching for every little movement, piecing together the ever growing puzzle of changes that was occurring as her body prepared itself to act.
  
  It was an unavoidable truth that those proficient in speed carried a strength capable of overpowering and subduing any adversary. Honing such a pure natural ability to the point of where it surpassed and transcended what was deemed to be 'human limitation' was without a doubt a talent that only a few physically gifted could possess, or so many thought. Speed is not only present in the physical attribute of a person, but comes in many other forms.. such as the speed in which one is able to process visual information, or the speed needed to dissect, examine and decide on a course of action befitting the situation, both just some of the speedly traits that Jayson himself owned. What Morgenstern clearly overpowered Jayson in with physical movement, Jayson made up for in his mental decision making. Thus while in theory his body could not react fast enough, he was still able to react accordingly given the ability to see, gauge, predict and act accordingly to what his opponent was doing.
  
  'Lightning bolt' as Jayson soon learned to be the term for Morgenstern's lighting fast movement, a technique befitting the name. Had Jayson lacked his right eye, then he'd have been a sitting duck, a deer in the headlights and probably an immobilized mess on the floor, thankfully that was not the case. Watching her pristine movement in all its glory, only one word came to mind. "Dazzling" marvelled Jayson, a smirk appearing on his face as the gust of wind finally caught up with Morgenstern's movement, the breeze causing his hair to part slightly. Whilst it may have appeared that Morgenstern had moved at an inhuman speed to those observing the fight, to Jayson she may as well have been crawling. Speed was simply not an effective weapon against Jayson's right eye and overconfidence on such a strength would soon come to haunt its user.
  
  As Morgenstern 'blew' past him, Jayson was already turning his body 180, his eyes not once falling away from their watchful gaze upon her as she made contact with the tree behind him, the shattering cry of the tree as it snapped could have easily been someone's spine. Mid-spin, Jayson caught sight of her next move, the white haired beauty now lunging towards him, having used the tree itself as a 'jumping board' to alter her trajectory. Palm outstretched, Jaysons eyes fell upon her outstretched limb. All Jayson knew at this point was that despite what his instinctual desires were, his more rational side told him to avoid Morgenstern's assault, the seemingly lacklustre palm strike potentially hiding a more sinister truth. Playing it safe, Jayson reacted.
  
  A crimson glow permeated the space in which the duo occupied, the rich burgundy hue rhythmically pulsating from where Jayson once stood. By now his flesh had been replaced by specks of black grain, tiny obsidian colored particles vaguely aligned in the outline of a human silhouette. Within the husk of what was once Jayson's body, was a small red gem; the core of his being and the source of the eerie glow. With every millisecond that passed, the tiny grains of powder began to rapidly clash into one another, compressing and condensing each and every particle as the individual grains began to take uniform shape; that of a a large single barrel shotgun; the gun levitating of its own free will. If one had an attuned sense of smell they would have noticed the acrid and almost sour like smell of gunpowder begin to invade their space.
  
  "Bang" echoed Jayson's voice, originating from a small ruby gem embedded near the pommel of the gun. Simultaneously, the gun weapon had fired in the direction of where Morgenstern was attacking from; the large resounding explosion of a shotgun being fired reverberating through the battlefield. However despite the rather large and explosive discharge, no actual 'projectile' was fired. Instead, Jayson's present form was sent flying away from Morgenstern's outstretched hands, just about avoiding her exposed palm. Jayson's goal from the start was not to shoot Morgenstern down, simply he couldn't do it even if he wanted to. Instead he gambled on the recoil of his shotgun form, the force of the shock sending his present form spiralling backwards several yards away from her. As he did this, one of six red cartridges visible on the underside of his gun's shaft had dimmed in color. Knowing that it was in his best interest to avoid a physical battle, Jayson triggered the next chain of action.
  
  The second shot was fired, timed to perfection as Jayson's nozzle aimed towards the ground though at an angle - the 5th hour on a clock- the resulting recoil causing him to now spiral skyward towards the 11th hour, heading towards the tree that Morgenstern had earlier been standing below. Reaching his desired altitude, Jayson regressed back into his human body, the entirety of the shotgun appearing to melt in the process, the liquefaction of his metallic exoskeleton now growing into flesh and bone. Jayson landed atop the largest outstretched branch, his left hand cocked and at the ready; his index finger resembling that of a pistol. In his right, Jayson juggled several small pebbles, pulled from his pocket whilst he somersaulted into his landing.
  
  "Trying to get hands on already? My my aren't we the frisky one.." chimed Jayson from his perch atop the tree, "Its still only the first date!..." he continued, half heartedly tossing one of the pebbles outward and away from him; Jayson's unaffected eye following the jawbreaker sized piece of earth with perfect precision.
  
  "... let’s savour the moment, it is after all our first meeting and hopefully one of many" However despite his comments, the actions Jayson was presently taking did betray his teasing remarks. Once the pebble he tossed had descended low enough and at an angle he was satisfied with, Jayson fired..
  
  'Bang'
  
  Jayson's left hand pointed skyward from the recoil; the burst of wind escaping from the tip of his finger making optimal contact with the 'projectile' and sending it flying directly towards where Morgenstern stood.
  

  
• 
  
  

  
  “Enough,” said a familiar voice. At least, familiar to Morgenstern. With it followed the trademark bright green, crescent slash for none other than Midori himself.
  
  “Morgenstern, you’re taking too long,” Midori added as he dropped from the sky between her and the other autonomous weapon, this time wielding his blade arm. The slash he fired was sufficient to cut through the projectile fired by Jayson, precise enough to hit it mid-air, and fast enough to make up for the difference in timing.
  
  Jayson did admittedly have an advantage over Taz and Kuro when it came to dealing with the Hoshi Style. Due to his eye, he could at least perceive Mido despite having no Soul Signature and his utter silence. “Besides, you shouldn’t get the poor boy’s hopes up; he hasn’t even seen what our lips do,” Midori continued, this time outstretching his blade arm in the direction of Jayson and allowing it a ghostly, green glow.
  
  “One strike. You get one more strike, then I end this,” Mido said with his focus now on Jayson. That same killing intent felt by Kuro and Taz? It was now purely focused on Jayson. Mido cut right into the fight with full intention on ending it. A fact Morgenstern would be well aware of given his murderous aura. And, given he had no interest in Jayson like he did Taz, he had no reason to toy with this target.
  
  A flash of green drew his attention away from Morgenstern, movement from above drawing his line of sight away from his target. What caused his attention to lapse was the fact that this invader was someone that Jayson was completely unaware of and was someone not on his side, considering the slash he had fired was aimed directly for Jayson's projectile. As soon as the dust cleared from the clashing of their two attacks, Jayson's eyes fell upon the dark haired man standing between himself and Morgenstern.
  
  

  "Besides, you shouldn’t get the poor boy’s hopes up; he hasn’t even seen what our lips do,” - Midori

  
  Jayson smirked, "Aye, I haven't seen what your lips can do, that’s true" he replied, in the process returning the transformed portion of his left hand back to normal. "However it is also true that she has yet to experience what both my lips and my hands can do...especially in unison" boasted Jayson, holding both hands up and flexing each finger.
  
  

  “One strike. You get one more strike, then I end this,” - Midori

  
  ”Give it a rest” he replied, rolling his eyes at the threat. Jayson had no intention of fighting anymore anyway, having already decided beforehand that he was not gonna pursue this conflict further. It was clear as day that Jayson's chances of winning this bout were now at an all time ZERO. A semi-autonomous weapon vs a Weapon and Meister duo, Jayson would have had more luck winning the lottery than coming out of this unscathed. No, he was confident that he had shown enough to Crowley, there was no need to go above and beyond.. much less anger an apparently impatient and wound up individual that was Midori. The murderous intent was not lost on Jayson, he could feel the blood lust behind Midori's words as clear as day, however he knew full well that the weapon before him would not act on such emotion, rather Crowley would not allow it. Thus, knowing full well that the threat behind Midori's words carried little weight, Jayson had no reason to let the murderous intent affect him, instead he found it amusing that he would spark such obviously hostile feelings simply by flirting with his Meister.
  
  Sighing and shaking his head at the uneventful ending, Jayson lowered his shoulders and released the tension in his body, "Alright spoilsport, calm your tits.." he commented, before his attention was directed elsewhere. "Crowley!" called Jayson, his gaze now directed skyward. Given the pretence behind this whole skirmish, Jayson had no doubt in his mind that their instructor was keeping an eye on the fight though the methods in which Crowley employed to accomplish this was unknown. Assuming Crowley did not have any visuals - which Jayson doubted to be the case -, he still would have at the very least had some form of audio, otherwise this while mock battle would have been pointless. "Crowley!" he called once more "I quit!" Jayson raised his right hand upward as he said this. "I'm sure you've seen enough by now, let’s end this already..." Jayson tilted his head and glanced down at the weapon and meister pair standing beneath him. "..we both know how this will end if it continues and I’d rather no go through with it just for the sake of a good show" his gaze went past Midori and honed in on Morgenstern once more. He had no intention of addressing Midori the interloper directly, there was no need for it.
  
  "It's a shame our little game has to end so quickly, right when it was about to get hot and heavy but seeing the state of your partner, I'd have to pass on the threesome. Bloodlust doesn't really do much to get me in the mood" Jayson’s eyes momentarily switched towards Midori and more specifically towards the bladed portion of his outstretched arm before returning and making eye contact with Morgenstern again.
  
  "Like I said, I'd win that contest" he winked.
  
  Midori made a quick and simple response to the wailing of Jayson. Not one of jealousy or envy, more akin to annoyance. ”You’re not funny, kid. You’re a coward. At least the last one tried,” Midori commented before making a far more scornful addition ”,you’d let them all die for you, wouldn’t you?” Every word Midori spat at him was purely intended to be sharper than even the blade on his arm. His partner wasn’t the only one with wordplay in their arsenal.
  
  From behind Midori, another aura began to grow. In terms of it being considered murderous, the darkening mood of the meister female by the name of Morgenstern put that of her partner’s own to shame. While Midori’s was somewhat threatening and, at the most, capable of making someone uneasy, the seething aura emanating from Morgenstern was more likely to scare the hell out of someone. Her current state would make one’s stomach churn, overwhelm them with such an aura that they would struggle to keep from becoming more and more diaphoretic, shaking in their own skin.
  
  She was not mad. No...she was absolutely seething.
  

  
• 
  
  

  
  “Are you really just going to march in here and tell me to stop because I’m taking too long?” She hissed to her weapon partner. “You have got to be fucking kidding me.”
  
  A stern finger was jabbed in the center of his chest, and if her weapon were to cast his eyes downward at her, he would be met with the face of hell-with pale skin and angry green eyes. “I was ‘taking too long’ as you so put it because I was charging my wavelength for Triquetra. I’m not a weapon, so I can’t just change and fight at will. Unlike you, my wavelength does have to charge to such a great capacity.” Her brows furrowed, and bright eyes narrowed. “So I’m so very sorry that I took a bit longer than expected.”
  
  Every one of her words was laced with venom, her narrowed eyes casting up towards Jayson as she spoke. “Yes, it is a shame that our fun has to come to a close this soon. Too bad that my partner thinks he’s so high and mighty.”
  
  Turning away, she put a hand on Midori’s shoulder. Tightening her grip, she allowed her wavelength to circuit through her, effectively delivering a shock to him,and promptly failed. Midori was having none of this nonsense. He shrugged her off him, sidestepped around her and took just one extra step towards Jayson muttering a set of cool, calm words in stark contrast to Morgenstern, ”We’ll talk later.”
  
  Jayson cocked his head backwards and his eyes fell upon Midori, though any semblance of the joking attitude that he had displayed thus far was gone. “A coward?” replied Jayson, though his tone was thick with distaste and anger towards such an accusation. “Forgive me for my lack of knowledge on the matter, but is it cowardice to avoid a conflict where the outcome is only defeat? Is it cowardice to put oneself in danger for something so trivial as pride?” inquired Jayson, turning his body completely now and leaping off the tree.
  
  Landing with ease, Jayson dusted himself off before walking towards Midori, unfazed by the still murderous aura radiating off him. Unlike how Jayson had been thus far, the words Midori had spoken had managed to strike a chord. Whether he was aware of Jayson's past or not, Midori had crossed a line that Jayson could not accept, questioning his character much less insinuating that Jayson would abandon his comrades was taking liberties now. “Strike me then!” spat Jayson, “I’m right here, Standing right in front you! An open target! Go on you fucking prick! Do something!” Jayson challenged. He had no idea what Midori knew, but given the words he had spoken and Jayson’s past, there was no way he was going to let his comment go unanswered.
  
  That invitation was all Jayson had to spew. Midori was prepared to thrust himself forward with no regard, but he knew better. He tempered himself long ago. He wanted to make some reply, even. Some more sharp words; more words that would even cut into Morgenstern due to her rank. He knew better. Instead, before Jayson even had the opportunity to finish the sentence following his declaration, Midori had three large, green slashes launched at him using the backlash off of his blade arm. One straight to Jayson then two others on either the left or right.
  
  All followed by the same technique he used to beat Tazmuir. Starlight Waltz. Jayson had a far better eye for it; assuming he could follow Mido after those slashes. Unlike the Star Clan variant, there was no ‘tell’ with these afterimages. Each one made by Mido as he lunged forward, admittedly at a speed less impressive than what Taz debuted, was virtually impossible to differentiate. They stayed solid. No fault. No failure. Even the gusts following Mido ruffled his clothes as if he were still there.
  
  All leading up to seven total copies of Mido, each in different positions. Four made during the dash to catch up with the sickles, although they did show his transformation out of his blade arm. Just as Crowley pointed out to Taz, Midori couldn’t actually go killing people. The three that were important, however, were up close and personal. The one furthest away was prepared with a knee thrusting forward, the second darted to Jayson’s left side with that same right knee how prone to kick Jayson straight in the face. And the third? The third was completely above Jayson, and for a reason. Should Jayson choose to jump to avoid the slashes, he would be mid air--a sitting duck for a roundhouse kick from the third after image.
  
  He was an assassin. Not a brawler.
  
  “Aye, A real shame” muttered Jayson, his eyes following along with most of Midori’s assault, though the increase of ‘opponent’s’ he had to follow made it difficult to keep up with everything. What Jayson could confirm however was that each and every movement made my Midori was designed to pin him, to cut off his course of escape whilst dealing substantial damage. It wasn’t much of a mystery as to why Taz was not here either. Knowing it was probably futile and having his character called into question, Jayson chose not to act. Rather than planning a course of evasion, Jayson had remained stoic in his spot, unmoving and unperturbed by the several variants of attacks all aimed at him. Regardless of the consequence Jayson was not going to move, he was not going to run. If Midori needed so many attacks to subdue what he called a coward so be it.
  
  He didn’t move. Not from the initial slashes. Not from the after images. He was making a point, Midori was sure. Instead of continuing his assault, he choose the second after image he created, which sat between Morgenstern and Jayson. He was done with this. ”I’m disappointed,” Midori said, keeping his calm tone.
  
  ”You didn’t need a powerful wavelength technique to beat him, Stein. All you did was waste time. Taz made the same mistake. Wasting your energy when you didn’t need to. That’s how you get killed,” Midori said, critiquing Morgenstern on her fighting style. Her entire point was demolished by the observation.
  
  ”As for you, you should learn your role. Even if you can’t take your weapon form, you need to know your role in a group. Had you and Max made coordinated attacks, this would have played out differently. As you are now, you’re a sitting duck. If Morgenstern--or myself, as I was about to prove--got close enough, you would be far too slow to actually stop us. Which is only more reason why she didn’t need a powerful wavelength technique to beat you,” Midori added.
  
  With that, he sighed. A long exhale that made his calm demeanor more chilling. Midori made one final snide remark, ”Morgenstern, let’s not forget that the only time you beat me is when I let you charge that wavelength.”
  
  That was enough for Midori. He vented his frustration. ”Professor Crow--” only to be interrupted by a sputtering Jayson.
  
  “You know nothing” replied Jayson, falling onto one knee as he succumbed to the wind sickle, his clothes torn in several places, revealing shallow cuts along his body. “Why don’t you ask Morgenstern how the beginning of the battle panned out before you ramble on about coordinated attacks” spat Jayson, his right fist now punched downward into the dirt to support himself. "Coordinated attacks is not an option when your alone... dumbass" It wasn’t much, though. Jayson was down and Midori was ruthless. As the next few words might have escaped Jayson’s mouth, Midori made his way to him with another mad dash of speed, but no after images this time. Just one image.
  
  Midori loomed over Jayson and made a single comment,”cowardice and stupidity are interchangeable. Perhaps I was mistaken.” All before a harsh axe kick resulting in his heel slamming straight into the back of Jayson’s skull.
  
  Moments before Midori’s heel was due to make contact with the back of Jayson’s skull, the red haired boy managed to draw just enough energy to stare down Midori whilst also raising his left hand towards his aggressor, his palm facing skyward as he gave Midori the finger.
  
  “Fuck you” he gasped before the resulting attack-- was stopped by a hand.
  
  Crowley’s hand.
  
  “Enough is enough, don’t you think Midori?” And oddly enough he said it with a smile. A bitter smile at that.
  
  Releasing his grip on Midori’s leg with a slight push to move his trajectory away from the boy’s skull, Crowley turned to Jayson and helped him up. When he’d gotten there would’ve been hard to pinpoint exactly, but from how he’d intervened it was pretty clear he’d been watching. “I’ll be honest I hadn’t expected things to escalate when I allowed you to go in and break up their fight. Miss Stein’s anger I suspected, but the quarrel with Jayson wasn’t something I’d considered.” He pursed his lips and hummed thoughtfully. “I suppose that’s something I’ll have to note in the future.” He stated and with his wand he tapped Jayson’s shoulder and with a faint green glow his clothes started to mend as torn fabric started to return and re-stitch.
  
  Slipping a hand into his pocket, Crowley pulled out a small bottle of orange liquid and gave it to Jayson. “An Elixir” He explained. “Drink it, it will restore you back to your full capacity and heal any minor damage done to your body.” Turning his attention back to Midori he smiled once more, a wicked glint of mischief flickered in his blue eyes. “As for you, you’ll be going on clean up duty for the next two weeks. Think of it as a punishment for losing your temper and attacking one of your teammates when your mission was to break up a fight and not start a new one.”
  
  Snapping his fingers, the green box flickered, faded, then disappeared. “Return to the others.” Crowley said to all three. “I had something else planned for today but after recent circumstances, it’s best we end things here. Now, let’s head back. I have one more person to introduce before I let you all continue your day.”
  

  

  ​

The Regal Rper Sir Les Paul Idea RANGYOKU SavingStar One Mean Ghost​

 

[RANGYOKU]

方比喻
BIYU FĀNG

♤​

LOCATION
Behind Mystic Lounge​

INTERACTION
Tazmuir V. Klovic​

MENTIONED
The Regal Rper ​

Biyu certainly had her doubts as to the chance of Taz's response towards her disregard for his cry for isolation being anything but one he met with scepticism. Her confirmation came promptly so, as his body language and the narrowing of his eyes gave it right away. Worsening his mood was a consequence she was not all that inclined to elicit from him. She could sense it, an anticipation in his gaze for her to more than likely comment upon recent events. But such a sentiment was one she would gladly put an end to, if that was the case. The very thought of engaging in a heated discussing regarding his performance back there, rather she thought of how little significance it held up to the overall problem. Taz knew well what had went wrong, Crowley had assured there was nothing left to say about it.

Silence sank in, one she much obliged to welcome, given her absence of distaste for it. At times like this, she felt welcome to have not to plan her words or force herself to take part in idle chatter to fill in for time. Biyu always had been, without fault, a person bound to the idea of not speaking up unless she felt it was needed or she felt compelled to do so. But she could tell Taz was not quite thrilled by this prospect, far from it, he appeared eager for her to do more than just closing the distance between the two of them. The idea that she was perhaps imposing her idea of emotional support on him was one she could not ignore, surely ... but she repelled such thoughts, reminding herself what had brought her to this position in the very first place. If there was another way to offer such results, she had to sought to find it, after all.

Sparing a few glances here and there towards Taz, taking notice of his unsettled behavior, her focus would come to drift towards the creature on her lap rather than the duel. Lacking in her involvement, as well as an actual cause for it other than propelled by the one that came before it, she found pleasing Kuro and keeping a close eye on her partner to appeal to her much more. The moment their eyes met by accident brought upon her a slight stroke of timidness, reluctant as she was to not look away from those limpid blue eyes facing her. But she held on, bent on making her feelings clear. I'm here for you, Taz, for better or worse.

Silence broken by his voice at last, Biyu listened closely to his words, only to be left with a mix of bewilderment and apprehension towards her partner. Eye blinking once, twice, she watched him stand up and let it all out, what was going through his mind, what he assumed was going through hers, she stood back without even so much as parting her lips to interrupt him. A long pause, enough for him to settle down but not to further upset him. She reflected on his blunt speech, his sincerity in his chouce of language as much as his pattern, driving her to come close to smile in triumph at what her action had brought upon. She took a deep breath, gathering her wits and choosing her words carefully, for she knew what she was about to say would hopefully break down obstacles in their path to improve.

❝You're wrong. I never once thought of you as "shit", Taz. Nor did I come here with an intent on expressing a desire to break our partnership.❞ She paused, readying herself for what was to follow. ❝You took upon yourself to take on an opponent whose skills differed than yours in tactics and style, in an environment that troubled your own, not to mention when you were in clear disadvantage after being brought down from your physical prime during the exercise that preceded it. In spite of all this, you held on, you stood your ground, even when the odds were not in your favour. You graced me with exactly I was hoping for: someone who will not be afraid to face whatever comes before them. If anything ...❞ A smile, bright, fond. ❝I'd say my gamble has only become higher.❞ Recalling back the words she had told him upon their fisrt meeting a few months back, she proceeded. ❝I want to see this through with you, Taz. But I know we will need to work on it together if we ever wish to make this partnership work ... Rather, it's rather vexing of you to think I'd ever do that just because you lost.❞ Her eyes would look away from his as she grew more and more sincere. She clenched her fists as what followed came to mind. ❝I want to become a weapon worthy of you, I don't want you to give up on me ... that's why I need you to not think of me as capable of disposing you. I only ask that you let me, Taz. That's all I want.❞ Her gaze was unwavering as she found his, desiring more than anything than for him to take these feelings to his heart. She meant it, every word, baring herself before him.

 

[The Regal Rper]

• The Great
• The Mage

• 
  
  Tazmuir V. Klovic​
  
  

  Mystic Lounge​
  
  
  
  
  

  ❝You're wrong. I never once thought of you as "shit", Taz. Nor did I come here with an intent on expressing a desire to break our partnership.❞​

  
  He snorted, not at all surprised and even less aware of what had actually been said. "Yeah." He nodded, bitterness laced clearly in his tone, somehow slow to catch up to the words she'd actually said. "I knew---" he paused and looked at her, befuddled, perplexed, but most importantly completely caught off guard. "....Wait" -eyes widened, brows launched skyward- "....what?" Looks like his brain had finally caught up. He couldn't believe his ears. This was some sort of joke his ego -his shield and sword- told him, another trick or prank, a better one this time he had to admit, but by God was she good if she was going to milk it out this long with that pathetic pause. For no reason, Taz felt the dead embers of his anger, rekindle to life as the pause continued. He wanted to say something. He was going to say something, then he saw Biyu break out of that pause and then she started speaking again.
  
  For some strange reason...he didn't cut her off. Any other day, he would've. Had it been anyone else in the group, Midori, Stein, Jayson, Max, he would have. But, right now, he didn't. A part of him told him not to. A part of him that wasn't full of doubt, skepticism, and aversion begged him to listen. So he did. He crossed his arms, shifted his weight onto one foot, and listened to everything she had to say. The look of brief surprise gone, now replaced with slightly narrowed eyes, and a strangely guarded stance. Eyes magnified by sunlight, turned bright blue, pierced into Biyu as she spoke and made it clear he wasn't in the mood for jokes or games, if that was what this was. But the more he listened, when he saw that smile, the more some small part of him felt...perhaps, that really wasn't the case.
  
  Perhaps she was being serious. Perhaps she really didn't think of him as bad as he thought, no, not that he thought-- that he knew everyone else did. Well, everyone else except Crowley, the headmaster, Prima, possibly Conor and....maybe....just maybe Kuro and Stein, along with a few others.
  
  He kept looking at her. Kept watching and studying her, waiting for the smallest sign that this was all lie and that this wasn't the truth. Like his brain was desperately trying to find something that wasn't even there, even if a small part of him knew it- Taz kept looking out for it. Unconsciously keeping to his mother's last words, to never trust anyone in a honest to wholesome normal relationship that did not factor work, not until he was certain they were an invaluable ally. And so when Biyu said: ❝Rather, it's rather vexing of you to think I'd ever do that just because you lost.❞ It surprised him entirely when he found he had no form of rebuttal to come to his defense. But if there was anything that got his goat, it was her last point. Her last point really got his attention: ❝I want to become a weapon worthy of you, I don't want you to give up on me ... that's why I need you to not think of me as capable of disposing you. I only ask that you let me, Taz. That's all I want.❞
  
  For a long while, Taz said nothing. It was really just a full three seconds that stretched on to twelve, as he stood there, staring at Biyu. Looking her straight in the eye, nose doing that thing. That minor thing it did where his nose wrinkled slightly whenever he was sneering in disgust or grinning like a Roman imperator victorious after a hard fought and worthy won battle, it did that now, slightly crinkled in skeptical hesitance as the two looked each other in the eye. Then after a second the intensity of Taz's unblinking gaze cooled down, melted, then evaporated.
  
  His face was now riddled with acceptance and possible confusion. Maybe... he thought as he stared at the two, Weapon, and mage, Maybe she isn't lying. Without even realizing it. He had moved back to his seat beside her, keeping their space like before, but this time, the air was less strained and awkward. "I....uhhhh", he scratched a sudden itch at the back of his head, "I uh...." a long exhale happened and he paused to collect his thoughts. A hand covered his mouth as he leaned forward, somewhat crouched forward. "You're not...? You're not messing with me...are you?" He didn't need the confirmation, he'd gotten it when he looked in her eyes and stared into her soul, it was just saying it. Asking that question made the small hints of skepticism in him, seem to fade.
  
  After a second of silence of staring at Biyu, he found he had nothing to say. "Um..." Surprised at this revelation, Taz felt a new itch and scratched the one behind his ear lobe, unaware of this new nervous habit, he tried to think of something to regain the superior ground. "T-Thanks Biyu. I uh...appreciate your honesty. See that's exactly what I'm talking about!" he continued, trying to act like that moment of stuttering and the slight tint of red to his brown cheeks had never happened, "Being straight with me, makes things so much easier. So uh..." he rubbed the back of his neck, not even looking at her this time. "...Thanks..." Unsure of what else exactly to say, Taz remained silent as he glanced Biyu's way one last time to watch Crowley and the others approach.
  
  
  
  Interaction(s): RANGYOKU
  
• 
  
  Mystic Lounge​
  Crowley​
  
  
  
  

  "No, Professor Crowley--"​

  
  Crowley stopped in his tracks.
  
  

  "--I don't believe there will be any punishment and I stand by what I said."​

  
  And leveled Midori's stare with a stare of his own. He didn't say a word, he listened. And if one looked at his soul to try and figure out what he was feeling, you'd have felt nothing. Nothing but calmness, tinted with amused interest. Listening to everything Midori said, Crowley's neutral stare disappeared, and it was replaced with a thoughtful look. As if he was considering whether to call Midori's statement one giant bluff.
  
  Humming, he rubbed his chin, looking at the sky, he nodded. "I see", was the only thing he said. Then his eyes moved down and measured Midori's glare with a intense stare, a stare he doubted the boy cared for either way. But if anything, Crowley's blank unblinking stare, devoid of emotion, wasn't meant for intimidation. It was meant as more of a unconscious distraction as he focused on Midori's glowing outline. The outline of his aura.
  
  One second, two seconds, three seconds, four. Crowley studied it. The green of Midori's aura opened like a blossoming flower and wafted in the air like burning fire. Ten seconds passed and he hadn't said anything, hadn't moved, only blinked. After ten seconds, Crowley smiled and said: "So you aren't bluffing." It wasn't the first time someone had played this card on him, and in most situations, it was a lie. Midori's apparently wasn't. And Crowley, already having the information he needed saw no reason to push the Weapon any further.
  
  "Well alright then." He said simply, and just like that he saw the boy's aura no more as a his hand fell from his chin to his hip. "No punishment" he added with a casual shrug, like it didn't even matter. "I never planned to truly have that punish assigned to you in the first place anyway. This was a sparring match, no one was horribly injured, since I stopped you before that attack I have no right to punish you in the first place. Therefore you are free." And if there was any bit of truth in those words it was in that sentence entirely.
  
  "As for your critiques of how I teach-- This", he nonchalantly waved his hand around, "wasn't training." he stated matter-of-factually and his eyes glanced through all three. "This was observation. Research. A means for me to learn about the students I'll be teaching and a means to understand why six of seven individuals in this group are still in positions that frankly they surpass already. Files can only tell me so much as you clearly pointed out Midori, and so I tend not to rely too much on them. Interaction, and visual observation let you see so much more than outdated reports ever could. You're an assassin. You know this as well as I do, if not better. You can learn much more face-to-face with a person than you could through words on paper or a single old picture." He simply explained.
  
  "If I tried training students I barely knew now, we'd get nowhere. Criticism is always welcomed, but there are my reasons why I did what I did today. Right now there is no co-ordination, a lack of understanding of each other's strengths and abilities, and a lack of communication in when or how to act; My goal here is to train this group not just into a great team, but to help everyone involved overcome their shortcomings. If I didn't see those up close and personal myself, how would you expect me to train you properly?" he shrugged his shoulders indifferently and continued speaking calmly "Heck two of you from what I've seen haven't even contacted each other in the past two months, despite those two being partners. What chance would they hold in comparison to all of you whom have had your partners and had time to build your partnerships for more than just two or three months, let alone a single day? With today, I can change that. Today, I've learned enough that most of you will be getting reviews; things that won't be private to yourselves but are going to be known to your teammates as well. Once that's done, I'll dismiss you all to go about your business for the day till tomorrow where our first training session begins in one of the training grounds. Dismissal will come only after I've introduced the final person in our group." He turned his attention to Jayson and offered him a smile, "Your partner Jayson, she's actually not too far from here. Which is why I'm heading back to the others to help introduce her." And without another word, he turned back to the sidelines.
  
  Walking a steady pace, Crowley led the way.
  
  
  
  Interaction(s): Sir Les Paul SavingStar Phayne
  
  Mention(s): One Mean Ghost Idea
  
  

 

[Sir Les Paul]

Stage Name: The Dark Eye
Location: Behind Mystic Lounge
Partner: Morgenstern Stein
Tags: SavingStar RANGYOKU Phayne One Mean Ghost The Regal Rper

Midori listened. Only after Crowley took his sweet time. It didn't take a genius to figure out Crowley was testing him. A futile effort as Midori was entirely serious. Regardless, after they broke through that levy, the waters trickled through and Crowley explained himself. Fair points, mostly. It was odd that Crowley would even jest about assigning a punishment. The only real purpose for it would be to humor the others. Midori didn't find it funny.

Then came a moment. A moment where Midori could continue the hardass facade. He even knew what he wanted to tell Crowley. He wanted to tell him that even sparring matches and casual assessments like this were still far more harsh with the Hoshi. It was true. In the higher echelons of the Hoshi, training and sparring could be lethal. If his mentors or even Akane were to duel someone, there existed a chance that single slip up could prove fatal. In his rounds, though, that was rarely the case; a Hoshi that could not control himself was just as useless as one that couldn't fight. Even then, the only real limitations were not to harm another in such a way it would impede their training, and then obviously, not to kill them. Humiliation was constant, but only because it brought humility.

He could say that. He wanted to, in a way. But, it was pointless. Perhaps a shift that only Crowley would pick-up on, at least in entirety, Midori relaxed and the tense atmosphere around him dissipated. If there was such an aura around him, it warmed. It became half-jovial, even.

"Fuck it, let's go," Midori replied as he followed Crowley.

 

[Phayne]

.

.

.

Jayson stumbled as Crowley helped him get back onto his feet, his right hand placed firmly on his instructors right shoulder as he steadied himself. His first act upon regaining his balance was to cover his right eye; Jayson's left hand quickly tugging down on his eye patch and covering his violet eye with it. The drain of using his eye for an extended period had taxed him quiet a bit, a cold numbness present along the right side of his face as well as the beginning of a rather unpleasant headache. At this point, Jayson was barely paying attention as Crowley lamented Midori's actions. What did catch Jayson's attention however was the tidbit of information pertaining to 'Midori's mission', one that he would have accomplished rather easily had he not chastized Jayson with his rather ill-tasting remark.

"Prick.." whispered Jayson under his breath, as he used his right arm to wipe away a trail of blood that had begun to meander down his right nostril, further evidence of the strain caused by his right eye. Feeling a tap on his shoulder, Jayson soon felt the odd sensation of his clothes moving of their own accord, fabric tickling away at his skin as they re-attached themselves to one another, some of which occurred in more sensitive areas. It was a rather peculiar feeling to have his clothes move on their own, much less watch as the stitching intertwined and repair themselves.

"Thanks" he grumbled, grabbing at the vile of elixir and uncorking the top. Jayson wasn't much in the mood for words at the moment, not because he was soundly defeated but rather he was 're-living' unwanted memories of his past; while the elixir would help heal the superficial wounds, what Jayson truly desired right now was a cold brew, something to dull the mind, maybe Muon could help with the alcohol. With shoulders slacked, Jayson raised the vile upwards, downing the contents in one go. Not only was this elixir odd in color, but its liquid form carried with it an almost out of place cotton candy like texture as he drank his fill. The effect of this elixir wasted no time in its recovery process as an icy yet relaxing 'aura' began to envelop the inside of his body, an almost pulsating like sensation faintly tingling away internally as his wounds began to heal, however Jayson remained steadfast in his lacklustre expression, not even the sweet tinge of honey and grape flavor was enough to evoke a positive reaction.

Instead, any semblance of hope that Jayson would return to his jovial persona was dashed as the thug that was Midori began to question Crowley's assessment, the nerve of the opposing weapon to even challenge the instructor's assessment just solidifying the fact that this dark haired weapon was -to put it simply- an ass. Jayson rolled his eyes as he listened to Midori's outburst; for the most part it sounded like he was some pompous elite; privy to the luxuries of being born into the right family and thus assuming that he is above everyone else. Just listening to him argue was grinding away at Jayson's patience.

Ceasing an opportunity, Jayson stole a glance towards Morgenstern; a faint hint of pity appearing across his face. He could not help but feel sorry that she was unlucky enough to have ended up with an arrogant and egotistical partner such as Midori. Lord knows that had Jayson had to deal with this type of person on a daily basis, then he would sooner then later turn the barrel of the gun towards his own head. Jayson simply could not stand him and it became increasingly apparent as his face contorted to displeasure and contempt the longer Midori argued, eventually reaching the point where Jayson started to tune out the conversation all together.

...

"Your partner Jayson, she's actually not too far from here. Which is why I'm heading back to the others to help introduce her."

Jayson's fleeting attention was lasooed back into realtime as Crowley finished his back and forth with Midori and began to address him; the news bittersweet. Jayson didn't really fancy having Muon become aware of this debacle, much less be told the specifics about the end results of the skirmish Crowley had set up. It wasn't a memory Jayson wanted to keep much less share with those around him.

"Maybe she'll have something better to drink..." muttered Jayson, pocketing both hands and following behind Crowley. Had they been partnered together during the excercise thenwho knows what would have happened during the fight.

[/Font]

.

The Regal Rper Idea SavingStar Sir Les Paul

 

[Idea]

Muon Yuki

​

It was a strange, really strange time. Could it get even more unpleasant than this? Running, at this time of the day, through woods when I was stentched with sweat to the point where leaves and dirt would attach themselves to me, giving me an even dirtier appearance. A girl with long-flowing hair and proper clothing that was dirtier than some homeless people was running to the woods carrying a white box over her chest, me. To think mommy of all people would have delayed the two of us. Well, I was a little at fault too, I suppose. While she was trying to push those gifts on me, I was trying to send them back for fear of the kind of impression they would cause. I was meeting plenty of new people for the first time today, after all. I wondered what they would all be like. If they would get along with Jayson and myself. Not that I should let my guard down around those strangers, or that Jayson and me would really NEED them, but it would be nice to make some new acquaintances. Or maybe friends. That would depend on where the line was crossed between "frendly acquaintance" and "friend". Was it by a lengthy conversation? A kind gesture? A favor? An act of self-sacrifice? The potential answers were many, so unsurpisingly many would rate me as having a ton of friends. That just didn't quite ring as true, however.

It wasn't odd that such thoughts would cross my mind at this point. Mommy had just asked me about it after all, if I made any friends. It even distracted me a bit while I showed her what I could do. Fortunately I was already so used to some of the movements that I was able to run them on auto-pilot. The stances and movements of drawing the weapon, the arm-pattern flow reponses, the lancer pose, some of the techniques which I could simply execute out of habit even if my head was a bit distracted at the time, though I had most definitely lost some of my edge with the lancer pose, since an arm's reach usually wouldn't make much of a difference for one using a gun, like I had been using Jayson up until now. As much as he let me anyway.. However, after that came the hard part, demonstrating to her the magic-meister combination techniques I had been working on in my time in the DWMA. My mind was still wandering off, so I ended up messing the coordenates on occasion or forgetting I magnetized something among other mistakes, some of which mommy had to be protected from by Naifu Ejii, her former partner who helped her move around when the in DWMA because she refused to pay a bulter or maid despite having more than enough funds for it. She just couldn't trust a stranger like that, and I couldn't blame her for thinking that way either.

Needless to say, but after that kind of display from my part, the woman had me exercise while we conversed. The thing she seemed most interesting in being told about was Jayson.
It was difficult communcating while exercising, but I supposed that was the point, so I kept at it. Sure enough, she was curious about this gun winning me over, when I had been trained by a knife meister and taken interest in bows. I had to explain all about how he and I met, and how awesome he was. I knew part of it was just her prying for hidden details, as I had already told her plenty from these things, and of all things her memory had certainly not been damaged....much... it was best not to keep my head on it. Fortunately, mommy had brought a distraction of her own for her visit, presents. Naturally, all of it had to go through proper security proceedures before being allowed on DWMA property, but since it had, I was able to (re)
open the presents, getting the box of alcoholic chocolates I was now carrying with me alongside some, well, fancier kinds of presents from my grandmother. I tried explaining it wouldn't be possible for me to move right in those things if I was training to be a meister, and to my surprise mom agreed. However, she also insisted I took the dresses anyway just to appease my grandmother, even I never actually wore the dress she bought me.

Finally I was able to see some clarity as I exited the woods. I was sweaty and covered in dirt, branches and leaves, but I had arrived within a reasonable time at least. I spotted a group of people out there, and smiled, waving at them with my free arm while I gave all of them a big smile and continued half-jobbing towards them. I shifted from running to walking as soon as I felt like they would be within reading distance and searched my pockets for that tiny plank of wood. I was still catching my breath when I found it and displayed it for them:

My name is Muon Yuki. It's a pleasure to meet you.

This was such a commonly used phrase I had even gone and gotten it painted on a smallplank of wood. As I hoped they would all be able to read it, something else caught my attention, other than the group. I ran towards it, towards Jayson. I tilted my head and pointed towards the spots where he seemed beat up. What had happened to him? Was he ok? Maybe I should have invited him to come with me for my mother's visit. I gave him a worried look.

Interacting With: Phayne RANGYOKU Sir Les Paul SavingStar The Regal Rper

OOC Note: Sorry about the delayed response everyone, I couldn't figure how to actually write the post, there were always missing pieces. Even now it still feels like the final product is kinda awful, but I don't want to keep you waiting even longer, so... I hope you enjoy the read and I'll try to do a better job with it next time!

 

[Sir Les Paul]

IT'S COMING UP BIYU

Conor O’Neill

them

Once we see each other again, I hope we can show one another the results of our respective training.

me

Hey about that. Wanna get a drink at hollowed grounds later? :)

Note: Hollowed Grounds is a popular coffee shop in Death City.​

Stage Name: The Dark Eye
Location: Behind Mystic Lounge
Partner: Morgenstern Stein
Tags: SavingStar RANGYOKU Phayne One Mean Ghost The Regal Rper Idea RANGYOKU

New girl. Midori had his eyes on her a moment. She was a bit disheveled, but most of them were at this point. She was cute. Well, cute enough. She must have been the final part of a pair. That made himself and Morgenstern, Tazmuir and Biyu, Conor was likely intended to be paired with Kuro, meaning that this girl was likely to be paired with Jayson. What a pity. If he treated her anything like he did Morgenstern, oh, it would be such a waste of aesthetic potential. That said, the new girl didn't quite impress him like a Stein, but she was still far from forgettable.

Muon Yuki. Her name was cute. He gave it that.

Midori was quick to follow her as she ran over to Jayson. That look of concern confirmed what he suspected. "He's fine, miss Yuki. Crowley decided to test everyone out in an odd sparring match and Jayson here made it to the finale. Impressive, given who he outlasted. Nevertheless, it is quite pleasant to meet you as well," he responded, but not so quickly to interrupt her. More so to answer a multitude of the questions she likely had and do so in a polite enough tone that he didn't seem pretentious. Then he through that out the window, "I have no idea why he would be so flirtatious with my partner now that I've seen you. Do you prefer Muon or Yuki?" he asked.

Around that time, he pulled out his phone. There was no audible vibration. He was an assassin. Why would there be? Regardless, his eyes darted through the text and he stepped back. "We'll have to catch up later. I have business," he said before walking off at a faster pace than the one he intervened with with a considerably different tone of voice.

Only to catch up to Tazmuir and Biyu in the middle of their ungodly endearing chat. His eyes focused on Biyu. Intently. Not the prowling eyes he had on Muon a moment ago or the battle-ready gaze he had on Taz. It was a whole different type of serious. "Fāng, our boss would like see us when first available, no questions asked," Midori told her. It was an odd set of instructions and probably not a thought that occurred to her before.

 

[RANGYOKU]

方比喻
BIYU FĀNG

♤​

LOCATION
Behind Mystic Lounge​

INTERACTION
Tazmuir V. Klovic
Muon Yuki
Conor O'Neill
Midori☆Hoshi​

MENTIONED
The Regal Rper
Sir Les Paul
Idea
One Mean Ghost ​

Observing the emotions that came across from his expression alone was a sight to behold for Biyu. A sense of transparency reserved just for her and Kuro in that moment, she felt downright mesmerized as Taz appeared to process her words beat by beat. She would come to share it somewhat, as it dawned on her the weight of her own words in disclosing something intimate to her partner. She felt exposed, vulnearable, anticipating a response that would seal this moment in its entirety. Casting her eyes downwards, she was shaken out of her tailspin of insecurities as she sensed his presence once more close to her. She felt it,his inquiry, his doubt, his desire to perceive any trace of ulterior motives or lies within her. Holding her breath as he closed the distance between the two of them, their eyes met, refusing to leave those blue orbs that stared intently into her soul to seek certainty his jaded nature could no longer grasp on a whim. For she knew knew well, for she shared such a view of the world herself.

Thus, her reward would come in the form of a crack in the boy's façade, swift as it was momentuous, followed by words of gratitude. She felt swept off her feet before such a vision. Slowly regaining her momentum, relief overwhelmed her, a smile upon her lips that came forth so very naturally. It felt right, it felt whole, as if a grip on her heart had been lifted. A gamble who had payed off in the end. ❝...You're welcome, Taz. You too have my gratitude.❞ Crowley's words never rang as true as now, as did Taz's. It was frightening to bare yourself before others, yes. But if she ever wished to overcome what lied before her, this could not befall her, no more. The two shared a moment of silence before Crowley seized it by way of bringing all the elements of the group together in order to advance.

The young woman promptly stood up by the time the lecture of sorts took place after Midori's affairs were taken out of the picture. Kuro's position in her arms did not shift, if not for the sake of ensuring his comfort in her arms. In the case of her partner, she offered a hand towards him, a gestured that proved albeit subtle in cementing that this conversation would not be lost. To not concern over intentions, to be true to one another.

The instructor proceeding to shed light as to his intentions with the exercises so far were not quite as unravelling in her favor, having been introduced to them at a prior engagement of her own. What truly brought upon a sense of impact to Biyu was Crowley's not at all subdued accusation towards her and Taz's situation as of the moment. He was absolutely correct in his statement, she inferred at least most of those present knew who among them were the weak link. It strengthen all the more her resolve to see this breakdown to hold effect in their partnership. It had a rather bittersweet taste to it, if she were to describe it...

Cleaning up whatever doubts were left as to the point of the exercises and the cessation of conflicts between the members, at least for the time being, Biyu rightfully concluded, she found herself slightly curious as to the identity of Jayson's partner, following the announcement of her arrival. What could have kept her absent for this long? What kind of meister would be added to this ensemble of distinct individuals? Her on-cue appearance before them would provide a semblance of an answer to such questions, particularly her condition pertaining to speech. She returned Muon's greeting with one of her own, with a polite bow, but refrained from speaking further out of determining if her inability to talk was also connected with her hearing. Midori's intervention would be fortunate enough to allow her to decide how to go about with her introduction. It was all in the spirit of a pleasant first impression. Not that the nature of such desire was any seemingly similar to that of Midori's. No. Of course not. Not at all.

A familiar vibration drew her focus away from the newcomer towards her cell phone, a conversation taking place quite a while before. She was quick to recognize a pattern to her immediate response to his name across the screen, which was vexing given its implications, leading her to be just as effective at regaining her serene composure. The emoticon was downright infectious, perhaps due to how unexpected it came across, she could only cover her mouth as if she was clearing her throat to cover it up. The invitation would slowly bring just about the reverse effect, however. A popular location according to her prior reconnaissance of Death City, the choice of words, the timing, but above all, recalling back how she had misunderstood the veracity of his compliment back in their first meeting...it all painted a picture of a nature Biyu was certain to fluster over, as much as she desired to deny it so. Could it be...? No, he was being far too blasé about it. Then again, this was Conor, his charm had that edge to it. Over and over, she tapped the screen only to delete the contents of the reply the second after, thinking of the right choice words to approach this properly. Snapping out of it in frustration, she could not resist the urge to sigh at her poor state. What was she, a lovestruck schoolgirl? Why on earth was she getting so worked up about this? Had she always taken her attraction towards others as granted? Were her "workaholic", as Naran would put it, tendencies leavig her more and more out of touch at this? Lost in such thoughts, it would take her a bit longer than usual to sense someone approaching her, Taz and Kuro.

Her body stiffened on impulsive, which granted was not at all unfounded, given that the individual in question had displayed nothing short of confrontational behavior so far, be it throughout the exercises or out of them. The Chinese weapon returned the familiar features of Midori☆Hoshi before her with a mirroring stare, inquiring his intentions from the very start. For him to come to her with this attitude, one she recognized as similar to that of his against Taz, surely it had to be of importance. He'd best be straight to the point. She had to admit, however, to had been somehow taken back by his words at first, even if simply raising an arched eyebrow at him in reply. "Our" boss...? No, she would have known he was part of the Agency, Akane would have informed her. Then, it clicked. The Hoshi clan. Of course. But "boss"? A poor choice of words, perhaps. Or maybe his intentions had a malice she could not detect at first glance. She would not put it past him. This was an assassin, after all. She raised a hand in silence, checking on her messages for one such order to have been sent to her, while in the meantime quickly handling a matter of her own personal interest.

Conor O’Neill

me

Once we see each other again, I hope we can show one another the results of our respective training.

them

Hey about that. Wanna get a drink at hollowed grounds later? :)

me

It's a date.

me

Tied at the moment but I should be free afterwards.

It took her the briefest of moments to handle it, dismissing her concerns for her choice of words or consequences to her action for a later date. Professional affairs always took up first priority for Biyu, after all. A reality she did not even attempt to deny. If he knows Akane☆Hoshi is my superior, he should have unravelled the motives of my transfer then. Or at least, come close to it. Midori was no fool. She placed Kuro gently on the ground and graced Taz with a farewell smile, mouthing a quick "I'll see you later" upon her lips. ❝Apologies for the wait. Let us be on our way.❞ It was of no concern to him to know if Akane had contacted her as well. Somehow, she deduced he had no interest in it either way.

Orders were orders.

 

[Phayne]

.

.

.

Several yards ahead of their group, Jayson caught sight of a familiar figure, the long scarlet black haired lass whom he had come to call his partner appearing from within the clutches of the woods. Whilst not activating his own abilities, Jayson was pretty confident that she did not come out of the woods unscathed and in one way or another it had left its mark somewhere upon her, though if such a thing even bothered Muon was uncertain as her casual approach seemed to suggest otherwise.

Having known Muon for awhile now, Jayson unlike the others was already accustomed to her from of introduction, the small handheld wooden placard that she had pulled out, already familiar to Jayson. Throughout her introduction, Jayson had stayed towards the back knowing full well that his partner would catch on to his 'state' regardless of the effects of Crowleys magic and elixir. Honestly speaking, Jayson would have preferred to discuss the events of the training in private yet any possibility of that happening was soon eradicated as Muon caught sight of him; the shift in her expression already implying that she was concerned. "Oh god.." he thought to himself as he half stepped backwards, unconsciously showing his desire to avoid this discussion. Again, what he wanted and what occurred did not align and without any hesitation, Midori interjected.

.......

This confirmed Jayson's suspicious, Midori was well and truly someone with whom he could never get along with; the sudden change in his attitude and demeanour upon the arrival of Muon confirming this. What a slick bastard this guy was, 'complimenting' him for 'outlasting' Morgenstern during the training exercise, when only a few moments ago he was being lambasted for his choices during the whole ordeal. Had Jayson lacked better judgement he would have pointed his shifted hand towards the back of Midori and without a shred of remorse pulled the trigger; alas this wasn't a side of himself that he wanted to show towards his partner Muon.

Luckily enough for the both of them, Muon found herself sandwiched between Jayson and Midori, acting as a barrier of sorts between the two recent combatants. Whilst Muon remained present, Jayson would at the very least prevent himself from acting like an ass in front of everyone though the same thing could not be said for Midori, who in Jayson's opinion was intentionally being an ass now. This sudden 'mature and gentleman' act of answering Muon's obvious concerns followed by the unnecessary remark of his 'flirtatiousness' was for all intents and purposes a way to get back at him. Not only did it make it seem like he was incapable of speaking for himself, but it also had the intentions of painting him in a bad light.. regardless of whether or not he knew that Morgenstern had instigated the 'mood' in the first place.

Subduing his annoyance, Jayson briefly glanced towards the departing Midori oblivious to his reasoning's for doing as such. Wrestling his own emotions, Jayson did not hear nor notice the phone call. "I don't need you to speak for me!" called out Jayson, his brows furrowed towards 'public enemy number 1'. Seeing no point to further this most recent annoyance, he returned his attention towards Muon.

"I can explain.."

.

The Regal Rper Idea SavingStar Sir Les Paul

 

[Idea]

Muon Yuki

​

I myself hesitated for a moment before further approaching Jayson, as he stepped back. Was he hurting more than I thought? But his looking to the side like that, we had been partners long enough for me to know that look. He was trying to avoid me, even knowing he couldn't. A sigh escaped my lips, but before I could confront the gun about the aim of his gaze at that moment, another of the people whom I presumed had been called here approached me with some reassuring words. There was certainly kindness in them, the kind of honey that is often followed the sting of the wasps. Still, for the moment, it was little more than a polite greeting, so answering in kind couldn't hurt. I searched my pockets for my notebook and a pen,then scribbled down a short reply. While I was at it, another person a little further away bowed to me, and I bowed back, following with a little wave and a smile. While I had just been interrupted, I fortunately, was quite the fast writer, so in a few moments I was showing what I wrote to the guy that adressed me first. While it was certainly possible to read from a distance, it kught not be comfortable, so getting a little closer was a way of hopefully easing the inconvenience of having to talk to someone who can only give a reply via writing it down on a notebook.

Whichever you prefer to call me is fine, also, thank you for the compliment. Might I ask your name? I do apologize for my late arrival, I'm afraid my mother came for a visit today, and she insisted on checking up on the fruits of my labor here in the DWMA personally. My apologies for Jayson's misbehavior as well, I do hope he wasn't too much trouble to deal with.

While me and this person were having our little chat, I heard the faintest sound of what seemed like a vibrating cellphone. Sure enough, the one I was just talking to unpocketed that very device, and after checking it was reminded of another commitment, or so it seemed anyway at least. Even I didn't have time to write anything down before this prson and and the other girl I bowed to earlier left, so all I could do was wave and smile at them as ran went away. I was even gonna use my other hand to reply as well, when I recalled that in addition to the notebook, that hand was also holding the bag (or one of them at least) in which I kept the gifts my mother brought. A pity, I was planning on sharing those, but hey, that meant more for me and Jayson, so I couldn't help but feel just a tiny bit happy at being ditched like that. Come to think of it, I still hadn't adressed that other matter yet. I shot a glare at Jayson, half expecting him to have tried to slip away while I conversed, but to my surprise he was still there. Maybe those people were a good influence on him? Or maybe he was jsut too tired to get away? Either way, it certainly was something of a relief. I headed towards the weapon, writing down something for him, which I of course showed him as soon as we were close enough, and reached my hand to pat on his shoulder.

Don't be so tense about this, Jayson. You're a weapon, of course, you'd fight. It's not like your destiny or anything, but it is, well, what your body is good at, I won't get mad at you for it. You can tell me about these things. In fact, please do , you must always tell me about this things. Got it? That's all I ask. Oh, also, would you like some chocolates? My mother brought them for us, as a gift. For everyone, but since they left, you know... Want any? They have alchohol in them, and they do look like cute little beer bottles.

I waited for him to finish reading, then gave him a smile as I raised the bag with the box of chocolates inside it. Hopefully this could ease up the tension a little bit, and we could go back to today's activities.

Interacting with: Sir Les Paul RANGYOKU Phayne

 

[SavingStar]

Morgenstern
Stein



--Tags: Sir Les Paul The Regal Rper Phayne Idea || At: Behind Mystic Lounge || Partner: Midori Hoshi --



" Allowing her anger to seethe as much as her emotions were, Morgenstern could not help but clutch her hands tightly shut, the appendages shaking ever so slightly as she so desperately attempted to calm herself down. Once upon a time, she would have had either Ares or Damien-her late partner- to calm her down before she snapped. But they were not there for her anymore. Damien was living in the afterlife, and Ares was still a sensitive topic for Morgenstern. Try as he might to get his little sister to understand, the elder Stein sibling just could not get her to accept him without the fear of more harm befalling him at her fault. She was all alone, unless she regard Midori in such a high standard as to consider him a calming factor. She did, in a way, use him to relax her nerves when she needed it, as demonstrated multiple times before, but it was difficult to ask him for assistance when he was the object of her anger.

"You waltzed in here like you owned the damned place, and you honestly expect me to accept the fact that we will 'talk later?'." [A pair of air quotations accompanied her sarcastic remark, two fingers on either hand uncurling for only a brief set of moments before returning to their tightly balled state as they had been only moments before. "Honestly, Midori. You really must have either a humongous pair or balls of steel to so much as suggest something like that right now." [/SIZE]

Containing her emotions was, as it stood, already a momentous task for Morgenstern Stein. Never having to truly worry about injuring someone's feelings or filtering herself, expressing anger was something she was accustomed to. Naturally, as she grew older it was a trait that she had learned and picked up over time. Though, that was not saying that she was perfect-far from it, in fact. Like any human being, she had emotions. Many of them were very strong, more than capable of influencing her if they were not kept in strict check with Morgenstern's hands on the reins at all times. This was not one of those times, meaning that Morgenstern could not contain her anger at her partner when he elected to make a poorly-timed comment about her wavelength capabilities. "You think I don't fucking know that the only time I had been able to charge my wavelength was when you let me?" She snapped at him, turning around with flames in her eyes, ready to burn the dark-haired weapon standing before her. "I can assure you that I do. I'm sorry that my parents both died, and my grandfather- the man training me in my soul abilities- mysteriously disappeared during the god damned war! I haven't exactly had the time nor motivation to learn how to manifest and charge my wavelength that quickly. Can you not see that I'm trying? HUH? I'm trying to be the perfect partner you deserve, Midori! And I'm sorry I can't be that!".

With hands shaking, Morgenstern turned away. Reaching up, she heaved a loud sigh and ran a hand up her face, coming to stop itself over her eyes and scar, eyelids fluttering closed in an attempt to calm the young silver-haired meister down. Hoping it would work, she soon dropped her hands to her sides, straightening her back and improving her posture as she stared forward with a blank expression upon her feature. She then addressed the group once more, her voice calmer and noticeably flat. "It would seem as if I have lost my temper,." she mused calmly. "And made a fool of myself, a public spectre of sorts. How unbecoming of a Stein." She allowed her head to shake slowly from left to right, as if she could not believe herself at this point. "I must apologize for my behavior, all of you. As for you, Midori, I owe you another apology. As I said, I apologize for not being the partner you wanted, not my a long shot. I'm sorry I'm not your girl back where you're from-not stable, or special like her. I'm a wreck, and you can go ahead and say it. But I;m not going to apologize for what I said, rather than how I said it. I do believe that you and Crowley should have allowed this spar to continue. After all, practice makes perfect. In the real world, we will not be able to simply quit because our instructors get bored of what they are seeing. Out there, it is a matter of life or death in many cases. I must learn how to charge my wavelength as fast as Conor, to expend less energy like Aella. Just as you need to learn how to have faith in me."

Had it not been for the rather sudden appearance of their instructor, Crowley, Morgenstern may very well had continued what she was going to say. It could have been anything from degrading herself further to blaming her brother -whose soul had still been implanted within her own- for her sudden change of demeanor. A mystery all in its own, it would have been plausible if she had elected to take the latter of the routes. Though, she did not get the chance to say much of anything before he was there, directing them to return to their classmates, among them being Kuro and Max, the two her partner and herself had tagged out of their respective sparring matches.. "Very well. If that is what you wish of us, then that is what I will do. Anything for you, sir." With voice strained, it became obvious that Morgenstern had been holding back a sarcastic or perhaps even rude retort to either Midori or their teacher. Or, perhaps she was about to make a remark toward Jayson about his behavior when it came to Midori's taunts.

Following in both her partner and instructor's footsteps-literally rather than figuratively- Morgenstern took a few steps after the group toward the direction that the others awaited their return in. With each footfall, the meister found her hands clenching tighter and tighter. She could feel her nails digging into her skin, every cell in her palms screaming at her to stop the agony she was inflicting, but she did not. Too caught up in her own self-degrading and pissed off thoughts, all that she could do was worsen her condition.

it was not until Muon's appearance that Morgenstern snapped from her lengthy reverie. Shaking off the emotions, the now stoic and silent young woman remained where she was by the others and simply observed as the seemingly mute young girl fussed over Jayson's wounds, and as her own partner poured on the charisma. It almost....almost made m=Morgenstern scoff. What did he get off on, pretending to be soft and kind around others? On a typical day, a patron would be lucky if he or she received anything but a smartass comment from her weapon partner. Then again...this was a female, and a much smaller one at that. There was no way to tell exactly how old she was, but Morgenstern could see her soul. Pure, but powerful enough to contend with one like Jayson Kilbane's own personality. They already seemed quite different, meaning that Morgenstern was already very intrigued as to what their partnership may entail.

"Midori" Morgenstern finally spoke again to her partner, reaching out and wrabbing his wrist gently but firmly. Her voice dropped, and she looked over his shoulder, not meeting his eyes yet. "You are correct, we do need to talk. Though I would prefer sooner rather than later, I suppose I can compromise. Are you free tonight?"


She had not realized until then what she had done. Not simply to herself, but to him as well. Loosening her grip ever so slightly, Morgenstern's eyebrows furrowed slightly at the sensation of her hand being much warmer than normal. Looking down to her palm, her eyes widened fractionally upon seeing that it was almost completely crimson. Her grip on her hands, companied with nails that were typically kept short, though not as of late, she had managed to make herself bleed rather profusely. This much was evidenced by the fact that the flow was heaviest as it approached a series of four crescent shaped marks on either hands from where the skin had been torn away from itself. "Shit," she mumbled, moving her hand away from Midori's wrist quickly and wiping it on her dark blue vest, which could be washed later. This, in turn, only caused the removal of whatever clot had begun to form, and the bleeding to begin anew. "I'm sorry. I have a handkerchief in my pocket if you's like to...erm... fix that. I woud, but I doubt you would want me to make matters worse. Is that not correct?"

Letting out a light sigh, the meister shook her hand and ignored the ever growing pain, as well as the blood accompanying it. Folding her hands behind her back in an attempt to hide it from the newcomer, she turned to Muon. "It is nice to make your acquaintance, Miss Muon," she greeted cordially. "My name is Morgenstern Stein. I'm glad I get to meet this esteemed partner of Mr. Kilbane's. You have an extraordinary weapon, might I say." Smiling, she glanced up at Jayson, sending him a bright smile that reached her eyes for once in a blue moon, and flashed pearl-like teeth at him. "I would love to borrow him one day. Maybe we can finish what we started."/FONT]​

 

[Sir Les Paul]

Stage Name: The Dark Eye
Location: Behind Mystic Lounge
Partner: Morgenstern Stein
Tags: SavingStar RANGYOKU Phayne One Mean Ghost The Regal Rper

Midori sighed. Of course as he had work to do with his last text, Morgenstern continued to show herself off with Jayson.

Of fucking course she made an ass out of herself.

Of fucking course he had to play the villain. Midori always had to play the villain. Whether it was because he ruined someone's relationship or shattered a heart, he always had to be the villain.

They forced him to be. Because it was far easier to play the victim than it was to admit mistake.

"Alright, Morgenstern, if you want a shouting match, then let's do this shit," Midori said as he walked off from Taz and Biyu. She got the point anyway.

"You're a Meister. Jayson's a Weapon. Stop trying to suck his dick and use him. Fight me..." he said, his voice raised at her and his arms crossed. He waited.

But not long.

"Oh yeah. You probably can't. Because your chaotic wavelength is probably too unstable for him to handle," Midori said, calling her out on the turmoil in her soul at the time.

It was true. A sound soul dwells within a sound mind and a sound body. Morgenstern lacked either of those.

"But by God, that has to be my fault, right? It's my fault you had no mentor, right? Last I checked, half of this team is a fucking orphan, but so far, you're the only one to use the fact I have parents against me," Midori added. But he wasn't done. "Stop making excuses. All of you. For fuck's sake. Let me make this clear because Crowley sure isn't. If you blame others for every little mistake, you're going to get yourselves or even worse others killed. If you make it past that selfish stage, then you might just feel guilty. That's fine. I still feel that way sometimes myself. But this is where I see the half of you that isn't a self-absorbed asshole: stuck in a pit of self-loathing because all you do is blame yourself."

Midori then looked around. To everyone. Biyu, Taz, even Kuro in his little cat form, Jayson, Muon, Crowley, Max, and of course Morgenstern.

"It is everyone's fault. You have to accept your part of it and you have to accept theirs. God-damn, people. You all think I feel high and mighty, but I don't. I'm fucking terrified. I'm terrified that Crowley is gonna send us a mission well over our heads and you fucks are who I'll have to back me up. Because you will get me killed. You'll be so ate up by insecurity or irresponsibility that you won't make the right call when it comes down to it," Midori explained to them, going full circle in his reasoning.

"And if I've upset you, so fucking be it. I've fought enemies that use mind games. If you are so weak that the mere words of others cut you like a blade, then stay out of the fucking field," he told all of them indiscriminately.

 

[Sir Les Paul]

Stage Name: The Dark Eye
Location: Behind Mystic Lounge
Partner: Morgenstern Stein
Tags: SavingStar RANGYOKU Phayne One Mean Ghost The Regal Rper

Wooooooosh.​

Right over her head. The point he was making, that is. It was irritating. Morgenstern was still in grief. Several stages of it, but that was besides the point. Her grief blinded her to reality. It blinded her to the facts. Perhaps she didn't know their allies, but he did. Not intimately. Not personally. But, he was briefed on him. That may have been an oversight here, but Morgenstern could have asked him what he knew about these people instead of just watching in that tree. Her ignorance was yet another one of her own faults here. This all ran through his head as she tried to victimize herself further. As she tried to tell him to target only her.

He wasn't having this. Whatever the Hell she was going to say was going to completely deride from his point. He wasn't going to allow her to even finish this breakdown.

Midori flung out his arm and transformed it back into his blade. That said deadly aura from earlier radiated off of him. He outstretched his arm, a familiar stance in that it was the one he used to fire his air slashes at Jayson earlier. To the less savvy that were observing, it may have appeared that he fully intended on cutting her down or forcibly making her stop. Neither of which were really true. Instead, when he lashed out his arm to make a slash, he followed through with it creating a ring around his body with the air slash. The momentum of it continued around him and he carried it up his metal arm like a hulu hoop, grinding it around within the air. It might have looked silly, but its appearance wasn't the goal. Nor an offense, really.

It was the sound. An ungodly loud, screeching, overbearing, ear-popping sound. It was like raw metal grinding on itself at high speeds. It was rape to the eardrums. It drowned out every other thing in the vicinity. Midori was at the epicenter, but the sound wasn't the problem. The center of the ring was silent. What no one watching knew was the pain. The slash he created was his own wavelength now grinding on his arm. The description of metal on metal was accurate here, too. Except, this was more akin to running a cheese grater across your flesh, except it was done repeatedly and the momentum made it grow faster. The pain on display might have been apparent to anyone that played close enough attention and could actually listen through the metallic crunch; his face was winced up, his face red, his body uncharacteristically tense.

It only lasted a few seconds. Ten at tops. Not only was maintaining the slash an incredibly difficult task, but withstanding the agony his arm was going through made even that concentration difficult. Blades weren't meant to be used like that.

Once it ended, Midori let his eyes fall on Morgenstern once more. She didn't get to finish. He wasn't going to let her. "You're wrong, Stein. Almost everyone here has lost someone and those words apply to everyone," Midori said aloud. Then, just like before, he darted his gaze to everyone around.

"My last partner died. She was on her way to becoming a Three Star. She was my superior in each and every way, and I miss her every day. That never goes away. I'd love to say I got over it, but I haven't. What I did do was move past it, unlike most of you. If you listen real close, I'm going to tell you how," he continued on, giving the first bit of personal information about himself he had at all. Of course, Morgenstern would have done so if allowed, but Midori had no intention of allowing that.

"I got over myself. I never got over her, but I moved on. See, each one of you are like little lonely islands; the best you'll ever do is open up to your partner. That's not enough. Because everyone has lost someone. Not just One Stars. Every instructor, every veteran, even most active agents now have lost someone if not multiple people. But it didn't stop them. It didn't make them selfish, it didn't make them self-absorbed, and it didn't ruin their wavelengths. You move on by realizing you're not alone," Midori said. His voice was getting rasp. Dry. There was an irregularity in it. The type of falter that came with actually being upset when you were saying actual, sensitive things.

"I'm not going to say some sappy shit to anyone. Just that it's a lot easier when you stop actin' like snowflakes."​

 

[Phayne]

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Jayson offered a smile towards Muon as he read the note, her concern for his well being as well as her attempts to reassure him were not wasted as he made eye contact with his partner, yet behind the faux smile lay a man struggling with his own inner turmoil. While he welcomed her good intentions, Jayson honestly was not troubled about the act of having to fight nor the result of the fight itself, merely it was the way in which the bout had come to its conclusion that troubled him; an ending which stirred up doubt within the gun weapon. In the past, Jayson would have stayed, he would have fought despite the odds being against him yet such reckless bravado could only get him and his crew so far before the cold hammer of reality struck and that very same bravado that had gotten them to where they were became their own worst enemy.

Only death awaits those that attempt to go beyond their own means, that was the lesson that Jayson was so cruely thought that ill fated day, yet now upon facing a scenario in which the wiser option was to retreat he had been chastized, ridiculed for it. Was there no right answer? Was he fated to be ridiculed for being wise and fated to lose the ones he held dear for striving beyond his own means? To turn left or right and still find yourself lost and unable to escape.. the feeling of not knowing what to do.. that was the demon he was presently struggling with inside of himself; the seed of doubt and the lack of confidence to trust in his own judgement.. without knowing the way out of his own predicament, Jayson was uncertain if he could live up to the expectations of his new partner, to succeed with Muon where he had failed with Rosalia.

Surely the path which lead to the survival of himself and his team mates was the correct answer? So why? Why was Midori so enraged that he had chosen to live another day rather then 'throw his life away'? Why was he ridiculed for choosing the path of life over the path of death?. Yes this was a controlled environment, Yes it was merely a training excercise, but surely it was expected that they treat it as a 'real-world' situation, to make the decisions they would have needed to make when out in the field, merely acting on the pretense that someone could save you at any point was clearly detrimental to their growth.. so again, why was his decision to prioritize his safety rather then risk it all the wrong answer? Jayson's fist clenched. The elixir may have healed and repaired his external wounds, it did nothing to soothe the internal damage that Midori had willingly or unwillingly dealt him.

Jayson bit his tongue, wincing as the slight pain coursed through his body. It was intentional, a self inflicted act designed to distract him from the ever swelling thoughts that flooded his mind. If one thing had been made apparent to him, it was the fact that unlike what he himself had believed, he wasn't truly over his former partner. With the pain a distracting aide, Jayson placed his right hand upon Muon's left shoulder, the faux smile appearing once more across his face as he made a poor attempt at reciprocating her well meant intentions.

"Thank you.. I'll be fine.." he tried to reassure her, though he couldn't help but tense slightly as he said the last part, his right hand clenching ever so slightly against her shoulder. "Maybe once everyone is gone.. I'll take you up on the chocolate.." though as Muon probably could have guessed, it was mainly the alcohol within the chocolate that Jayson desired.

...

It was only now that he was distracted from his inner demons that Jayson began to notice the heated exchange between Morgenstern and Midori, the pair of them seemingly continuing the argument from before, though it was more on Morgensterns part that this argument had risen once more. Midori clearly was not as bothered by the whole situation as Morgenstern was. Jayson understood Morgenstern's frustrations, he understood her anger and why she was so against Midori's interruption, it was as if he had slapped her across the face in front of a crowd of people. At least from Jayson's perspective it appeared that Midori had unintentionally struck at her pride as not only a Meister but as a human being as well. Jayson most likely would have reacted in the same manner.

"On second thought.. I'll grab a few.." muttered Jayson, reaching for the chocolate. There was no telling how long this would go on for, nor was there any way to tell how it would end. Both Morgenstern and Midori were skilled fighters and with the way this argument was escalating.. it was only a matter of time before it got physical.

Two alcoholic chocolates down and Jayson glanced up to see Morgenstern approach Muon, Jayson had a bad feeling about this, his gaze momentarily looking towards Midori's position before returning to Morgenstern just as she began to speak. Jayson wasn't really a lightweight when it came to the alcohol and he doubted the chocolate had that much in to begin with, but he would have liked to believe that it had played a role in causing the redness to appear in his cheeks, rather then simply blushing at the compliment as well as the suggestive remark. Whether she truly meant it however was another question as her actions instead caused Midori to loose his cool and react aggressively.

...

"Y'know what I'm fucking terrified off?" interrupted Jayson, taking several steps forwards so that he was now placed between Midori and Morgenstern "... that we'd be stuck on a mission with you", Jayson's brows were furrowed as he glared at Midori, the opposing weapons words having adverse reactions within Jayson. "You've made it abundantly clear that you do not trust any of us in a fight, heck you've made it pretty fucking obvious that you don't even trust your own partner in a fight" he continued, his fist's clenching tightly. "So why should we be thrilled to have you on a mission with us? How can we trust a self absorbed prick like yourself?" he questioned, though he didn't expect an answer. "From what I have gathered, you've had the benefit of being trained externally and probably during that period you've been lamented for mistakes.. but you learned from them didn't you?" again, he didn't expect an answer. ".. if you can't even trust your own partner to learn from what you perceive to be a mistake, then I'm sorry, in my opinion your the problem. We are all fucking human, we make mistakes, we learn, we move on. I think we are all fucking smart enough to know our own limitations in combat and are smart enough to not go beyond our capabilities when out in the field.. but I guess you don't believe that do you? You don't seem to think we are smart enough to distinguish what we can physically do and cant do in a real battle situation" Jayson glanced towards his own partner Muon, he didn't want her to see him angry like this but he simply couldn't shut up and be quiet after hearing Midori's tripe. "This was a fucking exercise, a training scenario and a controlled environment... where else are we meant to practice techniques, to better ourselves and prepare ourselves for combat if not in a training situation? You mentioned that Morgenstern could have defeated me rather easily? Heck maybe she could.. and if she is capable of that then I'm pretty darn sure she knows that as well, so what harm was there in trying to improve an area she was lacking in? How is she going to better herself if YOU DON'T ALLOW her to?" Jayson's brow twitched. "You elitist dicks think you know it all.. you think that your way is the only way.. well news flash Midori, it fucking isn't. So pull that plug out of your ass and stop acting so fucking arrogant and if you can't do that, then run along with Mrs Fang, since she apparently seems to be of far more importance to you then your own partner. I'm fucking sick of you."

Jayson turned his head towards Biyu, "I apologise for my language and I don't mean to drag you into this or cause you any offence, however I cannot sit and be quiet when garbage like Midori so blatantly disrespect their own partner."

.

Idea SavingStar Sir Les Paul

 

[Sir Les Paul]

Stage Name: The Dark Eye
Location: Behind Mystic Lounge
Partner: Morgenstern Stein
Tags: SavingStar RANGYOKU Phayne One Mean Ghost The Regal Rper

Midori waited. He waited with a calm face and a cool resolution. If Jayson wanted to make a point, Midori had full intent on listening. The reason was simple. He knew Morgenstern. He knew what she would whine about. He knew her breakdown. It was unnecessary. A waste of time. It developed nothing. But Jayson? Jayson was new. Jayson was someone that Midori hadn't interacted with yet. He wasn't quite sure of his story, so he waited with a calm, stern look on his face.

And Jayson ended, trying to apologize to Biyu. Not a word he said had enough power or weight to chisel into the stone that Midori had turned into. Jayson didn't carry that power.

"I don't trust any of you," Midori said, "including her. I don't think you know your limitations. I don't think you know what you can and can't do in combat. And, for good reason. Even if I was a faithful person--and I'm not--trusting people that have not earned it is one of the best ways of getting yourself killed. You haven't done a goddamn thing to earn my trust. You tell me I don't even trust my own partner as if it's some insult, but the fact is, I know her better than any of you. I know her limitations. Her strength. Her skill. I know what she can and can't do. I know what I can trust her with and what I can't." Midori spoke to Jayson in a very specific way. A calm way. He twisted the very words that Jayson said and threw them back at them. Words meant to be insults became weapons. Comments spat in spite became shields. Jayson had nothing on Midori.

"And, it's a good fucking thing you're terrified of being on a team with me. Because when you do something stupid that's going to get yourself and your partner killed, I'm not going to risk my life to save you. That should scare you," Midori told him. His voice wasn't just cool. It was cold. There was nothing held back in the sentiment that Midori would just let him die if the situation arose. "You can call me whatever you want, but all you're doing is hurting others--not me. If you convince her what she did was okay by defending her--if anyone in this group is legitimately stupid enough to listen to your white knight bullshit--then you're just going to make them soft. Weak," Midori explained. He was serious. He didn't need to curse, yell or scream obscenities to insult others. No. He just had to make a point.

"You'll get them killed. That attitude is a danger to whatever team you're on, plain and simple. The way I see it, losing you would probably keep everyone here that much more safe," Midori said, finally rounding up his statement. Unlike Jayson, he didn't stop to apologize to others. He didn't falter in what he said or slow down in his tone. He made himself clear. This wasn't the type of thing someone said because they were angry. Perhaps that was the worst part about it. Midori was too calm and collected to be angry. This was a thought-out, constructed response. Everything Midori said, he meant.

 

[Phayne]

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"So your telling my that it was wrong for Morgenstern to take advantage of this practice session to try and improve on a technique she was struggling in? To use this opportunity to better herself in an area she was lacking?, If not here then where? Where is she expected to train?" replied Jayson, unfazed by Midori's retort. "This whole fucking debacle started because you felt it necessary to intervene in a sparring much, simply because she 'took too long'. Are you fucking kidding me?.. TOOK TO LONG?.. I don't recall Crowley ever implementing a time limit, heck I don't recall Crowley even including your team in the training exercise, so what right do you have to say when it should end? Because your ahead of us in ability? Well fuck you. Get off that high horse and realise that not everyone has had the luxury of garnering as much experience as you presumably have 'Oh Mighty Midori'" he said with vile sarcasm. "I don't agree with Morgenstern bringing in her backstory as an excuse for her weaknesses, I've got my own bull shit past that I detest having to even think about, much less use that as any excuse for my failings.." he turned to face Morgenstern now, his expression serious. Despite how much he hated to admit it, he did agree with Midori on this point, that the dead are not a valid reason for our own short comings, if anything their sacrifice was another tool to be used to spurn them on, at least that's the decision Jayson had made upon finally agreeing to put the death of his crew behind him and start anew with Muon. "Let the dead slumber, they don't need the weight of our burdens" he muttered softly, relenting on his serious expression. before turning to face Midori once more. Jayson couldn't even begin to fathom blaming Rosalia or the rest of his crew for his current situation; their demise had been a collective decision and it was a decision that to this day, Jayson battled to come to terms with. Sighing, Jayson re-engaged eye contact with Midori, the unpleasantness of having to further his interaction with the opposing demon weapon causing him to be further irritated. "What I take issue with right now is your arrogance, that upmarket belief that you have the authority to control her, to chastise her for trying to better herself in her own way. She ain't your fucking toy or a pet that you can command whenever you feel. All you've done is question her judgement and strike at her confidence in front of everyone, publicly questioned her abilities in front of someone who until today you had never even met. How is that beneficial for a team? How does that help her?" Jayson raised his left hand towards his eye patch, presumably scratching an irritation.

"You may know her better then anyone else here, but I'm darn well sure she knows herself better than you and if you think otherwise than that is pure arrogance on your part" Jayson glanced towards Morgenstern as he said this before returning his gaze back at Midori, "As for my presence here being a danger to everyone? We'll see. You haven't even begun to scratch the surface of what I can and can't do, so don't even begin to assume that you know me based off a sheet of paper or a first time experience. If may come to bite you in the ass one day if you think your elitist methodology is the only answer. So when you inevitably screw the pooch with your biased and flawed way of thinking, you better get ready to kiss my feet, for I may be the one tasked with having to save your sorry ass" Jayson turned now to face Muon, hoping that she was not angry at his own outburst towards the whole situation, flashing her a smile to reassure her that he was still in fact fine. Though throughout all this, Jayson's guard was up. He didn't know how this elite would react to hearing a 'peon' who he clearly disregarded talk in such a manner.


"Arguing with you is a waste of my time, its pretty darn obvious we are from different 'worlds', an elitist such as yourself wouldn't even begin to understand what its like for those not born under a silver spoon" Jayson sighed. "Now run along Midori, didn't you have more urgent matters to attend to? An elite like yourself doesn't have time to waste with us lowly mortals."

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Idea SavingStar Sir Les Paul