Frequency

Yeah it was random lol. When I looked back at some of the earlier parts of Frequency it made me realize that things did progress a little too quickly, and there weren't many parts with just plain fun. Although the story will be getting more serious from here, there still will be bits like that every now and then. Nevertheless, I'm gonna do my best to give it a more mature tone ^^. Posted the next part. These training thingies are gonna be the death of me >.<

The two exited the store and TJ let out a quiet sigh of relief. The busy streets of Elias took most of the focus off of TJ, and surprisingly people didn’t point him out or bombard him with fruits and or other things that can be thrown. Maybe it was his unusual new hairstyle? TJ rubbed his chin thoughtfully and said, “so what’s next Chief?” She glanced back at him and said, “we’re going to enter the guild room once more. There is still much for me to teach you.” The two made their way through the streets and reached Elias Palace’s courtyard. As Peorth spoke with Nan TJ took a few moments to glance around and quickly ran towards her so the both of them could be transported.

The two appeared in the guild room and Guild Master Shabur stood in his usual place. “Good day fair lady, Power TJ..” He said bowing down to Peorth. “Good day Guild Master.” Peorth replied. “M-morning!” TJ said slightly nervously. “Please do not mind us Guild Master.” Peorth told him. “We will be doing a bit of training here as not to draw too much attention.” The guild master bowed again and Peorth turned to TJ. “This might be a bit difficult for you TJ, as it is your first time since you lost your memories. Today I would like to take the opportunity for you to practice your control of the Order Frequency. Unlike the Chaos Frequency, this requires much practice and focus, and could only be used through these methods. The Demonic energy in the Chaos Frequency can cause you to lose control of yourself and enable you more options in combat, but it is much more dangerous to use.”

“Until you learn to use your powers without my assistance, I shall be guiding you and enabling them when possible.” Peorth explained drawing the gem from her chest. She held it tightly in her hand and it lit up a bright white. The gem in TJ’s chest reacted and started to glow through his clothes as his mana surrounded his body and his eyes flickered to a sapphire blue. His wings spread out from his back and Su started to take form beside him. “Su you have wings too?” TJ asked looking slightly puzzled. “Because the two of you share the same body, you can share not only abilities, but also certain physical traits. Though you will not always look exactly alike, you will still have similar abilities, physically and magically.” Peorth explained.

The two nodded and listened. “Now, I know that I have not gone very far into detail on our contract, so please allow me to do so now.” Peorth said. She cleared her throat and began again. “As you may or may not know, the Intertwining Soul Sealing Ritual is something performed between the Proxies and the Pleasure. As you know, each contains a piece of the gem you contain, and each contains power beyond imagination. By forming a contract with one of the Proxies, we are able to unlock your powers that belong to our respective factions, enabling you new abilities to combat any enemies we may have, and also to fight in our cause. As you may know, our current objective is to subdue Choen Palm and stop her ‘Gene Splicing Project’ that is taking place the Kimara Research Laboratory.”

“When the time comes, I will release your latent powers, but for now we shall practice some of the basics so you will be ready for the battle to come.” Peorth said. TJ and Su nodded vigorously. “Some of the basics of the Heavenly Arts are the ability to heal light wounds and to use projectile attacks.” Peorth rubbed her chin thoughtfully and turned to Su. “May i borrow your dagger for a moment Su?” She asked. Su reached into her Dagger case and drew it. “Here ya go.” She said placing it in Peorth’s hand. “Thank you.” Peorth said and holding it to her hand. She put a small cut into the palm of her hand and watched it as blood slowly began to seep out. TJ looked shocked as he said, “Chief what are you doing?!” She did not look surprised at all as she held out her hand and said, “This is for you to practice on. I want you to heal the wound.”

“Don’t forget TJ, the Heavenly Arts are the exact opposite of the Contemptuous. Those who use the Heavenly Arts do it to protect, not to harm their targets. The contemptuous Art users aren’t able to do anything like healing or shielding their allies. The Heavenly Arts still have the ability to harm their enemies though so don’t worry.” Peorth nodded in agreement and said, “the more you want to fulfill the task you have set yourself to do, the better the product of your efforts will be. You may not be able to heal the wound on your first try, but if you can at least feel your mana flowing you, then that will be good enough.”
TJ looked uneasily at the cut on Peorth’s hand and said, “But...I’m a demon! How could I even attempt to use the Heavenly Arts?” Peorth looked shocked for once, then she chuckled. “Who might have told you that you were a demon? That is just...silly!” She said and began to laugh. TJ’s face flushed but he could not hide his smile. He felt relieved to know that he was not a demon, and felt even more glad to see Peorth laughing, something that seemed so rare. “Forgive me for that...but you are not a demon TJ. You are a spirit, through and through, but a spirit that could choose what faction he wishes he wants to be a part of it. No matter which you side with, though, you will be TJ, and you will always be TJ. Remember that always.” She told him brushing a few stray hairs from his face. “Thanks Chief.” TJ said slightly embarrassed.

“Now then, let us continue.” She began. She held out her hand and TJ placed his hands around hers. Her hands were somewhat smaller than his, her fingers seemed thin and delicate, and the cut seemed so out of place on her fair skin. “TJ, using your mana here is like what you had learned when we were training before our fight with Yuta. If you do that and focus your powers into healing the wound on the Chief’s hand you should be able to do it easily.” Su said to him.

TJ closed his eyes and tried to focus; to find the feeling of his mana flowing through him, to channel it into his hands little by little and to release it. To heal the wound was his goal, to help Peorth when she needed him to. Was this not what he wanted? Did he not want to leave behind his mistakes and to start anew; to be the man his former self was not? He had to be able to do this to move on, and to give himself more options. To protect those that he cared about and to be able to unlock the powers deep within him he had to try. TJ tightly gripped Peorth’s hands as he focused harder and his mana began to trickle out and enter Peorth’s cut. The bleeding came to a halt and the cut closed slightly.

TJ seemed out of breath and Peorth carefully examined the cut. “You are off to a very good start TJ.” She told him confidently. “Let’s give it another try.” TJ said. They kept at it for quite a long time and TJ showed some great progress. After quite a few tries, TJ was able to fully close wounds larger than the original, but they eventually had to stop before Peorth collapsed from blood loss. Though TJ offered to take over for her and practice on himself, she insisted and said it would be much easier to practice on another person instead of himself.

The day went by fairly normally, they had lunch and TJ continued to practice afterwards. Su joined in and proved to be a natural at it which did not prove to be too surprising to any of them. As the clouds seemed to move away along with the setting sun the day began to come to a close. TJ stretched as he and Peorth exited through the gate of light in the Guild Room and he smiled confidently. “Even if it was just supporting someone from the sidelines in a battle, I feel much more confident in my skills! I can’t wait until our next lesson.” Peorth nodded and said, “It relieves me to know that you are enjoying yourself and are confident. Tomorrow I will be unable to continue with the lessons because I have a task I need to complete, but I would like you to rest, or continue to practice what I have taught you today.” TJ agreed, slightly disappointed.

lol your tinkerbell

The stuff that will come after would make Walt Disney cry tears of blood if hew had read this lol. Finally fished TJ's portion. Took me quite a while so I'll post it now.

he three left the guild room and went their separate ways, TJ and Su headed back to the Fight Arena and found the tent Curt and Robo had set up. They quickly climbed in and the group was together once more. “Hey where have you guys been all day?” TJ asked the two. “Me and Robo-” Curt was cut off as Robo said, “you mean Robo and I-” then Curt cut him off in turn as he said, “yeah whatever. Me and Robo were doing doubles matches in the Fight Arena. Those other adventurers didn’t stand a chance against us.” TJ smiled and said, “sounds like you guys were having quite a good time. The Chief’s been teaching us about healing magic and stuff. We’re gonna be learning some of the other Heavenly Arts soon. Can’t wait!” Curt nodded. “It’ll do you good for sure. Anyway, when your free you should come to the Fight Arena with us. We’d make a deadly team.”

The night passed by peacefully and morning eventually rolled around again. TJ slept in a little later than he usually would because of all the spare time he had. He got out of bed first and headed out into Elias. For breakfast he ordered a crepe from a vendor and enjoyed it as he wandered throughout the city. There were still lots of people coming and going, but some seemed to be selling their wares and TJ could hear Su yawning beside him. “Whoa! When’d you get there?” He asked. “Meh...just now. I come and go so often I’ve gotten a lot better at it. Most of the time people won’t even notice whether I just appeared or not.” She said with a sly smirk.

“So whats with all the shops around here?” TJ asked glancing at the blankets covered in items. “You don’t remember this stuff? Jeez you’re forgetful. People who buy licenses can set up their stalls in the Elias free market on Saturdays (weird name huh?). Those who pay for the really expensive licenses can do it any day of the week, anywhere in Elias, and have a lot more space to sell their things. If you’ve got a lot of useless junk you think someone might want you can try selling it. Sometimes you might find some useful equipment, stuff for your pets or even pets themselves. You wanna take a look around?” Su asked. TJ nodded excitedly and the two went all over the city checking out various stalls. After lunch they went to the free market and glanced around there for a while.

After they were finished they went to the Fight Arena and met with Curt and Robo. “Hey you guys decided to come! You wanna have a match or two?” TJ nodded nervously and said, “I dunno how well I’ll do against other adventurers but I’ll try.” Curt grinned. “Better tell you how it works first though. Basically, there are four of us so it’d be four vs. four. We beat the other team to a pulp until they get KO-ed and...well yeah. Whichever team has the last man standing wins.” Su shrugged and said, “Easy. By the way TJ, I don’t recommend using the Frequency in there. These are normal people, and using that against them is a bit taboo. So good luck!” TJ groaned and Curt signed the four of them up.

They were led by one of the arena’s attendants into one of the entrances on a giant tent, along with another team of four into an area that seemed to be a portion of Young Gyoung completely redesigned. The Attendant stood nearby, at a safe enough distance from the battle and she blew her whistle to signal the start of the fight. While the rest of his allies were busy fighting TJ looked around for whoever remained that he would have to fight but saw no one. He heard the sound of feet hitting the ground and turned around being face to face with a Blader. He got cut more times than he could count, was knocked out, and woke up outside the arena.

“Dude...you got your ass kicked.” Curt said bluntly. TJ sat up and glanced at himself. He felt fine, there were no wounds or signs of him being hurt. “Weird...I feel fine. B-besides what was I supposed to do it? That guy was freakin’ fast...” Curt nodded and said, “Bladers are one of the fastest classes anyone could take up. Requires a hell of a lot of training to become one though. By the way, the Fight Arena is an Instance Dungeon so it’s separate from things here, so in there we can’t actually be hurt or die really. We just get knocked out and brought back out here afterwards. It makes me wonder how they managed to do it.” TJ glanced at the team they just battled and they took notice of him and began to make faces, jeer, and mock him. “I want a rematch.” He said sternly to Curt. Curt grinned and replied, “let’s go.”

As the sun began to set near the end of the day the score was 3-8, in the enemy team’s favour, but everyone still seemed to have a good team although they were so terribly defeated. They headed off to their tent and talked about the day’s adventures while TJ and Su practiced a bit of healing magic. After they had fully worn themselves out, they began to prepare themselves to sleep and eventually fell into a deep slumber.

As the night went on TJ began to breathe heavily and turn somewhat in his sleep. He placed his hands to his ears and tightly covered them. The sound of Frequency entered his mind but would not fade over time, but rather grew louder in decibels. TJ’s groans turned to mumblings, and soon turned into agonizing screams. He’s in pain...no, he’s angry. He wants revenge...He’s screaming...He just keeps on screaming...He wants revenge. I have to...have to quell His anger...have to...who...who’s He? Quell the anger...kill the humans...TJ thought even through all his screams. Su appeared from the crystal and covered his mouth to muffle his screams before he woke everyone up while holding her own right ear. “Keep it down will you? I can hear him too and he’s pretty damn annoying. It’s not something I want to do but let’s get this over with.” She whispered to him guiding him out of the tent.

A dark aura surrounded TJ and he opened his eyes revealing nothing but the pupils. He barely looked alive as he looked around the area, then began to walk towards the streets of Elias. At this time of the night most of the adventurers were already out of the city or in bed. The few stars above the twinkled brightly as the moon sat in the sky reflecting light onto the world below it. TJ continued to walk and stopped as he heard the voice of someone nearby. “Just give me two seconds I just gotta take a leak.” One said. “Couldn’t you have done that before we left Belos?” Another replied. “It’s not like it matters, nobody’s gonna be out this late anyway so stop cryin’ already.” One walked around the the gateway towards the airport and the other stood nearby the entrance to the free market with her back turned. Su carefully watched from atop the gates of Elias Castle as TJ slowly progressed towards the girl, and a dark mana covered his hand creating a larger clawed hand.

Su reached into her bag and took out a pair of gloves, then quickly pulled them on and glanced in the direction of the male adventurer. “I’d say he’s got about thirty seconds.” She muttered under her breath. TJ slowly approached the girl from behind and she soon seemed to take notice of TJ’s approach, and began to scream at the top of her lungs. “I know you don’t like the dark much but I’m only gonna be like ten seconds so calm down will ya’? Your gonna wake up the city!” The boy shouted to his companion. Her scream quieted down to a whimper as her body fell limp on top of TJ’s claw. He slowly pulled it out and her body hit the ground with a thud, then knelt over beside the corpse and started to draw something in her blood. “He took too long.” Su grumbled as she stood up and stretched. “Looks like I’m going to have to intervene.”

“Alright I’m done so let’s get moving R-” The boy stopped immediately as Su landed behind him and held a dagger to his face while tightly keeping her arm around his neck. “Breathe a word, and I kill you. Scream, and I kill you. Make the slightest, and I mean slightest movement, and I kill you.” He stood frozen, barely taken a chance to breathe from fear of death. As TJ finished, he stood up and the markings he drew lit up a bright crimson red. He began to walk away and the lights turned black, then flames emerged from it and quickly spread all around, only on the portion of the concrete TJ had drawn on. The boy’s eyes were absolutely mortified by the sight before him and he began to cry as TJ walked towards the two. “All finished your business? Good.” Su said. She released the boy and plunged the knife into his neck, then let his body fall to the ground.

lol zombies much?

The night passed by fairly normally after the events that occurred and morning came around. TJ slowly pulled himself out of bed and loudly groaned, then rubbed his face with the palms of his hands. “I’m so...tired! Did fighting in the Arena take that much out of me?” Curt peeked into the tent and stared at TJ with a slightly puzzled look. “You don’t look good at all man...if you want an honest opinion, you look like crap. I kinda remember you howling or something last night but I figured you were having a nightmare so I kinda ignored it. Was it that scary?” TJ stared at Curt and the bags under his eyes became more visible in the light from outside. “Nightmare? What nightmare? I don’t remember anything next to coming back here and going to sleep. Now I’m just tired...I wanna sleep.” TJ said collapsing back into his sleeping bag. Curt watched TJ for a few moments and as he closed the tent said, “alright you do that. I’ll let the Chief know your not feeling so hot.”

TJ spent most of the day sleeping, occasionally getting up to eat food that Curt would drop off between matches and at certain points of the day. While TJ slept Su eventually returned, looking as tired as he was and collapsed beside him returning to his crystal and staying there as he rested also. The sun eventually set and Curt and Robo returned to the tent to spend the rest of the evening away planning their next few adventures over the time Yggdrasil’s members were making preparations. The night came and passed, TJ slightly groaning and showing signs of a rising dark mana but did not show any serious signs of activity. As morning rolled around he woke up looking much better than he had the previous day.

He quickly got out of bed and headed towards the gates of Elias Palace and noticed Peorth was not there at the time. “Am I too early?” He asked himself glancing around. The mailman glanced at him and said, “mail for you.” Then literally, spat the mail at TJ. TJ caught it looking slightly alarmed and fairly perturbed but continued to open it nevertheless. His eyes quickly scanned the letter and then he began to properly read it. It said:

Dear TJ:

I have heard of your situation from Curt, and I pray that you will be feeling better very soon. Should you not feel any better, please take all the time you need to recover and come to see me when you feel that you are ready to continue your training. I shall be awaiting you in the guild room throughout the next few days.

Best wishes, Peorth

TJ rolled up the letter and stuck it in his pocket. “I can’t waste any more time than I already have. I better go meet the Chief and try to make up for the time lost.” He muttered to himself and rushed off to the guild room. As he appeared inside of it he saw Peorth and Shabur, Peorth was wielding her spear and doing slow and gentle but precise movements. She had her eyes closed and seemed to be extremely focused on what she was doing at the time. Though she continued what she had done, she said, “Welcome TJ. It pleases me to know that you have made a recovery and come to continue from where we left off.” She opened her eyes and placed her spear vertically by her side. TJ nodded seriously and approached Peorth as she said, “Excellent, then let us begin.”

Peorth stood apart from TJ as she began to explain. “An important thing you must note is being able to cast basic Heavenly Arts offensive spells. You have proven that though many years have passed since you last used these powers, you are still able to use them naturally. You already have a basic understanding of the concept of healing, and control over your mana so learning these spells should not be difficult for you.” TJ nodded once to acknowledge he understood. “Now then, the first spell I would like you to perform is the Arrow of Light. To some it is rather difficult because of the sheer power of the spell, but I feel confident that you will be able to perform it.”

TJ nodded again and Peorth continued. “Unlike the supportive spells your goal is to harm your enemy, so having some aggression when casting is natural. The gods only would use these spells to ward off and banish the evil, so a strong will to do justice will allow you to cast the spell. As for forming the spell itself, alike to creating ice from water, you have to merge your mana with the element to concentrate and refine the form. Should you do this, the rest will come naturally. Try using your mana to gather light and bring form to your spell.”

TJ began to focus his mana around him to gather light, but it proved to be a difficult thing. Using his mana to create water and turn it to ice felt a little more natural to him, because it was something he must have done since he realized he could study a specific class. TJ continued to try and seemed to be making very little, but a slight amount of progress with his attempts. As TJ practiced Peorth continued to practice with her spear occasionally keeping an eye on TJ’s progress and giving him pointers on what he could do to improve his technique(Try to clear your mind! Focus on the feeling and bring it to life!). Over time TJ managed to create a small orb of light and moved it around it.

As the day drew on and it was evidently coming to an end Peorth stopped her own practice and said, “now that you are able to create the spell, I want you to practice with it on me. Do not worry for my safety, I too, am trained to battle light or darkness.” TJ looked slightly puzzled then glanced at his orb. “As long as you’re sure I won’t object but...is this good enough? It’s not really much of an arrow...” Peorth nodded and explained, “for it to take on the full shape requires quite a lot of practice. It will not always be a perfect shape, but should you be able to cast the spell is a feat in itself. When you target me bear in mind what you are learning this for and what you wish to accomplish with it. Now, do not hold back! Come at me with your full force!”

TJ focused and the ball hovered above his palm, then he aimed towards Peorth and pointed, and it quickly flew towards her and collided with her arms as she blocked her face. It burst into a bright light and disappeared. “Good form, strength, and focus. Now come at me again.” Peorth said. “Again?” TJ asked. “As long as you’re sure.” TJ created another as quickly as he could and fired it her towards her once more. “Good! Again!” She shouted to him. The two continued this cycle until night fell once more and the two had exhausted themselves enough to call it quits. “TJ, you are showing much promise. I am very proud of you.” Peorth said encouragingly. “Thanks Chief.” TJ said slightly embarrassed but happy.

As the two set off TJ replayed the words in his mind in a voice he thought was pretty close to Peorth’s calm and collected voice. As they set out she had told him they would continue their training tomorrow with a short follow-up of the Arrow of Light training then move on to weapon augmentation and battle enchantments. On the way back to the tent TJ made a couple orbs to light his way, and it proved more difficult than it had earlier because it was night. Peorth had mentioned that since TJ was new at using light in battle, he was utilizing already existing light in place of creating it, so when it wasn’t there it was much more difficult for him. She had also said it was possible to do with any of the elements, especially Earth mages(not wizards).

TJ headed back to the tent and met with Curt and Robo, and he listened to their stories about adventuring into a haunted mansion where the lady of folklore ‘Pandora’ existed. They were sure they saw a gateway to where she resided but got chased out by all the Spectres inside of the mansion. TJ laughed and asked about some of the things they saw, and they said he should come along with them sometime. TJ and Curt pinky swore to adventure into the depths of Scrap Valley and what lies beyond that after they defeated Choen Palm.

The night felt peaceful under the stars that lit up the sky. The sound of crickets chirping in the cold night air gave it an easy-going feeling. Su arose from the crystal, quietly and carefully then crept out of the tent and closed it back. She brushed her hair out of her face and glanced around, then quickly left the Fight Arena and set out for the streets of Elias.

next part is up . there'll be more tommorow

GAY

Sorry been slacking off the past few days. Don't have a good reason why though, mind you lol. I have some good ideas though. Gonna try and finish Frequency before I leave for vacation. theres still a few weeks so we're safe for now.

so hurry up!
btw what happened to amu, in the story? :O

Well, after they arrived in Elfa Amu stayed behind. That was her destination, but you'll see her again sometime. Nobody is forgotten lol. Ah and I'll be posting the next piece up after I...well write it. Which i'm going to do right now lol
next part is up. Think it gave me some more good ideas.

Her eyes scanned the darkness as she silently dashed through the city into an alleyway and drew a bag. Good thing I kept a spare. She thought drawing out a black ninja garb and quickly getting into it. She covered her mouth and hid as much of her hair as she could, then climbed up a ladder on the side of a building and took watch from her new vantage point. She continued to look around until she finally spotted three people all dressed in black, creeping throughout the city. She leapt from building to building while following them where they couldn’t see her. One was muttering something which she just began to hear, “...that boy is somewhere around here. If we can get it then we’ll be paid riches beyond our wildest imaginations.” Another had a wheezy giggle with a voice just as wheezy saying, “I dunno where that lady got the cash, but we know she’s got it and if we get it for capturing some kid, she must be pretty crazy!” The one leading the three had a gruff, grizzled voice. “Don’t let your guard up. For her to be paying that much for just a kid, don’t expect everything to go easily. Our focus is to bring him back DoA, don’t forget that.”

Su continued to follow the three and glanced down at them thoughtfully. These guys are assassins? Hah! They make Yuta look badass! For them to be sent by Choen Palm, maybe their not as bad as I expect them to be. Then again, they’re up against me, so there’s no challenge. Think I might have a little fun with them...Su thought. The first stopped the others behind them then muttered something about the count of three. He dashed out first across the street to another set of buildings and hand signalled the second to come. The third stayed in his position and Su took this opportunity to reach in her backpack and draw a strange pouch. She pulled it open and dumped the contents to the ground beneath her in front of the third assassin. As the leader signalled him to come, he quickly dashed towards them but stopped and jumped backwards falling over and groaning as quietly as he could.

“Cooper! What’s the hold up?!” The leader called back to him in a hushed voice. “I just stepped on some glass or something! Ju-just go on ahead I’ll catch up once I get this out of my feet!” He called back to them picking the tacks out of his feet. Su latched something on to the building and tugged at the rope hanging from it, then slowly descended the building and said, “Your first and last mistake tonight!” He glanced around terrified and began to draw a butterfly knife but was quickly disarmed by a shuriken and was lifted onto his knees by Su as she held him in a headlock with a kunai to his neck. “I am but a shadow who resides between the living and the dead. I traverse the night, existing only in the shadows, to guard my mark. When you move onto the next world be sure to warn them that I’ll be watching their every movement.” She slit his throat and dropped his corpse to the ground, then picked up her tacks and put her kunai away. “Using my Clairvoyance might be cheating a little bit, but if they get to sneak around without me knowing, I think using it for a heads up is fair.” She said smiling. The other two shuddered and glanced back, but continued to move as Su started to make her advance once more.

She followed in the wake of the two and acted as their third man. “Watch where you’re walking next time Cooper. We can’t afford to be caught by anyone.” The leader mumbled half-looking at Su. She cleared her throat and did her best to imitate the man she just killed. “Sorry boss. Stepped on some glass or something, but I’m fine.” He fully turned in her direction while keeping close to a wall and said, “You don’t sound too good though. You sure you’re alright? Your also looking a bit thinner than I thought. Good work.” Su let out a wheezy giggle to the best of her ability, yet it sounded like she was in pain, “well I did have to work out a bit to fit in my new outfit.” She said.“The laugh...could use some work though.” Their leader grumbled. The assassin between them shrugged and an irritated female voice caught Su’s attention. “Can we just get on with the mission? I have better things to do with my time!” The leader nodded and dashed carefully through the streets with the two following silently behind.

Through the alleyways and down the streets of Elias they all quickly moved and soon approached Elias Castle.”The boy is near here. Travel with the utmost caution got it? Especially you Cooper. One more screw-up like the last one and you could compromise the whole mission.” Their leader told them. The second assassin placed one finger to her lips and said, “Keep it down! And you better watch yourself Wolf. We shouldn’t be using our actual names, especially on a mission.” He gave a shrug that made it obvious he was defeated and prepared to climb a ladder at the back of the castle then stopped and glanced back saying, I’ll signal you if it’s safe to come up. Until then, don’t make the slightest movement.” He began to climb the ladder tot he top and checked to be sure no one was on it, then climbed up and waved a hand signal to the others.

While the second assassin was looking up to catch the hand signal, Su held out one hand and an icicle began to form above it from the water she created. The sound of it freezing caught the assassin’s eye as Su grabbed hold of it and thrusted it at her enemy but was stopped as it was grabbed before she made contact. “You! Who are you?!” The assassin muttered through grit teeth, trying to force back Su’s hand. “Too slow.” Su whispered letting go of the icicle and drawing a kunai thrusting it into her enemy’s chest as she fell forward from the force of her own push. As she fell limp on Su’s arm, Su withdrew the kunai and tossed the body aside, then began to climb the ladder to finish off her final mark.

As she finally arrived at the top she glanced over to see their leader standing near the edge of the Castle looking around for TJ’s possible location. Su carefully climbed up and lay on her stomach, quietly and quickly sneaking over to her target. Like a snake ready to inject it’s prey with it’s poison, she travelled across the ground with her kunai in hand, and when she finally was close enough, she leapt off the ground and thrusted her kunai at his neck. In the blink of an eye he was facing her with his switchblade stopping her in her tracks as he said, “did you really think it would be that easy to fool me? For me to mention that you had looked different was a test to see if Cat could notice the difference. Rather, if she was worth keeping in my pack.” He pushed Su back and came back at her with quick violent swings aiming for vital points. Su blocked each attack as she backed away and he continued to approach. “Do you know why my code name is Wolf? It’s because I am a lone wolf.”

His onslaught of attacks continued and Su was backed all the way to the edge of the castle. The two were locked in one final push, deciding the entire battle and Su’s survival. Even with his blade pressed against Su’s kunai he still kept a calm and collected voice as if it required no effort at all. “Just like my client had told me, some strange girl would come and get in our way, and I was to warn the other two of this so they weren’t assassinated.” He laughed mirthlessly and slowly started to push Su back. “Sadly, I didn’t tell them. If they couldn’t expect someone trying to stop us than they weren’t worth keeping in my pack.” He took one hand off of his blade and placed it to Su’s mask then slowly pulled it down. “And they had failed to defeat such a young girl too...how sad. Why don’t you forget about attempting to kill me and join me? The pay’s good, the jobs are easy, and you seem to be a natural; To top it off, I’ll spare your life too.” Su raised one hand and slapped his from her face releasing a couple water droplets as she placed her hand by her side. “Hell no! You’re obviously a cheater, and I don’t like cheaters.” She said with a smug grin.

Wolf sighed and said, “Don’t say I didn’t give you a choice.” With one final strong push he shoved Su off the castle and she began to plummet downwards, just barely managing to save herself by grabbing on to the edge with one hand. “End of the line missy. You fought well but not well enough.” He crouched down and held his knife above her hand, then thrusted it into her fingers and pulled it out. Her fingers trembled as the blood seeped out and her hand began to lose it’s grip, she then let go and Wolf watched as her body fell to the ground. He grabbed onto the ledge to get a closer look with a slightly perturbed look on his face, and as Su’s body hit the ground it broke into pieces. He leaned further over as the water beside him began to tremble and increase in size, then Su’s figure rose up, still transparent as it took form. He glanced at her then quickly got to his feet and created a distance between them.

“A demon? Never thought I would come face to face with one, but I might get an even bigger bounty if I do bring it down...” Wolf muttered tightly holding his switchblade with both hands. “I’m not a demon jackass. But good guess.” She shrugged and muttered, “I guess this is what makes humanity so ignorant. They assume the worst possible first, before thinking the situation through. But I guess a Cerebian killing a human seems impossible.” She chuckled and drew another kunai. “By the way, there’s a fine line between Ninjutsu and the...whatever demons use.” He shrugged and shook his head. “Whatever you might be, an enemy of hers can easily be a bounty of mine. let’s make this quick.” Su brushed her hair aside and pulled up her face mask as she said, “Count on it.”

Su reached into her pouch and drew five kunai, throwing them horizontally at him as he quickly crouched and dove at Su taking a swing at her legs. She leapt over him and stopped on one of his arms, thrusted her free knee into his back and grabbed his other arm. She twisted it with both hands then drew another kunai and plunged it into his right hand. “I’ve disabled your hand, which is really going to cripple you. Wanna call it quits now?” She asked with an evil smile and leaping backwards off of him. “Quit? Ha! I’ll be turning in my grave before I surrender to anyone.” As he started to get up three shuriken were plunged into his back and he nearly lost his balance. He staggered to his feet and smiled in an attempt to hide how much pain he was in. He unsheathed a dagger and challenged Su with a hand gesture.

Su reached into her pouch and dashed at him again holding something between her fingers. As the distance was closed between them he took a horizontal swing at Su but seemed to be swinging at air as she disappeared in a cloud of smoke. Within seconds Su landed behind him thrusting two kunai into his lower back and placing deep cuts in both his legs with a quick slice from her dagger. He fell to his knees and Su stepped in front of him looking down at him. She lifted him by his shirt and coolly said., “Tell me who sent you, why, and if there are others who are targeting your mark.” He laughed as he coughed up a bit of blood and said, “I’m not telling you anything. Though I may die here, it was worth it. I fight alone, and I die alone, the way a wolf should.”

Su had a somber look in her eyes and voice as she said, “A wolf doesn’t always travel alone. They travel in packs, mostly by their family. But even if it isn’t always blood, I know there are some who do see others as their family. If you stand by your beliefs to the moment you die, I could only pity you.” Wolf gave her a bloody smile and shrugged. “If that’s the way it’s gotta be, then go ahead finish me off.” Su shook her head and sighed. “So be it.” She said. She dragged Wolf to the edge of the castle and took one last glance at him, and threw his body off of the building. He silently fell through the air and once he finally landed, his body crumpled on the ground. Su reached into her bag and drew a notepad, a feather and some ink, then wrote a note. Once she finished she tore the page from the rest and tossed it down beside the corpse, then silently made her way back to the Fight Arena.

=D! Im da best ninja ever
i do have a qwestion though:
if someone thrusted a freaking switchblade into another person's finger's would that break the bones in the fingers or cut them off or something like that? :O

It depends how hard you do it. It would take immense amounts of force to break the bones in someones fingers that easily, and to cut them off, well same idea. If it was something more powerful(i was thinking a chainsaw but that's a bit extreme) it would be easy. Otherwise it would take quuuuite some time to cut the fingers off. It'd be like sawing at a piece of wood lol.

Su walked to the edge of the castle and looked over the city. She removed her mask and her headgear then brushed her hair aside and sat down for a few moments. As the sun began to rise she sighed and placed one hand on her cheek as she watched it solemnly. She glanced at her free hand for a few moments as she said, “what a life. Sacrifices have to be made for the good of all don’t they? It‘s why I have to keep secrets isn’t it? But with something like this...part of me still says it’s better he find out now than later.” She turned her around and stared at her nails still deep in thought. “But damn...these people act so stupid when they see something they don’t understand. Guess I just know too much.” She lifted herself up and stretched, then looked one more time at the rising sun. “Whatever happens, though, I won’t fail in my mission. In his shadow I’ll always exist, and in me he’ll find freedom. No one will screw this up for me, and those who try will suffer something much worse than death.” She smiled and leapt off the castle then headed back to the Fight Arena.

The morning was warm and sunny as always, and started without a hitch. TJ stretched as he got out of bed and yawned and set out to meet with Peorth. As he walked through the streets people walking by all seemed to have the same thing on their mind; they all mentioned the murder of some unknown people and Elias Castle. As TJ continued he noticed that Peorth was standing outside a Barber Shop in place of her usual spot. Instead of reading her book she had one hand placed to her mouth and seemed to be very deep in thought.

“Morning Chief.” TJ said waving to Peorth and getting a nod of acknowledgement. “Good morning TJ.” She replied. “How come you’re looking so serious. Did something happen?” TJ asked. She crossed her arms and said, “Yes actually. There have been a series of murders occurring recently, and the detectives just are not able to piece the cases together. The first was the strangest, and the others that occurred afterwards seemed like they could have been done by anyone. I strongly believe that there were Agasuras involved in this.” TJ’s puzzled look became a more concerned one as he said, “demons...who was murdered? Was it anyone we know?” Peorth shook her head. “They were just innocent adventurers as I can tell, though they seemed to be murdered in quite the unusual way.”

“The first murder must have been by the hands of a demon. The wound in her stomach was much too large to be any ordinary weapon. It was not a cut, nor was it a blunt object, because neither could create a wound of that size and shape. I could sense fain traces of an Agasura’s mana. The detectives are only human, and they do not know Agasuras like we do. the seal that remains after is proof that this was no ordinary magic, and it was no simple murder. The second appeared to be a suicide, especially because of the fingerprints on the knife. they matched the boy’s exactly. But we cannot forget that we could be dealing with ancient magic, so he could have been easily possessed.” Peorth explained. “So there could be demons among us? Maybe they’re targeting me.” TJ said. Peorth furrowed her brows and said, “though, this is just a theory. There are humans out there who worship the Agasura and perform rituals that they think would bring them to this world or would allow themselves to gain the favour of the Agasura.”

Peorth placed her hands by her side and glanced in the direction of the castle. “The Free market has been closed until the investigation has finished, but we can still see the traces of the seal. I believe that the design is quite professional, so it may have been the work of someone who may have known exactly what they were doing, but I do not want this to strike fear into your heart. rest assured, we will find the culprit and have them taken care of. As for the other murders, they seemed to be rather common things. Some died by ordinary weapons, blades or knives and the like, and the last seemed to have fallen from the castle. His wounds were not fatal enough to kill him. The detectives believe that it was an assassination attempt on the King because of an anonymous note left by a stranger who may or may not have murdered these people. I do not believe this was the cause of a demon; possibly just a vigilante, taking the law into his/her hands.”

“What should we do Chief?” TJ asked puzzled. “You do not have to take any action TJ. We shall take the opportunity to examine the markings that still reside, then we shall have a meal and continue on with your training. There is much to be learned and time is of the essence.” Peorth led the way towards the Free Market and showed TJ the markings she spoke of. On the other side of a sort of tape blocking off everyone rested the markings and the singed and blackened concrete from what seemed to be a small fire. The few people who stopped and stared started to move as someone who worked for the city came by and shooed them off(he often said ‘go on there’s nothing to see here!’). Peorth led the way to the guild room as she explained that some of the alleys in Elias and the path to the roof of Elias Castle were also closed off because of the murders.

The two had sat down on one of the platforms and enjoyed a home-cooked meal(courtesy of Peorth) and TJ tried to hide his excitement because it was his first time eating one. They eventually finished and TJ helped Peorth pack her things away, then the two climbed down and prepared for their session. Peorth cleared her throat and nodded to TJ. “Let us begin with your Arrow of Light training TJ. Just like we had practiced yesterday, I would like you to do the same. Give me your best.” She said. “Right!” TJ said sternly and began to form his spell.

The two went at it for some time and peorth held one out one hand telling TJ to stop. “Excellent work TJ. Your spell is already gaining a more refined form and is improving in strength. As your practice more you will improve more. For now, I would like you to aim to create and maintain two Arrows of Light at once.” TJ looked shocked as he said, “Two?! I thought it was called the Arrow of Light because it was just a spell that was...well...you know, one arrow!” Peorth looked at him thoughtfully as she said, “you must be thinking of the Light Arrow TJ. That spell is much more difficult in comparison, but we will not be studying that. Nevertheless, give it a try for now and after some time we will move on to weapon augmentation.” TJ’s face seemed to sag slightly as he looked at Peorth than his own hands. “What’s the difference between Arrows of Light and the Light Arrow?” He mumbled.

TJ practiced as Peorth wanted and seemed to be having some difficulty. Creating the first Arrow of Light proved easy, but creating a second while maintaining the first was not. Occasionally when his second started to take form it would burst n his face, and the other would follow suit. On other occasions he would create a ball of light and it would grow too big and cause him to lose concentration, thus, causing his original arrow to shoot off in a random direction. After a few constant failures Peorth decided to let the matter go and move on with TJ’s next task.

Peorth cleared her throat once more and said, “Right, now we shall move on to something more challenging, but very helpful in any case. For hundreds of years the Cerebians have been known for working in pairs, or duets. One would be a warrior type, who might wield a spear, sword, a sword and shield, or more recent, knuckles. The other would use one of the various elements to fight and aid their ally in combat. By using Earth, Water, Fire, Wind, or Light, they were able to utilize the mana in and around them to cast deadly spells. Any of the Cerebians who studied magic could use Light, as it was a necessity for the Heavenly Arts, and they also studied the other elements to give them more of a combat advantage. Now, one of the Heavenly Arts that was commonly used to support the warrior type of the two was the Weapon Augmentation spell. Are you following this?”

TJ was looking at Peorth through curious eyes and he nearly jumped as he said, “oh! Ye-yeah of course! Sorry just got really wrapped up in the history!” He chuckled nervously and said, “go on I’m listening Chief.” TJ thought he saw her bite her lip for a moment but disregarded it. “Though that was just a short explanation of it, I hope it gave you a basic idea of the reasoning behind it. Aside from that, let us continue.” Peorth continued and TJ acknowledged it with a nod. “By endowing our weapons with the power of the elements, we can increase it in strength and also give it special effects. By using water we can douse enemies who may use fire, and ice to freeze common enemies. By endowing your power into your weapon or an ally’s weapon, it could turn the tides of battle. Thus, by using the power of the Heavenly Arts you can augment your weapon with light to deal light damage to enemies, heavy light damage to the most evil of Agasuras, and at later stages add effects such as stuns, temporary blindness, or confusion.”

Next part is up. The part prior to this one was a bit of a 'spur of the moment' kind of thing lol. When you mentioned the idea of going into your past at DMC, it reminded me of the fact of all your training to be a ninja. Though there might not always be opportunities to show that, I figured it would be a good chance to show that. Though the chances might be scare hopefully I'll find an opportunity to show that again, under different circumstances. Anyway it's an important part of your character so it's something I'd like to be noticed ^^.
Ah btw I changed one of the things in the prvious post(didn't remove it cause I'm lazy but it's only a few words at the end) and decided to add a little more to flesh out your character slightly.

.........?
ibleh I'm still the best ninja ever >:3

Of course you are :3. Anyway gonna post today's part(slacked off yesterday) but I'll still finish before I go on vacation.

“Nevertheless, alike to using your mana to give form to any spell, you must use your mana to create the power and augment the weapon. It is possible to augment your own body, but it is much easier to have something to focus your mana into so I would like you to try with your guitar. If you can feel the mana flowing into you and focus it into your weapon while aiming to strengthen your guitar. For the early stages of your training you may have to put quite an effort into maintaining this effect, but after much practice it will be second nature to you. Now go ahead and give it a try.” TJ nodded and drew his guitar fiercely staring at it. He channelled his mana as best as he could and focused it into his weapon in an attempt to augment it. Occasionally it would begin to light up, but the light would fade and TJ would try again.

Time passed quickly but TJ had not noticed as he constantly attempted to complete his given task without rest. Over the hours that passed TJ seemed to be making quite a big of progress, managing to hold the augmentation in the guitar for a couple minutes. Eventually he stopped and collapsed to his knees and breathed heavily, finally exhausted. Peorth walked over and crouched down beside him, then placed a hand on his shoulder as she said, “You are doing very well TJ. Shall we take a break and have a meal?” TJ grinned happily and stumbled onto his feet then wiped the sweat from his head and joined Peorth as she set up a small place for them to eat.

TJ could not hide his curiosity for Peorth’s eating habits because she ate very light food, but always kept an energetic demeanor about her. In comparison, he always seemed to eat things a lot more satisfying, but not as good for him. TJ looked down at the sandwich he was eating now and wondered what would happen if he kept eating like that. TJ glanced at Peorth for a moment and he felt sure that he saw a smile on her face for a moment. He chuckled and shook his head then continued to enjoy his meal.

After the two had lunch they went right back into their training and TJ felt full(in the literal sense and full of vigor) and ready to push himself even harder than he had before. After a couple more hours passed TJ was able to hold the augmentation for at least five minutes, and to take his concentration off of it while keeping the augmentation for roughly two to three minutes. “Good work TJ. The seeds of your labour are proving worthwhile as they are bearing fruit.” TJ could not hide his humour as he began to chuckle but tried to cover it up. Peorth looked puzzled for a moment but continued all the same. “Now that you have a better understanding of managing your spell while taking your focus off of it, I would like you to try using it in combat. After casting the spell, I would like you to attack me with basic physical attacks alone. Let us see what you are capable of.”

TJ focused his mana and augmented his guitar, and quickly dashed at Peorth holding his guitar tightly by his side and taking a swing at her. She quickly drew her spear and parried the attack, catching TJ off guard and knocking him back slightly. “Good! Continue attacking me!” She said to him preparing herself for his next few attacks. TJ continued to swing in every direction(and a couple times after the effect wore off because he did not notice) until Peorth held one hand out and said, “that will do for now TJ. Well done.” TJ smiled and nodded sternly in an attempt to hide how pleased he was with himself. Peorth checked her watch and muttered, “There is still some time. The evening is still young, so we could move on to battle enchantments if you wish to do so.” TJ eagerly nodded and Peorth half-smiled. “I expected no less from you TJ.”

“Now, an important factor in any battle is to be able to strengthen yourself and your allies through battle enchantments. Be it offensive, defensive, or magical, there are many means to do so, and each with different effects. Warriors often strengthen themselves through sheer will power or their lust for battle. Others will use the mana within them to use skills and techniques that could do so. As for mages, they are able to use their mana to temporarily increase their wisdom and strengthen their element, or increase their intelligence and strengthen their magic power temporarily. Unlike augmentations, these are not always as potent, but they can serve more purposes and have more of an all-around effect. Once you improve you will learn skills that will allow you to greatly increase your abilities, even to the point of being temporarily invulnerable.” Peorth explained to him.

TJ’s eyes were wide with interest while Peorth explained. “Now then, one of the easiest of these techniques is to increase your physical strength using your mana. For mages who prefer close quarters combat, mainly those who may carry a dagger and shield, it improves their physical ability and will give them an advantage over unsuspecting enemies. These techniques come from a time much before us, originally created to protect mages who were caught in close combat and to make up for what they lacked. As a mage, let alone a bard, your close combat skills are weak in comparison to your magical skills. An important thing you must remember as a bard is, when playing, that you must be completely still or it could break your focus. Should your music go out of tune, the magic could easily go out of control and backfire on you. At a later time I shall give you some basic pointers so you could use your bard skills in case the Heavenly Arts are not effective against an enemy.”

“Nevertheless, let us begin with the training. Today we shall be practicing with the enchantment ‘Brute Force’. To use this spell is like augmenting a weapon with your mana, but I would like you to focus your mana into your hands, to keep it there, then release it so that it would externally remain attached to you but not return to your body.” Peorth said. TJ tilted his head slightly with a look of struggling comprehension on his face. “To put it more simply, I would like you to release your mana, but to prevent it from leaving your body; more specifically, your hands. The more concentrated it is, as for yourself, the easier it will become and the more potent the effect will be. Take your time, there is no rush. We shall finish with this spell tomorrow and move on with casting it on allies then go on ahead to defensive and magic enchantments.”

TJ began his training and his first few attempts were mortifying. His mana was everywhere, most of the time he couldn’t even keep it in himself, and when he tried to release it and keep it on his hands he managed to create unfinished and unwanted arrows of light. Peorth rubbed her chin thoughtfully and a look of realization spread across her face. “Wait one moment TJ.” She said as she approached him. She placed a hand on his forehead and whispered a few words, then removed her hand and said, “there, that should assist you a fair deal. The enchantment I placed on you will temporarily allow you to see your mana. It is a very helpful way to see how much your enemy has remaining, and to learn to control your own.” TJ nodded and began his training once more.

As the evening dragged on and the sun slowly fell over the horizon out of sight the sky darkened and night arose once more. “That shall do for today TJ. Over the past few days you have made much progress, and in such a short time.” Peorth stopped for a moment than looked surprised for a moment. “Ah! How inconsiderate of me...TJ, I shall cancel our session for tomorrow. You have been practicing so much over the past week that I believe it would be best if I gave you more time to rest. Learning the Heavenly Arts is no easy feat.” TJ waved his hands and shook his head as he nervously said, “you don’t have to do that Chief! I-I’m fine! You don’t have to worry ‘cause-well you know, I can handle the training and stuff. I wanna be dependable and able to help you and everyone in Yggdrasil to the best of my abilities!” Peorth half smiled and brushed some of the hairs out of TJ’s eyes then said, “TJ, the way you are now, is more than enough. If you are still willing to try and better yourself I will do so with you until the moment you do not need my assistance anymore. But for now, I would like you to rest and recuperate. We shall continue on with our training the day after tomorrow.”

TJ made his way back to the tent, exhausted but pleased with his hard work and quickly and quietly clambered into the tent and resting on his bed. Curt and Robo seemed to be buried in their beddings because of how tired they were. Curt was laying face down on his pillow and Robo was only half-finished changing. TJ had to stifle his laughter but did not hide his smile as he covered himself in his blanket and made himself comfortable.

gay.....

Yeah things are moving a bit slowly, but I do have big things planned. Just wanna make sure I balance it out a little. Didn't do that too much in the earlier chapters. Gonna try and get some more of it now since I've been slacking off.

TJ made his way back to the tent, exhausted but pleased with his hard work and quickly and quietly clambered into the tent then rested on his bed. Curt and Robo seemed to be buried in their beddings because of how tired they were. Curt was laying face down on his pillow and Robo was only half-finished changing. TJ had to stifle his laughter but did not hide his smile as he covered himself in his blanket and made himself comfortable.

The next morning dawned and TJ felt somewhat tired, but at ease. The day was sunny with few clouds scattered across the sky, and a gentle wind blowing a slight chill to start off Autumn. TJ left the tent and walked through the fight arena area stretching his arms. “With a whole day to myself, I really have no idea what I’m going to do.” He walked into the streets and watched the people coming and going through Elias. Some were trading items and others discussed what quests they would be setting out for. Wonder where Su is. TJ thought glancing around him. She’s been pretty quiet for the last few days. Hasn’t really come out of the crystal either. TJ made a pouting face for a few seconds and glanced towards the entrance of Elias. “Maybe I’ll visit Verun...” He muttered heading towards the shop.

As he entered he glanced around curiously, then spotted Verun at the counter and walked over to him. “M-morning...” He said nervously glancing over his glasses. “Ah...Mr. TJ, it has been quite some time since you last came to see us. How are you doing this fine day?” Verun said to him. TJ raised his head slightly while keeping an air of caution about him. “I’m fine. Besides, it hasn’t been that long since you last saw me. It’s only been a few days or something.” TJ answered. Verun smiled smugly and said, “six days to be exact.” TJ glowered at him and muttered, “whatever. Came to have breakfast...and stuff. Do you have any empty tables?” Verun held one hand out and said, “always for you my good sir. Right this way please.” TJ looked like he was about to make another remark but did what he could to hold it back.

TJ took his time ordering, but eventually decided to go with the breakfast special: Bread, eggs and sausage. As he began to finish eating he started to glance through his book until Verun approached him. “So Mr. TJ, how are you and Ms. Peorth getting along?” He asked with that same smug look on his face he always had. TJ almost choked on his eggs upon being asked that and looked up at Verun through angry, watery eyes. “What kind of question is that?! And why are you...what are you...you...what are you getting at?!” He asked in a hushed voice. “Come now, don’t play the ignorance card with me. I can see the sparks of love more than you think.” TJ scoffed and turned back to his breakfast as he said, “Don’t be ridiculous. I don’t l-love...love...?” TJ looked puzzled for a few moments. Then he waved Verun off and quickly finished his breakfast and left.

As he walked through the streets the sulky look on his face became clearly visible and stayed for quite some time. What’s wrong with that guy...saying something about l-love and...the chief. What kind of ridiculousness is that? If I knew what he was talking about I would tell him off good! TJ kept walking blindly, eventually storming out of the city and walking into Elias Fields. Upon the fields stood adventurers possibly coming from Belos and coming straight out of Elias to test out their new weapons and armor. Most of the ones in TJ’s field of view were fighting fairly large silk worm-like creatures dressed like baby’s. They had pacifiers, bibs, and even a bottle resting on their back. TJ watched them dumbfounded, for a moments then walked away from all the fighting and resting on a hill.

“The hell did Verun mean when he said that? Something about it really bothers me...jeez that guy is so...ugh. I don’t even know.” TJ muttered angrily closing his eyes as rested his hat on his chest. His chest felt warm as the crystal lit up and Su emerged from it and appeared beside him. He quickly sat up and took one good look at her, then said, “Su...you look awful.” Su had bags under her eyes and she looked fairly agitated as she muttered, “You tryin’ to pick me up or somethin’?” TJ looked at her in a confused manner and she shook her head. “I don’t get much rest, and with you constantly using your mana like that it’s even worse!” She rubbed her face with the palms of her hands. “And what are you complaining about? All that agitation is pretty hard to ignore.” TJ spent a few minutes filling Su in on the most recent events.

“That's whats bothering you so much? Shouldn’t be surprised that you’re confused by that.” Su said, still looking weary but more aware than before. “You insulting me?” TJ asked glowering at her. “No. The reason you obviously don’t know is ‘cause-” Su stopped as she glanced to her left and saw someone approaching them and calling, “TJ! Su! What are you two doing over here?” She was a girl about the same height as TJ with long blue hair in twin tails, ruby red eyes, pale skin and flushed cheeks. She wore a red Camellia hairpin in her hair, a sky blue top that was tied at the chest and with short sleeves, matching bell bottom pants and slip-on shoes. TJ looked at her with a look of confusion and Su’s face had no reaction whatsoever.

She stopped in front of them not out of breath in the slightest and said, “Hi guys, how are you?” She had a bright peppy smile and a really excited voice. “H-hey...” TJ answered awkwardly. She ‘face-palmed’ and said, “I Forgot to introduce myself! I’m Kooh. Though we have met before quite a lot, I haven’t really gotten the chance to introduce myself.” TJ looked at her curiously and thought, she looks so familiar... where have I seen her before? She smiled in a slightly embarrassed way from TJ’s staring and said, “you might not remember, but we met in the Kimaira Research laboratory. It was when you had lost control of your powers when Choen tried to utilize them. I was the one who had rescued you in there. Peorth was there too, but you wouldn’t have seen her because you were out cold.

“Oh-oh...”TJ said looking at her still puzzled. Kooh smiled and said, “you’ve come a long way since then. Look at you now, all pretty and more skilled than you were before.” TJ looked alarmed, then cautious as he said, “what was with the pretty comment? I don't think that was necessary.” She laughed, “sorry TJ, I just love to tease you.” She turned to Su. “Take good care of him okay? A good friend to depend on will mean the world to him.” Su shrugged and said, “I don’t need you telling me these things to know what I need to do.” TJ’s face flushed slightly and he tried to hide it but Kooh noticed and smiled again. “I should get going. Peorth is waiting for me.” She waved to the two and started to walk away, then stopped and looked back at them. “TJ, when the time comes for us to battle Choen Palm, don’t be afraid to call upon me. If I’m in your party for that battle, you have nothing to fear but fear itself!” She waved again and quickly dashed off towards the Mountain area. Su’s face seemed apathetic, but her voice had a hint of agitation in it as she muttered, “floozy.”

TJ collapsed back on the ground and watched the clouds pass by for a few moments. “That...actually cleared something up. Why does everything else everyone else tells me have to be so vague?” TJ said aloud. “If you knew everything, then none of it would make sense.” Su said standing above him. “That’s why you and Curt and whoever else knows something explains it. So it makes sense!” TJ retorted. Su shrugged and snorted, “you’ve got a pea brain so you wouldn’t understand no matter how many times we explain it. Better you figure it out on your own.” TJ blew a raspberry and said, “that’s what you think. I might be a genius that’s so...genius, that nobody could even fathom the things that go on in my mind.” He smiled triumphantly and Su chuckled. “You keep telling yourself that buddy.” TJ looked up at the sky with curiosity in his eyes and said, “didn’t she have a tail? For some reason I was sure I saw her in the guild room and she had one.” Su shrugged and quickly said, “does it matter?” TJ grumbled and said, “meh...so what’s a floozy?” Su glared in his direction and said, “don’t ask me that. Or anyone else....or you’re dead.”

The two talked for a while and Su eventually returned to the crystal to rest. The weather felt so nice he decided to just lay back and take a nap on the cool grass. As the day passed on people came and went and the afternoon rolled past. TJ eventually got up and rubbed his temples with his hands uneasily. “The hell’s that sound?” He asked aloud. “It’s like a cicada that just won’t shut up. I’ll just head back to Elias and it’ll probably go away.” TJ started to walk back and the sound seemed to grow in decibels. TJ placed his hands on his ears to make it stop but it just wouldn’t. “What...is that sound?! So annoying!” He grumbled moving faster throughout the city. He continued walking tightly holding his ears and picking up in speed as the sound grew louder. “Why won’t it stop?! Where is it coming from?!” TJ started to run and violently shook his head, then stopped. “The Frequency...but when did it sound like this? It sounds like someone is screaming! But...it can’t be Su...it’s a guy’s voice. It’s too deep to be Adonis...” TJ tightly gripped his ears and started to scream. He ran into an alleyway and collapsed to his knees still gripping his ears and screaming in pain until he fell completely unconscious.

Hours passed and night fell, and TJ arose from the ground giving off a dark aura. He slowly opened his eyes and they had looked the exact same as they had a few nights before. Su returned to TJ with a serious look on her face as she muttered, “God I hate that guy. Soon as the new moon rises he comes back again with a vengeance. That damn old man needs to give it a rest already.” Su walked out from the shadows and appeared dressed in her ninja garb. “Follow me TJ. I already know who we’ll be targeting.” Su quickly dashed through the streets and TJ clumsily followed behind. She avoided any street posts and travelled through the shadows past shops until they came to a street where two people were standing close together in an almost huddled-manner. She waved TJ over, then placed one hand by her mouth and whispered something in his ears.

Sorry you'll have to make do without the italics for now. I'm being hurried off, there'll be more tommorow

you should have gotten eaten by that worm thing lol