Sacred Gaia: Rune Hunting Part 1 of 5

Well, she might be severely disappointed in the capability and intelligence of her allies, but this wasn't the time to sit down and be insulted because of it. She could act and be insulted at the same time just fine, and even if she wasn't happy with her team they still had the job to finish. She would finish the job, regardless of whether her team would actually be of any use or not, and afterwards they could figure out what to do next. For Itori's part she might as well leave this team behind and continue going on alone. Or go on missions together with her sisters. Those at the very least she could understand and get along with, and not have to worry about them being too unintelligent or having the wrong priorities. Well, they might from time to time have the wrong priorities, but at least Itori knew they wouldn't betray her and they would listen to her when necessary. In sharp contrast to these people, of which she had the feeling that the moment they came to a disagreement they would stubbornly do whatever they thought best, even if it eventually got them killed. As she walked behind Mashyuu and Kaede she kept a rather neutral expression, one that only gave away that she was not in a good mood. Would she save these two of they found themselves in a situation where their lives were actually in danger? She wasn't sure. She probably would at least have to try, if only so if they managed to survive they couldn't report her behaviour to the guild. She could handle these people not liking her, since she had lost her respect for them, but if word got out that she wasn't that vehement about saving the lives of her allies other Sabertooth mages would also become wary of working together with her. No, she couldn't afford to make her disregard for their lives too blatant. She'd at least have to put up a front. Of course, just because she had to try didn't mean she had to succeed. If their team had the misfortune of landing into a situation above their level and she was the only survivor, who had managed to escape after trying to save the others only to fail, the rest of the guild shouldn't have any substantial reason to be wary of her.

Although she doubted that would happen. First of all, the thugs they had encountered so far were pathetic. They had some interesting poison, and that one thug had explained that the leaders were fearsome (she mentally scoffed at this. Fearsome in the eyes of cannon fodder), but all in all they were badly organized, badly trained, had insufficient discipline and talent, and most likely only had ever managed to capture harmless peasants or lesser warriors and mages using sheer numbers. That wouldn't be enough here, since Mashyuu was a rather strong bruiser, being the Earth Dragon Slayer, and Kaede was surprisingly fast and strong for a human, and apparently had a more murderous side to him as well. Unless those leaders possessed some actually fearsome abilities Itori was pretty sure they could get out of this without a single scratch. Well, maybe the others would receive some scratches, but nothing serious.

The other reason was that she was pretty sure that the first group of thugs that would show themselves would die really quickly, since she really wanted to get rid of some of the anger that had built up inside of her. She always took the more supportive role, always did her best to avoid standing out or attracting attention, since an illusionist works best when they've got some pawns (or allies) to distract the enemy while they spin their webs of trickery and deceit, but that didn't mean she was actually helpless in a fight. She wasn't a fan of fighting, but not because she despised the concept of violence. Kumiho were by nature rather carnivorous creatures, even if evolution had made them too civilized to hunt animals like the mere savages (humans). In fact that civilized behaviour they had developed was why Itori despised actual fighting: it was barbaric, crude, inelegant, and all in all it just reeked of lack of intelligence and savagery. Swinging weapons at each other and inflicting superficial wounds was for the undeveloped humanoids, who didn't possess enough actual talent and skill to take what they wanted with much more elegance and efficiency. The clash of metal upon metal wasn't something which impressed Itori, and the fact that the human warriors always spoke so highly of it only made her feel more disdainful towards them.

But that didn't mean she couldn't fight. She most certainly could. Sometimes, as unpleasant as it was, the best tool for the job was an actual physical weapon, wielded by somebody who could amaze their opponents with their skill. The three-tailed fox had trained hard to become proficient with her slender and long sword. These kind of swords were the most elegant and efficient weapons which weren't either extremely niche and/or exotic, which would have caused them to draw attention, or required more from their wielder than simple practice and dedication. Itori had no intentions of becoming 'wed' to a weapon, as some of the stranger cultures talked about with their abnormal choice in weaponry. A long sword, designed to be wielded with precision and skill rather than brute strength and vigour... Itori still didn't really like it, but at least this was elegant and skilful enough that she could still astound and amaze the brutes and the fools. And her team would get to see that if they ever encounter any thugs on their paths.

However so far it seemed the route she had suggested was a good one, since no thugs were in sight, or even nearby. The Kumiho's ears twitched as she paid closer attention to the souls in the vicinity. If they kept going like this they might very well reach the headquarters of those leaders without ever attracting the attention of any of the underlings, barring those they had encountered before. If that was the case she'd simply have to get rid of that pent-up stress using the leaders. She still didn't think they could be much of a challenge. Leaders of a bunch of incompetent thieves and thugs, they couldn't possible-

Itori's thoughts were rather rudely interrupted when suddenly Mashyuu came to a halt, began to shout a warning, and then was picked up and thrown high up into the sky by one of the trees. Itori immediately jumped backwards, hand on the hilt of her sword, as she inspected the tree. The large plant was quickly becoming more animated, scarring and ripping open the earth as it forcefully pulled up its roots, using the many, many wooden tendrils to stand upright as at the same time the timber showed itself surprisingly limber: six of its branches stretched and reached for Kaede and the fox girl, both of which had enough presence of mind to react, Kaede by letting himself get pulled towards the tree on purpose and the fox girl by leaving behind an illusion of herself as she dashed forwards, the trees branches going right through the illusion and accomplishing nothing but throwing up clots of dirt as they burrowed into the ground behind the Kumiho's latest position.

The Kumiho in question wasn't in the mood to deal with a walking tree. Not even one that could apparently attack with stretching and bending branches. She couldn't sense an actual soul in the tree, so she guessed that it was merely an abundance of magic rooting itself in the nearest object, creating a mockery of a treant. Nothing to be especially worried or concerned about. It wasn't intelligent enough to be a real threat, the magic that had caused it to begin moving couldn't make it powerful enough unless it was being directed, and since it didn't actually have a soul (well, besides the vague soul all trees have which supposedly connects all plants everywhere, but that didn't really count) she wouldn't have to care about whether it died or not. Although in her current mood that might not have stopped her anyway.

As she dashed towards the tree nine small flames sprouted to life around her, orbiting her as if she was in the middle of a solar system. The nine small flames were all rather ghostly in appearance, blue and not as lively and energetic as the real flames of a bonfire or a torch. That is, until Itori poured more energy into them, at which point they became more intense. Once close enough Itori launched all nine the kitsunebi at the same time, sending two of them into both of the treant's eyes and five in its jagged maw, then quickly jumped back again. She only needed to get close to deliver the flames, and after that she could wait for the twisted tree to turn into a charred husk. Kitsunebi weren't nearly as effective at starting large fires as actual flames, since they were supposed to be more of a distraction and method of transferring energy, but they still acted like flames, and she had put enough energy into them that a tree of that size should burn just fine. More than that, the magic that had warped the tree to begin with should only make the kitsunebi more effective.

As for Kaede, he should be able to take care of himself. He should be able to notice in time that the tree would quickly be consumed by those ghostly blue flames from the inside out, and he was fast enough that he should be able to get clear before he was caught as well. And if he wasn't... Well, if he wasn't that wasn't really Itori's problem. She was mute, so she couldn't give him a warning, and she had just encountered a potential threat and done her best to eliminate it quickly. If her team mate was accidentally harmed by that, that would be unfortunate but it would be very hard to make an actual case out of it.

She wondered how far Mashyuu was thrown, though...

Mashyuu floated through the sky, high in the air above the forest line. He took the chance to look out for the fortress that Sacred Gaia was supposed to be looking for. Off in the distance he could see the large log building. It looked like someone uprooted trees and moved them around in a giant block pattern. From where he was Mashyuu couldn't tell where the doors were or how many guards were there. He could only hope that Miyuki was safe and making her way through the battles at hand with little trouble until the others got there.

Before he knew it, Mashyuu started to fall down towards the tree. He could see rapid movements going around the tree and it looked like there were two Itori's. Then there was a flash and flames. Mashyuu's eyes went wide for just a moment until he realized what was happening. Carefully he twisted his body to avoid hitting the tree and from his gloves a massive amount of dirt surrounded Mashyuu. A moment later he was sucked into the ground and came shooting out behind the team. "Everyone alright?" He asked with a smile on his face.

WC: 198

Itori watched impassively as the tree, having been ignited from the inside by her Kitsunebi, began to quickly smoulder and char, until the flames engulfed it. Once the process had advanced to that stage it didn't take much longer until all that remained of the mockery of animation was ashes and smoke, the latter swiftly drifting away on the winds. The Kumiho didn't really care much about what just had transpired. Sometimes magic would build up and try to find release, and this time it happened to be through a tree. She had then ignited that tree and gotten rid off it. She idly wondered if Mashyuu and Kaede would think the same about this: so far as she knew they couldn't sense the absence of an actual soul in the tree, which might make them believe they just killed a living being. Then again, human beings had an easy time not caring about the lives of non-humans, and the fact that the tree had attacked them most likely also would make them a lot less caring about the tree's fate. Although in all fairness humans weren't alone in the ability to develop apathy towards the lives of creatures not of their own species: it was Itori herself after all who didn't care too much whether Kaede died or not. For that matter, she was the one who would without hesitation kill any obstacles between her and her sisters and hunt down animals for plenty of food.

She looked around, inspecting both Mashyuu and Kaede to see if they were actually injured by the tree. Regardless of her opinion of Kaede at the moment she still at least had to act like a good team mate for the remainder of the mission. Mashyuu had been launched high up into the air, but it looked like he had been able to catch himself and soften his fall. At least, she couldn't see any kind of injury on him. As for Kaede, he had managed to get away from the tree before it completely immolated. Itori supposed that counted as a good thing, although her expression was still rather devoid of emotion. Her vermilion eyes just observed the situation before her, not giving away any of Itori's thoughts or opinions. Except possibly the opinion that she didn't care a lot about what was going on. Mashyuu's question regarding the health of his team mates was met with a curt nod. The fox girl had been able to see the tree coming and avoid its attacks with relative ease, thanks to Mashyuu being the first one to be attacked. She supposed he deserved a modicum of gratefulness for that, although she was pretty sure it was more sheer coincidence than that he had actually been planning to take the first hit.

She was about to turn around and motion for them to continue walking when her ears twitched and she looked over at Kaede, who was walking towards the edge of the clearing. The scent of burnt wood and ashes filled the air, but now that she had heard that squeal that had attracted Kaede's attention she thought she could also smell something else. She didn't recognize the smell, although it reminded her a bit of the smell of a fox (which, in turn, was quite similar to her own. Very similar, in fact). It definitely wasn't a fox though. Or if it was, it wasn't a type of fox she had ever encountered before. That would have been surprising if it was back on Earthworld, but since they had gone through that portal she supposed it was to be expected that they would encounter strange creatures that they had never seen or heard of before. This one had walked into a trap most likely set up by those thugs, and from the looks of it Kaede was doing his best to free it. Itori observed from a distance as he first broke that jagged thing that had been called a sword, and then used his bare hands to forcefully open the bear trap. She wondered if it wouldn't have been easier to use the springs that kept the jaws shut to deactivate the trap. Then again, she wasn't in a good position to see the exact details of the trap, so maybe Kaede had indeed picked the best option. Nevertheless, it did leave him with wounded hands. The Kumiho folded her arms as she watched him bandage his hands, and then the small animal he had freed. The wounds, so far as she could see, were rather superficial. Even if her opinion of Kaede was low at the moment, letting him walk around with his hands like that would be rather distasteful.

Walking towards Kaede Itori tapped him on the back, once he acknowledged her presence indicating for him to hold out his hands to her. Should he do so she would carefully grab his hands with her own smaller and softer hands, appearing to concentrate for a moment. He would then feel a surge go through his body, originating from his hands, followed by a somewhat ticklish but soothing sensation as the pain in his hands disappeared rather quickly. The Kumiho still looked rather expressionless, but she nodded in satisfaction once she was sure the wounds had been taken care of (disinfected as well).

Regardless of whether Kaede allowed her to heal his hands or not Itori would then walk over to the small creature, crouching so she would look a lot less big while making her ears and tails visible to make sure the creature knew she wasn't a human. With some luck her scent, similar to the creature's own, would also help keep it calm as she carefully extended a hand towards the small animal. If it bit her she would ignore it, if it didn't she would place her hand gently on its wound, swiftly healing it. Like with Kaede the wound was rather superficial, so a single surge was enough to take care of it.

Mashyuu was proud of his landing, somehow managing to not suffer any harm from the fall. But everyone else seemed to simply be cool with ignoring him. Mashyuu rolled his eyes and swallowed some pride. "No? Everyone's good. O.k. lets just go check out what that creepy sound is. Hope it's not a bear or something..." The Earth Wizard had been in the woods long enough to know the difference in the sound of a small animal and a large one but the point stood.

Eventually the group made their way to a small animal caught by a trap. Even the normally go with the flow attitude Mashyuu felt bad for the creature. So when Kaede managed to actually get the small creature free, Mashyuu felt some sort of relief. Kindly Itori offered to heal the small wounds on Kaede's hands and that alone gave Mashyuu some hope for this team. "Your sister is going to kill you. Come on I saw the fortress, it's not far from here." Mashyuu rolled his shoulders backwards and took off as fast as he could through the woods.

He wasn't as graceful or swift as the others in the group but he managed to get around just fine. Plus with the new small wounded creature with Kaede, Mashyuu figured that the group would be a bit slower. "Itori, can you make us look like a pack of wolves or something?" Mashyuu asked, not wanting to get gunned down by these guys before they made it into the clearing of the fortress.

Once they were about twenty feet away from the fortress Mashyuu stopped and pointed ahead while looking at the others. "That's the place. Your sister is likely already inside. Anyone have any ideas? I'd rather not just drop in and start throwing fists unless I know we are all on the same page."

WC: 316

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redheadedstepchild carried out 2 launched of one Monster Dice :

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redheadedstepchild carried out 2 launched of one Monster Dice :

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redheadedstepchild carried out 2 launched of one Monster Dice :

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redheadedstepchild carried out 2 launched of one Monster Dice :

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Itori did notice that Kaede turned pink just for a moment when she healed him, but paid no attention to it. She knew that physical contact meant a lot to some people. She herself had lost that particular trait a long time ago, due to circumstances forcing her to be a bit more...proactive. Regardless, the only thing she was doing here was heal his wounds, and that of the small creature he had found and saved from the bear trap. He should be intelligent enough to realize that there wasn't anything else, so even if he might feel embarrassed for a moment he should get over it soon enough.

As for the little creature, Itori had to admit that it was cute. Usually she'd probably smile and pet it, since she did like cute things, especially if they were fluffy and fuzzy like this rather vulpine creature. Kumiho were basically intelligent foxes, and one of the best weapons they had when it came to scoring themselves a good mate was the beauty of their tails. So a creature like this, who showed similar traits, would definitely be a favour for a Kumiho. Normally.

Unfortunately Itori was still feeling rather annoyed. She did her best to hide that from the little creature, since she didn't want to scare it, but she didn't go so far as to fake her usual submissive friendliness. She simply healed the small thing, made sure it was all right, and then left it alone, returning to Mashyuu as the three of them prepared to resume their route towards where the leaders of the thugs were supposed to be located. As the Earth Dragon Slayer suggested using an illusion to make the three of them look like a pack of wolves Itori made a face, but nodded and did as Mashyuu asked. She could sense that there weren't any souls close enough to them, at least not the souls of humans, to be a threat, but Mashyuu was being careful, and that wasn't something that the fox girl was going to discourage. As for why she made that face? Kumiho don't like the more...robust kind of canines. After all, foxes were tricksters and thieves. On the other hand dogs and wolves had this annoying tendency to be very guarded and protective of what they saw as theirs. Besides, they were big and scary, and old instincts were hard to shake. But for now any thug that happened to get close enough would only see three wolves running through the forest, by pure coincidence heading towards the place where the thug leaders were located.

Itori suddenly noticed that a human soul was quickly approaching. At first she frowned, but then noticed that it was Miyuki. She didn't alert the others, instead just watching the other girl as she burst into the clearing and greeted the group, the fox girl in the meantime adding Miyuki to the illusion. Four wolves just resting for a while before they continued their hunt. Nothing special to see, except maybe that usually wolves didn't allow themselves to be seen by just anybody. The Kumiho raised her eyebrows when she noticed that the girl had acquired some new weapons. And it was definitely acquired. Itori had an eye for detail (illusions didn't work if you were sloppy with them), and when they went through the portal Miyuki only had those two jagged swords which made Itori cringe inwardly whenever she saw them. She might not like fighting (for it was too barbaric and crude), but she did know that whatever job you were doing, the quality of your tools was vital for your success. Itori always looked carefully after her own sword, and to see swords like the ones that Miyuki had been using... Well, it wasn't very fun.

However that was just a minor thing, unimportant. What was important was what Miyuki had to say. Itori agreed with her that it was better if they didn't just charge in head first. Mashyuu had done that before, and while she had to admit he was good enough a fighter that it wasn't a completely suicidal plan, especially against these incompetent thugs, it still felt rather...careless to her. Just because these thugs were weak and incompetent didn't mean they couldn't have a surprise ready. Granted, Itori didn't care too much about the lives of the humans here, but she did value her own survival rather highly. She didn't care if the humans died or not, but if she had to choose between the four of them surviving or the four of them dying...she wouldn't have much trouble choosing.

Itori listened to Miyuki and Kaede as they once again engaged in what Itori was quickly recognizing as their standard behaviour. Those two were so used to having only each other to talk to that when the two of them were together they basically just got lost in their own world, or at least in their own conversation. Seeing how the Kumiho wasn't one for conversation that suited her fine. It meant she could just stand there waiting for the siblings to figure out what to do next, and then think up her own part of the plan and the possible alterations she would have to make to ensure success. Simple, and it didn't take any real effort from the fox girl's side. And regardless of what she thought of Kaede right now (to be clear, her thoughts weren't very positive) the two siblings did know a thing or two about strategies and planning.

Looking at the map (at Miyuki's request Itori had turned it into an actual map, instead of the crude drawing the girl had made) Itori listened intently to what else the siblings had to say. When the mention came of Miyuki's hurt feet and Kaede's request for Itori to heal her the fox girl nodded and stepped towards Miyuki, placing a hand on her shoulder after which the girl would experience that same surge that both Kaede and the little creature had gone through. Itori actually didn't have to touch the wound to heal it: it was just easier, but it didn't look like Miyuki was that badly wounded. Speaking of the little creature, it looked like it had followed them. Itori noted its presence before returning to the actual plan, nodding when Miyuki stated it would be best if she distracted the underlings with illusions. Indeed, there was no chance that these thugs could not fall for her illusions (she sent Mashyuu a quick glare which could be felt), and once they were drawn out they could be swiftly eliminated.

After the strategy meeting was complete (and Kaede and Miyuki had decided to give the little creature the chance to follow) Itori prepared herself for the actual upcoming act. As they resumed their movement and they came across the men that Miyuki had disabled Itori quickly noted that there were more of those strange weapons Miyuki seemingly had pulled out of thin air. And she had incapacitated all the thugs without killing them. How merciful. Unfortunately Itori wasn't feeling merciful. It was clear at this point that neither Mashyuu or Miyuki killed unless necessary. Kaede on the other hand had shown a much more savage side. Itori was neither pacifistic nor savage. She simply felt like getting rid of her frustration, and the easiest method available right now was to take it out on any thug unlucky enough to encounter the group and who wasn't taken out by any of the humans before Itori could get to them.

Mashyuu had just finished asking Itori if she could mask the trio of Sabertooth Wizards when suddenly  Miyuki came crashing through the forest to join the group. At the sudden arrival of the woman Mashyuu raised his arm to prepare a spell but lowered his arm before he could actually cast anything. He half heartedly smiled at the woman and nodded at her new weapons. "Least they aren't rusty." Lots of talking was suddenly tossed around between everyone and at last the group seemed to all be on the same page, even forming a real plan for the rest of the combat. Mashyuu headed off with the group, his blood pumped hard and hot with anger. Itori shooting him the glare about her illusions and silent attacks made him angry. Mashyuu was far from the silent type and he doubted he was going to be able to remain silent long. "I'll leave the silent take downs to you. If something happens where you can't take someone down in a single shot I'll jump in and hold whoever doesn't go down." Mashyuu added. The group slipped up to the fortress, masked by Itori's wolf illusions and the Earth Wizard looked to the siblings to take the lead on where to go from here.

WC: 214

Itori was no longer paying as much attention to her allies as before, as now she was busy preparing for the task at hand. They had taken down the thugs that they had encountered so far with relative ease, because they were unorganized and honestly just both weak and unskilled. However now they were approaching what were most likely the headquarters of the entire group. The thugs they would encounter here might not be stronger or more skilled, but they would at least be moderately more intelligent (which wasn't very difficult) and less easy to distract. Even if they turned out to be just as stupid, the presence of the leaders would most likely make them more disciplined. Drawing them out would require more than just a loud sound or a strange light. The Kumiho would have to create an illusion which would convince all the underlings that they were justified in abandoning their posts. Such a thing required careful planning...

Once they were close enough to the fortress of the thugs Itori motioned for the others to stay where they were as she slipped away. Her illusions worked better if she was close by so she could control them properly. She'd move to the side of the fortress and create her illusions there, so the mooks would be pulled towards a location where they wouldn't get in the way of Mashyuu and the siblings. Itori hadn't really been paying a lot of attention to her three companions as she was considering the best illusions to use for this particular task, but she had noted that Mashyuu had appeared angry. Apparently he didn't like the fact that she was offended by him questioning her skill. That only served to make her even more inclined to feed him something that would make it impossible to leave his bed for the rest of the day. She couldn't kill him (she could turn a blind eye if something else threatened to kill him though) but she could definitely inconvenience him. It could be considered petty, punishing somebody by giving them a tummy ache because they insulted your magic skill. However for Itori expressing doubt about her prowess about an illusionist was one of the worst insults you could give her. The only things which could come close were if you either insulted her sisters or said that she couldn't cook. So yeah, Mashyuu getting angry about her being angry at him was categorized as him not understanding just how highly he had managed to offend her with that offhand remark of his. She'd have to set him straight on that one.

But now, the illusion. The thugs inside the fortress wouldn't be pulled out by just some strange sound. She would have to validate them abandoning their posts. Itori drew her slender sword with one hand as she began to cast her illusion with the other. The best validation for abandoning your post was if you heard that your allies were in danger. After all, it meant something hostile in the area and you should try your best to quickly get rid of it, especially if it was dangerous enough to take down an entire squad of your allies before they could retreat back to the forest. The Kumiho preferred to use visual illusions, but this time she'd be deceiving the thugs from another angle.

From the direction that Itori had disappeared to Mashyuu and the siblings would begin to hear the sound of combat, followed by human screaming. Itori had studied all the humans they had encountered on the way here, and had done her best to correctly estimate what kind of voices they would have. It was a tricky thing, and she most likely messed up as often as she did it correctly, but the end result was good enough. If one listened to those sounds and didn't know Itori was there they would think that a group of thugs had encountered something dangerous and were under attack. More importantly, whatever they had encountered was actually managing to beat down the entire group and send them into a panic, screaming for help as the sounds slowly got closer to the fortress. Itori had made the sounds begin at a fair distance so the people in the fortress wouldn't wonder why they didn't hear anything until it was already so close by. Itori herself had jumped into a tree, hidden from any eyes on the ground as her tails swayed and she kept up the illusion, her eyes narrowed in focus as she kept working on the illusion. The screams and the sounds of combat had to be as realistic as she could make them, if she wanted to draw out as many underlings as possible. And once those underlings would come out she'd quickly get rid of them. She still wasn't in a very good mood, so taking out all the moods should help her regain her calm to some extent.

If Mashyuu and the siblings waited for a bit longer they'd see that Itori's illusions were successful as groups of thugs began to run out of the fortress towards the source of the sounds. Itori saw it as well, so she had to alter the illusion a bit. Now whatever was attacking the thugs in the forest had managed to get in between them and the route to safety, so the thugs had to run away deeper into the forest, hoping that if they managed to run for long enough they could somehow escape the danger and return to the fortress. The dangerous thing that was attacking the thugs was snarling and growling, sounding like a particularly large and pissed off wolf. Or a group of them. More and more underlings were drawn out of the forest as it became clear that whatever it was that was attacking their allies in the forest, it would take quite a lot to get rid of it.

Itori herself readied her sword as she could hear the first thugs get close. Showing the next ones the corpses of their allies should strengthen the idea that they were in danger and needed help. Her three allies shouldn't have any trouble getting inside the fortress with all the underlings rushing off to help their non-existent allies in the forest.

Mashyuu patted the woman with swords Miyuki on the shoulder as she apologized and he half smiled. "It's fine. Just try to lighten up a bit. Trust us to help you when you can't do something yourself. Itori, I'm sorry I didn't take my own advice back there. I'm so used to trying to keep everyone else safe that I forgot you are a capable Wizard in your own right. I won't make that mistake again. Come on..." The group moved out and Itori moved away from the group to start her distraction. Mashyuu started to look around and an idea sprang to mind. "Guys, don't freak out. I'll be watching from a far while my buddy watches your back." He whispered to the others and from his shadow a small little demon stood up and licked it's sharp white teeth with it's blood red tongue while pointing at the siblings. "Master, you want Dark One to kill? Mashyuu smacked the creature in the face and pointed at Kaede. "Stay in his shadow and if they get overwhelmed help them out." Mashyuu ordered then pointed at a near by tree. In a puff of black smoke Mashyuu vanished and appeared in the tree while Itori's plan started to draw out enemies.

WC: 215

Itori made a small sound, expressing her annoyance to herself, when she saw that Miyuki was already heading out. The underlings were already being drawn towards her own location quite nicely, but if Miyuki had waited a bit longer she, her brother and Mashyuu could have entered the fortress quite easily. Itori on her own was already enough to take care of these mooks. That, and she felt like killing something. Well, that wasn't quite right. Itori wasn't somebody who usually took pleasure in killing. However she was in a bad mood, and needed an outlet. It just so happened that currently the best outlet available was taking the life of these humans. Always the humans. These thugs were a good example for what Itori thought of humans as a whole. Weak, unorganized, unintelligent, gullible... As a species the only reason humans happened to survive was a certain inventiveness and a tenacity similar to that of rats. Humans didn't have many good traits, but even the Kumiho had to acknowledge that humanity as a whole was very good at surviving. They would struggle, endure hardships, cling to everything which might give them an edge... Humans had become a powerful species in their own right primarily because nothing had been able to wipe them out as they kept stubbornly moving onwards. Well, that and the aforementioned inventiveness. Most likely fuelled by their lack of innate ability, humans were driven by desperation to find new ways to become stronger and secure their own safety.

Still, as grudgingly as Itori had to acknowledge the human ability to survive under hard circumstances, these thugs wouldn't survive. She would make sure of that. Itori cringed whenever she saw Miyuki's jagged rusty blades. She had been taught that a weapon must always be kept in perfect condition. While the fox girl didn't like violence in the slightest, she did make sure that her blade was always ready just in case. A long and slender blade, kept sharp without a single nick. A sword which she had trained day and night with, to ensure that when the time came she would be able to wield it efficiently. If she could bring herself to the level where the sword felt like an extension of her arm rather than a tool she would know that she had reached a level of aptitude she could be proud of. She had yet to reach that level, but already did she have enough skill that dealing with the humans in front of her, these weak unskilled thugs, it should be enough. Well, enough thinking. The first group of thugs was getting close. Itori shifted her weight on the branch as she prepared for the first assault. No more thinking. Time to begin the elimination.

The first thugs, searching for whatever it was that was scaring the patrols and attacking so viciously, would have little chance to react before a white flash appeared and disappeared. For a moment they all stopped moving, trying to figure out what happened, before the wounds left behind by Itori's slender blade began to pour blood. As somebody trained in elimination rather than fighting Itori had aimed for the vitals with precision. She wasn't one for extended fights. She just wanted their lives to end, so she sliced their throats, cut their bellies, and severed their ribcage. Standing amidst the falling bodies the fox girl studied her blade with an expression of focus. She had managed to cut the first group down without nicking her blade. Good. With a flick of her wrist she shook off the droplet of blood that was clinging to her blade. A sword would only be bloodstained if it wasn't sharp and smooth enough. With training and proper handling of your equipment you could cut someone's flesh without ever letting your sword be tainted by their blood.

Looking around at the corpses lying around her Itori's expression changed to one of apathy. Her eyes were cold, cold enough that if someone saw her they might think her an evil spirit rather than a Kumiho who was given no reason to care for the lives of these humans. Raising one hand she quickly crafted an illusion, disguising the wounds her blade had inflicted on the thugs and replacing them with wounds that one would expect from one attacked by a wild animal. Puncture wounds made by fangs and teeth that dug into flesh, claw marks that ripped apart clothing and weak armour to expose the vulnerable veins beneath. That should help with luring in the others. Creating another illusion Itori jumped back into the tree as the sound of humans screaming resounded from her location. The next group of thugs would head for the screams, and find these corpses. While they were shocked and focused on the bodies of their allies the fox girl would claim their lives just as easily as she had claimed the lives of the people before them. Holding her sword with both hands Itori prepared herself for the next batch.

If her allies were following the plan they would use this opportunity to enter the fortress. Itori would take care of all the underlings that were actually lured away from safety, and then follow her allies inside to deal with any of the tougher thugs that could still be inside. Supposedly the leaders were here, and while their mooks weren't worth fighting they themselves might be worth being wary of. Well, she'd have to think of that after she was done here. Her vermilion vulpine eyes almost gleamed in the darkness formed by the shade of the tree she was sitting in as she heard her next victims come closer. Breathe steadily, keep a firm grip on your blade but do not tense up. Tensing up would slow you down and make your movements less fluid. If you wanted to end a fight before it began being able to move exactly as you wanted to was vital. Keep calm, focus, be ready to strike. Aim for the vitals. The neck is best, since the target can't scream for help if they're choking on their own blood. Next is opening the belly so their guts fall out. It wasn't as silent and efficient as the neck, but it still made sure they would die within the minute, and most targets would be too shocked by the wound to do much more than wonder about what just happened to scream for help. The heart is a bad target if you want to take down multiple enemies in quick succession. The ribcage protects the vital organs in the chest, and while the ribcage can be split apart it can damage your edge and slow you down. Better to aim for the vitals which aren't protected. Wrists are too tricky to hit, also leave the target alive for too long. Itori's vulpine pupils contracted as she remembered the human anatomy and the best vitals to target for quick kills.

She had seen how Miyuki did her best to avoid fatal wounds. She'd have to disappoint the girl. Itori wasn't so kind as to spare opponents such as these.

Standing in the tree Mashyuu looked down at the young man and he shrugged his shoulders. He could't tell the younger man what to do. But soon enough things started to happen. Mashyuu went as silent as death while he watched the women through the eyes of his summoned shadow. The shadow popped up it's head and started to snicker while Miyuki moved into the fortress. Mashyuu took a half step off the tree branch and fell down to the side of Kaede and tapped his shoulder before Mashyuu changed into a puff of smoke and vanished. Thanks to his summoned monster the young man could teleport just like it could. Mashyuu appeared next to Miyuki and his left arm was already swinging up in front of him, his open palm slamming into the jaw of one thug so hard the man's teeth rattled and he fell to the ground in a heap of unprepared pain. The man's eyes rolled back as he passed out. Mashyuu glanced over at Miyuki and winked at her while pointing ahead to allow her to lead the way.

WC: 184

A flash of silver, and another thug fell down, left mere seconds to wonder why suddenly his throat was crying blood before the final darkness took him. Itori grabbed the corpse, taking care not to let her clothes get stained by the blood, and headed deeper into the forest, letting the blood serve as an indicator of where she was going. She wasn't really keeping count of how many thugs she had already killed, but she knew that it was enough that the ones that remained should have become extremely wary at this point. Itori wasn't fond of straightforward fighting, and it wasn't her forte, but if she had a forest, the element of surprise, and some time to set up? She could kill many, many men before she would have to retreat. This was helped by the fact that as a Kumiho she did have a method or two for draining both life and energy from her victims before they were sent to their respective afterlife. Without those tricks she would only be able to take down a limited amount before she ran out of energy. At least now she could keep going until there were simply too many thugs gathered for her to eliminate them all at the same time.

The trail of blood should help with that. She had created several already, with the intention of making her targets believe that whatever it was that was attacking them, it was dragging their allies deeper into the wounds to feed on them. By creating several she could make them split up, making it easier for her to take them down one by one. She just hoped that she would be able to keep this up long enough that her allies could finish off the leaders. From what she could sense she had pulled nearly everybody who had been in the fortress into this chase, which at least meant that there was nothing between the others and the leaders of this band of thugs.

Dropping the corpse in a thicket Itori jumped back onto a tree branch, readying her sword as she waited. She could hear footsteps in the distance, and they were getting closer. From the sounds of it she would be dealing with a group of three next. Unless they had some surprise for her that shouldn't be an effort in the slightest. She had already cut many men down, making her more used to the motion and feeling more limber. Her vermilion eyes nearly gleamed in the shadow of the tree as she waited, her white tails swaying behind her. It was a good thing that these men were thugs, lowlife scum who weren't worth caring about. She was now part of a legal guild, and those who were part of the legal side of this country were not supposed to kill this indiscriminately or in these amounts. If it wasn't for the fact that they were on an entirely different world, and these thugs most likely already had a hefty bounty on her heads, the fox girl could get into trouble for doing her part of the job in taking down these thugs. She had seen how Miyuki carefully aimed all her attacks to paralyse and knock unconscious rather than fatally wound. It was in some ways admirable how the other girl was dedicated to her ideals. In the eyes of many, once they learned about Miyuki's dedication, she would most likely be regarded as a heroic figure. Unfortunately Itori lost her faith in ideals long ago when she learned that if you really want to find and protect what's important to you, if it was more important than your own life, you couldn't afford to be slowed down or hesitant because of your ideals.

That, and this was somewhat therapeutic for her. Both Mashyuu and Kaede had managed to annoy her. While, mostly Mashyuu, with his comment about how he had been afraid that the thugs could potentially see through her illusions. She had yet to find a single clue that the Dragon Slayer himself could distinguish between her illusions and reality. She had practised and perfected her technique for more years than any of these humans could ever hope to have. And this one had the gal to think that these lowlifes, these worthless pieces of trash, these examples of the worthlessness of the human species, could somehow see past her illusions? It was one of the biggest insults Itori ever had to hear. She didn't care that Mashyuu most likely didn't realize what he had done. She didn't care that there was a good chance that if she had told him how offended she was he would have apologized. None of that would serve to repair her mood, as her finest craft, carefully developed and refined over many, many years, a craft that even the most skilful of humans could never hope to be as good at as the average Kumiho, was trampled so harshly by an impotent muscle-brained human who wouldn't be able to cast even the simplest illusion. Who most likely believed that the only real strength was the one used by brutes and morons, who could only swing their fists and those pathetic pieces of metal. A form of strength which any sophisticated person would dismiss as barbaric and easily dealt with. Just reminding herself of that made Itori's fur bristle as her vermilion eyes narrowed. The next batch of thugs would not be lucky.

As the thugs followed the trail of blood towards the thicket they would hear a rustling overhead, even though looking upwards wouldn't show them anything. They had their weapons at the ready, wondering just what had suddenly appeared in the forest that could kill and disappear so many of their comrades. However they couldn't just run away and hide in their forest. Partially because of pride, partially because control over these forests was important for their own survival, and partially because the leaders wouldn't accept them running back because they were scared. So they continued on, until they were standing in front of the thicket, at which point somebody would be standing behind them.

By the time they realized that they were no longer alone Itori's blade was already moving, the fox girl smoothly and at high speed executing a series of slashes that would incapacitate all three of her latest victims. Rather than killing these, she had another purpose in mind. The thugs cried out as they felt limbs get sliced off as smoothly as if they were merely dolls that Itori was separating into their basic components. The Kumiho quickly healed all of them enough that they wouldn't die of blood loss, after which she stood above the three crippled thugs with her sword in hand, shadows hiding her face except for the glimmering of her vermilion vulpine eyes. The thugs, not sure what to do after their arms had already been removed, whimpered and pleaded. Until Itori raised her sword and stabbed one of them in the gut, at the same time casting an illusion that would give the impression that the other two suffered the same fate.

"Your friends are slow."

Itori's voice was always divine, a true marvel to listen to. It could ensnare, enthrall, enchant, attract pretty much anything that had the ability to hear and be affected by such a heavenly voice. However this time she did not instil wonder or amazement in the hearts of her listeners. These thugs would not feel anything but terror upon hearing that voice, because as beautiful as it was, the way Itori was speaking made it clear that she only had bad things in mind for these three humans.

"Be so kind as to call for them to hurry up."

No mistake could be made in how Itori meant for them to call out. The thugs felt their terror grow before the Kumiho got down to business.

It wouldn't take long before everybody in the area could hear the screams of three human males, screams of unbridled terror and agony. The rest of the thugs would hasten to the source of these screams. Whether Itori's allies would hear as well was not something she really cared about. She was just doing her job and relieving some stress in the process.

Mashyuu fake pouted at Miyuki as she glared at him but followed her gaze to the roof and to the door. He understood what was happening and without saying a word Mashyuu crept over as silently as his booted feet would carry him. He took a deep breath and kicked the door open, just as Itori caused three men to scream in terror. Mashyuu stood in the door way as a group of thugs all twisted to see the Earth Wizard waving and smiling at the men. Silently Miyuki sprang into action flying out of the chimney and taking down a single thug with a relative ease. Mashyuu stepped into the room and brought his left boot up and out as hard as he could into the chest of another man. The energy in his body flowed to his foot and increased the force of his blow. If silent was the way to go about things then Mashyuu would do his best. The man doubled over in pain as Mashyuu brought his foot down and swang his right arm up and into the mans neck, knocking him out could. At the same time Mashyuu pointed back to where he came from to a small stone and caused it to float to his finger. Swiftly he swang around and fired it across the room, into the side of a man's face as he charged at his partner in the room.

WC: 239

It looked like the inhabitants of the dark and cramped places would be feasting in the future days. They usually got by eating whatever small animal happened to die, almost literally acting as the cleaners of the forest. But today a feast was being prepared for them, a feast that would last for days because it would take that long to devour all of it. It was a nasty business from the eyes of anybody else, but for the rats, the vultures, and all the other carrion eaters it was one of the most delicious things they would ever see in their lives.

Itori wiped her blade clean before returning it to its scabbard. It had taken a while, but after she had begun torturing the thugs the others had become a whole lot more enthusiastic in running recklessly deeper into the forest. If it had been Itori she would only have become more careful, but these humans hadn't become thugs because they were particularly smart. They had just heard that their comrades were suffering, so their first instinct was to rush towards them and try to kill whatever was hunting them. The Kumiho had gambled on the knowledge that humans had a tendency to run towards the source of trouble rather than away from it, and it had paid off. When she closed her eyes and focused she could tell that there were no thugs alive outside of the fortress any longer. Her nose was constantly assaulted by the stench of fresh corpses and blood, but the fox girl knew better than to let that get in her way. Jumping back into the trees she began to travel towards the fortress, using the branches to travel so she wouldn't have to bother avoiding the corpses she had left behind. There weren't enough thugs left in the area for her to worry about cleaning up. There also were too many corpses for her to bother cleaning up. The thugs weren't very smart or skilled, so they managed to get by using sheer numbers. Itori had been worried that her blade would be chipped after cutting down so many pieces of trash, but it looked like she had managed to avoid that.

She also felt a bit better now. She was still not in the best of moods, but at least she had been able to relieve a good part of her pent up frustrations. And as an added bonus she had made sure that none of the leaders of the thugs could be expecting any help from their underlings any time soon. Granted, there was a good chance that the leaders weren't in any state to do anything anyway. While Itori was busy leaving a trail of corpses her teammates had infiltrated the fortress itself, ready to take out the ones commanding the thugs. Most likely Miyuki and Kaede weren't in any mood to be gentle towards the people who nearly caused their death either. Miyuki might be unwilling to kill, if those needles in the back of the thugs' necks was any indication, but that didn't mean she would act gentle towards a group whose underling had did his best to knock her over the edge of a giant cliff. And Kaede was most certainly not as restrained as Miyuki: he had been the first one to kill thugs, and he had done it in a rather spectacular manner, the way he had charged right into the smoke and had hit them with enough strength to separate their limbs. Itori might also be separating body parts, but she did it using speed and a very sharp sword. Kaede had done it using brute strength and swords which honestly should have trouble cutting butter.

So chances were that her teammates had already taken care of the higher ups, which meant that there was nothing left for Itori to do. She didn't really mind that, especially since she already had plenty of opportunity to relieve her stress. She knew that the legal mages looked down upon such things as murder and torture as evil and depraved, but honestly Itori didn't really care. None of the others had been there to witness it, so they couldn't report it to the guild either. They might suspect, since she had made sure those thugs would be screaming really hard, but even so all they had heard was screams of fear and pain, both of which could also be from particularly weak cowards who found themselves facing an opponent who had neither the patience nor the mercy to let them run away, as much as they might try. At best she might be chastised back at the guild for lacking mercy, but so far as Itori knew Sabertooth was the guild which really cracked down on evil, trying to banish it wherever it was found in an effort to improve life for everybody (evildoers excepted).

Still, no reason to take risks. Itori moved slower and more carefully as she got close to the fortress. She could sense the souls inside the fortified area, so she could tell that there really weren't many left. It looked like Mashyuu and the siblings were also all close to each other, which was good. That meant she could join them and mop up any survivors (or resistance, if Miyuku took the lead and demanded no further killing. Itori wasn't sure if she would actually listen, but she guessed it would be better if she didn't show herself too willing to end lives in front of the only other person on the team who had yet to get on her nerves). Using the same entrance that Miyuki had used Itori slowly moves deeper inside the fortress, heading towards her companions as she slowly pulled out her sword and kept it at the ready. As well as things had gone so far, she couldn't help but feel wary. Call it a personality trait she developed after having to look after herself for many years with nobody else to trust or rely on.

Yeah it turns out we do good work together huh?" Mashyuu said while coming to a rest next to Miyuki. He grinned ear to ear when soft footsteps echoed out to call to the pair. Mashyuu twisted to face the man in dark grey as he lifted his arm up to show that he held Kaede in his hand. Mashyuu stomped his foot as anger welled up inside him. His eyes glanced at Miyuki for just a moment and he spoke out loudly. "Let the kid go and face me. If not I"ll be forced to truly try and you wouldn't want that. I'm the next Wizard Saint after all." Mashyuu shouted. The man in grey started to laugh and dropped the cuffed boy, letting his body fall to the floor. Suddenly the man vanished in a puff of shadows and appeared standing on a wall. Mashyuu's shadow came up and ripped into the Wizard, sending him sailing backwards far. Mashyuu landed against a wall and snarled, letting his teeth jut from his mouth but didn't attack just yet. He didn't say anything for a moment then pushed off the wall, using his feet to twist in a circle while slashing his clawed hands out. "EARTH DRAGONS TALONS!" He shouted. The shock wave slammed into the Ninja and instead of harming the man the gravity effect pulled the ninja down as Mashyuu came to a stand just under him. "Earth Dragons Tremor Stomp!" He raised a foot down and smashed it into the ground, rocks ripped up from the floor and smashed into the Ninja as he landed, giving Miyuki an opening.

WC: 276