WINTER SOUND ♦ private

Snow fell softly as the clouds blocked out the stars in the night sky, and only left a pale patch of light where the moon should have been. Izayuki had been to Era once or twice, but could hardly remember anything outside of the argument she had had with that one strange woman, Ai. The area she had picked for this meeting was a few blocks away from the borders of the actual city, in a large field that was covered in snow.

The area would have been so beautiful in spring, yet thanks to the cold season, it was blanketed by the soft, white, frozen water. If anything, it was fun to play in, and would soften any harsh falls, were there any. In all honesty, Izayuki was tempted to switch to her true form and begin prancing about and rolling in the promising snow, from her playful instinct. Unfortunately, such a thing would have to wait, and she would be forced to hope that the snow would remain sitting there, untouched. The sun had just fallen, so the temperature would only begin to decrease as the night went on, and surely more snow would be on the way, as per the weather. Pink eyes gazed up towards the sky once again as she noticed the clouds beginning to clear slightly, allowing the moon and a few stars to be seen through rips in the sky’s quilt of clouds.

Naturally, she was only here because she was expecting someone; a special someone who had taught her so much, whom she had grown to love dearly. Perhaps this was not the best way to go about it… but she had to prove that she was serious, after all? Targeting the first ‘god’ of the land, titled in terms of power, would do. Unfortunately, that person happened to be the one she loved the most. He likely had received her letter, which she had had Seika help her write and compose in order to formally send it. Even now, the little thing was with her, despite it being in a way that would not be expected.

Breathing out a sigh in the frosty air, Izayuki patiently waited, standing still and silent in the cold darkness of the night. The hour was one of which she was most energized, being a nocturnal creature by nature. Her target had been told to meet her in this open field, though she had not left a name or scent, and Seika’s handwriting was always rather ambiguous; he would not expect this at all, and hopefully, that would generate at least a little bit of shock factor, and allow him to know that this was serious. This was not a rematch he could just shrug off; she had come too far for that.

Izayuki caught onto the scent of the sky god slayer long before she saw him. Rose-colored eyes glinting in the moonlight, the tanuki narrowed them to make out the approaching silhouette through the fading snow. For once, he was the one to approach in an informal manner, just as the tanuki girl had long ago for their first fight. The only difference was the fact that he appeared to be quite unenergetic about the entire thing, only giving her a short and curt greeting verbally as he stopped a ways in front of her with little emotion on his face. Quite unlike the entrance she had made right before their first duel, where she had flown in as a pink-feathered jay and landed on his head, only for his pet demi-phoenix to launch a fireball that only hit Elyx, and left the avian unscathed.

“Long time no see~” Izayuki said softly with a calm smile and sincere expression. Though the two were married and together, while they pursued such busy lives, instances where they were actually in one another’s company was becoming fewer and farther between. It was not like how it used to be, when both of the mages were Aces of Black Rose- the Ace of Leaves and the Ace of Stigma. Things had become busier, and the lack of quality time with him was something she regretted.

Nevertheless, she had prepared herself for this day. Ever since she was C-Rank, new to the guild, and considered his ‘student’, she had dreamed of the day when she would finally reach a decent level of power to be on at least somewhat equal footing with him. Now, he was H Rank, and she was only just S Rank, though she felt confident enough to at least try to issue that rematch. He still owed her a new hair ribbon as he blew the last one away… didn’t he?

Though, she could continue telling herself that the battle was all just for fun, while deep inside, she knew that it was not. Ever since the Glacier Goddess had made another appearance, nearly killing Astrid, their own daughter, and wreaking havoc in Black Rose’s home city of Rose Garden, Izayuki knew that she had to get stronger. Perhaps if she could stand on even ground with a God of Ishval, she would prove to herself to have the power needed to counter Yukionna. There was only one way to find out, after all, and this was as close as she could come to it.

Taking a few steps forward through the powdery snow, Izayuki began to move towards her lover and opponent, with her silver-furred tail holding itself confidently behind her. Raising her dominant hand, she would allow it to begin charging with dark icy energy that glowed with its unholy aura. It radiated around her hand, but showed that she was ready for the fight to move on. Who would be making the first move? She did not want to have to exchange pleasantries forever. “Just like old times, hm?” the Bakedanuki chimed with a playful grin, a forced and somewhat painful mask of the darker anxiety she was truly feeling.

The words were once again abrupt and short; she knew him better, and noticed right away that he was not pleased to be here, or to see her. Then again, why would he be? He either was not amused that she was aiming for his position and title as a Wizard Saint, or he was simply in no mood to fight. It could have been a mix of both, but it was hardly something that the stubborn Bakedanuki had time to worry about. “Don’t you dare hold back,” she responded, her perky mask of a smile remaining, despite her voice having more of a colder and threatening edge; one that he had likely never heard around here.

She was selfish, here for her own reasons, and leading him on to believe that she truly was after his position. That was barely even a small fraction of it, though it was what she had to force him, or anyone who would have been in his position, to believe. Why did it have to be him?

Izayuki was in close proximity to her opponent, having moved through the snow to be standing barely a few feet in front of him with that icy energy charging in her hand. They had cleared the air of greetings and introductions, and it seemed as if Elyx was in no mood bother talking anyway. Without a second thought or any warning, Izayuki swung her right hand forward, aiming to slash him with her icy claws. If he teleported, dodged, or simply remained in place to take or block the hit, she would follow up with her real plan of action- launching a fast orb of golden energy at him. It moved at fast speeds, and at close range would either hit him just like her claws would have, or if he moved, would be launched in the direction of his movement. At her own high speeds, equaling that of his own rank already, she had begun the fight, and did not intend to hold back.

Izayuki noticed both of her attacks dodged with ease; it was expected of the Wizard Saint, though the fact that he was not truly engaging in combat was rather aggravating for the energetic tanuki. Was he mocking her, or toying with her? Or was he looking down on her, as someone who was far from being a worthy opponent? What would it take for him to finally see that she was serious about this?

The Bakedanuki would slash her claws through the air and release five long 'slices' of energy. These would move towards the elusive Elyx, though were meant to be more of a distraction, than anything. Depending on where he moved, or even if he did not, she would use a teleport to where he was, and aim another two slashes of her claws, one from each hand. If he moved again, regardless of whether or not he took the attack, she would use a different teleport and at extremely close proximity, attempt to fire another golden orb and land one last claw attack.

Her manner of fighting was extremely simple, though usually effective. Why was he not countering against her attacks or using his own magic? The very thought and the reasons that Izayuki could number only irritated her. She was not completely holding back, but why could he not do the same? If he really was that much stronger than her, and she was just a pathetic weakling, why did he not just end the battle quickly?

This was no fight to the death… what was he so worried about? From his words, he seemed as if he were giving up the battle the instant it really started. Was he toying with her? He was not the type to lie about something like that, but it was not the title she actually wanted. She needed the fight… and she needed to win. But to actually state that she was not going through all of this trouble for the title of Wizard Saint… then he definitely would not take her seriously, and she would be seen by him and everyone else as just an impulsive and selfish Youkai.

Well, it was true, though it was a fact that Izayuki had tried to maintain as a secret for a long time. Why did anyone else need to know her truer nature? The words fell on deaf, silver-furred ears as the Bakedanuki continued her string of attacks, only for them all to be dodged and for her opponent to grab her wrists. At first, she saw it as an opportunity to throw him down, but before she could pull of such a stunt, he used the rather notorious spell of any slayer- a God Slayer Bellow. There was no time for her to teleport or dodge at such close proximity, thus, she took the attack head on, and pushed through it as a small characteristic smirk curled at her lips.

The winds were loud, deafening even, and thus the rest of his words would go ignored. She had an idea of what he had said, though she refused to acknowledge them. If she could not fight the first ‘god’ of Ishval to prove her power to herself, how was she ever going to be able to gauge her own power for when that one deity chose to strike again? If she did not train, and did not prove her strength to the person it matter to most- herself, how would she protect her guild, and Astrid, who had been attacked alongside her that eventful night?

She did not have much in the way of a good array of offensive techniques, though the same old recipe had to work eventually. Thus was the stubbornness of a Bakedanuki, who, right as Elyx began to float down to the ground again, rushed at him again with furious claws- three consecutive strikes. If he moved away again, regardless of if she hit or not, she would summon five spikes of ice to home in on him, and pursue wherever he dared move. This was far from over; it was just the beginning, and she would not allow him to back out so soon.

The words fired at her next, after her silence, crashed over her painfully. She had not changed much? That was a bold statement for one who was rarely around much anymore. The two were constantly being kept busy acting as masters for their own guilds. But what did he see this duel she had initiated as? A playful rouse meant to bother him? If she truly wanted the title, she would have taken it, as he had already offered something of a surrender. Still, that was not what this battle was about, and would the magic council really look kindly on her stepping into the position without a real fight? Of course not.

Her attacks were launched, and not held back in the slightest. One of them had even managed to hit him, which would benefit her for at least a few more moments. However, Izayuki was quick to notice him flick out his golden key and summon the zodiac spirit, Virgo. She remembered the maiden from their last clash; it was not a memory she was fond of, and wished that she could forget. Nevertheless, it had happened, and the Bakedanuki still remembered how the celestial spirit fought.

The ground suddenly opened up, though Izayuki quickly activated her ability to fly in order to escape the destroyed ground. She floated a few feet above the ground, arms crossed and pink eyes focused first on Virgo, and then on Elyx as he began to walk away. The Bakedanuki would wait there, watching him as he left the radius of her Jabberwock ability. As soon as he was roughly fifty feet or fifteen meters away, Izayuki teleported back towards him. It was use of Snowstep, which allow her to appear right behind him, and as typical of a teleport, there was no time for him to be warned by his summon or senses. She was instantly gone from where she stood, and reappeared right behind him in order to attempt to deal three more slashes with icy claws. If he moved, she would teleport again to deliver three extra slashes.
On top of that, he would be forced back into her battle radius- and would take moderate damage from the Jabberwock soul within her own. “You’re not getting away,” she would murmur, regardless of if her attacks worked or not, her voice low and solemn, without a trace of her previous playfulness.

The presence of Elyx transforming into a Kitsune; a Youkai of all things, made Izayuki take a few seconds of hesitation. She had to think twice and remind herself that it was use of a Stardress ability, and not a true change of shape and soul into an Ayakashi.
He was finally getting serious-- about time, she would think, quietly wishing that the battle could have been on better terms, and definitely something other than anger or boredom. Unfortunately, she had brought this upon herself, so if anything, the usually-calm slayer’s reaction should have been expected. It was only natural.

As the earth and frostfire came towards her, Izayuki was unable to block, and was knocked back at least sixty feet, almost twenty meters, away from Virgo and Elyx, by what would have been a rather painful and bruising attack. Using the range to her advantage, the elusive Bakedanuki would teleport towards the Zodiac Spirit, flashing again within the blink of an eye, thankfully getting to disregard speed as a factor. Once she appeared very close to Virgo, her Jabberwocky ability would activate, hopefully dealing more damage thanks to the Wonderland spirit’s evil power.

Virgo would not be killed, but by that time, Izayuki would teleport away from the spirit using her Swiftstep, and appear directly next to Elyx again. Jabberwocky would activate again for him, though this time, she had a different plan of action in mind. Instead of throwing out more melee attacks to fail, she would take control of the surrounding snowflakes. Aiding them with her own unholy ice, she formed twenty ice splinters which would home in on their target, no matter where he ran.

Should Virgo be foolish enough to follow her, she would be sorry. As for Elyx, she finally brought him to a serious state of mind for fighting… but at what cost? "Finally."

No words would come from her opponent as he cancelled out her ice spikes with the Frostfire from the suit of his celestial summon. He seemed to be on the defensive, and upon taking no action to attack her, she would use another teleport to disappear from where she stood, and reappear behind him with a leap while he was focused on cancelling out the ice splinters.

While he was distracted, Izayuki would aim a heavy strike with her claws for his back; just one, this time. If he moved, she would launch another golden orb in the direction where he either sped off to or teleported. “Fight back; this isn't a game, Elyx,” the Bakedanuki would murmur in a low, dangerous voice. She was tired of him not taking her seriously. She had not even suffered a scratch, and this battle was drawing out far too long for her liking. It could have been a battle on a level of joy; a grand rematch to compare how much their strength had grown since that one duel that had come about from him challenging her, a newbie to the guild and a small C Rank.

For whatever reason, however, Elyx was so quick to try to avoid the battle, and to not fight. He was now angered, and any hope of enjoyment in the battle for the two veteran fighters was gone. It was heavy, and serious, but none of it made sense. Why was it like this? Surely someone of his league was not scared of the challenge, or worse, scared of hurting her? All she wanted to do was to prove her strength… but he would not even give her that. Was she still too weak in his eyes, and not worth it? Did he think that this was all just some sick game or act of rebellion from her? If so, she would prove that he was greatly mistaken, one way or or another. Snapping her fingers, Izayuki summoned a hundred ice shards directly above her, in a crowded mass. Instantly, the shards would begin to home in on her target- once again, she would try to go all out, to provoke him to fight.