The Sunny Tower of No Return

Job Details:

Yazuki knew full well what to expect when he woke up that day, a storm in the canyon just like any other day. It still hadn't stopped, and at this point he wasn't sure it ever will. He arose early to try to head to a small tarn he used to bath in ritualistically, but something caught his attention in his little box he kept for people who wanted him to come to do jobs. Apparently, Raijin was becoming a well known name, as he was starting to get more and more requests, which actually started to irritate him. This place used to be so peaceful for him. Now he was receiving... mail here? He pondered why people would venture so far to request him. It's not like he had been exposed to much of the world as of late. Perhaps it was the way he dressed? He looked over at the dharma and smiled. It definitely had to be the way he dressed. Seeing someone look like that would leave a lasting impression, especially when its hard to miss, since he was the only one he currently knew in all of Fiore wearing one. He smiled for a minute, realizing he definitely had a unique look going on, and it was catching eyes. He also knew lightning was flashy, and flashy draws attention too. However, there were some missions he had to turn down as of late, as he did not feel adequate at doing the mission by himself, and he had no help to do so.

This mission was one of them. It was from a pair of parents who's kid had wandered to some Mystic Tower and never returned, and how no one ever did. He about laid down the paper until he realized this was sent to whom it may concern, with a list of names. He found it curious as to why they listed all the names, figuring he had to have recieved the master copy. One of the names on the list, however, made him stop dead in his tracks. Marceline Anicetus? For one, how did they know about her? For two, why was she of interest to this job? He read the details more carefully, trying to find any clues, but nothing. Just a few parents who wanted their kid to come home to mother and father. He sighed deeply, knowing he would have to take this mission even if no one else came. Splitting up families is not something he would do, even his own, though he hadn't seen his brother in a while.

He went to bathe, cleaning up and relaxing thinking about the list. A few other names he recognized were on there too, but it was still puzzling. Would she go? No one ever returned from the tower the note stated, and there was money involved. He actually was excited at the thought to observe her once again, to let the curiosity get the better of him. He grabbed a fur and began to dry himself as he walked back to his cave, though this wasn't too effective since it had been raining the whole time. He finished drying off at the fire, preparing all of his gear. He was ready for anything with this set up, knowing full well he could let loose and have as much fun as possible. Whatever was in the tower was probably keeping people hostage, either that or he would be walking to his death, which he didn't know at this current moment. After getting dressed, he waved Miva goodbye as she miffed about how since he had figured out how to become a bolt of lightning from particles in the air alone, he hadn't used her to get anywhere, and she felt unneeded.

He streaked towards his destination, his curiosity still peaked. If Marceline was there, it would be a happy coincidence. To meet someone as intriguing once was a blessing, but twice was bliss. He had the utmost respect for the Lady, as she had shown him in kind. He zipped around the Tower spiraling downward around it as he arrived but a minute later at the most, landing with a clap of thunder at its base. His eyes were closed as he stood as he usually did when he was in meditation, clearing his mind for the preparation of this mission. He didn't know what was to await him, and he wondered what would be in the tower. He opened his green eyes and studied the tower closer, his hair in his two signature ponytails atop his head. If she was coming, he could wait, he thought, at least a little longer.

782/3750

Yazuki was slightly startled at Marceline's approached and hearing her words, but quickly calmed down. He looked at her with a warm smile, but he was still meditating while she started to speak he turned back to the tower and closed his eyes. It took a moment for him to realize what exactly she was saying, still not being used to her accent, but what he heard, he dismissed. She called him weak, which was not something he was used to being called. He usually stood up with the best, but his companion had already wounded his pride slightly with this. He didn't know how to react, but anger wasn't the answer. He already knew that she was full of surprises, so he didn't want to start something he would regret, as they had gotten along before famously, he was sure that she had just had a bad day, or was just kidding. He closed his eyes again at her comment and refused to open them, gripping into fists with Shock and Awe and letting out a long drawn out breath of air. He started up the steps but heard her explain further, and then he understood. He stopped in his tracks, turning towards her with a smile on his face and walked down to her. He looked around as he stood directly in front of her, trying to figure out where she had came from, but not finding anything. Finally, his gaze met hers.

"Not all should be judged by its cover. If that were the case, our first time meeting would have been brief. You of all people should know what it is like to feel... hmm, misjudged." With that he gave her a warm smile, breathing in deeply as he closed his eyes again, relaxing, and then releasing. He opened his eyes and smiled yet again. "I take no offense. I am still new to learning control of my abilities. I tend to still go overboard. Hopefully I grow out of it!" He let out a soft laugh as he turned and started up the steps to the Tower. To see her again was why he came. Her insult came across as concern when she rephrased it, and her actions showed him she didn't want to harm him. A mild curiosity arose once again, which was a feeling he felt he may have to get used to with Marceline. She was a labyrinth of mystery, and the deeper he went into the labyrinth, the more he felt he was getting closer to the center. He wanted to sit and talk with her again more than anything at the moment, as far as he was concerned, if the girl was alive inside, then she was alive. If the girl was dead inside the tower, well then she was dead. Time passing wouldn't affect it, but he didn't want to seem like he was avoiding the mission or getting too distracted.

He stopped again, waiting near the door for Marceline, so at to enter together. He didn't want to have her go in first and face something, but he didn't want to go in first and seem disrespectful. He had to keep things on an even playing field with this individual, he didn't want it to see otherwise. He thought back to their meeting in the Mysterious Canyon. It seemed like just a short time ago, and it was the most momentous arrival that  that he had received at the canyon in a long time. The events were still fresh in his head as he remembered how they both found such common grounds, yet seemed to be from two different worlds. She seemed to have problems with things he couldn't help, and he had quite possibly the opposite situation. While they seemed so different, to him it was a beautiful thing. To witness something so rare was not lost to him, not in this moment.

As he stood at the door a while longer until she would reach his side, he thought back to the effects she had when she was in the canyon, noting that he had to be careful. Shock and Awe should definitely help out, he noted, but he didn't know how well. He wanted to be able to be around her and tolerate whatever he had to, to make her feel like having her around would not affect him, so he was going to try his hardest to not let it show. A commotion started behind the doorway as he was snapped out of his thought process. He took up his normal stance as foot steps seemed to be running towards him shouting. The whites of his eyes turned black as tribals wrapped around his neck and up to his chin, going no further. two horn like tribals also appeared on either side of his hair line. He was going to make this quick if he could help it, and he didn't want to disappoint his new companion. A lightning infused aura cloaked him for a moment, as his dharma slowly started to glow, his movement would become more fluid when he finally moved. Small traces of lightning could be seen clinging to his armor and frame.

1654/3750

The member 'Marceline Anicetus' has done the following action : Dice Rolls

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'Monster Dice' :

Yazuki mind wandered as she finally reached him, wondering how she had fully affected him since their first meeting, and astonishingly enough, it seemed to be nothing but positive. She had met him at the climax of his mental repair, as he was just finally accepting things, and maybe even becoming a little too callous. However, she had humbled him by her curious nature, he presence demanded his attention whether she wanted it that way or not. She was an enigma that he wanted to solve, a labyrinth to transverse, a mountain to climb... She was a truth to accept. He said nothing as she stood next to him at the door, him naturally breaking the door in, getting rid of the barricade behind it. The footsteps had all of a sudden stopped running, stopping in shock at what they heard. Marceline disappeared into the room in a rather peculiar fashion, so he did the same to the next level. He was sure the lady of death could handle a small bit of men and women on her own and might have been accustomed to it, as she was accustomed to taking life as a normality when she was doing her duty for Death. He wondered how often she got to deal with individuals like him, as he wanted to make her feel like she had someone who would stick around. He couldn't care less if he slowly died while being at her side, he wanted her to feel like someone didn't fear to stand beside her, to laugh with her, to enjoy her company, and to even share in simple activities. The latter actually saddened him a bit, as he realized people probably didn't do activities with her much due to her nature, thus she may never have had such pleasantries in her life. Yazuki's rage flared slightly due to what he had been thinking about. Surely, he would have to remedy that some time.

As he traveled on the electrons in the air to the next floor before she began and as they were just entering the room to meet their fate at the hands of the lady of death and despair, he landed with a sound of thunder, bringing 5 individuals who looked stronger than the ones downstairs. Their robes also appeared to be slightly different. His face was a straight up scowl when he landed, upset about what his mind had led him to. His now black and green eyes looked over them each, his eyebrows slanted, and his face more sinister than normal with the demon horn tribals. The entirety of his look was contradictory right now, as he was dressed similarly to Raijin, the God of thunder and lightning, though he looked much less orcish, but his face being demonic and sinister. If his attitude had been different, he wouldn't look nearly as bad, but he was now in a foul mood. At the slightest twitch from the first one, he received a kick to the face, almost within a blink of an eye, not having the time to react to the thunder infused kick, which was followed by him punching the ground with Awe, having his body contorted in the air still as it collided, his head near the ground and his feet near the sky. He used Awe's shock wave, setting the entire floor rumbling and shaking, the stones vibrating as he realized a fatal mistake. This might not have been the best idea, as they were in a building, and now it may very well collapse. Luckily, it was just violent enough at the moment to shake the floor, causing them to feel like an earthquake had hit the tower. He had to admire their handy work, this tower wasn't going to fall over easy. As the kick had sent the other one flying, he used the momentum of the punch to land back on his feet, sending 2 bolts of lightning towards the one he had kicked, taking up his usual stance which would maximize his fluid movements in battle.

As one of them staggered over to him, they infused their fist and attempted to hit him, but the shaking made it easy for him to block the attack, simply pushing his arm off to the side then shocking him with an orb of lightning surrounding his fist. Melee was his dominance, but his magic made it more threatening. He turned just in time to see a spell hit his robes, knocking him back with a little bit of force and causing him to be disoriented for a moment, by which time the ground had quit shaking. He looked up with an evil look on his face as he say the eyes of his attacker, one of the individuals rushing to his left side to receive and open palm to the stomach, lightning dancing around the targets body has he collapsed to the ground The two that he had injured thus far were beside him, one paralyzed and one ready to attack as lightning started to gather in his mouth. His arms began to ripple with an intense lightning that was brighter than normal as he pushed his arms down, exploding the area and creating a whole in the floor as he fell to the level below him, landing not far from Marceline. He blinked, looking around at the dead she had already created, the lightning in his mouth still building as the Apprentices of the Sun started to jump down the whole, the three remaining ones that could move, stupidly at once. He let loose his Rage, shooting it directly towards the hole and hitting the remaining mobile Apprentices. Once again he started collecting Lightning in his mouth, this time for his Bent rage, as the initiates tried shaking off the stun caused to them. Their bodies were now burned well from the thunder slayer, causing their movements to become more painful, and even as one hit Yazuki with an infused fist, it seemed weaker than it should. The man flew back and hit the wall from a jolt of lightning that appeared from Yazuki's robes, causing him to fall to the ground, dead. Two of the 5 now lie dead, one upstairs paralyzed, leaving only two of the 5 in front of them. He looked over at Marceline, acknowledging her death count with a smile and a laugh.

"Not fair, yours were easier," he joked, his smile broadening. While he had been requested for this job, she was actually right. This job might have been too much on his own.

2757/4000

42 damage taken, damage taken from Marcy's aura added, Healed 32, 190 left

He listened to her words, but something in him felt strange as he heard them. The truths she spoke didn't fill him with sorrow, rather an acceptance that he already knew these facts. Death knew all, saw all, and ended all. Her dark words neither grabbed his attention fully or made him despair, as the truth was not something to dislike. Instead Raijin had spoke to him after hearing her words and gave him exactly what to say. He didn't quite understand what he meant, as the God was not there, he could only hear him in his head. He looked up, wishing the lightning god could actually communicate with him while allowing him to do the same, however Raijin Rarely spoke. That is the beauty of death. The acceptance of life's gifts. There is no need to dread such a beautiful acceptance. He pondered these words, wondering why the lightning god was, first watching, and second communicating with him still, as if he had taken interest that would not leave any time soon. The orcish looking god was the only other being he had met, next to Marceline that had interested him in the same way. He looked over at Marceline and repeated the words aloud.

"That is the beauty of death. Time is so fragile, as death is to receive Life's gifts. There is no reason to dread such a beautiful acceptance." He thought on the words he had repeated with his own little additive, and heard a grunt of approval in his head, and a sort of echoing feeling in his head subsided, signaling the god had taken his leave. This was the first time since their meeting that he had figured out that this was Raijin's way of keeping him informed, and wondered what the god would tell him in the future, and why he was helping out yet still. "Though I do love them, just I am not in contact. They believe me dead, and I believe it may be best for now that they don't know. It's not something I am willing to face yet as I don't go by Yazuki to anyone but you at the moment. Others do not know my name as such, but rather a as the same name of a God who speaks to me."

As they climbed the steps to higher levels, the Initiates that ran into them and who graced their presence seemed to flee at Marceline's aura, the walls still decaying as she walked beside Yazuki, whom the aura bothered, but he would never show it. He could withstand it, and now that he knew how to at least last long enough within it, he was accustomed to not letting her see it as he healed himself with yet another spell, infusing his fist away from her with lightning and quickly touching that side with it to transfer the heal, which was enough to keep him sustained for now. Upon reaching the 25th floor, though, there was a door at which they had to go through that was lined with gold trimming and adorned extravagantly. The only way to go higher, was to go through it. Behind the door could be felt a presence that was more powerful than any other in the tower, save maybe Marceline or Yazuki. Yazuki had to admit that at this moment, Marceline was the scariest thing in this place. As they walked through the door, A man in elegant robes of red and white, with a bright golden sun embroidered on the chest stood from what appeared to be a throne, a sure sign of his ego and status, which instantly put a distaste in Yazuki's mouth. He rushed forward towards the man, having sent a simple bolt of lightning forward towards him, only to have him stand there as it seemed to hit the air in front of him like it was shielded. Yazuki froze, realizing this was no mere acolyte, but a man of intense power as the man raised his hand to send a bolt of sunlight at him, which hit Yazuki hard in the chest, knocking him back against the wall and causing him to slump on the ground for a moment, disorienting him. This man had magic that was more potent than he realized. Again, had Marceline not been here, he was sure this was not a fight he could have won on his own. He was glad for a moment that she had come, and was thankful for his luck.

3513/4000 wc

The member 'Yazuki Yoshino' has done the following action : Dice Rolls

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'Block Dice' :

"A friend of mine lives in the heavens and has blessed me with his knowledge, though he wants me to say it instead. I am but an aspect of him, nothing more, and can't begin to fathom why he takes such interest. I cannot communicate with him, but he heard what you said, I am sure," He had replied before all the fighting ad taken place.
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He stood up after being enhanced with what he could only believe to be part of Marceline's aura. He tried using his forked lightning again to see if what she had done would work, merging with one of the bolts to appear above the man in the robes. The lightning struck true and Yazuki took his chance. With Shock, he prepared and open palmed strike which connected, paralyzing the man and making him fall to the ground. The man's eyes widened as he spasmed. Punching his fists together, two lightning infused obsidian blades formed as he began to slice at his opponent who now lay on the ground, helpless due to his Shocking Grasp from his weapon. The aura that Marceline had provided slowly decayed the man as the assault continued, one blow after another, Shocking him with 4 weaker bolts of lightning in the process to make it all the worse. The man was stunned and paralyzed, completely at his mercy, and would not be able to continue living. He continued to slice at him until his form was all but lifeless as lightning gathered in his mouth. He let loose his Rage, not yelling it out like normal but instead just letting it fly loose, engulfing the man, who now was covered in electrical burns, decaying slowly. He stopped, looking up at Marceline. Her aura around him felt.... different. He didn't know how to describe the feeling, but the aura definitely made him feel more invigorated and more able. He realized they still had a bit of a climb to go, so he took off in the form of a bolt up the steps, looking for the girl they had come for.

"It's time to go home kid," he stated. Upon reaching Marceline again, he explained he would take the child home and bid her farewell as to insure the kids return. He would speak on her behalf of being there unless she followed, but the woman was still a mystery. One that he wanted to solve, and one that even Raijin was starting to speak him words to say because of. Before, it was pure curiosity about this woman. Now it was more than curiosity, he wanted to know why the god who backed him even had him say what he had him say. He would take the girl back to her parents, making sure she was safe and collecting his dues. The dues are not what he had gone for in the first place however, it was to see if Marceline would indeed come, and he had not been disappointed. The journey back to his canyon was quick, as he wanted to get home and wash up. The day had left him exhausted, but at least the next time he saw death, it would be more interesting. He looked at himself in the reflection of the tarn, contemplating why Raijin had made such comments when the man rarely talked.

4071/4000 wc completed

The member 'Yazuki Yoshino' has done the following action : Dice Rolls

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'Block Dice' :