To Break Their Greatest Pride

Job Details:

When Kenna had asked Mashyuu to meet him in a strange forest he shrugged and agreed. Any time he got to spend with the beauty was good to him but he had to admit that he really wanted to take her out on a real date. Unless she actually considered these jobs a date, in witch case he supposed that things were all good. Itsu watched Kenna ask Mashyuu and urged him to leave as soon as possible but after he shaved. Mashyuu ran his hand over his growing facial hair and smiled at his friend. "Nah, I'll leave it and see if she says anything about it first. Who knows, maybe she likes a man with facial hair." He pulled himself up out of his chair and headed for the location she asked to meet at.

The forest was beautiful but not as beautiful as Kenna, Mashyuu couldn't keep her off his mind very long at any given time, the woman asked him for help with something and took off faster than he ever expected, making him wonder if maybe she was in some sort of trouble or if she was trying to surprise him. Suddenly Itsu stopped him, grabbing the sword that was now held in place by his red belt. "There is some sort of undead near by. Maybe a ghost or phantom." She warned him and lifted her litch dagger that was attached to a metal cable. Since she got it Itsu found she had a better affinity with the undead and could even sense when they were near by. She smiled at Mashyuu and tapped it against his chest. "If you're lucky I might just give this to you to try one day." She grinned wide. "I'll stick with Excalibur and my bow for now. But thanks I suppose." He replied.

It was then that a familiar voice echoed through the forest. Mashyuu grinned wide and spotted Kenna. He smiled happily and waved at her while the two started to run at her. He stopped before her while she bowed low to explain that she was sorry for asking him to meet her without explaining why. Mashyuu looked at the large hound at her side and then to Itsu. "That things a ghost or something right?" He asked while placing his left hand on the hilt of his sword, not intending to draw the blade but simply resting his hand there to get used to carrying a weapon on his hip. "It's fine. No need to apologize. But I would like to know why you brought me out here. One could mistake this as a date that I brought a third wheel to." Mashyuu joked while looping his arm around Kenna's and started to walk with her. "So why don't you tell us why we are here."

WC: 479

Mashyuu glanced at the dog again while Kenna explained what it was. He narrowed his eyes at the beast, showing he could deal with it and then some while his fangs jutted out from behind his lips for just a moment. He then happily looked back to Kenna. "I have no idea what you are talking about nine times out of ten but okay." He said happily before the two started to walk.

Trailing off behind the pair, Itsu strutted happily, watching the forest and all the wildlife that happened to be walking around in the depths of the forest. It turned out that Mashyuu and Itsu had been doing a lot of jobs various wooded areas as of late and it made Itsu very happy. She liked doing other jobs too but with the sudden extreme amount of undead and dungeon crawling the pair seemed to be doing it was nice to just relax and do something outside fora change.

Suddenly a force... no a voice intruded on Itsu's mind and she raised her weapon as if she were being attacked. However when she realized it was the large animal she lowered the dagger but decided to keep the weapons cord wrapped around her wist just in case. My name is Itsu. The head gear is a helmet you absent minded beast. I can already tell you don't have any bite to your bark so don't try to act high and mighty around us. We are all part of a team. If it's your job to stand there and look scary then do it and if you're actually asking about my dagger all you need to know is that it gives me affinity with the undead. Itsu thought back to the animal, noticing how the beast seemed to keep a good amount of distance from her, as if it were planning something. She didn't like that at all, it made her feel uneasy and kept her attention on the animal. It was like the dog would lunge and attack at any moment. She doubted it would do any harm though as it was out of place just like Itsu had been when she was revived. Truth was that she and the dog had a lot in common. Actually now that she thought about it, Mashyuu, Itsu, Kenna and Kanix all seemed to actually be brought back from the dead in some way or form, making them all connected in that way.

Kenna started to say that the pair weren't on a date and Mashyuu almost moved his arm away from hers in order to save some face, until she said that she wanted it to be. The moment she had said that his hand slipped into her hand and squeezed it comfortingly. He had been wrestling with his feelings for Kenna for what seemed like a long time now. Aside from the kiss and a bit of flirting back and fourth this was the furthest he had ever gone with the dark haired beauty and honestly it felt good. So good in fact that he almost forgot she was talking. "Muffin man? Are you kidding me? That has to be a joke right?" Mashyuu asked while cracking a wide grin.

As it stood though, indeed Kenna was telling the truth. "Cookies and muffins are two different things. I'm gonna put my foot up this guys ass!" Mashyuu exclaimed while throwing his arms up and flexing. It was then that Kenna nudged Mashyuu and that was how Mashyuu always gauged his strength as a Wizard. Those who were stronger than him could knock him over but the ones who were weaker couldn't move him. Kenna bumped him and he didn't budge a half inch. The man grinned down at her and kissed the top of her head. "Oh, you are fast huh? That makes sense. You saved my life with that speed once, but you didn't need to do that. I'm the protector in this group, so let me do that next time." Mashyuu said in an almost stern tone.

He relented and smiled at the woman. "... So I've decided I'll help you. But on one condition. You follow my lead in this fight and do what I say. I don't want to see you come close to death again. We need to work together. Seeing as how I have more spells up my sleeve than you do at the moment please let me do the heavy lifting." Mashyuu pleaded with Kenna. He waited for a few moments in silence while wrapping his hand around her lower back and hip. "So what does the beautiful Kenna do for fun when she isn't doing jobs with the handsome and bearded Mashyuu?"

WC: 799
Total: 1278

An evil, almost killer like glare shot from Itsu's face at Garmr. Her fist clenched for a moment while she seethed with rage. "...Mashyuu never died. And how the hell would you know that I died? I'm not even in my original body. It's an exact replica but I watched Mashyuu destroy my body as is!" Itsu didn't like to be reminded that she had died once. She was doing everything in her power to make sure she embraced her new life as much as possible and this.... beast. This beast was reminding her that she had failed once before."If you want to be able to hurt others like you used to, you should ask Mashyuu for help. So long as you are going to protect Kenna Mashyuu will go out of his way to help you. He loves her but won't admit it yet. He is torn. He told me he doesn't want to see Kenna get hurt the way his dead wife did." Itsu explained to the terribly devious looking beast. "You can go out and find a way to live again. It will be hard but if you do it then you can choose how you die. There is always a way to find a second chance Gar." Itsu reminded the large animal. "I'm living proof of that." Itsu motioned for Gar to come closer to the woman. Slowly Itsu dropped to a knee and reached out to pet the dog, showing him that others can be trusted. "I won't really hurt you, but remember there are worse things in this world than death. I'd hate to see something that Kenna cares about come to harm." Itsu was quick to remind the rather large and dark dog.

Mashyuu loved Kenna's smile. It was gentle and strong at the same time. It reminded him of all the reasons he was falling hard for her. Already he could tell there was nothing that he wouldn't do for her, as much as he wanted to pretend that it wasn't true. He didn't even know who he was yet and already he wanted to make sure this woman never needed anything in her life. His heart skipped a beat while looking down at her, the blood in his body pumped so hard that he felt cold for a moment. "Kenna I know you can protect yourself, I never doubted that. But I still worry about you. If I ever lost you the way I lost.... I wouldn't know what to do if I lost you and could do something about it." It was Mashyuu's turn to blush. He was worried that he would lose Kenna the way he had lost Kanix, to a cult that wanted to use her powers to help in the summoning of a terrible demon. Mashyuu was no demon slayer and it would take everything he had and then some if he wanted to defeat something like that. "Oh, so you think this Mashyuu guy is handsome huh? I'm gonna go kick his ass and make him ugly. That way I won't have any love rivals." the grin on Mashyuu's face only grew wider when he spoke, realizing that he wanted nothing more than to spend as much time as possible with her. "And yes, I would say that your looks are very much to my liking. I couldn't think of a thing I would want to change." He winked back and made an hour glass shape, showing that she was curvy in the right ways to him. "Hmmm, nice company is always welcome. So when you think of that company who is the first person you think of?" Maybe he was fishing for something, maybe he wasn't but he would never tell Kenna the truth. "So tell me, what is your favorite book? I just picked one up from a library in an abandoned city. It has god slayer magic in it. Some forbidden stuff." He beamed happily at that, the book was actually an interesting read and he could tell he was close to getting the magic in that book down pact. Soon he would have some new magical spells under his belt.

It wasn't long till Mashyuu stopped talking to lick his suddenly dry lips, the lump in his throat was catching him off guard. The last thing he expected was for Kenna to brush her fingertips along his cheek. Such a simple gesture but one that had a lot of passion behind it. Her touch calmed him and forced his crystal clear blue eyes to shut for a moment while he sighed from pure pleasure. He started to chuckle when Kenna told him not to grow out sideburns. "I'm not keeping the beard, I just didn't want to keep you waiting either. When this is over I'll remove it." Mashyuu looked down into Kenna's eyes and he started to blush the same way she was. He wanted to let her in, let her know that there was nothing he wouldn't do for her but the fear of losing her kept him almost at an arms distance. Still he needed to let her know something, anything. Mashyuu could tell that she was testing the waters with him, seeing where he would stop and find the limits to whatever it was that they had at the moment. Slowly he cupped her face and kissed her lightly, just enough to let the raven haired woman know that he indeed cared very much for her before he pulled back. "Kenna... I have to tell you about my past. Or what I remember of it. Because I think I love you. I was married once and my wife was killed right before me. When I pulled myself out of that grave it was the only thing I could remember. Seeing her die, and feeling that pain. I have to live with the fact that she was killed because I was being hunted every day." A few tears started to stream down Mashyuu's face while he blinked away the pain in his heart. Slowly he reached into his pocket and pulled out a small but heavy rusty stone ring. "She gave me this on our wedding day, I keep it with me because I'm always going to love her in some way. I want to be fair and honest with you. I don't think I'll ever not love her. But I think I can love you just as much."

It wasn't easy for Mashyuu to tell Kenna this, there was a lot he could have kept hidden from her, even more that he wanted to but if they were going to try to make whatever it was that they had work then he had to be honest with the beauty. Mashyuu took a deep breath of air to steady himself and look at Kenna again. In a way he expected for her to look at him differently, like he was less of a person. He wasn't sure that would even happen but he didn't want to risk it. He swallowed a lump of something then grabbed Kenna by the waist, spun her around so the two had switched positions and twisted on his feet to face the trees that were behind him a moment ago. His nostrils flared up while his ears started to tweak. "Itsu! We aren't alone, watch your six!" Mashyuu ordered the woman. He couldn't see whatever it was that was out there but he could smell it, hear it rustle through the brush and trees. He wasn't about to let something catch him off guard, not the way he had been caught off guard before the last person he loved died. Never again. Mashyuu's body flexed, his left hand flexed and raised up. He clasped air and spoke a command word. "Gods Shot." A large web like bow appeared in his left hand. Slowly he placed his right hand to it and pulled, a string of magical energy appeared as did an arrow. He aimed at where he smelled the creature or creatures last and whispered. "Hail of Arrows.." Quickly he released his string and fired a volley of dense arrows into the forest, trying to hit whatever it was that was coming at the group. As his arrow volley ended Mashyuu released his bow, letting it flow back into the small chain on his wrist and drew his long sword. The silver of the weapon flared up, exploding into a golden light that pulsed with power as Mashyuu eyed the tree line.

WC: 1444
Total: 2722

The Earth Wizard stood, sword drawn and body ready for battle when a loud sound of cracking echoed at the groups side. Suddenly a massive tree shot through the forest and came out of the tree line, hurtling right at them. Mashyuu set his jaw firmly and started to move to intercept the tree when Kenna stepped forward and caught the tree in her bare hands. Clearly mastering a portion of her magic had given her some sort of otherworldly strength. This made Mashyuu realize how his innate rooted stances were truly powerful since even with her super strength she couldn't budge him.

Kenna heaved and tossed the tree back into the woods, causing a swarm of small gingerbread men to rush the Wizards, Kenna shouted out a warning but Mashyuu wasn't worried about that. He was looking for the person who was controlling them. He had to be close, most Mages couldn't control their monsters from far away. Mashyuu used his Earth senses to evade strikes while Kenna made quick work of the six gingerbread men, seemingly effortless in her attacks, the magic she had gained surely made her more confident in her skills, and it was showing with every move she made.

A shrill voice called out while a large man in a bakers suit came rushing the group, looking Kenna dead in the eye. How did he know it was Kenna that had killed the gingerbread man before? And if he had so many more then why did he even care? It didn't matter. "Itsu, stay with Kenna and help her with these things. Fat Man! I'm your enemy!" Mashyuu shouted and whipped his blade in a large circle, causing the weapon to glow with golden brilliant energy.

Mashyuu stepped forward as did the Baker, who brandished a rolling pin. Mashyuu started to chuckle when the pin began to glow much in the same way Mashyuu's weapon had been. The Earth Wizard raised a brow and nodded to the fact that he understood what he was seeing. Mashyuu lifted his blade as the large man raised his rolling pin and the two started to circle one another. A heavy wind blew, making the mans apron flap in the wind much like Mashyuu's hair and clothes tugged tightly to the right. The moment the wind passed Mashyuu began his attack. He came in hard, clashing his weapon against the rolling pin and pushed with his shoulder, shoving the fat man back a few steps. While he stumbled Mashyuu came in and dragged his blade across the outer side of the bakers left thigh, drawing a shallow amount of blood with a light cut that barely flayed the skin. The baker reached down and grabbed his leg, limping to the left for a moment to try to gain some distance on the Earth Wizard. Clearly the man had expected to not face the team of Mashyuu and Kenna. His wild eyes bounced between the pair while the ball of dough above him continued to grow as time passed. The baker stood up straight and called out. "Rolling Pin: Bakers Dozen!" His weapon lit up brighter than ever and the man split into a total of 13 men, each with a rolling pin in hand and surrounded Mashyuu.

"Ohh fancy trick, but I bet your power is split. Am I wrong?" Mashyuu asked but instead of getting an answer a rolling pin cracked against the back of his right shoulder, crushing down to try and get Mashyuu to drop his weapon. Mashyuu's shoulder slumped but his grip was true. "Earth Gods Sand Armor!" Mashyuu commanded. The ground under him exploded and fine dirt and sand compressed around his body, forming an invisible layer of padding on him. Mashyuu braced himself and allowed each of the men to take a crack at the Wizard, he refused to move or defend himself until his armor cracked. A wide grin spread on his face as the armor exploded off his body and shot out around the Wizard hitting all the dough men. Twelve of the thirteen copies melted away and started to bubble, slowly creating more minions that grew bigger every time Mashyuu landed an attack on the portly baker.

With his copies destroyed the baker jumped back and landed awkwardly, clearly not used to fighting for prolonged periods of time. He was likely used to letting his minions do all the work while he stood and watched the carnage that his crew created. Mashyuu grinned at the man and pointed his sword backwards. It flared with power and started to slowly move the Earth Slayer. "Kings Charge!" He shouted. The moment he did, the sword launched him forward towards the big man. Eyes wide the man raised his rolling pin and called out. "Bread shield!" He called out. creating a wall of dough before him. The man smirked when Mashyuu's sword stopped just after ripping through the dough but his smirk quickly faded into fear when Mashyuu's weapon erupted with power and released a blast of pure energy into the mans chest, knocking him off his feet and placing him on his back.

The man coughed and let of of his rolling pin while Mashyuu walked up to the man and placed his blade at the mans neck. "Surrender Muffin Man." Mashyuu ordered. The man slowly nodded up and down until his new minions, cookies shot up out of the dough that he had been creating and rushed at Kenna and Itsu. "HEY!" Mashyuu shouted, taking his eyes off of the baker to watch out for the women. Suddenly the dough ball that was in the air exploded and wrapped around Mashyuu tightly, forcing him to drop his blade while became wrapped up inside the dough coffin. Mashyuu fell to the ground, giving the Baker time to get up and grab his rolling pin. He stalked over to Mashyuu and started to beat him in what he assumed was the head, loud thumps echoing in the air with every hit the man made. He only stopped when he heard Mashyuu mutter something under his breath. Without warning the ground rolled up under him and enveloped the Wizard in a hot magma, baking the dough until it became brittle and Mashyuu broke free from the prison he was in. Blood was caked to his head and flowing down his cheeks. "Dirty trick fat man."

The man chuckled and kicked Mashyuu's sword away from the Slayer. "So a fire Wizard eh? That won't help you much." Mashyuu laughed at the man and shook his head side to side. Earth Gods Extension." Mashyuu uttered. The ground rumbled and two large stones shot up to float in the air, level with Mashyuu's fists. Still the ground rumbled like it was following the Wizards mental orders. Mashyuu swept his leg and the earth rolled under the fat man, taking his feet out from under him to send the large man crashing on his back. Mashyuu jumped up towards the man and slammed his fist down, the stone related to his right hand crashed into the mans gut, compressing it and folding the man in half. He coughed up blood and found the second stone smashing into his face, bruising his head badly in the process.

As fast as he could muster the big man rolled away from Mashyuu and scrambled to his feet but he could already hear Mashyuu's heavy foot falls drawing upon the man. "Earth Gods Cannon!" He shouted. A moment before his body slammed into the man Mashyuu stopped and slammed his fists forward, the boulders following drove into the mans chest, sending him flying through the air and forcing him into a tree. The Wizard smirked and wiped his face of the blood that streamed down his face all while he picked up his blade and put it back into his belt.

He glanced over his shoulder at Kenna and Itsu while they battled the smaller minions and started to make quick work of them. Mashyuu smiled in satisfaction then started to make his way over the man who laid at the base of the tree. Mashyuu stopped about a foot away from the man and looked him over. Mashyuu wasn't sure if the was out cold or if he was faking things. Either way Mashyuu wasn't really wanting to take the chance. He lifted his left hand and allowed a bow to appear in his hand. Slowly he pulled his magical bow string back. A blue magical arrow appeared and started to charge up while Mashyuu took aim at the mans leg. He wasn't going to kill him, but he was going to cripple the man. Mashyuu unleashed his arrow and it hit the man dead in the knee. Then he heard it, the trap.

"Dough Clone! Cracker strike!" The man shouted from above and the thing Mashyuu shot expanded like rising bread. Mashyuu looked up to see the large man dropping down on the Earth Wizards shoulders but even the great weight of the man couldn't drop Mashyuu to even a knee. The Earth Wizard released his bow and started to swing his arm up into the gut of the large man but the expanding dough exploded and ripped across Mashyuu's body like it was sharp razors. Shallow cuts started to bleed all over Mashyuu's body and stung like salt had been poured in his wounds. Mashyuu seethed in pain and fell to a knee, it burned like an infection that was being jabbed with a hard stick. He needed to cast a healing spell but with the Baker on his shoulders, the Earth Wizard couldn't do it. "Shit... Earth Gods Sand Leap!" Mashyuu shouted and exploded when his body changed to sand and floated away. He reappeared ten feet away and pushed his left hand forward. "Earth Gods Combo: Part One!" He commanded, causing three pillars to slam up, one into his chin, one into his gut and the other right between his legs, driving the air out of his body. Mashyuu then dropped to his knee and placed a hand on the ground. "Earth Gods Combo: Part Two!" With that the ground before Mashyuu lit up and cracked, swallowing the portly fellow and closing up again around the man so that only his head was sticking out. Mashyuu took the moment to ease the wounds of the exploding dough. "Light Dragons Healing Word: Cleanse." He muttered. The wizard was wrapped in light that healed the man of the infection, nearly ending the spell on the spot. It was at that moment that Mashyuu's spell had ended and the large man was spit up out of the ground by the magic. The man stood up and growled in pain, now both Wizards were covered in blood, breathing heavily and looking worse for wear. Mashyuu drew his sword again and lifted it high. A wave of golden light started to flow from it and into the sky. "KING CLEAVE!" He shouted while swinging the blade down. The Baker cringed and raised his hand. "Dough Armor!" From his pockets, dough expanded around his body, but it wasn't enough. The dough caved in as Mashyuu's spell hit, sending the man to the ground with a loud thud. That had to be it right? Mashyuu was sure he wouldn't get back up any time soon, he had hit the man with everything aside from his signature spell and his trap spell. The Slayer fell to his rear and started to absorb the sunlight that was raining down on him, allowing the Wizard to start restoring his magical power, as slow as it was to restore it was something.

Mashyuu hadn't seen the man laying on the ground, pulling four long strands of dough from his apron. "Dough Snakes!" He shouted. Two dough snakes went for Kenna while two went for Mashyuu. "Mashyuu! Catch!" Itsu shouted and launched a blast of light towards him from her mouth. Mashyuu opened his mouth and inhaled the light just before the dough wrapped around his neck, choking him. The Earth Wizard started to gag but couldn't get his arms up as the second snake wrapped around his arms, pinning them at his side. Mashyuu struggled for a long moment until he managed to flip his sword in his hand and caught it carefully. He swung it at his neck, chopping both his arm and neck binds, freeing himself just in time to roll back and avoid the big man swinging that rolling pin at the Wizard. Mashyuu stood up and looked to Kenna and pointed his hand out. "Light Dragons Holy Shower!" He shouted and hit Kenna with a blast of what should have been lethal energy but to those that Mashyuu considered a friend, the light healed, closing up some of Kenna's wounds. "Finish this guy off!" Mashyuu shouted while he fell backwards and felt his eyes growing heavy. He was out of magic and it was making him so tired he couldn't even sit up. He could hear the battle going on before him, tell that Kenna was for the most part okay but he had nothing left. Slowly he felt his head turn and he started to pass out. When he woke up the battle was over and he saw Kenna and and Itsu over him, making sure he was safe. "I'm fine, I'm fine. Lets just.... can we go home?" Mashyuu asked while sitting up and picking up his blade. He slid it into his belt and pulled himself to his feet with a blush on his face. He didn't mean to pass out but using all his magic to make sure Kenna was healthy before her fight was draining. "Kenna... I'm sorry. You must think less of me now. I won't let that happen again." Mashyuu promised her while he looked the woman in the beautiful bright almost golden eyes.

WC:2352
Total: 5074