Kaori's Story Episode 4 - Event Horizon - Private

An uneventful week had passed for Samira after she had parted ways with Ikuchi. Her part in the supposed trial held in Iceberg was over, and it was unknown if and when he would ever get that amulet from Minstrel that was the key to finding the Arc of Destiny, and with it Kaori. There wasn't even word on if she would be tagging along for the weird time travel trip that required, but somehow she thought she could live missing that kind of adventure entirely. As long as the end result remained the same then she was satisfied with waiting for her ninja friend to return home as she went through her own daily life. Her normal routine was back to the way it was and even her spirits had calmed down from their little moment of insanity that took form from the random visions the bored Dream Dragon bestowed on their summoner time and time again. The mind was clear and quite empty of any perverted or dirty thoughts for that entire week. That is, until that Dream Dragon decided it grew bored enough to go for another round. Samira ended up having a dream that was no nightmare, although she would never admit that it didn't fall under that category. She was lying in her bed and in a rather interesting intimate scenario she had never pictured herself in. On one side of herself was Kaori, the other Ikuchi, and all was clear within the dream that she was the center of attention for both in a way she had never considered. If she were honest with herself and she won't be she did not desire to wake up. The Dream Dragon knew what cards to play to get an entertaining reaction and it had picked up on her confusing feelings for both parties. Back in Iceberg it only showed visions containing Kaori, now it was adding Ikuchi. Not that she knew it was the dragon's doing, of course. It had been an entire week of no crazy visions! No, this most certainly had to be something that formed in the darker areas of her subconscious.

Her cheeks in the real world were likely flushing, but it wasn't until she felt a sort of poke on one of them that she stirred a bit in her sleep. One of her hands raised to smack whatever was on it but all it hit was her own cheek skin. A slight sting but nothing too terrible. Still, that poke came from somewhere. Her verdant colored eyes opened and with some blurriness she noticed a fully clothed Ikuchi sitting on her nightstand. "Oh, it is you," she said with a weary yawn as she pulled her blanket over her head and turned over so she could get back to sleep. In her half sleep state she didn't really acknowledge or process the situation fully beforehand. It wasn't until her brain got to translating his words properly that she realized she was still in her room and that bastard had broken in again. It wasn't until her brain started operating at full function that she remembered she had just been dreaming about....no she was not about to describe it. Her heart skipped a beat as she quickly threw the blanket off her head and sat up. "Iku-huh?" If it were not for the envelope being passed to her she may have accidentally blurted out details during her fit of denial. Thank goodness for mysterious invitations. She took it, although had a slight pout for once again being chosen last. It did nothing to help her pride and sense of being accomplished. Wait a minute, he didn't even ask if she wanted to...what was it? Likely something to do with Minstrel. First thing she did before opening the envelope was tossing her pillow at the door as he left. She needed some sort of magical locks at that rate. Samira opened the letter, read it, and looked up to see the dress that almost made her cringe. It was pretty enough but it likely would clash with her hair. The dress was also...rather fancy. For something so formal she actually wished the re-quip mage was available so she wouldn't have to go herself. It had been a long time since she had to practice proper etiquette for that sort of thing.

Celestial Mind Space During Dream:

Serqet: 'You aren't supposed to collect your 200 jewels when you go to jail!'

Susano: 'But I passed Go...'

Serqet: 'Doesn't matter! Read the card fully!'

Susano: 'Argh, I am going back to my crossword puzzles. Your board games are terrible! I always owe people money in this one!'

Agni: 'Hey! Who activated the dream sequence? I was using the screen to play a video lacrima game!'

Amaterasu: 'There were not any planned dreams tonight from us. It must have been Samira.'

Isis: 'The girl rarely dreams on her own.'

Agni: 'Uh...well she kind of does now. I think we missed the main action though and good thing or even I would have asked for a censor.'

Susano: 'What are you talking abo-uggghh. This seriously cannot be real.' The wind spirit had to facepalm and rub his forehead from the headache that had formed the moment his eyes saw just a glimpse of Samira's dream. 'I told her to pick one. Not cheat by having both of them at the same time. All of that time moving on; wasted. Back to square one minus one hundred.' A deep exasperated sigh followed. 'Oh, wait! Isis don't lo-too late.'

Isis: 'She...she...with...both?'

Agni: 'At least she's consistent. It's not like she's dreaming about every person she meets in that way. Just the same two people that keep popping up all the time.'

Isis: 'Every...person?...A slutty... whore...Do you think she has diseases?!'

Susano: 'Isis...it's a dream. Get a hold of yourself! Oh, and there she goes to burn more childhood photos of Samira as she wonders where she went wrong. This is why you don't act like parental guardians to children summoners...'

Agni: 'Ama, I wanted to ask. You kept yip yapping about Samira listening to her feelings of love or whatever. Well, I am getting the impression it's kind of split in a very weird way ever since Iceberg. If she's just supposed to pick one does she just flip a coin or something?'

Amaterasu: 'Hmmm.'

Everyone: '...'

Amaterasu: '...'

Everyone: '...?!'

Amaterasu: 'What were the laws regarding multiple partners again?'

Everyone: Falls over while shouting variations of her name, seriously, really, and you got to be kidding.

Back To That Morning:

Samira tossed the letter onto her nightstand and pulled the blanket covers over her head as she got comfortable in her bed once more. Her sleep had been interrupted and she did not want to stay awake to think about that dream or what it meant. The sounds of running bath water reached her ears and it immediately caught her curiosity since it was coming from her bathroom. Before she could investigate though her blankets were tossed off and Susano picked her right up bridal style and started to carry her towards the bathroom. "I have had it! Ama gave me a blessing to turn that water holy or something and with it I am purging that dirty mind of yours. You will be clean of all that pervertedness and maybe just maaayybbee you will drop the beast. I don't care if you keep thinking about the girl, but both? Nope. Denied."

Samira: "...You saw that dream, did you?"

Susano: "It has scarred me for my very long spiritual life. Thank you for that."

Samira: "That was not me though...I do not think. Can you put me down? I do not need some sort of purification ritual."

Susano: "Nope. We're doing this." Susano came to a stop as he realized something. "Human parents put soap in their children's mouths, right?"

Samira: "Only as a punishment for a dirty mouth..."

"You've been kissing too many visionary people. I'll count that as dirty enough. We will add the soap mouth cleansing too!" Susano said with a shrug of his shoulders and a satisfied nod, much to his summoner's horror. He continued making his way to the bathroom as Samira struggled to free herself and it was not until he had her above the bathtub that she managed to dismiss him completely, sending him back forcefully to the celestial realm. Of course, the result to this was her falling into the bathwater anyway while still in her sleepwear. What a wonderful morning it was already.

The Next Day:

Yesterday had concluded and her spirits were back into some form of sanity. Although she had to question if they would ever attempt another purification process again. Thankfully there were no further dreams which did put some relief on everyone. It was a fluke and that was all. A coincidence and nothing more. They all just had to keep telling themselves that. Samira made her way to the White Mermaid, punctual as usual. She had her normal clothes on, but she did carry the dress she had been given carefully in her arms and had it in a plastic covering so it would not get damaged or ruined along the way. There really was no reason to change into before they actually arrived in Minstrel. The large machine in the cargo bay made her rather curious as she entered and wondered just what it was for. Managing her iLac was about all she could do when it came to technology so it was oddly surprising that Ikuchi was able to figure out something so complex looking. The thought of saying hello was formed, but before the words could get out he spoke first. Cute? While sleeping? To a point where he almost didn't want to wake her? She felt her cheeks heat up to a slight pink from them, but at the same time it was just a little bit creepy to think about him standing in her room while she slept and just staring at her. If he didn't find a way to force himself into her room every time he had mission for her to tag along on it would of been less so, but unfortunately, the reality was, it was creepy. "Just how long did you stand there before waking me up?" Samira asked curiously but immediately found herself regretting having done so. "No, forget I asked. You do know that you can just knock like everyone else, correct? I am certain I can find it within myself to open the door and let you in."

(Word Count: 1777)

Samira gave a satisfactory nod complete with a victory smile, actually believing that he took her advice about knocking seriously and that she would have no further need to increase the durability of her room's locks. While she did take back her question and he answered it anyway, it gave her relief that the time was actually very short. He was less of a fictional story stalker than she thought. Of course, she had no way of knowing that small amount of time was imprinted into his memory for a couple of decades. Then again, was there cause for concern that he actually knew the answer with such confidence and accuracy? Ikuchi then mentioned a meeting time for further training, of which did not get a single complaint or sigh from her. She was just momentarily stunned that he had even brought it up. "Of course," she replied calmly as she began to leave the cargo bay and head to the room that literally had her name on the door within the ship. He had said before he would continue to help her with training and a weapon, but she didn't think he would actually keep doing it. Nothing had been said prior aside from continuing on her own what he had already taught her, and it wasn't as if there was a set schedule for such things. She went on to suppose that as long as they were on a long trip to a random country it was as good as time as any.

Once two o'clock approached Samira entered the cargo bay to find Ikuchi already prepared and ready to get started. She had grown accustomed to seeing his take on training attire and was easily able to ignore it, unlike some that would of had a nosebleed every time. Samira herself had only her normal clothes due to not really bringing any athletic wear along, but her hair was at least put up into a ponytail to keep it out of her face. The glove tossed at her was looked at curiously before she finally put it on during Ikuchi's first explanation regarding weapons and simple tactics to help her spirits when in combat. She made no comments and watched the demonstration of a bow's use, her eyes growing wider with each arrow that split into the previous one, and at the center of the target no less. Her memory of her last attempt of using a bow was quite an embarrassing one by comparison. There was slight hesitation with her movements as she took the bow and stood at the x, not because she didn't want to try, but because she really didn't want anyone see her do so terribly.

Samira remained cooled and collected at first, regardless of the fact Ikuchi was rather close and his hand was over hers during the first set of adjustments with her positioning. He was helping her use the weapon accurately so there was no reason to have the mini heart attack of some teenage girl. That form of logic didn't last as long as she had hoped. Her body had overpowered her mind the second Ikuchi brought his other arm around to place an arrow into her hand, the action resulting in him being close enough that she felt his chest pressed against her back. The heart began to race and a feeling of nervous anxiety began to build up within her as she recalled the dream he had been a part of. She forced herself to suppress it, but she was sure the rushing blood still produced that annoying pink blush that was a dead giveaway to how she felt. The dream was only that and it meant nothing. Nothing like that was ever going to happen. Her mind knew that so why could the rest of her not figure out how to react properly? Samira took a deep breath to get herself back in order and her eyes narrowed as she focused on the target ahead. She remained there in that position until her heart rate calmed and the anxiety went away. Her breathing also slowed down as her concentration increased. Then, she let the arrow go and watched as it soared towards the target, landing in the third ring. The well done she received would have been enough to put a smile on anyone else's face, but she knew she only hit the target at all because she had help. It was an improvement, but it wouldn't be considered true progress until she was able to do it without guidance. Many more arrows were brought for her to shoot and shoot them she did until every single one had been sent towards the target. Several times she had to readjust and she missed more often than hit, but she could feel herself actually getting better. It also helped that there was no negative judgement from the one teaching her, unlike some of her spirits who just expected her to pick up something and be a natural pro with its use. By the end she may have been tired, but she was happy all the same even with her misses. "Thank you, Ikuchi." A grin was on her face as she left the cargo bay and her tone was that of truly being grateful rather than said out of obligation like their first training session. With the progress already made, maybe she would be even more experienced by the time Kaori was found and returned. Mistakes made in the past may also be prevented from reoccurring again due to no longer being as useless. She returned to her room for the rest of the day and had been taking a long bath when dinner was dropped off for her. The food was noticed when she came out of the bathroom, and sometime after eating and doing a bit of reading and writing she went to bed.

The next thing she knew she was in a dream much wilder than the others, and much like before her mind was trapped in a version of her that was not herself. It seemed each dream just put her into more and more rather unclean scenarios that she would never admit to being a part of. Her mind was forced to be a part of the actions of the dream Samira, although whether she wished for it to end or not was debatable. There wasn't even a real relationship between Kaori and herself, and she was still very much trying to figure out how she felt about her. That couldn't be answered with the random dreams that kept escalating to extreme levels. The dream then took a dark turn as another version of herself murdered the dream Kaori with a wicked smile before crushing the very heart that had been taken from the ninja. Her real self would have woken up in horror from the nightmare end and in a sweat if, as the dream came to an end, another one didn't start up immediately in order to keep her asleep. It was a childhood memory filled with happiness and warmth, a dream gifted by Amaterasu as she stood over Samira's body with her hand on the summoner's forehead. Most of the spirits were outside Samira's mind space while on some group therapy session, but a few remained to keep watch. Amaterasu was rather unaffected by the previous visions due to her nature of finding most things amusing so she had stayed. The dream had turned into a nightmare and she had no control over it while she was in Samira's mind. Only when it ended could she switch things.

Ama: "They appear to be getting worse. Before they were humorous; now they grow dark."

Ra: 'Something is amiss. I am usually away from this plagued mind but even I am aware that she does not dream unless provoked.'

Ama: "She never even dreamed when that chaos concluded. The dark Samira that was summoned from that phoenix, the one her friend was influenced by, I have not seen it since until now."

Ra: 'They are getting closer to finding this Kaori. Perhaps that is a trigger for these dreams.'

Ama: "Should that not be a happy reunion? I do not understand why such nightmares would come to pass now."

Ra: 'Amaterasu, all parties involved have much to ponder. I doubt the reunion will be as happy and lack of grief as you wish it to be. Now return. She will sleep soundly for the rest of the night.'

Sometime after Amaterasu left the morning sun rose and Samira woke sometime after that. The nightmare replayed as soon as she opened her eyes and sat up, but she was calmer now than she would have been earlier in the night. She didn't know what it fully meant, but she did know she did not like it. The dark clone of her had been vanquished by Amaterasu some weeks ago so why was it appearing in her dreams now? All of that chaos she had gotten over and now it was coming back. Her head began to ache as memories started to flood her mind in rapid succession. Her eyes closed tightly as she held her head and breathed heavily, forcing the flashback images and sounds away. All of that could not come back again. It just couldn't. She would break.

"Breakfast time!"

The voice of a very cheerful and carefree spirit of the name Serqet could be heard from the now floating in midair silver dome plate. Another spirit that was likely very much un-phased by the dreams and visions and was there to keep Samira from going crazy as she woke up. Samira just frowned deeply as she stared at the spirit, currently invisible aside from a slim outline that she could make out as Serqet moved the plate back and forth. "I am not hungry," she said grumpily as she pushed it away. The spirit just shrugged her shoulders, walked over the the desk, took a seat, and as the dome lid came off Samira watched as pieces of omelette disappeared into thin air. "More for me then!" The moment the glass of orange juice lifted Samira objected and got out of bed, taking the glass for herself once she reached the desk. "I will take this though." She allowed Serqet to eat the rest of her own breakfast as she got dressed and headed out of her room. Samira wasn't sure just how long they had until they reached Minstrel, but she couldn't stay in her room. With that nightmare she felt restless and needed to move. There also was no reason to bother Ikuchi with anything unless she really felt like being annoying by bombarding him with questions regarding the meeting. Those she could always get later, and she was not going to randomly bring up her dream problem. At that present moment she was glad they barely spoke to each other while on the ship. The only other thing to do was return to the cargo bay and get more bow practice in on her own to keep herself distracted.

(Word Count: 1864
Total So Far: 3641)

One. Miss. Two. Miss. Three. Sort of a Hit. Several practice shots were fired as Samira trained on her own. Her thoughts kept interrupting her concentration but eventually she had gotten to the point where her mind went numb and her focus was one hundred percent on hitting the target. She didn't notice Ikuchi had entered and she certainly did not take notice of him walking over. One last shot was all she had time for before finding herself being picked up with a small squeak of alarm at the sudden loss of ground beneath her feet. Apparently noticing her surroundings needed some work. The arrow had even hit dead center on the target but it would go unnoticed. Confusion seemed to be a normal state for her mind these days and her face showed it clearly as Ikuchi held her and took her out of the cargo bay. They barely spoke as it was and now she found herself being held bridal style and being taken away from her training distraction. "Where are you taking me?" No real answer was given besides what her eyes could follow; through the halls, up the stairs, and right into his room where she was placed on his bed. That was a bit weird. Then he took a seat near her before falling sideways with his head landing right on her lap. It happened in quick seconds but to her eyes it went in slow motion. Eyes widened, cheeks flushed, and all sorts of what on earthland was going on thoughts were going through her mind. The whole thing was a distraction from the nightmare, but she was sure the training would have been preferred over having more confusion. "What...what are you doing?" Samira kept her gaze raised and did not look down at him as the feeling of anxiety and nervousness returned. She had no idea how she was supposed to react to someone just suddenly using her as a living pillow. The answer given made her understand somewhat even though it was still rather strange that he would even have whatever discussion was to come in such a way with her of all people. Last she heard she was described as nothing more than an ally, not a friend. "All right..." Not like she was getting away from the conversation anyway. He had already made himself comfortable and had even placed her hand on the side of his head. Was that supposed to be a form of comfort or was that just a habit from the body link Kaori normally did? Regardless, she remained still and allowed him to speak without a fuss.

She listened silently to the full explanation of why he had picked Kaori as his rider, his goals, and ultimately the reasons of why he hated her so. Every single one of those acts was something she had not intended but it happened all the same. Samira couldn't even get angry at hearing the full truth or make excuses for it. Doing so would not change his opinion of her. It was made even worse when he had to make a decision that had no good outcomes for him. He felt alone and afraid to face Kaori again. As much as she felt pain back then and even more while listening, Samira knew she wasn't alone due to her spirits and she had even been able to move on. Ikuchi couldn't. Kaori was all he had. He would be stuck in that same state until she was found and maybe even after. It was a stab to know she had caused that rift due to her own weakness, and for a moment she wished she had not ever met either of them if only to prevent all of that suffering. That was not what she ever wanted.

His story seemed to be over as he straightened up. Surely that was the end of the random discussion. More elements to add to her thoughts and her own uneasiness of seeing Kaori again. She had expected to be told to leave, but instead felt her head being grabbed and was pulled closer so that she rested on his lap. The instinct to sit back up should have been an instant reaction, but the head rubbing beat her thought process. It was soothing and relaxing and it reminded her of the time Kaori had done the same thing back at the phoenix shrines. Why he was treating her that way after confessing once more he despised her was anyone's guess. Her eyes closed as the rubbing continued, but they slowly opened upon being asked what worried her to the point that she was training. That got a small laugh as a first response. "Is it really so unlike me to take the initiative with my training?" The answer was obvious or he would not have suspected something was amiss in the first place. Still, she could consider it as quite insulting if the circumstances were different. She took a deep breath and decided to go ahead and answer honestly. Discussing the dreams with him was something she objected to earlier that morning, but that was when she thought he wouldn't care. He was clearly wondering. Plus, there was the whole fact he was in one of them, but she could always leave that part out. Being in such a dream of one he truly disliked would likely just disgust him.

"Do you remember when we were in Iceberg and you warned me of the Dream Dragon? I saw visions there; visions of Kaori and I together. They were on the more intimate side and I got the impression he was playing around the fact of how Kaori felt about me. I did not have any more ever since we left that frozen wasteland." Samira paused for a moment to let out a small sigh. "That morning you showed up in my room with that invitation I was in the middle of a dream of a similar nature. Then there was another, escalating in...activity. The rest ended nice as dreams are meant to be, but the last..." She stopped there, not wanting to mention how a clone of herself had murdered Kaori. It would have brought all the memories back up for them both. "I do not know why I am having these dreams. My spirits are going insane, as am I. Dreams are not common for me. To have not one but two in the past couple of days is unheard of unless my spirits are involved. After the last one, to say I am a little afraid of what the next one will show would qualify as an understatement." Ikuchi had been silent throughout her dream explanation and she felt silly for talking about it, although she felt no sense of negative judgement from him.

The head rubs came to a stop and she was asked to sit up and close her eyes. That was an unusual request that did get some suspicion from her. Maybe there was some sort of magic power or spell that repelled dreams entirely and that was part of it? Curious, Samira sat up and faced Ikuchi fully before closing her eyes. What happened next was most definitely not apart of some super secret spell, and if it were not for her naivete she really should have predicted the outcome entirely. Granted, a rather long and intimate kiss was not something people that hated one another gave each other. She pulled away slightly when their lips touched and the nervousness she had felt a moment ago increased several times over. His words did not match his current action and the endless confusion was starting to make her feel afraid and untrusting. Like the time back in the arena, Samira could feel his magic pouring into her during the tongue play although why that was the case she did not know. She wasn't at all low on magic power or injured like back then. It also seemed to last a whole lot longer to the point it got a little too intimate for her much too fast. By the end she had found herself pinned to the bed with one of his hands against her back and the other against her own, fingers laced as if the two of them were something more than just two beings that tolerated each other. The more intimate the kiss got, the more she kept thinking it was just another one of those random strange dreams like the others. That could not have been reality that she was currently taking part of. Her mind was still fearful but the body was reacting in such a way that one would think she enjoyed the act. The longer it went, the more she relaxed and participated in the make out session, even going so far as to emit low and quiet moans during it.

Eventually the kiss disconnected and she sat up as Ikuchi explained his findings. The words made her blink at first before her face turned crimson from a mix of anger and total embarrassment. She quickly stood up and as he had predicted her hand went in for the slap across his face. "Did you really have no other way to communicate with that dragon?!" Whether or not the slap made impact her words would be the same. The only difference would be an "I am sorry" added in shortly after if it landed. The apology would be genuine, but she would still be quite angry due to the added confusion and more uncertain feelings. If it missed, well she needed to work on that.

"So, he is testing my will and having fun doing it." Samira stated with a small sigh as she sat back down on the bed. "I do not understand what form of willpower the dreams he makes is supposed to test me on given their...content." It then occurred to her that Ysrad may have gone into more detail about the dreams than she wanted to be let known, particularly that Kaori wasn't the only one in them. "Ysrad...he um," The summoner cleared her throat as she turned to face Ikuchi with a small sheepish smile on her face. "He did not go into any details regarding the dreams he made, did he?"

(Word Count: 1728
Total So Far: 5369)

Fade to black moments happened.

Samira had fallen asleep sometime after closing her eyes and attempting to catch her breath. Her mind had become exhausted from all the fighting it had put up to prevent itself from going blank and fighting the basic instincts and reactions of her body. It lost. Horribly. Her consciousness returned and with it she began to immediately feel the pain that was to be expected in certain areas of her body that were normally left alone. That alone was enough to inform her it wasn't some crazy nightmare. What transpired between Ikuchi and herself really did take place. Denial was still there, but it became even more difficult to persuade herself otherwise when she realized she was in his room, without her clothes, in his bed, and with him passed out beside her. The feeling of shame was great enough that she couldn't even find it within her to hate him completely for what he did. Not once did she vocally say stop. She had allowed her body to overpower her mind and it brought up the question of whether or not she actually wanted that to happen the way it did. The mind said of course not, yet she was still there. It was also the perfect opportunity to beat the hell out of him, but it was likely that'd be impossible anyway just as her slap was. Getting angry at him for doing such acts towards her seemed to be a common response, but every single time she had also submitted without a fuss. It was a disgusting part of her to be so weak as to give in to such basic natural desires. If she had anyone to hate it would have to be herself. That did not mean there wasn't a very serious case of annoyance at having that be the solution. The mind link was not necessary, especially when he clearly knew she would disapprove of it later on like with the kiss she had slapped him for previously. He could have just asked for descriptions rather than seeing them, or he could have told her it was her own problem. To go so far as...just no. That sort of thing was supposed to be saved for those that cared for one another romantically. Being promoted to "good ally" was hardly worth the humiliation and degradation her mind was now going through.

The thought of leaving the room had formed as she sat up, but she had allowed herself to glance over at Ikuchi, which stopped her. Aside from her shame she had also felt empty for the whole act meant absolutely nothing. That was not how she had wanted it to be at all. Yet, as her verdant eyes looked at him they grew soft rather than harden with anger. She began to feel the emotions of sadness as well as those annoying feelings for him she should not have had to begin with rise. It was obvious where they stood relationship wise and yet he continued to make it more and more difficult for her to move on and forget it all, even if it was entirely unintentional and pure coincidence due to circumstances.

A silly thought struck the summoner as she blinked her eyes and recalled Amaterasu mentioning petting him. He was asleep, and it would be easy to do so without him knowing. Maybe. Samira knew she should have been running out of that room, but a bit of curiosity and temptation came over her. She reached out her hand, which slowly made its way over to him. Halfway there she pulled her hand back, having lost confidence. A second attempt which got closer but was pulled back even faster than the first. The third attempt went by so slowly one could have played a theme music track of an animal stalking its prey jaws theme before her hand finally landed on his head. Well to say landed is a bit exaggerated. Samira had poked his forehead instead as a test. No explosions or instant death. A small sigh of relief to relax her heart racing panic for doing such a brave act was let loose. Feeling bolder, she reached over fully and gently began to run her hand over his forehead and hair in a petting motion. It continued for a couple of minutes more as she continued to stare in silence. Then she realized the whole thing was rather silly and stopped. Curse that spirit for putting the idea into her head. Samira got up from the bed completely, gathered her clothing, and ran back to her room.

As soon as she walked into her room she began to make her way towards the bathroom but stopped and yelped in surprise when a familiar voice spoke.

"So, how did it go?" Susano was lying on her bed with his back against a wall of pillows while staring down at a crossword puzzle. He didn't even bother looking up.

After getting over her mini heart attack, Samira turned towards the wind spirit and smiled a timid and nervous smile. "How did what go? I thought you were all supposed to be at some sort of therapy session."

"Oh, that ended when Skadi skull bashed the spirit therapist. I admit, I may have given her the idea by doing a bit of lying." Susano said matter of factly, still looking down at his puzzle. "Also don't change the subject. None of us are linked to you right now and that's because Ama and Ra said that if we valued any sort of sanity we had left that we should stay out for a while longer. It didn't really take me long to figure out why."

"You are not going to try and use some word from your crossword puzzle to describe me or the scenario in some ridiculous sarcastic and rude manner?"

Susano then looked up from his crossword puzzle, blinked his eyes, and then pointed towards her with his pen. "No, but you really should get some clothes on. I may be a spirit, but that does not mean I don't value clothing." As he focused on his puzzle once more he heard an embarrassed shriek as it seemed Samira had just realized she was in such a hurry to get out of Ikuchi's room she didn't even put on the clothes she had recovered. He heard her run to the bathroom and the sounds of running water could be heard seconds later. It was likely she really needed that shower so he made no comment to delay her. "Hmm, a five letter word for aroused, passionate, and excited. Starts with a H." He mumbled to himself and then after a few seconds nodded and scratched it off the list. "Too late for that one. Maybe next time." Susano then turned his gaze over towards the halfway closed bathroom door and smirked. "You never did say how it was. I bet it was rather beastly and animalistic. Am I right?" The sounds of dropped shampoo bottles and other items could be heard as they clacked on the floor or tub. "The sudden clumsiness indicates a yes or a close enough."

"Go away! You are not helping!" Samira could hear a small fit of laughter but soon it turned into nothing. She peeked through the bathroom door and saw that Susano had left for now. Good. Time was required to do what she preferred doing; thinking. He only served as a distraction for that. The water temperature was tuned to be as hot as she could tolerate, as if that alone acted as a form of purification and make what happened go away entirely. Samira remained in the shower for what seemed to be an eternity. The dreams were a form of test from the dream dragon that was giving her visions while in the tomb, although why he felt it necessary to waste time with her she did not understand. She only knew he would not stop until he was satisfied. What was she supposed to gain from the dreams? One showed the past where Kaori's heart was affected, the other showed the present where she was deteriorating. There was likely one more and as Ikuchi mentioned before it would show a possibility of what would happen to Kaori if she did not recover. How much time did they even have left before that? When was she even going to get the next dream? After getting out of the shower she still felt unclean but it was better than before at least. She was hungry due to having skipped breakfast but she decided to try and skip another one in favor of sleep. This time, she was prepared for whatever dream came her way, assuming one did.

(Word Count: 1467
Total So Far: 6836)

The nap she had taken went by in the uneventful way she had been used to most of her life. Dreamless, quiet, blank. No alternate reality or possible prophecy to toy with her mind. It was usually how she liked it, but that time she had wanted an exception to occur. Ysrad had given her no dreams and her eyes opened to a clear and well rested mind. There was no confusion nor any additional thoughts to process and react to. Nothing. Samira immediately turned grumpy. Her torture was not going to be over as soon as she thought. The sense of someone else in the room became present, and she turned her gaze from the ceiling towards her nightstand where a familiar but lately unseen woman was sitting. Her eyes blinked in bewilderment as Kaori spoke. Maybe another vision had begun after all. "Kaori?" She realized she actually had control of herself as soon as the name was said. That did not fit how the previous dreams worked. Then the Kaori within her room spoke again and it all became clear. Samira sighed and resisted the urge to throw her pillow at the disguised Ikuchi. He still didn't know how to knock... Why did that even come as a surprise? After what had happened he could have at least done that much! Of course, now she had a very good reason to not answer the door. "I find them to be quite comfortable," she calmly and sleepily replied to the comment regarding bra comfort. Then it hit her. Talking about bras being uncomfortable? Really?! Not one word of what happened! It was just a matter of continuing life as if it hadn't or that it wasn't significant. She sat up and threw her pillow, the urge to do so becoming too great to resist. It was too late though and it landed against her closing door instead. Samira huffed and crossed her arms over her chest as her annoyance grew. She was stuck with feeling humiliated and ashamed for acting out on those rather dirty desires and yet he could carry on normally without a second thought. It wasn't fair.

Her surge of annoyance and mild anger left her as she calmed down shortly after and got ready to leave the ship. The days of her not so emotional self were very much starting to be missed. She only ever lost her grip on her emotions when Kaori or Ikuchi were concerned, which on one hand was good. Remaining her normal self was easily done around the majority of the planet. The bad part was that she seemed to constantly find herself in scenarios where either one of the only two beings capable of producing that effect were somehow involved. It was going to be a very very long day.

Samira casually walked into the cargo bay and it was explained that the stranger within drinking tea was their driver. She greeted him and introduced herself with a small smile, all in the language commonly used in Minstrel. The sentence structure was a bit broken as she had paused a few times to try and remember the words. Due to accompanying her grandfather on some of his travels when she was young, she had picked up some of the languages. The unfortunate thing was that it had been a decade since she had last attempted to speak it and as such the proper pronunciation was likely somewhat off and the words did not feel natural. Reading it was easier.

The ride to the next building was awkwardly silent, at least for her. The disguised Ikuchi was calmly reading a book while she herself was doing everything she could to not jump out of the car in order to escape being that near him while in such a small space. She had even moved so close to her side of the car that if the door had opened she would have fallen out immediately. His disguise helped somewhat when it came to looking his way since her eyes saw Kaori, not the one that had done...stuff...to her... She crossed one leg over the other and nudged even closer to her car door, as if that were somehow even possible. Well that's enough thinking about that. The somewhat label no longer worked. Her mind knew very well who was actually sitting there. Samira remained silent and stared out the car window the rest of the time, letting the passing scenery distract her thoughts and inner turmoil.

They soon arrived at their destination and thankfully the suite room they were given was rather large and spacious. Now she just had to find a way to hide herself and convince some alternate reality Samira to take her place for the rest of the mission. Maybe one of her spirits could go in her place. No, that was actually a terrible idea. They were all too...them. She was doomed to keep going along with Ikuchi. Samira picked one of the three rooms for herself and stayed in it.

Night eventually came to pass and Samira was lying on her stomach on the bed within with an open journal in front of her. She had been writing and communicating with some of the spirits that had decided to pay a visit to her mind space. Well, rather continue another game night in celebration of group therapy session number one being a smashing success....even if it ended early due to Skadi knocking out the spirit therapist. Samira enjoyed the loud distraction as it kept her thoughts from going elsewhere and contemplating events that she had already gone over several times already. A knock was heard, getting her attention, but before she could even react or respond the door opened. She sighed. It was progress at the very least. Her face planted into her journal when she saw that Ikuchi was no longer disguised. She couldn't have a natural straight face when looking at him anymore. It had to be forced. A few breaths, counting, allowing her mind to regain focus and calmness. Oh, and hearing the mention of Sake helped. The very word of the beverage caused her to cringe and she raised her head with a rather blank expression on it. He was seriously asking if she wanted to drink a form of alcohol where she could possibly have way too much and end up losing her mind? Was that not how some people ended up with regretful one night stands? She already had one of those without the beverage. She didn't need another with a migraine added in for the morning. Samira positioned herself so that she was sitting on the bed rather than lying on the sheets . "Are you serious with that question?" His more friendly tone was noticed but considering it had not been used before it just added to her suspicions. Unbelievable. Did he not have enough "fun" introducing her to that sort of activity the first time? He needed round two in order to further humiliate her? Come to think of it, was it normal for him to have fun in such a way? Just how many times had he done that? With how many more women? More and more questions rapidly formed in her mind and she seemed to be getting angry for no real reason at all.

"And we're back to the emotional torture again. Stop being in denial and admit you had fun already," the voice of Susano said as he materialized using his own power. "Also..." He then grabbed Samira and tossed her over his shoulder. "I heard Sake!" He completely ignored the fact Ikuchi was in the room or even at the doorway, or rather just didn't even see him now that his goal was set in the other room. Assuming Ikuchi didn't move he would end up being bulldozed out of the way by the wind spirit that sprinted out of the room and towards the collection of Sake in the other room, all while carrying a whining Samira who kept saying she didn't drink such things. "That's the point. Amaterasu's rules regarding younger brother number one: 'Do not let Susano drink. Ever. Unless he can be controlled or I find the result amusing.' You get to be the sober summoner!"

"Why cannot Amaterasu do it?! She is your elder sister! Not me!"

"She gets...influenced." He had set Samira down by that point and was looking over the assortment of bottles that were going to be completely empty before morning approached. "Huh, I just remembered. Isn't the beast supposed to be here somewhere?"

(Word Count: 1440
Total So Far: 8276)

Susano didn't even bother turning around when Ikuchi spoke and called him a failed incarnation. Being an incarnation was true enough, but that did not mean he didn't do anything noteworthy in the past. It wasn't as if Samira was the only summoner in world's history to use his key. There were...hmm. Well, not even enough to fill one hand. How long had it been again? He thought about it for a few seconds without a single ounce of anger or annoyance towards the beast. Then he heard Ama being mentioned and with the admission of head rubs his brow twitched. That was a decent trigger. Now he had no choice but to acknowledge his presence.

'Really, Ama? Head rubs?! With him?!'

Amaterasu may not have been there physically but she was still very near Samira's mind space playing games with the others. Her attention was caught the moment Susano contacted her and she pieced the conversation together after going through her summoner's thoughts. 'The Hound of Dragons was rather adorable at the time and needed comfort. Should I have done this "heavy petting" I have heard about as well?'

'NO!'

'Why not? Is it not like normal petting but with slightly more force? I had assumed it worked like some sort of massage and forced relaxation.'

The wind spirit face palmed, all while still slightly paying attention to Ikuchi's words as he turned around with narrowed eyes. Did he insult Kaori? That was very likely possible given his personality and she probably deserved it. He had nothing against her personally though and had some form of respect for her. Not that he would ever apologize for the insult, however. The beast though not so much. There wasn't even any desire to acknowledge he even had a name. Respect for him was lost several weeks ago, and decreased even further when bringing up his sister. What would solve the conflict of respect? A drinking contest! When the jugs of the alcoholic beverage appeared on the table Susano could only grin. "I'll give you credit this time. A fine idea!" He took his own seat at the ground level table and readied himself for the contest. The spirit was full of confidence since he always did such a thing against Bacchus, the spirit incarnation of the god of wine. He lost. Every time. That was to be expected when the opposing spirit was practically immune to getting drunk completely. Susano was a persistent one though and at that moment he was facing not a spirit of alcohol but a creature he assumed to be nothing more than a beast. It was going to be a cinch! Or, so he thought considering he was completely unaware of the fact Ikuchi could not exactly get drunk.

Samira just blinked her widened eyes as the two sat at the table to begin drinking. It horrified her to think that not only was Ikuchi prepared to drink and lose his mind but so was Susano. What was she supposed to do if the situation got out of control? "Is this really the correct way to solve matters? Surely an apology would..." Hell, neither of them were the type to ever apologize. When she was given the alternative she pictured the battle in her mind and cringed. Yes, that would be quite bad, but it was likely to end up as that anyway if they both proved to be violent drunks. "Very well. I will go sit with the odd genie," she said with a sigh before making her way over to the couch and taking a seat.

The contest began and even Samira's spirits had begun watching from her mind space. A roaring laughter came from one of them; Bacchus. 'Oh, ho, ho! He obviously does not know! Hahaha!'

'Does not know what?' Samira inquired using her mind so she didn't interrupt the contest going on.

'That man reigns from dragons, doesn't he? HAHA! Susano has lost before he even took the first drink. I have learned long ago that his kind are practically immune to the alcohol of the mortal realm. Even I could not beat any of them using the best from the celestial world. It was a draw every time.'

'So, then, he may as well be drinking with-'

'Me.'

'Would that not mean Ikuchi is cheating then? He went into this knowing full well he would win automatically.'

'It's not like he was ever asked his tolerance levels. That would ruin the point of the contest. Besides, a draw still is possible...although...'

'Although what?'

'Windy has a habit of passing out at the last drink. Almost makes it, but almost never counts for anything, does it? HAHAHA!'

'Do not stop this.' Amaterasu said when she got the feeling Samira felt uneasy by the unfairness of the supposed contest. He was her spirit, after all, and he was going to make a fool of himself at that rate. 'I learn new words and phrases when brother is in his drunken state. I cannot wait for him to return and watch him interact with other spirits. It amuses me. '

Samira could only put on a blank expression as she remained where she was. It appeared she wouldn't be stopping the contest whatsoever. The contest began and eventually all the jugs were depleted of their contents. Neither participant appeared to be affected. Samira knew the reason for Ikuchi's status but for Susano's she guessed he was used to the stronger version of the spirit realm. "Concede? Don't be ridiculous, beast!" Round two was then underway with the bottles that had been in the room already. That still wasn't enough to cause any true effects but the spirit did start to feel slightly tipsy. It certainly was no where near enough to get him out of the game though. The contest would continue, this time with a five gallon drum that appeared from a hole above the table and dropped by a large claw. The sudden sight earned a complete look of 'what the hell?!' from Samira as she jumped back in her seat. Susano gave no reaction except for continuing. He knew the challenge just increased several times over, but he was not about to walk away now. The spirit got passed the first drink but immediately started to feel the effects. A wave of wooziness hit him as he became buzzed and with the second drink he felt even more drunk. He was a stubborn fool though and kept going, all while mumbling incoherent words and almost forgetting he was having a contest and not drinking just because. The end of the keg had nearly been reached. He only had to finish the last of it. Just. One. More. Drink. It wasn't to be though. He dropped the drink and fell backwards with comical swirly eyes on his face and was totally smashed. Honestly if not for his stubbornness he should have conceded defeat a while ago. He was likely going to be drunk for days on end assuming his head didn't explode first. His body burst into magic particles, the loss and drunken state counting as a defeat that sent him back to the celestial realm. It was very unlikely he would even remember Ikuchi's words or even having the contest in general, but there was no doubt he would be reminded after destroying a few celestial buildings and making dirty suggestions towards random female spirits. With the contest done and there being absolutely no more alcohol left in the place, she saw no reason to remain in the living room area and went back to her room to continue her time of peace and solitude, and to continue her distance from Ikuchi.

At some point Samira had switched to a nightgown and turned in for the night. Maybe she'd even get a dream but it was doubtful. Her mind still expected it and the dream dragon preferred toying with her. How cruel. As if her mind had become annoyed by its lack of dream state, she regained partial consciousness and snuggled her head against her pillow. Then her mind began to process something was not quite right. It felt as if something was holding onto to her and there was something quite noticeable against her chest. Her eyes opened slowly, still halfway asleep. Oh, it was just Ikuchi. Her eyes closed once more for a couple of seconds as she prepared to go back to sleep, as if him being there was completely normal and did not warrant a reaction. Then the scenario began to process. It was just Ikuchi?! The green orbs snapped opened and she squeaked in alarm before preparing herself to scream and push him off the bed. Round two? Oh, no, no, no, no, NO! The plan stopped when he spoke but the words only made her heart race further as she feared there would be a repeat of the time before. Then came something she did not expect and likely was only made possible due to the drinking contest; he had apologized. Not in the normal blunt style she was used to hearing, but more relaxed and to a point where she could believe its sincerity and accept it. Her heart rate calmed and she felt those annoying and unwanted feelings for him again rise. Him in that state was eye-twitchingly sweet. She felt him snuggle closer and her heart and body wanted nothing more than to hug and cuddle against him. Her mind would have none of it. The moment he fell asleep she freed herself from his hold and shimmied herself towards the edge of the bed. She went a little too far though and ended up falling right off to land on the floor. A whispered ow was made upon landing but she quickly got to her feet. One last look that made her feel guilty for even thinking of leaving was made. Him sleeping peacefully there was almost enough to make her get back in to resume the snuggling, and for a moment she found herself reaching over to touch his face. She forcibly stopped herself and quietly left the room, heading for the unclaimed third room of the suite where she spent the remainder of the night. Her mind was not going to be so easily lost.

The next morning the reason for even being in Minstrel was to take place; the meeting for the pendant that was a required tool for finding the Arc of Destiny. The awful part was having to wear fancy clothing. It wasn't exactly something so new to her since she wore girly dresses as a child. That didn't mean they were very fun or comfortable though. Once in the meeting room Samira stayed silent but curiosity did build when the meeting was called to be postponed. The representative had been kidnapped and as cold as it was to leave it at that, Samira had to agree with what the fake Kaori had said. Even if she herself was actually a member of a legal guild, that did not mean she went out of her way to help people of other countries willy nilly. Guilds were contracted on a job system. Not every member worked off of charity and it was presumptuous of them to assume as much. If it had not been for needing the pendant to find Kaori, they wouldn't of even been there at all. A trade was made for the task of rescuing the politician and then Samira had time to quickly change her clothes before they set off. Apparently wearing the fancy attire was a complete waste.

(Word Count: 1947
Total So Far: 10223)

"What are you-?" Samira began to question when Ikuchi began going through her bag's contents. Her head turned to see him pulling out her iLac. Oh, right. She did have that...thing. The piece of lacrima technology that she still didn't have a handle of. The woman was clearly born in the wrong generation when it came to handling modern day magical technology. Her head tilted, curious as to what on Earthland he was doing with her iLac. He counted down and upon reaching one a large cylinder slammed into the ground, causing her to jump in place from the sound and unexpectedness of it. It opened and upon seeing all the weapons within it her jaw dropped. That was a little excessive. She took the gun that was handed to her with slight hesitation. It was not the first time she had wielded a firearm due to Kaori providing shot guns on their first mission together. However, it did feel unnatural to have one when she had magic spirits and magic weapons. Keeping it as a just in case measure wouldn't hurt she supposed. The crash course lesson on how to use it was mentally filed as she placed it so that it was held in place by the band of her shorts at the hip. The next thing she knew Ikuchi had covered himself with an excessive amount of weapons. From revolvers all the way to a rocket launcher. He was rather ecstatic at being able to use them, but all Samira could think of was why he even needed them. There was always fun to using weapons, especially the bigger ones, that she just did not comprehend. It didn't get past her logic barrier. Granted, using normal weaponry was probably better than him destroying part of the city with his magic. Although...that was a decently sized rocket launcher. Her mind fractured into two visionary images with both being very similar and overly exaggerated with the predicted destruction. "This will be...eventful," she said to herself as she followed the overly happy walking armory towards the car they had used before, with the same driver in it. The driver's reaction caused her to sweatdrop as he seemed to actually want to take them to where the danger was but not without putting on a scene first. "Dangerous?" Samira repeated his description with clenched teeth and a forced smile. Well one of them clearly looked the part. Not really a description she wanted to be labeled as herself. Regardless, it was a ride and she hopped into the backseat of the car.

"Uh, of course," Samira replied with a nod of her head. He had caught her offguard by mentioning the apology for she had expected him to not even remember doing it in the first place. Admitting to it wasn't something she thought he'd do either. The memory of him so close to her began to play but she forced it away. It was no time for that. In fact, technically it was never an appropriate time for that. She needed a full on mind wipe of anything Ikuchi! She sighed hopelessly when he mentioned Susano. Somehow if the two met again she knew the spirit would demand a rematch only to automatically lose again. His continuous matches with Bacchus were proof of that. "I can always use another spirit. Many of them are capable of close quarter combat." The genie appeared again, much to Samira's dismay. She didn't mind him much, and it was thanks to him she had been safe from the avalanche back in Iceberg, but she couldn't understand much of his slang terms. It was just cringing to listen to.

Once they had arrived, Samira followed Ikuchi into the odd salon, stepping over the corpses he had left behind on the outside. Much like with Kaori anyone that was considered an enemy was going to be dead before she could even disapprove of it. At least she could use the logic of they were too dangerous to be left alive, and seeing as every worker within the salon had an armband she knew they weren't some poor unfortunate souls that happened to take on the wrong job at the wrong time, like with the mercenaries within the Ancient Ruins. The armband wearing workers were trained killers and would only come back if just knocked out or slightly wounded. The enemies were dealt with easily by Ikuchi and after melting the lock to a trap door they were both in the middle of an ambush. He would have to deal with ten while she only had four. The numbers weren't exactly equal but she also was not at the same level of experience as he was. It didn't make sense to switch sides and it wasn't as if they could command the ninja heading their way to make things more even.

Samira reacted quickly after he gave his information since she didn't want to remain idle and useless. Summoning a spirit required a small chant and a possession of a key in her grasp. There was little time for that. However, most summoners could take the powers of their spirits for themselves. Her version did not require a chant. All she had to do was mentally connect with the spirit in full force and the power was hers. Her clothing changed, as is normal for summoners that make use of such a link, into a short and white greek styled dress complete with sandals that had golden straps that circled along her calves and ended right below the knee. The outfit even changed her normal headband accessory for a golden leaf circlet. Not really a battle style type of outfit but she didn't exactly need much movement. A snap of her fingers and the four ninja on her side stopped in time during their ambush. "I am sorry. I require time to do this properly. Wait a moment," she said to them bluntly, as if it were normal to demand a time out while she called on a couple of spirits. It wasn't her fault they were too fast otherwise and that she had to resort to such methods to equal the playing field. Samira then went to her keys and pulled two of them out. Her power had increased enough that she could summon two to the field and have no negative effects at all. In her usual summoning style, she slashed the air with one of the keys to create a rift between dimensions. "Open, gate of the Avatar, Goddess of Destruction! Kali!”

The four armed and blue skinned spirit appeared from the rift, and while Samira was busy with summoning the second spirit she went ahead and destroyed the poor ninja that were stuck in place due to the time stop. Skadi was summoned as the second spirit but she did not move and just crossed her arms under her chest. "Kali steal all kills." Samira blinked her eyes and called off the time stop. To her horror the bodies fell to the ground in bloody pieces. A little bit overkill. A single hit in a fatal manner would have sufficed. The summoner looked away from the sight, not wanting to lose her stomach contents over the sight and also there was the fact she could always give Ikuchi a hand, not that he really needed it. Regardless, due to her power link with Chronos, Samira passively generated an aura that would slow all of the ninja down as well as speed up her allies. Support magic ruled. Kali would also rush off to that side to deal with the enemies that remained, if any, and Skadi's mist wolves joined the party. Once all was clear, it was time to keep moving to find that politician.

Edit 3-8-20
Posts above complete the S rank WC of 16,000 for Original Turn In 8137 + 10,223
New WC: 1302

The enemies were all defeated much to Kali's annoyance. At least she had the pleasure of slicing up the four that were present on her summoner's side. She didn't exactly care that they may as well have been served on a silver platter so long as she got to spill their blood. "As many times as I have been called I would think your ears would have picked up on my name," Kali spat out rather spitefully, almost taking it as an insult. The only reason she didn't attempt to slice his ears off to make his deafness more accurate was because the term spirit was technically correct, and she could have been called much worse. The secret reason was because she came to respect Kaori's fighting abilities and he was her pet...or something. She didn't really care for that detail. Main point was he was an ally.

"You are out that means fighting. He likely too busy to hear name," Skadi said as she approached and then proceeded to shove Kali to the side. The action was quite easy since while Kali was thin, quick, and mobile, Skadi was stronger physically and a lot more sturdier. "Skadi," the winter spirit introduced as she pointed to herself. Then she pointed over to Kali, who was fighting all urges to stab her companion spirit multiple times as payback for the shove. "Rude spirit Kali." Two names down, just another dozen of names to go, but that will be saved for another day. The spirits soon took notice of Samira stopping in place, and while Skadi was patient and understanding of the vision, Kali's vein bulged on her temple as her eyebrow twitched. "Your grandfather's timing is ridiculous." While certain obvious details were left out and no spirit was going to go through the memory banks for them the mains ones such as the cause of the random dreams and visions as well as the relation was known due to Samira's explanation and knowledge of it. The fight may have been over at that point but that did not mean more enemies would not come while the summoner stood there.

The world changed for Samira, an effect she had seen a few times before in Iceberg. Another vision was taking form. The walls changed and the lighting grew somewhat brighter and instead of her spirits and Ikuchi being in front of her it was Aquarius. There seemed to be no rage within him, at least not the kind he had back when he struck her. He seemed calm and was leading her down the hallway silently. A room was passed with her name engraved on it, much like the one within the White Mermaid. Putting the pieces together from that as well as the last time she was on the massively sized ship, Samira concluded she was on the Arc of Destiny; the ship Kaori had taken refuge in all that time. The zodiac spirit spoke before allowing her inside a room and then closed the door behind her. The room was a chaotic mess. Things broken and tossed everywhere, even the stuffed animals Kaori treasured were torn apart. As her vision self got closer she could see what appeared to be the true form of Kaori on the bed, although she looked horrible and weak. It was an image she could only see in stories previously, an image that normally came when someone in that state was about to meet their end in a more natural form. A horrible feeling of dread came over Samira as her mind predicted the final outcome the vision had to tell her. It was worse than the death she saw in the first dream. That one had been instant and unexpected. The current one was slow, allowing her to take it all in before the ultimate finale that she knew was coming and did not wish to see. The vision Kaori did not seem to process that her vision self was real and seemed to be fearful, but it changed as soon as their hands touched. Tears formed and the vision Kaori acknowledged the reality of the vision Samira. The tone of voice was even one of relief and hope, making it almost believable that the vision would turn around to where the ninja would recover. It was not to be. It was too much and the instability finally caught up with Kaori as she passed on to the next world. The loud and unending beep was all she heard as the vision faded. It was so loud that even after she snapped back into reality she did not jump in surprise from the sound of the assault rifle shot. The beeping continued to ring in her ears, blending in with the shot. She didn't even hear Ikuchi's words. As he begun to move forward the ringing finally faded and her mind quickly recalled what she had been doing prior. Right. They were supposed to rescue the politician in exchange for the pendent that would help locate Kaori. There was little time to spare. Samira wiped the tears that had formed at the corner of her eyes and followed Ikuchi and her spirits. Little time to spare and yet she had to wonder if it was even worth the risk of her being present when everything was in order to see Kaori. The vision was obvious; Kaori would die if she did not recover. However, it also showed a possibility that worried Samira. Would her appearance be enough to send Kaori over the edge to the point what happened there would happen in reality? Just what was she supposed to do? She would end up being Kaori's unintentional killer no matter what she did.

The next room had only two opponents within; a woman that Samira thinks she had seen before those ninja honestly all look the same and a man, both wearing high ranking wristbands. Ikuchi had already picked one as his opponent, leaving Samira and her spirits to deal with the man. Honestly which ever one she got did not matter. Both were more skilled fighters than she was at her novice level. Her spirits would have to do the fighting while she acted as support and assistance for them. Kali wasted no time. The moment Ikuchi said he would handle the girl she leapt forward towards the male target. Her patience had been lost while standing there waiting for the mind vision to end and she was ready to shed more blood. She slashed with both her scimitars, both being parried easily and he quickly dodged the trident that came down as a third attack. Skadi's mist wolves were there to greet him but were quickly destroyed before their full attack could take effect. He wasn't a platinum rank for nothing. Even with the aura from Chronos' power link the slow down effect on the enemy and the speed up effect for her spirits were not enough to take full advantage of it.

'This is stupid. I tire of constantly dealing with ninja.' Kali sent her thoughts out while picking up her speed of attacks to get a hit in. Parry after parry until the man got a hit of his own in that caused the spirit to pause just before she got sent flying towards a wall. Samira had pulled out the gun she had been given earlier, it being held by a golden belt along the dress rather than her shorts due to the clothes transformation. The safety was deactivated and she held and raised it with both hands as she took a shot while he was distracted. Missed with it barely grazing his shoulder. It was hard to aim properly with a quickly moving target since her practice had been with a stationary one. Oh, well.

Before he could react Skadi had jumped into the fray wielding an ice coated spear but during the weapon swing play he used the spear as a step ladder that allowed him to jump over the spirit and towards Samira, the weak link as well as the main source of power for the two spirits. The result? Well, Chronos' power had become useless now since the time stop had already been used and the speed changes did not seem to matter. What the ninja did not know was that Samira had switched power links with another spirit while Kali and Skadi were fighting him. Since it was one from the same cultural set, her clothes did not change. The ninja ran face first right into a barrier. A shield materialized in front of him and then with a burst of energy the barrier grew and pushed him back against the wall on the other side of the room, giving him just enough space so he wasn't crushed. Samira had more access to defensive spirits now as well as support. Those old tricks used by enemies were not going to be as easy to get off anymore. Once her offensive abilities grew future enemies had better start praying to the real gods for mercy.

Skadi's spear transformed into an ice rock which, after walking over to the stuck ninja, was used to send a single blow on his head. Spirits and powerful creatures tended to always be able to wake up at some point after her skull bash blow, but for a normal human? His skull practically imploded and exploded at the same time. He wouldn't ever be waking up unless he could magically regain his brain matter from the wall and floor. "Not perfect mate," Skadi said with a shrug of her shoulders as she tossed the bloody ice rock over and behind her. She didn't even seem disappointed. It was just another day of mate hunting for her.

Edit 3-8-20
WC: 1636
New Total: 2938

Samira's battle had concluded and it seemed Ikuchi's fight was reaching its end as well. Little time was wasted and hopefully the politician's whereabouts would be made known once the fight officially concluded. Then it was on to the next phase of the plan. That was all Samira cared about even if more thinking needed to be done on what she herself must do when it came to seeing Kaori or not. She watched as the finishing blow was about to be made, but it stopped after the woman screamed some word she had heard before, only coming from Kaori. The attack stopped and then... "What?" Samira's eyes widened in utter amazement and disbelief when she heard the opposing ninja woman actually demand Ikuchi to marry her. The spell she had been using to form a power link between the unsummoned spirit and herself was also lost, as she instantly lost focus with hearing the words, and her clothing changed back to normal. Just...what?! Her eyebrow began twitching. Was he some sort of magnet for hormonal women? Besides herself, of course. Sure he had a decent appearance, excellent fighting skills, and some would say his personality was charming, but that was nothing to warrant an instant marriage proposal. Was it normal for people of Midi to do such a thing? As if things couldn't get anymore face palm worthy there wasn't even an instant decline. Was he seriously considering it?! Samira felt a hot fire within her take shape and she had a sudden desire to pulverize them both, although she had no idea why. It's not like Ikuchi and herself were an item, and in no way would she ever admit to being a part of whatever harem he had stashed in a closet. The thought was revolting, disgraceful, humiliating, and it was even a matter of pride. Being a part of some sexual fanclub for him was beneath her. Yet there she was, wanting to smack both of them to the next life for reasons unknown. A shame it was not possible.

After the woman said something in what Samira assumed to be her native language, the decline to the marriage proposal was finally given. Thank the heavens. There were already enough women surrounding the man, a couple even she didn't know about, although if she had she would be worried about how much longer the list got. There didn't need to be more competition annoying delusional women. At least she was well aware her own feelings and encounter were misplaced and a mistake entirely. The conversation switched back to match her own, enabling her to understand what was being said. She had no negative opinion on his reasons for declining. They made sense, especially where trust and betrayal was concerned. The woman seemed to be quite disappointed and surprised by the answers, but in all honestly Samira could not pinpoint how she did not come to those conclusions herself. Clans were a big part of their culture and it was doubtful it was easy to gain membership of one after betraying another. She didn't agree with suicide over it, but that was due to her lack of comprehension of just how severe clan betrayal was. Fiorans had no such ties in that way. They were free to leave and join guilds as they chose, assuming they were not of the dark variety anyway. Still, Samira felt waves of anger at the woman's stupidity but for a different reason than jealousy.

"Only my summoner may command me, mutt!" Kali replied venomously when Ikuchi made his threat.

"Kali, he did not appreciate Susano calling him beast. For your sake and mine, do not use that term. I do not want to use energy summoning you only to have you sent back immediately because he remembered that derogatory name."

"He can grow a thicker skin. There is no point in keeping a single rat alive." Kali raised her weapons with the thought of seeing if he would make good on his threat. It wasn't as if being sent back to the celestial world was a bad thing. She would recover and be able to return. It was a false death and she quite enjoyed it when it happened. Before the first step test could be taken, Skadi grabbed the blue skinned spirit by one of her arms and held her in place with a firm hold. "Was his battle. He decide fate of enemy." Kali just glared at Skadi before looking at Samira. An order to not attack was never given. Only was her wish to not call the dragonhound a mutt was all that had been said. "And what of you, summoner?" The title of summoner was said in a sarcastic manner, almost mocking. The spirit had the expectation that the girl would surely disapprove of it. Samira just closed her eyes and remained silent. Kali already knew her answer, and there was also the fact she knew very well that the spirit would not have made it. Only Amaterasu had enough speed to even attempt it. If Kali wished to try then that was up to her. The spirit wouldn't die and she would be facing the consequences of her own actions. Kali's expression went blank and she lowered her weapons. "I had hoped you would stop with these acts of mercy. One day the wrong enemy will survive, and you will face the consequences. Do not call on me at that time." Kali then disappeared in a puff of magic particles, sending herself back to the celestial world.

By that point Samira and Skadi could only watch as Ikuchi started to laugh manically as he now had the opportunity to use the rocket launcher. Samira's was one of horror as he unleashed the magic rocket into the wall, while Skadi's was more on the impressed side. If he wasn't careful he would end up as the next skull bashing candidate. "Is good improvisation."

"Skadi, please. No," Samira said as she glanced at the spirit, who's tone suggested she was considering trying to bash him on the head with a boulder.

"He available, yes?"

"I honestly have no idea by this point, but you may not raise a boulder to his head."

"Hmmm, will concede for now. Do not wish to battle summoner for mate."

"Excuse me?" Samira was genuinely confused by the winter spirit's statement. It was obvious what Skadi was getting at, but Samira's own denial and acts of suppressing emotions made her blind to its meaning. She still hadn't even untangled the mess that involved Kaori. There was no explanation though. Skadi disappeared in a small blast of blue snowflake particles, dismissing herself as well since it was all over. The now freed politician had run over to where she was and kissed her cheek and hugged her, thankful that she had been rescued. Samira just stood there with a blank expression. She really was not the touchy feely type with random people. It didn't last long thankfully and right then and there more negotiations were made. After that, it was time to leave.

The others had headed out with Samira being the last one to pass the distraught ninja woman. Samira stopped her steps and looked down at the dagger that had been left for her. The suggestion of killing herself was recalled and was likely the reason the dagger had been placed there and also the reason Ikuchi had threatened Kali. "He gave you his reasons. Now I will give my own for never allowing your outrageous demand to become reality. You had the audacity to demand marriage of one that loyally serves the enemy of the man that leads you. Even worse is you expected him to agree to it. You shut off your mind in favor of what your body wanted and as a result your loyalties changed for that reason. Your mind is weak and cannot be trusted to not break. If you were to be with him then you would also be near enough to affect his master. I will not allow someone like you in her inner circle." Samira's tone was rather calm as she spoke, although on the inside she still felt that fire from earlier. She made no mention of the slight jealously she felt since that was just a minor effect of possessive emotions. The important part was how it would affect Kaori and the jealously paled in comparison to that. Clearly the woman did not think that far ahead, or if she had she truly did not care which only made the situation even worse for her. Kaori was already suffering because of the mistakes and weaknesses of the summoner, and she was not about to let someone else repeat that, especially an enemy that hit that close to home. Samira returned her gaze forward and began to fully leave the room. "I wonder how weak of mind you truly are. Suicide accomplishes nothing."

Samira reached the hole they had previously used, only this time it had an actual non-melted ladder attached. Once back on normal ground level she made her exit from the salon. Minstrel mission accomplished. Now all that was left was the final goal now that they had the pendent. The inner turmoil within her increased as they were even closer to reaching Kaori. The last vision would plague her mind for a while longer.

Edit 3-8-20
WC: 1574
New TWC: 4512
3500 for B Rank Freeform
500 for D Rank Freeform
500 for D Rank Freeform