In the Shadows of the Moon

It would not be the first time that Toppa was attacked by an angry woman, nor likely would it be the last. But it would be one of the most memorable.

A fledgling mage had just successfully entered into what was once was, and still is, legendary guilds of all time. Knowing next to nothing of magic and armed with only his wits and the small fortune availed to him, the youn entrepeneur had just successfully secured what was going to be a very fortuitous and healthy relationship with what could essentially be called the strongest neutral guilds of all time.

This had its benefits, firstly, that they would now be a first contact point for security, assassination, political espionage, bribe, blackmail, subterfuge, gerrymander, coercion, and any other kind of blacguarded activity his devious mind could think of. Second, he had just taken his step into a world of power, and being able to apprentice under the security of such an established location was, for the most part, a miraculous stroke of luck.

Little did he think he could actually sign a membership with just a few words and pretty curls, but it happened. Of course, he did assume that there would be some degree of give or take.

But what happened next, he could not account for, not even with his prescience. He was simply walking alongside what he had thought to be a safe road down from Magnolia to his lodgings, when suddenly, a great chill spread across his spine, followed by the crack of a twig. Toppa's instincts kicked in.

Like it or not, he was supposedly part of a warrior bloodline, and though he had never trained a single day in his life for warfare, this bloodline helped him now. As if prepared for a moment of death the instant it struck him, Toppa spun backwards, sticking his forearm out on instinct to prevent the predator from sinking its teeth into his neck.

Instead of an animal or beast, what he saw instead was gold. Gold and red. Gorgeous ruby eyes, refined and slender features, a full breasted chest, and plated armor that weighed down her entire body in what could have been an additional twenty pounds of gilded steel. The girl launched atop of him successfully, the weight pinning against his chest as Toppa's surprised ruby red eyes met hers, as his body collapsed onto thankfully soft dirt with an "Oof!"

"Easy, easy." He called out, his voice intentionally hushed and soft, as if attempting to lull the girl. Even if he was not trained to fight, he was certainly trained to remain calm under pressure, and this was certainly an abnormal situation. What was the cause of this? He thought to himself. His immediate instinct was to go for the easy answer, it was a woman scorned, a heart he had broken, a lie he had given out to a hopeful heart and dashed to the ground.

Yet the girl looked like none of his exes. Perhaps it was just for a night?

Releasing his arm from guarding his neck, Toppa's hand instead moved to behind the girl's neck, his other hand caressed her chin as he pressed his lips into what would otherwise be a very aggressive and scorned woman, sliding his tongue into hers as his leg slid between her thighs, pushing the girl's crotch upwards to leverage her body for ease of access, before pulling away from the kiss.

It may have stunned her, or not, either way, it was not something he expected to pull him out of the situation, just one that would give him time to think of a solution.

He had not expected a kind response, and even as his attacker's smile formed against her face, her eyes told him all he needed to know. He had violated some sanctified territory only known either to her or someone she knew personally. Which was why as she pulled him closer, Toppa remained as on guard as possible.

After all, no regular person randomly tackles another person down.

His fears were confirmed as the woman, again, attempted a second attack.

While Toppa was not particularly well versed in magic, he reacted fast enough to prevent the majority of the damage to his face, by tilting himself to the side so that her foehead would not strike his nose, but his cheekbone. THe force of her head, combined with the vicious strike, stung heavily against his head, and collision between him and the ground hard enough that it dizzied him for a bare few moments, before anger rushed through his head.

"WHAT THE HELL ARE YOU EVEN TRYING?!"

He heard, a shrill scream, bitter and miserable. "I know I shouldn't have tackled you like that, but that was an accident. I thought you were something else. But you can't tell me that that kissing was all accidental too! You do that to every girl that jumps you?"

Toppa scoffed as her hands released him, as he scrambled back up and backwards, running ah and against his face, which now had a deep swelling mark against his cheek where she had headbutted. The bone did not cut past the skin, but he was still livid at the situation. "Even though that coffee and dark chocolate mix was rather tasty… Rose Garden's Dark Ebony coffee, I think?"

"Excuse me?" He retorted, his words carrying an understandable tone of both bewilderment and anger. "You tackled me onto the floor as if you were to kill me, and you're worried about me kissing you?" Toppa folded his glasses and slid them inside his now dirtied blazer, "You think me suddenly kissing you to stop you from assault is enough to justify you headbutting me in the face? And you have the gall to try to continue a casual conversation afterward? What on earth is your issue?"