rattle...what’s that rattle?
Characters: Bastet/Yoruichi felinemystique, and OPEN to witnesses/arrivals after the fact
Date/Time: late morning, Monday, August 15, directly after/during this entry.
Location: A remote area of the Park
Rating: PG-13 or so
Summary: Yoruichi has unwisely taunted the Tree and its creator, and so pays the price.
Notes: While I know some people will arrive during the fight, they won’t be able to reach her. So feel free to have your characters have their own battles with the tree branches/roots, if you need a reason to delay them!
Yoruichi had brought this on herself. And right now, she was fine with that.
To find out that the most devastating losses of her time in the Sphere weren’t simply acts of chance, but had been inflicted deliberately...
She was sick of absorbing blows, over and over. Tired of having no viable way to strike back. And while her loss of temper over the journals hardly counted as a viable way to fight back, she’d been far too angry to stop.
A short rumble was her only warning before a branch sprouted from the ground, sending a spray of dirt and bark fragments through the air. She dropped the journal and leaped up, dodging it, only to have to twist in the other direction when another branch went for her side. Only her speed and her ability to balance on air saved her. She’d been training in a remote area of the Park when she’d decided to check the journals during a break, so at least no bystanders would be involved.
“So this is it, hm?” she called out, punching another branch away. “You can’t have me, so you’ll kill me? Is that it?”
She didn’t know if Fugue could hear her, but suspected at least part of him could. And even if she knew for certain that he could hear, she doubted anything she said would get through to him. Anyone so self-absorbed as to abduct people and wipe their memories just for the sake of loneliness wouldn’t be swayed by just a few words.
“You’re pathetic,” she growled. “Why would I choose you over him? Why would I choose you at all?” Branches shot out of the ground in a rough circle around her, interlocking and weaving themselves into a dome, blocking her escape.
Yoruichi knew she should be terrified. She was going to die, like so many others had before her, just for bucking the will of the Tree, for daring to take issue with being manipulated for someone else’s pleasure.
But all she felt was fury. Some of the most painful periods of her life had been deliberately inflicted, all because of jealousy. Having to experience not once, but twice, the loss of a lover, only to have him reappear with no recollection of her. To mean nothing to someone who had once adored her, while her feelings for him had remained unchanged. It didn't matter that she'd moved on; she still carried damage from the experience.
Even her friends had fallen victim; Roy and Allelujah had practically been family, and their losses had hurt as much as any.
It made the bile crawl up into her throat, and gave her movements added ferocity. While she was able to dodge the first few branches and destroy others, they simply kept coming. With a thought, she activated shunko, and blue-white arcs of energy burst from her back and shoulders, incinerating the branches that attacked from behind.
With shunko activated, she flipped and spun, shearing through the branches with nothing more than the force of her kidou-shielded limbs. Tiny pieces of bark stung her eyes, but she couldn’t afford to slow for even a moment; no matter how easily she was able to destroy the branches coming after her, those forming the dome about her weren’t affected by her attacks.
She darted and twisted and flipped within the confines of her cage, her eyes blazing with a fury she couldn’t contain. Even if she was sure her efforts were futile, even if she was sure she was going to die--she didn’t want to. She’d damn well put up a fight before letting him win.
Yoruichi dropped to one knee, ignoring the line scored across her arm by a tree root. Letting out a shout, she punched the ground, hammering it again and again in an effort to dislodge the dome around her. Distantly, she could hear the ground crack and buckle beneath the force of her blows. The damage radius was a couple of hundred yards, far more than she’d known she was capable of.
It seemed to work somewhat; attacks ceased to come from the ground beneath her anymore, giving her a brief respite. The air was clouded by dirt and dust during the pause, with the only sound her harsh breathing. Then, without warning, one of the branches in the dome unwound and shot towards her, tearing through her side. Swearing, she leapt into the air, grimacing as blood soaked the right side of her body. Another branch, and then another unwound and shot towards her, impaling her left shoulder and scoring her right thigh, severely limiting hr mobility.
Still, though...were the attacks getting slower? She knew she was, but she was still able to dodge a good number of them. Was he playing with her?
Or, given all the other signs of breakdown recently--was this simply all he was capable of now? Even though she’d provoked the Tree into a murderous pique, was this all it could do?
The thought gave her new resolve, and she pushed aside the pain and slight dizziness from blood loss; if she didn’t get out of here soon, she wouldn’t leave at all. Balancing on the broken ground, she focused her energy, intending on firing one final shunko blast.
The branches of the dome surrounding her seemed to contract, as if sensing her intention. Blue-white bolts of energy arced from her body, but they refused to gather in her hand for more than a second at a time. Shunko required enormous control, but she’d lost too much blood, and was standing on sheer will as it was. Crude though it may be, she would simply have to throw as much reiatsu at the cage as possible, in the hope of destroying it.
The dome shivered and creaked as wave after wave of energy battered against it. Her body trembled with exhaustion and blood loss, but if she had to use every last bit of her strength fighting, so be it.
Creaks became groans and soon cracks appeared in the interlacing of branches above her. Her breath rasped in her chest, but she kept on, pouring as much energy as she could against her prison.
She wouldn’t pretend Neil had been the love of her life, but they had loved each other. They’d made each other happy. And they hadn’t deserved to be ripped apart in such a cruel way.
Just when she thought she couldn’t hold out another second, the dome cracked in multiple places, sending sandy, woody debris down on her. A few seconds later, it fell apart, pieces of woven branches crashing to the ground.
That doesn’t mean it’s over, he could still attack again, that’s how you died last time--
She fell to her knees, clutching the wound in her side. Even if she wanted to be ready for any further attacks, she simply wasn’t physically capable any longer.
No matter. She’d simply have to leave any further fighting to her friends for a bit. With the energy she’d been throwing off, they’d be here any second now.
...she hoped.
Date/Time: late morning, Monday, August 15, directly after/during this entry.
Location: A remote area of the Park
Rating: PG-13 or so
Summary: Yoruichi has unwisely taunted the Tree and its creator, and so pays the price.
Notes: While I know some people will arrive during the fight, they won’t be able to reach her. So feel free to have your characters have their own battles with the tree branches/roots, if you need a reason to delay them!
Yoruichi had brought this on herself. And right now, she was fine with that.
To find out that the most devastating losses of her time in the Sphere weren’t simply acts of chance, but had been inflicted deliberately...
She was sick of absorbing blows, over and over. Tired of having no viable way to strike back. And while her loss of temper over the journals hardly counted as a viable way to fight back, she’d been far too angry to stop.
A short rumble was her only warning before a branch sprouted from the ground, sending a spray of dirt and bark fragments through the air. She dropped the journal and leaped up, dodging it, only to have to twist in the other direction when another branch went for her side. Only her speed and her ability to balance on air saved her. She’d been training in a remote area of the Park when she’d decided to check the journals during a break, so at least no bystanders would be involved.
“So this is it, hm?” she called out, punching another branch away. “You can’t have me, so you’ll kill me? Is that it?”
She didn’t know if Fugue could hear her, but suspected at least part of him could. And even if she knew for certain that he could hear, she doubted anything she said would get through to him. Anyone so self-absorbed as to abduct people and wipe their memories just for the sake of loneliness wouldn’t be swayed by just a few words.
“You’re pathetic,” she growled. “Why would I choose you over him? Why would I choose you at all?” Branches shot out of the ground in a rough circle around her, interlocking and weaving themselves into a dome, blocking her escape.
Yoruichi knew she should be terrified. She was going to die, like so many others had before her, just for bucking the will of the Tree, for daring to take issue with being manipulated for someone else’s pleasure.
But all she felt was fury. Some of the most painful periods of her life had been deliberately inflicted, all because of jealousy. Having to experience not once, but twice, the loss of a lover, only to have him reappear with no recollection of her. To mean nothing to someone who had once adored her, while her feelings for him had remained unchanged. It didn't matter that she'd moved on; she still carried damage from the experience.
Even her friends had fallen victim; Roy and Allelujah had practically been family, and their losses had hurt as much as any.
It made the bile crawl up into her throat, and gave her movements added ferocity. While she was able to dodge the first few branches and destroy others, they simply kept coming. With a thought, she activated shunko, and blue-white arcs of energy burst from her back and shoulders, incinerating the branches that attacked from behind.
With shunko activated, she flipped and spun, shearing through the branches with nothing more than the force of her kidou-shielded limbs. Tiny pieces of bark stung her eyes, but she couldn’t afford to slow for even a moment; no matter how easily she was able to destroy the branches coming after her, those forming the dome about her weren’t affected by her attacks.
She darted and twisted and flipped within the confines of her cage, her eyes blazing with a fury she couldn’t contain. Even if she was sure her efforts were futile, even if she was sure she was going to die--she didn’t want to. She’d damn well put up a fight before letting him win.
Yoruichi dropped to one knee, ignoring the line scored across her arm by a tree root. Letting out a shout, she punched the ground, hammering it again and again in an effort to dislodge the dome around her. Distantly, she could hear the ground crack and buckle beneath the force of her blows. The damage radius was a couple of hundred yards, far more than she’d known she was capable of.
It seemed to work somewhat; attacks ceased to come from the ground beneath her anymore, giving her a brief respite. The air was clouded by dirt and dust during the pause, with the only sound her harsh breathing. Then, without warning, one of the branches in the dome unwound and shot towards her, tearing through her side. Swearing, she leapt into the air, grimacing as blood soaked the right side of her body. Another branch, and then another unwound and shot towards her, impaling her left shoulder and scoring her right thigh, severely limiting hr mobility.
Still, though...were the attacks getting slower? She knew she was, but she was still able to dodge a good number of them. Was he playing with her?
Or, given all the other signs of breakdown recently--was this simply all he was capable of now? Even though she’d provoked the Tree into a murderous pique, was this all it could do?
The thought gave her new resolve, and she pushed aside the pain and slight dizziness from blood loss; if she didn’t get out of here soon, she wouldn’t leave at all. Balancing on the broken ground, she focused her energy, intending on firing one final shunko blast.
The branches of the dome surrounding her seemed to contract, as if sensing her intention. Blue-white bolts of energy arced from her body, but they refused to gather in her hand for more than a second at a time. Shunko required enormous control, but she’d lost too much blood, and was standing on sheer will as it was. Crude though it may be, she would simply have to throw as much reiatsu at the cage as possible, in the hope of destroying it.
The dome shivered and creaked as wave after wave of energy battered against it. Her body trembled with exhaustion and blood loss, but if she had to use every last bit of her strength fighting, so be it.
Creaks became groans and soon cracks appeared in the interlacing of branches above her. Her breath rasped in her chest, but she kept on, pouring as much energy as she could against her prison.
She wouldn’t pretend Neil had been the love of her life, but they had loved each other. They’d made each other happy. And they hadn’t deserved to be ripped apart in such a cruel way.
Just when she thought she couldn’t hold out another second, the dome cracked in multiple places, sending sandy, woody debris down on her. A few seconds later, it fell apart, pieces of woven branches crashing to the ground.
That doesn’t mean it’s over, he could still attack again, that’s how you died last time--
She fell to her knees, clutching the wound in her side. Even if she wanted to be ready for any further attacks, she simply wasn’t physically capable any longer.
No matter. She’d simply have to leave any further fighting to her friends for a bit. With the energy she’d been throwing off, they’d be here any second now.
...she hoped.