boxofsleep | (no subject)

No, it wouldn't do at all, would it? Xikkuyo was already perfectly good at discouraging herself, thank you all the same. Her shoulders dropped with a hint of relief, tension starting to bleed out; it wasn't bad enough for him to be angry or disappointed in her, at least..... Or rather, as close as he could get. Regardless, she'd still apparently have other chances to prove herself.

The chakrams being summoned caught her by surprise; Xikkuyo stared for a moment in something like wonder, distracted. She'd never seen weapons like those before..... they looked pretty fierce. Axel must be a pretty good fighter, then, huh? Next to something like those, her fan seems so..... ineffectual, so inadequate..... Then again, when had it ever compared to the others' weapons, even in the TV world?

She wasn't afraid that Axel would let her get too badly hurt, but..... in a place like this..... "Won't people see us if we go fighting, though?" What would they even fight? How had people not noticed them using magic like this just yet?

Twilight's citizens had never been the most observant bunch, Axel thought. Everything the Organization'd done around town, ignored so readily - was it because they were keeping the Heartless under control? Or were they just that apathetic, just that used to it all?

As for Xikkuyo's enquiry, though, he shrugged. "The locals don't usually bother with where we're going." With a wave of his hand, the portal re-opened. "I'm going to have to show you how these work soon enough, but for now, it's darkness manipulation - just another short hop."

This time, they'd be taking one lot of corridors to reach another - a more mundane set, underground.

Xikkuyo just couldn't understand that. Not noticing strangers sneaking around, or strange lightning bolts from a clear blue sky? Inaba would have been buzzing about things like that! People would have investigated--kids like her would have, if nothing else. People would have gotten curious, and started rumors circulating. Was then keeping the Heartless population under control really worth not being curious?

Another one of those portals again..... This time, Xikkuyo doesn't hesitate to follow Axel into it, drifting close to his side as they go. "Darkness manipulation..... is that another spell from those crystals?" Where are they, even? She can tell it's some kind of tunnel, but other than that..... Maybe it'll be easier once her eyes adjust.

Axel shook his head. "Nope. It's something that you'll pick up soon enough, though." Especially if she kept doing as well as she has so far.

The Twilight Town tram corridors were a bit flickery, today: now this was interesting. Heartless or a mundane explanation? Worth a quick look around, after all, now they were here... Axel gestured around. "No-one ever comes down here. Well, the odd maintenance guy, but we see them once in a blue moon...

What we do get down here is Heartless. Have you been told about them? We're going on a little hunt."

"Oh, like the shrine....." Xikkuyo murmured to herself, rubbing her eyes. That had been basically abandoned, too, even in a place like Inaba..... It still seemed a little odd that a place right in the middle of town would have nobody but maintenance visiting it, but she supposed she couldn't argue. It was convenient for them, at least..... What was it even supposed to be used for, though? Was it abandoned because of these Heartless?

Xikkuyo nodded, a little uncertainly. If nothing else, she'd at least heard the name before. She was sure she'd learn more, if they were going hunting for the things. "Saïx and Xemnas mentioned them. They said those aer what we're supposed to fight." Among other things. She'd tried to listen, really she had, but so much of it had gone over her head..... She'd barely understood any of Xemnas' explanations, and Saïx hadn't been exactly forthcoming with help.

"Bingo," Axel remarked. "You're not going to be fighting them front and centre, I don't think - not like any of you kids came in swinging Keyblades. But it's an important part of what we do, so we're going to have to start somewhere."

He looked around for any obvious signs of Heartless presence. Usually some around here, somewhere... and as overhead the lights flickered, another flicker caught his eye. He gestured again, pointing around a corner, his voice lowered in tone.

"You see that thing there? We've found our first one. Shouldn't be a problem - it's just a Shadow."

Xikkuyo nodded, following the gesture with her eyes to see the glimmer of gold eyes and a small dark figure scuttling along the floor. She couldn't quite bring herself to say anything just yet--she felt sick at just the sight, throat tight and rooted to the spot. If she could have felt fear or horror, or even true revulsion, she would have; she recognized that creature. So the Heartless were what had attacked Inaba.....

She doesn't want to go. She doesn't want to touch one of those things. She doesn't even want to look at it. Xikkuyo clutches her fan tighter; it's not good to freeze up like this, not when he obviously wants her to hunt it, but..... Her own voice is soft, not quite a whisper. "Wh-what do I do.....?"

Damn. That was a pretty convincing show of being scared, that was for sure... even if he knew he technically wasn't going to be stopping any feelings on her part, this called for some reassurance. No use making this any more stressful than it had to be. Still, they didn't have all day.

Steadily, softly, as comfortingly as he could manage, Axel spoke on. "In your own time, in whatever way you feel's most appropriate, I'd like you to try and fight it. You can use your magic, or try and attack it physically: how's not the point. The point is that you show me what you can do.

Because I know you can do this, Xikkuyo."

Edited 2014-01-26 21:00 (UTC)

She couldn't tear her gaze away from those blank, inhuman, monstrous eyes. She couldn't stop thinking about the way even their Personas hadn't been able to hold them all off, the way they all had screamed..... How was he supposed to face them now, when even her Persona hadn't been able to do anything--when all of them together hadn't been able to do anything? How could she, after.....?

Xikkuyo nodded in understanding, breathing deep to try and steady herself, hands shaking. A few petal fell from the trembling fan to drift down to her feet; a pale blue glow licked at them both, soft and warm and reasuring, accompanied by the faint smell of sakura blossoms. Axel was right..... she could do this. She had to do this. That was what she was here for, what the Organization was here for. Things would be different from now on. She just had to treat this like going into the TV. These things were no worse than normal Shadows.....

.....No. No. They're much worse than normal Shadows. Normal Shadows didn't endanger people who aren't supposed to be in there! They didn't attack ordinary people! It's creatures like these that had endangered Inaba and hurt her friends. Creatures like these--!

"The hell with you!" Maybe she couldn't properly be angry, but she could look it. She could remember it. And once he was over her fear and hesitation, she was over it, completely. She dashed at the Shadow without any of the hesitation a normal civilian ought to have, went on the offensive with a grace and certainty that there really wasn't normally any use for. A flurry of vicious slashes with her fan, far harder than simple feathers ought to be capable of, and the Shadow went up in a burst of flames, leaving behind a haze of smoke and Darkness.

...Where did that come from? Axel didn't even have to think to act shocked. His instincts kicked in before he could even really register what she was doing: she'd just switched. Gone from the sweetest person he'd ever seen wear the coat to...

To as ferocious a fighter as he could have expect at this stage. Far more competent than he'd expected, that was for sure: he'd expected her to be holding back, maybe using magic, not this...

He folded his arms and gave a knowing smile as she finished up. Well, now.

She wanted to scream. She wanted to tear the thing to pieces with her bare hands, burn it to the ground and scatter the ashes so that there wouldn't be any of them left. These things shouldn't exist, shouldn't be able to hurt people anymore. She'd been angry before, but this..... turning all that pain and emptiness outward and lashing out with it..... it may be the closest she'd ever gotten to true hatred.

Funny how it took losing her heart to reach the depths of such black sentiments.....

Xikkuyo took a moment to catch her breath once the Shadow was gone, tossing her hair over her shoulder as she straightened and staring wordlessly down where it had been. A long, shaky sigh, and she turned to retreat back to Axel's side, once more as muted as though nothing had happened. Was that enough? Would he want her to fight more things? Was killing those creatures going to be her job from now on? She'd never liked conflict, or making a scene, but.....

If it meant exterminating those once and for all, she could definitely make an exception.

As she returned, Axel gave her a nod, and reached out to give her a pat on the shoulder. Heck, she deserved it. "Very nice," he said, the grin still playing across his lips, entirely sincere. "I knew you could do it..." Perhaps not quite in the way she had, perhaps not as aggressively...

And that was the issue, here. There was something going on, here. A quiet little flower petal - hah, that said it all, didn't it? Innocent powers, vicious potential. Sliding on into Marluxia's seat...
...hopefully, none of these kids would cause those sort of problems. Once was enough. But there was definitely more here than met the eye...

"...Didn't think you were going to do it like that, though."

Xikkuyo smiled again as Axel patted her shoulder, wan and shy, and ducked her head in clear apology; if nothing else, she at least had the grace to look embarrassed. She had overstepped her bounds; that wasn't the point of this whole exercise at all, was it? He wouldn't have been showing her magic if he'd wanted her to fight physically..... She was just wasting his time, at that point.

Next time, she'd remember. She'd do better, and take the test the way he wanted her to. She should've asked more questions, but she hadn't been thinking. "I'm sorry..... I should have been using the spells, like you showed me."

Maybe, if they only had trained Marluxia properly, if they'd kept him reigned in and focused on what they wanted..... maybe he wouldn't have caused so much trouble, either. Perhaps Marluxia could have even been gentle and faithful, too, with the right attention paid to him..... Had Axel ever even paid any attention to the man, when he'd first been recruited?

He hadn't so much, that was true. Marluxia had seemed to be solid enough, worthy enough: not like these kids, not someone who'd need schooling. How could they have suspected such a thing could have been lurking in his mind?

No more. It wasn't going to happen again. They were going to do this right.

Axel shook his head softly at Xikkuyo's apology. Why was she acting all bashful? "Not a problem. I said show me what you can do." He laughed for a moment, throwing a hand in the air - "Man, did you do just that..."

Enough, now. His expression turned more serious.

"So where did you learn to do it?"

So he wasn't..... upset with her? It seemed like maybe it was some kind of big deal, after all, but--not a bad one. He was surprised, but happy? He was laughing..... She wasn't quite sure what to think of that, but he was right; he'd said to show him what she could do, not specifically to demonstrate the spells. But hadn't that been what he'd really meant? (Could Thunder even be used underground?)

She'd pulled back again, right back to her initial reserve and restraint in some effort to salvage the lesson from her apparent mistake, even in the face of Axel's mirth. The question had her faltering, though; had any of the others told the older Organization members about the TV world? Possibly..... but possibly not. Would they want her to? If anyone would believe them, then it seemed like the Organization members might, but.....

They weren't here to ask, and she didn't want to get anyone in trouble, just in case. Yukiko fingered her fan, thumb smoothing along one of the quills. "I--well..... my family owned--owns a traditional Inn where I'm from. So..... I would dance for our guests sometimes, to entertain them during dinner." It had looked a bit like a dance, hadn't it? Maybe one that was too aggressive and violent to be normally performed, but.....

Well, now. An explanation - but a partial explanation, he couldn't help but think. Still... it was her first day, after all. Not the time to press for the details. Flexibility and manoueverability, weapon control: it explained that, at least, how she was handling the things so well. Explained her overall demeanour, too.
All the same, Axel doubted many traditional inns tended to go in for violent war dances as their after dinner entertainment.

Everyone had their secrets, though. He knew that. He'd have to work on finding out what the story was, but - he wasn't going to push her right now. Not when it'd risk spoiling how well things were going.

So once more, Axel smiled, as the lights briefly flickered around them.
"Hey, if it taught you to do that, works for me. How about we keep looking around?"

Her own smile was wan and distracted, as Xikkuyo nodded her agreement and fell back into place at Axel's side. She kept an eye out for the Shadows as she followed him, but her mind was wandering regardless, circling back to the Inn she had mentioned--back to her family, her friends, their workers, the people who she had known and loved and lived with and worked alongside her entire life.

Were they okay? Was everyone alive? Was the Inn still standing? Had anyone else been..... changed, the way the five of them had been? She had always wanted to throw away that certain and suffocating destiny, to be saved and taken far away, to a place where she could make her own choices and live her own life however she pleased, to a place where nobody knew her name.....

It seemed her wish had been granted.

So why couldn't she be happy?

Happiness... something to be pretended at, now. Something to be approximated. But to be felt? No. That wasn't an option for them.

Concern, though - Axel could manage that, right now. He kept glancing over at Xikkuyo as the pair moved through the corridors. Definitely going to have to keep an eye on her, here... but - ah. A couple of patches of darkness in the corner of his vision seemed to be shifting.

"Two this time. Handle them how you want, but I want you to use magic at least once. If you can't, it's alright... we'll keep working on it."

They'd get there, he was sure. But this was going to be the critical test.

She stayed quiet as they walk, peering here and there; the lightning was a little dim, and the erratic way it flickered didn't exactly help much, not when it made it look like even normal shadows were moving. She'd just have to trust his judgment, until she learned to recognize the telltale signs of the creatures for herself.

"Alright....." It took Axel pointing them out for her to realize that the shifting Shadows hadn't just been her imagination that time. But she stayed close beside him, rather than venturing forward to fight--perhaps that first flash of viciousness had been a fluke? She certainly seemed calmer now, colder as she fixed her gaze intently on the pair. She was comfortable enough, hanging back to snipe at her foes with magic.

A moment of silence and stillness as she focused, and it was so familiar, so easy to remember how she had guided Konohana Sakuya, that summoning up the Maragi was almost effortless. Xikkuyo swept her fan in a graceful diagonal arc across her body, a conductor beginning a symphony. It was no normal Fire she cast, or even the sort of Fira she had initially--there was nothing from her fan at all, in fact. Instead, two entirely separate blasts of flame burst from the ground beneath the Shadows to engulf them. "There!"

She stayed poised with her fan overhead for a moment, remembering how to gather the power, and brought it down with a commanding sweep as the sparks started to crackle around it; it was a bit odd, seeing lightning underground, but it looked like Thunder could be cast even here. A low growl of effort and a sharp flick of her wrist wrenched the Thunder from its straight line, forcing it to curve in on itself--not much, not the way she would have liked it to, but enough that even such a stubbornly straightforward spell could strike at both of the Shadows, even if they weren't in a proper straight line.

The light was dazzling, underground like this; Yukiko blinked hard, looking to see if there was anything left beyond the smoky haze of dissipating Darkness.

When the fire blasts roared up, Axel was reminded just how come he'd seen that potential in her in the first place. That was something even he'd not learned to do until later, and fire wasn't even her affinity! How could she manage something like that so quickly? The Thunder, too... very nicely controlled. Directing it, he knew, could be tricky...

She'd got it. With the smoke and Shadows gone, Axel stepped forwards again. "Told you you've got potential. That was nicely done!" he said with a wide, proud smile.

The Thunder, at least, was a relief; Xikkuyo hadn't been sure she'd be able to cast it down here at all, let alone control it any..... It would've been a shame to waste a spell doing nothing but scorching the wall. Even if all she'd managed was give it a little yank, that was enough for the time being.

Still, what was done was done. The Shadows were gone. The smile Xikkuyo returned was shy and still a little uncertain, but pleased nonetheless; it was still hard to imagine having potential as a fighter, much less enough to seem impressive to someone like Axel, with so much more experience under his belt. "Th-thank you....."

Magic, sorted. Physical combat, sorted. That left one area that they really needed to test.

Her specialty. A healer. A very specific sort of skill, that one. Or rather, a skill that needed to be tested under very specific circumstances...

...and slowly, he realised that he was going to have to engineer those circumstances himself. Keep his eyes peeled for Heartless, again... aha. He led her on through the corridors - "So tell me about this inn of yours," he started, edging the pair towards one specific spot he'd noticed.

One where a few flickers of yellow out of the corner of his eye, hidden by the bad lighting, suggested that little flying Heartless were lurking. How to provoke them without her noticing, though...?

"Ah? Well....." There was a flicker of surprise there, a moment of confusion as Xikkuyo padded along after Axel. After all, it hardly made sense. They were training, weren't they? Why did the Inn have anything to do with that at all? It didn't seem to fit, especially if they were looking for more Heartless to fight.....

Xikkuyo looked around as they went, but the lighting was poor, and Axel was subtle, enough so that she didn't notice being led anywhere in particular. She gathered herself instead, unconsciously standing a little straighter and moving a little more gracefully, hands clasped primly around her fan and voice taking on the professional polish of someone long used to making pitches like these. Given how quiet she normally seemed to be.....

"The Amagi Inn is known as the 'Crown Jewel of Inaba'; it's been open since the town was first founded, and is considered one of Inaba's most precious resources. It's the largest ryokan in the prefecture, and one of the only reasons tourists come so far out into the countryside to visit such a small town, so it's the only hotel in Inaba as well. We serve Inaba's famous beefsteak, and remain faithful to tradition while offering modern conveniences--but the real reason people come to visit us from all over the Japan is our natural hot springs. They're very popular with the elderly, especially during the winter, and many people believe that the minerals enriching the water have natural healing properties."

What a professional! Axel smiled on as she gave the little speech, paying attention as much for what it said about her and about her world as anything else. After all, it was pretty unlikely that he'd be needing to stay the night somewhere like that... the last bit, though. "Man, those springs sound pretty good," he remarked casually.

As they talked, he casually moved a hand behind his back, flicked off a couple of sparks in the direction of the hovering Heartless. Just enough to annoy them, he hoped... Ugh, this wasn't going to be fun.

"Sorry to say, but the castle's not the greatest for recreation- ah!"

His plan'd worked too well. One of the little Yellow Operas he'd taunted charged him, the other dropping a lightning bolt on his head. Damn! Was this such a good idea?

"We have some guests who come to visit us every year for them--they say soaking in the hot springs for a few days helps their arthritis even more than their medicine." It almost sounded like they were there, or Xikkuyo still expected to be able to go home; the Inn was her family's, after all, referring to 'us' and 'we' was second nature, as was assuming that she'd just always be there. She knew everything was different, now, but old habits were hard to break.

She was about to ask after the recreation--honestly, the Castle didn't seem like it had anything to do except read and train--Axel was mentioning, when his cry alerted her to something being very wrong. A dazzling flash of lightning followed almost immediately after, and Xikkuyo let out a strangled shriek of surprise and pain as she staggered back; she'd been standing too close to Axel to not get some residual shock from the strength of the bolt. There was no time to think, only to act, reeling and seeing spots from the blast of electricity, knowing that Axel was in trouble.

All she knew was that she wanted them to stop, to get away from them both, for the threat to just disappear. A warm wind whipped past, carrying fluttering pink petals and the soft sweet scent of cherry blossoms--a promise of growth and renewal, of blooming and fruition, of life. A halo of blue light surrounded the pair of Heartless, pulsing like a heartbeat, like the rhythm of breath--or like someone swallowing. The same light thrummed around Xikkuyo, teeth grit and fists clenched, eyes narrow and intent on her targets, the wash of light a bridge holding them together.

The nearer Yellow Opera tried to cast this time, only for its spell to splutter and spark uselessly, too tapped out to manage anything effective. The other swooped in to dive at them as well; Xikkuyo didn't move to block. She was too focused on what she was doing, feeling their strength and vitality fill her; now that she'd sunk her teeth in, she didn't intend to let go. She'd drain them dry, every last drop--it didn't belong to them, after all. Everything they had, they'd stolen. They deserved nothing but to fade into nothingness and vanish, dying a quick and withering death.

The tunnel was quickly growing cooler; small wonder, when Xikkuyo was doing her best to very literally suck the life out of their opponents.

Edited 2014-02-09 00:39 (UTC)