Post by BlacKitten on Feb 14, 2021 23:36:06 GMT -5
Pluto - 28 / Miu - 19“T-Thanks,” Ara stuttered as she felt a bit embarrassed to be saved like this. As she gazed up at the boy, she couldn’t tell what was going through his head or what he was feeling. His eyes weren’t fixated on anything in particular. She felt herself being gently lowered to the ground, and with a short glimpse, she noticed that Isaac was fine as the soldier had been stabbed in eye socket that was likely missing an eye already.
"How are you feeling Pluto? Ready to work?" the blond man asked, speaking to the boy for the first time since Bupae Island.
Pluto stood up, glanced over at the marine with a grumpy face, “I feel like shit!” His tone sharply sliced the air as he tilts his head to the side to crack his neck before rolling it to the other side. His whole body felt stiff. And he had a mild headache buzzing in his head. Having his hands bound was just plain irritating as it limited the range of movement in his arms. And having a collar on his neck with a chain dangling down made him feel like some zoo animal trapped in a cage.
He felt like he had woken up from a nightmare; his body was tensed and on edge. The rate of his thoughts was sluggish.
"Marines are coming. I can buy you a few minutes. Get back downstairs and grab your sister."
Pluto flinched at the mentioning of his sister. No wonder he felt something was amiss. Ara was present, but he hadn’t seen his little sister.
Downstairs? Is my sister all by herself?
Gazing down on the floor, a look of concern was reflected on his visage.
“I left Miu to look after Rebecca,” Ara informed after reading him.
His eyes widened at the mentioning of Miu. If it weren’t for that damn cat, he never would have been in this mess in the first place. As much as he hated to admit it, he felt a bit relieved to know that the Bakeneko was alongside with his sister. That feline was a lot gentler and more loyal to Rebecca than anyone else. That cat had grown quite fond of Rebecca’s cooking; she’d likely make sure to protect her source of delicious food.
Turning his sights towards the black swordsman whose blades glimmered in a tint of green, he watched carefully as Isaac faced off against the Nitoryu practitioner. Without taking his eyes off the battle, he said softly, “Ara, take Rebecca and leave this place. We’ll let the marines handle this.”
Ara was reluctant to leave the one they have been trying to save behind, but then that she verified Pluto’s safety, she could place some faith in him to take care of himself. Furthermore, Isaac was there as well. As much as it pains her, she would just be a burden to them. “Alright, be careful,” she ran off towards the stairs.
Just a moment ago, Isaac was in contact with someone. So, he isn’t doing this alone after all. But why is he here?
After getting kicked by the electric man, James’ darted his eyes to the side, catching a glimpse of that Haki knowing girl making her escape. “You think I’ll let your escape?”
“Hey now…,” a voice uttered from behind.
“!” James widened his eyes as he felt a someone standing right behind him. Quickly pivoting around, he found no one there.
“Are you trying to make me mad?” the voice of that recently awakened boy resonated behind him once again.
Frantically turning around, James could never catch a glimpse of the boy who sounded like he was inches away from him.
“If you attack her once more, I’ll kill you!” Pluto’s tone darkened.
James quickly dashed away with his superhuman speed, flashing onto a different region of the room, but no matter how he scanned his surroundings, that boy wasn’t there.
“Looking for someone?” that voice continued to haunt the swordsman from behind.
From a third party’s perspective, they would only notice the boy to standing back-to-back with the swordsman. If James were to spin around clockwise, so would the boy. If James dashed off somewhere, the boy would dash off at the exact same instant, ending up right behind the man’s blind-spot.
“This is my Shadow Step.”
Pluto’s technique was akin to Soru in speed, but his footwork was completely silent. Unlike the sound of whistling wind left behind by Soru masters, his technique erased any such sound. Just like a shadow, he was in perfectly sync with James’ movement, constantly haunting his rear, standing back-to-back with him just inches apart.
“Hey Isaac,” his eyes shifted towards the soldier, “Just who is this guy?” Surely someone formerly a member of the marines would have intel that few would have access to.
The blue-haired man gawked at the sight of the poison-immune girl to suddenly start growing and changing in size and shape. Her slender limbs grew thicker and beefier. Hands became paws. Fur coated her body. Two long and thick tails sprouted from the base of her spine.
“What the - ?” He was in disbelief at what he was seeing despite having witnessed this form once before.
The massive cat stood in the back of the auditorium, standing at least twelve feet tall from just being on all-four. Cloaked in blue flames, the two-tailed beast with fangs baring out could be described no better than a monster.
But this wasn’t adding up at all. The last time the man saw this giant cat, she was distinctively separate from the girl with the spear. So how could that girl suddenly turn into this mythical creature?
“Bakeneko Miu!” he gnashed his teeth with a bead of sweat trickling down his face. Just when he thought to have spotted an easy picking of two delicate girls, this terrifying feline showed up unexpectedly.
The rioted audience members were quick to turn their angry shouts into fearful screams at the sight of a giant flaming cat monster looming in the far back.“What the hell is that!?”“Monster!”
A scorching wave of heat emanated from the beast, causing the back half of the audience to run off towards the front section. Everyone began sweating as the heat in the room quickly rose from the mystic blue flames emanating off the feline.
Rebecca remained in the back, slowly stepping further back towards the exit as she was completely lost on what to do. Her adorable pet kitten had just turned into a ferocious, intimidating beast. Although the thought of having the feline to stop did occur to her, having such a scary creature to keep her brother’s kidnapper in check felt like the safer bet.
Opening her jaw wide open, the Bakeneko formed a blue orb in her mouth that slowly grew larger and larger right in front of her face.
“W-What is it doing!?”“Oh shit…”With a single mighty roar, the creature launched the massive fireball into the distance as it hovered in the air at the center of the auditorium like a miniature sun.
“Little mice,” the cat spoke to the hundreds of humans in the room. “Let’s play a game! A game of dodgeball!”
The audience grew tense. Was that crazy cat planning on throwing that giant ball of flames at them?
Raising a paw directly towards the ball of fire, the Bakeneko grinned, “Fireworks!”
Suddenly, the massive ball of fire began shooting outwards miniature fireballs in all direction. What appeared to be an omnidirectional assault led everyone fearing and running for their lives as basketball-sized fireballs began shooting indiscriminately throughout the room. Walls, chairs, humans, all sorts of things began catching on fire, and once they did, the flames turned bright orange!
The blue-haired man dashed, zigzagged, ducked, and rolled, doing every means necessary to avoid getting hit by the onslaught. “Damn! That crazy cat! Does it plan to burn this whole place down!?”
Screams flooded the room which quickly turned into a scene one would expect from hell itself.
As the ‘mice’ scattered in fright, the feline remained standing by the front entrance, watching gleefully as these black-hearted humans rammed and pushed against one another. That look in her eyes was obvious; she was having fun.“It’s Koneko Miu, one of the super rookies.”
“Damn you! Are we just toys to you?” a wealthy-looking middle-aged man scowled at the beast.
“Hm?” The feline grinned as she lowered her head to gaze upon the noble. “Do you have a problem with being my toys? You filthy little rats who’ve come to buy slaves… Humans are such hypocrites. If you get to toy with the lives of others, then what’s wrong with me toying with your lives, HUH?”