(Shopping District Ice>Fire)

Taro had crawled backwards as all the attacks had sailed over his head. Hane managed to drag him farther away. Luckily, this pulled him away before the creature caused the wall of wind to erupt. If Hane hadn't acted, Taro would be well done. Then Taro tore himself from Hane's grip. His hand fumbled for a bolt as he re-cocked the crossbow. "Artemis, Goddess of the Moon, I invoke thee! Persona!" He added a little theatrical speech for no reason, other than he felt it was right. He aimed his crossbow, still on the ground, as Artemis pulled back her bowstring. The nonsense word came to his mind as he pulled the trigger: "Bufu!" His arrow flew at the creature and was swiftly covered in ice. It tore through the fireball and shot towards the creature's side.

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Final Fantasy IX was the best Final Fantasy game ever and if you think otherwise you are WRONG!

My fanfiction account. Comments and criticisms are very welcome.

~Mirror World: Shopping District~

The faceless hermit raised its shakujo again. It managed to rip another chunk of life directly from the very core of the Shadow's black heart, shunting it again into its purifying trigram implant. It seemed as though her ability completely ignored any sort of defense the Shadow had, and that Hibiki intended to slowly consume it piece by piece. It was the sort of methodical strategy her clan had perfected, but she herself had hardly the battle experience to put it into practice. Repeatedly brandishing her shakujo, En no Gouja followed suit in a graceful dance. The ringing resounded through the empty streets as it were an accompanying chorus to banish darkness. Even Hitomi could likely tell the two sets of "bells" were chiming in flawless harmony, though the sound was shrill and likely painful to her sensitive ears. Jinben Bosatsu didn't move like a creature summoned from the realm of fantasy and mythology by her Divine Skill, but as a part of her; a merger of consciousnesses from two creatures of completely different substance.

"KATSU!" Hibiki shouted once more, and the motes of light pierced through the Shadow's viscous hide again. With every mote of stolen energy, Hibiki and her Persona's movements became more fierce, more violent. A growing storm was brewing within her; En no Gyouja's divine fury had possessed her very soul, enraged at the contaminant infringing upon the natural law he sought to impart to those seeking enlightenment.

However, her strategy had been disrupted by the presence of others. As she twirled the staff in her hand, Hibiki's impassive face tightened with frustration. Frustration that not only novices had intruded upon her domain, but that they had merrily provided Chimera with a target-rich environment.

Sengoku was an exception. She had talent as well, and had begun using her Persona almost as early as Hibiki. What she lacked in formal training, Sengoku substituted first-hand experience. Although she believed Sengoku incapable in comparison to herself, the girl was nothing if not competent. She had an innovative style of her own that Hibiki was not altogether unappreciative of. Two of them were more than enough to purify the foul creature, but now...

"Tch," Hibiki would have sworn, were her values and poise made of weaker stuff. "An unnecessary complication."

Just as expected, the Chimera changed targets. But it was not to the aggressors that harmed it. Its intellect was beyond that of a beast that simply sought to preserve itself. It was a hunter that targeted those it saw as weak. And the one that it chose was...

Hitomi, the only girl who came through the mirror and the one visitor who did not offend Hibiki's sensibilities. The others were wolves; she could not allow them to get close. Allowing harm to come to this innocent soul was not befitting of the house of Tenkyouin.

She performed something other Persona users were not easily capable of. En no Gyouja raised its shakujo and Hibiki lept. As she entered the air, the disintegrating spirit shoved its staff forward, and Hibiki took grasp of it, vaulting off of it like a trapeze artist! It gave her just enough momentum to hurl herself between Hitomi and the incoming spell. She could feel the heat of the flames on her face moments before the incinerating projectile hit its mark, and swung an open palm back to knock Hitomi out of the way.

"Nomaku sammanda bodanan baku!" Hibiki snarled, almost frighteningly, before slamming her staff before her and raising a hand in a mudra gesture. En no Gyouja interposed itself now between Hibiki and the projectile, much as she had done for Hitomi, and took the full brunt of the flame's fury. Rags and bandages exhumed smoke and glowing cinders, but the old man of the mountains was a tough codger, and his exposure to every kind of natural extreme made him naturally resistant to magic.

Hibiki too was from a spiritually sensitive family and could weather the assault, though her black clothing smoldered at its edges and she cringed in pain. Momentarily her stony posture faltered and the girl jerked backwards, suppressing the self-preservation instinct yanking her away. She felt intense shame, greater than any pain the fire inflicted, from the small, strained gasp she let out under the attack. In that moment Hibiki felt Jinben Bosatsu separate from her body and mind, driven out by her recognition of self. A desperate wish that no others had heard her beneath the flame's roar gestated within her mind. She had, after all, taken on twice the damage that the others likely experienced.

"Are you unharmed, miss?" Hibiki's figure, gallantly standing against the flames, fit a prince more than a stoic girl of high school age. Yet again Hibiki began the ritual of purification, attempting to strip away even more life from the creature. The power sustained her, sealing open wounds and seared flesh quicker than any normal human, as Jinben Bosatsu's purified, converted energy flowed through her. The pain began to subside, and with it the racing of her own heart. The void overtook her, and all signs of weakness fled Hibiki's body, unable to stand the gaping nothingness of mushin.

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FUKKATSU

~ Mirror World, Shopping District ~

[Skill: Garu, Target> Fireballs. Sakunda, Target>Chimera. Cleave, Target>Chimera]

Kazuo gave a satisfied smirk when the creature seemed to reel back from his initial wind attack which succeeded in keeping him away from Taro. He knew taking pleasure during this dire situation was probably wrong, but it was difficult to resist after seeing such power he himself displayed. A day ago, Kazuo's only thought of ever performing such amazing abilities would have only come from being an actor in a movie, but this was really happening, and it was awe-inspiring.

Still, the fight wasn't over, and the other Persona users were joining the fray. An impressive display of lightning and ice were assaulting the Chimera now, though ultimately it remained standing. Surely it had to have a weakness of some sort, but taking advantage of it would be the more difficult task. Kazuo continued to observe the battle, holding off his next move while he gathered information. Unfortunately his analysis was cut short when the monster unleashed numerous balls of flame in almost every direction, including Hitomi's, who had yet to summon her Persona.

"Damn it!" He growled, urging Perseus to focus his attention on the incoming assault. The armor-clad Persona raised the Medusa head once again as a whirling cone of wind shot toward the incoming flame, extinguishing a fair amount of it.

Still more fire raged on, but before Kazuo could conjure more wind, Hibiki literally intercepted the attack, taking the damage for herself in order to save Hitomi. Kazuo glared as the woman stood back up and uttered "Are you unharmed, miss?" in Hitomi's direction.

"Save your action movie cliches for later and stop taking unnecessary risks. We can protect each other, now focus on the enemy!" He shouted toward the showoff as he took his own advice and turned his attention back to Chimera. "Again, Perseus!" He continued as more abilities seemed to come from his mind that he originally had no knowledge of. Perseus turned back to Chimera, eyes flashing as it inflicted an invisible condition in an effort to slow down the creature's movements. With each attack, Kazuo could feel his energy depleting, even if he himself wasn't the one making the movements. His Persona truly was an extension of himself, and if this creature didn't go down soon, the overuse of his Persona would surely exhaust his limited supply of energy...

He couldn't worry too much about himself at the moment, as everyone's life was in danger while this horror was still around, so without hesitation Kazuo raised his arm upward as Perseus charged Chimera once again, this time his arm mimicking Kazuo's movements. The black-haired student thrust his arm downward as his Persona followed suit, cleaving at Chimera with his gleaming blade. Kazuo felt a slight pain in his arm with the attack, but he hoped the damage inflicted on his opponent would be significantly worse.

~Mirror World: Shopping District~

The chimera still stood even after all the attacks that the other fighters dealt to the beast. The huge beast jumped in front of the others and seemed to be targeting Hitomi exclusively. Hitomi didn’t even have time react and before she knew it the beast was right in front of her face. What disturbed the girl the most was the chimera was actually intelligent and targeted Hitomi for her latent supportive abilities. Steam from the chimera caused the young girl to quake in her shoes and it felt like this was the end as the shadow started to throw fireballs are everyone who was fighting.

Hitomi screamed as loud as she could when the fire was heading toward her as she ducked and covered her head with her arms. Suddenly she heard the sound of bells piercing her eardrums and it seemed to be coming from Hibiki’s persona. Like a projectile she launched herself in front of the flames meant for Hitomi and took the full blow of the damage. Feeling the heat of the flames next to her but not on her she stood up and realized that Hibiki took the hit for her.

The first question the popped into her mind was why someone would go to all this trouble just to protect someone you’ve just met. She felt that Hibiki was one of the most heroic and brave girls she knew to be able to take the time to save her from the monster’s attack. At the same time Hitomi felt helpless and didn’t want to be a burden on everyone. Even if she was physically weak she wanted to help the ones who are fighting and risking everything. “Thank you…” she said to Hibiki with a tone of admiration with a hint of depression. Seeing others get hurt in front of her and not being able to help all of them pained her deep inside. Hitomi wanted to say more to the one who saved her from getting hurt but now was not the right time with a huge killing machine in front of them. “Binzuru-Sonja! Give me strength!” she shouted as blue swirls surrounded her. Soon the roman numeral II appeared over her head. Remembering how Kaoru healed herself she wanted to use the same technique to heal someone else. A single word was screaming itself in her mind as her red cloaked persona appeared above her. “Please be alright! Dia!” she shouted and extended her rind hand toward Hibiki in unison with her persona calling forth a blue light to engulf Hibiki and heal the damage she just took. When she was done Hitomi took a few steps away from the Chimera while staying behind Hibiki and Kazuo so they can protect her from the beast.

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Sengoku was calm. In front of such a scene, she would have normally been frustrated but a battle called for patience. She grit her teeth when she saw the fireballs surge forward, but she trusted her allies to handle them. Her priority now switched to observation, the creature was not a simple shadow and the possibility of casualties in this situation was too great. She was gone from her spot within a second.

"Don't stress your Persona too much! It will eat you up!" she yelled from the rooftops at Kazuo. Her coat fluttered to the slightest breeze. She was at least two floors above them on one of the buildings, the perfect vantage point. With a long inhale of air, she drew her bow again and aimed at the beast. the boy down there was dealing quite some blows for a newcomer, but even she had her limits in using Persona. It would probably be minutes or even seconds before he fell down from exhaustion if her continued the battle by himself.

"Taruuuuundaaaaa..." the reptile hiss was there again. Behind her, the shadow of her Persona loomed, a scene of combined harmony and inhuman terror. Vasuki started to move at her words, silently moving its arms in elegance. No one could have predicted what came next. Vasuki had used its tail to grab the girl's legs and whip her more than ten feet into the air with frightening speed. A moment later, an arrow of piercing white rained from above and struck the Chimera right at its spine. It would feel a peculiar numbness first before Sengoku's magic mercilessly rob all of its strength away.

Still stuck at midair in a moment of grace with the moon at her back, Sengoku was like a harmless dancer of the skies. Her hands swiftly moved to her holster and expertly grabbed arrows of three in between her fingers. It took only a second for her to draw her bow and fire them simultaneously like an impossible stunt. "ASSSSSSSAULT DRIVE!" she shouted the words like a war cry. The arrows started to glow and transformed into pillars of blue flames, eerie and emitting a powerful magic. As sudden as they had pierced the beast's body from above, Vasuki appeared right behind it and used its large tail to damage it with a combo of three swift slashes. Blue scars scorched its skin as they hit, the arrows and tail were of the same being.

To add a finishing touch, Sengoku crashed right into the Chimera with her legs right on its spine. Using the momentum, she vaulted off the monstrosity and landed on the ground with a heavy roll. She could feel the exhaustion and stress starting its effects on her body, but she still had more than enough strength for combat. Knowing that hesitation was unwanted, her right hand fished out another arrow as she observed the beast's movements. Vasuki made a fierce hiss from beneath its inanimate mask at the Chimera before it disappeared, like a final warning to its opponent before it would be summoned again.

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Captain of Innuendo Strike Forces & Founder of Innuendo Striking Technique

{Shopping District}
~Ice Bad! Rawr!~

Chimera began to move forward while Hibiki and Hitomi didn't bother moving any further from the monstrous creature standing just some few feet from them. The raven head opened its mouth wide as a giant swell of flames arose within its beak. The sheer amount already inside the large mouth was five times what any of its fireballs had carried. They were too close to be able to fully escape such a large blast...

But then Taro's frozen arrow collided into Chimera's side. The beast hunched over forward, falling to one knee as the flames burst out onto the street to bathe the creature in flames and miss the two girls entirely. The attack had made the most visible effect on the beast as a thin layer of ice was still covering the creature's side where the arrow was now embedded. And the creature seemed afraid to even more a finger toward the frozen area. Its own flames didn't even burn it off, or much less heal the beast by any amount. Evidently, it couldn't just heal itself by its own power alone.

The mask became more blue in tint, showing the beast's sharp change in body temperature. "Chimera... Move around!"

The beast finally stood up as Kazuo cast his sakunda. The ethereal stream of untouchable energy was nearly on the beast when Chimera tried to jump to at least delay the spell from catching it just yet. The energy managed to snag the tip of one of its tails as it was leaping, casting Chimera with a bright glow that was slowly flashing to show how much strength it had left before it would fade away. The rate of the pulses seemed slow, showing it would have another minute or so still in effect. Then it saw Kazuo charging in once again to continue the assault. And the beast couldn't avoid the attempt in its sluggish state.

Chimera tilted its large form to the side as it lifted its left arm, catching the sword into its paw while its body was directed away, in case it couldn't stop the blade from slicing through its arm. Fortunately, it stopped the shimmering sword, but at the expense of its left hand and forearm as the raw force nearly crippled every muscle it could below the elbow. Thick blood flowed down from the fresh wound in Chimera's paw. The raven opened its maw while still holding the sword and Perseus was still in close proximity. The sudden agi erupted and shot out towards the face of the persona, the beast now aware that harming these spirits would still harm the children they were bonded to.

Chimera pushed the sword back to give itself distance from the persona once its fireball was launched, jumping away again. This time, it could only cover a few feet. The landing even seemed to hurt as the beast's legs trembled. The ice from Taro's bufu was still present and hadn't even started to melt, keeping the beast's torso from moving at its best, even while slowed by the sakunda. It was then struck by Sengoku's tarunda immediately after landing, which then served to thoroughly enrage the beast as it turned its attention toward Sengoku while she was in the air.

It was about to attack when it saw its earlier fireball meant for her strike her body directly, cancelling her attempted assault drive and causing her to simply crash into the ground with a long skid. Chimera cawed a mocking laugh at the girl for her foolishness before firing off two more shots of agi straight toward the girl while she was still on the ground.

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{Shopping District}
*Ice!*

Taro's eyes opened wide as he saw the effect the ice attack had on the creature. He held his weapon with both hands, praying that this would work. He actually had run out of bolts. He didn't exactly expect to be using any, he had just brought a few to show off if someone asked him about it. But he had an idea. "Artemis! Bufu!" He cocked the crossbow and fired without ammo. His idea worked: a bolt of ice fired without needing something to crystallize around. It probably wouldn't be as effective but it worked. What he did not notice, however, was how light-headed he was feeling. He cocked his weapon again and took a step forward "Bufu!" This one aimed at the beast's claw. "Bufu!" Another blast of ice flew at its right leg. "Bu-" Suddenly Taro staggered, dropping to one knee. He felt like crap all of the sudden and couldn't concentrate. "What... what's this!?"

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Final Fantasy IX was the best Final Fantasy game ever and if you think otherwise you are WRONG!

My fanfiction account. Comments and criticisms are very welcome.

The Evil struck the girl who had suddenly appeared. A fireball crashing into her as she tried to kick the monster. She had yelled something "assault drive" while doing it. For as much as Kitano believed in a karmic universe, he didn't think people should be killed just for trying to look cool. Getting burned up by fireballs was a little bit disproportionate as far as punishment went. The Evil reared up and attacked again at the downed girl's figure and it was then that Kitano moved.

He leapt in front of the girl and braced himself before the fireballs. Fortunately for Kitano, Utu was there with him.

Utu was like a fireball himself and the attacks crashed into him with all the harm a raindrop would do to a lake.

Kitano looked over his shoulder - his sour expression hiding the disappointment of not beating off the fireballs himself incredibly well - and snarled at the girl who had only just arrived moments before. "Don't try that again, you idiot."

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{Shopping District}

Chimera stopped in its tracks as wave after wave of ice rolled over its large form. First its left shoulder was sheeted by ice and frost. Then came a rough patch of the crystalline substance around its right hand, causing the lower end of the arm to grown numb and slow its movement further. It tried to jump, but never moved as ice sheathed its right leg from the knee down to the street. Chimera leaned forward as it fell to its one good knee. The beast remained still as it merely tried to rest. The mask was now bathed in frost and cracked all over, nearly broken entirely, but still stubbornly refusing to just let go.

It dared not to ponder what was bound to come. One blow would be enough now to settle the proud monster permanently. Even as hard as it still clung to its last bit of life force, it could not defy the call of Death. A soft ringing echoed through the streets as Chimera's shadow -- the shadow of the shadow, as it were -- began to lengthen and slim down. Any who would take notice of the shade could see the visage of a robed, tall figure, hands reaching out, shaded chains flowing over its torso. Wanting for the beast. Beckoning the end that was to come.

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~ Mirror World, Shopping District ~

The battle raged on as more Persona users crafted an assault against their otherworldly attacker while Kazuo held steady, rubbing his arm a bit from the pinch of the previous attack. If there was any doubt that Perseus was a part of him, there wasn't any now. He felt the drain of making vicarious attacks so he had to remember not to overdo it like Sengoku had said.

Still the creature raged on, launching more fire in Sengoku's direction. Kitano had been in range to absorb the attack and did so. Kazuo didn't have any time to call out to his new ally and try and prevent such a blatantly dangerous move, but strangely enough the taller student barely seemed effective. He recalled Kitano's Persona Utu having produced fire abilities before, so perhaps he could withstand similar attacks. The same hadn't seemed true to Hibiki when she intercepted the fireball earlier.

Meanwhile, Taro was relentlessly pushing more and more blasts of ice onto Chimera which seemed incredibly effected. Ice opposing fire seemed pretty obvious now that he thought about it, but Taro was overdoing it. Perhaps it was out of fear, perhaps out of anger, but it was clear his fellow student wanted that creature done for and fast. Eventually Taro nearly collapsed, but his flurry had done its job, and Chimera had been brought to his knees as well. It knelt there as its lifeforce visibly faded, mask cracking with battle damage, and now something called for the monster, beckoning it to whatever afterlife awaited it.

Kazuo knew it had to be ended swiftly, however. The creature couldn't be allowed another chance to attack, and perhaps this way he could mercifully put an end to its suffering as well. Kazuo urged Perseus forward as he drew his arm back, allowing his Persona do to the same. With a heavy growl the black-haired teen made a strong swipe, which Perseus mirrored with his blade wielded, slicing across the beasts' neck. The head proceeded to cleanly sever from the neck, sailing off into the darkness, mimicking the mythological Perseus' defeat of the Gorgon Medusa. With a flash of light from his eyes, Perseus then faded back into hibernation, leaving only Kazuo in place of his visage.

Kazuo continued to breathe deeply for a few moments as he left his attacking stance and rubbed his sore arm. He continued to watch the now lifeless body of Chimera, still wondering if it could return to life even without a head...

Despite keeping his gaze on Chimera's body, Kazuo turned his head toward Satoko slightly. "I thought you said we were safe..."

~ Mirror World, Shopping District ~

"That we were, so this one had stated with candor. For as long as we remained gathered in that safe area, no harm would come to us."

Hibiki breathed deeply, rising from her readied position, free hand near the head of her staff. Her wounds were almost completely gone, thanks to Jinben Bosatsu and Hitomi's restoration, with only a bit of frayed and singed clothing to show for it. She leveled a silent, ambiguous stare at Kazuo. If offensive power was all he had, he certainly put all his vigor into it. Was she impressed or disdainful? The newcomers were unable to properly regulate themselves and ended up expending too much energy. It was an easy mistake to make with their level of experience. Hibiki would have to be on her guard for further encounters, for she had not been totally exhausted yet. Her persona's ability to finish off an enemy decisively was lacking, but she would never find herself wanting in a battle of attrition, or a series of consecutive encounters.

Still, they were handling themselves remarkably well. Hibiki felt a muted sensation of unease, but just as quickly as it appeared, it faded into her practiced nothingness as she addressed Kazuo again.

"Pray that this gentleman acts with more restraint in the future. 'Twas fortunate that this frail beast chose its opponents unwisely, and that our engagement did not outlast what stamina you have left. He sought out his own poison. Exhausted himself foolishly. Such is the nature of the weakest of youma." Though she spoke in near monotone, it was becoming readily apparent Hibiki didn't refer solely to the Shadows.

She shook her staff once and began muttering a prayer for the poor souls corrupted and formed into the putrefying black mass fading away on the pavement. All was according to her family's customs. She was a priestess of sorts, as their art was ritual in itself. When she was finished, she turned to Hitomi. As before, Hibiki's demeanor was completely different, but so too did she change when her Persona was summoned, and few could say which was her natural behavior. A warm smile peeked out from within her pale, doll-like features.

"Your aid was appreciated. However, this one is but a cocoon from which En no Gyouja is birthed. This meager cocoon's only desire is to endure what the meek cannot."

Rather than a reckless act of gallantry, it appeared she'd taken a calculated risk to absorb injuries she would have healed back through the act of fighting. Hibiki's smile, however genuine it seemed, was hollow. As soon as she looked away from Hitomi, everything about her returned to "neutral."

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FUKKATSU

~ Mirror World, Shopping District ~

Kazuo sighed softly as he rubbed the bridge of his nose between his index finger and thumb. He was a nice guy. He got along with a lot of people.

But Hibiki was already testing his patience if only for her needlessly cryptic way of speaking. He tried not to let it get to him. He had to remember that he really didn't know anything about her, about her upbringing, or about the world she came from. He turned to her and smiled lightly, trying not to show any frustration on his face.

"I don't totally understand everything you said, but you're right about one thing: I pushed myself pretty hard... but I have to figure out my limits somehow. If I don't know them, how will I manage to get stronger? This is my first day, after all." He finished with a chuckle before returning to a more serious expression. This probably wasn't the best time to joke around.

"And I want to get stronger, because... I want to help. That is, if you even want my help..." He took this moment to look in Kaoru's direction this time, if to acknowledge he understood why she brought them here in the first place. Maybe she wouldn't admit it, but would she really have gone through the effort of bringing them over otherwise? It would be dangerous, but Kazuo wasn't sure he'd forgive himself if he turned his back now. What would Keiko think?

~ Mirror World, Shopping District ~

"Continue to overexert, and your Persona shall devour you. As it grows stronger, so you shall diminish, until naught is left of you but memories. Without proper guidance, you will reach that limit and extinguish yourself."

A ghostly, hollow tone infiltrated her voice, and a strange glassiness seemed to enter Hibiki's eyes. If he was particularly astute, he'd notice her hands shaking. That moment passed quickly, however, as Hibiki turned away from him, drawing her hands together and masking her expression once more.

"You are not necessary..."

She glanced back at him briefly over her shoulder. Her voice dropped to a near whisper, as if from embarrassment. Hibiki surely couldn't be capable of such an emotion.

"...But you are not useless."

Hibiki brushed her hair absently, almost as if to play it cool. Even now she was acting.

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FUKKATSU

~Mirror World- Shopping District: After the Battle~

Before she even realized it the battle was over as the images started to vanish and once again her mind returned to its normal state. Everyone else was so strong and fierce while she could do nothing but hope for the best and help the others that were hurt. This whole experience has been a big drain on her body and all she wanted to do was go back home. If another shadow were to attack Hitomi might very well panic and bolt off as fast as she could in the other direction. The girl did not feel comfortable being in a fight she’d rather everyone try to get along with each other.

Hibiki’s manner of speaking was as interesting as ever and Hitomi was at a loss for words. Gathering her thoughts she said to Hibiki, “I’m sorry…I just can’t stand by while others get hurt…even if all I can do is comfort them.” A hint of depression lingered and were wrapped ever so tightly around the words she spoke.

All of a sudden it everything that just happened hit her like a brick wall. She tried to compose herself but this was the first time that a vicious beast almost succeeded in hurting her and it was going to kill her if the others weren’t there. A plethora of feelings began to manifest within Hitomi. On the brink of sadness, feelings of guilt welled up inside of her as the young girl convinced herself that she was nothing but a bother and a hindrance to the others. “Maybe if I wasn’t in that fight just now…maybe they would have done just as well…I’m nothing but a coward who will hold them back from fighting…” the blind pacifist thought to herself. She felt like crying but didn’t want to make a big scene in front of everyone. Her hands were sweating causing Hitomi to drop her cane on the ground. She lowered herself to the ground to pick it up, lowering her head downward and slowly moving her hands until she found the cane. Even when she fought back the tears with all her might, a few tear drops managed to escape and fell from her cheek hitting the cold pavement of this parallel world. Wiping her eyes on her sleeve she slowly stood back up hoping that no one had noticed anything wrong with her. The pain and that feeling she felt just now, she hasn’t felt anything similar in a long time ever since the massacre that caused her blindness. She stood there shaking slightly trying to stop herself from remembering that horrible experience as she waited for someone or something to take her mind off of her own depressing thoughts. In this kind of situation Hitomi’s normally positive thoughts couldn’t break through this wall of sadness.

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"Crying?"

Utu had vanished thinking that the threat of Evil was gone, but Kitano knew better.

"Crying is no good." The delinquent made his way to the blind girl on the ground, his voice low and growling, "Crying is just asking for help without the words." Kitano got down a knee and took the blind girl's hand. "You don't need to ask for help." His voice was soft as he pulled the girl up, his other hand at her side to keep her balanced, "People will help even if you don't make a sound."

Kitano placed an intense gaze on the girl, his eyes transmitting some cryptic message to the girl who couldn't even see. It took him a moment before he realized the issues with that.

"That's only when you really need it!" Kitano shouted, trying to put all the force of his glare into words instead, "Otherwise, I expect you to stand on your own and fight! Crying doesn't do a thing! Got that, kid?"

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~Mirror World - Shopping District~

Hitomi was shocked someone noticed her crying and wanted to play it off as if it was nothing but Kitano started to make a big deal about it. She appreciated the sentimentality but his words came across as a bit harsh to a young maiden. Feeling an intense stare coming from him it seemed this was the best a delinquent could do to console a young girl.

She felt somewhat offended that this guy was demanding that she stopped crying and was shouting it in her face. Wiping her tears from her face again she shouted, “I just can’t fight! Why was I chosen to be a part of this fight!? You seem like you enjoy this kind of thing but I can’t do this. I just don’t have it in me…” She was hiding more of her feelings inside of her but she got the point across emotionally. Taking back her hand from Kitano’s grasp she turned away from him saying; “Besides a girl can cry when she wants to…” She bottled up her sadness and focused her attention on something else other than her sad thoughts. Hitomi began to feel better after letting out some of her feelings. While Kitano’s words did snap her out of her sad state she still had doubts within her heart about everything that was happening.

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Weakness was not a crime, but it should've been. Kitano shouldn't have expected much from the blind girl, but he did. She had probably gone through life using her disability as a call for help, expecting only the kindness and patience of strangers. It made Kitano's stomach turn and his jaw tighten till his teeth hurt.

"Fine, then." The delinquent muttered bitterly, "Whine all you want. Cry and be as useless as you can. I don't care." Kitano turned away, "I'll fight the monsters myself."

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~ Mirror World - Shopping District ~

"I don't fight," Satoko supplied to Hitomi, her tone explanatory but also a touch derisive, as though the blind girl had said something offensive, "Support is important...sometimes." She let her gaze turn to the group as they returned, giving a little shrug. "Sorry I wasn't fast enough with my scan, but you guys seemed to do okay...Anyway, come on. As long as you're here, you'll need to be armed. I know a guy."

*****

~ Mirror World - Supply House ~

The 'shop' that they'd been taken to was little more than a building converted to its own little compound, fenced off from the rest of the city. They were ushered to the place quickly, without being given much time to look about.

Inside, the first floor offered a small cafeteria of sorts that they bypassed in favor of a door with a hand-painted sign hung above it that said plainly: Weapons.

The new kids were allowed to browse the fairly large variety of the inventory and choose something that they felt comfortable with, and while this was happening, Kaoru approached the boy that could be her twin, frowning softly. "Before we leave, I need you to make a moment to...to meet somebody," she said, sounding unsure about her choice in terminology and not looking him straight in the face as she said it.

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"Hey, hey, hey! Look at all the stuff we have here!" Hane said, helpless to keep silent any longer. He really wanted to help out with the fight and all, he really did, but it seemed like everyone could handle it themselves. Why did he need to join in? He saved Danger-kun after all, so it was not like he did nothing.

He took himself over to one of the several wall-mounted shelves, specifically the one with the crude sign 'Thrown Weapons' over it, and began to start testing the many different items there were to offer. After a bit of shuffling and balancing, he wolf-whistled, "Now that looks swe~et," he said to himself as his looked over a set of knives in a worn leather leg pouch. "I bet they are weighted just right too."

He unclasped the pouch and withdrew one of the black handled weapons, "Nice full tang..." He then flipped it into the air, permitting the blade to spin end-over-end, and snatched it at the grip before it had a chance to drop below his beltline. Drawing it up to his wrist deftly, he eyed the alluring silvery metal tip, "Oh yeah, this is sexy. Better than what I got at home, that's for sure."

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A good traveler has no fixed plans, and is not intent on arriving. ~Laozi

~ Mirror World - On way to Supply House ~

Kazuo remained silent regarding Kitano's blunt message to Hitomi. Trying to side with either of them would only exacerbate the conflict, and everyone needed some sort of outlet right now... The dark-haired teenager wondered what the hell his own outlet was supposed to be. Why the hell was he taking all of this so calmly?

Satoko began to lead the pack of students and their doppelgangers somewhere nondescript, other than the mention that they would need to be "armed". Kazuo helped lead the distraught Hitomi along the way.

"Hey, if you don't want to fight, you don't have to. Nobody will be upset. You didn't ask for this. None of us did..." He spoke to her softly, in an effort not to let the others in on their conversation. "But I don't think you're useless, and neither does Touji-san. He's trying to... inspire you, in his own way..."

Kazuo chuckled lightly at his own comment, realizing that it sounded a bit silly. Kitano certainly hadn't sounded very inspiring, but Kazuo understood his intentions... At least he thought he did.

~ Mirror World - Supply House ~

Kazuo and the others soon found themselves surrounded in steel; An almost endless supply of blades, bows, armor and more. He could only stand there dumbfounded, unsure of what to say. Hane had the opposite problem, it seemed, running amongst the weaponry like a cat on catnip.

"Uh, you know we're just high school students, right? I'm not sure how qualified we are to use some of this stuff... I mean, I take Kendo and all but..." Kazuo called out to no-one in particular as he leaned over to a suit of armor and poked it. Soon he caught a gleam in his peripheral vision and it immediately drew his full attention. A silver katana forged of Tamahagane steel with an accompanying cobalt sheath. Carefully, Kazuo lifted the sword by the handle and blade with open palms before taking a basic Chūdan-no-kamae stance.

As he admired the amazing lightness of the weapon, Kazuo was approached by Kaoru with a request out of nowhere. He glanced around as if to wonder if she was speaking to someone else.

"What.. just me..?"

~ Mirror World - Supply House ~

"Yes, just you. The others...They won't understand. You need to meet Igor, though," she murmured as she shoved her hands into her pockets and hunched her shoulders forward, her tone more than a little conspiratorial. She glanced to the left, eying the closest of the others, who was still out of earshot of her low tone, and then looked back at him with an expression that made it plain that she'd explain herself once they were alone.

She waited until he was ready, and then led him out of the weapon supply area and toward the empty cafeteria, heaving a sigh as a weight seemed to leave her shoulders once they were truly away from the ears of Kazuo's fellows.

"I know all of this has been weird, and you never asked for this, but...If you're going to have this power, then you need to understand all of it. And if you don't want it, well...Igor would be the first place to start looking for a way to seal it, or whatever..." she shook head, raising a hand to her side to wave it in a dismissive manner as she led him through the door into the smallish room that could serve to feed a small force. She hung a sharp left inside and walked toward a softly glowing door set in the adjoining wall.

"I wouldn't talk about this place, either. The others can't even see the door, but you're like me," she said, glancing back at him with a look in her eyes that was part relief, part pity.

She led him through the door, which was actually before the wall and not set in it, and the dim florescent lighting of the cafeteria gave way to a vague illumination bounced through partially-covered mirrors that formed the walls of the room. Rich red velvet covered the floor and the raised dais against the back wall, in the center of which slowly rotated a woman standing in front of a floor microphone, frozen like a statue. She wore a dress fashioned of gray velvet, styled with a sweetheart neckline and a high slit up the right leg. Her mouth, painted with purple lipstick, was perpetually open in vocalization, and her wide yellow eyes were shadowed in a purple a shade lighter than her lips. Her black hair was swept back away from her face and shoulders, with a prominently curled white streak flowing back from each temple. The room was filled with music, although it didn't seem to originate from the singer. Stringed instruments paired with a haunting voice in a soothing descant that emanated from, well...the room itself.

In front of the dais was set a table flanked with two chairs. In one, facing the door, sat a squat little man with shaggy white hair ringing the gleaming bald top of his head. His nose was freakishly long and his eyes bulged with a mad look under bushy black brows. He was impeccably dressed in a black suit with a white pocket square and a thin black tie.

To the right of the table, as the otherworldly twins faced it, stood a woman with blond hair falling in perfectly-coiffed waves that were held back from her face with a purple headband that matched the quilted coat that she wore, cinched at the waist with a wide matching belt. Eight large purple buttons, rimmed with gold that matched the square belt buckle, gleamed on the front of the coat-dress, and her shoes, worn over black tights, were the same shade as her garment. In her right hand she held a large tome with the gilded words "Le Grimoire" printed on it, with a V ringed by laurels decorating the front. Her eyes were the same yellow as the frozen singer's.

The blond woman smirked as she noted their entry, inclining her head as she looked Kazuo up and down, then quirked a brow as she looked to the girl that had brought him to this strange place "Kaoru, what have you brought me?"

"I doubt he's your type, Aston..." she muttered, almost looking off-put by the woman's interest in him. "Anyway, we came to see Igor," she stated simply, moving to stand beside the empty chair across the creepy-looking troll-man and motioning for Kazuo to sit as thing that was obviously Igor steepled his fingers and smiled, showing teeth that were perfectly even and white.

"Interesting...A second one. I find it my honor to welcome you to the Velvet Room. This place exists between dream and reality, mind and matter. Henceforth, you are welcome here, if you wish to grace us with your presence, young Fool."

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Official Forum Mom

Kazuo raised an eyebrow as the dark haired girl mysteriously spoke regarding someone named Igor. He glanced back at his classmates momentarily before setting the katana back onto its perch. With a simple nod he slipped his hands into his pockets, subconsciously mimicking his mirror, and he allowed Koaru to lead the way.

"I know all of this has been weird, and you never asked for this, but...If you're going to have this power, then you need to understand all of it. And if you don't want it, well...Igor would be the first place to start looking for a way to seal it, or whatever..."

"I already said I wanted to help... My mind hasn't changed in the past hour. At least let me see a few more monsters first, then I'll reconsider trading my pride for cowardice." He chuckled a bit only to quiet himself again rather quickly. He had to remember that this wasn't exactly a humorous matter, and the last thing he wanted to do was offend Koaru. He couldn't help be curious what she was really like. If she was truly supposed to be his mirror, did that mean she was his opposite, or more like a clone? If it was anything like Hane and Hibiki, then it was clearly the former...

Her need to put on a serious expression and express very little emotion was something Kazuo could see himself doing in her position, but her life in this world was vastly different than his own. It was possible that they weren't alike or opposites at all, and simply different people thanks to their different experiences. In a way that line of thinking was a relief, because thinking of Koaru as another version of himself had the potential to make a lot of situations awkward. Not unlike this one...

"I wouldn't talk about this place, either. The others can't even see the door, but you're like me." She stated, glancing back toward him as she paused in front of door which appeared to emit a calming yet mysterious glow.

"Yeah? So.. what am I supposed to tell them if they ask where we ran off to? That we went to make out under the bleachers? That sounds narcissistic." He smirked before coughing lightly to break the awkward silence that followed. "Bad joke, sorry..."

Through the door came a room that was unexpected to say the least. It seemed high class and completely unlike the battle-worn world they had just came from. A sort of mystical music serenaded them as Kazuo took a moment to admire the well-formed statue, or at least what he assumed was one... It was then that he turned his attention toward the small, long nosed man. He resembled something of a goblin, albeit a well-dressed one. Naturally Kazuo soon became more focused on the blonde female companion beside him, whose fair complexion seemed almost too perfect to be real. She seemed to admire him in return before addressing Koaru by name. His doppleganger snapped back before Kazuo could respond, but that was probably for the best. He wouldn't have minded being gifted to that woman, but he had to wonder what her "type" even was...

The long-nosed man gestured to the chairs before him, which Kazuo took courteously. It was then that Igor finally spoke up in a voice that seemed suitable for a storybook narrator.

"Interesting...A second one. I find it my honor to welcome you to the Velvet Room. This place exists between dream and reality, mind and matter. Henceforth, you are welcome here, if you wish to grace us with your presence, young Fool."

"Well I've followed this girl into not one but two strange worlds now," Kazuo chuckled, motioning to Koaru, "So I guess that does make me a bit foolish...

but uh.. thank you... I think..

So... Why is it exactly only we can come here...?" He questioned, finding himself glancing back toward Aston again despite not exactly addressing her.

“Fine go right ahead! See if I care!” she shouted at Kitano. She has never been this angry and upset in a long time. Satoko seemed to take Hitomi’s words as offensive having a somewhat off tone. Kitano’s words stung the girl but she couldn’t help but feel there was some truth to what he was saying. As the group started to head off to their new destination she was helped along thanks to Kazuo. As Kazuo spoke to her about the little confrontation that just occurred, his words helped a lot and made her feel better. He was right, this was just forced upon everyone, but it seemed like this newfound power adjusted well with all the men from her world. Hitomi thought it might be because boys like this kind of thing, but she hated fighting, it brings nothing but sadness. Even she thought it was a stretch though when Kazuo mentioned that Kitano was trying to inspire her in his own way. Kitano seemed like a person who would have nothing but malice towards pacifists. After Kazuo helped to cheer her up she mumbled the words, “Thank you…” under her breath so that the others wouldn’t hear.

~Mirror World: Supply House~

This place was like the breeding ground of everything Hitomi despised. Weapons only bring out more fighting and cause more pain to others. Yet she felt that these weapons must be a necessity to the ones who live in the mirror world and have to fight those monsters on a daily basis. Besides the fact that she hated fighting, she thought that getting a weapon would be useless for her to use given her condition. This place was probably a dream come true for the brute known as Kitano. Even Hishou seemed to be enjoying this place to Hitomi’s shock. The faster she got out of this place the better. Medicine was a bigger priority in her mind. She did not know how long she could use her healing power on the others and having something physical that can patch everyone up in an emergency would be something great to have. Luckily she found out that among all the deadly metal there was medicine. With the help of the store clerk she bought three of the cheapest medicine with the money she was going to use to buy her dog a present. Avoiding talking about weapons and not wanting to disturb the others she waited quietly by herself waiting for the others to finish. The girl wondered what kind of place they would go to next and if they could go home soon.

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*On the Way*

Taro was completely drained. He barely had the energy to follow but he managed to keep up. Everyone's voices sounded like white noise and nothing really made itself clear to him. He couldn't focus but he knew that whatever he had done had been helpful. He also knew that it had been a mistake to go overboard like that. Everything had its cost, including bizarre attacks by a god. Taro didn't dwell on that too much, however, he couldn't. His thoughts slid back into oblivion as they reached the supply house.


*Supply House*

Taro found something to sit on and placed his hands on his face as he tried to recover. He began to feel better but, unless someone helped out, it would be a while before he could join in on the conversations.

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Final Fantasy IX was the best Final Fantasy game ever and if you think otherwise you are WRONG!

My fanfiction account. Comments and criticisms are very welcome.

~Mirror World: Supply House~

Kitano looked over the stacks of weaponry and sucked in his teeth. A man was weak without training, but give him a sword and he would become a danger to all. Weapons were excessive, they could never do things in half-measure the way a fist could. Even if someone were to attack Kitano, taking their life or limb was a disproportionate retribution for what could have been unfortunate circumstance. The delinquent squeezed his fist and felt every muscle in his body ripple as it responded to the pressure. The weapon shop was a waste of time for Kitano. All he would ever need was strength and the voice of Justice.

There was a swish of a blade and Kitano looked up with a scowl as he saw the pretty boy (Hane, was his name...) trying out a bundle of throwing knives. The idiot was showing off, tossing a knife in the air and catching it without cutting himself. The god damn attention hound. Kitano's whole body tensed as his fists tightened again and he snarled at the pretty boy.

"If you're gonna be drooling over those knives do it where I won't have to see it." Kitano glared at Hane, "It's disgusting how you act."

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