Goodbye Pesky Blockade! [Job: FilFire/Ayato]

Job Details:

Ayato woke up early in the morning, a job sheet on his lap. He remembered having Valin run to the guild hall to snatch a very popular request during this time, and that was to rid of a goblin and Vulcan in the Train Station. Valin had returned just a few hours ago after selfishly choosing to stay at the guild overnight in return for her good deed. This, however, did not leave Ayato worried in the slightest. He trusted Valin, and assumed she knew how to keep herself safe. And indeed she did. There was not a scratch on that dragon; only signs of exhaustion. "Feel free to sleep on the bed while I go complete this task, alright?" Ayato suggested. Valin simply nodded, which allowed Ayato to begin his morning routine.

Ayato was always traditional with his morning routine. He would undress himself to step into the shower, clean himself, dry off, dress himself again, eat breakfast, brush his teeth, sheathe his sword and slide his ancient book in his jacket. After this, he would always take off. Never did Ayato like staying in the house all day. Perhaps this was why he preferred to sleep in a log house, where nothing but nature surrounded him. Anyways, once Ayato was outside of the house, the job sheet in his grasp, he looked at it again. "Oh?" Ayato questioned. It seemed someone else had been assigned to take this mission beforehand, though after reading the name- only the first being displayed- Ayato at least had a clue as to where his mission partner came from, and that was his own guild: Blue Pegasus. "Off I go Valin! See you soon!" Ayato cheered before running towards his guild. He was to meet with someone named Akeya there, though he had met to meet the fellow guild member, surprisingly.

It was still dark, or rather, it was reaching that point where the darkness would disappear and be replaced by light. Akeya was spending this moment of the day -pretty much her favourite moment- sitting on top of the Guild Hall, watching the sun slowly but surely climb its way over the horizon to begin the day. Akeya's wings were spread out and her tail uncurled, the dark blue scales nearly invisible against the brightening sky. Soon the sun would be high enough to make the day too bright for Akeya to really enjoy it, but until that point she would make the most of the twilight.

The previous day Akeya had applied for a rather simple job: a goblin and a vulcan were hindering the train station by using a tree to blockade the rails. The people wanted the troublemakers gone and the tree removed so the trains could safely run again. However when Akeya went to officially accept the job she was told that another guild member had also applied for the job, and that it would be better if she waited a day so they could work together. Personally Akeya had wondered why they had to wait a day (teaming up was probably to avoid needless tension between guild members), but since she didn't have much choice in the matter and didn't want to make an issue of it she had agreed to wait for the other applicant to show up on the next day. At least she had been able to get a description of her companion before heading off to train.

Since by now the sun was already far over the horizon Akeya sighed and stood up, walking towards the edge of the roof right above the entrance. They hadn't told her at which point during the day this Seitenshi Ayato would arrive, so she supposed she'd just have to wait here for somebody matching his description to reach the entrance of the guild.

Luckily Akeya didn't have to wait that long. Black cloak, generally dark clothing, a black sword, pointy ears, light build, about her own age. Not the best of descriptions, but good enough for Akeya's purposes. The winged ninja jumped down from the roof, spreading her wings to slow down her fall enough to land safely, right next to the entrance where she waited for her companion to come close enough for her to address him, at which point she would bow slightly before making him the next victim of her abnormally focused glare, blindfold or no blindfold.

"Greetings. Judging by your appearance you are Seitenshi Ayato. I am Akeya Kuusai. I will be accompanying you on the job to remove the two creatures troubling the train station."

When Ayato arrived at his destination, he found something- or rather someone- positioned right at the front of the guild, though there was something about the person that put Ayato in awe. This person, first of all, looked female, though more importantly, the fellow guild member had wings! Ayato never expected someone to have wings in his guild, though he admired those highly diverse from himself. As he read before, the lady who stood nearby was unfamiliar in Ayato's eyes, though she seemed to beat him to the greeting. Akeya Kuusai: what an interesting name. What also interested Ayato was the blindfold. What made this woman want to hide part of her face? Ayato figured it was none of his business to ask, which he respected. Of course, this did not mean the curiosity in Ayato's soul would disappear.

"I am indeed that person." Ayato responded, "Mind if I just call you Akeya? I am not a fan of calling people by their full name all the time." Ayato hoped this sort of comment would not irritate the woman, as she seemed nice for the time being. In actual fact, Ayato hoped to befriend this guild member just as he did with many others. There were still others to encounter, though meeting these people individually excited Ayato. It felt like a challenge to him; an objective to meet as many people as possible. He also needed to be thought of kindly by the Magic Council and other administrations of law in Fiore so he could be recognized across the country. Perhaps Earthland would be another step too- maybe the next stage. Now Ayato was just getting off-topic. "So we are here to rid of pests in a train station nearby, correct?" Ayato confirmed, "If that's the case, I am glad to be of your assistance. After all, Blue Pegasus has seemed quite successful lately, so having a fellow guild member around should give us both good luck, don't you think?" It was weird how much Ayato was believing in luck during this time. He surely did not believe in it in his past mission with the dark wizard, seeing as he almost lost the battle, though here he was with someone new, also prepared for the future fight at hand. Hope would surely be key throughout this new adventure.

While waiting for Ayato to respond Akeya folded her wings up, her tail going back to its passive state of slowly and gently swaying behind her. At the same time the winged ninja inspected her companion closely, trying to get a good opinion of him before they were to set out for the job. He was indeed young, although Akeya wondered whether calling him young was really appropriate, seeing how she wasn't any older than him. Then again, his appearance made him look younger than her, at least in her own opinion, looking more like a boy than a man. His clothing also suggested he was quite a busy member, looking rather worn out in some spots. Probably a newcomer mage who's spending the vast majority of his time trying to become stronger. Unless he turned out to be a lot less capable than his appearance suggested or had some glaring flaws he should be an acceptable ally.

"You can call me that. It should make it easier for us to swiftly communicate. And yes, we are to exterminate or chase away a goblin and a vulcan, who have blocked the rails and are hindering the trains. Judging from the available information and the rewards it shouldn't be too difficult a task, especially with there being two mages to take care of the issue rather than just one."

Akeya began walking down the steps, motioning for Ayato to follow her.

"Although I must disagree with the last part. There being two of us is fortunate because it increases our chances of success. The fact that we are from the same guild should encourage us to help each other, rather than turning this into some pointless competition or rivalry. However if we have to depend on luck it indicates that we've done something wrong. Blue Pegasus has certainly been successful lately, but it is more likely that those responsible for success did that through effort than that they were lucky."

So far as the masked and blindfolded girl was concerned this wasn't an opportunity to gain a new friend. They teamed up for this job, and if this man proved capable it might be good to separate on reasonable terms afterwards. However she felt neither the urge nor the desire to make this into some kind of bonding experience. She was too solitary for that kind of thing.

Akeya was right. Knowing some members of Blue Pegasus, success was all due to skill; not luck. Perhaps it was not luck that Ayato survived his previous mission. Maybe he was just delusional, and thought that a four-leaf clover had suddenly struck him in the face when he managed to defeat that dark wizard. Ayato felt dumb at this point, and so without a word, he followed Akeya. By what he heard from the female, this seemed like an easy task compared to others Ayato had taken, though he never underestimated any enemy he fought. There was no way these two pests were going to give up without a fight once Akeya and Ayato were there, so a battle seemed inevitable. It was also important to be quick, seeing as a Vulcan was rather large, while the goblin entailed was probably just as big. Knowing how catastrophic a Vulcan could be, a simple punch would surely crush a train if the two didn't arrive soon.

"Let's go!" Ayato suddenly shouted, "We cannot tell what these two enemies will do if we do not arrive soon, so let's pick up the pace! Use your wings if you must!" Ayato rushed ahead of Akeya, and gave her a thumbs-up while he sprinted at full force. This was his time for redemption. He was going to be much more successful in this mission than he had in the last. He was going to be yet another one of those skillful Mages in Blue Pegasus that citizens always looked high upon. He promised himself that much, at least. His determination rose exponentially while he ran towards the scene. A swift glimpse was taken at the profile every kilometer Ayato travelled, which generally helped give him the directions to the train station. "There it is!" Ayato would announce eventually, "I'll help evacuate the citizens! You distract the idiots!" Ayato first started by picking up a stick, and throwing it towards a tree. This triggered the two enemies' attention, though it drew them to a place neither Mages were actually located. Meanwhile, Ayato dashed towards the civilians to help keep them out of harm's way. Even the drivers had to leave momentarily.

While Ayato followed her Akeya considered the possibilities. With some luck they would be able to confront the opponents without any onlookers, in which case they should be able to quickly beat them down and get the tree out of the way. She had done extensive research on both goblins and vulcan the day before, and while they could be dangerous that was mostly towards people who didn't pay enough attention. A goblin is capable of crafting and using makeshift weapons, but otherwise its abilities aren't that impressive, although it is clever enough to trick and ambush its target. The vulcan is physically a lot stronger, but nothing that couldn't be handled by somebody experienced in close combat. Strong, but not exactly fast, and not too tough to be immune to a properly placed punch.

Of course, if there were onlookers things would become a bit more complicated. While Akeya has no trouble keeping herself safe while fighting trying to protect others would mean she'd have to keep an eye on a lot more variables than just herself and the opponent. Ayato's presence should help with that, but having to protect people who can't protect themselves always raises the difficulty of any fight.

When her companion suddenly broke into a run and warned her to use her wings if she could keep up Akeya stared at his retreating back before shrugging and also breaking into a run, quickly gaining on the swordsman. While he was physically fit, and obviously preferred speed over strength, he was still human. It didn't take long before he'd find Akeya running next to him, eyes focused on the path before them.

It didn't take that long before they reached the location of the pests they were supposed to get rid off, at which point Ayato quickly barked out his plan and ran off to help the citizens. Of course there would be onlookers to make things more difficult. Well, better to focus on the enemies. Accelerating further the winged ninja sprinted towards the two monsters, both still confused by the thrown stick. Before they got the chance to regain their focus Akeya used Shadow Step three times in quick succession to end up right in between them, spinning in the air to kick them both to the sides, the goblin being launched a fair bit into the distance while the vulcan smacked against the tree they themselves had placed on the rails. Making sure that the goblin wasn't going to bother her or the citizens any time soon Akeya advanced on the vulcan, who was now also getting up and generally being angry at being kicked.

Ayato helped the citizens at least begin to make their way outside the parameters of the train station, though they strangely refused to move any further than that point. These people were angry, and thought that if the mission was completed and they weren't there, the train would take off without them. "Is that what you really care about?" Ayato asked in an infuriated tone, "It is one train! Another will probably be scheduled due to the inconveniences!" Then she arrived. It was the little girl who had kept Ayato company after he had collapsed from the last mission. She seemed to agree with Ayato's debate, which made him smile slightly. If even a child could understand the current circumstances, then the entire population here at the train station should also understand. Ayato saluted towards the little girl before he turned back, and saw his partner wiping the floor with a Vulcan.

Akeya seemed so eager to fight off her designated enemy, though Ayato hoped she wouldn't get too reckless. Being too reckless often resulted in a turn of events, which he and his partner could not afford. Meanwhile, a goblin intervened, and stood right in front of Ayato. "GOOD AFTERNOON!" The goblin yelled at the top of his lungs, "ARE YOU HERE TO DEFEND THESE PEOPLE? THESE IDIOTS! ARE YOU SUICIDAL, BOY?" The goblin stuck its tongue out and attempted to punch Ayato across the face. Ayato arched himself back in response, and smirked. He had dealt with so many enemies already; each with their own power. He was not going to allow some sinister runt to compare to the other enemies he had fought, especially one, in particular. Ayato launched himself towards the goblin angrily, and threw his fist straight at the goblin's stomach as hard as he could. The punch was swift, and even bent the goblin forward solely by force.

"Do not underestimate me, dirty goblin..." Ayato commented, a sharp grin on his face.

The Vulcan didn't seem to be particularly happy about being smashed against the obstacle it itself had created, jumping up and down in anger while shouting unintelligible but likely rude things at Akeya. It should be able to talk normally, but it seemed that it was currently too angry to bother with that. Which the ninja didn't really care for. If it could be reasoned with using speech they wouldn't have bothered asking mages for help. They came here to chase the nuisances off using force, and Akeya had no reason to waste her time talking to her opponents.

Of course, that also meant she shouldn't waste time waiting for the damned monkey to attack her. While the Vulcan was still busy with its little display of anger she dashed forwards, keeping low to the ground as she advanced on the big brute. Said big brute was apparently quite surprised by the sudden assault, jumping backwards on top of the tree and yelling at Akeya while slamming its fists against the wood.

Seeing this the winged ninja jumped after her target, spreading her wings and flapping them powerfully to accelerate and reach the Vulcan at his new location. Spinning around Akeya tried to deliver another kick, but this time the monkey blocked, instead being pushed off of the tree and catching itself on the ground. Akeya stayed airborne as she glared down at the monkey, trying to figure out the best approach. Maybe she should just stop holding back. However that could cause unnecessary damage to the rails, and might make the Vulcan more inclined to involve onlookers. Sighing mentally Akeya dove down at her opponent, this time trying to sash its head open with her heel. Unfortunately once again the monkey blocked, this time forcing Akeya to retreat by attempting to grab the offending leg.

Now once again standing on the ground the ninja and the monkey glared at each other, both waiting for an opportunity to arrive which they could use to attack. Apparently the Vulcan had realized that if it wasn't careful Akeya would kick its head off.

Ayato currently had his foe bent forward by his uppercut to the stomach. As you could see, Ayato was angry, and found this goblin simply a waste of time. He briefly released the goblin and let him descend for a split second before he drop-kicked it to the ground. The goblin coughed up blood, in response. Ayato grinned, and bent down to look at the damn creature. "Is that all?" Ayato asked. The goblin became enraged, though it was no match for Ayato. It whacked his leg out of the way, though as soon as it attempted to get up, Ayato pounded its face in with his left foot, and had it fall on the ground once more; this time with the goblin's back on the ground instead of its chest. "You messed with the wrong town..." Ayato muttered, "And now, you're going to pay!"

Ayato grabbed the goblin by the neck, and pulled it upwards to receive a punch to the face. However, the grip still remained tight while Ayato kneed the goblin in the stomach, then stomped on the goblin's joint between his upper and low leg to break it with full force intended. Finally, Ayato threw the goblin upwards to be dealt a fatal blow with Ayato's own hand in a chopping formation against the back of the goblin's neck. While the goblin seemed to have scales over its skin, Ayato doubted it was out cold, though it appeared the thing could not move for a while. Ayato took this time to approach the tree, though as he did so, he noticed the Vulcan there to protect it. Ayato took a step back, though as he did so, once he did so, with a full rotation, Ayato noticed that the goblin was up and lively again. It was attempting to attack the train, though Ayato could not allow that, and so he withdrew his sword.

"You're done..." Ayato whispered, his sword rifled through the right arm of the goblin.

Both of the combatants kept staring at each other, trying to get a good grip on the other's physical and mental state and ready to strike if an opportunity presented itself. The Vulcan had at first been clumsy and clouded by anger, but seeing the danger the winged girl posed it had recomposed itself. It might not be an experienced warrior, but it wasn't a stranger to fighting.

Meanwhile Akeya was busy wondering how to take this monkey down. It was smart enough to block her attacks and keep an eye out now that it had recovered from the original surprise. She really should have finished it off before it could come to this. However wishing for that wouldn't do anything, so instead the ninja went through all possible options. A straight out fight would work, but it might take too long, increasing the chances of civilians getting involved. She could use a magic barrage, but if she did that and it didn't finish the creature off it would without a doubt panic, throwing everything into even more chaos. She somehow had to keep it in a state of mind where it would be willing to put up a fight while at the same time creating enough of an opening to finish the fight.

After some more thinking Akeya thought of something, at which point she immediately charged forwards, once again straight at the monkey. Said monkey immediately took a more defensive posture, ready to block any attack Akeya might send at it and then lash out in retaliation. Akeya held a fist back as she closed in, clearly planning to use it in her attack. After the monkey held its arms up to block, however, shadows gathered around the fist, forming a claw of darkness. Before the Vulcan could drop its guard and instead evade the attack Akeya's fist flew forwards, the dark claw digging deeply into the Vulcan's arms, the force behind the attack combined with the Vulcan's shock enough to blow the arms to the sides.

Not letting up Akeya smoothly flowed from one attack to another. The Shadow Dragon's Claw disappearing she placed her two hands on the ground and pushed herself upwards, kicking the monkey squarely on the chin with both feet, at the same time wrapping her tail around its leg and pulling so it would fall down. Flipping back upright Akeya landed right on top of the falling Vulcan, straddling his chest as two daggers made out of shadows appeared in her hands. She placed the tips of both daggers against the underside of the monkey's chin as its back smashed against the ground, glaring at it with her dragon eyes as she put enough pressure behind the daggers to draw blood.

"Stop resisting. Now."

The goblin had lost its right arm as punishment for daring to destroy an occupied train. In addition, Ayato prepared one final punch, treated as an uppercut to knock the goblin senseless from under its chin, and pound it straight up into the air. Due to Ayato's actions, the goblin was barely able to put up a fight, especially while it was airborne. It descended harshly, and due to the impact, the goblin was nearly out. This was until Ayato stomped on its chest, which made the goblin cough up even more blood before it tilted its head, and fell unconscious. Ayato sighed, and slipped a cloth out of his jacket to remove the blood from his sword. For the first time, he did not need the book to aid him, nor the soul inside. Ayato took a second look at the goblin, and how easily the boy had beaten it to a pulp. He really was getting stronger. He was no longer a boy, but rather a man. He owed Blue Pegasus for this drastic increase in strength; a debt he could never repay.

The Magic Council arrived early, knowing that a good portion of the town had been eager for its assistance. They were very merciless, containing the goblin regardless of its damage, only with an exception of medicine to stop the internal bleeding. They told Ayato another team would be here to arrest the Vulcan after its defeat- should it be defeated, that is. Ayato nodded, and approached the tree; this time with far more confidence. He looked at it a second time and wondered how the two were supposed to get rid of it. Ayato hoped Akeya had some magic capable of riding this tree swiftly, or else Ayato would take a bit with his sword to chop it down. Let us not forget the still active and lively Vulcan that had yet to be beat, and continued to roam near the Train Station. Ayato was going to fight it until he saw a determined look in Akeya's eyes. This was her fight.

The Vulcan struggled until it felt the daggers threatening its neck, at which point it froze and glared up at Akeya, obviously wondering whether it could push her off before she could finish the job. Seeing this continued resistance Akeya had to put even more pressure on the daggers and repeat her command for the monkey to stop struggling before it gave in, the threat of the blood dripping from the daggers too real to risk its life continuing the fight.

Once the Vulcan was properly subdued Akeya sighed, trying to figure out what to do with the troublemaker. She didn't feel like killing it, but she had to ensure that it wouldn't try this again. She probably would have to resort to using a bit more intimidation for that. Keeping her daggers at the ready Akeya used her tail to remove her blindfold and mask, after which she moved her head closer to the Vulcan's so she could probably glare at him eye to eye. Seeing the green dragon eyes from that close was enough to scare the monkey, averting its eyes until poked with the daggers to ensure it would keep its eyes on the ninja as she spoke.

"Leave. If you return I will kill you. Understood?"

Hearing that the Vulcan tried to nod, freezing as it caused the daggers to dig deeper. After the winged girl stood up the monkey scrambled onto its feet, hastily making its retreat without bothering to look back. Akeya meanwhile walked up to Ayato, still holding her daggers.

"Have you taken care of the goblin?"

"Indeed I have. He was taken away by the Magic Council." Ayato explained, "I suppose they will not need another team since you scared that Vulcan away." While Ayato thought about it, since he had barely made an effort to take down that cocky goblin, he assumed he could use the time at hand to cut the tree down, regardless of how tiresome he thought it would be earlier. The pests were gone, and the crowd was cheering like no tomorrow. All that needed to be done at this point was to move this tree away from the rails. Ayato brought his sword forth, and mercilessly began to cut the tree apart. He used all of the weight in his body to support the sword as it slashed through, making the overall process very effective.

Chunks of the tree were tossed away as Ayato continued, and the crowd was only getting louder with their cheers. "This is a great town we are supporting, huh?" Ayato remarked, "It is even more of a blessing that I share this town with them, actually." Ayato looked over to the child who had once ended the protests of people being unable to gain access into the train until the two pests were defeated- which they were at this time. She had just a bright a smile as Ayato did currently, though while she could make another action, it seemed her parents had taken her hand, and guided her to the train just as the other civilians were. Ayato continued to cut the tree down as fast as he could until there was nothing more left. "Help me toss these aside and then we can collect our reward." Ayato concluded. He also gave a warm smile to Akeya. She deserved it, anyway.

Akeya nodded, looking at the group of people that were now busy containing the goblin. Thinking about it giving the Vulcan to the authorities might have been a better idea. Well, the job had only said to remove the blockade and get rid off the troublemakers. Even if it had been a better idea to capture the monkey it had been chased off, and Akeya doubted it would come back. She had given it a full load of her intimidating nature, and it hadn't been strong enough to resist. The only way it would come back was if something forced it with enough power or urgency to overcome the fear the half dragon iinstilled in it. And even if it came back, that time she would be ready, and aiming to kill.

Seeing that Ayato had already started destroying the tree blocking the train Akeya put her mask and blindfold back in place, waiting for the swordsman to finish the job. The goblin hadn't been as strong as the Vulcan, but the boy didn't even look worn out after fighting it. And he wielded his sword with enough strength to be able to destroy a giant solid piece of wood with it. It looked like he was indeed a capable individual, if still young. And he was also good at dealing with people, even if the senseless cheering got on Akeya's nerves. She understood that the humans might be happy seeing the monsters chased away like that, but they were being rather noisy about it.

"It is a rather well-faring town. It has a decent population, solid trade and few sources of real unrest. I suppose it is better to be part of a guild based in such a town than having to fight through poverty and chaos to establish some form of order."

Once Ayato was finished chopping up the tree Akeya pushed all the pieces aside with one mighty sweep of her tail, quickly picking up and removing any small leftovers that had been stuck in between the rails. Nodding at Ayato the winged girl indicated that they should begin heading back to the guild for the reward.

"Good job."

It was indeed good to hear that Ayato's fellow guild mate agreed with him on a town so loving and sincere. The job had been completed successfully, and with ease, in that matter. "Same to you!" Ayato responded cheerfully according to Akeya's own compliment. He knew the two would see each other again in the nearby future, though how soon was nearby? Albeit, Ayato had other matters to attend to. The trains were set once more to transport civilians elsewhere about an hour after the retreat of the Vulcan and the dismissal of the even more insane goblin. Ayato pondered the arrogance of the goblin. It seemed to talk so strongly, yet it held no game. Perhaps it was a hint for a challenge ahead of time. Ayato simply sighed, and looked up to the sky.

Oh, how wonderful the sky looked. Whenever evil approached, the light was always dimmer, yet here, even during a brawl between the sane and insane, the sun shined brightly. Maybe it assumed victory in Blue Pegasus' hands, already- that is, if Pegasus even have hands. "Another perfect weather setting..." Ayato muttered, "Relative to my meeting with Hikari." Nature seemed better here than anywhere else, including human nature. Just as he thought, Clover Town never rested; all it did was cheer. Cheer for the best of its own state, that it could only improve what its upperclassmen grow stronger. This is exactly what had happened. Two of Blue Pegasus' finest had just made another step forward in their magical adventure, but what awaited them next? Ayato could only imagine.

END OF MISSION