[!] [HH 4 vs. ?] More Than Meets the Eye [M/S/T/X] Fin

[Kaiyumi]

"Why do you need to apologize? It's not your fault." Keeping a steady pressure over the boil's wound, Xiu offered him a weak smile. "Just...hang in there, okay?"

Her mouth tightened into a thin line at Shun's question, and she shook her head slowly. "Not good," Xiu admitted quietly, willing herself to keep calm, "If anything ambushes us again like this..." In some ways, Halloween creatures didn't need to fear "dying"--after all, they never truly disappeared, simply dissipating and reforming somewhere else. However, after what had happened to Red, and ever since this insanity business...

She spared a quick glance to the side to check on Shun and Mitsu, twitching automatically when her gaze fell on them. She didn't even need to ask how Mitsu was doing--the baku could see the blood staining her white fur as clear as day, a sight that had Xiu quivering. She drew her hands back then, but only so that she could pat herself down, searching for something that could be used as a makeshift bandage. In the end, she settled for the obi-like ribbon on her current outfit, pulling it free and biting at the seams with her teeth until she could tear it apart into two long pieces. One of these strips was tossed over to Shun.

"Do you have enough energy to shift back, Tybalt?" She methodically ripped the long strip of cloth into thinner pieces, giving them sharp tugs to test how strong they were. They could bandage Tybalt and Mitsu up and then, as Shun suggested, retreat. Preferably before another of those creatures found their way over.  

[Inu-Mitsu]

After a moment of laying there Mitsu had reverted to her student form again the front of her hoodie all but destroyed. She winced when Shun pulled her up into his arms, one of her arms wrapping around her middle to press against the cuts across her stomach. The lab work that had been done to her was more apparent now, scars made in neat little lines ran up her torso and across her throat. She tried to cover up but there wasn't much to cover up with.

The words of home sounded nice though. Shun would take her home. It was safe there wasn't it? Within the walls of her room. No one could get her there. But...what about the others. How were they? Would they stay behind? They needed to come back too. Continuing to search wasn't going to get them anywhere but killed. Would they listen to Shun's call for retreat. Mitsu hoped so.

Seeing a strip of cloth being tossed their way Mitsu lifted her head just enough to see Xiu with Tybalt. At least the baku seemed okay, worse for wear but okay. From what she could see Tybalt looked bad, they needed to get him back to school and away from all of this. Xiu was right if there was another ambush...they likely wouldn't make it and then what would happen? There was an uncertainty in that thought that shouldn't have been leaving her leery to learn the answer.  

[Blade Kuroda]

Shun continued to hold Mitsu close while Xiu tended to Tybalt. They might need to carry the two back. Though, before he could start trying to move his lycan, he saw Tybalt dissipate. That wasn't it. He didn't just dissipate.

"You can't be serious..." he muttered while staring at the now grey entity. Mitsu was in no condition to keep fighting. And leaving her would be horrendous. He really did not want her to dissipate now after seeing that happen to Tybalt, and so he turned his back to the former ghost dog, trying to cover his wolf with his body to try and block any incoming attacks first and foremost.

"Xiu, get out of here, I'll try and get Mitsu to safety," he urged before looking down at the wolf, "I'm going to try and run soon. This will not be a very smooth ride."

HP: 26
DEFENDING MITSU FOR: 7  

[Inu-Mitsu]

There was something wrong, Mitsu could tell in Shun's movements. She wasn't sure what yet but the need to shield was there. Her fear gathered and dispersed into her shadow once again, the large wolf taking shape. It circled around her and Shun once before it ran to the one person Mitsu couldn't see. Xiu. She wanted to protect her as well but she didn't have enough strength left to manifest another shield for her and Shun both.

HP: 5
Defending: The barrier (Y3) trying for two people
Targets: Xiu (success) / Shun (fail >_>; )  

[Kaiyumi]

"Wha--Tybalt!"

Xiu stared, stunned as the boil dissipated right in front of her. Had his wounds...really been that bad? He had been losing a lot of blood despite her attempts to treat him. Slowly, the baku sagged, letting out a heavy sigh. At least he would reform somewhere--a fate that was better than laying here in pain--and hopefully he would reform somewhere safe. Somewhere out of this place, like the school.

But of course, things could never be that easy.

When she realized that Tybalt was reforming right here, she knew something was wrong, rising to her feet and staggering backwards away from the swirling, graying FEAR that had once belonged to the ghost boil. Even though a part of her already knew what was happening, Xiu's breath still caught in her throat when the creature finally formed within the fog.

"But Tybalt wasn't...and I thought..." She glanced over to Shun, pink eyes round with confusion and terror. Tybalt hadn't been among the students taken and tagged, right? So...why? If it turned out that any of them were susceptible to insanity if they so much as dissipated...

Despite the reaper's order, Xiu rushed over to where he and Mitsu were, instinctively moving to help shield the injured lycan ghoul. "Do you think you can pick Mitsu up and run, aniki?" If she could help it, she would rather flee than fight this battle.

HP: 18/50
Target: Mitsu
Defended for: 8 (+ Shun's amount)  

[Blade Kuroda]

Seeing Xiu rush to help him after Mitsu went on to use her fear to try and provide some extra protection, Shun grimaced at the former's question regarding Tybalt's current state.

"We don't have time to question it, Xiu. We need to get out of here."

Scooping the lycan up into his arms, he began to stand so he could begin to flee. However, he felt sharp fangs rip into his body, causing him to let out a cry of pain.

"Kussooo..." he hissed as he dropped down to one knee, still clutching Mitsu close. This wasn't good. With a shudder, he just tried to cover her while he felt something warm running down his side and back. He had to protect her, even if it was the last thing he did.

HP: 7
Defending Mitsu: 2  

[Inu-Mitsu]

Before she truly knew what was happening Shun had leaned down to scoop her up into his arms. There was a small cry, but it wasn't just the strain of being picked up. Claws had managed to rack across her exposed shoulder, cutting it a little too close to her neck. Blood was already running freely down her front and at this point she wasn't sure how long she could hold out. Shun was doing his best to protect her shouldn't she do the same for him?

Reaching up she wrapped her arms around his head, trying to shield that and part of his back with her arms. It was really all she could do, she was too weak to do anything else. Pulling herself close to him she held on for dear life her cheek resting against his. "Aishiteru..." Came a whisper, soft and strained.

HP: 1 (kajsdlkjaslkdja)
Defending for: 3
Target: Shun  

[Kaiyumi]

Was this really it? If they all dissipated here...would they become an insanity creature just as Tybalt had? Trying to fight now was futile--both Shun and Mitsu were badly injured, and she wasn't in her best condition either...but there wasn't anything else that they could do. Trying to outrun him was clearly out of the question right now.

But Xiu was never one to just give up. It didn't matter if she was going to die here--she still wasn't going down without a fight. And perhaps--although unlikely--the two standing behind her could find a way to get away while she served as a distraction.

She tied the rest of her makeshift bandages around her wrist, deciding to save them in case a need for them arose in the future (assuming that she reformed properly). Xiu rubbed the palm of her hands against her dress, trying to get as much blood off as she could before she pulled her gloves back on, her expression unreadable. She didn't want to fight him right now--she had already had to raise her fists against two other friends--but this was really all that she could do right now. "Sorry, Tybalt. Don't hold this against me, okay?"

The baku was not nearly as fast as she usually was as she made her way up to the insanity creature, moving with a clear limp. Regardless, this didn't stop her from getting right up in the face of her opponent, twisting her body and following through with the motion as she swung her fist out at the canine.

HP: 18/50
Target: Tybalt
Damage: 13  

[Blade Kuroda]

"Xiu, wait. Just run," he hissed to the Baku, but it was too late. She went off to try and fend off Tybalt. As he tried to keep Mitsu safe, he stared down at her, hearing her actually manage a whisper to him. They weren't going to go down here.

"Aishiteru m--"

Another flash of white hot pain as he felt something go straight through him. Despite his attempts to protect her, it just wasn't enough here. They were out of their league. One or two had been bad enough, but the relentless onslaught of the insane was just far too much. Coughing up some blood, he shuddered before he began to fall over. He dissipated before he hit the ground.

The fog surged straight for his core, flooding his fear with its tainted ways. The mists swirled about before solidifying to an ashen being. All thoughts he had prior shattered and were simply replaced with one thing. One thought.

Home.  

[Inu-Mitsu]

The last thing Mitsu remembered was the pain growing too intense to bear and then suddenly nothing. The aches from her wounds faded away and her mind felt suddenly detached from a body. She had dissipated the instant Tybalt had latched onto her neck, her body unable to withstand any further abuse. Slowly her body faded into a cloud of fear essence but instead of fading away completely it began to gather back and reform right there where they were. Unlike Shun though the fog did not gather to take her. Likely it was too focused on the reaper so when Mitsu reformed she was normal.

Her body came back into being with her sitting on her knees, her arms wrapped around her middle. Eyes still shut tight the first thing Mitsu noticed was the dull pain left over from dissipation. She was almost afraid to look and see her state. Her mind still felt intact but did that mean if she had been taken over by the insanity she could still think clearly but be unable to do anything about her actions? That scared her completely, afraid that she would hurt her friends but be unable to stop herself.

Her need to know finally winning out the lycan opened her eyes and slowly began to look herself over. Drawing her arms from around her waist she looked at her hands. They seemed....normal. There was no gray and no mist that usually came with the insanity creatures. She was....okay? They were okay!

There was a small sense of relief, her eyes looking up to find Shun and only then realizing she was still in the haunted house. Tybalt was still here which meant there was danger. She needed to find Shun quickly so they could regroup and get out of here. Just....where was he? She had reformed here so he surely had to be close by.

"S..Shun?" Her voice struggled to make his name as she forced herself to stand turning as she looked around the room trying to find him. They had to go, they needed to take Xiu and get out of here. They had to....

Her eyes settled on the new gray wispy creature standing in the room and a sense of dread filled her immediately. No....NO! No it couldn't be! It wasn't Shun. It couldn't be. It just didn't make sense. He was so much stronger than she was so why? Why would it take him...and not her?

Despite her want and need to doubt she knew. Deep down in her core she knew that the creature before her was her reaper, tainted and changed by insanity. It seemed like Mitsu was too shocked to react, her face hollow and empty, though tears began to gather and fall from the corners of her eyes. A hand lifted up toward Shun hoping it was just an illusion or a trick of the mind. Maybe she was just going crazy? Or maybe this was all just a dream. Could she dare to hope for that much? That this was just a terrible dream just like all the others?

Never in her wildest imagination would she have thought Shun would be taken this way. It just had to be an illusion. It had to be.

Please....don't take him from me...  

[Kaiyumi]

Xiu opened her mouth to yell, to demand that Tybalt snap out of it and then Shun and Mitsu get out of here now, but the words never left her lips. Her voice caught in her throat as the watched the ghost boil--a friend who had fought with them for most of these battles--move past her and tear through her friend and her big brother like they were toys.

Clutching her mouth over her hand, Xiu forced herself to look away as the two dissipated, finding that she was shaking. Would they reform here, as Tybalt did? More specifically, would they reform as the dear friends who she had known for the past year...or would they become one of these mindless creatures?

Her hand slowly slid down from her face, falling to her chest, where she tightly clutched the fabric of her dress above her heart. Slowly, she turned to look at where the particles of FEAR were swirling, watching as they began to come back together and reform. Come on, you two. Come on. She wanted to get out here, to find a way to revert the insanity corruption so that all the students could finally be freed...

...But as stated once before, that apparently wasn't how things worked.

When she realized that the Mitsu that had reformed on the spot was her Mitsu--her sweet, quiet, lycan friend--Xiu breathed a heavy sigh of relief. So it wasn't guranteed that anyone who dissipated would turn. Then Shun...? she turned to look at the reaper hopefully, only to feel her heart stop when her gaze fell on him.

No. No no no...!

But there was no time to stand there and stare, as much as it pained her to see what her "big brother" had become. She took a deep breath and, moving as fast as she could, the baku wedged herself between the insanity reaper and Mitsu. As she spoke, she turned her head slightly so that she could look at the lycan from over her shoulder, her ears drooping slightly but her eyes bright and sharp. "Someone will find a way to cure them, but for now...Mitsu, you need to get out of here right now."

HP: 18
Defending: Mitsu for 6