[HH 1v1] What Do You Fight For? [Jake/Xiu] [FIN]

[Kaiyumi]

Ah--wait, how had she ended up here? The baku snapped out of her stupor, her hand slowly sliding down from her neck where she had been fiddling with her necklace. Brows creasing, she shivered lightly as she turned to survey her surroundings, her expression wary. She never liked being tossed into the Haunted House under any circumstances, but it was especially bad when she was here alone.

Perhaps it was because she had no company that she suddenly felt so nervous...or maybe it was the fact that she could sworn that something had just touched her. However, upon whirling around, she found nothing there to indicate that there was anyone here but her. Tail swishing behind her anxiously, she took a few hesitant steps forward, only to freeze when she heard the sound of oncoming footsteps.

...Oh Jack. Was it another student? Or...? Looking uncertain, she simply came to a stop, gaze darting from side to side as she searched for the source of these footsteps.

[A.V.]

OuO Figured we might as well roll for initiative right off the bat~~

 

[Kaiyumi]

The footsteps suddenly stopped. Had the other person heard her? From the silence that was slowly being drawn out, it really did seem like both she and the other person were waiting and listening for the other to act first. After a moment of hesitation, Xiu decided to be the first to move, creeping forward quietly until--

Hunter. The end of her tail bristled in alarm at the sight of the male, her gaze darting left and right as she tried to find a way to sneak past. However, considering how he seemed to be on the alert, she sincerely doubted that she would be able to get away without drawing attention to herself. That, and she wasn't entirely sure if he was an aggressive hunter or one of those who were a little more...lenient around the students.

Hopefully the latter, but...

"I'm not here to fight," She piped up suddenly, speaking in a slow, even tone of voice as she slipped out from behind her cover, "And assuming you're not here on a mission to destroy us all, I'm not sure if you have a reason to come after me either."

Of course, just to be safe, she kept herself tensed and ready to dodge if the need to do so arose.

HP: 50/50
Defending for: 5

[A.V.]

...and then I remembered she wouldn't act right away SO UH...HAVE A DEFENDING BAKU?

 

[Kaiyumi]

Xiu couldn't say that she hadn't expected it--after all, she had defended for a reason. When the hunter lunged towards her, she instinctively tried to dart to the side, but was too slow. The blade managed to strike her despite her best attempts, and it was with a hiss a pain that she staggered back, clutching her arm. Her ears and tail were drooping, but there was a flash of something that passed through her eyes at his words, the light fading just as quickly as it had arrived.

When she spoke, she struggled to maintain the even tone that she had used a few moments ago, making no move to attack but keeping her arms up in front of her in a defensive position. "So what is it that you all fight for, exactly? Judging by some of the hunters, I always thought that you were somewhat like us--just fighting to survive--but while some of you have been compassionate, others..."

She trailed off, looking Jake up and down with a faint frown. "Honestly, I don't see what good would come for either of us if we were to fight here."

HP: 45/50
Defending for: 7

[A.V.]

Eva says good job, Kitten! OwO

 

[Kaiyumi]

The attack had her stumbling back, crumpling on the ground as she clutched her arms around her middle and gasped for air. These hunters definitely weren't to be underestimated...but this one in particular seemed to be one of the more aggressive ones that she had met. The baku made no move to attack back or stand, remaining folded in on herself--her face obscured--before she let out a quiet sigh.

However, at his words, her head snapped up. Despite herself, she felt a wave of anger pass through her, and it was with some effort that she held the emotion back. "We don't die? Oh, we die. Although it may be different from how humans are, we do experience pain and loss." There was a pause, and then her voice became tight as she jerked her head in the direction of the boy's weapons. "How do you think it feels to have someone taken from us and forcibly turned into a weapon? Just like your kind, they had friends, significant others, family--a mother, father, siblings..."

She could still remember Israfel. Although she had not known the Siren well, she had liked him...but now he was with the hunters, with probably no memory of what his life prior to being a weapon was like. At the very least, the baku took solace in the fact that he had successfully turned into a weapon at all--unlike those unsalvagable weapon conversions that she had heard of--but...

"No," With a bit of a struggle, she moved to push herself back up to her feet, one of her arms still wound around her stomach, "I simply don't see why walking away isn't an option." Her voice carried a sharper, more irritable tone to it now, her tail lashing behind her.

HP: 31/50
Defending for: :V Noooot defending lmao

[A.V.]

OuO Can do! I'll just edit this one with the appropriate HP. AND LOL SHE'S NOT GOING TO KILL HIM I swear she'll probably just roll...4 1s. BUT YES make her angry, Jake

 

[Kaiyumi]

"What the hell do you know?!"

Gone was the patient, small, docile ghoul, her pink eyes suddenly becoming wild as her resistance finally broke and crumbled beneath the hunter's words. Her fury poured through every word as she took two sharp strides forward, her attention focused on the boy. "You have no idea what my kind have to go through! You keep saying how humans just die and that's it, but you know what? We know that. Everyone knows that! But what you apparently don't know is that we're not the jacking horsemen! We only work to collect FEAR from humans, so what good would it do for us to harm the very beings keeping us alive? We Halloween citizens don't kill--we never jacking kill!"

All Xiu could see was red. The faint, gentle part of her mind struggled to stay afloat, but was quickly swept away by the rage and the sudden surge of power that she felt as she took another step towards the hunter. The gem from her necklace glowed as her aura twisted, becoming malevolent and dangerous with anger. "And you're jackdamn naive if you think that we reform after every death. No--no, sometimes we don't come back, sometimes because of botched weapon conversions." She sharply motioned towards Chester again, this time without taking her eyes off of Jake, "I don't know what kind of bullshit you've been told, but countless of innocent students have died. It seems that there are a rare few who survive, but time and time again, the majority are destroyed for good after undergoing excruciating pain."

"You call us monsters, with your definition being creatures that do nothing but bring death and suffering to innocents...but if that is so, then aren't you guys the real "monsters"? You are the ones who are killing innocents! You are the ones who are causing all this suffering! I could care less if you and the horsemen fight one another, but you're pulling innocent Halloween citizens--children, civilians!--into a battle that isn't even ours to fight!"

Her voice grew progressively louder as she spoke, until it culminated into a yell. And then suddenly, her head began to throb as everything in front of her started flickering like a television with bad reception. The scene in front of her began to distort, between Jake and the Haunted House to a scene that was covered in red. As she struggled to make out what the source of the color was, she realized that it was blood. There was blood everywhere, the thick liquid seeping over the ground as it flowed from the neck of the small, limp body that lay sprawled out on the ground. Above the body stood another figure--a figure that matched up with Jake as the two scenes continued to flicker and blur--the blade in their hand wet as the silver was stained with crimson.

And although Xiu could not see the shadowed face of the dead youth, a small, unconscious part of her seemed to immediately know who it was. She was...one of her civilians, a mere child who she had seen wandering through the streets of her kingdom. This girl had never done anyone any wrong. She was always kind, polite...the type who had a smile for everyone who she met, but now she was...

In a sudden flash of fury, and with more strength than a petite ghoul her size should have ever had, Xiu roughly shoved her opponent into a wall before immediately storming after him. She moved to pin him to the surface with one arm while her slender fingers of her other hand moved to curl around his neck. Her countenance had changed completely from when they had first encountered one another, her eyes dark as she leaned in close. "I don't know what Kingdom you are from, or if your King even knows what you're doing," She hissed, her fingers tightening around his neck. "But you are never to lay a hand on my people." The iron grip tightened even further, but then it suddenly slacked. The same hand slid up to place two fingers beneath Jake's chin, tilting his face towards her.

"I extend the same invitation you gave me to you now. If you really want to fight against me, then I won't stop you, but if you'd rather run..." She trailed off with a cold stare. Either, Xiu decided, was fine with her. With the power that was suddenly pulsing through her veins and corrupting her thoughts, she had no doubt that crushing the boy like a fly would be easy work. However, along the same lines, it was also pointless to fight someone whose power was so terribly inferior to her own.

So, she finally let go of poor Jake completely, taking a few steps back as she tilted her head up slightly and stared at the hunter with dark eyes. "What will it be?"

HP: 91/120 [ Elevated HP as discussed with admin ]
Attacking: 23
Artifact: Using the Red Crown

..[A.V.]

oops okay here we go. Uhhh... SPEECH IS A FREE ACTION idk how she could possibly talk this much in the middle of a battle but shhhhhhh asfkjasf OTL

 

[Kaiyumi]

"Have you been listening to anything that I've been saying?" Xiu's voice was suddenly even again, but it was not as cautious as it had been initially, nor was it any longer an attempt to maintain peace. Despite the fact that she was no longer openly yelling, there was something much more menacing about the way that she was speaking now, her eyes staring at the hunter almost unblinkingly. "You need to learn how to differentiate us from horsemen. While it is in their nature--their very blood--and their society to harm and kill humans for Fear, it is against our law to do such a thing. We would be punished, and while there are a few who stray from the law...the same could be said about humans who stray and kill other humans."

When she spoke again, her voice was tight with fury and disgust. "Do not group us with the horsemen. We are not one and the same."

The rage continued bubbling beneath her calm surface, but there was also a sense of confidence and superiority. With the power flowing through her, Xiu felt as if she could do anything. She could destroy those who sought to harm her, she could tear through groups of people, smash through doors...she was invincible.

And yet, it wasn't enough. She still hungered for more power, lifting a hand and clutching her dress directly above her heart. But...how was she supposed to get more power?

She wasn't sure, but she couldn't deny her desire to feel just how strong she had gotten now. When Jake refused to leave, she rolled her shoulders and tugged on her gloves. "Suit yourself." Without warning, she swiftly darted forward, using her smaller size to her advantage. Coming to a stop in front of the hunter, she immediately brought her leg up and around, pivoting on the spot and aiming her leg for the boy's stomach.

"Learn to give up. I can only get stronger."

HP: 91/120
Attacking: 15

..[A.V.]

WELP OTL

 

[Kaiyumi]

She didn't move forward to attack again, simply lifting a hand to casually inspect her nails as she waited for Jake to push himself back up to his feet. With the newfound power surging through her--and the precarious state of the Hunter's shield--she knew that this fight would be pointless. There was no challenge, no thrill. Would there ever be anyone powerful enough to overcome her strength?

Her gaze flickered up when Jake suddenly spoke, her lips curving into a frown. She opened her mouth to say something--probably to protest, and then tell him that she wasn't going to tell him anything else--when a familiar name caught her attention. Even through the haze and the corruption of her mind, she felt the name of the doll ghoul ring a familiar bell. Slowly, the baku lowered her hand, moving to prop it up on her hip.

"Really? You have to ask?" She sighed, shrugging and giving an exasperated shake of her head, "I didn't know Mei was like that, but...I told you. Not all of us like or want to work with the horsemen. We need Fear to live--what do you think would happen if we let the horsemen wipe out humans?"

The question earned a scowl and an impatient wave of her hand. "Why not ask them yourself? I just know that--" Her vision flickered again, pulling her in an out of a distinct vision of a kingdom--her kingdom, "--If they think to lay a hand on my friends and my people, I will crush them."

Her voice had turned into a hiss at the end, but now the baku was clutching at her head, her expression pained as it flickered between menacing and confused. Finally, she murmured a quiet, "now get out of here" at the Hunter, her voice weak but far more reminiscent to the light, gentle lilt it had held before. Almost immediately after, her tone became bored again, her expression unreadable as she grimaced at Jake. "Unless you want to fight some more, I suggest you get out of my sight."

HP: 121/150

[A.V.]

Boss, or crazy? :Ta