Tumbling higher into the sky -- pushed by some unknown force -- the Quincy twisted and turned, using the ambient flows of reishi to right himself like a cat mid-fall. Summoning a platform of spirit particles under his feet once more, Andrew slid to a stop mid-air. Standing stoically on the disks of energy, the archer's keen blue eyes scanned the battlefield for his foe, but found nothing. Even his spiritually-enhanced senses were coming up blank. The Shinigami, it seemed, had fled. His gaze fell upon the massive iron block that Beatty and his newfound ally had holed up behind.
"Hmph. Imbeciles."
The bangles of his sanrei glove rolled and clanked as he summoned one full-strength arrow and fired. The bolt flew straight and true, striking the top of the iron weight with explosive force -- blasting the barrier apart. Bits of metal rained down over the battlefield as a cloud of smoke and debris rose up from the point of impact. A single flash of movement pierced through the ever-thickening cloud of dust as Weiss arrived next to Joseph and the female Shinigami. His eyes panned around the alleyway before falling on the girl. His face contorted into a look of disgust, but still he said nothing. Turing his burning gaze towards the magician, Andrew's eyes narrowed -- his slender fingers wrapping tightly around the man's throat. Wisps of energy built up at his heels as he took a few steps forward -- dragging Beatty with him as he slipped into Hirenkyaku and disappeared from sight. He was reasonably sure the girl would die of her wounds, and besides, there were more pressing matters at hand. He would have to deal with this traitor. It seemed his work was never done.
1534 FINAL
Stuff
So I took some liberties here so that we could finish this up. I'm making the assumption that Hare made his escape or whatever. Maybe he's hiding or something, who knows. Andrew's taken off with Beatty, leaving Lil there alone. Anyone who wants to do a closer is welcome to it, but lets get this thing out this week. If I stretched too far, just say and I'll edit =D
Well, that went well… Lilith mused dully to herself. It wasn’t a total success, but at least one of the quincies was charmed by her friendliness.
“Haresuno…” the woman called, recognizing that the Tentei Kuura link between her and the raven-haired Arcanist was still existent. “If you don’t mind, could you bring me to a medic or vice-versa?” Brooke would be nice. Or Kaede… “I apparently need work on dodging a rain of arrows.” Despite her rather wretched appearance -- on her knees and bleeding profusely from her back -- Lilith still managed a sardonic chuckle. The irony of the quincies' hatred and their longing to find peace was a bittersweet notion -- one that ended in her own apparent need for stitches. She had glanced at Beatty's cataclysm of sorrow and his yearning for love. If it wasn't for the barrier of distrust forged by the souls of their past... Heh... They could have been comrades and healed the quincies' wounds together.
Quietly, Lilith's smile slowly molded into a frown as she waited for Haresuno to appear.
However keen the quincy’s senses were, when thrown for a loop it’s easy to miss something tall, black, and hiding in the shadows of some destroyed buildings. It didn’t matter that the soulcrusher had ignored and left Haresuno alone, but some how he could help but feel as though a challenge presented before him had simply fallen through his fingers.
That doesn’t matter, Haresuno reminded himself as he stepped out from the debris, and back once more onto the empty street. What does is Lilith. His friend was hurt, bad, and it was practically tangible from the spell linking them. She needed that healer, and now.
Gathering up the thin spiritual elements around his feet, the vice-captain stepped forward and the world melted as he moved. When he stopped it was a completely different part of the Tokyo street. Still ruined, but now closer to Lilith. And so again he stepped forward, and watched the world melt a second time. As if the speed of his shunpo was too much for the world to handle, and could not hold him.
Until finally there he was, standing at the mouth of the alley and towering. "You rang?” he asked coolly and started walking down the confined streetway. He had been right about those arrows, though, they were bad business. Just looking at Lilith made his own back hurt. "First rule of arrow dodging,” he said to the night air, "is to not be a pincushion.” Kneeling down so Lilith could climb onto his back, Haresuno waited. He turned his head back to her, "In case you were wondering.”
Smiling, she chuckled, “I’ll keep that in mind next time.” With a tight wince, Lilith pulled herself slowly onto Haresuno’s back. “If I took your pincushion advice, I probably would’ve been able to stop the other quincy from taking Joseph away.”
Hands tightening around Hare’s cloak, Lilith rested her chin on his shoulder. “And though ultimately, we didn’t stop them…” She sighed as she felt Haresuno lunge forward into a shunpo. “I still feel like we succeeded somehow.”
The winds blew past her face, and she felt the rods of energy that jutted out from her back begin to dissipate. A problem that, though slightly more comfortable, allowed her blood to flow out more rapidly. Her skin grew pallid, but Lilith continued, “For now, their attacks have ceased. And I found out that Joseph -- the one I was with --" She coughed suddenly, covering her mouth with her arm only to find red droplets on her skin. “…He’s just broken. He wants to feel whole again.”
Yeah, like that cough sounded good. Lilith’s sicking cough only spurned Haresuno faster. “We succeeded, Lilith,” he reassured her, “and you’ll see him again, I’m sure.” In and out of his shunpo they sped, the Tenth division getting closer and closer with each lunge. “Now just you rest. I get to help you this time.”
