Writing Prompt #5 - Close Call - (12/5 - 12/19/16)

[Custodian]

Thanksgiving turkey makes words hard. We understand! Hopefully this week's prompt will get those creative juices going again.

CLOSE CALL
Write about an encounter that your character only barely managed to come out of alive.​

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[Fushichou]

Fushichou

They say a man's life is unpredictable but not a warrior's life. When he fights aiming to live, he dies. When he fights aiming to die, he lives.
In Adams Street, New York, an armored figure hit the concrete ground, his life flowing red out of his body. Shiba Aka was at peace as he lived the warrior way.

Dae...

Then there was only emptiness for a glimpse of eternity before the man with a red name woke up. He was back in the lost city of Shambhala; a familiar figure set in full red lacquered samurai armor looked down at him as he assumed a sited position and bowed respectfully to his master.

“How is it that I am back here Nanashi-sensei? Shouldn’t I be in Meido?”
“Because you never left this place to begin with Aka-san” answered the masked man.
“What do you mean Nanashi-sensei? I do not understand!”
“Remove your helmet and you will see more clearly”

Aka removed his Dragon’s armor helmet but when he was done what was now in his hands wasn’t a faceplate but a red mempo...
The nameless man was now alone, a sheathed blade resting in front of him, peace knots locking the tsuba to a red saya depicting a soaring phoenix. The katana of Shiba Torii that his ancestor Taka stole along with the Shiba name after betraying his master’s family; the very same blade he had journeyed here years ago to bring back to his family.

He took the saya and then heard the flapping of wings. He looked up and saw a fiery blinding light swooping down to him as a voice echoed in his soul.

We are made of Fire yet We fly in the Air and come from the Water within the egg before returning to the Earth as ashes.
We are Nothing and Everything at once. We are the Universe.
You killed your Family, You killed your Sensei and You killed Yourself; Your journey is complete.
We are together again in the Dreaming; Now I will tell you the Truth…

At that very moment he heard Dae’s voice clearly over the voice of fire: “My life for yours” then all light vanished engulfed by darkness.
There was heat filling his whole body, blood pumping in his heart, air in his lungs and he could feel his body heavy as stone as he awoke from his dream when blood magic restored his painted body…

As his senses slowly returned he could see a light above him piercing the surrounding darkness, immediately the stench of death assaulted his nostrils; his ears were buzzing and he felt weight on him, he tried to move but he could just feel cold flesh on him.
He finally realized that he was lying among a pile of corpses in a huge sewer collector with shambling forms moving in the distance…

Dae what have you done!
...
And why does that taste like chocolate in my mouth!?

 

[Kuro-Hebi]

A rather old thing - well it's actually Kuro's introduction - in other words, his birth as a character I made this to link him in a way or another to my other characters, Fox and Thanos. The 3 of them are long time friends now.

A dept to be repaid
August 24th 2015

He was merely lying on his back in a patch of grass, looking up at the sky or what little he could see, between the tall buildings of Kaidan and the strange fog, wrapping the city in a blanket of mystery and death. His breathing was laborious and painful, yet he still gripped the bloody katana at his side, ready to slice any Filth creatures who'd dare disturb his final moments - because he knew a century of fighting was coming to an end. A thin smile appeared on his lips, one of his lazy smile, as if nothing could phase him. He did see a lot in those pass one hundred years, far more than any man should. He was ready for his eternal sleep now, he had nothing left here; no family, no lover, no friends. Just him and his katana. Closing his eyes to the few stars that managed to shine up there, he took a deep, shaky breath. His blood was tainted by the Filth, he could feel it, creeping its way to his heart. If only he knew how to end his own life, he would have done so and avoid turning into what he had been fighting for so long. What shame and dishonor! That was his only regret; this wasn't the way to die for a warrior.

As if the Kami were listening to his plea, he heard footsteps and, opening his eyes, was greeted by two men looking down at him with concern painted on their faces.

"The corruption has taken hold of him. Carry him Love, it is not safe here. We are close to the entrance to Agartha, let's make our way there, I will attempt to purge the corruption from his bloodstream." A British accent, perfectly articulated. The man with the silver hair and soothing gray eyes was most likely from an upper-class family. He tried to look at the second man - bronze skin, golden eyes and hair, quite the strange look to him - before he was lifted and carried on this man's back. The two men then dashed forward, the speed at which they ran making it obvious they were likely one of those Chosen of Gaia.

It took mere minutes before he felt the golden glow of the Sakura Tree on him. He was gently laid down near its roots but he couldn't focus on anything much, drifting in and out of consciousness.

"It has not reached his heart yet."

That British accent again. Then a flash of red pain as a blade sliced into his flesh. He could feel his coat and shirt had been opened, exposing the black tendrils crawling under the skin of his left arm and slowly extending toward his chest. And he could almost feel those same tentacles squirm and protest, as if possessing a mind of their own, when they were slowly but surely pulled out of his body. How long it took, he couldn't say, as his mind was adrift between dreams and nightmares. When he finally opened his eyes, the two men were still there. The silver haired one looked a bit pale as he was resting against the Sakura Tree, sucking in Anima right from the source. It was the golden haired man that came to him when he woke up.

"Hey there, how are you feeling? You got friggin' lucky you know that? Especially for someone who's not a Bee. But something tells me you're not an ordinary guy either, mm? I'm Fox by the way. The man who saved you is Thanos." And he pointed to the other man, resting against the tree.

How could he tell he wasn't a Chosen? Unless he was one of those Anima sensitive he heard about. It was of little importance. He slowly pushed himself to a sitting position before laying his gaze on the bronze skinned man again.

"I'm Kuro. I thank you for saving my life. I've never been infected as such by the Filth before. I presume it would indeed have been the end of me. As you guessed, I don't have Gaia on my side to fight such corruption." A quick look at his arm told him the corruption had been successfully removed and he quickly buttoned his shirt again. "How may I repay you?" he added, looking at the two men.
Fox simply blinked at him a few times before answering. "It's all good, no need to repay us. Just having you back in the fight is good enough." He offered a grin to the Japanese man.

"It's a matter of honor that I repay you for giving me back my life." Katsuro replied. He was adamant about this. That got him an audible long sigh from Fox in return.

"You Japanese and honor.... no no I get it. Tell you what... How about you help us from time to time? We can always use more people who can handle themselves on the field. Here, take this, that's where I work. Thanos here is a contractor too and he lends a hand when he can, or if we're in dire needs. So, no obligations okay?"

Katsuro took the business card and nodded. "I shall look into this. Though it has nothing to do with Japanese honor. It is merely my personal honor code." He offered one of his lazy smiles and cast a glance at the business card before getting up.

 

[Molly Dufrene]

((I kinda cheated a bit on this one, but it's a hard prompt for immortals. Also, it gets a bit dark at the end, so you know, fair warning. ))

Please Insert Coins

It wasn't the heat that was excruciating, it was the dryness. Molly hated the desert when she first had left into the bleak sands from Al-Merayah, and she still hated it now several hours into the trip. Still, a Templar contact had been murdered by the cultists because of some information he had dug up from what was left behind by Orochi in the area, and all she knew was that a set of map coordinates in the desert was connected to all this, so into the desert it was.

"You know what would be great, an oasis or sumthin." She grumbled but no oasis was forthcoming. Rather, ahead of her, out of the desert haze, stood worn columns from now dead civilizations, jutting out of the ground like half buried bones of some great beast. Molly sighed, but figured that maybe some shade could be found from the relentless sun.

She nearly missed the shifting of ground underneath her feet. "Shit!!" she screamed as she dived to the side, narrowly being missed by the giant pincers that burst into the space she had occupied moments before. The pincers, predictably, were attached to a rather large, black scorpion. Large enough that she could ride it like a horse probably.

Wait, why would I want to do that?

Her idle thoughts were cut short, because of the giant scorpion barreling down at her. She focused her anima, sending a streaking crimson spike at the beast, but it hardly seemed fazed as it spat a greenish liquit at her. Molly backpedaled clumsily to avoid it, the liquid hitting the ground sizziling.

Pushing her anima further, she recited a quick incantation to help focus the anima, and the creature slowed as it's internal fluids reacted to the magic. It clicked angrily at Molly, and she knew it was weakened, ready for the final strike. With an outstretched hand, lightning flashed as the scorpion's tail struck.

The smell of ozone and burnt scorpion filled the air, and Molly's shoulder was struck with an intense pain. She looked down to see the dead scorpions stinger had pierced it's mark, blood starting to drip down her body. However, she was more worried about the black fluid mixed into the wound, causing her arm to start to shake.

She tried to focus and heal with her anima as she had been taught, but it was just so dry and hot. She stumbled to one of the pillars, falling down just as she reached it. Her whole body was shaking and everything was getting dark and breathing seemed like too much work.

I'm dying. Oh god. Oh god, please just let me die, don't let them take me back, I don't want this anymore, please make the pain go away, please let me die.

But then her thoughts were drowned out by the sound of buzzing and the soothing golden light.