Asuka turned her head to look at him, despite looking like hell. "Kuragari. He's from a feline-like race native to this planet. His species is incredibly intelligent, even able to speak with humans. Kuragari fell completely to darkness, he murdered his brother and abandoned his clan. He's also the reason I have these," she said, gesturing to the claw marks still on her shoulders. "He is very strong, no doubt because of the dark powers he uses. But if I am to defeat him, I will have to use my own darkness, and well...you see how that ended. Unless I can find a light to follow, it will take me years to try and conquer my inner demons by myself, and by then he'll have become even stronger."
Lol, I had to fight of pirates at the Renaissance Faire this summer, we had to go through the pirate's port in order to get to the weapon-related games and they just kept coming at me and I was like FFFFF- Good times. That's amazing. :'D
"I never knew either of my parents, so I can't say if they wanted me to be like Cloud or Tifa. Though my grandparents taught me to fight like both," Asuka said. "...They all told me that I can't fight this battle against the darkness alone, but I'm not sure if what they said is true or not. And...I don't know how to ask them again." She closed her eyes, and the scene in the Lifestream was replayed in her mind again. Her hands balled into fists and several more streaks of tears made their way down her face. "They told me not to be sorry...but I still failed them. That ******* beat me here and took their lives."
OOC: **** you. :c IC: Asuka was surprised that Leon actually helped her. "Perhaps Cloud was right..." Once she was sitting on her bed, she decided to lay down, as she still had a bad headache. Sighing, she began her story. "I assume you know the stories of my great-grandfather, Cloud, and his struggles against darkness. And if not...just know that he did, and it took him many, many years to finally overcome it. He didn't do it alone, but even then it was a hard and hellish journey. Since then, each generation of my family has had one child that struggles with darkness - my grandfather, then my father, and now me. When they were young and this land was still run down, it was a source of power for defeating the evil that plagued the city. Eventually my grandfather defeated his inner darkness, but...my father never did. He wasn't evil, nor a bad person, but the darkness in his heart overtook him while he was defending the city outskirts and he used that dark power to destroy the attackers," she said. She stopped for a few moments, then continued. "The darkness overwhelmed him. He sacrificed himself to the darkness in him to save Midgar." Asuka was fighting back tears once more. "My...my grandparents always used to tell me how strong of a person he was, despite the darkness. And that I should follow a similar path, not the same, but if I did use the darkness to use it for good. My grandfather taught me how to use darkness to help, not harm." She put her hand straight up and called forth Fenrir. "This is Fenrir...the Keyblade that I usually use. When my emotions reach a breaking point however...the Keyblade you saw earlier appears in place of Fenrir. It's known as One-Winged Angel, a memento from Cloud's fight with darkness. As long as One-Winged Angel keeps appearing, the darkness still has a strong hold on me."
"You came...", she said, and tried standing once more. Her movements were shaky, but she managed to stand still. "I have two blades, but not in the normal sense," Asuka said. "...If you could help me up to my room, I'll explain everything."
There were a LOT of cats at my school today, it was kind of crazy. xD I was Toon Link from Windwaker/Phantom Hourglass/Spirit Tracks. Though my dog kinda trashed my sword and sheild so I have to remake them before Sunday. :/
I keep trying to accept your friend request but for whatever reason KHV's not letting me. D: Figured I'd tell you so you didn't think I was...
As soon as Asuka blacked out, she felt the strange sensation of a strong light. She opened her eyes, but quickly realized that she was not conscious. She was standing in a field of flowers, but there was no sky - just white light. "My Asuka...you've grown up so much." Asuka looked in the direction the voice came from. It was the same voice that had called out to her before, but now there was a woman standing near her. She read the question in Asuka's eyes and said, "I am your mother, Asuka. We never got to know each other, but I have been watching over you from here, the Lifestream. All of us have." After the woman finished speaking, several other figures appeared from out of the bright light. Asuka assumed that the man that stood by her mother was her father, and she felt a pang of sadness that she never knew either of them. She then saw two very familiar people. "Grandmother, Grandfather!" she shouted as they walked towards her. "I'm so sorry...I couldn't protect you. I failed as your guardian, please forgive m-" Before she could finish, her grandfather put his hand to her mouth. "Don't apologize. You did nothing wrong. It was our time to go anyway, now our duty has been passed down to you." That's when she saw them. Her great-grandparents were walking to her now, and Asuka did not know how to react. "Tifa and I have been watching you grow up," Cloud said. "We were only around until you were four...but they were good years. You are the last Strife left, Asuka. Though the burden is heavy to bear, you have strong allies around you. You're stronger than the darkness, you just need to find the light to guide you until you can defeat it by yourself. And I think that you've finally found that light." "What? You don't mean...Leon, do you?" Asuka said. "Yes, that's right. His light is strong, just as his grandfather's was. Tifa was my light, but yours may very well be him. That group of kids you met have a stong collective light as well." Asuka looked at the family surrounding her. Her heart felt significantly lighter than it ever had before, and she smiled. "I understand, Cloud. I'm going to fight the darkness, I'm not gonna let it win. Thank you," she said, "All of you." Her grandmother moved forward and hugged her. "We are always with you Asuka, even if you're not in Midgar. We'll all be watching over you from the Lifestream, so don't worry about us. Live your life, dear..." Asuka smiled, then opened her eyes once more, but this time to the real world. She tried standing, but almost immediately fell over again.
Asuka kept up her attacks, each swing getting more and more vicious. "Asuka..." Her eyes widened. "Remember who you are..." Asuka's strikes ceased, and she stood still, unsure of what was happening. "Don't let the darkness control you, Asuka...remember who you are..." As she was about to respond to the voice, she felt an immense pain in her head. Her Keyblade disappeared, and she fell to the ground, holding her head in pain. She felt the darkness in her retreating incredibly fast and realized that Leon was the person she had attacked. She tried to speak, saying, "L-Leon..." but only before the pain subsided and she felt her eyes close before she blacked out completely.
Asuka was blind to everything except the Heartless, still cutting through them like paper. As she worked through the swarm of Heartless, fighting down the stairs, she saw another person at the bottom of the stairs. Not realizing who it was in the dark rage she was in, she threw the Keyblade through the remaining Heartless on the stairs, then attacked Leon, jumping down the rest of the stairs and catching him off guard with her first strike.
Asuka barely registered that there was another person in the house now. "Fighting spirit...?" She looked over at her grandparents. "Why should I have a fighting spirit if the people I love keep dying? It's the same goddamn thing, over and over again, but with different people..." "...But I'm not close to anyone anymore..." "That's right..." she muttered, "I am alone...no more family, no more friends..." The darkness surrounding her grew stronger, but she then willed it all away - back inside of her. Her tears stopped and her sadness was replaced with pure rage and hate. Breathing hard, she summoned her Keyblade, but it was not Fenrir. She looked at it, instantly recognizing it as One-Winged Angel. Without saying a word to Leon, she flew into a swarm of some of the Heartless, mercilessly destroying them with the dark blade.
As Asuka parked and dismounted her bike, she instantly sensed there was something wrong. There was almost no activity around the building, and the sense of dread grew as she neared the door only to find it broken open. She summoned her Keyblade, cautiously pushing the door further open, looking around for any sign of life. "Grandfather?...Grandmother?" she called out. Silence answered her. As she rounded the corner of the bar to go up the stairs, her blood ran cold. There was a small trail of blood drips going up the stairs, and at this point she sprinted up, taking the steps two at a time. Running into her grandparents' room, she stopped short and Fenrir fell to the ground, disappearing. "No...dammit...no, no, this isn't right, this isn't...real..." Asuka said, voice rising with each word. The scene before her was a grisly one, she dared not look too long or else she felt extremely sick. Her grandparents were dead, killed in some kind of fight that started downstairs and ended here. Upon closer inspection, she saw black fur scattered about the room. "Kuragari...he was here. They're dead because I wasn't fast enough. I couldn't save them, just like I couldn't save my squad..." Asuka, who was never known to cry, fell to her hands and knees and let the tears fall freely. Sitting back on her knees, she shouted out, "Why must everyone around me die? What the hell am I fighting for!" As she said this, she felt her emotions twist into sadness and anger, but didn't even try to restrain the darkness in her. It flowed freely from her, but she didn't care, nor did she notice the Heartless that were starting to be attracted to it.
Asuka guided her bike down to one of the many alleys in Midgar. While it grew out of the slums it had become in Cloud and Tifa's time, wars still broke out from time to time. "Sector Seven...I'm home..." Revving the engine, she left the alley and took off into the main road, which she noticed was much less busy than usual, and headed towards her home. She got a few honks and waves from passing people, and she quietly returned some of them. "It's...quiet. Unusual...it's middday, the roads are normally jammed. What happened here?" After she broke away from the main traffic flow, Asuka gunned the engine, which roared in response and took her flying down familiar streets until she stopped outside of a well-kept looking building. It was small in size, but she knew the history behind it.
"Alright Fenrir...take me home," Asuka said quietly. The bike had a coordinates system installed because of the delivery business, and she was hoping that it was still functional. Entering the coordinates of her home, she let herself get lost in memories from her past. Memories that she didn't want resurfacing. "Congrats on the promotion, Asuka!" "Haha, yeah, you're gonna be the one ordering us around now!" "Her ordering you punks around will probably make you rise up to be the best damn squad, kid, I ain't seen this much potential in any sole person since Cloud's and Zack's days in the military. But anyway, congratulations, Captain Strife." Asuka laughed. "Captain Strife sounds way too comical. People would think I'm something out of a cartoon or video game, not a real person fighting for their benefit..." "Hey Asuka...now that you're an officer, does that mean our squad's split up?" "Don't be ridiculous, the Fenrir Squad is inseperable and unstoppable..." "Take cover! Use the underground tunnels to circle around their flanks, we can't let them win this battle!" "Asuka, I'm going by myself, I know how to arm a device that will decimate their numbers." "Wait! Don't go by yourself, it's too dangerous..." Asuka was shaken out of her memories by Fenrir's navigation system beeping. Looking up, she saw her home world in front of her. "It's still here..." she said quietly. She started to descend towards the planet, heading for the continent Midgar was located on.
I think I am going to be Toon Link, since I'm having trouble finding plain red clothing. xD And I'll probably make a sheild tonight or something, lol. I would but no one would know who I am. D: And I really want to go all out with an Ammy costume, chances are I'd end up making a kimono or something along those lines. xD
Hey. xD Not much, just got home haha. Gonna do some homework then get stuff for Halloween. You? And oh god yes, Vanitas's Sentiment is...
"What a fool," Asuka said. "Acting as if she has experienced the hardest life, saying she has things to live up to...we all do. She needs to learn that heroes aren't made from following the same footsteps as your predecessor but by walking your own path and using your own power, not the power of stories and myths." Turning to Shinji, she said, "Fighting alone is always reckless. Even the best of warriors rarely fight alone because they know it can spell instant death. You make one mistake, you're dead. Dead because no one is there to find you until you're breathing your last breath. I've seen many people fall that way. They think it's courage and heroism, but it's just goddamn foolishness. And for Cat to go off on her own with hardly any battle experience...it won't end well." Asuka started to walk away. "I'm taking the sidecars off my bike and leaving them here. I'm going to look for Midgar." Without staying any longer, Asuka took her Keyblade and opened a portal to leave the world, taking off through the sky on a small path of darkness.
Asuka heard her name being called. She recognized it as Luna's voice, but didn't respond vocally. She simply walked in the direction she heard the girl's voice from, and said a simple "I'm here" when she approached her. "Odd. Feels like the darkness isn't retreating anymore...is Leon's light really that strong?" she thought. Her mind focused on the present again when she noticed that Luna was alone. "...Where are Crimson and Shinji?"
"Hm...interesting. The little one thinks she can survive on her own...arrogant youth." Kuragari mused from the shadows. Silently, he ran up a path of darkness created as his paws touched the air. He decided to follow the girl, striking her down when she was truly alone. "I'm no fool Leon. I've fought in enough battles and lost enough friends to know that. But Cat's young. She needs guidance, guidance that I didn't get from either of my parents," she said as he was about to leave. Reaching into her pocket, she pulled out a tattered photograph. Handing it to him, she said, "I'm going to look for Midgar. If you come across a world that looks like this...go to a bar called Seventh Heaven. Chances are you'll find me there. Return the picture to me in person then." Asuka walked back towards where the others were before Leon could refuse and saw Cat flying off into the air. Before she disappeared, Asuka roared out, "You've got so much potential Cat, but you're not goddamn Sora! You never will be! Just as I will never be Cloud or Tifa, because I'm my own person and I'm walking my own path. Until you realize that you'll never be the hero you so desperately want to be!"
Asuka growled. "No Cat. I didn't doubt your strength. But you doubted mine. I can't win alone, you said? Even if I couldn't, there's more honor in losing a fair fight than rushing blindly into battle." She walked over to Leon and offered him a Hi-Potion. "It's not that you're not strong, Cat. You're immature. Strength...battles...they don't make a hero. You have a lot to learn still." Stepping away from Cat, she said to Leon, "I apologize. If you're willing, I'll still fight you, one-on-one."
