Burning Bridges (open to three, battle)

[Gin Takemoto]

Gin took a look at the purple sky. He was upset that things at the hospital had ended the way that they did. He had really meant harm, but he realized that things had got out of hand. With a sigh, the shadow took a few steps forward before laying down on the grass.

He was in his human form, and he was just trying to relax. He needed a day to just sit back, relax, and try to handle his situations. All he really had to do was try to figure out how to prove that he was on the same side as the humans. Preferably in a way that didn't end up with him becoming a rug.

With a smirk, the shadow closed his eyes and started to doze.

[John Nicholson]

John had come to the City outskirts purely on a whim. He just woke up in the morning and decided he wanted to go for a walk in the outer circle. Whatever resistance he did encounter from wandering shadows was almost effortlessly dealt with. It was in this pointless wandering that he encountered a faintly familiar figure. It was that boy he had met at the hot springs a couple of months back. He hadn't really heard from him since. He drew closer trying to recall the boy's name.

Just as he came into his sight, he remembered. "Hey, GIn! How's it going? Why are you lounging out in the open like this? I can imagine better places to relax than in this hellhole." He walked closer to gin, completely at ease and not expecting an attack.

action: being oblivious to Gin's true nature.

[Xain]

Xain had been exploring in the outer reaches of the Shadow lands when he came across an interesting scene. A teenaged male was lying on the grass without any apparent concern for the powerful shadows in the area. This teen was soon approached by an old man and a female teenager. Xain recognized the two as participants in the full moon battles, but the care-free male was concerning.

Still, Xain approached. The closer he got, though, the more he recognized an abnormality in his readings. The young man didn't seem to have the same readings as humans. The android, curious and suspicious, continued to walk forward warily. He stood further away than the two who approached before him, but he was close enough to observe the abnormality.

[Gin Takemoto]

Gin heard the approaching footsteps of someone. He woke from his doze and turned towards the oncoming party, fully expecting some sort of Gigas or Minotaur. He was rather glad to find he was wrong.

First came John, who seemed not to know that Gin was not only a shadow, but probably on the Users' Most Wanted list. Isolde was second, and she asked about John. Third was a young boy who seemed to study Gin. This unsettled the shadow, but it made something very obvious.

Gin broke out into a grin. He figured someone would have been pissed enough to spread information about his brief turncoat attitude. "So you guys weren't sent by anybody," he said with an ever widening grin. "That's good. I'd hate for someone to be holding a grudge." His grin disappeared briefly, but it came back quickly.

"So, Miss Isolde, you say you've gotten stronger, right? Is that meant to be a challenge?" he asked jokingly. He was immensely curious just how much stronger she had gotten.

[John Nicholson]

A woman John vaguely recognized approached. She immediately zipped past him and started talking to Gin. They talked about some past failure to each other. John couldn't get himself into the conversation for a while so he stood by as another person walked up and silently watched from a distance. He noted the curious way the woman jokingly threathened to 'freeze Gin's fur again'. John didn't think too much anbout it as it was probably just some kind of in-joke between the two of hem. What he more seriously noted was the way gin asked for confirmation that 'they weren't sent by anybody. It seemed like an odd thing to say. John had seen some infigthing among the users, but one of them worrying for a hit squad to be sent after him was something else entirely.

"Gin, what do you mean with us 'not being sent by anybody'? Has someone or something placed a price on your head" It was a question of genuine worry. John saw it as an essential attitude to be concerned for the safety of his allies. He knew what it was like to have a price on one's head. He had had a brief stint back in the day where just about an entire army was looking out for him after he and his friends had taken out a high-ranking officer. That's an anecdote for another day tough. For now, John awaited Gin's answer, wary of the other people present.

[Xain]

Xain watched on. It seemed the female spoke of having gotten stronger, this prompted the young male to respond with humor and asking if that was a challenge. He also said something peculiar about the group "not being sent by anyone." Xain regarded those words in a similar way to how the old man had: with instant suspicion and a touch of concern.

What also concerned Xain was the abnormality in his readings. Surely this human was just that- human. However, something told the android that he shouldn't let his guard down. Not only was he in shadow infested territory with no present shadows, but "Gin," as he was called, seemed as at peace there as in the safe circle.

That was extremely unsettling.

[Gin Takemoto]

Gin laughed. Of course Isolde had meant it as a challenge. She was wanting to settle the score against him. That wasn't as amusing as what John said, though. "What do I mean, John? Well, before I give you an answer, I'm going to make a couple guesses. First guess: You don't talk to very many other Users, huh? Otherwise, you likely would have heard about what happened at the hospital. Second guess: You don't exactly pay much mind to your surroundings during the full moon fights, do you?" Gin started laughing again. "I'm the only something in the area."

The shadow turned to Isolde. "Are you ready, Miss? I've not exactly gotten weaker, and this time Phoebe's not here to tank for you." Gin grinned, revealing teeth that were both growing longer and sharper. "Oh well, too late now. Besides, you don't strike me as the sort who would back out of a fight against a shadow." With that said, he fully transformed into his alternate form- a giant, white tiger.

Not expecting Isolde to be ready just yet, Gin used the chance to cast Tarukaja and gain the upper hand at the moment. He would attack next turn.


((Tarukaja and scaring the shit out of an old man))

[John Nicholson]

Now what was he on about? Was it really such obvious knowedge John had missed. John briefly pondered what Gin might be implying but quickly snapped out of it once he realized the up until then normal looking boy bore .. fangs?! "Oh for the love of!... Am I the only one in this entire goddamn city that isn't a shadow or what!" It would start to seem like so. "You ain't doing to me what you did to vice!" John pulled out his weaponry and summoned his persona. He was somewhat baffled by the lighthearted, somewhat playful banter between the hopefully human girl and the shadow. did they think this waas some kind of game?!

He turned to the girl. "Listen, I don't know what the deal is here exacty, but I'm going to assume you're still human." And with that, he assisted her gathering of energy with tarukja.

action: tarukaja.

[Xain]

Xain watched on edge as Gin transformed into a Shadow. Not just any shadow, though; he was the white tiger shadow that seemed to help during the full moon. Still, he seemed to be getting ready for a fight. The android, unsure of how seriously the tiger would take the fight, felt as though the shadow seemed to just be playing around. For now, at least.

The android summoned Dominion and cast Rakukaja. The spell strengthened the Users' defenses, so the shadow's buff was practically cancelled. Still, said shadow was obviously still going to be a tough foe. Xain was going to be keeping his guard up.

((Raku))