The Road to Enlightenment [Yuu]

[Kisaragi Yuu]

Yuu let out a soft, solemn sigh. He wasn't sure what Seian was thinking, and he'd certainly hoped the poor guy was at least considering the dangers of being outside for too long, lest such creatures actually did exist... Hopefully they didn't, but the pictures were too convincing to say otherwise. Yuu looked about nervously and realized that Seian had not really heard most of what he had just mentioned. Yuu placed a hand on his cheek, much like a motherly figure would with concern to a child. Both bowls had already been taken away by this time, and Yuu sighed before nodding. "The meal's on me," he said. "I just want you to be careful, that's all." Yuu said before approaching the fellow at the counter once more and procuring a wad of bills from his handbag before giving it to him. Yuu and the man had some small chat before concluding the payment. "Alright, we're all set to go. I'll be showing you around this area first, because I think you'll be here a lot, it's where most of the stores and restaurants are. I come to this area pretty often for my grocery shopping." Yuu said as he approached Seian once more.

[Seian Verian]

"Oh, um... Domo arigato!" Seian stammered out some small thanks to Yuu, standing up while he made an awkward attempt at a bow. He was still glad he'd gotten one of the cheaper meals... He certainly didn't want to impose on Yuu.

Though... Be careful. That wasn't really as much of a worry as Yuu might think. Seian was naturally rather cautious. Always afraid of screwing up, or doing something selfish... And really, as far as he was concerned, risking his life for whatever reason was selfish. If he died, he couldn't help anyone else. He couldn't learn anything that might help anyone, he couldn't change the world... He might not as it was, but at least if he lived, he could try. He had to keep trying...

He nodded as Yuu came back and spoke with him. He then wasn't sure what else to say. ...He did however, still have more to say on the previous subject. <By the way, on the subject we were on before... Don't you think something should be done? If those are real, there might be so much we could learn... You mentioned SEES? Maybe we could try and find out more about them? Maybe... Maybe... ...Maybe I should shut up about it at the moment.>

[Kisaragi Yuu]

Yuu shook his head. "That won't be necessary," he said. "The focus now is getting you accustomed to life here and making sure that you'll be able to hold out on your own here. As far as I know, you're living alone, right? Or do you have any relatives or roommates with you?" he asked. He then took Seian's hand and dragged him out. "And don't mention that group in public," he insisted assertively! "It might not be the best idea to do that. Anyway, we can worry about that thing another time. Right now, I'm just gonna run you by all the important places in the area. Hopefully, it shouldn't take too long and hopefully I won't bore you. Please don't be hesitant in asking me anything you may be confused about!" Yuu nodded and still had one of his hands on Seian's, as if insistent on dragging him around. The other hand held Tensaibou.

Yuu decided the first course of action would be to take Seian to the various convenience stores. He led the newcomer to all sorts of shops and vendors, both large and small, making sure to have him remember the locations in mind. "Try to remember these places, they will serve as good landmarks so you don't get lost in this particular area." he said. "Some of these places also sell some pretty neat ingredients for cooking if you're into that kind of stuff, my sister is hopeless at it so I usually do it." he said, nodding to himself. Eventually, after introducing Seian to about half a dozen stores and half a dozen vendors, Yuu decided to take Seian on a tour around the area to get him familiarized with all the routes and roads.

[Seian Verian]

Focus on getting accustomed... Well, really, he probably should. The less used to the area he was, the more likely he was going to go out of bounds when he left what he did know. Tokyo wasn't necessarily the safest place in the world even besides those attacks, and if he screwed up in just the wrong way...

He wasn't entirely sure where he was going with this line of thought, but he went there as soon as Yuu said not to mention SEES. ...Maybe there were people that wouldn't want this getting out too much. Whatever was involved there... He really did need to be careful.

His focus lapsed back into reality, and he nodded absentmindedly as Yuu said not to hesitate about any questions. He followed where Yuu guided him, making sure to adjust his pace whenever necessary. His legs were longer, so his natural stride would be faster, but if Yuu walked at an above average pace...

Memorization was a struggle, and he had a feeling that he would probably have to solidify those memories by further experience. <I'll try and remember them. Really, it's a good thing we're actually walking through the area instead of driving by these places, or there's no way I'd remember much at all... Probably going to have troubles as it is. And as for cooking... Ha. The most I can cook is scrambled eggs or french toast. I have a decent sense for what tastes good to go into the eggs, but... I never really learned much.>

[Kisaragi Yuu]

Yuu giggles. "I go with whatever works." he responds simply and in earnest, continuing to walk Seian through the various streets and pointing out some alleys that could be used as shortcuts; emphasizing that it's only a good idea to travel through them during the day. "So do you actually cook or do you buy your meals and eat out?" he decided to ask casually, keeping a watchful eye on the street and on the other parts of the sidewalk, making sure that there was nothing dangerous about. It would be a hassle if an incident occurred right this instance... Though, at some point, Yuu figured he'd have to verify these claims and verify the true validity of the pictures instead of taking them at face value. "I rarely eat out to be honest, my sister is always calling me to cook for her, and it just so happens that I don't have any classes during those times, so... It can be a bit annoying." he continued. Eventually, the two of them reached yet another non-descript street, but Yuu stopped for a moment and looked up at the sky. "Hmm..."

[Seian Verian]

Seian tried to pay attention. He really did. And sometimes, he succeeded. Unfortunately, he always had to follow the line of every stray thought that occurred to him. Some of it was about writing, some of it was about games he'd played, and some of it was about the strange attacks Yuu had mentioned. Some of it was about other things entirely. Regardless, he simply was not able to absorb every street that Yuu stopped him to look at, even though they were holding hands.

He did at least hear when Yuu asked him a question, and added his own answer to it. Seian shook his head. <There's no way I could manage to cook as it is. I can't afford to eat out all the time either... I've only been here a few days, so I've managed on the food the school provides for me, but it's not much at all. I think I'm allowed ten free meals or so a month, and I've already used them all. I'm kind of helpless when it comes to doing household chores and general things, really...>

Where they had stopped now felt... Wrong, somehow. They were at an intersection, but brick walls were on either side of each street. The only thing remarkable about it was the absolute lack of notable features. ...No, not quite true. There was the absolute lack of activity, even though they were still well within the city limits of Tokyo.

When Yuu looked up, Seian's gaze followed. The sky had been cloudy for some time, but it was now that Seian realized how dark the clouds were getting. It seemed like it was going to rain soon... No, wait. It was starting to rain now. Just drizzling at first, but even within seconds it seemed like it was picking up noticeably.

Out of the corner of his eye, Seian thought he saw some movement... He looked toward it, and saw... Something was approaching. "Y-Yuu! We're not alone here! I think we're about to find out about that story for ourselves."

He tensed now, ready to move as quickly as possible. Whatever the creature was, it didn't seem that concerned at being seen. The streets seemed oddly shadowed now, and all could be seen was its sillhouette. It definitely had wings, but it seemed serpentine... What was it? Would backing away provoke it? What should we do...?

[Kisaragi Yuu]

Yuu rubbed his temple and soon noticed the silhouette as well. Indeed, it appeared to be serpentine in nature, and had some sort of wings, but Yuu couldn't tell in this terrible weather just how big or how small these wings are. Yuu pursed his lips and turned to face Seian for a moment, now raising Tensaibou and holding it close to his own person. "Find a safe place," Yuu said assertively, looking intently at Seian, ignoring for the meanwhile the floating snake thing which he could not entirely discern from the current vantage point. "Or at least get to a safer place than here. We don't know what this thing is and I don't think backing off will get it to go away, and it may even provoke it if it considers us as potential prey."

The rain continued to fall, soaking both Yuu and Seian considerably. The serpentine creature moved closer and closer with each passing moment.

"On second thought, just go find a safe place, now! I'll catch up to you later!" Yuu seemed to command some sort of assertion this time, something that could come as a shock to Seian.

I'll be needing you again...! Yuu thought to himself, thinking of Hathor...

[Seian Verian]

The rain continued to intensify, as did the wind. It seemed that it was rapidly approaching the status of a storm... The speed at which the whether had changed didn't seem right. Did this creature have something to do with it somehow...? Or... Was it something else? The mere existence of such a creature raised so many questions even through its silhouette.

Seian looked at Yuu incredulously as he gave instructions to get to a safe place. "And how exactly would you propose getting to a safe place without backing off? I can't well teleport!" He didn't really care to try and speak in Japanese right now. English was more natural, and he couldn't afford more difficulties speaking in this situation. This wasn't good... All Yuu had to fight the thing off was a cane, and Seian couldn't see anything else around that he could use as a weapon, at least not in this weather and light.

As the creature came closer, it became clear that it had more than one pair of wings. More than two, even, though it was still hard to count exactly. This was very far from anything yet known to man. And it actually was flying... Should something of that size really be able to...? ...They could try and figure out the specifics of it once they were OUT of this particular mess.

Seian started to move in response to Yuu's instructions, but then stopped before he took a step. Wait. Catch up later? "Wait, what do you mean by that? You can't fight it alone! Not with just that cane! We might be able to try running different directions, but..."

Suddenly, a voice came, ringing inside his head. You need not take such an effort. The creature suddenly rose higher into the air, not even the tip of its tail touching the ground now. Its wings suddenly burst into flame, making it clear that there were eight of them.

The creature was clearly some sort of snake. It was red, with a white stomach. Besides its wings, another thing that marked it as clearly alien was the fact that it had five eyes. One in the middle of its forehead, and then two pairs on the sides of its head.

Even had you had a chance to run, I could simply strike you down from afar. Those which might your last moments need not be spent in struggle.

"You... You can speak? Who are you? What do you...?"

That which I am and that which I seek may yet not concern you. Regardless, I certainly cannot let you fight while I decide... As it spoke these enigmatic words, smoke drifted from the flames upon the serpent's wings, filling the air like a black mist. Seian felt his strength draining away...

[Kisaragi Yuu]

Yuu coughed and turned to check on Seian, who looked to be in a weakened state at this point... At this rate, he wasn't going to last long if he continued lingering in the presence of the smoke and if he let the flames touch him, he was a goner... Yuu winced and turned to face the serpent. Yuu supposed now would be an appropriate time to take some proper action... He stepped forward and firmly slammed Tensaibou down into the ground, causing a very hollow sound to be created.

"Vox veritas! Awaken!"

Yuu concentrated most of his energies in recreating the situation in which Hathor had initially been awakened... Now that he'd seen the extent of the situation, Yuu could no longer just sit around and not do anything. He'd try to fight back this time. A blue light circled Yuu, and soon spread, causing a bright flash for a brief moment before Hathor, a woman draped in pink garbs began to float by Yuu's side. Yuu cringed and decided that Tensaibou alone would not do much, so he took out the katana concealed in the cane.

Seian could quite clearly see Hathor in his weakened state this time, just for the record. The Goddess apparently found it fit to stave off this five-eyed abomination, and with a flick of her wrist, caused a small ball of nothingness to concentrate in front of it, but particles began to spin around it and create a small void-powered explosion. Yuu meanwhile noted that the explosion managed to also knock down some of the lamp-posts littering the street.

"Damnit... We can't be too destructive here..."

[Seian Verian]

"Yuu...?" Seian dropped to one knee, confused as Yuu spoke. What was he doing? Why wasn't the smoke affecting him? ...Yet, those questions dropped away with a flash of light, just as yet more appeared alongside a woman in pink. Seian looked up in awe, taking in the revelations that just kept coming, as Yuu drew a katana from his cane, and the floating woman used what was undeniably some sort of highly destructive magic, which sent a shockwave rippling through the street. Seian felt a definite impact from it, though more a shock than anything painful. This was in quite stark contrast, however, to the damage done to their surroundings. The entire area seemed to shake a bit, marks left even on the walls nearby, and the lampposts were knocked down.

The serpent itself was knocked back somewhere from five to ten feet, recoiling in shock. Impressive. I see you are one who has awakened to part of his true self... I wonder, can you match Death?[/i] The serpent flapped its wings, and flames shot through the air in the direction of Yuu and his allies.

Seian forced himself to stand, and with great difficulty jumped to the side, away from the flames. The attack hadn't been aimed at him, but even from several feat away the heat was slightly painful from even short exposure. This wasn't good... What could he do...? Yuu would be better able to handle this, but could he do it alone? Even a distraction might...

But first he needed to get away from the smoke. Seian covered his mouth with his shirt and his hands, taking a short breath before he rushed in the direction of the snake, dashing past. There was enough room, and the smoke did appear to be drifting in the opposite direction... Yes!

Seian was still feeling exhausted, but he was able to breathe without increasing that feeling now. He turned, and waited to see what would happen...

[Kisaragi Yuu]

Just what was this serpent talking about? It planned to kill the two, so Yuu knew one thing; he had to stop this creature from getting to them at all costs! But it was going to be tough... And then, the serpent launched an attack of its own, spreading flames towards Yuu and Hathor. The heat was painful, the flames started burning and searing into Yuu's clothing, and Hathor decided to protect herself and Yuu, flicking her wrist once more, creating a blue barrier that seemed not only to stave off the flames, but deflect it into other directions! It didn't reflect back at the snake, but it certainly did stop most of the flames from doing a lot of damage to the other two. Unfortunately, some of the flames ended up diffusing to other parts of the street, causing part of the ground to have small embers lighting it up... "I won't let anyone die! Not like this!" Yuu coughed and coughed, still standing with his burnt clothing, exposing his skin, and he gripped the hilt of his katana tightly, waiting to properly fight back... If it was even such a good idea to fight back.

[Seian Verian]

So noble. Tell me though, how far does that extend? What lengths will you go to in order to save those lives? What will you do when one life ends by another's salvation? Even if you cannot show me your understanding or your will, show me that you have the power to protect those who need it! The serpent flapped its wings, shooting into the air and scattering unnatural fire across the street. Despite the rain, debris that was littered through the street lit up as the fire touched it.

The serpent became completely cloaked in its flames, nothing but a streak of burning light in the sky, rushing forward, and then down, toward Yuu. The flickering light of an inferno now filled everything, where there had been darkness before.

Seian felt paralyzed looking upon this. He... There was no way he could match this. He had no knowledge base to begin approaching understanding of it, no power with which he might cause harm. Yet... He couldn't bring himself to just leave Yuu to this, and he couldn't just wait for his death. Hopefully, he could help just by this... It was worth the risk.

Seian looked around for a weapon. Not a pipe or anything like that, nothing to swing or stab with... He just needed something he could throw. And then... Yes, the way the streets were set up, he could toss and then hide behind a corner again.

He spotted a trash can lid on the ground, which he dashed forward to take. It was hot, and painful to touch, but after a brief second's hesitation, he forced himself to grab it through the pain. Yuu must be going through so much worse, so close to the flames...

[Kisaragi Yuu]

Directly at me?! Yuu thought to himself, squeaking as the blue barrier that originally deflected the flames turned a deep brown, and tried to stop the the charge of the blazing serpent, but it was for the most part ineffectual, serving only to stop the impact from being too painful, and instead, causing the flames to sear through Yuu's body, causing great amounts of pain. Fortunately, Hathor for the most part had not been affected by the snake's attack, for it appeared to have been directly aiming for Yuu. Yuu was now on his knees, coughing and using his cane for support, he weakly stood up, body trembling, his clothes mostly burnt by now, parts of his skin charred from the flames. Hathor appeared to turn to look at Yuu with some concern, going close to him and suddenly giving him a light embrace, apparently filling him with some energy; it was not as much as one would have expected, but it was enough to get Yuu to get a grip on his bearings again. He continued to cough a bit, and he looked terrible; his body was battered and partly burnt...

"Just... what the hell... are you?" Yuu hoarsely questioned the situation, as Hathor looked about with disdain, and eyed Seian from the distance who had grabbed a trash can lid. Hathor promptly poked Yuu who then finally noticed.

"...What are you doing?!" Yuu softly cursed to himself.

[Seian Verian]

I am an ancient one with knowledge beyond your comprehension. I am one that is reviled in legend, my truth lost through time. I am beyond the petty concerns of mortals and lesser spirits. I am this and so much more. If I so chose and was not bound against it, this city could burn in a night! Despite its words, it made no further move to attack, but merely stared at Hathor as she looked about.

Hathor. You never did view the suffering of those you swore to protect as more than an annoyance. Arrogant even beyond that which your power justified... Even if you are only a fragmented mirror of the true self, you have changed so little. I wonder what the boy's connection to you is...

Seian heard Yuu's inquiry, but didn't answer. Drawing further attention to himself at this moment wouldn't work... Not as long as the serpent was on the other side. He needed to be facing away from Seian and toward Yuu at once... And so, Seian merely darted toward the side street, looking upon the situation and waiting.

[Kisaragi Yuu]

Yuu coughed. He weakly tried to remain standing, but wasn't in tip-top condition... I can't even believe the things I'm hearing right now... Yuu thought to himself, sighing. He coughed again and fell to his knees, still looking defiantly back at the creature which proclaimed itself to be an ancient being... Hathor heard the serpent's proclamation, and did nothing but shake her head disapprovingly; it was a gross insult to her standing, at least, that's what it felt like to her. As the serpent no longer made any moves for the meantime, both Yuu and Hathor stood their ground patiently and waited for something to happen. He also noticed that Seian had moved to another location, namely one of the side streets, and just stood there, watching. It was at this moment that Yuu sighed in relief, now returning his attentions back to the serpent.

"Why do you deign to wander these streets and cause chaos, then?!" Yuu wheezed a little.

Do not be so presumptuous, wicked one. A voice seemed to reverberate in response to the serpent. I have since then repented for my misdeeds under the guise of Sekhmet; t'was I who bring aid and respite to the ailing, to the dying, and to the dead themselves. To this voice, Yuu turned to face Hathor, who he knew could be the only one making a proclamation back in response. This boy shares my will, my duty, my desire, to bring that respite to those in need, to bring salvation to both the dying and the unfortunate dead. It shall not be by your hands, or lack thereof, that we will fall.