Homecoming [Joint Training / R / NDE]

[Aura Kyuketsuki]

"Huh?" That was the first thing that came to mind when finding herself being turned upside down and back on the floor. Her body was lifted for a short second then plummet back into the cold floor once again before she could put two and two together. Shortly before she was standing around to stretch as she answered the query that Luke had about her. Though somewhat a sensitive subject, Aura still intended to tell the truth about her condition. She did so with Zaluu just as she did with Luke. Honesty was the best policy after all. And was a better way in earning their trust on the get go when it came to first introductions. Better to get the skeletons out of the closet before they got out themselves.

Luke was pushing to see that, but refused by the Bount herself. Not really the best idea in terms of safety and self preservation. Just by action alone the two selves were different. The Aura that most people saw was the earnest and try hard sort of girl. Always trying to do the best that she could and live life when ever opportunities came to her. Yet, then there was the other side. The darker half that only came out when the light was no longer able to play. In the darkness, away from the natural light, Aura's attitude became driven purely by hunger. Dedicated and blinded by the overbearing passion to eat, Aura never knew what would be beyond that point of feeding.

Would she become normal again, or driven to eat more? It never came to that point before as she too never experienced what was beyond that point of madness and hunger. That was what Aura didn't want other people to see her to be. An image of her that only wanted to feed and fulfill her appetite for pleasure. Being kept away from fulfilling that desire was more like an addict being pent up inside. Only to one day explode as their body's reach a limit before being driven by it completely from out of the blue. Aura was already at that point, and stressing it out wasn't going to help her either. Instead, it only fueled what was already piling up.

Frustration was the only thing that came to mind as Luke spoke. Indeed, she already knew all that he said. Luke didn't have to keep rubbing it in again and again, causing her the spite the lack of training she had over the years spent trapped in Soul Society. With the man on top of her, it felt as if the weight of her body grew by an enormous percentage. However, she knew better than to think that the gravity was suddenly altered. It was only fact that Luke was being the one to keep her down with just a portion of his strength. And by the looks of it, he wasn't breaking a sweat at all.

Physically, she was outmatched in every category. Before they even began the girl had been exhausting herself nearly every night trying to keep herself under control. The joint efforts of the lack of sleep and strain of those nightly tantrums drained the girl. To her own surprise that she managed to get this far in training despite what little was done. She just couldn't bare much more of the growing frustration that she had to keep deep down inside. "Release........me......" No. She couldn't. She didn't want to. "Remember......that man.....you ate......The rush of .......red........down your ........throat......Delicious........Do........it.........Do...it....Do it......Doit....Doit DoitDoItDOITDOITDOIT!"

It's thoughts hammered itself in the back of Aura's mind. The sounds of her struggling to stand up were not out of her effort to push herself off, but to restrain the desire to eat. Her blood boiled, remembering the feeling of the red liquid gushing down her lips and throat. The tips of Aura's hair began to extend in length. She screamed. The Bount's nails sharpened, curling at the ends of their five centimeter length. No. I.... I don't want ....to.. I can't..... Her fangs took form within the lining of her teeth. The burning sensation that coursed through her entire body was of the excitement that she attempted to drown with logic. "I have to...get up... Ihaveto.... ...have to eat..[/i][/color]

"Nothing else matters."

"Nothing else matters."

Aura ceased to move. Her face remained buried in the bangs of hair. But, even so, with just a whisper. With just a simple muttering notion, Aura called. "Ziege....Dich." The joint shadow of Luke and Aura merged, becoming a single entity. Life was being drawn in as Aura's reiatsu poured into the surface that she was pressed against, signaling the door to open between realms. It was opened, and with it the pair of black arms reached out from Aura's sides towards Luke. They were aiming for his face, seeking to hook its claws into his skin. All to bring down the man and place in onto the floor. Nuru emerged, taking his place in the world of the living as he dragged the remains of his body from the dark pit, standing over Aura's body with gritting fangs.

[Deleted]

The sudden shift in her voices tone was what finally clued him in that something was wrong. Yes, it was certainly odd that her hair was elongated and her nails were sharpening, but Luke had initially thought that it was just a physical symptom of her exerting reiatsu. He wasn't sure how it worked for everyone else, after all. But when her voice changed it all made sense. Luke had dragged out what he'd been wanting to see. The programmed ferocity inside her. The thing he had heard banging and crashing around inside that storage container that night. Narrowing his brown eyes, Luke didn't let up on the gravitational pressure weighing her down. In this situation it was best to keep her down and to see just how she'd react.

But what she said next caught him by surprise. There was no way he could mistake the signature words of his racial release. "Ziege dich" translated to "Show yourself" was the phrase a Bount said to release their Doll. But wait. Since when did Aura have a Doll? Luke suddenly noticed both his and Aura's shadows became one and, within mere moments, a pair of shadowy arms reached out from Aura's sides aiming to hook clawed hands into his face. Brown eye's widened for a moment before vanishing, reappearing several feet away once the blur of Movement ended. Coming to a stop, Luke stared at the Doll that emerged from Aura's shadow. He blinked once, dumbfounded, taking in the sight of her Doll and just what it was it was doing.

"It looks like.." Springflut began to say before he was interrupted by "Me?!" Jäger shouted in surprise, shock, and even a little agitation. It was true though. This Doll, this creature made from Shadows, bore a ridiculous resemblance to his own Doll. It emerged from a shadow, was a entity made from shadows, and seemed to have an ability linked to shadows if the way Luke's and Aura's merged together just then had any meaning. The difference was in the details of the design. Her Doll had a more feral appearance to it. It was covered in spikes and even supported fangs. "I'll kill it! I swear I will! It stole my everything!" Jäger shouted.

"So this is surprising." Luke commented softly, straightening himself up as he looked at the Doll. He had to wonder just why her Doll appeared so similarly to his. Did he happen to influence the design of her Doll somehow? Did his reiatsu rub too much off on her? No, that couldn't be it. This was just coincidence. "You didn't tell me you had your Doll already, Aura." Luke shot at her, agitation clear in his voice. Her having a Doll was something that was absolutely need to know information. Or perhaps she'd gotten her Doll, just now, from their sparing? While unlikely it certainly wasn't impossible. Luke still refused to let up on the Gravitational Pressure, though. He was insistent on keeping Aura pinned until she could get up herself.

[Aura Kyuketsuki]

The weight never lifted. The girl found herself still pressed by whatever strength the man had over the Bount girl. Her reiatsu flared as Nuru was called to the field. But it wasn't the only thing that did. Her body was hot. Aura's sweat plunged from out of her pores and protruded down her body. The two sides of herself fighting against one another, fighting for control as both sides of herself strive for solid control. The line between them seemed to be obscured as they both desired to exist. They both desired to shine in the light, to be known to the world as they wish to live in the world around them.

Her blood began to boil. Despite it being day time outside, it seemed that the lack of sun exposure weakened her condition. As more time would pass the worse that the Bount became. Her Doll, Nuru, only had to buy it's time before it could influence her, timing what will lead to her own insanity and fall. Small teases here and there, just small nudges until she was at the edge. After that, all that needed to be done was have her own environment do the pushing. That was all that it took to cause Aura's latest condition. She had some minor control, so Luke's words did not fall on deaf ears. For her to hide the fact that she could utilize her Doll was something that she didn't want to accept. Even in her dazed euphoria, she could still muster the words that explained her own perspective.

"It was.... I never.... I never wanted it. It just....came.. I didn't know...how it came.. It just.. did." she uttered as her gaze flew towards the black silhouette that made the creature. She didn't know what to expect of the Doll, nor what it could do. It's abilities were a complete mystery to what Aura would expect from it. But what frighten her the most would be that it had no loyalty to her. That the Doll itself reflected her desire to feed, and to kill. They say that the Dolls were meant to be an extension of themselves, that the Doll reflected the Bount that owned it. If there was the case, then what did it say about Aura? "S-stop it.... Don't..move.. damn you."

The Bount struggled as her words were meant for her suppose to be partner. Nuru lacked formalities or a conscious that a Doll would have towards their Bount. Feral and keen on to it's own instinct, the Doll's thought process was a simple one. Hunt and destroy. Kill and feed. That was all to what Nuru was meant to do. It would never think of itself as an intelligent lifeform, but one that listens to it's own natural instincts. Nuru was as feral as any other predatory animal would be. That was what Aura saw before her eyes, a reflection of herself while in the nights. "Please.... STOP IT." The Doll charged. Nuru was slow; a newborn among Dolls in it's current state. It's running on all fours only further portrayed itself as nothing more than an animal.

As it began to motion itself, the black mass that it was shifted, fading out as it's natural skin color took hold. White took hold of it's body characteristics. No curves of shapes, only the black outline that shaped the white mass that was the Doll. It's red blurred eyes were more keen on Luke than that of Aura, only taking a single glance at the woman before lunging at the male Bount. Nuru lacked respect of it's Bount Master, only wishing to fulfill it's desires and purpose for which it was summoned. And just like Aura, it too had a hunger to fulfill. "STOP IT NOW!" Aura demanded. Her body venting both heat and pressure as she slowly rose. Aura's arms dug in beneath her as did her legs. Reiatsu flaring through her pores just as much as her sweat did, dampening her training garbs.

Releasing herself from the pressure that Luke emitted wasn't something that she would expect, just as much as she didn't expect the amount of energy that it would cost her. (-300) And it would be just as she stood did Aura find herself falling once more to her knees. She had spent too much reiatsu without even realizing the amount that was spent unconsciously. And now, she was paying for it all. On her knees the girl fell onto, gasping for the air that she long needed. But it wouldn't be over as she had to do something about the Doll. She just had to.


Remaining Reiatsu: 0/650 ; -400 Doll Release, -300 Spiritual Pressure Release

SPOILER: Click to show

{Nuru}

Strength: 50
Speed: 50
Spiritual Pressure: 50 /30% [35]
Reiatsu Strength: 50 *50 [75]
Light Aura: 50
Dark Aura: 50
Instinct: 50
Senses: 50
Energy Sensory: 50
Healing Expertise: 0

SP= 370

[Deleted]

Those muddy browns narrowed themselves a bit further as his attention focused itself entirely on the Doll. Hearing Aura's explanation actually further irritated Luke. Just because she didn't want her Doll didn't mean the thing didn't exist. It reminded Luke about when he first awakened Jäger. He understood that Aura didn't have a choice in the matter when it came to her Doll manifesting its conscious, but the fact she didn't tell him she had become aware of its existence was what was pissing him off. Aura, already, could become a threat if left unchecked. The fact she didn't tell Luke her powers were developing was a serious breach in security. For a moment he closed his eyes, his brow furrowing into a sharp v, before he simply decided to not stress on this right now. This was something they were going to talk about later.

"Pay attention, dick head, it's coming for you." Springflut warned as Luke opened his eyes back up. The Doll disobeyed Aura's commands and instead seemed to focus itself entirely on wanting to rip out Luke's insides. He could feel his muscles tensing up when the Doll looked at Aura, because Luke realized quickly that the possibility of the Doll turning on her was very high right now. "It's coming! Let me slap its shit!" No. Luke wasn't going to do that. The Doll lunged at him, down on all fours, as its colors shifted from black to white. Those red eyes were locked completely on him. But, what's more, was that Luke noticed Aura. His muddy browns glanced to her for a moment. Blinking with surprise when he saw her getting to her feet, he couldn't help but feel a little proud that she figured out how to beat his Gravitational Pressure. But he couldn't tell her good job right now. He had this Doll to deal with.

"Good grief." Luke sighed as he returned his attention to Nuru. He decided to show this thing, and even Aura, a brief glimpse of his power. He lied to Jäger a moment ago. With that ridiculous speed of his Luke suddenly crushed the matchbox he had in his left hand that seemed to come from nowhere. There was no fanfair. There was no explosion of reiatsu. His release was actually very quiet. "Ziege dich." Aura would suddenly hear. Despite the low volume of his words, they were clearly heard. Two words that possessed actual power. The outline of the Bount's body suddenly began to glow with a thin light just as his shadow suddenly stretched forward, travelling underneath the charging Nuru. The Doll, just born and single mindedly focused on Luke, wouldn't be able to react to what was coming at all.

"ORAA!!" all three of them would suddenly heard as a Nuru was suddenly lifted up into the air, as Jäger drove his fist right into the other Doll's stomach. Luke's own Doll, Jäger, was an entity that seemed created from shadow itself. But that single punch was not all that the Doll delivered to the other. A second, a third, and even a fourth punch was delivered into Nuru's stomach before Jäger grabbed onto the Dolls back leg and hurled the Doll at one of the walls. The difference in the two Dolls stats and strengths made this feat incredibly easy for Jäger, and considering that he had 225 Strength meant those blows were going to be rather painful for Nuru. Crossing his arms across his chest, Jäger "stood" upright and if he had a face he'd no doubt be smirking. "Get wrecked, copycat." Jäger gloated.

Returning his attention to Aura, Luke approached her before stopping when he was in front of her. While he was certainly angry that Aura had hid her Doll from him, he still couldn't help but smile at her. "You stood up." was all he said. Even though his methods were rough and...questionably effective...they had worked. Aura had managed to stand up against his Gravitational Pressure and use her reiatsu. That's what Luke had wanted. "But did you have to be so rough with her?" Jäger suddenly asked as he threw himself onto Luke's back and basically crawled onto Luke's shoulder. Digging his finger into Luke's cheek caused the man to adopt a annoyed face, with his left eye brow twitching. "So mean. You hit a girl. A girl you like too. Like, like, that's such a not cool, like, thing to, like, do...like." the Doll snickered.

Luke suddenly collided the back of his hand against Jäger's face, causing the Doll to cry out and fall backwards, covering his face with his hands. "There's one more thing though." Luke said to Aura, before looking at where Nuru had been thrown. "Recall your Doll."

[Aura Kyuketsuki]

The reality of things were set in stone. Nuru couldn't do much about that considering well that he was still practically a newborn. A new Doll that just recently awakened into the reality that is the world, and now getting his ass handed to him. Or at least a wall. The beast may have been just all bark with no bark, like literally. With all the flashy and grumbling that it did before all went flat line as soon as it came upon a much more experienced Bount and Doll. The pair didn't flinch, less than using any effort in putting the rogue Doll in it's place. Each fist that was delivered into the Doll's core emitted shocks, ones that rumbled Nuru's consciousness in and out of their current time. It was thankful to their ill suited bond with each other that the Bount herself didn't have to suffer the jarring experience that her ill natured Doll had to endure. But, it didn't mean that she had her own troubles at the moment either.

Calling upon the Doll took a vast majority of the girl's reiatsu pool. With the lack of training, and the experience required, the girl lacked control over herself. The vast nature of reiatsu, honing the energy, how much to give and release, there were many applications that it had but failed to really put into play. Why was that? Well, to be blunt about the reality of it all is because she decided to keep to an ordinary life; to be human. Aura neglected her other self, the Bount side of things. Because of this, she let go of all the benefits that were to come with a bit of application to that part of her life. A part that would have benefited her altogether to be honest. How it would have made life so much easier had she went to explore it a bit more, and really put some effort into it. But alass, this was the trouble that she put herself in.

The problems that she faced now was a fatigued body, a rogue Doll, and a hunger that refused to allow her to black out. Pushing past the gravitational pressure, caused by her friend, the female Bount had spent the remains of her reiatsu. Although it did allow her to move about freely now without restraints, the trade off for it cost her more than she could realize. A depleted reiatsu storage meant that she was left more vulnerable than before. Physically, moving around was Hell. The entire body cried, begged, and screamed. Every muscle neglected their own respected duty as they left total control to the girl's will. Which brings us to that portion of Aura. What was suppose to be a downed mind, Aura was still wide awake. Wide awake with pain that is. Her Osen was on full blast at this point. No reiatsu to help manage herself meant that her mind was left wide open for the Osen's influence to really work its magic.

Plowing her head like a new baseball glove, the Osen continued to strike her nerves and thoughts with waves of relentless suggestions. All of her muscles forced back into labor in order to achieve what the Osen stirred inside the girl. She had to feed. Walking was much faster than crawling, but crawling was still faster than sluggishly sliding herself to Luke. As Jager's re-enactment of an anime flared off, Aura's finger tips pulled the log of a body over slowly. Each breath taken in was more painful than the last. Every muscle rebelling against the oppression that was Aura's mind, left deceived by the wiles of the Osen. The lights overhead seemed to have turned pale in her peripherals, blurring as Luke's words fell on deaf ears. Hell, she couldn't even make sense as to what Luke had said. If felt distant, echoing softly into the background of her hazing breaths. This was the Hell that she had to endure each night.

SPOILER: Click to show

Every night since her conception, this was her reality. Unable to sleep properly. The lack of food in her stomach. Those days spent crunched into a corner seeking whatever safety and assurance that they could possibly bring to her. All of her struggles now were a testament as to how far the Osen will push her. Even with a faded, dazed mind the girl pushed herself to feed. Common sense and logic went out the door when the last of her reiatsu left her body. This was the fear that the girl had of becoming; losing herself to the curse that the Shinigami had instilled into her. Inching closer to the man's feet, only her breath and sounds of constant struggling were all that she made upon her arrival to the man's feet. "...eat......I need to.....eat." From the depths of her mouth came the slick residue of thickened saliva. It dripped from the corners of the girl's mouth as her fangs reached out with a gaping mouth. From those depths came Aura's tongue, looking to guide the pair of fangs to their intended target.

Live to be a regular human girl. Erika's words drummed from the back of the girl's mind. What she aspired to be. Just by giving into the Osen she was already losing that dream. Could she possibly live if she did this, knowing that she will kill people just to sate her Osen, her curse. Would she lose all that she would ever become by accepting it? Even just by thinking about feeding would do it for her dream? "I...just want a...a little bit...." No, don't accept that. Not even that. She could already feel it, something about to snap. In that same distance where everything else resided in, Aura could hear something splinter, cracking. She could just taste it already as her mouth reached out, ready to strike with the intensity of a Viper. "STOP IT!"

[Deleted]

His next action was surprising. He would have to have been deaf to not hear what Aura was saying. He was standing right beside her, after all. Brown eyes stared down at the girl struggling to keep herself together down at his feet. With no reiatsu remaining she did all that she could to retain herself as the hungering side of her fought to keep itself on the surface. Those eyes narrowed themselves slightly before he let out a mental sigh. Moving his foot out of reach of Aura, the Bount turned to face her completely. He kept his gaze locked on her completely, watching her almost like a child did when they found a new bug. So this was what she had to deal with every night, he realized. The reality of Aura’s situation really did begin to sink in for him. Closing his eyes for a moment, Luke made up his mind.

Aura would suddenly feel a pair of fingers slip beneath her chin and lift her head up. Without skipping a beat, Luke presented his arm towards her. He looked at her calmly and waited. He was offering his arm, and his blood, to her. ”You’re in this state because of me. What sort of man would I be to not fix what I caused?” He asked, waiting for her to bite into his arm. It was a stupid call. He knew that. He didn’t know what would happen if Aura did bite him...but he had readied himself regardless. He doubted Aura could pull herself back from this at her current level. Cutting cold turkey might do her more harm than good. He intended to weed her off steadily, little by little, until she could finally beat her curse. But, right now, he needed to bring her back.

[Aura Kyuketsuki]

Let's face it, at this point in time Aura is completely blitzed in the only manner in which she can be blitzed. The world spun on every axis that she could possibly think about as her mind became fragmented by the overwhelming desire of the Osen. It wanted her to do it. It wanted her to feed. And who better to help that along than that of the Doll. Its whispers echoed in the girl's mind even as it slowly recovered from the beating it received moments ago. The Doll wasn't as sturdy as the Bount was, so it took some time to regain it's composure. Time that was spent for Aura to haul herself over to Luke. The heat that sweltered deep inside continued to grow. Rampaging through her system as it was a part of own existence. The two were once separate for a time before her birth, but it was only at times such as these that the Osen made itself a single entity with its Bount host. She wanted to satisfy that hunger. That craving. At least until a secondary heat source came into contact with her.

Chilly at first, but it was unmistakable. Her vision was hazy, though despite it all she could still make out the facial expression of that man. Aura's breath came out nearly steaming. Perspiration flows as heavy dew as if running a fever. The only act of keeping herself cool were those of the beads of sweat that gathered and flowed from beneath the layers of colored hair. His words were unfocused in her mind. Her ears were ringing, making what little noise that could have penetrated through the endless stream of static fuzzy. But she still heard him. She could hear the man through the loud stream of white noise. She could only make out some sense of what was said, though what really told her his will was that of his exposed arm. He couldn't....

What Luke did wasn't what she'd expect him to do. The purpose of the training to help the girl to develop herself to resist the temptations of the Osen, of her craving. But, even while she tried to remember the entire point of their training session, she reeled herself back into the current situation seeing herself prying her mouth open. Aura was ready to bite down on the offering before her. "Please...stop ..it."{/i] Not again. Aura was going to give into the hunger. She was surrendering herself to the program in which was instilled into her very being. Even as she struggled with her own case, the Doll itself refused to back down. Nuru crawled subtly towards the small gathering. Talons gripping the floor, pulling itself closer and closer to the pair responsible for its humiliation. Despite it's own injuries, it refused to give him as the Bount Master remained in a weakened state. Nuru knew that Aura had no power over him in her current state, so why obey?

The Doll drew nearer as Aura herself closed her fangs down on that of the man's arm. "...S-stop....it.... Stop it NOW." Before the pointed fangs could penetrate, the girl stopped. Just another inch further and the girl's fangs would pierce the skin of the submissive Bount. His yearning to help quell the girl's own rampant desire would have enabled the girl to bite down without fear of the cutback effect. However, it wasn't what the girl wanted. Not by a long shot as it was what remained that kept her from committing to the act. Her own drive to be human kept her at bay. The Osen screamed. The Doll screamed. Both entities howled in the Bount's mind to just bite down. The flaring red eyes dulled in color as bits of faded consciousness as the curse beckoned to her soul to feed. "Stop it!" *Crack.........Smash*

Again, and again. Aura pulled herself away....... only to bang her forehead into the ground repeatedly. What was felt from the Osen was unbearable. Although nerve wrecking as the curse, she quickly replaced it with another sense of pain; physical pain. Almost as if attempting to recover what human consciousness remained dormant within her afflicted mind, the girl continued pound her head against the cold hard floor. Each thump into the ground brought back some glimmer of what remained of "Aura" as the Doll drew closer. It's fangs opened in place of the conflicted Bount. Aura's actions ceased as her eyes reflected that of her stubborn Doll. In the back of her mind she could still hear the Doll refer to it's Master as weakness. Aura would prove otherwise. Nuru made its move on the small group, pushing itself off the floor into a forward lunge. So did Aura. But, it wasn't Luke that was the intended target for the girl; it was the Doll that refused to listen.

What would come next was the rush of warmth that came from blood spilt. Neither human, Hollow, or that of an artificial life form, but that of a creature that was constructed by those known as Bounts. Aura's fangs would find the flesh Nuru to be much more delicate than that of Luke's. Softer and more weak as Aura's arms collided with that of the arrogant Doll, pressing it's very body to the floor with her fangs digging into it's neck. The beast howled in frustration, but more so, in pain.

[Deleted]

Everything that happened afterwards was nothing he expected. Foolishly, Luke had offered his arm to Aura and with it his blood. While the point of their training had been to curve Aura of the control her Osen had over her, Luke could not simply sit by and let Aura suffer from her curse. He intended to only offer her enough to satisfy the Osen and calm her down. He intended to slowly weed her off her thirst for blood rather than cut her cold turkey, as there was no telling what sort of side effects would occur if he let her withdrawal symptoms become worse. It would be like helping an addict kick their fix. It wasn’t something Luke was entirely confident he could do alone. He could certainly help Aura get stronger...but what more could he do for her curse?

He braced himself for her teeth to penetrate his skin. He made sure to lower the spiritual pressure defense, cutback, on his arm to keep her from damaging the inside of her mouth when she tried to bite down. What he was doing was stupid, but it really was what he felt was the best. He focused entirely on Aura, expecting the bite, and failed to notice the girls Doll beginning to rise back onto its feet. Even Jager, though released, failed to notice it as well. His attention was locked onto Aura just as Luke’s was. Both were surprised when they heard Aura suddenly demand that her Osen stop, and began to bash her own head into the hardwood floor.

”Aura!!” Luke shouted, quickly reaching forward to try and stop the girl from hurting herself. He didn’t realize it at the time, but his offering of his blood to her could have been an insult. It could have been taken as him not fully trusting her to fight her Osen. Honestly, the man had underestimated the woman’s strength of will. But before Luke’s hands could reach her to stop her, she lunged. Not at him though. She rushed past him and slammed into something else. His eye’s quickly turned, following her, and widened with surprise when he saw her latch onto her own Doll. It had gotten up? Why didn’t Jager notice it?

Luke watched with a morbid curiosity as Aura bite down into her own Doll, drinking its own blood rather than his own. Standing up, Luke just watched. He wasn’t sure what he could even say or do in this situation. He just watched her. ”What’ll happen if she kills her Doll?” Jager suddenly asked, knowing the question was rhetorical. Luke knew the answer to that as well. ”If you kill your Doll you’ll die too.” he said, calmly, to Aura. He wasn’t sure if she could hear his warning. But should he stop this or let it continue?

[Aura Kyuketsuki]

The rush of warmth that filled her mouth and innards was very familiar to her. It was different from the burning she felt in her body. The nerves that cried out to feed were slowly being silenced by the rush of new life. New essence that wasn't her own. A foreign entity that cooled the burning mess that sweltered deep inside of the Bount's body. Like if she were to splash ice cold water on a burn, and then continued on with that for a time. Relief was the better word for what was transpiring inside her body. The more she drank, the more that the new life essence helped to cool herself. The Doll's frantic shrieks were not given the attention that it desired. Not while Aura's fangs crunched down on the creature's throat, burying the pair of edged teeth further into the servant's flesh.

Luke's words fell onto the girl's feeding. She knew of what he meant. She saw the very few, rare occasions in which the sole Doll of a Bount was destroyed. Though much to of her understanding were that of rumors, the few instances in which she bared witness to made them all the more real. Nuru was her Doll. The only Doll that she had at this time, if there were ever more to come. Aura knew what the result would be if it came down to Nuru's destruction, then Aura would meet the same fate. Would she vanish, dissipate? Would the Bount simply turn to ash as her Doll took in it's final breath? The only issue was, would she really care if that were to happen?

Aura actually considered it a few times in the past. The event at the ship yard crates, the nights in her time of staying in Zaluu's club, she wondered to herself if things would be better if she didn't exist. Would life be more simplier for Zaluu, for Luke, if she had just allowed herself to fade? The time and effort to house and train her did take some time out of their own schedules to help her. Only for her to be protected as if she were a child. Completely dependent on others in order to survive. Without them, would she have remained sane enough to keep her own body locked away? Would Erika still be alive if she didn't help her escape? The body counts was just staggering one on top of the other. Aura fiddled with the thought of just ending it all. She just wanted to be normal. She wanted a choice in how she would be able to live. But all in all, it always came back to what she was that dictated her life; being a Bount.

The Doll's body stiffened, losing consciousness as the girl continued to feed. Nuru's limbs stopped flailing about and settled down on the floor, still. The blood in it's veins strickened, tightening throughout the course of the body. Hell, if not for the white silhouette that was Nuru's body, it would look all the more pale then what it is now. Despite it's horrid existence, she decided to put her faith in the others. Aura's fangs peeled back before draining the Doll completely. A breath of fresh air filling the putrid sight of saliva and black ooze that was the Doll's life force. Nuru twitched, practically numbed all over from the lack of blood. "I know Luke. And sorry to put you through all this. Let's not do this again, training I mean." The girl was more calm now. With fresh blood now running through her veins, the dissipated human thoughts that made up Aura's identity began to return to her. She was sane once more.

"I guess I really did push it a little too far, huh?" she turned to face the man. The black streams of her meal were smeared down the corners of her lips. The flaring red aura in her eyes died, returning them back to the original bronze color that they once held. Her hair shortened itself, burning away what remained of the girl's transformation, as she sternly brought her upper half down in apology. "I'm sorry for everything Luke. I think it'll be best if I stayed in my room until someone knows how to deal with this." It was obvious in what she referred to. When bringing herself back up her eyes drew down, analyzing herself as she spoke those words. Her Osen was much more trouble when around other people. The temptation in hurting others, the urge to feed on them was much more stronger when out in the open. Looking back at a downed Doll, she couldn't help but feel that they really are one in the same. Her hunger and drive to feed came from that of the Doll itself. And quite possibly, from all of her Dolls.

With a bit of thought, the beast itself would come to fade away as the girl did not require it's presence. Besides that, it really didn't have the energy either to resist her mental suggestions. She wouldn't know it, but perhaps the Osen had to do with her Dolls and their influence as a whole. Doesn't matter now as Aura was tired like no other. The girl laughed regardless of the situation. "But, thanks for everything Luke." She remembered Zaluu's words. If the Bount became a danger, a greater danger, she knew what would become of her. For that reason she had no choice but to go back to her room.

[Deleted]

Brown eyes softened with concern as Aura rose back up to her feet. The fiery aura that colored her eyes crimson was now gone, returning them to their original color. The extensions to her hair and nails had reverted as well. Aura was back to normal. But could Luke really say that? His eyes drifted to the blood smeared on the corner of her lips and then to that of her drained and downed Doll. She delivered an apology to him, as well as saying that they probably shouldn’t train again. This made Luke blink with surprise. He returned his gaze to her, keeping it locked on the woman as she continued to talk to him.

It was true that Aura had wanted Luke to push her. She wanted to get stronger quicker rather than slower. Luke had suggested a slower, careful, method that would steadily build up Aura’s strength and, hopefully, confidence. But the woman had wanted to go all in right at the start. Luke honored her request and now here they were. A Bount with an uncontrollable blood thirst and now equipped with a Doll to boot. Luke had certainly awakened her powers...but whether it would be for the best or not was a whole other matter. She kept apologizing to him too. For some reason that...really annoyed Luke. So much so it made him frown.

”Stop apologizing.” He suddenly said, looking directly at her while he said that. ”The only thing I want you to say sorry for is hiding your Doll from me. It’s my fault your other side came out. I wanted it to come out so I could see what we were dealing with. I pushed you to the breaking point and you snapped, so if anyone should apologize right now it’s me.” Luke explained, but he wasn’t finished. ”I understand if you don’t want to train anymore.” Luke said softly, looking away from Aura for a moment as he collected his words. His bad luck with words might come around to bite him if he didn’t say this right.

But, after a few moments, Luke decided against saying what was on his mind. ”whenever you’re ready to start again, you just need to let me know. I promised to help you beat this.” he stated, before offering to walk Aura back to her room before they split. Saying his goodbyes to Aura and hoping she got some rest, Luke ended up returning to the gymnasium where they had been training. A mop and bucket was brought with him, resting on the ground beside him as he stared down at the blood on the floor. Those brown eyes narrowed themselves a little as the gears in his head worked together. ”Jager are you still here?”

”You know it. I was just checkin out the changing rooms. Hehe.” the Doll greeted as he emerged from Luke’s shadow. Turning to look at his Doll, Luke had a strange request to make. ”Can you lift your arm up some?” If Jager had a face he would have blinked. Lifting his arm to about chest height he looked back at Luke. ”Like this?” Luke nodded before suddenly moving, flicking his right arm at Jager as a flash of light emitted from his hand. A small blade, a knife made from AAA, sliced through the Dolls dark skin. ”AAAHAAGH! YOU CUT ME! YOU FUCKING CUT ME! YOU FUCKING FUCKER YOU FUCKING CUT ME!!” Jager screamed, grabbing at his rather shallow cut and spinning around in his shadow.

Luke, frowning, looked at the knife and at his Dolls injury. No blood.. he mentally commented to himself, thinking back to what Aura had done to her Doll. He couldn’t stop a small, entertained, smirk from drawing itself on his face as he shook his head a little. It seems that Aura was a little more special than Luke thought originally. ”Fuckin...Bount..” he sighed. If her Dolls could produce the blood needed for her to keep control over herself then maybe she had an option. ”She’s trouble, just like I said. Why are you bothering yourself with her?” Springflut, the always positive one, asked. ...because I think I want to see her happy smile.

[Himitsu Kasumi'Oji]

+200 TTP for Luke and +200 CTP for Aura