The Hour of Ghosts (Luca & Raph JTT)

[Akira Hinosai]

"Hey, I'm gonna send you an address. I need you to ask no questions and meet me here at 12:00 tonight. Come alone, but just trust me, this is important."

Waiting was the worst part. He picked his nails, listened to music, tried to take his mind off the situation, but it was enough to drive anyone crazy. Luca sat legs dangling from the concrete floor as he overlooked the sleeping town of Karakura, hoping Raph would come as requested in the text message. Empty construction sites were usually so calming for Luca, but he didn't know why.  There was still time to change course, to take one of many outs that he would have, but he was not likely going to take any of them. All of it left him with a certain nervous energy he was doing everything in his power to expunge from his body. I can stop this at any time. He thought. Yet he wasn't going to. He who dares, wins, but that did little to comfort Luca. "Intrepid Explorer" had a nice ring to it, though. There was so tragically little most people saw of the world. How many billions of people lived and died in the same shit hole they were born in. Luca was luckier than most, but there were two worlds connected to the world of the living, worlds that were intrinsically linked, but so alien to his own.

How long then, would he content himself to run around fighting hollows when he could see for himself far alien lands, find out about the people who lived there, gain power from them, and get his name on the lips of anyone who knew about spirits. His plan was shaping up with what little information he had. It was a plan he couldn't carry out on his own, though. Luca was not without friends, and one of them in particular he asked to meet him at the stroke of midnight. Raph was a decent enough guy. Sure, he was unambitious, but they did have a lot in common. Most importantly, he struck Luca as smart and resourceful. He'd need that.

Luca had arrived early, and he was in no hurry to run away. Whenever Raph came to the building, he would see Luca staring into the flame of his brass lighter. Luca would look up from the flame at the sound of footsteps with a forced half smile as he stood to meet Raph. "You're a smart guy, Raph. I can admit that. You're committed to learning about this strangle little world of spirits we live in...but how much can you really learn from second-hand accounts and stilted intervews with different species? I'll cut through the bullshit, and ask you something. How would you like to come with me and infiltrate the Soul Society?"

[Raphael Laurent]

Raphael had been sitting in the computer lab at UE, setting up his own miniature desktop as he usually would at his apartment, with personal laptop and external hard drive. He double checked his setup, making sure that his external storage system was powered and plugged into his laptop. The usb cord was starting to act up a bit and he didn’t want there to be any issues with doing his work today. He wanted to double check the mainframe and then try to break into it again before doing diagnostics on the security system. He’d been trying to get everything up to snuff, just in case. He’d even gone so far as to redo the encryption on the spiritual files of UE, after going through them himself.

That was when his phone suddenly buzzed, making a loud buzzzz buzz on the desk that he’d laid it down on. Wondering who in the hell would be texting him at this time of the day, began booting up his virtual machine program, along with his “robbers” program before heading over and picking up his phone. The message made him tilt his head a bit. If he remembered correctly, and he was sure that he did, but he’d forgotten to actually label the number, then it was Luca texting him. Looking over it, he almost wanted to send a reply back, but the way that the message was sent, it brooked no debate and so Raph simply shrugged and put the phone back onto desk.

“Seriously, though, why midnight…?” Raphael asked, as he looked at the message again, as he headed towards the address that Luca had sent. “Surely he could’ve just met me in the computer lab. Since I started showing up there next to nobody even comes in. Hell, even the head of the front end IT department doesn’t really bother showing up. I grab parts, occasionally analyze data, fix a computer or two and do two or three runs through the mainframe to update the encryptions. There would’ve been more than enough time to talk about something in there…”

He headed up a flight of stairs in the unfinished building he’d been instructed to go to, and headed towards a young man staring into a lighter, hands in his pockets. Raph had been prepared to speak, but Luca was well ahead of him, giving questions as well as blurting out his intentions on having this little meeting. For his own part, Raphael could simply stand there, face showing a mixture of boredom and stunned silence. How, exactly, should he reply to such bold claims and plans?

“Ok, just to let you know, since I know you work in the building, if something like this ever comes up into your brain again, just come to the computer lab on the first floor. I’ve set up shop there, for the time being at least. Secondly, you can learn quite a bit about the world from the odd spirits that come around here, thank you very much.” At first it would seem as though he’d come to admonish Luca for something pedantic, like wasting his time during a work week, but then Raphael smiled. “And third, perhaps due to my dislike of Shinigami, I would love to go this alternate dimensional state. Hopefully something of value can be gleaned from it. So what’s your plan, then?”

[Akira Hinosai]

The feeling of knowing you were about to prove someone wrong cancelled out all his apprehension as his smile turned genuine for a moment. "Newsflash! This is super secret off the books stuff. Uzaki would probably tell us not to do this, so why would I give you the rundown in his building which is probably bugged? Raph, we don't have to rely on some stupid asshole shinigami for information or whatever anymore! Know why? Because I really do know about a way for us to cross over without dying!" Luca bent over to be at eye level with Raph. "We don't have any big huge portals that we can sneak into. We just have to deal with some unsavory people and find out where those people are...not necessarily in that order. I wouldn't suppose the name "Sky Oasis" rings a bell?" Luca was caught up in the pageantry of it all. "All I know about them is that they've got the knowhow to send small teams of like one or two people across realms or something like that. So all we need to do on that front is either deal in someone else who can find them for us, or we find them ourselves! What do you think?"

Luca wasn't an idiot. He did research, overheard a few criminals talking, saw a few strange things. His plan was as solid as it could be considering the danger they were going to face. "We get some training to prepare for crossing over and dealing with Oasis Sky, of course. Then we explore, learn a bunch, gain shinigami power, and then we come back." Luca's uncertainty shined through the longer he talked. It wouldn't be that simple, he knew. This nagging part of him kept telling him this was a terrible idea, but he couldn't show an ounce of weakness. Not now, not in front of Raph.

[Raphael Laurent]

Raphael watched as Luca went into full blown mania, for a few seconds, though he could forgive the man the genuine smile at what he was showing. Super secret off the books stuff. Basically its something that, if someone found out, they would shout at him and call him an idiot. Yet, Raphael couldn’t deny that the thought of being able to gather information on the “other side” without having to die and lose what would most likely be the majority of his personality and identity was a good one. He also liked the prospect of not having to try and get information from a Shinigami, though at the same time dealing with unsavory people was something that concerned him. Long as they could maintain a low profile with something like that, then maybe they’d be alright. The name that Luca gave him didn’t mean anything to Raphael and he shook his head, with a shrug. “I think that’s as good a plan as any, though there are probably some bugs that we might want to work out. I still think that, as far as accessing the other side goes, that’s as good a plan as any.”

At the mention of training, Raphael nodded. “I’m definitely down for the training and the learning, but when it comes to the power, you can have the Shinigami power. I’ll settle for mastering these human abilities. Learning about them firsthand wouldn’t necessarily be bad, however. I’ve been doing my own kind of training, as well, so having a training partner would definitely be helpful.” He watched Luca a moment, wondering how far ahead he’d thought this through. “You ok, man? It’s a decent plan, but we can always back out if you want.” He didn’t want Luca to feel like he had to go through with something like this.

He stretched a little bit, turning away from Luca for a few seconds. “Maybe we can finally find a way for you to get that spear to really do something, yeah? I’ll bet you’re wanting to get that thing finally working the way that it should.” He chuckled, but rolled his shoulders. “I’d love to figure out what in the hell my…thing of what that is even is. And I’ve never heard of Sky Oasis. Remember that I’m not really in the criminal underground, never really was and I’d rather not try to cash in on any favors, if I can help it. Though, the only one that I can call in wouldn’t really be willing to help out, of that I can assure you.” He chuckled a bit. “The way the name sounds, though, you’re looking at something…illegal. Black market kinda shit, maybe. Doesn’t really surprise me, people all across the world have that kinda shit, ya know? Not surprising that the spirit world would too, I guess. So, you said we had some training to do; what did you have in mind?”

[Akira Hinosai]

Luca let Raph's statement about making his spear work like it should. I'm two steps ahead of you, dork. Still, after Raph's statements on the plan, that still left Luca in a sort of "leadership" position over the training. He wasn't a personal trainer, and taking a more mentor-like position would only serve to strength Raph at Luca's detriment. "Ok, ok, let me think." Usually for training he just killed hollows until he was grey-faced from exhaustion or the sun rose, whichever came first. What did they both need to learn in order to infiltrate the Soul Society? Luca flicked his lighter as he thought. On and off. On and off. On and off, until suddenly it came to him! Luca, you're a genius! "Ok, first exercise! This might unlock some part of your fullbring, but we can't count on that. We're going to have to be practical here. Get creative, Raph. I want you to hit me as hard as you can. Don't worry, I'll make it easy."

Luca ran at Raph, but his intention wasn't to punch him, only to force him to act. If he could create a situation in which blows were dealt and dodged with some urgency, that was probably good training. Luca would attempt to tank the first blows Raph tried to land, assuming he tried to land any. "Come on, let's see what you're made of!" Luca was no doubt stronger than Raph, but first off it would be important to see where Raph stood in terms of power and technique. Yet Luca, by tanking hits was probably increasing his ability to take pain. He'd need that if worse came to worse in the Soul Society. If Luca was blind sighted by how strong Raph actually was, he'd begin dodging in earnest, swaying back with all his speed, eventually falling off the side of the unfinished floor, only to catch himself with an air platform...

[Raphael Laurent]

Raphael watched as Luca thought about how exactly they could train, and he had to admit that handing over reigns to someone else was entertaining. Even when someone was much older than him, it was interesting to see how they’d go about doing whatever it was that they felt needed done. When Luca muttered about letting him think, Raphael merely smiled and gestured for him to go on. There was a bit of a chuckle, as Luca mentioned the first exercise; Luca wanted him to get creative, huh? Sounded a bit too much in his own wheelhouse. Hit Luca as hard as he could? Raphael looked at Luca and nodded with a smile. He understood, and when the young man said that he’d make it easy for him, Raph quirked an eyebrow.

See what I’m made of, huh? Well… I mean, I’m more than game. Hands in his pockets, he spread his feet a bit apart as Luca came running at him. It was a bit odd. He didn’t seem to be trying to hit, Raph. It was as if he was just trying to force him to make a move. Wondering what, particularly, he should do to go ahead and start this whole thing off, Raph decided to start with the exact same move that he had done when he had fought the praying mantis hollow.

He held out his hands, balling them up as though he was going to throw a punch, but as Luca neared him, Raphael suddenly took a step back with his left foot. Suddenly a patch of cement about as tall as Luca was shot up like a floorboard that had been stepped on. As soon as the patch of concrete began to swing back down to where it had shot up from, Raph jumped at Luca, ready to punch the guy in the face, a large grin plastered on his own. If Luca wanted him to be creative, well, then Raph would most definitely be as creative as possible. Ironically, he appeared as though he was greatly looking forward to this training session they were about to do.

[Akira Hinosai]

Luca ran at Raph, not quite sure to expect besides the bare minimum resistance. He'd never seen Raph fight, but Luca had no doubt he was stronger. He ran, but not as fast as he could. After all, this first move was just to get the ball rolling. Luca saw Raph sidestepping his charge. What, does he think I'm a bull who can only charge in straight lines? Suddenly, the cement seemed to burst from the ground in mere seconds. What the hell?!?!? This was more than the petty soul command he was expecting from a novice. Luca struggled to stop before crashing into it. He willed greater friction between his shoes and the floor, only barely coming to a halt in time. He looked over to see Raph falling upon him with his fist ready to strike. "Oh fu-"

Luca reeled back from the blow. Whatever Raph had done, he'd managed to strike with a strength that surpassed ordinary human capabilities. Sure, Luca was past that point too, but it caught him off guard. "Oh, you bitch!" He had held back. He underestimated Raph, and that stung worse than his left cheekbone. Yet this sparring session wasn't over. Not by a long shot. Luca swayed back, not taking his eyes off of Raph as he contemplated his next move. It's gotta be something big.  Suddenly it came to him. "Ok, that's it!" Luca was going to turn this around with one attack, assuming he was lucky enough for everything to go right.

Luca was maybe as strong as Raph, but without his fullbring the two were pretty much equals in destructive power, but Luca was certain he had one thing going for him. He was way WAY faster. Hours jogged, sprinted and crawled had elevated him beyond human limits, and from what he'd seen, he was most likely faster than Raph. That was good, he'd need that. It was going to tip the scales in his favor. Yet his plan was far more complex than just running at him...he wouldn't fall for the same trick twice. Luca summoned his fullbring from his lighter. With a flash of green energy his lighter turned into a brass spear that seemed to glimmer in the moonlight. Was it fair? No, but real battles never were. Luca was done holding back.

Luca held the spear as if it were a baseball bat. He took a deep breath as he tried to picture the floor beneath his feet and the air around him. He needed more control over his surroundings than mere soul command would give him, such techniques he'd never tried for himself. He exerted his will over the surrounding matter, not demanding, but willing it to hear his call. He could feel power coursing through his veins. That was a good sign, as he launched himself with his right foot, Luca shot across the room with blinding speed. Raph would see a burst of energy where he one stood but no sign of Luca himself.

PROFICIENCY GAINED: BRINGER LIGHT: -80 TTP

Luca, however was behind Raph. To the untrained eye, he would almost have seemed to have teleported... Oh my god oh my god oh my god oh my god that actually worked! HELL YEAH!!! SUCK IT, NERD!!! Luca's thoughts were as fast as he had been, but he had little time to congratulate himself before the surprise was lost. Luca swung the haft of his spear against the backs of Raph's knees with all his might, hoping to knock his opponent to the ground. If successful, Luca would try and pivot around Raph's collapsed body, hoping to plant his foot on Raph's chest, and stick his spear in his face while laughing about his victory...

[Raphael Laurent]

Raphael’s surprise was far more effective than he’d originally thought it would be, and he’d managed to hit Luca. Luca was more about as strong as Raph was but he had one big advantage that Raphael hadn’t predicted: his speed. While he noticed his friend nursing his cheekbone, he could see an odd determination in Luca’s eyes. Raphael grinned, knowing that he couldn’t wait for what was going to come next. He needed to see Luca fighting, needed to see what, exactly, the teen was going to do. He also knew that Luca HAD his weapon, this fullbring, though he didn’t know what or even how well, it could be used. As he’d expected, the lighter in Luca’s hands suddenly transformed, turning into the spear that Raph had been expecting.

He watched the man, holding onto his spear like it was a baseball bat and he seemed to be focusing on the world around the two of them. There was a moment, where the man, who’d been standing in front of him just a second ago, there was instead only a small column of green energy. Raph stood there for a few seconds, trying less to see where Luca had gone than try to sense precisely where he’d gone. He’d felt a tiny blip speed across the room for a second, but he wasn’t there anymore. He’d never been up against something like this before and had no idea what it was. But that didn’t mean that he couldn’t find some way to counter it. That was when he felt a bash against his knees and felt himself fall to the ground, pivoting all the while.

No sooner had he flipped onto his back did he feel Luca’s foot on his chest, see a spear pointing at his face and heard Luca’s laughter. Normally, Raphael would’ve just given up and conceded, but the sight of the spear and Luca’s laughter brought something out in Raph. An annoyance that had been reignited during his meditation. Buuut, there were ways to deal with the situation at hand and, even as Luca began to revel in his victory, Raphael had put the second part of his plan into motion. With both of his hands on the ground, he had also been calling out to the world around them, and suddenly, the cement that Raph laid upon broke free, dropping down to what would’ve been the floor below. At the same time, he used the air platform technique he’d learned not long ago to make an angular platform to slide off of and land on the ground.

Normally he’d have tried to hold off of doing something like that, but he was trying to take this fight seriously and he couldn’t let this sparring match end because of one advantage. Holding out his left hand a purple halberd appeared in it and he looked up at Luca with a little bit of a smile. “I will most definitely admit that your spear and speed are two advantages that you have over me, but don’t think that using those will end this fight.”

[Akira Hinosai]

Just like that, Raph had slipped from the jaws of defeat. One second he was helpless, and the next, he was on the lower floor. Damn it! Raph stared up at Luca, likely waiting for him to jump down the hole he'd created. Though Raph's determination was kind of entertaining. Sure, Luca wanted to crush him under foot, but it was a pleasant surprise he knew how to handle himself. Luca would need that if they were going to go to the Soul Society and live to tell about it. "Ha! This might make me break a sweat after all! Still, you haven't seen half of what I can do!" Yet as he spoke, he noticed the weapon in Raph's hand. For a brief second, he thought Raph had unlocked his fullbring, but that couldn't be the case! This had to be some kind of technique. Whatever it was, Luca had to get down to the lower floor...but how?

He was just asking for trouble if he went down Raph's way. With his halberd, he could kill Luca with the opening left by him dropping down, or he could if it was a real fight. That brought another problem to Luca's attention. The halberd. Luca's fullbring had reach going for it, but that was pointless if the opponent did too. He didn't want to subject Raph to his fullbring's ability, but if it meant winning, he would. He'd just steer shy of any serious injuries. Maybe his fullbring was nasty, but it could only get stronger the more he used it. Raph can handle himself. Don't hold back. Luca snapped out of his contemplation and knew he had to get down to the floor bellow...but how?

He could create a hole like raph did, but that would still leave him at risk of being vulnerable for a few seconds, which Raph could use to launch an attack, UNLESS he jumped through one of the unfinished windows! Luca ran towards the closest wall, or where the wall might have been had the building been complete, and swung from edge of the floor-ceiling to the floor Raph was on. He landed on his feet and charged at Raph. Sure, They were roughly equals in strength, but Luca had tons of practice with spears and polearms. He knew them like the back of his hand. He scoured through techniques and drilled himself relentlessly. That was going to give him the advantage over Raph. Luca hoped to put Raph on the defensive where he would be too focused on fending Luca off to try any tricks. Luca would launch a flurry of lunges and deftly parry Raph's own. If this was successful, Luca would activate his fullbring's ability, and from melee shoot a bright green beam of radiation from his spear, hoping to catch Raph in the chest. Should this attack hit, Raph would feel a particularly painful burn where the beam tore through clothes but stopped shy of piecing him through altogether.

[Raphael Laurent]

Raphael smiled as he heard Luca shout about how Raph hadn’t seen everything that he could do. Even better, Luca seemed to pause as he noticed the weapon that Raph held in his hand. He was pretty sure that his opponent would know, or at the very least believe, that Raph had absolutely no skill in the weapon that he was holding. That was the brilliance of such a thing: holding a weapon that you had absolutely no way of using to trick an adversary. Watching the man, Raphael wondered how he’d come down to continue his assault.

He didn’t have to wait long, as Luca charged a nearby window, hopping down it and then right down to the floor Raph was on. If he’d wanted to, he would’ve used one of his newest techniques, buuuut there was no point to start that up, juuust yet. The man had come charging at him and Raphael, for a few seconds, thought about utilizing his halberd as a spear, but he had a much better idea. And a minute or two before Luca would run into him, Raphael would toss the halberd at Luca, as it shattered suddenly into a bright bunch of spirit particles. While utilizing this quick tactic, Raphael managed to bat Luca’s continuous strikes, still wanting to know what Luca would do.

Obviously, Raph was being put on the defensive which made him curious what Luca was going to do with this opening. Suddenly Luca seemed to finally activate his weapon’s ability, firing a bright green beam of radiation-esque light, penetrating through Raphael’s chest. He could feel the burning sensation, eyes squeezing shut and teeth gritting quite hard. Suddenly, though, he opened his eyes and smiled, almost wickedly at Luca, lashing out with his hand to grab hold of the spear, while thrusting a bright lavender light directly into Luca, a beam of energy firing right into the man, while trying to hold onto his spear.

[Akira Hinosai]

Luca was more angry than in pain. In that moment, Raph had Luca out-muscled. There was no way to dodge the beam without letting do of his spear. "How...How did you do that?!?" Raph couldn't have his fullbring! Not yet! I'm not some pathetic loser! I can still win! I'm strong, god damn it!!! No..No... play it cool, Luca. You got a hit in. You're basically tied! Think, just come up with something creative! He exhaled deeply, trying to gain some semblance of calm. "I underestimated you, Raph. Here I was thinking you were all brains, no brawn... You see why I need to go to the Soul Society? I know it's crazy, I know it's stupid, but I need to get stronger! Stronger than any human has ever been!" Luca must have looked like a madman, but there was no helping that. Luca deactivated his fullbring. It slipped from Raph's grip (if he was still holding it) and returned to being an antique lighter. Luca paced as he spoke, but showed no signs of willingness to continue the fight, no signs of any secret plans, but he wasn't letting his guard down. At any hint of treachery, he would pounce back into action. 

"Fists...that...spirit shit you do...See it's all pretty humane stuff. You knock people out with fists. Killing them is a bit harder. Bruises hurt, but they heal faster and are less dangerous than cuts and stabs." For emphasis he reactivated his fullbring. "I wanted to use this fully, but I don't have the luxury of just giving out bruises. This is a killer's weapon." Luca's pacing had taken him to the edge of the room. "I CAN'T MAKE IT SAFE TO SPAR AGAINST!" he screamed as he cut into one of the wooden support beams, scoring a clean, deep cut, but not altering the building's structural integrity. "SO UNLESS I WANT TO SEND YOU TO THE SOUL SOCIETY THE OLD FASHIONED WAY..." He sliced at another support beam, careful not to take his eyes off Raph. He didn't care if it looked like he was throwing a temper tantrum. He didn't care about property damage, he just wanted to break something. "I'LL ALWAYS BE HOLDING BACK! I CAN'T WIN LIKE THIS!!!" Luca's voice was choked with anger and desperation, but he wasn't mad at Raph. Luca held his spear over his shoulder and notably away from Raph.

"Maybe I just needed to say that outloud." The very words pained Luca as he spoke them...With a subtle flick of his finger, Luca activated his winning strategy. Strings of light appeared all around Raph. Beside, above, between his feet, in front of his knees,  almost grazing his head, though notably not piercing him through. Luca fell to his knees and placed both hands on the ground, using soul command to strengthen the floor to prevent any trickery like Raph had tried before. "Those strings will cut you to ribbons, so I advise you stay still!" Luca had a wolfish grin on his face as behind him, as from the cuts he made in the support beam came more lasers, much like the one Luca had fired before! Both of them fired past Luca's head and towards Raph. Left, right, up, and even down.

There was nowhere for Raph to go unless he wanted to be cut to ribbons. There was one thing that mattered: winning. Luca was willing to lie cheat and steal to make that happen, or in this case lie. Sure, maybe his emotions were real, but Luca was never going to concede a contest of martial prowess. It was the only thing he was good at, and he'd be damned if he was shown up by anyone! Never again! His thoughts raced in his head, half formed and all seeming so true, the world seeming right for a split second before the results, good or bad became apparent.

[Raphael Laurent]

Luca took the hit, not wanting to let go of his spear instead of doing anything else. This seemed to cause some kind of intense emotion as Luca, who Raph had expected originally to get ready to attack again, stop. Maybe he was thinking about his next move. Releasing Luca’s spear, he was quick to put his hands into his pockets as his sparring partner began to talk. He was glad for the reprieve. Firing that blast was the first time he’d really done so in a combat scenario. Raph didn’t reply, though, as Luca spoke about how he’d underestimated Raph. He couldn’t resist the smile. Raph still hadn’t gone all out with that technique but he was saving what it could really do. All brains and no brawn, huh? Well, that’s what happens when one trained, new techniques, greater power… But he shook his head when Luca started going on about needing to go to the Soul Society.

“I’ll be honest, Luca, I don’t see why you need to go there. The power that they have isn’t something for us. What would you do, were you to gain power similar to theirs? Would you even know the first thing about it? Don’t get me wrong, I’m all for learning but I’m not looking for their power. I’ll draw all of the power out of my own soul before I look any further.” Luca began to pace back and forth, something that only slightly worried Raphael. He didn’t like seeing his friend like this. But it was when Luca called his “spirit shit” humane that Raphael’s eyebrows actually raised a bit. Yes, punching people only knocked them out, but what the beam could really do was something else entirely.

He watched as Luca, enraged at his own power, swung his spear carving through one of the wooden beams, slicing clean through it. Then, still taking out his aggressions, he sliced through another and Raphael simply winced a bit; this reminded Raph that Luca was still young, still a kid. He remained silent as Luca kept going on about always holding back and then held his spear away from Raph, as though he thought the man could snatch it from his hand. He nodded as Luca said that he just needed the words said aloud as Raph understood that ya needed that sometimes, but it was then that Luca revealed his ploy: with a snap of the fingers several strings of light popped up all around Raphael. Then he dropped to the ground, placed his hands on the concrete and Raphael could feel it bending to his will, becoming harder so that he wouldn’t be able to tunnel through as he had last time. He slowly took it all in with his eyes, noting the strength of the wires. Raph was certain Luca was right, move to the wires at all and he’d be sliced nicely.

Raphael kept watching Luca, frowning. “I’m sorry that your weapon is dangerous. Perhaps you should try training without it, so that you have even more tricks, like you are now, for instance! As for what I did, it’s something that I learned how to do, worked it out, if you will.” He frowned a bit, as he watched Luca. “Oh and don’t worry, I don’t plan on moving, actually. I’m a little disappointed though. For all your talk of having underestimated me, you’re still underestimating me and assuming you’ve won.” Raphael’s body, still facing at Luca didn’t shift at all. But Luca would be able to suddenly see a pale light that would almost seem to be normal white light, but it would rapidly turn a deep purple. Then Raphael opened his mouth and a beam, a bit larger, faster and more powerful than the first flew at Luca, and it would be apparent that this one had been fed energy making it far more dangerous than the last one.


OOC: Spent 200 reiatsu to make the beam more powerful by half rs

Also
250 reiatsu from earlier posts
300 reiatsu for this post
1450/2000

[Akira Hinosai]

Luca snarled as Raph began to charge his attack. He wasn't scared until he realized he was very unlikely to dodge it. He was on his knees, so by the time he rose it would be too late to try bringer light... He could try going down a floor as Raph had... but would he fall through in time to miss the beam? Suddenly a voice cut through the the fear in Luca's head. Take the hit. If he braced himself, he could withstand whatever Raph threw at him. Even if it hurt, that would make hims tronger and more resilient. Pain was human weakness exiting the body. No matter what, Luca still had Raph cornered. If all he could do was blast lasers at him from his air-string prison, then that was just fine. Luca raised his forearms to cover his head and braced himself for impact...

Proficiency Gained! Advanced Air Arsenal (class 5): -20 ttp

(air panel strength of 200)

Luca grit his teeth as he sensed the beam coming for him before... Luca heard the sound of glass cracking notably before he felt any pain...but the pain he did feel was muted, barely noticeable. He jumped up, hoping that the laser didn't burn him so bad he lost feeling in his arms, but when he looked at them...the burns were hardly noticeable beyond the tears in his jacket and reddened skin underneath.He looked up at Raph confused. What the hell happened...was he screwing with me or did I just tank that like a badass? No, surely not. Why would Raph willingly fire a weaker shot than last time...especially when it looked so much more powerful? Unless... Luca tried to recreate the feeling of desperately trying to prepare himself for immense pain... and to his surprise a translucent glowing prism appeared on his left forearm, like some kind of shield...Wait...this is like the air panels I use to fly and shit! Luca had just gained another very useful technique, and one that would help him beat Raph. "Ha! HAHAHAHAHAHA!!!!" He took the pose of a roman soldier with a spear poised for attack and a shield raised for defense. "We can keep going if you want a war of attrition...or we can call this a draw. You pick."

Reiatsu remaining: 600/1650

[Raphael Laurent]

Raphael watched carefully, eyes not glancing away as the shield raised, and then shattered like glass. Luca was getting lucky, and that was not a good thing to count on, despite the bravado that he kept displaying. These abilities weren’t things that he was activating on conscious effort, as much as they were because he was in danger. Thankfully, Luca would, hopefully, be able to use those consciously once they were done here, but Raphael couldn’t help but be concerned.

Yet, there was something else that had lit alongside his concern: anger. Luca was just like Brian. He thought he was special, he was always getting lucky RIGHT when he needed to be. He’d been feeling it since this fight began, right when Luca had activated that damn speed technique. That was the first time, and now again. Raphael could feel the rage boiling under his skin, now, so much closer than when he’d first felt it. Oh, the anger boiled there, festering, ceaselessly.

You’re getting lucky, mistaking it for skill and boasting… GOD you’re such like Brian that it makes me sick to my goddamn stomach!! His inner thoughts raged like a storm and he could feel it all the more as Luca stood there, smiling like he’d won. Raph didn’t mind if Luca had won, but with this constant stream of lucky breaks he was having, CONSTANTLY, to the point that Raphael was more frustrated that he kept stumbling upon these damn things. He’d always tried to keep his annoyance and anger with the way that the kid walked around all cockily. The fact that he was so proud because he’d unlocked his fullbring. Yes, Raphael could feel the jealousy there, as well, but it was the anger that brought the bile to the front.

“I’ll admit,” he replied, one of his hands escaping his pockets, energy once more charging up in it, “Your luck with getting these skills to appear right when you need them is impressive.” His heart was beating faster, but he couldn’t feel the thoughts of elation that he normally did when he was having a good time. He wanted to grab his arm with his other one, but that would mean getting cut in the wires. “As a matter of fact, you remind me a bit of my older brother…” Raph felt his teeth clench together as the rage that he’d been hiding for years began to boil to the surface. “Always so sure of yourself, always getting things right when they’re needed and thinking that you did it on purpose, letting that all go to your godDAMN head!!”
PROFICIENCY ACQUIRED. HOLLOW SEED (CLASS 7, 5) -50 TTP
Luca would be able to notice that the small purple light in Raphael’s hand had changed to an ominous dark shade of lavender before suddenly it turned into a disk about the size of a frisbee. If Luca’s energy senses were decent, he’d be able to feel the darker bite of hollow reiatsu from the frisbee. With a flick of the wrist Raphael sent it flying right at Luca, but then, at the last second, it would arc upwards and slam into the ceiling a bit behind him. Then, after drilling into the concrete for a few seconds, it suddenly exploded sending shrapnel and darker energies all around, even at Luca. Yet Raphael didn’t see that. For his own part, Raphael could barely stand, the sweat poured down his face, but he needed to stay standing… If he didn’t then these wires would cut through him. He didn’t know what he’d just done, had no clue what this was, but it was what it was…and he just had to stay up.

[Akira Hinosai]

Raph always seemed so above it all, like this was some sort of game to him. He could always approach this so casually and still somehow end up on top. Yet after everything, he stood FINALLY getting angry. Yet that brought Luca no joy. Whatever was coming out of his mouth had been a long time coming, but Luca didn't care. He was past caring about whatever he'd done to bring this out. It wasn't his fault! He wanted to scream, to throttle Raph until he shut up, but before he could, Raph took a trick from Luca's book...and after his little tirade, he launched an attack. Luca wasn't scared. After all, he could effectively shield himself now, but something was horribly different about this attack.

It was unmistakably different from anything Raph had done. For that matter, it was remarkably different from anything he'd seen from a fullbringer. Luca raised his reishi shield only for Raph to willingly miss and hit the ceiling. That didn't make sense. How could he get so angry only to back down at the last second? Luca was mad, tired, unfocused, he could have seen it coming. He should have, but he the little attack exploded behind him, sending shooting pain through his back and legs. "AAAAAAAHHHHHHGGGG!!!" He was bleeding. He knew that much. He looked up at Raph to see him not faring much better, struggling not to fall into the strings that would carve him up like a choice cut of meat if he touched them.

Luca snapped his fingers and the strings split and fell to the ground, dissipating back into reishi that floated away in the night air. Luca wanted to say something. Maybe about how wrong Raph had been about him, maybe about how power was the only thing that mattered, or why it was good Raph was finally mad at his brother for being better than him, but he said nothing. He did not remember falling, but the ground rose up to meet him,but the impact was dulled. This fight was more intensive than Luca thought, both in terms of the spirit energy he expended in such a short time and the damage he took. He was still concious, but speech was beyond him...or maybe he didn't know what to say. It was hard to tell the difference.