Mission 3: Forest of Wolves [Private]

"Why did I even come out here," He thinks to himself. It's probably going to rain and ruin my nice clothes....then I'll have to do laundry!" He grimaces as he thinks about the boring chore and his cousins second hand laundry system. How many clothes would it devour before he could finally find a decent place to live, not to mention his lack of a job still! Geesh, leaving the Yakuza may have been a terrible choice afterall.

He was too distracted to sense the hollows or Fullbringer, not that he could sense them well anyways. He still didn't understand how that energy worked. He thought his own aura was just his chi, but it was strange that the dark purple tendrils that leaked from his body seemed to aim themselves at any living thing nearby. Currently they were reaching West and so that is where he headed.

This late jog had him lost in the woods. Hoping his aura would lead him to civilization he pushed onwards, his leather coat dragging behind him revealing it's red-orange interior. What an oddity he must seem, he thought. His black shirt seemed loosely fitting, draping over his tightly fitted blue jeans held together by a silver clasped belt. The jeans were loose around the waist but the majority was almost form fitted to his legs.

*Sigh* "This is such a drag" he says while attempting to walk over a large bush that caught to his left leg.

He reaches down to attempt to remove the snag from himself.

AMANOHARA SUMIRE

His clothes suddenly came free and without a single injury amongst the fabric. Some kind of cold wind seemed to blow past him, and yet nothing moved as if being touched by the natural phenomenon. The cold wash of energy was so faint to him, hardly refined enough to even understand what the energy meant. Despite that he hears movement to his left and turns just as a woman's feet make a slight rustle on the stones she lept upon. Taken aback he stares into the five foot, maybe five foot three inches woman and admires the slender form she possessed. In consideration of the cloud blocked sunlit glow that seemed to faintly radiate behind her form and her stance upon the stone and nearby tree, she was very beautiful. It was at that moment he realized that the cold feeling he had experienced had come from her, a feeling that suddenly had him looking into her eyes. He couldn't place why he felt this way, but he felt like something was missing within her, a sort of gap within her soul keeping her from being like everyone else.

"What is she doing out here," he thinks to himself, "and more importantly, what was she doing up there?"

Then, she spoke to him with a voice that teemed with excitement and caution, yet no lingering fear or worry seemed to radiate within her words.

"What do you mean," he asks as his reiatsu begins to leak from his body. The dark purple tendrils reaching towards the woman hungrily, but not threatening. I'm Jackson by the way, Jackson Wells. He began to focus upon this woman now, attempting to understand her power and reiatsu (which he still thought was an individual's chi).

He looked at the woman in confusion, not only for her words but for the strange reaction from his own aura. Usually they licked the surface of people, hungrily reaching to touch the lives of others. Yet they surrounded her, wrapped her, as if every blood cell within her was teeming with life and energy. He shook the wonder from his thoughts quickly though as he attempted to categorize the words she had spoken.

"Sense what?" He asks while trying to probe for signs of life outside their own. He could feel the dark presence of the demons, but how many and where they were eluded him. As he came to realize that hollows were present, or demons as he knew them, the woman spoke again.

"What do you mean suppress my...energy output you say? You mean my chi? They only suppress themselves when I absorb their power," He responds whilst looking around to attempt to see the vile creatures no doubt lurking about. "I don't wish to put your life in danger, if they come I'll purge them from this world."

He finally senses two coming from behind him, closing fast. Jackson smirks as he turns to face the monstrosities.

"I haven't forgotten what you did to my father, Demons!" He violently whispers under his breath, waiting for them to get closer before releasing his powers.

Anger welled up inside of him as the vines wrapped around him, his tendrils licking the flora like a flame. Despite his emotions he held them within, outwardly attempting to struggle against the sudden grapple until he realized they were assisting him. With surprising grace he landed upon a branch and lept forward diving into the ground at a 45 degree angle. Just as he was about to smack into the small clearing he tumbled and sprung into a full sprint besides the woman, at least for a moment. He lept behind her thinking to dodge an upcoming branch that stood within their way, but to his surprise it creaked and groaned as it moved from the woman's path. "My apologies if I've unwittingly put you in danger. Just position me where you need, I'm a skilled warrior with my katana."

It was after he spoke the words that he realized no one had ever seen his weapon. If they truly were in danger, a fact he couldn't ignore based on her actions then how comforting could he be with a weapon she couldn't even see. Maybe it would be easier once they reached the lake, likely the area would be open and much more fitting to his Ju-Jitsu combat style.

Jackson, hearing the sudden roars and crashing branches realized fully the predicament they were in. A rush of adrenaline washed over him bringing forth a euphoria of battle awareness he had rarely experienced in his short life. His life would become shorter if he held back and realizing this he absorbed his purple tendrils, enhancing his own prowess. His reiatsu suddenly enhanced his muscles, his blood flow, his reaction times, and the world seemed to slow suddenly as if he had ascended to a greater understanding of the world. His speed suddenly doubled and almost surpassed this woman had he not caught himself and slowed to keep pace with her. Not realizing she was slowing herself to allow him to keep up. A katana formed within his right hand made of pure reiryoku, seemingly to seep from his hand itself and then formally materialize in his grasp.

"I have it with me," He accidentally yells in the heat of the moment, slightly motioning towards his sword. "I hope you're right about the water, but I can keep up if you run faster!" As he finished his sentence he slightly increased his speed, surpassing his normal limits but only scratching his released power. His grip tightened as he prepared for what was to come, the sounds of the beasts coming closer and closer. His heart lightened slightly as the brush grew thinner, hinting towards the nearby lake they would use as their battlefield.

Jackson's Jacket deflected most of the rain drops, the rest clinging to his hair and beading down his body. He pressed on, ignoring the nuisance with precise and simple movements that would force the rain to land slightly before his eyes and angling his face downward slighty, raising his eyes the rain would drip harmlessly down his sights, but not into the orbs he used to assess his surroundings.

"I know that!" He said back in a raised voice just below yelling, "You know, no one asked you to train me." Despite the word choice the obvious luster in his tone was clear. He was fond of this moment, enjoying it and the negativity she seemed to exude infected his courage and hope. and so to shrug it off he smiled, wide and mouth slightly open, "When we get out of here I'll decide whether I should call you master or just sue!" He turned to smile at her and ensure his positive glow radiated through him towards her. He felt like he was no longer of this world as he stood atop the water's glimmering surface. This woman was capable of terrific and likely horrifying things. As he prepared for the beasts to come at them, he clenched his katana tight in his right hand, having sumire be to his left now. If they came at them, he would be sure to force their early demise at the end of his sword.

As the beast began to soar by Jackson suddenly gathered his stance, both feet set apart to establish a foundation of perfect balance and channel his powers through his blade. He raised his right hand and stabbed suddenly just after the beasts hand, then he twisted his shoulders as if braced, pressing his left hand upon the upper hilt of his katana. With sheer strength he held himself and blade ready, a thin purple sheen seen within the grain of the blade, allowing it to stab within the beast and then hold, as she had said, forcing the beast to ride itself along the blade. It sliced through its arm, then mask, then torso and finally towards the end Jackson twisted the blade downwards, forced it deeper and pushed down, allowing it to suddenly cut an angle down the entire left leg, severing the limb.

Unable to deter his focus anywhere else his smile dissipated, the emotions of Hatred, Vengeance, Anger, and pure resolve resonated within him. He rose to repeat his stance, then looked at the larger hollow before them as if daring him to make a move. Nothing but the deadly serious determination he held painted his face, as if he experienced no emotions like a psychopathic murderer. His grip tightened and he said, "Good work Sumire." His tone grim and lacking any kind of flair he had before worked so hard to push across. The only difference being that he could feel the reiatsu pumping through his veins, strengthening him.