Rising awareness: World of Spirits [INVITE]

Shiro stood motionless, Kendo sword in hand, staring blankly at the creature that came crashing through the window. Like her own aura, the creature seemed to be something she could only see with her right eye. Awe and confusion raged through Shiro’s brain well before the more reasonable feelings of fear and reaction kicked in at the sight of the monster she beheld. The creature’s massive jaws were mere inches from snapping down on Shiro when a sudden force pushed her to the ground, taking her breath away.

Shiro stared up into the face of what appeared to be another human laying on top of her. He seemed to be blushing as he stood up to face the monster, or perhaps was it the alcohol she smelled on his breath, Shiro couldn’t really tell. She had little time to ponder his appearance before witnessing a spectacle of lightning play from the man’s hands, sending the grotesque creature careening back out the window and down onto the lawn below.

Just with anything one cannot see with both eyes, this man too appeared to be only partly there. Closing her right eye to confirm, Shiro noted how his visage vanished within the view of her still spiritually inept left eye. Fear washed over the teen. Was he perhaps the same as that creature he’d just shoved out the window? Were they both perhaps vying for control over a prey they wanted to keep for themselves? With both eyes now open, Shiro could see the man, as if a ghostly visage stood before her. He approached, seeking to grab her and carry her away?

Fear converted to resolve, the resolve to defend herself from anything this stranger might try to do to her. Gripping the Kendo sword in both hands she resolved to speak to the man. He seemed capable of speech so she reasoned he might listen to words. She wasn’t so sure about the other creature though…

”D-don’t come any closer!” Shiro yelled at the man while brandishing her sword. ”I don’t know what you are but I won’t let you e-eat me!” The young teen backed away slowly towards the door to her room, resolving herself to escape should he attempt to attack her. Was it just her imagination or was the man starting to become more solid? Shiro wasn’t going to take the risk of closing either eye this time to check.

Shiro, unknowingly focusing her reiatsu, alerted the recovering hollow outside to her increasingly obvious presence.

That was good to hear. Whoever this man was he apparently wanted to help. As he hadn't made any further attempt to approach her, Shiro lowered her Kendo sword, shifting it to her right hand. Reassured by his words, realization then crept over Shiro's face. Had it been one of those grotesque creatures that'd attacked her before? Was the one that attacked just now perhaps the same one that'd attacked her before? It could even be what had taken her parents away...

Shiro tightened her grip on the lowered kendo sword. If the creature was in fact the culprit then she couldn't just let things be as they were. Shiro stared the man in the eyes, his visage now strangely solid compared to just a moment ago. "I can't run... Shiro stated bluntly. "If that thing is what you say it is and is here to eat us then that means it ate my parents." Shiro choked back the lump building up in her throat. "I have to beat it. For my parent's sake." Though she spoke with bold words Shiro wasn't sure she could beat the creature on her own, maybe running was the better option.

Shiro stepped up to the man, Tapping him on the shoulder with her Kendo sword before climbing up onto her bed. Her self imposed test proved correct, for whatever reason he seemed to be as solid as her or the floor beneath her despite his looking like a ghostly figure just moments ago. It shocked her to be able to touch a ghost but if she could physically touch him then maybe she could do the same to the monster down below. Fear began mixing with her resolve as Shiro stood on the bed looking out into the yard below. The beast lay sprawled on the ground but she could tell it was slowly returning to its feet. It would be after them again soon...

"I think we can beat this thing if we work together." Shiro stated to the man before turning to the hole and jumping out, kendo sword at the ready.

Why had she done that... this was the second floor of her house. Had she thought it would be cool to be able jump down like the hero in the first game of Darksouls to deal a devastating first blow to to the boss below? She'd never even done something like this before so why had she suddenly been so confidant...?

What felt like minutes to Shiro passed by in an instant. Words escaped her mouth subconsciously. And for a moment she thought she could see a strange explosion of seemingly magical white energy play and dance around herself as she descended. It was too late to ask questions, too late to regret. All she could do now was commit. Commit to what she'd thought in her mind had been a good idea and hope it played out better than her uncertainty was telling her it would.

The creature, having recovered it's bearings, looked up towards the hole to gauge it's re-assent but in that moment Shiro came slamming down on top of it. The creature let out a shrill shriek as the teen tumbled off the monster's body and onto the ground nearby. A noticeable crack in the hollow's bony, almost seemingly masked face appeared where Shiro's Kendo sword had struck.

A mix of emotions filled Shiro's mind. Fear, shock, wonder. She'd actually somehow made the fall without injuring herself. If she could hurt this thing then maybe, just maybe she could also defeat it. Ignoring both the strange sparking aura she now seemed to be emitting and the fact that her kendo sword was now enveloped in a strange electrical aura, Shiro quickly readied herself. The beast was going to attack and she needed to defend.

Shiro watched in amazement as the Shinigami leaped out of the broken window after her, calling down lightning upon the creature she'd fallen down onto and rolled off of. Was there a bit of clumsiness in his movements? The girl couldn't tell, no one she'd ever known would have done what he or herself had just done so she had literally nothing to compare it to.

"That was amazing! What was that lightning thing you did? Can I learn it too?" Shiro exclaimed and immediately directed questions towards her newfound companion. Perhaps she felt overconfident, after all this hollow didn't feel the same as the one from before. Actually, since she'd never seen the first one to begin with she couldn't be sure if this was the same one or not.

Shiro pouted at the Shinigami's rebuke. "I-it's not like I didn't have a plan... I just kinda got caught up in the moment... The girl lied. She'd gone in headfirst, entirely throwing any concept of planning to the wind. She had been lucky nothing serious happened and she was even more happy she'd been able to land on her feet. But she wouldn't admit this fact to him lest he scold her for being straight up reckless.

"I don't plan on throwing my life away." Shiro responded matter-of-factly, retaking her defensive stance next to the shinigami and focusing her attention back to the writhing hollow before her. It may have been blinded but the creature lashed out in every direction it could, attempting desperately to hit something, anything. And strike it did. It's massive tail flailing around until it struck home. Shiro barely had time to put up her sword and block the attack, fear washing over her at the memory of last time. The girl reflexively shut her eyes, bracing for the shattering snap of her sword, the bone cracking strike that would send her to the hospital again in an unconscious mess.

It didn't happen. Cautiously opening her eyes revealed to the girl that, while the creature had attacked her with seemingly as much strength as it could muster, her sword had actually managed to block the attack. Shiro jumped back away from the hollow's reach and glanced at her sword, checking for damages. She couldn't tell if the attack had damaged it at all, a strange bluish white force of electricity seemed to flow from the weapon. In fact with the odd electricity pouring out of it, it didn't look remotely like a kendo sword at all right now.

The hollow, having found its mark, didn't wait for Shiro to realize she still had an opponent. In a frenzy the creature lurched forward, mouth agape and ready to consume the increasingly tasty reiatsu it could feel the girl exuding. Shiro's mind snapped back into the fight. The hollow's speed was too fast for her to dodge but her years of sword training instinctively showed her that the beast was full of openings. Despite this, Shiro threw logic to the wind. The Shinigami had been throwing lightning around like it was nothing and her sword kind of resembled it as well right now. Shiro held her sword out in front of her, pointing it towards the charging beast.

This would be a test, a terrible test given that if it failed then the monster would probably crush her with its massive jaws. What seemed like moments flew by. The shinigami had uttered words before releasing lightning, should she do the same? Did it even matter? Teeth of the monster, the strange lightning enveloping her sword. That was it! she would call it...!

"White Dragon's Fang!" Shiro shouted the first words that came to mind, opening her eyes to stare down the beast that charged her. Deranged and deformed but full of the determination to eat her alive. In that moment a burst of reiatsu surged forth from Shiro's sword, arcing into the form of a bolt of lightning as if called by the heavens, striking the Hollow right in its gaping mouth.

The Hollow's forward momentum failing, it crashed to the ground in front of Shiro. Sparks of electricity played around the monster's mouth, jumping from one vicious jagged tooth to another as the beast lay there twitching. Shiro's eyes were wide with amazement. She'd actually done it! what was this feeling her body produced? It felt strange and new but for some reason it didn't feel unfamiliar to her. "Erm... I can throw lightning too... apparently...? Shiro turned, a confused look played across her face as she looked to the shinigami for confirmation.