Ryoko let out an annoyed breath, the warm air from her throat condensing in the sudden icebox that had been created. "Quick thinking there." She muttered to Salforge, brushing off flakes of ice from her shoulder. Had he not protected her, she would have been forced to retreat, something she was not fond of doing. She looked at her hand, and saw the shells that Salforge had placed upon her body. A sweet gesture, but she didn't feel she needed his coddling. She glared at the red haired youth with an expression of disdain and want, it had been a long time since she had enjoyed a good fight. She held out her arm in front of Salforge. "Wait, let me have this one." She said, stepping forward. 

"Make yourself useful and make sure he doesn't try to run away, I want to savor this." Ryoko stretched out her arms above her head, and dug her nails into her wrists. Her sharp cuticles punctured her skin, and as she flung her arms downward a splash of black blood poured from her veins. The blood did not fall to the ground, however, it began to circle her arms like the rings of a planet. "My name is Ryoko, by the way, it is proper etiquette to introduce yourself BEFORE you try to kill someone, you little shit." With a thrust of both her palms, the blood shot from her arms like a cannon, spiraling into the shape of two large basketball sized bullets that crackled as they hit the cold air. She had little knowledge of how his ability worked, but for now she knew getting close to him could result in a serious case of frostbite. 

[center]_____[/center]

Shizuka had decided to hurry back to her home, while she wasn't too worried about Nomis's announcement, she'd had an uneasy feeling in the back of her head, as if she should be afraid of something. Unbeknownst to her, an invisible Heartless in the sky had locked it's eyes onto her, and was following closely. It's job was to find those that had within them a powerful heart, and hers was like a buffet in the creature's mind. It's order had been to simply watch and report, however the creature's instincts were strong, strong enough that it couldn't help but call upon some of it's kind to devour the girl. "Wha!" Shizuka gasped as a dozen Neoshadows sprouted from the ground, along with a duo of Darkballs. The Heartless wasted no time in homing in on their target, and all at once gave chase. Shizuka quickly turned on her heel, and ran. 

"Ace! Ace!" She screamed into her badge. "Heartless just showed up in the middle of the city, I'm going to try and lure them somewhere empty!" The badge was nearly knocked out of her hand as a Darkball swooped downwards to crash into her, she put the device away and quickened her pace. There weren't many places that were vacant in the city, however, she knew one place that would be safe for sure. Dashing though a parking lot, she hopped over a fence and soon found herself in the wreckage of the Empire's storehouse. There was a crowd nearby, however they were far away from the scene, and were being held back by the authorities. The Heartless soon caught up with her, and she took a breath of relief. 

"Alright, now as long as I finish them quickly the people will be safe." Shizuka hardened her fist into steel, and pummeled a Neoshadow in the face as it attempted to attack her. The Heartless dissipated as it was vanquished, and she jumped back to get some space. "Huh?" She noticed that the Heartless were no longer focused solely on her, a few of them had their attention turned to the crowd. "Who?..." She knew she should be the only one on their minds, unless someone powerful was also among the crowd. Straining her eyes, Shizuka saw someone quite familiar, Lin. She wished she could be happy to see her friend once again, however, the situation had turned this into a less than stellar reunion. Shizuka rushed the group of Heartless, hoping to finish them before they decided to go into the crowd, however one of the Darkballs caught onto her rashness and bashed into her. She caught the monster, however it had succeeded in distracting her long enough for many of the Neoshadows to begin charging towards the crowd. "No!" Shizuka screamed, only just killing the creature with a swift jab, she couldn't make it in time to stop them. 

A sound like a gun going off shook the air, and before her eyes Shizuka saw as three of the Neoshadows instantly dissipated. "Ace!" She cried out, seeing the shaggy haired boy in the street. 

"This is getting annoying..." He said, sheathing his blade. He looked back to Lin, and flashed a smile. "It is nice to see you, however. I hate to ask but, mind helping us out here? I don't want anyone here getting hurt."