[h3]Hana Oshiro - [color=deeppink]The Last Samurai[/color][/h3]

The cherry blossoms that had scattered in Margaret Town had reformed again, forming the shape of The Last Samurai in the air fairly close to Jeanne and Sage's fight. As Hana began to take in her surroundings, she felt there was something familiar about the dark being that Jeanne was fighting. [color=deeppink][i]I've felt this magic before. I just can't put my finger on it... What is that?[/i][/color] Hana was just in time to see Jeanne use her Ashbringer, a devastating attack. But it seemed that, instead of annihilating the darkness before her it was absorbed. Though it was shocking to see, Hana was very quick to react.

[url=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=47vz2qkXZxY]A white glow radiated from her hands in the shape of a katana.[/url]

Once the requip was completed, Hana held in her hand the Blade of God. The unmistakable white hilt of the sword was impervious to dirt, and the blade was shined to reflect even the smallest glance of the sun. As Sage launched his counterattack at Jeanne, a strong gust picked up from their side. The pink-haired samurai appeared directly in front of Jeanne, wielding her katana in both hands. The incoming balls of darkness and shining blades of light were certainly imposing, their sheer size alone dwarfing both Hana and Jeanne behind her. But the young woman's face showed no sign of emotion, let alone fear.

The first swing of her blade, far faster than most could even see, resulted in three of the Rasenshuriken attacks being cleaved completely through. The Blade of God didn't need her to touch them to do so, it was sharp enough to cut through the magic from afar. The destroyed balls of magical energy didn't explode in shining glamor, but instead fizzled out into black wisps through the air. The magic binding the spells was severed completely, rending them inert and causing them to dispel. Her second swing took another two of the orbs, as well as shattering most of the swords surrounding them. The final orb of darkness had made it dangerously close at this point, as Sage's attack hadn't stopped while Hana was disabling it.

But even at the speed the Rasenshuriken approached, it was not fast enough. A final swing towards the sky split the final attack in half, with both halves briefly passing by Hana and Jeanne before fading away in wisps of smoke. The ground underneath Hana had several massive slices through it now, from swinging the Blade of God. In fact, the deep lines across the ground barely went past both Jeanne and Sage, but notably far enough away to show that Hana was able to control her blade. The tops of several trees nearby had a diagonal cut across them, making them appear silly and lopsided. There was clear damage to the environment from Hana's actions, but nothing too severe as to feel guilty over. With the massive attack dispatched, Hana held her blade horizontally before her face, still in a combat position.

It took her several seconds to see that Jeanne's foe had passed out with that last attack, thus ending the fight. And it took several more for her to realize who it was. [color=deeppink]"Sage?"[/color] Hana questioned out loud, relaxing out of her stance and holding her blade to her side. It began to glow white, vanishing into thin air as it was sent back to the pocket dimension. The pink-haired samurai looked over her shoulder at Jeanne, who still appeared to be in battle mode. [color=deeppink]"I could feel your fight all the way from town. What's going on? I'm confused."[/color]

[h3]Ajax Thera - [color=orange]Hellmouth[/color] & Stacy Kaiser - [color=lightblue]White Tiger[/color][/h3]

The pale girl was on the ground, blood trickling from her forehead down her face. She was bruised, most of her clothes had been burned away, and there was searing across some of her exposed skin. She was barely clothed with rags as she lay face-down, slowly picking herself up. [color=orange]"Have you reached your limit?"[/color] Standing above her hardly a meter away was the large council member, looming over her like a volcano over a defenseless village. Stacy's red eyes looked up to match his, an angry scowl on her face to match the stoicism of his. [color=lightblue]"Not yet!"[/color] she shouted through gritted teeth, before grunting in effort to get onto her hands and knees.

Before she could even stand up yet, the heavy black boot of Ajax crashed down on her back, forcing her back to the ground with enough force to leave a crater underneath her body. A shout of pain left Stacy as Ajax slowly removed his foot from her. [color=orange]"You've reached your limit."[/color] Rather than attacking her again, Ajax bent over slightly and held out his hand. The pale girl was suspicious at first, but after a few seconds she accepted the help back to her feet. Once standing, she clearly had a hard time staying upright, wobbling a few times before regaining total control. [color=orange]"If you want to grow stronger, you have to break your limit. There is nobody left to teach you new tricks, so you have to improve yourself. To get results, you have to push yourself until you break... and then keep pushing."[/color]

Stacy seemed somewhat dizzy, bringing her right hand to her forehead. It was only then that she realized how much she was bleeding, then making an effort to wipe some of the blood off her face. [color=lightblue]"I guess you're right, Ajax-dono."[/color] Without conversing further, Ajax began walking back towards his house. [color=lightblue]"Hey, wait a minute!"[/color] The smaller girl had to perform a light job to keep up with Ajax, who appeared to be completely unscathed from their battle. [color=orange]"Once you are rested and well, you must push yourself again,"[/color] Ajax began to explain. [color=orange]"But for now, I don't have much time. I'm going on a trip."[/color]

[color=lightblue]"A trip? Like a vacation?"[/color] Without facing her, Ajax nodded. [color=lightblue]"I didn't know you guys took vacations. I just assumed you were a no-life busybody. You're always so serious and never have fun. Good for you, Ajax. Where you going?"[/color] [color=orange]"Margaret Town."[/color] It took a few seconds for Stacy to remember why that sounded familiar. [color=lightblue]"Isn't that where Lamia Scale is? Wow, that works out pretty well."[/color] Ajax stopped walking suddenly, causing Stacy to bump into his back. She bounced off him like a brick wall, almost falling over completely as he turned around. [color=orange]"How so?"[/color] [color=lightblue]"I need to go to Lamia Scale. I've got some business. But if you're taking a vacation there, we might as well just go together, hm? Make it easier and more convenient, and of course it's always better to travel with a partner than alone. Will we be taking the [i]secret[/i] train or one of the regular ones? Or do you just not want to take a train?"[/color]

The barrage of questions and small talk continued, but at some point Ajax began tuning her out. He wasn't sure if Stacy did this intentionally to annoy him or if she was just naturally this obnoxious. Either way, he did his best to ignore her all the way back to his house. It was only her last question that finally got a reaction out of him. [color=lightblue]"Why are you heading to Margaret Town of all places anyways? No casinos, no beach, no resort, nothing."[/color] Without skipping a beat, batting an eye, or ruining his pace, Ajax had a response. [color=orange]"To spend time with my girlfriend."[/color]

Stacy, on the other hand, was completely thrown back. Her expression was of comical shock. While Ajax continued walking, Stacy seemed frozen in place. [color=lightblue]"... what?"[/color] It took her a few seconds to snap out of her daze, which she immediately rushed to Ajax's side, practically tripping over herself. [color=lightblue]"I didn't know you had a girlfriend!"[/color] [color=orange]"You never asked."[/color] He had her there. [color=lightblue]"What's she like? Is she boring and straight-faced like you? How old is she?"[/color] Before Ajax could even have a chance to answer any of those questions, Stacy let out a surprised gasp. [color=lightblue]"Is she a golddigger? If she's using you for fame and fortune, I'm gonna kick her ass."[/color] [color=orange]"Have fun with that."[/color]