Aku the Samurai

Fenix Tear [Invite | Ask Only]

Shinra Rudegarn

---

_{Location: Port Gamlann}

Shinra was bouncing with excitement, or he would have been if he was actually on the ground. That wasn’t atypical for him, but this time was different, he just knew it. His guildmates would claim that was what he always said, but Shinra wasn’t about to let that dampen his mood any.

Something awesome was gonna happen today!

With eyes wide in wonder as if it were his first time seeing it all again, Shinra looked over the sea from the port with glee. The sky was clear and the sun was shining bright. Crossing the ocean in as much of a rush as he’d been in hadn’t given him much of a chance to appreciate the view. It was filled with all sorts of things; like salt water, fish, and sea monsters! And he’d never even gotten to fight any of them! Shinra swore to himself that he’d change that.... after this quest was done, of course. He couldn’t just leave his friends hanging. Besides, his good feeling wasn’t fading, so he was probably on the right track.

He didn’t know for what, but he trusted his gut.

Hearing Jaina’s questions, Shinra put a fist under his chin, his brows furrowing intensely in thought as he floated upside down. Then he slammed a fist into his palm and gave her his answer, and it was a–

“Nope! I don’t know a single person outside of Fenix Tear! I guess we should ask around!” he said with a shrug and an easy grin. It was a given, of course. His time in Pergrande had been shorter than most, and most of it had been spent with the guild itself. Shinra didn’t mind it though. Strangers were just friends he hadn’t had the pleasure of meeting yet!

Both of their attentions soon turned to Regina and Shinra’s grin widened a bit more when Jaina asked about her “magic”, “Yeah, show her, Regina! It’s super cool! Kinda reminds me of a–”

Shinra waved off Jaina’s apology instinctively, “Aw, don’t worry about it. I don’t get most of that stuff, anyways. It’s all–did you say crabs?” He perked up immediately when she mentioned treating them. He sprung up—well, down—and bounced off into the air, dragging Regina along with him.

“Alright! Let’s goooo!”

《 Super H.E.R.O. 》

[ 𝑅𝒾 𝓁 𝑒𝓎 ]

---

---

It had been a month since the situation with the Fiendish Five had concluded. The affair had been dealt with quickly and without much fuss, with the entire team—bar Gholem—being taken into custody rather easily. For a group of hardened mercenaries, they had gone down easier than a stack of playing cards. It was almost disappointing how easy it had been, but more than anything, it left Riley suspicious. Why had they only sent two of them to invade Hero One? It was difficult to believe it was because they'd thought that the two of them could do it alone. No one–it was unlikely they were that stupid. It wasn't a high bar of intelligence to clear, but it was there.

Well, it wasn't like it was his problem to solve anyway. H.E.R.O. was the one who had to deal with figuring that stuff out, and if they couldn't? Well, there goes any faith he might have had in their capabilities to do their job. Might, being the operative word. He had his own things to think about, like that giant, magnificent specimen he so very much wanted to di–study. He hadn't the chance to interact with it–her after the fact, though not for a lack of trying. That fungal leftover was a unique find as well, though of lesser interest. His initial thoughts were to take it apart, but then he realised its sapience and backtracked. That would have been a waste.

Riley sighed.

It was a good thing that Hero One had a big empty space lying around underground that he could use without reservations. Why did they have such a thing? Riley couldn't really say. Still, it made things easier and safer for everyone else if he wasn't out in the open when he was using his powers to do.... anything, really.

He couldn't afford to forget that.

The space being unoccupied also meant he could have a conversation without being interrupted by anyone. Even if it hadn't exactly gone in a direction he would have liked.

Everything was only downhill from there.

That was why Riley now found himself at Hero Three for an I.C.O.S.A. evaluation that he couldn't care less about, all because Powers was so inefficient. It wasn't hard to figure out why he—among others—hadn't been spared this evaluation while many others had. Riley never liked this kind of compromise. On the plus side, the place was a lot nicer than he'd expected, even if his enjoyment was somewhat dampened by the reason for his visit.

Despite his irritation, let it never be said that Riley wasn't punctual.

One good thing was the fact that he'd been provided with information about the observers sent by I.C.O.S.A—not much, but better than nothing. Discreetly, of course. The first one, Q. Spencer Randolph, also known as Magician, was a mage-type, and a self-righteous bugger to boot. A more vulgar person would have called him something very different. The other one, Marisol Pérez, hero name Chimaera, was a more recent addition to the organisation. Neither were as important as the last person; Dr. Sabine Reininger.

Riley didn't have anything against psychologists per se, but when they wanted to know what was going on in his head, then he had a problem. Especially since she was with I.C.O.S.A. If this was any other time, he wouldn't have even entertained the thought of being here. Unfortunately, that was not an option, much as he loathed the idea.

His eyes shifted to the door as it opened and two people stepped out, and the crystal between his teeth crunched. Pérez was absent, as expected. Probably bothering one of the other groups like the nuisance she was meant to be. The pricks were annoying like that.

The moment Mr. Randolph opened his mouth to speak, Riley had already mostly checked out. The audacity to ask for someone to volunteer to go first as if it being here was a choice. And he didn't miss the way the man had cut himself off either.

The psychologist added some meaningless context to Magician's words. If she really wanted to make this evaluation “painless” and “time-effective”, she could evaluate her way out the door. Riley's actual response to her platitudes was shorter.

“Piss off.”

Fenix Tear [Invite | Ask Only]

Not Shiki

Shinra Rudegarn

_{X-777-21-07-16 | Fenix Tear | E (A)}

_Identity:
Shinra can be easily described with a single word; passionate. Outwardly friendly and outgoing with an unwaveringly adventurous spirit, he wears his heart on his sleeve in his every action. Shinra has poor control over his facial expressions and shows his emotions very transparently, which is equal parts amusing and frustrating. Never one to shy away from a fight, he often challenges people he sees as strong, though never with malicious intent. While he can be brash at times, Shinra is surprisingly sharp-witted and is capable of thinking things through if the situation calls for it; he just usually doesn’t. At his core, Shinra is a lonely person with a deep desire for personal connection.

Honest and enthusiastic, Shinra strives to become stronger and surpass his limits. He has a propensity for battle and pushes his limits in every way he can to reach his goals. It was common for Shinra to be hard at training when not on a quest and dragging anyone he could find along with him.

_Fairytale:
An orphan for as long as he can remember, Shinra was raised by his adoptive mother, Zaira, once an infamous explorer, next to an isolated village on Alukht for much of his life. Originally hailing from Granbell, he was brought to Eden after an event that left the planet virtually lifeless.

Even though it was just the two of them, with very little interaction with other people, Shinra didn’t mind the solitude at all. When they weren’t training, she would regale him with tales of her escapades across the Sakura Cosmos, which sparked his desire for a grand adventure of his own. Those dreams would unfortunately have to wait, however, as when he turned twelve years of age, tragedy struck. One day, while his master was out, the village he had spent his entire life overseeing came under attack by a dragon, everything razed to the ground in a seemingly unprovoked act of malice that he could do nothing but watch. It was a scene that remained forever burnt in his mind. That event forced him to come face to face with his own weakness. It was also the last time he saw his master.

Following her disappearance, Shinra ventured into the greater world to find her and eventually found himself in Pergrande. It wasn’t long before he heard of Fenix Tear, a rising guild making waves in the kingdom. Not long after, he made his way to the guild and challenged the guildmaster to a fight, after which he joined the guild with a new goal.

_Grimoire

_Affinity
Moon & Lost
_Origin
Second
_Design
Ether
_{Ether Gear}
Gravity Ether Gear: Inherited from his adoptive mother when he was a child and trained extensively, Shinra’s Ether Gear allows him to control and manipulate gravity. At his current level, he can only manipulate the gravity of himself and anything he touches.

Talents

Combat Prodigy:
Born with exceptional physical prowess and trained by his adoptive mother in combat since he could walk, Shinra is nothing short of a fighting prodigy, making him perhaps the most physically capable member of the guild. While brute force may be his go-to style in battle, it would be a vast underselling of his abilities to believe that’s all he is capable of.

Stamina Freak:
More than just simply energetic, Shinra is a genuine freak of nature when it comes to a lot of things, especially his endurance. Going days without resting is a common occurrence for him when he gets into the swing of things. He seldom tires, slows down or stops, no matter how battered and bruised he gets or how long he’s been in action, which helps with his training and when he’s taking on quests.

Steel Stomach:
Owing to his early lifestyle and upbringing, Shinra can eat almost anything in enormous amounts, no matter how unappetising it looks to others, without any apparent ill effect. His appetite is as grand and expansive as his palate.

Animal Wrangler:
Brought up among the wilds for much of his life, Shinra is very good with animals, though not in the typical sense. He can befriend pretty much any creature he encounters after fighting it, regardless of who wins.

Intuition:
Shinra has a unique sense when it comes to people. He isn’t particularly skilled at reading them or anything like that, but he can easily tell what kind of person someone truly is after interating them just once, despite any attempts to conceal their true nature.

Memory:
Shinra can easily retain information even after only being briefly exposed to it. It’s only helpful as long as he actually understands what he remembers.

Fenix Tear [Invite | Ask Only]

Not Shiki

Shinra Rudegarn

_{X-776-21-07-17 | Fenix Tear | A}

_Identity:
Shinra can be easily described with a single word; passionate. Outwardly friendly and outgoing with an unwaveringly adventurous spirit, he wears his heart on his sleeve in his every action. Shinra has poor control over his facial expressions and shows his emotions very transparently, which is equal parts amusing and frustrating. Never one to shy away from a fight, he often challenges people he sees as strong, though never with malicious intent. While he can be brash at times, Shinra is surprisingly sharp-witted and is capable of thinking things through if the situation calls for it; he just usually doesn’t. At his core, Shinra is a lonely person with a deep desire for personal connection.

Honest and enthusiastic, Shinra strives to become stronger and surpass his limits. He has a proclivity for battle and pushes his limits in every way he can to reach his goals. It was a common sight for Shinra to be hard at training when not on a mission and dragging anyone he could find along with him.

_Fairytale:
An orphan for as long as he can remember, Shinra was raised by his adoptive mother, Zaira, once an infamous explorer, next to an isolated village on Alukht for much of his life. Originally hailing from Granbell, he was brought to Eden after an event that left the planet virtually lifeless.

Even though it was just the two of them, with very little interaction with other people, Shinra didn’t mind the solitude at all. When they weren’t training, she would regale him with tales of her escapades across the Sakura Cosmos, which sparked his desire for a grand adventure of his own. Those dreams would unfortunately have to wait, however, as when he turned twelve years of age, tragedy struck. One day, while his master was out, the village he had spent his entire life overseeing came under attack by a dragon, everything razed to the ground in a seemingly unprovoked act of malice that he could do nothing but watch. It was a scene that remained forever burnt in his mind. That event forced him to come face to face with his own weakness. It was also the last time he saw his master.

Following her disappearance, Shinra ventured out into the greater world to find her and eventually found himself in Pergrande. It wasn’t long before he heard of Fenix Tear, a rising guild making waves in the kingdom. Not long after, he made his way to the guild and challenged the guildmaster to a fight, after which he joined the guild with a new goal.

_Grimoire

_Affinity
Moon & Lost
_Origin
Second
_Design
Ether
_{Ether Gear}
Gravity Ether Gear: Inherited from his adoptive mother when he was a child and trained extensively, Shinra’s Ether Gear allows him to control and manipulate gravity. At his current level, he can only manipulate the gravity of himself and the things he touches.

Reborn in a Fantasy World, This Time I Shall...!

Sylva

Undead Smithy

---

Sylva breathed a sigh as the last of the undead fell before him a a heap, the adrenaline fading from his system. It had been harder than he’d thought, fighting with wings and a tail, but he’d done well enough in the end even with those distractions—he really wanted to test those wings, though. He eyed the broken sword in his hand for a moment and then tossed it aside with a regretful sigh. There went his only weapon. Even though it hadn’t lasted all that long against the undead, it had been useful all things considered. Better than using his bare hands, in any case.

With the threat dealt with for the time being, Sylva hesitantly appraised the interior of the smithy. There wasn’t much of anything of worth inside other than a few pouches that had clearly seen better days but were thankfully still functional enough for use. That was a lucky break, at least. The weapons, on the other hand—mostly spears and maces, it seemed—were rusted nearly beyond any semblance of usefulness. Yet another indication of the passage of time, and the lack of maintenance. Sigh.

Speaking of useful things, Bianca was opening another door that led further inside of the smithy. Sylva tensed slightly but this time nothing scary popped out and tried to eat them. It was a relief, to be sure. That, at least, proved the other instances were just unfortunate coincidences.

Taking a peek into what was presumably the forge room, Sylva shook his head helplessly at Bianca’s question, “No, nothing. Looks like I’ll just have to settle for hoping I won’t catch tetanus swinging those rusted hunks of metal around.”

He glanced back at Sephily next, humming in thought, “Yeah, getting Sephy one of those would be a good idea. That staff is a bit unwieldy for her size. Should probably make it quick, though. Who knows how long that bell’ll keep ringing.”

@VitaVitaAR @RolePlayerRoxas @PKMNB0Y

《 Super H.E.R.O. 》

[ 𝑅𝒾 𝓁 𝑒𝓎 ]

---

---

Riley ignored Dahlia's words in favour of scrutinising the people before him. Of course, he knew who they were as well. It would be unreasonably ignorant not to. Albino and Jellyfish, members of the Fiendish Five—stupid name, by the way—with the ability to teleport and induce electric shocks respectively. Jellyfish wasn't that big of a deal, but teleporters were always annoying to deal with.

If nothing else, Riley was impressed by Dahlia's decisiveness, even if her actions weren't particularly effective. The mushroom man too, was quick to launch its own attack from underground, latching onto Albino's leg with purpose. How it knew what was happening above ground, Riley had no idea. Vibrations? Or maybe it was something else entirely. He never thought that he'd bemoan his lack of knowledge of fungi, but here he was. He had to rectify that soon.

What happened next was embarrassing in more ways than one. Sparks danced between Jellyfish's tendrils and for a moment, his eyes were instinctively drawn to them. By the time he realised what was happening, Albino had already left his previous position. Now, he was holding a knife to Dahlia's neck and threatening them.

Riley couldn't believe he just fell for that. His fingers twitched and another crystal crunched in his mouth.

Then that homeless guy showed up and tried reasoning with them as if that would work. And the giant lady apparently agreed with him. Riley was of a different mind. Sad backstories were an all too common excuse for turning to a life of crime. No one would ever catch him trying to justify his actions that way. Life sucked sometimes, but that didn't give anyone the right to take their frustrations out on innocent people. Everything they did was a choice, no one forced them into it. Riley understood that better than most.

"Negotiating with them is pointless," he said nonchalantly, "In my experience, the only language their kind understands is violence."

After letting his thoughts be known, Riley raised a finger and stepped closer to the hostage-carrying mercenary. He was curious to see if he could alter something from this distance at his current level of power, and there was no time but the present to learn. Fortunately, he was already pretty familiar with all sorts of knives, so it was easy enough to accomplish. There weren't a great many metals they were likely to be made from in his experience. Regardless, it would be child's play to simply cause the knife to decay in Albino's hand and restrict the aftermath to him alone. It would be a terrible look if he killed a teammate this early in his career, after all. All that would be left after that was to–

What the heck?

Before Riley could even decide on his next course of action, something that could only be called an abomination emerged into his range of vision. It was an impossible, bulbous, misshapen amalgamation of flesh warped beyond all logic. Its body was covered in twisted mockeries of teeth, limbs and chitin. When it spoke, its voice was a cacophony of sounds. It was horrifying. It was wrong. It was.... so. freaking. cool!

Riley shivered and his eyes widened, but it wasn't fear that had his heart pounding.

He wanted to take it apart.

Just Another Hero [Invite-Only]

Gauss

---

_{Location: Le'Nombril Restau, Shibuya, Tokyo Prefecture}

---

After Gauss's interference, the battle proceeded quickly. A guy wielding a spear—Akira, his mind supplied—launched himself at the Nomu, only for it to slip right through his attack and then through the ground. That was going to be annoying to fight. A permeation Quirk was troublesome to deal with on its own, and the fact that it could also regenerate made it all the more difficult. The best strategy in this case was to target its brain, which was easier said than done.

He barely gave any indication that he received Mei’s message. It was the obvious solution, and everyone present already knew that.

As much as he would have liked to keep going, the others seemed to have it under control. Burning and freezing its body were good choices since they damaged cells and slowed regeneration. The heroes fighting the Nomu were well-suited to deal damage and if the way the battle was currently going was any indication, they were well on their way to winning. His intervention wasn’t needed yet.

Still, even as he watched the fight, he remained ready. It was going well so far, but he knew all too well that the tides could turn at any moment.

And turn the tides did.

It was a surprise, but only barely.

The Nomu had been killed, with only a single casualty, which wasn’t too bad, all things considered. Unfortunately, it wasn’t over quite yet. Faster than most people could react, something else emerged from the Nomu’s dying body. It was small, no larger than a toddler, but its speed caught everyone off-guard and Akira paid the price. Its razor-sharp wings sliced through him like butter and the ground was dyed red.

Time seemed to slow for a moment.

Too injured to do anything herself, Mei could only yell desperately for someone to save him.

But her words were unnecessary.

Gauss was already moving.

Quick as a flash, a siphon sphere was between his fingers, charged and ready. It shot from his hand like a bullet, aimed at the flying Nomu as he grabbed Akira’s fallen body. In an instant, his momentum was reversed and he was back to where he started in short order.

He glanced down at the boy in his arms as he guided his energy throughout his classmate’s body, stemming the blood loss and mending his wounds somewhat. It wasn’t perfect but it would have to do for now. That was going to take a while to get back. Gauss sighed ruefully as he cracked a grin underneath his helmet.

“And here I thought you were supposed to be invincible, Achilles.”

《 Super H.E.R.O. 》

[ 𝑅𝒾 𝓁 𝑒𝓎 ]

---

---

Riley tuned out much of what was said after the assistant director’s explanation, keeping an eye on the mushroom man’s reaction to everyone’s words. It made its thoughts on the activity they were meant to do, and humans in general, quite clear. They weren’t very positive things, considering how it said they treated it, though it decided to take part regardless of its hang-ups. He couldn’t blame it, really. Humans could be quite terrible to each other, let alone things that weren’t like them. And despite some differences, heroes were human too.

The leftover’s disappearing act caught his interest and also gave him a bit of an idea. He would have to put it into action later, but he didn’t mind a little waiting.

His thoughts were interrupted by Rupa waltzing up to Stray and laying out the terms of a bet over.... twelve dollars, eighty-seven cents and a loyalty card? And the man took her up on it. He was watching a hyperactive teenage weirdo about to compete with a hobo for twelve dollars.

.... That was just sad.

Most of the gathered people left in short order after the declaration, including Ms. Duff, though Riley lingered around the area for a few moments longer. It was a good thing too, as he noticed something near the shore where the AD had just headed towards.

What was going on over there?

Riley’s question was answered in short order, but not in the way he expected. First, he watched as she conversed with a pale man he couldn’t quite see. His hands were covered with something Riley immediately recognised as a product of the woman’s power. A fact that didn’t bode well. His eyes widened as he watched something jump out of the water and attack Emily, dropping her to the ground with a touch of its tendrils.

The bag in his hand crumpled.

Ho? About time something happened. Maybe he’d–

Just then, the giant woman from before walked by with steps that covered more ground than an elephant's—at least, he thought she was walking. She was moving faster than he was in any case.

She got to the shore quite quickly, being ten metres tall and all, and proceeded to do.... absolutely nothing. Instead, she, rather obviously, asked the obvious strangers what had happened to the unconscious lady that they clearly didn’t care about.

Riley paused, his brows furrowing.

.... was she stupid?

“Are you stu–ugh, never mind,” Riley interrupted himself, sighing and dragging his eyes away from the oblivious giant. He fixed his gaze upon the two intruders, crunching the crystal ball in his mouth.

“So....” Riley dragged the word out nonchalantly, his eyes flickering between the two, noting the stark differences in their appearances. Still, dissimilitude or not, they both looked nefarious enough that they probably couldn’t make it any more obvious that they were the bad guys if they tried. It was almost humorous, if not for the implications. For a brief moment, the energy within Riley’s body spilt out, the air around him warping from the sheer heat.

“What are you two up to?”

Digimon: Let's Kick It Up! (Closed)

-

Digimon: Let's Kick It Up! (Closed)

Tokyo - Japan

---

Aoi was conflicted.

It wasn’t exactly an uncommon feeling for him, especially as of late, but this was different, in more ways than one. He was a thinker by nature, despite his father’s efforts to train it out of him. Thinking things through before jumping into any situation was only natural. Or, it should have been. He’d followed along with the dinosaur creature on a whim, but now that he had gotten over his wonder at the situation, he was faced with a sudden thought.

What was he doing?

Really, he probably should have asked that question before hopping onto a giant orange dinosaur. It was.... out-of-character for him to be so impulsive, and yet, it was almost exh–

“Hey, you’re being real quiet up there.”

Ah. He was, wasn’t he?

“.... Sorry.”

The dinosaur merely huffed and picked up speed, prompting Aoi to tighten his grip on the spike on its shoulder. Aoi was quiet for a moment, and then his lips parted to ask a question.

“.... What was that?”

The ceratosaurid grumbled before speaking, “IceDevimon. I’ve been hunting him for a while now. Didn’t think my Digidestined would be there, though. We’re both lucky I found you first.”

Aoi stayed silent for a few moments more as the sentence registered in his mind. Most of what it was talking about flew right over his head, but he got the gist of things. Logically, he knew he should have a stronger reaction to the absolute insanity that was occurring before his eyes, but.... he was never very good at that. There was still one more thing, though.

“What’s your name?”

The dinosaur rumbled briefly and it took Aoi a moment to realise it was laughing. Had he said something funny? He didn’t think so.

“About time you asked.”

Was it?

A burning orange eye turned to him and Aoi was once again struck by the enormity of the creature he was seated upon. He supposed it hadn't quite hit yet, mostly due to the abruptness of the situation he'd found himself in. The very way he'd seen the world his entire life had been irreversibly altered in the span of five minutes. His eyes wavered, but he didn't have much more time to dwell on those thoughts.

“I’m GeoGreymon. And don’t you forget it.”

Aoi was quiet once again after the introduction. He took another long look at his new companion and blinked in confusion.

What was so grey about it...?

Another rumble quickly shook him from his thoughts. It was laughing again.

Aoi didn’t understand why.

Unfortunately, before he could ponder it any further, he felt GeoGreymon start to slow down, and a quick look upwards revealed why. There was a building with a hole in the back, which was strange enough on its own, and made even stranger by the sounds coming from inside. It didn't sound familiar, but apparently, his companion either didn't notice the difference or didn't care, as it barged into the building—which Aoi idly noticed was an arcade—without much care.

Aoi ducked his head to avoid the tumbling bricks as GeoGreymon burst through the hole in the wall, making it bigger on the way. Once the dust cleared from his vision, he took in the sight before him. A small group of people and some other creatures were being terrorised by a.... a.... a dragon? It was the best descriptor Aoi could think of at the moment, but it did seem to fit quite well. If only it–

“Ah,” Aoi uttered as GeoGreymon lifted him from its shoulder and placed him carefully on the floor. With him now out of the way, the ceratosaurid charged at the dragon thing to intercept its attack.

“HORN IMPULSE!”