[Action] .013

[markofthebrave]

[She's still stiff and sore from the fight with Aku, but thanks to the healing she's received, by Tuesday Katara is whole. And that means that she and Zuko are about to have a very long overdo talk. With Azula here now, they can't afford to have any room for her to manipulate them. And there are certain issues from the last experiment that they never had a chance to resolve.

And equally practically, Zuko needed to prove to her that she was better so that she didn't have to worry about trying to keep him inside anymore.

So they go off to find a clearing, near enough to some water and far enough away from trees so that if things get out of control, well, they'll be fine. Because somehow, in the back of her head? Katara knows that this is just not going to be that simple.]

OK, you remember the deal. If you can bring me to a tie, or beat me, I'll agree that you're fine.


(OOC: If you want to talk to Katara, she'll be wandering around after this, trying to clear her head, NOT wanting to go back to the house. But please leave the thread with Zuko alone. Thanks! ^^;)

Comments

[likeafirework.livejournal.com]

[Well, those are interesting choices. He's not going anywhere but back to that bed he can collapse onto. Maybe when he's not bleeding all over the place, he'll go get to know them. Not now when defending himself would be difficult.]

I am not going to the clinic right now.

[markofthebrave]

[Sigh. She'd probably be pushing it, after recovering from the fight with Aku and then sparring with Zuko, but she couldn't just let him walk around like this. She could at least speed it up.]

Then at least let's go sit down. It looks like it will take a while.

[likeafirework.livejournal.com]

[He hesitates for a moment before echoing her sigh and slowly leading the way to a bench at the side of the street. Right. Sit down. He did that and he might never get back up. He sat anyway. If all else fails, he could just sleep here.]

[Then again, probably not, since he's actively avoiding being out at night for awhile.]

It's just a few cuts.

[markofthebrave]

Right. And the sky is just a little blue. [Why must boys be so stupid about this stuff? And up comes the water out of her waterskin, coating her hands and beginning to glow as she places them on the blood... no infection, but that's a strange sort of place to have gotten wounded in a spar.]

OK. I'm going to have Nala close up your cuts. She's stronger in this kind of healing than I am, and I've had plenty of time to work with her over the past month, so you don't need to worry. All right?

[likeafirework.livejournal.com]

It's pale blue. [Which would, by definition, be 'a little blue.' Sort of.]

All right. [It would probably be more 'all right' if he understood what all that meant. He had vague ideas, but most of the time he had wanted to be spending learning about this town ended up being occupied by other things. Like trying not to bleed out after some shadow thing attacks.]

1/2

[markofthebrave]

['It's pale blue.' Katara is going to stop. And look up at Hitsugaya for a moment. And then... just... try really, really hard not to laugh.]

Right. Pale blue. Of course. It's still blue.

[markofthebrave]

[And then she'll leave the water on her hands, because that is what makes her most comfortable. It will also allow her to monitor internally what happens to him as she works the filal magic.] Nala.

[And when she feels the spirit respond and quietly shows her the need... it's not at all long before Hitsugaya's wounds close. She smiles towards the invisible spirit, and lets the water in her hands return to her waterskin.]

Thank you, Nala.

[likeafirework.livejournal.com]

[It's a lot like yudou. A little different, but the end result is the same and Toushirou sighs in relief as the wounds close. He's not getting up just yet though; he's exhausted and sitting here for a few more minutes sound pretty good to him.]

Thanks. [No sense in being an ass. She did go out of her way to heal those up. Now if he could stay out of shadows with minds of their own...]

[markofthebrave]

[And here comes the part where you're screwed, Hitsugaya.] You're welcome. But those wounds weren't that recent. I could tell could tell they were at least a day old.

[In other words: Spill.]

[likeafirework.livejournal.com]

[Yep, he's screwed. He watches her for a moment; he had thought about asking someone around here about shadow things and she was as good as any. Kurosaki hadn't heard of anything like it, but that didn't mean she hadn't.]

I was attacked a couple nights ago. The spar was meant to test the power limits here.

[markofthebrave]

[...This look should communicate her current opinion of your self-preservation skills. Sharing this opinion with him could wait for a few moments.]

Who attacked you?

[likeafirework.livejournal.com]

[Self-preservation skills notwithstanding, he's usually pretty good at coming out alive at least. He... can't really argue that self-preservation thing.]

I don't know. Something that controlled shadows -- or was a shadow. Hell if I know which.

[markofthebrave]

[Well. That doesn't sound good.]

...were there any sort of dramatic speeches or demands for you to bow?

[likeafirework.livejournal.com]

[That seems like a strange question, but sure... he'll go with it. Seems like she has someone in mind.]

Nothing of the sort. It was mocking, but not in that way.

[markofthebrave]

[She sighs and crosses her arms and leans back.]

Then it wasn't Aku. Were you able to hurt it? How did you get away?

[likeafirework.livejournal.com]

[So many questions. He sighs. At least when he told Kurosaki what happened, the kid already knew how Hyourinmaru worked. He pinched the bridge of his nose before looking up. How to explain this? Vague should work.]

I attacked until it seemed to have enough. I'm not sure if I ever really hit it, though. It just stopped attacking after a bit. [Whether it had had enough or just got bored of him, Toushirou didn't know. He hoped it's the former; the latter is insulting.]

[markofthebrave]

[Well, that was distinctly... unhelpful.]

So in other words... you have no idea.

[Well, that was just fantastic. Just great. Now there's ANOTHER shadow monster -- and she doesn't even know if he was able to hurt it, or touch it at all.]

[likeafirework.livejournal.com]

[Well, damn it. She had to go and be succinct and all and make him look like he was totally incompetent when it came to defending himself.]

No. I have no idea. I threw a lot at it but... [He shrugs.] I couldn't find a trace of it after it left. I can't even tell you what direction it went. [Here that? That's frustration.]

[markofthebrave]

[She understands that frustration well. And sighs.]

Well. At least you got away all right. [Another sigh. Just--perfect.] So that makes at least two things that I know of who can't be hurt by regular attacks.

[likeafirework.livejournal.com]

Well, perfect. [Can't be hit by regular attacks? Well, fine. He shrugs.] Guess that means we find different ways of attacking.

[markofthebrave]

Heh. Yeah. We're working on that. [And... we'll just see how that goes.] For Aku, only holy attacks can hurt him. He can pass through or absorb anything else.

[likeafirework.livejournal.com]

['Holy attacks' still doesn't make much sense to him, but he just leans back and nods.] Doesn't mean that something can't work. I'd like to find out who was responsible for that attack. No one I've spoken with has heard of any shadow attacks. [Never mind he's actually talked to two people, Katara included.]

[markofthebrave]

I just told you what worked. Anything that's been blessed by some kind of god. I've fought him three times and seen people from all over fight him as well. Nothing else works. [Sore topic? You betcha.]

And it's the first I've heard about it too. I'll let Sokka and Toph know, and you could probably tell the Justice League and the Blue Rogues. Do you know if anyone else was attacked?

[likeafirework.livejournal.com]

[Sore topic? Yeah, he kinda get that. So he's leaving it alone, partly because it really has no bearing on him.]

I don't know. There were a couple suspicious journal posts over the last few days, but I can't be sure it was because of that. The thing seemed to take some pleasure in messing with me; if it was out for any time before or after I passed, I'd be surprised if no one else encountered it.

[He pauses, complete with an eyebrow raise.] ... What are the Justice League and the Blue Rogues?

[markofthebrave]

Didn't you read the guide? I don't know if the Justice League is in there, but I'm sure that the Blue Rogues are in there. Along with Toph's group, they've taken it on themselves to patrol Luceti and help defend it.