Encroaching Shadow (Yami/Rin)

[Kodoku Itami]

To try to understand Rin Tezuka, is to try and draw a picture with an incredibly fragile, diamond pencil. It's costly, slow and in all reality wouldn't work in the first place. As such, trying to figure out what she was wandering around near the inn in which the Lunar Knights were staying is a nigh impossible task, all we can say is that is in fact what she's doing, and that she is not alone. Out of eyesight, for figures watch Ms. Tezuka carefully. One, blue of hair and with a knife always at hand. Another, with a fold-up bow hidden underneath his overcoat. A third, barely visible in comparison to the others, with almost feline eyes. And then there was the last one. A pair of red eyes seemed to shine out like headlights, carefully watching Rin's every move. Itami was slowly discovering that the Mangekyou Sharingan came at a very high price, as his use of it waned on, his vision became even more and more affected. Even now, after little use, his sight was blurred and he could only just make out the shape of his former friend who walked barely 20 meters away from him. He knew rumors of a cure, something that would hopefully allow him full use of his power, yet not affect his eyes.

He nodded slowly, and all four figures suddenly disappeared quickly, before dropping down around Rin, effectively surrounding her. Each drew a knife of some kind, except for Itami who simply lifted his sleeve from his arm, channeling his Chidori into his palm, the crackling blue energy lit up the scene. The attack faded away, acting more like a lightning strike, stealing from Rin any vestiges of natural night-vision that her eyes had become accustomed to. Now, and only now, did anyone speak.

"Rin Tezuka..." Itami said, blinking slowly as he took a few steps towards the red head, the others in the group slowly spreading out to turn what was a square, into a triangle, making sure to cover every option of escape. They also took a few steps back, increasing the arc through which they could hit their target. One of the men swapped over to a bow and nocked an arrow, putting no pressure on the string, simply having it there as a precaution. He licked his lips and looked across at the only woman in their group, they had been led to believe their target was older, he didn't want to shoot a child. But he believed in his new leader, Itami was young, but he was smart, intelligent, he had a solid head on his shoulders. The black-haired boy continued.

"It's been a while. But I said that I'd always be behind you, didn't I?" His eyes were cold, hard, as if made of stone. They portrayed little to no emotion as he stared down at the girl. "And here we are. Yami. Darkness. We are the shadows as you can so wonderfully see." He spread his arms out to his companions, each wearing the same black overcoat with the red cloud design.

"So, Rin." He continued, his face still ever so cold. "How are you?"

[Rin Tezuka]

Rin was only incredibly confused. She was still slightly hung over from drinking with Akira, and her head pulsed hard at the sight of his lightning. "T... Tami...?" His eyes were the same. That red. Instantly, she could only sigh. They weren't Red. They were just red. "Tami... I can never just go for a walk, can I?" Not that she wasn't glad. Even at knife-point, she was positively elated to see her friend again. Her lazy expression didn't show it, but she was.

She turns around to look at each cloaked member. She groans a little, her upper lip twisting up in annoyance. "I can't call you Trench Coat anymore... They all have trench coats... Hi, everyone." She addressed them as she spun, turning back to Itami Kodoku. She did not bother creating her arms or weapons. " "I'm not very okay... I feel kind of sick. And Dai is gone. And 'Guo and Vash have been upset lately. But this new girl gave me sake and let me sleep on her pillows. She's nice..." She rambled on for a moment before sighing.

She hated his eyes. They were red, but so cold and lifeless. Red is life, courage, love, strength. He didn't have any of these in the dark green eyes of Rin. "What do you want, anyway?" She cuts straight to the chase. "If you want a fight, I'm ashamed. Sending your minions after me makes you look pretty weak."

[Kodoku Itami]

"You're not my target anymore." Itami responded bluntly with a shrug, as he looked around at Yami. "These people are here to just help me achieve my goals, to help me get the power that I require. You could say that they're my new family, but there's no point letting anyone get close to me. If that was the case, I could just kill them and get what I want." He blinked slowly again, before taking another step towards Rin and leaning in to her ear, so that their hair mingled and his cheek brushed against hers. He gave a small smile, Rin no doubt being able to feel the movement of his jaw as he whispered.

"It's difficult, being away from you. You're the one person I actually care for somewhat, and yet you're the one person I can't bring myself to kill. You're the one person against whom I can fight all out, and still only come to a draw."

He chuckled softly, a warm sound that seemed almost reminiscent of his childhood as he continued.

"I can't describe what you're like, Rin. All I can say is that you're strong, so very strong in every sense of the word. So why do we stand so separate? Pieces of a game that should stand together as one."

He moved his face ever so slightly, almost as if he enjoyed the contact between them both, before he moved away again, taking a few steps backwards as he held out a hand towards one of those with him. They handed him a small package which he untied and threw at Rin's feet.

It was a perfectly folded, black cloak with a red cloud inlay on the front.

"This is my offer, Rin Tezuka. Take it or leave it."

[Rin Tezuka]

Rin stood, dumbstruck at his offer. Him being so close like that had made her shiver and nearly fall over. Her eyes were fixated on the cloak in front of her. Leaving it would mean continuing life normally. Taking it would mean leaving it behind, leaving everything and everyone behind, for Itami Kodoku. Could she really do that?

Her face squirmed in many directions. Her head shakily rose to the sky.
Ryn.... What do I do...?
That's not for me to say. You can choose your own path, Rin.
But... Ryn... She doesn't bother to finish.

"Tami... I like you. I do. Even after all this..." She pressed the lower part of her chin into the steel of the headband she now religiously wore, "...I still consider you my friend. I'd love to join you..." Her voice fades to a whisper.

But she stepped back a tiny bit, away from the cloak. "But I can't. These people count on me... And I need to see Daisuke again. They need me, Tami... I... need them." Her voice is a somber sound. But a melodious one. Her voice was always such a beautiful sound, no matter the subject or tone. She was prepared for the strike now. Something in the situation made her head pulse more.

[Kodoku Itami]

Itami took a step forwards once again as his eyes narrowed slightly. In all honesty it was the response that he'd expected, but not necessarily the one that he had been hoping for. He looked down at the cloak and gave a small sigh. His left hand burst into a sphere of blue lightning, illuminating that entire side of his body, and those to the left of him. The raw energy trying to fight to the surface was almost unimaginable as he looked across at Rin and cocked his head to the side. His eyes actually appeared to be sad for the briefest of moments before he shook his head.

He crouched down next to the discarded cloak, and hovered his hand over it, risking incinerating the cloak to a crisp.

"Are you sure, Rin..?" He asked, indecision in his voice as he looked down at the cloak. "I-... I need you as well... But these people you travel with, who you call friends..." His mouth curled down into a sneer. "They're do-gooders, they just don't understand. I can't just leave this alone Rin, I've asked you to make your choice... It's them, or me. You either choose to be my friend, or to be my enemy." The red in his eyes seemed to be highlighted, brighter than usual.

"Are you with me, or against me?"

[Rin Tezuka]

Rin's green eyes showed just the slightest silver glimmer. "That's... not fair, Tami." She finally realized that she was trapped now. "I'm not against you... But if what you're asking is for me to leave them, I'm not with you. I can't. My boyfriend is with them. My best friend is with them..." Daisuke. Shinny. Vash. 'Guo. Akira. Kurai.

"You're not being fair. You're not being a good friend..." That headband around her neck suddenly felt a ton heavier. Her breathing was slightly less easy as she tried to clear her head and think about what was happening. Would she have to fight...? She really didn't want to, anymore...

[Kodoku Itami]

"Fair..?" Itami muttered. The bolt of lightning suddenly flared outwards as if corresponding to his anger, risking to burn those around him as it suddenly wound back in, the sphere replaced with a blue/red orb off of which an occasional lick of flame jumped off. His red eyes glared across at Rin, suddenly full of hatred and anger.

"You dare talk to me about fair!" He slammed his fist down onto the cloak, instantly setting it alight as well as launching a pillar of flames into the air, visible for miles. It swiftly died down as Itami cancelled off the attack. Standing up straight he clenched both of his fists as he glared across at his friend.

"I lost everything." He hissed. "Everything and everyone turned to dust before my eyes, cast aside as simply nothing but history. An entire clan wiped from the face of Allorum overnight, and you dare even think about raising the concept of 'fairness' around me?!" His fists relaxed as he shrugged off his cloak and reached to his back. Pulling out an empty sword sheath, he tossed it on the floor between them, on the ashes of the cloak which he had incinerated. "This world isn't fair..." He snarled as he reached to his shoulder and pulled his shirt down, exposing his left side. "I'll see it burn to dust, before anyone can call me unfair." He reached to the other side and exposed his entire upper body. The archer suddenly frowned.

I thought he said he wasn't going to use that power anymore..?

"If a monster I must be, Rin Tezuka." Tribal markings spread across his body, solidifying together, turning his skin a pallid grey colour as his hair stretched down to his back. "I have absolutely nothing. Your precious Lunar Knights, your friends, your lover. They all have one another, I had one thing in common with them, and that was you. You were the only thing I had. We had a bond, you and I. Something neither of us will share with anyone ever again." He cast his gaze down to the floor as two individual tear drops fell to the floor. He looked up again, his Sharingan gleaming in the darkness of his face. He regretted not being able to activate his Mangekyou.

"If you're against me..." A pair of hand shaped wings suddenly burst from his back. "Then you're in my way. I'll break this bond."

[Rin Tezuka]

"Tami... You're a hypocrite." She seemed to show no reaction at all to his new form. Once before, she had seen it. "You want to preach about fairness, about your family taken from you." Her toes clench the way one's fingers would when making a fist. "But the Knights are my family! If you took me from them, you'd be doing to me what happened to you! Would you do that to your friend, Tami?!" Her volume was raised enough to be a quiet shout.

"I... I don't want to fight you, Tami!" Bright silver orbs began materializing around her nubs. They spun around and merged, and in one brilliant flash of silver, spawned her metal arms. She flexed the fingers out twice before forming fists. "But if you won't let me go, I'll make sure you can't sever anything!" From the wrists, metal sprouts forward in a thin blade that stretches down past her knuckles.

"If you aim to hurt me or the Knights, I'll end you myself!"

[Kodoku Itami]

He chuckled at her words as he cocked his head to the side, stretching it as far as he could before repeating the process on the other side. He brought his head to a rest in the center before locking eyes with Rin. "You have no right to judge me." He said bluntly as he stretched his hand-like wings out behind him. "You who has so many by your side, would call me a hypocrite for citing the non-existence of fairness in a world where I lost everything." His face was neutral, almost as if he had given up somewhere.

"If you'll be so naive, then I'll show you what it feels like, Rin. I'll take everything from you, I'll take all of it away. I'll set your entire world alight and let you watch it burn. Then you can call me a hypocrite. Then, if you still believe this world is fair and just, you can tell me that I'm wrong. But now, you hold absolutely no right to say any such thing."

[Rin Tezuka]

"Neither do you, Tami!" She was yelling now. A small shing sound could be heard as the wrist blades sharpened even more. "You're judging me... Why can I not judge you? Itami Kodoku..." Her head falls as she realizes that he means business. "You won't lay a finger on them... Not while I'm alive to fight for them!" Her head jerks back up, eyes now glowing with silver sparkles. They were not fully encompassed in the glow as one could still see the hidden green. This time, it was her turn to launch the first strike. "And get those damned eyes out of my face! You don't deserve the Red!"

She lunges at him, her right arm jabbing forward in a stab as the left arm moves in an arc to create a straight line with her arms. Her eyes lock onto his, desperately hoping for the hit to connect. She needed to hear his thoughts...

[Kodoku Itami]

Two hand-shaped wings came in front of Itami and took the brunt of the attack. The blades burst into them with a spurt of blood and lodged into the wings, effectively trapping Rin there. A crackling blue light emanated from behind the grey of the wings, as they started to open up slightly, forcing Rin's arms slightly to the side, leaving just enough space...

"Let's see how much Red you have, shall we?"

He thrust a Chidori infused palm towards Rin.

[Zhen Anguo]

Another figure suddenly rushed from behind Itami and swept under his wing before driving a shoulder into Rin's gut, forcibly pulling her away from the death trap that the Kodoku. A brief flash of green and the new figure and Rin were rolling on the ground. The new figure skidded to a halt, kicking up dusts of earth as he tried to make sure he didn't get impaled on Rin's arms.

The frowning figure of Zhen Anguo stood up, holding his White Moon Dragon behind his back with a glare painted across his face.

[Akira Satou]

"Rin, darling, from what I hear, every time you go out walking, this guy pops up." The low, sing-song voice of Akira came from behind as well. With the blunt end of her staff, she swiped two Yami members out of her way as casually as she walked. And that was very casually. "You really should at least take 'Guo or Vash with you." She smiles, tossing the bottle of sake she had been drinking ever so elegantly over her shoulder. A small shattering sound comes from behind her as she crouches low in a defensive stance.

"Nice save, 'Guo. I guess I owe you some salt water for being right about the noise." Akira teases at him with a smile from her face. She nibbles on the chain leading from her ear to her lip and grins. "Don't worry, little sis. Akira's got you." She addresses Rin now. Ever since the night they got... well, wasted is a light term, she'd adopted Rin as her sister.

Rin winces as she rises. Behind her was 'Guo, and Akira a short ways in front of Tami. "'Guo... Eyepatch... What are you doing here...?"

[Zhen Anguo]

'Guo took two long strides and positioned himself between Rin and Itami. His face was the meanest of scowls as he glared across at the dark-haired boy, but he lightened up as he looked over his shoulder and gave Rin a small wink.

"We came to save your sorry butt!" He proclaimed with a grin. "Big explosions, huge pillars of fire, we sort of guessed you had something to do with it, that, and y'know... You weren't even there..." He turned his gaze back onto Itami. "But I've been itching to fight with these jerks for a while now... Ever since they got away at the Valley." He glared across at Yami.

The dark-haired Itami simply stared blankly back as he looked at the members around him. "Lu Jin. It's time for your hazing, I suppose... You take on the blonde woman, Natas, you have the boy. Rin's mine." He looked over his shoulder lazily at them before turning his stare on the Lunar Knights.