Shanyume
- Zhou Yi was confused and alone; after the battle she had with Captain Richterite things had changed, she felt like she had changed. The pain was so intense, so much so she could hardly remember it - but she knew it was beyond anything she thought possible.
He could have killed her, he wanted to kill her, but he didn’t. The question was why? Why had he not ended it there? Why did his whole disposition suddenly change towards her? She was weak, vulnerable, begging for it to end - and he threw her away. Tossed her to the floor like she was garbage.
She did not understand.
Zhou Yi swung on the swingset, legs swaying back and forth as cyan eyes looked around the abandoned playground. It was dark, it was cold and it was silent - It suited her mood such perfectly. Her long sleeves and numerous tails danced as she moved, picking up on the chilly wind.
Then all of a sudden; the presence of an incoming era made her look up curiously.
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Sheena, an amazing guardian cat, had been left at home asleep on Hannah’s bed with both her parents downstairs watching a movie on TV while she supposedly decided to go to bed early; at least for a Friday anyway.
With much on her mind Acrucis had found herself walking a familiar path. One that lead down a narrow pavement path flanked by gravel on both sides. Her feet moved on their own accord and soon found herself standing across from the swing set she usually came to when a moment alone was needed. Walking aimlessly the Senshi of Prayer hadn’t realized that she was not alone till cyan colored eyes that stood out in alarming contrast to the evening atmosphere and partially illuminated path to their left and right looked up at her wordlessly.
Somewhat startled the blue and white clad super Senshi stood frozen for a moment. ”H-hello.” She stuttered after a several second pause not knowing what else to say while she looked at the miko looking senshi in surprise.
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Zhou Yi blinked as the other girl came into sight; tilting her head to the side out of curiosity.
If nothing else, she was always welcoming to other senshi and did everything possible to leave a good impression and make friends. She would need them now more than ever. It was one thing to be inexperienced and naive to what was going on; another to try and handle those things on your own.
The girl bounced off the swing and gave a small bow; her braid falling over her shoulder as she did so. On standing back upright she flicked the thick hair behind her and plastered the biggest smile she could muster on her face. Even if she had to fake it; she was not going to let anyone see she was torn up.
She would just have to put all that business behind for for now.
“Hi! Welcome to Zhou Yi’s house of fun! Do you want to go on the swings? I was actually hoping someone would stop by; tonight has been b-o-r-i-n-g!” With a small laugh the senshi jumped back up onto the swing, this time standing on the seat so she was looking down at the other girl.
“That fuku is adorable! By the way~”
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The girls energetic nature brought a smile to Acrucis face and alleviated some of the awkwardness to their initial encounter; it was a relief to say the least that Zhou Yi, at least that is what she had called herself, was able to break the ice so easily.
“Thank you.” The Senshi of Prayer smiled then looked down at her own attire for a second then back up again. “You outfit looks nice as well, very warm,” she pointed out since by comparison there was a lot more covering the other senshi then her own original uniform did. “I must ask though… are those… tails?” Acrucis pointed to the fluffy bunches of fur hanging from Zhou’s waist.
There were a few senshi who had questionable attributes added to their outfit that borderlined decoration and something perhaps a bit more. Sidouer for one had a kirin horn on her head which was in part why the senshi with periwinkle colored hair did not seem incredibly phased by it as opposed to simply curious about it’s presence.
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Zhou Yi looked down at her fuku for a moment; and then smiled. “These no?” Funnily enough, that was the first time anybody had asked that question, and now it had been voiced she was surprised she did not get it more often.
She shook her head and reached behind her, fidgeting with her outfit before finally managing to disconnect them. They came off in a ribbon, each tail attached to the red piece of fabric that held them together and tied them under her obi.
The redhead jumped down once more and wrapped them around her like a coat. “These are my pillows, my blanket, my bean bag - just my general comforters. I kind of wish they were though! That would be awesome, wouldn’t it.” Her face suddenly became very serious as a thought popped into her head, one that she needed to ask right that moment!
“Like do senshi with an animal themed power turn into half breeds!? I have never thought of it!” She smiled; completely unaware that the tails as well as the skull that masked part of her face were both very organic - not decorations at all!
“What is your name? More so, what is your power? You look like….” She fought of the best way to word her next sentence; and just hoped the other did not take offense. “You look like, a priestess - like not a nun, but one of those slightly sexy MMO type of priestesses!” From under the veil of fur came an arm, and the senshi held out her hand to the stranger in greeting.
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“You’re not far from it to be honest.” Though she’s never actually played one of those video games Acrucis has watched her cousin Jesse play that World of Warcraft game on the computer while and his younger brother played Final Fantasy on the X-Box.
“My name is Acrucis and I’m the Senshi of Prayer. My magic allows me to heal various degrees of injury. I thankfully haven’t had very many opportunities to use my higher ranked magic to know exactly to what severity it can heal but I do know it does more than just little scrapes.” It would be a huge cause for concern if she had actually been using her magic frequently. Not only would Phact but Sheena as well would have a heart attack if they found out she was powering up alone.
“What about you? May I ask what your name is or what you can do?” The girl was amusing to say the least; very expressive with her facial expression and a bit eager to chat which was definitely refreshing.
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"You can ask, but I do to be honest I do not know myself." Zhou could not help but smile. She knew how strange that must sound; for a Senshi to be unsure about her abilities. She tilted her head to the side and continued, this girl was a healer? Well, that was indeed a very awesome and useful ability to have.
Heck, she could have done with her around a few days ago when that Captain beat the crap out of her. Zhou seemed to get beaten up more than most, since her awakening she had spent more time in bandages than any other time in her life.
The kistune-esque senshi winked. "My name is Zhou Yi and I am the senshi of the Sesshoseki. From what I can tell my magic revolves around energy draining - I am still trying to figure it out. I mean, what the heck is a Sesshoseki? You know." She shrugged, she knew it was not as straightforward as just energy draining - but for now it was what she was going with. She was secretly hoping to find a cat again and get some answers.
"Acrucis huh. I will have to keep an eye out for you, maybe we will be able to join forces from time to time. I could do with some friends to count on, especially with so much going down lately." A storm was coming, that much was for sure. Everybody seemed more on edge than usual and in her bones Zhou Yi knew something was going on. Something she did not fully understand yet.
It was then that she brought out her phone, waving it at the other girl. "Want to exchange numbers?"
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“Yeah, that’s definitely a wise thing to do; exchange numbers that is.” Without much thought Acrucis summed her senshi phone from the mysterious place her civilian clothes seemed to go.
“You know, it probably wouldn’t be a bad idea to look online for any origin information on your sphere. It might give you some insight to what your magic could do.” After switching numbers the Senshi of Prayer flicked her wrist to send her phone back to whereever she had pulled it from in the first place.
“Otherwise you can use your attack on me to get a feel for what it does.” Better that than on some random person only to learn it wasn’t really all that effective. “If I get hurt I can always heal myself” She pointed out with a simple shrug of her shoulders clearly unconcerned about getting injured in the process. One of the definite perks of her magic. While Acrucis couldn’t fight worth beans she could take somewhat of a hit and still walk away okay.
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Zhou smiled, fingers making quick work of the buttons before her phone also returned to the void in which it came. She might be new to this whole senshi game; but the technology was one thing she found comforting and familiar. "Google is not a bad idea; I don't know I guess I was just waiting for something a little more enlightening? I was kind of hoping it would come to me naturally, like my name, like my magic." She knew that might sound strange, but she had been told that things would come to her in time.
Her nose twitched at the girls suggested, a sympathetic smile befalling her face. She could not do that, even if she could heal herself, she did not want to. "Heeeey, you should not offer yourself up like that. Even if you can heal yourself, there is no point causing your body strain if you can avoid it. I mean, there are enough people out there wanting to do that." The girl with pastel blue hair and a pale fuku, she seemed very sweet and Zhou could not help but wonder how many people took advantage of that.
"You are strange, but kind of cool." She stated, shaking her head and letting a small laugh escape her lips. The redhead looked over her shoulder in wonder; she would need to head back soon before her household found out there was something amiss. "I need to be getting home before my parents wake up for work, but it would be nice to talk more when the chance arises. Who knows, I might have a definite answer to your question then." She sure as hell knew there were a few things she would like to ask, another time, when time was not so limited.
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The girls concern was heartwarming but the offer still stood and in Acrucis’ mind it was better to use it against someone who wouldn’t retaliate than someone who would strike back.
“Be safe okay? If at all possible try to avoid powering up alone.” Words of advice even she neglected. It was definitely more of a do as I say not as I do sort of situation but it was her responsibility to say them anyway.
“There are a lot of dangerous monsters out there and I don’t just mean the creatures. There are agents of the Negaverse that are extremely dangerous. So please be careful.” Acrucis gave the newly anointed senshi a rueful smile especially since she could see a lot of herself in Zhou. Ready to take on the world thinking nothing could touch you; it had been a rude awakening realizing that definitely was not the case.
