Cross Effects 3.0 - June 23, 2016—April 02, 2018

[Kat]

Rikuyo

"It's really good, I think I could eat even more." Rikuyo answered, the chocolate in her system slowly influencing her mood. Probably feeding her aphrodysiacs wasn't a best idea on part of Ron. She found already Ron quite good looking, it was likely only matter of time for her to get enchanted by such fine piece of a man. "Hmm, it's cool we're eatin' here, but what we will do once we get bored? The day's young, there's so much time before night falls."

[Thedoctor]

Jin

Their battle waged on, over and over with more force, only his cold determination let him hold his ground. The assault was relentless, the blows never ending. But it wasn't pain he felt every time they connected.

It was emptiness.

The villain's, no the man's blows were empty.

It was the despair of someone who had lost everything they knew, everything they lived for. The despair of having given up long ago, the despair of lacking purpose. That was what Jin felt in the blows. The inflamed speech the man gave only confirmed it.

Yes this was it, the reason he had come, not to save the people on the floor, but to save Him .


"You fool!"

A shift happened.

At first it was almost unnoticeable, like the falling of a leaf, a singe leaf to announce the change of seasons. Eventually they all fell, leaving the trees bare, leaving everything bare. This was the end, but when one chapter ends, another one begins.

"And what would They think if They saw you now? A hero isn't someone who saves everyone. A hero is someone who fights for what's right and never gives up, never waver." A step was taken, despite the overwhelming power of the blows assailing him, it wasn't he who was overwhelmed. "We fight to protect what's dear to us. That's where you failed."

Another step was taken, the next blow wasn't deflected to the side like the others. It was met head on, to met these blows head on was nothing but utter foolishness....but then the impossible happened.

"YOU GAVE UP!"

The blow was pushed back, knocking Garou over.

[Aiden]

Muramasa Katase

She turned her shell's head aside haughtily at his comment about her robes, the better to hide her satisfied smirk. "Hmph. Kenzo-kun is the only one making this Muramasa dirty," she said in a soft but sultry voice she hadn't used before. "So it is your-ah!"

That shut her up nicely, as anything else she might have wanted to say trailed off into a satisfied moan. Katase could feel his mouth burning a trail along her puppet's skin as if it were her own, and oh it was lovely. He wasn't even bleeding on her kimono anymore now that she had sealed him up, which meant she could just wrap her shell's arms around him and hold on.

She was even a little adventurous, nipping at his neck with enough force that someone less... durable, would have had their throat torn out. "Mmm... you can play with this Muramasa all you like, my lord."

Was that the word she should use? This was new to her; wielders were selfish monsters to destroy, not caring men like him.

"But, shouldn't you make sure the food doesn't burn...?" She motioned to the meal with her shell's bright eyes.

[Kotomine_Rin]

Garou XIII

Blows were exchanged over and over, each impact was like a volcanic explosion of power. But despite his rage, despite his hate, despite his despair, the hero stood. Could it be, that just as his despair drove him further and further away from his human shackles, the hero's resolve was starting to surpass his limits as well? 

No, that's not it. He was nothing but an obstacle in his path, an impediment. He hadn't been serious from the beginning, he hadn't tired to kill him. Kill, kill, kill, killkillkillkillkillkillkillkillkillkillkillkillkillkillkillkillkillkillkill KILL!!! HE WOULD ANNIHALATE HIM!

Kuh-

And yet, he was knocked back. It wasn't that his blow lacked killing intent, but the hero's words breached through his offense. For a second, the scars tha he had sealed so long ago had finally opened once again.

The only wounds that could ever hurt him. For the first time in years, Garou felt pain. He closed his eyes, trying to shut it off, but once opened he saw her standing in his place again, hanging from a rope surrounded by her own filth. He closed his eyes to ignore it, but once opened he saw her falling from that cliff again. And then, for the last time, he opened them again and saw himself.

...you monster.

His eyes... they had never been in the present. He had crushed them for twenty years, only to look back without ever going forward. No matter how many times he charged, he could never take these images away from his eyes, he had simply been lingering in the past. There was no life to his eyes, no hope, no joy.

One might be able to defeat justice, but no one can defeat his past. For those who tried, there was only darkness.

"SHUT UP, YOU HAVE NO IDEA WHAT SHIT I'VE BEEN THROUGH!!!!!!!!!!!!"

He roared, using every last shred of his magical energy, his body and his life to form a bloody spike that erupted over the palm of his hand.

The pain, his wounds, his life  meant NOTHING! All that matered was that that son of a bitch died once and for all! He ran forward in desperation faster than ever before in order to escape himself with a decisive blow.

[Thedoctor]

Archer

The man in red let out a gasp as Sakura sat down on his lap and wrapped her arms around him. She was so soft and he felt his length give a small twitch at the thought that passed through his mind briefly. No. calm down. He breathed in and centered himself. She whispered to him something about who he'd contract, but was her tone sensual or was he just imagining things?

She looked into his eyes as her grip softened, he needed to get away from her, get away from this. So he moved his hand to her hips intent on lifting her off. Only to find that his hands stopped obeying him and were now glued to her hips. As if this couldn't get worse.

"W-Well S-Sakura you see...I'm not really sure what you're suggesting."


Jeanne

"Hehehe" The blonde couldn't help but giggle at seeing Shirou turn so red, this was even better than she had expected. She was quite surprised when he hugged her however, by his own will, even if was because of some form of exhaustion. Jeanne let him rest against her, not bothered in the slightest by his weight. "You're even cuter than Sakura like this." She teased him mercilessly.

[Aiden]

Ron

Sadly, Ron had no idea that chocolate was an aphrodisiac. He wasn't even entirely sure what an aphrodisiac was! The closest he could imagine to one was the idea of date rape drugs, which were about as common in Nexus high schools as he supposed they were everywhere else. Everyone knew someone who knew someone who had been drugged like that but wouldn't say anything, apparently.

"Well, you wanted to go shopping, I still have money..."

He ate more sherbet, letting the reminder stand on its own.

[Panda]

Michael

The immortal stood his ground as Breeze approached, feeling that thrill of fear thrumming through his veins once more.

"I know, I'm sorry," Michael said with a nod, "I guess it just slipped out. I'll try not to do it aga-"

The immortal was soon cut off, however, as Breeze was swept up by Oren, who proceeded to run away with the tanned woman in a bridal carry, Michael cocking an eye at Oren's declaration. Allowing an exasperated sigh, the immortal set off after them, soon catching up but deciding to just keep pace with Oren. He couldn't be particularly bothered to try in a contest like this, and he doubted Breeze was carrying currency on her at the moment, what with the apparent lack of pockets on her attire.

[Kat]

Rikuyo

So he still had money after all! She was really that hungry anymore, and she wouldn't mind if Ron-kun bought her some clothes or trinkets. "Okay, Ron-kun, whatcha gonna buy your Sempai? I've told you about so many things, I've told ya about so many things~" She looked him with eyes that had such look as if she expected a reward like some young dog.

[Kat]

Julius

"Then maybe one day, naturally if you and Sir Gadre has nothing against that, I'd like to test myself in a honorable duel. There is usually nothing to gain from two law abiding people fighting each other instead of focusing their attention where it is most needed, but if it is a chance to exchange our experiences in practice, then I am ready. But today is likely not the time, I still need to complete my quest." His prowess at Western martials against what she learned in the East, that would be truly marvelous bout. Two of his companions, Senor Raul and Senor Raymondo, have circumnavigated the globe and reached as far as Phillippines and China, so he had no second hand or first hand experience with martial arts from Japan or Korea.

"The older the wine, the better it becomes. I have faith in finding one that was still young in my age, but matured splendidly." He began to search through the shelves of the store, looking for anything that would pique his attention. "Ah, Tokaj from 1788. That was a good year, last year of the relative peace that Europe experienced. Silence before the storm that was my era full of bloodshed and sorrow."

[SINIB]

Archer

The man in red let out a gasp as Sakura sat down on his lap and wrapped her arms around him. She was so soft and he felt his length give a small twitch at the thought that passed through his mind briefly. No. calm down. He breathed in and centered himself. She whispered to him something about who he'd contract, but was her tone sensual or was he just imagining things?

She looked into his eyes as her grip softened, he needed to get away from her, get away from this. So he moved his hand to her hips intent on
lifting her off. Only to find that his hands stopped obeying him and were now glued to her hips. As if this couldn't get worse.

"W-Well S-Sakura you see...I'm not really sure what you're suggesting."

Sakura Matou

The purplehead blushed when Archer put his hands on her thighs. "A-Archer." She said quietly to him. "I'm sorry." She said quietly as she got off him. "That was inappropriate, I just… it felt natural because you're…" Sakura averted her gaze.

"Anyway. I wanted to ask who you want to contract with. You'll need an anchor soon, your independent action isn't as good as Gilgamesh's." Sakura took a hold of his hand. "Please. Stay with us." She asked him without tears and with complete seriousness. T

[Kotomine_Rin]

Sakagami Kenzo

Hehe, that tickles...

"Oh, right!" He yelped, suddenly realizing that she was indeed right! How foolish of him, he was truly an impatient little oni. He kept cooking, but he seemed troubled by something, distracted even. For a moment, his face had turned into a frown, only to smile again.

"Please don't call me that again. Kenzo is fine."

[Aiden]

Auspicious Breeze

"E-Eh?" was all Breeze could manage, before giggling at all the touchy-feeliness. Usually she was the one picking up and carrying cute girls, not the other way around! She held on though, playing along, and thanked the Sun that she wasn't going to be the one buying things. She didn't have any lead marks to pay with! And she wasn't her mistress, who could just take whatever she wanted unless it belonged to another sorcerer.


Muramasa Katase

Her shell blinked, slowly, as he refuted her use of titles. Katase was not thrown off for long, however, and simply nodded and stood next to him while he cooked. "Very well, Kenzo. But then, what do I call you so that other women know you are my husband and should stay away...?"

She tilted the puppet's head in what she understood was a way for humans to show confusion.


Ron

He grinned around his spoon, and shook his head. "Clothes. You'll see when we get there, Rikuyo," Ron said to her, stalling while he finished the last bit of dessert and thought of where they could go for shopping. Hanging around this district too long would probably end in having to fight more Triads if they managed to track down who killed the one he'd mugged earlier.

Maybe closer to home? But then Anne might show up and... well, okay that wouldn't be too bad actually. Closer to home it was.

[Cherry Lover]

Sakura and Shirou

The two of them followed Irisviel into the apartment, curious to see what sort of apartment the alternate Sakura had given them. Looking around, they noticed that it was comfortable enough, although the TV in particular was extremely outdated. But, then, they could hardly expect anything different, given that this world seemed to be somewhat behind hers technologically. Certainly, it wasn't as luxurious as some of the places they had stayed, but they were not generally bothered about luxury. After all, despite Sakura's wealth, she had been quite happy to remain living in Shirou's relatively simple house, the only home she had lived in where she had felt truly happy.

The two of them frowned at Shinobu's criticism of Irisviel, and then watched on with some confusion as she walked around, checking out the walls and other items, as if she was checking for traps or something similar. Sakura couldn't help but feel slightly offended by the gesture, after all, their landlord was an alternate version of her and, whilst her alternate self was clearly less mentally-stable, they were close enough that Sakura felt like it was somehow a slight on her. Shirou quickly noticed her annoyance and looked on at Shinobu with some irritation, the annoyance only increased by the arrogant tone Shinobu took in addressing them.

Medaka, however, seemed far more down-to-Earth. Her words made it clear that she, too, was from a rather wealthy family but, unlike Shinobu, she seemed to understand their current situation. Responding to the question that the two of them had, Sakura spoke up.

"Yes, we are intending to rent this house. The landlady gave Irisviel the keys earlier", Sakura responded to Medaka, with a smile.

Shirou, meanwhile, turned to address Shinobu, far less cheerfully.

"You really don't need to check around for traps, Shinobu. Our landlady is a kind woman at heart, she would never do something like that", he said, looking at Sakura with a gentle smile on his face, and taking hold of her hand.

Turning to Irisviel, Sakura spoke once more.

"Should we take a look around?" she asked. "We need to work out sleeping arrangements."

[SINIB]

Archer

The man in red let out a gasp as Sakura sat down on his lap and wrapped her arms around him. She was so soft and he felt his length give a small twitch at the thought that passed through his mind briefly. No. calm down. He breathed in and centered himself. She whispered to him something about who he'd contract, but was her tone sensual or was he just imagining things?

She looked into his eyes as her grip softened, he needed to get away from her, get away from this. So he moved his hand to her hips intent on lifting her off. Only to find that his hands stopped obeying him and were now glued to her hips. As if this couldn't get worse.

"W-Well S-Sakura you see...I'm not really sure what you're suggesting."


Jeanne

"Hehehe" The blonde couldn't help but giggle at seeing Shirou turn so red, this was even better than she had expected. She was quite surprised when he hugged her however, by his own will, even if was because of some form of exhaustion. Jeanne let him rest against her, not bothered in the slightest by his weight. "You're even cuter than Sakura like this." She teased him mercilessly.

Shirou

"Shut up." Shirou jokingly said to her with a humph. "Sakura is far cuter than I ever could be." He flicked her on the side of her head. "Don't insult your master like that." He managed a smile as he spoke.

[Thedoctor]

Jin

And thus the monster broke apart leaving only a sad broken man infront, who was desperately lashing out against the world. He made a spike of blood and rushed him quickly, faster than ever before. There was no way such a blow could be dodged.


No.


That was wrong.


There was no way such a blow could ever reach him. As if a blow from a man who couldn't even face himself would ever reach him, the mere thought was laughable.

"No I don't know that." He awaited until the final moment to sidestep the attack, doing with with such ease you could think he was lecturing a child.

"But I know you don't want this." His fist was raised and travelled towards the man's face.


"SO STOP LYING TO YOURSELF!"

His fist met Garou's face a final time with a resounding thud, sending the man crashing to the floor.