Like staring into an open grave *Invite Only*

[The Gamemaster]

He choked hard, scuttling back as he watched with thinly veiled terror as the spectre of death walked closer, futilely holding up a hand as though to ward off the demon before him. It wasn't supposed to be like this, dammit! He was Aleksei the Beast! One of the Golden Dawn, the elite of the elite soldiers for the Perfect Path! How could this... demon in the form of a child have destroyed him, when he had been dead a few moments ago.

"Noo!" He moans, spitting black coagulating blood as he gasps in pain, leaning heavily on a broken arm that is as thick and wide as the entire body of this youth who is coming to kill him. "Stay back, monster!" He says futilely, as the figure soaked in blood steps closer. He had killed him, he was sure of it, and yet... How was it that he lived? How was it that he had so completely and totally devastated him. He could see inside his ravaged chest cavity dammit, so how was it that he still lived!? How was it that the blood oozed from the gaping wound, rather than poured? What was this.. thing, was it really a demon.

Burning scarlet eyes focused on him with an almost cruel disinterest. "You attack my family, those near and dear to me, those more important to me than this immortal life itself... And you think that you might beg my forgiveness?" Says the youth, no more than a boy barely reaching manhood. His pale features are composed into an icy mask, the penetrating stare of those burning eyes hits Aleksei like a ton of bricks, as though he were staring into his own open grave. "Foolish little Vampire, didn't you know? It is futile for men to bargain with Dragons." He said, as his hand rose before the injured Aleksei, curling into a fist as he flexed his will, and summoned his power to bear.

Aleksei cried out then, as the broken stone around him began to quiver, bent to the will of this demon before him... Or was he a Dragon? Was that not what he had said, that men could not bargain with Dragons? "Damn you!" coughed Aleksei, as the stone began to move around him, fitting together as though it were a box. No, not a box, this was something else, if the strangers eyes were his grave, then this would be his coffin. "Its too late for that, but you are welcome to curse my name for eternity, as you suffer in the bowels of hell." Says the Pale Dragon before him, long hair whipping around a narrow face that is as composed and sharp as a sword. "Die."

His hand grasps closed all the way with that cool word, and the box contracts completely, Aleksei's last thought is that it hurts so badly, before with a sickening snapping squelch, the command of the Pale Dragon comes to pass. Condensed stone, compressed so tightly it appears no more than a cinder block sits before the Dragon, leaking blood from the broken mass that was once the near 7 foot tall body of Aleksei the Beast. The Dragon quivers for a moment, a trail of fresh blood leaking from the corner of his perfect mouth. "Such is the fate of all who would threaten that which is most important to me." He says weakly, as the oozing blood begins to trickle, then pour and he collapses forward. His eyes are glazed, and his breathing ragged. "Dammit... am I to die here?" His fingers draw furrows in the rubble. "No... not here, not when I have finally found you again." He says, speaking to the ghost of his memories, and a smiling face that had melted his heart of ice, almost a thousand years ago.

As he lay there, losing his life's blood, he remembered the events of this night. Thinking back to before the battle that had claimed the life of Aleksei the Beast, and all that he had learned. It had all started earlier that evening, when Sakurazuka Seiryu had set out to find the one who had pulled the strings leading to the attack on Hyouda Karu. The Pale Dragon wheezes, and his eyes narrow as he remembered Seiryu closing in on Aleksei, thinking it would be an easy battle. Oh, it had been anything but easy, and Seiryu had not been prepared in the slightest. The Dragon wheezes, his fingers and toes numbing as his body begins to set into shock. Damn that idealist Seiryu, had he not been focused on mercy, then this would not have happened....

It all began when the bike left the Academy...

[Sakurazuka Seiryu]

He whipped the handle bars back, turning to swerve behind the car as he merged into traffic, the bike screaming beneath him as he had to tear his mind away from thinking of the confusingly wonderful little human Tsukiko. He grins, as the car lays on the horn repeatedly, warning him as though he were some young reckless punk. He couldn't get over her scent, or those blue eyes that were so deep, the fall of silver hair that smelled so fragrant, and yet was soft as silk in his hands. Oops, no wonder he almost rear ended a vehicle... He had to focus on something else, and wait for the weekend to steal more moments with her.

He has to shake his head, feeling as though he were in pain at the very thought of having to force himself to think of something else... When had he gotten it so bad for her? it just seemed so natural to feel that way, and he hadn't questioned it. The fact that for now, they were moving ahead, temporary as the arrangement might be, he could only hope that he would show her that this temporary relationship, should and could be a very real long term relationship. However first he had something he felt just as important... Someone had attacked K... His brother, and apparently left him for dead.

Seiryu was by nature a compassionate young man, and that circle of compassion included the entire school. He would fight to defend the students from all comers, however their were four considered the nearest and dearest to him, his most precious friends and family. Seiryu had amassed an enormous fortune, and yet these four were the most precious of his many blessings. His brother by blood ties K, his brother in arms Kojiro, his young human friend Ayume, and his dearly beloved Tsukiko. Someone had trampled into that circle, and attacked his only remaining relative. Now they had incurred the wrath of a Royal Pureblood, consequences be damned he would avenge his brother, even if it meant unsealing his own powers to do so.

He had sent agents of the familly to scour the city in search of a newcomer who would have been the one to attack K, and for a few days he had recieved no intelligence whatsoever, however suddenly he had turned up a fitting suspect, who had even gone so far as to boast of the victory to a small group of traveling vampires, moving with the 'herd' of humans they were feeding on. His agents had been quick to report back to him, and now it was time to confront the giant of a man. Every finely honed instinct in his body was telling him this was too convenient, that it had to be a trap, so he was deterimined to end the battle immediently and question this 'Aleksei' away from the battleground.

For the last four days Aleksei had fallen into a quiet routine, going from the local bar where he would generally act like a prick and drink, then return to his rented room. On his regular route, construction had begun on a lowrise building that Seiryu believed would be a bank upon completion. Aleksei would cut through the construction yard, and then continue on his way through the alley ways to return to his room. Rather than fall into Aleksei's trap, Seiryu had chosen the construction yard as his own ambush point, and as he parked the bike in the mall parking garage, made the last few blocks on foot, jumping along the rooftops so fast he might as well have been a blur.

He came to rest high above the construction site, placing a hand on his chest, and the metalic clamp in place over his heart, giving the odd creation a turn, and wincing at the sharp click as three inch barbs in his chest retract a little ways, and let the trickle of his power open wider... Suddenly the power that has been his since birth is burning its way through him, a crackling searing energy that burned through his veins, into his muscles, into his heart, and into his brain. It was quite like pain, though not of death or the like, no it was the white hot pain of life awakening extremities that had been starved for far too long. He felt energized, empowered, he could crush cars and lift buildings... Then at once the euphoria faded, and he felt the longing urge to open the seal wider... But he resisted and instead began to prepare for the arrival of the Russian warrior.

The Heir of the once legendary Dragon Emperor began to gather his strength together, psychologically preparing himself for the all important single, tremendous blow. He would need his rushing momentum to help him, and thus the timing of the release would need to be exactly right. A blow far beyond even a Royal Pureblood's supernatural strength would be required to end the fight before it even began. And while Seiryu knew that he was more than capable of such a blow, he knew it would still take every bit of concentration, and perfect focus to make this all important strike.

[The Gamemaster]

He had been born on the Russian Steppes almost a thousand years ago, a Kurgan, dark haired and massive. He could no longer remember his name that he had born all those years ago, and was no simply Aleksei, the Beast. He stood almost 7 feet tall, a giant of a man rippling with muscle, the epitome of physical power. He had risen to prominance as a boy, during the Mongol invasion that had swept across his home, riding to battle wielding a massive falchion. He had carved a reputation for his familly, allowing them to dominate what would one day become modern Russia. However, when the Kurgan's finally were defeated by time, he found hismelf the last of his people. It suited him, it made him unique, so he cared nothing for his fallen family and clan.

He walked through the darkness, heading towards his hunting ground, and his reinforcements. A trio of brothers, of Mongol descent, who could move through the Earth as easy as the air. They had gravitated to him, as he could control the Earth at will, and together they had cut a swathe of carnage through the darkages, warriors for hire that hed been legendary in their effectiveness, as well as their cruelty. Already they were in position, awaiting the arrival of the slant eye boy. He had been watching for days, laying the trap ever so carefully, ensuring that he would know exactly where and when the welp would attack.

Wordlessly he paused in the alley way, reaching down to lift away the dumpster and reveal the bag he had placed there. He cast aside the weathered clothes he wore, pulling on the clothing he had treasured for centuries. Hammered Iron chest plate, and a cloak of fine animal hide from his native homeland. Iron gauntlets and pauldrons that were heavy and almost an inch thick. His cruel face drew up into a grin, exposing teeth that had been chipped in many a battle. His lips were full and blood swollen, and his swarthy skin was a dark olive complexion and pockmarked, as though he had suffered the pox at one point of his life. All in all, he bore the look of a savage from days long gone, walked right out of the past. His hairless head gleamed in the lowlight and he slowly pulled free the stainless steel briefcase that held his most treasured posession.

Tenderly he opened the case, revealing the gleaming components of a sword, dissasembled and ready to snap fit together. Large and curved, a fusion of the Mongol Scimitar and his own prefered Falchion. With a practiced ritual he began to fit the pieces together, snapping each part into place, until at last he held the complete curved weapon in his hands. A genius had built this blade almost three centuries ago. Before you were considered a freak if you carried such a weapon openly. He swung the sword, in two hands, making a few quick practice swings, before setting the blade to spinning in his two hands. Light flashed along the blade, as he threw it up into an arc and caught it deftly point down. He smiled a vile smile, tenderly running his fingers along the razor sharp edge, and licked the blood that came from the fine cut.

Sheathing the blade across his broad back, he pulled his rain slicker tight around himself, and stepped back into the street, turning around the corner and heading into his place of ambush, the construction site he had so carefully selected. At last... It was about to begin.

[Sakurazuka Seiryu]

Seiryu noted the figure below, the massive figure walking with such fluid grace through narrowed grey blue eyes. So this was the Beast then? He began to feel a measure of respect for the backstabbing brute, the balance of that walk, it showed a testament to countless battles. He reached up to feel the blades he had strapped across his back, the single edged curving Dao, the Chinese dual sword. He might need them, if he couldn't incapacitate on the first strike. He could see the hilt of a sword poking over the giant's shoulder, and judging by that balanced walk, he knew how to use it... The powerful muscles in his legs twitch, and his ankles flex, his feet turning ever so slightly as he gets a stable brace for his foot. Then he closes his eyes, feeling the power within him, and the power around him, focusing for the charge.

His eyes open, laser like in their focus... And he moves.

He leaves the girder he crouches on in a flash, pushing his speed beyond the limits of a Pureblood, Royal or normal, harnessing the kinetic energy of his travel to explode forward in a flicker. Using his power like this, feeding his body on kinetic energy to push it beyond the limits, he might as well cease to exist for all his unlucky opponent can tell. Its as though, for a sliver of a second, he has been wiped from existance, appearing on the ground in mid kick in a flicker of a second, and the scuffle of a whisper as his foot moves the final foot to slam into the side of the Beast's head, releasing the pent up kinetic energy he had gathered and compressed so tightly, increasing the force of the impact with raw kinetic force. As his opponent cartwheels away, his blades are drawn with a fluid ring, so fast they appear in his hands by magic, moving through a delicate arc before he settles ready his eyes narrowing as he waits to see if the giant is down.

[The Gamemaster]

Aleksei didn't even have time to grin, before the blow caught him in the side of the head hard enough to flip a midsize SUV. He was sent spinning, head over heels across the ground, slamming into the earth with enough force to bounce, and one he went, skipping across the ground one bone breaking bounce at a time, before he finally struck the stone mason work of the soon to be new bank with enough force to plow through. And then, as the dust began to settle, their was silence. From the shadows, a peace of stone falls to strike the ground, then nothing, only eriee silence...

Then movement...

From the cloud of dust a spinning blade comes flying, right through the hole the giant had been blasted through, end over end like a glimmering crescent, trailing behind it a nylon hybrid cord connected to the giants hand. The blade is aimed to cleave right through the little slant eye boy, though Aleksei certainly hopes that it won't be so easy. His grin belongs on some Hellspawned horror, and he steps through the rubble, his face cracking and peeling away. Dropping to the ground with a clatter.

"Not a bad kick, im almost impressed little prince." He says, his stone armor flecking off before he bends to absorb more of the ground, the shell of armor reforming around his face. "But I was expecting you." He says, speaking accented English as he shakes a finger, and jerks back on the scimitar, pulling it back to his hand with perfect coordination. The metal hilt rings loud against the stone armor that encases his entire body. "I am Aleksei, The Beast. And you, little Prince, are dead." He says, testing the edge of the blade, making a few test swings to ensure that even in that tremendous impact, he hadn't lost his edge.

"You should have went for the kill, stupid prince. In a meeting like this, who strikes first, hardest, and for the kill is going to walk away. You wanted to subdue me, yes? So that you could question me? Its too bad little Prince, because only one of us will live to feel the burn of another dawn." He says, beckoning the slant eye boy with a demonic growl, as he snarls deep in his chest.

[Sakurazuka Seiryu]

"Strike to kill?" He asks, as he cartwheels away from the spinning blade, seeming to float to the side with preternatural grace and falling into a crouch as he ducks beneath the blade as it is jerked back to the monster's hand. "I wanted to question you, yes... But that doesnt mean I have to kill you, I could take your arms and legs, or maybe shatter your spine... That would leave you alive long enough to answer my questions, though if it were death you wanted, I would be happy to oblige..." He said, as he came forward in a rush, his curved blades whirring with a screaming song through the air.

They flickered and whirled, twirling through an intricate pattern that was beautiful in its brutal appearance. He hit the monster a dozen times in the span of a breath, curved blades rolling over each other smoothly, twisting and turning, reversing direction under the skilled hands of a master swordsman who is utterly and completely comfortable in his use of the blade. And what a master he is, the blades fall upon the stone body so fast that the ringing note seems to be one prolonged scream of metal on rock as he seeks to carve a dozen vital areas to slivers under one, powerful assault.

"Is this more to your liking?" He asks, as his blades finally settle back to the slow looping circles that is his ever ready defense, a web of constantly moving steel.

[The Gamemaster]

The beast grinned, enjoying the attack, feeding on the sudden viciousness in the slant eyed Vampire prince, his thick lips peeling back from flat teeth as used his own abilities to harden the armor on his forarms, compressing and compacting to diamond hardness as he blocked the beautiful motions with his arms, his armor absorbing the stinging cuts when he was not fast enough. It was just as he had been told, the Sakurazukamori was every bit as accomplished a fighter as he could have dreamed, pure poetry in motion, wielding the dual swords effortlessly.

He would have killed anyother man...

It almost make Aleksei laugh, because it was why he had been chosen. His Earthen Armor was enough to stop the seeking blades, and no matter how powerful the Prince's Air powers, he could weather any attack, the wind would wear away at the boulder, but it would never completely destroy it. It was a law of nature. His muscles bulged as he attacked, bringing the heavy curved blade around in long slashing motions, using the curved edge to augment his slashes for brutal cutting power. Once, twice, thrice, his hips twist and turn, swinging hard from the shoulder to open the little prince up like gutting a deer. "Not bad little prince! But you were beaten the moment you decided to come to this fight, their was a reason I was chosen to face you!"

To the side the earth burst open, a squat figure popping up like some demonic gopher, a strange tribal mask of white, with bush wiry black hair poking up over dark african skin flying from the ground, long arms and legs held akimbo as the figure crouches low, moving in a rippling motion before springing into attack at the Pureblood's side. This was Aleksei's ace in the hole, a Land Shark, able to move effortlessly through the Earth. Blade gauntlets and greaves flashing he moves into the strange martial arts form known as Capoiera, attacking in a whirling storm of flying arms and legs, each limb supported by a deadly blade...

Then, when the attack is over, the earth seems to swallow the strange African figure, dissapearing back into the sandy gravel as though he had never been there.

[Sakurazuka Seiryu]

It is understandable that he would be surprised, after all he did just attack the beast with a combo that would have killed a lesser opponent where he stood. He had seen the Earth armor from the get go, however who would have thought it could repel sword attacks from a Royal Pureblood? He loops back, his blades whirling in loose circles, always striking the side of the massive scimitar, turning it aside with quick slap parries, before he siezes the opportunity to prepare to counter, deciding that even Earthen Armor will suffer from the same weaknesses of all other armor, the joints.

He drops low, into a crouch, rocking back from the last slash and snapping up, using the power of his legs to gain momentum as he comes up and prepares for a double stab beneath the Beast's arms, seeking the vulnerable flesh of his arm pits. However he is alerted by the shift of gravel, before the strange witch doctor figure bursts from the ground in a whirling attack...

His blades turn as he spins on a heel, allowing his body to rotate as he changes his form on the fly, the spinning looping blades cease as he parries the storm of whirling attacks, his motions moving deceptively straight, moving at harsh angles perpindicular and horitzontal as he slaps the blades aside, making a quick pumping forward stab towards the figure, and cursing when it returns to the Earth as quickly as it had popped up. Its all becoming clear, deceptively simple as well as effective.

Aleksei was smart enough to realize he would aim for the vulnerabilities, and had brought along a partner able to attack from under the group, popping up to attack when Seiryu tried to focus too hard on exploiting a weakness... It was genius really, a brilliant tactic as Aleksei would simply use his armor to shrug aside Seiryu's attacks that were not flawlessly aimed at the armor's vulnerabilities...

But they had missed a crucial factor, Seiryu's abilities had never been fully displayed... Not ever... Now he spins, his right blade looping to ward an attack from the Beast while he had gone for the stab to the witch doctor, and in that motion, he calls on his kinetic abilities, gather and shaping the raw force and letting loose a blast of raw kinetic force into the chest of the Stone Armored man, hitting him with enough force to blast away an 18 wheeler, concussive impact, as though he had been casually slapped aside by the hand of an unforgiving god...

Still, even with his abilities, this might be difficult... He had to keep the seal after all, or else it would be all too easy to kill everyone in the general vicinity, vampire or human... What to do?

[Shizunei, Sakura]

Shizunei,Sakura,born as a Common Vampire, she was quite gifted in her own right. She posesses all the normal powers and abilities of a Common Vampire,but She was also born with a natural healing ability.
She was supposed to be walking home that night. She was late as always and she didn't want to take the long way around, so she took a shortcut. Big Mistake on her part. She had forgotten about the construction site and she would have to go through it in order to get home. As she aproaches the construction site she hears what sounds like swords clashing together and when she turned around the corner what she had accidentally came upon scared her, no scratch that, it terrified her. She did the only thing she could think of. She hid behind a bulldozer and frozen in fear and terror she watched the two who were fighting. Then as she watches the fight progress she recognizes one of them. It was Sakurazuka Seiryu-sama from the nightclass at Cross Academy. She didn't recognize the other person, who looked like a seven-foot tall giant. She stayed as far away from them as she could and very slowly began to crawl away towards the other end of the construction site where she would be able to run home. She was not even half way there when she heard the sound of a sword spinning in the air. She saw it go right over her head and before she realized that she had done anything. She let out an involuntary scream.

[The Gamemaster]

Aleksei's face twisted with a grunting groan as he was slammed in the chest by the unseen force, and sent rocketing away at a gesture from the boy. He hit the ground hard, skipping like a stone in one bonecrunching bounce, before slamming into the concrete furnishings. He is still for a moment, thinking the situation over... That wasn't anything to do with wind... Something was very wrong, the data was wrong... He scowled, and stood as he popped his neck with the rumble of shifting stone and scraping rock. No matter, he reared back his arm to throw, and paused to regard the girl, before nasty grin covered his face.

With a rumbling gate he moved toward the girl, yanking back on his blade to return it to his hand with a rattle of rasping chain. He moves to tower over her, where she had been crawling and paused to stand over her, a smile on his face that can only be described as demonic. Maybe a hostage would be nice? He drew his arm back, the weapon in his hand gleaming with a sick light. "Hmmm, tell me something girl, would a hostage need legs?" He asks, his accented voice dripping with barely contained menace. The blade shifted ever so slightly in his hand, as he judged the angle for his strike. Might as well pin her to the ground, sever her spine on the same stroke...

Like pinning a bug in a collection, how appropriate...

***
The Witchdoctor breaches the ground as easily as a swimmer in the water, one gleaming katar moving in a slash to the lower leg of the Pureblood prince before returning back to the ground to keep him off guard. Almost immediently, the figure bursts from the ground into a leap, the bladed greaves on its legs lashing out in a quick double roundhouse from behind...

The attacks are coming one after another, furious and unrelenting...

It was only a matter of time.

[Shizunei, Sakura]

She saw him coming towards her. She had a bad feeling that he was going to take her hostage or worse try to incapacitate her so he could take her hostage. She knew it. She was going to die. She just knew it. She was no more than thirty feet from the escape route that she was going towards. She instinctively grabbed her dagger,sliced her finger on it,and she counted to ten while waiting for her eyes to turn purple. When her eyes did turn to purple she reached for her dagger,now a sword, and swung with every once of strength she could muster. Then she ran. She got no further than ten feet from the exit when she felt something knock the breath out of her,but before she could get up and start running again. Everything went black. The sensation of running and the sounds of a battle around her were the last things she could hear before slipping into unconciousness.

[Sakurazuka Seiryu]

Seiryu stepped back, driving a sword down to snap the offending attack away to the side. He ducked hard, dropping into a crouch as the bladed greave cleaved the air above his head and he grimaces. He is getting nowhere fast here. At this rate its only a matter of time before they wear him down. Attacking from the shadows, and retreating back into the ground to keep him constantly on the defensive. He couldn't even effectively fight back like this, they gave him no chance to set up an offense. And to make matters worse, it appeared Aleksei was further complicating matters, going after a newcomer... It was a girl...

Shizunei Sakura!? he remembered meeting her at the birthday party for Suoh San, but what was she doing here?

"Coward!" Shouted Seiryu as he had slammed into the ground between Sakura and the beast, driving both fists into the ground and releasing his inherent powers in a point blank kinetic blast to buckle the ground with enough force to crack the pavement in a spreading ripple. He risked a glance back, to see Sakura pitch forward. He felt kind of bad that she had been knocked out by the concussion of his landing, however he needed to ensure she was going to stay out of this. Using the ground shaking beneath the giants feet to further destabalize the monster, he brought his arms up from his sides, gathering the kinetic energy in each hand compressing it and folding it, until he could feel it tangible in his hand.

With a grin, be forced his hands forward, combining his dual kinetic masses and then releasing the hold on them in a focused blast of kinetic power far stronger than the last. last time it had been like being blasted with a cannon ball. this time it would be like Aleksei himself had been shot from a cannon.

[Shizunei, Sakura]

She felt the vibrations in the ground. That's what woke her up. She let out a groan. She tried to move,but couldn't,because every muscle in her body screamed in agonizing pain. She barely opened her eyes to see what was happening around her, then she saw him,The Witchdoctor. She was able to pin-point his exact location,every single time,because she felt the vibrations in the ground whenever he moved. She saw Seiryu-sama blast the Beast with some sort of kinetic energy and sent the Beast flying. She tried to move again,somewhat succeeding this time, on her hands and feet she made her way towards Seiryu-sama. Barely moving her left hand she gently poked him on his leg and hardly moving her lips she said to him "I might be able to help fight the Witchdoctor. I can pin-point his exact location. I might be able to distract the Witchdoctor long enough for you to either defeat the Beast or weaken him enough to defeat him." Then as carefully as she could she kicked off her shoes and socks. She could feel the vibrations a thousand times better now that she had her shoes and socks off. She had her sword in her hand and looked at Seiryu-sama as she continued to watch the Witchdoctor's movements in the ground.