Guardian Character's Guidance

L

Laggy Lagiacrus

Guest
Original poster
"Well, that was, quite possibly, the most banal, uninteresting, boredom-riddled activity I have ever had the displeasure to partake in."
"Wow."
"What?"
"That was unusually mild for you."
Sitting idly upon the oak bench, the sixteen-year-old student scanned the broadsheet newspaper, preferring proper news – as opposed to what he believed was trivial rubbish, contained in the tabloids that plagued the shelves so persistently. Sitting on his shoulder, observing the page's articles was his guardian character – a much less serious fellow, to be sure.
A vaguely noticeable amount shorter than a majority of boys his age, his build was slim, but not as athletic as it first appeared to most people. Skin slightly tanned by his mother's genetics in him, his cobalt-blue eyes seemed dull and uninterested, the sparkle that should have been there at times instead replaced by a placid look of indifference. Mouth straight and not displaying as much as recognition of pleasantries at times, his hair was coal black and dull, reaching down to an extent that made it so it had started creeping over his ears. Garbed in a simple ensemble of an ink-blue polo shirt and light blue denim jeans, his feet were adorned with smart shoes, appearing to consist of brown leather.

His guardian character, a considerably smaller figure, appeared to have the same sort of build as him – however, this was where the major similarities ceased to make an appearance. With his mid-short auburn hair gelled into skyward spikes, the chap's eyes were the red of burning coals, a fiery attitude of determination and conviction clearly displayed within. Mouth turned up at one corner, in a playful smirk of sorts, his top was a racing red, a shirt typical of people having a kickabout in the park. His shorts, which appeared to be jogging pants that ended at the knee, were black, though with a noticeable streak of red down the left leg. Trainers of a similar design consisted of his footwear, rounding off the attire.
"Jet. You seem to have gotten a little stiffer."
Tensing slightly less at the mention of his name, the guardian character returned his wayward gaze to his owner, and divulged what he suspected.
"There's an X Egg around here somewhere, John."
"We should deal with it."
"Be careful though… This one feels like it's about to hatch, but into… I can't say. Anyway, let's GO!"
Shrugging, the newspaper was folded, rolled, and slid under John's arm. He was in no particular rush – it was his nature not to want to put much effort into things. He didn't hate himself for it, but he wanted to change – he wanted to be somebody else.
 
"So if you simplify it, the formula turns into..." Sen Tsurugi looked up from her study session with herself.
"Sen-san... there is an X egg nearby!"
"Kura-chan, is it close to hatching?"
"Yes, I think so, but I don't know what it'll be!"
Sen pushes her glasses up to her face. Given her nerdy disposition, Sen was sometimes intimidating to approach, but extremely easy to tease. However, her parents always dressed her in the best clothes money could buy. Her clothes were top notch all year round. Dressed in white v-neck with gold lettering and shorts that were teetering on her comfort level, she rushed outside. She rarely left her study, but when it came to hunting X Eggs, everything stopped for her. Sen always rushed as she felt that she needed the time to study more. That's what she did most of her life and practically knew nothing else about the world except what she had taught herself.

Sen wasn't strong and she wasn't exactly weak either. Her parents had enrolled her in a martial class in a secluded area off in Japan. During the summer she would train vigorously there, but when school was in session, she would be taking a normal class that was open to the public. Her glasses bounced up and down on her face and her hair flailing about because of the speed in which she was moving. That egg was not going to hatch on her watch.
 
Having character changed but moments after coming into range of the X Egg, John felt he now had a motivation of sorts - instead of pacing to the enemy casually, he had now broken into a light jog, minuscule embers floating from the soles of his feet, and from the palms of his hands. The embers themselves were hardly enough to start any sort of fire, even in the dry summer that was currently progressing - their size was not compensated fully for by their abundance. However, the egg remained just out of his reach, slipping from his half-hearted grabs multiple times. He was, by no means, out of shape - a regular attendee of a kick-boxing club, he had been told he was on track to becoming a black belt in the martial art. Despite his strength and stamina, however, he lacked the motivation to use it - and thus, with cracks continuously appearing on it, the egg flitted further and further away.
Oh. This is bad. I don't want to character transform...
 
Sen had character changed on her way to the egg. She was dressed in black even though it was summer. It was just apart of Kura's chan's clothing. She saw a boy with fire coming from his soles, but that was not her concern. She actually used him as a step to reach the wall window that the egg threatened to pass up. Sen did manage to catch the egg, but gravity was bound to kick in eventually and fell hard on to the ground, egg still in hand. She groaned in pain, but was happy she caught the egg. She was not going to do that again. Falling was painful and she found it harder to land on her feet when something was in her hands. Sen would've walked over to apologize for using the boy as a stepping stone, but she was working on getting up from the fall. It was not pleasant and she had had better landings. She was going to have the hardest time explaining to her parents as to why her butt was sore. What would they think if they knew she had tried to run up a building to catch an egg.
 
"Are you just going to stay there idly, or will you deal with that abomination? you caught the wretched nuisance, so that should be your responsibility."
Not even bothering to look at Sen, John was busy staring off into nothingness - his attention on the egg, however. He turned his head to the stranger, his character change ceased, with Jet now floating by his owner, wearing the ever-present smirk. Glancing blankly at the egg held in Sen's hand, John ran through the thought process that had him assume what he thought to be standard procedure, and held his hand out to her. A polite gesture, though performed with robotic motions, a combination that almost suggested he did it as part of a job.
"John, don't be so harsh, even if she did use you as a stepping stone."
"Jet, that egg is going to hatch soon, and you said yourself that something about it was off."
Puriririri...
The distinctive cry of an X Character sounded, its high-piched echo prompting the two boys to ready themselves, readying a transformation in the case that the worst-case scenario happened.
 
Sen cursed, still in pain from the fall. She got up and realized that the egg had hatched and that she had gotten it too late. Of course she did. Why didn't she sense it sooner. Sen was disappointed in herself, but she said nothing. Sen was really sorry she had used the boy as stepping stone, seeing as she still had not managed to keep the egg from hatching. The other's gestures were sharp and emotionless. They were effortless too as though helping her off the ground was too much for him to do. Sen wondered if he considered being kind a chore. Though, she couldn't agree more, her concern was on the now newly hatched X character. She prepared herself for the worst also, still her character transformation. Kura-chan was like a snake and always waited for the perfect time to strike. That was just the way she fought. It had saved Sen from humiliation on several occasions, though she would never admit it to anyone.
 
"Character transform with me!"
"No, we've been through this so many times it's not even sensible. I'm not transforming."
"But nobody's watching..."
"Shut up, Jet."
"Just do it! You said you wanted to do something, now's your chance!"
Jet's words of encouragement annoyed John to breaking point, one in which he would finally cave in to the persevering character, and he became a dispatcher of X Eggs and Characters. After the reluctant muttering of the words, red armour - similar to a knight of old's, although the items did way significantly less. John's head remained uncovered, his hair now relatively long and a fiery auburn colour, a wild smirk now playing on his face. Embers flowed profusely from his hands, hair and soles, sometimes even a little flare of fire sometimes.
"Burning Passion - Flameheart!"
The scene now over and done with, more important amtters could be addressed - such as the X Character, roughly the size of a toddler, shot innumerable amounts of black energy at John, who now expelled fire from his hands and soles at the enemy. Abnormally large, but still infuriating, the childlike figure evaded the barrage of flaming strikes and occasional projectile, but eventually received a burning fist square to its face for all its troubles. Weakened, yet still moving it flew in the opposite direction, with John rapidly giving chase. Had he the experience, he would have used his fire to thrust himself into the air in a manner akin to jet packs, yet he did not, and remained confined to the ground. However, he was easily able to keep up with the slowed character. "Well, what're you waiting for, a pretty please? Catch the blasted thing, it's weakened enough!"
 
Sen said nothing. Having been insulted by him yet again, she had grown to strongly dislike this John character... Well Kura-chan disliked him anyway. With unmatched speed, Sen sped after the X character tackling it and catching it. She wasn't very experienced either, but her speed could make up for some of her mistakes. She didn't look at the John character. Sen handed the struggling thing to John. She hated fire and for several good reasons, but she would not voice them. Showing no fear she mustered up the courage to actually look at John with a hopeful look. She hadn't the slightest idea on how she was to purify the cursed thing. It wasn't working out for her. As bad as she wanted to look somewhat helpful to this person, she couldn't.

With a thick Asian accent she said "How do you ...ano (um) purify it? It is not working for me."

Her cheeks became a light pink, but she did not look away. Her pride was getting the best of her. The guy with the auburn hair looked really mean and she wasn't going to stand down. Sen herself, would have been intimidated and looking at her feet. She had not used any powers as of late. Sen only used them when there was no other way to purify the egg. Sighing she said nothing else, awaiting for the other's response. This is why she hated running into other people with guardians. She always looked like she had accomplished nothing.
 
His character transformation's personality winning over, John adopted a friendlier tone, one akin to that of an older sibling explaining a maths problem to their younger counterpart.
"It's easy when you get used to it," he said, now dragging the X Character down by its feet, using as much of his strength as he could to restrain the abnormally large adversary. Despite the attacks he took, he did not allow the character any quarter, showing the resilience his transformation brought. "Character transform, your guardian character should be able to help you do it on instinct! If not, we'll just show you!"
Now pinning it to the floor, but only barely, John kept the heat from his hands flowing to - hopefully - tire out his foe.
 
Sen tilted her head slightly. "Yes please show me," She asked.
The X Character was pretty big now that she looked at it. Sen was watching the two carefully through Kura-chan's eyes. It was all so strange to her. That X character just wouldn't quit. She wondered if the X Characters were just different here. It didn't make any sense. Sen furrowed her eye brows still trying to make sense of it all. She couldn't understand why she couldn't get it to purify. Was she just that bad at being a guardian? She didn't know. After all that studying, she had only managed to purify two eggs and that was probably nothing compared to the group before her.
 
"All right, you got it!"
Punting the X Character a suitable distance away, John's fingers formed a rectangle, similar to that of a director visualising a scene, yet he was placing his foe in the makeshift aiming reticule. Once his aim was taken, a shout of "Lock on!" was heard, followed by a flame spewing forth from his finger rectangle, engulfing the X Character, the entity expressing its displeasure profusely, writhing as it was cleansed.
"Cleansing Flame!" he shouted after a few seconds, sealing the deal - the enemy was now obscured completely from the naked eye, the crimson flames reaching a good few inches behind it, though not igniting anything other than John's passion. Eventually, he retracted his fingers, the character now floating towards a heavenly light - it then returned to its original state, and once back in its egg, it flew towards its rightful owner. No longer needing to be in their current state, John and Jet split apart to return to two seperate beings. However, an unusual event transpired - unusual, in the fact that John was now on one knee, panting.
"John! Are you all right?"
"Jet... That was no ordinary X Character. Do you think...2
"They're the only people we can turn to for help. We both knew this was coming..."
"I see. More importantly, are you okay, miss? did you get what you needed?"
 
Sen nodded. Kura-chan and Sen had now split into seperate beings now that the threat had been terminated.

"I got what I needed, but I couldn't help noticing, what is wrong with John?" Sen asked.

Kura-chan didn't say anything, but watched in silence. That was typical of her not saying even a word of thanks. It's not that she was trying to be rude, she just never thought about it when she was distracted. Kura-chan had indeed taken notes on how to purify an egg though and she would get better at it. Sen blinked looking at the determined look on Kura-chan's face was a little odd. Sen was even more confused to see that the two were talking about how odd that X Character was. So it wasn't just her who had sensed it, but that didn't excuse her from not being able to purify the egg. It had taken a lot out of the two before her.

"Is everything okay?" Sen continued.
 
Regaining his composure slightly, John arose shakily, attempting to shrug off the tiredness that hounded him from cleansing the character - a foe that required far greater effort than normal. Still slightly woozy after the ordeal, John was in no state to talk much, so his guardian character - a far more sociable being - talked for him. The two knew each other well enough for this to happen on a regular basis, however, so John showed no sign of resistance to this action being taken.
"That X Character was different - substantially larger than most, and its attacks hit a lot harder... I think we may be in over our heads with this. It keeps-"
"That's enough, Jet."
John's voice was not harsh, by any means, but the firmness of it was unmistakeable.
 
Sen takes note of the other's drowsiness. She isn't used to touching people, let alone guys to begin with, but she awkwardly holds him, should he stumble again.

"Do you need to lie down?" She asked him.

She was not going to hesistate to leave him if her help was unwanted. Sen was uncomfortable touching people and guys in particular, but she wasn't one to abandon someone who needed help. What she really needed to do was study for her test tomorrow. It was important, but she was confident she would get an A. There was no doubt in her mind about that. This John person was confusing and hard to read and even though his words seemed harsh, he didn't seem to be bad either. Sen sighed wondering what she could do to be useful...
 
A sudden shot of pain flickered up through John, intensifying at his chest. The condition was not a hereditary disease, and would likely pass, given the appropriate amount of rest was taken. However, recently, the amount of times "Cleansing Flame" had had to be performed had taken their toll - under normal circumstances, he would have little to no problem dealing with Eggs or Characters. However, these were no ordinary foes, as had already been established - thus, the concentrated periods of tiredness surrounding the purifications, and the small flecks of blood he coughed up against the back of his clenched teeth.
"I- I'm fine, really..." he grunted, pacing towards the bench, in the hopes of haphazardly collapsing onto it.
"He's not, I can assure you. He just... Has personal issues." Jet's response was delivered as though this type of occurrence was common; the worried look on his face told that he was scared for his owner. As powerful as he may have looked, John was somewhat frail, and it was only through daily physical training he managed to keep up with normal society.
"Jet, don't-"
"Concern myself with you? You're my owner, I have to be!"
Jet sighed, and turned once more to Sen, his worried expression engraved on his face still. "You have to get him to at least rest... I'll get him some water. Honestly, the things he does..."
He shook his head and looked at Sen, waiting for an answer. If she refused - which she had every right to - he would fetch the Guardians to aid him, seeing as they were likely in the vicinity. Sen would likely be the more viable option, the grudge John bore against the guardians being far greater that that to a complete stranger.
 
"I will help him." She said softly.

She would not leave someone who had coughed up blood here. Sen sat on the bench next to him. She was extremely nervous, but did not say anything. Her voice was pleasant, but with an obvious undertone of nervousness.

"You can use my lap as a pillow, but please try to rest. If that is not to your liking I can take you to the nurse." Sen offered.

She pulled out some water from her gym bag and handed it to him. Sen didn't need it as bad as John did. She would just be thirsty after P.E today. She didn't mind that so much. There were water fountains in the school she could drink from if it was that serious. Sen felt bad that she could not prevent this person's unfortunate situation, but she thought it best not to ask questions about his homelife. She was not one to prod, but she always listened. She never judged or commented either as a lot of people often confided to her. She just listened and when the time came for a comment she would be general about it, never taking a stand on the situation unless asked. Sen had seen many X eggs because of this, but they were easy to purify once she had talked the owner of it down and getting them to believe in their dreams yet again.
 
"As much as I appreciate the offer, I-"
John's head was pushed by Jet, causing him to fall lightly into her lap, staring awkwardly up. Too exhausted to argue, and unable to speak much without incriminating himself further, he accepted the inevitability of the situation, his breathing returning to a more natural pace, his body heat returning to its normal temperature, as opposed to one akin to him having a fever.
"As I said, I'll get him some water. You stay there ad keep him under control - not that he can go anywhere, but still..."
John frowned at his partner's sudden departure, closing his eyes briefly, allowing his light-headedness to simply push him into a mild state of delirium, making him lose grasp on reality - if only for a split second. It was in this state of lost grasp that he muttered "you have a soft lap..." under his breath, only his lips indicating he ever said anything. Jet had long since gone to do his thing - the pair were inseparable, in the sense they could split to do their own thing at a moment's notice.
 
Sen didn't hear him say anything, but she felt his lips move. He looked a little faint so she wondered if he was gonna be okay. Her cheeks had become a slight pink and she was nervous. He was the first guy she had allowed this close to her. Sen waited patiently for Jet to come back. She had unintentionally ran her slender fingers through his and when she noticed she was extremely embarassed. Her face turning an even brighter red. Kura-chan was watching this with obvious amusement. There was a smile eve present on her face. Sen just hoped that Jet would hurry up with the water. Sen didn't want the other to feel uncomfortable and she herself was getting more and more pink...
 
Jet did indeed return with water, as had been promised, but there was also one other item in tow - or, as it happened, person, and their guardian character. Tall, and obviously highly athletic and/or strong, he seemed to exude a presence of power, even from where John was laying. His hair was a natural brown, akin to that of an oak, and had been combed into a style formal enough to make him a high-ranking military officer. His eyes were a sharp shade of green, amplifying his presence, or perhaps being a contributing factor. Even his clothes reminded one of a high-ranking officer - a pristine white shirt, and dark-green formal trousers, with highly-polished black boots. If one gave him a microphone, it was expected that he would not need, such was the volume in which he spoke. His guardian character seemed to be similar in appearance, though in the sense he actually was a soldier, as opposed to being reminiscent of one. Dressed in combat boots and trousers, seemingly stained a black-brown shade by mud, a crimson trench coat covered much of his torso, while an oversized helmet seemed to cover at least two thirds of his face.
"Come on, maggot, let's get you out of here." muttered the boy, who then turned his attention to Sen, after picking him up to have him stand up, despite the support he provided. "General's chair, Graham Browning. I'm the head of the guardians in Saint Zephaniah High. And this rogue character, has been hunting X Eggs and Characters, when he should leve it to the established organisation. Ain't that right?"
Grunting in response, he was hauled away, with Jet staring blankly at the two.
"He means to say thank you," he said to Sen, knowing John couldn't, "But his situation wouldn't allow him. Anyway, I'll see you around!"
Flitting off as though nothing had happened, Jet followed John, leaving the pair he had just met.
 
Sen sighed as she watched an even scarier person approached. It was probably good that he had not seen her guardian character. Perhaps she would have dragged away too. A person approached her wearing jeans and collared shirt. Sen had known him to play the viola. She had played a duet with him on her cello. The other began to play a soothing piece. "Opperetta" seemed to be the piece. It was very beautiful played with a cello. She walked in the school to grab a chello and on the bench she played the accompaniment. She hoped that the pair she had met would come back and so even after the duet was over she continued to play her cello. Sen was first chair of the cello section and always landed the solos. She practiced almost as much as she studied.

Kura-chan had grown sleepy and fell asleep while Sen played moonlight sonata. After this song she would leave thinking that the other pair was off doing something rather important like purifying an X egg. She would get her chance eventually. She just would have to wait it out. She sighed again enveloped in her own thoughts.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Top Bottom
Back