Iuvenes: The Zodiac Cyle (Yuuki_Tatsunohi and JoJo

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Yuzuki was busy with the English worksheet handed out by the teacher when the desk next to her was occupied by none other than Eiji. She had seen him in class earlier but was distracted by the teacher and her friends before she could even say hi. He said his own greeting then mentioned he felt like he was being watched yesterday at which point Yuzuki covered his mouth with her hand.

"Not here!" she whispered, putting one finger to her lips. "You might be heard!"

One of Yuzuki's friends stopped by, raising her eyebrows as she looked between the two. She then shrugged and reminded Yuzuki they were going out to eat later. "Souta's paying for all five of us, unless you bail out again," she warned in a teasing manner, laughing. Yuzuki watched her go before turning back to Eiji, removing her hand from his mouth.

"Can you meet me on the rooftop an hour after school is over? We can discuss . . . what you told me there."
 
She slapped her hand over his mouth, and he raised his eyebrows, shutting up. Yuzuki's friend talked to her about some sort of dinner later, and her head turned back to his, telling him to tell her later. He nodded. "Sure, I have plenty of time after school... though I don't see why I can't talk about it here, I'll indulge you.", he replied, and went back to being silent, waiting for the bell to ring. When it did, he was one of the first out, and left Yuzuki there in her desk, heading up to the roof so he could wait to meet Yuzuki. Maybe she'd give him some reasons why she didn't want him talking about it near others... maybe it cursed them too?

{To Yuzuki, 2:35 PM: It's Eiji. Waiting on the rooftop for you. Might take a nap if you take too long, so, you better watch your skirt, star-panties.}

He chuckled as he sent the text, and yawned, laying back on the ground, and staring up at the sky, relaxing... She had said she would come within an hour, right? He propped his head up on his arms, and closed his eyes, ready to take a nap. Maybe he'd wake up with her sitting on him, or next to him... no, she wouldn't. There were stronger chances he'd wake up with a kick.
 
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She watched Eiji go as the soon as the bell rang. Her attention was then pulled away to her friends who called out to her and started discussing where to eat. As they all chatted with each other, Yuzuki's phone buzzed with a text from Eiji telling her where he would be while he waited. Puffing her cheeks slightly at the nickname she typed out her reply, {To Eiji, 2:36pm: I'll be there soon, Cape-Coat Dork}. With a satisfied smirk, she hit send and followed her friends to their planned destination.

Dinner ended quickly, mainly due to Yuzuki being in such a hurry. Her friends fortunately didn't give her too much of a hard time, but the look on their faces told her they were really hoping she could have stayed longer. She hurried away before she was tempted to skip meeting Eiji altogether. Magi duty first.

Once she reached the school, she headed straight for the roof. Fortunately the doors weren't locked yet, not that it would make a difference since she could use her magic to jump there. But she would rather not risk her identity if she could. Eiji is the only person who knows and she'd like to keep it that way. She spotted him a few yards away, sleeping just as he said he would. Smiling a little, she tucked her skirt in and crouched down next to him.

"Eiji, wake up," she said softly, poking his cheek.
 
Eiji Saw her reply, and began to work up a response.

{To Yuziki; --:-- : mhmm, whatever you say, cuti| }

However, he passed out, basking in the sunlight before he ever sent the reply. He probably would have revised it to be a little sterner with her, but, he began to snore softly, instead. His dreams were troubled with thoughts of specters, and as Yuzuki went out to her dinner, and began to head back to him, he was unknowingly feeding a specter his negative thoughts. However, when she came up to him, and squatted to poke him in the cheek, his dream-bubble popped, and he wiggled his nose a little, rolling her way and yawning. He bumped into her, and knocked her on her butt..

"Ah, they're little moons today...", he said sleepily, and sat up. He looked up at the sky, and yawned, rubbing his eyes. "M-my phone... Where...", he looked around, and saw it under her skirt.. "Oh..", he blushed, and extended his hand to grab the cell phone. When his hand reached the edge of her skirt, however, his face got redder, and he pulled his hand away. "You get it...", he said, and scooted back a little, letting her take his phone for him. He tried to recall what it was he wished to tell her, while she did so.
 
No sooner had she poked him, his arm came up and pushed her to the ground. She landed on her bottom, giving the boy a glare for the rude push. He mumbled something about moons; probably still half asleep. Or did he see up her skirt again? She turned a deep red and her glare got even worse. She waited for him to rub the sleep out of his eyes, her own narrowing into slits as his hand reached closer to her skirt.

"Oh. Sorry." She retrieved his phone from underneath her and handed it to him. Fortunately it wasn't damaged. "So. What's this about you feeling like you were being watched last night?"
 
He noticed her flustered look, and frowned, but when she handed him his phone, and asked about last night, it seemed she had gotten over it... he didn't want to talk about it more, and possibly stir the pot even more... though, he noticed her discomfort, and it was the first time he had seen her seem to be angry. He'd have to stop it with that. He could tell she wasn't at all pleased by his antics. He wasn't building any trust with it, and she didn't seem to think it was a joke, either. He decided instead, to speak about last night's events.

"Yeah, as I said... after speaking with you and that little cat guy, and heading home alone...", he sighed, and rubbed his neck. "I felt like I was being followed, but I never really noticed anything following me, real or not. As you said, it seemed like they knew I knew about them, and they're trying to get at me...", he admitted.. "Is it strange that I feel safer, the closer I am to you?", he asked, feeling a bit embarrassed. "This whole damsel in distress thing usually works the other way around.."
 
Yuzuki frowned at these new details from Eiji. She knew Specters would be after the older boy, even her, but she didn't think they would have already started tailing their next victim. Hell, they didn't even start following her yet and she was the one who was hunting these things. Or at least she thought they weren't following her. Ever since she made her contract she never felt like she was being watched, never felt like she was in any danger.

She'll have to start being more aware of her surroundings from now on.

"I don't think it's strange," she shook her head. "I highly doubt you know anybody else in town that can fight Specters." Yuzuki moved to a nearby bench, hugging her waist with one hand while rubbing her chin with the other. She was too bothered by the threat of specters to entertain that joke Eiji said. Her eyebrows knitted together; she needs to talk to Kyuubey, but where is he? "Still though, what you told me . . . I don't like it. You didn't see anything did you?" She knew he didn't, no way he could. Specters can only be seen in their own Labyrinth, but she just had to make sure.
 
Yuzuki really seemed to be worried now... had she not anticipated such a thing? She seemed to be rather surprised by the prospect of Eiji having been followed so soon by a specter... but he wasn't aware of how these things worked, and didn't know that humans were far more susceptible to being hunted down by specters than a magi. Specters worked slowly or kept their distance because of a magi's powers if they were aware of them, but usually a magi's powers were strong enough for specter to be unable to track them down without placing a seal on them in the first place. So, now Eiji had to deal with the "scent" of the specters on him... Yuzuki might just have to watch closely, because Eiji could not.

Eiji's feeling of safety wasn't just due to being comforted by the idea of her being able to protect him... She put off an aura that repelled specters, usually, and Eiji was within the safety of it. When she asked if he really hadn't seen anything, he answered honestly. "I hadn't. Not a thing... It might just be my imagination creeping up on be or something...", he chuckled, and scratched his head. "Well, whatever the case, I feel glad I told you... It's good to know you are on the lookout."
 
At Eiji's words, a smile formed on Yuzuki's lips. "Of course. If you're in trouble, I'll be there in a heartbeat." She patted his shoulder.

At that moment, Kyuubey chose to appear. Seemingly having jumped from wherever he was last, he landed in front of the two as if he had materialized out of thin air. "Afternoon, Yuzuki, Eiji," he said, scratching his ear. Yuzuki returned the greeting, almost unperturbed by his sudden appearance. Almost. She was getting used to it, slowly.

"What brings you here?" she asked.

"I sensed a specter just a while ago." If one looked closely, the rings around his ears vibrated as they sensed the energy from the nearby Specter. "I was about to call for you when I lost it." Kyuubey was fully aware why he lost track of the specter: Yuzuki was close enough to scare if off as her own Magi aura could be felt by such creatures. He was certain Eiji was the target. Normal humans were easy prey, Eiji even more so.

At the moment, there was no need to divulge why he lost it. Yuzuki didn't ask, and maybe Eiji could actually become useful.

"Well, no use sitting around." Yuzuki stood up, the jewel of her ring sparkling. "Eiji, would you like to come on another Specter hunt?"
 
He had been reassured by her words, but when Kyuubey showed up, their conversation was less than comforting... Kyuubey had caught a specter close? So it had been after him... but it was hiding now? The other two didn't seem so bothered by that, but it sent a shiver up his spine... to think one of those things could creep up on him at any time... he had been right... it had been waiting for the perfect time to strike, and he was lucky that he had decided to inform Yuzuki...

He snapped out of his train of thought when he was asked if he would like to come with Yuzuki on the hunt... He nodded. "Of course. If I'm with you, I can only get attacked by one of the damned things, and I have you to keep me safe...", he explained, and came close. "So how do you track these things down anyway? You just seemed to run into a wall the last time I saw you, but you have to have a way of finding these creepy things so you can put a stop to them, right?", he asked, staring at her ring. "It's glowing... I haven't seen it do that before... is that how you do it?"
 
Yuzuki looked at her ring and nodded. "Soul Gems are sensitive to Specter energies. So when one is nearby, it shines like that." She led the two through the door and through the school building. "Kyuubey might have lost it, but if my Soul Gem is still glowing, then it must still be close."

"Of course," he said, trotting along beside her. The school wasn't busy as it would have been earlier in the day, but there were still a few staff and students around. They greeted Yuzuki and Eiji but appeared not to notice Kyuubey. Kyuubey craned his neck back at Eiji and said, "They can't see me because I choose who I appear to. Only Magi and those who know of the Magi world are aware of my existence."

They continued on until they arrived at the old baseball field, the ring flickering as they got closer to the baseball shack.

"Leftover magic from the last Specter," said Kyuubey. "It's very weak but still strong enough to confuse your gem." Suddenly, Kyuubey's left ring shook. "I think I've found it again. This way."

Kyuubey took lead and led them past the old shack and along a trail with a bridge over a creek. The water was very low; it couldn't have reached past Yuzuki's ankle. But her Soul Gem was glowing stronger than ever and Kyuubey's rings shook so violently they looked like they would slip off his ears any minute. Yuzuki tentatively stepped closer to the shore. She took one more step, her foot touching the water and then another. Yuzuki had expected her feet to be submerged, but the water was solid under her, as if it were ice and not the trickling stream she could see with her own eyes. Kyuubey was quick to join her. Below, something stirred as it sensed the presence of Eiji, Yuzuki, and Kyuubey.

"Would you look at that," she mused, turning back to Eiji. "Come on! The water is fine." She laughed.
 
"Is that so... interesting, it's like a homing beacon, huh? I guess it makes sense. Your thing is magnetized to the energy of specters, because you use their leftover power to feed your gem, right?", he reasoned, likening the soul gem thing to a magnet with a battery. That sounded like the most logical explanation, but with this magic stuff, you could never know, so he didn't bother them with further questions, and followed her, and the little cat-like being to where they Were supposed to find this specter, but it seemed that the gem had been mislead, and it's holder had been tricked by residual energy left by their last specter. Just when he felt relieved that he had been wrong, however, Kyuubey lead them off the grounds to a nearby stream, and it appeared the gate was in the middle of it... but being just a human, he couldn't see it... he wondered what kind of creature would dwell in water like that... would he have to hold his breath? He shuddered to think...

The others seemed to be ready, and he didn't want to hold them back, however, so it seemed like he'd have to go anyway. "Alright then, after you! Ladies first and all.", he chuckled, and stepped onto the stream behind her. "Ghh... this jacket costed some serious change, I hope it doesn't get ruined...", he mumbled to himself. "Careful you don't get wet. Might be a little awkward to have all that fire you've got fizzle out from something like a little stream... or does it work like that?", he wondered aloud. She seemed to summon fire from nowhere, like a star or something... maybe he'd get to see another cool trick soon.
 
[BCOLOR=inherit]"This little stream has nothing against my Sun Bomb." She paused. "Sun Bomb. I like it!"[/BCOLOR] ​

[BCOLOR=inherit]They continued walking, Yuzuki taking the lead. "Hey Kyuubey. How much[/BCOLOR][BCOLOR=inherit]—[/BCOLOR][BCOLOR=inherit]" Yuzuki didn't get to finish her sentence as a kelp leaf wrapped around their ankles, dragging[/BCOLOR][BCOLOR=inherit] all three of them[/BCOLOR][BCOLOR=inherit] under[/BCOLOR][BCOLOR=inherit]water. The depth of the water had changed, appearing to be much deeper than when originally viewed from the surface. Yuzuki watched as Kyuubey was engulfed in [/BCOLOR][BCOLOR=inherit]lilypads[/BCOLOR][BCOLOR=inherit] and dragged f[/BCOLOR][BCOLOR=inherit]urther[/BCOLOR][BCOLOR=inherit] ahead of them. [/BCOLOR] ​

[BCOLOR=inherit]There was a strong tug on her ankle and she was pulled down after him. A blue light engulfed her form and she emerged one second later in her Magi costume. She launched a volley of [/BCOLOR][BCOLOR=inherit]meteors[/BCOLOR][BCOLOR=inherit] at the kelp hanging on to her and Eiji before grabbing him and surrounding the two of them in a bubble-like rune circle. Using her magic, she expelled the water taking, coughing as air entered her lungs. [/BCOLOR] ​

[BCOLOR=inherit]"Eiji, you-you okay?" she asked, shaking his shoulder. [/BCOLOR] ​
 
"Sun-bomb, huh?", he mused, as he stared down at the stream. "Aren't we supposed to go through a circle or something? Standing in this stream and getting my shoes wet is making me feel kind of d-", he was cut off by the feeling of falling, no... being dragged down into an abyss. He wasted his breath with a cry of "The hell!?", before being pulled under with the others. He closed his mouth and held his nose, glaring at the sudden surprise attack... was it kelp that was attached to his ankle? A kelp monster... he was going to go out by drowning, hmm? He saw something streak through the water, and heat it up around him, and the kelp let go. Soon enough, he was on the inside of Yuzuki's bubble, laying on the floor of it, coughing water out and gasping for fresh air.

"Nice save... that fireball almost boiled me, though...", he admitted, as he sat up, and stared into the water below. "What kind of monster do you think it is? You might have trouble getting your fireballs and stuff to work out here... if you don't make them powerful enough, they'll get doused, but if they are too hot, then we'll get fried... I think that this one might be too much for your powers, unless you've got something hidden up your sleeve... we should save Kyuubey and get out of here...", he suggested.
 
"Sorry. I kinda panicked a little back there," she said. Kelp leaves whipped and poked at the bubble, trying to burst through with no success. Eli mentioned the disadvantage her powers had against the labyrinth they were currently in, making her grip the star wand a little tighter.

"I—I don't actually. If you have any ideas in mind, I'd like to hear it, but for now let's focus on getting Kyuubey back." The bubble started to sink, Yuzuki concentrating to steer them down while at the same time warding off the attacking plants. In fact, she was so focused on getting to the specter, that she missed a fluffy white tail rising opposite them.

The kelp leaves were soon joined by lily pads and a distorted looking clocked that bounced off the bubble before drifting away. Diving further in, the passed through a large mass of plants that squirmed and further tried to prod into the bubble. Yuzuki remained steadfast in maintaining their only protection until finally they emerged into a brighter, clearer body of water. Instead of sinking, they were now rising towards the surface, with a beach in view.

"Woah, would you look at that," she mused.
 
"It's fine. I would have too, if put in your position. At any rate, let's hurry up and get him before we run into underwater cacti or something....", he muttered, as he watched the kelp and seaweed poke and prod their bubble of protection. Once they had reached the surface, he was surprised even more. "This... this is crazy.... these places never cease to amaze me...", he rubbed his eyes, and looked around at the crystal clear water and pristine beach. "Hard to believe some monster calls this home... but, where do you think Kyuubey is?", he asked, as he surveyed the beach. "He can't have gone too far, could he? He can take care of himself, too, I imagine. After all, he gave you your powers, don't you think he could probably kick this thing's ass himself?", the thought had just occurred to him, but, he was still worried about Kyuubey as much as she was. What would they do if something happened to him?
 
"I have never actually seen Kyuubey fight, to be honest." The tide became stronger, pushing the bubble closer towards the beach "He offered guidance that helped me with my first Specter, but it was always me who fought them."

They reached shore, the sand stark white like bone. Runes floated around, undecipherable to Eiji but not to Yuzuki. They frequently assembled the name Capricorn. Yuzuki broke the bubble and stepped on the sand, her toe knocking against something buried underneath. It was a large gold ring. She picked it up, recognizing it as one of the gold rings that floated around Kyuubey's ears. "This is his, so he definitely should be here," she said, showing Eiji the ring.

Suddenly the ground shook, a pair of green eyes peeking through the white sand. They regarded Eiji and Yuzuki for a moment, blinking when Yuzuki held up her staff. The ground rumbled again, the Specter's entire body bursting from the sands. Her tail whipped over their heads, screaming before charging right for them.

"Duck!" Yuzuki yelled, grabbing Eiji and jumping to the side. Capricorn dived into the water, her horns breaking the surface moments later. "Stay back!" she yelled at Eiji. With one leap she flew at the Specter, throwing a volley of meteors. In her haste, however, she had kicked bunch of sand, exposing the disfigured and disembodied head of Kyuubey, his beady pink eyes staring back at Eiji.
 
"Well, I guess he's more the sort to run or simply watch, then, huh? It's strange... he's gotta be pretty powerful, right? I wondered why he didn't attack the specters himself and stuff...", Eiji replied, frowning. He walked the beach with Yuzuki until they found the ring. "I don't think he'd just lay one of those around like that... they sorta float around his ear, don't they? I couldn't imagine him losing one.", Eiji frowned, wondering what could have happened to the little creature. However, he hadn't had much time to think it over, as they were beset by a specter. He ducked on command, before getting pushed aside as the specter whipped by. He fell into the sand as Yuzuki charged for the specter, and he sound himself face to face with the lost Kyuubey's head. "Ghh! Dammit!", his heart pounded, and he hopped back away from the thing. "I'll tell her once she's finished this thing off....", he reminded himself.
 
Yuzuki hovered near the Specter, evading the horns and whiplash of her tail. The Specter was swift on the water, so if Yuzuki could get her on land, her chances would drastically improve. Unfortunately, the only land on sight was the little island Eiji was. She dodged again, swooping under Capricorn's tail and shooting a volley of meteorites.

Too dangerous. I'll have to fight here!

She circled the Specter again, in the same manner as the previous one; volley after volley of meteors in a circle. For awhile, this worked: fly, burn, fly, burn in a repeating pattern. The Specter often was knocked back by the impact, the burns from the meteors only being slightly quelled by the water. Suddenly, Capricorn's tail arced, sending Yuzuki plummeting through the water like a bullet. The Specter dived after her, horns aimed at her heart. A circle appeared behind Yuzuki and she went right through, appearing back in the air through another circle. Coughing, she barely had time to register Capricorn had followed her through the circle when she was knocked down by her head and swiped up into the Specter's hands.

Capricorn lifted Yuzuki towards her face, high enough so Yuzuki was level with her eyes. Capricorn squeezed, crushing the young Magi's body. Yuzuki cried, a meteor bursting from her scepter and burning the Specter's palm. As the Specter roared in pain, Yuzuki rose as high as she could, raising her scepter above her head as giant fireball formed at the tip. She threw it down, engulfing the specter in flame. It wasn't as powerful as she had hoped because of the water, so Yuzuki had to throw in a few meteors and binding circles to help finish the job.

The specter gone, the labyrinth dispersed. They were now back at the creek, standing knee deep in water. A black shard floated next to her with Capricorn's symbol, ♑.

As that was happening Kyuubey reappeared, whole and uninjured, almost as if he was never in the labyrinth. He jumped off Eiji's shoulder and bounded towards Yuzuki. He skipped atop rocks and branches before reaching her. Happy he was okay, Yuzuki hugged the little creature, making her way out of the creek and onto dry land. She removed her wet shoes before giving Kyuubey another hug.

"I'm so glad you are okay," she said. She waved at Eiji, Kyuubey staring at the boy. "Look, he's fine!"
 
Eiji watched helplessly as Yuzuki clashed with the specter, dancing out of it's way in the air, and raining fire and meteors upon it. It would have been much simpler if she had some land, but that would have risked his life... All he could do was sit and watch... now that they had lost Kyuubey, what would they do? He worried about Yuzuki's response to such news... However, once she had finally defeated the specter, he felt a strange weight bound off his shoulder and into Yuzuki's arms. It was Kyuubey? "No... I saw him dead... why is he right there? Is he immortal, or are there more of him? This makes no sense...", he said, confused, as he stared at the strange white creature.
 
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