Reunion [Valo]

[Amakusa Takehiro]

- It had been only 24 hours after Takehiro joined Midgard, and he would spend his leave on a personal mission. He found what Midgard was capable of could help a dear friend of his, and he would bring him in if he had to drag him by his feet. It was because of this that the Giant found himself standing atop a large building, observing the streets of the city. His men were stationed below, doing just the same.

- "And what do we do when we find him, sir?" Zeke asked, pulling his mask over his face. He looked over at his leader, and he merely cracked his knuckles. The agent would just nod and make his way down the fire escape on the side of the building and wait inside. Jimseung had been patrolling at the ground level. If their hunch was correct, Valo would be here soon.

"I WILL save you..."

[Valo Morei]

Cheeseburger in hand, I walked out of McGreasy's Fiery Loins, taking a bite out of that fresh goodness. For a place with a disgusting name, they sure made good burgers, and I was glad I took the chance here. I was hungry as hell. Taking another bite, I began to walk down the street.

The cool breeze was nice, yet I resented how it would blow my hair out of my face, allowing any passersby to see how sickly pale I had become. My body was degenerating faster, the sickness was spreading despite my attempts to keep it under check. If I was going to die anyway, might as well treat myself, right?

Suddenly, I felt water falling, and looked up to see a dark cloudy sky, the rain began to fall heavily. With a heavy look of despair, I wanted to scream at the heavens for ruining this perfect mood and a perfect burger, but stopped when I had a strange feeling, like I was being watched...

[Amakusa Takehiro]

- As Valo stopped, a face he may or may not have recognized from his last run in with Takehiro would appear. Jimseung looked up to see the Sky Dragon, a look of happiness coming across his face. "Valo?! No way!" He would approach with a warm welcome (despite the rain), though the Giant above knew he wouldn't fall for it. "Finally run into you after all this time and it's raining, man, ain't that some shit?"

- Whether Valo would approach Jimseung or not, Arden would be waiting from inside the dark building, watching Valo through the walls. At only a moment's notice, the man would leap through a window, aiming to tackle the Dragon to the ground.

[Valo Morei]

I blinked for a moment, the rain no longer the primary of my concerns as this figure approached me. My eyes started to adjust to the coming darkness, and through the mist that the rain had created, I saw a familiar face... or at least, someone that I had seen on one previous occasion.

"Huh? Jimmy?[/i]" I began to walk towards him, but then stopped. Something didn't feel right. Even if he was happy to see me, any normal guy would want to get the hell out of this rain wearing an expensive looking suit like that. And there was something about the look in his eyes...

My ears picked up a noise nearby, and I turned to see another figure jumping right at me. I was shocked, but due to my caution, I was already prepared for the worst case scenario. I leaped backwards as the mystery guy lunged at me, chucking my now ruined cheeseburger right at his face. Didn't want to let it go to waste, and if it could save my life, then it was more than worth it.

Whether it was successful or not, I would move back towards my assailant in a crouching position, quickly bringing my right fist up as I jumped at him, planning on uppercutting him, and hopefully ending his ability to fight without knocking him out.

[Amakusa Takehiro]

- Valo's strike would leave Arden incapacitated, as evident by a very loud crack that would follow the blow. He body flew back through the window from which he jumped. At the same time, Zeke leaped from a story above, aiming to smash his knees into the Dragon's shoulders and cripple him. Simultaneously, Jimseung charged to Valo's side, sliding along the ground once he was close enough, aiming to sweep the man off his feet the same time Zeke crushed him.

"How much have you been affected..?"

[Valo Morei]

Well, I certainly didn't intend for that...

I thought as the masked man flew back through the window, probably knocked out cold. He seemed much weaker than I initially gave him credit for. But I had no time to ponder who he could be, as I heard a noise above me, a quick glance indicating that there was another attack coming right at me. Looking over towards Jimboy quickly, I realized he was also coming at me now. I was confused, but had no time to ask questions.

As Jimothy dashed towards me and slid, I would take that opportunity to move in his direction, jumping over him and landing behind him a safe distance. As I landed on the ground, I would look over at my attackers, hoping to see the guy above smashing down on Jimbob, hopefully stopping their assault.

[Amakusa Takehiro]

- Zeke tucked his legs in, performing a front flip and landing on his feet, as Jimseung propped himself up into a handstand, back-flipping to his feet as well. "Sorry 'bout this, man," he shrugged before charging toward the Dragon once again. This time, he went for the simpler approach, launching a power kick into the man's stomach. Meanwhile. Zeke would circle around to get behind Valo.

[Valo Morei]

"Don't be.[/i]"

I was sure there was an explanation for this, especially if Takehiro put him up to it... but it seemed there was no chance to talk things through right now. The only way to speak to him would be through force.

As Jimmy launched his kick at me, I would bring my arms up to intercept, wrapping my hands around his leg and pivoting on my heel, spinning as quick as I can to throw him at the wall behind me. If the other guy got in the way of the throw, then even better.

[Amakusa Takehiro]

- As Valo took Jimseung's striking leg, he kicked his other off from the ground to wrap it around Valo's neck, promptly catching him in a triangle choke and using all of his weight, plus the Dragon's own momentum, to send him crashing to the ground. He would apply as much force as he could in an attempt to knock the guy out quickly.

[Valo Morei]

Motherfu--..

I would bring my hand in between my face and Jim's crotch as we ended up slamming into the ground. While he attempted to triangle choke me, I figured he would be distracted, and my other hand would come out and slam into his kidney, repeatedly if he didn't let go.

"GET YOUR DICK OUT OF MY FACE![/i]"

[Amakusa Takehiro]

- Each blow Valo delivered was painful for the Korean kid, so he had to get out of it quickly, and he wasn't up for just letting Valo loose pointlessly. His hands were placed flat on the ground behind his head, and he'd flip his body backward, pulling Valo with him, and slam the Dragon's head into the concrete behind him, before tucking into a forward roll, out of the way.

[Valo Morei]

So Jimmy just seemed acrobatic as hell, because suddenly I found myself flying through the air again, the floor coming up to meet me. My arms would take the impact for me as I covered my head, and I felt a dull and painful sensation creep through them as I gritted my teeth.

Letting Jimbo roll away, I got back up to my feet, dusting myself off. I was certainly stronger and faster than this kid, but his quick thinking allowed him to go toe to toe with me, at least much better than his first friend fared. I glanced over at him, well aware that the other dude was still lurking around preparing for an attack. Much as I wanted to draw out this fight to learn their true intentions, my sickness would likely aid their battle against me if it went on for too long. Time wasn't on my side.

[Amakusa Takehiro]

- "You pack a punch, man, holy shit." Jimseung gripped his side, letting out a sharp whistle. He was expecting he'd be taken out already, with Valo's reputation as a fighter, but the guy seemed to be weakened. Just as they feared, it was taking a toll on him. Jim relayed his dismay to Zeke, who in turn passed this to Takehiro telepathically.

"We need to do this NOW, Sir."

- Valo would hear an earth-shattering crack! behind him. Takehiro landed in the street, creating a crater where his feet impacted the ground. Immediately, he would approach Valo from behind, and launch a haymaker straight for the Dragon's head.

[Valo Morei]

"Sorry. Hope it's not busted.[/i]" I said, feeling a bit bad that I had hit him so hard. It wasn't easy to tell if they were in this for my life or what. I had no time to call Katarina to see if she had heard of anything, in fact, we never once thought to keep an eye on Takehiro...

Suddenly, I heard a loud crack behind me, like a bomb had gone off, and I turned around instantly. I didn't expect to see Takehiro himself, or his fist rather, coming right at me. I immediately activated my wind Qi as I jumped back, trying to dodge him, but the most it would do is slightly lessen the damage as his fist tore through my wind shield, sending me flying back and through the wall of the building behind me.

As I lay in the debris, dazed and in a load of pain, I started to wonder what would happen next. There wasn't any way I could take on Takehiro, not after he got the surprise on me, and not in this state.

"Chastity...[/i]"

Without realizing it, I had said my daughter's name aloud in a whisper, and I gritted my teeth as I tried to push myself back up to my feet. I couldn't just give up like this, nor could I let this sickness beat me. I wasn't going to leave her behind, even everything else fell apart. Standing against the wall for support, I would glare towards Amakusa, panting heavily. I shouldn't have attempted to use my Qi, especially while my body was undergoing this trauma.

[Amakusa Takehiro]

- "How long have you been like this, Valo?" Takehiro approached Valo as he stood to his feet again. Normally, Jimseung and Zeke would have been taken out by now, and he might have been able to see Takehiro coming. But now, he was certain Jim could probably beat Valo in a one-on-one. The fight was simply to test just how bad the degradation was, and it was clearly much worse than it had been for the giant.

- Just as they were face-to-face, Takehiro would stop. Valo had to be used to these reunions by now, getting thrown around every time Takehiro showed his face again. "... I've found you your cure."