Ben:
"I agree," Ben replied with a smile. "I don't really get out here much at all. I don't quite understand the human obsession with such petty material things."
He gave a smirk and placed his hands in his pockets, intending to convey that he was joking.
Really, though, it's not too surprising that they'd construct a place like this; humans love things. It's actually quite beautiful how they can find beauty and value in even the most minor things... and redact that value just as easily.
"Ayame," Ben said, suddenly, "I was wondering... Have you noticed anything strange happening around Hirasaka lately?"
He looked around slowly, as if looking for secret agents hidden amidst the crowd of bustling teenagers. This earned him a few odd looks, but no one would dare pull themselves away from their busy schedules to bother intruding. Even so, Ben's glance went deeper than the surface; his eyes actually peered into the Otherside, scanning the area for potential enemies, or intrusive Malevolence. Luckily, there was nothing around; good, it'd make the initiation a lot easier.
He turned his focus back to Ayame, still keeping a sharp eye out, just in case.
Azrael:
"Lord Azrael. I am honored to report that the conquest went as planned."
Azrael, disinterestedly inspecting his fingernails (or what would be fingernails on his normal form), merely nodded in response. "Of course it did. They were the enemy. They were fools."
The General nodded, a confident smirk crossing his face. "We managed to destroy a good number of the enemy forces, as well as acquire a stronghold in Fashion Road."
Azrael sighed. "Yes, I'm very proud of you all. You each get a gold star and whatnot."
The General's face sunk somewhat. "With... with all due respect, sir, I thought you would be more pleased."
Azrael sat upright, lowering his claws. "I will be pleased, General, when your forces achieve my goals. You have performed adequately, but I am not 'pleased' by adequacy."
He rose to his full height, baring down over the General, who was no slouch himself, standing at about 6 feet tall, and crossed his arms authoritatively. "Now, how many of our forces were lost during the struggle?"
"Only a couple, sir," The General replied, "But they were rookies. Garbage to begin with."
"Garbage, you say?" Azrael placed a claw upon his chin. "Tell me, General... Why does
my army, The Empire, the soon-to-be ruler of all mankind... have
garbage amongst its ranks?"
"I... I apologize, sir, but I thought they could handle more..."
The Emperor sighed. "I suppose that every group must have its bunglers. Very well."
With that, he turned to his window, overlooking all of Hirasaka. Throughout, he could see the clashes happening in the street-- Flashes of power as beasts and men pit their powers against each other. All pitiful ants, though, compared to him. All he would have to do is raise his hand, form a large enough flame, and merely smoke out every last pathetic rebel in the streets-- Oh, but at the same time, he had his own forces fighting there too. Not that he cared, but they were useful, and even with his considerable power, everyone in the Otherside against him would not be a fight he could win.
He sighed. Ruling was such trouble. But it was also such exhilaration. Would Yamada Shiyagi, that meek, pathetic excuse for a man; would he be able to stand at the top of the mountain, rule at the head of the city? No; that "man" was merely a shell-- A horrid prison for the true Lord Azrael. He would only escape that prison in the freedom of the Otherside... For now...
"I'm going out, General," Azrael said suddenly, picking up his staff. As he did, the staff morphed into a large black scythe in his hand. "Keep the throne warm, watch the palace."
With that, the Emperor's body began to descend into his own shadow-- When he was fully engulfed, the shadow slowly drifted out the window, and into the city.
I believe I should devote some time to my personal project. Those rebels won't get themselves under control.
Naomi:
Time was up. The cloud had faded, taking with it the warm and soothing cover of rain, and no rescue had come. She wouldn't be able to summon up another one for a while now; that was the trouble with the weather. Even when you could control it, it still never worked like you wanted it to. The wolf gnashed her teeth.
Guess we'll be doing this the hard way.
Naomi's eyes glinted gold, and suddenly, twin thunderclouds materialized above the swarm. The grayish masses swarmed and crackled with lightning, sparking and flashing with energy. Naomi again let out a mighty howl, and the clouds dropped a flurry of thunderbolts upon the horde of frogs; the energy struck the beasts, shocking the group into dust as they continued to blindly lunge forward. The Wolf sprung forward, its claws extended; with a few furious swipes, the remaining frogs were cut to bits, leaving Naomi surrounded by a pile of fading ash. The thunderclouds, their duty done, dissipated into the air.
One down, Naomi thought, turning to face her next foe. The Wraths were closing in as she had taken out the frogs-- Their fangs bared in a terrible grin. Naomi snarled back, clicking her claws against the ground.
The Wrath wolves charged as one, surrounding her in an ever-approaching half-circle. One leapt into the air, and Naomi leapt to meet it; as she did, she turned in the air, leaping past the creature, and safely behind the pack. As she landed, thunder clouds began to form above the bewildered beast; in a flash of lightning, it dropped dead, then was carried off into dust. The wolves quickly turned about and charged after her, dodging the flurry of lightning from Naomi's storm clouds.
Damn, they're quick. Guess we do this the old-fashioned way. With that, she charged forward, tackling one of the wolves and instantly sinking her claws into its side. The creature yelped in pain as Naomi continued to lacerate its side; the two writhed in combat for a moment before a bolt of lightning felled the yellow wolf. Picking herself back up, Naomi instantly found herself tackled by two of the remaining wolves. Her instincts taking over, she immediately sunk her fangs into the closest one, biting hard through the neck, and tossing its limp body like a rag doll into the other. Two more bolts, and the beasts were no more.
The last beast was all that remained. Naomi's eyes were wild now, her instincts in full swing. Pain had begun to sear through her legs-- The teeth of the Wrath wolves had not left her unscathed. She quickly shook herself awake, as the final wolf slowly closed in.
Alright, then. Come on!
The Wrath charged, as did Naomi; as they rushed towards each other, approaching collision, Naomi suddenly whipped around, using her mighty tail to knock the Wrath's feet out from underneath it; it gave a yelp of pain, before Naomi silenced it with a vicious slash to its throat. The beast staggered, as if gasping for breath, and Naomi took the chance to end it. Without thinking, her jaws shot forward, clamping around the dazed beast's leg; with a might effort, she whipped her entire body around, tossing the dying monster into the nearby alleyway, where it struck the ground with a feeble "thud".
Naomi took a breath.
Phew. Okay. That happened.
In the heat of the battle, she'd nearly forgotten her reason for going there in the first place.
Right, she thought, first things first, though, I'd better find and outpost before more enemies show up... Or something worse.
That in mind, she quickly turned down Fashion Road and quickly headed to a local Angels outpost: the Arcade Cafe.