Set the World Ablaze [Open]

[Homura]

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ulla

[attr="class","sun"]A Foreign Sun *

I never thought I'd see

"Where... am I? What's... happening?" Homura found herself hunched over, chest heaving while every molecule of her being was in the process of being burned to ash. At least, that's what it felt like. But there was another sensation, too. Something warm and sticky covering her entire body, her senses numbing to everything but the steady drip as the mystery liquid fell off of her and splattered against the floor. She brought her hands up towards her face in order to inspect them- only to find that she was gripping her family's nodachi, Engetsuka in her right. But moreover, both blade and flesh were stained crimson with freshly spilled blood. Her gaze rose to find the corpse of a man lying on the ground before her. At least, she thought it was a man. His body had been torn to shreds to the point that there was barely anything left, as if he'd been set upon by some horrid beast. And beside him lie the lifeless body of a woman with a hole torn through her abdomen, though she was relatively untouched compared to what fate befell the man.

"Tsumuji...?" As the name of the fallen woman left her lips, the memories came rushing back. Along with the realization that the room was on fire. The man was Dougen. He had gathered a large number of students in the auditorium outside of his office in order to sacrifice them as part of a forbidden ritual in his quest for power. The woman was Tsumuji, a student who tried to stop him. Homura had begged her to stand down, but Tsumuji was killed by Dougen, and then she in turn...

She was distracted from the carnage as her thoughts returned to the reason why she was here: the ritual. Had it been stopped in time? Homura kicked open the door to Dougen's office so that she could look into the auditorium... only for her fists to tighten until her knuckles turned white and started to pop. Hundreds of bodies lay scattered before her, most slumped over the seats of the room with the rest piled into the walkways. Dougen was dead, but she failed to stop him in time. Homura's arms went limp at her sides, a strange mixture of emotions bubbling up within her. Anger that she'd been betrayed by Dougen. Despair that she'd failed to save her friends. Fear that she would lose the rest of them. "HOMURA! WHAT HAVE YOU DONE?!"

A woman dressed in a traditional, black shinobi garb seemed to materialize from the shadows, dropping down from the ceiling to land a few dozen feet away from Homura. She was followed a moment later by ten, twenty- Homura stopped counting as the legion of ninja stormed into the room, surrounding Homura in a loose semi-circle to trap her in, the wall behind her still ablaze from the aftermath of her battle with Dougen. The fire was still spreading. If nothing was done soon, the entire school would burn to the ground within the hour. "I... I didn't..." The words were quiet and uncharacteristically meek sounding. Her throat was so dry that even the failed attempt to speak was nothing less than a herculean effort. "After you were abandoned, we took you in. You murdered an innocent man, but we forgave. You were left with nothing and we gave you everything- and this is how you repay our kindness? Wanton slaughter? How many innocents have to stain your blade before your bloodlust is satisfied?!"

Homura tried to speak a second time, but again she lacked the ability. Instead, she simply rose her sword in front of her with both hands, pointing the tip of the blade at the woman's chest. The ninja surrounding Homura all tensed up at the same time, drawing their daggers and katanas in preparation for battle. "So, that's how this is going to be? I'm so disappointed in you. We saw great things in your future. But to think it would turn out like this... Homura. This is your final chance. Drop your weapon and come peacefully. Repent for your sins." Homura simply grit her teeth, arms shaking from how tightly she was gripping Engetsuka. "Get out of my way... OR I'LL KILL YOU TOO!"

The words came so easily now, hatred rising in the back of her throat like bile. "So be it. From this day forth, you are an enemy of Hebijo Academy. We will hunt you mercilessly until the day we claim your head. You will know not rest or safety for the rest of your miserable life. Students... it's time for you to avenge your fallen brothers and sisters. Eliminate the S-class Renegade Shinobi, Homura!" The throng of ninja dashed forward at the same time Homura started to move, the girl charging straight at the woman in front of her while flames swirled around her body. The woman pulled up her katana... but it was too slow. Homura's nodachi was already three inches away from her neck. Two... one... the moment steel bit into flesh, Homura's vision was engulfed in crimson, then darkness followed. Silent and still, she found herself trapped in a void...

And then, her eyes opened. The girl had to blink a few times to realize what she was looking at this time- and found herself surrounded by a thick semi-circle of ninja, with a crackling flame at her back. No... not ninja. People. Normal people. She wiped her eyes with the back of her sleeve to clear her vision before looking around. She wasn't in Hebijo Academy anymore... she was on a sidewalk surrounded by buildings at her back and a large lake on the other side of the crowd. She looked down at her right hand to find Engetsuka secured firmly in her grip. It all became clear at once. It had been a dream. Rather, a dream of a memory- but it hadn't been real nonetheless. Homura was back in reality.

From her recollection, she'd wandered into the Star Block late last night. With no money to pay for rent, she chose to sleep in one of the cleaner alleyways that she came across... but it seemed that she had been overcome by a nightmare, which prompted her to sleep-fight her way into setting a building on fire. All she could do was resheathe her sword, causing her hair to return to it's normal black before offering the crowd of people a dumb, lopsided grin along with an exaggerated shrug. "Uh... I know this looks bad, but I can fix this! I think."

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[Deleted]

There had once been a time when Luke had known peace — and for a harbinger of war, it had been both strange and wonderful at the same time. He’d known an eerie sense of calm that weighed over him like a blanket; like the still air before a hurricane or the smooth ocean before a tsunami. Luke had existed in limbo between life and death and he’d known only the sound of a choir of angels and distant, anguished howling. It was quiet. It was good.

Coming to Tomodachi, of course, had been like a slap to the face. If Luke thought hard enough, he might be able to recall the sense of preternatural peace he had once felt. But now — with rage and war boiling in his veins, with fire lacing the ichor of his body, the peace he had once known was nothing more than a distant whisper — a shout to the wind, lost in a roar of unending noise. But that roar of hatred was so loud in the minds of the citizens of Tomodachi that Luke had trouble sleeping, eating, or even doing anything remotely useful. The only quiet he knew anymore came when he was with War, and she was fire and rage more than she was anything else. She was her own entity, an intelligent, otherworldly force with an agenda of her own. And though she hated to be kept caged, she obliged to Luke’s needs when he asked. Because despite everything, she was his before she was anything else.

Star Block, of course, catered to the needs of its inhabitants. When Luke had moved in, a stable had miraculously appeared near the southern tip of the block, fitted for a team of horses that Luke might have once owned. Now, all he had was War, and she was an inferno the size of a delivery truck. The stable had been fitted to accommodate her impressive size and the combustible nature of her red skin — a stall that’s made of steel and iron and equipped with not one, but three separate fire extinguishers. Luke spends his time in the stall, caring for War when he’s not busy busting heads for the Omega Five team.

Now, early in the day, he’s squashed into the stall between War’s warm flanks and the cold iron that sends plumes of steam rising into the sky. War whinnies, kicks her feet, shakes her brilliant orange and yellow mane as Luke takes a short-bristled brush to her muscular side. “Hush,” he tells her gently. “I’ll get to the other side in a minute.” Part of him may have once been embarrassed about the vulnerability she brings him — the immense need he feels to care for her, to treat her as an equal in both mind and body. But now, pushing his calloused fingers through her fur, he thinks that just about anyone would treat their pet that way. Treat their friend that way.

He’s busy smoothing out a particularly hot patch of fur when a scream rattles his skull and the thump of feet running sets off a cadence of war drums in his ears. Luke sighs, pats War, and ignores her indignant whine when he squeezes himself out of the stall, where she stands proudly. “I’ll be back,” he tells her, because if there’s anything that comes with being the horseman of war, it’s the undying urge to cause trouble. Or, rather, to find out what that trouble is — and make it worse. His fingers drift to the tiny lump of demonsruin in his neck — the reminder to keep himself in check — and he heads out of the stables and into the alley, where a small crowd has gathered around a young woman with a sword, brandished carelessly, gripped with knuckles whiter than sun-bleached bones.

Behind her, a lake sparkles like diamonds in the rising sun. On the side opposite, a smaller complex of Star Block is burning. Luke’s eyes widen, then narrow. That’s his complex. Shoving his way through the crowd, he stretches out his hands and curls his fingers into claws. His eyes slip shut and he imagines the building; burning, smoldering, smoking — and the fire licks off the sides of the doors and through the windows and gathers into his open palms like a submissive bird. When the fire is cradled in his hands, he turns towards the lake. “Move,” he says, and though his voice isn’t loud, it’s commanding — and the crowd blocking his path scatters, chittering like squirrels.

Luke winds up his arm, takes a breath, and throws the fire. It soars through the sky, smoking and crackling, and lands with a steaming sploosh in the lake adjacent. When he’s sure the fire is out, he turns back to the girl, and a faint glimmer of recognition passes through him. He’s never known her name, and he’s never introduced himself. But he grabs her upper arm anyway, fingers tightening into iron cuffs around her bicep. “Come with me,” he says, and ducks back towards the stables, where War is whinnying loud enough to be heard from a while away.


Homura ;; i raise u a wall of text

[Homura]

[attr="class","foreign"]

[attr="class","dust"]

ulla

[attr="class","sun"]A Foreign Sun *

I never thought I'd see

The crowd murmured their disapproval, some wondering what would befall their possessions while others talked about calling Omega Five (who?). "C-C'mon guys. It ain't that bad. Just get me some nails n' a hammer- we can have this place fixed up in a jiffy!" She seemd to be forgetting that the building was still actively on fire but why sweat the small stuff? So she might have gone on a tiny sleep-rampage. That wasn't anything to get worked up over! Forgive and forget, you know?

It seemed she wasn't very convincing, as the crowds opinion of her remained poor. Homura felt her shoulders slump as she sighed. "Tch. Idiot..." She ran her fingers through her hair as she took a deep breath. Maybe the loneliness was getting to her. After the incident at Hebijo Academy she formed a group of outlaws that went by 'the Crimson Squad'. She told them that she wanted their power to help each other reach their goals, but in truth, she just didn't want to be alone anymore. And here she was, stuck in a strange world- penniless and alone. Back in her home world she was no stranger to eating grass just to stay alive when no other food was available, and it seemed like she was going to have to resort to that again here.

That, however, was a concern for the near future. The current issue at hand still seemed to be the burning building behind her, and the crowd that was steadily growing more and more angry as time passed. She opened her mouth to speak again... only to see the fire fly overhead as one giant fireball as the flames were violently torn away from the building. Her mouth remained agape when the burning mass was dropped into the lake, steam rising off the water as the flames were squleched. "Uh... right. I was just about to do that, y'kn-" She turned to face the newcomer only to be surprised once again when she was suddenly grabbed and dragged off. "H-Hey! Wait a sec!" The ninja squirmed in his vice-like grip, pushing against his face with her free hand as a growl formed in the back of her throat. "The hell're you doin'? You wanna fight or somethin'?! I said I was gonna fix it!"

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[Deleted]

The girl struggles, and Luke can’t help but wonder if it’s his own aura that’s affecting her or if she’s just naturally prone to wriggling. He feels her knuckles against his cheek (it’s less of a punch and more of a gentle shove, but it feels strange all the same) and his grip tightens. “I’d love to fight, kiddo, but I’ve got a piece of metal in my neck and the only person who can ignite it has a twitchy finger.” He only stops pulling her when he’s reached War’s stable, and the great red horse eyes him hotly, her dark eyes glittering with unearthly intelligence.

When he releases her arm, he feels a rush of adrenaline, like a mainline of morphine to heart. His pupils blow wide, his arm hair stands on end, his cheeks flush. This girl certainly has a warlike nature about her, and it’s filling him with much-needed energy. War seems to sense it, because she stretches her long neck forwards and snuffles into the blond hair atop Luke’s head, snorting and whinnying softly. “You have some explaining to do,” Luke finally manages, once he can see straight. He bats War’s nose away, much to her dismay. She rumbles and turns her attention onto the girl with the sword, smoke trickling from her nostrils.

War has never taken kindly to strangers, and this girl is no exception. The mighty red horse tosses her brilliant mane and snorts, her breath filling the atmosphere with smoke and heat. She blinks, sighs, and dips her head, a rumble echoing in her throat. The horse backs up and paws at the ground, a faint red light sparking in her eyes, like the dying embers of a fire.

Luke scrubs the back of his neck with his hand, calloused and rough. “You just burned down my apartment. What were you thinking?!” Looking at her, he disproves his earlier glimmer of familiarity. Luke’s sure he’s never met her before. But where anyone else might be a touch kinder to a stranger, Luke is ready to pulverize this girl and everything she stands for. His temper is simmering, ready to boil, and he feels his lips curl into a sneer. “You’re paying for it. All of it. And if you can’t, I’ll find some other way to make you pay me back.”



Homura ;; this one is significantly smaller I’m sorry