Shielded

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In truth, Calven was expecting to find mass destruction when he arrived at the wooden town, approaching a virtual sea of flames that threatened to consume the brittle looking buildings in their entirety. For all the experience the black haired youth had with those familiar tendrils of crimson, having fought the user of them himself, he was anticipating the decimation of buildings along with immense collateral damage to the immediate environment. If it was truly Kagutsuchi involved, then it was reasonable to jump to the worst case scenario, especially given the mile long track record the redhead had garnered since he entered high school.

However, despite all the preconceived notions Calven had, it actually wasn't nearly as bad as he had figured it to be.

For starters, the town itself was still in one piece. For the most part anyways.

The tall, uneven wooden gate that wrapped around the town was still standing tall, though slightly beat up and ragged from forces Calven was unable to recognize. Inside, the various buildings and stalls sporting an assortment goods were still intact, as if nothing were happening around it. Even at the spot the battle was taking place, the structures had taken little to no damage.

The closer the two individuals came to the fight, the more confused they became, especially since they immediately recognized their friend Kagu in the mix.

"You're stronger than you look," A smug looking guy with an intricately designed silver shield commented. "Almost making me sweat over here."

"Oh, one of us is definitely going to be sweating," Kagutsuchi shouted back, fire exploding into existence over his clenched fists. "I can promise you that!!"

Taking a single step forward, the redheaded Pyro blasted forward, far too focused on his battle with the unknown opponent to witness Calven and Alusi as they slowed to a stop some distance away. Pulling back, Kagu slammed a magic encased knuckle into the metallic surface, the sound reverberating and causing the explosion Calven had heard back on the hill. Though it didn't even put a single dent into the shields face, the wielder was pushed back slightly, feet skidding across the dirt pathway.

"Wow, he's actually not that bad. For a Level 1."

"Meh, I've seen better. He's got nothing on the Captain."

"Tch. Pathetic."

Calven ignored the voices, not even bothering to check on who was talking, his full attention focused on the fight before him. He had no doubt who had started the fight, he was just focused on how he was going to end it before things got out of control.

"Alusi," Calven said, grabbing the hilt of the secondary bamboo katana strapped onto his waist.

"Right."

Without another word to each other, the two of them rushed into the fray.

WHISH!! BAM!!

The shieldbearer was sent sliding back even further as Alusi slammed her bare foot into the very center of the armored plate, landing lightly in between the two opponents. Eyeing the no longer smug opponent, the white-haired girl simply shook her head, raising her leg ever so slightly in preparation for another attack should the need arise. Whether or not the shield man understood it was unclear, but he made no move to fight, instead gazing at the now dented metal on the shields face.

On the other end of the spectrum, Calven stood over a floored Kagu, blunted wooden sword held up against the redheads throat.

"Oh, Knox. Elizabeth. When did you guys wake up?" Kagu seemed genuinely confused as he tapped the sword away from him. When Calven eventually offered the pyromaniac a hand, he gladly took it, hoisting himself onto his feet.

"It's Alusi," The white haired girl said back, turning away from the shieldbearer.

"Whatever." Kagu dismissed the girls' rebuttal entirely. "I'll stick with your birth name, not the name someone else gave to you."

"Enough," Calven said, cutting in the conversation before the two could argue. "Let's stay on topic. Why are you causing trouble for people? Are you that bored that you chose to fight the first person who looked sideways at you?"

"Actually, it was the shield that started it first," a voice cut in before Kagutsuchi could answer the black haired youths answer.

It was one of the peanut galleries that had been watching the fight when Calven and Alusi had first arrived on the scene. There had been a number of individuals watching, but the black haired youth remembered the particular voice quite well.

The approaching female was the same height as Calven himself and sported an equally dark head of black hair, though hers was less fluffy and more bushy. Compared to the city he had been in, her outfit was rather odd, her top being a mere strip of white cloth that covered her almost nonexistent breasts. For the bottom, she donned a light brown pareo with a darker brown piece of cloth extending down the middle, a look that others would be hard pressed to actually pull off. Her skin color was reminiscent to that of an Amazon, a race of humans that Calven was actually quite familiar with given his own upbringing. The last thing that the black haired youth noticed was that, just like Alusi, the newcomer was also barefoot.

"The Pyro didn't start a fight? That's a first." Alusi walked over to the two of them, now ignoring the shieldbearer entirely. "We should mark it down on the calendar."

"I got something you can mark down," Kagu muttered, setting his hand ablaze.

"Bring it meathead."

"How did shield boy over there start it?" Calven queried, now ignoring the bickering duo. "Did he throw out slurs or something?"

"He bumped the redhead with his shield," the girl beside the white cloth female explained. "When the fire guy asked for an apology, he simply laughed and kept walking. Said he doesn't take orders from those weaker than him."

"Sounds....familiar," Calven said, sideyeing Kagutsuchi. "Things are making sense."

The other girl merely shrugged. She was similar to the white clothed girl in terms of hair, skin, and general aesthetic, enough for those to at least conside them siblings. Just like the other girl, she only wore a single top that only covered her ample breasts though hers was basically a red bra or bikini top. She wore a similar looking pareo to her smaller endowed sister but without any of the added additions, making it that much more revealing. She had bands of metal on her wrist and multiple silver bracelets attached to her ankles. She also didn't have any shoes.

"It was fun to watch at least, we aren't in any particular hurry." The red bikini girl said nonchalantly.

The other girl walked up to Alusi, hands clasped behind her back, blue eyes filled with curiosity. "You're pretty strong for a Level 1. You managed to put a dent in that shield with a single kick. That's pretty impressive.

"Level 1?" Alusi frowned in confusion.

"The heck do you mean Level One pipsqueak?" Kagu asked, showing no sense of modesty or politeness as per usual. "Is this a video game or some shit?"

Before the small chested Amazon could answer the two of them, a small commotion could be heard behind them, one where enough shouting caused the group to actually turn around.

The shieldbearer hadn't moved from his spot, but he also wasn't alone anymore, having been joined by several individuals who looked far meaner and tougher than anyone there. If Calven had to guess based on his own experience, they were at least twice to three times stronger than anything close to the shieldbearer. Having no idea what kinda place they had ended up in, the dark haired youth was unsure of how to proceed with the situation. Though confident in his abilities, the odds of them winning weren't in their favor should a brawl break out.

"Ooooohhhh, looks like he has backup," the white clothed female commented in a voice mixed with amusement and wonder. "Guess it's his familia."

(("Familia?")) Calven cautiously wrapped his hand around the hilt of his katana. (("Well shit. This may as well be a whole different reality from how much I'm understanding."))

Even for someone as experienced as Claven Knox, a transition from one place to the other without any explanation was sort of overwhelming. Now, shoved into the middle of a fight without having garnered ANYTHING about the world they were in or how to get back home, he couldn't help but feel as if their backs were against the wall. He didn't know what kind of magic existed, how strong these people were, and obviously nothing about where the hell they were in the first place. The only thing he did know was that talking their way out of the situation was pointless.

"Alusi, Kagutsuchi," Calven took a step back. "We're leavin-"

"Let's fúçk em up!!"

Ignoring what Calven had been about to say, the fiery redhead lit his hands ablaze and pushed in towards the opponents.

"That idiot," Alusi said, readying herself for a fight.

"Exhausting."

Whether the duo liked it or not, the first fight in the new world was happening right out of the gate.