Tested by thy Master's family; Trial by Neko(Zorolo)

OoC: Here we go Zorolo. I hope you enjoy this battle for I know I will. You know whom I'm using. Let's go.

BiC:

5 months ago...

"Halt! Stand and Identify yourself!" yelled the female voice of a Gatekeeper as she watched a Neko in all black clothing approach her post. The Gatekeeper, a Neko herself, wasn't too worried, but was a bit cautious of his gauntlets and greaves.

Stopping a few feet from the Gatekeeper, he looked away from her to his goal in sight. The temple behind her. Yes, this is it all right, he thought to himself as he turned attention back to the Neko in front of him. "Sorry to disturb your post, but I'm here to become a Mage warrior under the name of Haineko, Priestess of Ash and Flame."

"Haineko?! I know she's famous and all, what could truly prompted you to want to devote yourself to one known to regularly turn something or someone to ash?"

"She...enlightened me... on some of things the Mage Warriors could do for me. He paused a moment as he thought about past battles and adventures with his friends for a moment before coming back to the present situation. "I know now. I need to become stronger. To change myself into more of a warrior. So, will you let me go through now?" He finished just before noticing she was looking him over.

"Okay. I just need you name, tall, dark, and handsome," she answered back. He could only smile at her comment. Apparently, she like his rather...unique...appearance.

"My name is Tsukineko."

"Well then, Tsukineko. Welcome to Macha..."

Present day...

High above a flat, barren plain on hill stood a mysterious, black-haired Neko stood watching a group. His black, demonic armor stood out in the afternoon sun like an ink blot on the land, though the one's he watched took no notice of him. Below him, a group of bandits had surrounded a family of three. The leader, a tall, dark-skinned woman, approached with a freshly bloodied sword in hand as she stuck down one of the family in one shot. The two teens, one male and one female, were the only ones left now. The Male rushed the leader as the girl ran the opposite way to try and escape, but both were stopped and the guy struck down. "Please help me! Anyone! The girl cried out as the leader walked behind her. She only cried out once more before she too, fell the the leader's blade, an excited laugh coming from the leader as she struck. Turning away, the dark Neko smiled as he walked down the hill, a single claw tracing the massive scar across his eye as he chuckled quietly to himself.

"What weaklings! They barely even put up a fight!" The leader said as she kicked over the body of the man, likely the teens' father. Another bandit was checking the bodies for belongings when he gasped and stood up. "What? What's wrong? Find something?"

"These two are still alive, boss," replied the bandit as he pointed to the slight movement.

"Well, well. Tougher that they looked, weren't they?" She smiled again as she approached the still living girl. Guess that means I should finish-"

"Ahh!" Came the yell of a bandit nearby as he fell, a crimson blade in his back and out his chest. Behind him stood the Dark Neko from before.

"Ah...It's him...'The Neko of Blades'..." The bandit stated as he pointed to the smiling Neko. "It's Tsukineko of the Mage Warriors!"

"What!?"

Tsukineko only smiled wider as her reached back to two crimson circles, the Gate of Blades, and put out a pair of crimson, single-edged short swords with toothed blades. His first attack was little more then a black blur as he shot past one bandit and killed him in the passing. Another lightning-speed pass, another dead bandit as he shot past and spun himself to dash off at the leader, only to be attacked by two bandits in tandem. Crimson blades flashing, he soon managed to outmatch their rather sub-par skills and struck them down before shooting off toward his goal, the leader. She let out a surprised squeak as she brought her sword to bear, just blocking the Neko's initial strike and being pushed back slightly from the force. His follow-up strikes did little to her defense as she was soon forced to leap back from the Neko, only to be pursued and lock blades. Tsukineko leveled the other blade at her when he both noticed her look up and heard something above himself, making him look up as well.

The two of them leapt away in time to avoid two of the leader's helpers from coming down weapons first on them. As Tsukineko slid to a stop, he found himself surrounded. "Ha! We may be just human, Neko of Blades. But we came prepared," called out the leader. She was standing up as Tsukineko looked around the circle of bandits. "We've been enhanced to become as fast as a Neko and just as able to jump. You may be strong, but we got you now."

"Hm..." Two red circles appeared on the floor as Tsukineko threw his blade down, watching them sink into the circles disappear, before reaching into a third, larger one behind him with both hands. The leader watched a moment before gasping as the surrounded Neko suddenly yanked out something in a spin and wiped out the bandits with a cutting wave that split them. He spun once more before stopping; a large, crimson scythe in his hands.

"You bastards!!" Came a bandit from high above with four others. Tsukineko wasted no time in leaping high and repeating his ground performance on them in the air, landing in a crouch eyeing the leader.

"Gotcha!" came a voice from behind him. The bandit from before shot towards the surprised Neko, short sword in hand, and struck. Metal on metal could be heard a moment before the crimson scythe hit the ground a distance away and soon sunk into a crimson circle.

"Take that you-" He stopped as the Neko's clawed, armored hand was inches from his face. Light gathered at his palm before an explosion of wind shot the bandit into a hill in the distance. A slight grunt from behind him was the only warning the armored Neko received as he turned to find one of the biggest humans he'd ever seen swinging down a rather huge ax. Tsukineko could see his reflection in the ax blade as he leapt aside. The axeman rushed him again with a slash to take off his head only to miss the once more smiling Neko as he ducked the swing then leapt back to avoid the follow-up strike. Fun and games aside, the Mage Warrior again reached to another crimson Gate and pulled out a huge broadsword. The axeman was coming down from the air when Tsukineko leapt under his guard and cut him down.

"Damn you!" yelled the leader as she ran up as Tsukineko landed and attacked. He had just enough time to block her long sword strikes before striking back with a counter that tossed her several meters away. She looked around to discover herself to be the only bandit still alive and sighed. "I'm surprised," she said as she got to one knee and watched Tsukineko approach and return his weapon to his Gate of Blades. "I really didn't think you'd be this strong. I guess those rumors of you serving 'The princess of Ash and Flame' are true after all." A glare from the dark Neko made her blanch slightly. "H-Hey, don't look at me like that! Here, let me apologize. So just take it easy, calm down, and..." She lunged forward as she pulled a stiletto dagger from her boot. "DIE!!!"

The sound of metal on metal followed quickly by a double thud rang out over the quiet plain. The leader stood out wide-eyed a moment before looking down at growing blood stain in her leather and chainmail armor and the crimson stiletto in the middle of it in Tsukineko's hand. In his other hand was a different dagger. This one wasn't one of the summoned ones but an actual dagger. "But where? Where did you-?"

He cut her off by withdrawing the dagger in her chest. "You yourself know my title. Do you think I'd not have a normal weapon?" He sheathed his dagger and returned the crimson dagger to its home before picking up the leader's sword. "So now what, miss bandit? Your plan is bust, your badly injured, and your allies are gone."

"And you're too cocky, prick," she replied as she pulled a hidden gun and fired several times. A smile crossed her face as the Neko fell, seemingly hit. "And that's one more to my little 'viper!" She was placing her revolver away when, to her utter shock, Tsukineko stood up unharmed and smiling. She fired her remaining shots only to see them shatter before even hitting him. Like the first shots, they'd hit his Smashing Shield and annihilated themselves.

"And just who is the cocky one?" Tsukineko asked as he placed her own sword to her throat. She chose not to answer, instead looking away. "Do you know about the Sacred cathedral of Macha?"

"What did you say?" She looked back to him, as she replied.

"Its a legendary place created by the goddess herself. They say an item of great power lies in wait there."

"Oh come on! You don't seriously believe that crap. Those moth-eaten fairy tales. So, you killed all my men and did this to me just for that!?"

Tsukineko turned the blade of the sword and quick as black lightning, took her head off with her own sword. "Yes, I did." He dropped the sword and walked away several steps before stopping. "Empty handed again...tch." the moment he finished speaking, he was gone in a black blur.

Deep within the hollowed halls of the Dome, a single person, or perhaps not just one, sat silently in a room, observing the world around himself. Mayhaps it was because his place in the outside world was less pressing at this moment, or perhaps because it was more pressing, but whatever his reason was, he was there, continuing assisting the students assigned to him with their training.

Silence. That was all that filled the room this warrior sat in. A massive sphere shaped room as image swirled around very quickly upon the walls. The teacher sat upon a platform that seemed to cut through the orb at eight points. The octogram sat below the center, about three forths down the sphere. The images swirled about the octogram, that only broke the spherical room at each of the eight points. Where, when and why this room existed, the man within didn't know, but it was his link to the outside world. He spent only an hour in the room each day to check on different people in the outside world, but there was one he watched over each day to see how she was doing.

His eyes were sealed shut, as when they opened, the images stopped moving, both through his mind, which seemed somehow attached to the room, and the room itself. The only time he did this was to more thoroughly examine a situation, but even that wasn't unusual to the man with green hair. Even with the speed of the images moving, the warrior absorbed what was happening with people he knew. Some people eluded the teacher. These people were mostly rivals or people that didn't want him to find him, naturally, but people who were looking for him appeared with ease.

An image appeared in his mind. It was her, the woman he loved. His eyelids opened as the first hint of her appeared in his mind's eye. An image of a blond haired woman appeared. She was tending to a garden in the old, semi-rickety building that had been erected in the old woods long ago. This was where he lived when he wasn't in the Dome. She was trying to be happy, but sadness still covered her face.

It had been maybe a month since the fiasco at the ball. How close he had been to learning her answer... but alas it was not to be. Such were the actions of a knight, and a pair of foolish wolves. The man sighed sadly as he watched the woman for a few minutes. Her name echoed through the room as he whispered it to himself, finding relief in it.

"Selene."

A tear formed in the green attired warrior's eyes and slid from his eye down his cheek and onto the tip of his chin, then falling to the ground. He closed his eyes tightly as her image faded and he scanned through for others he knew. He had only a few minutes before he'd leave and return to his own, personal training. He felt something, a great change, was beginning to form, and he had to be ready.

Suddenly, a familiar, yet different, figure appeared in his vision. His eyes shot open as he took note of a familiar looking Neko in dark armor. Who was this that he saw now? It was someone the Aura Master knew, but who? As the Neko fought on against a swarm of enemies, using unfamiliar skills and techniques, the fencer asked himself who was this?

The green haired man's hand gripped his sheathed sword as he stood up, his long jacket clanging as he rose. He eyed the warrior, looking for an identifiable feature, never having a glimpse of the man's eyes. Then it hit him. A familiar looking dagger, but also not a dagger. The ruby pommel. It was him.

"Tsukineko," the fencer told himself as a smile crossed his face. The dark Neko had vanished to become a Mage Warrior a while after the green haired man's last encounter with Haineko. With a slight chuckle escaping his lips, the fencer turned, his jacket swaying behind him as the door to the room materialized and he exited it.

The door vanished behind the fencer after he closed the door. Now then, here was the fun part. Finding somebody that had long sought to not be found. Now the only question Zorlo had was, "Where do I begin?" he asked as he walked down the every lifeful halls of the Dome.