Vale Grand Bazaar [Open, Ongoing]

Kurono whipped her head around, quickly analyzing the situation, With these odds, it is unlikely that I will be able to keep up my defense for an extended period of time. It would be better if I threw a wrench in their plans. She spotted the girl she had punched earlier and came up with a plan. She rushed over to the girl, grabbing her by the neck and whipping her around in front of her. She pulled her sword up to the girl's neck, positioning her in between her and her assailants, "Now, unless you want to be guilty of a little girl's murder, I suggest you stop right there." She said, keeping her eyes on the three who had attacked her, That one on the roof can teleport, I have to keep an eye on him.

Xarias merely watched at a distance as the assassin fought it out with the others. Blades  clashing, fires blazing, the bazaar was going to be  wrecked before any of this were to stop. He took everything in but it seems that they have her outnumbered. The assassin then got a girl and put her sword against her neck, threatening to cut it unless they stop. Xarias knew he had to do something or else there'd be one more bloody mess to deal with.

She doesn't look like she's bluffing. I have to do something.

Xarias was out to the right side of the assassin, he had his rifle to the ready and he knew that one wrong move can get the girl killed. He took aim for the assassin, making sure to not accidentally hit the girl once he shoots, he activated his semblance.

Extreme Burst

The world seemed to move slower now, and his speed was also increased a bit, he aimed for the assassins right arm, near her shoulder to make sure that if he needs to shoot she won't be able to cut the hostage's neck nor will he kill her in the process but she wouldn't need to know that.

"I wasn't going to join this fight but you just had to get a hostage, didn't you? And the rest of you just had to get your assess into this mess. Now, let her go or you'll have several bullets in your skull." Xarias said, he was bluffing about the shooting her skull part but he needed to keep her occupied.

He was about 15 meters from the assassin, it was way within his range since he had a long distance rifle. He kept his dual barreled rifle aimed for her shoulder and his semblance activated just in case he needed to react faster than she could move.

"Just in case your wondering, at this distance, I don't miss."

Just when I find her this happens! Argent yelled in his head. Popping his head back in the store, he drops his and Jade's bags yelling I'll be back for these!" as he runs after Jade, leaping over people's heads. Landing beside her, he gets back to full height and watches the girl take a hostage. "Well that complicates things." He said to no one in particular. He was used to fighting, one on one especially, but hostages? He wasn't too used to dealing with those.

"So," Argent said to the green girl beside him "anything in mind?"

Argent stared at Jade for a moment, fading sunlight shining on her green hair. It takes a second for Argent to register what she just said before he catches himself and brings his attention back to the situation in front of them."Jade, what exactly are you talking about? That girl's life is on the line." Argent said, pointing at the hostage. "We can't just watch this. If you don't want to, you can stay here," Argent said, almost sadly "But I'm doing something."

Kurono looked at the boy out of the corner of her eye, but she kept her blade around the girl's neck. She ran through a few options in her mind, then settled on one. A swirl of darkness could be seen around her feet, the shadows seeming to come alive. Suddenly, three tendrils leapt from the ground, swaying menacingly around Kurono and her captive. One of the tendrils was in between the boy with the rifle and herself. One was in front of them, leaving only a small part of them visible to the group in front of them, and the last was off to her other side, ready to protect against the boy on the roof. "I say again, I suggest that you all cease immediately. I can kill this girl a number of ways, and none of them pleasant." She said in a cold voice. She returned her eyes to the group in front of her, specifically the faunus boy from earlier. "You are on the wrong side of a losing fight.

A bit startled by the tendrils Xarias lost his composure as one of them came up between him and the assassin. It blocked his target so despite being in the perfect position he lost sight because he underestimated the assassin's aura. He decided he had no choice but to lower his gun.

"I don't want anybody getting hurt because of this. Please. Just let her go and I'll help you escape." Xarias said, for the first time in years he felt the worry of not being able to do anything. He knew that to ensure the girls survival he had to play rough, this time he switched his rifle to it's 2nd form, having both ends of the spear at the ready as he turned towards the rest of the crowd.

As long as no one else is killed today, this is all I want. Damn it! Why did I have to get myself dragged into this mess.

"Let her go, even just for now. I don't want to have anyone else's blood spilled today. It's bad enough that someone already died, but we can't have an innocent bystander killed because of your blood lust or your sense of vigilante justice." Xarias said to the the rest of the fighters. For some reason he felt that if they kept fighting, more unnecessary bloodshed would ensure. As long as no one else dies, this would be a victory for him, though a shallow one.

As Argent approaches, he spots the corpse of the murdered faunus, bile building up in his throat. Creepy over there must've done it, he thought, looking back and forth between the corpse and Kuruno. Why though?

"Hey! Creepy! If you think you're hurting a single hair on her head and getting away, you've gotta think again." Argent yelled at her, adding to the numbers against the hostage taker. "You're outnumbered. Give up." Beneath him, a puff of steam comes from Agni, ready to strike any second, Argent's concentration focused and ready to protect himself, and Jade behind him, with his semblance at a moment's notice.

A faint chuckle would rumble from the depths of the hybrid's larynx, clearly escaping into the air despite sealed lips. It would become a tad louder as he parted them into a slightly sinister, toothy little grin. He gave a light shrug, the flames from the midst of his palms ever sparking and expanding. They would soon shroud his hands over completely, gradually rampaging its already-unstable figure up his arms a little bit, lashing tongues of pyre threatening to strike those around him if they were to get too close. This was due to the assassin's last remark specifically being directed toward him, causing rage to well up within him once more, though it was also for an...idea that had crossed his mind.

"Mind you that there's still cops around..." the ashen-haired beast whispered as a reply to the killer, though it would only be able to be heard by his ears, and his alone, because of the amount of volume he had pushed into the statement.

Soon after saying this he would slowly place his hands together by the front of the wrists, initially directed at the killer before them. It was obvious that he wasn't going to fire, however. The grin spread across his lips shrunk down a bit, though that didn't stop another small laugh to escape into the atmosphere.

Afterwards, he would slowly direct his attention skywards, shifting the angle of his arms and hands until they faced the blues and whites up above. This was done around relatively the same time that one of his allies for this experience seemed to begin pleading for a stop in combat. He gave him his attention for just a few seconds, shifted it toward another pair of newcomers for an even shorter period of time, and then back over to him.

"...Yeah. Let me just blow off some steam. We don't want a fireball overheating and such..." the boy said in response to the other, his tone sounding understanding. His arms were bent in such a fashion that they created an acute angle at the elbow, though this would change as he thrust both upward. With that thrust he seemed to focus all of his current energy, blasting it out not at the one who had resulted to hostage-taking, though the ever-moving sky.

Through the roar of the flames as he sent them to the heavens, Haven kept adjusting both human and Faunus ears of his, catching faded sounds of sirens; no footsteps of the authorities yet, but hopefully this would change. Whether or not anybody would be able to catch on to what he was doing, the lad's intentions were kept clear within his mind:

He was primarily aiming to act as a human flare, attempting to catch the attention of the cops afar and to lure them over to the current location.

...
...But yes, maybe a small part of him also wanted to relieve himself of what had just happened.

Kurono watched as the boy launched a mass of fire into the air, Does he think I'm dimwitted? She wondered to herself. "You should listen to your comrade. Also, if you think I can't tell what you're doing, fire boy, you're an imbecile." She said. She then turned to the newcomer, only her head moving, "Please," She said, "If this many people couldn't stop me, you think adding one could?" She turned back to the boy pleading with his friends to stop fighting, "And you're going to allow me to walk, hostage or not. I suggest that you all leave before the police finally get here." She looked around at the kids trying to stop her, Idiots, all of them.

"Eeeeer, there might be a liiiiiitle hitch in your plan there missy." Argent said, bring his hand up, a centimeter wide space between his index finger and thumb. "We've got no reason to run. We've got all rant to wait." He said, spreading his arms, referring the the students around him.  "You, on the other hand, just killed a person. And I don't think the cops'll be too happy about that."

"Everyone, please!" finally the girl cried out. The voice of innocence still rang true, and a small hint of peace could be heard in it. "It's alright, she's not completely evil." Turning her head towards Kurono, she smiled and said, "If you were, I would have been dead by now, right?" Her eyes focused on her captive's, showing no signs of being afraid of her. "You had your reason for him... right?"

Legs ceased to swing as the number of would-be rescuers and 'heroes' appeared, the situation was coming to the point where a swift conclusion to this hostage situation was now impossible. Marveling at how calm the "hostage" was though, despite the situation she was in and the apparent crimes of the assailant being accused, Fei felt it in herself to do something to at least "save" her sweet little life. Sliding off the stand she previously occupied as a spectator's chair, the young huntress began quickly moving towards the condensed group using the rows of other stands as cover, stopping only until after she passed the line of "law enforcers" and had a clear line of sight on the "Assassin" and her hostage. Taking in a deep breath, she ducked out from behind the stand and sprinted towards the two with great speed.

Before the assailant (Kuruno) and her strange semblance of tendrils could react, Fei had reached them, a hand had already slipped around the edge of the blade held towards the neck of the innocent little girl, pulling it away just enough to create an opening. Wincing as the sharp edge dug into the palm of her hand, she lunged out with a swift kick and knocked the hostage out of harm's way. One would normally assume that Fei's actions were meant to pave for a counterattack, instead the young huntress "accidentally" spun about after her initial action and knocked into the assailant's arms as her new hostage. Hand that previously pulled the blade back now served to "helplessly" hold the edge of the weapon at bay.

Though her actions and intention were shrouded in mystery, Fei was beginning to wonder how she was going to help this "assassin" escape. Leaning her head back, sword so very dangerously close to delicate flesh, she turned her head and whispered into Kuruno's ear. "Whoever you are, threaten to kill me. If what they say about you killing a man in the open in cold blood is true, then this should work to your favor. So press this blade against my throat." She would say, emphasizing this by ever so subtly pulling the blade against her throat.

To the discerning eye, this would've just looked like a botched attempt on her part to be a hero, it all happening so quickly that that would be the only conclusion drawn. She trusted this person to act as a professional would and take it all in stride.

[Permission given by Dakir and Tsuteto][/i]

Kurono marveled at the little girl's courage, but she didn't let it show. Instead, she lashed out with one of her tendrils and knocked the other girl well out of the way, at the same time taking her blade and pressing it against the girl's throat with enough force to draw a small trickle of blood, "Interesting." She said. She then projected her voice out to the other members of the group, "Seeing as this one is all too ready to put her life on the line, I see no reason why I shouldn't oblige her. Now, if you really want to save this one's life, then leave. Now." She said, her voice cold and with authority. Not that I really need this hostage much longer. She thought as the patter of footsteps could be heard coming down a covered road, It seems that they're here.

Cheshire appears several feet away from the murderer, but his weapons are sheathed away and his hands are raised over his head. He slowly walks over showing no sign of hostile actions, staring right into the woman's eyes. He walks to where the former hostage is and crouches down slowly. Lowering his hands, Cheshire tries to aid the little girl.

"Are you okay? Did she hurt you?" Cheshire murmurs, half of his concern on the former hostage while the other half is on the current.

Ah crap. Argent thought, eyebrows dipping downwards ever so slightly. "Just when one problem almost gets fixed." He muttered under his breath. Spotting the red line creeping down the girl's neck, Argent steps back a bit, wary of setting her off. Hearing the sirens and footsteps drawing all the closer, he steps further, standing beside Jade.

"Hey," He whispered to Jade. "Think you can do anything about those shadows? With those gone, one of us is bound to be able to get to her in time."

Kurono looked about, This went pretty badly. She thought. Within moments, four police officers entered the center of the bazaar, weapons raised, "That's enough," One of them said, "Everyone drop your weapons." He looked at the little group, "And I mean everyone! I don't give a damn if you're a kid or not, we will fire!" Kurono couldn't help but let out a small chuckle, Good one. She thought. Her shadows sunk into the ground, returning to normal underneath her. She removed her blade from the child's neck, gently shoving her away, "Thanks, sweetie." She said to the girl as she turned towards the cops.

She sheathed her sword, walking in between the four officers, "Sorry about the mess." She said as she passed them. One of them turned to say something, then seemed to remember his orders, returning to aim his weapon at the group of kids. Kurono walked calmly away, the tiniest of smiles touching her lips.

"Wait!" Cheshire tried to call but with the policemen pointing their guns at him, he can't risk this little girl getting shot. Slowly, Cheshire unstraps Baskerville and Helsingr from his back and laid them on the ground in front of him. He raised his hands over his head calmly and slowly. "You have the wrong people. That woman right there is the murderer!"

A sigh slipped out of the crossbreed's lips, eyes watching the assassin as she calmly slipped out and between the cops. He gave his head a shake of disapproval, shrugging as he set his blades down with ease. His gaze seemed to hold no break or fear whatsoever. "Whatever, man. Just do what they say and calm yourselves," the student muttered, his gaze shifting over to those around him. "We'll all be in the clear soon. It's obvious that we will be, because of all of the people who witnessed what happened earlier..."

...Frickin' cops...wait to threaten the youth... Haven thought to himself, a scowl spreading across his lips once more as he looked to and fro throughout the officers. It would be replaced with the smallest smile within moments, however, a faint chuckle meant to be heard only by himself escaping into the air. I can't wait to see when they find out that we're innocent, and that they literally just let the real culprit slip past them knowingly...

What the hell are they doing! Well, at least she let the girl go. Something's definitely up if the cops are just letting the assassin go.

"No need to aim your guns here, officer." Xarias said, and with that he looks to the nearest building, looking for a good place to grapple to. He gets a quick glance at the officers, he could easily take them on but that would get him charged with assaulting an officer or a few bullets in his torso. He shook off the idea and went back to scouting. He spots  a clear roof top where he could grapple and takes note of it's position.

That looks like a good spot but first things first I have to check on the hostages.

Xarias approaches the girl who got a small cut on her neck

"How are you?" He asks, he then notices the cut and offers her a handkerchief. "It doesn't look bad, just a nick. I'm glad that's all you got, just an inch higher and it would have cut your jugular."

"Ah crap." As Kuruno simply walked in between the officers, Argent watched as they still had their guns trained on the group, an eyebrow raised and thin lipped. Turning to face them, he stands with with his thumbs hooked in his pockets, simply waiting for them to shoot. "I have the tiniest suspicion they're not exactly cops. Not on the right payroll, at least." He said quite loudly, sarcasm fairly evident in his voice.

Replaced almost seemingly instantaneously by the other woman, Wren found herself on the ground again, laying down. As she started to get up, she heard a boy question her. "Yes, yes," was her only response, getting up and looking at the killer again.

It was only right after that that the police arrived, pointing guns everywhere. As Kuruno dropped her weapon, Wren thought that some justice would come to pass. And then... it didn't. Kuruno simply walked out, unscathed, untouched, nothing. With a bit of shock, Wren started to tear up, and stood up a bit despite the pain, ready to give a tongue lashing to the authorities. This situation just upset her, and she couldn't do anything about it. That was when Argent spoke his opinion, the possibility ringing through her head. But still, it wasn't something she could fully accept. Law enforcement couldn't be that easily corrupted, could they?

"Gah!" she cried out, falling back down on the ground, auburn her disarrayed over her face and the ground. She didn't realize she had been kicked in the stomach when freed, thus a second blow to it. That second blow seemed to have been a bit harsher, as she could feel a bit of blood trickling down the corner of her mouth. Raising her head, she stared at the person who "saved" her, then at the officers on scene again, then at the faunus right by her. As her gaze turned to the others, her only thought was, "Anyone? Anyone to stop a single woman out of this group?" Her thoughts started to dwindle and blur though, as with two forces unblocked by anything, even her aura, caused her to slip into unconsciousness, her body slumping to the ground in a mess.

Kurono continued walking as paramedics and more police officers began to arrive on scene. They had all been ordered to ignore her, and they were following those orders. That could've gone better. She thought as she continued down the covered road, Although there were some interesting characters there. Let's see which one is the most observant. She took a small piece of paper out from her pocket and swiped a pen from a nearby stand. She scratched out a message on it, folding it up and letting it casually fall to the ground. I imagine that faunus (xHavenx) is the only one who can see me right now, but we'll see. She thought as she exited the bazaar.

There was a car waiting for her, and she got in, shutting the door behind her. "You could've executed that more cleanly." The man sitting next to her said as he started the car. "It seems like everything ended alright, though."

Kurono nodded, keeping her eyes faced forward, "Indeed. I also stumbled upon some interesting people. We'll see soon enough." She said as the car accelerated away.
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Back in the bazaar, the police advanced on the group and, joined by reinforcements, corralled the kids into a group. They holstered their weapons upon finding out that some of the kids attended Beacon. "Alright kids." One of the officers said, "I suggest you stay out of trouble, but other than that, you're free to go." He then added, "Oh yeah, and please don't run around telling everyone what you saw here, alright? It is easier for everyone that way." The officer looked at the kids, then over to the passed out child, who now had paramedics fretting over her. He looked over at the body of the faunus, too, and wrinkled his nose in disgust, "Can we get a clean up crew out here?" He called to the other police, I don't get paid enough for this crap.