[ Graduation Dungeon ] Xiuying [Fin]

[Kaiyumi]

Being kidnapped in the middle of night was not how Xiu had anticipated starting her graduation, but apparently that was how things worked here in Amityville. Needless to say, the baku ghoul had been absolutely terrified by her late night visitors, her mind immediately jumping to the worst conclusions as she struggled violently. Despite how incredibly disorienting the experience was, she never stopped trying to break free so that she could fight, certain that if she could just get one hand loose then she could feasibly let loose all hell on her kidnappers.

In the end, she was rather glad that she hadn't managed to wriggle free (or rather, than it had been absolutely impossible for her to) since this had apparently been all part of the plan. Of course, there probably could have been other ways to go about bringing students here, but apparently scaring students out of their wits was the best way to do it.

After a bit of grumbling and rubbing at her sore wrists, the ghoul tilted her head back and peered up at the banner hanging overhead, her lips turning upwards in a faint, nervous smile at the words that were painted across the fabric.

She wasn't sure if it was the cold room or the realization that this was it--that it was the end of her life as a student and her beginning of whatever lay beyond--but Xiu was trembling as she took a deep breath and pushed herself forward.  

[Kaiyumi]

Xiu was a little alarmed to find that the first room she wandered into was empty, her pink eyes narrowed in suspicion as she cautiously took a few steps forward. If she had learned anything from past experience, an empty room was rarely ever a good sign. Just what would be be greeted with in here? A hostile creature? Traps? Were arrows going to launch themselves at her head as soon as she stepped past a certain point? Considering that every one of these things had happened to her at least one in the last few years, it wasn't entirely unreasonable that these were the first thoughts that popped into her head.

However, as she progressed further in, Xiu soon learned that this place was not quite as dangerous as she initially assumed. Upon reaching the center of the room, the ghoul whipped her head around as the scenery around her began to shift, color suddenly painting the bare walls as objects magically formed from the ground up. Truthfully, it was not an experience entirely unfamiliar to her--it almost felt like the way dreams were formed from an empty canvas--but the fact that she couldn't control it did make her a little uneasy.

Except even though it had the potential to show her a nightmare or a scene of her greatest fear, Xiu instead found herself in the interior of a warmly lit cafe. The first thing she noticed was the smell of coffee and sweets that wafted towards her, and then came the quiet buzzing of voices. Curious as to where the voices were from, she turned to scan the cafe, only for the previously empty chairs to become occupied within a single blink of her eyes.

None of the faces were familiar, but judging by their ages and the skull pins, they were probably Amityville students. Groups of friends sat together chatting animatedly over cake and tea, while others chose to sit by themselves or with one other person, poring over a thick textbook. Exams, perhaps? Xiu's lips curved in a lopsided smile--she could sympathize with that.

"Xiu, could you get some more tea brewing?" Turning at the familiar voice, the baku offered Gene a smile as the ghost ghoul beckoned to her from behind the counter, hurriedly trotting over.

"Oh--yes, of course! I'll work on baking another cake too while I'm at it--I didn't expect for so many people to come in today!" As she ducked into the kitchen, Xiu felt her smile growing, feeling completely at ease in the role of a baker and co-owner of a cafe. It was a rather modest dream, but at present, the baku wanted nothing more than for her cafe venture with Gene to become a success. Not only was it one for her, but she hoped that their cafe would also prove to be warm haven for students who either needed it or just wanted to drop by for a bite to eat.
 

[Kaiyumi]

The moment she stepped into the next room, she felt all of the warm feelings vanish, replaced instead by a feeling of dread. Closing her hands into fists and holding them close to her chest, Xiu took a few wary steps forward, gaze darting from side to side.

...Nothing.

Picking up the pace slightly, she began to walk forward, and then jog, and then run as an increasing sensation that someone was chasing after her began to overwhelm her, every nerve in her body suddenly bristling in fear. Even without turning back, she knew that someone--or something--was behind her, faintly aware of the sound of footsteps trailing behind her. Realizing that there was a long pause between each step, Xiu spared a glanced over her shoulder, figuring that it'd be safe since her pursuer was moving so slowly.

It was a stupid idea. She soon came to realize that she should have listened to her screaming instincts to run when the sound of footsteps suddenly paused, only to start up a few seconds after--but this time, the thing chasing her was sprinting, the sound of its feet hitting the ground growing louder and louder as it rapidly began to close the distance between them. Heart leaping to her throat, she caught a glimpse of the thing just as she turned to run, her mouth going dry.

Of course. Of course it had to be that thing. Ever since coming back from that little incident, Xiu had had bad dreams of what she had had to do as Ixyguin. Taking her uncle's heart and having the shadowy figure pursue her with a pair of scissors for her heart had definitely struck a chord of fear within her, and it obviously still stuck even now. Despite having always been a lucid dreamer, even Xiu couldn't always control what her unconscious decided to show her. Occasionally, she'd see that figure lurking in the shadows of her dreams, and it was always the sound of the scissors' metallic blades sliding against one another that alerted her to its presence. Upon noticing its presence, she'd always banish it out of her dream world, but it was never gone for good.

Xiu sure as hell wasn't going to let this thing catch her now though. Despite the fact her legs were starting to burn in protest, the ghoul began to sprint as fast as she could, trying to find her way to the next door. If this place was anything like the last, then getting into the next room should be enough to wipe the slate clean and free her from her pursuer.
 

[Kaiyumi]

Bursting into the next room, Xiu stumbled a few steps in and collapsed on her knees, panting from exhaustion. Her muscles ached, body trembling as she whirled around and stared wide-eyed at the door that she had just entered from. Was it...was it still there?

...

It didn't seem like it. Letting out a sigh, she closed her eyes with the intention of sitting there for a few minutes to catch her breath, only to be jolted to attention by a voice calling her name. The fact that it was her uncle's voice--she would recognize it anywhere--filled her with both relief and terror. Relief, because she was always glad to see him, and terror because...well. What if the one calling her now was actually the shadowed, scissors wielding figure that had been chasing her? The last time she had encountered it in the other world, it had spoken using Hayate's voice as well.

Slowly, she let her eyelids flutter open, her vision adjusting and focusing on the man who stood in front of her. Xiu felt her shoulder sag in relief upon realizing that the face blinking at her was that of her kindly uncle, a small grin on his face as he reached out to haul her to her feet.

"What are you doing sitting there, Xiu? We've got work to do."

The baku ghoul paused at this, furrowing her brows as she stared up at him. "Work?" She echoed, looking puzzled as she pat off her dress. What work was this?

Her uncle laughed, taking her by the shoulders and spinning her around. The first thing that caught her attention was the sewing machine sitting on the table, and then her gaze shifted to the giant rolls of fabric that sat directly beside it. "Your latest order came in," The older baku explained, moving forward to pick up a small stack of papers and offering them to her, "The first couple needs this dress made by next week, and the elderly lady placed an order for a suit for her son."

Xiu took the offered papers, but then stared up at him blankly. Why was he giving these to her? He was the tailor here, not he--

Oh. Oh. She had been beginning to wonder what the catch of this room was, and it had just dawned on her now. She could faintly remember watching her uncle work when she was just a scareling, and how fascinated she had been with how he could turn ordinary fabric into beautiful and elaborate outfits. For a while, she had aspired to be just like him, but she had come to realize while growing up that there was one major roadblock.

"You're actually going to be pretty busy. You have an order from the man down the street as well, and it's a rush order but he's offered to pay quite well because of that. Also..."

Xiu could not sew. At all.  

[Kaiyumi]

After excusing herself from the image of her uncle in the previous room, Xiu continued to make her way through the dungeon, arriving finally at--...where, exactly? The end of her tail bristled as she warily made her way forward, eying the mist that swirled around her feet.

And then she heard it, a clanking noise that was actually faintly familiar. It wasn't until she actually saw the large, foreboding figure did things finally click though, her lips parting in surprise at the sight of the knight. Oh Jack, not this guy again! And--was that her diploma behind him?

You have got to be kidding.

Gritting her teeth as he swung at her, she dodged out of the way, rolling up onto her feet and throwing her fists up in front of her. Well, she had had a feeling that there would be a fight in here somewhere. Might as well get this over with.  

[Kaiyumi]

Battling something so large was no easy feat, especially when all she had to use were her fists and her legs. There was no time to warm up either, though she supposed that the chase from before was kind of an unexpected blessing now. At least it had gotten all the stiffness out of her legs.

Now she just had to take this guy down. Although she remembered fighting such a knight in the past, it felt like it had been ages ago. Deciding it would be a good idea to test the waters and see how exactly he moved, she lunged forward with her fists held up in preparation.

She managed to get a tiny graze in before being sent flying back, tumbling over the ground with a gasp and then a pained wince. Okay, now it was definitely on.

HP: 45
Damage: 1  

[Kaiyumi]

Xiu promised that that it was on, and she kept her word. Charging forward, she let the knight's next strike hit her, biting down on her bottom lip as she pushed past despite the ache and ran right for her opponent. Pivoting on her heel, she followed through with the motion, swinging one gloved fist into the armor chest plate.

It, as expected, hurt like hell, but apparently it had been strong enough to leave a fist-sized dent in the metal.

HP: 40
Damage: 10  

[Kaiyumi]

The knight managed to get another hit in, but feeling confident and comfortable with fighting him now, Xiu simply grit her teeth and dealt with it. When she noticed an opening, she made her way forward, ducking under the hand that came reaching for her.

Once she was close enough, she brought her leg up and straight into her opponent's armor, kicking off of him immediately after so that she could push him back and put some distance between both of them.

HP: 35
Damage: 11  

[Kaiyumi]

And apparently Xiu was on a roll now that her adrenaline was pumping. As the knight staggered backwards, she took this opportunity to attack again, eyes sharp and focusing carefully on his movements. As soon as he recovered enough to make a clumsy swing at her with his weapon, she acted, ducking beneath the javelin's blade. Closing her hands over the knight's forearm--the one that bore the weapon--she used the momentum of her running to flip herself up.

Trusting that he'd managed to hold the weight of a small ghoul such as herself (hopefully) for a short time, the ghoul took aim from the corner of her eye and twisted, swinging her knee straight into the knight's head. She felt a hard impact--that was going to bruise--and then found herself suddenly floating in empty air. With a loud oof and thud, she slammed into the ground as the knight dissipated.

...Ow.  

[Kaiyumi]

Looked like that was that. Turning to look at the now unguarded diploma, Xiu smiled and picked it up, pulling the ribbon free and unrolling it to find--

Quote:

AMITYVILLE ACADEMY

To all whom these presents shall have come: Greetings unto you.

Be it known that we, the Headmistress and Faculty of the Academy under authority of Fear and the Laws of Halloween, have admitted

Xiuying, The Impetuous

the Rights, Privileges, and Dignities to which a Persons of Halloween with Amityville Experience may Expect.

..."Excuse me, I am not impetuous!"