Emma
```A Familiar Feeling```
Standing among the trees and the underbrush was a man clad with a black coat and armor. He carried with him a keyblade that looked dark and twisted. He was stopped at this part of the lagoon, he could most likely get out of here with a single leap easily, but he stood here, looking at his reflection on the water's surface. An exuberant amount of darkness emanated from this man as he stood, it seemed as though he was barely even trying to conceal his presence at all. 

"..."

He stood in silence, seemingly busy with looking at his reflection in the calm water below. What was his purpose? His meaning? He had already defeated the foe he was created to best, and yet, it didn't seem right. His foe may have been defeated, but he slipped away before he could deal the finishing blow, how annoying. But now, he was here on orders to fulfill, so he might as well get to work.

"Okay then master... I'll accomplish what you've sent me here to do."
Ellen
Suke walked through the lagoon, taking notice of all the tall trees and the blue water being a rarity she saw such a thing. But her true reason for leaving the others was to investigate the ominous feeling she felt: it was familiar yet different at the same time. She stopped a few feet away from the man, now seeing the darkness seeping off of him. 

"Ikazuchi...?"

She blinked, it looked eerily similar to her friend Ikazuchi but she knew something was off... Waaay off. 

"No... Who are you and why do you share a resemblance to him?"

The Heartless would say and hold out her hand, with a gust of wind her handgun appeared in her left hand getting ready to shoot if the answer was unsatisfactory.
Emma
"That would be correct... I am not *Him*."

Inaxuma would stand from where he was squatting by the pondside and look at Suke. His face, although resembling Ikazuchi, bared no emotion. It was a dry expression he wore; one so uncharacteristic and unfitting for the smiling and goofy face that Suke knew belonged to Ikazuchi. Inaxuma's pure yellow eyes stared at Suke, as he seemed to be analyzing her.

"Since you know *His* Name and likeness.. I would assume you to be one of *His* Companions. Unfortunate that I would run in to you so soon after almost snuffing out his light completely. What names did he call out before i plunged him into the darkness... Do you happen to be Xerx? Or perhaps a Suke? There was also a Mizi and an Aria in there..."

He held his keyblade in a readied position. If its a fight she wants its a fight she'll get. 

"Your Beacon of Hope and Light... Meddled where he didn't need to... So *He* Payed the price."
Ellen
Suke stared at him with an indifferent tone at the beginning, she wasn't the best at displaying emotion but used that time to analyze him further. His features more clearly looked different than Ikazuchi's, from the lack of a smiling face to the full on yellow eyes like she would posses. He did get a reaction out of her when he uttered that he *Snuffed out his light* And immediately summoned her other gun to her hand. 

`Was that the reason Ikazuchi missed the Struggle Tournament... Or why I hadn't seem him all this time?`

She'd think to herself before shaking her head, there was no way Ika could be dead without her knowing. 

"...I am the one known as Suke... And there is no logical way for him to lose to a dark being like yourself."

The Heartless reaffirmed to herself and got into her own readied position, pointing both handguns at Inaxuma but holding her fire for the meantime and narrowing her eyes, ready to open fire if needed to. 

"Explain yourself or be terminated like the other Heartless I have combat. Ikazuchi would never fall into darkness no matter what you did."
Emma
"Bold of you to assume that i am a mere heartless like yourself Suke."

Inaxume kept his blade steady as he stared at Suke with his cold and yellow eyes.

"Your friend wasn't always so pure of heart you know... Once apon a time, even *He* Had darkness in his heart... *He* Had **Me** In his heart!"

Inaxuma's face lit up with a jagged, eerie and creepy smile, almost as if he was pained and enjoying explaining this at the same time.

"Separated we were... Twice even! But my master pulled me from nothing, and shaped me into the perfect being to combat the *Beacon of Hope*."

He tapped the edge of his keyblade and let out a laugh.

"And on our very first confrontation, *His* Light and **My** Darkness clashed. We leveled an entire city block you know?"

His movements became unhinged and static, like a marionette with its strings tangled together.

"But when all was said and done..."

His movements calmed, as his stance returned to a combat-ready one, and his face returned to cold and blank.

"**MY** Darkness won. And your beacon of hope was banished to a place even where *His* Light can't shine from..."

He once again locked eyes with Suke.

"The Realm of Darkness is where I sent Ikazuchi."
Ellen
Suke kept her eyes fixed on Inaxuma's, still not trusting him in the slightest. She hadn't heard of darkness being separated from people before, then thought about Vani and that she went on about that at one point. There wasn't a doubt in her mind that both of them could have destroyed a city block if his story of fighting and beating Ika could be believed. 

"You are wrong about one thing: Ikazuchi's light would never fade even in that place."

Her eyes did widen upon hearing the Realm of Darkness, whether what this man was saying was true of not that was her next destination. She'd be fine down there as a Heartless anyhow in her mind. 

"Then there is a solution to this... I shall defeat you with my Darkness and bring Ikazuchi back!"

The last line was a rare one: she spoke that with true emotion behind her words as she began to fire at will at Inaxuma's chest: wanting to both fill him full of holes and to keep him at a distance, she still had a natural fear of Keyblades after all even one as evil looking as that one. 
`Strength: 49.5`
Emma
Inaxuma smirked as Suke did very well to keep her distance from him. As she fired an Aerora at him, he ducked and rolled. As he rolled, dark sparks of lightning crashed forward at Suke. He would then push himself forward with a leap and strike at Suke once again.

`Thunder Roll`
Speed = 445.5
Magic = 410.4

`Basic Attack`
Strength = 54

Seemingly enjoying the fight, Inaxuma's face was plastered with that eerily wide smile again. Suke was coming in close range: the perfect place for him to strike. His keyblade lit up with more black lightning as he stomped a foot forward, trying to interrupt Suke's advance. Inaxuma seemingly took the full force of Suke's attack, so that his wouldn't be dampened by anything. He would slash forward, releasing a *Lightning Ray* In an attempt to release a powerful attack while still at close range.

```Lightning Ray
Magic = 540```

Inaxuma's creepy smile vanished as his eyes narrowed. A veil of darkness surrounded himself, as he increased his power. This activation was almost too late, but he disappeared, reappearing a distance away. He looked over Suke again, seemingly back in cold and analytical mode. He cracked his knuckles and summoned another keyblade. This one looked like a dark shadowy version of Ikazuchi's "Light's Aria", the keyblade he was given by his master before she passed away. 

"This is where the fun begins."

Inaxuma's body burst with magical and electrical power and might, as electricity ran through his dark copy of Ika's keyblade, and magic ran through his evil and twisted keyblade. 

He didn't come after suke, no. He seemed to be charging up for something. Something Terrible. Suke would even be able to feel his energy levels rising as he stood there, menacingly. 

She didn't have much time to come up with a counter-strategy.

```Teleport ``` 
Speed = 5,445

Suke's shot would fly true. The explosion enveloped the area surrounding Inaxuma. The attack caused a cloud of smoke and dust to befall the battlefield. All was silent, aside from the distance sound of rushing water and wind blowing through the trees. 

A spark of black lightning zipped through the debris; the enemy was still somewhere inside. As the dust settled, Suke could clearly see Inaxuma. He was beaten up, with scrapes and scratches all over his body and armor. Dark aura leaked from the cuts in his skin. But he was still standing. His eyes were totally blackened over, as he turned his head towards Suke.

"Game... Over..."

He said before letting out a cackle, his mouth once again cracked upwards into a disgustingly evil smile, as darkness and smoke billowed from his mouth.

He took a step forward, lightning shooting from his feet into the ground. There was a delay. He rushed at Suke such thunderous force, in total silence. The battlefield was silent, unfitting of the speed and force. And with a shockwave befitting of the term, thunder could be heard, as Inaxuma released his ultimate attack: *Volitc Rush.*

```Voltic Rush``` 
Magic = 12,367.
Ellen
Suke fired her barrage of magical bullets and them even seem to land. With the only sounds being from the nearby water and the sounds of the tress. She was about to let her guard down and lower her guns when the sound of electricity rang through her ears. More and more as the dust settled, she saw Inaxuma standing there beaten up and injured but there unflinching from her attack. Uncharacteristic of her, she let out a curse under her breath and prepared to do another attack. 

The Heartless kept her calm outwardly demeanor and met his cackle with her neutral expression. She readied her guns for another powered shot... But was too slow to actually hit the speeding Inaxuma and was cut down by the Voltic Rush. Deep amounts of darkness was now leaking out of the new wound she received and the wound she got previously. Suke took a step back and dropped her guns onto the ground trying to hold in her darkness in to little effect and soon after fell facefirst onto the grass.
Emma
"I told you... That **MY** Darkness won!"

Inaxuma would stagger, clearly weak from the recoil of his own attack and from Suke's explosion. He raised his blade again, it still coursing with electrical and magical energy.

"Let's finish you off..."

He would swing forward with both blades, black lightning crackling through the air, activating a final *Lightning Ray.*

```Lightning Ray``` 
Magic = 10,891
Juliet
But as Suke lay there in the grass, hearing Inaxuma and his attack, the world seemed to slow. Was this her final moments before being killed like all the rest of the heartless? Was she going to be bested by the man who banished Ika to this so called Realm of Darkness? The answer was uncertain.

But right as Inaxuma's blades were about to cleave Suke's flesh... Something happened.
Jennifer
"..."

```Defense = 32k```
Juliet
As Suke's consciousness faded, she could see the silhouette of a man, one who, from this angle, reminded her a lot of Ikazuchi. As her vision went black, she saw this man blocking against Inaxuma's attack and fighting back.

...

Suke woke some time later. An unknown amount of time had passed, but as her eyes snapped open, she would notice that she was laying on some sort of prop-up bed with all of her wounds dressed in bandages. When getting her bearings, she would notice that she was laying inside of a small tent on this cot.
Ellen
Suke couldn't do much to stop the attack, thinking this was going to the actual end of her Keyblades were the only thing that could truly kill her. In a final act of defiance, she slowly reached for one of her handguns when the world slowed down to her. The last thing she saw was a man in front of her before passing out from her severe injuries, still fading fast. 

Some time later, the Heartless would wake back up, rocketing back up to a sitting position and summoning one of her guns, surveying the area... Last thing she remembered was losing to Inaxuma. The sudden movement made her grip her stomach in pain and dropping her weapon. Taking notice of the bandages there and the other areas where she was injured in the fight. 

"Where... Where am I..?"

She'd soon notice that she was in a makeshift bed and under a tent. She didn't know anyone here who would treat her, so she forced herself up to look around and see who treated her, if anyone was still around.
Jennifer
"Oh good, you're awake."

The man would walk in to the tent from outside, carrying with him a steaming bowl. The man was tall, he almost didn't fit in the tent itself without him bending forward a little bit. He wore elegant and shiny armor that disappeared soon after he walked in. His voice sounded kind, but tired, matching the tired expression on his face. His face was very neutral, but the way his eyes looked just seemed very tired.
Leah
He sat down on a log next to Suke's bed and held the bowl out to her.

"The name's Otoka. You took quite a beating kid, eat up so you can regain your strength."

He smiled gently as he held out the bowl.
Ellen
Suke layed her red eyes on the man, it wasn't someone she knew at all but he was certainly tall. She was going to say something but all the walking surprisingly wore her out with her injuries and she sat back down on the bed for the moment just examining the man for now. 

"Y-Yes, I was fighting someone and they were stronger than me..."

She then looked down at the bowl, she never had a need or desire to eat food being a Heartless but guessed it would be the normal human reaction to do so. Suke took the bowl and looked at it for a moment, trying to deduce how to eat what was inside and opted to just try and drink it like a cup. 

"Thank you for... Treating my injuries."
Juliet
Luckily for Suke it was just chicken noodle soup, it was a little hot to the touch, but it did taste really good.
Leah
"That man... What is your connection to him?"

He raised an eyebrow watching Suke take the bowl and drink it like a cup, but he decided to shrug it off.

"You are actually the first of your kind I've met... A humanoid and sentient Heartless of sorts. Color me curious... But your heart also doesn't seem entirely lost to the darkness. I can sense your bonds of friendship to the light."

He rubbed the back of his neck and then popped it.

"But that darker being was something else entirely...
Ellen
Suke was surprised at how good it tasted, being the second time she ever ate food and the first thing wasn't served in a bowl. She lowered the bowl back down to her lap when Otaka started asking her questions so she could answer. 

"He said... That he was the darkness of my friend given form and that they were split some time ago. I do not know if it is the truth but he looks and fights just like him with some differences."

With that she'd look down into the soup, wondering if Ika really was sent into the realm of darkness or not. If he really was there, she couldn't just sit around here being injured. 

"But my friend, he was the one that helped me become this way. I am unsure of what I would be doing if we had not met. That man also claimed my friend is in the realm of darkness currently. I need to go there and save him if he is."
Leah
"..."

The man seemed to ponder for a moment.

"The Realm of Darkness you say? Such a dangerous place... I doubt anyone could survive there for long."

He would scratch his chin.

"Perhaps a darkness being like yourself wouldn't be too affected, but I'm afraid it might already be too late for your friend."
Carlos
Oh I forgot to ping you lol
Ellen
"I am sure that I would be fine there-"

Suke reasoned that as a Heartless she shouldn't be effected at all if not badly, she could always leave if she wanted. Whether or not it would work in practice would be a different matter. She then shook her head, refusing to believe that was the case. 

"There is no way he could not survive down there, Ikazuchi is the strongest person I know." 

She'd say and try and stand up, setting the bowl on her lap back on the bed so it doesn't spill over. 

"If he somehow is not okay, I will bring him back and return him to his normal self. Inaxuma may have bested me, but he will not win on that front."
Leah
"This Ikazuchi, as you say, must be really fortunate to have an ally such as yourself. I hope that you can make it to him in time."

A somber look would befall his face, as he seemed reminiscent of a distant memory.

"You should reach out to those whom you hold dear, before your bonds are severed forever. I made that mistake once... Go to your friend, even if he is as strong as you say, he will still need your help."

Otoka would stand and dust himself off. 

"I'll cover your exit. I couldn't quite defeat this Inaxuma fellow, but i drove him away. I am sure he is too injured to try anything, but a being of pure darkness is unpredictable."
Ellen
"He is, I truly have no idea what I would be doing without him... Maybe I would still be a mindless heartless and be slain by this point in time."

Suke looked back at the man and watched him stand up, giving a small nod. 

"I will defeat him next time I see him, so this does not happen again..."

She looked away from him for a moment and opened held her hand out in front of her, opening a dark corridor to the Realm of Darkness and took a deep breath before walking forward into it.

"Thank you again for helping me."
Leah
"Think nothing of it. A simple act of kindness such as this begs no thanks."

He would smile gently, although, with a shade of sorrow still lingering within his eyes.

"Good luck."