The touch of the king is a gentle fire as his hands sink into Hisame’s flesh and adventure where they please; gliding over her most sensitive areas to find them salivating for more. The passion sealed in his lips is given in a deep kiss and exchange of breath. Like a tiny, breakable doll she’s held as he slips off his and her bottoms alike before he lays back and awaits her hopping on the pogo stick. An activity she’s all too eager to begin if not for the unpleasant feeling of being watched; intrusion by an otherworldly audience.

So Hisame turns to look over her shoulder as it glitters in sweat, slowly slipping her arms free of he top. Then she lifts the garment winks before throwing it to the floor and over the eyes of all onlookers as their vision goes black until their marathon is complete.

In exhausted aftermath she lay beside him wrapped in white bedsheets, panting in struggle to catch her breath and feel below the waist. Hisame’s arms are limp around his torso while her head spins in dizzy thoughts of sweaty silence. Silence broken by a weak yet jovial chime of laughter as she says, “You are indeed a generous king… I apologize, for it seems you have serve me more than I have you.” She crawls over the expanse of his chest to look into his eyes with softness and a smile, her heart still thundering against his. “May I ask about your homeland? Is it an island somewhere across the oceans? It is a place I have not heard of or seen.”

After their exchange of carnal pleasures he laid on the bed with his right arm lifted back on the top of his head. He didn't make much use of the sheets besides to streak across his most sensitive areas for a miniscule covering. His body fumed with heat and what cool breeze made it's way to the window would be cut off by it being shut. The humidity in the room caused the windows to fog and no light remained beyond the moon's that shined bright through the condensation. With visible deep breathes he gave sign to his growing fatigue. But as his heart raced his body did not tremble and his energy didn't dissipate. With silver droplets of sweat running across his bare form he looked the part of a tired man. While he could not keep his sizable heart from pumping as fast as it did he did however slow his breathing after only a few minutes of climaxing. Though his stamina was quickly recovering he merely laid there not moving beyond his eyes and a gentle accomplished smile on his lips. His feet however did sway as they dangled off the edge.

His head looked to the empty cieling. It was cast like the entire room in shadows. Save for the moonlight that illuminated their complexions and visible signs of consummation. He turned his head and looked down at Hisame. "It matters little... In my time I have always been pleased. I suppose I wanted to please someone else... Even if it does only serve to please myself in the end." He said this very matter of factly. As he stared with almost glowing yellow pupils in the dark at Hisame. Now she asked about his home. Which to his knowledge was not if this realm. "It is a far away land... None of your blood has ever stepped foot there. Fotia. It resides on the Edafos, within Protogonos..." As he said this he looked at her reaction. Expecting confusion he went on. "Tell me. What is the name of this world in which we currently stand on..?"

The thin strands of optimism remaining for the worn-out woman are tightened; tugged on each end in opposing directions more strongly with each portion of answer he gave: a far away land of foreign names that humans have never treaded in a far away place. Magnixx is either literally from Heaven or some place worlds or dimensions apart. It means to return there is in the very least a burdonsome task and at most an eater of months or years.

The final, snapping pull comes as she listens and gazes emptily at their reflection in the nearby mirror. The image of two lovers is innocent and harmless amid the first blinks of her eyes but then a horror: a separate image of herself at the bedside, dressed and staring at them with black holes and a crazed, twisted grin.

Where others may be startled the only feeling it arouses is sinking dread and realization. What happened before was not in vision; she'd miscalculated the exact distance of influence her cursed compeer possesses and allowed herself to become a toy for however much time she'd lost. So the sword is now somewhere in the house and that meant their dance would soon take a terrifying turn. For now the night has fallen and the hunger must be sated.

Unfortunately Hisame is the only one who can see the apparition as its arm lifts the katana overhead. Its length glitters with rusty gold before it's brought down like a guillotine into both their midsections with a wet slicing but all she can do is twitch and blink back into reality. She gazes into the newly normal reflection of the mirror and cuts the silence with the answer to his question. "This world is called Earth and the country is America. A world of industry, machines and incompetence."

She looks back at him listlessly. "Unfortunately it is a world where you are the only of your kind and many, if not all in it will greet you with fear and hatred." The smile feels feigned. "Except for me, that is; I am also... different."

Silence is allowed to fill the seconds but not for long. Soon only her ears hear the whispers from the unlit hallway; the scratching upon the ajar door frame; the beckoning of her blade for an altogether dissimilar feast of flesh.

"Earth... America.." He took the words in with a silent absorption. Incapable of finding their meaning besides Earth which meant the same as it would on his world. Except it did not mean the world they lived on. The idea was they had more mystery to their world than mere dirt and earth. He looked at Hisame's expression that fell on her after a moment of silence that fell onto them both. Magnixx was thinking of his home again. If he had seen a warrior, someone who he was sent here for perhaps he could find a way back. But alas perhaps he was to wander here for a while longer? He felt this may be true but the urgency to return tugged at him. If not for the warm bed and the woman that entertained him he would be tirelessly searching for his purpose here. "Fear and hatred is quite common in my world. I don't think it will matter much. IF I do fall here however... on this strange world." He gritted his teeth. "I would never allow my prized possession to remain... Even if it kills me I WILL return that to my people." He watched her as she abruptly changed in aura. Was she tired? Her persona had an air of indifference even as she spoke about being different from the others. "Perhaps you are.. I have noticed something peculiar about you." He smirked before gripping her posterior with a gentle grasp after reaching down below her blanket to do so. He watched her intently for a reaction.

The king is fretless and it comes as no surprise. For men of his title opposition is a daily event; he has learned to roll with the riots while stomping out revolutions. All to be done will be to ensure fealty and receipt of taxes. However talk of a cherished item perks the attentive Hisame's brow. She presumes he speaks of his sword but for it to be the esteemed object addressed it is contradictory for him to leave it in the barn. Even while she admires the embers of his eyes she mulls over other potential heirlooms.

Then a firm squeeze of her derriere makes her jump and squeak like a surprised mouse, her face pink with blush as she registers his statement. The event is enough to hush the hungry horde in her head; shock soon melts away and she smiles afresh, holding in the laughter. "I hope it is something more than my ass you've noticed, O King."

The chuckle escapes and she swallows a lump of embarrassment; she pauses to frame her question. "Please... Tell me all you've noticed of me."

Now the whisperers grow tireless and roar into a confusing cacophony Hisame drowns out like radio static; she tiptoes for every moment she may keep; every second stolen her own private victory. So long as she refuses to listen; so long as she stays in his protecting embrace.

With warm hands he whisked away her air of discontentment. The tension he felt from her seemed to melt it away within his palms. He looked at her with an amused squint as she moved and squealed to his touch. It was a very familiar and this brought up his nagging question. "I've noticed you..." He slid his hand from her bottom up her back and rested on her shoulders. His free hand wiping beads of moisture from his brows. "You don't fear me. Like you say I would be looked at with fear and hatred. For a foreign world as this how is it that you... a mere woman can brave intimacy with a being such as me." He looked now to her eyes to read her expression.

That smoldering touch could almost reduce Hisame to cinders if she let it; if only they could remain locked within their private paradise perpetually. Their soon-to-be bittersweet romance destined to halt like a speeder at a red light and reveal the truth she adamantly resisted. She knows it's only a matter of time before the serpent slithers its way in to deliver a single, potent bite he will not be able to endure. Until then she is a thief of time but she expects that her adversary will attempt a cunning lure; for if it cannot make her move to accomplish its desire then it will seek to accomplish it through him.

The tiny amount of happiness Magnixx has bestowed keeps her smiling self-deceptively as she ponders his words. That's until she hears the very real BOOM of a gunshot echo like thunder from outside; then a voice calling to them from downstairs: a masculine pitch riddled with caution and confusion. "Hey, what the hell is this?! Who messed up my barn and house?! Show yourselves!"

"Is that the owner?" she inquires while sitting up. "He doesn't sound pleased." Her eyes and movements follow the king before she rises to slip on her kimono and ties it. Hisame presumes they'll venture to speak to him together but doesn't leave the room until he does, standing with folded arms at the doorway in expectation he'll lead the way. What may obviously be the trap she's awaited could very well not be and if the farmer found her sword then it will only make her acquirement of it that much more inevitable.

It was abrupt the sudden sound of life within the lower floor of the home. This stirred an unrest within Magnixx as he began to sit up and uncoil from around Hisame. The shouting was a clear indicator of their not being alone. A sharp contrast to the silence and whispers of the wind that alluded to the unknown. "Ah yes... perhaps he is the one I seek." He brought his hands up to run his chin in thought. He was certainly here for a reason and had reason to believe a battle would need to be won for him to have freedom and return home. He looked at the woman who looked puzzled just as he about the current situation. "It seems it is..." He sighed understanding the situation. He gripped the bed sheets and began to tie it around his waist and making a sort of toga. With his hair he made a whipping wheel, a hand flying back to grip the long strands and tie them into a more efficient tail. His wings remained folded neatly and he glanced behind himself at Hisame before heading for the door.

With light steps he walked and held himself with grace as he made his way down the staircase. He lowered his head to avoid the dip on the lowered cieling and sought to meet the farmer. Be him afraid or calm Magnixx merely watched the mans reaction and would stand with almost frozen stillness in the shadows casted by the warm lights that cut through the dark. "I commend you farmer. Never have I seen a home for a peasant with such utilities."

With each step downstairs Hisame feels the pull of her sword like a leash around her neck; called like a dog to the wicked master's service. What power she has to refuse will diminish by the footfalls she takes toward the bloodthirsting brand and it only strengthens when they proceed through the hallway. It becomes strongest when they pass a dark, open room to her left opposite the kitchen; her peripheral catches the eyeless doppelganger in the doorway but she feels its entry as blood becomes ice and vision fades to black.

She halts and her face falls but only for a few moments before taking the necessary steps to stand behind Magnixx's sinistral side. How the desire to smile tickles yet expression remains indifferent; however what betrays the lie is the sheer glee glittering her gaze. At last the Nightwalker is free to feed and the only thing left to endure is arrival of the perfect moment.

Now the farmer stands before them with the shotgun raised at the chest of the towering king. Apparently his words disarm them while he lowers the weapon. The fear remains in the reply, thick in Southern accent. "I get by... Just makin' a run from town in mah truck." He glances at both of them. "You guys drifters? The fuck'd ya do to mah property?" He looks them up and down with a smirk. "You just get done fuckin' too?"

Hisame's left hand sneaks abaft and opens to beckon the Fateful Death into its yearning grip from within the unlit room. Her eyes move to Magnixx, carefully gauging his reaction to these subtle movements; she awaits continuing of conversation then commands the weapon to come, feeling its dry, tattered hilt in her hand and keeping its point facing her back. The other hand comes for a transfer of reversed grip.

These clandestine actions are climaxed with a raising of the razor arc like an overgrown dagger, edge down; then it's driven toward his left lung in an effort to pierce clean through and make him breathless. From there she'll reinforce hold with her left hand and push down with all her weight to cleave through ribs, kidneys and intestines until the sword exits just above the pelvis in a slender carving of the torso. It rests at her side, its once repugnant surface now alive with swirling scarlet luster and drizzling blood onto the floor.

So is the reaper revealed when Hisame grins with all her teeth and beholds the reaction to what should be a single perfect deathblow.

Ruling

• Rai has PMed me his forfeiture prior to the deadline

Verdict Rai forfeits. Tasuke advances to Quarterfinals