[center][b][u][i]Kotaro Kuzunoha[/i][/u][/b]

[@Gerlando] [@Iamme] [@Danyel]

[youtube]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VMy_7Ctht7Q[/youtube][/center]

Well, it didn't turn out quite like the boy expected. The clown, though unamused, just took the insults and disappeared. He'd be lying if he said that the ineffective trolling didn't disappoint him a bit. Still, the main point of the insult - to get the kicking of the frozen fire-magic guy to stop - was accomplished at least, so it wasn't a total loss. Now he had to just wait for the guy to break out of his frozen bindings and get the rest of them out of there...

Or at least, that [i]was[/i] the plan, but confusingly enough, a priest that seemed to be working with this group came over and sped up the process by defrosting the man personally, and the boy too to boot. But as if to show he's not actually on their side he also erected a giant ring of white fire around all of the kids and the fire-user, then just up and vanished without any further elaboration. Kotaro was familiar with priests as being similar to his master's own occupation. Tai told him that they were essentially exorcists and holy men who often do good for people around them....what was someone like that doing with these people in the first place?

"[b]Umm... Thanks?[/b]" Kotaro confusingly said to no one, meant for the priest who disappeared before he could say it. Then there was the other chick who had a face that portrayed the kind of imagination a 10-year old like him shouldn't ever step into yet; a very creepy lust plastered over it that made the boy cringe and a shiver run down his spine. She snapped herself back to reality and summoned up candles, which in turn seemed to summon a giant humanoid monster of some kind - a "puppet" as she called it - before she too left the area.

Either these people are really confident they can't get out of this situation, or they're [i]really[/i] stupid for leaving them alone like this. As much as Kotaro would like to, he can't take a chance on the latter. This marionette, Nemesis, was unlike anything the boy has ever seen before, and his legs were shaking in fear at the sight of it. Not to mention, the woman on the throne was still present, and there's no doubt in his mind that she's the strongest of the group. Even if they managed to beat this thing, she wasn't going to let them go easily herself.

Even so, he can't help the fire-user like he is. Not with the anti-magic cuffs still on his wrists keeping him from using Taigetsu, and without his sword he can't use his Raigetsu either. As it stands, he's just as much a sitting duck as the other kids by him.

As he kept instinctively stepping back more and more - as if his body was wanting to get away from this throne room on its own - he noticed that his heel was right in the white flames, and just as instinctively, he jumped away from it. ...But the strange thing is, there was no indication of that other than him seeing that. There was a little heat but that's it. Curiously, he then touched the flames with his finger as if to confirm he wasn't imagining it, and sure enough, his finger wasn't getting burned.

Why did the priest make a wall of flames that doesn't burn? Was he bluffing when he made it, or is there some kind of trap on the other side?

He couldn't think about that right now, as his cuff was having some effect from getting close to the flame. This was a magic flame on anti-magic cuffs after all...Maybe...

"[b]Hey, Fire man, mind keeping that thing distracted for a bit?[/b]" Kotaro asked Kaiga. Not waiting for an answer, he sank both his wrists into the white flames to let the anti-magic cuffs get constantly hit by it. Sure enough, even though the white flames weren't burning him the cuffs couldn't say the same. They were becoming quite hot - perhaps due to an overload of magic - and eventually broke, opening up on their own and dropping off the boy's wrists.

That was one problem taken care of, but he's not at his best yet. If he couldn't be hurt by the flame, then he could probably pass through it. He'd hate to leave the guy and these kids here with the monster and that woman, but he couldn't afford to play escort right now to the kids, and Kaiga... Tai looked over and noticed that the guy was content on fighting this monster-puppet on his own, even seeming to have delivered a rather clean blow to it with a sword he summoned out of nowhere...so he's re-quip swordsman as well, huh? Kotaro was convinced; he could probably handle this thing for now.

So while the lady - he hopes - was distracted by Kaiga fighting Nemesis, Kotaro snuck off out of the ring of fire.

But he wasn't going to escape just yet, he needed to get his sword back.

This was quite a castle; there's probably some kind of armory they casually dropped his sword into as a trophy. If he can just find it, he'll be able to help fight off that monstrous puppet alongside the fire-wizard, maybe even be able to get the other kids out of there as well. One problem though: He had no idea where the Armory is, and this place is likely loaded with enemy guards all over the place. Still, he couldn't turn back now.

"[b]At least they let me keep my water.[/b]" He muttered to himself as he then clapped his hands together in a hand symbol and closed his eyes.

"[b][i]Taigetsu...[/i][/b]" he quietly said as he became enveloped in blue flames. his hands and feet shifted and became more fox-like paws as his arms and legs gained golden-yellow fur, his ears perked up and became points upwards as a fox, and three tails of the same golden fur appeared from his backside. Opening his now red eyes, he moved towards a Wall to keep from sight, then looked around to see if there was any guards anywhere.

Since he has no map for where the Armory was, he'll have to just guess and comb the castle for it. It's more likely it's on the lower levels than the upper levels, so he'll have to start there.