The Life of Valor (Grave x Kat)

Jessica smiled and nodded, grabbing the cards and began to shuffle, dealing out. "Alright, dad goes first."

Mr. Allan nodded.
"Okay honey."
He put down a blue card with the number 7 on it. Scott turned to Jessica.
"I'll go ahead and let the lady go next."
Looking over his hand, he saw a few playable cards.

Jessica nodded and played a blue draw 2.

Scott chuckled as she put down a Draw 2.
"That's what I get for being a gentleman, I guess."
He drew two cards and had to pass to Mr. Allan. He had no other blue cards in his hand, so he drew and put down a blue card with 6 on it.

Jessica chuckled and nodded before laying down a red 6.

The game continued until Scott had only one card left in his hand.
"Uno," he said with a smile.
It had been a back and forth game, with father and daughter fighting him the whole way. He even got the dreaded Draw Four put on him by Jessica. However, he was now only one card away from the win. He just needed to get a certain color and victory would be his.

Jessica gave him a joking glare before playing a wild, hoping to deter his win. "Blue."

Scott smiled as Jessica laid down a Wild Card and declared the color blue. He laid down his last card, a blue 2.
"Looks like I win," he said with a chuckle.
He then stood up and headed upstairs.
"You two can keep playing, if you want. I'm going to unpack my stuff."

Mr. Allan chuckled, turning to his lovely daughter.
"Well, I suppose I could go another round. I can see you've still got your competitive streak."
As the deck was shuffled and he let his daughter go first, he looked at her with a knowing smile.
"You're also still living up to your nickname. Why didn't you tell me that you and that Scott fella were dating?"

Jessica glared at Scott then chuckled and nodded, waving to him as he left then her eyes widened as she laid down her card and she blushed brightly. "I-I... W-What...?" She blushed more at her dad's knowing smile and then looked down in embarrassment. "H-How did you know?"

Jessica's father chuckled.
"You never have been good at hiding things from your old dad, for starters. I've just let you think you have sometimes."
He laid down his card over hers.
"While you were making popcorn, I had a conversation with Scott. The way he talked about you and the look in his eyes when he did it were clear indicators that he is in love with you."

Mr. Allan smiled.
"I could also tell by the way you two acted around each other. If you watch body language closely, you can always tell when two people love each other. Aside from that, I didn't think you'd come up here with just some guy from work."
His face tightened a bit as he saw his daughter blushed.
"But, I understand why you were keeping it from me."

Jessica's father sat down the cards in his hand and folded his hands.
"I know I've always been overprotective of you, especially after your mother died. But I know you're not a little girl anymore and that you're old enough to date who you please. After talking with Scott, I know that you made a good choice. He's a good man with an honest job, the kind I can trust to take care of you. I hope that you two will be very happy together."

Scott had gone up to his room, placed a couple syringes in his pocket, and opened the window to jump out. He knew he had promised Jessica that they would start the investigation in the morning, but he needed to get started on it as soon as possible. There were too many unknowns in this situation, and people's lives were hanging in the balance. As he headed into the woods behind the farmhouse, he saw some fresh tracks in the dirt. They were animal claws of the five-toed variety, and by the spacing, he could tell that they came from a creature that moved on two legs. He carefully began following the tracks, knowing that in this full moon, he very easily could be headed for a fight.

Jessica looked down in embarrassment as it seemed they were quite obvious. She then blinked in surprise as her father was so accepting about it. She smiled happily and went over to hug her father tightly. "Thanks dad..." She murmured.

Mr. Allen smiled as Jessica hugged him.
"You're welcome, honey. I just want you to be happy."
He then let her pull back and looked into her face.
"Maybe you'd better go and see what that man of yours is up to. He's the kind who definitely needs help not taking himself so seriously, I think."

Scott had managed to track the footprints back to an earthen cave, and a chill ran up his spine as he looked at it. It definitely had the stereotypical look of a monster lair.
"Well, I guess I'm going in."
To avoid waking the creature or arousing suspicion from Jessica's father, he opted for a quicker change into his Valor Armor. He assembled it piece by piece in quick fashion, since he would have the aura explosion to do the full thing at once. Once he was fully armored, he stepped inside to look for the werewolf.

Jessica smiled and nodded happily as she pulled away and hurried up the stairs to Scott's room. "Scott? What's keeping you..." She walked into his room and saw that he wasn't there and the window was open. Her eyes widened and she started to panic before she realized he must have gone off to work. She frowned a little, feeling hurt that he left even though he said they could stay in tonight... She grumbled in frustration and went to her room, grabbing a backpack and stuffing a water, flashlight, lighter, and her cellphone in it. She then climbed out the window and hurried off not thinking about what her dad might think when she didn't come downstairs. She looked around and went a ways into the forest before turning on the flashlight and finding the tracks, figuring Scott would follow them she began to follow them.

She was about halfway to the cave Scott had arrived at when Jessica would hear a rustling nearby. Then, a low, guttural growl sounded a ways behind her and the rustling grew closer. Jessica slowly turned around and her eyes widened in horror as from the bushes a huge, hairy form rose, towering above her at a height of at least 8 feet tall. Jessica's breathing became soft and irregular as she slowly stepped back, reaching for her backpack, wanting to find the lighter, as it was the closest thing she had to a weapon, when the huge werewolf roared and lashed out at her...

At the moment that the werewolf lashed out at her, a beam of intense white and yellow light struck it in the face, throwing it backwards. As it rolled head over heels with a canine whine, the bushes rustled again. This time, it was Scott who stepped out, his arm still having a residual glow from the blast. However, this arm was different, coated in red and gold armor instead of black and gold. It was the Forbidden Tenth Fist, the fist that had ended the life of the Grymwar leader, Dulzak.
"Shining Fist of Valor," he said simply.

Scott lowered his arm and turned to Jessica.
"Jessica...I..."
Before he could apologize for sneaking out on her, the werewolf leaped through the trees, flying through the air with teeth bared and claws at the ready. Scott turned and calmly readied himself as his arms started to glow.
"Million Fists of Valor!"
At unbelievable speed, Scott began peppering the werewolf with a dizzying plethora of punches, each one with the power to destroy diamonds like they were made of glass.

Seconds passed, and the punches continued to be poured on the werewolf, who had absolutely no chance of defending itself. Teeth flew out of its mouth and whirled through the air in the direction of the forest. With the final blow, Scott landed an uppercut that launched it into the air high enough to collide with a jet. As it came down, Scott reached out and grabbed it by the throat just before it hit the ground. He laid the creature down and let it fall into unconsciousness. He then quickly filled two syringes with blood.

Within a minute, the werewolf began to return to human form, revealing a young woman who was not quite as injured. The werewolf form had absorbed much of the damage, so the true human form of the woman would just be left with a few broken bones, missing teeth, and lots of bruises. Scott had predicted this, and was thankful that she had not been smashed into pulp like the technique was capable of doing. With the threat gone, Scott returned to normal form and turned to Jessica with a sad look on his face.
"Jess, I'm sorry. I shouldn't have snuck out on you."

Jessica had closed her eyes in preparation for the impact before she heard a different impact and opened her eyes, her eyes widening at the power Scott held. She then looked at Scott at his apology before she hurried over to the woman and stared at her in horror as she knelt beside her. "Call an ambulance." She said as she pulled off her shirt and held it against the woman's bleeding side.

Scott looked down and saw that the woman was bleeding from her side. It was hard to tell what had caused the injury, but she needed immediate medical attention. He nodded and pulled out his cell phone, dialing 911. After explaining the situation, he hung up as the emergency medical help was on their way. He gently pushed Jessica aside and crouched down.
"Let me handle this."

He morphed his arm back to the Tenth Fist and caused it to glow again. He could tell that this woman had minutes before she entered the critical stage where death was almost certain, and there was no way the paramedics would get there in time. He aimed his arm over her and took a deep breath. If successful, the Shining Fist would cauterize her wound and keep her alive. But if he was off by even an inch, it would blow a hole in her and kill her for sure. Scott whispered the technique and let it go.

Thankfully, his aim was true. The blow grazed her wound and burned it shut, blasting a deep hole next to her. With the wound controlled, he stood up and willed the arm away.
"As long as she gets medical attention within the next few hours, she should live."
He listened as he heard sirens in the distance.
"Let me do the talking."

Jessica's eyes widened in shock as Scott aimed the fist at her, afraid he was thinking to kill her since she was in such a critical state before she sighed in relief as she realized he was closing the wound. She nodded softly and waited for the paramedics to get there silently.

It was about ten minutes later that the paramedics arrived. One of them rushed over and knelt down to check on her. His eyes widened in disbelief, as he could not believe that the wound had already been cauterized and was no longer bleeding. As he prepared to take her back to the ambulance, the other one began asking Scott questions. He answered truthfully where he could and lied about other things. The prognosis was good that the woman would make a full recovery, and he was relieved.

Once they were gone, Scott turned and put his arm around Jessica.
"I'm glad I was able to protect you from that thing. Ironically, you following me was the key to success. Maybe you're more a good luck charm than I expected."
He chuckled and kissed her on the cheek.
"From now on, we do this together."

Jessica looked down a little as he held her, still hurt that he lied to her and went out when he said he'd stay in. "You promise?" She asked quietly.

Scott looked at her, being able to tell she was still hurt. He stopped and gently raised her chin with his hand so that she could look into his eyes as he smiled.
"I promise that I will never sneak out on you again. If I have to confront something alone, I'll let you know."
As they stood there, bathed in the full moon, he leaned in and gave her a romantic kiss. It was exactly like a knight and a princess coming together in a storybook, something of beauty and love.

Jessica looked up at him sadly as he tilted her chin then smiled a little at his promise, nodding softly then blushing brightly and letting out a soft sigh at his kiss, wrapping her arms around his neck as she kissed him back softly.

As Scott felt Jessica deepen the kiss, he reached down and lifted her up so that he was carrying her bridal-style. He walked back to the house with her, never breaking the kiss, through the woods. They broke the kiss as they reached the house, and he set her down so that they could go around. Mr. Allan came around the house, his eyes wide.
"What happened back there? Is everyone alright?"
Scott nodded and explained to him that he went for a walk and found an injured woman.

Mr. Allan nodded in understanding, relieved that his own daughter was safe.
"Lots of folks are saying that there's something in those woods, and maybe it's true. I hope the young lady will be alright."
The three went inside and Scott went upstairs to close the window. He put the syringes in the bag and sat down on the bed. He felt tired after the adrenaline-pumping fight, and looked up as Jessica came into the room.

Jessica blushed more as he carried her then nodded in agreement to Scott's story. She then went up to Scott's room and sat beside him with a tired sigh.

Scott put his arm around Jessica and held her close to him. He said nothing, for his actions showed how he felt. He laid down with her and took her into his arms. His head rested against hers and he drifted off to sleep. The warm feeling of Jessica against him was something he could not seem to get enough of. It was like walking through a desert and suddenly finding water.

Scott was soon dreaming about his time at Shadowgreen. He had trained hard and gone up to Median rank, which coincidentally, came at the same time he had developed enough of a bond with Valor to manifest the armor on both arms. His first order of business was to come up with a new technique of Valor that incorporated both of them. It was while he was being charged by a mob of angry students, eager to do in numbers what no one had been able to do one-on-one, that he developed the idea for the Million Fists of Valor. As they got closer, he unleashed the technique, his fists flying at speed not seen before. Everyone in the group was getting hit, and there was no way for them to defend themselves while caught in the maelstrom of punishment.

Scott finished the technique with one final blow that produced a shockwave that threw them all back. Not one could stand up after his assault. It was quite a lot of effort hauling all of them to the infirmary, but Scott did it all with a big smile on his face. The Million Punches was an incredibly powerful technique that could make mincemeat out of many an opponent. Even Superior rank students feared it. This technique with the Valor arms had been a major step in his journey to becoming Crusader.

Jessica blushed a little as he held her and laid down with her. She rested with him and soon fell asleep. She was soon dreaming of her childhood, of the bullying she recieved, the isolation, she sniffled and cried quietly in her sleep as she dreamed about the many nights she'd cried herself to sleep out of sheer loneliness.