(OOC: Another lengthy one I suppose, but at least it's cool :p
Oh, and I gave people space to post about what happened before and after Kiroku re-entered the fray, so no worries the king isn't dead... yet.)
"Well, it's nice to see that you're relatively well, Josh," Kiroku commented, standing on the disk as he prepared his weapon, "Give it up, you regal pain in my hide! We're far more powerful together! If we must we'll hack and grind you into gunpowder and ammunition!" The King Golem laughed as he raised a hand up. He wasn't attacking the disk, but he seemed to be channeling some magic. The metal fist glowed a dark brown.
"I DON'T NEED ANYTHING BUT POWER, FOOL!! BUT LET'S SEE WHAT YOUR FRIENDS HAVE TO SAY!!" the King Golem thundered, striking the ground below with the glowing fist. The ground rumbled violently as the fist collided and tore open. Rocks of various sizes were sent flying into the air and fell back down on the others below. Naturally Kiroku worried, but he put on a bluffing face. Miharu would no doubt get Benjamin out of the area, and the princess would conjure some sort of protection for herself and Kenna. As for Miku--
The hairs on the back of Kiroku's head stood on end as he heard the same voice that had been cheering him on now cry out in pain. Hurriedly, Kiroku looked down and was greeted by the dust cloud that was rising into the air. There was no way to see, so he did what came on impulse and ran off the disk of Earth. The King Golem laughed as if the boy was falling to his doom, but the boy was more resourceful than Josh and the King himself. Falling from that height was dangerous, but he used his weapon's chain to snare into a nearby tree on the way down and swing instead of crashing into the ground. Letting go of the weapon, as it was the least of his concerns now, the boy grinded to a halt when he finally touched the ground and darted for the wreckage site. She was nowhere to be found in plain sight. "Miku!!" Kiroku shouted, looking around for a trace of the village girl before picking a random spot to throw rocks out of the way, "Where are you?! Answer me!!"
Miharu appeared suddenly with Benjamin, placing the bag of potions aside as she too helped searching. Even Benjamin threw the rocks that he could move aside. They worked at it for minutes, but there was still no sign of her. Eventually, Miku yelled loud enough for the others to hear her. Miharu caught it first, jumping to the spot where she heard it come from. "Right here!" Miharu said quickly, watching Kiroku run over. In one fluent motion he grabbed a boulder in the way and threw it into the forest nearby. Miharu couldn't help but look at the boy incredulously as he threw the heavier rocks away like it was nothing. And then she saw it: a sudden spark of energy that lasted only a moment around her familiar. So, the mage thought, that's what's going on... "You care about Miku-chan, then?" Miharu asked, returning back to helping move the rocks away.
"That's what's going on? Gross!" Benjamin stated, hesitant to enter the small pit the other two were making with the Earth-removal. Kiroku ignored the slave boy, focusing on the task at hand. Miharu's words were ringing in his head. Especially the word "care." He didn't want to say anything with Benjamin around, but what was the point of keeping silent?
"... Miku-chan-- is a very close friend; like you," Kiroku said, uncertainty in his words. He didn't know why he was saying it, but they sounded sort of right to him. It allowed him to ignore the tension he had trying to pull the village girl out of the Earth. "I'd do the same if you were down there-- or Benjamin-- or anyone facing that metal idiot. There's... no possible way I could forgive myself if she's seriously hurt." The excavation proved to be fruitful when Kiroku unearthed Miku's upper body. Hurrying with freeing her, the boy pushed the last two rocks away and picked up the girl's body. It was a miracle; she still had breath in her. "Miku, say something."
"Kiro... ku," Miku murmured, starting to open her eyes to see the boy. Miharu stepped in with an open bottle of healing potion and forced the girl to drink it all. It wasn't the greatest wake-up call, but it seemed to return color to the girl's face. The mage sized her up and stated that she'd be fine, but Kiroku still looked uncertain. "I... you..."
"What? Come again?" Kiroku asked, Miharu placing an arm on his shoulder.
"As much as this may be important, it will be best to get out of this pit before that monstrosity decides to strike again," Miharu stated, turning around to climb out, "I'm guessing the other three up there are distracting him until you reenter the fray." Kiroku said nothing as he maneuvered the village girl so that she was clinging to his back. He himself began climbing out of the pit. At the same time, Miku was whispering into his ear.
"I won't die here-- I won't allow myself to," Miku whispered, though not yet strong enough to be strong in speech, "But even if I were to--"
"Don't say it. We'd all be sad if you died here," Kiroku stated, carefully rising from the pit and walking a distance away so that Miku wouldn't fall back in. Benjamin wanted to walk up to them and see if she would be okay, but Miharu stopped him ("Now's not the time to talk to them. Let's wait for them to finish and we'll go see if Lenora or Kenna needs our help."). Kiroku tried to set Miku down, but she stumbled on her first step. She quickly revisited his arms.
"... I'd at least know that my hero would help put an end to the King..." Miku continued, leaning up to the boy and planting a small kiss on his cheek. Kiroku didn't hide his shock, in fact the gasp was so audible Miharu and Benjamin could have happened to hear it. It wasn't uninvited, but he didn't expect it to happen. And then there were the words that she said. "Hero" made the boy beat himself on the inside; getting angrier and sadder at the same time.
"I'm no hero. I can't be," Kiroku stammered in disbelief, closing his eyes to combat the headache erupting in his head, "Heroes don't... let close ones fall."
"You'll be my hero. Always," Miku said, smiling as she closed her eyes. She was still weak from the injuries and needed rest, but knowing that didn't help. Kiroku gritted his teeth as he felt Miku be taken from his arms. Miharu stood over him with Miku. She was smiling at him knowingly.
"You need to return stronger, so free your restraints and unleash your own core," Miharu said, backing away as she started channeling magic into Kiroku through their bond. That's right. That King Golem did this. Endanger the lives of his friends on the ground. Hurt Miku. Hatred was flowing through him like blood, but he managed to keep his sanity. He could feel new power surfacing from deep inside of him. It crackled in electric blue sparks in the physical world, but on the inside it was making him feel like he was far beyond his normal strength. Such power... he could really do some significant damage. He could also feel Miharu's magic inside him; he was going to arrive back in an awe-inspiring fashion.
"Well then... LET'S GET CREATIVE!!!!!!" Kiroku shouted at the top of his lungs, feeling the energy of the core surround him and surge with a brilliant electric blue hue. The earth began rumbling around him now, as there was a lot of raw energy he was working with. Being so angry, being so emotional, and being so concerned had probably unlocked a new tier of power (something Gregory probably learned to do long ago). He was really going to feel the aftereffects soon after the battle, but that didn't matter. As long as he took that king down he was more than happy to face fatigue again. Holding his hand out in front of him, part of the energy gathered in front of him and was forming into a solid mass. Slowly, a little bit of the access blue energy combined into a scythe made of ice. Water magic. Kiroku smiled as he looked at his weapon, and then at the King Golem. This was going to do some real heavy damage. "KIROKU: AQUA REAPER FORM!!"
Charging in at blinding speeds (and on one step), the boy almost seemed to teleport on the spot. Leaping up the golem and slashed away with the scythe, several rends were made into the body of the behemoth like it was human. They wouldn't be enough to end the fight, but there was definitely more where it came from. Kiroku had jumped just high enough to backflip onto the disk of earth where the others were and listen to the King Golem's roar of... pain? Huh, guess it could gain feelings after being merged with metal. The scythe was held behind Kiroku as he made a more regal stance.
"Boy!! Do you know what that could do to you?!" Gregory blurted, realizing that Kiroku had done something that not even he, nor probably even his own son, would due unless the situation was so dire. Kiroku held a calm, composed face in light of his short emotional rampage back on the ground.
"... Nope," Kiroku said nonchalantly, "I don't care. I will make sure this man pays for all that he's done. Never mess with my friends." With that, the boy darted for the King Golem again with another single step with the scythe poised for assault. He began hacking away, and would continue to until the fight had resolved, but kept himself ready to work with and around his comrades' own attacks.