Description: There's a hotel made of ICE... dropped right onto the boardwalk in Southtown after a freakish amount of snowfall. And inside, two girls go to the bar, each looking for a good time. But each has their own wildly different definitions of 'fun'. [Winner: Lilith] [BURNOUT DM DAMAGE: 0]
Humans certainly had the tendency to apply their ingenuity in the most nonsensical ways.
A hotel made out of ice being among the many examples.
But that's what made them so fun!
Lilith Aensland; Not at all a Darkstalker and totally a normal student going to Taiyo High, had received word of the bout's venue, and arrived early just to see what it was like. Having gone straight from school, her uniform was currently being worn. She had spent a fair bit of time oohing and ahhing at the spectacle that was a HOTEL MADE OUT OF ICE. How!? Why!? Did they get a sasquatch to do it? How fun!
Eventually, Lilith found her way into the bar of this hotel...made of ice, and sat down on a stool...made of ice, and ordered a drink...that was really just soda. Screw alcohol, sweets are the best!
Nonetheless, here she was, sitting by, awaiting the arrival of her FATED OPPONENT, Lilith was almost giddy with excitement. "Heeee~ I get to play again so soon!" The succubus said to herself in a cheery tone. "I wonder who it is?" Looking upwards in thought, the girl began to daydream. "A well traveled warrior looking to hone his skills against the best of the best? An S Class Criminal with a seven figure bounty on his head? Ooooh! Maybe a robot who thinks it has a soul!"
...Let's leave her be for now.
It's rather remarkable how fast the ice hotel was built, actually... though, in all actuality, it had been outsourced. Heavily. And it was done practically overnight, much like the sudden snowstorm that blew through the area. Who has the money for that? Rich people, that's who! And there's quite a few MORE such rich people taking advantage of the novelty value of an ice hotel in the middle of the warmest part of Southtown, wining and dining by the bar.
Not all of them can hold their liquor that well, though. While Lilith is enjoying her soda, there are two gentlemen bickering over the political upheaval in the Middle East -- something of a "CHICKEN!" "NO, EGG!" debate that's really not worth getting into!
The point is that the only free barstool in the joint is just a few stools down from Lilith, and that seems to be ground zero for the epic argument. Older guy is totally sloshed, and he's swaying from one side to the other, his movements wildly over the norm for what would be considered acceptable to illustrate his point. The younger, taller gentleman is more articulate -- i.e., less drunk -- but still showing some signs of tipsiness.
Natsu Ayuhara, being roughly sixteen, is neither inebriated nor particularly well-versed in the political situation of the Middle East. In fact, she's not even paying that much attention to where she's doing, as the overly tall student -- dressed in her volleyball jacket and track pants, as her volleyball outfit alone would be -much- too thin for the cold -- has her head down to look at a map in the dim reflected light of the ice palace. "It should be over... mou. I should have sent this to my phone..." Natsu looks up just long enough to find the empty barstool, and sits down -- right in the midst of the two bickering patrons.
Older guy didn't find it particularly funny! He throws a punch at the oblivious volleyballer who just took her seat!
But Natsu is actually getting kind of thirsty, and just as the punch is swung, she's leaned forward to look for the bartender.
Which means the wild punch goes flying into the taller side of the argument, sending him flying backwards...
Into the guy behind him. And that guy, in turn, is knocked over by the domino effect...
Right into Lilith's side. Quite probably knocking her drink over.
Natsu may be oblivious, map still clutched tightly in her hands, but she certainly noticed the sound of people falling over. And, with a hand to her now-agape mouth, she seems -completely- surprised. "Oh no... what happened here?!"
COMBATSYS: Natsu has started a fight here.
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Natsu 0/-------/-------|
Middle east? Arguments? Chickens? Eggs? None of that mattered to Lilith. Unless it was fun or interesting. THEN it mattered!
Siiiiiip-BWUH!
Suddenly, without any warning, Lilith found herself harshly bumped into, almost shoved aside, her glass was inevitablely knocked over in the ruckus, spilling soda all over the counter and- "Whoa, hey!" Leaping off her seat, the girl narrowly avoided having the brown liquid splash into her lap. That would have made for an embarrassing story to tell.
"Heeeeeeeey! I paid nothing for that soda! Do you know how much that is!?" Pause as quite a number of people stare at Lilith, hands on her hips and a pout on her face. This went on for a few seconds before she realized herself what she said. "Oh. Right, nothing! Ehehe~" She rubbed the back of her head, laughing to herself.
Her eyes soon locked onto the jostling drunk pair, the line of people fallen over, and Natsu sitting between the initial duo. ".....Aha~" And as if she suddenly understood, Lilith grinned and walked over, setting a hand on both men's shoulders. "Come on, guys! There's no need to fight! Why don't you just share her~? The more, the merrier, right? Riiiight?"
And now she had the wrong idea.
COMBATSYS: Lilith has joined the fight here.
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Natsu 0/-------/-------|-------\-------\0 Lilith
Natsu frowns at all the attention ... people could have been hurt! She'd already felt uncomfortable from the cold, and as this bar was made for Japanese people of non-goliath proportions, she'd felt crowded, even forced to hunch over a bit at the bar. So when people start hustling and bustling around and getting her -more- crowded... well, Natsu isn't terribly happy about that either.
She's also a poor actress, from the stage director's view. The producer is in a trailer just outside of the insta-ice-hotel, reviewing footage from the multiple cameras, and he's barking orders right now. "She's terrible, look at this! She should have been tossing people all over the place by now!" He pulls up a mic, barking into that instead: "Hey, Destin! Here's what I want you to do -- "
In the ice hotel's lounge, the tall guy on the floor has just about had enough of his producer. He'd already taken a punch for that guy, what more does he want? "You stupid old c-- I oughta--"
But... Lilith suddenly has her hand on each of the gentlemen's shoulders. Easing the aggressions. The tall gentleman looks over at her, his expression softening instantly.
The older guy, too, responds to Lilith's touch right away, seeming like he's rapidly sobered up. Or pushed into another level of drunken behavior, it's really hard to tell. The producer's probably going nuts.
Natsu... in all this confusion, has just turned around. And she sees Lilith's pale purple hair. "Uh... oh! Hi! Are you... Lilith?" Natsu smiles, perhaps a bit too friendly for someone in this scripted situation, and bows in traditional Japanese form.
"Natsu Ayuhara, it's a pleasure to meet y--"
The two gentlemen seem to have snapped out of their spell for a moment. Destin -- the taller one -- gets barked at -again- by the producer. Apparently he was ordered to punch the tall volleyball player.
And when confronted with an incoming object, the first reaction that comes to the volleyballer is to put her hands in front of her face, and shove. It's not even a question of what the -right- thing to do... it's what happens do to sheer reflex.
And that means Destin gets shoved right into Lilith, before Natsu can even really realize what just happened. "UhhH!? Oh. Uh... oops! I guess we're supposed to fight now!"
COMBATSYS: Lilith full-parries Natsu's Weakened Large Thrown Object!!
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Natsu 0/-------/-------|=------\-------\0 Lilith
And with almost masterful technique, Lilith parries...Destin aside. Yes, she parried a person. Which meant he probably veered off course and crashed into a chair or something. How about that? "Whoops." She mumbled to herself, grinning in amusement despite her mistake. "Sorry! I'll give you a hug later~" She'd forget of course.
But for now...
"So I have to fight you, Natsu Ayuhara was it?" Tilting her head a bit as she recalled the name given, Lilith then smiled a waved a hand. "I'm Lilith Aensland! Nice to meet you! Let's have fun now, why don't we?" And with that, she suddenly broke out into a run towards the taller girl. A pair of red wings appeared from behind her in the process and once she was in range, she leapt and turned in mid-air, her wings turning into a blade that looked like it would cause more than a few minor cuts if it connected.
"Lilith's Super Special, Shining Blade~"
...Was she coming up with these names on the spot?
COMBATSYS: Natsu blocks Lilith's Shining Blade EX.
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Natsu 0/-------/-------|=------\-------\0 Lilith
Natsu frowns. She'd reacted purely out of reflex... and someone might have gotten hurt! In fact, if it weren't for Lilith casually brushing off Destin in such a fashion that he's basically tossed into a table -- breaking his fall so that he doesn't crack his head open on the frozen-over boardwalk -- well, someone could have earned themselves a trip to the hospital!
Now, that might've been good for ratings, but... well, the producer is glad -some- good came of it. He'll have to make it up to his 'inebriated' bar patron later.
Natsu, though... while she's nervous, she supposes that the sudden impact was enough to break the ice. ... Figuratively. Actual breakage is probably coming soon. "That sounds like a great idea to me...!" agrees Natsu, glad to be past the awkward start. Couldn't the fight organizers just throw her in a -ring?- Isn't -that- what fighting's all about? Gosh!
And... human. Couldn't her second public fight be against someone who -doesn't- sprout wings? Natsu never considered herself speciesist, but ... wings... whoa. She throws her arms up, shielding herself from the unexpectedly sharp edge of the wing. The sensation of the razor's edge across her skin and the sound of sheared polyester are enough to snap Natsu out of her mild anxiety, past the momentary panic, and into a full-on combat-aware state.
"Fighting... is fun to you?" she asks, her voice a lot more softer and detached than the loud cheer of moments ago. /Is/ Lilith coming up with names on the spot? Far be it from Natsu to know...
But it might be a good time for her to put her SLAMFEST training to work. Once Lilith finds herself airborne, Natsu reaches out, trying to grab her by the waist and invert her so she's head down -- and if she manages that, slam her head into one of the tables! Thankfully, the customers here know the score, and they know to clear a path for the two fighters!
COMBATSYS: Natsu successfully hits Lilith with Pile Driver.
- Power hit! -
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Natsu 0/-------/------=|====---\-------\0 Lilith
"Fighting? What fighting? We're not fighting!" Lilith corrected withg a cheerful tone to her voice. The impact didn't feel as satisfying as she would expected. Meaning that she failed to hit the mark completely. Oh well! "Fighting means that someone's probably going to die! We're just playing around~"
But then suddenly she's grabbed! "Huh-?" Whoosh! Lilith's vision spun around and then what followed was a rush of air. "Whaaaaaaaaaaa!" CRASH! Natsu wound up driving Lilith straight through a table, breaking it apart into chunks of ice. And the spectators immediately cheered.
"Natsu! Natsu! Natsu!"
The succubus groaned and got back up to her feet after, rubbing her head. "Ow, ow...!" Pouting, but not looking all too much worse for the wear, Lilith stepped out of the wreckage of the former table. "Slamfest was LAST week! You're completely late!" She complained, pointing a finger at Natsu in feigned indignation.
And then she smiled and shrugged. "Oh well! If you want to slam, then we can slam!" Suddenly, it was SLAMFEST all over again. Lilith grinned and dove towards Natsu, aiming to wrap her arms around the girl and pull her into the air. If successful, she'd veer downwards and attempt to slam the volleyball player into the bar counter!
COMBATSYS: Lilith successfully hits Natsu with Childish Drop.
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Natsu 0/-------/---====|=====--\-------\0 Lilith
See... that's where Natsu got confused. She'd always -thought- of fighting as a thing where people get hurt! And then Sakura and Hinata are all like, 'no, it's great fun! you should totally try it, oh best friend, you won't get hurt and then we can all have fun together!' And Natsu's like, 'sure!'
And now... fighting means DEATH?! "Uhh..." stammers Natsu, clearly deferring to Lilith's superior mastery of the terminology here, at least for the moment. How's Natsu to know how many fights the little succubus has been in before? It's not like the volleyball player has done any research.
But hey, back to the table shattering, ice cleaved in two to the cheers of the crowd. Natsu just managed something she couldn't land against Hayato -- which surprises her, actually! Hopping back, she brings her hands up, steady and ready to deal with whatever Lilith has coming for her.
... Well, until she starts pouting and berating her for being late with the SLAMFEST stuff. Apology mode: ENGAGED. "I'm sorry, I'm--"
BZZT. No time for her to finish her thoughts, as Lilith is lifting her... upward somehow. Natsu eyes Lilith incredulously -- how can one scrawny little girl pull her up, seemingly with ease?! "I--"
*CRACK* The bar counter is made of sturdier blocks of ice than that table was, but that just means it puts up more resistance against Natsu, who resounds off of it with a thud, sliding a ways down the bar and knocking over the drinks of anyone foolish enough to have -left- them on the slick bartop.
And thus, Natsu's arm, bared from the earlier strike, gets a chilly taste of the biting cold. Brr!
Natsu manages to right herself before sliding -all- the way off the bar, though -- but there's actually a slight shiver to her as she glares back at Lilith. "I... well, how do -you- play with people? Slicing them with sharp things doesn't seem like -playtime!-" And Natsu -- whose fighting spirit now seems to be unleashed -- rushes forward, aiming to whack Lilith down and into a table with the flat of her hand! This is ... this is -playing,- right?
COMBATSYS: Lilith blocks Natsu's Medium Punch.
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Natsu 0/-------/---====|======-\-------\0 Lilith
"Heee~" Lilith grinned, clapping her hands in joy as she observed Natsu recovering from the return slamming upon the bar counter. Putting her through that would have taken more strength than she currently had. No way she was she going to exert herself to try. Besides, seeing the look on the tall girl's face was plenty!
"How do I play with people?" Adopting a thoughtful look, Lilith brought a finger to her lips, and her wings turned into large red hands, that proceeded to push their index fingers together idly. "Hmmm...Yep! Watching people scream and run away, while I give chase and carve them up..." She sighed dreamily. "It's the absolute best, knowing I'm going to be someone's nightmare the next time they go to sleep~"
Whoops! No more time to fantasize! Natsu rushed in, and Lilith returned to reality, bringing her arms up to block the girl's attempted strike. The impact pushed her enough so that her back was against the table, but she sooned disengaged and rolled aside, making room. "Hey, hey! Trying to put me into another table?" She smile and closed the distance. "Then why don't you try it instead? It'll be fun, I promise!"
One of her wings reached out, in the form of a large, red claw, and attempted to grab the back of Natsu's head, and slam her into that same table.
COMBATSYS: Natsu interrupts Strong Punch from Lilith with Set and Spike.
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Natsu 0/-------/--=====|=======\===----\1 Lilith
Natsu always tries to look on the bright side of life. But there's a few things that can set her off, and it's safe to say that making other people's lives miserable is one of them -- let alone having it be a -hobby-. Maybe Lilith is just being honest... or maybe she's using this to goad the reluctant volleyballer into fighting. Hard to know, but the producer is loving it -- and he especially tries to get closeups of the different shapes Lilith's wings are assuming.
Natsu is pretty sure that getting slammed into the table will not, in fact, be fun. Even if there is a stated promise. "I-I'll pass, thanks." And while Natsu still treats Lilith the same as she would any costumed human... well, in this case, what she doesn't know won't hurt her. Not as much anyway. Ayuhara had already been charging forward to hit Lilith and keep her from following through on her matchmaking arrangement with the table, so when the claw clamps onto her head, it's enough to deter her -- leaving a fairly big gash on her shoulder -- but this only dampers her momentum a smidgen. Natsu's able to deliver a good hard shove to Lilith's lower ribcage -- a shove strong enough to propel her upwards into the air. "Hup!" she exhales, finding the same serenity she does in a volleyball match, as she continues her momentum forward, scything her arm overhead and spiking a solid palm into Lilith -- enough to introduce -her- to the bar.
And maybe the bartender. And perhaps also the liquor bottles.
Natsu's friendly like that.
"Huh?"
She got a hold of Natsu, but...
The sudden impact into her torso told her that her plans weren't happening. The subsequent rise into the air, followed by the spike into the bar...and the bounce off the counter and into the countless bottles...and the following crash to the floor behind the bar followed by a rain of glass shards...well, that all REALLY told her that her plans weren't happening.
Silence ensued for a few moments as the bartender scuttled out of ground zero. The spectators fell silent, watching with anticipation to see just what was going to happen next...
"Wow, I hope these guys have the money to pay for all that lost alcohol. I think I saw a few vintage brands in there..." Lilith spoke casually, standing aside from where she fell, plucking bits of glass out of her skin and uniform with her wings and her own hands. She was bleeding in multiple places, but really didn't seem to mind as much as she probably should have.
...Wait a second. How is she okay after that fall!? When did she get up!? Someone please explain! ...Someone? Anyone? No? Okay.
"Ow ow!" She hissed, plucking another fragment of glass out of her arm. "Wow, Amazon-chan, you're pretty strong!" Lilith praised, looking over at her opponent with a cheerful smile. "I think I'm getting turned on..." Her wings flapped and she hopped into the air and over the bar, landing softly after. "It makes me want to see..." The succubus began to take slow steps towards the taller girl, arms behind her in an idle manner. But then something weird began to happen. The air shifted and another Lilith seemingly split off from the original, making two that were walking towards her.
"...Just how much more you can do!" Finishing that sentence, both Liliths dove into the air, propelled by their wings. Grinning with excitement, the two of them aimed to unleash a flurry of furious attacks upon their opponent. Punches, kicks, claws, wing blades, the works.
Lilith is generous.
COMBATSYS: Lilith successfully hits Natsu with Luminous Illusion EX.
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Natsu 1/-----==/=======|===----\-------\0 Lilith
Their fault for picking a -bar- to wreck. Not that it makes Natsu wince any less, as she stands amidst the storm of spilled liquor and shattered glass. ... Come to think of it, Lilith -should- be pretty much knocked out -- if not from the first impact, then definitely from the rest of the shards of glass.
But no. Lilith is up. And from her words, she's getting...
... Natsu's cheeks to turn red without even making a move. "W-what did you say?!" The young volleyball star has lived such a sheltered life, and had been raised thinking her future would be simple too, with a nice husband and 2.5 children and a pretty zen garden in the back of the house...
No. She's going to die an amateur, here, and now -- that's the sudden fear that grips Natsu as she sees -- and more importantly, =feels= the sting of each and every punch, kick, and slash that crosses her body.
Her volleyball jacket and pants shredded into tatters, held together by the barest threads, the vicious red lines and impacted skin barely visible underneath -- yeah. It's safe to say -this- is a brand new experience for the neophyte fighter.
As is the blood-red haze creeping into her vision. She can feel the bracing cold of the ice palace -- and in a weird sort of way, it actually feels good, once Lilith's onslaught tapers off, and level of pain normalizes into a stable quantity.
"Let's find out, then..." replies Natsu, squaring her jaw, and tensing for the inevitable. Pushed to the edge, Ayuhara doesn't -know- what she's capable of -- so that's not just bravado talking.
And it's then that Natsu charges forward, bringing her arm overhead and scything it downward, following that up with a roundhouse kick to the chin, and then balling her fists together into a rising axehandle aimed at knocking Lilith down the hall into the lobby! Natsu may not have the panache of a professional fighter yet -- but she can pack quite a wallop when she wants to. "IKKEEEEEI!"
COMBATSYS: Natsu successfully hits Lilith with Rival Launcher.
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Natsu 0/-------/-----==|=======\-------\1 Lilith
Blow after blow lands, and Lilith laughs gleefully with each impact upon her opponent. "Ahahahaha~ Come on! Come on!" And then once she landed the final blow, the succubus was ready to heave a huge sigh. But there was no time. Natsu was still standing. And she was soon upon her.
Still off balance from her furious assault just moments ago, Lilith had no time to dodge and the taller girl was given a free pass to lay into her. A fist connected with the top of her head, forcing her down into Natsu's kick, which caused her to snap back upwards. "Gah! Yes! Oh yes! More!" In what could only be called masochism, Lilith cried out with each blow, pained but nonetheless goading for the volleyball player to go even further.
She was then spiked out of the bar and into the hallway, which was followed by a loud crash. There wasn't even a second's passing before the bar doors blew open and off their hinges, Lilith coming straight at Natsu yet again. "Is that all? I'm not satisfied! Take responsibility and finish what you started! Or else I'll...!"
She split into two again, both Lilith's rearing back with a hand that became cloaked in searing green energy and forming into an energy orb shared between the two of them.
"...be frustrated for the rest of the day!" And then the two of them thrust their arms out, aiming to force the ball of energy into Natsu's chest, and blow her across the bar and into a wall if impact was made.
COMBATSYS: Natsu fails to interrupt Luminous Illusion from Lilith with Knock It Off!.
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Lilith 0/-------/-------|
COMBATSYS: Natsu can no longer fight.
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Lilith 0/-------/-------|
COMBATSYS: Lilith has ended the fight here.
... Okay, Natsu is more than a -little- creeped out as the little wisp of a girl cries out in rapturous glee with each of her attacks. Is this really playtime for her? Is this... -fun?- Because Natsu's in a constant state of pain, even when she's on the offensive, and it's really messing with her head!
To her credit, Natsu thinks the fight is over when she managed to hit Lilith that hard. Surely, no one could get up from that. Right? Natsu wipes her tattered sleeve across her forehead, smearing streaks of red across her face. It probably would've been better if she -hadn't- tried to clean up, but...
Then Lilith walks through the doorway again. And Natsu's eyes widen, her rapidly-beating heart skipping a beat.
No, Natsu is -not- trying this again. Gritting her teeth, Natsu marches forward with an aim to slap not one, but TWO Liliths right across their respective jaws and put an end to that merry melody of pain and ouchies.
But two, in the end, prove to be better than one -- both duplicates move with such speed that Natsu can't hope to get a hand on either one, and in unison nail her with a brilliant green ball of energy. Just like Sakura had done... and just like that one day, Natsu had found herself propelled backwards suddenly, her knees scraping the slicked-down bar once again, before she collides with the wall of the ice hotel.
The whole structure creaks, one light 'snap' being heard. The structural integrity of the hotel is in jeopardy now, folks... but with folks craning their head up to look at the ceiling... a moment of sheer and utter silence passes. No one speaks, hoping they can be prepared for the telltale cascade of cracking that would signify the ice hotel's imminent collapse.
That moment, thankfully for the people here, does not come. And Natsu Ayuhara... slides down from the wall, beaten, slashed, bruised, and knocked out. No more satisfaction from this one.
The duo merged back into one as Natsu crashed into the wall and stopped responding. Panting and heaving, she inspected her uniform. ...Bloodied and torn. Oh well! It was all in the name of fun! A small sacrifice to make. "...That girl...is built like a truck..."
She slumped down to her knees, catching her breath as her wings dissipated to nothing, making her look like a normal student again. "Awww, she's not getting back up...!" Whining, the girl looked around at the spectators. "...Anyone wanna help me relieve some frustration?" Pretty much everyone pointedly took a step back. "Booooo!" And then she stood, stretching her arms above her head a bit. "Oh well! That was fun enough. Time to go now! Bye~" Waving to the spectators, who then began to cheer and chatter amongst themselves, Lilith walked out. Some medics came in to check on Natsu soon after.
Meanwhile, in the hallway, the succubus tapped her cheek with a finger thoughtfully.
"Natsu Ayuhara, huh...?"
She'd have to remember that name.
Log created on 19:13:28 11/21/2014 by Natsu, and last modified on 23:14:12 11/21/2014.