Description: Majigen is the last place anyone should want to go visit a photography store at, but, humans are curious creatures with strange, irrational desires. The managers of B&H Photo and Video Supply believe they're safe if they willingly have a fight hosted there. A nearby building goes under structural collapse, and their netted safety is short-lived. Howard Rust Jr. and Cadence "Scratch" Carter join forces to take on Maki Genryuusai under the conditions of fighting where debris and detritus threaten to squash them once and for all. Visibility and air quality both take steady nosedives in the wake of the destruction, but a fight is still demanded in which for humanity to prove something... (WINNERS: Rust and Scratch)
MAJIGEN SERIES - MAKI vs RUST and SCRATCH - "A PICTURE WOULD LAST LONGER"
(DOWNTOWN)
B&H PHOTO AND VIDEO SUPPLY is supposed to be the best damn photography place on the planet. It's got vintage cameras, it's got the shinest new cameras, it's got something for EVERYONE. And even though this translocated Metro City is devoid of power, some sneaky employees have managed to wrangle an exclusive MAJIGEN SERIES fight to take place in front of the historic storefront!
Someone probably should have made sure HOWARD RUST knew that he was signing up for a two-on-one fight against MAKI GENRYUUSAI for what could easily be the FATE OF METRO CITY, though! And his teammate SCRATCH isn't exactly known for being a team player, to boot...
If that were all that was going on, it might not be so bad. But the wily B&H employee might not be smirking so hard once he realizes that the storefront is directly under the SINCERITY INVESTMENTS BUILDING, which is currently undergoing structural collapse at the very moment. So, uh. So much for the vintage camera equipment! It'll probably get buried under the rubble of a sixty-story building, but who's counting?!
NOTE: Fighters will find it increasingly hard to breathe as the fight goes on from all the concrete dust and detritus flying about in the air! Not to mention, the entire sixty-story building is probably going to make it harder to block in the fight. But stay wary, folks -- the fight must go on, even if part of the twenty-third floor falls between you and your opponent!
Things have gotten strange here in Metro City once again. Before it was like the end of the world was coming, but now things have literally gone to hell in a sense. Things are abandoned and strange happenings are going on. It's not exactly the most suitable time or place for fighting, but Maki isn't just here to fight. She's here investigating what's going on in her hometown and trying to see if there's anything she can do to help. Little knowing she'd unwittingly get herself signed up for a sanctioned fight here. But in Maki's opinion, once you've gotten yourself into a fight, there's no backing out. Even if things are truly seeming a lot weirder than before.
Standing outside the B&H Photo and Video Supply store, Maki wipes her tonfa with her vest, trying to get it looking as clean as possible for the fight to come. "Normally I'd be looking forwards to a fight," Maki comments idly, "But in this case I just want to get it over with and get the hell out!"
SOME TIME AGO...
Howard Rust, Jr., is in Metro City after a lengthy series of bus rides and catching his breath on a bench in an impeccable state of repair while the world just goes on around him. He's not sure how long he's been sitting there, but he doesn't seem to think much of just letting the world around him go by.
He holds up an ad he got in the paper.
"Yep! This is where the store is at," he says aloud, patting the paper with his free hand and a can-do smile, "got to say that this part of the States is awful pretty this year."
He walks through the bustling streets of Metro City, loud and colorful with people of all walks of life. It's always a happening place, underneath the mid-day sky... the beautiful, mid-day sky of swirling green, flickering orange, and what might be accents of octarine to those eyes that can see it.
"Heck, just some time ago it was blue!" He narrates aloud. "Can't wait to get that new camera to capture all this... really breathtaking."
Someone lurches along at a steady pace a ways behind himself. A hand, pale and dessicated by... age? Rests upon the man's shoulder, a low voice rumbling as if to say something. Hesitating? Having trouble thinking of something to say? To be fair, if one were standing behind the man to check out the buns he's done up his hair in, they might be speechless too.
"Hm? Oh, you're an enthusiast too, eh?" He says, turning about-face to whoever just touched his shoulder. "Don't worry about it, I won't be needing this since I know where it's gone in."
He hands the paper over. The other guy fumbles clumsily and slowly, as though... uncertain... as to what they're exactly going to do with this development. They grunt and wave a hand on up high.
"High five? Sure!" He responds with a clap that echoes through the streets and even sends this currently wordless individual staggering back. "All right! I'll be seeing you."
"...Brains?" The bewildered man left behind murmurs, holding up the paper without any seeming desire - or ability - to read it, a glass-eyed, dead stare as discolored saliva drips out of their gaping maw, helpless to do anything to avert the strange man's path.
Down an alley, a group of especially pale individuals look to one another.
"Did that just happen?" One asks. "Did he notice that--"
"He's perfect," another says, "come."
"...I don't think I want a taste of what he's g--"
"No. No. I wouldn't either."
"...Oooooooohhh, that." An understanding is made.
NOW...
Howard Rust, Jr., comes along to the very front of the B&H Photo and Video Supply store as the city grows darker and darker by the minute.
"Thanks a whole lot for showing me the way," he says with no lack of sincerity as he waves off the group of very pale people whom seem to have very inviting gazes and impeccable dental benefits, wherever they work, as he walks along up to Maki.
"'scuse me," the heavy-set Canadian-born man stops a ways short of the Genryuusai ninja as she's wiping off her tonfa, "you wouldn't happen to know something about some tourney thing? Supposed to meet with this Maki Genryuusai," he cheerfully asks.
"I asked 'em if they knew who they were talking about. I mean, a Genryuusai! One of the really famous clans, if you're in on that sort of thing." He says. "I could spot one from about a mile away. Would you know her?"
He asks this completely unironically.
An out-of-towner might consider the sky pretty around the city. For the natives? The sky is usually the last thing concerning them, especially in the uglier parts of the city. People are more worried about what might be behind them than above them, and usually, that's a good fear to have.
Of course, some of them know how to take advantage of this kind of thing. One 'Scratch' Carter knew how to do some things above street-level that would make even regular neighborhood inhabitants boggle. A lot of guts and confidence, and a little bit of reckless disregard for safety.
It didn't help when a huge chunk of the city suddenly got sucked into the Twilight Zone, sure, but it helps keep her above the fray when things get even crazier than usual. So it's no surprise that when one Howard Rust arrives, her partner is nowhere to be found except up. "Man. You're even more lost than the usual tourists we get from France," mutters the cyan-haired girl, squatting above on the B&H sign above the shop's entrance., precariously balanced with her skates. "I assume you're the Rust guy the creepy crawlies partnered me with?"
Those strange people don't bother Maki too much. Most likely because if they tried anything funny with her, they'd be on the receiving end of her tonfa rather quickly. After all, it took less than ten seconds for her to take down a crazed fan who wanted to get a bit too close and personal that time before a fight, so those things couldn't give her that much trouble either. As for this guy, though, Maki's a little uncertain about him at first. When he makes the statement about the Genryusai clan and all that, Maki sneers a little as she turns to face him.
"Listen," Maki says with narrowed eyes, "I'm gonna give you the benefit of the doubt and presume you're not being sarcastic or some kind of a kiss-up to me. I am, indeed, Maki Genryusai, and I hope for your sake that you realize that your ability to spot famous people has failed you." She points her tonfa at Rust. "I hope you're aware that I'm taking a big leap of faith fighting out here like this."
Then Maki looks up at Scratch, and her face contorts into a scowl. "And just WHAT the hell are you doing up there?" Maki points her tonfa at Scratch. "If you're one of those extreme sports girls..." Her voice fades as she realizes who Scratch is, and she shakes her head with an angry sigh. "All right, you two are the ones who are gonna take me on in this fight, huh? Well, I'm warning you now, I'm not holding anything back against either of you." She twirls her tonfa a few times with one hand before gripping it tightly again. "We've got a fight to do, so let's get it on!"
COMBATSYS: Maki has started a fight here.
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Maki 0/-------/-------|
COMBATSYS: Rust has joined the fight here on the right meter side.
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Maki 0/-------/-------|-------\-------\0 Rust
There is something about this man that seems... strangely detached, on some level, from the surrounding reality. He appears human, at least. At worst, someone or something that fails to understand that doing up his hair in buns is not something a human male culturally... does, typically speaking.
He looks up to see the girl in the cyan hair speak, at which point he waves a hand on up high.
"You bet!" He waves along. "They were talking about someone else too, guessing that's... her, then," he gestures to Maki, to which he says to Scratch...
"Hello there, Maki Genryuusai! I'm Howard Rust, Jr., and--"
Maki is quick to correct him after this blunder. For his failure to properly identify her for being Maki, he seems to put emphasis on her family. What, exactly, does he know about them...? (If anything, considering who he just confused for Maki...!)
Even as she scowls and lectures, Rust Jr., for all intents and purposes, doesn't seem to be taken back too much by her irritation.
"Oh, sorry about that," he kind of laughs it off with a wave of a hand. How can he laugh at a time like this? Is he not aware of what's been going on around him?!
"Well, I won't keep you waiting with," he says as he steps back out into the almost completely abandoned streets. Interesting individuals look on, many of curious postures indicative of either deformed spines, or maybe a lack of care of how they're bending them. Some cast less than human silhouettes, for what light is actually there.
Up above, a loud noise fills the air. There isn't an immediate cause that can be seen, but those creatures aware of any sense of danger think it best to flee on the spot.
"Ladies and... gentleman," one tall, dark-clad individual of the most hypnotic gaze imaginable seems to see it fit to avert their eyes with an inhuman hiss, "please, if you will, take your places..."
Howard Rust, Jr., maintains that smile throughout. "Never thought I'd see the day I'd lock weapons with a Genryuusai," he says as he withdraws a length of pipe from a worn toolbelt, sounding all too eager as opposed to... afraid? Uneasy? Absolutely nothing about this situation should warrant excitement or comfort, and yet... and yet...!
COMBATSYS: Scratch has joined the fight here.
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Maki 0/-------/-------|-------\-------\0 Rust
[\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\ <
Scratch 0/-------/-------|
Scratch looks at Maki, scowling right back at her from her perch. "What's wrong with extreme sports? Aside from the fact that it's pointless here right now, with..." She points up, before hopping off the sign and finally reaching street level. Landing next to Rust, she looks to the lost young man, shaking her head. "Well, this explains a lot," she grumbles, rolling her wheels back and forth on the street as she looks between her partner and heropponent. "So this is just another fight, right? No stupid things they're going to throw at us, right?" she asks, muttering....until the loud sound appears in the air.
Reeling back, she shields her eyes...then glowers at the dark clad man above them. "Oh, great..." SHaking her head, she rolls back, alongside Rust. "I'm getting real sick of all of this shit," the jaded young girl sighs. Bad enough the city is bad as it is, now demons. She'd be more freaked out if she wasn't so fed up.
"It's not that I have anything against extreme sports per se," Maki says as she moves back while Scratch comes down. "It's just that this isn't the best place for them." Then that loud noise occurs, and Maki looks around, seeing that dark clad man. Maki narrows her eyes again and grips her tonfa tighter. She wants to speak but no words come to her mouth. All that comes is a sneer that indicates Maki is definitely not happy with what's going on here. Once she has had her moment of rage, she looks to Rust and says, "Trust me, unless you're more skilled than you seem, you'll think twice about wanting to lock weapons with me again!" Looking between the two fighters then the dark clad man, Maki waits a little longer, as if expecting something else to happen. When that doesn't happen, Maki simply shrugs and gets into her fighting stance.
"So as they say in France," Maki adds, still not smiling in the least bit as she stares at Rust, "En garde!" Maki twirls her tonfa a few times before attempting to come in quickly with her tonfa as if to prove her point about matching with her.
COMBATSYS: Maki successfully hits Rust with Medium Strike.
- Power hit! -
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Maki 0/-------/-------|==-----\-------\0 Rust
[\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\ <
Scratch 0/-------/-------|
COMBATSYS: Scratch has joined the fight here on the right meter side.
[\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\ < > ////////////////////////// ]
Maki 0/-------/-------|==-----\-------\0 Rust
> //////////////////////////////]
|-------\-------\0 Scratch
Silently, a few gestures are made from the... well, it's not specific to say 'strange man' considering there's at least one in the ring. Let's say the strange one trying to play announcer, who thankfully catches the swift beginnings with the blink of an eye, signaling to someone else with a working camera.
Yet another flits away with a hiss as the red light comes on, as though they were being overly cautious about infrared lights for whatever reason. Maybe they're just playing it safe in regards to the use of any lights not within the visible light spectrum to the human eye?
"Fight!" It's almost an afterthought, given how quick and decisive Maki moves in. She makes a decisive point, indeed, what with how the tonfa jabs up against the side of the man's face with such speed and ferocity that his saliva glints in the odd... day... night... hell??? Sky. Hell sky?
He staggers back dramatically and clumsily, a notable bruise forming on the side of his face.
Moments later, right where he was standing, a large chunk of concrete crashes against the ground, exploding into a fine, possibly asbestos-filled powder that splashes debris everywhere and emits a foul-smelling, lung-choking mist of fine particles.
"Whoo!" The strange man that's actually a part of the fight wipes the side of his mouth. "That was a close save, right there! Thanks a whole bunch, heard your clan was good people," he says as he stands up, stretches out... and points the pipe towards Maki, as if to track her movements.
As opposed to thinking about running, assuming that's not the only thing to fall from the sky...
(...Don't look up.)
COMBATSYS: Rust focuses on his next action.
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Maki 0/-------/-------|==-----\-------\0 Rust
> //////////////////////////////]
|-------\-------\0 Scratch
Snorting at Maki, Scratch adjusts her gloves and her headphones, already not liking the girl with the tonfas whatsoever. Even if she can tell the other woman is far more skilled, the skater's already made it a personal goal to smack her arrogant opponent across the jaw at LEAST once this fight.
Which is a goal that looks already rather dim considering the swiftness she takes to cracking her partner across the face. "Shit," she mutters, rolling askew and away from Rust to clear out the path, as well as force Maki to fight in two directions. Though with her moving this briskly, she breathing even more heavily than the others, meaning the powder and ash sifting around the air affects her all the quicker.
Coughing out some of it, she grunts before making a straight line toward Maki from the side. Dropping down low after a fast break, she extends out one foot, rear wheel still in contact with the ground while the other foot slides along tucked underneath her outstretched leg. The aim is to collide straight into Maki's ankle and trip her up, but hopefully even if she misses, she's in a good place to get away and regroup.
COMBATSYS: Maki dodges Scratch's Acid Soul Slide.
[\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\ < > ////////////////////////// ]
Maki 0/-------/-------|==-----\-------\0 Rust
> ///////////////////////////// ]
|-------\-------\0 Scratch
Things are coming from the sky, and the dust they're giving off is making her choke a little. She wipes her eyes as they start to tear and then, thinking instinctively, dives to the side believing something's coming down on her. Well, there is something coming AT her, but not down on her from above. That something was Scratch, who almost took her down, but thanks to Maki's super agility, she missed. Of course, there's still that stuff around her which is causing her to gag a little.
"What is this, some kind of a joke?" Maki asks when she can talk. "Well, I don't like it... and I don't like YOU trying to take me down like that!" Maki attempts to strike at Scratch's legs with her foot.
Up above, high above, the Sincerity Investments Building is tall enough that it dares to pierce the sky of this strange world. Bit by bit, piece by piece, the building's hubris is awarded with ruin and decay. From there, gravity keeps taking over.
Pieces fall on either side of this makeshift street arena in front of the photography specialist store, and each hit is disastrous. Small craters form with every piece of debris, and the already low visibility of this crazed hell-realm goes lower with every spewing cloud of dust.
Rust's coughs are lost in some of the cacophony of destruction, but his visual form - to the absolute contrary - is not. With a deft leap that seems to defy his overweight stature, his advancing age, and the fact he's wearing flip-flops, he actually steps up off a nearby piece of concrete as a platform and leaps into the air...
...Then off another falling piece...
...And one just above!
Arcing his back as he leaps up high above the haze, there's a glint in his eye and a smile on his face as he looks down upon Maki and Scratch alike. Bringing a hand into his toolbelt, he withdraws three screwdrivers to go between his fingers. It's a picturesque scene, casting an otherworldly glow against the backdrop of this hideous landscape.
Then he gets clipped by a falling piece of rock and he gasps loudly in shock, clumsily and haphazardly flinging the screwdrivers in a wide, vaguely triangular shape where Maki currently crouches to show up Scratch for her initiative.
...He'll probably be okay on the way down.
Maybe.
COMBATSYS: Scratch blocks Maki's Light Kick.
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Maki 0/-------/-------|==-----\-------\0 Rust
> //////////////////////////// ]
|>------\-------\0 Scratch
Missing the slide kick aimed at Maki's ankles, Scratch is quick to pop back to her feet, pushing off the ground with her hands and twisting back up in a rather flashy way. Questionably efficient, sure, but it's what works for Scratch, especially when Maki is already bearing down at her , rushing in to sweep out at her own feet. Falling back back, she manages to catch the kick with her wheels rather than her ankles. It's unorthodox, but it means her entire leg manages to take the shock rather than the those vulnerable joints.
Rolling back again, Scratch coughs. Looking up, she finally starts to notice what's going on above them, and curses to herself...though clearly loud enough for everyone else to hear. "Shit!" Pushing away off the ground, she avoids one piece that falls where she had fallen, then follows Rust's suit, using the rest as stepping stones back toward Maki. Her breath gets ragged and raspy, the dust making her high pace all the more risky. But she's not about to give up on her style yet, leaping off one wide piece back to Maki, extending an arm out for Maki's hair on the way down and trying to twist her down with the momentum of her fall.
COMBATSYS: Maki dodges Scratch's Rewind Whip.
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Maki 0/-------/-------|==-----\-------\0 Rust
> /////////////////////////// ]
|>------\-------\0 Scratch
COMBATSYS: Maki blocks Rust's Tools For The Job.
[ \\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\ < > ///////////////////////// ]
Maki 0/-------/------=|===----\-------\0 Rust
> /////////////////////////// ]
|>------\-------\0 Scratch
"Who picked a time like THIS to schedule a demolition?!" Maki asks angrily, watching as her attack is deflected by Scratch. Acting quickly, Maki leaps away from Scratch, just barely avoiding another piece of debris hitting her, and lands just in time to bring her arm up to deflect Rust's incoming attacks away. "Of all the stupid luck, me, a Genryusai ninja having to face you two in a place that is nothing like my hometown!" She shakes her head, almost as if to get the dust out of her hair, though it's not easy given how much is swirling around. "But I got myself into this fight, might as well get out of it."
Then she turns to face Rust once again. "You think those toys are gonna faze me? Think again, kiddo!" Maki takes a few running steps, then flies towards Rust with her leg outstretched. "I'll show ya hurt!"
COMBATSYS: Rust fails to interrupt Hassou Kyaku from Maki with Cement Mixer.
[ \\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\ < > ///////////////////// ]
Maki 0/-------/-----==|====---\-------\0 Rust
> /////////////////////////// ]
|>------\-------\0 Scratch
The larger, older man deemed 'kiddo' is coming in fast after getting glanced by some falling debris, quickly spiraling out of control of his ability to make any sort of smooth landing or otherwise gauge how far up he is thanks to that collision with the crumbling construction.
Maki flies upwards with a single, confident, piercing kick that goes through the dust. Rust is a spiral of chaos, taking his pipe in both hands.
"Hey, sure!" He replies, somehow, coughing once. Pipe in both hands, he whirls in whatever direction he's going in relation with the ground (one would assume 'down,' but when you are an experienced fighter this sort of thing has more nuance than just what the laws of gravity usually spell out).
Closer and closer, ninja versus ninja. A whirling pipe strike, a lunging kick....
There is a mighty clash that rings out, blowing aside the granular mists that briefly obscure them, and for a split second there's a clear connection of Maki's leg neatly deflecting the pipe strike - and the rest of him with it - sending him on a corkscrew down into the storefront with a veritable explosion of glass, paper fliers, and a now shattered neon 'OPEN' sign that hadn't had any power go through it since all this began to happen.
Moments pass, and it's not clear to begin with if he's--
"I'm all right!" The man calls out, holding up a bloodied arm. "Not my first run through glass. It happens."
One of the pale men of a persuasive gaze looks incredibly conflicted about whether or not to stand where they are, or to go forth and partake in the unspoken invitation of shed blood to feast.
They once again reconsider given the initial evaluation of the man's character.
Her impromptu leaping attack avoided after a leap from the ninja, Scratch manages to land on her feet, a good thing as she's forced to hit the ground rolling and curl away from more debris. At this point, she's forced to to pull the front of her shirt over her mouth, her breathing becoming even more scratchy as the dust and debris keep coming down. It's good she's used to moving a lot, because she's doing a whole lot of it, as things keep falling above them.
Letting her older partner handle the direct approach, Scratch continues to wind around, trying to find an opening that she can use to slice in and attack from the side or something. Unfortunately, his attempt at intercepting Maki's attack brings another loud curse to the skater's lips, seeing the result. "Goddammit!" she shouts, running over to her partner's side. "Come on, get up," she mutters, trying to pull him out of the mess, bloodied arm and all. "Hate to admit it, but she's too fast for me to catch. Seeing as you're the only one of us able to keep her feet glued, I need you on your feet, capice?" She grumbles, tone making it obvious this isn't out of altruism.
COMBATSYS: Scratch assists Rust.
[ \\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\ < > ///////////////////// ]
Maki 0/-------/-----==|====---\-------\0 Rust
> /////////////////////////// ]
|>------\-------\0 Scratch
Maki shouldn't exactly call older people kiddo. It's just a bit of a sarcastic comment personally. And given how things are going right now, being outnumbered and having a lot of debris coming down from who knows where, she's got a good reason to be very negative. Especially with another bit of debris almost hitting Maki as she lands from her kick, stepping out of the way just in the nick of time, but the dust causes a few more coughs from her. "If this is what fighting in hell is like," Maki comments, "Then I'm going to make sure I live like a saint the rest of my life!" She dusts her vest and tonfa off after that as well, before looking to Scratch and Rust.
A pause as the two are decided upon mentally. "You can say what you want, girl," Maki says as she steps towards Scratch. "But there's no way you can glue my feet down. Do what you want, I'll just dodge it more!" Maki steps closer. "I've dealt with many types of opponents, both in the fighting circuit and while battling the Mad Gears, so if you want to keep fighting me with your skates, then that's your decision." She attempts to grab at Scratch and perform a swift over-the-shoulder throw.
COMBATSYS: Maki successfully hits Scratch with Quick Throw.
[ \\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\ < > ///////////////////// ]
Maki 0/-------/-----==|====---\-------\0 Rust
> //////////////////////// ]
|>>>>---\-------\0 Scratch
"But I wouldn't advise it much longer," Maki says as she successfully throws Scratch. "You're gonna need better footing if you want to keep up with me!"
"Ahh, it's not that bad," and on what grounds does this man claim that, when the light of the sky has been sealed away to be replaced by this demonic realm's aetherial decor, when such interesting... people... walk the streets, and those who cling to normalcy are all hunkering down in fear?
Maybe it's entirely about the hit he took, as Scratch helps him up and out. He does not look the part of anyone who can really keep track of Maki's quick speed and nasty strikes, all but staggering and even tripping on his face when he gets out of the shattered storefront. Well, almost, he manages to catch himself with the pipe.
"Thanks for helping me up with," he murmurs, as Maki all but shuffles up to snatch the Scratch and he just sidesteps another small piece of twisted metal - part of the photography store's own display, thanks to some of the debris up top prying some of the decorations free.
"Anyway, hey, me too!" He chats along with Maki even as he staggers towards her. While the world is falling apart around him. And things are being written in sentence fragments. All falling. Apart. All. It.
...
"Whoop!" He staggers forward, having to use his free hand to try and catch himself up against Maki. Assuming he does, he starts to stagger along up against her like she's some kind of ladder, kicking and climbing upwards into what could be an impressive kickfli--
Wait, was he even staggering at all to begin with?
Pulling Rust back up to his feet, Scratch is forced to sacrifice her time and a shot at Maki to get her partner back on track, and it bites her in the ass, when Maki comes after her particularly. Trying to get herself out of the way, she ends up only thrown over Maki's shoulder with a swift move, her back slamming into the ground painfully with a loud cough. The coughs only grow louder as she pulls herself onto her feet, struggling with the air both from the landing and the increasingly toxic air.
"Guh hughhh....you think I sit on my ass letting Mad Gear bastards do as they please?" she growls, letting Rust take to the attack first...and watching him stumble. "...what..." She's regretting wasting the time to help him it seems. Shaking her head, she charges in herself, buidling speed and trying to come in low at the back of Maki's ankles...just as Rust seems to straighten and tries to climb up her into a kickflip? Ok, maybe it wasn't a bad idea after all....
COMBATSYS: Maki avoids Rust's Step Ladder.
[ \\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\ < > /////////////////// ]
Maki 0/-------/-----==|====---\-------\0 Rust
> ///////////////////////// ]
|>>>>---\-------\0 Scratch
COMBATSYS: Scratch successfully hits Maki with Quick Throw.
[ \\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\ < > /////////////////// ]
Maki 0/-------/----===|====---\-------\0 Rust
> ///////////////////////// ]
|>>>>---\-------\0 Scratch
Being caught by Scratch means that she's finding it a bit hard to keep herself planted on the ground. But it also means that she's able to avoid being caught by Rust's attack. In fact, just as she's hit by the attack from Scratch, Maki rights herself and twists around, landing on her feet just as she feels like she's being hit the hardest. All while slipping away from her opponents for the time being. Then she coughs even harder, the expenditure of air leaving her lungs more vulnerable for another coughing fit. "Damn, why now of all times?" Maki gets out in between coughs, trying to cover her mouth with her non-tonfa arm. She finishes coughing then wipes her eyes again.
"This whole thing is making me feel sick in more ways than one," Maki comments to both of her opponents, rushing forwards as more debris comes down towards where she was. "Namely in that I'm sick of this fight, and I think we should increase the intensity, don't you think?" Maki seems to be aiming primarily at Scratch as she drops down onto the ground and begins spinning around like a human whirlwind. The dust will really kick up now... and so will Scratch if she doesn't get out of the way quickly.
Maki, having deftly avoided Rust's attempt to find support and/or climb up all over her - is left to appear to genuinely stagger. He waves the pipe around to try to clear away the foul, choking air that up until now he appeared to have a grand old time being able to speak over. His lungs are a bit overdrawn in whatever this mess is.
Maki is, for the moment, a bit of an afterthought as he tries to fan off the surrounding air with a number of vigorous swings, further insipid idiocy brought to a halt as he coughs several times in sequence.
The way he casually tries to fan the air even as a huge chunk of concrete - one that was but a yard away from crushing him then and there! - in the face of mortal danger and uncertainty may well make him seem that much greater a threat to good sense and sanity as opposed to the glowing, bright, whirling kick of Maki.
Incidentally, in his attempts to clear the air with a few pipe swings, he might bang that pipe against her leg. Given the speed that leg's flying at, and the angle that accidental(?) pipe swing comes in while he's otherwise occupied with the air he's breathing rather than OH MY GOD WE'RE GOING TO BE CRUSHED AND LEFT TO ROT IN THIS HELL REALM...
...Well, one issue at a time, one supposes.
COMBATSYS: Maki successfully hits Scratch with Bushin Senpuu Kyaku.
[ \\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\ < > //////////////////// ]
Maki 0/-------/--=====|====---\-------\0 Rust
> /////////////////// ]
|=======\=------\1 Scratch
Scratch manages to pitch in underneath Maki and lift her up from behind, even if it means disrupting Rust's attack a little too much. While she's glad to finally have tagged the cocky ninja woman, she was hoping to have gotten in a tandem attack instead. "Damn," she mutters, whipping around again, and taking the time to pull her shirt front over her face again in that makeshift breathing mask. NOt that it does much of a job from the way she's already coughing.
"Fine by me." Words to life and die by, clearly, as when Maki plants herself in and spins her glowing leg out like a hurricane, the skater is caught up in the storm. Flung back, she manages to avoid crashing into a window like Rust did, but for all the good it does her, painfully skidding across the street across the rubble strewn already The kick certainly did its number on the slater, but she's not about to lay down yet. Despite the blood and scratches on her, she seems even more amped up as she gets to her feet. "Ok...now it's ****ing on...." she growls.
Kicking off the ground, she charges in, and once she's got enough speed, she leaps, turning over onto her side and seemingly barrel rolling straight toward the ninja. Except rather than just using her body to attack, her legs stretch outward, like trying to do a near-split in the air, causing her feet to stick out like a blender blade, wheels cutting through the air with faint glowing energy.
COMBATSYS: Maki dodges Rust's Fierce Strike.
[ \\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\ < > //////////////////// ]
Maki 0/-------/--=====|====---\-------\0 Rust
> ////////////////// ]
|=------\-------\0 Scratch
COMBATSYS: Scratch successfully hits Maki with Bio Slash.
[ \\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\ < > //////////////////// ]
Maki 0/-------/=======|====---\-------\0 Rust
> ////////////////// ]
|=------\-------\0 Scratch
A huge pipe like that can and will hurt quite a bit. Maki's been hit by quite a few of them by Mad Gear punks. She ducks down quickly, but that only leaves her open to the incoming attack from Scratch, which hurts quite a bit. She drops to the ground, lying face-up and then looking in time to see another piece of debris coming at her. Rolling like a log to the side, Maki quickly rolls back onto her feet and dusts herself off.
This time, there is no dialogue. Instead, Maki keeps her focus on Scratch as she rushes at her, apparently intent on keeping the battle between her going strong. She attempts to give Scratch a taste of how she's feeling with a swift whack of her tonfa.
"Hoo!" For the moment removed from the ensuing melee between heroic ninja and provocateur on wheels, the aging Canadian-born handyman ninja of extremely questionable judgment and hair fashion sense - which one being moreso a thing for debate - finishes waving off the dust in the air for what little good that'll do it.
The mysterious individuals who have gotten everyone together for this seem a bit less approving - this is all supposed to be a fight for not just the future of Metro City, but perhaps humanity as a whole. These fighters should be here to prove SOMETHING, shouldn't they? Yet...
He slowly turns back towards the fight, between the sequences of colorful energy, of anger-laden strikes, of anything and everything about two dwellers of Metro City who are under such incredible duress over this awful circumstance. They all could be jumped by bloodsuckers at any time, sucked into the darkness of whatever twists people into... whatever the afflicted become.
He hardly seems cognizant nor caring of it, stretching his arms out. "Right! Right then."
He takes a few steps towards Maki's back, casually as though someone just simply walking and not at all in a manner that suggests the intent of stealth, tapping the pipe towards her back while she's going in for that jab.
"Appreciate the breather," he says, "but I'm just fine! Thanks for the consideration, but I'm a bit more... rough and tumble than that," and he's trying to prod her more as though it were to grab her attention, not... knock the wind out of her.
A small rock that bounces off his upper back adds a little bit of extra force. "Oops!"
COMBATSYS: Scratch dodges Maki's Weapon Jab.
[ \\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\ < > //////////////////// ]
Maki 0/-------/=======|====---\-------\0 Rust
> ////////////////// ]
|=------\-------\0 Scratch
Landing after her Bio Slash, Scratch wavers a bit to regain her balance, given the amount of stuff she needs to weave around and roll over to avoid the further collapsing debris. But she hit the ninja woman good, she knows that much, and that's enough to spur her on even further, confidence bringing her adrenaline rush to another level.
So when the jab comes in, Scratch is confident enough to pivot away and spin from the strike. It's a dodge by the barest of hints, catching on the sleeve of Scratch's shirt but otherwise avoided. The provocatuer doesn't dwell on how close it was, instead focusing on bringing the fight to Maki all the more. "Get bent!" she shouts to Maki, trying to do another vault off another piece of falling debris just like before, and grabbing for Maki's head, just like before. The difference this time? Her limbs splay out wide, trying to make sure she can grab a piece of Maki even if she tries to hop away, and use that purchase to pull herself in to plant skated feet HARD into the ninja's chest.
COMBATSYS: Rust successfully hits Maki with Random Strike.
Grazing Hit
[ \\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\ < > //////////////////// ]
Maki 1/-------/=======|====---\-------\0 Rust
> ////////////////// ]
|-------\-------\0 Scratch
COMBATSYS: Maki dodges Scratch's Aggressive Air EX.
[ \\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\ < > //////////////////// ]
Maki 1/-------/=======|====---\-------\0 Rust
> ////////////////// ]
|-------\-------\0 Scratch
Maki gets caught by the pipe again, but this time it hits her in a way that she can avoid Scratch's incoming attack. Unfortunately, with that and the fact a piece of debris grazed her head, Maki's really losing her patience with these two. "I can't believe I got suckered into this. I'm so going to make sure Guy never hears about this... or else!" She then turns to face Rust, scowling once again. "And hitting me with that pipe? Where would you come up with such an idea? That's not how you hit someone with a weapon!"
Maki narrows her eyes a little more as she twirls her tonfa a few times, before gripping it again. "Let me show you how you hit someone with a weapon! Like THIS!" She swings her tonfa in a wide arc, attempting to hit hard.
COMBATSYS: Rust dodges Maki's Genkou.
[ \\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\ < > //////////////////// ]
Maki 1/-------/=======|====---\-------\0 Rust
> ////////////////// ]
|-------\-------\0 Scratch
That tonfa goes in a wide arc, and the older, larger, dimmer man just sways his head back slightly as though it's not much of an effort...?
In reality, he's reeling from that rock that just beaned him. The hissing that escapes through bared teeth makes the whole motion seem more conscious, tense, and closer a call than it probably is, even as the displaced air of the tonfa swing threatens to undo his, er, immaculately styled hair.
"That does seem like a way you would hit someone with a weapon, you bet!" He says in agreement, bereft of any detectable sarcasm. "See, most ninja types, they're pretty secretive. I can understand that, but you know, it's--"
He coughs. The air, it's back! It never left, now that part of the storefront nearby has collapsed under the weight of what has been falling on top of it for a while. The collapse creates a bit of a slope, enough for some debris to start rolling anew.
"Hmm? Whoop--" He leaps straight up as one rolls towards him, touching on the top and otherwise clearing it.
He probably doesn't mean to accidentally give it an extra kick to roll a bit quicker, a bit harder into where Maki stands, but sometimes in a split-second reaction of life or death - even for complete, utter idiots like himself - these sorts of things happen by accident, or at least the confidence that a fellow ninja's already on the ball.
Or being rolled over by the ball-shaped debris.
Either or, really.
Faltering a bit as Maki avoids her completely despite her attempted countermeasures, Scratch is forced to scramble a bit to avoid landing awkwardly on the rapidly building debris on the street. Her breathing is reaching a peak, judging from the way she's starting to truly rasp right now. But she's not about to slow down yet if she can help it. She has to prove herself even if a little bit.
Charging, she ducks and twists around the rest of the falling debris that rains down near her, trying to get back into range of Maki while she's busy with Rust. As Rust ends up sending a huge chunk rolling toward Maki, the skater punk tries to come in from the side, ready to strike should the ninja try to avoid the hunk of rock from the side. Trying to pounce in close, Scratch pulls out something she'd been storing in her cargo pants, and had been rattling about earlier: spraypaint. Flicking the cap off with her thumb, she pushes what minor reserves of energy she has through the can as she shakes it, spraying out a force-ful of charged up krylon straight at the ninja's face and hopefully blind her, if only just a little bit....
Because she'll need all the help she can get when she finally crashes from her adrenaline rush and near collapses to the ground, hacking and struggling to breathe regularly.
COMBATSYS: Rust successfully hits Maki with Huge Thrown Object.
[ \\\\\\\\\\\\\\ < > //////////////////// ]
Maki 1/-----==/=======|=====--\-------\0 Rust
> //////////////// ]
|-------\-------\0 Scratch
COMBATSYS: Maki dodges Scratch's Taggin' It.
[ \\\\\\\\\\\\\\ < > //////////////////// ]
Maki 1/-----==/=======|=====--\-------\0 Rust
> //////////////// ]
|-------\-------\0 Scratch
Rust is really on the ball there. Maki is knocked for a loop, meaning that she avoids Scratch's incoming attack quite perfectly, but leaving her dazed, confused... and gasping for air as more dust gets into her lungs. She coughs quite a bit, even patting herself on the back a few times like it will help. She shakes the dust out of her hair and rubs her eyes a little. "How much dirtier can I get? No wait, I don't want to know." She then looks down at a piece of debris at her feet and picks it up.
"It's not a traditional ninja weapon, but I don't care!" Maki yells at Rust. "You work with hardware, so try this on for size!" She yells as she hurls the small piece of debris at Rust.
COMBATSYS: Rust reflects Thrown Object from Maki with Drywall Palm.
[ \\\\\\\\\\\\\\ < > //////////////////// ]
Maki 1/-----==/=======|====---\-------\0 Rust
> //////////////// ]
|-------\-------\0 Scratch
Landing with a certain grace that a man of his caliber probably shouldn't be allowed to ever come down from a near-death situation from, he comes along near the struggling Scratch.
"You all right there, mis--" He coughs, as the collapsing of the photography store is no doubt introducing its own chemical cocktails into the air around the three of them. "I sure hope she's okay," probably referring to Maki, "that was a pretty big on--"
Maki's yelling confirms otherwise, unaware of how briefly she may have been a Maki pancake, and he seems a bit relieved about it. These three people and their struggle may well set a course for humanity's future within this cursed, dangerous land so far removed from normalcy.
Why does he seem so unperturbed by any of this?
As Maki challenges him to try them on for size, he stands between Maki and Scratch - ostensibly shielding Scratch from whatever's being thrown at them - as he thrusts his right hand forward in a straight, open palm, throwing a leg down in a stomp (which - yes, of course, loosens up more horrible lung-hating particle matter) into some stance that appears at least half-way serious.
The debris deflects neatly off said hand like a droplet of water off a properly sealed wall, perfectly going back at an arc that can realistically be considered in Maki's direction as he maintains that smile on his face.
"I'm more of an extra, extra, extra large, but thank you!"
As he says this, an especially large piece is starting to roll down the slope, but... more on that one... next round...
It's a lucky thing, Scratch supposes, that despite her rather ill-timed collapse after trying to spray Maki in the face with her paint, the skater is allowed time to pick herself back up. She's still not looking too good, face and eyes red as she continues coughing. And she doesn't seem to be popping up too fast or moving very fast, only just managing to weave away from the constant barrage of things falling down at them right now.
Still, she manages to get herself out of the way of most. The rest, generally what Maki is throwing at them, Rust manages to stop and knock back toward Maki. "...thanks," Scratch manages to get out, realizing what Rust did. But no time for more than that little bit of gratitude. Instead, she tries to regain her old pace, rushing Maki again, then spinning, elbow wheeling backward to try and slam into the ninja girl's chest with the momentum built up.
COMBATSYS: Maki dodges Scratch's Medium Punch.
[ \\\\\\\\\\\\\\ < > //////////////////// ]
Maki 1/-----==/=======|====---\-------\0 Rust
> ///////////////// ]
|-------\-------\0 Scratch
COMBATSYS: Maki blocks Rust's Reflected Thrown Object.
[ \\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\ < > //////////////////// ]
Maki 1/--=====/=======|====---\-------\0 Rust
> ///////////////// ]
|-------\-------\0 Scratch
As the elbow comes at Maki, she sees yet another piece of debris coming right at her. She jumps out of the way of both the attack and the debris, before looking and seeing that her thrown piece is coming back at her rather fast. Thinking quickly, she raises her tonfa and deflects it away. Then she has yet another coughing fit. "Damn it," She says out loud. "I really hope Guy doesn't see this now!" She takes a moment to stop coughing, though with all the dust around it's not as easy as it should be. With her free hand, Maki also rubs at her eyes, trying to get the dust out of them.
Once her vision is returned and she's stopped coughing, Maki turns to face Scratch once again. "You're welcome," Maki replies with total sarcasm mode activated. She then attempts to follow this up with a whack of her tonfa to emphasise the point.
That exuberant comeback and all that oxygen it eats up gets paid back with interest as he loses Scratch in their advance to bring the fight back to Maki. His... strange comfort in all this situation can't quite seem to completely stay afloat of all the dust and grime in the air while the sky falls on them.
"Oh yeah, Guy, too!" He says in the heat of the moment while the two women are exchanging simple, cautious blows their oxygen intakes and fields of vision allow them. "I'd sure like to meet him--"
There's a very, very, very big rolling piece of debris coming down quick. Is he even aware that he's in its path? Now's not the time to really... fanboy about any of this, if he is.
There's a coughing fit that goes with this request, as he waves his right hand about in a completely futile gesture to improve the air quality in this off-beat dimension, waving a pipe around with similar intention but equal lack of effect.
"Hm, I'm beginning to think--" really, Howard Jr., really, "--things are getting a touch dead-- HA CHOO!"
With this thunderous sneeze, so too does his left arm - the one holding the pipe - surge back with a start, tapping it up against the large boulder debris that previously stood to run them over.
Against all sense of physics in regards to the size and momentum of the huge thing as opposed to the size and traction of the far smaller thing, it abruptly stops. Feeling an odd jerking sensation in his left shoulder, he actually thinks to look back up and behind him.
"Huh. Would you look... at that! Almost got... squished... flat," he's somehow got a smile on his face even as his dialogue gets fractured by choking noises. Maybe it's equal parts laughter and choking?
Fractures form up top. The interesting pale gentlemen manning the camera(s) and observing the fight look upon with wider eyes.
"Well... crisis... averted," he says as he walks off to the side once to catch his breath, holding a hand up against the stopped boulder, slightly knelt over.
A wedge-shaped section cracks off and slides down, narrowly avoiding clipping the man's head based on his decision to kneel down and take a breath, just flips barely over Scratch by its tip, and threatens to smash Maki.
The nearby camera crew already is fleeing to find marginally less dangerous places to stand to keep filming the battle.
COMBATSYS: Scratch blocks Maki's Medium Strike.
[ \\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\ < > //////////////////// ]
Maki 1/--=====/=======|====---\-------\0 Rust
> /////////////// ]
|==-----\-------\0 Scratch
Things are getting crazy right now, but Scratch, despite her heavier and scratchier breathing, is still aware enough to manage up a defense. Even as her rushing elbow is slipped away from, she's able to bring up her ownguard, arms moving to protect herself as the tonfa slams toward her. THe strike still manages to get the wind out of her sails as it pushes her away, just underneath the huge chunk of debris flying back as Maki. "NGhh...."
Rolling back up to her feet and skidding to a stop, the skater grumbles and coughs a little louder. "Goddamn slippery..." she mutters, another cough covering up her curse. "Hold her off!" she shouts out to Rust before she starts skating around in a wide arc. Trying to stay out of Maki's range of influence, and give her some idea of where she can strike out.
COMBATSYS: Scratch focuses on her next action.
[ \\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\ < > //////////////////// ]
Maki 1/--=====/=======|====---\-------\0 Rust
> /////////////// ]
|==-----\-------\0 Scratch
COMBATSYS: Rust successfully hits Maki with Huge Thrown Object.
- CRAZY Hit! -
[ \\\\\\\\\\\\ < > //////////////////// ]
Maki 2/<<<<<<</<<<<<<<|=====--\-------\0 Rust
> /////////////// ]
|==-----\-------\0 Scratch
Debris coming at Maki again, this time bigger than before, and Maki doesn't want any part of it. Unfortunately, while she may not want to be part of it, the debris does want to be part of her. She's crushed by it and finds herself in a world of hurt as she struggles to get free. Once she manages to do so, being a ninja and all, she struggles to get up, finding her body racked with pain. Then, in a surprise turn of events, Maki doesn't have another choking fit. No, instead she has a sneezing fit instead! Unfortunately, those sneezes add more pain to her body, which has her feeling a lot more annoyed than previously.
"Clever trick, but I don't know if it will be enough," Maki comments as she rushes towards Rust. "Because this time, I'm holding NOTHING back!" She attempts to launch into a flurry of attacks against Rust at a fast rate of speed, obviously showing that she's really mad now!
COMBATSYS: Rust endures Maki's Bushin Gou Rai Ha.
[ \\\\\\\\\\\\ < > //////////// ]
Maki 0/-------/---<<<<|=======\===----\1 Rust
> /////////////// ]
|==-----\-------\0 Scratch
All around, Sincerity Investments is falling down. Joining the strangely circular bits of structure and lettering are bent girders, desks, papers... it's all coming down, and fast. They might be shooting holes all the way down through the sewers beneath - if that is what is beneath the streets in this realm, any more.
Rust looks up to see Maki crawl out of that slapstick-y situation (that was also a sticky situation, if not so much a slap situation) as he coughs it up. His free hand goes to his mouth in what is probably the first sincere bit of humanity and acknowledgement of something really terrible happening. Scratch, still, asks that he hold her off.
Easier said than done! It's Maki Genryuusai, with her irrepressible spunk and demand she won't be holding anything back. She makes her claim to the style of Bushin-ryu known to Guy out there - if he's even seeing this - with a flawless combination of strikes, bending the will of the world's energy to every blow. It's fast. Very fast.
His only grace is that his back (well, his side, depending on how he contorts with the blows) is up against a very large piece of debris. It sandwiches him there, true, but it also gives him something to hold his free hand up against to keep steady as she whacks away at him.
"Hooo-aaaackpth!" He can't decide if he's grunting in pain, hacking up a lung, or having a good laugh at having his ribcage and chin beaten in for good measure as he holds the pipe up high in his left hand, as if waiting for the perfect break in the action.
"I-I don't hold anything back," he stammers through the blows, "'cept for mayonnaise," what?
This probably counts as a relevant battle cry as the pipe, now held at the apex of how high he can lift his left hand straight into the sky, down into the asphalt.
The entire ground shakes violently for that one moment.
A camera guy (ghoul?) shrieks as the recording camera falls out of its tripod, barely saved.
The entire cloud of dust that had somehow found a way to settle on the ground is kicked up anew in an impact greater... well, probably equal, at minimum... to when some of the bigger chunks of the nearby building hit the ground. The seismic force is incredible for that one glorious moment.
Rust's form is only barely visible within this newfound cloud of dust. He seems to have thought to have held his breath, given he is no longer coughing to betray his position.
It seems like now is a case of a ninja's finest technique versus another's, as spider cracks continue to form where everyone stands.
Scratch's footing may be unsure in its wake, but given Maki's close proximity to this great, single blast of strength, well...
COMBATSYS: Maki dodges Rust's Complete Renovation.
[ \\\\\\\\\\\\ < > //////////// ]
Maki 0/-------/---<<<<|-------\-------\0 Rust
> /////////////// ]
|==-----\-------\0 Scratch
With Rust managing to take up all of Maki's attention at this point, Scratch continues to wheel around and pick up speed, thankful to get the moment to find an avenue of attack. NOt that she's doing a good job of staying under the radar, with her constant coughing reminding everyone of her presence. "NNghh...." Still, knowing she has some length to attack once she finds her opening is a big boon. She can be patient...patient...
...patient is not Scratch's forte, though. Grunting, shecan only wait for long enough before she rushes in....and it's a good thing she moves when she does. Leaping up, she sees Rust slam the ground, and the entire area shake. Eyes widen, unable to keep her reaction restrained. "Holy shit!" she shouts, even as she aims to grab Maki, and hopefully shove her painfully to the ground with a huge leaping footshove, with the ninja's shoulders as a fulcrum.
COMBATSYS: Maki interrupts Medium Throw from Scratch with Tengu Daoshi.
[ \\\\\\\\\ < > //////////// ]
Maki 0/-------/-======|-------\-------\0 Rust
> /////////// ]
|======-\-------\0 Scratch
Having been on high alert after what just happened, Maki finds no problem in avoiding Rust's incoming attack. Even in her weakened state, her agility hasn't left her one bit. Yet there's still the issue of the incoming attempt to be thrown by Scratch. So Maki decides to teach Scratch a lesson in how to be throwing people around. As soon as Scratch has a hold on Maki, she immediately takes advantage of this to use Scratch's position to grab her shoulders and then implement a handstand on her shoulders.
Then, Maki does something totally unusual. She does a one-eighty somersault putting herself upwards while Scratch is upside-down. Then Maki throws her to the ground from up in the air. Dropping to the ground, Maki shows a little pain as she lands, but still manages to keep herself steady.
...Or does she?
From pretty much out of nowhere, as though a sudden indentation into some body of written work - or maybe a red-inked correction, Rust is just suddenly standing atop a girder that has half-embedded itself into the ground, which casts a shadow over Maki where she stands.
Rust stands with his arms crossed as the dust... uh... doesn't exactly part, but at least gives way to where he is. His very strange hair buns do not sway in any sort of wind or anything of the sort. Arms crossed, he holds the pipe and for a very fleeting second, has the proper look of a ninja on the prowl, staring down below.
"Wow, you're really fast," as if he has to state the obvious, "that's a Genryuusai for--" he coughs. Looks like that dust didn't part /enough/. Oh well...
All it takes is one good downward smack of the pipe to have the girder he's standing on give way and threaten to clobber Maki over the head.
Ok...that hurt.
Scratch had hoped to fling Maki away, but instead, she ends up spiked into the ground herself when the fancy ninja agility trumps her own street-level control. Crashing into the ground painfully, the skater groans, rolling away painfully. She managed to avoid the aftermath of Rust's crazy one-man seismic activity, but that doesn't mean much now. Rolling away, still hacking, the skater regroups her thoughts, looking back as Rust starts to use a girder nearby slam toward Maki. "Christ..." she mutters at the older man, wondering what else he has up his sleeve.
Still, she's not about to let him do all the work. Rushing at Maki again, she leaps into the air and flips backward, holding one foot back while the other lashes outward in a somersaulting kick. As she backflips, her other leg is released, a glowing flash along her skate as the other foot cracks out with extra tension.
COMBATSYS: Scratch successfully hits Maki with Method Slicer.
- Power hit! -
[ \\\\\ < > //////////// ]
Maki 1/-------/=======|-------\-------\0 Rust
> ////////// ]
|=======\-------\0 Scratch
COMBATSYS: Maki fails to interrupt Random Weapon from Rust with Bushin Senpuu Kyaku.
> //////////// ]
|-------\-------\0 Rust
> ////////// ]
|=======\-------\0 Scratch
COMBATSYS: Maki can no longer fight.
> //////////// ]
|-------\-------\0 Rust
> ////////// ]
|=======\-------\0 Scratch
A pair of well timed attacks, first from Scratch and then from Rust. Unfortunately, no matter how hard she tries to evade or counter, Maki just can't do it. She's too blinded by the dust and debris, and she finds herself on the receiving end of a huge beatdown. Once all is said and done, Maki is lying facedown on the ground. While small pieces of debris continue to fall around her, almost like they're trying to bury her. She lifts her head and glares a little, while muttering, "If Guy even THINKS of mentioning this, he'll be in so much pain!"
Then Maki's head droops again and her eyes close. Apparently, she's been double-teamed well today, and she's not happy about it. Not to mention, that debris only added insult to injury... or is that the other way around?
Maki is a contender as an heir to the Bushin-ryu style - if any one of them were to face her alone, it is unlikely they would have triumphed. In fact, in that split-second, the spinkick that fails to overcome the upended girder is, at least, enough so that he doesn't come off of it smoothly.
He comically waves his arms as his footing grows unsteady, falling off and rolling along the ground like a (comparatively) rank amateur as opposed to that moment of almost genuine control of the situation, coming to a stop by the cyan-haired skater, all sprawled out on his back as he lies in a veritable pile of matter almost no one should feel comfortable enough resting in (since THE BUILDING IS STILL COMING DOWN)!!
"Careful," he says as he pulls himself up, "that's... that's a Genryuusai, you know--"
"No, I do believe you are the victors," winces someone who has especially pronounced canines, over where they're trying to film the fight.
"Nope, nope." Howard stands up. "They just pop right on back up! You can never call a fight their final one." How does a guy who looks like an out-of-place, completely oblivious tourist... know that much about her family? (If he even does!)
"Any sec now," he coughs, clearing the air with his free hand, "she'll come right back up..."
"She is defeated." Reaffirms the local guy with a very interesting set of teeth. "You have fought with... grace, and... valor," they seem to be fishing for compliments to a man who seems like he got by with as much luck as he did actual ingenuity in using his surroundings, "and determination," they would say to Scratch, with only slightly less hesitation.
Some horrible buzzing noise comes from a ways away, the already dark and strangely colored skies blotted out by... some other darkness and/or interesting sight that coincides with this darkness.
Completely oblivious to this (most likely), Howard narrows his eyes and crouches down to Maki. "You're still good, aren't ya? You're a tough one, you know--"
It's probably up to Scratch to be the one to show actual common sense between the two of them.
The big Method Slicer that Scratch attempts manages to connect somehow, not even aiming to synchronize with Rust's attack (how do you synchronize with a falling girder after all?). But even then, Scratch can't quite stick the landing, falling awkwradly and mostly collapsing as she finally hits the ground. Grunting painfully, she rolls herself over along the uneven ground, face red and tears in her eyes as she's caught in another coughing fit. PUlling herself up while still coughing, she looks on, waiting to see if Maki tries to get up again.
Luckily, one of the 'organizers' steps in, informing her and Rust that they are the victors. "Hey, don't argue right now. If they say its a win, take it," she manages to get out before another fit overtakes her, shirt coming over her face again to cover her breathing. She glances up to the mysterious demon, glowering at him with barely restrained contempt right now. She knows better than to talk back, at least in earshot. As she stands up, she looks up at the still collapsing buildilng above them. "Whatever you want to say to her, say it to her somewhere where shit isn't falling down on us. And where we can breathe." Whether or not Rust follows, she's getting the hell out of here, but now.
"I dunnooooo," he seems skeptical? What isn't to be skeptical of is how there's a whole building about to collapse on them. The collapse's intensity grows greater and greater. More and more space is filled with falling building bits. Some desks. An elevator.
"Huh. Shame about the storefront," Rust mumbles along, as his form disappears in the rubble from Scratch's view. Is he so dim as to not have made it out?! Could he have been flattened along with Maki?
The pile of ruin grows greater and greater. The buzzing sound continues. The interesting people of amazingly scary teeth, for a moment, cast their camera on a wide angle to the escaping Scratch and the uncertain fate of one Howard Rust, Jr. and Maki Genryuusai...
There is one last swell of toxic, eye-watering, lung-killing dust in one final symphony of utter destruction, and it all grows still.
...
...
...
...Two silhouettes appear from the clearing smog, one heavy-set man, one blonde young woman, the heavy-set man limping along as he appears to be helping Maki out...?
"Yep!" Yep, he calls out, in what respect? "She's... she's still in it, all right," his voice is strained as he moves along out from the ruin at the crawl of a snail, "she's sure choking me here at!"
...She's unconscious.
"Kind of... kind of hard to pull her off... ha ha!" He's sure taking being deluded about being choked by an unconscious woman to the apocalyptic backdrop of ruin really well, all things considered...
It may well be the strangest sight today, in a realm that invites no sense of normalcy to anyone, anymore.
From the relative safety some blocks down away from B&H at this point, Scratch collapses to her knees, hacking and trying to expel out all the dust and other crap that had ended up in her lungs over the course of the fight. She's going to need a whole lot of water after this, that's for sure. As she coughs a bit more, she glances back over to the storefront, covering her face with her arms as the collapse is complete. She feels the shockwave of the impact shake the entire area, and she frowns when she sees nothing coming from the dust at first. "Geez, what an..."
Then the two figures emerge from the dust, prompting a prolonged blink from the skater. She doesn't quite get a chance to say it, but 'are you serious?' is a clear unspoken comment from her expression. Both Rust and Maki's emergence, and his...apparent choking by the unconscious Maki? "...." Shaking her head, Scratch is almost tempted to just walk away, and leave the weird man to his own devices. Almost. "Just...get her over here. We'll find some place to leave her for now. This place just ain't safe." Then again, none of Metro City in here is safe, comes her line of thinking....
Meanwhile at the Crimson-Permanente Building
A pair of glasses fall from the rooftop. They fall for a good 30 seconds until a cloud of locusts catch them and they go back up to the roof. They hover for a few moments and then slowly descend as if somewhat confused.
While the building crumbles the locusts then hover throughout the battlefield as if looking for someone hovering by Rust Jr. keeping a distance away when realizing that he isn't the person that they were looking for they hover away until they move back towards the Crimson-Permanente Building. A shadowy figure carrying someone by piggy back steps out of the door raises a hand to the locusts as if taking something from them.
Then that shadowy figure runs away carrying the other person in question.
Log created on 19:23:20 04/12/2015 by Rust, and last modified on 23:52:39 04/15/2015.