Description: The Vice Minister of Economy, Trade, and Industry is currently under investigation for racketeering, thanks to the leads Skullomania has provided. But his one contact, lovable_ryukyuuan, has stopped answering requests -- and he bears resemblance to a man killed in a riot a couple weeks ago, to boot. So if Skullomania were to dig deeper, he might find a connection between those involved in the Zaitokukai rally and... a real-estate holdings firm with an office in the Shinsekai district of Osaka, a place with notoriously -low- property values. Lt. Lita Luwanda has a lead from the Trouble In Paradise shooting that points her towards this office. Both of them may find themselves in the right place at the right time, when a small fleet of unmarked black cars pulls away from the nondescript, run-down building. Or, they may find it to be the -wrong- place at the -wrong- time...
Lieutenant Lita Luwanda's trip to Osaka has been extremely fruitful. When she had an opportunity to go over the footage from the previous fights, she found out a few interesting things. Like Daniel's killer showed up well before the location was announced which means either those responsible for the Rumble in the Streets tournament was behind the attempted hit on the Interpol agent or they had a major leak. Both were undesirable. She also was able to work her Southtown PD connections to find out that the license plate for the vehicle that brought the hit man there was linked to a particular real estate office in Shinsekai. If there was any doubt to which thread she'd pursue first it was going to be the one that was still in Osaka even if it wasn't in the same district.
When she approaches the real estate office in a business complex that didn't really have much in the way of visual interest, she gets the feeling that something is wrong... That she was being watched. That feeling is acknowledged and filed away and she presses on. There was no way to get to the truth. She glances around and reaches for the door.
Skullomania had come to this confluence of time and place through a twisting maze of darkened corridors and neon lights. His contact had been killed suspiciously, after giving him an envelope containing a photo of a woman. A woman that has haunted his dreams since, handing him a handful of bloody goose feathers, before he began sinking into water that wasn't actually there. Skullomania had an intense foreboding, as if he was about to crash from the clouds into the ocean, and be devoured by whatever hungry monsters lurked there, struggling to kick for the surface miles above. But then he put the mask on, and he stared at himself in the mirror for what seemed to be an hour, pondering.
The envelope of material Skullo had been given was long gone, stolen by a Rumble committee member while he fought Pepper, but he remembered the address easily, from working with so many license plates and car makes and forms and engine parts and technical specs. And he could not forget the beauty of that woman's face as she called to him while he lay awake in bed, seeing her face burst into his thoughts amid the fantasies a middle aged man experiences in a late hour on a hot, sweaty night. He would find her, and he would get his answers.
As Skullomania walked down the street in a trenchcoat with a wide furred collar, otherwise in his standard costume, his eyes panned left and right. A prostitute in a schoolgirl outfit winked at him, wiggling her fingers and blowing a kiss. He ignored it, without even a blush beneath the mask. Normally, he would've been lured, into a potential vice bust or worse, or perhaps merely being hooked into shameful sex and becoming a regular. But no, the mask made him different. The mask made him stronger than a mere mortal. He was an object of virtue in his own mind, regardless of how ridiculous he looked to others. He knew it may be silly, and felt silly before he wore the costume the first time, but now it was his spirit totem, the object of his virility in his tortured psyche.
Skullomania approaches the real estate office from the back, passing a heroin addict shooting up in the alley. The man sneered and spat at Skullo as he pasted, but Southtown's protector ignored it. There were more important things to do, like figuring out why the Rumble in the Streets tournament was killing people. Skullomania knew, this tournament had a hire purpose, and he suspected what it was. A gangwar, by some new upstart group. It's not quite Geese Howard's style - this was being done with publicity, with politics, out in the open. Geese was quiet when he put his boot down. This was a publically televised kick to the groin of the Yamaguchi-guchi and the authorities.
He knew: it could only be a woman.
The real estate office was pretty nondescript itself -- a decently tall building in the midst of a ton of other tall buildings. Of the "red light" districts in Osaka, Shinsekai is one of the reddest lightest, and even at this late an hour in the day -- with the sun already having dipped below the high skyline of the metropolis -- it's already starting to turn shade to its nighttime appearance.
So it shouldn't come as any great surprise that criminals are afoot -- and some of those criminals are talking just on the other side of the door. Impeccable black suits, the hints of tattoos on necks and sleeves... as far as Japanese culture goes, these guys are clearly yakuza and they're not hiding it in any way.
And why should they? No one knows they're here.
"So go. Finish up those loose ends, and you won't have to suffer another housecall with me." The voice is female, and a bit coarse around the edges. And the face? It's obscured from the front door by the backs of the dozen men she's talking to.
They're about to leave through the door. And the woman is making a dismissive gesture at the men, not even bothering to wave goodbye as she walks through a large conference room -- apparently the one they'd just concluded business within.
Skullomania might recognize her from that angle though: it's the woman from the picture that's been haunting his dreams.
Lita sees a feminine figure moving away from her, however the she's unable to get a visual on the face. There's too many bodies in the way it causes the Delta Red melee specialist's lips to form into a frown as she tries to shift around to view the woman who is clearly giving the orders.
She then sees them move towards the door and she backs off and moves towards the side so they actually had turn before they could make an attack on her. A slight delay might give her a chance to react as she needs to even though she was still out numbered.
Her fingers moves towards to the handle of her sword she can feel the tension building. She had the feeling she was one of those loose ends and if she wasn't, she just became one by being present at this moment. A fight is impending.
Skullomania peers through a window, knees bent and hands out, watching the woman. He hears her voice, noting its candor and quality. She's a business woman, most likely, but too abrasive to be successful. He's seen the type before, he'll probably see it again. Skullomania understands it very well, having read Camus in college for a course. L'Anomolie, the alien. A nihilist drifting through life, full of potential, but unable to grasp the essential component of being successful with others: empathy. It can be intimidating, and may yield short term gains, but at the end of the day, she'll be a poem by Shelley, as all ambitious men and women with valor instead of courage are. It's a tricky dilemma. And Skullomania has been there. He knows, if he sets her off prematurely, he won't get anything from her. But he thinks he knows the proper method - superstition.
Skullomania lurks away from the window and turns his back to a wall, peering upwards at the space between the two buildings. He spreads his hands and slips his trenchcoat off with a roll of his shoulders, reflecting that it was stolen from a Mafiaso anyways. Not a brave act, stealing a nice furcoat from a coat closet at a Yakuza club, but one that yielded an accounting book he sent to Interpol anonymously. Skullomania crouches, staring upwards, before he silently leaps forward and upward, landing on the ledge of a second story window precariously. He then pushes backwards, driving himself upwards and backwards towards the real estate office's second story window. He lands inverted, his hands gripping the window sill, his toes propped into the edge of the window. As he quivers, holding the delicate position, he slowly pulls the window open, then slips inside like a python.
Skullomania peers around in the darkness, reaching to his belt. He pulls out a black Bic lighter, and moves to stand on a chair, reaching up towards a sprinkler.
The woman is fairly young as executives go -- she looks more like an assistant than an executive, really. But from the way those gentlemen were acting to her, it's clear that many of them had made the mistake of presuming that much to her -face-. Wearing a black pantsuit and a finely-tailored white jacket over top of it, her hair is pulled back into a tight bun, and her eyewear colors her irises a faint purple -- which seems a bit excessive for the somewhat-Japanese woman who is already wearing blue contacts. But whatever -- there's plenty of time to assess fashion faux pas later. The point is, she was retrieving an item from the conference room.
And she stops, suddenly, with a frown. She looks up to the floor above her, frowning. Not that she can see through floors, or anything.
Right?
The woman breathes a heavy sigh, and looks towards the men who'd just left her company.
She extends a hand. And clenches it into a fist.
The men outside immediately grow hostile. And they -are- looking for a fight -- it's not every day they walk out of a building packing heat. They fan out from the door, guns covering a 180 degree arc from the door. They walk out further, eyes wide open.
And the woman storms out of the conference room, rage in her eyes as she stalks up the stairs. She's decidedly unsubtle about this approach.
COMBATSYS: Yakuza Squad has started a fight here on the right meter side.
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|-------\-------\0 Yakuza Squad
COMBATSYS: Honoka has joined the fight here on the right meter side.
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|======-\-------\0 Honoka
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|-------\-------\0 Yakuza Squad
COMBATSYS: Lita has joined the fight here on the left meter side.
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Lita 0/-------/-------|======-\-------\0 Honoka
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|-------\-------\0 Yakuza Squad
COMBATSYS: Skullomania has joined the fight here on the left meter side.
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Lita 0/-------/-------|======-\-------\0 Honoka
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Skullomania 0/-------/-------|-------\-------\0 Yakuza Squad
Not all of the men were outside and as a result she still couldn't see this mysterious woman before the sudden clenched fist as well as the changed demeanor of the ones who actually stepped outside, she connects it to the video she had seen of a woman touching her head right before the assassination attempt during her first fight in the Rumble in the Streets tourney.
She doesn't have time to hesitate. She doesn't. The fingers that were flirting with triggering her quick draw latch for he sword scabbard move instead towards the bandolier holding her kunai. She takes five of them into her finger tips and whips her arm outward sending them flying towards the first ones stepping out of the door and then she goes into a mad dash towards a car and then starts diving for cover. When guns come into play, you don't take stupid chances.
Skullomania flicks the lighter thrice, and a small butane flame emerges. Then, the building's alarms go off as the sprinkler system kicks in. Skullomania tucks the lighter away in his belt and hops down from the chair, having already heard the choppy footsteps of an angry woman. It's a sound he knows well. He moves towards the stairwell where he heard them echoing, and listens carefully, back up against the wall and hand pressed against the door gently. As the sounds get closer, hearing them just under the blaring alarm and the shower of water drenching him, he steps around to face the door, then raises his leg. He thrusts it forward, sending the door flying off the hinges with a burst of chi from his leg, directly at Toyoda.
The question in the back of Skullomania's mind is, how did she know he was up here? It taunts and teases his mind from the dark reaches of his swirling imagination, wondering if someone paranormal is afoot here. He's heard things in the darkness of alleyways about ghosts and angels, heard the stories of Shinto maidens from his mother, and the devil music that blared out of his daughter's bedroom when she was in middle school. Something undefinable haunts him, but he doesn't know what yet. He just knows, he's up against something strange here, and he perhaps may have to rethink what sort of situation this is. In his mind, he can only imagine the worst - the legendary serpent of legend, ensnaring Japan once more as it is rumored amongst the sages at the distant corners of Nippon.
COMBATSYS: Yakuza Squad blocks Lita's Kunai Spread.
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Lita 0/-------/-------|======-\-------\0 Honoka
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Skullomania 0/-------/-------|-------\-------\0 Yakuza Squad
COMBATSYS: Honoka dodges Skullomania's Large Thrown Object.
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Lita 0/-------/-------|======-\-------\0 Honoka
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Skullomania 0/-------/-------|-------\-------\0 Yakuza Squad
The yakuza men are used to fighting. Drugs, gambling, human trafficking... they've seen it all, and they've had to deal with the dregs of society and telling them when they've had enough and need to fork over more money. It's common.
But they aren't so used to dealing with kunai being thrown from people they can -see-. Those closest to the agent are tardy to react: a kunai lands a glancing blow across the chest of one, while embedding itself in the shoulder of another. The others... are bit quicker, able to deflect the blades away with raised forearms. They were on alert, after all.
Now that they have a singular focus, the men are on the move: all twelve move as one precision unit. "Nail her!" Objective one: apprehend. While the first two extricate the blades from themselves, the two less-injured of the front line advance, aiming to leap bodily onto Lita, pinning her down to the ground. They don't aim to hurt -- just pin.
Hurting is from the three guys behind -them-, as they swing their boots at the woman, aiming to deal as much damage as possible.
Meanwhile, inside the building, the woman who haunts Skullomania's dreams is marching up those stairs. Confusion, fear -- she's used to sensing these things. Panic? Ha! Laughable. As the door is broken off her hinges, the woman stares at it -- and ducks.
The door flies over her head, though curiously, her hand is also pushing up -towards- the door. It's unclear whether she actually had some say in the motion, or if she was merely preparing to defend herself should she have misjudged the haphazard flight of the door as it rebounded off the walls of the staircase, but she seems more aware of the intruder than any mere executive would.
"What are -you- doing here...?" she demands, her voice a well-blended mix of gravel and tar. She rises back to her feet, her glare blazing hot as she levels her eyes upon the masked man.
And with a mere whip of her hand, she lashes out at him -- a testing blow. But it's not a bare-handed strike -- she's leading with the blade of a knife, having withdrawn it from her sleeve in the blink of an eye.
COMBATSYS: Lita dodges Yakuza Squad's Synchronized Beating.
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Lita 0/-------/-------|======-\-------\0 Honoka
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Skullomania 0/-------/-------|-------\-------\0 Yakuza Squad
COMBATSYS: Skullomania endures Honoka's Quick Strike.
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Lita 0/-------/-------|=======\-------\0 Honoka
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Skullomania 0/-------/-----==|-------\-------\0 Yakuza Squad
The yakuza move with unnatural synchronicity. She's never seen soldiers who have trained and fought together for years move like they were literally of one mind. Not on the usual figurative level that she normally sees at the training camps.
That tiny moment that she used to take cover worked in her favor. They needed to take a little extra time to get around the car she was using for cover and she slides across the hood of it allowing her to escape the synchronized grab attempt and subsequently, the attempt to stomp a mud hole in her.
Lita then hops back up on the car diving towards the yakuza with what looks to be a nigh suicidal dive towards the twelve enemies and attempts to grab him by the arm and swing him around to knock away some of her attackers and then swing him face first towards the ground before wrenching his arm in what would be an ideally painful armbar and she's not bothering to wait for this particular one to tap out.
Skullomania squints behind his mask as he sees the woman approach him, only air and the spray of water from the ceiling between them. He hears the question, but sets it aside for a moment, as he sees the glint of a knife reflected from the red building alarm lights synchronized with the drone of the tower's fire alarm. He takes a step forward, the knife slicing through his costume across his chest, a narrow line of red blood shining in the night. His hand snaps out to grab the knife wrist and crank it downwards from the side, as if he was torquing a motorcycle handlebar. Should he successfully wrench her wrist and disarm her, he shoves his arm downwards with forceful anger, before lashing out with his knee at her jaw.
"I'm here because you sent for me," Skullomania hisses after the brief action is complete, a little less terse than her due to his practice at stage martial arts and theatrical performance combined with his fighting forms. His maneuvers flow gracefully and naturally from childhood training, allowing him to talk a little more while fighting. "You summoned Satan, woman," he growls, staring at her with his eyes hidden by the round silk screens of the mask.
COMBATSYS: Yakuza Squad fails to interrupt Close Quarters Catch from Lita with Quick Throw.
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Lita 0/-------/-----==|=======\-------\0 Honoka
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Skullomania 0/-------/-----==|=------\-------\0 Yakuza Squad
COMBATSYS: Honoka instinctively blocks Skullomania's Power Throw.
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Lita 0/-------/-----==|=======\-------\0 Honoka
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Skullomania 0/-------/-----==|=------\-------\0 Yakuza Squad
The yakuza swarm to move around Lita, but aren't quite able to reach her in time to prevent her from sliding across the hood of the car. They regroup, moving around the car, but it seems to be something the trained tactician was planning on. The would-be tackler is snatched out of the air by the arm, used as an improvised melee weapon against his friends.
His companions seem to be ready for this -- they pull back, and one even turns his back to act as a shield -- though he ends up simply magnifying the attack onto his buddies, forcing them back.
The poor schmuck who got used as a weapon? Well, his arm's definitely broken from -that- gesture as he finds himself eating pavement -- not exactly part of a balanced diet. He doesn't tap out -- but the sudden application of pain forces him to lose consciousness.
There is a look of fear on the men's faces, but they seem to share the same resolve to put an end to this clash -- but for now they back up, regrouping for the next round.
Somehow, the woman upstairs is cogizant of what's going on. When Skullomania reaches for her wrist, the woman strikes out with her opposite palm, blunting the force he can use to apply to her knife-wielding arm. It's a forceful impact, but as she pulls her hand back, it seems she winces a -second- time -- not through any action of Skullomania himself.
After a moment of recognition, her eyes light up with ferocity.
"There -is- no Satan, but I'll lead you on the path to Hell!" The drenched woman leaps at Skullomania, aiming to piston her foot into his abdomen. But it's not meant to do damage by itself -- she aims to lance a bolt of psionic energy straight through her heel, using it to hold him steady as she continues twisting to her side. If she manages to connect, the psychic 'spike' would (a) hurt a hell of a lot, and (b) secure him to her foot long enough for her to sling him into a table supporting a printer and a coffee machine.
COMBATSYS: Honoka successfully hits Skullomania with Wakka Pururuse.
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Lita 0/-------/-----==|=======\===----\1 Honoka
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Skullomania 1/-------/<<<<<<<|=------\-------\0 Yakuza Squad
They have that look of fear on their faces and she hasn't even drawn her sword yet. Her lips curl into a diabolical grin as her fingers flex and release. The numbers are too great for her /not/ to press the advantage.
She notes the numbers. One down. Eleven to go. She takes a deep breath and her fingers move to the quick release latch on her sword freeing the huge weapon from the scabbard. After a couple of steps she leaps forward taking a broad swipe at the group.
Her objective is to continue to put them on the defensive and to continue to put fear into them. She isn't out to kill but if they don't move, they are in for a world of hurt.
Skullomania takes the kick directly to his stomach, feeling the psionic charge course into his brain and practically make his senses explode from sheer overwhelming revulsion and agony. "AHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!" he screams in a bellow of pain, before he explodes backwards from the foot into the table. He smashes through it, breaking the table to splinters and chunks of wood as the printer slams to individual pieces of electronics and plastic, the coffee machine significantly harder to destroy as it's sent flying from contact with the back of his head. He ends up laid out with water dripping down on him from the ceiling, his body twitching as his head pounds.
'Remember your training,' a voice says in the back of his head, before the face of his martial arts instructor appears. 'Do not respond to the flow of another. Only your own. Whether in a crowd, or with an opponent.' Skullomania's wrists twitch inward as he convulses on the floor, writhing onto his stomach to slowly push himself up, his leg with a stutter of pain as he stands up. 'When the flow is in another's hand, seize it back. You must merely know how to take a risk.' Skullomania turns around to face Toyoda, labored breathing indicating he's in pain. He covers his stomach with an arm haggardly, shoulders hunched slightly. He stares at her, before a nimbus of faint orange chi swirls around his feet and up his legs, covering his torso and slinking down his arms and over his face. It blazes around him, brighter and brighter, as he slowly moves position from the wounded posture to a fighting pose, his fingers spread.
COMBATSYS: Skullomania gathers his will.
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Lita 0/-------/-----==|=======\===----\1 Honoka
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Skullomania 1/---<<<</<<<<<<<|=------\-------\0 Yakuza Squad
COMBATSYS: Yakuza Squad dodges Lita's Heavy Strike.
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Lita 0/-------/-----==|=======\===----\1 Honoka
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Skullomania 1/---<<<</<<<<<<<|=------\-------\0 Yakuza Squad
The yakuza stare back at the woman as she leers that grin back at them. Her sword is brought to bear, and fear lights their faces.
Yes, it's prudent to withdraw with that in mind. The yakuza wisely keep their distance, starting to move backwards, collectively ensuring that no man gets directly behind another. And when the sword is swung, the provocation has already underscored just how -potent- such a blade can be. They leap backwards, the blade narrowly missing three of the men. Some are already missing fingers, after all -- they know how much a blade can hurt.
Now that they're dealing with a known quantity, the guns are stowed -- knives are brought out in their places. Less lethal, but more of the same as what she's got.
And while one brave soul charges in, raising his knife up to deflect the blade, another leaps in with a stabbing gesture at his side. And a third leaps in from -his- side. All with the same coordinated tenacity. She doesn't want to kill -- they don't either.
Upstairs, the woman glares back at the costumed man who'd so recently tried to rip the knife out of her hands. She rises back to her feet, wincing for another seemingly unexplained reason. Grumbling under her breath, she seems to be whispering to no one in particular -- and yet, she never tears her eyes away from the Hero of Southtown.
At the sight of his bright orange chi, the woman shakes her head. The fire burns in her eyes, a sharp contrast to the water drops flecking across her face. "You're out of your league, and yet you insist on this -bold- stance?"
The woman looks at the smashed pieces of office equipment, and then back to Skullomania. Flipping her knife about in a casual taunt, she chuckles. "I will admit, you surprised me."
But it's then that the woman calmly tilts her head towards the hallway that Skullomania entered from -- even over the alarm klaxons, she can feel the breeze whipping through the open window.
The devilish woman smiles. "You have a friend here -- did you come together? Perhaps I'll pay her a visit too..." And with acrobatic grace, the woman cartwheels to the side, confident that her opponent's defiant stand will keep him rooted to the floor long enough for her to get far enough away. Twisting about, she lands on her feet and bolts through the open room, diving hands-first through the open window.
The strong momentum is needed so that she can handspring off the adjoining building, much as Skullomania had to gain entrance. Flipping in midair, she lands safely on the street level. The water-soaked woman frowns, shaking her hands off as she rises back to her feet -- and tilts her head in a predatory leer at Lita.
"Ahh, so =you're= the sidekick to Mr. Wannabe Hero up there."
She's smiling. But it's not a cheerful greeting.
COMBATSYS: Honoka takes no action.
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Lita 0/-------/-----==|=======\===----\1 Honoka
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Skullomania 1/---<<<</<<<<<<<|=------\-------\0 Yakuza Squad
COMBATSYS: Lita dodges Yakuza Squad's Random Strike.
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Lita 0/-------/-----==|=======\===----\1 Honoka
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Skullomania 1/---<<<</<<<<<<<|=------\-------\0 Yakuza Squad
With the yakuza hanging back, it gives her more time to prepare for their eventual advance. It also gave her the ability to control the range. She takes her sword and stabs the ground right in front of the initial brave soul's foot just before he's about to take his strike. Just to give him a little something to think about and then she steps backwards so that she can keep the other two from flanking her as well as connecting with their particular knife attacks.
She then hears the sounds of someone landing close by and then the sounds of clothes rustling as someone rises to her feet. She glances towards the sound, not willing to completely tear her attention away from the knife-wielding criminals that she's already dealing with and then she finally gets a good look at the woman. Recognition sets in. The special forces soldier wants to confront her right away but she needed to make sure she could keep the yakuza off her back long enough to go after the mysterious woman.
Lita's technique is clean but there's an underlying brutal savagery to her attacks as she stabs at one criminal in the leg just above the teardrop muscle in the thigh, slashes one in the attempt to target their achilles tendon, and targetting one in the back of the knee cap. The goal is to put a tangle of bodies between her and the rest of the yakuza so she can get her chance at the soaking wet woman without having to worry about getting attacked in the back.
"Wannabe Hero? What are you on about?"
She looks at the wet clothes and realization sets in that she's talking about the one who set off the alarm.
Skullomania narrows his hidden eyes at Toyoda, unaware that anyone else is with him. He watches Toyoda in blaise disgust as she cartwheels away from him and runs away from him, before disappearing right out the window he entered through. This will not stand. The orange chi disappears with a soft whisper of smoke off his upper body amidst the pouring sprinkler system, before he goes running on a path parallel to the one Toyoda just took. He leaps into the air and dropkicks himself straight through a closed window, shattering it with a loud commotion and landing on the street behind the Yakuza thugs, glass peppering the ground around him. Since he's not alone, he quickly determines with a snap decision that he cannot face the skillful woman and her thugs together, although he definitely has a friend to assist him. His best option is to isolate the woman by defeating her thugs.
Skullomania drops to a knee as he thrusts one fist forward at the very center of a thug's lower lumbar, just above the tailbone on the spine, before he bursts into the air over the man with a leapfrog that leaves his feet kicked outwards. He sees Lita, then, reasoning that she must be his afformentioned friend, landing alongside her. His leg thrusts out towards the man she targets with a slash, a mule kick aimed at his stomach, before he jumps into the air with his fingertips pressing into Lita's shoulders as he passes over her and to her other side and lands in a crouch. Then, he leaps upwards into the air with an inverse swan, aiming to land on the final of the three thugs with a handstand on his shoulders that follows into him falling behind the man and hurling him directly at the solid wall of the building.
COMBATSYS: Yakuza Squad blocks Lita's Medium Strike.
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Lita 0/-------/-----==|=======\===----\1 Honoka
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Skullomania 0/-------/-----<<|===----\-------\0 Yakuza Squad
COMBATSYS: Skullomania successfully hits Yakuza Squad with Skullo Dream EX.
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Lita 0/-------/-----==|=======\===----\1 Honoka
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Skullomania 0/-------/-----<<|=======\-------\0 Yakuza Squad
The sprinkler-soaked woman seems to enjoy the look of her makeup running down from her face. It's only happened twice before, and she's rather enjoyed the psychological impact it'd had upon her victims in both incidents. But in those cases, her opponents were in dim lighting, not the fading sunlight in the streets of Shinsekai; the open air tends to work against her. She almost misses the sound of glass shattering overhead.
She does not, in fact, miss the sound of glass shattering overhead; a raised arm is enough to keep the shards from filling her face with even more unsightly blotches of a crimson color.
She came down here for one reason alone -- to look out for her men. So as the diminutive woman strides over towards Lita, she's granted a front-row seat to seeing three of her men practically cut open before her. This upsets her to some degree, as she casually brushes glass shards out of her arm, droplets of red staining her fingertips. And yet, she calmly answers, "Does that answer your question?"
The first man withdraws slightly -- he would have likely escaped if not for Skullomania slamming him into Lita's blade, turning what would be a surgical cut into a quite severe one. His pant leg splits apart, revealing the horrid mess the Delta Red agent has made of the intricate irezumi artwork beneath. He clamps his hands over the traumatically injured leg, hoping to stem the blood loss...
The second man doesn't fare much better: in this case Skullomania's efforts actually hamper Lita, as the mule kick he delivers to his stomach places him just out of reach. He voids his stomach contents as he reels off to the side -- likely to pass out momentarily from the sudden shock.
The third, though, gets nailed by both the stab to the kneecap -and- the overhead throw. And what's more -- as if being unable to walk for a week or more wasn't enough -- he also bowls over one of his friends like a tenpin as he flies away. As the fourth man falls, his head bashes against the side of the street curb, knocking him out instantaneously.
Warily, the yakuza men pull back and away. The fear is overwhelming -- One man even notices the drenched woman striding up towards them like a spectre...
"Toyoda-san, I'm s-sor"
The woman silences her yakuza minion with an outstretched finger, her expression warm and compassionate all of a sudden. "Shhh... That will be quite enough of that." Toyoda waves her open palm at Skullomania and Lita. "We have visitors, after all."
Toyoda does not stop walking forward. She eyes Lita's blade with amusement as she parts her coat, pulling out a pair of two-foot-long staves. As she drops one staff, it becomes obvious that the staves were actually connected by a three-foot-long chain, the whirling staff resonating a fearsome dirge that echoes upon the narrow building facades.
"Perhaps I should say 'trespassers,' then?"
Toyoda steps into range, whirling her tethered staff around in a widely telegraphed arc towards Lita's head. Simultaneously, the remaining yakuza henchmen suddenly surge to action, without any further verbal command. One leaps to tackle Lita around the waist, while four more start slashing madly with their knives, aiming to cut Skullomania's fearsome outfit to ribbons much like their companion's attire.
COMBATSYS: Honoka successfully hits Lita with Huge Thrown Object.
[ \\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\ < > ///////////////////////////// ]
Lita 0/-------/=======|=======\======-\1 Honoka
[ \\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\ < > /////////////// ]
Skullomania 0/-------/-----<<|======-\-------\0 Yakuza Squad
Lita didn't expect the sudden assist from a costume hero. She doesn't even have a chance to give in to her desire to roll her eyes as his outfit or for that matter to cringe at their combined carnage before one of the yakuza starts flying at her. She gets distracted from that highly telegraphed chained staff swipe. She gets cracked hard in her head and suddenly finds herself on the groun. For a moment her vision swims and she takes a moment to get herself back together.
It looks like she got the answer she wanted but she's not too happy about it.
Lita slowly rises to her feet, sword held in both hands and then she hops in, with a cautious strike to the mystery woman's arm. She needs to test her defenses.
COMBATSYS: Yakuza Squad successfully hits Skullomania with Reckless Attacks EX.
[ \\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\ < > ///////////////////////////// ]
Lita 0/-------/=======|=======\======-\1 Honoka
[ \\\\\\\\\\\\\\ < > /////////////// ]
Skullomania 0/-------/-======|=======\-------\1 Yakuza Squad
Skullomania gives Lita a two fingered salute, before he swings around to face the Yakuza, much too late. As their blades cut into him, he stumbles backwards, his costume getting slashed apart and revealing the flesh beneath, blood criss crossing across his foes as he's sliced open. He glows with orange chi as he spreads his arms and then his fingers behind him, taking one more slash. "HAAAAAAH!" comes a shout.
Skullomania surges forward with a leap, suddenly pulling his arms in as he spins into the four men attacking him. Bursting forward like a twisting, twirling missile, he aims to slam through the Yakuza, before landing on the ground and rolling into a crouch, the orange chi still enscouncing him, as his senses fight off the shock of the psionic sting and boost him to truly superhuman acuity.
COMBATSYS: Skullomania successfully hits Yakuza Squad with Skullo Crusher.
[ \\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\ < > ///////////////////////////// ]
Lita 0/-------/=======|=======\======-\1 Honoka
[ \\\\\\\\\\ < > /////////// ]
Skullomania 1/-------/=======|=======\==-----\1 Yakuza Squad
COMBATSYS: Honoka blocks Lita's Quick Strike.
[ \\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\ < > //////////////////////////// ]
Lita 1/-------/=======|=======\======-\1 Honoka
[ \\\\\\\\\\ < > /////////// ]
Skullomania 1/-------/=======|=======\==-----\1 Yakuza Squad
The mystery "Toyoda" lands her strike as fully intentioned -- one that seemed much slower than it actually travelled due to the speed at which the second free-spinning staff was moving. It's deceptive, and with her yakuza flunkie providing the necessary distraction, it hits all the harder. She smirks faintly, at her other three attackers as they manage to get a good few slices in on the masked hero. She twirls the free staff around, summoning it back to her grip, and doubling it up against her right forearm.
"Really... What was that for, the fire alarm...? Did you hope the fire department would find that my real estate organization wasn't up to code?" She clucks her tongue at Skullomania, even though she's keeping more of an eye on the momentarily-dazed Lita. She can sense the fear -- sense the agony, even that of her own men. It's not something she can ignore.
But then Skullomania burns with a glowing orange aura -- one that ... she feels dead to. And moisture accumulates on her forehead, that had nothing to do with the fire suppression system. She wipes it from her brow with her left hand, clucking her tongue again as she addresses the rising Lita. "Or you. What message do you hope to send, walking into the front of a building with a weapon like that? Are you really surprised that this is how you end up?"
But then, while Lita proves that she has more fight left in her, Skullomania surges to action. It's not at her -- but at her vulnerable and morale-impaired crew. "...Pin him down, you worthless..." She doesn't get to finish -- without knowing Lita's true intentions, "Toyoda" is forced to shove her arm outward as if it were meant to be a deathblow. She raises her arm, catching the sword along the knurled surface of her staff but unable to shove the blade completely away until it digs into the flesh of her upper arm, loosing a small spray of crimson into the air.
"... Or might you happen to be total strangers here..." she states, cooly taking a step back as she assesses Lita -- well, she remains cool until she feels the sensation of her men being tossed all over the street like goods at a yardsale. Each time one of the yakuza hits the pavement, a slight shudder flickers in her expression, but she attempts to mask it by flicking a smirk back at Lita. Only one of her men remains -- but with a dismissive wave of her hand, she doesn't seem terribly concerned by it.
Especially since the man takes one look at his fallen brethren, before turning tail and running off for a side street.
"The Yamaguchi-gumi will not forget this insult, Lieutenant. Or yours, Skullomania..." The mystery woman seems to revel in whatever reaction she gets out of the two hearing their own preferred titles.
"In fact... I'm fairly certain that they'll be sending a team to clean up this mess within... two minutes." Miss Toyoda twirls the free end of the staff around again, seemingly unimpaired by the loss of blood. "Won't you two stay and play with me a little while longer...?"
COMBATSYS: Honoka issues a challenge!!
[ \\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\ < > //////////////////////////// ]
Lita 1/-------/=======|=======\======-\1 Honoka
[ \\\\\\\\\\ < > /////////// ]
Skullomania 1/-------/=======|=======\==-----\1 Yakuza Squad
COMBATSYS: Honoka takes no action.
[ \\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\ < > //////////////////////////// ]
Lita 1/-------/=======|=======\======-\1 Honoka
[ \\\\\\\\\\ < > /////////// ]
Skullomania 1/-------/=======|=======\==-----\1 Yakuza Squad
COMBATSYS: Yakuza Squad takes no action.
[ \\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\ < > //////////////////////////// ]
Lita 1/-------/=======|=======\======-\1 Honoka
[ \\\\\\\\\\ < > /////////// ]
Skullomania 1/-------/=======|=======\==-----\1 Yakuza Squad
COMBATSYS: Yakuza Squad has left the fight here.
[ \\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\ < > //////////////////////////// ]
Lita 1/-------/=======|=======\======-\1 Honoka
[ \\\\\\\\\\ <
Skullomania 1/-------/=======|
The fact that the mystery woman was talking was actually somewhat to her benefit. It gave her time to get her bearings back and it gave her time to notice things like every time she heard the sound of bodies hitting the ground, Toyoda's face changed at least at first but then as the mystery woman began masking it, it was harder to see. It along with the gestures from earlier gave confirmation of what's going on.
"Ugh. I don't know what's giving me more of a headache. The shot you took at me or the bloody prattle coming out of your mouth!"
Lita's hand moves towards her head in clear mimicry of Toyoda's gesture when she was in the car with the assassin at the Trouble in Paradise theme park venue. It was a small gesture meant to send a message. One that maybe Skullomania might not get depending on what information he had. She then brings hand back to grip her sword watching the other woman as she side steps so that she can keep her newfound and preferably temporary ally out of her way as well as keeping her out of his way.
"I can't pretend to speak for Interpol, but I can say with absolute certainty that Delta Red will not forget the insult of having a Yamaguchi-gumi hitman being sent to our fight to cause harm to one of the combatants."
The Special Forces soldier launches herself forward with unrestrained brutality as she brings her sword across with a vicious slash across the stomach followed up by a downward slash to the thigh and a third one to the shoulder.
Skullomania rises from his crouch and turns around to face Lita and Toyoda again, turning his head briefly to watching the fleeing Yakuza with the cellphone. Backup is coming, soon. He looks between Lita and Toyoda, feeling his wounds and the trickling of his precious life fluids dripping from his body. His jaw clenches as he contemplates the situation, seeing that the mysterious woman is mostly fresh, as is the mysterious woman from Delta Red, and he estimates he could fight for a while longer. He slowly begins sidepedalling around the pair, keeping his eyes on "Toyoda" as more orange chi swirls around him, the energy softer and more diffuse this time as he builds his inner reserve of chi. He says nothing, merely watching and allowing Lt. Luwanda to lead.
COMBATSYS: Skullomania gathers his will.
[ \\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\ < > //////////////////////////// ]
Lita 0/-------/=======|=======\======-\1 Honoka
[ \\\\\\\\\\\ <
Skullomania 1/---====/=======|
COMBATSYS: Honoka blocks Lita's Triple Slash.
[ \\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\ < > /////////////////////////// ]
Lita 1/-------/=======|>>>>>>>\>>>>>>>\2 Honoka
[ \\\\\\\\\\\ <
Skullomania 1/---====/=======|
At first, "Toyoda" doesn't understand the motion Lita makes -- she actually thinks it's Lita actually planning some technique of her own. Hand motions are not required to pull off the mysterious woman's innate abilities. ... But once Lita snaps her hands back to her sword, the drenched puppetmaster understands that it was more of a taunt than anything else -- a symbolic recognition of Toyoda's true talents.
She purses her lips, opting for a short and sweet retort: "Is there no end to your litany of complaints?" She also flicks a quick look over to Skullomania as her yakuza flunkie flees for safety.
And then Lita's subsequent comment arouses an uptick in the puppetmaster's eyebrow. "-Delta Red- considers this an insult?" She nearly hurts herself from grinning so broadly -- though the response will have to wait until after she hops backwards. Sparks fly as the initial strike is parried away from Toyoda's stomach by a sweep of her arm. As the mystery fighter steps back, she catches the blade of the sword on her chain; it digs into the fabric of her pantsuit but does precious little more than break the surface of the skin beneath. Toyoda grits her teeth and twists sideways to avoid the third strike, the sword gouging a wound in the left shoulder in mid-pirouette for her trouble.
Toyoda staggers slightly, but doesn't reach up her hand to address the wound -- the pirouette was also intended as a countermeasure for Skullomania's positioning, as is the staff section that she resumes swinging around. She winks an eye at the masked hero, just to ensure he's aware that his motions didn't go unnoticed. But she keeps the bulk of her attention upon Lita: "What business do sororities have with fighting tournaments, anyway?"
Arcane gestures aren't required to tell people what to do. But they do seem to be required to (a) fight and (b) direct psychic energy -- and even with her injured left shoulder, she's still able to extend an open palm at Lita. What erupts forth is nigh-invisible: a spectre in the shape of an amorphous blob of goo. If it strikes Lita, she would get a distinct taste of what it feels like to be suffocated to death; in actuality it's concussive force amplified by the illusive powers of the mystery opponent.
COMBATSYS: Honoka successfully hits Lita with Ishirishina.
-* CRITICAL HIT! *-
[ \\\\\\\\\\\ < > ////////////////////////// ]
Lita 1/-======/=======|>>>>>>>\>>>>>>>\2 Honoka
[ \\\\\\\\\\\ <
Skullomania 1/---====/=======|
"If you know my name and rank you know what Delta Red really is... Do /not/ trifle with me."
At first it was all about the mission. But then she had to go and make fun of her military outfit, the men and women who she had thought of as family. Men and women who she had risked her life with and bled with. It all of a sudden got very, very, personal.
Lita tries to push through the translucent blob sword-first partially hiding behind it to keep it from hitting her full force. This turns out to be a mistake as it smashes the sword right into her chest. The end result is her feeling like she got hit in the chest with a mallet and then having the mallet get smashed by a sledgehammer. It is not a pleasant.
She takes a while to get back to her feet as doubt begins to enter her mind. She doesn't think she'll be able to take her down but at the very least she's going to do her damndest to leave her with injuries that will force her to go to a hospital. And if she checks into a hospital, she can possibly be traced.
Lita brings her sword in the air and charges in with a combination of rage and desperation. Her technique is sound, she's performed this attack multiple times and she knows it well, but if "Toyoda" had followed her career, she does /not/ use this move often in public fights. In fact, she only used it against Cracker Jack in her match against him for the Western Pro Belt. She swings her sword at the psion multiple times, each vicious strike meant to severely injure, to maim, and to cause massive amounts bleeding.
Skullomania begins slowly stalking forward as Lita and Toyoda dance with their weapons, his hands stretching out in claws, before slowly clenching shut into fists as his palms move into a rigid, sidelocked position as if he was a professionally trained soldier entering a pressure situation. As he feels his muscles complain gently, having been pushed slightly past their normal limit, and as pain shoots through his body from all the punishment he's taken, he inhales sharply through his mouth as his jaw ratchets open, stretching his mask.
"BANZAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAI!" he screams as he charges forward, perpendicular to Lita's rapid series of assaults. He seamlessly locks together with Lita's series of slashes and sword strikes, punching and kicking with thrusting arms and pistoning legs. As he dances together with Luwanda, letting her take the lead like a proper gentleman, he pauses with a duck as she slows, before he rushes forward with a speartackle aimed at Toyoda's midsection that rises into a lift and then a backwards bodyslam (assuming he can find traction), lifting her body above him with both arms wrapped around her midsection then driving her upper body first into the ground.
COMBATSYS: Lita successfully hits Honoka with If It Bleeds I Can Kill It.
[ \\\\\\\\\\\ < > ///////////////////// ]
Lita 0/-------/----===|>>>>>>>\>>>>>>>\2 Honoka
[ \\\\\\\\\\\ <
Skullomania 0/-------/-------|
COMBATSYS: Skullomania successfully hits Honoka with Skullo Dream EX.
[ \\\\\\\\\\\ < > /////////////// ]
Lita 0/-------/----===|>>>>>>>\>>>>>>>\2 Honoka
[ \\\\\\\\\\\ <
Skullomania 0/-------/-------|
"Always so serious, Lieutenant..." chides Toyoda as she draws her hand back, parking it upon her hip. Overconfident, perhaps -- but even in the fading sunlight it would be easy to see the woman biting her lower lip as she looks over the Delta Red agent's form as her psionic attack wreaks havoc upon her.
The puppetmaster may be enjoying this a -bit- too much.
She continues swinging her chained staff around as she strides further away, ensuring that both her opponents remain in her field of vision. As Lita stands up, Toyoda rolls her neck from side to side, stretching the muscles there. She senses doubt and uncertainty in both of her opponents -- the most dangerous state for her prey to be within. And quietly, carefully, she edges herself towards the side of a building, intending to use it as an aid in dealing with her foes.
The tip of her tongue juts out between her lips. Toyoda is just -daring- Lita to make a mistake. "You still have a minute... Good! Ease into this, you're -much- too tense to let such a -trifling- thing bother you..."
It's a perfect trap for the two. And it would go off perfect, too, for as Lita and Skullomania both begin their mad, suicidal charge... the masked man just has to go and scream BANZAI.
Toyoda finds that -she- is the one who tenses up, with a sudden glare at Skullomania. "What the =hell=..." is all she's able to spit out before the sparks start to fly.
The chain of her sectioned staff wraps around Lita's sword, but considering the blade plunges into her right arm a split-second later, it hasn't served its purpose. Toyoda howls out in rage, swinging her foot at Lita, but the Delta Red agent is much faster. As the blade is withdrawn and redeployed elsewhere, Skullomania is right there to follow up with generous helpings of punches and kicks, amidst a rather -large- cloud of atomized brick. Her raspy screams aren't quite loud as Skullomania's, but they're probably much more satisfying to those other than herself.
It's pretty much a given that she'll need a hospital visit after this. She may have been able to walk off a few scrapes, but not the series of lacerations and bruises that she's just received. One sleeve of her blood-spattered jacket is hanging on by a mere thread, her pantsuit is left bare in places from the abrasions as she was liberally shoved against the brickwork of a building. But the worst is yet to come, as Skullomania grabs her by the middle and drives her into the pavement.
Suffice to say, she'd let go of her staves in the process, but they're not far away. She reaches for them as she rises back, unsteadily, to her feet as the powdered brick cloud clears. Toyoda is definitely not smiling at full intensity -- the smirk she forces herself into countenancing is borne out of the necessity to keep from screaming any further. Her face is coated in her own blood, and she drags her somewhat-white sleeve across her face to make it a bit easier to see -- and even then, only eye opens.
And still she sasses. "Ugh, fine... Sentai shows, then? This is where I make fun of sentai shows." Her right arm hangs limply at her side, and her left hand clutches both sections of staff as a cudgel. Every single one of her limbs is screaming for medical attention -- but the woman seems to have an incredible tolerance for pain.
Especially if, in this case, it's Skullomania's. "GRRRRAAAH!" Her intent is to cudgel him in the side of the head for distracting her with his tempestuous orange aura -- orange is -so- not her color -- and follow through with another savage strike. She'd finish off the series by slamming the heel of her boot into the man.
The elite soldier wouldn't normally get this level of satisfaction out of viciously slashing someone like she just did since it was on the job as it were but "Toyoda" had made the mistake of taunting her about her team. Now she just wants her to hurt.
Though she still had her doubts, there was also now tiny bit of hope. She adjusts her grip on her weapon and then continues to press the attack. As the mysterious woman goes after her current ally, she takes to the air, rising with an upward slash hoping to redirect her enemy's cudgel strike on the costumed fighter off target.
COMBATSYS: Skullomania blocks Honoka's Random Weapon.
[ \\\\\\\\\ < > ////////////// ]
Lita 0/-------/------=|>>>>>>>\>>>>>>>\2 Honoka
[ \\\\\\\\\ <
Skullomania 0/-------/-----==|
Skullomania's forearm swiftly snaps up, his hand clenching into a fist as the improvised staff-cudgel impacts with his flesh and bone. He grunts and swings his arm down, hand opening again to grip the weapon between them. "WHO ARE YOU?" he shouts, right in her face, full of rage and unrestrained psychotic vigor from what he's been through in this battle. He steps backwards, yanking at the two piece staff, before his leg snaps upwards.
Those Yamaguchi-guchi will be here soon, he knows it. He listens carefully for the sounds of fine automobiles or motorycles, familiar with both from his day job as a used car salesman. Hopefully, it will be sirens responding to the alarm, not the roar of Yakuza cleaners.
COMBATSYS: Honoka dodges Lita's Rising Slash.
[ \\\\\\\\\ < > ////////////// ]
Lita 0/-------/------=|>>>>>>>\>>>>>>>\2 Honoka
[ \\\\\\\\\ <
Skullomania 0/-------/-----==|
COMBATSYS: Honoka avoids Skullomania's Medium Kick.
[ \\\\\\\\\ < > ////////////// ]
Lita 0/-------/------=|>>>>>>>\>>>>>>>\2 Honoka
[ \\\\\\\\\ <
Skullomania 0/-------/-----==|
The puppetmaster's strike crashes down into her opponent's forearm -- a positive benefit, but not enough incentive for Toyoda to follow through. Not to mention, there's the fact that Lita is following through with an upward slash at -roughly- the same moment. Fully aware that the experienced soldier would likely stop short of slicing off her battle companion's foot, Toyoda twists her upper torso out of the way while simultaneously kicking out with her left leg, expertly counterbalancing herself at the expense of straining her badly-cut-up body while the deadly blade whistles through the air above her. When Skullomania shouts his battle cry, his upward kick only ends up aiding her flip, allowing her to gain a bit more distance from her two opponents as she directs her momentum into a flip.
Having narrowly avoided both attacks, Toyoda lands back on her feet a good couple of meters away, demonstrating more of the acrobatic vitality that she'd demonstrated on the upper floor just moments earlier.
Runny blood drips from her chin as she passes a smirk back at the two unlikely teammates. "I recommend walking away soon.." she suggests with a mirthful chuckle. The fingers on her right hand begin to wiggle; a moment later, a crackle of purple lightning surges through them.
Whenever making a tentative statement, it is often helpful to clarify what you mean. With another crackle of that accursed lightning, Toyoda lunges forward at Lita with a wild swing of her staves, further elucidating: "I MIGHT NOT BE ABLE TO HELP MYSELF."
It's still not very clear what she's doing, with all the spatters of blood and tendrils of electricity flying about.
COMBATSYS: Lita fails to interrupt Iomante from Honoka with That's Not Cricket.
[ \\\\\\\\\ < > ///////////// ]
Skullomania 0/-------/-----==|>>>>>--\-------\0 Honoka
COMBATSYS: Lita can no longer fight.
[ \\\\\\\\\ < > ///////////// ]
Skullomania 0/-------/-----==|>>>>>--\-------\0 Honoka
The swing isn't the danger -- it's the fact that Toyoda is =still surging forward= afterwards. Her ultimate goal is to grab hold of Lita with her right hand, continuing to crackle with psychic energy, and deliver a feral, unrelenting beatdown onto the face, neck, shoulders, and sternum with the cudgel-like staves in her left. Once all her primal tenacity is unleashed, she would shove Lita forward with her right hand, holding her up in the air with raw, unrefined psychic power, her eyes glowing a brilliant purple-pink.
"DO YOU FEEL THAT?" she howls. It might be difficult for Lita to answer as the psion's lightning crackles throughout her body, originating from one "core" of energy in the base of Toyoda's palm, humming and crackling with a rising crescendo. But it's then that Toyoda steps back to give her space for a brief moment, the core literally suspending Lita in midair as it continues to grow.
Her bloody face lit by the lightning, the monstrosity pauses a moment to glare at Skullomania, before pivoting into a backflip. Timed to land at the same moment that the core detonates into a terrible outpouring of energy, Toyoda's feet slam upwards into Lita's abdomen, sending her flying towards the building facade.
Lita is put in a horrible situation. She can't run... She can't cover herself up from the onslaught. Her only salvation would be moving forward and getting one more shot in before she can't fight anymore. 'Walking away' as Toyoda had put it was taken off the table the moment Lita saw that hand crackling. She goes charging in shoulder first in an attempt to collide with her and she charges right into it.
Each strike sends the soldier stumbling to and fro moving about as if controlled by an angry puppeteer with no regard for the condition of the puppet before the outpouring of energy not only sends her into the facade but through it putting a hole through it.
Lita reaches for her cellphone as she swears to herself that she'll get herself a high durability smartwatch. Her breathing is heavy as she moves through the options, before eventually finding one of her comrades phone numbers. Quickly she types in a message and then orients the phone towards the monsterous woman. A soft click sound of the phone camera can be heard and then she hits send.
Having made sure Delta Red has a picture of this particular woman even if she was covered in blood. She crawls away in search of a place to hide and possibly lick her wounds.
Skullomania lowers his stinging arm, his shoulders slowly rolling as he inhales from the stress of the fight. He raises his right hand to shield himself from the light show before him, wincing as Toyoda devastates Lt. Luwanda with the purple psychic lightning. He catches the glare, shrinking backwards a step in reflexive terror that surges up from his stomach and into his throat, mouth getting dry from trepidation. Then, as Lita crawls away, Skullomania stands in ox stance, legs set apart faintly and knees slightly bent, fists upturned and at his sides, elbows bent.
"Ahhhhhhh!" he shouts, punching his left fist forward into the air as he steps forward, body skewing forward left, before he steps forward with a mighty stride to close some distance as he keeps his right fist back. He hurls his head forward, upper body following suit, as a shimmer of orange chi follows his forearm as he lashes out with a mighty uppercut. His body quakes with the aftermotion as he stands in place, breathing heavily from the strain of the gesture on his pain riddled form.
COMBATSYS: Honoka reflects Stepping Upper from Skullomania with Sarak Kamui.
[ \\ < > //////////// ]
Skullomania 0/-------/=======|=====--\-------\0 Honoka
Toyoda's hair comes loose as she rises from the crouch she'd landed in; a metal hairpin clangs as it lands on the asphalt beneath her. Tendrils of raven black spill onto her shoulders. She watches Lita with one eye as the electrical storm fades, chuckling under her breath at the woman's remarkable resolve. She hesitates once reaching her full height, but before she can drop another smartaleck comment, her body lists sharply to one side, wracked with fatigue. With a clench of her right fist, she's able to steady herself just in time for the photo.
But that's when the woman senses an upwelling of hope in her other opponent -- and that just won't do. The raven-haired one turns towards the Hero of Southtown, greeting him with a leering smile. "So you... still have some fight left in you? Im...impressive...!"
She pivots her left shoulder to him, squaring her stance. "Come on, then... let's finish this!" She still clutches her two staves like a cudgel, and it might seem like she wants to use those to defend his charge -- but in truth, it's her right hand that's more potent. Another burst of purple energy flares from her hand -- and this time, it ripples out like a pair of wide ribbons.
When Skullomania charges in, Toyoda leers back at him with an almost insatiable grin. And when he pistons that hand up with the intent of blasting that leer right off her face, Toyoda hops backwards -- catching the man's powerful blow with the ribbons of purple energy. Skullomania's impressive aura flares with brilliant intensity, but the swirling ribbons of energy are spinning rapidly in the opposite direction -- beating the flames back down.
As powerful as the energy is, it remains to be stated that Skullomania =did= pack enough power in his punch to knock Toyoda off her feet; indeed, both of them are flying backwards, in close to the original parabola that he had launched himself.
That's when physics appear to look the other way for a moment.
Having starved the fiery uppercut of its chi, the purple tendrils then coil like a python around Skullomania's arm. And Toyoda forcefully overpowers him, wrenching him violently to his right.
And then the pair lands, together, with enough force to crack the asphalt even further. Toyoda lands in a crouch -- Skullomania does not have that luxury.
She wheezes from fatigue as she looks down at him. Her tendrils fade away to nothingness, and she pulls back to her feet. She can sense his vitality ebbing -- sleep? Maybe.
But some part of her begs to know. "Is that all you truly have for me...?" She chuckles with mirth as she takes a few steps away.
Two HiAce vans pull onto the street from the main avenue. But she doesn't seem the least bit concerned about the bodies on the ground, for some reason -- or even about the possibility of being caught in traffic. "... You'd better make it quick, if so..." offers the raven-haired one with a low chuckle.
Skullomania emits a low wheeze as he feels the pain of the psychic connection between his body and Toyoda's, his arm gripped and enscounced in purple psionic energy. He bursts backwards away from Toyoda, his feet wheeling across the ground while barely touching it. Then, as his arm is wrenched, he stumbles to his right, driven into the ground by the coiling energy. He slams face down, bouncing up off the black pavement and landing on his arched back, chest pressed towards the sky as he undulates in agony. Then, he hears the vans coming. He pushes off the ground and limps away as fast as he can, disappearing down an alley. A trash can is heard being knocked over in the dim light of the dark space, as Skullomania disappears into the dusky city.
COMBATSYS: Skullomania takes no action.
> //////////// ]
|=====--\-------\0 Honoka
COMBATSYS: Skullomania can no longer fight.
> //////////// ]
|=====--\-------\0 Honoka
As the van headlights intensify, casting her blood-soaked body in stark light and shadow, Toyoda languidly turns her head to follow Skullomania. "Run... run while you can... Heehee..." She closes both eyes for a moment, and recalls the sensations -- "... Ah yes. You too, Lieutenant." The puppetmaster stows the sectional staves in what's left of her shredded jacket, gingerly brushing her fingers upon the wounds she finds there. Deep gashes and lacerations -- too numerous to bother counting right now. She gasps sharply as one prod goes awry -- the wounds were deeper than she'd thought, and that hurt -quite- a bit more than she'd expected. These would have hampered her more, had she not continually been awash in the powerful emotions of the unlikely investigative duo.
When the vans' tires squeal to a stop, she is still standing in their lights, distractedly raking fingers through her hair. It will take a few minutes to work out the kinks from its recent imprisonment within the confining bun. It will take a hot shower to wash the blood out.
As the one remaining henchman from the first party hops out of one van, he gives triage direction to the others.
Toyoda eases herself into the second row seating, practically sinking into the seat. Almost immediately, she's badgered by one of her younger associates -- should they give chase? The cutthroat Yamaguchi-gumi of old would have completely erased their enemies from existence, after all, rather than allowing them to flee. It would be a terrible thing if someone were to alert the authorities of such a brazen gesture...
"Of course not, silly," condescends Toyoda as she lounges in the back of the van, heedless of the blood she's getting on the seat coverings. "Where's the fun in that?"
COMBATSYS: Honoka takes no action.
> /////////// ]
|======-\-------\0 Honoka
COMBATSYS: Honoka has ended the fight here.
Log created on 19:52:25 02/21/2016 by Honoka, and last modified on 22:15:38 02/23/2016.