Match of the Millennium

Description: Riding the coattails of his dramatic Southtown entrance, White wants to up his credibility to the Syndicate. Taking advantage of both public and underworld connections, he's gained a clearer picture of the underpinnings of the shadowy Akatsuki-gumi. And his path has led him to one man -- Daisuke Oda, mastermind of the organization's finances. The Akatsuki's decentralized organizational structure limits how much damage any one targeted attack can do, but gaining access to one of Dahlia's top executives would certainly put a damper on her aspirations. And that's why she's enlisted the help of one of the best mercs in the business to protect him from attempts at kidnapping or assassination: Oswald!

[WHITE]
Daisuke Oda, the Akatsuki-gumi's top executive for their finance storehouses related to the Scarlet Dahlia's gambling parlors, is White's target today. White and four his his goons, five white-clad gentlemen in total, intend on snatching him from a Japanese train station, with little more than a movement of snappy white sneakers and brutal canes. And, of course, a little mentalism, combined with help from White's mastery of psychoactive substances.

The restroom of the subway station emits a dull murmuring, as White and his droogs hang about inside, doing obscure chemical combinations to enhance White's abilities, and his minions' abilities to act as vessels. When the train comes to a halt, Daisuke Oda aboard, the five of them exit, one after the other, White in the rear.

There's a subconscious seperation signal in the people on the platform, parting before the opening train where Oda is about to exit. White jauntily places his cane on the ground as he stands before the door, two minions to either side, his psychic abilities spreading out throughout the subway via his minions, and, of course, his own eminent senses.

"What does a canary do, when a bluebird is never true?" he sing-songs, smiling with his gloss-covered lips.

[OSWALD]
Daisuke Oda is a nervous man. One that complained often to the Scarlet Dahlia about needing protection. He isn't wrong in this case. Being he is the one that manages most of the Akatsuki-gumi's finances he makes for a prime target. If he could find a little bunker to hide in and live out his days at this point he would be more than happy to.

He is nervous and fidgets as he has a few bodyguards with him. Sure they are trained, but they are more used to fighting the more typical dregs. Not a cerebral combatant such as White. Not that Daisuke knows who is coming for him. He just has that feeling he is going to run into trouble and he was given assurance that he would come to no harm during this trip.


The doors to the train opens and there is a few moments of silence. Oda does not emerge nor does his bodyguards. Instead there is a few faint footsteps before a figure finally emerges. A well dressed elderly man steps out wearing rose tinted shades. Gloved hands idly shuffle a deck of cards as he glances about before his gaze rests on White. "Gentlemen. I believe Daisuke Oda is not willing to deal with fans today."

[WHITE]
White tosses his cane up and catches it in his hand, as he frowns petulantly at Oswald, with a tilt of his waist forward and a cant of his hand on his hip.

"Fans? We aren't his fans. We're his new management."

White narrows his eyes, and suddenly, the subway's lights flicker on and off, as the train's power is turned off at the driver's booth by a suddenly mesmerized engineer.

"You see, Oswald," he says, suddenly knowing Oswald's name as he struts around to circle up to the subway door, looking right in Oswald's face as he plants his kid-gloved hand on the door and peering at Oswald with a grin. "I'm not just any little cat they picked up out of the litter. I'm the tomcat, I always get my mouse."

There's laughter from his four henchmen as they spread out in a half-ring around the door.

COMBATSYS: White has started a fight here.

[\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\  <
White            0/-------/-======|

COMBATSYS: Oswald has joined the fight here.

[\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\  < >  //////////////////////////////]
Oswald           0/-------/-------|======-\-------\0            White

[OSWALD]
Lights flicker on and off and White flexes his powers and it is hard to say he is actually trying to intimidate anyone. Daisuke Oda certainly is starting to panic inside the train and the lesser bodyguards are feeling uneasy. Dealing with common thugs is one thing. White is far from common.

Oswald doesn't even flinch. Sure his gaze follows the approaching White, but his expression for the most part remains emotionless. "New management. I understand Mr. Howard is an eager man to send such an individual as yourself. Rest assured the Dahlia has expressed how important Daisuke Oda is to her operations. You know my name so I am sure you understand how important she views him if I am here."

Then a sly smile creeps across the features of the old assassin. The cards slide from his one hand and down into the other slowly. "But if you and your friends wish to enjoy things." His movements are quick. Almost hard to fully realize the movements of his hands, cards flicking upwards and spin about, five in total. "Who am I to deny you such pleasure."

He snaps his fingers and each card soon sails down. One each coming down towards White's cohorts and one looking to sink right into White himself. No ordinary ones, but one made of an extremely light metal with very very sharp edges.

COMBATSYS: White blocks Oswald's Queen.

[ \\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\  < >  ////////////////////////////  ]
Oswald           0/-------/---====|======-\-------\0            White

[WHITE]
The cards slice into White's minions, terrified, feminine screams coming out of them as they're lanced to the ground. They shake and sputter as they lie on their backs, bloody and vomitting up white cream. Clearly, White should recruit better help.

White, meanwhile, snaps his hand up, catching the razor-sharp card in his right palm, the bladed weapon stopping in his gloved hand. He lowers it, looking at it as blood leaks down his wrist in thick rivulets, his hand shaking from pain as he laughs and snickers and his red eyes bulge around his shaking eyelids.

Slowly, he closes his hand around the card, crinkling up the blade.

"I think, good friend, that it is I who will entertain you."

White slashes his bloody hand out to the side, sliding to the opposite end with a blur of motion as he creeps into Oswald's mind, prying about inside his defenses before he swings his staff down and around, jamming the tip at Oswald's ankle, before bouncing off the ground with a leap and spinning pirouette upon landing.

And then, White is back to a standing position, leaning atop his cane with his clean hand.

COMBATSYS: White successfully hits Oswald with Staff Trip.
-* CRITICAL HIT! *-

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Oswald           0/-------/=======|=======\-------\0            White

[OSWALD]
The help wasn't the concertn for Oswald. His strike more a way to seperate the true monsters from the men that play at them. Geese has vested interest in a big name in the Dahlia's employ and Oswald expected one of the more trusted men to make the attack. If anything it seems like a good meeting of the minds this evening.

And speaking of minds White looks to creep in and take a peek inside of the thoughts of the old assassin. It is murky and hard to read, but White can feel the malice and joy that Oswald takes in his job. He is not a killer out of necessity, but he gets a form of ecstacy from it all. The money of course is a nice addition to it all.

"Impressive." Oswald says when White manages to catch that card then he goes on his own attack. That staff comes down and slams into the ankle and there is a sickening sound of the cane's tip destroys that ankle and Oswald's leg and foot bend in a way they shouldn't. There is a grimace, but Oswald keeps himself from letting out a cry of pain while sort of trying to stagger on a foot that is not wanting to behave.

White delivered a true crippling blow, but Oswald is not showing any sort of fear. He leaps forward and looks to keep his weight on his still healthy foot and he gives a flick of the wrist, another card appearing in his hand as he brings it about and looks to cut downwards along the chest of White.

COMBATSYS: White blocks Oswald's Medium Strike.

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Oswald           0/-------/=======|=======\-------\0            White

[WHITE]
White swings around with his burdened arm with the cane, the card chunking into his forearm as he bends it across Oswald's field of attack. There's a lock upwards of the cane into Oswald's armpit with a twist of his wrist, before White grins face to face with Oswald, holding the two of them in position as blood drips down his arm and across his immaculate but dingy jacket.

"The only thing I abhor about violence is the loss of potential."

And then, he wrenches around with a rapid torque, his cane snapping out as he churns his torso to the other side and attempts to spin Oswald through the air with the cane locked under him, his arm snapping out to the side with a twirl of the weapon he's attempted to trap underneath his foe.

COMBATSYS: White successfully hits Oswald with Digging Staff.
~ Cruel hit! ~

[             \\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\  < >  ////////////////////////      ]
Oswald           1/-----==/=======|=======\==-----\1            White

[OSWALD]
All the years and experience it isn't easy to get one up on Oswald. Sometimes it is a surprise when the assassin finds himself against someone so absurd like Marduk it just seems to nullify how effective Oswald can be. In this case White's powers are help and despite the old man doing well to make it hard to intrude on his thoughts there is enough that White can seem to read what the man is about to do.

His strike does not hit true and he gets caught up and spun about by the cane. Oswald isn't exactly a heavy man so it is rather easy to twist him about and slam him down with that cane. Oda is going more pale by the moment as he watches from the window for the train and the other men hired to guard him and debating flght if someone like Oswald is being treated in such a manner.

Despite the punishment it looks like the aged assassin is not done. He rolls to the side and eventually gets to his feet. Is he perhaps getting too old for this? He doesn't believe so. This is far from over and he isn't ready to just flee. He doesn't get paid if he flees. After adjusting his tie he surges forward. Once again he closes in and he spins about with a card looking to cut across the stomach of White at first, but his other hand comes about and he looks to bring another card downwards along the chest of the other man.

COMBATSYS: White interrupts Diamond from Oswald with World Destruction.

[                        \\\\\\  < >  //////////////////////        ]
Oswald           1/=======/=======|===----\-------\0            White

[WHITE]
White backpedals as Oswald is flung aside and begins to get up, waiting calmly with his hand on his cane.

"You know, Oswald, I don't think that Southtown is your type of city."

As Oswald comes back in, White snaps out with his bloody hand on Oswald's forehead, his fingers digging into his scalp as the cards cut across his puffed out chest.

"You see, in Southtown, we follow a single rule."

And then, there's a mind-numbing pulse of psionic energy, straight into Oswald's mind, hollowing his senses out with a sudden shot to his mind and down every nerve in his body, with excurciating pain.

"Honor is something for the loser."

[OSWALD]
It is how odd how things work out. Last time Oswald dealt with someone with similar powers was in a train station in Metro City when he faced off against Alma. The results in this case aren't as good as they were. Alma made it past him, but barely escaped with his life. In this case Oswald makes no excuses. He came perhaps underprepared and White made him pay.

That hand plants on the forehead of the old man and he feels that jolt of pain running through his mind. It is rare someone can feel when Oswald is completely vulnerable, but White can claim it. He didn't outright break the old man, but he leaves Oswald a slumped over mess with an obvious broken ankle and other physical injuries to go along with the mental ones.

"Honor?" He just gives a bit of a chuckle. Lights flicker again, but this time not because of White. "You dissapoint me. Daisuke is the honorable one as you will see. Me? I do what I am paid to do and well, there is always a backup plan."

Darkness almost seems to engulf the assassin, only the glint of his glasses seen for a moment before there is a flurry. Several cards being fling about looking to make a pincusion of White if he isn't quick enough to get out of the way. The final one being the Joker as it looks to slam right into forehead of White. Victory is not in the cards this evening, but Oswald looks like he will at least try to make White remember him.

COMBATSYS: Oswald can no longer fight.

[        \\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\  <
White            0/-------/----===|

COMBATSYS: White interrupts Joker+ from Oswald with Possum.

[             \\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\  <
White            0/-------/-======|

[WHITE]
White strolls up to the slumped over man, peering over him with his hand on his cane.

"I could've paid you more, Oswald. I could've paid you in raspberry sunshine, and strawberry dreams. Don't you want to feel young again? The touch of your mother's bosom against your face, from some memory you can't place because you've become a man?"

As the darkness engulfs Oswald, White marks a comical 'oh' face with his bloody gloved hand to his mouth, before the cards fly into him, one after the other, staggering backwards. And then, the Joker hits White in the head, his head snapping backwards and sending him to the ground in a tumble.


[HONOKA]
Long ago, Daisuke Oda was the second-in-command of one of the many Yamaguchi-gumi clans, propelled quickly through the ranks due to his brilliant financial acumen and shrewd business tactics. When Scarlet Dahlia cleaved the Yamaguchi in half, Daisuke was her top pick for the ruling council of the fledgling Akatsumi-gumi, placed in charge of their finances and human resources. Savvy and intelligent, Daisuke proved to be the perfect counterpart to the street-smart Dahlia -- gaps in one's skillset were matched flawlessly with the strengths of the other.

In truth -- Daisuke Oda is practically a lynchpin to Dahlia's war against Duke Burkoff. Through his imaginative bookkeeping, territorial losses have been spun into financial goldmines. Feats unimaginable years ago have become commonplace. And most importantly, a vast number of secrets to the inner workings of the Akatsuki-gumi are locked within the recesses of his brain, known only to himself and the Dahlia.

Those secrets die with him tonight.

For Duke Burkoff was right about one thing -- the yakuza pride themselves on honor above all else. And Daisuke Oda -- kneeling and cowering -- would rather die than let his secrets fall into the hands of the enemy. Oswald was informed of this contingency. And one of the guards standing behind him was ready: he hands the kneeling Daisuke a sword.

There is no chance of him besting someone as skilled as White -- not when he'd bested someone of even Oswald's caliber. As soon as Oswald slumps over, Daisuke grips the hilt of the ceremonial sword with both hands. He stares at White -- and knowing the depths of the man's skill, he hesitates no longer. The sword plunges into his chest. Blood spurts outward from the blade, and bubbles at the corners of his mouth.

And as the sword twists about, and vital organs begin to spill out, Daisuke raises his neck. His bespectacled eyes fix their glare onto White -- that mental dominance has no hope of reaching him now. The rest -- is ceremony alone, as the man standing behind him finishes the job with a sword all his own -- one crisp cut to the neck, severing the spine, and allowing the made man's head to fall into his own lap.

Daisuke made Dahlia a promise. And in death -- he will keep it.

Log created on 19:30:49 08/07/2018 by Oswald, and last modified on 21:37:01 08/07/2018.