Kenshi - The Hidden Path
[Toggle Names]Description: In her continuing quest for vengeance, Salem crosses paths with an aging swordsman who was once not so different from herself. Like so many things in life, the results are messy. But through great pain can often be found great clarity. All that is required are the eyes with which to see it.
[SALEM]
The work that was put into going after the war fan was substantial. Salem wanted this to go right, and considering that she had something of an ally on her side feeding her resources it would be in her best interests to not screw everything up by losing again. So she spent time working on researching the leads that the Scarlet Dahlia had offered her and followed them closely. Tracking chains of old data and claims until, finally, she was certain that she'd narrowed the choices down as to where the relic would be located.
So once again Salem took a plane and made her way to Japan. She did a little more digging once in the country in order to reconfirm her claims, and then it was simply a matter of moving out from there. She worked with the resources she'd been promised and got some muscle from the Akatsuki-gumi and vehicles to head to the site.
It allegedly wasn't far from the sight of a long abandoned, desecrated temple. From what Salem had discovered working from the very helpful and extensive leads given to her there had been an expedition to find the very war fan she sought decades before. The expedition had kept their intended dig location a secret to avoid scavengers arriving to try and rob them of any finds. The entire expedition vanished. Some said that it was out of shame for never finding something that wasn't real to begin with. Others claimed that it was because they found what they were looking for and couldn't handle its power. Whatever the truth, it didn't stop Salem from getting boots on the ground and searching for herself.
It was dark on arrival to the temple, but with some help from the modern convenience of spotlights brought for their excavation they descended around the ruined structure. It was some walk from there, and following was trial and error which irritated Salem and put her hired men on edge. Eventually, however, they made a breakthrough. A hidden doorway covered in rock and dust over time to conceal it. They dug through, Salem's impatience leading to a display of telekinetic force in order to move debris faster until they could at last open the door. Equipment was moved in for lighting and turned on, and Salem and a muscled figure dressed in a dark sportscoat entered. Surely enough, she found the fan with the eerie presence of skeletons nearby from where past would-be thieves perished. Carefully she approached, sensing the power the fan emanated which caused a headache to form right behind her eyes. This was it. Now if they had any luck a certain robed individual would descend with some sort of mention of how this was all beyond her. That or Salem would take it now and be more than happy to field any attempts to steal it later. Smirking to herself, her more personal protector nearby, she reached out for the fan.
[KENSHI]
Such abandoned temples as these often hold treasures untold, though whether those be of monetary or spiritual value varies from one to the next. This particular temple's secret is potent indeed, and known to at least one well-traveled warrior. Unfortunately for Salem, that warrior may not be the one she was hoping to find.
As the young thief's hand descends toward the ornately decorated wooden metal fan, a faint blue glow fills the room,joining its power to that of the portable lanterns set out around her. So strong is the illumination that her shadow is cast out ahead of her, darkening the rich red silks and glittering golds that enfold the gleaming steel of its sharpened ribs.
"It would be unwise to touch that."
The voice that echoes confidently through the large stone chamber is nowhere near as deep as that of Noboru. Tempered, full of wisdom, but not the grinding rumble of the one-eyed shinobi. The mind that goes along with it, having appeared seemingly from nowhere, is equally confident. Older, experienced, and well shielded against intrusion, only the faintest taste of surface thoughts flitting across the edge of Salem's perception. Enough that she knows immediately what he says is no bluff.
"You are not its master, and it is quite, hungry."
This time, the faint smirk in the words can be heard as well as felt, and if Salem were to turn she could easily confirm that the newcomer is, in fact, grinning at her. Tall and rangy, with a lean musculature that balances somewhere between speed and power, the man that stands to one side of the open door left his youth behind him years ago. Salt and pepper hair falls in an untamed mess to an inch or so past his collar, and his ragged beard is flecked throughout with grey. His teeth are white, however, and his posture confident.
Oddly confident, seeing as his eyes are hidden behind a tattered crimson blindfold, matching perfectly the long sleeveless coat worn open over a well-traveled white gai. Leather strapped sandals with wooden soles protect his feet, and he carries a sheathed katana in his left hand, hilt wire-wrapped and gleaming with a dull brass sheen.
"But," continues Kenshi Takahashi with a slight lift of his hands, one empty, one wrapped around the sheath of his sword, "If it was your goal to have your soul eaten by a demon, go ahead. I will, watch, so to speak."
[SALEM]
Salem's brows furrowed at the sound of the voice. That wasn't right. She turned, mask in place as it always was as she took in the man before her. He certainly wasn't the person that she had expected to come and try to stop her. Given that this entire trip had been an attempt to draw out Noboru the fact that she'd not managed to do so irked her. While her own mind was shielded her emotions, particularly ones like these, did tend to slip out stronger beyond the mask that her mind had as well as her face. If she couldn't have Noboru, then she wanted to be damn sure that she at least got what else she'd come here for. Though the earnestness of the stranger's words about demons had Salem hesitating. The thief had brought a lead-lined box to put the fan in --just in case-- but if she couldn't even touch it to put it in…
Salem whistled high as if in signal before crossing her arms over her chest. "And who are you supposed to be?" She asked, tone unimpressed as her head cocked to one side. "I hate to be the one to tell you this, but I'm not scared off easy." The sarcasm in the beginning of her statement is plain to hear. She keeps a wary gaze on the stranger beneath her mask. He may be blindfolded, but after the encounter with Noboru she was far less inclined to believe that he had no means of seeing whatever he might wish.
Out from the hall that the swordsman had appeared came one of the men that Salem had taken with her. She jerked her head back behind her indicating the other should come pick up the fan. Dutifully he went forward and reached out. There was a flare of green flame which engulfed the man before seeming to suck straight into the fan again. With a thud the body collapsed in a crumpled heap much to Salem's dismay. "Goddammit." She muttered, fingers tightening into fists at her sides. She didn't need more setbacks. This was a very large setback for a multitude of reasons.
"I'm finding a way to get this out of here." Salem said, turning back to face the swordsman once more. "So it'd be in your best interest to back off so I can do what I came to do."
[KENSHI]
"The easy way, or the hard way?" Kenshi queries, seeming far too amused at this whole situation. Pausing as if to mull his options, he lifts not a finger as the second minion is called in and summarily executed just to confirm he is telling the truth, the thump of the criminal's body resounding off of the stone walls. The entire incident provokes only a slight cock of the blind man's head, almost-smile still playing around the corners of his mouth.
"You should not tamper with things you do not understand." Kenshi chides relaxedly, a near echo of Noboru's own warning those many long days ago. "But," and a slight sigh escapes through the aging swordsman's lips, the smile finally fading from his face and tone, "I can sense that you will not listen. The demon locked within that weapon is a thing of great power and hunger, and the one that bound it died long ago. You do not have the will necessary to tame it, and any who would do not deserve to have it. But you are stubborn, and foolish, and will not listen until I have beaten some sense into you. Yes?"
Chest expanding then contracting in a weary sigh of acceptance, Kenshi takes a single step further into the room and lifts his empty right hand, waving it casually back over his left shoulder. As he does, Salem can feel a surge of psychic potential, a mental murmur as if a massed crowd were all whispering at once, their voices rising out of the sage's sheathed sword. At the same moment, a faint blue halo forms around his right arm from fingers to elbow, echoing halos appearing around the various piles of rubble her team was forced to clear. With a deep thrum of energy, the force of it vibrating through the air and down into the stone floor, he causes every pile to simultaneously rise and flow into the doorway behind him, stacking themselves together and sealing himself in with Salem, her assistant, and several corpses of varying degrees of freshness.
"Let us begin." Kenshi states firmly, glow fading from around his hand as he slides his feet apart and turns his right shoulder toward the pair, right palm up and toward them, ear cocked as if listening.
COMBATSYS: Kenshi has started a fight here.
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Kenshi 0/-------/-------|
COMBATSYS: Salem has joined the fight here.
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Kenshi 0/-------/-------|======-\-------\0 Salem
COMBATSYS: Hired Muscle has joined the fight here.
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Salem 0/-------/-======|-------\-------\0 Kenshi
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Hired Muscle 0/-------/-------|
[SALEM]
The psychic power radiating from the other was intense. More so than she'd experienced before, and she hadn't exactly encountered that many psychics. Then again, within the time that she'd become a resident of Metro City she'd met more psychics than any other time in her life. Regardless in the here and now she had an opponent that seemed to have no desire to let her escape without a fight. If that was how it had to be, then Salem would fight. She didn't intend to lose /again/ to some other interfering sage of a man. So she looked to her very own borrowed enforcer and nodded towards the swordsman.
$rDutifully the man moved forward. He cracked his neck, rolled his shoulders and then stepped up to rather straight forwardly punch the other. One fist coming forward and then the other following after for a hard hook towards the blind man's head.
Salem, meanwhile, shifted away from the fan given she'd rather not have her back to it. After witnessing what she had any accidental brushes against the thing seemed like a horribly way to go out. With her muscled help seemingly distracting their opponent, the illusionist took her own opportunity. She reached out with her own mind and what rubble was left over that hadn't been used to block up their escape she used as weapons. Thrusting both hands out and towards the swordsman she aimed to crush him with the projectiles.
COMBATSYS: Kenshi blocks Hired Muscle's 1-2 Punch.
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Salem 0/-------/-======|-------\-------\0 Kenshi
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Hired Muscle 0/-------/-------|
COMBATSYS: Kenshi reflects Hysteria from Salem with Instant Karma.
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Salem 0/-------/-======|=------\-------\0 Kenshi
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Hired Muscle 0/-------/-------|
COMBATSYS: Salem blocks Kenshi's Reflected Hysteria.
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Salem 0/-------/-======|==-----\-------\0 Kenshi
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Hired Muscle 0/-------/-------|
[KENSHI]
Being the world-traveling psychic master that he is, Kenshi has been part of a fair few scrapes in his day. Sometimes one on one, others one on many. Very rarely has he had anything resembling aid. That, and his unique view of the world around him, make him more prepared for a handicap fight than one might first assume.
The thug rushes him, experienced enough to know that his job is to keep the swordsman off balance and occupied. Kenshi, however, is a difficult man to knock off balance. first one, then another punch is caught on the reinforced leather of Sento's sheath, the sage giving ground slowly to keep from being overwhelmed. The bulk of his attention, however, remains focused on Salem.
He is perfectly aware when her own psychic potential spikes, can hear the scrape of rubble as bits of stone are lifted into the air, three head-sized chunks of masonry hurtling through the air toward him. His left hand drops, sheath settling at hip height...
'ShinPingChingPing!'
Hand moving quicker than the eye can follow, Kenshi draws Sento in a blur and strikes the first stone squarely in its center, the force of the aiajutsu slash knocking it free from Salem's mental grasp and popping it up into the air. Without pausing, he circles the sword and hits the second, then the third, all three blows ringing out in quick succession.
"You are still young." Kenshi states,sliding Sento back into its sheath just in time to bring the blunted tip up and press it against the chest of the thug, holding him off for one moment longer. That one moment is all the time he needs to fling his right palm out and snag the descending stones with his mind, a blue halo forming around each as he re-directs them toward Salem in a mirror of the move she just attempted on him.
[SALEM]
The speed with which the other simply deflects the incoming projectiles is near impossible to follow. Admittedly she hasn't faced many, if any, swordsman before now though she doubts that many would be like that. Especially given that the press of voices coming from it was distracting. Headache inducing even. She wasn't entirely sure how the other stood having it around. Salem didn't have the luxury of following that train of thought, however, as soon enough those very projectiles were being sent straight back at her with more speed than she had projected them herself. The thief tossed up her arms before her just to shield her head from any damaging blows and grunts as she was impacted. It hurt, knocking her off kilter.
"Don't underestimate me." Salem snapped as she let her arms fall, her sleeves a bit ripped from jagged edges of stone. The muscle she'd picked up from Dahlia's reserve of people bullied his way forward and sought to grab the other around the neck and strangle him. Clearly looking for some sort of restraint with over large hands. While he went in with that, Salem came up a bit closer herself and skirted around behind their opponent. She pulled herself into a front flip. Her momentum making up for a lack powerful muscles as she sought to kick the swordsman in the back of the head.
COMBATSYS: Kenshi dodges Hired Muscle's Throttle.
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Salem 0/-------/-======|==-----\-------\0 Kenshi
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Hired Muscle 0/-------/-------|
COMBATSYS: Kenshi dodges Salem's Doubt.
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Salem 0/-------/-======|==-----\-------\0 Kenshi
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Hired Muscle 0/-------/-------|
[KENSHI]
Kenshi can feel it, the building anger and frustration, the whirling emotions of someone with far too much pride and far too little discipline. In a way, it reminds him of himself, so many years ago. He had never fallen to a life of crime, not exactly, but the number of bodies he left in his wake. Men slain for no good reason...
"You are confused." Kenshi replies with confident ease, fading another step back toward the corner and snatching his sword sheath back before the hired help can think to grab it. His options seem to be shrinking, lines of retreat cut off as Salem circles around to help box him in. There isn't an abundance of room to maneuver, for sure, but...
The thug lunges, hands flashing out for the sage's neck even as Salem comes flipping in from behind, feet descending toward the crown of his head.
There is a flash of blue, a swirl of vague, ghostly shapes, and the mental murmur briefly rises to a roar, a shout that blares directly beneath Salem, then translocates, shifting to the other side of the thug as quick as thought.
The Masked woman's boots come down on nothing but air, nearly smashing the thug's hands as Kenshi appears behind the goon in a swirl of blue light. The swordsman's sandals have barely touched ground before he brings Sento's hilt wooshing through the air like the end of a hammer, attempting to bash the thug hard in the back of the head before snagging the side of his neck with his right hand and shoving hard to the left, foot sweeping out to try and take the legs out from under the man and speed him on his way face-first toward the floor. Hit or miss, the wily sage skips back a step, navigating back toward the center of the room where there is more space to maneuver. Unlike Salem, however, he seemingly has no compunction moving closer to the fan, having to step carefully around scattered bits of old bones.
COMBATSYS: Hired Muscle endures Kenshi's Kombo.
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Salem 0/-------/-======|===----\-------\0 Kenshi
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Hired Muscle 0/-------/=======|
[SALEM]
Again the swordsman moves quickly. Far faster than Salem can, something that is just more salt in the wound. She's used to being the one that's faster and able to out maneuver the people she fought. Noboru was a different story, and this man clearly was turning out to be no different unfortunately. He was using techniques that Salem hadn't seen before which didn't help matters in the slightest. At the same point, she wasn't the one that was soon thrown to the ground.
The thug went sprawling. His failed attack and near miss of being the target of Salem soon turning into being attacked himself. He grit his teeth and bore it, however. Just took it and soon was hauling himself up in order to try go back on the offensive. He shifted forward, seeking to grab Kenshi and suplex him up and over his own head to the ground. Driving the swordsman's head and neck painfully into the worn ground.
Salem, meanwhile, was feeling a little fatigued and moved in looking for a clean punch. Aching to connect some sort of blow.
COMBATSYS: Kenshi dodges Hired Muscle's German Suplex.
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Salem 0/-------/-======|===----\-------\0 Kenshi
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Hired Muscle 0/-------/=======|
COMBATSYS: Salem successfully hits Kenshi with Aggressive Strike.
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Salem 0/-------/-======|====---\-------\0 Kenshi
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Hired Muscle 0/-------/=======|
Hired Muscle falls asleep.
[KENSHI]
Strike, fade, position, strike. When battling multiple foes at once, it is important to stay loose, to always be thinking one step ahead. Thus far, it has been relatively easy for Kenshi to out fox the simple-minded bruiser Salem has with her, but the girl herself is a trickier prospect.
Retreating toward the glittering crimson and gold fan, coat rustling softly against his legs, the swordsman waits until the charging bruiser is nearly upon him. Then, with a simple judo-ensue maneuver, he reaches across his body to grip the oncoming man's right wrist with his right hand and tugs sharply forward while stepping to the left, causing the unfortunate fellow to stumble forward toward the fan, arms wind milling for balance.
Having suitably distracted the goon, Kenshi turns toward Salem just in time to sense the small fist coming toward his face, jerking his head back sharply in an attempt to avoid it. The maneuver is not quite enough, however, distance misjudged, and her knuckles drive squarely into his bearded cheek, forcing a grunt from his lips and staggering him back a step toward the off balance muscle.
Having no smart remark or wise advice for the mea-spirited girl, Kenshi gets his feet beneath him before a fatal collision can happen and flashes her his right palm, a soft blue glow rolling up his fingers and along the length of his forearm. At the same moment, an answering glow begins to gather around Salem herself, pressure building as he flips his palm up and thrusts his hand toward the ceiling, then back behind his head.
Following the motion, the force around Salem propels her up toward the ceiling, doing its level best to smash her head-first into the stones before scraping her along its rocky surface, fan passing beneath her, and dumping her back to the floor on the opposite side of the room, putting Kenshi and the thug between her and the blocked door.
[SALEM]
Hired Muscle wakes up.
COMBATSYS: Kenshi successfully hits Salem with Lost Way EX.
Grazing Hit
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Salem 0/-------/-======|=======\-------\0 Kenshi
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Hired Muscle 0/-------/=======|
Hired Muscle falls asleep.
Hired Muscle wakes up.
Whatever satisfaction that Salem feels at having successfully landed some sort of strike, it is quickly made apparent that the swordsman before her is happy to return the favor. The blue halo of energy which emits from the man and encircles her has the young woman feeling a brief moment of panic despite herself. She'd thrown enough people around with her mind to understand what was about to happen. It felt like karma was knocking her over the head hard. She'd never been on the other end of psychic assaults like this one, and she'd far rather not endure it again as the illusionist fails to stop herself from being sent into the air and tossed. At the very least she kept herself with some push back of her own power from being scraped as roughly along the ceiling as she could have. It certainly didn't stop the throw which sent her impacting against the far wall.
"Stop fucking around and hit him." Salem growled out at the thug while she painfully got to her feet. The Akatsuki enforcer regained his balance and composure after having watched Salem go flying before turning to continue the fight. He came up, rearing back and going in for a punch of his own. Throwing himself into it as if not quite learning from past error.
Salem, meanwhile, came around the altar which the fan rested on in order to try and go on the offensive. Always letting her hired muscle get in close before she tried. Her style catered towards her speed and staying out of range for the most part, and that was hard to do in such cramped quarters. All the same, she came up to duck into the fight with a vicious jab to the throat. Ever the opportunist, the illusionist followed it up with a knee to the groin intending to have the other bent over in pain. If all went well, she'd be able to jump up onto his shoulders to springboard off of him into a flip. It would shove him down to the ground face first and have her closer to the blocked off door. It'd also leave the swordsman trapped between the two of them once more.
COMBATSYS: Hired Muscle successfully hits Kenshi with Fierce Punch.
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Salem 0/-------/-======|=======\-------\1 Kenshi
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Hired Muscle 1/-------/=======|
COMBATSYS: Kenshi dodges Salem's Disquiet.
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Salem 1/-------/=======|=======\-------\1 Kenshi
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Hired Muscle 1/-------/=======|
[KENSHI]
With every passing moment, the advantage shifts from Kenshi to the pair pressuring him. His tricks and evasiveness can only take him so far. Eventually he will slip up badly, and unable to recover, they will both be upon him. In a way, this too reminds him of his youth. The brutal decisiveness of sword vs sword, knowing that only one man will prevail. Only one can survive.
Whirling around to face his opponents, Kenshi steps quickly backward as the hulking thug rounds on him. The goal is clear, put more space between himself and the brute before he can charge. Unfortunately, it is during his second backward step that his sandal comes down on a mess of finger bones, several of them rolling out from beneath him with a lurch. Swaying backward, arms going out to either side for balance, Kenshi attempts to bend his knees, to drop out of his stumble into a roll and avoid the oncoming fist, but it catches him squarely in the chin, rocking him back violently in the second head shot of the evening. Reeling and off balance, he wobbles backward, a bit dizzy, but manages to twist sideways out of the way of his smaller opponents' charging throat punch, dodging first right, then swaying left and pivoting the other way to avoid the following groin kick.
Continuing to retreat, Kenshi's back thumps into the rubble blocking the door and he rests his weight against it, right hand flashing down to grip Sento by the hilt. Letting out a faint grunt as his head spins, lungs working to drag in breath, he draws the sword in a blindingly fast slash, swiping it through the air just before Salem in an attempt to drive the young woman back and give himself some breathing room. But that is only a feint, a stalling tactic. The real maneuver comes when he reverses the swing, leaning forward as his arm whips around and he sends his katana spinning through the air, blade slicing wind with an audible whistling hum.
Palm outstretched from the throw, he wills the sword forward, blue light blazing around it as it saws its way through the air toward the thug, attempting to cleave into his chest before circling around and slapping right back into Kenshi's waiting hand.
COMBATSYS: Hired Muscle blocks Kenshi's Farsighted.
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Salem 1/-------/=======|=======\=------\1 Kenshi
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Hired Muscle 1/----===/=======|
[SALEM]
The evasiveness that her opponent possessed only frustrated Salem further. Each attempt to go forward with her attacks left her failing again. Even her attempts to influence the other's perceptions didn't seem to work in slowing the man down. The illusionist was still going strong even though she'd taken some punishment, though that hardly made her willing to risk the sword swipe that had her backing off. Her hired help wasn't so lucky. She saw as his assault was paused by the arc of blue that came rushing forward. Clearly not fast enough to even think about getting out of the way he threw up his arms as if that would help. It at least cleaved through his arms rather than his chest. Deep gashes cut and adding blood to the floor covered in bones which had been kicked about from their fighting.
Pained and doing the worse out of the three of them, the bruiser rushed forward to try and pay the swordsman back in kind. He went in aiming to pick up the disoriented man from his spot on the wall before slamming him down over a knee as he knelt down and stuck one forward.
Meanwhile Salem came up and tried to attack herself. Aiming a swift kick to Kenshi's knees in an attempt to perhaps hobble the too fast swordsman.
COMBATSYS: Kenshi blocks Hired Muscle's Backbreaker.
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Salem 1/-------/=======|=======\==-----\1 Kenshi
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Hired Muscle 0/-------/-------|
COMBATSYS: Kenshi interrupts Light Kick from Salem with Karma Eruption.
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Salem 1/-------/=======|=------\-------\0 Kenshi
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Hired Muscle 0/-------/-------|
Hired Muscle falls asleep.
[KENSHI]
Panting, dizzy, and backed into a corner, Kenshi operates purely on instinct to see him through this fight, as they have so many others. With nowhere to retreat, pressed against the rubble, brain still too fuzzy to manage a teleport, he can only brace himself as the pair come charging in again.
Sento in hand, the swordsman braces his back against the loose stones and kicks upward, planting one foot into the oncoming thug's gut. it isn't a perfect solution, the heavy managing to grab him behind the knee and haul him up and away from the rubble, but a twist and a kick, and Kenshi tumbles over the big man's shoulder, dropping to the stone floor behind him on one hand and knee, scabbard in one, sword in the other.
Drawing in a quick breath, ears ringing with the echoing sounds of their scuffle, Kenshi casts out his mind and locates Salem nearby, baring down on him with one foot drawn back.
Lunging up from the floor, he takes the kick on his shoulder but powers right on through it, sword blurring up from the stones in a blue-tinged flash. Such is the force of the upward cleave that it carries both himself and Salem into the air, katana cutting a neat loop that splatters blood across walls and ceiling, before rising in a second, near-identical slash that carries them yet higher, bringing them nearly to the level of the ceiling.
Bearded face shifting back and forth in a slight shake, focus returning, he drops his sheath and reaches out with both mind and hand, a wave of telekinetic force smashing into Salem and blasting her back across the room to once more hammer hard into the far wall, while the swordsman himself drops out of the sky and lands behind the thug in a low crouch, arms spread and sword up.
[SALEM]
Hired Muscle wakes up.
The swordsman is always faster. Constantly faster than her. Salem pays for it hard this time though. Where before she'd been fast enough or skilled enough (or just plain lucky enough) to get by without taking too much damage in one go this time it's not the case. One moment she's kicking and the next there's pain. A slash right across her front that opens up her shirt across the midsection. Pale skin visible at the edges of the wound as blood is splattered over the stone from the sword continuing its strike. Next she managed to get up her left arm in some attempt to block, but again the sword cuts through slicing her sleeve up and cutting down the top of her arm. Blood drips from that too running down her hand and wetting it. Then there's a wall knocking the air from her lungs and Salem hit the ground hard as she bounced off of it. She'd thought Noboru was her second worst defeat she'd encountered. This fight was worse than Noboru's.
Shakily she pushed herself up onto her hands and knees breathing heavily and bleeding everywhere. Salem glanced up in time to see her bruiser go rushing forward with another attack. She couldn't say that Dahlia's people weren't good for loyalty at least. He went in trying for getting the other in a choke hold to keep him restrained and occupied. Perhaps even setting up to try another backbreaker if he got the chance.
Salem, however, had other ideas. Her mind filled with pain and anger and frustration (along with a touch of fear she'd never admit to) the illusionist struck out with her mind. Gritting her teeth and attacking the mental walls that Kenshi put up until she could drag out painfully bit by bit what the man feared most. Ruthlessly she used as much power as she could muster wanting to rip the other down with what she could. Lifting her arms the build up of psychic potential swelled before bursting forth in the vision of Kenshi's fears seeking to harm the man. It didn't even matter to her that the man was blind. She just wanted the other to hurt and this was the best way she knew how to make that happen.
COMBATSYS: Kenshi dodges Hired Muscle's Choke Hold.
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Salem 0/-------/------=|=------\-------\0 Kenshi
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Hired Muscle 0/-------/-------|
COMBATSYS: Kenshi blocks Salem's Phobia.
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Salem 0/-------/------=|===----\-------\0 Kenshi
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Hired Muscle 0/-------/-------|
[KENSHI]
To the uninitiated, the battle taking place within the stone room would seem like little more than a bloody, drag out, no-holds-bard struggle for life and death. Shadows cast large against the walls as the combatants move between the lights, the odd flare of power making itself known. To the initiated, however, this battle has been as much a clash of wills as blades, a contest of razor-honed focus and control.
Having regained his wits, Kenshi feels the hired goon looming up behind him, powering forward with all of his body to plough into the smaller man and close his hands around his throat. Lock down his mobility, cut off his options. This thug has clearly done this before.
On the other side of the room, Salem's own emotions begin to bubble forth. Fear, rage, hate. A potent cocktail of poisonous thoughts brewing within her skull, threatening to infect everyone around her.
Lips tilting down into a frown of concentration, furrow appearing between his brows, Kenshi calls once more upon the spirits of his ancestors. Answering his call, the souls swirl out of the sword and consume him, leaving behind a swordsman-shaped construct crouched where he had been, the energy of its creation bursting apart as the thug ploughs into it.
Blue energy swirls briefly as the sword sage appears atop the altar in the center of the room, sandaled feet placed to either side of the ornate battle fan beneath him. Sento held aloft above his head in one hand, left raised palm toward Salem, he turns his hidden gaze toward her and seems to meet her eyes through both of their masks, bearded face stern and unyielding.
Behind that gaze there is a will of iron, and it is that that her power impacts. Scrabbling, clawing, seeking some crack of doubt or fear to worm its way through and gouge into his inner most thoughts. But wherever her attention turns, he is there to force her out, tossing her power back again, and again, refusing to allow her in. And behind his will, she can feel the multitudes. The gathered crowd of warrior souls that support him, bolstering his own formidable will even further, lending their strength to his.
"Such a technique reveals a lot about the one who would use it." Kenshi informs the thief grimly, allowing her to ware herself out against him even as her hired heavy makes his cautious approach from behind. "It is crude, cruel, and lacks any resemblance to skill. I do not need to pry into your mind to know your fears. You wear them openly for all to see."
Harsh remarks given, Kenshi turns to meet the oncoming heavy with a swift sandaled kick toward his face, before leaping off of the alter and dropping low to scoop up his discarded sheath, bringing it swinging up in a heavy swipe beneath the big man's chin.
COMBATSYS: Hired Muscle endures Kenshi's Uppercut.
[ \\\\\\\\\\\ < > /////////////// ]
Salem 0/-------/------=|==-----\-------\0 Kenshi
[ \\\\\\\\\ <
Hired Muscle 0/-------/=======|
[SALEM]
The words that come from the swordsman further spike Salem's emotions. Powerful as her mental abilities are from training all of it is still self taught. No prior history of real disciplined instruction and always the chance to excel against those that weren't ready for the attacks of someone with psychic talent. Thus far her trouble had come from those who could test her on that. Their minds far more honed and trained and ready. Pride reared its ugly head and, just as it always had, it had her pushing hard even when it was becoming more and more likely that this wasn't ending in her favor.
"You don't know anything about me." Salem snapped back at the swordsman even as she continued to bleed and her head pounded with the pain of her attempted psychic assault. Meanwhile her hired help took the attack towards him quite literally on the chin. It clearly hurt and left the large man dazed for a second before he was charging. Bull rushing the other and seeking to get him in a bear hug to slam into the ground.
Salem had her own idea in mind. Despite the pain splitting her skull as she pushed her mental abilities the young woman tried again. Lifting one hand and attempting to repay the favor that Kenshi had done her. Her telekinetic abilities trying to grab onto the swordsman and slam him up into the ceiling and back down to the ground.
COMBATSYS: Hired Muscle successfully hits Kenshi with Ramming Speed.
[ \\\\\\\\\ < > /////////// ]
Salem 0/-------/-------|====---\-------\0 Kenshi
[ \\\\\\\ <
Hired Muscle 1/-------/=======|
COMBATSYS: Kenshi dodges Salem's Dismay.
[ \\\\\\\\\ < > /////////// ]
Salem 0/-------/------=|====---\-------\0 Kenshi
[ \\\\\\\ <
Hired Muscle 1/-------/=======|
[KENSHI]
"I have learned enough." Kenshi replies somberly, half turning back toward Salem as both she and her bodyguard continue to press their advantage. her mind flares, power gathering, and with a flick of his fingers and a spark of blue energy, he diverts the course of her gathered power around him, causing it to roll passed and impact the corpse on the floor, tumbling it flopping and limp across the ground and scattering bones in all directions. That fractional delay of distraction is all it takes for the thug to come through for her, however, barreling into the swordsman and carrying them both to the ground beside the heavy stone altar.
Even as he falls, Kenshi drops his sword sheath and begins to fire blow after left-handed blow toward the big man's ribs, attempting to pound his fist over and over into more or less the same spot with sudden, ferocious determination. At worst, it might be distracting. At best, he might bust a few of the fellow's ribs before he manages to slide Sento out from between their bodies, reverse it, and bring the heavy brass pommel around in a hard strike toward the side of the big mans' head.
"You want power," Kenshi grunts out as he struggles with the big man, "Because you fear it, and what it has done to you. All you do is motivated by fear. Fear to look weak, fear of being seen."
COMBATSYS: Kenshi successfully hits Hired Muscle with Rapid Jabs.
[ \\\\\\\\\ < > //////////// ]
Salem 0/-------/------=|====---\-------\0 Kenshi
[ \ <
Hired Muscle 1/-======/=======|
[SALEM]
The sound of breaking and cracking bones is audible along with the heavy breathing between all three of them. A cry of pain slips through the big mans lips as he meets his limit. With one final attempt to fight back he raised both fists up in the air before slamming them both down again with all his might. A pained grunt escaping from the enforcer as he irritated the broken ribs. With that last effort the man slumped to the side cradling his side clearly unable to fight any further as he grimaced in pained agony.
"I am /not/ afraid." Salem hissed back at Kenshi. Though as she steadied herself she glimpsed the tattoo on her left forearm. The slice earlier along the top of her arm having split the sleeve meant that it wasn't hidden any further. That did bring a flutter of concern to mind before she tightened her jaw. "Act like you know me but you /don't/."
Salem, against all better judgement, rushed forward. Her illusions forming once more to take on the shape of multiples of herself. All rushing forward towards the blind man as the slap of many feet against the ground sounded. All of them dove in, attempting to attack and Salem among her duplicate bleeding and desperate to win.
COMBATSYS: Hired Muscle can no longer fight.
[ \\\\\\\\\\\\ < > ///////// ]
Kenshi 0/-------/---====|=------\-------\0 Salem
COMBATSYS: Kenshi dodges Hired Muscle's Double Fisted Fury.
[ \\\\\\\\\\\\ < > //////// ]
Kenshi 0/-------/---====|-------\-------\0 Salem
COMBATSYS: Kenshi interrupts Paranoia from Salem with Rising Karma EX.
[ \\\\\\\\\ < > ]
Kenshi 0/-------/-======|-------\-------\0 Salem
[KENSHI]
"I," Kenshi grunts out as he and the big man struggle against one another, slamming the tip of Sento down through the stonework and using it to jerk his body to the side just before the double-fists come down where he was lying, "See more than most."
Both hands wrapped around Sento's hilt, the aging swordsman rolls tiredly onto one knee, hunched forward over the weapon and panting heavily for breath. Salem is already charging him, physical body moving amid her crowd of shadows, and there is no time to dodge. No. if he wants to win this fight, he must act now. Act decisively.
Drawing in a deep breath, he lets it out in a grunt of pain as the crowd falls upon him, an illusory boot catching him in the ribs, real fist pounding him hard in the back of the head. But Salem was never truly hidden from him, and she should know that. In fact, she should have recognized his posture, hunched low, sword in hand, ready to spring. If she does, it is already too late.
Pushing down hard against the ground, Kenshi jerks Sento free from the stones and rises, whirling around with a flare of his crimson coat. Blade glowing a fierce blue, the katana cuts through the shins, then thighs of two different illusions, before tearing a bloody path up the real Salem's front. The swing is so fast that at first there is no blood, only a slight sagging of the thief's outfit as the diagonal cut in its front becomes an X.
"The path you are walking leads only to pain, and death." the sword sage informs his young opponent, sword held aloft over her right shoulder in both hands. There is no anger in him, no outrage. Only a quiet sort of pity directed toward the creature before him. A sense of somber loss at what she has become.
"You could be so much more than you are."
That last bit added in a softer tone, Kenshi swipes Sento through the air, sending a splatter of blood into the far wall, and removes his left hand from the hilt to summon its sheath back into his grasp.
[SALEM]
At first Salem doesn't feel the pain. The swipe of the sword registers to her as she sees it go and feels her connection to the illusions falter. They disappear around them until it's just the two of them standing there now with no distractions. The enforcer on the ground was silent in a way that suggested he might have lost consciousness at this point or at the least isn't aware enough to react. Whatever the case Salem is very conscious, and the pain when it hits is excruciating on top of the other wounds from the sword.
Salem's knees buckle underneath her and she falls to her hands and knees blood dripping onto the ground beneath her. Shakily she pressed a hand to the wounds on her front as the swordsman spoke. She scoffed despite herself even as her body trembled from pain and exertion.
"You're acting like I have some other path." Salem replied, voice strained from the pain. "News to me." Her arms gave out and she too ended up on her side as she fumbled to try and put pressure on wounds that were too large for it to do any good. She didn't think she'd die at least. The Dahlia's people were probably already calling the woman given the noise they must have heard. She distantly wondered if the woman would leave her here among the corpses or actually help her.
COMBATSYS: Salem takes no action.
[ \\\\\\\\\ <
Kenshi 0/-------/-======|
COMBATSYS: Salem can no longer fight.
[ \\\\\\\\\ <
Kenshi 0/-------/-======|
Hired Muscle falls asleep.
Hired Muscle wakes up.
[KENSHI]
Sento's blade slides home into its sheath with a sibilant 'sssssshnk,' leaving Kenshi standing silently in a room filled only with the copper stink of blood and quiet panting of pained breaths. His long coat rustles as he sinks into a crouch beside Salem's bleeding form, chin tilted down toward his chest and sword resting across his thigh.
"If you choose to believe nothing else I tell you," the sage begins, words full of quiet self assurance, "believe that there is always another path. Your destiny is not set. it is the will of the gods that we always have a choice. Few understand this as well as I."
Reaching down, Kenshi places his sword down carefully at his feet, freeing up his hands so that he can shrug out of his dust-covered coat. Giving it a single flap to clear it of debris, he folds it twice, fingers moving with easy precision despite the many aches and twinges his body is giving off. Bundle in hand, he stoops over Salem and presses it firmly against her torso, waiting for her to get her hands into position before straightening up and retrieving his sword.
"Whatever twist of fate has brought you into my path, you are not the one I seek. If the flames of vengeance within you ever cool, seek me out. I am Takahashi Kenshi, and I can show you another way."
That being said, the psychic ronin pushes to his feet and turns away from the girl, pacing carefully over to the battle fan that still lies upon its altar. Its presence brings a slight frown to his bearded visage, many thoughts spinning through his head. This girl is not connected to those he seeks, but neither is she the sort that should be allowed to have such an item. Perhaps it is finally time that he collects it himself. If she were sent to fetch it for someone else, it won't work as bait any longer.
Steeling his mind, Kenshi reaches down with his now empty hand and grabs the ornate crimson fan firmly by the base, body stiffening as his mind comes into contact with the being inside. Salem is the only person present with the capability to observe the struggle that follows. Only she is witness to the battle of wills between Kenshi and his army of souls, and the great demon that lives within. She alone knows the truth of how he eventually subdued the demon, bending it to his will and lifting the fan from the altar before snapping it closed.
And then, as quickly as he arrived, the sage is gone, swirling away amidst a chorus of chanting spirits, leaving Salem alone with her wounds.
Log created on 19:34:07 06/16/2019 by Kenshi, and last modified on 21:04:46 06/17/2019.