Match of the Millennium

Description: In the nastiest part of town, a vicious goblin and the Ice Queen of Justice High (no ice powers included) face off. Sword against straw, chi against concoctions. Neither side's wardrobe come out unscathed in a fight that parental groups are calling 'a demonstration of Darkstalker savagery' and 'filled with so many flashy light effects an epilepsy warning is necessary'.

[ICHIKA]
There is a small part of Ichika which is nervous about how this fight is going to go not on a technical level, but because of the locale. Corona Row was where they had tried to do their charity work and it had all gone wrong. What if more of those people turned up to try and disrupt proceedings? But. The camera crew is here. There's a crowd of locals - most look pretty rough, yes, but there are a lot of them - and surely even the most crazed gang members wouldn't want to do anything to ruin their fun, on live television?

For once the girl hasn't arrived early. She's arrived right on time, with the sun dipping below the dilapidated buildings, casting the makeshift arena in bloody red hues illuminated primarily by the burning of barrels. The Project technical staff are getting proper lighting set up so the cameras can see what is happening; from her perspective, that only turns the crowd into indistinct silhouettes, eerily swaying shadows on the periphery of her vision.

On broken concrete, she kneels. Sword laid across her knees. And she closes her eyes. The commentators hadn't exactly been wrong; she's feeling the weight of expectation upon her for this on so many levels. She, who went out in the first round in the last competition, immediately matched against the champion. Her sponsors would be watching, and in at least one case she feared there was no right answer. Her family would be watching, and a failure here would be another strain on their indulgence of her foolish dream. Her school would be watching, and this might be the only way that she could regain her status in some of their eyes as being a Super Elite, even if their Headmaster's opinion would not be swayed so easily.

She breathes in the polluted air. The scent of burning garbage. The smell of an excited crowd. The calm before the storm.

She breathes out her doubt. In a few moments there will be only the purity of battle. The rest will fall away to be replaced with the question-answer of her blade against Nixie's trickery; her determination against the goblin woman's will. Can she defeat a foe who can attack from any angle at any time? Can she best magical potions and summoned traps?

Let her be crushed again under the burden of expectation tomorrow. Tonight, she fights!

[NIXIE]
Well, at a goblin wouldn't be too out of place on the wrong side of the tracks right? She grew up in New Jersey so she's not unfamilar with this kind of setting. She's Still it doesn't make the smell of burning garbage any less enjoyable as she winces a bit at it. She's not worried about any gang members, she'll shank them if they cause any trouble.

"Another teenager with a sword huh, well you're probably more dangerous than you look." She looks up at her opponent as she enters the arena. Nixie's not expecting a master here, but anyone can be a threat if they're wielding a weapon. "Must be hard juggling school and fighting. Especially with all your classmates watching." Is she trying to psych her out, or merely just stating the facts is the question.

[ICHIKA]
Ichika opens her eyes again when Nixie speaks up, and rises to her feet. Her saya is tucked neatly back into the sash of her kimono, and she gives the shortest little nod to the goblin woman, who-- hm.

"... You look a little different to the last time I saw you, Greene-san." She says, her voice flat and impassive. "I see that Metal's training methods agree with you. I have found Thunder's methods quite enlightening myself. I look forward to showing you the results."

The attempt to psyche her out - if indeed that is what it was - finds absolutely no purchase on her. The demands of school? The pressures of the crowd? These things are known quantities. Burdens she has carried with her since the moment she took her first step on this path. Right here, right now, there is only the promise of battle. For all that everyone around her has reassured her that her success or failure here means nothing, well...

The one person who disagrees with that may just be Ichika herself.

She takes up her stance, fancy new sneakers digging into the concrete as she draws her sword. Gleaming steel catches the burning fires in its mirror-polish sheen. The electric lights show her the goblin in all her green-skinned, curvaceous glory.

Only one thing remains now:

FIGHT!

COMBATSYS: Nixie has started a fight here.

[\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\  <
Nixie            0/-------/-------|

COMBATSYS: Ichika has joined the fight here.

[\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\  < >  //////////////////////////////]
Ichika           0/-------/-------|-------\-------\0            Nixie

[NIXIE]
"Yeah, I tried a little experiment to become human again. Things didn't go quite as planned." Nixie scowls a bit at that. "Team Metal's kind of odd fit for me. I mean sure alchemy is a science, but it's not cybernetics or anything like that. I guess Thunder thought having two mages would be overkill huh?" Her and Tamaki on the same team would be interesting but maybe a bit awkward as well. Show me what you've learned, kid." She came here for a fighter after all

She's finishes talking and draws her sharpened metal straw, she's not a sword fighter but it's what she feels most comfortable wielding. Nixie tries to sneak behind Ichika and lunges at her. The sharpened straw is used as a makeshift shank as she tries to stab her in the back.

COMBATSYS: Nixie successfully hits Ichika with Straw Shank.

[   \\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\  < >  ///////////////////////////// ]
Ichika           0/-------/-----==|-------\-------\0            Nixie

[ICHIKA]
Ichika watches as Nixie circles around her, matching her pace step for step at first. When the goblin blurs into motion and makes a more concerted effort to get behind her, she's too slow to follow. The sharp metal digs into her shoulder, and draws a sharp intake of breath from the girl. Already there's a tiny, neat hole in that nice new kimono of hers. The girl's jaw clenches.

"Thunder knew who they wanted, and they knew why." She says, with a calm that she does not feel. Okay, the initial strike hadn't gone as smoothly as she would have liked. But she can already feel her fighting spirit rising. The crowd is baying for blood, and they've already got it; speckles of crimson spattering across filthy concrete. A very different vibe to her last fight in front of NFG spectators, but then, Sunshine City - as she has learned - is indeed a very different place to her beloved Southtown.

"You will find that I am very different to Maclanky-kun."

And then she is rolling forward to close the distance herself, her blade coming in for a diagonal slash - but that is only a diversion! The real attack is to try and make use of the fact that she's pretty sure Nixie is the only competitor she outmasses, even now, and allow her momentum to carry her forward, aiming to hammer her shoulder into the goblin's chest and send her sprawling to the dirt in an entirely new move!

COMBATSYS: Ichika successfully hits Nixie with Innovation Drive EX.

[    \\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\  < >  ////////////////////////      ]
Ichika           0/-------/----===|====---\-------\0            Nixie

[NIXIE]
"Hey, it's their call." Nixie falls for the diversion and doesn't expect to Ichika to come at her directly. They're both on the smaller side after all. Still the schoolgirl does have a size advantage and she gets overpowered by Ichika and smacks right into the dirt. Still being on the ground has one advantage. It puts her in position for her next move as she draws some symbols around her feet. If she doesn't quickly step out of the away, she might find herself getting caught in a rather explosive blast.

COMBATSYS: Ichika blocks Nixie's Mine Mayhem.

[     \\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\  < >  //////////////////////        ]
Ichika           0/-------/---====|=====--\-------\0            Nixie

[ICHIKA]
Ichika had been expecting something like this; those bright eyes of hers haven't left the goblin except for the brief moment the woman got behind her, and when she sees the movement of those fingers she is already leaping backwards. She brings her sword up, slashing back against the explosion. It's the sort of thing that shouldn't work. And yet. The cloud of smoke and debris parts against her steel, and only a faint smattering of broken concrete scatters across her front as she touches back down to earth.

"Indeed." She agrees, a faint smile tugging at her lips, "Hah. This is going to be an interesting fight. If I hadn't seen you use that trick before, I would have been caught. And I doubt you've shown us all everything."

There's just a hint of excitement breaking through the girl's flat tone, there; she really had admired Nixie's other fights. Though some of her team thought that the goblin used 'dirty tricks', Ichika had no trouble at all with that. To win in a fight you used every advantage you had, no matter how minor. Perhaps on that, the two smallest competitors in the Project could find common ground. But now wasn't the time to reach out about the philosophy of fighting. Now was the time to put it into action.

Without warning she is darting forwards again. It's a similar movement to the last rush - but this time, a different style of feint. She suddenly leaps upwards, twirling through the air more like a gymnast than a trained swordswoman. The leap aims to bring her down directly behind Nixie, where she will try to claim vengeance for the stab in the back by carving her own glittering slash across the woman from shoulder to hip.

COMBATSYS: Nixie blocks Ichika's Artful Slash EX.

[      \\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\  < >  ////////////////////          ]
Ichika           0/-------/----===|======-\-------\0            Nixie

COMBATSYS: Nixie focuses on her next action.

[      \\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\  < >  ////////////////////          ]
Ichika           0/-------/----===|======-\-------\0            Nixie

[NIXIE]
Nixie brings up her straw to try and block the attack, it's partly successful but the sword slash still cuts through her apron and lacerates her a bit. Ichika's seen all her fights? She's going to have do something unexpected here, the schoolgirl wasn't that much larger then her right? She goes running away from her before turning around and rushing straight at her. The goblin's short arms trying to pick her up and slam her into the ground.

Nixie brings up her straw to try and block the attack, it's partly successful but the sword slash still cuts through her apron and lacerates her a bit. Ichika's seen all her fights? She's going to have do something unexpected here. She turns and runs in the opposite direction, not far enough to leave the arena but so she's standing on the other side of it. The goblin patiently waits for her opponent to approach her.

[ICHIKA]
Ichika watches the goblin run, and those bright blue eyes stare the woman down. It's a tactic she's used many times before, herself. It's the first time she's been on the receiving end of it. She finds herself wondering how she must look through the goblin's eyes. The initial exchanges had wound up being more even than she had expected. A solid hit each, a deflected attack each. Truth be told, she'd expected the preliminary round champion to take her out much more easily than this. But she's holding her own, and that is exciting.

"It's not a bad thought." She concedes, "I am a swordswoman. Perhaps if you just stay out of my reach, I will charge blindly across ground you can trap to your heart's content, neh, Greene-san?"

And then she flashes a smile, bright and brilliant in the electric light of the arena space.

"I think not."

She swings her blade around, and at first it seems like it is only the steel catching the light again; but the colour is off! Studying her as she is, it is doubtful Nixie will miss that fact. The question is, can she do anything about it as Ichika releases a baseball-sized burst of brilliant blue power, streaking through the air towards the goblin, fully intending to smack her in the face with, well, all the force of a professional baseball player's perfect pitch!

COMBATSYS: Ichika successfully hits Nixie with Brilliant Spark.
Glancing Blow

[       \\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\  < >  //////////////////            ]
Ichika           0/-------/---====|=======\-------\1            Nixie

[NIXIE]
The extra distance gives Nixie more room to dodge the burst but it still partly manages hit her. "Not at all." That's not what the goblin was planning. The impact of the projectile slows her down a bit but it doesn't stop her from running straight at Ichika. Her short arms reach out as she tries grab her opponent and return the favor from earlier by slamming her into the ground.

COMBATSYS: Nixie successfully hits Ichika with Medium Throw.

[          \\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\  < >  //////////////////            ]
Ichika           0/-------/=======|=======\-------\1            Nixie

[ICHIKA]
Ichika does look a little surprised when Nixie abandons her range advantage to rush in again. She recovers her stance as quickly as she can, and as the goblin's hands reach out for her, she tries to twist out of the way. Unfortunately for her, she's not able to twist quite fast enough - it's an inelegant fumble as the pair briefly struggle against one another, and Ichika find herself hurled into the ground where she grunts and rolls with the force of the impact, coming back up to her feet as quickly as she can.

"Hm."

The important thing here is not to lose her temper. When she'd let her anger get the better of her in her previous fights, things had gone horribly wrong. Sure, the fact she was just unceremonially thrown to the floor is embarrassing, but she swallows the rising heat in her. Takes another deep breath, and slides her sword smoothly back into the saya.

Is she... intending to surrender?

Of course not.

Those bright blue eyes of hers shine intently as she focuses her full attention on the goblin woman. "I knew you would be unpredictable." She says, "I won't make the mistake of presuming I know your plan again." Her fingers curl tighter around the hilt of her katana, and she crouches. "Please. Show me more."

COMBATSYS: Ichika focuses on her next action.

[          \\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\  < >  //////////////////            ]
Ichika           0/-------/-----==|=======\-------\1            Nixie

[NIXIE]
Is Ichika treating this as a training session? Her own blue eyes look back at the schoolgirl. Well, she was being respectful at least and the fact she was just standing their breathing worked to her advantage. Of course the goblin knew she was plotting something as well but it didn't matter if she could stop it right?

While her opponent is seeming distracted, Nixie draws some runes on the ground that begin to glow. A massive thorn whip seemingly pops out of nowhere and she grabs it off the ground. Before Ichika has a chance to react, she attempts to ensnare the girl with it.

COMBATSYS: Ichika blocks Nixie's Snare Scare.

[            \\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\  < >  //////////////////            ]
Ichika           0/-------/----===|-------\-------\0            Nixie

[MINT]
Ichika is short. Nixie is short. And Minal Panesh is also short -- too short to see through the crowd gathered to watch the fight. That's why she's sitting on the roof of a rented Suburban, feet resting on the windshield while she leans back on her heavily-armored hands. A sporty pair of augmented-reality glasses gives her a more close-up visual of the goings-on of the fight, while a small set of earbuds gives her some more insight into the conversations.

Mint finds herself smiling inwardly at having followed up with Ichika in the hotel. She also seems... happy at the way that the fight is progressing, finding no -particular- issue with the fellow New Jerseyan's street style. It's an interesting matchup, she considers.

She frowns, though, at a small sound on her right. And with a flick of a thumbswitch, an electrical current arcs out from the vehicle's bumper, the bolt lancing into the "audience member" who tried boosting her Suburban's hubcaps. "Scram, kid," she comments, as the delinquent runs off empty-handed.

[ICHIKA]
It's good plan. Unfortunately, fast as Nixie is, Ichika had indeed been planning something. Bright blue energy surges around her in the very same instant that the thorn whip comes lashing in to try and ensnare her. The shield of energy flares against the thorns, blunting the intial impact as Ichika draws her blade in a smooth motion, slashes forwards and cuts a path through the vines which so sudddenly surround her. The flaring power has undoubtedly taken the worst of the blow for her, but she still winds up covered in tiny cuts; her poor kimono suffering for the thorns as she pushes her way through.

The girl isn't smiling any more at least, her eyes quite intent as she stares down her opponent. Is she treating it like a training session? Well, certainly, in some ways she is. Every fight is a series of questions and answers; the most important and central one being, can her skills overcome her opponent's? Not knowing what Nixie is going to do from one moment to the next makes it incredibly difficult for her to plan her usual strategies, and so instead she has to rely on a different method entirely.

She will simply have to try her best and have faith that it will be enough.

Her initial thought had been to follow up with her new technique, but that hope is dashed; she'd needed the edge of her blade to defend too early to gather the requisite energy. And so instead, she paces forward. Slow and considered, bright eyes scanning the woman for any hint of movement - only to begin a series of fending strikes, using the full reach of her sword to attack from as far back as she is able, trying to disrupt the woman's focus with quick, testing strikes - none of them threatening to be a finishing blow, but all of them... annoying.

COMBATSYS: Nixie dodges Ichika's Random Strike.

[           \\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\  < >  /////////////////             ]
Ichika           0/-------/----===|-------\-------\0            Nixie

[NIXIE]
Speaking of Nixie being quick, she manages to dodge the series of sword strikes without getting stabbed. She's still in close though so she figures she might as well hold onto the thorn whip to defend herself for now. Instead of wrapping it around Ichika, she merely swings the weapon at her trying to take advantage of it's length to hit her.

COMBATSYS: Ichika dodges Nixie's Medium Strike.

[           \\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\  < >  //////////////////            ]
Ichika           0/-------/----===|-------\-------\0            Nixie

[ICHIKA]
Ichika narrows her eyes as the woman dodges between her sword strikes. The dance of blade and whip carries on for a few seconds, Ichika weaving around the lashing thorns whilst Nixie stays just out of reach of the bite of her steel in turn. This isn't going to work, she realises. It's the same problem she'd encountered in her fights with Djamila and Chevy. The superior reach was a considerable advantage, and the thorns still embedded in her flesh weren't helping.

Those bright blue eyes of hers flash with determination and she flexes her knees, and she sheathes her sword. That's all the warning Nixie gets this time before the girl changes up her tempo considerably. She leaps forwards, forcing a brief surge of chi through her to cover that distance in a sudden rush. Sweat beads on her brow; this is not an easy thing for her, not at all.

When the blade comes slashing back out, though, it is sheathed in bright blue light. Gathering the energy that quickly was a real tax on her, but now she presses forwards with increased fervor - not putting nearly so much effort in her defense, she aims to drive the goblin back towards one of the burning barrels, or else slash repeatedly at her upper body, leaving a trail of bright light with every strike.

The crowd are, of course, going wild at this point - giant vines and now a lightshow? The schoolgirl bleeding all over? This is what they were here to see! ... Which only makes it more eerie that Ichika only has eyes for Nixie. Completely uncaring about the people whose opinion had weighed heavily on her just a few minutes earlier, now there is only the fight, and her *need* to score a decisive hit.

COMBATSYS: Nixie blocks Ichika's Lambent Assault EX.

[            \\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\  < >  ///////////////               ]
Ichika           0/-------/---====|===----\-------\0            Nixie

[NIXIE]
The goblin's starting to get a bit warn down from all of the fighting leaving openings in her defense. She manages to block the slashes but in-doing by doing so, gets too closed to one of the burning barrels and catches on fire. "Oh shit! Hot!" She tries to smutter out the flames before it reaches the flasks she keeps on her. In her panic she tosses the thorn whip aside in Ichika's direction.

COMBATSYS: Ichika blocks Nixie's Quick Strike.

[             \\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\  < >  ////////////////              ]
Ichika           0/-------/--=====|===----\-------\0            Nixie

[ICHIKA]
A lot of people would probably choose the moment when their opponent is afraid of being set on fire to fall back and give them some breathing space. Ichika does not do that.

The blade twists around and she cuts the whip out of the air again, the bright energy surrounding her blade finally fades, and she sucks in a sharp breath at that. She'd hoped it would last longer -- but now is not the moment to chastise herself. She swallows down that impulse, and with it the rising fire in her. The girl's intense gaze locks once more on the flailing goblin - now is her moment.

She takes it.

Rolling forwards the last foot or so, she comes up sharply. The steel of her blade aiming to slash right across the woman's stomach - and if she's quick enough to get out the way, well, that barrel is likely to be cut clean in half instead.

COMBATSYS: Nixie dodges Ichika's Quick Strike.

[             \\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\  < >  ////////////////              ]
Ichika           0/-------/-------|===----\-------\0            Nixie

[NIXIE]
The barrel does indeed get cut in-half instead. Nixie's managed to put the fire out at this point, but there's still some visible burns on her legs. It seems they're both quite agile, maybe she should try and change that. She knows she can't dodge forever and that Ichika's going to manage to make contact eventually. The goblin grabs one of the flasks off her belt and tosses it the schoolgirl's feet. She would find herself getting pinned down if she didn't do something about that.

COMBATSYS: Ichika interrupts Glue Grenade from Nixie with Bleeding Edge EX.

[                  \\\\\\\\\\\\  < >  ///////                       ]
Ichika           0/-------/---====|=======\=------\1            Nixie

[ICHIKA]
But Ichika just doesn't let up.

Before, she had been trying to bait out the goblin, keeping a distance, staying at range, darting in where she could to try and score safe hits. No more. Safety is not the route to victory here; she can see that route in her mind's eye, a path that she is striving towards. She just needs... to be bold!

The moment Nixie's hand goes for the grenade at her belt, Ichika lets out an explosive breath. She is on the woman in an instant, and as the grenade is thrown down at the ground, Ichika twists down to catch it along the edge of her blade, her teeth clenched so tight that she can feel them grinding at the pressure. The girl's palms squeeze the hilt of her sword so tight it hurts, but she powers through even as the glue explodes and covers her chest in its sticky mass.

Still, she powers on.

Forcing her muscles far beyond what she should be capable of, the girl completes her corkscrewing cut, carving straight into Nixie with enough force to lift the poor woman from her feet as Ichika leaps into the air

"KIYAH!"

Only to land in the burning wreckage of the trash can with both feet smashing down hard.

She's panting for breath. Covered in sweat. But those bright blue eyes of hers are ablaze. Her heart pounding in her chest. Is that going to be enough...?

[NIXIE]
That didn't go as Nixie planned. The grenade did hit but it didn't do anything to slow Ichika down. She gets stabbed in the chest and lifted into the air. To make matters worse she goes flying into the burning trash can and slams into it. She lets out a loud scream of agony as she catches on fire once again.

Of course Ichika isn't out of the woods yet. Those explosives that were mentioned earlier do intend detonate and the schoolgirl finds herself caught in the middle of a dangerous fireworks show.

COMBATSYS: Ichika fails to interrupt Epic Explosives from Nixie with Illumination Wave.

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

COMBATSYS: Ichika can no longer fight.

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

[ICHIKA]
In the instant that the world becomes explosions, Ichika's power flares once more for her. It's definitely a dramatic moment. Brilliant blue energy surrounds the girl in all directions, and within the midst of the explosion she stands for a good half a second, staring at the intensity of the explosion raging around her. She hadn't even consciously done it that time. Her shield had just... responded, and the girl has enough time to suck in one more breath, draw her sword back, and try to direct the energy back out of the flames - a conscious decision to carve a path from the unconscious one.

Unfortunately for her, it's the wrong choice.

Weakening the shield lets the explosion shatter it; brilliant sparks of blue light fly in all directions as the girl grits her teeth and brings her sword down...

But it isn't enough. The blue light fades within the heart of the explosions, and when at last the dust and debris clears, Ichika is kneeling, barely holding herself up by her sword - the point buried in the ground, her beautiful kimono in absolute ruins. She makes a valiant effort to stand up again... but slips, and collapses into the dirt, her eyes finally closing as laboured breath becomes soft wheeze.

"... ah, next time, stronger shields ... congratulations, Greene-san."

And then she is gone.

[NIXIE]
The goblin coughs herself, both due to the foul odor and her wounds. "You almost got me, kid. Just watch your surroundings next time." Was that praise from her? She'll never say. She doesn't really have any resentment towards Ichika. A fight's a fight after all. Of course she doesn't want to lose, but there's plenty of opponents in NFG she hasn't fought yet. For now, she's going to catch a breather at least until Myriad drags her into another mess.

COMBATSYS: Nixie has ended the fight here.

Log created on 02:30:51 06/13/2023 by Ichika, and last modified on 12:26:56 06/15/2023.