Description: Grant ambushes Seishirou. Grant challenges Seishirou. Grant beats the living crap out of Seishirou. Riko throws a bomb at Grant, grabs Seishirou, and runs fast as her little legs can carry her. This makes Grant angry. Grant pursues. But Megumi swoops to the rescue on the megumicycle. Cue CHASE SEQUENCE! Roll credits.
It's overall been a terrible week for Ryouhara. While he's been busying himself with Acacia's gift and assorted other matters, he's fallen behind in the League standings, a fact that ires him to some degree, but certain priorities are necessary. Of course, Seishirou's never really been the type to complain about adverse conditions. It doesn't /fix/ anything.
He does have to admit, however... being sorely tempted to complain when the village decided to give him their own version of a gift. Whatever those Elders were up to, he'd need to settle his engineering projects, and then perhaps meditate on it awhile. .. Perhaps in a very remote location. Adaptation is, as one could say, his strong suit.
That's kind of why the ninja is currently bolting across the rooftops, hauling a large box on his back, buckled on with straps. Interestingly, due to his training with the wood stump he'd been dragging around in the League and other official events, the weight .. doesn't acutally seem to slow him down much. Thankfully. Given his current state of mind, having to labor much would probably cause him to trip and fall on his face in an alley somewhere.
And that is obviously not allowed.
Unfortunately, we don't always get what we want.
Case in point, the aforementioned 'gift' the village elders gave Seishirou, the one which is causing him so much consternation. The one that's playing a huge part in his current desire to flee...er...well, locate a suitable area for research and development, yes. Because Seishirou Ryouhara would never run away, right?
Right.
Especially not from the second figure bounding across the rooftops. A figure, like Seishirou, wearing a distinctive emblem on an etched metal plate. Another ninja, except...younger, smaller, and female. A 13-year-old girl in t-shirt and shorts...sneakers skidding as she touches down on an apartment block roof, panting for breath. She removes her hands from her backpack straps, the fuzzy panda-shaped bag slumping slightly, along with her shoulders. She caps her hands over her mouth, and yells over the Southtown skyline:
"SEISHIROU-SAMA! WHERE ARE YOOOOU?!"
Riko Koganei. Ninja.
Assigned by Seishirou's village...as his student.
There might be the abrupt sensation of a second presence. A rather gargantuan one to say the least, lingering within what might feel like the entire sky. The buildings nearby are of the more meager downtown sort; Three respectable stories, currently open for business and with multiple people milling about in the streets. Yet that wouldn't explain the weight of darkness, of something malignant, that would seem to linger behind Seishirou significantly more then the aggravations of a certain gifted girl. The source of such is finally revealed; A massive figure is upon a rooftop that the ninja is in the process of leaping towards, stance spread and fists held near his side. A massive cape billows around his impressive physique, features hidden beneath the crimson mask that he bears in training and combat. One that he seems to be wearing more and more.
"Seishirou Ryouhara. I am the Martyr of Might. I challenge you..." It's said almost casually, fists opening and then clenching tightly. This particular man might be quite comparable to Haggar or Zangief; Another man who's primarily made up of many layers of raw strength and little more. And the sudden burst of chi crackling in the air might work well as a signal for the shouting Riko to locate the pair, at that!
.... Only when he is sure absolutely no one else within the nearest mile is watching.. Seishirou winces, almost /audibly/. The only reason his facial expression does not carry as sound is because it is drowned out by a decidedly unninja yelling. The effect is not one of trite melodramatic annoyance, however, because Ryouhara, to his merit does stop.
But he doesn't announce himself.
It could be because he's fully intending on making Riko work to locate him. It could be because he doesn't want to be found. It's probably because Seishirou senses far more muscle in the area than he's commonly used to sensing. And unless Riko has been training gorillas in the short period he left her, that probably means there's something up ahead.
As with most things, though, he doesn't bother making anything clear.
He stops as the sheer mass of a man makes himself known. He puts a hand into his pocket and calmly looks over his shoulder, twisting to let the large box aside his gaze, his free hand braced on the strap. "...." One look behind him to check on the girl's progress in the visual, then he'll look up, the crackling chi flare lighting his features considerably. "....You get right to the point, don't you." This could be a little dangerous on several levels, so he picks his words carefully. "You seem pretty tough... Is it open season on ninjitsu, then?"
A few blocks behind Seishirou, Riko lands atop a billboard...and freezes, in that vantage point. She's too far away to hear what's being said between her sensei and the massive, ominous figure near him.
But some things don't need to be heard.
She's nowhere as skilled as her teacher. That doesn't mean, though, that Riko's blind. The girl's eyes narrow as she regards the scene. For a moment, her usual expression of incessant upbeat optimism is replaced by a very different one indeed. The cheer vanishes from her face...her body language shifts, her spine stiffens, her muscles grow tense.
Then...
...then she pumps a fist in the air, and yells: "GET 'IM, SENSEI!"
"I would like you to deliver a message for me." Grant states simply enough as some manner of explanation. He slowly flows into a rather perfect combat stance, a crackle of energy flowing over his body. "To Metro City... To Haggar, and his companions..." Slowly, the Martyr of Might seems to gather himself. There is a glance given towards Riko, however. This seems to stall whatever might of been about to take place. The statement reaches his ears, and Grant seems to almost be amused on some level. "...Is this girl your student?" Grant stands up, now looking straight towards Riko with an obviously foreboding air. "...Do you have the power to protect her?" This, of course, is significantly lower. She would not be able to hear it, but that might very well be a bad thing in this case. Once more Grant begins to assume an aggressive stance. Only this one is obviously aimed at the more distant participant, who might well not interpret it for what it really is. "Your strength is nowhere near mine. As such, I wish to add incentive within this battle. To see if the spark of compassion might be able to fan your abilities. Mayhaps you will better be able to transcend your limitations in this moment."
This is probably where Seishirou begins cheering at the idea of Riko exploding... Anticlimatic, most assuredly.
"...."
As expected.
Seishirou isn't new enough to this world not to understand how things like these work. Some folk might call it bullying. Other folk might call it coward's tactics, but Seishirou merely looks carefully at Grant for a long time, as if he's waiting for Grant to try something towards his loud apprentice.
He, in fact, doesn't seem to be paying much attention to her, after she positions herself. "... It doesn't matter if I can or can't," Seishirou mentions mildly, a lack of expression implying that he simply doesn't care. He doesn't bother confirming anything to Grant--it'd be pointless, right now. A glance back towards Riko.. and he snaps his hand out of his pocket, shaking out his first three fingers before making no great secret of hiding that he's reaching into the back of his satchel. "You'll do what you need to do to make sure your message gets delivered.. and whether she gets hurt in the process is something that's in her hands," the ninja continues, in a dead reasoning tone.
"Sink or swim....I guess we'll all see, hmn?"
He'll throw /one/ knife at Grant's head. Right now, his reasoning that Grant will have his challenge either way. There's not much Seishirou can do about it now but seize the initiative. He probably can't go from a strating position to attacking and not have this guy catch whatever it is he tries to do, so he doesn't even try. HE's trying on technical ingenuity for this case, as the kunai driving towards the center of that demon mask splits down the center into three equal portions, and then cluster-attacks the man with three subsequent flying blades of steel.
Exploding blades of steel.
COMBATSYS: Grant has started a fight here.
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Grant 0/-------/-------|
COMBATSYS: Seishirou has joined the fight here.
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Grant 0/-------/-------|-------\-------\0 Seishirou
A few rooftops away, Riko blinks once, twice, - her eyes fixing not -just- on the distant fight. But also on Seishirou's hands, the strange motion the older ninja makes as reaches for his satchel. Her eyes flit from him to Grant, noting his positioning.
Riko blinks a third time.
Then she's gone.
With a final cry of "KICK HIS ASS, SEISHIROU-SAMA!"
But the words almost seem to ring out from empty air, because Riko is -no longer in sight-. Just an empty billboard, a bombastic advert hawking some new model of sedan.
COMBATSYS: Grant dodges Seishirou's Kunai Flight.
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Grant 0/-------/-------|-------\-------\0 Seishirou
The initial fling of the kunai appears to be observed without an entirely large amount of concern. However, as it fractures into three pieces it incites a ripple of tension and a sudden snap to the side. The weapons flit past with a couple feet to spare, impacting a wall nearby and detonating with impressive enough force. Grant glances over his shoulder, before realizing that Riko is no longer in immediate sight. But he doesn't seem to care much for her anymore. "Your placid demeanor is not impressive." Grant offers towards Seishirou, resuming his position and seeming to get ready for an assault. "Your disciple should live or die by your hands. They are your charge."
Focusing his attention now on Seishirou, Grant suddenly lurches forward. He rears back his leg, unleashing a vicious but accurate kick towards the ninja's face. He whirls his body into the motion, disturbingly graceful for his size. He then leaps backwards, arching high in the air and beginning to descend towards a completely seperate rooftop. It seems that Grant can move like a ninja when he desires!
COMBATSYS: Grant successfully hits Seishirou with Light Kick.
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Grant 0/-------/------=|=====--\-------\0 Seishirou
Mm. Good. Good..
She doesn't seem to be there anymore. Seishirou's expression remains calm even as Grant almost effortlessly dodges his kunai. That's fine... they'd served their purpose enough anyway. And he's also gotten a decent speed index on this.. martyr. He goes down immediately into his own ready position, one hand in a closed fist next to his satchel, the other open pal m and forward. As the kick is launched towards his face.. it's.. well, pretty much all Seishirou can do to try and redirect the force somewhere appropriate, reaching his hand into his satchel. However.
It would seem that Seishirou's calculations are slightly off.
You see, up until Grant kicked him, Seishirou wasn't immediately aware of anyone offhand who was clearly capable of kicking him in the spirit. It almost hurt more than Kyo's Orochinagi, he had to reflect, upon hitting the ground. Catching the kick in the collarbone, he lands on top of his box skidding across the rooftop some distance away. He releases the straps with one easy motion, choking on whatever just happened. After a few gasps, Seishirou flips up, landing on his giant box. He's gonna need to move faster, clearly. His hands cycle through some handseals blearily. Jeez.
"You'd be assuming a bit much," Seishirou breathes wearily, clapping his hands together. One jump later, and Seishirou is off to the right, looking carefully at Grant. "Don't really intend to impress you." He's not here to gain Grant's respect. He doesn't care for it, doesn't need it. Would be awful nice to leave the match standing, though.
Hopefully, if he can figure out where Grant is intending on going next, he can manage that. Riko... well. It's hard to say that even Seishirou knows where she went.
Kind of a feat, for an apprentice.
COMBATSYS: Seishirou focuses on his next action.
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Grant 0/-------/------=|=====--\-------\0 Seishirou
Flexing lightly, Grant continues to observe Seishirou. He definitely doesn't appear to be impressed; That wasn't within a light year of what the Martyr of Might was truly capable of inflicting. But no matter. It might of been a pipe dream to hope that the young ninja was capable of inflicting any manner of injury. Crossing his arms before his chest, he then begins to summon a rather obscene amount of chi. It swirls in, scarcely visible as warbles in the air; But it can be easily felt as a resonant vibration, a heavy feeling in the air. "No matter. Your cowardly apprentice is leaving you to fight a battle you cannot win. Her faith is misplaced." He begins to crackle with chi, flowing back into his combat stance and simply beckoning towards Seishirou, obviously a 'bring it on' gesture. "Hit me. Hit me with every ounce of strength you have. And then I will show you the distance between us..."
COMBATSYS: Grant gathers his will.
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Grant 0/-------/--=====|=====--\-------\0 Seishirou
"...."
Needless to say, Seishirou's sort of stunned by that.
".....You're definitely strong..and I don't suppose I have a lot of place to question you..... but you've still got aways to go, yourself," he states matter-of-factly, only sparing the best of glimpses around at the area.
He pulls on the wrist of his glove, breathing in slowly, methodically, slowly regaining control of his upper body after Grant hit it. Yeah, he's pretty rough, but... well. Let's just say the ninja isn't giving up just yet. He sends a set of stars twirling through the air past Grant--they were never intended to hit him, only the set of four were to land somewhere around him, and he'd likely pick up on that. He may, in fact, sense some residual chi in each weapon.
But as the ninja snaps his other hand forward and, while trying to run /past/ Grant, only then will his true attack surface. A firebreathing technique, a swift gout of flame echoing out towards Grant, /seeking out/ the intersection between the shuriken specifically as Seishirou runs past. It seems he's using those chi imbued shuriken littering his escape route as some kind of targetting array.
When you can't spare enough thought to aim your chi, guide it.
COMBATSYS: Grant endures Seishirou's Katon Goukakyuu Half Burst.
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Grant 0/-------/-======|======-\-------\0 Seishirou
Throwing mildly tainted shuriken around? This attack is in a manner more akin to theatrics. "I have reached the pinnacle of physical strength. None in the world have my raw power." And many people might agree with that; The opinion of Vega, Rugal, Kain and Sagat are slightly more important then the not yet world-weary ninja opposing him. Spreading his arms, the sudden burst of flame impacts the Martyr of Might dead on. Whether he knew something of the ilk was going to take place or not is rather dubious, but he accepted it with open arms.
The fire swirls around him, before dispersing in a burst of his own purple energy; Gouting up like a sheath, dispelling the remnants in an audible crackle. Grant looks to be mildly singed, but he could be significantly worse for the experience. "What was that?" The Martyr of Might demands, turning towards Seishirou now and resuming his stance. The buildup of chi seems to cascade upwards; The windows of the building he is upon shatter outwards in a particularly violent spark, a few car alarms going on. "Useless. One strike. It will not take me more then one strike to break you... Try to run if you desire. You cannot escape the fury of my Ankoku karate!!"
COMBATSYS: Grant gathers his will.
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Grant 1/-----==/=======|======-\-------\0 Seishirou
Across the skyline, there's a faint glint of reflected light from where Riko was. From the billboard she was standing on, until Seishirou's hand signal ordered her to take cover. A faint glint of light, dancing off something highly polished...the lens of a submarine-yellow plastic periscope, peeking round the edge of said billboard. Poking out from the lower corner of the big rooftop ad, near the metal scaffolding at its base.
Behind the billboard, Riko crouches. Holding the toy periscope with one hand, pressing it to her squinting eyes. Her other hand fumbles around inside her open backpack...a couple rolls of duct-tape already looped round that arm like bangles. There's also a screwdriver in her mouth, teeth biting down on the handle. As she does all that, she continues to adjust her hold on the little periscope, moving the lens around. Trying to get a better view of the clash between the two combatants.
Just a few more moments...
An opening? He's /offering/ him the chance to end him. This guy's got a lot of pride, doesn't he? Already, Seishirou's starting to feel the pressure from that guy's chi. It was almost enough to evaporate his Katon. The ninja skids back on both feet, cutting his handseal he used to activate the firebreath. He's winding up for something.
And, really, it's not something Seishirou wants to have to face try. New plan.
Oh, no, don't get him wrong.
Seishirou's /gonna/ keep running. A little extra distance has never disagreed with him. And get to the next rooftop while he's at it, flipping off the first and landing just at the edge of the second, turning to a side and skidding to a stop right next to the rooftop access door. It's all he can do. He looks back warily. This guy clearly intends to end him. At least for the foreseeable future, anyway. He looks up, reaches a hand into the back of his satchel and gets a small jar of ink and a scroll.
He starts scribbling. If that guy's gonna prepare...
Seishirou's intending on doing the same.
COMBATSYS: Seishirou focuses on his next action.
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Grant 1/-----==/=======|======-\-------\0 Seishirou
And thusly, Grant begins his onslaught. That's truly the best word for it.
Seishirou's definitely fast; In terms of outright reflex, he is probably quite comparable to Grant. But when the other assets of combat -- such as punching a tank into a million pieces -- differ a considerable amount, it can weigh things in another's favor. A powerful leap utilized only raw strength; And Grant had a lot of it, enough that the rebound cracks the roof in his wake. He is a literal blur through the air, whistling like a bullet with the cape spilling behind.
And as Seishirou spends his last moments scribbling on a piece of paper, down Grant comes. He doesn't impact the boy; No, he lands directly in front, bracing himself for the impact as he swirls with purple chi. Spinning around, he then unleashes a vicious upwards kick of super-concentrated chi that makes a humongous split within the ground. It travels on, mayhaps past Seishirou, seeming to cut an unnaturally deep gouge within the roof. Whether he manages to evade it or not is the immediate question...
"MAJIN ENGETSU-RIN!"
COMBATSYS: Seishirou fails to counter Majin Engetsu-Rin from Grant with Kawarimi'.
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Grant 0/-------/-----==|>>>>>>>\>>>>>>>\2 Seishirou
This does not end with a single kick. Oh, no. It continues on for twelve devestating blows, each shredding the ground into deep gouges, looking like a god of war descended to rend the very roof. A downwards shoulder charge follows, then a vicious kick towards the gut, a forward straight punch, and finally a ram intending to send Seishirou spiraling off the roof towards the occupied street below. Grant crackles with chi thereafter, flowing back into his stance.
"Hmm... you are alive..." He seems to be impressed by that, even if it wasn't likely worth the effort.
Meanwhile, as Seishirou is getting his physical form on this plain of existence pounded out of him...there's a few stray flashes of light from behind the billboard where Riko's hiding. She's no longer looking at the fight, instead fully behind the advertising board, hunched over something in her lap. She winces -every time- there's an impact, winces at each sound of pain...but she resists the urge to look.
And instead she works, soldering iron in her hand flickering like a crazy-quilt, producing a blue strobe that shouldn't be possible with a tiny tool like this. Sweat beads her brow as she spikes the power up another notch. -Faster-.
Call it.. intuition.
There is a moment in which Seishirou realizes that even though he can see every aspect of that terrifying Ankoku Karate, tell you exactly how each move was designed to fold him in half like a forged blade, knocking him up into the air, thunder pounding every bit of his frame.. He realizes.. that there's nothing his Kawarimi technique can do for it.
He realizes this only an instant before the first blow lands.
The ninja goes sailing clear away with that last headbutt, spiralling into the ground like a ninjutsu meteor, *crumpling* the rooftop access underneath his weight with full force, bouncing him off of it at an angle and spin-crashing into the roof safeties with the force of Grant's beatdown concentrate. The momentum is such, it causes his body to shoot straight up into the air... and then smash into the very edge of the safety wall face-first, limbs splayed at odd angles.
Blood drips right down the side of that wall.
At least.. until Seishirou's handseal forms.
Ryouhara.. very slowly.. begins to stand. It's an agonizing process, one shot through with bloody ragged coughs and brute force attempts to make the handseals for his jutsu. After he manages to put something together with his chi to make the agony stop, he feels right enough to say something without some vital body part falling out. "... That wasn't bad," he has to admit, choking briefly on what may be a kidney. "but I'm not out yet.."
"... I think," he also has to admit.
Thinking about attacking? Mm.. mm.. no. Seishirou's thinking about it, but the priority right now is to get his heart beating in a normal rhythm again.
He drops to one knee, breathing just barely.
COMBATSYS: Seishirou takes a breather.
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Grant 0/-------/-----==|>>>>>>>\>>>>>>>\2 Seishirou
That much willpower is indeed an impressive occurance. But almost killing someone doesn't count. Only in games of horseshoes. Dr. Tran was better at getting the blood moving; An insult that is truly extraordinary, and might be entirely uncalled for if verbalized. "I wish to fight Hagger in a public match. You will tell him this. I will shatter him in front of the city. Is this too much to ask?" Grant then suddenly flits away, almost appearing to vanish. He then flicks in front of Seishirou, his gargantuan mass an eclipse of raw power and flesh. He crouches down low, and unleashes a full-on punch right towards Seishirou's stomach with full intent of sending him cascading into darkness. It's at least not as absolutely body-shattering as the other maneuver, but it should suffice for the matter at hand. Yet a mistake so far? He completely forgot about Riko...
COMBATSYS: Seishirou parries Grant's Ankoku Hebi!
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Grant 0/-------/-----==|>>>>>>>\>>>>>>>\2 Seishirou
One knee. Seishirou can only struggle to get to his feet again, as Grant speaks. He'll .. nod, just once, to his question. Grant's earned that much, if not his respect for /almost/ ending him in one move.
But when Grant's foot lashes out?
The ninja's hands blur.
The force of the punch is not absorbed. Seishirou could not hope to absorb it, not in his current condition. Instead, Seishirou turns his body to one side, sliding his foot back to brace himself as he.. /grabs/ Grant's arm. The effect, he had to notice, was something like grabbing a small tree trunk shot from a cannon, but the tearing force of the /passage/ is something Seishirou is able to dissipate by using the armored plates on the back of his gloves and his closest elbow. He has /just/ enough strength left to bind him there. Just enough.
"... Love to see how the Mayor handles you," the ninja breathes raggedly.
While in any other case, Seishirou would launch something, some great plan of his.. simply.. there's.. not enough. He doesn't have enough focus. He can barely see straight, after what Grant both said and did. All he can do is hold the man's fist there, for one specific instant.
He tilts, just so, so that Grant has a direct look into the polished reflective plate on his headband. Looks like this could be the end..
The elder ninja's defense stance... buckles, just slightly.
COMBATSYS: Seishirou takes no action.
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Grant 0/-------/-----==|>>>>>>>\>>>>>>>\2 Seishirou
And as Seishirou falls...
Riko moves. A student, forced to watch her mentor get horribly brutalised at the hands of a monster...one might expect her to panic. Instead, she steps out from behind the billboard. Only a couple roofs away - the running battle has actually moved closer to her hiding place. Coincidence? Or did Seishirou plan that?
Maybe. Riko's been busy all this while. And now, when she emerges from cover, she's got a taut black line in her grasp. Spinning something over her head. Once upon a time, it may have been a toaster. Now, it's quite different. Riko holds it by the power cable, swinging it in a huge arc. But it's not -just- a toaster. Not trailing blue light like that, chi-forged electricity streaming from slits designed to hold tasty slices of bread. And then there's the objects Riko's welded to its sides. A massive cluster of -aerosol cans-, the modified ones the little gadget-loving ninja carries in lieu of smoke bombs. Hell, she's even got a few hollow sticks of -bamboo- duct-taped to the insane assembly, stuffed with plastic explosive. And it's all glowing blue, with the distinctive crackle of her chi.
Riko's panda backpack, normally a fat well-fed example of the genus, now hangs limp. Empty fur, a survivor of the great Grant famine of '06 - when Riko stripped her inventory to make one -hell- of a distraction. Riko grits her teeth, spinning the makeshift weapon over her head. It makes a couple more crazed orbits before she lets it go, hurling it at Grant.
The blast, when it comes...is absolutely -MASSIVE-. A retina-searing discharge of light and smoke that lights up the rooftops, an echoing BOOOOM that rolls across the sky. Maybe it's more flash than substance - Riko built the thing to cover an escape - but it's a heck of a kick all the same.
Amid the confusion, Riko leaps to Seishirou's side. Grabbing her teacher, almost lifting him bodily. Before -jumping- off the rooftop with him in tow, falling towards street level.
The ultimate ninja technique: RUN LIKE HELL.
COMBATSYS: Riko has joined the fight here.
COMBATSYS: Riko gathers her will.
COMBATSYS: Riko gathers her will.
COMBATSYS: Grant blocks Riko's One Girl Riot EX.
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Seishirou 2/<<<<<<</<<<<<<<|==-----\-------\0 Grant
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Riko 0/-------/-------|
The explosion is definitely a supreme distraction, but it lacks in one thing that most will need in order to take down the Martyr of Might; Power. The detonation entombs him as well as the rooftop, but when it settles the crossed arms reveal that it doesn't appear to have done a particularly large amount. His cape is definitely singed, however. And now they are attempting to run? Well, his message was given, wasn't it? But she interfered in a fight. That is unacceptable in the grand scheme of things. Leaping down, Grant lands heavily upon the street, a few people scattering like flies. Flexing his muscles, he then rears back his arm before rushing towards the fleeing Riko. Leaping into the air he descends from above, attempting to grasp the hapless Riko by the back of the head and yank her into a wall. "I can sense your chi like the fluttering of a mosquito. You cannot escape with such petty physical endeavors. I have finished my bargain with the ninja... But you interfered in the holy right of battle. That makes you a viable opponent! Had you stood aside, mayhaps you would of lived...!"
COMBATSYS: Riko dodges Grant's Quick Throw.
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Seishirou 2/<<<<<<</<<<<<<<|==-----\-------\0 Grant
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Riko 0/-------/-------|
As expected.
The one good part about having an apprentice is that you learn that there is a little someone out there who is at least a measure predictable when it comes to you. Seishirou didn't know exactly where she'd gotten off to after he'd given the signal for her to evacuate... but he could /guess/. And he could also guess how matters would transgress after getting ruined in the expected fashion.
Like he said.
It's something that's in her hands.
Sink or swim, right?
He might have objected to being picked up. But.. well. He's not really in the best position to. He'll object later. When he can. But the initial distraction allows him to weakly jump away and regardless of his personal wishes in the matter, he is grabbed and is pulled off the rooftop fairly well. Ngh... "Hope you know what you're doing," is all Ryouhara bothers to say to the girl. To his own merit, he seems to know enough to run just fine. Provided, of course, Riko's not carrying him bodily.
Might not be the best idea, since it gives him a better opportunity to grade Riko on her performance. Of course, he'll yank his scroll from his pocket anyway.
Megumi is the sort who occasionally just...goes driving at random. Such is the case today as she drives her motorcycle down the streets of Southtown, simply looking to see what can be seen. Traffic. Wandering dog. Closed business. Open store. Girl with a backpack. Seishirou. ...Seishirou. ...Huge person in a big red mask that once tried to punch her through concrete and nearly succeeded. ...Wait.
Seishirou. Unknown girl. Grant. They're fairly distant, but upon seeing them, Megumi begins driving up towards the fray, increasing speed and trying to weave through traffic. It should only be a few moments before she's close enough to do something meaningful, but 'a few moments' can be meaningful in the scope of a street-fight.
Half-carrying-half-dragging Seishirou, Riko's not exactly moving at top speed or agility. Still, she manages to DROP, TWIST, as her instincts cry a white-hot warning across her nerves...the rapid movement pulling both herself and her sensei out of the way...when Grant's grasping fingers crash towards her head. Missing by a hair.
Riko grits her teeth, her body already burning with exertion...but she finds it in herself, somewhere, to put in -additional- speed, struggling to outpace the massive man and his pursuit. Her sneakers brush against the pavement, soles barely touching the ground. Weaving light-footedly past panic-stricken pedestrians, stalled traffic. With all the rooftop explosions over the past few moments, there's more than enough chaos already on the street - without needing to add two fleeing ninja and a cloaked demon into the mix. As it is, their presense on the ground throws the situation fully into the realm of pandemonium. Hell, some of the bystanders caught up in this, screaming business district denizens, will probably need some heavy duty therapy to recover from this stress.
To Seishirou, questioning her plan, she snaps: "WINGING IT!"
And to Grant, the man ranting about her violation of his battle, she adds: "AND YOU! HOLY MY ASS, PERVERT!"
That's what she yells, anyway, while rushing -through- traffic, breakneck pace in Megumi's direction.
"...!"
That... seems to have annoyed grant. His head lowers, his entire body beginning to tense and tremor. Crackles of energy swirl over his muscled frame, which then seems to bulge. Growing large and swollen after being called a pervert might be counter-productive to an argument, but this is a special circumstance. "You know nothing of battle..." Grant hisses, sounding as if he has clenched his teeth. His chi continues to build up, and Megumi seems to be arriving; No matter. Grant could truly care less about her. If she gets in his way, she will be trampled. Grant is no longer even minorly playing games. He charges towards Riko, driving aside people a bit too slow or curious for their own good; They are not really injured, but the collapse to the ground is not soft. He's fast, it would seem. Much more then he might of been given credit for earlier.
Mayhaps insulting Grant's entire philosophical existance for two decades is not good for improvising an escape, but whether wanted or not that massive fist is heading straight towards Riko. An enveloping uppercut attempting to seperate her from her more experienced charge with surgical precision, and launch her into the air like a ragdoll. To make matters worse, she will be helped towards the ground by a horrendously powerful downwards strike, enough to shatter the concrete and cause cars to leap a few meters away. People are now thoroughly retreating, given the situation is no longer a minor street fight. This is dangerous.
COMBATSYS: Seishirou counters Kyou Chou-Jin from Grant with Calculated Tactics.
[ \\\\\\\\\ < > ////////////////// ]
Seishirou 1/-------/=======|====---\-------\0 Grant
[\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\ <
Riko 0/-------/-------|
"...."
Ryouhara has no witty retort for Riko. One could say that he's doubting his apprentice. But.. he'd just say that he's taking a little bit of creative control in the situation. It's the least he could do, returning the favor and all that. With Grant murderously charging up behind them, Seishirou unravels the scroll just a bit. He's getting some of his focus back, but clearly this is about the best he's going to be able to do for a long while--at least he /had/ some chi left, given he's leaving such a healthy trail of blood.
His calculations were mostly finished at this point, thankfully.
He unseals the chi in the scroll.
*POOF*
Woot woot woot woot... bwong...
Grant's pretty fast, but Seishirou's unsealing the scroll generates a more traditional smokescreen. And.. well. bubbles. A lot of bubbles. Giant.. sticky..bubbles. It's like a parade let out or something, for all the bubbles floating around the cloud as grant charges through it. THey'll stick to him when he makes contact. Not debilitating, but definitely distracting. They're all painted up to look like comically proportioned renditions of ninja.
Seishirou uses the last of his chi to make one hand seal. This will create points of heat chi inside the ballonos as Grant thunders into the cloud. Whether any actually stick to him is.. immaterial. The resultant chain of explosions as the gas accelerants in the balloons release will probably give him cause for concern regardless.
It's all the focus he can spare.
"Faster would be better," Seishirou mentions wetly. He'll do his best to speed up.
Megumi brings the motorcycle to a skidding halt near the fight, off to the side of it. "Get on," Megumi yells towards Seishirou and Riko; she can see he's been pounded quite well, even bleeding it seems. As she makes that shout, Megumi jumps off her motorcycle and does two things. First, she's running to try and get between Grant and Riko and Seishirou. And as she makes that run, Megumi thrusts out a palm towards Grant, creating a tiny red energy ball. One that flies up towards him, then when Megumi thinks it's close enough, she closes the palm into a fist, making the ball detonate in hopes of catching Grant within its radius.
COMBATSYS: Megumi has joined the fight here.
[\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\ < > ///////// ]
Megumi 0/-------/-------|=======\-------\1 Seishirou
[\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\ < > ////////////////// ]
Riko 0/-------/-------|====---\-------\0 Grant
COMBATSYS: Megumi successfully hits Grant with Burst Orb.
[ \\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\ < > ///////// ]
Megumi 0/-------/------=|=======\-------\1 Seishirou
[\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\ < > /////////////// ]
Riko 0/-------/-------|=====--\-------\0 Grant
Riko doesn't need urging, with a injunction like that. She recognises Megumi, even if the other girl doesn't recognise her. After all, she's well aware of her mentor's exploits in the fighting world, having followed his career even back in the village. So she knows who his -teammates- are...
...which is why she follows Megumi's order without complaint. Skidding up to the motorcycle, and HEAVING Seishirou (whether he wants to or not) into the sidecar, trying to buckle him in place. Over her shoulder, she yells to Megumi, "CAREFUL! HE'S A BIG NAKED MEANIE!"
The blast of psycho power hits Grant in the chest, after his new experience in the area of horrific painful smoke-related injury is fully finished. The neat detonations send him sprawling backwards, obviously quite staggered for the time being. He shakes his head, observing Megumi with what might be a distant recognition. One that is mostly inconsequential, however. "..." His eyes shift from Megumi to Riko as the other pair begin to escape. No matter. He can allow them the deluded belief of that privalege... His business with Seishirou is no longer over after the last ninjutsu display.
"So this is the new generation. Children playing games. Well... The game is over." He then begins to swirl with chi once more, ignoring Riko for the time being despite the fact it takes a large amount of effort. "It is not worth throwing your life away here, Megumi. Step aside." It seems to be a genuine offer, if somewhat cliche. And who'd accept it? ...Maybe her, potentially. It's somewhat more subdued, but Grant is no longer going for theatrics himself. It is condensed, a simple but thorough flash of raw energy. And Megumi, it seems, is the only one who is going to stand in front of it.
COMBATSYS: Grant gathers his will.
[ \\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\ < > ///////// ]
Megumi 0/-------/------=|=======\-------\1 Seishirou
[\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\ < > /////////////// ]
Riko 0/-------/-------|=======\=------\1 Grant
THe empty scroll bounces away. When Megumi pulls up, Seishirou seems...a little conflicted. It would, in fact, seem that luck is on their side, but .. well. Let it be said that Seishirou just isn't up to the task of jumping in, whether it be physically, or emotionally, or otherwise.
Sadly, Riko forces the matter and knocks him in.
He'll fall in, looking for all the world rather stunned as he's buckled in. For several reasons. One--he just got beatu p pretty bad. And two--his apprentice is now on Grant's bad side (did he actually have a good side?). And now, three--well. Now Andou's in the way too. Thinking on it just vaguely, Seishirou has to note to Riko, "You.. don't want to insult someone capable of punching through all three of us in one fell swoop." He has experience in these matters, obviously, given he kind of takes that moment to cough up a healthy amount of blood.
"You're right," Megumi replies to Grant. "This isn't a game. I don't know why you went after Seishirou, but..." She tenses up for a moment, looking ready to attack. "...I'm not going to play. Not with my friend bleeding over there, and whoever that is with him..." Megumi's posture leans forward slightly, as if ready to sprint at Grant.
That's not what happens. She instead spins and backflips towards her motorcycle once again, getting back at its controls and waiting for Riko to get on in some fashion. Either climbing behind her or craming into the sidecar or whatever; once Riko's on, Megumi plans to pull back onto the road and floor it out of here. No third opponent for Grant this time, perhaps?
COMBATSYS: Megumi takes no action.
[ \\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\ < > ///////// ]
Megumi 0/-------/------=|=======\-------\1 Seishirou
[\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\ < > /////////////// ]
Riko 0/-------/-------|=======\=------\1 Grant
"Pervert's homicidally pissed anyway," Riko mumbles to Seishirou, as she leaps over the sidecar, landing on the rear half of the seat on Megumi's motorcycle, the passenger spot. Just as the other girl pulls away. She hangs on with one hand, while throwing her other into a pouch. She's emptied the contents of her backpack, but she's still got the compartments on her cargo shorts and belt. Readying another distraction if need be. Her eyes flit to Megumi, as the older girl opens up the throttle. "Seishirou-sama's badly hurt!" Speaker of the obvious, there. "THE NAKED PERVERT TRIED TO TAKE ADVANTAGE OF HIM!"
Okay, maybe -that's- not so obvious.
COMBATSYS: Riko takes no action.
[ \\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\ < > ///////// ]
Megumi 0/-------/------=|=======\-------\1 Seishirou
[\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\ < > /////////////// ]
Riko 0/-------/-------|=======\=------\1 Grant
What? Is Grant not here? They didn't try to stall him. All they did was leap on the back of a motorcycle. How fast is that? It would take a fraction of a second for Grant to clear 10 yards and hit something with his chest. He almost looks irritated at the prospect; had Megumi actually stayed behind and tried to fight him off, Seishirou and Riko might of gotten away depending. Now here they are, all settled on a motorcycle that might as well be made of cardboard.
Lancing forward, Grant is suddenly directly in front of it, just as Riko and Seishirou leap on. If it tries to go forward, it will putter maybe 2 miles per hour before thudding into a wall of meat. "Didn't I just say this was not a game?"
He then rears back his arm and summons a gargantuan geyser of energy. The street itself shakes, concrete splintering, windows shattering. It is larger then Grant himself, a swirling vortex of destructive energy that would, simply put, turn a motorcycle into many small base components. How they might manage to deal with this is up in the air, but it's obvious he doesn't intend to get called names, interfered with, and then merely allow someone to very slowly get away while shaking his fist.
If only it were that easy!!
COMBATSYS: Grant successfully hits Megumi with Kokuen-Ryuu.
Glancing Blow
[ \\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\ < > ///////// ]
Megumi 0/-------/----===|=======\-------\1 Seishirou
[\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\ < > ////////////// ]
Riko 0/-------/-------|=======\===----\1 Grant
COMBATSYS: Grant successfully hits Riko with Kokuen-Ryuu.
[ \\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\ < > ///////// ]
Megumi 0/-------/----===|=======\-------\1 Seishirou
[ \\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\ < > ////////////// ]
Riko 0/-------/=======|=======\=====--\1 Grant
COMBATSYS: Grant successfully hits Seishirou with Kokuen-Ryuu.
[ \\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\ < > / ]
Megumi 0/-------/----===|=======\=====--\1 Seishirou
[ \\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\ < > ////////////// ]
Riko 0/-------/=======|=======\======-\1 Grant
Megumi is not a stunt-driver. She can't do the crazy motorcycle tricks that you often see in CG movies and the like. But right before Grant moves to bar their way, she's...actually already reacting to that as if she knew it was going to happen right before he did it. She's throwing the bike into reverse and turning it, to get a clear path to drive off forward through. Her plan is to try and just zoom past Grant.
That's not /quite/ what happens. Megumi throws herself low in the seat as his energy-geyser goes out, trying to avoid the worst of it. That's what happens; she's hit, but not too horribly badly, just enough to yelp in sudden pain. The bike is also struck, the engine-block taking a hit...but not as thorough a one as it would have normally. The bike's damaged, but fortunately still operating and able to hold a reasonable speed...
Well, buckled in and so thuroughly owned, there's not much Seishirou can do about the situation, even if he wanted to. Right now, something feels a little wrong for him, but he's settled into just accepting the situation as it comes--literally, powerlessness is not something he deals well with, but.. well.
Come, the situation does.
With the bike turning and swerving in such a manner, Seishirou barely thinks to duck as the geyser bursts out. As a direct result, one would say, Seishirou gets baked in his sidecar. If it weren't for the seatbelt, Seishirou WOULD have been knocked from the bike. Now.. when the lights die out, he's just slack in his seat, dead to the world.
He might still be breathing, but it's a faint thing.
He'd say 'ow,' but it never occurs to him.
COMBATSYS: Seishirou takes no action.
COMBATSYS: Seishirou can no longer fight.
[ \\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\ < > ////////////// ]
Megumi 0/-------/----===|=======\======-\1 Grant
[ \\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\ <
Riko 0/-------/=======|
Riko yelps, the force of Grant's chi scorching over the part of the bike she's perched on. And her body, of course. The impact, and the pain, nearly throws her from the vehicle. But the ninja girl hangs on, managing to retain both her grip -and- her consciousness through sheer bloody-mindedness. She coughs, struggling to keep her balance...then turns her eyes on Seishirou, as her mentor - and the sidecar, were also caught in the blast. What she sees forces an involuntary -hiss- of breath from her lips.
"Seishirou-sama..."
Riko bites off the murmur, then half-twists in her seat, tearing her gaze from his wounds. The hand that was in her pocket, the one reaching for another weapon...comes out empty. But not without purpose, for her slender fingers form a distinctive pattern. It's not a ninjitsu seal, though. Nothing of the sort. No, it's a brandished middle finger. Adding emphasis to her angry -glare-.
This is annoying. Grant glances around, frusturated and annoyed. He doesn't have an attack able to get them at range. He then notices a man in a propeller beanie beginning to putter by in a moped. Striking him off with a vicious backhand, Grant then mounts the miniscule bike, squatting inwards with massive elbows and knees jutting out in a comic manner. With the mask and cape, it's a laughable sight. He gets about three meters before it suddenly collapses under his weight, sending Grant sprawling on his back as a wheel rolls away.
...
Well, okay. Actually he stands there, watching. All three of them have transcended on the true sanctity of a fight. Grant doesn't expect it to be to the death -- but there is still the honor of finishing it. Leaving in such a manner is unacceptable. Ignorant of the gathered crowd, Grant turns and vanishes into the shadows.
((Ed Note: Scene Break))
Driving a motorcycle is interesting. Driving one with an unconscious passenger in the sidecar, an apparent loudmouth passenger behind the driver, and Megumi at the controls is probably an unusual sight. After their encounter with Grant, the bike should by all rights be totaled. It is, instead, limping. Fast enough to get away from Grant, but his parting assault on them as they fled on motorcycle hit the engine, leaving it dripping fluids in a few places and making various grinding noises.
But it still worked, it still moved. That was enough for Megumi to drive back towards the edge of Southtown, into the forested areas with her new house. Megumi pulls the motorcycle into her driveway, then turns it off and steps over to the sidecar where Seishirou lies. "Okay." She looks rather calm. "Alive, at least..." Her hands glow red, as she sets to tending Seishirou. As she works, her voice turns very soft, quiet. Loud enough to be heard though, as she looks at Riko. "I know who the man in the mask and cape is. I know who Seishirou is. I don't know who you are though...how'd you get involved with this?"
Perched on the end of the parked motorcycle - literally perched, with her sneaker soles balanced near the busted tail-light, the girl named Riko peers down. Crouched like some kind of concerned teenage gargoyle, watching as Megumi's healing energies bathe Seishirou's injured form, the bleeding, battered, and scorched ninja lying in the sidecar. She doesn't look up when Megumi speaks...her head remains downcast, staring at the healing wounds. Riko does, though, fidgit a little.
In a slow voice, Riko murmurs, "Andou, Megumi...Finishing Three...team-mate..."
There's an odd quality to Riko's voice. The way she pronounces Megumi's name, it doesn't -sound- like she's simply saying it Japanese-style. No, rather, it's almost like the comma's -audible- in her speech, a deliberate pause. And the intonation of the subsequent phrases, it's like she's recalling a dossier, file information committed to memory.
That lasts only a moment though. Riko blinks, and her demeanour changes like a light switch.
She snaps her head up, peering at Megumi. "I'm Riko Koganei! Seishirou-sama's brilliant number-one student!" Well, his -only- student, but that's not the point.
Suspicious stare. "Who're -you-?"
This despite the fact she just identified Megumi. Out loud.
"'Thanks' would work too, y'know." Megumi's voice remains oddly soft despite her casual word-choice. "Kind of weird to name me, then demand to know who I am while I'm helping you, don't ya think?" She continues to work on Seishirou for the time being. He's probably not in life-threatening condition, but she works on him anyway. "So go figure that one, I guess. He never mentioned a student though...explains how you got involved, and I can guess the rest. The guy in the mask just figured it'd be a great day to try and kill Seishirou for fun, you jumped in to yell at him, and then I show up?"
"Well...yes," Riko admits. It's not clear what she's saying 'yes' -to-...the assertion that 'thanks' would work, the fact it's weird to name someone then ask who they ar, or Megumi's summary of the situation. Perhaps all of them, the girl's rather half-bewildered 'yes' has a sort of general all-encompassing quality to it. Emphasised by her bringing two fingers up in front of her, and poking the tips together in front of her mouth. Looking, for a moment, mildly confused.
Blink. Blink.
She squints. "...saaaaaaayyy, it's rather suspicious that you chose -that- moment to turn up! How do I know you and the big half-naked masked pervert guy didn't plan this as an overly convoluted plot to assassinate Seishirou-sama?"
Megumi doesn't particularly look pleased by the question. In fact, her demeanor turns rather 'flat.' "Because he's my friend. Because I got hit too. Because Seishirou is part of the reason I'm still alive. And because if I wanted to finish you two off..." Megumi looks back towards the road, "I could've pushed you off and taken you down back there, and done the same to Seishirou. Are you always this psychotic?"
"No," Riko replies, automatically, "only on alternate Tuesdays."
She's still squatting on the end of Megumi's bike, seemingly finding it no trouble at all to hold what has to be an uncomfortably precarious pose. She looks down, craning her neck at the healing waves of energy the older girl's directing towards Seishirou's wounds. Riko continues speaking, even though she's no longer looking directly at Megumi.
"Okay, okay, I believe you, you're obviously not evil, since you're healing Ryouhara-sensei...but...but..."
Riko trails off, her facial expression changing to one of 'something just occured to me'. Can almost see the proverbial lightbulb going off over her head.
She fixes Megumi with a look of renewed scrutiny. "...then you swooped down to save Seishirou-sama as part of a plot to seduce him!" Riko's eyes go wide. "DO YOU HAVE DISHONOURABLE INTENTIONS TOWARDS SEISHIROU-SAMA?!"
"So you know," Megumi's hands cease glowing as she pulls away from Seishirou, as she's done what she can with him for now. It should help. She's staring right back at Riko, too. "The only reason I'm not telling you to leave is that the guy in the mask kills people. He has friends who kill people too, like Iori." She's not quite right on that, but states it with confidence. "I find you annoying. And hearing the things you said to him, which he probably deserved...he's probably going to try and take you out."
Megumi leans back in to work on unstrapping Seishirou. "So to answer your question, no, I don't. Now settle down."
"Okay," Riko replies, calmly. Her demeanour changing like the flipping of a light switch. She hops off the bike, landing soundlessly on the driveway. She straightens, then adjusts the straps of her backpack - the fuzzy panda-shaped bag hangs a little oddly now, depleted of its usual load. Most all the contents having gone in the fight with the masked man. Riko gives Megumi a wide berth as she unstraps Seishirou...tilting her head, regarding her carefully.
Riko nods, then. "I'm quite aware. And thank you for helping Ryouhara-sensei." She bows, stiffly formal, from the waist. "I apologise for the inconvenience," she adds, still in the bow, "and can repair the damage to your vehicle if you so desire."
"I'm serious. He's probably your enemy now, and you can see what he did to Sei..." Megumi tries to heft Seishirou out of the sidecar, though it might be slow going; she can /throw/ him around just fine. Carrying him isn't quite so typical a feat to her. "Gonna get him inside. I'll worry about my bike later. Worst case, I pay to get it fixed. Best case, you know what you're talkin' about with mechanic stuff like that. Either way, this thing's not a person."
Megumi taps the bike with her foot as she continues to work on getting Seishirou out. "You two are, so I'd rather make sure you and Sei are alright first. Talk about the bike later."
Riko straightens, coming out of the bow, and answers with a strange mix of cheerfulness and formality, "Yes, Megumi-senpai."
She hops over the bike, flipping round to the other side...to give Megumi help in manhandling Seishirou from the sidecar. Or moving him well enough to not worsen the injuries. One or the other, anyway. "But I'm not important," Riko says, cheerily, "and I'm sure I could sacrifice my life to him for Seishirou-sama."
That last statement is at least enough to stir Megumi from her 'flat annoyance' mood. She gives Riko an odd look, then with help manages to get Sei out, planning to support him on a shoulder and go towards the door. "Not exactly the best-case scenario, don't you think? And it wouldn't help. Once you're out of the way he'd probably move on to making another try at Sei, for whatever reason he started this. So I think you can forget about the whole noble martyrdom thing."
Riko tries to keep Seishirou balanced from the other side, wrapping his arm round her neck and shoulder, stablising his forearm with one hand, another resting carefully on his back. Carrying Seishirou between them, she follows Megumi in her trek towards the door. "Hm, truuuuuueee," Riko mumbles, "maybe I could try killing him with a -really big bomb-..."
Megumi should, with that help, get to the door and be able to dig through her pockets for the door key. "Go ahead, give it a try," Megumi sounds sarcastic. "Sounds like the sort of thing Sei would go for, only he usually has a Plan B for if that doesn't work. I hope yours is 'Run away. Fast.'" She gets the door unlocked and opened, which will lead to a fairly typical living room. Plenty of couches and chairs, a few tables, a decent entertainment center, and so on. It's not mansion-level luxurious, but it's a pretty good living room by most standards. "Probably oughta get him to lie down..." ...Pause, then, "And no, not for 'that reason.'" Pre-emptive, perhaps.
Riko peers at Megumi again - past Seishirou, anyway, because the unconscious ninja is still being supported between the two of them. Stumbling as they move through the doorway, her nose wrinkles. Pouting, Riko questions: "Are you -sure-? Because I'm still afraid you're going to take advantage of this whole nursing him back to health thing to win his affections or ravish his body or something."
Megumi tries to get Seishirou to a couch, though her irritation is returning in force. "That's really enough. If you ask that sort of thing again, I'm going to tell you to leave, masked man or not. Especially since you seem to know a bit about me already, so you probably ought to know better than to go off like that." She'll try to set Sei down on a couch, then stare at Riko. "So, your turn. Who are ya, where ya from, whatcha doin' here, how'd you get involved with all this?"
Riko releases her grip on Megumi, letting the other girl ease her mentor onto the sofa. She's hardly going to protest -that-. She sticks her hands behind her back, clapsing them together. She takes a step away, one foot scuffing the floor. "I, ahhhh..."
A moment of indecision, before:
"A cute ninja, a place where cute ninja come from, I rode here on your bike, and Seishirou-sama jumped out the window after I started fumigating for roaches, see, because they were -all over- the apartment except the bits where he drew lines on the floor, but that really isn't hygenic but I don't think he liked the bug spray so he left through the window and I was trying to catch him because he forgot the lunch I packed for him but then he was ambushed by the big masked guy and you know the rest."
It's amazing how she manages to say all that in a single breath, isn't it?
"Whatever." Megumi's definitely not thrilled with the evasive 'answers' she just got, and backs away from the couch. "So you're someone from somewhere who's supposedly his student and tried to bring him lunch. Okay." She goes off towards a hallway. "You can stay here until Sei leaves. Once he's good to go, you are too. I'll be in my room if you need me or he wakes up."
What evasive answers? Riko gave a -clear and concise- account, perfectly factual, too. It's not -her- fault that Megumi doesn't listen to her.
That and the fact she's not about to betray operational security to Ms. Andou, especially since she's not received a full briefing with regards to her status yet.
Riko watches Megumi leave, her eyes tracking the other girl's back - no longer bothering with the vapid expression once Megumi rounds the corner into the hallway. Her voice, though, retains its airhead cheeriness as she yells: "OKAY! THANK YOU!"
Then Riko settles down, besides the couch. Producing a kunai with a flick of the wrist, and a sharpening stone. Honing its edge as she waits for her sensei to awaken.
Log created by Seishirou, and last modified on 18:32:28 03/02/2006.