Kain - Talent Scouting

Description: In his continual search to discover the capabilities of the best fighters the world has to offer, Kain seeks out information on the students attending Justice High. One Kurow Kirishima catches his eye, and he decides to put the student to the test.



Justice High... If Kain's parents hadn't hired private tutors for him, this is probably where he would have ended up going to school. Who knows how things might have turned out if that was the case? But the past is the past, and that's not something Kain dwells on, except in a few very specific matters. Today, Kain is here about the future.
Specifically, the future of some of the promising young students here. Heinlein has made a rather generous charitable donation to the school treasury today. Of course, it's really just an excuse to have reason to be on the school grounds. And make a few... contacts. Bribing the administration would be foolish, of course. But lesser staff members, well... Everybody needs money, right? A little cash, a little blackmail, and Kain has managed to get copies of several student files. Hyo and Kurow in particular, but those aren't the only names on the papers in his briefcase.
Before he leaves, though, Kain decides to take a look around the grounds. There may be a few other students who catch his eye, for whatever reason. In addition to more mundane ways of judging character, anybody with any appreciable fighting talent should stand out to Kain's well refined sense for the flow of chi. Of course, there are also other students who might have uses. If you're ruthless, fighting isn't the only thing you can be good at.

One student in particular may stick out to Kain, while he's looking around the grounds for strong fighters. The boy's control of his chi is nothing short of remarkable, and indeed outstrips that of even some dedicated 'fireball' types seen in tournaments the world over. And right now, surprisingly, that student is studying.
He sits at a table in the cafeteria, near the exit, putting his leisure time to better use than leisure -- right now, that 'better use' would of course appear to be Calculus II. A half-eaten dinner bought from the cafeteria sits a few feet to his left, abandoned for now. From the slightly modified uniform to the prematurely grey hair, it's probably no trouble at all for Kain to figure out just who this is. He seems downright average, even a little pencil-necked, at first glance... at least, if one isn't looking for the flow of chi. But this is, indeed, Kurow Kirishima.

Although Kain is sure Kurow will be able to detect his presence anyway, he doesn't announce himself until he's right besides Kurow, having approached from behind. He sets his briefcase down on the table with a thud, leaning forward slightly as he addresses the student. "Now, if I'm correct, you would be Kurow Kirishima? One of the more, shall we say, 'amibitious' students at this school? My name is Kain Heinlein. I have something I wish to discuss with you." No asking whether Kurow himself is interested in discussing them, of course.
There's a good chance Kurow knows Kain's name. He's been a bit of an annoyance to Vega, for one. He has the power to be more of a threat than that, but he lacks the inclination thus far. He's also become a fairly recognizable face on Geese Howard's SNF fighting circuit, down to currently being the 'champion', for what it's worth.
Kain makes a concentrated effort to make eye contact with Kurow, although he's quite good at disguising his intentions. Even if he fails, though, there's only one other person who knows of Kain's abilities to read someone's emotions simply through glancing at their eyes. It may not be mind reading, but it tends to be a good lie detector, among other things.

Kain's name is familiar to Kurow. He keeps tabs on the up-and-coming fighters, and those already keeping themselves afloat at the top. After all, he needs the strong to help him create his ideal world, and the champion of the Saturday Night Fighting circuit certainly qualifies as very strong indeed. The Kirishima boy looks up to meet Kain's eyes, his emotions a mix of suspicion and malicious intent -- he expects a fight, and he expects to win. He's quite self-confident.
"And just what is it you want to discuss? Let's go outside," he says, standing up and closing his Calculus book, heading toward the nearby exit, breaking eye contact entirely accidentally. He doesn't know about Kain's ability to perceive emotions, so he can't defend himself much against it.
If Kain follows, they'll end up behind the school, in the waste disposal area. Dumpsters and other typical school-created debris will surely abound. The other upside of this area is that there are very few people here at any given moment, and if things turn bad, neither man will have too much to worry about as far as witnesses go.

First impressions are all Kain generally needs to read emotions for. That, or attempting to sway someone through words. When it comes to more... direct... interactions, he has plenty of other skills at his disposal. Kain picks up his briefcase, following silently after Kurow. He can appreciate the lack of witnesses. Although there will probably be a few. Most students here are probably smart enough to leave the two alone, but they're also going to have a decent guess at what's going on. So there may be a few eyes watching from out of the way places. No real bother for Kain. He doesn't intend to say anything particularly incriminating here, and fights are a dime a dozen in Southtown.
Kain looks around for a moment once they're outside, but he doesn't show any signs of distaste at the venue. And there's no trace of sarcasm in his voice as he speaks. "This is a very nice school you've got here. Very dedicated students, as well. It's wonderful to see young people applying so much effort to their educations. Physical ability isn't the only thing important in life." Kain looks Kurow over for a moment, trying to get a feel for just how much power the young man has. "Of course, if you aren't able to defend yourself, all the intelligence in the world can go for naught. Of course, I'm sure /you/ are quite familiar with that type of strength."
Kain looks up at the sky for a moment, slipping his gloved left hand into the pocket of his pants. "So. The question, then..." He looks back down to Kurow. "...is, 'Do you consider yourself to be strong?' There are many opportunities for young people with will, power, and... open minds." As to just what Kain means by that, well... Probably nothing good.

Perhaps the most amazing thing about what Kain is saying is that Kurow seems to be buying it, if his expression is any indication. He looks genuinely interested in Kain's talk of power. "Even Justice High is choked with weakness. The super-elite of today's society are coddled, and don't even have the desire to shake it off and become something better -- even some of the most dedicated students, in the end, accept mediocrity." If Kain keeps his focus on Kurow's eyes when he says this, he'll notice Kurow is not as disappointed as he sounds.
Assessing his power is a little more difficult -- he intentionally hides it a little, but when one takes that into account, he seems as though he's just on the edge of breaching that level of power that only a handful of people ever reach. "There is no worth in weakness. Power and will are everything -- I consider myself among the most powerful." Kurow knows how this kind of talk goes, and slips himself a little more toward a ready stance. "Is that what you're here for, then? To test me?"

With a flick of his arm Kain tosses his briefcase aside, managing to get it lined up neatly against the wall, and out of any garbage that might have fallen out onto the ground. "Oh, no. I simply came here today to make a little donation to your school. I'm sure the administration will find a good use for the money. But as long as I'm here, I must admit to some curiosity. My experience with fighters of your general age has been... mixed, at best. There are some who have some real power, and some who lack it. From everything I've heard, you have a very pragmatic outlook on life. The question is whether or not you have what it takes to seize your dreams. If you do... Well, perhaps we might be able to discuss some business."
Kain gestures toward Kurow with his free hand, then sweeps it back. One hand in his pocket, and one hand in what looks like a fairly awkward position if he wants to use it for defense. Kain's whole stance seems far too casual for someone expecting danger. And yet... "So, would you care to demonstrate what you might have to bring to the bargaining table? I'd tell you not to worry about hurting me... But if I had to, it would mean I'd misjudged you." Kain flashes Kurow a quick, not entirely pleasant grin.

COMBATSYS: Kain has started a fight here.

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Kain             0/-------/-------|


COMBATSYS: Kain takes no action.

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Kain             0/-------/-------|


COMBATSYS: Kurow has joined the fight here.

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Kain             0/-------/-------|-------\-------\0            Kurow


Whenever Kurow fights, he means to hurt someone. That's the whole point of fighting, in his mind -- hurt someone, break them down, tear them apart. "We'll see," Kurow says, on the topic of doing business with Kain, as he slides the rest of the way into his combat stance, a modified version of the traditional Imawano family ready stance designed less for blades and more for claws. "I can tell I'm not the only one bringing something significant to the table."
He steps in, swinging his claws quickly. His first slash is a quick one for the other fighter's shoulder, but the second is aimed more to catch him a little lower and behind the back, and then slam him down into the ground. His intent here is not so much to score the first hit as to see how his opponent handles something straightforward. That way, he knows if he'll need to get trickier.

COMBATSYS: Kurow successfully hits Kain with Double Slash.

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Kain             0/-------/------=|=------\-------\0            Kurow


There are downsides to fighting people with odd fighting styles; but it's always good to learn how to handle new things. Unfortunately, leaning how to handle them often involves getting hit a few times. Kain's arm swings out as Kurow leaps in, but he still ends up with some slashes in the shoulder of his nice suit jacket, along with a few more in the back, before getting knocked down to the ground. The wounds bleed, but only very slightly. Looks like the blades didn't cut all that deeply.
Kain wastes no time with climbing back to his feet; now that the fight is joined, there's no mercy to be shown. Sweeping himself around, Kain orients his legs toward Kurow, kicking off with his left foot and pushing with his hands as he leaps up in a kick toward Kurow's chest. And the first sign of Kain's /real/ power comes when his foot bursts into purple flames. The second may come if Kain manages to connect with his attack, when a fiery explosion erupts right in front of Kurow.

COMBATSYS: Kurow blocks Kain's Schwarzer Stob.

[    \\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\  < >  //////////////////////////    ]
Kain             0/-------/-----==|===----\-------\0            Kurow


Kurow brings his arms up to his chest, meeting Kain's foot with his hands and redirecting some of the momentum of the assault away from his center of mass. The explosion catches him a little off guard, but he's braced for it by the time it actually happens, and -- while he slides back from it -- doesn't actually hurt /that/ badly. It stings, but Kurow is still more than ready to go back on the assault.
"Well played," Kurow growls, staying in close and aiming a chest strike of his own. This one is much like the first part of his one-two earlier, only he moves a little faster and puts a little more effort into it, aiming to leave one deeper mark rather than a pair of less debilitating ones. It still seems like he's focusing much more on speed than on power, though; perhaps he wants to give Kain the proverbial death of a thousand cuts.

COMBATSYS: Kain blocks Kurow's Medium Strike.

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Kain             0/-------/----===|===----\-------\0            Kurow


A direct strike to the chest with those claws could be unpleasant, even for Kain. He sweeps out with one arm as Kurow swings at him, catching the claws on the limb and knocking them aside. They manage to dig in slightly, not even enough to get through clothing, but Kain quickly withdraws his arm before Kurow has a chance to drag down with his weapon.
Kain takes a quick half step back, then demonstrates that he's a bit more nimble then he appears. He launches himself into a backflip with hardly any preparation, a blue glow surrounding his foot as he whips it up at Kurow's jaw, intending to snap the student's head back before finishing his flip and landing smoothly on his feet.

COMBATSYS: Kurow dodges Kain's Schwarzer Mond.

[     \\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\  < >  //////////////////////////    ]
Kain             0/-------/----===|===----\-------\0            Kurow


Even if Kain is a little faster than he looks, Kurow may still be faster. He moves out of the way of the backflip-kick with a quick sidestep, keeping his motions as minimal as possible. There's a certain economy of motion that a lot of fighters never seem to learn, but which Kurow understands instinctively -- don't do more than you really /need/ to.
"You're too slow," he hisses, stepping in close and bringing his hands forward in what looks like a fireball motion. At the last second, though, he instead tries to dig his claws into Kain's body, grab on, and whirl /around/ him, ripping through him during the whole endeavor. Perhaps the death of a thousand cuts /isn't/ his only strategy; he seems amenable to taking risks every now and again.

COMBATSYS: Kain interrupts Circle Slash from Kurow with Schwarze Kreuz.

[         \\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\  < >  /////////////////             ]
Kain             0/-------/-======|=======\===----\1            Kurow


Kain is no ninja, it's true. He's pretty agile, but he's not as fast on his feet as some other people out there. But slow? Perhaps that's relative. But very few people can claim that he's lacking when it comes to power. Kain doesn't even attempt to get out of the way when Kurow reaches out toward him. If it was /actually/ going to be a fireball... Well, Kain has his ways of dealing with it.
But it turns out to be a grab. There are ways to handle that, as well. The claws dig into Kain's sides, but he just grins in response, reaching out and grabbing Kurow by the arms. "All that matters is whether or not you come out on top." There's a flicker of flames from the cuffs of Kain's sleeves, and then purple fire bursts out from his entire body. Both fighters are engulfed in the blaze, the energy pouring out of it so intense that they're actually lifted several inches off the ground. Finally Kain lets go, allowing the force of the blast to launch Kurow away from him, letting the student fall where he may as the flames flicker out and Kain's feet return to the ground.

Carelessness, Kurow. That's always what will get you -- you go for something vicious and you get caught out of nowhere with an explosion of flames. Sent back into a dumpster, Kurow drags himself up off the ground again, tilting his head a little. "... you're right," he says, with a smirk. He won't make the same mistake of going for something flashy, this time; this time he just needs to do something straightforward.

He advances in quickly, starting low -- his hands take on a curious glowing quality for a second as he summons forth his chi, and then the assault starts. He goes for an uppercut, then steps in and sideswipes, then slams his clawed fist down, each movement flowing into the next as he unleashes a torrential claw-swipe assault. No fancy flipping around or rolling here, it looks like.

COMBATSYS: Kurow successfully hits Kain with Kirishima Yami Kagura.
- Power hit! -

[                \\\\\\\\\\\\\\  < >  ////////////////              ]
Kain             1/-----==/=======|==-----\-------\0            Kurow


Kain... may have underestimated this student. Those claws are some pretty serious weapons, as he's discovering to his chagrin. Good thing he's got plenty of spare suits. The blood flies as Kain's suit gets slashed to ribbons, bits of bloody cloth getting scattered about on the ground. That uppercut also comes rather close to causing some /serious/ trouble as it swipes across Kain's throat, but manages to miss hitting anything vital.
Finally Kain manages to step out of range of Kurow's slashes, bringing that particular assault to a close. "Not bad. Not bad at all." Kain's not going to waste much time talking, though. He extends a hand out toward Kurow, and there's a flash of blue light from his hand. Then... nothing? Well, if Kurow happens to look down, he'll sell the ground beneath his feet starting to glow blue. That only lasts for a brief moment, though, before a column of liquid blue fire shoots up from the ground, engulfing anything caught in its path.

COMBATSYS: Kurow dodges Kain's Himmlische Seele.

[                \\\\\\\\\\\\\\  < >  ////////////////              ]
Kain             0/-------/-------|==-----\-------\0            Kurow


Now Kurow knows a little more of what to expect of Kain. The man's control of chi is almost beyond measure, and Kurow knows now to expect that sort of massive projectile from him when he extends his hand. Springing into action before the ground even starts glowing, he leaps up, grabs onto a nearby window, and kicks off of it, clearing the column. That took effort; Kurow's downright impressed.
Leaping back down, Kurow picks up a piece of garbage -- in this case, half of a bottle, shattered as it was thrown (unsuccessfully) toward one of the dumpsters. "I'd say the same of you," he pants, before giving the bottle-half a quick fling toward the chi-fighter.

COMBATSYS: Kain overcomes Thrown Object from Kurow with Large Thrown Object.

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Kain             0/-------/-------|==-----\-------\0            Kurow


A bottle? Well, there are very few strictly /bad/ combat tactics. Even Kain has occasionally fallen back on something as base as throwing sand into an opponent's eyes. Dirty fighting only matters if you don't care about /winning/. Of course, a broken bottle isn't really a huge threat to Kain, but he's already been hit with enough sharp things during this fight.
Heinlein glances toward one of the dumpsters and waves his hand. There's a flare of light behind the dumpster, followed by a shockwave as it gets launched away from the wall, crossing between Kain and Kurow at an angle. The bottle smashes harmlessly against the metal side, and the dumpster continues on toward Kurow. It's not heading directly toward him, but on it's current path it'll probably clip him if he doesn't get out of the way.

COMBATSYS: Kurow blocks Kain's Large Thrown Object.

[               \\\\\\\\\\\\\\\  < >  ///////////////               ]
Kain             0/-------/------=|===----\-------\0            Kurow


Kurow looks the oncoing dumpster dead-on, and after a split second of thought, braces himself on the side it's more likely to clip. He actually steels himself enough that the dumpster moves around /him/, rather than him getting knocked to the side by the dumpster. "... Good," he hisses, stepping back a few feet, putting one clawed hand down on the dumpster. Rather than continuing his assault, he presently sees more than a little value in waiting and putting himself back together -- doing things like that really takes a lot out of him, given that he's not a physical powerhouse. ... at least, not proportional to other similarly tough fighters.

COMBATSYS: Kurow gains composure.

[               \\\\\\\\\\\\\\\  < >  /////////////////             ]
Kain             0/-------/------=|==-----\-------\0            Kurow


Letting your opponents take time to catch their breath is rarely a good strategy in a fight. Of course, Kurow probably doesn't /expect/ just to be left alone. Kain starts running toward Kurow, kicking off the ground into a low leap that makes it look like he's gliding right over the concrete.
As he gets close, Kain reaches out to grab Kurow by the front of the shirt, intending to slam his back up against the recently moved dumpster. He doesn't stop there, though, as the hand holding the ninja pulses for a moment with blue chi, blasting out with enough force to dent the front of the dumpster.

COMBATSYS: Kurow dodges Kain's Medium Throw.

[               \\\\\\\\\\\\\\\  < >  /////////////////             ]
Kain             0/-------/------=|==-----\-------\0            Kurow


Whipping his body to one side, Kurow pulls his uniform out of the way of the grab without any problems, rolling forward and behind Kain as quickly as possible. He doesn't bring himself back up to a standing position, though, which may be a surprise for the other fighter. Instead, he keeps rolling, using his chi to surround himself in a black ball, clawing in all directions around him, trying to catch Kain and draw him into the slightly more damaging field around him. For once, he actually /doesn't/ give his opponent any lip.

COMBATSYS: Kain blocks Kurow's Yasha Guruma.

[                 \\\\\\\\\\\\\  < >  ////////////////              ]
Kain             0/-------/-----==|=------\-------\0            Kurow


There are flashes of blue light as the ball of chi containing Kurow crashes into Kain, along with the sounds of metal scraping against something that definitely doesn't sound like flesh. The claws do manage to slip through the light surrounding Kain's arms in a few spots, but for the most part the attack is handily deflected.
Kain doesn't feel like waiting for Kurow to stop before he presses the attack, though. The menacing black chi holds little fear for him. Drawing his arm back for a moment, Kain throws a punch down toward the ninja, attempting to drive right through the black sphere, even if he's not sure exactly what part of the body he'll hit.

COMBATSYS: Kurow interrupts Jab Punch from Kain with Kuukan Saki.
- Power hit! -

[                   \\\\\\\\\\\  < >  /////////////                 ]
Kain             0/-------/----===|===----\-------\0            Kurow


Taking only the split second he's afforded to consider Kain's attack, Kurow pulls himself out of the black sphere and whirls his body around at full speed. While this does mean taking a fairly nasty slam in the back from Kain's punch, he does leave a nasty parting gift for the older man to push straight into: a grey chi-mark across the air, which both /looks/ like a trail of light from one of Kurow's claws and /behaves/ like one, at least in terms of leaving claw-marks.

Considering all the cuts already running across Kain's body, it's almost difficult to tell where these new ones /are/. Although the spray of blood from Kain's chest makes them briefly visible. Kain quickly hops back from Kurow, although he shows no signs that that particularly blow hurt a great deal more than any of the previous ones. In fact, it looks a bit shallower; the real thing is much better than chi extensions, when it comes to Kain.
Heinlein rolls his neck for a moment, not even wincing when one of the cuts on his throat gets opened up a bit. A blue glows slowly spreads over his body as he stands there, just looking at Kurow. Between what's left of his clothes and the blood it's hard to tell, but the bleeding from his cuts begins to slow. Several of them even seem to close slightly. That's just an optical illusion, though. ...Right?

COMBATSYS: Kain gains composure.

[               \\\\\\\\\\\\\\\  < >  /////////////                 ]
Kain             0/-------/-----==|===----\-------\0            Kurow


Kurow's biggest problem is that he tends to overexert himself. He needs to take lots of breaks, because he rarely thinks about the value of a measured response -- and as such, when he's given the opportunity to by /Kain/ taking a break, well, the Kirishima boy certainly isn't going to turn it down. Blinking a few times, he takes a curious defensive stance, holding his hands out to either side and amassing the faintest of red glows beneath his feet. He's waiting for Heinlein to do something.

COMBATSYS: Kurow gains composure.

[               \\\\\\\\\\\\\\\  < >  ////////////////              ]
Kain             0/-------/-----==|==-----\-------\0            Kurow


Kain doesn't waste much time getting himself back into fighting shape. Getting the bleeding to stop is sufficient; the pain is of little concern. He can simply shut it out until such a time as he can waste the energy to do something about it. The longer he spends tending to himself, the longer his opponent has to prepare, as well. Pity... He was actually hoping he might present a tempting target.
Well, there are other ways to press an opponent aside from battering them with attacks. Both of Kain's hands burst into flames as he begins to walk toward Kurow. He doesn't run, doesn't make any effort to move quickly. He just walks slowly toward his opponent, the flickering flames showing no signs of dying out.

COMBATSYS: Kain focuses on his next action.

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Kain             0/-------/-----==|==-----\-------\0            Kurow


Seeing the value of getting himself put completely back together before Kain actually comes for him, Kurow leaps behind the dumpster from earlier and once again takes that same bizarre stance, all the time watching the flames on Kain's hands. He knows Kain's trying to judge his movements, put his fighting style together in his head, see the options -- Kain isn't the only one who can size up an enemy. "Come on -- strike! Show me what you can do!" he demands.

COMBATSYS: Kurow gains composure.

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Kain             0/-------/-----==|-------\-------\0            Kurow


If he insists... But Kain isn't one to fall for baiting. He continues to walk calmly toward Kurow, waiting for the student's irritation to peak. And then he strikes. Heinlein rushes in, planting his left foot a short distance from Kurow. He pivots on that foot, turning himself to the right angle as his leg drives upward with impressive flexibility. His foot shoots up to drive up under Kurow's jaw with enough force to lift a man right off his feet. Even without the additional flaming explosion.

COMBATSYS: Kain successfully hits Kurow with Schwarze Lanze.

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Kain             0/-------/---====|======-\-------\0            Kurow


And once Kurow finds himself launched into the air, he'll see Kain joining him shortly. Heinlein leaps up with his arms raised, purple fire running down from his hands and curling around his arms. He sweeps down toward Kurow, unleashing a blast of flame to send the student crashing back down to the ground.

Kurow's struck -- he tries to leap out of the way, but is caught well beforehand. He flies up into the air, and is then shot back down to the ground. The flames only burn for a second, as he gets back up. "Damn it," he says. "I got cocky." And he did, he'd readily admit -- he thought he was just a little faster than he was.

He rolls in toward Kain in an attempt to recover as aggressively as possible, reaching out for the man's arm; if he catches hold of it, he'll pull it a little to take him off balance and then swing him down as hard as he can at the ground. His tactics are getting riskier with each moment that passes.

COMBATSYS: Kurow successfully hits Kain with Medium Throw.
- Power hit! -

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Kain             0/-------/-======|======-\-------\0            Kurow


Apparently risky pays off for Kurow. Kain tries to yank his arm back out of Kurow's grip, but he's not quite fast enough. All in all, though, getting yanked down and knocked to the ground isn't really something that Kain would normally worry about. If it weren't for the fact that he lands right on top of the pile of broken glass from that earlier bottle.
Heinlein climbs back to his feet quickly, but now he's got blood and bits of glass matting his hair, in addition to all of the cuts he's received so far. "You're pretty good with those blades. I wonder how you are without them? They can be a boon when fighting, but it's best not to be reliant on them. I find there are other ways..." Kain holds up his hands as he speaks, blue glow surrounding them once more. He then whips his hands out toward Kurow as he finishes speaking, sending blasts of highly condensed chi shooting toward him. So highly condensed, in fact, that they cut just like knives. Knives that explode upon impact, too, kicking up dust around Kurow. "...of achieving the same effect."

COMBATSYS: Kurow blocks Kain's Schwarze Flame.

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Kain             0/-------/=======|=======\-------\1            Kurow


Kurow doesn't mention that if he's ever caught without them, the Imawano-ryu style he learned has provisions for just using one's fingernails, too. He doesn't say anything as the chi-knives start coming in toward him, just crouching down and bringing his hands up to mitigate the worst of the pain again, as he so rarely does. It's a testament to Kain's spot-on accuracy that he can get the Kirishima to just stop and take attacks -- he almost always tries to get out of the way.

He doesn't waste any time with his counter-assault, though. He doesn't respond with much in the way of words, sticking entirely to actions as he dives low to the ground and swipes his claws forward. If and when he makes contact with Kain, he dashes into him, and -- in the /ideal/ scenario -- knocks him just behind him, to get dragged along in a stream of chi-claws like the one he left in the air much earlier in the fight.

COMBATSYS: Kain interrupts Kirishima Kyoujuu Reppa from Kurow with Himmlische Seele.

[                         \\\\\  < >                                ]
Kain             0/-------/--=====|=======\-------\0            Kurow


Kain does get knocked around, yes. And in fact, Kurow even manages to sink his claws into Kain's flesh again. But Kain is ready for him, this time. He keeps himself turned to face Kurow, thrusting a hand out toward the student's face even as his claws are finding purchase on Kain. Even a ninja is going to have trouble dodging at this range, especially with the size of the explosion that bursts out. If people hadn't figured out that there was a fight going on back here, they probably know now.
The dumpsters get knocked aside by the force of the blast, and garbage on the ground is scattered all over the place. Kurow takes the worst of it, of course... And it doesn't help that the wall of the school building is not very far behind him. And very, very solid.

Kurow's thrashed around by the raw force of Kain's chi. He's outclassed and he knows it in those last seconds of the fight, as the enormous blast comes out a second time, this time without giving him the chance to jump and get out of the way. His endurance flags, he feels like he might keel over if he was even punched one more time -- but he's still got enough in him to throw one last, vicious action.

It's not much. If Heinlein blinks, he might not see it. Reaching down to the ground, he picks up a discarded blade from a chef's knife that saw its last use today. The item's certainly useless as a cooking tool now, but in a fight, it just might be worth using. It's aerodynamic, at least, and if he uses the momentum he's going to get from the forward fall he's about to take, he might be able to pierce Heinlein's guard and at least make sure he doesn't go down alone.

COMBATSYS: Kurow can no longer fight.

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


COMBATSYS: Kain dodges Kurow's Thrown Object.

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


It would be rather foolish of Kain to use these attacks with huge, billowing flames if he didn't have some way of figuring out what's going on while he can't see. It's not as clear as sight, but a sixth sense is better than nothing. And it's enough to let Kain know that Kurow is planning something, enabling him to step to the side even before the knife gets thrown. It slices through the air, then clatters to the ground off in the distance.
Kain looks at Kurow for a moment, then strides over to retrieve his briefcase, which is still in remarkably good condition. Which is more than can be said for Kain, or his clothes. "That was an impressive performance, mister Kirishima. I see good things in your future. If you want to discuss just what things you might be able to find in that future, feel free to contact me." Kain manages to produce a business card from his suit, somehow still crisp and without bloodstains. He flicks it toward Kurow, sending it spinning neatly through the air toward the student. And with that, Kain walks off. He'll take the back exit... It would be preferable to limit the number of people who see him in this condition.

COMBATSYS: Kain has ended the fight here.

Log created on 20:28:49 03/13/2007 by Kain, and last modified on 09:34:59 06/04/2007.