Description: In his search for Dante, Jiro Kasagi runs into Alma Towazu. Alma had not seen Jiro in months and was looking for him after meeting Dante. Alma was in for a surprise for when he saw Jiro, and the two collided once more. Someone made a special appearance afterwards.
Having had some time to recover from the fight against Drake in the rainy clearing, the Stray Dog had time to recollect his thoughts. While in his right mindframe, Jiro was actually trying to remember assess what went wrong. Besides underestimating, assessment with previous fights, especially the one before.. Dante.
...Then he comes into realization.
He is at the end of his line. He can't progress any further in his training. Sooner or later, he will -die- at the hands of Dante. .... The person who is taking -HIS- place. With the power that -HE- should have.
...That is the Stray Dog's motivation once more.
He won't die a weakling. He will -not- die to a joke. To a /replacement/. No, he is going to claim his place back. Dante has what rightfully belongs him. To do that, he will have to hunt Dante down to claim it.
That is what the Stray Dog's motivation. And with that motivation rekindled, the Stray Dog has been wandering from the streets to the village mall in a more focused, nearly zombified, if it wasn't for the fact that his expression did not look so feral. Usually blending in with the crowd, this time, he stands out as people are backing away from him. Hands tucked in his pocket and hands in his pocket, the Stray Dog's blue eyes survey around him, hoping to find of interest.
Particularly fighters that have ran into Dante.
~ It's been... too long. ~
Alma hasn't done anything like /this/ for a while.
He went to the Kasagi residence first, but as anticipated the Stray Dog was not to be found. So, after paying his respects to Jiro's mother and with no leads whatsoever -- the last time he had seen Jiro having been over strawberry ice cream; their pleasant chats continued for a while, but not long enough -- the young fighter-model stepped out into the city of Southtown and did what, at one time, he was able to do best.
Find Jiro.
You'd think that looking for a single person in a city like Southtown, especially one who wanders as he chooses and often ends up in secluded and forgotten places, would be like searching for a needle in a haystack. Well, it is-- but Alma has a metal detector. Not just aura reading; that sort of thing is as limited as any other sense, and could never work for him over a long distance. He has his... what should we call it...
...feminine intuition?
Whatever it is, it works startlingly well. It always has. Alma often seems to be shockingly lucky -- he would agree, though such a claim would be thrown into question by his past -- and what happens here can, in a sense, be called luck. Honestly? He just has confidence. That's all. He just puts his faith in the idea that he will somehow, inevitably, find his friend Jiro, that if he wants it enough and for the right reasons, the universe will be generous. Without real expectations, without demands on life, without truly anticipating anything about the future, without rejecting the alternatives the world may actually have in store for him, Alma wills.
~ Things will work out in the end. ~
And-- well, it's kind of embarrassing to admit it, but-- they do.
Fortunately for Alma, 'the end', in this case, is not decades later on his deathbed, but this afternoon, when he finds himself inexplicably drawn to the Southtown village mall despite having no desire whatsoever to shop. Having drifted idly through the city enjoying himself pleasantly for some time, it's now that his conscious mind cuts in with a little doubt; why on earth is he here? Is there really any way that Jiro would be at the mall, of all places? Is Alma just being controlled by deeply /buried/ impulses to shop? In which case, well, that's fine, but he could at least be honest with himself.
Hands slipped into the pockets of his slim fit designer jeans, the high collar of his stylish white track jacket brushing against the strong line of his jaw as he inclines his head down at the outside mall walkway and ignores the happily chattering passerby, Alma ponders: will he really find Jiro?
"Jiro!"
For a moment, he actually wonders who has said that. He then realizes that it is he who has said that, and that he has jerked his chin up and widened his eyes in surprise, the name of his best friend and rival having spontaneously emerged from his lips at the sudden sensation of the presence of an all-too familiar aura. He spoke instead of thinking. He didn't even have time to notice that he noticed the aura.
He stands there for a moment, making eye contact with Jiro, hands slipping out of his pockets as his back straightens up and his feet shift slightly as though rebalancing himself-- and then his eyes soften, and slowly but surely, a smile begins to blossom, and warmth and love suffuse his every feature.
People flow around them like a river, but Alma pays no heed.
If there is one thing that the model can sense is the hatred returning. There is that unadulterated array of emotions filling the aura that he is searching for: hatred, envy, ...death? A fumble bit of emotions that is -very- strong, especially the loud scream of something disturbing. Almost like a choking grip of breathing with a zombie-like state to it: Obsession.
That obsession has actually grown strong for some time, especially as the Stray Dog has been passing by each of the people, letting them all be ignored. No one would even dare go near the Stray Dog, considering that look he has been having. It's almost like the transformation of a monsters, if his eyes would give some sort of indication.
He hears the voice calling out towards him. He actually turns his head towards the direction that the voice is coming from, the eyes becoming mere slits as they direct at Alma. The collar of the trenchcoat covers most of the face while his back is turned, not even letting Alma get the chance to get a complete look at his face for that moment.
Slowly, the Stray Dog turns to face Alma, narrowing his eyes at the model. It's been too long for the boy to have seen his best friend and rival. It was even longer since the Stray Dog saw Acacia, but he'll greet Alma the same way that he greeted her.
Did you see a man named Dante?" The eyes narrow, describing the man. "A man, almost the image of Kain, except he wears black. But he has the same aura but of a different, but still deadly variety."
There is apparently not much love for Alma.
Alma's smile fades.
No, 'fades' is the wrong word for it. 'Wilts' is a better way to describe what happens. Alma's smile, just as it has bloomed, has wilted; what is left is not the absence of a smile but the dying, dried husk of one, frail enough to be blown away in a breeze at any moment but somehow tentatively enduring for now. What was warmth in his eyes becomes raw emotion, as though his loving feelings have broken down into component parts, and when his feelings reform enough to be revealed through his visage, that withered ex-smile expresses only one sentiment:
Grief.
"Oh... Jiro."
A sigh of longing, of heartfelt regard. Not longing for a person, but longing for a time; an alternate present, wherein things might be different.
"Oh, Jiro, I..."
Alma's voice is usually soft, but only in a mild-mannered and pleasant way, for it always projects and is filled with composure and confidence. This is a very different kind of softness. This is a decidedly vulnerable softness, one not chosen to be gracious but rather his only alternative, a broken whisper that otherwise could only choke. There are no tears. His features themselves remain calm. But his eyes shine with a strange kind of pain, and his lips part hesitantly, as though in a feeble attempt to give life to feelings that could never sufficiently be described by words alone.
"I'm... so sorry."
He steps forward. Having entered Jiro's sphere of influence, the people fade away from the, so that though they stand in the center of a walkway, they seem all of a sudden to be alone.
He's clearly heard Jiro's question.
"Jiro, I'm... I'm so sorry."
Indeed; it seems to be what has gotten him.
This is not what the Stray Dog wanted. The young man did not want to hear that Alma is sorry. He did not come here to hear Alma apologize. Nor did he arrive to be warned of his search for power by Ingrid when he last saw her. Hearing this is not putting a smile on the young man's face. Hearing this is not drawing any form of pleasure or anything enough to ting against his heart. If anything, this is irritating him, infuriating him, and even drawing him closer to that darkness that he has been succumbing to since he had been on his own.
He wanted simple information. That was it. Simple information.
"I asked..."
If Alma did not know any better, there would be some trembling along the earth as the Stray Dog growls at Alma. "...for a simple..." There is that power rising in the Stray Dog, before a storm erupts within Jiro.
That white chi, mixed from the uncontrollable rage is finally erupting from the Stray Dog. Having had drawing his emotions to the path of fury, that tint of hatred that has cursed him since he used it is mixed in with that chi, drawing forth to roar along his body like an inferno before the boy shouts, "/ANSWER!/" This is going to create a nice distance against Alma should he try to get any closer.
As for the people around? They are likely backing the hell away as that off-shot fire expands out.
Alma is unfazed.
The furious chi erupts from the Stray Dog's form and fountains around him, sending the once-cheerful passerby scattering in shock and alarm. But the tall youth just stays where he is, no longer approaching but not retreating either.
His expression does not change.
Only once the manifestation of Jiro's frustration fades does Alma speak.
"Yes."
He gazes directly into the younger boy's eyes, and the weight of his grief there becomes overwhelming, oppressive even-- whether because his feelings are being somehow unconsciously projected outward in a very real way or simply because the tragedy of seeing Alma look so unhappy with such a calm and frankly brave expression is difficult for any normal human to bear. His eyes do not stray. He doesn't even blink as he speaks.
"If you are referring to a man consumed by an obsession for what he foolishly thinks is power, who has rejected everything except for his desire to cultivate the capacity to destroy, then yes, I have met him. If you are referring to a man who mistakes a means to an end for an end in itself, and who in his desperate need to possess that means has lost all concept of what his end truly is, then yes... yes, I have met him."
He takes a step forward. The hypnotic power of that awful gaze may distract.
"If you are referring to a man who clings to the shadow of a purpose, and who has... who has, despite wanting to not need anyone, become too much of a coward to believe that he can be strong without the teachings of a monster, then yes, I have met him. I know this Dante."
Alma, handsome young hero of the modern age, calm and virtuous defender of truth and righteousness, swallows silently as his voice trembles slightly, waiting for a moment until his tongue no longer feels quite so thick and ungainly.
"I know him well."
His hand lifts.
And a finger outstretches.
"He's right in front of me."
The Stray Dog stares at Alma as the older man decides to speak to him. Then, at the suggestion that Alma has finally given the boy a straight answer...
Jiro grins.
Good. He will have his answer, especially when Alma is changing his expression to a sense that is ignored. Of course, the Stray Dog is soon greeted with the disappointment arising: Alma's response. Unfortunately, his hopes were too high to get a straight answer out of the model.
As Alma takes a step closer, beating against Jiro with those words, the boy is becoming more agitated, more annoyed, and just plain furious. Soon, the chi fades away and the boy immediately allows the pause is made.
Finally, when Alma points the hand at Jiro, the Stray Dog stares.
Jiro, a coward? Someone foolishly thinking what he sees is power? Rejected everything but his desires to destroy?! This causes the boy to tighten his teeth. coward?! Coward?!
"I don't give a flying ****!" With that, the Stray Dog aims to launch his right foot across Alma's stomach, "I'll rip you apart to get a straight answer out of you!"
COMBATSYS: Jiro has started a fight here.
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Jiro 0/-------/-------|
COMBATSYS: Alma has joined the fight here.
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Alma 0/-------/-------|-------\-------\0 Jiro
COMBATSYS: Jiro successfully hits Alma with Light Kick.
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Alma 0/-------/-----==|-------\-------\0 Jiro
Alma takes the hit.
Skidding back on the soles of his shoes, the crowd now fearfully encircling them totally forgotten, the tall youth lowers himself into a bit of a crouch to maintain his balance but soon rises, looking little the worse for wear despite having been kicked hard in the midriff. Calmly Alma straightens his posture, relaxes his limbs, and shifts his feet slightly, his shoulders swaying a little as he finds a rhythm.
"You've gotten better," he remarks casually. Not just casually, even; there's a bit of a genuine brotherly tone to that, a hint of quiet pleasure at Jiro's growth. But looking to his eyes to see a parallel of that emotion expressed in his voice, one will see nothing of the sort.
Only a glint of light.
"I wonder--"
He lunges.
"--have you, in your despair, even noticed?"
White soulfire flares to life. It crackles around his right hand, blazing into existence as a lance of power and sears through reality, a beacon of something greater. Pointed like a spike, Alma thrusts it out as though to drive it into rock, a first step to being creating a path for a very long climb.
Souls collide.
"Jiro!"
And the painful flame is echoed in Alma's eyes.
"Why do you fight!?"
COMBATSYS: Jiro endures Alma's Self Expression.
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Alma 0/-------/---====|===----\-------\0 Jiro
After slamming the foot across Alma's stomach, the Stray Dog immediately lets Alma fly back, not wasting any time to even sprint off towards Alma. While Alma is straightening himself and preparing, the Stray Dog is continuing his charge. Snarling like a wild animal, the young man winds his fist back with a feral grin behind him.
As Alma draws for his blazing psycho power, the Stray Dog leaps into the air to meet forth with the soulfire. He winds the fist out, then he expands the arm out, charging -straight- into the spiked energy.
The Stray Dog's energy is emitting out in the wild-fire, as he immediately charges forward with his right fist drawn out towards Alma's stomach. The fist is blazing with the white flames. The wrath is awakening as he aims to break through the soul fire by lashing his fist out with an explosive burst at Alma's chest.
"For power. Nothing more."
COMBATSYS: Jiro successfully hits Alma with Exploder Knuckle.
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Alma 0/-------/=======|====---\-------\0 Jiro
Alma grunts as Jiro's ferocity serves him well and the wrathful knuckle explodes against the fighter-model's torso. With his attack at such close range, the taller combatant was unable to react in time to anything constructive, and thus the successful attack sends him reeling, stumbling backward and only barely righting himself and managing not to fall.
Yet when he looks up again his eyes are perfectly clear, and when he speaks, despite having been struck heavily in the chest, there is no breathlessness to his words.
"And what, to you--"
Fury gleaming in the depths of those alarmingly focused hazel eyes, Alma Towazu leaps at his opponent and twists into a roundhouse kick, white flames suddenly igniting with his rising momentum. Whether or not he is able to penetrate his opponent's defenses, he will throw himself entirely into the attack, lifting off the ground as his flames buoy him up and forward into a devastating series of five soulfire-enhanced kicks, the aftereffects of the illusory yet painful flame leaving cutting marks in the air as though they tear through space itself.
"--is power!?"
COMBATSYS: Jiro endures Alma's Rising Fury.
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Alma 1/-------/=======|=======\-------\0 Jiro
After the fist plants itself right at Alma's stomach, the Stray Dog narrows his eyes at the older teenager, growling viciously after sending him reeling. Upon landing, he tilts his head over to watch Alma's stance, then he snorts at his resilence. So, he wants to continue.
Both eyes shut.
Fine.
Re-opening his eyes with the dark intentions, Jiro springs towards Alma once more, drawing himself close into the fighting site once more. As Alma leaps towards him and twists into that roundhouse kick, the Stray Dog is actually launched himself into the kick, accepting it to full impact. But at the same time, the propelling of the motion, even with the soul-fire enhancements and the few more allows Jiro to whip his right leg out to strike at Alma's head quickly.
Almost like a butterfly kick.
Acting too quick to really answer Alma's question right now.
COMBATSYS: Alma interrupts Heavy Kick from Jiro with Divine Intervention EX.
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Alma 1/-----==/=======|=======\===----\1 Jiro
Alma is ready.
Jiro, tenacious as ever, takes the strikes and promptly uses the momentum he has gained from the force he's endured to twist into a fierce kick of his own -- but Alma, too, has gained a great deal of momentum. Most obviously, given that he remains airborne and thus he has little control over his direction, that means it would be basically impossible for him to evade such a close-up and vicious strike, and successfully parrying it would be almost equally questionable. But his reflexes are intact and his senses are on overdrive, and the shift of violent intent in Jiro's aura is all the warning that Alma needs.
Even before his head has turned to see, he has blocked.
Alma, still twisting in midair, blocks the powerful kick with his forearm, his whole body jarring slightly as the strike is only barely contained, but his gathered momentum and iron resolve are enough to prevent Jiro's attack from significantly slowing him down. This means that the tall youth is still hurtling towards his opponent -- and so before Jiro has time to react, Alma has reacted out and grasped the collar of the younger boy's shirt.
And when he speaks, it is in as close to a snarl as Alma will ever come.
"Only great fear," he says, eyes flashing, "could make you forget so much."
Light comes forth.
It explodes outward from his hand, tearing Jiro free from his grasp and tearing more besides as it rips through the Stray Dog's mental defenses, attacking his polluted aura directly as though to bathe it in the flames of purification. The resulting collision of forces sends Jiro away and down a small series of stone steps, and lifts Alma into the air; he flips backward gracefully.
"You used--"
He touches down, having taken the high ground.
"--to have reasons!"
While the foot collides witht he forearm, then the gathered momentum has Jiro strucked through by Alma grabbing the collar. He only stares straight at Alma, growling at him. Of course, Jiro is held and he is blasted out of Alma's reach, screaming from the energy tearing through his defenses. The purification has the Stray Dog's eyes narrow, jarring at Alma as he lands on the stone steps.
Upon the landing, the Stray Dog is landing right onto his stomach, extending his right hand out to catch himself as a knee is placed out to actually prevent the stomach landing. So in actuality Jiro's landing is more graceful than it originally was going to be. Because of that, the Stray Dog is actually starting to take a few deep breaths.
"Power..."
He is feeling the power draw forth in him, slowly tilting his body over, slowly staggering on one foot. He merely coughs up a bit of blood, staring at his hand for a few moments. His eyes narrow as he takes a deep breath to catch himself. He actually grins a moment later while gazing at Alma.
"Power is /everything/." His eyes shut as he is concentrating himself. "It's what you walk with in the daylight. It's what casts a shadow at sunset. It's why you lie awake at night. It's what /scares the hell out of you/...! It's what I want."
His eyes narrow at Alma, snarling at him viciously. "Those reasons backstabbed me in the end. Those reasons left me in the end. Those reasons made me alone and weak in the end. I learned that in the end, I will be all alone. And in the end, I should only strive for myself. Only, myself. No one else matters. Not anymore. I made that mistake when I held back on that decision."
"Hah.... I tried to make myself better. That failed. I let a lot of folks influence me. Now, I am going by what -I- want! For me! Because I have myself. Because that is all who I will have left. Don't even pull the bullshit of 'I am here for you'. Not anymore. It won't work."
COMBATSYS: Jiro gains composure.
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Alma 1/-----==/=======|=======\=------\1 Jiro
Dante enters the Pao Pao Cafe.
Dante has arrived.
Alma glares with luminous eyes.
"Power is not what you want, Jiro."
Surrounded by a semicircle of people, he stands framed by sunlight.
"Power is what you /need/."
Blending with the sunlight, a light of his own, emitting from his very being.
"And /that/ has been your undoing."
The tall young fighter-model steps forward, stylish white and black shoes tapping on the stone walkway as he approaches the small set of stairs that Jiro has been sent over and down, and as he slowly walks, he slowly talks. "I won't deny that others have failed you. I won't deny that /I/ have failed you, little brother..." He continues in his steady pace, face eminently calm, eyes bright with unrelenting fury. "But no one has rejected you. You have rejected everyone. And I will tell you why."
Reaching the top of the stairs, he pauses, and looks down at Jiro.
"Because no one else can give you the power you seek, Jiro. Not I. Not your family. Not even that twisted, pitiable excuse for a man you once called your master. No one can give you the power... to respect yourself. To believe in yourself, no matter what happens. To believe in yourself so strongly you don't need to justify it through success or victories. No matter what your friends do, they will never be able to /give/ you that. And that is what you have been seeking-- so you have had no use for us." He pauses for a moment before continuing. "That very need itself, this need for power, is your true weakness, Jiro. It makes you desperate. You crave it, and men with cravings are weak and easily manipulated. And worst of all--"
He shakes his head.
"--even if you acquired the capacity to destroy that you are so enamored with, you would have no use for it. Don't you see, Jiro? Because your life is nothing now. You do not see any beauty in life; you only demand more and more from it, ever unsatisfied. There will be no limit to your hunger, you will never be satisfied -- and neither will you even take pleasure from the eating, because pleasure is beyond one who relishes only in what you do. You say you look out for yourself... but what self, Jiro? What self do you have anymore!? What are you but a creature controlled by your fears of inadequacy!? What are you when you stand alone!?"
Power surges around Alma, crackling over his clothing, blazing in his eyes. His whole body tenses as though barely able to contain the raw fury and passion that writhes within his soul, and his fists clench, sparks flying from them and finally just fully igniting in white flame.
"Like this... you are..."
And then he leaps.
"NOTHING!"
Hitting the walkway at the base of the steps, only a few short meters away from his opponent, Alma unleashes a geyser of power that first begins as a trail of energy zigzaging halfway toward Jiro and then finally erupts in an angled display of raw psychic might, attempting to crush his defenses and shatter his will to fight.
His eyes, how they burn.
COMBATSYS: Jiro blocks Alma's Full Confession.
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Alma 0/-------/------=|=======\===----\1 Jiro
At this point, Jiro is actually matching Alma's own luminous eyes with a very vicious glare. The Stray Dog is releasing a snarl, tightening his fists before he extends his right hand into the air. If the people are wise, they will be clearing the radius that Jiro is going to clear up. Because as Alma blends with the sunlight, the Stray Dog is snarling at the blend of the sunlight.
All of those words that Alma speaks of him, but the fact that they all failed him merely passes through his head. It's no damn surprise that they all failed him. The Stray Dog tightens his stance, even as Alma keeps biting off with his words. All of it is irritating him, but he is piecing everything together before he merely lets the rest fall on deaf ears from here on out. The Stray Dog tightens his stance, slamming his foot against the floor. The Stray Dog watches Alma unleash the geyser of power blasting against the Stray Dog. Lifting his hands up in the air, he immediately pushes both hands out, immediately launching forth to slam his fist against the incoming burst of energy, not to strike out at Alma, but to crush the defenses with his own aura. His own power. That aura is revealed through the white inferno that is immediately summoned up to collide with the geyser to guard him and break its power.
It dawns on Jiro.
He laughs.
"You speak as if that is the real reason, Alma." He growls, now irritated. "Do you know how much of a distance is between us after this long? You're not even in touch with me anymore!" He snarls, "You put yourself in the highroad by demoralizing me. You are no god damn better." The Stray Dog growls at Alma.
"If you want to know why, I'll tell you why! Guess what Alma? Everyone fucked up! I didn't care for power enough to seek out Kain again! I was doing well on my own! But looking around me, noticing that those who I wanted to see around me again disappeared. One by one, everyone was gone! _EVERYONE!_ You were gone, Sakura was gone, Acacia was gone! I had been humiliated, humored by new idiots at my expense, everything was a fucking joke all of the sudden!" The boy's eyes now narrowed. "Everyone! You, Noriko, Acacia, Sakura, all of the people who I had before disappeared! Guess what?! I had myself! As I lost everyone, I -HAD- to act on my own, knowing that I'll truly be alone in the future! And guess what?! I have to cope with it my own way. On my choice."
The Stray Dog is rising his fist into the air, immediately allowing a brilliant light to shine on his hand. "The reason why I could not kill you guys was because I loved my friends." He shuts his eyes, allowing the light to manifest itself, "But after being abandoned, one by one... I have to fill in the void my way." He snarls, "No. I realized I was comfortable being alone again. I realized that the power that I would need is there because if I don't have that... I die a weak person's death, because I was not strong enough to keep myself from being dominated... Seeing my work on establishing myself, whisked awa
away quickly by some new student of Kain made me realize something.."
"I'm at the end of my rope... And as I said, in the end, I will be alone. In the end, I have no one. I've seen it." At this point, there is a white light illuminating around his feet, spreading forth until it passes over to Alma's vicinity, reaching a full three foot radius. Glimmering white fireflies passes along Alma, swirling around the Stray Dog. A flock of them fly pass his eyes, being that the Stray Dog's blue eyes are the only thing that the young man can see. Those fireflies continue to spiral around from the edge of the circle all the way towards Jiro. As they compress towards the young man, they grow smaller until they reach at the very center, where Jiro rests.
"To fill in the void, I have to rely on myself. And to rely on myself, I will claim what was mine in the first place." The Stray Dog tightens his fists, gathering the energy together. There is a rumble as the boy tightens his stance. Another set of the spiral building up as he tones out.
"I won't be denied..."
The last set of those ivory 'fireflies' close in.
"What is rightfully mine." Both eyes shut, "REBEL!"
The boy immediately slams his fist towards the ground. There is an growl along the ground, as a tremor can be felt. "SPIKE!" Upon that signal, as the fist makes contact, the tremor activates an eruption of white chi expelling from the ground, repeatedly lashing out in a multitude of geysers. Considering Alma's vicinity, they are aiming to rapidly blast against him from the ground.
COMBATSYS: Alma endures Jiro's Rebel Spike.
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Alma 0/-------/-======|===----\-------\0 Jiro
Alma listens.
"...Jiro..."
He watches as the fireflies gather, as the inferno of Jiro's gathered rage and fury continues to build. He perceives through sight, through hearing, and through the feel of Jiro's soul the dark determination, the drive for power, and is still and silent.
Being now so attuned to the feelings of his opponent, it is a simple matter for Alma to detect precisely when Jiro is going to release his attack. Even if he didn't throw himself clear, the fighter-model would still easily be prepared to protect himself from the brunt of the geyser attack. Yet he makes no move to do so. He does not, in fact, move at all. And once Jiro finishes speaking and unleashes the full force of his Rebel Spike--
"I know."
--Alma embraces it, body and soul.
The impact issues a blinding light throughout the area, making silhouettes of both of them, and when all is said and done Alma is on his knees, his head slumped down from the effort of enduring the agony of the attack; but his arms remain open, as though prepared to receive yet more.
Face hidden from view, he speaks, through a shroud of blond hair.
"We all end up alone. We /are/ alone, because no one shares our experiences. And we all must die; and that, too, will be a burden we cannot lighten, even if we are surrounded by our family and friends. Even during our lives, though, we will lose others along the way, sometimes never to find them again... and as beings with limited perspectives, we are doomed, one way or another, to walk our own paths."
He pauses for a moment, and when he resumes, though he seems to be making some effort to control it, his voice has tightened noticably.
"But, Jiro, even when we lose the ones we love, they remain with us, because they have changed us. The people we allow into our lives help us to grow; they become more than just objects in our lives, sources of pleasure or happiness for us. They become pieces of our heart, shards of our soul. It doesn't matter whether they watch over us. They don't need to. They live within, through us, simply because our selves endure-- they are the foundation for our strength."
Alma finally lifts his chin, and gazes up, eyes shining.
His cheeks are streaked with tears.
"We all want to be strong, Jiro," he says brokenly, only able to maintain the composure of his facial expression now. "We all want to be good. And sometimes we feel as though we can't lean on anybody for that to happen. But-- Jiro, that doesn't even make any sense, don't you see? Because who we really are depends so much on the people that have defined us. So it can't be a weakness to allow ourselves to be defined by others; there's no other way to live. As long as we do not allow ourselves to be motivated by fear, as long as we never feel we need to justify our worth as human beings, we can do anything, incorporate anything into our lives. We can afford to lose /everything/ -- and still be strong."
He rises slowly to his feet, swaying slightly, and flames slowly flow back into existence, his soulfire beginning to again suffuse his right hand.
"I may have left you, Jiro, and that I deeply regret."
He brings his hand up, and it glows with purpose.
"But you, my friend, my rival--"
He lunges, and lashes out with a lance of light.
"--have never left me!"
COMBATSYS: Jiro fails to interrupt Self Expression from Alma with Heaven's Diminisher.
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Alma 1/-------/=======|====---\-------\0 Jiro
The Stray Dog growls at Alma, his words falling on deaf ears, especially when he is finally lunging himself forward. So, while Alma is explaining about everyone going their own paths, the Stray Dog growls. "And it has been all of your damn influences that has ruined me."
"Your influence, Mimiru's influence, Hotaru's influence. All of you bastards ruined my life. My chance to grasp what could had bettered myself once I finally gained control." The Stray Dog growls, immediately aiming to launch his right foot against Alma's form, wanting to drive the incoming foot against Alma's lance of light.
He is immediately impaled by the light before he could get the footing in. He immediately stumbles back, feeling the disinigration of his corruption, drawing himself onto one knee. "Your influences only exist to ruin me. It took me long to see that. After everyone ruined me, that's when folks disappeared." He shuts his eyes, breathing harder, trying his hardest to get control of himself. "That is why... I will take back what was mine in the first place."
"Jiro!"
Alma's eyes blaze.
"There is nothing to take back!"
Relentlessly, he continues his pursuit, even as Jiro stumbles.
"No one-- nothing--"
Plagued by exhaustion, having pushed himself beyond his limits, still Alma throws himself into battle, the light in his eyes setting the tear streaks on his cheeks all aglimmer.
"--can take away the source of your strength!"
Plunging forward toward his rival, the last of his soulfire exploding around his fists as he brings himself to his breaking point in an effort to reach his opponent as quickly as possible, Alma reaches out.
"Your past, your relationships, they are the foundation--"
And in a hand gloved in flame, he strikes.
"--all you need is--"
COMBATSYS: Jiro counters Destined Duel from Alma with Bull Fist.
- Power hit! -
[ < > ////// ]
Alma 0/-------/---====|=====--\-------\0 Jiro
'No one-- nothing--- can take away the source of your strength!'
To this, the Stray Dog narrows his eyes, "Except for those you drew it from are the ones who eventually left you." He snarls bitterly. All of that bitterness in him is driven forth once more, enough to where the fist tightens into a full grasp, then he Stray Dog awaits for Alma to reach out as he plunges forward towards him. The Stray Dog winds his fist back, "SEI!"
'--all you need is--'
Then, he finally channels out the fist with his right foot, thrusting them both forward with a mighty thrust, aiming to have the fist cave in Alma's stomach and send him flying.
"...to cast them away. As those of the past relationships are the foundation of liability." He shuts his eyes. "It was proven when I rejected Kain."
"And you proved it by showing up as I finally get a chance to take what belongs to me once more."
There is no breath left for words.
Alma shears through stone itself for a second or two, shattering several steps before rupturing the upper level stone walkway and leaving a short trail of destruction, finally slowing to a stop.
~ Oh... I see... ~
Eyes clouding, the handsome youth's lips part, but no sound issues forth.
~ Jiro... you've gotten... so powerful. ~
Tall frame half-buried in the dirt beneath the stone tiles, arms and legs limp, Alma, unable to move, slowly closes his eyes.
~ I only regret... I could do no more to help you. ~
And for now, gentle oblivion takes him.
~ Forgive me. ~
COMBATSYS: Alma takes no action.
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Jiro 0/-------/--=====|
COMBATSYS: Alma can no longer fight.
[ \\\\\\ <
Jiro 0/-------/--=====|
Suddenly a sound would rush through the mall, likely quite audible even amongst the falling ambience of the completed battle, and the milling crowd who gathered above it. Those pedestrians certainly notice, glancing around to seek the source. It sounds almost like a gas leak; That of a long, sustained hiss. Or to those of more ominous interpretation, a viper. Immediately, Jiro would feel a tainted, and likely familiar presence; Whether Alma might be roused or conscious enough to realize it is another matter. Dante happens to be fully capable of shielding his poisoned blood, one of the foremost lessons learned from Kain before he began his pursuit. It does no good to adventure in the cities when one trails an almost stench of darkness in one's wake. At least now his capability of masking such is known... How long he has been here remains the question.
"A rousing show..." A rasping voice intones, sound of a monotone clap echoing a few times. The makeshift circle of observers who remained after the highly destructive finale parts, as a thin and tall figure strides forwards. Dressed today in a voluminous grey overcoat, oversized hood pulled to better enshroud his features from onlookers in shadow. The front is completely zipped, showing only hints of black pants and loafers. Luminous green eyes shift towards the now collapsed Alma, settling upon his own smoldering and battered form rather lazily. "I have followed you at a distance for hours. I wondered if he would ever find you..." The wheeze in Dante's voice becomes too much, falling to a heavy cough in one hand that's long in being stemmed. The sickly figure manages to get back upright, flexing fingers beneath the billowing sleeves. "Ironic, that all along your best chance of finding me had been to look over your shoulder."
Dante's stance spreads, before suddenly he shoots forward with incredible speed. One knee flares up, attempting to catch the battle-weary and thoroughly weakened Jiro within the stomach with an incredible amount of force. Trying to double him over, so one vicious strike of his right hand that briefly flickers purple can send him to the floor to meet his friend...
COMBATSYS: Dante has joined the fight here.
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Jiro 0/-------/--=====|-------\-------\0 Dante
COMBATSYS: Jiro fails to counter Light Kick from Dante with Backlash.
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Dante 0/-------/-------|
COMBATSYS: Jiro can no longer fight.
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Dante 0/-------/-------|
After putting Alma against the stone, Jiro is actually approaching the older teen. "God damnit, you dumb son of a bitch!" He snarls, the tone becoming very vehement. "You better get up..." The Stray Dog immediately reaches for Alma's fallen form, aiming to lift him up from the half-buried state. "You have yet to give me a simple answer to a very simple question."
His right hand aims to lift Alma up, until a voice speaks out. Not just that, but there is the taint of a familiar presence. His eyes suddenly narrow, the slit-formed eyes immediately shift over to the direction of the hiss. A feral grin is starting to stir up to the point of Jiro dropping Alma.
"...You..." He snarls. THe Stray Dog, although weary and beaten, is put to the point of having to rely on his pure instincts to jump in towards the approaching lazy man. "You're mine!" He roars out, aimning to catch the foot towards his stomach with his hands. Unfortunately, the Stray Dog is too weaken to really preceive things wisely, thus he's given a nice blow to the stomach with a double over, then the hand witht he purple chi strikes Jiro, aiming for Jiro to land against Alma with a crashing thud.
His eyes narrow at Dante, the feral eyes waning in color slightly as he is starting to slip out. "Y-you... son of a ..."
"You wanted to find me, didn't you? I don't recall you ever wishing to find me in a state capable of fighting back." Dante states with a laugh, easily breaking through the feeble attempt at stopping him and brutally dropping Jiro as if he had the strength of a puppy rather then the true fighting rottweiler he is. The snake slithers thereafter towards the fallen Jiro, before shifting out his foot and attempting to pin him down by the throat. And apply a rather incredible amount of pressure, to first choke and then threaten to shatter the very bones beneath, potentially breaking the boy's neck in his state.
"I win. You are dead. No longer are you a threat to my position as Kain's student."
For a few moments this might seem to be a genuine statement, before Dante would again let out a wheezing laugh and step backwards, instead maneuvering... to the fallen Alma. "And you, sleeping prince..."
Kneeling down, Dante pulls up a sleeve to his wrist and carefully places a hand directly over the unconscious bishonen's heart, the tenderness in his form disarming to the audience. Jiro would have a very clear view of this, as the rattle of his chi is heard. The intervening clothing would blacken and peel away, before a surge of venomous energy is sent directly into the organ beneath. The pain should be unlike anything Alma had ever experienced in his life; Suffusing not only body but his very aura, every beat of the brutalized organ like a pump of acid. Violating and twisting his weakened aura, and vulnerable being. A thorough violation. It would be sustained, and regardless of any writhes, wriggles or resisting that apparently gentle touch to Alma's chest would be sustained. Nobody watching would be able to tell, visually, what is taking place. Other then it's pretty horrific.
"Wake up." is Dante's only demand.
Within the blessed darkness Alma slumbers, cradled gently by the memories of loved ones long lost to him, the strength of his self slowly being restored by unconscious communion with the essence of his past.
He is rudely awakened.
"--ggh--aggrghh--"
Eyes snap open, bulging slightly, as pain wracks his body. A trail of blood trickles from his lips, but nothing else is forthcoming.
He seems to be unable to speak.
The Stray Dog remains on th ground, slowly getting back up. "You... son of a.... bi--eghn..." Once the foot presses against his neck, the Stray og is starting to let off a guttlegrowl. The boy is reaching both hands out to clutch at the foot pressing down at his throat, but then he is starting to scram, feeling the pressure nearly breaking his neck.
~ I won't die... not like this... ~
But then, Dante maneuvers away from the Stray Dog and towards Alma. The young boy coughs, choking and gasping. But soon, the boy opens his eyes to see what the man is doing. "..." The Stray Dog stares at Dante over his actions and he's...
...Going for Alma's heart. "What the hell are you doing?! Let him go!" The Stray Dog growls, unable to move much longer, only able to watch, growling at Dante. "...Bastard... I'll..."
"Well... Was I right?"
Dante states towards Alma, seeking to meet his eyes with just a trace of a smile visible in his mask of shadow. There should be no need for verbal response; Alma's own will speak volumes. Standing up thereafter, the snake adjusts his hands, actually cracking the fingers one by one. "So. You still have some feelings for your old friend? I thought you would discard them all... Let me try to help you purge them."
One loafered foot shifts towards Alma's wrist, attempting to press against it before flaring with fire once more. The crowd is still doing nothing, and at least this time the gathered crowd will have no clue about the disguised assailant. Even if this has transgressed the grounds of a battle once more.
"Does this anger you, Jiro-kun?" He's now looking intently on the floored figure of Gedo's stray dog, and is by no means using a minute amount of force. Beyond the further pain of the venomous chi, there's a very real chance the model's forearm will break. His malice, though, is what is sorely lacking. There's no sadism, or even apparent joy... except, perhaps, in being right about the darkness in Jiro's own heart, proven by this conflict.
Alma's awareness flickers, drifting through semi-consciousness, barely sentient at this point. Unable to comprehend anything but the pain, unable even to understand the source or meaning of the pain, the fallen fighter can only groan in agony at the twin sensations of poison pulsing through his veins and the dangerous creaking of his forearm bone.
"--nnngh--"
There will be no sensible words out of him for a while.
Despite his capacity to feel pain, it's hard to really think of him as conscious.
"Let...him... go." THere is the only thing that Jiro can do, even in his weaken state. While unable to move, he is only allowed to watch the suffering of Alma with horror. All what it does is make the young boy angry, flailing as hard as he can to get back up on his feet, trying to roar to life as he aims to pull himself back up.
He manages to pull himself up.
For one second
After that second, Jiro falls -flat- on his face, both hands splattering ont he ground before his eyes gaze up. There is that malice in Jiro's eyes as he looks with direct hate at the older man. "I... promise I will kill you."
There is that hate in his eyes, balefully locked on Dante.
Ah. The horror is all Dante needed to see. "So you still aren't ready." He releases Alma, reaching down to actually pat the attractive man upon the side of the face. It's almost a slap, but not quite; At least signifying the manhandling of his resistless body has come to a conclusion. "You can only strike him down riding a whirlwind of hatred and emotions... But would you take the finishing blow, if it gave you true power? Such has to be made of sound mind, not murderous rage." Dante actually stiffened when Jiro managed to rise to his feet, but lets out a slow sigh when he crashes back upon the ground. One step is taken, before Kain's student crouches down, leaning close to Jiro's face. His own breath smells disturbingly acidic.
"You are still weak. Even if you killed me in front of Kain, it would mean nothing. There is no hope for you. I will allow you to live knowing that; When I am ready, I will end your suffering before your salvation's uncaring eyes. ...And even if I fall that day, and even if you kill me, I will die knowing you will wander the maze of life. Alone. Forgotten. And in despair..."
Two fingers reach out, to press between Jiro's eyes. Before unleashing a vicious jolt of chi, attempting to spasm his brain. Which, suffice to say, should knock him completely unconscious. Dante stands, brushing off his trenchcoat before stepping over both figures and striding away; To many here, little more then an enigma.
~ I think... I am almost strong enough to kill him... So very close, Kain-sama... Just a few more weeks... ~
The Stray Dog is on the ground, watching Alma suffer more and more until he finally stops. Jiro growls at Dante once more. "....Egh.." He looks at Dante with narrowed eyes, then he slowly staggers up, slamming his fist down at the ground. Repeatedly, the Stray Dog turns his head away. "...I..." He growls as he sharply returns the gaze at Dante. "Do you really -think so-?!" He snarls, "If you really think that I will wander that maze... ou are dead wrong!"
But those worries do drive in Jiro's mind, especially when a pair of fingers poke against Jiro's eyes, the chi expanding off to spasm the boy.
~ I won't be invalidated... Not after I kill you. ~
And he's unconscious.
Alma, released, slumps back to the ground, coughing once as Dante's corrupting power fades from the system and the healing process, though severely compromised, begins anew.
The light slap tilts Alma's head to the side, and as Jiro is finally sent into unconsciousness once and for all, the psychic slumps and shifts slightly, his cheek brushing against the top of Jiro's hair, the two of them lined side by side in the small crevasse made in the walkway when the tall youth first hit the ground.
They will not be conscious of each other. They will both be alone, in their own darknesses, tormented by different demons, unable to communicate.
But despite all that, despite the vast gulf between them...
...even though they have always had so many differences...
...they are together again.
Log created by Jiro, and last modified on 01:22:02 03/29/2007.