Description: Hyo intends to create a true unity amongst Japan's schools. First stop, a place he has nothing but distaste for: Seijyun High. There is a student there who is rumored to have ideals almost as strong as his own..
Snatching a little corner of the gymnasium for herself while there's no practices or classes being held in it, Athena Asamiya works her way through a methodical set of warmup exercises: stretching out in preparation for the practice with which she commonly occupies her sole free time of the school day. Some might see it as a waste of potential social time, but she gets that enough on weekends and in class; and it wouldn't do for her to fall behind in training. SHe has precious little enough time in her day as it is.
Loose pants and a short tank top are her choice of dress for this practice session, rather than the shirt and skirt she customarily wears to more formal fights. Her sparring partner? There is none, other than perhaps the exercise equipment. Anyone she knows that she could practice with is, unfortunately, busy.
"Aah! Asamiya-sempai! Wh--oof!"
A younger Seijyun student, from a lower class, just faceplanted.
It's rather to be expected. It's a rarity for any boy to be allowed onto Seijyun grounds. At least, beyond the base service staff which allowed Seijyun to operate. There was also that time a boy was enrolled for the Schools Tournament as punishment. Regardless. At such a presence, a choice subset of the students were intrigued.
The rest were varying mixes of wary, shy and disgusted.
No matter. Imawano has business here.
The faceplanted student was most accurately an advance messenger who obviously aimed to tell Asamiya Hyo Imawano was looking for her. But there is hardly time for a prolonged inquiry and less so if Asamiya isn't quick about recovering the student's head after her rough meeting with the floor.
Alongside the length of mirrors, the Justice High student appears, in his full winter uniform regalia.
He arrives from the same entrance that the faceplant used. And Hyo wastes little time. "Athena Asamiya," he calls across the way. Cold, but purposeful. "--If I'm correct," he mentions of her outfit. "We've matters to discuss."
Athena's about to go prop up the poor student-- and probably, after ensuring she's okay, ask what on earth is so urgent-- when she's interrupted by the sight of Hyo Imawano: framed in the doorway, unmistakable silhouette a strange sight in Seijyun's halls. She hesitates only a moment, before acknowledging him with a slight bow. "...Imawano-san." She shares some of the wariness of her fellow students, though her capacity to forgive and trust is far greater.
An apologetic hand is held up, asking Imawano to give her a moment-- and she crosses the floor to attend to the fallen student, picking her up, thanking her quietly, and sending her on her way with a slight brush of her clothing to remove errant dust. Her gaze then turns to the Justice High student, proceeding towards him slowly: a slight, automatic smile rife with the gracious dignity her current attire fails to afford her.
"You're correct," she answers him, her hands folding together before her in a rather demure posture. Normally she'd make some harmless small talk, but the air of efficience about Hyo Imawano seems to discourage that. "You'll excuse how I'm dressed-- you caught me at practice. What do you want to discuss?"
His boots make hollow, echoing sounds across the wood floor.
Hyo seems satisfied with her explanation. "All the better."
"I did hope this school had not dulled your strength.." Hyo cultures a very self-evident distaste for his environs. It's remarkably plush--a few of these pieces of equipment cost more than some high-end vehicles. But for all anyone else would know from the way Hyo regards it, the entire school was covered in a fine layer of slime.
Though it's often hard to tell, it's not a sentiment that extends to Asamiya.
"Your perseverance in the face of the dullery proves my faith is not misplaced."
He regards the dazed student critically, whom has recovered from her meeting, and does--at sempai's bid--make haste to leave. (And tell others of what she saw here)
It's all the small talk Hyo is interested in entertaining. And it too, serves a purpose, though exactly what is not disclosed as of yet--Hyo seems to have no interest in explaining it. A passing comment to reinforce the already known, t'would appear. Nothing more.
"Though it was my interest to find the truth of the matter through my blade some time ago at the Schools Tournament, necessity demands me to emplace my trust in your heart foremost. I will be brief. I've recently put into place an investigation. I will make this simple. All around us, despite the efforts of our best, criminality waits at our every door. To remain solvent in these new times, an ideal of superior strength must be forged by hands of superior talent. An ideal of unity. An ideal of discretion. One of the true Justice."
His sword hisses from its sheath, held in a tight grip, white leather glove turning the blade to bear on the small pop singer in a cold, even rhythm, Hyo's eyes sharp as his blade's edge.
"That is the why and to tell you is the limit of the trust I am forced to place in you."
'Mumei no Katana..' the orphan blade. That which cuts to the truth.
It gleams under gymnasium lighting.
"You'll forgive if I seem brief. Time is fleeting, and I've none of it to spare for the pointless words and the foolery this school teaches. I will find your worthiness in the ancient ways. I will test your strength. Of both your hand and your heart. Your charge will be determined now. If... you are ready."
Athena is largely silent as Hyo speaks-- a welcome change from her usual state, the nature of which no doubt would have quickly killed any regard Imawano cultivated concerning her quality. She did not get to be the fighter she was through lacking in observational ability: and she's taking a moment to take the measure of this young man of whom she has heard so much.
She can tell he harbors a great distaste for this school, and though some inkling of fierce loyalty rises in her-- offended and appalled-- she does not give it voice quite yet. Hyo has moved on to topics which interest her more than the regard he holds for her school: criminality, justice, unity. Too bad he frames it in a term she does not like quite so well: superiority.
But even with that caveat, sShe can't say she's not interested in what he seems to propose. She may be aware of his record, but she is also aware of the work he has done in more recent times. And of the severe fixation upon justice that has always permeated his dealings: whether those dealings be lawful or not.
Confronted now with his steel, Athena's eyes half-lid slightly as they travel down the length of that blade. Her gaze ends on Hyo's, the look there without intimidation or fear: but with a decent respect for what that edge is capable of doing.
"If you mean what is it you've just said-- all aspects of it--" Yes, there are layers there. His speech is promising-- but there's still reason to be wary, in her mind. She slides to a more defensive stance as that blade gleams inches from her face. Her hands lift.
"...I'd be interested to test -your- strength as well. I welcome anyone who would fight injustice-- but not those who fight it through means I won't condone. I hope you'll prove your intentions don't fall in that category."
COMBATSYS: Hyo has started a fight here.
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Hyo 0/-------/-------|
[OOC] Iori will decide
COMBATSYS: Athena has joined the fight here.
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Athena 0/-------/-------|-------\-------\0 Hyo
Perception? Of course. It is the hallmark of anything popular. Always to be molded by the lens of the public. To many, Seijyun and Justice were fairly similar--they each held to their own strict code and they both were very, very strict with their students. Both were considered elitist. However, as Hyo saw it--the two could not be any more different.
Now, their talk is over the edge of his blade.
It will determine just how different they truly are.
His eyes do not stray from Athena's when she meets his gaze.
"I will not speak anything but truth," Hyo responds swiftly, an edge of firmness in his voice. "If your will is sufficient to serve that truth and the rest, it will prove my theory, forged by they student I fought at World Warrior."
The blade whirls once, coming to rest just before his shoulder so he can sight down the cutting edge at the young woman.
"Be assured, I have learned much since that Incident long ago. With this favor, I hope to learn more. At your guard!"
Hyo wastes not a second more on words. Whatever else he may have said, whatever meaning was left to be implied or explicit is simply pierced straight through. From his shoulder, Hyo's arm explodes like cannon fire, as he steps forward just once to stab Athena with the point of his blade. Not in the shoulder. Not in the hip. Not even in the chest.
His act is the best expression of faith in Athena's talents achievable.
If she doesn't move--if she lets fear, doubt, or weakness to cloud her mind even for an instant, it will be over. Hyo is not strong enough to kill her in but a moment, but he will not hesitate to put her down to determine her capacity.
So he says-- and so Athena might just be willing to believe. She is not known for vindictiveness, or for holding a grudge long past the point where the party in question has repented and reformed. If Hyo Imawano is now willing to fight for justice in ways of which she can approve-- well, she won't be above accepting his change and cooperating with him.
As it would happen, however, there are still some... style differences between the two. Like how they would opt to test the abilities of one another.
Warned by his words-- however short that warning /is/-- Athena twists immediately aside as that blade spears for her face. Pure surprise prints itself in her face at the directness of his attack. Whatever else one can say about Hyo Imawano, the young man doesn't waste time. To test her in such a way is shocking; but even now, Athena will not answer his lethality with lethality. She's simply not that type.
That doesn't mean she's going to go easy, however. Hyo has effectively cut straight through the buffer that softens most 'sporting' matches. "I don't think you have to question my will," she replies, even as she ducks beneath the blade: weaving back up swiftly with a strike of the hand towards her opponent's chest. She presses in close, hoping to kill the effectiveness of his blade: forcing him to contend with her at close quarters.
COMBATSYS: Hyo dodges Athena's Medium Punch.
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Athena 0/-------/-------|-------\-------\0 Hyo
Hyo does all things the same. With an unnerving level of efficiency and directness. Justice High is not a school for those endorsing in half-measures and it is by little product or allowance of the common indulgence in weakness that Hyo acts now. By simple nature, he was born to represent his school.
But this Athena..? "By necessity," Hyo responds, his blade turning in his hands immediately after the momentum from his sudden stab fades. "I'm required to do nothing less!"
He whirls to the side, letting her blow edge past his midsection. She was inside his blade's guard, but Hyo was no stranger to close quarters. For him, lethality is a matter of efficiency. In other words, he aims to make the strongest advances he possibly can. Outside and to the side of her guard, his blade hand continues rotating the sword ti lthe cutting edge is pointing downward, to interpose the blade between them, with the edge facing her and the spine facing her outstretched blow.
"This school's ideals are weak! That can affect its students!"
Hyo attempts to slide into her stance, and put his heel behind her own.
His voice is as silken and ice as ever--it is only forceful for the effort Hyo must invest. He is attempting to knock Athena off her feet with the cutting edge of his blade--a levering motion directed with full force from his fingers bracing kissaki as the fulcrum with his hand on hilt being the primary force behind it. He aims to at once slice her weak point at her collarbone and to break her stance and momentum.
From what he's read, it'll be nothing less than necessary.
COMBATSYS: Athena blocks Hyo's Imawano Blade Nage.
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Athena 0/-------/-------|=------\-------\0 Hyo
Athena grits her teeth slightly as that blade's edge comes for her. His heel slid cunningly behind her own as it is, she's cut off from a dodge. Her best option is to block: and she does so, her hands spreading out to form a shield. An abrupt shimmer of psycho power gleaming redly as the blade strikes it, though it cannot stop that momentum completely. The bite of his weapon is shallow, but the drawn blood is enough to convince her she'll need to play to her own talents.
"Justice is not about ruthless imposition of your own views," is her short reply, her breath better used for this encounter. Initially stumbling slightly-- her stance indeed broken by his attack-- she recovers quickly and moves back in. That flicker of force between her hands strengthens abruptly, humming with energy, and she forces it suddenly at the blade-wielding Justice High student: the erstwhile shield suddenly becoming a weapon.
COMBATSYS: Hyo fails to interrupt Shield Psycho Reflector from Athena with Ichimonji Giri.
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Athena 0/-------/-----==|==-----\-------\0 Hyo
That is exactly Hyo's goal here. In his opinino, of course, it is the only way to truly determine their strength of will in this battle. Normally he is reticent to speak during a battle. But this is not merely battle. Hardly. He will force her to be at her best, in every sense that the word can convey. That truth in her... his blade will find it. It cannot be hidden by guile or deceit. It cannot be obscured by pride or fear.
As his blade leans against her body with his doggedly mechanical force, the metallic edge crackling against her shield and partially through it, Hyo's expression softens. It goes beyond one of pure effort to one of contemplation. Athena's thought pattern troubles him, very slightly.
"Do you believe your school has a view?" Hyo asks after her, a dire tone slipping across his voice. "What do you presume the majority of this world cares about?"
As her shield grows stronger in a sudden burst, Hyo's blade whirls about as he maintains pressure against it. He can't break the shield with inexorable force, but if he can saw through it--
"Ghn!"
The sparkling power breaks the momentary stalemate in Athena's favor--the blast breaks him back, energy tearing past his uniform as surely as any shredding punch, Hyo's sword going low as the waxed floor squeals against the friction of his uniform boots.
Only time enough to set his stance and regain his footing, if anything.
Temporarily deadlocked with Hyo, his blade grating against her shield, Athena displays a deep serenity attainable only by fighters locked in concentration. Her stance, recovered to lend strength to her warding off of his blade, is strong; her gaze calm. It looks up as Hyo as she is asked those questions, and presently she answers him.
"This school exemplifies what most of the world cares about," she replies slowly, her own expression softening from its intentness: a sudden sadness flickering in her eyes. "Prestige, money, influence. But that is only one part of what Seijyun is; and I believe that, in turn, it is only one part of what the world can be."
That energy does not dissipate as Hyo slides back: rather, it simply alters in form, the shield rolling back in on itself as Athena brings her hands closer together. She waits only a moment before firing the resulting ball of force at him, wrists flicking outwards.
COMBATSYS: Athena successfully hits Hyo with Psycho Ball.
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Athena 0/-------/---====|=====--\-------\0 Hyo
Hyo sets his armored epaulets against the incoming flood of power. There is little time to dodge. Disappointingly, it will also take a little more than Hyo's armor to stop the force of her energy--it does pretty much every increment of damage it could possibly do, barely stopping at his epaulet. Simply put--the blast shatters his epaulet and slams through his shoulder, knocking the student back.
When Imawano Hyo once again regains his balance, however, he is hardly kowed by her power. No--as always, the same indomitable will meets Asamiya's serenity. His expression? Not one of pain, or reticence. But.. something inscrutable. The corner of his mouth quirks in a faint smile--all the time his icy glare settles as a weight upon the young lady's shoulders.
He breathes outward once, before picking what's left of his epaulet off his shoulder and tossing it to the ground, leaving only the basepad of his jacket. "Impressive," he suggests, but he fails to explain his reference.
He continues.
"A segmented school can realize nothing. Can acheive nothing."
His voice dispassionate like his cold gaze, Hyo considers his opponent. That brief exchange with her dazzling energy has left him sore and, if the feeling in his midsection is any sign, likely bruised. His blade turns reverse in his hand, the curve of the mune one with the curve of his arm, the point at his shoulder where his epaulet would be. He'll need to be more controlled.
"The most important thing I've learned.. is that only unity of purpose and heart can truly carry the great burden that rests on the shoulders of our generation. Without that unity of thought, personal achievement is pointless and self-serving. Can you deny it?"
Though he is cautious, he will not. ever. turn. back.
His free glove goes low, fingers spread into a loose open-handed guard.
COMBATSYS: Hyo focuses on his next action.
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Athena 0/-------/---====|=====--\-------\0 Hyo
Athena watches Hyo carefully. The weight of that unsettling gaze does not go unnoticed: and in truth, it is beginning to get at her. This entire fight-- it doesn't seem right to call it a spar-- has seemed more interrogation than anything else. Imawano is grilling her, and the fact hasn't escaped her notice.
She's not terribly concerned with giving 'right' answers. Just the ones in which she believes.
She stands at a ready as he picks away the remnants of his epaulet, listening to what he has to say. Her head shakes slightly at his words: hair whispering across her shoulderblades. "Unity is important. But personal achievement is never pointless," she disagrees quietly, sliding a foot forwards as she settles back into a readied stance. "As long as it's undertaken for the right reasons."
Her reply given, she edges forward again: and then, warily, tests his defenses with a quick snap kick.
COMBATSYS: Hyo interrupts Light Kick from Athena with Fierce Strike.
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Athena 1/-------/=======|======-\-------\0 Hyo
"Hm. A point," Hyo concedes quietly.
"Every man is a sword, every ideal to wield him," Hyo reasons, seeming to like the way the logic appears to him. But even as he reasons, they are in the midst of their dance. A dubious interest then in Seijyun's halls--that dance may not be the one intended by the faculty, but regardless, their truth is reflected in every mirror.
As she moves to him cautiously, Hyo responds with full authority--as is his wont. The flat of his blade catches just the edge of her kick, fabric sliding against steel. He manages to redirect the force of her blow more to his side while drawing the point of his weapon ever lower. His body is stronger at his midsection when his side is braced into it.
"But to change the world for the better--to eliminate injustice altogether--can this be done by only one person?"
At the exact moment her kick impacts him, he leans forward, absorbing the shock of her blow with a motion and force that knocks his long silver hairtail back to drift there, for one precise moment.
The point of his blade will touch skin.
Just above the hip. Some ways below the tank top.
"Can an ideal be that strong.." Hyo wonders, quietly.
His other white leather glove braces on the kashira, cradling it in his palm and forming a direct line of force from his shoulders through to the tip of the blade.
Athena has a fraction of a second to respond before he applies force to penetrate through her guard and, more importantly, her. His blade will go straight through. But he is hardly aiming for any critical location.
The stab is almost surgical. Certainly precise. In an instant, Athena can tell he is not aiming to kill with it. Nonetheless, it still hurts. An involuntary sound of pain kicks out of her as the blade slides home: her throat unable to hold back the convulsive shock at the feel of cold steel. Put off-balance by his retaliation, she barely recovers enough to stay upright.
Ironically, his blade is a large part of what's helping to hold her up.
She does not make a reply for several moments: needing a moment to regain her voice. When she speaks, however, it is with an admirable calm: albeit with some strain in her voice. Some pain in her gaze. Maybe not eliminate injustice altogether. Slowly, she begins to work herself off the blade: if he does not simply pull it out himself.
"But to change the world for the better..." She pushes herself clear of his impaling sword. A slight knitting of psycho power helps stanch the bleeding and hold her together. "--yes. One person alone can do that."
She steps a few paces back, a little trail of blood following her: and then she slings another ball of force at him, seemingly in attempt to get him to back off.
COMBATSYS: Hyo endures Athena's Psycho Ball.
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Athena 1/-----==/=======|=======\=------\1 Hyo
In that one instant, the two are close, Hyo low with his shoulder set behind his pierce, his eyes cold and hard, turned upward. A weaker opponent might have been ended from sheer pain right there. His aim is hardly to kill. But in affairs like these... he will not hold back.
The blade shifts slightly in the wound. Air is brought along the warmed steel.
Then, a thin blurred line of glinting light and blood, the orphan blade is withdrawn.
It is painless.
For an instant, one might be fooled into believing he never removed it.
"Then my faith for the world is yet renewed," Imawano states, the blade gleaming and clean as he whips it, and rotates it once again--from reversed, to righted, to reversed again. It is repeated to his left side as he steps back as well. In crisp motion the turning is rendered, slowly, but accelerating through the back half of each revolution. The right half ohis body he turned on a heel; back and away from Asamiya.
"You'll know my goal is to change this world for the better," Hyo starts, his sword arm raising behind him, the reversed blade pointing to the lights "But.. for such a monumental task as the one we face, my talent alone will not be sufficient."
He has drawn blood on the singer. It is significant blood. But.. before his injuries, it seems only fair, as opposed to devastating. He is not in fact blind to the idea that Asamiya's strength may rival his own. If not surpass it.
He seems grimly satisfied at this thought.
"Again. It is the duty of every man and woman whom cares for the future of the world to act in its favor," Hyo continues, setting his opposite shoulder against the oncoming Psycho Ball. Oh, he knows his remaining epaulet alone won't be sufficient to break the wave of that power. No--with one loud kiai, the ninja doesn't care to defeat it. He cares to break it, despite the known and expected damage his body will endure. He shatters his epaulet in an explosion of steel and pink petals--glowing representations of Hyo's will. A will to decide. His boots shift across the ground.
There is a brief instant in Athena's perception in which Hyo, coat jacket now open, can be less seen and more /felt/, moving across Athena's side, with a glint of his steel accompanying him.
Standing fully across the gymnasium and behind her an instant later, he is motionless, his blade forward.
Only then do the points of what remain of his other epaulet hit the ground, sticking in the floor in a perfect half circle forming the point in the center of fins of exact droplets of Athena's blood--where he'd struck her before and shook off her blood, he cast it in an exact pattern apparently as an afterthought.
And then, each glowing petal before Athena, every single one, falls into four pieces.
"Those.." Hyo comments, labored, "with conviction as strong as yours, will be required."
A will to focus one strike into ten.
That is the strength of Ankoku Shippuuzan.
Can Athena follow it? Can she respond to it?
COMBATSYS: Hyo successfully hits Athena with Ankoku Shippuuzan.
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Athena 1/-======/=======|-------\-------\0 Hyo
Athena has felt pain before. Pain as bad as this. But the fact remains that such acute hurt will cloud judgment: and while her attack does strike, the blood loss and the stinging in her abdomen render her slow to react to Imawano. Even under the best of circumstances she would be hard-pressed to follow his movement, so quick it is. Now-- she has barely the time to perceive his intent, turn to face it... and preserve herself from simply being cut apart.
Avoiding death is about the extent of her capability in this case, however. His blade scores deep in that one instant he is by her side, drawing ever more blood. Struck squarely, she's forced to her knees: a constant drip of blood reddening the floor around her. For an instant, it seems as if that is all this girl-- who claims so much with regard to the pursuit of Justice-- is nothing more than talk.
But presently, she shifts, and gets back to her feet. The motion is slow, but the will driving it is steel. "Then let me show you that conviction," is her quiet, murmured reply. "And test you in turn...
With a great effort-- one which, indeed, is driven more by force of will than actual strength of body-- she bolts directly towards Hyo: her step blurring seamlessly into a whirling teleport. One turn and she folds herself away, blinking across the space between them in an instant. As quickly as Hyo struck just now. When she reappears it is with her cut body wreathed in red psychic flame-- in spinning orbs of energy. Both aura and projectiles reach out to strike him, seeking to close the scant distance between the two.
COMBATSYS: Athena successfully hits Hyo with Shining Crystal Bit.
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Athena 0/-------/----===|====---\-------\0 Hyo
An astounding strength.
Though Hyo is talented, he cannot track Athena's movement casually. It takes all of his considerable awareness to even detect Athena's proximity to him in time. All of his preeternatural calculations. He can only move with her, and even so, the tails of his coat are knocked back in the dazzling aura of bit psychic fire. His body has little alternative other than to simply absorb it.
Whatever response he wanted to have--whatever atypically solemn repartee he could have mustered is choked back in the priorit of his sheer exertion of will, folding his arms before himself and being blown back and away from Athena's sheer output.
When the Justice High student lands, it's on squealing boots trailing thick lines of faint steam.
The Imawano ninja breathes slowly, quietly.
She is stronger, isn't she?
Fascinating.
"..Your ability is suitable," Hyo acknowledges once, briskly.
The point of his katana slams into the floorboards, sticking there and marring a small fortune in polish. The sword sticks there straight. "The truth.. reveals itself," he nods once. "Seijyun High is worthless. A breeding ground for useless faculty, the politics resorted to when honor cannot avail itself, and most loathsome of all, greed."
One white leather glove squeaks quietly as Hyo Imawano raises a finger.
That was the entire point of the battle. By battling her, he forces her to respond from the deepest part of herself, allowing for no deception. Despite his great injury--even now, a steady stream of blood trickles past his lip and down his neck, to collect at his collarbone, seeping into the black shirt he wears underneath his uniform jacket--he seems more focused than ever before. Half lidded eyes consider Asamiya closely.
"Help me organize the talents of our schools. Those of superior ideals can invariably set an example amongst their fellow students. These evils I have discussed with you are not merely figurative; I assure they are quite literal."
As of the battle? Is Hyo giving up?
He sets a hand upon the kashira of his blade, bracing it in the wood.
"....Let this last decide the affair."
Hardly.
Justice High will never give up.
COMBATSYS: Hyo focuses on his next action.
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Athena 0/-------/----===|====---\-------\0 Hyo
Breathing quietly, Athena stands still in the wake of her attack: stopped right where she landed, her wounds trailing blood. She is not particularly interested in whether the Imawano heir deems her worthy or not. She is not looking for his praise. She is more interested in what he has to say.
Despite what her appearance and exterior behavior suggest, she is not an airheaded fool. Certainly, a naive idealism lingers about her manner of doing things: about her beliefs concerning justice. But few people manage to fight the darker parts of society without gaining a certain acuity of perception and mind of their own. Athena is still more gullible than she could be, considering what she's chosen to do with herself; but at the same time, she's not quite as innocent as she looks. Fame, personal power, and an oath against injustice have all caused the girl beneath the smiles, skirts and lace to grow up a little more quickly than her peers: try as she might to blend in with them.
Hyo might seek the same end as she-- Justice-- but she still remains uncertain of whether he'll seek it in a way with which she can agree. "I would help you to organize against injustice," she begins slowly, her hand lifting slightly in an open gesture. "To improve the character of all. But I won't label things as 'superior' or 'inferior.' We should all be of equal potential."
Even as she speaks, she is watching Hyo carefully. Seemingly waiting.
COMBATSYS: Athena focuses on her next action.
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Athena 0/-------/----===|====---\-------\0 Hyo
"To improve the character of all," Hyo echoes. "Every woman a sword. An ideal to wield her," he repeats. "An honorable goal," he decides. His hand tenses on the hilt of his orphan blade, his slate eyes narrowed, considerate of his opponent for one last.
To help is one thing, but he seems.. somewhat unrepentant for his manner of thinking. Cold, efficient logic defines Hyo Imawano, both before and after the blade's been drawn. His next blink comes slow and calculated as he mulls over her words.
"If you wish to realize a world where everyone is truly equal, then unify them."
His blade leaves the woodwork.
He steps towards Athena. It is the only step taken that could be watched clearly.
The next is punctuated with the firing of a cannon--a cannon without a name.
Hyo launches forward in one last attack. One last blow to decide this.
His sword flashes underneath the light, its point homing in on Athena. He will charge right into her center, without any further delay. Into her middle he will thrust his blade, full and through.
That single stroke will decide the matter of the spar.
But can it decide the higher purpose? Can it decide the truth?
COMBATSYS: Athena fails to interrupt Deep Strike from Hyo with Psycho Sword.
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Hyo 0/-------/-======|
COMBATSYS: Athena can no longer fight.
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Hyo 0/-------/-======|
Athena has only time to lift her eyes to meet Hyo's before the Imawano heir vanishes from sight. A flare of red light roars to life about her hand, coursing from her palm in the form of a blade: but before she can bring the psychic edge to bear against Hyo's cold steel to parry his blow--
--his sword has found her, just below her chest. Again, nonfatal... but definitely painful. This time, Hyo Imawano was quicker.
The energy dies from her hand, subsiding with the drain of her blood as she stands impaled. She sways slightly, a ribbon of scarlet trailing from the edge of her mount, and her stance spreads unsteadily to maintain a semblance of balance. Her other hand grasps instinctively along his wrist, slender fingers seeking stability in the arm impaling her; its grip is brief, and then it drops away: some equilibrium reachieved.
"A point," she smiles redly, the look in her face gentled even with his blade through her. As he conceded to her earlier, now she makes her own concession to him.
A brutal dance.
His blade only truly stops when his guard meets skin, his boots low in an earthen stance. He is a rock by nothing less than sheer necessity. His own breathing is controlled and slow, but .. ultimately forced.
And so they meet at the bottom.
It takes a moment for the long tail of his silver hair to settle once again at his back, a stray glimmering strand knocked loose in the scuffle curving around the left half of his face. Even though his blade won through, Hyo is hardly gloating for it--that was hardly what this battle was about. Some others would do battle find who was truly the stronger. But here, Hyo had already figured it out.
Hyo's goal is not to kill Athena Asamiya.
It is to ensure to himself that she truly lives.
His face only inches from hers, it is knit with a grim study. Her warm nature only constrasted by his own icy one. His satisfaction lay not in the victory, but in Athena's strength. It shows that he did not come here in error and that he did /not/ waste his time.
"If you wish to know," Hyo breathes, "come to Justice High, or speak with Kyosuke of Taiyo. ...If you wish to help... there is a student here. Himezaki is her name. It is your choice."
That is the only information Imawano can volunteer of it in their state. Secrecy is of the utmost, and Hyo cannot assure it in this circumstance. The rest of what he says of considerable more immediate importance.
"This will hurt more than before," he explains. Retaining his precision on something this deep in his current condition will be difficult. "...Withstand."
The explanation is the only comfort he offers.
He takes a long step back, the length of his arm. He straightens his arm as he does so, mindful of the blade he wields. His grip becomes tense an instant before.
Then, in a single fluid motion, he draws out the length of steel.
Athena's dark eyes tilt downwards to the blade through her. They then lift to Hyo's, looking across the scant space between them: watching the labored way in which he breathes, and watching the way in which he takes his measure of her. Athena's own breathing has slowed to a steady, almost hypnotic rate: the best way in which to deal with grievous pain and grievous injury.% r
She listens to his murmured words distractedly: remembering the important parts, acknowledging with a brief dip of the head. Noting his brief warning. Her gaze almost slants away-- and then it refocuses on his. She looks at him as if for the first time, and attempts to regain her coherence. The look in her eyes visibly steels.
A sound of pain wrenches out of her throat as that blade slides clear: but to her credit, she does not fall.
"If I choose," she replies him through a gritted jaw, her stance shaky but holding steady. One arm folds about the wounds in her, as if to hold in the blood: but then, a subtle gleam of red about the length of her forearm suggests some pulse of healing energy. "You will know."
And with that, one wakes from the chaotic place.
It's fortunate. Though he would have without thinking twice, Hyo did not favor the idea of taking Asamiya to the nurse's office. He would have been lucky for it not to be Justice High--Ms. Minazuki would have questioned him and his motives at length. Still, Seijyun's nurse is likely to be little better. Occaisionally, understanding comes slow and with great difficulty.
A small white kerchief comes from the inside of his coat, soft and woven with microfiber. It's with this he very carefully wipes down the steel in his hands, still warm from tasting blood. To see him however, one would imagine him to be sweeping refuse from a table; there is little love in Hyo's heart for violence--chaotic by necessity and elegant only when measured and exact. Fastidious, unrelenting, precise. But *never* indulgent. In spite of that. On occaision there can be little other choice.
He would not use that jutsu on Asamiya without due reason.
Nodding once at Asamiya's own will to remain standing, as if he'd known somewhere in his mind that she could not be laid low with only that, the ninja sheathes his blade, mouth meeting fittings with the resounding click seeming like a gunshot in their respective proximities.
"I can do little else," Hyo admits simply.
He buttons what few buttons remain on his coat.
Re-secures his breast pocket ornamental tassel.
He turns, his silver hair whirling to his back.
He'll leave and for some not a moment too soon.
He'll leave only the remains of those epaulets.
And his student council armband, lost in the battle.
Log created by Hyo, and last modified on 16:30:47 04/25/2007.