Description: Marise and Elle ambush Hotaru when she least expects it, each with their own reasons for going after the girl. The fight goes south for Hotaru very quickly, but Jiro steps in to take the worst of it for her...
So this is a girl's high school. Elle's heard about places like these, but only in fiction. Quite frankly, it's everything she thought it would be, and therefore she hates it. Too much girly, too much frilly, and too much giggling. She's bashed at least three or four of the miserable airheaded pukes that inhabit the school, and it's shaping up to be yet another occasion where she'll be doing it again. This time, however, it won't be on her pretense.
Her new partner, Marise, Aka The Devil of Koga, or as Elle likes to call her, 'Vampirella', has shown a particular mad on for one Hotaru Futaba. Elle doesn't rightly know for what reason, and frankly couldn't care less. The kid sounds tough, so she's here on behalf of a NESTS contract. Nothing more.
Beating up a mutant schoolgirl is just extra incentive. While the school has cyclone wire and security patrols to exclude people like her, it doesn't take much to get past them. Nylon rope and a grappling hook do the job nicely as she lands boot first into a copse of pansies, smashing the innocent flowers flat. Ugh.
Oh. 'Vampirella's interest in Hotaru is not hard to understand at all.
Hotaru has proven herself to be a girl of great strength. A rising star in local fighting circuits, even if she's far too bashful to admit it. The strength of her heart was shown with perfect clarity to the Devil Ninja, having fought her once.
Some may simply accept defeat and merely move on to greener pastures.
The ghostly maiden, however, just decides to fight dirty.
Bushido, the code of the Samurai, is a code of weakness. A fair fight is fought only by the clueless or foolish. If there's something you desire.. you simply take it with whatever means is most expedient. Including rounding up a posse and applying leverage.
There are other purposes as well.. As Helle's Belle indeed has a contract for the girl's flesh. Icing on the cake, as far as the apparition is concerned. No.. this is merely a test of strength.
Time to see just how effective this new 'team' can be.
The shadowy woman strolls through the field of flowers. This time her shadowy parasol having a true purpose, keeping the sunlight from touching her bleach-white skin. Hauntingly strolling along with smooth grace, leaving not a single blade of grass disturbed in her passage. Approaching from the opposite direction of Elle's destructive march.
Closing in on a singular, inescapable point..
Seijyun High. Flower garden. The school is where Hotaru had attended a year ago, before her travels began. After being back in town for a month or so, she begrudgingly reported back to the campus. She doesn't really care for the exclusive and controlling all girl's school, but her attendance here is one of the few points that the executor of the Futaba estate insists on. Her extended family on both sides would never allow the sole Futaba heiress to attend some common school like the Taiyo High that Hotaru would like to transfer to.
So now she's back, visiting the campus on a quiet weekend, late afternoon, the sun still visible in the horizon. As she mentioned to Jiro earlier in the day, she needed to stop by the admin office to pick up her schedule before she can catch up with him that evening. She's alone, not even her mascot ferret is with her. People at Seijyun usually turn their nose up at the furry companion so Hotaru decided to just avoid the whole issue for this trip. Classes start again for her Monday. She'll be able to get out for fights and training still, but that requires begging, threatening, or bribing one's way into getting a leave pass; something she's not looking forward to in the least.
She was headed straight away to leave as promptly as she had arrived, already haven been given grief for not sporting the school uniform while on campus. But her route takes her past the large flower garden located at Seijyun. One of the places she actually liked while attending here, surely she can stop by it for a bit, just to see how it's changed in the last year. And so she strolls into it, hands clasped behind her back, blissfully inaware of the opportunity this presents the two that were trailing her.
'Destructive march' indeed. Elle cuts a swath across the flower garden. She's been given a description of the girl and can extrapolate from it very easily what the girl looks like. It's fortuitous, really. Were Zaki here, for example, things would get rowdy and beyond her control pretty quickly. Elle, however, has chosen a day when the militant 1,000-girl-strong gang is out to tea. The woman knows her stuff and it's taken no mean feat to figure out a decent time to strike.
Luckily for Hotaru, Elle feels no such emotions that would turn into a vendetta, unless the girl manages to take something from her. No matter the outcome of the day, she'll be safe from Elle's prolonged wrath as long as she doesn't presume to reduce Elle's grip on what is hers.
Nevertheless, what the future holds right now is completely moot as her boots cmash down more flowers, treading dirt and making a mess deliberately as she makes a beeline towards the young girl. Jaw set. Eyes narrowed. A wicked looking knife in hand. The woman means business and isn't going to leave without getting what she wants. It takes a special kind of monster to attack children willingly for a pittance or revenge. Unfortunately, there are two here today.
And the second monster makes herself known with quiet introduction.
As Hotaru strolls along the path, heading for the exit.. her wandering eyes pass over a familiar silouette. Still enough to seem like a lengthy shadow cast from a nearby treet or building. But a second take will reveal something that will sink her heart.
Marise Satsuko stands in the middle of the path a modest distance away. Looming motionlessly beneath the oppressive sun. Other students have long since steered clear of her uneasy presense.. leaving this section of the campus all but vacant from prying eyes save for a few furtive, nervous glances.
The dark maiden says nothing. No introduction beyond the fact that the girl will realize she is not going to advance without going through her first.
Going in the opposite direction of this evil roadblock? ... She'll find a suspiciously dressed Frankenstein's Bride of a woman approaching from behind her.
Uh Oh.
The boots stomping against the floorbed are heard first and Hotaru glances toward Elle, thoughtful expression fading quickly to a concerned frown. It doesn't take a major leap of logic to realize that Elle doesn't belong here. Sure, there's girls that think they're tough here at Seijyun, but with the exception of very few, none of them knows what the word even means. Elle, on the other hand, /looks/ like she could define it quite well. And the black clad woman doesn't look like she's here to ask for directions on where to get a visitor's pass either.
But it's the knife that finally spurs Hotaru into wanting to put some distance between Elle and her. There's no mistaking the message the weapon conveys. Some aspiring fighting stars may want to take this oppotunity to prove their mettle, but the young Kenpo artist is much more interested in proving her remarkable knack for conflict resolution by attempting to put distance between her and Elle.
Her quick turn to leave draws up short though as her eyes rest on Marise, the dark ninja she has seen two times too many thus far. Her mind is quick enough to realize that this is no unlucky coincidence. These two are here for her. And she's quite certain Marise is the reason why. Picking the advancing woman as the more immediate threat, Hotaru turns back toward Elle and without warning, breaks into a dead on sprint directly at her. Leaping, she attempts to land on Elle's shoulder with her heel, and if fortunate to do that, she'll jump off her shoulder to try and get out from between the two ambushing her.
COMBATSYS: Hotaru has started a fight here.
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Hotaru 0/-------/-------|
COMBATSYS: Elle has joined the fight here on the left meter side.
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Elle 0/-------/-------|-------\-------\0 Hotaru
COMBATSYS: Marise has joined the fight here on the left meter side.
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Elle 0/-------/-------|-------\-------\0 Hotaru
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Marise 0/-------/-------|
COMBATSYS: Elle blocks Hotaru's Koushuu Da.
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Elle 0/-------/------=|-------\-------\0 Hotaru
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Marise 0/-------/-------|
Hotaru's attack initiates a sequence that's old hat for Elle now. Synapses fire as the wild woman's eyes flick back and forth, judging measure, speed, and strength. The foot collides with her forearm instead of her shoulder as Elle reacts with all the alacrity someone that's been in way too many fights as of late seems to have. The impact jars her, sending a shudder through her, but she'll most assuredly live.
That said, Elle takes the moment of proximity to slash out with the knife. The attack is unfortunately awkward. She's not used to weilding edged weapons, but has enough wherewithall and training to make the clumsy swipe an actual attempt instead of a laughable joke. The fact is that she wants this job done as quickly as possible. Time deteriorates all things, including the best laid plans.
With a short grunt, she's slashing at the girl's leg as she leaps off of her in hopes of getting the paycheck. Everything else after that will be a cakewalk.
Perhaps Elle will be satisfied with merely nicking their prey.. But Marise desires more.
Much more.
With breath of effort, the shadowy maiden moves with far more expedience than her elegant demeanor suggests. Her Parasol is discarded as she ducks low.. Racing parallel to the ground in a quick dash. Her skirts parting to allow her pale legs movement as her arms are held at her sides. Ebon tresses unfurling from their bun like a banner, billowing in a swift breeze.
This child will not escape so easily!
As she vaults over Elle, and her aly makes her swing.. The Devil Ninja whips forth her arm. The pearlescent limb shooting forth, elongating across the distance with speed in a bid to grab the girl's other leg! Then simply drag her down to the ground in a painful crash before she can leap too far away.
COMBATSYS: Elle successfully hits Hotaru with Medium Strike.
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Elle 0/-------/------=|===----\-------\0 Hotaru
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Marise 0/-------/-------|
COMBATSYS: Marise successfully hits Hotaru with Maou Tsuke.
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Elle 0/-------/------=|=====--\-------\0 Hotaru
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Marise 0/-------/------=|
It seemed like a good plan at the time. Get over Elle and she's free to make a run for it. Given her inherent speed, getting away after that point would just be a matter of time. But Elle's slash strikes true, cutting through fabric and skin to elicite a yipe of pain. The strike to her leg throws off Hotaru's balance, which makes it all the easier for Marise's arm to grasp onto her ankle. Which wouldn't be the /worst/ that could happen, except that having your leg pulled out from under you while you're already failing at trying to make an acrobatic leap from someone's shoulder can only end badly. "AH-AH!"
Arms flailing, Hotaru crashes to the ground pretty much right next to Elle. Not a graceful landing at all, but while stunned and hardly prepared for a fight, she still has the wherewithal to roll to the side, springing back to her feet only after putting a bit of distance between her and the silvery-white haired woman. The leg gash isn't enough to keep her from running, but there's no point in trying if Marise can just reach her again from so far.
Thus the attempt is made to slow down the spectral apparition. Curling her arm back as if getting ready to lob something, the girl chances concentrating a small sphere of pure energy into the palm of her hand. Swinging her arm forward, she slingshots the sphere from her finger tips as lingering, risidual blue energy fades back into her arm. She remembers Marise not liking that too much the last time, maybe this will slow her down.
Hotaru may be a canny fighter in her own right, but Elle's the kind of person that will take whatever opening she has and exploit it until there's no more opportunities. While Hotaru may be focused on Marise simply because she expects that the spectral woman is the scarier of the two, she leaves Elle wide open. Elle slides the knife back into it's special scabbard. It's job is done for now, the ornate NESTS device already chugging to preserve the precious DNA sample. Elle, however, doesn't miss a beat.
Swinging around with all available speed, she shoots forward across the ground, her normal plodding gait all but gone as she breaks into an unexepcted sprint. The woman is actually a fast runner when she puts her mind to it. She tries to close the distance quickly and reach the girl, keeping her footing. With a quick feint and jab combo, she hopes to smack the young girl in the face with a boxing style rabbit punch.
COMBATSYS: Hotaru successfully hits Marise with Hakki Shou.
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Elle 0/-------/------=|======-\-------\0 Hotaru
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Marise 0/-------/--=====|
The Devil Ninja can only grin with wicked satisfaction as the girl crashes to the ground. Her serpentine arm slithering back into place as she slowly stalks closer, arms at her sides.
Where is this girl's fighting spirit gone? Has such poor odds dimmed her fighting str-..
Golden eyes widen.
Oh. There it is.
The ghostly maiden quickly throws up her arms but to no avail as the ball of pure, blue light crashes against the monsterous one. Rolling over her form and bathing her with its virtuous essence. Her pale skin all but errupting into gouts of smoke and flame as she sizzles. Screeching in pain and staggers forth.. only to collapse to the ground in a smoldering heap.
Down.. but not out.
With a painful glare, she slowly looks up to see Elle approach the girl. Her own arms quickly reach forth from a prone position.. seeking to grab Hotaru's ankles in a bid to assist her ally. Holding the girl still against the bludgeoning assault..
COMBATSYS: Marise assists Elle.
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Elle 0/-------/------=|======-\-------\0 Hotaru
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Marise 0/-------/--=====|
COMBATSYS: Hotaru blocks Elle's Talk Dirty To Me.
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Elle 0/-------/-----==|=======\-------\0 Hotaru
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Marise 0/-------/--=====|
The ball slams into Marise and does pretty much what Hotaru had hoped it would. Strange that the very energy the vampire seeks from Hotaru is what causes her to recoil in such pain. But Hotaru will take what she can get at this point.
She had expected Elle to act, but she is a little surprised at the speed with which she does. Thinking another knife gash is coming her way, Hotaru prepares to parry the hand that was weilding it before only to find that the weapon is no longer in play? The feint seems to catch her a little off guard, her hand having to change directions at the last second to intersect Elle's fist before it collides with her face. Marise's grip on her ankles, however, keep Hotaru from turning this into a chance to bolt and the look in her eyes suggests she's quite aware that escaping would be the best choice by far.
Grunting as the assualt is slowed before it can do any real damage, Hotaru then trys to leverage her grip on musician to pull her into a rolling throw backwards, using the movement to also free her ankles from Marise's grasp. If she is successful in pulling her off balance, Hotaru's feet will kick into her stomach to help complete the attack and hopefully send her flying some ways.
COMBATSYS: Hotaru successfully hits Elle with Ten Ranku-Tou.
- Power hit! -
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Elle 0/-------/-======|=======\-------\1 Hotaru
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Marise 0/-------/--=====|
The feet pound into Elle's stomach, causing her a little concern. She wasn't quite expecting a counterattack so soon and from that angle. The end result is that she's sent to the ground, and hard. Her shoulder pounds into a flower bed, kicking up foliage and dirt as she slams to a halt near a tree. Elle lurches to her feet with a sharp grunt, eyes narrowed. So Hotaru's got some strength to her. It's still up to Elle to put the little cretin on the ropes.
She reaches back, pulling her guitar free from the harness she keeps it in. The instrument catches the sunlight, which gleams off it's shiny, steel plated surface. Clearly, it's used for far more than just playing music, as the odd scratches and unseemly dents indicate. Brandishing the thing like a war club, Elle is charging forward again at an alarming pace, whirling the instrument over her head for speed. The intent here? Smash it dead across Hotaru's face, hopefully disorienting her.
Of course, Satsuko is not sitting on her hands.
Having recovered somewhat from the initial wave of pain, the Devil Ninja scrambles to her feet once more. Moving quickly as it seems her appointed task is to simply keep Hotaru from fleeing the scene quickly and allow her ally a chance to do what she does best.
Which is brutality.
The wicked maiden reaches out once more. Her arms quickly extending in a bid to curl themselves around the girl's neck for a fast choke hold before the girl even touches back down upon the ground..
Hold her!
COMBATSYS: Elle successfully hits Hotaru with Pour Some Sugar On Me.
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Elle 0/-------/-======|=======\====---\1 Hotaru
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Marise 0/-------/--=====|
COMBATSYS: Marise successfully hits Hotaru with Quick Throw.
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Elle 0/-------/-======|=======\======-\1 Hotaru
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Marise 0/-------/-======|
Getting Elle away from her for a second is the first step, now to try and slow down Marise again and then she'll high tail it out of here! She's already starting to feel a bit of a burn from the injuries thus far and the fact that she really wasn't expecting a fight. All she wanted to do was get her class schedule, for crying out loud!
She's facing Marise again as Elle pulls out a little additional weaponry. She hears her footsteps against the ground though and turns to face her, expecting another punch or something... only to turn face first into a metal guitar casing Elle decides to make music with Hotaru's face. O-ow! Stumbling practically blindly as she's knocked several feet to the side, she's easy pickings for Marise's next attack.
The choke hold is really the only thing that keeps Hotaru from falling on the ground all together and for some seconds, all she does is dangle in the pale grip and bleed out of a gash on her forehead where the guitar gouged her. It seems that perhaps the devil woman's revenge is already at hand.
But seconds pass, and the girl begins to struggle. At first her hands pull uselessly at Marise's limbs, but she changes tactics after realizing that isn't working at all. Steepling her hands together, she presses them up between Marise's arms, then unfolds her steepled hands, applying a strong amount of leverage. It's enough to free herself, the girl dropping to the ground, coughing violently. "What do you WANT?" she yells, sounding both frightened and, perhaps surprisingly, quite angry. She feels sick to her stomach as the head trauma from Elle's bash begins to take its toll. Another hit like that would be more than the young fighter could take.
Desperation settling in, Hotaru grits her teeth, trying to maintain focus long enough to survive this double-teaming. But she can already feel her strength waning and the chances of escape via running are dwindling rapidly.
There is a flare of energy that should be as plain as day to the chi-sensing ninja, and then Hotaru charges toward her, attempting to deliver what might be a crippling assault. Her focus is shattered though, and attempting this attack at all might be the result of having lost her ability to think clearly.
Getting Elle away from her for a second is the first step, now to try and slow down Marise again and then she'll high tail it out of here! She's already starting to feel a bit of a burn from the injuries thus far and the fact that she really wasn't expecting a fight. All she wanted to do was get her class schedule, for crying out loud!
She's facing Marise again as Elle pulls out a little additional weaponry. She hears her footsteps against the ground though and turns to face her, expecting another punch or something... only to turn face first into a metal guitar casing Elle decides to make music with Hotaru's face. O-ow! Stumbling practically blindly as she's knocked several feet to the side, she's easy pickings for Marise's next attack.
The choke hold is really the only thing that keeps Hotaru from falling on the ground all together and for some seconds, all she does is dangle in the pale grip and bleed out of a gash on her forehead where the guitar gouged her. It seems that perhaps the devil woman's revenge is already at hand.
But seconds pass, and the girl begins to struggle. At first her hands pull uselessly at Marise's limbs, but she changes tactics after realizing that isn't working at all. Steepling her hands together, she presses them up between Marise's arms, then unfolds her steepled hands, applying a strong amount of leverage. It's enough to free herself, the girl dropping to the ground, coughing violently. "What do you WANT?" she yells, sounding both frightened and, perhaps surprisingly, quite angry. She feels sick to her stomach as the head trauma from Elle's bash begins to take its toll. Another hit like that would be more than the young fighter could take.
Desperation settling in, Hotaru grits her teeth, trying to maintain focus long enough to survive this double-teaming. But she can already feel her strength waning and the chances of escape via running are dwindling rapidly.
There is a flare of energy that should be as plain as day to the chi-sensing ninja, and then Hotaru charges toward her, attempting to deliver what might be a crippling assault. Her focus is shattered though, and attempting this attack at all might be the result of having lost her ability to think clearly.
Visiting Hotaru was something that Jiro was going to do. Or at least, wait for her at his house. Unfortunately, there are some things that made plans change, so he decided to do go see what's going on at the school. Perhaps it was a bad feeling, or even Alma senses kicking in.
He really needs to punch Alma. However, someone more important needs to get punched.
The Stray Dog is immediately running towards the school, looking a little more pale than usual. His eyes seem a bit straining to see, but he nevertheless manages to get himself up and to allow his fury to keep him sustained. Pride is a bitch at times. As if trying to find Hotaru, Jiro's eyes focus over towards the two women that's... assaulting Hotaru?
Considering that he's using the emotions to sustain him from something, Jiro allows his right hand to channel forth the white flames, shaping itself into a blade. Charging into the fight, Jiro runs forward to get close towards Elle, "I'll break you both." The arm swings outward, aiming to slash across her back.
COMBATSYS: Jiro has joined the fight here on the right meter side.
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Elle 0/-------/-======|==-----\-------\0 Hotaru
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Marise 0/-------/-======|-------\-------\0 Jiro
COMBATSYS: Elle blocks Jiro's Shining Fang.
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Elle 1/-------/=======|==-----\-------\0 Hotaru
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Marise 0/-------/-======|-------\-------\0 Jiro
What's this now? Elle turns about to the sound of an incoming lad. How the hell he made it past Seijyun security is beyond her, seeing as they're about as ruthless in excluding men as they are dutiful in making everyone act like perfectly obnoxious little princesses. Nevertheless, Elle's swift in her reactions. As he sends in the incoming blow, Elle's arm immediately knocks it aside. "Heads up, Vamp. We've got a biter," she says dourly, backing up into a defensive position.
Crouched into a lower profile to keep herself from being a wide open target, Elle takes a hop backward as she makes a short motion with her hand at Marise and a nod. The gesture should be obvious as to what she wants. They are, after all, teammates of a kind.
As she moves aside, Elle tries to land a vicious kick onto Hotaru's back for her troubles as the smaller girl shoots towards Marise. If she's lucky, her attack will put Hotaru out so that the pair can properly deal with Jiro.
The Pale Maiden's hands again retract once the girl manages to push herself free from her cool grasp.
As the girl barks out her cry of terror and fury, Marise's grin widens to frightening proportions. Revealing teeth entirely too sharp to be completely human as golden eyes gleam with intense madness, "..What I want.." She breathes in a slow, resonant hiss. Again rushing forth in a bid to meet the girl's charge head-on, "..YOU! Your strength! Your HEART! Give it to me CHILD!" She screeches, clawed hands reaching for her once more.. her eyes widening just a fraction as the dawn rises within the little girl..
"..Impossi-"
COMBATSYS: Hotaru successfully hits Marise with Ten-shou Ranki EX.
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Elle 1/-------/=======|==-----\-------\0 Hotaru
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Marise 1/--=====/=======|-------\-------\0 Jiro
But Marise's claws grasp nothing but air as Hotaru slides to a stop into an extremely low crouch, her arms out at her sides and legs far apart, having adopted for a moment an evasive stance. The next attack that comes to the long-reaching Marise is a flipping kick, Hotaru's body trailing blue energy as she propells herself and Marise into the air. The onslaught would have been powerful in its own right, but Hotaru grabs hold of Marise as their bodies intersect mid-air and drives the both of them wrecklessly back to the ground, scattering leaves and flower blossoms in a cloud of debris.
By the time it's possible to see the both of them again, Hotaru is straddling the woman, sitting on her stomach, leaning forward. Both of her hands are gripping around her pale neck as if she intends to strangle her until she relents. A whirlwind of blue and yellow energy swirls up around the two, subject to the young girl's control, but she seems only passively aware of it. For this moment, her eyes glare into the face of the evil woman.
"If that is what you want... then /take/ it." Hotaru snaps, pulling the chi made manifest back into herself all at once, funneling it directly down her hands into Marise's throat. The resultant explosion would have sent her flying off were it not for the deathgrip on Marise's neck. Rocks and dirt go flying and as the dust clears, Hotaru slumps forward, her grip relaxing as she exhales an exhausted sigh.
WOOPH!
Marise's eyes bug out widely as she's struck soundly in the middle. Doubling her over as her form raggedly sails high into the air! Her ascent completely uncontrolled as the initial, chi-laden strike blasted the senses from her. Her limbs akimbo as she's easily then caught in that mid-air collision.. Arms and legs flailing wildly as she's ridden straight into the ground with enough -impact- to shatter the stone pathway for several feet around!
"Gnnk!" Marise's gaze is widened as her hands grip at Hotaru's wrists ineffectively. Smoke quickly rising from her pale throat as that blue power -burns- into her like brands.. "Gh..GNAAAAAAAAAAA!"
An inhuman screech is torn from her as she stares into the girl's eyes and completely disappears in a geyser of blue-yellow energy. Shattered debris and petals rising upwards in a fountain of destruction. A noise drowned out only by a hideous, banshee wail that echos and saturates the entire campus.
In the aftermath of the attack.. The Devil looks utterly undone. Her limbs twitching fractionally, spasmically as her eyes have rolled up into her head. Her dark locks strewn over her flesh.. blackened and burned in several patches all over. Her body in a deep impression in the broken Earth.
No. She isn't standing back up again.
Moments later as Hotaru inevitably rises to her feet once more.. the broken ninja remains completely still. Apparently leaving her comrade to being double-teamed by the rejoined duo..
Except.. some evil isn't quite so easy to extinguish.
Golden eyes snap into focus. Unable to move far.. but she is able to do one more little farwell present.
No.. Attacking Hotaru directly is foolhardy now. She knows this..
Sometimes however.. the Heart does not reside inside the body..
"..Jiirooo.." A soft whisper is the only warning he gets as Marise quickly attempts to sweep her leg for his own.. Attempting for force the young man to trip and fall over upon her..
COMBATSYS: Elle successfully hits Hotaru with Medium Strike.
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Elle 1/-------/=======|=====--\-------\0 Hotaru
[ \\\\\\\\\\\ < > //////////////////////////// ]
Marise 0/-------/------=|-------\-------\0 Jiro
The girl poured everything she had into that attack, blindly unaware that Jiro had even shown up until several seconds after her assault on Marise. Pushing herself to her feet, she feels her limbs trembling, but it isn't just from the exhertion. Adrenaline courses through her as well, giving her the strength to go on beyond what she should. But in the back of her mind there's the sense of something else. A quiet horror at the anger she unleashed upon the devil woman that has stalked her so. Thus distracted, Elle's kick strikes her in the back easily and Hotaru falls straight to the ground. Her vision blurry, she barely makes out the form of Marise getting back to her feet, murmuring the name of the boy that is trying to save her. "...Jiro," Hotaru whispers, echoing Marise as she slowly tries to push herself off the ground.
COMBATSYS: Hotaru gains composure.
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Elle 1/-------/=======|===----\-------\0 Hotaru
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Marise 0/-------/------=|-------\-------\0 Jiro
COMBATSYS: Jiro fails to interrupt Yomi no Junan from Marise with Guillotine Kick.
- Power fail! -
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Elle 1/-------/=======|===----\-------\0 Hotaru
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Marise 0/-------/------=|====---\-------\0 Jiro
The boy could not have suspected such a hasty, ackward thing.
A quick slap at his ankles to get him to fall to a single knee beside the fallen Devil Ninja.. How could he have known?
Pale hands immediately move to grip his shoulders, like a dead thing rising from the grave. Swiftly curling her arms around his shoulders as she embraces him tightly.. Her eyes meeting his own as her violet lips whisper something unintelligible.. before she presses her lips to his own. Her fingers tightening into his hair and holding him firmly..
She can only wonder what Hotaru's response will be.. How shocked she will be..
Perhaps not nearly as shocked as Jiro as the bizarrely intimate attack is far more lethal than any outside observer would think.
Inhaling slowly.. the woman breathes deeply of him.. And the boy can -feel- the warmth dredged upwards. As if her tongue was sliding deep into his heart.. and tearing it out. Swallowing his lifeforce with a moaning passion. Tilting her head just so..
As Jiro feels the world growing very cold.. his senses dulling and fading.
As if death itself was kissing him full on the lips.
~ Can't... see much. What the hell? ~
As she attempts to sweep him off of his feet in the literal sense, Jiro starts to launch into the air with a snarl that intones, "DO NOT WA---..." He feels a malign feeling in him getting worse, which throws off his concentration in the strike and he is too slow to react to the sweep. The foot aiming to kick her sweep away doesn't go through in time.
Swept off of his feet, Jiro falls right on top of the shinobi, who captures him into her arms. His eyes widen and he is captured by the lips.
Jiro -really- wants to channel Tran and headbutt her right now.
It's not the ordinary kiss. He can feel the essence of death clinging ont him as his lifeforce is being drained. Continually trying to break out, Jiro is twitching and he is losing any ability to focus. Muscles tighten once, then they loosen.
He is really going to set her on fire when he can recover.
An impassive eye watches the delicate but deadly display. Were she a woman of softer constitution, no doubt she'd be horrified and shocked by what her teammate is doing to Jiro. However, as many can attest to, Elle is a stone hearted, ice cold bitch. The only thing that she manages to display as Jiro gets his life force ripped from him in what would normally be an intimate and caring gesture is a half-smirk as one of the corners of her lips quirk a notch or two more than normal.
As Hotaru rises from her draining attack, Elle is right next to her, the taller girl and her amazonian build dwarfing the little girl. Eyes cast down on the girl as an iron grip reaches for Hotaru's neck. Like a steel claw, her calloused fingers grasp at the little girl in an attempt to lift her up in the air with a nonchalant and disturbing ease.
Again, Elle is no mistress of the darkness. Not a demon borne of nightmares or a creeping shadow of death. Elle is a dischordant monstrocity that comes in to wreak havoc and piss in people's cornflakes, and she does it because... hey. Someone's got what she needs, baby.
She tries to hurl Hotaru into the air single armed. If she manages to connect with that, she rips her guitar from it's holster, and slams the armored instrument into the little girl like a baseball player, attempting to send the youngster over the walls of Seijyun high and into the forest.
Fate works in mysterious ways.
Here Marise had engaged Elle's nihilistic services to finally get her claws on Hotaru's potent breath..
...Instead, it appears Jiro has taken the powerful girl's place, sacrificing his own considerable energies to the Devil Ninja's hideous thirsts. Nnn.. And what power this is! This boy's strength is as great as Hotaru's own.. perhaps greater. A coveteous prize indeed!
With a moist sound, the Devil discontinues her kiss.. having taken more than sufficient quantities. A thin trail of wetness briefly connects their lower lips.. as the boy can see a small cloud of white mists flowing from his throat.. only to sweep up within the yurei's nostrils.
"...Hnnn.. white rage.. delicious.." The ghost whispers to him softly now.. Her eyes briefly rolling upwards towards Hotaru's likely stunned expression. Never leaving her gaze as she then leans in to sloooowly draw her frighteningly lengthly tongue over Jiro's throat.. The contact of that serpentine length capable of dragging the blood from his skin to further devour him if he does not push away in time..
Of course.. her body yet weak and undone.. she cannot hope to stand again or move swiftly..
COMBATSYS: Elle successfully hits Hotaru with Guns N' Roses.
[ \\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\ < > /// ]
Elle 0/-------/-------|=======\-------\1 Hotaru
[ \\\\\\\\\\ < > /////////////////// ]
Marise 0/-------/-------|====---\-------\0 Jiro
Finally she's back on her feet, trying to steady herself after being pummeled repeatedly this whole fight. Blood trickling down the side of her face from the wound her blurs her vision even further. But one doesn't need perfect eyesight to see what Marise was doing to Jiro. Paling from revulsion and loss of blood alike, Hotaru grits her teeth, trying to get off one final attack against the demon. Curling her hand behind her once again, she tries to throw a second fireball Marise's way. Perhaps distracting the woman in her attack on the young man.
But she barely gets it off before Elle has grabbed her by the throat, the little blue sphere going somewhat astray in its course. Struggling against Elle's tight grip does her little good and before she can do anything about it, she's sent flying up, only to come back down and collide with the deadly guitar. Perhaps adding another notch to the metal musical weapon, Hotaru is sent flying along the intended trajectory. Where she lands is of little consequence, as she is out of sight, and most definitely out of strength to get back up after that.
COMBATSYS: Hotaru can no longer fight.
[ \\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\ < > /////////////////// ]
Elle 0/-------/-------|====---\-------\0 Jiro
[ \\\\\\\\\\ <
Marise 0/-------/-------|
COMBATSYS: Jiro dodges Marise's Maou Zansatsu.
[ \\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\ < > /////////////////// ]
Elle 0/-------/-------|====---\-------\0 Jiro
[ \\\\\\\\\\ <
Marise 0/-------/-------|
Needless to say, the Stray Dog is not pleased. While he is given the passionate way of dying, Jiro would love nothing more than to set this wraith on fire. So while she's drawing back is enough to get Jiro to immediately press both of his hands over towards herdirection and push her away.
His intentions?
To knock her towards Hotaru's fireball.
"DO. Not. WANT!" The Stray Dog growls, then he immediately lunges his head forward to give her a quick headbutt at her face to send her off of him.
The rocker dusts off her hands, cricking her neck as she backs up, giving the projectile fired from the little munchking a wide berth. Her eyes watch the blast shoot towards Marise and her face changes from neutral to a slight frown. This won't be good, since the woman has been sandwiched between a fireball and an angry teenage boy. Marise has taken worse, but Elle's not pleased about it much. After all, the woman had deinitely shown that she's a serious contender.
Still, no sense mourning. There's still a target on the stage, and Elle considers her options. The woman begins to stride forward in a focused pace, her boots crushing the ground beneath her feet. Imprints left in the path show her progression as she doesn't stalk Jiro as much as start the steady calculations necessary for her to fight. Electricity rips forth from the ground, feeding into her body as she goes.
COMBATSYS: Elle gathers her will.
[ \\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\ < > /////////////////// ]
Elle 0/-------/---====|====---\-------\0 Jiro
[ \\\\\\\\\\ <
Marise 0/-------/-------|
COMBATSYS: Marise dodges Hotaru's Hakki Shou.
[ \\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\ < > /////////////////// ]
Elle 0/-------/---====|====---\-------\0 Jiro
[ \\\\\\\\\\ <
Marise 0/-------/-------|
COMBATSYS: Marise blocks Jiro's Quick Punch.
[ \\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\ < > /////////////////// ]
Elle 0/-------/---====|====---\-------\0 Jiro
[ \\\\\\\\ <
Marise 0/-------/------=|
The Devil doesn't move much as Jiro tears himself away from her.. Her arms weakly falling at her sides as she seems like a corpse waiting to happen.. She all but sees that ball of pure blue light hurled for her... But she's too wasted to even move.. unless..
Her golden eyes widen once more.. as a pulse of crimson rushes through her veins like sanguine circuitry. Changing a fraction of the life-force she took from Jiro to animate her near-corpse in a sudden rush!
She sits up swiftly, doubling forwards as the Hakki Shou -slams- into the Earth mere inches from where she lay.. Fast enough to intercept Jiro's headbutt with her own! Crashing her forehead against his with hardly any pain in her eyes.
Point blank.. her bloody grin slowly widens, "..You'll have to do better.. boy."
Her black hair suddenly whips forwards.. attempting to drive black needles directly into him from mere inches away. Doing little physical damage.. but should they connect, the pins will disrupt the chi within his body in horrible biofeed back..
COMBATSYS: Marise successfully hits Jiro with Onigumo no Dokubari.
[ \\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\ < > /////////////// ]
Elle 0/-------/---====|=======\-------\0 Jiro
[ \\\\\\\\\ <
Marise 0/-------/-----==|
Unfortunately, Jiro's health was -NOT- welll when he first came in. This is not any better. Considering that he has been dealing with the poison lingering in him thanks to a package, Jiro is even surprised he is still moving. Of course, keeping the fury drawn to keep himself sustained is quite a feat.
When she grins, the Stray dog growls and he grimaces as he feels the pins pierce the body as he tries to move away, he can only hiss in pain. "Son of a..." He grunts, then he pulls himself back up enough to quickly lash his right leg towards her stomach, aiming to kick her back on the ground. "Stay down!"
The rocker clears her throat. That's it. No witty potshot, no wacky banter. Just a coughing sound. Elle raises her hand with a practiced eye, pointing her fingertips at the boy as she stops her approach a few yards away. If he wants to waste time with the half-dead woman? So be it. Elle knows the woman's power... and that Jiro's assault will only give her more resolve for the next battle.
If Elle wasn't such a hardass, and Marise wasn't a bride of death, she could almost like the lady. Nevertheless, the time for idle thoughs are gone as she clenches her fingers save her index. As if firing a gun at Jiro, a lightning bolt lances forth from her hand to blast against Jiro's body, attempting to light him up like a Christmas tree.
COMBATSYS: Marise fails to interrupt Light Kick from Jiro with Maou Zansatsu.
-* CRITICAL FAIL! *-
[ \\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\ < > //////////////// ]
Elle 0/-------/---====|=======\-------\1 Jiro
COMBATSYS: Marise can no longer fight.
[ \\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\ < > //////////////// ]
Elle 0/-------/---====|=======\-------\1 Jiro
The ghostly creature hisses as she rises up once more, trying to follow his assault until the young man has had quite enough out of her.
The kick -SOLIDLY- strikes her.. Doubling her over completely as her arms sweep upwards to clutch at her middle. Eyes wide.. as she tries to hang in..
"Gnn...hr...."
Until even her constitution cannot take any more as her eyes roll upwards once more. Collapsing to the ground in a heap.. out cold.
COMBATSYS: Elle successfully hits Jiro with Pure Energy.
[ \\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\ < > //////////// ]
Elle 0/-------/--=====|=======\==-----\1 Jiro
"That's for attacking Hotaru, you piece of sh----ARGHHH!!" Jiro doesn't get a chance to finish his words towards the ghastly woman as he is given a solid strike across the back by the woman assaulting him. His eyes shift over towards Elle.
...
He remembers her now. Vaguely. The person who was with Safiullah. He owes Saf a visit to see how the kid is doing. But for now? Breaking Elle. The Stray Dog sprints towards Elle, growling at her while his right hand immediately extends out, aiming to give her a devastating move that is his ultimate move.
This is the Clothesline.
COMBATSYS: Elle endures Jiro's Strong Punch.
[ \\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\ < > //////////// ]
Elle 0/-------/=======|=======\===----\1 Jiro
An impassive eye watches as Jiro swings for the fences, and slams his arm against her throat. Her body stiffens, muscles tensing like steel as the young man rams his arm against her body, catching her cleanly and sending her backward. She stumbles, staggers....
And straightens back up with grunt. She raises her hand... then the other. Eyes sparking like twin suns, the woman simply opens fire with all the chi in her body rushing forth like a monstrous cascating Telsa-Coil discharge.
COMBATSYS: Jiro blocks Elle's Depeche Mode.
[ \\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\ < > /////////// ]
Elle 0/-------/-------|=======\====---\1 Jiro
As the woman tenses her body like steel to take the full brunt of the clothesline, Jiro presses his body forward, noticing that she isn't staggering so much. When she opens fire of the chi once more,t he Stray Dog immediately switches gears enough to bring both hands up in a guarding position.
Then, Jiro immediately reaches his right hand out to channel for the burst of chi. He can feel the poison straining him, tearing him apart. However, he has to continue, because he wants to give these two ladies payback for attacking Hotaru.
Even if his body wants to collapse. He will draw on his emotions, which erupt into a white storm of flames consuming the right hand. Charging forth, the energy transfers to the left hand as the Stray Dog draws forth a -POWERFUL- punch towards Elle's cheek. Of course, the resulting strike will be a nice, devastating explosive burst of white flames.
COMBATSYS: Elle blocks Jiro's Vandal Breaker.
[ \\\\\\\\\\\\ < > ////////// ]
Elle 0/-------/-----==|-------\-------\0 Jiro
Pfft. When you've tasted what Igniz has to offer? Jiro's small cheese. The woman steels herself again, her body like a stone to the onslaught as it smashes against her upraised arm. Power courses about her body, the blast ripping about her like a storm. As the power dies, Elle is still standing, looking slightly peeved. She really doesn't have the right to be so unmoved... but then, there she is, looking at Jiro like he's an unpleasant insect.
She raises her hand, and it crackles with power. At this range, it'd be unpleasant if she misses. Then again, weirder things have happened. The blast from her fingertips are aimed right at his eyes.
What a bitch.
COMBATSYS: Jiro interrupts Pure Energy from Elle with Bull Fist.
[ \\\\ < > /////// ]
Elle 0/-------/=======|==-----\-------\0 Jiro
With the explosive punch being guarded against, the Stray Dog growls and he shakes his head. "Alright, I'll give you one to make sure that you'll feel." His eyes focus at her with an intent of putting her through one of the school walls. Tightening his fists, Jiro growls and he winds his right fist back when she attempts to shoot him in the eye, "SEI!"
He presses forward, only turning his head over to have the blast strike the side of the face while the fist thrusts out towards her stomach, "DO!"
-OOC: Insert pose of Elle doing Depeche Mode here. Due to the constraints of time, the pose never actually got done. :)-
COMBATSYS: Jiro fails to interrupt Depeche Mode from Elle with Heaven's Diminisher.
[ \\\ <
Elle 0/-------/-------|
COMBATSYS: Jiro can no longer fight.
[ \\\ <
Elle 0/-------/-------|
After giving the woman a vicious punch in the damn gut, the Stray Dog narrows his eyes at the woman. "You bastards attacked Hotaru, so..." His foot glimmers with the flames that ignites within his fury. "I'll just return the...."
There is a residing pain on his side, especially as he can feel the conditioning getting worse. He grits his teeth with an annoyed look on his face, the sweating becoming more apparent.
~ ****... Not now----okay, I got this. Just keep my chi to keep me steady for a bit longer! ~
Jiro launches out towards Elle as she prepares the charging energy, but he is promptly caught within the blast and he's sent flying towards the ground. "...****..." Unable to continue, with the raw power taking it's toll, Jiro falls on his knees, then on his face.
~ Meet with you later, eh...? I may as well... punching you in the face is ideal. ~
Well, Elle isn't going to walk away from this without some amount of pain. Nevertheless, her final attack hits like an electrical maelstrom, barbecuing Jiro into a burnt crisp. Mission complete, as far as she's concerned. While Jiro is a powerful fighter, he's probably one of the stupider ones she's faced. Fighting on raw emotion works in bad anime. Not as much when you're facing down two people that have made dishing out misery into a profession.
She turns around. No time to think about this now. Her hand grabs the fallen Marise like a sack of potatoes, tossing her over her shoulder. Weakened as she is and low on energy, Elle is forced to run through the front gate. Heavy boots slam against the grounds of Seijyun as she tries to avoid the guards.
Money in the bank. Now, to get the samples to NESTS.
Log created on 18:20:50 05/13/2007 by Hotaru, and last modified on 23:51:29 05/14/2007.