Description: ... or is it? After receiving Kentou's warning, Mizuki finds Kimi for this climactic confrontation... that doesn't go at all how Mizuki imagined it would. Is it satisfactory? In some ways...
It's been a little while since Mizuki had last seen Kimi, though it was likely on purpose. The ninja had been doing her own thing obviously and she had a feeling, an inkling that today would be the day that the miko finally comes looking for her.
She isn't going to make herself difficult to find either with the way she exhudes her presence. It's hard to say how long the girl had been standing around, but she apparently had chosen to hang around in the forest all day, in an environment that's rather fitting for both fighters. Is it still classtime? Well after classes? It didn't really matter, she would wait.
The branches of most trees are void of leaves, and there's a heavy blanket of snow along the once grassy grounds. The sky is as cloudy as ever making it difficult to tell what time it is without a watch, and the sound of the wind howling is only amplified by how close the trees are togeather. Clad in her usual garb and sitting atop one of the naked branches, Kimi currently passes the time filing her nails, one leg crossed over the other and .. Not very certain what to expect of her 'rival' of sorts. She only hopes she won't be disappointed.
Mizuki has been hunting for Kimi. Actively. Ever since she left Kentou at the Shrine... of course, she got her affairs in order first--called her teachers, let them know she wouldn't be in today. And then she geared up. She's wearing her miko outfit, of course--for a battle like this one must be dressed traditionally. But instead of the gohei she's wielding her black baton, the weapon bequeathed to her as a 'master', if fledgling, of the Kamigawa school of kobujutsu.
And, like she thought... Kimi wasn't making her presence hard to find. Mizuki walks into the clearing, knowing already that she'll find her opposite number here... and as she raises her voice, Kimi might be surprised to hear that there is a clear note of... anger. A thread of heat that is laced through her voice as she raises it--something she never does.
"KIMI!" she shouts, her voice echoing somewhat in the depths of the winter-denuded forest, even as her footsteps crunch softly in the new snow. The setting sun burns deep orange, as Mizuki comes upon her opponent.. her enemy.
Well that's good, Kentou obviously found Mizuki! Her eyebrows quirk slightly to the call of her name and .. That's more or less the tone she would have wanted for the first time her name would be called out. She isn't entirely visible upon approach until she leans back and peers from behind the tree and down to the miko. While the other is dressed up, she's still in her schoolgirl garb herself, with that same delighted smile she usually struts about with. "Mizuzu!!"
She leans backward and flips off of the branch, one hand pushing at her skirt to keep somewhat modest, the other tucks her nail file behind her. "Well goodness, you don't look to be in a very good mood today.. Perhaps you'd like to talk about it? Or settle things in another manner?" <3
Kimi doesn't know Mizuki very well, it's apparent. But if she did she might be surprised to see the look in the miko's eyes, as she meets Kimi's gaze head-on. Her blue eyes are practically alight; that core of gentle emotion is gone, stripped away--*burned* away--by the molten core of her resolve. Reaching to her waist, she draws her baton... her grip so tight her knuckles are white.
"You attacked Frei-san... you've attacked Kentou-kun. I didn't want things to come to this, between us... but you've forced my hand." Resolve fills her tone--but regret, as well. The same regret that Kimi heard the last time the two met.
"I know you've been looking for me. Trying to draw me out. You assaulted Kentou-kun and told him to find me." Her arms open wide, her stance equally open. "Well," she says, softly...
"Here I am."
Kimi doesn't know Mizuki as well as she may think, no, but she's not so flighty that she doesn't know that the miko has gotten incredibly serious either. There's a bit of a chill that races up her spine, and to be honest, the ninja rather enjoys it- Luckily it's well hidden behind the peachy smile of hers. She nods her head to each name fired off, of course not even denying the deeds that were done and once it ends she stands there a moment.
And a moment longer.
With that usual somewhat awkward pause she always uses.
And Kimi's smile vanishes immiedietly, her own eyes not blazing with anything, but emitting a cold, hard stare instead. "And I suppose you blame me for that, do you? I haven't forced your hand any worse than you've forced mine, Mizuzu. This moment, this very moment we are having now, /this/ is what I wanted the first time we met, it was utterly humilating wasting my skills for something as useless as wrecking some kids leg; I am an assassin not a damn babysitter!"
Kimi raises her gloves hand to her hair, and flips back a lock. "Do you understand now? This is the kind of moments we live for, that we were born for. Not wasting time playing nurse at some dead end job with a bunch of nobodys you call 'friends'! How the hell do you even face yourself in the morning, Mizuzu? Answer me that one question? Don't you feel like a fool every day?"
Mizuki may never understand Kimi--so alike and yet so different. She meets that cold, hard stare and for once, her eyes are just as hard. It's disheartening to hear Kimi's rationalizations. She can't--or won't--take responsibility for her own actions, that much is clear. It twists something inside Mizuki; like a physical pain, it is, so intense.
"The only reason I'm here, Kimi, is to stop you from assaulting my friends, my cowokers, and my colleagues. Do you think I really cared about this feud between our families? Is that all you've been brought up for?"
A shake of her head, quick and angry. "I do blame you, Kimi, for this. For attacking Kentou. For injuring his leg." He'll be okay, thank god, in no small part to Mizuki's abilities.
"But I also blame your parents. Your elders. For using and abusing you. I won't ever hate you, Kimi, because I know you're not really in control of yourself..." But what if she is? Mizuki will deal with that later.
"But I know you want to fight me. So... let's fight. If I win..." She trails off. "Then the stakes are the same if I lose. My life in your hands, your life in mine, the way it's been for decades between our families." Such a tragic way, a way of bloodshed and pain.
"WHAT??" Kimi is forced to jerk back slightly. She apparently honestly thought that at this point Mizuki really 'got it', Mizuki's meaning of her fight was barely even close. The assassin lowers her head slightly, a dark shadow formed by her bangs over her eyes. Well, if at least if anything was correct, it was the terms, but she couldn't push away the disgust she was feeling all of a sudden.
"Mizuzu.. You make me sick, you know that? Fine, I accept that you 'blame' me, but you should also realize that it was me that had gotten you to this point overall. What you're feeling right now, that surge of power, the desire to end things swiftly, only in a fight like this could you obtain that. Even if /say/ it's for your so-called friends.. The state you're in doesn't even belong to them. It belongs to /us/."
Her head raises once more, the light reflecting in her eyes in such a way that they seem to glow, and she slides one foot back, both hands brought to her sides with her fingers splayed. "You'll see. In this fight everything will become clear, you'll understand what you truly are and where your clans feelings should truly lay, and maybe.. Just /maybe/ I will spare you. In the end."
COMBATSYS: Kimi has started a fight here.
[\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\ <
Kimi 0/-------/-------|
COMBATSYS: Mizuki has joined the fight here.
[\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\ < > //////////////////////////////]
Mizuki 0/-------/-------|-------\-------\0 Kimi
COMBATSYS: Kimi takes no action.
[\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\ < > //////////////////////////////]
Mizuki 0/-------/-------|-------\-------\0 Kimi
"I make you sick... I guess I'll have to live with that." Mizuki shakes her head. "But you're wrong about what I'm feeling, Kimi. I don't -want- to feel like this... not when I'm fighting, or when I'm not fighting. You're -wrong- about me. This isn't who I am or who I want to be."
She assumes her stance, her weapon held against her right forearm, leading with her left leg... body turned to the side towards Kimi. And then...
... and then she releases her weapon, unlooping the retaining strap from her wrist and driving the weapon into the snowy ground, tip first.
Her head raises, and that intensity in her eyes is tempered now. "I know who I am, right now. And I know who I want to be. Maybe someday you will know who you want to be, Kimi... and you won't be the pawn of your elders."
Of course, who Kimi wants to be could still want to hurt and maim people... Mizuki -does- trust a bit too much in people...
... now the fight is on and she races across the distance, her feet hitting the snowy ground about ten yards out from Kimi; she crouches, then leaps, drawing her legs in... and snapping the ball of her right foot out in a classic flying kick for Kimi's forehead.
COMBATSYS: Kimi dodges Mizuki's Medium Strike.
[\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\ < > //////////////////////////////]
Mizuki 0/-------/-------|-------\-------\0 Kimi
Kimi snickers lightly, though it's a rather breathless one as she continues to shake her head. "That is why I hate you the most, of course. You still think I'm some sort of charity case. This isn't a cry for help, Mizuzu!" Her stance barely moves as Mizuki starts the fight, looking to strike her with a well executed kick. But once the miko is close enough, Kimi shifts barely to the left to allow the girl to pass by.
The footprints of where she was standing show no sign of dragging her feet.
And then she's moving swiftly, dropping to the ground in a push-ups position while her legs snap out to scissor at Kimi's ankles, then finally twist and send her falling onto her back. "You and that damn monk.. Both of you. Fools. Traitors.. /Cowards/!! I'd rather be a pawn than any of those so you can keep your damn sympathy.." The air above them grows colder, and a large boulder off ice drops from the sky, threatening to slam down onto Mizuki and shatter upon impact.
COMBATSYS: Mizuki dodges Kimi's Frostbite.
[\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\ < > //////////////////////////// ]
Mizuki 0/-------/-------|-------\-------\0 Kimi
No holding back, this time. No attempts to reason with her. Mizuki is going to have to fight her hardest to get this fight done with. Whooshing past Kimi's body, Mizuki twists, landing in a deep three-point stance as she slides past Kimi before she can stop herself. But that slide is also what saves her, with just enough momentum to make that boulder of ice energy miss, shattering down between Kimi and herself.
Lunging forward, Mizuki comes up into a lunging roundhouse kick, snapping her right leg out for her opponent's midsection; it's a speed move, but perhaps enough to make Kimi reconsider this fight... no, not really, but it's a nice thought. Mizuki's lunge is enough to make her extend just the tiniest bit more, her sandaled foot seeking Kimi's ribs.
"You're crazy," she gasps, as she extends for the kick. "Don't you want to be free to choose your own path..?"
COMBATSYS: Kimi blocks Mizuki's Kouryuu no Shippo.
[ \\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\ < > /////////////////////////// ]
Mizuki 0/-------/-------|-------\-------\0 Kimi
Kimi is standing during the aftermath of the shattering and dissipating energy, her eyes locked on her opponent. She had to admit, it was unexpected Mizuki would be able to slip from her technique! Her stance tightens as the miko counter-attacks with the flying roundhouse kick, and she slips backward again, this time whipping her gloved hand to meet the heel of the others foot and brush it upward as she slips low and ends up behind her opponent. "What I have is a sense of duty. When my work is complete maybe then I'll look toward something else.."
And then the assassin grins widly. "Poor Kimi! Not a friend in the world, stuck in a life of tradition! If you want me to be free so bad, then how about you let me wipe out each and every last member of your clan!!" the ninja darts forward, a brief blur and she snaps quickly back with a backflip kick aimed under Mizuki's chin. If she can do that, it'd knock the girl into the air, allowing Kimi to then leap upward a second time, capture the miko by the neck with her ankles and frankenstein her back down onto the ground. "Once everyone is dead, then I can have that 'oh so great' life you have, fool! What do you say, huh? Do it for poor ol' Kimi!"
COMBATSYS: Mizuki dodges Kimi's Combo Grapple.
[ \\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\ < > /////////////////////////// ]
Mizuki 0/-------/-------|-------\-------\0 Kimi
Whoop; the impact was there, but Mizuki felt that it wasn't quite right... and though she overextended herself on the kick, she's somehow able to pull her center of gravity back and -lean-... the backflip kick missing, but only by inches. Overbalanced again, Mizuki turns that lean into a full backflip, going head over heels once, somehow, despite the heavy hakama pants. Quite the feat, that.
"You're crazy!" she repeats, a little more incredulously this time. "Do you even know -why- you want to kill me? Do you think it'll grant you some sort of peace with your family?" Coming upright, Mizuki solidifies her stance, icy eneryg flaring around her feet, licking up in a coruscating circle.
"You've got immense skill... immense power... why are you wasting it like this?" She knows her words aren't going to get through... Kimi's just been indoctrinated too well. Finally, Mizuki sighs.
"I wish... No, nevermind. Let's just finish this fight," she says, firmly.
COMBATSYS: Mizuki gathers her will.
[ \\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\ < > /////////////////////////// ]
Mizuki 0/-------/---====|-------\-------\0 Kimi
"Nngh!" Utters Kimi, stance wobbly a moment. Mizuki had certainly vastly improved compared to last time, it's enough to really get her blood pumping! Now if only she could find out if she'd be as satisfied with Mizuki's offense as well as her defense. She brushes off her knees, but doesn't seem to be too upset with being called crazy again, even if there is clearly more emotion behind it.
Though she does faulter. It's a very brief faulter, but when questioned if she knows why she wan't to kill Mizuki, her teeth grit slightly. But she immedietly look upset again. "Shut up! I don't care!"
So now they're more or less on the same page. Just to work to the miserable end. Kimi, undeterred by the energy, closes in on Mizuki and reaches out to grasp the miko's wrist. She then twists under the arm like a blur, and assuming she had even gotten that hold, taps her tip toe against Mizuki's to make the other girl flip forward violently and crash onto her back.
COMBATSYS: Mizuki blocks Kimi's Quick Throw.
[ \\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\ < > /////////////////////////// ]
Mizuki 0/-------/-======|=------\-------\0 Kimi
So she really doesn't know -why- she's doing this... maybe there's hope after all. "You don't care about what? About why you're doing this? Do you think they'll reward you for beating me?" With her feet rooted, contact with the earth necessary for the drawing of powers, Mizuki doesn't move as Kimi grabs her wrist--but when Kimi goes to make Mizuki flip, the miko springs forward.
Oh, she flips alright--but instead of landing on her face she performs a nice tuck and roll, springing up a moment later to throw herself at the ninja again. Even though she knows the time for words is past--that words won't fix what's wrong between Kimi and herself--she can't help but continue.
"You're... going to regret doing this..." she gasps, as she reaches out, attempting to grab one of Kimi's wrists in turn. But the goal isn't to throw her--no, the goal is to open the ninja's defenses for a series of palm strikes to her torso.
COMBATSYS: Mizuki successfully hits Kimi with Medium Strike.
[ \\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\ < > //////////////////////// ]
Mizuki 0/-------/-======|===----\-------\0 Kimi
Kimi's eyes again for a split second wander away form her opponent.. Upward, to be exact, as if thinking about something. Though she isn't so distracted she doesn't see Mizuki coming toward her. The only thing she knows is that now, she wants to hurt Mizuki as much as possible. The miko manages to get past the ninjas defenses or lack therof after the opening is created and the series of palm strikes land true as a result.
Kimi stumbles back, clearly in a bit of pain, yet she doesn't slow down the slightest. When she counter attacks, she reaches both hands forward, one hand to try and cup Mizukis chin and the other at the back of her head. She would twist at the neck violently in one direction, then twist in the other in such a way that would have the miko twirling in the air briefly.
If it were somehow possible, the narrow slits of her eyes have grown even colder than before.
COMBATSYS: Mizuki interrupts Medium Throw from Kimi with Koori no Hebi.
[ \\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\ < > ////////////////// ]
Mizuki 0/-------/=======|=======\-------\0 Kimi
Whee! ... okay, that's not the -first- thing to come to Mizuki's mind. The first thing to come to mind is -ow-, as her neck is wrenched painfully. But she's keeping her composure--and thinking hard--and when Kimi moves, she's ready. Not to defend, persay--but to counterattack. Kimi gets that grip, for sure--and the violent twists are a rather unique pain. It's a surprise her neck didn't just snap under that torque.
Thankfully, it didn't--and perhaps Kimi won't get the full twist that second time, as Mizuki suddenly summons a rush of energy to her hands. The gesture is aborted, mostly due to Kimi's attack, but the rush of icy chi that flares over Kimi is undeniable--hopefully flinging her away and giving Mizuki a chance to recover, as she lands in a heap before she can right herself.
Where Kimi's eyes are cold and hard, Mizuki's are warm--nay, hot--with passionate resolve.
Kimi isn't really all that suprised.. As much trash as she talks, she knows that Mizuki is resilient enough to at least survive attacks that would otherwise kill a lesser person. In some ways, it makes the match more interesting. But in her current state, it gradually pushes her to raise the bar.
But as she's blasted by the icy, flashy chi, she is astonished by how much the girls strength had increased. She simply cannot fathom how the miko thinks it's 'a waste' to not be able to go all out. She thinks that only until the she hits the ground and tumbles in the snow, in which she springs back to her feet feeling slightly shaky... And cringing as she breaks into a sweat.
"Th- this is .. Great.." she gasps as she claps her hands togeather and a deep blue aura, almost like a fire of sorts, seeps from her body. "This is the.. The best!"
COMBATSYS: Kimi focuses on her next action.
[ \\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\ < > ////////////////// ]
Mizuki 0/-------/=======|=======\-------\0 Kimi
It isn't really 'going all out' that Mizuki doesn't like. But the concept of literally fighting to the death--the desire to actually kill someone else, to destroy them utterly... that she doesn't like. She's seen it before, in Dante, and she didn't understand it then. She doesn't understand it now. Even now, this burning passion of hers isn't to destroy Kimi...
... it's to stop her. And, maybe, to save her. But first things first. The girl is disturbed... very few people actually like pain. It's supposed to be a negative motivator, not a positive one. Distraction... distraction... something to distract her, that's what Mizuki needs. Reaching down, she scoops up a smooth stone... and pitches it for Kimi. Not aiming for the head, but for the body--wanting to knock the breath from her without getting too close. That blue aura looks dangerous after all.
COMBATSYS: Kimi interrupts Thrown Object from Mizuki with Quick Kick.
-* CRITICAL HIT! *-
[ \\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\ < > ///////////////// ]
Mizuki 1/-------/=======|=======\-------\1 Kimi
Kimi's concentration isn't broken, as far as she's concerned she's still completely got her wits togeather. Though it also happens to be the only way she can continue to push herself. Mizuki's words, they aren't as easily shrugged off as she had hoped, and she simply can't deal with that. Clearly she has to make Mizuki 'go away' at this point. She can't let herself become a fool!
As the stone is whipped her way, Kimi is rushing forward with a trail of afterimages, twists and snaps a high kick to smash the thing into dust. She continues to rocket forward, twirling in the air so that her opposite foot darts forward and slams right into Mizuki's throat.. Or perhaps not at as vital a spot of the miko is close enough. "Hnn!"
"UNH--" That sound is followed by a great deal of coughing as Mizuki's throat is struck by a flying kick. She goes down; her balance disrupted, she falls to her back, hands at her throat. Rasping breaths are taken, finally culminating in a great big throat-clearing rasp of an intake. Kimi's done at least one thing--she's shut Mizuki up, for now. But that strike to her throat.. that was serious.
Now then. She'll deal with the injury later. Closing her eyes, she concentrates a moment before opening them again... focusing her attention on Kimi. From where she stood up, she stands solid... and waits, her blue eyes on Kimi's form. Waiting... and watching.
COMBATSYS: Mizuki focuses on her next action.
[ \\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\ < > ///////////////// ]
Mizuki 1/-------/=======|=======\-------\1 Kimi
Right then, so far so good. And with Mizuki taking a moment to regroup that makes things a little better for the ninja as well, she needs to take any opening possible to break down every last part of her opponents defenses. Still, she's suprised that Mizuki is closing her eyes at such an intense moment.
The afterimages still following, Kimi continues her assault, this time her fingers curl into claws and she thrusts her palms forward to sink the nails of her pointer and middle fingers just above the sockets of her opponents eyes. Assuming she gets that hold, she puts intense pressure onto the girls eyes, then rakes her fingernails downward, cups the back of Mizuki's head with the other with the intent of slamming her face first into the snowy floor below them.
COMBATSYS: Kimi successfully hits Mizuki with Cold Cruel World.
[ \\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\ < > //////////////// ]
Mizuki 1/----===/=======|=======\-------\1 Kimi
A shriek. That's the only response from Mizuki, as the fingers rake down her face, and then she's driven into the snowy ground face-first. Her head bounces once, and then she's rolling away. The briefest twist of her head saved her eyes from being raked open... but her face is still raked and bloodied. She doesn't have attacks like that... she doesn't aim to blind, or to incapacitate... or to cause injury.
But she's thinking about it, for sure. Slightly blinded, she gropes about... her hands finding purchase on a large, fallen treebranch, she lets out a wordless shriek/roar and lifts it up, swinging the branch in a wide circle around her to try and force Kimi -back-...
COMBATSYS: Kimi fails to counter Random Weapon from Mizuki with Frigid Persephone.
[ \\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\ < > ////////// ]
Mizuki 1/---====/=======|=======\===----\1 Kimi
There's no satisfied smile that follows, like a machine Kimi just continues to work, to do what she's trained for many years to perfect- Sure she's not yet at the point of perfection, but everyone needs to have a goal of some sort, right? Briefly blinded, briefly unable to speak, now what's left is the arms and legs. And with Mizuki reaching about for a weapon, the arms are looking like a very good idea. The branch swung, Kimi's hand snaps out with the intent of perhaps catching the weapon, but she doesn't quite make it, the thick weapon slugs the ninja but good across the face with enough force to knock her a little off her feet and fly to the side, then crash into the snow which shoots up a large cloud of white in the process. Yet even in that cloud her stare can be felt while she gets to her feet, holding the side of her bruised face.
Mizuki lifts the sleeve of her robe to her face, wiping it clean. The expression on her face shows not a bit of pleasure at having made Kimi miss her catch. Her breathing is heavy and hard, this 'match' being not only exertion-heavy but also just -stressful-... and she finds herself walking forward, stalking towards where Kimi is laying in the snow... and now standing.
"I'm sorry," she says, quietly... and she waits for Kimi to get to her feet before attempting to deliver the coup de grace. Taking a step forward, she suddenly lunges, her hands flattened, glowing blue-green with energy. And then she's lashing out, chopping at Kimi's torso again and again with her bare hands, swinging her hands back and forth... ending, perhaps, with a backhanded uppercut chop...
COMBATSYS: Kimi counters Kouryuu no Renda from Mizuki with Ebon Mirror.
- Power hit! -
[ \\\\\\\\ < > ////////// ]
Mizuki 1/=======/=======|===----\-------\0 Kimi
"... I'm not."
Kimi has faith in her ability as a fighter, she knows even with Mizuki's amazing power, she's no killer. She's no assassin. Showing any kind of remorse is going to lead to one thing. Further pain.
She looks beaten up and hurt, but she doesn't look like she's falling appart, especially when the glowing energy is responded with a glow of her own, though this time it's about the palm of her gloved hand. The instant the chop hits her palm, Mizuki is completely enveloped in icy chi, the narrow slits of Kimi's eyes widening just a tad.
The energy then explodes violently, completely rattling the oppononents nerves, and she's suddenly enveloped in a second casing of chi. This is followed with another nerve numbing explosion finalized only with a third, the pile of shattered pieces piled on the floor and then dissipating in a snowflake-like manner.
And she turns her back to the miko, fingers splayed at her sides again. "Shut up and fight. Or run. Either way your life is forfeit."
So she's not. Excellent. Really. Mizuki -shrieks- as she's flooded with chi, the energy flaring around her, crumpling her meager defenses. She's shocked, pained... she has to pull away, as best as she can. She stumbles, then falls... the cold of the snow less than the cold of that icy chi. To have such a similar power poured into her...
... Mizuki rises to her feet... and her own chi builds. It builds and grows, almost tangibly, above her... and then it breaks, into a bluish-green energy that literally spills over her, splashing down like a waterfall, fading out of existence a mere few inches from the ground.
"Then come for me," she says, sounding... serene, calm. As if her life isn't on the line, even though it is.
Kimi absolutly does not think of Mizuki as a pushover anymore at least that much is for certain. She's truly amazing, to take all that Kimi has dished out, and still be able to fight. The ninja's heart is pounding now, with not much clue where to go from this point, she's survived so much!
Though it's not that difficult to decide, she simply has to render the miko unable to fight. The sweating of the girl is getting more intense.. The arms, she needs to do something about the arms. The ninja rushes forward, hoping that she'll get the opportunity to take hold of Mizuki's right wrist again, so she can twist under it and force the girl to lean forward. But instead of attempting to make it a flip, this time her foot snaps upward, to drive the toes of her shoes into the mikos armpit, followed by second kick that passes the shoulder only so that she can drive her heel down upon it.
COMBATSYS: Mizuki successfully hits Mizuki with Iki no Nagare.
[ \\\\\\\\\\\\\\ < > ////////// ]
Mizuki 0/-------/-======|===----\-------\0 Kimi
COMBATSYS: Kimi successfully hits Mizuki with Medium Kick.
[ \\\\\\\\\\ < > ////////// ]
Mizuki 1/-------/=======|====---\-------\0 Kimi
The energy pours through Mizuki's body, soothing and healing injuries and hurts; the scratches on her face fade away quite nicely and she's left looking pretty much the same as she would normally... of course, no burst of energy can heal things completely. She's still tired and worn out... and so when she tries to avoid the grasp, she fails--and gets kicked twice.
That arm goes limp, and Mizuki grimaces, as she attempts to bring her own legs to bear--in a surprisingly violent manuever for Mizuki, she attempts to sweep Kimi's legs with one stroke of her right leg and, should that happen, she'll swing a low reverse roundhouse into Kimi's body. Of course, Kimi has proven quite fast, here and there...
COMBATSYS: Kimi interrupts Medium Strike from Mizuki with Ice Dragon Preening.
- Power hit! -
[ \\\\ < > /////// ]
Mizuki 1/---====/=======|=====--\-------\0 Kimi
Kimi's eyes flash again, she had expected Mizuki to slip away from the kicks somehow but it would appear despite healing with that mysterious energy of hers, it doesn't help with fatigue very much. The sweep is just.. Slow.
Despite her own condition she can see it well, all too well and the assassin drops to her back when the sweep connects. The reverse roundhouse, however, smacks into her body, but she grabs a firm hold on the ankle to freeze Mizuki in place. She kips of her shoulders, and with her pointer fingers extended, drives them through the ice to strike the joints at the miko's ankles, neck, hips, and finally the legs, and when the ice collapses, gives a small huff as she flips back her hair.
There was no doubt in her mind that Mizuki was finished. All that was left at this point was the final blow, and she reaches behind her to withdraw her sharp tipped nail file.
Not... yet. Mizuki's been defeated--she knows it as surely as she knows her own body. When her leg is caught, she just freezes--literally, in both senses. Somehow, though, she stays on her feet. And while she doesn't have the strength to complete the full manuever... she can at least try to die with honor. She staggers... power gathering in her hands, icy energy flaring along her arms...
It's a supreme act of will on Mizuki's part, as she snaps her arms out to her sides and just leaps straight up into the air, bright blue-white energy flaring into a spiraling helix as she attempts to carry Kimi up with her.
Perhaps she shouldn't--perhaps the fight is already over and she's just refusing to admit it. Perhaps she should simply let Kimi end her life... but she's simply too proud for that. And she actually -likes- life...
COMBATSYS: Mizuki can no longer fight.
[ \\\\\\\ <
Kimi 0/-------/--=====|
COMBATSYS: Kimi blocks Mizuki's Kouryuu no Ranbu.
[ \\\ <
Kimi 1/-------/=======|
Kimi wipes the sweat off of her brow with her un-armed hand, despite the cold temperature she was sweating bullets here. Never. Never did she expect a fight to come down to a point like this, physically she's just too worn out to even look suprised that Mizuki has failed to fall and lay there motionless. At least that is the case for a moment. "Unbelieveable..!"
The powerful, cool energy she can't get away from it unscathed, and she uses her own energy to try and just withstand it. So long as if, somehow, she could keep fighting, she'd be able to finish what she started. Barrled by the energy she's carried upward and then perhaps knocked away, but she manages to twist in the air and land on her feet, ready to spring forward a final time as she balls her hands togeather in front of her, the silverish weapon gleaming..
In a strange twist of fate, the ninja actually does not spring back, but instead slips on the snow instead of rebounding off of it, and it's all in slow motion from that point. Her eyes widen again as she falls forward, and then feels an intense, stinging pain in her chest after she collapses face first into the snow. And she doesn't move.
COMBATSYS: Kimi takes no action.
COMBATSYS: Kimi can no longer fight.
When Mizuki lands, she does so with a thump; it's not graceful, it's unceremonious. She... lost. She knows it... and yet... when she lands, she finds that she's not dead. But Kimi... A spitfire curse issues from Mizuki's mouth, the kind of brief, scorching language not fit for TV. And she crawls over to Kimi's body... rolling her over. Fearing the worst...
"Don't die," she mutters, softly at first, but more urgently as she pulls Kimi's body into her lap. "_Don't_ die!" she cries, as she, tired, on the edge of unconsciousness, worn out... summons her power, a final time... knowing that this will put her over the edge.
Knowing that it may fail. That she may die out here if her body doesn't rebound in time to wake her up. Or if it works and Kimi decides to take her prize, so to speak.
But she rips that blade out of Kimi's body... and sends a pulse of that healing chi into her.
Mizuki holds it as long as she can... until her vision starts blurring... then releases her hold on the energy... and on consciousness.
It's a rather humiliating end, no matter how one looks at it, unlike Mizuki, Kimi isn't afraid of death. And upon realizing, somehow, what exactly had happened, she feels she is better off this way.
Unfortunatly for her, Mizuki thinks otherwise, for whatever reason she uses the last of her strength to keep the ninja from letting herself go so easily.
It isn't a surgeons work after that, though, but its enough after what a good one? Two minutes? Kimi's eyes snap open, feeling freezing cold. She tightens and loosens her fingers. And then when her vision unblurs, the first thing she sees is the person she had made her target. It becomes all too clear what happened at that very moment.
".. Is there.. No end to.. Your foolishness?" the girl hisses, her entire body trembling.
Kimi's voice is enough to bring Mizuki back--human contact, even with Kimi... stimulates her mind and her senses. Her eyes pop open, and she replies in a voice that is equally trembly, from exhaustion and pain. "It's a draw," she replies, pushing herself up onto her hands as best as she can.
"It's a draw... so I can't let it end like that. That isn't what you want, is it...?" Mizuki looks at Kimi, for a long moment. Wondering if she made just a mistake or if it was a -colossal- mistake.
"Go. Get out of here. Don't assault my friends anymore. Do you understand me? Next time, Kimi, I may not be so willing to save your life..." Mizuki slides Kimi out of her lap, and begins to rise, however shakily it may be.
"And when you feel ready, we can have this match again... but I suggest not for a while. You want a strong opponent. You'll have one. But it will take me time."
The miko walks over to her baton, still ramrod straight in the ground, and yanks it out, her breath heaving. "I'll see you then... Kimi-chan."
Kimi doesn't make the slightest effort in getting herself back up, at least not at first. When pushed off of Mizuki's lap then, the ninja stares up at the sky, and raises her hand to cover the hole in her clothes. Was she satisfied? She honestly wasn't sure.
Eventually, though, she finds it in herself to sit up, clearly still in pain; but unsure if it's more emotional or physical. "What, do you expect me to say 'no'?" she asks, though it's more to herself than to the young miko. "Fine, I'll respect your wishes but with that.. That makes us even. Other than that, you're not the boss of me."
The already strong winds pick up even further that forms a massive cloud of snow dust. Kimi is lost within that cloud for but a brief moment. "I'll see you then.. Mizuki." And when that same cloud is gone, so is she.
Log created on 20:54:12 12/05/2007 by Mizuki, and last modified on 09:29:21 12/06/2007.