Description: Following a cultural demonstration of Shinto religion at the YFCC, Mizuki Kamigawa is preyed upon by Ayame, for reasons Mizuki doesn't quite understand... and, thankfully, Alma arrives in time to save the day.
For once, one of the larger rooms at the YFCC... is quiet. Relatively so, anyways. The last few people are trailing out; not that there wre a -lot- to begin with... but there were some. In fact, as the last two ten-year-olds filter out the door, Kamigawa Mizuki is the only one left in the room, kneeling for a moment and catching her breath.
"Phew," she murmurs, to herself, as she then rises, going about gathering up various items--of course the stone Buddha will have to be moved by a crew, but the other implements, some valuable, some not, are stowed, carefully, in a large duffel bag. Sometimes it's good to have some culture, instead of just fighting, and so Mizuki just held an impromptu ceremony to bless the YFCC. Decently attended, of course... and now she's got to clean up.
Which is not a big deal, as most of the things in the room are hers. The stone Buddha is actually a donation; after a time it might even be displayed in the front room of the YFCC. But for now, it shall go to storage, once the crew gets here... it's obvious, even to those who aren't very religious, that Mizuki is not just playing at being a miko--she is, in fact, the real thing.
Left alone to clean up after the ceremony, Mizuki has a chance to enjoy a moment of piece and quiet. A break from fighting and a sanctuary from the busy city life outside of the popular youth center is likely a welcome change. But like so many things in life, it isn't allowed to last for too long before someone else interfers, be it by accident or deliberate.
The first indication that the Shinto priestess isn't alone comes when the door to the room finishes closing with a click. A glance would reveal no one near the exit. The second sign of company would come in the form of the small metal throwing knife that stabs into the wall just above the red-head while she is bending down to pick up one of the necessary components of her ceremony. Landing with a thud, it vibrates there for a moment before becoming still, clearly thrown with enough force to wedge itself in tightly.
The third indication is the female voice coming from the bleachers, "Why hello there." For it is there that where Ayame is now seated, legs crossed at her knees, left hand resting atop her knee, her right hand balancing a second throwing knife by the point on the tip of her finger. Though her expression bears a smile there's nothing amicable about the punkish looking long haired teen.
"Don't make a fuss and yell. The nearest in every direction as I walked in were all little kids, and the first one that comes through that door to answer your call for help gets a knife between the eyes. I'm sure you don't want to be responsible for that." Her smile widens a little as she speaks. "It's better for everyone else if we don't get interrupted."
The miko's first inclination is to smile; surely it's one of her students, or another child, who wants to ask her a question. And so it is her smiling face that Ayame might first greet, as she sets her bag down. "I'm sorry, the demonstration is over but--" The words come out before she looks up... or before she hears the thunking of the knife. Her head twists--swivels, really, sharply--and then swivels towards the source of the voice, and the knife.
"I'm... sorry," she says--trying to sound calm, though there's a definite quaver to her voice... fear? In a way, yes. She takes a deep breath. And she sees the knife. Her blue eyes look at the smiling (and yes, she knows that smiling is just another way of baring her teeth) Ayame, and she seems almost resigned. "I guess... you probably have something violent in mind," she says, dryly.
"What do you want? And why me, here? I don't recognize you..." Then again, there's no reason why she should, hmm? Ayame does have that penchant for disguising herself...
Ayame could, without even having to pause to think, rattle off the Four Affirmations of Shinto, list the dates and purposes of seasonal celebrations unique to the belief system, and even quote at length from several of the texts held sacred in the religion. But there is a stark difference between knowing something and actually having a faith in it and that difference is as unmistakeable as night and day.
Still balancing the second knife on the tip of her finger, Ayame's focus never leaves Mizuki. "Ooooh..., that remains to be seen," the girl remarks in response to violent intent. "It's too bad I missed the demonstration. I always do like watching fraud in action. It's fun to see how many people buy into it. Wave a stick around and call some folded paper holy and it's remarkable what kind of reaction you'll get."
The wicked teen rolls her eyes and shrugs her shoulder, pushing the dagger up into the air and catching it by the handle on its descent back down. "But it's only fair that you get some answers. What I want is to satisfy my curiosity. Why you is because I'm curious to find out if you're aware that you're a con or if you are one of the self-deluded types. Here, because it's convenient to me."
She leans her head to the side slightly, "So tell me. Do you believe all that religious, or are you just putting on a good show?" Throwing knife in hand, the girl pushes herself up to her feet, regarding Mizuki intently, her smile having faded some, replaced with only an unpleasant, faint grin.
Words that are calculated to incense. To prickle. To injure. Mizuki slowly forgets her fear, as Ayame's words register upon her ears. Is the knife-wielding girl calling her a fraud? Or is she intimating that all religion is a fraud? Mizuki, too, could quote from all these texts... but she would definitely agree that belief and faith are what separate the fakers from the real thing.
Her answer, when it comes, is fully laced with the strength of heart and faith that are core to Mizuki's being. "I believe," she says, simply, "that religion, properly applied, can be as good a salve for the human soul as any modern medicine can be for the human body. That people need something to believe in..."
Her back straightens, and her expression firms, becomes more resolute. "... and I believe that it's time for you to leave. Now."
As Mizuki answers, Ayame shakes her head, tsking her tongue once. "I see. Just as I suspected. I figured you were too convincing to be just faking." Her left hand comes to rest at her hip as she tosses her long hair back over her shoulder with a practiced shake of her head.
"So you think you know something special; think that people are so weak that they need some belief to rest their problems on, to prop them up because they can't make it on their own." She shakes her head, pointing at herself her right thumb, her fingers still wrapped around the throwing knife. "Well, that makes me sick. You tell people nothing but myths and half-truths, and everyone loves you for it. I do the same and I get nothing but hate." Her hand lowers and the girl turns a shoulder toward Mizuki, seeming to prepare herself for something.
"Sucks to be you that I happened across this place at a time like this. So much for the protection of the kami, eh? Good fortune and all that... or maybe fortune is on my side? Hah. I was kind of bored, I suppose..." There is a shift in her expression then, a small, subtle twitch as she switches from verbal antagonist to something more dangerous. "I hope your upbringing included any kind of training in defending yourself, or else this is going to be way too easy for me."
There's no one's day she enjoys ruining more than the deluded religious sort. Suckers, all of them. And here and now she has the chance to do just that to one of their ilk. Teeth gritting, Ayame sprints forward, her speed impressive. "Let's see if we can make your top match your hakama, ne?" is the last warning that comes before the horizontal slash just above the waist with the small blade in her hand.
COMBATSYS: Ayame has started a fight here.
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Ayame 0/-------/-------|
COMBATSYS: Mizuki has joined the fight here.
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Mizuki 0/-------/-------|-------\-------\0 Ayame
COMBATSYS: Ayame successfully hits Mizuki with Quick Strike.
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Mizuki 0/-------/-----==|-------\-------\0 Ayame
"I'm sorry you... you're hated. But that doesn't mean you have to hate in ret--AAAAAAAAAH!" Well. This top, at least, will match the red, as the strike with the blade slashed out and struck Mizuki in the shoulder. A spray of red blood flashes upward, splattering the wall, and the miko staggers back.
"You... you're a miko too? You've been trained," she gasps, as she struggles to master her pain long enough to mount a counterattack. Mizuki despairs a little... is this, too, something she's long been proud of, also something to be hated for?
Her shoulder still works; she masters her pain now, biting down on it, and advances forward, attempting to snap a knee into Ayame's gut. "You shouldn't hate anyone...!"
COMBATSYS: Mizuki successfully hits Ayame with Light Kick.
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Mizuki 0/-------/----===|===----\-------\0 Ayame
Ayame takes a step back after delivering her slash with the knife, having had the satisfaction of drawing some blood on the girl already. "Say, it matches your hair too," comes the charming observation before Mizuki speaks of her assailant's background.
At first Ayame looks surprised at the priestess picking up on a piece of her past. "I- no." Her eyes narrow and she shakes her head firmly, "Nothing of the sort." she insists, mouth curling into a frown, the accusation bringing memories of a home she left behind into her thoughts. Distracted, perhaps, she gets struck hard with the kick to her stomach, the girl gasping, exhaling as she stumbles back, her left hand coming to rest against her stomach.
"Feh, you make it sound like there's no one you don't like either. Either you're just that clueless, or you're trying to pass off another lie. I'm not like all the fools you trick with your innocence act. No one is like that. Not on the inside!"
When she lunges forward next, it's shoulder first, trying to stagger Mizuki's stance before swinging out with her foot for her stomach hard, trying to drive the other girl's back up against the Buddah statue.
COMBATSYS: Ayame successfully hits Mizuki with Light Kick.
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Mizuki 0/-------/--=====|===----\-------\0 Ayame
The girl doth protest too much. But Mizuki suddenly doesn't have time for that; she grunts as she's shouldered, then kicked right into the stone statue. Fortunately, it's resilient--more resilient than Mizuki herself, who cries out as she's bent backwards by the force. "...then why are you doing this?" she finally gasps, as she forces her body to move. She can already tell that 'playing' dead just isn't going to work. However...
Mizuki moves around the statue, frowning... knowing that the walls are soundproofed because, otherwise the sounds of people fighting and practicing would be overwhelming. No one is coming to save her, not this time.
Mizuki takes about three big steps back... and then sets her stance, a modified low horse stance. Normally, she'd assume her prayer position... but that might just make Ayame madder. Then, she concentrates--energy spiraling up from around her, blue-silver chi that swirls in a writhing aura from ground to waist, limning her body in silvery light.
COMBATSYS: Mizuki gathers her will.
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Mizuki 1/------=/=======|===----\-------\0 Ayame
As Mizuki pulls herself around the statue Ayame doesn't give chase immediately, seeming to be quite enjoying the little game of cat and mouse. Toying with her victims isn't unusual when she thinks she has a solid edge in ability. "You've heard the saying - misery loves company." Her empty left hand comes up in a half shrug, cocking her head to the side a little, as if that's the reason she's willing to give for /now/.
But then the red-head stays put. Does she want Ayame to chase her more? The girl hns, becoming aware of a build up of energy centralized on the miko. "Ah... so you do have training," she states, sounding a little impressed. Chi manipulation to build one's own strength. "Good."
As she speaks her hands have been busy, her right hand pulling at a reel of wire thin cable that has a small loop on one end while her left hand fishes out a heavy, blunt weight from a pouch resting against her left hip. Clipping the weight onto the cable, Ayame begins to spin the meteor hammer over her head. "There's not really anywhere particularly safe, I'm afraid..."
And with that she whirls the weapon out for Mizuki, hurtling it around the statue to strike out for the side of the girl's head at range. She's quick to pull it back and spin around into a second swing from the oppposite side. The weight, while smile, is heavy and solid metal. It's not something pleasant to be struck by to say the least. From her range, Ayame seems content to just hang back, perfectly comfortable fighting with the rope like weapon.
COMBATSYS: Mizuki blocks Ayame's Power Fling.
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Mizuki 1/---====/=======|====---\-------\0 Ayame
Training. Yes. Mizuki has had 'some' training. She watches the spinning of the meteor hammer... and watches. Small but deadly. Probably kind of like Ayame herself. She doesn't reply to the barb about there being no safe place... she is too busy defending herself... putting crossed forearms where the weapon is sent. The meteor hammer rebounds, hard, making Mizuki wince with pain... but her chi flow doesn't shut off 'til she's done.
And then, despite the distance, she's lunging forward, snapping her hands out for Ayame's clothing... the goal being to grab her by the torso, right hand at the shoulder, left planted at the waist. Should Mizuki make that grab, she'll literally heavy Ayame overhead, whirling through a power slam, throwing her to the flooring... but instead of releasing her, she'll keep the grip until the landing, and thereafter will come a shock of icy chi, flaring across Ayame's grip.
COMBATSYS: Mizuki successfully hits Ayame with Hyouryuu no Gari EX.
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Mizuki 1/----===/=======|=====--\-------\0 Ayame
Pulling the heavy weapon back leaves a window of opportunity for Mizuki to slip in while the girl is busy control the momentum behind the weighted projectile. Whipping the meteor hammer back over her head, she's forced to move with it or risk losing her balance - a dilemma that becomes irrelevant as the better miko gives Ayame a chance to experience her chi techniques up front.
Her shirt grasped by Mizuki's hands, the girl tries to pull back and pry herself free, only to find that she lacks the traction to do much at all as she's pulled clean off her feet and slammed down to the floor on her back. The meteor hammer is left to continue on its route as the girl release it, the weight For a moment the girl simply blinks, wondering if that's all there's going to be to it, already starting to lift her shoulders off the floor to try and roll to the side. That's when she's introduced to the chilling chi the priestess can control. "-ah!" she gasps at first, before kicking to the side and finally rolling up to a crouch.
"So I guess it isn't just a fancy lightshow with you. Well then..." Mizuki asked if she had been a miko before, but thus far Ayame has fought her like a thug with a fancy ball and chain. Time to change that. Her left hand slips into the pouch at her hip and the girl pulls out a half-foot long metal tube that she grips tightly. Slowly Ayame rises back up to standing, twirling the small tube in her left hand. "You're not the only one that do stuff like that."
COMBATSYS: Ayame focuses on her next action.
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Mizuki 1/----===/=======|=====--\-------\0 Ayame
Well. It was a clean hit, though probably not as terrible as it could have been. Mizuki is thankful for the hit, however. Once the blast of energy chilled Ayame, Mizuki released her grip and rolled away... and then rises to her feet. "Fancy lightshow... yeah... I've heard it called that..." She shakes her head, content to let Ayame take her moment.
"I've heard what I can do called stupid... called demonic magic... all sorts of things," she replies, her voice quiet but firm. "But you know... I'm proud of what I can do. What I've trained to do. What I was -meant- to do." Ayame can sense chi, right? Well, she'll sense it building up around Mizuki, again... power flaring... but not offensively. No, chi will instead burst over her in a gentle, blue-green rain, a soothing, warm touch of power.
"And I'm not going to let what anyone thinks of me control my ability to realize my own potential anymore!"
The room is aglow with the blue-green energy raining down over Mizuki, offering her relief from the strikes she suffered thus far. "That's right," Ayame replies, her tone sounding like one of approval. "You have to use your power to carve your own path through life. That's the spirit. I knew you couldn't possibly be utterly selfless."
More build up? Ayame's sense of chi manipulation is remarkably refined, but this shift in the nature of energy around Mizuki has her puzzled for a moment. Perhaps some type of protective barrier? Or maybe it's a... ah ha. The girl figures it out a moment later. "Interesting technique... Did it come naturally or was it something you were taught?"
Her left hand extends, gripped tightly around the metal tube, holding it horizontally in front of herself. There is a hydraulic hiss and the sound of oiled metal scraping against metal as both ends of the tube expand outward, forming a six foot long telescoping staff. Her left hand still gripping it tightly, the girl begins to channel chi of her own into the weapon and the entire length of it flares a churning, deep blue. Appearing almost cold to the touch, a blue vapor forms around the chi-laced weapon - a fine mist of energy from the focused girl.
"You asked if I were a miko and I said no. And that is the truth. I'm not. But you were partially right. I was once... and I'm not afraid to use what techniques I gained to get my way!" And with that, she's back on the offense, charging the other girl, right hand coming up to join her left in manipulating the long weapon. A slam from the right, a spin of her body to deliver a second strike to the left. A horizontal pressing of the weapon against Mizuki's chest before hopping backward to stab it out almost like a lance. With each impact, should it connect, a small shower of blue particales explode into the air, filling the room around the girls and drifting toward the floor.
COMBATSYS: Mizuki successfully hits Mizuki with Iki no Mizu.
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Mizuki 1/-----==/=======|=====--\-------\0 Ayame
COMBATSYS: Mizuki parries Ayame's Requiem For Fallen Blossoms!
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Mizuki 1/----===/=======|======-\-------\0 Ayame
So! Firstly, that chi. It rains down on Mizuki, and fades out just before it would hit the ground. The effect is noticeable; her shoulder knits together, bruises heal, and her back comes up straighter. "It is a natural ability that I was taught to hone... it is, in some ways, my birthright." Awfully forthcoming, isn't she?
Ah, a staff. That is less worrisome than daggers and weighted rope projectiles.. because Mizuki is, ultimately, rather familiar with staff and short-staff techniques... even if she no longer uses them. And as before, she... doesn't move. But her expression bodes not-well for Ayame. Bringing her hands up... she sets herself. *POW* Her hands flare blue, her own aura cushioning impact as she deflects the first strike; her legs are solid as she swings her arms to the right to deflect the second away from her, with another loud bang of sound. Mizuki catches the cross-blow with both hands, pushing backwards and finally lifting her legs to spring back as well. And then the staff-end is thrust forward... and she moves again. Right hand deflects the staff thrust; legs churn forward and she charges forward, seeking to close the gap.
Her left hand reaches for one of Ayame's wrists, intending to open her guard; should she grasp, she'll then step in and towards, crossing Ayame up, firing off four strong chops with a chi-sheathed right knifehand, into Ayame's ribs, then she'll release Ayame's arm and thrust her right hand forward in a palm strike.
COMBATSYS: Ayame counters Kouryuu no Renda EX from Mizuki with Harvest's Reaper.
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Mizuki 1/=======/=======|====---\-------\0 Ayame
The staff gets knocked aside, but it isn't something Ayame is all together surprised by. The moment she realized her strikes weren't getting through, she was already making corrections to account for it. For what she showed Mizuki was only the first series of attacks in a dangerous staff dance she mastered while still a small child.
The air is full of blue particles of chi, released from the pulsing weapon that Mizuki dealt with masterfully. But as the miko charges in to slip past Ayame's attack to try and grab the girl's wrists, the weapon erupts into a brilliant, room illuminating red the same moment Ayame snaps the opposite end of it to intersect Mizuki's wrist with an upward *crack* - a precursor to the strikes that come next.
Twirling the staff in again, Ayame strikes Mizuki hard with a second strike to her stomach, then follows up on the next whirl, turning her body around and sweeping the staff upward to smack her chest on her own way up off the ground. At the apex of her jump, the girl hefts the weapon over her head and chops it back down. And with each impact is a small explosion, a fiery red swath of energy that adds force to the blows.
Ayame lands in a crouch, staff out at her side, the energy bleeding off it almost like a liquid that drips to the floor before dimming out completely, eyes focused intently in Mizuki's direction. She's silent now. When it comes down to it, Mizuki has matched her own speed and skill in ever sense of the word. The most capable miko Ayame has ever picked on. But after a combination like that, how will she hold up?
COMBATSYS: Ayame has saved the state of this fight.
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Mizuki 1/=======/=======|====---\-------\0 Ayame
COMBATSYS: Ayame has left the fight here.
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Mizuki 1/=======/=======|
Unh. Mizuki wasn't expecting that, not at all; she staggers backwards, Ayame's counter-combo doing quite the number on the real miko. How will she hold up? Well, she'll hold up quite well actually... thanks to her ability to heal. Otherwise that counter might've put her into far more dangerous territory.
"You're good," she gasps, softly... somewhat disturbed, actually. Ayame reminds her, in many ways, of Kimi... but she can't be... can she? "Who are you?" she asks, again, not really expecting an answer, as she tests herself a bit, making sure she's still mobile enough to continue.
"Are you with the Kurogami??" She isn't sure of it at all, but this isn't some weird Sith tradition--it's entirely possible that they have more than one in a generation.
"I already beat Kimi! I'm not going to lose to you either!" That's a bit of a white lie... but she did kind of come out the victor there.
Lunging forward again, she once again attempts a grapple, intending on once again attempting to move Ayame's left arm out of the way for a series of knifehand chops to the torso. If she gets that far she'll then grab Ayame's shoulder, turn back towards her right, and use that momentum to spin Ayame into a quick whirlwind throw, much like the famous Shinkuu Nage.
COMBATSYS: Ayame parries Mizuki's Hyouryuu no Koki!
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Mizuki 1/=======/=======|=====--\-------\0 Ayame
The long haired menace slowly rises to standing, her breaths coming harder now. Compared to Mizuki, her chi manipulation comes at a high cost, leaving her winded for her efforts. She can appreciate the restorative touch of Mizuki's technique though, her blue-green energy stiching and mending, giving the miko the strength to continue on after the violent assault. Maybe she's going to have to admit she's picked on the wrong do-gooder here.
The question as to who she is comes and the girl responds with only a tight lipped expression, sparing no breath for words at first. But then the red-head starts throwing out other names and Ayame leans her head to the side slightly, her mind occupied for a moment with processing the implications. Clan heritage is something she certainly had drummed into her head a lot while growing up...The history of various shrines, various families of importance. Most children would probably have forgotten small details about such history lessons by now. But not Ayame.
"Maybe I am," comes the cool reply, thoughtful expression backing up the assertion flawlessly. It would be tenuous, but the blue hued chi she controlled moments ago would almost help increase the possibility. The girl is more than happy to play off the questions, "So naive... to think that it would end simply with Kimi... Heh."
It's then that the determined miko attempts to get in close enough to Ayame to get a grip on her, but the girl is swift to defend herself with that pesky staff again - techniques Mizuki no doubt remembers well from when she fought with her baton before. As her hand comes in for Ayame's left arm, her own left hand releases the staff, letting her right hand manipulate it solo. Twisting the long bo over and down, pressing down on Mizuki's wrist to brush the grip off before she can get the hold she seeks, Ayame's left hand is freed up to slip to her waist.
There's the quiet click of a clasp being released and then the next thing Mizuki will have to worry about is the lash of the belt whip coming in just over the staff that is keeping Ayame safe for the moment - a serpentine offense launched from behind a perfect defense. Frighteningly fast, it lashes through the air for Mizuki's neck. And if Ayame manages to ensnare the miko, she'll pull back hard to topple the girl toward her only to slam the titanium staff up and hard against her chin with enough force to possibly send her falling back hard.
COMBATSYS: Mizuki blocks Ayame's Blackmail EX.
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Mizuki 2/<<<<<<</<<<<<<<|=====--\-------\0 Ayame
Wh-whoa... so Ayame's fast too, is she? Mizuki's wrist is pressed down; the continuation of her technique denied. And in turn, she has to deny Ayame her own technique. It's a simple sort of thing to do--with that belt whipping for her throat, she raises her free hand, and while the lash of the belt does hurt--there's a welt on the side of Mizuki's neck as well as at her wrist--she's able to keep the belt from gripping her throat completely, and she's able to prevent herself from being slammed to the ground.
Wrenching herself back to upright, she grits her teeth. "No... no, you're not with them... you don't fight the same way." Okay, so it's kind of a weird leap of logic... but she knows that the Kurogami are, in their own way, as tradition-bound as the Mizugami. And maybe she just wants to believe that Kimi is it.
Adopting a different, more in-fighting style, as she comes up from Ayame's attempt to chokeslam, she keeps her arms in close and tries to strike Ayame under the chin with an uppercut from her defending right arm--an uppercut with her elbow.
COMBATSYS: Ayame dodges Mizuki's Quick Punch.
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Mizuki 2/<<<<<<</<<<<<<<|=====--\-------\0 Ayame
She doesn't manage to snare the girl as she had hoped, but Ayame corrects for that by pulling the whip back fast and twisting her staff to her side to avoid having either of them be easy things to grab onto to hold her down. "Saa..." the girl grins, hopping back out of range of the attempted elbow strike. "Who knows?"
Twirling the staff back into a defensive angle in front of her, her left hand keeps a hold of the whip, letting it drape against the floor at her side. For all her bluster, the girl is starting to tire of this. She had expected another barely competent fighter like so many others like Mizuki she had harassed in the past. But this miko is far more experienced than she gave her credit for at first.
Gritting her teeth, Ayame decides to push the offense, stepping forward and lashing out the whip from her left hand once again, trying to snag Mizuki's pesky right arm and then pull hard, turning her own body around to try and trip the priestess to the floor.
COMBATSYS: Ayame successfully hits Mizuki with Quick Throw.
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Mizuki 2/<<<<<<</<<<<<<<|=====--\-------\0 Ayame
And Mizuki goes -down-... hard, tumbling as she is unable to avoid the attempt on her arm. Her shoulder gets wrenched; the miko is pulled forward and tripped, sent into a sprawl onto the floor. She hits, and tumbles, rolling away from Ayame, tumbling twice to get some distance before she rises.
"You're... you're -not-... with them..." Trying to convince herself again, hmm? Mizuki rotates the abused shoulder, not even holding back her wince... things haven't been going terribly well. She's flustered; she's disturbed. She needs to find her center. Her eyes half-close, almost, it seems... but her gaze is completely intent on Ayame.
"You won't tell me who you are, of course.. but whatever happens here... I hope it helps put you at peace...'
COMBATSYS: Mizuki focuses on her next action.
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Mizuki 2/<<<<<<</<<<<<<<|=====--\-------\0 Ayame
The whip is pulled back the moment Mizuki is off her feet, leaving her free to roll away and come up with some distance between them. As the red-head convinces herself that Ayame has nothing to do with the shadow clan from whence came Kimi, the strawberry blonde leans her head to the side and grins, "Yeah."
Bringing her hands together, she coils the whip up and slides it up over her left shoulder to rest as she continues to speak. "No one controls me. No clan. No family. No traditions, no customs. Those are all just things used to keep people in line. Governments, parents, institutions, they all use those tools. The pressure of expectations, the drum beat of patriotism... Whatever it takes to make it easy to control everyone. No one sent me - no one tells me what to do."
The whip back in place on her shoulder, the girl bunkers down behind the metal polearm that she manipulates with such fluid dexterity. A family style that was never meant for anything like this. Ah, if only her parents knew what she had done with their teachings.
But then comes Mizuki's expression of hope at finding peace and Ayame scowls, "Shut up. I don't care about your insincere pity. Don't think that saying something like that is going to make me go easy on you." Breathing in, the girl exhales slowly, trying to ignore the trickle of perspiration down the side of her face. Maybe she should cut and run to save face right now. "I am Ayame." A lie.
COMBATSYS: Ayame focuses on her next action.
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Mizuki 2/<<<<<<</<<<<<<<|=====--\-------\0 Ayame
Mizuki's relentless, in her own way. It only takes one good look at her to see that she's entirely serious about what she said. It's in her eyes, in her mouth, in the way she holds herself. In a way, Ayame and herself are diametric opposites... how odd, to find another so like that, so soon after meeting Kimi. "So you're acting on your own. I hope that you find what you really want to do, one of these days... surely attacking people just to vent your hatred isn't what you were meant for, is it?" Mizuki draws upon her own strength and weaknesses, of course, to empower her--and that's the secret. One's weakness can also be one's strength.
Once again, she finds, she's taking up arms against her opponent... charging forward, heedless of Ayame's own preparations, seeking to close in, weapon or not, and fire a double palm strike into Ayame's gut.
As she runs, she shakes her head, once. She doesn't -want- to do this... but all too often it comes down to the purest form of 'kill' or 'be killed'...
COMBATSYS: Ayame counters Strong Punch from Mizuki with Medium Strike.
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Mizuki 2/<<<<<<</<<<<<<<|====---\-------\0 Ayame
There it is again. That sincere expression of concern about Ayame's quest for meaning and peace. It'd be easier if she could simply dismiss Mizuki's words as mere posturing, hoping that the right words might mitigate the savage girl's undeserved hatred. But for as good at Ayame is at manipulating her own expressions and tones as suits her purposes, she can also usually tell when she's being conned and nothing about the sincere red-head comes across as being untrue.
"Che," the girl grunts, fingers adjusting along the length of the staff, improving her grip and altering the angle she holds the weapon, constantly shifting it in preparation for retaliation. "You really mean that... Still trying to be nice, I see... And what's that ever gotten you? The world isn't a kind place. You play gently and the rest of humanity will be happy to trample you underfoot, just like I'm doing now. This is what being nice gets you!"
Mizuki charges and Ayame is ready, perhaps capitalizing on any reluctance, any hesitation to see this through. Maybe it's reluctance to harm one that means nothing but ill will for her that gives the staff weilding girl an opening, or maybe Ayame is just that fast or that lucky. The palm press is met by the strawberry-blonde slamming her staff out vertically between Mizuki's two hands and twising the polearm swiftly to the side to seperate her arms apart and render the attempted strike undone. The weapon now in a horizontal position and already inside Mizuki's guard, it's trivial for her to slam it forward into the miko's stomach hard. "Save your pity for some sucker who will care." the girl hisses, eyes cold, mouth drawn tight.
Unh. To put it mildly, unh. What started out as a relatively even fight has quickly gone south for the miko; she folds under the strike, forced to roll away, to keep herself from being savaged once more. Naturally, it takes her a bit to really be in a position to respond to Ayame's hatred. Rolling around ten yards away, she rises to her feet... and once again, she does not come forward.
"What's it gotten me...?" she asks, holding her stomach where she's just been struck. "It's gotten me friends... the love of my family... everything I have." Once again, her chi rises in intensity... but far above anything Ayame's felt thus far from the girl. It builds so deep and fast that it gathers into a visible blue-green aura above Mizuki's head.
"You're right," she concedes. "The world isn't a nice place. People will try to trample me underfoot," she continues. "But just because they -try- doesn't mean I won't defy them!" she cries.
"You may be the second person I've ever met that truly deserved my compassion and pity more than my friends or my students..." Finally, that energy breaks--visibly--into an outpouring of that watery healing chi, a waterfall that literally pours down onto her...
Mizuki falls back and Ayame doesn't give chase, chosing instead to stay right where she is, her back a couple yards from the wall. The girl stands quiet as Mizuki answers her demanding questions with a list of things her choices in life have gained her. Friends, family, her place here, needed and trusted. "No," Ayame growls, shaking her head, eyes closed for a moment. "That makes you weak. Caring what others think makes you their slave, their desires controlling and shaping yours."
Teeth gritted, the girl releases her right hand from her staff and clenches it into a tight fist, holding it up in front of her as she stands up more straight, keeping her distance as Mizuki draws upon her well of energy to mend and heal - her gift, honed by practice and pure intent, serving to help her once again. "With your talent, you could be so much more. Desperate people would give you anything for the promise of your healing touch. You could have followers, fame, wealth..." She waves her hand out to her side with a sweeping gesture at the room, "Instead you live the life of a nobody, wasting it all. Feh."
Her right hand goes back to gripping her staff tightly and Ayame charges forward, leaning low as she crosses the distance between them, "Kindness won't save you, it won't help you. Only those who are willing to take everything for themselves get anywhere in this life. That is how this world works!" She punctuates the exclaimation by jamming her weapon out like a lance, trying to shove one end of it into Mizuki's stomach. This is followed by a sweeping strike at head level, Ayame shifting her grip to one end to give her the greatest reach possible. She finishes by hopping forward, weapon raised up and then slammed down with everything she has, willing to crush the girl or just the floor should Mizuki manage to avoid the savage strikes.
COMBATSYS: Mizuki successfully hits Mizuki with Iki no Nagare.
[ \\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\ < > /////////////////// ]
Mizuki 1/-------/=======|====---\-------\0 Ayame
COMBATSYS: Ayame successfully hits Mizuki with Random Weapon.
-* CRITICAL HIT! *-
[ \\\\\\\\\\ < > /////////////////// ]
Mizuki 1/---====/=======|====---\-------\0 Ayame
The energy pours down over her... and her body is healed. Not completely--her power isn't that great. But it's quite well enough to allow her to fight... maybe. But that's before Ayame crushes her, quite literally. Each blow lands precisely and powerfully; it is, in fact, only the fact of Mizuki's healing power that lets her survive the devestating combo. She's never really fought anyone -this- vicious before... Hayato's counterstrike did more damage at a go, but he wasn't trying to kill her...
Mizuki is floored, and it's probably a good ten seconds before she moves at all. But move she does... displaying a generous amount of tenacity as she pushes herself, unsteadily, to her feet. Her face is a mask of blood; her scalp's been rent, and her hair is darker in places, stained with her own bodily fluids.
She has no words; the words were smashed out of her. All she has now, as poor as they may be, are her skills. And her willingness to continue on. She draws her hands back... once again, the swelling power of chi fills the air around her. But it's different this time... colder. And then she throws her hands forward... and -screams-. It might be mistaken for a sound of rage, or pain--certainly, there is pain in there--but the rage is suspiciously absent... and if so, that is because it is represented in the form of a flaring , elongated cyclone of icy chi energy, a whirling storm that bursts into being between Mizuki and where Ayame is.
COMBATSYS: Ayame dodges Mizuki's Hyouryuu no Arashi.
[ \\\\\\\\\\ < > /////////////////// ]
Mizuki 0/-------/-----==|====---\-------\0 Ayame
Ayame's mastery over using a staff comes into play as the girl savagely strikes the miko time and time again, driving her to the floor with the final crushing slam to the top of Mizuki's head that literally floors her. There's no mercy in the strikes, no holding back. It is as if Ayame was fighting her most hated enemy of all rather than a girl who was a total unknown to her until this unfortunate encounter. She swings as if trying to slay a nightmare rather than fighting an innocent, decent girl.
Mizuki, bloodied to the point that her white miko top nearly matches her red hakama, her head bleeding from a savage slam or two, was only trying to share culture and tradition with the youths that frequent the center only to find herself closed off in a room alone with the vicious runaway. "That is what kindness will get you," the hellion repeats her mantra as she takes steps back, one end of her staff moist, dripping with crimson victory. "That is how the world works."
The two girls couldn't possibly look any more unlike. The idea that the intruder was once a miko herself only a few years past would be nigh impossible to believe. The cool callusness with which she regards the fallen girl would almost suggest a life full of cruelity and hatred rather than someone was just down on her luck for a couple years. For a while it looks like that might be the end of it - that Mizuki can take no more. Ayame's expression hardens as she stands up straight, holding her staff lazily at her left side. "What's the matter? That all you can take? Heh. You weren't bad. I've seen worse, at least. Too bad. You don't have what it takes. The animosity for another to strike to win." Brown eyes glance over the end of her staff, eying the blood marring its otherwise shiny surface, before she shifts her focus back toward the priestess.
Lifting her right hand up to wipe her forarm across her forehead, she brushes some of her hair back over her shoulder, only turning to glance toward the side toward the large stone Buddah Mizuki had brought in for the demonstration. Taking in a breath, the girl spits onto the side of the statue. Religion, the drug of the addled minded. But Mizuki isn't down. Not yet. Ayame becomes aware that she's gotten back up while her attention was elsewhere and turns to focus on the determined red-head. "Ooooh? Didn't have enough yet?" And then comes the cyclone of chi bent on striking Ayame and driving her back against the wall.
And but for the last second leap up into the air it very well might have been. "Just as well! Because I wasn't finished with you anyway!" comes the yell from above as Ayame drops down from her leap, staff raised over her head as she aims to deliver another crushing impact to the poor miko's head.
COMBATSYS: Mizuki dodges Ayame's Medium Strike.
[ \\\\\\\\\\ < > //////////////////// ]
Mizuki 0/-------/-----==|====---\-------\0 Ayame
"..." There are times when Mizuki tries to talk... she believes it's good. Establishing a dialogue is important, even in the middle of a fight. But... most of her fights... haven't been like this. Even Kimi wasn't as viciously rabid. Mizuki can't... she doesn't have any counter for Ayame's words. It's true. The world is unkind and terrible, and if the meek inherit the Earth, the strong will leave it a blasted shell unworthy of anything other than a graveyard for the ground bones of the inheritors.
But Mizuki doesn't care about all that. She... well, she believes in good, and in righteousness. In strength of heart over strength of muscle; in the power of the will and the soul to defeat any odds. Her philosophies have yet to bear fruit. But it's only a matter of time. Panting, Mizuki manages a slow, almost lazy dodge of the overhead smash... it looks lazy, but it's just that -she herself- is slowing.
"... no... I won't let you leave here like this..." She recognizes certain truths... if Ayame is willing to attack her just because she's a miko... what might she do to the young ones, who -really- don't know anything...? It's going to take her all... center. Calm, focus. There is no pain.
Mizuki's eyes flash open, and she -charges- at Ayame... and then reality intrudes. What was going to be a strong, perhaps potentially deciding attack... Mizuki's body fails her, and her right leg fails as she reaches Ayame. The thrusting palm strike she was to deck Ayame with becomes little more than a weak push as she goes down to one knee...
COMBATSYS: Ayame counters Quick Punch from Mizuki with Random Weapon.
[ \\\\\\ < > //////////////////// ]
Mizuki 0/-------/--=====|==-----\-------\0 Ayame
There is a loud, metallic ringing as Ayame's titanium staff rebounds off of the floor, Mizuki having avoided the falling strike just in time. But the girl is fired up, like a cat that finds the mouse entertaining for just a little bit longer than was anticipated. A predator excited by the anticipated kill. Sweeping the weapon back up in front of her as she regains her footing following the leap. "Hah!" the girl laughs, already claiming triumph in this violent battle. She saw the way Mizuki moved, the way the girl barely managed to shuffle to the side. She may have been a match for her when she was healthy, but in this condition she hasn't a chance in hell.
"Let me leave...? And when did you think YOU had any say in the matter?" She sounds amused though her expression wouldn't reflect it as she seems to become even cooler toward the priestess. Mizuki rises charges but Ayame can tell she's wounded bad. An expert eye for observation and a knowledge of where her strikes had hit the hardest... The red-head gives it her all but the strawberry-blonde merely smiles, lips parting to reveal her teeth. And the poor girl's stance falters, her body no longer able to fight past the injuries inflicted.
"I already told you!" Ayame exclaims, holding her staff sideways and pushing it up to drive Mizuki's faltering palm strike high, leaving her side exposed for the incoming smash against her ribs, "No one controls me!" Ayame's knee comes up into her stomach as the ruthless girl continues the assault. "I do whatever I want, when I want!" she continues, shoving the crumpled girl off her knee, shattering any hope of regaining balance before ramming the center of her staff against the miko's forehead to drive her backward, likely sending her to the floor. "That's what power is! And you'll never have it. You can't even help yourself, let alone your friends and family! Pathetic!"
Hefting the bloodied six feet of hollow titanium over her head, Ayame takes two steps forward, standing over Mizuki, looking very much like an executioner who has been given the offical nod to drop the final, fatal axe. "You're nothing!" And then the staff drops, a metallic blur on its inevitable descent downward.
COMBATSYS: Alma has joined the fight here.
[\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\ < > ////// ]
Alma 0/-------/-------|=====--\-------\0 Mizuki
[ \\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\ <
Ayame 0/-------/----===|
She is beaten--beaten utterly. It's quite possibly the worst beating she's ever taken, from anyone. Even Kimi... (there we go again with her...) didn't do this much damage to her. Mizuki struggles to stay up even on her knees... to get back there... she won't die lying down. And she gasps, softly, knowing her fate is now sealed...
"Your hatred controls you... listen to yourself..." To her credit, she does not shy away; she does not close her eyes. Within her breast burns a true warrior's spirit...
COMBATSYS: Alma endures Ayame's Fierce Strike.
[ \\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\ < > ////// ]
Alma 0/-------/-----==|=====--\-------\0 Mizuki
[ \\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\ <
Ayame 0/-------/----===|
Duty has many faces.
"It's nice to finally meet you, Mr. Glen."
It can leaden your bones, restricting your movement, tying you to your desk and preventing you from reaping the fruits of your own efforts, engaging in the beauty of your own creation. In so doing, it can make you forget that you love what you do-- or so it might seem.
"I regret that we haven't already discussed our shared ability."
But a glimpse at duty's true nature, Alma Towazu is convinced, its most positive articulation, is when it in fact reminds one of why one truly does what one does-- when it compels one, in a moment of fatigue or confusion, to reach out and grasp something solid. Alma's head feels stuffed full of cotton. There have been celebrations to prepare for; the solar New Year is coming up. He's had all manner of personal responsibilities, so much so that even he finds himself wondering at moments why he bothers. But standing here, feeling himself slip into his eminently natural and genuine mild smile, the tall model's eyes soft and friendly, he feels at home again-- at home in himself.
"We should definitely--"
And it is as his head clears that he feels it.
Alma, entering through the glass doors to the YFCC lobby with Zach in tow, stops abruptly and glances down, as though struck and cast deep into thought.
"Such fear," he whispers.
Alma tilts his head toward Zach quickly; suddenly, his eyes are burning, his expression calm but sharply serious, looking far more like a young executive than he did moments before, even with the tailored suit. "Can you feel that?" he asks, but does not wait for an answer. "Follow me!"
He lunges with grace, effortlessly dodging the centergoers and at one point jumping to leap off of a desk and over several heads on his way to the stairs, all of which he leaps as well. And if Zach can keep up with Alma's unerring speed, even if he can make it all the way to the door that Alma swerves to find, he will have to contend with it himself-- for as Alma closes in, he reaches out, but not for the knob.
"Mizuki!!"
He is gone.
*thump*
And to those inside the room, he is there.
Alma regards Ayame stoically, the staff resting on his shoulder.
"Enough," he murmurs, almost gently.
His hand sweeps out, a quick dismissal, but there is a flaring light--
COMBATSYS: Ayame dodges Alma's Blaze of Glory EX.
[ \\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\ < > ////// ]
Alma 0/-------/------=|=====--\-------\0 Mizuki
[ \\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\ <
Ayame 0/-------/----===|
"It's good to finally meet you, but you can call me Zach. Mr. Glen's my old man. Hotaru's said a lot about you," Zach answers as they reach the doors. His eyes narrow when Alma mentions "shared abilities." Glen is at a significant disadvantage in dealing with other psionically active people; he cannot sense it like others can. He waits for Alma to open the door when Alma stops.
"Feel what?" Zach asks. And then the boss is mobile. Zach keeps up as well as he can, but is not as familiar with the building as he is. He dodges some tables, a chair that was left out, and arrives at the door...
...only to see Alma disappear.
Zach skids to a halt just shy of the door, throwing his hands up to keep himself from crashing into it. Several books are knocked, telekinetically from a nearby shelf in Zach's panic. Alma seemed like an okay guy, pretty on the level. He tries to shove the door open, forgetting in the rush that he needs to pull instead.
"Guess he'll hafta take it out of my pay," Zach says as he focuses psycho power into a fist, and launches himself through the now-shattered door. He rolls and skids to a stop, recognizing Mizuki and Ayame. He frowns slightly as Alma starts to open fire...
--and a blazing sword of light emerges, arcing up in a blow that might have cloven Ayame from hip to shoulder had she not managed to avoid his sudden ambush.
Undismayed, Alma glances over toward Zach and puts up a palm, halting him. "Stay your hand," he says quietly to the older youth. "Just..."
He looks over his shoulder at the battered but resolute Mizuki, and he swallows once, his chest seeming to swell as his eyes seem almost to contort with agony, vengeful fury--
"...guard Mizuki."
--and pride?
When Alma turns back to Ayame, he has mastered himself.
"This is," he says softly, "not what fights ought to be."
He steps forward toward the staff-wielding girl.
"Have you forsaken duty?" he continues, sounding as though he speaks more to himself than to her. "What a tragedy..."
His hand lowers, even as plumes of faint white soulfire begin to wreathe it.
"I am Alma Towazu," he says, speaking clearly now. "And you should know, young lady..."
His face his calm, but his eyes are soft now.
"There is no freedom in being ruled by fear."
The blow never comes; suddenly, before her eyes is Alma. Her... savior? She barely recognizes him--her vision's dimming of its own accord. Weakly, Mizuki reaches out; her hand brushes the hem of his shirt--leaving a bloody smudge, unfortunately--and she breathes his name, once... almost inaudibly.
Then, mercifully for her, unconsciousness takes the miko, as she crashes down into the darkest, deepest oceans she knows.
Zach pulls himself upright, nodding at Alma's instructions. "Just be careful. She's tricky," Zach says as he approaches Mizuki. He kneels down, and gently scoops the teenaged girl up in his arm. He wobbles a little bit; he isn't used to carrying people taller than he is, and starts to move for a corner.
Alma had mentioned "shared abilities" earlier. If that meant what it could have meant, then the space would be a good idea. Zach sets Mizuki down, and goes for a nearby first-aid kit.
And her staff hits something that wasn't there an eyeblink ago, its weighty arc halted by a young man's shoulder who placed himself in the right place at the right time. Life can be like that at times and for a moment Ayame's brown eyes lock on the hazel eyed Alma, her mind reeling as she tries to account for how her environment just changed so drastically without her knowing. The door wasn't opened. Footsteps weren't heard. Yet her he stands, holding back the weight of her staff, a guardian angel in a time of need.
He reaches out with his hand as if to brush aside the menace and put a stop to the violence here. Evidence of it exists all over the room. Blood and cracks on the floor, a thrown dagger sticking out of the wall are the visible signs - but more unmistakeable would be the energy in the room. Teeming with hostility, hot with anger, this was no friendly fight and the atmosphere more than reveals that.
But Ayame's mind kicks back in, the girl deliberately pushing questions about how he got here and who he is to the side in time to react to the extended hand, weaving just barely out of the way as she pulls back her staff from off his shoulder. The sword of light slices through the air just past her but the girl has gotten out of the way just as the door to the room explodes inward. A fleeting glance to the side is just enough time for her to recognize Zach Glen, another resident of Southtown who had the misfortune of meeting her one snow driven night.
"Alma, huh." the girl replies, her eyes darting all over the room but never straying from him for long. "This is your center then. No wonder." Her smile is one of mild amusement, a mask over the cool, calculating brain busy at work in her head. "Only the weak have anything to fear," the girl replies. "Only fools and suckers alike. You want to protect her, you want to intercede. That makes you her servent, your actions controlled by whatever happens to her. Where is the freedom in that attachment?"
Coiled around her right shoulder is a whip. One she had gladly used to lash out for Mizuki earlier in the battle. And it is that serpentine weapon that she slips into her right hand, her left keeping a grip on her polearm. The blazing sword of light certainly didn't go unnoticed. "I guess that makes you her champion, eh? We'll see about that." The lash comes from the right toward his left arm, attempting to ensnare it long enough for Ayame to step in and twist him over her knee to the ground on his back. If successful, she'll drop to her knees and jam her staff against the young man's neck, pressing down hard.
COMBATSYS: Ayame successfully hits Alma with Medium Throw.
[ \\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\ < > ////// ]
Alma 0/-------/----===|=====--\-------\0 Mizuki
[ \\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\ <
Ayame 0/-------/---====|
"Weakness comes in many forms."
Alma's voice remains gentle, even as he senses Ayame's urge to attack rising. He can't read her mind. He doesn't even know her name. But--
"I sensed your terror," he continues softly, "from upstairs."
And he only smiles, a little sadly, as she brings out a hidden weapon. "Do the strong submit to hatred?" There is no time to answer, nor to pursue such a line of questioning, as Alma encounters a kind of weapon he never has before. His instinctive effort to block is totally ineffective against something meant, after all, to ensnare him; clearly, psychic abilities have their limits. But though she wants to bring him to the ground, Alma responds by not, in fact, resisting. Ayame pulls him close and he falls, and as the staff grinds against his neck, he looks up--
"Gghgh..."
--smiling sadly through the pain.
Resolutely, he rises to his knees, unable to breathe or speak but seemingly undeterred. Maybe she will be distracted by the strangeness of his smile, or maybe it will be his unconventional attack: reaching up to cup her chin. But if he can make contact, even slightly, he will unleash searing power directly into her head.
There is corruption here, and only by fire may it be purified.
COMBATSYS: Alma successfully hits Ayame with Self Expression.
-* CRITICAL HIT! *-
[ \\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\ < > ////// ]
Alma 0/-------/--=====|=====--\-------\0 Mizuki
[ \\\\\\\\\\ <
Ayame 1/----===/=======|
The whip does the job in taking Alma to the ground and Ayame follows up with the staff jammed against his neck. "Do I look scared to /you/?" the girl hisses between clenched teeth the moment she has him pinned. "You should be the one afraid," she insists, his smile met with a glare. Perhaps a smile of regret for something left unfinished that he might not live to have the chance to make amends for, she decides. Too bad for him.
He forces himself up to his knees, fighting back against the pressure, and Ayame drops back onto her knees, seated for a moment at his surge in determination to get back up. His hand extends and Ayame stays rooted, not moving, jaw tight, brown eyes narrowing. Her right hand releases the handle of the whip, letting it drop to the floor, the other end still wrapped around Alma's forearm.
Perhaps he wants to touch her. Maybe it's one of those pathetic attempts at hoping that by contact alone he can disuade her. Mizuki is down with Zach to guard her. Ayame tore him to pieces once before and as soon as she finishes with the YFCC's owner, she'll do so again. Her right hand slides a butterfly knife from its sheath hidden in her belt, palming it as Alma's hand draws near. Let him touch her, she doesn't care. The moment he's close she'll drive the blade home, staining a second wardrobe red with another victim's blood. "You're just like her, you don't get-"
And then there's contact, the closed knife drops to the floor as Ayame is blinded by the pain coursing through her, attacked on a level she can't fight back against. Without the flashy effects that accompany so many attacks, it would be impossible to understand on the outside what just happened as the girl collapses forward, hands pressing hard against the floor as arms tremble to keep her propped up, pupils wide as sweet rolls down from her hairline. What /was/ that.
She starts to fall forward when she catches herself, leg coming up so that she can plant her foot against the floor and roll backward, coming up on her feet a couple yards back, standing but leaning hard against her staff where she pants for a moment.
"What-... stay away from me!" she gasps, taking a step backward, lifting up her staff to angle it in front of her. Pressure applied to the center causes three blades to slide out from top end with a hydraulic hiss, the sharp points sliding into positions ninety-degrees from each other, forming a small bladed cross on the top. "Don't get close," she warns again, baring the bladed polearm tightly, the weapon beginning to glimmer red as she channels her own strength into it. She's stayed too long. Gotten too caught up in the moment. Her mind shifts gears, no longer consumed with attacking, occupied now only with getting away from the young man and the power he weilds with simply a touch.
COMBATSYS: Ayame focuses on her next action.
[ \\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\ < > ////// ]
Alma 0/-------/--=====|=====--\-------\0 Mizuki
[ \\\\\\\\\\ <
Ayame 1/----===/=======|
Zach moves back over towards Mizuki with the first-aid kit in hand, kneeling as he approaches the unconscious girl. He snaps it open and proceeds to peel away enough clothing to get to work on Mizuki's shoulder. Ingrid had mentioned that he could possibly learn to heal with his power, but he was not remotely ready to do that yet and the bleeding needed to be handled before the head injury.
The summers of lifeguard-work, however, would prove far more practical in this matter.
Zach throws a glance over his shoulder as Ayame starts to back-peddle. His eyes narrow as he turns back to his patient. Ayame will find Zach a difficult opponent if she were to try anything. He wasn't hitting as hard as he could have that other day...
"Why should I be afraid?"
Coughing softly, Alma slowly rises to his feet.
"From fear comes hatred."
He is still smiling.
"Young lady, we are all bound," he continues quietly. "We are all 'champions' of something. But if we are to take a stand, we must by necessity limit ourselves. And I have chosen my bonds with pride, made them my own. I have committed myself to this place-- to my path-- to Mizuki--"
His right hand, still cupped, holds a flickering light.
"--and to you, young lady, whoever you are."
His smile fades.
"Whoever you are-- and whatever you're trying to prove."
Alma steps forward...
"I have no interest in fighting someone so confused."
%...and in a graceful underhand, appearing in fact to be offering up to Ayame what he holds, he unleashes a swirling dart of soulfire that aims to pierce to her heart.
"But this is," he murmurs, "who I am."
COMBATSYS: Ayame overcomes Sacred Wave from Alma with Final Sunset.
- Power hit! -
[ \\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\ < > ////// ]
Alma 0/-------/-======|=====--\-------\0 Mizuki
[ \\\\\\\\\ <
Ayame 0/-------/-----==|
For his words, Alma gets silence from the girl. Her staff begins to glow brighter and brighter, as the girl pours everything she has into the weapon that she's come to trust upon so much, the metal tube coated with churning, violently angry energy, reflecting the troubled mind of its master.
And then he unleashes another part of himself, the energy he controls, sending it hurtling across the distance between them. "Then who you are..." The girl spins the staff swiftly in front of her, the energy becoming a blur, obscurring her from sight, "... isn't ENOUGH!"
And with that the swath of power is unleashed, crashing against the soulfire and consuming it before continuing on its path directly toward the young man.
In its wake is emptiness, the lost child already turned away, making a run for the doors Zach blasted in. She won't pause, won't hurt anyone on her way, making a bolt for the exit of the YFCC, leaving behind the warm building meant for the benefit of youth to disappear into the cold, winter streets where she'll find no comfort or peace.
COMBATSYS: Ayame successfully hits Alma with Final Sunset.
[ \\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\ < > ////// ]
Alma 1/-------/=======|=====--\-------\0 Mizuki
[ \\\\\\\\\ <
Ayame 0/-------/-----==|
"Nnghh!"
Alma staggers back from the blast, bringing up his hand to shield his eyes from the flare of power and shaking his head quietly before looking calmly in the direction that Ayame has escaped. He makes no effort to pursue, standing in silence for a few moments.
"What," he says softly, "an interesting girl."
He can't help but sigh once, quietly.
Then he turns, and kneels before the fallen girl.
"Thank you, Zach," the young model says calmly, meeting the older youth's eyes for a moment before looking down to Mizuki. His gaze softens, and he seems to go into a kind of trance, looking strangely distant as he reaches out to gently stroke the miko's hair.
"Mizuki... you are so brave."
Leaning down, seeming to forget Zach's presence entirely, he grasps the girl's hand and brings it up to his chest, letting some of her blood stain his garment again.
"You are... so good."
COMBATSYS: Alma has left the fight here.
[ \\\\\\ < > ///////// ]
Mizuki 0/-------/--=====|==-----\-------\0 Ayame
COMBATSYS: Ayame has left the fight here.
[ \\\\\\ <
Mizuki 0/-------/--=====|
COMBATSYS: Mizuki has ended the fight here.
Log created on 22:15:19 12/30/2007 by Mizuki, and last modified on 17:42:23 01/01/2008.