Description: Before the attack on Gedo High, the school was visited by a far more subtle challenger in the form of a priest: a young thin man with a constant smile and strange powers, aptly named Saint. But what hides behind his smile is something that could be considered dangerous, even if he himself sees it as a precious gift. Will Shurui be the next one to be shown God's love?
Really, this was just such a -lovely- city. He'd been here for some time now, and had made a systematic approach to his familiarization of the sights. The priest had literally walked almost every road the city had to offer, likely more than once, and talked to a great deal of people - friendly chit-chat with locals who were -all- so precious, so lively. Like the young gents wearing school uniforms just now, in a alley near to this very school. They were Gedo students, though he was only vaguely familiar with the uniforms enough to tell that. He had little idea where the school was, so he'd decided to ask them. They seemed a little uncooperative at first, asking questions about his wallet, but after a little parley, they'd been quite responsive to his questions.
That was how Saint had found the school. Presently, he was at the entry gate, thumbing eagerly through his exceedingly well used tourist travel guide he'd purchased when he first got here, looking for the entry on the school. "Hm, hm, Gedo High... it says here this is a school largely for reformation of beligerent students that don't fit in anywhere else. My, my, that's quite charming! How thoughtful of the city to provide such an opportunity even to its less cooperative teenagers. Quite lovely indeed," the priest was saying, speaking in a noticable Romanian accent. Cane currently tucked under one arm, he held the book up in his other hand, examining the picture the guide book had as opposed to the actual image. The picture in the book looked more pristine. The one in real life, while not exactly trashy, had more students about, particularly the ones sitting on the gate walls, some staring quite openly at him and giving him dirty looks. After all, he was an adult, and unknown - he might be here for all the wrong reasons.
Closing the book, Saint settled it into the pocket of his coat, then settled his cane on the pavement, leaning against it slightly. Though his eyes couldn't be seen due to their squintiness, he apparently was surveying his surroundings, all with a charming smile on his face. "Yes, yes, I can see why this school has so many rumors about it - strong students, many of which wish to fight. Hmm, I wonder..." Spotting a nearby student walking nearby, he lifts his eyebrows, and then doffs his derby hat. "My, hello there, young man! Could you possibly help a new resident of your fine city out-- with... finding... um..." the student seemed to be completely ignoring him, simply walking away. "Ah... um. I see the -other- rumors might be true, too... how interesting. My, but this place has such an amazing amount of character, I simply love it."
Gedo High's slogan should probably be something akin to 'they're not all bad, but stay away from the ones that are'. One of the bad ones? This guy, torturing this poor, short little girl dressed in a typical school-girl's uniform the color of puke ochre, same as his. Only, here, the short girl in question doesn't look particularly victimized. Neither does she seem to care, walking away at a casual pace as the bully hem's and haw's to the back of her. And it's all over a stupid reason, as most senseless bullying tends to be.
"When you gonna stop dying your hair like that? You look like my grandma! Or maybe my *grandpa*- you sure you're a girl?!" At Gedo High, it's worse to be a bad bully than to do nothing at all. It isn't until the bully, desperate for the girl's vindicating anger or crying, reaches for those strans of grey hair, almost as pale as Saint's own, yet colorless.
He's down on the ground a few seconds later, the short girl frowning and dusting off her hands. "Don't fucking touch me, okay?" Unfortunately for said bully? Said short girl is in a bad mood. A *very* bad mood. Being cooped up at Gedo has given brioth to a crazy sort of cabin fever, and things like this only escalate it, despite the general student population not being so desperate to pick on a short girl.
Even if it's a short girl with grey hair and a weird gaze.
Turning over as she finally notices the confused, traveling priest(?), Shurui blinks at the figure in black. "...." His aura's a little strange, registering as a fog-like gray, but it doesn't allow Shurui any clues as to Saint's purpose. A little on the frail or sickly side, perhaps. For all she knows? A poor, confused tourist. American? No, something else. That accent is strange.
As it turns out, Saint is a fighter, too. Or fancies himself one, anyway. He is decently competent, but believes himself merely to be an amateur and must learn from those who already know 'the biz' as you could call it. In this case, fighting junior-league types, those that appear on the Saturday Night Fight or the like. He'd found, almost on his first day, that fighting people of the lowest tier was both informative and incredibly -fun-. Though, somehow, he got the impression the large man with the oar wasn't quite so enthused... yet, Saint had no idea why that might be the case. Perhaps the man was in a hurry.
Regardless, with this motivation in mind had he come here, to attempt to find someone strong. And here he was, standing at the gate... and now witness to a young girl throwing a boy quite larger than her almost without effort. Interesting. So interesting that the priest's eyes open wider, actually visible for a moment as he looks on in surprise. He doesn't stay this way too long, however, as his eyes go back to being squinted closed, and a broad smile finds its way into his face once again. "My, my..." he says. Raising a gloved hand to settle atop his hat, he steps forward, into the ground, his cane tapping rythmically before him. "Young girl, you fought off that attacker..." his face turns to glance down at the downed bully, which is probably fortunate because if his eyes had only looked, it might not have been noticed, "...quite well, I must say. I'm a new resident of your city, and quite interested in the, ah..." He pauses here to lift his hands, cane switching to be held more firmly in a grip, and then makes a kind of half-hearted tossing motion, "How you say... martial arts competitions? I've studied some of it myself, and I have to say it's quite marvelous! Would you, perhaps, be willing to demonstrate some more?"
He offers a smile that seems perfectly charming. In fact, were Shurui anyone else, she may even be disarmed at that smile. But since she too is a psion, the close proximity would let her feel something her aura-reading likely couldn't tell: he feels -wrong-. It's not quite a clear thing how he feels wrong, but he does. This slight-framed, sickly looking young man with his completely friendly smile is not what he seems. "Of course, I would offer you some kind of payment for a demonstration. Hmm, let's see... I suppose, ha ha, it would be a little improper to offer something like a drink. Perhaps money? I have some saved up - yes, yes, instructors at martial arts institutions are paid for demonstrations too, are they not? I see no reason as to why you should be excluded from this!" He doesn't move, though, simply looking curiously onto the girl with the glasses, smiling. It's a little odd how he can seem so openly nice yet cast that disquieting presence about himself.
Large doesn't mean skilled in this case, thankfully. Skilled fighters tend to be better bullies when they feel the need to be, and, with Shurui's eyes on constant alert and unfettered by tinted glasses, she can generally tell when it's better to let sleeping dogs lie. Especially when she's in a state where attracting attention isn't the smartest thing she could possibly do.
Speaking of attracting attention... well, Shurui just did that, only with a strange jovial-sounding man dressed in classic black. "..." Adjusting the shades on her forehead, Shurui gives Saint a critical look with those dark eyes, pink lips thinning in a manner that belies the distrust underneath. It''s, of course, truly no fault of Saint's; While the man seems nice enough, and his aura doesn't seem to show the telltale signs of genetic modification that she saw in Igniz, the short girl is not only in a bad mood, but a suspucious mood. Now that he gets closer, she can sense that something vague is off with him. Something... she can't out a finger on, but it's not a case of familiarity.
In any case, willingly fighting this man would be a bad idea, even as eyes divert themselves to her and the priest, hungry at the prospect of a good fight. "... No," she simply says, then, glancing away. Then, on a more helpful note, she adds, "Go to the YFCC if you want demonstrations."
The bully, downed so quickly, raises up. "Fuckin' wuss."
"No?" Saint asks, and his disappointment becomes obvious. That charming smile turns to a slight frown, shoulders stooping a little. It's almost a comical expression, very much animated and showing how let down he is. Of course, this earns a few snickers - dude just got told by a girl that barely reached his chest. "My, my, and I was so hopeful to, but I suppose I should respect your wishes..." He glances again to the bully, then raises a gloved hand up to his hat, settling hand on top of it and ducking his head in a conceeding motion, though this is done more towards Shurui. "'Tis a shame, though, I would think you would like to prove your worth to the rest of the school here - after all, displaying strength can cause those who would do you harm, such as the young gentleman here," and here's where it starts to go wrong: Saint sweeps his cane up to hit the young bully in the ribs, and hard enough to make the boy roll several times away from them, "to respect you. You wouldn't need to fight any more than was necessary." There's a slight pause, and then the priest settles his cane onto the pavement, and his head rises up a little, eyes visible under the brim of his hat. "Granted, why would you -not- want to fight? The application of pain to one's body, and the exchange of your own pain to their body is quite... exhilerating, is it not?" That 'wrong' feeling starts to grow a little. "Perhaps, then, it is not you who should demonstrate to me - but I, who should demonstrate to you. To show you why you are as strong as you are." And with that? He strikes. It's not a precisely fast strike, but it IS rather sudden, moving from cheerful demeanor to kind of creepy to caning. Saint lifts his cane up, snaps it into his hand, then strikes in a simple, if rough slashing motion, striking simply for Shurui's middle.
COMBATSYS: Saint has started a fight here.
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Saint 0/-------/-------|
COMBATSYS: Shurui has joined the fight here.
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Shurui 0/-------/-------|-------\-------\0 Saint
COMBATSYS: Shurui dodges Saint's Heavy Strike.
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Shurui 0/-------/-------|-------\-------\0 Saint
The disappointment doesn't serve to rouse Shurui's sympathy; again, though no fault of Saint's but her suspucion of that off-color tint to his aura. A man just as kind at a different time would have earned more words and a more solid apology. Then again, if it was another time and sans that strange glimmer, she might have accepted his casual offer right away.
She walks away.
The grunt and swipe from the cane from the bully causes Shurui to glance back, the flaring pain evident in the flow of the fallen boy's body and how it curls around his buckled form. "...." It would be so easy to walk away, ignore it all. It's none of her business. She has to look out for herself. What if this man is from NESTS? What would she prove if she stood up for a guy who cared nothing for her a few minutes ago?
Yet, guilt flares in Shurui's chest as that suspect glimmer becomes something more telltale of something genuinely *wrong*. If it was her doing the damage, she might have gone this far, but in the hands of this strange man, the action seems to border on something that could be called obscene. "..." Then, Saint goes in for the first attack, the swirling energy of his body giving her instinct just enough time to react. Shurui twists her body smoothly out of the way, eyes wide and angry as her old sneakers dig into gravel. "*I'll* decide what strength is," she growls in reply.
If there's one thing that generally excites the student body of Gedo High, it's a fight. Especially when it's one of their own against one that's just attacked.... another one of her own. A circle of miscellaneous delinquents form around the two, cheering and shouting into the air. Even the bully now looks to Shurui, screaming, "K-kick his ass!"
Shurui narrows her eyes and draws her hands up in front of her, her eyes focusing acutely on Saint's body, pinpointing this flow of his energy. Looks like she'll have to fight, whether it's smart to or not.
COMBATSYS: Shurui focuses on her next action.
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Shurui 0/-------/-------|-------\-------\0 Saint
Whatever emotions Shurui is feeling seem to be of no concern to Saint, because the instant she smoothly evades his attack is the moment the priest knows what girl is. A fighter. Someone of his caliber, not just some street punk who knows how to throw a punch. That's why there is absolutely no pause between his strike, and the next one. Snapping his wrist, the cane comes back down, and then with a fencer's grace, he thrusts the wooden length forward, intent on striking the fellow psion's forehead. It is, however, not this attack that is meant to cause any sort of pain - merely meaning to be a touch to her forehead. Should it connect, an odd thing will happen. Small gray-white specks form in the air, though upon closer inspection they appear like... mosquitos? That would seem to be the case, as the specks swarm over Shurui, covering her body from head to toe, and simultaneously all bite, their needle-like mouths seeking her blood, all of it being drained out at once...! Or does it? Though it feels real, a second or two after Saint touches Shurui, the mosquitos would fade, the pain seeming to be only phantom.
COMBATSYS: Shurui blocks Saint's The Black Rites.
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Shurui 0/-------/------=|-------\-------\0 Saint
COMBATSYS: Saint has saved the state of this fight.
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Shurui 0/-------/------=|-------\-------\0 Saint
COMBATSYS: Shurui has left the fight here.
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Saint 0/-------/-------|
One could also say that the fact that she walked away was yet another reason Shurui wasn't just some punk throwing punches in an alleyway. Then again, she *did* just pummel a guy for touching her unannounced, so.... make of it what you will.
Saint's cane is regarded as a physical weapon, a blurry line that acts as an extension of that grey, fog-like aura, somewhat similiar to her own in regards to color. The feel and texture of it, on the other hand, is entirely different, like a walk through a misty forest. Eerie. Nuetral. When she senses the cane coming forward in a fashion similiar to a fencer's stab, Shurui doesn't have proper time to dodge; she only blocks.
The cane connects with her arm. "... T-this...." Mosquitoes, forming like pinpricks of energy in her mind, coat her arm, traveling down the appendage to its body proper with quick succession. ".... Graugh!" With a wave of her hand, Shurui braces against the pain and forces herself to move back, the blood-draining bits of psi dissipating with the movement. ".... You're?"
He's a psi user, like her. The words want to come out of her mouth, but are stopped; too many people around, and, while she shouldn't begin to feel any sympathy for a man who forced her into a situation like this, it does stand to be beneficial if she doesn't mention anything of the sort at all. Not only is she hunted; judging by the unorthodox attack, this man could be hunted down as well.
....... she'd like to keep the crazy people *away* from others that could use them, thank you very much. And as for those words? She'll express it through the way Saint seems to be advocating. "Have a taste of your own medicine!" the short girl then says, flinging arms open wide and releasing a barrage of loosely aimed ghostly grey bullets of energy, causing the students gathering behind Saint to scatter clumsily at the first sign of the appearance of the scattered 'friendly' fire.
COMBATSYS: Saint fails to interrupt Riot Act from Shurui with Salem Horror EX.
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Shurui 0/-------/----===|====---\-------\0 Saint
The priest has no idea about psycho energy, psions, or anything of the sort. He's certainly aware of the difference between what he uses and what others use, of course, but not so much that there's really an appreciable difference. All that matters is: they both hurt. Drawing his cane back, the priest flashes a bright smile, stepping back a pace, and raising the cane into the air. He doesn't say much, but instead seems to be... a little dazed himself? For some reason or another, the man acts like he's in pain, but it doesn't last very long. The creepy thing is, even if he acts like he's in pain, he isn't acting like that's a BAD thing.
Shurui's shout draws his attention back to herself, the priest's eyes rolling downwards, looking at her from down his nose, as his face is lifted up. "Ha ha ha," he chimes, and then seems to brace for it, when seeing what the other psion has in mind. She flings her arms out, and energy pellets fly at him. At the same time, the hand not holding his cane moves over to the top half of the cane, and a nasty surprise seems to be in store for Shurui - the top portion of the cane gives way, and pulls away from the wood surface, revealing a silvery blade hidden within the cane. Saint pulls it out, but isn't quite fast enough to do anything with, instead getting peppered with the ghost-energy.
Staggering back from the blows, Saint laughs again, raising his blade up, apparently not -much- worse for wear. "Interesting, interesting! I see you're the same as I am... the first time I've met someone like you." He pushes the brim of his hat up gently with the tip of his blade so his eyes are more visible, just briefly opening from their squinted slits. "Well then, I'd say this will be a cause for celebration... I won't hold back."
Saint knows nothing of psycho energy and psions, but, then again, neither did Shurui until recently. Until then, she had viewed it in much the same way as Saint, albiet without the same relish. After the colorless display of her inner power, Shurui feels a brief spell of fatigue, as well as a hitch of suspense at the glint of light against the man's weapon- a knife? Old sneakers dig into the worn gravel of the walkway, her body geared to dodge as best it can on short notice.
Only, whatever attack may have come, it does not come to fruitation. The unorthodox message is recieved by Saint, who speaks; Shurui declines to reply, instead studying the man's energy signature for signs of his next move. Some occupants look confused at this turn of words between Saint and Shurui; it's a confusion that Shurui feels ever more paranoid of now that more and more people are taking notice of the girl's own powers. Perhaps Saint has had the same problems? Or, perhaps, he's had problems, period. It's obvious the man is not entirely right in the head; there are no psychic powers needed to figure that out.
The clone then darts in like a cat dashing towards prey, moving in close to Saint. It's only there she speaks. "... 'Got far too many things on my plate to draw out this fight longer than I need!" A fist shorts forward in the short space between her and Saint, aimed at the curious priest's chest. Should it hit, it will contain a surprising amount of physical power, garned from the push of her body, as well as the slight charge of that psycho power from seconds ago.
COMBATSYS: Shurui successfully hits Saint with Velvet Fist.
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Shurui 0/-------/----===|======-\-------\0 Saint
Not entirely right in his head? Nonsense, Saint is perfectly adjusted. He's just, got a weird angle to adjust to. The blade he holds - a full length sword, rather than a knife - is obviously proof of that. After all, who carries around a cane in the first place, particularly when they don't really need it? Saint certainly looked sickly enough, but not quite -that- sickly. After all, he was fighting with Shurui, wasn't he? Beyond that, his cane had a sword in it. Totally in his right mind.
This time, as Shurui darts in, Saint doesn't move at all. He simply lets her step in, then strike him. It isn't that he's enduring through the pain, as many fighters might, it's almost like he -lets- her hit him, even if that's not quite the case to a sharp eye - his feet began to move a little, if half-heartedly, just before the fist impacted his chest. The result is a faulty dodging motion, one that ends up with him getting hit. Grunting out loud, the man staggers backwards, one step, two, then stops, his head tucked down. "Hahahahaha," he laughs again, and then without looking up, the hand holding the sword suddenly flicks upwards, drawing the blade in a surprisingly stiff strike from bottom to top, aimed to slice straight up the center of Shurui's chest. "Not bad, not bad! You certainly hit harder than most! How wonderful!"
COMBATSYS: Shurui dodges Saint's Fierce Strike.
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Shurui 0/-------/----===|======-\-------\0 Saint
By now, the crowd of Gedo students and passers-by have formed a defenite circle around the two, with no overwhelming preference of one opponent versus the other. The cheerful yet creepy Saint may likely have some sort of fans, while Shurui.... well, usually, Shurui never wants to think about the sorts of fans *she* could have. A girl who sometimes wears glasses and looks young for her age? That's a level of creepiness that surpasses Saint's own.
The sword becomes a twinkle and then a flash of metal in Shurui's blurred vision, but the energy profile holding it gives her enough warning to step back from that stiff but potentially deadly strike. Stepping back as a sharp exhale of breath passes through her open mouth, Shurui draws back into her original stance, hands in front of her. Her eyes narrow suddenly in suspucion. "Just who are you, anyway? Did you just come here on a lark, or do you got some other reason to come here?!" That other reason being, as Shurui fears, something along the lines of 'i'm from nests/marise/someplace else and wanted to kidnap/kill/harm you'.
No, Saint can't just be his merry self without a *reason*, says Shurui's currently paranoid logic. "Tell me or I'll take my answer the hard way!" Well, either way, she's coming in for another attack, her fist swung at the fair-haired priest palm first, fingers curled inward.
COMBATSYS: Saint endures Shurui's Strong Punch.
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Shurui 0/-------/----===|=======\-------\1 Saint
Having his sword strike dodged doesn't seem to do a whole lot to bother him. Indeed, getting hit and not hitting back seems to be his plan, as though he doesn't care about being pained. Indeed, every time he gets hit, he's been laughing rather than crying out in discomforting pain. He likes it. He wants more of it. And in return for all the pain, he'll no doubt have something special in store for Shurui. Her question just makes him raise his eyebrows some, a pleasant smile on his face. "Demanding, aren't we? And here I thought we were just having some fun! A simple fight breaking out for little reason at all - yes, yes, that -is- what you fighters do, is it not? To punch, harm, and beat each other? To determine your own strength while asserting that strength over others? But no, no, there must be more to it, she says!" There's a slight pause as Shurui adds that collorary. That... probably wasn't a good idea on her part. Because all it makes him do is open his eyes wide enough to be seen. "...Then by all means, let us do it the hard way. But I wonder, can you beat me...?"
He begins to advance...
COMBATSYS: Shurui dodges Saint's Wake the Sleeping God.
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Shurui 0/-------/----===|-------\-------\0 Saint
Saint's hands, in short, are grotesque. And it is likely no small wonder anymore that Saint keeps the rest of his body completely covered.
He then lashes out suddenly with that hand, doing nothing more than attempting to palm Shurui's face. But the young girl is too quick, his handed evaded. There's no disappointment there, he simply clicks his tongue, his eyes following the girl as she dodges around that grotesque, grasping hand. "And here I was to show you the true meaning of God's love... an atheist, I suppose. How droll." His eyes keep staring at the girl, his hand extended still. Shurui's vision might note that the energy pouring out of the man's body is more like trying to -force- itself out of him now, but having no where to go, stays within him. That can't possibly be good... and undoubtedly, the man is in intense pain."
As he advances, he tucks the cane under his arm, and begins to pull of his gloves. The motion isn't at all quick, he seems to be taking his time, as if stalking forward. When the gloves come off, though, it isn't a very pretty sight. For one, his hands are a true pink, like an albino's might be. But it's not a natural thing. The scar tissue covering them indicates that the pigmentation, as well as most of the skin, had simply been burned off at some point or another. Worse yet, despite the skin not being there to protect the body, several long scars are groved into his hands like some manner of unruly road map. His fingernails on both hands are missing. The pinky on his right hand is bent awkwardly, as if it had been broken again and again and never set right.
Saint's hands, in short, are grotesque. And it is likely no small wonder anymore that Saint keeps the rest of his body completely covered.
He then lashes out suddenly with that hand, doing nothing more than attempting to palm Shurui's face. But the young girl is too quick, his handed evaded. There's no disappointment there, he simply clicks his tongue, his eyes following the girl as she dodges around that grotesque, grasping hand. "And here I was to show you the true meaning of God's love... an atheist, I suppose. How droll." His eyes keep staring at the girl, his hand extended still. Shurui's vision might note that the energy pouring out of the man's body is more like trying to -force- itself out of him now, but having no where to go, stays within him. That can't possibly be good... and undoubtedly, the man is in intense pain.
Shurui's vision, once again, proves to be a godsend, a bittersweet blessing that registers the man's hands as blurry pink fleshy knobs flecked with vague stripes of red, one digit casting a shape that seems off. The shouts and yelps of revulsion are enough to fill in the rest of the picture, a true feat considering the student body of Gedo as a whole.
The fact that Shurui *can't* clearly see Saint's grotesque hands are probably the only reason she barely missed having a true reason to fear them. To her body, it's a matter of a dodge; Saint's hand narrowly misses the girl's face, its gnarled pink fingers clutching air instead of soft yong flesh.
"....." No pain was inflicted, but something strange happens as he stares at her; her body sags and looks pained, even if it's a different sort than the horrors that hand may have contained if it hit her. No, the girl's nausea comes at the sight of his aura; while Shurui's empathy has never fully developed as of yet, the very sight of Saint's inward pain is like nails against a chalkboard. ".... G......" Shurui's face winces in pain, then-
"S-stop doing that!" It's not like Shurui to care so violently for a person's well-being. And, really, it still isn't. She just can't stand the sight of what she's seeing. "I don't know what the hell you're doing, but whatever it is, it's tearing at your body! Can't you fucking tell?!" Teeth grind against one another as she dashes forward, a palm at the ready for a strike at Saint's body. "Snap out of it!"
COMBATSYS: Saint endures Shurui's Quick Punch.
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Shurui 0/-------/---====|=------\-------\0 Saint
"Stop...?" he asks. Tearing at his body? What is she talking about? Keeping his eyes on her, his smile fades a bit. Can she... SEE the energy throughout his body? Interesting. What an interesting picture that must be. His eyes even widen somewhat at the revelation, or what he thinks is a revelation. The raging energy inside of him continues to ravage at his body, and even while it's clear - to Shurui, anyway - that he is in some serious amount of pain, Saint doesn't seem to pay it any mind. He lowers his hand, and begins to tug on one glove slowly. "Really, now. You can look inside of me, can you? How wonderful that must be... to see the very -energy of life- ebbing and flowing inside of a person." He may not know about chi and psi and all that, but he does at least understand that. He then turns as Shurui lashes out, and simply lets the fist hit him. He even try to block it. It just hits him, right in the ribs, and he doesn't flinch, even if his face contorts a little in pain. It hurt, sure, but he both likes it and it wasn't quite the most painful thing the other fighter has done to him this afternoon.
It's then that his ungloved hand grasps the cane under the same arm, and whips it around - the sword seems to have been replaced inside of it, as well. "Well then, this should be informative!" Suddenly wheeling about, he brings the cane down, and begins to batter Shurui with it. But the attacks have that familiar notion of phantom pain linked with them. Each one, if they connect, gives an impression as though each hit leaves hooks in the flesh, that then tear themselves out. Each hit renews this feeling, of tiny little hooks imbedding themselves into flesh and again ripping out, again and again... but that's perhaps not the worst part. The part Shurui can better see - his energy - seems to be forcing the same feeling to occur inside of him, every time he lashes out.
Every hit causes him to feel the very same pain.
COMBATSYS: Shurui dodges Saint's King in Yellow.
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Shurui 0/-------/---====|==-----\-------\0 Saint
Well, oops. It seems her unwitting pleas only further excited the mad priest, in the end. Stupid, stupid, stupid! ... Then again, her plea was more akin to a person telling said owner of those nails on a chalkboard to stop, rather than some unstrategic bit of concern. Now having made that mistake, Shurui owns up to it, tightening her fists before lapsing back into that ironically relaxed pose, fingers unwilling to at first come out of their curled state.
She'll make him stop, for now. With force. After that, he's someone else's problem. People stare nervously at Shurui as Saint says those words, forcing the girl's lips to curl into a grim line. "No, it's not simple like that." A vague half-lie, but she's not going to give the very school she goes to a reason to be cautious of her. "Everyone has their abilities. A person with more experience than me can tell the same thing; I just have a shortcut." ....... This seems to sate the potential fear for most, and, mostly, she speaks the truth. It's the reason a person like Adelheid, despite being sixteen himself, could dance circles around her. Experience and expertise rule the day, in the end, genetic gifts be damned. On the other hand, the latter has certainly made Saint and Shurui's lives.... a little interesting in many ways.
It's tough, being mindful of those hands and canes. If Shurui was sure that she could do so without triggering those phantom pinpricks of pain, she would revert to the usual defense of nudging the cane or arm off its trajectory with a roll or a nudge of her hand or arm. Such is what she was taught to do. Yet here, she needs to dodge with her whole body, avoiding the priest's attacks without digging in to throw some of her own.
She'll have to do this quickly, for Saint's sake, her own, and the crowd's. Those dark eyes narrow on Saint's body, recalcuating and reforming a mental map in her mind's eye now that everything has shifted. She will have to make every hit count, or or else.... well, does she really want to know what else this young man is capable of...?
COMBATSYS: Shurui focuses on her next action.
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Shurui 0/-------/---====|==-----\-------\0 Saint
(Note: After this point, I was silly and forgot to properly log, so the following text is pasted in without the pretty html.)
If the priest is disappointed his attacks don't land, or that he seems to be getting beaten, pretty soundly, by someone younger than himself in front of a schoolyard of punks, his face shows no sign of this. No frustration, no anger, only that same smile that's been gracing his lips since he first wandered in. "Hmph!" he says, in something of an interested way. The girl had been dancing around his attacks all afternoon, and the ability to keep doing it was quite amazing to him. "Whatever you say; I have no such ability to see into a human. How I wish I could, though! Yet, I lack your eyes." Slowly recovering from his attack, the swashing cane thunking into the ground below as Saint leans on it some, the priest seems to be almost relaxed now. There's a short pause, his head lifting, as though looking up in a ponderance. And then, after a moment's thought, he says: "Shall I take your eyes, then...? Pluck them from your head and place them where mine are?"
Another pause. Then he looks down, and clucks his tongue at the girl, wagging a finger at her. "That's too... what's the word? Ah, ah, cliche, I think! Yes, that's the word. Besides..." He snaps the cane up suddenly, then makes a driving thrust with the tip towards Shurui's sternum. The attack, however, does not mean to hit, merely mean to control where Shurui moves - a feinting lunge, in other words. The real attack comes as he drives his free hand forward, attempting to grab the aura-reader by her top. If successful, there's oddly a lack of the same pain that has been present in other touches of his hand. Instead, all he does is attempt to yank her forward, against him, pressing his shoulder into her stomach, then throwing her against the ground.
CSYS: Saint has attacked you with Deep Strike. (#1)
COMBATSYS: Shurui dodges Saint's Deep Strike.
Many in the gathered crowd are incensed at the cheery priest's constant smile and manner, and many are inspired all the more to cheer on their fellow student to show the man some school spirit. Others are more cautious, seeing something a little off with Saint's actions and mannerisms. Shurui is of the latter camp, if only because of what she felt the times Saint managed to touch her. It's enough to hint at what *could* happen, and the girl's not about to allow him any chances to do the deed. Happy smiles are things Shurui can only truly sense when they are in the realm of someone's voice; the lips are blurred until she comes up close to a person.
If the former group needed more evidence to hint at the priest's unorthodox manner, Saint's next words provide more. Shurui's pink lips purse to become a thin line; it's clear that, while the priest could be idly chatting her up, getting her nervous, it's probably brushed in a specific way against a nerve. ".... Someone already tried it. Doesn't work that way. You'd just throw away a pair of perfectly good eyes."
The feint is fallen for, with Shurui all too cautious about the vague power this man holds over the pain of those whom he touches. The actual attack, however, is also avoided with graceless desperation, the girl's dark eyes wide as she bows her body back at the knees from the grasping hand, a hand catching her from completely falling back and rolling to the side. "Tch!"
Saint holds his ground well; he's probably done this before. Many times. So many times that he's probably learned that, try after try, his hand will hit home. She's still in that awkward position just to the side of him; hands on the ground and bent legs. Pushing herself back onto her feet, Shurui continues to keep her distance from the priest, pressing backwards as her knee-length skirt sways with her movement. "If you wanna trade," she then says as menacingly as she can muster at the moment, beginning to bow back, "I'd be happy to take yours!" Arms swing open, a million bullets of grey ghostly light sent careening into the air. It's the same attack as before, but, hopefully, she can use this to shield herself from a physical counterattack when she steps in with something more physical for her next attack.
COMBATSYS: Saint fails to interrupt Riot Act from Shurui with Heretic's Fork.
COMBATSYS: Saint can no longer fight.
Even as his hand misses the girl, Saint's already into another spurt of laughter, mostly directed at the comment she returns back to him. "I'd already said I have no interest! Besides..." as he trails off to resteady his stance, cane twirling about so he can reset his stance, getting ready for another attack... or even an attempt to evade, though the way Shurui dodges him almost seems, to him, to be a little too awakward to counterattack too quickly. He's proven wrong, however, as she shouts, and then releases another barrage of ghost-gray bullets at him. Oddly enough, Saint's reaction to it this time is to separate the sword from his cane, and then slash outwards at the bullets. One bullet is 'cut' and severed, making the energy dissipate. Then another, and another... but not another -million- bullets. Soon he can't keep up, and the bullets slam into him, and whatever he'd been wanting to do is canceled out. Staggering back, the priest turns in a circle, then finally ends up facing Shurui again, holding his front with a gloved hand. "Ha ha... hmm! That energy of yours is quite the trick. But I believe for now, I will need to fall back." Standing up straight - though with a slight wince - he doffs his cap, then turns to leave. "Don't think I won't be back, however. This school is... quite interesting."
Log created on 23:34:43 04/17/2008 by Shurui, and last modified on 20:36:08 06/21/2008.