Description: After finally meeting up with Tenma of the Guardian Kings and hearing his words, Shurui decides to test them as well, by challenging the cocky yet skilled Tenma to a match. In the end, the short clone finds some proof that she could trust the fellow Gedo student's words in the case that NESTS attacks Gedo High, but will it or will it not be enough, in the end?
Spring rain sprinkles lightly in the courtyard of Gedo High, the skies a cloudy grey that promises more rain to come in the later hours. The grey concrete of the campus grounds is slowly becoming enriched with traces of color as grass and trees begin to recover from a long, hard winter. Classes have let out for the day, and the hallways are full with lingering students gossiping by their lockers and going off to after-school activities or training. Some stare when the grey-haired girl, dressed in jeans and dark tank top, walks casually down the hallway towards the door, though most screen her out or go back to their daily routine.
It's not due to the grey hair, of course. Shurui's been here long enough that things like this rarely become a problem, if at all. With some of the students having strange hair colors of their own, whether natural or dyed, the fact that hers is just grey as a plain rainy day hasn't hurt her any socially.
What *has* changed, however, are the rumors. Rumors of strange men looking for her at other schools. Of the weird marks on her body after she came back from about a week's absence, which have long since healed. If it were any other school but Gedo, this could have been a source of trouble, but here? Well, no one has truly bothered her. It *is* Gedo, after all. Whether it was the police, a gang, a dealer, or a broker? Someone's run into that at some point here. The hallways are tinted with nervous empathy from the few who keep looking as the girl exits the building, walking off in the light sprinkle of rain towards the dorms.
Normally on his off time, Tenma Kiryuu would be up on his 'throne', the roof of Gedo High which the Guardian Kings have claimed as their own territory. It affords a commanding view of the grounds and surrounding area, it's pretty quiet, and besides it's a good place to nap.
But right now, Tenma is not in any of his usual hiding spots. Instead, he is leaving a rare place to ever see him... A classroom. The leader of the Guardian Kings grumbles as he escapes the terrible prison within, on the tail end of a lecture from one of the school's more vigorous teachers, exhorting him to finish a project so he can at least get a passing grade in that particular class.
Tenma, of course, looks less than enthused as he makes it to the hallway. "Pfft," he mutters to himself - once he's safely out of earshot. "Like I'm ever gonna need to know that crap in real life." He already has the skills he needs to survive in the real world! Seriously.
So it comes to pass that Tenma starts exiting the building at the /exact same moment/ as Shurui, pushing the second door open.
He doesn't seem to notice the weird mood in the air.
So, what does an aura brimming with chi that's about as subtle as a brick through a glass window register in Shurui's mind? .... Probably similiar to the sound of a reactor vibrating against something in an slightly unsettling undulating rhythm. Something that makes your teeth clench if you don't attempt to screen it out at the get-go. Something like
VrooOOonvrooOoooonvroOoooon
Shurui doesn't need eyes to notice auras, really. The 'sight' part is just a nice feature that allows her eyes to participate. So it stands that Shurui 'hears' Tenma before she 'sees' him, her head snapping up with eyes wide and lips turned in a disturbed frown until eyes focus on the Guardian King passing by her.
Wait. "......" Is that? Dark eyes squint. It's not as if she's had a good chance to remember the way his energy appears to her eyes, even if the memory of her rescue had pretty much remained burned into her mind. ".... Tenma?"
Hey, Tenma can't help it, he has a lot to swing around there.
And a whole bunch of chi too. Ohh!
Of course, he has no idea there's someone beside him until Shurui speaks up, because he was totally focused on his own thoughts, most of them dark and vaguely panicky as to how he was actually going to get that project done. But when someone - not just 'someone', but in fact /a girl/ - says his name, that gets the Kiryuu heir's attention.
"Huh?" Tenma wonders, turning his head to look at Shurui. There really aren't a lot of girls at Gedo, you know, and most of the ones who /do/ attend the school aren't exactly flowers of femininity or anything. Indeed, most of them probably have bigger biceps than Tenma... Though he /is/ kind of slender. "Oh, hey, Chiang," the Gedo swordsman greets, lifting his bookbag hand in greeting.
His other hand, of course, is carrying his wrapped bokken against his shoulder.
.... Shurui is definitely no exception to the rule, even if, well, she's not in the camp of having biceps larger than Tenma's. No, she's.... not going to be mistaken for a man anytime soon. Being mistaken for an effeminate little boy, however? That's another story.
Tenma's reaction to her surprises Shurui; then again, she's never had a chance to really know the Guardian King's personality aside from the rumors about his more.... infamous traits. And, well, the conditions when they first met.
In short? She's definitely caught off guard. "..... Uh, hey." A few pairs of eyes that weren't interested before now drift over towards Tenma and Shurui in the hallway, though the curious glances are quickly deterred when the short girl proves to be as mentally perceptive of their weight. She can't see which one of those assholes is watching, but she'll *definitely* send a death glance in their general direction.
..... Anyway. "... Um." Moving ahead in hopes that it will nudge the abrasive bokken fighter along, she turns her head around, eyes staring slightly past the Kiryuu heir in a gesture that's more to grab his attention than for her to look at him again. A thin eyebrow slowly raises. "You remember me, right? You were one of the people who rescued me and Stasya."
Hey, that's terrible. Tenma isn't /always/ a huge jerk. Just, like... Most of the time. Stop feeding into blanket generalisations! Since he has nothing better to do, the leader of the Guardian Kings shrugs and follows alongside Shurui, his bokken in its cloth sheath resting casually against his shoulder, while his bookbag dangles from his other hand, blood-red prayer beads around that wrist.
"Yeah, that part was kinda hard t' forget," Tenma says dryly, so /there's/ that abrasiveness. "What with the everyone almost dyin', and me killing the crazy demon bitch, an' you bein' locked in a cat carrier or somethin'." He didn't think a person could fit in something that small. On the upside? He now knows that Shurui fits easily in most overhead luggage compartments, which has got to save on air travel fees for going to fights. "You're welcome, by the way," Tenma adds rather pointedly.
He's leaving out the part where he didn't actually know who she was or even that she was there, beforehand.
It's a point Shurui's considered many times over. No one knew she was there. It would be a long time before anyone thought to look for her. It drove her to escape, even when it meant pathetically feeling around the corridors until someone bothered to collect her. Even when it meant that, with her declining health and disabilities and the maze-like tunnels, it was an impossible feat. It doesn't lessen her respect for the Guardian Kings and 'Adel' (whose whole name she hasn't thankfully googled yet) as a whole. They almost *died* to get to Stasya and her. They had to *kill* someone.
Despite this, Tenma's wry humor grates along Shurui's patience slowly, summoning a slow frown to press along her lips. "..." Blunt words pile up in her throat, choked back from her tongue as she turns away.
She forgot to say thank you, after all.
".... I *was* going to say that, you know. You didn't give me a chance," she says sharply, shoving her hands in her pockets as gentle drizzle sprinkles down along the courtyard. "..."
Finally. "..... Thank you." She turns her head to look back at the Kiryuu heir. "I don't care why you came or what. You saved me, you saved Stasya, and that fucking demon woman didn't get a chance to play doctor with either of our eyes."
'Grating' is a pretty common assessment of Tenma's behaviour; it's on purpose, too. Being so abrasive and sarcastic keeps a nice, safe comfort zone between himself and everyone else... And besides that, it provides him with a certain mystique, which is an important trait for a professional fighter.
"Hey, somebody had to take the initiative," Tenma says, in reply to Shurui's assertion that she was going to thank him eventually. That carefully crafted persona of his rarely allows him to show much in the way of overt kindness or other more gentle emotions - certainly not where prying eyes might see. So instead, Shurui - who is something of a stranger to Tenma, not part of the surrogate family that is his team - gets the abrasive jerk. So when she does apologise, he nods slowly, as if it were his just due.
Which, maybe it is. He still has nightmares about having to kill Marise.
"Tch... Ain't damsels in distress usually nicer 'bout it once you rescue 'em?" Tenma wonders of nobody in particular, scratching the back of his head with the end of his cloth-sheathed bokken. And yet, he shies away from outright sexual harassment as he turns to look fully at Shurui, looking down at her rather imperiously. "Pragmatic, that's good. Important thing is you're alive an' intact an' the Grudge didn't get to do whatever she was gonna do." Eyes? That's messed up. But then, she /was/ a demon. "But," he continues, shifting to lean down at Shurui, to bring his face closer to hers, fixing his dark blue eyes on her face. His aura - immense, barely controlled crimson power - drums in time with his heartbeat, the rhythm picking up slightly. "You're one of us. You're Gedo. Even if Stasya hadn't been down there, we woulda come for you. Got it?"
And he means it. Presuming they had found out she was there, anyway.
'Got it?'
The comments before that gained Shurui's ire than her gratitude, by proxy of Tenma's defensive public persona. This, in turn, ignites Shurui's own blunt mask; Tenma didn't have the advantage of knowing her beforehand. Or, well, vice versa, which has helpted Kenji in getting a much more polite side of her. "Didn't know if you knew who I was, at first, or I would've," Shurui says bluntly, shuffling a hand against the pale hair that sticks to her forehead from the building moisture. "It's not like we had time to exchange names and everything." Then, fully turning around to face the Guardian King, she adds, much more softly, "....You were making sure Stasya was okay."
She can't lose sight of what they all did for her and Stasya. No matter how much of an asshole Tenma possibly proves himself to be, it can't negate that act. Not unless he does something equally as malevolent. Him calling her a damsel in distress? She'll swallow that bit of pride. Tried as she did, Shurui allowed herself to think she was capable of solving all of life's problems. She's pragmatic, yes. But she also was naive. Then again? No one expected people like Marise existed.
Then that crimson-chi'ed figure leans down, energy intensely beating as its owner prepares to make his main point. 'You're one of us'. One of Gedo. Shurui's face goes blank for a moment, dislodged off that defensive mask of hers. "..."
Shurui really needed to hear that, of all times. There's a long pause, the short girl seeming to take in the Guardian King's words with an equal amount of importance as what he meant to put forth. "Yeah," she finally says. "I-I got it." She's silent, rain drizzling in the courtyard in the air all around. "... I'll find a way to pay you back for it. You got my respect, at the very least; but these sorts of things... well, dunno if it'd do any good, but if you or anybody on your team needs me for something; I'll give a hand." A sobering muted crack of thunder is heard in the distance, almost seeming to jolt Shurui's mind back to yet another serious matter.
NESTS. "..... You saw the bulletin, right? About those people going around all the schools."
Oh, it's true... Tenma's reason behind allying himself with Adelheid Bernstein and leading his friends into deadly danger was the rescue of Stasya Voronkova. Shurui was an unknown element to him then, someone he'd seen around the school and maybe heard mentioned once or twice, but he hardly knew that she was missing as well. And yet, he means what he said; if it had just been Shurui there, and he'd known she was taken, he would've done the same thing.
That's how Gedo High works.
Once it seems to Tenma that the girl has gotten the point, the tall youth straightens up to his full height, nearly an entire foot taller than the other Gedo student. "Heh... I'm sure you will," he agrees, shrugging his shoulders a little. See? See how he's taking he high road here? He could've made all sorts of improper remarks! "Obviously you ain't nothin', otherwise the Grudge wouldn't have been after you." Whether she's a strong fighter or not, that he has no clue.
"What about 'em?" Tenma wonders to that last statement, tilting his head slightly to one side. "They show their faces here lookin' for trouble, an' they'll walk out with their heads stuffed right up their own asses."
Thankfully for Tenma? Shurui's.... not as perceptive on that level of innuedo. Or so sensitive to the level that she'd see things where they weren't intended. Taking the teenager's comment for what it is, at face value, the girl's shoulders parrot Tenma's own shrug, a hang straying to shuffle through the hair above the nape of her neck.
What did Marise want? "Well, yeah. She wanted my eyes," Shurui finally says, with a small shrug. Tenma might as well know; he had to *kill* the woman, after all. "I can see things other people can't. Like, well. Energy. That's what my eyes see people as. She wanted that. She was going to use Stasya as a test and make me watch it. Wanted to break my spirit."
The grey-haired girl's brown eyes make a point of studing Tenma's frame just then, even if his signature had been evident to her from the start. "Yours is red. Orange-red. You've got a lot of drive. Kenji's is so bright I have trouble looking at him without glasses, and Hakuya's is.... well, when he's not angry, it's peaceful. Harmonious, maybe? Stasya's is spiky. I can see how that energy flows, and how you use it. Where your weak points currently are, where your strong points are. I see other things, too, after a while." Patterns. Similarities. Differences. Sizes. Potential. Power. Danger.
The explanation leads rather well into her next topic, thankfully. "They're after me. That demon woman opened a big can of worms for me by kidnapping me; those people now want me too. Don't underestimate them; if they get interested in someone, bad things happen. Their leader thinks he's a god." Her mouth sets into a grim line. "And that guy's dragging all the schools into this; he might even already know where I am, but either way he's enjoying the hell out of getting fighters to perform for him."
The blunt look in her eye, despite it seeming to stare at a point slightly off Tenma's face, seems to intensify. "I've got no right in telling you what to do; you sync with each other on an entirely different level. When they come, take them seriously as you did the demon woman. Don't let them take anyone, willing or no. Because if my info's right, you'll be saving that person's identity."
Throughout Shurui's explanation of her ability, Tenma remains silent, his expression unreadable; of course, for someone with the smaller student's level of perception, there's an intent focus to him, as he listens. He's taking it in and, to a degree someone with his reputation likely shouldn't be able to, /understanding/ it. "Huh... That's a convenient ability," he says; he's sensitive to the way energy moves himself, through people and through the world around them, but it doesn't manifest as anything so clear and potent. A sense, a feeling is what he gets, more than most, but...
"Yeah, well, they can come lookin' all they want, they ain't gettin' ya," Tenma replies to Shurui's grim statement, absolute confidence shining through. "Or anybody else, far as I'm concerned. Even if I havta kick their sorry asses right out the damn gates by myself." An unlikely turn of events to be sure, but in an ironic twist he's had to do /exactly that/ to a NESTS agent once before.
It was pretty badass.
The confidence in Tenma's voice makes a small tic of a half-smile appear on the clone's face. "Okay. I usually don't like doing this, but I'll leave it in your hands. If you were able to handle rescuing me, then a battle on your own home turf shouldn't be too hard. I'll probably spilt off to the back and make my exit if I hear of anything, though. That way, if things *do* get dicey, you can focus on making sure they don't take any souvenirs. These attacks aren't all about me, I bet." More like an excuse to flex muscle, in Shurui's opinion.
"Got a request though." Shurui studies Tenma long and hard, dark eyes going over the teen's swirling energy. "I wanna see you in action. Fought Hakuya. I also fought Kenji, and he royally kicked my ass. I'm satisfied with that, but I wanna see you too. So spar me. I wanna know exactly in what hands my safety's in." Running a hand through dampened hair, she further comments, "Unless you got somewhere to be. I'll admit, some of the reasons I want to fight you lie in the fact I wanna be able to say I've fought all of you. Wanna say I beat all of you too, but that's something I need to work at. Like I said, Kenji beat my ass, while Hakuya and I pretty much knocked each other out."
Confidence is something Tenma has in great abundance. Possibly even overabundance, really... It pours out of him in almost as great amounts as his chi. The arrogant boy watches Shurui throughout her response, a faint smirk on his face but otherwise not really reacting at all... Not even when she starts to talk about her 'request' and fighting various members of the Guardian Kings.
"What 'bout Voronkova? Have you fought her?" Tenma wonders after a moment or two, seeming to consider what the grey-haired girl has to say. But... If she's really that determined, who is he to let her down? The cloth-wrapped bokken of his slides off of his shoulder, and he starts to undo the ties on it, dropping his bookbang carelessly at his feet. "See, there's a difference between them an' me," he continues. "Ashima, he's strong. Hakuya..." Hakuya is the only person Tenma accepts as his equal; thus the conspicuous use of his personal name, not a surname or some sort of demeaning nickname.
Names are important.
The cloth sheath for Tenma's bokken is stuffed into his pants pocket carelessly, and the young man bites into the flesh of his left thumb, drawing blood, red red blood that runs down his hand... And using that blood, he paints a red stripe down the wooden blade of his sword, initialising the chi link. Sensitive as she is, Shurui might be able to feel it click into place, even if it isn't the sort of energy she uses.
Then, Tenma sweeps his bokken through the air, setting it alight with a smoky aura of violent red, chi and blood mingled together to the point that they are the same thing. "But me? One day I'm gonna be in the history books, under the title 'The Best There Ever Was'. Now, show me what you've got... Chiang!"
COMBATSYS: Tenma has started a fight here.
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Tenma 0/-------/-------|
COMBATSYS: Shurui has joined the fight here.
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Tenma 0/-------/-------|-------\-------\0 Shurui
Stasya. The name makes Shurui's voice go quiet, "Wasn't so sure about fighting her immediately after all we went through," Shurui says in contemplation, her gaze going to the ground. "Though, I think you're right. I should spar her sometime, if just to stop viewing her that way. She's strong too, you know? Otherwise she wouldn't be in the Guardian Kings, and she wouldn't have survived that kidnapping."
And Tenma thinks he's different? "Everyone's different. I want you to show me what your difference is." She pauses, pondering over something in her mind. "... Aside from having a lot of confidence, that is."
The Guardian King's method causes Shurui to blink, the blood of the young man's left hand traced by the slight break in the energy of his body. He.... bit his thumb? -Wait, no. The sword has become a part of him now, in a sense, the young man's energy clicking into it like an electrical plug pressed into an outlet.
'-Chiang!' His words snap her back from the hidden display, causing her to raise her hands. "Alright. Show me you got what it takes!" Crossing her arms in front, the clone flings them outwards, a barrage of Psycho bullets exposed to air in their wake, now speeding towards Tenma. "Those words gotta have more than bark to them, or else I'm just wasting my time!"
COMBATSYS: Tenma overcomes Riot Act from Shurui with Dharmapala.
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Tenma 0/-------/-------|-------\-------\0 Shurui
Well... Shurui can't say she didn't ask for it.
Tenma's response to Shurui's initial words is simply to smirk more forcefully, radiating insolence, lazy arrogance from every pore. Standing casually with his bokken slanted against his shoulder, his right hand dangling at his side with blood dripping from it, he seems - especially here, on 'his' turf - like the proverbial lion on the hill. It would probably be even worse up on the roof, the territory he claimed for himself and his team.
So when Shurui fires her bullets of Psycho Power, Tenma is ready. With sudden, blurring speed, his right forearm moves, swinging his bokken off of his shoulder in an arc in front of him. It's nowhere near close enough to hit Shurui herself, or even her bullets of energy, but the danger isn't the weapon... It's the energy trailing after it, like a red afterimage lingering in the air.
From that streak of red is born a crescent of roiling blood, tearing through the air and /through/ Shurui's own attack, devouring the smaller burst of power and continuing on, directly at the girl herself. "Tch--!!"
COMBATSYS: Shurui blocks Tenma's Dharmapala.
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Tenma 0/-------/-------|=------\-------\0 Shurui
Indeed, Shurui did. But that's okay; if Tenma doesn't give her a hard time, someone else will. Where Tenma oozes a sort of smug confidence, Shurui is more cautious. She's not overly paranoid, thankfully, but that's mostly due to the situation. She can afford to lose here, after all. She doesn't have to fight until her body gives out; just to the point that she knows a conclusion is determined. It'd be nice if that conclusion is Tenma losing, but she can't ever afford to be as arrogant as he is.
Why? Because said arrogant Tenma has just unleashed a wave of red blood chi, absorbing the force of her own attack and continuing onward. Shurui narrows her eyes and throws her arms up as a buffer against the blast, hunching behind it to make for a slightly smaller target as the wave of energy floods against her and over her.
In the aftermath, light trails of steam waft into the air, after-effects of the exchange of chi and psycho. Shurui shakes her head like a wet dog, flinging accumulated water from her grey hair. Ow. "I'm in a good position, you know? If you win, that means you got some bite behind that bark. If you lose? If I get a good enough fight, that's just going to make me a little stronger." Moving forward, she quickly closes that distance between her and Tenma, flicking a quick jab with her open palm before pressing back in an attempt to avoid any immediate counterattack. "If you *really* lose? Well. Thank god you got good teammates."
COMBATSYS: Tenma dodges Shurui's Quick Punch.
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Tenma 0/-------/-------|=------\-------\0 Shurui
It goes beyond mere smug confidence, too; Tenma is absolutely certain of himself. He's absolutely certain that he can do it, that he can win... It doesn't matter who the opponent is. Oh, he knows there's people stronger than him, faster than him, tougher than him - who surpass him by orders of magnitude. But the possibility that he /cannot/ win? Doesn't even enter into his psychological makeup. Impossibility doesn't occur to Tenma Kiryuu.
"Of course I have good teammates," Tenma says, as though it were the most obvious thing in the world. Why wouldn't he? /He/ chose them, after all. He has almost as much faith in them as he does in himself.
The jab directed at Tenma simply... Misses outright, as Kiryuu's reflexes let him slip out of the way, twisting to one side. "Too slow," he chides, wagging his bokken tauntingly. "How about this?!" Tenma then wonders, as he snaps his weapon forward at his wrist, a viper-quick strike aimed right at Shurui's midsection.
COMBATSYS: Shurui dodges Tenma's Weapon Jab.
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Tenma 0/-------/-------|=------\-------\0 Shurui
For Shurui, confidence is a luxury, a bedmate to ruin if overindulged. She was overconfident that she could escape or take whatever the world gave her. Marise, NESTS, and life in general made her see the folly of her ways; she can't let it happen to her again. Even if it means putting her fate partly in the hands of others.
Others like Tenma. Eyes widen, but not in surprise. No, she's studying the young man's moves, that flow of energy. That last attack was too slow; she was still recovering from Tenma's blast of blood chi. This one can't hit. She'll make it not hit. She'll-
The weapon jabs into air, sliding against the side of Shurui's body. The short girl looks up with a frown so serious it's almost childish on such a young face. "... Yours was a little faster, I guess," she admits while backing away slightly, promptly ending the comment with a swift motion of her right leg, flipping upwards in the air as if to perform a kick. The foot misses Tenma's chin entirely, but, like with his own attack earlier, it's merely an extension used to fling energy; what follows is an arc of grey energy swiftly shooting upwards, aiming to catch Tenma by the underside of his face.
COMBATSYS: Tenma Toughs Out Shurui's Phantom Limb!
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Tenma 0/-------/-----==|=------\-------\0 Shurui
"Heh," Tenma chuckles under his breath at Shurui's avoidance of his quick slash. Okay, so she's got pretty good defense, he decides. What about her offense? With this question in mind, the leader of the Guardian Kings actually /does not move/ when it seems like Shurui is trying to kick him in the head.
For a moment, he's surprised that the apparent kick misses entirely.
But only for a moment, as he's struck by that grey energy, hitting his chin and jaw and searing painfully but... Not painfully enough to stop him, or even really slow him down. "You think so, huh?" he wonders, lunging forward to try and catch Shurui as she completes her flip; he swings his bokken back behind him, holding it so that the tip of the blade pokes up from behind his left shoulder, while lashing out with his left fist. His strikes are quick, but precise; Tenma targets specific points on Shurui's torso, to disrupt the flow of energy through her body. And he keeps herding her, trying to control their relative positions throughout his barrage of strikes, to keep her at a disadvantage...
COMBATSYS: Tenma successfully hits Shurui with Flow Breaker.
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Tenma 0/-------/----===|====---\-------\0 Shurui
"... I think so."
The comment is followed moments later with another of Tenma's attacks; this one proves to be more successful than the last. Shurui grunts as the Guardian King manages to pinpoint the exact areas on her body to apply force. The girl can feel her inner energy being disrupted, precious energy wasted in order to regain that steady flow as she finally manages to pull back after several previous attempts to evade that barrage of strikes. "....."
"Heh." Shurui allows herself the luxury of grinning. ".... Y'know.... If everybody'd realize that my eyes aren't the only way to find a body's weaknesses, I'd live a calmer, possibly boring life." Tenma has the advantage of knowledge; he knew how to disrupt those fields, whereas Shurui can only see them and target weaker points with physical force. It's something to consider, possibly figuring out how to do something similiar.
But for now? Fait. Dashing ahead, Shurui points her elbow outwards and cradles the fist of her hand against the other, hoping to duck in and unceremoniously jam the blunt edge of her elbow into Tenma's stomach.
..... Her father's probably spinning in his grave as she does this, but it's not like Shurui's been strictly using Wing Chun outside the elderly man's strict gaze.
COMBATSYS: Tenma interrupts Strong Punch from Shurui with Head Breaker.
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Tenma 0/-------/--=====|=======\-------\1 Shurui
COMBATSYS: Tenma has saved the state of this fight.
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Tenma 0/-------/--=====|=======\-------\1 Shurui
While Tenma can't 'see' these things, he can /feel/ them... Mostly due to a lot of training in his family's more esoteric techniques. Magic, some people might call it, but it's not really... Tenma simply understands the finer points of how chi works, especially how it interacts with the human body. That's the thing about Tenma; most people tend to write him off immediately as just a fighter who relies on overwhelming power, not expecting him to understand anything else.
For example, right now Tenma understands that he has the advantage, and has placed himself in a position to exploit it.
As Shurui charges in, Tenma actually moves to keep on her as he did before, and when she tries to elbow him in the gut, he twists, throwing his left hand forward to catch her by the collar. The girl's elbow grazes along his side, not /quite/ harmlessly, and Tenma turns Shurui's own momentum against her.
By headbutting her really, really hard, with enough force to send her FLYING away. "You're wide open, Chiang!"
Perhaps it's karma or whatever that Shurui's brutish move leaves her a few moments later flying through the air in the opposite direction she was charging in. ..... Or, more likely, it's just that Tenma's got some advantages on the girl. Experience, for one. Either way? Muda wouldn't be above approving of this turn in the match, even if it leaves Shurui grunting in pain as she lands, skidding across the ground.
Her father always hated it when she insisted on using the more uncouth methods of street fighting she absorbed from her days before. "My mistake," Shurui casually allows as she swings her body back on her feet, her words not quite matching the serious gaze, those dark eyes set on determining what her next move will be.
And then, Shurui makes it. Attempting to take advantage of what she supposes is a good opening, Shurui swings her foot around in a light roundhouse kick, attempting to wear Tenma further while in the process of gathering back her strength.
COMBATSYS: Tenma blocks Shurui's Light Kick.
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Tenma 0/-------/--=====|=======\-------\1 Shurui
"C'mon then," Tenma taunts, lifting his chin so as to peer down at Shurui past his nose. "It's not 'bout not making mistakes, right? It's 'bout learnin' from 'em." So maybe she can learn from the grievous mistake... Of wanting to fight Tenma at all, ha ha ha! Or so he'd say.
He's kind of a jerk.
Once again, Shurui comes at Tenma, and it's certainly true that he has the advantage in experience; the roundhouse kick meets with the wooden blade of Tenma's bokken with a sharp thud, sending a brief twinge of pain through his arm regardless. Pushing the girl's leg away, Tenma twists around and brings his own leg up, in a sharp back kick aiming his heel right at her gut. "You're not even makin' me try hard!"
COMBATSYS: Shurui fails to counter Random Strike from Tenma with Subtle Knife.
- Power fail! -
[ \\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\ < > //////// ]
Tenma 0/-------/-======|=====--\-------\0 Shurui
She's not making him try very hard? Well, perhaps she'll try to up the ante a bit more! ....... then again, it's more her just trying to steal a hit in than any real feat of holding back. This *is* Shurui putting her all in. ..... Well, the sort of 'all' that happens when Shurui knows she can stand to loose and still not be in some lab or cage a day or so later.
And thank goodness for that, because her counterattack backfires. In fact, it backfires in a brilliant sort of way, Psycho power boiling up in her arm as Tenma throws his leg against her gut. Grey energy fizzes uselessly in the air as Shurui is sent back, hacking and wheezing as the very air is forced from her lungs against the hit.
Pathetic. At least Tenma knows she's not here because she's confident she'd win. Or is that what he means by that comment? "...." Staggering away, the pain flashing like a ping-pong ball in her brain and chest, Shurui coughs some more, but, after a moment, forces her body back into a more defensive pose. One thing's for sure- she's not a rookie to pain. Or fighting when her body wants to keel over in the fetal position.
She won't blame it on the drizzle, a long day at school, or whatever. Shurui's got to keep going and learn from Tenma's movements. If she fails to do that, she'll make the biggest mistake of all.
Most of Tenma's comments, arrogant though they are, aren't really meanspirited... Trash talking is something he sees as an important part of being a 'real' fighter, so he does it. And he has no reason to be actually hateful towards Shurui, right? She's a Gedo student after all, so she's part of the gang.
Uh, literally.
Tenma's brows raise slightly as Shurui almost does /something/, which might have been really bad for him; though whatever it was didn't materialise, he gets the impression he's lucky to have avoided getting hit with it, so as Shurui tries to fight back the pain, Tenma just stands there, and watches her, his bokken resting slanted against his shoulder again, his right hand at his side, thumb tucked into his pants pocket. "C'mon, Chiang. You've gotta have more'n that up your sleeve, right? So show me, already."
COMBATSYS: Tenma takes no action.
[ \\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\ < > //////// ]
Tenma 0/-------/-======|=====--\-------\0 Shurui
Thankfully, Shurui's no stranger to Tenma's mindset, even if she's only experienced it on other fighters, rather than Tenma himself. She wasn't.... exactly in her right mind last time they met.
Shaking the arm she used to attempt that last attack, Shurui listens to Tenma's words, but.... instead of coming forward with some sort of attack, merely keeps her distance, a defensive posture kept as she circles him. But it's not an entirely foolish move; Tenma may feel the girl's blank stare on his body as she seems to look much more closely at him than she's had ever before.
She's refusing to take Tenma's offer, instead using that time to make her next attacks count. The match will soon be over, but she can't go down throwing blind punches. "...... I'm afraid it's something you can't see in action," she says, finally.
COMBATSYS: Shurui focuses on her next action.
[ \\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\ < > //////// ]
Tenma 0/-------/-======|=====--\-------\0 Shurui
See, that's not what you're supposed to do, you're supposed to exploit the fact that Tenma didn't bother to press the advantage! Silly Shurui. As the girl starts to circle him, Tenma blows out a quiet huff of air, stirring black bangs out of his face. "Well that's disappointing," he says, shrugging his shoulders a little. Still, he can tell that Shurui's preparing to do /something/, probably something quite dangerous to him.
So naturally, he's going to have to do something dangerous /first/.
Suddenly springing into motion, Tenma doesn't even let Shurui complete her circle around him, twisting to lunge at her before she can get fully behind him; as he moves, his bokken comes down from his shoulder, the smoky red aura trailing behind the blade once again as he sweeps it in a sharp, rising arc that's supposed to go diagonally across her torso, both hands grasping the hilt of his weapon. "Haaa-!!"
COMBATSYS: Shurui dodges Tenma's Fierce Strike.
[ \\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\ < > //////// ]
Tenma 0/-------/-======|=====--\-------\0 Shurui
Ah, but she already tried that tactic- it ended with her on the ground and the air forced out of her lungs. Now, she's going to attempt to show Tenma what she's able to do.
When Tenma makes his move, his patience having ended, Shurui prepares herself, moving her body outside of Tenma's range with deceptive speed as the Guardian King speeds by, bokken hitting air instead of the hard bone of her shoulder. ".... You told me to show you what I can do," Shurui raspily comments as Tenma comes to his eventual stop.
Waiting until Tenma chooses to direct his face towards her, the short girl has her foot ready, pressed back and swung upward with brutal force in an attempt to crash against the Gedo teen's chin. "It's not as simple as rushing in for me."
COMBATSYS: Shurui successfully hits Tenma with Heavy Kick.
- Power hit! -
[ \\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\ < > ///////// ]
Tenma 1/------=/=======|======-\-------\0 Shurui
It's absolutely true, Tenma DID tell her to show him what she could do, and if that means dodging out of the way of his attack, then so be it. Skidding and twisting around to try to keep Shurui in front of him, the Guardian King leader finds himself facing a boot to the head, which he actually... Stands there and takes?
This proves to be something of a bad idea, as the kick lands with more force than Tenma was expecting, driving him back and off of his feet, tumbling in a backwards roll. Just once, sure, but it happens anyway, leaving him to end up in a low crouch.
It should be noted that his bokken is buried in the ground, once he gets up into that crouch; but surely this means nothing, right?
Tenma rubs his chin with the back of his free hand, smirking toothily at Shurui. "Ha ha ha, that was pretty good," he allows, dark blue eyes focused on the psychic girl. As he does this, cracks begin to appear, spiderwebbing their way from the point where his sword is embedded in the earth of the courtyard.
Then the cracks start to widen, spreading as gouts of actual, literal, honest to goodness BLOOD start spilling out of them, tracing zig-zagging lines of force along the ground, draconic shapes of crimson gore seeking to meet up again where Shurui is, to collide with her en masse in a bloody melee. "BUT NOT GOOD ENOUGH!"
COMBATSYS: Shurui blocks Tenma's Hell of Blood.
[ \\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\ < > // ]
Tenma 0/-------/-------|=======\==-----\1 Shurui
It was all worth it, just for that hit, really. Shurui doesn't allow herself the thought that she might win when her foot connects with Tenma's chin, knocking him over with a satisfying impact. Yes, it was all worth it.
Now it's time to pay for that.
Crimson red floods Shurui's murky vision as Tenma's blood chi blooms from those cracks in the ground, all of them coalescing into one stream straight towards her. What does she do? Well, damage control. Hunching down and pressing her arms in front of her, the blood chi hits her like a brick wall, her defenses barely registering as any sort of buffer as the energy floods her senses and numbs her body with pain.
In other words, ow. Owowowowow. As the attack subsides, Shurui stumbles to her feet, her body's poise giving away her exhaustion. It shouldn't be long before she falls over, but before that? ".... Heh." The clone's eyes open. "I'm satisfied... Just don't let that cocky attitude come in the way of what's really important.... Now..." Gathering her will for one final blow, Shurui speeds ahead, throwing her fist forward against Tenma's chest, seeming to attempt one last punch before she goes down...
COMBATSYS: Shurui can no longer fight.
[ \\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\ <
Tenma 0/-------/-------|
COMBATSYS: Shurui successfully hits Tenma with Subtle Knife.
[ \\\\\\\\\\\\ <
Tenma 0/-------/----===|
In reality, if it hits, Shurui's attack is anything but a simple punch. Grey psycho power explodes from the point where fist touches body, the second part of it coursing sharply through Tenma's body like a lance, erupting out his back. Then, with her other fist, Shurui disconnects the flow of power with another punch, sending Tenma back. That done, she forces herself to collapse against a nearby bench, eyes closed and body too weary to move.
Yeah... Tenma is going to go on record as not liking that attack very much.
He tries to get out of the way of Shurui's last desperate strike, though he's sort of overcommitted to his own attack, which makes it difficult. He manages to get his bokken freed from the ground, but he can't avoid the punch... Or the ensuing Psycho Power funtimes, for that matter. The second punch does indeed drive him back, sending the tall Japanese youth staggering, but while Shurui collapses, Tenma remains on his feet.
Chuckling faintly under his breath, Tenma rubs the spot where the 'lance' of Psycho Power went through him - it's pretty tender now, that's for sure; he's liable to feel that one in the morning. "Yeah, well," he says, releasing the link between himself and his sword, the crimson aura around the wooden blade dissipating with a sound like a slowly exhaled breath; the stripe he painted on it in his blood has been consumed, leaving the wooden blade unmarred. "I'm pretty good at keepin' girls satisfied," Tenma explains, choosing to make a dirty remark instead of actually addressing her statement.
He's cool like that.
COMBATSYS: Tenma has ended the fight here.
Leaning her head tiredly again the back of the bench to enjoy the light tickle of drizzle against her upturned face, Shurui's senses barely register the instance of the dissolved blood link in the back of her mind. For now? Body hurts, but she got what she wanted. Tenma'll hopefully put that power to good use- namely, protecting her ass so she doesn't find herself kidnapped again. As for now?
Well, okay, while Shurui's not exactly *sure* what Tenma's implying, she's certain her sense of 'satisfaction' is hardly what he's talking about. Tilting her head back downward to glance at Tenma, Shurui mumbles, seeming confused, "..... Eh? What'd you mean by that?"
While Shurui's sense of social cues and innuedo isn't entirely vacant, there are times when things.... sort of.... well, some things go over her head, for better or worse. Especially when she's too tired to even attempt to understand, and instead goes on auto pilot. Stumbling to her feet, feeling grateful that the dormtories are so close by, the short girl stretches and casts a general gaze at the Guardian King's direction. "... 'Hope you're good at keeping those guys who keep coming after me satisfied too. Don't wanna be in a cage again."
.......
Aaaaaannd with that somewhat unassuming comment, Shurui staggers off unless she's told otherwise, aiming towards her room to sleep the remaining sting of Tenma's blood chi.
If there's anything that can tear apart a really good dirty innuendo, it's a total lack of comprehension. Tenma's expression falters a bit when Shurui doesn't get what he's talking about... And when she /continues/ to talk, making things /worse/, the Gedo swordsman's expression falls into one of vague horror mingled with disgust, directed at Shurui's retreating back.
He's not sure if he was just insulted, or if Shurui is just the most innocent person he's ever met. Either way, Tenma is just going to stand there and look appalled for a while. Geez.
Log created on 21:01:17 05/01/2008 by Shurui, and last modified on 20:36:17 05/19/2008.