Description: Saint is a good ole boy. A regular gentleman about Southtown, looking for a little of the young life. To frolic, show the light of god, and wring their pretty necks. But Daniel Jack? He has more important things to do. Solve murders, save names, and train to uphold the high standards of Todoh. When they cross paths, though, Saint can't help but notice how pretty Daniel's neck seemed...
In this rough neighborhood, it's hard to tell whether seeing a priest walking down the street is an uncommon or natural sight. After all, one would associate priests as clean, pristine people who sat nicely in their churches and gave lectures but in general did not venture out amongst the people. But on the other hand, is it not natural for a priest /to/ be amongst the people? Particularly the poorer people? While indeed Saint did look nice and pretty in his pristine white coat, black preacher's clothes, fine gloves, and even finer black laquer cane and derby hat, the young near-albino was here, strolling. Perhaps simply doing just that, or was he perhaps getting to know the people in a more... informal setting, compared to a church?
If so, he's doing it in a very... loud manner.
Beginning with a small introduction consisting of 'doo' and 'de' the priest seems to be singing as he moves down the street, twirling his cane as he goes. After a few bars of this, he hums a short interlude, then begins to sing, loud and proud, in a surprisingly pleasant tenor voice.
"I'm singing in the rain, just singing in the rain! What a glorious feeling, I'm happy again, I'm laughing at clouds, so dark up above!"
There are in fact no clouds... or very few, anyway. It's actually a rather pleasant late afternoon in the winter, crisp air that isn't quite cold, giving people more of a brisk chill than stabbing frost. Yet this priest sings on, apparently quite happy to simply be alive. He stops to greet no one, though if someone happens to laugh and wave as he passes them, he bows his head or doffs his cap pleasantly, never missing a beat.
"The sun's in my heart, and I'm ready for love.../o~"
What was this priest doing here? In truth... it was nothing so sunny as his disposition, nor his song. In truth... Saint was here to find a victim. Someone to test something on. Someone, preferably, who would be /happy/ to receive God's love through this priest, and help him refine his techniques for demonstrating this love. And, stopping where he does - right in front of Gedo High - it would seem the priest had an idea as to where to go to find those most truly in need of God's love.
Let the stormy clouds chase... everyone from the place! Come on with the rain, I've a smile on my face! I walk down the lane... with a happy refrain, just singin', singin' in the rain!"
Reaching a gloved hand up to his derby to touch the brim, and also setting his cane back into the ground, the man stops his song, and then begins to scan the courtyard of Gedo High. Truly, the man was making no move to appear as though he weren't entirely suspicious. Seriously, who goes on singing until he gets to a high school, and then looks inward, as if searching for someone? Particularly a nearly-albino twenty-something Catholic priest.
The Daniel Jack always had a good reason to lurk the shadows of Southtown. It wasn't that the darkness consumed him. Rather, he found it tasty, especially with a side of bacon. It was the kind of thing you had when sitting with your back right in the light, keeping you warm as the darkness busts you back and force. And what do you do? Muncha Muncha Muncha. Enjoy the delicious evil!
The detective especially liked the Gedo Streets and it's unique brand of snacking. And when it came to darkness, he enjoyed the darkness that the street provided... in the afternoon. Yeah, the detective was out in the afternoon, donned in his aikido gear. Why would he do that? Because he is trying to get to the Southtown Villages, meeting up at his Dojo. Why would he do that? Because as a student of Todoh, he must have his TRAINING LESSONS. And like the scholar he is, he plans on getting his money's worth. Yes, it seemed weird that he lived around Gedo Street. But it was a very safe part of town, if you knew the locals. And Daniel Jack? He loved the kids of Gedo High. He would share smokes with them, get the noise on the floor, all that good stuff. All in all, great kids. Worth fighting for, worth protecting.
As he walks along the street, he couldn't help but notice... a man singing loudly. A weird man, though not as weird as some other characters. Pale as a fish's belly, and with a complexion of the same. Singing voice of a wall-bass, too. Everything about the man read fish. He even looked like the kind of man that practiced Lent. Moving along with that grim look in his eyes, the detective doesn't even register anything strange when Saint stops his tune to look at the school. Hmph. Must be with the crowd that misjudged them. Damn closed minded weirdos. Bet he was Jewish, too. Passing by him on the right, Daniel Jack just grunted a short message.
"Noonsies, my droogie."
I wonder where that fish did go; a fish, a fish, a fishy... oh? Though the priest had been busily scanning the courtyard of the school, his narrow Asian-yet-somehow-not eyes visible as he looks, their reddish shade easily viewable as he looks. There's something disquieting about those eyes. Though the man smiles pleasantly, it doesn't seem to touch them. No fish-eyes, these; his are the eyes of a predator. Perhaps this fish was more of a shark than anything. But, just as soon as Daniel speaks, a single blink of surprise at being addressed suddenly is given, and then Saint turns his head towards the one who did the addressing.
"Ah? Oh, yes, of course, good afternoon to you my good sir," the man says, an accent to his voice that sounds almost... Transylvanian? How odd. His eyes, being the squinty-can-barely-see-them sort, seem to close one more, though the smile remains, even strengthening. It seems that Saint himself would be content to leave the exchange at this and turn back to scanning the Gedo courtyard - except that he seems to think of something. Lifting his cane, he attempts to gently rap it upon Daniel's shoulder, reaching with it before the detective can get too far.
"Excuse me, my good sir! May I ask you something? You see, I'm not very familiar with this town just yet - but oh my, isn't it so /lovely/? Er, yes, yes, but my question. I'm looking for someone here, and I was curious if you were at all familiar with the local attendees?" The man's long-winded question seems open and sincere enough. He continues to smile, and the tall priest, though disquieting in appearance, has for all the world a seemingly innocent, even charismatic air about him. What could be wrong?
Other than the fact that his eyes can't normally be seen, perhaps it might be noted that the students of Gedo, who normally are of the 'go home immediately after class' variety, have all spotted Saint... and do not seem in any hurry to leave just yet. Leaving would mean passing by the man, after all. ...Which means that he's recognized at this school. And not in a friendly manner.
The rap stops Daniel Jack cold. Great. Now the man wanted to pay attention to him. The uniform-clad african-american turns around with a huff, glaring straight into Saint's... chest. Tilting his head up as his steps back, he looks at the much taller man triangled to his eyes. The man speaks, and he smiles. Immediately, Daniel Jack sensed something was wrong. This wasn't unusual, as the detective was originally convinced that Hotaru was a psychotic recluse that breathed snakes and fire. Metaphorically. It was the Kyokugen hooks, and with Ryuhaku providing advise about how to approch her... you know what, nevermind.
The reason why Daniel didn't like what he saw was that the man looked like a living skeleton. Long, thin, tall, and pale. He was even hollow with that gait and that smile. It was like some sort of cadavar, or ghoul. Now, that wasn't nice when talking about a man that could be as much Boo Radley as the emobidment of death. But considering he was dressed up as Jack The Ripper... yeah.
The low murmuring catches the detective's attention. Crossing his arms, he gazes over at the students of Gedo High, who seem to be... troubled by the man's presence. Yeah. Charismatic. The detective mulled around the bitter pill that came from this man's otherwise good-natured approach. Well. When men act as gentlemen, you only reply in turn.
"Yeah, scuzzy." The detective states in a clear voice. Eyes frigid, he nods his head. "I am." With that, the detective turns around, walking away from the man, shoulders stiff and erect. He knew Gedo High could take care of themselves. And if you somehow drew the ire of the entire school, well, then you would have an angry Daigo shoving pineapples down your throat. Besides, Daniel Jack had a date.
A date with TODOH.
If Saint realizes at all that he is being scruntinized by the shorter man, then he doesn't let on in the least. Truly some grade A acting skills here, if he were really as... clueless about how weird he might be, as he seems. Rather than acting nervous, defensive, or that he's somehow elated that he might know something someone else does not and is totally not telling, the tall priest acts quite open, honest, sincere, and /happy/. That smile of his never faulters, not once, If not for the pervasive sense that something was /wrong/ he might even pass as someone perfectly disarming, charming, and kind.
If only.
"Oh, delightful!" The Japanese-Romanian states, and then is about to say something else, except he's ever-so-rudely interrupted by the fact the man is walking away from him. This cuts off what the priest is about to say... at least, immediately. He fortunately doesn't call out, or try to gain the man's attention again... at least, not immediately. Instead, rather than more words, there is something else heard. A small clicking noise. Followed by the scrape of metal upon laquered metal.
"Well then, if you will not answer me directly, good sir, might I at least impose on you in... another form?" Saint asks, his voice changing subtlely. There's no loss of friendliness, no loss of kindness in that tenor tone... no. But there is some sort of darker, twisted edge that creeps in. A kind of feverish tone that only the twistedly insane get. That little voice that some may call the devil speaking at the same time as someone, using their voice to spout horrors.
If Satan is possessed by the devil, then the devil would certainly be doing an excellent job with making Saint spout horrors.
"You see, I know a girl here. A lovely girl, she wears glasses... and knows, at least a bit more than me, about this strange... energy, we both share. I'm not quite sure what else to phrase it as, as odd as it sounds. You see, I feel it is God's power, being channeled through me. His touch, is my touch... or more accurately, my touch is His. Through His touch, I can show people God's true love, you know that? It's quite... lovely, I must say."
Should Daniel turn around in the face of all this ranting, he would be able to see Saint's cane has split in half around the center, and pulled apart to reveal that the cane is in fact two short swords, the blades hidden within the grip of the other. Holding both of these blades apart now, Saint still smiles his friendly, cheerful smile as he begins stepping towards Daniel. "And spread His love, I do with great fervor, my good sir. For there is no greater joy. And for my efforts, He has recently rewarded me with a premonition - how I might more... accurately, I suppose, display His love. Yet this is not an easy task... so I ask for volunteers who decide they might like to help me grasp this new insight into my - His - touch."
Raising the blades up, one held in a reverse grip while the other is held normally, Saint brandishes them both in a cross-shape over his face. "I'm afraid... that you have been selected. I do so hope it isn't too much of an inconvenience. But since I cannot find that girl... you, will have to do."
Daniel Jack never liked Twin Peaks. I mean, the show was good for the detective work, which Daniel himself applied in the midwest. The intuitive approach to solving cases, though? Doesn't work. Unless you have a suspect there. Then it does work real well to shake them up. No, the detective found the show just too weird and confusing. And dark. VERY dark.
And wouldn't you know it. Saint here is just out of that show. From the moment the sound of metal against metal cut through Danny's ears, he let loose an exasperated sigh. What he expected was a knife as he turned around, shifting immediately into the defensive stance of his art. One leg back, one leg forward. One hand forward, one right behind it. The man didn't initially go for him, though. Oh no. He just did something worse.
Keep talking.
The portrait that the strange being painted of himself just grew darker and more grotesque. The start about the little girl was creepy enough, but the creep factor went from Michael Jackson to the Charles Manson's seal of approval real fast from there. There was generic scum. There was deeper scum. This guy was BOB. This man shouldn't be on the streets, let alone in close encounters with his corporal being. Daniel Jack suddenly put aside his non-refundable lesson to deal with something much more important than that. Conducting justice in front of a school that would love to see this sicko get his dental patterns rearranged.
Despite the presentation of arms, Daniel doesn't make the first move. His art didn't really dig first moves. It was all about the second move. That and banter. And that was one thing Daniel could pull off. Face frozen in a look of mild disgust, he responds "Got a lot of balls to try jacking a girl from out of the sharpest schools." The detective states matter-of-factly, featuring a terse tone of voice. Looking down briefly, he grits his pearly whites hard as he seethes the next command.
"Lets have 'em, short-eyes. "
COMBATSYS: Daniel has started a fight here.
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Daniel 0/-------/-------|
COMBATSYS: Saint has joined the fight here.
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Saint 0/-------/-------|-------\-------\0 Daniel
"'Jacking'? Who said anything about that?" The Romanian priest asks, looking, for a moment, honestly confused. After all, if his knowledge of colloquialisms is correct, jacking meant... kidnapping, yes? Oh no, he had no intentions of doing /that/, what ever would he do that for? No no, no no. He merely wanted to grant her his love. After all, she deserved it. She'd narrowly avoided gaining all of his love at once... but that couldn't last forever, after all. She'd receive it, eventually. Just like the other one had. They were all scared at first... but they'd understand.
Just like this man would.
Clashing the two blades together in a rough fashion, causing a small shower of sparks to fly up, Saint continues stepping forward, his gait slow, unhurried. Though he probably could be just a street hood, why was he carrying such an odd weapon? Perhaps a serial murderer of some kind... perhaps, even that one that's been broadcast on the news the past couple of days. Whatever the case may be, the priest draws nearer and nearer... then suddenly, pauses.
"Normally, I would like to feel your strikes first. A... gauge, if you will, to see if you know as much of God's love as I do. Some know the arts of inflicting pain... others do not. But in this particular case, I'm afraid... it simply does not matter!"
And with that, Saint steps forward, planting the forward foot down firmly, and pushes his hand forward with a firm, violent thrust of the thin short sword which looks rather fencer-like in execution, particularly as his other hand, holding its blade in a reverse grip, flares out to the side to act as a counter balance. A devastating thrust is aimed towards Daniel's center, and regardless of whether that hits or not, the blade is then turned into a slashing motion, whether the blade is buried in Daniel or not.
COMBATSYS: Daniel blocks Saint's Fierce Strike.
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Saint 0/-------/-------|==-----\-------\0 Daniel
Daniel Jack did not think Saint could be the killer, off the bat. Hell, he wasn't sure there even was a killer. He had been studying the case hard for a while now, and the evidence didn't read like a murder. The conditions, a swollen brain and internal bleeding, read like a more violent condition: Meningitis. Unless the man could demonstrate the ability to cause someone's own internal tissue to hemorrhage violently… he would be at best be stuck in 'generic sociopathic freak' status.
That is, until he moves for the strike. Daniel Jack stares hard, keeping the man's motions in mental time. Two weapons… this would make it very difficult. He would just have to wing it. Preparing his hands to deflect, the detective bobbed a bit, keeping the timing going… going… Then he stops. The pain? What the hell did that mean?
Suddenly, the blade comes in. Daniel shoves the weapon aside as best he can. In theory, he just deflects the impalement, reducing the damage significantly. In practice, he just put his hands against a razor-edge, and then had those paddy paws right up against a slash. A sharp hiss of pain kicks in… but doesn't stop. Something was spreading from those points. A horrible, burning sensation. But a strange one, too. Like if you stuck your hands in the freezer, and ran boiling water over them. A horrible numbing combined with the terrible sizzle. Daniel felt his arms get this strange sickness…
And snapped out. Seeing his foe well balanced and tall gave him a quick street fighting case-job. He had distance and range over the student of Todoh. Being shorter than him, however, gave him a slightly better center of gravity. By proxy, move in close, and start, for the lack of a better word, jacking it up a notch. Yeah, jack meant a lot of things to the Daniel Jack. It was like 'smurfin' to the Smurfs! In any case, the detective seems to lurch towards the man. His deflection gave him some room to advance, and he would use that chance to strike. Arms still burning with that horrible tingle, he leaps that short distance, arm out like a hook. Attempting to fly into the bigger man, he would get him into his grips. Hopefully using his momentum, he will send the bigger man hard to the ground, pinning him for a moment before rolling off him.
COMBATSYS: Saint endures Daniel's Skiffle Drop.
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Saint 0/-------/-----==|==-----\-------\0 Daniel
Attack partially successful, the priest starts to... laugh? Though it's not necessarily a mocking laugh, but rather a purely joyful one. And, creepily enough, it doesn't seem to be that the attack actually inflicts damage. No, laughing that he's struck someone isn't Saint's style. Rather... it's the pleasure of knowing that someone else has now felt God's love, however lessened it might've been. "Good, good! You feel it, do you not? That pain? God's true love is flowing into you!"
He's so happy about this that he doesn't even seem to try to defend against the attack that Daniel makes as a follow-up. Dropping downwards to lower the center of gravity even more, the seemingly off-guard priest is hit as though a pitbull ramming into a lanky beanpole. Saint is hit hard, and he gets tackled to the ground with a loud 'oof!' If not for the wind being knocked out of him, it's likely the man would've continued to laugh. As it is, there's just some airless gasps that sound like Dick Dastardly's dog Snidely.
"Wonderful, wonderful! I was hoping for a challenge, but this is..." Saint says, but doesn't finish. Instead, as Daniel rolls off, so too does Saint - and for some reason, whether it's simply a sudden burst of energy, or the man just is -that fast-, the priest makes his feet quite quickly for someone who just got tackled to the floor. Raising his bloodied blade, the priest grins widely, and then shouts, "Have some more!" And then with the forward-gripped blade, he lashes out again. This time the blade dances in a swift, even graceful bob, three slices made quick as you can please to slice lightly over Daniel's chest, should they strike true.
But this time there's something different. Whereas the blade before had some generic burst of burning pain, these slashes are accompanied by something much stronger. An impulse, even - or perhaps a memory of being burnt. Now it simply isn't a 'burning feeling' but something that is as though the slashing blade literally leaves behind FLAMES that are burning the body. And yet, if these strikes land home, there is no fire in evidence, simply this strongest impression that the wounds are literally exploding with flame.
COMBATSYS: Daniel endures Saint's Salem Horror.
Daniel Jack was aggressive about his defense, to say the least. While this man was obviously bearing some unnatural talents with his technique, he had seen stranger. Blame a certain Ryouhara. When he moves through the pain, though, he actually expected the man to be unnerved. Unfortunately for the detective, the result was far from it.
Still rolling from the takedown, he notices as the slender man... gets up. Faster than him. That unnatural aura kicked in again. This man was like a specter or some being from the other side, his technique was just... disarming. As the student of Todoh pushes himself up, Saint was already moving in for the counter-attack with the grace of an aristocrat.
Daniel HATED aristocrats.
Judging the strikes to be slashes than impales, he takes a gamble. As the creep moves in with his light hacks, the detective just piles through them. Needless to say, that swiftly became harder than in theory. In theory, piling through sword swipes was pretty hard. Sure, it limited the movement, and with Daniel's shorter range, he needed to keep Saint pinned. But as the strikes tear through his light chestplate, he suddenly feels that burning tingle again... but tenfold. Tears formed in the man's eyes as the horrible energy begins to burn from the very wounds opened up. Some individuals might be stopping cold, curling up into a ball to try and stop the pain.
Those individuals had never accepted the spirit of Todoh.
As 'God' consumes his body, the detective suddenly wound his right hand back over his shoulder. He was well inside Saint's circle, now, and those lanky arms would need to let the lanky legs open the distance again. But not until the detective gets his shot. The African-American flattens his hand, preparing for what would seem, to the uninitiated, a normal knife hand strike. But those with a little more experience might pick up exactly what kind of knife hand strike this is. From the way Daniel is tensing and contorting his body, from the exact position of his hand, to the exact flow of his footwork. This was no ordinary blow that he was setting up. This was the kind of hit that only hours upon hours of repetition could bring about. The Saint could bring this unnatural pain. But as that hiss begin to explode from the depths of Daniel's lungs, the spindly spider of a man would face the prospect of his entire ribcage shattering from the released chop as the detective roared a simple "Hi-YA!"
Before the detective curls over, attempting to rub out the ghostly fires erupting from his body, and trying to kill that BURNING NUMBNESS.
COMBATSYS: Daniel successfully hits Saint with World's Greatest Hand Chop.
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Saint 0/-------/-======|=======\-------\0 Daniel
Those individuals, then, were of no interest to Saint.
If someone is inflicted with God's /true/ love, there are indeed two options. One can curl up, scream about wanting to die, anything, just to get rid of the pain. Others, however... others will grin and bear it, barreling through the pain in an effort to either inflict pain back on their attacker, or they will otherwise be unaffected by the pain... or, at least, act like they are. -THOSE- people are the ones who know God's love. Have felt it. Have accepted. Who know what it's like, and will likely know what it is again. And again and again. So, when Daniel 'grins and bears it' through the tutelage of Todoh?
Saint's eyes open wide, and he grins fiercely.
This time he's not so much taken 'off guard' as he is, quite simply, taken. Though the taller man does try a defense - his feet move backwards, shifting to the rear - he is indeed a lanky person, and the simple economy of motion between the two is enough that Daniel wins out. That is, moving one's body takes more energy than moving one's hand, and thus the latter is able to move faster. The chop slams right into the priest's sternum, and all of his air is choked off immediately as he begins to stagger back, clearly in pain. He never quite loses his footing, but he does take several steps back, a hand pressing to his chest as if making an effort to rip the pain right out of him.
Eventually, though, he recovers, staggering to a more upright stance... and there's that laugh again. It's somehow so... odd, that the man can just laugh that /joyously/ during the middle of a fight. There's no malice in that laugh. There's no unkindness, murderous intent, or... anything in it. It's quite simply, a laugh of happiness. "Hahahahahaha! Oh, oh, very good... yes, yeess, I think one or two of my ribs may've been broken... if not, at least, very seriously bruised. Hohoho..." the man straightens up, and then lifts a gloved hand to re-settle his hat on his head, smiling broadly to Daniel. "I said, I believe, that I wished to practice a new technique as to my deliverence of God's love. I shall try this now, if you do not mind. You, my good sir, are someone I know can take it! You know God's love... have felt it, are feeling it, and shall feel it again, yes? Over and over... just like me. But... but, but, you have not felt it like I can deliver it. Here!"
Suddenly shifting, Saint steps forward - and then suddenly, he stabs himself. Just like that. The blade held in a reverse grip is slipped into his own side, stabbed in shallow and deep, but certainly... the priest just stabbed himself! "Hrrghn!" The man grunts out, and then steps forward, twice more, to cover the distance to Daniel.
Then, he just reaches out... and tries to touch him with his other hand.
COMBATSYS: Daniel fails to interrupt Parade of Ghouls from Saint with Zoot Suit Riot.
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Saint 0/-------/-----==|=======\====---\1 Daniel
Fingers press to the shorter man's head, gripping his face with an abnormally strong grip, with the pommel of the blade he still holds likewise pressed to Daniel's forehead. Nothing happens for just a moment, except for Saint twisting the other blade in his grip, to inflict even more pain on - himself? If this is an attack, it's certainly an unorthodox one. But soon enough, something can be seen. Whereas the last two attacks have had no visual to them, this does. Ghostly gray shapes would suddenly appear to the man, in the form of grotesque, humanoid figures, all disfigured though only vague in appearance - yet even the vagueness might be horrifying, in a way. They reach out, grasping for Daniel's limbs, their cold hands gripping - and then they twist, sharply. All four limbs abruptly feel as though they are shattering, snapping like twigs, in a horrifically drawn out pain of having every limb broken all at once.
And then Saint steps back, or really, staggers back, withdrawing the bloody blade from himself. "Hah... hah hah... almost, almost!!" He mutters, seemingly lost in some kind of thought for a moment.
Daniel's chop lands true, leaving him to his desperate massaging of his body. The constant jabs and nerve-rending strikes were highly troublesome, to say the least. The man was burning him from within. From within. A slow fuse of epiphany was beginning to get lit. This man's technique... was vaguely familiar. The little girl, his biggest fan. It was vastly different, except for the strange numbing tingle. Was it a school of technique? A type of chi training? And why did it burn?
Still curled up in pain, he hears that twisted cackle. And that jeering statement. He just broke a rib, and all the man could do was laugh? The detective suspected deeper and deeper levels of mental illness here, as well as the strange energy. Maybe... maybe he was looking for the same girl. It WAS likely. But... Daniel would be getting answers from this man. As he pulls himself up from the curl, he just exploded forward, meeting whatever this new technique was with fists flying. He was going to stop this thing from happening.
Daniel runs directly into the hand of the impaled man.
The confused look on his face is quite humorous.
What is much less humorous (in the broad sense) is the detective's reaction when the ghouls appear. A ghastly pallor overcomes him as he tries to tear himself away. The paralysis is a bad sign. What is a WORSE sign is the feeling when the horrible bone snapping breaks through. Daniel Jack just warps his face into a silent scream as he falls to the ground. The writhing is another bad sign, as is the gritting of teeth. He swallow that scream. He wasn't going to let the man enjoy this. He couldn't let the man enjoy this. Tear welled in his eyes as he just laid there, face down, struggling to move, to bring himself up, to stop this agony... before the killing blow came.
For his part, Saint seems like he's in pain. And not just from the obvious stab wound in his side that was self-inflicted, and not from the potentially broken rib or two... but, perhaps, just maybe, it was somehow the same pain Daniel himself was experiencing. Somehow, this man felt the very same pain he was inflicting. Or so it would seem. But whatever the case might be, he certainly seems far more adjusted to that pain than his opponent is, for he recovers from it a great deal faster, despite the pain being evident... and despite the fact he was, you know, impaled and with bruised ribs. Panting a little, the priest still smiles widely as he seems to be coming for Daniel once more.
"I'm singing in the rain... just singing in the rain," Saint starts to sing again. Drawing his blades up, he seems to be preparing for a strike. After all, why should the man stop? He wasn't hurting Daniel, wasn't killing him - he was providing him with God's love. And who couldn't use more of that? Another line of the song is sung, but it gets distorted as Saint steps into his next attack - first by drawing up the sword he holds in a reverse grip, and seeks to slam it unceremoniously into the underside of the detective's chin. If this should be successful, the strike itself is amplied by a sharp, stabbing burst of pain - as if Saint had not used the flat hard part of the base of the grip, but the blade itself. This 'phantom blade' slides up into the man's skull, resonating sharply.
But it doesn't stop there. Reaching forward with his other hand, the priest first slams his shoulder into Daniel's middle, then grabs him with the other hand, and performs a kind of swift, though rather ungraceful hip toss, trading places with the shorter man in the throw, but with Daniel being sent back to the ground much more sharply than he should be.
"The sun's in my heart, and I'm ready for love..."
COMBATSYS: Daniel fails to counter Heretic's Fork from Saint with Jedburgh Justice.
- Power fail! -
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Saint 0/-------/-----==|>>>>>>>\>>>>>>>\2 Daniel
COMBATSYS: Daniel can no longer fight.
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Saint 0/-------/-----==|
Well, the good news and the bad news. The good news is that Daniel Jack was trying hard to figure out if there was any way to cause a great deal of internal damage without the use of viruses, drugs, fungi, poisons, or bacteria. The mysterious deaths reflected meningitis, but lacked the actual invaders required. He needed something that rend apart the brainstem, swell it up, and make it bleed. And fortunately, Saint gave him a great lead.
The bad news was that Daniel was a kinetic learner.
The agony that Saint left the detective in was crippling. Simply put, the pain stopped him cold. His energy slowly shifted into survival, focusing hard on the burning energies of Todoh to keep him alive. He dealt with being gun down before through that. But this was disorenating. Daniel Jack raises his head slightly, looking up at the cadaver of a man. His arm was drawn back, ready to release the coup de grace. He puts his hand up, trying to grab the handle in the haze...
But a sharp spasm of pain freezes him.
The bell smashes hard into his jaw, bringing the sharp spike right into his brain. His brain. The thought might have kept him alive. The detective's energy draws inward as Daniel Jack just erupts in his heart his survival instincts. The SPIRIT of TODOH burned in him, his inner chi energy surging to give him just enough life, just enough protection. By the time Saint lifts him up by the shoulder, he is already unconscious. The pain was gone, at least, though the nightmares only began. To the tune of singing in the rain, his body crumpled to the ground, twisted and twitching as the dark shadows surrounded him.
The detective now knew what could burn in the souls of man, and consume them from within.
The detective is lifted up, jammed with a phantom blade in the brain, then thrown.
And he doesn't get up.
Standing there, Saint's song trails off as he looks down at Daniel, either unconscious or just really in pain... or dead, maybe. Or playing dead? In either case, Saint waits for Daniel to stand back up and fight. And he waits. And he waits. It doesn't happen, though. And eventually, Saint sighs quietly. "You were promising... yet, I suppose, you could take a more corporeal kind of punishment, at the very least. As for your ephemeral punishment..." The priest sighs again, and shakes his head.
"Do not fret, my good sir, for you were a great help to me, even so. Perhaps we shall meet again, in the future, when you have grown more mature in withstanding God's love? Yes... yes, I feel this encounter has -not- been wasted. Not in the least. Whether divine providence, or mere chance, the both of us have shared, and we have grown stronger for it. It is God's desire we continue to grow in strength. For how else can the meek inherit the earth?"
Bringing his blades up, the priest sheathes them within each other, forming his cane once more. Settling it into the ground, he adjusts his hat once more, then smiles pleasantly, despite the fact the right side of his coat is obviously bloody from the self-inflicted wound. "It was a pleasure to meet you, sir," the priest continues, talking to the perhaps unconscious, perhaps dead man. And then he bows - if a bit shakily - and turns to stroll off the way he came, away from the school.
"Just... singing... in the raino/~"
COMBATSYS: Saint has ended the fight here.
Log created on 00:58:39 01/01/2009 by Daniel, and last modified on 18:00:50 01/02/2009.