Description: The cynic requires proof while the optimist can get by on trust. It's not too hard to guess which one Ayame is. How far can she push Hakuya to get the Gedo student to break?
Saturdays at school were a drag to most students, particularly with fabled tales of American students not having to go on Saturdays. The weekend schoolday got out a bit earlier, this was true, but most students, particularly at Gedo, weren't so into it. Mutters and grunts about things like 'wanting to sleep more' were common, and most of the students didn't even pay attention in class and did just that anyway. Some may've actually paid attention, but Saturday was largely an uphill battle for the teachers, who valiantly strove to get the kids to learn, even when it was so obvious that they didn't want to.
Hakuya, however, was the one exception to the rule. Not only did he not go to sleep in the middle of class, he was one of the few students who paid attention and even took diligent notes. He always had his homework, and in short, was basically one of the only straight-A students at the school. It wasn't that he was particularly smart or anything, he just had incredible diligence in this regard. Which was, in fact, why he was still at the school when largely everyone else had filtered out to either go sleep or do something 'more productive' with their time.
Club activities were still going on, of course, but very few students outside that were in the halls of Gedo. Hakuya was not a club participant, since his activities with the Guardian Kings more or less filled that space (they could even request funding from the school for training equipment!), but since he was such a good student, was nice and also diligent... teachers were reliant upon him. 'Hakuya-kun, can you help with...?' 'Haku-chan, can you help carry...?' 'Hakuya!' 'Hakuya!' And so it went. Not that Hakuya ever complained - he was happy to help.
At the moment, they had him carrying things. A new shipment of history textbooks that actually covered some of the 20th century had arrived, and Hakuya was helping to bring them in to the teacher's lounge for examination, documentation, and a lot more 'tions' that apparently the teachers were so busy with, they couldn't carry stacks of heavy books. The Guardian King, however, was walking through the mostly empty courtyard now, two huge boxes held in front of him, straining somewhat with the weight. The boxes were positioned in an unfortunate location, as they completely obscured his vision except to the sides.
And what's more, the courtyard was completely empty.
Friday night, she met Tenma. Saturday, she's after Hakuya. He was the second name dropped by the devilish woman. A demon hunter of sorts? The idea was preposterous. The girl didn't believe in such things. Religions, traditions, and childish myths were all one and the same to her with no difference by which to distinguish them. She's been persuaded to... think otherwise lately.
Tenma said Hakuya would help without a second thought. To Ayame this means he's a sucker, retarded, or, by some impossible odds, the genuine thing. Note, suckers and retards are not mutually exclusive groups in Ayame's mind. It's been gnawing at her since she left the leader of the Gedo group of kids. Hakuya was there at the Casino - Marise made it clear that he was one of those on her hit list for his involvement.
A boy from a family of demon hunters? Ayame smirks as she watches him cross the courtyard from her fire escape perch. She hopes the that other kid hasn't talked to him about her little meeting the evening prior. There isn't much she can do about it if they had. She can still find out what she wants to here. But the less he knows, the better for her... research.
"Hmph," she grunts. She's watched him for a little while. He's so helpful. Is he even a real kid? Maybe he's some kind of teacher engineered android designed to be the perfect example to a school full of otherwise dropouts, gang members, and brutes. It's hard to say. There's one way to find out though! Springing down off of the fire escape, the girl hits the ground running, charging directly toward the young man without warning. No shout, nothing to herald her approach but the soft sound of feet against the courtyard flooring.
A cruel grin crosses her features. The young man seems particularly vulnerable to... The attack comes from the front, the direction the young man can't even see in, as Ayame drops down and whips out with her legs, aiming to entangle them into Hakuya's feet for a leg take down. The girl intends to drop him to the ground, and if all goes according to plan, have those boxes fall right on him as well! Of course, there's a risk of this backfiring, she is, after all, sweeping right under those very boxes in the process...
COMBATSYS: Ayame has started a fight here.
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Ayame 0/-------/-------|
COMBATSYS: Hakuya has joined the fight here.
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Hakuya 0/-------/-------|-------\-------\0 Ayame
COMBATSYS: Hakuya dodges Ayame's Heavy Kick.
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Hakuya 0/-------/-------|-------\-------\0 Ayame
A peaceful and empty courtyard is both a blessing a curse for an ambush, which is what the other fighter seems to have in mind. The 'other' springs down, races across the concrete towards Hakuya, then attacks from his blind spot by ducking down and sweeping a foot at his legs, intending on causing some painings. While normally this would be perfect, because most people's guards would be down at school, and further there was no one else in the courtyard to shout a warning or even witness this ambush, it's those very assumptions that alert Hakuya to the incoming danger.
Since there were no people, the sound of footsteps rapidly approaching him was concerning, though didn't immediately mean he was going to be attacked. There was no warning shout or any declaration from the person running towards him, so it's not like he can for-sure say he's going to be struck at. The only thing, the -only- thing that makes him dodge at the last moment, is a simple fact.
This is Gedo High, not some other high school. And this precise thing happens /all the time/.
Hakuya feels, rather than sees Ayame tensing up for her attack in front of him. Everything is done on simple, raw instinct, rather than having any manner of confirmation. A danger sense, perhaps, finely honed after being jumped countless times at this school. But whatever the case, he stops moving forward almost immediately as Ayame appears on the other side of the boxes, and with only a split-second of hesitation, not really sure what he's feeling, he pushes off with his feet, jumping backwards a short hop, the sweeping leg passing right under his feet as he narrowly avoids something dangerous. He lands, and for a moment, looks perfectly badass, like some kind of martial arts master.
And then the books overbalance him, and he cries out in a shocked voice, and falls backwards, the boxes of books tumbling down on top of him and burying him in a small avalanche of history. "Ow, ow, ow..." he whines from under the pile of books. A moment later, his head emerges from the pile of books - only to find himself in darkness. One of the boxes had landed on top the pile, and now was covering his head like a ridiculously huge helmet.
"U-um... hello? Was there someone there? Are you okay?" Hakuya asks, trying to unbury his hands so he can lift the box up.
COMBATSYS: Hakuya takes no action.
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Hakuya 0/-------/-------|-------\-------\0 Ayame
Her foot sweeps through empty air much... to her surprise. That the young man accomplished such a feat with so little warning almost makes the girl pause. But Ayame keeps moving, drawing her leg back in and pushing up to standing. She's going to just shove the hell out of-... okay, nevermind, he just went down. Boxes land atop the Gedo student in a painful looking pile of heavy weight and blunt force and the strawberry-blonde stares at the result. This is unbelievable, she muses, her right hand going to up to rest at her temple, her fingers running through her hair for a moment. This is a demon hunter?
She's going to need to try something more to shake this guy up. Maybe he puts on a good show when everything's going his way - though she has to admit sitting with a box on your head after being pelted by books isn't really 'going one's way', exactly... But right now her target is sitting on the ground, a box over his head, and she's standing there, not attacking. That's really not going to do in the slightest.
Her left hand slips into a pouch affixed to her belt, drawing out a six inch long titanium tube. A twirl in her fingers and the thing becomes a full length staff, a hiss of hydraulic pressure audible to the box-hatted young man. Time to give him good cause to get moving! "Three." She reels back, winding up as if getting ready to take a swing at an incoming fast ball. "Two." Her fingers shift grip a little, the girl tensing up, brown eyes narrowing.
"One." She holds her breath, the greater length of the weapon up over her shoulder, just waiting to be put to use with crushing force. And then she swings, the titanium whistling through the air as the ruthless teen brings the polearm crashing down with fearsome speed into an angled swing, aiming to literally smash the box and clock the poor kid beneath it!!
COMBATSYS: Hakuya just-defends Ayame's Fierce Strike!
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Hakuya 0/-------/-------|-------\-------\0 Ayame
Someone is... counting? The voice sounds feminine, too, though it isn't immediately familiar to him. Frowning a bit, Hakuya's hand reaches up and catches the end of the box while, unknownst to him, Ayame charges up to swing that staff down at him with full strength. By 'two' he has his hand on the box, finally above the books, and is pushing it up. By 'one' the box is up, and he catches a flash of legs - being positioned as if to swing something downwards at him. And indeed, since the box is so big, the staff first slams into the top of the box, closing Hakuya back into darkness. But it doesn't stop there, of course. The top of the box dents inwardly, and the staff keeps coming. Hakuya is left to pure reflex to defend.
The manner of his defense is a little peculiar. In a surge of strength, his feet suddenly kick up out of the pile, which is only possible because they weren't as buried in as the rest of him - the boxes fell onto his torso and head, after all. Sneakered feet come up, and he catches the titanium staff in between them, just barely managing to halt the momentum. His hand - one he managed to free - also helps, catching an upper portion of the pole just as the thing tears through the box on his head, stopping an -inch- from slamming into his nose. Hakuya just kinda... stares it for a moment, blinking rapidly.
Okay, kinda hard to discount a fluke of the senses, now. Someone was attacking him.
Suddenly shoving upwards with his feet, the Guardian King isn't too intent on throwing Ayame back or anything, just shoving the staff away from him for a brief moment. Then, his hand comes up and grabs the box on top of his head, and flings it forward - not that a flying and now empty cardboard box could do anything, damage wise, it seems simply for distraction so he can unbury himself in a surge of motion and strength.
Now up, and brushing books off of him, Hakuya reacts to try and buy himself a little more room, since Ayame is undoubtedly -right there- still. He steps forward, feet planting firmly in a wide but stable stance, and suddenly his gloved hands snap out, palm strikes intending on hitting - anything, really, he's kind of disoriented and not quite sure who he's fighting. The palm strikes retract, then strike out again, and then a final move brings Hakuya low, then shooting forward himself, intending on driving his shoulder into his attacker, hopefully hard enough to give him a bit of breathing space.
COMBATSYS: Ayame fails to counter Howling Harvest from Hakuya with The Sunrise Of Broken Dreams.
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Hakuya 0/-------/------=|===----\-------\0 Ayame
Poor kid. Won't even know what hit him. She might just plain knock him out with a swing like that, she muses as she winds up. That'd be a shame. As much as she'd like to do that just because it'd be mean, it'd also mean she'd wasted her trip here. She really can't tell anything at all from knocking some box-covered boy out with a baseball-bat like swing of her staff. Well. Other than that he doesn't take blows to the head too well, she supposes.
But no regrets. She seems out for blood, and reservations about what could happen are cast aside as the weapon rips down through the air toward the boy's head. And in the process, the unthinkable happens. A defense so flawless, so perfect, so... absolutely improbable transpires right before her very eyes. If she wasn't the one seeing it happen, she wouldn't believe it.
With almost nothing in the way of visible cues, the boy's feet snap up, catching the staff and denying it so much of its momentum that his hand is able to stop it before it renders any damage. She stands there, staff in hands, the other end of it ripped halfway through the box over Hakuya's head, his feet up around it... Her mouth hangs half open. For once, the fast talking conniving theif is completely at a loss for words!
He shoves up with his feet, and with her hands still gripping her staff, it forces the girl a step in the process, her mind almost on autopilot, still reeling at how some guy with a box over his head has such precise timing as to fend off a crushing strike like that! He's on his feet, the box, in tatters, flung aside, and then the Gedo youth strikes. Oh yeah. She needs to do something about that. Sometimes the simpliest defense is a nice counter offense, and her staff is particularly suited for such turns of fate.
The low end, now freed, snaps up, aiming to strike Hakuya's extending arm right in the elbow and put a decisive stop to his attempt at an offense. But for all her situational awareness, she misses the pile of books on the ground and fails to fit their presence into her swing's angle. Rather than cracking against Hakuya's palm, she smacks into the pile of books instead, leaving herself caught off guard and easily smacked with a jarring hit that provokes a soft hiss as longs are forced from her lungs.
The second double palm strike goes uncontested as Ayame flails, swinging her staff out to the side in a desperate bid to use it to recover her balance. But the shoulder slam that follows makes sure that that just plain doesn't happen. Already staggering, it's enough to bowl the skinny girl clean off her feet, leaving her landing in a seated position on the ground with a sharp yelp, her staff resting along the ground at her side, her hands pressing down as she shakes her head. She was wrong to dismiss this guy, she decides. He has skill. But his skill in fighting isn't /precisely/ what she's here to ascertain. Growling, she starts to pull herself up off the ground. It's just a minor setback!!
Somehow, despite the awkwardness of the strike he makes against his sudden assailant, it all connects, and the relatively light body he hits is sent toppling over, off her feet and to the ground. Hakuya shifts his body backwards some, his balance oddly set firm. As he's given a slight moment to actually recognize what's going on, the momentarily serious look on the King's features melt away to open curiosity, blinking a few times and glancing around - then down, at Ayame. Another blink or two, and he suddenly realizes that, hey, he knows this girl! Somewhat. Not by name or anything, but the outfit she's wearing is really hard to mistake for another person.
"Oh! Um... um..." Hakuya says, stammering a bit as her attempts to recall a name. But he doesn't think he ever got one. "S-sorry. Um, are you okay? I was thinking it was Marisol or Preston or Luc come back to try fighting me again, so I kind of reacted without thinking, eh heh..." Any combative sense just drains from the guy, and he steps forward, breaking his balanced stance, in order to offer a hand towards the strawberry-blonde girl, to help her up. He smiles as he does it, though he also notices she doesn't really need his help... still, he offers it.
"I remember you, but I don't really remember where I saw you before. I'm Hakuya Suigetsu, by the way - I don't think we were introduced. Sorry again about hitting you, I was just worried that I might've been in trouble there, for a minute!" Despite the fact he for-sure knows Ayame attacked him, here he goes rambling off all these apologies...
COMBATSYS: Hakuya takes no action.
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Hakuya 0/-------/------=|===----\-------\0 Ayame
Her element of surprise is most definitely lost, as the girl ends up sitting on the concrete courtyard, forced to recover her senses and get back to her feet. Only, instead of attacking her, the young man reaches forward with the most unhostile presence shes' ever seen post-ambush in her entire life. It literally surprises her that she's not having to fend off his punishing palm strikes again that she falls right /back/ down into a seated position with a grunt.
She glares back up at him, her expression a mixture of sheepish frustration. She came to bash his head a little, not to get helped back up to her feet after getting bowled over! Still, her insidious mind hasn't put this to rest just yet. He apologized. Yet he also isn't stammering like a buffoon. Is he both not retarded AND extremely forgiving? Is this possible?!
"Uh," now it's her turn to sound not too with it. He doesn't remember where they saw each other before? Was she wrong about this guy? Was he not even at the casino? It seems strange that the devilish woman would've fingered him as a target if he wasn't... And why isn't he angry about her trying to hit him with a giant metal pole anyway?! Ayame's left hand releases her staff as her right hand reaches up, accepting his offer of aid. This little test isn't over yet. He hasn't been hurt yet. Maybe she'll see a different side /then/.
Her right hand tightens over his, "So you didn't think that Marise would someday find a way to get her revenge for what you did?" she asks, her voice steady, controlled. She starts to get up, letting him help her as he sees fit. But it's a ruse. He might not notice, the way her left hand slips to her waist, fingers resting lightly over one of her belts...
The only warning would be the sound of a metallic butterfly knife being flicked open as the girl tries to slam her left hand up and into Hakuya, literally trying to stab the kid who simply tried to help her up. "Everything has consequences, you can't just let people off so easy!!"
COMBATSYS: Hakuya fails to interrupt Assault and Battery from Ayame with Blind Crescent.
-+- CALCULATED HIT -+-
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Hakuya 0/-------/---====|====---\-------\0 Ayame
Hakuya is, literally, used to ambushes. He's been ambushed by every single member of the Pacific Resistance, though it was a decidedly... different kind of ambush in Pas' case. He's been ambushed by Tenma once or twice to 'keep him on his toes'. His grandpa ambushed him recently, and awhile ago some crazy damn ninja named Seishirou ambushed him and dragged him all the way to Thailand! Additionally, his entire 'training' period when he was a kid to just a year ago, was nothing but ambushes from unexpected angles and avenues, all until he was able to defend against and beat back ambushed attacks.
So no, being attacked with a giant metal stick doesn't bother him too much. Besides, he doesn't /know/ Ayame. Seeing as she's his age, and isn't being rude, nor has a killing intent (that he can feel) behind her, why shouldn't he be nice to her? And, her reaction to him being so nice is a little puzzling, as though she somehow weren't expecting it. This perplextion - and her subsequent acceptance of his hand - makes him laugh a little. Not in mockery, not in jest, but in a happy, carefree way.
And then she talks about Marise, who he DOES know.
And suddenly, it clicks where he knows her from.
And then, she stabs him.
He's not caught entirely unawares. Though the sudden comment about Marise's revenge was, well, shocking, he's been surprised in battle and then attacked right after too many times to NOT react on reflex any more. It was basically, the core of his training, after all. The Guardian King's hand snaps up, putting itself in the way of the way of the knife. Though this wouldn't be an effective block, it seems, that when the blade goes through his hand, it's what he intended all along. What for?
Hissing in a sharp, controlled breath, Hakuya's hand is good and impaled... but then he tries to move it /with the knife in it/. While, likely, the way he was intending on moving would end up with him gripping the strawberry blonde's hand, and likely after that moving into a counter-offensive. But instead, the angle of the slice, not to mention the blade is mostly on the otherside of his hand, limiting his motion, just means he starts tearing into his hand more, getting nowhere. He eventually just pulls his hand away, other hand grasping it tightly, and crying out a bit. That -really- hurt. "Nnrgh... nrrh! S-so, what? You're... you're with Marise? That other girl, that Kenji fought. I remember you now. Why...?"
Finally she's drawn some blood. That'll teach him to not take her seriously, to see her as the menace she goes so much out of her way to be viewed as. It takes efforts with kids like this. "What if I am," she snaps back as she withdraws her blade and leaps back, feet skidding across the ground for a few inches before coming to a stop. The knife is tossed from hand to hand with little concern of hurting herself as she watches him now, expecting this little twist to change his demeanor.
But instead of anger there's confusion. "And what if," she continues, attempting to push him further as she steps back, flicks her knife closed, sheathing it then picking up her staff from off the ground, "And what if," she repeats, "she wants you all dead. And what if she's going to force others to do her craven work for her? What then, hm?"
The girl scowls, her tone bitter, "You two didn't finish the job last time. Call yourselves demon hunters and the very thing your families were to stop is now out there; carrying on with her undeath, her wretched life." She shakes her head, snorting as she waves her right hand dismissively. "Like I said, there's consequences to jobs left undone. You left people like me stuck in the aftermath of your recklessness. I told you how to get to her, and now I'm stuck with some hellspawn out for me."
She twirls her staff at her side, tensing up, eying Hakuya narrowly, still trying to get a read on the young man. "Unless I do her work for her, that is. You brought this upon yourself!" Energy begins to build around the girl. Chi, visible at her feet in the color of deep crimson begins to swirl up around the girl. Air currents whip at her hair and loose bits of clothing as the girl gathers all that potential energy into herself. Energy she most definitely seems intent to use on Hakuya himself.
"I may not have been an angel," she continues, "But you got your friends out because of me. What happens next is your fault! There's a demon on the loose, and now she's become all our problem!!"
COMBATSYS: Ayame gathers her will.
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Hakuya 0/-------/----===|=======\-------\1 Ayame
Hakuya's confusion switches over to wariness as he listens silently to Ayame's speech, his eyes following her intently. Considering he doesn't just hop up and declare something hotheaded like 'I'll defeat you!' in the wake of Ayame 'suggesting' she might be with Marise, he seems to be considering this carefully... or maybe he's just a lot slower to think and act than Tenma is. When Ayame steps forward, he cautiously steps back, though not out of fear, simply keeping the distance 'comfortable'. He's more interested in her words, it seems, then fighting her at the moment. Because, it was a shock to him that Marise was still alive.
"Then I'd feel sorry for you. If you were doing her work, you're not doing it willingly. Otherwise you wouldn't have bothered trying such easily read attacks," he starts, frowning a little in thought. "And you don't have your heart in it even now," he says, even as the strawberry blonde seemingly IS getting more serious. "You don't want to work for her, yet you're forced to because we weren't strong enough to defeat her... though, in some way, I'm a little glad. Tenma was really sad after he... thought he killed the Devil." There's a minor smile on the Guardian King's faced, relieved for but a split second.
Then, Hakuya's face drops, frowning more in thought. "...But at the same time, you brought it on yourself. Why did you involve yourself with demons? Did you do it willingly? Did you do those things to Stasya and Shurui-san willingly?" He almost seems to get angry when he talks about what happened to those two. Though there's little change in his face, he squeezes down, hard, on his gouged out hand, his face going white with the pain he inflicts upon himself. "I... I don't recall what our bargain was, or if we even made one. I was so focused on beating 'her'... I was kicking myself for not protecting my friends, for not being strong enough. But if... if you're asking for my help...
Momentarily, Hakuya's eyes flash back to the way they were in that underground maze, beneathe the casino. Hard, cold. Completely unlike his personality so far. "I am no demon /slayer/. I am a protector... a guardian..." There's a slip in his eyes, and he's back to himself again. "I am a Guardian King. And if you're asking for my help, even if you did things to Stasya and Shurui-san... I will protect you from that demon, if you really need my help." Hakuya fixes Ayame with a serious, even steely gaze, though it's not at all unkind. He drops his hands to his sides, blood falling from the injured one as he completely seems to drop his guard.
"That is my duty. You do not need to fear demons. If we're not strong enough alone... all of us - Tenma, Stasya, Kenji and myself - WILL defeat her. You need only ask."
COMBATSYS: Hakuya takes no action.
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Hakuya 0/-------/----===|=======\-------\1 Ayame
She falls quiet as he speaks, merely channeling that impressive energy about her. Crimson shifts to violet then eventually faint blue as the chi made visible reaches the girl's shoulders. The concentration required is significant, but not so much that she isn't giving Hakuya her full attention. Her expression is a mask as he speaks, the girl neither flinching nor scowling, never so much as betraying a single emotion for him to get a sense of how she is taking his words.
She doesn't react as he asks her questions; about why she did the things she did. She doesn't really know. Probably paid well. Maybe it was a good opportunity at the time. She can't remember after all. He brings up a bargain, and again nothing. She has no idea what happened. A gaping hole in her past. It seems to have been a pivotal time for her, yet she's left only gasping at clues trying to figure it out.
Her expression becomes more serious as that shift comes over him. It harkens to another side of the boy. Maybe that's the one that really holds that power. He extends his offer of protection, of help. She can't take it anymore! The titanium staff at her side flares to life, an outburst of crimson flame that courses over its surface as if it were heated magma, yet no warmth is to be found there. "Do I look like I'm here asking for your help?!" she exclaims back. "Does that look like what I'm doing?!"
She spins her staff swiftly at her side, the crimson energy trailing out behind it, giving it the impression of becoming a discus of dark red light. "I don't want your pity! Yours, or your friends!" The girl bursts forward then, a blur of black and reds and spinning titanium as she attempts to crash into Hakuya with a battering assault. Aiming for joints at first - elbows, knees, she finishes with a horizontal, crushing blow toward the side of Hakuya's neck, only to reverse and drop down for a second spin in the opposite direction to take his feet out from under him.
Each point of impact promises an explosion of that crimson energy, sending countless small particles of chi into the air to rain down around the two teenagers. Should she manage to knock the well balanced young man over, the girl will sweep in to press the end of her staff against his sternum if she's quick enough to pin him to the concrete ground with it! "Do you think I won't do what it takes to save my own life?!"
COMBATSYS: Hakuya Toughs Out Ayame's Requiem For Fallen Blossoms!
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Hakuya 0/-------/=======|=======\-------\1 Ayame
To be honest, Hakuya isn't sure /what/ Ayame is here for. She jumps in, attacks out of the blue, and delivers a choice piece of information he hadn't known of: Marise was alive. Then she uses vague terms that suggests she's here to fight him, but not because she wants to... or, so he thinks. Maybe even hopes. Then when he offers to /help/ her, she gets upset, as though he'd completely misread her. Which, you know, since he has no idea what her intent is, isn't exactly hard to do. But there's one thing he does know... indeed, believes in.
So when she gets upset and yells at him, he doesn't flinch like he normally does at such tones, like when Marisol gets angry at him. Instead, he faces Ayame squarely, his hand dripping blood onto the ground. Even when he wants to respond swiftly to something she says, he just stays still. And then, finally she attacks. Her staff whips around, slamming into him in various points, his knees, his elbows, slamming into the side of his neck, then spinning around again to try and slam into legs, to sweep them out from under him. Unfortunately for her, however...
He just stays still.
Each hit impacts solid enough, to be sure, and it's not like he's not FEELING anything. Each strike makes him flinch in pain, his teeth gritting, grinding together, and his knees buckle on the last strike, but he just simply doesn't go down. Hurting he shakes his head slightly as Ayame finishes attacking. "...If you aren't here for my protection," he notably doesn't say 'our', "and you aren't here to kill me in revenge for Marise... what -are- you here for? I don't want to fight you. I have no reason to fight you. I don't think you're working for Marise willingly... no. I believe you aren't, because humans wouldn't willingly work with demons unless they were... evil. But I feel nothing like that from you."
"So, why are you here?"
The question isn't toned with anger, or sadness, or anything. He's just... wanting to know. And while Ayame is all up into hitting him repeatedly, Hakuya has to fight back at least somewhat - just in the case she really IS working for Marise and intends on taking his life, or something. So, now that he's all worked through her attacks, his stance still balanced, and rather close to Ayame, he moves. His hands snap forward, and he seeks to press a hand to the strawberry blonde's stomach, the other on her shoulder. His body dips lower, and he suddenly rams his shoulder into the girl's middle. This isn't to strike, but rather to use his hands to flip Ayame over his shoulder, throwing her to the ground behind him... or so it would seem. His knee would then come up, striking Ayame in the back and knocking her back into the air, where Hakuya would finally 'catch' her, lift her up, over, and down in a suplex, slamming her into the ground.
COMBATSYS: Ayame counters Silent Crescent from Hakuya with Final Solstice.
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Hakuya 1/----===/=======|-------\-------\0 Ayame
Her staff connects with its targets, each point of contact sending a satisfying reverberation along the length of the titanium pole. Chi takes to the air - a shower of crimson particles drifting around the two like rain, as the teenaged menace tries to leave a decisive mark on the young man. Her transition from one strike to the next is fluid, her entire body committed to the combination of techniques, like a dance step practiced thousands of times; unusually graceful for the rebellious natured girl.
But in the end, it isn't enough to sweep the Gedo student off his feet. When she comes in for the final strike, her staff meets the resistance in the form of unmoveable legs, literally bouncing back off as if she just took a bat to a brick wall. It breaks her pattern and sends her staggering back two steps as she's forced to correct for it, bringing her staff up behind her back as she reigns the long weapon back under control, staring back at Hakuya with a rare flash of intensity in her eyes. Her breaths come between pants, as if she was more worked up than the brief scuffle between the two thus far would even lend itself to.
He responds calmly. Listing out his observations. His thoughts about her. His uncertainty as to what she even wants out of this engagement. But there's no anger at her. He's calm. Controlled. Patient beyond any possible expectation. The girl grits her teeth, extending her right hand, drawing all of the risidual chi from her previous attack back into her palm as if conserving it for reuse. It churns over her palm, like a small ball of fire burning for the chance to be put back to use.
"Don't you realize that I could have been sent here to kill you?!" she growls. "That woman - that thing - she was going to rip me to shreads for saying no to her face!! I would have said yes - I would have told her anything to bargain for my life - even if it meant having to kill you and your friend if I was the same person I was back then!" she exclaims, hair whipping about her shoulders as her energy builds. "Don't you realize what I'm saying? How serious the consequences for your little gang playing hero was?!"
She whips her staff into a spin at her left side and the sphere of building chi over her right palm is drawn into it, once again imbuing the titanium weapon with a renewed infusion of power. He has to fight back or she's going to keep striking. That much is abundantly clear. And so Hakuya makes his move, charging forward, seeking to get a firm grip on Ayame. And given his success at prior attempts, and the remarkable speed with which he now moves now, he stood a good chance at it too.
But the instant he's in range, all of that pent up potential is unleashed as Ayame swings her staff up brutally fast, still spinning it in the process. The low end on the upswing has energy congeal, forming a crimson colored warhammer with which she smashes into Hakuya, driving back his attempt to get a grip on her. The momentum carries, however, and this time the girl is able to swing unabated, spinning into a second strike, and a third, each one laden with pent up force and physical power driven by her riled temper.
The energy shifts, becoming a mace as the girl bashes the boy again with it. She spins it around again, and the end becomes that of an spear, bearing a vorpal point of precision shaped chi... But that strike never lands. For rather than bring it in for a stabbing blow, she releases her right hand from the weapon and reaches out to grab Hakuya by his front instead, attempting to twist her fingers into his hoodie and hold him still.
"But you say you're willing to help me? After what I did? I kidnapped your friends. I gave them to that hellspawn to whatever she wanted with them. Your own group could have died because of what I did." She pushes back, intending to shove him away in the end, "You should hate me for what I did. Don't you want revenge? Don't you want to get back at me for everything that happened?" She waves her right hand at him, leaving it extended, "You offered me help, and I stabbed you for it. How do you know that isn't just the person I am? How do you know I'm not just setting you all up to take a fall?!"
She withdraws her right hand, gripping her staff, holding it across her at an angle as if bunkering down, preparing herself for retaliation after having provoked the youth so. "Come on!! Take your shot! No one would blame you for hating me. You /should/ want revenge. That's the human thing to do!! Actions have consequences, I told you that. Why don't you hold me accountable?!"
Whereas Hakuya is calm, even stalwart in the face of all this negativity - both in Ayame's words, and her actions by way of beating the crap out of him - the strawberry blonde girl has simply gotten herself worked up, angry, as if somehow the way Hakuya was reacting to her was the worst thing he could've possibly done. Before he attacks, he notes her condition - the ragged panting when the fight hadn't even really been -that- strenuous, so far. The raised tone of voice, real anger in her words as she asks him, perhaps in not so many words, how the hell he can be so patient in the face of what Ayame supposedly represents.
Hakuya wasn't the best of thinkers. He wasn't stupid, but being kept cloistered in his family's mansion for most of his life has made him rather oddly developed. He grew up with his family who treated him in a cold, distant way, 'all the better to make him the next heir of the Suigetsu line.' They attacked him while he did chores, while he was sleeping, or bathing - anything, to make him into a defensive machine that could take any punishment. Normally, this would make someone rather cold and distant as well. But there was something different. Something his grandfather, Koichi had done. Reading him tales of heroic knights, of guardians, of protectors. Recounting glorious deeds the Suigetsu family once were a part of. They were meant to inspire Hakuya to take the Suigetsu duty seriously... and he did. But more than that, Hakuya clung to the basic, easily missed lessons of those tales.
To be a guardian, you must be kind. You must forgive. And most of all, you must never strike anyone that doesn't intend you or those you protect harm.
It takes him awhile, but he gets it, finally. What Ayame wants. Which might be why his attack, despite all odds, is overcome. Hesitation, perhaps, or merely a lack of willingness to fully commit himself to the strike. His hands snap out to grab ahold of the teenage girl, but before he can, there's suddenly something slamming into him from below, stopping his forward motion cold. More strikes hammer into him, staggering him back, his feet shuffling backwards one step, two, three... and he then notices the spear-tip energy, aimed straight for him. Likely, that would've hurt some...
But instead, he's grabbed, and he's faced with the much more stinging demands of Ayame, being told flat out why he should hate her. Why he should seek revenge. Indeed, why he should fight her more, try to hurt her. Hakuya's eyes narrow a little as Ayame speaks, his face quite serious as these things run through his mind. He's silent the entire time, his blue eyes staring hard at Ayame, as if unsure what to say. He's released, and he stumbles back a step, catching his balance quickly. There's a moment of silence as Hakuya simply -looks- at Ayame, and nothing more.
Then, he speaks up.
"...I don't hate you. You've already said it. If you denied the demon what she wanted, she would have killed you. How can I hate you... for doing 'the human thing'? You don't want to die. No one does. And I... I don't think you want to kill, either. I just, I don't feel it in you. You may not need my pity, but that's all I feel. Pity for the situation you've been forced into. So..."
His eyes show new resolve. He's not angry. He's not confused. He's nothing of the sort. If anything, his gaze is... kind, if still firm, but the firmness is one of resolve, of clarity. "Perhaps you're not asking me for help. But my duty... no, not even that. The HUMAN thing to do is to defeat evil. The demon called Marise is evil. It doesn't matter what you did... you had your reasons, I guess, but you aren't evil. Perhaps guilty of some wrong, but not evil. So, if you are not asking for my protection - for OUR protection - then I still will defeat the demon Marise, because that is what needs to be done. That is how I will take responsibility... for not ending her evil to begin with.%
"And most of all," he says, "I will no longer fight that who is not my enemy."
Hakuya then lowers h
Hakuya then lowers his guard, utterly relaxing himself. And simply stands there, looking at Ayame.
COMBATSYS: Hakuya drops his guard to recover.
[ \\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\ < > ////////////////////// ]
Hakuya 1/----===/=======|-------\-------\0 Ayame
She waits. Teeth gritted, fixing the young man with a glare as she tries to goad him into taking his shot; into acting out, into bringing that thirst for revenge that must surely lurk beneath his kind, controlled exterior. Tenma said that he would help her without a second thought. She was convinced that was impossible. That there was no way he could be so ready to aid her. And now she's waiting for the proof to manifest just as she had so carefully planned...
But he doesn't move. Doesn't yell. Doesn't get furious. He just speaks. Calmly, clearly, about why he's behaving the way he is. Why he isn't going after her. He isn't going to attack. He isn't even going to fight her anymore. In fact, as he lowers his guard, he presents nothing but an easy target for one as able and vicious as Ayame to take advantage of. If she really was trying to assassinate the boy, this would certainly be a great chance to do so...
The transition happens quickly. Ayame stands up straight, taking her staff to her side, her expression going from heated to calm, her breathing returning to normal in the span of a single breath. The girl twirls her staff once, before it collapses down to its more portable size and slipped into the pouch on her belt, looking down as she does so.
By the time she glances back up at Hakuya, there's a subtle hint of a grin tugging the corner of her lips, "Huh." She brushes her hands together as if dusting them off, then goes to rest them at her hips. "Guess you're genuine." She grunts, shaking her head, looking to be vaguely amused and, to some degree, surprised.
Her right hand comes up, flipping her hair back over her shoulder as she continues, "That's all I came for. To see if you were for real." Her hand goes to rest at her jaw, her index finger tapping at her cheek as she stares back at Hakuya, completely unapologetic for what she just put him through. "That Tenma guy spoke pretty high praises of you. I was skeptical." She hehs softly, lowering her hand as she turns to the side, apparently content to depart with that. "Guess I was wrong. You're a nice guy. Will be interesting to see what that gets you out of life, hm?"
The girl breaths in deeply then exhales. The day is young, there's time for trouble yet. "I'll see you around. I appreciate the help. Then again, I have a feeling... it won't be me that thing goes after next. You might need my help in the end," she finishes, casting one last grin over her shoulder before she continues, waving her right hand at her side. "Be careful."
COMBATSYS: Ayame takes no action.
[ \\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\ < > ////////////////////// ]
Hakuya 1/----===/=======|-------\-------\0 Ayame
To be honest, he'd been mostly guessing that Ayame's reason for being here... was to test his resolve. After all, why be so intentionally provoking, so intentionally hostile, but without any manner of killing intent... or indeed, any intent to do him harm at all, if she was here to actually harm him? So when he drops his guard, the Guardian King was in fact fully convinced he was going to get attacked again... and he was prepared to show his resolve even further, if need be. He waits, his guard down, stance relaxed. Any warrior worth their salt could do some serious damage to him if they were intent on it. That's what she wanted to see, right?
Apparently, the mere willingness to go that distance was enough.
Ayame lowers her guard as well, and then entirely puts away her staff, which leaves Hakuya's serious expression shifting back into his more usual guileless one, though now tinged with confusion. And it only becomes more confused as Ayame starts talking. Genuine? He's... 'real'? Though the strawberry-blonde girl's comment seems like it's a compliment, her tone suggests it really isn't. Thus is Hakuya left a little bewildered. He thought she was here to test his resolve to fight a demon, not how nice he was! ...He could've bought her, like, ice cream, to prove that.
"U-um," he says, and then frowns a little. "Y... yeah. Um... you, too. Be careful," he says, but this doesn't help in any way. His mind races over the past little while, trying to make sense of these actions. Marise wasn't dead; this is not confirmed, but he had no reason to disbelieve it, particularly if Ayame was going so far. And, of Ayame, she was formerly helping Marise, but now was 'on the run' from her... or so it seemed. The Guardian Kings, then, had the responsibility to defeat Marise again... this time for good, hopefully. And they were supposed to protect Ayame, as well. Also...
Oh crap, the books! Suddenly remembering what had happened prior to Ayame's ambush, he looks around at all the books strewn about, kicked up by chi flares and the fighters' motions. Flailing a bit, Hakuya decides not to persue Ayame. Instead, he begins to hurriedly pick up the books and stuff them back into the boxes - er, box, now that one had been trashed by Ayame. He had to get these to the teachers!
Pondering on this issue could wait. Particularly for when he could talk to the rest of the Guardian Kings.
COMBATSYS: Hakuya has left the fight here.
[ \\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\ <
Ayame 0/-------/-------|
COMBATSYS: Ayame has ended the fight here.
Log created on 18:19:46 01/31/2009 by Ayame, and last modified on 02:50:25 02/02/2009.