LLK Act I.War - War : Manifest Destiny

Description: With Gedo High being taken over, many students have heeded the unofficial call to duty. Unfortunately, due to Yurika and Kurenai attempting to helpfully 'evacuate' the school of any unruly folks, Pas, Shurui, and Ichiro have to first somehow convince them to stand aside... or come to blows. Of course, this is Match of the Millenium, not Debate of the Millenium, so of course it eventually comes to blows! Also, misfiring rocket boots.



Gedo High, at the moment, is just pure and utter chaos at the moment. There wasn't a word of warning, and suddenly things just exploded, at least that's what any witness who happened to be strolling along the Gedo Streets would say. On one hand, it isn't anything out of the ordinary, there's always a fight of some sort happening on those grounds right? But this case is a touch different because this is a rare scenario in which there actually was a call for help brought out, encouragement in some way, shape, or form, for the other schools to come forth and, as they say 'help a brother out'.
It begs the question, exactly how many friends does the school in question have? And are things under control now or what? There's very little news of any sort about the exact situation at present, a birds-eye view will see plenty of fighting and plenty of fleeing.

This is, somewhat, where Yurika Kirishima and her companion come in, they've been stationed about a quarter of a block away from the school grounds on this chilly day. They probably got the easiest job really, which is to get the lesser combat-talented students and faculty off of the school grounds, and.. Elsewhere. Mostly faculty is involved here since most of the 'punks' are too hard-headed to take 'strategic retreat' as an option.

Yurika, of course, isn't difficult to pick out, she's clad in her extremely light-blue Seijyun uniform, waving her hands to gesture away from the school ground as her form of assistance. Again, it's a simple job, so long as she's in uniform she's pretty much automatically flagged as one to listen to during the confusion.

The environment is a touch crazy as well, with the flood of people in the streets, there's been a bit of vehicular wreckage and serious traffic back-up, and on a cold day like today, rest assured many many people are in a rotton mood!

Kurenai considered wearing a rather typical 'ninja outfit' forthis. Instead... she's wearing her Seijyun uniform as well... only she's added a mask, like the mask of one Himezaki Aoi. The mask is pink, to match her hair--but hopefuully it'll throw people who might come looking for her later... like me who grow beards to rob banks. Er... not the best sort of thing to think about. She is, however, wielding a regular ol' bokken this time around... slung across her back, the tape-wrapped wooden handle protrudes over her left shoulder.

The pinkhaired ninja-mathematician-girl is going to let Yurika do most of the talking, for once; she's here to help direct traffic, only speaking when necessary. Occasionally, her voice sounds, though, directing people in the right direction. The direction is, of course, away from the school; eventually, she finds, she has to draw her bokken. But not in anger; she uses it to help flag people down, to direct them, making herself more visible. She is, however, short; eventually she has to jump up onto the gates... and continue waving people through.

She knows the orders, though--empty Gedo High. Gedo is amongst the worst of the schools in terms of potential resistance--even the 'bugs', the kids who are just delinquents, are fierce about their school...

And that can be troublesome. "HEY!" she shouts, at a couple of resistant punks, "You gotta get out of here, it's dangerous, even for big guys like you!!" Really, it doesn't look suspicious in the least.

People in a rotten mood? Shurui certainly fits that bill. Moving along, the tightened hood of her navy blue hoodie keeping her distinctly grey hair *out* of sight, she almost disappears amid the much taller fleeing populace, occasionally knocked back when someone forces their way past her. Of course, there's something about the way her gaze keeps attuned to the direction of Gedo High that gives away the short girl's intentions on why she's there and where she's going. Basically? She's exactly what Yurika and Kurenai were there to courteously turn away.

Shurui'd told them countless times that she'd be there to help them- the Guardian Kings, that is. It's perhaps foolish to drop into one of the core hotspots of the whole shebang and expect some results, but she promised. The Guardian Kings -saved her life-. They *killed* someone to get to her and Stasya. No matter what their reasons for being there, that's a thing she can't idly ignore. Not when she's just got back her abilities. Not when she just told Kenji she wouldn't hide anymore.

"Mpf!" Getting knocked back by a frightened onlooker fleeing the scene, she falls back onto the ground, scruffily picking herself up. "HEY. WATCH IT." Her hood is dislodged- she covers it back up. Not that there's anyone here who'd recongize her, or even *care*, but if NESTS is involved in the shenanigans going on within Gedo's gates (and god help everyone if they are), that could complicate matters a great deal more than Shurui would want.

With a white-knuckled grip on the throttle and the glorious grinding rock of Guitar Wolf pumping through his earbuds as his red and white Honda CBR750F street bike rockets down Gedo street, Ichiro Oe's normally cool temper is in danger of raging out of control.

It had been just your average boring school day at Taiyo High. Sports, fights, hi-fives in the hallways, you know, the usual. That is, until the Gedo call for help spread to the ears of the close knit Taiyo High community. Word spread fast; something /bad/ was going down at Gedo and this time they weren't too proud to ask for outside help. When Ichiro heard about the panic going on across town he tried to gather up a group of his classmates to go lend a hand, but it seems everyone else he could find already had better things to do. Besides, it was Gedo High, that doesn't have anything to do with TAIYO, right? Those kids are always bragging about keeping the streets safe and all that, aren't they? Well, let them handle it.

Listening to excuse after excuse, Ichiro finally couldn't take it anymore. Grabbing his duffel bag and sprinting to his motorcycle the young lacrosse captain took off for Gedo high to see what he could do to help. A lot of people refer to the school here in Southtown as the 'Rival Schools'. Well, the young sports star can't help shake the feeling that something really bad is about to happen. Maybe the schools could use a little unity for once.

Letting off of the throttle as his cycle nears Gedo High, Ichiro's red and white helmet drifts over towards Yurika as he gives her a passing glance from behind his dark visor. She seems to be directing people out of the school. Well, she's doing her part it seems, Ichiro might as well head into the school to see if anyone needs help getting out. Giving his cycle's throttle a slight goose to pick kick it's winding down RPMs back up, Ichiro gives no indication that he's going to stop and talk to any of the fleeing students and faculty, much less respect any sort of barricade.

There's an adult man, looking to weigh in a good two-hundred pounds, racing desperately with the sea of people. He's heading straight at Shurui on full tilt, oblivious to her, and looking all too prepared to bowl the small straight over--

Until a quick hand grabs him, catching his collar like a fly out of the hair, and dismissively wrenches him to one side and onto his ass. In his place, stands a young, striking Brazilian girl, who pauses momentarily to turn shoulder and offer Shurui a sharp wink. She smiles crookedly, saluting the grey-haired girl with two fingers tapped from her temple.

Then she's gone again, resuming her original path. It is not one of the least resistance. But it is the most direct. Pás wades through the redirected crowd, moving lazily but purposefully against the current, looking as unbothered as someone walking through a light rain. She began this path ever since the rumour hit her about something going down at the Gedo school. Something that isn't good. The first thought that hit her was that idiot Tenma, and his stupid face keeps on coming back at every chance she tries to talk herself into going back home.

But there's no sense wasting all that energy now that she's so close. Might as well see what's up.

The Brazilian is stretching lazily as she closes on the gates towards Gedo -- and the two girls barricading it -- busying herself with tying back her heavy hair and changing the song on her ipod.

Yurika, of course, is keeping a very careful eye on the situation. Since her duty is almost pathetically simple, it's easy for her to watch for things that may be amiss. Though it never hurts to have Kurenai keeping an eye out as well.
Yurika isn't going to pretend she knows every single person from every school, though in this particular case she doesn't have to look into that much detail, only for people going against the wave could be brought into suspicion. The sound of a motorcycle increasing in acceleration is simple enough for her to pick out and it causes a small frown to form, ".. K, he isn't going to slow down, please stop him at any cost," she calls back to her partner. And she's serious, she means -anything-. Now, as for Pas and Shurui? Well, technically there's no reason to bother them just yet, but she is taking a few steps to the side as she continues to direct as best she can; obviously her plan here is to get in their way before something has to happen. Pas, she recognizes, but only recognizes the girl by name; Shurui she knows pretty much nothing about. It's possible that Pas is going to drag her away from the chaos, it's difficult to tell. "Please, continue in this direction, to the northeast toward Downtown!" she calls out, "Please head to your homes as soon as possible!"

Stop him. Stop the motorcycle... The simplest method would be to attack it. But to /stop/ it with an attack... is proably beyond her level. She has to think and think fast... fortunately, she is a ninja. She's always prepare--like a Boy Scout or a Girl Scout. Only, you know, violent. "Hai, Yurika-dono," comes the girl's voice, muffledly (thank you mask. How the hell does Zaki deal with this? She must drink her meals.)

Kurenai's bokken is stowed, quickly, and her right hand sweeps past her waist... and then out. It would take some good vision to see what just happened--Ichiro would know first and best, as a pair of small, sharp-pointed spike shuriken are sent towards the wheels of Ichiro's bike.

Really it's a shame, doing something like this to a bike like that. But you gotta do what you gotta do. Immediately thereafter, Kurenai leaps down from the gate, landing to one side of it--clearly to obstruct people from going back in, as it seems many people want to do. Some are getting predictably roused, but no one's getting too violent, yet... that is sure to change.

Who would've thought just getting there'd be a fight in itself. Such is the trial and tribulations of a short person. Here comes one now- someone huge, someone running fast, and someone not willing to stop for what could be a simple bump in the road as far as they're concerned. Shurui unabashedly braces for impact... and then is surprised when it doesn't come.

Instead, the vision of someone's aura in a sea of excited, scared swirling energies, trimuphiantly saluting her. "...." Shurui stares at the rescuing Pas is naked awe, then, when she turns to go, follows after her, without a word. Not because of anything personal- it's just that two against the tide will do better than one. Besides, she has student ID. SURELY, those two people will let *her* in.

As they get close, she dashes ahead and, whipping out her wallet, flicks out a ca- wait. Yellow. That's library. Then another card. The colors seem right. "I go here! I gotta go throu-" Her eyes go to Kurenai, the flicker of the girl's latent body energy causing Shurui's subconscious to jerk. The action was too quick to figure out what it was, and with Ichiro's motorcycle racing out of control, she might not have long to reflect on it...

Gritting his teeth in concentration as he pulls back on the classic street racing bike's handlebars, Ichiro pops the front wheel up as he nears the curb in front of Gedo High's front gate. Riding the wheelie for a few feet, the lacrosse player is in the middle of driving the bike up over the curb just as two small flashes of metal streak toward him from the hands of a girl dressed in a Seijyun High uniform and pink mask (sort of a hot look in a freaky kind of way) perched on top of the gate. The motorcycle's back tire explodes loudly, its rubber shell shredding as the pressure of holding up the entire weight of the bike gives way. The front tire fairs a little better as it is punctured and rendered flat immediately by the rush of escaping air.

"WHOOOAH!" Ichiro cries out from behind his motorcycle helmet as sparks fly from the bare rear wheel of his bike. Leaning forward quickly, the lacrosse player jams on his brakes, sending all of his weight forward onto his front wheel and causing him to swing the handlebars wildly to try and keep his balance as his forward momentum sends him straight for the wall that surrounds Gedo. "CRAP!" Ichiro cusses mildly as he decides to bail out. Pulling his weight to the side of the bike, Ichiro lays the poor thing down and climbs on top of it, managing to hop off right before the vehicle crashes into the wall with a loud crunch. "What… the hell." Ichiro gasps as he stumbles toward Kurenai. Wiping off his metal shavings and plastic bits off of his red and white leather riding jacket, Ichiro pulls his lacrosse stick out from in-between his back and the duffelbag slung over his shoulder and drops the bag on the ground next to his wrecked bike. "I wasn't going to run into you guys, you didn't have to wreck my damn bike," Ichiro informs the girl angrily as he jabs a gloved finger in the direction of her chest. "Now get out of my way, people might need help in there. I don't have time for this now," he adds, his voice slightly muffled by his helmet as he moves to shoulder his way past the short girl.

The sleepy-eyed Brazilian keeps on moving on her direct beeline towards Gedo High, standing out against the crowd in many ways: her dark skin, the flipflops she wears on her feet in the dead middle of February, and the very fact she's pacing against the crowd. She moves with a dismissive single-mindedness, looking no more than some silly girl taking a different route for her evening stroll; her body language belies her beartrap mind. She's going into that school. There's no other alternative.

Pás' heavy-lidded, bedroom eyes are sharper than they appear. She's already caught sight of two figures -- two girls -- who stand contrary to the sea of people, directing them urgently away from the school. She also catches that their desperation to shoo people away manifesting in other forms; she glimpses the whip-fast motion of /something/ aimed at some guy's tenacious motorcycle.

The resultant CRASH jumps a tide of nearby people. The Brazilian just tilts her head minutely, and lifts one hand to take one earbud of her headphones from one ear. She considers the scene that's arising out of it... and her smile deepens. The tips of her teeth flare through her grinning, which has suddenly gond wild, as something new suddenly overlays to Pás' otherwise sleepy way. She's suddenly glad she chose to come.

Her slow, but direct step is bringing her closer to Yurika, threatening to pass the girl with a brisk, unmoveable air, a friendly smile, and a cheery wave. What does Pás have to say to the girl's polite directions back to downtown? "Hallo! I am no Englishes. Gut-byes!" If not stopped, her aim is to keep going for the gate.

"I'm TELLING you! If you want to find a work of true telivision entertainment --"
"Oh, not this again--"
"Shut up! If you want to have your mind BLOWN with a harsh shot of REALITY, you have to watch Growing Up Gotti--"
"You know that show was cancelled, right."
"AHEAD OF IT'S TIME!!"
"Cancelled because it sucks."
"YOU'RE A PHILISTINE!"
"Your mom's a philistine."
"Oh, real mature."
"Your mom's a... ... uh... ... real mature..."
"... yeeeah."
Certain procedures must be followed in war time. One of them is the time-honored tradition of patrol. When you're in the midst of securing new territory, it is simply practical, after all, to ensure that your borders, your new territory-in-the-making, is not being infested with rats -- or anything else that could throw a proverbial monkey wrench into the plans of the great and mysterious NESTS (and Shadaloo).
Thus, patrol squadrons are needed. And this is why a group of five men, heavily clad in black and red battle armors (which have freaking rocket boots) are all currently roving the outskirts of Gedo. While things are in a panic throughout the street, their only goal is to look for conflict here today -- and since they only see largely people running about in a panic, they feel it is more appropriate, now, to sit, and chat.
"Man, I could really go for some pottery right now."
"Oh, big surprise."
"Shut up Mike! Just because a man likes some pottery classes--"
"--makes him a woman? I agree."
"HAH! Mike with the woman zinger!"
"Y'know..."
"But yeah, I could go for some pottery too."
"..."
"Oh man, I wonder if there's like some pottery shop here in the ghetto we could hit up, we've got like a--"
And then, mild chaos breaks loose in the form of Ichiro's bike suddenly crashing in a cacophony of sound. The five men look. Squint.
"... You think there's a clay sculpting shop in the /ghetto/?"

Yurika was impressed; actually she expected a little more from Kurenai but the job was done quite well.. On the other hand, perhaps it was better that she didn't give herself the job or she would have done something considerably more drastic and probably would have ended up hurting Ichiro (in her mind). It would appear the lacrosse fighter is all right though, which is rather important in its own way. She'll let Kurenai deal with the young man, and of course would not hide if it were revealed it was all under her order.

Now then for Shurui, the dark-eyed musician is forced to pause her directing somewhat, looking to the alleged student at first in faux-bewilderment, and then with a small smile, "I'm glad you're here.." she replies, "We're under order to keep outside until directed otherwise.. If you wouldn't mind we could certainly use a hand getting others out and keeping others from getting in.. The situation is rather sensitive, as you could g-"
Pas, of course Yurika is going to make an attempt to stop the woman, this time geniunely bewildered by the broken language. However she holds her arm out, under the false assumption that Shurui would be staying put for a moment and shifts to block the brazillians path with a brilliant smile of her own and proceeds to point off to the west as she explains, "Red Light District. No this way. That way. Shame on you." Shame on her for what, exactly, she doesn't make clear. West.

Sorry, Ichiro; she's standing her ground. The young, short girl meets his angry gaze with a calm one. "Sorry," she says; he can't see if she's frowning due to the mask, of course, but she probably is. This isn't what was supposed to happen... but like Yurika, she has her orders. Don't let anyone /in/, get everyone /out/.

"Look, we have things under control here." Sort of. Sort of under control, as much as you can control chaos.

"So if you could just--I don't know, I'm sorry about your bike, but if you could go home... it would be a lot safer for you there..." Now, the question is... is that a statement... or a threat? She isn't making any overtly threatening moves, but she isn't backing down either.

"Please, just turn around. Bill Seijyun for the bike if you have to." She /really/ doesn't want to fight in this sort of chaos. It would be a little too unpredictable.

PROTIP: Shurui's sight can't pick up a mechanical objects. It can, however, see Ichiro, riding his motorcycle like a bull at a rodeo. "Shi-"

That... was a royally wince-inducing noise of a crash. The aura that emerges seems whole, though, so nothing horrible.

"..." Shurui directs her attention back to Yurika as she interacts with the Brazilian, quirking an eye. Directing someone who doesn't know English to a red light district? Possibly destroying a motorcycle because someone was getting too close? The methods they're using are downright dirty, even for two dealing with possible pig-headed Gedo students. Okay, let's just say Shurui's not impressed. "... Look, really, you guys look like you're doing your job just fine. You don't need my help."

Seijyun. Isn't that that all-girls' school? What the hell are they thinking, using force like that to get people out? "Just let me through. I'll do you more good if I'm inside than if I'm here getting run over. So move it." She steps quickly, trying to sidestep past Yurika...

COMBATSYS: Ichiro has started a fight here on the right meter side.

                                  >  //////////////////////////////]
                                 |-------\-------\0           Ichiro


"..."
Ichiro's helmet stares coldly at the masked girl for a moment as the motorcycle rider is actually halted by the much smaller girl. "Look, it's not about the money... That's MY BIKE," Ichiro insists, pointing at the scraped and broken yet still salvageable heap laying on the sidewalk, as if his point should be self-evident. Shaking his head in annoyance, Oe glances over at Yurika, then at the two other girls trying to get inside. "...Something really weird is going on here..." Ichiro mutters as he inspects the pair of guard-girls suspiciously. Why would a school evacuation need an armed guard? And why are the guards teenage girls from another schools, not faculty or even policemen?

"I don't trust you two. If you girls want me out then I want in, I may be a jock but I'm not stupid. Now, I'm going inside and if you don't like it, well, it'll take more than little bits of metal and words to stop me," the Taiyo student declares firmly as he raises his hand and attempts to brush Kurenai aside solidly, sending her into Gedo's wall and out of his way for good. Hopefully.

COMBATSYS: Kurenai has joined the fight here on the left meter side.

[\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\  < >  //////////////////////////////]
Kurenai          0/-------/-------|-------\-------\0           Ichiro


COMBATSYS: Kurenai has left the fight here.

                                  >  //////////////////////////////]
                                 |-------\-------\0           Ichiro


COMBATSYS: Ichiro has ended the fight here.


COMBATSYS: Ichiro has started a fight here on the right meter side.

                                  >  //////////////////////////////]
                                 |-------\-------\0           Ichiro


COMBATSYS: Kurenai has joined the fight here on the left meter side.

[\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\  < >  //////////////////////////////]
Kurenai          0/-------/-------|-------\-------\0           Ichiro


Stopped in her tracks by Yurika's walling arm, the exotic foreigner meets the girl with a look of polite misunderstanding. She stands there a little confusedly, her hands twined behind her back, and her head tilted with a foreigner's sense of inherent apology. She peeks misunderstandingly at all those words, and all her beckonings, and though she doesn't seem able to comprehend one bit of it, she's certainly trying with the exaggerated way she's watching Yurika point off to go elsewhere.

Pás scratches her head and purses her mouth thoughtfully. Then she just grins sunnily again, lifting one hand in a second wave. "No english hallo!"

It's at that moment, not too far away, Ichiro suddenly moves at Kurenai, attempting to dismiss the smaller girl into a nearby wall. The Brazilian reacts to the scene with a visible startle, her ambery eyes widening as she reaches one hand to her mouth. "Deus!" she gasps, pointing the scene out suddenly, visibly for Yurika to notice.

It's her intention to make the other girl turn her head, if just for one moment -- and inside that moment, the Brazilian's entire demeanour does a full sea change. Her right foot discreetly slips out of her flipflop. She moves without warning, trying to close one hand around the wrist of Yurika's barricading hand, attempting to keep her still the split-second it takes to recoil her leg and try to slam her foot solidly at her ribs.

Pás doesn't take too well with being told where to go.

COMBATSYS: Pas has joined the fight here on the right meter side.

[\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\  < >  //////////////////////////////]
Kurenai          0/-------/-------|-------\-------\0              Pas
                                  >  //////////////////////////////]
                                 |-------\-------\0           Ichiro


COMBATSYS: Yurika has joined the fight here on the left meter side.

[\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\  < >  //////////////////////////////]
Yurika           0/-------/-------|-------\-------\0              Pas
[\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\  < >  //////////////////////////////]
Kurenai          0/-------/-------|-------\-------\0           Ichiro


COMBATSYS: Yurika dodges Pas' Medium Kick.

[\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\  < >  //////////////////////////////]
Yurika           0/-------/-------|-------\-------\0              Pas
[\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\  < >  //////////////////////////////]
Kurenai          0/-------/-------|-------\-------\0           Ichiro


Yurika doesn't seem very phased by the anger of Ichiro; of course she wouldn't! She doesn't seem to want to justify her seemingly improper reactions to a bike if she isn't asked, either so she has to keep her focus on the two other girls, doing her best to keep a pleasent smile, but it's clear her patience is starting to wane. "Oh no, believe me things are about to become increasingly difficult," she replies to Shurui, "We let people out, we do not let anyone in without a go ahead; things are chaotic enough without letting you add to the confusion. I understand you're worried, but please try to see things from our point of vi-" Yurika glances to look to Pas, and then toward Kurenai. She's no fool of course, she knows it's a trick, but it'd be better this way. As her wrist is reached toward, it is grasped, but just like that she's flipping into the air, deftly evading the kick.

This ends up positioning her behind Pas, in which she slips free from the hold and proceeds to shove Pas not-so-gently toward Shurui to cut her off at the pass... And then slip in front of both of them once more. "Miss.. If you help us control this situation, I will consider allowing you to pass with my assistant." Yurika then murmurs to Shurui, her arms crossed and a frown on her features. This, of course, is a lie. But no one else knows that.

COMBATSYS: Yurika takes no action.

[\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\  < >  //////////////////////////////]
Yurika           0/-------/-------|-------\-------\0              Pas
[\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\  < >  //////////////////////////////]
Kurenai          0/-------/-------|-------\-------\0           Ichiro


COMBATSYS: Shurui has joined the fight here.

[\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\  < >  //////////////////////////////]
Shurui           0/-------/-------|-------\-------\0              Pas
[\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\  < >  //////////////////////////////]
Yurika           0/-------/-------|-------\-------\0           Ichiro
[\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\  <
Kurenai          0/-------/-------|


COMBATSYS: Kurenai blocks Ichiro's Quick Throw.

[\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\  < >  //////////////////////////////]
Shurui           0/-------/-------|-------\-------\0              Pas
[\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\  < >  //////////////////////////////]
Yurika           0/-------/-------|-------\-------\0           Ichiro
[ \\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\  <
Kurenai          0/-------/-------|


COMBATSYS: Shurui has joined the fight here on the right meter side.

[\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\  < >  //////////////////////////////]
Yurika           0/-------/-------|-------\-------\0              Pas
[ \\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\  < >  //////////////////////////////]
Kurenai          0/-------/-------|-------\-------\0           Shurui
                                  >  //////////////////////////////]
                                 |-------\-------\0           Ichiro


Whoa. Ichiro tries to push Kurenai out of the way but the girl isn't having any of it; his push shoves her a half-step to the side... and yet before he can really move past her she's somehow gotten back in front of him. Not too close--especially as she draws her weapon, the bokken sliding from her back and into her hands. As it is drawn, her right foot swivels back, giving her a side-on stance, the weapon pointed at Ichiro, held parallel to the ground, bobbing lightly.

"I /said/," she announces, "that no one is allowed in. This is by order of the Gedo teachers; they simply asked us to help them maintain order. If you're going to try to disrupt the order, then you're no better than those who are trying to create and take advantage of the havoc." Her knees bend slightly, waiting to see his response--but she expects it to be violent. That means she needs to be prepared...

And she is certainly doing that. Yurika'll have her hands full soon, of course, so Kurenai turns her head a little and shouts, "Close the gates for a moment! We need to stop this rabble from getting in!!" She doesn't, however, look to see if the men on the gate are listening.

COMBATSYS: Kurenai calculates her next move.

[\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\  < >  //////////////////////////////]
Yurika           0/-------/-------|-------\-------\0              Pas
[ \\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\  < >  //////////////////////////////]
Kurenai          0/-------/-------|-------\-------\0           Shurui
                                  >  //////////////////////////////]
                                 |-------\-------\0           Ichiro


It's come to violence. Paranoid as she usually is, Shurui's still not convinced the two Seijiyun students are anyone but two girls trying to do their job a little *too* well. It helps that she's stubbornly set her mind on one goal, and has somehow convinced herself that two girls, both of which are taller than her, will simply let her through if she just run past them.

That concept dissipates as Pas's body flies towards her, her strange, awkward aura a dead giveaway on the Gedo student's radar. Swinging around, she tries to brace herself against the Brazilian's impact, but, as it usually does, science wins the battle outright. "OOF!" Back pressed against the tarmac, Shurui finds herself posing as Pas's personal yoga mat.

Okay, *now* she's getting that something's rotten in Denmark. "Nngh!" The announcement to close the gates doesn't make the task of getting up any easier, even if the girl on top of her is a lot more flexible in her ability to get up. "Oh, for fuck's sake!" she complains aloud. "Why the *hell* is Gedo hiring you guys to staff when we were here the whole time?!"

Retreating a step in surprise as the girl stands her ground, Ichiro's helmeted head swivels over to sneak a glance at the dufflebag containing his lacrosse helmet and pads. "Damn," Oe breathes softly as he laments over the fact that he never got a chance to change out of his riding equipment. Yeah, his motorcycle helmet gives even more protection than the one meant for lacrosse, but the helmet is stifling, it narrows his vision. Sure, his fancy leather riding jacket has armored inserts, making it just as protective as his shoulder pads, even more so really, but the jacket is heavy, it restricts his movement. Luckily his target isn't far away.

Leather gloves creaking as the rider adjusts his grip on the netted lacrosse stick in his hands, Ichiro brings the weapon up in front of his body, almost mirroring Kurenai's stance, though his is more head on, with his knees bent slightly and his shoulders square.

"Gedo teachers ordering around Seijyun Students, huh?" Ichiro replies with an unseen smirk just as Shurui expresses the same sentiment, albeit a little more... colorfully. "Something tells me you're lying," he adds just as he swings his crosse straight toward Kurenai's bokken, attempting to beat it out of line and lunge forward with his makeshift sword and strike the girl right on the pink mask. Ichiro's taken fencing lessons before. That's something rich kids do, right? Normally Ichiro wouldn't be so violent with your average schoolgirl, but she DID pop his motorcycle tires with shuriken. That's not really a feat that your average schoolgirl is capable of... even in Japan.

Pás' slamming foot meets dead air. She has only a brief instant to contemplate it -- the unsurprising quickness of this girl -- before she experiences it in other ways. Yurika deftly maneouvres around the Brazilian, shoving her firmly to one side and away from those coveted gates to the school. And the Pacific student doesn't try too hard to escape the harsh push, accepting it with a curious sort of indifference.

It helps that the fall is also softer than expected.

Turning her head, Pás peeks down at whatever cushioned her fall. She's sort've hoping it's a Dutch male model. But Shurui is good enough! Recognizing the girl from their brief encounter minutes before, she beams down at the poor Gedo throwpillow with a friendly, "Hallo!" before she very generously moves to pick herself back up to her feet. And, without any sort of invitation -- South Americans are affectionate like that -- she reaches down to take Shurui by an arm and haul the shorter girl likewise to her feet.

And that's when Pás just helps herself to Shurui, draping one arm over the grey-haired girl's shoulders in total chumminess. And she replies, displaying a newfound fluency in English, "Shiu, Gedo has money to hire now? Ha ha! Why would they jes get the silly Guardian Kings. Those dumb boys, they work all for free." The Brazilian's smiling goes crooked, and her arm hooked around Shurui's shoulders tightens in as she leans closer to the girl. "Psiu," she calls attention in an aside, "Now you are wanting in, I am wantings in... we are some-thing in common, yea? We are best friends now! What you say we help each other do the hard way?"

Pás' eyes have never really left Yurika, watching the girl in a predatory way despite all her sleepy smiling. She kicks her second flipflop free. "The fun way."

COMBATSYS: Pas focuses on her next action.

[\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\  < >  //////////////////////////////]
Yurika           0/-------/-------|-------\-------\0              Pas
[ \\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\  < >  //////////////////////////////]
Kurenai          0/-------/-------|-------\-------\0           Shurui
                                  >  ///////////////////////////// ]
                                 |-------\-------\0           Ichiro


Yurika simply snorts, "If you honestly do not know who links Seijyun to Gedo then you're either an extremely ignorant student, or you aren't a student at all, simple as that." she replies calmly enough, brushing a hand to flip one of her oversized curls aside, which slips back into place. "As you can see I play roughly, and I do not plan to change that. It's unfortunate but that is the way you must play when it comes to crowd control in a situation like this, and rash decisions must be made. I can easily sacrifice one person for the safety of fifty others."

Suddenly Pas on Shurui action! Are South Americans really that nice? How come Roberto never treats her like that! One boy is getting a stern talking to when all of this is over, that much is for certain! That aside it appears evacuation routes will have to be redirected, but she honestly isn't all that concerned about them anyway.

Yurika takes another step back, and picks up a black instrumental case by the handle. It was there the whole time, honest. "For the record, I don't really care if you do not trust me. That isn't why I'm here." and she flips the latches of her case.

COMBATSYS: Yurika calculates her next move.

[\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\  < >  //////////////////////////////]
Yurika           0/-------/-------|-------\-------\0              Pas
[ \\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\  < >  //////////////////////////////]
Kurenai          0/-------/-------|-------\-------\0           Shurui
                                  >  ///////////////////////////// ]
                                 |-------\-------\0           Ichiro


COMBATSYS: Kurenai dodges Ichiro's Slashing.

[\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\  < >  //////////////////////////////]
Yurika           0/-------/-------|-------\-------\0              Pas
[ \\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\  < >  //////////////////////////////]
Kurenai          0/-------/-------|-------\-------\0           Shurui
                                  >  ///////////////////////////// ]
                                 |-------\-------\0           Ichiro


So, it's to be violence, is it?!? .. yeah, she was expecting that. Kurenai doesn't panic--Ichiro is bigger, probably stronger, maybe just as fast and probably just as skilled. Maybe more. But Kurenai can't let her own faith in her skills erode so quickly; she feels the impact to her weapon but she's letting the weapon swing away, dropping that guard so that she can take a leaning half-step back; the lacrosse stick cuts just past where Kurenai's face was, missing by less than three inches.

Kurenai is already recovering, drawing her weapon back up... and then, she's changing her stance, as she fades back that half-step to get some distance. She fades back, the weapon now slung across her back, held there in her left hand... then surges forward, uttering a sharp kiai that cuts through the general din and noise of the chaotic scene--as she attempts to shoulder-check Ichiro. Not that she expects to do a lot of damage there--but it'll open his guard for the follow-up, a smashing overhand strike with both hands on the weapon's grip--and as the slash starts, pink-white enerry flares along the weapon, illuminating the scene for that moment.

"Back /off/!!" she shouts, just a moment later.

"Hu-whk-" Shurui makes a very interesting sound as she is unexpectedly lifted from the ground by the jovial Pas. "-W-wh" Someone is holding her and manuevering her arm and what the hell too much touching- "T-the Guardian Kings-" She tries to say something, but being swung around completely interrupts whatever stray thought in her head. .... Just who is this girl, anyway? A compressed, secretive aura, paired with a personality that's social and is lugging her around like they were BFFs? "Y-y... b..." Yurika's mannered yet sharp rebuke grabs Shurui's attention now, its words rubbing against already raw nerves in *just* the right way....

Dipomacy is over. She attempts to separate herself from Pas, staring directly up towards the mannerly Yurika. "... Sorry if I didn't go and *dedicate* myself to something important like who the fuck you and your friend are." She tilts her head, then, glancing beyond the Seiyjun girl, then looks away. She could just barge in, or- ... Well, there was a time when she was desperately trying to get *out* of Gedo. The front gate wasn't an option then either. "I'm outta here." She'll go the back way. Now, if only to convey that to Pas?

..... That's a lot harder than it sounds, even for a psychic. How the hell you do tell yourself to talk in someone's head? Yeah, she's done it before, but- < .... If you .... want t... get in, he... me. > The message is warbled, like a radio heard underwater. Maybe, at least, the shock will make Pas drop her like a hot potato so she can scurry off.

COMBATSYS: Ichiro blocks Kurenai's Charged Combo.

[\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\  < >  //////////////////////////////]
Yurika           0/-------/-------|-------\-------\0              Pas
[  \\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\  < >  //////////////////////////////]
Kurenai          0/-------/-------|-------\-------\0           Shurui
                                  >  ///////////////////////////   ]
                                 |=------\-------\0           Ichiro


Ichiro is sent stumbling forward a half step as his crosse catches nothing but air causing him to overextend his lunge. Apparently he needed to take a few more fencing classes. His black visor reflecting Kurenai's own masked face, no one, except for Shurui most likely, is aware of the annoyed expression on the high school student's face as he struggles to regain his balance, only to be sent stumbling backwards by a shoulder-check. Now this is something that the lacrosse captain is used to. Reversing his grip on his lacrosse stick and raising the sporting implement in front of his face, the sports star manages to catch the bokken's downward strike on the haft of his netted staff, the crackling pink-white energy causing the metal stick to sing eerily as the two weapons lock together briefly.

"You first!" Ichiro replies with a hidden grin as the other three girls to his side quarrel and hug and bicker amongst themselves. That one with the gray hair has quite the mouth on her, a part of Ichiro's mind reflects as his well-trained body flies into action on its own. His mother would never approve of such language. Thrusting his crosse upwards, and by proxy Kurenai's bokken, Ichiro releases his left hand's grip on the stick and swings the weapon in an arc over to his right, hopefully clearing both of the weapons out of his path to Kurenai. Once he's left himself a clear path to the pink ninja, the lacrosse captain will charge forward and attempt to hit her with a shoulder block of his own.

For the first time in her life, Pás hears a thought in her head that's not her own. At least, she's pretty sure it's not hers; her own thoughts usually just go on about pancakes and naked Antonio Sabato Jr. She pauses minutely, just from the sheer foreign sensation of it; it takes the Brazilian a moment to even recognize where it may have come from. That strange, grey-haired girl... who is a lot more than she is letting on.

Shurui easily manages to get free from Pás' overbearing affections, partly from the Brazilian's sheer surprise, and she tilts her head after the girl as she irritably excuses herself from returning to the school. She just asked her for help. She knows another way in.

Her crafty face and half-hooded eyes revealing little, the Brazilian returns to watching Yurika, especially as the girl seems transparently preparing herself to assert whatever authority she's granted herself over the school. Pás considers forgetting Shurui and just fighting her for the hell of it. At the very least, it'd be fun. And the Brazilian seems all too antsy to lose a bit of blood, her guard up, her muscles tensed, and her bare feet flexing her toes... But then she glances at those closed gates once more, thinks of that idiot Tenma Kiryuu once more, and supposes that she doesn't even have time for a bit of fun.

She's going to kick Tenma's ass if she finds him healthy and well.

Falling back to Shurui's telepathic message, Pás lets some of her aggression go, and transforms back to simple-minded, innocuous smiling at Yurika. "No english!" she chirps in farewell with a wave, before she too steps back, no doubt to pick up the pace following that strange, grey-haired girl.

"Man, maybe we should check out all that ruckus. Isn't that -- like -- our job?"
"Maybe it's your job to shut up??"
"Harsh."
"My job is a lot more important than that..."
The five members of the patrol guard continue to bicker, almost oblivious to the escalating conflict that really is only a few dozen feet away from them. Patrol in this sort of hectic situation isn't necessarily the most important of jobs -- thus, you don't really need to send the most important men when most of them are tied up taking over new grounds.
Case in point. The men continue to jabber, with topics ranging from the philosophy of life to whether or not they saw the latest episode of Family Guy when Joe's wife had her baby because seriously, did you see that, what's up with that, when--
--Violence escalates at a volume too audible to ignore. The men glance over to the conflict once more as fighting breaks out. Slowly, they look between one another. Massive guns (possibly laser guns) drawn free, they each give a slow nod to each other and start advancing on the area.
"Probably just some punk kids," one observes.
"Yeah, we should probably investigate before we take any action. See who it is, and decide from there what to --"
"RON PAUL '12!! WHOO YEEEAAAH!!"
And suddenly, the middle soldier suddenly lets off a round after his mighty battlecry, solid (unfortunately) rounds of ammunition spraying outwards -- towards the retreating Pás.
"... Dude."
"... Sorry, I thought 'decide from there what to do' was the sign that we attack. Didn't we agree on that?"
"Ugh. You know what? You don't get to participate in pictionary today."
"WHAT?!"
"Yeah. Maybe next time you won't be so Trigger Happy McGee, Mister... ... Trigger Happy McGee."
"Yeah, well, you know what? Pictionary is /gay./"
The other men stare, as if in shock.
"... sorry, let my emotions get the best of me there."

COMBATSYS: Invader2 has joined the fight here in the center.

[\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\  < >  //////////////////////////////]
Yurika           0/-------/-------|-------\-------\0              Pas
[  \\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\  < >  //////////////////////////////]
Kurenai          0/-------/-------|-------\-------\0           Shurui
                                  >  ///////////////////////////   ]
                                 |=------\-------\0           Ichiro
                 [ |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||| ]
                 Invader2         0|-------|-------


Yurika is left in a bit of an odd situation. By the time her beloved violin 'Charlotte' is set on her shoulder and bow is in opposite hand, the two girls are on their way to go and do.. Something else. The look on her face when the rounds of a gun goes off is priceless, though, expression blank for a moment, and then her smile more.. Nervous, "... Oh. Wonderful."

It seems the situation has changed, and things are going to get a lot worse before they get any better- Though at least there was a faint bit of amusement with Shurui's lost temper, even if her language could use a little cleaning up. Maybe she was Gedo after all, not that it really mattered. Very quick calculations were made; Kurenai could likely hold her own, but really she cared more about Kurenai's state of being than the patrol guards; so before deciding to go and assist them, she'll go ahead and cheap-shot Ichiro while he's attacking. Really, why not, right? "K!" Is her only warning as a pleasent tone fills the air; Yurika plays only a few notes, and with a sweep of her arm, a ring of half-notes, rests, and quarter-notes.. Musical energy is launched toward the biker's side as she takes a great leap away from the opponent.

COMBATSYS: Kurenai dodges Ichiro's Medium Strike.

[ \\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\  < >  //////////////////////////////]
Yurika           0/-------/-------|-------\-------\0              Pas
[  \\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\  < >  //////////////////////////////]
Kurenai          0/-------/-------|-------\-------\0           Shurui
                                  >  ///////////////////////////   ]
                                 |=------\-------\0           Ichiro
                 [ |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||| ]
                 Invader2         0|-------|-------


Once again, Ichiro binds the bokken and sends it out of blocking position--but, once again, Kurenai doesn't seem to be trying to keep him from doing so. She /does/ keep her grip on the weapon, even as it's sent out of the way, and then she's letting go of the weapon... as she steps around the charging Ichiro. There's a reason for the release of the weapon, and that becomes obvious as she grabs for the Ichiro's back...

And then plants her heels, pulling, twisting, and seeking to hurl Ichiro back away from the gate. She's got a job--and she intends to do her job right. "I =said=," she shouts--though she doesn't sound terribly angry--"/Back off/!!" Throwing people around is /not/ her specialty, but this isn't some specialized thing that she needs to do. She just nees him away from the gate.

Yurika-dono! She completely forgot--but she's sure, especially after having fought Yurika herself, that Yurika can take care of herself against Shurui and Pas. She trusts Yurika to tell her if she needs help. That is what she's here for.

Instead, however, it seems that Yurika's chosen to help her; the shouted abbreviation of her name is heard but not visibly reacted to--except in that Kurenai seems very careful and precise about making sure her attack 'flows' with Yurika's--creating a very potentially hazardous situation for the young man.

Really, it's not that Shurui hates Ichiro, or intentionally wants to leave him to a doom of fighting two people at once. It's just that, if she expended all her energy there, on students who just might be doing their job a little too zealously, it might not make a difference whether or not she gets by. She'd be no help to anyone inside. Plus, as much as Shurui doesn't mind doing things the 'fun way', if there's a path of lesser resistance, she was going to go that route. She's not some pile of might that could just barrel through people and keep going.

Let loose from Pas's BF4evers embrace of doom, Shurui simply walks away as if nothing out of ordinary happened- much less a person's first rare contact with a telepathic messaging system. .... .... A *horrible* telepathic messaging system. Shurui needs to work on this whole 'psychic' deal.

The approaching soldiers catch her paranoid mind's eye, though Shurui doesn't look their way. Just keep walking, don't look their way, don't make them think you're trying something fishy- "...w-?" The loud cry and hasty motions of the Ron Paul fan nudge Shurui's attention finally towards them, and then, to the explosion of bullets. There's no thought as to whether they're aiming at her *or* Pas- she just attempts to grab Pas by whatever's available and pull her forwards with her, crashing back against the ground.

Yoga mat, part 2, electric boogaloo.

COMBATSYS: Shurui assists Pas.

[ \\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\  < >  //////////////////////////////]
Yurika           0/-------/-------|-------\-------\0              Pas
[ \\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\  < >  //////////////////////////////]
Kurenai          0/-------/-------|-------\-------\0           Shurui
                                  >  ///////////////////////////   ]
                                 |=------\-------\0           Ichiro
                 [ |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||| ]
                 Invader2         0|-------|-------


COMBATSYS: Yurika successfully hits Ichiro with Tragic Serenade.

[ \\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\  < >  //////////////////////////////]
Yurika           0/-------/------=|-------\-------\0              Pas
[ \\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\  < >  //////////////////////////////]
Kurenai          0/-------/-------|-------\-------\0           Shurui
                                  >  //////////////////////        ]
                                 |====---\-------\0           Ichiro
                 [ |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||| ]
                 Invader2         0|-------|-------


COMBATSYS: Ichiro fails to interrupt Quick Throw from Kurenai with Cross Check EX.

[ \\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\  < >  //////////////////////////////]
Yurika           0/-------/------=|-------\-------\0              Pas
[ \\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\  < >  //////////////////////////////]
Kurenai          0/-------/-------|-------\-------\0           Shurui
                                  >  ////////////////////          ]
                                 |=====--\-------\0           Ichiro
                 [ |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||| ]
                 Invader2         0|-------|-------


For a moment things look too good to be true as Kurenai steps out of his way, giving Ichiro a free shot at the gate... and they are. Sneering under his helmet as the girl grabs at his riding leathers; the lacrosse captain begins to twist his body, fully intent of swinging his crosse around and slamming it into the pink ninja's face...

"What's that music?" Ichiro muses aloud as the sound of a violin fills the air, for some reason the music sounds more out of place the those gunshots. The next few moments pass for Oe in a blur of pain as the musical energy slams painfully into his side, ruining his plans of retaliation and enabling Kurenai to spin him backwards and slam him into the ground. Ichiro knew Classical music was painful, but he never thought about it literally!

"What are you two hiding?" Ichiro asks with a groan as lifts the visor to reveal his face and pushes himself up to his feet. "It's ridiculous to think that you two would hurt people to keep them out of somewhere because they might get hurt, you're not fooling anyone. Well... maybe you fooled those other two girls who left, but you're not fooling me!" He states as he emphatically points at his chest.

COMBATSYS: Pas blocks Invader2's Medium Shot.

[ \\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\  < >  ///////////////////////////// ]
Yurika           0/-------/------=|-------\-------\0              Pas
[ \\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\  < >  //////////////////////////////]
Kurenai          0/-------/-------|-------\-------\0           Shurui
                                  >  ////////////////////          ]
                                 |====---\-------\0           Ichiro
                 [ |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||| ]
                 Invader2         0|-------|-------


It wouldn't be the first time someone's turned a gun on Pás. It also wouldn't be the last.

The less-than-innocuous arrival of the guards (with rocket boots) is more than enough to earn the fleeing Brazilian's eye. She had intended to leave them to her peripherals, as the faintest blip on her very distracted radar, until they started pulling guns. Really big guns. One that's pointed especially at her.

Pás pauses in mid-step, her head turned, one dark eye twitching. She looks one way, then to the other -- one way that has people /fighting./ And yet she's the one being targeted. Why are they aiming on her?! "Oi, bosta!" she huffs indignantly, tilting her head and narrowing her eyes as she points a finger at one of them. "This is because I am black, isn't i-- aiiiii!"

She yelps, somewhere between one of them opening fire and Shurui's small, pouncing form getting in the way to pull her from the worst of the fire. Well versed from narrowly escaping gunfire (it's a Brazil thing,) the Pacific student accentuates their fall from the gunfire with a sharp twist, turning shoulder and trying to protect both Shurui and her own innards from any stray bullets. She feels a sharp burn at her heart, and then she hits the ground.

"...I thinks they got me," the Brazilian bleats somewhere inside her tangle with Shurui. "It is all done for me. It is all going black. It... euh," she grunts, then reaches up, pawing clumsily at her chest until she pulls something from inside her clingy shirt. Like the proverbial bible over the heart, Pás' ipod has taken a bullet clean into the case. The screen has a distinctly sad face. "E-pod!" she laments, before her face darkens. Her ambery eyes find her rescuer, Shurui. "...jes stay here," Pás directs grimly.

It's a well-known fact that poor people like Gedo students rely on mass transit; just as well-known as it that no single person should naturally be able to lift that transit bench straight off of the sidewalk. Pás learned this move off of Luc Shroedinger. She grabs both hands onto it, grits her teeth, and with a sudden pull of her arms and a momentous turn of her body, hefts it off the ground and /swings/ it off as a heavy projectile straight at the patrol line.

COMBATSYS: Invader2 dodges Pas' Large Thrown Object.

[ \\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\  < >  ///////////////////////////// ]
Yurika           0/-------/------=|-------\-------\0              Pas
[ \\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\  < >  //////////////////////////////]
Kurenai          0/-------/-------|-------\-------\0           Shurui
                                  >  ////////////////////          ]
                                 |====---\-------\0           Ichiro
                 [ |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||| ]
                 Invader2         0|-------|-------


"Wh-whoa! Did you see that?"
"What? See crying about missing out on Pictionary Paturday?"
"No, /jerk/, that girl just totally took a bullet! WITHOUT BEING HARMED! She's like -- she's like -- Christopher Reeves!"
"Who?"
"... Superman."
"Oh, you mean Brandon Routh."
"--No, you slob. Christopher Reeves. Have some respect for the -dead-, you -thug-!"
"Man, who even calls someone a thug anymore?"
"That's what your mom called me last niOOWHOA!?"
Witty banter is suddenly cut short as the audible sound of Pás /ripping a bench out of the concrete/ shatters all hopes and dreams of a quick and unmessy end. The men turn, just in time to see that bench hurled at them -- and instantly, they all dive, just -barely- scattering out of the path of the chunk of metal.
"JESUS!"
"She's like -- like the Incredible Hulk!"
"The red one, or the green one?"
"What? Is this even the right time to be asking that? SHE'S GONNA KILL US."
"Oh -- oh!! If Mike dies, can I get his Wii? I have a Wiimote and I don't have a Wii, how weird is that--"
"Guys. Guys. ... I've got this."
Slowly, the soldier designated 'Mike' stands up. Beneath his totally sweet metal mask, he stares out grimly at the scandalously attired Brazilian. "Well, Red She-Hulk, I hope you like a taste -- OF ROCKET BOOTS!!" Blue fire suddenly roars up from underneath Mike's feet. He rises--
--roughly six inches off the ground before he comes to a hovering stop.
"..."
"... Nice job getting the second-hand rocket boots, genius. Oh yeah, that was -real- smart."
"Shut up! Just shoot her!"
And so they do, all suddenly advancing on Pás and Shurui rapidly as they strafe out an unnecessary amount of gunfire to deal with two schoolchildren -- with Mike hovering just behind.
"Man... and I was all pumped for rocket boots..."

Yurika chuckles lowly in obvious amusement, this.. Was actually considerably more fun than she had expected it to be. There was something quite ... invigorating about the whole scenario; though that feeling is a touch killed from the patrolmen's rather unusual ... Um.. And unique.. Tactics. At least, to her, the end results is clear:

Their side has considerable more teamwork experience than the other. And that, in theory, just makes the scenario painfully simple to deal with.

"Amusing, you believe you're in a position to discuss anything after pulling the trigger. Amusing." are Yurika's final words to Ichiro before turning and making a quick dash toward the other scuffle. She's not entirely certain what caused the men to start firing at Pas. But their shooting is as good a reason as any to join in the chaos, without question she reaches into her ribbon and withdraws a tuning fork from it; the well crafted metallic tool raised above her shoulder and then slung violently, yet precisely toward the side or back of Pas' head.

Ooh. She'd almost feel a moment of remorse for Ichiro, but her teachers--her sensei and Yurika--have taught her than pity is not an emotion for the battlefield. Ichiro picked the wrong fight--tha's just too bad for him. "Believe us or not--the point is, you're /not/ getting inside. It's dangerous in there." Apparently oblivious to the utter contradiction she just stated, Kurenai aims to prove that... she's actually wrong--because she knows that a guy like Ichiro.. he's gonna be stubborn. He ain't gonna give up.

So this time, she takes the initiative; sliding forward, suddenly, her blade held in that high guard... she attacks, jabbing the bokken for Ichiro's chest--high up, near the heart, mid-level, then low, right about wher the belly button is--and then mid again. Each jabbing thrust of the weapon adds up, of course, and again the weapon glows, sheathed in that bright energy.

"Just give up already! You could be doing something more useful than tying up our time here!! Aren't you worried about your family?!?" Trying to find a chink in his psychological armor--even if it is one the size of Wing, rather than Chun-Li. Any opening to distract him... to make him think of something other than fighting.

"Mm-mhphf!" Shurui's protests are muffled underneath the supposedly dying Pas until she frees her mouth, barely managing a "You didn't get hi-" before she sees Pas take out something... rectanglish from her shirt. She squints her eyes in confusion, completely clueless as to the miraculous event that's just taken place. That is, until Pas calls out its name in tortured sorrow.

".... E... Pod?" Those expensive mp3 player thingys? Well, she supposes she can't blame Pas for what happens next- lifting up a bench and throwing it as a worthy carnation of her divine revenge. Shurui, meanwhile, will just scramble back to her feet and-

Now they're being attacked by the two student guards?! "Now *you're* attacking us? I don't care if Gedo personally invited you over- whether intentional or not, you're aiding the exact people we're tryin' to keep from taking over our school!" ... An accusation? .... Well, Shurui doesn't think they personally thought to join whomever this army belongs to; such reasons are better assumed after evidence has been pinned down. All she cares about is that the two have let the position go to their heads. Then again...

"You know- I don't see those guards aiming at *you*. Just what are you hiding from us? Which teacher told you to come here?! Tell me, or I *will* use force!" And indeed, the girl looks like she's preparing. Something about those eyes of hers, narrowing perceptively on the battleground in front of her, her body tensing...

COMBATSYS: Shurui focuses on her next action.

[ \\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\  < >  ///////////////////////////// ]
Yurika           0/-------/------=|-------\-------\0              Pas
[   \\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\  < >  //////////////////////////////]
Kurenai          0/-------/-------|-------\-------\0           Shurui
                                  >  ////////////////////          ]
                                 |====---\-------\0           Ichiro
                 [ ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||| ]
                 Invader2         0|-------|-------

+ooc http://motm.kicks-ass.org/logs/idx/0005790.shtml if anyone wants to see the log

COMBATSYS: Ichiro dodges Kurenai's Demon Flurry.

[ \\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\  < >  ///////////////////////////// ]
Yurika           0/-------/------=|-------\-------\0              Pas
[   \\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\  < >  //////////////////////////////]
Kurenai          0/-------/-------|-------\-------\0           Shurui
                                  >  ////////////////////          ]
                                 |====---\-------\0           Ichiro
                 [ ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||| ]
                 Invader2         0|-------|-------


A brief flash of fear crosses Ichiro's face through the open visor of his motorcycle helmet. "My family..." he breathes anxiously, but doesn't get much time to explore this thought as the girl's bokken flashes toward him. Quickly spinning aside of the first jab aimed at his chest, then slapping at the practice sword with an underhand arc of his lacrosse stick, Ichiro narrowly avoids the very much more skilled swordsman's attack. He's probably not going to be able to last very long at this range, trading blows with such a skilled melee fighter, Ichiro surmises, as he quickly retreats backwards with a few long bouncing steps.

"You better leave my family out of this!" Ichiro growls as he flicks his dark visor back down into place, obscuring his expressions yet again. Pulling a hard rubber lacrosse ball out of his jacket pocket, Ichiro bounces it off of the pavement once before catching it in the pocket of his crosse. Giving the ball a quick twirl in the stick's netting, the lacrosse star tosses the ball straight up into the air lazily. "BULLET SHOT!" Ichiro cries out as the ball reaches the peak of its arc and suddenly bursts to life with brilliant golden energy. Snatching the ball out of the air with his crosse, Ichiro twirls the stick up and over his head to build up momentum before swinging it straight at Kurenai sidearm and rocketing the golden ball straight toward the pit of her stomach.

COMBATSYS: Invader2 successfully hits Pas with I Know Gun-Fu.
- Power hit! -

[ \\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\  < >  ////////////////////////      ]
Yurika           0/-------/------=|===----\-------\0              Pas
[   \\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\  < >  //////////////////////////////]
Kurenai          0/-------/-------|-------\-------\0           Shurui
                                  >  ////////////////////          ]
                                 |===----\-------\0           Ichiro
                 [ ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||| ]
                 Invader2         0|-------|------=


COMBATSYS: Pas blocks Yurika's Thrown Object.

[ \\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\  < >  ///////////////////////       ]
Yurika           0/-------/------=|===----\-------\0              Pas
[   \\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\  < >  //////////////////////////////]
Kurenai          0/-------/-------|-------\-------\0           Shurui
                                  >  ////////////////////          ]
                                 |===----\-------\0           Ichiro
                 [ ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||| ]
                 Invader2         0|-------|------=


Clenching her hands, breathing unsteadily, and standing in the wake of tossing a transit bench as though it were a pillow, Pás stares at the line of patrol guards, her dark eyes intent on them -- and their guns. She's calculating them silently, though the sleepy way of her face wouldn't dare betray it; she's wonder how hard it'd take to disarm them, and how long it'd take her hands (which have great practising in undressing things) to pull their armor free.

Her back straightens in response when one eventually calls her out. And the Brazilian girl merely stands there a little plaintively, and at the announcement of ROCKET BOOTS she tilts her head like pug puppies do. When one patrolman starts to lift off the ground, she steps backward, looking visibly taken aback-- at least until he stops on the spot. He ain't moving.

"--Maybe if you takes the rocks out of the rocks-in-boots?" she calls helpfully over.

That's when a flicker of movement briefly catches Pás' eye. A second later, she lifts one arm, and reflexively swipes the tuning fork away from striking her painfully in the head, turning her hand to catch it neatly out of the air. She squints a little curiously at her new toy -- because it's hers now -- before her eyes raise off it and onto Yurika. Her smile starts getting feral--

--and at that moment, the guards begin to open fire. That moment of stolen attention is all they needed. Eyes widening, Pás does her best to try to lunge from the hail of bullets, but when she goes down in a skidding slide across the pavement, she's leaving trails of blood. Eyes slit, her breathing shallowed, she's got bullet holes in her shoulder, her side, and in one thigh -- more than enough to take down a person and keep them down for the rest of the fight.

But, for a fighter? "Névoa!" Pás barks abruptly, her eyes angled on Shurui as she gives the grey-haired girl her new nickname. "You waste her very please, yea? They... are mine." And the Brazilian pushes back up from the concrete, tresses of hair falling from her ponytail as they overlay the intensity of her face. She tests weight on her wounded leg. Then, with a serrated leg, simply /lunges/ back at the patrol, leaping from one angle to ricochet herself into the thick of them, going straight for the one who shot her. And Pás just tries to headbutt straight through his helmet.

COMBATSYS: Invader2 blocks Pas' Zidane's Revenge.

[ \\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\  < >  //////////////////////        ]
Yurika           0/-------/------=|==-----\-------\0              Pas
[   \\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\  < >  //////////////////////////////]
Kurenai          0/-------/-------|-------\-------\0           Shurui
                                  >  ////////////////////          ]
                                 |===----\-------\0           Ichiro
                 [   ||||||||||||||||||||||||||| ]
                 Invader2         0|-------|-----==


"Rocks-in-boots? What is she even saying??"
"Maybe she's retarded. I read on the internet something about retards having super strength--"
"Why were you looking up retards on the internet?"
"Dude. You know Mike's uncle's wife's sister has a kid who's retarded, show a -bit- of sensitivity."
"Sorry, Dr. Phil."
The be-armored men look towards Pás with their best analytical gazes through the veil of their helmets, trying to assess the risk of this potentially mentally-disabled superhumanly empowered young Red She-Hulk woman. Their guns are held at the ready as she goes down; one brings the barrel up to his helmet, blowing at the tip through overly complex ventilation systems.
"Man, I feel like Clint Eastwood."
"Dirty Harry Eastwood?"
"More like Gran Torino Eastwood."
"More like Clint /Ritchie/, heh heh."
They all pause.
"... Wow, what an obscure reference."
"Maybe if you got some cult--"
And then, suddenly, Pás is upon Steve, the middle patrol guard, in a flurry of motion. Behind his helmet, the man's eyes widen; his hands throw up just in front of Pás' amazingly thick skull as if in an attempt to make some sort of makeshift barrier. The resultant impact forces the man straight off the ground, launching through the air to smash into a nearby parking meter. "Ughhhh my everything..."
Meanwhile, as Pás recovers herself? Mike finally catches up to the rest of the group, hovering /straight/ at the Brazillian to try and, well, tackle her into the earth. Violently. "WE SPEAK ENGLISH HERE IN AMERICA!"
"Dude, this is Japan."
"... way to undercut my authority, man."

Yurika probably is not very disappointed that Pas doesn't seem intent on returning the fork; while she shudders a touch at what it may be used for in the future, there's also the chance that turning to a world of music may completely turn Pas' life around to a world of culture like Kevin Garnett

ANYTHING IS POSSIBLE

What has Yurika being so ruthless anyway? Clearly she's not over the edge as she ends up stalling out on a follow-up upon hearing Shurui's voice, dark eyes shifting to the woman and looking visably annoyed to the Gedo student.. ".. Are you seriously asking those questions?" she keeps her bow extended though; while Shurui isn't really giving off the rabid 'rar attack!' vibes like her cohorts, one can never be too careful. "I admire that you're trying to make sense out of chaos, but you're only making yourself look increasingly silly.. Though to be fair I do already think you're an idiot."

Yurika tilts her head a touch, smile playing on her pale features once more. "The short answer is 'I have a plan and not much time to excute it'. The time for words is coming to an end before I cut someone down. What are you going to do? ... Though here's a hint. There is time for questions if you help me calm the chaos."

COMBATSYS: Yurika takes no action.

[ \\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\  < >  //////////////////////        ]
Yurika           0/-------/------=|==-----\-------\0              Pas
[   \\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\  < >  //////////////////////////////]
Kurenai          0/-------/-------|-------\-------\0           Shurui
                                  >  ////////////////////          ]
                                 |===----\-------\0           Ichiro
                 [    |||||||||||||||||||||||||| ]
                 Invader2         0|-------|-----==


COMBATSYS: Kurenai fails to reflect Bullet Shot EX from Ichiro with Devil's Return.

[ \\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\  < >  //////////////////////        ]
Yurika           0/-------/------=|==-----\-------\0              Pas
[           \\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\  < >  //////////////////////////////]
Kurenai          0/-------/---====|-------\-------\0           Shurui
                                  >  ////////////////////          ]
                                 |======-\-------\0           Ichiro
                 [    |||||||||||||||||||||||||| ]
                 Invader2         0|-------|-----==


So -fast-! But Kurenai doesn't hesitate--the pink Seijyun student doesn't hesitate a moment. Already she's stepping back, the blade of her weapon brought around to her left side, beginning to flare with energy as she prepares her response--

--only to get smacked in the stomach. A yelp of pain is followed by the *crash* of her body hitting the gate--for a moment, she's slumped against it, coughing, trying to find a way to breathe without throwing up. It.. that hurt a lot. She's trying not to show just how /much/ it hurt... but she can't really speak for a moment. Then she coughs.

"Idiot," she says, scorn coloring her voice. "I'm not doing anything to your family... don't even know who you are... just some punk stirring up trouble, keeping us from helping these kids... you don't even know what's going on..." She may be hit but she's not down--after her little speech she pushes off the gate. The weapon is slung across her back, again, her feet in a wider stance. The message is clear.

Ichiro is /not/ getting through this gate. Yet.

"You're the one that wanted to keep things civil, even as you kept insulting my intelligence. So I went with it."

Shurui gathers her hands to her sides, subtly hunching her back. "As for being an idiot... I went into a war zone to find my friends. I've already crossed the line of sane thought and into the territory of stupidity. But you're right about one thing." Instead of saying more, Shurui flings her arms wide open, Pas's shout punctuating the sudden release of many grey will'o'wisp bullets from her arms as they shoot out towards Yurika.

Névoa. That's... pretty apt for Shurui. Well, Pas might find some similarity, anyway; Shurui's not quite sure who that crazy girl is shouting at. Her? The soldiers? "I'll definitely get some answers after this, whether it's from you or Gedo itself!"

Scooping up his now inert rubber lacrosse ball in his crosse as it slowly bounces and rolls its way back to him, Ichiro rests the metal-hafted weapon on one shoulder as he clenches his gloved right fist in front of his chest threateningly. "I am Ichiro Oe, captain of the Taiyo High Lacrosse Team! And I'm here to help these kids too! I may not know exactly what is going on here, but I think I proved I can handle myself just fine!" Standing there dressed in his fancy red and white motorcycle leathers with his sweet helmet, Ichiro can't help but feel like some sort of henshin superhero or something, and it's really starting to show with his dramatics.

"If you people are telling the truth and you're here to help too, then let me pass!" Releasing his clenched fist and gripping his lacrosse stick in both hands, Ichiro spins the weapon skillfully before crouching slightly into an athletic fighting stance with the crosse brandished in front of him. "Something tells me that YOU are the ones that are responsible for all of this chaos, and if that's true then just keep on trying to stand in my way!" he exclaims as he thrusts his lacrosse stick in Kurenai's direction, the gesture made more impressive by a burst of golden chi that flares to life around the young athlete.

COMBATSYS: Ichiro gathers his will.

[ \\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\  < >  //////////////////////        ]
Yurika           0/-------/------=|==-----\-------\0              Pas
[           \\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\  < >  ///////////////////////////// ]
Kurenai          0/-------/---====|-------\-------\0           Shurui
                                  >  /////////////////////         ]
                                 |=======\==-----\1           Ichiro
                 [    |||||||||||||||||||||||||| ]
                 Invader2         0|-------|-----==


COMBATSYS: Pas counters Takedown from Invader2 with Branded Mule.
- Power hit! -

[ \\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\  < >  /////////////////////         ]
Yurika           0/-------/------=|===----\-------\0              Pas
[           \\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\  < >  ///////////////////////////// ]
Kurenai          0/-------/---====|-------\-------\0           Shurui
                                  >  /////////////////////         ]
                                 |=======\==-----\1           Ichiro
                 [        |||||||||||||||||||||| ]
                 Invader2         0|-------|--=====


Straightening up from that barely-caught headbutt, a trickle of blood oozing from her split temple, Pás exhales noisily as she braces her weight onto her wounded leg. Her bare toes flex against the pavement. Still, the bullet-pocked Brazilian is standing her ground, turning on the remaining patrol guard with a wild grin and a look in her eyes that doesn't seem all there. Her striking features twist with a sort of strange, predatory glee, watching them the way a cat does a bunch of chickadees.

"Come on!" she encourages, the tips of her teeth flaring inside her grin. "My turn!! You hit me now!!"

And one tries. Pás turns her head as Mike comes forward, catching his sudden lunge at her out of the corner of one eye. But she's not trying to move to escape him. Instead, at the last moment, she whirls and moves /straight at/ the armored man, turning at the right moment to catch him at the hip with her shoulder, and, in an impossible feat of strength and momentum, flip his throw off her shoulder and straight into the ground. She follows it with an axe kick, dropping down, heel-first, in a hot BURST of sparks as her chi comes alive, both to send him down and keep him there.

Then she's just stepping down on his shoulder as she looms above him, with her bruised face and bedroom eyes. "Hallo, little egg," Pás chirps happily. She toes a little on that armor. "Sim, this is the strange little shell. Let me have check if your yolk is cooked!" She leans down with both hands to begin trying to PEEL it off his body.

SMASH. With the skill of a true fighter, Pás manages to turn Mike's momentum against him, sending the heavily armored, formerly hovering man straight into the ground instead of vice versa. He lands with the WHANG of metal, head jostling around a bit inside of his helmet -- and then, that heel kick drives straight into where the sternum would be on his armor, with such force that a good portion of it is shattered, along with several pieces of highly sensitive equipment.
"AUGH! OH GOD -- my chest!"
"Oh man, that's where he kept his iPhone."
"What?! That was MY iPhone! Mike, you cheap son of a bitch--!!"
"Guys. We've got bigger problems."
"Yeah, like what sort of message is she trying to get across with her metaphor, is that some sort of Spanish thing--"
"Definitely Portuguese. Down old South America way..."
"... Portugal is in Europe."
"Yeah, with your mom--"
This dialogue is interrupted by the panicked shout (girly scream) of Mike as Pás attempts to diligently pry off his armor. The men turn back around, and gasp collectively.
"What the--! DON'T WORRY MIKE, WE WON'T LET HER RAPE YOUR YOLK!"
"What does that even -mean-."
And then helpfully follow this up by one of the patrol guard's suddenly lunging forward through the air, aiming to jump-kick Pás against the back of the head with a helpful boost from his FUNCTIONING ROCKET BOOTS.
"SHYAAAAAAAA--!!"
"Wow, nice moves there, Bruce Lee, did you see that on YouTube?"
"Heh heh heh."

COMBATSYS: Yurika blocks Shurui's Riot Act.

[    \\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\  < >  /////////////////////         ]
Yurika           0/-------/----===|==-----\-------\0              Pas
[           \\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\  < >  ///////////////////////////// ]
Kurenai          0/-------/---====|-------\-------\0           Shurui
                                  >  /////////////////////         ]
                                 |=======\==-----\1           Ichiro
                 [        |||||||||||||||||||||| ]
                 Invader2         0|-------|--=====


The white haired musician nods, slowly to Shurui, even though the girl doesn't finish her sentance and instead punch-lines with the volley'd bullets. The energy races forward and Yurika seems to tense a touch, bow raised in front of her as they slam into her with enough force to push her back, ".. I have one final question. at least I'm quite sure it's final," Yurika murmurs, feeling a touch shaken up.. That was odd, was it because of the adrenaline rush she was feeling?

Yurika then proceeds to charge forward, moving perhaps surprisingly quick on the pink maryjanes she wears. Once close her bow sweeps along her violin strings, twirling in a wide arc to strike suddenly from the other girls side, the enchanting color of her musical chi trailing with a strike to Shurui's gut, "What do you think would happen if I allowed you and the other fifty odd people who said the same thing pass during evacutation? Just out of curiosity." Should the first strike land clean, the trailing sound energy may very well strike the others nerves in such a way that her knees would buckle. That's when the second, lower swipe would strike at the back of the gedo students knees and sweep her right off her feet.

Impressive gesture, but Kurenai looks anything but impressed, sad to say; Ichiro giving her a chance at a breather, despite powering up... she looks at him as if he were stupid. In her estimation, he is. "So what, that's it? 'if you're here to help, let me pass?' I don't /know/ you! I don't know who you are! Do you think I'm just supposed to trust you because you said stuff about your family?"

She sounds pretty incredulous, working herself up. "You gotta be kidding me! The whole reason we're out here is to keep /everyone/ from going back inside! Why would I let /you/ pass? Maybe you've got bombs in your pockets and you just wanna blow something up!! /I/ don't know!" Of coures this blather may just be meant to distract from the undeniable fact that Kurenai was carrying small, throw-weighted pointy objects...

In any case, the pink-haired ninja just stands there, defiant. Maybe Ichiro was sent as a test of her resolve... she wouldn't put it past Yurika, or the Kirishima family. She can't discount anything, yet.

COMBATSYS: Kurenai gains composure.

[     \\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\  < >  /////////////////////         ]
Yurika           0/-------/-----==|==-----\-------\0              Pas
[        \\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\  < >  ///////////////////////////// ]
Kurenai          0/-------/----===|-------\-------\0           Shurui
                                  >  /////////////////////         ]
                                 |=======\==-----\1           Ichiro
                 [        |||||||||||||||||||||| ]
                 Invader2         0|-------|--=====


COMBATSYS: Shurui parries Yurika's Tragic Hesitation!

[     \\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\  < >  /////////////////////         ]
Yurika           0/-------/-----==|==-----\-------\0              Pas
[        \\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\  < >  ///////////////////////////// ]
Kurenai          0/-------/----===|=------\-------\0           Shurui
                                  >  /////////////////////         ]
                                 |=======\==-----\1           Ichiro
                 [        |||||||||||||||||||||| ]
                 Invader2         0|-------|--=====


Timing is everything. *Right* before that bow could reach her gut, it's pushed off course by Shurui's hand, glowing with silver energy. Not enough to break the bow or cause Yurika damage, but enough for Shurui to sidestep away, turning around as she moves from foot to foot to face the violinist's back.

There, instead of immediately attacking, Shurui answers her question. "I don't know. I'd like to think that if you had at least made sure the students that came in had student ID, maybe we would've taken Gedo back." Her voice is extremely close to Yurika's back, though it's more a motion to get into just the right position to press her fist against the Seijyun student's side. And, if Yurika doesn't manage to dodge, the punch will come, using that little space and a little psycho power to slam into Yurika's back. "That's the way all the schools are, here..."

Ichiro seems to consider Kurenai's words as his stance relaxes a tad. "Well... I guess that's true." But then the lacrosse player quickly twirls his stick again as his resolve strengthens. "It seems we're at an impasse!" he states boldly before springing into a dead on sprint for Kurenai, arms pumping his lacrosse stick in front of his chest as he runs. "And I won't be denied!" he adds, swinging his heavy motorcycle helmet forward to try and knock Kurenai down and out of his path with a brutal headbutt.

COMBATSYS: Pas endures Invader2's Light Kick.

[     \\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\  < >  ///////////////////           ]
Yurika           0/-------/-----==|====---\-------\0              Pas
[        \\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\  < >  ///////////////////////////// ]
Kurenai          0/-------/----===|-------\-------\0           Shurui
                                  >  ////////////////////          ]
                                 |=======\=------\1           Ichiro
                 [        |||||||||||||||||||||| ]
                 Invader2         0|-------|--=====


Abruptly, decisively, Pás looks up from her streetside dissection, a torn-off strip of armor clenched in her hands. "--Who call me Spanish?!" she demands of the remaining patrol guards.

Taking her foot off poor Mike, dismissively tossing the piece of broken armor away, she gives her head a shake to keep the rolling blood out of her eye. The Brazilian's lazy grin soon returns, despite the intensity still circuiting her eyes. She's waiting for them to move. Fortunately, they don't keep her waiting. A turn of her head, partially conditioning, partially pure luck, lets the Pacific student catch a glimpse of ROCKET BOOTS as they fire another guard forward and up to recoil a swift kick at her head.

Like before, Pás doesn't try to avoid the strike. Either insane, fearless, or just hiding a good pair of cajones (well) in her too-tight outfit, she turns only minutely on the guard, taking the kick but transferring it from her head to her clavicle and uninjured soldier. It's driven with more than enough power to throw the girl back, but she was expecting that. She gets springy at the last moment, curling her spine like a cat and catching herself with both hands. Despite the bullet in one shoulder, she merely pushes right back, ricocheting off the ground and straight back on him. Pás may not have ROCKET BOOTS, but she manages her own altitude enough to try to twist and slam her knee straight at his helmet -- possibly even /through/ it should she connect. "WAS IT YOU?! HA HA HAAAAAA!"

And if she manages to do that, the slippery little Brazilian will try to continue her momentum with a tumble over his shoulder, still in mid-air, still falling as she drives her second foot out straight at the spine. And she's aiming for a weak point in that armor.

COMBATSYS: Pas has left the fight here.

[        \\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\  <
Kurenai          0/-------/----===|
                 [        |||||||||||||||||||||| ]
                 Invader2         0|-------|--=====


COMBATSYS: Kurenai has left the fight here.

                 [        |||||||||||||||||||||| ]
                 Invader2         0|-------|--=====


COMBATSYS: Invader2 has ended the fight here.


COMBATSYS: Invader2 blocks Pas' Devil's Crossroads.

[     \\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\  < >  //////////////////            ]
Yurika           0/-------/-----==|=====--\-------\0              Pas
[        \\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\  < >  ///////////////////////////// ]
Kurenai          0/-------/----===|-------\-------\0           Shurui
                                  >  ////////////////////          ]
                                 |=======\=------\1           Ichiro
                 [           ||||||||||||||||||| ]
                 Invader2         0|-------|=======


"Ha HA! Who knows kung-fu?! Bill knows kung-fu! Take /that/!"
"... Man, you know she's still up, right? What kinda sissy jump kick was /that/?"
"Wha-- aww, man... these immigrants are getting tougher and tougher!"
"Uh, dude, Ricardo is an immigrant, too."
"Well maybe he should have learned how to be born in AMERIC--aAUGH OH MY GOD!!"
That's about when Pás slams her knee towards Bill's helmet. The man lifts up his hands like Steve before him, and once more, Pas /barrels/ through it -- though fortunately not hard enough to splatter his skull inside his helmet. Forced into a backwards stumble, the limber Brazillian flips over Bill, and suddenly, he is KNOCKED off his feet from a kick to the back, smashing front-first into a nearby wall with a sudden, explosive impact. He groans, falls -- and then, there is a brief, odd hacking sound.
"O--oh my god, aauuugh jesus, I just threw up in my helmet."
"Oh, harsh."
"And that's not easy to clean out, too. Looks like Bill's gonna miss double soup Tuesday cleaning up his throw up."
"Oh god it's /everywhere/..."
"That's what you get for dissing the immigration system!"
"Way to get overemotional, Ricardo."
Still, there is a schoolgirl to crush, and the patrol guard responds with equal vigor. Now acting in tandem, the remaining two standing are joined by the recently-recovered Steve, who seek to, well, bumrush Pás into the earth and then... proceed to kick her while she's down. With their goddamn kick pants.
"Go for the ribs, go for the ribs!"
"Yeah, I -know-, just because you're obsessed with mob movies doesn't mean you get to direct our beatdowns, Steve."
"Well, I -should-..."

COMBATSYS: Shurui successfully hits Yurika with Velvet Fist EX.

[           \\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\  < >  //////////////////            ]
Yurika           0/-------/--=====|=====--\-------\0              Pas
[        \\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\  < >  ///////////////////////////// ]
Kurenai          0/-------/----===|==-----\-------\0           Shurui
                                  >  ////////////////////          ]
                                 |=======\=------\1           Ichiro
                 [            |||||||||||||||||| ]
                 Invader2         0|-------|--=====


Yurika is good with tests, but she's not -that- good, Kurenai. If she were aware that was the ninjas thought, she'd be quite flattered.

Yurika's head turns just a touch toward the sound of Shurui's voice, and she chuckles lowly. Her opponent's evasion.. It was impressive; impressive and annoying, she'll need to find this girls weakness quickly and end this as soon as possible, she figures. Though to her response, she says, ".. I was rather harsh in calling you an idi-" when did Shurui get her fist on her?? Suddenly the musician is just knocked forward, jarred like crazy by the woman's energy. She nearly faceplants, but she handsprings at the last moment to get safely to her feet again, but cringes through her smile. ".. N- Nevertheless. I will finish what I started." she rushes toward Shurui again, and borrows a technique from Ninon's repotoir- Leaping upward with the intent of landing on Shuiri's shoulders, then front-flipping so suddenly that the other girl would faceplant into the ground from the force.

COMBATSYS: Kurenai blocks Ichiro's Unsportsmanlike Conduct.

[          \\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\  < >  //////////////////            ]
Yurika           0/-------/--=====|=====--\-------\0              Pas
[          \\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\  < >  ///////////////////////////// ]
Kurenai          0/-------/---====|==-----\-------\0           Shurui
                                  >  ////////////////////          ]
                                 |=======\=------\1           Ichiro
                 [            |||||||||||||||||| ]
                 Invader2         0|-------|--=====


"I don't know what's telling you that but you're wrong!!" That's all Kurenai has time to say before Ichiro is on her--attempting to headbutt her out of the way. The impact is pretty terrific, but she absorbs most of it with the flat of her bokken. Fortunately that wooden weapon is made of some tough stuff; it hasn't shown a dent yet. The hit bounces her back a little more--but that just means she moves forward again. As she approaches, she once again switches her weapon's stance, back to the shoulder-high guard--and after probing Ichiro's defenses with a few jabbing strikes, wanting to see how he moves, how he defends...

She chooses to strike. Fortunately he -isn't- wearing his lacrosse gear or that might make him even tougher to hurt; she's calculating vital points and weak points, but that's tough as it is--the added armor potential would make her job even harder. The attack is fairly simple, when it comes; a relatively quick, stabbing strike, preceded by a feint high strike--just after that she drops her bokken low then thrusts the weapon slightly upwards, attempting to go underneath any guard. At this point she's as much buying time as she is trying to beat Ichiro--she'll have to trust that Yurika can dispose of Shurui in a timely manner, as Yurika is counting on her to do the same with Ichiro...

COMBATSYS: Shurui counters Quick Throw from Yurika with Plum Blossom Shower.

[             \\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\  < >  //////////////////            ]
Yurika           0/-------/=======|=====--\-------\0              Pas
[          \\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\  < >  ///////////////////////////   ]
Kurenai          0/-------/---====|===----\-------\0           Shurui
                                  >  ////////////////////          ]
                                 |=======\=------\1           Ichiro
                 [            |||||||||||||||||| ]
                 Invader2         0|-------|--=====


The girl's weakness? Who knows. Well, actually, many know, but it's hard to reach for when you've just met a person. Height? Strength? Luck? It's clear Shurui's not fond of wasting time once she's set her goal, however. "I'll keep going either way," she replies to Yurika's statement. "I have to be there for them."

Seeing Yurika's aura come darting near, Shurui digs her old sneakers into the dirt and asphalt of the ground and runs to meet Yurika before the violinist has a chance to leave the ground. Using momentum to press into Yurika, she entangles her right leg around her opponent's left and pushes away Yurika's hands, locking her for the span of a few moments. And it's a few moments that Shurui needs, shifting her hands to Yurika's shoulders and shoving her to the side, freeing her leg from Yurika's own.

COMBATSYS: Ichiro endures Kurenai's Medium Strike.

[             \\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\  < >  //////////////////            ]
Yurika           0/-------/=======|=====--\-------\0              Pas
[          \\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\  < >  ///////////////////////////   ]
Kurenai          0/-------/---====|=------\-------\0           Shurui
                                  >  /////////////////             ]
                                 |=======\===----\1           Ichiro
                 [            |||||||||||||||||| ]
                 Invader2         0|-------|--=====


Dancing backwards as Kurenai jabs and feints toward him, the athletic prodigy jukes and weaves away from the bokken, occasionally swiping at it with his lacrosse stick as the tip gets a little too close for comfort. "I COULD be wrong," Ichiro admits as he waits for the actual attack that he suspects is coming at any moment. "But I've learned to trust my instincts. And my instincts tell me that there are people inside that school that need help!"

Just then Kurenai's actually attack is unleashed, and Ichiro attempts to foil it the best way he knows how; by doing the exact opposite of what he'd been showing her up until then. All of that prodding and judging of his defenses turns out to be useless as young Oe makes no attempt to impede her sword strike. Instead, the lacrosse player takes the painful stab that tears through the tough leather of his riding jacket on the chest as he surges forward and attempts to shoulder check the smaller teenager and knock her off balance. If he's able to get the ninja reeling, Ichiro will quickly follow up with a blur of strikes from his elbows, knees, and lacrosse stick, using the weapon to strike at the girl's chest and masked face as golden chi suddenly surrounds the stick in a painful blazing aura.

COMBATSYS: Pas blocks Invader2's Bonesmasher.

[             \\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\  < >  ////////////////              ]
Yurika           0/-------/=======|======-\-------\0              Pas
[          \\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\  < >  ///////////////////////////   ]
Kurenai          0/-------/---====|=------\-------\0           Shurui
                                  >  /////////////////             ]
                                 |-------\-------\0           Ichiro
                 [            |||||||||||||||||| ]
                 Invader2         0|-------|-======


The Brazilian closes her dropkick with another tumble, hitting the ground briskly as she rolls back up to a crouch. The weight on her wounded leg -- with more blood slowly staining down her white pantleg -- is starting to bother her. She's at least pretty sure the bullet isn't too deep, and should be able to remain upright for some time. Cristo, does she hate bullets. And guns.

Pás, for the records, intends to blame Tenma for all of this. He had better be /dead/ when she finds him, because after all this trouble, she's going to kill him.

But, pushing up to her full height, the Pacific student still intends to make a show of it. She cracks her knuckles and stretches until her crafty body elongates like a lazy cat. "Shiu!" she's calling at the remainder of the patrol, bouncing from foot to foot, all erratic and barely-contained energy as both her hands try to beckon them closer. "You have not sleepy now?! Come on, sillies, you break in my epod, so you all owe me a big date!"

Pás taps her bottom lip. "Euh, and maybe pairing of rock-in-boots. I am having those too. Psiu, so come here, my new boyfriends. Come on!"

She loves a man who doesn't keep her waiting. Or three men. The Brazilian tenses as the remaining patrol all-out rush her, her grin widening with a barely-repressed madness. Never one to turn down a good wrestling match, even without a king-sized mattress, she pushes solidly against all that armored weight that's trying to slam her to the ground, before she plants her weight and merely /shoves/ back with all her strength, slamming her shoulders back at him in a bracing movement that earns her many bruises. There, Pás tries to grab an arm around the shoulders of two of her new best friends, wrenching her arms together to try to brutally SLAM their helmets together. "Is time for.. KISSES!" There, she attempts to part them again only momentarily to use as two balance bars, and trying to snap one leg forward and up at the third, aimed straight at the throat.

COMBATSYS: Invader2 fails to interrupt Strong Kick from Pas with Burial Ground.

[             \\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\  < >  ////////////////              ]
Yurika           0/-------/=======|=======\-------\0              Pas
[          \\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\  < >  ///////////////////////////   ]
Kurenai          0/-------/---====|=------\-------\0           Shurui
                                  >  /////////////////             ]
                                 |-------\-------\0           Ichiro
                 [                |||||||||||||| ]
                 Invader2         1|-------|=======


"Man, is she coming onto us?"
"I don't know about /you/, but she's definitely coming on to /me/. I'm gonna get me some Spanish action!!"
"/Portuguese./ And she's probably too young!"
"And lest we forget, retarded."
"Yeah, plus also that."
"Do you -really- want to get some underage retarded girl pregnant? You gotta think these things through, Steve--"
This bantering all comes to an end when Pás suddenly /pushes/ through the trio of men currently trying to kick her to death. The moment that thrust is made, the men are all shoved backwards as if their armors weighed nothing (and the distinctive CLANG CLANG CLANG their metal feet make striking the ground makes it very clear they are totally super heavy). Two of the men are grabbed, and before a move can be made to intercept--
--Both of their heads are smashed together with enough force to knock their skulls brutally against the interior of their helmets, briefly knocking both out as they fall to the ground with a clatter.
Steve, meanwhile, gets kicked, staggering such that instead of being struck in the throat, he gets hit in the chest. Armor fractures and splinters off in a brief explosive impact, and even if he can still breath, that doesn't mean he doesn't get kicked straight through a building wall as if it were made of paper.
"... See," Mike begins, observantly.
"That's what you get for trying to engage in statutory rape."
"Ugghhh that wasn't a kiss at all..."

.. Sorry Shurui, Yurika doesn't have a very good idea of what just happened to her. In the end though, all that really matters is that in the end both her violin and violin-bow are still in hand by the time the unorthodox lock is released and is pushed aside with a light limp in her step. ".. We'll see."

The musician shakes her leg out a bit, and briefly shifts her gaze to the side. She was in a much worse situation than she had anticipated, and Kurenai was likely to need some assistance soon; it seems the 'plan' she was boasting about earlier isn't doing very well at the moment; it's time to regroup, to try something else, but what?

Yurika draws back her arm a touch as she rushes forward and past Shurui, attempting to slam her bow into Shurui's gut again with enough force to make her double over and stopping just two steps after impact with her 'blade' arm extending. She then quickly turns around, swinging her leg into the air to complete the combination by driving her heel into the girls back!

COMBATSYS: Kurenai parries Ichiro's SDF Lacrosse!

[             \\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\  < >  ////////////////              ]
Yurika           0/-------/=======|=======\-------\0              Pas
[          \\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\  < >  ///////////////////////////   ]
Kurenai          0/-------/--=====|=------\-------\0           Shurui
                                  >  /////////////////             ]
                                 |-------\-------\0           Ichiro
                 [                |||||||||||||| ]
                 Invader2         1|-------|=======


Moment of truth, right here. Ichiro surges forward, striking and striking and striking--because Kurenai 'lets' him have that shoulder charge. In reality, it's a very precise avoidance that lures the young lacrosser into continuing his strikes. And then Kurenai's blade flares with her pink energy--pink clashing with gold, sparks and flares lighting the fight as lacrosse stick meets bokken again and again, Kurenai fading back one step, two steps, three steps, deflecting each impact at the last possible moment.

It's an extremely difficult defense, and as the last attack finally comes, Kurenai makes a bigger effort--she thrust-blocks it, hoping to throw Ichiro out of position for just a moment.

At the same time she hops backwards, giving herself a few yards to work with as she suddenly surges forward--her pink-blazed bokken slashing outwards--from her left hip to right shoulder, then back the other way, upper left to lower right, then finally a vertical, downwards slash to finish, the girl returning her weapon to her back, adopting her second stance.

That was... a dangerous moment, to be sure... a very dangerous moment, one of many, in this fight.

COMBATSYS: Yurika successfully hits Shurui with Power Strike.
-* CRITICAL HIT! *-

[             \\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\  < >  ////////////////              ]
Yurika           0/-------/=======|=======\-------\0              Pas
[          \\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\  < >  /////////////////////         ]
Kurenai          0/-------/--=====|======-\-------\0           Shurui
                                  >  /////////////////             ]
                                 |-------\-------\0           Ichiro
                 [                |||||||||||||| ]
                 Invader2         1|-------|=======


Ichiro's aura, brilliant gold, thrums in Shurui's head, even as she focuses on Yurika. It's just a horrible side effect to being sensitive to auras- a bright, stubborn aura is like a wailing electric guitar in an ocean of orchestral instruments. Like... Yurika's. Well, whether or not her aura represents her instrument and weapon of choice, Shurui focuses in on Yurika, attempting to leap away from the Seijyun student's next onslaight.

Only, this time, Yurika manages to hit her square on. Doubling over from the force of the bow (it must be made of some metal unknown to man, she decides in retrospect), her face is meet with the force of one of Yurika's cute Mary Janes, rocketing her backwards some distance before landing on the ground. Ow. Getting up, the short girl takes a moment to spit on the ground, temporarily clearing her mouth of the acidic taint of blood. "There you go."

Grey hair flying free from her hood, Shurui now rushes back in towards Yurika, using her momentum to leap up and launch into a quick kick aimed at the girl's face. "You're catching up!"

COMBATSYS: Ichiro dodges Kurenai's Hell Splitter EX.

[             \\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\  < >  ////////////////              ]
Yurika           0/-------/=======|=======\-------\0              Pas
[          \\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\  < >  //////////////////////        ]
Kurenai          0/-------/--=====|======-\-------\0           Shurui
                                  >  /////////////////             ]
                                 |-------\-------\0           Ichiro
                 [                |||||||||||||| ]
                 Invader2         1|-------|=======


As far as Ichiro is concerned, his chi is simply the physical manifestation of his burning spirit. It's probably sort of a weird way to conceptualize what 'chi' is, but it's probably no more or less correct that the standard definition. Thinking about it this way though, it is no surprise that his sudden outburst of energy was enough to distract Shurui, as uniquely sensitive as she is. It is this ocean of burning spirit that Ichiro embraces and plunges himself ever deeper into as Kurenai deftly handles his most physically draining attack. Sorry Shurui, it only gets brighter and louder from here. "You're good!" Ichiro gasps, as his efforts are foiled so elegantly. If it weren't for the visor in front of his face Kurenai would be treated to a bold golden glow coming from the young man's eyes as he falls deeper into what athletes refer to as 'The Zone'.

Retreating and twisting his body to his left to avoid the first strike, Ichiro then bobs and ducks to the right to barely evade the second. By the time the third strike comes, the young athlete in the zen-like state spins completely around to the side of the pink ninja, lashing out with his crosse as he turns and attempting to slash and bash the metal-hafted weapon painfully across the girl's ribs even as her third cut strikes through empty space. There's the gate. He's almost through.

Flipping up from that final kick, the Brazilian reaches briefly into her own shirt, pulling out a small cellular phone and flipping it open. "Olha!" she chirps, cueing suddenly of all those downed, armored bodies. Click! It noisily snaps a picture to add to her coveted collection, many of which involve a sleeping Luc Shroedinger as Pás thumbs-up alongside. As for now--

"Is that it?!" Pás demands in the wake of two guards briefly unconscious at her feet, with the third easily dismissed elsewhere, through a wall and far away. She huffs theatrically, stamping one hand to her hip and lifting her other arm to swat her heavy, inky-black ponytail back over her shoulder. "I am not invite you to any more dates. Ufa, I am made sads when the boys have no stamina. Now will you let me into the silly homeless shelter school or do I need to get some more affectionates?"

Her half-hooded eyes gleam. She closes her phone, and holding it temporarily between her grinning teeth, suddenly takes off like a whippet at the next patrol guard ready to stand back up, or at least do a dumb thing like move. Everyone knows that like t-rexes, Páses track by movement. She springs into a lunge, twisting until her body briefly inverts itself in the very air. She hooks one leg around to try to catch him in the head, and letting herself merely fall to the ground on her side, pushes against the concrete to try to snap out her second leg and sweep out his legs.

COMBATSYS: Invader2 endures Pas' Kick Combo.

[             \\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\  < >  ////////////////              ]
Yurika           0/-------/=======|=======\-------\0              Pas
[          \\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\  < >  //////////////////////        ]
Kurenai          0/-------/--=====|======-\-------\0           Shurui
                                  >  /////////////////             ]
                                 |-------\-------\0           Ichiro
                 [                   ||||||||||| ]
                 Invader2         1|-----==|=======


"What is she even /saying/?"
"Who knows? 'S not like you need to know Portuguese except to communicate with prostitutes, y'know?" comments Steve as he pulls off his helmet.
"Hah hah, you're so right, ma-- ...Whoa, Steve. You look kinda... ... chubby, man."
"I'm just big-boned, you insensitive jerk!"
"Are you... -balding-? Aren't you like twenty-five??"
"Y'know..."
"So -that's- why you were so interested in all those 'Spray On Hair' infomercials. It's -all coming together-."
"Look --"
"... Yeah?"
"... Damn. Thought I had somethin' -- LOOK OUT!"
And that is when Pás suddenly springs to life upon Mike like a bat out of hell, or a t-rex out of a heavily reinforced cage at a theme park island, barreling towards him to attempt to kick poor Mike in the head. The blow impacts with a WHANG, disorienting him long enough that she can accomplish her next move cleanly enough.
MEANWHILE THOUGH, AT THE BATCAVE! Just behind Pás, the other formerly unconscious guards get up, shaking their heads blearily.
"Oh man, what happened..."
"Did she... take a picture of us...?"
"Oh, man..."
"Guys! She's wide open! We gotta help Mike!"
"Oh damn, let's do i-- wow, Steve, is your hairline receding?"
"Y'know -- you don't have to be crappy."
So, as Pás is ducking down, the three other guards (Bill is still struggling with his vomit problem) soar upwards into the air in a totally dramatic moment, and all of them, well -- throw grenades at the Brazillian the moment that Mike falls flat on his ass. Three grenades fall, just between him and Pás. He blinks. Squints.
And then he runs.
"Oh, you guys are /asshole/--"
BOOM.

COMBATSYS: Yurika dodges Shurui's Light Kick.

[             \\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\  < >  ////////////////              ]
Yurika           0/-------/=======|=======\-------\0              Pas
[          \\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\  < >  //////////////////////        ]
Kurenai          0/-------/--=====|======-\-------\0           Shurui
                                  >  /////////////////             ]
                                 |-------\-------\0           Ichiro
                 [                   ||||||||||| ]
                 Invader2         0|-------|-----==


"... I wonder at what point was I falling behind?" Yurika murmurs to Shurui, while she seems a touch tired, her composure is still quite calm overall. And that's perhaps what comes from her aura, calm.. Not to be confused with serene, as she's anything but at the moment. And yeah, there's certainly nothing normal about her bow.. Yet she can play her violin with it quite fine.
She sets said bow upon the strings of her instrument, again a tune completely unfitting for the situation played as she sweeps gracefully to the side, facing her opponent all the while as she passes bye. It's beautiful, but brief, since she's then sweeping her bow-arm outward as she springs backward again.. By the time Shurui's facing her once more, it's her turn to deal with the sparkling ring of rests, half, and quarter notes that intend to slam into her body.

COMBATSYS: Ichiro successfully hits Kurenai with Slashing EX.

[              \\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\  < >  ////////////////              ]
Yurika           0/-------/=======|=======\-------\0              Pas
[                \\\\\\\\\\\\\\  < >  //////////////////////        ]
Kurenai          1/-------/=======|======-\-------\0           Shurui
                                  >  /////////////////             ]
                                 |=------\-------\0           Ichiro
                 [                   ||||||||||| ]
                 Invader2         0|-------|-----==


And he would have /been/ through the gate, too--if he hadn't hit. But the smashing strike that he lands--that finally gets through Kurenai's guard--hurls her backwards, into the gate, where she crashes, painfully, a shriek of pain issuing from her lips just as she smacks into the gate. She drops, only barely managing to catch herself, somehow remaining upright.

Definitely at least one rib broken outright, probably floating now; her breaths coming raggedly, pain evident in what's visible of her eyes. And yet... "I told you," she says, between gasps, "You /aren't/ getting in!" She's facing a superior foe; Yurika, her only would-be savior in this fight, is busy with her own opponent. But still, Kurenai isn't going to back down. Normally, she might--but she's under orders here.

She does, however, take up a defensive stance, waiting. This gate is Ichiro's goal--she won't let him reach it until she's unconscious. She has to concentrate, get past the pain, learn to utilize it... things she's trained to do. But things you've only trained to do are much harder to do 'for real'...

COMBATSYS: Kurenai calculates her next move.

[              \\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\  < >  ////////////////              ]
Yurika           0/-------/=======|=======\-------\0              Pas
[                \\\\\\\\\\\\\\  < >  //////////////////////        ]
Kurenai          1/-------/=======|======-\-------\0           Shurui
                                  >  /////////////////             ]
                                 |=------\-------\0           Ichiro
                 [                   ||||||||||| ]
                 Invader2         0|-------|-----==


COMBATSYS: Shurui blocks Yurika's Tragic Serenade.

[              \\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\  < >  ////////////////              ]
Yurika           1/-------/=======|=======\-------\0              Pas
[                \\\\\\\\\\\\\\  < >  ///////////////////           ]
Kurenai          1/-------/=======|=======\-------\0           Shurui
                                  >  /////////////////             ]
                                 |=------\-------\0           Ichiro
                 [                   ||||||||||| ]
                 Invader2         0|-------|-----==


Thankfully for Ichiro, Shurui's had her share of 'loud' auras before, and usually, it's a good sign in a match-off like this. As Ichiro's chi surges through the aural landscape and Pas frightens soldiers, Shurui sails through the air.... and hits nothing but air.

Yurika was fast on the uptake that time. This leaves the Gedo student little time to land and turn around, all while Yurika prepares her counterattack. Or.. well, her performance? Shurui is confused by the sound of music in the air as she faces the musician, but that confusion is overtaken by surprise at Yurika's weapon of choice sending chi notes straight at her. Without much time to react, Shurui lifts her arms in front of her face, blocking against the speedy march of notes as they impact against her body.

A painful serenade. Eyes squint shut, it probably isn't surprising that Shurui is a little slow to react, pushing forward with a sharp jab sent towards Yurika's midsection, attempting to keep the Seijyun girl away as Shurui recovers.

"I have to admit. I admire your dedication," Ichiro states, staring at the injured girl as he stands emotionless and hidden behind the visor of his motorcycle helmet. Most of his competitive experience having grown from sports, fighting girls isn't something that comes naturally to Ichiro, nor is it easy for him to do... But let's not forget that Kurenai started this whole thing by hurting his bike. "I don't want to hurt you. I only want to help the people inside. So please, I'm going to ask one more time. Step aside!" To punctuate his question that is really more of a statement or demand than anything else, Ichiro grips his lacrosse stick tightly with both hands and focuses all of his desire and competitive instinct, fanning the flames of his burning spirit and causing his aura to flare bright enough for even the fleeing people on the street to take note of.

COMBATSYS: Ichiro gathers his will.

[              \\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\  < >  ////////////////              ]
Yurika           1/-------/=======|=======\-------\0              Pas
[                \\\\\\\\\\\\\\  < >  ///////////////////           ]
Kurenai          1/-------/=======|=======\-------\0           Shurui
                                  >  //////////////////            ]
                                 |=====--\-------\0           Ichiro
                 [                   ||||||||||| ]
                 Invader2         0|-------|-----==


COMBATSYS: Invader2 successfully hits Pas with Mass Grave.

[              \\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\  < >  ////////////                  ]
Yurika           1/-------/=======|=======\==-----\1              Pas
[                \\\\\\\\\\\\\\  < >  ///////////////////           ]
Kurenai          1/-------/=======|=======\-------\0           Shurui
                                  >  //////////////////            ]
                                 |=====--\-------\0           Ichiro
                 [                   ||||||||||| ]
                 Invader2         0|-------|-----==


It's at that moment, the overly-friendly Brazilian is reaching out to beckon Mike closer with a curling finger, her teeth flaring, her ambery eyes lit up, and her cellular phone reopened. Blood is drooling down her extended arm from the bullet hole carved through her shoulder. It's probably part of the reason why her violent grinning just goes maniac. "Hahahaha! What is Englishes say again?" she leans in to ask very nicely, before her expression flickers with realization. "Opa! Yea. Say... cheeses!"

The camera phone clicks! And, tilting her head in confusion, Pás has trouble making out the captured image of a blur on her screen, which sort've looks like someone running away. She looks up to see it is in fact that, as the armoured guard hightails it like Hell was on his heels. She shrugs slightly. Maybe she managed to scare him off? Maybe--

Maybe it's just that grenade that's rolling towards her bare feet. Pás looks down at them. Then up at the distant armoured men, propulsioned up in the air. Then back down again.

Her expression falls. Sounding very long-suffering, Pás asks no one in particular, "Euh, what is Englishes say again." Her left eye tics. "Opa. Yea. Aw ffffu--"

The resounding BOOOOOOOOOOM shakes the streetside.

And Pás all but disappears inside the massive explosion that plumes brick and falling pieces of cement and mortar in falling bits. Smoke and dust mushrooms out thickly from the curling blast, all but veiling one side of the street as the remaining escaping people shudder and scream and cover their heads as they race for cover. But the Brazilian remains to be unseen, even through that thick dust cloud. Maybe she's part of the explosion. Maybe she's been finally taken down.

Or maybe that's just her hand, suddenly poking out from the thick cloud and attempting to grab one gliding patrol man by his rocket boot'd ankle. And PULL him back down into that dustcloud world and into total obscurity. If Pás succeeds, he may be the only one to see how she appears now -- scorched, bleeding, bruised, laughing hysterically -- as she tries to lock her ankles on his helmet. "MY TURN! HAHA HAAA!" she promises, as her feet start to heat up. It's a good experiment to see if their armor is heatproof, because if it's not... it's going to be conducting a lot of the sparkling, firey chi that BLASTS from her feet.

COMBATSYS: Pas successfully hits Invader2 with Sanduich de Calabresa.

[              \\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\  < >  ///////////                   ]
Yurika           1/-------/=======|=======\===----\1              Pas
[                \\\\\\\\\\\\\\  < >  ///////////////////           ]
Kurenai          1/-------/=======|=======\-------\0           Shurui
                                  >  //////////////////            ]
                                 |=====--\-------\0           Ichiro
                 [                        |||||| ]
                 Invader2         0|-------|---====


"See? Nothing to be scared of. Underage retard girls are only as strong as an underage retard girl can be."
"That doesn't even make sense."
"Yeah well, I don't see you offering up some deep and meaningful commentary, Sophocles."
"Maybe I would if you'd stop judging me and referring to me with cultural references like some sort of Smartass McGee."
"Hah. Smartass McGee. That is choice."
"Yeah, we should put that into the Reference Bin--"
But all talk of the Reference Bin and what this mysterious thing could be falls to the wayside the moment a single, bloody hand snatches upwards out of the dust cloud.
"Oh GOD IT'S A ZOMBIE! OH GOD IT'S GOT-- GOT--"
"Man, what /was/ his name."
"Probably 'zombie food' now, am I right?"
"Hah hah hah. Nice. 'Zombie food.'"
Meanwhile, the nameless patrol guard is yanked into the cover of the dust cloud, only to be introduced to Pás and her psychotic grin. And laugh. And everything. The man lets out a panicked little shriek before Pás begins to /melt his armor with her feet/, squirming around through the haze of smoke as he desperately tries to get away. Thick armor slowly melts into superheated slag as the man claws fingertips into the harsh ground--
"WHERE YOU AT, DOG!"
Before Mike suddenly LAUNCHES through the haze of smoke, head-first, rocket boots now fully functional and propelling him like a FURIOUS MADMAN.
"Wow. Way to be a corporate sell-out, Mike."
"I know, right? By the way, have you tried out that new fantastic BOOTY SWEAT--"

COMBATSYS: Yurika endures Shurui's Quick Punch!

[                \\\\\\\\\\\\\\  < >  ///////////                   ]
Yurika           1/------=/=======|=======\===----\1              Pas
[                \\\\\\\\\\\\\\  < >  ///////////////////           ]
Kurenai          1/-------/=======|=======\-------\0           Shurui
                                  >  //////////////////            ]
                                 |=====--\-------\0           Ichiro
                 [                       ||||||| ]
                 Invader2         0|-------|---====


Yurika didn't mind playing the keep-away game, so long as it was on her terms. As far as she was concerned now, though, she was starting to place Shurui exactly where she wanted her.. Now to keep on the pressure, she thinks a smile on her features. She stands up straight, and starts to shift in position once Shurui strikes toward her..

The jab does land into the musician's midsection, however this would be moving her through the motions of spinning around backward even faster, even if it is a touch so.

"Hmph!" Yurika proceeds to play once more, manipulating the sound from her instrument once more to produce her enchanting chi, though this time this energy swirls around her like a ribbon, Shurui possibly close enough to be drawn in by the whirlwind as Yurika skyrockets upward! Said whirlwind having no other intent than to pummel her opponent during the ride upward and then sending her flying back once again!

"I... will... /not/... abandon my post!" Quite determined she is, this young girl with the pink hair and facemask and all. Finding she can stand up straight, still... knowing Ichiro is drawing energy in... she still attacks. Gripping her weapon in both hands, she strokes upwards, a smooth uppercut slash that... is nowhere near Ichiro at all.

But that clearly isn't the point; the pink glow that was suffusing the blade transfers into a hissing, wavelike projectile that launches along the ground, towards Ichiro. The entire thing is about four feet wide and maybe comes up to about waist-height on Kurenai, rushing along the ground, making a hissing sound that is surprisingly serpent-like.

"So don't beg of me anything! I won't listen! I have my orders!" Though her words are those of dedicated soldier, she delivers her lines with the conviction of the person who believes absolutely in what they're doing, not someone who is paid to do this or that...

COMBATSYS: Yurika successfully hits Shurui with Fatal Rondo.

[                 \\\\\\\\\\\\\  < >  ///////////                   ]
Yurika           0/-------/------=|=======\===----\1              Pas
[                 \\\\\\\\\\\\\  < >  /////////                     ]
Kurenai          1/-------/=======|=======\======-\1           Shurui
                                  >  //////////////////            ]
                                 |=====--\-------\0           Ichiro
                 [                       ||||||| ]
                 Invader2         0|-------|---====


It would be timely to shout Pas's name dramatically in worry, but, uh. What *is* that strange girl's name? Shurui simply chooses to ignore it for now, putting her trust in the girl's abilities.

Because, really, Shurui's in a position where being distracted would be a *bad thing*. While she was doing well at first, Yurika is now quickly catching up, keeping Shurui from fully recovering with attack after attack. While the jab initially makes its mark, it provides the foundation for Yurika to pounce forth, chi notes spilling from her violin in a whirlwind that sends Shurui flying through the air and then painfully back down to the ground with a wince-inducing slam.

Spitting out gravel with a wet exclamation from her mouth, the short girl shakily gets back up and turns to face Yurika without a single word. That technique... it's rather amazing, when Shurui thinks about it. Turning music into offensive projectile chi? Even her sight can't really grab ahold of the moment when artistic skill becomes something far more painful. No matter; if she doesn't get Yurika now, she'll never succeed at her initial task. Darting in, Shurui closes up to Yurika, attempting to plant on fist against her chest...

If it hits, it's a whirlwind of action, with kicks, punches, and jabs pressing Yurika back until Shurui finally presses a knuckle into her chest once more, a flash of silver blowing her backwards.

COMBATSYS: Ichiro blocks Kurenai's Hissing Serpent.

[                 \\\\\\\\\\\\\  < >  ///////////                   ]
Yurika           0/-------/------=|=======\===----\1              Pas
[                 \\\\\\\\\\\\\  < >  /////////                     ]
Kurenai          1/------=/=======|===----\-------\0           Shurui
                                  >  ////////////////              ]
                                 |=======\-------\0           Ichiro
                 [                       ||||||| ]
                 Invader2         0|-------|---====


Nodding slowly as Kurenai rebukes his final attempt at reasoning with her, Ichiro silently asserts that in this case one of the two fighters will have to go down, and it sure as hell won't be him! Throwing his arms in front of his face as the wave of chi hits him, Oe's leather jacket sizzles and smokes as the chi washes over him. The time for words is over. Bringing the pocket of his lacrosse stick up near his head, the captain swings it back around behind him once before letting the rubber ball inside it's net streak out towards Kurenai's head. No chi this time. He must be saving that for somethin special.

COMBATSYS: Pas counters Fierce Punch from Invader2 with Branded Mule.

[                 \\\\\\\\\\\\\  < >  //////////                    ]
Yurika           0/-------/------=|=======\====---\1              Pas
[                 \\\\\\\\\\\\\  < >  /////////                     ]
Kurenai          1/------=/=======|===----\-------\0           Shurui
                                  >  /////////////////             ]
                                 |=======\-------\0           Ichiro
                 [                          |||| ]
                 Invader2         0|-------|-======


Even in the thick, billowing cloud of dust and debris, Pás does not need her eyes. Only her reflexes. And she trusts them indefinitely. She needs only that brief instant -- the heartbeat that reveals to her the shape of someone's armored /fist/ as it rockets towards her at a deadly velocity, and it's enough; grinning fiercely, she reaches out one hand to grab that fist straight out of the air, her bare feet burning against concrete and gravel as she's dragged back several feet from the sheer momentum. It's all she needs, one hand only, to suddenly curl her spine and pull her body upward, slamming one foot inward to bury solidly into Mike the Guard's middle, and then, with an added twist, simply SLAM him down to the pavement.

The concussive BLAST of her chi seeks to try to keep him down.

The smoke finally clears from the grenade blast, slowly but surely revealing a bloodsmeared, half-stooped Brazilian girl with one foot nailed down on the armored chest of one guard. Her once-white clothes are blackened with dust and silt, burned off in places and heavy with drying blood from bullet holes. But when Pás eventually looks up, her dark eyes homed on the rest of the guard, she's still smiling. Her grin only widens, her tongue swiping thoughtfully over the rows of her teeth.

She spits out a bit of blood, then asks, very sunnily, "You are next now, yea? No?"

"Wow, poor Mike."
"Yeah, and after he just got his rocket boots to work, too."
"-And- just before the weekend."
"That is a shame."
"I guess we're gonna have to find someone else for Pictionary Paturdays."
"What is a Paturday even supposed to be?"
"It's screw you don't judge me, how about that?"
"Whoa, easy there, Steve. ... Looks like that receding hairline comes with a receding temper! Ha ha!"
"Harsh."
"Right?"
This is all said conversationally even as Mike lets out a groan -- apparently alive -- beneath crushed armor and Pás' bare heel. The other guards don't seem to notice, really; apparently they're so used to loss they're prepared to simply write the man off. They look to Pás. Then to Mike. Then to Pás. Then towards Gedo proper.
"... so how about that pottery?"
"Mike loved pottery."
"Never forget."
"You know -- we oughta get out of here before the zombie Spanish Portuguese retard underage girl comes to kill us and eat our brains."
"HAH! Retards eating brains. Iiiironyyyyy."
"Dude."
"/What/?"
And that is when the patrol guard promptly flees.
FOR NOW.

COMBATSYS: Invader2 takes no action.

[                 \\\\\\\\\\\\\  < >  //////////                    ]
Yurika           0/-------/------=|=======\===----\1              Pas
[                 \\\\\\\\\\\\\  < >  /////////                     ]
Kurenai          1/------=/=======|===----\-------\0           Shurui
                                  >  /////////////////             ]
                                 |=======\-------\0           Ichiro


COMBATSYS: Invader2 can no longer fight.


COMBATSYS: Shurui successfully hits Yurika with Shades of Grey.
- Power hit! -

[                           \\\  < >  //////////                    ]
Yurika           0/-------/-======|=======\===----\1              Pas
[                 \\\\\\\\\\\\\  < >  /////////                     ]
Kurenai          1/------=/=======|===----\-------\0           Shurui
                                  >  /////////////////             ]
                                 |=======\-------\0           Ichiro


To be fair, Yurika is a touch distracted herself.. She really wanted to get back to Kurenai, as at this point she felt all the assassin could do was just 'hold on'. The guards, of course, were really just secondary, not really mattering for what she had in mind. But most importantly, Yurika felt she had her situation entirely under control; Shurui was moving at a pace she could easily follow at this point, and upon landing is once more ready to face her opponent... And hopefully finish her, ".. I see now. You're not in a very good position, perhaps you should regroup?" she offers, swishing her bow like a conductor a baton.

Yurika of course stands her ground as Shurui dashes forward, and her attempt to brush the fist aside misses by mere milimeters, her dark eyes widening a bit by the impossibility of the timing... And yet it happened. Shurui's storm of fists and feet meet clean afterward, completely battering the perplexed musician as she does her best to withstand the assault, to try to find an opening but once the silver energy comes into play she's too brain-addled to do much more than crash to the ground, gripping her instrument desperatly while rolling along the floor and eventually slides to a stop.

Her body trembling, the musician shakily gets to her feet once again, a bit embarassed about shoving her own foot in her mouth. Oh well, she raises her bow to her violin once again, and dashes quickly toward Shurui and performs yet another musical technique, speed gradually picking up and seems to be performing the same strike as before; though this time an entire musical bar trails behind her. It's brilliantly bright, much more so than before and this time when she swipes outward, it's across the head rather than the gut. "Hyah!"

Ideally Shurui is stunned long enough not to realize that she'd be stuck right in the center of that bar if she didn't react and the energy closes in on both sides, once more intending to batter the Gedo student mercilessly with her unusual technique.. Though for Yurika, she has nothing left, collapsing to the ground but clearly struggling to get up once more.

COMBATSYS: Yurika can no longer fight.

[                 \\\\\\\\\\\\\  < >  //////////                    ]
Kurenai          1/------=/=======|=======\===----\1              Pas
                                  >  /////////                     ]
                                 |===----\-------\0           Shurui
                                  >  /////////////////             ]
                                 |=======\-------\0           Ichiro


COMBATSYS: Kurenai reflects Medium Fling from Ichiro with Devil's Return.

[                 \\\\\\\\\\\\\  < >  //////////                    ]
Kurenai          1/-----==/=======|=======\===----\1              Pas
                                  >  /////////                     ]
                                 |===----\-------\0           Shurui
                                  >  /////////////////             ]
                                 |=======\-------\0           Ichiro


There's an almost supernatural sense that some people get, in regards to others. It isn't a psychic link or anything like that... just... a knowledge. A sense of things. WHen Yurika goes down, Kurenai /knows/. Her head snaps around, her eyes showing concern and alarm. "YURIKA-DONO!" Of course there's still an attack to deal with... Kurenai can't leave her post--not under any circumstance.

With a growl, she spins around to face the lacrosse ball and acts without thinking; her bokken blazes with pink energy as she slashes it around, as accurate as any pro baseball player, and she sends that ball streaking back at Ichiro. Only, the ball seems to have gathered some of Kurenai's chi, as it becomes a pink tracer bullet reflected back at Ichiro's head. Unfortuantely for him, that just galvanized her courage. She'd been considering letting him off the hook... but someone just downed Yurika and now she's mad.

COMBATSYS: Shurui parries Yurika's Fatal Nocturne!

[                 \\\\\\\\\\\\\  < >  //////////                    ]
Kurenai          1/-----==/=======|=======\===----\1              Pas
                                  >  /////////                     ]
                                 |====---\-------\0           Shurui
                                  >  /////////////////             ]
                                 |=======\-------\0           Ichiro


The fight has been all about timing, so far, with Shurui and Yurika taking advantage of each other's momentary weaknesses. Yurika's proven to be a difficult opponent despite Shurui's first stroke of success. In fact, it seems like Yurika just might best her, making it all the more pressing for Shurui to end this once and for all while she can still stand. It'll be decided here who will win this part of the fight, in these few moments. Sneakers dig into the ground as Yurika mades her charge, gearing herself to meet with Yurika's bow.... with her elbow. It's not enough to harm Yurika, or to greatly disrupt the flow of her chi notes, but it is enough for Shurui to roll to the side, foot over foot, side stepping the rest of the way out of immediate danger. Panting as she watches the trail of notes brush unnervingly close, she keeps an eye on Yurika, making sure the girl wasn't damaged *too* much.

Yurika's right; they will need people to keep out all the folks that would take advantage of Gedo once it's taken back. But for now, it's a matter of *getting* Gedo back, as well as answering to whatever authority, Gedo or no, who placed these two in front. But for now, she has to help take care of this last note of resistance; the brightly chi'ed lacrosse player and the dark-skinned young woman could be valuable to keep around when they get inside, provided they don't need to spilt off to go do their initial goals. There's also the others that need help there too, who could be helpful when combined with this small initial group.

So she has nothing personal against Kurenai, really, when she turns to face the ninja, folding her arms back and flinging them loose, throwing beams of wispy silver at the Seijyun girl while she's still distracted by Ichiro. "Nngh!"

COMBATSYS: Kurenai successfully hits Ichiro with Reflected Medium Fling.
- Power hit! -

[                 \\\\\\\\\\\\\  < >  //////////                    ]
Kurenai          1/-----==/=======|=======\===----\1              Pas
                                  >  /////////                     ]
                                 |====---\-------\0           Shurui
                                  >  ////////////                  ]
                                 |=======\=------\1           Ichiro


If his visor were up right now, Kurenai would see the lacrosse player smirking. Hitting his own ball back at him? Puh-leez. Hasn't she ever SEEN lacrosse? (probably not) Catching these things is like... the WHOLE point of the sport, practically. "Hah," the self-assured athlete chuckles as he lazily lifts his lacrosse stick to intercept the attack by catching it in its netted pocket... except the pink sheen of energy causes the ball to RIP right through the cotton netting and slam into the visor of Ichiro's helmet. "GYAAA!" the teen screams as shards of supposedly shatter-proof glass cut into his face, leaving his nose and eyes a bloody mess.

"Oh no..." Ichiro mutters weakly as he falls to his hands and knees, blood streaming out of his helmet and pooling onto the pavement below him. "Oh this isn't good..." he groans, sounding like someone on the verge of going into shock. Luckily, the teen is strong enough to resist that particular danger, but...

"I CAN'T SEE!" Ichiro yells as he gropes around on the ground. "DAMN YOU!" he adds angrily as his hand falls on his traitorous lacrosse ball. "You're going to pay for this!" he warns, Oe's voice lowering a little as he starts to get control of his fear. Maybe it's just all of the blood in his eyes that is blinding him. Yeah, that's probably it.

Rolling onto his back and holding the lacrosse ball above him at arms length, Ichiro seems to be able to focus himself for a moment as the ball erupts with his signature golden flame. Winding back, the lacrosse star tosses the fiery ball into the air lazily, but curiously enough, it doesn't come back down again. The ball just hangs in the air for a few seconds as ghostly golden copies of it begin to peel off of and suspend themselves in the air next around the original! Suddenly, as if of one mind, the 20 or so balls of pure chi turn towards Kurenai and arc towards her at varying angles like so man missiles launched from a mech. The lacrosse ball's work for the day done, it falls uselessly to the ground next to Ichiro who is groggily rising to his feet. He may not be able to see a damned thing, but he can still fight.

"Shiuu, come back! I am still in the loves! I am make sexy! Yea? Yea?" Pás is calling desperately after the fleeing patrol, her arms spread open. Then they are little more than specks in the sky.

"...Poooooou," she grumps, deflating on the spot. Her bottom lip pouts. Soon enough, her dark eyes flick down at the fallen guard under her bare foot. She considers him with a tilt of her head, then, takes her foot off to dismissively kick him over. She sets her hands to her hip, regaining her dignity by the moment. "Che, it is no worries. My heart... she will go on."

And that's when distant noise begins to filter into the Brazilian's nearest ear (or tries to, since thanks to the grenades she's a little deaf.) The remaining, battling four immediately win Pás' eyes, and she watches them thoughtfully. Her jaw sets. Her perpetual grin starts to return, Cheshiring lazily along her full lips. If she can still walk, then there's one thing she needs to do...

Brushing blood from the side of her mouth, the Pacific student begins a slow but purposeful step back towards the fray, all of her predatory intensity masking her slight limp. Pás' grinning gets hazardous.

COMBATSYS: Pas gains composure.

[                 \\\\\\\\\\\\\  < >  /////////////                 ]
Kurenai          1/-----==/=======|=======\=------\1              Pas
                                  >  /////////                     ]
                                 |====---\-------\0           Shurui
                                  >  /////////                     ]
                                 |-------\-------\0           Ichiro


COMBATSYS: Kurenai dodges Ichiro's Lacrosse Plus EX.

[                 \\\\\\\\\\\\\  < >  /////////////                 ]
Kurenai          1/-----==/=======|=======\=------\1              Pas
                                  >  /////////                     ]
                                 |====---\-------\0           Shurui
                                  >  /////////                     ]
                                 |-------\-------\0           Ichiro


COMBATSYS: Kurenai fails to reflect Riot Act EX from Shurui with Hades Return.

[                          \\\\  < >  /////////////                 ]
Kurenai          1/-------/=======|=======\=------\1              Pas
                                  >  /////////                     ]
                                 |======-\-------\0           Shurui
                                  >  /////////                     ]
                                 |-------\-------\0           Ichiro


Kurenai's countance, what can be seen of it, is grim. These odds are not good. This is a fight she should, by all rights, just abandon--it is truly a lost cause. But...

They probably won't /let/ her. These 'heroes'. Self-righteous. Snobby. Stupid. Kurenai draws a short breath; she'd normally say something about them ganging up on her, but she doubts it would have any effect at all. Ichiro's technique is impressive--the golden balls of energy streaking towards her on different angles and curves. But Kurenai's secret is--she's a math whiz. A real genius at it. It's not the kind of thing one would envision being useful in a fight. And yet, at times... calculation of angles, trajectories... geometries and paths... Kurenai's tired, aching body tenses... and begins to move. It's balletic, the way she avoids the incoming attacks, twisting, bending, leaping and tucking--in one instance spinning into a low sweep just to get her right leg out of the way of an incoming attack, then parlaying that motion into a forward, side-flipping leap to avoid the last three attacks--all of which happen to find the gate.

That poor gate is verily abused, ready to fall off its hinges--much like Kurenai herself. And then... And then she pays the piper. Kurenai had to expend a great deal of concentration on avoiding all those attacks; by the time she senses Shurui's treacherou attack from behind... it's too late. She spins, trying to summon her chi to help, to do -something-... but instead she's blasted by wisps of silvery energy. And it hurts--it tears an unearthly scream from the girl's lips as she's lifted into the air and slammed into the wall next to the gate, sliding down almost bonelessly. It's very nearly a repeat of an earlier moment in the fight, as she catches herself, just barely... but her legs are shaking, her left arm useless, dangling... her back to the wall, literally and figuratively. And still determination burns in her eyes. Not to hold the gate for its own sake... but to honor her pact with Yurika. For that, she'll sacrifice everything, even her own body.

Yes, these two will work just fine in terms of helping her. Except.... one of them just got blinded. "Pull back!" she tries to command the lacrosse player. "Don't panic. I-" .... Wait, how is he going to find Hotaru's place on his own? One part of her wants to leave the Taiyo student on his own, to convince herself that it's none of her business what someone else does. It wasn't like they were on a team or anything; he just arrived and started punching people, like Pas did. And, well, eventually, Shurui. However, it's not about her, really, is it? He came here for Gedo. If everyone in Gedo was a selfish bastard like her, where would they be? The other schools' sense of self-perservation can only go so far; to go the distance, they must genuinely want to help. Pas? Well, does that girl go to a school? Aside from having a strange aura that doesn't seem to mesh with her outward personality, Shurui doesn't really know much about the young woman. She helped her out too, though, didn't she?

A quick look at Ichiro's bright aura reveals some measure of damage- something's gotten disrupted about his left eye. It's clear she needs to intervene, whether or not the injury she's percieving is serious or a quirk of her own sight. < You. I don't know your name. > That same voice, talking to Pas. The second time hopefully won't scare her as much. ... Maybe, anyway. Sure, she could contact Ichiro, but that would just make his current state even more confusing. < ... Cover for me. I need to go to the other guy that fought with us. His left eye's been damaged by something, I think. Can you see what happened? >

Not waiting for Pas's response, Shurui moves forward, getting close to the lacrosse player as he rises, getting a closer look about his eye. The blood, dark and red, is readily apparent in her physical sight even as it loses its edges again the blur of her vision. "Don't panic," she repeats solidly. "I know a place you can go to if you want to be safe. You can go there, or to the hospital." They could take the Seijyun girl there too- maybe the other one, if she's unconcious. They can't leave them here, after all. "But for now, let's finish this."

COMBATSYS: Shurui assists Ichiro.

[                          \\\\  < >  /////////////                 ]
Kurenai          1/-------/=======|=======\=------\1              Pas
                                  >  /////////                     ]
                                 |======-\-------\0           Shurui
                                  >  /////////                     ]
                                 |-------\-------\0           Ichiro


"Hnn..." Ichiro groans as his feet slip and slide on the blood pooled beneath his feet, reaching out a hand to try and steady himself on something. "Wh- who is that?" Ichiro asks with a touch of fear in his voice, his hand shooting out and grabbing Shurui by the shoulder. "Wait, you're the girl with the gray hair..." Oe gasps, tearing off his ruined motorcycle helmet and tossing it to the ground. "I... can kind of see, a little... out of my right eye only... everything is really blurry though..." A dubious blessing, but Ichiro seems rather pleased. "What's wrong with my left eye th-" the athlete asks, starting to reach up and touch his ruined eye, but pulling it just short as he rethinks that prospect. No. Better not think about that now.

"No, don't take me anywhere," he tells Shurui, "there are still people inside the school that need help. Don't worry about me," Oe tells the girl reassuringly, his every-present confidence slowly returning. "Just point me toward the blob that's the ninja girl and I'll do the rest!"

"Alright thanks!" the blinded lacrosse player replies happily as Shurui grabs him by the arms and rotates him toward Kurenai. Leaving his stick and lacrosse ball behind, Ichiro takes off at a sprint towards the pinkish blob. "You should have run when you had the chance ninja girl!" Ichiro exclaims as he jukes left and right on his path to the girl, narrowly missing a lamppost and a garbage can that he doesn't see until the last moment. Extending a knee to where he approximates the Kurenai's gut, the lacrosse player tries to smash it into the girl's midsection and double her over, and hopefully leaving a clear path for the three into the school.

"Hum," Pás is saying thoughtfully to herself as her half-limped step draws closer. Truth be told, the itch is still wild in her blood, and she knows she isn't hurting as much as she could. As much as she wants to. In fact, she looks down right hungry to join in on the violence, her eyes fastening on Kurenai, her hands flexing, her--

--mind suddenly shorting out once more as her thoughts fill with Shurui's voice. Tensing like a cat getting pet the wrong way, tilting her head to parse the English against her thoughts in Portuguese, Pás finally just takes the telepathic conversation with a forbearing, lopsided grin. Her thirst for more fighting temporarily satiated, she lets all that predatory energy ghost out of her body, switched out for a turn back to her usual laziness. "Shiuuuuu. Sim, sim, sim," she replies, looking to anyone other than Shurui as some crazy Brazilian who is now talking to herself. She hangs back, keeping an eye between Shurui and Kurenai, looking no doubt ready to turn on that strangely-masked ninja girl should she be given reason.

In the meantime, Pás takes hunting glances toward the Gedo school, not yet forgotten her ultimate prize. She stretches briefly, grunts, then starts to poke at the bullet in her shoulder. Stupid Tenma.

COMBATSYS: Pas takes no action.

[                          \\\\  < >  /////////////                 ]
Kurenai          1/-------/=======|=======\=------\1              Pas
                                  >  /////////                     ]
                                 |======-\-------\0           Shurui
                                  >  /////////                     ]
                                 |-------\-------\0           Ichiro


COMBATSYS: Ichiro successfully hits Kurenai with Light Kick.

[                             \  < >  /////////////                 ]
Kurenai          1/-----==/=======|=======\=------\1              Pas
                                  >  /////////                     ]
                                 |======-\-------\0           Shurui
                                  >  /////////                     ]
                                 |=------\-------\0           Ichiro


The kick strikes, and Kurenai... folds, as expected. But the path isn't quite clear yet; she's not quite done yet. The light in her eyes isn't gone yet, though it's fading in intensity. The girls might get past--will get past. But Ichiro... he's earned Kurenai's enmity. She practically spits in his face--though with words, not with saliva. "Run? From rabble... like you? As if... I'm not made of some weak stuff... RAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAH!!!" Emotion powers her through one last try, her body barely responding as she remains on her feet, charging Ichiro with a shoulder... She usually isn't like this, of course, but taking Yurika out... even though Ichiro didn't have anything to do with it, he's allied himself with the group that did.

So he's earned her ire for now--perhaps if she ever confronts him again. She won't forget him, that's for sure.

COMBATSYS: Kurenai can no longer fight.

                                  >  /////////////                 ]
                                 |=======\=------\1              Pas
                                  >  /////////                     ]
                                 |======-\-------\0           Shurui
                                  >  /////////                     ]
                                 |=------\-------\0           Ichiro


And so, the (mostly) blind is leading the (mostly) blind. Sadly enough, Shurui's had to do this before. And therein lies the reason she was quick to intervene. See, there was this one SNF, where this Roland guy got blindfolded and tried to attack her accidentally-

Yeah. Stupid, stupid SNF. She was lucky that Vice woman or whatever her name was with the horrible dragon aura didn't manage to permanent scar her face with those nails of hers. Not that Shurui is vain about her looks, of course. No, it's more that she really doesn't need more visible trademarks that'll make her easy to spot in a crowd. Grey hair is one thing; facial scars are another. Sure, makeup's good at covering that sort of stuff, but... Shurui wouldn't be able to tell the difference unless she applied makeup with her reading lens or something complicated like that. In other words, it'd be a disaster.

The Brazilian seems to be not doing much or else waiting for a cue; Shurui can only hope that the battle ends fast before she has to figure out whether Pas is choosing to heed her commands or not. Ichiro's attack hits, thankfully, but it seems that Kurenai's not quite ready to go down all that quickly. "Hey, she's coming at you!" She attempts to either pull him away or at least give him a nudge; though, could she manage to do without getting in the way?

COMBATSYS: Ichiro dodges Kurenai's Devil Dancing.

                                  >  /////////////                 ]
                                 |=======\=------\1              Pas
                                  >  /////////                     ]
                                 |======-\-------\0           Shurui
                                  >  ///////                       ]
                                 |=------\-------\0           Ichiro


Kurenai misses her charge--and her body is just too bruised and battered to do any more. She stumbles, then skids to a halt, planting the tip of her bokken in the asphalt to keep herself upright... she's not going to lose consciousness, not here, not now. Not to these three jerks who just couldn't resist poking their noses where they didn't belong. First and foremost, of course, she's worried about Yurika... and she's also hating being in such a position of weakness. She knew she had a long way to go... being confronted with it in reality is mortifying and galvanizing at the same time. Perhaps she will learn from this experience...

Grinning through his crimson mask of blood as he feels his knee strike the girl solidly, Ichiro figures that was probably enough to put her down for good; she wasn't doing too well up until then after all. "We did it!" Ichiro exclaims to the two strange girls he just met, turning back toward Shurui even as she rushes to warn him of the impending danger of Kurenai's final assault. "Hey... I think my vision is getting better.. uh.. in my right eye at least," the athletic teen informs the psychic happily. "I can make you out pretty w- Huh? Who's coming at me?" Ichiro asks suddenly as Shurui grabs a hold of him and try to pull him out of danger.

"Waaagh!" Thrown off balance by the girl's tug, Ichiro's sneakers, still slick with blood slip out from under him and he falls... right as Kurenai's charge leads per past harmlessly. How fortunate. Unfortunately for Shurui she ends up right underneath the strapping young lad, luckily for her though, Ichiro instinctually stuck his arms out and managed to land on his forearms to keep from crushing her.

"Uhh..." Ichiro clears his throat nervously as he looks down at Shurui face, still fairly blurry, not really sure what to say. "...my hero? Heh... heh..." he finishes lamely, just as a drop of blood falls from his face. "Oops."

And there remains Pás, still off to one side and looking on with not just a little bemusement. It seems little like she won't be needed, which is something the Brazilian sorely regrets. It's always easier with a bit of adrenaline in the blood. And speaking of blood... taking her own lazy time, she's tearing a strip of cloth from her shirt, bearing her midriff as she takes to using the fabric to tie tightly around the wound on her leg. At the moment, she can ignore the rest of it. For now.

Knotting and packing the bleeding bullet hole with a slightly sharpened exhale, Pás glances up in time to see Kurenai take her last hit of the evening. Neither she nor Yurika, the two girls who had put it upon themselves to blockade the school. She counts them off, one after another, mentally declaring them defeated."Yea good... yea good... very perverted." Pás appends, her pointing finger finally landing the Ichiro and Shurui sandwich. The Brazilian clicks her tongue and shakes her head sadly.

Then she straightens. "Psiu! O-K and dokey! That is the all? Gut-bye!" And with a happy wave, Pás returns to what she originally came here to do. Swiftly turning away from the rest, she continues her slow, lazy beeline straight for the gates of Gedo high. If they're closed, she's going to rear back one leg and /kick/ them open. It's time to find a jerk.

Yurika? She was unconscious but not for too much longer; Shurui did quite a number on her and the musician's body had learned to recover from exhaustion faster as her training had become more taxing- Granted, Shurui brought to Yurika a very different kind of beating, Yurika wasn't used to being so overwhelmed by energy; her forte. The point, however, is that just as Pas had written her off the blue-clad Seijyun student had managed to push herself up again and is making a move. She could feel the anger of her masked partner in her position, and could only shake her head with an exasperated smile.. ".. Kurenai.." That girl, she needs more discipline.

Yurika's pride has taken quite a hit, really unable to believe she'd be overtaken by these... Unorthodox pests. But she'd have to accept and learn from it; after all in the end it was a situation where her nor Kurenai's life was on the line. Just like that, however Yurika's maryjanes dig into the dirt in front of the ninja, Yurika's bow raised in a defensive manner. "Hmph, what a nasty surprise. It looks like you get to move on after all.. I'd recommend you do so quickly before you're interrupted again." she murmurs.

For some reason, Shurui's on the ground. At first, there is silence. Shurui stares up at Ichiro, shocked, brown eyes wide and unblinking. Then, the drop or two of blood pattering on her face, combined with Pas's verbal assessment, brings Shurui into flight or fight mode, wiggling out from otherneath Ichiro with the desperate speed of a fox with its tail caught in a snare. In another instant, she's up, a few coughs to mask her sudden embarrassment.

Hearing Yurika's voice, she turns around, looking at the girl. "Can you two still move? I don't know what the whole story is, but I doubt Gedo'd like you two to get hurt by these soldiers that are all over the place. If you need a safe place to stay to recover, a girl named Hotaru Futaba was offering her place." She pauses. "I... think she goes to your school. Can't remember. I can give you an address. It's in a quiet part of the city, and I'd like to get word out about it." She frowns. "I would have wanted to avoided going through the front gate, but I'll deal with the consequenc- hey!"

That crazy Brazilian is moving on! "Hey! .... Whatsyourname! Don't go yet! I don't think we should be going off on our own just yet!" Sighing in frustration, she looks back to Ichiro. "You really wanna move on? I can't see your eye, but if you get it treated, you can at least make sure you can see out of both eyes. You're really gonna risk losing your sight permanently if you push yourself. If you get to the hospital and get someone to bandage it, you'll make sure it at least doesn't get infected. You got me?"

God. Idiots. All of them. Why does she always have to play the sane one, whereever she goes?

"Sorry about that," murmurs as Shurui scrambles out from under him. If his face wasn't already red with blood he'd be visibly blushing right now. "I didn't mean to... whoah! What's HER name?" Ichiro exclaims as Pas walks by and he notices her sexy bare midriff. Yup. His right eye will be alright. ..his left, well Shurui is probably correct. If he doesn't get medical attention soon it's possible that he won't be seeing out of it again.

Frowning as he considers Shurui's suggestion, Ichiro can only think about how hard it would be for him to play lacrosse with only one good eye... well, that and one other thing.

"No," Ichiro replies firmly. "No hospital. There are still people trapped inside Gedo High, and they could be hurt worse than I am. Look around, we're the only three people here willing to help out. This is bigger than us," the teen says with a shrug as he backs away from Shurui and stoops to pick up his crosse. "Help these two out if you want, but just remember. They were trying to keep us OUT when we were only trying to help your classmates." Glancing at the lacrosse stick's ruined net with his good eye, Ichiro sighs and tosses the useless stick to the ground. "We'll be waiting for you inside," he tells the gray-haired girl as he turns to follow Pas through the gate

...Damn, that girl is hot.

Yurika appears visably displeased by the mention of Hotaru Futaba's name. It's not Shurui's fault, of course, but it's becoming more clear why the Gedo student wasn't aware of who she was. Annoying, very annoying, but it's nothing time wouldn't be able to fix.. Well, assuming that Southtown doesn't become a giant crater or something.

"... Your foolishness is astonishing," she replies to Shurui, "Unfortunatly you are clearly the most sane one of the three; keep an eye on them or you'll regret it." she waves her bow-arm dismissivly, making it quite clear she isn't going to be in a 'cooperative' mood much longer.

It takes a while for Shurui to realize that Hotaru's name, the change in tone making her catch up faster than through her horrible sight alone. Instead of getting irritated, she sighs. "I've already admitted that I'm being stupid here for pulling this stunt." She shakes her head. "But I can't see you as clear-cut enemies. You two were... different from those soldiers." She gives a shrug and moves away, the soft scruff of gravel audible in her wake. "Do what you want." She follows Ichiro into the warped gate of Gedo.

And thus, at least until they split up, the fate of Gedo High now lies in the hands of a crazy Brazilian, a one-eyed lacrosse player, and... an irritated hobbit.

The school is clearly doomed.

Log created on 22:39:08 02/16/2009 by Shurui, and last modified on 02:04:14 02/22/2009.