Description: What is the meaning of pride? On the desolate streets of a Southtown still in lockdown, Alma Towazu, saddled with one of a pair of sisters, is confronted violently with this question when the second returns with vengeance in mind. For Alma, who would prefer a more transcendent dignity to mere respect, pride is when he refuses to accept that, despite his most soulful efforts, circumstances decree that he cannot make himself understood. For Shika, impatient with to her trivial matters in a time of war, pride is perhaps simply not having to wear some very awkward -- but stylish! -- shoes. But what is pride for Kaida, what does she seek through revenge? A definition may yet be forged in the heat of battle...
Alma Towazu never imagined himself thinking he'd be better off alone.
In fact, while much of his formative experiences as a child may have been defined by loneliness, given his philosophy and the peculiar form his psychic abilities take, 'alone' is something of a foreign concept to him now. Even when by himself, the bonds he has forged with his friends and allies define and resonate within him. This is true for all people, or so Alma would assert; even one's deepest and most private motivations arise from connections to others and one's world; more succintly, no man is an island. But he, uniquely, feels this intimately and viscerally. Physical distance means nothing to him. Spiritually, there is no distance.
He never thought that would be a disadvantage.
"...Shika-san..."
He could use a little distance right now.
Crouched behind a large chunk of debris, facing toward a desolate street that is eerily bereft of traffic and suspiciously silent, the beautiful youth looks over his shoulder with an expression of faint bemused worried, an expression that has become quite common to him over the last day. He couldn't simply leave her at the estate; even now he carries her sword, strapped to his back, an odd compliment to his stylish tailored casual garb. But it's difficult to stealthily move throughout Southtown searching for stray families when once is accompanied by a girl with a tendency to pass out at any random opportunity.
"How are you feeling?"
The sun beats down on them, the silence oppressive. Above them, empty buildings tower, edifices pock-marked by collateral damage, their occupants long since captured or fled. Who might be hiding in the shadows; who might be lurking in the dark? Alma would like to be focused on that, but--
He's just worried she'll collapse and he won't even notice.
How is he supposed to get any work done like this?
Shika is wearing a sort of dress/kimono crossbreed, with a single black strap attached to each side going around the back of her neck, giving the contraption some constructural support it desperately needs - it's completely off her shoulders, going even farther than her normal kimono. A yellow band with light orange triangles trims the top of the kimono, and the fabric is tucked downwards downwards to make a gentle v that barely manages to cover up her breasts. The fabric is dark blue, but becomes whiter as it goes downwards, ending in a black pattern that makes it look like the edge of a butterfly's wing on her one sleeve - the other shoulder is bare, other than the yellow and orange strip.
A similar yellow strip is tied around her waist, tied into a bow on the back, and the waist is patterned with a huge black butterfly with a gray outline over her stomach, and the pattern is repeated on her back at the same height, making a grey-black pattern around the entire thing. One side ends in the same yellow strip going around one side, very high cut, high enough to reveal her - very short black skirt, which barely covers up her decency. The other side is ruffled, and covers up her front a little, then swirls around to hang in her back. She's also wearing a pair of black almost knee-high socks with white arch window patterns on the top, and black high heels.
Her eyes narrow at the question, and she slowly moves her gaze over to Alma. "That's a rather harsh question, Towazu. I feel like crap, of course." She's been in an increasingly bad mood since being captured, although she hasn't tried to run or disobey anything so far.
Well, he can take some solace in her outfit, at least. Alma surprised himself with the alacrity with which he devoted himself to rustling up an outfit for someone who, well, lacked one entirely. But he's never really had the opportunity to dress up anyone other than himself, and-- light green hair! That was a challenge. In the end, he approved of the light blue most of all, and the accessories were--
Ahem.
"N-Now, now," is all the young psychic can manage, his androgynous features revealing a slightly pained weariness once more, as they have been all too often. "I'm sure your sister will be coming back for you soon." He'd like to go further, and assure her that Kaida surely couldn't have meant any of the things she said, but Alma tends to be intuitive about where he thinks boundaries are, and uncomfortable about crossing them unless he thinks the result will be greater trust and respect, not less. It is the same principle he takes to combat and the 'clash of souls' therein, rearticulated in a social form. Which should say something about how much Alma knows about socializing. Natural charm, and being able to appear enigmatic when really you just don't know what to say that isn't some abstruse quasi-religious rumination, can let one get away with a lot of ineptitude.
"You don't have to trust me, Shika-san, but if we cooperate, I'm sure we'll be able to work much better together." The angelic model turns away to scan his surroundings once more. His voice is low, but only his normal murmur. "You saw the estate, didn't you? Do you believe I'm not part of the invading forces yet? Just help me for a while longer, and we might be able to save a few more families."
The place seems desolate right now, but--
Who knows who might show up?
Shika shrugs, wrinkling her nose and grimacing a bit. "Well, I don't particularly care if you're helping families or harvesting their souls. And I definitely don't care about that person." She looks away.
"Might be more convenient if you *were* evil, would give me an excuse to take out my anger on some of these..."
She bites her lower lip, and her eyes start to tear up. She quickly turns away, trips on the high heels, and executes a neat breakfall, landing on her back and rolling backwards over one shoulder into a crouching position.
She slams her fist into the pavement, causing a few small cuts on her knuckles.
"And I HATE THESE SHOES!"
Another figure walks the desolate and quiet streets, looking not for survivors, but for the ones that have instilled a dark anger in her heart. The twin to the grumpy, dress wearing teenager with Alma had gone home and changed into something less revealing- which could mean just about anything, but in this case happens to be a pair of black hakama and a dark red wrapped top that goes with it, giving her a somewhat formal cast. It's something to fit how she feels.
She had gone back to the beach, to find them both missing, and at that point had come close to simply returning home once more. But she hadn't. No, the anger that should have been quenched by the walk was still burning strong within her, a feeling she was quite unaccustomed to.
So Kaida left the beach and walked the streets of Southtown, until either she found what she was looking for or had come to peace- whichever came first. And now destiny has decided what that will be, as she rounds a corner, to see Alma standing there and speaking with her sister, who is dressed now quite nicely. Her eyes widen at first, and for a brief moment she hesitates. And then she remembers what she is doing, and she takes a two-steps forward. "So I've found you." The tone of her voice says everything about her intent, and that is not to talk everything out in a civilized fashion. "I hope you still want to get me to fight with you. I hope you had a good reason for trying to stop me, and that you think it was worth it. Because you're about to get exactly what you wanted." Her right hand clenches tightly.
Now doesn't seem the time to speak of sacrifice for style.
Alma's eyes soften as he watches the girl turn away. As fatiguing as her presence can be, he can only feel sympathy for the strange sister. Though a bizarre situation was thrust upon him, and another man might be quick to throw up his hands -- especially one focused on as serious a business as the psychic is -- he cannot feel a victim. Only this girl seems a victim to him, and she bears it quite well, all things considered. He cannot pretend to grasp the depth of her feelings; his words would only demean them.
Let's face it, though; they are cute shoes.
"Shika-san..."
He does not feel there is anything he can say-- which is why Kaida's appearance is a blessing in more than one respect. The darker-haired girl may be baffled that Alma smiles widely, seemingly relieved, at her words and approach, however threatening they may be. "Thank goodness," he murmurs, rising to his feet and emerging from the debris, turning his sword-sporting back on Shika to face the first sister. "You've returned."
His smile grows more subdued, but it remains even after she finishes.
"I'm no longer interested in the fighting spirit of someone who walks away from a fight and their own sister," he says quite frankly, but not in an unkind tone, the words of a person who while blunt derives no satisfaction from cruelty. "There was a misunderstanding. I did try to provoke you into staying, but you were determined to indulge those feelings. That's your business, but-- you should speak with your sister, and apologize."
Though he is older and more experienced, his voice is that of a peer giving their views uninhibited, not of a paternalistic lecturer-- if Kaida is in a state to notice that.
"I need to get on with my work."
"Winning against him is impossible. Don't waste your time and hurt yourself... is what I'd say to a sister, if I had one. I don't, though." Shika covers up a yawn, eyes slowly blinking closed. "Ah-ah, such a long day...." She turns her back, and rests her head on one arm, and closes her eyes.
Yes, Shika's apparent solution to this, like most problems, is to play dead.
"Too bad. You're going to see it anyway," she replies coldly. She takes a few steps towards the two of them, "You should know that there are some things that can't be undone. What you did to me earlier- that was one of them. My pride demands it." Her eyes turn for a moment to Shika, and after a short moment she blinks and turns her head towards her as well. "Don't say that, we're still sisters." She looks uncomfortable, and then lets out a short sigh. "I am sorry I spoke to you the way I did. My angry words- they weren't meant for you." She flicks her eyes towards Alma and then back to her sister. "This... it isn't about winning or losing. It's about pride. I could use your help, but if you don't want to I would understand."
She returns her gaze fully to Alma now, looking at him directly, "My sister and I will come to terms. We may have had a disagreement but we will get over it just as we always have. We're twins, you see. We'll always be a part of each other's lives; best friends and bitterest rivals. That's just how we are."
After making a small smile her face resets into a smooth calm. "Now. Do you know why I use a bokken, when my sister here uses live steel?" Kaida shakes her head, and makes a small smirk. "No, of course you don't. You don't know anything about me, so how could you? Allow me to enlighten you." The longhaired swordswoman almost seems to calm as she talks. "I've never liked the idea of using blades for trivial purposes. Sparring, fighting for money, or to better learn how to handle it. A bokken, that is a tool. A tool can be used for those purposes without any problems, but a sword?"
Closing her eyes, she continues to speak, her voice taking on a very spiritual aspect as she does. "A sword is a weapon, forged and created for the purpose of harming others and killing. I believe that a sword has a spirit. To use a katana for such trivial purposes-" she gives a shake of her head, opening her eyes back up. "It'd be an insult to that spirit and to it's very nature."
Her hand reaches down to her hip and lifts a scabbard into the air, "I believe that a sword should only be used in anger, or in the defense of life, where one is intending to use it for true purpose: To harm, and if need be, to kill." Her left hand holds the scabbard, and her right grips the hilt of her Katana, slowly sliding the weapon out of it's keeper, steel glinting in the sunlight as the side of the blade covers her mouth, her eyes visible and still filled with the same look as earlier just above the edge of the blade.
"And you. You are the first to have angered me to the point of truly want to hurt them." Her eyes lock onto Alma's, and slowly narrow. "You, who has made me into a mockery, tried to force me to continue a fight that no longer held any purpose, who grabbed my swimsuit and tore it by using it to throw me to the ground, and lied again and again with no apparent motivation." She slips her scabbard back onto her left hip, taking a strong grip on her katana, shouting, "Against you, I'll use my blade to show you my anger!"
Oh, brother.
Alma doesn't think he's met a family more dysfunctional than this-- and that's really saying something, because he's welcome at the Kasagi household. He casts a helpless glance back at Shika, but she has already succumbed to the most absurd of defense mechanisms, leaving him to weather the storm of Kaida's insufferable pride by himself.
Maybe being alone isn't so great after all.
Yet, though his expression betrays nothing, he is quietly pleased at the beginnings of an apology Kaida levels toward Shika, not even considering that it may force him to face two opponents rather than one. A meaningful fight lost is infinitely superior to a meaningless fight won, and for a moment, he wasn't sure how strong the bond between these two girls, normally rendering them capable of such formidable teamwork, really was. No, his silent worries were unfounded; however this encounter concludes, it will hopefully end with the damage he unintentionally wrought rectified.
Secure in this knowledge, Alma listens patiently, but eventually even he begins to shift, slipping a hand into the slim pocket of his designer jeans and squinting one eye slightly as the girl continues with her diatribe, certainly not reciprocating his attempt at a more -- and unnecessarily -- equal tone. To the list of his misdeeds even he has a hard time stifling a heavy, if politely silent, exhalation.
"No one can make a mockery of you but yourself," he says simply, his gentle eyes meeting hers. "True dignity isn't dependent upon the whims of others. I've no interest in you taking your wounded pride out on me."
Were there only anyone else here who shared his perspective, his patience might seem superhuman. He's fighting a war; his friends are in danger every minute he is away. And this girl wants to air a personal grudge, in the midst of a city aflame?
Such are human beings.
"But if you're that serious--"
And again he smiles slightly, sincerely.
"I can't deny you a chance to kill me."
He steps forward, closing in toward the range of her deadly blade.
"Do I have an apparent motivation for this?" he asks, his voice almost teasing, his eyes beginning to glitter, though whether with amusement or rising passion for battle is unclear. "You aren't the first to be unable to comprehend my actions. Normally, though, people just ask." He does seem strangely entertained, but not at her expense-- though Kaida might not be in the mood to detect that subtlety either. "I did lie, but you didn't believe the truth, did you?"
He pauses, shifting the sword on his back but making no move to draw it.
"...and I meant it when I apologized about the swimsuit."
COMBATSYS: Alma has started a fight here on the left meter side.
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Alma 0/-------/-------|
COMBATSYS: Kaida has joined the fight here on the right meter side.
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Alma 0/-------/-------|-------\-------\0 Kaida
COMBATSYS: Alma takes no action.
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Alma 0/-------/-------|-------\-------\0 Kaida
COMBATSYS: Shika has joined the fight here in the center.
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Alma 0/-------/-------|-------\-------\0 Kaida
[ |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||| ]
Shika 0|-------|-------
"I'm not the sort of person to get upset over words. I only get upset over actions." Shika's voice is a low monotone. She slowly sits up into a crosslegged position with her back to Alma and Kaida, places an elbow on her knee, and props her head up with one arm.
"I was really scared, and you abandoned me. That's not something I'm going to forgive." A short pause as she chews on her lip.
"You're only upset because your pride was hurt. I'm not going to fight over something as meaningless as pride when our city is being invaded by true enemies. Save these silly, pointless fights for when you aren't risking other people's lives over it." She holds up a finger, pointing it at the sky.
"That goes for both of you, incidentally."
"Have you forgotten that our town is being attacked by people? That people are truly dying, here?" Shika furrows her eyebrows, and slowly stands up, if a little shakily due to the high heels.
"Ignoring bigger problems just to satisfy your personal feelings... I can't forgive that sort of thinking."
COMBATSYS: Shika takes no action.
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Alma 0/-------/-------|-------\-------\0 Kaida
[ |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||| ]
Shika 0|-------|-------
Kaida doesn't take kindly to the idea that the only thing that made a fool out of herself was, in fact, herself. She hears him out, however. He did listen to her, and her personal code of pride and honor, whatever it may be, doesn't require her run in and stab him while he speaks his mind. "Good." She comments once he states that he won't deny her the opportunity. She holds back a comment that she doesn't actually intend to kill, but only to harm- why not just let him think that she does? She can't see a reason against it.
"I have no damn clue what your reasons were. Whatever the truth was, only one of them would show any reason why you would have kept me there- and that one was the most outrageous lie of all." The swimsuit? "Fine, take that off the list if it was truly a mistake. It was the least among your crimes anyway."
She walks towards him, preparing to strike as her sister stands back up, causing her to slow her advance. "...Shika, I didn't know you were scared. I thought you were just acting, as usual." She frowns- at herself. "I would not have left you there if I had known, but I can't change the past." She grips her sword more tightly in her hand. "But. You may be right. We should focus on enemies now, shouldn't we? Even so... I can't deny my heart. To me this is something that must be done. After this, we can seek out the people doing the killing. But not until after."
She lifts her sword up, gripping it firmly with both hands, "I'm sorry if you cannot understand, Shika, but I have never been so offended. This is something I must do!" She lunges forward, lifting her sword above her head and surging forward, lashing out with a powerful and fairly standard maneuver, the blade of her sword glinting in the light as she swings it downward in a powerful stroke, blade seeking Alma's shoulder and threatening to dig a deep gash into it. "Though I don't know if I trust you, fine! What was your motivation for forcing me into something I did not want, to do, a fight that no longer held any purpose?!"
COMBATSYS: Alma fails to interrupt Fierce Strike from Kaida with Random Weapon.
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Alma 0/-------/--=====|-------\-------\0 Kaida
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Shika 0|-------|-------
"Shika-san, please understand."
Alma's words are quiet, gentle, firm.
"This is a matter of integrity."
At first, he wasn't entirely sure. No, scratch that-- at first he /was/ sure. His intuition, derived purely from Kaida's aura, was that she did have a sincere and shining fighting spirit. Once misfortune and pride intervened, Alma was no longer certain what to think. But for all the girl's seeming newness to the art, in this moment he is able to see a glimmer of true resolve amidst the injured image. He was honest when he spoke before: He isn't interested in hurt pride, in meaningless battles over trivial emotions. But approached with pure hearts--
"A fighter must be willing to stand up for their own dignity..."
This fight is worth fighting.
"...if they are to be able to do any good at all."
He does not look back at the lighter-haired girl as he says this; his gaze does not stray from the determined swordfighter before him. And at her questioning words and threatening stance, Alma's slight smile only widens, his soft eyes lending it an enigmatic cast.
"A fight that no longer held any purpose?"
What is the purpose of this fight? What will be achieved by winning or losing here? Kaida and Shika are reunited; he has work to be doing. But everything that he lives for-- it is premised on this basic appreciation for the spirit of those around him.
"What is a purposeless encounter--"
He will not turn his back on any moment.
"--but an opportunity for renewed purpose?"
Passionately, wholeheartedly, he will grasp life by its hilt.
Unthinkingly, he draws the blade.
His heart soars as the two weapons clash. This-- this is what their fight before lacked, he feels. Whether that is the truth of the matter, that is what he feels-- that her soul is in this sword. To clash these swords is the true clash of souls, the one he sought to fill in the void left by their mistakes, what turned out to be impossible to achieve in their last encounter. This is what was missing. And now that all her heart is in this swing--
"Kuhh!"
He cannot stand against her.
More practically speaking, the reality is probably that Alma has no idea how to swing a sword, and Kaida has trained in their use. But to Alma's unique perception, all he can feel is the flare of her spirit cutting through his. The sting of the blade slicing near his shoulder, partially deflected by his counter-swing but still drawing blood, seems wraith-like, the pain insubstantial. All he feels is satisfaction.
"I suppose I was hoping..."
The cut has knocked Shika's sword from his grasp, and it clatters to the ground several feet away. The tall youth ignores it completely, standing with angelic poise and eyes unclouded by the strike, even as blood begins to stain his cream-white sweater.
"...you would draw your 'real sword'."
His smile is warmer than ever, and just as sincere.
"I'm glad you found it."
Shika's eyes widen as Alma draws out the sword, and as he swings it- "Hey! You can't use my sword to hit my-" And the sword falls to the ground. She runs over and falls to her knees, grabbing the hilt in one hand, a cold smirk on her face. "Like I said..."
She stands back up, and switches the sword to a backhanded grip. "Dignity being more important than lives? I don't understand that sort of thinking. I don't *want* to understand that sort of thinking. Even if I'm weak because of it."
"It's true that by giving into your emotions, by going into some berseker rage or the throes of passionate love - that may make you strong." She walks closer to the two of them, frowning a little. "But, undirected power has no purpose. You're just going to break things, acting like that."
Her gaze slowly turns to Kaida. "I've tried to teach you how to control your anger, by constantly pissing you off. Because I knew this sort of shallow-minded thinking was in your heart." She pauses, and narrows her eyes. "I know you're thinking I was doing it because it was fun. Well, that's true too! But that wasn't the only reason."
She closes her eyes for a moment, then opens them suddenly. "I shall teach you both... the true meaning of power!"
COMBATSYS: Shika takes no action.
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Alma 0/-------/--=====|-------\-------\0 Kaida
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Shika 0|-------|-------
Kaida's sword clashes with the sword in Alma's hands, knocking it away and... drawing blood. The first blood it had tasted in the hands of its new master, cutting through some flesh and then slicing along and away, the weapon meticulously twirled so that it is ready to strike as quickly as can be managed.
"Fighting a fight without purpose... merely to gain some new purpose? ...that is nothing I wish to be a part of! And especially not one that started as it did." The swordswoman takes a half step back away from Alma, careful of her distance, trying to make the range to her advantage. She takes a moment to do something dangerous- looking to Shika and taking her eyes off her opponent. "Please understand me, Shika. If it were merely an insult I would not go to these lengths. But this man lied to me repeatedly and mocked me, all but disrobed me- even if an accident, and worst of all... Worst of all, he attacked after thinking us criminal and evil and /did not stop/ when he realized his error, even forcing such a battle to continue to no end other than to satisfy his curiosity!"
She looks back to Alma, "And now his curiosity will be satisfied!" She clenches her teeth for a moment, "Don't smile! This isn't a game, nor is it a joke. My intent- it is serious! I wish to harm you for the slights you have caused me, and I will not be denied!" She spins, her back briefly shown to Alma as she winds up speed to give her strength, taking a step away and extending her arm, her sword making a high pitched noise as it cuts through the air, lashing out with the final foot of it in range in a manner that would slice across Alma's pecs if it struck true as she takes a step backwards. "My purpose, Shika, is to prove that the students of the Crescent Sword are not to be taken lightly!"
COMBATSYS: Shika blocks Kaida's Combo Attack.
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Alma 0/-------/--=====|=------\-------\0 Kaida
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Shika 0|-------|------=
As Kaida steps backwards, Shika steps forwards, and reaches out with her hand, catching the blade between her fingers. Of course, it still cuts into her hand, causing blood to run down her arm, but she doesn't seem to be focused on that. "That was just a denial. Also, I'm taking you lightly." She shrugs after a moment. "I don't see what you're getting so worked up about. You're just angry because he's better than you."
She shifts her gaze over to Alma. "I can understand why Kaida is getting worked up about this stuff. But please act like an adult for once. Have you no sense of shame?"
COMBATSYS: Shika takes no action.
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Alma 0/-------/--=====|=------\-------\0 Kaida
[ |||||||||||||||||||||||||||| ]
Shika 0|-------|------=
"Dignity has nothing to do with power or emotion."
Alma's words, though softly spoken, carry through the dusty air.
"I know it must be difficult to understand, Shika-san, but--"
His smile fades as though heeding Kaida's insistence, but its ghost still remains.
"--those who face death know, it's not enough simply to exist--"
He is not able to finish.
Sensing a flash of combative intent from two directions, Alma weaves back and to the side, only to find that rather than striking him Shika has rushed in to prevent Kaida's blade from ever striking home. Expression inscrutible, he listens quietly to the words of the girl glad in the blue kimono.
"Stand aside."
Stepping forward again, Alma's stance is straight and features calm.
"You're wrong about Kaida-san."
The last thing he seems is 'worked up'.
"You should have more faith--"
So perhaps she will not sense it when he lunges.
"--in the value of two hearts colliding."
Perhaps she will not feel the heat of his soulful flames.
Not, at least, until he thrusts them forth, aiming to plant his palm into the small of her back and release a lance of glittering white Soul Power into her body, sending jolts of pain through her body and cracks through her will to fight. If he connects, it should stun her for a moment-- long enough for him to grab her by the shoulder and toss her lightly aside, throwing her away from the conflict.
"Watch and learn!"
His shadow looms over the second sister, but only Kaida sees clearly his rush from behind.
As Kaida swings her body twists around, and it's not until she's mid swing that she sees her sister moving to intervene, her arm held out. She's putting a lot of force behind the attack, and her motions are all but set, but she does her best to check the swing and stop her attack before it can hit her sister.
Failure.
The sword cuts into her sisters hand, drawing blood and causing it to run down her arm. Hot red blood, staining the sword. Blood that was not meant to be there, that the sword fighter did not want to draw. She practically staggers back at the sight of it, the weapon pulling from Shika's hand. "S-sister! This sword, it was not meant for you!" She looks down at the weapon, a drop of blood dripping from it to the street below. With a shudder she lifts her fingers and wipes the blade clean, as if she were ready to sheath it.
Her head shakes, "Don't be foolish! You have no right to intervene if you don't wish to help me." Her face flushes, "And that is not my reason! You should know me better than that, Shika! Have I ever drawn my blade against you? Or against father, who is better than the both of us combined? No, never! Speaking that way to me- it's an insult!"
She almost seems confused for a moment, holding her sword tightly in her hands to give her focus. She looks to Alma, as he lunges at Shika and aims to impale her with the fire of his soul- though she doesn't know that's what it is. It almost annoys her to have to agree with the person she's here to attack, as Alma moves to toss her away. "As he says, stand aside. I still must make him feel pain of the body, as he's made me feel pain of the heart and mind!" And yet she's unwilling to do it when his back is turned. Had Shika intended to fight him with her she would take this opportunity. But seeking only to stop it? No, somehow that would be wrong. Attacking him now would do nothing to settle the discord between them.
Clearly she's calmed down some, since she stormed off the beach.
COMBATSYS: Kaida focuses on her next action.
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Alma 0/-------/--=====|=------\-------\0 Kaida
[ |||||||||||||||||||||||||||| ]
Shika 0|-------|------=
COMBATSYS: Shika fails to reflect Self Expression from Alma with Spiral Blade Technique.
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Alma 1/-------/=======|=------\-------\0 Kaida
[ ||||||||||||||||||| ]
Shika 0|-------|-======
"It's because I face death that I can't forgive this sort of behavior!" Shika stares at Alma, her eyes focused on him now. "If I was killing some people right here, you'd feel inclined to stall your fight to step in, right? But because it's happening out of earshot, you don't need to bother your conscience with it?"
She glances back to her sister as she begins to speak, and that's when he rushes up behind her. She blinks, and begins to spin around to deflect the energy, pulling up her sword, but it's too fast, and she's merely hit in the front rather than the back. She falters, and is thrown to the side.
She struggles with her disobedient limbs, and glares up at Kaida. "...someone like you, I don't mind giving a thousand insults...." Unfortunately, her tongue isn't quite working, and it's kind of incoherent. But the intent is still there.
"You're wrong, Shika-san."
Dust swirls in the wind's eddies, coaxing sound from a silent street.
"Shall I be a slave to my own virtue?" he murmurs, gazing sidelong at the girl now collapsed in the dirt, his low tones serious. "Shall I be made a tool in my pursuit of humanity? Devoting oneself to a good life does not demand the robotic churning forth of good works. It cannot, if the good is to lead to fulfilment at all. Such utilitarian concerns are prey to that fatal contradiction: there is no happiness if we are consumed by its production."
He looks again toward Kaida, stepping forward slowly.
"Out of earshot? Why not in the next city? Why not across the world? Where does your reasoning end, Shika? What would I become, what understanding of what is good would I have anymore if I turned away from every moment -- from my own history and my own heart -- just to rectify wrongs? That is not what it means to serve. That would be a meaningless existence, and an impossible one." His eyes narrow, light rising within them in accordance with his own burgeoning passion. "That I aid others is not a selfless giving-away; it is part of the recognition of the nature of my own self, of the reality that is human interdependence, that on a level beyond our perception we and our environment are one and the same. Few feel that truth as strongly as do I."
Raising his right hand, a pulse of energy threatens to burst into flame once more yet just as quickly dies down, subsuming instead into a shimmering halo that envelops at first his arm and then, as he continues to advance, his entire body, leaving supernatural afterimages in his wake.
"But there are some things we must believe, whatever the consequences. There are some absurdities we must embrace, some paradoxes we must cast ourselves into: that suffering can be meaningful though we must swear to fight it; that sometimes it is better to die well than to live an empty life, that sometimes we /must/ die, though we never relent in our assertion that human life is priceless. So I choose love even if it causes pain; I choose to take responsibility even if it means sacrifice. Humanity demands this, more than what we conventionally know to be right. And--"
Forward.
"I choose to fight despair, not death."
He attacks.
Fists and feet blurring, his strikes are spontaneous and true, a heavy hammering of blows that showcases the depth and strength of Alma's Hiten-Ryu training and improvisation. The power that he suffuses seems to be merely natural, symbolic-- a visible sign of the proof of his spirit that he is making here.
A clear sign of his resolve.
Perhaps, this glow around him--
Perhaps this is what Alma sees, all the time.
COMBATSYS: Kaida dodges Alma's Stream of Consciousness.
[ \\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\ < > //////////////////////////////]
Alma 0/-------/-------|=------\-------\0 Kaida
[ ||||||||||||||||||| ]
Shika 0|-------|-======
Shika is... tossed aside. Her words, to Kaida, ring with truth, and for a moment her resolve falters. Should she be fighting when there are literally people dying around her, even if not in sight? The insult doesn't do anything to make her want to accept her sisters point of view, of course. A thousand insults? What is -that- supposed to mean?
Luckily Alma today is the voice of reason, and his words ring just as true to her. They contain conviction and self-honesty that can't be ignored. And hey, if he's going to take an attitude like that she doesn't see any reason at all why she can't adopt it too. At least for the moment, while it's fresh in her mind. "That. That really makes sense, doesn't it?"
But before she can comment further, he comes. Strikes come in. Too fast for her to check with her sword, she recognizes. The time it'd take her to move her sword to intercept multiple attacks that she can barely sense coming- not enough. That leaves her one option- to move in tine with him. The powerful punches and kicks come in, and her extensive training in precise footwork and movements becomes invaluable. As soon as they come towards her she takes small steps, staying close with him and moving to the side here, twisting her body there, and bending where she has to. None of the blows fail to brush through her loose clothing, cloth rustling for the speedy impact and brush against the models skin. But for these few moments while he attacks she seems almost supernaturally in tune with Alma, not quite able to read his moves before they come, but anticipate their extent as soon as they do.
When his motions stop her own go from predictive to assaulting, an aura of her own bursting around her in the form of white energy, perhaps more tangible than that Alma had just radiated. Her sword is held in a single hand, and it swings for his side. He should watch her other hand, however, as it moves to draw a second blade, a perfect match for the first Katana, proving that her twin bladed fighting style is equaled in steel as it is in wood. This second strike is meant to come unpredictably, the sword drawn and slashing in a single motion, her body twisting so that both swords can be brought back around in a second one-two pair of attacks, these aimed higher on his body. "This! This is my anger!"
"Don't be stupid, Towazu. Everyone is a slave to something. Is being a slave to your lust for battle somehow better than being a slave to saving lives?" Shika struggles into a sitting position, ripping off her shoes, and cutting a slit in the side of her short black skirt so it won't constrain her movement. "I refuse to accept that sort of self-serving logic."
"Fine... Fight for your beliefs, is what you're saying? Then I'll make sure that as little time is wasted with this as possible." She climbs back up to her feet. "Which means taking out the weakest person." She swings the back of her sword up onto her shoulder. "Nothing personal, Kaida." Something in the smile that doesn't reach her eyes and her cold tone of voice suggest otherwise, however.
She runs towards her sister, and as she comes closer, places both hands on her sword, swinging the sword down to the ground, then swinging upwards with increased momentum as the sword's edge shapes a glowing line through the air.
COMBATSYS: Kaida has left the fight here.
[ \\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\ <
Alma 0/-------/-------|
[ ||||||||||||||||| ]
Shika 0|-------|--=====
COMBATSYS: Alma has left the fight here.
[ ||||||||||||||||| ]
Shika 0|-------|--=====
COMBATSYS: Shika has ended the fight here.
COMBATSYS: Alma blocks Kaida's Shining Slashes.
[ \\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\ < > //////////////////////////// ]
Alma 0/-------/------=|=------\-------\0 Kaida
[ ||||||||||||||||| ]
Shika 0|-------|--=====
This--
This is her anger.
Alma Towazu smiles, ever so softly.
Her evasion was phenomenal this time, twisting impossibly about his varied aggressive blows, slipping by the heady stream of his rising passion. The formally-clad samurai girl before him is no longer stumbling over her own pride; her heart and mind are devoted entirely to the task of facing him, and, though subconsciously he restrains himself from revealing it too openly -- lest she feel manipulated, something to which she seems sensitive, and he ruin the moment -- Alma glories in her determination.
Caught flat-footed after his failed assault, the beautiful youth has no opportunity to dodge himself, instead putting forth a spirited guard, artfully parrying her blades from the sides with his forearms, hooking them like pendulums to slap each attack aside. Obviously, though being a gifted fighter grants preternatural abilities, there is no way he can defend against a sword unarmed and be entirely unharmed. The shining blades shear through the sleeves of his fitted top, drawing bright blood though his gaze does not flicker from the wounds, one stray slash cutting a diagonal swath across his chest but not marking the skin. Yet another fine shirt ruined, but wardrobe malfunctions are not so uncommon among them.
~ Impressive. ~
He won't say it. Alma suspects Kaida won't believe that she is impressive, no matter how sincere he appears, until she beats him. But his eyes show it, and he is forced back away from her, evidencing by example, at least, her strength.
There is little that could sway the angel of the YFCC from an epic confrontation such as this, particularly one that could be tenuous, given that he must be subtle about fostering Kaida's fire. But -- speaking of wardrobe malfunctions -- Shika, no doubt unbeknownst to her, has found one.
"Wh--"
Everyone is a slave to something; certainly in some senses that is meaningful. But to be a slave to virtue, as Alma suggested her philosophy entailed, would mean -- if indeed the good life makes one free -- being a slave to freedom, which is nonsensical. More objectionable is suggesting that his authentic passion (or so he would tell you it is) can be reduced to mere lust for battle. But far more objectionable still than any of these is what Shika has just done to her skirt, tearing slits in it before lunging for Kaida.
"W... wasn't it... short enough already?" he murmurs helplessly, which, considering how that portrays /him/ as the one who designed the outfit, demonstrates just how startled he is by this wanton fashion destruction.
But this is no good. The two of them are still fighting each other. If he can get them working together again, it doesn't matter how this ends. He can't allow himself to be entangled in or responsible for a conflict between sisters, not when there is so much else at stake-- and neither can he allow himself to disregard his compassion for this small-scale affair just because he is caught up in something greater.
"Are you certain, Shika-san?" the disheveled model demurs, tilting his head slightly as he gazes at the two of them through hazel eyes half-obscured by red-tinged bangs. "If you defeat her, what will you do then about me? Will you abandon her to remain in captivity? I cannot allow myself to let you roam the streets alone. In fact--" And here he straightens, his eyes attaining a surreal, arresting gleam as he reaches out for a way to let this primordial passion be expressed. "Our misunderstandings aside, you two aren't going to do much good as lone vigilantes. You might get in the way of our own efforts." These twins are trouble. Yes-- here is his improvised plan for heightening the battle.
"Once I defeat you, Kaida-san, I will keep you at the Futaba Estate with Shika-san until this conflict ends, and the two of you are safe."
As the gentle young man speaks these decisive words, he feels the sea of flames within him swell in response, raging rapturously-- and he inhales, letting those flames mingle with the energies around him, high spirits enlivening a desolate place.
COMBATSYS: Alma opens his heart to the flow of battle.
[ \\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\ < > //////////////////////////// ]
Alma 0/-------/----===|=------\-------\0 Kaida
[ ||||||||||||||||| ]
Shika 0|-------|--=====
COMBATSYS: Shika successfully hits Kaida with Crescent Slash Technique.
- Power hit! -
[ \\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\ < > ///////////////////// ]
Alma 0/-------/----===|=====--\-------\0 Kaida
[ ||||||||||||||||| ]
Shika 0|-------|=======
Her anger, the dangerous force that has driven her to draw steel and attack, is blunted in the face of Alma's passion and technique. The varied sword assault is caught, the weapons knocked away such that her swings can not complete in proper form, only slicing through small amounts of flesh rather than carving deeply as was intended.
The weapons are brought back around after her last attempt at harming him, and she keeps herself facing the young man. Clearly by her stance she is expecting an equally violent reprisal for her attempts. She did, after all, draw blood, something many would feel inclined to avenge. But instead the matter of Shika's skirt is addressed. Is he not going to take advantage of the situation and attack? It appears not. Fine then, she tells herself. Keeping the pace will be up to her. She begins to step towards him, and then hears Shika's proclamation. She'll attack the weaker one to end the fight more quickly- and the weaker one is her.
She begins to whirl about to face her, but as soon as she sees her sister in her peripheral vision she realizes she's too slow. This maneuver- it's too well trained, too often practiced for her to defend against when her attention was elsewhere. An effort to slip a weapon in the path of Shika's sword is made, and succeeds, but there is no strength behind the parry.
The blade cuts into her as the power from it lifts her off her feet and flips her over backwards, a sharp yell of pain screamed out for a brief moment as the energized blade tears into her body. She lands on her stomach seven feet away, the parrying katana landing beside her a moment later. Unable to risk allowing herself to recover she begins getting up immediately, clearly struggling for the first few moments as red blood drips from her and stains the street below. Once she's up to her knees she reaches over and retrieves her fallen weapon, and turns her eyes to her twin.
"If you are after the weakest... than you should fall on your blade, sister. Have you already forgotten the last time we sparred?" Hardening herself against the pain, she lays a hand across the cut on her side and comments, "That will not happen again."
Looking as if she's about to switch targets, she's caught off guard by Alma. He isn't taking her moment of distraction to land a physical blow, but a psychological one. "You will not 'keep' me anywhere," she states, sounding fierce despite the modest volume with which the words are spoken. "I am no mans prisoner, and I do not 'roam' the streets. If you think you can lock me up and keep me from protecting my family then you are going to be disappointed."
Once again forgetting Shika, though reminding herself not to show her sister her back, she launches herself at Alma, momentarily acting without caution and rushing at him, both swords raised in striking positions as she approaches. A quick slash is made with the tip of one of her swords, and she spins about as if to send a reverse slash to his side before stepping in close and suddenly swinging her arm up, her true intensions showing as she attempts to send her fist into the side of his head, hoping to catch him off guard.
"...blah blah blah, blah blah blah blah blah." finishes Shika, as Alma stops speaking to focus on his high spirits, rolling her eyes.
"...Someone who believes so much in people doing what they feel, wanting to lock people away? What - a - hypocrite." The lighter haired sister grins widely, glaring at Alma. "That said? Every other thing you say is a lie, so I'm not going to worry too much about which ones specifically are. That was your plan, right? Now you can say whatever the hell you want, but you're not worth listening to. Tradeoff, I guess."
Shika swings her sword up on her shoulder, staring at Kaida. "Talking like that when I just drew blood?" Having drawn her sister's blood, Shika traces a few fingers along the side of her sword, until they're covered in red, and makes a few lines on her cheek and forehead, impromptu warpaint of sorts. "I told you, right? That I'd teach you the true meaning of power. Do you give up already, or shall we keep going?"
A smile flickers around her lips as Kaida goes towards Alma, and she quickly manuevers so Kaida is between her and Alma. Either her sister will have to turn her back on one of them, or she'll have to keep an eye on them both. She pauses, considering her movement, then goes for a quick, simple stab at her sister's leg. No need to make it overly flashy, maybe Kaida will think Shika's waiting for an answer and not keep up her guard enough.
COMBATSYS: Kaida successfully hits Alma with Power Strike.
- Power hit! -
[ \\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\ < > ////////////////////// ]
Alma 0/-------/--=====|======-\-------\0 Kaida
[ |||||||||||||||||| ]
Shika 0|-------|=======
Oh, /enough/ already!
"Those deaf to sincerity are no judge of who is worth listening to."
Doing what they feel? Lust for battle? Is /that/ how he's going to be interpreted? That's it; these two are outrageous. Somebody spoiled them. Under normal circumstances, Alma's patience is extremely difficult to try. Men such as Tran succeed because they preclude the possibility of a sincere conflict by determining beforehand that Alma has nothing interesting to offer. Even the most sinister villains find him /interesting/. But to spend such personal effort fostering this power within him, to see Kaida exerting herself, and then--
Alma takes a deep, silent breath.
Justice is everything and everyone in its proper place; his power does not give him the right to determine that place, yet nevertheless he is obligated to use what power is at his disposal to bring a just set of affairs about. He will do what it takes to get these sisters to reconcile, but at a certain point it is out of his hands. He will not, however, allow this nonsense to interfere with his greater responsibilities any longer. He may not agree with Shika on how far those responsibilities extend, but he does indeed feel their pull even now-- not that he should expect them to believe that.
Urgh, why doesn't she just fall asleep or something already!?
Kaida is closing in, filling his field of vision. But what takes his attention is that Shika is still lunging in to attack her sister, seemingly determined to perpetuate that conflict. Instinctively, without thinking, Alma cries out.
"Kaida-san, be car--"
The breath is torn from his lungs as the swords cut true, shredding what is left of his garment, and the girl's fist lands stunningly against his temple. The beautiful psychic is clearly staggered, and for a moment appears dazed; he cannot act in time to prevent Shika's attack from occurring. But pivoting with the momentum of his opponent's own impact, Alma recovers spectacularly, features still but eyes blazing as he lunges in toward the lighter-haired girl.
An ironic admission, perhaps, that charisma can only go so far, for Alma, while subtle, is not manipulative by nature; he cannot stand outside a scenario and control it as a puppeteer would. In his efforts to stoke the fury of his adversaries, he too feels fury burn up within him, indignation at what he perceives at Shika's spurious insults and-- well-- insolence.
"Those blind to truth are no judge of lies!"
It doesn't matter how this began now. The answer is simple.
He'll crush them both.
"So-- just stop attacking your own sister in the street!"
Whipping into a frenzied storm of kicks, Alma's legs ignite with a pulsating halo of the Soul Power churning within him, aiming to overpower Shika with the speed and force of this resolute, crushing assault. He'll lecture her on the nuances of his worldview once they get back to the estate; for now, all three wills will clash utterly unrestrained.
Yes, they've probably got a blackboard somewhere back at the house.
COMBATSYS: Shika successfully hits Kaida with Quick Strike.
[ \\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\ < > /////////////////// ]
Alma 0/-------/---====|=======\-------\0 Kaida
[ |||||||||||||||||| ]
Shika 0|-------|=======
Success. And when it comes it is not something gained purely by the use of her swords. Is there some meaning in the fact that after unsheathing her swords for the first time she has dealt damage with her fists? Perhaps there is, but now is not the time to contemplate it. Her opponents in this battle are too great for her to waste time thinking about something that processed in due time.
The longer haired twin does not alter her course as Shika attacks, effectively wedged between the two of them. Her choice in the matter was to proceed as intended, her intent in this fight to avenge herself on Alma, and as she stated earlier actual victory in the battle is only a tertiary objective. Thus, after her commitment to the attack pays off, she is unable to save herself from Shika's sword, her hakama getting sliced open and yet more blood oozing from fresh wounds. No scream this time, hoever.
"My quarrel is not with you, sister! Attack me all you like, but in the end you will prove nothing. My heart is not set on you, but on this man. If you want to settle this later than so be it, but for now I will focus on what matters to -me-!" She spins away and retreats as Alma rushes in to attack, realizing that it is not his legs are seeking to strike. And if Alma wants to strike Shika down, then that is acceptable to her. He does not have to focus solely on her for her vengeance to be had. And with his attention away, she will take full advantage.
Her paired swords are held tightly in her hands, and she quickly lashes out from afar, swinging one and the other in succession, a cry of, "Twin Moonlit Swords!" erupting from her mouth as a pair of white blasts of energy streak in at Alma as he assaults her sister, aimed squarely for his back.
COMBATSYS: Shika endures Alma's Autumn Rain EX.
[ \\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\ < > ////////////////// ]
Alma 0/-------/=======|=======\-------\0 Kaida
[ ||||||||| ]
Shika 1|--=====|=======
Kaida's words are all well and good, but Shika is not paying attention to them at the moment. Because she has just realized that she has, in fact, finally succeeded in making Alma mad. And her body begins to tremble as she feels his power through the air.
Shika sees Alma's leg rise, and as the storm of chi kicks come down on her, she raises a hand, beginning to form a pulse of energy around her hand, preparing to shield against the assault... then hesitates, her bloody hand gripping tighter on her sword.
Then the kicks come, and her body is more or less devestated, but she keeps on walking forwards, coming closer and closer to Alma as the kicks keep on pushing her back, shielding her heart, at least, from the assault with the small pulse of energy. Finally, the assault ends, and she stumbles forwards, blood dribbling down from her lip, and reaches for Alma's shoulder to steady herself.
And then she spits blood at his eyes, trying to give herself just one brief moment of an opening.
Because that's all she needs.
COMBATSYS: Kaida successfully hits Alma with Twin Moonlit Swords.
[ \\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\ < > ////////////////// ]
Alma 1/-----==/=======|=======\-------\1 Kaida
[ |||||||| ]
Shika 0|???????|???????
COMBATSYS: Shika successfully hits Alma with Sex On The Beach.
[ \\\\\\\\\\ < > ////////////////// ]
Alma 1/--=====/=======|=======\-------\1 Kaida
[ |||||||| ]
Shika 0|-------|-----==
Shika spins around, turning her back on Alma, and steps through his legs, placing a foot behind his ankle, as she drives her sword backwards into him with both hands, putting every single ounce of her strength and rage into it. She throws her weight backwards, knocking him to the ground, as she falls back on top of him.
She rolls over, straddling him while he's held in place by the sword for a moment, and stares down into his eyes, bringing her face closer to his, her face dripping with sweat.
"If I want to stab my sister in the streets until she bleeds to death, it's none of your business, got it? She shouldn't be wasting time even noticing someone like you."
She straightens up a little, pulling out the sword, and then thrusts it in and out of Alma's body, until she finally stabs it one last time, and lets a bit of her lifeforce flow down through her sword, exploding inside him.
Consumed--
Utterly consumed.
Alma Towazu's kicks cleave brutally into Shika's body, but they do not take her down. Defiantly, she spits blood in his eyes-- but this is not the decisive act. For, caught in the midst of his fury, he surprises himself to find that this simple defiance stirs him further, his own passion echoing approval. The three of them are perhaps doomed to perpetually misunderstand each other, but reduced to a simple clash of strong wills-- that is, indeed, enough.
The true distraction are the blades of light that shear into Alma's back, his instincts narrowly failing to kick in quickly enough. His twist failing to slip by the attack his second sight detected, he is instead sent staggering forward, and directly into Shika's savage embrace. Stunned first by Kaida's blast and then Shika's terrible strike, the angelic youth gazes up at the short-skirted young woman straddling him, silent as her sweat drips down onto his burnished-bronze skin. Nothing passes his full, slightly parted lips, no words or groans, not even when the shorter-haired girl begins to, er, penetrate him with abandon, perforating his abdomen with numerous strikes before unleashing a final blast of energy within his very body. It is a devastating attack-- a mortal one. To Kaida it may seem as though her sister is murdering her foe before her very eyes. And for Alma's part, well, he does not stir.
"...can't just... watch..."
Immediately.
"...please... understand..."
The YFCC director, opening again hazel eyes unclouded by the agony wracking his body, is alive-- and moving, lifting up a right hand shaking with the glowing energy that has been building up within him from this intimate contact, a rising passion for reciprocity that he cannot restrain.
"...this battle... I must fight..."
True passion cannot be denied, whether it is his, Kaida's, or Shika's. And all of them are showing their passion here. But Alma must rise to face the girl that challenged him -- as regrettable as it is that Shika cannot straddle him forever -- and to that end he unleashes that flare of Soul Power at point-blank range into Shika's face, which at the very least should get her off him, and at the most may hurl her back.
"...got it?"
Whereupon he will rise, turning a bloody but unbowed face toward Kaida, his tall and savaged form radiating an awful presence, eyes aglow with some unnatural power.
Even if the pair of attacks was uncoordinated, the two sided strike against Alma proves a single undeniable fact: the sisters make a powerful team. Kaida feels vindicated further as her paired blasts of energy slam home, and is left watching in a detached manner as Shika assaults Alma with every fiber of her being. The primary thought in her mind is that it's very well executed, and she's quite glad she wasn't on the receiving end. Seriously, that looked like it hurt!
For yet another moment Alma focuses his attention on her sister, and with good cause. After what Shika just did, there needs to be a reprisal, and the face targeting release of power is an appropriate method. For the moment she decides to halt her own assault as well, not so much to give Alma a break from the doubleteam, but to collect her thoughts. She does, now have something that needs reflecting on.
"I shouldn't be wasting my time with him?" she asks. She stands casually there, blood still slowly leaking from several wounds opened up on her, not seeming to notice. "You are not the sole recipient of my ire, Shika. If I say that he has done enough to arouse my anger, if I say he has done enough to force my hand into drawing my blades, then he has!" She makes a sweeping gesture with her hand, which results in her sword slicing dramatically through the air, "It me and only me who chooses those I am angry with!"
Her hands tighten their grip on her swords, and her stance alters slightly, "Know this, Shika... I have deemed him deserving of my blade, and nothing you say can change that fact. And now..." energy erupts around her again, white chi swirling about her form, "I will have my revenge!"
COMBATSYS: Kaida gathers her will.
[ \\\\\\\\\\ < > /////////////////// ]
Alma 1/--=====/=======|=======\====---\1 Kaida
[ |||||||| ]
Shika 0|-------|-----==
COMBATSYS: Shika fails to reflect Sacred Wave from Alma with Moon's Protection Technique.
[ \\\\\\\\\\ < > /////////////////// ]
Alma 2/<<<<<<</<<<<<<<|=======\====---\1 Kaida
[ | ]
Shika 0|-------|--=====
COMBATSYS: Shika can no longer fight.
[ \\\\\\\\\\ < > /////////////////// ]
Alma 2/<<<<<<</<<<<<<<|=======\====---\1 Kaida
Alma's passion seems to be coming to it's breaking point, and he releases his energy right in Shika's face. This isn't the first time she's had to deal with a sudden projectile, and she raises her hand to the hilt of her sword, a glimmer of energy shielding her.
However, Alma's energy is too strong, too explosive, and shatters through her shield, hurling her backwards onto the ground. "...always... getting caught up in unimportant fights like this...." She struggles to rise again for a moment, then winces.
After doing everything she could to Alma, taking everything he did to her, she's utterly exhausted, and this time when she closes her eyes, she falls asleep for real.
Alma does not blink, does not stir, as he senses Kaida's power build before him and Shika's life force fade behind. This bloodied beauty-- how does he still stand? Undaunted, undeterred by the terrible wounds gouged in his mostly-bared chest, that yet clear gaze does not stray from Kaida's own eyes, now focused entirely on his original opponent.
His original insults to her, his strategy -- or, more bluntly, deception -- not being seen as a sincere interest in her fighting ability, these facts of their encounter have faded into the background, much as the girl in the somewhat scandalous blue kimono must. The darker-haired twin may call her pursuit one of revenge, but Alma, operating though he is on his most primal level, does not believe this to be a matter of pride, at least not the manner of pride that caused her to storm from the beach. This confrontation takes courage and a sense of responsibility, a willingness to knowingly take a risk for some crucial piece of integrity that cannot be abandoned-- that part of dignity that serves as a bastion against nihilism, even if it brings one closer to death.
"She really... cares about you."
In the end, as infuriating as he eventually found Shika's meandering thoughts -- he can only imagine how frustrating it is at times for Kaida -- it is clear from her words that the shorter-haired twin only wishes Kaida to fight the battles that are worthy of her, to not sully herself with dangerous trivialities. Even if Alma thinks that in this case Shika has been mistaken, and that this fight, unlike the last, is a legitimate one, nevertheless he must respect that bond, as obscured as it might be by surface tensions.
"Now... show me..."
That tumultuous passion, so adeptly channeled by his righteous zeal, fosters a palpable presence, a halo of light seeming to impress itself more on the mind than on the eyes of those who look upon him. Alma Towazu trembles not with the effort of standing but with the sheer psyche-shattering immensity of the Soul Power streaming through him. His wounds have ceased to bleed. There is only the poise of his stance and the intensity of his spirit.
"...what you will give to be avenged."
The stakes are high. He has told her what he will do if she loses, and does not need to repeat himself. Will she still throw herself into battle? Will she risk it all to take him down, the blade in her hand against that in his heart?
Even a psychic cannot know for certain.
COMBATSYS: Alma gathers his will.
[ \\\\\\\\\\\\\ < > /////////////////// ]
Alma 2/<<<<<<</<<<<<<<|=======\====---\1 Kaida
Kaida watches her sister get blasted in the face with Soul Power, and true to Alma's strength it's enough to turn her off like a light. Things just got more difficult, but at the same time they just got easier. No more interference, just herself and Alma, and a short-lived vendetta that will now come to a conclusion.
"Yes, she does. We do not always see eye to eye, but it would be a mistake to think that we don't care for each other. It's like I told you earlier- you do not need to worry about Shika and myself." She watches Alma as he readies himself for the clash that is about to occur. He is ready- perhaps even moreso than she is. But right now it doesn't matter, not a bit.
"What will I give?" She asks, calmly. "To avenge myself... I will give everything that I have!" Her arms swing to her sides in unison, the aura of energy about her all seeming to vanish at once. Vanishing everywhere, that is, except for around her blades. "Ultimate!" She centers herself, pouring power into her weapons as she lifts them above her head, imbuing her swords with as much chi as she dares, to the very brink of her ability to contain it. "Moonlit!" They descend, the young swordswoman swinging her weapons down in unison, the energy escaping from its bondage and screaming forward in freedom, charging headlong in the only direction they can go: towards the psychic.
Here is the real point of philosophy. Though she has drawn her blades against Alma, her true weapon remains what it always has been: that which comes from within herself. "SWORD!"
COMBATSYS: Alma overcomes Ultimate Moonlit Sword from Kaida with Full Confession.
[ \\\\\\\\\\\\ < > ////////////////// ]
Alma 0/-------/=======|=------\-------\0 Kaida
Alma gazes implacably at the coming storm.
Everything that she has--
"So be it."
--will not be enough.
The bloodied angel thrusts forth his right hand, gathering his own vibrant energies for a fearsome confrontation. The screaming slash shears through the air towards him, yet even with the agonizing pain still arcing through his body from Shika's many thrusts, Alma's concentration is complete. This is in large part, however, thanks to how committed Kaida herself is to the fight. As he often does when his body is heavily battered, the beautiful youth has reverted to relying primarily on his aura sight, not on his mortal senses. Were her own passion not so evident, Alma would find it harder to sustain himself even with his formidable resolve. But then, this is the source of said resolve.
"Out of respect--"
The promise of the clash of souls.
"I won't hold back."
He doesn't, in any meaningful sense, really have a choice.
"URRRAAAAAAHHH!"
A promise kept, as their souls indeed clash, as directly as one might imagine. Screaming slash meets howling geyser as a torrent of swirling, scintillating Soul Power emerges from Alma's hand, piercing through and dispersing the girl's ultimate attack as it surges through undeterred, the sheer might of the psychic's passion undeniable.
"You /are/ strong, Kaida-san, and your heart is true. But--"
Blazing fast, that geyser will tear onward toward the budding samurai, aiming to, in shattering her will, make clear to her as viscerally as possible how genuine is Alma's spirit.
"There is much... my friends and I could teach you."
COMBATSYS: Alma successfully hits Kaida with Full Confession.
[ \\\\\\\\\\\\ < > //////////// ]
Alma 0/-------/=======|=====--\-------\0 Kaida
Kaida wasn't sure what to expect, but this result, she knew, was not out of the realm of possibility. Indeed, she is fully aware that Alma's spirit is almost unshakably strong, though she doesn't know the full extent of it. That he would throw his everything against hers was a possibility, and now that his soul power has devoured her most powerful assault and now rushes to meet her she realizes that there really was no other choice for him.
But that still leaves her with a dilemma of her own- how to deal with that onrush of psychic power? Many possibilities cross her mind, but in the end she decides to stick with something safe. Above all, she decides, she does not want her attempt at retribution to end on this note. Her arms lift and she holds her swords ahead of her, tensing herself to attempt to weather the coming storm. Even should she fail she wants him to recognize that even his best, it will not be enough.
Such ideals can quickly seem meaningless, and even foolish, amidst great pain, which is the next experience in Kaida's life. Her method of defense is flawed, so little does she know about what is used against her. Pain, fear. It hurts terribly- will she be able to stand back up, a portion of her mind wonders as the rest merely rages against her for putting herself in a situation to feel what she does now. Moment's later, she sits up slowly from the pavement, knowing that she is not yet defeated. Still she has the strength of will to fight down the pain, to force herself to continue when really she ought to recover.
She stands, her formal clothes now frayed and ragged but thankfully still decent. Her swords... in her hands, that hard taught instinct to never let them go remained through the assault. "That," she finally speaks up, "was impressive. But my thirst for revenge," her left hand sword, slid into it's scabbard, "has yet to be quenched!"
She charges, gripping her remaining sword tightly in her hands, bringing it back in a way that leaves her rather open. A wordless shout as she nears, a need to verbalize her anger that even now still can be found, though now it is a mere ember compared to the flame it once was, replaced now with something she can yet not define. Her strides are counted carefully, her distance to her target calculated. And at the perfect moment she swings, assaulting head on with a double-handed under swing, sword lighting up brilliantly and carving an arc of light through the air-- and Alma as well, if Kaida has her way.
COMBATSYS: Alma dodges Kaida's Unstoppable Blow - Crescent Slash.
[ \\\\\\\\\\\\ < > /////////// ]
Alma 0/-------/=======|====---\-------\0 Kaida
Then let it be quenched--
"Hmn!"
--by a wave of fire.
Alma would be dazzled by the brilliant light of Kaida's blade were he relying upon his eyes. Yet his second sight sees that pearly light only as an extension of the grand luminesence that is Kaida's greater spirit, and he is not distracted from his cause. Despite all that he has suffered, he moves with a surreal grace as he twists away from the double-handed swing, smoothly leaning just as far as he needs to so that the blade passes up harmlessly a hairsbreadth from him, expending no unnecessary movement and leaving himself in range to counter-attack.
This feeling that Kaida cannot yet determine, this urge to battle beyond a conventional understanding of revenge; Alma feels it too, and is glad. That is what he wanted to foster, but he takes no credit for it. Only Kaida could make this happen-- and Shika, perhaps, did her part as well.
But to be nurtured, it must be challenged.
"Then have the satisfaction--"
Thus does his right hand once more ignite.
"--of my honoring you with this final blow!"
And the bloodied angel slashes out as she moves past, a dart of fire manifesting in a knife-like form, a miniature to the psychic blade he sometimes wields; a true symbol of the reciprocity he feels, to respond in kind to her spirit and to the manner of her expression. Like all his fire, it is illusory by a normal standard-- but still it may cut the body as it does the mind, and it aims to shear through anything in its path as he -- eyes half-closed, features peaceful, movements sure -- with supernatural swiftness cuts a diagonal line up along Kaida's body from hip to shoulder, in what could be a searing finishing blow.
COMBATSYS: Kaida reflects Sacred Wave EX from Alma with Grand Refusal - Moon's Punishment.
- Power hit! -
[ \\\\\\\\\\\\\ < > ////////// ]
Alma 0/-------/------=|=------\-------\0 Kaida
Kaida proves not yet skilled enough to meet with success in a frontal assault against an opponent such as Alma. He can see her intentions and her motions too easily, and so easily does he flow away that she cannot even tell whether she hit or missed until he begins to speak. His words, this time around, have ringed with the sound of truth and confidence.
As she pulls her sword back down she hears the certainty of his voice. He will finish her with this blow. In his mind, the action has already been taken and completed. For a short moment she, too, can feel his intent.
"No." This, she has decided, can not come to pass. She is yet not satisfied. He would have this battle over with this blow, and she would not. It would be a battle of wills.
His hand lights up with the manifested strength of his soul, and in hers is held the symbol of her strength, her sword. "This--" His arm begins to swing, and her sword begins to spin, twisting in place to form a convex shell in the air, "--is NOT over!" Unlike before the chi is not loosely defined. It is a perfect shimmering lens, translucent and not so much glowing as simply existing. It is not feathery and light. It is solid.
The flame of soul and the strength of mind and body strike together and clash. And this time, it is not the soulfire that emerges victorious. "I will not be denied!"
The strength of Alma's soul is returned to him, now further empowered by Kaidas own strength of will. He has proven that he can resist that will before, but can he resist it now that it has been tempered with his own indomitable nature, having risen to meet his challenge?
COMBATSYS: Alma blocks Kaida's Reflected Sacred Wave EX.
[ \\\\\\\\\\\ < > ////////// ]
Alma 0/-------/-----==|=------\-------\0 Kaida
Not even a psychic could foresee this.
Alma's composure cracks for the first time since he arose from Shika's deadly embrace, his eyes flickering in surprise as Kaida refuses to relent. Whatever advantage he holds over her in experience and technique is not only negated but overcome by the perfect synergy of her abilities and her fighting spirit in this moment of defiance, the formally-clad samurai twin unwilling to back down even in the face of what could have been a swift deciding blow.
He barely sees it coming.
Indeed, it is a worthy accomplishment of his own that Alma is able to react in time, the hand with which he did not strike reaching out to grasp the knife-like dart that has been repelled and infused anew, clutching it between his fingers. The image is formidable, as he seems to extinguish its light sheerly by the might of his clenching fist. But in reality he is taking the moments where he holds it in his palm, feeling it shoot burning pain up his arm, to revel in the startling mixture of fighting spirits that has occurred here.
He glances at her sidelong as they sweep by one another--
"I stand corrected."
--and smiles.
Not bad, Kaida-san; not bad at all. All else is forgotten completely, even Shika's collapsed form, as Alma whirls about his newly empowered adversary, but he is quick to strike again, still aiming for a crushing blow to finally shatter her defenses. This time, as he moves by her, the tall young man feints high with a jab, twisting into the motion only to swiftly unleash a low sweeping kick instead to cut the swordswoman's feet out from under her-- whereupon, if he succeeds, he will grab her by the front of her formal garment and attempt to pitch her facefirst into the ground with the added momentum, hurtling her all the faster toward a concussive collision with the ground.
COMBATSYS: Kaida fails to interrupt Light Kick from Alma with Unstoppable Blow - Crescent Slash.
- Power fail! -
[ \\\\\\\\\\\\ < > //// ]
Alma 0/-------/-----==|===----\-------\0 Kaida
Now he has tasted her spirit. It is time, Kaida decides, for him to taste her blade again. It is a trifle disheartening that with a gesture as simple as clenching a fist can destroy what had been created, but she knows better than to take it at face value. Had he not been as strong as he is that hand that stopped the combined might of his power and her own might not be functional right now.
She focuses on him, trying to read his movements. Unfortunately her sudden insight into Alma's being has vanished, the moment no longer so desperate that she must make a stand this very moment. Thus, she bites on the feint, perceiving an opening. Her sword pulls back as she steps backwards herself to evade the jab, believing to have avoided his assault, and fully ready to punish him for a mistake. That is when she feels a sharp pain in the ankle, and an abrupt loss of balance.
He has her. She is driven into the ground with great impact, and this time her reflexes fail her, her sword releasing from her hand and clattering to the ground as her senses overload from the shock of her face being driven into the asphalt.
A humiliation. One of the things she had wanted to avenge. But this time, indignation is not what she feels. Instead it is simple: Defeat. She has been bested. Truly bested. Not maken a fool of, but simply outfought by a better. Her revenge may have to wait, or perhaps it will never come.
She rolls to her back, knowing she could yet attempt to carve him, but that now there would be no point to it. Her great lust for vengeance is gone, and she is not one to continue a fight without a purpose. Indeed, that was how this all came about in the first place. "I have lost."
A simple statement.
Silently Alma regards his fallen opponent.
"...Well fought, Kaida-san."
He speaks as he kneels by her side, his words weighted with real respect. Her conceding is the final proof: what she has done took great courage. Whatever elusive motivation drove her on and however she will come to define it in her own way, Kaida did not fight for childish pride or petty gains. Something substantial was fostered between them during this deadly dance, something that resonated enough to bring out the best in both of them.
"Your sister is in need of rest," the wounded young man murmurs, looking down gently into the green-haired girl's blue eyes, "as are you. Please return with me to the estate where I and my fellows have encamped. I... would like to speak with you at greater length."
The last phrase is somewhat hesitant, and Alma glances away and toward Shika's fallen form as he rises once more to his feet-- before glancing back to Kaida, and smiling mildly. "Perhaps you were defeated in this encounter, but I believe the both of us have only gained, Kaida-san. I regret the unfortunate circumstances under which we met; however--"
And he reaches out his hand.
"I am glad that it led us to this."
A breath is taken in and released. That the breath pains her is ignored- that will fix itself in time. And for the moment she is finding her seat on the ground comfortable enough that she doesn't wish to leave it. In a few moments yes, but for now she will allow herself to regain some strength. She will likely need to carry her sister soon, after all.
His words are considered. In admitting defeat has she confined herself to an imprisonment of indeterminate length? She has done nothing to deserve such a fate, so much she sure of. It seems that her rest will have to be cut short. "Very well." Slowly she stands, finding and replacing her sword, putting it away now for who knows how long. "I will listen to what you have to say. Your motivations still elude me, but you are not the monster I took you for." A distinct lack of an apology on that count could be noticed.
She looks to his hand, and after a moment extends her own, taking it in hers and shaking it lightly. A firm, strong grip, as could be expected of a swordfighter.
COMBATSYS: Alma has left the fight here.
> //// ]
|===----\-------\0 Kaida
COMBATSYS: Kaida has ended the fight here.
Log created on 04:26:40 03/26/2009 by Alma, and last modified on 18:40:08 05/06/2009.