Description: With Gedo lost, a good number of its students have been displaced--and left bitter about their loss. However, all is not completely lost: with newfound allies, arrangements have been put into place to weaken the defenses and footholds held by enemy forces. Gedo High’s Guardian Kings Tenma and Kenji will face down against a Shadaloo-commissioned weapon known as the 'Kraken'. Their goal? Destroy the tank and send enemy forces running. It's natural talent and family-inherited skill versus manufactured strength and power in a fight to take back a part of what's rightfully Gedo's.
With the fall of Gedo High, the enemy has sought to heavily reinforce perimeter. Parked outside the campus is none other than a massive, brilliantly red and silver tank surrounded by a few armed guards. Anticipating retaliation from displaced (and displeased) students from Gedo High--particularly Daigo--NESTS and Shadaloo have held nothing back in attempts to keep this temporary based of operations secure.
It's a deadly machine, its prowess on the field already been felt when its sister units both self-destructed in Thailand's invasion, as well as in Southtown Village. Messing with this tank is a risky gamble...but who is risky enough to...risk it? Surely Gedo High's students are SMARTER than that??
(Protip: Probably not.)
The unit comes equipped with three live soldiers--not that anyone would know from looking outside. At the captain's seat is a grizzled looking old man who leans tiredly into his palm. At the proverbial wheel a young looking cadet who is killing time absently watching old reruns of Robotech on his iPhone. And, lastly, at the armaments is a middle-aged man with his legs propped up and the latest issue of Men's Health Magazine spread open. It's a slow shift.
"Any report?" the captain asks.
"None, sir," the middle-aged man replies.
The younger man just absently bobs his head.
The Kraken's captain sighs. This is bullshit.
It all started with a desk.
Across the way from the tank, through the cracked and battered and bloody city streets that've become so dangerous since the arrival and occupation of Shadaloo, NESTS, and their allies, something new shows up. It may take them a few moments to realize just what exactly is going on, what exactly is coming their way, but should they gaze through their viewfinders and periscopes and whatever other setups they may have, they may just see the form of a young man in a Gedo uniform.
His jacket is worn on his shoulders, rather than pulled on properly, hanging on him like some sort of general's cape or a mantle. The whole of his torso is covered in bandages, his left hand wrapped up in gauze. His trousers are clean and pressed, as though he were planning to go to school. His shoes look more like sneakers with a pop-out roller skate rigging, and his hair is carefully styled to look just as it normally would.
And in his right hand, Kenji Ashima is holding a Gedo High student's desk, bent, dented, and broken-- likely on the poor guardsmen that tried to stop the students from getting even -this- close. Rolling his jaw, the Osakan is whistling a song that seems to follow the tune of 'Singing in the Rain,' as though he doesn't really notice the massive engine of destruction before them. Doesn't notice... or doesn't care?
His brown eyes narrow as his grip tightens up, slamming the desk down upon the street. The skate riggings disappear into his sneaker-boots with a stomp of his feet, and one leg is brought up to stomp down onto the surface of the desk as though it were his soapbox.
"YOU HAVE FIVE SECONDS TO GET THAT HUNK OF JUNK OFF OUR TURF BEFORE I COME OVER THERE AND FIT EACH LEG OF THIS DESK UP YOUR COLLECTIVE TAILPIPES."
In the time since the initial invasion, Tenma's hair has gotten straightened out a little bit from the damage inflicted upon it by Kula, you know, freezing him; probably during the time he spent hiding out at Kenji's, given the other Guardian King's mother having been there, and all. And what mother is going to let a young man wander around with his hair all a mess? No mother, that's who.
It's a bit shorter than he likes it, now, but what can you do?
Like Kenji, Tenma has returned to his Gedo High 'uniform', slacks and a red t-shirt with the Gedo logo emblazoned large on the front, with a short-sleeved white dress shirt worn overtop, wide open. In Tenma's hand is his bokken, slanted against his shoulder and radiating a smoky red aura, blood and chi mingled together, linking fighter and weapon inextricably, making one an extension of the other. The few guards they encountered on the way here got introduced to that, as well as the Student Council Secretary's... Borrowed desk. Well, Tenma isn't about to make any remarks about that. It's pretty good for cracking skulls.
While Kenji takes the front route, going right up to the tank and challenging it, Tenma instead comes at it from a different direction, perching himself on a nearby low rooftop. It's hopefully enough to keep him out of sight, while he lets his teammate show the invaders his stuff... And draw their attention so Tenma can surprise them, of course.
Oh yes, they have a /plan/.
Whatever tactics the Gedo High students have set out to try here, they obviously work.
The armed guards around the Kraken look genuinely puzzled as Kenji arrives and slams a desk down, his proclamation heard. Then, slowly, each soldier turns from the young student to look at one another...before they bust out laughing. "Oh man, seriously??" one guard asks, lifting his night-vision goggles to rub tears from his eyes.
"I guess so...pffhahahahaha," replies another. Until--
"QUIEEEEEEEET!"
A man's commanding voice erupts through the streets, echoing off of rooftops and startling the armed guards. The Kraken, still unmoving, save for a dim glow around electronic areas of the unit, earns their attention. But it says nothing outwardly--instead, their orders are received. Get out. Guards promptly leave the premises, heading into Gedo proper, likely for backup.
Within the tank, the captain lifts his weathered old hands and rests them on chair's armrest. The two other men hurriedly drop what they were doing and take control of their station. Smirking sharply to himself, the old captain lets his head bow slightly as he murmurs to his crew:
"Let's show them how we say hello."
The unit rumbles, electronics outwardly suddenly glowing sharply in the night as a gun turret turns and points itself at Kenji. Then? It fires round after round it odd, uneven bursts of ammunition.
COMBATSYS: Kraken has started a fight here on the right meter side.
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|-------\-------\0 Kraken
COMBATSYS: Kenji has joined the fight here on the left meter side.
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Kenji 0/-------/-------|-------\-------\0 Kraken
COMBATSYS: Tenma has joined the fight here on the left meter side.
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Kenji 0/-------/-------|-------\-------\0 Kraken
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Tenma 0/-------/-------|
COMBATSYS: Kenji blocks Kraken's Burst Fire.
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Kenji 0/-------/-----==|-------\-------\0 Kraken
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Tenma 0/-------/-------|
He just called out a tank.
A -tank-.
The thought doesn't escape Kenji, the amusement of being man against machine. All things considered, he just hopes his mother won't be finding out about this anytime soon, not unless he wants to find himself grounded for the rest of his life. Still, the tank does respond... and not in the way that he was hoping for-- and to be brutally honest, it reacted exactly how he thought it would.
His foot sweeping downward, Kenji twists around and plucks up the desk at opposite corners, using the legs as grab-points, using the desk surface as a shield to hide his head and torso behind. Bullets impact, dent, and ricochet with the desk, some punch clear through without a second thought, and the majority of it turns into grazes that lance across his body-- ripping across his arms, his legs, the bandaged parts of his torso. When he lowers the desk, it's in two hands... because half of it is in one hand, the other half is in the other.
Throwing the chunk of desk in his left hand aside, Kenji goes charging in with a hard sprint, a crazed look in his eye. He's been called the 'Missile Fist' for so long, but now that he has this in front of him, now that he's got a TANK to fight, maybe it's time to put the strength, the sheer -hardness- of his fist to the ultimate test? On the run, he springs up into the air, focusing his will, bending energy to his whims. His foot thrusts out as though to stomp right down onto the surface of the tank. "RRRRRRRRRAAAAAAAAAAAGH!!"
And then to force his chi -into- it, an unseen energy that just tries to -detonate- somewhere within the hull of the grand machine, to disrupt it's inner workings.
It's not quite a punch yet, but who's counting?
Of course, Tenma always knew Kenji had stones. Otherwise, he wouldn't be a Guardian King, would he? Compared to the things they faced in be bowels of Capital 7, how could a little thing like a /tank/ frighten one of them? Naturally, though, this means that Kenji has to be the one to first endure the attacks of the tank, drawing its attention and using his stolen desk to protect himself... But it's all according to plan. Once it's clear that the tankers are focused entirely on the Student Council Secretary, who is of course bringing his own might to bear against the mechanised monstrosity guarding /their/ school, Tenma moves.
Specifically, he jumps off of the roof, arcing down towards the tank.
Timing his attack alongside Kenji's, Tenma drops like a stone with his bokken thrust out downwards, the cutting edge of chi hardening, focusing, the bloody energy gathering their at the tip. If all goes according to plan, Tenma will land on top of the tank, crouched low.
With his bokken buried most of the way through the thing's armor.
And then? Tenma will straighten up and wrench his bokken back /out/, the hard way, slashing upwards and rending apart armor and hopefully sensitive inner parts. Maybe a soldier.
COMBATSYS: Kraken blocks Kenji's Magnum Spike.
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Kenji 0/-------/-----==|=------\-------\0 Kraken
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Tenma 0/-------/-------|
COMBATSYS: Kraken interrupts Deep Strike from Tenma with Suppression Fire.
- Power hit! -
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Kenji 0/-------/-----==|====---\-------\0 Kraken
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Tenma 0/-------/---====|
"Sir," the gunman replies, peering at his display. "It would seem he managed to withstand fire."
The captain in his seat grumbles slightly, reaching into his Shadaloo uniform lapel. "Well, he won't be so lucky the next time, will he?" A cigar is withdrawn and placed on his lips and quickly lit.
"Uh, sir," the driver meekly states. "Th-there is no smoking in here--"
"Shut up and man the controls!"
"Okay..."
Outside, the turret winds down, the high pitched hum of spinning metal slowing to a stop. Kenji comes rushing the large red machine, but it expectedly does not MOVE. Instead, its surface shimmers, flickering like an angry octopus as, within, the driver ramps up its defense mechanism, absorbing the punch and seemingly dispersing the chi and protecting the insides. A dent, however, mars the pretty red chasse. "Report--" the captain immediately demands.
"Damage minimal."
"Good."
"But--uh,"
"What?!" the captain growls, puffing on his cigar.
"Another assailant has entered--"
"Well FIRE at him!"
Another turret outside of the Kraken whirs to life, whipping around as Tenma drops onto the unit, piercing the outer hull of the tank. It turns, facing Tenma as he begins to gather chi and reach to rip the sword out. Without mercy it unloads fire into the youth, attempting to shove him back--and off of the unit.
"A-arrgh," is the collective cry within as the Kraken rocks a bit on its treads.
"Who ARE this sons of bitches, anyway?" the captain of the Kraken complains. Unfortunately, his elbow triggered the PA.
Stay close, he reminds himself. Stay close, focus on the task at hand-- and keep hitting that tank for all he's worth.
He's terrified, to be dead honest. He's been shot, stabbed, burned, and a whole list of terrible things, and most of it happened on the same night. He's fought with the freak woman from the casino, and ... while those all have been moments where his life was at risk, there's something about the physical size, the excess, that horrifies him. When Tenma even suggested the plan, at first, he was hesitant-- his eyes wide and ready to punch his friend in the face.
Just don't stop believing, he kept telling himself. They can do this.
As Tenma becomes the target of the tank, Kenji drops back down to the ground. Swinging out his left arm first, his right arm draws back. His teeth bare, his arm draws back, and Kenji's arm bends like rubber, his fist swinging around low and upward to drive into the tank's exterior with all the strength that he can muster.
"KENJI ASHIMA, STUDENT COUNCIL SECRETARY!!"
Stupid /guns/. Tenma, committed to his attack, gets shot up pretty good; the force of the repeated impacts are enough to drive him towards the back of the tank, indeed, but lucky for him he's a fighter - and a decently strong one, at that. Getting shot like that by a /tank/ would be enough to kill a normal person, probably. Tenma, well, he just got hurt pretty bad. Flesh wounds rather than the deeper kind, as he manages to move his body to minimise the damage; he bleeds, yes. But blood is the ally of the Kiryuu family.
And whatever else he might want to be, Tenma IS a Kiryuu, through and through. He proved that when he faced Marise /again/.
And he kicked that undead bitch's ass.
"Damn, don't you guys even get 'intel' or whatever they call it in those stupid war movies?" Tenma wonders; his blood, spattered on top of the tank, steams a little bit. Kenji, of course, gets to introduce himself first - this time. People should appreciate the effort it takes Tenma to sublimate his own ego for the sake of a friend. "We're the Guardian Kings, you poor unlucky bastards," he says, smirking wildly, like he didn't just get shot a lot. "I'M THE LEADER, TENMA KIRYUU!!" Swinging his bokken a wide arc, the King of Blood doesn't even try to hit the tank with his weapon; instead, he lets loose a cutting arc of bloody chi, sending it to slash into the tank's turret. "AND THIS IS /OUR SCHOOL/!"
COMBATSYS: Kraken endures Kenji's Missile Fist.
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Kenji 0/-------/------=|====---\-------\0 Kraken
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Tenma 0/-------/---====|
COMBATSYS: Kraken blocks Tenma's Dharmapala.
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Kenji 0/-------/------=|=====--\-------\0 Kraken
[ \\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\ <
Tenma 0/-------/---====|
"Sir, the speakers are on," a male voice transmits outside the Kraken. "Really? Fu--" Promptly, the PA is turned off.
Meanwhile, outside of the red beast, Tenma and Kenji have their hands full. The unleashed payload of ammunition into Tenma's body has thwarted his attempts, but has not stopped him. Instead, it only seems to help him in the long run, unknown to the tank's command crew. Likely, they wouldn't care, either.
Gnawing on his cigar, the tank's captain just observes the statistical readout on a monitor hanging from the ceiling. Things aren't looking too bad, he decides with a smirk on his lips. "These punk ass kids don't know what they've gotten themselves into, do they?" he asks aloud.
"No sir, they do not, sir," the weapons technician replies.
"Yeah," the driver absently remarks, looking bored.
But they don't give up. Kenji attacks, dropping low before he punches his fist into the exterior of the tank--but it doesn't move. Instead, its defenses only increase when Tenma curls an arc of disgusting blood chi right for its red hull. Shimmering again, it diffuses the energy as best it can, though the hull suffers light lacerations as result.
"Is that...blood?" the weapons tech asks, squinting at his display.
"Who cares what it is! Fire at that little shit punching my tank!"
"Roger!"
And, with those orders, a hatch opens, right in Kenji's face. Seconds later, it unloads an unforgiving money shot of mortar right into his face.
COMBATSYS: Kraken successfully hits Kenji with Point-Blank Fire.
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Kenji 1/-------/=======|=====--\-------\0 Kraken
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Tenma 0/-------/---====|
His fist crashes down into the hull. Kenji feels it-- and feels it good. His knuckles and bones crack, and the whole of his arm tenses up. Unfortunately, the hatch opens immediately afterward, and he's looking the barrel of a rather large gun right in the face.
*BLAM*
The Guardian King sails through the air, caught in a blast of smoke and explosive force that sends him tumbling head over heels like a rag doll. He hits the ground with a rather disgusting noise, somewhere between a wet splatter and a loud crack, his body piling down on top of him. He lay still for a few moments, but that's when he rolls over.
Pushing up to his feet, Kenji picks up the half-broken desk by the leg and slings it over his shoulder, even with his face streaked with blood. Spitting out a bit of bloody saliva, the Guardian King starts walking back towards the tank, grinning like a shark. "My sister hits harder."
Bringing his right arm back, his shoulders square and his weight lowers. Blinding white-blue chi virtually explodes from his right arm, tearing up the length and trumpeting right up off his shoulder. The guys in the tank wearing their night vision goggles may experience a moment of blindness from the utter amount of light given off-- light enough to make him stand out like a beacon in the midst of Southtown at night. It gives Kenji an eerie light, his face half-silhouetted by the glow... and looking a lot more stern than usual. Eyebrows knitting, he lets out one gutteral scream as that power wells up...
"HYAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA--"
COMBATSYS: Kenji gathers his will.
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Kenji 1/---====/=======|=====--\-------\0 Kraken
[ \\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\ <
Tenma 0/-------/---====|
Stupid tank. It's not easy to hurt the damn thing; who knows what sort of bizarre technology was used to harden it against the abilities of fighters, who would normally tear through a war machine like it was some chump's '91 Honda Civic.
"Ashima!!" barks Tenma as the other Guardian King gets a faceful of hurt, and gets sent flying; but he doesn't climb off the top of the tank, hoping to use his current position to his advantage against the damnable thing. Presuming he can land a solid hit on it. His fury at his friend getting SHOT in the FACE is only slightly assuaged by the fact that Kenji can get back up and keep fighting, and the back of Tenma's neck prickles as he feels that buildup of power from the direction of Missile Fist; even if he couldn't see that glaring light out of the corner of his eye, he'd know what was happening. Well, he can't let the other guy show him up here, now can he?
Staying on top of the tank, Tenma advances on the main turret again, his bokken held over his head in a two-handed grip. His plan here is pretty straightforward and simple; to bring the weapon down in a vicious overhead slash at the tank's turret, before reversing the blade at the bottom of the motion and then slashing back /up/, tracing a narrow V-shape in violent red. "Raaaaagh!!"
COMBATSYS: Tenma successfully hits Kraken with Ungyou.
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Kenji 1/---====/=======|======-\-------\0 Kraken
[ \\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\ <
Tenma 0/-------/-======|
"GYAR HAR HAR HAR!!" is the captain's delightful response as sensors indicate a direct hit on the poor Guardian King. He goes flying, and the Kraken's commander just bowls back in his chair with a hand on his forehead while kicking his booted feet. "Classic, just classic!" he barks, pleased.
"A little credit would be nice, sir," the weapons tech sighs. His fellow subordinate offers him a sympathetic nod in response before he absently reaches for his issue of Men's Health. It's not as if he has to really DO much here.
Sensors whine a bit at the sudden surge of chi that Kenji erupts with, and immediately the tank's top half swivels around. The occupants within are immediately blinded, a collective cry erupting from each man before the captain barks at them to turn around turn around for the love of god LOOK AWAY. The Kraken responds, swiveling its top half away.
And that's about when Tenma slashes a turret off.
"Sir! We've lost weapon sixteen!" the weapon technician cries as his readout goes red in one sector.
"Pfff, we're fine," he assures. "If that kid with his toy sword wants to play rough--we'll give 'em rough. Arm the grenade launchers."
Outside the Kraken rumbles, two hatches opening up on either side of the long cannon barrel. Seconds later two, tell tale THWOOMs sound, followed by another pair of THWOOMs, as four large ovalline-shaped objects fly right for Tenma's feet--
And then messily explode.
COMBATSYS: Tenma blocks Kraken's Killing Field.
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Kenji 1/---====/=======|=======\-------\0 Kraken
[ \\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\ <
Tenma 1/-------/=======|
Even though Kenji doesn't seem to be gathering up more of that energy, it stubbornly burns on his bandaged arm as he stalks back towards the tank. The chunk of desk drags on the asphalt, and he snaps up his fallen jacket from the pavement and takes the time to properly pull it on, almost defiantly. Picking up the chunk of desk again, staring through blood-matted bangs, with blue-white chi still flaring off his arm like a slow-dying fire, the Missile Fist takes a turn to watch his friend be assaulted by the tank's mortars, much as he was.
And that just won't do.
Charging ahead in a full run, Kenji rears up the desk and swings-- once, twice, three times, and four-- looking to just flat-out beat the living daylights out of the tank with the desk, crashing it against the hull as though he intended to just bust right through it's surface. "GET!!" he screams, between strikes. "OUT!! OF OUR!!" Bringing the desk up high over his head, he brings it down for one final, hard-as-he-can-muster slam. "SCHOOL!!"
"Oh what the f--"
Tenma's expletive is cut off as he gets freaking /grenades/ shot at him, which is decidedly not cool in the least bit. He's able to bat aside two of them with his bokken, leaving himself with only two to deal with; those, he crouches and basically goes for the 'duck and cover' route, managing to avoid the worst of the explosions, though shrapnel shreds his uniform shirt and, you know, skin. So there's more blood, red red blood, flowing down his arms, and...
...Up along the blade of his bokken and...
Suddenly, Tenma springs out of his crouch; now he's rushing at the tank from the opposite end as Kenji, lunging forward to stab at the back end of the tank with his bokken, aiming to demolish more of the stupid thing's armor. "We're gonna carve this tin can open!!" the leader of the Guardian Kings calls out. "Then... Then we're gonna beat the SHIT OUT OF EVERY ONE OF YOU PATHETIC ASSHOLES INSIDE OF IT!!"
COMBATSYS: Kraken blocks Kenji's Combo Attack.
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Kenji 1/---====/=======|=======\-------\1 Kraken
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Tenma 1/-------/=======|
COMBATSYS: Kraken interrupts Fierce Strike from Tenma with Heavy Metal.
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Kenji 1/---====/=======|=======\==-----\1 Kraken
[ \\\\\\\\\\\\\ <
Tenma 1/---====/=======|
"Did we get him!?" the weapons tech eagerly yaps.
"I think so--" the commander begins.
"No," the driver ultimately responds, flipping a page in his magazine. Sure enough, Tenma managed to avoid the worst of the assault, shielding himself from the entirety and only taking bits of shrapnel here and there. In other words--
"He's still moving?" The commander looks stunned...then angry.
The kids don't hesitate to act, either. Kenji comes tearing along with the desk in hand, bludgeoning the outer husk of the Kraken repeatedly as it shimmers violently, absorbing the blow with its enhanced defense system. Tenma, however, is met with a nasty surprise.
Suddenly, just as his bokken slams into the armor of the Kraken, its large, long cannon barrel SWINGS around and slams right into Tenma, to knock him the hell off of the tank and keep him from opening them up like a can of sardines.
"R-report," the commander demands, eyeballing the monitors.
"Fair. We can still fight. Most weapons are still online."
"Even..."that" weapon?"
The two technicians look to one another before they look to the commander.
"Y-yes."
The commander leans back in his chair and steeples his fingers.
"Good."
The desk crumples, crushes, and is otherwise reduced to a mere steel leg by the point that he's finished striking. There's another half to it somewhere, but he can't keep track of it just yet. There's more important things to do-- even as the tank attempts to drive them back, as it blasts at Tenma and tries to send the Kiryuu heir to the other side of the world. By comparison, Kenji is changing his footing as he flings the leg of the desk behind him, his weight shifting.
"LET'S DO IT, TENMA!!"
And with that, all of that excess energy, all of that blazing chi lets out one more final burst, a surge as he rotates in place. His arm tears -out- of the energy, the color peeling away from his arm as though it were jetwash, flames spewed out from behind his elbow. The ground beneath his feet cracks and splitners in reaction to all of that force, just the -intent-.
His arm doesn't bend, it doesn't do any fancy, neat tricks. The Kraken is about to be introduced to the Missile Fist in the worst way possible, as with the force of a train, Kenji Ashima seeks to punch the tank as hard as he possibly can.
Holy feakin' ow.
Tenma gets caught by the swinging tank barrel, which knocks the wind out of him and sets him sailing like a baseball right off the back of the tank, crashing painfully into some nearby debris. But... Don't think that's enough to count him out, just yet.
And then Kenji is yelling at him.
"Ugh... Who put him in charge?" Tenma mutters irritably, as he gets to his feet. Fine, though. If that's how the Student Council Secretary wants to do things? Today, just today, Tenma is fine with letting him have his way in the fight. For a second, Tenma rolls his neck, pushing his left hand forward. His prayer beads clack quietly, his fingers contort in a mudra position, an aid for concentration; meanwhile, his right hand swings back, holding his bokken horizontally behind him, a crescent shape visible behind his head. The glow of energy around it intensifies, until it seems like Tenma is holding a sword made out of pure blood. "Now," the Kiryuu heir breathes, as he /feels/ the intent radiating off of Kenji. And he moves.
And the moment, the exact same moment as Kenji attacks, so does Tenma, rushing at the tank and twisting around, sandwiching the Kraken between both attacks. Where Kenji's is pure brute force, Tenma's is only partially that; a powerful single swing of his bokken, but if it lands against the tank... A wave of bloody chi passes THROUGH it, disrupting the internal workings and attacking the energy of the tank crew, the distinctive chi of Kiryuu and Ashima resonating with a single desire.
To kick these assholes out of their school.
COMBATSYS: Kenji and Tenma successfully hit Kraken with Student Rebellion.
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Kenji 0/-------/-------|=======\===----\1 Kraken
[ \\\\\\\\\\\\\ <
Tenma 0/-------/------=|
Poor Tenma can't catch a break. Meanwhile, the captain of the Kraken is pleased with progress.
"Ha ha ha, what schmucks," he muses aloud, leaning to one side in his captain's chair. Resting an arm on the rest he nestles his chin against it, still puffing angrily on the cigar. Still, for all his arrogance, he knows this isn't going as well as he'd hoped. These kids are actually pulling their weight. It's rather troublesome.
"Sir...uh," The weapons tech peers at his screen as the two kids begin doing...something.
"We might have a problem."
And then both students attack in unison.
The tank is suddenly rocked violently upon impact, jarred as its occupants within are nearly forced out of their seats. It doesn't help when the cabin of the tank suddenly gets very very cold, chilling the men briefly to the bone, leaving them winded and gasping. Wide-eyed and utterly disbelieving the fact two kids nearly bowled over countless tons of steel and artillery, the Kraken's commander punches his fist against the arm rest.
"ARGH! FUCK THIS NOISE!" he bellows. "READY THE CANNON!"
With a distinct hum of energy, the tank begins to glow red, surface shimmering angrily. The hairs on the back of Tenma and Kenji's neck--hell, everywhere--begin to stand on end as an odd, gut-wrenching feeling begins to fill the immediate area of the tank mere seconds after they've attacked.
A button flips open on the commander's chair. He grins a savage sneer around his cigar as his fist lifts up and promptly slams DOWN on the large button. It soon becomes obvious just WHAT that feeling and hum was.
The large cannon on the tank suddenly belches countless amounts of high-powered energy, the top portion of the tank whirling rapidly 360 degrees around, leaving no area within its general vicinity unscathed.
COMBATSYS: Kenji blocks Kraken's B.F.G. 9000 EX.
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Kenji 0/-------/----===|===----\-------\0 Kraken
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Tenma 0/-------/------=|
Both strike at once. It's something they practiced, at least, in those times that the Guardian Kings would mercilessly pound the stuffing out of each other upon the rooftop of Gedo High. Timing in all it's forms, learning how to get their skills to compliment them in the best ways possible. Kenji's fist strikes the armor with enough force to bend the metal inward, threatening to put his fist clear through to the innards of the machine like he were about to rip out it's heart. His arm pulls back, knuckles and first digits split open and red with blood, taking a good few steps back once the humming starts.
Wait, this is the part in the manga where--
Taking another step back, he grabs at the thin air and manages to come up with the other half of the desk, swinging it around in front of him as a shield to use against the concussive force of the beam.
Sleeves shredded, his jacket and the bandages around his torso ripped up and bloody, and with the remainder of the desk resembling melted-down slag, Kenji breathes in hard-- and tosses the shrapnel toward the tank.
One eye closed, a bit of blood drips down around the side of his face, off his chin. "Never say die, right?"
He moves ahead again, running despite the blood, the pain, and the soreness. Slamming both palms against the front of the tank, just at the spot where he had punched a moment ago, Kenji's eyes widen as he tries to summon up the strength, as if he were going to try to literally SHOVE the tank.
"RRRRRAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAGH--"
It bursts out from his arms, ramps through his hands, and takes form in the only way it knows how. His chi literally tries to upend the front of the tank, as if he were going to try to "blast" the front end up off the ground or something equally ridicilous with a geyser of white-blue light pushing off from both hands.
COMBATSYS: Kraken successfully hits Tenma with B.F.G. 9000 EX.
[ \\\\\\\\\\\ < > /////// ]
Kenji 0/-------/----===|===----\-------\0 Kraken
[ \\ <
Tenma 1/-----==/=======|
The Guardian Kings all know each other's fighting styles and personality quirks extremely well; it has to do with their method of training, which, yes, mostly involves the whole bunch of them beating the hell out of each other until none of them can stand anymore.
Speaking of which.
Tenma actually tries to stand his ground throughout the massive tank's assault, tries to fight through its barrage, but... Well. It's simply too powerful for him to manage that, and by the time the blast ends, Tenma Kiryuu wobbles on his feet, slowly sinking to one knee. "Goddamn," the Guardian King leader mutters, vision darkening as he looks up at the tank. "You think that's enough to...?" Well, it is, but he's from Gedo High.
He's going to go out swinging.
Raising his bokken up, Tenma then spikes it into the ground, driving a full foot of the blade into the pavement under his feet... And for a long moment, nothing at all happens. And then the ground under the tank starts to rumble. And then it splits open.
And then a raging torrent of blood erupts from the ground underneath the Kraken, seeking to tear the thing apart, to lift it up off the ground and rend it apart. "Why don't you just DIE!!"
COMBATSYS: Tenma can no longer fight.
[ \\\\\\\\\\\ < > /////// ]
Kenji 0/-------/----===|===----\-------\0 Kraken
COMBATSYS: Kraken blocks Tenma's Hell of Blood.
[ \\\\\\\\\\\ < > ///// ]
Kenji 0/-------/----===|====---\-------\0 Kraken
COMBATSYS: Kraken interrupts Sky High Rocket from Kenji with Burial Ground.
[ \\\\ < > /// ]
Kenji 1/-------/=======|======-\-------\0 Kraken
COMBATSYS: Kraken can no longer fight.
[ \\\\ <
Kenji 1/-------/=======|
"Oh no! Captain! Captain!" From his position in the tank, the weapons technician looks horrified at his display read out. "We can't hold out much longer. We've endure too much stress and damage. After that last attack the systems are overheating!"
The captain grunts and puffs on his cigar.
Meanwhile, outside of the Kraken, Tenma and Kenji have their hands full. Kenji, somehow, manages to stave off the pure blast of energy, save for obvious wounds and bleeding and shrapnel and lord knows what else. Tenma, on the other hand...does not seem to fare as well. Brought to his knees after the massive gout of electrical discharge from the Kraken, he's barely managing. But...
Damn that Gedo spirit!
They come at the tank again, whose shimmering husk seems to doing so a bit more erratically than usual. Within the Kraken, the driver is suddenly attentive and serious, his Men's Health magazine cast on the floor of the cabin. "Alright men," the captain says.
"It's do or die!"
Tenma's strange assault suddenly cages the unit inside an odd, rending gout of blood and energy. Somehow the Kraken manages to struggle against the blow, the chasse of the tank actually GLOWING now as it disperses the chi energy with its weird futuristic technologies. "Sir! Critical mass!" The tank's cabin is now an eerie shade of red.
The captain, meanwhile, puffs furiously on his cigar. Somehow, he still has some left.
"We're picking up movement still--argh!"
The tank rocks as Kenji slams his palms into the tank, straining himself as he attempts to blast the massive red tank off its treads and onto its back, the attack coupled with furious bursts of blinding chi energy. But the tank--it doesn't want to go without a fight. So, what does the tank do?
Its underneath, between two sets of massive treads, suddenly slides open. Then, viciously, a burst of painful, scalding steam FILLS the area, followed by a rumbling. The air is then suddenly afire, as an explosion rocks the vicinity of the tank in an attempt to get Kenji to let the damn thing go.
"Alright boys, RETREAT!!" The captain points a thumb over his shoulder, commanding his driver to take them out of the zone. The tank, however, is in shambles, its hull cracking a bit and dented considerably, sections of steel warped and folded, the entire thing spewing sparks and oozing slag. It looks like a dump. But its treads still function.
So the Kraken moves, then, slowly rumbling in a hurried retreat out of Gedo.
At a furious ten miles an hour.
COMBATSYS: Kenji takes no action.
COMBATSYS: Kenji can no longer fight.
Steam. It's blasting -steam-.
Simple, but effective. Kenji lets out a short noise caught between grunt and gag, pulling himself back and closing his eyes in the wake of being scalded right down the front. His hands peel back, he staggers, and the tank lurches and starts off of the Gedo grounds at a lurching gait with all of the speed in the world. Standing there, panting hard, Kenji's eyes narrow and he thinks better of it-- instead turning his attention to Tenma.
Hobbling toward their leader, Kenji sits down with a heavy, deep grunt and seems to only then let his injuries throb, bleed, and actually start -hurting-. Adrenaline ebbing, the chills and shakes starting to settle in, the student council secretary looks up at Tenma with numb, half-lidded eyes. He rubs his nose a bit, then watches as the tank retreats. For a moment, Kenji regrets not chasing the tank down and beating the crew unconscious with one of the leftover desk legs.
He looks at Tenma again. "So, uh. ... We never decided what to do next, did we?"
Log created on 21:30:42 04/22/2009 by Tenma, and last modified on 22:16:06 04/23/2009.