Description: Testament (1988). Between her disappearance and the assault on Southtown, everything formerly in Elle's control has been left in shambles, leaving her with nothing, or so it first seems. The mercenary proves that she's still capable of using the worst of times to her advantage by going to where tension is high and certainty is low. Despite confusion and suspicion, the need for allies wins out and Elle forges a new, if not unlikely alliance with someone that's long had her own secret agenda: Yurika Kirishima.
It's nothing new that Southtown is just one giant mess right now. There are very few places that really that one could really be called a 'safe place'.. But Seijyun High just so happens to be one of those locales, but unlike the many other shelter's about Southtown, it wasn't accepting anyone but a very select few of students friends to hide out.
The yards are plenty occupied, many of the martial arts students from archers to wrestlers have taken turns switching posts and standing guard, waiting for an attack that, unknownst to them, simply will not come.
Yurika Kirishima is the only one of two aware of that fact, but it was imperitive she play her part regardless, doing her best to keep up morale and keeping things organized, an essential duty as the senior year council president. While things were likely to become difficult in the future, Yurika was very excited, and obviously supportive of the 'senseless' violence, waiting as patiently as always for her opportunity. But what was she going to do today?
The blue-clad student is actually is on her way out of the school, headed toward the gates and toward destination unknown, responding to the greetings from her fellow classmates with polite waves.
There's a lot of unknowns at Seijyun. But the reason why it's remained untouched isn't one of them to Elle. Having been across town in the past few days, she's realized just how little things have changed despite what's been going on the surface. Old waters still run fairly deep in this town, it seems.
The vehicle she's in stops at the end of the road leading to the gate of the school. It's an armored car that's been heavily modified for the purpose of getting around a war zone. While sturdy, it's clearly faced down enough small arms fire to start showing wear and tear. The thick armor's dented and compromised in some places thanks to pointblank ranged shotgun blasts.
But the state of the car isn't that important. It gets her from place to place, and that's what's important. Another thing that's important is Seijyun. The high school had always been of nominal importance for Elle. For whatever reason, the woman had targeted it long ago as the perfect safehouse, and it looks like her observations had been correct.
So what to do about it? The door opens, and she steps out, her boots hitting the pavement as she walks the rest of the way down the path. The car would be too distracting and would put people on edge even further, and she doesn't want that. A sole person will be received as much less of a threat, no matter how right or wrong that assessment would be.
She stops just a few yards from the gate, garnering looks from the guards. Clearly, they're testy, ready to pounce. But she doesn't make any motion to do anything further. Not yet anyway. First, she needs to see what's going on just from where she is. That alone will tell her enough about the place to plot her next move.
And that's where she'll be when Yurika finally emerges from her fortress.
It would appear that Elle wouldn't have to wait much longer; and it's almost like the guards are itching for action; if only for the fact that it's just one person, instead of the crazy mini-swarms that have been rushing the other schools. Inside, it looks maybe surprisingly organized, the spirits aren't exactly very high; in fact there's quite a bit of stress in the air, the tension of things having been so inactive is drawing more paranoia. But Yurika would tend to that a little later, for now she had someplace to go.
The student walks at a brisk pace, and the moment she passes the gates, apparently headed toward the park, she catches sight of an all-too-familiar face. She actually pauses briefly, as if deciding whether to keep walking or to confront Elle. After a moment of thought she ponders just how long Elle had gone 'missing', which results in a guess that she has some sort of move to make. However her expression relays anything but suspicion, the woman is greeted with a pleasent smile, and casual steps toward the other, "It's been quite some time.. Do you need assistance?"
Yurika? This is a surprise. Plans change instantly. This makes things so much easier.
The body count will be lower, too.
The woman shakes her head at Yurika's question. As always, the mercenary is completely business. Eyes flick along the parapets of the gates. She sees the tension, recognizes the look of hormones and worry. Despite the remarkable maturity most Seijyun girls display, in the end, it's a war zone. No more, no less.
They're not equipped to deal with this sort of thing.
"I'm going to fight you now. Play along. It needs to look convincing," she says, her dry, rasping voice quiet. "Trust me on this."
The woman's arms flick down, her fingers splayed as the sound of metal on metal rings in the air. Sliding into her hands are what look like short hook swords or sickles, the dark lacquered fingers of her gauntlets closing down on them like solid clamps, and she falls into a combat pose, carefully assessing the younger girl's reaction.
The mercenary is well poised to attack, and Yurika should know by now that Elle usually doesn't do what she does without a damned good reason.
But what's Elle's angle here? She's not being forthcoming, Not yet. First action. Then talking. That's the rules.
"P- Pardon?" Yurika replies, looking a bit stunned. She should be used to Elle's 'no nonsense' behavior at this point especially considering what happened at their 'pit fight', but still.. The older woman's request makes sense, when she thought about it, and the frilled musician cringes. She didn't have much choice. ".. Very well."
Yurika doesn't know what to expect, she's a touch paranoid, without being certain what to be paranoid of. But she'd find out soon enough, wouldn't she? Twirling in a circle, her violin case is whipped off to the side, but the instrument that was inside is now upon her shoulder, other hand brandishing her sharp tipped violin bow. "I confess I may have difficulties with the 'trust me' part." she replies with a bit of a smirk.
COMBATSYS: Yurika has started a fight here.
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Yurika 0/-------/-------|
COMBATSYS: Elle has joined the fight here.
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Elle 0/-------/-------|-------\-------\0 Yurika
"Good," Elle replies, "that means you're learning."
It's been a long time since she's faced off with a real fighter. A considerably long time. As a result, this fight serves a dual purpose. As a warm up, and... something else. "Don't hold back. It has to look convincing. Just pay attention and listen when I talk, because I came here on a suspicion, and you've done the right thing."
The weapons in her hand flash brightly as she moves forward at a considerable speed, the hook swords raising up together in a hard downward two handed slash meant to put Yurika on the instant defensive, driving her back towards the gates as people on the parapet and around the gates instantly gather to watch the battle.
"...almost the right thing, anyway."
COMBATSYS: Yurika blocks Elle's Power Strike.
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Elle 0/-------/-------|-------\-------\0 Yurika
Yurika has always had a bit of a soft spot for praise; even if the bit was a little on the odd side. She just didn't really 'get' Elle, while the musician was accepting of the battle, she was more hesitant about letting herself get closer to the gates, she'll play along for now, but the block of the strike, the clash of hook-sword to alarmingly resilient bow, doesn't nudge her back quite that much.
Unfortunatly that isn't the case for long since she has to push her weapon and leap back to put some distance between the two again, specifically landing on one foot, "If you insist.." really, what else could she say?
Her bow raised to violin, she kicks off with her other foot, twirling a touch to the side and then slashes her bow outward, a slender trail of musical energy following the tip. She strikes with a wide arc across Elle's torso and then downward in the opposite direction.
COMBATSYS: Elle blocks Yurika's Tragic Hesitation.
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Elle 0/-------/------=|-------\-------\0 Yurika
The mercenary ducks down, the sonic power brushing her slightly before she raises the twin swords to batter the bow aside. They raise in a high arc, twirling once before sliding back into her sleeves. "Listen carefully," she says, her voice low enough so that Yurika can hear without her mob of screaming fangirls catching the voice.
"This place doesn't have a scratch. Tells me that you've learned how to play on the right level. But you forgot one thing," she intones, using the force of the bow attack to crouch back. Her legs coil like springs before she pushes forward, heavy boots scraping across the pathway as a matte black trench knife appears in her left hand almost as if by magic. The weapon leaves a blurring trail behind it as she charges it with energy.
"Smart people are going to look at this school when everything's over, and wonder why it doesn't have a scratch," she says, swinging the serrated combat knife in a wide arc, attempting to break down Yurika's considerable defenses by tearing away at her arms and chest.
"Someone's gonna put two and two together."
COMBATSYS: Elle successfully hits Yurika with Chase the Ace.
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Elle 0/-------/------=|==-----\-------\0 Yurika
Yurika's dark eyes lock with Elle's, lips pursing briefly. She couldn't say that Elle was wrong, and it was something Yurika had mulled over, but couldn't come up with a solution for right away. Ok, so the woman was right, but that still didn't clear things up much. Yurika gives a yelp as the knife cuts cleanly through her gloves, not quite as much her nice dress, the end result being bleeding welts along her no-longer-hidden flesh but her grip remains tight on her trusted weapons. Her bow touched her violin strings once more, "So out of the kindness of you're heart, you've decided to stage an attack?" the musician replies, with a small shake of her head. A pleasent melody fills the air as she swipes her bow forward and takes a hot back; a wheel of colorful musical energy barrels toward her foe. "Why are you really here? I'm not paying you for that advice."
COMBATSYS: Yurika successfully hits Elle with Tragic Serenade.
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Elle 0/-------/----===|====---\-------\0 Yurika
The musical energy is something Elle's familiar with... but that doesn't mean she can always manage to defend against it. She moves quickly, attempting to sheild herself from the chi burst. While she manages to steel herself against the strength of the blast, it still impacts, and it definitely still hurts.
"Should know I never do anything out of kindness by now," Elle replies, "I'm here to check up on you. The one thing that everyone needs is information."
The knife in her hand is twirled once as she circles around the ninja heiress. Elle keeps a close watch on the girl, keeping track of her steps, he motions. It's been a long time, and she's way out of practice. "Seijyun's alway's been its own microcosm. No matter what happens, this place is always on it's own. I just wanted to see how far the deal had been cut. I'd say its been cut pretty deep now."
She swings in, feinting with the knife, the blade whipping towards Yurika's face. But she turns completely, motioning with her other hand to snap her fingers between Yurika's eyes, setting off a concussive sonic blast designed to batter the body as well as wreak havoc on the eardrums.
COMBATSYS: Yurika dodges Elle's Wrathchild.
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Elle 0/-------/----===|====---\-------\0 Yurika
"Of course.." Yurika replies. What a pain, Yurika certainly isn't the best when it comes to reading faces, but she considers herself talented at it- but Elle's always been a pain, though it may be mostly because of her paranoia that the woman is playing around with her. True, with every meeting it had appeared to be a 'check-up' of some sort, but she also understands the woman before her is interested in the place. "Well the answer to that is obvious, isn't it? It's an all-girls school; hardly any notable names, occupied by 'prissy richgirls'."
Yurika doesn't appear to buy the feint, and when Elle turns, Yurika is moving with her, leaving the merc to snap her fingers at nothing, while the musician herself is standing behind. She then hops upward, looking to press the flats of her maryjanes against Elle's back and springs off forcefully, enough to either send Elle smashing into something or simply crashing to the ground as a result. "The other schools have always had more to 'offer' when it comes to talent, and threat, don't you think? Not to suggest you're incorrect, most certainly smart.."
COMBATSYS: Yurika successfully hits Elle with Quick Throw.
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Elle 0/-------/--=====|====---\-------\0 Yurika
Yurika's attack hits cleanly, sending the mercenary to the ground, and her body lands with a heavy thud, causing her to roll over onto her back. "Sure. And if I reallythought that or beleived any of that bullshit, do you think I'd spend any time here talking to you at all?"
She whips her left arm up, and something pops from her sleeve. The glint of silver metal catches the setting sun as Elle carefully aims the Sig Sauer. A pistol? how gauche.
That is, until she fires off the shot. The cartidge files out, but the bullet immediately explodes into a riot of highly compressed electrical chi that crockets outward at Yurika. The girl can probably take a chi blast no problem... but the shot's damn fast. Elle's made sure of that.
COMBATSYS: Yurika blocks Elle's Electric Eye.
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Elle 0/-------/--=====|=====--\-------\0 Yurika
Following the sudden withdrawl of the firearm there are a few shrieks from the onlookers, and even Yurika looks a touch surprised.. But only for a moment, there's a smile that follows. Not quite an amused one, she just appearing to be more gentle rather than paniced. Her bow is extended, as if intending to deflect the blow, and literally at the last possible second when the energy is sensed, she pulls into a more defensive position. She can't escape the range of the extended electical energy, but her body seems to be able to absorb some of the force to keep her from flying back too far, but the distance certainly hampers any element of surprise Yurika may have had.
"Of course not, but you're not exactly a majorit of the public eye, are you, which was my point. And speaking of points.." Her eyes close for a moment, bow to violin and plays a little tune. A taunt of sorts? It certainly gets her amused cheers from her peers. "I suggest you get to yours soon. I plan to end this shortly. The only thing I really want to know is if I'm in the way of your groups plans to capitalize on the chaos here."
COMBATSYS: Yurika calculates her next move.
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Elle 0/-------/--=====|=====--\-------\0 Yurika
"No. Not in the way. But I do have a business proposition for you," Elle intones, still in this game. Taunts and quips rarely have an effect on her. It takes a certain breed to get under her skin, and Yurika's just not there yet.
The mercenary withdraws her weaponry, only to produce even more of it. It would seem that Elle's definitely learned a few new tricks in her absence as a hook sword pops out on one arm, and what looks like brass knuckles appears on the other hand. Heavy bootsteps increase in pace as the Blackjack 'leader' closes in on Yurika swiftly.
Elle swings out with the hook weapon, attempting to snag the girl by the back of her neck with it while swinging her fist forward to smash it clean into the girl's face. It's a short, fast attack. It shouldn't do that much damage, but should be enough to keep the woman off balance for the time being.
"If you're done being emotional and touchy and want to show me you know how to get down to brass tacks, that is."
COMBATSYS: Elle successfully hits Yurika with Charged Combo.
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Elle 0/-------/---====|=======\-------\0 Yurika
Upon impact, Elle lets loose a torrent of electrical chi, sending the powerful charge straight into Yurika's forehead. It's an unpleasant experience, akin to stuffing a finger into a light socket!
Business proposition? Was Elle serious? Yurika was certainly intruiged; but she'd never quite been on the receiving end of a proposition before, that tended to be her brother's position. The merc isn't too difficult to follow, but the woman certainly has a lot of weapons, enough that even split-second decision making isn't even quite enough as she's captured by the neck and smashed into the face with a pained groan, the surge of electrical power proves to be even less pleasent the shock enough to send her heels over head and crashing onto her back.
Her legs kick upward almost immedietly, she rolling to her feet without quite recovering mentally; she's conditioned herself to simply keep moving as she'd been taught through training. Though seeing three Elle's and her hearing briefly thrown off, she moves on instinct now with a short burst of speed, the musician stops just short of Elle, her bow swipes down along her strings, and a pillar of energy attempts to 'skewer' her foe. The musical bar shakes violently, clearly attempting to do internal damage rather than external this time around. Elle was still good at embarassing the musician at least, ".. I'm not very good with people I can't control." she lamely apologizes.
Yurika had previously been accepting of that; but with her recent rather discouraging attempts at talking civily being broken down had played a part in being passive-aggressivly bitter.
COMBATSYS: Yurika successfully hits Elle with Tragic Sonata.
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Elle 0/-------/=======|=======\-------\1 Yurika
The force of the chi strike is enough to knock Elle down to the ground. That took a considerable amount out of her, and it looks like Yurika's finally deciding to play a little more serious. The wind is driven out of Elle's chest, forcing her to take a moment to recover. Her hands splay on the ground, then push her back up again. Elle's a tough nut to crack, and she's going to push Yurika as far as the girl can go.
"Then you've got a choice," the mercenary replies, swinging back up. What looks like a blunt metal club is clutched in one hand. It spins in her hand rapidly, fingers twirling it about as she blots forward, her aggressive attack coming in at an alarming rate. "You can learn how, or you can lose every time someone you don't know how to deal with comes your way and kicks your sand castle."
The club is a graceless metal beast, swung not at her head or her arms, but striking dead center at her body as Elle merceliesslytries to crush the girl under it.
COMBATSYS: Elle successfully hits Yurika with Power Strike.
- Power hit! -
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Elle 1/-------/=======|=======\==-----\1 Yurika
Yurika releases a calm breath, it would appear she had moved just the right way.. Good. At least her body was being cooperative, inwardly Yurika was growing increasingly annoyed, and a touch frustrated as well. She knows she doesn't have the experience that matches Elle's, but she also knows she shouldn't let her talk get to her.. But it was difficult. Yurika attempts to slip out of the way of the swinging blow, the girl not quite successful as it slams into her body, forcing her to lean over the weapon while pain screams through her body, and then once again she's knocked to the ground, feeling at her ribs briefly. Definatly cracked somewhere, possibly broken, it was difficult to say. The only thing she really knows is that it hurt.. A lot.
But not one to roll around and cry, she forces herself up again with a bit of a lean in her stance, ".. All right, I understand already.." she murmurs, her cheeks darkening further as she rushes in, and yet another melody is unleashed. This time when she's close she twirls on one foot, and inverted tornado of musical energy flaring to life once more and spins like an oversized ribbon, attempting to suck the woman into the drill of doom. However the energy becomes dangerously vibrant, frustration seeming to come out through her music now, and that ribbon intends to batter the woman internally like crazy, releasing her eventually to send the merc flying elsewhere is successful.
COMBATSYS: Yurika successfully hits Elle with Fatal Rondo.
- Power hit! -
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Elle 1/--=====/=======|==-----\-------\0 Yurika
Almost.
The attack strikes clean, smashing into Elle like a train would go through a wet paper towel. She's remarkably tough, but there's just no escaping the fact that no matter how she tries to defend herself, she's going to get nearly oblitereated by the attack. The vortex of energy sucks her in, unleashing an unbeleiveable torrent of pain through Elle's body. It would seem that the young musician had learned a lot more than she anticipated.
The musical chi howls through her body as she's flung clear of the fight to the cheers of the young girls watching the battle. After all, Yurika's their hero. This is what they need. This is what they have to see. And that's when Elle is forced to make a choice herself.
Her hand drops down as she lay on her back, and she draws the weapon she's kept in reserve. The gun's not like anything that most people recognize. The Saiga-12 is a rugged, hardy weapon built from the Klashikov frame. "So what's the answer?" she asks, her rasping voice raising up loud enough to bridge the gap between her and Yurika. The saftey clicks off with an audible echo, the horrible weapon drawing a bead on Yurika like a hungry beast.
"You wanna deal with me?" The weapon is re-adjusted in her hands, the mercenary's ice cold gaze on Yurika as the crowd holds their breath. "Or deal with this?"
COMBATSYS: Elle takes no action.
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Elle 1/--=====/=======|==-----\-------\0 Yurika
Sweat starting to form on her forehead, the injured musician squints to adjust her vision. It seems the effect of Elle's chi was still lingering within her somewhere, but it shouldn't be much longer before it shakes off- and she's created plenty of distance to get that time she needs. Her shoulders raise and fall quickly, and again she finds herself in an awkward position. W- What was going on here -now-? She isn't afraid of the weapon, that much is clear, as unusual a beast the thing is. However there was a possibility something could go horribly awry. The musician takes a few slow paces forward, and replies, ".. I'm listening. Just don't lose it, all right?" the lean in her stance still present.
COMBATSYS: Yurika takes no action.
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Elle 1/--=====/=======|==-----\-------\0 Yurika
The mercenary gets to her feet slowly. The pain is palpable. Elle's been hit pretty hard in the past, and is no stranger to horrifying amounts of damage. She's subjected herself willingly to it in some cases just to learn how to handle it better. Her body trembles. Not out of fear, but the fact that Yurika's energy is still being filtered out of her system.
The weapon remains trained on Yurika, finger still on the trigger.
"Southtown is under seige. I'm short some contacts. I'm short on allies. That means I can't get out of this town whenever I want. I'll call off my project on you and your doll house, permenantly, if you let me use this place for a temporary base of operations. Once I'm back on my feet, I'm out. In exchange, I'll give you a hand on whatever you're working on and insulate you from suspicion once this mess blows over."
Serious? Deadly. Elle ever jokes around about deals. Given Yurika's connections, she may or may not have heard about this. Elle doesn't renege on deals, though she may interpret things creatively. Generally, though, when things are laid out in black and white, a prospective client has nothing to fear until her fee's been paid and someone else hires Elle away.
The woman stands there breathing heavily, bruises on her face already beginning to show from her constant impacts with the ground and the slashes on her coat from the bow. She's in a bad way, but that gun in her hand is the high card right now.
Or at least, that's what Elle's thoughts are.
COMBATSYS: Elle takes no action.
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Elle 1/--=====/=======|==-----\-------\0 Yurika
Yurika is silent for a while.. A good long while, her stare immedietly having gone from focused to completely blank. In a way it's a dead giveaway that she's in deep thought; she weighing every possible pro and con of the situation. Were this a perfect world, this was an amazing opportunity. And she did have a weakness for favors- The only problem was she couldn't shake her suspicion of the woman, despite Yurika being certain there isn't much Elle could find to use so long as the musician.. Or -someone- kept an eye on her. And Aislinn was no longer here making it even less likely it was an elaborate trap.
"It will be a touch awkward getting you in, but hardly impossible. I accept." she replies.
COMBATSYS: Yurika takes no action.
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Elle 1/--=====/=======|==-----\-------\0 Yurika
"Good."
Elle, satisfied, sees no reason to continue hostilities. The safety snaps back on, and the weapon is holstered with an easy motion. "You do what you have to do, and I'll hold up my end of the bargain," she says flatly, the rasping, nearly inflectionless voice betraying nothing. In fact, it's rather conversational, despite the beating she just took. Elle manages to tough things out pretty well, all things considered. Sometimes the best negotiating tactic is to beat someone around with a stick, though.
"Let me know when the arrangements are made. I have some equipment I need to move," she intones, turning on her heel to move very slowly towards her vehicle as oppose to limping, which is what she'd have to do if she wanted to move quickly.
However, certain fears are well founded. Elle does have a tendency of twisting things to her advantage rather viciously, and finding any angle, no matter how slight, is always her strongest skill.
Then again, she did promise, didn't she?
COMBATSYS: Elle has left the fight here.
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Yurika 0/-------/-----==|
Log created on 01:25:25 04/27/2009 by Elle, and last modified on 10:37:48 04/27/2009.