Description: The Dark Path is wrought with many trials. Enter the Flashing White Blade of Nirvana, Rako Saze, and her desire to deliver punishment unto those who would turn their backs to Kagero.
"They're headed here right now."
Rako hadn't even answered. She'd merely left. Her recovery from her injury from that snake Wakamoto had been swift, but not swift enough. She had to resort to sending Shihong and Yuu, two junior members of Kagero, out to deal with the traitor. Only something had happened. Instead of the traitor being dealt with, two more had turned traitor. She should have seen it coming; and yet, it wasn't at all a total loss. Though Wakamoto had gained two strong assets on his side, giving him more legitimacy, it had at least defined who was a traitor and who was not. And Rako at least knew how to deal with traitors.
The White Blade of Nirvana had left her place, and simply come to face the traitors in the open. There would be no deals, no running, no quarter. Either they would seek repetance, or die. And the expressway symbolized this. The ultimatum, the literal crossroads one stands at to make a decision. There was no other way, at least not to Rako's way of thinking, and as such, she had chosen the battlefield. And now, merely waited.
Most of the expressway has been destroyed, though there is still one route leading in or out of the city. It is this route that Rako stands at. Cars, some merely abandoned, others bombed out with molotovs and more literal bombs, now only skeletal flaming husks, stand here and there. A six-lane road, it is wide enough to accomodate many vehicles, including some Type-99 Chinese MBTs - tanks from the military's failed attempts to control the region's chaos. At the moment, Rako stands atop a pile of these tanks. Literally a pile, as if some force, some monstrous force, pulled all these tanks from the highway and simply dumped them all into a heap here in the middle of the roadway. Flames burn among them, though none quite reaches the peak of the tank mound, where Rako stands.
Now, the Cold Will of Shouten waits for the traitors to show themselves.
A sharp whistle cuts the ambient silence of the razed Chinese landscape.
"They've really done a number here," muses Shihong Mao.
Like sharp contrast of black on white, the former Syndicate enforcer stands out in the middle of chaos in her Prada heels and sharp, pressed black women's suit. Perched upon her pale, streamline nose is a pair of highly-expensive sunglasses, over the brim of which red eyes survey the destruction.
"But so very highly efficient."
She doesn't speak to herself; no, there's a cohort with her, a 'fellow' of her former Kagero colleagues, since having turned proverbial tail to the side of Wakamoto after a bit of convincing on his part. Grinning a thin smirk across her red lips, the woman's pale hand reaches up to pluck from her face her sunglasses and carefully sticks them in the inner breast pocket of her blazer.
"Well, I guess that's to be expected when you step on the serpent's tail, eh, Yuu?"
Red eyes drift from the eccentric fellow in her company toward the smoldering pile of tanks--and the White Blade atop them. "Out of the frying pan and into the fryer. I'm almost betting she won't let us go on our way with a little bit of friendly discussion."
"What an interesting tactic!"
The voice is pleasant and almost genuinely intrigued as it joins in with Shihong's calm musings. Perched on a ruined SUV, Yuu is slumped lazily forward. The blue fabric of his clothes pools around him like a dark ocean of cloth as he seems to almost intently stare at his twitching fingertips, as if amusing himself with an idle game. His white-blue hair enshrouding his face, it's hard to quite see the expression he wears as he speaks, hunching over only slightly moreso when Shihong addresses him.
"Such a straightforward move, coming out here alone, not waiting in ambush. It's interesting, don't you think? There's a certain kind of arrogance in it," he muses softly; his head tilts up, yellow eyes focusing squarely on the White Blade. "... The kind that straddles the line between stupidity and brilliance. Which do you think it is?" Given who he's staring at, just who he's questioning should be obvious.
A moment later, Yuu non-chalantly shrugs. Pushing off the twisted carcass of the vehicle he was once sitting on, the puppeteer's coat billows erratically around him in the stiff breeze, his expression quickly becoming exasperated.
"I guess so, huh?" he asks Shihong, canting his head slightly to the side. "Then again...
"... that suits our needs just fine too."
Their behavior is unrepentant. Flippant, even. Were they nervous, or merely returning the supposed arrogance Rako Saze herself was showing?
No matter.
Without preamble, Rako reaches over her shoulder and grasps the long hilt to the sword she carries. Pulling it slowly forth from its scabbard, the positively enormous blade is lifted without the slightest waver, and then extended towards the two traitors. She doesn't respond to Shihong; instead, she responds to Yuu's comment. "Tactics are required when facing a stronger opponent, a stronger advantage, or a stronger position. You are both traitors; your weakness is self-evident. I have no need of ambushes against your like." The armored form of the Cold Will strides forward, taking a few steps towards the edge of the tank she is standing on. Then, she merely steps off, dropping some forty feet, and landing with an impact that cracks the very asphault she lands on. But she seems no worse for wear, standing straight up after the fall. Then she extends the blade once more.
"There will be no deals. Repent, or die. Choose. Now." And then just to make things interesting, the armor that Rako wears pretty much constantly changes. Where typically the armor seems to be mundane, with armor plates and standard gaps to allow for free moment, blue-white chi begins to fill in the gaps, sealing the armor at the joints, and yet still allowing for complete flexibility. More lines flow over the armor in a purely decorative sense, though one gets the feeling that those lines mean business. A ninkou within Rako's armor being activated, no doubt. Clearly she means it when she says 'repent or die'.
"Interesting?" Shihong wonders of partner's thoughts. Softly, thin sculpted black brows knit into an expression of thought; she lets his words sink in a little before she lightly scoffs.
"That isn't the choice of phrase /I/ would use."
Letting red eyes drift shut, the Chinese woman's lips maintain a thin smirk as Yuu's observations of Rako continue. Only when she is regarded does Shihong let her eyes slowly open, fixed upon the woman in white armor all but glaring daggers into the duo.
"That's more like it. Stupidity," she notes. "Coming alone against us..? You would think them smarter folk. It doesn't matter, though." Lifting her chin, the woman regards the White Blade as she rises from the smoldering wreck and unsheathes her really obscenely long blade. Another weapon-user..?
"This is an unorganized mess, lady; tactics are pointless. It's all about instinct and survival of the fittest. Boo hoo, we picked a side you don't agree with. Get over it--and yourself--and get the Hell out of here." Lifting a thin hand, Shihong waves it about flippantly. "And take that god-awful armor with you. That is /such/ an eyesore."
Then, Rako mentions deals.
Shihong barks a laugh.
"Who said we came here for a deal..?" wonders the Chinese psychic. That's when the White Blade's armor begins to glow and seal itself. Slowly but surely, Shihong's expression grows a little surprised. Frightened..?
Never.
"Tch, figures," the woman murmurs. "None of these assholes can rely on pure strength and skill." Casting her glance aside to Yuu, she quietly asks, "Are you ready? I'll head in first. I'm not sure if she's expecting your friends."
Three. Two. One.
"Come on, bitch!" cries Shihong, who suddenly and fluidly tears off at the woman, red lips pulling over her pearly whites in a nigh-manic sneer. "I eat up chumps like you for /breakfast/!" She'll attempt to close in then, leaping up and letting her body spin around, a leg snapping in a circle to come around and into the side of Rako's head.
COMBATSYS: Shihong has started a fight here on the left meter side.
[\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\ <
Shihong 0/-------/-------|
COMBATSYS: Rako has joined the fight here on the right meter side.
[\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\ < > //////////////////////////////]
Shihong 0/-------/-------|-------\-------\0 Rako
"But it /is/ interesting," Yuu insists as a serene yet detached smile blooms over his lips, looking pointedly at Rako. "Look at her demeanor. She has all the bearings of a person who's already won, despite having prepared nothing for ascertaining it. Isn't that interesting to you?" The puppeteer pushes his glasses up the bridge of his nose, his smile brightening with an eerie look of fascination.
"I think I'd like to see just what goes on inside of her to make her so confident."
Yet, Yuu doesn't move. The breeze unsettles his outfit in its stiff winds as he simply stands there as lifelessly as a statue. Vaguely hunched as he is, he looks relatively unthreatening in everything -- everything except that predatory look in his stare.
"See...?" He murmurs, as blue-white chi flares around Rako's armor. His eyes shut, and he smiles weakly, lifting up his hands. "How frightening." When Shihong speaks though, that smile things, eyes cracking open into tiny slits.
"Of course. If she is prepared for them," he begins, dully.
"... then this'll be much more entertaining than I was expecting."
Shihong bursts forward, and still, Yuu does not do so much as budge. His right finger twitches, vaguely. The shimmer at his fingertips might as well be invisible as his brows lift, and lips part, whispering something entirely to himself.
"... Dukkha."
From the graveyard of cars, something shifts -- something that, until then, easily blended in to the pile of automobile carcasses. Something /large/ springs from their depths into the air, eight long, spindly legs shunting out from ports at the sides of its oval body. A puppet, faces carved throughout the entirety of its spider-like body, its human head affixing completely black, lifeless eyes on Ranko through strands of bushy hair as it divebombs down -- aiming to smash one limb directly into Rako's body in a downward stomp.
"Do you know the nature of suffering...?"
COMBATSYS: Yuu has joined the fight here on the left meter side.
[\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\ < > //////////////////////////////]
Yuu 0/-------/-------|-------\-------\0 Rako
[\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\ <
Shihong 0/-------/-------|
COMBATSYS: Rako dodges Shihong's Spin Kick.
[\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\ < > //////////////////////////////]
Yuu 0/-------/-------|-------\-------\0 Rako
[\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\ <
Shihong 0/-------/-------|
COMBATSYS: Rako blocks Yuu's Medium Strike.
[\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\ < > ///////////////////////////// ]
Yuu 0/-------/-------|-------\-------\0 Rako
[\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\ <
Shihong 0/-------/-------|
Unrepentant, cocky, and arrogant. There might be just a small shake of Rako's head, as if she were unable to rationalize how people would turn traitor like this and then act so confident in their weakness. Wakamoto's words must be a euphoric poison indeed. But then the battle is beginning, and there are no more words given, for the time of them is past, at least for the Cold Will. After all, Rako prefers to speak in her native tongue, the language of blood.
Shihong closes in with a leap, and Rako seems to let her. The kick comes up, snapping to the side of that helmeted head, and it connects - and goes through the helmet? No, it seems to be a kind of after image, the armored figure moving so fast she left an illusion to the eye. No connection is made, but Rako is suddenly standing at Shihong's side. Fortunately, Yuu's sudden use of a puppet distracts Rako long enough that she can't make good on the sudden flank to, well, attempt to slice Shihong in half. Instead, that enormous blade is brought up to deflect the limb as it comes in. She only partly succeeds in redirecting it, but the limb still scrapes at her forearm, wounding if only minorly.
That's when Rako's hand, the one not holding the blade, snaps out towards Shihong, seeking to grab about her throat. If successful, those fingers will impose a rather crushing grip on the woman's throat, lifting her up off the ground for a few moments, before slamming her into the street below.
COMBATSYS: Rako successfully hits Shihong with The Order from Nirvana.
[\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\ < > //////////////////////////// ]
Yuu 0/-------/-------|=------\-------\0 Rako
[ \\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\ <
Shihong 0/-------/------=|
"You're more than welcome to cut the arrogant bitch open when we're done," Shihong asides to Yuu with a cold sneer. "Once she's done I have no plans on keeping her around. She annoys me with that gaudy armor." Scoffing, Shihong's Prada heels crack against splintered asphalt, her gait a stride--before she RIPS forward and attempts to crack her foot into the side of Rako's helmet.
...only, the woman is a GHOST.
Not really, but Shihong briefly considers this as the woman seems to teleport out of harm's way before flanking the Chinese enforcer upon landing. Red eyes briefly widen as the damned blade is raised--
And that's about when Dukkha saves her life.
"Oh, I owe you~!" calls Shihong to Yuu as the spider-like beast distracts the woman. Shihong twists her form, attempting to take a step back--but finds a mean clutching hand around her swan-like neck. Unable to breathe, Shihong flails a bit until she's slammed into the asphalt, a loud grunt escaping her. Even after the suffocating grasp, Shihong can feel its lingering painful effect.
"B-bitch," hisses the woman, red eyes beginning to glow.
"Everything h-has a flaw--don't you THINK that shitty armor will save you!"
Rolling backwards, Shihong comes into a crouch, hands planted. Seconds after her legs IGNITE with vermillion-red fire, one leg coming up to SLAM into Rako's jaw--followed by the other as Shihong defies all sense and comes into a perfect handstand with her momentum--presuming Rako doesn't /cut her in two pieces/ in the process.
"Hmmm. Her speed doesn't seem to be hindered by the weight of her armor. Training? Has she developed a ninkou to lighten it? Or perhaps..." Yuu's words ramble on in a tone of utmost interest as he watches the events unfold before him. His fingers still twitch, he cants his head to the side.
When Shihong is slammed into the ground, he offers help in the way of a most sympathetic wince.
"Ouch."
Diligently, Yuu decides to make a test of that armor of Rako's. His index and middle fingers yank inward, pressing into his palm. Strings of chi tense up in a long path towards Dukkha, the only warning being the faint distortion of light. As Shihong attempts to kick Rako, the large mouth at the spider-like puppets back slides open with an unnatural groan.
Strong, thin wires /spew/ out of it like some sort of bizarre spider weaving a web a second later. The lashing metal coils whip about, aiming to snag around Rako -- around her legs, around her arms, around her torso, to hold her in place... and then /retract/ her, to pin her directly to Dukkha's back.
"Sorry, please hold still for just a second, I'm trying to test something--"
The puppet's legs brace, and then it /leaps/ into the air, twisting around as it descends so that it crashes back-first into the ground, with Rako underneath it.
COMBATSYS: Rako dodges Yuu's Kuro-Hikage.
[ \\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\ < > //////////////////////////// ]
Yuu 0/-------/-------|=------\-------\0 Rako
[ \\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\ <
Shihong 0/-------/-----==|
COMBATSYS: Rako Toughs Out Shihong's Coiled Serpent!!
[ \\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\ < > /////////////////////////// ]
Yuu 0/-------/-------|===----\-------\0 Rako
[ \\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\ <
Shihong 0/-------/----===|
Again, they talk. Shihong snarls defiance. Yuu contemplates her armor. But Rako is only concerned with death and blood, now.
Her reaction to the flaming kicks is perhaps less than what Shihong had hoped for. The blows impact solidly on the armored jaw; the Chinese woman can definitely feel it. But Rako's concern for the damage that may have caused seems almost nonexistant, as if being kicked about the head is something that happens on a daily basis, perhaps the armor being able to absorb the kinetic energy in some way, as well. Whatever the case, she seems entirely too relaxed as those wires streak towards her, seeking to wrap her up and yank her in. Only, the wires don't ever quite get that far. Slicing with her blade, once, twice, thrice, the wires never come in contact with her limbs, the blade despite its size moving quite spritely, as if it were only half its size rather than the monster of a blade it is.
Following this up, Rako turns and swipes the blade at Shihong - however, she seems just a bit too far away to actually cut the Chinese woman in half. Which is why the white chi extending off her blade might be a touch more disconcerting, as it lashes out in a wave, seeking to slam into the traitor woman.
COMBATSYS: Rako successfully hits Shihong with Rat Killer.
- Power hit! -
[ \\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\ < > ////////////////////////// ]
Yuu 0/-------/-------|=====--\-------\0 Rako
[ \\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\ <
Shihong 1/-------/=======|
Despite Shihong's efforts to leave a lasting impression upon Rako, it would seem the woman is less woman and more statue, what with her taking hits like a champ and all. It frustrates Shihong endlessly to see her more or less shrug off her psychically-charged blow; in her mind she swears she'll destroy this woman in some way. She just needs to find an opening.
Yuu's efforts seem in vain as well, the awkward spider webbing missing the armored woman as she basically teleports /again/. This only /further/ annoys Shihong, evident by the way her eyes take on a dim glow. Yes, Shihong is even more pissed by the White Blade.
But before she can contemplate the many thousands of ways she would like to see Rako suffer and die, the woman swings her heavy blade in her general direction. While it doesn't actually CUT AT HER, the action is more than enough to send a wave of white energy crashing most painfully into Shihong's chest and send her flying several feet. She hits the ground with a heavy thud, bouncing once before she finally stops.
"F-fu...damn it..." Slowly, Shihong begins to peel her aching body from the broken earth. "These assholes...with their damned ninkou and shit... I see what you make up for. Strength, stamina; you're just a wimp under all that fancy glowing shit." Standing back, as it were, Shihong takes a moment to breathe.
"Underneath that all you're just some scrawny flat-chested woman who just wants to get laid, I imagine." Reaching up, Shihong wipes blood from her mouth and spits to the side.
"Yuu," she states to her comrade with a slight wheeze. "Give me a second."
COMBATSYS: Shihong gains composure.
[ \\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\ < > ////////////////////////// ]
Yuu 0/-------/-------|=====--\-------\0 Rako
[ \\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\ <
Shihong 1/-------/=======|
"Really," the blue-haired puppeteer begins with the faintest shake of his head as he regards Shihong, "you're far too aggressive for your own good sometimes."
Wires drift in the dry wind as Dukkha backtracks, its eight legs scraping across the concrete ground beneath it. One long leg lifts, crushing into the roof of a nearby station wagon, bending metal inward with a shriek. The puppet's head rotates one-hundred eighty degrees as if it were an owl, only serving to accentuate how its mouth slides open with an inhuman hiss. As if something were coming from it--
The attack, instead, comes from the opposite direction. A hooded figure /tears/ open the door of a gold, partially melted Volkswagen Beetle positioned near Shihong, black fabric rustling around it as it /sprints/ forward with a powerful burst of speed. Billowing sleeves snap forward, a pair of metal ropes /exploding/ from their depths to snag around Rako tightly around the legs and abruptly, ungraciously, fling her to the side through the air.
"You shouldn't overexert yourself," Yuu notes to Shihong as he lands next to her at the end of an abruptly leap. His tone is unflappably pleasant as he pulls free his glasses, rubbing the lenses against his sleeve. "As pretty as that rage of yours makes you, we probably shouldn't try and compromise anything over something as trivial as this, don't you think?"
COMBATSYS: Rako overcomes Miyama-Karasu-Ageha from Yuu with Saija Danjuu Breaching Shot EX.
[ \\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\ < > ////////////////////////// ]
Yuu 0/-------/-------|=====--\-------\0 Rako
[ \\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\ <
Shihong 1/-------/=======|
A few choice phrases flit through Rako's mind as Shihong repeatedly declares her defiance, but the White Blade has faced many dogs who bark loudly at being whipped. The insults seem to roll off her like water over her very fine armor, nothing disturbing her calmness. Though Shihong has backed off for a moment, Yuu's threat still remains. The giant spider had seemed to catch Rako off guard... was it that she didn't know of Yuu's powers, or that she had merely not anticipated the spider's attack at that precise moment? Either way, she seems perhaps a little wary of it. Which is why its distraction is suitable enough to turn her head away from the thing... just briefly, anyway. The cloaked figure bursting free from a car gets Rako's attention soon enough, though.
Ropes extend like tendrils, and rather than cutting them down as she had the spider's wires, this time Rako's hand not gripping her blade reaches for the ancient pistol at her side. Looking as though some kind of very old flintlock, it has strange symbols written on it, likely another ninkou. An .81 calibre pistol, it seems to have been modified in several ways. The first being, it can fire rapidly despite being a single shot muzzle loader. The second being, each .81 inch in diameter tiny cannonball is coated in white chi. Firing from the hip rapidly, the tendrils are shot at and deflected each in turn, with a final shot being delivered towards Yuu himself - a somewhat misaimed snapshot that may yet get lucky.
COMBATSYS: Rako successfully hits Yuu with Saija Danjuu Breaching Shot EX.
[ \\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\ < > ////////////////////////// ]
Yuu 0/-------/----===|=======\-------\0 Rako
[ \\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\ <
Shihong 1/-------/=======|
"... Ah, dear."
It's about the only thing that Yuu manages to say before a chi-coated bullet is shot right at him. Ropes smash into the side of the road before the third shot is fired off. The bullet lodges into Yuu's shoulder with a spray of blood, the raw kinetic force behind the chi-propelled bullet enough to launch the thin ninja /right/ through the air.
Spiraling about, dark crimson fluids splatter across the cracked and desolate ground before Yuu ultimately lands in a crouch roughly ten feet away from Shihong. He skids back a foot more; his shoulder is literally /smoking/ as he presses a hand to it, his face overshadowed by the bangs of his hair. Withdrawing his hand, he stares at the smear of red drooling in thick droplets across his gloved palm.
"... Original shot trajectory was off by twenty degrees," he mutters to himself, extending the tip of his tongue to his palm. "This is such a peculiar sensation... Direct assaults won't really cut it. That ninkou is..."
When Yuu's gaze turns up, his expression is absolutely ecstatic. His widened eyes and smiling lips are just like a child's gazing at a new, favorite toy. Yet still, somehow, his voice remains completely composed as he talks.
"Shihong," he says, staring pointedly down at his blood-stained hand as he rapidly starts making assessments, his puppets beginning a careful withdraw with the half-aware twitching of his fingers. His smile blossoms wider.
"I think this is what you call a 'tag-in.'"
COMBATSYS: Yuu focuses on his next action.
[ \\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\ < > ////////////////////////// ]
Yuu 0/-------/----===|=======\-------\0 Rako
[ \\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\ <
Shihong 1/-------/=======|
The chiding earned by her temper causes Shihong to scoff lightly, red eyes shifting aside in a moment of annoyance. It's less aimed at the eccentric Puppeteer and more at the woman who has been thoroughly thrashing Shihong. She hates this woman; oh yes, she hates her /a lot/.
"You're a sweetheart," lightly chimes the Chinese woman, rouge lips pulling into a too sweet smile. But just when things seem to be going in the favor of the Puppeteer, Rako again proves she's too much woman for anyone to handle; shooting not only his prized puppet, but then Yuu himself. The woman's thin black brows furrow just a bit more.
This is going nowhere fast.
"Giving up so soon? That doesn't seem very much like you, Yuu!" the woman chides after her breather, leaping up from her kneeling crouching and back onto her Prada-clad feet. She doesn't stop; she uses the forward momentum to push her body forward, straight for Rako in a direct approach. Yet, her assault is little more than a thrust of her palm's heel at Rako's gut, a soft blow at best. The REAL oomph comes from the sudden explosion of psychic energy that erupts between both, to blast the heavily-armored broad back and hopefully onto her ass.
"THIS is for my throat!"
COMBATSYS: Rako blocks Shihong's Swallow's Wings.
[ \\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\ < > //////////////////////// ]
Yuu 0/-------/----===|=======\-------\1 Rako
[ \\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\ <
Shihong 1/-------/=======|
Once more, the banter between the two fighters is met with very little except the cold steel visor of Rako's armored helm, not showing even her face behind it. It provides the expression for the woman under the armor: that she isn't amused by these antics. Yuu gets shot, and then the flintlock is replaced in its holster at her side. Since the puppets seem to be backing off, that leaves Shihong to deal with. Indeed, a 'tag-in' situation. And yet Rako seems all too willing to just let them both come to her, as if this somehow provides a good tactical position. Well, Shihong's attack comes in, the palm strike hitting up against the plate at her stomach. And then the psycho energy BURSTS forth, slamming into the armored woman.
Armored boots dig into the asphalt and set strongly. Muscles tense, and then the armor is allowed to do most of the work. It impacts, and does its damage, but you'd be hard pressed to find Rako showing it; she's already moving to counter attack. Namely by doing that thing that seems intent on her mind: cutting Shihong in two. The enormous blade is raised up and for the first time gripped in both hands. Lifting over Rako's head, she'll then be bringing it down like a bladed waterfall of steel, directly down onto Shihong.
COMBATSYS: Shihong interrupts Tonbo Tsukigiri EX from Rako with Savage Tiger EX.
[ \\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\ < > //////////////////// ]
Yuu 0/-------/----===|=======\====---\1 Rako
[ \\\\\\\\\\\ <
Shihong 1/---====/=======|
"I swear, she's probably a /man/ under all of that," hisses the former enforcer with a sharply hooded gaze. Turning her attentions briefly toward the wounded Yuu, she half-wonders if he'll stick through this--or wind up vanishing mysteriously or /something/. Why she got involved with this organization to begin with is beyond her. But...
That's the last thing on her mind the moment Shihong barrels for Rako. Slamming the woman with psychic power, she finds herself none too surprised when the woman, like the mountain she is, seems to hold down her proverbial fort. A sneer twists across Shihong's face when that enormous blade is taken into the woman's hands. It rises, the executioner's sword it is, and swiftly falls--
Yet, the woman at Rako's mercy doesn't move.
Instead, the woman SNAPS a hand out, as that blade mightily falls into her. It bites nastily into Shihong's shoulder, a vicious gout of red splattering across the pristine white armor of the White Blade. "F-finally," Shihong sputters. "/Now/ your armor is less ugly."
In that one, fateful moment, Shihong's hand--the one whose shoulder is not bitten into--has intercepted the blade with shocking force for a woman her size. It's wrenched viciously and locked, blade pulled /out/ of her shoulder--before her heels ignite. With a loud, guttural kiai, Shihong keeps Rako's arm locked as she viciously stabs her heels into the woman's armor, /ascending/ her, each step marked by explosions of vermillion fire before she reaches Rako's shoulders. Then, with another twist, she slams BOTH heels into the woman's shoulders and upper back, more than content to slam the woman face-first into the ground with a lovely curse of, "Bitch!"
"Superb physical defenses. Even my puppets probably won't be much more than a bother while she has that armor on," Yuu mumbles too himself, hardly even noticing Shihong as she looks sidelong at him. Whatever he's doing is hard to make out; hunched over on himself, he seems to still be crouching as if in pain -- but the smile on his face would suggest otherwise.
"What a splendid thing. It's... beautiful. I wonder if he made /that/, /too/...?" His eyes tilt up; he notes the trail of vermillion fire spiraling out from Shihong's limbs. Even with his own defenses, that strange, enchanting energy still hurt him terribly. Still--
The very moment Shihong seeks to slam Rako into the ground so successfully, wires /burst/ forth seemingly from the depths of nothing. Kunai attached to the end of each, they aim to snag Rako, slide around, and /pierce/ those knives into the joints of her armor, to get at whatever exposed flesh they can find. The kunai seem to almost glow as the wires /yank/ upward, to /rip/ Rako into the air... where each and every one of those blades with explode, violently.
The source comes from a multi-armed puppet laying face-down in the ground, covered delicately in camoflauge. Even as it starts to rise, Yuu similarly gets up, walking forward at a steady pace.
"My, you're both scary women! Really -- I can hardly contain myself," he says with a thin smile. "Shihong -- stay back for now. We wouldn't want you to waste all that venom at the wrong time, right?" The message is clear:
Wait for the opportune time to strike.
"I'll have some fun with our playmate for now."
COMBATSYS: Rako dodges Yuu's Hisamatsu-Midori Shijimi.
[ \\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\ < > //////////////////// ]
Yuu 0/-------/-----==|=======\====---\1 Rako
[ \\\\\\\\\\ <
Shihong 1/---====/=======|
Getting one's shoulder hacked and arm nearly hacked -off- is hardly what Rako would call a fair trade, even if in the process the high-heeled woman gets to mess her up pretty nicely. Though the White Blade doesn't -say- anything, Shihong can pretty much feel it in a slight hesitation, a little bit of caution. Rako was surprised that Shihong did that. And then Rako gets kicked lots, /with fire/. Each slam of the heels actually causes the woman in the armor to stagger back a half step or so, and then when the final kick comes, Rako is slammed down into the ground, face-first, just like Shihong wanted. It seemed to hurt, for Rako doesn't really stand up for a moment.
Yuu's attack comes shortly thereafter, and that's when the Cold Will of Shouten finally moves. She simply rolls, pitching herself to the side, the rope-kunai slamming into the ground where she had been just a moment ago. She does this several times, to avoid a few of the ropes, and then finally sticks her sword into the ground, rolling over against it, pushing up, then prying herself off the ground with it while still using the momentum from the rolls, doing a partial flip, and then landing on her feet, skidding a small distance. After that, she straightens, and then lifts the blade out, beckoning with her free hand in a 'is that all? come get me' gesture.
COMBATSYS: Rako stills her mind. "I am the Cold Will."
[ \\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\ < > //////////////////// ]
Yuu 0/-------/-----==|=======\=====--\1 Rako
[ \\\\\\\\\\ <
Shihong 1/---====/=======|
For all of Shihong's confidence, it doesn't make the pain in her arm feel any less painful. The fact that vicious blade ate deeply into her shoulder does not settle well with the former enforcer; she only hopes she won't need stitches. Or have it amputated. Or...something.
Still, Shihong feels certainly vindicated. Stepping away as the woman lay face-down on the ground, she casts a cursory glance toward Yuu--and the puppet that seeks to snare the woman with its odd strings and blow her the hell up. But, once again, the woman just avoids the onslaught altogether. Shihong's expression darkens.
"I can't sit here while this bitch all but trounces on us," Shihong argues toward Yuu, eyes shifting from the Puppeteer toward the woman in white. "And I sure as hell refuse to bow down to a woman who can't separate herself from the Japanese Renfaire. Tch."
'Come at me,' Rako's gesture says.
"Fine, you want it?"
Shifting her weight and form into a wide stance, vermillion flames begin to lap and dance around the woman's feet. Stretching her arms out before and behind her, Shihong readies her body, focusing on that psychic energy, eyes glowing a fierce shade of crimson. For a moment, the woman simply bides her time--then with a sudden blur of motion, she LEAPS at Rako, seeking to SLAM into the woman's chest with a vicious and burning side kick.
...and should THAT connect Shihong will land in a crouch before she flip backwards, slamming her feet into Rako's chin with enough force to launch her skyward. That's when Shihong will drop considerably low, arms stretched out once more as the fires on her legs and feet roar violently, which only help to launch her after Rako as she attempts to catch the woman in the back on her fall down, to SLAM her burning heel into her and rock the woman with a vicious blast of angry Psycho Power.
"Tsk," Yuu laments, shaking his head as each of those knives explode one after the other -- but /not/ in Rako's body. His lips purse together.
"Such an irritatingly nimble girl!" His expression is delighted. His voice is delighted.
Everything else about him is not.
Marga, the camoflaged puppet, moves forward in a shambling, unnatural movement. It looks like a four-limbed zombie as it stumbles forward, its upper-left arm rising. Samudaya, the cloaked puppet, lands next to it a second later, its own gait more refined and purposeful; its right arm lifts, pressing against Marga's. As they separate, the faint glimmer of light is the only sign of the wires now attached between them.
"Now, now, let's not be so hasty. I'll restrain her, so that--"
And Shihong launches forward. Yuu's head tilts faintly to the right.
"... Hm," Yuu's hand twitches, and he smiles. "I suppose I can't blame you..."
Marga and Samudaya leap forward in a blur of motion, attempting to outpace Shihong. Before she can make contact, the two puppets seperate, moving in oppositional rotations around Rako. Those wires drift outward, and then /restrict/, aiming to bind her in an exceptionally tight, exceptionally sharp embrace... and then begin compressing to hold her in place for the approach of Shihong and her Psycho Powered fury.
"... I'm feeling a bit excited too."
COMBATSYS: Rako blocks Shihong's Kirin.
[ \\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\ < > ///////////////// ]
Yuu 0/-------/-----==|=======\=======\1 Rako
[ \\\\\\\\\ <
Shihong 0/-------/---====|
COMBATSYS: Rako endures Yuu's Gomadara-Chou.
[ \\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\ < > //////////// ]
Yuu 0/-------/----===|>>>>>>>\>>>>>>>\2 Rako
[ \\\\\\\\\ <
Shihong 0/-------/---====|
She beckons them forth, and they do not disappoint.
Shihong crouches low, building up her energy. It flares about her, coloring her eyes, making her legs seem aflame. Rako focuses on the Chinese woman - though perhaps that was a bad idea, as Yuu's puppets begin to move again. But by the time the armored woman seems to realize Yuu's intent, Shihong is already making her explosive leap towards Rako with pain on her mind. So there's little choice with the wires; as Rako can feel the energies building up around the finely dressed woman, it seems evident that Shihong's attack is somewhat more threatening. The wires bind, and Rako surrenders to them. All so she can shift her body subtly, to let the armor take what is about to come.
A powerful knee knocks Rako upwards, straining the puppet wires around her sharply enough to hurt, but eventually they slip away from her body, their job done, as there's little left for Rako to do to block. She keeps shifting, very subtly, to let her armor take most of the pain being dished out, but this isn't to say the armored woman doesn't feel it. Oh, no. In fact while it might seem like Rako isn't being hurt at all due to all that armor, were the armor off, blood would be found. The heel smacks against her, psycho energy exploding--
And there's something odd about Rako's blade.
Oh, Shihong kicked Rako's ass pretty badly, but that wasn't to say the armored woman was just sitting there taking it. As Shihong hurt her, the White Blade's blade had turned into a crimson red, energy evaporating off it like a flame. And, as Shihong's heel connects, and psycho energy explodes, Rako is sent rocketing to the ground - only it's a touch more controlled than one would expect. Chiefly, she's moving over towards Yuu. And raising that bloody, flaming blade. And she's seeking to give one, violent, savage stroke of the blade downwards, hard enough that hit or miss, the entire street below Rako and Yuu is going to be cracked in a straight line extending both ways, nearly cutting the street in half.
After her exertion, Shihong spares only a brief moment to catch her breath, red eyes immediately shifting toward the heavily-armored woman. In the back of her mind, Shihong realizes that the pair are certainly outclassed--this woman has dealt so easily with some of their stronger efforts. And yet, for all their progress /they/ are the ones essentially suffering.
Frowning deeply, she only turns her attention to the blade when it begins to turn an eerie shade of red. That, the Chinese woman mulls, cannot possibly be good. But there's no time to worry about consequences--not right now, not when she wants to kill them.
Shihong Mao is not ready to die yet.
"Yuu!" is the woman's cry as the blade is held aloft. Whether it hits or misses, Shihong is shifting her stance wide, both arms out before her. Between both pale hands a spark of crimson erupts--growing and coalescing rapidly, building hurriedly up. With one graceful, delicate and winding gesture of her lanky arms the energy is released, a roaring, vaguely dragon-like burst of pure Psycho Power aimed to slam into Rako and HOPEFULLY stop her before she can mess them up any worse.
"Damn this broad..!"
COMBATSYS: Yuu endures Rako's Tonbo Tsukigiri, Stones Asunder.
>> Decisive Hit!! <<
[ \\\\\\\\ < > ///////////// ]
Yuu 1/----===/=======|====---\-------\0 Rako
[ \\\\\\\ <
Shihong 0/-------/----===|
Distantly, a low-pitch whine can be heard.
It's soft enough to not be noticeable, especially in the midst of such a heated fight, but it is there. A low drone of pressure, the faintest sound of pieces of metal grinding against each other in high-pressure vibrations, seeming to come from everywhere and yet no where.
It might as well simply be a background note as Rako makes her move, literally making use of the momentum that Shihong provides her to /crash/ towards Yuu. Shihong shouts his name as the puppeteer looks up. His eyes widen. It might look like surprise --
--if not for how he's smiling so very, very wide.
"How brilliant! Show me /every inch of your power/--"
The blade sweeps downward in a mighty stroke. It is inches away -- when the massive form of Dukkha interposes itself, back-first.
The boom is deafening. Rubble and dust spray everywhere; a spindly limb goes flying, crashing into a nearby car. The street is nearly cleaved in twain. And in the aftermath...
... Yuu is still there, crouched. A long, jagged scar runs down the entire front of his torso, staining his dark blue clothes with deep red. Dukkha has been cut in half, yet the defense, despite keeping Yuu from being cut in half, seems to have done nothing for the mental trauma; blood drools down his nostrils in thick trails, globlets of dark red welling up at the corner of his right ear. Yet despite it... he is smiling.
"... heh."
Marga and Samudaya attack; the very instant the sword stroke complete itself, accupuncture needles /spray/ from both their mouths, aiming to strike Rako's exposed joints, to paralyze her systems even for the briefest of moments. That whining grows louder, louder, louder--
"... heh heh heh... hahaha... you're so..."
And then the ground beneath Rako EXPLODES. A geyser of magma -- literally, molten lava -- spears out of the ground like a lance, to engulf the armored Rako completely and utterly. In the ground underneath, the reason can be seen clearly; Yuu's final puppet burrowed deep into the earth, slowly claws its way upward from its hiding spot, melted metal from steel ignots drooling from a large cannon in its chest.
"... so interesting...!"
COMBATSYS: Shihong successfully hits Rako with Coiled Dragon.
[ \\\\\\\\ < > //////// ]
Yuu 0/-------/-------|======-\-------\0 Rako
[ \\\\\\\ <
Shihong 0/-------/--=====|
COMBATSYS: Yuu successfully hits Rako with Tsumajiro Ura-Janome.
[ \\\\\\\\ < > /// ]
Yuu 0/-------/-------|=======\-------\1 Rako
[ \\\\\\\ <
Shihong 0/-------/--=====|
The sword strike is intercepted, though it's difficult to tell that from the way Yuu looks after the strike. Even the air pressure from the falling blade - the radiant energy from that burning red chi - is enough to hurt, and it seems Yuu understands that very well, now. But the unusual defensive style is... well, unusual. And it gives Rako pause. For what reason would he sacrifice a puppet, one of his primary weapons, instead of trying to dodge away...? It would be like Rako letting her blade get sliced in half. Admittedly Yuu had more than one blade, but--
The attacks come from above and below, like the literal Heaven and Hell. Radiant psycho fire, and lava.
The attack from below comes too fast. The attack from above is from a blind spot. Though Rako indeed tries to escape from both, her body moving with unnatural speed, it's a simple equation of economy of motion. She had to move after the other two had already begun their attacks, and they had less distance to cover than she did to get out of the way. And so, she's hit, on both sides. It's hard to see precisely what happens given the sudden bath in molten steel, but the aftermath is pretty clear. She's still alive. But... not in a good shape. The chi lines are fading from her armor, flickering and shriveling. Part of her helmet has been torn away, revealing most of her math and her left eye. Parts of the armor are similarly cracked, broken, and damaged. ...Considering it just fended off a shower of lava, however, it's in pretty good shape. And so is Rako. Enough so that as the molten steel clears, Yuu can see her aiming the barrel of her gun at him.
Instead of a cannonball this time, a white energy whip extends from the barrel, shooting out and, well, seeking to wrap like a snake around Yuu's head. If successful, Rako will yank on the gun and the whip, pulling the puppeteer off his feet, then slamming him back to the ground. Hit or miss, though, the gun will be lowered, holstered, and then the White Blade's sword is then shoved into the ground, the woman leaning heavily on it. "Enough. I cannot stop you if you wish to embark on this foolishness. ...And I suppose, in a way, this too is following the Ryouhara's will."
COMBATSYS: Rako can no longer fight.
[ \\\\\\\\ <
Yuu 0/-------/-------|
[ \\\\\\\ <
Shihong 0/-------/--=====|
It would be a lie to say Shihong is not satisfied by Rako's pain.
Watching as Yuu intercepts the attack in a fashion that's certainly one of its kind, Shihong cannot help but find herself impressed by his tenacity. He's been wounded very badly--more so than herself--and still presses on. For a split-second, Shihong's heart flutters--
"Shit--!" is her less-than gracious cry of surprise when Yuu's final creation BURSTS through the ground and spews molten lava upon Rako. It isn't an unfamiliar sight to Shihong, however. Swiftly her expression changes from surprise to morbid delight.
"That was fantastic!" she exclaims. "You rea--"
When the proverbial (and perhaps literal) smoke clears, Rako stands with her gun in Yuu's face. Shihong's expression darkens, and at this distance there's no way she can beat a damn bullet, she thinks in those fateful split seconds.
COMBATSYS: Shihong has left the fight here.
[ \\\\\\\\ <
Yuu 0/-------/-------|
COMBATSYS: Yuu dodges Rako's Saija Danjuu, Shrinking Ground EX.
[ \\\\\\\\ <
Yuu 0/-------/-------|
Superheated metals splatter in thick globlets across the broken and devastated road, the very air around them all steaming as the heat rises noticeably. Yuu pushes himself up off the ground, stumbling backward three steps before he wipes his right hand against the underside of his nose, smearing even more blood across his once-pristine glove.
"That is quite the sturdy ninkou," Yuu compliments before the magma even parts away from Rako, his smile unusually pleased despite the pain he must be feeling. "I wonder if he made it with this sort of situation in mind...?"
And as the debris settles and the molten steel splits away, Yuu frowns as he stares down the barrel of a gun.
"Now that's just bad sportsman--"
The coil of energy snaps out; the following events are hard to make out, even by the perceptive eye. Yuu pivots abruptly, dark blue cloth billowing about him like an obscuring matador's cape. There is a loud /crack/; the energy whip snags /something/ and snaps backward, even as Yuu lands a second later, minus his coat. His white shirt underneath is stained with blood even as that coat is dragged into the air and into the ground; Rako may notice within the folds of the abandoned coat, something glimmering and cylindrical, like a metal tube.
"--ship. You are really too frightening!"
There is a pause, as Yuu considers. Taking a step back, his remaining puppets all leap back one by one. Shrugging apathetically, the blue-haired man leans back, looking up at the waning light in the sky. "... I think we've wasted too much time on this," he remarks to Shihong. "I've seen what we need to see. There's no need to dawdle with someone whose only trick is tenacity, is there?"
COMBATSYS: Yuu has ended the fight here.
With a sharp whistle, Shihong steps forward, making the motions to begin walking toward the other two. Grinning slyly now, those red eyes are fixed upon Rako, who leans tiredly upon it for support. "Oh my, you are much faster than I'd given you credit for, Yuu," Shihong notes, her gaze shifting back toward the heavily-bleeding Puppeteer. "But that was very impressive."
Coming to stop, Shihong's hands lift and rest akimbo on her hips. With her attention on Yuu, she seems to cast aside Rako's existence. "Wasted time doesn't even begin to describe this debacle," she notes. "What a pain in the ass..."
Glancing aside, she regards the White Blade. "Why don't you try coming at us without your little Iron Man suit next time? I'd admire your strength and tenacity far, far more."
Looking back to Yuu, she offers a thin smirk. "However, yes, you're right. We should move on; besides, you probably need a doctor or something, I don't know." Stepping past both, the Chinese woman begins to move along the broken, splintered asphalt streets with a casual gait, despite the gruesome wound on her shoulder.
"You should stop flirting and come along, Yuu~! I'll leave you behind if you don't."
And, with that promise, Shihong moves to be on her way.
Losing here could be considered a smudge upon Rako's honor. After all, she was sworn to loyalty to Seishirou, and his goals, and having traitors within the organization was something of a bad mark upon that loyalty. If Wakamoto's ideals held out, what would it mean for the loyalists? Would Ryouhara's will simply vanish?
And yet if Rako seems disraught at losing, it doesn't show, even though part of her face is exposed. She just seems more tired than anything, having gone to some great lengths to beat two skilled fighters who under normal circumstances would've ended her pretty quickly. She'd had to use 'that ninkou' - something that wasn't very smart to use often. So yes, exhaustion, rather than annoyance, defeat, or anything else, seems to be in the White Blade's expression. She even meets Shihong's glance for a moment, and gives her a very small smile. As to what it could mean, who knows?
Rako Saze is nothing if not a realist. She had been defeated here; it meant nothing more than that. She would simply move on, as would these two. This was merely a pebble in the stream of what was happening. A particularly troublesome pebble, to be sure, one Rako would have liked to stamp out. But when all is said and done... you do not kill the snake by that river by attacking its tail.
You go for the head.
Rako can be seen lifting her sword up, sheathing the blade on her back. And then, she isn't seen any more. Simply gone is the Cold Will of Shouten, as if she never were.
Log created on 20:09:46 05/24/2010 by Shihong, and last modified on 18:03:28 05/28/2010.