Description: VENGEANCE! High above the skies of Taizhou, those who have survived Jiro's fatal journey into Nenzhao encounter the one most responsible for his demise: Juri Han. Consumed by her own lust for violence and blinded by arrogance she assaults the three with reckless violence. Afterwards a single body could be seen falling from the skyway and into the writhing mass of crows below. Revenge has been done, vengeance is only just beginning...
Disappointing, crushing defeat! That's all that had been waiting for Tenma and Hakuya on the Suiryuuko Maru. The two of them had fought like true pros, but what are you going to do against ninjas? Seriously, what. They were dodging EVERYTHING and it wasn't like they were really being all that slow! But in any case, the sad fact of the matter was, Tenma and Hakuya, the Guardian Kings, lost the match to win Shiraha, which apparently could have done something about Katsuten, to a pair of ninjas. There was no escaping that. It didn't set well with either Gedo teen, because they actually had, you know, the thought to put Shiraha to good use. But what about these ninjas? What did THEY want to do with the sword? Take it and split?
Someone had died to put them on that boat. Ninjas splitting with the sword wasn't going to happen... if Hakuya and Tenma had any say about it.
So, back in the city and yes, /shadowing ninjas/, Hakuya had pointed out these totally awesome skyways that had begun to float over the city. They kind of looked like thick bands of lightning, but weren't cooking the street into lava. So Hakuya had given one a try - and look! It had supported weight! And didn't kill them, that was probably the better part of that whole exchange. Considering Yurika and Ibuki were /ninjas/ being able to move at an elevated level would probably help keep up with the two a good deal, and so Hakuya had suggested they use them. And here they are.
Of course, Hakuya had no real idea where the nuts Katsuten was. He /assumed/ the Nenzhao building, but it had been Tenma who had seen it, not him. That's presumably where they were headed, excepting that suddenly FIRE CROWS had flown in to blanket the area above where Yurika and Ibuki were holed up. "Um... I don't think birds are supposed to be on fire. Are they, Tenma?" Hakuya asks, looking down at the 500 some feet to the ground, where most of what they can see is carpeted with flaming black birds.
'Following the ninjas who /stole/ that totally sweet magic sword or whatever it was out from under them to ambush them later' seemed like a really good idea at the time.
Of course, to Tenma Kiryuu, /all/ of his ideas seem good at the time, if not outright flashes of pure, inspired genius. Sometimes afterwards, not so much, but like hell he's going to admit that. Crossing the strands of mysteriously charged energy that crisscross the sky over Taizhou seemed like an even /better/ idea, since they would be up in the air and have a superior vantage point when, of course, things get sort of annoying.
The 'fire crows' that prevent their further pursuit of Yurika and Ibuki are the recipients of a truly scathing tirade from Tenma Kiryuu, who tosses insults at the birds in at least three languages - although the Portuguese ones are sort of mangled, owing to him just repeating words he's heard before. He's really getting sick of the pervert kidnapper ninja's game, and not because things have really not gone well since setting off to infiltrate Taizhou.
Well, not /just/ because.
"Who cares, they're stupid!" Tenma replies to Hakuya, shooting off another glare at the blackness down below.
He might be more frustrated about other things.
Zach could hear Tenma from where he was standing on his own thread. Testing them out for traversability was an idea he had gotten from recalling a fight with Aranha. What he was going to do with that idea, well, who knew? Zach sure as hell did not. He had managed to get seperated from Tenma during the insanity surrounded the Katsuten, seeking a place to wait for the worst of it out while looking for a way out of Taizhou. Neither had been particularly successful.
Glen maps out a circuitous path across the webways, heading toward the Gedo pair with a look of concentration. It's a long way down, and freaking fire crows were not helping things at all...
There's something far more disturbing about the skyways over Taizhou now. From here you can see for miles in every direction. If the travelers upon the ethereal road had seen the island in all its glory before the so-called tournament had reached its current fever pitch then they may realize now it's quite a different place. The military invaders from off-shore have made their mark and massive plumes of smoke rise from unchecked fires ravaging the buildings in the city. These mirky blooms are hazardous in more ways than one: The choking mire threatens those that travel through them with suffocation and death, and they make it harder to tell where you are stepping along the invisible roadway.
And while the three travel along this treacherous road, yet more treachery is afoot. It can not be seen yet, or heard, but there is a definite presence nearby. Their footsteps along the roadway had sent minor tremors through the strands and like a spider stalking its prey the creature is ready for the opportune time to strike. It will begin, as it turns out, with a warning.
Hakuya's PDA will buzz quite unexpectedly. Should he take it out it will reveal a message from someone he might not expect: Jiro. It's a simple message: "She's Here." Soon the PDA will buzz again and a new message will appear: "For You."
At that very moment a sudden breeze picks up threatening to blow the unwary from the high perch atop the platform. A cloud of billowing clears away to reveal a familiar figure standing between the three and the path they need to take. Her back is to them and the emblem of a spider on her back is shown quite clearly: It shouldn't take any time at all for Hakuya to figure out who it is. And if it does, then that voice so menacing and dripping with barely restrained sadism floats through the air to the group's ears.
"I've had fun." She begins simply while reaching up to her hair. Deftly she begins to remove the four hair bands holding it up in that iconic double horn shape while she continues to speak, "It's been so long since I've been allowed out. Allowed out to see the sun and the stars. Been allowed to go where my feet would take me, to meet new people and do new things." The long black hair gently falls down to below her shoulder blades, obscuring the spider on her back. It's strange, as she speaks her voice loses that normal menacing quality and becomes almost ... normal.
The further-destructed Taizhou doesn't really affect or impress Hakuya any. Really, it was a zone of destruction to -begin- with, and this was where Seishirou was hiding away, or so he thought. It followed completely logically, then, that Taizhou would just get all the more destroyed as time went by. And it'd been awhile since they entered Taizhou on ATVs and dunebuggies, after all. Hakuya is a bit more concerned with /fire crows/. They look, well. Interesting. And also not good. And Tenma was right, in his totally accurate, scientifically reasoned thinking: the birds were obscuring their view more than anything else, so it was hard to know what Yurika and Ibuki were doing (hence, stupid). They were probably going to need to go down there, but that presented certain problems.
"Huh?" Hakuya asks suddenly, and reaches for his PDA. A text from Jiro. The message leaves him completely baffled. Wasn't 'Ullr' dead...? So that meant he couldn't have sent the text. Or he probably would've sent something a bit more, uh, 'help me out of this burning building'ish. Which meant-- oh crap. "Tenma!" Hakuya suddenly calls with urgency, and turns to start looking all around the skyways. Of course, Juri doesn't really make it hard to spot her, and in fact calls them all out, even if Hakuya hadn't said anything. Tenma and Zach wouldn't really know who the woman was... but Hakuya does, and just the sight of her causes the teenager to shift back a little bit. Afraid? ...Maybe, yeah. She /was/ insanely tough. And had killed Jiro. Or maybe he was just keeping his footing.
Juri lets her hair down, and acts almost... normal? Which for a moment actually gives the kineticist some pause. What was going on? Was she-- nah. Couldn't possibly be. Not /this/ woman. And really, Hakuya was willing to give ~anybody~ a second chance to prove they weren't evil. Juri had just proven herself to be beyond that sort of thing. "Tenma..." Hakuya says, probably loud enough for Zach to hear on his strand a bit over yonder. "That's the one. She's the one who attacked us in the Nenzhao building. She's the one who killed him."
A more objective person might wonder if it's really a good idea for Tenma to have a friend who pretty much just enables him all the time; the Gedo swordsman's own thinking, of course, is that it's just right and proper. Which... Well, that just proves the initial point, doesn't it?
The King of Blood can /feel/ Zach's presence, unusual not-quite-chi or no, although he doesn't seem to pay the psion much mind at all. Instead, he stares down at the seething mass of fire crows intently, as if weighing something important with his keen, cunning mind. Mostly, he's wondering what would happen if he spit from this high up.
When Hakuya calls out, though, Tenma looks up; when the other Guardian King indicates something bad is happening, Tenma's dark blue eyes immediately turn towards the form of Juri, and he's already guessed before Hakuya even tells him. The way the other King reacts...
As Juri talks, Tenma lifts his left hand to his mouth, biting into his thumb. The skin breaks, the flesh is split, and blood drips down his digit onto his palm, to the blood-red prayer beads the teenager wears about his wrist. He doesn't really seem to care. That thumb is drawn along the blessed wooden blade of his bokken, his signature weapon still the first one he goes for, despite the red Miraitou tucked through his belt in back. The stripe of blood painted down the wooden sword starts the chi link; Kiryuu sweeps the blade through the air, initialising it, setting a smoky aura of crimson, blood and chi mingled together until they're the same thing, to radiate from the weapon.
"That's too bad," Tenma says, although his tone holds little in the way of commiseration. "'cause I'm pretty sure there's none of that where you're going." Those words are the only warning Tenma gives, before taking off like a shot towards Juri. The weariness in his body is forgotten, the injuries sustained over his time in Taizhou. Tenma Kiryuu is the King of Blood, and as he thrusts his chi-emanating bokken out in a stab at Juri's back, focusing his energy at the point of the blade, it's clear that's what he's out for.
If the point strikes, the energy massed there 'sticks' to Juri, catching her for just enough time for Tenma to twist and pivot, swinging the Krazy Korean in a wide overhead arc before releasing her.
He means to throw her off the skyway, five hundred feet to the ground below.
But surely, Juri Han won't die /that/ easily, right?
COMBATSYS: Tenma has started a fight here on the right meter side.
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Tenma 0/-------/-------|
COMBATSYS: Juri has joined the fight here on the left meter side.
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Juri 0/-------/------=|-------\-------\0 Tenma
COMBATSYS: Hakuya has joined the fight here on the right meter side.
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Juri 0/-------/------=|-------\-------\0 Hakuya
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Tenma 0/-------/-------|
COMBATSYS: Zach has joined the fight here on the right meter side.
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Juri 0/-------/------=|-------\-------\0 Zach
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Hakuya 0/-------/-------|
[ \\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\ <
Tenma 0/-------/-------|
Zach does, in fact, hear Hakuya's statement. This woman killed Jiro. Which, really, only told Zach one thing: she was fairly dangerous. He'd fought Jiro before, and had no doubt that Kisagi had only gotten stronger during the time since. It's what fighters /do/, and Jiro's a fighter. Logic's fairly sound. The psion's eyes narrow as he reaches back for his own sword, a violet-colored match for Tenma's own newly acquired blade. Keeping it tucked behind his back seemed like a good idea, even if Tenma had done much the same thing. If Tenma and Hakuya had not seen the explosive psyker in action, they might think he intended to end this in one shot.
Zach leaps towards Juri with an insane speed as he yanks the blade free of the sheath with a bright purple flare. The small man roars as completes his arc by driving the tip of that odd wakazashi right through that spider on the woman's back. He'd wanted a chance to get Jiro to see some reason and stop the whole 'Jiro is dead' crap. It's too late for that now, but perhaps vengance could be had...
COMBATSYS: Juri blocks Zach's Aggressive Strike.
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Juri 0/-------/-----==|-------\-------\0 Zach
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Hakuya 0/-------/-------|
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Tenma 0/-------/-------|
COMBATSYS: Juri interrupts Asura from Tenma with Senpusha.
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Juri 0/-------/----===|-------\-------\0 Zach
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Hakuya 0/-------/-------|
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Tenma 0/-------/-======|
Juri is identified swiftly, just as she had expected. She laughs to herself softly, "So many wonderful memories..." her voice seems wistful and soft as she speaks, "... I wish I could thank everyone for them." Turning to face the three, her eyes are closed and there is a warm smile on her face. Like this she just seems like a normal, attractive young Korean woman. "But..."
It doesn't last.
Juri's eyes snap open, filled with predatory hunger as they always are. As Tenma and Zach streak toward her with the intent to avenge their fallen comrade she continues to speak, "... I can't do that, because they've become just a memory. So instead I'll ask you." As the wakizashi lances toward her the woman swiftly blocks it by impacting one of her arms against Zach's arm and sending the blade wide. That's one attack down, one more to go. So as she stares directly in Tenma's eyes a twisted smile blossoms across her lips, "When you become a memory ... tell them 'thank you'."
A loud cackle splits the sky and we find Juri spinning in mid-air! Her upper torso is parallel to the ground as she spins like a demented top from Hell. That's not the dangerous part though. The dangerous part are her feet spinning vertically in a split! Each foot has a violet trail of energy streaking behind it as they impact against Tenma. Two rotations with two kicks each, and enough of a taste of Juri's psycho power to demonstrate why you wouldn't want to be hit with something like that again.
When she lands, Juri gently rubs the red mark on her arm where the bokken had impacted her earlier. A cold chuckle escapes her lips, "Wow... using your own blood huh? I like you. Maybe after I'm finished killing your friends I'll take you back with me. He's always aching for new test subjects with unique abilities after all. It might get him off my back for a while if he had a new toy to play with."
Tenma and Zach are faster to attack than Hakuya is. Probably because he had to catch himself a little, in terms of apprehension. Was he scared of Juri? ...Probably, a little bit. But not so scared he'd turn away and run and hide. Just... needs a second to overcome that moment of fear. His hands clench as Zach's strike is turned away, and then as Tenma gets kicked the kineticist is already in motion, rushing to add to the fight. Three against one /might/ seem like overkill... but int his one situation, that's exactly what they need, so Hakuya isn't going to question it at all.
Perfectly timed to try and give Tenma just a moment to recover from Juri's counter attack, Hakuya storms past the fallen King of Blood, coming in low. Since he's already found that gravity and such acts a little wonky along these skyways (you could jump from one to the next at improbable distances) he's just going to have to make his own gravity. An attempt is made to grab Juri about the waist with an extended arm, shoulder set into the Korean's stomach. If caught, Hakuya will pick her up and carry her a small, rushed distance, and then, swinging around in a full 180, throws weight and momentum behind her to try and slam her into the ground.
That probably could've gone better.
Tenma can certainly see, though, why Juri is strong enough to have killed Jiro Kasagi, strong enough to have given Hakuya pause even beyond her probable super craziness. The energy... That not-chi again, sears the Guardian King painfully even more than the actual kicking possibly. The final impact sends Tenma flying, which is the opposite of what he was planning, although the Guardian King is able to keep from falling off the energy pathway, if only barely, landing in a low crouch. That really hurt.
But...
"Too late for that, bitch," Tenma grits out, blood running from his mouth, red between his teeth highlighting the white as he grins a broad, unpleasant grin that doesn't reach his eyes. There's something cold there, something that's only come out a few times in the past; when he fought Kula on top of Gedo High, during the Siege of Southtown. When they fought Ayame and Marise, in the basement under Capital 7.
No hesitation, no holding back. No mercy.
Straightening up, Tenma watches how Juri moves, noting only absently as Hakuya attacks her. "That Jiro Kasagi idiot died protecting my best friend, and you're the one who killed him. So, I'm going to do him a favour. I'm going to send you to hell so he can thank you... personally!!" as he exclaims the last word, Tenma's swordarm sweeps in a wide arc, but he's too far from Juri to strike her with the weapon; in the red afterimage that follows the blade, though, something is born. A roiling crescent of blood erupts forth, slicing through the air as it cuts towards Juri.
Zach watches Tenma and Hakuya attempt to unload on Juri with his eyes narrowed. Something's... off here. Something familiar but still difficult to place. He winces at Kiryuu's expression as he unloads a chi blast at the woman. Zach decides tangling with her in close range may not be the best of ideas, sheathing the Mirai Blade for a moment before raising his hands into the air.
"PILE SMASH!" he calls out as he summons three large blocks of psycho power, holding them there for just a moment before simply dropping them on the Korean chick with enough force to possibly smash through the Threads of Fate!
COMBATSYS: Juri dodges Hakuya's Tidal Crush.
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Juri 0/-------/----===|-------\-------\0 Zach
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Hakuya 0/-------/-------|
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Tenma 0/-------/-======|
COMBATSYS: Zach successfully hits Juri with Pile Smash.
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Juri 0/-------/--=====|=------\-------\0 Zach
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Hakuya 0/-------/-------|
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Tenma 0/-------/-======|
COMBATSYS: Juri slows Dharmapala from Tenma with EX Fuhajin.
Glancing Hit
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Juri 0/-------/-======|=------\-------\0 Zach
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Hakuya 0/-------/-------|
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Tenma 1/-------/=======|
Next comes Hakuya, the rambler as Juri often mentions him. She chuckles softly as she can see the apprehension in his eyes - something that gives her a thrill of delight. "Don't worry, this time there isn't a fire waiting for you at the bottom. There's just..." she glances down at the HUGE MASS OF FIREY CROWS seething below the sky way, and then at the lightning striking around all the fighters. With a click of her tongue she reaches behind her head to grip her foot while she stretches briefly, "Well, it's not that much different after all I guess."
The other advantage of fighting Hakuya before is that she recognizes his attacks. Which is quite useful when he comes at her with all his speed and strength to try and grab her with his arm!
Unfortunately for him she simply leaps out of the way while he rushes past under her. Unfortunately for Juri there are these massive blocks of Psycho Power overhead that come crashing down like a ton of bricks! With a low grumble of "Whatever." she stands once more, just in time to see a massive crescent of blood slice it's way toward her! Her body flashes, and her leg sweeps through the air as a tempest of purple energy ignites around her foot! She attempts to knock his projectile out of the air without difficulty. And she is successful: somewhat.
The energy crescents clash slightly off center sending hers careening off into uselessness while Tenma's continues on to slash against the side of her torso! She grips the side that is hit and when she pulls her hand away it's covered in her own blood. The blade had cut deep - deep enough that the blood is now draining freely down her side and staining the white of her pants. Her fist clenches closed, and holds it up to Tenma's direction, "Oh, I'll break you! ALL OF YOU! Just you wait!"
Oh, right. Juri is also a dodgey-type. Was she a ninja like Yurika and Ibuki? Who knows; either way, she can move. Hakuya's attack misses, and he charges right on past her like a small herd of buffalo. Channeling the momentum into a turn, he digs his sneakered feat into the lightning trail beneath him, and turns. Just in time to see Zach's psycho blocks slam down, and then Tenma's usual projectile of blood swooping in, getting partially diminished, then finishing the job. Looks like it hurt, actually! ...Though, uh, hurt in this case means that Juri gets even more pissed. Right. He should've remembered that part, too.
"You've broken enough people and things in this city!" Hakuya cries out to Juri's back. And with that, the kineticist decides to put a little English on his normal moves, since she seems so used to what he can already do. Pushing off his feet with what remains of his momentum, the Guardian King second launches towards Juri, with a single intent in his mind. It might be hinted at with the fact his right hand is glowing a blue color. At once, Hakuya lands, plants his feet, and then palm strikes at Juri's back. If successful, the open-handed punch itself won't do much damage, but then it'll be followed up with a kinetic wave of chi, having collected kinetic energy on the way down, and now simply reversing it - into the Spider's back, like the pressure wave of a grenade.
The difference in caliber between the three fighters arrayed and Juri is... Pretty large, Tenma can tell that. Of course, that's them /individually/. And even if that weren't a concern, the Kiryuu heir has never been one to let a gap in skill stop him before, even in a /normal/ fight. He's gone toe to toe with the likes of Kain R. Heinlein without fear... Juri Han is a walk in the park, by comparison. A walk in a dark park full of homicidal maniacs, but regardless: Park.
See, because she's Korean, and... Ahh, nevermind.
"Oh yeah?" Tenma wonders, at Juri's increasingly frantic threats, her fist pointed directly at him. Straightening up, the Gedo gang member slants his bokken against his shoulder, the energy clearly not affecting him at all, while he tucks his recently-bloodied thumb into the pocket of his pants, his entire posture projecting a relaxed, lazy confidence, like a lion taking its ease on top of a hill. Not at all like an injured teenager balanced precariously on criss-crossing paths of impossible energy in the sky. "Looks to me like you're losing. This is it for you, right here, today. Maybe that Jiro guy's soul will find some peace once you're spattered all over the street down there, huh?"
COMBATSYS: Tenma focuses on his next action.
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Juri 0/-------/-======|=------\-------\0 Zach
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Hakuya 0/-------/-------|
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Tenma 1/-------/=======|
Zach uses the opening that Hakuya creates, either by Juri dodging or when she takes the strike, leaping for the Korean girl with a primal yell, attempting to jump bodily onto her shoulders from behind as psychic energy sheaths his whole body.
He doesn't say anything; he lets the Gedo teens do the quipping and pontificating. Zach just yells. And yells and yells. This time in Taizhou has been hell for the psyker from his washing up on the beach to the bomb bikes to the lava fight to the metal plant to this point.
And Juri will be on the receiving end of it as he pummels the back of Han's head before slamming a largish vertical column of psycho power directly atop the two of them.
COMBATSYS: Juri dodges Zach's Fierce Combo.
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Juri 0/-------/-======|==-----\-------\0 Zach
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Hakuya 0/-------/-------|
[ \\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\ <
Tenma 1/-------/=======|
COMBATSYS: Hakuya successfully hits Juri with Solaris Sunder.
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Juri 0/-------/=======|==-----\-------\0 Zach
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Hakuya 0/-------/------=|
[ \\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\ <
Tenma 1/-------/=======|
There's an upside to being constantly consumed by rage. For example, you have nearly boundless energy and are capable of frightening displays of violence that will leave your opponents shocked and dismayed! However there is a downside to it as well. And this is demonstrated very well when Tenma actually goes and taunts Juri to her face. Though it may not be obvious, no, not with the way she is laughing so loud that it almost blocks out the sound of the crows swarming below. "AHAHAHAHA! Oh, yes, I'm going to take you down fi...?!"
She's cut off when she suddenly hears Hakuya rushing up behind her. Hears, of course, because he has a habit of yelling wherever he goes. Juri tries to move out of the way but he very swiftly struck in the back with enough force that it staggers her! Of course that isn't the full attack, as a kinetic wave actually knocks her forward and over onto the strange walkway the three are standing upon. When Zach decides to join the party she growls and pounds her fist into the transluscent floor before spinning her legs around so that she can slide between his legs! There's not much left to her mind right now. Just a burning cauldron of anger with red tinting the edge of her vision. As the light in her left eye suddenly bursts to life she starts laughing uncontrollably! "Oh! I'm going to enjoy this!" she declares as she rushes toward Tenma with incredible velocity!
Once she is within range she'll attempt to catch him in a violent upward whirlwing kick seething with violet colored energy. That will be the beginning. What comes later will be sweet, sweet revenge. That is assuming it's successful at all: we'll let lady luck spin her real on whether there's more to come.
Whoa. That actually hit! Hakuya actually seems as surprised as Juri when she gets sent flying forward, but not like a little hit like that will really slow the Korean down. She's already zipping through Zach's legs to avoid his attack, and then onto Tenma to try and attack the other Guardian King. "Tenma!" The grappler calls, though it's not really like Tenma really, you know, needs a warning. An oncoming Juri is warning enough. But regardless, Hakuya has to do something! Rushing down the lightning walkway, passing by Zach as the psyker recovers from the dodge, the second of the Kings leaps in to try and do his own version of a kick. It's a kind of rotating whirlwind drop kick, leaping into the air, twisting his body about, but letting his legs splay out so as to try and maximize the striking area about Juri, even as she attacks Tenma. He'll fall to the ground, hit or miss, and roll right back up onto his feet.
Zach tumbles from his missed pounce, slides, and nearly falls off of the thread he landed on. He gasps as he clambers back onto 'better' footing, for certain values of better. This is not going well, at least not for Zach. He's still fresh, just winded. But he's been less-than-useful in this fight.
Time to take some steps on that count. Zach reaches inside himself, figuratively as opposed to literally. Energy leaps to his request, wrapping around him and whipping through the air like willow branches in the winds!
COMBATSYS: Zach gathers his will.
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Juri 0/-------/-------|======-\-------\0 Zach
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Hakuya 0/-------/-------|
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Tenma 1/-------/=======|
COMBATSYS: Tenma endures Juri's Kaisen Dankairaku.
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Juri 0/-------/-------|======-\-------\0 Zach
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Hakuya 0/-------/-------|
[ \\\ <
Tenma 2/<<<<<<</<<<<<<<|
Trying to endure something like the Kaisen Dankairaku is a fool's wager, but one that may pay off in the end. Regardless the pain is extraordinary. It begins simply with Juri sweeping Tenma off of his feet, and continues with her pushing herself up in the air while spinning around! Kick after brutal kick is delivered alongside a tempest of purple energy. When she finally reaches the apex of her attack Tenma's body can be seen rising upward still right before Juri herself rises above him wreathed entirely in twisting, nebulous purple energy!
Delivering an almighty downward kick to Tenma, Juri sends his body back toward the ground (or in this case the walkway) with incredible speed! The impact would be devastating. Would be, were it not for Juri breaking all logic and managing to blur past Tenma's body in her descent. She'll land nearly a full second before he does. The speed she used requires her to land on all fours and even then she slides to a stop.
She delivers a turning upwards kick with her foot aimed directly at his lower back with bone crunching force! Then something different happens. She doesn't even bother to lean up and taunt him, like she usually does, and instead just twists on her heel to deliver him to the surface of the walkway head and neck first! So firey is her anger though, so complete is her intent to completely break Tenma she is upon his downed body in an instant with a stomp atop his chest! She holds her foot there with her arms still crossed and a maniacal laugh escaping her lips, "Done already? No? C'mon then, break me if you think you can!!!"
There is, of course, a fine line between foolishness and greatness, and Tenma Kiryuu's entire life has involved running along that razor's edge for all he's worth... And this moment is no different. The sheer brutality of Juri's attack is nothing to be underestimated, but the Kiryuu 'demon hunter' is tougher than he looks. The repeated strikes all hit, without the teenager seeming to lift a finger in his own defense, and throughout Tenma is reminded of a night, long past, where he suffered through the very worst his best friend's own teacher could throw at him. Physically, that was worse. But the addition of Juri's terrifying Psycho Power...
Tenma is beaten into the walkway, seemingly unable to do anything to stop the madwoman from doing whatever she wants. And then, he's pinned there, with her foot on his chest as she stands over him, triumphant. He hardly seems to move, or breathe. Maybe she's claimed another life?
"Hey," Tenma's voice says, suddenly; it's more quiet than usual, strained, but it's there; his dark blue eyes focus directly on the woman. Not looking at her, though; looking /into/ her. "You're ugly, and your foot smells like cheese."
His left hand grabs Juri by the ankle, hoping to trap her in place; even as it does, he twists as best he can under her, swinging his bokken up in a reverse grip, the aura around the blade intensifying to a blinding light, as if he were holding a sword made out of blood-red energy. "I'VE GOT SOMETHING BETTER THAN BREAKING FOR YOU!!" the brutalised young man shouts, aiming to catch Juri with a single, vicious blow; if that strike hits, then Tenma's chi passes /through/ the psion, tearing at the very essence of life within her, stealing her vitality and leaving behind only a cold, numb emptiness.
"BE SEALED!!"
COMBATSYS: Tenma can no longer fight.
[ \\\\\\\\\\\\\\ < > //////////////////////////// ]
Juri 0/-------/-------|======-\-------\0 Zach
[ \\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\ <
Hakuya 0/-------/-------|
COMBATSYS: Tenma successfully hits Juri with The Sealing Sword.
[ \\\\\\ < > //////////////////////////// ]
Juri 0/-------/-----==|======-\-------\0 Zach
[ \\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\ <
Hakuya 0/-------/-------|
COMBATSYS: Hakuya successfully hits Juri with Rising Dusk.
Glancing Blow
[ \\\\\ < > //////////////////////////// ]
Juri 0/-------/-----==|======-\-------\0 Zach
[ \\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\ <
Hakuya 0/-------/------=|
And Suddenly The World Went Gray.
Juri tried to weather the storm. Tried to steel herself against the force of Tenma's attack. But as that blinding energy flows through her body, it tears at her. Everything within her is torn away. Her rage, her anger, all gone. So too is the light in her eyes.
That is when Hakuya comes for her and hits her in the back with his whirlwind kick. The blow lands, barely, and Juri only twitches faintly from the force of the attack. Turning to face him now, her movements are slow an unnatural - quite like a doll whose being pulled on strings. When his eyes meet hers he will be able to see it:
Absolute agony.
"They're dead." She speaks softly, "I'm all alone." She glances and looks toward Zach, "He killed them ... and I ..." She looks down at her hands covered in blood, her blood, "I couldn't save them."
Then she starts laughing, laughing loudly and uncontrollably! But there is no sadistic joy in her laughs. Once the laughs end she looks down at Tenma's prone form, still under her heel. A joyless smile tugs at the ends of her mouth and she continues, "But this time I won't be alone."
With that, Juri suddenly reaches down to grab Tenma by the arm! She will then shuffle toward the edge of the ethereal platform the four were battling upon just moments earlier. It doesn't take long to realize though what she is intending to do: She means to drag Tenma toward the edge and, very likely, go off the side with him in tow! There is still time to save him though. Juri's very weak and at the end of her rope. Attack her now and it might be enough for her to lose her grip!
COMBATSYS: Juri takes no action.
[ \\\\\\ < > //////////////////////////// ]
Juri 0/-------/-----==|======-\-------\0 Zach
[ \\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\ <
Hakuya 0/-------/------=|
Rolling to his feet just after completing the kick - which is awesomely timed not to get totally slammed with either Juri's psycho energy or Tenma's chistorm - Hakuya tenses to immediately follow up with another attack. But what he sees when he reacquires the target is- Juri. But... not. Sorta. What the hell? This is going all sorts of crazy town on him. Somehow, Juri acting all emotional is even more disturbing than her usual sadism. But when she picks up Tenma and begins to slump towards the edge of the skyway, well, that just sort of seals it, doesn't it? Hakuya doesn't hesitate when that happens. Stepping in, he attempts to both sweep a leg in front of Juri's, and place a hand against her back. Then, he'll shove with the hand and sweep back with the leg. If successful, he'll probably aid in sending Juri tumbling over the skyway, and if he's a total badass, will also knock Tenma out of her weakened grip.
COMBATSYS: Juri endures Hakuya's Waning Dawn.
[ \\\\\ < > //////////////////////////// ]
Juri 0/-------/-----==|======-\-------\0 Zach
[ \\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\ <
Hakuya 0/-------/------=|
Zach blinks confusedly at Juri. "I killed who?" he asks dumbfoundly when suddenly Tenma gets hosatge'd! Ohnoes! Hakuya makes his move while Zach gets creatively agressive. He launches himself low and forward, breaking left as Hakuya breaks right. The psychic spins as he comes up, reaching back for the Miraitou while slamming force of will through the blade.
The draw of the blade is less than perfect, but Zach never claimed to be a swordsman. However the force of the strike, along with the fact that he is using the flat of the blade, should knock her clear of the Guardian King. Maybe even off of the thread of fate they are fighting on.
COMBATSYS: Juri endures Zach's Mirai Blade EX.
[ \\\ < > /////////////////////////// ]
Juri 0/-------/---====|=====--\-------\0 Zach
[ \\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\ <
Hakuya 0/-------/------=|
Juri has been broken, in more ways than one. She'll recover later of course, and she'll swear her revenge on the people who did this to her. But that's later, this is now. And Juri is struck by Hakuya's last desperate gamble to save Tenma's life! She stumbles slightly from it but overall it seems rather ineffective, and now Juri is still closer to the edge with an iron grip on Tenma's arm. She is much smaller than he is, but she's also surprisingly strong - and if she makes it over the edge with that grip still tight ... well, gravity will most certainly do its thing.
Then its Zach turn to try. When he lashes out with the blade of his sword it strikes heavily against her arm! Her grip spasms uncontrollably causing her to lose Tenma, and she is sent sprawling forward and over the edge!
Juri can only be seen but briefly as she drops from the sky like a dead bird, the loose white material of her pants flapping wildly in the breeze. Her entire body is consumed in the writhing mass of fire crows and thus her final fate is obscured. One thing is for certain though: She's probably dead, and if not, she's not happy. At the very least she won't be bothering Hakuya, Tenma, or Zach for a good long time...
COMBATSYS: Juri takes no action.
[ \\\\ < > /////////////////////////// ]
Juri 0/-------/----===|=====--\-------\0 Zach
[ \\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\ <
Hakuya 0/-------/------=|
COMBATSYS: Juri has left the fight here.
[ \\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\ <
Zach 0/-------/--=====|
[ \\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\ <
Hakuya 0/-------/------=|
COMBATSYS: Zach has left the fight here.
[ \\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\ <
Hakuya 0/-------/------=|
Hakuya's hit isn't enough to drop the woman. She's got a little more determination than that, wanting to take Tenma with her. Fortunately, the grappler isn't in this fight alone, even with Tenma down, and Zach moves to the other side to support. This time the strike does indeed work, and the Korean woman is sent toppling over the edge, to the some several hundred feet below, through the fire crows, the flames, and other badness. Hakuya has to catch hold of Tenma even as the King falls. He might've mostly landed on the skyway, sure, but at the same time, he might've landed with his center of gravity mostly off the skyway. Best not to take that chance. Hefting, not for the first time, Tenma up onto his back, Hakuya nods to Zach. "Thanks. I guess... we avenged him, huh? Tenma mostly. But... still. Good." He's not quite sure what to say.
One last glance is given over the edge of the skyway, and then, with Tenma unconsciously piggyback'd, Hakuya starts to find a easy way off the skyway to get down to where Yurika and Ibuki are. They need to actually /see/ what's going on, and the huge flock of crows won't help.
Log created on 18:19:59 07/05/2010 by Juri, and last modified on 22:02:14 07/24/2010.