Description: Nagase's first attempted meeting with the rogue shinobi Seishirou ends with her travelling the Southtown Forest alone at night. But unfortunately for Nagase, her deeds in Duke's name have caught the attentions of Kain Heinlein's right hand. And the legendary Martyr of Might, Grant, is not pleased. As Grant's attempt to broker a deal falls apart, Nagase is left with only two choices: fight or die. It's questionable whether there were ever really more than one choice at all...
Nightime Southtown Forest -
It's approximately 7:30 PM, and the sun is hanging low on the horizon... all but impossible to see for the densely packed Sugi trees (Cryptomeria Japonica/Cedar Trees) and other flora in this forest. This time of day, the forest is alive with the sounds of nocturnal animals indigenous to ths particular region of Japan. They're just now beginning to stir, and to forage. It's a fair distance from here to the edge of the city, distance of about twenty miles. Roughly a three hour's walk for the average human being...
...But the girl darting across the earth tonight, stirring up foliage into the air and darting around trees and through dense shrubbery, was not an ordinary human. She was managing a comfortable pace of roughly thirty-five miles an hour, well beyond the speed of an olympic runner. It might seem strange, unless you knew why she was avoiding using the trees for cover. Dressed in a long shirt of black with wine red sleeves, and a pair of black and grey stripped leggings with platform shoes, the kunoichi with foxtail hair and rose-colored spectacles was making good time. She'd probably be safely back in the city within half an hour, and then she could disappear again under the cover of darkness.
Briefly, she leaps from the ground to a much higher limb... before quickly bounding off again to cross a fairly wide-looking stream. The limb, despite looking rather sturdy, cracks and falls away almost immediately under her weight. A hint that, perhaps, she is not as light as she appears to be...
The limb falls into the stream with a splash, and the girl hits the ground again, not even turning back to look...
The air boils with the subdued cacophony of a blooming night; as the creatures and insects of the day transition to sleep, and those that dance beneath the stars and moonlight step upon their stage. There is no reason to believe someone else might be out in this area, especially within the evening. And even if so, how many could hope to capture a trained assassin who was intent on not being seen?
However, there is a sudden sense that something might not be right. The lazy cries of birds, the buzzing of insects, the occasional yowl of some animal, abruptly cuts off. The air goes deathly silent. A few moments later, there is an almost crushing presence that falls upon the forest. The ground quakes a moment, air filling with the hiss of countless shifting branches, as if a den of serpents had been stirred to life. Something dark, twisted, powerful...
And inhuman.
The source of it is so suffocating, that at this proximity it's nearly impossible to tell where they are. Close. Very close. The air and trees continue to hum as if the very ground was trembling in anticipation, and the shadows seem to darken and twist, amplifying every wayward movement to give the impression countless demons frolick at the edge of vision.
"Nagase...!" comes a great baritone voice. Before a heavy thump lands a few meters behind. A gargantuan figure is in a crouch now, form almost entirely enshrouded by a deep blue cloak. His face is concealed by a metal red mask, roughly shaped like a demon with horn-like prongs swept backwards. Hair is the white of age, skin bronzed and rough. As he slowly stands, the wind kicks up around him like a torrent. Dust, broken limbs, and detrus flies up in a cyclone, as if every muted gesture risks unleashing the power he has barely contained.
"I would like a word...!!"
The Syndicate assassin was not expecting company tonight. Or perhaps, it would be better said: she was hoping there would be none. Sure, the Ryouhara that she had just ventured to meet only ten minutes prior could have tracked her. But why would he, when he had made it so clear she was to come to him. Mike Bison probably wouldn't be able to find her here, and even if he could... he'd already taken what he needed out of her hide. And surely, those losers she left lying all over in her search for Seishirou wouldn't /dare/ confront her...
...but they might have reported her to somebody.
There's a rustling of leaves as the kunoichi's forward momentum is suddenly halted, shoes digging into the earth in surprise as someone calls out her name. Her /real name/, not that Barbara shit she gave the ditzy blonde floozy working the counter at the hotel! Her blood-colored, almond-shaped, eyes go wide... head turning toward the source of the voice as her onboard computer begins to audibly come to life. Information scrolls across the inside of her lenses suddenly, reporting a source of energy. But she didn't need to be told, she was staring right at the monster of man who called her. Whether he was hiding his power to her NESTS scanners or not, he looked utterly intimidating. A figure cloaked in ocean color, wearing an angry red mask with a visage akin to a Japanese Oni (Demon). He looked every bit the part of an assassin. Doubtlessly sent to crush her by an unknown enemy, possibly Kain... or that demonic cult from a few weeks ago. It seemed at every turn she had people leaping out of the shadows at her. Duke certainly had powerul enemies...
...And how fortunate was she to get to fight them all! "...I'll give you six...", the snarky female assassin replies, before immediately falling into a sideways stance with her right gauntleted hand at her hip and her left forward to guard, "...How do you know my name?"
The scanners that Nagase is equipped with would go nearly off the charts. The energy source that is running through Grant's form are unknown. It's a sort of chi... something dark, twisted, and tainted. Yet in terms of raw physical power, there is no man alive on par with the Martyr of Might. A sheer vehicle of destruction, moulded in the fires of torturous training and unspeakable rituals over a twisted lifetime. He is not an unknown; Grant, the Martyr of Might, right hand of Kain. One of the most powerful Master-class fighters in the entire world, and one of the most dangerous, overt obstacles Duke could ever hope to face in his attempt to take over the Heinlein's affairs.
"You are an able assassin and mercenary. Did you think nobody would recognize you? As I understand it, you were even on retainer to Geese Howard... but he is dead. Why is it..." Slowly his fingers flex, but still he makes no offensive stance. "...that your contract was not renewed with the White Flame of Southtown? That you gnaw on the roots of his empire?"
Arms open, almost placatingly. He stands at his full imposing height, cape flowing open to reveal a steel physique. Every muscle is strained as if to bursting, veins superimposed. A simple, worn red karate gi is upon his legs, but obviously stained with large amounts of long-dried blood.
"I assume this is a simple oversight. You work for the highest bidder. Correct? Then work for me!!"
...It takes Nagase a while to recognize the man. Sure, she had been briefed on many, many, people in her time with the Syndicate - especially the Master Class fighters. She had even been briefed on Kain's known allies, by Duke. But despite this, she doesn't immediately recognize a man she rightfully should. Blame it on the beating she took from Seishirou's hellish Ninkou panda. ... But when she does recognize him, and realizes why the energy readings are off the charts...
...it makes her swallow. Hard. Her eyes widen, and she curses her luck in her own mind. It was probably because of the chaos on the streets she caused that he was here. That's what she thinks anyway. Perhaps Kain and his lot have known about her since she arrived. Regardless, that was then and this was now...
Her gauntleted fists tighten, almost to the point her painted nails draw blood. She's still staring at that mountain of an enforcer, Kain Heinlein's right hand, as though she'd seen a ghost. Her mouth hangs agape, yellow glossy lips are frozen in place momentarily as he speaks to her in that commanding tone. His very presence after realization set in seems to have paralyzed her. She knew, immediately, she was no match for this man. Perhaps not even Duke himself could hope to stand on even footing. She had to figure out how to escape this situation immediately. But how?
Finally, as he finishes addressing her, she manages to bat her eyes and her mouth closes. Her mind was recovering from the mix of overwhelming fear and surprise. She stares, silently, for a moment or so into that mask of his as her lips purse in momentary contemplation of his offer. She was /actually/ considering it. She had family ties that kept her tightly bound to the Syndicate, and if she betrayed the Syndicate she could well make enemies on all sides should Grant be less than a man of his word. And after all, why would Heinlein trust an ex-syndicate assassin...? ... It was a tempting offer still... and perhaps Grant could see it written in her soft features.
Finally, she breaks her silence, speaking in stressed tone, "...You are correct, I am an assassin. But no mere mercenary.", she still hasn't fallen out of her fighting stance despite the futilety of fighting /this/ man. "...I have rather /binding/ ties to the Syndicate, you see. It's literally in my blood." He should know what she means, if he is even remotely aware of the fact that she isn't human. She was the product of a joint agreement between her clansmen and the Syndicate, a participant in a cybernetics program involving genetics research and stolen NESTS technology. It was high-level stuff, so high-level almost no one in the Syndicate even heard its name whispered. But, perhaps, he might know... "...So while it is a tempting offer you make, I am afraid...", and she takes a measured step back as if she might retreat soon... "...I'll have to decline."
Grant simply stands there, observing. Listening. The rumors say he is an absolutely brutal individual, with a complete lack of mercy. Who breaks people within battle so thoroughly they wish for death, and lose all heart as a fighter long before. For all that, it is clear he is not quick to anger, rash to action, or anything near unintelligent. Even if the sharp chi in the air condenses, taking on an edge like a knife.
"Do not be a fool." he slowly states, each word measured, slightly muffled by the metal mask. "The Syndicate is nothing. It is dead. A man churning the ashes should not hold you to any contract. After all..." Suddenly his stance shifts, dragging one bare foot forward. He assumes a brutal-looking martial stance, as he erupts into a whirl of deep purple-blue energy. The air cracks as if there was a miniature explosion, a veritable wave of force that snaps branches, bowing trees directly adjacent so far away they crack and pop. The earth shudders and shifts, as he can be seen opening the floodgates of his true power...
"If you feared for your life, you wouldn't say no. Hmm?"
Fists clench tight, as his cape seems to dance on the wings of the great wind he's kicked up. Balance perfectly shifting upon the balls of his feet. "I will grant you one last offer. Keep your allegiances. But report this information to me. Or else... your only worth to me will be as a message...!!"
This was a damnable position to be in. Standing opposite of a man utterly oozing killing intent, bathed in darkest chi that to her seems to have no limit... it was like staring into a bottomless pit she was swiftly falling into.
And her body and mind reacts with a healthy amount of fear, another step back is taken but this one was not intentional. Her mind was screaming at her to run swiftly, and she was struggling to reign it in. Yet, there was no escaping this. If she ran without attempting to kill him, the Syndicate might well have her killed. If she stayed and fought, Grant might surely end her.
Thus, she falls back on her training and her right hand snaps around her backside to unsheath a gleaming tanto blade with a singing of metal on metal. Her eyes narrow, and she leans forward with an intent to strike. 'Keep your allegiances?', surely he was kidding right? "...If I kept my allegiances it would surely come down to this at some point! You know it and I know it, so why even make such an absurd offer?!", her tone was harder and more forceful now. She was slowly accepting what she considered her only path. Dedication and Effectiveness right to the bitter end. "...Lets get this over with then, either you're going to kill me or I am going to kill you..." The latter was seemingly very doubtful at this point.
Having said that, she promptly digs her feet in and levels a focused stare at him. That gleaming tanto is held with the blade pointing away from her for the moment. She was waiting for him to make the first move...
COMBATSYS: Nagase has started a fight here.
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Nagase 0/-------/-------|
COMBATSYS: Nagase calculates her next move.
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Nagase 0/-------/-------|
"The one who ends my life..." Grant states, tone a solemn echo. "Will not seethe with such unseemly fear...!!"
Suddenly he erupts forward. There's little other word for it. The ground parts before him, as he accelerates into a literal blur. Forearms cross as an intevening tree is impacted. It has no effect on his momentum in the slightest; shattering into splinters upon the lower part, a deep and thunderous crack that leaves a twisted trunk behind as the rest topples with a deafening crash. Whirling around in a cyclone of brutal force, he tries to impact Nagase dead center, a great blast of kinetic force continuing on in a wall past the wake of his movement; a stream of invisible energy that shatters more branches and splits another tree clean up the trunk from the maneuver that would seem simplistic to any other fighter.
"GOU DANGAI!!"
COMBATSYS: Grant has joined the fight here as a boss!
GRANT
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Nagase 0/-------/-------|
COMBATSYS: Grant knocks away Nagase with Gou Dangai.
GRANT
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Nagase 1/------=/=======|
Within seconds, Nagase is swiftly reminded why she hates her life. Grant's earth shattering strike hits the foolish kunoichi who dared to stand against his insurmountable might with potentially lethal force. Her glasses, the frames and lens of which are forged from materials not native to this world, crack and then shatter completely... throwing shards everywhere. Some of these lacerate the skin of her face immediately, red oozing out from open wounds. The rest are thrown into the wind generated by Grant's unstoppable momentum. Not merely does he break her frames, however, he breaks her body as well. Many of her bones crack and even snap under the force of the blow audibly, and her sanguine eyes wrench closed in pain. Her painted lips open to release a scream, but it doesn't come. His strike had already knocked the air out of her lungs. ... And she is sent flying back into a Japanese Cedar where she smashes cleanly through it, sending the tree into a thunderous fall that sends local wild life running. And her body hits the ground after with a thud, kicking dust into the air before skidding to a stop in a pile of leaves that generate a momentary fuss.
...Yeah. This was a very, very, bad idea. She knew it was from the moment she first saw the energy reading. But what in the HELL could she do? "...Uuuugh...", she groans in a pained manner. One hit and she already felt as though she were nearly dead. It wouldn't take a rocket scientist to figure out what the next hit would do. And yet, she clambers to her feet defiantly...
"...Easy for you to say...", she moans mostly to herself, eyes blinking as she attempt to fight off double vision. "...you're a god damn monster." Despite her very real fear of the man, there is something to be said for the fact that she soon charges him again. Call it stupidity, if you like, but she was certainly a determined fighter if nothing else. Nagase would run toward him again, as hard as her damaged legs would carry her, before suddenly moving with such an extreme, momentary, burst of speed that to a normal fighter she might seem to vanish entirely. But to Grant's eyes, perhaps, it is nothing.
Still, as she approaches his territory from the fore her speed drops sharply and she swings both tanto forward. ... And they never make contact. Instead, what occurs is an EXPLOSION of firey chi from the ground beneath her like a volcano spewing fire into the sky. Should she land this first hit solidly, and Grant give her more than the time needed for the flames to dissipate, her in-built cloaking system will activate and she will wink out of sight. This is when the real assault will begin, with Nagase launching a volley of blows for his massive frame powered by chi with blinding speed before attempting to grab him by the arm and toss him to the ground!
COMBATSYS: Nagase successfully hits Grant with Punishment Mode - Stealth.
GRANT
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In a swift blur, Grant advances once more even as Nagase is sent hurtling away like a missile. Deep footprints crack into a pair of trees used for leverage, as he comes to a stop before the large tree that she impacted. His stance spreads, forearms raising as he slowly resumes the Karate stance he had at the onset. A slow exhale sends out a burst of steam-like mist, clouding his face for a moment. His muscles as well seem to have reddened, as if he's heated up intensely. Acrid smoke curls from the edges of his cape and pants; unleashing his true power is not something to do in jest. It erodes at what little life he has remaining... but anything less then annihilatory power will not suffice for the message he wishes to send.
"Yes. I am a monster. And you have chosen twice this course of action." Still, he had not expected that additional acceleration. His forearms raise up, perfectly interposing before the twin tanto. Had that been the true start of the attack, it would have failed. Instead, the great explosion engulfs him with a surprised cry, sending him staggering back a couple steps. When his vision clears and the fire fades, he has no idea where the ninja has gone. His initial impulse is that she fled... and it is that arrogance which makes him fall prey to what comes next.
The first blow hits him unguarded in the chest, and he doubles over. The onslaught that continues sends him staggering anew, blood spouting through the mouthpiece of his mask, before he is twisted upwards by the arm throw and crashes upon his back. For a long moment he simply remains there, red imprints hissing where her attacks connected clean.
But then he raises, in a swift motion that sends a spray of dirt from his displacing cloak. Upwards he raises, back to his full height. "I see... I felt the resolve in your attack..." Certainly pained, but she is a long way from striking down the tyrant before her. "Very well. Then I shall meet it in kind."
And with that, he removes all the stoppers from his chi. Every limitation. With a roar he starts to burn and seethe with the Ankoku fires he and Kain have conquered; ones that destroy the very life, body and soul of those who wield them. His muscles bulge further, feet sinking into the ground, as the surroundings glow bright as day within the eerie purple-blue light crackling like a beacon around him.
"I swear it, girl. If you do not kneel... I will strike you with all of my power..." His burning eyes narrow beneath the mask. "Do you truly think who hired you can face this...? That you are on the right team...?! I can guarantee you this...!" Smoke billows from the mask as he slowly lifts one arm and lowers the other. An alien, peculiar stance unlike the one before.
"The White Flame's power far exceeds my own...!!"
COMBATSYS: Grant gathers his will.
GRANT
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Nagase 0/-------/----===|
On the tail end of that throw, the fox-haired kunoichi becomes visible again suddenly. Her breathing is labored, and her face is bloodied and marred by an angry scowl. Her sanguine eyes are locked with that angry red mask, even as she practically hangs halfway to the ground with weariness... hands on her knees. Despite the dramatic increase in power he suddenly experiences, his body becoming so saturated with power that it ekes out into the surroundings and sets them aglow... she does not seem ready to submit. As evidenced by the fact that she takes that familiar fighting stance in front of him again. Her tanto have been resheathed since her real attack started, but she's enitrely prepared to bring them out again.
"Look...", she states before motioning wearily toward her painted lips with her left index finger, "...read. my. lips. ... I commit everything to my mission, including my life." She felt she didn't have a say in the matter, either. A shinobi spends their entire life living for success or dying for failure. That is the way. "...So I won't say it again. I am going to defeat you, or you are going to defeat me." It was fear of shame, failure, and death versus fear of death here for her. Grant just didn't have enough going for him to sway her.
...And with that said, she charges him again head first. She would then bound off of the ground at him, if he allows her to, kicking dust and leaves into the air before attempting to grab him about his massive body. If she can succeed at this, without being interrupted, she will kick off the ground again with a spinning motion and launch both herself and Grant sky high. Once she reaches the apex of her jump, the pair will invert swiftly and spiral back toward the ground where she will attempt to smash him head first into it with a burst of flames!
COMBATSYS: Grant endures Nagase's Nagase Spiral.
GRANT
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"I see. Suicide, then." Grant states this clearly. Leaping towards him at this point cannot be called bravery. At best, some form of insanity. The gulf between them was clear after the first strike, and one of her strongest techniques did not truly stagger him. "So be it."
The massive figure turns to face Nagase, still holding that odd stance. The grapple succeeds, although it wouldn't be until Nagase has commited to the attack that she would realize he allowed it. His power can be felt condensing abruptly as they rocket downwards, fire rippling in a trail behind like she were suddenly driving a comet towards the very earth.
He crashes down hard, but managed to twist to land in a kneel, face shattering through a rock upon the dirt floor. Less then a heartbeat passes, before he flows upwards with a roar.
"ANKOKU..."
His leg then whirls upwards. All of that seemingly infinite power has been condensed into a single, razor's edge. The destructive force behind the warble of chi uncontestable. A perfectly narrow arc that cuts a sudden line for a few meters in front. A tree and huge stone are bisected so neatly they make almost no noise, great hail of severed branches and leaves raining down. Of course, following that emanating blade of energy is a swift, brutal kick.
Not one, not three, but five. Each one preceded by a great, wrecking arc of cutting force, building up in magnitude until the last seems to shatter the very ground, leg tinged with purple-black flames. And then, if Nagase had been born into the midst of that storm to the end, he strikes out in a three-hit combo. Fists empowered with Ankoku energy, he strikes her towards the hip in a sharp upwards kick, before doing a sharp hook to her midsection and a last, flaming forward punch to send her flying away as a great, visible shockwave of purple energy roars out, brightening the sky for a mile around like an atomic bomb, flooding much of the surrounding forest in saturated, infernal energy.
"ENGETSU-RIN!!!"
COMBATSYS: Nagase fails to counter Ankoku Engetsu-Rin EX from Grant with Tricky Rounder.
*KNOCKED AWAY*
GRANT
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COMBATSYS: Nagase can no longer fight.
GRANT
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Suicide indeed. There never was a chance from the beginning. She knew this. Yet the path of the Shinobi does not allow for cowardice even in the face of someone as powerful as the Martyr of Might.
White hot pain overwhelms the young kunoichi's body as the first arcing blade lacerates clean through her with a spray of crimson fluid that splashes across the rent asunder ground. It's not a fatal wound, but Grant is hardly done. The force of the first kick is felt, and its bone-shatteringly powerful... so powerful it fractures her rib cage even worse. Then the next comes and it finishes the job, bones shattering with a sickening crunch. A spray of yet more of her blood comes, this time its from her mouth. Another kick comes and jars her head back, throwing blood into the air and breaking her jaw. It's at this point, she loses consciousness... even as the damage continues to stack up. Her hip is shattered, yet more life blood is vomitted, some of which stains her black overshirt, as his fist impacts her midsection, and finally that flaming punch cracks her skull and sends her rocketing straight up into the atmosphere... far, far, out of sight.
Her velocity, seeming, so great than even if by some chance Grant did not kill her... her return to Earth surely would. Perhaps Grant had succeeded at sending his message... or perhaps he has not. After all, if Duke could not find a body it would be quite difficult to know happened to her! Regardless, he may well have killed the rat nibbling at the White Flame's roots...
COMBATSYS: Grant has ended the fight here.
Log created on 21:12:52 06/11/2013 by Nagase, and last modified on 03:24:14 06/12/2013.