Description: Helping out with relief efforts at the Diet, Sakura and Blanka are, fortunately, there when an... uprising... is started. But what happens when the uprising is revealed to be led by Sakura's newest friend?
[ BGM : X JAPAN - Hide playing drums - http://youtu.be/MIqAyTlQPDY ]
The nation is suffering. Not having anywhere else to go, the train lines have been packed well beyond capacity with people migrating west, looking for some place, any place to avoid the suffocating plumes of smoke chuffed up from the unnatural eruptions of Mt Fuji. The National Diet has moved to Osaka International Convention Center, some four hundred kilometers away from the volcano, due to safety reasons. Trying times call for desperate measures, and due to desperation, both the House of Commons and the House of Councillors are holding a joint meeting in the large, Main Hall.
Several measures have already passed in this session, most regarding issues of dire urgency to the evacuation and relief efforts. However, just a few minutes prior, the issue of racial and ethnic discrimination in the government was raised; a hot-button issue due to recent terrorist activity, and both houses of the Diet, in a rare moment of solidarity, agreed to shelve the matter until the current volcanic tragedy was resolved.
Meanwhile, outside the twelve-story Convention Center, a local distribution point for food and supplies has been established just south of the Convention Center, as most of the surrounding buildings -- save for Sumitomo Hospital -- have been commandeered by the government for relief aid. Tents have been set up in the large parking lot, some providing food and drink, others providing supplies donated by the Masters Foundation, and still others just providing shelter from the elements.
In the wide plaza beneath the massive Convention Center, though, anxious citizens have gathered in protest. A vast majority of the protesters are here because of the racial and ethnic discrimination issues. Many of the Ryukyuan and Ainu protesters were outraged when they heard of the decision to shelve the issue, outraged at being completely disregarded all throughout this tragedy. The milder Yamato Japanese groups are more upset over corruption and discrimination against the poor and lower class -- discrimination which appears to be hampering relief efforts.
Startlingly, though... it seems that barricades are being erected to control the crowd, blocking off street access, access to the bridges to the north and south, and even the Nakanoshima subway station underneath the Convention Center. Oddly, these barricades are not being brought in by the Osaka prefectural government, nor are they part of the Japanese Self-Defense Force... but rather by the American military. Have things gotten /that/ out of hand?
Attending Cabinet meetings is not really something a schoolgirl -does-, except if it's for a field trip, or something similar. But two things change this. One is that the world is ending--disasters occurring not only around the world but especially in her beloved home of Japan--things that Sakura couldn't ignore even if she were an ordinary schoolgirl.
And therein lies the second reason Sakura is here--she is no ordinary schoolgirl. Sure, the Ansatsuken Prodigy might joke about being a hero, but the truth is, she really does have it where it counts, deep inside--she's got that fierce warrior spirit. And she's been putting it to use--tirelessly aiding relief efforts, hauling pallets of things back and forth, unloading trucks, guiding people to and fro. At her side is one of her best friends--Blanka, though she calls him 'Jimmy'--and what she isn't hauling, he is. The big green guy might've been considered a monster, but his efforts have been just as appreciated as Sakura's. Maybe more so--for all Sakura's limitless potential, she doesn't have the raw strength that Blanka does. But this situation...
It's hopeless. Sakura doesn't want to admit it, not even to herself, but... there it is. There's too many people, too little supplies, everything is going to hell--maybe even literally. She can't get that fight out of her mind--that man of stone. What he did, what he said. Sakura's already tired, her signature school uniform tattered and torn and dirty, as she drags a pallet of canned food down and situates it. Another worker signals her.
"Sakura-chan, whyn't you and Blanka take a break? Hear there's some crash space in the lobby of the building," he says, shooing her and her green guy companion towards the building. Sakura looks at Blanka. "I--... yeah, that sounds good," she says, turning to Blanka. "You can keep helpin' out here if you want, Jimmy-san, I'm gonna go inside for a few minutes..."
Blanka, for his part, has been taking every care to stay close to the throngs of humanity since he'd had his own encounter in the last week. Finding out a) monsters were real b) he wasn't really one of them c) they wear Jimmy Choo better than he does was a lot for a beastman to take in all at once. He'd been a bit dazed after that encounter with Morrigan, and headed back to something familiar. And really, what could be more familiar than walking around with Sakura, carrying heavy things?
"Blanka stay with Sakura." Simply said, but with a force and presence that brooks no declining; the jungle man pads into easy reach of Sakura and follows her where she may go. He'd thought about trying to talk to others of monsters, but was uncertain about the correct way to approach it. And really, with all this chaos and turbulence, what would it bring?
%tIt's actually a very good thing that Sakura and Blanka were ushered towards the building, because Amida-ike Street just erupted into flame. The stench of burning rapidly fills the air as three HMMWVs roll onto the street, blasting streams of fuel and accelerant onto the street, igniting into flame. From the sound of things, the drivers of the HMMWVs do NOT want people getting out of the cordoned-off area! "EVERYONE STAY CALM, THIS MATTER IS COMPLETELY UNDER CONTROL." comes the voice across the bullhorn.
Sure as hell -seems- to be under control... from an overhead view it's easy to see exactly what's going on. The protesters are now one hundred percent boxed in like rats in a maze, in the open-air plaza levels underneath the Convention Center. Cut off from reinforcements, cut off from the supplies just across the street, now completely separated by wide valleys of flame.
It would be nice if the HMMWVs had stopped with just containing the angry protesters, though, instead of continuing to move those walls of flame ever closer. No rest for you tonight, Sakura -- the plaza will be completely consumed with flame in a matter of minutes.
Screaming, the protesters have only one recourse -- to plow through the guards and run upstairs. The Japanese SDF guards seem to be receiving a ton of radio chatter -- and considering the current situation, they =aren't= being jerks about this. Yes, the freaking Diet is upstairs, but they can't just let people die! The guards step aside, ushering the protesters and citizens alike into the upstairs sections of the building.
While being shuffled into the building, things do calm down a bit -- but it now becomes impossible to ignore the live video feeds of the proceedings upstairs.
"My friends, corruption IS worth looking at," comes the voice across the multitude of tablet computers and phones. "But no one wants to admit it. Corruption is present at these high echelons, friends, and by taking no steps against it, you are encouraging it. And sometimes... there -is- no end to corruption. There is no way to cure the venom leaching throughout the system... no way to stanch the flow of the toxins poisoning, destroying, killing the cells of the organism."
The crowd lurches to a halt as people strain to listen.
Gunshots echo through the tinny speakers. The war isn't outside. It's =inside= the building.
A bright pink lightning bolt crackles throughout the assembled masses striving to make it up the crowded stair passages. Whereas once they had stopped to listen -- the masses are now =furious=. Motion is less of a problem now... as long as one can keep from getting trampled in the mess.
And one clear, female voice can be heared echoing through the awed silence of the video broadcast, if one can hear it over the frenzied masses. "And that's when you have to amputate."
When one reaches the main hall, one will probably not notice that half of the Japanese SDF guards are dead. The remainder have smoking sidearms in their hands -- now aimed at the representatives and councillors of the Diet. Honoka stands in Japanese Self Defense Forces gear, but has removed her helmet. Her yo-yo swings quietly at her side. "And now... the players are here. You, the nation of Japan... seem to have aggravated your constituents."
All hell breaks loose, as the angry mob surges forward. Nothing focused, no words pass -- they just roar forward and start mauling the heck out of anything and everything they see inside that main hall.
COMBATSYS: Angry Mob has started a fight here on the right meter side.
> //////////////////////////////]
|-------\-------\0 Angry Mob
COMBATSYS: Rogue SDF Agent has joined the fight here on the right meter side.
> //////////////////////////////]
|-------\-------\0 Angry Mob
> //////////////////////////////]
|-------\-------\0 Rogue SDF Agent
COMBATSYS: Honoka has joined the fight here on the right meter side.
> //////////////////////////////]
|-------\-------\0 Angry Mob
> //////////////////////////////]
|======-\-------\0 Honoka
> //////////////////////////////]
|-------\-------\0 Rogue SDF Agent
COMBATSYS: Honoka recenters herself.
> //////////////////////////////]
|-------\-------\0 Angry Mob
> ///////////////////////////// ]
|=======\-------\1 Honoka
> //////////////////////////////]
|-------\-------\0 Rogue SDF Agent
COMBATSYS: Blanka has joined the fight here on the left meter side.
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Blanka 0/-------/------=|-------\-------\0 Angry Mob
> ///////////////////////////// ]
|=======\-------\1 Honoka
> //////////////////////////////]
|-------\-------\0 Rogue SDF Agent
COMBATSYS: Sakura has joined the fight here on the left meter side.
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Sakura 0/-------/-------|-------\-------\0 Angry Mob
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Blanka 0/-------/------=|=======\-------\1 Honoka
> //////////////////////////////]
|-------\-------\0 Rogue SDF Agent
The 'crash space' turns out to be, well, a room with a couple of cots in it. But... getting there is going to be pretty problematic. Because not ten seconds after Sakura and Blanka cross the threshold, Things begin Happening(tm). The *fwoosh* of flamethrowers is... a unique sound, unmistakable but not entirely unknown to Sakura's ears--still, it's not something she's so familiar with that she could identify it in a single moment. But there's something -about- that sound that is... elemental. A sound of mounting fear and terror. The wash of heat is obscured, however...
By the wash of people. Sakura grabs Blanka's arm as the people flood in--by happenstance and by blind luck, she and the big guy are washed into the main hall, at the crest of that wave of people. Just as the start getting angry. Just as Sakura sees.
At first she doesn't want to comprehend. She just -fought- with Honoka. On the same side. They... connected. They talked about things. "H--honoka?" But her voice is lost in the roar; sensing it behind her she yanks Blanka forward. Now... they're trapped between the three entities--the rogue agents, the angry mob, and Honoka.
"BLANKA!" shouts Sakura, her voice starting out fearful, ordinary, high-pitched, but transitioning and crystallizing within those three syllables, as she plants her flag, makes her stance known, shows her colors.
"We have to protect these people!!" Men with guns? Honoka? An angry mob? She doesn't 'get' it. But she doesn't have to. She just has to clear her mind and... choose a target. That happens to be the rogue agents--the men with the guns. Indiscriminate firing in here is probably the most dangerous thing that could happen--so with a scream, she launches herself at the nearest agents, utilizing her agility to reach the nearest group and to take them down, if she can, with a lashing, wild, nearly uncontrolled series of elbows and whipping, head-height kicks. She's not pulling her punches at all.
Everything seemsto be going crazy as of late; no time to rest, no time to be safe. Instead, just chaos and fire and screams. Blanka looks frightened by the sudden change and the sight of people turning on each other, and he flattens himself against the floor, suddenly unsure of what to do, where to go, or who to help.
Sakura's cry galvanizes him, her using his 'normal' name reminding him who he is. A monster, and good at distracting people with his frightening counternance. As she splits off towards the people with guns, he heads towards the angry mob. He's dealt with those before, though mostly with running away. This time, however, he's intent on going /through/! He bounds forwrds and tumbles into a ball, bouncing straight into the unruly mass, making more noise than ever before and trying to be as initimidating as he can. It'll serve threefold purpose; It may distract them from swarming anyone who can't take a beating, the bouncing through may knock a few unconcious, and the others may be all afeared from the Green Machine coming through like a freight train!
COMBATSYS: Rogue SDF Agent endures Sakura's Medium Kick.
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Sakura 0/-------/-------|-------\-------\0 Angry Mob
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Blanka 0/-------/------=|=======\-------\1 Honoka
> ///////////////////////// ]
|===----\-------\0 Rogue SDF Agent
COMBATSYS: Angry Mob blocks Blanka's Rolling Attack.
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Sakura 0/-------/-------|-------\-------\0 Angry Mob
[ \\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\ < > ///////////////////////////// ]
Blanka 0/-------/-----==|=======\-------\1 Honoka
> ///////////////////////// ]
|===----\-------\0 Rogue SDF Agent
It's a lot to take in, to be sure. The mob is angry, half the guards are dead from point-blank gunshot wounds, the politicans are running to the front of the room to get as far from the entry doors as possible, and... the Emperor? Where is the Emperor?! Luckily he was removed from the room as soon as it looked like violence was beginning, but if he's still in this building, it's a fair guess he's still at risk.
Honoka smiles at the incoming arrivals. She makes a wide, sweeping gesture with an open hand. "Here! Look, nation of Japan! See how your elected representatives cower before you, as they have for the entire length of this harrowing process! It's easier for them to cluster here, in =fear=, than to actually give you what you need!"
She turns back to the crowds with a clenched fist, making eye contact with as many as possible. A faint, pink lightning bolt reaches out to each person... arcing from one to the next whenever possible. Each person it touches... gets =angrier=.
She points dramatically at the clustered politicians. "Remove... them... from office!"
And the crowd begins to obey, surging forward.
And that's when Blanka's sudden attack from within seems to unsettle the mob. Some people go flying in the initial onslaught -- angry as they are, it's doubtful they feel the impact of the seatbacks as they tumble head over heels. Others just brace for impact, steadying themselves against whatever they can. And while they =were= just given a direct order from the ... psion? ... It's difficult to take a direct order when there's a monster there right in front of you. The mob converges, aiming to pick Blanka up as one gigantic mass, lobbing him down the incline and aiming to knock the politicians over in one fell swoop.
The few guards standing... well, it's safe to say they're not career military. The agent nearest Sakura charges towards her, knowing full well she'll probably deck him... but he doesn't care, because he's aiming to catch the schoolgirl by the leg and slam her into the nearest supporting pillar.
Honoka seems to be peripherally aware of a change in the flood of action. She looks back... and gasps. Her solid mask of control shatters for just the one moment as she staggers forward, catching herself on the back of the seat in front of her. "... Sakura." And some monster she forgot the name of. (Sorry Blanka!)
Her yo-yo is brought to her chest, and an oath is whispered, inaudible in all the ruckus. Pink light erupts from the yo-yo, suffusing its way outward in a ripple pattern throughout her slight form. Energized, she stands up again.
%"Aren't you supposed to be off saving the world?! Isn't that what you people =do=, Sakura-chan?!"
COMBATSYS: Honoka equips Enhanced Yoyo.
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Sakura 0/-------/-------|-------\-------\0 Angry Mob
[ \\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\ < > ///////////////////////////// ]
Blanka 0/-------/-----==|=======\-------\1 [E] Honoka
> //////////////////////// ]
|==-----\-------\0 Rogue SDF Agent
COMBATSYS: Honoka focuses on her next action.
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Sakura 0/-------/-------|-------\-------\0 Angry Mob
[ \\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\ < > ///////////////////////////// ]
Blanka 0/-------/-----==|=======\-------\1 [E] Honoka
> //////////////////////// ]
|==-----\-------\0 Rogue SDF Agent
COMBATSYS: Sakura dodges Rogue SDF Agent's Bonesmasher.
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Sakura 0/-------/-------|-------\-------\0 Angry Mob
[ \\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\ < > ///////////////////////////// ]
Blanka 0/-------/-----==|=======\-------\1 [E] Honoka
> //////////////////////// ]
|==-----\-------\0 Rogue SDF Agent
Sakura's fighting spirits and her spirits flare to immediate fullness. There's no ramp-up time, no 'getting into the fight'--this is immediate, serious, and deadly. Well, -her- strikes aren't, but she's intending to beat the consciousness out of these traitors. With that said, she has little time to see how Blanka is doing--and anyway, she well-knows the big guy's strength. There aren't many like him around. Even a few dozen people aren't going to better him. As long as he can keep moving...
Sakura lands, and immediately ducks back from the agent, swiveling around to disarm him with a kick--not a damaging attack but one to throw that gun into the mess of people around them. And then Honoka shouts, and she sounds.. angry.
Sakura spins around, and the look she directs Honoka's way is confused, almost despairing. "I -am-... doing everything I can...! Honoka-chan! Why are you here?!? Why are you doing this?!?" Unfortunately the conversation stops there--that agent is getting back at her.
With a muttered curse, Sakura turns and snaps an elbow for the agent's throat--a disabling, but not killing, blow--and zeroes in on the next rogue agent to take him down with a flying punch.
COMBATSYS: Blanka Toughs Out Angry Mob's Crowd Surfing!
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Sakura 0/-------/-------|==-----\-------\0 Angry Mob
[ \\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\ < > ///////////////////////////// ]
Blanka 0/-------/--=====|=======\-------\1 [E] Honoka
> //////////////////////// ]
|==-----\-------\0 Rogue SDF Agent
When did Blanka become a beach ball?! The poor guy is bounced around here and there as he impacts into the angry crowd. He's optimistic for a second or two, thinking that things may be better; but it's dashed when Honoka speaks. He sees that brief flickering of pink and sees the crowd's reaction - and his face turns dark. He's seen that sort of effect before, and has a very, very good idea of what is driving the crowd up and into a riot. "AROOKURA! Gotta stop the other one!!" He flails as he's snagged by the angry crowd, grabbed and thrown up towards the politicians. He's determined to not hurt them though, so he instead throws his body wide and splayed out, crashing into the chairs nearby them instead, letting the impact redirect his momentum.
Redirected indeed; he's given up on the mob for now, hoping that they'll stay occupied long enough that Blanka can roll up and leap at Honoka, trying to clear the distance towards the yo-yo'd girl, eyes meeting hers in a defiant challenge of 'why don't you try to do that to me'. As he meets her eyes, he launches himself up in the air and splays his body out wide, attempting to simply flatten her under his bulk! "AWH-ROOOOOO!"
COMBATSYS: Honoka dodges Blanka's Fierce Combo.
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Sakura 0/-------/-------|==-----\-------\0 Angry Mob
[ \\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\ < > ///////////////////////////// ]
Blanka 0/-------/--=====|=======\-------\1 [E] Honoka
> //////////////////////// ]
|==-----\-------\0 Rogue SDF Agent
COMBATSYS: Rogue SDF Agent blocks Sakura's Medium Punch.
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Sakura 0/-------/------=|==-----\-------\0 Angry Mob
[ \\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\ < > ///////////////////////////// ]
Blanka 0/-------/--=====|=======\-------\1 [E] Honoka
> ////////////////////// ]
|===----\-------\0 Rogue SDF Agent
The rogue agent isn't... really a rogue. When Sakura snaps an elbow at his throat, he raises his forearm to block, staggering backwards... though it becomes a bit more clear when the helmet actually falls -off-. It doesn't fit very well, and now that the helmet's gone, it might be easier to see the emblem of the Bright Sun Circus pinned to his collar.
Doing everything she can? Honoka staggers, nearly sick with disgust. "You can't mean to tell me that you're =here= helping with =relief efforts?= You... top-tier fighter... with connections across =half the globe=, and you're here handing out soup while madmen like that... that... =thing= roam the globe?" She's talking about Mukai, but the obsidian giant never mentioned his name, and there were other things on Sakura's and Honoka's minds at the time. "It looks like I =overestimated= you, Kasugano. Grossly."
[ BGM : X JAPAN - Dahlia - http://youtu.be/EvQD2GUwXBs ]
With a quick snap of Honoka's wrist, a diabolo wand slides out of her right sleeve, the taut string glistening along the length of her arm. With a rapid piroutte, two diabolos reveal themselves from their pouches along her back, and the wand flies conveniently into her left hand. "I won't make that mistake again." And with a snap of her finger, she points at Sakura.
The crowd surges, aiming to swallow up the schoolgirl as if it were a single-celled organism, though it would probably hurt quiiiite a bit more.
And out of the corner of her eye, she spies motion. The beastman seems to be rolling at =her= now. Honoka had started her tour with the circus troupe as a dancer for the circus, and it's now that she puts that flexibility training to use -- placing one foot on the seat next to her, she uses it as a springboard to vault backwards, carrying her narrowly backwards and just out of Blanka's path.
"At least -you- were paying attention to your surroundings," mumbles Honoka with a faint smile, landing on another seatback. When she rockets forward again, she's slinging her wands back and forth like a pair of nunchaku with a =really= wide reach, hoping to batter down Blanka's defenses. What happened to the diabolo? Oh, they're overhead, about to hit him in the noggin if he were to look up.
The soldier recovers from his momentary dazing, and tries to use the distraction to vault to higher ground -- particularly, one of the light fixtures. And once there, he pulls the assault rifle from his back, hoping to get a bead on the Ansatsuken prodigy.
COMBATSYS: Rogue SDF Agent focuses on his next action.
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Sakura 0/-------/------=|==-----\-------\0 Angry Mob
[ \\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\ < > ///////////////////////////// ]
Blanka 0/-------/--=====|=======\-------\1 [E] Honoka
> ////////////////////// ]
|===----\-------\0 Rogue SDF Agent
COMBATSYS: Angry Mob successfully hit Sakura with Smash and Grab.
- Power hit! -
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Sakura 0/-------/--=====|====---\-------\0 Angry Mob
[ \\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\ < > //////////////////////////// ]
Blanka 0/-------/--=====|=======\-------\0 [E] Honoka
> ////////////////////// ]
|===----\-------\0 Rogue SDF Agent
The crowd surges over Sakura, swallowing her up in the crowd; so focused was she on Honoka and her group that she forgot about them. And she pays for it, dearly. She might be a media darling, might be well known around Japan as a fierce, feisty, spunky fighter, but there's no recognition in these people's eyes. And Sakura hesitates to hurt any of them. They, unfortunately, have no such compunctions. It takes... long seconds for Sakura to struggle out of the group, and she looks -much- the worse for wear having gone through that.
She's bloodied and bruised, and the look in her eyes is now one purely of despair. These are -her people- and they're turning on her--turning on Japan... she almost can't take it. Were she more in touch with the Satsui no Hadou... here is where it might come to life.
Instead, something else comes to life--crackling, blue white energy that forms in the palms of her hands, swelling and growing in seconds. Normally she might shout a catch phrase--this time, her voice amplified by the chi surging around and through her, she snaps, "CALM DOWN!" as she hurls the sphere of energy--nearly as wide as her torso--into the group of mob folks.
COMBATSYS: Blanka interrupts Meteor Shower from Honoka with Electric Thunder.
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Sakura 0/-------/--=====|====---\-------\0 Angry Mob
[ \\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\ < > ///////////////////// ]
Blanka 0/-------/=======|=======\-------\1 [E] Honoka
> ////////////////////// ]
|===----\-------\0 Rogue SDF Agent
"SAKAROOA! Be careful!!" Blanka's head whips around as she vanishes into the angry mob, knowing the younger fighter can handle herself, but still concerned for her all the same; good friends are few and far between to Blanka, and he's not willing to risk losing her to something so horrible as a raging, angry mob. That's how Blanka always thought /he/ would go out, in his awful moments of self-doubt. On the plus side, this raging mob might be calmed, if the instigator could be put down and stopped.. which means Blanka has a job to do.
The green giant turns his head back towards Honoka as she reaches in towards him, trying to battle him and his defenses. So he drops them, inviting her in close. As the wands smack into the side of his head, his eyes flicker from gold to blue-white, and his body follows suit immedeately after. That blue-white explosion of electricity sparks and arcs through the weapons and into Honoka; and while Blanka's the worse for wear, blood trickling down his temple; he's probably not the one that got the worst of that exchange.
COMBATSYS: Angry Mob blocks Sakura's Medium Hadouken.
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Sakura 0/-------/-======|======-\-------\0 Angry Mob
[ \\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\ < > ///////////////////// ]
Blanka 0/-------/=======|=======\-------\1 [E] Honoka
> ////////////////////// ]
|===----\-------\0 Rogue SDF Agent
No... no, he's not. Honoka has been in plenty of fights, but fights against creatures who attack with electricity? Not so much. The diabolos land harmlessly off to the sides, rolling down underneath the seats -- but the sound is drowned out by her screech, loud enough to make the councillors and representatives clap their hands over their ears.
It's also enough to make the mob snap their heads around to the sound of the voice -- it's even louder than the raging blue-white ball of energy racing towards them. But while they =look= at Honoka, the angry citizens do not instantly move towards her -- for one thing, the aisle down to the Diet members is only so large. And for another, fireball. The mob pushes back against the veritable wall of energy, shouldering into it... and while the mob loses a few members, tossed spiralling out of control like duckpins in the path of a bowling ball, it maintains its consistency as a single mass.
A single mass that is now -pissed- at the one who made their orchestrator, the sole voice of reason in their enraged, throbbing minds, angrier. The protestors came prepared, oh did they ever. Lighters come out, paper gets wadded... and burning bottles fly at the beast from Brazil. Bottles that will likely shatter against his skin, sending firewater spilling all over.
Honoka reels back, her flak vest scorched from the electric assault, her sleeves frayed, her hair frazzled out to the sides. She's not particularly happy about this. But she does hear her diabolos returning to her. With a flick of her wrist she snaps her wand down, snaring the diabolos up... and then, after a quick snap back and forth to accelerate the toys, she flinging them at Blanka. He can dodge the diabolos, sure, but the real threat is the wand that she'd flung in the same fluid gesture, aiming to snap around his ankle -- and if she manages that, she'd jerk him forward sharply, aiming to bang his head into one of the seats.
Hopefully Sakura didn't forget about that guard who'd gotten a better vantage point. He's managed to do so, and he takes aim, hoping to peg the girl right between the shoulder blades with a cheap potshot.
COMBATSYS: Sakura instinctively blocks Rogue SDF Agent's Hot Lead Injection.
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Sakura 0/-------/=======|======-\-------\0 Angry Mob
[ \\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\ < > ////////////////////// ]
Blanka 0/-------/=======|=======\-------\1 [E] Honoka
> ///////////////////// ]
|===----\-------\0 Rogue SDF Agent
She -did- forget about him. But her moment of inattention, of lack of spatial awareness, isn't extended into a second moment. The danger sense whispers to her in the crowded, loud, chaotic room, and she twists, half by instinct, half by training; the bullet grazes her body, skimming past her back. It'll cause a scar, of course, the bullet tumbling and smacking into the floor of the building, ricocheting off. Sakura... she's been shot at before. Like most martial artists, she disdains guns. So she just shoots the guy a -look-.
But she's... beginning to think that Blanka is right. That taking down Honoka is the key to this. She herself knows how... persuasive Honoka can be. It might focus the crowd's anger on her and Blanka. And it'll definitely keep these 'SDF' folks on her. But better them than the government officials.
Sakura whirls, her eyes focusing on Honoka. And she pulls together her hands, more energy forming, flowing outwards into her palms--a small, compact bullet of it, which she lets fly a moment later for the diaboloist, her shout this time Honoka's name, part warning, part despairing, part challenge.
COMBATSYS: Blanka endures Angry Mob's Molotov.
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Sakura 0/-------/-======|=======\-------\0 Angry Mob
[ \\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\ < > ////////////////////// ]
Blanka 1/-------/=======|=======\-------\1 [E] Honoka
> ///////////////////// ]
|===----\-------\0 Rogue SDF Agent
COMBATSYS: Honoka successfully hits Blanka with Quick Throw.
-+- CALCULATED HIT -+-
[ \\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\ < > ////////////////////// ]
Sakura 0/-------/-======|=======\-------\0 Angry Mob
[ \\\\\\\\\\\\\\ < > ////////////////////// ]
Blanka 1/-----==/=======|=======\==-----\1 [E] Honoka
> ///////////////////// ]
|===----\-------\0 Rogue SDF Agent
Such a mess, so many different things to do and so many places to be at once. Blanka can't keep up, the chaos starting to overwhelm the gentle giant. In all the voilence and noise, he doesn't hear the whipping sound of the wands, and he's turned towards the mob and Sakura, to try and get her a hand out of the mess. Instead, he finds his feet tripped up, and he falls face-first to the floor, finding himself half-trapped in between two rows of seats. And then, well... then the fire comes.
Blanka howls out as he's buried in the improvised flame weapon, hair smoldering and skin singeing as he slaps here and there, rolling to and fro to try and put himself out. He finds it harder and harder to keep from going 'feral', eyes wide and open with fear and anger and all that. He tries to use it to his advantage, hurling himself forwards into the mass of people that make up the angry mob, a flaming, giant beast that swings his arms (mostly) wildly. He's still trying to pull punches, but if he knocks them all down? Well, he'll deal with the reprecussions later. "AWH-AWHROOO!" he howls, speech lost in the chaos.
COMBATSYS: Angry Mob fails to interrupt Strong Throw from Blanka with Mob Justice.
[ \\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\ < > //////////////// ]
Sakura 0/-------/-======|=======\=------\1 Angry Mob
[ \\\\\\\\\\\\\\\ < > ////////////////////// ]
Blanka 1/----===/=======|=======\==-----\1 [E] Honoka
> ///////////////////// ]
|===----\-------\0 Rogue SDF Agent
COMBATSYS: Honoka reflects Small Hadouken from Sakura with Around the World.
- Power hit! -
[ \\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\ < > //////////////// ]
Sakura 0/-------/-======|=======\=------\1 Angry Mob
[ \\\\\\\\\\\\\\\ < > ///////////////////// ]
Blanka 1/----===/=======|=======\====---\1 [E] Honoka
> ///////////////////// ]
|===----\-------\0 Rogue SDF Agent
Honoka's diabolos clack loudly as they bounce off the concrete floor, but with a snap of the wand and cord, the toys are returned to Honoka's reach.
So nice of Sakura to call out to the young performer, who was more focused... hell, let's be honest, she was still quaking slightly from the electricity still arcing throughout her nervous system. What =is= it with people who have to announce whatever it is they're doing? It's so guileless... but in this case it proves handy to the young diaboloist.
"Yes, Sakura-chan?" she answers, looking off to her side. Effortlessly, she whirls the diabolo around behind her back in a wide arc, eyes crossing as she stares at the blue-white energy rippling towards her. With a sudden sharp motion she sweeps both arms upward, and then with a slight pivot, she turns one arm down. The diabolos encircle the ball of energy, neutralizing its forward movement and starting to whip it around faster, Honoka twiddling the wands back and forth to speed it up. "You -saw- my vision for the world, Sakura, until I figured out what that obsidian terror was up to." She shakes her head with a sly grin. "I'd figured you'd learned my secrets, until we had that little chat."
With a flick of the wrist, she sends Sakura's Hadouken right back at her. "Your immense potential, your world-sweeping influence... are put to waste. A pity."
The angry mob... does not fare as well. Blanka's on fire -- and that is enough of a distraction in itself -- but the fact that he's charging wildly at the crowd doesn't really give them any move to react. They surge forward, as one, with every intention of swallowing up Blanka and smothering the flame, but in the end, they just get burned. The scent of singed clothing and fur fills the air as shocked citizens go flying.
And those politicians can't even protect them HERE, the nerve! What good are those guys, cowering in the corner like that, really...
The performer-turned-soldier lines up another shot from atop his makeshift sniper nest -- this one aimed at taking down the beast with a shot to the back of the head. Krakowwww!
COMBATSYS: Sakura parries Honoka's Reflected Small Hadouken!
[ \\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\ < > /////////////// ]
Sakura 0/-------/=======|=======\=------\1 Angry Mob
[ \\\\\\\\\\\\\\\ < > ///////////////////// ]
Blanka 1/----===/=======|=======\====---\1 [E] Honoka
> //////////////////// ]
|===----\-------\0 Rogue SDF Agent
Sakura will say this for Honoka. She certainly doesn't show any indecision or hesitation when the chips are down. "That was--" She cuts herself off, her visage crystallizing. No more indecision, no more hesitation for her either. No more thinking about what Honoka meant, what she wanted, her innermost secrets. There is only the moment--this moment. Ryu's voice echoes in her head.
"What do you see beyond your fist, Sakura?"
For a moment, time goes still for the young Ansatsuken prodigy. Things slow down. To the outside world, of course, nothing changes; it's merely perception, Sakura's perception, that these things are happening. That her reflected projectile, laced with Honoka's own energies, are now flying back at her. For her to.. reach into. To tear it apart with her bare hands, dissipating it as she begins a rush forward, the sound of it like a brief thunderclap as she charges through where the projectile once was.
"I'm not one to save the world... not yet. Maybe never. I know my limitations... but I will surpass them. And for today--for right now--I choose to save who and what I can!" With a leap she crosses the diatance to Honoka in a flat second, leading with a beautifully, perfectly extended right leg, the ball of her foot aimed to take Honoka right across the temple.
COMBATSYS: Blanka blocks Rogue SDF Agent's I Know Gun-Fu.
[ \\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\ < > /////////////// ]
Sakura 0/-------/=======|=======\=------\1 Angry Mob
[ \\\\\\\\\\\\\ < > ///////////////////// ]
Blanka 1/---====/=======|=======\====---\1 [E] Honoka
> //////////////////// ]
|====---\-------\0 Rogue SDF Agent
From the middle of the chaos and flailing of the mob, Blanka swings. Arms moving in wide circles, he knocks people this way and that, every bit the epitome of Frankenstein's Monster versus the Villagers. He'll apologize later, and he is pulling his punches to some effect. Enough so that he won't break things, except hopefully spirits. Flaming having calmed down to something closer to smouldering, the Brazillian beast tries to figure out his next move, eyes peeking over the tops of those people's heads, one of the few advantages to being so tall. He catches Sakura's reaction and grins; even in the midst of this fight, he can hoot and holler for Sakura doing something so amazing! It's almost enough of a distraction that he doesn't see the sniper. The sound is later than the impact, the sharp *KRAK* of bullet leaving the chamber happening a split second after Blanka's melon explodes in a spray of red and black all over the nearby mob. The green giant's hands drop then, going slack.
From the middle of the chaos and flailing of the mob, Blanka swings. Arms moving in wide circles, he knocks people this way and that, every bit the epitome of Frankenstein's Monster versus the Villagers. He'll apologize later, and he is pulling his punches to some effect. Enough so that he won't break things, except hopefully spirits. Flaming having calmed down to something closer to smouldering, the Brazillian beast tries to figure out his next move, eyes peeking over the tops of those people's heads, one of the few advantages to being so tall. He catches Sakura's reaction and grins; even in the midst of this fight, he can hoot and holler for Sakura doing something so amazing! It's almost enough of a distraction that he doesn't see the sniper. The sound is later than the impact, the sharp *KRAK* of bullet leaving the chamber happening a split second after Blanka's melon explodes in a spray of red and black all over the nearby mob. The green giant's hands drop then, going slack.
Watermelon gunk all over his hands, Blanka looks out, shocked! He'd /just/ pulled that melon out of ... well, somewhere, and planned on eating it to get some recuperation back! It works for Haggar and Trash Turkeys, it should work for him. Instead, he has melon all over his hands, and apparently, there's a bullet welt in his hand now! He rumbles a growl that should frighten the angry mob around him, and then he howls out a challenge, and leaps into the air, towards the rafters. From above, he hangs up in the ceiling, and starts to grab melon after melon, throwing them down at the mob, intent on either knocking them out or leaving them with melons encasing their head. He hurls one after the other until his hidey-storage place of post-fight snackage is empty, and then tries to come down on them with both feet; he's /tired/ of fighting angry mobs! He'll apologize to them later, if there /is/ a later.
COMBATSYS: Blanka successfully hits Angry Mob with Tropical Hazard.
[ \\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\ < > ////// ]
Sakura 0/-------/=======|>>>>>>>\>>>>>>>\2 Angry Mob
[ \\\\\\\\\\\\\\ < > ///////////////////// ]
Blanka 0/-------/-------|=======\====---\1 [E] Honoka
> //////////////////// ]
|====---\-------\0 Rogue SDF Agent
COMBATSYS: Sakura successfully hits Honoka with Medium Kick EX.
[ \\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\ < > ////// ]
Sakura 1/-------/=======|>>>>>>>\>>>>>>>\2 Angry Mob
[ \\\\\\\\\\\\\\ < > //////////////// ]
Blanka 0/-------/-------|=======\=====--\1 [E] Honoka
> //////////////////// ]
|====---\-------\0 Rogue SDF Agent
In any other circumstance, Honoka would likely be cheering along with Blanka for the impressive manner in which Sakura unwove the very fibers of her own Hadouken. But... well, right now, she just gives the girl a level stare. "How noble of you, to win the battle and lose the w-"
And then Sakura comes flying back at her with a kick to the temple! How... rude! Honoka was trying to talk here! Eyes going wide, she shrinks away from the attack, but Sakura leaves a big ol' shoeprint =right= on her face, sending her flying off her makeshift riser and crashing into the seats. Ungraceful!
"Sudo!" Honoka calls one of her troupe-soldiers, barking out a quick order in Ainu language, extricating herself from the stadium-style seating. The tall young man nods once, hustling to the nearest stairwell and running upstairs, unfastening the mic from his shoulder and barking out orders of his own.
The pseudo-officer who had placed himself above gets his own order, but it's in the form of a pink crackle of electricity from Honoka. She is =not= happy about the way things are going, and as she vaults back to her feet, swinging her diabolos around in a wide circle, she attempts to remember what she was saying. "... FFfffff! You made me forget!" Angered, she flings her hands back, her hands and arms enveloped in veins of pink energy. The diabolo string goes taut, the diabolos themselves fly off the string ... but they don't fly off. Rather, they just hover in place, spinning...
"Anyway. You... =and= your watermelon-loving friend... are too late." Honoka snaps the string together once, then twice, and pulls it apart again, the string now twined into a star shaped pattern. The energy in her hands erupts forward, converging into a solid mass, and then focused by the star pattern into an extruded pillar of psionic energy, extending forth on a direct collision with Sakura.
%And since Sakura =loves= getting shot, her buddy in the rafters is all about joining in, with a wide dispersal shotgun blast from behind. Nothing fancy, just as he was ordered, a high-angle blast aimed at shaking up the Ansatsuken Prodigy's focus.
Blanka seems to be doing much better against the mob -- they're -really- not sure where the watermelons came from, but it might have had to do with the way the building is starting to shake... and the roof starting to crack. Seems someone didn't set their timed charge right -- that might just have been what Honoka was alluding to.
In any case, the mob doesn't know what to do about the watermelons. On the one hand, it's silly -- and who doesn't love watermelons? But on the other, well, they HURT. One after another, the angry citizens fall over like bags of rice, heads now adorned with watermelon helmets, and covered in sticky red pulp.
It's enough to make a guy angry -- the twelve guys still standing, anyway. Heads still covered in melons, they charge back at Blanka, fully intending to pummel the guy with fists, watermelon-enhanced headbutts, and whatever else the crazy mob can manage!
COMBATSYS: Rogue SDF Agent successfully hit Sakura with Killing Field.
[ \\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\ < > /////// ]
Sakura 1/-----==/=======|>>>>---\-------\0 Angry Mob
[ \\\\\\\\\\\\\\ < > //////////////// ]
Blanka 0/-------/-------|=======\-------\0 [E] Honoka
> ///////////////////// ]
|====---\-------\0 Rogue SDF Agent
COMBATSYS: Honoka successfully hits Sakura with Event Horizon.
[ \\\\\\\\ < > /////// ]
Sakura 1/=======/=======|>>>>---\-------\0 Angry Mob
[ \\\\\\\\\\\\\\ < > //////////////// ]
Blanka 0/-------/-------|=======\-------\1 [E] Honoka
> ///////////////////// ]
|====---\-------\0 Rogue SDF Agent
It happens in an instant--the hammerblow of the shotgun blast burying lead pellets into Sakura's back and the impact of Honoka's psionic energy. They duel for a second, a half-second, Sakura caught between them, and then Honoka's energy wins out--it sends Sakura flying back, to slam into the wall, leaving a bloody back print as she slides down it. She lands on her feet, barely, in a sitting position... and clearly.. she's hurting.
Her breath is heavy, ragged, blood trickling from the corner of her mouth, and her shredded uniform top falls away--fortunately she has a red spandex sports bra underneath, which is also shredded but still serviceable. Reaching up, Sakura wipes her mouth. "You're going to have to kill me, Honoka..." Reaching back, she levers herself off the wall, leaving another backprint of blood. Calling her power, enhanced by emotion, by the mood of the people around her, by the pain coursing through her body, it crackles into life in her hands, a solid-looking ball of power that swells and swells, growing in power in a slow-instant process. It washes out the view of her, like she were carrying a 200-watt bulb in her hands, and the sound it makes as it rips from her hand is inhuman, almost unholy, screaming from her hands as she throws it at Honoka. She doesn't say anymore--she will let her actions speak.
COMBATSYS: Angry Mob successfully hit Blanka with Black Friday.
[ \\\\\\\\ < > /////// ]
Sakura 0/-------/--=====|>>>>---\-------\0 Angry Mob
[ \\\\\\\\ < > //////////////// ]
Blanka 0/-------/---====|=======\-------\1 [E] Honoka
> ///////////////////// ]
|====---\-------\0 Rogue SDF Agent
"AKOORA! AKOORA!" Blanka's less focused on his portion of the fight as he lands in the middle of the half-dazed mob. He's watching what happens between Honoka, the people with guns, and his bestie, Sakura. He yells and flails as if trying to warn her of the impending gunshot, but is far too late. He winces in sympathetic pain, and then in real pain as he's buried under the remaining vestiges of the angry mob. Battered, bruised, headbutted and kicked, he's flat on the floor, stretched out in a way that allows him to feel every tremor and vibration of the suddenly shaking room. Because it's..
"AKOORA! We have to go!!" Blanka's eyes are wide now, frightened and not because of the war that's going on, or the beating he and his bestie have received. Instead, he's frightened because he's helped knock out a large amount of people and now the place is going to come down on them all! He looks around and just grabs the less-concious people, trying a mix of shoving them at the angry people still standing, to distract, to force them to /help/, to let him grab others that are complelte unconcious and carry them towards the exits. He doens't want to be responsible for hurting people; he won't let Honoka's destruction of the building cause him to be a monster or a killer!!
COMBATSYS: Angry Mob fails to interrupt Large Thrown Object from Blanka with Mob Justice EX.
[ \\\\\\\\ < > //////////////// ]
Sakura 0/-------/--=====|=======\-------\1 [E] Honoka
[ \\\\\\\\ < > ///////////////////// ]
Blanka 0/-------/--=====|====---\-------\0 Rogue SDF Agent
COMBATSYS: Angry Mob can no longer fight.
[ \\\\\\\\ < > //////////////// ]
Sakura 0/-------/--=====|=======\-------\1 [E] Honoka
[ \\\\\\\\ < > ///////////////////// ]
Blanka 0/-------/--=====|====---\-------\0 Rogue SDF Agent
COMBATSYS: Honoka slows Shinkuu Hadouken EX from Sakura with Anomalous Space.
Glancing Hit
[ \\\\\\\\ < > ////// ]
Sakura 0/-------/--=====|=====--\-------\0 [E] Honoka
[ \\\\\\\\ < > ///////////////////// ]
Blanka 0/-------/--=====|====---\-------\0 Rogue SDF Agent
"So yes. As I was saying, Sakura... You? You won't ever understand me." Leaping up to balance on the back of a seat again -- because that worked out -so- well for her last time -- Honoka gestures to Blanka. "/He/ understands what it's like to be -ostracized-, to be -rejected-, to be -ignored- and treated like -scum-. You see? Even I did it... because I was =afraid= of him. =Scared=. You know something? =Japan= is scared of people like me. My mom. My dad. Who DIED not being legally allowed to practice their own religion. And it's =so= easy in this nation to just... ignore us." She turns away from Sakura, glaring at the Diet members huddling in the corner. "Go ahead! Close your eyes, cover your ears, pretend Hokkaido just doesn't exist. You made your =token= gesture a few years ago -- AFTER WE ALREADY DIED OFF!"
Honoka seethes. She's been waiting eight years to say that. To see the Japanese government cowering on the floor as she was standing before them, the angel of destruction...
The trouble with making grandiose statements is that not everyone wants to listen to them. Sakura... probably didn't want to hear any of that, especially not with how badly Honoka's attack had just blasted her backwards. And it shows from how she speaks. "... Maybe I will, Sa-"
Again with the interrupting, Sakura is. Honoka's eyebrow twitches ... but then her long red bangs are drawn forward into the vacuum of air pressure caused by the sudden rapid approach of Sakura's attack. Honoka raises one hand as if to block it, her palm flaring an intense pink... in something that would have looked =totally awesome= if it actually worked like she'd wanted it to.
It didn't, Honoka realizes, as the screaming projectile completely engulfs her in its wake, the pressure blasting her not only off the back of the seat... but into the far wall, some thirty seats back.
Sakura's not the only one who'll need a change of clothes after this -- or a hospital visit. (Luckily, it's right next door) Honoka stumbles forward, tears streaming down her cheeks. She's been shocked, she's been slammed with chi before... but never has she felt an energy impact of =that= magnitude.
Grabbing onto the back of another seat, she shakes her head. "Y-you lost..." she stammers, in a coarse whisper, magnified only by the relative silence of the cavernous chamber. "... as soon as you walked in here..."
Cracks spread from the ceiling. The hole is growing. And Blanka seems to know the right thing to do. The angry mob, having been bashed about... is not so angry any more, and most of the people aren't even conscious. Even the ones who -charged- at Blanka... are knocked back about by his attempts to get them to safety, which seems to have done enough to shake them out of the mental state which had them attacking in the first place. Whoever's conscious... starts making their way for the exit.
That works great for the citizens. It'd be a perfect plan for the Diet members too, except there are still a half dozen guards positioned around. Armed, ready to fire -- just with terrible stormtrooper aim. They open fire, but to be honest, the chamber is MUCH too big for them to hit anything with any reasonable accuracy. Their scattering shots are enough to keep the politicians huddled in the corner, terrified for their lives...
The one marksman, though... is relatively healthy and hale, having been left to his own devices. He looks around at the carnage, and... has doubts.
Honoka grasps her hand tight, and the marksman doubles over in pain. "No! NO! You stick to the damn plan!"
The trouper-trooper rises again, a cold, glassy look in his eye. He takes aim at Sakura... and with a pang of remorse, pulls the trigger.
COMBATSYS: Rogue SDF Agent successfully hit Sakura with Hot Lead Injection.
- Power hit! -
[ \\\\ < > ////// ]
Sakura 1/-------/=======|=====--\-------\0 [E] Honoka
[ \\\\\\\\ < > //////////////////// ]
Blanka 0/-------/--=====|====---\-------\0 Rogue SDF Agent
Tears are streaming from Sakura's cheeks. Pain, yes. Anger, yes. But what might surprise Honoka most of all? Sadness. Sakura is the kind of girl who makes friendships in seconds, and sunders them never. For them to be sundered, like this, in an instant, it's... a shock to her. Maybe moreso than the shock of having lead buried in her body. But just then--Blanka shouts at her and she whips her head around, shaking it angrily. "NO!!" She moderates her voice a little to continue.
"We have to save these people, Blanka! If we leave now--they'll all--be killed!" There's a moment's consideration and then she adds, her tone gentling a little further, "Get these people out of here, Blanka. I'll..." Her head turns towards Honoka again, her lips set in a firm line.
"I'll deal with these people." Heroic words, fine words--and then, they're cut off, Sakura's body jerking as the bullet passes through her torso, exploding out her abdomen. She staggers forward.
Her voice, hoarse, pain-filled, thready yet strong enough to be heard. "GO, Blanka...!" Gathering power in her hands, one more time, she drops to a knee--then her right hand drops to the floor, holding her up... and so she concentrates all the power into her left hand, hurling it outwards in a tightly-compacted but slightly incoherent projectile.
COMBATSYS: Sakura can no longer fight.
[ \\\\\\\\ < > ////// ]
Blanka 0/-------/--=====|=====--\-------\0 [E] Honoka
> //////////////////// ]
|====---\-------\0 Rogue SDF Agent
He's been told what to do; he's been given a job. He's been told, by one of his best friends, to 'help people'. To get them out of an obviously bad situation. To help people that attacked Sakura and himself. To assist people who always hated and feared him, and to /leave/ Sakura? Why? If she hadn't said he had to go, he'd have stayed. He fights the urge to turn around, to ignore the unconcious and hurt people around him and help Sakura. He whines deep in his throat, a keening frustrated noise as he tries to figure out /what/ to do. And in the end, he listens.
That's what friends do, right?
The green giant draws himself up to his full height, gathering three people stacked on one shoulder. Bracing himself, he charges full speed towards the Diet in their corner, leading with his non-burdened shoulder. One more hole in the rapidly-growing series of cracks and craters won't matter all /that/ much, will it? He might suffer some bullets for his trouble, but the hole he makes as he hits the wall should allow some of the 'hostages' to escape.
COMBATSYS: Blanka has left the fight here.
> ////// ]
|=====--\-------\0 [E] Honoka
> //////////////////// ]
|====---\-------\0 Rogue SDF Agent
COMBATSYS: Honoka dodges Sakura's Small Hadouken.
> ////// ]
|=====--\-------\0 [E] Honoka
> //////////////////// ]
|====---\-------\0 Rogue SDF Agent
Honoka is... sad as well. For entirely different reasons. This entire debacle has been eight years in the making -- scheming, arranging, assembling the pieces together could easily have filled notebooks. But Honoka wanted no evidence. Nothing that could point to premeditation, nothing that could be leaked to anyone else, nothing that could spoil the surprise.
And that meant lying. Betraying. And in many cases, outright mental domination. Honoka learned she had the ability just a few short days after her parents died. And that... is the lynchpin behind =all= of this. The freakish psychic backlash caused from one fateful night.
Maybe she'll be happy to share the story, someday when she actually trusts another human being again. If she ever does.
She looks down at herself. Coughs once... feels the urge to spit something up. Blood. That unpleasant, tinny taste. It wasn't long ago that she was lying right beside Sakura -- in a hospital room. A shared commiseration against a united foe. And now ... now they're on opposite sites of the cavernous chamber of the convention center, the building falling apart. Her badly-frayed military flak jacket falls apart, the camo shirt underneath nearly scorched beyond use as well.
And her diabolo wands still lie limply in her hands, as the third Hadouken of Sakura's triple threat comes screaming towards her. She starts to raise her hand to it, to simply /will/ it to go away -- but thinks better of it. Swinging the wand about over her head, she suddenly swings downward, lashing the loose wand around the armrest of one of the seats. And pulls sharply, tugging herself just out of the reach of the final, desperate Hadouken.
Honoka closes her eyes for one long, tense moment. The radio speaker at her side, the shell mangled to nigh-unrecognizability, still seems to function. It crackles... something. Garbled. But it's not Japanese.
Honoka opens her eyes. Sees Blanka rushing the people to safety. Safety. What is that, anyway? Such an unrealistic concept, that this monstrous world can be safe for anyone.
"Get her out of here," she whispers. She looks up at the one shooter, the one who can actually hit something more accurately than the broad side of the barn.
The shooter hops down from his elevated position. He slowly marches over towards Sakura -- tucking his gun away behind his back.
"He's not going to hurt you." The words are Honoka's. The voice is the soldier's. "He's going to carry you out. The Diet lives, the building stands... you have my word."
And the soldier is going to try -- =try= -- to pick up Sakura.
The building does seem to have stopped shaking now -- though there is the sound of a helicopter approaching.
COMBATSYS: Honoka takes no action.
> ////// ]
|=====--\-------\0 [E] Honoka
> //////////////////// ]
|====---\-------\0 Rogue SDF Agent
COMBATSYS: Rogue SDF Agent takes no action.
> ////// ]
|=====--\-------\0 [E] Honoka
> //////////////////// ]
|====---\-------\0 Rogue SDF Agent
COMBATSYS: Rogue SDF Agent has left the fight here.
> ////// ]
|=====--\-------\0 [E] Honoka
COMBATSYS: Honoka has ended the fight here.
There's nothing left in her to resist. She's conscious but only by medical definition; her eyes are glassy, her body soaked in her own blood. She's going to need a hospital. Her arms are wrapped around herself, instinctive physical reaction to the wounds that have ravaged her body. Dully, she looks at the soldier...
... and if Honoka can see through his eyes she will see the dullness there, but a sad condemnation as well. For a millisecond, at least, it's there, before Sakura fades from consciousness. There is no sense of satifaction from her. Perhaps she doesn't truly know that she has, at least in -some- sense, succeeded... for whatever it may be worth. When she wakes... there will only be questions for the young woman. And a fated destiny, perhaps. To meet with Honoka again, and obtain answers in the only way she knows how.
Honoka's soldiers -- the remnants of the Bright Sun Circus -- aren't firing their weapons any more. They've been given orders, if not by Honoka herself, then by her lieutenant Sudo. A soldier runs to help the shooter carry Sakura out to the elevator. Bodies in a similar state of incapacitation as Sakura... but one can rest assured, the building will stand long enough for them to all get help.
Another flurry of Ainu speech from Honoka... and then she slumps against the floor. Not unconscious... but not really able to move much. And thinking, thinking, thinking.
The Diet... is now a hostage. They won't be harmed, per Honoka's word.
But Sudo's mission wasn't securing the improvised Diet chamber. It was securing the Emperor who had been kept in relative safety on the eleventh floor.
Honoka finally closes her eyes. Her men and women have their orders.
Log created on 19:59:20 09/15/2014 by Sakura, and last modified on 09:03:14 09/18/2014.