Description: Having left the house with Rust, Jiro came across an old familiar face. However, with the years between himself and Kain, Jiro wanted to prove to Kain that he gotten stronger. However, it has left with bitter tears.
It is another day.
The looming threat of the apocalypse ever draws so closer to overtake the world. Southtown has seen numerous threats with the ashes from Mt. Fuji falling below and the atmosphere becoming tense.
The threat grows closer.
One particular person, an anamoly, exists in this world still. As he ventures through Southtown, the boy is brought over towards the outskirts. He looks down to see the hordes of traffic flowing and the trainlines moving. Jiro just watches it all go.
This is not his Southtown.
He does not belong.
However, the Stray Dog was given a chance to fight again. Perhaps he can do something different. However, the poison is seeping so close. It continues to eat away at him as the darkness fills him with the bile.
The seventeen year old Jiro can only lift his hands to stare at them. "...Meh." He lowers his head, "...Maybe I should find Mimiru... and apologize to her." Though, if he sees Daniel, he'll strangle him to death.
For his part, Kain R. Heinlein has been quite enjoying the chaos of recent days. The world is falling apart, and he hasn't had to lift a finger to do it. With growing chaos in both nature and society the strong will have their chance to rise, and the weak will be culled. And since he isn't having to arrange for the devastation himself, Kain is free to simply enjoy the fallout. Things haven't quite reached a point where he's willing to cut loose and burn all bridges, but perhaps if things continue on their current course...
Since things have not yet become fully apocalyptic, there are still day-to-day tasks to take care of, and various things that need to be done. As well as the occasional person who needs something done to them. With all that, there's plenty to keep Kain out and about, in various places in Southtown and beyond. At the moment he's passing through the outskirts of Southtown, when he feels something... odd in the chi of the area. There's a very brief moment of pause, and then he is scanning the area with both his eyes and more subtle senses, seeking out the source of the disturbance.
So here he is.
Jiro is wandering the streets, exploring the region of everything that seems to give tale to the presence. The atmosphere is rather foreboding, but Jiro has no choice but to survey how much has fallen in the city. His frown grows, however.
"... Why haven't they shown up?"
However, Jiro senses a strong chi around. "Buh?" His attention shifts over to see the path where the strong presence is coming from. Once he turns, he approaches the figure, making his presence known to the man.
It is Jiro Kasagi. However, something is off.
This is Jiro Kasagi when he was seventeen. This was the boy who was recently banished from Kain's training because he was unwilling to kill a friend. This is the boy who had been trying to become stronger on his own.
This is the boy who is suffering from the chi.
The eyes widen from the youth when he sees Kain. The man has grown older since the last time he saw him. It has been eight years, has it not? The young boy looks up at the older man with the shocked gaze. First... the image of his father appears, and then the presence of Kain.
...Fat-...
"...You've grown old."
Kain senses Jiro's approach, though he doesn't immediately turn. When he does, the appearance of Jiro does manage to elicit a raised eyebrow. Not much of a reaction for most people, but Kain isn't known for showing much in the way of his thoughts. There's clearly something odd going on with his chi, but there's more odd going on than just that, of course. "And you haven't. Interesting."
There aren't many people walking around in general, and those who are seem interested in keeping to themselves and getting wherever they're headed as quickly as possible. People stopping to talk seems like possible trouble, and there's more than enough of that going around, so people start giving them plenty of space.
Kain looks Jiro up and down for a moment. Normally he wouldn't bother acknowledging the boy, but he does have a bit of curiosity that he feels like sating. "So, are you some toy from NESTS? Or did you fake your death somehow?" And presumably get up to something rather interesting afterwards. Clone? A fountain of youth? A rather unexpected mastery of esoteric abilities which have made him appear not to have aged? Kain has seen enough strange things in his time that few things would surprise him.
"An anomaly in time."
Jiro finally states when he looks over towards the older man. His head lifts up with the gaze that hardens. It looks like that the old man would not acknowledge him at first. "I am the Boy who has Defied Time. I am originally from 2006." The year after his banishment. However, Jiro does not fill in the gaps. He offers a shrug, "... However, I can definitely say..."
His eyes narrow straight towards Kain, "Some things have not change." He folds his arms over at the old man, "I have had people deny my existence, but... they have come to grips." He lifts his shoulders with a shrug, "Hell, I am still trying to come into grips with it."
Nevertheless, Jiro has a curious question for the older man. "So, is everything here turning out the way you want? Everything crumbling into decay?"
Of the many things Kain might have guessed, that probably wasn't going to be one of them. "Defied time indeed. I wonder, if I killed you now, would it change the past?" He smiles thinly. With all the things he's seen, and the recent upheavals, Kain isn't ready to write that claim off completely... but a clone, possibly with tampered memories, still seems more likely. "And yes, I would say things are turning out rather well."
Kain makes a sweeping gesture with his arm. "Everything seems to be falling apart, doesn't it? If you look at it in the short term. In the long term... the strongest have their time to shine. They'll weather the storm." A brief smile flashes across his face, showing a bit of teeth. "Or they won't, and will be fuel for someone stronger. And in the end, something greater will grow from the wreckage."
The smile fades from Kain's face as he focuses on Jiro again. "But then, if you understood that, things might have been different. For you, perhaps, they might have been longer." A brief smirk. "But however you came to be here, I suppose you've been granted a second chance. That doesn't happen very often. Maybe this time you shouldn't squander it."
The atmosphere has grown tense around himself and Kain. With the guess for Kain not yielding any satisfying results for him, the man contemplates killing him. This elicts a feral grin to form along the boy's face. In a quick instance, the sea blue eyes become feral as the canines become enlarged. "Let's see where this ends up, old man!" There is a sight of the flames illumainting within the young man's grasp. Right now, those flames are ivory. However, there lingers the essence of the black flames around the tip of the white blaze. It threatens to consume the 'pure' white.
After a moment, the flames are whisked away as the young man straightens up. He lifts his head to level his eyes up at Kain. "Heh..." He closes his eyes for a moment, "So those who are able to rise through the crisis are those who will shape this world?" There is a lingering thoughtful look as he turns his head away from Kain. "...You may be right." He lifts his shoulders, "...A Saiki is considered the strongest, from what I've gathered. He is the one willing this to happen. And those within his side are seeing humans as nothing more than people to be purge. Likely starting things anew."
Why is Jiro telling Kain this? Honestly, Jiro doesn't know. Perhaps it is his instinctual bit of information. "...Consider that a freebie of information."
However, once Kain focuses on him, the young boy lowers his head a bit. It is rather difficult for Jiro to say this. He highly doubts that Kain will appreciate those sentiments. However, this is perhaps the last chance that Jiro will even be able to speak to some people.
"... You know, I always thought of you as a father."
There is a faint smile, "... But, that is a time that has long passed for you, hasn't it? Likely never cared to think of visiting his grave." He then shrugs, "...Not that I expect you to." Then, he points his index finger at Kain.
"I am here for a reason. I am making that my reason to bring time back to its normal state. Even if that means breaking shit. ... Whatever happens to me during this case does not matter. I'm pretty much ripped away from my own time and have learned things that I should not have learned. ... So I'll make the best of my situation."
Kain doesn't even blink as Jiro shifts to a suddenly aggressive stance, flames blazing and even his appearance shifting. He's curious, certainly, about just what's going on there... But does he feel threatened? No. He watches calmly as Jiro pulls himself back together. He does file away that bit of information about Saiki, and that Jiro's in a position to know it, though.
But if he was one to roll his eyes, Kain would be doing it when Jiro admits to having considered Kain a father figure. Instead, as Jiro continues to speak, and presents his reasons, Kain gazes up at the sky for a moment, closes his eyes, then opens them again and lowers his gaze back toward Jiro. "Do what you will, then. If you turn out to be strong enough to stop all of this, then perhaps I was wrong about you." He smiles thinly. "Prove your worth, or die in the attempt. Those will likely be the only choices, soon enough."
Kain leans in closer to Jiro, looking him straight in the eye. "I don't think you have what it takes. But if you want to do it so badly, this is your chance to prove me wrong."
Jiro knew that Kain would not flinch. This is the man who taught him how to fight and manifest the flames before him. This was the man who had slowly led him into the path of darkness. Jiro was slowly approaching the point of no return.
It was something that the young man expected.
In the end, Jiro is still the Stray Dog. The Stray Dog is the one who acquires information and passes it along. What information that will serve? He doesn't know. Kain's response was as expected. However, Jiro cannot help but become disappointed. There is the part of Jiro that reflects back to that little boy who was trying to reach towards his father, only for that older man to turn his back on him.
Heh.
The taste is rather bitter.
It was, unfortunately, expected. His eyes lift up to look at Kain with a narrowed gaze. "...That is the only choice we have. Do or die."
There is a glare forming, especially as his fists tighten, "... Guess what, Kain?" The boy's stance is tightening, his body is now forming into a stance.
"... I am going to take that chance to prove to you that you are wrong!"
Kain raises an eyebrow again, but he doesn't move to adopt a defensive position in response to the signs of aggression Jiro's showing. "Well, I can't say I've ever thought much of your decision making, either, but you go ahead and do whatever it is you feel you have to. You're the one who has to deal with the consequences, after all." Kain keeps his gaze on Jiro. He doesn't sound angry, and he's not speaking in an overtly threatening tone. He's just speaking very matter-of-factly.
With that, Kain straightens back up, still looking at Jiro. "I've spent enough time here. So, if there's anything else you have for me, let's have it. After all, with what you're planning I doubt we'll be meeting again. I wonder if Saiki will even notice your efforts."
There he is. Ever so calm. Kain has the composure to not be threatened by him. It irritates the young man and he shows signs of that aggression still. The Stray Dog lowers his head a bit.
"... I challenge you."
The young man lifts his head up towards Kain. "I will show you that I am stronger than I was before. I will show you how much I hae grown." The flames are lighting up with the ivory blaze as he lifts his had up. "I do not need Saiki to notice my efforts. I will do my part to ensure that everything is restored and that we force Saiki back."
Kain shakes his head slowly for a moment. "Well, since I've been bothering to give you advice anyway, I'll give you a little bit more. If that's your plan, then this isn't a very smart way to start going about it. But fine, I'm feeling generous. You can have your challenge, and I'll even let you live. This time. If you decide not to accept the outcome of this, though, I won't be so lenient next time." Heinlein stares at Jiro for a moment, then actually gives a sigh. "Somehow, I think that warning is wasted."
He shrugs, then cocks his head slightly to one side. "I suppose this is where I'm supposed to tell you to give me your best shot, then?" And that's the moment when Kain's foot lashes out, black fire engulfing his leg as he attempts to drive a kick into the center of Jiro's chest.
COMBATSYS: Kain has started a fight here.
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Kain 0/-------/------=|
COMBATSYS: Jiro has joined the fight here.
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Jiro 0/-------/-------|=------\-------\0 Kain
COMBATSYS: Kain successfully hits Jiro with Schwarzer Stob.
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Jiro 1/-----==/=======|====---\-------\0 Kain
"... You should know me by now, 'dad'!" Jiro has that grin on his face. Those slitted eyes gaze wild-like at Kain. He is actually rather excited by the prospect of fighting the old man again. How long has it been for Jiro to get into a fight with the chi master? A year? Less?
Too long.
There is a look of seriousness that forms on his face once Kain accepts his challenge. "Good." The Stray Dog is stepping into his fighting stance, already getting ready to charge at Kain.
However, it is Kain who takes the initial lead. "Buh?!" Ill-prepared to play the defensive, Jiro hastily brings his arms up to guard against the upcoming blow. However, the black fire-induced foot lashes out against Jiro. "I won't let y---ghgggnn!!" Those legs break through the boy's defenses. His stance was not strong enough to stonewall the impact of the foot as it pierces past the hands and it drives itself straight towards his chest.
Gasping. Wheezing... Jiro is coughing up a bit of blood. It feels like his chest is having in from the massively painful strike. He collapses on both knees, giving a heavy cough. "/FUCK/!" He winces a bit. However, he tries to toughen out the pain. Slowly peeling himself from the ground, he staggers his way up and he straightens his stance. As he shifts his bodyweight over, he is sliding his leg forward to keep his balance.
"...Damnit.." He grits his teeth before he rushes towards Kain. "I am not done yet!" He brings his fist down towards the ground, twisting it to where the gloved back knuckle grinds against the ground. It creates a friction that sets his hand ablaze with the white chi. Driving himself froward, Jiro seeks to slam the fist up towards Kain's chin.
COMBATSYS: Jiro successfully hits Kain with Wild Ember.
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Jiro 1/----===/=======|=====--\-------\0 Kain
Kain doesn't look particularly smug about his sneak attack or the results of it. He calmly lowers his foot to the ground and begins walking toward Jiro, intending to follow up on his first strike. Jiro's not that easily beaten down, though, and manages to collect himself enough to get back up and prepare an attack of his own. Kain can follow the fist's path easily enough, and he raises an arm to knock the blow aside. He may have been underestimating Jiro, though, because the younger man does manage to twist the blow enough to slip past Kain's guard, driving it into his jaw.
Kain's head rocks back, but it doesn't knock him away from Jiro, and he doesn't seem to be stunned for long. And so he has no trouble reacting quickly enough to try to grab Jiro's outstretched arm. And should he succeed, he follows up by swinging Jiro off his feet, then slamming into the ground with an explosion of energy to accompany the impact.
COMBATSYS: Kain successfully hits Jiro with Medium Throw.
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Jiro 2/<<<<<<</<<<<<<<|======-\-------\0 Kain
Growling, Jiro is showing his tenacity in this battle. He has something to prove here. He wants to show Kain that he is stronger. He will show the old man that he is ready to fight. He wants to show Kain how much he has improved. Sure, Jiro will never get Kain's approval, but this is important to him.
He wants to show every person who turned them back why it is never a good idea to do so.
The Stray Dog charges into the point of impact. That fist seeks to strike against Kain's head, whipping out the fist to knock past the man's guard and against his jaw. However, that is not all. Jiro knows better than to thinkt hat he has the advantage.
In actuality, he knows that he is at a heavy disadvantage.
Once Kain's head rocks back, he is grabbing the arm and he is swept off of his feet and covered in the chi. His eyes widen while in the air.
~ "SHIT! DO SOMETHING NOW!" ~
He is kicking his brain to jolt it to life, then he twists about and he moves to roll himself over to where he can start moving along the ground, rolling against the impact. Unfortunately, Jiro lost that balance and he lands on the ground rather hard. "GAAAHHH!" The explosion of the flames catches him, lighting him ablaze. Aside from the crack on the ground that forms, the blaze sweeps around him and roars. "Nnggghh..."
He rolls along his side, then he stands up to his feet. "...I..." He staggers around, feeling his brain rather jolted. "I can do this." He stumbles back and then forward. He stumbles forward once more before he shakes his head. He shifts his stance to glare at Kain. He levels his gaze and he takes a deep breath.
"Alright..."
His flames roar to life and that roar becomes an inferno around. "Alright, damn you!" His eyes narrow at the older man, "I am not going to fall down now!" As the blaze spiral around him and the young man tightens his fist.
"THIS IS MY BANG!"
Jiro twists around and then he swings his fist outward. This releases a trail of flames that suddenly shoot out like a hyper cannon. That cannon of white flames blast off at the man as a giant sphere.
COMBATSYS: Kain blocks Jiro's Big Bang.
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Jiro 0/-------/---<<<<|======-\-------\0 Kain
Kain watches calmly as Jiro gathers his energy, then unleashes a massive sphere of brilliant white flame. But Kain has more than a little experience with giant energy blasts. He clenches his fist, a blue glow surrounding it and darkening to black. And then as Jiro's attack draws close enough, Kain drives his fist forward. A pressure wave shoots out from the impact over the area, and flashes of black energy streak through the white sphere before a spike of black flame bursts through it, tearing it asunder. The remnants continue forward, washing over Kain, but he appears only slightly fazed by it.
"No, you can't do this. And maybe you can avoid falling down for now, but I doubt it. You may have gotten stronger, but I can't say you've learned much." Keeping his arm outstretched, Kain unclenches his fist and opens his palm toward Jiro. A blue spark appears in his palm and begins growing, pulsing and swirling. It rapidly expands into a massive sphere of Kain's own, raw chi energy roiling with brilliant blue light, barely contained. It takes just a moment, and then the sphere leaps from Kain's palm, streaking toward Jiro.
COMBATSYS: Kain successfully hits Jiro with Himmlische Seele.
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Jiro 2/<<<<<<</<<<<<<<|===----\-------\0 Kain
The power of the white flames shoot out like a lance. The Stray Dog screams out his rage as the flames shoot out to pierce towards Kain. Jiro put everything that he had into that blast. He put his entire energy to shoot off and show Kain what he is made of.
It means two things.
Jack. And Shit.
The man shoots his fist forward and impacts against the white sphere. The black flames burst through it and set it asunder.
"S--shit..."
The eyes widen.
As Kain releases the outstretched hand, Jiro sees the blue spark of energy and it pulsates before him. As it expands into a massive sphere, Jiro is staring in the state of shock. That raw chi is threatening to tear him apart.
Once the sphere strikes downat Jiro, the Stray Dog's eyes widen and he tries to leap away from set of flames and position himself to quickly recover and strike Kain. Unfortunately, Jiro was too slow. The raw chi envelops his form, consuming him in its light.
And then a massive explosion ignites within the area.
...As the smoke clears...
Jiro is lying on his face, looking up towards Kain with a pained look. He is beaten. He looks completely worn and in a very bad state. "Dad--egh... damnit..." He grits his teeth, lowering his head against the ground. "...Still not enough."
At the tip of his fingers, those white flames still flicker. However, the tips of the flames are slowly turning black. The poison of the darkness inside of him is threatening to consume him. The rage. The anger.
The hatred. The Beast. The desire to destroy. It is there.
COMBATSYS: Jiro takes no action.
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Kain 0/-------/----===|
COMBATSYS: Jiro can no longer fight.
[ \\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\ <
Kain 0/-------/----===|
Kain lowers his arm, standing still as the edge of the blast washes back over him. As the smoke clears, he slowly shakes his head while looking down at Jiro. "A second chance at life, and so eager to throw it away. Maybe it's just some nostalgia on my part, letting you live. I suppose I should keep an eye out for that. Maybe you're right about me getting old." He smirks, then shakes his head. But then Kain pauses, as the black energy begins to seep through Jiro's flames. "Oh? Well, maybe you're not completely hopeless after all. That'll be for your friends to find out though, I suppose. And probably to their dismay."
As he turns around, Kain doesn't look back over his shoulder as he says, "Don't seek me out again. Next time, I will kill you. You made me a bit curious, but that has limits." He starts walking away. "If you're so determined to get yourself killed, at least try to make it mean something."
COMBATSYS: Kain has ended the fight here.
His eyes drift up towards Kain. Jiro remembers this. There is a bitter reminder of this. He gazes up towards Kain before he gazes up at the smirk. Those eyes widen and he grits his teeth. The eyes slowly shift to their normal blue gaze and then he lowers his head towards the ground.
As Kain tells him not to seek him out or else he will die... Jiro lowers his head and he tries to gather the strength to speak.
In his mind, he is reflecting back to see his younger self. The hand is lifted up, reaching out for the older man. The man, Gavin. The old man turns his back on the boy.
And he can see Kain, after he was banished... turning his back.
Jiro coughs up, those bitter tears forming in his eyes as the black flames erupt to life. His eyes widen as the tears run a long his cheeks as he watches Kain leave.
"...Dad."
There is a bit of a wound. He wanted to enjoy this fight, but there is only a bitter taste in his mouth.
Log created on 18:07:46 09/23/2014 by Jiro, and last modified on 13:21:29 09/28/2014.