2022-09-30 - Coming To Blows, But In A Good Way
| Title: Coming to Blows, But In A Good Way | |
|---|---|
| Summary: Kyouka and Endo meet up to have a sparring session. | |
| Who: | |
| Where: Keiyou Industrial District | |
| OOC - IC Date: September 30, 2022 - Saturday, January 16, 2016 | |
*+*+*+*+*+*+*+*+*+*+*+*+*+ Keiyou Industrial District +*+*+*+*+*+*+*+*+*+*+*+*+*
Stretching across eight districts, Keiyou Industrial Zone is like a small
city unto itself, consisting primarily of factories, power plants,
warehouses, refineries, and other heavy industry. Boxy, soot-stained
buildings, multi-story chemical tanks, and baroque masses of pipes and
girders dominate the architecture, and a distant clanking or hum can be
heard at all hours of the day throughout most of the district. Cranes,
forklifts, and other heavy equipment are common in this area, as are metal
gratings exhaling steam, dizzying catwalks and ladders, and tall stacks of
shipping crates.
The buildings closest to the bay are often the most presentable, so as to
avoid besmirching its beauty overmuch. The district cannot help but encroach
upon the bay, however, for it is its lifeline, providing thermal power,
naval shipping, and copious quantities of water for industrial purposes.
Keiyo long ago outgrew the land allotted for its uses, and so artificial
islands have been built up to permit its continued expansion.
Since its relatively low potential for civilian casualties (particularly at
night) appeals to magical girls, and its profusion of powerful industrial
machinery appeals to their foes, combat is not infrequent in this area.
<Pose Tracker> Endo Naoki [Juuban Public School (12)] has posed.
Theres a particular beauty to Keiyou Industrial District at night. The man-made islands that extend into Tokyo bay are lit by blinking towers and fluorescent spotlights, a sea of industrial illumination that bleeds out onto the water and can be seen from miles around.&r At night its also quieter, the factory workers gone home, the sound of machinery faded to a low, dull rumble. The moon illuminates what the factory lights dont, shining down on the mazework of pipes, warehouses, and factories.
Endo is waiting for Kyouka atop a long stretch of piping that runs from one old factory to another, a high perch that provides a view of the water nearby. Hes already transformed into his barrier jacket, sitting with legs dangling over the edge of the pipe and back supported by the sword that hes planted in the ground behind him. The gem in Fallen Sterns hilt pulses with a dark purple light, a tiny beacon amidst the fluorescent reds, blues, and greens that light the island.
Next to him is a small bag from a local konbini, several snacks stuffed inside. Hes nibbling on an onigiri, content to enjoy the view for now. 📱 Mai Tokiha (Mai) pages Endo Naoki and Kyouka Okazaki: Kid's refusing to sleep - mind if I come watch? 📱 You paged Endo Naoki and Mai Tokiha with 'I don't mind!' Mai Tokiha walks over from Shitamachi Low City.
<Pose Tracker> Kyouka Okazaki [Juuban Public School (10)] has posed.
Kyouka has some passing familiarity with the area, having just discovered it the other night. She's looking a lot more spry and energetic than she did in the aftermath of the fight with Shadow Stern, and is currently picking her way, untransformed, through the industrial area. She takes up a high perch to scan around... and spots her friend, then descends again to move towards her destination.
She's dressed in her favorite running outfit, black sweats, hoodie, fingerless gloves, and sneakers, and she's capably running, jumping, and climbing through everything as if it were a warmup of sorts for the activities to come. She makes her way up to the pipes running to Endo's perch, carefully making her way over.
"Hey, Endo!" she greets enthusiastically. It's not the nervous or timid 'Naoki-san' she greeted the fellow mage with at the Dark Burger, but it's also a much warmer and casual greeting than the almost overly-formal sounding one from before, too.
When she reaches her friend she crouches and fluidly plants her hands down in front and behind her so she can twist and take her own seat on the piping. She shrugs off her backpack and sets it down, then takes a big breath and lets it go. "Let me catch my breath a sec and then I'll be ready to start." She reaches into her backpack for a water bottle and takes a swig. "So... how're you and Fallen Stern holding up?"
Endo would have heard Kyouka be very firmly told not to use magic for several days when recuperating at Yagami House--though the fact that she's agreed to this spar must mean she feels she's ready for it. (He would have also seen her crying with relief over Strike Wolf being repaired to working order by Lindy and Hayate, as well.)
<Pose Tracker> Endo Naoki [Juuban Public School (12)] has posed.
"Kyouka-san." Endo watches the girl scramble along over to his position, greeting her warmly when she arrives. "That looked hard... go ahead." He allows her to catch her breath as he finishes his snack, crumpling up the onigiri wrapper before rising to his feet.
Endo stretches his arms over his head, bending back and forth, beginning to stretch out his arms and legs in preparation. "We're okay." Endo replies easily. He seems to have recovered enough to at least do some light sparring, even if Kyouka can see some tightness as he extends and bends.
"I'm glad you're feeling better." He assumes that her being here means she's in better shapeand the fact that she could make it all the way up to Endo's perch probably helps reinforce that.
"I guess you've probably got a good idea of what I can do by now, huh." Endo gives the girl a rueful smile, adding: "I'm glad you still want to fight, even after what happened. You kind of got thrown into the deep end, huh?"
<Pose Tracker> Kyouka Okazaki [Juuban Public School (10)] has posed.
Kyouka nods a little at the comment about it being hard. "It's... a little challenging. I was trying to take it easy, but you still gotta put in some effort." She looks out at the landscape as she catches her breath, though she's watching Endo out of the corner of her eye. "You should stretch more often," she says quietly as she looks back towards the view. "It'll help keep you limber."
She nods firmly. "I am. We are, right buddy?" She stretches her arm out in front of her, letting the sleeve pull back to reveal Strike Wolf's standby form on her wrist.
<Affirmative.>
"Strike Wolf's been monitoring my mana reserves. He says I should be good to go as long as we take things easy tonight."
"Youuu could say that, yeah... Though I might've been a tad distracted the last time I saw you in action," she adds, as her own rueful comment on the previous events. She stows her water bottle and carefully rises from the pipe to her feet. "Yeah, I mean..." She takes in a deep breath. "There's just a whole bunch of reasons to... And a few not, but..." She regards Strike Wolf for a moment. "I've never been one to back down from a bully. And I made a promise to Strike Wolf. Besides, even if I decided not to fight, I can't count on Jail just... giving me a pass because it'd be inconvenient for me, so..."
"Yeah, deep end is right... That's... a hell of a thing to face for your second magical fight ever. But... it did show me something new about myself, so there's at least a silver lining."
"Spot me for a second? Strike Wolf says he'll need to make some adjustments when I transform, so he can try to better manage my mana." She holds out her hand again. "Eyes to pierce the night, winds to move my feet, a howl that echos from afar, and an unyielding flame to turn back the dark! Strike Wolf, set up!"
Strike Wolf glows with an bright inner light as Kyouka recites the words. <Stand by, ready. Set up.>
Kyouka is surrounded by wild, surging violet energy. The transformation does take a few momenmts longer, but soon enough she's clad in her barrier jacket: armored gloves and boots, purple shorts and vest, black tank top, and an amber visor.
<Pose Tracker> Endo Naoki [Juuban Public School (12)] has posed.
"I'm still a little sore," Endo admits, "But I'll be alright. I've been through a lot worse." The boy beams brightly, reaching to grip the hilt of his weapon and tug it free from the metal pipe its been imbedded in.
"It's important to have a good reason to fight," Endo agrees. "Stern and I made a promise too. I guess all of us have, really." His nod is given as Kyouka asks for his attention, Endo squinting briefly as the girl's transformation lights up the darkness around them. He nods somberly once more she's finished, beginning to take several steps back as he hefts his weapon over a shoulder.
"Alright," Endo declares, "Whenever you're ready." Endo squares his stance, bracing himself in preparation for Kyouka's approach. "Just try not to go too hard!"
<Pose Tracker> Kyouka Okazaki [Juuban Public School (10)] has posed.
Kyouka raises an eyebrow as Endo says he's been through worse. "Worse than that? Damn... I kinda had the impression the two of you were unstoppable, but yeesh. I hope I at least get a while to acclimate before I find out what worse looks like."
She nods somberly as Endo mentions they've all made promises. "Mine is to help find Strike Wolf's creator so I can return him. We haven't had a lot of luck on that front, though."
She transforms, and she takes a moment afterwards to do a quick set of warmups. A trio of kicks, low, medium, and then head height on each side, then some brief shadow-boxing. "Alright." She hops a few steps back, sinking low into her fighting stance, arms up as she regards her friend.
Her first attack is relatively fast and direct--testing the waters, so to speak, as she darts forward to take a jab at Endo's chest, then immediately tries to dart back to avoid a sword strike.
<Pose Tracker> Endo Naoki [Juuban Public School (12)] has posed.
"Well, I've definitely been stopped before." Endo admits with a laugh, "I'm glad it seems like that, though. I'm sure you'll do a lot better than I have." There's another bright smile of assurance that comes with this, even as Endo prepares to receive Kyouka's charge.
When the strike comes Endo is ready, mostly. His opponent is quick-faster than Endo-and even though he makes an attempt to bring his weapon up to intercept Kyouka's blow she still lands a solid hit that drives him back a few steps.
He does not, however, attempt a counter-strike with his blade as she retreats backward.
Instead, he shows Kyouka something she hasn't seen yet:
<METEOR STRUM.>
Fallen Stern glows with purple-black light, and with a sweep of the blade Endo sets loose a swarm of baseball-sized orbs that go streaking into the night. They reorient quickly, homing toward Kyouka, detonating in the air all around the girl.
<Pose Tracker> Kyouka Okazaki [Juuban Public School (10)] has posed.
Kyouka returns the smile with one of her own. "Hey, if I can at least catch up to the rest of you, that'll be a good start."
She did elect for speed with her barrier jacket, and wasn't trying to go all out, but is glad she at least got a hit in. She watches those orbs go up, and then... she's darting backwards, barely escaping the first explosion and the next several, but her footing is a bit precarious on the pipes and it takes her just long enough to make sure her next jump will hit that she gets snagged by a few explosions at the end.
"Augh!" she exlaims as her jump is redirectd so that she misses her pipe and heads down to the ground instead. She recovers though, landing in a crouch. A brief spell circle appers at her feet as she jumps back up, but she doesn't press the attack. Instead, she settles into her ready stance again. "Okay, I'm gonna have to work on that. Most tournaments I've fought in don't deal with swarms of exposives being thrown at you."
<Pose Tracker> Endo Naoki [Juuban Public School (12)] has posed.
Endo waits patiently for Kyouka to return, his eyes following her movements as she ascends once again. He doesn't seem like he wants to press the offense for now, content to allow her to reposition before they resume.
"You'll have to get used to it." Endo replies sagely. "I don't have much range, but if you're fighting someone like Fate or Nanoha, you'd better be ready to avoid bombardments like that." He speaks from the pain of experience.
There's a slight shift in position, a subtle indicator that he's about to move. Then, with surprising speed, Endo lunges forward to clear the space between him and his opponent."And then you'll have to learn..."
The sword comes soon after, a horizontal sweep aimed toward Kyouka's center mass. Endo's using Stern more like a club than a sword, aiming the flat side toward his opponent--though with the size and force of the weapon, a full-on collision is still likely to be unpleasant.
"...how to chase them down!"
<Pose Tracker> Kyouka Okazaki [Juuban Public School (10)] has posed.
Kyouka nods as Endo mentions Fate's abilities. "Yeah, Fate's been helping me train and figure out how to work with Strike Wolf better. That Phalanx Shift is... scary."
Even though she's taking a moment to assess things, she's still watching Endo carefully, knowing he could start the next exchange at any--ahha. She doesn't have a fast defensive spell handy, and that speed and reach means evasion will be tricky...
... so she elects to attempt a jump over the swing, vaulting over her charging opponent. It's awful close: she only had enough time to react because she noticed the preparation, so she's not ready with an attack of her own. Instead she lands and immediately spins around to face her opponent, letting him recover from the charge.
"O-okay." She sounds very momentarily rattled by the close call. "You may not have a lot of range, but you've still got way more range than I do. I'm not sure I could've dodged that any other way."
She waits for you to reset, and then takes the lead this time, darting forward, but then jumping again, as if to go over your head once more. But halfway up she abruptly changes direction, like she kicked off of the air to charge diagonally down at you. Purple light shimmers around her boot as she flips into a kick towards your shoulder.
<Piercing Fang.> An attack designed to get through defenses.
<Pose Tracker> Endo Naoki [Juuban Public School (12)] has posed.
"Fate's pretty strong." Endo acknowledges. "She's a good teacher too, so you're in good hands." He speaks highly of the girl, despite her being a good several years younger than him. She's still his senior in magical girl time, at least.
Endo shifts his position as Kyouka moves backward, letting the blade of his weapon rest on the ground for now. His hands are still holding the hilt tight, preparing for what she might have planned next.
"I'm more of a brute force fighter," He admits, "I'm not very fast or smart, but I make up for it with perseverance." He laughs again, a few cheerful puffs during the small break in combat.
When she charges again he makes an attempt to swing at her, the sword cutting through the air in the space Kyouka had been just before he leap. The movement is tricky, and he barely has time to erect a barrier before her foot crashes into--and through-the purple-black protective triangle.
The strike is enough to send Endo tumbling over the edge of the pipe, bouncing off their battlefield and into the air. He rights himself after a frantic tumble, coming to a wobbling stop in the air before rising back toward Kyouka.
"Aaah, that one was a little rough," He complains, adding after: "Good attack, though. You're pretty fast! I'll have to speed up a bit."
And he does. The next few blows Endo trades are quicker, the boy pressing the attack harder than he had before once he touches back down on the pipe. Flares of light give short signals of warning to Kyouka before each attack, contrails of ugly violet following each aggressive strike as he attempts to throw her off balance.
<Pose Tracker> Kyouka Okazaki [Juuban Public School (10)] has posed.
"Strong and talented," agrees Kyouka. She's been pretty impressed with the kid since they first met. After they got past the whole pointing a weapon at her thing, anyway.
She sees the barrier come up--but she guessed correctly, and there's a bit of a satisfied grin on her face as she breaks through and makes contact--that vanishes a moment later when she sends Endo tumbling off their battlefield. "Oh shit--" She charges forward to go after her friend...
... and then stops short once she sees him catch himself mid-air and fly back up. "Oh, right. Flying. Okay." She looks really relieved at that. "You okay? I didn't intend to hit that hard."
She does smile at the compliment though. "Yeah, well. I guess I have to be, since I don't have any ranged spells yet."
Kyouka scrambles to dodge out of the way of the faster blows--it's tricky, she's not used to fighting at these speeds, certainly, but Endo's reach is frankly kind of insane, too, so the logistics of dodging around it are tricky enough that she's not taking any opportunities to get in a counter attack--and the last blow of the bunch hits her cleanly, sending her flying off of the pipes to the ground below.
She gets up, but she's holding her side a little as she does so. "Okay, something that big shouldn't be allowed to move that fast. Magic does some weird things to how I expect physics to work." Another super jump and she's back up on the pipes again, taking her stance.
"Okay, then. If you want to do fast, then let's do fast." A bright purple Midchildan spell circle appears around her feet for a moment, energy gathering and flowing up over her body.
<Wind Strider.>
She kicks off and returns the barrage of attacks you just gave her, but her movements are much faster and nimbler. Her attacks aren't stronger, but they're faster, and she's seeking out weak points with each punch or kick she unleashes.
<Pose Tracker> Endo Naoki [Juuban Public School (12)] has posed.
The faster strikes are harder for Endo to ward off, and those he manages to interpose his sword between a few of them, more than a few land true. The strikes force the boy backward several strides, ground given at a much quicker pace.
Rather than endure the assault for much longer, though, the knight does something about it. A Belkan triangle flares to life under his feet, a vivid warning that a counter-attack is incoming.
<METEOR ABSTURZ.>
Light flares as the boy brings his sword to bear, bringing the weapon up in a whirling 360 spin to force his attack away. Mana bleeds off the blade, leaving a burning after-image in the darkness of the night in the spaces it passes through.
And, with a leap back to finish clearing space, Endo lowers his weapon with a puff of effort. "Haaa...time out." He declares. "You made me go a little harder than I meant to."
<Pose Tracker> Kyouka Okazaki [Juuban Public School (10)] has posed.
Kyouka is grinning a bit as she presses the attack, though it's not that she's enjoying attacking her friend, it's more just enjoying doing a thing she loves. And the fact that the spell seems to be working doesn't hurt either.
Then Endo starts up a spell, and just as she's about to try and press the advantage brought by Endo's momentary preoccupation with spellcasting, recognition hits.
That's the move Shadow Stern opened up with at the Dark Burger.
There's a moment of panic as she checks her forward momentum, skidding to a halt and then scrambling to leap back and out of the way. She's tagged by the edge of the mana cutting through the air and loses her footing.
She crashes down onto the pipes but doesn't fall, slowly getting up. She's shaking her feet out as she nods as she gets up, standing upright and holding up her hands to signal she's not about to attack. "Y-yeah. No argument from me. I probably got a bit too into it there, too. Still, that's has been really helpful. Kind of fun, even."
She looks around to find her backpack. She sits down and opens it, pulling out a small box and holding it up. "I made granola bars. Want some?" Whether he accepts or not, she's happy to chat and relax while they rocover from the exchanges, until they're both ready to resume...
