[Last Time, on Battle High: Classes and detention drained all the energy from Our Heroes, and then they went and had dinner. Ao-Lang had an individual duel with Ryo Wildfire, there was much high school pseudo-romantic tension floating around between various people, and Karasu made a deal with Tulpa, a Deal Between Devils.] [It's friday now, the last day of the first week, and more importantly, today has the last FIGHT of the first week. It's morning, six in the morning, to be precise, and, as usual, everyone is just waking up... except for that durn bishie.] [First Week Last Day... FIGHT!] * Ao-Lang rolls over and grumbles, but doesn't get out of bed. * Karasu is already awake. That's pretty normal. * Mariah drags herself out of bed. "nnnnnh. 'm gonna go take a shower. maybe it'll wake me up..." After grabbing assorted shower-type things, she heads in that direction. * Ao-Lang mutters something to Mariah, but it really is impossible to make out. She stuffs her face in the pillow. * Hope is already up and practicing. ^_^; * Mariah will, indeed, take a shower and eventually *stop* taking a shower (gasp, shock). * Hope keeps on practicin'. * Ao-Lang daringly opens one eye, squints at the clock, mutters another unintelligible thing and gets out of bed. * Mariah emerges into the common room after getting dressed, sitting down with her tarot deck and beginning her daily reading. * Ao-Lang heads off to take a shower, amazingly not tripping over anything as she does so. * Someone plays taps on a bugle in the common room. * Mariah gazes down at her finished array. "*Man.* These things haven't given me anything all week -- wah?!" She looks up and around frantically for the source of the bugling, now apparently *quite* awake. * Ao-Lang yelps from inside the shower once she hears that, and the water shuts off. * Hope jumps in surprise. * Ao-Lang opens the door, steam drifting through the crack as she pokes her head out. "Did I just hear a bugel?" * There is noone in the common room when you arrive, nor is there a bugle. There is, however, a note. * Mariah picks it up and reads it. * Hope reads over Mariah's shoulder. ... oh, wow! Guys, c'mon, over here!! Huh? Yeah, one sec. * Ao-Lang shuts the door. * The note reads: "Your team captain has started to awaken. " He's wakin' up. Darn, just when I was starting to get the hang of this thing. * Hope grins. "What's say we visit sleeping beauty?" * Ao-Lang emerges dressed, but with loose, wet hair that she's busily toweling. "What's up?" Hey, it's good to have two people who can be captains, if nothing else... and yeah, we have time, don't we? -- Kai's waking up! * Ao-Lang blinks. Kai? * Karasu comes in from wherever he was. * Ao-Lang waves at Karasu, then goes back to toweling. Our fifth? ... you've never met him... Our actual Captain. Silly guy went into a coma and I took over as captain. Uh, no. I've been here for a day, remember. It's... oh, the captain! Cool. * Karasu nods to Ao-Lang. "Kai is awake?" S'what the note says. Let's go see 'em. Yeah... I'm game, sure. Be nice to meet this guy. * Ao-Lang goes to hang up the towel and retrieve her brush, which she immediately applies to her hair. * Mariah picks up and reshuffles her tarot cards. * A single card falls out of Mariah's hands and lands, face down, on the floor. * Ao-Lang idly puts the brush on a table and starts braiding her hair as she watches. ... darn. * Mariah picks it up and looks at it. * THE MOON * Mariah looks at it for a moment before returning it to the deck. "Huh. I'll have to remember that. ... Anyway, are we going?" We were waitin' for you, oh Reader of the Future. * Karasu shrugs. "I'm ready, as always." Let's go. ^_^ * Hope heads for the hospital. * Ao-Lang moves it! * Karasu heads thataway. * Mariah heads out. "... sorry. ... And, uh, the cards haven't really worked that well; I'm not sure I know how to do it right yet... * It takes our eager Heroes very little time to make it to the infirmary, especially with Karasu there to make sure they don't get lost. When they arrive, the infirmary is already open for business, the door standing ajar, allowing light to spill from within. * Hope walks on in. Better hope the nurse isn't giving Kai a physical in there. * Ao-Lang chats as she walks. "Nothing to be sorry about. Was just saying we were waiting for you." She grins. "Don't take things so personally." You'll probably get better at the reading thing later. * Ao-Lang peeks in, then walks in after Hope. Oh. Okay... * Mariah follows the other girls in. * Karasu heads in after. * The nurse, whom many of you have met before, can be seen leaning through a curtain at the back of the room, watching what must be Kairi's body. * Hope walks up to the nurse. "Howshe doin'?" ... hello? * The nurse turns around. "Oh! You're here. I hope the Peps didn't wake you." No, we were all up... Oh, good. You can go in and see him, I've unbuckled the restraints, he should be waking up any time now. * Mariah heads on in. Really? That's cool. * Hope wanders in to see Kai. * The nurse walks through the small crowd that just invaded her office. * Ao-Lang follows. * Karasu follows. * Inside the small room is a bed with Kairi resting on it. He shifts a few times, but otherwise doesn't move. * Karasu looks to the nurse. "Why is he suddenly waking up? Kairi? Are you awake? * Ao-Lang mmms, but otherwise doesn't make any more noise. Hey, lazybones, ya up? I would assume that his soul was released. * Kai suddenly sits up, sweating all over and breathing heavily. Looks like it. Hey Kai, howya feelin'? Oh! Hey... Yo, fearless leader. Nice to finally meet you, but I bet your friends want to talk to you first. * Ao-Lang winks at Kai. * Kai looks around. He quickly signs with his hands. ... uh, does anybody speak sign? And, uh... guys, did Kai know sign language *before?* I hadn't known him long enough to find out. * Ao-Lang stares at it for a moment, then shakes her head. "You're in the hospital, and you're Kai. Least, that's what I've heard." Lemme guess. Wrong soul? ... what do you remember last? * Kai holds his head, trying to gather his memories. He pauses. * Kai suddenly looks around frantically. * Ao-Lang blinks. ... of course. Of *course.* This... what happened to you? U..huh. * Karasu frowns. "Who are you?" Err. What's your name? * Mariah turns to Ao-Lang. "The card I dropped? It was the Moon. It's for deceptions and illusions..." ... I think it was right. * Ao-Lang looks over at Mariah, then nods. "The moon, yeah. That'd make sense." Yow. Good call Mariah. Guess you're better at this than you thought you were, eh? * Kai pauses again, then signs quickly. Or the cards are better than I thought. ... Isaac? Oh, wow. * Mariah tells Isaac the appropriate date. Isaac, huh? Makes me think of physics. * Kai looks down. Suddenly everyone can hear in their heads. ~That late? I suppose it wasn't a dream after all...~ Yow! What the hell? * Ao-Lang yelps and covers her ears. What the hell was that? * Mariah 's eyes widen. "... whoa. ... What was a dream?" That was you? I mean, yeah. I guess we did. Yeah, we heard you... wow! * Karasu nods. ~I... I'm sorry.~ It's okay... I've never met a real psychic before... * Ao-Lang tilts her head. This'll take some getting used to. Still... "Sorry for what? You didn't do anythin' wrong. Least, I don't think you did." W.. wow. Psychic? I always thought that was a myth.. Uh.. So.. what happened? * Isaac looks over himself. ~So I must have taken the place of someone else. Someone important to all of you.~ Well.. uh.. I wouldn't say that. Can't say he was that important to me, but then I didn't know the guy. I mean, I barely knew the guy. ... yeah, kinda. I mean, it was just sort of a surprise... Could say that. * Ao-Lang scratches at the back of her head. "But, y'know, he was kinda in a coma when you showed up anyhow. Any idea where he is?" * Isaac shakes his head. ~Almost everything is a blur before...~ He looks down. Before...? Are you gonna keep being all mysticy on us? * Ao-Lang studies the kid for a moment. I don't think he wants to talk about it. * Mariah waits for Isaac to finish. You don't have to tell us. We're just trying to figure out what happened to Kai. * Isaac 's eyes start getting wattery. ~Thanks. I don't want to recall it...~ S'okay pal. You don't wanna talk about it, ya don't haveta. * Ao-Lang smiles faintly and nods at what Hope says. * Karasu shoves his hands in his pockets. * Isaac looks around again, this time more carefully. (Thoughts?) Be that as it may, you act as though this isn't the first time you've taken the place of someone else. But uh.. we better get the principal before someone decides ta challenge ya to a fight. Sorry. We don't mean to put pressure on... This is just really weird for all of us, you know? * Isaac looks at Karasu. ~I didn't know anyone could do what's just happened.~ * Hope looks worried. Hey, neither did we. Or I didn't, and maybe I'm just behind on the times. In any event, we should probably let someone else know about this. Sittin' here isn't gonna get anything done. ... yeah, somebody needs to know. ~Anyways, where am I exactly?~ * Ao-Lang goes over to Isaac, offering a hand to him. "Can ya walk?" Because, if you're not a fighter, you shouldn't... oh? You're at Battle High. * Isaac looks down the rest of him. ~I think so. I'm kinda tall though. What kind of fighting?~ Melee combat. Swords, fists, that kind of thing. Yeah... ~And Battle High? Like the video games?~ * Ao-Lang blinks, then snerks. "Yeah, like the video games." * Hope snickers. "Yeah, like the game." Yeah, that one! ... except we're not as good as they are. ... well, not yet, anyway. ~Cool!~ * Ao-Lang looks over her shoulder and winks at Mariah. "Says you." * Ao-Lang turns her attention back to Isaac and waves her hand. "Take hand. It's a pretty hand. See the hand? Take the hand and we'll see if you can't walk, yeah?" * Isaac takes Ao-Lang's hand and gets out of the bed. * Ao-Lang watches, making sure his balance is steady. .oO(... man, she never quits-- oops, sorry. ^^;;) * Hope watches amused. * Isaac gets up and stands to whatever Kai's full height is. ~Wow, the world looks so tiny from here.~ * Karasu watches unamused. :P * Mariah just watches, amusement value ambiguous. * Ao-Lang smirks. "Regular giraffe, aren'tcha? I'm gonna see if I can't flag down the nurse." * Ao-Lang goes on out to do that. * A voice comes from out in the hall, but rapidly getting closer, "Nurse, Prepare For Wounded." Oh dear, already? * The nurse meets Ao-Lang just as she's coming out of the room. "Um, I'm sorry to hurry you, but we're going to need room." Yeah, he's standing, but there's this teensy problem. Huh. Wonder what happened. * Ao-Lang jerks her thumb back inside. "Wrong soul." I'm sorry? Uh, yeah... what she said. Wrong soul. This kid named Isaac is in the body right now. Wouldn't give him a rough time about it, though, he's as confused as we are. Yeah, I think we need a refund. Or maybe we get our next soul free. * Tulpa enters, bearing the body of a tall young man who is bleeding badly from a stomach wound. * Ao-Lang grins despite herself, then blinks at Tulpa and the guy. "That looks nasty." Um... I suggest you notify the principal, I'm not entirely sure what to do, I don't think we've ever had this happen before... Aheh... * Mariah glances at Tulpa as he enters, wincing at the sight of the wounded boy. Er, yeah. Sure thing. * Karasu takes a look at the new people. * Ao-Lang pokes her head back into the area. "Yo, Isaac, let's get moving. They need the bed." * Tulpa, by the way, looks rather like Kairi right now, save for the fact that he has a nasty scar over one eye, and that eye is glowing. Yeah, we'll go talk to him... * Isaac nods. * Hope eyes Tulpa curiously. "Uh.. yeah." * Ao-Lang holds the curtain open for people to exit. * Tulpa eyes Hope. "Is There A Problem?" ... Lance? ... oh, man. I hope he's okay... * Ao-Lang looks over and blinks at Tulpa again. Then she looks at Isaac. Then Tulpa. Then Isaac. Then "What the fuck?" * Isaac gets out, taking a brief glance at Tulpa and Lance. Do.. you happen to be Kai's twin brother or somethin'. ... and yeah... uh, what's going on? Hell if I know. You got any idea, Isaac? That's what you look like, by the way. Outside of the scar and the litebrite eye. *** Yu-Mei has left IRC I Have No Time For You Now. Your Teammate Can Fill You In. * Isaac gets out of Tulpa's way. .oO(I don't like this at *all.* At all at all.) * Tulpa walks through the gathered crowd and lays Lance down on the bed, then steps aside so that the nurse can go to work. * Hope eyes Tulpa. "No. He can't." Y'know, this smells all shades of stink. And- Kai's soul is on a vacation in Wyoming or something. Issac here is the houseguest. * Ao-Lang frowns for a moment, then turns to the only member of the group that hasn't spoken and isn't Isaac. "You know anything about this, Karasu?" * Hope blinks and turns to face Karasu. * Karasu nods. He's still watching Tulpa. Great. What's up? * The nurse comes rushing back out of the room and runs into Hope. "Ack! Sorry, sorry! Go, please, I need space to work." * Ao-Lang gets well out of their way. Maybe we should get going, so she can take care of Lance? * The nurse heads over to a shelf, grabs some bandages, and heads back into the room. ~Let's get out of her way.~ I'd like to know what happened to him. * Hope frowns. "This isn't over, but uh.. I think we better go take Issac to our Princy pal." * Mariah heads out of the infirmary. I'd like to know, too, but this isn't exactly the time to ask. We should probably take Isaac to the principal while that guy... Lance? gets treated. Does anyone know where he is? * Ao-Lang blinks as Mariah leaves, then shrugs and follows her. * Hope blinks and follows Mariah. We could check his office... sorry, just wanted to give her more breating room. ^^; * Isaac follows Mariah. ~I think I can fight, but how good am I compared to the rest of you?~ Hell if I know. You know where his office is, Mariah? * Ao-Lang looks back to see if Karasu's coming with. * Hope looks over at Issac "I'd offer ya a sparring match, but now isn't the time." * The nurse comes out of the small room again and almost runs into Karasu in her haste. ... I don't. We could look... * Karasu looks to the nurse. "What happened to him?" I'm not sure, really. It looked like he was stabbed from behind. Now if you don't mind... * Nurse grabs another roll of bandages and a few tools and rushes back into the room. So.. where on earth is the principal's office? * Karasu heads out after the others. We could just talk to one of the teachers. I'm sure they'd handle it. * Mariah tries to think of a likely location. * Ao-Lang nods once Karasu's with them. Yeah, sounds like the best idea, if none of us know where the office is. That's good, too. * Isaac scratches his head. Sounds good. * Hope tries to imagine where a teacher might be. ... if nothing else, we have a fight today, right? We could tell the ref. * Karasu would answer Hope, 'cept he's not a psychic. ~I would guess so.~ ~Do refs handle that kind of stuff?~ They seem to handle everythin'. * Ao-Lang folds her arms and considers. "Hey." * Mariah nods. "If nothing else, they can make sure you don't have to fight." Where do those notes keep coming from? ... I dunno. The Peps? I always assumed ninjas. Peps? Are those those little guys that were ordering us around during detention? Yeah. * Karasu nods. They're the school spirits. * Ao-Lang snickers. "Guess there's a lotta school spirit around here." She considers a bit more. "Think there's a way for us to send a note through one of 'em?" * Mariah hmmms. "There might be... I'm not sure how, but... * Hope shrugs and yells "HEY! PIPS!" ... That's Pep. ... Hello? Peps? I donno, I think Pips sound better. * Karasu shrugs. "Easy enough to do. Write the not first." * Isaac looks up. ~I wonder...~ He reaches behind him and draws a wakazashi and blinks. ~I can still do that apparently.~ .. Yow. Impressive. Where the hell were you hiding that thing? * Ao-Lang blinks. "Cool. Do it again." ... wow. You should be okay! * Isaac looks at the ground, striking the blade on it a few times. It humms a variety of notes before he silences it. ~Yup, I think I can do this.~ * Ao-Lang turns to Karasu. "Write a note first, yeah. Sure. Be right back." She ducks back into the room. * Hope idly watches Issac. "Huh. Fancy." ~Oh, it's a secret. If I told you, I'd have to kill you.~ That'd be quite a feat. * Ao-Lang steps out of the place, note in hand. "Just try it, sword boy. Got a note." What's it say? * Ao-Lang grins. "It says we have a problem, and it explains what happened with Isaac and Kai far as we can tell." Oh, and that the nurse said we should talk to the principal about it. * Ao-Lang checks. "Yeah, I put where we are on it. Should be good to go." * Mariah nodsnods. "Okay... * Ao-Lang looks over at Karasu. "What's the next step, or is that a secret, too?" ~Principal? I don't like the sound of that. They're not normally.~ * Karasu nods. "Now just say you want to send it to Quentin Nagawa." Hrm. Sure. * Ao-Lang clears her throat, holding out the note. "I want to send this to Quentin Nagawa." * Mariah looks at Isaac quizzically. "What do you mean?" * The note is tugged from Ao-Lang's hand and vanishes. Whatever took it was too fast to see. ... Yow. * Ao-Lang stares. Cool. It's like.. Super E-mail. It's awesome! -- there we go! * Principal Nagawa walks around the corner, looking just as coolly bishonen as ever. That was fast. * Isaac blinks, looking at Mr. Nagawa. Hey Princy-pal. We got a bit of a situation. * Ao-Lang looks over at the principal, then smiles and waves. "Hey. Wha- wait, principal?" ... oh. Hi, Principal Nagawa... we kind of have a problem. * Ao-Lang blinks, looking at Hope. "He's the principal?" ~He's the principal?~ * Quentin folds the note and tucks it away in a pocket, then smirks a little at Ao-Lang. Yep. Well, I'll be damned. * Ao-Lang turns back to Quentin and gives him a cheeky grin. "Guess it wasn't some big guy on the radio. Coulda told me, Sir." * Isaac looks over the Bishi. * Quentin looks down at Isaac. "What seems to be the problem?" * Mariah looks from Ao-Lang to the principal and back. Well, Kai's on vacation and a new person is staying in his body. ... well, our captain's soul got lost, right? And now he's got the wrong soul. And? * Isaac frowns a little. ~I guess I just answered a call, or something...~ Well, uh, what do we do now? * The principal sounds thoroughly disinterested. "Is he a fighter?" * Karasu shoves his hands in his pockets. "I figured this would be pointless." ~... He's only interested in weather someone can fight or not, isn't he?~ We think so. We're not sure. * Ao-Lang tilts her head, then thinks something rather hard. Uh.. he can pull a sword outa nowhere. Then do what you like. It's your decision. Hey, wait a minute. Wait, what? We can't exactly play musical bodies here. It's not fair to Kai, wherever he is. I mean, where's he gonna go, if he ever gets released? Yeah... I mean, we have to find Kai, too... and, uh, it's just kind of sudden and weird. Yeah, I mean seriously. This is kinda big. * Isaac hides his sword. ~I wish I could help, I really do...~ * Karasu watches Quentin. ~Is he going to say anything or just stand there?~ .oO(I dunno.) * Quentin turns to face Hope and stares at her intently. "And what exactly do you want me to do about it?" Something? I mean, c'mon. This poor guy is stuck in someone elses body, and you're the freaking principal. You're wasting your breath, Hope. ... I mean, okay, if we have to solve this ourselves, I guess we *can*, but... * Quentin raises his right hand and extends his index finger, then pokes Hope in the center of her chest. "You're the acting captain of the team. Make your choice." My choice? * Ao-Lang frowns suddenly, but keeps her mouth shut. ~It's okay Hope. Let's go to class... or wherever it is we need to go. That guy's not going to talk. I can't even get anything out of him.~ * Hope eyes the Principal, and continues to wish for the day when she can beat him into a bloody pulp. "What choice?" It's your choice. You can let him fight, you can leave him on the bench. You can even try to force him out of the body. No matter what you do, it's your team, and your choice. .. Uh.. He's not even the same guy who joined when we came.. So? What I want to know is what happens to Kai's soul when we release him, now that his body is being occupied. * Isaac looks to Hope. * Quentin turns away from Hope to face Karasu. "A good question." * Hope looks over at Issac. "Well.. wanna spar against me? We can decide afterwards?" * Ao-Lang nods at Karasu's comment. "Ask him, Hope." ... that's a pretty good idea... ~I guess so.~ * Hope looks over at the Principal. "Got an answer?" I don't know. Now if you're done questioning me, I'll go. * Ao-Lang gets a pained look on her face and glances over at Isaac. * Isaac frowns. * Mariah looks down at the floor. .oO(This is getting worse and worse.) I've got one. How does this school deal with the government, the lawsuits and the pain of the parents who lose their children? * Quentin stops in his tracks as he's just about to walk away. * Quentin says nothing for a few long moments. * Hope eyes the Q-man curiously. * Mariah just remains silent. There's a very sick, uneasy look on her face. * Ao-Lang watches Quentin, one of her hands working at the edge of its sleeve. * Quentin finally speaks almost a minute later, in a whisper that still manages to be clearly audible, "That's a low question, even for you." * Ao-Lang 's eyes flash, but she doesn't say a word. * Isaac looks at Ao-Lang. * Mariah swallows. * Ao-Lang snaps her attention to Isaac and thinks *hard* at him. That may be. But I doubt Kairi would care much if it meant he could have his life back. And what would you have me do about it? * Hope simply glances back and forth between the two men. * Isaac 's attention snaps back to Quentin, a tear forming in his eye. Is it the school's policy to do nothing? .oO(The Moon, the Moon... the stupid, *stupid* Moon...) Would you have me solve all your problems? Would you have me ban an entire way of fighting from the school, so that our students go out into the world unprepared to face it? Instead you'd have Kairi suffer for it? That isn't a method of fighting anymore than it would be if I went around murdering my opponents while they slept. Just like your ancestors? Your own former teammate will be attending Ninja High School next year, as I recall. What will you do if she murders you in your sleep? * Ao-Lang eyes Quentin, and a corner of her mouth quirks up the teensiest bit. Assassination is no less a fighting art than any other, and if you cannot deal with it, you will learn, die, or withdraw. If you don't accept some chance of dying, why are you still here? Why are you a fighter at all? That was a different time, a different place. And if Atsuko were to try that, that's beyond my control. ... * Mariah finally speaks, quietly and stammeringly, like her words aren't sure whether to stay inside her or not. "... I..." Assasination ain't no fightin' style. It's cowardly. ... I dunno. Say what you will about it, it is effective, and for all the talk of honor, who is alive at the end of the day is what really matters, isn't it? Naw. So in the end, outright murder is acceptable here? It's who's the strongest, not who's the most cowardly. Then you had better be strong enough that nobody can assassinate you. * Mariah looks up, still sickly, at Hope. Kinda hard to avoid it. At least we got our own prettyboy who never sleeps. * Quentin lets a little smile escape onto his lips. "You begin to learn." * Ao-Lang speaks up, viciously. "This isn't about dying. There's some kid out there who I don't even know whose soul can't even go back to its own body. And while you've made it abundantly clear, Sir," she places emphasis on that last word, "that you want us to make our own decisions, I don't think teenagers should be playing God with some kid's soul." * Hope motions towards Ao-Lang. "Girl has a very good point." And you think I should? Does having forty years on the five of you make me any more qualified to play god? ... You're already all powerful enough to play god with the general populace. I daresay there's not a single one of you who couldn't shrug off at least two bullets. Shrug off? What the hell bullets are YOU talkin' about? * Isaac speaks to the group. ~Guys? I don't think he has any clue what to do right now.~ * Mariah ... just wilts, even more than she has already. ~ ... but we don't either. Do we? ~ * Hope shakes her head. * Quentin rounds on hope, the small smile completely gone. "I'm talking about how you were thrown *through a brick wall.* I'm talking about how your new friend Ao-Lang jumped off a sixty foot drop and walked away." Yeah, but it hurt like hell. * Isaac looks at his feet and his hands. ~No, we don't.~ * Hope eyes Ao-Lang. ".. Yow. Yeah, but it hurt like hell." * Ao-Lang pauses for a moment. "Is there any way to get another body for Kairi?" Having the ability and using it irresponsibly are two different things. Or are you saying we should take matters into our own hands? I'm saying that if you don't learn to use it responsibly now, where death is far away and easy to avoid, then you'll have to learn it elsewhere, where death is always just around the next corner. * Isaac looks at Karasu. ~There's nothing he can do about this. We're getting nowhere talking to him.~ Death is easy to avoid? Tell that to Kairi. Your teammate is far from dead. You know it, I know it, and now your friends know it. But he's not exactly alive, either. Karasu, drop it. He's not going to give us an answer. ~Karasu, would you be having this discussion if I hadn't came along?~ nnn... * Karasu glances sideways at Isaac. ~Perhaps.~ This school has not had a death in years, and I don't believe that one will happen this year. Not even to your unfortunate teammate. Now, unless I am mistaken, you have a fight soon. * Ao-Lang hears that, studies Quentin for a moment, then nods. * Karasu doesn't say anything to that. * Hope sighs. "Guys, lets go." Way ahead of ya. See you around, Sir. ... yeah. * Isaac eyes Quentin, then turns to Hope. ~Let's.~ * Mariah begins to walk off slowly. * Ao-Lang looks over at Karasu. "Coming?" * Hope heads back to the room. * Isaac follows Hope. * Karasu eyes Quentin a bit longer, then turns and follows the others. * Ao-Lang nods and goes to the room. * It doesn't take long to get back to GreatAl 103, and as Ao-Lang enters, she spots a note on the floor, just inside the door. * Ao-Lang picks up the note and unfolds it. Hey! It's here already? Damn. ~What's that?~ ... that's got to be the fight... Alexander the Great #103 vs Musashi #103, Fight Room 302, . * Hope frowns. We've got a fight in two hours. Ryo's team. Just enough time. Isaac, we have to see how well you fight. ~What? Well... okay, if you really want to.~ * Mariah nods. "Yeah. I... need some time." * Ao-Lang puts the note on the table and checks to see if they have any of that disgusting senzu-drink. * There is, in fact, a six pack of the drink available. Uh.. Hm. ~Where can we go where stuff won't get damaged?~ We've got a training room. There we go. We've got six of the sweat, blood, and tears drinks. * Mariah takes a seat on the couch and doesn't look like she wants to leave any time soon. ~Lead the way... They're what?!~ Don't think about it. * Hope heads for the training room, leading Issac. ~O- Okay.~ * Karasu follows to watch. * Isaac follows Hope's leading. * Ao-Lang picks up the six pack and walks after them. "A tasty morning snack!" * Hope cracks her knuckles and leans her sword against the wall. "Not gonna use the sword for now. Just not safe." * Mariah doesn't follow. She closes her eyes and lies back. * Ao-Lang leans against one of the walls for watching purposes. * Isaac produces his sword out of nowhere again. ~If you feel that way.~ * Hope gets into a fighting stance. "Ready when you are." * Isaac stretches a bit. ~Alright, here I come.~ * Isaac charges at Hope, swinging his wakazashi in a downwards slash at her. * Hope backflips, dodging the blow. She lands on her hands, and uses them to spring forward, aiming her feet towards Issac's body. * Isaac goes a little too far on his swing, but manages to compose himself enough to spin to the side just as Hope comes kicking at him. He spins around and strikes at her with his blade. * Hope knocks the blade away, but not without getting cut. She moves with her other hand and launches a punch at Issac. * Isaac sees the punch comming and steps to the side, slashing at Hope's torso with a sideways swing. * Hope tries to dodge, but fails and takes the hit. She holds up her hand. "Okay. You're good.. but something is up with you." What the hell is up with the way you dodge? There is.. something weird about it, but I can't place it. Probably sees it coming. * Isaac relaxes his stance. ~I am better than I was before. I don't know... I see your attacks and I get out of the way.~ Neat. Well, yer good enough I think. * Hope winces. "and I need a drink." * Isaac smiles. ~I didn't hurt you, did I?~ He puts his right hand behind his back and the sword vanishes. Sure ya did, but it's not that bad. A drink'll make it better. ~A drink?~ Ao, toss me a can, willya? * Ao-Lang grabs one of the drinks and tosses it to Hope. "Here ya go." * Hope grabs it, pops it open and chugs. She grimices and wipes her mouth. "Tastes terrible, heals well." Terrible doesn't come close to covering it. ~Um... Okay. Can ya throw me one?~ Sure, but I don't think you're hurt enough for a full one. Mebbe you can borrow some of Hope's. * Ao-Lang grins. "If you're not afraid of her cooties, anyhow." * Hope shakes the can. "Not much left, but hereyago." * Isaac looks at Ao-Lang. ~The cooties are very much a figment of the imaginations of guys who are afraid of girls and vice-versa. Thanks.~ He takes the can from Hope and chugs what's left of it. * It tastes like the distilled blood, sweat, and tears of hundreds, maybe thousands of fighters. That is to say, pretty damn bad. * Isaac doesn't seemed fazed by the taste in the least. ~It doesn't taste that bad.~ * Ao-Lang eyes Isaac like he grew another head, half a foot, and about six arms. * Hope eyes Issac like he just gr.. damn you Ao-Lang. * Isaac looks at those two. (Thoughts?) ~Issac is nuts. Or Kai has no tastebuds.~ ~So much for buns of steel. I call this taste buds of titanium.~ ~It tastes like everything else actually. Anyways, what else happens around here?~ * Isaac smiles sheepishly. Do you ever stop snooping around everybody's head? We fight. And fight. It's like the freaking Itchy and Scratchy show. * Ao-Lang snickers. We go to school! Just wait'll you meet our sex ed teacher. You'll love her. ~Oh com'on, there must be something else.~ You can study if ya want. * Isaac pauses. ~Any games or anything like that?~ * "... hey, guys..." The recalcitrant team member pokes her head into the practice room. "You done?" We check out guys' behinds and rate them on a one to ten scale. But since that's not technically your beh- games? * Ao-Lang perks. C'mon in Mariah. He's not bad. ^_^ ~You know I'm higher than a 2.~ Gee, I dunno. I would say that Kairi has a nice ass, however. ~Well I wouldn't know.~ [An hour and a half of ass-rating later... ] You could look behind you. It follows ya everywhere. * It's time for battle. * Mariah comes in. "So, how'd it go?" If she has any response to the ongoing ass-related conversation, she doesn't betray it. ~I guess I could do that.~ He looks behind him. ~I dunno, it looks like an ass.~ Pretty good. ... shouldn't we go fight? * Ao-Lang checks the time. "Yup." * Isaac looks at the conviently placed clock. ~I guess so.~ Let's rock. * Hope heads for the room. * Ao-Lang goes to grab the note, then heads out. * Isaac follows Hope. * Mariah follows along, grabbing her staff before she goes. * Karasu follows the others. * Thankfully, it proves not hard at all to find fight room 302, especially since Karasu and Ao have looked around the whole tower. ... okay.. * As you enter the room, your two groups are already at least mostly acquainted, already waiting for you on the other side of the small arena are Ryo, Rowan, Ikea, Tanisha, and Arthur, all of whom most of you have met. They all wave cheerfully. * Ao-Lang waves back, a grin on her face. * Mariah waves back and takes a seat. * Isaac waves back, smiling. (Thoughts?) * Karasu nods to them. * Hope grins at the people. * Isaac looks at Mariah. Good luck guys. Yeah.. Oh yeah. We gotta do the intro thing, don't we? I'll start. 'm Hope Fayth. Mariah Ritter. * Isaac scratches his head. ~What should I do?~ Just say 'yer own name. * Isaac shrugs. * Hope shrugs and points at Issac. "This is Issac." * Isaac nods and signs. * Almost as one, the other team focuses all their attention on Isaac. * Isaac fumbles a little with his fingers. * In order going down the line, they bow and say their names. "Ryo Wildfire." "Rowan Strata" "Ikea." "Tanisha Hovland" "Arthur Magnusson." * Karasu nods to the others. "Karasu Kage." * Ao-Lang bows, smile still on her face. "Ao-Lang Shen." She straightens. "But you knew that already." * Ryo and Arthur grin. "Sure did!" They turn and stare at each other. * Ao-Lang shakes her head. .oO(...) * Hope eyes them. * The door opens once more and Quentin enters, face as impassive as usual. Have the teams introduced themselves? * Ao-Lang blinks at the principal's enterance. You betcha Q-man. Good. Alexander The Great 103, declare your first fighter. * Isaac speaks to the group. ~Yeah, unless you wanna tells us who you are.~ * Hope frowns. "Karasu, you." * Mariah nods. "Good luck..." * Karasu shrugs and steps on up, looking incredibly handsome and damn cool as always :P Knock 'em dead. * Isaac looks at Karasu. ~Does he always do that?~ he thinks to Ao-Lang. ~Do what?~ ~Try to look cool without trying and fail miserably?~ * Ao-Lang grins. ~Yeah. But he's got a ten ass, so that makes up for it.~ Tanisha, go. * Isaac smiles, but nothing comes out of his mouth. * Tanisha jumps up into the ring and drops into an unarmed stance, smiling easily at Karasu. * Mariah watches Tanisha warily. * Karasu stands casually, watching her through his shades. * Karasu starts glowing with his darkish energy. * Isaac messages to Karasu: ~Good luck.~ * Tanisha sees Karasu's black glow and raises him evil black tendrils of mist rising from the floor around her. ... I hope that's not what I think... * Karasu crosses his arms infront of themselves, and slashes outwards, sending a raven-shaped projectile at her. "Raven Wing!" * Tanisha jumps forward through the projectile, accepting the damage as it slams into her aura. Check it out: Darkfest 2k2. * Isaac watches the fight with great interest. His eyes are going back and forth between the two participants. * Karasu dashes to the side, staying out of her way, and does it again. "Raven Wing!" But... I don't know, but I think they're different. And if they are, Karasu's in trouble. * Hope frowns. I just can't seem to send that boy up against the right people. * Tanisha lands just before the blast connects and lashes out with a backfist at the blast. "Dark Mirror!" The blast arrows back at where Karasu will be in just a moment. ... well, you didn't know... 's just bad luck. * Ao-Lang watches carefully. "Nah, that was them picking somebody. And it ain't over yet." * Karasu crosses his hands in front of himself and blocks the brunt of the attack. * Tanisha runs in right after the blast, launching herself at Karasu in a flying kick. ~Far from it.~ * Karasu weaves to the side and dodges. * Mariah nods. "Well, yeah, Karasu's a real fighter..." * Karasu spins, his hand becoming a blur as he slices at Tanisha's stomach. "Raven Calamity Crimson!" * Tanisha takes the hand right in the gut, which unleashes a spurt of blood as she flies backwards and lands painfully on the ground. * Mariah blanches. * Isaac winces. * Karasu charges at Tanisha, leaping and aiming a kick at her. * Tanisha rolls to the side at the last second, and Karasu's kick takes a small chunk out of the ring surface. * Tanisha leaps easily to her feet, lashing forward with her head right at Karasu's. * Karasu gets his in the head. Ouch! He takes a step back. * Karasu reacts swiftly, grasping at Tanish's neck. * Tanisha jumps backward, but is grabbed out of the air before she goes far. She struggles wildly as she hangs by the neck from Karasu's hand. ... ~This won't end well.~ * Ao-Lang narrows her eyes as she keeps watching. ... ohgod. * Ao-Lang starts and looks over at Isaac, then back to the fight. * Karasu keeps a hold of her with one hand, and fires a Raven Wing at point blank with the other. "Raven Wing!" * Tanisha rocks backward violently as the blast impacts her body, but she continues her struggle against Karasu's grip. ... Jesus. Karasu.. * Ao-Lang watches. "One more, Karasu. Get it over quick." * Tanisha lashes out with one foot, kicking Karasu right in the crotch with one pointed shoe. ~Finish it already.~ Just... yeah... * Isaac winces HARD at that. ~That's gotta hurt.~ * Ao-Lang winces. "Damn, man! Talk about your dirty fightin'!" Ow. * Karasu grimaces and lets her down. But he pushes the attack with his trademark move, slashing at her with a knife-hand wrapped in darkness. "Raven Nine-Needle Slasher!" Jesus Christ. * Tanisha takes the knife hand in her chest and her aura of darkness disappears as she reels backwards. Karasu, you're going to kill her.. * Karasu spins and follows through with a kick. Nah. * Mariah whispers. "... won't be from not trying." * Ao-Lang eyes Mariah for a moment, then goes back to watching the fight. * Tanisha takes the kick in the face and flies backwards, flipping as she goes. She lands perhaps two feet from the edge, and her roll takes her over the edge in spite of her best efforts. ... ... wow. Well.. he won. * Karasu shoves his hands in his pockets. Win by ring out. * Mariah nods. * Tanisha's head pops up at the edge of the ring, then she pulls herself up to lean on the edge, staring at Karasu. *_* * Ao-Lang whistles, edging over to Karasu. "Think you've got an admirer. 'Sides me, that is." * Hope walks over to Karasu once he gets out of the ring. "Nice win. Vicious, but nice." * Mariah looks from Tanisha to Karasu and winces. * Isaac smirks. * Karasu watches Tanisha a minute then wordlessly hops down off the ring. * Ao-Lang grins as Karasu jumps out. "Good going." * Karasu nods. * Tanisha retreats from ringside to take a seat on the bench. You've been trainin' behind my back, aintcha? Musashi, next fighter. I gotta spar you some time. * Karasu looks over at Hope. "Not really." Ryo. Go. ~You really should think of doing something else besides fighting. Fighting's not gonna get you through the rest of your life... is it?~ * Ryo hops up into the ring. * Ao-Lang looks over at Hope. Let's go! ... okay, who'll it be, Hope? * Isaac looks at Hope. * Hope thinks. * Hope frowns. "Ao. Go for it. You know this guy... try to focus on using water attacks." * Ao-Lang smiles and salutes. "Aye aye, cap'n." * Ao-Lang steps into the ring and stretches, then drops into a stance, still grinning. "Ready, sweetheart?" * Isaac thinks to Ao-Lang. ~Do you have ANY shame?~ Hell yeah! ~Shame is for the weak.~ * Isaac smirks. * On the sidelines, Arthur grinds his teeth. Let's get it on! * Ryo reaches over his shoulder and draws his twin katana. * Ao-Lang stays in a defensive stance, the familiar blue and gold-flecked aura springing to live around her. Go Ao! Kick some ass! You can let Karasu outdo you! * Ryo rushes forward, slashing in a cross with his blades. No holding back this time! * Ao-Lang spins away from the first slash, flicking Bolt out of her sleeve and deflecting the second. She winces as it manages to slice her side anyway, though. "No holdin' back." * Ao-Lang keeps moving, though, bringing Wave out of her other sleeve, opening it, and slashing the glowing fan at his shoulder in one motion. "Strike of Flowing Water!" ... yes, that's it, Ao-Lang... * Isaac crosses his fingers. * Ryo flinches backward as the water-powered fan slices through his armor and into his shoulder. * Ryo jumps backward, sheathing both of his blades in one motion, and clasps his right fist in his left hand, thrusting them out at Ao-Lang. * Ao-Lang runs straight for him, bringing both fans to bear. "Chaos Stream!" * Ryo makes no attempt to dodge the stream of electrified water, but does not move from his position at all as the power washes over him. ARMOR OF WILDFIRE! TAO... JIIIIIIIN! * Ryo vanishes for just a moment as your vision is obscured by something, and you have the sense of having witnessed some sort of light show, but you really can't remember quite what it looked like. When it's all over, Ryo is standing there clad in a suit of highly stylized samurai armor, the hilts of his katana still sticking up over his shoulder. .. That can't be good. ~Well *shit*.~ * Ao-Lang looks at him blankly, then grins. "Now that's cool." * Mariah swallows hard. "That's not good at all." * Ryo might be grinning behind his almost mechanical looking mempo, but it's hard to tell. He raises a hand and makes a "bring it" gesture at Ao-Lang. * Ao-Lang dances around Ryo, still grinning, and pulls Wave with her towards his chest. "Strike of Flowing Water!" * Isaac pauses. ~He's... This isn't right.~ he messages to Hope. * Ryo reaches up with one arm and casually blocks the fan as it strikes, letting it bounce off of his armor. * Ryo reaches over his shoulder with his other hand, grasps the hilt of one katana, and brings it around to slam the pommel into Ao-Lang's head. * Ao-Lang brings both tessen, closed, to stop it, and barely manages to keep it from smashing into her head. She hisses at it jars her, and she jumps back. * Ao-Lang moves to the side and forward, snapping Bolt open and to Ryo's face. "Falling Star Strike!" * Ryo reels backwards as the blast goes off in his face, and when the light clears, Ao-Lang can see that there's now a shield of some darkened material over his eyes. As she watches, it slowly fades away. * Ao-Lang brings both tessen into a ready stance. "The hell?" * Ryo pulls his other blade smoothly from its saya and rushes at Ao-Lang, slicing high and low at the same time. * Ao-Lang manages to dive between them, using her height to its fullest advantage. She tumbles to her feet, slicing in a cross-slash at Ryo's leg. "Chaos Stream!" * Hope frowns. * Ryo cannot move in time and the blast washes over his leg. He doesn't move at all, though, and when the stream of water has passed, it leaves behind arcs of electricity dancing over his armor. * Ryo lashes out with that same leg right for Ao-Lang, pointed boot of the armor leading the way. * Ao-Lang gets booted in the chin and flies backwards, landing painfully, neck and back first. She rolls into a crouch and wipes blood away from her mouth with one hand, grimacing. Ao! Oh, no... ~Get up!~ ~This can't be right.~ * Ao-Lang smiles weakly. "Not done yet." She stands, snapping her tessen open and crossing them in front of her, the one in her right hand bursting into lightning, the one in her left glowing a steady, beautiful blue-gray. * Mariah watches. "... that's more like it!" * Behind his mempo, Ryo's eyes widen. * Ao-Lang closes her eyes, all traces of her near-permanent smile fading as she screams, "Eye of the Storm!" She throws her tessen in opposite directions with an angry crash of thunder. Ohshit. Wow! ~What the?~ * Ryo jumps backwards, hurtling out of the sudden storm of water and electricity that wraps itself around Ao-Lang. Everyone in the room is suddenly drenched, and Ryo's armor turns into a lightshow of sparks, making the room strobe quickly enough to send children into seizures. * Mariah seems to be caught between averting her eyes and staring. Staring wins. * Ryo lands most of the way to the other side of the ring and drops to one knee, bracing himself on his blades. * Isaac is wet. He stares through the silver mess of hair he finds on his head. ~Wow.~ * Ryo stands up stiffly as the last few sparks ground themselves out. * Ryo raises his blades and brings the pommels together, the blades somehow linking together into a single double-sword. He leaps upwards and back and seems to hang in the air an instant. Sou... en... ZAAAAAAAN! * Ryo lashes out with the blade, slashing with each end of the double-sword, sending a pair of firey blasts at Ao-Lang, who is busy snatching her fans out of the air as the pair of blasts arrive, the first digging into her stomach, the second hitting higher, on her chest. She bursts into flame for a moment, then falls to the ground, smoking. .... Oh god. ... oh my god. * Ryo lands less than an inch from the edge of the ring and drops his double blade and rushes to Ao-Lang's side. She... oh, *no*... * Ao-Lang stays right where she is, eyes closed and trails of smoke rising from her. The aura flickers out of existance. * Hope runs over to Ao-Lang. * Isaac runs over to Ao-Lang and puts his hand on her neck, trying to check her pulse. Ao-Lang? Are you okay? * Mariah joins the rush but stays back. * Ao-Lang is not dead. Her pulse is strong, but she's not going anywhere under her own power for a few minutes, at least. * Hope picks her up and carries her out of the ring. * Isaac breaths a little easier. He gets up. * Mariah walks back out of the ring. "God, at least she'll be okay... We get her some healing cola, she'll be fine.. I hope. * Isaac nods. [Battle... To Be Continued!]