3561/Battle of The God(desse)s

Battle of The God(desse)s
Date of Scene:	22 December 2015
Location:	Njorun Station - Ring of Philosophy
Synopsis:	Nero is being her noisy, arrogant self on the radio. The newbie Momoyo gets tired of it and offers to be her court jester... whose only role is to punch Nero whenever she says something stupid. Momoyo's motivations for challenging a Servant are laughably trivial...
Cast of Characters:	Priscilla, 626, 691, 715, 756, 867, 880, Yang Xiao Long, 928

---

Nero (880) has posed:
     Today was the day.

     The day of the fated duel.

     Having accepted this challengee, for better or worse, Nero had arrived at the Ring of Philosophy not early, nor late. Just on time. And it was there, in the middle of the arena, that she waited, Aestus Estus already manifested, and embedded into the ground.

     Considering Nero's...modest height, it must have been stuck pretty deep in order for the blonde servant to rest her hands atop the pommel. And her eyes were closed. Like this, one could almost mistake her for a master swordsman, calmly awaiting the storm.

     Almost.

Yang Xiao Long has posed:
    Yang's still a bit beaten up, and a tad stinky from her little forey into Blight Town the previous day, but she's still out and about. She decided to go visit that other Fights Girl. She'd heard the challenge over the radio, and, since Momoyo's likely never been outside of her world, has chosen to be her escort.

    "I'm still pretty new here myself, but it's not all that bad." she says to Momoyo, leading her through the gates to Njorun. The vista is a sight unlike anything else. A massive World Tree, literally the size of a large continent at its base. "Kinda trippy, seeing this for the first time."

Terry McGinnis (867) has posed:
    Terry McGinnis walks up to the two ladies, as far as he knows, "Hey Yang and Momoyo," he states to them as he waves as he looks at the two of them, "How are you handling being in a different world?" he asks Momoyo as he walks with the two and just listens to them. "Its not too different, only thing that is different is just the rules and cultures," he states as he looks at them.

    "And I have no idea how Nero fights, never meet her actually," he adds as he adjusts his cloak some. . o 0 (I need to get with one of the crafters at Beacon to work on something with them.) he thinks as he looks around and ponders what is going on. "Also, if you need medical help, I am in the process of becoming a Doctor," he states to Yang and Momoyo.

Kenji Kawasaki (715) has posed:
     Kenji's not really...here...for any particular reason. He's not really excited to watch two people beat the shit out of each other, he's not really here to cheer Momoyo or Nero on...really, he's mostly here because Kojin told him he should go. 'It'll be good for you,' the god urged, 'go hang out. Branch out. You'll enjoy it. Besides, maybe you'll learn something.'

     So Kenji arrives, hands in his pockets, dressed in his usual leather jacket and pants. Maybe he will learn something. Be nice, he supposes.

Shin Tokuyama (756) has posed:
    There's a lot of things to wonder related to Shin Tokuyama, Combat Vagrant and recently dubbed Hero of Fists. The first is what he's doing in Union Headquarters. The answer is actually fairly simple: He was collecting hazard pay reimbursement for the Union after the last couple scenes on Kay's world where Lezard did a number on him. This gave him preliminary credentials to be inside the base. From there, he heard cool things were gonna happen involving fighting, so he drifted that way.

    Also worth wondering is why he is currently shoulder deep in a vending machine. Well, the answer to that is also fairly simple: He was hanging out in the spectator area, wanted a Snickers bar, put in a 100 yen coin, and the machine ate it. Thusly, off to one side of the stands, is a Karate Hobo in a leisure suit elbow deep in a vending machine.

    "Almost... got it... just about... there..."

Yari Takane (691) has posed:
~Elsewhere~

Yari Takane is lounging in bed back in Dun Realtai, a side table with beer and popcorn next to her. The ninja is dressed down into a bath robe, looking utterly comfy as she rests and peers at the television she'd brought. It's tuned in, ready to watch the fight between the great emperor Nero and one Momoyo, classmate and spying-target.

Linh is here too, doodling on a coloring book and eating cookies, lounging with her foster mother, and whistling happily. Yari excitedly checks the clock as she waits for the show to start, sipping beer and nibbling on popcorn.

Momoyo Kawakami (928) has posed:
     Momoyo is appropriately in awe in the fortress. This is the first she's seen with her own eyes what she agreed to and some of the standard information unlocked in her folders once the signatures were down. "I don't think you'll need it... Terry..." Half her glimpses were through the walls of the Fortress itself, as she approached the Ring. It was as if she could see Nero's shining and ridiculously strong magical aura through the walls, and vice versa as she got closer.

    Therefore, the only thing remaining when Momoyo stepped out on the platform with the spectators, was for the red-eyed figurative demon woman to see the petite blonde with the sword of unknown length in the ground. Moro, the computer and manga expert in her world, excitedly tried to show her some literature before she arrived, but she ignored it. Now, she was wishing she hadn't.

    "I don't think there's much you can help with medically, Terry. But... it's exciting." she replies quietly. She was clearly a bit more tense from everything, but taking it quite well. But while it was obvious to everyone, probably Yang could tell exactly how quivering she was as long as the two girls had been chatting walking in.

    She steps down off of the platform. It was time, and she never kept her fighters waiting long either. "Emperor Claudius Nero." she spreads her arms, separating from her 'entourage'. "I can see they don't call you that for nothing." Seriously, her aura was blazing gold, matching Momoyo's red in intensity for those who could sense these things. "I forgot to tell you something important about the challenge before we begin, you know?" She tosses her silky black hair lightly.

    "Oh. And you look gorgeous." she adds on an entirely unexpected compliment on the end, folding her arms just a touch smugly at a safe distance.

Yang Xiao Long has posed:
    Yang retreats up into the spectator stands. "Thanks for the offer, Terry, but I'm fine for the time being. I'll keep you in mind though!" she offers in return, propping her feet up on something in front of her seat as she relaxes to watch. "Hey, Kenji!" she calls as she finally spots the thuggish guy, waving at him to come join her. She hasn't noticed Shin doing his Combat Vagrant thing over by the vending machine yet.

Terry McGinnis (867) has posed:
    Terry McGinnis nods to Momoyo, "Good luck," he states to her as he follows Yang and sits down, "Anytime," he comments. "That's what friends are for," he adds as he nods to Kenji, "Kenji," he states simply as he watches and will be watching, as he learned about people and seeing them fight helps him learn how to fight agaisnt them in the event of combat. Knowing how someone fights will help him learn ways at beating them quickly... He is Batman and Batman knows many things about people and how to stop them.

Nero (880) has posed:
     Ah, voices. Chatter. It sounds like they had an audience. How quaint. Nero opened her eyes, a smile forming on her lips as she watched one of the girls approach. That must be her mystery challenger. "That is Emperor Nero Claudius. But I shall let the mistake pass." Her green gaze slid up and down, observing the young lady before her. "Lady Kawakami, I assume?" Indeed, she could sense a fierceness from this woman. How exciting.

     "Hrm? SOmething important to tell me? And what, pray tell, could that be?" Nero asked smoothly, not pausing to be surprised or thrown off. And at the compliment, the servant smiled wider, one of her hands leaving the pommel of her blade to rest above her chest. "Mhmhm! You have good eyes, Lady Kawakami." And of course, she just soaked it right up.

     As if she would do anything else.

Momoyo Kawakami (928) has posed:
     Ugh. This girl. She really was exactly like her S-class schoolmates. It would be a fun conversation, but a straightforward one. "Well, here's the thing... there's this restuarant in my world, Saitama. It's in an alleyway off the main roads, a short train ride away, but it has this great ramen and excellent beef bowls." She tilts her head a little with a wide smile. There wasn't a bit of deception in that comment while she looked at Nero.

    "You can bring as many friends as you want, but loser treats the winner to lunch at that restuarant."

    And thus, Momoyo's actual motivation for such a serious brawl with so little provocation was revealed. She was broke and wanted to bully the rich girl into paying for it, at the cost of working too many part-time jobs herself if she failed.

    "I'd say it makes things a little more interesting between you and I. I admit all I wanted was lunch at first, but it'd be pretty fun to eat with you." she tilts her head with a wry smirk, her black hair swinging just a bit behind her broad shoulders and uniform jacket attached only at her collar. "So, you agree to those terms?"

Kenji Kawasaki (715) has posed:
     At the appeaance of the Karate Hobo, Kenji's eyes roll upwards into his head. So much for it being nice.

     "It's a damn vending machine, not a fucking mystic puzzle," Kenji tells his (possibly one-sided) rival irritably, "How do you not know how to do this?"

     Kenji heads over next to the vending machine for a moment, then smacks it in the side with his fist. "And how do you go through life without percussive maintenance?"

Yari Takane (691) has posed:
~~Elsewhere~~

And thus the meaning for the battle becomes clear! Yari raises a brow, peers at the television, and then just facepalms with a sigh.

"...Momoyo. That's now how you ask people out to lunch." She mutters to the tv as though the woman could hear her. A shake of the head, and she settles in on her stomach, tail flicking as she watches with excitement and more than a little amusement.

"Now don't let me down! You can beat that fake excuse for an Emperor any day!"

Linh looks up at Yari.

"Mother, why are you talking to the tv?"

Yari blushes. "Er...habit." Her tail droops.

Shin Tokuyama (756) has posed:
    "Dude! You don't punch the side! In my Japan, they installed locking mechanisms into the slots, if you try to smack the side to get candy to fall and the entire thing locks up and someone has to come undo it!" Shin protests as he finally manages to steal his peanut-and-nougat-based snack. Likely with some help from Kenji smacking the side, all told.

    "Besides, the essence of the fist is to be practiced on opponents, not on food dispensaries," He remarks, undoing the wrapper and taking a bite immediately as he muses to Kenji, "Or something like that. I'm just not a Union person after that whole fiasco with the dragon, so I don't need security on my ass for a broken vending machine."

Nero (880) has posed:
     Nero blinked.

     "You..."

     Another blink.

     "Do not tell me... you simply were lacking in funds and wanted a free meal? Is that it?" And her smile took on an amused edge to it.

     "...Ah ha ha ha ha! People truly have gotten more and more entertaining over the centuries! Truly amusing! Ha ha ha!" And like that, Nero tossed her head back and laughed raucously, shoulders rolling, and blond hair swaying from the movement. After a few moments, she gripped the handle of Aestus Estus from the ground before her, pulling it up...and up....and up, before it came free. And with a single arm, she gave a test swing before pointing it forward at Momoyo.

     "Very well, Lady Kawakami! If for some possible reason, I lose this bout, then I shall treat you to a meal at this Saitama! And if I am victorious...well, then I hope you are prepared to work to pay it off!"

Kenji Kawasaki (715) has posed:
     "If you got thwarted by a vending machine I think it's okay to count it as an opponent," Kenji observes, perhaps a bit more acidly than is entirely deserved, but not as acidly as he probably could otherwise.

     "Yeah, they installed those where I'm from, too. You just have to know the trick. There's a spot you can hit, like, right here," the Bancho of Taiyo High says, tapping a spot on the side, "It knocks the lock loose."

     "Or you could learn to turn intangible," Kenji adds.

     "You here to watch this fight thing, too?"

Shin Tokuyama (756) has posed:
    "Turning intangible seems like an unuseful skill for a guy pursuing a career in physically interacting with people," Shin muses as he snacks on the bar, "But I'll keep it in mind," He concludes, shifting his weight. In contrast to Kenji, he seems almost unflappably upbeat about things.

    "I'll memorize that spot, though," He looks back towards Momoyo and Nero, "Oh, yeah. I was picking up some hazard pay from a couple jobs I did for the Union and I heard a fight was goin down. Thought I'd stop by before I picked up my backpack from the checkpoint and hit the road."

Priscilla has posed:
    Thank the Lords for putting Blighttown behind again, now monster free, bell accessible, and overfull as actual doctors can start their work with Ayako cleaning up the toxic mire like the bubbly little saint she is. This frees Priscilla up to do useful things, like spectating random fights! Unsarcastically, she has her reasons, but they won't be coming out today.

    She passes by Shin on the way in, lingering as long as necessary to deliver "Fortunately, few wouldst blameth thee, even amongst the Union itself" in a vaguely knowing manner before proceeding. She's playing the casual observer today, and so she goes no further than the stands, high up enough that it would normally be difficult to see any detail. She doesn't sit though.

Terry McGinnis (867) has posed:
    Terry blinks as he hears this and blinks at Yang. "Wait, this was all about a free lunch?" and looks at the two. "Why didn't she just ask us," he mentions to Yang. "I mean I would have done that," he comments as the fight starts.

Momoyo Kawakami (928) has posed:
     That broke the tension. She laughed just as loudly with Nero, any previous insults were forgotten. She dug her fingers through her bangs lightly, before getting ready again. "Yup, you saw right through me." Many of her classmates would never have questioned her motives, including the ones watching at home. But Nero was no slouch, just like most of the geniuses she knew. "Hmhmhmhm~"

    "Alright then, I'm excited." She claps her hands together and gives a respectful Japanese-style bow to her opponent. That was the signal, naturally, for it being okay to attack. The laugh helped, but she was very much on edge still. So /very/ excited. Not only was the opponent interesting, but strong, and teasing her a little was fun. "Good luck. I'm still undefeated, Nero."

    With that, she casually started to stroll toward Nero's position. There was no release in her tension, and it was clear at a glance she had no openings or defensive flaws whatsoever at the beginning of a fight. The intensity of her red-eyed glare meeting the green-eyed beauty's gaze never wavered, so even when Priscilla's monstrously strong aura almost dwarfed the two fighters in the ring, she didn't take her eyes off Saber as she casually closed the distance.

Nero (880) has posed:
     "Undefeated? Is that so?"

     Nero lowered her blade, taking a more ready stance as Momoyo closed the distance. "We shall see if that record holds up after today or not." The presence of the spectators was of no concern to the red clad servant. Her opponent was in front of her. There was no real need to worry about anything else.

     "Then if you do not mind..." Streams of blue and white prana gathered suddenly, surrounding Nero and empowering her. There was a rush that permeated through the air, a clear signal that things were going to begin. And then- Nero was gone from where she stood. Instead, she closed what distance was left and appeared before Momoyo. "-I shall strike the first blow!"

     And without pausing, even in the middle of speaking, the heroic spirit lashed out with a wide inwards slash aimed at the raven haired girl's side. A basic blow to test the defenses and see just how she would react.

Yang Xiao Long has posed:
    "Sometimes you just gotta punch someone... you wouldn't understand, Terry." replies Yang, casually. She's watching both the fighters. Just as expected, she can't see any openings in Momoyo's posture, even with the casualness of her approach.

    "This'll be an interesting match... Momoyo's strong, no doubt, but I've /heard/ things about these Servants."

Momoyo Kawakami (928) has posed:
     Momoyo was surprised, but only briefly. The way the woman swung that sword around like it was a rapier, was plenty of clue something like this would happen. She leaped up, and there's the briefest weight of sneaker on Nero's shoulder before she did an arcobatic flip over her head. The first few minutes of this fight were going to inevitably be like this, it got the heart flowing as each fighter read the other's movements.

    Naturally, at least early on, she wove in and out of Nero's testing wide swings and thrusts. If it wasn't clear before, she was trying to get inside Nero's weapon range and test how she reacted to brawling proximity. Once or twice however, she had no choice but to block swings of the sword with her index fingers, swiping them aside just enough to turn away slices that would cause grievous gashes on her entirely unarmored foe by mere centimeters. Similarly, small punches were aimed at the shorter fighter since Momoyo could get more attacks in faster, mainly aimed at her chest or shoulders early on. There was no butting heads like she was forced to with Kenji, but an elaborate dance of two masters as she waited for a real opening or attack.

Terry McGinnis (867) has posed:
    Terry nods, "I see," he states to Yang. "And i kind of understand, the punching aspect, but i try to talk people out of a fight, although I do speak fist punching," he adds as he watches the fight and makes mental notes.

Shin Tokuyama (756) has posed:
    Despite never having met Priscilla, Shin gives her a smile in passing when she comments even vaguely in his direction. Though he seems to quiet down as the fight is starting, electing to lean back against the vending machine and watch as the battle seems to start.

    "Hm."

    That's the first real sound he makes as his heterochromatic eyeline watches the conflict commence rapidly. He comments to Kenji more than anyone else, "You see how she's moving? Her dodges and attacks are meant to conserve her energy while still being effective. She's maximizing the gain from minimal energy loss."

Kenji Kawasaki (715) has posed:
     "You'd think that, but it really helps being able to hit things that are also intangible, or, alternatively, hit people on the other side of a wall."

     Kenji has a mild argument with Priscilla on the radio, one that rapidly fades into a more generalized thought on the scene. His anger is an explosive flame - it flares up easily and roars, but it burns out pretty fast, too.

     "Yeah, yeah. I see it. I fought her already, I know how she fights. I saw how she moves while I was beating the shit out of her and vice-versa."

     "Some explosion kung fu bullshit. Seems like fucking everybody can do something like that." Kenji sounds more than a little bitter about THAT, too.

Nero (880) has posed:
     Nero was expecting a dodge. But she was /not/ expecting to be /used/ as the avenue of dodging herself. Her eyes widened just momentarily as her shoulder was used as a vaulting point, but she recovered quickly and turned right back around to re-engage her opponent. Having a sword the weapon of the moment, it should have been obvious that her attack frequency would normally be lower than that of a brawler's...that is, if she were a normal person.

     But she was not. Her swings and thrusts came at a measured pace, with little to no pause. But Momoyo may get the feeling that Nero was not moving quite as fast as she could just yet. They were still testing each other out, looking for weaknesses, peculiarities, and so on. At being brought into brawling range, Nero expressed no real discernible reaction. Though the range of her blade was nulled in this particular situation, she reacted by moving her body to coast along with the punches, taking lighter damage than she would have otherwise.

     "I can see that you are no amatuer. Good. Very good. Then this shall be most entertaining!" The next punch that came Nero's way, she reacted in the exact opposite manner she probably should have. She grinned and dove /towards/ the raven haired girl's fist. And at the last moment, leaned her head aside, feeling the blow barely slide past her head.

     And at the closest possible distance, Nero moved straight into a shoulder tackle, aiming to blow the taller girl back from the midsection before spinning into a slash aimed diagonally upwards from bottom to top.

Momoyo Kawakami (928) has posed:
     The speed of that sword was starting to bug her. Katana and kendo were one thing, but she had never really fought a more European styled opponent before. It would take time to read the sword's moves appropriately.

    She grunted as she was knocked back. It only took one foot reaching the ground to dodge that momentum, but it was going to be very /very/ hard to see who really was faster. "I guess the games have begun..." She took that quick hop to the side, and then retaliated on Nero's exposed side.

    "Kawakami Style, Musou Seikenzuki!!!"

    It was the move a few in the stands were waiting for her to use, her signature attack. There was no aura added to the punch. Yet. It was a simple straight punch, elegant in it's savage simplicity. Mainly because, the punch was said to have the speed and strength of a battleship's main cannon coming while Nero was carving furrows in the ground!

Priscilla has posed:
    Priscilla's composure seems pretty much the same as ever, on the other hand. She seems mostly engrossed in following the fighting with those gleaming, inhuman eyes, watching the motions of what the fighters call aura and prana as much as their bodies. She's onl vaguely familiar with either style, used in the broadest sense, which may be part of the reason she's here, though she's never seemed to have been one for that particular trope. "So what is thine investment in this?" she asks in a vague and non-specified way. "Vicarious tutorship? Sizing potential competition? Simple boredom?" It bears mentioning that she's the only spectator in the room who doesn't punch things.

Yang Xiao Long has posed:
    Yang glances back at Pricilla. "Yes." she replies simply. She's to the point, at least!

Kenji Kawasaki (715) has posed:
     Kenji shrugs. "All of the above, I guess, plus Kojin threatened to randomly set my stuff on fire if I didn't. Said it'd do me good to get out of the apartment."

Shin Tokuyama (756) has posed:
    "Oh you fought her? Lucky. She better or wose than Allenby at brawling?" He asks as he polishes off the candy bar in his hands and then tosses the wrapper in a trashcan. He stuffs both hands into the coat pockets of his leisure suit before shrugging his shoulders.

    "Oh yeah, Ki techniques. Only one or two martial arts on my world use it, counting my own. They became way more commonplace in the Multiverse, so it's been nice to learn some more." He half-shuts his eyes, focusing on the fight while he does so. He's observing Momoyo more than Nero, solely by dint of her being a martial artist.

    He looks over towards Priscilla and answers, "That last one. Boredom. She hardly needs a tutor and I'm not the kind of guy to seek out competition."

Kyra Hyral (626) has posed:
    "GO NERO WOOO!!!" Kyra yells as she finally runs in, clearly very, very late to the match. She must've misread when the time of the match was supposed to be and had been caught off guard when she heard it was already underway. It was supposed to have not started for an hour.

    Kyra finds a place to flop down, doing so, taking a moment to see the large crowd here. "Uh, wow. Quite a turnout."

Kenji Kawasaki (715) has posed:
     "...I haven't actually fought Allenby." Kenji's fingers tighten a little more than they were a moment ago. That bothers him, and he's trying very hard to make it *look* like it doesn't bother him, but it does anyway and /that/ probably bothers him, too. It's sort of like he's trying not to smile or frown, and instead he's trying to just keep his face /totally neutral/ and it's just...not working, at all, because he's *really bad* at hiding his emotions no matter how much he hates talking about them.

     He doesn't even comment on Shin's ability to learn ki techniques. His fingers just twitch a little more.

Nero (880) has posed:
     And thus, the games have ended.

     With her second slash following the tackle dodged, Nero heard the technique name, and then felt the blow coming before it even connected. "....!" There was no way she should allow herself to be hit by that! Quickly, the servant brought Aestus Estus around to block, and the blow connected with meteoric steel, sending the smaller girl skidding back quite a ways across the arena floor.

     Smoke rose from the path that Nero had skid across, as well as from the point of impact on the blade itself. ".....Oho~" And then the weapon was lowered, revealing Nero's impressed look just over the edge of the blade. "You have quite a bit of strength, Lady Kawakami." Relaxing from her defensive stance, Nero took on a more neutral ready stance again, grinning in excitement. "Well it would be rude for me not to meet such a technique with one of my own!"

     And that moment, Aestus Estus burst into flames, cloaking the blade entirely in vermillion haze. Prana gathered all around her, drawing into the servant(and out of Kyra, hi Kyra, I'm eating your MP).

     And then it happened.

     One moment, Nero was there, standing and ready, sword on fire. And the next, she was simply gone. Where did she- there! From the front! No not the front, the side! Behind? Above? No the other side.

     "Rosa Ichthys!"

     Came Nero's voice, from Momoyo's front, dead ahead. And she let loose a flaming slash at blinding speed, aiming to strike and move past in nearly the same moment, without pause.

Momoyo Kawakami (928) has posed:
     "Hmhmhmhm~! Yes!!" she replies, grinning wildly back at Nero. Though her smile wasn't nearly as composed as the Servant's. Her eyes started to take on that nasty glint Nero might have been all too familiar with. To a limited extent, the fight was eroding Momoyo's rationality as she was getting more excited. Not too far removed from certain other types of Servants she's regularly clashed blades with. "You wouldn't have any business fighting me if you couldn't take that punch! Good!" she praised Nero wildly.

    But then she's forced to deal with the speed of the next attack. This slash was as quick as any of her classmate Yukie's but far more deadly and heavy. She was forced to grasp the blade a moment with her ki, coating her hand to protect it as she shoved it aside to dodge. Ordinarily this would be a good time to hit Nero back, but the momentum was too great. She's forced to tumble to the side after shoving the blade, creating distance as she spins to her feet. There's a long gash in Momoyo's sleeveless black vest along her side, as it's terribly singed and she was burned by the heat's proximity.

    She wanted to go in so very badly and just get in Nero's face, but the shorter woman was't going to allow it just yet.

     "Kawakami Style, Earth Splitter!!!" she smashed the ground with her fist, causing the digital arena to quake a bit. Not only did chunks of the ceiling fall down and then regenerate, but she forced a few dust clouds up from the ground.

     "Kawakami Style, Killer Fireflies!!!" After changing her position, Momoyo continued a barrage to disorient Nero. She was going to have to create an opening, that woman was not going to leave herself open like that again without some 'help'. So, Momoyo continued to obscure the arena. The aura positioning could be noted, but that took effort... luckily the majority of the dust was holographic, so the spectators weren't lacking for breathable air.

Yari Takane (691) has posed:
~Elsewhere~

The battle is beautiful. Yari watches transfixed as Nero is seemingly taken out, only for her to lash out with a fiery blade! Momoyo's techniques are utterly entrancing in their raw fury and brutality. The woman had long since abandoned her food and drink, sitting in front of the TV way too close as she watches the pair fight. She's even taking notes.

"That's it, Momoyo! Strike that Servant quickly! A swift bombardment and strike from her blind side can take her out!" Yari's getting /way/ too into this as she roots on her classmate.

And even using the smoke to her advantage! The ninja approves by the way her tail flicks.

Meanwhile, Linh is gently tugging back her mother from being that close to the tv.

"That is bad for your eyesight, Mother." She chides lightly. Bonk!

Nero (880) has posed:
     And Nero's slash was turned aside. But that did not disappoint her. Rather, she was pleased by the fact. If one of her most basic techniques took this girl down, then there would be absolutely zero point to this fight. The smile on the smaller swordswoman's face grew a bit more at this. Not quite as wild as Momoyo's, but she was clearly having fun, for better or worse.

     And then came the twofold techniques. Chunks of ceiling from from above, kicking up dust clouds and forcing the servant to back off from attempting another pass at attacking. The energy balls followed, and Nero prepared herself to deflect any that came too close, though she found that were mostly not for attacking...misdirection then?

     There was no way to go blindly swinging through this obscurity, so Nero stayed where she was, remaining on guard, but keeping her gaze moving left and up, trying to sense just where Momoyo would attempt to come from next. There was no way she wouldn't capitalize on this chance.

     But where...?

     Patiently, she waited.

Momoyo Kawakami (928) has posed:
     The aura of hostility could be felt from above as Momoyo appeared finally, shortly after the next to last ball was blocked. It was to Nero's side, at the level of her shoulder... this was because Momoyo threw her momentum into her knee. The air could be felt vibrating as the slightly unconventional kick came horizontally, as the attacker could sense the user attacking from above where the bulk of the aura was located, but the attack itself comes from the side.

    Momoyo didn't expect this to hit, however. She left herself open, as the attack puts her on the ground on one knee, but she wasn't about to remain there long, her gaze snapping up more quickly than if she'd expected to finish off her opponent. "...!!!"

Terry McGinnis (867) has posed:
    Terry has bern sitting next to Yang as he was watching and witout looking at Pricilla, he commrents, "I am obsrerving the fight to determine the best course of action if I rver have to fight them," is all he states. "I like to know things in case the information is needed," hre adds.

Nero (880) has posed:
     Above? Below? ...No, to the side! "....!" And then came Momoyo, bursting through the dust and lashing out with an oddly aimed kick barreling for Nero's side. Quickly, she scuttled back, feeling the possible blow just barely brush past her side, throwing off her footing momentarily. Normally, she'd offer a snide comment, but now...she'd let her sword do the talking.

     Aestus Estus flared up yet again, scarlet flames crawling along the blade and dancing off of it in waves. Tightening her grip, Nero stepped in towards her opponent and let loose a momentary flurry.

     "Pari Tenu Blauserum!"

     Three lightning quick slashes in near instantaneous succession. One at the neckline horizontally, one diagonally downwards, and another diagonally upwards opposite the other to form a crude V. Nero comes to a stop after this, and a second later, an explosion of flame traces the lines of those slashes perfectly.

     She probably shouldn't be pausing like that though. It's leaving her wide open to counterattack. But then EMPEROR HUBRIS is a thing.

Momoyo Kawakami (928) has posed:
     The first two slashes hit. Her body jerked. It wasn't even clear where she had been hit initially. Scratches formed all over her body... deep ones. There was a cry of agony as the flames explode, shredding Momoyo's clothing.

    The problem was the crazy woman was still following through with her plan. So the sword never really came back when it should have after the third slash. Instead, her fist quivered as blood dripped to the ground, holding the searing tip of the noble phantasm as it cauterized her palm. For a moment, it looked as if the woman was defeated.

    "...More... give me more fun... Kawakami Style, Restoration." her aura came forth, rapidly regenerating several of her wounds as she tried to force Nero to watch. With the exception of her hand she was forced to heal most of the damage after such a brutal hit. It was at this moment, after all, where the opinion of each fighter would be completely formed of one another.

    No longer haggard-looking, she could only perform half of her next technique as she tried to use the blade to hold Nero in place.

    "Kawakami Style, Mousou Seikenzuki Midareuchi!"

    That one punch again...? ...no. It was worse. A dozen punches, in nearly the same instant, with the same speed as the three instantaneous slashes. The source of most of Momoyo's problems was pinned down, and she was now free to retaliate unless the girl let go. If Momoyo's guess was right, the girl in front of her would rather suffer damage to her aura than let go of that sword and let her get in an opening fist-to-fist.

Kyra Hyral (626) has posed:
    "You know..." Kyra frowns, "If she can heal herself, I should be able to healbomb Nero. If she wants more, then I should be able to heal her too. Feels fair." The white mage crosses her arms over her chest.

Yang Xiao Long has posed:
    "Can't you see it takes a lot out of her to use that technique? I can't see Aura like some people can, but just look at her stance." Yang says to Kyra. "It's like nailing wooden boards over a window."

Yari Takane (691) has posed:
~Elsewhere~

Yari shoots up as Momoyo gets caught in those cutting flames, clothes shredded, and yet she's still going! That burst of aura, and her eyes go wide as she seems to regenerate. Her eyes narrow, finding herself grinning even as she puts down more notes.

Popcorn goes flying as her hand goes in the air with a fist-pump!

"Yes! Pin her down! Pummel her!"

Yari then downs the rest of her beer. Even Linh is watching with rapt attention now!

Terry McGinnis (867) has posed:
    Terry nods as well, "Yea, it looks like everytime she uses that ability, she is using up herbenergy," and he thinks, . o 0 (Wich means she cannot last long in an extended fight.) and he turns to Yang, "Question, how long have you been in a fight?" hr asks her as he turns back to Momoyo and Nero.

Yang Xiao Long has posed:
    "Longest fight? With Dad, we brawled for about twenty minutes... then he got serious and stripped my Aura in a single combo." Yang replies to Terry. "I left myself wide open and he nailed me with a haymaker."

Kyra Hyral (626) has posed:
    "Oh yeah, I can see it. Still doesn't change the fact that it's restoration." Kyra rests her hands behind her head and leans back. "Very Monk-ish, though. Even then, their restoration they can use mostly is for purging poisons from the system."

Shin Tokuyama (756) has posed:
    Shin, from not too far away from Kyra, remarks, "Yeah, I can do something roughly like that, but it takes a lot out of you to do it. It's a pretty high-end martial arts technique." He rubs the back of his head a bit boredly, "Usually the capstone to an ancient style or lost art."

Nero (880) has posed:
     Whoa, did she just...grab her sword? On fire? How extreme. Even Nero couldn't help but he utterly surprised at that. "Wh-" And the next moment, Momoyo restored herself. Another one of her techniques? How... Nero was unsure how to feel about that one. But then, she didn't exactly have the time to be feeling!

     Or rather, she felt something alright. That something was Momoyo's fists impacting into her straight on. The force of the blows were enough to send the servant flying back, letting go of her sword in the process. Crying out, Nero impacted with the ground and skid some ways back. "......" And then she drew back up, standing to her feet, looking a bit worse for the wear than previously. "Mhmhm...I see. So you can use your prana, energy, ki, whatever it is you call it, to restore your own vitality. Intriging."

     She brought a hand up to wipe away some dirt from her cheek, an amused smile forming again. "Then in that case..." Prana gathered again, flowing into Nero's body. "Tr�s Fontaine Claudeo!" And then an aura of crimson flared up around her, persisting rather prominently. What was that supposed to do? It became clear in the next moment.

     Nero hunched low, clenching her fists...and then burst forward, dashing straight for Momoyo despite being weaponless at the moment. And like a thug, the blonde girl let loose a furious haymaker for the side of her opponents face, aura extending to accomodate her movements. If impact is made, Momoyo would feel some of her own vitality being siphoned away...siphoned away back into Nero herself.

     If Momoyo can restore herself, then Nero would steal that vitality away and make it her own. As long as she makes contact at least.

Momoyo Kawakami (928) has posed:
     This was it. She couldn't tell what the attack was going to do beforehand, but if she didn't end the fight now she knew this was what the woman considered her counter to Momoyo. If she dodged this, she was simply going to be worn down or give another opening. It had to be now, while the blonde was provoked into attacking without her sword. Therefore, the usage of her next technique was unknown, naturally. It was unclear what the result would be, given the proximity, but if she allowed the woman to get her sword back, the fight would continue long into the night where she would inevitably lose.

    "Forbidden Move, Fuji Smasher."

    Her declaration of this technique was not loud, as instead it honed her concentration entirely to a single point. Massive amounts of her aura were focused into her fist, coating it as she let loose. She didn't aim for any weak points on the shorter girl, didn't bother to dodge... if her feet moved, she was done for, the Emperor would never commit to an attack leaving her this wide open again. But whatever was coming, this might well do the trick to decisively determine momentum. The fist came out faster than her previous techniques, using Nero's momentum to punch her knuckle violently as well, the attack faster than any of her other and it's sheer power nearly unknown. As for the result of coating her fist in raw ki for a technique trying to siphon energy from direct contact... the resulting shockwave proved the results would be explosive, to say the least.

Terry McGinnis (867) has posed:
    Terry looks to those near him, "The more she restores herself, the more energy she is using. By doing that, she is showing a flaw, moreovrer, anyone who is watching this will notice the same, and use that against her," he mentions as he gesturrs, "And Nero has figured that out, so she will use that to her advantage. Momoyo will have to see and find Nero's flaw and use that against her."

    Terry is obsrervant, and is already figuring out a way on stopping Momoyo. Now he needs to do the same on Nrero.

Nero (880) has posed:
     Fuji Smasher? What in the world was that?

     It was far too late for Nero to switch to being cautious now. No, she went straight in and committed to that ounch like a man commits to that new car he just got. Both fists clash. Explosive ki makes contact with draining energy. And the reaction is glorious.

     At first sparks of ki and prana wildly lash out against the surrounding arena, denting the ground and ceiling before repairing itself. Nero could feel the ki draining out of Momoyo's fist and rapidly flowing into her like high pressure water hose. The problem here was that a Servant was not a container for infinite prana. Eventually there would be an overflow.

     And that eventually was now. Once it hit, an explosion rocked the ring of philosophy, creating a blinding flash of red white.

     Once the smoke cleared, Nero was several meters away, flat on her back with swirlies in her eyes.

     "Awehweh....wha....weh-"

     Nope. Emperor Nero Claudius Caesar Augustus Germanicus has left the building!

Momoyo Kawakami (928) has posed:
     Dropping to her knees heavily, Momoyo was clearly exhausted. That one punch was worse than anything she did in that fight prior. "Aaaaahh~" she murmurs, a surprisingly gentle sigh. If one had closed their eyes... well they would have gotten the wrong impression of the two girls entirely.

    Beyond satisfied, in spite of the ki drain, she collapsed moments after Nero. The smile on her face was utterly blissful, covered in dirt as she was. "Aheheh..." she had to giggle, as the blonde actually did look really cute slammed into the wall like that. "I'm... too tired to bow... Nero..." she held both her hands up a moment before collapsing. Given time to recover Nero would recover quite a bit faster with her Master nearby, but Momoyo had barely won before her eyes closed as well.

Kyra Hyral (626) has posed:
    Some of that Prana even makes it back /into/ Kyra, replacing the MP that was used up earlier from Nero's fancy moves. The feeling is not that an unusual, given that MP does regenerate itself with rest and there are ethers that create the same effect. More importantly, though, Nero goes /flying/.

    "Gah!" Kyra leaps to her feet and chases after her Servant, hopping through the hole in the building, though not before giving Momoyo a brief dirty look.

Yari Takane (691) has posed:
~Elsewhere~

Yari lets out a hiss of victory as Momoyo smashes Nero away into a heap! Down too goes Momoyo, the ninja grinning like a school kid. Making sure she got the entire thing recorded, she pops out the dvd from the dvd player, and sighs. Leaning back, she crosses her legs.

"Linh, let's go shopping." Oh yes, victory presents are in order!

Terry McGinnis (867) has posed:
    Terry covered his eyes when the bright, blinding light, "... Wish I had my batsuit," he states as he stands up and jumps over the wall and rushes over to Momoyo and checks on here, "Shes out, cold," he states as he looks at her. Looking to Yang, Terry picks her, Momoyo up while someone went to check on Nero,"Someone check on Nero," he says as he begins to move for a bench or something.

Yang Xiao Long has posed:
    Yang vaults the spectator stand, and lands with a tuck and roll, before sprinting over to Momoyo. "Hey, you okay?" she asks, skidding to a stop next to the red eyed brawler. She catches that dirty look from Kyra and frowns herself in response. "Hey! This was a fully sanctioned duel! She won fair and square!"

    Yeah... Yang's bit on the whole fair and square dueling thing.