3135/White Flash vs. Zekken

White Flash vs. Zekken
Date of Scene:	02 October 2015
Location:	Alfheim Online <ALO>
Synopsis:	Yuuki vs. Yuuki! After many duels, Zekken finds the ideal warrior she's been seeking.
Cast of Characters:	Kirito, Tomoe, 9, 437, Yuuki Konno

---

Yuuki Konno has posed:
    The daily crowds of people gathered to fight Zekken, and those just there to watch, have begun to dwindle. Not a lot of people still believe they have a chance, and most people aren't going to return day after day to watch a 'sure thing'. Some do of course. Zekken is a spectacle to watch, and people always wonder 'but what if I don't go and someone finally beats her?' There's still some crowds, and even some newcomers who have never seen Zekken duel, but things have definitely slowed down a bit.

    That's not to say no one shows up. Even now, a Salamander duellist is darting through the branches of the tree. A mixed lance-and-spell duellist, he was apparently counting on blinding her with fire magic and then taking advantage of the tree branches to keep her from fleeing long enough to strike a decisive blow. A clever plan to be sure, and one that might have worked had Yuuki not been fast enough to make his attempts to aim and to hit her with the spell futile. Spells can be dodged after all, and you have to properly hit your target... and of course the cover of tree branches, leaves and trunk work two ways.

    The Salamander soldier hasn't been fighting long at all, and really the fight hasn't been much for the audience to see. Some darting shapes, some sudden illumination from spellcasting. Finally, not long after the start of the fight, a single figure plummeting from the tree, hitting the ground awkwardly, his health already in the red. "I give up! Resign!" he shouts as he scrambles upright, his arms in the air. It was a clever attempt, but he was the 67th to fall.

    A purple-clad figure floats down after him, diving towards the ground headfirst in a slow, controlled spiral. She flips, touching down lightly on her toes, before her black starry wings vanish. She bows to the audience, drawing another round of enthused cheering from them. They might not have seen much of the fight, but Yuuki's enthusiasm, good nature and infectious cheer earns a response even if the fight itself wasn't something they could see.

    Yuuki spins around then, raising two fingers in a 'victory' pose, grinning with obvious delight.

Asuna (9) has posed:
Asuna had been told of Zekken, of the strange person who could defeat her own Kirito. As such, Asuna had waited til she heard about another fight that would be going down, and she joins the crowd on the outside of the ring to watch the fight go down. When it does end, Asuna is suitably impressed - she has her own memories of the fights Kirito has been through, and she's participated in herself, like the original fight between him and Heathcliff in Sword Art Online.

"Sugoi..." The undine breathes.

Or, she thinks, a bit one sided like the Kuradeel and Kirito duel... but...

That's neither here nor there - and Kirito had kind of cheated in that.

She does clap though.

Kirito has posed:
    One more victory for the purple whirlwind. Kirito's been watching. He's come out since Asuna has. He's not of a mind to challenge Yuuki again - he very much doubts that, even going utterly all out with dual wielding, he could overcome her defenses.

    And, on the off chance he somehow did, he'd really rather not do it in front of a crowd...

    Despite his reservations and suspicions, Asuna showing a willingness to fight has gotten him to come along and hang out at the edges, arms folded across his chest. The Spriggan's mind is goina mile a minute.

    Who is Yuuki, why is she here? It must have gotten boring after DAYS of duels and she's already fought, to his knowledge practically every top-tier fighter in Alfheim...

    Except maybe Asuna.

Yuuki Konno has posed:
    Yuuki looks around, spinning in a slow circle, hands cupped around her mouth as if to make her words carry, though she's speaking in a voice that's conversational and far from a shout. "Well then... anyone wanna go next?" she asks. Those around also look about, no one seeming willing to take up the challenge. She's seen Kirito of course, and even recognized the black-clad Spriggan warrior. She doesn't expect him to fight her though. He's good, and he might win, depending. But... well, it depends on what he's after. If he desperately wants her sword-skill, he might. If he wants a challenge, he might. So she ends up facing him and his friends expectantly. She doesn't mind if he challenges her again, of course. She'll likely never use him in a group with the Knights, but fighting him was simply great.

Asuna (9) has posed:
Asuna shies back towards Kirito for a brief moment, looking somewhat uncertain. It's been so long since she was just out and wanted to be a ... well, to be a warrior. She hasn't been a warrior in so long... not since /that/ world. So she just stares for a few moments, before she finally steps forward, her bright blue hair flowing behind you.

"I'll accept the challenge!"

Her voice is slightly uncertain, but she's doing this. She's making it happen.

Yuuki Konno has posed:
    There's a moment where Yuuki simply stares at Asuna in openmouthed surprise. Asuna... reminds her of Ran-neechan. It's a somewhat superficial resemblance, but it's also unmistakeable. The surprise she shows could easily be dismissed as surprise that it's not Kirito stepping forward, but an unknown companion instead. Or possibly that this challenger seems uncertain about this whole challenge thing.

    The surprise lasts mere moments before Yuuki breaks into a grin. "Oneesan, you want to fight?" she asks. She snaps her fingers. "Okay!" she agrees, beckoning Asuna to come closer.

    Yuuki's grin fades somewhat as the pre-fight intensity begins to kick in. "Use magic and items if you want." she offers, resting a hand on her sword. "I'm just using this." she adds casually.

Annie Sandberg (437) has posed:
    Annie has returned to Zekken's dueling ground, once again adding some musical accompaniment to the action. She still hasn't had much luck in recruiting for her performer's troupe, but she's not about to give up. Maybe once she gets to the top levels of skill, she might be able to make more of a name for herself. But at the same time, those at the lower levels need help and friendship too. There were a lot of ways she could make this work!
    Because it's so hard to see the action, Annie can't really pay much attention to the fight, but she still plays some lively music. The next challenger, however, gets her to lower her flute in some surprise. "Oh, it's Miss Asuna!" Another person she recognized from her first-ever Alfheim quest. Asuna was an Undine, by the looks of her- they were known for healing. What kind of battle skills would she bring to play? ...Now that she comes to think of it, that was another good reason to watch these fights- she was learning a lot about the battle capabilities of the different types of fairy. Of course, since it was one-on-one, she wasn't getting to see much of the support magic. How many Pucas had taken this challenge, she wondered.

Asuna (9) has posed:
Asuna considers her words, although she starts a little. Did she just get called oneesan? However, that may have just been a slip up. You never know what Undines look like around here. She may have a twin! (How strange that thought is, though--) She unsheathes her own blade as she steps into the arena proper, giving the other girl a glance.

"Then I won't either."

That declaration is probably a surprise to the group of friends that Asuna was with, but... well, it is Asuna. She is a warrior, and this is what she does. Even if she is technically a healer in Alfheim Online, rather than a warrior.

"To first hit, or all the way?"

Yuuki Konno has posed:
    Yuuki takes that declaration in stride. She doesn't know Asuna's talents as a healer after all, only reacting to her as a fellow duellist. It's a fairly standard answer, though she's never resented any of her opponents trying to use items or magic. The duel is, after all, mostly an excuse to get to know the type of person they are. What advantages they try to use, or refuse to use, is a part of their personality.

    "Your choice." Yuuki says, then grins just a little. "But it'd be a shame if the fight was over that quickly, wouldn't it? Half health or all the way, I think." she says, not willing to insist. Again, it's about learning what she can. "And if you want to fly that's okay, but if you prefer a ground duel than no flying, only jumping." she adds, sweeping her left hand to bring up her menu. The challenge is sent. On Asuna's own menu, 'Do you accept the duel? Opponent: Yuuki. Type: 1 vs 1.' and the accept button.

    Yuuki just stands there, one hand on her hip, an easygoing smile on her lips, watching. Apparently completely at easy, and enjoying even the lead-up to the fight.

Tomoe has posed:
Tomoe had come to watch she'd have to watch this, it's been so long since she's seen Asua really got at it like this. the purple haired Salamander looked out as Yuuki was about to take on Asuna she was curious to see how it goes and she calls out.

"This should be a hell of a fight! Zekken vs the Flash!"

Asuna (9) has posed:
"Acceptable to me."

Asuna glances at the screen pop up, before hitting accept. She shifts her weight back and forth, before she settles down into a starting position, her blade lifted, held lightly in her grip. She stares at the smaller opponent in front of her for a few moments, before Asuna darts in, blade swinging to make the first move.

She can do this- she must do it!

Yuuki Konno has posed:
    Yuuki doesn't shift about, instead simply drawing her blade and holding it upright, angling her profile slightly as she drops into a ready stance. She waits for the countdown. Asuna's charge at the buzzer isn't expected, but it doesn't catch her flat-footed. She backs up as that first swing extends at her, her blade chiming lightly against Asuna's as a check rather than a full parry. She doesn't immediately strike back, instead remaining defensive, interested in seeing where this aggressive attack might lead. She's prepared to spin, to slip a thrust with a sidestep, to jump, whatever it takes to weather a storm. Only if she absolutely must, to avoid a strike that is otherwise unavoidable, does she intend to parry or to move completely out of range.

Asuna (9) has posed:
Asuna is not being too aggressive - she mostly just wants to gauge the other girls reactions to the most basic combination of attacks, before she even thinks about trying anything else, or even possibly starts to consider thinking about a sword skill. Asuna is not quite such a slow goer normally, but she has only ever seen her fight once... and that was just now!

She slides past her afterwards, skidding to a stop to whirl around and face her.

She's impressed by her speed already, and gives her a nod, pausing to see what happens next.

Yuuki Konno has posed:
    Yuuki would be content to defend, but there's a certain rhythm to these things. To continue to defend while Asuna yields the attack, that would violate the rhythm of the fight.

    Yuuki nods back, tilting her head to one side and grinning in reply. Finally, she goes on the offensive, sending a few flickering fast attacks Asuna's way. Not hard blows swung with her entire body behind them, mostly sweeping cuts swung from the shoulder, with only the last inch or so of blade likely to make contact. The swings are powerful though, swung with a strength that's shocking coming from such an unassuming form. Not as powerful as Kirito surely, but someone who's sunk a lot of points into strength as a complement to that astounding agility. The whole time, she maintains that slight smile of enjoyment.

Asuna (9) has posed:
Asuna /is/ startled by the strength.

At the end, Asuna manages to parry a good amount, aside from a single sweep that cuts her open neatly, causing Asuina to dart backwards, landing backflips before she reaches up, wiping at her mouth with the back of one hand as her HP bar drops. It's still green - they're not that far along yet.

She stops to breathe, her arms trembling slightly. She hasn't been in a proper fight in ages, and she's both startled, and worried, and full of turmoil for the longest time, before she inhales sharply, letting out in a long, smooth breath, before she steps into position, raising the blade. She stares down it at Zekken.

Yuuki Konno has posed:
    Yuuki continues that simple smile, waiting for Asuna to recover. She shows no particular glee at landing a hit, just pleasure at the fight in general. Asuna's fast, possibly the fastest she's ever fought. At least as quick as Kirito, and possibly even faster. She's also skilled. No, there's no need to hurry this fight. She's enjoying it too much.

    That smile fades however, when Asuna stares down the blade at her. It stays only for a moment, until Yuuki sees Asuna's eyes. The Absolute Sword starts is surprise, then frowns in concentration. This fight is ON, and Yuuki doesn't fail to take Asuna seriously.

    A pause, measuring each other with their gazes, concentrating. Abruptly Yuuki breaks into a full run, charging in, swinging her blade in earnest this time with a powerful vertical strike.

Asuna (9) has posed:
Zekken charges in, and Asuna smiles the smallest bit.

She meets the charge, her blade coming up in a parry, the steel striking with what might be a loud ringing noise if Asuna wasn't focused on the fight and not everything else around them. She shifts her weight, utilizing her speed and agility to start circling around the purple haired fighter at speed, blade flashing out in swift DPS rather than pure strength strokes.

No sword skills yet, just pure actual skill.

Yuuki Konno has posed:
    The impact from the powerful sword-on-sword sends out a thunderous chime. Some of the audience covers their ears, some cringe back from the flying dust and debris caused by the shockwave. Some handle it just fine, possibly too distracted by the display before them.

    Yuuki's eyes go wide when her blow is parried with such conviction. She quickly refocuses, darting in, matching Asuna move for move. She counter-circles, or moves alongside Asuna, not letting the fight devolve into one of firm stances. She counters with fast parries, relying on speed rather than strength, and returns her own slashes in kind. Finally, spinning around and slashing backhand, her strike completely falls short, her blade coming to rest well past Asuna behind her.

    At least, it LOOKED like a miss. Yuuki's blade came to a halt in position to activate a sword skill. The activation is quick. Yuuki cries out, dashing forward. Her sword glows purple, charging with dark energy as she spins. Once, twice, all that speed and power unleashed into a serious horizontal strike at Asuna's torso. It also releases an explosion of power whether the blow lands or not, no doubt obscuring the fight from many of the observers.

Asuna (9) has posed:
The two twirl around. This isn't a fight - it's a dance. A deadly one.

Asuna matches her quite nearly speed for speed - she is the flash, and Zekken is just as much of one she is, if not faster, Asuna finds herself thinking slightly, and she slides forward into the attack so it goes past her-

And then the other blade starts glowing purple.

Asuna's own blade glows blue as she twirls around to meet the horizontal strike, her own sword skill also guaranting an explosion of power, the blue and purple clouds sparking into life at the ferocity of the two girls' attacks. Inside of the cloud, Asuna's blade snaps forward - she isn't holding back. She was a wariror! she IS! a warrior, and it shows in all of her actions and her attacks towards Yuuki-Zekken.

Yuuki Konno has posed:
    Could Yuuki respond with anything less than her full speed and power? Not if she wants to remain Zekken she can't. Not the title Zekken, given to her by others in admiration and envy, but the true fighting spirit of the girl who loves this freedom and exileration as fiercely as she loves life itself.

    The smile doesn't return to Yuuki's face. She's focussing too hard, intent on the fight itself. She's flat-out running now, and yes she's dancing. She spins, ducks, slashes from seemingly every possible angle when she isn't parrying Asuna's own attacks. She doesn't parry every blow, losing herself in the fight itself. Sometimes it's Asuna's skill that drives a thrust or a slash through Yuuki's guard, though her armor reduces the severity of those blows to mere red-hatched scratches. Sometimes it's Yuuki herself trading blows instead of defending herself. The pain of the FullDive system is minor compared to a true swordfight, but the hits are a small price to pay. A notification of a good fight more than anything, and a red badge of honor. Nothing to be feared, just something to be minimized.

Asuna (9) has posed:
Asuna shifts her weight, before her blade glows blue again.

She knows what is coming - Quadruple Pain. It's a high level super speed sword skill, and as far as Asuna knows, it's one of the ones that is nigh unblockable, and thus deadly to use in duels and absolutely important to use in boss fights.

"nnn-" Asuna lets out a cry as her blade flashes towards Zekken. Whoop. She's feeling it.

Yuuki Konno has posed:
    Knocked back by Asuna's previous attack, Yuuki has no way to counter her set-up into a Sword Skill initiation. It's really a perfect transition, timing the set-up off the earlier blow to prevent Yuuki striking in the moment of vulnerability. Even if Yuuki had seen it coming, there was nothing she could do. She'll have to suffer the Original Sword Skill, and it's obvious from Asuna's expression that it's intended to be a deadly one.

    Yuuki doesn't react until the moment Asuna commits to the activation. Her eyes open fully, blazing in intensity. There's a weakness all Original Sword skills have in common, she knows. They're all scripted in advance and they have to be FAST. That means the strikes are planned without any way to predict the opponent's movement, relying on either pre-planning or requiring insane reflexes to change the angles mid-attack. Yuuki has those reflexes, and Asuna /might/, but in most cases the attacks will always rely on overwhelming an opponent's ability to defend.

    The chime of sword on sword, impossibly, rings four times. The chimes sound nearly running together, so fast is both attack and defense. The explosion from Asuna's elemental-enhanced sword skill makes it unclear exactly what happened, at least to the audience. It's clear enough, however, that somehow Zekken defeated what's quite possibly the fastest attack they've ever seen.

    As the cloud clears, Yuuki's own sword is revealed, glowing from an Original Sword Skill setup. She's never used this technique in actual combat, but why not use it now? She doesn't need to draw out the fight any more and she doesn't need to save the technique for another opponent. She's already made up her mind. Asuna will be the one she chooses.

    So far as most of the audience can see, the attack is a single slash diagonally upwards, from Yuuki's left to her right, as she cries out a long drawn-out 'Haaaaaaaaaaaaa!' To those with the eyes to see the unseeable, it's five darting thrusts. Then another apparent slash; five more thrusts crossing the first, drawing an X over Asuna's virtual heart.

    Zekken's blade comes back at the last, still glowing, Yuuki's eyes locked on Asuna's. Five hits plus five more, and the final thrust makes eleven. Hit or miss, that final thrust gives off a huge explosion covering nearly the entire island, the sort of power that makes it impossible to see what the outcome is... for a few moments at least. But Yuuki isn't striking to end the duel. She lowers the last strike slightly, not charging in as hard as she can. The last strike isn't meant to kill, just to complete the technique.

Asuna (9) has posed:
A single thought runs through Asuna's mind-

She can see through Quadruple Pain?!

Astonishment runs through her. She knows Zekken was not in Sword Art Online, but where did a creature, a woman, of such great skill as herself and her husband come from? She desired to know more, and also acknowledged, inwardly, that losing to Zekken, well - this is what it is to be a warrior. She will gladly have lost to Zekken. To think, the last time she died to someone's blade... oh, Heathcliff.

Did you realize what love did?

When the area clears, Asuna's hp bar is barely holding on-

But Asuna herself, is smiling.

Yuuki Konno has posed:
    Had that last thrust hit home the duel would have no doubt ended, considering how much explosion effect the ALO system designated to the final attack. Yuuki never intended to finish the fight in such a way though. She comes up out of the lunge slowly, at least in comparison to her fighting movements, letting the sword hang free in her right hand.

    Finally smiling once again, Yuuki steps forward right into Asuna's space. Her body language isn't indicating a threat however, and she beams as she reaches out to put her free hand on Asuna's shoulder. Eyes crinkling in glee, she hums tunelessly. "Hnnnnn~ That was great." she says, and her words show no less delight than her expression. "Oneesan, I pick you!" she says, verbalizing her earlier decision without the slightest hesitation or regret.

Asuna (9) has posed:
"Uuu? Pick ... pick me for what?"

Poor Asuna, she hasn't been this confused since she first stumbled into the Multiverse and she and Kirito shared their first kiss.

"I mean, I'm glad to help, but uh-- what?"

Help.

Annie Sandberg (437) has posed:
     Annie watches open-mouthed as the fight, apparently, concludes. "...Um, what? Is Miss Zekken giving up or something? She was about to win!" It definitely wasn't the ending she was expecting.

Yuuki Konno has posed:
    The little Imp, covered in little red woundmarks, still grins. "I was looking for someone who seemed just right, and I finally found them!" she gushes, enthusiastic to a level that almost seems to dwarf her cheer during the battle. She carefully sheathes her sword, not caring that Asuna's confused and still holding her own weapon. Then she straightens, holding out her right hand to the taller elfin girl.

Asuna (9) has posed:
"... Hm."

Asuna sheathes her sword, then takes the proffered hand. There's not much else to say.

Yuuki Konno has posed:
    Yuuki clasps hands, offering congratulations and heartfelt appreciation, both for the fight and for Asuna's agreement. Not that Yuuki intends to hold her to it, not until she's had a chance to fully explain. Well... not FULLY, just as fully as she can.

    Yuuki's grip tightens after a few seconds. Not enough to be painful, just to be firm. Her wings appear as she gently leaps into the air, pulling Asuna up with her more through the use of ingame Flight Assist than brute force. She's gentle but insistent, drawing Asuna well out of hearing from those below... and well out of sight as well. What she has to say, what she has to beg, it's no one's business but hers and Asuna's.

Annie Sandberg (437) has posed:
    Silverbloom claps her hands excitedly. She has no idea what Zekken is planning, and it seems pretty clear that she wanted to keep it secret. So as much as she'd like to know what sort of adventure they were going to have (if that was what it was), she wasn't going to ask. ...Not right this second anyway. She'll definitely want to know about it when it's done though. It might be the stuff of an epic ballad!