3651/'Cauterizing The Wound'

'Cauterizing The Wound'
Date of Scene:	11 January 2016
Location:	Njorun Station - Ring of Philosophy
Synopsis:	Kenji is distraught and Momoyo thoughtlessly offers to pound him into the dirt. When she realizes how wounded he is and won't listen to reason, Momoyo induces a coma with a move that subjects him to nightmares about his failures, in order to prevent him from hurting himself further.
Cast of Characters:	715, 880, Yang Xiao Long, 928

---

Momoyo Kawakami (928) has posed:
     Already in the Ring chatting with Yang, Momoyo waited for her would-be dispirited opponent in the stands next to the stairs entering the Ring below. Her fingers tapped on the console to set the Ring back to standard settings, though if one was careful they could stop to listen to the two girls chatter beforehand.

    "He's so damn moody. I should really fight him more often... but risking his life against the Feds would work better than brawling me." she quips, tossing her silky black hair. "I don't think him watching me spar Xiaomu cheered him up very much either..."

Yang Xiao Long has posed:
    Yang leans against the wall, eyes closed and arms folded under her bust. "Yeah. He kinda reminds me of a few students at Beacon." Fists clench for a moment or two. "That attitude really gets me pissed off though... but challenging him would be like trying to challenge you. I'd lose, and it'd only make him moodier."

    The blonde then looks over at Momoyo. "You sure you're up for this? You've been pushing yourself really hard lately."

Momoyo Kawakami (928) has posed:
     Momoyo shrugs her shoulders. "Yes, Nagato liked to make me clean the base... she didn't think it was very funny when I would get bored and flirt with every ship in earshot but kept me hanging around a pack of middle schoolers. I wanted to fight Kinu or Tenryuu, but..." she mutters under her breath. "Anti Submarine Warfare was... an experience. I scared the crap out of those little destroyer girls you know?"

Kenji Kawasaki (715) has posed:
     Kenji Kawasaki is Fucked Up. It's painfully, blatantly clear when he arrives at Njorun that he is in a bad way, both mentally and physically.

     The physical scars are easy enough to spot - there's a burn wound on his arm that on further examination is probably *cauterized shut*, a black scar from his shoulder down to his elbow. There's cuts across his face and arms, lesser cuts that he doesn't seem to have even bothered to do anything about, probably from glass - there might even be a few shards of glass sticking to him, though if they are, they've undoubtedly melted, giving his arm a weird shimmer as he walks into the ring. There's bruises along what's visible of his chest, his torn tantkop showing damage consistent with a heavy object falling on his six-pack and possibly busting one of the cans. There's fire damage, too, some burns on his face that look like he's been through an explosion, maybe two.

     But it's the lack of anger in his response to Momoyo that probably is the most worrisome. The haunted gaze in his eyes. Like he just saw somebody die in front of him.

     Kenji stops at the edge of the ring.

     "Shut up," he says to the air, "I'm doing it anyway. You can help me or you can watch, Kojin, I don't care which."

     Silence.

     "Okay," Kenji replies, "Great."

     And from there it's just waiting for Momoyo.

Nero (880) has posed:
     At that point, Nero had strode in, hands on her hips as she took a glance around. "Hm! I had seen a notification that The RIng was started up. And what do I find, but Lady Yang, and Lady Kawakami!" The Servant grinned. "Indeed, I must be clairvoyant!" And then Kenji gets a look as well. "Aha! Sir Kawasaki! Come to test your mettle once again?"

     With a smile more entertained looking than it should have been, she went up to the stands and had a seat, arms crossed. "Well then! Do not mind me! Clash fists and wills to decide who will come out on top! To decide who amongst you is worthy is standing under heaven!" And she swept an arm out dramatically

     "Go! I will allow it!"

Yang Xiao Long has posed:
    Yang smirks at Momoyo then. "Heh, I heard about that, can't say I'd do much against a /ship/ though." a shrug, then Nero comes tromping in with all kinds of pomp. "Hey Empress Noisypants." a roll of eyes, "Thanks."

    And then there's Kenji. "Whoa, dude, you look like you just walked through a warzone!" she's /actually/ worried, her entire expression changed in an instant. "You should be in Medical, not down here!"

Momoyo Kawakami (928) has posed:
     Momoyo grins wryly to Nero, but doesn't have much time to banter with the blonde Italian very much. She raises a hand, but her opponent's just arrived.

    "...You're in no condition to fight me, and none of us is going to use you as a punching bag, Kenji."

    She narrows her eyes, while Yang abruptly goes to tend to his festering wounds. "Nero... look at him. He looks like he's ready to go to the gallows, not to fight me." The Emperor and Yang both knew exactly how this was going to go. She came for a fight, but she was going to refuse to be an executioner as best she could.

Kenji Kawasaki (715) has posed:
     "I'm fine," Kenji says, shrugging his shoulders and hiding the wince. "I can't sit down there for hours. Not right now. Sorry."

     If he sits down it will catch up with him. Allenby. Alfonso. Everything. It'll come crashing over him and drown him in a wave of powerlessness and despair and the last thing he wants, the /last/ thing he wants, is to be that guy. To be that guy who's moping about shit all the time. To be that guy who can't do anything because he's so miserable.

     It's a bad decision. Kojin already told him so. Kojin told him so a *lot*. But if he doesn't *do* something, if he doesn't *hit* something, he won't be able to think through it. He needs to be moving, he needs to be active, he needs...he needs this. He needs it right now. He needs the mindlessness of violence, the heart-pounding, pulse-pounding adrenaline.

     Kenji's fingers go to his head. "I'll go to medical right after this. Look, just..."

     It takes him a moment.

     "...just don't make me go lie in a bed right now, okay? I need this."

Nero (880) has posed:
     Nero just smirked at Yang and Momoyo's concerns. A stark contrast.

     "And what of it? You can clearly see that this man here, Sir Kawasaki, has come to settle matters." She cants her head in his direction. "...Perhaps settle matters that currently addle his mind, more than his body." And a glance to Momoyo again. "As a true warrior, you surely cannot turn down a man that is facing not only you, but himself as well, no?"

     "Therefore...engage him. The outcome of the battle is not what matters. But what your fists convey to one another."

Yang Xiao Long has posed:
    Yang frowns a bit, then looks back at Momoyo questioningly.

    The blonde brawler isn't an empath, but she can read people easily enough that Kenji's emotional state is all but shouting at her. "I'm not as strong as either of you... but if you need to hit something, I might be the sturdier target." she says, glancing back at Kenji after the offer's made.

Kenji Kawasaki (715) has posed:
     Nero's not wrong. The way Kenji's looking, the look in his eye, the way his hands are moving - he's not here for an execution. He's not depressed. He's working something out, something that he can't work out in a hospital bed, or something he doesn't feel he's capable of working out in a hospital bed. It's hard to tell, but it's there.

     A ball of reluctant fire appears in his hand. It is clearly reluctant, because it's flickering away from him, but he shoves it into his chest anyway.

     "KOJINSHINTAI!"

     His clothes burn white. His hair turns to flame. His eyes burst into fire. An ashen symbol draws itself on his tanktop.

     "I don't care," Kenji tells Yang and Momoyo, "I don't care which of you. I'll fight you both if you want."

     "I'm not here to die."

Momoyo Kawakami (928) has posed:
     "Tch." she spits, moving to the center of the ring and shoving Kenji down the stairs by the shoulder. She couldn't have put it anywhere near as elegantly, but Nero was absolutely right. And having fought the Servant, she wasn't about to argue any further. "No, Yang, I challenged him... the Ring will keep him alive so I'll be merciful and make sure he leaves it unconscious." she mutters. A man might have argued with him more, but in this moment she knew what needed to be done. And besides, Nero was all but ready with fruit and popcorn.

    She gives the customary bow to Kenji at least twenty feet apart, before her open-palmed hand comes up beside her in her ready stance. She was going to hit first, but needed to be sure he was able to stand. "You're always such an idiot, Kenji." she muses, though it's not as if she would have been any different given similar circumstances.

Yang Xiao Long has posed:
    Yang watches the pair, pensive and looking worried. "Stubborn as a Goliath... Just glad we're not on Remnant." she climbs up to the stands, pointedly leaving Nero plenty of space.

Nero (880) has posed:
     Nero glanced aside at Yang. "Why, Lady Yang, why so distant?" Feigning surprise, she brought a hand to her chest. "I feel as if we do not know each other any more! What has happened to you?"

     Dramatics aside, the Roman Emperor's gaze settled back onto the two figures below, expression evening out into one of calm observation. "What sort of answer will Sir Kawasaki find, I wonder."

Kenji Kawasaki (715) has posed:
     Relief, visibly, washes over him. The dead-eyed expression gives way to a dim smile. "Thanks," he tells Yang and Momoyo, "For worrying about me."

     Was he really so afraid that they'd worry him into Medical? Was that something that was weighing so heavily on the young man's soul - that he might be trapped with his own thoughts, immobile, forced to contend with his emotions without an outlet?

     Probably.

     Kenji returns the bow to Momoyo, which looks perhaps a bit funny, because he's floating in the air and also on fire, partially. He hits the ground, taking up a stance - and then, in seconds, just goes right in. It's almost a repeat of their last fight, except this time there's no teleporting, no fancy flickering, nothing like that. Kenji's roar is a roar of frustration and anger as he charges Momoyo.

     And he's picked up some things since they last fought, too. His punch is smoother, cleaner, than it was last time. It's more direct force, more direct/ed/ force. Behind that fist is anger, deep and furious anger. It's not sorrow, or despair, or moping over his own weakness. It's fury, raw and uncompromising.

     And this time, at the end of his hand, it's not a fire.

     It's a fucking explosion.

Yang Xiao Long has posed:
    Yang isn't ignoring Nero... well she /is/ but her focus is more pressed toward the fight beginning. Her eyes have taken on a more darkly purple tone as she focusses that Ki sight skill, drawing on her Aura to watch the ebb and flow of the two fighters energies... and she's nearly blinded by the raw power of that first punch.

Momoyo Kawakami (928) has posed:
     Kenji's first attack was similar to Ageha Kuki's, but had a force all it's own. While her eyebrow raised blocking even such an explosion, she could note that his technique tightened up. If it weren't for his wounds he'd be that much closer to sewing up the gap between them nicely. She was right not to let Yang take him on, she still wasn't ready. Re-closing the distance, she punches back in a blur. Dozens of punches, two or three kicks in a row, a vicious uppercut, all in succession as she continued to trade blows. His offense was cleaner, but he probably wasn't in the mood for defense in his current state.

    "Musou Seikenzuki Midareuchi!!!"

    Her assault begins brutally as well, with the two-dozen cannonfire punches fired near-simultaneously. She wasn't about to underestimate him, but it would be better to go all-out and end this quickly. She had an end-game in mind that Kenji wasn't aware of yet, but needed to see how the early and mid played out first.

Kenji Kawasaki (715) has posed:
     Momoyo meets Kenji with a cannonfire brigade, and will be shocked to learn that despite his state of mind, despite his overwhelming anger, he's apparently *learned something* since they last fought. He meets her fists with his, parrying wherever he can with blow after blow.

     It's not perfect. Kenji's fists aren't as fast as Momoyo's. Each hit hurts his hands, his already-wounded hands, and the hits that do get through punch through his defense and leave fist-shaped bruises on his chest, pushing him backwards along the arena with each hit.

     Momoyo is hoping for a quick finish. Kenji is hoping to have plenty of time to work out his anger.

     The Banchou of Taiyou High's hand swings upwards.

     "GOD COLLIIIIIIDAAAAAAAAAAAA!"

     The Shinra Rookie swings his fist forwards. He's not even close to Momoyo - he's nearly half the ring away at this point. It's almost laughably clumsy, a full-power swing that looks like it took him off balance. What was he even doing?

     The answer is made apparent a mere split second later. A massive pillar of fire comes pouring down from the sky out of *absolutely nowhere*, directly above Momoyo. The fire rolls outwards as it hits the ground, spilling across the arena like a deluge.

Yang Xiao Long has posed:
    Yang winces her eyes half closed. "So much... power..." tears actually well up in the corners as she shuts off the Ki sense hands coming up to cover her eyes for a moment or two. When she opens them again... the entire arena is bathed in fire.

Momoyo Kawakami (928) has posed:
     "AAAAAAHHHH!" She screamed in agony. It was a good, solid direct hit. Her clothing was singed, the school jacket around her neck all but useless now. She would have to pay to get it replaced again. That was, however, in her mind, a finisher move. Hitting an opponent with a move that large in the beginning while they were fresh would only motivate them to be more careful. She staggered, but weathered the attack quite well. "Restoration..." she murmured, healing wounds that, at first glance, looked nearly as bad as the ones Kenji started with. "If that's the way you wanna play it..."

    She hopped up into the air herself to get out of the flaming arena, performing a good-looking somersault to avoid any other incoming attacks. "Kawakami-HAAAA!"

    A wave of her violet aura converted to gold as she blasted it back at Kenji. Even at the supersonic speed this blast moved, many fighters would be tempted to dodge it, but she doubted Kenji was in that sort of mood and she was now going to have to stay in the air to avoid all the smoke on the ground. Kenji's attack had set the remaining terms of the match, most of her observed matches at this point didn't stay aerial for very long. She was sufficiently pissed off now to match Kenji's fury, as she clearly hadn't taken him seriously at the start.

Kenji Kawasaki (715) has posed:
     Momoyo is right. Kenji doesn't bother to dodge. The young Banchou instead turns, moving like a rugby player about to shoulder-check someone on the other team. He bends his damaged shoulder into the shot.

     Violet aura hammers into the place Geralt of Rivia's silver sword had sliced, and that he had later cauterized. There's a nasty crack.

     The impact of Momoyo's aura nearly sends Kenji out of the ring, shoving him down face-first into the ground, and his own fire, after a spinning arc through the air. He bounces once, letting out a roar of frustrated pain. His arm is probably broken. There's another scream of pain as he hits the ground again, right on that arm, after that catastrophic impact.

     The fire disperses - it was never meant to stay around, after all - as Kenji reaches up, staring at Momoyo. He grabs his shoulder and *shoves* it back into place, and there's another ugly noise as he does so. He grits his teeth through it. That specific area on his body bursts into flames as he stands.

     There's a wild grin on his face as he vanishes into the floor.

     This is where he lives. This is where he is most comfortable. It's not out talking to people. It's not being an asshole. It's not connecting with other human beings, because God knows after what happened he's not sure he's ready for that for a long, long time. It's *violence*. Pure, untamed, wild violence. This is where he is at his best.

     Kenji comes roaring out of the ground directly behind Momoyo. He goes right for her shoulders, moving to hook his own arms up and under to put her in a sleeper hold. That wild grin, close to Momoyo's ear, parts.

     "Thanks for not holding back."

     "GOD FIIIIIIIYYYYYYYYYYYYAAAAAAAAAAAAAAH!"

     Every part of Kenji ignites at once. It's almost like the God Collider, but this time, it's not coming down - it's going up, a blazing pillar of fury roaring out of Kenji's body as he releases his anger and frustration and problems into his own aura, and then weaponizes it for maximum effect.

     And if Momoyo is caught in his grapple, then she's right in the center of the conflagration from its origin point.

Momoyo Kawakami (928) has posed:
     Having no choice but to endure the flames, Momoyo is caught in the blast as well. Evidently this was going to be a battle to see who was tougher, dodging was not going to be an option for either party. Gritting her teeth, the heat was more painful than the flame itself, but she did have an answer to this. Swiftly reaching down before the sleeper hold completes, she snatches Kenji's leg up against her, driving her shoulder /hard/ into the one he just reinserted back into it's so<span style="color:ket.

    cxterm93">"Kawakami Driver!!!"</span>

    At that point of course, she simply let herself fall with him. If he couldn't match her raw strength in his wounded state, not with a mere burst but finding leverage in mid-air, he would be helplessly crushed between her 140 lbs. weight, his own weight and the ground. More ribs were going to get cracked, if not all of them, and the state of his collarbone would be unknown after such a fall. "You're doing good, Kenji!!! But if your next move doesn't stop me, I'm putting you out cold!!! You can't keep this up like I can!" It was unknown what move she would pull out next, but she seemed extremely confident she could force him into Medical rather than end the fight normally. What did she have up her sleeve that was only going to get harder to block with broken bones...?

Kenji Kawasaki (715) has posed:
     Kenji's leg goes upwards, and that immediately worries him, but it's too late - he's committed now, and girls hate guys who break committments.

     Momoyo dislocates his shoulder. Again. The sickening pop comes with its own scream as Momoyo hammers him into the ground. There's definitely a cracked rib in there, at least one, and the state of his collarbone is - well, it's probably fucked-up, but fortunately this is the multiverse, where medicine comes with white magic and all sorts of other ridiculous bullshit.

     But the wild grin hasn't gone away. "You're pretty fucking cocky!"

     "I'LL TAKE THAT CHALLENGE!"

     Kenji's free hand snaps up and goes right for her face. There's no attempt to break her grapple, no attempt to get himself into a better position. He just shoves his hand against her skull. "HERE WE GO!"

     The fire around Kenji's right hand seems to solidify. It hardens around his arm like a glove - a glove with two burning eyes and four 'arms' projected in front of it. The fire races along his body into the glove, setting it alight with lines of flame.

     In the center of the four arms, fire builds. It builds and builds and builds, spinning furiously in the air like a miniature sun - a miniature sun directly in front of Momoyo's face. She's getting not only the discharge, but the *build-up*.

     "KOOOOOOOOOOOOJIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIN!"

     "CAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAANNNONNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNN!"

     Kenji releases the miniature sun *directly into her face*, with enough backlash to send his arm slamming into the ground. The sun expands rapidly, flying upwards into the air until it hits the artificial ceiling, where it smolders and burns. The divine fireball finally explodes in the air.

Yang Xiao Long has posed:
    Yang's eyes go wide. "MOMOYO!" she calls out, just about ready to leap over the guard railing and break up the fight, when Kenji starts building up a damn FUSION BALL right in Momoyo's face.

Momoyo Kawakami (928) has posed:
     She didn't have a choice, but with that shoulder dislocated she could at least ensure her move would come out sooner. She couldn't stop it, but she could certainly limit the damage by following through with her original plan. When she sat up, her red eyes widened as her pupils dilated when his move started... it was not going to be a pretty attack. Nevertheless, her fists moved with instant muscle memory, a much quieter move as this was one of finesse and not sheer strength. It wasn't a standard knock-out, after all.

    "Kawakami Style Hidden Technique: Kaleidoscope Genma Fist..."

    Her fist was a simple quick punch to the temple... but she was only going to send him immediately into his nightmares to face everything he was fighting to keep back unbeknownst to her. It would not be a peaceful sleep at all... but it was a well deserved response to this technique. Kenji was not in a position to resist a mental attack, but who knows how much of that fire she would put out before the accelerated healing of the Ring would keep her indisposed for an hour or two rather than a few minutes...?

Nero (880) has posed:
     Through all of this, Nero just watches. Her arms crossed and an entertained smirk on her face. It was akin to an old timer watching the youngin's work out their dramatic frustrations.

     Or like a theater goer watching the climax of a play. Either way, she was not worried in the slightest.

Kenji Kawasaki (715) has posed:
     Fist taps his temple. Kenji slumps backwards a mere instant before the shot goes off, and the Kojin Cannon discharges straight upwards rather than directly into her head. The ridiculous heat is still crazy intense as it passes by and explodes in the cieling, gouging a hole out of the false landscape.

     A moment later, Kenji's hair and eyes stop burning. His jacket goes black. What remains of his tank-top (and there is not much, after the back-to-back assault from the Shadow and then Momoyo) is torn and shredded.

     The fire, as his clothes burn black again, all congeals on the ash emblem on his chest. The ashes burst into flame, then rise, a tiny little ball of fire visible for just an instant before it *puffs* and disperses into invisibility.

Momoyo Kawakami (928) has posed:
     Momoyo's face was still singed and red from the heat, at least a first degree burn. She was, however, still conscious. Slowly she stood up and dusted herself off. "Yang... get him to medical. And have them tranq him. Hard. Put him in a coma for a week or he'll wake up from the worst nightmare he's ever experienced in a few hours traumatized. He'll start sleep-talking soon." she mutters.

    She turns her wounded face to Nero over her shoulder. "So... are ya happy, you sadist?" she quips. She's breathing heavily, though, were it not for the intensity of the attacks she still looks like she could have put up with another hour of Kenji's tantrum.

Nero (880) has posed:
     At Momoyo's question, Nero just smiled, clapping her hands in light applause. "Oh yes. Very! It is always wonderful to see the children work out their frustrations in such a rousing manner!" This really was a play to her, wasn't it?

     "I should hope that Sir Kawasaki comes out of this a better man than he was before." A glance towards his fallen body. "And if not..." Shrug!" "...Well, that is also human nature! Ah ha ha ha ha!"

Yang Xiao Long has posed:
    Yang leaps over the railing, rolls on landing and runs over. "Got it!" she scoops up Kenji and turns to carry him off to medical, calling ahead with her Scroll to get the emergency team on standby and an induced coma unit ready. "You're such an idiot." she chides the unconscious man.

Momoyo Kawakami (928) has posed:
     Momoyo just shakes her head. She didn't know what exactly caused all that, but she had a better idea of his emotional trauma than anyone else in the arena at that point. The humor was entirely lost on her. "I should have beat you even harder Nero..." she mumbles under her breath, clearly unimpressed... but she still respected the Servant after all. It was her turn to sit in the Ring, right on the steps like it was a spa for a few minutes.