3783/Strength versus Strength

Strength versus Strength
Date of Scene:	09 February 2016
Location:	Njorun Station - Ring of Philosophy
Synopsis:	Hoshi Amakasu and Yang Xiao Long, two of the strongest fighters of their worlds duke it out in a friendly sparring match. Kendo Might versus Berserk Brawler!
Cast of Characters:	901, Yang Xiao Long, Mairead Sandilands

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Yang Xiao Long has posed:
    Blipbeepbeepbiddleep.

    Yang's fingers dance across the Ring's control console, setting up a level sparring field. It looks exactly like the Ampetheatre at Beacon, complete with an 'Aura Meter' screen.

    Once she's set up, the blonde descends to the arena floor, and stands on the far side of the arena from the entrance, stretching out and getting ready for Amakasu's arrival.

Mairead Sandilands has posed:
    Mairead Sandilands walks in, with some bandages on her hand and face after the beating she got from Nima. She walks in and finds a seat as she looks at her ring and sighs.

Hoshi Amakasu (901) has posed:
    How funny that this place never really looked the same whenever she visited. It's pretty cool, actually, being able to fight almost anywhere while not actually leaving Njorun.

    And speaking of fighting, in came Hoshi not long after Yang had started preparing herself, wearing her kendo armor like she usually does for a fight, sans the helmet that's stuck in the crook of her arm. "Hi Yang! I'm not late, am I?"

    She slips on her helmet and pulls out her hairtie-sword, making it shift to it's blade form, and draws it. "Do we want any rules, or anything goes? Other than that, I'm ready to go when you are."

Yang Xiao Long has posed:
    "How about First to Fall, no holds barred otherwise?" she suggests, watching the sword deploy then grinning a bit. She's seen several weapons that have more than one form, including her own.

    Speaking of Ember Celica, Yang gets into position, then with a minor flourish, deploys her gauntlets with a series of mechanical clicks and whirrs as the mechanisms unfold. She pumps her right arm back, ejecting a dummy case from the chamber, then assumes a boxing-like stance, arms a bit wider apart than normal... almost like a bear's stance. "Challenged goes first, I challenged you, so you get first swing." she says, grinning brightly.

    The screen lights up, showing Yang's portrait with a bar filled with multicoloured light and a percent marking above it. Currently reading 100. Amakasu's side of the board does much the same, the Ring simulating 'Aura' to make it easier to call a fight before things get too far.

Hoshi Amakasu (901) has posed:
    The kendo girl grins a bit in return for the rules Yang sets. Sounds about right. Hopefully she'd set it so that neither of them would need medical attention afterwards. "Seems legit. Alright then... Let's do this."

    How polite. She gets first hit. Well, before she actually goes in she makes sure to reach under her gi to pull out her silver locket and pop it open, revealing the slight blue glimmer around it. As far as she's aware, Yang hasn't actually seen her Persona, or at least not fought it. Surprises in battle are always good to have.

    So she'll wait to summon Rosamond. She bows deeply in respect for the fight. "May the best girl win." THen she takes up a standard kendo stance and slowly stalks forward, keeping up on her toes. She suddenly darts forward and flicks her wrists to send the tip of the blade for Yang's face like a whip. It's a good way to test for reaction speed without putting herself in too much danger.

Yang Xiao Long has posed:
    Yang's pretty quick, and that whipped strike clacks hard against a gauntlet, making the blonde rock a bit to the side from the impact. Her meter drops by 2 points, and a minor wash of white energy flows out from the point of impact.

    "Not bad!" remarks Yang, pushing the kendo weapon aside, then firing a shell from her left gauntlet. It's aimed the wrong way though, sending the blonde spinning rapidly until she whips out a spinning roundhouse kick aimed at Hoshi's midsection in response.

Hoshi Amakasu (901) has posed:
    Well, that was about what she expected. Once she's deflected Hoshi immediately steps back and brings her guard back up. Which is nice, because it gives her the chance to try and sidestep away from that shell. That... missed. And Yang was whirling around, and Hoshi just stepped towards her leg...

    Okay, maybe this wasn't quite expected. Oops.

    So Hoshi ends up taking that kick to the side with a loud groan and a couple hunched-over sidesteps as she tries to catch her breath again. "Urgh... Gah. Wow, I've never fought like this." She fought a lot more erratically than Hoshi was used to. But there should be ways to take advantage, right?

    Her reaction is still fairly swift--a lunging stab at Yang's midsection, which will probably be blocked--but she immediately transitions by bringing her arms and the blade around her head to hack at Yang's neck, and tries to follow up with a shove from her shoulder to put the other girl on her heels while she tries to resume defensive position.

Yang Xiao Long has posed:
    Now, Yang's fast on her feet, but even she can't keep up with so many attacks coming in quick succession. She parries the gut shot, but gets whacked by the neck swipe, which staggers her for the shoulder barge.

    Yang nearly topples over, but recovers enough to roll instead, and fires two shells behind her as she hits her feet again, propelling her forward for a high speed straight punch, accompanied by yet another shotgun blast at the point of impact!

Hoshi Amakasu (901) has posed:
    It worked! One of the things Hoshi loved about the katana was how well transitions between strikes could go, very fluid and such. So that's all good. And, Yang's means of attack is actually a lot more predictable this time. So, Hoshi raises her sword up to catch the blow, even adding her other hand as support. Thankfully the blade has been hardened so it wouldn't just snap like a twig to someone with super strength... but that doesn't help her with the shotgun blast.

    "Gaaah!" The blast sends her back, tumbling over herself as her blade goes flying a few feet away. A little worse for wear, she grunts and forces herself to stand. Now was the time to pull out her trump card.

    Hoshi takes firm hold of her locket as she cries, "PERSONA!" There's a sound of glass shattering as blue mist explodes around her and behind her, forming into Rosamond's large hooded visage. The sword bride in the mud-stained dress raises the huge broadsword she carries and points it into the air. From the very tip came a bright golden glow, that was suddenly reflected around Yang's person in golden prayers and scripts that began to burn,then explode with Light magic.

    It's not very powerful, but it's the only sort of range Hoshi has, and it might give her a moment to run for her sword so she's not personally defenseless.

Yang Xiao Long has posed:
    Yang grins as she disarms Hoshi. "Need to work on your defense! That was just a love tap!" she calls, then blinks, the grin fading as Rosamond appears. "That's a thing..." This leaves her defenseless against the sudden MAGIC attack... well, okay she does the usual shounen thing of crossing her arms over her face to weather the damage, though it seems to work fairly well.

    Her meter drops a good chunk of 25 points, but the resulting dust cloud is torn apart as Yang herself literally explodes, sending a wave of flame and kinetic force around her position. "You've seen my normal state... this is what I like to call, Super Yang."

    Her hair is quite literally glowing now, with licks of yellow flame wafting through it, and as Amakasu goes for her sword, Yang leaps forwards, charging in to try and close the distance and intercept her opponent with a flurry of punches that don't use the shotgun blast.

Hoshi Amakasu (901) has posed:
    Even in the middle of battle, Hoshi can't help but grin a bit when she gets to see Yang eat her words. "C'mon, my magic's not even that strong," she fires back teasingly.

    Thankfully for her, Rosamond is controlled by Hoshi's thoughts, and one's thoughts can go rather fast. As Yang reveals herself in her 'Super Yang' and charges, Rosamond moves to intercept. It's interesting, though, the way she walks is rather delicate, like a dancer, but she whips that giant blade around along her forearm to take the punches along it. It doesn't work perfectly, and a couple get through to hit the Persona, which causes Hoshi to grimace and wince as she finally gets her blade, but it's a far better defense than she could've put up alone.

    Underneath the Persona's green hood, her golden eyes twinkle for just a moment as her free hand suddenly snakes out to try to snatch Yang by whatever she can grab. If that succeeds Yang will learn why Rosamond is of the Strength arcana, as she tries to bring Yang up over her head and then throw her bodily to the floor.

Yang Xiao Long has posed:
    There's an inherent flaw in being a berserk brawler. That's not really being able to dodge, and a grapple is very much no exception. Her entire world becomes a blurr as she's hefted up, then unceremoniously slammed into the ground hard enough to leave a crater.

    That seems like it, Yang doesn't seem to be getting up fro--- "Heh... Ow."

    The dust once again explodes clear, and Yang reveals herself with a burning flame-like aura, her eyes beginning to turn a different shade of purple, darkening from lilac to royal purple. The meter on the board reads: 49, but Yang seems to be getting STRONGER!

    "This, is the second stage of my Semblence. Lets call it Super Two." She offers playfully, grinning wildly now. Amakasu, if she's watched them, might see a parallel with Momoyo in the blonde brawler, as she slams her fists together and kicks off the ground, actually managing to blurr out and reappear beside Rosamond with a heavy right hook, which explodes violently with a shotgun blast far bigger than the previous ones!

Hoshi Amakasu (901) has posed:
    For a moment Hoshi actually dares to ease up a bit. There's a freaking crater in the round, guys. Usually that's a pretty good indicator for a fight being over. Or, at least it should. With normal people who have normal fights. There's no such thing as a normal fight in the Multiverse, though. Cold facts.

    So Yang was up again and pulling some 'you haven't even seen my true form' stuff. Which is probably accurate, but it's bad news for Hoshi, as the dumbfounded look on her face might suggest. "Aww, man..." She really has to wonder sometimes how low on the power scale she ended up rolling. Even Rosamond isn't fast enough to intercept, so she gets the blow full on the side and is forced to take a couple steps away. Hoshi, meanwhile, is driven to her knees by the sensation transmitted through their bond. It's like her brain is on fire plus getting hit by a car on the side. What even was her number, anyway? 45? 40? Pain?

    As Hoshi struggles to control her thoughts, ROsamond begins to fade in and out of existance until she fades into blue mist. Upon which Hoshi takes up her katana and lets out a muted, pained scream as she charges forward. She's heavily favoring her right side, so her attacks aren't as fast as before, but she's trying to balance that by trying to keep Yang on the defensive, striking at her from as many angles as she can without putting strain on her side.

    She needs to collect her thoughts to summon Rosamond again. Hopefully Yang doesn't just simply teleport away again, or this may be... painful.

Yang Xiao Long has posed:
    Yang's fast, but she needs leverage to get to 'flash step' levels, so she can't escape the charging slashes. Once more, gauntlets shield her and she parries the blows, dancing backwards as each hit chips away at her Aura, the white light flaring orange-yellow with each hit. Some get through her defense, and an angry orange-yellow flare signals each impact, knocking the blonde further away.

    That's when she explodes one final time, the kinetic wave enough to fracture the ground beneath her feet this time, and causing her hair to billow out in a great golden plume. "This, is the final step." she says, nearly growling the words as her eys finish changing, purple giving way to a baleful, angry red which stares into the very soul.

    However, instead of diving back in, Yang racks the slides in her gaunlets, locking in a different shell type. THe previous ones were orange with red tips, these are red with orange tips, and the different becomes readily apparent once she starts punching the empty air, and essentially 'throwing' explosive packets of red energy at the swordswoman. They go off like grenades, leaving craters and cracking the side wall as some simply go wide from the erratic launch method.

Hoshi Amakasu (901) has posed:
    So, there's something important to this. Instead of just flash-stepping around her attacks and making her eat them, Yang actually has to sit there and take the blows. She needed space to do that kind of work. That's good info to know. Sadly Hoshi can't push the attack any further, as the kinetic wave surprises her and forces her back several steps. The evil horrific look on Yang's face is another issue entirely. It actually makes the kendo girl shiver. It's like looking at a Shadow.

    The berserk brawler doesn't charge in again, though. She's... switching ammo? And the reason for which becomes readily apparent when one of those red blooms blow up just a few inches wide, nearly sending her bowling over to the side as she cries out. Her gi is mostly gone, and what remains is charred black. The rest of her isn't looking much better. But there's a small gap... One that Hoshi has no choice but to take.

    As red explosions go off around her, Hoshi charges straight on to Yang's front. Or tries to, there's a little area where the fire is less intense, Unfortunately she gets tagged a couple more times, pushing her this way and that. She actually drops her sword eventually, hazy thoughts only focused on moving forward... And se goes to her knees and tries to grab Yang around the waist. Like a hug! Only...

    "I am thou, and thou art I..." she's mumbling to herself, eyes unfocused. Her rational mind shuts off... But Rosamond starts to form again above the two. "Rosamond..." she croaks. The Persona's eyes gleam as she whirls around like a top in midair and tries to cleave her giant sword through Yang's chest. Apparently Hoshi's whole point in this was to make sure Yang didn't move, and hit or miss the kendo girl will slide down into a barely-quivering mess on the floor.

Yang Xiao Long has posed:
    CHUNKSHLUCK.

    "Gyhhhnn..."

    <Finishing Blow recorded. Winner, Hoshi Amakasu.> calls out the Ring's automated system. <Resetting Parameters. Stand By.>

    As Yang collapses with Rosamond's sword through her chest, the Ring whirrs to life, and everything 'resets'. Damaged clothes are refreshed, fatigue lifts and most of those nasty burns fade away, leaving only light scuffs and minor bruising, Stuff that'll fade out in a day or so.

    Yang lays there, staring into nothing, before she starts to laugh, quiet at first, before growing in intensity and finally becoming an uproarous gaffawing which has her rolled into a ball on her side.

Hoshi Amakasu (901) has posed:
    "I am thou, and thou art I... I am thou, and thou art I... I am thou, and thou art--"

    Blink.

    As Hoshi's mind clears from the pain--mostly--and from the haze of battle when the Ring resets. The Persona that was still menacing Yang quickly fades away once Hoshi's gotten firm command of her thoughts again. Pushing herself up to her knees would reveal that she'd fallen right in front of Yang, and Yang was dying. Of laughter!... Why?

    "Uh... Y-yang... I didn't actually hurt you too badly, right? Why are you laughing?" As put off as Hoshi is, she still comes over on her knees to offer Yang help to sit up. Yang's laughter proves infectious enough for Hoshi to start snickering under her breath. "Yang... are you okay? Kehe... W-why are you laughing? Haha. Hahaha!" And then Hoshi's pressing her hand to her mouth as she starts to giggle out loud too.

    "G-good fight, Yang. Thanks... Heh. For coming."

Yang Xiao Long has posed:
    Yang manages to calm down a little, still snickersnorting occasionally as she sits up, and gives Hoshi a big old BEAR HUG. "That. Was. AWESOME! You're really strong, y'know that? I mean, wow, that... what was that?" she seems, giddy. There's some definite parallels with Momoyo, but Yang seems farm more content to have a good brawl, win or lose, than Momoyo's drive to be the strongest, the best.

    Yang releases Amakasu and flips to her feet, then offers a hand to the other girl. "C'mon, I'm starving, lets hit up the cafeteria."

Hoshi Amakasu (901) has posed:
    Despite letting out a little 'ghk' sound when she's squeezed, Hoshi laughs again when she's got her breath back. "Heh... Thanks. I owe it all to Rosamond, though. Still, it /was/ a really good match." Bonus points, she didn't freak out or have bad flashbacks, either. Progress!

    Taking the offered hand, the kendo girl grins as she gets to her feet and goes to collect her fallen sword. "Sounds like a plan. I'll buy, we should celebrate a bit. I'm thinking... some tonkotsu ramen and boba tea after."

Yang Xiao Long has posed:
    Yang shrugs a bit, and drapes an arm around Amakasu's shoulders. "Whatever you say, Amakasu... that sounds like Mistral food to me, there's a shop in Vale that caters for Mistralese food, kinda nice, but leaves you wanting more." she relates, then lets go again, lacing her fingers behind her head as she strides off out of the Ring.