Scene #7504: A Backlog of Offerings

Owner	Pose
Miyamomo	The Uehara urban area is constructed from most of where Suwa used to be. Mostly it extends from where the northwestern part of Suwa used to be, around Lake Suwa and then terminating past the reconstructed Castle Uehara. The city swelled in the days after The Onslaught, now sitting at a respectable population of approximately 200,000. The areas that were once Suwa, by the river and along the lake shore, have modernized heavily. Schools and hospitals with a long pedigree rub shoulders there, alongside an actual harbour that uses the river to facilitate trade with other enclosed towns. The rest of the city, mostly the newly built things around the castle and spreading up the nearby Mount Kirigamine, looks very 16th century Japanese, giving the place the mish-mashed feeling so common to Japan in this world. It's very pretty, with many parks and gardens giving the place a green, vibrant feel. The people seem hardy, but are very transparently superstitious. The new arrivals are given a subtle berth, the locals unsure of what they represent. It's to be expected. The Suwa clan has a legacy of priesthood extending way back. They even claim direct descendancy from Takeminakata-no-Kami, god of wind and water. They, obviously, don't have much patience for yokai, and the people share than sentiment. The sooner the Paladins pick up their newest member and leave, the better. But there's an issue there. Their contact is a woman wearing a broad hat and robes that reach the ground. But her slitted eyes shine faintly under the shade of her hat, giving her nature as a nekomata away. The outfit is obviously intended to hide her features. She bows deeply to the arriving Elites and says, "A thousand pardons but... the kitsune, Miyamomo. She gave us the slip a few days ago. We've been struggling to find her, but..." A commotion from up the crowded street. Someone is fleeing, a man with a lean face and sandy hair, weaving through the crowds with an incredible deftness, as a furious chef gives chase, brandishing a cleaver. "STOP THEM!" he shouts. "IT'S THE FEAST-N-FLEER!" Those words send a ripple through the people, and several make an attempt to grab at the fellow. He bobs and jukes each and every one, frustrating his capture time and again. "Ah... that's the thief that's been going around and leaving restaurants without paying the past few days," the nekomata says, having backed up as much as she can least she be jostled by the incensed crowd. She has clearly not drawn the obvious links here. But even if it's not her, can Paladins stand idly by and let a thief escape?!
Lilian Rook	First things first, Lilian has to do a little background explanation of why they're meeting a Nekomata in the middle of one of the big Clan Territories; the only equivalent of Urban Centers in Japan, eleven in total. The request comes down from a group called the 'Ayakashi Special Interests Symposium', which is right on the letter. She says it once, and then abbreviates to ASIS from thereon, because it's a mouthful. This is a group formed of exclusively Japanese, Chinese, and Korean non-humans, shortly after the Onslaught, where all masquerades were historically broken and the presence of these beings was widely believed in for the first time since the Sengoku period. Given how immense the importance of magic grew as the time period went on, as conventional force dwindled in both availability and effectiveness, and how much disparate lineages, groups, and traditions were forced to consolidate and work together, this even included ancient enclaves and individuals all the way from land spirits to youkai. Though Antegent don't seek them out in particular, the destructive effects on the Earth, its leylines, and availability of magic, was certainly a joint threat to everything alive, and these entities ended up shoulder to shoulder with humanity at the worst of it. Its founder, knowing not to let an opportunity slip, managed to round up a number of influential and powerful co-signers, and establish that unified body of non-humans in the far east as a singular group, with collective bargaining ability and political sway, where they might return to ignorable --and thus oustable-- statue individually. Strongly based in the Mt. Fuji independent region, they have a lot of sway diffused amongst the clans and far eastern Enlightened bodies; this is something that not everyone likes, including diehard traditionalists and priestly stripes. Modern people still don't know much about them, which is how the powers that be like it, and rely on dredging up ancient myths and superstitions piecemeal to understand these affairs from afar. "So naturally, you can imagine what kind of a pain in the ass this is." Lilian concludes for all assembled on the way. "But getting inroads with the ASIS is an extremely rare opportunity. And I want them. You want them. So be on your best behaviour."
Go Shijima	'Be on your best behavior.' He can do that! A white, feet-forward superbike with red racing stripes passes through the warpgate. Atop it, in a matching hoodie, is a young man with amber hair and a boyishly crooked grin. A backpack is slung around his shoulder, and once he finds a place to park it, out comes his camera. The slight berth given him by the locals is cause enough for him to blink, and to self-consciously sniff at his collar. Did he leave his clothes in the wash for too long? No... Does he stink? No. "Weird," he mutters under his breath. It's just a short walk, from his parking spot to their rendezvous point, and he snaps a few choice pictures, focusing on the juxtaposition of old and new along the river. The final few feet of the distance between them is crossed by an agile somersault, the apex of which is host to a midair inverted pirouette. Gracefully touching down, he throws his arms wide. "Yo!" Miyamomo gave them the slip? He's about to open his mouth to give response, when word of a dine-and-dasher is shouted above the background din of city life. With a confident grin, Go peers through the viewfinder and snaps a few action shots of the crowd attempting to apprehend him. Then, the camera is stowed away. Go slings the backpack over his shoulder. Maybe it's not who they're looking for, but it never hurts to make a good impression, and besides--it seems wrong, somehow, to just stand back and let it happen. Another leap carries him remarkably high in the air for not being suited up, his high-top sneakers finding purchase along the side of the nearest building. He runs down the side of it, cutting ahead of the crowd, springing off the building just before he reaches the ground. Making a long, low leap, he attempts to land in front of the thief and strike a low sweep kick with the last of his momentum.
Muramasa	"Is that so .. " The mix of modern, urban architecture with the sprawls of an older age cut a special kind of contrast as they blended together. Muramasa wouldn't quite peg it as profound, but it certainly left a nostalgic impression. In some ways, it reminded him of Fuyuki, cut between the older buildings on one side of the river, and the newer ones constructed on the other side, connected by Fuyuki Bridge. Still, to think that in a certain point of time, that Suwa province would look like this was shocking. It'd be like returning to the Shimousa province, only to find it had been industrialized. Then again, who was to say that such a thing hadn't already happened? That the clan's priests believed themselves to be descended from Takeminakata-no-Kami was little surprise to him, as well, as distasteful as he found it. Perhaps, he supposed, there was some truth to the claim, but it was a common practice to claim divine right in your ownership to pacify dissenting voices. The irony in claiming to be descended from that god in particular was not lost on him, considering his place in the Kuni-Yuzuri; the transfer of the land to Ameterasu and her kin. Considering Lilian's concerns over intra-group relations as well as its connotations for the Paladins in this world as a whole, he aspired to keep his thoughts on these matters to himself. This is no time for a wandering mind, however. Muramasa's eyes, an amber so deep they almost had a golden sheen, focus in on the nekomata apologizing most gracefully in front of them. Although she had lost track of the fox spirit they were supposed to be inducting into the Paladins, he could hardly blame her -- for as diligent as she was, kitsune were always particularly mischievous and clever. Opening his mouth to gently dismiss the failure and suggest that they all simply put their heads together to track the ner-do-well down, a commotion interrupts the conversation with the appearance of a most infamous dining, dashing miscreant. Frowning and adjusting his flower-decorated haori, he considers the situation. That such a person, who if rumor was to be believed did in fact leave behind payment in an ancient currency that none considered valid in these times, would appear seemingly just as their would-be comrade vanished, is too circumstantial to draw a definitive conclusion from. It was very suspicious, however. But even if these events were unrelated, by chance, it wouldn't do to simply stand aside. It was never wrong to help others, after all, especially if they were in the position to do so. "Excuse me," he says to their contact, and moves to give chase to the fleeing person. "Trace on." Muttering his aria under his breath, he utilizes Reinforcement magecraft to boost his eyesight, allowing him to easily pick them out in the crowded streets for a more efficient pursuit. "Get back here, and explain yourself - !!"
Strawberry Princess	Neither of Strawberry's typical outfits would blend in terribly well here, but greeting a new member of the Paladins is somewhat official business. Accordingly, she's come in her full magical girl regalia: sleek mahou aesthetics blend with pastel golden-age superhero sensibilities; the wand slung over her back is obviously a magical instrument, snarled with dark gunmetal tubing and a cantaloupe-sized reactor. She defaults to a kind of amiable uneasiness in a city like this, greeting everyone with a sunnily heroic smile but obviously unsure of quite how to hold herself under their unspoken suspicion. Being an object of wariness is new to her, and it's painfully evident in her withdrawn posture and flinching maneuvering through the crowds. "It sounds- rough," she says to Lilian, while apologetically blowing her nose- all the greenery here seems to be getting to her. "These are- were, really... solitary creatures, weren't they? And then they all sort of got jammed together. Doesn't make for, uh, cohesive politics." During the brief moment when they get to speak to the disguised nekomata uninterrupted, she dons her most reassuring expression- an "It'll All Be Okay" kind of look. "What do you mean by 'gave you the slip'? Was she previously- in custody? Or were you just... keeping tabs on her?" Strawberry is, as usual, too 'Head Empty' to successfully connect the dine-and-dasher to their missing youkai- but she seems distinctly hesitant to pursue anyway, just flinching out of the way of the sandy-haired man as he passes. "Oh," she says simply, her uneasiness welling up again and tinging her sunny expression. "... Maybe he's just hungry? I don't think- most people wouldn't do crimes just for food, otherwise." Eventually she walks along after her teammates, if only to not let them get out of sight, but she doesn't seem particularly invested in stopping him herself!
Miyamomo	"Custody? No, not at all!" the nekomata says, refuting Strawberry emphatically. "She's just..." Now she's making a face, like she wants to be sensitive but really can't. "Old. She's been in her cave so long. She missed everything. The Onslaught, the Multiverse. We were trying to catch her up, but..." There's not much room to elaborate amidst the chase! Go goes high then comes down low on the Feast n Fleer. Up close, he can see that their eyes are closed, even as they dodge grasping hands. But as the Rider challenges them, they open for a moment, revealing a pair of slitted pupils. As Go's leg sweeps across their path, they jump, landing on a citizen's bent knee to use as a platform to go higher, their hand grabbing Go's shoulder to vault over him and continue fleeing. This is no common thief; those were the moves of an Elite. Muramasa gives chase, and yells at them to stop. And... they do? In the middle of a large intersection of four streets. The citizens begin to crowd around them, when suddenly... "Hey! They're going that way!" a voice calls from the back. And everyone just... heeds it, and runs down one of the streets? Leaving the Feast n Fleer alone with the Paladins. "That was an impressive display, running along the walls like that," they say, in a decidedly unmasculine voice. Their form becomes as smoke, dissipating to reveal a woman, scantily clad with dark purple hair, sharp amber eyes, and nine fox tails swaying behind her. "Lady Miyamomo!" the nekomata calls, coming up from behind. "Ah, Okuni. I was wondering where you went." "It's Akane ma'am... a-anyway! These are those Paladins we mentioned. They're here to pick you up." Myamomo looks from the brightly-colored Strawberry, to the serious-seeming Lilian, to the hooded Go, to the fiery Muramasa. "I see. So these are people from beyond the realm..." This whole time, she had a slightly glazed look in her eyes, but a gleam sparks in them as she suddenly shifts into a stance. Fists out, far from her body, feet planted. "Let us spar, here and now. And then I'll go with you."
Muramasa	Skidding to an abrupt stop as the civilians begin to disperse at the thief's own behest, Muramasa frowns mildly, his nose crinkling ever so slightly. Confirmation comes a heartbeat later, with a feminine voice. "Seems like it wasn't an unrelated incident after all, huh." With Akane attempting to reign the kitsune in, the Servant of the Sword rubs the back of his bright red head with a troubled ruffling, clicking his tongue. He truly didn't like dealing with fox spirits; even as graciously as the Tamamo no Mae associated with the Paladins acted, she still offended his sensibilities, so much so that even he had to give up the mental gymnastics to justify it. He supposed it helped that they shared a love of hot springs. "Such a troublesome person. The first thing you do after all this fuss is look for a scrap, you?" Letting the hand drop to his side, he sighs in a manner that seems to say, 'it just can't be helped'. "Well, you were polite enough to clear the area out, so if that's the only way to get some peace and quiet outta' this ... " "Fine." Motes of mana collected in his palm, the image in his mind being called to reality through the use of his unique brand of Projection magecraft, forming into a wooden sword adorned with a tiger-shaped charm. It radiated the intense fighting spirit of a the large cat in question, which Muramasa quickly held in a rather basic sword stance. There was no doubt that if it could growl, this Tora Shinai most certainly would. But at the end of the day, it was still a wooden practice sword. Once everyone had settled in and seemed ready, the swordsmith breathes in, "Okay ... we'll go until someone cries uncle. Go!" Advancing, he pulls the hilt back to his cheek for a swift thrust that cuts the wind as he aims to strike the blunt tip against Miyamomo's shoulder, coiling his arm to strike low against her ribcage before retreating in the next step.
Go Shijima	The thief's nimble escape is observed with widened eyes, as Go is made accessory to it--their leap off of the citizen's knee, and the subsequent placement of a hand upon his own shoulder, is performed so expertly that their weight is felt only for a moment. As everyone runs past him, Go stands back up, looking around in utter confusion. "Eh? But... they're right..." He turns back around, just to make sure. "There..." He lifts a hand to scratch at the back of his head. "Yeah? You're pretty good, too," he says, overcoming his confusion easily once he's praised. "It's no wonder these people made up a name for you, with that kinda skill." Go grins, nodding in agreement with Akane when she shows up. They wanna spar now? What a character... but I kinda wanna, just to see what other tricks they've got... "Okay," he decides. "I'll spar with you! But I'm not gonna hold back. Besides, Strawberry's already suited up, so we probably have lots of budget for this." After that cryptic remark, he procures the Mach Driver--a belt with a centerpiece resembling a motorcycle's exhaust pipe, with a clear chamber meant to hold something. Procuring a red-and-white miniature motorcycle and slamming it into that chamber creates two bursts of flame from the 'exhaust,' followed by an announcement and a jaunty jingle seemingly made of bike horns: Signal Bike! RIDER!! "Let's..." His right arm is held up, bent upwards at the elbow, left hand resting beneath the elbow. There's a dramatic flourish to reverse their positions, and a self assured nod. "Henshin!" MACH! A sleek bodysuit of lightweight white armor with two red vertical stripes down the left side appears, complete with a blue-visored full motorcycle helmet with V-shaped antennae, and a waist-length shoulder cape also at the left side. On the right side of the chest, at shoulder level, there's a wheel with the hubcap facing outwards. "Track..." There's the sound of a superbike's engine revving, as he speeds forward quickly enough to be a red-and-white blur. Of course he does the Spiel. But at least this time he's fighting and doing it. "Eradicate..." A dramatic moonsault over Muramasa and Miyamomo. "I'm always at..." Midair, his body twists, and he attempts to drive his heel into their shoulder. "Mach Speed!" Springing off, he lands about a foot behind Miyamomo. "Kamen Rideeeeer..." Three alternating side kicks, left, right, left. Yes, he's doing the whole thing. "Ma-ach!"
Strawberry Princess	THEN: "Old," Strawberry reiterates- she's looking down the street and away from Akane, unable to read the neko's grimacing expression, but the subtext is evident enough from her voice. "Oblivious to... all of this? Hundreds of years." A brief pause as her mouth settles into a queasy frown. "Wouldn't that be hard on her? Having... nostalgia, for things so far gone and buried." NOW: When the young man predictably reveals himself to be Miyamomo in the flesh(?), Strawberry instinctively reaches for the wand on her back- but then freezes an inch short, visibly hesitating. In the middle of a city- is this really okay? She can't possibly... What if she gets hurt? What if I get hurt? What if the city gets damaged? I don't like this. ... But I don't have to impress her. We just have to satisfy her. She's a martial artist, so she's expecting martial arts things, right? As her wand revs to life, Strawberry lifts off the ground on wings of white sparkles, soaring up to hover a good hundred feet above the unfolding fight. The glock would be more tactically sound here, but it'd be cheating, wouldn't it? When Muramasa and Go's melee assault presents an opening, she dives down at falcon-like speeds, aiming to slam her boot directly into the kitsune's head and then launch herself horizontally away! It's definitely, noticeably softballed, as her next words reinforce. "Miyamomo! We- I don't want to hurt you. Not for real, I mean. ... Will you really be alright?"
Lilian Rook	Lilian herself incidentally has something semi-appropriate to wear. Ostentatiously semi-appropriate. A white and red over black ensemble strongly suggestive of a shrine maiden's colours and cuts, restyled for active movement, and subtly threaded with gold accents that are really incredibly fine kanji. She's even let her hair totally down, given black, long, and straight are the traditional norm here, though being pretty white and having grass green eyes are a giveaway anyways. A rope-twisted red silk choker has her smart device chip still embedded under it, but under a strip of runic embossing. She has even superficially glamered Night Mist as a katana, rather than one of its more typical disguises. That part at least radiates authority. She considers 'teleporting' to the end of the intersection to cut the fleeing 'thief' off, but decides against it; it'd be revealing her hand too early for someone old enough to be canny. She jogs along at a subtly unnatural clip behind Muramasa and Go, weaving through the crowd without displaying herself so overtly; until it suddenly clears. /Strange. I don't remember sensing anyone from over there. Well, as long as they're all gone, so much the better for us. If it's this one's doing, it says something about her value judgements as well. Sound enough, though my hopes weren't that high after her description. Especially forgetting her name. Does she seriously intend to start a random match in the middle of town? I've never fought ayakashi before. I can't very well just shoot-- no, I could, but it'd be a bad idea if she avoided any of the shots in a dense city./ /Oh. They're just doing it./ "We couldn't do this after?" Lilian asks, rhetorically, in exasperation. "This isn't exactly convenient. And we still haven't discussed why you were being chased. Do you understand what you're doing? You were certainly making a credible run for it. Why don't you listen to Akane?" Though, for once, Lilian doesn't expect she's going to have much luck with words. It seems like some amount of unspoken assumption when it comes to the specific subtype of person she's dealing with here. Of greater familiarity than any given random superpowered weirdo in the Multiverse, at least. "Oh fine. But if you wreck anything, you're paying for that too." Though it isn't her strict preference, Lilian is more than capable of hand to hand fighting, and it's certainly less dangerous than anything else she could be doing at the moment. Her stance would be completely and totally unfamiliar to someone who hasn't been watching television in the past forty years. She accelerates straight on towards Miyamono while Go is circling, closing from a sixty degree angle to Muramasa to form a proper triangle. It's a pretty straightforward approach, up until the last ten meters, where she abruptly punctures the dirt and accelerates to four times the previous speed, launching a long, straight, high-speed punch from a dead lunge. Trying to press the disorienting change in speed, she ducks low as she lands, spreading her stance extremely wide, and then comes up with a series of strafing jabs, weaving around the side to stay opposite of Muramasa, and then disengaging with a somersaulting handstand that parts with a more familiar toe kick aimed at the chin. She springs back a couple of times more, and then resumes circling outside of arm's reach, guard up, waiting for the others to create another opening.
Miyamomo	Miyamomo smiles wanly at Muramasa. "We are to be comrades after today, yes? What better way to get to know each other than the exchange of blows? That is what my whole life has been about. It is the best way to come to understand me." That's no idle boast either. Her stance, while presenting a couple of openings, kind of radiates the intent that it's not meant to close openings, but create them in her opponents. "Oh, Feast n Fleer?" she says in response to Go. "Rather silly honestly. I did the right ritual for all those meals. Those shiny metal discs in exchange for the food yes? I handed them several I had on me, and they still got upset. Humans truly have changed..." He tone changes immediately as Go summons his armor, Miyamomo's eyes wide with shock. "Incredible! Such extravagant armor, clad in an instant!." She looks to Lilian and smiles. "No time like the present~ And as I said, I offered those little metal discs for the food I ate." "Akane is clutching her head in exasperation. "The antique coins left behind... oh no..." The put-upon nekomata sighs and shifts into a two-tailed cat. "I'll keep an eye out for the police. Or worse, the priests." She scrapers, leaving the intersection clear. "Oh don't worry. I'll only be trying to hurt you all, not the city." She's surrounded, with Strawberry coming in from above. Muramasa is engaged first, as Miyamomo dashes towards him to widen the gap between she and everyone else. She catches his swing on the right forearm, grappling with the bamboo blade with her left hand. "Hmm... quite a sting there. Fire? No... you were aiming for my head. Water." She tries to pull his weapon to the side, giving her an opening to swing her right elbow at Muramasa's eye, a strong, precise strike intended to induce swelling. Lilian rushes in at Miyamomo's back, launching a flurry of blows. The kitsune manages to engage with them, blocking with her forearms again, but the backflip kick connects cleanly. Unfortunately, Miyamomo aims a kick of her own downwards, aiming to connect with the base of Lilian's skull in that moment her back is exposed. "Such speed!" she gasps. "Like the embodiment of Air itself!" Go flips over her and kicks in her shoulder, sending her stumbling. "Such Fire..." He comes in, swinging again and agian, and Miyamomo starts weaving. Not to defend, that's just a perk of gaining momentum to slam her fist into Go's chin with a tight hook, aiming to dislocate. "That's three, where's..." Strawberry's flying kick catches her off-guard. The fox looks up at the magical girl in shock. "You can FLY?! You move like Air, but strike with such Fire!" She sounds almost giddy. "Yes, yes, don't worry about me. I live for this! I've prepared for this for centuries!" She proves this by keeping pace with Strawberry as she drifts away, grabbing her head and trying to slam it into the street.
Lilian Rook	/This isn't good. Kitsune aren't exactly known for martial arts or physical prowess. If she were a tengu, I'd understand, but this is completely abnormal./ The level of focus and intensity in Lilian's eyes in the moments before she'd closed, and the moments where her initial blows are absorbed by Miyamomo's arms without issue, is a night and day flick of a switch. She puts on extra distance after the clean hit she gets in. /I was expecting a kitsune with nine tails to be tougher than a normal human, but those would have broken someone's bones without trouble. That much force to the chin should have been more than enough whiplash to knock her out too. What has she been doing in that 'cave'?/ The kick coming in reprisal at the back of her head is perfectly timed. It'd be a grave error in Lilian's judgement, leaving herself open with a committed series of attacks against a foe much tougher than she'd initially assumed, which any veteran martial artist would capitalize on, but the way she suddenly shifts the heels of her palms against the ground before the kick reaches full speed --the way she arches her back, snaps her wrists, and disrupts the flow of her own head-over-heels disengagement, makes it seem like she knew it was coming almost before Miyamomo did. /Wuxing? No, she listed air. That'd be an Alchemical element. She's more than old enough, but that seems unlikely. A modified take then? At minimum, four styles; assume five; can't afford to be caught by surprise. She seems to be focused on my speed. That's understandable. It also looks like she's focusing on vital points; she likely believes she has the strength to take me out with one good shot. I used a large amount of my top speed closing in there. She's no doubt adjusted to it. I can only count on surprising her one more time without using That./ Finding her feet with a short, stanced backslide a few reaches away, Lilian brings her hands up higher from the narrow, offensive guard she'd been using, turning her body and bringing her legs in line instead. /There's no way she could be familiar with the style I've learned, but big parts of it are from Eastern martial arts she probably knows all about. Stick to the Western principles as much as possible./ Lilian bounces faintly on her heels, difficult as that is wearing sandals, and then seems to gain a certain quality approaching weightlessness. She closes back in again with the air of a strategy about her. She darts in, pivots her footwork, and fades to the side and out again, zigging in from another angle, throwing a quick feint and then an underhand jab, then zagging back out. She rotates around the kitsune wherever the other two on the ground aren't, weaving and striking with vicious barrages of upper body blows, sudden gut punches, and snap shots at the head wherever she can, beating on Miyamomo's guard where she doesn't have the opportunity to realistically score a hit. /I probably can't wear her down. Attrition isn't my strong point anyways. Stay opposite of the other two on the ground. Keep her attention split. If a hit doesn't land, keep her occupied defending against it for the other three to attack. Stay low; keep her attention on the ground and not on Strawberry. I can use Muramasa's reach, but I'm probably getting nowhere fast hand to hand./ "Saber!" Lilian calls out, very specifically choosing not to invoke his true name in this setting. "Sword!" She can certainly only mean for him to trace and toss her something much, much less severe than the one at her side.
Go Shijima	Go is fast even when his suit isn't accelerating his body--but Miyamomo's hundred years of refinement are a formidable match for youthful zeal. He attempts to make use of that augmented speed to juke out of the way of her counter-attack, but her strike lands so truly that he may as well have stood still. Her fist crashes into his chin, and it's only the suit's protective biofeedback that keeps him from getting knocked senseless. He is nevertheless lifted vertically into the air, as a shower of sparks explodes from beneath his helmet--a quick backwards flip keeps him from landing flat on his back. There's no way she's that fast--no... she read me like a map! "That's me," says Mach, landing on his feet with a thumb proudly jutted at his chest. He mashes the button on his belt four times, and a white energy pistol with a large wheel near the barrel materializes in his hand, two bursts of red flame belching from that exhaust portion. Held on the same side of his body as that wheel on his shoulder, it forms the 'front wheel' of a motorcycle. ZENRIN I'll just have to be as unpredictable as possible! Spinning the wheel, he holds it to the ground, kicking up a spray of dust as he rapidly accelerates towards her, only to turn at the last second, travel up the wall of a nearby building, and flip backwards from it with a push from his legs. The wheel on the pistol still spins rapidly, as does he, midair, making two strikes, shoulder to hip, in a death-defying barrel roll. Landing low, the wheel drags him in a strafing circle around her. "No," says Mach to Lilian, as he makes a strafe past her, quickly enough that his draft blows like a gust of wind. "I'm Mach. Saber's way different looking."
Muramasa	Martial artists understand one another with their fists. That's a saying that some people liked -- he supposed she may be one of them. His strikes intercepted, Muramasa's eyes take in every detail they can. If he had the time, he could likely count each individual strand of fur on her tails, the threads on her clothing that shockingly remained unfrayed, the creases of skin over her knuckles as she plunged a fist towards his face. He had neither the time nor the desire to obsessively rake all of it in. These details were periphery, simply things that came to him while his eyes searched for what they needed. Craning his neck to the side and up, the blow misses his eye and instead scrapes his cheek with a rattling blow so fierce it breaks skin and leaves a quickly forming black and blue spot at impact. His head moves back with the force, as Muramasa reels to disengage ever so briefly. The Tora Shinai that he released hold of, leaving it within Miyamomo's grip, shatters and fades away like a mirage. Saber! Sword! "Comin' up..! Trace On!" Fanning one hand out in Lilian's direction, blue lightning and crackling mana form up another sword; a simple black tachi contained within its scabbard. Its design was slick and ergonomic, and may in fact be familiar, for it was the Juryokuken wielded by Touta Konoe. It launches like a missile heading Lilian's way. Catching it, rather than being blasted by it, would be on her. And for Miyamomo, in the meantime, he fans his hand back towards her. "Open Up! Sword Gatling!" The motes of light from before begin rotating quickly around his outstretched hand, crackling into fully formed, wooden swords that he launches in a steady stream to suppress the kitsune where she stands, in an attempt to pin her down.
Strawberry Princess	Strawberry's brain doesn't have time to parse Miyamomo's counterattack before she's slammed facefirst into the road, her Shimmer Aura flaring pink around her head to partially diffuse the impact. Even so, her visor audibly cracks on contact. Her body responds, drawing on spinal reflex and exhaustive experience, before she's even stopped seeing stars: pushing herself up with the aid of her flight and twisting around in the kitsune's grasp, her right hand grabs her pistol and fires it into Miyamomo's arm three times in rapid succession to free herself. She hurls herself backwards and upwards to re-establish distance, her flight accelerating her with such breakneck speed that it gives the impression she was jerked away on a ripcord. Groggy thoughts pulse through her slowly-clearing head: Grounded combatant. Superior hand-to-hand. No observed ground-to-air, but Annihilator not free. Conventionals effect unknown. If she tries that again her element's gonna be Dirt. ... No, don't say that. "I can't test you earnestly here, Miyamomo! The city- it's not safe!" Even as she says those words, she's holstering the pistol and lining up her wand- not for a blast, but for a more esoteric effect. Translucent, strawberry-red forcefields coalesce around Miyamomo after Go and Muramasa get in their attacks, forming an overlapping bramble-mosaic designed to hamper mobility and interfere with her attacks. Though they restrict her movement in all directions until broken, in one direction they're so dense as to be an impenetrable honeycomb- specifically, between the kitsune and Rook. "Lilian! Through them!"
Miyamomo	Strawberry, even as her head is slammed into the ground, reacts perfectly to fire back at Miyamomo. Her eyes widen at the sight of the strange weapon, and the first two bullets find their home. Ow! What is that exactly? Like a one-handed bow, firing tiny metal arrows. And what is this about the city? Is she saying that if she brought all her strength to bear, she would level this whole place? Incredible...! The third bullet finds not Miyamomo's arm but her fingers. It dances between them like a coin or card trick before exiting, all momentum retained but reversed as it shoots back at Strawberry. Miyamomo's slightly dazed look is wholly gone now. Her eyes glitter as she takes the measure of those around her, next looking to Lilian as she begins zipping around the kitsune. Ah, she's changed up her stance. Hopping, nearly floating, very Air indeed. She intends to use that speed not in attack, but to keep me turning, draw my eyes away from the others, move in when I look at them anyway. Clever indeed, a team player through and through. Respecting my prowess enough to know that I'm looking for that dash-in again. Even though I missed, she's wary. In that case... The kitusne looks at Lilian and smirks as she adopts the exact same stance. It's not copying, her movements are far too naturally. "Trying to show me something I don't know? I'm afraid you'll find I know everything, even if I never learned it. There are only so many ways a human form can move, and I've practised them all." Go comes in fast, then zips above, driving along the buildings. Miyamomo watches him go with those slitted eyes. There's more to that armor than simple metal, otherwise my blow would have dented it, and he would be far worse off. It must also use some strange technology, like this weapon he's using. For something so small to carry his weight and the armor also... Such a bizarre man... but full of Fire indeed. His speed is not intended for Air, but to make his Fire strike harder. He comes off the building and executes a clumsy yet forceful strike. Miyamomo again takes it on her arms, and as the Rider drifts past, stomps the ground. It shudders and quakes with precise intent, shifting the stones underfoot to raise one enough that it trips Go and sends him tumbling. A gatling hail of swords comes at her next, fired from those motes of 'Saber.' She closes up her guard and lets the blades thump against her. Such strange sorcery. The ability to conjure swords, destroy them at will, and pass them out. Like a mystic blacksmith. That would explain the sense of Water I got from him. Striking at impurities and weaknesses. I cannot swing blades, so should he give one to everyone, they will certainly gain an advantage in reach. But to fight one with blades is childs play to me. Suddenly, her arms move. She taps one of the bamboo swords in passing, swiping it just-so with her arms that is goes spinning, aimed right at Lilian as she began her approach once more. Another one is also grabbed, Miyamomo turning with incredible speed so that it does not stop, but only gains additional speed as she hurls it at Muramasa, fast enough that it might retain mass before he can dissolve it. And then Strawberry's barriers come up. Miyamomo taps them and flinches away. "Goodness, looking to cage me already? It was just getting good!~"
Muramasa	" -- ?!" His eyes widen slightly in shock as Miyamomo launches a fierce counterattack to his bombardment. Just now .. she struck out at those bamboo blades and sent them spinning out of control, turning them to her advantage. The kind of precision and strength necessary for that is -- It brought to mind thoughts of a certain peak martial artist. What was that she said, a moment ago? That she'd mastered every way a human body could move. That kind of godlike skill with the fist couldn't be understated. Perhaps, if she had been utilizing the skills of a weapon of some kind, he'd be able to take the upper hand, but .. people who utilize their own bodies as weapons, he fundamentally could not 'cheat' in the way he and Archer were typical of doing. Rather than taking a shortcut to mastery of combat, Miyamomo simply spent this entire time working herself into such a shape. One of his own weapons is flying at him. He could tell, from its cracking form, that it was straining under the speed; furthermore, even if he tried to break his projection immediately, it wouldn't finish by the time it reached him. He'd still be struck by it no matter what. Instead, he holds both hands in front of himself and projects another weapon. This time, it was an actual iron tachi that he could use, holding it defensively to intercept the wooden missile as it struck him, at the last second. The ground cracks, the red-haired swordsmith skidding back from the blow, arms buldging and straining against the force for only a moment before .. Crack. The sword in his hand shatters, exploding into particles along with the bokken. Deep cuts split open his arms and chest, nearly wheeling him over in the burst of pressure. "Gah...!" That was close. If I had projected a moment slower by picking something stronger, it would have hit me dead on. And if I had projected another wooden practice sword, it would have blasted through it at full force. "That body ... it is a truly devastating weapon, you." he mutters, eyes drawing back up to stare at the kitsune across the way. He'd prodded her with a couple of different tactics, and in doing so, he ascertained that her skill in close quarters was so great that even attacking her from a range was dangerous. In that case, the only option would be to subdue her in one strike. He'd already provided Lilian a weapon to assist with that .. if she could hit her with the Juryokuken, then there was a good chance she'd capitulate. He'd have to create an opening for that. "Alright. Get ready!" If she was going to assail him with godlike fists, he'd meet her with the skill of a godlike swordsman. That man's skill was so impeccable, that he had no fear of harming her permanently even if he confronted her using a real sword. "Trace On. Trigger Off." The tachi that appeared in his hand had a hand-and-a-half hilt, yet, its sleek and slender blade was overbearing long. Almost so much so that it seemed like it'd be impractical. Lifting the Monohoshizao, Muramasa begin to close the distance, before abruptly diving forward with the kind of speed and technique he did not possess previously, slicing apart the air itself to create a powerful vaccum that would draw Miyamomo closer to him. Swapping the sword into a reversed grip so that he could strike her with the blunt side of it in a fast exchange of blows to drive her into a corner. "Now!"
Lilian Rook	/That technique. Specialized in redirecting momentum? It seems to only apply to projectiles, but I can't be totally sure just yet. No, if she was keeping that part a secret, I would know. Still, I'm glad I didn't try shooting. It'd be a waste of time on a fighter of this calibre even with that technique. I've learned that by now./ Despite her best efforts to mix up her approach, Lilian seems to be unable to do much more than pressure Miyamomo like this. The gap in their speed and strength isn't very big, but the gap in raw technique is completely insane. Even faced with four opponents at once, it seems like Lilian is quietly suppressing the usual confusion and frustration that would haunt a confident martial artist under these circumstances. Given her elusive, non-committal posture though, she has enough time to focus and think. /What the hell kind of training can you do on a mountain to reverse engineer a style you've never seen? No, to individually derive a style that doesn't even exist yet. Is that what this elemental philosophy is about? Categorizing all possible methods and motions? We can't close it out like this. I'll have to do something./ The sword she asked for comes flying at her. A sword she didn't ask for also comes flying at her. Lilian half-turns and lunges outward towards the replicated katana, catching it by the hilt and flipping it upright with loosely pinched fingers and a flick of her wrist, moments before the spinning shinai would collide with her. /This thing; this is Konoe's 'Side Stick' isn't it? That thing he's always yelling about gravity with --there. There's a dial. This thing weighs what? One and a half kilos? A quarter? Two hundred times would be two hundred and fifty. Probably not enough stopping power. I only get to use this gimmick once. Five hundred times will make it lose speed, but I can deal with that./ Without time to bring the sword around to block the flying shinai, Lilian flicks the dial on the Gravity Sword, and makes use of its suddenly massive inertia to completely alter her course, swinging around it with both hands like a sideways gymnastic pole, so that she is behind it when the traced wooden sword collides, and shatters on the superheavy sword's saya. She almost spins out trying to control it from there, but just barely keeps her balance, hefting it from the ground in a low tail stance. She hears Strawberry call out. /Smart. Strawberry must have been thinking about this. But calling it out like that is rough work. I'll just have to hope that this kitsune won't recognize what she means straight away. This sword is a little too heavy to swing quickly now; even with this amount of force, if she hits it perpendicular to the swing, she might be able to divert it. If she sees me coming, she'll probably figure out how heavy the sword is by its effect on my speed which she's been focusing on. I could try adjusting it to be lighter at the last second, but then it won't connect with enough force to take her out./
Lilian Rook	She hears Muramasa. /She says she knows all the way a human can move, so I'll go with a way that nobody else can move at all. Hearing Muramasa give the signal, she's probably already calculated how long it'll take me to reach her; I'll throw that off./ Lilian-- -----[stop]----- Flicking the Juryokuken back to its normal weight to save precious seconds, Lilian accelerates headlong at that ultra thick layer of barrier segments --exactly where Miyamomo believes herself the most fenced in. Her sandals leave the ground, and for a moment, don't come doil. Black static fizzles off of her, and black fog paints an afterimage of her as she phases through the sequential walls like smoke. Stopping just in front of Miyamomo, close enough to touch her, mid-speech, Lilian cranks the dial all the way up to one thousand instead. She winds the sword up, hefts it over her shoulder with a grunt, compresses her knees, turns her waist, leaps a short ways off the ground, and then turns herself fully over so the sword falls along with the arc of her swinging arms in a crescent moon. -----[start]----- --teleports straight through the barrier. Without an incantation or a pulse of magic, there's no sign that she's done it at all, until she is already inside; she literally arrives faster than the light that bounced off her which could visually confirm she is gone. Furthermore, the advanced technique doesn't just teleport her to a standstill, but actively in the tail end of a tremendous, whirling vertical strike, having skipped all the early frames in transition. It's not a blow she can easily disengage from, so it puts a lot of faith in Strawberry. If it hits however, well, it's an object weighing a solid ton.
Go Shijima	Miyamomo's plan takes Go completely by suprise. The wheel of that energy pistol catches a stone lifted up by her stomp, and at his speed, it's enough to throw him head over heels. His form is still a blur when his back crashes into a wall, sending a spider-web of cracks radiating outward as powdered mortar rains down on him. He hits the ground with a thud a moment after, blue electricity crackling over the suit as it fades away in a flash of light. The on-board AI, tone-deaf as ever, announces: Good Work! But Go isn't quite done. Covered in sweat, and now granular detritus from the wall he's been thrown into, he shakily gets to his feet. Muramasa's swords go flying by, rustling his clothes--but they're too damp with sweat to move much, at this point. Miyamomo can see just how that suit protects him, now--absorbing and redirecting the energy from blows outwards, and evenly distributing whatever it can't absorb across the wearer's body. In Go's case, the energy from that uppercut, and the clever use of the ground beneath him, appears to have had a significant impact on his energy, his chest heaving, his skin pale--but he slots in that miniature bike again. "Right?" he asks, nodding at Muramasa. "She's been at this a long time, huh?" he asks, as Strawberry's barriers appear around Miyamomo. I'm swinging as hard as--no. There's still one thing I could try, and I bet she's tough enough to stand up to it! Signal Bike! RIDER!! MACH! "Track... Eradicate..." He glances over to Muramasa. "Just kidding!" The button is mashed four times, and polychromatic lights begin to swirl around him. "If fighting is the best way for us to know each other, then here it is--my finishing strike!" HISSATSU//Full Throttle! This is the part where he'd normally leap into the air--but that's too obvious, against an opponent who's practiced for longer than he's been alive. Go is a prodigy in terms of the martial arts, and when he dashes in to hem her in alongside Muramasa, she can tell--his is a hard style, a kind of self-made variant of karate with much more focus on acrobatics and kicks, without abandoning the palm strikes or punches. I'll go on the offensive, full tilt! Strawberry's barriers can dull the impact when I make my finisher! He makes a flurry of punches aimed at her center of mass in rapid succession, as that energy swells and reaches a near-blinding crescendo. He zips left, right, forward, back, adding in knife palms and elbow strikes, doing his best to deflect her reprisals with his forearms and wrists, though the showers of sparks make plain the difference in skill. When Muramasa cries 'now,' he darts past Miyamomo and Lilian, running up the wall and backflipping--but the suit augments it, turns him over so rapidly that his body looks like a chromatic turbine for a moment, his foot only extending after he's reached a truly blistering number of revolutions per second, aimed to strike just as Lilian makes hers with that gravity-altering sword, his foot aimed for the front of her shoulder.
Strawberry Princess	Over a hundred feet away with a comfortable amount of altitude, Strawberry feels confident relaxing her own defensive Shimmer Aura to strengthen the forcefields she's cluttering the battlefield with. After all, surely Miyamomo-- there's a glint between her fingers. Princess Actual, you're lit up. Hit the boards. She pulls a harrowing dive, trying to cover behind a building. She pulls it too late. The bullet hits her in the ribs, with her Aura reinforced just in time to blunt it into a bruising impact that knocks the breath out of her. When her feet slam into shingles a block away and she takes a sharp breath in, it comes with a stabbing pain in her side. You're still green tone, the part of her brain that's working says to the part that isn't. Get eyes again. A dozen near-invisible scouting eidolons flow out from her body and surround the street where the fight's occurring, giving her full eyes and ears of what's happening even from her safe location. She circles around the side-streets on silent wings, prowling for the perfect angle while keeping her physical body out of view. My body can't take much more. I'm running out of fuel. What she's standing up to from the others- she's tougher than me. I might get hurt bad if I don't... Strawberry soars above the buildings when she senses an opening, silhouetting herself against the daytime sun as she raises the wand above her head with both hands. The reactor on its side squeals as its flywheels spin up. A hissing gout of steam erupts from its side as coolant pressurization adjusts. Control rods slam into their 'extended' positions with deep, rumbling metallic sounds. The air around her shimmers, becomes an incandescent blue aura that pricks the skin like a sunburn and tastes like metal in the mouth. She's going to swoop downwards and bring that wand home in an overhead strike. It couldn't be more obvious. It couldn't be harder to block. Because you will, won't you? A demonstration of skill. Strawberry pulls the trigger. There's a blinding light that can be seen through one's eyelids and a noise like thunder drawn out into an unending roar. In the split second of blinding light before impact, subtle ghostly hands reach up from the ground and grab Miyamomo's ankles for just a fleeting instant, preventing an easy dodge. What she's striking with isn't the wand itself. What she's striking with is the Annihilator Beam, concentrated into a two-foot-long wedge instead of fired as a projectile. Nominally, it's being swung to dismember rather than kill- but with how it can evaporate flesh even by proximity, that's putting a lot of faith in Miyamomo's durability. Strawberry opens her mouth like she's trying to say something, as her skin tints pink with the nuclear suntan. But her words are drowned out by the bone-rattling noise and the staticky shriek of EM-tortured radios.
Miyamomo	Go comes charging in, expressing as ever the vigor of youth. Miyamomo meets his flurry wth her own, the air hissing between them at the speed and strength of their strikes. "I look forward to seeing it! Maybe someday, I'll show you something other than Steam!" Has she... been using only a small segment of her skills this whole time? Thank you. I worked hard on it~ You don't think it's a bit much?" Miyamomo says in response to Muramasa's praise, winking. As he manifests long tachi, her eyes widen. "Speaking of impressive weapons... how are you going to fight me with that, Saber? I'm in here, and you're out he-" He swings, generating a vacuum. Such skill! He never exhibited this with those wooden swords! I imagine they would come apart in his hands if he tried, but to think he was holding back this much! Her arms come up as she digs into the ground with her heels and toes to not be dragged against the barrier walls. In such an awkward position, the best she can do is block as he snipes her through gaps in the barrier with the massive blade. Suddenly, Lilian is in there with her. What?! How?! She didn't use her speed, I would have noticed! Can she... move across space without moving through it? Incredible! The massively weighted blade comes down, and it's all she can do to turn and catch it between her palms, straining her strength against its weight. Up close, the noblewoman can see that the kitsune is smiling even as the blade slips through and carves her. Rather than blood, a thick plume of that purple smoke issues out, slowly closing the injury as it jettisons. This gives Go the opening he needs to launch his finisher, leaping into the air and pinwheeling like an industrial machine. The blow connects solidly with Miyamomo's head and sends her crashing through Strawberry's barrier. Such raw Fire! Building all that momentum for a single, decisive strike! One that can cleave Earth and keep up with Air! Young as he is, he can already burn away anything that stands before him. With growth, what could he become?...She lands with a perfect ukemi and leaps back to her feet. "You're all incredible! Come on, I can still... wait, where is the garish one?" Ghostly hands grasp her ankles and cue her to look up. What is she do-OH- Miyamomo tastes the rainbow and is cleaved apart, her form exploding into a thick purple fogbank, filling the intersection. At this moment, Akane returns. "Trouble! They're on their way, police and priests bo-" She stares at the damage, and the smoke, and her pupils widen all the way like a cat does when it's seeing ghosts. "Did you... KILL HER?! Are you serious?! One of the few wild nine-tailed kitsune we've ever found and you go and kill her?!" "Don't detract from this with such hurried assumptions Ekimi," Miyamomo's voice drifts from the clouds before they rapidly concentrate back into the form of the fox woman. She's lying on her back, tired but laughing. "Goodness! What a refreshing spar! If this is an illusion, I've taken them to the next level." She kips up, and only now does she formally bow to everyone. "I am Miyamomo, master of the ultimate, nameless style. Thank you for having me. Please treat me well."
Lilian Rook	With the scuffle seeming to be conclusively finished, Lilian lets down the sword (with a nice hefty crunch in the dirt) once she has exited Strawberry's barriers --the latter having happened well before, given that she knows what ionized saliva means. Though she is uninjured, the amount of tension and adrenaline involved, and the physical exertion, causes her to spend several long moments just luxuriating in standing still and not having to think. "Good choice, Saber." she says, giving Muramasa a hairflip gesture that is simultaneously physically approximate to a thumbs up. "And good thinking, Strawberry. A little rough about the edges, and overkill at the end, but I can tell you've been applying your brain. Let's pick this up as a subject a bit later. Ah. And Shijima." There's a pause. "Are you alright? You know you don't have to go in so hard every single time. You can rely on your allies." She allows herself a wry smile at Akane. "Wild is right. Still, I'm glad she's fallen in with the right crowd. I'd offer some kind of bonus for your excellent scouting work, and your excellent choice in who to call, but I'm not particularly sure what you would find valuable. You can name one, if you like." Lilian does, ultimately, actually perform a well-rehearsed, if still somewhat informal, bow-back to Miyamomo as a sign of mutual respect. "Lilian Rook. Dame Commander of the Ring of Solstice. Chevalier to the Paladins. Pleased to meet you, and glad to have you with us." /Don't say 'you'll like my other fox'. Don't you dare say it./
Strawberry Princess	Strawberry lands on her feet hard enough to numb her legs as she comes down from that attack. The Annihilator Beam cuts out a second later, as she unsteadily staggers backwards with the momentum of the backswing and then collapses to her knees. Shallow breaths, lest she kick off that stabbing pain in her ribs again- bruised intercostal muscle. Everything hurts at least a little bit. Some things hurt a lot. The neko yells something. Her brain groggily pieces the words together. "Did you... KILL HER?!" ... Did I kill her? Strawberry's blood runs ice-cold. Her stomach ties itself in a knot. She looks around at the purple mist, trying and failing to spot any sign of Miyamomo in it. She seemed so confident, so unworried. The delusion of a hermit? It doesn't matter. You killed her, and you did it on purpose. You're a murderer now, Strawberry. No, not even 'Strawberry'- would Strawberry Princess be a cold-blooded killer? You're not her anymore. You'll never be her again. Your heart is- Miyamomo's voice, and her re-appearance a moment later, snap the magical girl out of her spiraling thoughts. "You're," she manages to say, before realizing that her lungs are too empty to say anything else. Had she been holding her breath? It comes back in a shuddering gasp as she forces herself back up to her feet. "Thank you," she croaks to Miyamomo, though she doesn't say for what. A shaky smile forces its way back onto her face. It was just a bad dream. You're okay. You're Strawberry. Pull yourself together. Lilian's praise does a pretty good job of perking her up, too. Eventually she manages to introduce herself in turn, her voice now slightly less hoarse: "I'm Strawberry Princess," she says, still quietly trying to reassure herself of that fact. "I'm- no fancy titles. But I'm with the Paladins, too." Shockingly, she manages a pretty good bow too- why on earth would she have practiced that?
Go Shijima	Mach lands, one hand extended both to keep his balance and to say 'that's all I can take for right now.' Everybody get a good look at that, because you may not ever see it again. He collapses backwards into a seated position with his back against the very wall he split after Miyamomo's ground-pound sent him flying. Lifting up the faceplate of his helmet reveals a shuttered black plate behind it, which promptly vents stored energy in the form of thick white steam. The little chamber with the bike in it is lifted up. Again, that AI voice cries: Good Work! ...as the armor disappears in a flash of light. "I'm... still getting used to it," he admits to Lilian, smiling weakly as his chest heaves with exertion. "If it helps, though..." There's a glance towards Strawberry, "I knew none of us would get carried away." He smiles sincerely at the mahou, but blinks shortly after as a realization comes to him. "Oh, but... I dunno if those cops and priests Akane mentioned are gonna see it the same way. Maybe we better scram."
Muramasa	"Seriously? How tough is that body?!" Even our three-front attack wasn't able to polish her off. That's bad. This is just a 'friendly spar' of course, yet ... But, where was the garish woman, indeed? Muramasa pulls back, rolling on the balls of his feet as he slides away just in the nick of time from being caught on the edge of the Annihilator Beam's wedge. In a flash, it was all over. Breathing out, Monohoshizao finds its tip pointed to the ground and to the side, being too long to simply point straight down. All of that sweat, strain, and effort that had been brought to a roiling simmer was already cooling down. "You're welcome." he mentions to Lilian, a small grin gracing his face. All of his weaponry that had found themselves scattered about the intersection, including the Juryokuken dropped to the ground, began to dissipate gently back into nothingness. "Though, in the end, the one who was able to put it to good use was yourself. While he didn't have the time to stick around to say anything, I'm sure 'Side Stick' was impressed, too." ... well, he did feel somewhat conflicted about all the damage to the street, now that he got to looking around. Sheepishly, he rubs the back of his bruised neck. "Ech.." Akane, with her name misremembered once again, at least finds her just praise in the form of Lilian and Strawberry Princess. The swordsmith chuckles, folding his arms as introductions are had. "Miyamomo, huh. I don't like kitsune, but you're .. not terrible, I guess." Maybe fighting it out to get to know eachother hadn't been a bad idea. But, did that make him an idiot, too? "I'm the Servant, Saber. A blacksmith. ... my True Name isn't good to use around these parts, so I appreciate the consideration, by the way, Lilian." It'd cause a ruckus, plain and simple, what with the scramble to find the leftovers that the 'him' of this world had left. Not to mention his living descendants both here, and in that school. "I'll give a real introduction later, I suppose."
Miyamomo	Akane looks terribly relieved that Miyamomo did not die on her watch and is now out of her hands. "O-Oh, thank you!" she says, bowing to Lilian. "And well... if you could put in a word, I'd love some vacation time." After spending days running after Miyamomo, one can scarcely blame her. The kitsune stands up and dusts herself off, as the sounds of heavy boots pounding the ground get closer and closer. "Ah, yes. The armored fellow is right. One moment." She wiggles her fingers in the direction of the sound, and the air down the street swims. Suddenly, it seems as if a great wall is there, blocking off access to the intersection. Sounds of confused police drift through it as Miyamomo smiles at everyone. "Let us away then. Goodbye Akane. Thank you for everything." The nekomata looks on in shock as Miyamomo sways past her.