[BitPR²] Mortal World IV

[strawberryman]

[Izumo, Japan]
(Kuzunoha Sanctuary - Meditation Room)

Katsuo's eyes are slightly widened in surprise as he's shunted out of his body, even with the warning. But... it doesn't take him long to calm, especially with Shaya's words. He was somewhat surprised by her insight and yet... not. He gives a nervous nod and smile like only he can deliver before responding.

"...I know it's silly, and that I should be more careful. More assertive of myself, but... even now, even when I'm fighting for something... I can't shake that feeling of worthlessness. That it'd be better if I were the one to take all the pain and punishment. That I should be the one to put my life at risk."

Spoiler: Kuroimaken Only!

Show

Making some guesswork here.

Spoiler: srsly, don't do it

Show

Shaya, depending on how used to interacting with powerful spiritual beings, may be overwhelmed by what she feels from Katsuo's 'heart'. There is a phenomenal well of strength, both existent and potential, behind the quiet, nervous boy. Something that he probably doesn't even know he could tap, that he could grow into at almost any time he was ready. Despite his lack of true spiritual pressure like most beings are capable of letting off, it is almost crushingly amazing. And yet uplifting in that way Katsuo has mastered.

...and yet, there was a point of worry. Even though his chain is not visible, Shaya may be able to feel that it is damaged in some way. Perhaps the links aren't broken, but they are cracked and bent out of place. That in all honesty, Katsuo probably should be dead. Or worse. And of course, for all his inspirational heart and strength, he could truly be terrifying if his chain were to break...

[Okinawa, Japan]
(Umeko's Apartment)

Umeko takes a few seconds to respond, snapping back to reality as she turns to Naomi. Then, the noodles. Then back to Naomi. "Huh? No, really, it's fine." She grabs at one of the noodle boxes almost in an attempt to stave off possible questions as she digs in, but still has a somewhat spacy look.

Well this sure is a change in dynamic. Naomi was usually the spacy one! This probably required investigation. Maybe.

[Kuroimaken]

[Izumo, Japan]
(Kuzunoha Sanctuary - Meditation Room)

Katsuo's eyes are slightly widened in surprise as he's shunted out of his body, even with the warning. But... it doesn't take him long to calm, especially with Shaya's words. He was somewhat surprised by her insight and yet... not. He gives a nervous nod and smile like only he can deliver before responding.

"...I know it's silly, and that I should be more careful. More assertive of myself, but... even now, even when I'm fighting for something... I can't shake that feeling of worthlessness. That it'd be better if I were the one to take all the pain and punishment. That I should be the one to put my life at risk."

Spoiler: Kuroimaken Only!

Show

Making some guesswork here.

Spoiler: srsly, don't do it

Show

Shaya, depending on how used to interacting with powerful spiritual beings, may be overwhelmed by what she feels from Katsuo's 'heart'. There is a phenomenal well of strength, both existent and potential, behind the quiet, nervous boy. Something that he probably doesn't even know he could tap, that he could grow into at almost any time he was ready. Despite his lack of true spiritual pressure like most beings are capable of letting off, it is almost crushingly amazing. And yet uplifting in that way Katsuo has mastered.

...and yet, there was a point of worry. Even though his chain is not visible, Shaya may be able to feel that it is damaged in some way. Perhaps the links aren't broken, but they are cracked and bent out of place. That in all honesty, Katsuo probably should be dead. Or worse. And of course, for all his inspirational heart and strength, he could truly be terrifying if his chain were to break...

Shaya makes it a point to keep her face the kindest of smiles towards the boy. Her hands reach for his face in a way that is calm and comforting, much like a mother's.

"Yamada-kun. It's okay.

I understand the reasoning - if you're the one who gets hurt, then your friends don't. It's simple, and it works for you because you don't mind bearing pain and punishment if it feels like you will spare others that pain.

Still... have you paused to consider what seeing you get hurt does to the ones around you? They feel responsible in much the same way. In a different fashion, perhaps. But nonetheless, they hurt for you just the same.

There is no such thing as passing pain around. Pain hurts us all in equal measure. Physically or otherwise. Just because you can withstand punishment that would hurt others so much more doesn't mean it has to be only you.

When you get back, I want you to see Tobioka-sensei right away so he can see to ALL your wounds. Do you understand me?"

[Selinia]

[Okinawa, Japan]
[Umeko's Apartment]

Naomi gives Umeko a rather concerned look as continues eating. It wasn't usual for her to be this... out of it, and it was really throwing Naomi off!

"...hey, um. Yoohoo? Earth to Ume, do you read, over? I know I sort of just ran through a meat grinder for no reason, and my muscles are kind of melting off my bones right now, but... whether or not I'm in any position to talk, you don't look fine, all right?" Naomi points at where her duffel bag is propped against the couch. "...if we're at the point where I can haul half my stuff across town to set up in your apartment, I think I'm pretty much willing to listen to anything. If you actually don't want to talk, we can wait, but... you know I'm here for you, right?"

[strawberryman]

[Izumo, Japan]
(Kuzunoha Sanctuary - Meditation Room)

Katsuo blinks slightly, biting his lip... but nodding without another word. There wasn't much to say to that. He hadn't really thought of things that way, but it probably wouldn't be just that simple to shake him of bad habits...

[Okinawa, Japan]
(Umeko's Apartment)

Umeko looks up to Naomi as she starts talking, detecting the worry in her voice over anything in particular. Feeling guilty, she sighs, putting the noodles down and thoughtfully chewing on the last bite she took.

As she swallows, she turns back to Naomi, putting on a brave face. Well, that wasn't really right, she wasn't frightened. "...I was just having this really strange dream before you woke me up. Maybe not as strange as the rest of today, and it wasn't in a bad way or anything." She pauses, just trying to get her thoughts into order. "...I think I saw them. Our daughters. There were so many of them, and our lives were changed so much. But... I was happy. As happy as any time I've had together with you. And I think you were happy, too." Pausing again, she gives a wane smile. "...yeah, you were definitely happy."

"I think it was a lot like the dreams I was having the other day, but this time I remembered it, and... it was all me, not just some ghost wizard's meddling. I'm pretty sure of that, anyway." The third pause comes, this one the longest as she just... looks to Naomi with a more genuine smile. Of course with Umeko, she was always rather reserved, so even her widest smiles were fairly tame compared to the artist's. But through them, she exuded a hidden warmth that only a select few were allowed to see. Naomi among them, of course.

"...I think, if I can get this way over a dream... seeing it become real will be a more amazing adventure than any other one I could set on."

Beat. Blush, look back to the noodles.

Then, frantically stuff face with noodles. She's a little embarrassed. That was some pretty cheesy talk right there.

But it's probably okay, Naomi is a writer as well as an artist, after all.

[Kuroimaken]

Aaaaaaaaaaaaand that's when Shaya turned to Naito.

She made sure to approach carefully and slowly. Sitting on her knees, she reached out her hands for Naito to take - in stark contrast with how she got into Katsuo's personal space.

[Selinia]

[Okinawa, Japan]
[Umeko's Apartment]

Naomi keeps munching away at the noodles as Umeko talks. She isn't really focusing on the food, but she was hungry, and it was something mindless and automatic. But as she processes what Umeko is actually saying, the artist very nearly chokes as she bursts into one of her involuntary fits of giggles.

"...pfft...sorry, sorry, it's not you. That's... a really kind of wonderful sounding dream. I was just thinking that it's too bad it'll be a while before I get to see that real thing." Naomi pauses between bites long enough to lean over and give Umeko a quick, friendly kiss on the cheek. No need for anything more, not right now. She leans back, beaming that ear-to-ear grin of hers.

"So, lots of them, huh? If that... Baron guy is right, I guess normal family planning might be sort of impractical, but you're making me worry I'm rubbing off on you!"

[Dorizzit]

Naito's eyes roll in a clear dismissal of Shaya's caution. Nevertheless, Naito flinches when physical contact is made between the two; the Quincy clearly doesn't like to be touched.

[Kuroimaken]

"The front is unnecessary, Naito-chan.

I'm an empath, and our souls are touching directly. There's no pain you can hide from me. And I can tell your heart is unstable as can be right now.

Close your eyes and stand still. I'm going to give you something that should make it a little easier to get by, okay?"

[Dorizzit]

"Unstable" is a poor word to describe Naito right now. The youth's soul feels like nothing Shaya has ever felt before, at least not in a mortal of Naito's age. Pain, rage, fear, guilt, self-loathing, and depression all mix together in an uncontrollable storm that has swallowed the selflessness, determination, and loyalty that lie, barely detectable, at the core of Naito's self.

The Quincy refuses to make eye contact.

"Fine."

[Kuroimaken]

"Whatever you do, don't let go."

Shaya starts... singing. Her voice turns to a different tone, barely recognizable as her own. Neither youth recognizes the lyrics or the language it's sung in.

They're not supposed to.

For the language that pleas to the gods is no domain of simple mortals.

Suddenly, Shaya's miko attire makes a bit more sense.

Little by little, her soul and Naito's begin to float even higher in the air as the priestess holds onto the troubled youth's hands.

Their bodies glow alight, and Shaya's hair grows much, much longer before part of it, too, sublimates into light. The light turns to strands that gently envelop the surroundings of Naito's soul. Their touch is... not unlike that of a balm. Like the relief one might feel from being given something to soothe a clean, but still hurting wound.

The light strands envelop Naito's soul completely, before Shaya brings it into an embrace. Then, they press a bit more against the 'skin' before 'vanishing'. Yet their 'balm' remains. Naito would feel the maelstrom of emotions contained. If like blades, their edges dulled.

"Uta Fuuinjutsu: Soushin Sanbika."

If allowed, Shaya will keep Naito in her embrace. If not, she won't hesitate to let the youth go.

"This isn't a solution, Naito-chan. Only your own heart can save itself. But it can't do that if it rejects everyone and everything, yourself included. All this really helps to do is take the edge off.

A sufficiently strong emotion can break the seal. But it's a lot easier for positive emotion to do it than it is for negative emotion. If you need me to, I can reapply the seal. I just hope it won't be long before it's not necessary to do so."

[Dorizzit]

While Naito doesn't actively push Shaya away, it's made obvious by Naito's stiffness that contact is still extremely uncomfortable. Still, Naito seems...calmer after the process is finished. Less on edge in a way that has been impossible to achieve since the rescue from Alpha-1's clutches. One hand finds its way to Naito's chest, clutching gently over the heart. Naito is silent for a few moments.

"...Thank you."

The words are forced out, clearly given against Naito's desires, but no less honest for it.

[strawberryman]

[Izumo, Japan]

Katsuo sits by for now, watching in amazement quietly and hoping for the best!

[Okinawa, Japan]
(Umeko's Apartment)

Umeko shows an even fiercer shade of pink after the kiss, and takes the course of finishing her first noodle box before recovering her composure. Giving something closer to a contended sigh than an exasperated one, she looks back up to Naomi with a smile of her own.

"...there are worse things that could happen than your feelings rubbing off on me." Awww. Then, she gives an embarrassed chuckle. "...it's going to be harder to hold off if things keep going this way."

[Kuroimaken]

While Naito doesn't actively push Shaya away, it's made obvious by Naito's stiffness that contact is still extremely uncomfortable. Still, Naito seems...calmer after the process is finished. Less on edge in a way that has been impossible to achieve since the rescue from Alpha-1's clutches. One hand finds its way to Naito's chest, clutching gently over the heart. Naito is silent for a few moments.

"...Thank you."

The words are forced out, clearly given against Naito's desires, but no less honest for it.

"You'd do the same for the Grandmaster. Don't sweat it."

So very casual about things at that point...

"Give it time and thought. You'll be a better human being for it."

Shaya then let go of Naito and sighed softly with a little exhaustion, but mostly the feeling of a job well-done.

"Let's get back. Close your eyes, and when you open them again, you'll be in your own bodies."

As Shaya promised, so it is. They weren't gone long, but their bodies feel a little heavier, like they'd caught a quick nap. The black-haired maiden is the last one to awaken.

[Selinia]

[Okinawa, Japan]
[Umeko's Apartment]

Naomi can't help but feel a little fuzzy at that. But... right now, she's mostly just exhausted. Setting down the empty container, the redhead unsuccessfully fights off a yawn, standing up from the small table.

"...thanks. Anyway, I'm... really, really tired. If I, uh... live here now, I think I'm going to take a quick shower, so would you be okay if I... um. If we just sort of... crashed on the sofa and watched movies today?" Naomi opens up her duffel, pulling out a pair of pajamas. "...I know it isn't really exciting, and we have work tomorrow, and there's a lot of stuff we ought to discuss, but... I just sort of feel like I need to crash for a while, after this mess."

Assuming there's no negative response, Naomi grabs a towel and vanishes into the bathroom for quite some time, letting hot water wash away her stress like the glorious liquid panacea it is.

[strawberryman]

[Okinawa, Japan]
(Umeko's Apartment)

Umeko nods in response to Naomi's request, understanding to some degree the reasoning. But before her girlfriend retreats to the shower, Umeko has one thing to say. "...since you live here now, we can crash on the bed just as easily." She smiles again, and that statement made it real, for her at least. From now on, no more Nao's place or her place. Just their place. There was obviously no intent of pushing the issue of intimacy, it was just an innocent comment.

"...but movies sound good, too." With that, she lets Nao go to the shower, and pulls up netflicks for something, anything to watch.

...well, maybe not anything.

[5a Violista]

Spoiler: Previous Post

Show

Sometimes, when the difference in power is big enough, technique is rendered useless.

Miya might just learn this lesson in a very violent way today. Momoko's transfixed form leaps at her again, foot-first this time. She has a weight advantage on the girl and more than enough speed and power. Even with the younger girl's intelligence and martial education, it's going to take a lot to survive this fight, much less win it.

Spoiler: OOC

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In case it hasn't become obvious, Miya's not supposed to win this unless she manages to bring her powers to bear. Momoko's gonna keep trying to drive her into a corner until she does. That's the whole point of the exercise.

[Kuzunoha Compound]

Miya, standing up, tries to backstep away from the falling Momoko. Unfortunately, fighting on this uneven ground added to fighting against someone much much different than a normal large lanky person sends conflicting messages to her muscle memory. As a result, she tries to take a larger step back than normal and stumbles, and is unable to catch herself.

She falls backwards and hits the ground, on her back.

Oh! Something came to mind. She was in a situation like this once before, in that museum, with the fire thing. Miya doesn't know about this other instinctual power that Momoko said she has inside her, but maybe the air blast shield thing will work? It protected her from the fire beast and flung that thing back, so maybe it could work here.

She has to fight against her own instinct, however: fight or flight. She needs to stay here, with her heart pounding, and clumsily reach at the locket on her necklace.

She hopes this works. She'll have to wait until Momoko is off-balanced in the middle of another attack, but when that happens, she'll tap into the locket's soul and shout a kiai and blast a massive burst of air as a shield.

Spoiler: OoC too

Show

Yeah, that's actually what I was wanting. Thanks!

[Selinia]

[Okinawa, Japan]
[Umeko's Apartment]

Naomi gives a smile at that (somewhat nervous), but slips into the bathroom anyway. She's pretty sure she could just set up camp in here once she does - heated floors, a top of the line shower, and wow those towels are fluffy and soothing just holding them. The artist strips down, turns the water up to one of the highest settings, and steps in after just a few paranoid checks of the water temperature. Naomi doesn't really think this kind of place is going to have the same wild temperature fluctuations as her ancient, half-dead apartment building, but she'd been scorched or frozen enough times to develop a healthy sense of caution regarding the supposed innocence of any given set of plumbing.

Given that the poor girl is naked, exhausted, and dealing with some rather sudden alterations to her anatomy that she hasn't had any real chance to properly examine until now, the civil thing to do here would to just allow her a shower with the peace and privacy she deserves. Suffice to say, between everything, Umeko can hopefully forgive her girlfriend for basking in the steamy cascade for a substantial period of time. When Naomi emerges from the bathroom again, in all her pajama-clad glory, she looks considerably cleaner (even if her copper hair is still a mess and will probably take a while to get untangled), and considerably less stressed out.

Still exhausted, but otherwise profoundly content with pretty much everything for the moment, Naomi simply crawls up on whichever piece of furniture Umeko is currently occupying. A yawn, leaning against her partner for support and taking a look at the television. A muttered, "Hey, what's on...?". Maybe it's not the most romantic thing in the universe. But it'd always worked for them before. Some things didn't need to change.

[Kuroimaken]

[Kuzunoha Compound]

Miya, standing up, tries to backstep away from the falling Momoko. Unfortunately, fighting on this uneven ground added to fighting against someone much much different than a normal large lanky person sends conflicting messages to her muscle memory. As a result, she tries to take a larger step back than normal and stumbles, and is unable to catch herself.

She falls backwards and hits the ground, on her back.

Oh! Something came to mind. She was in a situation like this once before, in that museum, with the fire thing. Miya doesn't know about this other instinctual power that Momoko said she has inside her, but maybe the air blast shield thing will work? It protected her from the fire beast and flung that thing back, so maybe it could work here.

She has to fight against her own instinct, however: fight or flight. She needs to stay here, with her heart pounding, and clumsily reach at the locket on her necklace.

She hopes this works. She'll have to wait until Momoko is off-balanced in the middle of another attack, but when that happens, she'll tap into the locket's soul and shout a kiai and blast a massive burst of air as a shield.

Spoiler: OoC too

Show

Yeah, that's actually what I was wanting. Thanks!

Fear mounts quickly, and as plans go this isn't one of Miya's best. Perhaps this wasn't the best method after all.

Little late to change it though.

As Miya steps back, the ground under Momoko crumbles, so when she steps forward to throw a punch it actually ends up being a wild, very inaccurate swing. Lucky for the girl, because if her attempt to consciously tap into instinct fails, it'll just graze her ribs, rather than smash her ribcage in.

[strawberryman]

[Izumo, Japan]
(Kuzunoha Sanctuary - Meditation Room)

((Whoops, misread something in your post.))

Katsuo closes his eyes... and then opens them, back in his body. He shrugs off the heaviness as he sits up, looking around, pausing on Naito for a moment, but giving him some space for the moment. He folds his legs as he waits for Shaya to awaken, wondering what's next.

...was I really being so selfish?

[Okinawa, Japan]
(Umeko's Apartment)

Umeko settles on some cheesy action flick as Naomi exits the shower, cozying up as her partner leans on her. "...oh, just picked something at random." A smile plays on her lips as she pulls a blanket over the both of their legs and just... basks in the utter normality of the moment. It was amazing, despite being so mundane. After all the odd things that happened in the last day plus change, they both needed this.

A bit into the picture, Umeko is even back to making quips at the heroine performing absurd acts like jumping a motorcycle onto a moving train off a bridge and onto the ground to escape the villain driving a garbage truck. Utterly ridiculous on its face, and they saw horrorterrors not a few hours ago!

[5a Violista]

[Kuzunoha Compound]

Using her cry and the locket, Miya does successfully cause a shielding blast of air to happen! She was kind-of expecting that to happen anyway, since she has already done this several times before. Sure, she doesn't like it, but she supposes this it is what Momoko was looking for in the first place. A blast of air, however, is hardly any good when you're trying to win a fight, however, so it does exactly what Miya was expecting it to do: nothing that Miya considers to be worth using.

Miya is once again reminded that it is a very defensive ability, and is pretty much useless at being offensive which is what she wants and is used to while fighting. Well, she thinks, That might be what Momoko is looking for, but it just doesn't seem right. (Though, I am planning on in my next post to have her actually use Fullbring for the first time on something other than the object she has affinity for.)

She gets onto her legs and springs her muscles. Then, she leaps at Momoko, in an attempt to shoulder her in the chest and knock her over with Miya's own momentum and natural strength. Attacking like this does feel much more natural than using the shield-thing.

[Kuroimaken]

[Kuzunoha Compound]

Using her cry and the locket, Miya does successfully cause a shielding blast of air to happen! She was kind-of expecting that to happen anyway, since she has already done this several times before. Sure, she doesn't like it, but she supposes this it is what Momoko was looking for in the first place. A blast of air, however, is hardly any good when you're trying to win a fight, however, so it does exactly what Miya was expecting it to do: nothing that Miya considers to be worth using.

Miya is once again reminded that it is a very defensive ability, and is pretty much useless at being offensive which is what she wants and is used to while fighting. Well, she thinks, That might be what Momoko is looking for, but it just doesn't seem right. (Though, I am planning on in my next post to have her actually use Fullbring for the first time on something other than the object she has affinity for.)

She gets onto her legs and springs her muscles. Then, she leaps at Momoko, in an attempt to shoulder her in the chest and knock her over with Miya's own momentum and natural strength. Attacking like this does feel much more natural than using the shield-thing.

All in all, her shield manages to make Momoko stumble back a ways in momentary confusion, and her shoulder slam does allow her to push Momoko back by a meter or two. That looks like it barely grazed her, however; the woman seems a bit too resilient in this state for Miya's own good.

[Draken]

Spoiler

Show

This post has been brought to you by an inform that recon info might be needed!

[Eastern Russia]

Following the meeting with the Yi Family, the cultists in the countryside have settled camp near a village by a rather large fragment of Soul Society that they now work to break down. Lord Scamozzo still oversees the operations in case of more shinigami activity, and Argos has made its presence in the mortal world more obvious than usual in order to maintain contact between the various guard parties keeping the perimeter of the camp.

Most of the cultists in the area carry the ivory bracer that marks a sleeping symbiote. Although only the guards appear to have any real weaponry.

[Kuroimaken]

[Eastern Russia]

To anyone without the ability to sense spiritual beings, the sky is the same dull gray as always.

To anyone else, a storm is coming, and the horizon is black.

Kamen Rider Rei sends Hideki leading the charge with his heavy armor, part of the infantry coming in hot on their heels with heavy Kidou support while the rest moves to secure a landing zone.

They are, after all, deploying from a high altitude.

[Selinia]

[Okinawa, Japan]
[Umeko's Apartment]

There was a time and a place for serious storytelling, but... Naomi still loved stuff like this. Goofy, off-the-wall, and willing to sacrifice a bit of sensibility for a lot of cool. The show itself was nothing special, but the company was, and it was fun having Umeko engaged in this sort of thing. And there was something immensely comforting about just sitting there in her pajamas, snarking at a silly action flick, cuddling with the woman she loved. It was so normal.

In that vein of normalcy: someone who has undergone substantial physical reconstruction, dashed over several rungs up her romantic relationship ladder, run halfway across a city (and back), and proceeded to take a warm shower and find a cozy place to rest, all on only a few hours of sleep? Well, it's perfectly normal for them to doze off. So much as Naomi is enjoying the mundane bliss, she ultimately ends up nodding off about three quarters of the way through the movie, slumped against Umeko and breathing gently as she succumbs to the siren song of the land of nod. It would probably take a foghorn or a bucket of water to wake her at this point.

The artist's slumber is deep, dreamless, and serene. By this point, she's earned it several times over.

[strawberryman]

[Okinawa, Japan]
(Umeko's Apartment)

Umeko can hardly be surprised. After all, she was fairly tired herself, despite her nap. There's a warm glow in the depths of her chest in response to Naomi's presence, her leaning against Umeko and sleeping soundly, like despite everything, she was still the level-headed and brave protector she had back in highschool. But nonetheless, it would no doubt be better on both of their backs to sleep on a proper surface.

So, after turning off the movie, she cradles Naomi in her arms carefully as she slides off the couch, standing and lifting Naomi up in one fluid motion so as to not put strain on her back. It wasn't difficult, she had more than enough strength to carry the artist. A smile passes on her face as she looks down on her sleeping girlfriend and walks to the bedroom, carefully setting her on the bed, then unfolding the covers from under her, to over, then... planting a gentle, but loving kiss on her lips. But her wish wasn't to wake Naomi up, but to let her get a restful sleep.

And so, she crawls into the covers on the other side, turning to face the love of her life.

Many thoughts pass through her head before she drifts into sleep. But the most important of them was... yes. This would be all right. They could figure it out together.

[Draken]

East Russia

Lead the charge Hideki does. His armored vehicle does not halt its advance even as the soldiers inside load a kidõ shell and fire it against the Cult's camp, the munitions erupting into a mystic conflagration in midair.

But it never lands.

No, it comes to a halt in the air above the camp, just before a hundred green lights come to life around the place. The blast then collapses into itself before launching into the sky and becoming a storm of fire raging above. Koutarou will have to move around that, most likely.

Vincenzo Scamozzo is there.

"Non-combatants, armor up and into the wagons, to be evacuated by Argos. Soldiers of his Majesty, don your symbiotes and prepare to bleed death and live as you have never before."

Koutarou might hear a single, large screech coming from beyond the firestorm as the number of hollow signatures in the camp expands immensely.

Hideki, on his end, loads fragmentation shells and starts trying to bombard the camp with those, but a barrage of energy blasts from Argos prevents the ordinance from reaching the cult's forces.

[Kuroimaken]

Avengers, Assemble!

The next morning, the Kuzunoha and their allies (excluding Naito and Katsuo) are called to a meeting within the complex.

Shinhee is the first one there for obvious reasons, and Hasunaga is waiting for the bulk of the group to show up before he enters the room himself.

[5a Violista]

All in all, her shield manages to make Momoko stumble back a ways in momentary confusion, and her shoulder slam does allow her to push Momoko back by a meter or two. That looks like it barely grazed her, however; the woman seems a bit too resilient in this state for Miya's own good.

[Kuzunoha Compound]

Miya had hoped it would have knocked her over, but it shows that she can do something! Ha! Take that! She just needs to hit harder and faster, obviously.

She takes a step back in order to be able to throw a punch. First, she hits with her left fist, then her right. It's still not hard enough, though, so she concentrates on hitting again even harder and faster, in the same spot.

As Miya tries to hit harder, she subconsciously uses fullbring, tugging on the soul of her fists to make them hit harder and faster. They get tougher, as well, so hitting that hard and moving her muscle that unnaturally fast doesn't shatter Miya's own bones or tear her muscles.


*will post in Eastern Russia on both sides after I catch up*

[Kuroimaken]

Of course, Momoko isn't going to just stand there and take it.

That would be stupid.

Her leg comes up surprisingly fast towards Miya's midsection. It has enough strength in it to perhaps send her comparatively small frame flying.

[KnightDisciple]

[Kuzonoha Compound]

Chuck enters the room in full combat gear, albeit with his headgear stowed in his belt. He seems...relaxed? Well, if not quite relaxed, then pretty close to it. He glances at the other attendees, but opts to just sit down silently and observe for the moment.

[Eastern Russia]

The second "wave" of Soul Society forces had yet to deploy, opting instead to let Hideki and those under his command bombard the enemy as long as possible. Many of them were poised to race into flanking positions where they could hopefully pincer the enemy between them. That said, it was officially a battle and not a one-sided one, so plans were fast and loose at this point.

Captain Masaru knew this all too well as he crouched and listened to his headset, one hand resting on the hilt of his longer sword, the other flexing through exercises meant to keep it loose and limber for quick Kido casting.

They just needed the signal to proceed....