05-06 TOA R4: Samurai Kenji I v. Raine Ikazuchi

[LocoColt04]

Intermission's over, boys. Let's see what happens.

[Toph Bei Fong]

Victoria had lost yet another match. Was this the end for her? Was there any reason left to go on?

I've put my trust in you
Pushed as far as I can go
For all this
There’s only one thing you should know
I've put my trust in you
Pushed as far as I can go
For all this
There’s only one thing you should know
I tried so hard
And got so far
But in the end
It doesn’t even matter
I had to fall
To lose it all
But in the end
It doesn’t even matter

She put her trust into her alter-ego and was let down repeatedly. Why did she even listen to her in the first place? She could've just stayed a normal girl. But no, she changed her appearance, her name, and her wardrobe all for the cause to bring her alter-ego to life. It was all for naught, she thought.

Frustration caused her blood to boil and eventually led to her silent rage. Soft footsteps were heard heading to her door. She went into her closet and pulled up a pair of black leather pants and zipped them up. She took a dark red halter top off its hanger and slipped it on over her head. The top had a symbol on it in bright red stitching. It meant 'Lilith'. The symbol was of an attractive succubus girl clad in leather.

She opened the door to reveal a staff person about to knock on said door. What they saw was an icy yet scorching glare of one red eye and one grey eye. The young man unintentionally lost his balance and fell to the floor. He struggled to get up and ran away as fast as he could from the monstrosity.

She closed the door behind her and proceeded across the street to the Tournament of Arms building where the fourth round was to begin shortly. She gathered such from the staff person arriving at her door.

She arrived at the building and verified her identity, but the staff members appeared to be extra cautious around her because of the aura that was surrounding her. She was different somehow and it wasn't a good thing.

She assigned set one for this round.

Victoria hopped into her stasis pod and was immediately put under. She was whisked away to a dreary, barren wasteland. The full moon was out and stars could be seen throughout the sky. A steady gust of wind flew in the area. She heard some odd creaking noises and noticed an old tavern. The door swayed back and forth, which caused the creaking noise. Victoria entered the tavern and the only light luminating the place was the Full Moon through the two windows on each side. It looked as if it were abandoned for several decades. Cobwebs filled the furniture and dust filled the shot glasses and bottles of stale liquor. She dusted off the counter and sat on it, staring at the door. Waiting.

Waiting for someone... or something to show up and be her prey.

[Akira]

The noises of the ventilator’s fan drown out all other sounds except for the occasional grunting. Kenji's face was blood red and was cramped together in a very awkward way. He clutched his hands into fists until the knuckles turned white and bit his lip as hard as he could. He wrapped a segment of white silk-like material around his right hand and continued with his struggle. Kenji had been in this small closed confine for ten minutes now but had no success thus far. Suddenly, a tremendous shot was heard followed by a putrid stench, withering the bodies of everyone who got a hint of the rancid smell. Kenji let out a sigh of relief and relaxed his body.

Apparently, the Indian food he had eaten the previous night at the "Bombay Express Restaurant" had not been of the best quality and had seriously upset his stomach. He had been having non-stop diarrhea for the past 7 hours and it seemed that it would not stop anytime soon. The worst part though, he had to stay within the vicinity of the restrooms or he would risk not making it to the toilet and shi….well we know the rest. Kenji couldn't help but think that this could become a hindrance in the tournament and keep him from fighting properly.

He pulled up his pants, tightened his belt and headed towards the facility's pharmacy. There, they gave him a bottle of stomach soothing fluid, which he chugged down without hesitation. Immediately, he could feel his stomach start to settle down. This was very timely since the next match would be starting soon. Kenji had made it quite far and was very satisfied with his achievements. He was under the top three and only had one point less than the pole-position holder. That is why his next match would be vital and would leave no room for mercy or leniency. His alter-ego would have to be consequent, and obliterate the opponent before any elaborate action could unfold.

As he had predicted, the tall man came looking for him again. This time he saved himself the embarrassment and didn't say anything to the big brute, knowing he wouldn't get a response anyways. He simply headed towards the general area of the VR rooms and waited to be directed into a specific room. Hooking him up to the wires was the small Arabian man that had made fun of him earlier. The man had a small grin on his face which enraged Kenji to the fullest extent. Still, he didn't make it noticeable and concentrated on the fight ahead of himself. He informed the staff member that he would be using the "Of the Brute" weaponry set. Before he could fully finish the sentence, he fell into the trance-like sleep.

----

All was black and the only decent source of light was the brightly shining moon above. Akira looked around only to find a desolate plain plagued by small shrubbery and the occasional small boulder lying in wait. Further scanning the environment, his eyes eventually found their gaze focusing upon what seemed to be a beat up old tavern. It was in a deplorable state and Akira was quite surprised to find it still standing.

Before making his way towards the building, he looked around himself one more time for any potential threats. Nothing of interest caught his glance and he decided that it was safe to commence. The mighty Samurai made sure not to break any twigs or sticks that would alert the surrounding opponent of his arrival.

As the previously small building started to get much bigger, he put his senses on full alert, making sure to continue his quiet stride. The small broken door's creaking became louder and louder, abruptly stopping the warrior's advance. He collected himself again and circled the building before entering it. He couldn't really make out anything inside but continued his rounds. Arriving back at the door, he proceeded with extreme caution into the building. He firmly clutched his weapon's hilt and prepared for the worst. Entering, he saw a woman with red and black hair nonchalantly sitting on the counter. He was surprised that she was in such a calm state but did not let down his guard.

Preventing any small talk, he pointed his sword aggressively at her and lunged at the frail feminine body without prejudice or remorse.

[Toph Bei Fong]

The first footstep on the creaking wooden floor was heard and her eyes rushed to the cause of the sudden noise. She smirked as she saw a tough, big looking man ridden up in armor. His sword was big, too. She licked her lips.

Maybe he also has a big....

She shook her head out of the gutter and appeared to vanish in the wind as his sword approached her quickly. Luckily she was much faster--She had to thank her speed, and the density of the armor and how it takes up more wind space, therefore causing him to go much slower than he would if he were not wearing any armor at all. But she mostly thanked her speed, as it was a major part of the percentage--and it collided into the counter.

She was standing directly behind him, smirking with a combination of sadistic and seductive qualities. She was sure to be armed with a few sharp kunai in each of her hands. They were crossed against her chest, ready to be thrown at any moment. Hopefully, if she were to throw them at the right angle, they would pierce his armor at their small openings throughout.

“Hey big man.. I'm over here.” her feet were ready to move at the slightest shift in the wind.

[Akira]

Before the demon berserker could ever turn his attack into a successful one, the target he had been aiming for was gone. He hit the counter and immediately turned around, trying to avoid getting caught off his guard by a quick counter attack. His opponent just stood their taunting him with her Kunai knives in hand, although she did seem to be strategizing in the meantime.

“Hey big man.. I'm over here.” she said with an extremely seductive glare in her eyes. Luckily, Kenji Matsura's alter-ego was not phased by this like Kenji would have been. Well, he did like women but they were never sadistic psycho bitches like this one. He shrugged off her flirtatious innuendo and gathered his strengths again.

This time, he looked for any weaknesses that he could use against her. His armor, while making him slower than her, still protected him from most attacks she could launch against him. SHE however was open to a direct attack. If he could find an opening to land a hit, she would most likely be wounded critically, at least that was the way it would work in theory.

Relative to the time that passes in battle, she had waited quite some time to launch her attack. Akira was no battle ignoramous and knew exactly when his opponent was planning something....be it fair or dirty. The Samurai decided to launch another attack to keep her from further being able to concieve her strategy....

Looking at an old grimy table that stood next to his opponent, he ran towards it and threw it up in the air towards the woman's body hoping to distract her and with luck, maybe even hit her. Not more than an instant after the table had left his hand, he inundated her with a flurry of seemingly endless attacks.