juneshero | [exsilium] IC contact

[... drat. There goes his plan to escape death and humiliation. As Kougyoku undoes the laces on her skates, Yosuke is left tapping his currently frozen show against the ice. Should he just break it? Would it ruin his shoe? He's almost got enough saved up to buy/trade for a thicker coat than his school uniform but maybe he should consider putting that into a shoe fund instead.

Ugh, here he thought that saving for a motorcycle was hard]

... Huh?

[oh shit, he wasn't listening shit shit shit what did she say? Something about weapons?]

Uh... No? Sort of?

[ Or he could always ask her to magic the ice away. That was a thing. Not that she would offer—it's so convenient! ]

I see. Of course you'd have something else! [ It only made sense. ] Show me that today!

[ Once she finishes changing, she walks to the middle of the open area, expecting Yosuke to follow. Ahaha, she's taking out her hairpin... ]

[oh that was an option? Yosuke thought it only worked one way MAN YOUR SKILLS ARE SO USEFUL KOUGYOKU]

... ...

[oh fuck oh fuck ohfuckohfuckohfuck?!?]

W-w-w-wait!! [he holds his hands in front of him defensively as he backs away] I can't- I don't even know if I can summon Jiraiya! Not here anyway!

I... [a little put out] I've never tried.

[then with the previous apprehension disguised as indignation] And it's not like I needed to. Geez, not everyone's from a magical combat world, y'know? Cut me some slack!

[ yeah but he's gotta ask ]

Then, you intend to go against an army with your knives alone? [ doubtful! ] Maybe there was no need to fight in the past, but what about the future? Will you march into battle when you've forgotten your sword? Everyone was brought here because they have the power the Initiative needs. Show me that power!

[ Kouen and Judar gave her some faith in herself. It's time for her to return the favor. That, and she really wants to fight...

Yep, that hairpin just turned into a sword. ]

Don't hold back!

Wait, wait- Shit!!

[he moves to draw his knives but slips on the ice and actually loses his balance this time around in the most comical fashion]

Yeouch!

[he moves to a sitting position, at least enough that he could jump to his feet if he needed to but points to his shoes and sputters out]

Can you at least let me have some traction back first?

[ With the wave of her sword, the ice disappears? evaporates? just work with me here, Kougyoku never originally had ice magic until she came to Exsilium. ]

You and Yata are both fond of that word... [ Shit. She looks on, still in position. ]

Are you ready now?

[hey, whatever works! Yosuke's just glad the ice is off and he doesn't have to worry about falling on his face (as much)]

[he stands up and collects his knives. Okay. Okay, he could do this]

... Sure.

[he gives her a lopsided grin as he puts his headphones on and goes into his makeshift fighting position, desperately reaching into his mind to try and find the familiar presence of his Persona]

But go easy on me, 'kay?

[ Kougyoku can't judge, it happens to her, too. (but not as often)

She smiles and holds her sword with both hands now, but unlike Yosuke, she doesn't seem nervous at all. She wields her weapon and faces her opponent as if it was natural to her. ]

Okay!

[ But she has a feeling—what did he call it?—Jiraiya won't come out unless she raises the bar a little. ]

[ Without warning, she attempts to pierce Yosuke with her sword, a vortex of water rapidly spinning around it as she rushes at him. Her footwork is relatively slow this time, so he has a good chance of dodging it. ]

[at the very least, at least Yosuke had his guard up. His music was set at the usual volume; loud enough to drown out background noise but not enough to mute everything around him. He'd just started tapping his foot when she came at him.

There's a small yelp before Yosuke narrowly sidesteps. Despite Kougyoku's slower speed, the water sword still almost clips his coat. Well, that was startling...! Again, he tries to reach for Jiraiya's familiar presence. It's there, he's there, but no where near the level that he should be.

Shit shit shit what should he do?

... Stay defensive for the time being. He couldn't use magic, but he was still fast. And Kougyoku was going easy(?) on him, so maybe he could figure things out from there]

[ Kougyoku's a little disappointed. This won't be fun if he doesn't strike back. After her last attack, she summons enough water to knock Yosuke off his feet in one fluid motion. It might have even pushed him back a few yards! That is, if it hit. ]

What's the matter? It's not training if you don't take it seriously!

[ Since she was so shy, no one would have ever guessed Kougyoku was like this in battle. ]

-!!!!

[Yosuke knew that Yukiko could be a beast on the battlefield but he never expected the same of Kougyoku! ... Maybe he should have.

He'd rather not get wet when it's so cold out. Couldn't something like this kill a guy? So if she wasn't going to let him go on the defensive, then the only option was to charge. Though charging headlong into a wave of water wasn't exactly the greatest plan either...

Yosuke steels himself before dashing forward with the intent to either jump or duck to one side depending on if the water came high or low. If he could dodge this, he could close the distance and try to hit her. Just think about the times fighting in the TV World... What did Chie always say? 'Don't think, feel!']

[ The water is aimed at his head; it's easy to dodge. Kougyoku seems to be more focused on the water's trajectory, too. Hurry, Yosuke! ]

[all right, so that's an easy trajectory to dodge... He could do this.

He ducks to one side, not as fast as he would like and if nothing else came from this, at least Yosuke realized now just how much he relied on his Persona when ti came to fights. The water grazes the tips of his hair (yikes!) but doesn't hit him (yes!). Once he's close enough, he attempts to take a swing at Kougyoku]

[ By reflex, she raises her arm up to protect her face. However, his knife makes a shallow cut on her upper arm, to which she reacts by sidestepping away from her opponent. She winces, and... Ah, she got hurt. The pain makes it a little difficult to hold her sword, evident by how she leans towards one side, but she's fortunate that it wasn't her dominant hand.

She laughs it off. ]

I thought you'd never strike back! But where's your Jiraiya? Ah, maybe it's because I have a soft spot for you... Well then, there's no other choice!

[ While she is stationary, water begins encircling her sword and soon, her entire body. ]

Dwell in me, Vinea!

[ There's another flash of light and this time, she herself transforms.

... YOSUKEEEEEEEEEEEE ]

[he has just enough time to open his mouth to apologize for cutting her when Kougyoku starts talking again. And oh my god, what is even happening--

...

n o p e

Yosuke can't help but stare because 1) that was really cool? and 2) holy cow he was actually going to die Jiraiya now is a pretty good time to show yourself]

Whoa! Isn't that going overboard?!

[but he raises his knives to guard, knowing he's well out of his league and kinda scared for his life. Sure, Kougyoku was a friend, but so was Chie and Yukiko and those two were terrifying. Terrifying. In the back of his mind, he feels a familiar power stirring again.

Though Yosuke doesn't realize it, fear and mental stress were definitely keys to awakening a Persona.... Though without an Evoker, summoning one in the Real World was definitely harder. Oh well, have at you, Kougyoku! ~~whip this boy into shape~~]

It will be if you don't start taking me seriously!

[ Kougyoku flies up in the air, above the trees around them, then swoops down headfirst. Her sword appears to be gathering swirls of water once more for her next strike. She won't be piercing him with her sword, but she certainly intends to hit him with her magic.

She seems to have every intention of killing him, though. Oh well, maybe her face is just—yep, terrifying. ]

[holy shit, she could fly?!? How unfair and ridiculously awesome was this Djinn thing anyway like, wow? Jiraiya seems kinda weak in comparison]

[and that sound just now? Totally not the sound of Yosuke almost shrieking like a little girl gosh]

[but in his panic, he vaguely recognizes a familiar power stirring in the back of his mind. With Jiraiya's help, Yosuke is a bit faster - not as much when compared to how he was in the TV World - but anything helps when you have a terrifying water princess bearing down on you. And maybe it was the fear of getting royally (ha) owned that caused the beginnings of a shadowy shape to appear above the teen as he dove to one side, mimicking his dodge roll. Sukukaja may or may not be in effect]

[ welcome to shounen manga, baby

Kougyoku sees something odd going on with Yosuke as he dodges, and although she doesn't know a thing about the tricks up his sleeve? She can tell she's getting warmer. The look on her face says, "Aha, now this is where it gets interesting." And that cackle? That means she wants to push him to the limit.

The girl is in the air again when she calls out, ]

Vainel Al-Salos!

[ A dozen spears of water appear in the air and Kougyoku begins firing them at Yosuke one by one like missiles. Now, the billion-dollar question: Can Yosuke dodge them all!? If he couldn't get Jiraiya to help him earlier, he'd be a dead man... ]

Edited (redundant redundancy) 2014-01-01 16:14 (UTC)

[this is at once his greatest dream and worst nightmare how did this happen?

When Yosuke hears her call out an attack (it must be an attack, that's such a Shounen manga thing to do) his head turns straight back up. Then feels the blood drain from his face. He's seen ice spells, he's fought a goddess of death but this? This wasn't in the TV World, where he was practically untouchable, with his partner and their friends with him. He was here, by himself going up against a girl who clearly, clearly - and there was never any doubt about this - leagues above Yosuke.

So yeah, he's a little stressed out. Mostly on the verge of panicking and freaking out, all but forgetting that maybe Kougyoku won't kill him? Because it sure as hell felt like she was going to kill him right this instant. Which was probably the point of this exercise but Yosuke likely wouldn't realize this until much later, when his heart rate was back to normal.

But in the meantime, shit. Shitshitshitshit--!!!

Yosuke barely manages to roll out of the way of the first spear and scrambles away from the second. Oh god, this was really bad! But there's a familiar power coursing through his body and at the edge of his mind and if that doesn't boost Yosuke's confidence... Hey, he may have never summoned Jiraiya in the real world, but who's to say he can't? He just... Needed to dig deep. Really deep. Deep dark secrets deep.

He stopped moving momentarily; focus, he had to focus on the music in his headphones, on himself. Draw the power forward and into the shape of a familiar tarot card-]

Go, Jiraiya!

[AND SUCCESS!! He spins around, cutting the tarot in two and manages to summon a DISCO NINJA FROG that's no where near the size of a Djinn, but hey. It worked! And after a moment of startled staring - because, whoa, it worked?! - Yosuke dashes forward, Sukukaja now in proper effect. ~~now excuse him while he runs away from kougyoku while crying~~]

Finally!

[ Kougyoku was expecting something bigger, but if this is what Yosuke has, then that's fine. All she has to do is not get anyone killed. That's easy... right?

The rest of the spears aim for Yosuke, but the last three are locked on his Persona. With the wave of Kougyoku's hand, she motions them to fly toward Jiraiya at once. ]

[maybe if he hadn't forgotten his true facade used to face the troubles of the world or whatever the hell Susano-O was suppoed to be, he'd be more impressive. But right now, all he had was Jiraiya and he's had Jiraiya since the beginning. The very beginning. And that's as comforting as the breeze he feels surrounding him now.

But man, he was going to pass out for a week once this is over.

The teen stops, recognizing when a monster was preparing to strike... He couldn't dodge all of them, he had to interrupt the wave of spears coming at him. And hey! Maybe that fighting tournament he had been forced to participate in was helpful after all. It did, after all, show him other uses for a Garudyne spell...

Unaware of the three spears coming at Jiraiya (haha), he calls off his Persona to close the distance before summoning him again. This time, his Persona doesn't stay visible, appearing briefly before disappearing after casting a spell. He can't moonsault with Kougyoku up in the air like that, but he could still use a Yosuke Strike combined with a Garudyne to turn himself into a human hurricane! It even sends him up in the air briefly! Which he takes advantage of by trying to knock down the princess.

How effective is Fighting RPG mechanics against a shounen manga? Who knows. 8C ]

[ The disappearance of Jiraiya disorients Kougyoku. Already? No, that can't be. Her eyes scan the area, but it's all too late when she sees the Persona again. The hurricane successfully knocks her away and sends her crashing down!

At least snow makes a soft pillow? ]

[ She still has more fight in her, but instead of going for the kill, she laughs as she lays there. ]

Oh, Yosuke... I thought you'd never come around!

[ She doesn't want him to die, though, which is why she stops attacking. ]

Do you want to train some more?

[Yosuke lands not at all gracefully a couple of feet away from her. Were they in the TV World, maybe he could act cool but out in the real world? Nope, flopping over into the snow now.

There's a pained groan from where Yosuke is before he wheezes;] N-Nah. [puff] 'm good.

... Haha... ha... I can't believe you let me hit you. [he sits up and puts his knives away before wobbling over to where Kougyoku was. He holds a hand out for her again]

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i'm sorry for the lateness, but not really sorry for kougyoku

no, never be sorry for kougyokuAAAAAAAAAAAH

AAAAAAAAAAAH would be my reaction too

OH GOD THIS IS LONG i am gomen

it's all good hehehehe

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