Fandom Death City

[Phayne]

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"Can't say it would be ideal, but I'd manage" replied Jayson, as he maintained his gaze. "I reckon I'd fair better than those two would, heck I wouldn't even be surprised if I did fair better inside a fog" he added quite whimsically, though despite his jovial tone he remained fixated upon Taz and Max. Whilst he was quite poorly informed regarding his own partner's capabilities, he knew enough about Taz and Max to know that he wanted to keep a distance between them selves. The further away they were from him, the longer he had to watch and to learn his opponents and to potentiall nullify their advantages, that was Jayson's current plan until the match officially started. Every little detail he could pick up on, any kinks in their team dynamic, any weakness or flaw to their cohesion, if there was one to be found, you could bet your briches that Jayson would find it.

"Care to share any knowledge about the Scythe Wielder?" he inquired, all the while watching the pair toss the ball between one another, conversing among themselves. "I've seen the Soultube video regarding Tazmuir.. y'know.. the infamous battle royal debacle... granted, he has probably gotten stronger since then... Maximillion however... can't say I know much about him" As he spoke, Jayson raised his left hand to his right eye and shifted the patch momentarily, a smile spreading across his face as he confirmed his suspicions.

"Y'know my answer earlier? Forget it.. Feel free to fog the place up. Go crazy. I'll manage"

As he said this, he noticed the slight shuffle of movement coming from the pair, their inch forward requiring Jayson to respond in kind as he moved ever so slightly backwards as he attempted to maintain a healthy distance between himself and the opposite combatants. While the small shift in movement may have been done subconsciously on their part, Jayson did not want to take the risk, especially if there was a chance that this subtle shift would grow to be a huge advantage for them.

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One Mean Ghost (Mentioned) The Regal Rper

 

[One Mean Ghost]

Kuroneko

"I can't say I know too much about him, other than the fact he doesn't like me" Kuro purred casually at the question regarding Max. The truth was, Kuro only really cared to remember things about people that were interesting to him. Max, frankly, wasn't interesting to him. Just another face in the crowd, so far as Kuro was concerned. Kuro's grin only grew wider when his teammate gave him full permission to fog things up.

"Very well, very well...." He purred, holding the ball in one hand as he held out his free palm.

Oh Sprites that Gather the morning dew
Shroud the land in a ghostly hue
Cloud the sight, blur the view
Cover all in your mysterious fog

Almost instantly, the air seemed to cloud with mist around the duo, spreading quickly in the confined spaces of their makeshift arena. The last thing the other two would see would be Kuro's grinning face as the fog obscured him from view. It wasn't an attack, so it wasn't against the rules for him to do it before the official start. Now that his fog was up, though, he kept his hand up, already murmuring another spell.

If those two were really so foolish enough to run right at the mist, well.....

They'd be in for a shocking surprise.

 

[The Regal Rper]

• The Mage
• The Duo

• 
  
  Mystic Lounge​
  Crowley​
  
  
  
  Watching from the sidelines, Crowley hadn't said much of a word. Biyu herself was particularly quiet and the instructor didn't try to breach that silence. He expected as much anyway. All of this was new to her and he hadn't expected too much of a conversation. So instead of engaging in conversation he watched the others. There wasn't much to see, just idle movement. A bit of talking. The usual.
  
  Till Crowley picked up an energy spike and noticed a mist had begun to form. Oh hohoho, what's this? Mist? Creating mist in this temperature? Not a bad idea using the moisture from yesterday's rain and our area to your advantage. With the hint of a grin he rubbed his chin. "Nicely done." Then he saw the plan behind the trick as Kuro hid the ball.
  
  Crowley merely chuckled. "Hah! Very nicely done indeed. Well then Miss Fang, if things continue as they are I do believe we'll have some trouble seeing what's going on in there. So, allow me to give us a better screen. Who knows? Maybe the other two students I invited out here will get here just as things get good."
  
  And without so much as an explanation as to what he was about to do, Crowley whipped out his wand from his coat like a spinning baton and caught it....then proceeded to point the wand in the right direction so he could cast the spell properly. Glancing at Biyu the redhead gave her a friendly wink, "Watch this. If those guys are anything like my last class in Liverpool, they're going to be stunned when they see this." And as he spoke bright green static buzzed out of the point of his midnight blue wand then without even looking in the direction he needed it, Crowley spoke his chant:
  
  

  "You can run.."
  
  The glow turned a dark green.
  
  "You can hide."
  
  Then it shifted into a murky red.
  ​

  "You can sneak to your hearts content.
  But whatever you do, know that it's true.
  I will always be watching you."​

  
  The spell was cast, the air invisible ceiling above shifted and morphed into a blob that grew by the second. It got bigger. Rounder. Wider. And then just like that, an eye opened up into the sky with a draconian iris that stared down into the field below.
  
  One second there was nothing. The next blink, there was a mirror that appeared in front of Crowley. With a gentle tap on the glass, it expanded to accommodate not just him but Biyu also. A second later. The field was visible. And so were those starting their match.
  
  
  
• 
  
  
  

  Max Holiday​

  
  

  Tazmuir V. Klivoc​
  
  
  
  

  
  

  Max || Tazmuir
  Mystic Lounge​
  
  
  
  
  When Taz thought he saw his breath, he knew something was up.
  
  Like Max, he turned his attention to Kuro, who from what he could hear was muttering some form of chant. He's using magic. And he was proven correct almost instantly. Mist didn't build at this kind of rate. Not normally. And from the way speed it was forming Taz knew they only had a few seconds to make a decision.
  
  Max made it first. He tensed, prepped then was about to rush till one strong dark blue sleeved arm launched out of the air and blocked his path at the midsection.
  
  He looked at Taz in surprise. The assassin merely shook his head in refusal.
  
  Max paused, hesitated. Then just as the mist was getting worse to where it was making it harder to see Kuro and Jayson, he stood down and nodded.
  
  "It's a trick." The student council member stated.
  
  Taz didn't say a word. Max didn't expect a reply. He knew what the assassin was doing. He was listening.
  
  For a good four seconds there was nothing. Nothing but the sound of chirping birds outside this cage and the distant voices of other people enjoying the day, then all of a sudden, Taz tackled Max, and a bolt of lightning went flying no more than at least two feet away from where he was less than two seconds later.
  
  The two went semi-flying towards a stack of stones and rocks not too far away from walking path and its stream of grass and trees surrounding their open football field. With a crash they landed, one dropping the ball, the other losing his sunglasses.
  
  Max huffed as he looked at the singe the bolt left then glanced at Taz who, despite tackling him, had already recovered and was bracing on one knee. "Thanks." was the only thing Max could find himself saying as he stared at the singe mark Kuro had just left them. Taz didn't respond. He was looking elsewhere, searching for something. What the hell is he thinking?
  
  "Here Max." The ball flew towards Max and he caught it with his one hand, then took the glasses in his other.
  
  "Uh..th--" Taz shook his head for silence as he pulled Max up with one hand and held onto something else with the other. Max nodded, then slipped the glasses into his pocket.
  
  "He's not that bad." Taz signed with his hands. Max quirked him a brow and Taz made a sign with his hands to his lips that stated: "Communicate."
  
  Max nodded and signed back. "Yeah...." the meister pulled a bitter frown. "That's the annoying part."
  
  "They have the advantage here." Taz motioned with his hands. "Don't know what Jay can do, might have something to do with his eye when Crowley was talking but either way that Kuro ain't a dumbass. Had that bolt hit me, I would be out for 4, maybe, 6 minutes. Good enough amount of time for him to close the gap and end this. This place gives him offensive and defensive advantage. He's covering his ass and his partner's at the same time and to top it all off only one of us can maneuver easily through this." The scythe meister didn't need to be told which out of their duo could move through this easier. Max scowled and tossed the ball into the air for a quick catch he made for himself- "No ball talk, no major planning...they're up to something" He verbally said, his scowl turned into a bitter smile, one that made Taz pause before he caught the drift and grinned when he caught that look in his partner's eye.
  
  "They either know something about the ball. Or--" He didn't get to finish. Because there was a glow that took his attention to the ground.
  
  Max and Taz began moving away from the rotating red-orange circle; "Run."
  
  

  Boom!​

  
  Gripping the ball closely to his chest Taz rolled with the feedback when he hit the ground and let the ball fly out of his hand before he jumped up and caught it, then landed lightly. He waited for a second, then another, then began moving once more. As he moved, he focused on picking out everyone's souls.
  
  He was no Soul Perceptionist. He didn't need to be to figure out who's soul was what. All he needed to know was the position. And right now, he knew where Max was.
  
  The second he'd told him to run he'd focused his senses on Max's soul. Now? He searched for it. Stretched his senses far and wide before he came up a few meters away with a familiar luminosity that he had to assume was Max's given the position and direction he'd ran.
  
  Popping a neck bone and moving forward Taz revved up his wavelength rate, then he dug a hand into a pocket and took out a single stone.
  
  If Kuro's hearing was as good as his, then he'd just have to see how far hearing could get him. Tossing the stone a distance to his northwest the stone hit a tree trunk a couple feet away from Taz, then he waited. Waited, while Max got up from his own position and began using his senses to get a feel for anyone ahead.
  
  
  
  

Interaction(s): Phayne One Mean Ghost

Mention(s): RANGYOKU

 

[Sir Les Paul]

Stage Name: The Dark Eye
Location: Behind Mystic Lounge
Partner: Morgenstern Stein
Tags: SavingStar RANGYOKU Phayne One Mean Ghost

"Ah, the problem with Mages as teachers...

...is that they favor Magic."

Mido watched from a far-off tree branch. Well-hidden. Quiet. Reserved, until now when he would go unnoticed. It was the Old Ways. Training so deeply ingrained in him that he didn't need to suppress his soul; it was silent to begin with. Until he spoke, of course. Breaking the silence, but only enough to let his nearby partner hear. He wasn't sure where she was, to be honest, but he was sure she was somewhere near. She got the same message he did. That, and he had the uncanny instinct of when she was nearby. Such was the fruits of a partnership.

"Let's go back theory, shall we..." Mido whispered into the leaves of the tree. Not that he could see a whole lot through the fog anyway. Annoying. "He banned the use of Soul Force, but most Meisters their level don't utilize it any other way... likewise, no weapon their level is going to fight autonomous--not well anyway--so by not letting them pair up, he really stacked the odds," he explained, mostly just talking to himself at this point.

Mido rolled over onto his back, ignoring the fight at this point. Too far away, too little going on, couldn't see it anyway. Waste of time. "Lord Sym probably wants us to set some kind'a example, but this isn't my style," he commented, the sense of disappointment apparent in his voice. "Hopefully those tests are just for the newbies..." he added.

 

[Phayne]

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"I can't say I know too much about him, other than the fact he doesn't like me"

"Alright..." sighed Jayson, slightly deflated about the lack of intel he was able to gain. He would have preferred to have had a bit of an advantage information wise going into this fight, alas that was not to be. "... guess we'll have to figure him out during the fight" he replied. Almost as quickly as he had done so, the air around them began to change; a wave of uneasiness washing over Jayson as Kuro began to chant and cast his spell. He could only look on in fascination as the magic gathered the water molecules in the air and began to shift into the dense gaseous cloud of grey mist; the sheer opacity making it harder for even Jayson to see out of it. Jayson whistled softly as he stood to full height, impressed by how sudden Kuro had managed to call forth a thick blanket of fog.

Almost completely enveloped by the the cloud of grey, the last thing he saw was Taz's arm darting outwards across Max's mid section; stopping the Scythe Meister in his path. It seemed like the two of them were acting cautious around Kuro's spell, their 'safety first' stance betraying the initial image Jayson had of Taz. Jayson was sure that Taz would have charged head on into the smoke, intent on ending this bout as quickly as possible. To see him do the opposite however was definetily unexpected yet within the surprise came a bit of new information. Taz and Max's current movements could really only mean one thing... they knew something. Something about Kuro that made them practice caution, despite his earlier lackadaisical attitude

He was about to comment on what he had seen, when a sudden bright light illuminated the dense haze for a few mere seconds, Jayson's hand instinctively rising to cover his face from the light, yet such an act wasn't enough for what usually occurs after, Jayson's body spazzing out almost instantly as the sudden the sound of an explosion caught him by surprise, the suddenness of it catching him off guard and causing him to jump. "What the hell?!" he blurted, his right hand lowering to the left side of his chest as he felt his own heart beat rising. "Warn me next ti.."

"BOOM"

"...ti..me" he finished. Jayson stood there gobsmacked, here Kuro was on the offensive and all he was doing so far was to squibble like a new born foal in a lightning storm. Not much of a first impression so far. With a grunt, Jayson composed himself and began to formulate a plan of action, removing his eye patch completely and taking a few steps towards Kuro's direction before stopping behind him and muttering a few words as softly as possible.

Satisfied, Jayson glanced around; his right eye scanning the area for the faintest of glows. For now, he would avoid getting himself into close range combat.. doing so would only mean he was getting himself in Kuro's way.

Satisfied that he had gauged the rough distance between himself and where either Taz or Max were, Jayson began to move several yards away from Kuro's spot before stopping, his tongue clicking and reproducing the sound of a gun being cocked.

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One Mean Ghost (Mentioned) The Regal Rper

 

[RANGYOKU]

方比喻
BIYU FĀNG

♤​

LOCATION
Behind Mystic Lounge​

INTERACTION
Crowley​

MENTIONED
The Regal Rper ​

In spite of a lack of easiness in finding herself keyed up, she would be lying if she were to state her current state of mind as entirely passive towards what had transpired up until now. In particular, it involved more so implications of what to make of it. She was reluctant to voice her thoughts, even if she felt very tempted to inquire the man by her side more and more as time passed, instead focus on the “role” she had been assigned to rather than waste time searching for answers that she could probably never get out of his mouth. No, Crowley had a point to this exercise, to his decisions, questioning them was a fool’s move.

Observing the match unfold brought insight as much as it drove her confusion to feel more palpable in retrospective. The instructions provided by Crowley had served a key aspect to understand what he meant by this arrangement, surely, but the mysterious entity was far from transparent in his intentions beyond strengthening this group’s ability to work off one another. Her case was one such factor to her reasoning. Biyu’s circumstances as Taz’s partner qualified her as an outsider of sorts, made even tangible given how she had come to be transferred to this branch, details she was sure Crowley was aware of. Not to mention her inherited ability of telesynchronization, a possible asset of aiding the instructor with his duty as a referee. She could say it was yet early to have an input of significance. But witnessing his magic take effect on their field of vision and thus severing any chances of making use of her in this … it was enough to have her rethink her assessment of it. Doubt was a corruptive emotion for one to have, as it brought about far more like it.

Biyu stood her ground, however, she ought to think of this as yet another trial of Crowley’s, just a distinct appraisal of her as a member of his assemble. Or maybe she was simply looking too much into this, losing her concentration on what she had been asked of. It was as if she was entirely too focused on making an impression on him, to prove her worth on whatever he had saw in her. A terrible, terrible habit.

So far, the pairs had showcased a fair compliance to the rules and expectations set up by Crowley. The ball fell ultimately a mere excuse to have them showcase their abilities, but somehow she reckoned it was not a bad move on their part, as long as they did not favour such a strategy over the basics to this exercise. Eye darting from one student to another, she considered a titbit of information Crowley had mentioned to her prior to the demonstration of his powers. She felt compelled to use her Soul Perception to attempt to find herself one step ahead. But once again, she thought of how it defeated the whole point of this, even more so taking in account the fact that she had no idea if they were actually there already, deeming it an impulsive move on her part, eager as she was to do something, anything tangible during this. She had to thread carefully, always.

❝ … These two students joining us, Mr. Crowley, may I inquire their names?❞ Thus, she would rely on her memory.

 

[The Regal Rper]

• Student Secretary
• Mage

• 
  
  Max Holiday​
  
  
  
  
  

  
  

  Mystic Lounge​
  
  
  
  
  
  For the first time in this particular week, Max found himself more than a little annoyed. Unsurprisingly enough, it had everything to do with Kuro. For about ten seconds, after he and Taz had been separated. After he had jumped, and ducked his head down for cover once landing roughly on the ground- he'd expected something to happen. He'd thought Kuro was going to jump out at him. Maybe do a ballerina jump right over him while throwing a zap on his exposed derriere.
  
  Luckily for him, none of that had came. And he had to admit, he was more than a little relieved now that he was up on his feet again.
  
  But he was more annoyed at how quickly the rat had thrown apart their entire co-ordination. If dividing groups was a major? Kuro would have a PhD. And it infuriated the meister to no end how good that rat could be when he actually tried. If only he wasn't a flaming ass also, then maybe then in some alternate reality where the gods made mortals their plaything, maybe then, he and Kuro could've been...friendly acquaintances.
  
  But even he had to admit that was pushing it.
  
  Focusing his attention back on his situation, Max glanced around only to see nothing but mist wafting around. He made a face. That explosion had confirmed his suspicion. Kuro, was using the right moments to catch them off guard before activating his spells. Looking at the stones in his hand, he had reason to believe Taz had given him this to throw the guy off his aim, but knowing Kuro from his antics that sort of thing wouldn't work.
  
  He'd tried it once and had just ended up shocked instead.
  
  He's going to keep his distance. And since he's done this, he'll be using hearing. Worst thing I can do, let him know where I am but I'm not the only one he'll be focusing on. If his partner moves too far in here, he'll have to aim carefully. Which means there's a good chance he'll stay in Kuro's sights or at least in a proximity the rat will know where he is...Damn! This whole field was that idiot's playing field.
  
  Now his issue was figuring out where and what Jayson was. He didn't know Jayson till today. Guy seemed alright, but as a Weapon his skills could be anywhere. He wasn't autonomoous so hand-to-hand combat clearly wasn't going to be his forte but if he gave Kuro the go ahead, then he must be ranged so that means...Gun Max swore. A second later he regretted it.
  
  Lightning lunged for him and he leaped out of the way, landed then four seconds later banked to dodge another explosion. Two ranged combatants against two ranged close-quarters fighters. Max grimaced at the sound of the boom as he let the small push from air pressure increase his speed, the odds were stacked against them. He just hoped Taz could stay undetected, but given what his former classmate had done for him just a few minutes ago? He didn't think he'd be off to a bad start...if he didn't let Kuro get to him.
  
  Max shook his head and moved forward. He had to focus. And that's exactly what he did. He was no perceptionist. He couldn't determine things like strength, type, or weaknesses, but at least he could figure out where his teammate was if he wasn't too far away. Closing his eyes, and focusing, sparks of life came into existence. The closest one he felt, was on the move. It was familiar, the presence was strong, imposing, dominant- it was Taz. And he was on the move, heading Northwest in a direction towards one presence he recognized as being Kuro's and another he wasn't entirely sure of.
  
  Kuro and Jayson. From what he could barely make out, they were keeping their distance. He wasn't sure which presence was where given the distance all he knew was that one belonged to Kuro and another belonged to Jayson up ahead. Taz was already moving but if he had to guess, it would be the rat, after all that had been the plan.
  
  Moving cautiously, Max moved a few feet, stopped. Then took the stone Taz had given him and focused. Distracting him won't work He knew that. But getting Jayson's attention, is gonna be worth it if I can get some payback for once, rat. And that's when he chucked it. Pitching the stone like a ball, Max chucked that stone as hard as he could, with all his senses focused on what he assumed was Jayson's position, given the fact that said presence had moved up a little in the time.
  
  The stone sailed through the air, moved like a ball, then on intention, it deliberately missed Jayson, hit a foot away from him, made a sound that sounded like a rushed footstep then bounced right past him and back into the smokescreen ahead.
  
  Max waited for a reaction, hoping his trick had worked.
  
  
  Interaction(s): Phayne
  
  Mention(s): One Mean Ghost
  
• 
  
  Mystic Lounge​
  Crowley​
  
  
  Crowley had to admit, he was a bit impressed. Max had been chosen for this exercise because he knew Kuro most. From his time talking with the boy out of all the others that had been a victim of Kuro's pranks, he had found Maximillion Holiday to be the one with the most experience with the mage, and thus a major asset to Taz. Taz, was Kuro's opposite. Where Kuro dominated in long distance, Taz surpassed in close-quarters, they both had exceptional control in both their own fields when it came to aethar-output or wavelength-control. Which was why Crowley had found it interesting in how Kuro, had turned the tables.
  
  Of the two, Max was the most knowledgeable when it came to their opponents. While the assassin was quick thinking, Max was a scrupulous lad-- could figure things out or come to conclusions that about 70% of the time were close to accurate or almost on key. If he had enough time, Crowley believed he could guess what Jayson was given how everything had played out so far, if the council member hadn't already. Where Kuro as a yokai had a natural proclivity to elements, excellent mana control and not only possessed the affinities to two elements; namely lightning and now that he'd seen the explosion, fire-- Taz seemed to be a likely candidate that matched the mage in terms of pure speed. No magic. No wavelength. Just natural speed. The two had levels of control rare to see in One Star Elites. But this wasn't just about control. It was about how the young assassin switched, mixed, or combined his techniques with his wavelength, without relying on just pure strength or just his own wavelength.
  
  The instructor had to smile. Chidori had trained the kid well. And the infamous vixen Blair hadn't done as bad a job as rumor would have it believe.
  
  It was an interesting set up against a Gun type Demon Weapon like Jayson who was proficient in hand-to-hand combat if his body could keep up and if the person he was fighting wasn't wayward in their attacks. Add that to the fact he was the type who liked forming bonds and seemed to have a natural proclivity towards working well with others he liked, being paired up with someone like Kuro, whom Crowley had heard tended to struggle with communication when it came to groups was a unique set up. But it was a nice twist to see the young mage take a battle where Meisters who could turn their offense into a powerful defense, flip the tables in just a couple seconds with some good hi-jinks planning.
  
  Speaking of hi-jinks, he had wondered why Biyu hadn't asked him a single question. Not a question on why he'd pulled her out. Not a question on his reasoning for setting things up like this. It wasn't rare nor uncommon, but she really was one of the more....obedient types. At the very least, Crowley could tell the young girl used professionalism as her trump card, and seemed to like being focused on a task at hand. While this was something, he doubted it was much to truly capture her attention so when she asked about these two students to be joining later Crowley couldn't help but shift his attention to her and offer her a raised brow of amusement.
  
  "Curious aren't we? Well, since you asked I'd be happy to tell you Miss Fang. The two students that will be joining us belong to families I'm sure you've heard of. One's recently gained fame over the past few decades while another has been helping DWMA for quite some time. Our two students today, late as they may be which I'm certain will rectify itself later, are: Midori☆Hoshi and Morgenstern Stein."
  
  
  Interaction(s): RANGYOKU
  
  Mention(s): Sir Les Paul SavingStar
  

 

[Phayne]

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"Oi Oi! Watch it will ya" hollered Jayson towards the direction the pebble had flown from. Superior vision no matter how hindered still provided him with an advantage in such regard and it was only proven so as he watched the pebble appear through the thick mist; its trajectory obvious. No sidestep was needed, no matrix back breaking manoeuvre was required, simply Jayson stood there, the minute changes in the fog as the pebble whizzed past him more than enough information for him to gauge the direction of where it had been thrown. Though the distance was still rather vague. Despite making a meal of it, Jayson had found himself deep in thought as he tried to break down what had just happened.

The sheer act of engagement had implied two things. 1. Taz or Max had figured out his location or 2. That was a random throw. Either option however imposed their own set of problems on the situation and depending on which route Jayson had chosen would require a different course of action. Had this been a random throw, then his somewhat impulsive need to respond as well as any further action he took would thus give away his position. If it was the former, then doing nothing would potentially backfire on him. Luckily enough, he had a bit of experience in such situations and knew the correct course of action to take. Given his history with Rosalia and his crew he had learned to always assume the worse possible outcome and due to this experience he was able to see past the 'dilemma'. Regardless of which outcome was the truth, there was no way to escape a fight thus rather then continuing with subtlety it was best to take action and prepare. It also helped that Jayson had Kuro as a partner.

Had Jayson been partnered with someone other than Kuro, then perhaps he would have been fooled into thinking someone had rushed behind him given the sound that had permeated the silence, however to his fortune that was not the case. Not only had Kuro's attacks been highly effective, but the soft glow from his assault coupled with Jayson's superior eyesight was more than enough for him to catch Taz and Max's shadows in the distance and unless either of them had the ability to teleport it was nigh on impossible for them to have snuck up behind him so easily.. much less conveniently 'give away' their location with a miss-step. No, Jayson was not fooled. The pebble had been thrown from their last none location and it was too much of a coincidence for one of them to have thrown a pebble in his direction.



Grabbing a jawbreaker sized pebble in his right hand, Jayson revised his plan of action once more before beginning the execution. With relative ease, he tossed the pebble skyward, the large rock momentarily disappearing into the fog. Given his innate knowledge as a gun weapon as well as the vast amount of experience had had gained 'firing', Jayson knew exactly where to aim. Counting in his head, his left hand now contorted into a 'gun shape' with his index finger transformed into the 'gun barrel, had followed the ascension and descent of the pebble almost perfectly before he fired. A 'blank shot' almost completely devoid of any compressed wavelength had been fired.

"Bang"

A thick burst of air had escaped from his palm, propelling the pebble forward rapidly. It wasn't strong enough to penetrate flesh or hit an impressive range however it was still enough to cause bruising, much like a rubber pellet or bean bag shot. Would it hit? He didn't know. Afterall the range wasn't the greatest and he had no way of pinpointing his opposites exact position. All Jayson knew at this point was that he had gotten the direction of the initial attack perfect, returning his own pebble with precise accuracy. Though that in itself was not his goal.

Almost instantly after he had fired of his 'blank' shot, Jayson had thrown a pebble in the exact same direction, this time using his own arm strength to propel the pebble forward, a second 'shot' this time silent and hidden behind the first. Grinning as he did so, Jayson reached into his pocket for two more pebbles and quickly began to move clockwise, his eyes fixed in the direction of where Max had thrown the pebble. He repeated this procedure two more times, firing three times with his left hand and throwing three pebbles with his right, alternating between the two. Despite moving in a somewhat circular manner, not once did he try and get close to Max, knowing full well that Kuro would be unable to utilize his explosions fully if he had to worry about friendly fire.. atleast he hoped. Jayson shuddered at the thought.

Once more, Jayson clicked with his tongue. The sound of a gun being cocked audible once more.

.

One Mean Ghost (Mentioned) The Regal Rper

 

[SavingStar]

Morgenstern
Stein

​

--Tags: Sir Les Paul The Regal Rper || At: Behind Mystic Lounge || Partner: Mido Hoshi --



“Hey, watch what you say about ‘newbies’ as you may call them, oh Mighty One.” A pair of air quotations accompanied this statement, paired alongside the roll of gorgeous steel grey eyes. As Morgenstern made her presence known in a more verbal way, she of course opted to bring her sarcasm with her. “I’m still a one-star, unfortunately.” ​

​

She knew that even trying to hide herself from Mido was a hopeless task. After all, he could easily hide his own soul from nearly anyone. Why the hell would she even try to pull his tricks on the master himself? She was not trained in the Old Ways like he was, and in all honesty, she was not sure if she would even want to be. Years and years of training in both mental and physically straining scenarios- who knew if she would be able to handle that sort of stress? ​

​

Gently lowering herself beside him on the thick tree branch, the silver-haired meister heaved a sigh and leaned back, utilizing her arms as support. ​

​

Exasperated, the meister allowed herself to lean against her weapon, humming as she closed her eyes. “God, I could fall asleep like this,” she mumbled. “Aella- I mean, Ms. Han- and I were supposed to grab coffee this morning and get to know each other better because of Ares, but this interrupted that idea. I suppose I should make a better plan for it. Huh?” ​

​

It was true that the teacher and herself did indeed have plans for that day to do such a thing. The young meister had taken note of the rather close relationship that her brother and the younger blonde shared with each other, and when she had confronted the two of them, she had received some news that she had most definitely not been expecting. ​

​

“For years, the Stein family has been revered as one of the most outcast families in the meister and weapon world. Our figurehead was a crazed scientist who was obsessed with knowledge in the form of dissection. The actio0ns of my grandfather practically set the stage for how the world sees the rest of the family- that being my brother and I, for now.” ​

​

A light, airy laugh escaped from her lips once again as she shifted her position into a stance that included her sitting up straight, legs crossed with her arms wrapped around one knee. She allowed herself to relax ever so slightly after a moment, however, but she remained with the same aura she projected previously- dignity and honor. ​

​

“It’s funny. One of the supposedly most disturbed families of old, one that people would naturally avoid, as if it were an instinct. And she’s marrying into it.” She shook her head. It was a wonder, really. Aella Han was one of Lord Symmetry’s most lethal weapons. Someone like that, you would expect to be hardened by battle, or just someone who acted and held themselves in a ‘high and mighty’ standpoint. The last thing one would expect was a woman who could be just that if she wanted to, but also a kind individual. It was astounding, at least in her eyes. ​

​

Straightening out, she crossed her legs and allowed her hardened gaze to scan the playing field, snapping out of her brief reverie. “It’s rather amusing to watch, in a way,” she admitted after a moment of silence. “The way Crowley has set up this battle of duos practically allows him to control everything they do to play into his plan. They resemble pawns on a chessboard, and nothing more of the sort.”​

​

Brows furrowing, she studied what was going on. “It is like you said. The odds are truly stacked against both sides. In my eyes, both sides are about equally matched. Tazmuir and Kuro are formidable opponents, as I have so discovered from prior interaction with each of them respectively.” ​

​

She blinked, another small breath of air releasing from her nose. “It makes me wonder, really. All of my peers are so advanced, and I’m just…” Another heavy sigh was heaved from between her lips. “And I’m just me. I expected to make a name for myself, but I guess that isn’t really going to happen, is it?” Not any other name than the girl who failed her examinations because of anxiety, she silently added to herself. ​

​

Focusing back on what was occurring in the field, the silver-haired vixen hummed as she pondered. “Non-solo meisters without their weapon partners are like lost puppies. Without their line of defense, most of them have no idea what to do. They rely on their soul force and unique abilities. But, by banning the use of such soul force…it would be an interesting development to see who is going to come out on top in this fight.” ​

​

A low chuckle rumbled, erupting from her throat as she rolled her head to look at him, uncrossing her arms. “I do believe it is about time that we make our entrance. Do you not agree, dear Mido?” she teased, sending him a wink. “After all, if someone wants to see us, it would be best to not keep them waiting. Would you not agree?” ​

​

 

[The Regal Rper]

• Student Secretary
• The Great

• 
  
  Max Holiday​
  
  
  
  
  

  
  

  Mystic Lounge​
  
  
  
  
  
  

  Bang​

  
  Max heard the sound a second after he saw the shot. Utilizing his wavelength by pouring that energy into heightening his senses he saw something moving towards him just as he heard Jayson's return fire. Instinctively, he moved to the right, his foot slowly shifted, his body tilted forward just a bit and he made ready to do not just heighten his senses but slightly boost his reaction time enough so he could get out of the way. The issue was, he'd thought the shot was aiming somewhere for his torso, instead it dove straight for his foot.
  
  What?!
  
  Reflexively he moved his leg back, but the surprise made him lose concentration and made his increased reactions drop to that of your average person's. The lower part of his shin took the hit, and when it did, it pushed his foot a good eight or nine inches back, not just throwing off his balance but making him wince in pain as he tried to fix it. If that wasn't worse the next stone he saw coming came in a direction he knew he couldn't dodge given his current position.
  
  Thank goodness Kuro gave him a reason not to.
  
  He barely caught it. One maybe two more seconds delay and he would've been hit, but he saw a spark flash in his direction before the lightning came rushing forward. Letting his already off balanced momentum drop entirely and take a plunge backwards, Max fell onto his back and as he did, he watched lightning soar a good two feet past his body, then watched the thrown stone sail over him as he hit the ground.
  
  "Urgh", he scowled. Damn, gotta give them props on their co-ordination. Jayson's gotta have some killer eyesight or maybe he's just that good of a Weapon to hit me like that in time with Kuro's attack. He quickly rolled to his stomach then shot himself up onto his feet. But Max didn't stop there. He shot himself onto his feet then broke into a jog. A second later, an orange circle emerged and just like that, he wasn't jogging, he was running.
  
  Three seconds later there was a boom, and Max was a good distance away huffing as he caught his breath. Damn. He saw a flash of light up ahead, one that probably meant Kuro had been aiming at his partner. Waiting for a bang, Max heard nothing. So Jayson didn't spot Taz then huh? That was good. That meant he had his attention. At least for now.
  
  Better keep it up then he thought trying to get a feel on Jayson's presence again, but three consecutive bangs snapped him out of his concentration. This time, he couldn't dodge. One shot hit him in the right shoulder, another hit his forearm, the last hit his thigh, each one stung like hell and if it didn't make matters worse, there were three more projectiles coming right at him.
  
  "Tsk", he flared up his wavelength. Muscles toughened, skin became denser and where a stone pelted his his body the damage to him felt more like a smack on the wrist. Not as bad, and definitely not as painful as those three shots from before. Kneeling on a knee, Max rubbed his shoulder and felt a horrible sting. If he could, he'd swear but he chose not to. Professionalism and all, he couldn't give Kuro an opening when he didn't think he could dodge or avoid an explosion or shock as easily. Especially given how the overshadow gave away their positions.
  
  Alright Jayson Max thought with grit teeth and a bitter smile, If you're gonna play like that, then I'm gonna make things interesting. One, two, three, four. Four pebbles in one hand. Max placed those four stones in his hand charged each stone with a bit of his wavelength, then threw them in Jayson's direction. With those stones each surrounded by a bit of his wavelength the second they hit the ground he'd know where they landed before the energy dispersed. And then he'd have a better idea of where Jayson was. He could close the distance then, for now Time to change positions.
  
  
  Interaction(s): Phayne
  
  Mention(s): N/A
  
• 
  
  Tazmuir V. Klovic​
  
  
  
  
  

  Mystic Lounge​

  
  
  
  
  
  ....Five....no....it's changed to two.
  
  

  Boom​

  
  ....Three seconds. He landed with a roll, then using his momentum from that added burst of pressure, shot to his feet and took off like he was in a race. He's getting better at figuring out my location. The intervals seem to have changed also between those attacks. It'd been like this for almost....almost what? Two minutes? He didn't know, didn't really care. This was fun. This was entertaining. Almost a month ago he'd fought a dubious mage for the third time in his life, and it had been one heck of an experience fighting Filip and his partner.
  
  Fighting a True Mage like Kuro? This was fun. This was what he needed- what he wanted. Opponents that didn't just know their stuff but pushed him to the next level. Rivals that challenged him, made him think in ways that he didn't bother to when fighting weaker or less experienced opponents. People that could make him react to new things or situations he'd never been in, outside of his mentor's tutelage. Kuro was giving him exactly what he wanted. And Taz had to admit, even if the damn cat had left a bad impression on him from their first meeting, he could recognize that....he ain't half bad. He'd have to thank Crowley for setting him up like this. Picking someone like Kuro who had enough flexibility to know how to flip the tables was perfect for someone with his kind of adaptation. But that would have to come later.
  
  Right now? He had a cat to punch in the face.
  
  There was a buzz humming somewhere, in a direction he was slowly but gradually reaching. To other meisters they'd have to use their wavelength to hear what he was hearing. To mages they might need to pull some magic mumbo-jumbo. Taz didn't. That weird ability he got from his damn ma' really paid off in times like these. Especially when that increasing buzzing meant he was getting closer to Kuro's location.
  
  Like slammed brakes, Taz skidded to a halt. Lightning hit something somewhere and when it did, like a storm it brought with it luminescence that shed an overshadow on his side of the field. So that's what he's been doing. He sneered then it turned into a cocky grin, tracking movements with the aid of mist as your background and our shadows as your focus, clever. Very clever. The longer this drew out the more he saw how intelligent the feline was. Maybe he wasn't just a perv after all.
  
  Then again, Taz moved as the circle emerged and grew brighter, Not all pervs are actual idiots.
  
  Boom! The pressure sent him forward. Using that pressure and landing on his hands Taz shifted the upper weight so as he took momentum with him he did flip after flip after flip, almost like a gymnast doing their routine, then without stopping he chipped a bit of juice from his wavelength then jumped clear over Kuro's bolt of lightning like it was a hurdle in track and he was just showing off.
  
  With a flip in the air he landed back on his feet then using his stumble, he took off in the direction of the buzz. This time, he kept that chip worth of spiritual energy and picked up the speed. And as he did he got faster. Moving like this had become second nature, he didn't need to focus while doing this, he just ran and his body just listened. Bones grew denser, muscles in his legs grew stronger, with every few seconds that passed, he got faster and faster. One second he was moving at expert track level pace, the next he was moving if not as fast then just a bit faster than someone riding a bike downhill.
  
  Taz grinned. The buzzing was getting closer. Louder, clearer. There was a bolt of lightning that flew in his direction and with a bit of an extra chip added to the one he was using, he jumped right over it like a car hitting a speed bump and soaring into the air over a slope. When he landed, he rolled into the explosion spell that had just emerged then without even thinking about it two more chips doubled his reaction time so he shot out of the spell and its range like a bullet fired out of a pistol. When it went off, he didn't even feel the air pressure that came from the combustion, he'd left it in his wake as the sound of Kuro's buzzing was practically humming in his ears.
  
  Two chips went down as he focused three chips into his senses, and after a moment he grinned. Heh, found you.
  
  Slowing his pace down to a speed of 12 km/h Taz let the grin on his face fade to a small smile. If his assumptions were right he'd have to go into a higher state of speed. Adding six chips like he was adding six ice cubes, Taz let his body do the talking. For someone like Kuro, he was willing to show him his norm, maybe he could bring out his max. "Ninja Art: Speed☆Star", and in a flash he was faster than a motorcycle.
  
  Zigzags covered large distances, when Kuro flashed to find everyone's position. Taz would appear in one spot then the next second he'd disappear and reappear elsewhere. It was like teleportation, but it wasn't what he was doing. He'd went from human speeds, to enhanced speed in seconds. Steps weren't steps they were leaps and within two seconds he was right under Kuro's branch. And without a second to waste he soared into the air like launched bottle rocket as he came up right behind Kuro and drew back his fist.
  
  "Hey Kuro!" He couldn't hold it back, he had the happiest grin on his face, "You got stuff alright, but do me favor!" One hand shot out and grabbed a branch over head then using momentum to swing towards Kuro he brought out his left fist and drew it back, "Show me how good you can take a punch--" it fired as the mage turned, and when it met his cheek, Taz didn't even bother to use his wavelength to bolster it. Speed☆Star was a move that focused on increasing speed and reflexes, what he was doing didn't need his superhuman strength to knock this guy off his perch.
  
  And knock him off he did, combined with momentum, his speed and the weight of his punch, Taz didn't just lean into the blow when he hit Kuro, he put his weight into it and made sure he threw the cat completely off his seat and usurped it as his own.
  
  Now he thought with a pleased smirk as he watched the damn cat descend, show me what you can do.
  
  
  
  
  Interaction(s): One Mean Ghost
  
  Mention(s): N/A
  

 

[Phayne]

.

.

.

Jayson was confident in his abilitites, confident in his aim and confident that atleast one or two shots had gotten in. He'd be a failure of a gun weapon if he lacked faith in his accuracy. 6 shots fired and the sound of Kuro creating havoc beyond his field of vision... so far the fight seemed to be going in their favor. Yet, when was it ever the case that things went smoothly without ever hitting a single hitch?.

Waiting, watching and listening. Seconds, minutes.. time seemed to extend as adrenaline filled Jayson. The boyish anticipation for someone or something exciting to come bursting through the fog was eating away at him.. alas.. that was not to be as cruel fate be a seductive tease. Rather then someone coming to engage him in earnest combat, it was simply the same strategy as before. Four pebbles landing around him again, seemingly thrown at random.

Instinctual preferring to remain at range, Jayson retreated several step backwards unsure as to how he should take this reaction to his return fire. Again the pebbles thrown at him seemed random and devoid of any real intent to cause harm. Lacking malice behind them and off-target, Jayson watched as they landed around him at varying distances, simply rolling about to a stop. "Tsk.. I don't get it.." muttered Jayson to himself as he stopped a few yards back from his original position. "What is this guy up to?". Jayson had taken the initiative earlier on and yet the target simply chose to remain hidden amidst the fog, continuing with their cautious actions. The strategy was obvious, the man he was presently fighting was trying to test him, trying to get a feel for

Whilst retreating wouldn't win him the fight long term, it was still tactically advantageous for him to stick to his strengths and his strengths catered towards ranged warfare. On top of that, remaining a fixed distance away from their opposition meant he was in the clear for Kuro to go wild with his attacks. By now, Jayson was confident that his opposition was Maximillion given the nature of how their skirmish was playing out. Had it been Taz that he was fighting against, then surely by now he would have attempted to force the fight into a close quarters contest. 'Great..' he thought to himself, not just because he had made a bit of a meal with his introduction; singling out Taz and reaffirming his name and status towards him but also because he knew next to nothing about the Scythe Meister...

Unfortunetily though Jayson had not realized the ploy behind Max's 'poor aim' until it was too late and had remained within the outskirts of the wavelenghts dispered range, his position revealed to the Meister in all its glory. Whilst unable to do it himself, he was aware of meister's being able to use their wavelength for a variety of purposes and while he couldn't pinpoint the exact tactic Max was using, he was sure that these pebbles weren't in fact thrown at random and were instead a ploy for him to gauge Jayson's position instead. "Shit" he muttered to himself, his guard raised to its peak as he honed his senses. Eyes scanned through the cloud of smoke and ears listened for the soft tell tale giveaway that someone was near. Provided he could see them, he could react in time. Just like Max was a mystery to him, so too was Jayson a mystery to Max. Range was his forte, that wasn't to say that his close quarter set of skills were anything to laugh at.

"Bring it on Max. I'm ready to rumble" challenged Jayson, eyes scanning away for the most subtle of changes in the mist's general shape, the minuscule change in density as the body of smoke was displaced by someones movement.

Hearing a sound just beyond his eye sight, Jayson fired. "There!" grinned Jayson, left arm jutting forward as he fired a single shot towards 10 O'clock, a larger pellet then before whizzing through the air with such speed that a faint whistling could be heard.

.

One Mean Ghost (Mentioned) The Regal Rper

 

[The Regal Rper]

Max Holiday​

Mystic Lounge​

Bang!​

Max heard it. But by the time he'd heard it he was already in the air. He took seven chips worth of his wavelength, a state where he could move as fast as a Toyota going 65 on a 55 road and jump five feet higher than your average kangaroo. Given the place he heard the sound come from and could barely see wafts of mist undulating with the wind, Max could tell his plan had worked. Right now, Jayson had fired at a position he'd lead him to believe with the stone he'd thrown in that direction.

Which meant he'd be alert, but he wouldn't be aware of his exact location. Perfect he thought then reaching the epitome of his ascension, gravity brought the meister crashing back down, right over Jayson himself.

"Need to time this right!" He was closing in fast. Once those pebbles hit the ground and the energy in them had been dispersed Max figured out how much distance had been between him and Jayson after he shifted positions, and the moment he'd found that out he moved in not from behind, but to his 9. Jayson had aimed at 10, had he been a few seconds quicker, he might've caught Max with his guard down as he was ramping up for this power jump. But alas, he'd been to slow.

And now he was going to reap in the rewards.

From above, a shadow formed. Undeniably, that shadow had to be Jayson. Max couldn't make his figure out completely just yet but given how quick he was falling and the way he had his body angled if he didn't pull this attack off right, Jayson would see his outline and he'd have no way to block an attack while in mid-air. Currently, he'd dropped about one, now two feet. The maximum height he'd been able to reach was eleven and given Jayson's height along with his own, being within a 5 ft distance of each other in this drop was all the guy needed to see him.

NOW! Tucking his legs into his chest, heels pressed into the back of his rear, chin tucked in above knees, Max used momentum and his angle to begin spinning like a diver doing a tucked cannon ball. He started to spin one full cycle before Jayson's outline came into view. Then he'd finished a second cycle before the outline was practically clear and now he was seeing a shadow. By the time he'd reached quarter of his thread, Max unfurled himself, shifted his position, extended both his legs and kept them straight out with his arms out on either side for balance.

Bursting out of the mist like a bullet out of smoke, Max emerged in clear view 3 feet above Jayson with his body in a angle that he shifted to keep one leg out and one leg up. He was going to use a axe kick, and given the speed and momentum, plus strength and weight he'd built up if he was able to knock Jayson on his shoulder there was a good chance he wouldn't just knock him to the ground but he could do enough to possibly discombobulate Jayson enough that he could go in for a K.O. hit.

But that all depended on this one shot strike.

So when Jayson looked at him as he was bringing his right leg down to deliver the downward swing on his shoulder, Max merely kept at his speed and sliced his right foot down on Jayson like a hammer going down on a nail.

Interaction(s): Phayne

Mention(s): N/A

 

[Phayne]

.

.

.

Silence, complete and utter silence had followed straight after his 'Wild Shot'. He didn't like this, he didn't enjoy not knowing where the next assault was gonna come from or the state of his opponent. This fight which had dwindled into a more espionage time skirmish was not his style, it was long, devoid of much action; taking away Kuro's chaos from the equation. His senses heightened, Jayson continued to scan the area; hoping to find some hint as to Max's location. Nothing on his 9, nothing at his 3 and nothing at his 12 aside from a ultra-fine shift in the mist's shape; the change coming from above. 'Above??' his mind raced as he arched his neck back.

"Holy Crap!!" shouted Jayson, his head raised upward at the fast approaching Max, a look of surprise clearly evident across his face. As he did so, he turned his head to the left ever so slightly so that his left eye was facing slightly away and his right was now facing Max in a more head on manner.

From Max's perspective, Jayson was staring straight at him, his left eye shut tightly while his right eye was fully unveiled from behind his crimson tuff of hair focused solely on the Scythe Meister. A deep and rich purple iris was revealed, this unnatural pearl like organ almost radiating a sickly glow from its socket. It was unnatural, a stain on his very being, an impurity that had tainted his innocence and etched itself deep into his very core. It was a curse, an unholy blight forced upon him yet amidst all this, the amethyst like gem that had become his right eye hid yet another secret. Amidst the sea of its noble yet tempestuous hue was the faint outline of a cross, its edges barely visible atop the layer of rich violet. The eye shuddered for a few moments, adjusting to the intensity and urgency in which Jayson had demanded from it. Unlike the weird somewhat uncomfortable sensation one gets when being stared at, this was far more intense. Jayson was looking beyond the basics of what the gift of vision had granted to the human race.

Shape, Color, Density, Depth. Everything was enhanced beyond that of a normal human being, Jaysons ability to receive and decipher visual cues essentially pushed to the extremes. This was his advantage, this was where he could push himself to stand toe to toe with the up close and personal fighters. Jayson smirked. While everything in reality would only span a couple of seconds, Jayson's ability to perceive the visual cues had given him more than that. Watching, Jayson honed in on Max's body, the movement of his limbs and the minute changes in his muscles as they prepared for the next movement were all visible for him. Luckily Max was in mid air, away from anything tangible that would allow him to drastically alter his course; simply put his trajectory was predictable and thus it was dodge-able.. provided you could react in time.

Naturally, had someone been unable to extract as much information from sight alone, the almost natural reaction to a falling axe kick would have been to raise either arm above his head and absorb the blow; a foolish idea given the potential of not one but two broken arms.

Jayson stepped backwards with his left foot, his body now going parallel and at an angle away from where Max was coming from. With his right foot outstretched, the axe kick was obvious. Now it was a matter of judging the intended strike target, again a simple deduction when you remove Max's ability to alter his current line of attack. As if set to slow motion, Jayson observed Max's axe kick, his right leg now swinging mere inches away from his face, the lace of his right shoe glancing across his nose as it swung downwards.
"Cheeky little bugger!, Don't Scare me like that!" taunted Jayson as his chest heaved upwards slightly and his muscles tensed.

Knowing that Max would find it difficult to dodge from this position, Jayson pulled his right arm backwards, his elbow and right shoulder arched backwards and his right hand clenched tightly into a fist. Physical strength was not his ally, accuracy was. With precision enough to put Artemis to shame, Jayson shot forward with his right fist, the next destination Max's left cheek and potentially a broken Jaw.

.

One Mean Ghost (Mentioned) The Regal Rper

 

[One Mean Ghost]

Kuroneko

Kuro was enjoying things from his position in the tree. No doubt Taz and Max had thought they, as close range meisters, would have an advantage in a playing field like this. No doubt, their original intent had been to rush, get in close, and then never leave close range where Kuro was most vulnerable. And with one little spell, he had turned that advantage on its head. Fortunately, it seemed Jayson was about as suited to this environment as he was, or at the very least was adaptive enough to keep up with Kuro's seldom communicated antics.

Now, he could have fun seeing exactly how good these other two were. Varying the detonation delay, the size, and even the frequency of his attacks, he wanted to see about how skilled these two were. It was a game in which he was gradually increasing the difficulty as they played.

That is, until he noticed it.

One of the shadows his lightning revealed seemed to almost teleport as the words reached his ears. A mischievous grin spread over his features as he made a realization: whoever this was had trained with Black☆Star. As Taz launched his attack, Kuro turned to greet him with that wide grin plastered on his face even as he was sent flying from his ledge. He didn't even try to dodge. No, he wanted to see exactly how hard Taz could hit.

Flipping once through the air, he landed almost delicately on his feet, rubbing his cheek. "So mew were trained by someone with the Star☆Clan eh?" Kuro purred as his tail swished excitedly behind him. "In that case... I can't take things easy on you anymore. I'll never hear the end of it from Black☆Star or Dark☆Star if I give you anything less than a solid beating." Kuro teased, tilting his head so his neck gave a light pop.

"Strike"

Suddenly Kuro's body seemed to fade, an after image left behind as he suddenly appeared before Taz. Or, more appropriately, Kuro's shin did as it met Taz's ribs to send him flying from Kuro's rightful perch. In midair, with nothing to redirect himself, Taz was a sitting duck as far as Kuro was concerned. An explosion seal appeared right where Taz was heading, the explosion rocketing him skyward towards a blue spellcircle above him.

"Gods of Thunder, SMITE!"

A massive bolt of lighting shot from the circle, hitting the helpless meister and planting him in the ground with great gusto as Kuro watched on from his reclaimed perch. Unable to actually see Taz through the smoke, Kuro instead spoke up. "Hey Taz..... Did you die?" He called playfully, before vanishing from his perch to take up residence in a different tree. Frankly, he was hoping Taz still had some fight in him, otherwise this game would be over very quickly. Now he just had to wait for one of them to need to pass the ball...

 

[The Regal Rper]

• The Mage
• Student Secretary

• 
  
  Mystic Lounge​
  Crowley​
  
  
  
  
  "You've been quiet for quite a while." It was the first thing he'd said after Taz began approaching Kuro's position. Yet those words sort of cut the air like a knife.
  
  Crowley didn't look Biyu's way when he said those words. His eyes were on the screen and if she wanted all she needed to do was glance up at her side to get a view of his face. Eight minutes had passed since he'd answered her question and like a disillusioned child, he got no response from the girl. It was like, trying to get a sloth to move faster by glaring at it. It wasn't going to happen unless you intervened. And judging from the lack of response Biyu was showing, it was best he intervene now. "You know Miss Fang, if you've got something on your mind you could always feel free to tell me. After all if we're going to be a team, we're all going to need to work with each other to make one another stronger." But even though he said that, he knew she wouldn't say what was really on her mind. And in honesty, it didn't surprise him. But it did bug him.
  
  In the past few minutes they'd shortly interacted Crowley found multiple things about Biyu he'd learned from people that had interacted with her to be more than accurate. And that was what was on his mind as he watched Taz dodging strike after strike to reach Kuro's position. These details about Biyu were trivial. Minor details you wouldn't find in a file. Things you'd miss without actually talking to people that knew the person more than you did. It was why he'd taken his time and researched each individual person he'd chosen to join this group.
  
  And it was why he was going to start poking buttons to get things moving if no one wanted to do it themselves. If they needed encouragement, well, he was here to provide. "You know Miss Fang", blue eyes shifted to another part of the glass screen to watch Max and Jayson's match, "I've glanced through your file and if there's anything I must say..." he let a few seconds pause as he watched Max ascend into the air for his strike. A ploy to see Biyu's reaction and confirm other things about her that he'd seen hidden in her file, "....you've got impeccable grades." He smiled, and like the first time he introduced himself it was genuine.
  
  "Most Weapons unless Autonomous, especially sword classifications don't go training themselves much in hand-to-hand combat. If they do, it's not for long. Basics; simple stuff. Nothing really good when you're fighting a Evil Human that generally exceeds normal humans. It's rare actually to find Weapons these days training themselves. However, if one thing caught my interest more than your excellent marks and comments from your Wushu instructor, it was....that." He pointed to the blade by her side. "That, has my attention the most." And his tone shifted considerably to not one of a friend, but one of an inspector.
  
  "You see Miss Fang, one thing I found particularly interesting about you outside of your skills is the fact you arm yourself. I was told by one of your friends, you liked to ensure you were at your best. Always. But....most Weapons or rather, a majority of Weapons don't arm themselves unless they come from a specific clan with traditions that require them to do so or policies that have been instilled in them. You aren't a Hoshi. You aren't a member of the Star Clan. Nor are you a member of or from, any of the other dozen clans or ethnic groups I can think of that require members to carry weapons with them regardless of their abilities.
  
  "No. No. What you are, is a protege. And if I recall correctly, Mrs. Akigawa, or as you know her Miss Yumi, your caretaker and mentor, despite the many wonderful things she had to say about you told me of a few concerns she had regarding you when I interviewed her after many phone calls. Do you know by any chance what her most major concern was?"
  
  He let the silence do its job, then when he saw her lips move he cut her off in a manner that was gentle, but still demanded silence.
  
  "Don't be mistaken Miss Fang. I am not upset with you in any shape or form, so your concerns of offense, if you have any, are unnecessary. But, Miss Yumi's concern, was this. This level of silence, this strained atmosphere we've been building up for the past few minutes. You may not sense it but, its there. It doesn't bother me, but it makes it difficult to get out of that kind of bubble when you're in it. Especially when you require communication and the ability to be able to easily read each other when you are a part of a team. For the past few minutes we've been stewing in this atmosphere and its growing stale. Sort of like how you've been trying to analyze me ever since I introduced myself. Am I wrong?
  
  "I've caught the glances you've been throwing at me. Since you're not blushing like a fan girl, its obvious you don't know who I am so you're trying to analyze what I'm doing outside of what I've said and why I'm doing it. I've had many students Miss Fang. I've taught for nearly a decade and I've learned much from mentors and students of my past, and if there's one thing I know how to do just like your job requires you to do as an intelligence agent its to piece things together to find the way towards clear solutions or at least, clear enough. You, seem to be doing that quite a lot, Miss Yumi was concerned about that. That you'd have trouble with your new partner because you'd be too focused on making things work and making too many assumptions or trying too hard. She wouldn't fully elaborate on why she thought that, so I'm going to ask you personally. Because this does puzzle me as much as your partner's past partnerships do. So why don't we get to the bare bones of it shall we?
  
  "In your past you've had six partnerships." Crowley was now glancing her way. Away from the screen, eyes focused on her. "I'll give you a tidbit of information they wouldn't give you on Taz's files due to the personal level of it all. You know, approaching a person with his kind of personality would be detrimental if it went wrong. Your new partner over there, getting torn into by that cat mage, has had 4 official partnerships to your six. Just two less than you but in a shorter time. That's a lot to happen for someone who had only been a part of DWMA for 17 months at the time. So, explain to me; why is it the protege of one of China's greatest supernatural intelligence agencies was unable to keep a single partner, for each year?"
  
  
  Interaction(s): RANGYOKU
  
  Mention(s): N/A
  
  
• 
  
  Max Holiday​
  
  
  
  
  

  
  

  Mystic Lounge​
  
  
  
  
  
  Damn it, he's blocking me! Max, didn't have time to second guess why his attack had missed. He had more important things to focus on.
  
  Like minimizing the feedback that would come when his feet touched the ground. With Jayson blocking his way, Max had no way of rolling forward. He could've landed and rolled to the side but he didn't have time for that, Jayson was already pulling his arm back and balling his hand into a fist just as his feet were inches from the ground. So in a split second instinct, Max flexed his spiritual muscles and directed energy to spread through his entire body so it'd be denser, stronger, tougher, at least so he could take the feedback from landing with the payback only making him feeling slightly sore for a few seconds.
  
  The second his feet touched ground his knees bent forward to take the rest of the shock. It traveled up his soles, through his flesh and femur, all the way to his hips and when it spread out to the rest of his body Max couldn't even tell it had happened. That was the beauty of wavelength control, it really did save your butt when you needed it, especially given how quick meister recoveries were. But Max didn't care about that. Adrenaline flooded into his system, flight was on and he needed to get moving because the second his legs bent after touching down, Jayson's fist went off like a launched pinball.
  
  "Shit!" he hissed through grit teeth and that's when he noticed it as he tilted himself to Jayson's right to put as much distance between him and the incoming fist heading for his cheek. What the--?! The eye. Was his eye always like tha-- that split second hesitance sealed his fate, and when that fist came crashing in, Max felt its full force.
  
  No wavelength meant no diminishing the full power of that strike to a sharp jab, Jayson felt the ache in his jaw travel like fireworks as that fist continued pushing him towards where he'd been trying to escape to lessen impact, only impact was taking him for a ride. Spittle went flying as Jayson's fist sent Max sprawling. It didn't just sent him to the ground, it sent him sliding. He landed on his right side, bounced on the grown like a weakly tossed ball then skidded for a good few inches before he just stopped and went still.
  
  Thunk his hand slammed the ground as he got shakily on all fours. "SON OF A-- URGHHHHH!" that facking hurt! The reddening in his cheek was proof enough but the warm spot that'd obviously swell a little later would tell him how hard Jayson had hit. Jaw opened, closed, left, right, motion. DAMN IT! He took a deep controlled breath then let it out in an angered huff. "...Nice punch." He stated, getting up. "Most Weapons mess their wrists up when deliver they a punch like that...looks like you're not a bad hitter." He winced a little and held his cheek but ignored it as he turned back to Jayson. "Well then...if you're gonna hit like that..." he revved up the engines, "guess I'll do the same."
  
  Then without another word, he swept one foot to the side, leaned back on it like a spring then launched towards Jayson in a predictable pattern that made it look like he was going to punch him...but Max didn't. Because before he was anywhere near Jayson's shooting or punching range that put him in danger of a close distance hit, he increased the flare of his soul and in a spark of golden energy that only Jayson's eye might detect faintly, he was moving in circles around Jayson, trying to throw him off, almost as fast as a bunch of bicycles circling a prey. He wasn't a blur, but he wasn't easy to see, not with normal eyes.
  
  
  
  Interaction(s): Phayne
  
  Mention(s): N/A
  

 

[Sir Les Paul]

Stage Name: The Dark Eye
Location: Behind Mystic Lounge
Partner: Morgenstern Stein
Tags: SavingStar RANGYOKU Phayne One Mean Ghost

"Stars don't matter, Morgenstern. Not really. The Strong Soul kid could probably beat me head-on. He beat your soon-to-be in-law and I doubt I could fight Aella. But, everyone knows his issues: picks fights, can't use a weapon, can't work in a team. I'd rather have you any day, whether you could beat him or not. You're more valuable," he smiled at her. He let his left hand run through her silver hair as he spoke. He always had a thing about her hair--until she ruined it by pointing out most of the men in her family had it, also. Of course, his words were laced with as much flirtation as reason.

"But then, most of them are. Strong Soul kid has one real use: a fight. Cat kid can use magic; that fog has completely changed the game. From the sounds alone, it seems like some of those weapons have a few tricks up their sleeves. On a team, their utility makes them more valuable," Mido explained. He could have went on, but he didn't. The sounds in the fight were getting more and more interesting, but alas, he couldn't see past the fog.

"I stand by my point. Cat kid has a clear advanta--"

That's when he heard it. "Ninja Art: Speed☆Star"

No. A Star technique? That voice was Taz. He learned Star techniques? From who?

"I believe you may be right, Morgenstern. I'll take the Cat Kid and the one he is fighting. You take the other two."

With that, Midori was gone. He slipped out of the tree, not so quickly to just let Morgenstern herself fall, and no more was heard from him. Not from that perch, anyway.

No, Mido found himself in a different perch. The one Kuro had vanished to. In the amount of time the Mage took to ask his about Tazmuir, Mido had the sharp end of his blade planted firmly in his back. He was an assassin. No soul signature. No sound. No trail. Even easier considering he was completely unexpected while Kuro was focused on the fight at hand. "Dispel your fog. I want to fight Tazmuir," Mido commanded. He then leaned in close enough to let his breath hit the neck of the half-breed Mage. "You can play after," he added. These were the words of a true assassin. The type laced with killing intent. The type that told a prey that they were the prey. The way a wolf stared down a rabbit. It was nature. The unchangeable flow of life. Intimidation was a tactic of the Old Ways and this Killing Intent was more than just battle spirit. It was a feeling of disgusting dread that would send any animal running.

 

[Phayne]

.

.

.

"Well.. I'm not most weapons" replied Jayson, cracking the knuckles on both of his hands. As he did this, he kept observing Max with his right eye, the cross shaped marking amidst the sea of purple remaining fixed on the blonde haired Meister. Every small movement that Max was making was revealed to Jayson; the soft changes as his muscles relaxed and tensed, preparing for the next series of movements.. all of it was visible to his right eye; an open book that told Jayson where and when Max would move.. to the point where Jayson could predict with confidence the next move he was gonna make. Being a ranged Weapon, many of the opponents that Jayson fought in the past all had the same stereotypical idea about him, that he would be weak in a close quarters brawl and thus crumble under the strain of having to duke it out hand to hand. That stereotypical notion however did not apply to Jayson; a Gun Type demon weapon that actually excelled in close range combat; albeit at a price.

"Your first mistake.." Jayson began, as he watched Max sweep his foot to one side and lowered himself downwards, the muscles in his feet tensing up as they began to build energy within. Jayson smirked. "... was thinking that I was like the others" Jayson hardly budged as he watched Max propel himself forwards, the build up of energy within his leg muscles acting as a spring to catapult him forwards. "Your not gonna hit me" stated Jayson, his voice low but still loud enough that Max could faintly hear him. "I'm not foolish enough to believe that an Intellect such as yourself would rush me with such an archaic and obvious assault from the front..not after your surprise attack failed" as he said this, he watched Max alter his trajectory and instead begin to circle him, much like a vulture circles a carcass. "I told you.." he snickered, turning his head ever so slightly as he tracked Max's current movements. Jayson had to admit that Max was pretty fast; nowhere near as fast as some of the people Jayson had seen, but still fast enough to the point where he would cause trouble for most opponents. He sighed. Speed.. an attribute that everyone seemed to attain physically, whether it be natural or trained throughout their years. It was a solid truth that Speed was a power that could overwhelm almost anything, move too fast and you'd be un-hittable, move unpredictably and you'd be unstoppable. Speed was a gift that allowed you to out maneuver, outwit and outrun your foes. It was an invaluable strength needed in a world as harsh as theirs.

'Maybe if they were fast enough, they'd have made it out alive?' Jayson shuddered inwardly at the thought, a memory of his past momentarily imposing itself upon his trail of thought.

Jayson like the others had speed on his side however unlike the rest his 'speed' was not of the physical kind but of the mental instead. Violet eyes honed in on Max, darting from left to right as they tracked Max's every movement, each and every step he took broken down to an almost frame by frame sequence. The processing speed and perceptiveness of Jayson's right eye was beyond that of what a mere human was capable of,following his every movement regardless of how fast the boy was darting around him. "Your second mistake... thinking that speed alone would be enough to outwit me". Jayson proclaimed, not once losing track of Max. "You may be fast for an ordinary human.. but let me tell you now.. this speed is nothing if not slow when compared to what this can perceive" Jayson pointed towards his right eye, attempting to draw Max's attention onto its rather unique appearance.. "I see everything" he stated, implying that he could literally see Max's movements with comparable ease. Jayson stuck his tongue out and raised his left hand outward, prepping himself to fire once more.

Jayson was getting a feel for Max's circular movements, slowly attempting to synchronise himself with the meister's speed. The longer he spent watching and observing, the more Jayson was able to get a feel for what Max was capable off, the circular motion in which he moved, the speed in which he was travelling as well as the speed in which Jayson was able to fire off a shot. These were all simple variables that Jayson began to consider as he moved his outstretched hand slightly, the pointed barrel finger almost moving in unison with Max whenever he passed by Jayson. The smirk he carried earlier now exploded into a full blown grin.

"Bang"

The sound of a gun being fired reverberated around them; his hand mimicking the motion of a gun being fired as it rose slowly as if being forced backwards by some unseen recoil, only to slowly descend once more as the shock dispersed. No pebbles, this was merely an 'air bullet' a trail of air forcing a path through the cloud like mist; trails of the grey vapour coiling around in a pig tail fashion as the air bullet whizzed through the air. If Max was capable, he'd have noticed the trajectory of the bullet and the speed at which it was moving would ultimately cross paths with his own movement, himself and the bullets flight path eventually colliding with one another. Had Jayson desired, he'd have scored another shot; this time potentially fatal.

"Consider this a warning shot, the next one wont just be compressed wind"

.

One Mean Ghost (Mentioned) The Regal Rper

 

[SavingStar]

Morgenstern
Stein



--Tags: Sir Les Paul The Regal Rper Phayne || At: Behind Mystic Lounge || Partner: Mido Hoshi --



"You may think that stars don't matter, but I do. To me, the stars show what it is we're made of. You're a two-star, a proud banner that displays the fact that you are more powerful than the majority of us. I'm a one-star meister and a Stein at that. By this point in my life, I should be moving on to better things. I shouldn't be...I shouldn't be this. Conor can take on Aella by himself. She’s a Death Scythe, Mido. That isn’t supposed to happen. She’s one of the strongest weapons in existence, like my grandmother and father. So am I, apparently. That’s what he always told me. But I’m not. That’s the thing. I’m a great big ball of anxiety with a hotshot last name. I’m nothing more than that, really.” She motioned to herself, with a saddened expression settled upon her features.

"You keep telling me that my family hasn't been ostracized, that I'm not an outsider among our peers, but you're wrong. Or, you will be." She heaved a great sigh, shaking her head as she closed her eyes. "The Stein family is one of the hailed families of our world. That much is true- we've bred an amazing generation of meisters and weapons, all of which have grown to be successful and of great strength. We stand out among all of the great families of old, especially for the role that we played in the war."

Crossing her legs again, she fell back into her thoughts, nearly zoning completely out as she pondered. What, exactly, was it that made her feel as if the Stein family had been ostracized from the rest of their society? In all truthfulness, not even she herself knew the full story. Perhaps it was the fact that her grandfather's track history was less than stellar when it came to his mental status- then again, he made up for any wrongdoings with his exceptional abilities and role in the war many years ago. Her parents had done nothing wrong, and Ares...Ares was doing perfectly fine. So, it all came down to her. She was the reason her family was going to be ostracized.

As if her mind and body were both on autopilot, the young meister found herself speaking without realizing what exactly what it was that she was saying. "I guess we haven't been shut out, now that I think about it. But we're going to be, eventually. One day, people are going to wake up and think, 'The Stein family is self-destructive. Once among the most powerful meisters ever born, they now harbor a failure.' And, you know what? I wouldn't fight it. Because, well, because they would be right."

When a rough-skinned but soothing hand found its place upon her soft locks, the silver-haired meister instinctively leaned into the touch. It was so very rare to receive such kindness. Since her brother had made a reappearance in America, she hadn't yet accepted his advances to start anew. They were making progress, but they were not where they had once been. "You say that I'm much more valuable, yet you then spin off course into a tirade about the fact that they are also more valuable. I am having a difficult time deciphering if your words are intended to be comforting or with a different intention altogether."

A light chuckle escaped her lips. It was not joyous, but it was not sorrowful either. It was more of a reassurance to her weapon partner, an attempt to make him believe that she was alright. And, she was. She was fine, and she was slowly but surely healing from her past wounds. It was all thanks to Midori, the weapon partner that had been more assigned to her than anything, but who had become more than an unexpected ally to her. If anything, he was a friend. A term that she did not use very often.

When Midori's sentence was unexpectedly cut short, the silver-haired meister could not resist the urge to discover the hidden reason behind the action. Reopening one of her shining orbs once more, she focused her gaze on his features. "Is everything alright?" she inquired, arching a finely groomed brow in an inquisitive gesture. It was just as she asked this question that she, too, heard it. "Ninja Art: Speed Star"

"Speed Star?" she vocalized both of their thoughts. "Isn't that a technique used by the Star clan, such as Black Star? How did he--"

"I'll take the Cat Kid and the one he is fighting. You take the other two."

"I'm doing, what now?" she went to ask her partner.However, her question met empty space, an area that Midori had once occupied, but now remained without anyone there. "Of course," she mumbled to herself. "Leave me out here by myself to figure out exactly what the hell it is that I'm supposed to be doing. Thanks, Mido. I love you too." she mumbled sarcastically.

Standing up, Morgenstern stretched, extending her pale arms upwards and stringing her hands together and popping the joints, groaning lowly as she felt the cracking of several joints. "Much better," she sighed contentedly. "Now, let's do this. Better to get this over with and see why the hell we were called out here, rather than just sit here with our thumbs up our asses." Her tone now reflected one of apathy, a note that had never truly been excessively present in her being before then. It would have seemed as if Midori Hoshi was rubbing off on her more than she had anticipated.

Jumping down from the tree, Morgenstern landed on the ground firmly yet quietly, a soft exhale escaping her lips as her knees were jarred from the impact. Pausing for a moment to absorb her surroundings, the analytical female studied the playing area, determining what perches would be the most beneficial for locating her target in the most efficient and secretive way. The last thing she needed at the moment was being caught.

Luckily for her, she had picked up a few tips and tricks from her partner in the past few months that they had been together. Her movements had become more lithe than they had been before, making her moves seem more like a dance than a sequence that could easily end a man's life if taken in an incorrect light. Thanks to him, Morgenstern Stein was on her way to becoming a machine, skilled in her craft.

After choosing her perch, the silver-haired female observed the playing field once more. Using her keen senses that she had managed to train over many years, she closed her eyes an honed her focus in on locating her opponents. Figuring that they would at least be in close proximity to each other, she silently prayed. Though, she was a bit out of luck if they were not. She knew everyone's voices, except for Max's. She would be able to pick out the different vocal waves if given the opportunity, but they had not conversed enough to enable Morgenstern to recognize him as well as she could with her other peers.

It did not take long. Approximately 13 seconds had passed between the time that she had closed her eyes and the time when she first accepted into her ears the sound of Jayson Kilbane's voice. It was significantly different from any that she had heard before. Its baritone and tenor notes moving in a rather unique way to create a symphony that she would be lying if she said she did not enjoy.

On the flip side of Tazmuir, Morgenstern was rather adept at recognizing vocal patterns. Everyone had a different sequence, much like one's DNA. It was a part of them as a person, and it could be a rather useful tool if push came to shove and she was forced to make a decision. For, no matter how similar two people sounded, she would be able to discern between two fractionally different sounds.

Reaching down to her lower back, she checked the status of the three small weapons that she contained hidden in her possession at all times. After all, who knew when she would be separated from Midori and be responsible for a battle? Much like the situation at hand, it would have so seemed. She would not be allowed to use her soul abilities on the offensive- meaning her Soul Heartstrings were out of the question unless provoked to utilize such an exhausting ability. It was not as refined as Franken's Soul Sutures, and it used up much more energy than his, as she had not been accustomed to using it as often as he.

Using her footing to propel her forward, she shot off to a closer perch silently, a blur of silver and black. Settling on a higher tree branch, she looked own at Max Holiday and Jayson Kilbane. Bull's eye. Narrowing her green orbs, she found herself scrutinizing the two males.

One was a weapon, at least. That point became painstakingly obvious when Jayson fired off a shot with his finger, which apparently served as but a warning shot. It could not harm Max, but it was sure one hell of a stimulus, typically compelling a normal human to flee. But, she soon realized, Max was not a normal human. He was a member of DWMA, meaning he was much more than that. Capable of withstanding the fear of witches and kishins, he surely would not be so low as o be frightened by a mere gunshot, would he?

As she prepared to make her initial move, she reached down and pulled out one of her hidden weapons, the smooth metal of the scalpel glinting ever so slightly from the shadow of the produced mist. A wry smile came to rest on her features as she calculated the trajectory and power levels needed for her to properly perform such an action as to what she had in mind.

"Consider this a warning shot, the next one won't just be compressed wind".

Reeling her arm to the side, Morgenstern steeled herself. As she shot herself towards the ground, the scalpel found itself thrown from her hand, rotating almost in slow motion to Morgenstern. The metal blade glinted only once, the single indicator of the assault before it buried itself in the ground directly before Jayson's feet.

"Sorry, boys," her suave voice broke the moment of silence as she stood from her crouched position on the ground, cracking her neck and chuckling. "I hate to ruin the fun, but I'm afraid that it's about time for me to tag you out, Max " A dangerous expression sparkled in her currently emerald eyes. "Unless, of course, you'd like to make this a three-way? I'm always down for one of those. Oh, maybe a four-way, if Midori decides to show up" She shot the two men a wink, putting a hand on her hip and cocking it, spinning a knife, now, between her fingers.She hadn’t bothered covering the scar across her eye today, so it was worn proudly. However, it did not attract attention away from her figure, swathed in silver and black, a contract to her snowy white skin, supple and soft unlike those of others.

​

 

[The Regal Rper]

Max Holiday​

Mystic Lounge​

"The next one won't just be compressed wind".​

Max was about to make that statement into a bluff. But before he could he heard a voice. One that was just barely familiar in the distance that caught his attention.

"Sorry boys" -the mist made it hard to see the person but that voice was just vaguely familiar enough it bugged Max like an itch. "I hate to ruin the fun, but I'm afraid that it's about time for me to tag you out, Max " A dangerous expression sparkled in her currently emerald eyes. "Unless, of course, you'd like to make this a three-way? I'm always down for one of those. Oh, maybe a four-way, if Midori decides to show up." Lewd humor aside, Max frowned.

Who the heck is this chick? he couldn't remember. Her voice was so familiar but.... "Wait a sec..." he squinted. "....Oh....oh. Ohhhhhhh shit." No way am I fighting Stein. "Yeah, sure." He said after a few seconds of silence. He wasn't even paying attention to Jayson now. "Yeah, uh, tag in, you can take my place. I'll tag back in later so I can settle things with Kuro." And dropping his wavelength rate back to its natural state he turned to Jayson and offered him a vague 'good luck buddy' look. Then without another word, Max disappeared into the mist, only glancing Stein's way once before he focused his attention on the exit. At least for now, he could just watch the fight from the sidelines.

Interaction(s): Phayne SavingStar

Mention(s): N/A

 

[Phayne]

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.

.

Jayson glanced down at the scalpel buried in the ground just before him. The flash of silver as it momentarily entered his field of vision; the scalpels rotations rapidly decreasing in speed; at least to him as it passed by his sight. It had distracted him long enough that if Max had so chosen to do so, Jayson would have been unable to counter an attack.. luckily Max seemed to have other more pressing concerns at that moment. The bravado he once had was now gone, Max's face turning a little pale as he fumbled his words.

"Yo Max!...What the fuck! Really?.. Your just gonna run?" shouted Jayson towards the quickly disappearing blonde haired boy, Jayson's left partially transformed hand still pointed towards Max's back. While it wasn't against the rules not to shoot, Jayson wasn't really the type who employed such underhanded tactics unless it was necessary. Simply firing at Max's back while he was in full retreat would have left a bad taste in Jaysons mouth. He sighed. It wasn't long before Max was swallowed up by the mist, his eyes no longer able to see him through the opaque layer of vapour. "Seriously... we were just getting to the best part" he sighed, turning around away from where Max had gone and turning to face Morgenstern. His left hand now pointed directly at her; the trajectory of any shot fired would find itself locked onto the bridge of her nose.

"Looks like a threesome is out of the question..." replied Jayson, closing his right eye and opening his left. The violet gem that was his right had now disappeared, leaving behind the golden hazel colour of his left eye visible, three faint red rings glowing millimetres away from his Iris, his vision now zoomed in on each and every one of Morgenstern's features. He had to admit, she was stunningly attractive; a real beauty. Her long silvery white hair, her ghostly white eyes adorned with the red scar that stretched down the left side of her face. He gulped. If Rosalia were alive and aware of what Jayson was thinking right now.. hell would have looked like a holiday resort.

"Its a pleasure to make your acquaintance" offered Jayson, his gaze returning towards her face. "I'd offer a hand shake... but considering your introduction with the scalpel.. I doubt your here for some late night fun or to make friends... correct me if I'm wrong? Because I'm up for a little late night fun... assuming you could handle me" he winked in return.

As he said this, he shut his left eye and re-opened his right, his purplish eye returning to the fray. He'd be a right idiot to not utilize his curse, considering the presence of this silver haired vixen was enough to cause Max to flee, tail between his legs. Jayson watched for any hints that her body gave off, any slight movement or motion that would give away her next move. He'd be ready to react, ready to dodge or counter her next move.

There was a reason Max ran... Jayson was on his guard now.

"Is it safe to assume that someones interrupted Kuro's play time as well?" he asked. Despite them have no actual relationship outside of this mock battle, they were still for the moment Partners.

.

SavingStar The Regal Rper

 

[RANGYOKU]

方比喻
BIYU FĀNG

♤​

LOCATION
Behind Mystic Lounge​

INTERACTION
Crowley​

MENTIONED
The Regal Rper ​

Silence never quite felt a factor of stasis for her. A moment for introspection, to plan her moves carefully, such common practices served her well, more so if enabled by absence of distraction from her surroundings. One such case in point was that of her reasoning of the expected arrival of two particular well-known individuals, one from her days back at the branch and one whose family name arguably preceded her given. But it came to a halt, not just a mere pause, oh no, she could tell from his voice that this was not another one of his oddly cryptid comments. Her body promptly stiffened ever so discreetly, as her eye would glance over at the man by her side as he proceeded.

Caught off-guard would be perhaps the closest of a description as to how she felt when he pointed here and there what she had been purposely avoiding doing all this time. Of course. His reasoning added up with what his intentions most likely were in assembling her and the other students, Conor included or not. For once, he appeared genuinely eager to incite her to open up to him in the slightest. She knew better than to regard this as a thoughtful gesture, however. It was clear he had yet to relinquish all the pieces on his side, he knew far more about her than she about him. And somehow, she felt as if his turn had yet to finish.

Her eye followed closely the movements across the screen before them, mirroring the sponsor's out of a sense of dismissing her disquietude. If she gave it away, it was as if she was purposefully showing her weakness to him, to surely make his accusations more tangible. She could not escape this man's observant eyes, much like her classmates out there, she was bound to be caught no matter what approach she took. The moment he brought up her file, her body slightly stiffened, her folded arm grip tightened, she prepared herself to face what came next. She'd be lying if she were to say she had been expecting him to start off with a commendation on her academic and theoretical performance. But Biyu knew better, starting off his speech by stating a fact did not defeated the whole purposed of one's argument, if anything, it could strengthened it.

I am not like most Weapons. To claim such a provocative thought was an act Biyu would never be able to bring upon herself, even if she was aware that the content of her curriculum did not quite fit the norm as he put it. People would choose to choose under a guise of overbearing confidence to mask one's self-doubt: a defence mechanism. In this case, it grew painfully clear that cut in would just be a fool's move on her part, not just how it would hold little to no effect as Crowley had yet to make a point, but also how it would reflect on her. Dwell into her choices would just come across as a defence on her part, to not bear responsibility of what was about to be put out in the open. But all the same, she could not stop herself from instinctively placing a hand on the hilt of her sword as he drew attention to it, showing signs, albeit subtle, that was not at all unfazed at his accusations.

Providing words from a close acquaintance of hers further drove her to stir her gaze towards him as he went on, even if she would remove it as soon as she came to be aware of it. To elaborate on the circumstances of her birth, perhaps even to touch upon her high regard for regulations and orders while taking in account how she did not need to uphold any traditions, labelling her efforts redundant in nature, what he presented further was ultimately what sealed it. One thing was to bring up a part of her past she was close to clueless about and draw from it, another altogether ... was to bring up her.

Azusa Yumi was most certainly a name not to be used on a whim in the presence of someone such as Biyu. She had come to assess her emotions on the matter at this point in time, yes, but to bring her up in a speech of this nature was natural for her to engage in it. Her lips parted but, to no avail, her input would be put to rest as Crowley stood his stance and silenced her efforts, albeit condescended or anything of such sort was not to be found in his gesture. She could not feign the reassurance it was to hear praise from someone who so rarely indulged in it, but just as he had done before, the True Mage quickly moved on to the derogative part of his argument. He had hit a rough spot and oh, he was very well-aware of it being so. How could she ever dare to go against the words of her dearest mentor, someone who knew her far best than anyone else in the DWMA?

Once again, his hindsight did not fail him. She had been cornered, at each move he was close to capture her king, his answer out of her in a sense. To make his “concerns” that of Azusa Yumi’s, thus removing her out of play on what she had done to provoke this accusations. But deep down, more than she ever cared to admit, she knew his point to it. She commended him for it, taking action when she could not bring herself to do so. Detecting her strategy and use it against her was simply the start.

But now, by allowing him to do so, she was left to fend off a matter that unsettled her to her very core. She could not even find in herself to confirm his keen deductions, they were rhetorical in essence. Her heart had begun thundering inside her chest, her breathing growing uneven little by little, the symptoms were far too familiar for her not to recognize what they meant for her. She drew whatever strength she had left to fend them off. She was fine, this was fine, everything was her. Focusing on whatever she could grasp not pertaining to her situation revealed be short-lived. As he drew to a close, so did whatever she had within her to not burst, to not speak, to not deny a truth she was unable to face. Stop. Please … just stop. Flashes of gazes that evoked pity, frustration, anger, disgust. They were too vivid, too real. Crowley was not the first, he was never the first. But in a long time, he had been the only to force her to listen to it. To what many thought but could never dare to speak … She felt her body tremble, carving her nails on her skin as she dug them in tight fists.

Why do you do this?
Why can you not be like all the others?
Why are you so stubborn?
Why is it so difficult for you to understand?
Why can’t you just listen to me, Biyu … ?

❝… It is never enough.❞ Her voice was barely a whisper as she spoke up at last. She was not even sure whom it was directed towards. ❝No matter what abilities I learn, no matter how high my rank becomes, no matter how close I draw my body to danger, I am never enough. It is fleeting, short, a bite that is but forbidden to me. It won’t matter how much I try to make up for it, to ease it, to hide it and deny it. This sword, this eye, my flawed second form, I stood strong, I did not give in to it. She accepted me as someone worthwhile but in the end, what did she see in me? ❞ She looked up to Crowley, eyes wide. ❝A girl who follows orders, a girl who does not speak out of turn, a girl who does not act irrationally, a girl who keeps going and going, a g—❞ Her entire body reverberated, as her hands covered her mouth, bile rose in her throat and her eye burned behind her eyelids, a foreign sound escaping her lips. Three words. A good girl. Blood pounded in her ears. Her heart thudded in her chest. Her hands shook. Her feet tingled. Her vision disfigured, as if she were looking through a fish-eye lens. It was just for a moment, but it was all clear to her. She could never escape.

Biyu violently shook her head, in despair as to cease this shameful sight she had granted Crowley. Would this be enough of an answer for him? Even she was not certain, not when her stream of consciousness was so numb, so disjointed. It would be likely to be a reason for her Soul Perception to have not caught up to what was presented before her on its own, warning her the approach of an entirely new soul on the field. Gifted with the beautiful sight was the figure of Morgenstern Stein was only to be stained by the realization of what it meant for the match, as well as the dispersion of the pairs in response to it. What were her inetions, where was her partner, what had their sponsor to do with it and most of all, how it would affect her own partner Taz? ❝Mr. Crowley, there has been a disturbance in the exercise. The students who were called in arrived. How we are to proceed?❞

 

[The Regal Rper]

• The Mage
• The Great

• 
  
  Mystic Lounge​
  Crowley​
  
  
  
  
  "We my dear, don't do a thing." Crowley responded with his attention back to the screen. "But this does mean that Max--" the blonde walked through the entrance as if summoned and gave both mage and Weapon a short wave. If one looked close you could see the slight reddening from that punch he'd received on his left cheek. "On time as always. Welcome back Max, how was your fight."
  
  Max, moving to a tree to slouch and then sit on one of the roots ran his hands through his hair before looking up at the screen and blinking. "It was...different from what I'd expected."
  
  The instructor merely chuckled. "Good. Very good, I'm assuming either Midori or Stein relieved you of your opponent."
  
  The blonde nodded, "Stein's fighting Jayson."
  
  "Which means Midori is going to be relieving one of those two of his opponent." The redhead couldn't help but chuckle then let out a long sigh, "that probably won't end well." And he was right, looking at the screen it seemed Midori had chosen Taz and when Crowley thought about the choice of the pic he could understand why. "He glanced to Biyu offering her a smile like everything she'd just told him would be their secret. In truth he was relieved, this was what he'd wanted. For her to realize she was more than just some soldier meant to follow instructions or expectations. "Its best I intervene before he tries to do something that might complicate things." His wand twirled for a few seconds before stopping. "When he finds something fun or entertaining, he has trouble just abandoning it unless he grows bored. But", Crowley lifted the point of his wand to hover just in front of his lips, "he's going to have to adapt a little in this circumstance."
  
  And then a sparkling ball of green no bigger than a quarter gathered onto the tip, glowed, bobbed and slowly twirled on the wand's point like a globe turning on its axis.. "Kuro," his voice sounded like it was being said through a megaphone, "Midori will be taking your place for now. Come back and join us here on the sidelines okay? Whatever Midori's doing, understand that he and I had an agreement when he was joining this team. Both he and his partner would get to pick someone to fight, from what I can understand, he's chosen Taz as his opponent. For now, I am calling you to abstain from intervening in their fight. You and Chesh here will get another chance, don't you worry. Just come back for now and watch how things play out." Even though he could see everything transpiring from the screen he had to make it clear, there was an agreement, and for now the young cat mage would have to settle even if they didn't really fit how he'd imagined things go.
  
  
  
  
  Interaction(s): RANGYOKU One Mean Ghost
  
  Mention(s): N/A
  
• 
  
  Tazmuir V. Klovic​
  
  
  
  
  

  Mystic Lounge​

  
  
  
  
  
  
  Getting up was like waking up from a long nap. It was uncomfortable, with a lot of pops from a lot places. This was basically what happened as Taz got back up from Kuro's attack. And the entire time he hadn't even noticed someone else had joined their fight as the smoke cleared and he was slowly rising to his feet.
  
  "AhhHHHH, damn it." He tilted his head to the left and three pops came just as he twisted himself to the right. "That wasn't bad" the meister stated and three more pops came with it. He'd had worse. Much worse, but that last lightning bolt that sent him back to earth had made muscles feel more than a little taut something fierce for a few seconds and now he had to get to unwinding them. "I'll admit that wasn't bad at all." Taz commented, still not looking either Midori or Kuro's way. In fact from the way he was still stretching, he had no idea Midori was there.
  
  "Not the worse love tap I've had but not the weakest either. You sure you ain't playing around ca--" he just read the atmosphere, and he was pretty sure he didn't like it. Right there, behind the cat mage, was someone else. Taz stopped his stretching and took one step forward then moved to the side to get a better a look. Who the fuck is he? "Who the hell are you?"
  
  Clearly his brain interrupted, A new addition to the team. But honestly, despite knowing that Taz couldn't say he really cared. Fuck you reason, unless this was Crowley's doing, well actually you know what, no, unless this guy had just decided to challenge him or Kuro, he wasn't about to accept some nobody getting in the way of his first fight with a True Mage.
  
  "Hey, pretty boy what the hell are you doing to my opponent? Do you want me to come over there and kick your ass several feet under?" Interestingly enough, despite saying all this Taz didn't make a move towards Midori or Kuro. He could tell Kuro wasn't pleased either, but if this guy had been able to get past both their heightened senses, then something was up. He wasn't a normal Weapon. An Autonomous one was obvious from the stance Taz could make out, the firm hold he had on Kuro, and the way he'd attacked all in such a stealthy manner mad it quite clear this guy, was an Assassin type Weapon. Or his family was in the assassin business. Taz wasn't sure which one, and honestly? He didn't care. He just wanted to know what this guy's problem was, he hadn't heard Midori's statement on wanting to fight him 'cause he'd been to busy eating dirt. Nor had he heard the warning he'd given Kuro, he'd only just plucked his face out of the ground, cleaned himself off then got to waiting out some of that numbness before he got to moving just as the smoke was clearing.
  
  Luckily for him, Crowley's voice came in and explained everything before either Taz or Kuro lost their patience.
  
  "What?" He looked at the one called 'Midori' then looked at Kuro.
  
  He's challenging me? ....Why? He didn't know this guy. Never heard of him before, but knew from his stance, his entrance, and the way he had Kuro more or less pinned he wasn't someone he could half-ass beat, at least not entirely. Curiosity peaked in Taz, so much so that it took a jolt from the ball to remind him it was still in his pocket.
  
  "Damn it!" he snatched that ball right out of his pocket and threw it into the air before catching. It took a few seconds for his attention to turn back on the two, but it did. And when it did his eyes were narrowed and staring right at Midori. He could see it. This guy wanted to fight. Not fight fight, but test him. He'd seen something that got his interest, and now that Taz looked at him, perhaps it wouldn't be a bad idea fighting an Weapon with skill after all.
  
  It would be his first time fighting one also. Just like his first time fighting a True Mage. Only this time he wasn't grinning or smiling. The circumstances didn't fit how he liked it. Midori had just stepped in and taken control and Taz, Taz didn't like 'nobodies' taking control. He didn't know this guy, but he was sure if he accepted the fight he might see what gave him the actual balls to do what he just did and risk the chance of having not one opponent but two.
  
  "Your ass should be happy, Crowley's here kid." He tossed the ball over to Kuro and watched the mage catch it before turning his attention back to Midori. "We'll settle our fight later Kuro. Let me handle this." His narrowed stare turned into a small glare. "You better be worth the time."
  
  
  Interaction(s): Sir Les Paul
  
  Mention(s): N/A
  

 

[One Mean Ghost]

Kuroneko

To say Kuro wasn't happy would be putting it mildly.

You see, if there was one thing that absolutely ruffled his fur, it was people interfering with his fun, especially when that someone decided to do it by sneaky means. Though, Kuro had to admit, the new antagonist was quick. Kuro had picked up a new smell in the mist, but before he could really do much about it, the scent that had been some distance away was suddenly behind him. This one was fast, perhaps as fast as Taz or more so. Even still, that did not excuse him interrupting the game.

Kuro was not stupid. He knew full well that this assassin had him essentially dead to rights, given Kuro had thought, given the barrier around this game, that there would be no interruptions and had put no thought into trying to be aware of new targets besides the two opponents. An oversight on his part for assuming there wouldn't be extra surprise in this game. He was also aware that this upstart clearly thought Kuro would just happily oblige by this new development, given the knife to his back was the only precaution. All that meant was that Kuro couldn't move backwards to hit him, but that didn't in the least stop him from moving forward. Even as the assassin spoke, Kuro's tail just flicked with irritation. Although the words spoken dripped with killing intent, Kuro didn't seem the least bit fazed, no, he was too irritated about having his game interrupted. Much like his mother, threats of death did little to actually fluster him.

"Dispel my mist, nyaa~? I'm afraid that's not how it works... My magic just summons the mist and after a time, it goes away. This lovely barrier we're in is what's keeping it around so long." Kuro purred, clearly enjoying the fact his mist was an inconvenience to this interloper. "Even if I could dispel it.... You forgot to say 'please'." Kuro added with a shrug of his shoulders.

It seemed Taz was just as irritated by the interruption as he was. Frankly, Kuro was just buying a little bit of time so he could turn the tables on his would be assassin. He was going to find out exactly why you shouldn't piss off a ca-

"Kuro, Midori will be taking your place for now. Come back and join us here on the sidelines okay? Whatever Midori's doing, understand that he and I had an agreement when he was joining this team. Both he and his partner would get to pick someone to fight, from what I can understand, he's chosen Taz as his opponent. For now, I am calling you to abstain from intervening in their fight. You and Chesh here will get another chance, don't you worry. Just come back for now and watch how things play out."

Kuro's mischievous grin fell to a rare frown. Why the hell did Crowley go through all the trouble to make this fun game if he was just going to ruin it like this? Kuro made a mental note not to get excited for any of Crowley's games after this, because frankly it was irritating. Just as he was having fun, he was being called away.

"We'll settle our fight later Kuro."

Raising a hand to deftly catch the ball tossed at him, he smirked at Taz. "I'll hold mew to that... I didn't get to finish zap-zapping you." Kuro remarked before glancing over his shoulder at Midori. "Next time you interrupt my fun, you're gonna go boom!" He grinned innocently, though the grin did not meet the less-than-friendly look in his eyes before turning his head back around and muttering 'Strike' to vanish away from Midori's knife and into the mist. His soul signature promptly vanished after that, leaving no trace of where he may have vanished off to.

A few moments later, a feline Kuro came out of the barrier, flicking his tail in a rather snarky manner at Crowley before hoping up onto Biyu's lap with his ass towards the teacher and no intention of speaking to him anyway. Whatever positive ground Crowley may have made with Kuro through this game had clearly been lost.

 

[Sir Les Paul]

• The Dark Eye
• The Soloist

• 
  
  
  
  
  
  
  

  Stage Name: The Dark Eye
  Location: Behind Mystic Lounge
  Partner: Morgenstern Stein
  Tags: SavingStar RANGYOKU Phayne One Mean Ghost

  "A spell like will get you killed if you can't dispel it, dumbass," Mido replied to Kuro as the darted away. A resounding point to be made. While it may have been well-suited for a situation like this, on the battlefield, it was a double-edged sword--especially to a Mage. The risks associated with obscuring vision for someone like Kuro far outweighed the benefits; and, that fact was only compounded by the sentiment that Kuro could not remove the fog once it was conjured.
  
  There were other, admittedly more laborious ways of getting rid of this fog. Just not all of it.
  
  The fog kept eyes off of Midori, at the very least. In the next handful of seconds, he darted through it with his bladed arm and created various slashes that cut through the air and caused wakes of fog to be left behind. A few dozen of these shot by Midori as he circled around a clearing below the tree he was perched in, and there was a solid eight meter chunk of fog gone. Slashed through. More curiously, there was no sign of who or what did it--no Soul Perception picked up these movements. Instead, all that prying eyes and perceiving souls could make out were the tiniest of sparks that were released each time Midori swung his arm. A tiny release of his soul, but it was more than nothing. More than what had came and what was to come.
  
  A green energy surrounded his arm as it quickly shifted back into its normal forme. Each weapon had its colors, and Midori had a teal-green. He had no problems--no qualms standing in the middle of the clearing. In fact, that was the intent. He wanted to see Taz and Taz needed to see him. It would be so much more unfair to fight a silent, soulless assassin with absolutely no vision on him.
  
  "If your ego being shattered is worth your time, then this will be invaluable to you," Midori replied. It was as quick and sharp as the blades he used to open up this portion of the fog.
  
  "You used a Ninja Art; the bastard techniques of the Star Clan. You don't just learn them from books... so someone taught you. You must be a disciple of a disciple; if you were an actual Star... you'd be a lot stronger. A lot more dangerous," Midori continued on, his stance cold and unapologetic. Everything about the way he stood was rigid; it gave Taz nothing to work with. Even less considering there was literally nothing to perceive from this man.
  
  "Real assassins don't normally introduce themselves, but we also don't shout the names of our techniques, either. I guess I'll break both traditions. My name is Midori☆Hoshi, but if you know me, it's likely by my stage name: The Dark Eye. Oh, and that technique you used... did you know it's just a weaker version of one I know? It's called Starlight Waltz," Midori continued on, belittling the Star Clan and introducing himself all at once. He had a lot of talk, but he had a lot of points.
  
  The Hoshi were the most renown killers alive. Black☆Star hold the rank of the strongest Meister, but against two or three of the top Hoshi assassins and even he would die; and, Akane☆Hoshi was real close in line for the strongest Meister himself.
  

  
  
• Around this time, Biyu received three new texts from Conor...​
  
  
  Biyu Li Fang

  me

  I got a new mentor

  

  me

  He was not happy about the pic but isnt this the best?!

 

[The Regal Rper]

Tazmuir V. Klovic​

Mystic Lounge​

"My name is Midori☆Hoshi, but if you know me, it's likely by my stage name: The Dark Eye. Oh, and that technique you used... did you know it's just a weaker version of one I know? It's called Starlight Waltz."​

Taz made what he said next pretty clear: "No. I don't know you. Pretty sure I made that clear a few seconds ago from the way I was addressing you." Then again, even if he'd known Midori, which he didn't, he would've called him a rude nickname regardless. While he may not have ever heard of Midori, Taz knew the Hoshi family. And that wasn't just because of fame, it was because he'd studied his butt off in most subjects just to make sure he knew enough to prove a point; said point being for the sole purpose of rubbing it in someone's face when they called him a muscle head with no brains.

What Midori had just said in the past few seconds, went deeper than any insult he'd been called before. He wasn't just belittling the Star Clan, Taz took this as a personal insult. Not against his mentor. Not against Black☆Star, but against himself. Frankly he didn't care if Midori was insulting the Star Clan, he was a learner of their arts not a member of their clan. Besides, the whole reason that clan save for Black☆Star had been exterminated was because of the filthy way they valued money to the extent of killing anyone for the right price.

No, this insult cut deep and his ego told him so. Even though he knew Midori had just been stating facts; Points that Taz himself, was already well aware of to a level where he didn't need to be told he wasn't exactly on par with a member of the Hoshi or Star clan. Because even if he boasted, even if he show-boated and bragged, deep down Taz knew that he would never have the superior genetic traits people like the Stars or Hoshi had. That was exactly why he pushed himself so much though. Because if he wasn't a natural, he'd have to work harder to surpass the naturals themselves. As he stood there, arms crossed just below his chest, sizing Midori☆Hoshi up, a refreshed memory popped into his head and reminded him of a similar situation where the roles were twisted. The time he had challenged and fought Dark☆Star to test which of their skills were superior. His or hers. The meister's displeased stare turned into an annoyed glare at the recollection of how that had ended. Practically with him losing. That was three years ago. Back when he'd been partners with Jamey Chester, back when he was a One Star Beta.

It'd been a match between a Meister and a Weapon. Star Arts vs Star Arts. Back then Dark☆Star hadn't yet chosen the Autonomous route she had now, and back then Taz himself had allowed arrogance, confidence, and hubris to influence him into many a battle. But it wasn't just his persona back then that had let him down by clouding judgement and making stupid decisions, it was the difference in skill. Dark☆Star had been faster than he was, more agile, more adaptive. While he'd grown more and more frustrated each time she'd proved to be his superior despite all the countless hours, days, weeks to months, and years he'd spent training his body with weights, cardio, and tai-chi.

Now the universe was playing a sick joke on him by having time replay itself this time with the roles completely reversed and almost a certainty that he wouldn't be coming out of this with a shit eating grin.

"It's like a sick joke", he muttered under his breath as his scowl dimmed to a stern glare. Because this had been set up by Crowley, Taz knew not to take this lightly. From his reasoning, Crowley had set this up, possibly knowing Midori would notice he'd learned the Star Arts and the mage had also known something like this would happen. Taz would never fight a weaker opponent if it meant he'd gain nothing from it, winning all the time was nice, but winning didn't mean learning. Losing did, and he knew it. Probably more than others. It was the whole reason he sought strong opponents to see if they could push him. To get the shit beaten out of him, come back, and kick their ass another time.

If Midori had kept his mouth shut and hadn't ventured to point out useless facts that Taz already knew himself, maybe he could've let the interruption of his match with the cat mage slide and enjoyed this more. But even if Taz knew the guy wasn't really trying to insult him, that didn't stop his ego from telling him he'd just been disrespected in the worst of ways. He was being looked down on. And if there's one thing Taz hated more than showing weakness that could be used against him by any living thing on earth-- it was being looked down on.

A long exhale came from his lips and the light brown meister let out a few pops from his back. "Alright, Midori. Let's make one thing clear before I accept your challenge", leg stretches began and the jovial bravado Taz put up seemed to have vanished as his eyes stayed fixed on the Weapon in front of him and his expression was now blank with nothing but focus, "I don't care if you're a Hoshi. You could be from the slums and I'd still give you a fight. But I'll tell you one thing so everyone watching this back there knows: I don't give a damn if you're a member from some noble family, come from some long line of bad ass assassins, or are the child of Lord Symmetry himself. You'll never earn a shred of acknowledgement from me with that sort of shit. I'm here for one reason and one reason only. To get strong enough to reach my goal." And then he was done talking and done stretching. He didn't care what else Midori had to say now. He'd just been insulted and even if he did lose, he was going to make Midori eat half those words for underestimating him even a little.

If this guy was as strong as reason and logic had him believing, Taz wasn't going to play around. If Crowley had set this up, he knew Midori wasn't going to be one he could just frustrate into slipping up or brutish his way into winning. He had to get serious. And not his definition of 'serious', where he was still messing around. No, he had to get solemn.

And right now, from the look on his face, Taz was done playing. His switch was on.

"Alright. Enough talk." Then he used Speed☆Star. Taz came in at a blur and formed a circle of dust trails left by his speed. Multiple after images flickered in and out of existence, 6 in total forming a hexagonal shape and switching places with either the real Taz or an image when one would flicker out of existence a few seconds later. Each one, like Taz holding a different boxing rhythm and pattern as Taz used as much speed as necessary to create the illusion that every time a copy ceased to exist, a new one would slide in and take the faded one's spot while an open spot would be refilled by a new after image.

"I'm showing you what my Speed☆Star does at it's max", Taz's copies stated in a winding blur of gathering dust. "Now show me that Starlight Waltz." Then all the copies' eyes narrowed. "And don't you dare hold back after coming here and challenging me."

Interaction(s): Sir Les Paul

Mention(s): One Mean Ghost SavingStar RANGYOKU Phayne (Notifs)