maskormenacelogs | I can move mountains, I can work a miracle [OPEN]

[Across the street, the second figure moves to the edge of the roof to watch, remaining silent through Ikki's confrontation. Closer to the light of the street lamps it's easier to see that it's a girl staring down at the pair of them.

The roaring wind whips up her hair, flaring the pigtails out behind her—almost like a pair of dark wings spread in the dim light.]

[ The lagging footsteps are drowned out in the storm of Ikki's descent, blending into the wind as if they belong there.

The third figure stops at the edge of the pools of light, the shadow of her backlit silhouette and the massive metal cross in front of her stretching out to where Kazu hangs off Kaneda's shoulder. Like the other girl, she watches, eyes flicking over Kazu and Kaneda both. ]

[Kaneda had been in neighborhoods like this back home. If you wandered off the designated safe paths even slightly, you were enemy territory, and whatever happened to you...no one would find you ever again. He'd become a master of traveling them, and even more so, getting himself out of situations like this.

His stance isn't shaken by the silouettes, shoulders squared and grip on Kazu's back all the more secure as he readjusts him, letting the knife roll across his fingers.]

Your minion?

[Yes, because if Pan's got -friends-, he can only imagine what -minions- are like. He didn't know this person--their voice wasn't familiar, and Kazu had never mentioned them in all the time that they met. For all he knew, this was just one of Pan's other suckers, trying to get back anything that might be important to Tetsuo.

Fuck. That.]

Oiiiiiiii you don't know when to give up, huh? Go run back to twinkletoes already. Kazu's mine, and I'm taking him back.

You heard me. My minion.

[He had no clue who 'twinkletoes' was, but Ikki didn't spend both of their lives ~~brainwashi-~~ ~~conditioni-~~ being friends with this weak-shadowed beanpole to let some magical floating tart claim him now.]

You're not taking him anywhere, ass berry. I'll put it on the line.

[It's a gesture, that in this world, is insignificant. A glint of metal, held up from where he pulled it from just inside of his collar. Betting his honor, his team on it. The fine line of just jumping this bastard like a punk and doing it by the rules. Whether this magical maniac got it or not didn't make a damn bit of difference to Ikki.

Besides, after having taken on who knows how many superheroes, this asshole was probably tired. Sloppy. MP bar drained.]

Lets settle this properly.

[He cracks his neck with a careless gesture, and skates forward... wearing something remarkably like Kazu's. He pushes up his sleeves, obviously intending a fight, knife or no knife.]

[Yayoi lets out an exasperated little huff of air. Was he really going to waste time on a challenge like this against some knife wielding abductor? She narrows her eyes and scowls down at him from the shadows—just take him and be done with it already.]

[ Kururu just shrugs at her, a little helplessly, and maybe a little proud. Ikki-kun is a Storm Rider. Settling it like this . . . it's the best way.

It was a little unorthodox, but this person had fought Kazu. And Kazu had been serious, serious enough that she could hear the still-cooling hiss of his regalia from here.

She holsters the cross back onto her back, and nods. ]

Battle type is one-on-one. 'Cube'.

[Confusion washes over Kaneda's face at the emblem being tossed out. Gears spin in his head, trying to work out just what he means by 'settle this properly'. It's a lot harder than you think, when you've just gotten back from fighting with Peter Pan himself, lugging home a friend who you had to literally beat some sense into.
And now Pan was coming to take whatever scraps of Tetsuo's life he could. ]

Fuck. That.

[It's cursed in venomous Japanese, turning Kazu's body away from Ikki protectively. Call it instinct from shielding Tetsuo all those years in Neo Tokyo.]

You can tell Pan to take it and SHOVE IT. Because he is NOT getting my FRIEND!

[He's not giving Kazu up. Not if Kaneda had a say in it. And he always would as long as he could draw breath.

"Battle type is one-on-one. 'Cube' "

The voice came from the third figure, watching with the second from a distance. Was this a duel now? What did 'Cube' mean? Information is swimming in his head, and he's got to think fast.

His eyes flick to that emblem, and then to Ikki, eyes focused on him completely as he skates forward, knife now clenched tightly in his fingers. There's something familiar about the way Ikki's moving. Like he's seen it before...it wasn't just roller blading, there was someting to it. A technique. Kinda like--]

[Shit.]

[There was a pause... less Ikki stopping as he slowed down a bit, confused by the vehemence, more then the language or the words.

He doesn't so much as look up at the two girls, but scrapes under his chin with the pad of his thumb.

Ikki gives Kaneda a wide, terrible grin.]

Mind games. Heh heh HEH. Little did you know, I anticipated this already...

I ALREADY LOST MINE, FOOL!

[Ikki's hands twist, compressing the air around him, and shoves a heavy blast at the pavement at Kaneda's feet. The enormous updraft of wind is aimed to tear Kazu out of Kaneda's hands and upwards to one of the waiting girls.]

[Yayoi moves before Ikki even begins to twist his hands. First toward the far end of the roof she's on, shifting one way and then the other while she watches him and listens to the roar of the wind, adjusting for things like angle and how strong the wind itself sounds. Rough, but the best she can do while she waits to see if it actually knocks Kazu free.]

[ Below, Kururu nods at Ikki's gesture, and dashes the few steps that separate her from the base of the roof Yayoi's perched on.

The timing's going to be tricky, but if the angle is right . . . then here! ]

[Ikki's words strike into him like knives, although they're nothing to what Kaneda's giving back. If a fight was the only way to protect Kazu, then that's what he'd do. His weight shifts again, ready to take whatever blow Ikki was going to pummel him with...knife at the ready...

But the gust of wind that happens is not what Kaneda expected at all. His grip on Kazu wasn't the greatest--he'd only just finished dealing with Pan after all, so it's almost pathetic how easily he loses his grip on the kid. Eyes shoot wide with horror as he watches Kazu's broken body fly over to the other two, neatly caught like a prize from a crane game.

Okay. One-on-one it is.

Twirling the knife, it's deposited back into its holder as his hands immediately reach up to just under his armpits, swiping out blade for bullets and firing at Ikki. His legs aren't going to hold up for long, he's sure of it--but if this is how he has to get Kazu back, then he'll do it until his bones are ground into powder.]

YEAH? I COULDN'T TELL!!

[Ikki's expression changes when the guns come out. There's a little shock and a little electric surge of panic before it is drown under anger. He was sure THESE weren't the rubber bullets from back home...

He twists in midair, both making himself a smaller target. His kicks slam enormous gales against the sides of the nearby buildings, causing the streetlamps to sway and shudder... and the heavy crosswinds throwing the bullets off course. Only one grazes him.

He circles, away from the girls and Kazu, looking for an opening to dart in and end this.]

The hell is some Peter Pan shit using guns?!

[One more quick adjustment to get into position—and the wind goes right out of her when she catches Kazu. She instinctively wraps her arms tightly round him and tucks him in close even while she stumbles to keep her balance under the added weight.

Unfortunately, even though she manages to keep herself upright, she can't quite manage to stop the slide towards the edge of the roof.]

[ And it's not like it would be a long drop, but with Kazu in that kind of state . . .

She can't calculate paths and angles like Ikki can, and she's never envied that ability more than now. But she knows A-T, and bodies, and—

The sound of the gunshots causes her whole body to wince, it's the first time she's heard that noise in six months and it's too soon. Ikki-kun is fine. Concentrate on this! ]

Yayoi-san, it's okay! Just keep your wheels below—trust me!

[Sorry, did those gunshots UPSET you, Ikki? Because he's out of fucks to give. Kazu's in their possession, and Ikki said he'd lay it all down on the line. He'd BETTER be prepared to own up to that.

Because this is for his group too. Tetsuo was one of the Capsules, he always had been. And protecting Kazu was a branch off of that.

That's what happens when you take someone under your wing.

The guns, one blue and one green, are fired alternatively to get Ikki back, get some distance between the two as his legs are pushed into action. They were tired, and practically screaming for Kaneda to let them rest. But like hell he was going to walk back to Tetsuo with empty arms, a bunch of broken promises. He'd failed to protect him, failed to kill Pan...

He wouldn't fail in bringing Kazu home.]

MY NAME IS KANEDA.

Compare me again to that sack of SHIT and I'll fire right at your damn head!

Bullshit!

[It's in Japanese, bellowed over the growing howl of the winds. Ikki isn't forced back, but he IS slowed down. With a blast of air from his hands, heavy, almost an opaque wall of wind is thrown between them. The air resistance isn't enough to stop the bullets, but when they slam into Ikki, they're only going fast enough to bruise, not tear through him.]

And what is KANEDA TO KAZU?

TAKE ANOTHER STEP TOWARDS THEM AND I'LL RIP YOU APART, SHITBRAIN!

[Yayoi gives up trying to stay on the roof, letting herself slide off and down to where Kururu's waiting. She keeps her A-T down as instructed, only shifting to shield Kazu from the shock as much as she can.

Under her breath, she's counting off the number of shots being fired. How many bullets do the guns hold? What kind were they even? Why doesn't she know more about them? They ran into guns often enough!]

[ Amid the hurricane and the reverberating gunshots, Kururu . . . actually relaxes a bit, focusing entirely on Yayoi's descent.

It's not a soft one; the air cushions take most of the shock, but balancing a limp body would challenge even an experienced rider (let alone one on their first flight). But that's why she's there, hugging them both and falling back as she lands, the three of them going down in a tangle of limbs.

Here's where time slows.

One arm to wrap around Kazu's head, cushioning him as they go down. Concussion. That's why he's out. Her other hand to Kazu's A-T, coaxing the wheels open, wincing as the hot metal scorches her fingers but this is important, the internals need to cool—

—and they hit the ground. ]

temee...!!

[Gears turn in his brain as the air gusts up, creating a makeshift forcefield for those bullets. It doesn't stop them, but the trajectory and power that was behind the bullets was altered, now only hitting Ikki enough to bruise, if they hit at all.

He takes this moment to favour the blue gun over the green. It was more powerful--less accurate--but certainly more powerful, much like the person it was designed after. Right now he needed something to hit through that wall of wind.]

NONE OF YOUR -DAMN- BUSINESS!!!

EXCEPT THE ONE THING THAT SAVED HIM FROM PAN'S STUPID-ASS CURSE.

[And almost defiantly Kaneda takes that step, no hesitation. His dark eyes completely fixated on the boy behind that wall, practically asking him to move forward.

Make a move, Sky King. HE SURE DID.]

Edited 2016-01-11 07:22 (UTC)

[Ikki is still, eyes locked with Kaneda's across the halflit street and gusting winds. The gales shriek, buffeting the other teen, as if in response to the Sky King's surge of anger at the open defiance. And for a moment, Kaneda might see a flash of something enormous behind Ikki, a monster of pure malice, metal wings and blades stretching out and up into the sky.

Then Ikki lowers his hands, the winds don't so much still as escape, blasting every possible way into the freedom of the sky. The barrier between them is gone.]

Edited 2016-01-11 14:46 (UTC)

[After the roar and shudder of the air, the silence is almost as loud. Ikki leans back in his skates, crossing his arms.]

You owe me a rematch. [A jerk of his chin up towards the girls and Kazu.] He'll officiate that one.

[Yayoi recovers as quickly as she can, hurrying to get her feet under her and to keep Kazu in her arms with Kururu's help.

—And then the wind races away. She spares a surprised look at Ikki for a moment—was he sure about this? He must be to stand down, which means . . . Her attention shifts to Kaneda, tensing while she waits to see what kind of response he has for this.]

[ The cross beside Kururu and Yayoi gleams as the shriek of Ikki's shadow echoes, the pale figure of a skeleton reflected on its black surface. Kazu's wheels shiver with the same call, wind whipping through the vented motors, spinning the etched foxes into stylized rings of flame.

No real flames though, that was the important part. Just the quiet hiss of cooling parts.

As Ikki and Kaneda stared each other down, as Yayoi kept careful watch, Kururu gently felt down Kazu's face, and neck, and hands.

It wasn't too bad, he was safe enough to move (and he'd been through worse, so much worse, they all had), but . . . Makigami-sensei's voice echoed helpfully in her head. Level Two Alert. Sustained and long-term wear on Regalia and King from lack of compatibility or overuse.

Not important now. Later. Important was patching up the little things she could—what had he even punched to sprain his wrist like that? ]

Concussion.

[ It's soft, mostly meant to reach Yayoi, but there's nothing to stop her voice from carrying in the sudden quiet. ]

And . . . he's burned himself out, but not like last time. He'll be okay.

[The moment lasts for what seems like forever, his foot slamming onto the pavement practically echoing in his ears. He's done turf wars before--the Clowns and the Capsules put rubber and metal to the test every week. Ikki's challenge was calling out the same competitive streak in him that he showed Joker. And just like it was there, he wouldn't back down. Even if his legs felt like collapsing at any given moment.

He watches Ikki's every move, his body language the louder than the winds that surrounded them. He can feel it piercing his skin like knives, burning the frostbite he'd gotten and hitting the bruises like iron. Ikki's will was as strong as his own, and all it took was for one of them to break.

One to show a crack in their armour.

But then, Ikki lowers his hands, the wings scattering like sheep and whipping around him like a hurricane. If his feet didn't feel like lead, he would've thought he'd be swept away by it, the piercing gales screaming in his ears as they weave around him.

And then, as quickly as they'd come, they vanished, leaving nothing but silence between the two.

"You owe me a rematch."

Kaneda's eyes cast down, looking at his own feet for a moment, and then slowly trailing them back up to the owner of those words. A challenge, but not the same kind as before.

A glance to the girls, and then back to Ikki.]

Wait.

What?

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Jan 8th

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