15strangers | Isn't this where.....

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*round 6

Isn't this where.....

REUNITED AT LAST

[Living and dead have reunited. That is all well and good. However, all these trains and cars and starships mean nothing by themselves - many of you may be wondering precisely where they are headed, and the answer presents itself soon in the form of a yawning portal in the middle of space. Yawning, calm, so as not to be mistaken with the writhing and twitching of the wefts - it seems to belong, or at least to be accepted as a cosmic inevitability. And this is what all of the dubious spacecrafts sail into for now - it is just barely large enough for all of them to go in one at a time, and to come out on the other side of the wormhole.

That appears to be some kind of airspace. Those curious about the place they're going may want to open the stained glass windows of the trains to get a much better view of the scenery they're descending on. The landscapes are mostly gorgeous, looking from a distance as though they were painted with watercolors, although some may think it also looks a bit, well, haphazardly patched together. For the trains, there is a floating dock above the land that looks brand new, and an elevator to take down to the ground. All other ships can find an easy landing space in the meadow, like the weird UFOs they are. Nevertheless, there is a path to follow from there, leading to a castle in the distance. It is a path lined with wonderful flowers and trees... and also a chaotic smattering of other trees that don't look like they quite belong. Sheets of dry lasagna make up the bark of the spaghetti trees, their inexplicably cooked pasta hanging like a weeping willow as marinara drips from their meatball fruit. The smell is overpowering, but don't let that ruin the trip. "In fact, it would be better if you let it work up an appetite", the cheerful voice of 707 suggests as he leads the pack up the trail like a hyperactive boy scout leader.

Finally, the doors of the castle open up. The halls are full of doors, each glowing from within - some of you may recognize the names of your homes, and others may not. But going past them, there is an enormous arch that is named The Hall of the Beginning as indicated by the carvings on it. Inside is a table that will be familiar to one of the strangers. It is the table that the original 15 Titled met at the beginning of Nirn, and it's overflowing with a feast even more grandiose than the last time. All of the drinks and cuisine you've been missing for so long is here - from sugar-spiced coffee and bubble tea, delicious scones as good as an aunt's, ridiculously spicy takeout wok, popcorn, philly cheesesteaks and the most perfect star shaped peanut-butter-jelly sandwiches known to man, a big toblerone on a long silver platter, three types of ramen, beer, so many grapes, melon bread, something labeled "dead chicken" that is obviously just a regular roast chicken.... it definitely seems like there were too many cooks here, but cooks with their heart in the right place. Some other favorites of the strangers will also be among the chaos if they look hard enough, but certainly, somewhere, it was deemed that they should have a celebration feast.

But then, you are not strangers any more, are you? Everyone here is a familiar face now, and there are even more familiar faces waiting around the table. The ones who wrote the letter, 707, Halley, Maka, Alexis, and Cardia are already there coming and going, but occasionally many others will stumble through one of the many doors. People from the games who had not fallen to IT. People from home, people you love. What we have here is a nexus and a party all in one. Here, there will be as much time for goodbyes as you like - or, as the hall suggests, new beginnings.]

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[ He might be tired but his reflexes sure as hell haven't left him. It's in that split second of hearing that noise that he looked up to spot the knife flying at him, and he just grinned. Moving to easily sidestep it, take out his one knife from his pocket and deflect the second one that'd come at him from another direction all in a matter of a couple seconds... if that.

Even twirling his knife in hand as he stood up straightly once more. ]

Well. Talk about a warm welcome.

[ He laughs, pushing aside any residual exhaustion in lieu of who he was sure possibly threw those. Even if only just one of them. ]

Feel like coming out now?

[The second knife gave him a chance to reposition from the angle the first came from a little...he's only gotten stealthier. And so there's a long pause and a soft breeze, carrying....nothing. No bloodlust, no attack. Just try and guess where it'll come from....

So, Karma. How much are you expecting a whip to lash out to wrap around the wrist of your knife hand and pull tight.]

[Probably only slightly more than he expects a small explosion to go off just enough to have him out of its radius.]

[Flashy, but enough to knock someone off balance. Maybe not Karma, but most.]

[ Here he thought that was the end of it.

When it came to certain people, he could generally expect certain things from them in terms of attacks. Yet, he didn't quite have enough grasp to fully know for sure who was attacking him. Especially where that long pause was not accompanied with another knife, but with a whip that came out from seemingly nowhere to wrap around his wrist, eyes going wide.

He was distracted enough by it that he managed to not be thrown off balance when that little explosion went off, but mostly due in shifting his stance easily; as if breathing. This was more of him going into a bit more of an attack mode, if the way his grin widened was any indication. Only followed up by briefly assessing where his attackers were, twisting his hand to throw the knife into the other hand while pulling back hard on that whip.

Only to absolutely throw the knife in the general direction of where the whip seemed like it was coming from, just as he'd pulled back with his captured wrist. If they were good, they'd be able to dodge it. ]

Please. Is that all you've got?

[ Someone's enjoying himself a bit right now. ]

[He lets the whip go. It's fine, he has another. And Karma will hear the rustling in the bushes as he dodges...and he throws that knife right back, following it with a series of four weighted throwing darts as he sprints around to get a new angle. He knows the other should easily be able to follow him now, but this was always going to turn into a battle eventually.

The attacker is a small blur. Hood up, and fast - faster than Nagisa was last they were together, too fast to distinguish features at this distance and deliberately moving in ways that obfuscate exact size. Hood up, too. No confirmation for you, not yet!]

[From another set of bushes there's some more rustling, and what's sent out looks almost like an ofuda - and then a white light explodes from it, revealing a monster in front of him. It eyes Karma up and bows its head like it's going to start playing - and then leaps for the teenager.]

[ Ah. Just as intended.

Soon as the whip goes slack, he's already unwinding it even as his gaze trailed up to the bushes where movement had caught his attention. Laughing a little as he shifted a little in order to catch the returned knife thrown his way, he dodged the thrown darts with an impressed little whistle. By this point, he'd generally figured out where the other was as they moved and was about to bolt off in that direction.

This other person was small, but fast and very deadly.

Karma's wish to go after his agile attacker was cut off as more movement got his attention, mostly from the burst of white light that pulled his gaze away, followed by the materialization of quite the beast. That was unexpected, but already something that was a distraction, so it had to be dealt with. He jumped back and as he did so, he reached into his pocket and threw a vial of something blue at the beast, and as soon as it would break on contact?

ICE.

It would either freeze the beast or slow it down, but would also distract the other two and he was already moving back to see if he could figure out where the first attacker had gone. ]

Who would have thought that my attackers would be such cowards? If you're going to kill me, doing so from a distance isn't gonna cut it.

[ Twirling his knife between his hands, he was already walking with his eyes scanning his surroundings for any sign of movement. ]

[Excellent. The demon causes ample distraction for him to get back to cover. Ice, that's interesting, what did Karma - he sees, there's broken glass at the demon's feet. And that taunt....how heartwarmingly nostalgic. But an assassin can't excel in a battle.

Movement behind Karma. Nearby. The first attacker - he's coming in for the kill, too fast to do much about, Karma may well only have time to turn before he leaps. One hand comes down on each of Karma's shoulders as the attacker handsprings off him.

He looks down, and blue eyes meet gold. For a second that lasts ten, and then Nagisa springs off, landing behind Karma again and whirling close, a flash of silver in his hand. A real knife. Don't worry, he'll stop within an inch if he gets that close. A pretty big if, unless Karma really has let himself slip.]

[The demon howls, shooting off a flame, angry at being hit by its weakness. Interesting, but not something he has time to ponder - another streak of movement from another direction.]

[A second figure. A second knife. Another person who can stop if he needs to.]

[ Avoiding flame from that demon was simple enough, but it was clear that he'd somewhat underestimated how fast his opponent had been moving in the time he hadn't kept his eyes on them. Not able to have predicted the movement that now came from behind him, instincts already having Karma turning to try and maybe block or dodge a hit.

There were no hits or attempted stabs with a knife.

No. What there was, instead? A pair of hands coming down on his shoulders as soon as he'd turned around completely and he looked up in time to meet gazes with a familiar pair of shockingly blue eyes. Several emotions crossed his face in that scant time, though mostly a mix of surprise, relief and something inherently happy.

Karma registered the footsteps as they then hit the ground, a scant, slight movement that told him what he needed to do. He twisted quickly, pivoting on his heel and in less than a second, blade met blade with a touch of slight sparks as they clashed. It wasn't hard to figure out where Nagisa had been aiming, though he'd also shifted his stance as to make sure he had a chance of causing some imbalance of any kind when needed.

Though it wasn't as if he'd forgotten the other, ready to spring into action again if needed. ]

This's one hell of a greeting, Nagisa. If I didn't already love you before, I sure as hell would have now.

[ It might just initially seem like a tactic of sorts, but uh... nope. It's totally a 100% genuine, but if it works to distract the smaller boy? Hey that worked too. ]

Edited 2020-03-02 09:38 (UTC)

[Nagisa is stronger than he was. Faster. His skills are sharper. He's been honed in the crucible of actual combat, now, and he's used to targets who aren't human. So Karma's stance won't be throwing Nagisa off nearly as easily as Karma may have expected.Their knives have met, meaning Nagisa now has two options. It takes only a split second to decide.

Expertly he flips his own knife in his hand, so the teeth near the handle on one side can snag the blade of Karma's knife. With that in place, he gives a sharp pull - with any luck, he'll wrench the knife right out of Karma's hand. Nagisa's free hand goes for the grip of his second whip, meanwhile, and he'll use it to snare one of Karma's legs.]

After what, eight months? I had to know if you've kept sharp, Karma. [Resist testing the other's skills, at any rate. Nagisa has kept a keen eye to Karma's wavelength, but perhaps unfortunately - he only looks at his target. Only looks straight ahead. So while it should register that that confession is genuine.....he is distracted. It'll have to be less potentially-a-distraction-tactic if Karma wants to get through.]

[There’s a whistle, and a shout in a strange language. The beast growls and stays in a ready position, clearly prepared to spring if Karma goes too far.]

[There’s a chuckle behind Karma, the hilt of a knife tapping at the small of the other’s back and a foot lashing out to sweep the boy’s other leg out from under him.]

How adorable. Sadly, this time you get a game over.

[ It's actually more impressive now that he knows it is Nagisa who's the one dealing out this speed and level of skill. The other teen had already been pretty deadly and it appeared that time and circumstances had allowed him to sharpen that talented blade even further.

He hadn't been kidding when he'd said that before, when it came to the love he felt for the smaller boy. There was such a euphoric thrill that came with this, knowing Nagisa was coming at him with such fierce intent and not holding back in the slightest. Adrenaline was fully surging through his veins now, doing his absolute best to keep up, even as that knife not only snagged, and then wrenched the knife out of his hand. It was something he'd somewhat seen happening and allowed it, only because he was already coming up with a plan B. ]

I'm almost offended that you think I'd do anything other than keep my blades sharp after all this time. Who do you think I am?

[ There was a whip wrapped around his leg and Karma knew it would take little effort to pull his footing off, but again? He already had a plan.

Something that actually kind of would work even as he felt the hilt of a knife tap against his back. People were idiots if they thought that he didn't consider all factors here, so he allowed himself a second to just flash a grin briefly at his attacker. ]

Not quite.

[ Just as that foot lashed out, Karma shot a hand out with lightning speed, and grabbed Nagisa's collar in a firm grip. Pulling hard so the boy would be forced forwards as he fell, but that wasn't all. There were no attacks, but something else, rather..

What may come as a surprise was the very direct way that Karma had pulled the smaller close enough to kiss him. Direct approaches worked, wouldn't it? ]

[Beyond just his increased ability and skills, there's something subtly different to how Nagisa fights now. Something a little darker, a little more comfortable, a little fiercer. A choice has been made that cannot be taken back.

He's expecting Karma to not let it be game over with just that. He braces himself for a counter. Watches the other teen's chest, even knowing he's too skilled to telegraph what he's about to do so easily....and honestly it's not what Nagisa expects. He thought of several potential maneuvers during that brief moment, but this was not one he considered terribly likely.

Impact with the ground, lips meeting a second later. Nagisa's eyes flare wider for a moment, before relaxing again. He can work with this. He can turn this around, eyes piercing as rather than trying to escape he presses in. Kissing Nagisa in a fight is a mistake, because even that is one of his blades.

So, Karma Akabane. Prepare for the Kiss of Death. Nagisa drops his knife now, instead reaching to hold down the wrist of the hand that isn't in his collar. The other goes searching for any other weapon Karma might be carrying.]

[There’s a laugh and the other steps back... and. Well. There’s that.]

[Another strange shout and the beast is right behind Karma, blocking his escape.]

I know you won’t give up, but maybe you should call a pause so you two can make out in peace?

[ There was a multitude of things he expected when it came to Nagisa and Karma was positive that he had won this little bout of theirs due to that. In both the aspect of the kiss being a method of distracting the other, but also intending it as a more direct way of trying to tell Nagisa his feelings.

Karma had fully intended to see the ridiculously cute blush as Nagisa pulled back, possibly sputtering out of embarrassment. He was skilled in getting nice reactions from the smaller boy in the past, and he figured it would be no different now. He'd felt his back hit the ground and briefly even spotted those blue eyes widening, but then something was just inherently wrong in the relaxing that followed. There was no blushing or sputtering like he'd predicted, just too-sharp eyes that cut deep into his very being as Nagisa pressed into the kiss more intently.

To say his goddamn mind went blank out of surprise in the following seconds was an absolute understatement.

His heart fluttered in his chest as his own eyes went wide, cheeks suddenly VERY warm. This damn kiss did something a freaking sentient, creepy talking brain couldn't do, and that was render Karma Akabane completely speechless, embarrassment flooding his body as the Kiss of Death took it's toll on him. He barely even registered that Nagisa was holding down his wrist with one hand, not even able to form coherent words or think much right now. At least it would appear that all he had with him in the pockets of his coat, was a second, smaller knife along with some carefully wrapped elemental formula vials. One pocket even having them wrapped in a very familiar crescent moon tie that Nagisa would recognize.

Congratulations Nagisa. You've won this fight. He couldn't even retort to what the other had said at this point. ]

[Fifty-eight hits in eight seconds. Not bad. He takes the time to carefully remove the wrapped bottles - he isn't sure what they are or what they're wrapped in, with his face occupied with Karma's, but he can get them out of easy reach. He can also remove the second knife, stabbing it firmly into the ground. Target is disarmed and left reeling.

A total victory.

Nagisa pulls away, sitting up, though still not climbing off Karma just yet. How out of it is the other teen? He wipes his mouth.]

I'll have to give that an A-. Thanks for the assist, Naoya-sensei.

[Though....now that comment catches up with him Wait, why'd Naoya--]

M-M-Make out?! That was- Okay, it was, but that's an assassination technique!

[The man - Naoya - cackles.]

Call it that if you want, Nagisa, but I know what I saw!

[He flicks another seal at the monster and it disappears. Naoya catches it neatly before it falls.]

Karma, correct? I'm Naoya. I've been living with Nagisa and a number of other people from our group. You could say I'm the inventor of your field of study.

[ A lot had happened to him in the past months to say the absolute least and nothing at all affected him as integrally as this did. Maybe it was just due to the fact that he'd spent months away from Nagisa, feelings building up to the point where he didn't hide them anymore and had accepted them to be love. That very same feeling that had essentially caused his brain to short like an overloaded circuit once Nagisa had turned that simple kiss against him in a more-than-effective way.

If this had been literally anyone else and this had been a sort of distraction tactic to get the upper hand? He easily could have taken control back and not been nearly as affected, but that love amplified everything x1000 and succeeded in allowing Nagisa to win a LOT easier than ever intended. No wonder IT hadn't been able to handle such a thing when it held such overwhelming power.

He was only somewhat vaguely aware of the things being removed from his pockets and the knife as it was stabbed into the ground, but he couldn't find the strength to push Nagisa away or act in any other way that he wanted to. It was like his limbs had become filled with lead, and only as Nagisa pulled back, did Karma realize entirely what had happened. Something that did not help dissipate any embarrassment, but as he tried to pull what was left of his dignity back into place, that was when he finally saw it. The reaction he'd wanted, but only coming after he'd lost.

Somewhat dazed eyes focused more on Nagisa now, about to say something when the other spoke up and drew his attention over to him at last. Mentally he was kicking himself, trying to even figure out what to say but he was goddamn tongue-tied and he hated it. ]

...Yeah. That's... me. You probably know Vita and Jonathan, then...

[ Ugh. Words.

He made a small face as he tried to kickstart his stupid brain, but with it came more near-crippling embarrassment for a second as he looked back over to Nagisa. Trying to think of what to say or how to say it after such an... experience. ]

I really hate losing... but... hey. Not the worst way it had to happen, I guess. It's... okay since... it's you. [ A soft laugh escaped him, but he only felt his cheeks grow hotter. That kiss had scrambled his thoughts too much. Why couldn't he just say it as easy as he had before? Was it because this Naoya guy was here too? ] I... spent the last... month and several b-before that... waiting. I just... wanted to say it to you. The whole... I... I love you... thing.

[ ...Okay. Can't look at him now. Or Naoya. God. This having feelings thing was awful. Make it stop. ]

[ So there's an Akira - this one wearing glasses and watching all of this from the sidelines. There's a dim smile as he slides his hands into his pockets. He looks genuinely happy about all this, and even lets out a quiet laugh as he turns to keep walking.

He'll let Karma finish having his moment - no interrupting the lovebirds (and Naoya, smh). ]

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Isn't this where.....

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