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Post by Takumi Jun on Jun 28, 2015 21:18:49 GMT -5
Takumi had been moving in shadow for so long he might as well have become one. He had been scouting the other Ghost for a week now --nothing too intrusive, even without training she would likely detect him if he got too close-- but he was catching onto her patrol routes and onto some of her associations. Overhearing phonecalls always make things a little easier. She seemed to be going to great lengths to conceal her identity, but everyone faltered.
Everyone tripped up.
He wasn't counting on her tripping up. Between the both of them he had more training and experience, and she had been going up against half-baked gang members as her deadliest enemies. Taking her down wouldn't be an issue, but he wasn't here to kill her. He was here to capture and retrieve her for Jun, and in return he would hope to gain some scrap of information about his mother and where she was being held. He could do it, he would do it. He had to.
So Takumi lay in wait for the sign that his quarry was coming close, and soon he heard it. Footsteps on rooftops, too fast to be any repairman and with pauses in the sound for jumps. She had arrived.
Takumi moved in one smooth motion of liquid intent, and lunged off of his rooftop to tackle her midair.
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Post by Karina Wallis-Kline on Jun 28, 2015 22:00:28 GMT -5
Karina had been having this feeling all week, like she was being watched. She tried convincing herself that it was just paranoia finally sinking in, but part of her knew that it wasn't. Maybe it was instinct, something that came with the whole Ghost thing, or both?
Whatever it was, she was just realizing how right she had been.
Dodging in midair like she was wasn't really an option, so she reached for the sword strapped to her back and was a split second away from pulling it out before she was tackled. What!? No, no no no her reflexes were faster than anyone she knew, how had someone gotten to sneak up on her like this?!
The teen had been so thrown off by what had just happened that the impact from their landing had come as a shock to her. Her hand was somehow still gripping the hilt of her sword, but it took a moment for her to focus her vision on whoever it was that had somehow gotten the upper hand on her so easily. The man's eyes, they were... They were glowing, kind of like hers and...
Oh lord he had white hair. Karina's eyes widened as she realized what she was up against and forced her arm to pull her sword out. What good it would do at this angle she had no clue but she needed to do SOMETHING.
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Post by Takumi Jun on Jun 28, 2015 22:47:21 GMT -5
Takumi didn't move to draw either of his blades yet. His gauntlets were armored and would provide enough shielding from whatever her sword could manage. He charged for the girl, aiming to grab her sword arm and twist it until she dropped her weapon. No matter how protected he was, disarming her would go a great ways to taking her back to New Tokyo with minimal damage to either of them.
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Post by Karina Wallis-Kline on Jun 28, 2015 23:03:15 GMT -5
Karina bit the inside of her cheek as her arm was twisted and her sword slipped out of her hand. Thankfully though, her opposite hand managed to sweep over and catch the sword by its hilt before it touched the ground. The younger of the two didn't waste time thinking and made to slash at the other ghost's face as she tried pulling her other arm out of his hold. If she was lucky she could out run him, she'd have a better chance if she gave herself a head start.
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Post by Takumi Jun on Jun 28, 2015 23:08:47 GMT -5
Takumi ducked back, releasing his hold on her arm only to bring out the shorter of his swords to catch her own blade. He pulled out the second as they made contact, slashing towards her own face. It wasn't much of a swipe, but blinding her with her own blood would be a start.
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Post by Karina Wallis-Kline on Jun 28, 2015 23:21:42 GMT -5
A quick sound of pain shot from Karina's lips and suddenly she couldn't see from her left eye. The eye itself hadn't been hit she didn't think, but definitely near it. Darn it between this and her arm there was no way she could fight she needed to run NOW.
Karina, still holding her own blade, pulled back and made a break for it in the opposite direction. She was down to one eye and her non-dominant hand, there was no way she'd last in combat at this rate, this was really her only option as much as she didn't like it.
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Post by Takumi Jun on Jun 28, 2015 23:31:06 GMT -5
Takumi sheathed his his blades and pursued. He could try and corral her by using the alleys and the buildings, but he was curious. Where was she running to? He hadn't followed her far when he was scouting, knowing full well her paranoia would lead to action if he wasn't careful, but if she was connected to the people who had taken his mother...
Maybe she could lead him right to them.
It was a long shot, and Jun might be... disappointed if the female Ghost came back too injured, she wanted the girl in as good condition as possible and had been very clear about bringing her back, but Takumi could guard himself and an exhausted captive should her fallback plan have a lot of backup. He was very good at wiping out gangs, whoever the other Ghost was with wouldn't pose much of a threat...
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Post by Karina Wallis-Kline on Jun 28, 2015 23:45:44 GMT -5
Karina kept in the direction that the range was located, at least she was pretty sure she was. Somehow two cuts had been made, and she knew head injuries bled really bad. With how blurry her vision was already getting she put all her focus into running as fast as she possibly could instead of all the blood running down her face.
Almost there, just a little longer she could DO this she just needed to get to the range and she'd be safe!!
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Post by Takumi Jun on Jun 28, 2015 23:59:46 GMT -5
Takumi picked up the pace a bit, just enough to keep the girl running, thinking that she was putting in enough effort to outpace him. Even if she did, the blood she was trailing would have been easy enough to follow. Unless this girl was stupid she was likely planning something. Good. The more people she brought him to the more chances he had to interrogate them.
The streets were changing, becoming more urban and less abandoned.
Takumi slowed down, slipped into the shadows, and waited. He'd follow the blood trail soon, give her time to get together people who may know something... He'd finish it then.
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Post by Karina Wallis-Kline on Jun 29, 2015 0:18:01 GMT -5
(Timeskip!)
Karina jolted awake with a loud gasp and frantic eyes. She'd had a nightmare, it WAS a nightmare, right? She looked around at the room she was in,this was the back room at the range, the same one she had gotten used to staying in when she couldn't go home at night. So... It hadn't been a dream. It had really happened, no this was NOT good!! Her breathing was starting to quicken and she couldn't think straight oh dear god this couldn't be happening!!!
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Post by Takumi Jun on Jun 29, 2015 0:36:04 GMT -5
Satoru had thankfully been in the room when Karina awoke. "Calm down, kid, you're safe." He said, wheeling over. "You collapsed after breaking in through the window again, what the fuck happened?" The range had gone on lockdown, no one had been allowed in or out. That meant a few of the kids were around, as were Gabe and Kiyo, and even Ren.
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Post by Karina Wallis-Kline on Jun 29, 2015 0:50:51 GMT -5
Karina jerked her head to the source of the voice and saw Satoru. Safe, okay yeah... Just breathe. "It... It was...." She paused, taking a moment to close her eyes and take another deep breath before she was finally calm enough to speak properly.
Her eyes opened and she looked at Satoru again. "It was a Ghost." There has no mistaking it, between his eyes, hair, and everything else. "I felt like I was being watched all week, then last night, or... Whenever it happened, he snuck up on me." She hadn't been that terrified in a long, long time.
Kiyoko had been standing by the door when Karina woke. She managed to keep her expression down to a minimum, and that usually meant a blank stare where hardly anyone could tell what she was thinking. Really though, she figured a ghost would show up for her at some point, there was no way Karina could keep out of Jun's radar forever.
She would have said something by then, but she forced herself to stay quiet. Usually staying silent was an easy task for Kiyo, but hearing about a male Ghost being in town... It was taking everything she had not to get her hopes up. It would be for the best if Satoru did the talking this time.
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Post by Satoru Alabaster on Jun 29, 2015 1:03:10 GMT -5
Satoru frowned. "You're healed up at least, and it's almost three in the morning," time was important to people coming out of being knocked out, he knew that much. "It's only been a few hours."
Still, there was another Ghost in the city. He couldn't say he wasn't expecting as much once some of Karina's exploits made headlines on the fucking internet, but that didn't make the situation any better. He had been hoping for more time, more information... Shit. "Then we'll have to fight him," he said.
"Ren might have some shit lying around that can help you out, I'll organize the rest into some kind of force capable of fucking fighting before dawn..." He rested his chin on folded hands, a fully trained Ghost might just kill them all, but...
Satoru looked up. "Why did he let you go?" There were footsteps near the door and Satoru sighed. "And everyone who's eavesdropping can either PISS OFF or come in." A few feet trudged into the room, some more sheepish than others. Ren was certainly unabashed, and Merry looked guilty and worried.
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Post by Karina Wallis-Kline on Jun 29, 2015 2:24:42 GMT -5
Tori and Gabe followed in after Ren and Merry. The younger of the two gunslingers in training looked embarrassed to be caught but came in without a problem, while Gabe looked as serious as ever. Another Ghost? From the sound and look of things this one wasn't as friendly as Karina, great.
Karina's eyes widened when she saw her little sister walk in. Merry shouldn't be here, it was way too dangerous for her. Not that she could change that now even if she wanted to, this wasn't right this wasn't FAIR she never asked for this! She grabbed at her hair in frustration, and felt a bit of scarred skin just above her ear. When she moved her hand down she felt another scar under her eye.
She sighed and tried to think on Satoru's question before then others came in. "I don't know, I wasn't able to fight him so I took off and didn't think about much else..." She trailed off, both hands coming up and dragging down her face as a thought hit her. "He must have followed me, I left a trail and everything..." She'd been bleeding so much that she HAD to have left a blood trail. That means he knew where she was...
Kiyoko was having a harder time keeping to herself than she thought she would have, but the more the conversation went on the more curious she got. "We've got the range on lockdown, we're safe for the moment." There was a small moment of hesitation before she forced herself to ask. "Karina, other than the obvious, did anything stand out about him? How old did he look?"
The white haired teen looked at the elder woman strange, but tried to think. "It was dark, but... maybe late twenties, early thirties?" As for something standing out(other than the usual Ghost traits, at least)... "He had two blades, different sizes. And um, I might have seen something around his neck." It was just for a second, if that, but she remembered it. "It was a ring, I think." She shrugged. "Sorry that's not much."
All Kiyo did was take a small breath and nod. "It's better than nothing, at the very least we know what weapons he has on him." Well, that was the only useful information for the others, but if Karina was right about the age and the ring... She went silent again after that, nothing she could say right then would be useful to the others.
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Post by Satoru Alabaster on Jun 29, 2015 8:26:50 GMT -5
Merry bit her lip as her sister looked at her. She knew that she wasn't supposed to be here, she was supposed to be back at the dorms studying for a history test coming up later that week but... She liked the range more than she thought she would, and she was comfortable here. That, and she always worried for her sister when she went on patrol, it was really just happenstance that she had come in to see if Karina would be coming back to the dorms anytime soon. She took a half step forward, then thought better of it. Her sister was under a lot of pressure right now, as much as she wanted to give her a hug it probably wasn't the best idea.
"We also know that he wants Karina alive," Satoru added on. "He would've killed you by now if that was his intent, I'm sure."
"Could be an information thing," Ren piped up. "Use her to lead him here, you didn't leave New Tokyo without your share of enemies, Cuz. Might be one of them decided you're worth something."
Merry was the one to speak up. "Mr. Toru's been out of there for years though. That doesn't make sense."
"Kid, the blind terror consumin' my bein' right now doesn't care much for your logic and reason," Ren replied, resting his hand on Merry's head. "Leave me to my hopeful theory that this is all Toru's fault." There was a slightly off twitch in Ren's face as he spoke. Blind terror might have been an understatement if he was acting calm of all things.
Satoru leaned back in his wheelchair, unfazed by his cousin. "We'll have to fight him at some point, we might as well make it on our terms. Gabe, Tori, get some of the weapons out; Karina, he's after you and you'll likely be his main focus, where we fight is going to be up to you so pick somewhere you can move. Kiyo, you and I are going to help her out, you know the most about the Ghost program, you're our best shot at picking somewhere our new friend will be at a disadvantage. Ren, see if you can scrounge up anything Karina can use, I know you stash some of your shit around here."
Merry too another half-step forward, and Toru cut her off. "Merry, you're not going to be involved in this."
"But-!"
"You don't know how to fight, or shoot, and you'd be more of a liability than anything else." She'd be dead-weight at best right now, and a weakness at worst. It wasn't hard to tell that she and Karina were sisters, and the new Ghost might already know of her existence, might try and use her to his advantage. Satoru hated hostage situations.
The younger Wallis-Kline girl looked shaken. "But she's my sister!"
"And that's why you need to stay safe and away from the fighting."
Ren slipped his proper hand onto Merry's shoulder. "She can help me find my shit and get it ready for her sis though, yeah?" He grinned at Satoru's frown. "I usually got my boo to help me, might need some spare small hands." Merry managed a shakey smile at that. She wanted to be helpful somehow, she needed it like she needed air. She couldn't just sit by and let her sister prepare for this alone!
Satoru glanced to Karina, as did a hopeful Merry and Ren. "Your call, Kid." The gunslinger said. "She's your sister."
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