15[20:09] The day's first match ended in a pair of surprising ringouts. The card progresses, and soon Piu is ushered out of the stands to prepare for the match. What's she thinking about? [20:10] 4The fight, dummy. [20:10] 14There's a place you go, where nobody knows your name. [20:11] 4Fists and shins wrapped, robe flowing...ready to rock. 15[20:12] And what preoccupies the others as they sit in the stands? The matches? The hearth has some company - Seiri, Salim, Caxi, and Ted are sharing the benches with them. And then there's that dog... [20:15] 10There sure is that dog. It definitely met Daizo's gaze in a thoroughly un-doglike way. So, there's no rush. Now that we know, and it knows we know, and so on…  [20:16] 10For now, just play it cool. [20:17] 6Zhangyu raged about in the locker rooms after his unceremonious exit from the ring earlier, but at this point he's moved on to simply gripping his robes so tightly his knuckles are white and occasionally gritting his teeth. [20:18] 10Play it cool, and make polite conversation with a rival. "I have to say, Caxi, that was quite the trick. But you know it can only work once, correct? No one will accept a match with you unless the ring-out clause is waived again." [20:19] 07Dryas leans over to Daizo. "We could send for men, weapons, and horses from the Defiance or the Leaf. But if it's Lunar why hasn't it struck yet?" [20:20] 10So much for the veneer of normality. [20:24] 6Have you seen us? "Normal" is not one of the first dozen words that comes to mind. [20:24] 10Daizo: "Ssh. Let's find a corner or something." [20:25] 6Pretending for the benefit of a weird dog/probable person is even more of a lost cause. 15[20:25] Caxi: "There's always the Obsidian Butterflies." [20:27] 10Daizo makes a wry face and finds a more private spot to speak with Dryas. SOON. "They're not all idiot brutes, you understand. This one… this one is gathering intelligence." [20:28] "On us, then? What should we do?" 07Dryas asks. [20:29] 6To Caxi: "That was a good play. Crowd seemed to like it, too." [20:30] 10Adter a moment: "We make contact. If something goes wrong, if I'm grossly misreading the situation, and it *is* here to kill us… I can hold it off long enough for help to arrive." 15[20:30] Caxi: "I think the crowd just liked my outfit." [20:31] 6Zhangyu: "No. They like my outfits, but they actually like you." [20:32] 07Dryas nods. "Alright. We'll play it cool in the meantime then." 15[20:32] "You are remarkably well-dressed for a Tepet," admits Caxi. [20:32] "Nothing that one of the Lunar Anathema says can be fully trusted, of course. But perhaps you can maneuver it into giving something away." [20:32] 6A crooked grin. "I'll take it." [20:34] "Back to it, then," 07Dryas murmurs to herself, retuning to the others. [20:37] 10Daizo follows close behind, with apologies to anyone he winds up bumping into or brushing with a covered wingtip along the way. 15[20:37] The two of them settle in among a silent crowd, as Thousand Devil Master's begun introducing the competitors. "...hailing from the center of the world, the champion of the Five Day Fight, V'Neef Piu!!" [20:38] "Yeah! Piu! Get 'im, girl!" 07Dryas cheers. [20:39] 10What are the odds that one underground fighting arena contains no fewer than three different varieties of Anathema? And then there's the Chosen that attacked Sadako… is he somewhere out in this crowd? 15[20:39] It is quite a famous underground fighting arena, mind... 15[20:40] It's really more illegal than underground. [20:40] 4She walks out, arms spread wide, grinning. They get a full view of the muscle definition...and the curves. She spins, once, twice, three times slowly as she walks to the center of the ring, not dizzied in the slightest, and bows deep -- while the robe's cut low, she's taped her chest for protection, boys and girls, but please don't avert your eyes -- and then as custom demands circles [20:40] 4off to a corner to let the champion make his entrance uncontested. [20:43] 10Daizo can't help but admire the grace and artistry and sheer bombastic saleswomanship on display here. [20:44] 4In the Realm, from high to low, you are the product. 15[20:45] The crowd likes Piu! "...from the City of Knives and Nooses, the reigning champion, Bruiser Khang!!!" The crowd's on their feet, chanting his name, as he comes out and the drummer starts in earnest. He reaches out to touch hands with the people in the stands as he strides to the ring, giving them a wave and a smile before hopping lightly in-bounds. [20:48] 6Zhangyu, who clapped and was fairly animated during Piu's entrance, practically sits on his hands for Bruiser Khang. [20:49] 10Daizo: "Wu-Jian, right under our noses. Khang's no fool, either." 15[20:50] Bruiser then turns to face Piu. For a moment he looks as if he's going to bow... but he just folds his arms instead. [20:51] 4She circles back to place herself between him and the door out -- symbolic, if arrogant -- extends an arm...and curls her hand, twice. [20:51] 4Come and get it, golden boy. [20:52] 4The air around her explodes into heat. 15[20:52] The gong sounds. [20:52] 6Holy shit. 15[21:05] Khang doesn't need further prompting. He comes in hard with a series of heavy forearm strikes! [21:06] 6Good technique but no lasting damage... still keeps Piu on the back foot, but she's got an opening here... [21:07] 4Piu almost blocks it! [21:07] 4Almost. [21:07] 4She at least isn't knocked down. [21:21] 4She leans through the blow, spins -- and delivers a fluid heel-glaive backkick to where his collarbone should be. [21:21] 4There's a hiss as the fire turns to steam. 15[21:21] Piu exploits an opening! The two of them seem evenly matched so far... [21:24] 6Zhangyu is on the edge of his seat. He paid for the whole thing, but this is all he needs. [21:24] 07Dryas: "Come on, Piu! Really give it to him!" [21:25] 10Daizo's watching the back and forth as intently as you might observe a Gateway match. He raises an arm in a silent cheer. [21:28] 4She follows that up by spinning into a jumping knee!! [21:30] 6Shit, that was good. Zhangyu's a fan of a good knee strike - gets them in position to wrench the arms - but using the momentum from a spin into a strike like that...! 15[21:31] With her swift attacks, Piu has turned the tide! The ace is on the back foot now... 15[21:38] ...but he steadily works her back to the center of the ring with a rain of punishing strikes! [21:38] 4Ow. Ow. Ow. [21:39] 4The steam deepens around her as she stays close, not allowing him to get distance to do a running attack. Yeah, that's it. Not allowing him to get distance. 15[21:39] It might be hard to see from the stands, but Piu can see that Khang's forearms are burned. [21:40] 4'He hurt his hands from hitting me so much' is tough to spin as a brag. [21:41] 07Dryas: "That's it! Wear him out!" [21:42] 6You leave that part out. "He didn't leave unharmed," and then you refuse to elaborate. [21:42] 10Daizo waves away some of the billowing steam. "This next exchange is going to decide it, I think," 10he says absently. [21:49] 10No!! She's still up! She's still up! Give him one to remember! [21:49] 4He hits her again and again, and she -- uses the corner to bounce, ducking away and taking his knee with her elbow! [21:50] 6Hell of a fight. Absolute hell. But Zhangyu's not seeing a way for Piu to win this... [21:51] 10Daizo: "Never been so happy to be proven wrong—" 15[22:07] Bruiser's finally wearing Piu down... their animas flare brighter and brighter, red and gold flames flickering across the arena, the heat shimmer rendering the fighters ghostlike. He takes a step back, winding up all of his weight. Red-gold veins of light pulse from his right shoulder to his fingertips, as the light of his ignited soul spins upward and sharpens, a thick-trunked tree, 15[22:07] freshly split by a bolt of lightning and falling forward in time with the ace's finisher: an uppercut he throws his whole body into, lifting himself clear off the ground and Piu much, much higher. 15[22:07] "IMPERIAL... CITY... SMASH!!!" 15[22:08] What does the crowd see when the dust settles? [22:08] 07Dryas covers her mouth with her hand in horror. [22:09] 6Zhangyu looks on stoically. Piu won't be dead. But. That's all he can say for certain. [22:11] 4Piu lies there broken and motionless on the canvas for a quarter-second...then grunts. Stands. Her right arm is clearly broken; it's fairly bad. 14She glances down at it; more annoyance on her face than anything else. [22:12] 14She takes a perfunctory knee, just long enough for the gong to sound Bruiser's victory, then bows. [22:12] 4At the very least, Piu will be walking off. [22:12] 10Daizo: "Mela's breath… What a monster…" 10The steam and dust begin to clear. [22:13] 14She wasn't expecting the first real hit to be quite so hard. Broken arm. She's endangered the mission. [22:13] 14Stupid! 15[22:13] Salim: "'And he wore a kingly crown, and in his hand a scepter shone, and on his brow this mark I saw: I am God, and King, and Law.'" 15[22:14] Now Bruiser bows. [22:14] 6Zhangyu inhales sharply and heads off towards wherever the medics for the wrestlers are. Not sure if just anyone can get there, but surely he can. [22:14] 07Dryas applauds gamely for Piu's showing, taking a moment to sneer at Salim. [22:15] 4Once she's been sufficiently respectful, and with a game, pained smile on her face for the crowd once the dust has settled, Piu will head off. [22:15] 14She needs to get this arm set immediately. [22:19] 10Daizo: "'Then all cried with one accord: Thou art God and King and Lord. Tyranny, to thee we bow… be thy name made holy now.'" 15[22:20] Salim, mildly: "He cannot be allowed to live." [22:21] 10Daizo hadn't placed Salim for a man of culture. "I fear you may be right." [22:22] 4She'll make it to their private room in the bar 14before collapsing onto a couch, and starting to break a chair for a splint. 15[22:22] Caxi's on her feet. "I'll see to her." [22:22] 14Can always pay for a new one. 15[22:22] Seiri looks mortified. [22:24] 07Dryas is on her feet, looking behind her for the dog and withdrawing a silk handkerchief from her sleeve. 15[22:25] The dog seems to have gone, or otherwise been lost in the crowd filing out. 15[22:25] Piu is followed by the house medics, who are coldly cast aside by Caxi as she brushes past them. "That brute!" [22:26] 6It takes Zhangyu multiple moments to realize - this isn't where Piu is heading. Fuck. Okay, time to try and find the rest-- ah. [22:26] 4Piu, more calmly than you might expect: "Pretty hot though!" [22:26] "I burned his arms." [22:26] 6He'll be late. But not as late as waiting endlessly for her to show up with the Hinokuni medics. [22:27] 10Daizo: "It's going to be all right, Seiri. Piu's okay—any fight you can walk away from is a good one. And Khang… We'll have to talk about Khang later." [22:28] 10What's Ted doing in all this?  [22:29] 07Dryas scoops up an unattended pork rib from some idiot's abandoned plate and wraps it in the kerchief as she makes her way to the back of the hall, where the dog had been sitting. 15[22:30] Caxi subjects Piu to a battery of pokes and prods, looking for broken bones, signs of internal bleeding, and signs of a serious head injury. "I hope it blisters. I hope bugs crawl into his skin." [22:30] 4Placidly: "Won't matter. Think he's kinda beyond that stuff." [22:31] 6Zhangyu, finally entering: "Thought still counts. Hell of a fight, by the way." [22:31] "In retrospect, probably shouldn'ta taken off that ring out rule. Oh well!" [22:31] 14It was humiliating, and it made her unfit for purpose. 4Piu: "Thanks!" 15[22:32] Ted frowned very deeply at the finale of the match, and is now among the people crowding outside the kinship's private room. 15[22:32] A bunch of the fighters are. 15[22:32] Salim and Seiri are with Daizo. [22:32] 6Are any of them just rubbernecking and not actually concerned? [22:32] 4Piu will go out to hobnob once her arm's properly seen to. 15[22:33] Who can say? 15[22:34] Caxi: "I can set this right now, but these bruises are deep. I can take care of them tonight, but not with so many people around." 15[22:35] She manages to set it without a splint, too - just some very snug bandages. [22:36] 4Piu: "Mmmmm. Sounds good." [22:37] 6Zhangyu: "It is." 15[22:37] Caxi smirks. 15[22:39] Some people are rubbernecking. The fighters, especially ones who've faced Bruiser, are not. [22:41] 6Zhangyu will glare at the rubberneckers. The fighters... They can stick around. [22:41] 4Piu gives Caxi a kiss on the cheek that is perilously close to her lips, adjusts the sling and splint, and will step out to greet her...public? 15[22:42] Piu is mobbed by fans as she steps into view. Or she would be, if Zhangyu's glare weren't keeping them at bay. [22:44] 10Daizo: "Salim, kindly wait here for me, would you? Seiri, you want to go up and check on Piu? Caxi should have at least managed to splint her arm by now." [22:44] 6He'll stop glaring once Piu actually reveals herself, but Zhangyu will stick around just in case. [22:45] 4Piu will cheerfully engage the fans, using Zhangyu to deflect the more lecherous or tedious ones. She's got a broken arm here! 15[22:45] Seiri and Salim both nod silently, with very different expressions on their faces. 15[22:47] Seiri has a hard time squeezing through the crowd to get to Piu, but Daizo cuts an impressive path. She looks so relieved to see Piu up and about. [22:47] 4Piu, upon seeing her, will stride over and give her a (one-armed) hug. 15[22:48] Seiri squeezes back very gently. [22:48] 10To Zhangyu: "I have some business with Dryas outside. If we're not back soon, make sure she gets back to the hostelry safely, Cousin." [22:48] 6Zhangyu: "I will." [22:49] 6He's watching both Piu and Seiri, now, and pointedly ignoring the... 'lecherous' ones that Piu redirected to him. The tedious ones wear themselves out eventually. 15[22:49] Meanwhile, Dryas ignores the ruckus and cuts through the crowd, outside, picking up Daizo and Salim as she goes. She's following a trail from the cheap seats through the crowd to where people (many of whom were rubberneckers scared off by Zhangyu) are filing out into the late-afternoon light. After so long indoors, the aggressively pink light Hamoji's giving off is extra jarring. [22:51] 10To Salim: "Stay behind us, and try not to be seen. If you spot anything strange, give a signal. A bird call, something like that." [22:52] 4What fighters are here? And what are they up to? Presumably they're not coursing in with the fans. 15[22:52] It gets a lot harder to follow out here, but Cynis Dryas is a huntress par excellence. By identifying what the smoothest path would be for a dog, she and the others elbow through the crowds to loop around the building and down a long road that ends in an open-air market that's winding down for the day. Among the grocers and the people picking out dinner she spots - aha! - a wagging 15[22:52] tail, and a dog whose head is buried in a bucket of fish heads. 15[22:54] The fighters are drinking. Seated closest to the door she came out of is Ted, with Son-of-Sabers beside him. Sublime Master Thief raises a a mug when Piu makes eye contact. El and the otaku are at the far end. [22:55] 4Piu will tend to her fans as much as is responsible...and then she's getting a damn drink. 15[22:55] Ted is watching her the most closely, but he's trying to be subtle about it. [22:56] 4What a dear. [22:56] 14She's still going to find a way out of this with Hedrin dead. And she sees no reason why Ted needs to die. 15[22:57] When she's done getting cooed over and cheered, she's got her pick of people who want to buy her a drink. [22:58] 4Ted gets first dibs. [22:59] 4In fact, depending on the seating arrangements, she'll slide in next to him. Preferably on his right, so she's not leaning a broken arm against him. [23:00] 6Zhangyu, stormy demeanor and all, will try and be somewhat close - if not next to - Piu. Glaring at people yes, being weirdly overprotective of someone who has demonstrated they can handle themselves no. [23:01] 4Is he welcome at the table, or is this gathering solely for those who've gotten their asses kicked by Bruiser? [23:02] 6I mean, he's not that hurt. You want him to go get his ass kicked, he can do it. 15[23:02] No one's turning Zhangyu away. People acknowledge him politely, except for Son-of-Sabers, who is pretending not to notice him. [23:03] 6Ow. [23:03] 4Piu will kill the drink in one go, then slam it down. "I guess technically that wouldn't've been a ring out anyway." [23:04] 10Daizo's proposed approach towards this too-wise dog, discussed in hushed tones as they push through the darkened road, is very simple: "Try and pet it and see what happens. If it flees, we chase it. If it attacks, run and get help. And if it's friendly… play it by ear." 15[23:05] Ted: "I keep trying to tell him that being able to come back in from a ring out makes for much better fights. He insists it's tradition." [23:05] 6Zhangyu is keeping an eye on Seiri, for the record. Probably she isn't welcome at the table...? [23:05] 07Dryas exchanges a glance with Daizo, then saunters towards the bucket of fish heads, dangling the pork rib enticingly. "Here, poochy poochy," 07she purrs sarcastically. [23:06] 4Piu: "Does he always try to end it with the one big hit?" 15[23:07] Ted: "Man does love his finishers." 15[23:08] Son-of-Sabers: "Bruiser is skilled, and strong, but he has no appreciation for the technical game." [23:09] 4Piu will signal for another drink. Doesn't really care who pays for it. "I'd say I was just one big hit away from a win myself, but...I was on a 9 effort just to hang with his 4, if we're talking from 10." [23:09] 6Drink obtained. Social obligations performed, Piu can handle herself. Is there a table or something for Seiri to sit at nearby? Probably dragging her to the table of fighters itself would go over poorly. [23:10] 10Zhangyu's a good host! 15[23:10] Ted: "Doesn't seem fair to put a demon up against Chosen." [23:10] 6He's been informed of propriety. That sort of counts. 15[23:11] Sublime Master Thief: "It was really tight there at the start. Just a little bit of sneezing powder in a scroll and you could've had that." 15[23:11] Once she sees Piu is alright, she's perfectly content to sit anywhere. [23:12] 4She giggles, but it's close to a belly-laugh. "Yeah! I forgot all about that stuff when the fight came over me. I don't know how you do it!" 15[23:12] The dog lifts its head from the bucket, fish guts clinging to its face, and looks in Dryas's direction. The dog cocks its head, one ear quirked. [23:13] 6Zhangyu will actually sit with her rather than the fighters - he'll want to be close just in case, but Daizo cares, which means Zhangyu should care. And that means: "You doing all right?" 6he asks Seiri. 15[23:13] Sublime Master Thief: "I just get inside people's heads. Ted, tell her about the time I read your mind." 15[23:13] Ted smiles into his glass. "Oh, you tell it so much better." 15[23:14] Seiri: "Master Zhangyu... may I ask you a question?" [23:14] 6An agreeable grunt. 15[23:14] Seiri: "Why do you enjoy fighting?" [23:15] 6Zhangyu: "Do you want the proper answer or the real answer?" [23:15] 4Piu is very attentive. 15[23:15] Seiri: "The real one." [23:16] "Wouldn't you rather have something tastier than an old fish head?" 07Dryas asks, presenting the rib - she's speaking High Realm in a diminutive tense, as one might use to speak to a young child or a particularly idiotic retainer. Maybe she should have poisoned it first. [23:18] 10Daizo's hanging back a bit, but he's smiling—no teeth showing—and looking relaxed. But maybe letting Dryas take the lead on this was a mistake.  15[23:18] Sublime Master Thief: "So a year or two ago, this pretty bitch comes in with old Tenkai's medallion. Says he wants to fight. Now it's barely past dawn. Devil is sleeping off a hangover, I'm cleaning up, still drunk. Most senior guy awake. So it falls to me to work him in. 'What's your name?' I ask him. He goes, trying to be a little shit, he goes, "Guess." [23:18] 4She glances over at Ted at 'pretty bitch.' [23:18] 6Quietly: "I get to prove that I am worth it." 6His mouth is a flat line. "Daizo trusts you," 6is his non-sequitur followup. 15[23:19] Ted looks slightly rueful. 15[23:21] Sublime Master Thief: "So I wrack my wasted brain trying to come up with the rudest thing I can call him. I'm not... totally verbal, I'm coming up blank on puns or innuendo, so I think about word sounds. I just start making sounds, I must've looked like a babbling baby. Finally I settle on 'Ted'. I say, 'Your name is Ted. You look like a Ted to me, boy.' And he's got that same little 15[23:21] look he's got right now. And he says, 'Got it in one.'" 15[23:21] The dog pads toward Dryas, inspecting the bone. It gets close enough to sniff. [23:22] 10Daizo: "You've been following us around since the festival at Hamoji, haven/t you? Does one of us smell good? Or particularly bad?" 15[23:22] Close enough for Dryas to sniff, too. Whew-ee! [23:23] 4Piu: "Had you seen a Ted before?" 15[23:23] Sublime Master Thief: "Nah. But I just *knew*, looking at him. Divine inspiration." 15[23:24] What does Dryas do when the dog tries to take the bone in its mouth? [23:24] 4Piu considers Ted for longer now. "Mmmmmm. Well the single syllable fits." 15[23:25] Seiri: "I hope so. I worry I haven't been earning my keep." [23:27] 07She'll drop the bone into its waiting mouth and crouch besides, reaching for one of its - floppy? ears. "And who is this shaggy beast in need of a bath, mm?" [23:28] "Kind of seems like it's short for something." [23:29] 10If nothing else, Seiri's information about the ali-ki and the Witch of the Far Side has been more than enough. But Zhangyu probably doesn't know that. [23:31] 6Zhangyu: "He's more open with you than the rest of us," 6bland. Not accusatory. "And - you've helped. Even setting that aside." [23:33] "Keep it up," 6he finishes awkwardly. [23:34] 6They are still going to be at this table. 15[23:34] Ted: "I like to think it stands on its own." [23:35] 6Zhangyu is very good at reading social situations, and he is even better at intimidating people. But something simple like this is beyond his reach. 15[23:35] The dog takes the bone and runs off. [23:35] 4Piu, leaning into him slightly: "The T does pretty well for itself." [23:36] 4See, it looks like a-- [23:37] 07Dryas narrows her eyes and sets off after it. [23:39] 10Daizo starts running too. "If you smell a trap, we'll break off pursuit." 15[23:39] Salim follows in kind. 15[23:43] Seiri nurses her tea. "Does he seem different, since- since what happened on the mountain?" [23:48] 6Zhangyu: "More closed off," 6he settles on. "I don't think he's handling it well, but I don't know what handling it well would mean." [23:49] "Maybe he's doing better than anyone else." 15[23:49] The dog is fast - Dryas has seen dogs with this build -- albeit better-fed and less mangy -- as hunting dogs in the South, particularly among the Delzahn nomads. But Daizo, even with his bulky stone wings, is able to keep peace. It takes a fair bit to actually catch up, and by the time he does they're at the mouth of a blind alley with the dog halfway down it. [23:51] 10He's nearly sent sprawling once when one of the wings clips a fencepost, but miraculously keeps his feet. [23:54] 07Dryas is breathing hard and her hair is disheveled when she catches up; she raises her right hand in greeting. Her left hand makes its way to the small of her back, to the flamepiece she carries for social occasions.  15[23:54] The dog burrows into a pile of trash... and a man crawls out, hair and beard thick and dark and wild, years-unshaven. He's swaddled in layers upon layers of rags. He pulls a banana peel gingerly from his enormous hair. 15[23:55] Then he cocks his head again. [23:56] 10Daizo: "We just want to know what you want with us." 10Gah, the stench—Daizo doesn't want to breathe, almost, but you have to. 15[23:57] "This place is crawling with Anathema," mutters Salim. 15[23:59] The haggard man strokes his beard. His High Realm is halting and heavily accented. "You're not a Wyld Hunt." [23:59] 6Give the man a prize. [00:00] 10Daizo: "No. We're not. We're only after one kind of prey right now." 15[00:01] "Me?" [00:01] "Unless you're the one that killed Hamoji, no." [00:03] 10This pathetic rag-man—this isn't like the proud monster that slaughtered his comrades, guffawing like it was a bad joke—he's a 10beggar10, a 10bum10! Just what is going on here? 15[00:04] The haggard man shakes his head. "Hamoji was fair. Not kind, but fair." [00:05] 07Dryas: "And who are you, for that matter?" 15[00:07] Man: "I'm nobody. Who are you?"