145/Agressive Corporate Recruiting

Agressive Corporate Recruiting
Date of Scene:	06 July 2015
Location:	Mitakihara - Downtown
Synopsis:	Miss White attempts to recruit Kyouko Sakura into WPS. Kyouko is a pointy negotiator.
Cast of Characters:	Hannah Sharpe, Kyouko Sakura

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Hannah Sharpe has posed:
Ever since hearing of Kyouko Sakura's staunch refusal to join her little group, Miss White has been planning. Puella Magi and magical girls in general are an elusive lot. With no known contacts to leverage, she's simply had to do things the old fashioned way: walk the streets, Raging Tempest in her pocket while scanning the city.

Mitakihara has always seemed a hotbed for Familiars and Witches, and as night falls, Miss White has occupied a water tower with expensive coffee in one hand, and Raging Tempest in the other. A call or two has set up black sedans in different parts of the city piloted by those odd robot gangsters. A simple call, and they'll do as she pleases. For now, she waits, green lines of magic filtering over the area while she sips coffee.

Now where could the Puella Magi be?

Kyouko Sakura has posed:
    It is often hard to trace the movements of a Puella Magi, especially one like Kyouko Sakura. She has no family, no permenant address, no cell phone, and for the moment, no allies or friends. She is quite literally a ghost, appearing from no where to scare the bejeezus out of less powerful Puella Magi, take their Grief Seeds, and then vanishing again. Still, it's a sure bet that where there are Witches, one will find Puella Magi, and a Puella Magi who has declared ownership over all the Grief Seeds in Mitakihara most of all.
    Therefore, one need only watch for the Labyrinths. At sunset, one emerges. Fifteen minutes later, it vanishes again, destroyed. An hour later, a second appears. In twenty minutes, it's gone. Somebody is taking out Witches right quick. So when a third Labyrinth appears a few hours later, if one is quick enough to react, one might arrive just in time for that Labyrinth to collapse as well, and find a red-haired, spear-wielding Puella Magi standing on the street, a stick of pocky hanging out of the corner of her mouth and a grief seed in her palm.

Hannah Sharpe has posed:
As much as the loss of so many Seeds pains her, Miss White can't help but grin. This lone wolf takes out Witches like they were nothing. A truly impressive person. Atop the water tower, she laughs, teleporting between building and building, her Device sucking up data greedily. It's worth the loss. There'll be more Witches. Especially if she can get her claws into the girl somehow.

It's at that third Labyrinth that Miss White pauses, two buildings away, her Area Search flooding her brain with the 'image' of the Puella standing there. A phone is pulled out.

"Two blocks down. Do it." She orders, then hangs up.

One of those cars roars to life, and goes screeching off towards the alleyway that Kyouko is standing in. There's the sound of tires tearing on road as the RoboGangster driving hits the brakes, and then the big, black, tinted car just stops. For a second, nothing. Then the windows roll down to reveal odd looking men with dead eyes and automatics. They all begin to absolutely shower the alleyway with gunfire. One even tosses a grenade.

Worst still, these robo-youma's bullets are definitely infused with dark magic.

Miss White isn't staying still, though. She's soon a building over, getting a layout of the alleyways, before hopping over. She has a good vantage point with her Device from here, and should be able to catch up with Kyouko should she flee.

"Now what will you do, Kyouko Sakura?" She muses to herself, giddy to get readings on her abilities.

Raging Tempest lights up. "Wind Barrier."

The area is suddenly suffused in magic, a Barrier coming to form. It's nothing like that horrible reality-twisting thing Witches use, but it certainly overlays another reality. Damage, here, will be far less to the 'real world'.

Kyouko Sakura has posed:
    Kyouko is taking stock of her profit. A third Grief Seed gained in one evening- that makes today a profitable night. Kyubey was right when he had exhorted her to come here to Mitakihara- he had said it would be much richer hunting grounds than her home in Kazamino, and he had been correct. Of course, he had neglected to mention the increased... competition. For years, Kyouko had been the sole Puella Magi in Kazamino, having driven off all other comers, Mami included. Having to contend with others again was an unexpected and unwelcome surprise. Still, she's been doing it for the better part of a week now, and so she's on her guard- which likely accounts for her lightning reactions when the car suddenly pulls into the alleyway and then robot gangsters open fire on her.
    The redhead whirls in place, spear snapping out defensively in front of her, and a magical barrier of her own suddenly springs into being, a wall of criss-crossing red diamonds. Almost lace-like in appearance, gaps large enough to easily see through- and yet solid as stone, as those bullets find when they slam into it, creating small ripples that dissipate without noticable damage to the barrier. Kyouko meanwhile uses her spear like a pole-vault, the blunt end hitting the pavement as she propels herself up, higher and faster than a normal human could manage, taking the spear with her as she arcs up to one of the rooftops alongside the alleyway where she can peer down at the black car and its robo-gangsters. Once she is out of the way, her barrier dissipates. She makes no immidiate attack upon the car, merely crouching on the edge of the roof, spear held at her side, eyes narrowed on the vehicle. She does not seem to have noticed Ms. White nearby.

Hannah Sharpe has posed:
Miss White smirks as that barrier comes up, taking the hits of the bullets and leaving not a scratch upon the Puella. Then Kyouko simply pole vaults her way to victory and rooftops, leaving that grenade to go off with a loud pop of shrapnel.

Like a proper drive-by, the car then peels out as the windows roll back up. The car eventually finds its way to a dark parking garage.

That barrier stays up, however, and even though she hasn't been noticed, the Magical Girl decides to call attention to herself.

Hannah starts clapping loudly on the adjacent building, even whistling. "Bravo! Well done, well done! I had expected you to run away, or attack them. Using a barrier and then just vaulting up like a cat! You are already surpassing my expectations, Kyouko Sakura-san." Comes her voice, a little warm, polite, and yet dripping with self confidence.

"So how many was that tonight? Three? Mmm. A shame, that, but at least the Witches are dead." She spits out the name 'Witch' hatefully.

Then, both hands of hers raise.

"Oh, but where /are/ my manners? My name is Miss White, Director of WitchHunter Professional Services' Special Interests and Acquisitions Department. It is an absolute /joy/ to finally meet you! I have heard so many things about you, oh where to even begin?"

Kyouko Sakura has posed:
    Kyouko remains where she is, on the side of the building, giving no indication that she notices another presence nearby or indeed even notices the larger barrier that Miss White has erected to limit collatoral damage. She watches the car peel off and drive away, her expression neutral. However, the lack of surprise she shows when Hannah starts clapping and speaks might indicate she had been aware of the other woman all along and simply had not deigned to acknowledge her until she made her intentions known.
    As it is, when Miss White speaks up, Kyouko tilts her head to the side, a single red-tinted eye coming into view, peering across the rooftop to where the woman stands. She listens in silence to the little speech, showing no real reaction to the praise or the introduction. When Miss White finishes, she remains still in silence for just a moment.
    Then she moves like a snake, graceful and viper-quick, spinning around and thrusting out with her spear.. which suddenly seems much longer than it had initially appeared. The wooden pole stretches all the way across the rooftop, though no seams or breaks are visible, the shining silver and red head halting with its sharp point just a hair's breadth from Hannah's throat. Kyouko grins a predatory grin, showing off her single fang. "So, you're the one marshalling all the losers in this city to steal /my/ grief seeds. Perfect. If I take you out, maybe they'll get the message and get out of my town."

Hannah Sharpe has posed:
What a taciturn girl! Slowly, Miss White frowns, clearly insulted at not even getting a proper greeting! But after a while of sudden silence, the girl speaks, and acts!

She doesn't see the facial expression, of course, but as that spear extends without breaks or chains Raging Tempest yells in her head. Her own danger sense has her muscles tensing, her perception spell letting her feel air being pushed apart by the sharp end of that spear.

Miss White doesn't move, doesn't back down. Instead, a tiny barrier of wind grinds against the spearpoint so close to her throat. Just in case. Inwardly, the combination of animal fear, joy at such a strong opponent, and pure greed on getting her on the payroll have the woman grinning. It's not a nice one.

"...My, my, my! So you can shape your spear as you like? What an interesting technique! Allowing you to strike from whatever distance you need...no wonder those Witches fell so quickly."

Then, her leg goes up, a burst of sound and wind slamming into the pole as she falls backwards off of the roof. Flipping around, magic flares, and Raging Tempest's golden knuckles flare around her hands.

"Raging Tempest, set-up! Get ready, this one is /worthy/!" Comes the woman talking to her weapon.

"Come on down, Kyouko-san! If you really think you can take me out, then come show me! Show me everything you are capable of, do not /dare/ hold back on me!" She yells.

"Stealing only applies when they get taken from you. Really...claiming all of Mitakihara? Foolish, but that kind of foolishness is endearing."

It's around then that Miss White aims a wind-fueled kick to slice at the water tower's supports, sending it careening for Kyouko's estimated position!

Kyouko Sakura has posed:
    Kyouko's experience in fighting non-Puella types of magical combatants is very limited. However, this does not effect her combat instincts, which are very sharp indeed. Some people are strategists, planning, seeing the long term. Kyouko is not like that- she is a tactician. She operates almost on instinct, her body reacting, her mind seeing the possibilities and choosing the correct one without the need for thought or consideration. In the long-term, she can be outsmarted and outmanuvered. It's much harder to do so during an actual fight.
    Kyouko can sense the resistance of that small barrier of wind, keeping the spearpoint away from Hannah's neck. This informs her to some small degree of her opponents capabilities. She water tower is sliced and falls over, exploding in a spray of splinters and water- but Kyouko is no longer there, of course. She had been invited to come down to the alleyway, of course. And so she does.
    The spear falls straight down as if from the heavens, smashing into the pavement and embedding itself, standing upright like a mayfair pole. A moment later Kyouko lands atop it, balancing effortlessly on the blunt end of the spear, one foot atop the other. Her arms crossed over her chest, she regards the transformed Miss White, her expression feral. "You're clearly not a Puella Magi, so you can be forgiven for not knowing how it works."
    "Grief Seeds are survival, and only the fittest survive! I claim them /by right/, because I can take them and none can take them from me! If you think you can, you're welcome to try. You can join all the others who've tried.. and failed." She leaps down from the spear, landing lightly, at the same time grabbing it from behind her and swinging it forward. Instantly it segments , lengths of wood connected by glowing red chains, its length seeming intermittant, impossible to gauge as its swirls around the alleyway like Hannah's own wind made manifest in steel and wood.

Hannah Sharpe has posed:
Quick, strong, and with combat instincts that are simply impressive. Hannah honestly doesn't like her odds offhand, but the reward is worth the risk. Pavement shatters, and the girl lets out an excited little 'oooh' as her spear snakes out like some sort of living thing. The length, even for her spells, is almost impossible to determine.

"Oh, now, now, now, I would be a fool if I started a company based on glorious people like you without knowing a thing or two. Actually, you could say I know more than most. You see, Puella Magi, Witches, Familiars, Soul Gems, Grief Seeds...all of those are things I am /very/ interested in." Comes Hannah casually.

"But no. I am not going to mug you for something that keeps you alive. Please, I am not that desperate. I just want to see your abilities, collect data, and make you an offer. Plenty of Witches around to obtain them. Even someone like you cannot possibly take them all. Still, a bit of competition in the field is good. Keeps us both sharp."

She doesn't immediately strike, though her body is in a traditional boxer's pose. She's like a coiled spring, just ready to move.

"But I would prefer we be friends, Kyouko-san. You see, even if you /do/ manage to kill me here, I have contingency plans so that my company and my work goes on. You would just gain more enemies. Oh, by the by, how dark is your soul gem right now? All of that magic you are currently using up...just for someone like me...now, imagine if people like me keep coming after you. People who do not need Grief Seeds, or have to worry about things like soul gems? I can use as much magic as I have against you. You are going to need to use up your precious Grief Seeds."

A little sad shake of the head.

"...But what if you joined me? If you like hunting alone, fine! I can find useful things for you to do. In return, I can get you whatever you need: food, money, a place to live, real medical attention, training as a magi and as a human. And no need to fear attacks, because you have backup just a call away. You have nothing but to gain, as do I. Do not throw away a rare opportunity like this. I am /very/ selective in who I hire."

Then, she's moving. Hannah moves at a decent speed for one so tall, but as magic gathers under her feet, she's like a living bolt of lightning, and as elusive as the wind. She moves in erratic patterns, offering an occasional wind-fueled kick or jab, trying to knock those snaking chains out of the way and into disadvantageous positions. It's meant to slow the serpent, rather than kill it.

Then she's aiming a duo of left handed jabs to the body, each one as hard as a sledgehammer. One hand is always protecting her body or face, feet ready to dance away. This girl knows what she's doing. Fighting other people is one of her specialties, magical or not.

Then she aims a rough knee to the gutt, trying to knock out Kyouko's air in her lungs.

"Of course, turning down an exciting opponent right now like you would be a waste! Come on, entertain me, Kyouko-san! Make me bleed and forced to use everything I am! Sharpen me up!"

Kyouko Sakura has posed:
    Kyouko stands amidst her torrent of metal and wood like the eye of the storm, the spear seeming to move like a thing alive without her direct control. Hannah speaks, and speaks, but Kyouko isn't interested in listening.. she keeps one ear on what the woman says, but her eyes are on the woman herself, tracking her, watching for the brief movements, the leaning of weight, the things which tell her when movement is coming, and where it will be directed.
    She's ready then, when Hannah does suddenly attack.. lashing out to try and strike pieces of the spear away, to clear a path to its master at the center. She is able to knock them away, but the blows do no apparent damage to the spear itself, and every time it seems like one patch is cleared, more segments rotate into view, moving quickly, almost hypnotically. How long /is/ this spear? It seems to have no end and no beginning, even the broad-bladed head no longer in sight.
    Still, Hannah is able to clear enough of a gap to come for Kyouko directly. At this point, the girl in red finally moves. She's quick too, almost as quick as Hannah, speed and strength enhanced by magic. She's able to dodge the first few blows, though barely, deflecting one with her own forearm, the blow causing her to wince slightly, the second with a piece of spear that intercedes itself seemingly of its own volition, sent spinning away again but keeping the blow from landing on Kyouko herself.
    When Hannah tries to knee her, she leaps upwards- grabbing onto segments of the swirling spear-tempest and climbing through them like a jungle gym, hands and feet unerringly finding purchase on the moving bits of wood. She crouches there like some kind of feral simian, moving in a slow circle around the hollow which Hannah occupies, laughing. "You're a quick one." She compliments in return. "But don't you worry about the magic I'm using.." She reaches into the pocket of her dress, and pulls out a whole handful of grief seeds. It's hard to tell from that quick glance, but there has to be at least half a dozen maybe even more. "You see? The benefits of not having to share. And that makes me both able to withstand anyone you send against me, and singularly unwilling to share a slice of the pie.. what do I gain? I already have it all. Like you said, there are always more Witches. Gaining more Grief Seeds isn't a problem for me. Kowtowing to some mewling kit who thinks she knows it all.. now /that/ I have a problem with. I ain't afraid of you or your 'organization', Miss White. Rather, maybe you should take your hand out of the snake's nest.. before you get bitten."
    As if from nowhere, the bladed tip of the spear suddenly emerges from the swirling length of wood and chain, arrowing like a missile straight for Hannah from the direction /opposite/ of where Kyouko is currently perching.

Hannah Sharpe has posed:
Kyouko escapes mostly unscathed, perched amidst a wall of her infinite spear-chain. Miss White quickly stops bothering trying to measure it. At this range, if it /does/ have an end, then it may as well be infinite. Versatile too, as her knee-strike gets parried by that spear!

Hannah simply shrugs a little.

"I have my good points. Looks like this is going to be a contest of who gets in the first /real/ blow. Like an old Western. I like it." She giggles giddily, andrenaline flowing through her body.

Oddly, Hannah looks a little relieved here. "Mmm. Good. You /have/ been busy. No use to me if you just die from this." Nor does she really want /that/ on her soul, anyway.

Hannah just snorts. "Oh come now, my employees are /very/ happy! Consider it a...family of sorts, for all of we stray little magical kittens. You would probably be a consultant anyway. I know better than to try to chain a wolf. I am offering you a shelter, that is all, in return for using those skills of yours. But think about it. The offer stands." Then she flicks something at Kyouko!

A...business card? It has her name, number, and a building address in Mitakihara. Kyouko might have even passed it by.

Then a spear-tip comes up right behind her. Being blind has its advantages, and as soon as she feels the spear-tip shoving aside air, she reacts. Not once does she turn from Kyouko. Her elbow moves as she steps aside, that spear-tip slamming into and then shattering a barrier no more than three inches apart. Seems the girl goes for more precise works of magic, unlike her physical blows. The resistance however gives her enough time to reach out, aiming to grab just below the spear's tip.

Even with all of that, her barrier jacket is cut, and there's a trickle of blood from the blow. It only has her smiling.

Should she grab the spear's chain? Hidden by her hand, she quickly works up a tiny binding spell. It's made to simply rest there, inert, snaking along the sharp section. It doesn't activate, yet, a trap laid for later in case she needs to gum up that spear.

Then, grabbing it more tightly, she'll rush for Kyouko, only to stop a few feet away. She tosses aside the chain, hard, and then aims a sweeping kick for the air.

"I /WILL/ tame you, little wolf!"

Air bursts around her leg, a pure tornado of wind and magic kicking up as her body flexes in one smooth motion. The swirling green winds cut like a dozen knives, but they mainly work to once more try to blow apart that jungle of chains even as they seek to scrape and cut at Kyouko!

"VIOLENT RAGING ARC KICK!"

Kyouko Sakura has posed:
    Still perched upon various pieces of floating wood within the hollow dome formed by the infinite, rotating spear, Kyouko scoffs at the other woman's words. "This ain't some movie, kid. You best be takin' it seriously, cause if you're not, you might end up dead." The business card is flicked towards her.. and she actually catches it /in her mouth/, chomping down with her sharp little fangs, tearing it to bits, and then swallowing it without even giving it a glance. "I've tried the whole 'family' thing. It doesn't really work for me. So why don't you just take your 'offer' and shove it straight up your-"
    She breaks off as Hannah suddenly starts moving. The other girl grabs her spear by one of its looser chain segments, while rushing at her. That kick is already on the way, but Kyouko is moving too. Like a snake, she slips to the ground, and the spear begins to collapse and pull back all around, segments slamming back together, wood seamlessly joining as if the chain segments had never been. Including the segment that Hannah is gripping. Just as she aims that violent, raging kick at Kyouko's head, but before she releases the chain, the two segments around her hand slam back together- crushing her hand inbetween unless she manages forsee this and pull it out in time.
    The kick lands, but Kyouko rolls with it, lessening the impact. She pulls her collapsing spear with her, tearing it free of Hannah's hand one way or the other as she somersaults a few feet and lands in a crouch, the spear now just a six-foot weapon again, held behind her and angled upwards. A trickle of blood winds down the side of her face and a few sliced red hairs drift towards the ground.
    "I see how it is.." The redhead mutters. "Looks like you won't listen to reason. Well, in that case.." She darts forward, spear blurring about in front of her as she begins to attack Hannah, using it like a quarterstaff, raining blows towards her opponent. Of course, this style of close-in fighting likely suits Hannah just as much as it does her..

Hannah Sharpe has posed:
She eats the card. She /eats the card/! Miss White's mouth opens a bit in mixed surprise and confusion.

"...Remind me to not get between you and anything edible. I might lose body parts." She deadpans. /Really/ now.

Then, she recovers, smirking. "Dead serious. You have no idea how much I am gambling on this little business of mine, and any assets I find." Clearly she counts Kyouko amongst them.

There's a sigh. Rejected, twice.

"You really are stubborn! Oh well, that just makes me want you more. A nice little side project."

Her kick connects, and Kyouko smartly rolls with the impact: another mark of her experience. So too does that spear slam down, catching her hand, the grip of Raging Tempest and a barrier spell keeping her from losing fingers! But as the thing tears away, her hand is horridly cut. She takes a moment to wrap up her now cut hand with a bit of her barrier jacket, only to get back into a fighting pose.

"I /am/ pretty stubborn myself. Guess you just have to beat some sense into me, huh~." Teases the girl, grinning as that spear reforms and then strikes!

The first swing get swiftly ducked, Miss White taking a swift step forwards. The pattern continues, though she has to focus to gain any ground: even with just her spear, she has quite the leverage and range advantage despite Hannah's taller height.

But the woman's sporting if nothing else, and doesn't bother using any extra magic. Just like Kyouko, she resorts to pure physical skills. One blow gets blocked on her elbow, her body shuddering from the impact, but she manages to slide a little closer! Another duck, a wave, and her form breaks for a moment as she's forced to lean back, turning her cheek to avoid being smacked in the face by mere millimeters.

But then with Kyouko's next blow, she takes it on the side, her teeth gritting as her Barrier Jacket barely protects her.

Only for her arm to try to clamp down on that spear. She's already a physically fit girl even without magic. It'll truly be a contest between the two /with/ magic!

Then, she tugs on that spear, trying to drag Kyouko closer for a fierce jab, followed by a wind-infused uppercut to the jaw!

Kyouko Sakura has posed:
    Whether Kyouko's skill with the spear comes from pure physical training or from some magical implantation of technique is impossible to say, but the end result is the same- she's whirling dervish of strikes, pressing hard, not giving Hannah any time to react and attack back, keeping her on the defensive. Well, that's the plan anyway and against a less-skilled opponent it likely would have worked. Hannah is a skilled enough combatant however to meet her blows and still set herself up to strike back. The spear thuds into Hannah's side, and the girl traps it there effectively, pulling on it which drags Kyouko forward straight into that uppercut, which strikes her chin!
    Again though, Kyouko proves she knows how to roll with the punches. The blow does strike, but Kyouko manages to throw herself along with the momentum, lessening the impact. Using her hands still on the spear, she turns the whole movement into an upwards flip, as if 'riding' Hannah's fist upwards, turning over and landing.. on the spear, crouched on the haft where it juts out past Hannah, supported now entirely by her opponent's arm. She spits blood- graceful recovery or not, that punch had hurt. But she doesn't linger, not wanting to give Hannah time to respond.
    The spear, trapped against Hannah's side, suddenly segments again, blowing apart as if exploding, though rather than continuing outwards the segments careen around Hannah, trying to wrap her up like a boa constrictor. Kyouko meanwhile slides to the groun and grabs the end of the spear half, spinning with it as it pulls free to attempt to spin Hannah like a child's top.

Hannah Sharpe has posed:
If Hannah had any doubts as to whether Kyouko had real talent, she's utterly shattered that question. Miss White is barely scraping by, every (now aching) muscle in her body tensed in order to keep up. Despite the pain, the very real possibility of dieing here, she finds herself laughing. /This/ is a fight.

But any banter she might have is cut off as that spear once again explodes out, too quick for her to utilize her trap. She's wrapped up in chains and...

Suddenly her senses are a blurr as she's being unravelled, spinning around and around like a demented ballerina. She's even up on one sandal, hair and cheeks fluttering. A shame no one has a camera, because she looks /ridiculous/.

She finally stops however, slamming down her foot. Oddly, she doesn't seem dizzy: having no actual frame of visual reference prevents that. But she definetely looks dazed and confused enough that it accomplishes the same thing.

"...Oh come on, this is like a bad carnival ride." Her mouth works though! Perfect opportunity for a strike!

Then she reels back an arm, magic starting to gather and flow around her arms. Unlike all of her other wind strikes, it's not the tightly controlled bursts. She's gathering up power, utterly in a defensive stance, twin tornadoes of magical fury starting to form around her hands.

"Come on, Kyouko-san. I know you have more in you. Show me your real strength. I will do the same." She invites. Heat builds up in Raging Tempest, almost enough to scald her hands, but she ignores the burning sensation. She can't hold back on her.

Kyouko Sakura has posed:
    Hannah spins! Wheee. Except it's probably not that fun for her. Even if she doesn't get dizzy from it, it certainly is disorienting, and when Hannah recovers and resumes her defensive stance, she may not have a clear idea of exactly what has happened in the alleyway in the meantime. You see, while Hannah was spinning, Kyouko has left! She's gone- not in the alley anymore at all. Has she fled?
    No, don't be silly. Instead, she's crouched up on the edge of one of the buildings which form the alley's walls. The whole time she watches Hannah re-orienting herself, taunting her, and beginning to charge up her magic, Kyouko has been doing the same. She's been doing it since she leapt to the rooftop once she started Hannah spinning.
    She has her spear drawn back, point facing downwards into the alleyway. At Hannah. And she's pouring magical energy into it, as much as it can hold. You can almost see her Soul Gem growing dimmer by the second, but that doesn't stop her, not with all those grief seeds in her pocket, ready to be used. The whole spear begins to shimmer, then glow, suffused in a red glow along its entire length, but especially at its tip, where a point of bright, hot light begins to glow like a miniature sun.
    Hannah taunts her to show her true strength. Kyouko obliges. She leaps up, and then /launches/ the spear downwards like a javelin, or more accurately in this case, like a bolt of lightning from heaven, a red streak of light that hurtles downwards straight at Hannah. The impact, whether or not it hits Hannah, is as we say, 'Nanoha-esque', meaning it's likely to leave a smoking crater the size of a small car. Hopefully Hannah either got out of the way, or her Tempest is strong enough to mitigate the blow.

Hannah Sharpe has posed:
Even Hannah can't keep up after such a spinning trip, and it's only as she feels that massive gathering of magic above her does she finally turn upwards. She doesn't bother with an Area Search. The pure feeling of magic, experience, and intuition tell her more than enough. She's seen Kyouko's speed. There's no point in trying to run. All she can do is meet force with force, and gamble.

And so she does. That spear comes down with the force of a god, Raging Tempest acting quickly. A line of barriers springs up, barely more than a speed bump to the power of Kyouko's spear. Yet, magic then flares up from the spear itself: not Kyouko's, but Hannah's. Lines of wind magic, subtly worked into it from some time ago, flares out and wraps around the spear, tendrils flying out to the ground and walls, acting as binding chains to slow its descent. Walls and concrete get ripped up from forces of magic slamming into each other. The mere impact from barriers colliding sends Hannah skidding back with every pulse of that spear's magic, her feet digging up to the ankles in the ground from its sheer power. Teeth grit, each shield being chewed through. It stops the attack from being instant death.

But Hannah's defenses are hardly top notch. Just as the final shield breaks, Hannah's fist flies forward! The sound barrier shatters as the two blows meet, the vortex of wind proving a disadvantage in this case: sucking that spear right into the leftmost spike of Raging Tempest. Metal meets metal, grinding and sending a shower of sparks as they clash, Hannah being physically shoved down. More concrete shatters, her body barely able to even take the strain. There's a massive crater around her, only the area where she shielded having any sort of structure left to it. Her own magic causes that spear to spin, just enough to halt its descent for a moment.

"Mistress! Damage threshold rising to dangerous levels!" Comes Raging Tempest.

It's one thing for her to get hurt, but her Device? That, to her, is simply intolerable.

The left knuckle of Raging Tempest glows, and then dissappears, even as she steps aside. That mere movement saves her from dieing right then, and her Device as well. The spear zooms past her, shattering yet another crater into the ground. Smoke kicks up. There's a scream of pain.

For a while, there's silence. And then the wind kicks right back up, blowing away debris. Hannah's left arm has a massive cut, that spear having broken her defenses utterly. It hangs loosely, bleeding all over. It's horribly deep, and death by blood loss is a real possibility. Yet, Hannah stands, breathing heavily, her right arm pulled back. All of her magic is flared up as she cackles.

"Amazing! SIMPLY AMAZING! This....yes! YES! YES! This is the kind of fight I live for! But I am NOT DONE! YOU WILL FEEL MY TRUE STRE..."

Her villainous speech is suddenly interrupted by the sound of a cell phone. She knows that ring tone. Her face, pained but joyous, falls into pure annoyance.

The head of the Board of Directors is calling her /now/. Cue several horrid words in Russian. Then, she slowly walks over to that spear, and with a /lot/ of tugging, she manages to wrench it free. It's tossed lightly back to where it came from.

"...Tch. That guy always knows just when to interrupt my fun. Sorry, Kyouko-san, I need to take this one. You get to win for today. How about we do lunch some time? Look me up. I want to do this again. And next time, you will fall to my fists!" Then, with the last of her magic, swirling winds envelope her in a sphere, and then she's gone.

~Four blocks away, Five Minutes Later~

Click. Miss White, with her Barrier Jacket wrapped up in a makeshift tourniquet on her arm, flips her cell phone off.

She breathes heavily, barely on her feet after all that. "Budget, budget, budget. Seriously, a girl cannot even bleed to death without that old man annoying them. Mmm..." She considers her options.

Viktor's back at the office, she doesn't trust the robot gangsters...

With a def

Hannah Sharpe has posed:
~Four blocks away, Five Minutes Later~

Click. Miss White, with her Barrier Jacket wrapped up in a makeshift tourniquet on her arm, flips her cell phone off.

She breathes heavily, barely on her feet after all that. "Budget, budget, budget. Seriously, a girl cannot even bleed to death without that old man annoying them. Mmm..." She considers her options.

Viktor's back at the office, she doesn't trust the robot gangsters...

With a defeated sigh, she shakes her fist.

"Kyouko Sakura, I am going to give you a /real/ beating next time for this!"

Tap tap tap.

Riiing riiing.

"Hey, Hat Guy. I, uh...need a lift."

Kyouko Sakura has posed:
    Kyouko cannot help but grin with feral glee as she watches the lightning-bolt-like impact of her spear onto Hannah's location.. even as the other girl throws up that barrier, chains, everything she can to try to stop its progress. The thunderous crack of the spear finally hitting the ground, the bliding flash of light and swirling debris, momentarily blinds Kyouko, hand raising to shield her eyes, and when she finally looks again she finds... Hannah still standing, though looking a bit worse for wear. And cackling at her. Kyouko, standing with one foot on the edge of the building, scowls! This girl is nuts.
    And then Hannah's phone rings.. and the other woman seems to think taking the call is more important than the fight! Kyouko continues to scowl as her spear is tossed back at her- she catches it effortlessly, swirling it around in a brief twirl before planting the butt against the rooftop. As opposed to Hannah, bleeding and barely standing, Kyouko appears largely intact, only bleeding from the small cut on her head and from a partially split lip. She makes no reply to the woman's incessant chattering, merely watching in silence. She could finish Hannah off! Yet, she makes no attempt to do so as Hannah gathers the last of her magic and vanishes with a 'pop' into thin air.
    Only then does Kyouko let herself sag, staggering a step, supporting herself on her spear, gasping. She hasn't taken much physical damage, it's true, but her magic is nearly drained. Her soul gem is murky, only the tiniest bits of red gleaming through a swirling sea of blackness. She has to cleanse it.. she has to rest. Truth be told, she wouldn't have been able to continue much longer if Hannah had stayed- it's only to her benefit that she managed to hide how spent she was until after Hannah had departed. Shuffling, Kyouko turns and begins to limp her way back to her hideout. She's going to need a while to recover from this encounter..