200/A 'Friendly' Match

A 'Friendly' Match
Date of Scene:	20 July 2015
Location:	Mitakihara - Infinity University
Synopsis:	Miss White, Lena Reiniger have a 'friendly' boxing match. Ao and Suzuki watch. The Infinity Gym needs repairs. Again.
Cast of Characters:	Hannah Sharpe, Suzuki Natsume, Lena Reiniger

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Hannah Sharpe has posed:
It's an interesting day for Miss White! Ostensibly, she's here at Infinity to meet with a mundane client. After a meeting to keep one of the children of a rich and important local politician, the owner of WitchHunter Professional Services found herself accosted by Ao Karina, and dragged towards the gym.

With her story of being an alumni, she's all but bound to show off. A few punches and kicks, and soon enough she's down to the suit portion of her barrier jacket, barefooted, pounding away at some training equipment.

There's no one else there at the moment, though it'd be easy to just walk in!

"Goooo Miss White! Show that punching bag who's boss!"

Suzuki Natsume has posed:
     Suzuki Natsume had come to Infinity Academy for one simple reason: To visit ... well, really, all of her friends. She seemed to have plenty of friends that went to Infinity Academy. Today, it was specifically to visit Hannah Sharpe. As well as Ao Karina. When she opens the door and calmly steps in... there is a bit of hesitation. Ao Karina was here. As was Miss White.

     She shifts her gaze between the two, hesitating briefly as she takes in the scene silently, intent on reading it, and seeing if she needed to protect Ao Karina. Seeing that it seemed to just be training. ... Why someone who was powered was there training on a punching bag was curious for Suzuki.

     She herself had only henshined for fighting evil and other such things! Still, Ao was there. Suzuki calmly began to make her way over to Ao, taking wide strides. And then... a hand reaches to attempt to tap Ao's shoulder. "...Hello again, Karina-san. I'm glad to see that you seem to be doing well. You did not have any side-effects from whatever had happened that evening, correct?"

Lena Reiniger has posed:
She'd intended to be back home by now, relaxing and doing a whole lot of nothing, but one of her teachers just had to insist that she fill out one of those career survey things she apparently missed by not being in the school until this year. Of course, she can't really say 'oh, don't worry, I've already got a career as part of an interdimensional military, I'm just marooned in the sticks right now.'

She's finished with that and finally getting out of her classroom. Lena's going to make for home as fast as possible and there's not a thing that can stop her from do--Ascalon chimes up on her wrist, a little louder than usual since no one is around, <Magische Reaktion nachgewiesen!>. She stops right in her tracks. Again? First that fox girl this morning and now something else? And it had been such a nice two years of not dealing with anything but mundane sameness. Groaning, she turns, making a detour to find out what's got her device's attention.

It isn't long after Suzuki comes in that Lena peeks her head in as well. This is suppose to be the place, right? And... well, there it is. Someone sporting a barrier jacket. Wait, what? She observes for a bit longer, leaning against the door as she watches, bag settled down beside the wall. Unmistakeably that is a barrier jacket, but that is definitely not anyone she came to Earth with. Who are those other people? So she strolls slowly up to them and nearing, Ascalon pings quietly, though keeps his mouth shut this time. Something else caught his attention?

Hannah Sharpe has posed:
There's hardly any tension in the room. Indeed, Ao Karina is cheering on the white-clad woman fervently. Miss White banters back with the tone of one so very much familiar with the girl.

Ao jumps a little, gives an 'eee', then laughs.

"Suzuki-san! Hi! I'm a lot better, actually. As much as normal, anyway." She nervously chuckles here. As Lena enters, she'd notice the pale, sickly looking Brunette named Ao. Depending on her Device's capabilities, using it might just detect a bit of magic on Ao. Not necessarily the internal kind, but some old faded malaise that might account for her condition.

There's definitely magic from Miss White's barrier jacket, though the woman's motions are purely human. Clearly she doesn't have her Device set-up at the moment. A little odd to wear a barrier jacket, and /not/ use one's Device.

Suzuki's voice gets Hannah's attention.

She uses a hard punch to the punching bag as a distraction, to get her wits about her. She has to preserve her identity!

"Ao-chan? Have you gone and brought a friend...or two?" Inquires the woman.

Sharp ears catch what her eyes don't.

Ao is a helpful girl.

"Oh! Suzuki Natsume, meet a friend of mine: Kasagami White. White-san, meet Suzuki Natsume!" Then ao turns to the other girl.

"Oh, uhm, first time we've met...hello Miss! Are you here to train too?" Comes Ao to Lena.

Miss White is over to the pair with some help from Ao.

"Nice to meet both of you! Like Ao-chan here said: Kasagami White. Used to go to school here, heh, business brought me back to my old stomping grounds!" Comes Miss White with her usual confidence and warmth.

Suzuki Natsume has posed:
     Suzuki's gaze trails towards Lena as she hears another set of footsteps heading into the room. She gives the woman a curious look. Another foreigner? Pale skin, red hair, and... taller than her. Lena was a little over 10 centimeters taller than Suzuki, which was definitely... both strange and also kind of relieving at the same time. She's not the /only/ tall girl around here! Another Infinity University member. Unsurprising. Hmm. Meanwhile, she was also definitely not one of the people Lena had come here with... and hanging from her wrist was a Device that is possibly recognizable as one of the Belkan devices that had been in the storage for examination and monitoring as a recently recovered artifact. If Lena looked at it long enough, at least.

     Luckily for Suzuki, it had proved to be one that was usable and safe enough to use. Because otherwise it might have been far worse of a situation for the girl. Suzuki's attention returns to Ao very quickly though, a small smile on her lips.

     "I'm glad to hear that, Karina-san. I was worried when you started to get light-headed after drinking the gatorade; I feared it might have been poisoned by someone." A strange fear, really. Poisoning was very rare! But who knows what happens in inter-school politics when titles are on the line?! They could have been trying to weaken Hannah.

     Suzuki offers a small bow of her head towards Miss White. "Hello, White-san. I actually came unbidden, myself. I was hoping to see one of my friends and check up on Ao-san. Though my friend appears to not be here today. She must have already gone home." Suzuki says, smiling very slightly. Oh god it was hard to pretend she didn't already know Miss White! "Brought back by business? Hm. Interesting. Are you a professional kickboxer then?" Suzuki asks with mild curiosity.

Lena Reiniger has posed:
So this White lady isn't someone she knows, so she can only wonder where she got the device she's using. Is she even using one? It isn't as if it takes a lot of aid to make a weak jacket, so maybe someone from the Asura taught her a few things? Lena's eyes don't really leave the woman beating on the punching bag. That's quite the stare she has too. No, she finally decides, this person definitely has a device on her somewhere. And there's the issue of the other two people, one of which seems to have caught Ascalon's attention a bit. Lingering magic? Eyes go down to Ao, observing her a moment. It seems to be fading and not part of the girl herself, so Lena can only assume she had a run-in with someone else that did something to her. It's filed away for later. Now...

Lena can't keep her poker face when she notices what's on Suzuki's arm. Eyes go a bit wide when she spies it. What is she doing with that? So many questions, but instead Lena shakes her head to clear it and offers a smile at Ao. "Oh, no. I was just wandering by and the sounds caught my attention," she says. "Your friend has a good grasp of basics, though." She motions over to White before hearing her approach.

She'll offer a bow to Miss White. If nothing else she'll be respectful for right now. "Lena Reiniger. I only just transferred this year. I must apologize for intruding, but I couldn't help hearing the sounds of practice out in the hall and had to see who was here."

Hannah Sharpe has posed:
Ao's quick to cover for her friend. She's gotten good at it.

"Oh, Hannah-chan is feeling under the weather. She gets terrible allergies, you know?" Ao gives one heck of a convincing pout here.

Hannah makes a mental note to hug the heck out of Ao when the other two leave.

Ao gets flustered though!

"P...poison!? Oh, uhm, no. I'm just a little fragile." Is all she says. Clearly an awkward topic.

Miss White smiles, and waves a hand.

"Professional? Hardly! Company woman, through and through! Director of WitchHunter Professional Services' Special Interests Department! But a girl has to know how to protect themselves in a dangerous industry like mine! Why, you a kickboxer?"

It's Lena's turn! Miss White doesn't offer a bow, instead, walking up and thrusting a hand towards her general direction.

"A pleasure to meet you, Reiniger-san! Oh come on, it...well, not /public/, but you are a student, so, come on in!" Seems that Miss White isn't good at detecting Devices!

"What sport do you play, Reiniger-san?" She's grinning at the two other girls, clearly looking for the obvious answer.

Suzuki Natsume has posed:
     Luckily for Lena, Suzuki's attention was on Ao Karina when those eyes went wide, so Suzuki didn't quite notice that. The way she was wearing it -- and the way it was on her bracelet, it looked almost more like a good luck charm than a device though. Almost. Her attention is pulled back to Lena as she comments about the basics. "...That sounds like a challenge." Suzuki comments with a mildly amused look. "It's a pleasure to meet you Reiniger-san." Suzuki says, offering a polite bow towards her. She straightens up again as she looks between Lena and Miss White. If Miss White had any pride, she was sure that this was going to turn into some sort of duel or sparring match.

     And that would actually be good for her to watch while she chatted with Ao, due to the fact she had a sparring match with Hannah. She could watch and learn. Sure, she was sure that Hannah's fighting style would be different. But she could still observe and think of ways to fight them.

     "...Terrible allergies? I did not know that, actually." Suzuki says, looking back towards Ao, and musing a bit. Maybe she would find some options to help with allergies later. "Fragile? I somewhat doubt that, some of those bigger kickboxers were down before you were." Suzuki says, giving a small smile. Still, she was not entirely oblivious. Ao did look sickly. At least a little bit.

     Miss White is given a slight shake of her head. "Though I dabble in martial arts, I cannot claim any skill in Muay Thai or other forms of kickboxing. I'm a semi-professional kendo practitioner, however." Suzuki says with a small bow of her head. "...As much as a teenager can be of course."

     "....WitchHunter? That sounds strangely old-fashioned. Is it a religious group?" Suzuki asks curiously, quirking a brow.

     She moves to carefully settle down, resting on her knees in a relatively traditional japanese kneeling pose. "I have the feeling we're in for a show, Karina-san." She says lightly towards Ao with a very small smile. The girl was generally likable; Suzuki couldn't help but like her.

Lena Reiniger has posed:
It's completely not her intention to do anything of the sort! Though her mouth seems to have gotten her into a situation she doesn't really want to be in. She looks to Suzuki, offering a bit of a weak smile while shrugging. "Hardly a challenge," she says, hoping that it'll be enough to defuse whatever situation she seems to have gotten herself into. So for now she'll simply give Suzuki a bow as well. "Likewise, Natsume-san." The more she speaks, the more it becomes pretty obvious that she doesn't have an amazing grasp of the language, but at least she's better speaking it than reading it. Though while she doesn't really want to get into a fight, she does want a bit more information and a certain something. "That's... an interesting charm you have there, Natsume-san," she says, pointing to the other girl's bracelet. "For luck?"

As for the other issue in the room, Lena turns back to Miss White, fully intending to denounce any sort of physical apptitude and leave things where they are for now. Come on Lena, all you have to do is not say martial arts. Just don't say martial arts. "Martial arts, a family style." Damnit! She can't hide the slight twitch of one of her eyes when the words leave her mouth, and she's pretty sure she even felt Ascalon sigh. What? She's not perfect, she makes mistakes! Don't you give her any lip, you... armband! She waves a hand in front of her, trying to play it off. "But I'm really not that great. It wouldn't be worth anyone's time to see."

And then Suzuki just goes and takes a seat as though she's expecting to see a show! And this Miss White seems intent on having a bit of fun as well. In the end she can only sigh, slumping her shoulders some in the process. She's not getting out of this without at least a little bit of a tussle, huh?

Hannah Sharpe has posed:
Miss White is chuckling lowly. "You know, Suzuki-san, that kinda sounded like one to me too. Looking for a fight, kiddo?" She slings Lena's way, teeth brilliant and just a little feral in that grin. She looks /excited/.

Ao sighs, and then she's reaching for Suzuki's arm to try to drag her towards the bleachers. It's insistant, but there's not much strength there.

"We miiiight want to back up. A lot. Umm, White-san can be..." Ao starts.

She whispers. "Things tend to get a little messy when she's around."

Miss White interjects here.

"I have seen big, tough military types faint from things like gas leaks. So sometimes size means very little." She adds helpfully.

"Swords, huh? Meh. Give me a good pair of brass knuckles any day. Religious group? Hardly! Uhh. Okay, fine, we were all stuck for a name and were kinda drunk when going over the business plan and the bank and investors were kiiinda getting irritated...POINT BEING I am bad at names." It's said nervously in all in one breath. Woops.

Ao sits right next to her.

"Yup! Would you like some tea?" Then Ao is pulling out a big thermos, and some chips. She's brought finger food.

White's brow twitches.

'Hardly a challenge'. 'Martial arts'. 'Not worth anyone's time to see'.

Miss White points her finger at Lena Reiniger, shaking in fury.

"ARE YOU CALLING ME WEAK!? Oh, that is /IT/! Come on! Put up those fists, you and I are going to settle this! I will not let some /kid/ insult my name, or my company! And you better not hold anything back, got it!?" She moves to a kickboxing pose! There's the tiniest flash of magic, easily detected by the other magical persons in the room. With that, Miss White can 'see' the air around her, feeling its motion. Just the slightest bit of equalling the handicap.

Suzuki Natsume has posed:
     "As a kendo practitioner, having someone imply you only know the basics is considered a challenge of your skill." Suzuki responds simply towards Lena, giving a very slight smile. "Though perhaps unintentional, it is effectively what you did." Suzuki adds, settling more comfortably as she looks up towards Lena. Lena's accent was slightly off, she wasn't so good at the language. But Lena was a foreigner who only transferred in recently, so that wasn't that strange. Natsume glances at her charm, then lifts it up a bit. "...Yes, I got it from a fortune teller in town." Suzuki says, lowering her hand down to rest on her lap comfortably, semi-concealing the device in what looked like a casual just relaxation of her arm.

     Lena was a martial artist. Interesting. So a martial artist and a kickboxer, both of them saying they weren't that great. Interesting. She gives a slight exhale, her eyes half-lidding in an amused look at Lena's responses. Aaaand it looked like Miss White agreed with her on the fact that it sounded like a challenge! Suzuki glances towards Ao. There may not be much strength; but the tall girl moved easily when pulled. "Ah, I see. Then she's definitely being modest." She murmurs quietly, moving to settle down again when they had resettled themselves.

     Then the comment from Miss White. "True, I suppose. And if it was something in the gatorade, it could simply have been they got a larger dose." Suzuki was sticking with that story for ... some reason. At least she was being consistent? She takes a small breath as Miss White talks of brass knuckles. "I tend to avoid things such as brass knuckles, I believe those are generally considered illegal." She says levelly. And then.. .she goes on about the name stuff. That actually elicits a laugh from Suzuki, though it was reserved and her hand lifted to cover her mouth as she did; one could almost imagine her holding a folding fan over her mouth. "I see, well. That's... entertaining."

     And then tea was offered! Suzuki gives a small nod, looking towards Ao with a smile. "Yes, please. Thank you, Karina-san." She murmurs softly.

Lena Reiniger has posed:
A fortune teller? Now she just has to wonder if the girl actually knows what she has on her wrist. Saint Kings of old, what if she has figured out what it is? What if she's actually used it? Did it even have any cartridges in it? She's got martial training, so surely she'd know she had a dangerous weapon in her hands if she had figured it out. Lena's clearly a bit distracted, watching as Suzuki covers the device. So much so that she doesn't even register that they've moved away and Miss White has gotten upset for some strange reason. It brings her out of her trance and she's snapping back to attention at Miss White and... looking extremely confused at all of the things she's been accused of. There's a very loud, very not proper 'huh?' issued after the tirade. Reaching back to rub at her neck, Lena can't help but feel the need to point out, "but... I didn't do any of those things."

Her confusion, though, and her general apathy toward the whole thing fade quickly enough once magic enters the picture. It's not a lot, but it's enough to get Lena's attention. Suddenly she jumps back, putting a bit more distance between herself and Miss White. It's definitely not a comfortable distance, easily closeable with the use of magic. Eyes narrow and her body lowers some, taking up a purely defensive posture. The sound of her own swallowing is suddenly painfully loud in her ears, as is the beating of her own heart. 'I'm actually about to fight this,' she thinks. Eyes look around, trying to pick out places she can get to to give her enough time to activate her knight armor if things get really bad. Yet in the back of her mind, there's that itch, ignored for far too long, begging for combat.

Lena smiles. "I must confess, Miss White, you might have me at a bit of a disadvantage." After all, she can't really use magic with those other two watching.

Hannah Sharpe has posed:
Ao isn't helping matters as Lena and Miss White go into fighting stances!

"Goooo White-san! Kick her butt!"

Ao helpfully gets some tea for Suzuki, offering honey and sugar. Full service tea, this girl!

Miss White huffs.

"Illegality is for those who do not have a legion of lawyers on their side!"

Ao beams despite it all.

"So Suzuki-chan, how is the study group? I keep meaning to come, but I always get delayed!"

"Oh you know exactly what you did!" Insists Miss White. Ao just giggles.

"...I think she's just looking for a fight."

"Quiet Ao! Eh. Not as much as you would think." To be fair, the barrier jacket itself is a little unfair. But she can't just reveal herself. If only the other girl had a Device!

Still, she rushes forward. She's definitely only pushing to human standards here, to be fair, and so it takes a bit for her to get over there. Then she aims a hard kick towards Lena's midsection, hands up and protecting her face.

"Come on! Try to not dissappoing me!"

Suzuki Natsume has posed:
     Lena's reactions were ... somewhat strange, to Suzuki. Though she somewhat just assumed it was a foreigner thing. Or that she knew more about her device than she would like. She wasn't sure which, and she didn't intend to act too suspiciously as to cause it. She tilts her head curiously at Lena as she's watched by her. "Is something wrong, Reiniger-san?" Suzuki asks curiously towards Lena, her tone polite and curious. "You seem distracted." She adds softly. And then her 'huh' and the added comment. Yes. Lena looked VERY distracted. Hmm.

     Suzuki is beginning to lean towards the 'she knows more about my device than I would like' route of thought. It was slightly unnerving and worrying.

     Suzuki's attention focuses back on Ao though, carefuly taking the tea and stirring in a small amount of honey. "Thank you very much, Karina-san." Suzuki says softly, lifting the tea up to sip at it gently. "Pardon me if my question is unacceptable, but I am curious of your apparent sickliness, Ao. Is everything okay? Is there anything I may do to help?" Suzuki asks softly towards Ao. It was not an attempt to treat her specially, simply honest concern.

     The question of the study group gets a small smile. "It's... decent enough. It has grown larger than I expected, and I've never been very good with crowds, though." Suzuki admits quietly, rubbing the back of her head. "It's not so bad because Hannah and Chiba-san are there." She adds, musing a few moments. "...Yes. I agree, Karina-san." She says with a slightly amused look, glancing up towards Miss White. She was so different from the Miss White she fought. Which was the act, though?

Lena Reiniger has posed:
She's only just a little distracted, but mostly because of current circumstances. All concerns over the device are put out of her mind in favor of doing something stupid. The other two are talking over there, but what she can't say. Her focus is pretty much on the person in front of her now. Could she even hit hard enough to get through a jacket with her bare fists? Not likely, she decides quickly. A deep breath, and a long look over Miss White while she talks. Lena supposes she should be thankful that her opponent is giving her some time to think. A path to victory? Evasion, she could simply wait for her opponent to run out of stamina. Throws, she could use the environment to make up for her unenhanced body's lack of power. Submission, yes, that will be the coup de grace if possible. She'll attempt to bait her opponent into an opening that will allow for a choke hold.

Her time's up! But... this approach is much slower than she expected it to be. It's almost a snail's pace compared to what she knows the other lady should be capable of with magic on her side. Is she overconfident? Maybe she's just trying to keep it a secret from the other two. Regardless, the approaching kick is an opening in Lena's eyes. Her opposite arm goes down to intercept the kick, mostly slowing it to an acceptable speed to take the blow without too much discomfort. With Miss White close enough, she pushes forward, bringing that same guarding arm up, reaching for her collar while her other arm moves in a bid for the leg at her side. It's all a smooth motion meant to heft Miss White up and slam her back-first onto the gym's floor.

Hannah Sharpe has posed:
Act, or some lingering truth? Really, the girl's anger issues have been cranked up as of late, thanks to certain Puella Magi, and with Ao around, she has no need to play the opponent. She can almost feel relaxed right about now.

Ao doesn't seem to take much offense, though she does pause and considers.

"Ah, well. Not really." She starts. Sip tea. It's a good cover.

"I contracted a sickness some time back. Genetic! So, uhm, it's not contagious. So don't worry about that. I have plenty of medicine, so...well, I won't be joining the kickboxing club, but I'm good with computers!" She nods confidently here.

Then there's the mention of Hannah and Chiba.

Ao leans in conspiratorially.

"I've heard Chiba-san's pretty handsome. Is he!?" Pause. Wink. It's Ao's time to be a little imp.

/Definitely/ keeping it a secret from the other two. There's no telltale lines of magic around her limbs to strengthen them. Just a simple identity-obscuring Barrier Jacket. As she gets closer, Lena would definitely be able to feel a Device on Miss White...in her pocket, in fact. Small, but that's hardly outside of the norm for one not in its usable state.

And thus it is that her kick is intercepted, and 'Kasagami' is waiting for a punch, a kick, something.

What she /wasn't/ expecting was a grab to her collar and a suplex to the floor! Wham! Sightless eyes go a bit wide as she impacts. Thank goodness for a barrier jacket. Cough.

"...Oi. I thought you said martial art, /not bloody wrestling/!?" Complains the woman.

Then she's physically wiggling her way out of the blow, throwing knees and elbows at Lena! Should she get free, she rolls away, and stands up. She's far more wary now, throwing out testing jabs to the sides, and the occasional cautious knee! She can't afford to be grabbed.

Suzuki Natsume has posed:
     Lena didn't really respond to her. Well, Suzuki wasn't that surprised. It's only natural that one would focus entirely upon their opponent. Suzuki gives a small smile, it earned a very small amount of respect from her, in a potentially surprising way. Not that she voiced it.

     Instead, Suzuki focused on Ao again. "A genetic illness? I wasn't aware those could be contracted." Suzuki comments, tilting her head curiously. She assumed that Ao just meant that it was a disease that had been activated by something. "Regardless, I apologize for questioning into something so personal when I am still barely an acquaintance of yours." Suzuki says, bowing her head politely. "I could not help my curiosity." She straightens her head, sipping at her tea curiously. And then Ao leans in.

     That question gets a sudden, rising blush on Suzuki's question, and she sputters very slightly on her tea. "W-what kind of question is that?!" She asks, looking down at the ground a few moments. "...Yes, he's handsome, though he's taken." Suzuki says quietly, carefully withdrawing a handkerchief to clean up the tea that she'd accidentally spilled in her surprise, carefully dabbing her face clean.

     "He is also a very reliable and insightful friend." Suzuki adds, carefully turning her gaze towards the fight to distract herself. Just in time to see Lena's response. Slowing it down, adjusting position. That was similar to her own Kendo tactics. Interesting. And then she ... she suplexed Miss White?! That wasn't something she could use. Hmm. That struggle, though... it was good to take note of. Okay! Maybe she could learn from that after all! But she was not quite trained in such a thing. Hmm. That's not going to be very fair for simple sparring though. It could have gotten her seriously injured.

Lena Reiniger has posed:
Down, and apparently surprised, Lena sees an opportunity to get that choke hold she'd been thinking to be her best chance at victory, and she goes for it. Surely the impact wasn't that bad for her opponent. She's mostly hoping that the surprising throw would keep her off guard long enough to get the hold in. And as she moves in, she is rewarded with an elbow to the jaw, which causes her to jerk back and move away. Staggered, she brings a hand up, the back of it resting at the point where she was struck. Faster recovery than she was expecting. That could be a bit of a problem.

"You'll forgive me, but throws are an integral part of any unarmed martial practice," she says, taking another deep breath. There's that itch, growing in intensity at the back of her mind. Just begging to cut loose, find a way to slip into her knight armor and revel in battle. She shakes her head, pushing the thoughts back, and goes back to the defensive. For a time she's only stepping back, circling around, and generally being evasive as her opponent throws out a jab here, a knee there. Testing defenses? Is she scared of another throw? Lena can assume Miss White doesn't want to get caught in a hold, at the least. She ends up letting a few of those blows tap her, not too bad but she can't afford to keep letting them connect. Small injuries add up after all. Finally, she picks a jab that looks like it might be a bit over-extended and reaches to take hold of Miss White's wrist, opening her side in the process. She's planning to jerk her off-balance and sweep her legs. Something to get her on the ground for another attempt at a hold opening.

Hannah Sharpe has posed:
Ao nods a few times. She can't exactly say 'illness given by a large poison-spitting youma' after all. There's nothing but smiles, and no insults. Though she does wince as Hannah is suplexed!

"I've dealt with it for a while. No worries. And I think it's let me get closer to the people who care the most. So it's okay." She says quietly.

And then she's laughing at Suzuki's reactions.

"You're very cute you know, Suzuki-chan?" Comes the girl, chuckling as she calms down.

"But I'm sure you'll find someone who loves you." Ends Ao self-assuredly.

Miss White and her opponent are up!

"Yeah, for /pansy aikido losers/!" Taunts the woman, likely not helping with that 'itch'.

Then her wrist is grabbed as she punches, and then she's being jerked around! Rather than try to hit again, she moves with the fall, trying to tug Lena /towards/ her!

Seems Hannah can be a nasty fighter too, as she simply seeks to drag in Lena and slam her forehead right into the other girl's!

Headbutt of anti-justice!

Suzuki Natsume has posed:
     AIkido counter-attacks. pulls to send Hannah off-balance... the battle between Hannah and Lena was actually rather interesting to watch, as Suzuki slowly sipped away at her tea. Hmm... openings, places she could see and try to learn from in Miss White's defenses. She was watching as attentively as she could!

     With Ao teasing her the way she was, that is. "I'm glad that you seem to be cheerful in spite of it. It speaks much of your mental and emotional fortitude." Suzuki says with a slightly embarassed smile towards Ao.

     That only gets more embarassed at the comment that she's cute. "I-I'm not, I'm that weird tall girl who's constantly helping people but too shy to speak with most of them." Suzuki mumbles under her breath, hiding her face in her teacup. Still, Suzuki seemed relatively happy with the statement regardless. "...I'm sure... eventually." Suzuki murmurs, lowering the teacup.

     And then the comment of Aikido users being losers gets a soft huffed response. "Wishing to defeat your enemy without actually harming them is a noble and difficult task, arguably far more difficult than just beating them into submission. You shouldn't call them 'pansies', Miss White." Suzuki says, her tone raised. "It takes /far/ more finesse than just brute forcing your way through everything."

Lena Reiniger has posed:
It seems to be going just fine, at least until the expected reaction of Miss White going for the opening she presented doesn't happen. Okay, well, this can certainly still be salvaged and... suddenly Lena's off-balance and moving toward her opponent. Unexpected and she's not entirely sure what Miss White's plan of action is from this point.

Keeping reasonably calm, she lets her feet leave the ground briefly, tugging on Miss White for a bit of forward movement and manages to get her feet planted firmly in front of her, regaining her balance. It's just in time to see what the plan of attack is. Oh dear, a headbutt? There's little chance of completely avoiding it, but there's an opening to be had here, and a chance to put an end to this in Lena's mind. Her body shifts slightly to the right, avoiding a full collision, but Miss White very much takes her right above her left eye and the impact is more than enough to hear, even if it isn't a direct hit, it isn't necessarily glancing either. Lena's eye snaps shut and there's tears welling up in it. That's going to start swelling soon and it isn't going to do her any favors. On top of that, her vision blurs slightly from the sudden jolt. But what are you going to do, right? Just a little skinship between fighters.

But the movement to the side is Lena's opening. Releasing Miss White's arm, she swings herself around and behind her opponent, an arm moving around to root itself around her neck just under her jaw while the other comes up behind her head, applying pressure and pushing her throat firmly into her other arm; a chokehold to restrict blood flow to Miss White's brain. Lena is latched on pretty good and bears her weight down, trying to force Miss White to her knees in the process. "Alright, now you just go to sleep..." she whispers, "and when you wake up, we'll have a nice, civil chat about things." Her voice lowers a bit more, just to make sure Miss White is the only one that can hear her. "Especially about where you got that device you're using."

Hannah Sharpe has posed:
It's Ao's turn to blush!

"Well I'd make White-san sad if I just gave in." She says, nodding to herself.

This time, Ao counter-attacks mercilessly. There's a headbutt involved, and Hannah probably isn't thinking straight.

"White-san? Isn't Suzuki-chan cute?" She calls to the woman.

"Wha...oh! What are you talking about Ao-chan? I would take her out to dinner in a flash!" Comes Miss White without hesitation.

Pause. "Power is the only thing that matters, kiddo!" She calls back when it comes to 'finesse'.

And then Lena's there, slipping around and pulling her into a chokehold! She urk's at first, sightless eyes twitching.

"Ch...cheating!" She mumbles. She struggles valiantly against the taller girl, and she feels her consciousness fading. But then she speaks.

One eye narrows, and then magic bursts around her anew. Raging Tempest flows into her hands, and then she /leans/ backwards.

Rather than punch, she simply seeks to slam her suddenly magically enhanced body and Lena into the ground with more than a little force.

"...You really should watch your words." She's no longer losing consciousness, and there's an edge to her voice. This girl knows too much, and in her delirium, she acts without thinking!

Suzuki Natsume has posed:
     Well, they were... definitely going at it rather hard! Seemed like they might even, possibly, be evenly matched! MOre or less. Beyond that Miss White seemed to have her barrier jacket up, which meant it was ... almost ... a futile fight for Lena to fight head-on.

     "Among other people, I'm completely sure. You seem to be one of those people who cause people to fight hard for you." Suzuki says softly towards Ao. "A good motivation though..." She pauses, looking towards Ao silently for several long moments. Was... this... who Miss White had meant? The one she fought for? The one that she, as Storm Knight, had implied was weak? Hmmm.

     Aaaand then Ao asks the person who she fought and was rival to if she was cute or not. Suzuki was COMPLETELY taken aback, both by that question /and/ by Miss White's response, a small sputter of tea escaping her, followed by a couple of coughs. "Wh--huh?! B-but Miss White barely knows me and..." ... And she was her mortal... enemy? Enemy felt wrong though. She didn't hate Miss White. Just thought what she was doing was dangerous...

     Agh, Miss White always manages to confuse her, even when she's not being Storm Knight! Hmmph! She focuses, instead, on what she could and knew how to respond to! "...Power is only half of a fight, you need tactics and finesse to put that power to good use, or you are effectively just beating your head repeatedly against a wall until either your head or the wall breaks."

     She couldn't hear what Lena had said, though she could see mouth movements... and Magic bursting around Miss White. "...Wh... what on... what's..." She says, pushing back a bit, trying to feign having /no/ idea what's going on. "...Y-you weren't joking about having to stay back, Ao-chan... eheh...heheh..." She says nervously.

Lena Reiniger has posed:
Just a little longer, just a little more. That's it, Miss White, take a nice, well deserved nap and they can just start off fresh from square one afterwards. The thought that the whole thing had been a bit too easy crosses her mind, but she definitely won't complain if her opponent doesn't feel like using any obvious magic with people watching them, or perhaps to take pity on what she thinks is an ignorant person. A win is a win, and in the end that's all that matters.

Well, except that apparently it isn't going to be that easy and she probably should have kept her mouth shut until after Miss White woke up. That sudden burst of magic causes Lena's good eye to go wide, the other having already begun to swell shut some. Ascalon, lost in the moment with something potentially very dangerous about to happen, doesn't even bother to try keeping quiet and pretty much everyone can hear the loud warning ping he lets out. Yes, she knows. But what's she going to do when there are people watching? She tries to fight back against the push of Miss White, but she's only managing to slow down the rate she loses ground instead of actually stalling. Greater pressure is then placed on her opponent's neck since at this point she's pretty she isn't going to risk actually crushing Miss White's trachea, but it all seems like it's for nothing as she continues being pushed back.

Finally Lena decides the best course of action is to release the hold and get away from danger. It doesn't work too well though since the moment she releases and prepares to move, all the force she had been using the slow her opponent down is gone and Miss White slams back quickly into her, knocking her breath away. It's faint, Miss White will sense it obviously, and Suzuki may as well. The sudden pulse of mana linking within Lena as Ascalon auto-casts enhancement spells on her body. They aren't major, just enough that she's not going to break anything when she gets slammed into the floor--floor which actually cracks under the force of the two. Even so, pain surges through her torso when her back meets hard floor and she's sandwiched between it and Miss White.

Hannah Sharpe has posed:
Ao is smiling brightly at Suzuki's reaction!

"White-san's cute-dar is impeccable!" Contends Ao. It's swiftly backed up!

"The adorableness is embedded into your voice! Do not think I cannot detect that!" Comes the girl defiantly!

Then Ao softens a bit.

"We fight for each other in our own ways." Comes Ao quietly.

And then the fight gets real. Ao sighs, takes Suzuki's hand, and is trying to tug her back to the upper bleachers.

"Don't worry. This happens a lot whenever she loses her temper." Adds Ao as if it weren't no thang at all.

And then Miss White is standing up after slamming down Lena, even as she feels that magic pulse.

"Good thinking. Now get out. I do not like it when people start getting too interested in my partner. You will never get her. I would rather die than give up my second best friend." Whispers Miss White venemously to Lena.

And that's when she'll try to pick the woman up by the collar, and throw her /through/ the gym wall.

There'll soon be another closing for Infinity U's high school gym.

Suzuki Natsume has posed:
     A burst of magic... from both? Suzuki's gaze briefly trailed towards Lena, though she only barely felt it, and she wasn't sure if it was 'true' magic, or just a false magic formed from desperation not to die in the face of Miss White. She takes a small breath, eyes beginning to slide closed as she thinks on things. She opened her mouth as if she were ready to go and help...

     But then she's distracted. "W...what? Cute-dar? ...That sounds strange." Suzuki responds to Ao, wrinkling her nose a bit. And then there was an added mention of 'adorableness' embedded in her voice. She takes a small breath as if she was about to deny it, and then she just trails off into a mumble. "...Yeah, I'm sure that you do..." Suzuki says softly. and then she begins to be lead to the top of the bleachers.

     "...That seems dangerous though, what if Reiniger-san gets injured..?" Suzuki says towards Ao as she moves... and then... then Lena is thrown through the wall. Suzuki reaches into her purse /immediately/, pulling out a cell phone to dial the medical emergency number, "Hello, at the Infinity University high school gym, we have a training accident. Yes, the wall must not have been properly repaired. One of the two people who were training just went through it. An ambulance is needed." She says, resisting the urge to dash down there to check on Lena. At least for now.

Lena Reiniger has posed:
Oh hey, she can breathe again now that Miss White's off of her. It hurts to breathe though. She doesn't really feel like moving to check, but she's pretty sure her chest survived without anything breaking--probably just bruised ribs. She's pretty sure Miss White's done now and she's going to start trying to sit herself up, but oh, hey, Miss White's helping. That's nice of her.

She has things she'd like to say, like how she never once said she wanted to take the device, but she's quickly shown that her opponent is not done with her just yet. Feeling herself being pulled back, ready to be thrown, once more eyes widen as she stares at Miss White. "Your friends are going to suspect something..." she managed to horsely get out before she's pitched at the wall. Yep, mild enhancement isn't going to be enough to survive this one, and in a rushed voice they might just hear her cry out, "Ascalon" as she goes tumbling head over heels.

Her device responds, mana linking without being subtle at all as it begins to auto-cast again. No armor, but something to take the impact for her. <Panzerhindernis!> comes the mechanical voice as a violet shell forms around her, almost like a bubble hugging close to her to absorb the impact with the wall as she breaks through it and tumbles across the lawn. The barrier spell doesn't survive very long after that, breaking apart once it has absorbed most of the impact from the wall and her roll across the ground. Lena's slow to get up, wobbly on her legs, and then pitches forward on hands and knees. "Calm down..." she whispers to herself as her body shakes. She takes steadying breaths as she looks back up into the hole she made, right at Miss White.

Hannah Sharpe has posed:
Despite the pitched magic-battle before her, Ao is just concentrated on Suzuki.

"Cute-dar! It finds all the cute things!" She leeeeeans in towards Suzuki.

"She likes soft stuffed animals! She sleeps with one every night! It's her only weakness!" Whispers Ao with a giggle.

And then someone goes crashing through a wall. Ao sobs a little, hand meeting forehead.

"...White-san, when will you ever learn subtlety?" Laments Ao. Suzuki beats her to the punch.

Miss White, for her part, slowly calms down from her sudden rage. It was mostly fearful, desperate reaction. And she looks /guilty/. She runs over, heedless of the others.

"...Okay, so I might have lost my temper a bit. Uhh. You okay?" She adds lamely, all that venom dropping.

She leans down, and this time? She'll actually try to haul her up. Gently. No more pitching through walls.

"Come on. I know a hospital that does not ask questions. Uhh. Suzuki-san? Ao-chan? Stay here, tell the EMT's we both ran away. And Suzuki? Forget everything you just saw. Trust me, your life will be better for it."

Then she's trying to help Lena off to an Eclipse hospital.