Post by Kaen Youji on Nov 12, 2022 2:06:44 GMT -5
Hmmm.... That kick did some damage. That was probably the limit. Any further than that and Kaen would seriously risk hurting Raphael. Yes, that was around the right amount of power to pressure Raphael without killing or maiming him. Right around one third of his force. Of course, maintaining that while under attack was another matter. Raphael's power still felt formidable. If I had to rate him.... Probably around fourth seat level? Maybe third seat in some divisions. He's definitely improved. IF he sharpens up that control I'd even say Vice Captain caliber, that dragon of his is pretty formidable. Kaen thought, while battling.
Raphael was speaking, but Kaen wasn't sure if he was speaking to Kaen or to himself. "It's just that Raphael Laurent. It's in your head. Echoes of your soul, perhaps, but just that. It's not some strange, external force, come to claim you. The echo, the thing in your head. It's you. You can control yourself." Kaen stated to him, but paused as he saw Raphael coughing up.... something? Was that a mask!? Was Raphael... Hollowfying? "What the--?" This wasn't right. Raphael was still Human. Kaen would have known if Raphael had become a Plus. A human should not be able to Hollowfy. "Shit."
For a split second, Kaen exploded at his full speed, almost four times faster than Raphael, and delivered a sharp palm strike to Raphael's face-- to the forming mask, at a force of 200, hoping to break or damage the mask while it was still forming. A deep rumble occurred as the dragon began to writhe and unleashed its attack. Its attack was indiscriminate, and Kaen didn't know if Raphael was immune to his own attack. "Sorry about this." He stated. Even in the wake of Raphael's mantra "Kill" Kaen was focused on saving lives. Still moving at his full 750 speed, he moved to seize Raphael in a bear hug, and used Shunpo to launch the two clear of the dragon's attack, dragging Raphael to a higher section of the mountain, hundreds of meters from their starting location, amongst the trees and dropping him there, springing back in the same instant-- anticipating a counter-attack from the maddened beast that Raphael was becoming.
Then Kaen gave a low chuckle. "Ah man... I didn't expect this at all. However... Maybe this is for the best." An image of Celes flashed in his mind as he set himself back in fighting stance, the rumbles of the dragon distant now. Perhaps distance between them would weaken the dragon. Or perhaps it would come rampaging up to catch them. Kaen's eyes drilled into Raphael's masked visage, whether it was cracked by his palm strike or not. "We'll get you back under control, and I'm not going to kill you. I'll get you to claw back your control Raphael, even if I have to pummel you until you do." Kaen shifted stance, taking an instant to catch his breath from his full speed movement, staying relaxed.
Easier said than done, but he needed to take his time. To see if any effect had been borne of the strike from earlier, and to see if Raphael could fight it back on his own. This was evidently a delicate situation and Kaen did not know how well to balance attacking Raphael and letting him vent on his own. But that was fine. Kaen had made a promise to Celes that he'd help her. That he wouldn't kill her, and that he wouldn't let her kill others either. Kaen also was considering his options. Raphael had now seen his full speed. Berserker attitude that he had, maybe he wasn't thinking clearly but Kaen couldn't take that chance. The Vice Captain had to take the assumption that Raphael would start to adapt to his high speed movement. A straight head on attack was only useful now as a fake-out. To make Raphael think he was going to attack from an angle and then strike directly. If he wanted to use such a tactic he'd have to lead Raphael on now. But what kind of attacks were right here? He'd found a good zone for power that would overwhelm Raphael without killing him, so he expected to be using that level of strength now.
Still... There was a lot going on here. Some of which Kaen didn't know. Man, you certainly made this more difficult for me than I thought. This is a tricky problem you've got here. Still. I'm not going to fail you. One way or another I'm going to help you regain control. Kaen continued to stare at Raphael. "Focus on yourself Raphael. Hollow mask or not this is your power. It obeys you. Not the other way around. This is your soul. You are still in command!" He declared confidently, wishing he had as much confidence in that as he was projecting. If it was as easy as a pep talk, he doubted Raphael would be in this position. But he had to try. He had to do something while trying to figure this out!
Reiatsu Remaining: 1450/1500 (-50 for Shunpo)
Raphael was speaking, but Kaen wasn't sure if he was speaking to Kaen or to himself. "It's just that Raphael Laurent. It's in your head. Echoes of your soul, perhaps, but just that. It's not some strange, external force, come to claim you. The echo, the thing in your head. It's you. You can control yourself." Kaen stated to him, but paused as he saw Raphael coughing up.... something? Was that a mask!? Was Raphael... Hollowfying? "What the--?" This wasn't right. Raphael was still Human. Kaen would have known if Raphael had become a Plus. A human should not be able to Hollowfy. "Shit."
For a split second, Kaen exploded at his full speed, almost four times faster than Raphael, and delivered a sharp palm strike to Raphael's face-- to the forming mask, at a force of 200, hoping to break or damage the mask while it was still forming. A deep rumble occurred as the dragon began to writhe and unleashed its attack. Its attack was indiscriminate, and Kaen didn't know if Raphael was immune to his own attack. "Sorry about this." He stated. Even in the wake of Raphael's mantra "Kill" Kaen was focused on saving lives. Still moving at his full 750 speed, he moved to seize Raphael in a bear hug, and used Shunpo to launch the two clear of the dragon's attack, dragging Raphael to a higher section of the mountain, hundreds of meters from their starting location, amongst the trees and dropping him there, springing back in the same instant-- anticipating a counter-attack from the maddened beast that Raphael was becoming.
Then Kaen gave a low chuckle. "Ah man... I didn't expect this at all. However... Maybe this is for the best." An image of Celes flashed in his mind as he set himself back in fighting stance, the rumbles of the dragon distant now. Perhaps distance between them would weaken the dragon. Or perhaps it would come rampaging up to catch them. Kaen's eyes drilled into Raphael's masked visage, whether it was cracked by his palm strike or not. "We'll get you back under control, and I'm not going to kill you. I'll get you to claw back your control Raphael, even if I have to pummel you until you do." Kaen shifted stance, taking an instant to catch his breath from his full speed movement, staying relaxed.
Easier said than done, but he needed to take his time. To see if any effect had been borne of the strike from earlier, and to see if Raphael could fight it back on his own. This was evidently a delicate situation and Kaen did not know how well to balance attacking Raphael and letting him vent on his own. But that was fine. Kaen had made a promise to Celes that he'd help her. That he wouldn't kill her, and that he wouldn't let her kill others either. Kaen also was considering his options. Raphael had now seen his full speed. Berserker attitude that he had, maybe he wasn't thinking clearly but Kaen couldn't take that chance. The Vice Captain had to take the assumption that Raphael would start to adapt to his high speed movement. A straight head on attack was only useful now as a fake-out. To make Raphael think he was going to attack from an angle and then strike directly. If he wanted to use such a tactic he'd have to lead Raphael on now. But what kind of attacks were right here? He'd found a good zone for power that would overwhelm Raphael without killing him, so he expected to be using that level of strength now.
Still... There was a lot going on here. Some of which Kaen didn't know. Man, you certainly made this more difficult for me than I thought. This is a tricky problem you've got here. Still. I'm not going to fail you. One way or another I'm going to help you regain control. Kaen continued to stare at Raphael. "Focus on yourself Raphael. Hollow mask or not this is your power. It obeys you. Not the other way around. This is your soul. You are still in command!" He declared confidently, wishing he had as much confidence in that as he was projecting. If it was as easy as a pep talk, he doubted Raphael would be in this position. But he had to try. He had to do something while trying to figure this out!
Reiatsu Remaining: 1450/1500 (-50 for Shunpo)