Test Fight: Hostile Takeover [R, NDE]

[Amagai Kuchiki]

OOC: One more victim participant still needs to post before Satsujun can kill someone else the fight can continue. Any of the original 4 posters (those who are still capable of fighting, so Jak or Kazura, unless the other two get Kento's approval for a counter/method of survival) may continue. If none do so, then perhaps Satsujun will just take a turn before anyone else can adequately prepare themself.

[Kazura Uzaki]

"I'm sorry..."

Despite Marcus' urging, Kazura couldn't run. He couldn't leave his employees. He had a duty of care for each and every one of these men and woman that were protecting the Uzaki Enterprises name. So instead of running, he did the exact opposite. Instead, he went all out. First step, release Secondary Fullbring, changing his right arm to a titanium piece as a swarm of nanobots emerged. Second step, fire up Gate twice to boost his Spiritual Pressure to 3,000. Third step, unleash Chakra to set his body and fullbring ablaze. With that set, he could protect himself and his subordinates. Or try to.

Kazura used Bringer Light to get to Marcus and left a group of flaming nanobots there that burrowed into his suit of armor and supported it with Kazura's now immense spiritual pressure. The flames of Chakra, which were not burning flames, would possess Marcus's clothes and give him a 3,000 defense full body armor. Then Kazura would use a second step of Bringer Light to get to Takara and do the same if she had managed to defend against the Stand. A final step to Jak protected him as well. In doing so, Kazura was making sure that nothing but Satsujun himself could touch the entire party. Yes, Satsujun had a flaming sword that could bypass Chakra instantly, but the Stand didn't and neither did Ken.

With his own body supported by the last portion of nanobots, Kazura was ready to take on Satsujun's assault. He knew that he couldn't hold up this level of spiritual output for long, but maybe it was long enough...

Remaining Reiatsu: 4,000/10,000 (-300 Secondary Fullbring, -200 Gate 1, -200 Gate 2, -3200 Chakra, -200 Bringer Light Step 1, -400 Step 2, -800 Step 3)
Main Fullbring Level 2: 2/13
Secondary Fullbring: 1/8
Chakra: 1/15

New SpPr: 3,000
New RS: 450
Long Term Stat boosts: 1/3

[Amagai Kuchiki]

As Satsujun severed the Nakkabaki's arms, it became obvious that even this overwhelming show of force wouldn't convince the forced of Uzaki Enterprises that they had already lost. It was clear that he needed to step it up another notch or three, that he needed to be more brutal. Once again, as always, Satsujun took in the battlescape. Siegfried was done for, his body and fullbring both broken, sent flying elsewhere. He was no longer a factor in the fight. As for the rest, however....

Jak was severely injured. The loss of a set of arms would limit the demon boy's ability to fight, especially against an overwhelmingly powerful opponent. Given that it was even lopsided, he couldn't balance out. All of his attacks would come from one direction, easily broadcasted. He was even less of a threat than he was before, which was impressive, given how little Satsujun had been concerned about his impact in the fight. That left the other three.

Of those other three, the mod soul, was also severely injured. Satsujun had had her broken by his manifested spirit, striking her through the chest. She hadn't been able to detect the attack, and without detection, the hit would assuredly have destroyed her ability to participate in the fight. If it hadn't, if she was alive, before Kazura could Bringer Light to her, it would crush her skull, finishing her off for good. She was not a threat, not anymore for certain.

And this left two foes left. Kazura, and Marcus. And interestingly, Marcus had words for him. “Why did you decide to attack Uzaki Enterprise now? Kazura… he’s been getting people together and building the company up. It’s had some attention on it for a while. Why now? Especially when Kazura has been trying to work with Xcution and set up good relations. If you decide whether I live and die, I… I want to know why that decision was made, if I’m even worth that much.”

Satsujun softly shook his head, staring Marcus dead in the eyes. "It is the nature of the strong to take from and destroy the weak. If I wasn't meant to kill all of you, if I wasn't meant to seize this as mine, either god would have made you stronger, or made me weaker. But I am the Strongest Man In The World. And that means that my every action is innately justified by the nature of this world that we live in. You, your friends, none of you proved to me that I should even hesitate."

He waited patiently, as Kazura hopped around the field, protecting the remainder of his team. Satsujun could've stopped Kazura, cutting him down where he stood, but he chose not to. He let the CEO think that he could make a difference, by reinforcing Marcus's combat armor, by giving Jak some support. He would not let the CEO attempt to save the mod soul, she simply needed to stay dead, for simplicity's sake. As he and Marcus stood close to each other, Marcus would notice that Satsujun hadn't broken a sweat, and his breathing hadn't changed. He wasn't tired at all.

In a heartbeat, Satsujun was next to Marcus, having moved when the young ward's eyes were closed in blinking, standing just in his blind spot throughout the movement. Marcus felt a tear in his left calf, and it instantly became apparent that during that movement, Satsujun had shifted the sword he was holding, now hanging at his side, his stance relaxed, and sliced through Marcus' hamstring. There was no blood, the heat sealed up the wound, but the nerve damage was immense, the flaming sword literally burning the nerves out of Marcus' lower leg. He would wobble, standing would become almost impossible.

"You didn't pray, I assume gods have no meaning to you. But in this instant, I should be all the evidence you need in a higher power. I am the higher power, that governs your life, in this hour of need. In a moment, if you don't give me reason to slow down, I will approach your boss, and take his head, and call my broker to finish buying up your company. But, I'll offer you a deal. A gift from God." Satsujun looked lazily over his shoulder at Marcus, whose ability to stand had almost entirely faded.

"Show me your soul. Manifest your fullbring, and I will test it. I will apply force, and see if your soul can survive that. If it can't, then you are weak, and deserve nothing. If it survives, however, in any form, I'll grant you a mercy. Your master will survive, even if I can't promise the same for you. So, what will it be, warrior? Will you pray to me, and attempt to prove yourself worthy? Or will you simply bow down, and let me finish my job here." The storm had quieted, allowing Satsujun to talk frankly like this to Marcus. If someone interrupted him, interrupted this deal, then they would regret their entire life up until that point.


(OOC: Marcus' post next. Since Kyomei is seriously mia, Kazura will just do smart things for the rest of this fight. If you think you deserve to still be in this fight, present your argument to Z, and if he thinks it's legit, he'll relay it to me, and I'll okay it or say that you can't. I'm pretty sure we're less than 3 Satsujun posts away from the end of this, btw)

[Marcus Cole]

I Don't Know If Music Can Make This Situation Better, But It Can't Hurt

There are different stages of fear. The first level is the least severe, causing only nervous jitters to spread up and down one’s spine and limbs. It’s the type of fear that comes right before a “jump scene” in a horror movie. Maybe it’s a little frightening, but nothing truly dangerous or threatening. Then, there’s the next echelon: fear for one’s own life. The flight response overrides any logic and conscious thought, forcing one to run for his life as fast as possible without even taking the time to look over his shoulder. Most come across this second stage a few times every decade or so, where their only thought is of their own safety.

But then there’s the highest form of fear, one that most are lucky to never experience in their lives. It’s the type of fear that one may feel while staring at a oncoming car just a split second away from shattering every bone in his body, or more accurately, gazing at a fifty foot wave overhead that’s about to crash down while the very ground around you crumbles toward the center of the Earth. This fear is the kind that strikes when the world seems to be ending at the hands of an unstoppable force, turning all into simple witnesses. That’s what it felt like to stare right into Satsujun’s eyes. It petrified Marcus, leaving him with barely enough wits to comprehend the man’s words.

"It is the nature of the strong to take from and destroy the weak. If I wasn't meant to kill all of you, if I wasn't meant to seize this as mine, either god would have made you stronger, or made me weaker. But I am the Strongest Man In The World. And that means that my every action is innately justified by the nature of this world that we live in. You, your friends, none of you proved to me that I should even hesitate." But Marcus didn’t understand. There seemed to be some huge flaw in Satsujun’s logic, one so large that Marcus was struggling to define it. Satsujun just didn’t make sense.

“Y-y-yo-you…” He needed to take another deep breath to gather his thoughts. It was then that he heard Kazura’s voice in his head. ”I’m sorry…” Marcus felt his leader release and join his side, using his nanobots to enhance Marcus’s armor. The loyal Uzaki Enterprise employee appreciated Kazura’s effort, but it was almost funny that they were still trying. Kazura needed to run, and Marcus could only buy so much more time. Leave, he told Kazura telepathically. And don’t turn around or you’re wasting both of our lives. Live for us. Those were his last words to Kazura before Marcus redirected all his attention to distracting Satsujun.

“You’re the Strongest Man in the world. There is no god who can stop you, and because of that, there is no god who can establish natural laws that you must abide by. I’m not going to beg for my life, but I think you should hesitate, at least for a second. Decide why you want to kill me, and then…” Marcus sighed. It was all going to be over. He failed Kazura. He failed himself. He even failed Harle, who would inevitably hear of his death at the hands of the leader of Xcution. Marcus thought that they could have a life together. That he could make her happy. But that possible reality would never have the chance to exist.

Harle… Kaijin Harle Quinn. I’m sorry I had to leave you this way. I know that you’re waiting to hear my words through that butterfly, but I hope you don’t wait too long before realizing that it’s never going to come. I can tell that you’ve been hurt before. I know that I carry deep scars on my heart too, but you took all of that pain away. I’m sorry for every tear that you cry over me, but know that I did my best.

Marcus closed his eyes and placed his right hand over his heart. Just behind his palm and nanobot-enhanced suit was a silver pocketwatch. Suddenly, reiatsu swelled within the metal watch, causing it to break apart into little gears that transcended through his suit, gathering at Marcus’s back to form large metal wings. He seemed to be surrounded with a new black mist, but suddenly, Marcus darted out of the fog with Bringer Light, positioning himself about 20 feet below Satsujun. He would be able to bold out of harm’s way with Bringer Light again if necessary, but for now, his priority was taking up Satsujun’s time.

As soon as Marcus appeared below Satsujun, his reiatsu swelled once more. This time, however, it was more powerful than before. His metallic wings turned black, but right as they did, a stream of black fog shot up right at Satsujun, moving up into the sky. If he didn’t move, he’d be surrounded with the fog, and even if he dodged or blocked it, the fog would move around him and up toward the sky, falling down like rain and consuming them all. Marcus could use the fog to both hide his own presence and detect Satsujun’s position, although the Xcution leader was more than capable of using his senses and energy sensory through the black mist.

Marcus wasn’t going to make the first attack. His last move was only meant to set-up the battlefield, giving him defensive and evasive options against Satsujun while Kazura escaped. It would be up to Satsujun to play aggressive, for Marcus wasn’t going to walk right into his own death. He’d have to prolong his life for as long as he could, even if it was just for a little bit. Every second mattered. He had to try his best, and as long as he did, Marcus would meet his end with one less regret.

“...then I’ll accept my death.”

Reiatsu Remaining: 1350/2100

Fullbring Level 2: 1/7

[Amagai Kuchiki]

A picture is worth a thousand words, and gazing upon someone's soul was a thousand times more valuable than a thousand of those pictures. Satsujun could feel Marcus' fear, and noted it, just as he had noted everything else featured in this combat so far. The prayers used, the stances taken, the way each and every one of his foes had truly believed themselves capable of standing up to Satsujun. They didn't just think that they could touch him, they thought they could hurt him. They thought they could make a difference.

They all thought wrong. And now, the majority of them were dead, or mortally wounded. Marcus, he realized his mortality, and he truly felt fear. He understood the difference between the two of them, and that made Marcus more worthy of a foe than anyone else. Like Socrates was the wisest man in Greece, because he knew that he knew nothing, Marcus was the strongest employee of Uzaki Enterprises, because he truly understood that Satsujun was mightier than all of them, at their strongest, combined.

He started to stammer out a response, but calmed down, took a breath, and articulated his thoughts. Marcus didn't pray. He didn't beg. And he advised Satsujun to hesitate. Satsujun took a moment, and assessed the situation. And as the two of them stared each other down, with the rest of the fighters scattered around them, routed by the sheer might of Satsujun, only Marcus would bear witness to an event that hadn't happened in easily a hundred years. An event that he would be the only witness to in the human world as even a remote possibility.

Satsujun smiled. It was a small one, only for an instant, but it happened. He smiled at Marcus advising him to make sure he knew why he was going to kill him, in the face of all that had happened. He smiled, because Marcus was right, even if he didn't know it. The subtle meaning behind his words, the unspoken plea of 'Only do this if you have to', rung true. Satsujun didn't have to kill any of them here to accomplish his goal. But the thing that Marcus missed, that he failed to understand, is that Satsujun wanted this.

And nothing in the planet would get in the way between Satsujun and what he wanted. As Marcus blurred away, Satsujun locked onto his energy signature. Trivial. Marcus released a Fullbring, the capabilities of which lay bare to Satsujun, even just as the fog began to roll out. Obfuscation, maneuverability. A scout or assasin's power. It likely also had sensory capabilities attached. Satsujun didn't move, as Marcus danced around him, spraying him with fog, staying on the periphery of it. 

Even if he couldn't see Marcus, or track him through the fog with his energy sensory, Satsujun didn't need to. He knew Marcus' heartbeat. He knew Marcus' soul, and knew how he fought. Satsujun could pluck his own eyes out, and still understand exactly where Marcus would be. "Then I'll accept my death." He said, with an air of drama and finality, from somewhere outside the fog. There, that was the cue for Satsujun to crush him. Then, in one single fell swoop he did.

Four events occurred that all ensured Marcus' downfall. Marcus was talented, and might have been able to deal with one. But all four was an impossible to beat scenario. Behind Marcus, Satsujun's Stand had moved, silently, uninterested in being seen or heard. Once it was behind him, it decided to be seen, and the will of that action would cause it to appear to Kazura or Jak, if either of them was still alive and in line of sight. Too far away to interfere, just close enough to glimpse it.

It was Satsujun himself, but in an outfit neither of them would recognize. It was a royal outfit, to be sure, and one of pure white. Some position that Satsujun felt he deserved, obviously. But neither of them would know what it was. However, if Sozen Kuchiki were here, he would recognize it as the robes of his father-in-law, the Soul King, Satsujun's father. In this moment, Satsujun's aspirations were abundantly clear, and unfortunately, none of the people present were capable of processing them.

The Stand grabbed marcus in a full nelson, which he might have been able to struggle against or break out of, if not for the other three factors. The second one had happened the instant that the Stand's arms had started to move through the air. Gravitational Pressure of a Class Zero level, crashing down on a three block radius. Random civilians in the vicinity simply fell asleep, plagued by nightmares, which was a merciful move on the part of Satsujun. Many of Uzaki Enterprise' spiritually aware workers, however, were not so lucky.

Words came from the fog, as the gravity and the Stand immobilized Marcus, and struck him deep in his soul. Words that rung with a certainty of a man who knew the truth, of a prophet who came bearing the word of god. "Your parents died because of you, and because of that soul of yours. It attracted monsters, and their lives ended. The only question is how long it'll take for the same to Kazura." In a single blow, Satsujun twisted several of Marcus' deepest fears against him.

And then, the final factor that ended Marcus. Satsujun, coming charging from the fog, directly at him, a single fist cocked back. "I find this current version unworthy." He threw a punch, and as it moved through the air, brass knuckles materialized on it. They would crash against Marcus' chest, and in an instant do two things. They negated all his current releases, and all the blessings that had been gifted to him. Then, the second effect would occur: shattering.

Normally, this would just kill Marcus, breaking his body and ending his life. But Satsujun had interest in the boy, and what he was capable of. So Satsujun preformed a miracle that no other Fullbringer in the world could do, a miracle he preformed every time he released. All Fullbringers could call upon and command the Souls in things, but Satsujun could do that for the Souls within people's bodies. He called upon Marcus' soul, and brought it to the forefront of the body, to bear the full weight of Satsujun's blow.

Marcus would collapse, as the Stand would stop holding him, and fall into a deep coma. When he awoke, he would not possess the same power, something Satsujun was very aware of: "Speak to me when you find the new version of your soul, and I will examine it once more. If you succeed this time, then I'll give you what you desire most of me." Perhaps these words would fall of deaf ears, but perhaps Marcus' mind would subconciously pick up the words.

Satsujun turned from there, and faced down Kazura. The moment was tense, awaiting the fall of the hammer. Satsujun's hand was covered in Marcus' blood, and his own set of brass knuckles that had just rendered Chakra worthless. The Stand behind him was ready to move at a moment's notice, and the only person left to protect Kazura was a mostly armless Jak. Not exactly Captain Commander Tier. Satsujun cocked his head, and stared at Kazura. "So...." he intoned.

"I'm going to lead you to one of your conference rooms, and then we are going to talk about your future." Compared to the fate that Satsujun had just visited upon all of Kazura's employees, this would feel overwhelmingly tame. And yet, Satsujun began walking, making the situation clear, that he had ordered that this occur, and it would indeed come to pass. The two would go into a conference room, and chat. And then afterwards, Satsujun would leave the way he came, a wake of devastation behind him.

Uzaki Enterprises' stocks would increase by 89% overnight, for reasons that might be mysterious to most. Kazura would be in his office more frequently, following this tragedy, and the tone of the missions that UE employees would go on would change slightly. Not drastically, or suddenly, but many would notice a change in the affairs of Kazura's pet project before, and after, the advent of Satsujun. And when all was said, and all was done? Kazura still had his friends, his employees, and his life. Or many of them at least.

And Satsujun was still the Strongest Man In The World, and the unquestioned King of all that he saw fit to rule.



OOC: I'm hesitant to give you guys the Secondary, since it was for cinematic effect and to make ZK's life easier, but fuck it, you deserve a prize for playing along. You all get normal TP awards, and 100 bonus TP for the one release you 'forced' him to use. I get 50% of the TP that I would earn had this been a RPC. Thanks for playing, and welcome to a new age of UE.

[Zeich Yajuu]

Alright, awards for this thread:

Siegfried - 17 Paragraphs = 170 TP + 100 Bonus = 270 total TP.
Marcus - 21 Paragraphs = 210 TP + 100 Bonus = 310 total TP.
Jak - 8 Paragraphs = 80 TP + 100 Bonus = 180 total TP.
Takara - 12 Paragraphs = 120 TP + 100 Bonus = 220 total TP.
Kazura - 10 Paragraphs = 100 TP + 100 Bonus = 200 total TP.

Rudy - 49 Paragraphs = 490 TP / 2 = 245 total TP.