[center] [img]https://i.imgur.com/kNmO8zV.png[/img] [b][color=DarkOrange]wordcount:[/color][/b] 1,262 (+3) [b][color=DarkOrange]Location:[/color][/b] Forbidden Kingdom - Esaka’s Low Tier [b][color=DarkOrange]Amaterasu: level 9 (1 level up stored) [/color][/b] EXP: [color=DarkOrange]////////////////////////////////////////[/color]////////////////////////////////////////// (43/90) [/center] Some way along the same wooden bridge that Terry, Sho, the Captain and Lee where about to square off on, a [url=https://i.imgur.com/L5vay3Y.png]young kickboxer[/url] paused halfway through doing her hair up into a ponytail, blinking in confusion as the Heavenly Principles applied their balancing changes. Before her had been a white wolf, which had been a little strange but not entirely out there. Now, as the heavens bestowed upon her sight beyond sight that she might be able to truly see her opponent, there stood before her something far more divine. Amaterasu for her part wasn’t quite as surprised this time as she had been when this had happened with Rare, but she was still taken a little aback when the woman, one Tia Langray, was only struck with awe for a pair of heartbeats. Then she shrugged, finished doing up her hair, and then got into a [url=https://i.imgur.com/nrLZgOW.gif]fighting pose[/url]. The divine wolf let like she was owed just a little more reverence than that. Then again, this was a lot more preferable to the monster that was Rare mouthing off at her for her deceptiveness (as if the mortals not being able to see her true divinity was her fault) so she got over her own feelings after a mere moment too, and went into her own fighting stance. [hr] [center][color=FFD700][b][h3][sub][u]AMATERASU VS. TIA LANGRAY[/u] READY… GO![/sub][/h3][/b][/color][/center] [hr] Right out the bat, Tia whipped a fist around to launch a [url=https://i.imgur.com/9p7hooP.gif]“Rapid Gale!”[/url] towards the divine wolf Amaterasu dodged to the left to avoid it, claws digging into the wooden bridge as she lunged, and then again as she brought herself to a stop before she went over the side. Unlike on the nice round island, space was at a premium here, and Tia took full advantage as she leapt up and brought down a [url=https://i.imgur.com/CcQ20tF.gif]“Soul Spike!”[/url] towards the divine wolf. The kick slammed down into the deck as the divine wolf backed up, paws not positioned to move to the right due to her leftward lunge. Having planned for this, Tia lunged out of her landing pose into a lunging jab that bopped the wolf right on the snout. Not able to chase any more form that position, she comboed the punch into another “Rapid Gale!” that knocked the wolf entirely out of her reach. A fair amount of effort for what was ultimately light damage. The divine wolf caught herself with her claws, and then shook her fur as Tia got back to her feet. The mortal woman closed in again, but the divine wolf had a read on her now. She was, ultimately, only human. Which meant she had to be careful, just in an entirely different manner to the fight with Rare. She ducked around a probing punch from Tia, and then, rather than drive her sun disk home like she was entirely capable of doing, head butted the kickboxer in the stomach, knocking her back. She then made a grab for the woman’s bandage protected arms with her jaw, only to get a [url=https://i.imgur.com/4kYSLZZ.gif]lignthing fast kick[/url] to the jaw for her efforts. She then rushed to capitalize, delivering an [url=https://i.imgur.com/GchngzL.gif]elbow jab into left-hook combo[/url] and then rolling it straight into a [url=https://i.imgur.com/4kYSLZZ.gif]”Mirage Spear Kick!”[/url] that struck the wolf thrice before she was knocked out of its reach. Amaterasu, upon recovering from that strike, promptly stayed out of Tia’s reach, circling the woman like a mundane wolf. Seeking an opening for a grab. “Stupid animal! You're losing, you can’t run out the timer!” one of Terry’s hecklers yelled over, but that sort of crowd wasn’t here for her. Instead it was a small gaggle of Yokai that had it out for the divine wolf “Rigged! Match thrower!” Yelled one who’d seen her fight at the teahouse “You're disrespecting Jun Kazama’s blessing, you useless goddess!” Called out the one who’d tried to steal her letter of recommendation “To chicken to use that sword on a human are ya?!” shouted another she’d cut to ribbons during the seethe That last one caused her ears to flap down because, in a way, it was true. She [i]was[/i] worried about harming this blameless human. “Sword?” Tia echoed in confusion, because the wolf hadn’t even equipped the blade for this fight. Not that she’d been using her sun disk or devout beads either. The kick boxer frowned, thinking for a moment, before taking an unnecessary gamble and closing the distance on the wolf by expending a super gage and using [url=https://i.imgur.com/0WStNfV.gif]”Burning Revolver!”[/url] to go rocketing towards her. The divine wolf’s eyes opened wide, she tried to move out the way, recognized in a moment of paused time she’d never make it, and then made a decision. Her back arched, her divine disk swung out, and struck the side of the living projectile. The disk slammed into the divine wolf’s side, but stayed between her and Tia’s energy, allowing her to slide past the super with merely singed fur. The two hit the deck, back to back, and there was a pause in the fight. “So those aren't just for show then?” Tia asked casually as she turned back, before flipping her pony tail and crouching down into her fighting stance and demanding “Come on, show me what you can really do!” The wolf crouched down into her own, but uncertainty still gripped her heart. Time, however, was running out, as if she didn’t even the damage scales, the ticking timer would seal her fate. As it turned out, however, it wasn’t the divine wolf for whom the clock of inevitability was going to be ringing. [b][i]DING![/i][/b] [b][i]DING![/i][/b] [hr] [center][color=FFD700][b][h3][sub][u]K.O.[/u] WINNER IS TERRY![/sub][/h3][/b][/color][/center] [hr] Tia blanched at the news, but then regained her composure, starting to call out “Come on Lee we can still-” to her still standing team member, only for him to let her down. [b][i]DING![/i][/b] [b][i]DING![/i][/b] [hr] [center][color=FFD700][b][h3][sub][u]K.O.[/u] WINNER IS CAPTAIN FALCON![/sub][/h3][/b][/color][/center] [hr] [b][i]DING![/i][/b] [b][i]DING![/i][/b] [hr] [center][color=FFD700][b][h3][sub][u]GAME SET[/u] WINNER IS TEAM SEEKERS OF FIGHT![/sub][/h3][/b][/color][/center] [hr] “Awwww” Tia groaned, standing up straight and then kicking the deck of the bridge, lightly scuffing it. That was her only show of disappointment however. The Yokai were a bit more noisy as they actively booed Amaterasu “Dead weight!” “Carried!” “Worthless goddess!” “Oh get lost would you!” Tia yelled at them, before sighing and stuffing her bandaged hands in her pockets and addressing the goddess “You were holding back, weren't you? I get that you think you were trying to be nice, but that’s just kinda rude” The wolf had the good graces to look a little embarrassed about this fact. Tia sighed, and then pulled a hand out of her jacket to remove her hair tie and [url=https://i.imgur.com/115S5Uz.gif]let her hair down[/url]. As she said “I don’t know what you are, but trust me. We’re fighters. We know we’re going to get hurt. So if you want to win this, to be a credit to your team, you gotta give it your all, ok?” ending what had been a through dressing down with a thumbs up and an encouraging smile. The divine wolf looked at this gesture, over where the other fighters were, hers who had ‘carried’ her, Tia's who had let her down, and then back at the kickboxer, to which she extended the rare privilege of an imitation of a human gesture: a simple nod. “Good!” Tia replied with a clap of her hands. Then she turned to go meet up with her team mates and, as did she said “next time then, we’ll fight for real!” before hurrying off, leaving the divine wolf with her thoughts and burdens.