[center][abbr=Pit][img]https://i.ibb.co/7VzgY22/pit.png[/img][/abbr]
[sub][i]Friday Morning[/i][/sub]
Word Count: 2666 (+3 exp) 
[u]Level[/u]: [b]8[/b] - [u]Total EXP[/u]: 360/80 
[b]Location[/b]: Esaka's Pools Tier, the Forbidden Kingdom[/center]
In the few moments between the end of the first round and the beginning of the second, the golden gusts of the Heavenly Principles swirled around Nyotengu to rouse her for the rest of the fight that was to come. She was laid on her back, but when the sparkles fell over her she blinked her eyes open before smoothly pushing more of her hair from her face. She did not look happy.

The young face of her opponent entered her vision, followed shortly by a hand which he offered in order to help her to her feet. He was grinning, and he spoke aloud the thought he'd just had. [color=lightgoldenrodyellow]"That was a close one! You're a super tough lady!"[/color]

For a moment Nyotengu just stared at him, somewhere between feeling incredulous and indignant. She pursed her lips and blew air into his face, her yokai nature making it a stronger stream than expected. He let out a little [i]ack![/i] and drew back, but Nyotengu captured his hand before he pulled it away and used it hoist herself up.

"You haven't seen anything yet," she promised, fixing her hair do and withdrawing her leaf fan once more. 

[color=lightgoldenrodyellow]"Heh!"[/color] Pit hopped back a few times, taking his place back on one side of the arena. [color=lightgoldenrodyellow]"Gimmie the best you got! I'm still gonna win this thing!"[/color]

[indent][/indent]
[i][center]ROUND TWO: FIGHT![/center][/i]

Nyotengu wasn't the only one that was reinvigorated. As soon as the metaphorical starting bell was rung, every participant shot forward at once to try and gain an early advantage. Four kombatants clashed in the center of the arena amid a round of cheering from the onlookers. 

"I said I wanted a turn!" Kanna shouted her complaint as she made another dive bomb toward Pit, only to be intercepted by his own kameo partner. "Ugh! You?!"

"Me," Ashrah smirked, the flat of her blade blocking the oni's fist with a heavy clang. Pit vaulted over the both of them, aiming his own diving kick at the slower Nyotengu. She didn't hesitate to use her fan this time, an upward swing of it sending the angel high up away from her. With the two kameos out of their allotted time on the field for now there was no one around to take advantage of the yokai princess' cool down this time, and she put on a nasty grin as she spread her dark wings and pushed herself into the air with one mighty beat of them. The aerial battle was starting early this round.

Unless Nyotengu was inclined to keep her gusts of wind up in order to unknowingly keep Pit aloft, the angel's time airborne was limited. There was no way he was going to get lucky again, so he just had to ground the tengu before she grounded him! Pit fired off a handful of light arrows while Nyotengu flew up to meet him. She evaded them all, twisting gracefully through the air and flowing into a spin kick that struck Pit's block. A moment later and the arrows she thought she'd avoided curved around to slam into her from various angles. Though she grimaced for a moment, it wasn't enough to take her down - and in the next moment she pulled her fist back and retaliated with a hard straight punch that tested Pit's guard. Rather than power through to break it, Nyotengu instead went for a mid-air grapple, squeezing her arms around Pit's middle and forcing the both of them into a forward spin. Using the momentum she threw Pit downward. She didn't expect him to recover as quickly as he did, letting out a hum as his own wings spread wide and flapped hard to stop him half way to the ground.

[color=lightgoldenrodyellow]"It's not gonna be that eas-"[/color] Pit was cut off when Nyotengu dove right for him. With a beat of his wings he dodged out of the way only for the yokai princess to snatch him by the ankle. [color=lightgoldenrodyellow]"-yyyyyy?!"[/color]

She swung him around bodily, laughing, once more showing off the strength hidden in her feminine frame. When she threw him this time it was upward, and with a lot more force. Pit hit the rocky ceiling hard on his side, but was already twisting into a better position before Nyotengu was on him again. A quick summon of his Orbitars stopped her next kick cold. Pit pushed off of the ceiling and aimed a double kick at Nyotengu in retaliation; concealed by the shields until the last moment he landed his attack in her gut, and this time they fell together. With bow back in hand Pit unleashed a flurry of slashes that Nyotengu did her best to block, though like the first round her inferior speed meant the longer it went on the worse the position she'd be in. 

But they hit the ground a moment later, Nyotengu on her feet holding off Pit above her. She didn't notice the curl of his feathers this time, blind sided by the bolt of dark magic from Ashrah that flew in from the sidelines. Pit used the brief opening to land a more powerful slash, but then he disengaged. He moved like he was going to shoot another arrow, make use of the dark debuff with his light element, though that turned out to be the wrong decision. 

"Oh? Dropping your combo opportunity on purpose, [i]against me?[/i]" The tengu sounded half-offended as she raised an arm and beckoned Kanna with a one finger. The oni let out a boisterous laugh and launched herself at Pit, and though he swiveled to just barely avoid her stomp he ended up loosing his prepared arrow into the red head instead. She huffed, taking his attention just long enough for Nyotengu to get back into the action. 

"How brazen of you. Let me show you how it's done~ come, let's keep dancing, little tenshi!"

A straight kick to his ribs broke his poise, and with just her pivot leg she jumped, somersaulting forward and slamming her geta down on the angel's head with an expertly executed axe kick. She landed one legged on her opposite foot, the delicate chime of the bell taunting in its juxtaposition with Nyotengu's brutally effective fighting style - which she followed with a whirlwind kick accompanied by a literal whirlwind. There was a swirl of red in the miniature cyclone as Pit was tossed around, though he finally broke free before Nyotengu could continue her attack by catching the wind with his wings and flying up and out - though he tumbled back down out of the air right after, a poof of dust coming up where he landed on one knee. 

Pit breathed in and out deeply, forcing himself not to wince. He wasn't used to pulling off real combos himself, but knew that being on the receiving end of them hurt. A lot. Case in point. He raised his arm to wipe blood from his brow, and across from him Nyotengu smiled at the sight.

"That's it~" she cooed. "Red looks good on you. Now..."

The yokai flung out one arm, long sleeve swaying, and she turned her head to look upon the gathered tengu. They grew even more restless under her gaze. "My subordinates are clamoring for more! We can't keep them waiting, hm?"

The angel was on his feet now, blade in each hand and a steely look in his eyes. 

[color=lightgoldenrodyellow]"I guess not,"[/color] he said. [color=lightgoldenrodyellow]"Alright, watch this! Ashrah!"[/color]

Pit flew towards Nyotengu from the front while Ashrah sped in from behind, both a beat too slow as their target seemed to have anticipated the move. "Impudent!" she cackled, spinning with her fan held out to conjure a circular wind that pushed the both of them away from her. 

At least that was it seemed like. Nyotengu's summoned gust was just about at her mid-level, and with a good few inches of height on Pit it was possible for the angel to dip beneath it, especially after having seen it a few times now. Nyotengu's eyes widened as she realized the ploy: a fake-out tag team attack. Her confident smirk twitched when she caught the satisfied twinkle of a plan gone right in Pit's eyes as he rolled under the wind blast and sped toward her after popping back up. Even if she commanded Kanna to her side the oni would not get there in time, leaving the princess to suffer a double slash, one blade after the other falling across her front. A more powerful reverse cut with the two halves of the bow snapped back together followed after, throwing the tengu backward. Refusing to give Pit a knock down to exploit, Nyotengu skidded to a halt but kept her footing, then snapped back to her fighting stance with a wide, heavy stomp that would put a sumo wrestler to shame. "Hmph!"

The two of them fell into an odd rhythm of clashes, broken up by Nyotengu's artful spacing to avoid getting overwhelmed by her opponent's sword flurries, and Pit's quick shields or swift feet that kept him from getting trapped in a grapple. The clock steadily ticked down, and it looked like things were heading to a close round again, maybe even one of them winning by timer technicality this time. Pit wasn't opposed to winning that way, but he wasn't sure how the Heavenly Principles judged which of the fighters was healthier. He was hurting, but he knew Nyotengu was too. He felt that he could still go for a while yet, though maybe the officials wouldn't see it that way. Realistically Pit's early lead meant he could lose now and still win the match... but there was no way his pride was going to let him just concede! So, time to crank things up a notch!

Pit pressed the raven haired yokai, a surge of stamina fueling quicker, more aggressive slashes with his blades. When Nyotengu managed to catch up and raise her arms to block, Pit suddenly leapt at her with a stretch kick that got under her guard. He knocked her arms aside, exposing the surprised expression on Nyotengu's face. An opening!

[color=lightgoldenrodyellow]"This is it!"[/color] Pit shouted. One clean hit here and he could bring this to an end. Excitement beat in his chest as he quick-summoned his Upperdash Arm. The run up to its devastating uppercut lasted only a moment, maybe even less than that, but it was enough time for Nyotengu's face to change. She smiled instead, eyes squinting slightly and glimmering with some sort of gratification. [i]Read like a book,[/i] he could practically her hear voice tease. 

"Come, Kanna!"

The rumble of approaching lightning was upon Pit seconds before the oni herself was, but only gave him time enough for more racing thoughts on how to get out of his trap to fill his head as his attack whiffed and the arm still encased with his weapon hung heavy in the air. Could he forcibly de-summon the Arm? Maybe instead force his whole body to relax and let the momentum fling him forward? Call Ashrah in time–

There was a sharp crackle of electricity releasing, but he felt only the barest brush of it on his back. Instead, something tacky, warm, and wet splashed on him, and the thunder died down, replaced by shrill cries from the audience side, a nearby thump, and a ragged gasp. In his peripheral vision he caught sight of white and gold wielding red drenched silver, and Nyotengu -from where she had side stepped the Upperdash Arm's charge- look upon the kameo retreating with a distant coldness before flicking her eyes back to the angel. 

[color=lightgoldenrodyellow][i]What just...?[/i][/color]

[color=lightgreen][i]Focus, Pit![/i][/color]

He'd only realized that the Arm had disappeared and he'd been frozen in confusion when Palutena's voice snapped him back to attention, just in time to curl up and grit his teeth as Nyotengu drove her knee into his stomach. Her elbow slammed down between his shoulders next. She was winding up to deliver another blow when Pit twisted, working his blades drill-like into the yokai with a spiral slice that didn't do a thing to buff or debuff the two of them like it would outside of tourney matches, but did hurt Nyotengu enough to allow him to slip out of her range.

The boyish confidence and the pure fun he'd felt fighting even with the pain inflicted began melting away now that he had a view of the other side of the arena. Kanna was not where she normally waited on the fringe of the hot springs stage - part of her body was laying on the ground, most of it already disintegrated into ashes. There was a large, grisly stab wound at the base of her neck that went all the way through. Beneath her, a small puddle of crimson. It was far from the first time that the angel had seen someone die, even this close up, but even so if it weren't for the heat of the steam making his face flushed, Pit was sure he would have paled at the sight. 

"What's the matter?"

When she spoke Pit looked at Nyotengu to find that she didn't seem distraught that her friend? Partner? That her kameo had just died. In fact, she didn't look like she cared at all, which was a strangely sobering thought. She was in her normal stance, leg pushed forward and arm raised to curl overhead, deceptively casual. "Don't tell me you're finished already? How unsatisfying..."

With the patch of darkness still floating around her from earlier in the round, the princess of tengu suddenly looked very intimidating. Swallowing the lump in his throat Pit resumed his own fighting stance, though he kept the bow whole. [i]This is Mortal Kombat. It happens. It was an accident![/i] he thought to himself a few times. 

[color=lightgoldenrodyellow]"Not yet,"[/color] he said, forcing his voice to come out as close to normal as he could make it. He breathed out and focused. One clean hit, for real this time.

Fan struck sword as Pit dashed forward, almost desperate to end the round now. His bow glowed with subtle gold energy, and with his right side slash caught he spun the opposite way and swung with an upward cross - also deflected. Whether they fell into another clash or Nyotengu summoned her wind, it would be smart to call Ashrah for a pincer attack. He hesitated to do so until the yokai recognized that Pit's performance had begun to suffer and she breathed in forcefully before going to pepper him with punches and palms. This time, she would surely overwhelm him. He knew it too. So he curled his feathers at the tips, and his reliable kameo partner was at his side two heartbeats later; one for her Lightshift, the other a Soul Slice.

Ashrah followed Pit's lead in finally putting that dark debuff to use. Her kriss glowed similarly to Pit's bow, and she got Nyotengu in the middle of her own attack with a deep diagonal slash that ran from the princess' left shoulder to her right hip. Nyotengu cried out and dropped her fan, bringing that hand up to clutch at the wound. The extra damage took effect and blood gushed out along the whole length of the cut. It was too deep. Pit reached out and took hold of Ashrah's sleeve, opening his mouth as though to tell her to stop this, but it was far too late, the deed was already done.

"Ha...haha... This cannot... be..." Nyotengu breathed. There was a stirring of warm wind throughout the stage, though whether it was a last ditch effort of offense or a final comfort, they'd never know. She looked genuinely astonished that things had ended up this way just before the top half of her body, separated by the slice, slid off of her trunk and landed on the stone behind her with a sick, wet, [i]plop.[/i]

[indent][/indent]
[i][center]ROUND TWO: PIT WINS
[color=crimson]BRUTALITY[/color][/center][/i]

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