Zoey Boey

World of Light: the Endless Now (The Ultimate Videogame Crossover)

Sakura Level 11: 024/110
Location: Pools!
Word Count: 3067
Points Gained: 4
New EXP Balance--- Level 11: 028/110

—
Sakura never took her opponents lightly, but as she advanced into Winners Round Three she would expect the caliber of said opponents to rise. Whoever made it this far made it past the big ‘filter’ of the first two matches in winners. Either they had strong fundamentals or powerful gimmicks, rarely would luck carry a fighter through two separate bouts.

So far she hadn’t been doing much exploring or doing much of anything except resting and meditating between bouts, and then fighting. Despite being surrounded by people all excited about fighting, there was something lonely about pools. Not necessarily in a bad way or in a way she couldn’t handle, but lonely nonetheless. There was no hype from the crowd, and the thrill of victory would be muted by the crushing weight of a defeat so early on. In pools there was little to gain and everything to lose.

As she predicted, her next foe looked to be her toughest yet. Standing stoically across the ring from her was a large, fat fighter, wearing green shorts and orange bracelets around his limbs. Atop his head was a high crested golden crown. The rest of his golden brown skin was exposed. His build reminded Sakura of one E. Honda. Overweight, but deliberately so. Despite their build differences, at this level of skill having bigger muscles was no guarantee of actually being physically stronger than another fighter. That all came down to training, level of ki, and how one let that ki be expressed. So while she could guess that he was a brawny fighter who liked to throw his weight around, she couldn’t take that for granted.

“I am Golrio.” Golrio said, arms crossed.

”I am Sakura.” Sakura said, crossing her arms.

“Why do you fight, Miss Sakura?” Golrio asked.

Sakura stopped looking tough, and instead thoughtfully tapped her chin. ”Good question, Golrio-san. I’m not sure sometimes. Because it’s fun? Or maybe because I seek strength or purpose. Today, though, it’s because winning this tournament is very important for a cause I’m involved with. So I hope you don’t mind, but I’m going all out.”

Golrio nodded. “I understand. I too, fight for a cause. Mother Nature, the Earth itself, the delicate ecosystems by which all life and thus we humans rely on, is being thrown dangerously out of balance by human activity. While I used to be a bodyguard for the rich and powerful, when I learned how dire the situation of environmental degradation was, I travelled into the amazon rain forest to become one with nature. I learned to harness the awesome might of jungle chi, and now I travel the world to spread awareness for the environmental cause.”

Sakura was impressed. ”That’s really noble, Golrio-san!”

“Are you environmentally conscious, young miss Sakura?”

”Aah, eto…” Sakura blushed, rubbing the back of her head. ”I uh…I ride a bike?” Sakura offered.

“Hmm.” Golrio didn’t seem too impressed.

”A-and I took down two evil criminal organizations!” Sakura pointed.

“Did they have bad environmental policy?” Golrio asked.

”Uh, I dunno but- I mean, there’s no way they had good environmental policy.” Sakura said.

“I see. You took down two evil criminal organizations?”

”Err, well…I helped.”

“How old are you, anyway? You seem a little young to engage in such matters of law enforcement.”

”Eighteen. But my birthday is coming up soon! I did the first one when I was fifteen and the second one a few months ago. Or, like, a thousand years ago, depending on who you ask.”

“I don’t understand your meaning.”

”Just forget it.” Sakura shook her head. The whole thing made her noggin hurt. Now was the time to think about the moment in front of her.

”The worries of the world melt away in fight.” Sakura said like she was recalling a fond dream.

“I disagree strongly.” Golrio replied.

Sakura lowered her lids. Now it was her turn to be unimpressed. A strong spirit bubbled up inside her once again. ”Okay, Golrio-san. I’ll give you a battle so tough you’ll be too worried about yourself to even think about the Earth.” Golrio narrowed his eyes.

“Kick her butt, bro!” Someone shouted from the stands.

Surprised that someone was watching, Sakura looked to the stands to see Two P in the audience, all alone. He cupped his hands around his mouth. “Woooo! Alright, yeah! Go Gorlio, go!”

“It’s ‘Golrio’.” Golrio said.

“Yeah, that! Kick her butt!”

”Why do you want him to kick my butt?” Sakura asked. ”You should be rooting for me! You know? So that way if I win, it’s like, you lost to the winner?”

“That’s a good point.” Two P called out. “But I still want him to kick your butt.”

”That’s just dumb.”

“You’re just dumb.” Two P said.

Sakura faked Two P out like she intended to hit him, and he flinched even at long distance.

”Two for flinching. I’ll sort you out later. Right now I got bigger fish to fry.”

“Hmm.” Golrio shook his head disapprovingly. “Not even the fish in the ocean are safe from being scorched and devoured by the callous youth.”

”Wha-! Okay! You know what?!” Sakura stamped her foot. ”I like seafood! And I’m not even a little bit sorry about it. So there.”

Golrio laughed, sudden and hearty, lifting his hands above his head, before stomping back down into his fighting stance. “We will see who will fry who.”

ROUND ONE.

Sakura bounced back and forth on her sneakers and settled into her lively, animated stance.

THREE. TWO. ONE. FIGHT!

”Hadoken!” She brought her hands towards her side and then thrusted her palms out, sending a fiery blue ball towards Golrio, the imprint of her hands left inside.

“Amazon Fire!” He put his two hands together in front of his core to create a small flaming orb, before lifting it up and pushing it towards her where it expanded into a blazing orange wave. The two collided in mid air, dissipating in an explosion.

He fired out another blast, but Sakura took the time to charge hers up. His flame drew close, but she blasted through it, her two hit heavy fireball shrinking inside but continuing forward. Golrio had to match her fireball with a second of his own- and as he did, he would be surprised to see Sakura emerging from the resulting explosion. She had closed the gap quickly!

He chopped downward with a blazing hand, only for Sakura to draw back at the last moment and return with a roundhouse kick that sent the large man flying through the air. She rolled forward and kneed his torso, before launching up with a massive leaping uppercut. ”Shouoken!”

Golrio landed with a thud but rolled back to standing. Sakura grinned, pleased with her good start to the round. She made to walk in, but was forced to block a fast Amazon Fire. He swung his palm towards her head and she ducked, and then blocked his follow up side kick. Her series of jabs and kicks were absorbed by his forearms and knee, and when she went to knock him off balance with a throw, he steadied himself and shoved her away. “Not so fast.”

As the two jockeyed for positioning, Sakura trying to force him towards the edge of the arena, Golrio surprised her. Golrio suddenly shot forward, his entire body engulfed in flames. He body checked her, sending her sprawling before she flipped back to standing. When she looked at him, Golrio was on his belly, arms outstretched, spinning towards her legs like a top!

”Bwah!” Sakura was flipped upside down as he collided with her legs. She landed on her back, just in time to see him in the air coming down to squish her with a blazing stomp. She rolled out of the way, but he rolled after her just as smoothly, and when she went to get up she gasped as he locked her arms around her waist, belly-to-belly in a bearhug.

Sakura had a pretty smooth run up to this point, but pain was just part of the gig. Between her time as a street fighter and a Seeker, she was used to it. It would have been nice to have flawless victories all the way to Top 8. Oh well.

”Gaaah!” She cried out as he squeezed her torso in a vice. She went to grab his head to break free, but he slammed her down onto the floor.

He went for a point blank Amazon Fire scorching that she had to curl up and block while she laid down. He stomped down onto her block, but she redirected his leg and rolled back up to her feet. He went in for another grab but she grabbed onto both of his wrists, stopping him dead in his tracks. She lifted both of her feet, using his outstretched arms as leverage to do a powerful dropkick to the face. “Umph!” He grunted and stumbled backwards as she flipped away to land on her feet.

Sakura put both of her hands on her lower back and pushed her body outwards with a grimace. ”I always thought bearhugs were cool. I used to want to be a sumo wrestler. Now, though, no freaking way.”
“What do bearhugs have to do with sumo?” Golrio asked.

”...Huh. I guess they usually are too big to do that to each other. I guess it only works when you’re fighting non sumo wrestlers.”

“Hmm.” Golrio stepped forward, and Sakura locked back in.

Golrio launched himself clear across the entire arena again, blazing in flame. Sakura spent an EX-meter to meet him in the air, glowing even more vibrantly. ”Drop!” She slammed both of her fists down and beat out his Rolling Body Attack, snuffing out his flame. She struck him twice more and flattened him against the arena floor. ”Ichi, ni, san!”

“Grrr!” Golrio growled. Sakura span mid air in an acrobatic arc, and landed on his back as he stood up. She wrapped her arms around neck and squeezed. Now it was her turn to really lay the hurt on. He tried to work his fingers underneath her arms but her grip was too tight.

He grabbed on anyway and began to heat up, starting to burn her arms. Sakura winced, but held fast. He made to jump into the air to slam back down onto the floor to dislodge her, but Sakura released one arm and brought her elbow down sharp on the top of his skull. Golrio’s eyes crossed and he toppled forward face down, stunned.

Sakura jumped upwards and went to bring her leg down ontop of him. He rolled out of the way but was still on her mix, and she kicked him once before hitting him with a grounded spin kick.

Then, Sakura went to- “SUPER TURTLE SPIN STRIKE!!!”

Golrio launched himself at Sakura, spinning so fast he blurred, bouncing off the ground and her body absurdly fast. Sakura felt like she just got sucked into a blender. The damage was ridiculous. Sakura wasn’t even exactly sure what part of her was being hit.

In summary: ”UWAAAAAH!” Sakura flew through the air and landed on her back, teeth grit and eyes squeezed shut. She lay, unable to get up in time for Golrio to not get the victory in round one.

GOLRIO WINS ROUND ONE!

“You are one stroke below me.” Golrio informed Sakura wisely.

Sakura groaned and sat up. She felt full of vitality before getting hit by that move. It was shocking that even his last ditch attack would put her down that hard. She would have to watch out for that technique next time she was on the verge of victory.

In through the nose, out through the mouth. Sakura stood up and dusted herself off. If she went down like that again, she was in the losers bracket, and then winning the tournament would become nearly impossible.

ROUND TWO: FIGHT!

Golrio, overconfident in Sakura’s mind, surged forward with another flaming rolling body attack. She went to kick him out of the air with a high-legged Chin Buster Kick, but he actually just missed Sakura and landed right behind her. Thus, she ended up in a bearhug again, though this time his hands were locked in front of her belly rather than her back. It was like the world’s worst heimlich maneuver. Sakura’s eyes bulged.

She was slammed face down on the ground again, and, fed up, she erupted out with an EX-Shouoken that blew right through his follow up attack and knocked him away.

She charged up a powerful fireball and launched it at him. He did another flaming body attack over it, but this time Sakura met him in the air. ”Oops!” She said, planting her shoes on him and kicking him towards the floor.

“Oof!” He landed with a heavy thud. When he got up, there was another heavy fireball coming his way. Too late to dodge, he blocked it, only to get kneed in the back of the head by an aggressive Sakura.

Now it was Golrio’s turn to be in the blender. Everywhere he looked there was a jab, his leg buckled under harsh knee kicks. When he blocked, his forearms were hammered by painful elbows that gave him no relief. When he swung, he got nothing but air, and when he tried to grab her his fingers brushed against the zipper of her open jacket and he was punished thoroughly with spin kicks.

There was only one way out.

”SUPER TURTLE SPIN STRIKE!!!!””

”Aaaaah!” Despite telling herself that she would be more careful, in her fervor to claim another round, she hadn’t been prepared to block it.

When she landed, Sakura punched the floor and stood back up. Golrio hadn’t softened her up at all this round, and so she survived his attack.

”You’re gonna get it now.” Sakura warned, pumping her fists like shotguns as she ignited in flame, activating Sakura Senpu, her V-Trigger 2.

She ran towards him, then shifted left, then right, then jumped clear over his head and landed behind him, and then dodged out of the way of his attempted chop. She eyed him down the whole time. Golrio was being outmaneuvered. Every moment she was just out of range was a moment she could be upon him in a blink- the brazilian jungle warrior was overwhelmed by the possibilities.

To get some space, he charged up a fireball, and- his leg was tagged by a light little kick from Sakura. The range of it was deceptive.

Sakura turned into a sawblade, leg extended, a pure, clean beam of light following her circular strike as she went to sand Golrio’s face clean off. She launched him into the air with another kick to the chin. She rolled forward, kneed him, and then launched him up with one uppercut, followed him before he could land, and then lifted upwards with a spectacular spinning Shouoken, aglow with blue energy.

“OOOOGH!” Golrio flew away and landed face down, unable to get up before he was counted out.

SAKURA WINS ROUND TWO!

Sakura crossed her arms, satisfied.”That was a close one.”

Golrio stood up and shook his head.

FINAL ROUND. FIGHT!

Golrio felt like Sakura was going to jump in or try to predict another one of his moves, so this time, he played it cool, waiting for his moment.

Sakura promptly, calmly, walked up to him and shoved him to the floor with a hip toss. She dusted off her hands. ”Whoops.”

Golrio rose to his feet with a growl. She punched him in the nose and hip tossed him again.

“Enough!” He shot up with a blazing Rolling Body attack, but she caught his arm and shoulder and converted it into an over-the-shoulder toss throw that slammed him face first into the ground.

Sakura felt like she had his number, now. Everything was working.

The two exchanged blows, and Golrio chopped Sakura’s noggin and tried to grab her, but this time she slipped away. Rubbing the top of her head, she stopped his advance with a kick to the chest. When Golrio tried to shift backwards, she shot out a crouching kick at his leg and then spun upwards with a ”Shunpu!” kick across the face.

Golrio was stuck. He found a gap in her offence and slapped at her with palm strikes, and used an Amazon Flame to shove her away. When he went for another one to keep her off, she was already halfway through a jump. Head kick, elbow strike, pendulum swing, ”Shouoken!”

Golrio landed. Sakura felt like this was going very well. She ran up to him and-

“SUPER TURTLE SPIN STRIKE!”

”Haaaaaah!”

While an amateur like Two P heard Golrio shout ‘Super Turtle Spin Strike’ and Sakura scream out might draw the conclusion that Sakura had fallen for it again… a professional fighter or someone who had heard Sakura do battle before would come to an altogether different conclusion.

As Golrio span forward, he would feel the alarming sensation of Sakura’s sneaker shoot touchdown on his spine. He tried to grab the floor the slow down, but his move was so powerful it was hard to stop.

Using him as a platform, Sakura launched into her signature ”Haru Ichiban!”

Normally this move would involved her slamming into her opponents lower half with repeated grounded spin kicks. Instead, she span counter-clockwise to Golrio’s clockwise spin. And since she was on his back, all of her kicks would slam into his head instead. At double the pace.

THWAP THWAP THWAP THWAP THWAP CRACK CRACK!

Sakura’s spin slowly came to a stop like the cooling down rotor of a jet engine, leaving a smoking scorch mark on Golrio’s back from the friction. She stood up on top of him and then stepped off. ”Yeah, that’s a wrap.”

Golrio was face down on the floor unconscious. There’d be no post battle banter this time.

SAKURA WINS!

With a grin, Sakura raised her eyebrows at the frightened Two P.

“I think you killed him!” He called out distantly.

”Nah. He’s tough, he’ll be fine.” Sakura said. She was right, though, Golrio would be taking a well-deserved nap for quite a while.

Sakura let out a relieved exhale, glad to still be in the Winners Side of the bracket. Things would only get tougher from here.

World of Light: the Endless Now (The Ultimate Videogame Crossover)

JURI HAN

Level 7: 36/70
Location: Avenger
Word Count: 2472
Points Gained: 4
New EXP Balance: Level 7: 40/70

---

The Avenger would pick up an unusual object in the Fulton bay. Namingly, one Juri Han, hooked up with limbs and head dangling. Not an unusual state to receive people in given the extreme circumstances of the Fulton recovery process. But what might be unusual was how Juri stayed unconscious. That had unusual implications, given that the Seekers were capable of healing people. Those who spotted her in such a state were free to speculate, though. Her attitude and activities aboard the Avenger had hardly gone unnoticed; in fact, thanks to onboard security footage, her brawl with Pit two days earlier was a matter of common knowledge to whom it was concerned, namely the Lost Numbers’ leaders. After all, with so many irreplaceable souls aboard, figureheads like SJ, Hope, and Vandham had to run a tight ship. Nevertheless, Juri was a Seeker, and due all the medical attention she needed. With some help from Gronk, who made sure to be exceedingly gentle, the Lost Numbers’ healer Eleison moved Juri to the infirmary. There, she received a medkit to deal with the worst of her injuries, follow-up treatment for her concussion, fluids to combat her dehydration, and a combination of oxygen therapy plus blood filtering to assuage her alcohol poisoning.

By the time Juri regained consciousness, though, the more intensive treatments had ended. She awoke to find herself in a clean room full of hospital beds and high-tech equipment, all fairly close together since space was at a premium aboard the Avenger. Soft blue light above and warm yellow light below were enough to thoroughly illuminate the place without being too harsh. Fortunately, she would not awaken with a pounding migraine anyway. In fact, it might come as a surprise just how good she felt, with her body and mind temporarily cleansed of toxins and operating at a relatively normal human level.

For the first time in a while, Juri didn’t wake up with an angry-sounding groan. Her eyes blinked open and she tried to remember where she was and what had happened. When she remembered what happened, the angry groan happened anyway.

There were no other patients in the room, but there was a young man wearing a black outfit with a red, cross-shaped tie beneath a priestly collar and white longcoat. Thin and pale, with slicked-back auburn hair and horn-rimmed glasses, he sat at a desk in one corner with his eyes seemingly shut, though judging by the book in his hands he was probably awake. He’d looked over discreetly when Juri stirred, but then returned his attention to the book, without any apparent interest in initiating a conversation with his patient.

”Where the hell am I?” Juri demanded. Though, even as she did, she recognized the interior design of the Avenger even though she had never been in the infirmary. How’d she get here? Last thing she remembered she was laying down on the streets of Esaka. A Fulton? Must be.

Juri put a hand to her head. There was a bit of a headache, but no hangover. ”Motherfucker…” Juri growled.

“Avenger,” Eleison confirmed brusquely without looking up. “Via Fulton,” he then added, making two redundant answers in a row. Juri’s course language neither seemed to surprise nor disturb him, and if the healer had any questions about the conclusion she’d reached, he kept them to himself. A proper doctor would probably be examining and asking questions by now.

Juri frowned. ”Hey, Father Four-Eyes. Look at me when I talk to you.” She got up and walked over, lifting her foot and setting it on his desk with a thud. She leaned far forward with a sneer.

”Are you a doctor or what? Or just some creep?”

For a brief moment, Eleison glanced at the limb deposited on his desk, his eyebrows raised somewhat. Then he inhaled through his nose, closed the book and set it aside before pivoting to face Juri with a polite smile. “A doctor…pretty much. Though I don’t exactly have a doctorate. Or a medical license, for that matter.” His voice was dry, but soft. From this range, Juri could see bags under his eyes. She could also see the odd crossbow hanging on the wall behind him, within his arm’s reach but not hers.

”I’ve had more qualified doctors in back alleys.” Juri scoffed. She glanced briefly at the crossbow. Certain to say, she wasn’t intimidated by the medieval weapon.

”Just for the record, I didn’t need a damn check up. I’ve slept off way worse. I was just drunk.” Juri said. ”Thanks for ruining my buzz, by the way. Not.”

The young man nodded. “Duly noted.” He gestured toward the doorway. “I won’t keep you then. You’re free to go.” He then clasped his hands as he (presumably) looked up at Juri, as if waiting to see if she had anything else to say.

Juri crossed her arms and blew air upwards through her mouth, lifting her bangs for a moment as she waited to see if he was going to say something. ”...You’re not gonna try to charge me money?” Juri asked. ”I don’t want you thinkin’ I owe you any favors.”

“Nope,” Eleison replied, shaking his head in a nonchalant manner. “Not much of an economy aboard the Avenger. With what money we have, we Lost Numbers trade with the world down there. Up here, we all lift together.” He shrugged. “So no, you owe me nothing. The second you set foot out there…” with a quick nod, he indicated the extremity still occupying his desk. “It’ll be like nothing ever happened.”

She leveraged the foot on the desk to pull herself up onto it entirely, arms still crossed. Standing on the desk and bent over, looking him square in the face.

Apparently satisfied, she leaned backwards and smoothly backflipped off the top of the desk without making much noise. ”...No wonder you’re all so broke.”

”Sky hippies, flying around shooting morons at the ground. How long have you been at this, now? A zillion years?” She set a hand on her hip and extended the other out towards him flippantly.

Eleison watched her flip, mildly impressed, before offering his reply. He seemed somewhat surprised that Juri wanted to know more, and not just take her chance to leave this event behind her. “The Avenger only got off the ground within the last forty years or so. The City is older than that…well over a hundred. But I’m not versed in City matters. Never lived there.” He crossed his arms while answering, then shrugged. “I was eight when the Avenger picked me up. Been here for eleven years myself.” Though he intended to keep things short, Eleison now realized that he’d said more than he meant to, or ought to, given his audience. “Then again, who cares, eh?”

”You’re only nineteen? Sheesh. You look terrible.” Juri said with a frown.

Eleison snorted, then ran a hand over his hair in an effort to smooth it back, despite it being slicked back already. “I’ll bet.”

Then she rolled her eyes. ’”Who cares.’ You, obviously, string bean. God, don’t be such a phony. It’s embarrassing.” Juri said. ”Forty years of this crud. This bird won’t make it to forty-one though. Gonna get blown outta the sky any day now.” Juri said, checking out her fingernails.

”If you were smart, you’d run and hide to, uh…” Juri looked at him. ”The City?” Her heterochromic eyes narrowed. ”What city?”

Eleison paused for a moment, as if considering what he could and couldn’t say. “...A hidden colony for the Lost Numbers. We all get the same choice: run away and hide, like you said, or wander and fight. It’s mostly first-generation Lost Numbers aboard the Avenger, like me. With the memories of our parents burned into our minds…we can’t help it. But as decades pass, friends die off, and you maybe find yourself a family, it all starts feeling a bit futile.” He looked away, making a helpless gesture. “Resisting Moebius, I mean. Many would rather settle down and just…live.” Pursing his lips, he sighed through his nose. “But even if the Avenger does go down tomorrow, we’ll try and help you Seekers today.”

His imperceptibly narrow gaze returned to Juri as his eyebrows raised. “I mean, if anyone ends up needing it. Of course.”

Juri seemed to be listening, though she was looking out the door most of the time. ”...You probably think you’re better than me, huh?” She said.

”Normally that’d piss me off, and I’d grind ya to dust, but…eh.” She shrugged. ”Because yeah: I wonder how many freakin’ clowns you’ve seen come and go in just the last few years. More than you can keep track of, probably.”

”I’m sure there’s an endless supply of bozos that get picked up and dropped off who knows where. Cannon fodder. Meat for the grinder.” Juri grinned. She set her hands on the desk and leaned in. ”And when you get bored, you can retire. Live a full life. Sounds like a pretty sweet deal.”

Juri shut her eyes and smirked, before pushing away from the table. ”But. Not for me, even if I could. I gotta light this candle, quick.” Juri stood and moved to walk out the door. ”Trying to think if I should try and put Pit in a pit first, or what.” She chuckled.

Eleison made no attempt to stop her. Judging from Juri’s behavior, she didn’t seem to exhibit any signs of injury or symptoms of concussion. Neither dizziness, drowsiness, nor confusion affected her posture or speech, both nausea and amnesia seemed absent, she could do basic arithmetic, and clearly acrobatic movements didn’t pain her. If asked to pen a doctor’s note, he’d have written her a clean bill of health. Juri needed no such assurances, though, and the healer wasn’t about to insist.

Meanwhile, the interaction left Eleison feeling worse than before. The exchange could’ve gone a lot worse, considering Juri’s reputation, but nobody liked a reminder about their own mortality. Nobody knew how long they had left, least of all the Seekers like Juri, whose life expectancy had a much harder limit. In the World of Light, life tended to be miserable, cruel, and short, and in a world like that, being a doctor was a thankless task. Eleison reached out for his book, but it only got as far as his lap as he stared down at the floor, resting with one elbow on his desk.

Juri wandered around the ship. She ended up back at where she had been deployed earlier that morning, at the Hellpod dispensary. If no one was around she was going to try and get it working on her own. Unfortunately, all the mechanisms were inoperable, and the control terminal required authorization in order to allow any sort of input. Repeated attempts to bypass the system locks led to the activation of a nearby intercom.

Juri was about to get serious, tapping the side of her temple as her eye lit up green.

“The deployment bay is currently offline,” recited the electronic voice of the airship’s resident AI, Hope. “We are currently above Dihua Marsh, so descent via hellpod would have a projected fatality rate of 88%, anyway. To schedule a deployment detour, please coordinate with Avenger leadership.”

”Haaah?” Juri ‘asked’, confused. How long was she out for? ”The what marsh? Where the hell are we? I’m tryin’ to get back to Esaka.”

”Weren’t those other jokers going to some frozen hellhole? What are ya doin’ over a marsh?” Juri ‘lightly’ kicked at the machinery a few times, though at her strength level it resulted in some resounding thuds.

“It's been over a day since then, and we're currently en route to extract the twins from their investigation in Everdream Valley,” Hope replied matter-of-factly. “The Avenger must stay mobile to avoid detection from Moebius. And to stay aloft.” The AI paused before offering a helpful suggestion. “I can log a request to circle back around to Esaka at the first available opportunity, if you like.”

”Don’t say ‘the twins’ like I’m supposed to know who the hell that is.” Juri set her hands on her hips.

”Ugh. Fine. Whatever. Do that.” Juri waved a dismissive hand in the general direction of the robot voice. ”Can’t believe this crap. I’m gonna blow my brains out.” She complained.

Juri stomped around the Avenger. At this point she had memorized the layout. Bored, she ended up in the training area. It was oddly unfamiliar to her. How long had it been since she actually trained like a martial artist does? Probably since she was a teen. Since then, her only teacher had been experience.

Training rooms had a certain smell to them. All rubber, plastic and metal from bags, mats, and equipment. It brought Juri back. Standing in a corner, she settled into a Tae Kwon Do stance. Like second nature, her black belt Form came back to her. She punched several times, did a feinting hop kick, and settled back into a stance. Back when martial arts were for self-defense, for improving her body and making herself happy. Before she could fly across the room and rip out someone’s throat before they had a chance to say ‘help’. Before she could end someone’s life by just looking at them. (Though that skill had eluded her in this new world of light. She’d tried.) At some point, and Juri couldn’t pinpoint when, she had transitioned from martial artist to monstrous menace. It probably happened to everyone that got good enough.

That all being said: ”This is really boring.” She concluded, dropping her old Form and returning to her usual slouch. ”How do they do this crap for hours on end?” She asked herself, thinking of that cardboard cutout Ryu, or that little bratty dork Sakura, or that stiff pig Chun-Li. How did Jurii do it for hours on end? She used to. Why? Whatever the reason, she had forgotten it a long time ago. Now, on another world, an eon removed from the original Juri Han, her trying to find that reason now was like trying to grab mist. It slipped through her fingers and was gone.

”...Fuck this. I’m getting my buzz back.” Juri kicked over a punching bag with a flink of her ankle and let it fall to the floor with a heavy thud as she stormed out of the room. Time to put her hard earned bloody money back to good use.

World of Light: the Endless Now (The Ultimate Videogame Crossover)

Sakura Level 11: 012/110
Location: Pools!
Word Count: 1257
Points Gained: 2 +10
New EXP Balance--- Level 11: 024/110

—
Blue Suede Go ran a comb through his black hair. The extended pompadour that sprung preciously horizontal from the top of his head swept up at the end. He adjusted the high, oversized collar of his light blue jumpsuit and ensured his sunglasses fit perfectly on his rotund face.

Across from him on the other side of the wooden platform of pools was a young woman Blue Suede Goo would describe as a ‘babe’, or perhaps a ‘hot mama’, even if he didn’t usually go for chicks with short hair. From the way she was looking at him, Blue Suede Goo could tell the feeling was mutual. He would show off and strut his stuff and maybe hit her up later. After he hit her up with his amazing moves, of course. Hoo-yeah!

’I never thought I would fight a fat Elvis made out of clay.’ Sakura thought to herself, scratching the side of her head. She watched as he struck pose after pose, pointing this way and that. It was…kind of like the real Elvis? ”I like your cosplay!” Sakura called out.

“Cosplay? Hoo, mama, you’re lookin’ at the real deal. I’m the genuine article baby, the King of Rock and Roll flown down from outer space to rock your world, mama.” He said, turning and spinning. His whole body jiggled. And not because he was overweight. Like, his fingers jiggled, too. He wasn’t made out of meat. Also, he only had four fingers. “I’m the one and only Blue Suede Goo.” He said.

”Blue Suede…Goo?”

“That’s the name, don’t wear it out. Oooh, mama.” He said, eyes wide beneath his sunglasses.

’Okay. So this guy’s nuts.’ Sakura thought to herself.

“So, what do you say you and I hit up the movie theater after this, baby?” ‘Elvis’ asked.

”Uh, no thank you.” Sakura said. She looked at the clock, wishing the fight would start soon.

“What, you don’t like movies? How about a deal: I win, I get to take you out to the movies.”

”...and if I win?”

“You get to take me out to the movies.”

”That’s the same thing!” Sakura protested.

“No it ain’t, baby. You’d have to pay for the popcorn.” Blue Suede Goo pointed out.
”I don’t have the money for that. Movie popcorn is way too expensive.” Sakura said.

“Guess you better lose, then! The King’s got dough to spare! Hoo yeah!”

”Sorry, I don’t plan on losing.” Sakura said, cracking her knuckles with a smile.

The Heavenly Principles auto-referee spoke out, the time ticking over to their allotted battle.

ROUND ONE! THREE, TWO, ONE…FIGHT!

“Hoo, mama!” Blue Suede Goo struck a pose, raising his hands but pointing his sausage fingers down. “Get ready for the SONG OF DEATH!”

”I thought you wanted to go to the movies!” Sakura’s eyes widened. Unsure of what was coming, she covered her ears and braced herself.

Blue Suede Goo flung out a single floating musical note. It floated slowly towards Sakura. ”O-oh.” Sakura said, a little relieved. It had a little bit of tracking, but she dodged it nonetheless.

“Hope you’re ready for the reprise, baby. Here comes the Song of Death!” He said, and threw out another singular music note that slowly floated towards her.

”I think you’re suffering from special move name inflation.” Sakura said. This time she met the note with her forearm and destroyed it. She charged up a fireball and blasted through the third ‘Song of Death’ and followed after it. He destroyed her fireball with his own second Song of Death and now they were in relatively close range.

“Hey, watch the hair, man!” He said. He leaned forward and his long pompadour came to life, smacking Sakura harshly across the face and tummy in a one two combo. She didn’t expect his hair to do that.

Sakura stepped back and shifted under a swipe, then another.

“Hey, watch the hair, man!” Blue Suede Goo said, swinging out his Hair Blade again.

“Hey, watch the hair, man!” Blue Suede Goo said, swinging out his Hair Blade a third time.

“Hey watch the hair, man!” Blue Suede Goo moved his head about like a broom sweeping dust.
”Okay, I get it!” Sakura said. ”I’m watchin’ the freakin’ hair!” She was starting to get the idea of how this guy won his first pools match. The range on this move was nuts! A real noob stomper. But Sakura was no noob.

“Hey, watch the-” He began again. Sakura stepped back, right out of range, and snatched the thicket part of the pompadour with a fist.

“Hey, watch the hair, mama!” He said, much more alarmed this time as he reeled his hair back in like a fishing hook. Sakura used the momentum against him and came in with a spin kick.

”Shunpu!” She smacked him across the face and watched his skull cave in. It was a little disturbing, but his head reformed in a moment, though Blue Suede Goo definitely didn’t enjoy it.

She beat on him some more, crouching and wrenching her fist into his stomach. It was cold and soft, like he was made out of, well, clay! Still, his eyes bulged.

”Shunpu!” She rose up into another spin kick that knocked him away. She dashed after him. He blocked her elbow and swung his book shoe towards her head, but she ducked and swept his feet out from under him. He bounced back to his feet, only for her to hip toss him hard onto the floor. “Ooof!” He grunted.

He rose up suddenly with a dramatic backflip of hair slices, but Sakura side-stepped it with minimal motion. The wind blew her hair and headband to the side. He gently floated back down into Sakura’s waiting combo.

”Shunpu! Shunpu! Shunpukyaku! Shunpu!” It was a whirling series of kicks and double fisted punches that sent Blue Suede Goo flying. He flattened onto the ground, face down.

KO! SAKURA WINS ROUND ONE!

Sakura stood, and crossed her arms. ”I only fight people who are stronger than myself.” She said, voice serious, like Ryu. She couldn’t keep the tone up, and broke out into a giggle. ”Just kidding!” It was decidedly mocking.

“Hoo, mama. You’re in for the show of a lifetime!” Blue Suede Goo declared, rising to his shiny shoes once again.

ROUND TWO. FIGHT!

“Get ready…for the Song of De-” He was cut off as Sakura lit up with ki energy and arced across the entire arena, slamming both of her fists down onto his head and turning him into a pancake. ”Here I come!” She warned, a bit too late.
She grabbed him by his big collar while he was still on the ground, turned, pitched, and rolled him over herself once, and then twice, doing a full tumble weed circle before flinging him up and away. ”See ya!”He crashed outside the ring with a tremendous splat.

RING OUT! SAKURA WINS!

Sakura kicked back up to her feet and dusted off her hands with a cocky smile. ”Fast, cheap, and quick. That’s Sakura.” She said, looking over her shoulder at her defeated opponent.

When Sakura’s opponents were this weak, they didn’t push each other to the limit, so an actual KO was unlikely. Thus, Blue Suede Goo rose to his feet, dizzy. “Now hold on a minute! Remember our deal! We’re going to the movies!”

”I’ll buy you some popcorn if you want to watch my Winners Bracket run.” Sakura said. Blue Suede Goo didn’t have a good answer for that, so Sakura just waved and skipped out of the arena. She wanted to see if she could catch up with any of her friends.

World of Light: the Endless Now (The Ultimate Videogame Crossover)

Sakura Level 11: 011/110
Location: Esaka- Pools!
Word Count: short
Points Gained:
New EXP Balance--- Level 11: 012/110

—
It was Sakura’s favorite time of the day. Of the month. Of the year! Of the life, really. Fighting time!

A small wooden platform. Empty seats. Just her, the Heavenly Principles, and her opponent. Sakura bounced on her heels, than from foot to foot, keeping herself spry and ready. She shadow boxed the air, fists quick as a whip.

Her opponent took to the stage. A man with a mohawk, his beige skin marked by scars, his tough glare hidden behind tougher shades. He was wearing a big, open orange hoodie over a t-shirt and sneakers. Infact, they had a lot in common, fashion wise! Except Sakura’s jacket was colorful and blue, her white top was cropped, and she had a bandana instead of sunglasses.

But Sakura had heard of this guy. He was a legendary thug in the underworld. Two P. He had over a foot of height on her, and sported a dangerous looking switchblade in his belt.

Sakura was certain she was going to beat the living daylights out of him.

”Pleased to meet you.” Sakura said with a bow.

“Hey, yeah, alright, me too, man.” Two P said. “Don’t think I’m gonna go easy on you, chick.”

”Go all out! I want to know your true strength.” She punched her fist into her palm.

The auto referee, or ‘Heavenly Principles’, spoke out.

ROUND ONE: THREE, TWO, ONE. FIGHT!

Two-P took a boxing stance, shuffling on his feet. Sakura took her karate stance and galloped forward.

Two-P wound up his mighty fist to strike at Sakura. Then, he was curled up into a ball on the ground shielding his head as she rained punches down upon him. “AAAAH HEY CUT IT OUT MAN HEY!” He pleaded.

KO!

Sakura backed up, clapping her hands once together.

SAKURA WINS! PERFECT!

Two P’s stomach still ached from where she slugged him, and after she roundhouse kicked him in the head his ears were ringing. ”It’s best two out of three!” Sakura encouraged.

“Alright! No more mister nice guy!” Two P brushed himself off and got out his knife as he rose to his feet. Its blade shone in the morning daylight.

ROUND TWO: FIGHT!

Two P shook his head and knife around, his eyes bulging behind his glasses. A classic scare tactic. It would scare anyone in their boots. Flipping his knife skillfully between his fingers and then his hands, he sliced it out several times towards Sakura’s face. Then, he curled into a ball and protected his head as Sakura rained punches down upon him. “HEY MAN WHAT THE CUT IT OUT NOT COOL MAN, COME ON!”

KO!

”Yay, I did it!” Sakura celebrated with a little wiggle of her hands. ”Okay, well. Good luck in Losers Bracket!” With that she turned and skipped away.

SAKURA WINS! PERFECT!

Two P sat on the ground and looked at his knife where it had fallen after she twisted his wrist and fingers. His nose was busted from when she elbowed him twice in the face, and his knee hurt from where she swept his leg. The young woman, no older than twenty, with such a friendly face, held nothing back and absolutely disassembled him twice in a row. Two P didn’t feel like he had gotten into a fight as much as he volunteered to get shoved down the stairs.

“Man…where the hell do these people come from?” Two P asked. Only the universe knew the answer to that.

World of Light: the Endless Now (The Ultimate Videogame Crossover)

JURI HAN

Level 7: 24/70
Location: The Mid Tier
Word Count: 7281 (+8 exp)
Points Gained: ? +3
New EXP Balance: Level 7: ?/70
Pit - Level: 8 - Total EXP: 305/80 (-5 friend heart)

---

Along the way to the Mortal Kombat section of the tournaments’ first rounds, a fight had broken out. Rancid, a square-jawed punkish man with a bald head, a green ponytail, an x scar on his forehead and a wicked chainsaw in his hands, was thrown through the glass window of a bar. It was a seedy, obscure place called Downright Fierce. The most notable thing about it was probably the clientele, and the most notable thing about Rancid was probably the fact that he was pumping fresh red blood out of his left arm socket stump.

“You think I need both arms to fight?!” Rancid taunted. A familiar Juri Han set her foot on the frame of the broken window. In her hand was a beer bottle that she finished off with a long swig, before chucking it at Rancid. He batted it out of the air with a back hand. Juri laughed and sprinted at him, ready to pounce. She got a kick to the gut for her trouble, sending her sprawling until she smacked against the building she just left. In her off hand she was wielding, well, the guy's other arm, still bleeding.

”C’mon, you good for nothin’ street trash…” She said, her voice even more drawn out than usual. In fact, it was a bit slurred. ”Gimme my chainsaw back, and I’ll trade ya…yer arm!” She stood up and wiggled it at him. She had a few bruises and cuts on her already as her health ki began to fail her.

“This is my fucking chainsaw, and that’s my fucking arm!” He said. He grabbed the pull cord of the chainsaw between his teeth and yanked, his muscles bulging as he got the deadly machine working again.

“How about this for a trade: you give me my arm back, and I’ll take your head!” With that, he began to charge her, raising his weapon in the air.

”Give it yer best shot, handsome.” Juri leaned forward and beckoned the man forth with one finger, her Feng Shui engine glowing. She was going to counter his next move, disappear in a blur, invisible to the naked eye.

He swung, and she was gone, teleporting behind him…landing face first on the ground, skidding across the street as she completely fumbled her execution.

”That’s my chainsaw. I got it from…uhh…the fuckin’ meat tower…” She mumbled, muffled, into the street as she pushed herself up. Rancid’s other arm lay limp next to her, though it had somehow contorted itself into giving her the middle finger.

Rancid was upon her immediately, kicking her side and launching her into the air. He grabbed her ankle and yanked her back down towards him, slamming his forehead into her nose.

”Gah!” Juri landed flat on her back.

“You’re dead meat!” The punk shouted. Rancid stomped on her torso, raised his chainsaw over his head, and slammed it down on her. She crossed both of her arms, blocking the weapon from cutting her face off. There was a deluge of blue sparks as her ki struggled to keep the chainsaw off her.

”You’re really…pissin’...me off!” Juri strained through grit teeth. At this point the Yokai were gathering, ready to witness some real carnage before the tournament even began. Their ethereal bodies faded in and out along with their words, whispers and overt commentary both surrounding the street brawl. The other patrons of the bar, more or less used to this kind of thing (the dismemberment was a little new) left Esaka's spiritual populace to their entertainment, and the din of their clicking claws, tapping talons, and flapping wings gradually built beneath the angry buzz of the chainsaw.

The sound of feathers and light footfalls quickly growing louder was completely drowned out, so the appearance of a third combatant entering the fray took all those present by surprise - though none more so than Rancid. Suddenly there was a weight on his back and a hand yanking on his weird ponytail hard enough to wrench his head, and by extension his whole upper half, backward.

"What are you doing?! Get off of her!"

Though he kept a stubborn hold on his weapon Rancid staggered back a few steps, giving Juri some space as he twisted around to try and catch the new assailant with a wild swing of the saw. The angel held on just as stubbornly, though.

Juri propped herself up on her elbows as the guy she started a fight with was suddenly accosted from behind by Pit. Pit was hanging onto his ponytail and being swung around. The side made the drunk trouble maker laugh.

”Couple of morons!” She jeered without so much of a hint of gratitude.

Rancid grit his teeth. He stomped on the ground and jerked his upper half forward with a huge headbutt towards the air. If Pit wanted to hold onto his ponytail, he would be flung clear over Rancid from the momentum! The Street Hero would release his chainsaw and grab his second assailant by the leg.

Even from behind his sunglasses, the bemusement on Rancid was obvious as he frowned. ”What the-?! Stay outta this, kid!” He went to fling Pit away and refocus his ire on Juri. Apparently the ponytail grab hadn’t triggered his Galeem aggression.

Unfortunately for Rancid, the angel didn't fly very far when he was thrown. More than used to getting tossed around by now, Pit righted himself with a flap of his wings as soon as the green haired man released him and with another he landed between Rancid and Juri. He hadn't had time to really take in the situation before jumping in, and he still didn't have the full picture now, but there was at least one thing he was sure of.

"No way! She's... my teammate! If you got a problem with her then you've got a problem with me too!" he said.

Maybe it was because he'd been holding onto a different disembodied arm for a while the night before that he didn't have a bigger reaction when he actually realized the guy's arm had been very recently cut off beyond growing a little paler. He didn't retract his statement though, and he let Juri's own comment slide like water off a duck's back. As violent, mean, and at times annoying as she could get, she was his teammate. And right now, she was also technically his responsibility.

"So come on! ...or just accept your loss and go to a hospital or something!" Pit had yet to see anyone successfully talk down someone triggered into fighting, but if there was ever a chance to convince someone they'd lost in order to de-aggro them then it was probably the guy in danger of passing out from blood loss at some point soon.

Pit’s assumption was reasonable, but Rancid’s condition didn’t seem to be getting any worse now that his arm was off. If it even hurt, he wasn’t showing it.

“Yeah? Well, ‘your teammate’ was harassin’ people at the bar, and tried to steal my fucking chainsaw. The only one who should be in the hospital is her, after I’m through!” Rancid declared.

“And she ripped off my arm!” He said, pointing his chainsaw past Pit at Juri.

”What, you mean this?!” Juri asked facetiously, waving it around again. Juri got to her feet and went to stumble past Pit. Had she been drinking since the early morning?

”I’ll give you your arm back. In fact, I’ll shove it so far down your throat you’ll be able to tie yer shoes with it!” Juri said.

"That doesn't even make sense," Pit said, mostly to himself. He held his own arm out to impede Juri from getting by. Glancing back at her, his nose wrinkled from the potent smell of alcohol now that she was this close. He didn't question the harassment accusation because he believed it was true - it was what he'd come to expect from the woman.

But everything else, though? Okay he wasn't sure about the dismemberment but that aside, as far as Pit knew she hadn't shown up at all since he and Sakura had seen her yesterday morning even just to tease the Seekers, and the way she moved, spoke, and smelled suggested she'd been drunk for a while now despite it being so early. Though he still couldn't say he knew her well, it was weird, wasn't it? This wasn't the usual Juri... was something wrong with her?

If something was going on, he wanted to find out. And that meant dealing with this punk first. Normally he wouldn't have any qualms about laying the smack down on a no good trouble maker, but seeing as Juri probably started it, Pit was hesitant to just knock the guy out and hope someone else looked after him. Thankfully there was an easy way to get around both issues.

"Gimmie that!" Pit snatched the arm from Juri, his expression momentarily warping into being grossed out before he turned and chucked the limb at Rancid. "Here, take your arm!"

His other hand had tapped his chest, sending a pink heart flying close behind the arm that sailed into Rancid whether he dropped his saw to catch his missing body part or not. When the brief flash of light came and went, the man was newly healed; completely and wholly, as if he'd never had his arm torn from him at all. "There, now you got both back! Even now?"

Rancid blinked. In both of his hands was his own dismembered arm! “...Woah! Radical! Thanks, dude!” This odd and macabre circumstance seemed to delight him. With that he headed off.

There was a beat where Pit braced for more, in whatever form it may have come in, but it was a pleasant surprise that the guy took the encounter's conclusion in stride. Now that that was settled Pit whirled around to face Juri, his expression a mix of both annoyance and worry - if she could even tell in her current state. "And you! What happened to you?"

”What happened to me?” Juri asked. She poked Pit hard in the forehead. ”What happened to you! While you were getting bombed, I was doing the bombing!” She laughed.

”I killed that ‘M. Bison’ last night. I blew his ass up. Sent his ass back to the great…” She looked up and pushed out her hands. ”...the great recycling center in the sky! Maybe next time he won’t be such an annoying little shit.” She said. Then, she kicked a rock with extreme precision despite her state, sending it flying into the distance.

The confirmation that Juri was actually using the linkpearl if only to listen in would have been nice to hear had the news she followed it up with not washed away pretty much everything else that preceded it. Committing her own assassination attempt on one of the four kings! Or... if her words to be believed, it hadn't been just an attempt at all. Pit didn't even make a comment about everyone being alright, he was too busy with being surprised.

"What? You-? Seriously?" he said, his gaze sliding from Juri up to where she was looking too, though he searched for the towers of Top Tier. Naturally he wasn't able to see it from there. "But I thought...?"

Xilgrev hadn't lied to them, had he? There was no reason for him to. Then again, there wasn't any reason for Juri to be lying right now either, and- and she didn't know what everyone else did about the nature of Esaka's Guardian.

"Are you sure?" Pit asked, snapping his attention back to the street fighter. "Like really sure?"

”Of course I’m sure!” She shouted, turning on Pit. ”I stuck my freakin’ hand into his socket! I was gonna rip his god damn eye out, finally pay him back for mine!” She said. When she said that, she paused, and glared at Pit with a tilt of her head. Her green eye glinted malevolently.

”Want me to demonstrate on you? So you can be super duper extra sure?” Juri asked.

In another situation Pit might have dared to tell her that she was all talk and she wouldn't actually do that to him, but right now it was hard to tell. He didn't shrink away from her, but his own eyes widened when she let slip that her missing one was due to Bison before they narrowed slightly. He took in a deep breath and crossed his arms.

"No, I believe you! ...um, good job. But now we gotta speed things up for the other three kings..."

He wasn't sure how long they had. One day? Two? Or maybe a lot less time? When he trailed off Pit glanced back at the bar's broken window, hoping that with the fight over no one was curious enough to listen in on this particular conversation. He'd get together with everyone and come up with a plan for the Guardians later - it wasn't the most important thing at the moment.

"So then you what? Were... celebrating, or something? Instead of coming to find us?" His nose scrunched up again, making it clear what he thought about that.

Juri stood up straight and set her hands on her hips. ”...Shut up, you little twerp.” Juri said, also making her thoughts pretty clear. She meandered over to the broken window of Downright Fierce and stepped inside. Everyone had pretty much cleared out. If there were many powerful fighters in Esaka, most of them weren’t hanging out getting drunk in bars before the big tournament series. Besides Rancid, no one wanted to challenge her act.

Juri grabbed someone’s half-used glass and started drinking from it. A TV was on, showing the festivities.

"Hey, I'm being serious!" Pit followed after her, taking a moment to look around the darkened interior. "You could've let us know and we would have helped you. Or at least changed our plans, or... I dunno, thrown you a better party after!"

He sounded less annoyed and more unsure as he went on. " 'cause it doesn't really seem like you're that happy about it? ...are you okay?"

Pit's bright blue-green eyes flickered over her, trying to see if the little injuries she sported were just from the tussle with Rancid or if some were from last night. If she'd taken on Bison alone, had she gotten hurt doing it?

She didn’t seem much worse for wear anymore. Even on alcohol her body was a finely tuned fighting machine. ”You chumps would have just gotten in my way.” She said.

”And you don’t actually wanna throw me a freakin’ party.” Her stolen glass empty, she picked up a bottle that had rolled onto the floor with her foot. She brought it all the way up to the counter and set it there for later.

”So quit it with the sunshine act. It’s annoying.” She said. ”I really can’t stand people like you.” She muttered, rubbing her face with both of her hands.

"Just 'cause I don't want to be doom and gloom all the time?" Though he was close by, Pit did not join her at the counter. He stood a couple of feet away while they talked, fidgety and somewhat awkwardly trying to find a place for his hands. There was a lot going on, from trying to keep track of how much time was left before the matches started to still really wrapping his head around Juri's actions.

"Well you're gonna have to get used to it! I'm trying to make sure you're alright! Plus there's a lot of stuff we have to tell you, about Bison and the rest of them and everything else going on!"

”’Cause you act like you’re better than me!” Juri said, baring her teeth at Pit. Then she hiccuped. ”’Ooh, I’m trying to make sure you’re alright!’” Juri mocked in a falsetto voice, pushing up the sides of her face to make her look more cherub-like.

She let her face go and set her hands back on the counter. ”What do you think this is? The meaner I am to you, the better person you are for stickin’ around? Is that it?” Juri said.

She clawed her hands in the air for a moment for slamming them down on the counter with a resounding thud. ”It pisses me off! For real! Goddammit!”

The covert feathers on Pit's wings bristled up slightly. "I told you before that's not what this is about!"

He practically bit his tongue to stop himself from accusing her of projecting. As much as he meant to eventually pay her back for his loss last time, he didn't actually want to antagonize her at the moment, accidentally or otherwise.

"Being mean doesn't stop you from being one of us you know. Look, I get it, you're allergic to people caring about you or something. If you wanna be left alone to do... this-" with both of his arms he gestured broadly to the interior with all its dingy lighting, bar fight scarred furniture, and acrid stenches. "-then fine. But I'm at least gonna do my captain's duties before I let you off the hook!"

Juri set her cheek on her hand, smiling at Pit. ”’Did you? I wasn’t paying attention. Yeah, I’m allergic to annoying wannabes like you and your pity and your superiority. Makes me think next time I kick your ass I won’t let you off the hook.”

She shook her head and popped the lid off another bottle. ”’I’m ‘mean.’ Unbelievable.” She muttered to herself as she raised it to her lips. Juri raised her other hand and waved it around in a ‘go on’ gesture. ”Spit it the hell out, then. If it’ll finally get you to buzz off.”

There's no winning with her, is there? Pit thought to himself with a frown. Juri was really hard to deal with, but the angel hadn't been lying when he said he cared about her well being. It was the same for all of his teammates, both those he was close with and those he wasn't. And, well, he didn't like not winning, so it was unlikely he'd give up on her anytime soon. Still, if his usual attitude frustrated her so much then true to his word he could be Captain Pit for a little while - though he'd definitely never had a Centurion as unruly as her.

Pit sighed, fluffing his wings out with one quick snapping motion before tucking them back in like he was resetting himself. Then he held up a finger.

"You heard us all get attacked last night, so you heard me call for a status report. First, give me yours now," he said. His voice had taken on a more serious tone, but he couldn't completely stop his feelings from bleeding into it.

Juri rolled her eyes. ”’I didn’t hear it, I saw it. I was…y’know, I was high up and saw a place get bombed. Who else could it be but you losers?”

Pit blinked, as that thought hadn't occurred to him at all. "Uh... fair." They did always get into trouble regardless if it was connected to saving the world or not. He shook his head though. "Well then you're hearing it now, so status report first!"

Next a second finger joined the first before he pointed at the TV with the same hand. "Then debrief. Did anything weird happen when you fought Bison? Or when he died? We found out he's one of this area's Guardians, but now that he's gone if we don't hurry up and deal with the other Kings he's just gonna come right back!"

Juri narrowed her eyes at him. ”’What the hell are you talking about? Each zone only has one Guardian. M. Bison wasn’t- he wasn’t that.”

"He is," the captain said. "While you were gone yesterday we all learned that this place has four! The Four Kings! And since they're all connected to each other we have to beat them all together too."

He folded his arms in front of him as the same tournament preamble that was carried by the Heavenly Principles began to play over Esaka's screens. Juri’s purple and green eyes drifted to the TV as the festivities continued. There he was. Dictator. M. Bison. Grin frozen on his face as he spoke, alluding to her assassination. Or, as it turned out, assassination attempt. At first, she thought it was just pre-recorded.

Juri’s expression darkened. A cold draft from the broken window brought a chill into the room. For a long moment, she only stared off into nothingness. Then, a strange look flickered across her face, like she made peace with something. ”Guess I’ll just… go kill him again.” She said, standing up.

The man appearing whole and healthy did not surprise Pit as much as it did Juri, but now that he knew the Kings could come back within hours, not the one or two days Xilgrev had estimated, it reinforced the Seekers' plan to corner each one at the end of the tournament series. Which is why Juri going to try again right now would not work.

"Wait, Juri- this is what I was talking about!" Pit said, flitting over next to her as she stood up. "We gotta work together and get them all at the same time!"

”’There is no ‘we’!” Juri snapped. She took advantage of Pit coming nearer to knee him into the air and then kick him across the room. Even when she was tipsy her fundamental combat prowess shined through.

”’You idiots can’t do anything right!” Juri shouted. ”’I had him! I had him!”

”’What were you doing, sleeping? Going beddy-bye!? I killed him! Now I’m going to kill him again! And I’ll kill the rest, too!” Juri stomped out into the street.

She must have learned by now that the angel was stubborn, almost to a fault. It was only a moment later that he extracted himself from the wooden remains of the bar booth he'd crashed into and followed after her, leaping out of the broken window and skidding to a halt in front of her. There were still splinters in his hair, as well as a look of steely determination on his face.

"All by yourself? When they know we're here after them? I know I'm the last person who should be saying this but use your brain!" Pit snapped back at her. "If you'd told us what you were doing then we could have gone after the others at the same time - it's too late now but we can stick to the original plan! We can take them all down together!"

Juri set a hand on her hip and then fixed a loose strand of her hair. ”’You’re right, change a’ plans. First, I’ll kill you, then the Four Kings. How’s that sound?” She asked.

Unconcerned about the apparent threat on his life, Pit let out a noise of exasperation. "Seriously? You wanna do this right now? The first rounds of the tournament are about to start!"

Juri answered with a sucker kick to the side of Pit’s head. ”’Anyone who gets in my way gets crushed.” She answered. ”’Think you’d have caught on by now.”

He had at least caught on to her violent tendencies, this time not so caught off guard that he couldn't block her attack. He winced when he brought his forearm up to catch the kick, then flung his arm out to push her leg away while he hopped back from her, putting a few feet of distance between them. His expression was tight, unsure on what he should do. There was the tournament to think about, but he couldn't leave Juri to run wild and reckless around Esaka. It would put her, and the rest of the Seekers in danger. Getting through to her seemed impossible though. Then again... she was a martial artist, and when they'd fought before Pit had learned a little more about her.

Plus she seemed intent to fight. That settled it then.

"You said you don't like people thinking they're better than you but you're doing the same thing! You think you're too good to help us, or... or to accept help. Or... I dunno! I don't know why you always want to do everything on your own-" he started saying. Her reasons seemed to be fundamentally different to Pit's own want to do things himself in order to protect others. "-but you can't this time! And if you need me to prove it to you..."

He held his arm out, little golden sparkles forming around it before his Upperdash Arm appeared around his entire limb. He let the weight of its disc drop to the ground with a heavy thud. He gave Juri a toothy, forced smile, completely different from the confident or joyful ones he normally wore.

"...then I'll do it. With time to spare. Never had to discipline anyone in my units before, but I guess there's a first time for everything, huh!"

”’Now you’re speaking my language.” Juri smiled, her eyes dialing in on him.

Pit then lifted the Arm up as the red and black head began to spin. It shot forward at Juri, a hefty high speed disc that was swiftly replaced by another, and then another and another as the projectiles hurtled her way.

Juri lifted her front foot and set her hand on her knee, her laid-back fighting stance. As the discs came towards her, she lowered her torso and began to glow a faint blue. Activating Drive Parry, she swatted each of the discs aside with ease as she got a feel for their speed and timing. After Parrying the third, she released it and zipped to the left, dodging the forth.

”’I am better than you.” She said. ”Morons chasing made up shit. Makes me sick.”

Juri rushed in, flashing green as she blitzed towards Pit at incredible speed, aiming an elbow towards his throat when she got closer. Drive Rush gave all of her attacks extra force, if they were blocked normally she would have the advantage - but Pit was committed to offense for the moment. The Orbitars did not appear to replace his Arm, nor did he lift the weapon between himself and Juri. Instead he swung it behind him, its weight jerking the angel backward just before Juri's blow connected.

The motion was only the first part of his back-dash attack; the disc spun even faster as it was launched into the follow up of an immediate forward thrust aimed at Juri's middle into a heavy uppercut that threatened to toss her into the air. "You're gonna see how wrong you are! You need us 'morons' whether you like it or not!"

Juri’s forward momentum carried her as Pit tried to evade by moving backwards. She met the forward thrust with a knee and then swiped out her other foot across Pit’s face, stuffing the heavy uppercut. She landed three point, then shifted to the side to maintain a close distance to Pit, and to make it so if he backed up he would start backing up towards buildings rather than the empty street.

”Comin’ ‘atcha!” She taunted. Pit met her energy, his head snapping back to focus on her after taking the kick. "C'mon then!"

He also met her advance with another hard swing of the Arm, twisting to fling his limb and the entire weapon at her like a holy bludgeon in a horizontal slice. For being such a heavy weapon it was decently quick, but since Juri's reaction time was just as fast he banked on her ducking it. As the weapon swooshed overhead, she was greeted with a rising kick of Pit's own right to her jaw.

Juri stepped back to avoid further attack and then stepped in, sending out a long ranged kick. Then she converted into a Fuha stock with an upward slicing kick that trailed with black and white energy. This gave her 1 enhanced special move. Juri kept kicking and poking at Pit, trying to force his back towards the wall.

He held his ground well though, having learned last time that if let Juri trap him it would lead to a bad situation. This go around he couldn't afford to lose. Each strike Juri levied at him Pit met with his own more often than not, utilizing his free arm and legs when the Upperdash Arm couldn't cut it - but in the briefest openings when it could, each swing was like a little wrecking ball. Of course in close quarters melee Juri had the upper hand, and as seconds ticked by while they traded blows eventually Pit felt the tips of his wings brush the panels of the neighboring building. He sucked in a breath, feinted like he was going to attempt to escape to one side, and then instead jumped straight up. Another mid-air jump assisted by his wings gave him enough height to get over Juri's head, but rather than regroup he dove at her with the Upperdash Arm whirring dangerously, a miniature meteor that would drive her into the ground - it only it had connected.

Juri reacted to the feint with a quick kick, but it was low-committal enough that she could react in time for his meteor. ”Hay-yah!” Juri shouted, turning into a vertical human sawblade of streaking white and black energy. Her Tensenrin pinwheel kick was a technique immune to aerial attacks. She slipped past the Upperdash Arm with a harsh series of strikes that forced Pit out of the air. This technique hadn’t come up in the cramped corridors of the Avenger, but it was one of Juri’s staples. Pit had managed to escape from being trapped but he would pay a price for it.

”You’re really not cut out for this. Fighting or being a ‘Captain’ or…anything, really. Shame you won’t ever get to grow up and learn from your mistakes!” Juri grinned, and used Drive Rush to close the distance and pounce on where he had landed. This time she would swipe in with a crouching kick, shooting her foot outward to catch Pit’s legs in case he tried to move.

Rather than Pit himself, her foot hit unyielding metal. Maybe he really hadn't learned much until now, since he should have started with his beloved bow this time, just like he should have last time. It wasn't too late now though. Once the dust that had been kicked up from his landing faded Juri could see her anti-air had gotten him good, but also that the Arm was gone and a pair of blue and gold blades were in Pit's hands, the flat of one of them having blocked her kick. And he laughed, though somewhat bitterly.

"You don't know anything about me! About any of us, 'cause you never even tried to learn!" he told her. "You have no idea I've been fighting since way before any of you humans were even born!"

He shifted into his fighting stance, one sword held forward and one reversed. "Hope you're ready, I'm about to show you the real gap between us!" Between one breath and the next he shot towards her with a series of quick and vicious cuts, unwilling to give her any quarter.

Juri backed up, deflecting and dodging strikes with her arms and legs. This was getting her nowhere though, and she wasn’t interested in letting him cut and graze her. She spent ‘two bars’ of Gauge on a Drive Reversal, interrupting her own defensive movements with a spinning, no-damage kick to knock Pit off of her. He staggered but was back in fighting shape just as quick.

”You’ve got nothing to show for it.” She said. ”Dumb kid.” She was at about three and a half out of six Drive Gauge. Basically, a little more than half of her stamina before she entered Burn Out.

She sent several purple slashes of energy towards Pit, and then spent her Fuha stock on an enhanced slicing ki blade that hummed menacingly along the ground towards him. She followed behind it at a casual pace, as it only traveled a little faster than her quick walk.

For once Pit didn't rise anymore to her bait. Each of the projectiles sent his way were dispersed as he clicked the pommels of his swords together and spun them in a whirling cycle, a few of the waves even returned to sender while Juri advanced. He weaved around the latest that snaked towards him and met her halfway, spinning himself into a more powerful inward slash with the bladed bow in its whole form which he followed up with a roundhouse kick.

”Tch, boring.” Juri clicked her tongue as her projectiles were reflected at her. She had methods of countering that, but not right now. She focused into a Drive Parry once again to deflect her own projectiles, and her foot met the blade and kicks with ease. Drive Parry allowed her supreme defense against strikes and projectiles, but left her rooted to the floor and vulnerable to grabs, if Pit could reason that out.

In return, she went to hook her leg behind Pit’s head with a grab of her own. She was going to drag him face first into the floor and stomp on him!

It might have got him too, if both of his hands weren't still free to continue his offense. "Then try this one!"

With a flick his reversed blade joined its twin in a forward grip as Pit stabbed both forward at Juri's stomach before turning them into cutting windmills. His own lose-lose situation made for her - if she released him to get away he would simply press in with the same righteous fury of slashes that made quick work of monsters, but if she committed then his position would let him catch himself before hitting the dirt and counter attack.

For her trouble, Juri caught the two blades to the belly, trying to take her turn back too soon. ”Oof!” She grit her teeth and squeezed one eye shut, looking at Pit for a split second as she was counter hit. The windmills cut into her, sending yellow ki sparks everywhere as she reeled backwards.

Seizing the opening Pit released his grip on one of the blades by flicking it up to slash her as it spiraled into the air, the technique lowering her evasion and improving Pit's own. With his remaining sword he dropped to kneel and slice at her leg with a backhanded swing that put her in danger of completely losing her balance and sending her to the ground.

Juri was slashed up and then knocked off her feet. She landed on her back and rolled onto her feet in a single smooth motion before the angel could take any further advantage. ”Die!” Then she exploded upwards with an invincible Tensenrin kick that would bring them both into the air before she kicked him downwards. If Pit predicted this though, she would be in trouble.

It was hard to say if he had or not, as he was quick enough to shield himself with his arms as her attacks carried them upwards but did not try and evade. Pit gave her a fierce glare from behind his block, seemingly caught in her momentum... but there was still his other sword that he'd thrown up just before this. The blade was coming back down fast, slashing Juri as it fell. As though expecting it Pit snatched the hilt and came out of his block with two vicious cross cuts, his strength increased now that he was airborne, and then aimed to send Juri back down to earth instead with a heavy downward arc with his reversed blade.

There was a red flash of ki instead of yellow as Juri was Punish Countered. Juri grit her teeth and slammed into the ground. ”Guh!” She pulled herself to her feet like a snake or a puppet, her upper half dragging behind as she slunk back to standing. She was breathing heavily, on the verge of Burn Out. Angry, she just stared at Pit, fists clenched. ”...”

He hovered above her, his wings spread out so wide in order to linger in the air that one could count each individual feather. Neither of them were beholden to Galeem's spell, but even so quitting was not on the table for either Seeker. Pit's expression was still rather severe as he stared back at her, his mouth pressed into a thin line. He could tell she was slowing down, but he knew letting his guard down would be a mistake. The smart thing to do would be finish her off from here with his arrows, but he wanted to drive home a point. With his bright eyes still trained on the Spider, Pit's wings sliced through the air and he dove.

"Game over, Juri!"

Pit's blades were in front of him, perfectly poised for both offense and defense. He lashed out while he could still claim his airborne buff, quick, efficient, and merciless.

All at once, Juri crouched and twisted, planting her hand on the ground and throwing out her back foot. It would be like impaling a charging horse with a spear. She timed it just right, to dodge away from his blades and use his own momentum to rattle his ribs and stop him dead in his tracks.

There was a brief flash as a prismatic shield appeared between her kick and her target. Unlike before when he'd completely swapped weapons, the Orbitars were quick-summoned - there just long enough to stop an attack before they were gone again. Since his swords were still in hand Pit swung them once more, not about to let up now. He cut her even while Juri felt the impact of the shield against her foot and tried to draw back into a Drive Parry.

This close he snapped his swords together and reached out with a grab of his own, one hand moving to lock around her bicep and the other to slam the complete bow into her chest to force her back to the ground.

This next Punish Counter audibly knocked the wind out of her as she went into Burn Out. ”Guh!”

Furious that she was slammed to the ground with the bow pinning her, she still had her Super Meter. She spent one level by digging her heel into the ground and swiping it towards Pit with a sudden surge of ki energy. ”Rraaah!”

Though Pit pressed the bladed bow down hard to keep her pinned, he figured she was going to take it lying down. Literally in this case. He rolled off of her to try and avoid the last ditch kick, mitigating the worst of it though he still winced when it clipped him. He was on his feet again in an instant.

Juri pushed herself up to her feet, out of breath. ”By the time I’m through with you…”

Instead of Pit's voice a somewhat familiar whirring sound responded to Juri then, another quick-summon seeing the Upperdash Arm make a reappearance - along with the heavy forward slam that she had prevented previously. Pit rushed forward with it and punched the spinning head to Juri's body. "Hyaaah!"

Juri brought her elbows down and blocked the strike, but due to her Burn Out state she was sent flying. She smacked into a nearby brick wall and was flattened against it, well above the ground. When she peeled off of it she landed on her feet, only for her shoulders to slump and her head to droop. Stunned, she clutched her head and staggered forward. ”Mmgh… You’re…dead meat..!”

A moment later she was pressed back to the building again, her angelic opponent cornering her and slamming a golden blade into the wall. It was sharp and sturdy enough to cut right into the brick where it stuck out inches from her head.

"You lost this time," Pit told her. "Are you gonna listen to me now?"

Dazed, it took a moment for Juri’s eyes to land on Pit’s. When they did, her face twisted into something nasty. She raised one hand and tried to jam it towards the angel's neck. ”Annoying little-!”

Her fingers brushed his throat just before he pulled away. "I guess not."

Pit was back in her face sooner than expected though, slamming his forehead against hers with a headbutt to knock her lights out.

”Ugh-” Juri's head snapped back, and her eyes tipped upwards. ”Damn- I-...unh..” She fell onto her knees, and then past Pit, landing prone with her arms at her sides. As her lids grew heavy, she glared at Pit's sandals like she was trying to set them on fire. But all the vitriol and violence left her expression as her eyes closed. Anything near ‘peaceful’ was an unusual look for Juri's mean face. This was also the closest she had gotten to sleep in about two days.

As it turned out, the aftermath of a street fight was kind of awkward. Pit caught his breath, glancing around the mostly abandoned street (a few yokai had stuck around) while rubbing a hand on his head. Idly he wondered if he could convince Amaterasu to come down here later and fix the damage that had been done to the street. He wasn't sure if he'd succeeded in making Juri see she wouldn't be able to do everything on her own as he couldn't exactly ask her right now and she'd seemed way too angry to think straight, at least up until she’d passed out. He hoped after some time to settle down she'd come to her senses though. Pit himself still had adrenaline running through him but he was sure he would be feeling the ache of fighting her soon. The question was... what did he do now?

I can't wait around for her to wake up, but I can't take her with me... Uh... hm... Obviously he wasn't going to just leave her there either, but he had to come up with something that would make sure she was safe while she slept off the loss.

...which led him to the thought of the current safest place the Seekers had available to them, since it wouldn't be anywhere in Esaka. Carefully he fished a fulton pack out and wrapped it securely around Juri, beyond thankful she didn't wake up halfway through. He carried her away from the eaves of the surrounding buildings and pulled the cord, watching as the balloon inflated gently before rapidly ascending with its cargo.

"Juri Han, eliminated from Mortal Kombat!" Pit said to himself, hands shielding his eyes from the sun while he looked into the sky. The little joke hardly made him feel better. He kept watching for a few seconds even after he couldn't see the fulton anymore, and then shook his head. This was for the best, he couldn't have just let her throw herself at M. Bison and the other Guardians on her own. Hopefully she would come to see that. For now he had to focus on the Seekers' main plan: ascending through the tournament ladders for a proper strike at Esaka's Four Kings.

He started back towards his arena, picking up his pace until he was flat out sprinting. He had no idea how long that had actually taken after all. "...this better not have gotten me disqualified!"

World of Light: the Endless Now (The Ultimate Videogame Crossover)

Sakura Level 11: 011/110
Location: Quick Rise
Word Count: short
Points Gained: 1
New EXP Balance--- Level 11: 012/110

—

When Big Band asked if anyone had mentioned the Seekers of Light, Sakura’s head sunk a bit into her shoulders. Not in a guilty way, more in a ‘I wasn’t even thinking about that’ kind of way. While she couldn’t remember if she had actually said those words, the fact that she couldn’t remember that was bad enough. She’d have to be more careful in the future. Espionage was never her strong suit. ”Uhh, I dunno. I guess I kinda assumed we were being watched at all times.” She admitted.

When the Koopa Kids arrived back, Sakura greeted their news with aplomb and applause that she struggled to maintain as they got more specific. ”Ehh, okay. Okay! No, sure, that’s- that’s something. Definitely. We can use that. Good job, Junior-kun and Rika-chan!” She said.

”I’m actually surprised that even the Flame Clocks were from someone else’s world. What the heck is Galeem’s problem? I still can’t even begin to understand its motivations…”

But that didn’t matter. Pit was dead on the money- today was all about fighting and winning. Sakura punched her fist into her palm, more than ready to get brawling.

When the golden light began to shine, Sakura clenched her fists and hopped up and down, excited. ”Come on, come on! Let’s see how the brackets shake out!” She ran over stood on her tippy toes to get to see the bulletin board with her name on it as fast as possible.

It was Pools! Sakura could be battling against any opponent in the multiverse! It could be anyone! It could be another Seeker! The drama of that! It could be a World Warrior, or it could even be…

”Two P.” Sakura’s excitement dropped like a stone. ”Well. I guess they can’t all be winners.” That guy wasn’t only just from Sakura’s world, he was a total pushover, and overall a little annoying.

”Anyone wanna practice dodging fireballs?” Sakura asked the other Seekers over the din of the crowd. ”Fireball spam is a winning strat if you don’t know how to deal with it! Or it could just keep your skills sharp. I got nothin’ to do for the next hour.” She said with a shrug.

World of Light: the Endless Now (The Ultimate Videogame Crossover)

JURI HAN

Level 7: 24/70
Location: The Upper Tier
Word Count: 1,666
Points Gained: 3 +3
New EXP Balance: Level 7: 30/70

---

”I thought it’d be bigger.” Juri said, holding the small, spherical bomb in her hands.

“The design is compact and highly explosive.” Cyrax responded, voice deep and metallic, his bionic arms crossed. His yellow helm meant his expression was the thin glass line on its featureless plane. “Place them strategically and in great number. They will level a building and render even the most powerful fighter vulnerable, if not destroying them outright. It’s designed for assassination.”

The cyborg turned and pointed. On the outskirts of the city, no one was around to observe them blow up some scrap piles. Juri tossed the bomb. It landed with a thunk and rolled to a stop near a broken car. Then, she accessed it with her Feng Shui Engine and hacking ability, causing it to remotely detonate. The explosive was small but heavy, and when the smoke cleared, the car was practically gone! Juri let out a satisfied whoop.

“More explosives will increase the power of the detonation exponentially.” He said.

Juri started dropping the bombs into her duffel bag. In return, she reached inside and handed Cyrax a sack of gold coins. The cyborg ninja opened it up and quickly counted through them. ”And for the discount, all I gotta do is..?”

“Throw the match against me in the tournament bracket.” He said.

”If you’re so big and your bombs are so bad, why even bother making deals like this?” Juri asked with a grin.

“You have your goals, I have mine. Minimizing risk is key.” He explained.

Juri shrugged. ”Hey, fair enough. Anyone who lets me play with toys like this is alright in my book.” Normally, Juri didn’t like losing. But she hardly cared if it meant she could get a discount on tools like this, for THIS goal in particular. Turning that bastard M. Bison to ash. She’d throw a tournament she didn’t give a damn about. Who cares? After it was done, what would she have left to care about?

—

Esaka was haunted.

That much was obvious.

Yet, while every yokai is a spirit, but not every spirit was a yokai. Some of them were ghosts. And one of these ghosts stalked the rooftops. A dufflebag of powerful explosives at her hip, the moonlight shining right through her like she wasn’t even there. The burning fury in her chest had gone out a long time ago- vengeance had frozen her heart over. She chased death like water sought the path of least resistance. Downwards.

It was only ever downwards. Juri Han had been falling for over a decade and she had yet to hit bottom. She yearned for impact. At least then the world would stop spinning.

The Spider crawled to the heights of Esaka City. The Four Kings, swaddled in arrogance, were obvious to anyone who wanted to seek them out. If there was anyone in the multiverse more narcissistic than M. Bison, Juri had yet to meet them.

One of the four towers belonged to Bison, and it did not take long to find out which. Evidently as the Death Tower, it was identifiable by the giant Shadaloo crests that adorned its sides, each a winged skull with a jagged scar or lightning bolt on its cranium. As the headquarters of Esaka’s biggest and most prestigious tournament, the Death Tower stood taller than the other three, though not by that much. Nevertheless it cast a long, dark shadow, much like the man who ruled it. At the very pinnacle, within a veritable throne room alight with concentrated psycho power, sat the black throne of the megalomaniacal dictator himself. Even now he lounged there, resting in silence, for there was nowhere Bison could sleep easier than his seat of power. During the day he might find himself surrounded by adjutants, cronies, and obsequious lickspittles, but at this hour no servant or security guard disturbed him. What need had he, after all, of protection?

Juri was invisible, but she still had to be careful. Her Stealth cloak was noticeable at close distances. She scaled to the top tier and latched onto the wall of the towers and buildings, leaping from foothold to foothold, handhold to handhold. Every camera that might be watching would miss her entirely.

Much like a spider, the smallest crack was all that was needed for Juri to slip through. The bastards had gotten lazy. Maybe up here at the top of the world, backed up by the god of this world, they thought they were invincible. Juri didn’t care. Maybe she should have thought harder about it, but she didn’t care. Windows were broken, electronic locks were overridden. Inside, it was gaudy and luxurious. Thick carpets, gold-leaf bookshelves, old paintings. Portraits of M Bison. Busts of M Bison. The Spider bared her fangs. Oh, how she loathed him. Where were the guards? There was hardly anyone to kill.

She found him, then, peeking through the keyhole to some kind of smoking room. He was almost unrecognizable without that military getup and skin-pulling grin. But she saw him sitting on his chair in fancy red loungewear, one leg crossed over the other and a book in his hands. The very picture of sophistication. Through one of the windows she saw a balcony. That would be the best place to strike. Leaving the interior through the way she came in, she crawled around the roof and made her way to the balcony. Perching in the nook of one of the supports, she planted Cyrax’s bombs one by one, attaching them to the underside of the entire balcony.

Then she climbed up. It wasn’t effortless, but Juri was fast, strong, and invisible, so she had the time and the ability to make it work. Catching her breath from all the intense activity, she waited on the roof, eyes on the balcony. It had fine furniture, imported chairs and flowers on tables.
Juri wouldn’t have to wait long. In the distance, in the rings below, there was an explosion. Wasn’t that where the Seekers were at? The idiots were probably getting attacked already, as unsubtle as they all were all the time. Stupid as they were, she wasn’t worried about their safety. Both because she wasn’t all that attached and because they had at the very least proven themselves halfway decent in a scrap. Juri grinned, though. M. Bison couldn’t resist the carnage. Hell, maybe he had organized it himself. Either way, he opened the doors to the balcony and set his hands on the parapet.

You’re mine.

Juri remote activated the bombs. The explosion was condensed but extremely powerful. Surprised, Bison was consumed in a fiery dust storm before being flung upwards by the force of it. Juri slammed into him mid-air, driving her feet into his back. The two of them fell several stories, all the way down to the ground of the Highest Tier, before she crushed him into the pavement. The impact sent her tumbling, breathlessly, no longer invisible.

”You’re dead meat!” Juri yelled, scrambling to her feet.

M. Bison wasn’t looking too well. His body was broken in several places, oozing and glowing with misty purple psycho power, like his malevolence could barely contain himself. As he pushed himself from the crater with a groan, he plucked at the sleeve of his tattered loungewear with a frown.

Juri pounced on him, looking him in the face. When he saw her, his eyes, white as the dead surface of the moon above, lit up with recognition. That twisted smile spread across his face. It frustrated her even now, at the moment of the kill.

”At it again, Spider?” He asked with a laugh. Like he had been in this exact situation before. It was almost fond, if M. Bison was capable of such a feat of emotion.

”This time, I’m taking your eye!” She said, raised her hand, and then drove it fingers first towards his socket. He caught her hand with his own, smiling up at her.

”Spoiled little brat, pawing at my door. Even now, you are nothing to me.” He said.

Juri shut him up with a brutal knee to the chest, forcing her claw closer to his white eyes as his strength waned.

”You’re gonna scream for me!” She demanded.

M. Bison’s grin threatened to split his head in half. ”This is what REAL POWER looks like!” He yelled, giddy, and his wounds began to glow.

The ground began to shake, and pebbles and debris raised from the earth. The light coming from within was almost blinding. M. Bison began to laugh as he lifted from the floor. Juri struck him once, twice, three times, chopping into him, hanging on as he ascended. She forced her fingers beneath his eye and his skull cracked like ancient glass.

Still, in that last moment, he looked at her. ”I’ll only grant you a delicious glimpse of this neverending nightmare.”

”Would you just shut up already-?!” Juri’s question was answered as the evil lord’s body detonated from within, as she forced her hand deeper into his skull. The tremendous explosion sent her flying backwards as she crossed her arms in front of her. When she slammed into the wall behind her, she went limp for a moment and nearly didn’t catch herself before she hit the floor.

Juri glanced around. Nothing left of him but a smoking crater and the distant alarm.

”Oh, oh, a neverending nightmare, is that it?! Looks like you’re dust to me, idiot!” Juri shouted. She began to cackle. ”Not so goddamn impressive now, are you? What? What was that?! Speak up!” She kicked at the pebbles.

Juri stood still and heaved her breath, fists clenched, staring at the spot where M. Bison had been.

”You think I give a shit what you say? Who's still standing? Who’s left?” She asked. ”Me.” She answered.

”It’s me!” Juri repeated, her voice echoing.

To fill the silence, she laughed again. ”You’re so- you're so boring like this! I’m gonna go find someone else to kill. See ya, loser.” With that, she shifted back into the shadows, her form melting away into the darkness.

World of Light: the Endless Now (The Ultimate Videogame Crossover)

Divine Mission aftermath

Ft. Sakura and Amateratsu
Words: 3825 (+4) (+4 rapport)

Amaterasu had been expecting a little pool up in the hills or something along those lines when it came to the hotsprings they’d been directed too. In hindsight, however, the mayor had meant it when he’d told them ‘you can’t miss it’

(click for music)

Now, naturally, they had missed it when coming to the town, but that was because it was a little ways further on, nestled into the bamboo forests out of which the turtles had emerged.

Speaking of said turtles, once they’d gotten out of the village, Amaterasu had revealed she’d been steadily gobbling up every one she bumped into during the fight, and had promptly disgorged them from her inventory for usage.

items get

Terrarian Turtle Shell(X3): A hardy material useful for crafting high end armour, such as the Turtle armour set (if combined with Chlorophyte Bars forged from jungle ore).
Seaweed: a pretty normal looking piece of seaweed that interestingly never decays or goes off. It can be used to gain the Pet Turtle buff, causing a small tortoise to follow the summoner around and look cute while doing so. If the buffed target gets too far from the tortoise, it will deploy a propeller backpack to fly to their side at speed. The tortoise is immune from harm, but can also only be interacted with to do pet things (like feeding and petting). Also his name is Tank.
Pickled Turtle Neck x3: Turtle neck meat, pickled in a bitter medicinal solution. The nutrients churn through the body, practically boiling out endless power, granting 22.2% increased stamina recovery for a whole minute.
Strips of White Flesh x10: Thin strips of flesh taken from a bloodless creature. The dried meat is known for its long-lasting effect when used in combination with medical solutions, such as toughening the constitution or boosting resistance. However it can also simply be used in mundane cooking.
Turtle Shell Shield: an ineffectual melee weapon, decent shield, handy rain catcher and unlikely sled.

Sakura blinked. ”I didn’t know you stored things like that, Amaterasu-sama.”

The wolf looked pretty smug as she restored their loot.

With that out of the way, it was time to relax, and so into the hot spring establishment they went.

Within, they found a high-spirited were-animal man who as soon as he saw the Sakura exclaimed sympathetically how “Oh wow, you look like you’ve been through it today” before glancing down at Amaterasu and adding “oh and your doggie too. Hello” before giving her a wave.

The wolf gave him a flat unimpressed look, which apparently the were-animal was able to read pretty well, apologizing “Oh. Sorry. Serious dog. Forget I said anything.”

She accepted said apology with good graces, namely by dropping the look of disdain that had been building on her features, prompting him to give a little sigh of relief. Then he went “oh right!” and stood up straight to actually do his job.

“Welcome, welcome to the Blue Moon bathhouse! I’m Murakumo, and I’m here tol do everything in my power to make you happy!” he declared jovial, hands spread wide, before a cough resounded from one the doors in the room, causing him to duck his ears in a bit of embarrassment as he added “for a reasonable fee of course”

The source of the cough, one rather stern looking woman gave him a nod, after which her features softened a bit as she saw the ruffed up state of the pair.

“Trouble on the road? It's a long way to walk from Esaka while ruffed up” she asked, only for the man to lean over the counter and excitedly guess “oh, or did you just finish helping out the villagers? I can smell the fields on you and, hmmm, is that hint of tortoise meat as well?” which the divine wolf found rather impressive.

Sakura, on the other hand, found it a little weird and embarrassing. She lifted one side of her jacket and put her nose to it. All she could smell was, like, the sun. She put her hands behind her back and bowed a bit. ”Um, yes, we did. There were some giant monster tortoises that we had to destroy.” She explained.

”Is there, like, uh, laundry here, too?” She asked. ”It’s my clothes that fell in the dirt, mostly.” She said.

“Of course of course, and for the hero of Flowerbud Village-” Murakumo began to say, before pausing and glancing over to the stern women. She in turn sighed, and said “this one time I suppose” allowing the were-animal to finish his special offer, namely that it was “-it’s on the house!”

Sakura let out a little sigh of relief. To be honest, she had kind of assumed that was a given, but felt it was too late to back out now if they decided to charge them. And by them, it was really Sakura, because she had no idea how much money a wolf kept on her!

He then promptly rushed off to fetch her a gown to change into, leaving the woman to step into place to crew the desk, and to introduce herself as “Shino”

She then promptly slid a menu of prices over, while also pointing out a recommendation "While you wait for your clothes to be laundered, I’d recommend a half hour dip in the spring, followed by this massage for fighters like yourself. Keep the muscles limber without leaving them too soft that you can’t go right back at it tomorrow, be it in a tournament or not”

She then glanced down at Amaterasu for a moment and then said to Sakura “Murakumo also does an excellent fur treatment regime, if your… companion is interested" which the divine wolf indicated she was with a monotone bark.

”Um, she is, Shino-san. Her name is Amaterasu-sama, by the way.” Sakura said. She tapped her two fingers together, having really never done anything like this before. Standing around, awkward.

”Have you done anything like this before?” She asked the wolf in a hushed tone, even though Shino was looking right at them.

The divine wolf barked again, but was unfortunately unable to talk about her time helping out at/enjoying the Sasa Sanctuary, a hotspring for the pure of heart run by the Sparrow Clan (who were giant sparrows).

Shino visibility winced at the notion, and then, with a slightly sympathetic tone saying “Speaking from experience, a massage kind of treatment is excellent for fighters” pausing for a moment, and the offering “and as a special offer for your first experience, and for your hard work in the Flowerbud Village, I’ll let you try it out for free, and if you don’t like it, there's no loss on your part”

This prompted a gasp from Murakumo who’d just re-entered the room, followed by an “ah, oh no, wait, got it!” as he juggled with and then caught a fluffy white bathrobe he’d brought for her to wear while her clothes were washed.

Once he had recovered, she gave him a glare that said “not a word”, before turning back to Sakura and asking “so, how about it?”

Endeared, the street fighter smiled. Then shrugged. ”What’s the worst that could happen?” She took a hold of the white robe. Caught off guard by its fluffyness, she put her face into it and shook her head around.

”These are pretty soft.” She complimented, voice muffled. ”Amaterasu-sama, do you want- well. I guess they don’t make one for wolves. Would you even be able to feel fluffy? You’re kind of fluffy yourself.” Sakura then pinched her own cheek.

(truly, there was no robe that could beat her fluffyness, it was true)

”I’m not fluffy. I’m…what, smooth? Hairy? Squishy?” Blinking, Sakura looked around. ”Uh. Anyway. Where can I change?”

“Right this way!” Murakumo told her, waving her to follow him through the door he’d been in and out of, before leading them through to the back. Back there there were changing rooms, a hamper for Sakura’s dirty clothes, and showers with which to rinse themselves before they got into the hotspring proper.

”Be very careful with that headband, please!” Sakura urged them after she managed to reluctantly take it off.

Said spring meanwhile could be found just beyond the changing rooms, and up a short flight of stairs.

“Oh and don’t mind Ukee, he’s very friendly!” came a call as the two got ready, once again raising the question of who that was.

As it turned out, Ukee was a very small monkey who was presently chilling on the central rock, to which an appropriately sized ship with small -cannons was moored. He seemed sort of nervous at the sight of the big (freshly rinsed) divine wolf strutting on in to his domain, but Amaterasu would not let that stand, and made herself as unintimidating as possible on approach, before casually slipping into the warm waters.

She carefully approached, and then offered Ukee one of the more intact leaves off of a cabbage that had ended up in her inventory via midair collision during the tortoise fight, which the monkey happily accepted and began to munch on.

Tribute to the master of the hot springs given, the wolf settled in to enjoy them.

”Oooh! Ukee!” Sakura’s eyes lit up with recognition. ”Of course!” Sakura lowered herself into the water, and her train of thought was briefly derailed. She sunk so low it was just her eyes and her hair visible. Eventually she rose up a little more to breathe again.

”Maaaah, that’s pretty nice, huh?” She said. ”It’s like a hot bath but…well, okay, it’s a lot like a hot bath. But I didn’t have to do it myself. So that’s nice.” She cupped some water in her hands and splashed it over herself.

”And most, importantly, it was completely free!” Sakura raised a hand to high five the wolf. ”Banzai!”

The wolf, presently neck deep in the water, looked up at this, then down at Sakura, then up at the hand before raising a paw and giving her a rather wet high four.

Settling back into her spot with a grin, she glanced at the monkey. ”Ukee, what are you doing here? Does Terry-san know you’re here?” She said. ”He must. This is a good place for a monkey.”

”I’m pretty sure that’s Terry-san’s monkey, Amaterasu-sama.” She pointed a thumb at the monkey, looking at the wolf, who tilted her head and then glanced up at Ukee before tilting it the other way.

”I always meant to ask him what it’s like to have a pet monkey. I’ve only ever had a pet dog. He’s a good dog, though. He likes to sleep. So when we went out on walks my brother always said the dog was walking me.” She explained with a smile. With Amatarasu’s tail buried in the hot water it was hard to tell if she was amused or not.

After a conversation that mostly involved her speaking and, if she was lucky, the occasional bark or monkey noise, Sakura shut up for a while. ”...Man, I wish I could talk to animals.”

The wolf opened one eye, propped her head onto the side of the bath and settled into a half doze. A moment passed, and then four streams of water leapt out of the bath in turn, each one forming one word of joint up calligraphy that hung there for about 2 seconds, with which the divine wolf wrote: “It rather inconvenient yes” in the air.

Sakura made an unimpressed face and glanced over at the divine wolf. ”Like you’d be so talkative.”

The wolf simply rolled her eye and wrote the word “relax” in the air before closing her eye again.

Sakura lowered herself into the water once more. ”That, I can do.”

Soon, the clothes were laundered and it was time for a message. ”I feel like the techniques for a wolf message gotta be different for the techniques of a human message. Do you have wolf massagers here, Shino-san? ” Sakura asked.
“Groomings are somewhat like a massage, so in a sense, yes” Shino replied as she got everything ready.

Places like this had always been too rich for the Kasugano family’s blood. Being ‘waited on’ was an unusual luxury that didn’t fit her personality. ”I, uh, guess I’m ready if you are.” She said.

“Given how you've never had one of these before, it may hurt just a little at times. But if it's too much, please, just let me know and we can stop" the woman informed her, before cracking her knuckles and declaring “now then, let’s get to work”

Sakura blinked.

About half an hour later, Amatatsu, her coat luxurious in its sheen, perfectly brushed, and smelling of peach blossoms, padded out of the room with her snout high and proud and her tail softly wagging behind her. She paused beyond the threshold before glancing back to check back on Sakura.

The street fighter had changed back into her eye catching street wear, and walked out of the room more than a little sore. ”I feel all droopy, Amaterasu-sama.”

”Still, by tomorrow morning, I should be ready to go. But you look like you should be trotting around a palace, not getting into scraps.” Sakura smiled.

“You’ll both also be performing before an audience" Shino pointed out from the front desk she’d taken over while Murakumo tidied up the back. With her was a familiar looking gentleman, namely the mayor of Flowerbud Village, who gave them a cheerful wave and he “hellloooo”

Sakura waved back.

“The mayor was just telling me all about your escapades” Shino informed them, before saying that “I can only imagine you’ll go far tomorrow"

”I’ll do my best.” Sakura said.

On an anachronistic laptop sitting on the counter, the pair could see the brackets of the tournament tomorrow displayed. It seemed the locals had taken interest in what they’d be up to tomorrow.

The Mayor confirmed this when he said “Oh yes! Quite the pair! We’ll be keeping an ear on the radio for your performance, that is for certain”

“For tonight however, we still owe you a hero’s feast! Not to mention that care package for those friends of yours” he then said, before glancing at Shino and saying “you’re more than welcome to join us for the feast mam, we do owe you both a fair few freebies. It's the least we can do”

“I couldnt… but do take Murakumo with you, I can cover any evening visitors we have” she replied, to which he gave a nod, and then tuned back to the pair of seekers to which he said “Now then, I hope you two are hungry, because we’ve pulled out all the stops!” which had Amaterasu eagerly wagging her tail.

Sakura was touched that she and Amaterasu made some new fans. ”We sure are! Thank you so much for your hospitality. Flowerbud Village really is an amazing place.” Sakura grinned sheepishly as she bowed, her cheeks a light shade of rosy red.

“Why thank you kindly” the mayor replied, briefly removing his hat and giving a little bow of thanks, before popping it right back on and saying “now then, lets see if we can live up to your high praise shall we!”

The villagers provided the raw ingredients to make food, packed up in a wooden crate. Lots of lettuce, cabbage, and other vegetable products. The basis of lots of great meals, combined together with the right spices and ingredients. Hopefully it would do.

”Hey, watch this!” Sakura called out to the villagers. Reaching into her backpack, she pulled out the Fulton and secured it to the crate. With a button press she scampered away. The balloon popped out, and slowly lifted the crate off the ground. Just long enough that Sakura hoped she did it right. Then, at astounding speed, it zipped away! ”Nice! Pretty cool, right? That’ll go a long way, I hope.”

A little while later, and the duo were sat down pride of place at an improvised feast hall, which had definitely been a barn at some point, but which was now sporting a long table made out of smaller tables grouped together. Villagers tottered in from their homes over the next few, bringing a cavalcade of different dishes of freshly harvested food onto the table that they’d prepared at home, producing an overwhelming aroma of deliciousness. They really had pulled out all the stops, but then, the villagers themselves had been living off of rations since the tortoises took their fields, and so the oversized potluck was as much for them as it was for the heroes of the hour.

Still, that didn’t mean that the pair weren't the stars of the show, which meant that the mayor had to shoo off a whole lot of wellwishers with promises that there’d be time for that after they’d all gotten to eat.

Once they were all set up and ready to go, the man declared that they should give “three cheers for the heroes of the day!” to which the town responded with a “hip hip hooray hooray hooray!”

Sat upon a raised bench so she could eat at the table Amaterasu happily basked in this praise, while beside her Sakura sank a bit into her seat, waving to the adoring populace with a smile.

The subsequent call of “now then! Let’s eat and be merry!” got its own way less organized cheer too, before the hungry villagers got stuck into their meals with great gusto.

Jubilant, Sakura smacked her hands together. This was something she could get behind! ”Itadakimaaaasu!” She exclaimed, before joining the villagers in tearing through her meal.

”Mmh! Mm, mm! The farms must be protected! At all costs!” She declared not long after starting.

On this, Amatarasu happily barked in agreement, eagerly chowing down, but not so quickly as to risk messing up her fur-do.

Between the trip out, the duking it out, and then hotspring and feast, things started running late. Especially the feast, because the farmers were more than happy to keep that going as long as they could, especially once they were past the initial rush and conversation could start. Sakura got plenty of questions about her travels, prowess, and so on, and got challenged to at least one arm wrestling contest to boot (though fortunately no actual fights). As time went on, a crowd of strangers became a group of friends. Sakura wasn’t shy anymore.

Indeed, by the time they were all longing around stuffed to the brim, the sun was down and the moon was up. Thus, while between the carpackage of food that had been sent to the avenger before the feast and the feast itself, the pair had technically received their payment (and more) they were also offered a guest room to stay overnight in, plus breakfast and a lift to town early in the morning with the village’s first delivery to market.

”It really is too much…” But Sakura considered walking back to Esaka at night, and also the fact that because they didn’t have any money, they still technically didn’t have a place to stay! Unless they borrowed some of Nadia’s money but Sakura wasn’t really paying attention at the time.

”And yet, I can’t turn down such a generous offer!” She admitted with a laugh, rubbing the back of her head.

Amaterasu was also more than happy to accept their generosity given that she too was flat broke. Of course, so too were the farmers, more or less, hence the whole arrangement. Really the only person in the village at the moment with liquid capital was Murakumo and that was only because the villagers kept refusing his attempts to give them his money to help them out.

Soon enough, then, the pair had been shuffled into a spare guest room where Sakura got the bed and Amaterasu a lovely nest of pillows and blankets.

Sakura flopped onto her bed. What a day! She’d been dropped from the Avenger, battle Yokai in the outskirts, gotten into a 2v2 and then a 1v1, and then smashed some monster turtles and spent the rest of the day relaxing and eating. There was a lot of fighting to do tomorrow, and Sakura was giddy just looking forward to it all.

Laying in bed, she tapped her ear piece. ”Uh, Sakura coming in. Amaterasu-sama and I are spending the night in Flowerbud Village! We’ll be in when the morning comes. We also used the Fulton balloons on some veggies to send up to the Avenger. Anyway, goodnight, I guess! Sakura out.” She said. Then she lay on the bed and stare up at the ceiling.

”That was a lot of fun, huh?” She said.

Sakura rubbed her eyes and kicked off her shoes. ”One good thing about being a Seeker is I don’t have to study anymore, so I can finally get to sleep on time instead of squeezing in all my training at night. Or…skipping. Haha.”

”...Well, goodnight, Amaterasu-san.” She said. Without thinking much of it, she stopped addressing the divine wolf so formally after the day they shared together.

The wolf responded by writing “pleasant dreams sakura-san” using the fire of the little candle lighting the room, before blowing it out with a tiny gust of wind.

World of Light: the Endless Now (The Ultimate Videogame Crossover)

Divine Mission pt2

Ft. Sakura and Amateratsu
Words: 2710 (+3)

“There, that’s them! Those cabbage munching monsters wandered out of the jungle just a few days ago, and we haven't been able to do anything about it!”

So said one Mayor Theador as he showed them the problem that the pair of the seekers were here to take a look at. He did so while only poking his head around the corner of the house closest to the infested field, wanting to not go a step closer to the pest problem. Neither did the various farmers, which ment that not only where the crops being devoured, but even what wasn’t wasn’t going to be harvested any time soon either.

As for the cause of the problem, it seems, from a distance, to be a large number of giant tortoises that were slowly plodding around the farm’s fields, munching away on the produce at a slow but steady rate.

”Tortoises?” Sakura said, scratching her head. She had pictured something more monster-like. ”They are pretty big.”

Amateratsu, for her part, took one look at this, one look back at the townsfolk, and then rolled her eyes before brazenly walking into the fields and approaching the nearest of the tortoises. Sakura set her fists against her hips and waited, assuming Amaterasu had some kind of plan.

The cabbage munching reptile turned its head, slowly, to look at the divine wolf as she stopped and stood authoritatively before it, simply assuming that the beast like all others would be able to see her for what she truly was, before barking at it to try and get it to scram.

Her ears drooped when, rather than do so it retracted into its shell instead, only for her ears to spike back up in alarm when said shell began to rapidly spin, and then came flying straight at her.

The divine wolf was smashed backwards, having been taken entirely off guard in her arrogance, and though a stack of godhood took the blow, she could feel how absurdly powerful it had been.

Unslowed by the impact the tortoise flew past where she’d landed, then slowed suddenly in mid air as it came out of its shell and dropped to the ground, landing neatly on its feet as it did so.

”Amaterasu-sama?!” Sakura exclaimed, alarmed at the raw power the shelled behemoth possessed. She began to run over.

Ameteratsu rolled on the ground and flipped onto her paws once more, whirling to face the beast that had knocked her down, only for her to stop suddenly, fur bristling with fear, Behind her, the others saw what she had heard: shell after shell thumping into the ground as the other tortoises reacted to her still standing by coming to their fellows aid.

In only a few heartbeats, the air was filled with armored wrecking balls.

”Ieeeh! Amaterasu-sama!!!” Sakura screamed. ”Tortoises! Tortoises!” Sakura used Tag Out, gaining a burst of speed and giving the divine wolf a speed boost and some health recovery, as long as she evaded instead of attacking. Sakura switched places with the divine wolf and warded off an encroaching turtle with a knockback kick that sent it spiralling off course, where it landed neatly in the cabbage field.

Another turtle hurtled itself towards her, and the street fighter blocked it, though her arms flung off to the side as her guard ki broke. Alarmed, she was smashed into by the next tortoise and landed ass over tea kettle. ”Bwah!” Upside down, she flipped and scrambled back to her feet.

”Hey, what’s going on?! What do we do?!” Sakura said.

“Get rid of them please!” the hiding mayor called out from behind a building. ”I got that much!” She shouted back.

Amaterasu got it as well, and provided her opinion on what they should do by hurling herself back into the fray. Unseen to all, her sun disk rose up and blocked an incoming tortoise that had been coming in as Sakura righted herself, repaying the favor of her Tag Out.

That tortoise was launched upwards by the parry, and the wolf jumped after it, grabbed it by the throat, and then slammed it back down into the ground with force. Then she paused time, and drew a slash across the incoming volley of tortoises, knocking them out of the air, giving her time to charge a mighty sword blow which she cleaved into the one she’d throat slammed, wounding it greatly.

Sakura widened her stance, trying to get this chaos under control with the space and time Amaterasu bought her. She ran forward to one of the tortoises that had gotten knocked out of the air and slid towards it, swiping it across the face with a spin kick. Then she delivered an acrobatic chinbuster kick to pop it up vertically. Then, she just went to slam into it and rush it down onto its back, impaling its own spikes into the soft earth to wedge it there permanently. Or at least so she thought, as another shelled beast hurtled itself towards her. She put the flipped turtle between her and it, and the resulting collision sent her tumbling and the trapped turtle flipped onto its back. After catching herself, she punched the dirt, her attempt foiled. ”There’s just too many of them!”” She complained.

Another turtle zoomed towards the young street fighter. Sakura jumped right over it, and the one after that. Eventually, she got the timing down, and used Mental Connection to zip onto a turtle right as it went underneath her. An invisible psychic string connected to the limited thoughts of the beast, letting her anchor herself to it. She grabbed its ridged shell as stability, and was now belly-to-back prone on the shell, her feet flinging out behind her as it spun.

”Step one, done! Step two…working on it!” Sakura exclaimed.

So was Amaterasu, but keeping out of the way of the turtle volleys was taking most of her focus, making actually attacking them a nightmare. She paused time again to try and get a moment to think, and try and figure a way out of this.

She scanned around for a line she could draw through a set of tortoises, found only a meager grouping due to how chaotic things were and then, in a moment of inspiration, drew a second line.

Rather than slashing the beasts, there was a single second where the field was smothered in a thin mist. In that misty moment, from the perspective of Sakura and the Tortoises, Amaterasu moved unnaturally quickly and a dozen turtles were struck out of the air. From her perspective, meanwhile, the world around her slowed for four seconds, giving her ample time to flick her devout beads out over and over, each blow of the long chain lashing out at a different tortoise.

Amaterasu level up

Power: Veil of Mist: Amaterasu draws two horizontal lines which cause a veil of mist to briefly sweep across the area. From her perspective, this effect lasts 4 seconds. For everyone else’s, it lasts 1, during which the divine wolf moves 4 times as fast.

They hit the ground all at once, peeking out of their shells in confusion, and then a half of those dozen suddenly had a massive cherry bomb sitting in their midst, while Amaterasu barked to try and bring Sakura’s attention to the explosive’s slow burning wick.

”Amazing!” Sakura exclaimed. When she was alerted to the big bomb, her eyes widened. ”Oops!” She rolled backwards towards the back of the shell and pushed herself off it with a leap, sending the monster towards the bomb and propelling herself away from it with one action.

Before the turtle could get away, Sakura fired off an EX-Hadoken, launching a blazing electric fireball towards the bomb to set off the explosion now that she was far away. ”Eat this!”

Tortoise were blasted into the sky (as was a fair amount of dirt and veg) before slamming down here, there and everywhere, and in at least a few cases turning to ash as they perished from the combo move. There were still plenty left, of course, but it was the start of the turning of the tide.

Amaterasu rushed to capitalize on the carnage, rushing towards a fallen tortoise, leaping up, and then bringing her oversized sword down on top of its cracked shell, crashing through it and finding flesh beneath. Then she launched a barrage of beads into another, before having to go back on the defensive as the survivors took to the air again, and the shell-storm ramped back up in intensity, though not quite reaching its initial intensity.

”Do you think we could have tortoise soup after this?” Sakura asked over the sound of mayhem.

As the tortoises approached, Sakura decided to try something different. She jumped over them like normal, feeling more comfortable than she did out in the chaos than she did when it all started. She channeled her ki energy into a Focus, grounding herself. As the tortoises whipped back towards her, she lashed out with Mental Connection, connected to the nearest turtle, and pulled it off course, slamming it into another tortoise and into the ground. Hand out stretched, she did this twice more, using the turtles own power against them as she slammed them into each other and the dirt itself.

”Got anything else to hit ‘em with?” Sakura asked Amaterasu. These monsters had demonstrated enough brutishness and lack of any instinctual self-preservation that Sakura had thought of them as just that- monsters!

The wolf didn’t have anything to hit them with hard, but she did come up with one more trick, which was to whip up a gust of wind that knocked the current volley of tortoises off course such that they sailed past the fighters rather than into them. Mainly however what she did was try and use the reach of her divine beads to tag tortoises to knock them out of the air, close in, and then deliver a sun disk smash to their scally faces for their trouble.

It was slow, methodical, but between them they wore the herd of cabbage munching pests down, each death making things just a little easier. Which was good because the fight was a chaotic mess that worked up one hell of a sweat and a fair share of mental strain on top.

”I’m glad the koopas aren’t here for this.” Sakura said. She looked into the eyes of a giant tortoise and found nothing but the flat, low-resolution desire to munch on cabbage and bowl into anything that moves. It was almost creepy! It wound up to smash into her again, only to hit nothing but air. Sakura scattered them against each other and sent them packing with kiblasts.

”Phew…that was intense. What the heck was their problem?!” Sakura asked. She looked around at the semi-ruined cabbage field. ”Uhh…hmm…” She tapped on her chin, worried.

Right on que, the Mayor finished slowly peeking his head around the corner (his top hat having been in view a full 5 seconds before his face was) and asking “is it over?” before wincing at the sight of the cabbage field with the worried street fighter and panting wolf sitting in it, cloths and fur streaked with dirt and ash.

Still, as he glanced around a bit more, and saw not a tortoise in sight, that wince shifted to a little O of amazement and then a smile as he stepped out and, with a clap of his hands, declared them to be “Spectacular!”

The farmers took this as que to also peek out around the corner. Though one looked absolutely miffed that his cabbage patch had been ruined, the rest burst into a cheer, and then rushed forwards to congratulate the duo. This prompted a dismayed cry of “My cabbages!” from the plot owner as any survivors ran the risk of being trampled.

A bead of sweat, and not one from physical exertion ran down Sakura’s face. She smiled. Big crowds again. At least they weren’t angry this time. ”Oh, haha, it was no problem.” She said as she shook one hand, then another, and another. ”No problem, no problem…no comment, no comment!” It was all starting to get to be a bit much. Maybe Sakura could find an excuse to book it?!

The mayor managed to wade into this gaggle of merry folk while shouting “now now, there’ll be plenty of time for that later! For now, please, we need to salvage as much of the crop that these two- I mean those nasty pests ruined! We have a feast to prepare after all!” and promptly shooing the farmers away.

Once they had some air to breathe, the mayor took off his hat, held it to his chest, and gave a short bow while giving thanks of his own “truly, we are in your debt.”

Amatatsu tried to look as impassive as possible, as if it had been nothing, but her tail was wagging behind her in happiness of the recognition of her good deed, and the Praise it had earned her.

Sakura relaxed. To the mayor, she set her hands at her side and bowed her head. ”You’re really welcome!” She said.

”In terms of reward…it’s food, right? Do you think you could spare enough to put into some kind of package? I’d like to send it to my friends who need it. Don’t worry, I can take care of transport.” She said.

“Oh?” the mayor replied, before a moment of thought agreeing wholeheartedly “of course of course. We’d be delighted to help.”

There was only one caveat, which was simply that it’d be “Once we’ve got a harvest of course. It’ll take a little while to work out what’s salvageable and all that. Could hardly send you away with half chewed veggies of course!”
Sakura smiled and nodded. ”Thank you!”

He gave a little belly laugh at his own joke, before beginning to “in the meantime could I offer you some tea?” before looking them over again and suggesting instead “Oh. Or maybe you’d like to use our local hot springs? Does wonders after a hard day on the field, or so I’ve heard anyway. Certainly helps out these old bones”

”Oh, uh…” Sakura looked at Amaterasu. ”What do you think? Do you like hot springs?”

The divine wolf barked enthusiastically at the notion, forgetting in her enthusiasm that she disliked the one for yes two for no method of communicating she was stuck with.

She looked back at the mayor and shrugged happily. ”I guess that’d be nice!”

“Marvelouse!” the mayor said with another clap of his hands, before giving them directions to the hotspring. Given that it was a fairly small village, these weren't all that complicated.

“Oh and do say hello to Ukee for me!” he added as they began to head off.

”Okay!” She waved as they left. ”Who is that?” She asked loudly, but at this point was kind of far away. ”Do you know who Ukee is?” She looked at Amaterasu, who barked twice for no (with the suitable amount of disapproval for the communication method this time).

The divine wolf supposed they’d find out soon enough.

”...It’s one bark for yes, two for no, right?” Sakura asked. ”Couldn’t you just nod or shake your head?”

Amaterasu looked over and up at her as they walked, and then did her best to shake her head in response to the second part, and looked very uncomfortable as she did so. Plus the snout waving back and forward was much less of a concise motion than it was on a short nosed human. That was all before you got to Amateratsu’s thoughts on the matter which were not going to fit into four word sentences scribbled on napkins.

”No, no, like this!” She wiggles her head back and forth like a dog shaking out water. Or at least, the best human approximation of it.

”Ah, nevermind. I feel like I have a pretty good idea of what you’re thinking, anyway.” She said, setting her hands behind her head and strolling off with her wolf teammate.

World of Light: the Endless Now (The Ultimate Videogame Crossover)

Divine Mission

Ft. Sakura and Amateratsu
Words: 756 (+2) (+2 rapport)

Amatersu couldn’t say she was particularly happy with the whole theft thing. Literally and figuratively. If she could talk, she’d have had a lot to say about how they should be helping people, not harming them, even if Galeem’s reality was ever so ephemeral. This world was bad enough without those who knew its true nature also making it worse.

She could not, however, do this. Instead she could merely lead by example.

Unfortunately, currently, that example had resulted in her being flat broke due to having donated all her recovered treasures to charity. So she was in need of funds, and far too proud to go to Miss Fortune for them, as much as her belly would soon complain about that if she did nothing about it.

Fortunately, she had a solution to that, which she had spotted on the way here, namely a large board called Bonus Wag which touted itself as a way for fighters to earn some extra coin. On it had been many notes pinned to it with job advertisements of various kinds.

Most were utterly unsuitable, but it only took a few moments to nip out the board and spot one she liked the look of. By the time Missfortune was thinking of heading out, she had returned with it held in her jaw, and promptly showed it off to the first person she ran into, which turned out to be Sakura.

”Amaterasu-sama. What’s this?” She took it and read it.

The (rather weather worn) note read:

Help wanted!

Awful armored pests from the bamboo forest are slowly devouring out crops, and we can’t even harvest what they haven’t eaten because they will attack us if we get close. Normally we’d ask the Pandas to help out, but there’s some sort of terrible robot war business going on inside and they are sadly much too busy with that to help us.

Strong fighters wanted to help toss these terrible turtles back into the woods where they belong. Sadly we can’t pay much, what with not having been able to harvest our crops and all, but rest assured, as soon as your work is done you’ll have a veritable feast on your hands, freshly plucked from the fields!

Haste would be much appreciated

Signed

Theodore, Mayor of Flowerbud Village

Sakura nodded to herself, and then kept nodded at Amaterasu. ”Hey, sounds fun!” She said. ”Besides, you uh, already took the note thingy. We kinda have to go, now.” Sakura said.

”Let’s see. Flowerbud village.” She tapped her chin. ”I can’t say I know all the villages around Esaka. There’s gotta be a map or some signage or someone we can ask.”

The divine wolf tilted her head to the side, and then glanced around the lobby of the Banishing Flats, sharp eyes spotted what looked to be a tourist guide in a little rack of free to peruse reading material. She padded over, picked it up with her teeth, and popped it onto a table before awkwardly pawing through it till she got past all the bits about the city and found a bigger map of the area.

It was, unfortunately, not labeled, but she did find an unlabeled village up north that was one closest to the border of the forest found to Esaka’s west by her judgment. She glanced at Sakura, then back to the map while patting a paw below it.

That was the best she could do anyway. If anyone was going to ask around about it, it would have to be Sakura herself.

Sakura looked at the Mecha Zangief, an amused, confused expression on her face. ”This is weird. I know this guy. Why did they make so many robots of him? I mean, I guess, he’s pretty cool, don’t get me wrong.” She said.

The Mecha Zangief, with its apparent encyclopedic knowledge of the nearby area, managed to confirm the direction of Flowerbud village (leaving Amaterastu feeling pretty smug even if her attempt had been rather redundant).

Map in hand, she leaned down towards the divine wolf.”Let’s go, Amaterasu-sama!” She raised her hands above her head.

”We’re heading to Flowerbud village to get some fruits and veggies!” She informed the rest of the Seekers, before jogging out the door and heading towards the Golden Fields yet again, with the divine wolf hot on her heels.