awashlogs | [ closed ] the pit was a great idea

( He isn't really sure what to expect but whatever it is, he's excited. He also doesn't appear to be too worried given how casual his own body language is, hand resting easily on the hilt of his sword and looking like he's ready to go. "Champion of the Pit?" It doesn't sound particularly easy but it sure sounds fun. )

What, are ya the leader or something? ( He doesn't mind. He likes Guren! But he wouldn't be Mutsu if he didn't make it a little difficult. ) Ready.

[Minato's okay with going along with this, honestly (if nothing else, he can do the healing role, right...?), but he doesn't look as sure about Sinistra being along for the ride.

He just seems kind of...sad? Even if he can fight. So. He's definitely shooting a concerned look at Sinistra, though he nods when Guren asks.]

Mm... all set, Ichinose-san.

[ Whyyyy is Sinistra here? He's got no idea. This is not his typical fare, but maybe having a chance at redemption after not protecting Minato super Well in the Tower is too much of a siren call. And getting a few hits in on Guren is.

A little appealing.

He doesn't dislike Guren, he appreciates him in his own way... but Sinistra's a bit jealous of the person spending so much time with his brother and also Guren's attitude is kind of annoying.

So, sure, whatever, let's do this.

He looks towards Minato when he feels eyes pointing his way. He shrugs his shoulders then looks towards Guren. ]

Ready.

Yeah. I'm the leader, so shut up.

[That's his answer to Mutsu, but at least the other two are fine about it. He glances them all over and then takes the leading step into the forest.

Of course, one step is all it takes, with the mission in mind. Once they follow Guren, the forest floor drops and they all fall into the pit. Guren lands on his feet like the world's most annoying cat, but his hand instantly reaches for the weight that's missing at his side.

Their weapons are all gone. It's a fighting ring, and there are... faeries? Filling the audience. But before things start, he takes a quick glance around.]

Are you all okay? [Anyone fall on their face??]

(It's no secret that Mutsu is the exact opposite of a cat. The ground gives way underneath him and he crashes right on the ground. He sure did fall right on his face and he braces himself, picking himself off the ground and lets out a loud whine,)

Aaaaaaugh!

(He's brushing himself off and midst all of that, he realizes a distinctive lack at his side,)

Hey... (His sword is gone? HE'S GONE?) My sword--

(He touches his leg and... HIS GUN IS GONE TOO? Is anyone else missing anything???)

What happened?

[Minato is...also, unfortunately, not very cat-like. He also has no anime bullshit, so he is definitely landing right on his ass.

Ow...

Slowly, he pushes himself up to stand, frowning a little.]

I'm okay... This is--

[Yeah, he also doesn't have his sword.... HRM. Granted, for Minato that is much less of a crisis than it is for poor Mutsu. He looks up, and sees their audience properly, and--]

Oh. [Oh.]

[ Sinistra just lands on his side like a wet sack of grain, letting out a groan on landing before he rolls onto his belly and slowly gets up.

He looks over at Mutsu and Minato, wondering what they're on about, before reaching to his side and realizing he's also unarmed now. ]

They took it.

[ He's not sure who 'they' is, but he worked hard to get that sword out of that shitty tower! His agitation comes on quickly and turns his gaze towards Guren.

Well, fist fight it is? Punching him will be less of a pain in his knuckles than punching monsters with shells, he supposes. ]

[ So Guren is the only cat here. Good to know.

He surveys the area, glances at each of them, and he’s well aware of Sinistra’s eyes on him in particular. But he gets it now, himself. No weapons, no new opponents— it’s all them, huh? ]

Looks like it’s going to be a bad day for you guys. Hey, Mutsu!

[ Calling out to him seems innocent until there’s something paper flying from Guren’s hand and slapping onto his face. The spell on it isn’t important, since he doesn’t mean to ignite it right now— it’s just a block to poor Mutsu’s vision as Guren shifts and seems to almost vanish in his speed. Anyone who’s used to keeping up with that sort of fast fighting will be able to catch him bringing his elbow to the back of Mutsu’s head in just the right spot.

It’s such a strong hit, it’s definitely enough to bruise anyone normal, and it doesn’t help that Guren will let him drop without softening his fall at all.

Worst of all is probably Guren’s smug smirk as he looks to the other two. ]

Alright! Who’s next? You can team up, if you want.

(He's still distressed over his missing weapons. He's definitely more distraught by the missing sword than the gun. That's him and he's never not known where it was. He doesn't even know what will happen if he doesn't have it? Is he going to be stuck in this pit until he finds it? What if it's in danger--? He's so distraught, he really can't help but snap at Guren,)

What?! (Can't you see he's having a moment here? But before he can even shoot Guren a look, his vision is partially obscured?!) What the heck--?!

(He tries to take it off and maybe about a second into his struggle he realizes what's going on. This is one of those ofuda Guren had showed him before. What had it said back then--? EXPLOSION?)

Ya aren't serious... (GUREN? ANSWER HIM GUREN.) Wait a second, wait a second, I'm not--

(In all of his screaming, he is paying attention and he can tell that Guren is moving. He's fast? He's really fast. Not so fast that he wouldn't be able to keep up if he was ready but he is, in fact, absolutely not ready for this. In all of the rush, he forgets that he's unarmed and his hand instinctively reaches for the nothing at his side. He's a second too late turning to face Guren and the next thing he knows, he's very aware Guren is right there behind him and--

Really, that's the last thing he really remembers before he's hit and he collapses on the ground heavily. He's out.)

[...That happens so fast. Minato blinks slowly, and then again--in the space between a few blinks, Mutsu's been taken down, Guren moving from one space to the next almost faster than he can track.

His lips part.

Mutsu hits the ground, and Minato has to bite back a sigh. This is going to suck.]

... Really...?

[But it's just a soft sigh as he takes a slow, careful step back.

As if that'll help, HA.]

[ Well... ]

Fuck.

[ Guren's one fast sunuvabitch, huh? Great. Sinistra frowns. He's not fast at all. Also great.

The most he can do is try to sidle in front of Minato to be a human meat shield. Might as well give Minato a moment of respite before their both eating dirt. ]

Me. I will do it.

[He likes those reactions a little too much. He laughs, especially at Sinistra's, and cracks his knuckles. That sort of announcement and body language is just an invitation to test him and go for Minato first. Thanks!!]

Oh yeah? Alright. Let's see if you can stop me from getting to Minato. Ready?

[He has to announce it like that, he's so smug... but he wants a fair chance, unlike what he gave Mutsu. So he waits just a moment before rushing forward. Again, his speed is unfair, and it's very clear he's looking to move his way past Sinistra and straight at Minato.]

[Oh..........

Of course. Minato doesn't even have half a moment to protest Sinistra trying to be a meat shield for him (what!! The hell are you doing!!) before Guren is taking that as some sort of casual challenge, and then Minato's frowning even more.

Hey...!!]

Hey, don't taunt him--!

[Oh, shit, there's Guren coming his way again, ridiculously fast. Minato already knows there's absolutely no way that he can dodge or avoid--Guren is too fast--but he's not completely helpless, either. Maybe he can't access his Personas offensively, but defensively? He still gets their passive defensive skills.

So even as he staggers back, he reaches in his mind for another of his Personas, shuffling Messiah out for Chi You. Chi You can't block all physical attacks, not 100%, and certainly not here. But... it'll still be a bit like punching through a wall if Guren does get to him.]

Hey!

[ Sinistra is not actually... skilled with fighting. He's only been taking on mostly-mindless monsters and approaches combat like a stressed cat. It doesn't help that Minato's suddenly the target and not himself. He's not getting any more used to protecting another person in battle, let alone himself.

So his solution is trying to jump on Guren and bodily stop him. Worst case scenario, he wipes himself out by landing on his face. Best case scenario, he latches onto him and tries to bite his arm. It's about all he can do in a moment's time. ]

[Guren has no idea what Minato is doing over there, but he can't miss the opportunity that Sinistra gives him right here. He's able to latch onto him, since Guren doesn't bother trying to dodge— it means that he's bitten, but even if he bites hard enough to draw blood, all that Guren responds to that with is a laugh.

Don't bite masochists.

Anyway, it gives him the opportunity to grab onto Sinistra more directly, and then he spins, using that force along with his own strength to chuck him straight at Minato.]

Catch!

[Minato is naturally... for better or for worse, try to catch Sinistra.

Which is hardly going to work with the amount of force Guren flings him at him with. Sinistra nails him in the chest and Minato hits the ground with his arms still wrapped around the other, wheezing as the breath is knocked out of him and he skids a little.

Ow? Ow. God dammit.

But he had to try.]

[ Well, shit.

He didn't expect to go careening through the air. He felt something? Pop out of place before he went flying, but hitting Minato is a huge distraction.

Ugh.

He groans as his elbow and back bend in an awkward direction, unable to roll away while he's held. He didn't sign up to lose his weapon, let alone BE a weapon. He tries to wriggle clumsily out of Minato's arms and into a seated position to get his bearings if Guren allows. ]

[He doesn't. A quick glance around doesn't show Guren, but then it's clear that he's jumped, and he's falling towards the both of them, now. He'll land on either of them, if they don't move, with a rough kick, but if they do manage to dodge, then it's an arsenal of punches and kicks they'll have to look out for.

He's merciless.]

[As if.

Minato lets go of Sinistra immediately so he can try to get up, of course, but there's no way that Minato's fast enough to really do much at all here.

He grits his teeth and tries to duck and dodge, but it's really only a matter of time before one of them connects right to the jaw, and then Minato's reeling, hitting the ground hard and thoroughly dazed.

PRETTY MUCH JUST A STEP AWAY FROM A KNOCK-OUT, REALLY just put him out of his misery.]

[ Sinistra's not even with it enough to dodge the kick. He's still getting his bearings when he's sent rolling, arms up to protect his face. He ends up sprawled on his back, dizzy as he tries to get back up and look to see if Minato's okay.

He's failing miserably to get to his feet. ]

Minato?

[ Is he okay? ]

[His steps after them are a little too calm, tauntingly so, and he's grinning smugly when he looks down at Minato.]

Sorry, kiddo.

[He gives Minato another kick, or more like a tap of his heel on the top of his head, with just enough force to hopefully knock him out. Then, his eyes are sliding over to Sinistra's form on the ground.]

That just leaves you.

[He'll walk towards him, now, just to see if he's going to muster up any hidden energy to get to his feet successfully or not.]

[Yeah, sorry, Sinistra. Minato is not okay... and this is pretty much the outcome he expected from this situation, once he figured out what it was.

He frowns at the smug grin that Guren's wearing, lips pursed in an expression that's very nearly a pout--

And then he's out, slumping to the ground and very properly knocked out. It's all you now, Sinistra.]

[ He gasps when Minato hits the ground. Now he just looks straight pissed, though his awkward fumbling doesn't make him any more threatening to see.

He manages to get onto his feet by sheer force of will, but his stance is slumped and unsteady. The most he can do is bare his teeth at Guren like a cornered cat. He's just too dizzy to move. ]

Come on, don't look at me like that. If I didn't do this, we'd be here forever.

[He cracks his neck with a tilt of his head to the side, and as he steps forward, there's a clear opening to punch him, if Sinistra wants to take it. It's done on purpose, because he's masochistic like that and thinks he deserves it. But it might also seem like a trap, after everything else he's done.]

Besides, I was getting bored around here. This is the fun I was looking for. Think you can block me?

[ that answer doesn't seem to be acceptable to him. How can he find this fun? Sinistra just can't understand. Even if he's harsher than his brother, he prefers the quiet life just like he does.

He doesn't take the bait this time, still teetering in place with his feet flat on the ground. He's trying to think of something better... anything less direct. He'll just get thrown again, won't he? ]

Yes.

[ he doesn't but he won't say so. Not to this Guren at least. ]

Well, sorry then.

[Maybe it should bother him a little more to see the same face as Dextera's staring at him like that. But it doesn't. Because Sinistra's face is completely different to him, first of all— he holds it different. The lines, the angle he holds his chin, the way he looks around— it's all different.

Even if it were exactly the same, he knows better, anyway. So, he has no problem responding to that "yes" shifting in such a way that takes him past Sinistra too quickly, then brings his fist back at him, to hit a pressure point.

Just like the others, he'll let him fall to the ground without catching him, instead lifting his head to look around and make sure that there's nothing Worse coming from all this.]

[ He knew better. He knew he wasn't going to dodge out of that punch. He could barely keep his feet under him, but some part of him wanted to prove something.

He knows better, though. He feels his whole head swim for a moment before his body gets heavy and his vision goes black.

Sinistra drops to the ground with a quiet thump, out cold. ]

[ closed ] the pit was a great idea

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I’m sorry he’s like this he’s so embarrassing

he's embarrassing, i'm embarrassing

i can't believe this, oh my god

i Return to the madness

WELCOME BACK

YAYYYYY

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and ofc at any point if I do something that doesn't work lmk!!

this is all a blessing tbh

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