overbox | Voice test

[ Let's thread out Jiyu VS Stacia Round 1! The act 1 finale fight. ]

[Yes lets! Do you want to figure out a starter or should I?]

[Jiyu showing up is the instigating event of the scene, so I'll leave it up to you. A bunch of high-profile shit went down, Dantes the soul artist was defeated and reported some very improbable shit back to Sanctum, time to check it out.]

A man Jiyu's size carrying a spear over one shoulder attracted a certain amount of attention. People tended to get out of his way when he wanted them to. So while the whole town was flocking towards some kind of huge disturbance in the town square, Jiyu didn't have much trouble making his way through the crowd.

He had just heard the most absurd story. An android soul artist. If rumors like this were allowed to get out of hand, people would start believing all kinds of stupid things. What was next, smartphones learning to dance?

Jiyo kept on moving, gently but firmly parting the crowd before him, until he stepped out into the actual clearing where all this nonsense was going down. It didn't occur to him to stop because he might be intruding on something. Soul Artists went where they were needed. There were few barriers to someone like him.

He didn't say anything, he just kind of looked around, taking in the scene. Let's see. Dantes' description of the android had been...colorful, but it still wasn't hard to work out which one he had been referring to.

Stacia got the feeling similar to that of a deer that just made eye contact with a wolf.

Stacia didn't have to ask who Jiyu was, or why he was here. Just standing before him made it impossible not to recognize him for what he was: A soul artist, one far beyond her. Dantes had been a minnow, but defeating him had drawn the attention of a shark.

The smart thing to do here - the thing that would keep her alive - would be to kneel. Show absolute deference, and hope that her life would be spared. She knew this perfectly well. And yet... if she kneeled here, then she'd be admitting that she could only go so far. That her existence was negotiable in the face of overwhelming force.

Stacia did not kneel. She bowed, but as one soul artist would to another.

"M... My name is Stacia. I am a second-generation android soul artist. I humbly request Soul Sanctum's recognition."

Jiyu didn't bow back. He just kind of stared at her like she was a puzzle to be solved.

"There's no such thing as an android soul artist because androids don't have souls. You're malfunctioning and should go get maintenance."

That was about what she had been expecting. Stacia stayed bowed, continuing undeterred.

"This android humbly requests your name."

"You're really going all out on this, aren't you?"

Jiyu chuckled, slightly, like this was a game. Which...it was. To him, anyway. "Alright."

He spun his spear around with a flourish and jammed the pointy end into the ground. It cut through the cement like butter, without making so much as a stray crack. Then he gave her a overly formal bow of his own.

"I am Liao Jiyu. If you are truly a soul artist than surely you won't see any problem with a friendly match."

"Thank you for this opportunity. I accept your challenge."

Just a formality. Even if she wanted to turn him down, she couldn't do so without giving up on being a soul artist.

After the brief formalities preceding the fight, Stacia charged directly towards Jiyu, opening with an onslaught of consecutive attacks. She had speed and strength - enough of both to suggest body reinforcement, but not enough to prove it beyond doubt - but her technique wasn't far above the level of a novice. Her strikes were simple, her stance uneven and full of what amounted to massive openings against an artist of Jiyu's level.

Once this nonsense is all over and dealt with he could go back to doing something important. Honestly, now that he thought about it he was kind of annoyed he had bothered with this pointless diversion.

Jiyu read her moves easily. She was reasonably fast, and did know how to fight on a technical level, but that didn’t mean anything here.

He didn’t block or dodge any of her attacks at first. He just stood there and took her first blow, judging her strength. Body reinforcement alone was enough to resist that without blinking.

Or so he thought. Jiyu blinked. That didn’t feel like a punch from a standard issue android. She must have some kind of upgraded strength suite installed. After the first attack, he started dodging and blocking. Not attacking. Waiting. If she said she was a soul artist, she must have SOME kind of trick to back it up. That, or she really was malfunctioning.

Not going to attack? After the minimal effect her first punch had, she knew better than to assume that he was defending himself out of fear. Just showing her the faintest modicum of respect. Enough.

After jumping back to open distance and re-evaluate her approach, Stacia redoubled her offense. She varied her attacks more, trying different angles and techniques to see if his defenses had any weak points. If he wasn't trying to attack, then she wouldn't waste any energy on defense.

He realized what she was doing, quickly enough. Adapting to your opponent's style was smart, but leaving yourself open was not.

"Just as I thought," he said, weaving between attacks. "This was a waste of time."

No matter how close Stacia watched, she couldn't see him strike. It wasn't a strike done with a mere flesh and blood hand. Jiyu remained in front of her but she still felt something strike her from the side. Looking revealed the faintest trace of an outline of a second person, quickly fading away into nothing. It wasn't even a particularly strong attack, by Jiyu's standards. Probably comparable to what Dantes could manage.

If Dantes was doing it, she could have likely blocked it. As it was, the pressure from Jiyu was fraying her nerves and her focus. She didn't see the strike coming, and it knocked her across the yard, hitting the ground and bouncing twice before skidding to a halt.

Stacia got to her feet, a bit unsteady. Even one hit had her joints groaning from the stress. For the moment, she abandoned her assault, for the moment bracing herself for Jiyu's counterattack.

Whatever soul art that was, he wasn't using it again just now. Instead he crossed the distance between them in an eyeblink and unleashed a combo of his own, a blisteringly fast rain of blows delivered with scientific precision. The last blow actually had his whole arm sheathed in an aura of pale blue soul flame.

But...there was a split second of hesitation before the last strike landed. He WANTED to give her one last chance, though he would deny it later. He wasn't sure why. Maybe he just found the universe a little to explicable right now, and in his heart he wanted something new and exciting to come into it that wasn't just Another Battle.

Whatever the reason, Stacia didn't have long to take advantage of this opening.

All pretense of being able to block Jiyu's attacks was cast aside the moment the first struck. Her eyes and mind couldn't keep up with him. If they could, she wouldn't be fast enough to raise her guard. If she was, she wasn't strong enough for it to make a difference.

Each blow was like getting hit squarely by a massive hammer. Metal bones cracked, joints snapped, her frame barely holding together. By the time he was ready to deliver the final blow, she could hardly stand.

If she didn't act now, she never would.

In that brief moment of hesitation, Stacia extended the arm that could still move properly. As she did, a perfectly straight ray of pale white light erupted forth, aimed at Jiyu's chest. It was a feeble attack, not even an above-average execution of it by Stacia's own standards, and something Jiyu could almost just ignore, if he wanted to.

But when she hit the ground, white soulflame still burned faintly around her right hand.

Jiyu deflected the bolt out of habit, but the match was forgotten almost immediately. That last blow of his never landed.

Instead, he was right in her face, holding her up by one arm so she was actually at eye level with him, looking at her with intense eyes. His eyes were always intense, but now they were more so.

"How did you do that!?"

Well beyond the point of being able to resist, Stacia hangs limply in Jiyu's grasp. However, despite having lost so completely that it could barely be called a fight, she smiled.

"The same way you do. I drew it out of my soul."

"You were built in a factory! You don't HAVE a soul!"

He sounded certain, but he always sounded certain. That didn't mean he WAS. The automatic response of what everyone knew to be true rang hollow against the evidence of his eyes and ears. Jiyu had traveled much of known space and he had never seen any manufactured weapon that behaved exactly like soul arts. In all the stars, the power of the soul was unique.

And that was soul arts. There was no mistaking it.

One of Stacia's eyes had gone dark. Her voice wavered with static from damage to her voice box. But still, she laughed.

"Are you so sure of that... that you'd ignore what you saw with your own eyes...?"

After a moment, Jiyu dropped her and turned to start striding away. He stopped before leaving the area entirely, and spoke without turning around.

"...I need to think about this. Figure out what to say to Soul Sanctum. I suggest that you don't go too far."

[So Cass is casually reclining in a weird curled up position on top of Jiyu's bed. She looks up as Jiyu approaches, straightening herself out and sits up.]

We need to talk. Privately. I've already secured the room against eavesdropping.

Edited 2021-12-12 21:12 (UTC)

[Jiyu stopped for a moment when he saw her in his bed and spent a moment controlling himself. He did not like people unexpectedly in his private space. Then he turned the chair at his desk around so it was facing the bed and sat down in it.]

Do we?

[Really, Cass is just finding this easier to talk about when she's in a position of power, like claiming someone else's bed.]

Specifically, about how I don't trust you despite you having done a lot to deserve that trust. I'm pretty sure my feelings are being unfair toward you. After all, I did some very thorough background checks on you. Very reassuring background checks.

And yet. It's hard for me to trust. Irrational, but there it is.

That's fair.

[He doesn't say anything else. That's it, apparently.]

But I'd like to get over this distrust. And I think the best way might be for me to get to know you better.

[It's at this time that she pulls out what looks like some kind of game box.]

This is a party game that supposedly helps two people get to know each other better.

[Jiyu stared at the brightly colored box for several seconds.]

...I don't have time for this.

[Cass just casually puts the box away.]

See, I already learned something about you. That you aren't interested in this sort of party game. Which confirms my impression of you as a no-nonsense guy.

Well let me give you another freebie, then:

[He leaned forwards a bit in his seat.]

I don't like it when people sneak through my stuff.

...

[Cassi gets off the bed.]

Yeah, my bad. The only thing I touched in here was your bed, but I still shouldn't have broken into your room and laid on it. I intended it as a sort of dominance play but I shouldn't do that kind of thing to someone who's been a good ally.

[She gestures toward the door.]

Should I?

If you felt the need to do this at all we might as well talk about why you felt like doing this:

You don't trust me.

[There's a brief beat before she answers.]

I think it's just because I've known you for less time than the others. It takes me more time to trust, after all that happened to me.

Also you're a male human like that bastard, but honestly you two have little in common other than that. I'll get over that, too.

Edited 2021-12-15 03:21 (UTC)

[Even after Jiyu's joined the team, even after he had more than proven himself, Reva finds herself discontent. It's not distrust, exactly- She is certain, by this point, he's a trustworthy ally. She would feel safe with her back to him in battle. It's more of an unease.

Jiyu doesn't show what he's feeling easily. Neither does Reva, of course, but Reva likes being able to read the feelings and moods of others easily. She's uneasy when she can't tell what's going through someone's head.

A defense mechanism, she supposes, she must have picked up while trying to find every detail of who thinks she's an abomination and who doesn't care. But this makes her uneasy with Jiyu, whose lack of expression rivals her own. She needs to study him more.

Which means getting closer. If his face doesn't show his emotions, maybe his body language will. If that doesn't, maybe she can catch him off-guard. See some emotion. She won't be able to feel calm until she gets a better understanding of what makes Jiyu tick.

Which is why she's approaching him one quiet evening.]

Spar with me.

[It's more of a command than a request.]

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After Jiyu joins up

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