Worlds Collide - Tekken
Title: Worlds Collide
Fandom: Tekken
Characters: Hikari Yoshima, Devil Jin, Lars Alexandersson
Summary: It’s a slow burn until it ignites into a conflagration of rage and suffering.
Rating: High PG-13 for cursing, violence, etc.
Notes: The inevitable Round 2 of Hikari vs. Devil Jin. :| Everyone knew this was coming; it was only a matter of time before this would happen. It’s a continuation off of “Blow Them Away” and part 1 of Nero’s “Ticking Clock” series. Anyway, song inspirations for this are “Papercut” by Linkin Park and “Worlds Collide” by Apocalptica.
GOOD GODDAMN, THIS TOOK WAY TOO LONG TO FINISH. Even though it still goes onto a cliffhanger ending, oi. But I've been sitting on this for too long, so there. :| /goes to plan out DMC/AoH - AU Collab Part #4
“Whatever - I’m heading out. Call me if anything comes up!” Ignoring any further protests, Hikari grabbed her helmet and headed out, giving a nonchalant wave with her free hand as she glanced back to the group. She knew that they needed her, but right now, she needed to get out as soon as possible. A sudden jerk caused her to stop momentarily, only to nail the unfortunate cadet in the stomach with an elbow.
“Hikari -!” But by the time Lars had recognized she was leaving, she had already mounted her motorcycle and revved it up. Honestly, he did understand her frustration with the entire situation, but - this wasn’t just her fight, despite the fact that Jin had gone out of his way to go after her with the attack on Fortuna. And especially considering her condition up until this point, it was even stranger for her to want to head out after isolating herself for so long.
The engine had already drowned out any words from Lars and Tougou while Hikari put her helmet on and drove out of the compound. I understand you guys’re worried about me, but… I’ve got to do this one on my own - I’ll never be able to forgive myself if I don’t. Despite everyone’s words and support during and after the Fortuna City attack, she still blamed herself for not being able to get there in time to save everyone - Odyssius included. No…especially him.
She could feel the heat rising as she swerved and weaved through traffic - she wanted to find the demon responsible - fuck it, Kazama wasn’t human anymore, not in her eyes - and make sure there was nothing left of him but ashes when she finished. The desire hadn’t dimmed at all since the attack, but it hadn’t intensified to the point it had up until now. It shouldn’t have been that surprising, considering the rebel base’s proximity to the Zaibatsu HQ. But yet, it was almost as strong as it was during the failed mission with Alisa a few days prior. “何だよ…” Demons...? Can’t pinpoint him in it, but - oh, shit. Her eyes widened behind her helmet as she made a sudden right turn, her legs flexing to make sure she stayed on the bike. Adrenaline was already pumping through her system, hyper-awareness already beginning to set in.
The scene ahead was complete and utter chaos.
People were running from things that didn’t belong in this world - blood and debris were scattered everywhere, and if she weren’t already used to gruesome scenes from being in the military… Hikari might’ve lost it. Her lips curled back in a snarl, and for the briefest of moments, any survivors thus far could swear they felt a warm presence envelop them, protecting them from the demons attacking. To say that she was angry would be an understatement.
The demons paused en masse, curious to see this new arrival that had somehow forced them to stop merely by her presence. Her fluctuating emotions were interesting in and of themselves, but the power that accompanied it was the clincher - the woman that their master had warned them about, the woman with the blood of fire in her veins, that was her.
The demon slayer awakened.
Hikari didn’t say anything at first, her fists clenched, trembling. She ignored the buzzing in her head; she was well-aware of the threat ahead. Hell, it wasn’t like she was unarmed - besides her abilities, she had a .40 caliber Smith & Wesson , her old service handgun, to be precise - strapped to one thigh, her combat knife strapped to the other. Did you do this to lure me out, fucker? Gotta say you know me. But it doesn’t matter how many you send at me. I will not let you get away with another massacre. “Count on that,” she growled, pulling off her helmet to reveal glowing golden eyes. “So! You guys think you can just start killing civilians and think I won’t notice!?” Hikari had to be careful how she worded this - apparently the demon only went after “tainted” individuals. Bull - by his definition, that’s just about everyone in existence. “Tch!”
They didn’t reply, only watching her constantly-fluctuating energy. But after a few moments, the demons had begun to rush at her, roaring and spitting. “Master says she must die -”
“- and die she shall! We shall snuff the very flame from her!” Claws were extended, with every right and intention to rip her to shreds -
But that opportunity never came. Before the demons could react, Hikari had already leaped into the air, pistol drawn and firing. She knew from previous experience that gunshots didn’t really do that much damage, but it would at least keep them at bay until she could get in close to nail them with her fists and her knife. She didn’t say anything, only to end up screaming as she activated her pyrokinesis, flames engulfing her hands before she allowed gravity and momentum to take over, diving right into the fray to swing at her attackers after holstering her pistol.
The screeching that was ringing in her ears was drowned out by the constant buzzing in her head as she moved along the group, throwing demons into one another, also drawing her knife to dispatch some of them. Her eyes were flickering, the fire growing as she moved to take more of them out so that the surviving civilians could get a chance to get out of there before something else happened.
“…motherfucker -”
A strong gust of wind caused her to stagger slightly, growling as black feathers came into view. Hikari immediately entered a defensive stance, her fire instinctively flaring around her body in order to compensate for the power flux. “Should’ve known you’d show up.”
“I see you’ve missed me.” White eyes flashed as Devil Jin grinned, fangs flashing as she glared at him. “And you’ve recovered splendidly, at that. Perhaps I have underestimated you.”
“That's the understatement of the century,” she snapped, pulling out her knife with a flourish. The heat was starting to get to her, but she kept her focus. Now wasn’t the proper time, it was just a matter of waiting for the proper moment in order to attack. The previous encounters had taught her that she needed to be more patient, keep her cool. Pissing her off, despite being a specialty of the demon’s, was not an option if she wanted to come out of this encounter relatively unscathed. Her shoulder throbbed slightly, in the exact same spot that he had thrust a metal rod through during the botched mission. She had surprised herself with how fast she had recovered from that particular wound, but Hikari was never one to look a gift horse in the mouth. But she couldn’t let that get to her, either. Focusing on the opponent and the opponent only was the only way she was going to get through this.
“Is that so...? Then how about you show me how much you've recovered since we last met.” The Devil's grin widened before he rushed forward, red lightning crackling around his fists. Hikari knew this attack pattern fairly well and was already moving in to counter with a swing of her own, but it seemed that they had both wised up to each others' tricks since their last fight, Devil Jin coming in with a feint and a hard hook with his other fist while Hikari was prepared to come in with a literal headbutt.
They both growled as the blows connected, only to back off, fire surrounding Hikari's body while lightning crackled around Devil Jin's.
“Impressive, hunter. If I didn't know any better, I'd say that you have experience fighting my kind.”
“Har har, jackass. I might not have the experience of fighting actual demons, but at least I have combat experience against something close enough,” Hikari replied, giving him a thumbs-down before her eyes narrowed. She could still feel the heat rising within her body; she knew that this wasn't anywhere close to what she could do to him, and she wanted to make sure that he paid for what he had done to Fortuna, to Odyssius...
So why couldn't she muster up that strength that she knew she still had?
She shook her head, growling as she channeled that same heat that she knew fueled her power into her hands, sidestepping the demon's attack to sweep under and attack with a palm strike to the jaw, slamming her opposite hand into her elbow to add momentum and force to the blow.
“I suppose you would, wouldn't you. But where's that same fire that I saw when we fought on the train? Dare I say that your spark has died -”
“Oh, shut the fuck up already!!” She screamed, spinning around again, only to have her leg caught, thrown off-course and off-balance. Luckily, she recovered quickly, crouching to make sure her center of gravity wasn't thrown out of whack after that little maneuver.
“If you truly want to destroy me, woman, then how about you show me that killing intent. Come, now. Show me your anger!” Devil Jin began to laugh, and before she knew it, she had launched herself at him, screaming something incomprehensible. Just the way he was standing there, treating this whole situation as if it were a goddamn game...
It made her blood boil.
And perhaps that's what he was waiting for, but fuck that, she was going to make him burn, make him pay for everything that he had done. She felt it as not only an urge, but an obligation. Sorry, O. But I can't let him get away with this, even if it means I might get killed in the process. I promised when I got involved in this fiasco that I'd do everything I could to protect Fortuna.
She didn't say anything to the Devil, knowing that her actions conveyed more at this point, and that was fine by her, honestly. In fact, that's what she wanted at this point, allowing her instinct and ability show him how serious she was about making sure he didn't hurt anyone else. It wasn't until she had somehow hit him in the chest with a rising knee that she finally began to gain the upper hand, ignoring the bleeding wounds through her jacket from the demon's talons. Fury blazed in her eyes, the pupils of them now narrowed to slits as they continued to glow a furious gold.
“Shut. Your. Goddamn mouth.”
With those words, she had somehow grabbed the demon by the arm and, adrenaline coursing through her veins and numbing her to the pain that would normally accompany her doing such an act, she spun, using her momentum in order to throw the demon into the nearest building. Thankfully with all the commotion that was going on earlier, the area had been cleared out for the most part. Last thing she needed was innocent blood on her conscience.
“Did I strike a nerve?” He asked as the dust began to settle, white eyes flashing before a red glow began to gather around his forehead. Hikari didn't reply, jaw clenching and diving as soon as a laser had erupted from Devil Jin's third eye, incinerating the area that it had landed, digging a deep gouge into the pavement where she was standing moments earlier. Noting her silence and the look on her face, his grin only widened. “This is more like it - doesn't it feel good to do this? To fight without the need to worry about others?”
“I said, SHUT UP ALREADY!!” She screamed, fire enveloping her body as she slammed into him, only to end up nearly on the floor if it weren't for a quick reflexive action and reaction on her part. He had countered her charge, growling in annoyance before swiping at her. But she didn't scream, biting the worst part of it back as she took a few deep breaths. I'm not going down - not like this. “In case you haven't noticed, demon, I'm already in a bad mood. Your little friends only helped to make that bad mood worse. Top it off with you waltzing in and acting like a general fucktard...and I'm not a happy camper. So how 'bout you do the smart thing and get the fuck out of here.”
“You honestly think that I'm going to believe that. Woman, I've lived for longer than you can probably imagine. It's almost sad that you're one of the few that actually stand something of a chance against me.” Devil Jin shook his head, inspecting the blood on his talons before flicking some of it away, vaguely irritated. “I thought that attacking your precious country would give you enough of a push, and I was right about that much. However, this... this is pathetic. I should be seeing more from someone with the blood of fire in her veins. Although, I suppose some of it comes from the fact that your kind haven't shown up since long before the Mishimas started trying to change history.
But with your battle-hungry personality, I had high hopes for you.”
“What?!”
He smirked again, which caused Hikari to narrow her eyes, hackles raising instinctively. “I had hopes to see if you could defend the people and the ideals you so hold dear, but perhaps I was wrong. You were able to catch me off-guard me before, nothing more. It was quite shameful that I had gotten that reckless, to be honest.”
The explosion... was only a lucky shot? She shook her head, forcing herself to focus. Now was the worst time to lower her guard.
“You're surprised? I said it once already, woman. I've lived longer than you think.” He stepped closer, and her aura flared in accordance, the flames licking his face as he got closer. “Unfortunately for you, I tire of these games.” There was a surge of energy, one that nearly knocked Hikari off her feet as she braced herself. The demon had caused some of the nearby debris to come loose, floating behind him. “Say good night, hunter.”
All at once, the rubble flew at her, with the full-on intent of breaking bones and otherwise incapacitating her. Growling, she lashed out, flames continuing to engulf her form as she pulverized chunks of pavement with her strikes, skidding from the impacts. However, once the dust settled, she leaped into the air, intending to come down hard on the demon's head with an overhead strike -
Only to get knocked back and land on the pavement, bouncing once before skidding to a stop. Groaning, she began to stand, but not before sending a wave of fire through the pavement to where the demon was starting to move toward her. She didn't know if it had worked at this point, but the fact that her vision was swimming was not a good thing. She had to end this - and fast, especially if she wanted to survive this encounter.
It wasn't until another bolt of lightning had registered in her vision that she looked back. She shook her head, that wasn't, couldn't - “Lars?”
The Swede didn't say anything, but the anger that radiated from his body was almost palatable, lightning arcing across his fists. Of course he would've been keeping tabs on her, she should've realized this from the beginning. After all, she had just up and left without any real reason after locking herself in for three days. He was worried about her, hell, most of them probably were. But still, Lars should know better than almost any of them that she had to do this fight on her own, it was her blood that was calling to prevent more casualties -
“And the knight in shining armor appears. I was wondering when you'd show your face, traitor.”
Lars didn't reply to the Devil's taunts, only stepping forward, standing in front of the Ambassador. “Hikari.” His voice was low, growling. She internally cursed, yeah, he wasn't happy with her at all. Moments like this he reminded her of Odyssius and how he would scold her for doing something reckless. But he didn't say anything, only to end up trying to intercept a blow from Devil Jin as she stepped back, forcing herself to stay there. Even if she wasn't going to say anything, she was damn well going to at least try and finish the fight she had technically started.
She put a hand on Lars's shoulder, taking a few deep breaths as the glow returned to her eyes, despite the caking blood on her face and arms from the fight so far. “I appreciate this, Lars, but … I've got to finish this one. I know you, and the others have been worried about me, and I appreciate it.” She shut her eyes for a moment before focusing on the grinning demon in front of them, her expression darkening. “But this is something I have to settle. Not just for my own sake, but for Odyssius's as well. I know it might seem stupid and reckless, but you've got to trust me on this. Please.”
“I'm not letting you get yourself killed because of revenge, Hikari. You're a damn good soldier and an even better friend, I'm not losing anyone else because of the Mishimas.”
“This is my decision to make, Lars. Not yours.”
“Then you should know that if you do keep this up, you might not come back.”
“Yeah. I know. I think I know that one better than anyone else,” she said softly, stepping forward again, flames dancing around her hands now that she had activated her pyrokinesis, getting back into her stance, body relaxed yet ready to move at a moment's notice. “Lars!”
He wasn't about to walk away from this, even if he did respect her decision to fight on her own. It may have seemed a bit hypocritical, but he really did care about her well-being, as well as that of his other comrades.
“... Keep an eye out for any unwanted visitors, ne?” She gave him the slightest of smirks, her expression nearly unreadable outside of that one cue, but he knew what needed to be done.
“Alright.”
Fandom: Tekken
Characters: Hikari Yoshima, Devil Jin, Lars Alexandersson
Summary: It’s a slow burn until it ignites into a conflagration of rage and suffering.
Rating: High PG-13 for cursing, violence, etc.
Notes: The inevitable Round 2 of Hikari vs. Devil Jin. :| Everyone knew this was coming; it was only a matter of time before this would happen. It’s a continuation off of “Blow Them Away” and part 1 of Nero’s “Ticking Clock” series. Anyway, song inspirations for this are “Papercut” by Linkin Park and “Worlds Collide” by Apocalptica.
GOOD GODDAMN, THIS TOOK WAY TOO LONG TO FINISH. Even though it still goes onto a cliffhanger ending, oi. But I've been sitting on this for too long, so there. :| /goes to plan out DMC/AoH - AU Collab Part #4
“Whatever - I’m heading out. Call me if anything comes up!” Ignoring any further protests, Hikari grabbed her helmet and headed out, giving a nonchalant wave with her free hand as she glanced back to the group. She knew that they needed her, but right now, she needed to get out as soon as possible. A sudden jerk caused her to stop momentarily, only to nail the unfortunate cadet in the stomach with an elbow.
“Hikari -!” But by the time Lars had recognized she was leaving, she had already mounted her motorcycle and revved it up. Honestly, he did understand her frustration with the entire situation, but - this wasn’t just her fight, despite the fact that Jin had gone out of his way to go after her with the attack on Fortuna. And especially considering her condition up until this point, it was even stranger for her to want to head out after isolating herself for so long.
The engine had already drowned out any words from Lars and Tougou while Hikari put her helmet on and drove out of the compound. I understand you guys’re worried about me, but… I’ve got to do this one on my own - I’ll never be able to forgive myself if I don’t. Despite everyone’s words and support during and after the Fortuna City attack, she still blamed herself for not being able to get there in time to save everyone - Odyssius included. No…especially him.
She could feel the heat rising as she swerved and weaved through traffic - she wanted to find the demon responsible - fuck it, Kazama wasn’t human anymore, not in her eyes - and make sure there was nothing left of him but ashes when she finished. The desire hadn’t dimmed at all since the attack, but it hadn’t intensified to the point it had up until now. It shouldn’t have been that surprising, considering the rebel base’s proximity to the Zaibatsu HQ. But yet, it was almost as strong as it was during the failed mission with Alisa a few days prior. “何だよ…” Demons...? Can’t pinpoint him in it, but - oh, shit. Her eyes widened behind her helmet as she made a sudden right turn, her legs flexing to make sure she stayed on the bike. Adrenaline was already pumping through her system, hyper-awareness already beginning to set in.
The scene ahead was complete and utter chaos.
People were running from things that didn’t belong in this world - blood and debris were scattered everywhere, and if she weren’t already used to gruesome scenes from being in the military… Hikari might’ve lost it. Her lips curled back in a snarl, and for the briefest of moments, any survivors thus far could swear they felt a warm presence envelop them, protecting them from the demons attacking. To say that she was angry would be an understatement.
The demons paused en masse, curious to see this new arrival that had somehow forced them to stop merely by her presence. Her fluctuating emotions were interesting in and of themselves, but the power that accompanied it was the clincher - the woman that their master had warned them about, the woman with the blood of fire in her veins, that was her.
The demon slayer awakened.
Hikari didn’t say anything at first, her fists clenched, trembling. She ignored the buzzing in her head; she was well-aware of the threat ahead. Hell, it wasn’t like she was unarmed - besides her abilities, she had a .40 caliber Smith & Wesson , her old service handgun, to be precise - strapped to one thigh, her combat knife strapped to the other. Did you do this to lure me out, fucker? Gotta say you know me. But it doesn’t matter how many you send at me. I will not let you get away with another massacre. “Count on that,” she growled, pulling off her helmet to reveal glowing golden eyes. “So! You guys think you can just start killing civilians and think I won’t notice!?” Hikari had to be careful how she worded this - apparently the demon only went after “tainted” individuals. Bull - by his definition, that’s just about everyone in existence. “Tch!”
They didn’t reply, only watching her constantly-fluctuating energy. But after a few moments, the demons had begun to rush at her, roaring and spitting. “Master says she must die -”
“- and die she shall! We shall snuff the very flame from her!” Claws were extended, with every right and intention to rip her to shreds -
But that opportunity never came. Before the demons could react, Hikari had already leaped into the air, pistol drawn and firing. She knew from previous experience that gunshots didn’t really do that much damage, but it would at least keep them at bay until she could get in close to nail them with her fists and her knife. She didn’t say anything, only to end up screaming as she activated her pyrokinesis, flames engulfing her hands before she allowed gravity and momentum to take over, diving right into the fray to swing at her attackers after holstering her pistol.
The screeching that was ringing in her ears was drowned out by the constant buzzing in her head as she moved along the group, throwing demons into one another, also drawing her knife to dispatch some of them. Her eyes were flickering, the fire growing as she moved to take more of them out so that the surviving civilians could get a chance to get out of there before something else happened.
“…motherfucker -”
A strong gust of wind caused her to stagger slightly, growling as black feathers came into view. Hikari immediately entered a defensive stance, her fire instinctively flaring around her body in order to compensate for the power flux. “Should’ve known you’d show up.”
“I see you’ve missed me.” White eyes flashed as Devil Jin grinned, fangs flashing as she glared at him. “And you’ve recovered splendidly, at that. Perhaps I have underestimated you.”
“That's the understatement of the century,” she snapped, pulling out her knife with a flourish. The heat was starting to get to her, but she kept her focus. Now wasn’t the proper time, it was just a matter of waiting for the proper moment in order to attack. The previous encounters had taught her that she needed to be more patient, keep her cool. Pissing her off, despite being a specialty of the demon’s, was not an option if she wanted to come out of this encounter relatively unscathed. Her shoulder throbbed slightly, in the exact same spot that he had thrust a metal rod through during the botched mission. She had surprised herself with how fast she had recovered from that particular wound, but Hikari was never one to look a gift horse in the mouth. But she couldn’t let that get to her, either. Focusing on the opponent and the opponent only was the only way she was going to get through this.
“Is that so...? Then how about you show me how much you've recovered since we last met.” The Devil's grin widened before he rushed forward, red lightning crackling around his fists. Hikari knew this attack pattern fairly well and was already moving in to counter with a swing of her own, but it seemed that they had both wised up to each others' tricks since their last fight, Devil Jin coming in with a feint and a hard hook with his other fist while Hikari was prepared to come in with a literal headbutt.
They both growled as the blows connected, only to back off, fire surrounding Hikari's body while lightning crackled around Devil Jin's.
“Impressive, hunter. If I didn't know any better, I'd say that you have experience fighting my kind.”
“Har har, jackass. I might not have the experience of fighting actual demons, but at least I have combat experience against something close enough,” Hikari replied, giving him a thumbs-down before her eyes narrowed. She could still feel the heat rising within her body; she knew that this wasn't anywhere close to what she could do to him, and she wanted to make sure that he paid for what he had done to Fortuna, to Odyssius...
So why couldn't she muster up that strength that she knew she still had?
She shook her head, growling as she channeled that same heat that she knew fueled her power into her hands, sidestepping the demon's attack to sweep under and attack with a palm strike to the jaw, slamming her opposite hand into her elbow to add momentum and force to the blow.
“I suppose you would, wouldn't you. But where's that same fire that I saw when we fought on the train? Dare I say that your spark has died -”
“Oh, shut the fuck up already!!” She screamed, spinning around again, only to have her leg caught, thrown off-course and off-balance. Luckily, she recovered quickly, crouching to make sure her center of gravity wasn't thrown out of whack after that little maneuver.
“If you truly want to destroy me, woman, then how about you show me that killing intent. Come, now. Show me your anger!” Devil Jin began to laugh, and before she knew it, she had launched herself at him, screaming something incomprehensible. Just the way he was standing there, treating this whole situation as if it were a goddamn game...
It made her blood boil.
And perhaps that's what he was waiting for, but fuck that, she was going to make him burn, make him pay for everything that he had done. She felt it as not only an urge, but an obligation. Sorry, O. But I can't let him get away with this, even if it means I might get killed in the process. I promised when I got involved in this fiasco that I'd do everything I could to protect Fortuna.
She didn't say anything to the Devil, knowing that her actions conveyed more at this point, and that was fine by her, honestly. In fact, that's what she wanted at this point, allowing her instinct and ability show him how serious she was about making sure he didn't hurt anyone else. It wasn't until she had somehow hit him in the chest with a rising knee that she finally began to gain the upper hand, ignoring the bleeding wounds through her jacket from the demon's talons. Fury blazed in her eyes, the pupils of them now narrowed to slits as they continued to glow a furious gold.
“Shut. Your. Goddamn mouth.”
With those words, she had somehow grabbed the demon by the arm and, adrenaline coursing through her veins and numbing her to the pain that would normally accompany her doing such an act, she spun, using her momentum in order to throw the demon into the nearest building. Thankfully with all the commotion that was going on earlier, the area had been cleared out for the most part. Last thing she needed was innocent blood on her conscience.
“Did I strike a nerve?” He asked as the dust began to settle, white eyes flashing before a red glow began to gather around his forehead. Hikari didn't reply, jaw clenching and diving as soon as a laser had erupted from Devil Jin's third eye, incinerating the area that it had landed, digging a deep gouge into the pavement where she was standing moments earlier. Noting her silence and the look on her face, his grin only widened. “This is more like it - doesn't it feel good to do this? To fight without the need to worry about others?”
“I said, SHUT UP ALREADY!!” She screamed, fire enveloping her body as she slammed into him, only to end up nearly on the floor if it weren't for a quick reflexive action and reaction on her part. He had countered her charge, growling in annoyance before swiping at her. But she didn't scream, biting the worst part of it back as she took a few deep breaths. I'm not going down - not like this. “In case you haven't noticed, demon, I'm already in a bad mood. Your little friends only helped to make that bad mood worse. Top it off with you waltzing in and acting like a general fucktard...and I'm not a happy camper. So how 'bout you do the smart thing and get the fuck out of here.”
“You honestly think that I'm going to believe that. Woman, I've lived for longer than you can probably imagine. It's almost sad that you're one of the few that actually stand something of a chance against me.” Devil Jin shook his head, inspecting the blood on his talons before flicking some of it away, vaguely irritated. “I thought that attacking your precious country would give you enough of a push, and I was right about that much. However, this... this is pathetic. I should be seeing more from someone with the blood of fire in her veins. Although, I suppose some of it comes from the fact that your kind haven't shown up since long before the Mishimas started trying to change history.
But with your battle-hungry personality, I had high hopes for you.”
“What?!”
He smirked again, which caused Hikari to narrow her eyes, hackles raising instinctively. “I had hopes to see if you could defend the people and the ideals you so hold dear, but perhaps I was wrong. You were able to catch me off-guard me before, nothing more. It was quite shameful that I had gotten that reckless, to be honest.”
The explosion... was only a lucky shot? She shook her head, forcing herself to focus. Now was the worst time to lower her guard.
“You're surprised? I said it once already, woman. I've lived longer than you think.” He stepped closer, and her aura flared in accordance, the flames licking his face as he got closer. “Unfortunately for you, I tire of these games.” There was a surge of energy, one that nearly knocked Hikari off her feet as she braced herself. The demon had caused some of the nearby debris to come loose, floating behind him. “Say good night, hunter.”
All at once, the rubble flew at her, with the full-on intent of breaking bones and otherwise incapacitating her. Growling, she lashed out, flames continuing to engulf her form as she pulverized chunks of pavement with her strikes, skidding from the impacts. However, once the dust settled, she leaped into the air, intending to come down hard on the demon's head with an overhead strike -
Only to get knocked back and land on the pavement, bouncing once before skidding to a stop. Groaning, she began to stand, but not before sending a wave of fire through the pavement to where the demon was starting to move toward her. She didn't know if it had worked at this point, but the fact that her vision was swimming was not a good thing. She had to end this - and fast, especially if she wanted to survive this encounter.
It wasn't until another bolt of lightning had registered in her vision that she looked back. She shook her head, that wasn't, couldn't - “Lars?”
The Swede didn't say anything, but the anger that radiated from his body was almost palatable, lightning arcing across his fists. Of course he would've been keeping tabs on her, she should've realized this from the beginning. After all, she had just up and left without any real reason after locking herself in for three days. He was worried about her, hell, most of them probably were. But still, Lars should know better than almost any of them that she had to do this fight on her own, it was her blood that was calling to prevent more casualties -
“And the knight in shining armor appears. I was wondering when you'd show your face, traitor.”
Lars didn't reply to the Devil's taunts, only stepping forward, standing in front of the Ambassador. “Hikari.” His voice was low, growling. She internally cursed, yeah, he wasn't happy with her at all. Moments like this he reminded her of Odyssius and how he would scold her for doing something reckless. But he didn't say anything, only to end up trying to intercept a blow from Devil Jin as she stepped back, forcing herself to stay there. Even if she wasn't going to say anything, she was damn well going to at least try and finish the fight she had technically started.
She put a hand on Lars's shoulder, taking a few deep breaths as the glow returned to her eyes, despite the caking blood on her face and arms from the fight so far. “I appreciate this, Lars, but … I've got to finish this one. I know you, and the others have been worried about me, and I appreciate it.” She shut her eyes for a moment before focusing on the grinning demon in front of them, her expression darkening. “But this is something I have to settle. Not just for my own sake, but for Odyssius's as well. I know it might seem stupid and reckless, but you've got to trust me on this. Please.”
“I'm not letting you get yourself killed because of revenge, Hikari. You're a damn good soldier and an even better friend, I'm not losing anyone else because of the Mishimas.”
“This is my decision to make, Lars. Not yours.”
“Then you should know that if you do keep this up, you might not come back.”
“Yeah. I know. I think I know that one better than anyone else,” she said softly, stepping forward again, flames dancing around her hands now that she had activated her pyrokinesis, getting back into her stance, body relaxed yet ready to move at a moment's notice. “Lars!”
He wasn't about to walk away from this, even if he did respect her decision to fight on her own. It may have seemed a bit hypocritical, but he really did care about her well-being, as well as that of his other comrades.
“... Keep an eye out for any unwanted visitors, ne?” She gave him the slightest of smirks, her expression nearly unreadable outside of that one cue, but he knew what needed to be done.
“Alright.”