Victoria II & 4423 Boarding actions! {OPEN]

[tidesnpc]

Characters: Anyone and Everyone on the Victoria II and the 4423
Content: Sword Battaru and boarding actions
Setting: The skies near Erealia
Time: After all of the ships have managed to work themselves into a tizzy.
Warnings: von Karma-Isako grudgematch

Comments

Order: Katsu -> Kensei -> Edgeworth -> Soubi

[edge_of_honor]

The sounds of battle raged above, and each muffled shout and clash of steel caused Edgeworth to grip his hilt tighter. He didn't dare to go above and join the fray, though; his hesitation was not caused by cowardice but was borne from duty. Should the crew above fail (They won't, he reminded himself sharply) it would be up to him and the other men and women stationed below to hold their enemies at bay. All he could do for now is stand guard and trust that his soldiers could do their job properly.

There was no need to stand stationary by the door to the passengers, however. Edgeworth's boots echoed softly as he stalked through the corridor, his sharp ears and eyes on the search for anything out of the ordinary. He knew all too well that defenses didn't have to fall for rats to sneak in. If he was to protect his ho-his ship, he had to keep constant vigilance.

It didn't take long for his efforts to bear fruit. He caught a glimpse of movement near the stairs, and he stopped and strained his ears to hear the sound of a door creaking open. The hunt was on: sword in hand, he strode almost silently towards his would-be enemies ...or allies.

[butterflychains]

Right behind Edgeworth was Soubi, having been ordered to stay below to help guard the passengers. He took note of his surroundings: a hallway meant a more confined potential battleground, and while that wasn't exactly to Soubi's liking, it would have to do. He worked better in larger, more open spaces, but every good fighter needed to learn how to adapt to the situation. He pitied the pirate that stumbled down here. They would have the most unfortunate experience.

He had lost track of time as they patrolled, and it felt like an eternity had passed before he too heard the creak of the door. Although he didn't know whether the person behind it was a friend or foe, he readied himself to fight, opting to stay a bit behind Edgeworth. Maintaining the right distance between himself and his foe was essential to his style of fighting.

[imadoushin]

Gripping the hilt of his sword, Katsushiro smiled tightly at Kensei as he set off cautiously into the interior of the ship.

The noise of the battle above, muffled as it was, still made enough noise to make it hard to distinguish which, if any, noises came from down here. That there would be enemies down here was indisputable, exactly where was harder to say. Cautiously, Katsushiro advanced along the corridor, sword at the ready.

[kirekaze]

The same had went for Kensei - double, actually, due to his more enhanced senses no thanks to his supplemented Hollow abilities. Still, there was no substitute for experience, and the Vaizard made sure to keep himself at the ready as he went down the corridor with the younger samurai, sealed zanpaktou in hand. He wasn't going to release it just yet - for one the magic that came along with its release would have made him a walking beacon, and also he didn't just want to reveal his hand just yet. Best to keep all his surprises for later.

Still, the Victoria II... for all that it was worth, the silver-haired man had to hope that he wasn't going to meet that one guy on here. Though given that he was the first mate, the possibility was highly unlikely.

[edge_of_honor]

Soon enough Edgeworth caught a glimpse of the figure lurking by the stairs, and was shocked to see that it was a mere boy. There was no pity in his heart, however; instead, he felt a sort of muted, indignant anger. Of course they wouldn't send a man to do their dirty work. Instead, they had to rely on whelps who had barely left childhood - then again, what could he expect with a captain like that?

However, even they weren't stupid enough to send a lone pirate into the belly of the ship. There had to be a catch of some sort. Either this boy had extraordinary abilities along the line of Agatsuma or de Alkirk, or he had backup of some other sort ...he had heard a second set of footsteps, didn't he?

Edgeworth's instincts were proven right. A second figure had revealed himself and the first mate peered at the other man - an actual man this time - while he did his best to ignore the wretched weight of familiarity that settled in his stomach. He had seen that bastard somewhere before. That build, that distant face, that hair...

Realization crashed like glass around him. It was him, it was Kensei Muguruma! Rage literally blinded him for the briefest of moments and his blood boiled in his veins. Right then he would have loved nothing more than to dash forward, sword in hand, and slit his throat and crush his bones and paint his blood all over the damn ship until the metal was caked with red - but no, no, he wasn't some impetuous fool. He was taught better than that. Battle was no place for emotions; they were nothing but distractions. Edgeworth repeated this mantra to himself enough to (barely) contain his rage, and he held a finger behind him to signal Agatsuma to watch his back. It would do no good to approach these men on his own.

...but whether or not Agatsuma aided him, Muguruma was his.

[butterflychains]

At long last, there was the pirate scum, though they didn't look quite like what Soubi had expected. Still, no matter what form they came in, they would receive no mercy. Soubi had his orders, and he would follow them faithfully. Really, these pirates brought this fate upon themselves. They should have never stepped foot on this ship. Hopefully, they were ready to face the consequences of their foolish actions.

Quickly, he began sizing up the situation. Fire spells were out of the question. It would be too easy for the flames to spread and might end up doing more harm than good. Electricity would work better, as would ice. But why limit himself to just the elements? The beauty of Soubi's magic was it could manifest itself in so many different ways. The pirates wouldn't know what to expect next. They better have good reflexes if they wanted to last more than a minute against him.

The real challenge here was protecting Edgeworth as well. It was very likely the two pirates were going to try to gang up on him. Soubi would have to do his best to keep them distracted while assisting Edgeworth any way he could.

Well then. It was time to fight.

[imadoushin]

And there the enemy was. Katsushiro looked the two men up and down briefly as they appeared, trying to assess what sort of threat they might present, though it was hard to tell without actually fighting them, especially given how inoffensive some more unusually powered people could look.

There wasn't really any way to find out, short of attacking, and he was going to have to do that eventually anyway, wasn't he? That was, after all, what they were here for.
He didn't expect to catch either of the men off-guard by attacking now - if he and Kensei had had any chance at a surprise attack, they'd lost it now. So when, a second later, he ran forwards to close the distance between himself and the two strangers, it was a simple frontal attack he was launching at the leading man, the one in the pink coat - one he fully expected to be repulsed, but effective enough as a test of his opponents' defences.

[kirekaze]

...and once again, he was proven that the world just loved to be against him sometimes.

Kensei only remained impassive as he caught sight of his old friend - the current first mate of the Victoria II, Miles Edgeworth. He had hoped that they would have met again under... better circumstances, but the Vaizard knew better than to wish for it to be true. From the moment he had been exiled from Ivona, the man knew something like this was bound to happen eventually - and even better, there was nothing he could do about it. As much as he did not want to fight his former friend... if he had to defend himself, he was going to do it.

Opting to take the backstage, the man played support as Katsushiro bounded forth for the first strike, bringing out his sword before him as his brown (formerly green) eyes narrowed and he muttered out the command phrase for his zanpaktou. "Blow, Tachikaze."

There was a low hum, a burst of light and magic as his sword responded to the command and in a flash, the sword he had been holding was now a combat knife. Wasting no time, Kensei charged up a sphere of energy through his blade and shot it out towards the duo, covering the teenager for his frontal attack.

[edge_of_honor]

As soon as the ball of energy released, instinct took over and Edgeworth dashed to the side, just barely in time to avoid the blast. It wasn't until after it passed, until after his back was against the wall and after the burst of energy flew close enough to make his skin tingle and the hairs on his face stand on end, did shock set truly set in. He knew that Kensei could weild a blade, but he was no mage. Since when was he able to do that?!

There was no time to think about it, though. His lips curled as he glared at his opponents, and he shouted, "Agatsumi! Take care of them!"

[butterflychains]

Being further back, it was easier for Soubi to dodge the energy sphere, stepping to one side and letting it pass. So, at least one of these intruders was more than just a mere swordsman. This made things a little more complicated. He'd have to watch the older one. It was likely he that was just a mere sample of what he could do.

Fortunately, Soubi had quite a few tricks up his sleeve as well. He'll keep them on their toes.

"Very well, sir," he replied, then focused on the two pirate in front of him. "Thunderous rage, divine punishment from the heavens, strike down those that stand before me."

The lighting in the corridor flickered for a second, and out of nowhere, two bolts of lighting appeared, one aimed at each of the pirates.

[imadoushin]

Katsushiro flinched slightly as Kensei's ball of energy shot unexpectedly from behind him, but didn't let it distract him from his attack, pursuing Edgeworth as the older man dodged out of the way of Kensei's attack.

Coming within striking distance, he stabbed at his opponent. His attention focussed on his chosen target, he had little left for Soubi, at least as long as the man seemed to be doing nothing but talking-
-what was he doing?

The flickering of the lights gave him just enough warning to realize something was wrong before the lightning appeared, if not enough to give him much time to get out of its way.

[kirekaze]

Shit!

Kensei barely had enough time to think before instinct took over reason for the moment, and the Vaizard quickly twisted to the side in order to dodge the bolt of lighting that came crackling down the hallway towards him. He could feel the air singing with dangerous, deadly power as the bolt passed by within bare millimetres of him, the static causing his hairs to stand on end.

He turned back towards the duo once the bolt passed by, eyes narrowing as he glanced towards the one who had cast the spell. If you command the lightning, then I command the wind! Tachikaze!

Responding to the mental call, the zanpaktou hummed as Kensei channeled his magic through it, and through the blade commanded the winds itself. The gales responded to his command, howling as they burst through down the corridor towards his opponent with the intention of sweeping them off their feet. Once their ground was gone, this battle was as good as theirs.

[edge_of_honor]

Edgeworth thought he was prepared for battle. Even with Kensei's unexpected abilities, he thought he was ready. That he could take on anything and everything that came before him, no matter how surprising or unusual.

Then came the lightning.

There was just enough space to avoid getting hit head on; the electricity didn't even graze him, though it came close. However, none of that mattered. It was still close enough to see it, close enough to hear that sickening crack of supernatural thunder, and close enough to make his chest tighten with panic. Edgeworth pressed himself further against the wall, breath harsh with fear, and repeated the same mantra to himself over and over again: it's not real it's not real it's not real-

Thankfully, the thunder wasn't loud enough to shatter his resolve; it merely cracked it. After a few sharp, shallow breaths, his focus returned with the ability to hear and see and think again, and his mind returned to battle. He couldn't stay here, no, not unless he wanted to be trapped between Agatsuma's spells and Muguruma's powers. As much as he wanted to go against the man himself, rage wouldn't help him here - this would have to be Soubi's battle. With a snarl on his face, he dashed forward, his attentions aimed at the youth who first arrived.

[butterflychains]

The wind was fierce, and Soubi took a single step backwards to brace himself. Yes, his instincts were right: that one was trouble. Soubi changed his strategy. The more dangerous one would have to be taken out first, and then he could deal with the younger one. He looked to Edgeworth. The first mate would have to be able to handle himself for a while.

Now, it was time to counterattack.

"Gusts of air, sharp as the finest blade, cut through these gales and rip through his flesh."

As soon as the words were spoken, Soubi's own wind was formed, small concentrated blasts of air that soared through the raging winds and towards Kensei.

[imadoushin]

Edgeworth's moment of panic would, in normal circumstances, have been Katsushiro's chance to seize an advantage. The lightning strike, though, had thrown him thoroughly off-balance - both literally, his awkward attempt at dodging (mostly, though not entirely, successful, as a singed and smoking jacket sleeve would attest) leaving him stumbling as he attempted to regain his balance; and figuratively, as he no longer had any idea what sort of powers to expect from these foes. It took him long enough to recover that he lost the chance to attack first, though not long enough that he wasn't ready for Edgeworth's charge.

Waiting until Edgeworth had committed himself to his attack, he sidestepped out of the path of the other man's blade, bringing his own around to meet it.

[kirekaze]

So, this was how it was going to go down then. Kensei for one was quietly thankful that Edgeworth had some common sense and didn't choose to go against him - anyone knew that most humans were no match at all for people with magical abilities. Sure, he could have held back, but with that look on the other's face he had seen earlier...

The Vaizard snapped out of his thoughts at that when he felt Soubi chanting out his spell, gritting his teeth and whipping up his zanpaktou to send out a new gust of wind with equal force as the mage's own. The two cutting winds burst against each other mid-way when they met, the impact causing a huge gust of wind to blow down the corridor. While the rest were (hopefully) distracted, Kensei used this chance to send out two of his hadoukens down towards the blonde, hoping that one of them would at least hit him.