New Carona, Maryland. The city was a large one. Not as large as some places in the USA like New York or Los Angeles, but still decently big. With a population of almost two million, it beat out Philadelphia, Phoenix, and San Antonio. D.C. was a stone's throw away, and the shipping industry could only be described as thriving. The architecture was uniquely New Carona, and it even featured two man-made islands just off the coast, both large sporting arenas which hosted a number of various events for the wealthy and well-to-do. But despite outward appearances, New Carona is not a pleasant place to live. At least, not for the average citizen.

A closer look at the beaches and docks reveal mountains of litter and trash. Graffiti tags adorn the streets the same way water adorns a toilet bowl. Not only are people afraid to go out at night, but in the middle of the day too. There is no "safe" neighborhood: every street is the "wrong side of the tracks." Few people make an honest living, and fewer still are able to make a buck without having to pay off someone else. But it wasn't always this way. Once upon a time New Carona was spoken of in the same breath as New York City for how grand it was. Only in the last twenty years has it fallen prey to the half-dozen or so street gangs which rule through blood and steel. One woman has decided that enough is enough.



Roulette Co., New Carona branch is a relatively small office, deceptive in how large the national corporation truly is. Only recently installed in the last few months, one could say this particular branch was still "branching out," and meeting some heavy resistance from the locals. Inside, within a private office, sat a beautiful woman covered in tattoos, with blonde-brunette hair down to her shoulders and a deep blue dress. Though she looked to be in her twenties, she was in fact 45, owed entirely to her fantastic health and training regimen.

"Have all my guests arrived, Eric?" she spoke into a desk-mounted intercom.

"Yes ma'am," replied a man's voice from the other end. "The last one just walked in."

"Fantastic. You may send them all in."

The woman shut off the intercom and gave pause for about eight seconds before the doors to her office opened up. Six figures entered, six individuals from various locations in the world. A cyborg from Switzerland. A feminine man from Brazil. A Brit with a tattoo across her face. A Japanese man carrying a sword. And two more, each clothed completely head to toe, covering up all of their features. They entered, getting their first real life glimpse of the woman who had invited them all here on this day: Eve Roulette.



"It is a pleasure to make your acquaintance, one and all. Please, take a seat." She gestured to the two couches and numerous chairs about the room facing opposite her desk.

To be in the same room as Eve Roulette, that was a treat. Not just for her status as a woman of business, for which she had quite a name. Oh no, for something much deeper and more unifying for everyone present. Though retired, Roulette was a champion fighter. A world class fighter. Both in legal tournaments and the underground, she had won numerous titles. It was how she amassed enough wealth to startup her company without having to take out a single loan. To those in the know, she was a legend. Of course, the art of fighting required constant practice to keep your sharp edge, and she was more accustomed to being on the other end of a desk than a fist these days.

"I do hope that my secretary offered you some refreshments while you waited. I apologize for any of you who arrived early. My name is Evelyn Roulette, and I have spent a great deal of money and resources tracking you all down. First let me thank you for accepting my invitation. Others were invited as well, but turned it down for one reason or another, so I want you all to know how very much I appreciate your time. Just for hearing me out, I have already wired $5000 in US currency to your bank accounts." She paused to let that information sink in before continuing, standing up from her desk and opening the curtains of her office, revealing a coastal view of New Carona. The city buildings stood tall, proud, and imposing in the distance. The beach down below was covered in trash and hoodlums, two of which could be seen having a knife fight.

"I'm sure I don't need to lecture you all as to the reputation of this city, but I will say this: Whatever you have heard, the reality is worse. I was born here, forty-five years ago in its golden days. In my absence, it has fallen so low. It hurts me to see. Pains the heart, really." She didn't speak with any overt emotion, yet her back was to the group, making it impossible to truly get a read on the woman. She turned around, smiling, as she continued. "The police are as corrupt as they come. They don't do a thing to stop the crime that's plagued my city. I have returned to reclaim my home, but I cannot do that alone. If the authorities cannot, will not help, then I believe it is time to get back to basics."

Eve cracked her knuckles before suddenly kicking straight up, sending her large oak desk up into the air in two pieces, split cleaning in half by the powerful kick. It seemed she was not so consumed by her company that she could not at least keep up the basics of her training. "That is why I have hired each of you, to dispense street justice. Naja. The Red-Hot Riot. Light. The Myriad Man. The Highwayman. The Street Samurai of Brazil. Do you accept my offer?"

Sam crouched through the doorway into Evelyn's office taking a short moment to look around the room. He was amazed that there were places this pretty in a city with a reputation like New Carona, even in the outback of Australia he'd hear stories of how messy this place was. Sam wasn't really one for sitting down all that much, but he didn't want to come off as rude to the woman that was kind enough to invite him into her office. So he figured he'd meet it at the halfway point and stand in front of one of the many chairs scattered around the room.

While Sam didn't know of many exploits in terms of legal and underground fighting it was clear she was a person of great authority, she'd just wired 5000$ USD to everyone's accounts and you don't just stumble upon that kind of money. Sam was a little taken back by Eve's words of how the city had fallen so far, and how it was the city she called home as a child, it was obvious seeing it turn into the festering cesspool that it was today would be heartbreaking.

Eve then told everyone about the corrupt cops and their refusal to so much as lift a finger as the city crumbled around them. Disgusting! Disgraceful the lot of them! Then Eve's desk suddenly flew into the air, split clean in half by an impressive kick. If Sam was able to flinch he would have. It was strangely inspiring to watch someone split a desk in two then asking you if you'd work with them to rid a city of crime. Sam couldn't help but start clapping and nodding his head, feeling like this could be the calling he'd needed to get his life on track. Sam then noticed how loud he was clapping and awkwardly slowed his clap, letting out a slight groan. "I... A-aaccck-cccept..." Sam said slowly, letting out another groan after he finished speaking.

Light was one of the earlier members of this party to arrive, having only been a few cities over before being called to Eve's office. She kept her disguise on, a bit unsure if she was supposed to show herself or not, being unsure of what the proper manners was for this kind of thing. But at lest she could sit down in a chair unlike another person who looked like a brick wall of a man. Having a soft drink in her hand from the offer of Eve's assistant, Light occasionally pulled down her bandana to take a sip. If anyone was observant, they'd notice her sharp teeth in those short instances, but the big brick boi was very distracting.

Light listened to Eve's reasoning and explanation for inviting them all here. While she didn't fully understand some of the concepts being said, especially the value of the money she was given, she nodded all the same. The crime thing Light wasn't entirely worried about, especially because it sounded like there were a lot of people who needed hugs. She chuckled a little at Eve breaking her desk as it just seemed so unnecessary. "I don't know about the others, but I wouldn't be here if I didn't accept your offer. Just keep me fed and I'm happy~." Light said, standing up and taking off her wide brimmed hat for a moment to give her a little bow, showing off her blue hair. "Anyone else think this is going to be fun? it sounds fun~!"

Last through the door to Roulette's office, trailing behind the others as she rubbed the drowsiness from her eye, came Llexe. Unaware of her surroundings, she bumped straight into the big man as he straightened up following his entry. The slight impact roused her, and her eye opened with a snap as she bared her teeth at the great oaf, like it was his fault she stumbled into him. He didn't seem to notice, and the others spread through the room to sit, leaving Llexe with her first view of Evelyn Roulette, the woman she'd been told she would be meeting. Her glassy, nearly-white eye, lined by scars, took the well-proportioned blonde in. She looked like someone Llexe knew. An irritated look crossed her face before she lurched over to the nearest couch and slumped down.

Llexe's face turned impassive as Eve battered her with an explanation, making sure to mention just how nice the city used to be compared to how dismal it was now. It all flew in one ear and out the others; Llexe already knew why she was here and what she was supposed to do, so none of this mattered. Only Eve's declaration of deposited funds really stuck with her, and that only because she wondered in idle curiosity which of her organization's members set this gig up for her and would actually be getting the money. As for herself, she didn't give a hoot about the money, either. It was a poor thing to fight for.

The view out the curtains Eve provided drew her empty gaze, and Llexe stared out for a while until a sudden motion and noise snatched her attention. Her host's sudden, mighty kick split her own desk in two, which earned her a dully confused look from Llexe. Though clearly unimpressed, it was more the bemused sort than the condescending kind that took hold of her. Eve's following statement, however, elicited more of a response. She addressed her guests one by one, glancing between them as she did, but for a few she gave epithets rather than names. Red-hot Riot. That was what she said while looking at Llexe, who shook her head in consternation. What dumbass gave her that nickname? A face came to mind, one bearing cheery green eyes and crowned with long, stylish brown hair flowing in the breeze that so often surrounded it. It was the face of that annoying, fun-loving jokester, seldom serious about anything but looking and acting cool. Ugh. If he's my contact, I'm gonna go nuts.

It occurred to Llexe a few moments later that she'd been asked for confirmation. She blinked twice in confusion; didn't this woman know that she'd been sent specifically for this task? Maybe the organization was trying to keep itself removed. If that was the case, did she need to pretend to care about the state of the city, or about the money? Well, whatever. It wasn't like she'd be interacting with these people like a normal human. Just a blunt instrument to point in the direction of whatever needed breaking—that sounded good. “Uh. Yeah.”

Of course, one of the others felt the need to make a little spectacle, bowing like some theater kid at the end of a play and singsonging about how fun she thought things would be. And her hair was stupid, too. “Shut up...” Llexe growled under her breath, low and guttural, less of an imperative for anyone to hear and more of a totally unregulated escapee from her psyche. The tattooed brit, it seemed, would say pretty much whatever she felt like. To keep herself from drifting off again like she had in the waiting room, she took a better look at the others. Aside from the big brute, they all seemed to be women, not that the idle realization prompted so much as a batted eye from her. Only one question concerned Llexe: when were they going to stop lounging around, blabbering about tripe and beating up furniture, and start cracking heads?

Naja, dressed in a white tank-top and simple black shorts, was walking into the building with her mechanical augmentations visible for all to see. She didn’t look much at her fellow fighters, she didn’t have much reason to as of yet. The bottom of her mechanic legs still wore shoes, so she didn’t make more sound than regular as she walked. For a team of fighters all across the world, only one of them really looked as she had expected them to, which was the giant among them. However, Naja knew not to underestimate the amount of weird that could amount to power in this world. After all, she thought as she flexed her metallic fingers, she was one of the weird ones. Could it actually be that the weird outpowered the classic look? … Naja would be very disappointed if so.

So this was Eve Roulette. Indeed, knowing her age Naja found herself remarkably impressed by the woman’s appearance, instantly earning some level of respect from the cyborg. Very well. Naja sat down in one of the couches, put one leg over the other and placed her hands together, listening to the woman. She had expected the nature of their mission, ever since she’d heard she’d be heading for New Carona. 5000$... While a lot to a citizen, it wasn’t much compared to the cost of the metal limbs which Naja fought with. Add that to the money she regularly earned through missions and how big her “allowance” from her father was, and it was pocket money. Still, it proved the point. There was more where that came from, and Naja had reasons beyond money to fight.

Heh. No caring about paying for tables, apparently. … Huh. Big guy was clapping at the table being kicked apart. Or perhaps he was clapping because of her determination to clean up the city. In any case. Naja heard the plea, and intended to answer it. She just let a few others answer first.

‘I stand with you. Just let me know, who are the stronger known foes we’ll have to deal with? Are we just talking numbers, or will they be a real challenge?’ Naja leaned forward, placing her legs back straight as she did. Because she was indeed curious, who was there out there that could challenge them? What information could Eve give them? … Of course, Eve may have been getting there eventually, but Naja wanted to ask, anyway.

He had entered the place and took a quick glance at the people inside. The luxurious office was contrasting with the lawless inferno he had just travelled to.

Witnessing the display of raw power, he knew who he was dealing with. He had done something similar for quite a time, beating mooks to a crawl and enforcing vigilante justice with his bare feet, reclaiming the honor that was lost from his dojo. His family. His life.

Behind his past in Brazil, lied a history of using his martial prowess to provide spectacle for the masses on the World Wide Web. A thing that he liked to do, not for the sake of internet popularity, nor for the sake of being a millionaire. Evelyn's demonstration of skill may have been a thing to see, but he knew that he was dealing with a warrior with a burning heart. A similar sensation overcame him when she started to speak, causing his heart to sink down as his mind went back to his days at the Dojo...

"And by this moment on, I hereby swear, in the name of our ancestors, to reclaim the honor of our house. To always follow the path of Justice and truth, and to be a shield for the weak."

... however, as soon as he was pulling the oath he made to his mentors back then from the depths of his mind, the woman was mentioning the nickname he earned during the days of livestream. He smiled, the idea of beating up bad guys always made him happy.

He then looked at the other fighters in the room, and looked at Evelyn back. "I'm thankful for the opportunity to fight for such a noble cause. Protecting the weak is the reason for why I follow the way of the ninja, and I am more than glad to help you on your quest. I just hope you don't mind if I end up having some fun putting the trash where it belongs."

That said, he kept waiting for instructions.

As it turned out, passing a 180cm-long nodachi through airport security was shockingly difficult. It could, however, be done, as long as it was disguised as a suburitō and your flight was paid for privately. So too was hiding a weapon of that size difficult, even when it couldn't legally be called a sword, but not impossible when one wore items that flowed as loosely as, say, a kimono. And so it was that Hikari Kiyoshi entered the building and ultimately the head office of Roulette Co.'s New Carona branch, armed not to the teeth per se, but more than sufficiently to suit his purpose in being there.

The contrast between the sheen of this building and the grime of New Carona in general made it all the clearer to Kiyoshi that the city really needed some help. And help their disparate party would, apparently - though they could not appeal to authorities to fix matters, they could forcefully defeat the crime lords and gangsters that had taken the place over, displayed most adroitly by a kick whose precise severing of the company leader's desk made the swordsman instantly self-conscious. Cleanly severing objects with a blade was one thing, but with one's own limbs was quite another. Either way, Kiyoshi's internal sigh went unheard, but... he knew how people worked. Defeating crime lords left power vacuums, after all. Did Miss Roulette intend to fill those vacuums herself, with her company's tender blessings? He wondered what sort of city that would create in the end.

Still, it fell to the gathered group's largest member to speak first, outwardly impressed as he was. Whilst his body was disguised, his voice was strained simply to utter two words, and Kiyoshi couldn't help but wonder what sort of stress he was under. After him, the similarly-disguised woman spoke; he'd seen her teeth between drinks, and the reveal of her strangely-coloured hair indicated that perhaps she wasn't entirely human. Peppy, however. Next to speak was the so-called Red-Hot Riot - so-called, Kiyoshi considered, because she showed her anger toward the name immediately. She seemed rather irritable in general, actually. But, she too was actionable toward the cause if only half-heartedly, as was the woman with cybernetic limbs and a build that was... actually somewhat concerning to witness. Kiyoshi wasn't sure how well her waist supported her intensely-muscled upper body, admittedly, though she was clearly not hampered. Perhaps another ki user such as himself? In any case, last to declare allegiance was the Street Samurai of Brazil, though she- ah, the voice indicated masculinity, so good thing that was made clear before Kiyoshi made a huge error of courtesy- though he self-described as a ninja with a good cause.

It seemed all and sundry had said their piece, save himself. Standing up and clearing his throat gently, he spoke out, politely, professionally if one would, addressing the group as much as the woman who had brought them together: 'I pledge my sword toward the goal of excising New Carona's criminal element, for as long as the task will take. And if it would be simpler for you, Miss Roulette, you are free to refer to me as just Kiyoshi. Likewise to you all.' Alongside this final greeting, he offered a formal thirty-degree bow lasting about two seconds - again, polite, though he knew that to some he would not have been anywhere near formal enough. On the one hand, his parents would have insisted that he refer to Eve as Sensei, or at the very least Roulette-sama, and likewise that he'd ask her to call him Hikari-kun and his companions to call him Hikari-san, all to show proper respect. On the other hand, he'd learned very quickly that nobody native to the United Kingdom nor the United States talked like that, and that doing so outside of friend and family groups led to getting picked on very quickly. Not that he couldn't defend himself from bullying of that sort... rather, certain people also frowned on doing so, ironically enough, especially his parents. What a paradox.

Roulette smiled as each of the six fighters summoned before her gave, in their own ways, their approval of the mission. Somewhat relieved that none had declined the offer, she elected to address the questions brought up by the cyborg in their midst. "I see you have a strong desire to get into the thick of things and waste no time. I will oblige. While there are numerous smaller gangs in the city, I doubt they will offer much in the way of challenge or contest. Easy fodder for seasoned fighters as you all are. But of course, never underestimate the advantage of sheer numbers, even if the individual fighters are rather pitiful. It could prove a fatal mistake." Idly, almost subconsciously, she rubbed a small scar on her arm, almost invisible thanks to the tattoo placed over it. "The real trouble will come from the six largest gangs in New Carona, commonly referred to as Six Disasters. The media loves to sell a story, but when you give such titles, you legitimize them. Gives them the sort of respect they desire. I just call them what they really arm. Thugs and scum."

She spat out those last words, before recomposing herself and continuing on. "The gangs collectively known as the Six Disasters are individually made up of the Black Dragons, the Iron Maidens, the Titans, the Brujah, the Phoenix Kings, and the Street Sharks. Their leaders are difficult to locate and get an accurate assessment of, but these sorts of people only rally around strength, so they must be at least of some merit. They have numerous lieutenants also judged to be dangerous, as well as thousands of followers between them all."

She took a moment to close the curtains, sealing up the outside view once again. The knife fight on the beach had concluded, leaving one young man to stain the sand red while the other walked away, carrying his opponent's shoes."Since you will be working as a team, please take this opportunity to make some introductions. Getting to know one another will help ensure you are able to work together in the field, and could very well save someone's life." She turned back to face them as a lightbulb went off over her head. "Before I forget, it is imperative that you avoid dropping bodies at all cost. Remember, the police are working for these gangs. Their ability to get involved will be limited, but if people begin to die, they will be able to launch a full investigation, and ruin our efforts."

Thugs and scum. Alternately, people trapped in untenable situations, whose only chance of potentially getting out of poverty was to work for people worse than them. Not the gang leaders themselves, to wit, but surely not every single individual gang member was a heartless monster. But then, that made not killing them all the more vital - not just to avoid police intervention, but ultimately to prevent the needless deaths of those in need. Albeit, the alternative was arguably just as bad... gah. Kiyoshi hated this sort of cognitive dissonance. To save the city, the only option actively presenting itself was to badly injure its inhabitants and drive them out. Blast.

'I am Hikari Kiyoshi,' he quietly re-introduced himself at Eve's request, 'and it is a pleasure to meet you all. As previously stated, you may all refer to me by just my given name, Kiyoshi. If you wish, you are also free to use one of my titles instead - Myriad Man, or... Kensei.' He preferred not to refer to himself as "Sword Saint", as it implied a degree of hubris, and he found it disconcerting and even uncomfortable when others referred to him with such authority, despite their being equals or even superiors. Nevertheless, for completion's sake, it was necessary to mention the term others had developed for him, and allow others to act accordingly.

Things were getting interesting. Sure the rude lady coming in wasn't all that fun, but a cyborg, a ninja, and a samurai looked fun! Alongside her and Mr. Meat Mountain, they had a fun looking crew. Although she wondered how much posturing the ninja and samurai would be doing, if that one movie she saw was any indication. Eve's job description seemed... alright. The gangs had some weird names; the Iron Maidens being a gang Light didn't like the sound of. But with a no kill rule, it all sounded like a really fun game.

"Well if we need to socialize, and we're all teamies, theres no point in me wearing a disguise for now huh?" Light said, all too eager to take off her disguise. Standing up she had one hand on her trenchcoat, but before she continued she said. "Oh uhm, no screaming or anything like that. I got enough of that in the last city." With that said, she pulled off her disguise in a flourish, showing everyone her fun void fishy form. With a toothy grin, she said. "I hate wearing that thing, especially the boots, but I gotta otherwise people go 'aaah, a monster!' when they see my eyes and all that."

She began pantomiming and acting out what she was saying halfway through her words, and continued to act as she said. "But yeah, my names Light, same as my fighting name. Works so well, because, well, think of it from the baddie view. They hear the name Light, and they'll expect a paladin or something, then this eldritch fish lady comes up and says "boo". They wouldn't expect someone named Light to use void powers, thats for sure!" She was in full excited swing mode, all bubbly and bouncy, bounding to each person as she shook their hands. "We have Kiyoshi here with a sword, very cool~, but what are all your names?" Considering the crew they had, it was going to be interesting.

One by one the other fighters spoke up, while Llexe grew perilously close to nodding off. The woman with mechanical limbs voiced a question that promised to extend the fighters' stay in this soporific office, which would have riled up Llexe's impatience were she not practically drifting away. Instead, she gazed sleepily at the shining metal of Naja's arm, wondering how useful it was. Both her missing limbs and apparent stoicism reminded her of another member of her organization; with so few acquaintances in the world, Llexe supposed such comparisons couldn't be helped. Did Naja's counterpart know about such gizmos? Then again, how could some electric doodad compare to her own substitute? Losing interest, Llexe ignored Eve's response and looked to the next fighter to speak up.

The slim, pretty girl talked next after some sort of protracted introspection, though 'her' first few words made Llexe's brows furrow. Oh. A dude? That was weird. He mentioned having fun putting away the trash, which was the least stupid thing anyone said so far. On his heels followed the last person to talk, who also definitively proved himself male. His garb, weapon, and overall aesthetic came across as somewhat reminiscent of another ally, but analogies ended there. If Llexe possessed any clue of the meaning of Kiyoshi's last name, her tenuous comparison would have been even more unfounded.

Well, that made everyone. After wrapping up her reply to Naja, Evelyn imparted a couple more details about the opposition the team would be facing, but nothing useful. Only her final addendum really came through to Llexe: that she could not take the lives of her enemies. A look of mixed frustration and bafflement took her over; she was going to have to hold back? That meant not showing her full potential to the organization. And why not? As best she understood it, the rule was in place to keep the police from getting involved. What bizarre reasoning. Were the souls of these cops not just as black as the scum parasitizing this place? Even if they did not steal, kill, rape, and abuse themselves, they freely abetted those who did. If they came about, Llexe would take them down too. Even she knew little about her own organization, but she knew this: it was above the law.

Introductions, how droll. Why go out and hurt people when you could make nice instead? The samurai spoke first, giving a number of complicated names he'd answer to, so Llexe decided that if the need ever struck her to refer to him as anything but 'you', she'd use the shortest—kensei. Clearing her through, Llexe went, “Uh...” before the annoying blue-haired woman from earlier jumped in front.

Saying something inane, Light took off her trench coat, exposing a strange, rubbery-looking white body with sharp points and some serious hips. Her face, too, drew looks; with no nose, slitted yellow eyes, and sharklike teeth Light sure stood out. A memory drifted through Llexe's head: pale features, white hair, and dark eyes beneath a blue mask. Were the two somehow connected...? Well, she wasn't that interested. Far less surprised than she ought to have been, for some reason, Llexe responded only by holding up her hand and unballing her first for the first time since arriving. On her fingertips, courtesy of her gloves, were small, downward-hooking metal claws; Light's were far bigger. When the monster openly mentioned having some sort of powers, she looked down at the floor evasively. So, there were others...?

Closing her fist again, Llexe decided to get this ordeal overwith once Light finished. “Uh...Llexe,” she said simply. Even if she did want to talk, there wasn't a lot to know about her.

Naja nodded as she was addressed by Eve. She also acknowledged that numbers did, in fact, mean something, but it just meant you had to be smart about it. ‘… If they control this much of the city then they’ve got the money to hire strong fighters. If they aren’t challenges themselves, they’ll bring some as soon as we start tearing them apart,’ Naja stated as she stood up, her back straight as she turned to look at the rest.

‘Well met, Kiyoshi,’ Naja told the blade-wielder, idly wondering if he had methods to avoid killing. It was a problem Naja’d have to struggle with herself, on their own her blows had more than enough strength to end lives, but for a weapon-wielder? Then, there was Light… who wasn’t human. Naja blinked at her a bit in surprise at this revelation, though didn’t make any sounds. After having processed her a bit, she came to the conclusion that was entirely fine. ‘It’s nice to meet you, Light,’ she replied. Then… the other woman. Llexe. A single word. It’d do. Actually, Naja respected the woman’s efficiency. If talking wasn’t her strong point, then getting it over with without a fuzz was admirable. ‘Llexe,’ Naja said, simply to affirmate that she had heard and approved. Then she prepared to speak herself.

‘I am Naja, tireuse of savate and practitioner of baji quan, as well as wielder of mechanized strength. I’m skilled and strong, no need to look out for me unless our enemies are on the same level. If any of you are interested in sparring to get to know each other better, then I’m willing to try you out when we have free time. … We’ll get by alright,’ she told the last specifically as Light bounced by, somewhat unimpressed by her attitude but it was overall harmless. She got a handshake from a metal hand, no problem. A small instinct to perform the natural Swiss greeting went through Naja’s mind, though she suppressed it. It wasn’t a thing in the states, after all. Maybe if they got to know each other better. Maybe.

Sam listened as the rest of the fighters confirming they were here to stay. Sam did take note of how the woman wrapped up in a getup not too dissimilar from his own, was incredibly bubbly and excited. It was very strange indeed. Following up on this was the fact that two of the people Sam had previously assumed to be girls, were in fact men. Sam was in part relieved by this discovery it would have been a little awkward if he was the only guy there.

Eve went on to elaborate the details of what was going to happen at the request of the Cyborg woman. There was a total of 6 gangs they were going to have to take down... That was going to be a lot of thugs to punch. Hopefully taking out the leaders of the gangs would lower moral enough for all the mooks to run and hide, that would make things substantially easier. Continuing on Eve wished for everyone to get acquainted so that they could work better as a team. Sam groaned internally as he contemplated whether or not he would take off his mask. Perhaps it would be better if he waited to see what the other concealed figure was going to do first.

First to speak up was the terribly polite Kiyoshi. The boy was obviously of Asian descent, his clothes, manners and weapon were far too clean to from anywhere else. His weapon was quite impressive, though the lethality of a blade like that did seem like it could cause problems. Though if Kiyoshi was here he was greatly skilled with that weapon, and could no doubt use the blade expertly enough to avoid lobbing someone's head off.

Next up was the... Demon? Sam looked at the others and couldn't help but find their lack of outward reactions disturbing. This magical creature had just revealed herself and nobody seemed to flinch! Maybe he could show his face after all... Maybe not... Light's name was very fitting of her personality, the joyful creature zipped around the room so quickly giving handshakes that Sam barely had time to get ready. He gave Light the weakest handshake he could muster and gave a slight nod as she went. Sam was going to speak up after her but was stunned by the reveal along with the positive reception. Though admittedly Light wasn't hard on the eyes and that surely affected the reactions of the others.

The third person to speak up really didn't have all that much to say, which was something Sam could get behind, though was also partially upset by. Llexe. what was with these names! How on earth did they expect Sam to be able to pronounce these consistently, Sam was going to have to come up with nicknames whether the others like it or not.

Next up was the Cyborg, who seemed rather confident. This girl meant business no question about that. Honestly. Sam found her quite intimidating. She was so confident she said she'd be willing to spar with anyone standing in the room, now normally this wouldn't be as impressive, but a literal creature from another dimension! Had just made itself know. Think on that Sam realized all these people might be terrifying as hell. Sam kinda felt out of place. Not just because everyone else in the room was pretty, but because he might have been out of his depth here.

Pushing that feeling to the back of his mind Sam felt he should probably get his introduction out of the way. He took a deep breath and put a hand to his chest. "Sam..." Sam said, lowering his hand and just standing there. Yeah he wasn't ready to take off his mask...

With his arms crossed, he didn't bother much with formalities, after everyone had presented themselves. He just stretched himself a bit before responding to the people.

"Christopher Falcon, 35th successor of the Kurenai style of Ninjutsu. And I'm not here to do stealth, as people can see."

He took a quick glance at everyone in the room. The Samurai was the first person he looked at, he had the spirit of the Bushido flowing on his body, and he knew he was being really serious with maintaining the old traditions. "A samurai, just like the warriors of old, such as Souji Okita, Miyamoto Musashi or Minamoto no Yoshitsune. Quite an honor, indeed."

The fish woman that looked like an Undertale/Deltarune OC or something out of the SCP foundation files was very energetic. Still, the girl reminded him of those old Pokémon games, so she wasn't much of a shock - He could be easily nicknaming her as "Darkrai-chan" or something, but he didn't knew much of his partners to make a judgement. Either way, he just greeted her, polite as he was. "Pleasure is mine, Light. Same goes for all of you."

He heard Eve talking about the "no deaths" rule and the names of the gangs. Brujah? Black Dragons? Six Disasters? Corny, but he knew how intimidating things could be. Making sure that there was no corpses around would only add to the excitement of this little task, but acknowledging the participation of the police amidst the gangs was a potential hindrance as he knew very well how much of a hassle that thing can be - he almost had troubles with political parties sanctifying thugs and drug traffickers back then, and wasn't it for the sheer pressure of the crowds nearly rioting during the criminal rate peaks, he'd be in real trouble.

Still, the benefits of the task given at hand far outweighed the dangers, all he had to do was give concussions to Galsias and Poisons and run before the cops, or how it was known in his homeland, "os tiras".

Eve observed as each of her chosen champions introduced themselves in their own way. First was Kiyoshi, who spoke with the politeness one would expect from someone of his background. His sword could prove to be a problem, if the samurai did not have a method to his style which could avoid causing lethal damage. Still, he seemed confident enough himself, so she did not have any reservations about hiring him. Next was Light, who exposed herself in front of the entire group. Few expressed any kind of shock to her demonic visage, and Eve was not one of them. Of course she had known what Light was before bringing the Void beast in, otherwise the people she paid to gather intel would have had to be fired. Still, she was not expecting such a diametrically opposed personality to the image before her, so in that way Light was somewhat uncomfortable to Eve. Then Llexe spoke up, albeit barely. Eve could feel a deep rooted rage in this woman. If any of them could be a danger to the team as a whole, or cause unnecessary collateral damage, it would likely be her. Still, the people Eve had gotten in contact with to hire Llexe assured her on their reputation that this fighter would be perfect for the job. She had better be, for their sake. After Llexe was Naja, opting to go by her code name rather than her real name. Eve certainly had no intentions of breaking the masquerade and revealing Naja's real name to the group if the woman herself had no intentions of doing so. A name was only something to be called, after all, a label. The cyborg was welcome to use whatever label she desired. Once she had finished, Sam introduced himself next in much the same way as Llexe did: short and curt. He felt different, however. While Llexe seemed to be bothered and irritated by it all, Sam seemed to be more uncomfortable and strained. Of course Eve knew why. It had taken a great deal of time and money to track down the medical reports covering Sam's condition, but it made him all the more terrifying a fighter. Of course that left Chris last. The effeminate looking man spoke with the same sort of air as Kiyoshi did, though he seemed to be a bit more efficient about it. Like it was less about manners and more about completing the task at hand, even if the task was just a simple introduction.

"Fantastic," Eve spoke, clapping her hands together. "Well then, until we get word of somewhere you need to be, I think it's prudent to engage in some team building activities. We can start with two truths and a lie. Just say three things about yourself, but one is a lie and the rest of the group tries to guess which one it is. It's a fun game to build trus-"

A hard, furious knock at the door interrupted her. Before she could continue, the door opened up to reveal her secretary, Eric, rushing forward in an almost comical fashion, off balance. "Miss Roulette! You haven't been answering the intercom! What's going on-Oh, again? Ugh, I'll put in an order for a new desk." He came to a hard stop a few feet away from the group. Just then he noticed Light, no longer covered up, and he could only stare blankly, jaw slightly askew.

"Out with it, Eric. What do you need?" Eve snapped her fingers in front of the young man's face, bringing him back to attention. As he spoke, it was clear he was very uncomfortable, and his eyes kept drifting back to Light.

"I just got a call from a little ma and pa shop about five minutes away. They said that some guys from the Tunnel Snakes are roughing up the place and demanding protection money, but they already gave up all their cash to the Black Dragons yesterday. They're in a really bad shape and need help."

Eve rested a hand on her hip and gave a smile out of the right side of her mouth. "Looks like your first team building exercise will actually be knocking some heads. The Tunnel Snakes shouldn't be a problem. Get the address and go. And, of course, protect the store. It's all pointless if in the process of protecting them you break everything." She waved them all away in a manner which said "shoo.' Eric provided the address, and soon they were off on their way.

---

The storefront, if you could even recognize it as a storefront, could only be described as falling apart and basically dead. There was a clear indentation where a store sign used to hang from the front of the building, but the sign itself was long gone, probably sold off to help the owners pay their mortgage. The paint had practically faded into nonexistence and the structure of the building undoubtedly would need a huge overhaul. Inside were rows and various antiques ranging from classic bicycles from the twenties to musical instruments and everything in between. A middle-aged couple, two women, held one another in the corner as a group of men in biker leather slammed the cash register down onto the floor. The register and the floor both cracked, leaving a nice hole you could reach into. One of the thugs picked up the spare bills and change that had spilled out from the register.

"Fifty-seven dollars and eighty-one cents. You said you didn't have anything to give us, ya hags!"

"Please, that's all we have left! There is nothing else!"

"I wouldn't say nothing else. That's a nice lookin' guitar ya got hanging up there. Grab it, Stevie."

A second thug nodded and grabbed the instrument from a rack on the wall, looking it over. His smug smile quickly turned to disgust. "The paint is chipped, bro!"

The thug hurled the guitar across the room, into the wall with a mighty slam. All the merchandise shook, some items falling to the ground. The first gang member moved in closer to the pair of women, who held one another tighter. "It's no wonder ya ain't got no money, hags. All yer stuff is cheap crap! You tryin' ta sell cheap crap on our turf? That's an insult. Nobody insults the Tunnel Snakes!" He lifted his right fist, ready to lay into the defenseless women.

The giant was a man of few words as well, but for a different reason, it felt like to Naja. Not that it mattered. Then there was the feminine male ninja. … And, it made sense that Kiyoshi interested her- er, him. Christopher Falcon, 35th successor. Darn, that’s a long history.

Eve spoke again… and suggested something horrifying. That childish team-building activity that was sure to become exceedingly awkward!? Naja’d rather fight every single one of them in a row! She almost felt her hairs stand on end… when there was a furious knock, and they were spared from partaking in such an embarrassing activity. Naja breathed out in relief.

… So, the Tunnel Snakes were causing a stir of trouble? How bothersome of them. Well, it was about to be their unlucky day, as they were about to be hit from nowhere by the unified force of what was probably one of the most accomplished teams of fighters on the planet, formed that very same day. Much better than what Eve was about to suggest.

‘We’re on it,’ Naja told, before turning to the team. Alright, there was something here.

______

Naja was more or less in the middle of the street when she looked in and realized the man was about to punch the women. Gritting her teeth, she directed one hand behind her and charged her chi. With a powerful blast the blue chi of her Bolstered Spear shot out at nothing, propelling Naja so she was launched past the whole group of surprised thugs to land behind the main offender, leaving behind a trail of blue chi which quickly faded from visibility.

The cyborg had calculated it so she slowed down just as she approached her target from behind, and there she gripped his raised arm in a mechanized, hard grip. She swung around, twisting his arm as she threw him over her back, sending him careering out past his squad and sliding over the asphalt before finally slamming his head into a pole on the opposite side of the street.

Naja lightly rolled her shoulders for a second as her enemies processed what had just happened, before putting up her metal arms and legs in a defensive savate stance, herself between the thugs and the two women.

‘Alright… let’s warm up,’ she casually stated.

Now, with all likelihood, the rest of the team was already going through their enemies. Still, Naja just wanted to ensure she got in place to block the path to the two innocents first. Now it was just a manner of kicking and knocking out any goons trying to approach the civilians or herself while the rest finished off this barely-mentionable band of thugs.

1 KO.

Introductions ended in short order, despite the best attempts of that Naja woman to pad her resume out. What was all that blather about herself supposed to accomplish, since she was already on the job? Plus, to look at her, Naja needed very little in the way of padding. Metal limbs spoke for themselves.

For some reason, the hulking man who followed her sounded somewhat nervous. What could he possibly have to fear, aside from overheating in all that excessive, stuffy clothing of his? If he, like Light, used their garb to hide something, he might as well unmask. The void creature presented a hard act to follow in terms of strangeness.

Llexe spared little thought for Chris, other than to grimace at his closing assurance. What possible pleasure was there to be found in her, or Sam? The other practitioners of honeyed, overpolite words she'd met turned out to be scum hiding their real, rotten selves. Unless he wanted those prissy features clawed up, he'd better not turn out the same.

However, Llexe felt far more inclined to use her claws on herself when she heard Eve's next suggestion. Uncontrolled bleeding and additional scars sounded a lot less painful than this ridiculous twaddle. Her talon-capped fingers dug into the arm of her couch before she hauled herself to her feet. What she was going to do next she had no idea, but a knock on the door put a sudden stop to the impending catastrophe. One brief comedy skit later, the crew had its first mission: exterminate a few rats gnawing holes in a nearby store. Llexe moved with a sudden energy completely at odds to the irritable lethargy she'd shown so far, bolting to the door with gusto.

---

Though if she really thought about it she would have guessed that she'd arrive first, with her unrestrained low running stance, Llexe kept pace with the group as it rushed to the scene of the crime. Unlike Naja, Llexe didn't register any of the finer details about what was going on in the store as she approached; also unlike her, she lacked any fancy chi maneuver to send her shooting ahead of the others into the fray. So, she did it herself. Completely silent but for a grunt of exertion, she hurled herself into the store like a wild animal, flying past the punch-happy thug on his way out as she did. The closest target, preoccupied by the appearance of Naja and her metal sluggers, didn't notice Llexe incoming until a rather inhuman snarl bade him turn, and by that it was too late.

Llexe struck him with her full weight, sending both to the floor in an instant. After landing on top of him and crushing him against the floor, she rose by pushing down on the heavier thug with both arms, shoving him against the floor again. As she bounced back up, she used his head as a stringboard to launch herself forward into his stunned companions. Slashing recklessly with her outstretched claws as she ran forward, she barreled through the whole line, taking down none but knocking them about and inflicting a few nasty cuts. Scarcely even noticing the couple of blow that struck her as she carved past, she came to a stop at the end of the crowd.

The last man, a huge brute, swung a tremendous left hook at her as she went to claw him. Not flinching in the slightest, Llexe powered though. Her talons struck the biceps on his other arm, drawing blood, just before the vagrant's hook hit her jaw. The force lifted her off her feet, spinning horizontally in the air, but when he caught a glimpse of her eyes he could see only a murderous rage. Her limp body when taught midair, and she recovered with a whirling kick that used her centripetal force, ramming her heel into his ear. With a cry of pain he staggered backward, and Llexe landed on her feet before him. In a flash she drew close and executed a sweep, toppling the off-balance giant where he stood. Continuing to revolve as she fell, Llexe went in a full circle before dropping her elbow on his forehead. In the span of only a couple seconds the brute was out like a light.

Some of the goons flinched, astounded and frightened. One, seeing the madwoman's back turned as she got up, pulled out a knife and lunged at her. Llexe heard him moving and hurried to intercept even before rising fully, targeting not his weak point but his wrist. A clawed hand closed around it, stopping the stab before it reached her. Leaning back, Llexe yanked on the wrist, pulling the man past her. For a split second, he could see her face: one eye, filled with hateful pink fire, and faintly-glowing marks on her cheek. Then her fist slammed into his nose, spraying blood everywhere. The next instant her other hand swatted his head sideways into the side of an ancient television set, and the goon dropped like a bag of bricks.

Llexe turned her twisted face on the remaining thugs, hunched over with claws extended, and spat out a wad of blood. “Run,” she snarled, “Or die!” Not waiting to see whether they took her first choice, she tensed her muscles to begin enacting the second.

(3 KO's)

Light was presently surprised at how well everyone was taking her appearance. All the others of her group only showed a slight bit of hesitation at her appearance, which was pretty nice. Some only lightly grasped her monster sized hands, others gave her an earnest shake, but no one was screaming or running and this made her very happy. Even the rude lady was pretty fun to interact with once she saw what Light was, her face being funny to watch as she tried to piece together what Light was.

At least until the secretary she had met earlier rushed in as Eve was suggesting what sounded like a very fun way for everyone to bond. He blurted out something about Eve not answering her intercom until he stopped to stare at Light. Unlike the others, he didn't seem to have much of a constitution to him, and the way he was looking at her, Light figured he was looking at her hips. Posing to one side so she could rest her hand on her side, she said with a giggle. "Ya like whatchya see?~" Light wasn't making things easy for the poor guy as Eve tried to get his attention for his report. He managed to blurt out something about a small store being terrorized by the tunnel Snakes, and with a mission to do, she put her disguise back on and followed the others out to the store address.

-----

When they got to the store, Naja was the first to act as they started to approach the thugs terrorizing the store with Liexe attacking some of the bigger ones. Light decided she'd have a little fun with the thugs that were acting as lookouts for the others. Using her Void Rift ability, she teleported behind one of the lookout thugs. Sneaking behind him in her disguise, she gave him a big bear hug, putting a lot of pressure on the man. Speaking in Eldritch, she said "wg, ymg' l' vmgi ng yathi, ymg' nith coh~"(Aw, your so cute and cuddly, You need a hug~) The combination of the pressure she was putting on the man that was causing his ribs to pop, her void touch, and the fact that she came literally out of nowhere much to his surprise started to freak him out. Using one of her hands, she was able to still hug the man but cover his mouth. After all, couldn't let her new buddy call for help now could she?

Seeing him trying to struggle in vein was kind of adorable, after all Light only wanted to hug him, couldn't he see that? Well, what the man saw was some white/blue demon lady with sharp teeth approaching his face speaking tongues, so it kind of made sense he started to panic. It was the same with the other thugs she gave hugs to, although she was more pulling a prank on this guy than being super lovable, what with this guy being someone she was told to deal with. Having a fun idea, she remembered a scene form a movie she saw back a little while ago. She made sure the man was looking her dead in the eyes as she opened her mouth a little to make a playful biting motion. As the man started to really squirm, she let him go, watching him run in terror as he barreled through two of his cohorts in a blind panic to get away from the void creature, Light laughing as he knocked himself out headbutting the second thug in the back.

Having done her prank, Light put her bandana and sunglasses back on as the thugs the other one had knocked over got back up and made their way to where she was, one of the clearly irritated he had just gotten headbutted in the back. They didn't see the monster that man was talking about, only a robed figure, and approached Light with hostile intentions. Light was busy having too much fun to care too much as they approached and tried to put the beatdown on her. Although she got hit in the thigh by one thug who was trying to aim low, the other wasn't so lucky when he tried to hold her foot down, unknowing she didn't have feet, and got promptly punched in the chest. Man, this was sure fun!

1 KO, 1 Injured, 1 fighting

With all the introductions and greetings done, there wasn't much to do after all. Chris just watched the conversation unfold and Eve give them the briefing of the situation, when someone came rushing and nearly had a heart attack just by looking at Light and it caused him a mild chuckle. "If only that guy knew the shit I had to face..."

-------------

The storefront's entrance was being safeguarded by some guys, apparently a gang of bikers. Oooh, just like in those old movies! One of them held a steel pipe in his hands and the other was swinging a heavy set of chains, both looking menacingly at the young ninja.

"Toots, 'dis no place for a charming lady like ya. You'd better leave now because we're in the middle of work, because we don't discriminate between men and women!"

"I don't care about your business. It's sad to see you're so weak you need to rely on weapons, however. Back at home, I kicked Ice bricks thicker than that stuff you're holding. By the way, does it reminds you of someone special, or are you merely compensating for something?"

"Compensating for THIS!" Chris was taken back but dodged the smack that he was going to receive with that iron pipe smoothly. He smiled at his aggressors and cracked his fingers, did two squats and two short leaps. "My turn to show compensation for this gesture of kindness, then!"

It was on. A third thug carrying two kukri knives on his hands approached. A smug formed on the face of the ninja as the man shouted, pointing his knife at him, "KILL THAT MOTHERFUCKER, NOW!" As the bikers tried to assault him, he just made his fighting stance.

The first thug - the one with the iron pipe - was greeted with a ferocious Oborozuki that sent him three meters back from where he was. Then the chain holder attempted to wrap it around his neck, and managed to get a hold of Chris as the knife wielder came in. Both were then caught in the white snake grapple technique, and were slammed to the ground as the ninja grabbed his chain and tossed it away.

"You guys are quite obnoxious. But Kurenai Ryu ninjutsu does not approve of ruffians like you! BRING IT ON!" By this point his fighting spirit burned with a roaring fire, adrenaline rush making his blood boil in excitement after getting the first hit on the thugs. They responded by having the Kukri wielder unleash a flurry of slashes at his chest.

A kick to the fist was the reaction to the frenzied cuts, none of which seemed to hurt him. One of the knives fell down to the ground and Chris was able to deliver some attacks to his torso. The biker flinched with the beatdown he was receiving, but didn't fall at first. Then, he was whipped with what would be the sole of his tabi shoes stamped on his solar plexus. He fell backwards, rolling.

The Ironpipe Biker, Gale, tried to come from behind, but Chris dodged in the last second and heard a loud thump followed by a sweep kick. Gale fell down to the ground but recovered quite fast, and looked at the ninja with a grin. "Don't take me for a fool, kiddo. I'm a blue belt in Sambo, and don't think I'll take it easy just because you're cute."

"Then show me what you can do." Chris just smiled back. He was happy, playing with him as Gale quickly went on for a roundhouse kick. He was deadly and heavy, but clunky and predictable, and Gale missed by a wide margin. When the biker thug tried to see where he was going, Chris was already leaping over him, his feet closer to his chest. "Seiryuu no mai!" A shout was heard, three roundhouse kicks followed the spot where both his lungs and his face would be. Gale was tossed somewhere near where the bikes were stationed.

Injury: Gale

Fog, the chain wielder, recomposed himself and grabbed the chains. He was spinning it furiously, but Chris was able to mantain the focused looks on his eyes and read every movement of the biker. While Gale was bulky and all muscular, Fog felt more like an overweight wrestler with a large belly. With the chain, he was quite a formidable opponent. Still, nothing a taijutsu expert can't handle.

Fog went straight for his legs, wrapping the chain at his right heel. He tried to toss Chris against the wall, but he bounced and used the momentum gained to counter that throw, getting the obese thug by surprise and unleashing an Oborozuki that made him go in a 60 degree arc before hitting the floor.

KO: Fog

Storm grabbed his kukri after wiping out the blood from his mouth. "You stupid fucking BITCH! YOU'RE FUCKING DEAD RIGHT NOW!" The biker tackled the ninja with a berserker rage, slashing with his knives as much as he could, every strike followed with a roar. While he was able to scar Chris' belly a bit, his rage turned into panic when the ninja jumped over one of those trash boxes, somersaulted over him, and Storm nearly felt he was going INSIDE that thing. Chris just assumed he was claustrophobic, but he wouldn't give him a heart attack. Instead, Storm got a roundhouse kick in his face, with the sole of the tabi stamped all over his cheek.

Chris then grabbed the kukri and tossed it away. He turned back and walked a few steps. "Kisamara ni sonna you na gangu wa hitsuyounai." Storm fell down to the ground, fainted.

Ko: Storm

Total: 2 KO, 1 Injury

Hm. So Light wasn't human. Curious, indeed. Indeed, the way she put it made her sound... extra-dimensional, almost. He wasn't quite sure what to make of it. He did, however, find it quite encouraging that Christopher was so aware of Japanese historical figures; it highlighted the potential for them to bond over such discussions, something he hoped he could find with everybody, cementing the team's cohesion and friendships accordingly.

To that end, Eve's idea of a trust exercise seemed reasonable enough to him. He could, however, see when others were against it, and worried for a moment that a fight was about to break out. Fortunately, that possibility was interrupted by Eve's secretary, even if he found himself disturbed by Light's unveiled form in the process of announcing a gang attack. Well, handling that matter did seem like a more appropriate expenditure of time... with another formal bow, Kiyoshi took his exit, following after those who had left the room before him smoothly.

---

Their arrival to the store in question was quickly followed by most of the group springing into action - that is, Naja literally sprang into the store, throwing one of the Tunnel Snakes out and into a light post, with Llexe not far behind her. Speaking of light, Light and Christopher both took their opportunities to attack some of the guards posted outside the shop, Light seeming to play around more than anything else, whilst Christopher took the fight as deadly serious, albeit not in the most efficient manner from what Kiyoshi saw before making his own way into the shop, pulling his weapon forth from within his clothes sheath and all. The movement drew the attention of a few gang members who, it seemed, had witnessed the two brawlers further inside, and had no desire to get involved with them, instead turning their attention to somebody with a weapon - and so, in their minds, somebody who couldn't defend themselves without it.

'Well, hey there, fella! Nice dress you got on!' one of them immediately taunted, drawing laughter from the rest. Kiyoshi simply took up his stance, well aware that flailing Seirei around even whilst contained as a suburitō would lead to broken wares. Precise hits, then. Vertical slashes and jabs. Four opponents for the moment.

'Nice stick you got. Hey, lookie here,' another called, pulling out a wooden baseball bat, 'I gotta stick too! Wanna taste?!' With that battle cry, the man charged, and was almost immediately disarmed by a jab to the wrists, then hit in the side with a heavy length of wood, knocking him to the ground next to his bat. Flailing would lead to broken wares, of course - but Kiyoshi did not flail his blade.

'Hey, you son of a-' The next target did not get further than that before the tip of the sword rammed hard into the base of his sternum. Penetrated flesh and cracked bone? No. Bruised? Maybe. Knocked the wind out of his lungs by forcing his diaphragm to seize? Certainly, and he fell to his knees as his lungs refused to inhale. Kiyoshi began to count seconds before he'd be able to inhale once again. As the other two gang members made their commentary and attempted to move into range to strike him, Kiyoshi's weapon moved in kind, beating them again and again on their shoulders, their limbs, their stomachs, forcing them back toward the door, and eventually putting Kiyoshi close to the first gangster - who chose then to try and rise, groping for his weapon before a hard stab downward pinned him to the floor by his shoulder, just long enough for a second strike to the back of his head to render him unconscious.

Which left three immediate threats, one of whom had just pulled a switchblade, and was flicking it in and out as if to threaten. Kiyoshi took his base stance again, and chose then to speak to them.

'You both have a choice, now. Leave, return to civilian life, and no harm shall befall you. Stay, or return to gang life, and rest assured you'll be sorry.' A basic ultimatum, simple and clean. Both seemed skeptical about moving into attack range again, and after a few seconds, the unarmed man decided that cutting his losses might be a good call, turning around and running out of there as quickly as possible.

The last man was more of a disappointment, in that Kiyoshi was disappointed in how he'd failed to change the man's opinions even if just slightly, but at least creative about disappointing. Rather than running in to stab Kiyoshi, he drew his arm back and hurled the knife, as if to try and impale him with it from where he was standing. He'd be very confused, then, to find that with a swift flick upward, the switchblade was now quivering in the ceiling, and Kiyoshi's sword was raised in front of him. He'd be even more surprised to see Kiyoshi... the best way he might be able to describe it was "blurring in his direction", as if moving at impossible speeds, to the point that all he'd have time to do was squeeze his eyes shut in fear.

Kiyoshi held off from attacking until the man opened his eyes again to see Kiyoshi in front of him, at which point the samurai struck him over the skull. The gangster's eyes glazed, and Kiyoshi took hold of his body to lower it more gently to the floor. Then came the final man, who was partly recovered and crawling in Kiyoshi's direction even as his body finally forced an insufficient amount of air into his lungs. Sighing, Kiyoshi rolled him on his back and, despite the gangster's best efforts, rammed his blade into his sternum a second time, seizing his diaphragm all over again. That should keep him down long enough for anybody who wished to knock him out properly to do so, and he'd recover his breathing well before he suffered any permanent harm, Kiyoshi was certain.

On to the next set of foes.

(2 KOed men, 1 winded man, 1 fleeing man to be dealt with as others so wish)