[center][h3]Deep Blue Seaside: Mafia Town[/h3]
Level 14 Ms Fortune (66/140)
[@DracoLunaris] [@Archmage MC] [@MULTI_MEDIA_MAN] [@Yankee] [@Zoey Boey] [@Double] [@DisturbedSpec]
[b]Word Count:[/b] 1519[/center]

No matter how Juri sliced it, one versus eleven made for pretty bad odds. Under normal circumstances the martial artist would be more than capable of turning the tide against mooks of this caliber, then challenging Mabuchi herself, but Nadia’s sabotage really threw a wrench in the works. Thanks to the opportunistic interference of the feral Juri found herself taking extra hits while missing out on other opportunities, and it took no time at all for her frustration to reach its boiling point. Nadia couldn’t lie; seeing that she’d actually gotten under her rival’s skin gave her a sense of karmic satisfaction.

But not for long.

There was no denying that Juri deserved a little comeuppance. For the entire time they butted heads in Carnival Town, Nadia had been aware of the hooligan’s exploits. She beat people up, shook them down, and went out of her way to ruin everyone’s day, explicitly preferring to go after the weak and helpless. That probably went double after Nadia flew the coop, leaving her rival free to run amok though Carnival Town. And who could say what she’d been up to over the last week on the Mafia’s payroll? She wouldn’t put murder past Juri. But despite all that, once Nadia’s initial elation wore off, she wound up feeling rather…bad.

Maybe it was the look on Juri’s face, or the uncommonly genuine rancor behind her words, or the fact that these gangsters were really hurting her, but her rival’s misery quickly stopped bringing her joy. Nadia’s smiles and laughter weren’t always genuine to begin with, but now her mirth felt especially forced, and not even for a good reason. When the feral got sloppy and received a wheeling kick to the sternum, she took Juri’s advice and made herself scarce.

The Mafia Ball that followed [i]was[/i] pretty funny, to be fair, but even once the super-sized circus act got underway Nadia kept her distance. Once the heat of the moment died out, she felt even worse about her disingenuous attempts to give Juri a taste of her own medicine. Sure, this syndicate showdown would probably have lasting repercussions for Mafia Town, but Nadia had no horse in this race. No matter which mobster sat in that chair, the townsfolk needed people like her to keep them safe–right now more than ever. She knew that she should’ve stayed down on the streets, safeguarding the citizens from those wrestlers. Or gone with Junior and Geralt to cut off the source. Anything but screw around up here.

[i]I’m really no better than she is,[/i] Nadia thought.

Juri’s shouting drew her attention, and Nadia glanced at the Mafia Ball in time to see Mabuchi go flying from atop it. She proceeded to shout at the Mafia Boss, who gave her an indignant look of severe reproach, seemingly for daring to question him. “There are only two types of Mafia in the Mafia: goons, and the Boss!” He shouted down after her once she jumped down. “If you take the Boss’s money, you’re a goon, no better than any other! So don’t act like it!” 

At that point Blazermate flew in from nowhere. Her arrival here wasn’t that much of a surprise given her reputation as a drama-seeking missile, but it did signal to Nadia that things were probably about to get out of hand. When the medabot discharged her built-in Kritzkrieg into the big boss’s Mafia Ball, turning the circus act into a wrecking ball of wanton destruction, Nadia took that as a sign to leave. As she slunk out, she passed by that darkly-clothed rogue on the way in. Had he been waiting in the wings the whole time? She didn’t know what he wanted here, but that didn’t concern her, either. After skirting around him, the cat burglar sprinted through the casino and out into the night.

By the time the newcomer got close enough to scope out the scene, the situation had really devolved into pandemonium. Half of Mabuchi’s men had already been flattened by the amped-up Mafia Ball, and for those still on their feet, avoiding it had become a full-time activity. That went for Mabuchi himself, as well. Though his guandao could deal grievous injuries, and his counter stance slowed down the fight, Juri was getting the better of him as he struggled to stay ahead of the Mafia Ball. Without his healer, the damage just kept piling up, and eventually Juri managed to hurl him straight into a knockout blow from the newcomer. Mabuchi’s weapon clattered to the floor as the man was down for the count.

“Good!” the boss yelled. The Mafia Ball promptly fell apart, its constituents tumbling everywhere. Chrom and Rosanna extracted themselves from the heap, then furiously began to fix their hair and clothes. A number of their comrades remained piled beneath the boss, forming an impromptu throne. “That’s what happens when you mess with the Mafia!” he barked at the groaning gangster. He pushed his cleavers together into their rolling pin storage mode. “Men. Take him away.”

After dismissing Mabuchi with a wave of his hand, he frowned at the newcomer, Juri. “As for you…” Disregarding the usual method of transfer, he reached into his pocket to pull out a big fistful of pons, then tossed them the Spider’s way. They tumbled across the floor, spread out fairly wide. It would take a minute or two of scrounging to recover them all while the whole Mafia watched. “Take it. You’ve earned it.”

Once the Seekers departed for the cargo ship, Bancho Sushi lay in quiet disarray, with only Bancho himself around to witness the disaster. It would take thousands of pons, if not tens of thousands, to undo the damage done to all his wooden furniture, his pantry, the decor, and so forth. Even the fish tank lay in glassy ruins, the last of today’s catch flopping around in the wreckage until Bancho tossed the critters overboard. For someone who prided himself on order, tidiness, and professionalism, this was a true debacle. But the stolid man never complained. After a few minutes, he found his broom amidst the chaos, and began to sweep. Unfortunately, the sushi chef and his establishment weren’t out of the woods just yet.

A loud, sudden slam outside drew Bancho’s attention. When he sidled over to the front of his restaurant for a discreet check, he saw the aftermath of a wrestler-on-wrestler bout. A strong, one-eyed [url=https://i.imgur.com/B7u2KkF.png]lady wrestler[/url] with orange-yellow hair like a microfiber duster, wearing black snakeskin, had just powerbombed a now-dissolving competitor off a building. No sooner had the victor taunted than she set off looking for her next opponent, but by now the pickings seemed slim. As far as Bancho could tell, the Battle Royal Rumble had more or less run its course. At the same time, that meant that only the strongest few remained, and the sushi chef just so happened to have the misfortune of catching the wrestler’s eye.

“There you are! Get yourself ready, ‘cause you’re up against the one. The only. Sunrise Nishisenba!” The lady jogged over with a cocky grin. Bancho retreated, climbing over the wreckage of his tables and bar, but his pursuer elected to go straight through. “Lariat!” Fists outstretched, Nishisenba began to spin, gathering golden energy. “Tequilaaaaaa!” With his eyes on his attacker, Bancho wasn’t paying attention to where he was going, and stumbled over a barstool. Just as the wrestler went to unleash her power, however, an electric blur appeared in front of her.

“SUNS- WAGH!” Her special move struck Nadia’s Blue Monday Counter, resulting in a knee to Nishisenba’s gut that launched her into the air. “HOOGH!” Nadia blasted out blood to propel herself forward in a diving grab that tackled the wrestler through the window and into the dock outside.

With the breath driven from her lungs, Nishisenba could only lay there as Nadia rolled to her feet, then swung her arm in an accelerating circle. “Lemme pass you a JOINT!” She fell on her foe with an elbow drop that left Nishisenba stunned, then hopped to her feet once again. “Whew! Sorry lady, but the restaurant’s closed! If you’re hungry, though, you can eat this!” Nadia jumped and landed on the wrestler with her mantreads, smashing her through the dock and into the briny shallows.

After barely managing to grab onto the side of the new hole and clamber up, the catgirl rolled over and let out a sigh of relief. When she opened her eyes, Bancho was standing over her. “You didn’t have to do all that. You okay?”

“Yeah!” Nadia grinned. “I should be askin’ you. When you brought me on tonight, you Ban-chose wisely!”

The sushi chef smiled, then held out his hand. “Mm-hm.” He tried to help pull Nadia to her feet, only to realize that she was almost three times as heavy as she looked. After letting him struggle for a moment Nadia picked herself up with a laugh, then followed her friend inside to help him clean up.