[Kushiki Kioko]

I HAVE PROMISES TO KEEP

AND MILES TO GO BEFORE I SLEEP

Night had rendered the backstreets of Tokyo into a grayscale landscape. Disused alleyways and other forgotten thoroughfare were drenched in dim and dark alike as stark contrast to their neon-lit counterparts populated by bustling businesses and their late-hour patrons. No such souls traversed the back roads. They were too full of light and life to find themselves arm-in-arm with the shadows. Kioko, however, was unburdened by such trivial luxuries.

The Silver Serpent had obscured the sheen of her metallic silhouette with obsidian garments to better blend into the void as she stalked her prey. Every facet draped in cloth, leather, and lace—except her face. Upon it an ornate mask of mercurial bones and filigree was secured.

Veiled in every manner that she could be, Kioko prowled after a lone figure making their way to a location still undisclosed to the huntress. The goal that eventide was to discover one of the many safehouses or drop zones for the Umbra Syndicate. Her quarry would lead her right to it after weeks of stalking. Alas, sometimes the one doing the hunting became the hunted instead.

The figure disappeared in the blink of an eye. Except Kioko had not blinked her serpentine eyes at all. They were simply there and then they weren’t. Kioko pressed herself deeper into the inky pools that clung to the same wall—only for said wall to abruptly shatter in a shower of debris.

Loud though the self-contained explosion was, the limited scope of its size and effect prevented it from being clearly overheard above ambient nightlife and traffic more than a street or two over. The rush of life consumed the attempt to end one. And it was only just an attempt. Kioko had felt the vibrations just in time to expel and position a shield of mercury between herself and the wall. The concussive force had still thrown her forward, but aside from bruising, she was only a little worse for wear. How long that would remain the case was on a short timer as a large hand clamped down around her throat and lifted Kioko bodily from the ground until she was face to face with a wicked grin and wild eyes belonging to an entity even taller than she.

Notes & Tags: Makitori Hebi | Outfit + Mask

[Makitori Hebi]

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| Makitori Hebi | @winding.snake.nāga
Location: Tokyo, Japan. | Current Status: summer nights are warm
Now Playing: MARINA - Man’s World

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Tokyo by night is a beautiful place. Night time also happens to be cold for most of the year, much to Makitori Hebi's chagrin. Not like she wasn't used to dealing with that cold, but it still didn't play nice with her ectothermic body. Deep in summer though, the nights were short and warm. Humid, too. It was on a night like this, 10 years ago to the day, that Hebi had taken the initiative for the first time in her life and run away from home. To mark the occasion, she'd spent the day with her friend Dr. Chiaki elsewhere in the city. It was off the back of this celebration that Hebi found herself now. Walking back home from the metro station, Hebi was very familiar with the alleyways and backroads of this area. She'd lived by them for 2 years, traversing the dark (ironically) for the safety and concealment it provided. So, imagine her surprise when she went to turn the corner into an alley and was greeted by the shock and debris of a wall exploding outwards. She braced against her tail, staying upright, and backed up as the dust settled.

What Hebi saw, then, triggered something latent and instinctive. A massive man, dripping with malicious intent, holding a woman aloft by her throat in that same alleyway. So often had she been in the other woman's position in such a scenario, caught off-guard in the cold or overpowered by someone several times her age. Sympathy, rage, and her heroic drive all engaged at once. Hebi's tail whipped back and then struck the man's out-stretched forearm/wrist with as much force as she could manage. If this wasn't enough to break his grip, the striking tip of her tail would wrap around his arm and wrench it towards her (perpendicular to where he was holding Kioko). She said nothing initially, just letting a deep hiss rise from her chest and subtly baring her sharp teeth. Now, up close and facing these two strangers, there was a pang of déjà vu. This woman... had they met before? It was in a similar sitution too, distracting the attention of a domineering foe from her. Then again, maybe her mind was just drawing parallels. The metallic sheen of the mask on her face that mirrored her hair, just visible over her shoulder. That day, fighting the Tortured, had been saturated with liquid metal. Well, now wasn't the time for a reunion. She could ask later.

Kushiki Kioko

[Kushiki Kioko]

I HAVE PROMISES TO KEEP

AND MILES TO GO BEFORE I SLEEP

Only a few seconds passed before Kioko’s lungs began to burn. She had been on the back end of an exhale through a cough from the dust in the air and the impacts she endured, cutting her oxygen supply short already. Involuntary tears crept their way across her waterline. Their presence was at odds with the inferno of wrath raging through her veins. One that resonated with its kin already outside of its host.

So it was that the attacker found himself struck by two snakes at once. A tail whip from one, a mercurial wave from the other. The combination of force backed by the benefit of surprise from the arrival of a third party earned Kioko her freedom.

She dropped to the ground with a heavy thud. Fortunately, Kioko didn’t need her body up and running to stay in the fight. Or rather, out of it. The mercury rebounded off its earlier target to wrap around Kioko and yank her out of the way and toward the unexpected backup as the hand once around her neck swung in her direction again. It made contact with the ground instead. Vibrations could be felt radiating out from the point of impact before the spot where Kioko had been only a second before exploded.

“Any second now,” Kioko muttered through gritted teeth. She was wincing from pain and the disorienting effects of the vibrations radiating up through her body. They were strong enough that even close proximity had an effect. He wasn’t the only one that could passively alter how someone felt through their Quirk. Kioko had made contact with his skin beneath his sleeve through small tears caused by spikes she had rendered on the side of the metal that had hit him. Even if his flesh had not been torn, poison submerged into his bloodstream through the epidermal layer.

Kioko was toxic in every sense of the word and few, if any, were immune. Sure enough, the man stumbled as a wave of nausea rocked him in conjunction with a sudden headache and fatigue. Hopefully the other snake understood an opening when she saw it.

Notes & Tags: Makitori Hebi

[Makitori Hebi]

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| Makitori Hebi | @winding.snake.nāga
Location: Tokyo, Japan. | Current Status: summer nights are warm
Now Playing: grandson - Blood // Water

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Blood, tainted by venom. Poison? Unclear, not that it mattered. She could smell it regardless. A predator must be able to spot opportunities and strike. Was that what she was? It doesn't matter.

As soon as the massive enemy was off-balance, she made her move. That serpentine limb, her signature weapon, struck out and ensnared the man's arms & legs. The former were pulled out from under him, if her strength was sufficient. Either way, she leaped towards the man, pulling her main body on top of him with hands and feet pressed against the torso. This kind of capture-focused fighting was certainly her specialty, but she was still just a student. "You are outnumbered. Yield, before your body is broken." A simple command, said with authority the young hero-in-training did not possess. Perhaps cocky, but the other woman seemed competent. If this backfired, Hebi just hoped she'd be able to salvage it. "Are you alright, ma'am? I am Nāga." She didn't turn to face her 'ally', but she hoped that short introduction would be sufficient. The whole speaking side of heroics was not her strong suit, not in the slightest.

Note: Little short, but hopefully it's enough to respond to. I fully expect this capture attempt to go poorly, have fun.

[Kushiki Kioko]

I HAVE PROMISES TO KEEP

AND MILES TO GO BEFORE I SLEEP

Ma’am.

Kioko very nearly snorted in spite of the serious nature of the situation. It was often harder to precisely pinpoint age with more obvious mutations, but Kioko highly doubted she was much older than the person that came to her aid. The awkwardness of the phrase not suited for just any teen to spout off complete with a prepared alias combined with a lack of hesitation in playing Hero hinted at the other snake’s current status and reason for being in Tokyo—home to the prestigious UAU. Kioko almost snorted a second time. It would be just her luck to be saved by an obnoxious Hero student instead of a random good Samaritan or passing Vigilante. One with more courage than intelligence too it seemed.

Equilibrium returned to her body and jaw unclenched so that speech could follow. Kioko’s hope for a follow-up hit had turned into capture. It favored her assumption of the girl being a Hero student even if she was technically breaking a rule by intervening. That wasn’t Kioko’s issue as she spoke. Her issue lied in the fact that the girl hadn’t connected the dots of what the man could do and was now making full contact with him.

“Get awa-”

But the warning was too late. Vibrations veiled under an eerie cackle radiated out from his hands and arms. Given that the tail had been used to bind them, there was likely little to be done. If she had no way of negating the situation immediately, she would experience dizziness, nausea, pain, and muscular weakness. Longer contact if she did not find a way to withdraw would result in bone shattering damage, muscular rupture, and possibly worse.

Regardless of what Nāga chose to do, Kioko was busy reacting already. She did not dare close the distance between herself and the entangled pair as the vibrations were spreading throughout the ground around them. At least not with her own body. The conjured serpentine golem was not affected in the same manner, especially not once it rose into the air, its levitation achieved through an increase of mental manipulation. It struck out once again. Faux fangs embedded in an exposed ankle as its body began the process of its own coiled capture to potentially replace Nāga if she managed to retreat.

Notes & Tags: Makitori Hebi | Initial effects of direct contact with vibration would be a 3 letter rank debuff to Strength from the physical effects.

[Makitori Hebi]

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| Makitori Hebi | @winding.snake.nāga
Location: Tokyo, Japan. | Current Status: summer nights are warm
Now Playing: Queen - Sheer Heart Attack

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There would've been a scream, if Hebi were not certain that opening her mouth would've meant vomiting. Yep, little late on that one, thanks. Her incredible blunder with her choice of attack method had mostly been down to the fact that she hadn't seen/felt the first demonstration of the man's Quirk. Now, she was experiencing it first-hand. The 「Bad Vibes」wracked her body, and if it weren't for a hair-trigger impulse to push her main body back off the guy just as it started, that probably would've been it for her. Instead, Hebi was shaken, but the only part of her body really suffering was her tail. God, her tail! The vibrations were wreaking havoc on the packed muscle of Hebi's main weapon, causing it to only contract tighter and tighter around the man's body. If she didn't let go right fucking now, at least one of the two was going to die. Hebi didn't know which would be worse, but right now she didn't care. In a last-ditch effort before she lost all muscular control, her tail uncoiled from around the man with enough force to spin him in the air briefly. Then, Hebi stood back. Her tail lay around her, spasming. Nearly useless. A 240 lbs ball-and-chain, trapping her in place. For now, the serpentine girl could still strike, but was diminished.

Thankfully, she was correct in her assessment of the quicksilver woman's competence. A construct, of course! At times like this, she envied those with emitter Quirks who were able to do their work at range. Envy wasn't the dominant emotion right now though, it was gratitude. Awe. "Thank you for the warning. Sorry, my impatience could've endangered both of us. I can't really move from this spot until I recover, but I'll follow your lead otherwise."

Notes: Strength at B- -> C+ -> C -> C- until recovered (couple posts), muscle control thing going on until end of next post I think.
Kushiki Kioko

[Kushiki Kioko]

I HAVE PROMISES TO KEEP

AND MILES TO GO BEFORE I SLEEP

Spiraling through the air hardly seemed to impact the goon. As a man whose surroundings constantly rattled when he inflicted his shake and quake tactics upon them, his brain and body were used to unsettling inertia. What he wasn’t used to was having his body constricted then poisoned—again. The serpent attached to his ankle spun with him, first together from momentum propelled by Hebi’s release, and then independently under Kioko’s command as it coiled along the man’s lanky body in the same way the tail had once been. He was even suspended in the air, keeping him away from the ground where it could transfer vibrations to them passively as he had done earlier.

Were he not fighting off fatigue and illness from being envenomed and suffering from crushing contusions, freeing himself from his current predicament might have been easier. As it were, it gave a brief reprieve to the women. One made use of it by blabbering out gratitude, apologies, and compliance. Kioko’s mouth opened too, but not to speak. Her jaw unhinged and instead of words flowing forth, mercury heeded her telekinetic beck and call. A silver deluge spilled past darkened lips.

Her mind was already working two steps ahead of the current moment. The threat was temporarily contained—not fully neutralized. If he turned his Quirk against the mercury ensnaring him, she could parts of it in contact with him, but others would explode off. If that happened, the girl would get hurt and add layers of complication to the encounter that Kioko didn’t want to deal with. Such a line of logic led to her current effort of erecting a quicksilver wall in front of Hebi that stood just over her height and spanned between what remained of the building walls on either side of the alley. Kioko hardened it into place so she didn’t have to maintain focus on it and the other metal on the battlefield at the same time.

“Jussst ssstay put,” Kioko hissed from the other side of the wall now between them Literally. High stress situations always loosened the control she had trained into her tongue from an early age to acquire the perfect articulation for someone of her former station. As did irritation, though those particular slip ups were often reserved for Sebastian.

Fractions of a second passed between order and evidence in favor of Kioko’s correct assumption. Ill and sore though he was, vibrations began to radiate through the Villain. He channeled it from his hands through his own body into the metal bonds. Kioko used its mercurial nature to absorb much of the energy and flux with its in its liquid state, but pieces were still vibrated off. They shot out like bullets, impacting into the wall she had created. Those that came toward her since she was still exposed were slowed by her mind then reversed back at the captive as projectiles. Exerting control and precision on multiple meant her hold on him lessened even as she caused him more damage in the process. It was the price of split focus. It wouldn’t be long until he freed himself. She couldn’t incapacitate him through crushing like the other girl at her current strength. Few alternatives were left.

She would have to kill him or be killed.

Notes & Tags: Makitori Hebi | Slight correction from earlier, Kioko's Quirk impacts Vitality specifically. He stays poisoned as long as the mercury is in contact with him. Since the snake bit him previously, it's directly in his bloodstream unless he can get rid of it or she removes it herself. The wall is in between Hebi and Kioko. Kioko's thought process obviously doesn't dictate what will happen in the thread, just what she currently thinks is necessary.

[Makitori Hebi]

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| Makitori Hebi | @winding.snake.nāga
Location: Tokyo, Japan. | Current Status: summer nights are warm
Now Playing: Poor Man's Poison - Pressure Cracks

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'Just stay put' came the command, prompting an (unseen) scowling nod from Hebi. Of course, where was she gonna go immobilised like this? "Understood." was all that was heard in reply. As the younger serpent took a deep breath, she managed to start bringing her twitching tail back under control. Not at all full-strength yet, but she could at least move it, now. So, what could she do to help? The wall blocked her direct line of sight, but that didn't matter much when Hebi could comfortably lift herself 10 ft in the air. Without moving, without closing that distance, what else was in her toolkit? Candy-red eyes scanned their surroundings, settling on the debris lining the alley from the earlier explosion. Throwing. Both strong and precise, Hebi excelled at launching objects.

Nāga could see the cracks starting to form in her ally's hold. Just as a chunk of mercury exploded from the man's body, a large chunk of stone would impact the exposed area at great speed. Then another, and another. With the accuracy and force of a baseball pitcher, any suitably large or sharp pieces of debris were launched over and around the quicksilver wall at each new patch of bare skin. Hopefully, this would discourage/prevent the man from so quickly breaking apart his captor. Again, in Hebi's mind as she drew another line of parallels between this fight and the one against The Tortured, pangs of familiarity repeatedly hit her. She was sure that this woman and herself had met before, and surely it was in that context? Keeping her deadpan tone, Hebi spoke up. "I'll be back up in a moment. With an opening, I'm certain I can end this very quickly." She didn't plan to kill this enemy, feeling it a bit early in her career to be building up a casualty list, but her word choice certainly didn't convey this intent for mercy.

tl;dr
- "Understood."
- Harrying fire
- Need an opening
Kushiki Kioko