Night 18: Hallway Outside Doctor's Offices

[soulofdiscord.livejournal.com]

((Coming from over here.))

After having skirted the chaos of Daniella's destruction, the sounds of gunfire from the Sunroom, and the sounds of rummaging from the various waiting rooms, Scholar Ling and Kyo Sohma found themselves wandering down another hallway... this one a bit less occupied than the others.

With a faint smile, Scholar Ling followed Kyo as he stormed away, gliding after him like a ghost, inhumanly graceful compared to his fury. 'Agitate an enemy to learn his weaknesses,' as the old saying went, and she had to admit, she was seeing some very, very interesting weaknesses in this man. Besides, it would allow her to conserve her very precious energy while he tried to prove himself.

...and should he require assistance, that would only make it sweeter.

"A dramatic exit," she mused, "but I must wonder if you can actually live up to your boasts."

Comments

[orenji-neko.livejournal.com]

"Shut up!" Kyo snapped, looking back at the girl. Why the hell was she following him? And where were they? It was darker here and more quiet which didn't make Kyo feel any better. Still it was better then walking in what sounded like a Yankee Western happening behind one of those doors.

"I can fight just fine," he grumbled, eyes searching the hallway.

[soulofdiscord.livejournal.com]

"Oh? Then we will have to find something to test your skills on." Yes, she was taunting him, but he was begging for it.

She stood behind him, a gentle breeze teasing at her porcelain-fine skin, her usual smile still on her face. She would have offered herself, but... she was in the habit of not wasting her time when she had other options.

[orenji-neko.livejournal.com]

Kyo snorted. "I've been training since I can remember. I don't need a damn test."

He kept glancing behind him, something about the girl was making him extremely nervous. Kyo didn't like that she kept behind him. It just felt...odd. Like she was watching him. Kyo decided to forget about her and focus on the doors on the side of him. They didn't look like they led to the exit, but maybe one of them might have a clue. He tried one of the doors and noticed it was locked, but the lock rattled. Not really thinking about it, Kyo decided to see if he could kick the door down. He stepped back and kicked the door hard.

[soulofdiscord.livejournal.com]

Ling must admit; she was impressed to see that Kyo's attack actually seemed to do some damage to the lock. It wasn't open quite yet, but a few more attempts would certainly do so.

...she was impressed. He had strength. Now, if only she could get him to use it effectively.

"To the contrary," she softly said, waiting for him to catch his breath and try again, "constant struggle is the only path to true power. Training is a beginning and a foundation, but that is all it is, in the end."

[orenji-neko.livejournal.com]

"What are you some sort of sage?" he asked, taking a few deep breaths. He gave another kick and he felt the door buckle a bit. "Spare me what chinese wise men say. It's boring."

[soulofdiscord.livejournal.com]

"Some have called me that," she simply answered, standing and watching him as he beat against the door with such passion... such misguided passion, to be sure, but passion nevertheless.

It was then that she heard the unmistakeable roar of a chainsaw, and even though she had no idea what it was, she knew it was something with power.

Something she wanted.

[orenji-neko.livejournal.com]

Kyo was just about to kick the door in once more when the loud buzz made him stumble. "What the hell?" he said, looking back down the hall. "Who the fuck has a chainsaw?" He gripped his flashlight hard but he wasn't stupid enough to know that it would be worthless if someone came after him with a chainsaw.

"Why couldn't it have just been cats again?"

[soulofdiscord.livejournal.com]

((Note: -1 Chi for Chi strike, leaving with 9.))

"You asked for a challenge," Ling simply answered, charging ki into her foot and jump-kicking through the door, since it seemed obvious that Kyo wasn't going to do so. "For now, let's not waste our efforts. There were other people down that hallway, they will distract whomever has the 'chainsaw'."

After a pause, she turned to him. "That light source in your hand. It would be more useful in here."

[orenji-neko.livejournal.com]

Kyo just stared at her for a moment before looking down at his hand and noticing the flashlight. "Right," he said, clicking the flashlight on and stepping into the office. The sound of the chainsaw faded somewhat but not by much.

[soulofdiscord.livejournal.com]

Did he honestly not remember what he had? Strength was one thing, but ignorance and absent-mindedness could destroy even the strongest fighter.

That would be why Scholar Ling was the quintessential warrior.

The office itself was barren, impersonal; nothing there at all, except for generic supplies that Ling didn't bother with. Why have paper weights or pens? What she would give for a good calligraphy brush! But such things were hardly to be expected, weren't they?

Even the filing cabinets- similar to the bureaus used by the Bureaucracy, not something outside of her experience- were empty, waiting to be filled. "...disappointing," she muttered, but nothing more than that.

[soulofdiscord.livejournal.com]

After a moment, the woman sighed as she straightened up. Nothing of value. Absolutely nothing at all. How such incompetence could be allowed was quite beyond her, but she took only some solace that, in the days to come, the staff would be off-guard as they got used to apparently new surroundings. Or at least, one member would... and if one part of the body was at less than optimum, everything was thrown off.

Now, to test how her skills would fare against those of others.

"You may come with me," Ling said as she glided past Kyo and into the hall, "or you may flee to safety over there." She would let him make his own decision; as for her, there was only one path to take, and she didn't look back as she continued on.

((Scholar Ling is going over here. (http://community.livejournal.com/landels_damned/5230.html?thread=88686#t88686)