Klaymen !i/OHE/sPZ6 2008/09/28 (Sun) 04:45 No. 6691 [x] “Really, only one needs to shoot. The combat goes in turns, anyway.”
“Really, only one needs to shoot,” You say, much to Nitori's relief, “The combat goes in turns, anyway.”
The girl thinks about it. “Fine. It'll still show me everything I need to know, right?”
“Well, it should.” You laugh. “I don't know if you can shoot danmaku, but it sounds like most people of your power can.”
“Ah, great!” Suika says, looking at Nitori. “So, who's shooting?”
“If you don't mind,”Nitori responds, “I'd like to. Your danmaku is... painful.”
Suika looks a little taken back. “Really? No one else mentions it, but I guess that's fine.” She cracks her knuckles, her grin widening. “Any stakes?”
“I can't think of any...”
“Ok, then. Good luck!” Suika says, leaping into the air. Takiko leaves her shoulder, sensing that it's probably not a good idea to remain there, and flies over to you. Nitori, too, enters the air.
You take a seat on the ground, folding your legs underneath you. It's not very comfortable. “Take a seat,” You say, looking back towards the little girl, “This can get pretty spectacular.”
“It sounds fun,” She says, most of her irriration gone. “It has a cool sounding name.”
On cue, the sky lights up with an opening salvo from Nitori. The contrast between the dark sky and the glowing blue orbs is quite wonderful. The attack pattern is the same opener she used the other day against Hina. Perhaps there's some sort of convention for that, too.
Glancing over, the little girl is looking on with delight. For you, it's sort of lost it's novelty, but it's still quite impressive. Takiko, too, is enjoying it. The three of you sit there watching the one-sided danmaku battle until it's end. Nitori eventually stops firing. Even you're not sure about this point. Is there some sort of spell card limit?
“It's over?” The girl asks, sounding disappointed. “Who won?”
“Suika, the one with the orange hair, I think,” You say, rubbing your chin. “She didn't get hit, so she wins.”
“So, you lose when you're hit?”
“Yeah. I'll have to ask them about that ending, though. I'm not sure what happened there.”
“Really?”
“Really.” You shrug. “Like I said, I've only played once before.”
Suika and Nitori land in unison, both looking visibly tired... although in different ways. Suika physically so, but Nitori seems to be mentally tired. Neither of them held back, it seems.
“That was... ha... a good match,” Suika says in-between breaths, “A real workout!”
“You... too.” Nitori says, not straining for breath but straining for words. She takes a seat on the ground. “I'm going to rest for a bit, if no one minds.”
Her posture falls again, to the point where she's eventually resting on the ground, using her intertwined hands as a makeshift buffer against the mud. Suika remains standing, toughing it out.
“So... who won? Why did it stop?” The new girl asks, sounding confused.
“You stop shooting when you're tired,” Nitori mumbles, obviously enjoying the rest. “If the other person is still flying, they win. I got tired, so I lost.”
“It's a little...” Suika wipes her brow, “... penalty, sort of. The person that goes first will probably get tired first, too, if it comes to that.”
“I think I get it,” The girl says, nodding sagely. “It looks like fun. I'm going to throw a few practice shots before we begin.”
Again, you shrug. It might be a better idea to try to catch her without any training, but you get the feeling she won't take no for an answer. “Let me know when you're ready to start.”
She nods, and levitates lazily into the air. You, Takiko, and Suika all watch, while Nitori rests. An idea comes to mind. A dirty, low, underhanded idea... but an idea none the less. You could attempt to have Suika target the black hole while you're taking part in the duel. You're not sure if she would, but...
[ ] It's worth a mention, at least.
[ ] Try to convince her that it's necessary.
[ ] Nah. Forget it.
