Preacher vs NorikoS

Preacher  	{Lift.}
It was much like a few days ago for our Preacher fellow. He had moved but not left the grounds of the Coliseum, taking time to explore while regularly entering the very center of one of its fighting pits. At this late moment of time, such a thing took place and he found himself armed with just his Jian again, other weapons and his belt being left behind as he paced forward. It occurred to our Preacher fellow then and there that maybe he did not have an opponent because the scenery was so typical. Lips twitched behind that shaggy main of hair and with a sigh he shut his eyes. The moment he opened his eyes the scenery changed into a not so original but quaint Island kind of setting. He found himself standing beside an endless looking ocean and behind him was a loose network of dense tropical trees that seemed perfectly spaced out to allow access through them. A tilt of his head revealed a triple-showing of a mountain side that might have been a dormant volcano needing a bit of prodding. Frowning, one last look was spared overhead to what appeared to be a crisp blue sunny sky. "...Let it never be said one of these transforming battlefields lack detail of the one who requests they be changed." A drab monotone voice spoke only to itself. A hand came and brushed through both his facial and cranium hair as his eyes were held at half-mast. They turned this way and that, looking for anything outside the scenery and come what may a small but firm squeeze to the neck of his Jian Tier-Ciello affirmed only one single certainty; Preacher was ready to Try to forget.

NorikoS  	Boredom.
A lingering feeling that always gripped at Noriko's heart as she played about. Being silly, or just all around toying with someone for the sake of curbing the relentless feeling. Even if the restrictions of the body limited the mind. The eternal subconsciousness remained. She had forgotten much since being granted this form. Even then the subconsciousness knew she had literally seen it all. Perhaps that was what brought her to the field that the Preacher had set for himself. Perhaps some outside force brought the two to this quaint little field. There were simply some things that this unwilling goddess would never come to know or understand. Seeing it all did not mean she knew it all. She had learned this not long ago. Thoughts had reached out to the Preacher, a conversation of thoughts shared with one another as a mutual understanding was reached. The two would fight on this field. Knowledge would be shared if the Preacher won. Satisfaction would be granted whether or not Noriko lost. For the moments before the fight began Noriko would be allowed to reach into a fold of space, a quick yank bringing about a dark purple katana of futuristic design. The weapon warmed to her touch, the mind within welcoming its wielder's hand for the fight to be. Even if the Colosseum leveled the two out. Noriko elected to restrict herself further. Limiters put in place that served as a legal violation of the rule that the fighters were even in power. It was a mixture of choice and necessity that she did this. Without an ounce of disrespect intended to the opponent that she faced. A bow was offered, eyes never leaving his frame. "Are you ready?" she asked him with a hint of a smile. "Please don't go easy on me, and please try to surprise me." In most cases a line like this would be a taunt. Noriko's voice reflected only genuine desire. It had been so long since she had the pleasure of fighting another psionic. She had every hope that this was what she wished it to be.

Preacher  	{The Mind.}
A signal was set and reached Preachers mind. Eyes peered towards the ocean as he stood unmoving. Words were exchanged, silent agreements and promises of this and that and before he knew it, our Preacher fellow was no long alone. His head turned towards Norikos location as if expecting her arrival. Something he wasn't sure if he was even capable of doing took place and Noriko reached and took a Katana looking blade from existence itself. His eyes shut and his ears perked as they took in the words Noriko said as his body shifted to look directly at her. "Aye." One single word and Preacher would attempt to lead them in this battle of the Psions. His right foot slid from where he stood and suddenly turned an inch inwards. What occurred was near instant; a long tall wave of sand burst from the ground and sought to encompass the entirety of Norikos body. Inner Psionic energies willed to project outward was the cause of this seeping through the material of his boots and lacing itself into the sand while he moved and shifted his foot, taking the form of a thin line and being the basis of a sand trigger of sorts, exploding the sand in such a way that it came out the way explained above. This line itself grew, both at the base of the sand trigger and within the sand itself in the form of thin slithers, both of these being part of a larger web of intent and plans. One could see both of Preachers hands were enveloped in a light purple light and the bottom of his left boot seemed to spark out the same light as well, all being a more 'waiting' form of the psionic energies he used to trigger the sand wave. All seemed to be growing, though in the case of the left hand the energies began encompassing the sword before running up the arm while the rights focused solely on the arm. During the sand wave his eyes finally opened and a tinier bit of Psionic manipulation was taking place inwardly. It was slow going as Preacher opted for a 'full offense' sort of mindset but the directed psionic energy directed towards his body worked in two small ways; first the senses were slowly being buffed, focusing on the eyes to see beyond what was normal, physically being displayed by small growing veins along his eyes, while for his overall body, a very small and gradually growing physical boost was provided. An even plate for what he assumed was a talented opponent and thus did the fight start.

NorikoS  	Reading minds would have been cheating. The ability was there, but Noriko never used it. Despite this her guard was usually up constantly. In all her power many existed that could slay her. Yet in this moment she was caught by surprise. The Preacher had certainly fulfilled her request. She had expected a return bow. A return courtesy. In that near instant the sand was sent flying at her, eyes snapped closed. Ears folding in to prevent sand from entering, and psionic energies reached out. From the first day she had developed her abilities. The wind was her element. It was with the wind that she would be able to avoid being completely buffeted by the sand. The gentle breeze that encompassed the island was enhanced. Wind itself twisting and swirling tightly around her frame to blow the sand away in a sort of shield used to protect herself from any further sand attacks. If he did not take advantage of this moment of blindness, Noriko would stand upright, her grip tightening on Gemini as she angled the blade for a vertical swipe in the Preacher's direction. The edge was fine enough to cut at the air itself with a loud shriek, granting her the counter attack she desired. Slicing at air in this manner forced air to rush in to fill the gap. It was that rushed in air that would be shoved forward to create an invisible blade to be sent at the Preacher. The shrieking sound would rush forward with the wind, and her ears would twitch in protest. Even if the wind shield buffered sound, her sensitive audits would still disagree with the noise. Only exposure made it tolerable enough to work around. As the blade rose, her right foot would slide back, free hand rising to grip at the blade as she brought it back with the tip pointing towards her opponent. Already she could tell that this battle would be interesting.

Preacher  	{The Mind Pt 2. Glass}
In truth, our Preacher fellow did not even expect the sand wave to get that close. Call it a lifetimes worth of experience but the first blow, no matter how simplistic or meek looking often times was avoided or outright obliterated from existence. Believe me, the mere fact it got close enough to almost touch Noriko before the wind shield sprouted surprised Preacher, but that did not stop him from carrying out an underlying motive hidden within the sand. Most of the sand was literally scattered to the wind as Norikos on point manipulation of the air formed into existence a makeshift shield and overthrew what could have been a massive problem literally hiding in the sand but instead, she got a slight one. During the process of traveling towards her person, those thin veins of Psionic energies that had had extended into the sand wave had been working to bind the chunks of sand they had settled into. Had our Preacher fellow not had a long history with sand, what occurred within the wave would of taken longer but this knowledge helped the process of literally glassing the sand from within via a method that was force and heat based. The initial plan was to have an hidden mobile segmented group of sharp tipped glass tendrils burst forward when close enough for Noriko to deal with but the wind bursting forward caused a change in plans, stripping the psionic slithers of the sand to work with and thus leaving three somewhat flimsy unfinished glass slithers about the width and height of a thick tree branch that bore sharp curved points. Viewing them and the lack of a sand wave would reveal the Psionic slithers in all their vein like glory; purple and white colored vein like things, the ones without glass binding wiggling before slip back into the ground with soft FFFUT sounds. While the glass bound threads were not what one would call 'fully incubated' they were enough in Preachers mind and angled to move in arcs, one swooping towards and up from the ground, one above and down, and one towards the right and inward, all curving all having enough of a thickness to not be blown away by that wind shield and possibly get to cut Noriko, on her right side from the side glass-stinger, her left knee cap from the bottom and lastly on her right shoulder from the one delving from above. "...!" This however did not stop that 'invisible' wind blade from forming and sliding past Preachers glass stinger attack and directly towards his person. His outward and inward working of his psionic capabilities would show itself in this moment as all of it worked to counter this blade. First and foremost, his psionically buffed eyes saw the working of her swung blade. It had the power to or was channeling Norikos power so it seemed both vacuum but burst the air-blade forward. A Loud shriek took place that made even Preacher wince being the sirens call to the winder blade itself. Exhaling a breathe of air through his nostrils, Preacher stood firm as the blade closed the distance only to shift both of his arms upward. His blade was tilted inwards and his right hand reached for the grip, pulling on it and only slightly revealing about a quarter of the silver colored sharp edge. Taking in what his eyes saw, working the psionic energies laced onto his arms in an organized tandem, and the elements of Norikos attack were applied his blade thus forming the psionic edge the blade bore. Air molecules and the elements that composed Kinetic Force itself found themselves being 'cut' by this edge in such a way that the wind was not only deflected upwards but cut into two pieces. As soon as the blades edge was shown for a defensive purpose it vanished as a light clap was let loose due to the blade being resheathed. All seemed well and all that was planted grew hand and foot psionic energy grew, the line and its extended veins did as well and lastly internal working on his physical prowess and senses kept buffering albeit at their slow somewhat hindered pace. It occurred to Preacher that he did not bow back previously. For a split half second his eyes rolled down to his right pocket then up. Hm....Yeah, if he didn't die...

NorikoS  	it would soon occur to the Preacher that Noriko was not alone in this fight. At least not in the traditional sense. A darkened violet shimmer radiated around her blade. Xetaean inspiration shining through as the weapon acted of its own accord to envelop its wielder in its dark radiance. Tendrils of glass would proceed forward to strike their target only to meet with resistance. A hybrid of Psionic and Spiritual energies forging a barrier that protected Noriko from their strike. Yet the unforeseen would happen as a result of the Preacher's attack. Eyes would widen to reflect an emotion uncharacteristic for one that held a solid defense. Fear gripped at her thoughts as an image surged through her mind that she wished time and time again she could forget. The shape the Preacher's attack alone triggered the response as thoughts immediately shifted to a fight or flight response to purge her eyes of the unseemly sight of what had attacked her. As well as its source. The wind barrier expanded at a violent rate to create a pressurized explosion of air. If successful, the air would completely shatter the glass tendrils and send the shards flying out in all directions. If Successful, Preacher's own attack would work against him as grains of glass would be sent flying out with the threat of burrowing into his body as a result of the involuntary response. The attack would not stop there. The pressurized air would swirl in front of her, compress, and surge forward towards him with a condensed punch that had shattered the ribs of many unsuspecting victims that had managed to freak out this tiny kitty girl's mind. If at some point glass shards had managed to get caught in this punch of air, they would be shoved forward at an even greater velocity than the rest in that concentrated point. The source of this reaction? Noriko simply had an unrelenting fear of tentacles, and anything that happened to remind her of them. Those unknowing viewed it as a silly quirk. Those wise knew it was far from something to exploit.

Preacher  	{The Mind Pt. 3 Wind}
Preachers eyes caught something as they stared. Eyeing that blade from a distance it became more and more clear something was inherently wrong with it but what...well, it was hard to exactly determine metaphysical sentience just from a glance even if you had the abilities Preachers eyes did. None the less a quick look was all it took to see something formed and blocked the glass stingers in their place and all the sudden the wind shield became a wind tank of sorts. "Tarnation..." Muttered Preacher as the stingers were shattered in a half second, the distance between them ensuring he wouldn't get a full shotgun blast of glass to the frame but a few stray shards fwipped through the air and sunk into him. The effects were immediate and made him flinch; a few small ones connected and caused preachers left side to bleed black blood while bleeding but less meaningful lines were rendered upon the side of his left knee and lower calf. One happened to scratch his cheek and as annoying and impactful as these all were, natural toughness and the grains of glass being small kept the impacts from being worse than they could have been. Still, the 'attack' that shattered the glass only seemed to get stronger and take shape into a punch of sorts. The same method that cut the wind blade previously was applied here but quicker, left arm shifting upwards while his right reached, slipping the weapon from its sheathe and cutting it in a downwards arc. A clean cut through the air-punch would take place and send both halves careening to either side of Preacher out of harms way, the Jian fully drawn now and poised to stay that way as Preacher just stared at the one that stood as his opponent. "Hm..." How to approach now. Thoughts kept to the growing sand-trigger line and its veins, three of which were squirming in a panicky fashion due to the glass stingers being destroyed, ideas forming before thoughts suddenly were spared for both of his arms and his left foot. There a combo would be instigated; first in the form of his right sword bearing arm swiping from right to left under his left sheathe bearing arm. Second his left arm thrust forward with his sheathe and finally his left foot just upwards to hip level in a slow pace only to snap back down, boot slamming into the sand. This all seemed aimless given the distance between Preacher and Noriko were it not for the Put sounds fallowing each motion and the Kinetic force generated by his psionic power and vaguely shaped like the moving limbs being shot out from each of his limbs moving. The first motion was the most even in terms of speed and force, taking on the shape of a wide boomerang kind of arc, the second serving as a long line that favored speed peed over power while the first leg motion was slow but rough chunky blunt looking crescent while the final leg motion served as the most potent in terms of speed and power in the shape of a thin more sharp edged crescent. Mountain rendering? No, but each attack served a simple if not effective motion that could do damage if they connected individually or as a group. One might take note that Preachers movements seemed a tad bit sharper, quicker even, a result of the slowly building inner working of his psionic powers come to fruition. Eyes regarded the ground were the Sand Trigger line lay and grew with its veins, considering options and plans of attack whether those 'Force Projections' as he called them hit their mark or not.

NorikoS  	Eyes remained wide with fear. Yet emptiness would gradually seem a more appropriate description as their gaze remained locked on the target. Fear had an interesting effect on Noriko. A mental defense forged through unfortunate experience that enabled her to empty herself of all but one thought. The target in front of her. All else was left to intuition and instinct. Preacher would make the effort to dispose of the wind punch as he had the wind blade. A reasonable response, but this time the result would be different. The punch itself would be successfully split in two. Rather than flying off, the angle behind the attack would change as the wind spread and rotated at rapid speeds until a spherical prison could be formed. Glass had substance. Sand had substance. The earth had substance. Even ice had substance. Elements like water, fire, and wind however. They were difficult to deal with being elements that lacked a solid touch. The sphere prison of wind would create a triad of results. Air molecules grinding against one another created friction. Friction generated heat as the temperature of the winds increased bringing a rising flow of air. The second effect would be a less savory tactic that Noriko almost never used. A vacuum of air that would in time suck the air out of Preacher's lungs if he did not construct an effective means of countering the attack quickly. The third and most devastating of effects. With air molecules grinding together at a rapid rate, a charge would start to generate. Electrokinetics working in tandem with Aerokinetics to enhance the charge. While far from immediate. In time the wind prison would quickly turn into explosive plasma which, in turn, would collapse in on preacher. The biggest question would be if Preacher would be able to continue his intended movements through the torrent of wind directed at him. If he were successful in moving through the air flow, Noriko would swing the Gemini blade at each attack, effectively dispersing them. If this succeeded, a similar effect to the wind blade would be used to create a twin direction burst to further disperse the attacks and weaken the impact her body would sustain. The Psychospiritual barrier Gemini had erected would serve to buffer the attack resulting in jerking motions at the points of impact. It would hurt, but more so in the blunt force kind of way with damage being dampened from what originally would have been had she left the attacks be.

Preacher  	{The Mind Pt 4. Air.}
The irony of all this was Preacher had a feeling if he persisted in the habit of defensively slicing the wind attacks with his psionic edge, something like the wind prison would eventually happen or be set up to ensnare him The underlying problem came in the way that he did not expect such a thing to happen so fast but luckily, that did not stop him from having his own methods of dealing with it. First and foremost his original Force-Projections would go through on sheer will and the psionic buff putting him on a better physical level aided him in keeping his body firm, planted and controlled. This did not however stop the air prison from forming and just a glance told him he was in deep trouble if he did not act quickly. Surroundings were taken in, eyes scanned the prison which was about him and thus a plan that was defensive in nature but easily transferable to offense just after was put into use. The simple but obvious route to delude the wind prison set about him was something physical and thick but that was too obvious and easily countered and in truth a sloppy method easily countered. So, calm fashion that probably did not suit the situation he found himself in, our Preacher fellow shifted his Jian towards his left side just a little bit below his hip and moved it in a long arc, swaying it from his left side and up above his head to his right, his left hand inching his sheathe a bit behind him during the process. The purple psionic energies attached to both arms at that point left a trail in their wake as both sheathe and sword were moved. Ever have two mirrors and put them in front of each other? Imagine the 'infinite reflections' created here with the psionic energies only the reflections were side by side, segmented, and didn't actually reflect. A multitude of Projected Arms, blades, and sheathes had been formed as a result of Preachers gestures and just when it seemed like air would be sucked from the prison entirety and leave him breathless, the projections exploded outwards. Apply what had been set into the initial psionic edge Preacher had set upon his Jian to cut through the air and force it generated only instead of one edge it was a set of twenty one modestly sized edges and six sheathes with twenty seven long limbs all angled in different positions. These were what exploded outward and mostly cut and partly bashed through the air prison. Air quickly refilled his lungs and all was well, but for Noriko? Things were only starting. Defense would quickly become offense as it seemed despite the 'explosion' the limbs, edges and sheathes went through they all stayed connected to each other creating a strange mangled segmented shape that curled about Preacher and was visibly connected to the point of his Jian. Without needing to think he thrust his Jian forward after the defensive action, point first and the limbs snapped in a zig zag-whip like fashion, attempting to cut through the powerful Wind defense Noriko set up in front of her and about the landscape in general to obviously reach her person. This served as a long attack but also hopefully a means to disperse the mentioned wind or create a corridor not affected by Norikos powerful wind defense for as soon as Preachers limb-projection-whip was sent forward and did either of the options or fail his right foot would slide forward through the sand. Sharp POPT like sounds would be let loose from the ground and sprouting into the air were basketball sized balls of glass with a slightly hallow center bearing a floating red dot. Connected to those veins connected to the sand-trigger line beneath the ground, there were eight of them around the vicinity but not directly near Noriko just hovering in the air, waiting. A small exhale of breathe was let through Preachers lips if all came to pass. That was very tricky, she almost got him there but his quick thinking and frankly learned ways on how air operated and could be manipulated saved him here. That sword of hers presence was a key curiosity to our Preacher fellows mind but it's existence did not stop him from plotting for further down the line with what he had or continuously build upon what he had set outwardly and inwardly for himself. You'd never be able to tell but despite failing at forgetting things Preacher was in his own quite grim way having fun.

NorikoS  	Trance.
The fear induced emptiness was overridden. Somewhere in her mind, she realized that if she wanted to win this match, she would need to kick her thoughts up a notch. To purge herself of this panic induced trance and enter a true state of Trance. Mental limiters released as her mind, and all that tied with it amplified in efficiency. The wind barrier protecting herself was released as soon as Preacher freed himself from her own attack, the true benefits of Trance taking their hold as he began to unleash the whip-of-limbs her way. It was at this very moment that she realized that Preacher had failed to make her take a step back, and she had failed to make him take a step. In all that lack of motion, the area around them looked as though a storm had blown by. Often the case when Noriko used wind in battle. Dark acted first, taking the psychospiritual barrier he had erected around his wielder and concentrating if in front of her with the intent of intercepting Preacher's counter attack. Noriko's action came second. Mind and Spirit united with Electrokinetics to generate a psychospirutual current through the ball that was once her protective barrier. Energies mingled and cooperated with each other to enhance in potency as both Noriko and Dark shoved forward at the psychospiritual ball of force and lightning. Contact would be made with Preacher's whip. In most cases two forces of this nature would reflect each other. Not with what Dark and Noriko had planned. Using Preacher's whip-of-limbs as a lightning rod of sorts, the current she generated surged through the whip with every intention of reaching its source. Preacher himself. If Noriko and Dark were successful in doing this, Preacher would find that his limb whip would have frozen in place as if paralyzed by the current being sent through it. It wouldn't be until after this attack was sent that thought began to work with instinct. The tunnel vision caused by the fear would begin to fade as Omnidirectional senses activated. An out of body awareness enabled her to feel and sense what was around her. Even still. In a way she had already lost this match. By activating trance, a limiter had been released. The goal of finishing this fight without releasing a single limiter had already been foiled. With that revelation a thrill came. She had underestimated her opponent's skill.

Preacher  	{The Mind pt 5. Finale?}
Preacher had come to expect Noriko as someone to be respected and taut in the art of something he called lacing; using offensive or defensive means and putting them together with either defensive or offensive after affects. It was well timed, each one executed with in-depth precision, the only true problem, if Noriko hadn't noticed, was Preacher seemed Keen and knowledgeable in the fields Noriko used against him and as he was about to hopefully display, very skilled in Lacing as well. It was the reason the wind manipulation seemed to be easy for Preacher to mostly counter, and would be the case here. Defense was executed by that sentient blade and its owner fallowed by a multi-layered manipulation that worked with his offense rather than against it. One might think the attack itself tricky but for Preacher two factors worked in his favor to ensure his safety and possible checkmate. The first being his enhanced eyes never left Dark and Noriko, a simple thing but given they were enhanced to see the subtle and not so subtle manipulation of the mundane it meant he could see what they were doing, what they were forming and how they were going to use what they were forming to harm his person. The second was his limb attack itself. It seemed at first their intent would be met, powerful conductive physical force and electricity sent through the limb whip to harm Preacher on impact. It had every right to succeed had Preacher not seen the attack coming and completely prepared for a counter offense beforehand. Force and Electricity, like Wind, were things Preacher was well versed with and taking into account he had seen the attack as it was gathered and sent towards him, the simple gesture of turning his Jian so the sharp sides lay flat rather than pointing up almost seemed trivial. It was not, it was a sort of 'key' to the limb-whip and thus did each and every chunk of the whip act in turn. In a crescendo that was both defensive and offensive, the limbs shuddered as the potent psionic energies used to maintain them were bent and contorted just a tad bit, two actions taking place in rapid succession. The first involved the three quarters point of the limb whip forcefully expelling the electricity and force running through it like a lightning rod via taking in the elements of the electricity and force and expelling them through a choke-point made specifically to expel both harmlessly from reaching Preachers person. The second action was stretching the rest of the body of the limb-whip one that 'paralysis' was expelled and thinning out the points connecting all limbs together and extending them, the image basically looking like a bunch of purple and white colored floating limbs holding weapons and sheathes shrinking as they extended and tried to assault Noriko and Dark at various angles, preferably around or on week points to her shield to have just one of those sharp or blunt psionic edges press against a part of Norikos body. Successful or not in his attack, our Preacher fellow eyed the growing glass balls he had also formed but finding himself frowning despite all he had set up and attempted. "...Was...Was that it offhand? Pardon me I don't know when you release those limiters you spoke of or not." Or what they looked out. Many a time Preacher had seen others 'power up' so to speak but a Psion? He had only seen ones much like himself, nothing else...

NorikoS  	Burst
Spirit body would be released, a second limiter being lifted as Xetaean traits began to shine more and more in the psion. her OBA was enhanced, allowing her field of awareness to spread out further. From there she was able to accomplish a task normally impossible through the use of standard senses. Eyes would close, focus shifting entirely on touch, sound, and OBA as she started to avoid the all around attacks. What she was unable to wiggle and twist around would be counter with swift, but precise swipes of Dark. Leaps would be made, flexibility in full display as her body twisted and contorted in feline fashion around each attack. Once her feet touched the ground, Preacher's attack would (hopefully) be over. "You forced the release of two limiters" she admitted through an open channel of sorts with telepathy. Verbally speaking in a state like this was rat her distracting and often hindered trance. "In that regard you have partially won. As we had settled before. I was allowed to do this if it was necessary, even though I wanted to do so. You have my respect for forcing me to do this. So regardless of whether or not you win. I will answer any question you have." Eyes would open as feline pupils contracted to give away her focus. She could see and feel things in a completely different light now. Energies she normally would not see would shine as she observed. To most it would appear as a tangled mess of colors spiraling about in a seemingly untraceable flow. The energy that made the Colosseum Work. Preacher's own energy, the energy of others, the energies spiraling around the Colosseum itself. Bit by bit these energies faded as she weeded out the unnecessary, leaving only Preacher's flows of energy in her field of sight. The floating balls glowed with radiance to her. The same radiance as her opponent. From there, her 'Force' aura, as many would call it, would begin to shimmer a lighter shade of violet than what Dark's own barrier would display. To say the least. Noriko was leveling out the playing field. Powers of observation and experience enabling her to pinpoint what it was that allowed her opponent to so effectively counter her attacks up to this point. In this time an effort would be made to do what she had failed so many times before. A true state of trance that would enable her to operate void of hindering emotions. To operate in a manner in which instinct was just as effective as thought and strategy. Her 'Force' Aura would seem to pale in color for but a moment, but desire to win made this pale fade fleeting. In all her efforts, she still could not do it. Eyes would narrow, her tail flicking with agitation as she prepared her own counter attack. The Aura would flare and flow as a hand would raise and thrust forward. In the moment of the thrust, psionics gripped at the breeze generated by the palm thrust. Direction was set. Strength would be enhanced, and the wind would be spread to create a rough push of sorts towards Preacher that held a dual purpose. To knock him off balance, and to kick up as much sand as possible in an effort to blind him. The constant focus and stare of his eyes told her that those eyes of his needed to be dealt with. If successful, the kicked up sand would blanket his frame and (hopefully) blind him. A second after the thrust attack was made, a swing would be made with Gemini to send a cutting wind at Preacher as she had before. This time there would be more force and speed behind it, denying Preacher as much time as he had before to counter.

Preacher  	{The Mind Pt 6. Enhancing.}
Words were spoken because our Preacher fellow might have forgotten the original agreement of victory conditions or perhaps Noriko was discarding them. Brow furrowed as eyes were never taken off of Noriko, his hunch confirmed by a telepathic message that made him nod. Exhaling a breath of air, one need look at him to realize things had changed as much as they had for Noriko. That purple psionic film covered the whole of his body and despite the lack of wind, the covering seemed to make his long messy hair sway upwards a tad bit. This might served as a psionic screen that made it hard for Noriko to tell that internally a 'second peak' had physically been reached for Preacher; senses were more in tune, physicality was honed and everything was at a new level to be utilized as needed. Holding his Jian outward, nothing had stopped his limb-whip from physically existing and yet at Noriko speaking and half dodging half parrying the blows the seemed to hover a bit clearly lacking command as our Preacher fellow just stared at the Psionic woman before hm. "If you were to truly win miss...Noriko was it? What would you truly want?" Spoken words again, such things did not skewer his conversation and the topic was one that...made him wonder. A satisfying fight was as great as the next thing but, well, call Preacher the skeptical type. A twist and a turn of energies and for a second Preachers eyes shifted down then back up at Noriko, a faint smile on his face. Sand burst and flew towards his person a large well controlled wave that had the potential to work were it not for those glass balls suddenly arranging themselves in an arc like position a good distance in front of Preacher. SHHHHIIIKKKRRAAAKKK a sharp sound took place the minute sand met glass as said sand became glass within seconds, writhing shining purple psionic veins courtesy of the sand trigger wiggling within them. A shift of his right foot caused a POPT sound to commence as the glass ball flew forth, the wall breaking into a storm of glass shards fallowing behind the balls, said balls attempting to float around Noriko in quick circles, flinging the broken glass wall along with it seeking to obviously catch Noriko within the 'eye of the tornado'. The balls kept growing unless something stopped them and the limbs seemed to back off, coiling somewhere outside of the glass storm, shifting in shuddering static like fashion awaiting orders while below the sand trigger from before continued its expanding, albeit more exposed than before given the lack of sand. Escalation was the key word at these moments.

NorikoS  	Boost
There was no point in stopping half way. He managed to force a limiter release already so there was no shame in giving him a gradual display of what she truly was. Yet the Preacher had indeed asked an interesting question. One she was hesitant to answer amidst all of this chaos. Again a telepathic message was sent to him. "Something I doubt you can give. All I desire is to be freed from my current existence. To just be a normal, mortal Primus with a standard psychic ability as is the current norm of my home world. Everything that I am now is nothing more than a mere shell to prevent my mind from expanding through the infinite planes and universes that exist. I want to be free of the risk of suffering that fate again." The aura around her frame intensified, hair finally beginning to shimmer as her physical body was released. Broken glass was hardly an issue to the aura. Each piece shattering to dust whenever it got too close. Any balls that attempted to fly towards her would be met with a spike flinging itself from the aura coupled with an electrical surge tailored to not only shattering the ball, but operating at a frequency that would counter Preacher's hold over it. For the other balls, Dark would construct a counter wind. A spiral of wrath aiming to not only slow, but throw away the orbs as sand flew around in the spiral. Over time this spiral would expand. Noriko's own Aerokinetics serving to keep a stable flow of air around her to allow breathing. Her own agitation seemed to fill the air as this wind intensified. A simple question made her think of the one thing she hated thinking about. If Preacher was as much of a master of deduction as she thought. He'd likely realize that her willingness to fight in this place was for the sake of getting a taste of the mortality she so desired. Here she could die. Here she could fight for her life.

Preacher  	{The Mind Pt 7. Revelations.}
"If you are what you say you are, to that extent, what is stopping your powers from making you that which you desire? If you are able to project yourself now as inhibited as you are, is there some underlying problem that makes it so you cannot use the same properties to make yourself mortal, 'normal', 'standard'?" Drilling? Perhaps. Our Preacher fellow had not moved before but now he was, sword shifted to right side, sheathe shifted to the left. It was not a rushed pace no, it was rather slow as if he were leisurely walking. Dusted glass admittedly predicted BUT there was an added affect; simple as it was ever glimmering glossy little bit found a small slither of the vein controlling the larger chunks keeping it in existence, infecting the air with a fine glass dust. Two balls met their fate as a result of getting too close, the remaining six being caught in the counter wind but biding their time before suddenly exploding in a burst of glass but more importantly fire. The hot center of each glass ball had served as a makeshift 'gas oven' so to speak, the tail end and inner body of the psionic vein pumping in the necessary flow of air and sparking it, creating a sort of small but potent tunnel for it to run around in a circular fashion before as all balls did here, bursting. It was no normal fire, no, as soon as it formed it consumed the air about it growing having a Purplish hue to it rather than the orange and yellow color scheme most fires were known for. Still did our Preacher fellow press forward, the purple film about him a swaying medium sized 'flame' that kept growing while below him the sandy ground seemed to crack and concave as the Sand-Trigger that led in front of him expanded as well, the Limb-Chain continuing their movements and shifting, their strange little dance among the chaos.

NorikoS  	Hyper
If only it were that simple. Restricting the expansion was one thing. Completely halting it was another. Every ounce of her gifts and powers were a byproduct of what was necessary to create a shell strong enough to barely contain her ever growing consciousness. There was more to it than just the physical body, but to display that would mean complete vulnerability. Which could in fact lead to her losing the shell and her consciousness spreading out once more in a sea of eternal awareness and loneliness. While the spread was endless. The power of it was not. She was far from capable of ending it. If she had the ability to do so, she would have done it from the beginning. Skin began to peel off from her frame as each of her bodies unified into one. The intensity of the winds ever growing as she revealed one of her aces in the sleeve. As painful of a process as it was. It was a level of pain she was used to. The winds she generated were starting to cause the clouds above to shift and spin. A full blown tornado threatening to form as electrokinetics began to surge into the fray. Countering wavelengths threatened to erase Preacher's flames as Noriko released Dark to float around her, arms crossing as the last of her flesh peeled from her body to reveal a being of raw energy. The funnel continued to descend. Getting closer would prove dangerous to Preacher as the winds continued to expand, and the electricity began to surge out. His flames were following the flow of air. Save for the pocket she kept for herself, the funnel within was void of air, leaving the flames with only the developing twister to follow. Her ears tensed, her tail flicking as her eyes remained locked on Preacher's position. The electricity would quickly surge into the sky to draw more clouds in together. To form a storm cluster suitable for completing the conditions that she was trying to create. If Preacher did not do something soon. He would have nature itself to deal with.

Preacher  	{The Mind Pt 8. The Storm.}
"Answer me." A literal growing storm of vibrant destruction formed before our Preacher fellows eyes and yet instead of react or take cover he pressed forward and continued to speak. Unabated by each and every element in clear view, there was no hint of worry or concern upon his feature. A simple fire setting attempt was easily put down due to a lack of air, an annoyance for sure but showing Preacher, through his eyes and clear deductive reasoning, that the forming tornado was one not of air and, if he could make an educated guess, was most likely created via pure force or perhaps just the power Noriko used take shape. Electricity floated about, the world was chaos and it all ended with Preacher looking at Noriko. "Are you done?" Simple words for a being that'd potato peeled her physical skin off and was something Preacher hadn't seen in a long time, the look on his face projecting a sense of intensity that was not there before. Hands squeezed sheathe and blade as seconds passed, everything he had formed up to this point playing a part to a larger picture, the limbs, the Sand Trigger, the fine glass dust hovering in the air even the dying purple fire and yet there he stood against the storm, the distance between them shrinking by the second as the very elements of Norikos destruction and chaos seemed to just slide harmlessly over our Preacher fellows figure as he closed the distance. Come what may, something was being plotted, something was in mind and Preacher looked the part of a man who would be very difficult to stop once it all comes crashing down...

NorikoS  	The howl of the winds drowned out Preacher's voice. Yet Noriko had a feeling she knew he was trying to talk her down. Through the burn of energy that was her current form, she smirked. Golden hues glowed as the last of her flesh burned away into energy. Feet would leave the ground as wind speeds hit a level that allowed her to levitate. She was at a point where she was done playing games. lightning struck. Beginning to lash at the sandy arena as the super cell formed. Noriko was without mercy this time around. The more Preacher showed with talents, the more Noriko knew she could do. If he could stop what was about to form? She may very well surrender and grant him the win. Very few could stop nature, and those that could deserved the utmost respect for achieving such a feat. The clouds descended, and the sand rose to meet half way. If by some miracle he could see her through all of this. A challenging look was thrown his way. In many ways Preacher had already won this fight. Forcing her to enter a Hyper state despite her own wishes not to. There was only one other step higher. She dare not go that far. The Colosseum would likely stop her, and she would only hurt herself as a result. As far as she knew at this moment, she was going all out. If Preacher had a way to stop this. He would have rightfully earned a win by default. With her current skill setup. She was actually running out of ideas on how to beat him. At least without destroying the entire Colosseum.

Preacher  	{The Mind Pt 9. Nature.} Nature itself formed, moved, grew, and was bent to Norikos will. It was a truly masterful display of a multitude of arts melded into a working pool Noriko had drawn from. The fault in this came from elements from previous posts mixed a single word; Time. Our Preacher fellow had Time to grow, he had time to analyze and see everything put before him, and moreso than anything; he had time to ready and strengthen himself. His walk was met with a storm of wind and lightning and for the briefest of moments he vanished both elements enveloping him. One might think it a victory on Norikos part then and there but she'd feel it the second he vanished, the simple yet honed power our Preacher fellow had. Absently floating and waving about him was the light purple psionic outline and thus was the reason for both the Tornadoes and lightning failure. Despite his slow movement, the wind pelting against the aura found the very elements it was made of, down to the oxygen, shifted and moved above, side to side, and around the aura, while the lightning in question literally split into four pieces as it touched the aura, it's current being pushed and forced into various angles and not touching Preacher in the slightest. Simple as it was to form a double barrier out of one thing for both elements set against him, Preacher was wary of laced elements within both. It was why he kept a clear sight on the ascended Noriko. A being that sheds its flesh for a form best said to be made of the energies that conjured up the current offenses and most of the defense did after all radiate to Preachers senses and with this wariness in mind our Preacher fellow would speak once he was through the literal storm and in Norikos view. "...I asked you a damn question." Something happened with each fallowing word he spoke. "Are." Preacher got ahead of the Sand Trigger, behind him it burst from its sandy home, a wall of psionic energy that was much like the color of a bubble. "You." A flash, the 'purple flames' that failed to literally burn and grow from the tornado were willed back to the psionic power that had sparked them to begin with and began gradually expanding. "Done?" And the two expanding forces from within and outside of Norikos storm of nature revealed themselves to be connected all along. Like a spiders web the veins that connected the two, that had formed the glass tentacles, glass orbs and even the sand wall, lit up in that bubble kind of color scheme and as they gradually expanded so did the Sand and Fire triggers. Wind and lightning much like Preachers aura was pushed aside but to a more violent point from both Triggers, each adding a cutting edge to their pushed as their mission was clear; Overcome both. The limbs danced their slow dance around the two, physical buffs persisted to grow and Preacher squeezed his weapons, staring at the More than worthy adversary put before him.

NorikoS  	An answer wouldn't be given. A Myriad of efforts being put in place as Preacher's web of attacks seemed to unfold. Where Noriko's manipulation had a more direct course. preacher's had a tendency to behave more indirectly. Almost comparable to that of a spider waiting for food to fall into the web. In a sense Noriko had certainly fallen dead center into the web. Forces of wind, lightning, fire, and earth being tossed around. Gemini's force energy encompassed his edge, expanding its length to more than its original length. Noriko stubbornly refused to call upon the second half of the weapon as her weapon tossed the suggestion to her mind. Even if it was something well within her arsenal. She despised the other blade for some reason despite it's creation spawning from her own spirit and mind. A twinge of pain ran through her head. It was becoming clear that the more she pushed on, the more the vessel that was her body was going to protest. Even if the Colosseum brought down her strength to suit her opponent. The unfortunate backlash that tied with her existence remained no matter how she tried to work around it. As it stood Noriko was faced with two choices. Stubbornly push on for the win and risk not having a body for some time, or concede to her opponent. Neither option was really that pleasant to her. The forming tornado reached the ground, adding more force against Noriko and Preacher. If she lost control now, nature itself would run rampant in the Colosseum and she really did not want to know what that would do if she were to just dissolve away into nothing more than a simple consciousness. "Fine. I concede." She hated saying it, yet she really didn't have a choice. Not with the neverending flaws that came with her current state. The last of her effort went into creating a counter force for the tornado. A strong draft of wind that would completely render the force of nature unstable, and in turn fade away. Once it was gone, a calm silence would remain. With Noriko standing there with a look of utter disappointment on her face, and a headache from hell pounding away in her skull like a drum line hopped up on pixie sticks.

Preacher  	{The Mind Finale.} Plan, move, attack, this and more encompassed what our Preacher fellow tried to implement and for once? All was executed as planned. The finale came, in an anti-climactic way that came as a result of reading things wrong and perhaps Slightly misjudging the kind of power our Preacher fellow could wield, but who was he to say otherwise? Eyes shut, nature loudly began to die and devolved into a tranquil silence. Noriko and Preacher were left to the sun overhead and the sound of the ocean waves set beside them. Quite suddenly he bowed. "You were a worthy opponent, not for just what you could do with your power, but your application and effort..." There was a soft plink as a small store earned bottle of whiskey was provided and set before Norikos feet. Let it sink in; the absurdity of earned cheap whiskey be set before what some call a 'Psionic Goddess' elsewhere. "...I did not properly greet you before, this registered to me during our fight and...that was rude of me, especially to someone who has rightfully earned my respect after all this. If you wish, you do not need to divulge me the knowledge which I was to ask of you but, I would appreciate your full name if you are willing to give it."-
  	- He rose from his bow hands intertwining behind him and waist level. Dark eyes opened and as fast as it all was there; the psionic power he had worked to gather and make honed and powerful was gone.

NorikoS  	Her nose would wrinkle as her ears drooped. It was clear that she was not feeling very comfortable at the moment. The squint of her eyes hinted pain. "Noriko Stars," she would answer simply as a hand was raised to her forehead to shield her eyes. Kneeling down, she took the complimentary bottle of whiskey with a frown, her mind struggling to process what to say next. "I'll still grant you the information you want. Just...Not right now please. No matter how weak the Colosseum makes me. These headaches always come whenever I push it enough. No matter what my body is always going to be too weak for me to seriously apply my psionics. Even though this was Stage 2, early Stage 3 level of application." Shrugging, she watched as the battlefield faded away to its standard appearance. The beach atmosphere gone without a trace, and Noriko just sighed. "Come to me another day please. When you ask I will answer. Right now I just need to lay down." A snap of her fingers and she was back in the stands in her normal form. Her suit was also back. No longer a nude body of energy. Noriko replaced herself with the copy she left for Fallen, the feline woman leaning back against him with an arm resting over her eyes.

Preacher  	{End.} "Very well, if we are to have another battle then...I shall ensure such a thing is not a problem. Until next time, Noriko Stars." Snap. Coliseum went back to normal, the woman was gone. Alone our Preacher fellow let the cool wind of the area roll over him as his dark eyes shut again. Wincing, it occurred to him he did get hurt; punctures by glass. Eyes opened and peered down at that black spot on his side. Clothes stained with his blood a light sigh left his nostrils as he turned, finding an exit and finding a first aid bay or kit to patch himself up. Such was the way of one who fought so often.