Winds of Doubt - Match 2 (Jin)

[Aura McKinly]

Aura stood in the makeshift hallway that had been placed by the officials, her eyes closed as she went over everything that was going on in her head. The Ashford Project was offering to release students who won a battle royal, something that threw her for quite a loop when she first heard it. She highly doubted that was what the goal of the combat was, knowing better then most due to her involvement with the Battle Front. She swirled a bit of light absentmindedly around her hand as she thought, not really sure what to make of the situation. Had she not met Calista that fateful day it would be possible that she'd just be your average student just trying to get by.

Instead here she was, a scar on her face and been trained in combat with her powers. She couldn't help but wonder how things would have turned out if she never arrived on the island. Would she be preparing for her first tour next summer or preparing for college? She sighed a bit to herself and thought about her opponent, a man she saw as still scarred from Calista being taken. She wasn't even sure if the now leader of the resistance was even going to give it his all. At the same time though, she felt he would get on her if she didn't give it her own all. She sighed a bit to herself, waving off the swirling light before looking up as she heard her name called.

Well girl, this is the moment you've been waiting for. Time to start the fights.

She silently made her way up the hallway before stepping out into the arena, hearing the door click behind her. She turned and raised an eyebrow at this, but stayed silent as she turned to face Jin, observing his aura for a moment. Something told her something was up, but she didn't know what yet. She shifted, crossing her arms casually as she looked at the boy, giving her usual bored look. Jin was like a brother to her. She blinked lazily at him, knowing fully what he was capable of when it came to close combat and with his psychic abilities.

"Let's...make this quick, shall we? No need to drag out something that doesn't need to be."

[Jin Shidehara]

Jin waited in the hallway opposite Aura's, his arms crossed over his chest. With his eyes lightly closed, he focused on controlling his breathing as he rolled a small, cold metal object in his palm. It was a ring. A ring that had once represented one promise, but now it stood for quite a different one. He slipped it onto his right ring finger and looked down the hall as he heard his name announced over the PA. With a nod, he put his hands in his pocket and started to make his way up the ramp.

He wasn't nervous in the slightest, in fact his mind for once in the last few days was calm, and focused. Now wasn't the time to grieve. Now was the time to take action. If Calista Rosa was here, and he wasn't, she would do the same. Everything was in place. All that was left was to take action. This tournament was a lie, and he knew it. So many Battlefront, and senior members, all in the same bracket? No, something was up. This wasn't for freedom, this was a showcase, and he knew it. He could still remember his meeting with Ash just before the matches had started. The red-headed boy was his closest friend for a reason. They had had the exact same thought, and the same idea for a plan. Jin had put a psychic tag on Ashton, and an electronic one as a back up. If, as he strongly suspected, Ash won the bracket, he would know exactly where he was at all times. It was time for Battlefront to start fighting back again, starting with saving the victors from whatever the government had planned. It was ironic that he was put up against Aura as his first match; she was the perfect opponent to lose against. It would shift the government's focus off of him, and get him into the dungeons early to rally the rest of the group.

I won't let you down, Cali. I'm gonna get them all out of here...and then I'm gonna make Ashford pay. I swear it to you."

He took a deep breath as he stepped out into the ring, looking up into the harsh lights and people spectating. His eyes went up to a box at the top of the arena, the windows blacked out and ominous. He looked straight into the box and winked at the unknown people within as if to say, "I know your game, now watch me play mine." He looked over to Aura as she crossed her arms, looking casual and relaxed as ever, though he knew she was observing him. The younger girl was as good as a sister, but he would have to put up a good fight, at least at first, so as not to arouse suspicion. He closed his eyes for a moment. Hope you're ready, Aura. Let's see how far you've come.

He looked up at her and rolled his shoulders, cracking his neck and smirking. "Sorry if I hurt ya, kid. But hey, gotta do what I gotta do, right?" He kept his tone serious and slightly regretful, but eyed her meaningfully, hoping the duality of his aura would give her cause to think. He slowly shifted into a defensive stance, a gauntlet of purple energy forming over his arm that started to emit barely perceptible waves of taser-level pain in a protective egg around him, a dagger of the same energy forming in his other hand in a reverse grip. "Your move, McKinly."

[Aura McKinly]

Aura's eyes narrowed a little at the sight of his aura, not really sure what to make of it for the most part. Something was off, she could tell that much. What would come of the look of things had yet to be seen, but she did know one thing, holding back would not look good. Sure, Jin was a person she was fairly close to, but that didn't mean anything when it came to combat. If anything she was going to be treating it as a usual training session. She smirked a bit once he said it was her move, yawning a bit. "Awww, you know the girl normally doesn't make the first move."

She shifts a bit, looking him over for a second before her hands came up, a bow of light very quickly forming in her hands, the girl knowing what Jin could do in close combat. Sure, she was well versed in it herself, having been taught jiu jitsu from a young age, but she didn't want to get in close with Jin. His powers were better for it then her own, even if she could make constructs that could quickly turn the tides of a fight. The arrow that formed on the bow, however, was not the sharp kind she normally used. She wasn't aiming for kills, she was aiming for blunt damage. She figured it was always better to leave a few bruises then to cut into someone.

Bruises did heal faster after all.

After firing off three quick arrows she shifted, forming two war fans and quickly throwing them outwards, making sure to manipulate them to move faster and arc out and around, aiming to hit Jin from three sides at nearly the same time. It was the first actions of the fight and she had to be showy somehow. She was a performer after all, flashy was her style.

[Jin Shidehara]

Jin grinned lightly and stayed silent in response to the jab, almost chuckling as he watched Aura leap into action. The light bow; that was something she almost always led with. It was fast, accurate and most importantly...a good distraction. She always did love to put on a show, even in sparring sessions. Aura could easily attack from the front and the sides at the same time, but as long as he could see her, an attack from behind was extremely unlikely. And he had a plan for when she eventually did resort to attacking from behind. He was throwing the match, but he was gonna give Aura a run for her money first.

Rather than wait for whatever the arrows were distracting from, he waited for the sign that the arrows had been fired, a brief flash of light from the middle of Aura's bow. The arrows themselves were often too fast to see, but that indicator let him know it was time to move. He waited half a beat, then kicked his own leg out from under him and dropped like a stone to the ground, keeping his eyes locked on Aura the entire time. The arrows flew over his head, and the fans crossed over his back, whistling through the air where he had been a moment before. The moment he hit the mat, a handgun formed of purple energy appeared in the gauntleted hand and fired three blasts of energy at Aura's chest, stomach and head, each set to give about as much pain as a heavy rubber ball upon impact. This gave her a smaller window in which to dodge without moving her whole body.

The real threat however, lied in what he had done casually and stealthily done with his other hand upon dropping to the ground. He had smoothly shifted the dagger in his palm into a small, coaster-sized disk, and slid it along the mat to rest near Aura's feet. As the last shot from his construct fired he rolled backwards and came up on one knee, simultaneously snapping his other finger. Without warning the unassuming construct detonated in a hemispherical blast of pain inducing psychic energy, engulfing a sizeable area of Aura's part of the ring.

[Aura McKinly]

The girl smirked a bit as she saw him duck, shifting to the side, her bow reforming again as she raised her hands, blinking at the sudden pink blur coming at her, sidestepping the strike quickly. She hadn't expected that much from him, then again she didn't really know how to form a gun of her own so she normally stuck to bows, knives, and fans. She blinked a few times in his direction before the pink blast caught her completely off guard, sending the girl to her knees as she was wracked with pain. After a moment she darted forward, getting away from the epicenter as fast as possible, sliding to a stop just outside of the range of the blast.

She narrowed her eyes a little in Jin's direction, not really sure what his plans were. He was going to put on a show, she knew that much, but there had to be a reason that he was obviously going to throw the fight.Sure, she was confident that she could beat him one on one going all out due to her versatility, but there was something in the back of her mind telling her things wouldn't go the same way as she thought. She stood up straight, forming twin warfans in her hands and throwing them again, this time suddenly flashing forward herself, hoping to catch him off guard with the sudden lunge.

Two more fans formed with her dash, a thin sheen of light starting to form over her body as well. Though she wasn't sure what her small bit of armor would do against pshyonic energy, it often times did give ehr a bit of a blur-like effect. People had trouble aiming correctly due to the way the ligh shimmered. She was mostly banking on this, though she knew Jin was probably used to it by now.

[Jin Shidehara]

Jin raised an eyebrow and straightened, keeping a close eye on her as she recovered from the hit of the blast. C'mon kid, you're better than that, keep up. We've gotta put on a show for'em. He watched as she formed a sheen of light, likely a form of thin armor over her skin before she made her move. He planted his feet as she threw the fans, feinting that he was going to take her charge, perhaps with another projectile attack At the last second though he sprinted forward between the fans, showing an almost dancer-like level of agility and grace of movement as he then planted his foot and spun like a blur out to one side of Aura, just enough to avoid her charge, while simultaneously catching her inside the imperceptible field of pain inducing energy around him.

As he finished the spin and came to a stop behind her he let his momentum carry his hand and arm around, a knife forming in his hand and slashing out at the back of her neck, intending to inflict pain on top of whatever she would have felt going through his field. Without waiting to see if it had landed he threw himself backwards, turning an expert flip and sliding to a stop, keeping a wary eye on her. He couldn't go down too quickly. The...observers in the spectator's box most likely knew who he was, and would know his reputation. If he didn't put up a fight, they would figure something was up. He had to keep the pretense up 'till the very last second. He was, however, trying his hardest to tip Aura off by way of what he *wasn't* doing. He'd had three chances already to severely push his advantage at least, and even take the fight at most. He was going for hit and away tactics, for the flashy and dramatic. And he was sure she would catch on.

Closing his eyes, he couldn't help wondering if Ash was already in position outside, but he pushed the thought aside. Ashton was one of his closest friends, one of the few people in the world he trusted, and knew he could rely upon to get things done.