Ideal Struggle (Alisa)

[Lot Perceval]

Lot coughed slightly. He was probably coming down with a cold. His late night jobs had been starting to wear him out. Lack of sleep was bad for the immune system. Still, he found himself back out at night, this time not on a job. Well, not on an official one anyways. His curiosity had gotten the better of him and he had gone searching for answers regarding the suspicious quarantine. The internet proved almost useless. With most signals taken out, the only connection he could maintain were ones from local websites.

It would have been completely useless had he not stumbled onto the information network run by some kind of artist. He would have written it off as just another conspiracy theorist, much like the ones that always sought out his enterprise for protection from the government that was "out to get them". This one had been different. The "facts" she had given in her report seemed more grounded than usual conspiracies. Granted, a lot of what she was saying still seemed like made up nonsense, but after what he had seen lurking in the shadows every now and then, he was ready to consider it.

Without even thinking much about it, he had contacted her and arranged a meeting around Mizoma Corner. The place had formerly been a red-light district. All sorts of shady deals had gone down here, and probably even shadier acts. He figured it would be a good place. Red-light districts had a habit of being good places to rustle up some information, even if this one had now been turned into a more "family-friendly" locale.

He checked his watch: 10 PM. She should be arriving at about this point. He had made sure to come early, positioning himself against a corner in the wall. He couldn't be taken by surprise from behind here, and his position gave him a good view of anything as it approached. The chances he would be caught unawares were minimal. He pulled up on his long, green jacket. It was not just because the air was cold. He always liked to feel the familiar weight of his weapons concealed within. If he had to, he would be able to resort to the knife for defense or interrogation. The gun would be a last-resort. His lighter green shirt seemed to match up perfectly nicely with the army style jacket, making him seem a bit more natural. He had made sure his khaki pants had been loose in case he needed to get physical. The only thing that would pose a problem was his faux dress shoes. He sighed.

[Ayakura Alisa]

Are you f'cking kidding me, mate? Why would you drag a lady out to freaking Mimoza Corner at... Like, at 10 PM? This isn't a sleazy dinner date, pal. I do business, I expect to be treated like a business partner. Or at least, a potential one. I didn't even bother changing into anything nice, I just stuck to my usual attire of red jacket with plain blue kimono... It was outlandish, but really, I didn't give a rat's ass. This guy pissed me off already. I hope he makes it worth my time to show up. Christ. I was already making my way down to the location, ignoring anyone who might have had the audacity to look at my undoubtedly angry face. I think he didn't believe me. Honestly, I don't blame this man. It's hard to believe the claims of any regular person who's seen the outside. If I had discussed Persona, I would have been seen as a crackhead. Anyway, when all's said and done... I think I saw the guy, he was standing rather inconspicuously by a corner. I think he didn't want to be jumped by anyone. Sigh. He seemed rather a sad fellow to talk to. He looked like he was prepared to jump someone himself, actually. Fortunately, I had a knife on me in case he thought I was crazy and wanted to attack me.

...Those shoes, though. Christ.

"...You're the guy I'm after, huh?" I asked, approaching the guy with the army fatigue jacket and those... pants and shoes. "You're punctual. 10 PM, on the dot, as you say. I don't know why you thought this was an appropriate spot. But let's talk business, eh?"

[Lot Perceval]

Lot saw the woman approaching and the immediate thought that came to mind was: What crawled up her ass and died? He ceased leaning against the wall and stood up straight to greet her. He measured her height. She was at least half a foot shorter than he was, she seemed much more frail, but her eyes radiated anger and determination. She was either a crazy bitch with nothing to back her up or a crazy bitch that could punch like hell. While on the eyes, h noticed that they carried a subtle difference from each other, but it was too dark to make out exactly what it was.

He glanced her up and down. Her outfit... They always dress nice for some fashion show. This is why men do all the work, because they dress like it. He ignored the dress shoe issue he had. The kimono would probably be a bit difficult to move in during a fight. The jacket could probably hide something, so she got points there. He didn't gt a good look at her shoes as she approached, but he could feel her sizing him up like all people did. She began talking. He got the impression that she was deeply angry about having to meet him. He didn't exactly know why.

"Well, this place used to be a red light district, if I remember." He began. "I figured coming here at night would be an appropriate place for meeting with someone like you." He flashed a confident smile, assured that his reasoning was in the right. "Anyways, along that note, from what I've gathered, you've definitely been a lot of places most people haven't, and I want to try the things you're doing. I don't care if people think me a freak for venturing out of the typical comfort zone for this sort of thing, but I figured you would be able to show me some tips to get started so that I can do the same things you're doing. I'm willing to pay you for your services as well."

[Ayakura Alisa]

I'm just going to ignore the fact he's looking at me funny... Eh, whatever. Guy wasn't all that much of a looker himself. Though, he did say that he only thought it was fitting to meet here. I'm just going to pretend he didn't say anything to insult me there, too. God, this guy was probably older than me, yet... Anyway, I can't let myself get too mad here. Business. I'm only here on business. Okay, I gotta stay calm. He wanted to learn more about the outside, huh...? Yet... It was dangerous. Pretty serious affair. Hmm. This was going to be hard.

"Yes, to say I've been places... That's kind of an understatement, pal. The 'restricted area...' That place is pretty dangerous. I don't know if you're aware, but there are strange things out there. Shadows. Maybe you've seen them. Hope to hell you haven't, those things are tough... Normal people like you or me couldn't handle 'em all proper unless we had heavy weaponry."

I think that was about right. I don't think I could bring myself to tell him about Persona.

"But there are some people who casually run in to, say, that Terminal to get outside... You'd better wait for those people and hitch a trip with them if you want to know more. S'what I did. ...The quarantine enforcement itself? Bunch of bull; I realized that all that's out there are freaking Shadow things. I found out these things are behind it, there must be intelligent ones aside all the savage ones, you know?"

[Lot Perceval]

Lot narrowed his eyes and he could feel his mouth begin to drop into a snarl. Play it cool. He stopped himself before before his mouth could complete the motion and readjusted his look. He took a deep breath and scratched his chin. The stubble was beginning to grow back. "Look, uh, lady. You're saying a lot of weird shit here. I'm not ready to just accept whatever it is your saying." His mind flashed towards one of the strange shapes he had seen out of the corner of his eye several days earlier. He had learned at the Academy that all information needed to be considered when it was told in person. People found it more difficult to lie believably to your face. She could always be crazy,though.

"But alright, listen to this. I'll humor you for a bit. If what you're saying is true, then I'd have no chance of going it alone. I have to find one of these... people. Exactly how would they be able to fight these monsters we have no chance with? What would one of them look like?" He thought of a bigger question. He had a problem with something she had said. "How do you even know there are smart ones. I'm not gonna' guess you fought them yourself, you don't look like you could handle it. How do you know there isn't someone else manipulating these Shadows." He said the last word with a hint of sarcasm in his tone. His facade of respect was starting to waver.

[Ayakura Alisa]

"Figures. You have to see it to believe it, after all. Besides, do you honestly think another human could be manipulating these things? Don't be insane." I shrugged. Of course he didn't believe me. It sounds ridiculous in and of itself. "Also, I'm just making a theory. I'm still working on finding evidence to prove it. Of course, you're free not to believe me if you want. In which case, you can go by yourself to the restricted Terminal. It's not my fault if something bad happens to you anymore; I warned you." Cocky piece of shit tried to push his luck, well... One thing's going to come to him if he keeps this up.

"Call me crazy if you want, but you're the one who wanted to know what I was dealing with here. You tend to have more drive when you've lost something dear because of something like that, y'know?"

[Lot Perceval]

This was falling apart rapidly. They were both starting to get angry at each other. It might have been his fault, but he was more concerned with her attitude. He let the snarl form on his lips before responding. "Listen, I came here to get information, not bullshit. Either you actually know what's going on and won't tell me or your some kind of psycho bitch like the rest of those conspiracy theorists. I gave you the benefit of the doubt. When I asked you gave me some shit story about shadow creatures taking over our government or something. Then when I start trying to ask into this story you evade most of my questions and basically tell me to, if your story is right, go kill myself.

Her last comment sent him over the edge. He had lost friends people he was familiar with before. Officers on the force, the occasional illness. Her high and mighty attitude was grating. "And don't give me that self-righteous 'loss' crap either. I don't know what it is you've lost, but you're not the only who's lost people on this Earth, so don't act like your some kind of tragic soul when really you just want an excuse to be a bitch to people!" It occurred to Lot that he was being extremely rude by most social standards. A lot of that had been impassioned by the anger and not as serious as he had made it out to be. He was too angry to care.

[Ayakura Alisa]

"I already told you what I know, man. Weird shit's going on outside, the law enforcement is not what it seems. You're the one choosing not to believe me and dismissing it as conspiracy beeswax." That's all I could say. Wow, the nerve of this guy. Was this man 14 years old or some shit? "I'm simply telling you that you should go there yourself and see it for yourself if you don't believe me. The way to find the answers is there. You're getting pissed off over nothing. Call me a 'bitch' all you want, but you're the one who called me out to this dinky place at 10 in the goddamn evening. Take your freaking information or leave it. You're wasting your own time and you're wasting my time with your demands, especially throwing a temper tantrum like that." That's right. You called for this, you asked, and when you're not satisfied with what you got, you pry for stuff I'm still investigating, and now YOU throw the goddamn tantrum. I'm surprised I haven't cut you right then and there. Jesus Christ. I want a drink. I think I need a drink. Sweet lovin' hell.

"I'm still working on the case. So it's not my fault if you're not happy with what I can tell you right now. Take a pill or something. You look like a wreck. Geez." I shook my head.

[Lot Perceval]

Goddamnit. It's like dealing with some bratty teenager in the force. 'I already old you, but you don't believe me!'. Then they would just try and walk away from the situation and try to make the officer look bad. He let out a slight growl of anger. This woman was seriously pissing him off. She told a bullshit story and then condescended to him for not believing her, saying it was pretty much her fault she lied. "You've got to be the shittiest information dealer I've ever seen" He meant to keep it in his head, but things had a natural way of slipping out when he was angry enough. "Honestly, what kind of dealer goes around making things out to be true when she admits she has no evidence that what she's saying is right. You have no collateral, no way of backing yourself up, and you wonder why people won't believe you? And when they don't you just chalk it up as their fault and don't even consider that you might be in the wrong. This isn't even about your bullshit story anymore, it's your goddamn way of carrying yourself I'll give you a news flash, I don't know whoever trained you, but the clearly half-assed it if the only thing that came out of it was some whiner who thinks her job gives her some god-given right to be a bitch to everyone.

He was really letting this get to him. Maybe it was pent up years of frustration. On the force, he could never begin yelling at the kids, because they were kids. Now he didn't have those restrictions, and she was a grown adult anyhow. Just some worthless trash dressed up in a red jacket and blue kimono. Even he thought that thought was harsh.

[Ayakura Alisa]

I already turned around to leave, but yet this guy thought it would be a smart idea to keep up the trashtalk? Does this guy not have any manners? And insulting my mother like that... He's hiding something in that jacket too. "I would sock you in the face right now, officer, if I didn't already know you hid a gun in that parka of yours or whatever the hell it is you're wearing. I don't know what gave your backside-devastated face the impression I was whining when I was simply telling you to take it or leave it, but if you're obviously not going to let it go..."

I cracked my knuckles. I was beyond words now. Who the fuck behaves like that? I mean he's clearly older than me! For heaven's sake. "I dunno about you, but something tells me your bite doesn't match your bark."

If the guy could see my eyes right now..

Well, the red eye would probably be glowing in the dark or some ridiculous sorcery like that. It was.. a problem of mine. Scared the crap out of some kids once. But this man isn't a kid. Just... just a sad person.

[Lot Perceval]

"Well, at least your willing to back yourself up physically. That's nice to see." It was true. Most people Lot ever encountered in this way would try to run or get help. Neither really helped them much. "But I won't pull any punches because you're a woman. I'll give you the decency of that. But you should know... we I wasn't taught to bite, I was taught to rip and tear things apart." She knew he had a gun. That was astute of her, but he didn't plan on using it unless she was going to try and kill him. What determined self-defense was the most heavily studied subject for his classes at the academy. He readied himself in a basic fighting stance he had learned during the time he took boxing as a sport in high school.

He raised his fists up tot he side of his face, having them rest on their respective cheekbones before sliding his right foot back words Three-and-a-half. Left is one half. His footing felt solid. He bent his leg slightly, his weight now resting on his haunches. He was poised to strike. She was obviously expecting the first move. He felt happy enough to oblige. He shifted forward, performing a small quickstep to close their distance before launching a jab with his Left fist. At the same time, he poised his right leg to swing up and strike her in the stomach.

[Ayakura Alisa]

Well, this guy is excited. He must be confident in his power, and from his stance, I could tell he took a few notes from the mystical art of boxing. Yep, raising the fists up to the side of his face so he could launch a jab probably to my face or around the face area. Yep. I could see that one coming. I heard him slide one of his feet back, and as he did a quick step forward to strike first blood on me, I felt something off. Yes, he was too eager, too quick to go in. He was following this jab up, but it wasn't with a punch!! He was going to use one of his unused limbs! Definitely not his arm, that would be too obvious.

Think back to training! A quick-step that eager... Yes, he would try to strike by kicking me. Yes. Quickly swerving my body to the side I let his left fist graze my nose and my cheeks. I didn't know which leg he was going to try and strike me with and I didn't know where he was going to do it but I knew that he wanted to follow up that jab. I quickly responded, after my swerve, by simply throwing a right hook to his exposed side (since, of course, he still protected one part of his face with his right fist; he had jabbed me with a leftie). I was confident that I could mitigate his next blow with my knees and shin if I could get the timing right.

Hmm...!

[Lot Perceval]

Lot felt his jab hit skin, but not in the intended way. He had expected her to dodge, and if she didn't, free hit. However, instead of opting to duck or throw herself to one side like many opponents did, she merely sidestepped. It seemed she knew he was going to follow up, meaning that she had some basic knowledge of boxing. He felt a fist brush against his face and he instinctively moved his upper body backwards. Her sidestep had given her a better opportunity to counterstrike. She knew what she was doing well enough. He'd forgotten the use of his other arm as a defense tool. He was underestimating her. Not any longer.

His quick was thrown off by his backward movement. The momentum was cancelled and his height wasn't as high as he intended. He instead caught her at about the knee. He would have to switch up tactics when his kick was complete.

[Ayakura Alisa]

Good, I caught him. He moved back almost out of instinct; so if he was going to kick, which he most certainly did given I curbed it with my knee - ouch - the impact was reduced a little. This was about the part where I tried not to wince and show any sign of weakness. I forced my knee forward against his kick in order to try and knock him off balance. The first foundation of any street brawl was to have balance. Of course, it was very difficult for anyone to believe I had balance considering what I was wearing, but the skirt part of this kimono actually flows a little and it splits at the bottom, so I could actually move around a bit more easily. Now, this man, on the other hand, had some really uncomfortable looking pants, not to mention his shoes are going to get ruined. Oh well. Go get some shoe polish, son.

"You treat this almost like it were a work out." I idly murmured amidst my movements.

[Lot Perceval]

He felt the woman shift her knee against his kick. He felt his center of balance shifting. He quickly cancelled his own kick by moving himself to the ground, rolling sideways away from Alisa before pushing himself back up into a fighting position. "Well, why wouldn't it be a workout? You have to put up a better fight than that for me to take this seriously." Granted, she had blocked his kick and forced him to move backwards, which was better than 85% of people he had fought, but he wasn't beginning to push himself yet. He only felt a little throbbing sensation on his right cheek where her punch had dealt some damage to him, but nothing of consequence.

He righted himself back into a traditional boxing stance like before and followed it with a quickstep like before. He made as if to do the left jab again, but that was a feint. Instead of completing a jab motion, he instead locked his left arm parallel to his shoulder, crouched, and rammed at Alisa. His right fist was coming from below to deliver a follow up punch. Switching up was crucial to prevent his attacks from being read. The brute style might work for a bit, but he'd have to opt for something else soon.