Blitz

"So you've come, Shosuko."

"Of course I have." Shosuko crosses her arms as she stares daggers at Nanako. A cool wind blows through the battlefield. The two magical girls stand on the exterior wall of a skyscraper, Blackadder headquarters. Their bodies are perfectly horizontal to the ground. A drop of sweat falls from Nanako's forehead onto Shosuko's. "We have you surrounded. Surrender now."

"I didn't realize the Umi Alliance was still active."

"They aren't. We just let them wear their colors. They're a subsidiary of the Kuze Clan now."

"Since when did the Kuze Clan become conquerors?" Nanako taps her index finger against her skull. "I thought you were all supposed to be protectors of the peace?"

"It's your own fault for killing an innocent. Now the Kuze Clan has to step in." Shosuko's icy rage turns white-hot for an instant before simmering back down to the depths of her mind. "Just tell me where Kasai Ryusei is and we can end this war with a single death."

"I don't know where Kasai is."

Shosuko almost smiles. "Liar."

"I'm telling you the truth."

"I don't believe you but that's fine. The plan was always to beat the truth out of you anyway."

"I'd like to see you try."

"Don't forget who handed your ass to you the last time."

"That was that. This was this."

Shosuko laughs. "I beat you at half strength. I'm curious… just how long will you last if I go all-out?"

Shosuko widens her stance.

"「Taijutsu - Awaking Beast」"

"「Taijutsu - Beast Dramatic」"

"「Taijutsu - Beast Berserk」"

"「Taijutsu - Beast Ultimate」"

Overwhelming strength erupts from Shosuko. The very air around her vibrates with power. She takes a single step towards Nanako. The instant her foot makes contact with the wall, a shockwave ripples through the building, shattering all of its windows. A rain of glass shards scatters onto the pavement. Even if the enemy is undefeatable, she's going to fight.

Nanako's outmatched. She knows that painfully well. But goddamn if she isn't Nanako 'Kraken' Masazumi for nothing.

"「TAIJUTSU - COMET DROP!!!」"

"Not good… I'm pretty sure." Nanako mutters to herself as she jumps from rooftop to rooftop. It's been thirty minutes since the Kuze Clan blitzed through the Blackadder front line and surrounded HQ. Blackadder outnumbers the Kuze Clan three-to-one but that means jack if they attack this quickly.

If she had to guess, the Kuze Clan head and her lieutenants are probably picking Nanako apart like vultures. Nakano's mobilized as much of her forces as she could before dashing over to HQ. There's a chance, no matter how little, that she can still make it in time before Nanako's killed. With luck it'll be them three sisters against the Kuze brass.

Then a wrench is thrown into the equation. An eerily familiar line of light spinning like a miniature buzzsaw whizzes through the air. She manages to move her head to the side but it's not enough. A searing pain slashes across her left eye. She wasn't paying enough attention, and thus, made herself vulnerable to interception. A mistake that Oka exploits.

"I have you!" She launches a barrage of letter openers at Nakano.

But there is no rule that states prey cannot become a predator itself. Nakano raises her left hand and whispers. "「Genjutsu - Updraft」" The large-scale flak attack is disrupted by a sudden swirl of hurricane-force winds materializing in midair. The cascade of letter openers are swept away into the air currents, protecting Nakano.

"Oka Shibusawa! It's a pleasant surprise that we meet under these circumstances… I think." Nakano swipes her hand to her right and all the letter openers are swatted aside like flies.

"Nakano Masazumi. The pleasure is all yours. I would say there's no worse circumstance than for an assassin to meet her quarry in the first place." Oka stands up from the nearby rooftop where she was kneeling.

"I suppose I'll take any advantage I can get." Nakano snaps her fingers and air pressure begins to collect at her fingertip. In another half-second, the battle will begin. Oka reviews what she knows. Her advantage, her speed. Nakano's advantage, flexibility and sheer overwhelming firepower. Goal: enter close-combat range. Obstacle: distance.

First, Nakano will release the wind collecting at her fingertip, creating a squall that will almost certainly destroy the building she's hiding in. Destruction of cover makes defense untenable. Conclusion: approach is the optimal move.

Second, utilize the dust cloud created by the first attack to mask approach. Approximately half the distance has been crossed by this point. Medium range renders Genjutsu - Updraft unusable due to extensive 'windup' time. Likely next move, Genjutsu - Longinus. Highly concentrated bolt of flame. Counterplay: deliver a direct hit to the center of the materializing Genjutsu.

Third, enter short range. Genjutsu - Longinus neutralized. Sole remaining option: Genjutsu - Nightglow. Highly destructive short-ranged lightning attack. Overwhelming power, defense untenable. Overwhelming speed, evasion untenable. Overwhelming area of effect, entry into close-combat range untenable. Calculating odds…

…

…

…

Workaround identified.

One hundred percent chance of victory.

Execute.

"DIE!" Nakano whips her arm around, releasing all the built up air pressure at the building, Oka ducks for cover. It's barely enough to keep her from harm's way. Everything proceeds as planned. Oka's cover is destroyed, allowing her to proceed to phase two. Oka moves quickly in the dust cloud, she can't allow Nakano to get her bearings. She squats down before jumping almost perfectly horizontally, directly towards Nakano.

"「GENJUTSU - LONGINUS!」"

Embers begin to manifest and coalesce into a thin line, but Oka doesn't let them. She fires off a letter opener. It hisses through the air before cutting the flame spear right down the middle, countering the Jutsu before it has a chance to be born.

"Tsk!" Nakano raises both her arms. "「GENJUTSU - NIGHTGLOW!」"

Sometimes, the solution is to do the simplest thing imaginable. If defense, evasion, and retreat are all untenable, there's nothing left to do but attack. Oka fires off another letter opener. A hefty one made purely out of a strong magnet. The lightning that would have struck Oka instead bends and distorts as they're attracted to the metal.

"KH–!" The letter opener buries itself in Nakano's chest and so does the lightning. Harsh electricity wraps itself around Nakano's body, frying her nerves, causing her muscles to spasm uncontrollably, a scream that doesn't sound like her own voice echoes into the sky. Her own Genjutsu turned against her.

Well-played, Oka… well-played.

She closes her eyes, ready to accept death. But death does not come, Oka delivers a swift chop to her neck. Instantly, Nakano feels her consciousness slip from her head and she lets her body fall to the ground.

"There. Th-that should be good."

Oka throws two more letter openers at Nakano's palms, nailing her to the ground. "The truth of the matter is, the Kuze Clan head wants you as a hostage. So you get to live for now, I g-guess."

The giantess sits next to Nakano and idly watches the traffic below. "I wonder how Daisuko's doing…"