Run, girl, or I'll eat you, too. (Scarlett and HiRyuu)

The events that left Old Tokyo a semi-deserted wasteland could not have been a better gift. Taken over by the homeless and other vagrants that no one would miss, it made the perfect place for a demon to fulfill his appetites. Police didn't investigate the homicides, there just weren't enough resources to spare and no one cared about those that society had forgotten about. 

HiRyuu walked down the dirty streets, passing junkies and the occasional hooker, on the hunt for something more innocent, more delicious. A rare treat in this part of the city, to be sure, but sometimes one preferred a rack of lamb to a common chicken dinner. And there she was, a tasty little morsel tucked into the alley, doe-eyed and afraid. He judged her to be new, displaced from wherever only recently. Perfect. He approached the young woman, crouching down before her. She took one look at his face, with its scar running down over where his left eye should be, and pressed herself back further against the dirty building. He was used to the reaction, knew how fierce and dangerous his marred face made him look. He smiled gently, turning on the charm. "What's a pretty little thing like you doing here?" He asked, his voice silky, smooth, irresistible. 

She relaxed a little and he reached out his hand, cupping her cheek and stroking with his thumb. She exhaled a shuddering breath, her eyes taking on a glazed look as she fell under his spell. He stood, pulling her up with him, and led her further into the darkness. 

No one was going to miss her.

Scarlett had finished up with some hierarchy requests for this planet and left the archivist some general warnings about the xenophobia of the planet they were on. She could understand that visitors from space could be life changing for organics. It was always harder when they saw technology and not anything else. Yes she was most likely the multiverse’s most advanced AI, but that’s the problem organics had was unattended machines became their property. That was going to happen here. She stayed with organics that other organics didn’t bother. They were overlooked it appeared and that suited her purposes. She could stay with them, go unnoticed, and complete her survey of the planet. That made the most sense.

She was just heading back when she registered an unknown energy. That was not an energy source these organics used. It was energy but different….this was also not present here. She better go look to see if the organics hadn’t discovered something unsafe. She ducked away from her normal return route and cloaked herself to investigate. As she neared the area she did a quick scan and didn’t find anything out of the normal background radiation. Odd readings. She did a quick visual scan and didn’t see anything strange. Organics were close to each other. She switched to infravision to see how many organics were around her. What was that heat source. It was roughly humanoid and generated a good amount of heat. That was very odd.

She moved closer to see what was causing it. She wasn’t sure but one registers as human heat signature and the other didn’t, need to get closer. She moved for a direct observation.

HiRyuu sat back with a satisfied sigh, having gotten his fill. He'd made sure the young woman's last moments were as pleasurable as possible. It was the least he could do to thank the woman for being his evening meal.

He had picked up the sound of soft footsteps coming down the alley as he was finishing up his meal and, since he hadnt heard them leave, wondered if they were enjoying the show. He stood and turned to face the direction he heard them coming from, but he saw nothing and frowned. He knew he heard footsteps. He tested the air but could pick up no scent above and beyond the usual.

Telling himself that perhaps he had misheard, he shoved his hands in his pockets and began walking back down the alley. He paused, feeling the lightest brush of something against his elbow, but again there was nothing there. With a shrug he started back down the alley again, a merry whistle on his lips.

She stopped herself thinking this was one of those crimes she had read about. She could have probably watched them on their form of information feed but she didn’t have access to them. What she did was wait and when she saw that he had finished and the heat signature of the other was decreasing she quick focused and saw the life energy as it left her body. The person who had assaulted this organic was leaving and she gave him a quick scan as he passed by….not human. That meant she could follow and then as he scan completed and the human was dead.

He passed her and seemed to be less than a meter and she bent over and picked up a rock. She threw it at him and waited to see what his reaction was and uncloaked after throwing the rock.

HiRyuu spun, bringing his hand up and catching the rock as he did so. A red hooded figure stood where before there was nothing. He crushed the rock in his hand as he appraised the female, perplexed. His first impression was that he could crush her as easily as he'd reduced the rock she'd thrown to pebbles, the grit of which he was now brushing off his hand.

But there was something off about her. She gave off no smell. No presence of life. Which meant one thing. "You're not human." He stated. He'd never met anything, human or demon, that didn't give off some sort of scent or feeling. It made the hair on the back of his neck stand up, his skin prickling as instinct warned him to be wary.

"What are you?"

She cocked her head to the side seeming to examine him and without warning she was standing right in front of him.

“A problem…..organic authorities don’t like other organics killing each other. You are not like the other humans. That means I should handle you and exercise my directive of….protect!”

The speed of the straight punch which would catch him about mid chest and the force depending his strength it would be equivalent of being struck by a speeding car.

"What makes you think I give a f--" the sentence was cut off as the female's fist made impact with his chest, sending him off his feet and flying through the air and through an 8th-story window. He landed on his back with a thud that made the entire building shudder. He snarled as he pulled himself to his feet, his fangs elongated as he prepared to tear his attacker apart.

He jumped out of the window he'd been thrown into and opened a portal back into the alley right in front of the girl, the momentum of his fall adding force to the kick aimed square at the intruders chest as he came through.

Scarlett had turned to walk off and didn’t expect to get a kick in her back. She rolled down the alley and after she had spilled into the street. She arrested her roll and came up on her feet. She turned and it was the organic she should have killed with that one blow. It was also why she had struck him as hard. It should have killed him and his body wouldn’t be in the way and unfounded for many years. She would have retrieved jt and buried it. Well for any organic she caught trying to harm another.

“You are alive?”

In an instant he was before her. He shot out a hand and grabbed her by the neck, lifting her so that she was eye-level with him and slamming her into a nearby wall. "I am going to enjoy tearing you apart piece by piece," he growled, his voice taking on a gravelly, inhuman tone.

“I misjudged your fragility as I would other organics.”

He was close and she had not classified his threat level what she was getting was some wonderful data about his genetic composition but she would need a sample. Her knife should work. The biggest thing her attacker would notice is how calm she looked during all his hoisting and slamming.

“That is if you can.”

He scout knife he would feel between his ribs and she would teleport away to a klu(Cygnarian unit of distance equal to a meter) and her hands would be empty and the knife gone. He would have a nice wound. 

“Do not make me harm you further. Leave this area and never return or I will cause your life functions to cease.”

She was on guard ready if he tried more nonsense.

HiRyuu pulled away, feeling the sting of the blade. He brought his hand to the area and pulled it away, his fingers slick with blood. He laughed as he turned to face her, the small wound already stitching itself together thanks to his body's rapid healing. 

"I'm running for the hills," he said drily. He shot his hand out to the side, Shinokage appearing to fill it. He wrapped his hand around the obsidian sword's smooth hilt. He slowly began to close the distance between them. "I'll be generous and give you a full minute to back the fuck off. Then, I begin cutting. From here--" he pointed the tip of his sword at her fingers, "--to here." He dragged the point of the blade along her arm and up to her neck.

He was interesting and didn’t seem to be as easy to damage as the organics who had pursued a battle. This one wanted to fight. He brought out a sword to emphasize his point of her leaving. She summoned her Cygnarian Punishing the Bastard Sword did a quick leap back bring up in what appeared to be a weak guard.

“I will reiterate my statement. Cease this attack or I will terminate your life functions.

Her blade had a faint glow and for once if her opponent had any senses he could feel the deadly intent of this object. The young woman seemed to have focused on him. The blade she held appeared finely crafted and was adorned with decoration. It did not appear to be a blade one used for combat. Everything about her said teen girl but now something inside her opponent had to be screaming this was not right. The blade she held was to big for her. She appeared to have a lazy one handed stance. It was open. It invited them in.

“Are you feeling this fear I’ve heard of? If you are what does it feel like? Describe it to me.”

She shifted ever so slightly it was barest of s micron but enough so she was ready for his attacks.

"I will gladly cease, once you back down," HiRyuu said with a smile that didn't reach his eye. He approached her with all the grace and confidence of a predator, even as every atom of his being was warning him that this was no ordinary threat. 

He allowed himself a moment to admire her blade. It was a magnificent sword, and by all appearances much too heavy for the girl holding it. Yet she held the thing as though it weighed no more than a feather. And the way she was holding it....he chuckled. She was inviting him to play. The sword itself, interestingly, had a presence. Fascinating. It bothered him, not knowing what she was, and until he figured out her fighting style he knew he had to remain more guarded than he would normally. He could still feel an echo of the impact of her fist hitting his chest. Yes, she was not to be underestimated. 

He threw his head back and laughed when she asked if he felt fear. "Darling, I don't feel fear. I am fear." 

It was clear she wasn't going to make the first move. He got the feeling she was studying him as much as he was studying her. So he decided to give her something to observe, closing the final distance between them at a speed faster than the human eye would be able to register. His blood sang at the clash of metal on metal, Shinokage practically humming at the prospect of biting through flesh after years of lying dormant.

This person was serious about attacking them after she had already demonstrated superior strength and tactical acumen. This human insisted on pushing his attack even after being sent away from her and being stabbed. He healed it which allowed her to remove her restraint protocols and go full power. His statement of he was fear didn’t affect her but his movements were faster as he brought his sword around. He was pretty swift for a human. She brought her sword up and looked at him as her cloak faded out like dandelion fluff on the wind.

“I suppose you do require a bit of my strength beyond the exertion I have already used.”

She spun with the momentum of his strike and brought her sword around with a velocity that would cause metal blades to ring but her hard light sword was unaffected and her quick slash across his body emulating his speed.

This would set her up for blocks and follow up attacks depending on her opponents counter.

HiRyuu’s speed matched his opponents, the force of their swords meeting again and again would have been nearly impossible for a human to keep up with, but HiRyuu's hold on his weapon remained steady and true. Mid-swing he called his second blade into his free hand, coming at her from the opposite direction with that blade. The target of the two blades was not the female, but her weapon in an attempt to catch her ridiculously large sword between his two and twist it out of her grip.

Scarlett was enjoying the way their combat was playing out and when the second sword came she decided that keeping her sword in hand would be a tactical error and as his swords collided with hers it would appear to evaporate or shatter then evaporate. She used the motion to sweep his feet and then teleport back and coming with two blades in her hands held in a fashion that showed she was experienced with them. She seemed to regard her opponent differently now.

“You look human but aren’t. I shall enjoy testing my capabilities against you. I shall use bladed weapons as that is what you’re using and collateral damage would be high if I did not.”

The new weapons looked like kukri’s made of the same substance that the bastard sword she was carrying.

“Let’s see how close combat for you works.”

She didn’t hesitate and teleported inside of his swords and brought the blades up in a slash while reversing her off hand to block if need.

Rather than falling as she swiped his feet out from under him, HiRyuu kicked his legs back, letting his momentum carry him through a back-lit and landing on his feet in a crouch. He grinned as he noticed she had exchanged her sword for two shorter blades.

"I could say the same about you," he said in response to her assessment of him, standing. If she looked closely she would see signs that indicated he was something other than human, such as the shape of his pupil, the way his iris seemed to flow and flicker like dancing flames, and of course the dangerously sharp fangs that once again made their appearance as she came up on him again.

He grinned, baring teeth as their swords locked. "The closer the better," he said, his voice once again low and silky. He pushed off from her and then came at her again in one quick, fluid motion lunged forward again, bringing one sword around in a wide arc in an attempt to distract her while the other went straight for her middle.

Scarlett had never experienced this type of combat and when he attacked again the duel swords were a good challenge but not enough for her. She did however miscalculate the direction of one of the blades and her deflection caused it penetrate her lower left side. It wasn’t what would be considered fatal hit hut she would play it off. As she did she dropped her blades which would fade out of existence within a few minutes. What he would feel is that his blade scraped along her spine. She gripped the sword putting the appropriate face on.

“This is bad…”

"More's the pity," HiRyuu said as he placed his boot on her chest and slid her off his sword, both blades vanishing. As she fell he caught her by her hair, lifting her up so her eyes were level with is as if she were weightless. "And here I was almost hoping someone had finally brought me a decent challenge." He sounded almost...disappointed. He tossed her casually to the side like a rag doll and began to walk away. "Whatever you are," he called over his shoulder, "if you do manage to pick yourself back up, get the fuck out of Tokyo and don't come back."

After being discarded like trash she felt something that wasn’t a part of her primary programming. She couldn’t pinpoint that unknown variable but this being was about to face the brunt of it.

“So you’re done? That doesn’t track with the way you expended energy on your attacks.”

Internally a silent protocol was activated. It had been dominate at one time for only three days and then filed under an unused subroutine. Slevekian Imperuim protocol was in effect. Destroy all combatants and ensure the safety of non-combatants. She teleported in front of him and threw a haymaker that would collapse armors known to her. When he went flying she was there with flip kick to send him into the air and then a final teleport to send him back down and into the pavement. She didn’t stop as she would if he didn’t recover quickly enough grab him up and send him flying through the wall of the building they were fighting near.

HiRyuu had severely miscalculated the situation, a mistake he should have known better than to make. He should have stayed there and watched her die. And then maybe taken her home to save as a snack for later. But noooo, instead he was getting his ass handed to him by this half-pint inhuman female. As he crashed right through the brick wall of the building, he'd damn well had enough. His skin rippled, and what came leaping out of the window was a long-bodied, sleek black dragon, his enraged roar shattering all of the windows in the vicinity. The ground cratered beneath his paws as he landed. 

Tell me, female, he growled as he stalked toward her, his reddish-orange eye standing out in stark contrast to the black scales of his body, should I swallow you whole, or enjoy you piece by piece?

She looked in his direction and had he been paying attention at the beginning of the fight he would have noticed her eyes were silver. This was not the case. They were an angry glowing red. She looked at him and while she was injured and leaking what appeared to be blue blood she was not hampered by the wound. She did not look innocent and if one were to assign an emotion to how she looked it would radiate malevolence.

She didn’t care about his new form, her protocol was activated, and she was moving at him as in a run and she teleported to his tail and stuck her hard bastard sword through it and buried it in the concrete.

HiRyuu roared in pain as he felt the sword cut through and pin his tail to the ground. His serpentine body allowed him the flexibility to circle around and with a powerful paw swipe her away, sending her flying several feet to the side. Clamping his jaws around the blade he pulled the blade out with a growl that rumbled the ground and tossed it to the side. In a quick stride he was on top of her, pinning her to the ground, his claws shredding the skin beneath her clothing. He opened his maw, preparing to bite her head off, and suddenly pulled back, howling in pain. 

In all the years he'd been alive, this was a pain he had never felt before. He looked down at the injured paw and saw a claw gone, the digit it was attached to melting before his eye. He snarled, backing away from the female with the acidic blood, assuming a defensive position, his injured paw tucked up against his underbelly.

What are you?

The counter attacked was not expected and she went flying. The swipe had torn away her synthetic skin and while it was regenerating it was fast. When he pinned her and tore her open she became alarmed. This harmed organics and his pain was enough to indicate he had learned that lesson the most incorrect way he could learn it. She laid there staring up at the night sky allowing her regeneration subroutines to work a for a moment before standing again. This time when he looked at her he would see the gaping hole that was her abdomen, where he tore it open, and it was shedding a glowing blue energy. She looked torn up but wasn’t stopping.

“You have caused minor damage and cosmetic damage. I will regenerate this. Can the same be said, if we continue, of you. I don’t get tired. I will assail you endlessly until you tear me apart as you have said you want to do. Then I will return fully assembled and ready for battle.”

Her sword appeared in her hand. She was ready but did not want to destroy the surrounding areas as this would be the outcome.

“Make your choice before I remove your head…”

HiRyuu watched the girl pick herself back up, and seeing what was beneath the shredded skin...it was like she was a machine. Her words certainly added to that impression. HiRyuu let out a roar of frustration and began pacing as he considered her words. 

He could continue for days, if need be. The grueling, hellish training he had been put through, the nights of his youth spent in sleepless paranoia, all of it had conditioned him to be able to persevere tirelessly in combat. But not for an eternity. 

He was not ready to go back to nights spent in sleepless paranoia, waiting for this...thing to come back and endlessly attack him. 

He stopped pacing and faced her. Despite the pain, he lowered his injured foot, refusing to show any weakness beyond the words he couldn't believe he was about to say.

Fine. I yield.

Scarlett ground her sword into the pavement which had large gouges from their combat. She leaned on it.

“Very well. The park has some crime between 2230 and 0400 local time. The authorities didn’t take me seriously when I apprehended them. They let them go.”

She nodded to him.

“I’ll leave you to depart.”

She cloaked and teleported away from the scene trusting him to keep his word.

Once the female had departed, HiRyuu shed his draconian form. He inspected his injured hand. The bruises from the beating he'd taken he could ignore easily, they would be gone before the sun rose. But this....he swore. He was glad he hadn't gotten the chance to get a good bite in. He didn't want to know what it felt like to have your insides dissolve, and he doubted he'd be able to come back from something like that. The skin around the skeletal digit would regrow over a couple of days.

More frustrating than having been beaten, however, was that she had not given him any answers as to who, or what, she was. Although judging by her tip about the park, she clearly valued some humans' lives above others. Odd behavior for a non-human.

As he walked down the street his clothes reformed around him and he shoved his hands in his pockets. He wasn't sure how just yet, but he would be back to reclaim his territory. For now, he would play nice and stick to the park.