Honeyed Papaya and Terrible Beasts (Jyushin)

The difference between fighting an opponent armed with a sword and a sufficiently strong opponent mimicking the motions is not actually that large. The metal itself was barely relevant once one obtained any appreciable level of ki control. Hayle knows this well enough that she doesn't underestimate the incoming attacks even if the style is peculiar. She dodges where she can, parries where she must, thrusting the armoured plate of her forearm into the side of the strikes to divert the force without taking the blow full-on. When the change-up to ki blasts happens, she punches out, slamming one ball into the other and blowing the pair of fighters back apart with the impact. It stung, mildly, which only made her more infuriated.

Still he rants and raves about his purpose. Maybe it was even true. But if he were meant to be some divine destroyer, he was clearly not up to the task. Whilst she considered herself stronger than 99.9% of the universe, that last .1% she was wise enough to know she could not stand against in a fair fight. Such was the trouble with living in an age such as this, and whilst she wasn't making much headway against him, the reverse was also true.

Not that she could be bothered to try and explain this to him. Explaining anything seemed largely pointless.

Instead, she continued to wheel backwards with her flight, flinging out a handful of bright blue energy blasts in a vague arc. This was mostly a diversion; intended to try and keep him back whilst her tail wrapped around a tree.

Which she then sent hurtling through the exploding balls of ki to express her displeasure.

"Now? NOW you want to take me up on my offer?"

The laughter that comes out of Hayle is as wild and terrifying as any. The woman usually worked so hard to maintain her composure, but the sheer absurdity of this situation had her disbelieving. The gall of this creature, to think that they could trade a few blows and then she would be magnanimous enough to act as though he hadn't spent the past several minutes promising her death in a variety of different ways and trying to make it happen.

"No. That deal expired. Wave to it on your way to the next life!"

Her aura flared around her as her scouter warned about the gathering power, and suddenly she reversed course. Coming in right for him at high speed, he might well assume that she is making the same mistake as last time; but there is one close-range technique at the least that she has found workable on most species in the galaxy.

The blast of energy streaked towards her, and her brilliant blue flames flares in answer. She swung one fist around to slam the arrow down into the earth where it explodes in a plume of smoke - and again, she relies on the fact that he didn't seem to believe he needed to defend himself.

At first it looked like she was going to jam her fist into his guts again - but at the last moment, the feint is revealed and that pointed tail of hers comes piercing around instead. Not going for anything so easy as the centre mass, but instead aiming to drive directly into the Majin's eye socket.

There is some satisfaction in feeling the blow strike true. Yet, where she had hoped for screaming and wailing, there is none of that. The Arcosian frowned deeply as Jyushin reformed, apparently none the worse for wear. This was, she thought, going to take a considerable amount of time.

Then he threw something at her, and she snatched it out of the air. It wasn't until he ate the rest that she actually looked at it... and saw that she now did indeed have exactly what she had come for. Hayle's lip curled with displeasure. She wanted to kill this man. It wasn't an urge she experienced often; she had killed plenty in her long life, but it was rare that she did so out of a desire to watch some unfortunate soul die rather than because the circumstances necessitated it.

Now, she was faced with a dilemma. She could press her advantage and continue to try and find some means by which this infuriating madman could be made to suffer... or she could return to her ship with the fruit and the seeds within. It wasn't the honey-drenched treat she had first been hoping to enjoy, but it was a step towards her greater goals.

And in the end, as much as her pride ruled her in so many ways, her desire for profit came even over that.

"Well done, Jyushin Moto. You have found the one thing that could have stayed my wrath in this moment, and you have given it to me."

The words almost stuck in her throat. But this was the price of doing business, wasn't it? Sometimes, you had to set your personal disdain to one side and regard the situation with cool detachment. If she fought now, the fruit would surely not survive. By the time they were done, perhaps the entire jungle would be irreversibly damaged. Better, then, not to risk it.

"I wish you luck in your, quest, to recover what was yours. May it restore your clarity as well as your power. I will take my leave and forgive your disrespect. This time."