Ayaka held on to her wires as Catalina backed off, not giving much slack for him to move. The wires attached to his waist meant he'd be able to move sideways, but not backwards much. That was enough.

     Shooting the ends of her spool to ground the trapped wires, Ayaka then begun tracing the line with her finger. The wires held firm, and her blade kept charging, all that was left was to release all that energy.

     She knew next to nothing about her opponent. Personality-wise at least. She only learned what she can from their clashes. A coward, a schemer, maybe even a bit tactical, but nothing told her why he fought. Ayaka found constant running annoying, cowardly even to an extent, especially when against a supposed equal. Underhanded schemes disgusted her, but she had to admit they had their uses. Unfortunately she'd rather do without.

     Walking towards Catalina, Ayaka kept distance just a few meters away. Her left hand ever so slightly on the wires that pulled taut on her opponent, and her right resting on the hilt of her blade. She paused, despite her semblance flowing into her blade, and spoke. "Why do you fight?" She asked, her eyes judging, "From what little I can tell I have no reason to respect what I see. A coward, a schemer, and not even a good one at that. You fight as if expecting everything to fall in place but I see no strength behind your actions." She wasn't buying time, she had more than enough charge to deal a hefty blow. She didn't care about raw strength more than she did technique, so why did she talk? "Whatever your answer I'll tell you this. You are but another step towards my goal. A rough stone on my path. Win or lose, you have not earned my respect with what you've shown."

     She wanted to cut him down right then and there but she held. She could at least allow a reply, besides, she had the swallow in her cage and could draw her blade in a split second. "Anything you'd like to say? Stone?"

Approved

Approved

     Ayaka sprinted, covering distance as easily as she could before reaching the river. Catching sight of her opponent, she charged her blade and hung back for a moment instead of blindly charging in.

     Water plus all that lightning dust would spell a disaster for should she fall into it. But given its size, and the size of the arena, it wouldn't actually be as conductive as real river water, or even worse, briney water.

     Coming from Mistral Ayaka had her shares of rivers and waterfalls and frequent rains. Unfortunately she never did become a strong swimmer, but given the tiny size that wouldn't be an issue at all.

      Spotting her opponent, Ayaka kept her blade in its sheath and tilted her head in annoyance. What was he planning this time? Given his state he looked a bit worse for wear. Possibly due to his semblance. That gave her an idea.

     With her fighting style, Ayaka usually relied on one blade, sometimes two, to overwhelm her opponent. Powerful strikes and rushes were her preference, and relentless assault her forte. Though aggressive, Ayaka was not dumb. She had fought brutes that thought they were the best thing in the world because of strength, and schemers who claimed to know everything but couldn't lift a finger in a fight. For the brute, play smarter, for the schemer, hit harder. But what for a pesky bird?

     With her blade still charging, Ayaka leapt over the river in one bound, using a burst from her semblance to propel her upwards, and let loose a large scatter of wires from her spool. Silver shone in the sun as the sharpened lines of reinforced, yet flexible, steel shot forwards towards the ground and several broken buildings behind the river, all around Catalina's location, half a dozen in number. In the next motion, she landed past the water and snapped the wires taut. They attempted to snare her opponent with one fell swoop, from distance, and soon from close range.

Aura:72%
Status: Winded
Attacks: half-dozen snare - 4% from multiple wires snapping into place. Attempting to wrap.

     Such an odd semblance, Ayaka thought, seeing the amorphous and oddly convenient aura shape itself. The following shock wasn't enough to bring her down, however, and knowing the rat, he'd probably use it some other way.

     A second later she felt a shot to her back, and groaned but was more annoyed than anything. "Is that all you've got?" She cried, throwing her free hand to the side, twisting her leg, then aiming an aura powered knee to the crotch that can't possibly be avoided at this range. Not a second later she channeled her aura to her feet and attempted to escape the grab, using the crotch attack as her main distraction, then bursting forward to leap into the air, dragging her sword along with her if she successfully shot upwards. The force was enough to launch her upwards, and with her wires she would hook Catalina along with her to entangle any part that got caught as she launched.

Aura -80%

Attacks -
Burst Knee Attack to Crotch - 10%
Sword + Semblance Burst upwards - 10%

     "Very well, cookies it is." He smiled sweetly at the two, admiring their enthusiasm while throwing a glance at the crestfallen Reggie on his bed. "Though it's going to take a while. Perhaps you two should take a seat for the meantime.

     Though the room was quite small for four people, not withstanding the fact that Shiroe's stuff ate up a good corner alone, there was still enough space for a small chestnut table and four wooden stools that could fit four people. That meant no sulking if someone wanted food, unless they brought it to their beds but that would just be bad manners. Situated above the oven and stove was an exhaust hood which Shiroe promptly turned on with a quick flick of a switch as he simultaneously started heating the oven. Moving aside his ingredients, he then began preparation of the tea while tossing a mixing bowl to the side for later use.

     Black tea was always a self bet, but being a fan of perfumed variants as well as the occasional milk tea, Shiroe had his own assortment as well. Opening the cupboard the dry smell of tea leaves wafted through the air through their jars, and opening the one labeled Earl Gray unleashed a small explosion of fragrance for but a moment. With so many ingredients in the cupboards, almost rivaling his mixtures of dust crystals and powder, Shiroe developed a knack for proper arrangement and aesthetic storage.

     A moment later, after the boiler was set and the tea in the midst of sleeping, Shiroe begun on the cookies. Whilst in the process of mixing and preparing everything together, Shiroe glanced every now and then back at his teammates. He wondered how he'd ever get them to work together, and with their futures on the line it was only a matter of time before a slip up could send someone to the hospital, or even worse.

     After mixing the dough he wrapped it up in clean wrap and set it aside in the fridge to chill. Chilling was a must. Unfortunately that meant he had little to serve for the meantime save for tea.

     "My apologies but it'll take a while before we can continue. So i guess, for now, tea?" He asked, as he prepped the teapot and four tea cups.

     Ayaka hated guerilla fighters. They were shady, cowardly, and frankly boring fighters. Waiting in the dark and taking cheap shots was nothing short of deplorable from Ayaka's point of view. What good would hide and seek be against grimm hordes? When you're cornered? When the opponent is better than you? Pathetic.

     As she rounded the house she couldn't help but see nothing waiting on the other side except the hole. No sudden gunfire, no taunting, and no sounds. Her blade kept charging as she inspected the area with a keen eye, and her hand resting on the handle, ready to draw at a moment's notice. No footprints lead outside the house, and unless the opponent was a speedster or had some sort of flight, they wouldn't have been able to clear the area so quickly. That left few options to consider. Invisibility didn't seem like a possible option, unless they hid inside the house, that or they were just waiting inside from the get go, using the hole as a distraction.

     Making up her mind Ayaka drew her charged blade and activated her semblance to increase cutting power. She attacked the house in three strikes, diagonal, horizontal, and vertical, her extremely long blade being more than enough to clear the small building with the semblance slashes. Even if they might not hit anyone inside, she was sure it would take down the poorly built shanty and whoever was inside.

     It was a gamble, if someone were actually watching, she'd be leaving her back wide open to attack, not to mention the charged attack taking a bit of stamina as compensation. But if successful she'd have tracked down her target. She took the bet, and with it laid out her net. A shot in the back wasn't going to stop her anyhow if she failed and she was sure to face any resistance with aggressive retaliation. She cursed not being able to watch the screens for clues, that would have made things way easier. Luckiy her condition was still spot on, being fresh from the start, and since her opponent didn't bother clashing, she had enough to keep fighting for much longer if needed.

Attacks:
[Charged attack(1turn): 10 x 3(Diagonal, Horizontal, Vertical)]

Aura: 100%

     

     Ayaka expected quick retaliation, and just as she thought the shooter retreated. With her sword already drawn it was but a small matter to deflect the incoming shot and give chase, the other shot seemingly missed altogether anyways.

     The houses were small, small enough to be cramped. Swallow's Bane would no doubt be at a disadvantage inside such a cramped space. Luckily, she had a backup weapon and a much shorter blade. if she ever decided to actually go inside.

     Being a melee fighter Ayaka acknowledged her weaknesses, but that doesn't mean she'd let them dictate the flow of the match. Despite her lack of true range, the arena was certainly small enough to make her semblances deadly with but a small close of distance.

     As Catalina aimed to walk into the house, Ayaka activated judgement cut and slashed as she ran. Not a moment later an ethereal arc of energy, 3m in length would appear at the entrance way to stop her opponent's advance. The length of her slash wasn't dependent on the length of her blade, but the length of its arc, so the attack was much wider than her blade. She attacked again, this time manifesting the slash from behind him, her attack bounding through space and appearing opposite her first.

Attacks:
[Judgement Cut - 7% x 2]

Aura - 100%

OOC: I'm assuming he hasn't entered yet, given how it's written