Eyes on the Prize [Natasha, Edelo]

"Heh, now that's what I call gettin' me to work up a sweat, sweetheart!"

Extending a shout of praise in response to the horizontal slash of air roaring from below - slicing through the structure that kept her balanced - Natasha grinned from ear to ear. Forming a robust shield of reishi, she braved the storm of that crescent of air, kicking her body away from the collapsing tower. Showcasing her exceptional skill in reishi manipulation, humanity's strongest soldier manipulated the shield's shape, its form now akin to a hoverboard.

Swinging it forward during her descent, Natasha leap onto the unique platform of reishi, soaring toward Edelo from above, her arm poised in preparation for a clothesline if she could keep catch him at unawares. He hadn't forced her to use a gun yet, but he definitely made her sweat with that last technique. In addition, it earned him a reprieve from her fierce assault during their first clash. Her aim was to ensure that reprieve was momentary.

Forearm for a forearm, eh? Natasha was absolutely amused by the counter, even more so when he stood on her platform of reishi. His aim was to throw her off of her own platform of reishi with his own physical prowess as the catalyst - a bold tactic that elicited even more amusement in the sharpshooter's expression. Holding her ground as though to challenge him in a contest of strength, Natasha maintained her balance as she answered back with resistance, generating blut Arterie through her forearm to limit his overall ability to overpower her, and by extension, grapple her entirely.

"Lookit at you tyin' me up in a knot. Am I gettin' to ya that much, darlin'?"

Ever shifting movements between the both of them would inevitably lead to a disbalance on her part regardless of how well she held up here, to say nothing of the chunks of debris hurdling down from above. Forming Casanova in the hand of the limb that wasn't constricted, Natasha pointed it toward the chunk of crashing debris in a straight line, releasing a blue arc of reishi rather than the bullets that a proud staple of her repertoire. Considering his strength, he wasn't going to let go so easily. As though well aware of that fact, she offered a warning.

"Hold on tight, Del'. We're about to hop off of the Nat Express.'"

The blue arc of reishi transmuted into a rope, winding itself around the debris as Natasha brought every fiber of strength to bear to tug her body upward off of the board of reishi, attempting to guide her body to the another platform and hopefully separate the man off of her body. Either way, one of them was going to crash into something, and Natasha was well aware she might be the first. Even so, as long as she gained some distance. She could reposition Casanova, and really overwhelm him. Or maybe she'd go back to fighting him in his realm? Decisions, decisions...

"Haha, no kiddin! I was aimin' to drop you off durin' our little flight that time!"

Natasha felt the firm grip of the young martial artist trying to tug her back in. His resilience was something to be admired, to be sure, but if he was so sharp-set on maintaining his hold on her body, Natasha intended to make his path as difficult as possible. Self-improvement could only come from within when one was pushed to their upper limit, after all.

As a result of the way they landed, Natasha couldn't immediately shift her body away from his grip, leaving her susceptible to being swung along for her own ride through the air, courtesy of Edelo. Judging by the trajectory of his swing, this guy was aiming to slam her head-first into the platform. Natasha would have to be swift. And swift she was, tapping into the defensive system of Blut to avoid suffering the full brunt of damage that powerful body slam.

"Phew...! Going for a knockout blow, eh, Del? Sorry to break it to ya, sweetheart, but I ain't goin' down without a fight!"

As the foundation of the second pillar began to crumble, Natasha would press the muzzle of her gun against the ground with a grin. Casanova's specific set of reishi bullets were akin to mini-explosives. One of these bad boys would assuredly push her towards the outcome she desired at the moment - that is, twisting her body free of Edelo's grip.

Two bullets released against the faltering pillar as a wave of reishi fire filled the atmosphere, exploding against the cracking platform. No, to be more precise, it accelerated the destruction of the platform, forcibly breaking it apart through the duress of her bullets. The theory behind this wild act was to disrupt his footing, distort the balance advantage, and potentially free her body away from his grip entirely. To ensure that her strategy came to fruition, if he faltered in his attention even for a moment, Natasha generate reishi at the sole of her feet, bringing enough of her physical strength to bear to kick him away.

Showcasing his deceptive resilience once more, Natasha could only offer a praiseworthy grin as she perceived Edelo roaring in again. Thinking on his feet, he kicked off of his own platform in the air to burst forward, unleashing another kick layered within a cutting torrent of wind. Since he collapsed so quickly upon her, there would be no instantaneous opportunity to utilize Blut Vene. As though recognizing that, Natasha braced herself as that fierce kick connected with her shoulder and side, cutting softly into her flesh.

The rattling impact was enough to earn a pained grunt, but that was the extent of her reaction. If anything, the collision only caused her grin to widen even more as she held onto that leg in the air, tapping into the offensive system of blut to seize it in place. Rushing her other arm forward, she poised her gun at his midriff. At such close distance, he probably possessed more than enough strength to push her away, but she wouldn't let him go without letting a few shots fly against his well-defined frame. Since she wasn't aiming to injure him, one shot from Casanova would be enough to give him pause if nothing else. A miniature little explosion to throw him off his game, and earn herself enough freedom to put on a real light show. Or go down trying.

From Natasha's perspective, Edelo proved more than capable of earning his escape. And as expected, he did just that. He turned her gamble into a payoff for his own benefit as a torrent of cutting winds billowed around his foot, slicing into her flesh with each blade. Following that up with a more purposeful kick, shrouded within a gale of wind and energy, Natasha was left relatively defenseless in terms of her overall options to counter. The only thing left to her in this moment was to simply cut her losses, and let the damage come as it may.

The kick landed as it had intended, sending the woman flying back several meters through the air. Of course, even with her body becoming an enemy of gravity at the moment, Natasha simply gritted her teeth as she formed a wall of reishi at her back to break the overall impact against that pillar. Without missing a beat, even with a pretty wicked wound, she set her feet atop the platform of reishi, skipping about until she reached the platform he currently occupied.

Chuckling softly, Natasha noted the wide gash of a wound across the torn gap in her shirt, stained with a generous amount of blood. At the moment, she was using Blut to softly bind it and thread it together, but it only paused the process at best. At worst, she was still leaking something pretty fierce. Shifting her feet from side to side as though sizing up, Natasha wiped off the blood on her lips before settling into an offensive stance, something that actually resembled a martial artist.

"That makes two of us, sugar. You cut me up somethin' fierce just now. Even so, I reckon' I still got more in me. That is, of course, if you want to tap out' and call it a day, Del'." Voicing words that felt like a challenge, Natasha observed Edelo with waiting eyes, curious to see what he'd say. All things told, she wasn't ready to call it quits even with the damage she suffered.