That...sinking feeling..[Hazama/Mia/ask to join]

[Hazama]

Hazama laughed in a sadistic fashion at Anya's shock and stuttering. She was riiiiiiiight where he wanted her. Frightened, fidgety, and more than annoyed. Which was wonderful. All the more fun to play with! Slyly, his facial expression contorted to mock-disappointment, but with a hint of that ever-present smile always lingering on.

"Aw...you aren't thinking about running away, are you? Well, thats just plain ol' mean, y'know? Especially when I'm here, just trying to ask you a few modest questions. It's not a real grown-up thing to do."

His momentary facade over, Hazama's features became twisted and filled with sanguine emotions. As he spoke, his shadow began to glow a dark green, as tendrils began to swirl around his feet. Slowly, but surely, a giant head of energy appeared, shaped like a snake, like some sort of imitation of a serpent. It rose wildly over his shoulder, begining to tower of Hazama by more than a few feet. Then, it turned it's 'eyes' at Anya (as if it even had eyes), and quickly and brutally swooped down at her frail figure.

"Ah well~! Suppose I'll just have to teach you a few manners instead!"[/size][/center]

[Anya]

Quite obviously, Hazama was a bit...less(or was it more?) than human. Anya wasn't exactly sure what she'd been expecting had this little encounter turned nasty...but it certainly hadn't been this. She sensed the sudden shift in energy only seconds before it manifested, the shadowy snake-like coil rising over the pair of them like some creature poised to strike. Anya, for her part, mostly just stood there and...gaped. Because really, this wasn't exactly a spectacle she came across all that often. With no idea how to react, the vengeance demon hesitated a moment too long, tilting her head slightly like a child who had no idea they were about to be scolded.

"What...?" was the only thing she managed to utter before the serpentine force of energy struck. The sense of pain that the demon experienced as the attack landed was darkly tangible; physical, of course, but at the same time so biting that it was almost psychological as well. The energy force's sudden swoop tossed the demon rather violently into the wall of the nearby building with a sickening crack that probably would've meant a couple of broken ribs for someone...well, human. Placing one hand against the wall to brace herself, Anya unsteadily glanced from the snake-like thing to Hazama. Several emotions flickered rapidly through her expression: shock, confusion, fear, and a spark of anger. She wasn't exactly sure what had just happened, but despite the fact that she was currently bordering on terrified...she was starting to get kind of pissed, too.

Demons were practically born for inflicting pain and bloodshed, but in the past couple of years Anya had lost a majority of her 'killer instinct'. And despite her trouble fitting into the human world, she realized that she was none-the-less beginning to think like a human. Great. Awesome. Except it probably wasn't gonna help much in a fight.

For instance, it was instinct that got her back up on her feet; instinct that drove her to retaliate, almost effortlessly teleporting so that she was abruptly standing directly behind Hazama (while it would've taken actual thought and concentration to cover any large sort of distance), and instinct - and, well, common sense - that told her she needed to land a quick attack before that...snake...thing could do any more damage.

...But it was because of that frustrating humanity that, when in one quick movement she reached behind her back slipped her dagger from her belt, Anya couldn't even bring herself to aim a blow that had the potential to be fatal. Instead of even trying to estimate where his heart might be, the vengeance demon aimed to thrust the knife into the right side of his ribcage ...even though this was a situation in which it probably wasn't such a good idea to HOLD BACK. Maybe she could just stab-and-run. 'Cause that would totally work.

OOC:// So um, hopefully that wasn't...completely not what Hazama's attack was s'possed to do...xDD.

[Hazama]

Alright, alright! Hazama was getting somewhere with Anya. All that hate, rage, etc...she was starting to act like her old self again! Or at least Hazama supposed. He never knew her, of course, but frankly when your called 'vengeance demon, you should get to be pretty damn angry. And the angrier she got...the tighter he was bound to this world. With a bunch more like her, he might be able to stay glued to reality without worryin' about this sort of shit agai-

'Eh? Damn, let my guard down, fast fucke-'

Hazama was only vaguely aware of Anya when she teleported behind him. He hadn't counted on her teleportantion, mostly because he was busy in thought, monolouging to himself. Still, he managed to jump to the side in time for Anya to miss-- though Hazama could tell she only did so because of her 'human' instincts. If the real her had been in control, that might have actually hit b--

'Wait...just a knife? No magical hellblade, no fire, no mental projections of horror? Tha-...that's...pffft!'

Terumi let out a loud laugh in reaction to the attack. He gripped his sides inbetween bouts of it, stopping at one point to catch a breath...before starting up once again. As his voice started to clear up, he walked towards Anya, slowly, stunted by his laughter.

"Hahahahaha...oh...oh man...ha...HA!...oh dear...Y-you...you were gonna' take me out with that? That?! Hahahahahaha...WAKE UP!"

And just as he came within arms reach, another snake appeared from beneath his hand, it a grinning, razor-like mouth bursting out to ram at the demon. The impact was not meant to kill Anya, oh no, this particular varient of his snakes was meant to maximize 'reactions'-- in that it'd send those unfortunate enough to be hit by it further by sacrificing power.

'That'll be enough to get her attention, I think.'

[/i]

[ellebelle]

The sound of a good fight was something that Spike would recognize from miles around. Right now he happened to be fixing for one. But even as Spike stalked down the street towards where he almost instinctively knew that something was going down, he wasnt really expecting to come across what he did. Although knowing Anya, maybe he should have. The first thing that Spike noticed was the presence of a suited, green-haired man who seemed to be the general source of all the commotion. At first Spike stopped and only watched what was going on with mild interest. He wasn't sure what was going on. But with all the sadistic laughter and manipulation of energy that seemed to be happening over there, he was gonna take a guess that the man was winning whatever brawl was taking place. Now the only question was, did Spike actually care enough to jump in?

Spike didnt know what this guy's deal was, or how powerful the energy he was throwing around was supposed to be. Maybe he was some kind of demon. Either way he seemed intent on winning the battle he was fighting against. ..A pissed off looking blonde woman. A very FAMILIAR pissed off looking blonde woman. Who just TELEPORTED behind her opponent. *Oh of course. Why am I even bloody surprised? Who ELSE could find herself the biggest bad in the city and manage to get into a fight with him? Well besides Buffy.* Spike rolled his eyes. Well now he had little choice about whether to get involved or not. Time to see how serious this actually was.

The green haired man was attacking Anya with another snakelike attack from his wrist. Spike didnt wait to see whether or not the attack hit. He quickly advanced on the pair, shrugged his jacket back on, and got ready for action. He'd already morphed into game face as he said, "Anya, luv? Why is it that every time I turn my back, you manage to find MORE trouble to get yourself into?" With that, Spike aimed a straight up sucker punch right at the man who was antagonizing his demon friend. Not that this was actually expected to do much damage. Spike just liked to start things off the old fashioned way.

[Anya]

Okay, so Anya hadn't exactly aimed to kill...but even if she had, she was beginning to realize that a simple dagger was far from enough to cause any real damage to Hazama. ..If his sadistic laughter was anything to go by, at least. But if stabbing him wouldn't cut it, well then...she found herself with very few options. There were, of course, powers she could have at least attempted to use: telekinesis, summoning hell-fire...but those were strictly off limits. Anya wasn't even sure if she'd be able to use them had she wanted to; it would've required tapping into a much darker nature that she'd (hopefully) lost some time ago. Only, this little scrap with Hazama was bringing her closer to her 'long-lost' dark side than she would have liked.

When the second snake shot out from under Hazama's sleeve, Anya...well, she wasn't exactly sure what happened. With an inhuman burst of speed, the vengeance demon leaped narrowly out of the way and into the street...but she wasn't even all that aware of doing it. The only thing she was certain of was the sudden rush of violent vindictiveness that fueled her actions; and for the briefest of moments it was almost enough to make her lash out at Hazama with whatever power her adrenaline would offer her.

But then, seconds later, the demon became conscious of what had actually just happened. She blinked several times, confusion and then anxiety passing over her features. Then, uneasily, she turned her gaze on Hazama. Right now, there were two things she had to consider: one, this guy was packing a hell of a lot of power, and two...this fight was having an effect on her that she was pretty sure she could do without. Needless to say, Anya was beginning to reconsider what she was getting herself into. She hesitated a moment. "Um. I think...maybe..."

"Anya, luv? Why is it that every time I turn my back, you manage to find MORE trouble to get yourself into?"

What the...how...Spike?! The vengeance demon gaped blankly at the vampire as he strolled straight up to Hazama and...swung a punch at him. How utterly typical. Anya almost had to roll her eyes, but had little time to dwell on her exasperation due to the fact that she was pretty much freaking out at this point. Naturally, a part of her was very relieved not to have to deal with Hazama alone anymore...but she somehow doubted that Spike knew what he was getting into. Then again, she also doubted that he really cared.

"Me? I didn't do anything!" Anya protested indignantly even as the vampire aimed his blow. "I'm not even...sure what's going on!" Well, was she ever? But whatever, now wasn't the time to argue this particular point. If Spike was going to try to rescue her...she guessed she'd have to try and make sure he didn't get his ass kicked doin' it. Although after what she'd seen, she wasn't sure that they stood much of a chance against Hazama.

Where was evil-bitchy-veiny Dark Willow when you needed her?

[Hazama]

The punch hit Hazama, slamming right into his left check bone. As his skinned rippled from the blow, he managed to correctly evaluate the situation with but a glance at his attacker-- a certain vampire named William, aka 'Spike'. It took less then a moment for Captain Hazama to release what happened. Obviously, Anya has been expecting a visit from the blood sucker or perhaps 'Spike' just so happened to be around and overheard the 'battle'-- but frankly, it didn't matter. He could assess the situation something proper once he finished getting punched.

Terumi rolled with the blow, letting himself fall backwards so he could catch himself on his hand and flip back to his feet-- in otherwords, a flawless ukemi. As he felt the gravel aganist his hands, he felt a mix of anger and excitement wash over him.

'Dammit! Another goddamn shitty vampire fucking with my business...as if Alucard wasn't enough, now I get to deal with someone who isn't nearly as idiotic...what a pain in the neck! Although...this does save me the time of tracking the bastard down...and who knows? This could get exciting, with two tempers to flare up!

By the time his feet hit the floor, Hazama donned his wide, snake-like smile. His hat fluttered slowly to the ground, having fallen off during the ukemi, and he casually snatched it from the air and placed it upon his head. He chuckled slightly, as he allowed his own glow of 'unpleasentness'/power irradiate across the battlefield.

"Ah yes! Mr. William-- oh, so sorry --'Spike'. What a pleasant surprise, seeing you out and about. Saves me the trouble of looking for you. Please, allow me to introduce myself: I'm Hazama. Nice to meet you."

Hazama, not even trying to pretend he wasn't antagonistical, let out an amused chuckle as he adjusted his hat one last time and walked closer two the duo. In his head, he was scanning over 'Spike's' rather colorful dossier. Being a vampire, first and formost, let him know quite a bit about Spike's earlier years...then his mother's fate, followed by the subsequent vampirism of her...then the 'Sunnydale' incidents, which involved the fellow dying at least once...from all said about Mr. William, he had a pretty good gripe on the vampire. Not to mention the trail of death attributed to him during his own exploits...

"So then, Mr. Willi-Spike. What brings you to the big apple? Don't you have some moral even horizon to be crossing, some puppies to be kicking? Or have you come here on your holy pilgrimage to stop-being-an-asshole? A redemption quest...again? How utterly revolting? Don't you have some pathetic materinal-zombie figure waiting for you out home?"

'Alright...let's start to get a read on Mr. Big-Bad-Vampire, shall we?'

[/color]

[ellebelle]

Spike irritatedly watched the man who had introduced himself as Hazama. He didn't see what there was to be so giddy about. And he didn't much like the aura that this bloke was giving off. Spike's eyebrows shot up scornfully at Hazama's introduction as he bit back his surprise. How the hell did Hazama know his old name? He slowly turned to give Anya a questioning frown as if to say: "You wouldnt have anything to do with this, would you?" even as he slowly took a protective stance between the vengeance demon and her apparent foe. Spikes bewilderment only increased when he heard the next thing that Hazama said. At first it just seemed like a cheap shot. But the vampire noticed that there was something knowing about the way the insult was worded.

*Ah. Tricky devil.* Spike clenched and unclenched his fists as he analyzed the situation. It looked like Hazama knew which buttons to push right off the bat. Spike wasn't sure how, but he was now fairly tempted to finish up this fight even if Anya walked out of this. "See you've done your research, then. Congratu-bloody-lations." Spike gritted. The issues he had with old mum had been mostly sorted out after his encounter with the man who accused him of killing his own mother. But the fact that Hazama even knew of this weakness at all was both baffling and extremely irksome. But now Hazama definately had his attention, whether this was his intention or not.

Spike tried not to give Hazama the satisfaction of getting a reaction out of him, even though he was starting to get agitated. Spike may not be known for keeping his cool, but he forced himself not to act before he found out a little more about what was going on here. "I s'pose an introduction on my part's unnecessary. So mate, mind telling me what sort of problem you've got with my demon friend here?" After saying this, he would switch to addressing Anya. But only tilted his head slightly towards her without taking his gaze off of Hazama. "You owe this bloke money or sumthin'?" asked Spike, lightening his tone as a way of reassuring her. Now might not be an appropriate time for jokes, but he needed to keep Anya calm.

[Anya]

Anya gave Spike's back a dubious little scowl as the vampire stepped in front of her, obviously more than ready to take up the fight in her place. And people called her impulsive. Even so, her friend's presence was reassuring, and it certainly gave her a much-needed moment to get a grip on herself. But wait, now Hazama was spouting out information on Spike's past? One eyebrow arched quizzically, the vengeance demon leaned around Spike's shoulder to shoot Hazama an incredulous 'WTF?!' sort of look. Did this guy know everything?

Lowering the knife she still held in her hand, Anya remained quiet as the exchange between the two took place. Hazama was currently saying something about a redemption quest, and 'maternal zombie figures'. ..Whatever that was supposed to mean. Anya had never really inquired much about Spike's past herself. It was kind of an unspoken agreement of etiquette when you were two reformed, formerly-vicious evil-doers that you didn't really poke around in the dark deeds of each other's former lives. But whatever significance Hazama's comment had, Spike's response was at least fairly calm...although Anya could distinctly sense the tension radiating off the vampire.

The vengeance demon scoffed slightly when Spike directed an inquiry of a more light-hearted nature towards her, as if she found the very suggestion that she might try to loan money from someone insulting. "Oh, haha. Your brilliantly witty sense of humor has my sides splitting." she shot back testily, oblivious to his attempts to try and lighten her mood. She'd just been thrown around by dark forces of serpentine energy, taunted relentlessly, and then almost lost the check she'd been keeping on her demonic nature for so long. It wasn't exactly an experience that would put her in a laughing mood. Though admittedly, she was with Spike on that last bit: Anya would have loved to know exactly why Hazama had up and decided to pick her for a 'fun' little round of mind games. Unfortunately, she doubted that this was a question that Hazama was actually going to answer. And if Spike lost his temper, there was going to be another fight...and if there was another fight...

Glancing worriedly between the two, the demon inched a bit closer to Spike so that she was standing almost beside him, and prodded him with a light nudge of her elbow. "Can we...think about this before you get your bad-ass-snarky-British-guy attitude on? Because that guy? He's kinda crazy. " Anya shot Hazama another wide-eyed look, though it occurred to her even as she spoke that perhaps 'crazy' wasn't a word she could afford to through around lightly."And not in the...fun, eccentric, humanized-demon sorta way, either."she clarified as an afterthought.

[Hazama]

"Not in the 'fun' way? Aw! You guys aren't having fun hanging out with me!? Now that's just mean!"

Terumi let out a contented sigh as he finally stopped, and put a hand in his pocket while using the other to keep his hat on, trying to get comfortable. 'Spike' seemed a bit better at concealing emotions then Hazama had thought, even though they still stood out blatantly to the millennial-experience Terumi. A feeble and meaningless gesture it was, to attempt to deprive Hazama of the satisfaction of a reaction-- because the act of you even attempting to do so was proof that it indeed effected you, just as he wanted.

"Ah yes! Why indeed did I decide to pick on good ol' Anya over there? Short answer: I was bored. Reasonable answer: I needed information on the supernatural...Real answer: I want to kill everyone. The truth is more or less a combination of the three. 'course, you understand the motivation there, right Billy boy?

After casually dropping his motivation, he used his pocketed hand to grab a butterfly knive. Nonchalantly, he began twirling it between his fingers at an increasing intensity, seemingly for no other reason than to show off his dexterity. At his feet, his shadow glowed dark green, with a green head sprouting from the ground to stare at the two before disappearing back into the shadow. His eyes, now opened and observable, glowed a bright gold as they stared right into William Pratt's eyes, with amusement.

"So! You never answered my question pal! Why are you here? In the city? Why aren't you back at home with mummy? Isn't it about time for her sponge bath? C'mon, Billy! Your Mommy's calling your name...or...oops! Is she too dead to do that? My bad."

[ellebelle]

Spike was starting to realize that there was something seriously fishy about all this. If the fact that Hazama seemed to have access to long buried information wasn't enough to tell him that, then Anya's seriousness was. Only on a few occasions before had he seen her so agitated. Spike frowned at Hazama, trying to figure out what it was about him that spooked the demoness. Something was not right here. Hazama's answer to his question didnt really tell him much, but enough for Spike to get the gist of things. "So. You like screwin' with peoples heads, and youre fixing to what. End all life as we know it? Haven't heard that one before."

Buffy was going to be thrilled to hear about this one. But then again there was no reason to worry the slayer if Spike could settle things now. He looked on more or less unimpressed by Hazama's nifty knife trick. But the shadow, that got his attention. Spike turned his head look down at where Hazama's shadow had just glowed green. And moved not to mention. *What's that all about?* Spike thought as he watched. Something to watch out for to be sure. But what was it? A demonic power? It almost looked like one of Willow's old sorcery tricks. Or maybe it was something else entirely. What ever it was, it added to the unpleasant aura of darkness Spike was picking up from Hazama. But the aura wasn't coming from just him alone. It was barely there, but Spike could feel that *something* was different with Anya. Some shift in energy that now faded, but traces remained no less. This plus the lack of her usual bubbliness was particularly disturbing to Spike, and it made him even more suspicious of Hazama. "Anya. I need you to stay calm, what ever happens. Alright luv?"All the bad vibes were starting to make him restless, but he wanted to keep his friend stable before he himself became too violent.

Spike's gaze snapped back up to Hazama's golden eyes when once again his mother was mentioned. Clearly Hazama was choosing this weakness to exploit. This was the second time, and Spike's temper was starting to rise. What happened back then was something very few people even knew about. The fact that Hazama did was a hole in his defense, and Spike didnt like to let those go without being patched for too long. He tried to focus on keeping his cool for several reasons. To keep Anya calm, to keep himself from doing anything stupid, and to annoy Hazama in whatever way he could. Unfortunately Spike's temper wasnt easily controlled.

*Forget mum. Forget her, forget Drusilla, forget everything that happened back then. It doesn't matter now. If it still mattered, the First would still be using it as a trigger. Things are different now. Think of that.* Spike's inward monologue was in attempt to keep calm. *Think of Buffy.* He knew what Buffy would say if she knew he was giving in to such an obvious attempt to provoke him. The thought sobered him a little.

But he was not completely calmed. Still his posture was aggressive as he took a step forward toward Hazama. "Don't tell me you don't know what I'm doing here in New York? And here I was thinking you were omniscient or sumthin'." Spike narrowed his eyes. "The mind games are impressive, but the fun's over. Do us a favor and clear out."

[Anya]

Hazama...wanted to kill everyone?! Oh, that was just friggin' GREAT. At least it wasn't just her, then. She felt so much better! Her expression becoming even more confounded than before (if that was possible) at the casual smugness with which Hazama dropped that little tidbit of information, Anya drew a shaky breath. She...really wasn't sure she could handle another apocalypse. Seriously. Six plus the most recent zombie one was enough. Turning to stare perplexedly up at Spike as if she expected him to offer some kind of perfectly sensibly explanation for all this craziness, she instead almost winced upon hearing the vampire's prevailing smart-ass attitude. Oh crap. Anya wasn't sure what would be worse. An actual fight, or the continuation of this snarky face-off. Between this and Hazama's shadow doing all kinds of crazy shit (or maybe she was just spazzing out to the point of hallucination..), Anya was left to wonder what she'd ever done to be stuck in the middle of this situation...well, besides the thousand years worth of bad stuff she'd done when she'd been...bad, but...that was all over and done with!

And what the hell was this thing about Spike's mom? She'd definitely missed something here. Without really thinking about how inopportune a time it was to ask, she opened her mouth to question what was going on...but was abruptly distracted by Spike's quiet warning. Stay calm...'what ever happens'?! What the hell! Could he possibly be more ominous? With a half-hysterical little giggle, the vengeance demon through up her arms...the knife she still clutched in her hand veering dangerously close to the vampire's leather jacket in the process. It was probably a good thing the streets seemed to be deserted apart from them; any unknowing onlookers would've probably immediately dialed up the local mental hospital. "Oh, I'm calm! I'm so freakin' calm I could show up an entire monastery! Don't worry about me-"

But she cut off her little tirade when Spike suddenly took a step closer to Hazama and told him to "clear out". Because that was totally going to go over well. Blinking rapidly as she looked between the two of them again, the demon seemed dangerously close to having some sort of panic attack...which she probably would've, had she been human..

Turning to face Hazama again, Anya was going to attempt some falsely cheery smile...but upon meeting the man's cold golden gaze once again, all thoughts of even fake happiness faded. "Erm. Spike means that in the nicest and most completely non-violent way possible." she provided half-heartedly, bracing herself in case whatever attempt Hazama might make to provoke Spike next...actually worked.

[Hazama]

"Oh, I'm sure he did. Afterall, probably just a biiiiig softy deep down inside! A great big ol' puppy-dog beneath that hard, grim exterior! It's why he's such a momma's boy. He really just wants someone to love~<3!"

He was getting there alright, thought Hazama. While he anticipated that he'd have to slowly chip small little scraps of the temper of William Pratt, Terumi was pleased at how comparitivly quickly the deconstruction of Pratt was going. Of course, it'd take a while, and he wouldn't be done for quuuuuuite a few meetings for him to do the 'Ragna-treatment', as he called it, he was getting to the fucker.

'And hell! Only in a few sentinces! This is easier then that whole 'Miss First Lieutenant Tsubaki Yayoi' business!...say, let's see what happens if I press this button then. Maybe he'll start punchin' and kickin' after it! I need a bit of a warm-up, after all the damn pencil-pushing that the old man's got me doin'...'

"Eh, don't worry about it that much Spike-y! Even if someone doesn't pierce through that rock-y hard emotionitive exterior of yours, you can also take solace in and astounding ability of getting pity fucks. Women just love a broken man! I mean, why else would would you be able to get with that shit Buffy if she wasn't lookin' for a quick session of the ol' in-and-out with some shady/mysterious/antagonistical backstory? I mean, just look! The kinky slut's slept with every damn monster out there. You're just a reliable, vanilla flavor."

[ellebelle]

As much as Spike tried to focus on the threat at hand, Anya's panicking was really starting to grate on him. He needed to calm her down before she got hurt -or gave herself a heart attack. Hearing the edge of hysteria in her voice Spike's concentration on Hazama was broken briefly. He whipped around to face the demon and gritted his still extended fangs at her. "ANYA!! Stop havin' a-" That was when Hazama started talking again. Spike stopped to listen even though at this point he knew he just should have been ignoring the antagonizing words. Hazama was directing a couple more taunting insults at him, to which Spike only let out a silent huff of exasperation. But the minute Buffy's name left the green haired man's lips, Spike's shoulders tensed. What ever else Hazama was going to throw at him he was NOT going to have a go at Buffy and get away with it. Spike felt his anger rise up again, this time even stronger than before. He locked eyes with Anya only for a second and silently apologized to her for what was about to happen.

Spike slowly turned to face Hazama again. He didn't know how this guy had gathered all of this information, but he was getting pretty damn tired of it. He wasn't stupid enough not to realize that Hazama was obviously just trying to provoke him, but as of now Spike no longer really cared. If Hazama wanted to make him angry, well then great. It gave him a fine excuse to knock this bloke around a bit. "Here's a bit of friendly advice. Next time you decide to talk about things you don't understand," Spike growled, denying his violent instincts for a minute longer. "You should probably make sure you have the paramedics en route first."

And with that Spike darted forward in a blur of speed. The attack he directed at Hazama was a simple one, just a quick but blunt swipe of his fist and arm fueled with vampiric strength that would probably send Hazama flying (if it actually hit correctly). If not, well, he stood tense to brace against whatever unexpected counterattack Hazama might throw out. As of now Spike's actions were mostly motivated by violence and not by any real strategy. But it worked for him.

[Anya]

Oh jeez. Damn it. Had Hazama really just gone for the Buffy angle? Though she'd been baffled by the maternally-directed jibes thrown at the vampire over the past couple of minutes, Anya could now safely do a little figurative facepalm. Because Buffy and Spike's drama-packed semi-relationship was something she was all too familiar with. And...she couldn't believe Hazama had actually went there. If there was ever a way to really piss the vampire off...

She glanced up at Spike only seconds before he turned away from her, but even this brief exchange of eye contact was enough to tell her that he was about to do something extremely stupid. With a muffled sigh of exasperation, the vengeance demon briefly switched her gaze to Hazama and shot him a dark little 'i c wut u did thar' -esque glare before attempting to focus on Spike. Really? He was seriously going to let his temper take control and put himself in danger to defend Buffy's honor...when he probably knew very well that the slayer would've killed him for this! "Oh come on, seriously, Sp—"

GAHH! Too late! The vampire had already lunged forward in what looked like an attempt to bowl Hazama over. For one terrifying moment, Anya's panic escalated enough to render her immobile with shock—but luckily, the gradual return of her previous irritation was starting to balance out her anxiety. The demon took a slow, deep breath to steady herself. Alrighty then. Hazama was gonna play that game? Well then...

With an annoyed huff, Anya teleported again, vanishing from the street and reappearing a little ways behind Hazama for the second time (though...not directly behind him, so as to hopefully situate herself out of the way if Spike's attack did hit). If Hazama decided to counterattack against the vampire, at least this would position her to do something about it. Or at the very least, perhaps briefly divert his attention. Okay, Mr. Hazama...I'm not too bad at pissin' people off myself. Which, more or less, was her intention...and perhaps she'd achieve it by zipping around the battlefield like a pesky fly (as of now she seemed to be focused enough to at least control this short-distanced teleporting)..or even actually managing to spoil Hazama's little plan here. Anya was certainly no angel, but if Hazama was gonna play the devil on Spike's shoulder...then, by default...

"Spike, you idiot!" she called out sharply to the vampire. "You and I both know how Buffy feels about you! She can't stop makin' puppy eyes at you for two friggin' seconds! You gonna let some random-ass street punk tell you different, or are you gonna wake up and stop making me look like the intelligent one in this situation? ..'Cause it's kinda throwing me off..." Sooo it was pretty safe to say that the blonde was gettin' her bitch on. And this time, not in the murderous demonic way, but...well, in the typically Anya way.

[Hazama]

Hazama smiled as he took in Spike's reaction. He wasn't an idiot -- he knew he was being fucked with...but he wasn't exactly a genius either. Afterall, he was about to charge him, wasn't he? Of course he was! Which is why Hazama was already preparing a counter-attack by the time he sprinted forward in his inhuman fashion. And a particularly nasty counter-attack it was...

'That's the thing with vampires...so damn predictable.'

"JAYOKU HOTENJI!"

The devastating Jayoku Hotenji~!With a wild laugh, Hazama's foot shot up, charged with his own infernal energy, flying itself upwards towards on Spike's chin. If, and when it hit, not only would the vampire be struck with his already superb leg muscles, he'd feel the energy, but he'd also feel Hazama's muscles 'amplified' by said field to the point that he could kick a two-ton super soldier up into the air with ease -- and infact, had done so before with the Hotenji. Then, once he had delivered the kick, he flipped backwards, just incase the kick missed and he could gain some grou--

'Eh?'

And there was Anya, the vengence demon, behind the lovable green-haired ghost, recently teleported. Hazama, surprised by this, having forgotten that Anya could teleport for a moment, jumped into the air in an inhuman leap as 'Ouroborous' manifested. Suddenly, in a flash of green light, a chain that seemingly introduced an aura of despair shot outward from Hazama, clamping into the ground where Anya was previous, and zipping Hazama back to said position before disappearing once again. Terumi landed gracefully as the thing dissipated. His face was a mock-scowl and his mouth opened to taunt the two, but internally, he was planning how best to defeat the duo while minimizing the chance of them escaping.

"Aw! Anya! Two scary people like you fighting just one me? That's not a very grown up thing to do! That hurts me guys, right here in my chest! Right to the core!"