Description: Very
Training is all well and good, but Kain has certain responsibilities that keep him from hanging out in the woods all day helping kids learn to shoot fire. Especially kids that are woefully inept at it. Having done his part in Grant's training exercises, and after a little tussle with Sagat, Kain returned to Southtown, and he is currently located in his mansion in the forst on the outskirts of town. Phonecalls to be made, files to be faxed, lives to be destroyed... All the little things involved in running a variety of businesses. And a few military operations on the side.
At present, Kain is sitting at an expensive looking wooden desk, having just hung up the phone after speaking to one of his numerous contacts. Things seem to be going fairly well. Profits continue to increase, his efforts in southeast Asia are going according to plan, and he's been getting the opportunity to fight some worthy opponents. Not to mention the upcoming tournament being hosted by Rugal Bernstein. All in all, things are looking up for Kain. Which means it should soon be time to become a little bit more... proactive... in some of the events the Heinlein heir would like to bring about.
Grant has been exceptionally busy; This is hardly surprising given his long hiatus spent training within the solitary confines of the mountain. And overall from what can be told of Kain's oldest friend is a deep sense of dissatisfaction. His assessment of the fighting world, the next generation, those old pillars who have faded in the weight of time, all echo the attributes that Grant has spent most of his life hoping to purge. His own ordeals were seperate from Kain until now; He still worked some simple 'errands' that Kain needed to have done, but also tapped the resource line a couple times investigating a few fighters. Whatever might be brewing in his head appears ready to be put on the table, however.
There is a simple knock upon the door with a large knuckle. Grant waits until Kain gives assent before entering. A show of simple etiquette that few have chance to see. And, mayhaps mildly surprising, Grant is not wearing his mask. Such is reserved for fighting. For training. At the moment, this is a more... social call. His dress is rather simple, little more then generic use rather then anything rich or suitably exotic. The day Grant has to wear a suit to one of Kain's black tie affairs is the day he makes sure to detonate himself.
A few somewhat heavy footsteps are taken to the window of the office, where Grant crosses his arms before his broad chest and looks over the forest with a somber quality upon his countenance, the weight of silence allowed to fall until Kain decides to lift it. But he came here as Abel. As Kain's friend, not his mentor. Not as the Martyr of Might whom his life was sacrificed to become. The importance of that will probably not be lost...
Kain's permission to enter is quickly given. Given his senses, whether or not Grant is suppressing his aura Kain still has a pretty good idea of who's outside the door. The lack of aura would be just as telling. An eyebrow is raised for a moment when he sees Abel, rather than the Martyr of Might, however. This moment of surprise passes quickly, and Kain respectfully rises up from his seat, walking around the desk toward Grant. "Hello, old friend. What brings you here today?"
From the tone of his voice, Kain is both curious, and well aware of the importance of Grant's current appearance. He has a huge amount of respect for the older man, and he's also learned to read him as well as anybody can... even if that still leaves many things a mystery. He can, however, tell that there is something important going on.
Nothing can be seen within Grant's eyes. No trace of the powerful emotion that powers so many in this world. Yet although they are hard, they are not jaded. Is it because Grant has mastered some technique capable of shielding himself from Kain? Or is it simply that Grant has never once hidden himself, and every aspect of the man's ambition, passion and desire is already so well known? "We have a heavy task before us..." Grant mulls, looking upon the pasture of green. It does seem to be at least distantly calming, although he does not turn to look upon the blond heir to the Heinlein fortune. "We have achieved much, yet there is still so far to go. And so few with the traits needed to join our cause. At times, I wonder if we are the last flame of a time now passed..." This is not defeatist. This almost sounds amused. "Yet even then, I am more then content to still burn this world to the ground, if civilization might better rise from the ashes." There's a hint of truth to this. And a more noticeable sense of Grant realizing his mortality before the project at hand. Again, silence follows, before he continues on with actual business.
"I have investigated Shadaloo and R' thoroughly. Vega and his associates remain almost completely unknown. I fear I will not be able to remain subtle much longer. I contacted the girl known as Rose, who confirmed the very likely possibility that Sagat remains employed. That might be something worth... Investigating." Grant pauses once more, drumming his fingers upon his bicep. "And then there is Rugal Bernstein." This time, the completely emotionless wall is more evident. Grant's own feelings about the man cannot be read. But the subtle air of a test seems to hang, almost tasting like Kain's own passage through the four trials, and learning his style thereafter. "Is Rugal Bernstein a friend of yours...?"
"Yes, I've had my own dealings with Shadaloo... I saw some potential in a girl who worked for Vega, but she sadly seemed to lose much of her spark, and I moved on to what I felt were more profitable investigations. As for Rugal..." Kain smirks for a moment. "You know as well as I do how foolish it is to consider someone a friend when there are numerous circumstances which could cause them to turn against you. But for now, yes, he is a favored business acquaintance. His resources have been quite useful, and he himself seems to understand the necessity for and the use of strength to achieve one's ends."
Kain looks down at his hand for a moment, allowing purple flames to dance there for a moment before clenching his fist. "Quite strong, indeed. I found myself at a bit of a disadvantage in our last match. Although, as you have said, I have allowed myself to grow lax of late. A problem which I am currently rectifying. Sagat was quite helpful in that regard, I might add. Convenient that I was able to run into him while he was helping you with your students."
"Sagat is a strong man, but he has allowed himself to grow soft not once, but twice. Both failures bear scars on his body that he would not have gained. Yet I believe he is beginning to see the days when he was the king of Muay Thai. ...I will leave the decision whether he is best coerced as an ally or investigated as a link to Shadaloo for you to decide." Grant appears content with either at the moment, but grows yet again distant as the more important topic of Rugal comes to light.
"You at times can be just as blind as me, Kain... You see Rugal's strength. But do you see his decadence? His pride? His wraith? He has squandered his gift to establish an empire. He creates trophies of those weaker then him. He sits upon a throne, served wine on silver platters!" Grant suddenly strikes the sill of the window, causing the panes of grass to crack. Deep purple chi, the exact same color as Kain's own, flickers up his arm. "Even gluttony, sloth and lust are quite evident in him. He will still the maneuvers of another, without care for why they work. For the time it spent to master. He is little more then a vulture, a jackal, ignoring the theory and purity of combat to use it as an end for his own greed. He is the epitome of what I wish to /break/, Kain. Just as we must cull the flock, we must *not* forget the other wolves. You know one of my mottos... Might makes right. But Rugal is a liability. He will use us for his own means. He has once already attempted to gain ultimate power through stealing the essence of a God, rather then training to find the power from within. If the time comes..." Grant now turns to Kain, looking at him quite intensely.
"Will you shatter him?" Grant appears confident enough of what the response will be...
Kain doesn't immediately answer, instead walking over to the window and placing his hand lightly on the glass, with its spiderweb pattern of cracks. "Do you really think I would forget, Grant? Strength is important, yes, but it grants no immunity. And even the mighty can fall to one who knows their weaknesses. Do you think I would make a permanent alliance with someone just because they have strength? If that were the case, what would be to keep me from throwing in my lot with Geese Howard himself? No. Those who walk at all in line with us are useful, and can be used to further our goals, but if they would interfere with our work..."
Kain's hand pulses with blue chi for a moment, and the panes of the window explode outward, showering the ground below with tiny fragments of glass. "The purpose is to /create/ strength, not to consolidate it in the hands of a privileged few. Rugal is still useful. For the moment. But when he ceases to be so, or when he attempts to betray us, we will destroy him."
This causes a smile to trace Grant's features, as he observes the shattered window. The imprint of large fist upon wood below. "That is what I wished to hear, Kain. We must not lose sight of our goals. And we must not wander in our mutual belief of these goals. For only together can we manage to change the world..." Grant extends a hand, to grasp Kain lightly upon the shoulder. A fatherly gesture, warm and open, if only for a few moments. Before it retracts, and he returns to the impassive wall that Kain is much more familiar with.
"You were right about Shingo. He has the potential. The willpower and spirit. Yet he is too weakened by the world to make the sacrifice neccesary. But I have given him food for thought. I am interested in seeing his decisions in the long term from our encounter. I do not think the spark of temptation will leave him." Grant then makes another disgruntled sound, folding his arms yet again before his chest. "And Shinobu is as useless as I anticipated. I wished to see also if the new generation /could/ be possibly retrained. But as we thought, they are useless. Independent and prideful to the point of liability. The schools of Southtown exemplify this like no other. Daigo is the sole exception that I can find."
Another pause, before Grant offers another tidbit from his month of investigation. "And Heidern still lives... He has been investigating us, looking for a link to your operation in Asia..."
Kain offers Grant a brief smile with some actual warmth in it, but it vanishes even more quickly than the older man's hand is removed from his shoulder. At the mention of Heidern, Kain turns to look out the window again, drumming his fingers on the sill for a moment. "Well... I suppose it's to be expected that the Ikari Warriors would begin to suspect something, eventually. I deflected Heidern's attentions onto Rugal for a time, but that could only last for so long. And he is aware that there are mercenaries under my employee. No matter. He has skills, but he is no match for us. And his underlings are little threat, as long as they are not all together. A shame, as at least one of them seemed to have some potential, and already seemed to be leaning in the proper direction."
Turning back to face Grant, Kain doesn't appear particularly upset by any of this. Just another problem to be solved. "Do you have any idea how much he may have learned, or if he's begun to move against us? The soldiers should be in a position to withstand an assault, but it would be best not to have them taken by surprise."
"There is not much. Nothing that he is going to be able to act upon against us. However, I believe there is more to Heidern then you might believe. The flame of passion within him is not completely snuffed out. He managed to fight me to a standstill; There was no victor. He wishes to change the world as well. And has gathered many beneath him to perpetuate this desire. It might be more prudent to see if we can make him a closer ally. Enough to maintain good relations. If not, then we should... Sever our contact with Ikari..." Grant summons a small ball of purple flame himself, before crushing it out of existance with a massive palm.
"There is not much else of note upon my end. I have seeked Ryu, but not managed to meet him. I have goaded Terry Bogard, but he has yet to respond to my indirect challenge. I have similarly sought out Haggar, and again he is uninclined to meet me. The pillars within this world are fragile. They have not had true crisis or challenge in a long time. I believe that with manipulation through Asia, it might be possible to begin a cascade of dominos that might cause people of interest to surface..." Grant might be hinting at a plan of his own, but as of yet doesn't seem inclined to state it.
After a few moments, Grant turns towards Kain once more. "And what of you? Have you anything of interest to tell me?" A large finger extends to poke Kain in the chest as well, with a dubious expression. "And have you been keeping up with your training? It is unusual for me to stagger you to such an extent unless you are distracted... I can hope such is from my own training, but I will lose my inspiration if I truly surpass you." Yes. Grant sounds very challenging indeed.
"Keeping things running smoothly in Asia has unfortunately limited my exposure to worth opponents. Things can run along quite smoothly as they are now without my help, however, allowing me more time to train. Something which I have been doing quite regularly since your return. Not to mention a few things I've picked up since before your return. Like a little something I have prepared for Geese. I was able to test it against Ryu some time ago, and the results were most satisfactory..."
Holding up his hand, Kain summons a crackling purple flame into his hand. The color quickly begins to darken, and the temperature of the room begins to drop along with it. When Kain fought with Grant he gave some showing of this, but not quite to /this/ extent, as the flame continues to grow darker, until it becomes a black so deep that it casts shadows about the room rather than providing illumination. The sheer hatred and malice present in that flame would be enough to drop some of the more psychically sensitive people in the world to their knees. And then, it winks out, returning the room to normal. Everything is back to the way it was, except for some noticeable strain that was inflicted on Kain. His face is a bit pale, though quickly regaining its color. "And of course, I have been working on more generally applicable usages of my power, but I believe that was something you should be able to appreciate."
There's a simple nodding along before the power is summoned within Kain's hand. At the onset it's definitely not extraordinary. He trained the basis for such himself, after all. But the darkness... Grant's eyes widen as it turns black, thoroughly impressed. That is a trick Grant cannot do, and likely never will. He geared his training towards boosting physical strength and reflexes, having never been very good at controlling such energies even if he's one of the foremost in the world able to /summon/ them. That is the only real difference between Kain and Grant, if one wished to boil to the basics.
"...Hmm. Show me." Grant offers, rubbing his chin in a thoughtful manner. "I would like to better... see such a maneuver." In other words, Grant appears to be asking to get beat up and whacked with Kain's strongest new attack. But hey... What is wrong with /that?/
Kain doesn't bother to explain the possible danger to Grant. The older man is well aware of the danger's involved in even a normal fight with Kain, and he knows the risks he's taking. Still, Grant is made of sturdy material, and even with the kind of power Kain is wielding, the actual killing intent will not be there, lowering the chances of actual death. Severe injury and maiming is, however, always a possibility. But those are the risks one takes. "Very well... Shall we step outside, however? I would prefer not to destroy my office in the process." Kain and Grant are both pretty good at property damage, aren't they?
With that, Kain leads the way out of the mansion; rather unnecessary since Grant likely knows his way around just as well. Making his way out a fair distance from the building itself, Kain stops at one of the sand covered circles of stone that are so useful for fights. And then he waits... Since it /is/ a fight, Grant will presumably want to don his mask, and Kain isn't going to interrupt that procedure.
Indeed, in the process Grant sheds his shirt and shoes, tossing them upon the edge of the stone ring after keeping them in hand for a few moments. The ease in removing such while mid-transit, at least, is fairly impressive. Not unexpectedly, the crimson spiked mask is acquired prior to actually meandering outside. He did not have it with him in the office; More due to the difficulty in keeping a four-horned steel monstrocity in one's pocket then symbolism.
But the moment it is placed on his face, there seems to be a complete change in the man. His muscles grow taut, stance spreading and air already boiling with the beginning of his own chi. Crackles of cerulean energy flicker down his right hand, which is then clenched tightly as he flows into an aggressive stance. There is no cape, and his pants are different, but that is the absolutely only visible difference. And it won't mean a thing in actual combat, either.
"We have not sparred in a few weeks... Let us see if you have improved!"
COMBATSYS: Grant has started a fight here.
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Grant 0/-------/-------|
COMBATSYS: Grant focuses on his next action.
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Grant 0/-------/-------|
For Kain's part, he's already in his normal suit, and there's no real need for him to change. So once Grant is ready, he simply slips into his fighting stance, left hand resting loosely in his pocket while the right hand hangs at his side, ready for use. "Indeed. And I would hope you will continue to give me a challenge!"
Kain begins moving toward Grant, at a casual pace which betrays little of what his plans for the first move are. By not charging in, one would think he's giving Grant time to prepare, and that might be true... But Grant should know better than most just how quickly Kain can move onto the offensive, which can make him difficult to predict. Of course, soon he's going to get close enough to Grant that he'll have to do /something/...
COMBATSYS: Kain has joined the fight here.
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Kain 0/-------/-------|-------\-------\0 Grant
COMBATSYS: Kain focuses on his next action.
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Kain 0/-------/-------|-------\-------\0 Grant
This is just as much Grant wishing to see Kain's new capability as it is a spar. Sagat is good sport, but he has yet to overtaken Grant. Only Rugal has managed with enough consistency to lay claim as a superior opponent... And Kain as well. He needs the challenge every bit as much, most likely. And as he rushes forward, it's apparent that the Martyr of Might has no intent to go easy in this assault.
Rearing back his right arm, muscles tighten and his fist flexes before he suddenly strikes the ground. There's a catastrophic detonation of stone and raw kinetic force that flies towards Kain, a makeshift technique to compensate for a lack of any ranged assaults. And far from harmless, even if it's innately unrefined... "HAAAAAA!"
COMBATSYS: Grant successfully hits Kain with Large Thrown Object.
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Kain 0/-------/---====|=------\-------\0 Grant
Kain attempts to leap out of the way of the onrushing wave of stone, but he's not quite fast enough. And really, that move is enough to catch almost anybody off guard. A chunk of rock catches him on the shoulder, knocking him right back into the path of destruction. Finally the force peters out, leaving rock fragments falling from Kain's shoulders as he stands back up from the defensive crouch in which he landed. "Quite impressive, Grant. But you won't stop me /that/ easily."
And /now/ Kain actually starts moving with some speed, running several steps toward Grant before suddenly leaping into the air. An aura of purple fire surrounds his entire body as he flies toward his opponent, the flames growing bright and hotter as he moves. He doesn't try to actually crash /into/ Grant, but it's not necessary. Because as he draws near, that aura of flame suddenly expands outwards, blasting the area around Kain and actually fusing some of the sand on the ground into glass.
COMBATSYS: Kain successfully hits Grant with Schwarze Kreuz.
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Kain 0/-------/-======|======-\-------\0 Grant
That particular onslaught manages to similarly hit Grant, who was unable to completely leap backwards from the scorching heat of the Ankoku flames. When he leaves the scorching sheath of energy, his pants and flesh is badly scorched, but there seems to be more satisfaction then anything else. Ah... What can be more invigorating then Kain playing rough? Shaking his head, Grant maneuvers forward once more. He crouches down low before rushing at the other man, form becoming little but a blur. Intending to crash into Kain with simple if bone-breaking force, and send him rolling to the edge of the ring. "Ah... Perfect technique. I have always envied your ability to control the Ankoku flame. You make it seem obscenely easy..."
COMBATSYS: Grant successfully hits Kain with Gou Dangai.
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Kain 1/------=/=======|=======\-------\0 Grant
Kain is tough, but when it comes to sheer physical might he can't really stand up to Grant... as evidenced by the manner in which he is bowled over and sent crashing to the edge of the ring by the force of Grant's impact. Still, he doesn't stay down for long, springing back to his feet and quickly dashing back over toward Grant. "They're a part of me, Grant. They /are/ my power."
A power demonstrated as the flames effortlessly spring into being around Kain's fists. He attempts to drive his left fist into the Martyr of Might's stomach, before hooking up with his right into an uppercut aimed to sleep beneath the crimson mask for a more effective blow.
COMBATSYS: Grant endures Kain's Fierce Punch.
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Kain 1/-----==/=======|=======\===----\1 Grant
"They are indeed. That was the one thing I was unable to do..." And as Kain moves forward with his own chi-lanced fist, Grant returns such in due force with his own forward charge, taking the impact in the side. Such is devestatingly painful, but it sets Kain into probably the worst position for what transpires next. Grant's right foot, sheathed in dark purple flames, is kicked right for the other man's head. An elbow is thrown towards Kain's neck, and then a forward straight of similar chi-bolstered energy. The combination is simple but mastered. Each strike is hard enough to utterly kill a normal person -- as such, he only needs three. "Haaaa!"
COMBATSYS: Kain blocks Grant's Majin Gan-En.
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Kain 1/---====/=======|==-----\-------\0 Grant
Kain's arms are brought up to help him weather the assault, but even then he's battered by the sheer force of Grant's blows. The dark energy around the Martyr of Might's limbs washes over Kain to only minor effect, but the bone-jarring force of the blows is not to be denied by merely blocking them. Arms still throbbing, Kain lowers them as he holds out his right hand toward Grant. "And now... I believe it is time."
Once again the temperature begins to drop as the black flame gathers in Kain's hand, and the wind begins to kick up, swirling about the sand and the fabric of Kain's suit.
And yet, despite all of the energy that is obviously being poured into this flame (obvious to one with the skills of these fighters, at least) the flame fails to increase in size. It remains in Kain's palm, simply soaking in the light around it. Then, suddenly, Kain clenches his fist, the black fire engulfing his hand for a moment before he thrusts his arm out toward Grant, opening his hand once more to let the fire shoot toward the older man.
And should it hit... Grant's physical might will avail him little. This flame doesn't even bother with the body. It strikes right at the soul, at the core of the chi energy that gives life, burning away at the energies inside with terrifying force. Although, considering the dark energies roiling within Grant, the exact effects may be hard to predict...
COMBATSYS: Grant just-defends Kain's Himmlischer Atem!
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Kain 0/-------/-------|==-----\-------\0 Grant
In response, Grant spreads his stance, obviously wishing for this assault to take place. He observes the building Ankoku flame, understanding and interpreting it thoroughly. He taught Kain the fundamentals. Everything he does is based on his original teaching. No matter what Kain did to develop it, no matter how much individual training and brand new attacks he devises, nobody in the world is going to understand it better then Grant.
As such, he's quite confident as he lifts his palm. A burst of deep purple chi is summoned, and the blackness hits such. It never touches Grant's body; After whirling around, the darkness is dismissed with a grunt of effort, black motes that whisk to nothing.
"Spectacular energy, Kain..." Grant mulls, before suddenly bursting forward and rearing down low. "...But you did not take into account the energy never touching the soul of your opponent...!" And then he attempts to do a raising uppercut, to catch Kain in the jaw and send him flying into the air. Regardless of a hit or miss, Grant will similarly fly straight upwards, assuming a mid-air stance. One decidedly foreboding to Kain, who's well aware of Grant's airborne capacity...
COMBATSYS: Kain dodges Grant's Kyou Chou-Jin.
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Kain 0/-------/-------|===----\-------\0 Grant
Getting into an airborne battle with Grant is /not/ something Kain wants to do. He's not incompetent in the air, but most of his fighting tactics rely on being on the ground, or brief leaps into the air. On the other hand, when he /is/ on the ground he does have ways of dealing with aerial opponents. In order to facilitate that being the case, Kain leaps backwards as Grant lashes out, letting the Martyr of Might fly past him into the air.
Kain's not going to wait around for Grant to come back down, though. He knows just how much force Grant can bring with him when he strikes the ground. So while Grant is still rising, Kain lashes out with a kick that sends his foot flying almost straight upwards at Grant, a huge wave of Ankoku flame following in its wake, reaching out toward Grant...
COMBATSYS: Grant fails to interrupt Schwarze Lanze from Kain with Gou Retsu-Shou.
- Power hit! -
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Kain 0/-------/-----==|======-\-------\0 Grant
This was set up rather perfectly by Grant, but he underestimated the other man's ability to summon up a sufficient counter-attack. He rears back his right arm, shoulder lowering in an attempt to merely obliterate through the assault and hopefully grasp Kain by the face in a finishing maneuver. Instead he's detonated, kicked in the face and sent spiraling backwards a smoking wreck. He hits the ground face-first, landing upon his back and shuddering with an audible groan. Lurching up to a sit, Grant somewhat drunkenly gets to his feet. The speed of such is obvious. To show Kain he is not down... And this fight is not over... He's operating more on force of will now then anything else.
If Grant's still in fighting shape, Kain's not going to show any mercy. As should be expected. When he lowers his foot, Kain is immediately in a position to continue his attack... it's just a matter of waiting for Grant to hit the ground. The Martyr of Might does have time to get to his feet, but that just means he's a bigger target! Kain takes a few running steps toward Grant before leaping into the air, right foot extended toward Grant as he attempts to plow into his opponent's broad chest. Purple flames flare out from his leg, obscuring him slightly, but more important is the force with which they will slam into Grant, doing much more damage than Kain could hope to do against such a sturdy figure with his physical might alone...
COMBATSYS: Grant just-defends Kain's Schwarzer Stob!
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Kain 0/-------/----===|======-\-------\0 Grant
Sheathing his own right arm in deep purple flames, Grant strikes out and catches the incoming foot. It's stopped dead, the wash of energy canceled out by the Martyr of Might's own. He's definitely within fighting force today, that much cannot be argued. He then rears back his right arm before striking out swiftly towards Kain's lower quarters, trying to stagger him and at the very least keep him at arm's length. Although quick, it would be incredibly painful to make up for such. Hitting Kain that low isn't a preferable technique, but -- well, why hold things back?
COMBATSYS: Kain blocks Grant's Ankoku Hebi.
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Kain 0/-------/----===|=======\-------\0 Grant
Grant is doing a pretty good job of pushing Kain to his limits. Even he can start to get worn out after a while, although more due to the physical strain on his body then from summoning his flames. And getting tired when fighting against someone who hits as hard as Grant is a Very Bad Thing. Kain manages to get one foot on the ground after his kick is caught by Grant, and that's what allows him to twist enough to avoid taking a blow that would knock even more of the wind out of him.
Yanking his foot free, Kain snaps out in a sweeping motion aimed at Grant's ankles. At this point, whichever fighter ends up leaving an opening is probably going to be the first one to fall, and Kain would much prefer that to be Grant. And he's going to try to push up the timeframe for that opening to occur. As he tries to hook Grant's legs out from under him, Kain attempts to plant his hand at the top of Grant's chest, just beneath his throat. It takes some good leverage to knock someone of Grant's size over, but an explosion of purple flame should help with that.
COMBATSYS: Kain successfully hits Grant with Medium Throw.
- Power hit! -
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Kain 0/-------/---====|=======\===----\1 Grant
The sweeping motion succeeds, Grant attempting to intercept instead the hand for his throat. But he's off-center, and it succeeds probably better then Kain had hoped. Yet in the same moment that he's brutally hurled backwards, he strikes up with his right leg, attempting to hit Kain in the face. There's a brilliant eruption of chi, swirling high into the air and just as spectacular as anything that Kain has thusly unleashed. It's all that Grant has left; He strikes the ground rather hard thereafter, limbs spreading and head reeling. That was the sort of fight he prefers to engage in, most definitely... He hit his limit and beyond.
COMBATSYS: Grant can no longer fight.
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Kain 0/-------/---====|
COMBATSYS: Kain blocks Grant's Majin Haten-Dan.
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Kain 0/-------/-======|
Kain sees a brilliant flash of light rapidly approaching his face, and knows that there's a massive foot coming in behind it. He just barely has time to bring his arms up into position, but not enough time to completely brace himself for impact. He's actually lifted up off the ground by the force of the blow, but at least in a position to be 'merely' knocked back several feet, rather than being launched into the air to end up flat on his back.
Breathing heavily, Kain slowly brings his arms down, looking at Grant warily. But Kain can see that his opponent has hit his limit, and his energy is drained. And so he allows himself to breathe deeply, putting his hands on his knees for a moment to steady himself. "So, Grant, do you consider my training to be adequate?"
COMBATSYS: Kain has ended the fight here.
Slowly Grant leans forward as well, rubbing blackened soot from his crimson mask. If there's anything near a perk to the battle that just took place, it's that the flames of chi are recovered from rather quickly. The burn within body and soul is absurdly familiar. But there's no mistaking that he's done, drawing up his legs and reaching up to pull off his mask. "Had I not seen your new maneuver twice, I would not have figured out how to counter it. And I do not think I could a second time. But that is probably not going to be an issue with the majority of encounters..." Grant sets his mask aside, running thick fingers through his long white hair. A sharp breath then leaves him, before he doubles over upon his knees and grasps a scar upon his chest. This is something Kain has never seen... And Grant has tried hard not to /let/ him see. The agony is apparent, ending in a long and sharp coughing fit. When Grant pulls himself back to a sitting position, blood is on the ground. Numbly, he rubs his lips with the back of a hand. That was not due to any injuries Kain inflicted... But nothing is said about it, either. Instead he takes his mask with a weak grasp, and manages to rise slow and unsteady to his feet.
Kain says nothing in response to Grant's momentary display of weakness, but neither does he turn away. He simply refrains from comment. Kain is /very/ good at seeing the flow of chi through people's bodies, and even with Grant's ability to mask his aura, among other things, it doesn't mean that Kain can't see certain signs, especially when Grant is pushing his body to extremes. But then, that's the price that sometimes needs to be paid for power. Kain doesn't think that Grant regrets his decision, and it's certainly not his place to say anything. "We should do this again. For now, I think I shall go reflect on this latest battle... It seems that there's still much you can teach me, old friend."
And that lack of statement is appreciated. Kain has probably realized by now that Grant is dying. And there's nothing that can be done about it. It might take a few years, but it's irrevocable. Yet regret? Fear? None of that, in any aspect, has ever been sensed. That it was entirely his decision Kain can at least be content with. "Very well... It is good to see my limitations once more. Few in the world can manage such." He gets to his feet, spitting to the side and turning to leave. But then pauses, smirking while glancing over his shoulder. "Is it true that you were teamed with a young girl as well? I can only wonder what sick amusement Rugal is getting from his assignments..."
Kain nods. "I haven't met the girl yet, nor heard much about her. Apparently she's from one of the schools which at least has a few halfway decent fighters in it, so perhaps she won't be too much of liability. If nothing else, perhaps she can be a distraction. It should be easy enough to outsmart my first opponent. Kusanagi is a lazy fool. It's a shame that such power is wasted on him. But I intend to let him see the error of his ways." Kain smirks for a moment, then turns to head off in his own direction. "Perhaps we will even face off against each other again."
"I intend to show Rugal my capabilities. But I will be content to lose to you for that honor." Grant then looks upon his mask, almost as if in nostalgia. Before similarly turning in his own direction and walking off without looking back. For although they take seperate roads, they both walk the same path... And that unity is more dangerous then most any in the world might fathom.
Log created by Grant, and last modified on 21:22:33 03/05/2006.