Description: The Kirishima and Imawano scions come to blows, pitting their minds, reflexes, and philosophies to the ultimate test... and in the end, they come out perfectly matched.
The night, Hyo often found, was a perfect time to complete his studies.
Justice High enjoyed the most advanced learning systems in the world, both in terms of technology and policy. Chief amongst the latter was the Open Scheduling System--students were allowed to complete their studies at any time they chose according to their own schedule. Being the head of Student Council, Hyo found it convenient to complete most of his studies at night.
A-Class Biology was finished, the papers turned in. Even someone like Hyo isn't beyond the rank and file of normal schoolwork. To the contrary. He embraces it.
Hyo walks down the path now with a purpose to his stride. That purpose is, of course, a destination. His dorm room. He considers a brass pocketwatch. He has about.. eight hours, nine minutes of meaningful rest to prepare for tomorrow.
Hyo Imawano isn't the only one returning to his dorm at this hour, and is /certainly/ not the only one who prefers to study at night. Things have been tight due to the goings-on in Thailand, and Kurow Kirishima has only barely managed to slam out some horrible assignment for J-Class History in time. (It's not an ability thing, really -- he just hates the course, and it's no use wasting energy on a more difficult history course when an easier one is right there for the taking.)
With that done, his only remaining obligation for /school/ at the moment is something for A-Class Math, and that'll probably get done over the weekend... which means, for tonight, he can retire to his dorm. Or at the very least, he /could/ retire to his dorm, were it not for who he sees directly opposite him in the hallway. The youth has found himself quite the major player in world events lately, for better and for worse -- on the one hand, he can certainly see what he wants right in front of him. On the other... he's likely garnered some unwanted attention, with his possible connections to the tragic events apparently surrounding Shoma Sawamura, Akira Kazama, and Sakura Kasugano.
His guard instantly raises just the slightest bit, and his hands immediately dip into his pockets, shifting a little. He may go unnoticed, but he can't bank on it -- Hyo's senses are sharp. The young Imawano may be the only man Kurow considers a true peer -- at least, in the fields they share.
Yes. Quite the world player.
Though much of the activities of that faraway country are by simple necessity beyond Hyo's direct interest--the bulk of which is to be consumed by matters of his mother school and his mother country--he cannot deny the importance of world affairs. It is, in fact, the chief topic of recent discussion between himself and his brother. The details are fascinating.
This 'Shadaloo' ... it validates his concern.
Speaking of which.
It would be difficult to detect the other ninja. Someone like Kurow Kirishima is oftentimes too careful--a simple raise of the guard is enough to extinguish sound and light around him almost as if by pure force of will. Eaten by a shadow and left only as a story for the winds to tell. But here, in Justice High? Before this person? It would be hellishly difficult. For anyone else.
"Have you completed your studies?" Hyo asks simply.
Outwardly, his guard seems not to raise in the slightest. He is chill, but only as a matter of habit. There is knowledge implicit privy to both parties that raising one's guard is not a matter of movement but mind. Only a question.
"..Extracurricular or otherwise?"
Nothing more.
Presented with this opportunity, this moment where the two of them are alone, Kurow is conflicted. Even with the Darkside Society Organization sold to the darkness for more power, Kurow still remembers that last mission -- and there's a reason that he was so willing to take it. The Imawano family's power has always been so loathsome to him -- his family has suffered under it for generations, and has little to show for it. In a way, it's almost better that their murders are now less an obligation than a vendetta.
Kirishima narrows his eyes at the regal man standing in front of him, and declares, simply, "Yes." It's true, after all -- he has no further pressing commitments with studying, merely things that can be saved for a later date. It's summer, after all -- even the most dedicated student has a /lighter/ courseload at that particular time of year.
His eyes sweep over Hyo's body, exactly once. He tries to discern just how combat-ready the man truly is, a fact which would be almost impossible to tell from his bearing were it not for the shared lineage of their styles. The conclusion that he comes up with -- as much a guess as anything, thanks to Imawano's inscrutability -- is simple.
Hyo Imawano is /always/ on his guard.
A truth. His blade yet still hangs on his hip. His clothes are cut for military as well as academic purpose, despite the warm summer air. Even his casual glance is cold, his breath steady. One must always be prepared for any eventuality. However, some things were not only eventual, but inevitable.
"Excellent. I'd hate to interrupt your academic work."
A cautious response. One that does not betray any information that is not necessary. Ultimately, the expected response. That in itself, however, is information. Measured quietly and set to a side, with a nod of satisfied expectation from the Council Head to the sly ninja. But..
Hyo's eyes narrow, as soft white leather creaks over his hands, thumb and index rubbing his chin thoughtfully as he considers the master Kirishima.
"I'll fathom that you are already aware that my brother has informed me of your intentions, hwoever failed," Hyo guesses, "That much can be simply deduced. Therefore, to entertain a facade would be pointless," he reasons, his logic following a relentless path to conclusion. "Not that I didn't have my own consideration of our faithful Kirishima clan..." he adds, somewhat facetiously if he had the capacity. Ultimately, a line of thought simply enough extinguished. It's served its only purpose, to remove all pretenses from the matter.
"Your first order was to eliminate us, correct?" Hyo asks.
He is direct, if nothing else.
At this point, there really is no point in hiding it -- that one slip-up has cost Kurow the element of surprise, if he'd ever really had it in the first place. That doesn't matter to him at this point, though -- all that matters is taking what's his with the current best recourse for doing as such. The Darkside Student Congress head nods slowly, confirming, "That's correct. It's an irrelevant order at this point, but..." He gives a little smirk, lying through his teeth as he finishes, "I am a man of my word. I'd like to carry it out just the same."
Kirishima does something that he doesn't do often, with that said: he takes the initiative, drawing those clawed hands out of his pockets. Imawano no doubt expects it, but just the same -- Kurow values the ability to start the fight, to take the first move with Hyo Imawano. It gives him the smallest advantage, the littlest bit of control over the fight that Hyo doesn't and now /can't/ have.
With a quick, flat leap, Kurow closes the distance between the two men, appearing to be coming in for a hard, high slash at Imawano's shoulders -- but strikes low first, trying to injure the man's kneecap before swinging that other clawed hand down. The younger man finishes the series of strikes with a hard, clawed jab at waist height, trying to keep his approach varied and prevent Hyo from committing too hard to dealing with any one part of it.
COMBATSYS: Kurow has started a fight here.
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Kurow 0/-------/-------|
COMBATSYS: Hyo has joined the fight here.
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Hyo 0/-------/-------|-------\-------\0 Kurow
COMBATSYS: Kurow successfully hits Hyo with Yami Kagura.
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Hyo 0/-------/-----==|=------\-------\0 Kurow
"Hm," Hyo acknowledges, a genuine thoughtfulness to his expression and voice. His observations are devoid of any real care as to Kurow's fate, but .. from Hyo's point of view? For some reason or another, he is interested academically. "Your ambition is great. It will be fascinating to see how your ability keeps pace."
All matters laid to the side, this is the truth of the affair. The only way this matter will be settled in a satisfactory fashion. The way is clear, and his blade will now determine the rest.
Hyo frowns, turning away from Kurow reflexively, but by some boon of strategem he is struck low in the kneecap. To disarm his mobility first. This tells him Kurow believes he requires an edge in battle to come out victorious. A superior force of will will be necessary to account for the loss in stance. Imawano grunts softly, as the newly beared claws stab past his guard and draw first blood on his knee and across his body and at his waist. ..Admirable, all things considered.
His blade will now determine the outcome of this battle.
Hyo's glove moves.
The return blow comes like lightning. With one motion, Hyo steps forward, grimacing against his knee but regardless asserting authority over his own body and his weapon. Fluid, his blade leaves sheathe with noe railing hiss, the pommel rocketing out as if shot by cannon. He seeks to /check/ Kurow solidly in the solar plexus with only his weapons draw. This is to stun him.
The tip clears the mouth of his saya. One whiplike strike will be aimed directly up Kurow's midsection, Hyo rising as the thin flash of light does. It is the flash of cold steel.
COMBATSYS: Kurow dodges Hyo's Ouryuuzan.
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Hyo 0/-------/-----==|=------\-------\0 Kurow
The only thing Hyo's blade determines is that the air is very warm and there is a lot of it. As the greatest practicioner of Imawano-ryu swordfighting advances on the young man who would displace him with that body-check, Kurow slides back and to the right, leaving himself in the perfect position to whirl around behind Hyo with a sudden burst of energy, letting Imawano's blade come into contact with only that empty air.
"On the topic of ambition... what happened to yours, Imawano?" Kurow chides, continuing, "What happened to the Hyo Imawano who swore he'd take Japan in his father's name? I imagine Mugen would be disappointed in you, if he saw just how... lacking in persistence you are." The youth draws back up into his defensive stance, considering the swordfighter's style, and the damage to his stance...
... and continues his focus on small strikes that he's designed less to deal crushing damage and more to pick away at the fighter's technique. Those broad shoulders make a nice target, even armored -- and they're another point of potential weakness that Kurow tries to exploit, aiming the claws of one hand just so, trying to slide them neatly into the small spaces where Hyo's ornate epaulets offer no protection.
COMBATSYS: Hyo blocks Kurow's Medium Strike.
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Hyo 0/-------/-----==|=------\-------\0 Kurow
"An amateur's question, Kirishima." Hyo measures, his blade swivelling in the air for its curve to point downward as he lands, his frame impacting with little more than the soft click of boots on the hall floor. He missed? Of course. Hyo seems little surprised by the ninja's speed and grace as he seems to have little trouble whirling around to his back.
To that line, Hyo seems quietly bemused by it more than anything else. "Do you honestly mean to give me the impression that you care for our future Japan, or are you so vacuous so as to offend me with such attempts at distracting foolishness?"
The calculated intent of Kurow does not go without response. When his claws find purchase on Hyo's epaulet, Hyo twists his shoulder just so against the man's deadly talons. If there is a chink in his armor there, if there is blood drawn there, it is only for the purpose of attracting Kurow's attention towards freeing his claws. It may in fact be enough.
"Faster," Hyo advises.
Hyo's boot slides to one side of the ninja as he turns. His body twists further.
His blade curves down and around. With that sinuous movement, Hyo turns at once to face Kurow with a blade thrust toward--and threatening through--Kurow's midsection.
COMBATSYS: Kurow dodges Hyo's Medium Strike.
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Hyo 0/-------/-----==|=------\-------\0 Kurow
Faster is something Kurow Kirishima has never had any problem with. Harder, certainly. More carefully, perhaps -- even though his stance is defensive, he takes to the offense far more than he'd ever admit. But faster? Not at all. Kirishima yanks his claws away as soon as he hears the word 'faster' come out of Hyo's mouth, and his carefulness pays off as he twists out of the way of Hyo's blade. It catches on his own modified Justice uniform, cleaving a little of the fabric away, but leaving Kurow's midsection intact.
"'Our' future Japan? You don't have the will to create such a thing, Hyo Imawano," Kirishima hisses, drawing himself away from his enemy, if only slightly. "Your father taught you so much... and yet I think you take so little from it. It's almost a shame." He steadies his hands a little, trying to find just the right course of action... and inevitably finds it, in the form of a public wastebin. Hardly something to fell Hyo Imawano, but a good distraction technique, at least.
Lately, Kurow has been learning the value of more conventional tactics -- he's certainly been felled by them enough times, and even someone with as little skill in reflective thinking as Kurow can pick up on a neat trick when he sees one. It is this that motivates him to take up that wastebasket and simply fling it full-speed at Hyo, moving away as quickly as he can as he does so. In an eerie mimicry of Hyo's tone, he adds, as he moves away, "/I/ can certainly move faster. Can you?"
COMBATSYS: Kurow successfully hits Hyo with Thrown Object.
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Hyo 0/-------/---====|=------\-------\0 Kurow
Hyo blinks, "!"
A wastebasket?
Perhaps somewhere in the peripheral of his mind, Hyo is faintly offended. For one, that bin is fairly expensive--an automatic opening hinge that doesn't use electric power is quite costly--for two, trash was just thrown at him. On the other hand, Hyo finds the sudden change of pace.. particularly impressive, for a Kirishima at the least. When the heavy bin slams into him, even the scion of Imawano falls back, his boots skidding across the tiled floor neatly. The bin rolls off of his body.. bounces into the air..
..And is sliced into ribbons, falling into so much trash and confetti at Hyo's feet.
"Then it would seem, Mister Kirishima," comes the beginning thought, Hyo's blade bracing at his shoulder allowing him to sight down the blade. "There are certain dogs of the clan, no matter how amusing their tricks, whom simply do not learn. A depressing thought."
His boots kick off the ground, his blade rocketing out. Hyo punches forward with the point of his weapon. It is just short of /telegraphed/ in advance in its simplicity, orienting on a critical point intersecting Kurow's right lung. Is it technical superiority Hyo's after?
It is simple.
But make no mistake. It is brutal.
COMBATSYS: Kurow parries Hyo's Fierce Strike!
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Hyo 0/-------/---====|==-----\-------\0 Kurow
When the Imawano fighter comes in across the scattered trash, moving down the hallway, Kurow realizes that he's put himself in a bad position. He has no extra room to maneuver, only the somewhat narrow space, and he doesn't think he can get out of that rushing strike's path in time. He has only one shot, so he has to look that attack square-on, extending those fierce claws with the force of his chi...
... and entangling the sword between them, only to swipe it aside with a forceful, "Ha! You think you're the only one who isn't just the next Mugen Imawano?!" He gives Hyo a grin, keeping that sword entangled for as long as possible, whispering, "What Mugen always taught was that feelings encouraged tolerance of evil..." as he calculates his next move. It's a little risky, but it has to work. /Has/ to.
Using their proximity to his advantage, Kurow launches his full body forward, scraping metal against metal as he pulls his claws forward and swipes them repeatedly in front of him, summoning a ball of the dark Imawano-ryu energies around himself to bolster his assault with dozens of sweeping claws of energy to match. As he goes in for the most forceful of the series of strikes, he exclaims, "But what he /meant/ was tolerance of /weakness/! And now that you've lost your ambition, Hyo, you've started to tolerate that -- even in yourself!"
COMBATSYS: Hyo just-defends Kurow's Yasha Guruma EX!
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Hyo 0/-------/---====|=------\-------\0 Kurow
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Hyo 0/-------/---====|=------\-------\0 Kurow
His blade is turned away and to the side from the attack, laying open his guard in the tight proximity. His sword bound, Hyo is open. He is vulnerable? Hardly. Only a fool would imagine Hyo Imawano to be vulnerable at any point. Crude though his mind may be, Hyo hardly expects Kurow to be any fool. No, there are greater forces at work here than simple miscalculation...
When Kurow floods into his guard, Hyo seems unkowed.
"You should not try to interpret the thoughts of men greater than you," Hyo advises.
The endless wind of blades is met at his fore--not with his sword, but his epaulet. Endless claws are deflected harmlessly off their steel edges, Hyo shifting with the flow of the endless cutting. His blade swings forward, brought to bear against the tide with a cacophony of rings, the tolling of steel against steel. But what one may notice is that.. hyo does not tire. He... seems to be getting faster.
Glowing pink blossoms float through the dark tides of Kurow's chi, interrupting their flow.
And just like that, with one final clash, the battle of wills is over.
Hyo was not remiss in a single blow. Each--even the ones generated by chi, met only the exact amount of resistance needed to undo them, and against the best of it, Hyo is simply unaffected.
A silver gleam crawls across the edge of his blade.
"Allow me to show you the truth of what Father meant."
From his hip, a single slash, almost faster than the eye can follow. Straight, almost relentlessly perfect in geometry, straight up from the ground.
COMBATSYS: Kurow dodges Hyo's Ichimonji Giri.
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Hyo 0/-------/----===|=------\-------\0 Kurow
Perfection has its downsides. Kurow actually thinks he has /less/ time to react than he does, less of a chance to move out of the way, and this motivates him to move all the faster. He actually steps on a piece of the trash from before, intentionally -- its slickness lets him move just to the side of Hyo's slash with that hard, sliding step. Kirishima knows how to use the environment to his advantage, in comparison to Hyo's somewhat more... sterile style.
"Perhaps you're right," Kurow says, with a shrug. "Perhaps he did mean it precisely as he said it -- but that doesn't mean he wasn't wrong. So many great men have been on the verge of something greater, but had just the slightest problem in their interpretations of the facts, after all." With that counterpoint made, the youth focuses back on the fight, narrowing his eyes and trying to scout out a weakness in Hyo's defenses.
When he comes in, it's because he thinks he's spotted one. He makes another quick, twitch motion around to Hyo's back, going less for technique or volume of strikes than sheer brutality -- it puts that much more at stake, and he thinks the Imawano swordfighter may not be as resolute in dealing with it. All he does is try to sink those claws right into one of the nerve centers in Hyo's back, aiming to cause excruciating pain.
COMBATSYS: Hyo interrupts Fierce Strike from Kurow with Iai-Giri.
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Hyo 0/-------/--=====|=====--\-------\0 Kurow
Sterile. The blade that has been honed to perfection through years--no, centuries of battle. A form that focuses on superior positioning and maneuvering to undo the opponent. Tactical superiority. In many ways, their styles and approaches are not entirely dissimilar. While Kurow has been slowly whittling away at Hyo's guard, so do as the Imawano been measuring Kurow. Calculating, hence the reason why he has not to date been particularly shaken by Kurow's near effortless evasion of his techniques. There was, again, greater forces at work here. For Hyo, the equation was simple.
His blows do not hit because they are not meant to hit.
A telegraphed slow move, a clear audio warning given. It has, in fact, been Hyo's intent this entire time to measure Kurow's ability. He has not found it wanting.
"At last, you realize the point," Hyo replies simply, as if that were all he needed to say.
The savage blow to his back is dealt with--somewhat cryptically--by Hyo's saya. His blade whipping down into the saya in a swift motion afforded to his sterile form. Wood slides into the path of Kurow's claws, directing them away from the vital clusters in his back and to score a bloody gouge across a lower point along the small of his back and to the right. The force with which he is able to slam his blade into its sheathe is enough to set his body moving. First to block the attack, then to move neatly behind Kurow in two whirling steps with a speed belying anything seen previously.
The force neutralizes in the sheathe as Hyo builds up some of his own, tensioning the blade out of its home with both hands. Silver flashes in the air. And Hyo aims to lay Kurow's back open in an instant.
Hyo certainly does a good job of injuring Kurow, knocking him back and away, giving him a fearsome cut with that sword. And finally, Kurow Kirishima's blood stains Justice High's floors, leaving a trail where he's spun away, badly injured... but it's still only one injury. He's dealt with worse... and he can sense Hyo getting cocky. Kirishima knows exactly what the fighter is getting at with his words, exactly what taunt he's delivering -- and he's not going to let it get to him yet.
Part of him says to press the offensive, but the rest of him knows better -- now that Hyo's starting to catch on, what he has to do is hang back -- which is something Kurow does almost as well as aggressing. Starting to back away, Kurow begins to study Hyo, learning more about his movements, trying not only to figure out where the similarities between Imawano-ryu swordfighting and clawfighting lie but also the /differences/ -- what holes Hyo might be leaving in his own movements that Kurow would never consider, having covered them during his own divergent training.
COMBATSYS: Kurow focuses on his next action.
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Hyo 0/-------/--=====|=====--\-------\0 Kurow
Hopefully, Kurow has realized. With a little help.
The trouble here is that Hyo has found Kurow to be an interesting adversary, but ultimately, Hyo's calculations have not led him astray yet. Hyo is not foolish enough to consider this battle to be won already. But.. in a certain sense? Kurow is correct. Hyo's made his determination. It will take something measurable to put him off that determination.
Inexorably, Hyo will commit to offense.
The Council Head shakes blood off of his blade just once, and then turn it reverse in his hand, rolling it back and away from him, one hand coming forward in a guard. The classical Imawano style. Their styles are quite divergent, this much is true, and the similarities and differences will in fact decide the battle. However, Hyo is confident. Supremely so. THere is a freedom in that. The knowledge .. that you can do anything.
He will not allow Kurow a moment to breathe or analyze a thing.
As Kurow backs away, Hyo floods forward with that blade. If Kurow is not on his toes, Hyo will slip past him--and deal a decisive blow across his side and arm.
He says nothing else. As of this moment, there is nothing to say.
COMBATSYS: Kurow dodges Hyo's Swift Blade.
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Hyo 0/-------/---====|=====--\-------\0 Kurow
At first, Kurow thinks to catch the blade. However, he knows better -- his speed is not in his hands first and foremost but his feet, and it is those that he puts to good use, with a quick, whirling sidestep. Even the swiftest blade has its limits, and Kurow finds those limits and exploits them to the fullest. He's starting to really feel out Hyo's style -- not enough to use a facsimile of it yet, but he's starting to get there.
Likewise, Kurow is confident, but it's not Hyo's internalized strength of will. His confidence comes from success -- he is one of the few that learn more, gain more, from success than failure. Success is spectacular; failure is brutal, swift, and crushing. This has been a truth of Kurow Kirishima's life from his earliest training by the man whose legacy is now carried only by these two youths. Hyo is in many ways the ideal governor of the world Mugen Imawano wanted to create... but Kurow Kirishima is definitely its ideal soldier. When one looks at the pair long enough, one really starts to get a full sense of just what the Darkside Society Organization once was.
The young assassin looks at that firm, tall posture, remembering another battle he had not so long ago in this very building, with the dark man who would be God. He remembers that tall, sure stance, that confidence... and how he nearly brought it low. Staying in close, Kurow grabs at the swordsman's arm and then whirls around behind him, trying to fling him straight into the ground in a very traditional, conventional throw. There are no grand surprises, but there are also no glaring weaknesses -- it's a tried-and-true technique, and perhaps one Imawano knows quite well.
COMBATSYS: Hyo blocks Kurow's Strong Throw.
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Hyo 0/-------/--=====|=====--\-------\0 Kurow
Hyo skids to a stop in the wake of Kurow's whirling dodge, going low to the ground in a crouch, his blade standing straight up behind him held in a tense grip. There is only time enough for his long silver hair to settle at his back before steely eyes glance behind him. Kurow successfully evaded his fastest technique?
..Hmm.
But there's little time to mull over it now. Kurow manages to get a grip on him and whirl around him, pulling his arm painfully, but when Hyo rolls over Kurow, the simplicity of the movement is met by an equally simple response. Recognition is made. Then, Hyo turns in the air while rolling.
He lands on his feet, roughly.
Taking a step away, he turns his blade around in his hands in a warning movement. It would seem.. that pure depth of ability and calculation cannot solve the problem. In some ways, Hyo is perplexed by this. In others ,he merely brushes it aside. The inevitability has not changed, as far as his concern goes.
Only the form of that inevitability.
Adaptation comes fast to the Imawano scion. But he still says nothing. He only sheathes his blade, and straightens his uniform. If only for scuffs and bruises and cuts, Hyo is the worse for wear in this situation. But Kurow is beginning to calculate more. He is gradually pressing his limits. Attempting to break through his defenses.
Hyo has little option.
One hand opens and goes forward. The other clenches into a fist and sets at his hip. His eyes set dead forward. He is watching.
COMBATSYS: Hyo focuses on his next action.
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Hyo 0/-------/--=====|=====--\-------\0 Kurow
The youth sees Hyo hang back, knowing that Hyo is every bit as adept at picking apart fighting styles as he is, knowing full well that all the man's attention is on him, that the entire rest of the world doesn't matter to him right now. It's a look that Kurow knows well, having seen it in the eyes of many, and knows full well that others have seen in him.
Everything about his tactics matters now -- he has to be utterly, completely perfect in how he uses all the tools at his disposal. Hyo has many advantages, and can bring all of them to bear at any moment. All he can do is make absolutely sure that Hyo can't catch him.
The scion of the Kirishima family, likewise, is highly adaptable -- it's why he's so good at picking up the styles of others. That, too, is a fact he uses to its greatest extent here, trying a technique he's seen dozens of times before and which he's never quite managed to deal with completely. With a low, flat leap, Kurow goes for a quick kick at Hyo's chest, mirroring part of the Kyokugen-ryu Hien Shippu Kyaku... but only taking it halfway, not using the full force of the technique, nor trying to strike with multiple blows.
COMBATSYS: Hyo dodges Kurow's Light Kick.
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Hyo 0/-------/--=====|=====--\-------\0 Kurow
It's a tense moment. Deadly and complex, the tension of ninjas. Hyo watches Kurow closely and--truth, the world could end outside and neither of the two would notice. Complex mathematics roll throguh his head, movements, stances, and preparations. When Kurow curves through the air in that familiar form to hit him.. an eyebrow raises.
The move seemed faintly familiar, but it is not /of/ the Kirishima-ryuu as he came to understand it during his time with the clan. However... it is something brushed aside. Instantly, no less--speed is of the essence and this time, Hyo steps back. Measuring Kurow's momentum, he understands that even using another kick to extend his range, Kurow can only reach a certain range with his attacks. It is just outside of that range he waits.
The opponent is wily, so while Kurow must be perfect, the burden is on Hyo to be doubly so.
If such a thing were physically possible.
One glove snaps out when Kurow lands. Hyo moves to grip Kurow by the arm.
And hit him in the throat with his opposite fist.
COMBATSYS: Kurow dodges Hyo's Fierce Strike.
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Hyo 0/-------/--=====|=====--\-------\0 Kurow
Kirishima yanks his hand back and keeps that momentum going, slamming his back into a door but keeping himself safe. Don't let them see you bleed, Kurow -- literally or figuratively. All the lessons of Mugen Imawano and all of Kurow's twisted spins on them have to come into full effect here, both in combat and in the rest of life; both of these men cannot do anything less than their best here if they expect to prove their way right.
A curiosity overcomes Kurow, however, as he and Hyo continue trading blows, continue that dance that they've been doing for quite some time now. Even if he knows Hyo may not answer, he has to ask -- there's something that he's never quite understood about Hyo's bid for power. No amount of research or study of the results answers this simple question -- and as such, he has to go straight to the source.
"There's one thing I have to know, Hyo Imawano, about what happened those years ago," he says, rearing his hand back. "What stopped you? I don't mean names. What was it that gave them the edge? You're strong. You had Raizo under your thumb. Dozens of students worshipped you as a living God." The youth takes a deep breath, advancing full-bore again. "No matter how many times I go over it, I just --" Swiping his claws for Hyo's chest, he finishes, more loudly, "/can't understand/!"
COMBATSYS: Hyo interrupts Medium Strike from Kurow with Medium Strike.
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Hyo 0/-------/-======|=======\-------\1 Kurow
Hyo adjusts his stance as his grip finds only empty air. As fast as he was--as fast as he /knew/ he was, Kurow still found a way away from his every blow. It's confounding, but an issue Hyo approaches rationally and calmly. The first path to defeat is to succumb to a mindset that acknowledges it as a possibility.
In short, Hyo's confidence is not such that recognizes that there is no way for Kurow to defeat him. That would be vastly underestimating Kurow's abilities, and would be fatal error on his part. On the contrary. It is that he has no conception of the possibility that he will allow Kurow to defeat him. However, being reminded of his failure leads him to furrow his brow faintly. As genuine curiosity matches Kurow, so too does genuine reflection match Hyo. In the midst of the conflict, Hyo will grant Kurow that much. He has no other option but to--to educate others, however misguided they may be, is part of his own goal. His own ambition as it is now.
"There was a power there," Hyo explains.
His forward glove drops during Kurow's slashing motion, slapping Kurow's attack away to graze across his hip, shredding his coat open there.
"A power that no amount of mental or physical superiority could make up for.."
That same glove snaps up in a backfist, with force and authority not even an inch dulled by his own introspection. He'll catch Kurow in the jaw with a solid crack while he's off balance, if he can.
"Using that power, they were able to undo everything." Hyo finishes, breathing faintly. "It is a power you should rightly fear."
Kirishima takes the slash-deflect on the arm, leaving it a little sore and leaving his face open to attack, taking the backfist and getting knocked right into the wall. He crumples, briefly, and for the shortest of moments, stays down, contemplating Hyo's words. The boy knows exactly what power Hyo refers to, not from experience, but from conversations with his sister, surprisingly. She's brought that power up to him before -- of guts, of friendship, of simple willingness to never say die. This is the enemy -- this is the power that felled Hyo, and his words all but confirm it.
... and it's the power that causes Kurow to start laughing in Hyo's face. "That's what destroyed you!? That power -- that power only destroyed you because you didn't understand it!" His breathing is starting to become labored, but in spite of it all, he laughs, continuing, "You tried to break something unbreakable! You tried to move the immovable object -- are you so vain?!" As though Kurow is one to talk; on the other hand, he has the slightest of upper hands here, by his estimation, and can afford the slightest hubris.
He doesn't force himself back to his feet. Not completely, anyway -- there are advantages to the ground. Hyo's shoulders are armored; his blade is up; his legs are weak and ripe for striking, by Kurow's estimations. There's a chance he's wrong, a potentially fatal chance, but even a potential weakness has to be capitalized on here. He opens his mouth to speak at first, but instead just rushes in a low, flat dash toward Hyo's legs, visualizing his strike in the most complete manner possible, taking the full environment into account. Better to wait to speak when he has Hyo the slightest bit more at his mercy.
COMBATSYS: Hyo dodges Kurow's Kirishima Kyoujuu Reppa.
[ \\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\ < > ////////////////// ]
Hyo 0/-------/-======|-------\-------\0 Kurow
The slightest hubris indeed.
Hyo is only the faintest bit amused at Kurow's outburst, his fist up and still after colliding with Kurow's jaw. He does not become insulted by Kurow's opinion. That would imply that Hyo had something to prove to Kurow and it would imply that Hyo did not, in some facets, agree. In any case, only the cold length of raised eyebrow favors Kurow at this point. A sterile expression meets the Kirishima ninja. After all, though Kirishima's outburst gives him no boon of insight greater than his own, to react with ego or some facade that simply is not there would only be nonsense.
"An admirable assessment, Kirishima," Hyo acknowledges, "Though quite late, I'm afraid."
The low ground assault is met with only the passage of wind, his boots simply failing to be in Kurow's carefully visualized field of engagement. This is because Hyo slipped to a side, the military snap to his step and his own understanding of Kurow's strategy contributing to the simple circumvention of Kurow's movements. His gloves stay up and open. He is not wielding his sword, but instead he steps forward. His sword in his sheathe, it remains to be drawn again. The simple fact is.. despite the acceleration in his breathing, he hardly needs the weapon. He takes a short jump.
One leg drops first. He is going to drop that pristine shined boot on Kurow while he's low with all of the force of a lead hammer. The ground beneath Kurow's feet will bear the brunt of this power, as Hyo strikes down with enough force to crack pavement.
COMBATSYS: Kurow dodges Hyo's Strong Kick.
[ \\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\ < > ////////////////// ]
Hyo 0/-------/-======|-------\-------\0 Kurow
Kurow doesn't break his momentum, even when Hyo goes to stomp on him, and this is his saving grace -- turning the momentum into a roll, he pulls himself forward and out from beneath those mighty boots, whirling around and turning to face Hyo in a split second. The pair are some of the fastest fighters on earth -- it's not much of a surprise that neither of them can land a blow.
Kurow thinks he only has one shot at this, one half-second where he has the chance to really injure Hyo... and he sees just the spot, too. As Hyo lands hard, Kurow -- so focused on hurting Hyo that his moves become, if Hyo is /looking/, that much easier to see coming -- swings a forceful arm right for the back of Hyo's neck, trying to catch him and then shove him down to the ground by that extremely vulnerable spot, putting him in a particularly terrible position on the off chance his claws find their purchase and stay there... and as the claw moves, Kurow pieces his thoughts together. The youth has to explain this to Hyo correctly, and at just the right time, or its impact will be lost. Is this the moment?
COMBATSYS: Kurow successfully hits Hyo with Deep Strike.
[ \\\\\\\\\\\\ < > /////////////////// ]
Hyo 1/------=/=======|-------\-------\0 Kurow
And as Hyo goes down with that forceful grab-and-shove, Kurow plants his legs squarely on the older boy's back, ripping the claws out forcefully. If Hyo's paid attention over the years, he'll know what's coming -- this is a somewhat obscure move, and certainly not Kurow's own, but rather that of a man that Kurow would, perhaps, like to be someday. That man's words echo in his ears even now -- and an experimental move of his, remembered from some match video or another, comes in handy here.
Making sure both of those feet are firmly dug in, Kurow says, "You're right -- it's too late for you. You're too weak, too complacent -- but I'll tell you the secret, since it's likely that, defeated as you are, you'll never use it. A heart is your strongest enemy if you try to quash it -- we're agreed on that," He begins to spin, wrenching Hyo's spine in all sorts of uncomfortable directions, as he explains, "But simply not dealing with the problem is accepting defeat, accepting weakness! By simply twisting --" here, he plants his feet hard again, doing one last firm twist, "you create something loyal. Steadfast. /Perfect/!" He leaves the mark of his boot in Hyo's back one last time before jumping off and back, going into his stance yet again.
Hyo glances to the side, his hair whipping around with the motion. The tiling snapping into splinters udnerneath his feet, the ninja's hands come up again in a ready stance. That quick glance is all he has time for. No, he can see it coming. He simply fails to react. A costly mistake, as the arm slams into the back of his neck, blood--real blood--spraying across the hall from the Imawano scion as his back is literally /torn/ open after he slams into the ground.
A gasp, in pain, is irreprehensible to Hyo.
But even geniuses have their limits.
Kurow literally is dancing /in/ his back. "Ghh--" is the most Hyo can manage in the face of that technique. It's excruiating, and many others would have simply curled up and died on the spot. The words.. they echo in his mind in that brief haze of pain testing his resolve. IT is only moments later he recovers, struggling to his feet. ".. Loyalty .." Hyo hisses, finally.
It's an /ice/ cold thing. Something that no longer advertises a mind, but chills the spirit. The older boy, the young man's coat is thuroughly ruined now, shreds only barely covering his torso as the youth stands. ".. Something perfect," he agrees, his body laboring but his voice.. briefly? Nothing short of /visionary/.
A moment later, he blinks. "Perfection.. is not .. subservience," the boy labors, insistent on that one ideal finally, as if justifying it more to himself than anyone else. "Gh--" And in that one moment, his eyes bleed a bright furious red. One that is .. focused on absolutely nothing less than this one's destruction.
One by one, glowing cherry blossoms turn black, and explode into shreds around Kurow.
COMBATSYS: Hyo focuses on his next action.
[ \\\\\\\\\\\\ < > /////////////////// ]
Hyo 1/------=/=======|-------\-------\0 Kurow
Those words stay in Kirishima's ears -- 'perfection is not subservience.' Even as the cherry blossom storm obscures his vision, even as Hyo readies himself with that dark power that seems so familiar yet so impossible to place, Kurow hears those words. On the one hand, that does bother him -- is he wrong? Is he missing the mark, and making a mistake that'll cost him? ... on the other, however, he has to keep in mind -- the perfection he envisions, too, is more than simple subservience.
The youth breathes in and out, keeping himself level. He can sense that limitless power emanating from Hyo and doesn't want to walk himself right into it, so instead he stays back, keeping his calm. Hyo may be strengthened by that fury that he's starting to develop, but Kurow... Kurow can't afford fury right now -- not against his betters. If he keeps himself level, he can take, and keep, control over the fight.
He begins to move side to side in the small confines of the hallway, once again appraising himself of what little he can see of Hyo Imawano. The cherry blossoms make his vision imperfect, unreliable, but what he can see is more than enough to go on. "You're right," he agrees, as he moves his body back and forth, back and forth. "Perfection is distinct, disparate minds with powerful, unified purposes. People who know how to use themselves and one another to the fullest."
COMBATSYS: Kurow focuses on his next action.
[ \\\\\\\\\\\\ < > /////////////////// ]
Hyo 1/------=/=======|-------\-------\0 Kurow
The ice boils within Hyo's breast. It's hard to control. Hard to contain. It wasn't something Hyo was prepared for. A depth of strength beyond his own.. but it was effective. It forced his mind to see the proper things. It forced him to think beyond the academics. A fury that is not chaotic, but pure. An absence of everything else. If Hyo refused to acknowledge the possibility of Kurow's victory today.. this is doubly so now. At some point, control was relinquished. But.. not to Kurow.
Purity.. loyalty..
It matters little, in the end.
One breath outward, and the trash around him shivers.
Absently, he studies Kurow's weaving motion, something reflected in the Kirishima's eyes. It is.. his own deadly light, that red glow. "Yes," Hyo agrees, at once. "Perfection.. is."
And then, in the next instant, he is upon Kurow.
He could wait. He could try and tease Kurow into an opening. But his truth--the only truth that ever was--is beyond that. Inevitability. Regardless of circumstance. Fools will see this because he will show it to them. It begins in a low flipping leg uppercut. His boot is as a tidal wave. If Kurow is fast--as we know he is--he may be able to evade it. But Hyo will not stop regardless. He goes all the way to the ceiling, endless waves of force and ice cold chi following him in each revolution. Only at the end of it all does his blade bare.
COMBATSYS: Hyo successfully hits Kurow with Ankoku Gen'ei-shuu.
- Power hit! -
[ \\\\\\\\\\\ < > ///////// ]
Hyo 0/-------/------=|======-\-------\0 Kurow
The blade tastes wind, this nameless weapon. It tastes wind, and as the youth lay prostate before him.. Hyo does not blink, he does not think for Kurow's safety, not for a moment. That blade tastes the air. And it cuts through lies, agendas and bias. It cuts everything to pieces and with one blow that renders the blade more a sledgehammer than a sword, it will strike Kurow's body clear back down to the ground in a wash of deadly energy.
Only then will Hyo land.
Hyo Imawano is strong and lucky, that much is for certain. Kurow's twitch reactions finally fail him, and he is slammed into the ground with the full force of Hyo's dark downward stab, ripped nearly in two. The blade sends blood dripping down, the warm fluids instantly cooling in the suddenly bitter cold hallway. For a second, Kurow believes that he is about to die -- but feeling returns, numbness fades, replaced only with the harsh realities of battle once again.
For a second, he thinks all is lost, that he is doomed here -- but more memories begin to rush through his mind. He remembers his battle with Rock Howard, in these same hallways, not long ago -- and how he lost that. The youths certainly traded blows, that much was certain... but when it came down to it, Rock had one advantage. He capitalized on every time Kurow got close -- and knew exactly what to capitalize on that time with.
And it's something Kurow can do. He may not have the full training of Hakyokusaken's masters to capitalize on its full power, but it's close to a Kirishima-ryuu technique. So close that the two are in many respects practically interchangeable. Spitting blood, Kurow turns to face the Imawano scion, raising a hand high. There is nothing he needs to say to Hyo, anymore. He will prove himself with his power -- just as he was taught.
His hands rear back, up behind his head, glowing with yellow chi. This is all the warning Hyo Imawano gets before Kurow slams them both forward into the ground, so hard that they crack even Justice High's well-maintained floor, sending a whirlwind of yellowish chi out in all directions from the point of impact, threatening to simultaneously sweep the powerful fighter into the whirlwind and cut him like a thousand sharp daggers. It's a risky gamble, using a mixture of techniques that hasn't yet been proven -- but it could win him the battle, if it's something truly worth keeping.
COMBATSYS: Kurow successfully hits Hyo with Kirishima Shinkuu Yamiarashi.
[ \\\\\ < > //////// ]
Hyo 0/-------/--=====|===----\-------\0 Kurow
The blade twirls in the air, the deadly gleam of the weapon settlnig on Kurow as he recovers. The Imawano scion regards the master Kirishima as a lion might a fly. But it's something that cannot last. Suddenly, Kurow's power spikes beyond that of which even Hyo is prepared for, causing the youth to turn back and away. What is /that sudden force?/ The man steps back, almost uncertain, before he is suddenly bathed in a whirlwind of this raging storm. It takes all of his effort to even stay standing underneath it--for all of everything else, this is the only thing he can do. Remain standing in spite of it.
His boots squeal across the tile, now slick with the blood of them both. What's left of his uniform coat and undershirt are simply torn to shreds and away from his body, his gloves holding his sword as he is literally sliced to ribbons in the sudden and unexpected attack.
No.. this wasn't expected. It cannot be. There is only one possible end to this fight!!
Hyo explodes in motion, not /away/ from the storm, but into it. A comet of barely conscious blood, steel and bone. His blade has only one purpose. Wide red eyes and teeth grinding against eachother, the scion's orphan blade only has one target.
In the crux of that technique, while Kurow is still shaking off the force of that dumped power, Hyo will send the blade spiralling forward, its point on that critical area. He will place all of his remaining strength there in that point.
That point... Kurow's chest.
COMBATSYS: Hyo can no longer fight.
[ \\\\\\\\ <
Kurow 0/-------/----===|
COMBATSYS: Kurow fails to counter Swift Blade from Hyo with Yami Kake.
- Power fail! -
COMBATSYS: Kurow can no longer fight.
Kurow draws the power of his chi in, trying to focus on Hyo's strike... but it's too little too late -- the blade finds purchase, albeit in Kurow's arm rather than his chest. The wound gushes, and Kurow's technique resolves just the littlest moment too late... and his falling form slides across the ground, afterimages left in its wake. Only when the youth becomes fully tangible again does he finally collapse, falling to the ground in a heap.
He, too, does not accept this outcome, is not willing to believe /any/ outcome but the one he desires so desperately -- which is what gives him just enough strength to take that wounded arm and use it to slowly but surely drag himself across the ground, attempting to make that last-ditch escape. Even if he couldn't give Hyo a sound, crushing defeat, he matched blows with the man... and he knows, at the bare minimum, that he's just the littlest bit smarter. (By, of course, his own appraisal.)
He collapses, barely able to move at all now, only half-conscious, after making it a good half of the way to his dorm down the hall... but the question is -- is Hyo really in much of a position to give chase?
Log created on 19:46:43 07/05/2007 by Kurow, and last modified on 15:18:34 07/06/2007.