Marcus vs Geni


The sharp crack that signalled the end of Diamond’s match made Marcus wince. That sounded like it hurt a lot. Other than a slightly worried glance, he remained passive however. Team MODA still had three matches to go. He made a mental note to go over the fine points of her fight later to help Diamond actually win next time. Her timing would be the most important thing. Theatrics had their place as distractions, so long as she timed it so someone else could sneak up behind the enemy. Same principle as a magic trick, get them all focused on the pretty stagehand so no one watched what the magician was doing with his offhand. Usable.
Next was Aurellius. Immediate concern was his teammate’s apparent obsession with ‘fair’ fights. The very idea left a sour taste in Marcus mouth. He would have to nix that idea in the bud before it rooted itself to deep. Life was never meant to be fair, which was why you had to stab it in the back from the shadows, and kick it in the balls to make sure it stayed down. As far as the fight itself actually went there was of course his notable enthusiasm. Great potential there if it could be directed firmly at the Grimm.

Geni sighed sadly as he heard that he would be fighting a boy named Marcus. He did no know who that was, but he sounded tough. His tail flicked around agitatedly as the anticipation for there battle grew increased, he tried to distract himself by watching Mokuren's victor,  but he was  unable to do so. Before Geni could figure out why he was so nervous in the first place it was his turn to fight. Geni sighed sadly and dragged his feet up the stairs onto the stage. He looked out into the crowd and saw that all eyes were on him, making him even more nervous. Geni waited for his opponent to make his way onto the stage, but he was perfectly fine with the man not showing up.

Marcus stood with his hands clasped behind his back, the very picture of calculated serenity. The very first thing he did when he heard combat classes were going to be a thing was to go over the rules for said classes with a fine toothed comb. Unfortunately no matter how creatively they were read, he could not bring his tank with him. That, in turn, meant that he was about to get humiliated in front of everyone. It was a simple fact. He was no slouch in the physical department, a youth full of forgework and demanding hunter parents had seen to that. However, he was at the same time capable of nothing more than punching hard. Martial arts just never really ‘clicked’ with him. Marcus was the first to admit that he did not spend enough time on said arts to overcome his apparent handicap either. Thus, he simply walked down to the arena, stood in a basic broad stance and nodded at his opponent with no words. The nervous lion faunus across him would have amused Marcus under any other circumstance if the engineer was honest with himself. Perhaps this was why they were pitted against one another? That the lion boy, Geni, would get a confidence boost? Bah, now was not the time for analysis. Marcus unclipped the small leather rope that prevented his revolver from just falling out, ready to draw the weapon. His plan A was simple: Shoot his opponent in the face. Repeatedly if possible. As far as combat plans went, it was his favourite. Short,straightforward, easy to remember in a panic.

Geni watched his opponent as he walked onto the stage, Geni visibly sighed as the man took out his revolver and pointed it at his face. He really did not want to fight a human, he was not really into fighting things that were human. But unfortunately, he would have no choice, so he pulled out Ragnorock from its strap and held it in his left hand. He then lifted his right hand up towards his opponent, making sure his semblance would be ready at a moments notice. This man seemed to be virtually harmless, all he had was a revolver, but he did not know what it could do, or what the man's semblance was. Geni made the decision to wait for the man to make his move, then he would attack.
"Begin!!"
With the sound of the teachers voice the battle began, and Geni did nothing.

Marcus, for his part, drew his revolver and in a smooth motion fanned the hammer three times. One bullet for each eye and the third for the nose. Phase one of the 'shoot his opponent in the face' plan, done.

Geni had no time to think before the man fluidly whipped out his revolver and shot 3 bullets. Geni immediately activated his semblance and focused on the bullets as they flew towards him. If everyone was watching, the bullets would be have slowly stopped moving. The bullets ended coming into a stasis point. The bullets stopped a few inches in front of him, and then fell to the floor. He slowly started walking slowly up to the man, with his right hand in the air and Ragnorock in his left hand. Waiting for the man to shoot again.

"Interesting." Marcus remarked dryly. His revolver barked twice more, one bullet ricocheting off the floor towards Geni's leg while the other was sent off into empty space right next to the lion boy's head. Obviously he had slowed the previous shots down with his semblance, the question was now how it worked and what the limits of it's mechanics were. Preferably he could figure that out before Geni would work him over with the very painful looking blade the faunus carried.

Geni was getting bored, and he assumed the crowd was too. This battle had gone on long enough, so it was time to cut the battle short. This time the man shot twice,and unfortunately, Geni could not predict the bullets intended path. So he did the next best thing, he activated his semblance. But his plan ultimately failed, he only succeed in stopping the on trained at his head, but the other hit his foot."Arhggg." Geni yelled as he went down on one knee. Geni knew that he should have activated his semblance at a wider range. Geni looked up at the man angrily, and flung Ragnorock at the man's neck, and activated his semblance. As he weapon spun in the air. He made it faster with his semblance, before the man could blink three times his weapon smashed  into his opponent’s right thigh. Geni grabbed his leg and stood, and did not wait for the man to get up.
 
While Marcus tried to throw himself out of the way of the incoming projectile he was unprepared for the raw speed of the bat'leth and stumbled as it clipped his thigh. The steel bit deep into the leather pouch there, and broke something with an audible crack. Then Marcus rose, unhurt. The remains of a set of worn screwdrivers fell to the floor, destroyed by Geni's blade but they prevented actual harm from coming to the officer. "Pity." Marcus remarked as he sighted Geni again with his revolver and backed up at the same time. He kept going until his boot landed on the Bat'leth or until Geni tried to make a move for him, whichever happened first.
"I liked those." Marcus pulled the trigger.

"Well that was unfortunate." Geni said sadly as Ragnorock was useless. Who kept screwdrivers down there any way. The man had put his boot on he weapon and Geni was now weaponless. Geni smiled as the man pulled the trigger. Everything was like slow motion in his mind, Geni had used him semblance in one last ditch effort, he focused on the gun as the man pulled the trigger. And it was over in a second, the man's gun blew up in his hand. It had worked, he forced the bullet into a stasis point inside the barrel, the momentum from the explosion suddenly had nowhere to go, and the build up of energy caused the revolver to explode. Geni stood there and looked at the man wearily, with all the stunts he pulled off with his semblance he was really tired, but he could still fight. "Soooo., fist fight or draw." He said scratching his head.

For a moment, all Marcus knew was pain. When his ears stopped ringing and he was coherent enough to see again, Marcus found himself flat on his back with smoke rising from his entire torso. That had hurt. He had a pretty good view of the board that kept track of their aura meters and as an aside he noted was in better shape than Geni as far as Aura went. Probably because all he used for the fight was the standard protection technique rather than his semblance. His heel was still on the Bat'leth. Marcus noted with a tinge of
amusement that 'draw' could mean more than one thing. "I'll go for the western kind of draw." he said deadpan, and kicked the weapon by his feet up into his own hands. A brief inspection of the blade revealed a set of triggers and the location of both barrels of the integrated firearms. Exactly what he needed. Aiming was difficult with the foreign weapon but really all he needed was lead flying in Geni's general direction. Given the ranges involved not exactly a herculean effort even with the hefty recoil and the fact he could only fire from one end at a time. In the span of half a second, Marcus had gone from knocked on his back to shooting again.

Geni looked at the man with utter hatred, he had taken what was his, and Geni did not exactly enjoy that. Geni cracked his knuckles in and neck and and glared at the man."Shoot, I dare you." He said with a wicked smile. He had a plan. He knew that the man had no idea what he was doing with his weapon, he could not possibly brace himself for the amount of recoil that accompanied shooting it then he would use his semblance one last time. The man fumbled with his weapon, but eventually got the hang of it and fired. The first shot missed but he flew backwards. He stood back up and fired again, this time, everything went in slow motion. Geni smiled as the man flew backwards once again from the recoil, and Geni focused on him, he used his semblance to increase the mass of the man and speed as he fell. The man smashed into the ground hard enough to cause a crater to form around his body. It would had most likely knocked him unconscious or gave him a concussion. Before Geni could celebrate the bullet smashed into his stomach and he fell to the floor. Geni could feel nothing pain.
"Some sparring match this was." he said sleepily.

Marcus' world at that moment consisted purely of pain and stars. All encompassing throbbing pain wrapped around his head like a fuzzy blanket. His breath came in short, pained gasps, courtesy of at least two broken ribs. So this was it for him then, at least he gave it as good as he got.
He was reminded of the end of spars between his siblings, with the usual level of injuries those involved. He could practically hear their condescending voices in his head as they mocked him and whatever toys he made. The quiet stern look of disapproval of his father. The soft soothing tones of his mother as she told him it did not matter he was such a poor fighter, with that undertone of dissapointment she thought he could not hear. His grip on the Bat'leth tightened.
No. He would show them. He would show them all he was strong, not some useless tinker. The tip of the blade bit into the cratered ground as he slowly, inexorably staggered to his feet. Nausea nearly brought him low and he struggled for every breath. At least three ribs broken, possible concussion, burns on his hands and face and his hat was missing. Marcus knew that he could not handle the recoil of another shot from the Bat'leth, however it was still a sharp metal object. Time for plan B: Hit his opponent over the head until victory was achieved. Like plan A, short, straightforward, and easy to get right even with a concussion."Enough!!" Goodwitch yelled as she walked onto the stage, stopping Marcus before he could finish Geni." Surprisingly, Marcus you have won, congratulations. You should get to the infirmary, and someone should get Geni." she said sternly. Geni could hear her but it sounded like he was listening to her through a plastic cup or something. Fortunately, feeling was returning to his body but he was still tired... and bleeding."A little help here Marcus." He said getting up on one knee and breathing hard. He knew that the man's injury must have been severe also, but he needed help to.
 
"Eh?" Marcus said, faltering as he heard Goodwitch. He. He had won? His eyes met Geni's with sincere respect in his expression."Of course" he replied to Geni's request. With unsteady gait, he let go of Goodwitch' support and wobbled closer."Here." he said and held out the other end to the Bat'leth. For one it belonged to Geni and for another the thing made a surprisingly good crutch. Compared to thin air at least."Well fought." he complimented the faunus sincerely. Before he could fall again, Goodwitch was there to catch him. At the same time the woman waved her whip and fixed the crater left in the arena. Marcus winced as the movement aggravated his broken ribs.
"Ow. Yes. The infirmary sounds good." he said to no one in particular. His injuries were making him delirious, more chatty than usual. Fortunately blissful unconsciousness took him before he could truly make a fool of himself.