As Shiro's time to do battle came, the silvery-haired tiger-boy stood and squatted down before launching himself from his spot and into the arena. Flipping in mid-air and landing in a four-point position, Shiro stood and straightened up as he waited on his opponent. Scoot still sitting on his shoulder even after his friend's flamboyant enterance, Shiro remembered that he should probably have his little buddy sit safely on the sidelines. Smiling and turning his head toward the rodent,
"You should sit this one out, Scoot. Don't want you to get caught up and get hurt or something." he said. Kneeling down, he reached out with an arm to give his friend an easier path to climb off of.
Scoot looked at him and tilted his head, not quite understanding what was going to happen. But, he understood enough to realize Shiro's concern for him. Darting down Shiro's gloved arm, the ferret stopped as he turned 'round to look up at the Faunus boy.
"Fun?" The ferret asked, mimicing the same curious habit of tilting his head inquisitively as his taller Faunus companion.
Shiro grinned and nodded once.
"Yeah, it'll be fun alright. Don't worry, buddy. I'll be okay. Just sit back and enjoy the show." Shiro reassured him.
Scoot looked around before shooting off. Leaving the arena to observe atop the border that circled the arena.
Standing once more, Shiro righted himself as he resumed waiting for his sparring partner. This time around, he wasn't as nervous as to who he was going up against. A little more comfortable now that he had been at Beacon for a short while. Still, it was not to say he wasn't curious. There were at least some other students who he came to know and came to familiarize himself with their fighting style and weapons. But, from the brief moment he gleaned over Mr. Schwarze's information, he didn't seem to really carry any visible equipment or weaponry. Most information on other students were concealed for privacy concerns, regardless. So, he couldn't gain some unfair advantage there by meta-gaming. For Shiro, it was a different matter. He carried a massive blade and protective shield with him so there was no hiding that fact. Save for his teammates and maybe a few others, his Semblance's ability was kept decently under wraps. He couldn't really recall having used it the first time around, but even still, he had to be careful with revealing his hand too soon. Reserving the usage of his Semblance only for when things got too serious.
Clenching and balling his hands into fists, Shiro breathed in deeply and exhaled slowly to further mentally prepare himself for what was to come. It could be a quick and decisive battle. It could be a long and drawn out affair. Honestly, there was no telling what could happen, but he would be ready. At least, as best as he could be. The gold within his eyes burned away to reveal their true and glowing icy-blue color underneath. Black stripes slowly faded into existence, streaking through his hair. Marking his cheeks, his ears, the upper-part of his arms, and his tail as he assumed his 'combat-ready' posture. He hoped this 'Luke' character was a nice fellow. Maybe after their sparring match, they could be friends.
He...
He just flipped in here, didn't he?Luke gave it all he had to not gawk at his opponent's flashy entrance, instead managing what seemed to be a miffed grimace. Seriously, if a pair of White Fang Members with mastery over both Fire and Illusions in his first week weren't enough, now he was sparring people that pulled acrobatics for kicks that would make non-auric Olympic Gymnasts cry?
Where's my Darkwood Grain Ring?!Shaking his indignation with fate off with a sigh, he walked over to their chosen arena, tossing his hoodie aside and rolling out his neck a few times. Taking the warmup period to, much like his opponent, study up, he noted with no small amount of dismay that this Shiro person had both sword
and shield on his person.
He smirked, it being the kind of a man who could laugh at fate's creulties and, well, do little else about them.
"I'd be pushing my luck if I asked you not to use those, wouldn't I?"Shiro blinked. Confused as to what his opponent was requesting.
"He wants to just fist fight? Is he...serious?" he frowned.
Same as he did to him, this 'Luke' gentleman was sizing him up. Either he wasn't impressed, or Luke didn't seem to like what he saw. Cocking an eyebrow and tilting his head, he gave Luke a dumbfounded look.
"You..want to just fist fight?" Shiro then quickly put up his gloved hands and shook them in a worried 'No, wait!' expression.
"N-not that there's anything wrong with that! It's just a little odd, is all. But, if you feel that would be fair then that's fine by me." Reaching behind, Shiro unslung Kladenets and Perun. With a solid sounding
thock he slammed the combined sword and shield into the ground of the arena. The heavy things staying where Shiro put them, unmoving.
Cracking his gloved knuckles, he walked towards the center of the arena. Reaching out, Shiro smiled as he presented his hand to shake. Blinking again, he withdrew his hand and looked at his gloved palm.
"Oh, uh. I have to warn you. I'm not very good at hand-to-hand combat. Do you mind if I use my claws instead?" Flexing his fingers, black stubby claws stabbed outward from the tips of his gloves. Looking at them and back up at Luke, he grinned sheepishly.
"Wait, aren't I putting myself at a serious disadvantage? I don't even know what he has up his sleeve! I still can't see any weapons.." he critically thought to himself.
Now it was Luke's turn to blink.
That had certainly put him on the spot. While the weaponry being removed from the equation was nice, he still hadn't actually expected it to happen! Now he just felt dishonest! Snake-like! A charlatan!
He chuckled, somewhat nervously in his own right.
"I hadn't expected you to actually say yes. And, uh..."Claws would hurt. They would hurt so much...
But at the same time, my Semblance should let me deal with whatever wounds I get from them.
After all, they look short.
Ish."Sure," he replied, completing his deliberations on the request and working his watches off his wrists.
"Fair enough. I only know the basics myself, mostly, but making you toss away that sword and shield's already stacking things in my favor enough."Not meant offensively or anything.
Doubt anyone'd even take it that way.Tossing the watches (and by extension drillfists) onto his hoodie, the black-haired teen strode to the center of the arena himself, shaking the taller Faunus's hand with a sportsman's smile.
"Let's have a good one."Shiro's smile seemed to brighten even more when he took his hand and shook it, returning his own smile.
"By the way, I'm Kuhaku Shiro. It's very nice to meet you. Let's have a good one indeed." Letting go of his hand, Shiro stopped and looked down at himself. He had forgotten about his two belts of volatile Dust shotshells. In a fist fight, he couldn't really see any use to them. It would be dangerous, even to use them in such close proximity. As he turned his back to his opponent and walked over to his sword and shield, he unclasped his ammunition belts and removed them from his waist. Longingly looking at Kladenets and Perun as he slowly draped the blue shotshells over the face of the shield.
Brow furrowing, Shiro dove deep within the confines of his mind. Searching for every bit of his intellect and focus.
"In a real fight, I may become disarmed so it'd be good practice for that. But, then again...In a real fight I wouldn't just throw down my weapons at the request of my 'enemy', would I? What if he's just playing with me and manipulating me to his advantage? I still don't know anything about him but he knows enough about me." Biting his lip, he looked over his shoulder back at Luke nervously.
"I could just...use my gear anyways. But, what if it was an honest request? I-I don't want to seem like a dishonest person after I already gave my word."Looking up at the ceiling worriedly, another thought hit him.
"Wait, aren't we supposed to be giving our all during these matches anyways? Is he just toying with me or...Agh!" What was he even doing anyways, fighting on someone else's terms? No, that wasn't going to happen. He knew nothing about his opponent and he was being far too nice to the guy. If he wanted to fist fight, they could always set up a sparring match later. If he agreed to Luke's terms, how would that look to his fellow peers? Sapphire already scrutinized everything he did or said and looked down on him like he was a child. But worse of all, what would Abel and Gren think? Their opinions of him meant the world. Not to mention there were always the ladies watching to consider.
Shaking his head, Shiro turned back around and reclasped his ammo belts back onto his waists.
"Hey! Well, he didn't want to seem rude and indescisive.
"Luke, was it?" Kicking up his sword and shield, he snatched them out of the air and ripped the sword from the shield. Brandishing his weapons with a flourish.
"After classes, you and I could spar however you want then!" He paused, he had to pick his words carefully so as to not come off the wrong way.
"Right now though, I want to see what you've got!"Slamming his shield in front of him and crouching low to peer over the top edge, he readied his sword behind him. A low growl rumbling in his chest, his usually bright and happy expression twisted into one of intense focus and determination.
"Ready yourself!" Luke, who had been silent and under a pensive mask this whole time, formulating a preliminary "gameplan" so to speak, offered merely a wan smile, a sigh, and a nod.
"Figured it wouldn't happen. Works for me, Shiro."It just made things more of an uphill battle.
Retrieving his watches from his small pile of belongings to the side of the arena, he re-donned them on what was basically autopilot, eyes remaining steadfastly on the newly-serious tiger faunus across the ring from him. His mind raced, adjusting for the new factors in the matchup as best as he could.
Well, first things first: Avoid that sword at any and all costs.
If I need to hit it, make sure it's with the gauntlets. I don't need my semblance draining my aura from cuts I could have avoided.
On that note, lots of lateral movement's going to be key here. He may be agile, but if I can cut decent angles I'll find my shots. Pretty sure I'll want to focus on that shield side as much as I can. Even if it limits my offensive options, in that I need to work around it, it can't cover everything at once.
Not to mention, he'll have a heck of a time trying to hit me with that sword through it. I can play the turtling game too, and I'll use your shield to do it too.Activating whatever author-unspecified method of switching modes on his wristwear, the digital and analog watches gave off small, muted flashes as they morphed into a silvery pair of fully-articulated gauntlets. With a deep, calming breath, Schwarz rose, and returned to his side of the arena, eyes still glued on Shiro's form.
Treat it like any other fight. If I stick and move, mix it up, and toss a few feints in there for him to bite on, holes in that defense have got to form. That way I can get inside on him and render those things obselete. He can't stab me if I'm in too close for him to swing. No big, Luke.Bouncing on the balls of his feet in a slightly-staggered, right foot only-a-half-step-back stance, Schwarz raised his guard: Rear hand by the eyebrow, Lead hand out in front, ready to jab or parry.
Just Frankie Edgar this shit."Ready."Ah, wait. He had nearly forgotten. Moving his shield aside, he stabbed the point of his sword into the ground. With his free sword hand, he peeled 5 of his blue Dust Shotshells off of his belt. Sliding them into the open chamber on the spine of his blade, he removed his sword from the ground as the slide on Kladenets automatically chambered and loaded the fed rounds. Before resuming his stance, Shiro courteously bowed his head at Luke. It was still an honorable duel, after all.
"Desperta ferro!" He shouted as he presented his shield in front of him once more. His voice bellowing and echoing throughout the arena. Slowly, Shiro advanced on Luke. But as he did so, he tried something a little different. Using the flat sides of his blade, he smacked the front of his shield with it. Creating a loud clattering, clanging racket as he slowly moved on his quarry.
Narrowing his eyes, Shiro couldn't help bit feel a little annoyed.
"So he DID have weapons on him! Concealed as his watches, too! No wonder he said that the odds would be stacked in his favor. He's a pure fist-fighter!" Shiro complained, silently to himself. As his ice-blue eyes observed Luke's stance, he confirmed that his opponent knew more than he let on. +1 to Deception. He knew now not to completely trust this guy, but there could be more he had up his sleeve. Then again, Shiro had plenty of tricks in his bag. For now, Shiro continued 'making some noise' as he slowly and carefully advanced on the boy.
He would have to feel him out some more before getting an idea of how he fought and react accordingly.
Dust Shells?!
What on earth could those possibly do in that sword?!Responding with a curt nod of his own, Schwarz began to circle in, dutifully sticking to the plan and moving to his right, in front of Shiro's shield. Closing the distance in what soon became a tense, spiralling dance, if Luke was fazed at all by Shiro's clanging, he made sure not to show it.
What was the purpose of that anyway? Was the tiger faunus trying to goad him into charging in? Maybe. It'd be a good way to run him straight into a stab if he just bullrushed, and this certainly would be neither the first nor last time taunting would result in the opponent on the recieving end getting flustered into a mistake.
Not that I was born yesterday! He thought indignantly. Stepping in for but a moment, he flashed a jab, a non-commital, entirely speedy jab, to Shiro's face over the top of his shield. Jabs like these didn't have power behind them, and weren't going to knock anyone over the age of six out.
But that wasn't the point in the first place. What those flicking, peppering strikes were was
fast and on top of that,
a foundation. Everything, and you will hear everyone say it,
everything built off of the jab. Once he established it, he could open up with so many other things it wasn't even funny.
This was the first lesson he'd learned, in his in-and-out relationship with the world of martial arts. This was what separated those who understood these things from those who didn't. A wise man once wrote: "Punching is the brush stroke, but boxing is the art."
Anyone could stick their fist in someone's face real hard. But it wasn't anyone who understood the intracacies of how and why a boxer punches, moves, etc.
Despite being what some would call "The Basics", these were the most important things for a prospective pugilist to know.
Every building is supported by its foundations.
Not privy to sticking around, as soon as the jab reached the full point of extension, whether it hit Shiro or not, it flashed back to Luke's guard just as quickly as it had came, and he was back at square one: same distance, having stepped
back from his step
in, same direction of motion, same plan of action.
No combinations yet, just feeling things out and staying the
hell away from that sword.
As Luke circled with him, Shiro couldn't help but be a little pleased. Smirking, it occured to him that Luke was careful and methodical. Just as he was. Luke was attempting to get around his shield and past his defenses. At least, that's what Shiro thought. When Luke set
in for a probing jab, Shiro simply took a step back. That one jab was enough for him, Shiro getting a feel for the general length of his range. He was a boxer after all, or looked the part at least. If there was one advantage other than being able to swap between attacking and defending, Shiro had range on him.
If Luke was any more similar to Shiro's own combat mindset, they would be feeling each other out for a while. Probing and proding as they each observed how the other would react. That took time, and time wasn't something they had in abundance. Maybe fortunately for Luke, Shiro was slightly impatient. Gather as much information he could in the first critical moments, and then move on it. Continuing to bashing his sword against his shield to a certain tempo and cadence, Shiro then changed his motion. Instead of moving to opposite directions, Shiro matches Luke's so that they both moved to either the left or right. Neither circling one another. Luke was fast. He was careful. He has short range. Did Shiro need any more than that? Question was, what to do next with that information? How would he handle aggression is what Shiro wanted to know now.
After all, you could hardly punch through a solid shield. If Shiro's guesses were correct, he might've figured what Luke would do after his next move. It was a gamble, and worth a shot. Swiftly moving his sword straight behind him, Shiro dug his feet in and exploded forward straight at Luke. [SHIELD CHARGE]
Sword's going back.
A swing?
Probab--
Bullrush!Reacting quickly as Shiro exploded forward, Luke's stance staggered more--
Then shot him straight back, gathering crucial distance even as the faunus continued to eat it up after him, barely allowing the ahoge'd pugilist any gains in ground between them.
However, and thank whoever upstairs is in charge for Aura's stat boosts for this, it was indeed enough. Sticking his lead hand straight out as he landed, Luke adhered to the time-honored, and universal rule of defense in pretty much anything.
Some readers here may be familiar with it from our breakdown of the tussle with Mordred: "Getting off the line of attack".
Using the extended hand to stiff-arm the oncoming freight train that was the sword-and-board Swansonger, Luke's motion switched back to lateral, cutting a hard angle off to his right. Past the shield, and out of the way.
Close call, by any means. Even as Shiro's momentum carried him through an extra few feet, Luke felt there was no oppurtunity like the present to strike. The Tiger Faunus would now have to whirl to face him and would be greeted by a stiff 1-2-3: Jab-Cross-Hook, the first two to the head, the last digging to the body.
Shiro was surprised to see Luke take on his shield charge. Was he brave or stupid? Even Shiro failed to make that distinction from time to time. Nonetheless, he continued to pick up as much speed and momentum as he could as he forced Luke back. The more, the better. But he needed to see what Luke would do next. Surely he wouldn't just accept being pancaked against the side of the arena wall.
"Come on, come on...Do something..."And there it was, it came. Briefly tanking his charge, Luke then reoriented himself away at a hard angle turn to move out of Shiro's direct path. Shiro couldn't believe his luck and had a difficult time concealing his wide, toothy grin.
Skidding as he brought his charge to a screeching halt, Shiro lifted his shield and punched its pointed tip straight down into the ground to act as his fulcrum as he quickly swung around. Readily bringing his sword with him as he sharply turned. Whirling around to face Luke, grin still on his face, he saw the student moving in to strike with his fists. But how would Luke's gauntlets compare to his own sword swing? Especially one assisted with a little Dust?
Twisting his grip slightly on his sword as he followed through with his swing, a faint
click was heard as a hidden trigger in the guard of his blade revealed itself. Squeezing the trigger mid-course correction and mid-swing, the ports/vents that lined the false edge of his sword exploded with a
bang! as blue flames erupted from them. Buffing what would be his normal sword swing with flaming increased power and speed. His swing aimed not at Luke, but at his arms themselves. He meant to quite literally disarm him. Shiro had more than his sword and shield but, a boxer's main and only weapon were their fists. A menacing gleam began to grow in his glowing blue eyes, he was quickly getting worked up and excited. The fight just barely beginning. He couldn't wait to expend his energy on this student.
If his counter attack failed, Shiro planned to take whatever hits connected and to continue to follow through with his swing hopefully uninterrupted. He would then replant himself using his sword as his new fulcrum as he stabbed it into the ground. Next removing his shield as he spun round to clip Luke on the back swing with the bladed edges of his shield.
What the fu--Luke grit his teeth as the sword smashed down onto his jab, biting deep into his aura.
First blood. But, as with many things in combat, it wasn't so clean as to allow Shiro's escape unscathed. Part of the reason people threw combinations was because single strikes could be parried.
Second and Third crashed home even as Shiro carried himself through and planted the sword down for another strike, willing to take those two to land his one. Luke had no time to question the physics behind how the hell that had even worked-- Kuhaku was already swinging that shield through to try and bite into the side of his head. There was only time for action and reaction.
And this was where Shiro had made a crucial mistake. Luke Schwarz was not allowed to be so limited as to merely be a boxer. Not at
this level.
Changing levels entirely, Luke's knees bent him low, under the strike, as he stepped his right leg forward and planted that knee to the floor. While Shiro was preoccupied with spinning, there was no way he could react in time. This was a simple nature of the technique being thrown: You either treat your opponent's back like a revolving door and keep striking--
Or you take them right the hell down.
Driving his head and shoulder into Shiro's hips from their side-on, mid-swing postion, Luke's hands scythed around and
in onto the faunus's legs, yanking them into his chest and checking their ability to stay under his weigh as it was being driven forward by Luke's entire mass. Sliding his left leg across to the front, his drive forward began to curve towards the right, the sudden change in course serving as the final measure to remove Shiro's balance even as Luke practically lifted him off the ground, before unceremoniously dumping him back onto it.
Another double-leg takedown, landing him on top, all in under a second.
Immediately Luke went to work, keeping his weight on top of Shiro as he tried to obtain side control.
Shiro paid for his decisions. His first attack connected, which was ultimately the goal he was shooting for. But by being greedy in his want to connect a second hit on the backswing with his shield, he took a couple hits as expected. Luke's rapid punches didn't seem to carry too much power, but they were enough to serve as softening blows. Kneading a little air out of his lungs as they connected to his side and throwing off his shield swing.
He knew immediately that what was coming next was going to be nasty, feeling the edge of his shield slicing only at the empty air as Luke ducked underneath his attack. What came next was all a blur to him before he found himself crashing onto his side with the boy right on top of him. That move knocking the rest of the air out of him, rattling him as the side of his head bounced off of the ground.
Stars bursting in his vision, Shiro quickly sucked in some air to refill his lungs and recover. Attempting to move, he was reminded that Luke was pressing his body weight down on him preventing him from escaping. Try as he might, Shiro tried to roll back and forth. Squirming to escape the wrap-up. Snarling as he quickly became agitated, his mind rolled through the next following opinions. Though being caught off guard, he retained his hold on his sword and shield. But at this distance, there was little he could really do with them. Two other choices. One, a little crazier than the other so he reorganized its priority in his head.
Growling and snarling, Shiro thrashed about attempting to use his own body weight to throw Luke off. At the very least, attempt him from gaining complete control and smother the tiger-boy into the dirt. As he thrashed, every little chance he got he began to wildly throw sharp elbows aimed at Luke's head and face. When an elbow wasn't feasible, he tried to bash at him with whatever part of his shield he could and with the sharp spiked pommel of his sword. If he couldn't throw him off, he would beat him off. With both hands.
Disregarding his situation, he couldn't help but snicker to himself internally.
"Giggity."It has been said that fighting is a game of inches. Of seconds. Of infinitesimal measurements, but all-important ones. Less than half an inch could be the difference between your opponent wasting his energy, and leaving himself open, or him catching you clean, and you waking up thiry seconds later staring into the lights.
So it stands to reason that the same ideas applied on the ground as well as on the feet. In those moments where Shiro, stunned, dazed, and thrashing mindlessly to try and escape Luke's top control, the pugilist made his moves. Sliding his knee under a swing with the sword and up to Shiro's shoulder,it's partner followed and planted itself by the hip as his left arm snaked under Shiro's neck.
Side control had been obtained, and in almost picture-perfect technique.
Now what to do from here? He could hang out, let Shiro tire himself by doing all that wild, fruitless bucking, he could pass to full mount, maybe he could try a--
THWACKOne of Shiro's elbows managed to collide with his forehead, albeit with only enough force to interrupt his train of thought given the immensely short distance between where it could rest and the ground.
Did he ju--
CLANK"Oi!"Now the flat of the shield smack into the back of his head, unable to fully deliver much force but enough to annoy, enough to hurt and maybe even bruise.
Cut that OUT!Finally opening up from his previously conservative, grinding posture, Luke switched his left arm's position from under to
on top of Shiro's neck--
Then allowed it to rise and fall back onto his face, with some
impetus behind it. Still mostly in control, but definitely not letting the faunus's strikes go unanswered. For each blow Shiro managed to land, Luke force-fed him an elbow in return. He
would have gone for a keylock on that far arm, but that shield would have made it all but impossible to get the necessary torque on the arm.
So, instead Luke held him down and they traded elbows of varying efficacy, but with one common outcome.
If this kept up, they would
both be bloody messes.
Shiro panted as he laid there, momentarily pausing his wild thrash. Nothing. His weak love taps did barely anything to Luke. Each tap returned in kind. If it went on any further, it would be a pathetic end to the match. Maybe even a dreaded tie. Shiro gritted his teeth, he didn't want it to end so soon and so quickly. As he regained his breath and tried to calm himself down, he rerolled through the options. Luke was literally right on top of him, they could practically kiss they were so close. At this distance, his Ace would be devastating to Luke. But, at what cost? Shiro knew the repercussions of using his Semblance, and was always fearful to use it. Luke was dangerously skilled at close combat, more than Shiro gave him credit for.
It was honestly his own fault for thinking his reckless style of fighting could even compare to something like Luke's. But, therein lied his advantage. Shiro was nuts, and everyone knew it. He intended on showing Luke just how dangerous and psychotic he could be. With a free hand he grasped at the belts on his waist to clutch at a blue Dust Shotshell. Smirking, Shiro opened wide and sunk his fangs as deeply as he could into the closest part of Luke's flesh. All was fair in love and war, right?
Tossing the dust shotshell slightly away from the two of them as he chomped down on the boy. He raised his shield as far as he could and brought its edge down onto the volatile cartridge of dust. With an ear shattering and deafening
BOOM! the shotshell exploded in a large swathe of blue flames that quickly enveloped them in its fiery embrace. Just as Shiro learned how bad it was to get close to Luke, Luke would learn just the same for Shiro.
Shiro was unskilled in manipulating his Aura and controlling Dust with it, hence his reliance on pre-manufactured ammunition. He could only hope Luke had the same level of skill and was unable to safely protect himself from the flames. In any case, the two of them would take a massive hit to their protective aura levels. Shiro would burn the two of them down to a crisp if Luke didn't break away from the tiger-boy, fully intent on immolating himself.
It was times like these that you had to feel for poor Lucas.
What happened to "don't get crazy, this is just a sparring match"? What happened to "no biting people, this is a sparring match"?
What was next?
Would someone disregard all sense of honor and aim below the belt?
"Uwaaaaaaah!!!"All thoughts that
would have gone through Schwarz's head, were he not currently, for the second time in as many battles, on fire. Instead, he literally tore himself (and recieving the complimentary gashes from Shiro's fangs on his arm) free from Shiro and rehearsed the three steps everyone who had ever lived in the modern era had been taught:
Stop!
Drop!
Roll! Tumbling away from Shiro's form, forgotten almost entirely, Luke managed to snuff out most of the blue flames burning away at him, his aura naturally forcing out the rest and leaving him with only minor burns.
Say what you would about his wits, but he learned to be quick on the uptake after that incident on Friday with Cian.
Hope she's doing well.No, can't worry about that.
Focus.
Rising to his feet with shaky breath, Luke grimaced as he found himself at something resembling square one with Shiro. Their Auras both had to be running thin... Should the match have already been called?
To tell the truth, he had no way of even telling any more.
Rolling away from Luke in the opposite direction, Shiro got to his feet. Blue flames still peppering his body, Shiro had a maniacal grin on his face. He was having fun. He was having so much fun, but he couldn't tell why. What was different from this match when compared to all his others? There was something about Luke that drove him to places he didn't know existed in his psyche. One thing was for sure, he couldn't stop. He couldn't get enough. He wanted more.
Spitting the bit of Luke's clothing caught in his teeth out and onto the ground. He let his Aura brush away the remaining ashes from his brazen move. Charred in places, gray ash streaking parts of his clothing and body, he could only imagine how he must've looked to his opponent. His excitement further boiled his blood as his black stripes seemed to burn a deeper and darker color, if it were even possible. No, he shouldn't be just standing around. Hungrily staring at Luke as if he were fresh meat to eat. Just as Luke took advantage of him for dilly-dallying, he had to keep going.
Spinning his sword in hand, he giggled as he slammed it into his shield. His weapons detecting his intention, the combined sword and shield began to click, clack, whir, and grind as metal segments rearranged and reassembled themselves. Internal mechanisms and gears rapidly transforming his sword and shield into...
A GIANT.
F*CKING.
AXE!
Grasping his weapon with both hands, he swung the massive behemoth above his head and spun it around once. Slamming the gargantuan head of the weapon into the ground, cracking it and kicking up bits of rock and rubble. Eyes still locked onto Luke, he peeled four rounds of Dust Shotshells off of his belt and ripped the slide located on the weapon's shaft back. Chamber opened, Shiro jammed the rounds in and racked the slide back into place after feeding his weapon. Shiro didn't need to know any more about Luke, he figured he had all the information he needed to crush his opponent at this point. Now was the time to act on what he knew.
Tensing his body as he flexed, Shiro forcefully emptied his lungs of as much air as he possibly could. Rearing his head back, he then deeply inhaled as he sucked in more air to refill his lungs to full capacity. With his lungs capped out on oxygen, Shiro opened his mouth as he threw his head back forward and let rip a thunderous roar to blast at Luke with. Making sure to only 'mark/tag' him as the receiver, to not adversely affect the bystanders observing in their seats around the arena.
"GRAAAHHH...!!!" His roar booming as he echoed throughout the arena.
Letting loose his tiger's roar, his Semblance activated in full force as Shiro felt a temporary surge in power, the opposite effect slamming Luke as he laid eyes on Shiro or heard his roar.
Hefting his Axe, Shiro charged straight at Luke until he was just within range. Taking a wide right-to-left horizontal swing at him, Shiro squeezed the hidden trigger within the guard mid-swing. Blue flames blasting from the Axe's head, the normally slow swings were given increased force and velocity. Not satisfied with a single swing, he shifted his weight to move in for second left-to-right horizontal swing, firing off another shotshell. Rearing the head of the axe behind him, he finished the three-hit combo with a straight downward vertical smash, his weapon firing off a third shotshell just as it was ejecting the previous spent shells.
It would have been one thing to say Luke was like a blade of grass in the wind, dancing between strikes with the type of fluidity and poise people thought you only saw in choreography.
It would have been another,
entirely more realistic thing to say that no, instead he was more staggering and stumbling and barely getting out of the way of the blade itself. Shiro's semblance was no joke, and despite his rapidity of healing and recovery, Luke did
not enjoy a lessening in effects.
It's a lot like getting rocked with a good punch, he noted, in one of those rare, untimely and unrelated moments of clarity.
Backpedaling out of the way of the first swing, his balance left him for a moment, leaving him stumbling back to land flat on his rear and, luckily, avoid the second. Dimly looking up, his eyes tried to refocus themselves on the tiger-boy standing tall above him...
And saw three, about to swing that Axe down onto his head.
Great. Shadow Clones. Remember what we said about those moments of clarity being
rare? In a split second decision, Luke apparently decided that the Shiro on the left looked like the swellest guy of the bunch, and dove to the side just in time to escape being cleaved in twain. He didn't, however, escape the small blast that erupted from the head of the axe, which knocked the poor black-haired teen back another couple yards.
But they say every cloud has a silver lining. Much like the genius ideas and principles behind Cian's plan on friday, the extra impact "woke him up", as the scientific terms of an inexact science often sounded. The jolt to his senses actually helped him reset and regain clarity of thought and balance. He wasn't quite back to one hundred percent, but it was enough to, combined with his semblance's naturally insane recovery speed, get him coherent again.
Scrabbling to his feet, Schwarz ran a short distance away before turning to face Shiro again. He was still feeling that roar...
So I need to buy time.A low chuckle rose in the boy's throat, as he let himself laugh from the heart at the absurdity of this chain of events.
"Some sparring match... What, is this your final form? Or do you have more surprises locked away for me, and all you need to do is absorb some androids?" he asked half-jokingly.
"Did the explosion trigger your stage 2 cutscene, huh?"More wry, self-deprecating chuckling.
"Should I worry about nanomachines, next?"As he spoke, his mind began to clear, and a thought struck him. Nothing about this situation was reasonable. Nothing about it was realistic. Nothing about it was normal.
So why was he trying to fight like it
was? There was a hard truth in there, one he had avoided ever since coming to Beacon as hard as he could.
He
wasn't in the realm of normal anymore. Everyone was capable of amazing, superhuman feats. Things that would reasonably work against reasonably normal people?
Expecting them to work as perfectly on those that got into the school that bred real-life superheroes was...
Actually, pretty unreasonable.With a newfound resolve, Luke clenched his gauntleted fists. They shone once more, this time brighter and prouder.
If reason wouldn't work...
A high-pitched keening filled the arena.
Then he'd be forced to kick it to the curb.
Taking a deep, resolve-filled breath, Luke raised his drills once more, now spinning at high speed and ready for action, and uttered a resolute challenge.
"COME ON!"He should've been angry that his Axe swings failed to completely connect. He should've been angry that Luke was able to get away from him. He should've been angry that the effects of his Semblance didn't seem to be as debilitating on Luke. But, simply put. He didn't care.
Still grinning like a patient on his happy pills from an asylum for the criminally insane, Shiro turned to face Luke as he spoke. Laughing with Luke, he didn't quite understand what the boy was saying and offered no response of his own. Was he referencing some game, book, or show that he didn't know about? Whatever the case, apparently Shiro woke something in Luke just as the boy did for him. Resting the head of his great axe on the ground, Shiro locked the slide back on the shaft of his axe and replenished it with fresh cartridges. He would need every one for what he was going to do next. As Luke's gauntlets transformed into spiraling drills, Shiro seemed unfazed at his opponent's transformation. When Luke ushered his challenge, Shiro bit and immediately took the bait.
Tearing up the ground as the tiger-faunus did another straight-on charge at Luke, he hoped he could stop himself in time. His Semblance was starting to wear off and the high-pitched sound of Luke's spinning drills was getting to him. Pushing past the noise, Shiro let out a series of snarls as he barreled towards him.
Mid-sprint, his axe broke down as it reformed itself into its sword and shield mode. However, Shiro failed to retrieve the shield and left it behind as he abandoned it. Leaving only his sword in hand, Shiro cranked on the sword's grip and squeezed the hidden trigger. Instead of a short explosive blast, the spent Dust cartridge was burned off. Giving Shiro's sword a bit of rocket-fueled propulsion as Shiro quickly closed the distance between them. Shiro was right on top of him, fully prepared for a powerful swing.
But, very last second Shiro stopped short and failed to follow through with a sword swing. Winking at Luke, Shiro instead launched himself straight up into the air in a high jump. Now above Luke, Shiro reared his body back as he quickly cranked on the sword's grip in a specific combination before squeezing the trigger as gravity pulled him back towards the ground. As he squeezed the trigger, some mechanism within his blade repeatedly slammed as empty Dust shotshells were rapidly ejected from the blade's spine. Spent shells spewing from it though no immediate effect followed. Just before Shiro came into range with his sword, he swung at the empty air just above Luke's head missing entirely.
But, that was the point. A delayed reaction from his sword dumped all of the stored Dust within the shells that it threw up in a toxic cloud around Luke. Glowing blue eyes staring into Luke's own, he couldn't help but smirk.
Click. FWOOSH.All at once, the dust was ignited in another massive inferno. The force of the following explosion swatting Shiro out of the air and back towards the opposite side of the arena.
[BRUSH FIRE]
Having been spectating curiously right up until roughly the wink, Luke had dove away from the cloud mere moments before the second explosion of the match had taken place.
Fortunately for him, he thought quickly enough that the action took a fair bit of heat and concussive force off of the blast.
Unfortunately for him, there was no two ways around it: that was a lot of Dust.
Tumbling end over end, Luke was forcefully smacked aside just as Shiro had been, his dizzying path backwards only stopped when he quite literally
dug into the ground, his drills marring the arena's floor with deep, momentum-killing gouges.
Spitting out something red and tasting of iron, Luke ignored the wet, sticky feeling running down his face from some opened-up part of his scalp, skin no doubt scraped to hell from that wild ride. Instead, he stood tall and rushed for Shiro's form as it landed.
Call him uncreative, but he hadn't found the time nor the inspiration for any special attacks quite yet. Instead, he merely pumped what little Aura he had remaining into his legs, and burst across the arena, intent on--
Snrk.--Drilling Shiro as hard as he needed to.
Catching up with Shiro's tumbling body, he lunged downwards, drillfist spiralling through the air between them like a thunderbolt from the heavens.
Many people say that felines always landed on their feet. No matter the height, no matter what position their body was in. For Shiro, at least in battle, it was partly true. Punched backward in the air from his Brush Fire attack, Shiro hit the ground in a three-point landing. His two feet and an empty bracing shield-arm being the three points. His sword was still firmly grasped in his hand as he skidded back, though emanating heat waves and smoking slightly. A voice from his memory had taught him that weapon retention was key in life-or-death situations. That if you lost or tossed aside your weapons, it was nearly certain that you'd be digging yourself an early grave. Shiro could never recall who the voice belonged to, but he always took it to heart during his younger years in Signal.
Looking up, Shiro was shocked to see a bloodied and battered Luke already on top of him. So much so that before he fully corrected himself to stand, he stumbled and tripped. Falling on his back just as Luke lunged at him. Bringing up his sword to brace against that lethal drillfist, Shiro shut one eye and grimaced as metal-on-metal grinded, screeched, and tortured his poor ears. Pushing back against the drill with the side of his blade, both of his hands were occupied keeping one of the drillfists at bay. But Luke could easily just nail him with the other.
"How did he recover so quickly?!"Beads of sweat rolling down the side of his face, he frantically racked his brain for the next course of action.
"What do I do? What do I do?!"Wincing as sparks flew from the clashing weapons, he was thankful his inherited weapons were finely crafted from a geisteel and siderite alloy. It would hold against Luke's drill for some time, but in that time, Luke could still easily finish him. With his hands occupied, he couldn't light himself aflame with another shotshell. If he dared to move his hands at all, Luke would get one critical blow in and that probably would be the end of it. If he tried to kick and buck Luke off of him, there would still be the chance he'd get clipped.
But...
Luke was once again within "smooching" range.
Shiro hadn't used his Semblance for long before.
Would it hurt to try one more time?
"Worth a shot, might be more effective this time..."Sharply inhaling, Shiro blasted another snarling roar right in Luke's face. His Semblance's area of effect hardly mattered at this point. After attempting to slam Luke with the debuffing/buffing ability, Shiro went for the buck. Lifting his lower half using his abdominal strength, he threw a donkey kick aimed right at Luke's torso. If Shiro managed to successfully get Luke off his case, he would flip to his feet and reclose the distance with three swift sword swings.
His first strike blocked, Luke sent down the second--
Only to be hit with that roar again. Already fully commited to the strike, he couldn't tell whether he'd hit anything or not, but he could tell that either way, a hard kick planted itself in his diaphragm and sent him stumbling back, legs roughly as helpful and stable as gelatin.
This was like tussling with one of his sisters.
Every time I try and get something to work, they pull something new out of their hat.
School of geniuses.
Should have known.Three Shiros were in front of him again. This time, though, none of them seemed very friendly, and they were all ready to swing that sword at him.
So what should he do? Push his luck and try to dodge, knowing that the next strike from either side was likely to be the last? What if he tripped? What if he stumbled? What if he ran into one of those swings?
No...
Better idea. If I go out...He stared defiantly into the eyes of the Shiro in the middle.
It's on my feet!And with everything he had left, punched that right drill into his aura, a ramrod cross that hit, miss, or graze, he knew would decide this match.
Clang!Shiro watched as Kladenets was struck from his hands and twisted violently away, Luke's drillfist interuppting his sword combo as it bashed into his first swing. Glowing blue eyes staring as the sword landed point first and stuck itself in the ground a distance from them, Shiro blinked. Turning to face Luke for a moment, Shiro didn't move. He didn't say a word.
"Oh."Seeing Luke stumble around like a drunken mess, Shiro realized he had made a big mistake. One that his teammates constantly berated him for. A mistake that always made him feel guilty, that made him feel horrible. He had gotten too worked up and excited again. He let his emotions take the wheel and forced him to go maybe a little overboard.
Eyes looking to his still-smoking sword, a nasty mark on it from Luke's drill. To his shield resting on the ground. To the scattered blue plastic casings shotshells he used. To the arena that was already in bad shape from previous matches, but he could easily tell where he and Luke left new scars and wounds.
Looking at Luke, his ears drooped as he sadly frowned. Suddenly, his gloved arm shot up into the air as Shiro projected his voice for all to hear.
"I FORFEIT THE MATCH!"Goodwitch frowned. "If you were doing worse, I would have accepted this as sportsmanship. But your aura is above Mr. Schwarze. However, given that you both fought well, I will not dock your scores...too much. Would the next two sparring partners make their way into the arena?"
As a horn blared, declaring the match's end and the timer was zeroed out, Shiro slowly lowered his hand. A smile slowly creeping back onto his face as his stripes faded away and his eyes took on their usual golden color, Shiro nervously scratched the back of his head.
"Uh...Sorry, Luke. I guess I forgot this was just a sparring match. You're not my enemy. You're my friend. A comrade."He looked from side to side at the damage they inflicted.
"I took things a little too far, we both did. Heh, I got too excited. I have a bad habit of not knowing limits and knowing when to stop."His eyes flitted from Luke's eyes and back down to the ground in shame, his cheeks tinged a slight pink from the embarassment. Shiro opened his mouth to try and say something more, but he couldn't. His voice failing him. What else could he say? Oh, you just disarmed me, so you would've won anyways because I suck at fist-fighting and you would've kept going haha lol? No, anything else would've probably hurt Luke's pride. After all, Shiro just gave him a technical win. If Luke had done the same to Shiro early on, he would've been flabergasted. Swafferdonked. Bamboozled.
Reaching out with a careful hand, he began to realize the full extent of the damage he inflicted to his buddy.
"Uh, Luke? You're okay, right?""Eugh, I probably shouldn't have said that either."Oh, gee you just won by technicalities. I didn't hurt you too bad did I roflmao?
Shiro really felt stupid at this point.
Shiro's worries, however, proved unfounded as the shorter teen chuckled once again, this time lighter and with a less sarcastic air to them.
"I'm fine. Not the worst I've ever been banged up." he replied with a smirk.
"But I have to say, you really threw me a bone by opting out there..."He pointed up to the screen, which he'd taken the time to observe as the horn sounded after Shiro's forfeit.
Luke's Aura levels had dipped into the red. Had Shiro thrown the match a second later, there was a good chance he would have won it as Luke's body healed itself, consuming his aura as fuel.
Seemingly unconcerned with the extent of the battle's craziness after the fact, the whirring stopped as the drillfists regressed all the way back to watches, and he stepped forward and offered a hand, thankfully free of the blood he oh so desperately wanted to wipe from his face.
"Good match, Shiro."Shiro looked up at the large screen that displayed their faces, names, and Aura levels. Geez, was he really doing that well? He hadn't really noticed but thinking about it, Luke didn't really get some good hits in. Other than when he grappled him to the ground and self-inflicted damage, that is.
Turning back to Luke and looking at his presented hand, Shiro mulled a little longer on his own thoughts. The purpose of the combat classes were to improve one's skills. To increase one's strengths and cover your weaknesses. Not to just blow steam and beat the ever-loving snot out of each other, right? Well, Shiro definitely stopped just in time to realize his shortcomings before it was too late and he seriously hospitalized a fellow student.
Relieved that there were no hard feelings between the two of them, Shiro sighed and smiled. A weight lifting from his body as he took Luke's hand and firmly shook it. Chuckling as his smile turned into a bright toothy grin, he nodded in agreement.
"Yeah, good match Luke. Maybe some other time you can get your vengeance on me in a fist fight. Ah, speaking of which! So, you're really good at hand-to-hand combat, right? Is there any way you can maybe teach me a few things and give some pointers? There aren't any tiger faunus related martial arts, are there?""More than likely not. That would just be absurd. A martial art based on a specific breed of animal or faunus? Nuts."He blinked, wiping away the blood (which a sharp eye would notice had stopped flowing) from his face, and scrunched it up in thought.
"Well, there's Tiger Style Kung Fu, but I can't say I'm familiar with it..."I always did tend to stay away from that family of martial arts with all the mysticism involved.
Hard to tell what is and isn't legitimately useful."Oh, cool so there is something like that out there?" Shiro eyes practically sparkled as he looked genuinely intrigued and curious. Shaking his head to break himself out of the spells he typically got into, he looked around.
"We should probably clear the arena for the next pair of students. I'll see you around Luke! Hit me up sometime! I sometimes go to the arcade after school with some of my friends!" Shiro shouted as jogged away to retrieve his sword. Waving 'bye' as he did so.
Locking the slide back, he made sure his sword's chamber was free and clear of any potential ammunition unspent. Regardless of its known capacity and perceived usage, always treat every weapon as if they were loaded. Racking the slide back a couple times to clear it, he pointed the sword in a safe direct as he squeezed the trigger to deaden its internal trigger mechanism with a soft
click. Jogging over to Perun, he sheathed Kladenets into it and slung the combined weapons onto his back. Transporting them in their 'portable mode' Shiro launched himself out of the arena and acrobatically flipping as he returned to his seat.
"10 points! Perfect landing!"Pleased with himself, he sat down with a pleasant smile gracing his features as Scoot scrabbled his way over to him. The ferret hopping up onto Shiro's shoulders, the ferret tilted its head as it asked
"Fun?"Still smiling, Shiro petted Scott on his head.
"Yeah, fun."Scooping up his jacket, Luke dusted himself off and headed for the stands, silently content to let himself heal and relax, mind wandering wherever it pleased.
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