Languidly striding along the way down to the arena, the recently-returned Johnson smirked as his non-artificial hand slipped inside a small, innocuous brown pouch hanging from his belt beneath that ever-present navy bomber jacket, fingers casually mingling with the steel ball bearings within. Bringing them under his control for the next fifteen minutes, as per the typical upper limits of his semblance usually allowed.
In other words, likely more than enough for this fight. Compared to the freshman, fights between the upperclassmen, both inside
and out of academically sanctioned combat sparring sessions, were much less drawn out, and much
more violent. While that wasn't to say tactics had been thrown out the window--Hell, any self-respecting senior could and would run rings around any wide-eyed freshman--the fact of the matter was that the more experienced a student got, the more quickly they proceeded through the typical "feeling out" process, getting into the thick of things almost immediately.
And ontop of that, after multiple years of Glynda's teachings and grading criteria had been pounded into their skulls, each and every senior was downright
ruthless in exploiting the first opening or advantage they held, bringing many fights drawing to a spectacular close just as they'd reached, say, the 90 second mark. At this level, there just wasn't room for pussyfooting things.
Thankfully, Sterling thought as he stepped onto the ring, one with an interesting set of scars left in the floor (
Sloppy damn Freshmen.),
I've never been the guy to pussyfoot.Rolling his neck, he waited for Naoko of KNVS to take the stage with him with a contented smirk across his face. After what felt like three weeks on that boat, a good match'd be
perfect for getting the blood flowing again.
And against
Naoko, too! Dude was
always lively. Just keepin' up with that dash was sure as hell gonna shake the rust off. Not that he didn't already have a plan for taking care of it, but, you know, that first blitz, man.
He rolled his neck, earning a burst of pops for his trouble.
"This one's gonna get groovy."
Sooo, semblance/aura class didn't go too well today, and Naoko was upset he couldn't master the deflection technique like the others. He'd have to practice so he didn't let KNVS down. As he walked down to the arena, he twirled his sword around as his other hand gripped around the handle of his heater shield, displaying the bear paw proudly.
His opponent was Sterling. This guy had a metal arm for godsake, Naoko always had trouble against him. In their last fight, Sterling outlasted Naoko as he got tired using his dashes. Naoko stepped on the stage, finding Sterling awaiting him. Prompt as ever. Naoko stopped twirling his sword and gripped it as he stood forward with his left foot infront and placed his shield first. "Ready to go?" He called out with a smile.
"As ever!" he replied cordially, returning the smirk as he slid his right leg back,
Nuada raised as a metaphorical barrier between his body and that blade. His other hand, as it had always been, was in that pouch of Ball Bearings, and gripped tight around a pile, ready to send out into the field.
Even as the wicked looking blades of Nuada jutted into combat position, gleaming proud under the light of the room, Sterling's casual demeanor never changed.
"Man, you have no idea how much I've been needing somethin' like this. Cooped up on either Airship or Boat for days, you get so bored you feel like dying."With a chuckle, the artificial southpaw glanced for but a moment at the newly displayed Aura Meters for the two of them, before his eyes flicked back to the swordsman, still full of laughter even as they began to brim with combative intensity.
"I'm more than ready, man."
Naoko nodded as he thumbed the activation button on his sword, the edge glowed red. As the horn sounded to beign the fight, Naoko slashed forward, sending a crescent of fire straight towards Sterling. After that, Naoko dashed left to change his position.
Immediately as the horn blared to signify the fight's start, Sterling's lateral motion began, cutting a hard angle right so as to serve the purpose of
not standing around in front of his opponent and lettting them take initiative. This choice immediately paid dividends, as he narrowly, yet comfortably enough avoided the blade of fire slashing through the air towards where he stood half a second ago.
Game of inches. It was a
fight, after all.
Left hand finally emerging from the pouch, he flung the tiny beads of steel into the air, where they momentarily hung as if suspended by molasses--and then a burst of five shot off like bullets towards Naoko, as the remainder returned to Sterling's personal space, and began to orbit him at dizzying, tornadic speeds. One part barrier, one part blender.
Gods bless the Silver Arm of the King.Naoko raised his heater shield as the bullet-like balls flew towards him, however each pinged off harmlessly. Naoko jokingly tutted and shook his head. "You'll have to do better than pinballs, Sterling." He said. He then twirled his kukri machete again, as per usual when he has space between him and the opponent. He then gripped it again. "But if that's how we're gonna play..." he began, as he devised a way to get rid of the tornado of beads. "Then let's play!" He announced as he dashed forward. A head on attack seemed foolish to most, but the true nature was to see how Sterling would react to a bold maneuver.
Trying to play chicken with the wielder of Airgetlam itself? Running straight at the guy with Nuada primed and ready at a hundred percent?
Aw hell, bless you too Naoko. If only everyone had cojones like you did.Briefly considering making him pay with a cannon shot as he was coming in, Sterling's grin turned fully feral as he discarded the idea in favor of some thing a lot more personal. A lot more visceral.
A lot more fun than pressing an "I win" button. He could save that for when there was more on the line than just, what, Time Attack records?
Exactly.
Tornado whizzing at higher and higher speeds even as the fractions of seconds separating the two ticked away, Sterling crouched low, clenching his fist. If Naoko
really felt like coming straight in at him, his fellow senior had something
nasty lying in wait.
Hmmm, no obvious reaction so far... in fact, Sterling seemed to be bolstering his defences. Naoko skidded to a halt and rolled to Sterling's left, sending another crescent of flame, this time vertically. Naoko followed up with another dash to the right, trying to spot any opening in the barrier if Sterling was to move.
Seemingly thinking better of it, Naoko had skidded to a halt and rolled left, as he so often loved to do in those flashy shows of evasion or redirection. Good instincts too, because if he'd come straight, his aura'd have been both shredded AND he'd have taken a monster Shoryuken to the j--
F I R E"Woah!" Sterling cried in reaction, even as he juked to his right to avoid the thin tower of flame flying towards him, spilling some ball bearings from his pouch onto the floor. Tricky little bastard caught him turning! Noting the spillage, he sent the extra bearings over to directly in front of Naoko, hoping to rob him of his footing as he dashed. Personal tornado still very much intact, he made a quick check to determine what he'd last loaded Nuada's cannon with.
Ice.
"Niiiice."Naoko smirked as he obviously took Sterling off guard.
"If I can just find a gap..." he thought, until his foot seemd to slip. "Damn!" He cried out as he slipped over on the beads, his stance changed from a dash to awkwardly trying to rebalance himself. If Naoko couldn't get out of there quick, he'd be done for. With quick thinking and sleight of hand, he swapped the half-empty fire cartridge for a stone one, the edge glowing a deep grey. Simultaneously, Naoko also planted the foot he slipped on onto the ground, his stance now low, with one leg outstretched. But if any attack was to come, Naoko would be ready... hopefully.
And he'd need a lot of hope, because right as he looked up, he found himself staring down the barrel of Sterling's right arm, hand almost fully disconnected and dangling below. As soon as he'd seen the efficacy of his tactic, he, like any other self respecting senior, had raced in to close distance, intent on fully capitalizing on those costly few seconds.
"Hi!" Sterling greeted with unfitting cheer, as the maw of the silvery barrel released a bright flash of blue.
Thunder clapped, bursting forth through the stage and resonating as the powerful cannon inside his arm released a frigid payload.
Naoko closed his eyes and prayed he reacted in time. He stabbed his sword into the ground, using the dust to erect a wall. That was the plan, that would either save him and leave him blind to the front or not be strong/quick enough and Naoko would surely feel the hurt.
The wall of stone exploded, instantly coated with rime and now proudly owning several large chunks of ice embedded within.
But it had served it's primary purpose, and absorbed the brunt of the cannon's blast. Knocked a small ways back by recoil, Sterling backpedaled a small bit before finally skidding to a stop, and he let out a rough bark of laughter.
"You think you cut it close enough there?"With a flick of the forearm, his hand had snapped back into its socket, and he shook it out in a manner not too dissimilar to one somebody'd use for a sore flesh-and-bone counterpart, as vents opened all along his forearm and released small jets of steam.
Naoko exhaled with relief. But if Sterling attack didn't work, then would the bead storm still be up? Was Sterling focused enough to do both? Naoko had to chance it, as he tried to remember what way it spun.
By his logic, if Naoko couldn't fight from the outside, he'd have to get inside. Naoko performed one of his signature double-dash moves where he dashed right, to Sterling's flank, and then forward towards him. Naoko also jumped through the air, placing his shield in the direction from which he thought the small balls would come. At the same time, he extended his right leg, hoping to catch Sterling with his foot if the block worked.
Sterling, having paused the flow of his tornadic Ball Bearier (working title) momentarily to avoid any incidents of "OOPS I ACTUALLY SHOT MY SHIELD", had immediately set them swirling in the opposite direction as they were previously, once he had realized the cannon shot had missed.
An idea that ended up being pointless, as the tiny orbs of steel bit deep into Naoko's shield instead of spalling off aura. Having expected a double-dash out of him at this point Sterling had whirled left to counter Naoko's flanking maneuver, bringing his guard up--
Just in time to knock the other man's boot a tiny bit further up, the redirection both knocking off some of the flying kick's power--but also sending it straight into his cheek.
Staggering back a step, he absorbed the boot to the face as best as he could hope, opting to roll with the strike and grabbing the offending limb with Nuada.
With no way to change his direction mid-air and mid-blow, Naoko found himself being roughly yanked down as Sterling stepped out again, turning fully and slamming him into the ground as though he were a sledgehammer.
Crap, crap, crap crap crap.
SLAMOwwwwwwww......... Naoko weakly sumbled back up, as he turned to face Sterling again. He wiped his mouth, a mixture of spit and hopefully not blood, and spat out the contents. No red yet, but he had to be close. He smirked weakly as he raised his shield and sword just above his waist. "Is that... all ya got?" He taunted, as he flickedo ut the stone cartridge. "I got..." he began as he swapped the stone one back to the fire one. "One more in the tank..." He commented. That attack... fucking hurt.
Rubbing his cheek and jaw gingerly, Sterling fought the urge to blow out the blood in his nose. Doin' that'd only swell his eye shut, happened to fighters all the time. Damn Naoko had gotten a lot more oomph behind that one than usual...
"Try me." he fired back, as the scattered steel balls around the arena floated back into the now more languid orbits around his body, before settling to a stop in a half-crescent in front of him. Hanging in the air and awaiting orders, they gleamed brightly, reflecting the angry red glow of Naoko's Falcata.
Ever a paragon of gamesmanship,
Sterling waved him in.Naoko's smirk grew wider. Sterling was still playing ball. He shook his arms a little, really trying to shake off that last attack. But now, it really was time for a foolsih, head on assault. Naoko's bar at the top was lower than his opponent's, so Naoko was either going to fight agian or go down swinging. He mustered up the last of his strength for one final dash forward, raising his shield high and proud as he yelled. No chicken this time. Naoko prayed his shiled would stand strong, and even more that his aim was good enough to hit if he made it through.
Sterling rushed forward to met him, every last little orb of steel streaking forward like bullets towards Naoko, most either missing, hitting the shield, or glancing off his Aura.
With a roar of his own, Sterling dipped low once more as the two met, legs tensed and coiled like springs as all that forward momentum was redirected into forward and up, his legs bursting into one final leap to the sky, into the uppercut to end all uppercuts.
He would not be denied.
"SHORYUUUUUKEEEEEEEEN!""Gaah" Naoko exclaimed as his chin was met with the full force of the uppercut. Naoko was sent flying backwards, the Primal Blade clattering across the floor, and his heater shield dropping and landing on the floor with a resounding rattle. Gasping for air, all Naoko could do was stare up to the ceiling.
It looked like lady luck had been smiling on him today. If he were but half a second faster or slower, he'd have missed. And being wide open when Naoko had that sword loaded with fire?
Hoo, man, let's not even begin to go there.Landing, Sterling's breath came in ragged pants as he and Naoko, battle over and done with, just tried to get themselves back together.
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