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Description: Though Midus knew there was a storm approaching, instead of closing the ceilings of the fighting arenas, he has instead decided to keep them open to add an interesting aspect to the next round. Instead of a nice, warm sunny day, the fighters would instead be fighting in the harsh condition of ten mile per hour winds that will sometimes gust to thirty mph, heavy rain drops (though not disturbing enough to cause total distraction to sight; maybe 20% reduction), and the occasional thunderbolt lighting up the skies. To help make the arena more comfortable for the fighters, the floor has been turned into low cut grass to help keep traction. However, if the ground is dug up too much, mud and dirt will be added to the terrain.

Despite the weather, the crowd of people have come to watch the fight, wielding umbrellas over their heads.

Special Conditions: Fire is a bit weaker here since it'll be harder to start up one without the rain putting it out. And electricity will get a bigger boost in strength, though it will also short out much faster than if wielded normally by the fighters who possess it.

Field Measurements:
Ring: 70 yard diameter

Ten Count Boundary: As soon as a fighter enters the bleachers, the count begins. The flying rule remains, as well.

The samurai walked into the ever familiar arena, slower than he had before. He had become very lethargic when it came to this tournament for more than one reason, and it seemed he hadn't broken out of the phase from the last match either. He just seemed overall, uninterested, not in his opponent, but in the overall aspect of things. At least he was against a fellow swordsman this time around, and not a shield-wielding noble. Kuroha still felt it to be almost unjust that his opponent won, but hey, judging is judging, and there is no taking the decision back. He sighed and shrugged it off, raising his hand to show Snow that he was ready. After doing so, he said to himself,

"Do your best, and try your hardest. That's all you can do old man."

It's as if he had hit himself in the face with a bunch of depression, as if the fall of his career was beginning right here, at the GTB. He wanted to show that he was better than a lot of these youngsters, but he doubted himself in the aspect of things greatly at the moment. Kanesada was drawn, and his war fan along with it, and for once he had even brought his bow, which draped around his torso. He readied himself for what could be his final battle, and began to concentrate on Snow. This was going to be a long haul for the old man.

This swordsmen, Snow, had a peculiar way of going about things in a battle. He took things very slowly it seemed, allowing an obvious elemental control over ice to protect him involuntarily. Kuroha saw this as a great disadvantage in his own part, meaning he would soon be surrounded by nothing but ice. The fresh water that fell from the sky was an obvious fuel for his opponent as well, feeding off of it more and more as time went on. Kuroha brought his war fan close to his chest, and brought the Kanesada forward in a swift motion. He had no words to say to this warrior, only the intent to fight him at this point.

Kuroha thrust forward in a slow and controlled dash, crossing Kanesada and the war fan over in front of his chest, crossing his arms in the same fashion. Kuroha was on a slow, curving course that headed right for the warrior. In Kuroha's mind, this little game of "What'cha gonna do", would test the very honor and core that this swordsmen held within him. If it came down to the usage of his elemental power, then so be it. However, if he stood his ground and fought just like his ancestors would have, the very ancestors Kuroha either fought with or struck down, he would prove to the Samurai that there are still some who retain honor from their heritage, no matter how minimal or maximal the degree would be. He prayed for honor...

He neared closer, and closer, and even closer after that, until Snow retreated on his ever-growing patch of ice. That caused Kuroha to stop a few feet from the edge of the ice patch, knowing full well what kind of opponent he was up against now. An opponent who focusd on conservation, an opponent who strategized was indeed a worthy one, but one who retreats under such low-powered circumstances can dimish such worth in an instant. Kuroha, was not impressed.

"So be it then, youngling." he spoke with a deep sadness. He didn't want to have to do this from the beginning of the fight, but if it was strategy that he wanted to play by, then the samurai would give him an obstacle that would be hard to overcome. He glanced at his ring, and focused around the dark orb it held. His focus gradually created a dark energy that formed around his arms. His blade began to change as well, with its folded steel form changing. Flame began to build up around it, until it was nothing but the element itself, and the dark energy had spread just beyond his forearms, pulsing with a power mostly untapped by Kuroha. The darkness slowly engulfed his entire body, creating a much more corrupt version of the samurai's former self. Not only that, but his attributes had also spiked when activating this power he had held. When the transformation was complete, Kuroha's bright eyes glared out against Snow and his own power. Snow's chances just went from great to slim, with the legendary battle of both fire and ice preparing to go down. Things just got a bit more real...

"Even field," Kuroha said under his breath. "Let's get things really started now."

With a low cross swing of Kanesada, Kuroha let off one of his lower level attacks, a gamma wave. The slash of energy trailed against and into the ground, meting or scraping away a path in the ice for a moment. Kuroha followed slowly in the track it left behind, putting away the fan within his Haori, and then bringing the flaming blade low in front of him. The heat that eminated from the blades core melted away the ice on the ground as well, while the falling water sizzled as it came past it. Step by step, Kuroha came ever closer to his opponent, and if he was unhindered by him, then there would inevitably be an opening for an advancing attack.

If that were the case, then Kuroha would bring Kanesada into two hands, raise it, and with a battle cry that could pierce the souls of a thousand warriors, he'd slash it downward in a ferocious display. If hit, Snow would also find that the flaming blade was made much deadlier by not only its fire, but by the sheer heat it gave off. Compared to a normal sword, this one would cut much easier into fleash and bone, due to it's properties.

Now would've beena wonderful time for that fan to come into play, but Kuroha hadn't realized the swordsmans plans. Instead, his pace was instantly halted by the sudden shot of power into the ground. Kuroha wasn't at all caught off guard by this, and in fact expected something along the lines of a retaliation as it is simply reaction for all living sentient beings. He took a step back from the small hole that was created, not knowing what was going to happen. All was calm around the area for not more than a split second, before a rumbling earthquake below the samurai's feet interrupted it.

"Clever..."

He said to himself, quickly stepping back a couple of steps from the rising tidal wave of earthen materials. It was massive, an overwhelming force that could not have been avoided with mere reflexes and maneuvers. No, Kuroha had to think very quickly in this situation of his, as there really was no bullshitting his way out of a literal s**t storm such as this.

He brought back Kanesada, and quickly rushed it forward again in a cross slash, unleashing a a group of flaming orbs from the blade towards a small area in the earthen mess. The orbs struck against a few mid-sized rock, charring them some and blasting them back through the muddy cesspool. Though it was a slight opening in the wave of dirt, it was all Kuroha needed to bust through it with minimal damage. He dashed forward, shoulder first with much of his available strength and agility. With a rabid yell, he thrust himself into what some would consider a death trap, a nigh unstoppable wall that would instead push any normal man back. No, not Kuroha though, for as he slammed himself into the oncoming wall, his feet stayed planted into the ground with all of his strength. He created an opposing force to slam through what would have normally been a solid force, so that his body could get to the more fluid-like mud behind it.

In doing this, Kuroha received several cuts, bumps and thrashings across his torso, though nothing hard enough to cause too much worry. The darkness was slowly consuming his senses, which in exchange for an increased amount of strength cost him a gradual stamina release; that was far off from now though. Along with his battered body, his sword had been temporarily extinguished due to the massive mud tsunami, which again put the samurai at a disadvantage. The wave of muddy destruction passed across Kuroha's body, narrowly allowing him to withstand it. After it had, he kneeled and coughed like a sickly man, having more than just the wind knocked out of him. He hadn't realized that Snow was already advancing yet, but he had readied himself for a defensive manuever right after hitting the ground. He reached into his muddied Haori, and took out the fan once again, immediately allowing wind to pick up in his general area. An obvious breeze began to pass through the rainy environment, with the falling water beginning to focus ariound a centralized area. It fell hard into the muddy crater, and created a disgustingly squishy mountain out of the debris that now lay behind the samurai. This was a moment where Kuroha really needed to rest and focus, allow his body to recuperate.

He looked up with his dirtied face, the water slowly washing it away from his skin, and in an out of breath voice he exclaimed, "Come get... me!"

Any sort of advantage would help at the moment, and so he hoped that creating a bit of tensions would draw Snow in, and blind him from teh already hidden next step.

When Snow flashed away from his position above the crater, Kuroha's muddied eyes widened for the adrenaline-pumped moment that was his solitude. It was always a common thing for an attacker to pop up behind their victim, as it was an overall cliche of things, but Kuroha was still a bit miffed by the entire experience of being hit by a wall of mud. This made for another unfortunate turn of events, only because that cold steel at the end of Snows Halberd would hit its first initial mark.

RIIIIIIP!!!

His Haori was cut spot on, all the way across his back. Though the wound would be considered a flesh wound, its sheer size was a cause for worry in Kuroha's mind immediately. He felt the warm sensation that was his blood roll down his back, over the mud and across his skin, but he let out no shriek of pain, no matter how hard it may have been to keep in. He had to stay focused, stay firm, and stay strong for himself, because he had gotten Snow within range for something just as devastating as the first go around with Benjamin. After having taken that heavy blow, Kuroha now held the power to unleash one of his own, and with a yell that let out all of his pain, anguish and suffering, he unleashed a true natural hell upon the swordsman.



Kuroha waved Hiroyuki's War Fan violently outward, releasing the pent up wind energy it held inside of it. The wind that had so violently picked up spun at hurricane force speeds, swirling up water and debris in a complete spiral around the samurai. Instead of blasting a wall of wind in a single direction, Kuroha had focused the same exact energy around his person and fan, allowing for the exact same results as the said movement above, with the area of effect in place instead. What kind of a position did this put Snow into? A bad one, possibly.

There were small and midsized rocks travelling at speeds between thirty and seventy miles per hour, pending mass, weight, aerodynamic qualities and a bunch of other details that would take away from the core of this fight. Generally, Snow was suddenly caught in the middle of a temporary storm, slightly aided by the real storm that raged above them. In a realistic sense, Snow would have to ride out this storm while Kuroha recuperated once again. There was only so much time left at this point, after all.

Now though it was a sight from the inside of the whirlwind, the crowds outside went nuts over the wild display of natural forces in this fight. Fire, Ice, Wind, Earth, Water, they were all abundantly available within the fight, and boy did it rile some of the people up. It wasn't common to see all of these in use at one given time, so regardless of who ended up winning at the end of the fight, the crowd would gain a memory out of this.

Several moments into the countermeasure he had unleashed, Kuroha began to feel weak slightly weak from the wound that had been inflicted upon him. His recpetors had gone half numb due to adrenaline, and his mind not totally focused on his opponent, more so on himself and his own safety instead. He was sure something had the slightest bit of success in this jumbled up plan of his, as there was no other incoming attacks. Kuroha felt no safety yet however, and had no intention of stopping his onslaught. The whirwind began to die down as soon as it was started, which was synchronized with an immediate jolt of pain in his back once more, as well as another large shove. He braced himself in the mud and water with his right hand, dropping his fan in the process of doing so. He was really beginning to feel the damage that was done now.

The rocks flew off in different directions, quickly slowing with the combined forces of gravity and differentiating wind from the storm, all while Kuroha began to get a painful footing in the ground once more. He rose up, with his dark power slowly traipsing back into his ring, and the fire on his blade disappearing into the air. He faced away from Snow as he recuperated, which allowed Kuroha to do the same. He slipped off his Haori, and allowed the water to cleanse his wounds, and numb his body. The pain began to fade, though the weakness planted itself firm in Kuroha's physical state. He couldn't hold out like this for too much longer, only for his own health. After a few more moments, Kuroha took in a few deep breaths and turned, raising his blade high above his head held in both hands quite firmly. He slowly lowered it to about the height of his forhead, and snapped his eyelids opened. Another menacingly loud roar boomed from his very soul, the battle cry of the samurai.

He was planning on charging the swordsman full force, intent on defeating him in battle, or being defeated himself in the process. Bushido was his only power now, and his beliefs were all that guided him in choice. Determination to win, for honor and for respect, took its rightful place upon Kuroha's moral mantle, and showed him the way to true redemption. Snow was in for an up close and personal fight from here on out, and there was absolutely nothing that could stop Kuroha from bringing tha about.