Welcome to Gaia! ::

wow this guild a little dead...whats goin on?

**runs around in circles**

tralalala its pretty peacfull here for being a fighting arena.

yeah not really.....

*Gouken walks into the arena and looks around. It had been a while since he was here, he usually did most of his training by the Pond. But today, he thought he would make use of the punching bags and other assorted tools in the Dojo to help him increase his skill.

He unlocks the two wrist bracers he is carrying, folding them out before clamping them once again over his wrists. He taps them together with a satisfied nod, and gets to business. Gouken closes his eyes and shuts out everything around him; noise, feeling, emotion. He feels the chi from his surroundings flow through him and into him, and centers it. He then opens his eyes and lets out a long exhaling breath. Centering himself would allow him to be unconstricted by pain or other distractions, and would let him fight with more speed and grace.

He steps up to a large black suspending Punching Bag, and stares at it for a moment before turning and leaning back on his right leg, crouching and holding one fist out while the other remained at his side. The ready stance was the most basic of all martial arts. He continues staring at the bag, and with a yell he twists his body in a flash, bringing a sharp kick with the upper flat of his foot into the bag, and ripping it in half. Gouken blinks, and scratches his head as the sand pours onto the floor.*

"Sierra's going to kill me..." sweatdrop

*Gouken turns slowly as he hears the man speaking behind him. He thought he had sensed a prescence in here when he entered, but he figured it to be an animal of some sort, not Shinigami. He shot the man an icy stare. It had been a while since their previous encounter, but it was not a delightful one in the least. He knew that Shinigami's feelings for Sierra's suitors stopped nowhere short of Loathing.*

"What she see's, is my love and devotion towards her. One failed love in the past shouldn't lead to a life of selebacy. Now, what I fail to understand is how a woman so warm and loving can keep such a cold and unforgiving man as a yojimbo."

*Gouken glances behind him at the repaired punching bag. It was an interesting trick, but useless in battle. His newly given golden eyes turn to Shinigami again, giving him a piercing glare that could stare down a lion.*

"It's been a while since I've had an active sparring partner. I fear if I do not fight something that can think soon, I'll grow a little rusty around the edges. Would you care to have a.... freindly... match?"

*Gouken's tone when he speaks of it as being a friendly match is nothing short of mocking. As if any form of friendship could be formed between two men who had nothing but hate for eachother.*

"Let us indeed."

*Gouken grins wryly, almost mockingly at Shinigami. Already centered, he had one thing left to consider. He hesitated for a moment, but then made the choice to summon his demon blade, Avendorelaran. Gouken grimaces as he extends his arms at a 45 degree angle from his body, hands together and palms parallel to the ground, thumbs tucked in front of his palms so his hands could push together nicely at the sides. He slowly parts the two hands and a wavering black hole appears in the ground, a pool of rippling darkness, a portal to the Abyss. When the portal opens, he twists his wrists to face the sky, and raises them.

The ground trembles violently, knocking things on shelves down in a clutter as bolts of blackened lightning fly from the portal, cracking the wooden floorboards and ground foundations around them. When his arms reach chest level, a get black broadsword with a deep blue hilt is visible, suspended in midair and surrounded by the same blackened lightning. Gouken walks towards it, lowering his arms and making the portal dissapear. He grasps the hilt of Avendorelaran, and the lightning surrounding it strikes his body and it absorbed. He grunts, and as soon as he touches the hilt, runes covered in a low blue flame burst on the sword, and Gouken gasps.

He holds the sword and gazes at it, exhaling. The amount of power flowing between him and the sword had been a shock. He nodded partly to himself, then looked up at Shinigami.*

"I'm ready when you are."

*Gouken grins as Shinigami's stance. His swords were truly wonderful to the eye, and Gouken regretted that they were in the posession of such an undeserving man. When Shinigami gives the signal that he is ready to begin, Gouken quickly opens a portal to the abyss to his left with a flick of his wrist. He dives in and it closes, leaving Shinigami in a room by himself, full of silence.

The chirp of birds and creak of crickets echo through the dojo, until the silence is split by a portal opening to Shin's left, spurting a tyrade of blackened lightning towards him. His shields would prevent the usual effect of the lightning immediately killing the man when it touched him, but it would certainly shock and burn him badly. At the same time, a portal opens directly behind him, and Gouken springs from it, swinging his sword horizontally towards Shin's lower back with one hand. There didn't seem to be a way the man could dodge both attacks in their ferocity and speed.*

*Gouken had expected the attack to make Shin stagger, but not as far back as he did. His eyes darted quickly between each of his opponent's swords, following them closely. As the his sword clashed with Shin's, he grimaced. This would prevent him from easily guarding an attack with the second sword. Sure enough, the other emerald-encrusted blade rushed towards his shoulder.

Gouken analyzed the situation in his head quickly, deciding upon his course of action in milliseconds. As Shin continued his momentum with the sword that had blocked his, he twisted his wrist to angle his own blade sharply and cause the other man's sword to slide down and hit the ground. This action would of course cause an unbalance of momentum on Shin's part, because of the swing of his arm being thrown in a different and radical direction. He used this advantage to roll backwards, so the other one of Shin's swords missed him completely.

He knelt and brought his left hand behind his back while the right clutched the sword readily, grabbing two kunai inbetween his fingers. He hurled them with extreme presicion, his sight enhanced by him being centered, towards the wrist that was holding the sword which Gouken had diverted into the ground. Hopefully, if Shin's sword had stuck, he would either have to remove his hand from the hilt or suffer an injury that would hinder his swordplay abilities.*