|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
 Posted: Mon May 19, 2008 6:33 pm
Though Soneko was taken down, he kept his legs straight and put the palm of his left, free hand, against the cold stone. He would not let his knees touch the ground. Kneeling while at the mercy of an opponent was something he had yet to do his entire life, and he wasn't going to start now. While struggle might have seemed futile to some at this point, Soneko knew better than to give up, as there was a way out of almost any situation. He made a note not to throw his body into an attack again. At least not with this guy. He was a bit too fast for that. Although Soneko's speed was a force to be reckoned with, it was not his forte at all. If you got him underwater, it would be a different story. And while the thought crossed his mind to give himself a field advantage, he decided that he would stick with how the fight had started. On the ground. Unfortunately, he was a little closer to the ground than he wanted to be at the moment, and his right arm was being held behind him. He saw a few ways to get out, but he concluded that the element of surprise would turn the tables in his favor.
In one fluid motion, Soneko tucked his legs to a point where he could get both feet flat on the ground. He then stood and turned his body to the right. There wasn't a doubt in Soneko's mind that the boy wouldn't let his grip falter as he did this, but he didn't care. He heard the satisfying snap of a bone, though he wasn't big on the idea that it was his own. Didn't matter. It would heal in a week or so. This would render his right arm, his good one, completely useless for the rest of the fight, but as long as he stopped messing around it shouldn't matter. His forearm was now bent the completely opposite was it was meant to be, touching the tricep of that same arm, and yet Soneko didn't even flinch. He spun himself in a complete 360, moving behind the young fox in the process. At this point, he reached around the front of the boy, locking the bending point of his elbow securely around his neck. He jerked his arm back in an attempt to trap the boy. As if that wasn't enough, he lifted his leg and aimed his foot at such an angle that it would make contact with his tail and the back of his challenger's knee, which, in turn, would cause his leg to buckle and trap his tail there was well. Most animals had a weakness for their tails, and with the amount of pressure behind the kick, it should have at least stunned the boy. The intent of this whole maneuver was to stun the boy, drop him to his knees, and have him at Soneko's mercy as he would have his arm wrapped around the fox's neck.
|
 |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Posted: Mon May 19, 2008 6:56 pm
Truly stunning, it was like being in a movie. He had actually broken his own arm in order to gain the upper hand. Kenta was certainly stunned into amazement for a moment, and had the man tried to strike the young kitsune immediately, he most certainly would have landed a sound hit. It wasn't a mistake getting behind Kenta, but not taking advantage of that single moment where he was completely defenseless did give him a chance for a hasty defense. All he could manage to do was lift his left hand up to his neck to catch the man's arm at the elbow and prevent him from blocking Kenta's air passage.
Next came an unexpected sharp pain in his tail. Although Kenta was no Saiya-jin, who would have collapsed like a house made of hay if their tail was put under pressure, a tail was still an appendage and pain was still pain. In other words, his tail hurt. Right after, he felt his left knee buckle, but rather than allow himself to be dropped down, which would be highly disadvantageous at the moment, he shifted his weight back, moving his right foot behind him to pick up the slack lost in his left leg. So Kenta's defense clearly decreased, but was not completely gone.
Unfortunately for him, his opponent had managed to get behind him, which was strategically the best place to be when fighting someone because they could hardly do a thing about it, meaning the kitsune's entire backside was subject to whatever. The only fortune smiling on Kenta was that his foe was too close to do unfounded damage without the aid of a bit of energy.
Not being one to just standby for another assault, Kenta challenged his opponent with the only available weapon he had at the time - his right hand. He couldn't hit worth a damn in this position, but he still had his ki. Turning his palm around to face the right side of his assailant, Kenta let go another ki attack, this time in the form of a burst that would not contain near the amount of force of the Shockwave, but maybe enough to loosen the man's grasp long enough to slip under the arm trying to restrain him. If that didn't work, so long as he didn't let that arm clasp around his neck, he'd have a second chance.
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Posted: Mon May 19, 2008 7:24 pm
While his attack hadn't worked the way he had hoped, he still had a very decent standing in the battle. His arm hadn't made its way around his opponent's neck, which agitated Soneko a little bit. Sure, having broken his own arm had gotten him out of a bad situation, but he didn't want to sacrifice his arm to do a maneuver that wouldn't work out as well as he had planned it to. The instant the boy had stopped Soneko's arm, he opened his hand and a transparent red orb twinkled to life in the center of his palm. As soon as that happened, however, Soneko noticed the boy's right hand had opened and found it's way to his side. A still, open palm could only mean one thing. An energy attack. Apparently he and the boy were on the same page. Knowing he had no time to waste, as he was sure the boy would launch his attack at any moment, the orb in the center of Soneko's palm pulsated and grew to the size of a baseball. While small in size, the energy contained inside of the sphere did correspond with the size of the orb itself. In the same moment that he felt the heat of the fox's attack, the orb in Soneko's hand shot directly into his opponent's shoulder. He uncoiled his arm from around the young man's neck and allowed the force of the incoming energy attack knock him to the side, out of the way of the explosion of red and black energy that Soneko had released.
He tucked his body into a ball and allowed himself to roll several feet before un-tucking himself and standing straight up. For now he could only see the exploding aftermath of his own attack. Whether or not his opponent was in the middle of the explosion, Soneko couldn't tell. But he smelled something he was all too familiar with. Charred flesh. He looked to his right side, noticing that the fabric of the right side of his shirt had been burnt off, and saw that his once tan skin was now pitch black aside from the blood that was dripping out of the open wound. The smell was intoxicating to a part of Soneko and it seemed to boost his need to fight. He was aware that not only was part of his shirt missing, but he wasn't just looking at charred flesh; he was looking at burnt muscle. The boy's attack had successfully made it through his skin and a few layers into his body. Nothing too catastrophic, Soneko knew this. He couldn't help but let his eyes linger on the wound. And even though he hadn't even thought about it, a smirk tugged at his lips. It had been so long since he'd seen his own body in such a state. A broken arm and a nice sized chunk of skin and meat missing from his right side. He was happy to see this. The Club Orion was definitely host to better fighters than the people on his home planet, save a select few. Mainly his brother, father, and the girl who would remain nameless. He moved his eyes from the wound and looked at the now disappearing explosion of raw energy. Keeping his eyes alert, they searched around, making sure that if the young fox was attempting a surprise attack, he would be ready.
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Posted: Mon May 19, 2008 7:41 pm
Just as he thought, energy attacks were unpredictable. One could never be sure about them until after they were already released and heading right at them. Perhaps people like his aunts and uncles were better trained for dealing with characters like the one he was fighting, but whether or not that was true didn't really matter at the moment.
The swirling orb of red energy collided with the boy's exposed right shoulder undisturbed, consequently throwing him in the same direction as the man who had fired it, meaning that both fighters were sprawling in the same direction. Nothing quite indicated a good fight like a huddled mass of arms and legs twisted around one another. Fortunately, Kenta fell short and didn't have to struggle too hard to get back to his feet.
Smoke was still rising off of his shoulder from the attack, and he felt a heat in his shoulder that seemed to indicate that the fabric was burning away. Unable to see any embers, but not wanting to take chances, Kenta quickly removed his top, ripping straight off of his chest, and threw it aside in a smoking heap. His pale, chiseled upper body was moist with sweat and perspiration, but his shoulder hadn't gotten off as well as he had hoped. There was a severe burn, probably first or second degree, right on top of the joint and he could feel the muscles stiffening in pain. His right arm, though not useless, was successfully impaired and sadly worked as a weak spot to exploit for the cold hearted.
Rather than run straight back in to combat recklessly, the boy assumed a stance in which he stood square before his opponent, meaning that most of his upper body was exposed for attack. He kept his right, weaker side forward just a bit, and held his arms up as though boxing. Getting to his abdomen would make the most sense, but wouldn't be easy with his arms in position and his eyes were just as intently trained on the fighter before him as ever. Being younger, he decided to take some sound advice - he didn't know from who.
"Whenever you're not sure, just wait."
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Posted: Mon May 19, 2008 8:04 pm
His opponent was standing still, clearly waiting for Soneko to make the next move. And if he was waiting, that meant he was physically ready for anything. But he doubted he would be ready for what was about to come. Soneko stood and glanced down at his right half. That was the side that had taken the damage in this battle. Aside from the wound to his head, but Soneko had completely forgotten about it, confusing the tickle of blood running down his face with sweat. He right arm hung uselessly at his side. If there was one good thing about that, it was the fact that it would be an obstacle, however small, that the young fox would have to work around if he was planning on hitting Soneko's damaged right side. He looked back to the boy and gave a half-sided smirk before he spoke. The boy had earned enough respect as a fighter from the Soneko that he would at least introduce himself. He never gave his name unless he had at least a shred of respect for the person.
"Name's Soneko."
He wouldn't ask for the boy's name, though given his attitude, Soneko was sure he'd give it anyway. It was polite to do so, and from what he had gathered, the fox was a polite person. But in battle that didn't matter. What mattered was skill, and the boy had it. If he wasn't in the middle of a fight, and if his right arm wasn't useless at the moment, he might have thought about clapping. Maybe. Not but a moment later, the fox would see his shadow collect itself as a pitch dark spot on the tile that he stood on, looking as if it were some kind of hole, though he wouldn't fall through. Instead, two long, shadowy arms reached out of the darkness and the taloned fingers would wrap themselves around his ankles, which would keep him standing in one place. That should take care of the boy's speed. Soneko smirked wickedly before taking his time, walking casually towards the boy. He stopped a foot away from him and stared into his gray eyes as his left fist suddenly drove its way towards the center of the boy's stomach.
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Posted: Mon May 19, 2008 8:22 pm
The boy merely analyzed the situation, unsure of what was to come and how he would have to work around it. His body, unlike his opponent's was virtually intact, but that didn't give him an edge necessarily. Before he could make up his mind, the man introduced himself, which seemed wholly out of place at the moment. Deciding that it was probably a sign of respect, Kenta nodded slightly, not taking his eyes off of Soneko as he too prepared to introduce himself.
But he would get no such chance. Something had caught him around the ankles unawares, and that something happened to be...his shadow? Well it wasn't unheard of, but it was certainly unexpected and now Kenta was trapped, forced to fight from one point and one point only. This could be bad if he didn't think of a way out of it.
Fortunately for the kitsune, he was prepared for such situations, albeit only just barely. The boy awaited the inevitable, unable to do anything else anyway, but he appeared unnecessarily tense all of a sudden. In fact, he was so tense hat sparks were flying off of his body, but he couldn't help the fact that he was so nervous. He was a sitting duck after all. He felt completely helpless, but as soon as he was sure Soneko wouldn't be able to move too far out of the way, Kenta clapped both hands together, creating three large arcs of energy to emit forward right at Soneko.
The first wave would only stun Soneko, just long enough for the second one to come in, which would strike his left foot from beneath him. It was the third one that was dangerous. Once it struck him, he would feel another explosive force shatter against his chest with enough concentrated force to equal the Shockwave, which meant that it would hurt if it hit. It would hurt a lot.
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Posted: Mon May 19, 2008 8:53 pm
The Orion would have a visitor tonight. A small one at that. This visitor would be a ninja will shoulder length red hair. Her eyes would also be red but her skin was very pale. She wasn't even five feet tall. On her forehead was a blue headband with a shiny metal plate attached to it. The girl was wearing a dark red shirt with black sleeves, black pants, and dark red boots. It was a very simple and light choice of clothing. On both her thighs would be one pouch where all of her ninja tools were kept.
The child hadn't come to visit the Orion in quiet a while. She was actually tall enough to reach the door now so she just let herself in. "Yaaahoooooo!" she called out as she entered the building.
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Posted: Mon May 19, 2008 8:55 pm
Soneko found himself being assaulted by another energy attack. He should have known better than to be so arrogant, but that's just how he was. It was too late now, as he was too close to the boy to have been able to evade something coming at him at such a speed. The first didn't seem to do much, but having braced himself for an impact and didn't feel anything, he was a little confused. But before he could think another thought he felt something shoot at the bottom of his foot, knocking it upwards and throwing off his balance. He almost stumbled backwards when he felt something smash against his chest. And then there was another explosion and he was yet again knocked backwards. His back hit the ground and he immediately leaned his head down and curled himself forward, giving his body the curve it needed for Soneko to be able to roll himself backwards and back onto his feet. At this point, his entire front side was charred and his shirt was completely gone. Blood practically pouring from his chest and onto the ground, Soneko looked back to the fox who was stuck in place. Now was as good a time as any.
As a dark blue orb faded into existence mere inches from his chest, Soneko clawed his hands, letting a red orb form in his right and a dark purple in his left, a wicked smile spread across his face. The orb in his chest shot forward as a beam, and he threw both of his hands forward, one at a time, sending the two energies in his hands as two spiraling beams that corkscrewed around the center one. Upon contact with the boy's body, the entire stadium would light up from the magnificent explosion of blue, red and purple that would undoubtedly envelope and knock the boy back. The fox would be able to notice that the hands that had once had themselves wrapped around his ankles were gone, without so much as a clue that they were ever there.
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Posted: Mon May 19, 2008 9:08 pm
“Hush, child.” Through the dim-lit doorway from the lounge entered an ancient, shadowy figure. The still and quiet room seemed to grow quieter as he walked through it, approaching her at a slow, fluid pace. The echoes of combat made their way to the main room from down the opposite hallway, echoes that the mysterious man seemed to pay little mind to. “There are men fighting in the next room, I’m sure they do not wish to be disturbed.” From beneath the shade of his hair, the red glow of his eye lit up what little of his face was visible. Metal etched with skin, mixed in a way that seemed almost natural. He looked over the child with concern, though there was no sign of it in his face, wondering to himself what she was doing in a place like Orion.
“Are you lost, little one?”
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Posted: Mon May 19, 2008 9:09 pm
Direct hit! The boy couldn't help but be satisfied with his achievement, especially since he never felt he was on par with anyone when it came to fighting. His experience now was completely unexpected.
Far from being ready to celebrate just yet, Kenta prepared himself for what was likely to be another energy attack. He wasn't sure, but the patterns were starting to fall into place. As he was yet unable to move, he gathered a bit more ki into his stiff, right hand, a fool's move if he had thought about it, but it was a bit late now.
What he saw come forward was something completely unexpected. It was a multicolored screwbeam attack of sorts; the kind that could easily drill into and through a person, ripping their innards to shreds. The defense Kenta had prepared was not on par for something so massive, and he was unsure as to how to get around it other than to dodge, but he didn't know he could move yet.
So he ducked. He could still do that much he knew, so down he went, right under the screwbeam attack. The force of it was truly extraordinary, and he was sure that to fire something like that would temporarily immobilize Soneko, but Kenta was too low to the ground to move efficiently. All he could do was wait it out and move as soon as he was sure he was clear.
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Posted: Mon May 19, 2008 9:13 pm
Hotaru was surprised by the stranger. She was sort of expecting Keno to pop up out of nowhere like he usually did when she came to visit. She listened for a moment. She could hear some strange sounds coming from the arena. That must of been what he was talking about. "Uh, sorry." she rubbed the back of her head. True, the seven year old seemed to be very out of place here but she didn't care. "My name is Hotaru and I'm not lost. I came to visit a couple of friends I have here. Keno and Tac." She explained with a cheerful smile.
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Posted: Mon May 19, 2008 9:25 pm
“Keno… and Tacitus, I assume.” Keno was one of Carls oldest comrades here in Orion and though Tacitus was little more then an acquaintance it was still comforting to hear a familiar name. Since his sudden and quiet return to the halls of Orion, he’d yet to see a single face he truly recognized… this girl was a good sign that they were still around… somewhere.
“They’re not around. Just two kids fighting.” Carl shook his head lightly, then turned and took up a stool at the bar. “Sorry, kid.” There was a dark, almost creepy haze surrounding the mysterious man that became much more visible when he stopped moving. Even with it suppressed, his dark aura still made an outward appearance. It seemed to complement the white shade of his hair, but did little to present him as a calming person.
(( ninja Sorry for the wait, I’m multitasking pretty hard >.> ninja ))
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Posted: Mon May 19, 2008 9:33 pm
((It's alright. ))
"Eeeh?" Hotaru pouted. "And I came all the way from Konoha to visit them too." She sighed a bit. "Guess I'll just hang around and wait to see if they'll show up." As if the aura wasn't even there Hotaru ran over to where Carl decided to sit and climbed onto the stool next to his. "Soooo what's your name?" she asked while looking at him. He was the target of Hotaru's attention now. Lucky him.
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Posted: Mon May 19, 2008 9:35 pm
He should have known better than to aim so high. A better course of action would have been to aim near the boy's feet, as the explosion still would have been more than enough to do a considerable amount of damage. So he had missed. It didn't matter. He was soon directly in front of the boy, and at this point he knew his body was already going to need to heal. And as he had clearly shown by his action to break his arm to get out of a tough situation. At this point his only concern was to get this boy back for damaging him, even if it meant doing himself harm in the process. He had put up with many different pains throughout his long life, and he wasn't afraid in the least to go through more. If there was one thing he was used to as a demon, it was sacrificing his own well-being in order to deliver a good hit. His entire left hand slowly became surrounded in a thick red aura as he leaped towards where the fox had himself stationed. All he had to do was put his hand on the boy and it would cause the energy around his hand to release. This would happen only if his hand made contact with anything but his own body.
While he brought his knuckles down where the young man's back was, he was prepared to at any given point, stop his fist from traveling and colliding with anything but his opponent, as it would only catch him in his own blast. And that would be just damn stupid. Still, it seemed the boy hadn't realized that the shadowy hands had vanished from around his ankles. As a precaution, all Soneko had to do was will for it to be done and a large pillar of water formed itself behind the kitsune. It hung, suspended in the air for a moment before it jetted forward with enough speed to both knock his opponent into the way of his fist, but envelope him into the torrent. Soneko was, too swallowed into the amazing force of the wave, but as a leviathan, the lack of oxygen and the feeling of being surrounded by water was comforting to him. Not to mention that it felt nice on his heated wounds.
A brilliant explosion of red took up a quarter of the ring that the battle was being held in, and the water that had once enveloped the both of them was thrown in every direction, wetting a the entire ring and causing a brief rainfall. Against the smooth tile, the water would now leave the battlefield slippery for the young kitsune.
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Posted: Mon May 19, 2008 9:42 pm
“Fair enough.” Carl didn’t mind the extra attention, it’d been... quite along time since he’d spoken to anyone at all. By the time Hotaru had made it over next to him, he had a bottle of liquid and a pair of sake cups in front of him. He didn’t seem to have moved at all, but definitely wasn’t acting as if he didn’t know where they came from.
“I’m Carl. I used to be a patron around here… along time ago.” He poured some of the liquid into a cup then looked over at the girl. “Sake?” Offering her a drink, he slid her the cup. The custom of under-age drinking was something he was completely oblivious to, and chances are that if he was informed, he still wouldn’t care.
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
