Welcome to Gaia! ::

The swordsman was quick on the draw... that tended to happen after a few hundred years of practice. His hand made it to the weapon's hilt first, but the Sol blade only made it an inch out of the sheath before being slammed back in as the man's palm impacted the rounded end of the hilt and forced the sword back down.

Then came the flames. Burning, searing, igniting everything around them from the dry twigs of the nearby trees and the dead leaves on the ground. The cloaked man was engulfed in flames within a few seconds as the fires caught to the ends of his cloak and washed over it like a wave crashing against shore. Before his body became completely obscured in a ball of flame, Ryugi could just make out the borne teeth of a sadistic grin flickering in the firelight, and a piercing gaze staring at him from underneath the hood.

And then it was gone, all of it. Only fire and smoke remained and the man within it was gone from view.

His hand slipped from the swordsman's wrist after a second of this... and drove the elbow fiercely into the side of his nose through the curtain of flame.

Ryugi spun away, putting distance between himself and the MAN ON FIRE as soon as he was able to. The erupting flames had turned the cloak into a flaming shroud that concealed the man when Ryugi was close. When he was further back, he would find that the man was entirely hidden, as well... but not because he was wrapped in flames, but because the man had ripped the cloak from his shoulders and sent it hurling towards the swordsman like a great wheel of fire.

"HaHAHAHAHA!"

The cloak fell to the ground in flames, landing in the mud that had been formed in the freshly thawed permafrost but continuing to burn despite the damp ground.



"You're getting better. Or maybe you're just learning not to trust anyone."

It had been a long time since he had used that tactic. It had been even longer since it had failed. For now Ryugi could revel in that small victory... but the gloves were off.

Or at the very least they were all but off. Large holes were burned into the backs of them and the fingers were charred. The only parts intact were the palms, where his fists had been clenched. Ash and burnt cloth covered the man; parting memories of the heavy cloak; and his undershirt was riddled with scorched patches and holes that the fire had cut into it. However, as the man stepped forwards into the firelight once more and raised his left hand forwards in an open fist, it became clear that he was wearing Kazamaru's Pants.

"I told you already," the Reaper said in reply; rotating his shoulder a little to stretch and tilting his head to the side in order to pop out a kink.

"I'm taking you back. So put up a good fight."

He rushed forwards a single step before dropping into a low crouch with his knees bent almost to the ground; then vaulted straight over the pit of flames between them with his knees tucked to his chest and a radiant blue glow beginning to encompass his hands.

Open was a matter of opinion. Was an opening a place where a fighter is not defending? Or is it the time when a fighter attacks and is vulnerable to being counterattacked? What happens to this concept when a fighter defends by attacking? Does it mean that any time when he is not on the offensive there are holes in his defense? Does it mean that a relentless assault is the perfect defense?

Open was a matter of opinion. If Ryugi had tried to strike him out of the air he would have met an attack head-on instead. If he had stood his ground and done nothing but defend he would have met an attack head-on. If he dodged to the side he would be pursued and attacked. So he chose to dodge to the side and attack first... so he would meet an attack head-on.

Joshua landed perfectly with nothing to obstruct his path, and the Sol blade would undoubtedly set into motion the moment he did, expecting him to be unable to dodge the strike. Perhaps the bearer of the blade was right, perhaps he was wrong, in the end it wouldn't matter. Joshua launched his attack when the Sol blade came down; smashing his fist squarely against the flat of the blade with a burst of concussive force that sprung from the aura of positive energy enveloping the arm.



After knocking the blade aside he would take a fast step in against the opponent, already cocking back his right arm with a faint glow starting to form around the knuckles.

"H-ooooooh~?" He was amused... a little surprised, even, that he'd misread the boy that badly. He'd thought for certain that Ryugi would cling to his sword like it was life itself. The kid was learning to be more and more unpredictable every time... at least it was keeping things interesting.

But that would be the end of it, then. Fire and light, that was what this kid had left in his arsenal. Without a weapon he would be left resorting to blasting; and this range, the space from inches to arm's length between them, belonged to the Reaper.

He didn't wait for the swordless swordsman to prepare his attack, he pressed on unrelenting. His right arm shot forwards for Kazamaru's torso and he lashed out with his right leg at the same time. Whether he tried to intercept it with his left or not, the end result would likely be the same. The kick with his right foot hooked the back of Ryugi's left heel to sweep the leg out from under him; at the same time Joshua's right hand would drag the swordsman forwards - either by the body or the arm, it wouldn't matter. Any contact that was made he would ensure grabbed a hold of the other to drag him down and throw him on his back while the only leg he had to stand on was on the other side.

The boy was prepared to fight. He'd already raised a fist and the energy being pumped into it should have been obvious even to those who couldn't recognize it with their eyes closed. It wouldn't get far, though. When the boy let it loose Joshua was already prepared to deflect it outside with the back of his left hand. No matter how much power was pumped into that fist, it wouldn't matter if he couldn't make it connect.

He would sweep his elbow to the side after deflecting the attack to swiftly reposition his arm. Ryugi wouldn't even be halfway to the ground before Joshua dragged him back; or pulled himself down with the boy. It didn't matter for him to have footing at this point, they could have been free-falling from a mountaintop and it would have been the same.

Positive energy is the essence of life. It exists within every living thing as a part of the spirit, and because of it's close ties to the life force it can be used in many ways. Restorative and healing magic is one avenue that it can travel. Protection is another, creating physical and metaphysical barriers to ward off harm. But yet another way this energy can be used is for enhancement, using the force of life to increase the performance of the physical body; and both of Joshua's arms were now wreathed in this energy.

The Reaper would drag Ryugi back from where he had begun to fall, and had prepared an explosive fist for the bridge of his nose.

The Reaper's fist careened in towards Ryugi's face with the intentions of pounding it concave and delivering the knockout blow to put an end to their exchange. Though Ryugi had put in an admirable effort to fight off the assault, in the end he had been outmaneuvered and left a weak spot exposed. All that was left now was the momentary flinch.

Ryugi heard the sound of the thunderous impact almost like an echo; and again a split second later as the crushing sound reverberated through the forest around him. He didn't feel any pain, but he felt the weight of his body as it slumped into the mud and cracking ice around him. He could feel the blood on his face, smell it, taste it running over his lips, but everything else seemed numb in comparison. Everything except the burning pain in the back of his... neck!?

His red eyes shot open, but his view of the night sky was blocked by the body of a falling tree heading straight for him. Wasting no time the Angaran swordsman rolled to the side as the wooden monolith crashed down across where he had been laying.

Shooting to his feet Ryugi would-



-drop to the ground on one knee as his right hand reached desperately to grasp at the back of his neck; covering a nonexistent wound that was causing him unbearable pain.



It took a moment for Ryugi's head to clear... or perhaps it was because the pain began to subside a little and he could finally begin to see things clearly... but when he touched his face with his hands he felt no pain from it, nor did his fingers feel any gashes in the skin, or broken bones. Beyond that, the blood on his hands wasn't his own.

"I hate you."

Sitting against the base of a tree several yards from the splintered trunk of the sequoia that had nearly crushed Ryugi, the Reaper rested with an arm that was bent inwards where there was no joint draped across one knee, and a scattered trail of blood soaking the snow between himself and where the sequoia had been severed.



"I hate you so much."