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This was true, the kick wouldn't get through, though it would continue to push Joshua back, inch by inch, across the cathedral floor.


As the arms were layered to guard, the left behind the right, Joshua was able to pull the left arm out to guard against the second kick as well. This one wouldn't have the initial momentum that the first had, though, and would be able to be guarded against with just the lead hand.

All of this guarding of heavy kicks was putting a bruising on Joshua's forearms, because even though the gauntlets protected them against the greaves, there was still a lot of impact involved. However, other than a little soreness and a little stiffness, he was still for the most part uninjured.


This kick, however, would recieve a different treatment. As soon as Vahn lashed out with it, Joshua would instead lurch his body to the side, and forwards, into the kick; or, more accurately, just to the left of the kick. Both of his arms raised up, and the right wrapped itself around Vahn's offending leg at the knee, while the left came down with an elbow strike directed at Vahn's lower back.

It would be fast, rather weak, due to that Vahn would already be falling, and a little bit clumsy due to the body positions. However, now was the time to break out of the defenseive.

(( I never played that one... but I do remember a few card games where you'd get out different 'levels' of the same character, and the highest level one would just replace the others.

I 'member the Xenosaga card game, you'd have like Level 1 Ziggy, and Level 10 Ziggy...

Vahn
Vahn Kyonuske
Vahn the Devil ))




Joshua would allow him to roll away, but after taking so many attacks from the man, he would not be letting Vahn escape without pressing the offensive advantage for a little while more. This wasn't a fight yet, they were still taking turns, the both of them still holding back. And now it was his turn to put Vahn against the ropes.

Turning so that his right side faced where Vahn had rolled to, Joshua bounced upon his toes for the first time, staying light on his feet rather than adopting a firm stance. When Vahn tried to kick back up to his feet, he would be met with a swift side kick to the chest; the balance would already be far from perfect, and a strike like that would knock Vahn flat on his back again.

There was no stance to it at this point, Joshua was no longer entertaining the notion of defense. It was time to press the attack, and from the way that he stood now, he would be able to lash out with an almost continuous flow of fast, if slightly weaker, attacks.



(( Hnn... I may need to rewrite some of the mode stuff. xd I was thinking Counter Mode, but it doesn't quite fit with what the description is. I guess I'll just write it up as a combo or something. ))

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His head shifted as the beating sound of footsteps resided through his mind, like drops of water in a puddle.

Movements...

His body didn't budge from his position until Dash moved in. The rushing air giving way to this man's attack, long before it would reach its destination or even hit. Kuro had to choices, wait and get hit, or move. From these choices, if he moved, he could either evade or defend/attack.

He was getting no where just staying away, he would judge his opponent as well. He moved fluidly towards his opponent. A short distance since the incoming attack was drawing closer. He would lash out with his right hand, grabbing hold of the man's fist/hand. A split second later he would pivot on his right foot and cross his left foot in front of himself and between himself and Dash. He would now have the left side/back facing his opponent for about a second before grabbing hold of the man's left arm and pulling down on his arm while pushing his shoulders up.

Two things would occur from this. The man's arm broke...or he was thrown a short distance.

Apparently both effects had taken place as Kuro heard a sharp crack followed by a thud as he threw the man. When the man hit, Kuro was hit with a rush of energy, which he welcomed. From the sound of the man's agony, mixed with the vibrations in the earth of his rolling, Kuro guessed pain.

Pain or not, Kuro would back off a ways, facing him to the best of his ability. He wasn't to trustworthy. It may have been that easy, but he was cautious just the same.

Joshua stood firmly, his fist still clenched even as Vahn's teeth dug into the side of his hand, drawing blood. Not much, yet, but if Vahn continued to bite there would be more. The way that they stood those teeth were going so far as to support his weight, and a single drop of black blood ran down the edge of his hand before falling onto Vahn's tongue.

Pain. Extreme, excrutiating pain. Perhaps Vahn had never truly felt what it was like to be burned, but the moment that that drop of blood touched him, it would burn like nothing he had ever felt before.


However, Vahn had succeeded in breaking the stance... no, it wasn't even a stance. Vahn had broken the flow, and interrupted the fluidity of those movements.

Defense had been abandoned in favor of relentless attacking, and there was no way that Joshua's left hand would be able to catch the right before it hit.

Yes, it was just starting to get entertaining.

With nothing but a twist of his wrist to the side and the tightening of a muscle in preparation for impact, Joshua reacted to the One Inch. The strike sent him flying back several feet through the air, even if the heat blasted through him did little more than push due to his resistance. However, as his thumb dug in against Vahn's left cheekbone, and his fingers pressed against the roof of Vahn's mouth, he would not be making this trip alone.

Joshua twisted his body in the air, to land firmly upon his feet in a crouched position, like a cat. Sitting on the balls of his feet with his left hand flat against the ground in front of him for support; his back was facing the direction that he had just come from.

In his right hand, he had a firm grip upon Vahn by the upper mandible, and the b*****d would be slammed straight on his back into the ground in front of where Joshua had landed; the wooden floorboards protesting loudly as splintered cracks spidered out from around Vahn.



Before the tall walls even had time to echo the sound of the crash, Joshua pusheds off of the ground with his left hand; leaning back sharply and shoving off of the cathedral floor with his left foot as his body spun counterclockwise. Vahn would come along, first dragged headfirst across the floor, then lifted up, and spun outwards from the centrifugal force.



Vahn's back would slam into the heavy stone wall of the cathedral with a heavy thud. At the same time Joshua would finally release his grip upon Vahn's jaw, and instead slam down his left foot onto the ground again to propel himself forwards and drive his right elbow into the center of Vahn's chest.

But, no... Joshua's right foot slid almost against the wall underneath Vahn as this happened, and he would pull back his right arm after it struck with the elbow. Tapping the toe of his left foot against the ground one more time to help change direction, Joshua spun his body to the left once more, and drove a second elbow with his left arm into Vahn's solar plexus.

The combination of moves came quickly, so quickly that gravity would hardly have even started to take effect upon Vahn's body until after the second elbow had landed.