|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
 Posted: Tue Nov 28, 2006 5:08 pm
((This is a private RP for my character to develop/expose his background for my teammates for HoH, and also to prepare me for the tournament itself. Please, no posting)) ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- Mt. Nisus
Sometime early December, 2006... *Ka-thunk!*Rain's enormous pack thudded loudly as he let it slip from his shoulders to the ground of the plateaued mountaintop, before falling back himself, sitting on the ground and leaning back on his arms. He breathed deep, hard, and fast after finally finishing ascent up the mountain, hot drops of sweat drawing paths through his dirty face. "Oh, to be ten years younger..." Rain finally managed to mutter, reaching one arm up to rub the tense muscles of his neck, while rotating his head in a circle. He laughed to himself, before searching through the various pouches of his pack for a bottle of water, uncapping it and guzzling down three quarters of the bottle before taking a single, strained breath. "I forgot how thin the air was up here," he commented to no one in particular, looking to his left over the vast expanse of landscape that trembled in the wake of the mountain he had bested once again. He reminisced back to the last time he had come here, almost a decade ago, before the last war he had participated in. And now, after all this time, he very well might find himself fighting another one. Sure, the stakes weren't as high this time. He wasn't fighting for the lives of friends and loved ones. This was more of a selfish endeavor, where he would fight for fortune. And perhaps a last bit of fame to be tacked onto his name, since he wouldn't be able to do this much longer. A last hurrah, if you will... Shaking his head, Rain turned back to his pack, starting to unpack, taking his mind off of brooding about the future and worrying about the present. He was not up here for a vacation. He was here to shape up for the tournament. "Heaven, or Hell," he muttered. He mouth contorted to a smirk. If for nothing else, then for the ironic twist of fate that led him to this tournament. He removed his spare gis, his sleeping bag, his lantern, his bottles of water, while retracing his train of thought from that day, the day he recieved the invitation from his mysterious employer. At first, there was no hesitation, even if there should have been. Since his tussle at the Gylden Arena, against this elven warrior. Rain was humiliated at his defeat, realizing how soft he had gotten over the past couple years. Peace has a way of doing that to you... Still, someone was impressed at his performance nonetheless, and requested his participation. Though he didn't think it was funny at the time, he was sure the look on his face when he discovered the identity of the employer was priceless. Her identity, and her true identity...
|
 |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Posted: Tue Nov 28, 2006 8:35 pm
A few weeks prior...--------------------------------------------------------- Quote: "Hello, Mr. Yupa" Lady Sierra greeted him, resting her elbows on her table, folding her hands together. She looked intently on the beaten warrior, more curiously than anything. As if she had just opened a new book and was reading the introduction, as it were. Rain displayed numerous emotions at that time. Disgust, at himself for losing the last fight. Annoyance, that he had been summoned up here so quickly afterwards. Anger, at the darkly dressed fellow watching from several yards behind the woman stared intently at him, as if waiting for Rain to make one wrong move so he could cut him down with the sword strapped to his back. Pain, from the wounds he'd recently recieved, still fresh and barely bandaged. And after being greeted by the elven woman, a hint of frustrated arousal. She smirked behind her folded hands, before sitting up straight, folding her hands together on the table's surface itself. "As you've obviously figured out, I am Lady Sierra, the one who sent the messenger to bring you here to me. And I wish to speak with you. Please, have a seat and rest a spell.""What's... this about?" Rain asked, cocking an eyebrow curiously. He cautiously approached the chair on the opposite side of the table, his eyes darting back to the shadowy bodyguard, who has yet to move a single inch. As he rested his hand on the back of the chair, he asked a second question. "How do you know who I am, anyways?" "Well, you've just come out alive from a battle with one of my fiercer warriors. You're already walking under your own power, so soon afterwards, despite losing. Your tenacity has... intregued me, to say the least."Rain took a step back, causing the bodyguard to shift positions against the wall, the sound of loose metal clinking each other resonating for a brief moment. "So, you've called me up here to gloat," he muttered, looking back and forth between the two. "Hardly," Sierra responded, smiling. Not a smug smile, but a welcoming one. She leaned forward slightly, bringing Rain's attention back to her completely. "I just wish to speak to you about a business proposition. More to the point, I want you to fight for me."Rain was hooked now. He hesitated a moment longer, before stepping forward once again and taking the seat after all. This caused Sierra's smile to broaded slightly. "Fight for you... you mean, against another one of your lackeys? No, that can't be it, because you said you're not interested in my humiliation. But you surely wouldn't want me to fight some sort of battle for you, if you already have at least one better qualified warrior already working for you." "You're getting ahead of yourself, Mr. Yupa. Can I call you Rain?" She paused as he gave a slight nod, then continued. "Shinigami, the opponent you faced, is otherwise indisposed during the duration I need him for. You see, there is a tournament coming up, called Heaven or Hell. I'm forming a team this year, consisting of four warriors. If you agree to fight alongside us, then it will be you, my bodyguard Dragosani Kain here, myself, and one other I am currently in negotiations with." When mentioning Kain, she noticed that Rain was still more focused on her, and instead of motioning towards him with her hand, she waved a waiter over, who brought two tall glasses of ale. The young man bowed to Sierra, before retreating back to the bar, without a single exchange of words. "But still, why me?" "Because you are nearly Shinigami's equal. You are equally valuable to me as he would be. Perhaps slightly moreso since you are not known around these parts, despite your talents." Rain felt himself flush slightly at this, but for a moment. He could tell she was trying to manipulate him, yet he didn't seem to mind as much as he normally would. Though this Lady Sierra was obviously doing her homework, since she knew a great deal about him already, or so it seemed. He wouldn't be suprised if the whole stunt Shinigami pulled was simply a ploy to draw Rain in to test him... Suddenly, Rain perked up with a realization. "Wait, you will be fighting as well?" Sierra looked blankly at her guest, blinking several times. "Why, yes. I'm quite competant as a fighter. I'm also the team captain."Rain reddened a bit more. This Sierra person was amazing him more and more, as he found himself more drawn to her charms. He took a large sip of his ale, regaining his composure before continuing. "So, what's in it for me, exactly?" "An even four-way split between all team members for the prize money, as well as any... perks that arise from being a member of the champion team." As she said this, Sierra took a small, dainty sip from her glass, leaning a bit more forward now as she leaned on one elbow. Rain struggled to keep his eyes focused on hers, and not her chest, though he knew she could tell. Perhaps it was result of the wiles Sierra was using on him, but as he weighed the pros and cons in his head concerning the offer, he really saw no reason to decline. Money, fame, recognition; all of which he desired, and could be attained if their team won. "Sure, why the hell not," he said, shrugging after a long pause. "Excellent!" she responded, sitting up straight and clapping her hands together once in delight. She then reached over with one extended hand, shaking Rain's once he grasped it. "Rain, this is a chance of a lifetime, and you've shown great wisdom for not passing this opportunity up. The tournament is planned to begin towards the end of December, so take what time you need now to prepare for it. Our home base will be the Dark Sakura Blossom Guild, where I am awaiting the papers to fill out for our team. I am leaving shortly back there, if you wish to accompany me?""Actually..." he started, holding up one palm defensively. "If its that soon, I'll have to retain myself rather quickly. The battle earlier today has shown me that. I know this one mountain in the far eastern outskirts of Gaia, Mt. Nisus, where I've trained before. I'll prepare myself there, then meet you at your Guild Headquarters. How does that sound?" "Well, if you think that will be best. But will you be able to do so with your current wounds?" she asked, concern in her voice, though how genuine a concern was unknown. "Yeah, I'll be fine by the time I get there. It takes more than mere scratches to keep me down," Rain boasted, grinning broadly, causing a small smile to once again appear on Lady Sierra's ruby lips. "Lady Sierra, it is time to go." The bodyguard who had been idle behind her finally spoke up, and stepped up slowly, ominously behind her. Out of the shadows and into the light, much to Rain's abject horror. And hatred. Leaping up from his seat, he pointed accusingly at the bodyguard. "Wait a second! You have a demon working for you?!" he bellowed, causing everyone in the tavern to turn their heads. "Devil, actually" Kain responded, actually shrugging slightly. "I DON'T ******** CARE! YOU'RE NOT TO BE TRUSTED!" Rain took a step back, fists clenched tightly. So tightly in fact, that his fingernails were drawing blood from his palms. He took up an aggressive fighting stance, leaning his upper body forward slightly. "Calm down, Rain" Sierra told him calmly. She too stood up from her seat now, half-blocking her own bodyguard. "He works for me. And you trust me, don't you?"Rain's anger melted from his expression as he raised both eyebrows, suddenly unsure of himself. "Uh... um... well... you see... I just... I..." he couldn't come up with an explanation for himself, though he did not lower his stance despite his muttering. It was then that he noticed her tail twitching behind her as well... "Sierra? You too? You're a demon too?!?!" he accused, gritting his teeth angrily once again. "Devil. She's the demon.""WHATEVER! YOU ******** KNOW WHAT I ******** MEANT! AFTER ALL THESE YEARS, YOU'VE COME BACK FOR MY LIFE! ONE ATTEMPT WASN'T GOOD ENOUGH FOR YOU CREATURES, WAS IT?! I WANT NO PART OF VORTEX'S TWISTED LITTLE MIND GAMES, SO GO BACK AND TELL HIM THAT, AND TO LEAVE ME THE ******** ALONE!!!" Rain was bending forward more now, and parts of his physique were buldging seemingly independently. Sounds of muscle trying to expand between bone and flesh sounded between his words, causing his body to quake, almost unbeknownst to him. Sierra and Kain exchanged worried glance with one another, before she turned once more to him. "Look, I don't know who you are talking about, or what happened in your past. Whatever it is, its irrelevant to the present. Our natures aside, we are all fighting in the tournament for the same goals that I mentioned earlier. Nothing more. Now, if you would just calm down and...""NO! I WILL NOT CALM DOWN! I WILL NOT SERVE YOU! I WILL KILL EVERY LAST ONE OF YOU, EVEN IF IT KILLS ME!" Rain's pupils were fully dilated at this point, giving him the visage of large black eyes; his actual body mass seemed to be increasing, adding several inches to his height and widening his arms, legs, and torso to the point of creating unfixable tears in his clothes. He took a step forward, Kain reaching for the sword on his back simultaneously, while Sierra made no movement at all. Lifting his right arm to his left side, Rain backhanded the glass of ale that he had drunk out of. But rather than knock the glass away, the force of the impact of his backhand had caused the glass to shatter instantly, creating a cloud of microscopic glass shards. Only the alcohol that was contained within splattered agains tthe wall, leaving no droplets upon the surface of the table it rested on moments earlier. "I WILL..." Rain started, tightening his fists even more. Suddenly, his pupils became pinpoints, and he held his sides with both meaty arms, and backed up a few steps and fell to his knees. He howled in barely-restrained agony, his muscle mass starting to deflate rapidly. His temper tantrum ended rapidly, with the grand finale of a vomit of blood onto the floor. Kain's hand finally moved away from the hilt of his sword, and he crossed his arms across his chest once again. Sierra simply stared at Rain, perhaps confused at this ironic twist in the story she had gotten involved in. Perhaps intregued. Sierra reached into her coinpurse, leaving a few coins on the table she had sat in to pay for the alcohol, damages, and a little extra. She then started to walk around the perimeter of the table, with Kain slowly in pursuit. She stopped beside the fallen Rain, not looking at him, and speaking seemingly aloud to no one in particular. "I will have the people at my guild send word to you on Mt. Nisus as soon as we get it ourselves. Welcome to Team Liberi Fatali, Rain." Without any further hesitation, the two walked out of the bar, as Rain finally fell into the darkness of unconsciousness.
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Posted: Tue Nov 28, 2006 9:04 pm
Rain finished sorting out his various knick-knacks and survival supplies, nodding in approval. "There we go. Right as rain," he said, smirking. "Oh, wait... one more thing I almost forgot!" He went back to his deflated pack, sifting through it, before pulling out a picture frame. A professional photograph of his daughter, Alissa, which he set up off to the side, but not near the edge.
"There we go, angel. This way, you can keep me company, kinda sorta. Couldn't very well pull you out of your school for something as selfish as this." He cracked his neck to the side, then to the other, then back the first way once more. "Well, every minute is going to count in the long run, so no time like the present. Keep the camp safe, angel, I'll be back."
Rain began to pace around the perimeter of the plateau, looking down and searching for a less-steep decline of the mountain's side. Almost halfway done his patrol, he found what he was looking for. He stepped backwards a few, before turning around and walking to the center of his camp, and turned around. "This is going to suck, but then again, it wouldn't be worth it if it didn't."
Stretching his legs a bit, he took up a sprinting stance, and at the sound of an imaginary pistol report, he took off at a run, and leapt off the edge of the mountain.
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Posted: Wed Nov 29, 2006 5:36 pm
After some time, one bruised, cut-up arm threw itself over the ridge of the mountaintop, followed by a second hand, as Rain finally pulled himself up with much effort, using the last of his energy to throw himself back over to the flat surface. He laid there, panting heavily, his legs dangling over the edge.
After a good minute or two on his back, he forced open one of his clenched eyes, and half-winced, half-grinned. "Like riding a bike... my arse..."
The purpose of that exercise was to speed up Rain's reaction time, and the adrenaline flow in his brain. By throwing himself down the face of the mountain, he forced his body to start recalling its long-lost developed instincts, as he used the terrain itself to slow his descent and minimize his injury, if not cease it altogether.
He was a tad rusty, apparently.
However, it was experience he desperately needed, since he did not have the luxery of time. And speaking of which...
With a wince, he forced himself to a sitting position, then to his feet, as he willed himself not to limp, but rather walk, back towards his supplies. Pouring the contents of two bottles of water into a beat-up steel bucket, he braced himself and thrusted his hands within, gritting his teeth from the cold bitterness that cleansed his wounds.
After he could no longer bear it, he pulled them out and dried them upon a towel he had brought with him, and set it down carefully. He untied his boots, and slipped out of them, before making his way to the center of the plateau. He took up a basic martial arts stance, closed his eyes, and remained unmoving for a countless number of minutes. He concentrated on nothing but the moment, blocking out even the stimuli of his very environment and the sensations of his own aching body. After finally reaching the state of zen he desired, he began to recite various stances and maneuvers, his muscles recalling motions that were still familiar, despite the river of time.
The rest of the first day was spent repeating these, over and over and over, until exhaustion took him.
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Posted: Sun Dec 03, 2006 6:25 pm
Several days were spent relearning and remastering the basic moves of his martial education. The effort at first was forced, but towards the end of the second day, it became more and more automatic for him, his muscles falling back into old patterns and motions. And, the more automatic it became, the faster he would be in the ring.
Close to noon on the third day on the mountaintop, Rain blinked back to full alertness from the focused state he had been in all morning. He wiped his forehead with his arm, before looking down at his hands.
"Strange, but this feels rather... welcoming. Familiar. I can't quite place it. Like I've rediscovered something I was seeking all along." He flexed his hands open and closed several times, watching intently. "It's still not good enough though. Not yet."
He went back to his various supplies, not all of it designed for survival. He found a set of two dozen hunting knives he had packed along, and pulled aside eight of them. After clearing everything other possession out of the center of the plateau, he picked up the knives, one between each finger, arms straight at his sides.
"Concentrate. I have to... concentrate," he muttered to himself, closing his eyes. He let his mind's eye unfocus itself, the world around him becoming a blur to his senses, until everything was completely invisible to him. His mind itself was already flashing back to potential maneuvers he'd have to make in a couple seconds, just like the last time he had to do this all those years ago.
He breathed in the fresh, crisp mountain air, filling his lungs.
He exhaled softly.
Suddenly, he threw his right arm up, followed immediately by the second, throwing the daggers straight up at a 90° angle. The motion of each throw was a blur; the speed was so intense that two seperate throws appeared almost as one incomprehensible motion. This was however necessary, or else this exercise's usefulness would be diminished greatly.
All the knives reached the apex of their ascents, hovering just a fraction of a second in the air before beginning to plummet. These blades were designed to have lightweight handles, causing the heavier metal points of the knives to be the side that would fall back to earth. They all fell, focusing in a spread, descending ominously towards Rain.
He tensed. His muscles were already beginning to act on instinct, his mind racing and memories flooding his consciousness, transposing the sight above him with the many others he experienced back in the day, and the motions he took to evade them. With less conscious effort than he expected he would have to exert, Rain was already weaving to his right, while swinging his left arm around and back, to tilt his upper body. His closed his right hand into a flat palm and turned it clockwise, while turning his right foot counterclockwise, bending his knee and helping arc his body more.
The knives cut through the air around him silently, but the sound of the silence was like knives on a chalkboard in Rain's mind. He fell from his position, landing amongst all the weapons that were imbedded in the rocky surface he rested upon. His heart was pounding in his chest, and he was panting heavily. After regaining his bearings, he did a quick check of his body, surveying the damage.
The pain began to fill his nervous system as he discovered the various slices he just earned in his flesh; but for the most part, no major damage. No severed arteries, no missing digits, no knives imbedded in his joints. He came out rather swimmingly, considering, but...
"But its not good enough." He got up from the ground, walking over to his invaluable first aid kit, and grabbed the bandages he needed to keep his cuts from bleeding. After lunch, he would try this again. And again. And again, until he got it right. Once he remastered this level of evasion, he would reincorperate it as part of his warming up regime, and continue on the next part of his retraining.
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Posted: Tue Dec 05, 2006 5:39 pm
A week after his initial arrival to Mt. Nisus, Rain had remastered his reflexes, his tactics, and his defenses, or as well as he could remaster them under the time constraints he was in. His next goal was his offense. One week down, one to go.
Rain stood atop a seperate, lower peak of the mountain, balancing on the point with a single foot, his other leg raised and bent to help him retain balance. He was punching the air in front of him, alternating one fist, then the other. This was how it had been all afternoon and evening, just punching while staying balanced above the rocky crevaces that threatened him from below.
His shirt had come off, and his chest glistened in the full moonlight from the unkempt sweat that beaded his body. His arms were relatively drier, but if he were to be observed, it would be noted that with every punch thrown, droplets of sweat were launched into the air around him, and dotting the landscape below him. He waited only a second between each punch, a timing that was necessary so he wouldn't be overtaken by momentum and throw him off of his station, but the purpose of the training today was to get the speed and power of his punches back up to par with his youth.
Along with the sweat that was launched from his person with each punch, small flashes of light seemed to eminate from the point of impact of each punch, though he was not punching anything in particular. These flashes were unnoticable even at dusk, but in the darkness, they lit up his person each time. The source of each punch was from his body building up its storehouse of internal electrical bioenergy, a technique he had learned from Tibet to simulate a warrior striking with the ferocity of unleashed lightning.
The flashes of light were not from his own internal energy, but were indeed generated every time his fists struck their target. What Rain was punches was the air itself; every blow was disrupting the air around his fists, the molecules of oxygen getting blown apart by the force of each blow. This was no easy task, since one had to strike at a velocity that would hit the air before it could part around the arm of the attacker. This in itself was of no use in combat itself save for the display of one's skills; however, striking an opponent himself at these speeds would allow one to do so before they could react, before their muscles could tense and dampen the force of the blow. In other words, one could punch before they could defend, and the full force of the blow would be felt, including any, or all, of the weight that was thrown with every blow.
"I!" he shouted, punching with his left, creating a spark.
"WILL!" he shouted again, punching with his right. Spark.
"NOT!" Punch. Spark.
"LOSE!" This time, he threw a hard right hook, almost losing his balance and tumbling forward. He stopped to regain himself, balancing on the toes of both feet.
Looking up to the full moon, he shouted again. "DO YOU HEAR ME?! I WILL NOT LOSE! NOT TO ANY MAN! NOT TO ANY DEVIL! NOT TO ANYONE!" He waited, his words echoing in the night, looking as if he expected a response from someone, or anyone. But none came.
Suddenly exhausted, he struggled not to fall once more. He leapt from peak to peak until he reached the main path up the mountain he had taken down, and trudged up wearily to rest his body once more.
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Posted: Thu Dec 07, 2006 7:07 pm
On this day, Rain stood before a large boulder he had stumbled across a week earlier. He kept a mental note of its location, since he needed something to practice with on this stage of his retraining.
Rain stood straight in front of the massive rock, looking up at its top. "At least 15 feet in diameter..." he muttered, impressed. He nonchantly stroked his stubble-infested chin as he looked it up and down, sizing up the boulder and its structural integrity, and he even started to slowly pace back and forth in front of it.
"Earth is more immovable than flesh and bone, even in the mightiest of men. If you can conquer this basic element, than you can conquer any foe," he said aloud, though as if he was repeating a quote from a book or lecture. "Time to see if I still have what it takes to move a mountain..."
Rain took up a basic stance in his original position; then quickly, his feet and body shifted to a new stance, an offensive one. He paused for countless moments, harmonizing his chi with his body, focusing his mind's eye on the task at hand.
Though he would normally lead off his a right jab, he instead started with a left palm strike against the rock. He retracted his arm sharply, and brought his right knee up against the very same location on the rock. This was followed by a right punch, then a right underhand jab. Left arrow strike. Right snap kick. Left high kick. Jumping left roundhouse. Right palm strike. Left knuckle-to-full punch. Attack after attack, strike after strike, Rain continued to strike at the boulder, chisling away at it bit by bit.
The minutes ticked away, and Rain's stamina began to be sapped with each blow thrown. But with every step closer towards exhaustion, the more tenacity he displayed, not giving way to ferocity so he could continue at the pace he had set.
Nine minutes and thirty-eight seconds into the exercise, the first breakthrough occured. A large CRACK! resounded throughout the mountainside, as the boulder formed a large seam in its structure. Three more strikes later, several more cracks branched off of the original. Now, each strike weakened it more, causing smaller rocks, the size of baseballs and basketballs, to roll off and plummet down the mountainside.
With one last right punch and a token "HA!", Rain's fist permeated the boulder's outer shell, and caused it to crumble into a pile of smaller rocks. Rain stood there, panting heavily, unmoving from his thrown punch position, for almost another minute, before falling to his knees and bending over in pain, his fists presented in front of him, bloodied despite the callouses he'd previously formed over the years.
----------------------------------------
After a brief break and the taping up of his hands and feet, Rain returned to his plateau hideout. He was going to grab something to eat when a movement in the sky caught his eye. Shielding out the sun from his vision, he saw it was some sort of bird, like an eagle or falcon, circling above. He remembered how Sierra had told him that she would send word about the details of the Heaven or Hell tournament after she got him, and he figured this must have been them. Letting out a loud whistle, he held up one forearm as a messenger hawk landed upon it. Sure enough, a message was tied to its talon.
After untying the message, he let the hawk go, and unravelled it to read its contents. He scanned the words quickly with his eyes, repeating the message while muttering to himself.
"Rain Yupa, blah blah blah... wish to inform you, blah blah, Team Liberi Fatali has been accepted, blah blah, please rendezvous at Dark Sakura, blah blah..." Rain looked over at the picture of his daughter, and grinned. "Looks like we got in, angel. I plan on leaving in two or three more days, I should be there by next Tuesday or Wednesday. Hopefully I won't be late."
He folded up the message, since it contained directions to the Guild Headquarters itself, which he's never been to before. Stuffing it in his pocket, he returned to the center of his camp, where he pulled out a small electric stove to cook his food with. As he sat down, he looked at his bandaged fists. "As long as I keep taking my injections, the mutagens keep me healed at a slightly faster rate than regular people... its allowing me to push myself as hard as I am. I should be ready for another boulder in another hour and a half, maybe two hours, as long as I get something to eat." The loud squeeling grumble that quickly resonated from his stomach emphasized his point, causing him to both chuckle and wince.
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Posted: Sat Dec 09, 2006 7:52 pm
With a final thrust of his right palm, turned 120 degrees from an upright position, the boulder he struck shattered into a pile of rocks and pebbles. Rain stepped back, satisfied, wiping the sweat from his brow with his forearm. He looked to his right, along the makeshift path along the mountainside he had been travelling up, observing the numerous piles of stones left in his wake.
Though still not as good as he was in his youth, it was impressive nonetheless. He had managed to break down most of the boulders in up to twenty consecutive strikes, but as few as a dozen. Either way, never taking more than thirty seconds to destroy. "That will do..." he commented, looking up to the plateau above. A few nimble leaps up the steep slope and he was there, landing in a crouch.
"One last thing I need to do to get the proverbial blood pumping. Then we can head out on our way, Angel," Rain said to the picture, though not looking directly at it. He wasted no time, as he walked to the center of the camping area, sitting in a meditative yoga stance, hands together with his fingers interlocked, save for his index fingers which were pointing upwards. His concentrated on controlling his breathing, slowing it down gradually with the passing of time.
He sat there for an unknown period of time, meditating, the sun descending towards the horizon. Suddenly, without any warning to any onlooking fauna or observers, a few sparks of electricity ignited around Rain's body. They were few and far between at first, but began to increase in duration and amount as he channeled his own chi.
What he was doing was trying to increase the output of electrical energy he could generate, and allowing his body to feel the expendeture and compensate accordingly with a hopefully increased recovery rate. Like any muscle, his chi had become underused and atrophied by the strain of time, and he had to get this muscle back up to par with the rest.
A bolt of electricity arched from his body, zapping a small burned trail in the ground before fading into the air. Other bolts began to arc and form with one another, making his aura brighten slightly, enough where it could be observed independent from his body, yet one with it; the very air around him crackled with energy.
He suddenly shifted his hands in front of him, seperating and opening them as if holding a ball in his lap. Bolts of electricity immediately started to jump from one hand to the other via the fingertips, slowly at first. The electricity began to travel faster though, eventually picking up enough speed to form an apparent orb of energy between his two hands. However, at this point, Rain was grimmacing, beads of sweat dripping down his cheeks and neck as he struggled to maintain concentration.
All at once, it was lost. His aura died down, the orb faded quickly, and the bolts trailed off into the ozone. His eyes were clenched tight still as he fell back, laying flat on his back, his chest raising and falling quickly, as if making up for lost time. He felt drained, and was completely unable to move any of his limbs, not even able to bend his fingers or lift his head. After what seemed like an hour or more, he finally managed to force one eye partially open, observing that the late afternoon had long since faded into night. He closed and relaxed his eyes then, his panting finally slowing as he finally began to drift off to much needed sleep.
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Posted: Tue Dec 12, 2006 10:37 pm
Rain tied the bandana around the back of his head, blinding himself to the environment completely. He gave the knot a tug to ensure its tightness, before taking up a standing meditative stance for a few minutes. After aligning his chi, he took a running start, feeling the currents of air, allowing them to guide him.
He felt the earth beneath his bare feet resonate with each footstep, showing him varying degrees of stability, allowing him to know right before he reached the edge. As he leapt off, he still managed to catch himself on various stalagmites. With every instant his hand or foot touched it, it told him all he needed to know by the extremely subtle vibrations that echoed throughout the stones of Mt. Nisus. Every action has an equal yet opposite reaction.
Upon landing on a ledge hundreds of yards below the peak, he loosened his blindfold and tied it as a bandana around his forehead. He looked upwards towards his starting point, or perhaps the heavens themselves, and smiled. Without any more hesitation, he began the strenuous climb up the sheer rock face he had moments before plummeted down.
--------------------------------------
Back at his camp, Rain his hands flat, twelve daggers in total between the fingers of each hand. Three times the amount he originally restarted training at. Without a moment's hesitation, he hurled the blades high into the air, one hand followed by the other, giving all of them high enough altitude to allow the blades to spin and face downwards.
A few brief moments passed, Rain keeping his arms at his sides, and he even closed his eyes to inhale and exhale, then inhale a lung full of air once again. Then the daggers were upon him. He ducked slightly, and leaned to one side, dodging the first few. The next few were only a second behind, and Rain spun one foot, positioning his arms and other leg just right. This left a blur in their wake that the daggers passed through, but caused no damage. The next few were dodged as Rain showed a high level of plasticity, arcing his torso around the falling path of several daggers at the same time. He fell back intentionally, landing on one arm as a dagger plummeted towards his chest, but pushed himself off to another arm, avoiding that one. The last of the sharpened blades were now about to pierce his body in several places, so he bent his legs at the knees, making them perpendicular to the ground. He pushed his lower body up with a slight tap of his foot against the ground, pivoting around his one arm on the ground. He flipped up to do a one-armed handstand, but stopped at the apex of the maneuver, catching the last three blades between his toes.
Exhaling the contents of his lungs, he flung the daggers away with his feet, before pushing himself off with his hand, landing in a crouch several feet away in non-dagger territory. A quick mental and visual inspection showed no sign of damage to his body after this exercise.
-----------------------------------------
Rain turned to face the large rock outcropping as if it was an opponent he might face in the ring. He bowed towards it, before taking an offensive stance. He led off with a right snap kick, hitting with his heel. He followed by a right chop, then a left two-finger jab, followed by a left palm blow. He struck with his left knee, causing a massive fissure to appear along the surface of the stone. A right arrow strike, a left kick, and a left one-knuckle punch left the stone vulnerable enough to be punched through with a powerful right jab.
The giant hunk of stone broke into many peices and collapsed like a rockslide around Rain's extended arm. After the dust had settled, Rain retracted it, holding it in front of him, opening and closing it several times. No bruises, no cuts... only dirt betrayed the level of mastery that he just demonstrated.
He looked over his shoulder at a second outcropping behind him. In one motion, he spun around completely, thrusting the same right fist into the heart of the stone. Though it was not obliterated like the last one, that was not his intention. His eyes shone with an internal light, as lightning crackled around his person. His muscles gave an involuntary thrust forward, and suddenly the large rock exploded with a large BOOM! and the crackle of electricity in the air. Rain half-closed one eye as he took a step back hesitantly.
"Not a bad output, though I definitely wouldn't want to have to do that more than a couple time, or I'd be the one feeling it in the morning" he commented. He inhaled and exhaled once, relaxing his muscles. "I guess I've gotten as much retraining done in these two weeks as I could. The results were more than I expected, so I shouldn't complain. Still not as good as I've been at my peak, but..."
Suddenly, he doubled over in pain, holding his abdomen in one arm, his ribs in the other. He did not scream, but his teeth ground together as he took up a fetal position, rolling around on the ground. With a very shaky arm, he forced one hand to his belt, to a steel cylinder with a removable cap. He twisted the cap off with his thumb in desperation as he heard the rest of his palm starting to crush the tube, which would be all sorts of bad.
Finally getting the cap off as it fell to the ground, the tube yielded a needle. He quickly thrust it into his abdomen and injected the contents inside of him. Once drained, he indeed crushed the tube within his palm and curled up even more in pain. He mentally counted the eternities that were seconds until the radioactive hormonal formula kicked in. When it finally did, his muscles all simultaneously expanded and refused to contract, causing him to go stiff as a board. His eyes rolled up in his head and his whole body shook for a few more seconds, before he went completely limp.
About two minutes later, Rain blinked back to consciousness, and sat up slowly, weakly. "Yeah, that. Forgot about that." He looked at the crumbled steel in his hand, and tossed it away in disgust. "I was hoping retraining like this would give me better control. No such luck. At least this injection will last me at least a week or so."
Sorely, he climbed to his feet, making his way back to the top of the mountain. When he arrived, he solemnly began to pack his things. "Well, Alissa, I'm ready as I'll ever be. Its time to go leave my mark on the world. I'll make you proud of me yet." He picked up the picture, smiling for the first time today for a brief moment, before packing that away safely after everything else. Swinging his massive pack onto his shoulders, he started a careful descent back down the mountain, and towards the Dark Sakura Blossom Guild.
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
