Pokies And Shinies (Ryuu)

[Aternity]

Alright, Aurora isn't a very violent girl, and she certainly wasn't today. Needless to say, that meant she shouldn't have her big stick with her...yes, that's right, the one with the rather large blade. The scythe. She had purposefully dullened the blade so that nobody would be critically hurt by it, and to of course satisfy the administration of the school. There had been too many people inside to practice her skills with any use, so instead, she found a spot outdoors, in the sun where there were only but a few students around...the nonviolent types.

Swish and swash went the scythe...she was good with it technique wise, but her build left much to be desired. She was smart, she knew her weapon, but being blind, and without much muscle...well, there was only so much she could do.

"Blasted arms of mine...fehhh."

She poked at her left arm in scorn and continued to fight only the air around her, and sometimes the light which the scythe cast a shadow. Boredom was overtaking her, and Thirteen had good mind to go back to her house and cook like she always did.

But even that was getting boring.

She needed people! Yes...people!

[Ryuu]

This was not a good day for Ryuu... again. Besides the fact that he had overslept and ended up in a rush, as his friends practically dragged him to school, he only had time to grab his shoulder bag before being carted off, and had left his wallet and cell at home. So Ryuu was not in a good mood right now, and anybody that ticked him off even slightly, well, it wasn't going to end well to sum it up. And to top it off, in the cafeteria, Ryuu had tripped over someone's foot, which sent his lunch flying and landing on a guy, it was an accident obviously, but for all the guy knew, Ryuu could've done it on purpose. Ryuu may have been in a bad mood, but he wasn't in such a foul mood that he would pick a fight with the guy. Instead, Ryuu hauled his ass out of the cafeteria as quickly and calmly as he could, hoping the guy didn't hold a grudge against Ryuu for that.

Guess what? The guy didn't hold grudges, but he was sure as hell angry, and much to Ryuu's chagrin, the guy went tearing after Ryuu, who, as soon as he saw the guy chase after him, ran down the cafeteria stairs, and led the guy in a chase, or just until he lost the guy, which he did. Sure, the guy was angry, but he also had a terrible sense of direction. But Ryuu still wasn't so cocky that the guy wouldn't eventually catch up to him, and instead of slowing down, continued to run. He passed by students who were eating outside, but he was more worried on making sure the guy didn't catch him. He was so focused on this, that he didn't notice the girl in front of him, scratch that, the girl in front of him who was practicing with a scythe!? Ryuu had turned his head to look behind him, to check that the guy wasn't around, and the moment he turned his head to face forward, he slammed on the brakes, attempting to stop.

He managed to stop, as the scythe came within mere inches of his face, he swore he felt the wind from the scythe blow past his face as the girl swung it around. "What the...!?" He exclaimed, once his heart managed to calm down, as he caught his breath. "What's up with the scythe? And whoa!" Ryuu leaped back, away from the swinging scythe as it came in close range with him, "Watch where you're swing that! You could hurt someone with it!" Mainly him, heh.

[Aternity]

And there in lied the problem of being Aurora. She couldn't exactly see where she was swinging the damn thing. If someone else weren't watching, they might have their head taken off, or in the case of the guys, something even worse. And sure enough, in this particular case, Thirteen nearly took off the head of a passerby. Oops...that certainly wasn't her intention at all. In her own instant, the scythe stopped, and was firmly planted into the ground, just to stop her mind from picking it up again.

"Ohhh...shoot."

Well...it was close, but at least he wasn't dead. And then again, neither was her. If she'd been scanning the future just a little, maybe this incident wouldn't have happened. Oh well...

"I'm dearly sorry sir, I hope you're not hurt?"

Way to go Aurora, bringing a weapon onto school grounds. Yeah, a stroke of momentary brilliance. Maybe she should just stick to standard martial arts...but that blade, it was her heirloom, she couldn't just give it up. Maybe it was time to clear out some room in her apartment for a training room.

"Do you need me to call someone?"

[Ryuu]

And just when Ryuu thought he was going to lose his head by decapitation, just as the scythe swung past him, he could literally feel the air from the swing, the girl stopped the scythe instantly, and firmly planted it in the ground, as Ryuu breathed a sigh of relief. "Ohhh...shoot." Ryuu had been in some dangerous situations before, but never in a situation involving a scythe before. This one definitely took the cake. "I'm dearly sorry sir, I hope you're not hurt?" What the...? Sir? This was the first time he ever heard someone either than those who worked at his father's company call him sir before, and someone around his age no less. "I'm quite alright, nothing to worry about, no limbs have been chopped off, no cuts or anything." Now that Ryuu no longer had to fear his head being chopped off, he took a closer look at the scythe, and saw the meticulous detail work, and upon closer inspection, the blade itself, had been dulled down. While it wouldn't chop off any heads, the way the girl had been swinging it around, it would probably just give Ryuu a cut, had it connected.

"Do you need me to call someone?"

"There is no need to call anyone, I am perfectly fine." Ryuu replied calmly once more, as he moved forward a bit and stood in front of the girl, as he folded his arms casually across his chest. "That is quite an impressive scythe," Ryuu commented, as he continued to look at the scythe, "The detail work on it is impressive." Now that it no longer threatened to decapitate, well, any part of Ryuu, he could closely analyze the scythe, and take in every part of it. "...right. I am Ryuu Hikari, and you are?" He asked, looking away from the scythe, and at the girl, as he fixed his gaze on her. "If I may ask, what brings you out here to practice with your scythe?"

[Aternity]

If there was anything that Aurora knew how to do with the scythe, it was control it, and put the brakes on the blasted thing if need be. Confident now that she hadn't hurt the boy that had come around, she was able to breathe, and put the halt on calling emergency services. Instead, she smiled, happy that finally someone took an interest in her. She was even happier with the fact that he took notice in the scythe. She had been itching for a friendly match, which while she knew she was likely to lose, would provide her things to work on in the near future.

"Well thank you dear! I'm glad someone took notice."

Oh right! She needed to provide a name, and like the rest before her, she'd get the exact same one.

"Aurora Silivasi, or just Thirteen, and I was hoping I could find a friendly match with someone out here..."

((Sorry it's short, trying to let Kyle get his laptop back!))

[Ryuu]

His heart rate finally going back to normal, Ryuu was quite impressed with the scythe, the detail work on it was astounding. He saw the girl smile, as Ryuu shoved his hands into his jeans pockets, and continued to admire the scythe. "Well thank you dear! I'm glad someone took notice." "It wasn't hard to not notice," Ryuu replied, a hint of amusement in his voice, "I can't think of anyone that wouldn't notice a scythe swinging around in the air." Well, maybe a blind person wouldn't notice, but Ryuu had the tendency to not state something like that. It saved him much grief, because he wouldn't end up insulting someone who happened to be blind. He then introduced himself to the girl, finally looking away from the scythe and at the girl. The reason he was so interested in the detail work of the scythe, was because back at his house, his father had the family sword hung on the wall, and was heavily protected, but like the scythe, the detail work on the sword was meticulous, and extremely impressive.

"Aurora Silivasi, or just Thirteen, and I was hoping I could find a friendly match with someone out here..."

"Well Thirteen," Ryuu replied, Thirteen, it reminded him of House MD, "If it's a friendly match you want, then how about you spar with me? As long as the scythe isn't used, I'd be glad to spar with you for a little bit, until the Pillars come and break up the fight that is." Ryuu then spread his legs apart slightly, so that leg sweeps would not work, as his right hand came out in front, the left one tucked behind his back. "I hope you know what you're getting into..." Ryuu said quietly, too low for her to hear, as he let his mind focus, and breathed. If it was a match she wanted, it was a match she would get, and Ryuu would deliver.

[Aternity]

The problem with Thirteen and fights was the fact that when she had them with people, she often lost. This was all in good nature however, as when you lost, you gained valuable experience for next fight. People became both physically and mentally stronger. If fate destined her to lose, then so be it. That was how life turned. For her own sake however, she did hope that he wouldn't hurt her too badly. As he requested, the scythe remained planted in the ground, and would not be picked up for the remainder of this battle.

However, he too would learn that fighting a blind one wasn't quite the same experience as fighting someone with eyes. Many a fighter always relied on what they saw, but what they saw wasn't always correct. Many fighters knew how to take advantage of this...the other senses were harder to fool.

"When you're ready Ryuu."

She ducked a little into a defensive stance. Aurora being on the attack first was a physical impossibility. Since she didn't know the distance of the attacker by sight, she needed points of references. Vibrations from footsteps, sound...things that it bounced off of, things seismic tremors bounced off of...anything. All he needed to do was take two steps...one for his initial position...one for the triangulation. Only then could she go on the offensive.

[Ryuu]

No matter how long or how short a fight is, as long as you gain valuable knowledge from it, then it's a fight worth fighting. Nothing is a waste, because whether you won or lost, you could still walk away from it with new knowledge to use, as well as the ability to improve yourself. Ryuu wanted to get stronger, that much was true, his ambition was to become stronger, not for the sake of being strong, but so he could use his strength to protect his father and sister, and Emi, his girlfriend. But in this fight, Ryuu had no intention of injuring Thirteen badly, but he wasn't going to let her win easily either. He had no idea she was blind, he naturally assumed she was able to see like anyone else, though in this case, maybe it was a good thing, because Ryuu wouldn't hold back just because she was blind, he was going to give this fight his all.

"When you're ready Ryuu."

He saw her duck into a defensive stance, the scythe still firmly planted in the ground, just as he requested. It seemed she would not make the first strike, so that meant he would have to. "As you wish..." He replied, before dashing at her, though his path was not linear, instead, he weaved left and right, his footsteps light, once he got close enough to Thirteen, he would bring his left arm back before launching a quick left jab, but that was merely a feint, at the last minute, his fist nearly reaching its target spot, he pulled his left arm back, as underneath his soaring left arm, was a quick flat-palmed strike, aiming for Thirteen's ribs, he was merely planning to fracture them, not full out break her ribs. Of course, his attacks could possibly be evaded, or countered. Time to see what Thirteen was made of.

[Aternity]

[font=[palatino linotype]When Ryuu charged her, he did so in a manner that was rather unsuspecting. He was fighting like he thought she could see. The boy was light on his feet, and he wasn't running straight. Against someone with sight, this was smart. However, against a capable blind fighter, this fact usually went against the attack. What happened was that when you ran at Aurora, she triangulated your position, and got a feel for the battlefield by using the attackers footsteps. For every step he made, he revealed just a little bit at a time to her.

Perceiving blows was different. As you might know, Aurora can't see the blow, so instead, an alternate technique was used. Most blows were delivered using the ground as an anchor, a system called kinetic linking. His attacks came, but by sensing shifting vibrations in the ground through Ryuu's feet, the attack could be avoided. However, countering was a problem for Aurora, as she hadn't yet been trained that far. Feints were of almost no use...feet didn't lie much. He was going straight for the chest area.

What a perv!

Aurora's small frame was able to dodge, but she felt a little bit slow, a little sluggish. Her mind still wasn't in the right place. Since that was only his first attack, she would be unable to counter...a second was needed to solidify her strategy in place. She crouched back into defensive stance and awaited one more time. Hopefully, Ryuu wouldn't get too angry for this...but it had to happen. She had to know what she was fighting before actually fighting it. [/font]

[Ryuu]

Not bad, she managed to dodge his strike, not bad at all. But that strike was only a test, for both fighters, but mostly for the receiving end. It allowed either parties to see just how strong their opponents were. And in this case, it showed Ryuu that Thirteen was able to dodge his attack at a reasonable speed, though he half expected her to counter it at the very least. Most of the fights he had been in, his opponent had countered his first attack, and his first attack was always a very simple move, since his opponent would still be working at full capacity too and would have a very high chance to counter, block or dodge his attack. Besides, there was this unseen rule of fighting, where the first attack of a spar was never going to work. He saw Thirteen crouch back into a defensive stance, waiting for him to strike again.

Now far from being angry, Ryuu was puzzled more than anything. She was still on the defensive, but why was that? Ryuu kept his cool however, and pushed that thought into the back of his mind, and using his long legs to his advantage, brought his knee up before snapping it out and launched a roundhouse kick from the position he was in, firmly planted in the spot he was standing in. Why? Because although Thirteen managed to dodge his attack, she had not moved away far enough that he would not be able to reach her without moving. He wasn't quite sure what it was she was expecting from him, but that didn't matter right now. If his kick connected, he would then bring his leg back, before leaping forward straight at Thirteen, pulling his right arm back and launching a uppercut, aiming for her chin. Again, he wasn't aiming to injure her badly, but he wasn't going to hold back either. A paradox, I know, but if she stopped the fight at any point in time, he would comply, and stop. For now, he was going to fight with all he had.

[Aternity]

Once again, it was nice being small, although this time Thirteen would not escape unscathed. She was quick, and she had enough strength to at least keep up, but most of all, she was smart. The girl knew her limits, and what Ryuu was doing. Once again, he was fighting as if she could see. That wasn't too smart, but this time, the launching of two attacks in combination, one following the other, he would land at least one. Aurora however picked the lesser of the two evils, bring her arm to block the kick, and leaning her head back just a little to dodge the uppercut. Surely she would have a bruise on her arm or worse, but that was fine, she could still fight.

However, through the system of kinetic linking, the battlefield, and Ryuu's body had been laid out like a red carpet. She could sense the vibrations from his attacks, and finally, she could counter. By the attacks he'd just pulled, she now had two options. One involved the family jewels...and since this was a sparring match...well, you get the idea. She wasn't doing this in self defense, so there were still moral considerations. Instead, he'd also left a few points open, namely the nerves beneath his right arm, as well as his collar bone. Her left arm still defending, she brought back her right and formed a palm, drilling for the upper right somatic nervous system nodes...the ones that controlled muscle movement. Her senses were still focused on his feet, watching for more kinetic linking that would signal an impending attack.

[Ryuu]

Considering the fact that Thirteen was small, and she had been able to dodge his first attack, Ryuu was not surprised that she managed to dodge his uppercut through simply tilting her head back, though she blocked his roundhouse kick with her arm. Given how much power Ryuu had placed into his kick, there would more than likely be a bruise on her arm, Ryuu was still fighting Thirteen as if she could see, when in fact, she was blind. As soon as his uppercut missed, Ryuu brought his arm back, as well as his leg, planting it firmly on the ground. As soon as he did however, and brought his hands back in front to defend himself, he saw Thirteen bring her right hand back, and formed a palm, aiming for his upper right somatic nervous system nodes, the ones that controlled his muscle movement, her left hand still defending. Ryuu, although he saw the impending attack, was able to react only in time, he brought his right arm up block the attack, feeling it slam into his arm. As soon as the attack was blocked, Ryuu would drive himself backwards, placing some distance in between himself and Thirteen.

Her strike was not quite as powerful as his, but it was still strong nonetheless. That had been too close. Even though her attacks were not strong, they were so fast, that Ryuu barely had anytime to react, he had only been able to block it at the last second. He then positioned himself in a sideways stance, his hands out in front, opened, so that he would be able to defend or counterattack if necessary. He was starting to rethink his strategy, the way she was reacting, it was like she didn't need to see his attacks, it was like she knew where they were going to strike. He continued to regulate his breathing, keeping his focus, sometimes, seeing strikes only hindered you. With that in mind, he closed his eyes, letting his other senses flow forward. Now while Ryuu was nowhere near an expert as someone who has been blind for their entire life, he had been taught this before, to listen for the sound of footsteps from his opponent, and adjust accordingly. This may or may not work, but then again, he would see in due time.

[Aternity]

Hmmm hmmm. Okay then. She knew her strikes weren't that powerful, but it appeared that it was enough to do at least a little bit of damage to the boy. Well this was nice, the fight was going well for both of them, and it was undoubtable that both combatants were learning something. Wasn't that the entire point of this fight? There was a small smile on her face as Ryuu backed off defensively. Well, that was new. Aurora tilted her head and thought of a few possibilities about what he might have happened. In this case, she had three theories.

1. The attack had done some major damage, and he needed a respite.

2. He was feinting something.

3. The most likely thing was that he had gotten smart, and possibly had seen her blind eyes.

With the third as the most likely of culprits, this fight was probably about to become much more difficult for Aurora. She was smart, but technique alone didn't win. She was a little weaker than most usually, so fighting for extended periods had become a forte. But hey, if he was going to defend, Aurora would need to open him up just a little. His feet were still connected to the ground in the same spot, and so, clearing her mind, she started on the offensive, something that she hadn't done for some time.

Her run was slow at first, then broke into a burst, making moves for more of the SNS nodes at his arms. Her dominant hand, left struck at point right under his right shoulder, staying wide to maximize her defensive options.

[Ryuu]

The moment Ryuu went into a defensive stance, he saw a small smile appear on Thirteen's face, as she tilted her head. But the thing was, Ryuu was not heavily injured, nor was he feinting. All he was doing, was rethinking his strategy, something that both he and his cousin, Alex, were well known for doing. And what's this? Well this was interesting. As Ryuu had his eyes closed, he could feel the vibrations from Thirteen's footsteps, meaning she was charging at him. Her run was slow at first though, but it gradually increased in speed, as Ryuu waited for her to come closer, once she did, Ryuu's eyes opened instantly, and adjusted accordingly, he moved to his left and snapped his right hand out, grabbing hold of her wrist, though this move did not come without a price, the strike connected with the bone of his right shoulder. He saw she had stayed wide to maximize her defensive options, while a good move, technique wasn't everything.

His hand firmly grasping her wrist, preventing her from using it now, Ryuu placed his left hand into his armpit, and his elbow now sticking out, would proceed to ram it into Thirteen, aiming for her ribs. Because they were in such close proximity, it might be difficult for her to evade it, she could possibly counter it though. Now that he was in close proximity, he could finally make out her eyes, and came to the realization, that she was blind. Hence how she was able to counter his strikes, without seeing them, her other senses were all fine-tuned. How interesting. Knowing this, Ryuu grinned slightly, this fight just jumped up another level. While his left elbow hurtled for Thirteen's ribs, at the last minute, he changed direction, and sent it flying for her gut instead. At the same time, he proceeded to snap his right foot out in a quick kick behind Thirteen's left knee cap, aiming to send her falling on her ass, as he did so, he would release her wrist, so that he would fall with her. If it worked, he would strafe to his left, his hands once more out in front, ready for anything.

[Aternity]

Hoorah! A hit! The only problem was, by doing so, she had opened herself to the one thing she couldn't defend against nor even practice against. Her own build. Aurora was so damned light, almost anyone had the chance to pick her up, and the lack of any true, full blown muscle was close to non-existent. She had played her cards right up until this very point. The only problem was, Ryuu's deck was a bit bigger. He could play cards that she didn't even have.

This was the reason she fought with a weapon...it was a counter to her own build...the lack of reach, and the lack of power behind any attack. Even though she could feel it coming, there was no chance for a dodge, much less a counter. Even if she moved a little bit, the blow would take out her kidneys. The best she could do is block with her free arm to negate some of the damage...but it wouldn't be enough. Tripped, and taken aback by the power behind the blow, Thirteen tripped and fell on her back, coughing up just a little blood.

"Ouch..."

Maybe she'd reacted just a little too hastily. Offense wasn't her strong suit...defense and counters were. Staying back out of reach might have helped just a little in this case.