eswareinmal | GHB 3, fighting log

Entry tags:

GHB 3, fighting log

Characters: Sasuke, Faolan, Gunpei, JW, and whoever else wants.
Open? Yup!
Where: Some courtyard or other.
When: GHB3, morning-afternoon
What: Sparring log! Clashing of steel, armor, and possibly magic, if your character wants to use it or pisses Sasuke off enough that he accidentally sets the ring on fire.
Warnings: Maybe violence?

He waited, shooting venomous glares at the villagers creeping around the edges of the courtyard, trying and failing miserably to make it look like they weren't eager to see what was going to happen. It didn't do anything to deter them, though.

Not that Sasuke minded having an audience when he showed off his physical prowess, but this was a little different. That was when he could produce a fireball bigger than a fruit, and could actually call up his chidori.

He swung his sword a few times, just to get a feel for the heavy blade. His aim was fine, and the power felt all right, but it wasn't anywhere near where it should be.

Frustrating though it was, he could only start working again--gradually build up his chakra control until he was back to where he had been. Which was the purpose of today's practice session.

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Gunpei said he'd show up, so of course he showed up. It would give him a chance to prove to this guy once and for all that he wasn't just some idiot. He was a professional, after all. At least he'd managed to find a shirt and a pair of pants that wasn't as terribly impractical as what this place seemed to expect its "princes" to wear. At least the villagers seemed to be tolerating it well enough, if only because they knew the prince was going to work out and of course couldn't mar his good clothes. As he walked to the arranged-upon meeting spot, he was sure to give charming smiles and waves to those villagers. He did rather love the attention...

All of Gunpei's special powers relied upon the Engines, and since Gunpherd and his Shift Changer weren't there, it was just him and his skills as a Go-Onger. But this was just a sparring match. How bad could it be?

Gunpei walked into the courtyard, spotted Sasuke, and waved. "Yo."

Yo? Really?

The word put Sasuke uncomfortably in mind of Kakashi. His lip curled--the crowd fawned, thrummed with excitement. It might have been catching if they weren't all so vapid.

He rolled his eyes and slipped his sword back in its scabbard, resting it on the soft dirt. He circled to the area of the courtyard opposite Gunpei, and shifted his weight into a defensive stance.

Gunpei, on the other hand, was eating up the attention the crowd was bestowing upon him. Vapid or no, they liked him, and who was he to deny his adoring public a chance to see him show off?

No, he needed to announce himself properly. Even if he couldn't transform and even if this was only a sparring match, he wanted to make a good showing of it. With that in mind, he decided to give the crowd (and Sasuke) his usual roll call poses and such, starting off with bit of posing. "Dash Dynamic!" There was a bit more energetic posing, then the team's usual battle cry: "Racing down the highway of justice! Engine Sentai Go-Onger!

...which was kind of pointless when he was the only one there and he and his friends usually did that sort of roll call as a team, but he missed them, darnit. And with a crowd like that, how could he turn down putting on a bit of a show for them? He was kind of surprised Sasuke wasn't paying them more attention, really...

The highway of--what?

Sasuke mentally rescinded his original judgement. Gunpei was infinitely more ridiculous and irritating as he'd thought.

He rolled his eyes and put up his fists. "Come at me or I'm coming at you. We're not doing this for show."

This guy...didn't seem to be a cheerful sort. At all. Really, Gunpei thought Sasuke needed to lighten up. He never thought he'd meet someone with a more sour disposition than Hiroto, but apparently, that was more possible than he thought.

"Why not?" Gunpei gestured to the crowd. "We've got an audience, they love us. We might as well give them a a show." In the spirit of that sentiment, he decided to make a charge at Sasuke, intending to open with a simple punch.

"They love us because they're too stupid to do anything else."

Case in point--no one seemed to react to the insult. Sasuke watched as the charge came, too big, too flashy. Too easy.

He reached forward and grabbed Gunpei by the forearm for a throw.

"Well, they still have feelings, and--" Anything Gunpei might have said after that was cut off as Sasuke grabbed his arm. That throw was totally successful. Gunpei grunted a little as he hit the ground, though at least it seemed he knew how to take a fall.

"Okay, let's try that again..."

"That's debatable."

Indeed, the crowd didn't seem to have any reaction to the goings-on aside from cheerful clapping. Sasuke focused on Gunpei, who might have been vapid himself, but at least he seemed to have more than one dimension. He waited to see what the next move would be; if it would be as big as the first, or if the guy would settle in and use actual combat skills instead of theatrics.

"Hey, you never know...and what does it hurt to be nice to them, anyway?"

Gunpei was wary now; he didn't like getting tossed around like some rank amateur. He was a professional, for crying out loud. His posture changed a bit from the showoffish stance he'd been using earlier; it now suggested that he just might actually know how to handle himself in a fight. He refrained from making a move just yet, wanting to see if Sasuke would do anything first.

Sasuke registered the change and adjusted his stance, slightly less relaxed, more defensive. Perhaps this wouldn't be a total waste of time.

And there was an opening as Gunpei watched him, appearing to wait and see what Sasuke would do. So he took it, aiming a kick high, in the direction of Gunpei's throat.

"Woah!" The word escaped Gunpei in a yelp as he noticed just where that kick was headed. He leaned back as far as he could manage in an attempt to dodge it. There was a reason he generally preferred hanging back and shooting things when he could...

Faolan entered not long after Sasuke, from another entrance. Not wanting to interrupt, he pulled out his knives and crouched at the edge of the fighting field. He quivered in excitement as he watched Sasuke warm up, waiting to be noticed.

It was easy enough to distinguish Faolan from the rest of the crowd--the spark that belied a sentience and intelligence greater than a brick.

He swung the blade once more in a circle, rotating his wrist, and stepped backwards to face the little boy.

"Do you have any fighting experience?" If not, it would likely be less of a spar and more of a training-session-by-fire.

Hopefully, not literally.

"Yes!" Faolan answered proudly. He held out the knives in his hands for inspection, making sure that his others were still hidden around his body. "Hawk and Alanna taught! And Mutti and Vati! Faolan is fast and string!"

For a 10 year old.

Good. With his little stature, knives would probably be an appropriate weapon. But he was still a kid, and Sasuke didn't make a habit of beating children up.

He nodded and held out the sword, but didn't move. This particular spar, he decided, would be a good chance to practice his defense rather than direct attacks.

Faolan quickly saw that Sasuke was waiting for him, and dropped into a crouch. His eyes darted over the older boy as this full measure of the importance of his start of the sparring match. His hands tightened around the hilts of his knives as he looked for openings.

Wanting to be fair, he darted forward quickly, one hand sweeping in to slash at Sasuke's midriff.

Sasuke dodged it, but narrowly, bringing the sword up to block the blade with a sharp clang of metal. He kept his eyes tuned to Faolan's arms, waiting to see if and where the next knife would land.

Faolan paused to see what Sasuke would do. He was still, so that meant it was still Faolan's turn. He darted in again, one arm sweeping for a wide slash while the other moved in for a quick gut jab that he hoped would be less noticeable behind the sweep.

Kay was headed out into town when he saw a guy standing around in a courtyard. The guy was just kind of standing there, swinging a sword. Weird. Was he waiting for something? Kay wondered. And why were there a bunch of other people watching?

He pushed his way through the sparse crowd, trying to get a better look. "So," he asked one of the villagers, "is something going on here?"

"The Knight of Fire is awaiting another Hero with which to have a friendly spar," came the excited, and loud, voice from somewhere behind Sasuke. "Look how his blade gleams in the light! Feel his fighting spirit!"

"Perhaps he has met his challenger?" The second voice was doing its best to sound very clever and subtle, and failing miserably at both. Sasuke rolled his eyes and swung again, two-handed this time, and the speed of it was much closer to what he was used to. It was heavy and unwieldy and he disliked it, but his options for weaponry were slim.

And he needed all the extra punch he could get.

Now that he was closer to Sasuke, Kay recognized him from their orb conversation. It was that guy who'd been a dick about swordfighting.

The idea of fighting him, no-strings-attached, sounded really damn good. "So you're telling me -- he wants to fight. It's cool," Kay said dubiously. "No one's gonna throw me in jail if I mess his face up."

One woman looked over in undisguised horror and opened her mouth, presumably to protest the "messing up" of any hero's grand and gallant features, but Sasuke spoke up first, turning to face the challenger.

"You can try," he said, coolly. "But you won't get so much as a scratch on my forehead."

The image that slipped into his head with the words burned. He tightened his grip on the handle of the sword.

Kay broke into a laugh. "You're on!" he said. If he'd been some kind of comic book character, maybe he would have postured more, made a bet or something. As it was, though, punching this dude's face in would be satisfaction enough, and Kay was too eager to get to the fighting part to do much talking.

He stepped into the middle of the courtyard, eyeing Sasuke's sword. "Well? How are we gonna do this?" Kay glanced around, looking for something he could use as a weapon -- a length of metal, a blunt instrument, something.

"You don't have a weapon," Sasuke pointed out, but he kept a hold on the handle of his broadsword. He hadn't realized the guy was so much bigger than he was--like everyone else in the city, it seemed. Not that size had any bearing on skill, but it was still jarring to go from average height to short, and while he'd always been slim, the people here were broad and hulking. He'd bet most of them were approaching twice his weight.

"What's the problem? Can't you fight without one?" Kay baited. He'd rather fight without weapons -- he was more comfortable with fistfights, and besides, he didn't feel like running around the castle trying to find one. He wanted to fight now.

"I was referring to your disadvantage."

Sasuke sheathed the sword and put it down outside the ring, then began to walk in a slow circle towards and around Kay. He wanted to fight too--his blood was boiling for it, his muscles tense and twitching. He'd have to be careful here, though. He'd taken bigger opponents, even as a low-level genin, but the size difference couldn't be disregarded.

"What disadvantage? I fight better like this." Kay rolled his shoulders, working the tension out of them. "I bet I could take you even with a sword." He made sure he was always facing Sasuke, but while the other was circling, Kay took a moment to stretch. Not a whole lot, nothing fancy, but enough to make sure he was warm.

When he was ready, if Sasuke hadn't already made a move, Kay would leap to close the distance between them, bringing his arm back to throw a straightforward punch.

It actually took James a while to find the court yard. He was only familiar with a few parts of town. He knew where the slaughter house was. Where the main market was. The well. The crazy homeless people. Once he felt a huge WAVE OF ANGER wafting his way, he followed that and found the knight of fire.

The wizard wasn't wearing his robes today because he knew flappy clothing in a fight was just asking for trouble. He showed up in jeans and a ragged, makeshift wifebeater that exposed just how fucking tall and gangly he was. Sasuke would be battling with a scarecrow. His left arm was concealed in a makeshift wrap and he brought a stick for good measure.

"I didn't have any gloves to bring and slap you with, so I guess this can't be a right and proper duel...but it'll do!"

Sasuke had to tilt his head back to make eye contact with JW, but he was scrawny and, if Sasuke remembered correctly, cowardly. He wasn't as much of a threat as he could have been.

He'd brought a stick and his arm was wrapped--an injury? A stick was a pretty pathetic weapon. Especially considering that wood burned.

"You won't be able get close enough to slap me," he answered.

James tapped the sole of one of his sneakers with his weapon and tottered back and forth on his heels.

"No, the slappin' part is supposed to happen before the fight. It's some kinda fancy custom where I'm from. Anyway."

The thin man stepped back and dropped the branch only to have it hang in the air before him. He furrowed his brow and controlled it with an open hand.

"I aint gettin' any prettier, let's go." He lashed his hand hard to the side and the stick followed suit, angled for Sasuke's noggin.

"It's nothing I've heard of."

Sasuke watched as JW made the stick hover. Did he have some kind of wood affinity--? But then it was coming at him, accompanied by the snarky comment, and he lifted his sword to block. Perhaps cut it in half, if he could get enough of a swing going and JW didn't yank it out of the way in time.

James clenched his teeth as Sasuke's sword bit into the branch he was using as a weapon. It didn't sever the stick, but it stuck fast and JW would have to not only use his magic to move his weapon, but fight against the sword's force as well. He side-stepped and started to try and circle around Sasuke to break his concentration.

His hands twitched as he held the gesture. His palms were aching, but not so severely that it would break his scowl. He started gesturing and murmuring under his breath with his free hand.

Well. That was interesting.

There wasn't much force, so shoving it back was easy. The problem was the sticking. He couldn't pull the sword back and free it from the stick, which meant he'd be stuck in an endless loop of pushing it around the ring while JW muttered incoherently.

With a little snarl, he let go of the hilt with one hand, freeing it to make the appropriate seals, and breathed in deeply, his chakra heating up in his stomach.

O-oh oh. James saw that gesturing and hurried his own. The last thing he wanted to be while in the middle of a spell was on fire. He hurried it so much that he left out an important syllable or two.

Instead of creating a barrier around Sasuke that he wouldn't be able to break through with flames alone, a burst of light produced several colorful dolphin-like creatures that proceeded to flop around on the battlefield between them uselessly.

JW clutched his searing hand to his chest and looked at his handywork brokenly.

"Well shit!"

"I hope you don't mean to involve magic in today's activities."

Giles had held back a bit in the crowd, for a bit, just to get a look at Sasuke. He'd never paid the boy much attention, before, not in terms of fighting or combat, and he realized now that this had been yet another mistake.

But, when the boy seems to be winding down on the magic front, he steps forward. He's holding a broadsword held in one hand with practiced familiarity - he's definitely rusty, after so long as a ghost and so little fighting since the Hero, but there's also a few decades of training that won't be erased so easily.

All the same, he suspects Sasuke can give him a fight.

The man was older than anyone Sasuke had fought with in a long time, although he didn't look particularly frail. The sword was similar to his, and Giles' grip was less awkward, like he'd used it before. A disadvantage on that front.

But he was sure he was faster, and by virtue of his size, sneakier. This was just a spar, although he couldn't quite tell himself that made it safe.

"I'll give what I get," he answered. "But I would prefer just weaponry or hand-to-hand."

Not that even a small fireball couldn't do damage if used the right way, but that was something he would rather figure out without an audience.

"So would I. Suppose we're agreed, then."

Giles could pull out a few less mundane tricks, if the need arose. But they were far, far more taxing on him than even a prolonged fight with a sword would be, and he didn't like the risk of whatever Schwanheim's magics might do to his own talents.

He could guess from here that Sasuke would almost certainly be faster. Giles had never been the most agile of fighters - it was a trait that had led to more than a few head wounds and prolonged bouts of unconsciousness, over the years. But, he'd once been able to hold his own against a Slayer. Hopefully, Sasuke wouldn't be too much stronger.

"I, um, I wouldn't mind trying for hand to hand, as well. But, um, afterwards. Did you have any idea how long you wanted to go, then?"

Some people liked to fight to first blood, others to unconsciousness.

Sasuke nodded in acknowledgement. He knew from experience not to trust someone at their word, but they did have witnesses here, and he could pull out the prenegotiated terms if he had to, if something went wrong.

As for how long he wanted to go, he paused. He'd never actually put a limit like that on a spar before--even death wasn't usually off the table in the shinobi world, although Sasuke could almost always achieve the same objective by incapacitation.

"Until there's a clear winner," he said, finally.

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GHB 3, fighting log

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oh my god they actually have stage ninjas

Those guys follow the Shinkengers EVERYWHERE XD

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