A Favour to Ask (Request to join)

[Toraono Seika]

(OOC: You may join on request from all participants of the thread)

Seika paced back and forth. She had been enshrined away for so long that she had gotten rusty in her fighting, and as much as she hated to admit it, she couldn't ask Kendei to help her as he wouldn't be as hard on her as she needed. Kuro... well her brother wouldn't face her in battle, she scared him too much. Her sisters were all out, as was her mother. Her consort was also otherwise indisposed. There was nobody left.

Well almost nobody, except for... him. Takahashi Sousuke. He would surely see her plight and take her up on her offer to battle with him. That settled it, she would implore him to visit the dojo, and then... Well if he had any honour he wouldn't refuse her challenge.

She sat at her desk and pulled out a sheet of paper and a pen. She could always pay him with a nice meal.


Sousuke,

You are requested to show yourself at the Toraono Dojo. It has been a long time overdue since I have seen you. Now that I've been allowed free of the chamber I was sequestered in, I would like to spend time with some of my favourite people.

Yours

Toraono-Nobuku Seika


Seika read the small note twice to make sure that it was precisely what she had wanted to say, and when she was satisfied she sealed the letter before handing it to Kendei. “Make sure that he gets this.” She said, knowing that Kendei would do just that. She saw his eyes drop to the paper to make sure that he knew just who this 'he' was, and chuckled.

“You know me, my lady.” He replied with his easy-going attitude. “I'll have it in his hand before he realises that its there.” He gave a small wink to his lady before he bowed and left.

All she had to do was wait.


It had been all too easy to accept the job of delivering the letter. It was finding the man in question that would take the time. Having no idea where he could be, the most logical place for him to go would be to the home of Sousuke himself.

Kendei knocked on the door, ready to present the letter to whomever would answer.


[MFT
WC: 381]

 

[Takahashi Aki]

An unwell Sousuke sat staring at the wall. He should have been building. Balancing books. Reviewing budgets. No. Here he was in a state of unwell. He had been burning the candle at all the ends. He hadn't slept since the surface had been quieted down. His defeat at the hands of Shouki. His ongoing disappointment to Katuso. It was not spoken of. It was there. The ongoing inferiority of one Takahashi Sousuke. The man who single handedly failed to allow a Sunahoshi to take the throne. The one thing he was supposed to do, he failed and failed utterly. It almost seemed as if his life had become one great joke. He blinked slowly as he stared at the wall. Why was resting so incredibly unfulfilling? He had to recover somehow. The sandworm acid was eating away at his interior plates. It was going to be a matter of time before someone noticed it. He had literally no time to recover. He had to get back to work. He had to keep going. He had to put it into the mind of Katuso that he was better than this. It was hard though. He had shown a sign of anger in front of him at a man most deserving being Kaito of the Cabal. He had led them into Suna, and had destroyed Suna. Ironically it was the information that he had given them that had allowed them to recapture the surface. It didn't help either that members of the court seemingly had left a bad impression upon the man who would be king. Kuro and his methods did not ring properly nor did his desire of wanting to turn Naganisa upon the Cabal. Sousuke wanted nothing to do with it. The snake woman was a danger. It was a danger he diffused with words. ... Not to mention his father had questioned him constantly when Katuso would take the throne. He did not want to hear anything of him not taking it.

Blue lines and circles detailed the Steward's flesh. This was his malady taking shape. He felt like a leper. Perhaps he was one. It always seemed that way from a young age. Sousuke had been different, and not in the good way. He didn't speak until the age of three. His eyes had been burned when he saw the sun for the first time. His childhood was difficult, but he had survived it with broken bones, and inept social abilities. He had conquered several learning disabilities. It was expected of him. He had to pave way for the rightful king to return.

Sousuke sighed. Right. Well he had only spent five minutes on the couch. He should have spent those five minutes doing some more with his time. There was a knock at the door. Sousuke sat up from the couch. He didn't want to answer the door, but he had to. The sickly Steward answered the door and stared at the delivery man. He took the letter from him and slammed the door after muttering some words of thanks. He went back to the couch and thought about planning a new glass structure for the surface. All the same he was opening the letter. Sousuke looked at the letter. The curls. The simpleness of the language. The requested item that was not present. Toraono Seika. His older non-blood related sister. She wanted to dual with him. Her choice of words were ... demanding. He was only her favourite because... well... he was the baby of the family. He was twenty-two. Yes. Still the baby.

He didn't want to attend, but honour demanded it. When a lady of the Toraono line requested something you best respond...
***

Well. The other part that was expected of him to do was to dress well for his older sister. It was on rare occasion that Sousuke wore formal wear. Full faceplate mask, red long coat. It itched. It bothered him. It was too large for him too. Sousuke was a smaller man, so most of his clothing was handmedowns from when Kuro was a child. At least the good part was that he hid his malady. Finding his cousin wasn't hard. It was just that it was a game to her. Some sort of childish game called Hunter Killer. It involved shadows and casting your shadow in some manner to metaphorically declare some sort of instinct of the fatalistic sort. His shoulders slunk. He just lost the game didn't he?

"You know. A telephone call would have worked all the same."<i></i> He called out. "As usual you're as demanding as ever. I suppose that is a good thing in the sense that you haven't changed much."<i></i> He looked about. Where was she? More importantly was a sneak attack upon his person forthcoming? That was a slightly more concerning this. What was it today? Sword? Axe? Spear? Dagger? Sousuke very lazily looked around. Well. Best to prepare for something. He readied himself for this.

 

[Miroku Riyota]

Cmoooon Riyota grunted training hard at a nearby spot in the dojo. It'll work...Now! He tried again. Now! He tried once more Nnnnnnnow! he gave it one last small effort, sighing and sitting on the ground, he glared at his axe Am I doing something wrong? he said to it. He sat there for a few minutes until he realized he was talking to an axe. He brought his hand near his face and watched it crackle with small amounts of lightning I can do that fine, but I can't get it to go through my axe properly He huffed. Standing up an re-holstering his axe, he decided on leaving it alone for now. He swept some of his hair out of his face and stretched.

While I'm here, I may as well look around a bit​

He stuck one foot out in front of the other and began to wander round with no real sense of direction. After about half an hour of wandering, getting a snack, and more wandering. He stumbled upon someone he recognized. Sensei He thought to himself as he noticed the unmistakable look of his teacher, who seemed very focused on something.

I shouldn't distract him...He might be in trouble and he probably needs to focus. After thinking this Riyota settled on watching from behind a pillar, if nothing happened, he would approach Sousuke.

 

[Toraono Seika]

Kendei was rather taken aback by the door slammed in his face, thankfully he had just been asked to deliver the message and not make sure that Sousuke actually did what it entailed, not even Seika could enforce that if he really didn't want to attend, though he was pretty sure that if he failed to show then Seika would hunt him down anyway. He shrugged simply and left to return to the dojo.


Seika paced as she waited for both Kendei and Sousuke to enter the dojo, and when she saw Kendei alone, she almost punched him. “Where is he?”She demanded of the man that stopped in front of her.

“Not here, I asume, yet.”Kendei replied with a chuckle. “I gave him your letter, but he seemed to be rather... distracted or displeased. I couldn't tell much after he slammed the door in my face.” He cracked his knuckles slightly. “Had it been anyone else...”

“He will be here.”Seika said as she cut him off. “If he got the letter, he will come.” She took a position that he couldn't see her from on the observer's platform above. She just had to wait.



"You know. A telephone call would have worked all the same." He called out. "As usual you're as demanding as ever. I suppose that is a good thing in the sense that you haven't changed much."



Seika answered him with a small giggle. “It would have worked, but it wouldn't have been nearly as much fun.”She sprang from the balcony using her full force to aim a kick at his chest. She expected him to either dodge or block her attack, but she was prepared to deal with that eventuality should it occur, or indeed not. Her hand went to Tsukishi, and as she drew the blade she sent some of her holy chakra through the blade, the rapier glowing slightly with the aura it adopted from her.

She thrust the blade towards her sparring partner, aiming at his right shoulder, until she pointed her blade upwards, summoning a meteor storm, six bright lights rained down from the ceiling. Using that as a distraction she returned to attacking Sousuke with her rapier. Each thrust she made targeting his limbs, not to cause any real damage, but to provoke him into battling her with his full attention. “Come on, Sousuke, show me what you've learned since the last time we sparred.”

 

[Takahashi Aki]

Seika descended upon him with boot ready to greet him. Sousuke would block the kick He grabbed her by the boot and swung her around, but then he was opened to what next came which was her rapier. Her attack grazed him and the ball point ran through his coat, cutting the upper part of his shoulder. The cut wasn't deep, but it had a slight stinging sensation. Right. So. Minor injury, not a problem. "Fun? Really? Your sense of amusement is questionable... but it's always been this way hasn't it?"<i></i> It always the Steward that his extended family seemed so very different. It was hard to beleive that Seika was Kuro's older sister. She didn't behave responsibly. She didn't act older than Kuro. No it was the opposite, truth be told. Seika then conjured meteors and hurled them at him, while at the same time striking at him again. Sousuke backtracked slightly, he shifted to the left and then to the right. He avoided the meteors for the most part. Small craters were left in the wake, as he was then left to the next series of attacks. More thrusts coming from her rapier. Sousuke had summoned the Black Blade and started countering some of the attacks. Shadow and light clashed, and the opposing elements screamed at each other.

"I know you're around Riyota. You're going to be in for a show."<i></i> Sousuke wasn't oblivious to his student in the area. "Just be mindful that powersets and their appearances don't always speak that well of the individual."<i></i> Sousuke's powers was that in the shadows, and of plasma. The Black Blade converted into a rune blade now. Sousuke was pushing back now, the last attack had clipped him and he was bleeding. Sousuke's hand began to glow with sickly dark blue chakra. He was concentrating now, as he kept his sister at bay with the Black Blade he was now going to mount his offense. Sousuke's metallic fingers closed into a fist. He had only recently learned to fight unarmed. Sousuke would then throw a power punch at Seika's stomach. It was meant to get her off balance, the moment she reacted to it, he would follow up. A black cape would surface seemingly and Sousuke's form would fall into shadows and would seemingly vanish from thin air. The cape seemingly expanded and with it took Sousuke's form which became null and void.

"What I've learned is irrelevant. It's more about the application of what I've learned."<i></i> He spoke. His voice seemingly coming at Seika from all around. The black cape formed behind her. He seemingly wasn't kidding around. Parts of the cloak were red from earlier from where she grazed him. Sousuke this time elected to strike her from a blind spot. How much had he learned? Well. It was also about how much she had learned too.

 

[Toraono Seika]

Seika had expected his reaction to her kick, which made this all the more entertaining, well for her at least. The graze of her sword showing that she had been taking the battle seriously. “Why, my dear Sousuke, you wound me so.”<i></i> She lightly teased as her eyes glittered in amusement. “Then again you also know me so well.” <i></i>After a while of him dodging her summoned meteors and thrusts, he stopped and summoned the Black Blade and started responding to her probing thrusts.

The sparks were glorious!

Seika had been careful not to aim the meteors in the direction of the kid that she had been aware of, though she had all the intentions in the world of showing the kid just how some of the more experienced shinobi battled. She knew that Sousuke's powers were different to that of her own, especially when it came to his various jutsu. She was more water based with light elements, even her entirety of advanced elemental knowledge actually revolved around that fact. Yuuki gave her access to Photon based jutsu but that was almost her extent of skills.

What pleased her most, however, was the dark blue chakra which glowed around his hand. He was keeping her at bay while he he was obviously preparing something... interesting. What she didn't expect was the punch aimed at her stomach, which she barely avoided by spinning to the right. Yet she couldn't believe that Sousuke was disappearing into shadows.


"What I've learned is irrelevant. It's more about the application of what I've learned."


Seika looked around, her eyes narrowing slightly. Shadows weren't the best of things for her to deal with, but she wasn't about to just give up because of this. She would show to him just how her own training had been.

So she waited.

Patience had been one of the things she had been training, and it wasn't just for this battle. She knew that she was hot headed when in battle, and that was a major weakness that she held. Yet she had been counting on Sousuke's experiences of that to lead him into believing that she would be rash as always.

She allowed her senses to reach out, drawing on her inner angel's battle experiences. She knew that Sousuke knew his best chance was to strike her where she couldn't see him. He could cause her the most damage by being as undetectable as possible. She closed her eyes, and only opened them when she felt the smallest change in air pressure, her body automatically coating itself in a shell of chakra (Invisible Shell), deflecting the blow that Sousuke would have otherwise landed. She would allow him that point, but only because she had something equally as devious planned. She immediately followed up with a blast of chakra, bright enough that it would make her look as much of an angel as Yuuki was, the light was bright enough to dazzle most opponents, but that wasn't all. She allowed two angelic wings to sprout from her back (Demon Cloak Alpha), while not allowing her true flight, it showed her opponent that she was also taking this seriously, or just enough that she would make him think twice about dancing so close with her, sending out another blast of photon chakra, this time tainted with Yuuki's own energy (Demonic Burst).

Only after her tirade did she wonder something. Could Sousuke actually be able to stop her in her tracks?

 

[Miroku Riyota]

Riyota was embarrassed not just one, but both the Ninjas knew that he was there. Am I really that bad at hiding? He sighed to himself. He stepped out from behind the Pillar to see the crazy woman who attacked Sousuke-sensei standing there alone, with his teacher nowhere to be seen. Riyota's eyes widened, his mind began running through all the possible explanations for what had happened Was he killed? Did he run away? is he hiding? but then a more dreading thought crossed over his mind. As he fixed his gaze on the unfamiliar woman he began to panic deep inside himself.

</I>

I she going to come after me for spying?​

<i></i>

The thought scared him slightly, and he knew it certainly wasn't going to be a good idea to stick around much longer if this Woman truly was dangerous, he shuffled slightly, gulping. But I also wanna stay and watch the fighting, Sousuke-sensei said I was in for a show, so I doubt he's run off but...were could he be? putting those thoughts to the back of his mind, he decided he should probably say something before the Woman got the wrong idea. I...Um, heh, was just...uhhhh.

<I>Well said, Genius.​

<i></i> He thought to himself.

 

[Takahashi Aki]

Tenshii. That old religion. It was something that depicted usually the right as figures of bright lights and colours. The legends of the Black Knight were usually tales of a man who used a power set that the tenshii would refer to as evil. To answer the bright lights, Sousuke answered with the shadows. Sousuke's black cloak expanded over his form. His features seemed to be completely covered by this shadow of shadow, all what was left was a set of glowing green eyes. The light did not penetrate the vastness or the darkness of the shroud. It merely rejected it, even going so far as to absorbing it and expanding the shadows. This was the power of the Black Blade. This was the power of the shadow. When the light shines to bright and threatens to blind people, the shadows were there to answer it.

"House Toraono seemingly to have converted to the old religion? How ... surprising."<i></i> Sousuke answered from beneath the expanding shadows. Despite her new form, Sousuke did not shy away from attacking her. The photonic blast was answered with a black ball of chakra. The two collided and cancelled each other out. Armed with the Black Blade and the shadows around him he again took to her. Sousuke leapt at her, and with it he took the shadows of the room. He brought down with him an increasing arc of dark navy chakra in a crescent swing. "Shadows and light Riyota, the oldest of opposites. Like water and fire."<i></i> He was going to give his student an education of sorts. "The morality of one is not dictated by the elements they choose. Some may be denied by the elements to make use of them. This is what happened to the Black Knight. He could not make use of elemental ninjutsus such as fire or lightning. Only the shadow answered to his pleas for him. With the shadows he went out to help and serve the people. He slew great and terrible beasts that plagued the lands. He was reviled by many because he did not walk in the light without being burned. In time people accepted him for what he was, and what he had access to in order to make his world a better place."<i></i> After impact, Sousuke would then swing the Black Blade horizontally bringing with it another wave of shadowy matter. The final attack would come as a thrust forward at Seika's leg. He needed to impair her. She was fast. Something had to be done about it.

 

[Toraono Seika]

Seika noticed the small hesitance of surprise that her wings brought, one that was all too small for her to take advantage of. Like the shadows that Sousuke wielded, her light raged furiously against its opposing element, the itch of excitement radiated through the chakra.


"House Toraono seemingly to have converted to the old religion? How ... surprising."


“Actually, there was no conversion. This is part of my being, part of my life.” Seika said as she leaped backwards from the swing of the blade. Touching that blade could cause a lot of pain to anyone. The only thing that she could use was her speed and agility, and the fact that she could dodge faster than he could swing. The child, indeed, was going to get a good lesson today. The small distraction made her miss the second blow that Sousuke sent in her direction, moving her blade to block the shadow enhanced one, she wasn't prepared for the thrust that happened, piercing the muscles of her thigh, making her scream in agony, Yuuki's infused terror turning the scream into a roar of furious light (Demonic Howl), the blast of light erupted from her, washing over everyone in the area.


Kendei winced as he covered his ears, but knowing that his mistress was quite dangerous as she was at that moment, he ran between the child and her, making sure that she didn't even think about attacking the youngster. “Don't worry young'un, she isn't always like this.” He said as he watched the woman that he loved with all his heart staring at the one before her. She was focused and at her most dangerous, the wound bled light as well as blood. To all around her, it would seem that she was almost giving up the battle, but it was less Seika and more Yuuki that was in control now. The angel reached out to the light that was in the arena, drawing it to her, wrapping it around her, like a blanket. Seika had been taking it too easy. She discarded the sword with nary a care as she reached out with the wings, becoming larger and more pronounced, the excess forming a blade of its own in her hand, bonding with it, becoming an extension of the tenshi wielding it. Yuuki never took her eyes off of the mass of shadow before her, before drawing the blade so it was level and emitting a blast of pure angelic light (Menacing Blast), and using Seika's own natural talent to... warp the strength and characteristics of the blast itself (Clarity Strike).

Seika could just watch quietly as Yuuki prepared her attack. It reminded her of a poem that her mother had told her when she was younger. It was called 'When a Good Man goes to War', and the mere memory made her mentally recite it, especially as it seemed appropriate.

Demons run when a good man goes to war.
Night will fall and drown the sun


Seika knew that Sousuke was preparing for the battle, one which either side could win or lose, it was unclear which side would be the victor in such a match. They were both pretty evenly mayched from what she could tell.


When a good man goes to war.
Friendship dies and true love lies,
Night will fall and the dark will rise...


Seika's mind moved to the last part, and one that made Yuuki smirk at, pointing the energy blade towards the child instead of the Steward before her, her eyes never leaving the shadow mass. What would he do? To give him a helping hand with his decision she drew the poem in her mind and spoke it aloud.

"Demons run when a good man goes to war.
Night will fall and drown the sun
When a good man goes to war.
Friendship dies and true love lies,
Night will fall and the dark will rise,
When a good man goes to war.
Demons run, but count the cost.
The battle's won but the child is lost."


She winked at Sousuke. “What are you going to do?” Her actions placed Sousuke in a predicament. His shadows could overpower her, but what about the child? Kendei wasn't powerful enough to redirect a direct blast at them. If they were forced to take a blast there could be injuries, but protecting them would weaken his own defences and potentially opening himself for an attack.

Should he protect the child, he would find himself more face to face than what he had anticipated with the angel's wrath, with her two wings lashing out to envelop his form to the best of their abilities to bite down onto him (Demon's Edict). Should he attack her, then six blasts would escape the sword heading towards Riyota and Kendei.

[MFT
WC: 791 including quotes
Quote used: A good Man Goes to War from Doctor Who]

 

[Miroku Riyota]

He continued to stare at the unfolding battle as his teacher began to lecture him on something. Really Sensei? is this really the best time? he rolled his eyes, a small smile creeping across his face, of all the times, his teacher chose the heat of battle to tell him about stuff.

As fast as light goes, Shadow will always be there to meet it. Riyota smiled as he remembered the quote his father used to always say to him. However his smile quickly faded on his face as he listened to the sword his teacher wielded pierce the leg of his opponent, he covered his ears as the blood curdling stream that followed it rang out. The man who had accompanied the strange woman now stood in front of him, looking slightly worried. Riyota's panic began to rise as the man tried to comfort him. He wasn't worried before, but he certainly was now.

He opened one eye and then the other whilst recovering from the impact of the scream, The Woman looked different now...Scarily different, she seemed ready to do anything to hit his teacher back for the wound he had inflicted on her, Riyota stood and waited to see what attack she was going to throw that she spent so long powering up for, he waited patiently, and watched as she readied her attack. However his eyes widened in great surprise as she saw her attack heading straight for him...

This is it, This is how I die​

[MFT 251]

 

[Takahashi Aki]

Theme​

Somedays ... I wonder why I bother getting out of bed.<i></i> Sousuke watched as Seika transformed. Sometimes I realize how out of my league I am. A simple son of man and woman. All I have are my tools of metal, and a few allies of otherwordly powers. I am supposedly related to this family. If that much was true then I would showcase some fantastic ability. All that I have, I owe in part to the Black Blade.<i></i> Sousuke observed as her wings grew larger and larger. Seika then began to sing. This was something of a twist. He watched as two sets of attacks unfolded one at him. The other at his student. This was not how a duel worked. You didn't involve the watchers. Sousuke's eyes shifted over to Riyota. He didn't have the training to deal with this sort of thing yet. Sousuke called out and conjured the metal in the dojo, he formed a metallic skeletal clone stood in front of Riyota and Kendai.

Sousuke stood his ground. What he did next was perhaps not foreseen by his enemy. He would throw the dual, the game had changed. He threw the ebon blade at the metal clone. His shadowy cloak leaving his body and revealing a weakened and sickly looking Sousuke. The blue line marks across his flesh, he looked out of breath as well. He held out his metallic arm and braced for the attacks. The light cut through him and left him bloodied. He fell to his knees for a moment as his injuries and sickness were taking the best of him. Sousuke formed hand seals and created a wall of earth to stand in front of his target, and the two he was protecting.

As for the Black Blade? It was grabbed by the metal clone, the great shadowy cloak merging with the metallic entity to form what Seika, Riyota, and Kendei had seen earlier. The great image of Shade. The metal clone moved with a slowed movement. Despite being empowered by the Black Blade it was still had no great power. The shrouded metal clone whipped around and shielded both Kendai and Riyota from the attacks. The wall of stone was destroyed , then the both of them could see the metal clone taking hits and being destroyed before their very eyes. Once obliterated the Black Blade fell to the ground with a mighty clang. I might be out of my league... but I have no choice but to be the superior Takahashi Sousuke. These other worldly powers have to be reminded that even mere mortals can do something extra ordinary.<i></i>

 

[Toraono Seika]

Yuuki almost crowed in her perceived victory, even though she could feel Seika's will battling her own. They had won because she had done something that Seika would never have considered. Sometimes in battles sacrificed needed to be made. Triumphantly a wing drew Sousuke closer to the empowered angel. She could still see a form of defiance in his eyes, she expected as much, mortals such as he never knew when enough was enough, even though his body was feeling the toll of both injuries that she had inflicted and some kind of sickness that the angel hadn't seen before. Stripped of what had protected him, the angel knew then that should she so wish it that she could obliterate this man.

“NO!” <i></i>Seika's voice echoed through their conjoined form. “You will not kill him, this was meant to be a friendly spar!”<i></i> The angel snarled at Seika's growing control. “You were not supposed to think about harming bystanders, this was purely between me and Sousuke!”<i></i>

From the sidelines Kendei and Riyota could see the inner struggle between the angel and the woman. “This is the woman I know and love.”<i></i> Kendei said as he could feel the chakra warping around Seika. “She isn't just a single entity, mores the pity sometimes.” <i></i>The wings then shattered before their eyes, the light flooding the arena for a moment, when they could see from the brightness, they could see Sousuke's sword floating before them, answering Seika's control and moving towards the pair. “An improvement, then again she's a determined one.” <i></i>

“No more foreign intervention.” <i></i>Seika said as she stabbed the blade into the ground, taking a moment to heal the wound on her leg slightly, enough to stop the bleeding that he had caused before. “Once we're done I'll make sure that we're both healed and make sure that you have a better meal, one that you deserve, brother.”<i></i> She said with a smile as she collected her own blade, the blade lighting up once more at her touch. She could feel the angel within her seething at being discarded. She winced slightly at the barely healed flesh pulled against the healing she had done.

“Shall we?” <i></i>She asked with a small smile. “You, me and our blades.” <i></i>

 

[Miroku Riyota]

Woah woah woah, hold up just a second. Riyota stepped out from behind the man and the other defenses Sousuke had placed in front of him. Does anyone mind explaining to me what that was exactly? He continued walking forward, desperately wanting some answers to his questions. I'll start from the top of things I'm confused about, firstly, Who are you? He addressed the woman. Secondly Sousuke-sensei, what's wrong with you, you look like you have a cold but like...A really bad one. He continued talking And lastly, what the heck was that just there? He almost shouted. He wasn't exactly angry, but he was trying to make an effort to cover up his embarrassment Geez, apparently in the face of danger, all I can do is stand completely still. He thought to himself.

He looked back and forth between the two opponents, Well maybe it's not for me to say, and I wouldn't want to embarrass Sensei but...well...He doesn't look too good, and...surely it'd be more fair to fight when you're at your best? He regretted the suggestion as soon as he had made it, he braced himself for the imminent 'You're just a child, you should butt out' and 'It isn't your business.'

I mean...it's just my opinion, from what I see, it'd probably be more fun to fight when Sousuke-sensei is fully up to it.​

He grinned.

Now that'd be fun to watch. He thought.

 

[Takahashi Aki]

Sousuke was taken hold by Seika's wings. The light burned through his coat and his skin was sizzling. He still had some fight in him. His hands crackled with black electricity. This was going to hurt though if not be very fatal. Sousuke's eyes narrowed. His faceplate broken in several places, there were side pieces left. Well. It was now or never--

Seika dropped Sousuke. Her wings broke up and flooded the room with photonic power. It took him a moment to realize what had happened. It seemed that Seika was not in control. Something else had taken control of the body and had forced him to throw the dual to protect Riyota and Kendei. Surprisingly his student spoke up, asking alot of questions and making all the right kinds of obersvation. Sousuke rose up. He willed the black Blade to him. "This is Toraono Seika, one of the eldest daughters of the Lady Azame. We are ... ... "<i></i> He paused for a moment. "Well ... we're siblings, but through non-traditional means. Surrogate means really."<i></i> He hesitated as to answering the next question. "Yes. A cold."<i></i> He answered. It was a form of the truth. An infection of sorts. Sousuke had been working for hours on end, with no rest. He had to ... prove something to the Cabal. Was it his worth? That he could work Suna out of the sickness that they had endured for such a long time? Sungakure had been weakened for the past twenty years. The Cabal, or anyone, seemed to grasp the concept that hard times had occurred. Great powers declined. Change or protection could not be made while in decline. "I've always fought at a disadvantage. Believe or not I am rarely, if ever, at what would deem their prime. That in itself is a testament to one's will that they fight on when things are not fair. If this world was truly fair ... things would be very different for me."<i></i> He explained. "I've managed to ... strive forward despite several disabilities of the learning and metal variety."<i></i> He was not looking for pity. It was merely an explanation as to how things always were for Sousuke. He willed the Black Blade to his hand. He gripped the blade. "Mmm. No fight is ever truly fair. An enemy may hold your family and friends against you. Your enemy may be naturally stronger or smarter than you. What matters is that you rely on your strengths and hone them so that your weaknesses will be offset. "<i></i> Sousuke raised his hand and tapped the side of his head. A new facial mask began to reconstruct itself. "Never let them see you bleed Riyota."<i></i> He straightened his stance. "Just because I don't look well, doesn't mean I can escape what it is expected of me. I must do what is required of me. Regardless of all things being in my way."<i></i> It seemed now that Sousuke was ready to continue. All signs of his sickness were no longer visible present due to his features being hidden. It was as if he was healthy once more.

 

[Toraono Seika]

Seika's eyes flickered over Souuke before moving to the child. “I am Toraono Seika, the eldest child of Lady Toraono Azame. For now, that is all you need to know, the rest shall be explained later.”<i></i> She wasn't trying to dismiss Riyota, however she also didn't want to get into a lengthy discussion as to who, or what, she was. Not at that moment, not when she needed to keep the figurative beast inside on a short leash. The child didn't know that she was hindering her strength as it was, just by wielding a weapon it cut most of her efficiency down to a fraction of her skill with ninjutsu as a whole.

She circled to the left, keeping her eyes on Sousuke's every action. His shadows clashed with her light in ways that made them scream and writhe. She waited for his next move, she would best the steward, and using her own skills and not those of Yuuki, who had proven that she would still use any means necessary to achieve her goals.

What would Sousuke do?

 

[Miroku Riyota]

Riyota listened to the responses to his questions by both Sousuke and the Woman, who he know knew was known as Toraono Seika. Toraono...Toraono, where have I heard that before... He thought for a few seconds Toraono, that's the same clan as old-man Kuro! he exclaimed, until he realised the Lady was too focused on the battle and wasn't listening to him. After a minute he spun around and listened to Sousuke's speech. The words sunk in heavily and Riyota nodded his head, this was something he was likely to remember for the rest of his life now, he looked back and forth between the two competitors. I'm still waiting for the day I can prove myself. He thought and smiled. But Today isn't the day for that, right now is the time to let these two fight out whatever it is they're fighting about. He chuckled slightly, instinctively resting a hand on his axe handle.

I'm hoping you'll kick her butt sensei but if I had to put money on it, I'd put it on her. He laughed lightly at his own cheeky comment towards the Kazekage. But you got good chances, because sensei, No matter how fast Light travels, Shadow is always there to meet it. The boy recited the words of his Father to his teacher. Smiling to both competitors, he decided not to keep them any longer, and moved out of the way to let them fight, Go on then, what happens now? He laughed, eager to see what the next move would be.

[MFT 258]

 

[Takahashi Aki]

No matter how fast light travels, shadow is always there to meet it.​

Inspiring words. True words. Sousuke merely nodded his head. He would be mindful of these words. Sousuke looked at Seika and then back to Riyota. She hasnwered she was the oldest sister. Sousuke wanted to... observe the reaction coming out of his student or from Seika. If Kuro was old to Riyota, then to him he would conceive Seika as elderly. Granted she did not look all that old. The women of House Toraono seemingly aged very well. Seika would simply brush off the remark, or she would merely keep a count against Riyota to be extracted later. "What happens now?"<i></i> Sousuke questioned, "We continue."<i></i> Sousuke tightened his grip around the Black Blade. A new shroud of shadows emerged to complete Sousuke's armour.

Sousuke would begin the dual once again. He would swing the Black Blade first vertically, then horizontally forming a cross slash. He would continue his assault with another series of diagonal slashes in the form of a steel weaving. Seika would start things off slowly for his sister, after all she was recovering what she had taken over her from earlier. The next series of slashes would be aimed at her mid section, again another series of multi-faceted attacks, with the final sword stroke being a thrust forward. "I learned my swordcraft from Lady Azame."<i></i> Sousuke explained to Riyota. What he hoped he would realize is that it was two students from the same school dueling. Granted Sousuke was calm and calculated. Seika was emotional and spontaneous.

Sousuke's final attack would come as what appeared to be a single slash, but in fact was several. The first slash would attempt to attack Seika's chakra pool. and then following it would be a series of quick slashes. It was a combined technique. It had the speed of a Higuma, but the first slash consiting of a Lotus Flower. The technique upon contact would cause a ripple of sickly blue chakra to surface, the ripples eventually breaking out and forming into lotus petals. "Ripple Blade."<i></i> He uttered lowly as he commenced his final attack. His cousin Katuso, who was a relation of a different house always had neat and ... sometimes obnoxious names for attacks.

(MFT)

 

[Toraono Seika]

Seika gave a small chuckle at the boy's words. “What did you call my baby brother?” She teased, yet she didn't let them distract her further from the battle. She was sure to have a chat with the youngster once the battle was done.


“Seika is strong but I've heard a lot about the steward himself.”Kendei said as he squeezed the kid's shoulder. “Light and shadow are two parts of the same coin, they fight with each other but you can't have one with the absence of the other. Light is nothing without darkness, and ow can you tell what darkness is without first experiencing what light is?”The moving shadows around Sousuke flowed as evenly as Seika's own aura of light. The two combatants were more evenly matched than what the kid gave them credit for. If he had money to place on this battle... he wouldn't use a single coin.


Seika met each slash with one of her own, but only if her reflexes couldn't get her out of the way in time. She was cautious now, her eyes never once breaking contact with Sousuke's form. 'A swordsmaster has tells.' Her mother had said when Seika was learning the blade for the first time. 'A skilled swordsmaster knows how to feign one act while doing another, but they also have certain tells, you just need to work them out.' Yet something in Sousuke's fighting style told her that he was being as honest a fighter as he could be, but could that also be a ruse? He had the same teacher as she had, and learned the same lessons, so she danced.

Then she saw an opening, with Sousuke's thrust, she shifted her grip on the blade and spun to the left, the sword aiming towards Sousuke's neck, the momentum carrying her out of the way of his attack, and she jokingly lashed out to kick his ass (rather literally). She expected him to stop her foot, and for that she had a little surprise for him. She had begun pouring her chakra into her feet, preparing to let it burst out into five distinct blasts of her light chakra (Illuminate).

[MFT
WC: 364]

 

[Miroku Riyota]

Riyota listened to the man give him the lecture on the prospects of Light and Dark, staying silent as he continued following and learning from the battle unfolding in front of him. He watched their motions, swift and smooth and began calculating how he could employ such techniques into his axe motions. He watched his Teacher and the Lady engage in even higher level combat, their moves escalating as the battle continued. He could clearly see the battle waged with their blades, but had to focus if he wanted to see the War waged between their minds. He continued learning what he could, he wanted to have questions to ask of the Woman afterwards.

He sat town so he could focus better and as he did so he caught the motion of the Woman's hand, and remembered learning that telltale sign of Attack preparation in his classes, in a real fight he would call out to his teacher to warn him, but this was not a real fight and Riyota wanted to see what Lady Azame was going to do. I think I already know something I want to ask her afterwards. He smiled to himself.

 

[Takahashi Aki]

Sousuke answered Seika for Riyota's sake. Better for her to be mad with him than with his student. Women were sometimes illogical creatures. "He called Kuro old, which would then make you older. Again... maybe by a decade even."<i></i> Seika was not forty. Thirty-eight? No thirty-five. That Sousuke was certain of. Toraono clan members aged at a very slow process. To the uninitiated it was a most awkward position. Lady Azame was most well aged, and even her age ... Sousuke was not sure. He could certainly guess what her age was, but honestly it was something he did not want to guess, and have overestimated it. It always struck Sousuke as odd, that women seemed to very prideful of keeping their age secret. In the case of clan Toraono it wasn't like they went through drastic changes.

Seika swung her blade at his neck, Sousuke with his index and middle finger tipped the blade. He caught the blade before it made contact. With some effort he pushed the blade off, but then his adopted older sister was on the move again. From her position it was hard to tell what she was doing which was-- Sousuke felt the kick to the posterior. Beneath his faceplate he rose an eyebrow. "R-really?"<i></i> He questioned her. He expected her to laugh at this awkward moment. He was able to grab hold of her ankle after the kick landed, and for that he made an error, the illuminate blinded him for a moment. The initial burst caused Sousuke's vision to go white. The first shot grazed him tearing up his fine leather formal wear. Sousuka was no Hashigaki, and so to dodge the rest of the attacks he merely body swapped out. A smouldering block of wood that caught fire due to the intensity of the photonic energies sat where Sousuke was.

The Steward had relocated himself to the side. His vision was now clearing from the initial shock of it. His field of view was littered with white circles, diamond like. It was a slight irritation that he had to deal with for the moment. Once his sight returned properly, he returned back to the fight. It was time to to show Seika some of the unarmed techniques he had recently acquired. The Steward sheathed his weapon. This time he phased out and behind her. The Steward would open up with left hook, he charged his chakra through his fist. He would then throw a second punch with his right, putting even more chakra into this punch. These were the twin attacks he had witnessed Kuro using before, fist of virtue, and fist of sin. Then Sousuke would attempt to grapple Seika, attempting to put her on the defence. If successful he would follow up with a german suplex, in an attempt to slam her not once, not twice, but thrice. Hopefully from the onslaught of slams he would knock the air out of her.