Ko had been cocky. Too cocky. The thrill of newly found power had excited him, and the curiosity to test the outer reaches of this power had made him blind. He'd grown drunk off of his own desire to understand himself, and because of that he'd become careless. As the woman moved closer to him, he slowly began to understand his mistake. His face changed from one of conviction and confidence to one of instant regret. He'd miscalculated. As her palms hit him cleanly in the gut, he could feel the wind being knocked out of him. The sudden change in momentum made his head reel a bit, and his eyes were having trouble keeping up with the changing speed. He wasn't sent backwards, but the changing direction and strikes together disoriented him quite a bit. He tried to figure out where he was, but by the time he figured out he was hurtling towards the wall it was too late to stop it. Desperately, he tried to disintegrate the ball of metal into sand again — he wanted to try to soften his blow as much as possible. He still slammed hard into the wall, rattling his body like a rag doll, but he wouldn't be suffering anything too severe. A bunch of bruises, and a sprained wrist or ankle perhaps, but he wouldn't need to be going to the hospital tonight.
Before he even had time to fully grasp what had actually happened, he felt the tips of what felt like a knife right against his throat. He froze, not keen to be turned to mince meat, and looked to see that they were actually shards more black and dark than the night sky. Another Shadow Element technique? He should have figured, she'd been using the element this entire fight. He noticed her standing there, waiting. For what, though? Ko took a moment to compose himself, and realized that she wanted him to admit defeat. A hot flash of indignation shot through the boy, his pride hurt. However, he was above letting such a petty emotion get in the way of what needed to be done. He swallowed, and locked eyes with her. He gave her a slight nod and waited as the black shards would back off, allowing him to move freely again.
Leaning against the wall for support, the young boy tried to steady his breathing. After a strike like that, he would need a few minutes before he was back to normal. He rubbed his neck and shoulders, trying to alleviate the soreness of having been slammed into a wall. He would be fine, he knew, but that didn't stop it from hurting now. The most important thing on his mind, though, was this woman. He hadn't averted his gaze since he'd lock his eyes with hers, and as far as he could tell she hadn't looked away either. It was hard to tell, though, with that mask. A lot of questions raced in his head, but he knew that only one really mattered to him right now. He took a breath, stabilizing his breathing, and spoke out to her. "My name is Sasaki Kotsuko. What's yours?" He'd been wondering the answer to that question since they'd started this fight. He could have asked if she was an ANBU, but the mask made that obvious.
No, the most important question was who she was. And a name was the first step to unraveling that ball of yarn.
Before he even had time to fully grasp what had actually happened, he felt the tips of what felt like a knife right against his throat. He froze, not keen to be turned to mince meat, and looked to see that they were actually shards more black and dark than the night sky. Another Shadow Element technique? He should have figured, she'd been using the element this entire fight. He noticed her standing there, waiting. For what, though? Ko took a moment to compose himself, and realized that she wanted him to admit defeat. A hot flash of indignation shot through the boy, his pride hurt. However, he was above letting such a petty emotion get in the way of what needed to be done. He swallowed, and locked eyes with her. He gave her a slight nod and waited as the black shards would back off, allowing him to move freely again.
Leaning against the wall for support, the young boy tried to steady his breathing. After a strike like that, he would need a few minutes before he was back to normal. He rubbed his neck and shoulders, trying to alleviate the soreness of having been slammed into a wall. He would be fine, he knew, but that didn't stop it from hurting now. The most important thing on his mind, though, was this woman. He hadn't averted his gaze since he'd lock his eyes with hers, and as far as he could tell she hadn't looked away either. It was hard to tell, though, with that mask. A lot of questions raced in his head, but he knew that only one really mattered to him right now. He took a breath, stabilizing his breathing, and spoke out to her. "My name is Sasaki Kotsuko. What's yours?" He'd been wondering the answer to that question since they'd started this fight. He could have asked if she was an ANBU, but the mask made that obvious.
No, the most important question was who she was. And a name was the first step to unraveling that ball of yarn.