… Hmh. He could’ve sworn he saw handseals, but clearly not – moves made in such a short window of time was inconceivable to him. And it resulted in him seeing not one, but two Shusuke’s approaching him in combat!
But the way they split left Take shocked – which one was the real Shusuke? “!!!” And which one attacked him?! Even if he lifted his blade in a defensive position, his haori lost a piece of tissue from the sudden strike, all happening in the blink of an eye.
His shoulder was harmed as a result, widening his eyes to see if he could distinguish the real one from the clone in a hurry… but that was when a severe headache befell him due to his vision blurring. Was this a Genjutsu? Had Shusuke struck his optical nerves, somehow?
Despite this, Take still tried to leap forward with his blade swiping past the two clones, having entered one of the Iaijutsu stances that his mother taught him. Still, the blurred vision was grotesque – was it some kind of Genjutsu?
Cancel!
… No, maybe not. Instead, his vision began getting clotted in black ink dots, as if someone had sprayed ink at him from afar. It instinctively caused him to wipe his face with his arm in confusion, not having witnessed this Technique ever before. It didn’t aid him in deducing the real Shusuke from the clone, for each time he tried to hit one of them, they just turned out to be some sort of illusory apparition.
He lifted up his blade’s edge to attempt a feint stab towards one of the clones, only to intercept with a true strike for another… but that was when another detriment weighed down on his head. The sensation of deep exhaustion, as if it was past midnight already. Despite trying his best, neither of his stabs could hit their targets, leaving him open for what appeared to be the sources of his previous hit…
How he never expected Shusuke to be this proficient with such a multitude of weapons, much less capable of wielding multiple at once, was beyond him. With only Shokuryū-ren as his defensive means at this instant, three clashes still resulted in blood escaping his flesh, while multiple weapons dug into his body as if he was a dummy target for achers.
He felt like his arms and legs were on fire… the warm blood that trickled down his body felt oddly comforting in the midst of the onslaught, but only when Shusuke’s Crimson Flash landed on the blurred and disoriented Take did the latter lose his foothold and roll across the floor. His shorter blade, Seiryū-kiba, was used to catch himself on the dirt and stop falling back, but he took a bit of time getting back up on his feet.
Now, drenched in his own blood, it felt oddly numb in his mind. Maybe it was the Genjutsu, but... Shusuke had overwhelmed him. Layers of attacks, one after another, and he hadn’t landed a hit yet. Legally blind as of right now, he felt desperate – who wouldn’t be after such a dozen seconds of domination? There was nothing that his base strength could do against Shusuke right now...
“I... I can’t believe I’m this weak,” he cursed himself with a shaking blade, almost looking like he’d want to forfeit the spar then and there. That was, until burning marks began growing up on his face, shaped as licking flames caressing his skin. “B-But that’s why you gave me this... right? ‘Cause I’d slow you all down otherwise? ‘Cause I’d be a burden, otherwise? ‘Cause there’s... nothing I can do on my own.”
Unlike many other times in the past, it didn’t sound as if Take was digging at himself this time. It sounded more like he was genuinely mad at Shusuke... or was he just starting to project his own loathing to those around him?
One thing was for sure – Take wasn’t backing out. This could be bad for his health, but anger was an incredible motivator. Blade raised, eyes blood-shot, and chakra flickering, he'd ask: “Shusuke, please tell me… am I missing something?”
WC: 695 [MFT]
[Sending Actions]
Shusuke prepped himself as he watched his peer take a readying position. Conjuring his favourite weapon, his scythe, Shusuke would watch as Take darted forward with his weapon. Brandishing the blade out to help his striking edge Shusuke would begin to conjure even more weapons to be at his disposal. Lances would appear in the air and launch down at Take following a rapier that would puncture through Take's flesh. A series of floating blade that mimicked flower petals would puncture and slash at Otakemaru causing large amounts of open wounds to begin to drench the boy in sweat and blood.