The Relentless Roar - Kohaku vs Jessie

[The Forgotten]

One hazel eye and one red eye gazed out into the distance from the stoic face of the ranking Pagoda Warrior. His close-cropped brown hair was windblown and standing up in the back; he didn’t really care to do more than run a strangely smooth hand over it in hopes it would go down naturally. Clouds danced in the sky overhead, masking the gentle sun behind grey curtains of shapes that metamorphosed indefinitely.

This was only the second time the tall man had stood on this pedestal; the first time couldn't really be called standing for the simple fact that he had been observing the monks crafting the world from the equivalent of a bird's eye view. That had been something worth seeing.

Behind him, carved into the stone pillar he stood atop, runes that probably had a meaning to someone marched all around the circle and all sorts of crossways inside it. Stretching his arms wide, the warrior arched his back and grimaced slightly when he heard three distinct pops. That was one more than usual. A piece of paper held underneath his foot flopped in the breeze. It was the reason he was here now. It was his future in this place.

“Kohaku Ryuu. Age: 23. Race: Human-Elf Hybrid. Why does that not surprise me?”

He chuckled to himself and released the pressure from his foot. The paper blew quickly away with a fresh gust. Far below, the waves of the lake washed up the impossibly smooth sides of the tower. Underneath the surface of the water, an incredible depth filled the space to the lake bed far, far below. A slight grin crossed the Warrior’s face. Nobody who fell from this perch would survive in that water. Not only had he been guaranteed this by the monks crafting it for him, he knew a little about what it felt like to hit a wall of water from three-hundred feet up. Thankfully, his close-fitting blue shirt and jeans were in no danger of getting wet today.

“Because I’m a Warrior now. Warrior Jessie, who would have taken this position whether or not my last match was a victory!” He bellowed to the clouds. His right hand tightened its firm grip on the solid oak shaft of his staff. He hadn't asked for this position. After facing off against the now-Master-ranked Travis Kiltias, the monks had approached him and stated (in not so many words) that they liked his performance and wanted to “offer” him a position. How was he supposed to know that anything he said would be taken as confirmation that he wanted the job?

Turning around, he crossed countless lines of runes until he reached one string in particular. The monks had told him that they were Dwarven runes of good tidings in battle. The string of angular characters he stood behind now read, roughly translated, “The clash of hammers rings to the Heavens.” The monks finally translated that one for him after hours of pestering. An identical line appeared equally distant from the center of the stage where he knew his opponent would appear.

Leaning up against his staff, Jessie closed his eyes and waited. Kohaku would show up eventually. Time didn’t always flow the right way in this place, but the challenger would show. Far below, the waves cared little for the musings and contemplations of the insignificant man so high up. They simply kept crashing, ceaseless in their movements. They would wear the pillar down, send it toppling into the depths of the deep. The only question was what would happen first: would the waves topple a construct of magic or would his memories decide to once again show up? His money was on the water.

[Kohaku Ryuu]

Walking through the Padoga, Kohaku quickly came to realize that they would not be fighting in the building itself. That was for sure. The only thing he wasn’t sure of, was where he was going to fight. And, that was a problem.

In search of this knowledge, Kohaku confronted a monk wandering the halls. Umm, excuse me sir. Could you please direct me to this arena?” Kohaku pulled out a small scroll and handed it to the man.

After a few seconds, the monk looked up at Kohaku and smiled, ”Well, I think that you are in for a surprise. The gate’s at the end of the hall.” The monk just laughed to himself quietly as he walked away.

Well now, what could this surprise be? ’Great…more surprises…what, is this guy a huge guy that can crush my skull between his two pinkies? Some great mage that I’ve never heard of? Great…Now I have to know!

Kohaku sighed as he walked up to the gate, the runes on it were foreign to him, but he could tell by the way they were glowing that they were probably magic runes. “Ah, a teleportation gate…great….’ He muttered as he stepped up to the gate, closed his eyes, and as he took the last step forward, his mind went totally blank. He felt absolutely nothing, pain, bliss, fear, joy, nothing! And, about half a second later he looked up, and there, standing out on the other side of the platform they were on, was his Padoga Challenge…come to think of it, they never really gave him the name of the guy…or a gender either, no abilities, no nothing. This guy was a mystery to Kohaku.

Well, why not start off with a friendly explanation?

“I suppose that you are my Padoga challenge? My name is Kohaku Ryuu, though, I’m sure that you already know that. What I’m not sure of, is who you are. Kohaku looked at the man with calculating eyes, trying to figure something out that he wasn’t sure was there to figure out. He was paranoid like that sometimes.

[The Forgotten]

A cold wind preceded something that Jessie was sure he would never get used to. The challenger’s exit portal looked like someone tore a hole in reality and stuck a black velvet sheet in it, and then twisted it up in all sorts of unnatural ways. Then out stepped the challenger; equally disturbing, but in its own way. There was nothing quite like seeing someone turn from a speck on the velvet horizon into a fully-formed human-like figure in the twinkle of an eye.

And twinkle his eyes did when the challenger spoke up after his entrance. Kohaku was certainly an interesting man, looking a shade over Jessie’s own age but much more… how to say… prepared for the world. The warrior’s mismatched eyes flitted from one critical point to another, taking in armor, weapons, and a general “threat” rating. Kohaku wouldn’t be quite as easy as Travis Kiltias turned out to be. That fight had almost gone too smoothly up to the point where the then-ranking warrior lashed out in desperation and sacrificially slew him. Well, “her”, if you wanted to be technical.

“I’m afraid you have things mixed up a little,” Jessie said playfully, the corner of his mouth turning up in a smirk. “You see, I’m not the challenger. I’m the warrior and you are the challenger. As for who I am, well, I’d like to know that as much as anyone, but you can call me Jess for now.”

The clear sun shone down on the two men, one far more relaxed than he should have been, the other most likely more nervous than necessary. Jessie leaned against his long staff quite calm despite being more than three-hundred feet in the air. He was really in no hurry. If Kohaku was a challenger, he’d be more than willing to initiate an offensive on a relaxed hierarch.

Of course, that line of thinking would get the half-elf killed very fast. The twinkle that never left Jessie’s eye was proof enough of that. Standing up straight, it may have been the sun, but somehow it looked like Jessie was suddenly a little shorter than the six-foot-plus man that was standing there a moment before. His hair was also lighter, longer, and his hazel eye was taking on a red tint. Another moment later, Jessie was clearly shorter than he had been by almost a foot. Both his eyes were a glistening red in the iris and his hair had grown past his shoulders… as well as turning an unnatural shade of pink. Her shoulders apparently, as a pair of breasts now clearly defined the Warrior’s chest and the hard masculine features of his face were much softer and feminine now.

“From the look on your face,” even the voice was feminine now, though it did not lack any of its former authority, “I’d say they didn’t tell you what you were up against. Don’t worry—I won’t go easy on you.”

The staff whipped from vertical to pointing one tip straight at Kohaku. The corner of her mouth was still turned up in a smirk, but the sparkle left her eyes. She had been ready the whole time, but now she was getting impatient. Hopefully he wouldn’t turn out to be a disappointment.

[Kohaku Ryuu]

A slight smile crossed Kohaku’s face as comprehension crossed his face. That explained everything and then some. ”Well now, that’s something that you don’t see every day. This could get interesting…very interesting.” Kohaku’s eyes were lighting up at the rarity of this girl/boy. Interesting…so very…interesting.

Though he was fascinated by this person, Kohaku’s smile widened as he quickly pulled his swords from their sheaths, sending a shower of sparks like a wall of fire forward, only to be broken by Kohaku, airborne as he jumped through the mass of sparks and charged his enemy. This was to be a quick battle if he could manage it.

As Kohaku ran, he was dragging the tips of his swords upon the ground, a shower of sparks showering around him as he advanced quickly on the girl, and as he got close he lunged forward, leaving the cloud of sparks behind as he spun once, swinging down at her with both swords.

If the attack went through, Kohaku would go through with a kick to the chest to send her back and hopefully off the platform. But, if she blocked the attack, Kohaku would then jump back from the shower of sparks that that would create and assume a defensive stance, ready for her attack.

[The Forgotten]

A brilliant show awaited Jessica as her opponent unsheathed his dual blades. A veritable fountain of sparks thick enough to mask the man erupted from matching sheathes, and then she saw Kohaku’s airborne form leaping through the shower. Her smirk returned with a passion; if he did it once, he’d do it again, and the next time he’d be attacking.

It was hard to not wonder where all the sparks were coming from as he made his first charge with both blades dragging along the ground. Perhaps they were enchanted to not lose any of their material when they sparked that much. Otherwise he would probably go through swords like nothing. When the sparks stopped, the red-eyed warrior took one step back and shifted her grip on the staff to bring it vertical. He was committed to his attack once his blades left the ground. He lunged, spun, and brought both blades around in a powerhouse of a swing that probably should have gutted the Warrior right then and there.

There was only one problem: Jessica wasn’t where she should have been. There was a mantra that the hierarch lived by, a series of rules that somehow seemed to be embedded in her mind through the darkness that clouded her past. Not even three days ago, the first rule of the mantra gave her a victory against Travis Kiltias. He had leapt at her, vaulted actually, and sealed his fate. Granted his fate also included a suicidal last-slash that took her out as well, but the battle would have dragged out much longer had he simply kept his feet on the ground.

In this battle, here and now, the second rule of the mantra burned fiercely in her mind. It chose the course of her actions before her mind could finish processing the thoughts. It was so disturbingly simple that she wanted to scream at Kohaku when he so blatantly broke it. Never show your enemy your back. As quickly as he began his spin, her feet began moving in a programmed response. The heavy staff naturally flowed from vertical to horizontal as light feet flew over incomprehensible lines of script. She veered off to his left, away from the dual blades, used her momentum combined with his own to slip by, and then she let loose with a two-handed swing of the staff right for the small of his back. The smooth shaft let loose a low buzzing hum as the tapered end whipped through the air toward a logical target.

It was common knowledge, at least to Jessica, that back armor was inherently weaker than chest armor. Running into a fight, a warrior was always best protected. It was quite rare for a soldier in any army to wear a back plate simply because retreat generally meant you were already going to die. When back armor was worn, armorsmiths usually made it thinner and lighter so it would be less cumbersome for a fighter. If that was the case with this Kohaku’s armor, he would find it quite uncomfortable if the staff struck it. Not only would the armor fold in on itself, but it would also pinch his breastplate closer and make his breath shorter.

Why does it feel like this is just random trivia swimming around in my head? I’ve never studied this that I know of, but it just pops into my head. What is going on with me?

[Kohaku Ryuu]

Kohaku was slightly surprised to find that when he went to slash, there was no contact at all. A few things went through his mind all at once. If she wasn’t in front of him, or in his peripheral vision, then there were only two options left, up or behind him. Another thing that went through his mind was his weak point, which was obvious to anyone with a brain: his back armor was about as thick as two sheets of paper…which was bad against crushing blows like her staff.

Armed with that knowledge, Kohaku made a very quick movement. The first part was to bring his blade in his right hand down to hit the ground, sending a spray of sparks behind him, which would hopefully be enough to disguise his next movement, as well as blind her enough to help him dodge the attack as he ducked down slightly, and rolled to his left. He then sprang back up to his feet, his fear realized by the sound her staff made as she drug it through the air.

Out of the way of her attack, Kohaku instantly lunged at her from her left side, the spark shower still around her, and tried to bring one sword from each side at her legs sideways as he lunged at her, trying to ‘cut her legs out from under her’ , as the saying goes.

The spark shower would hopefully be enough to distract her for the two seconds the movement took, and hopefully she wouldn’t be able too recover quickly enough to block or dodge the attack that was now coming at her at the knees. Of course he wouldn’t swing hard enough to actually cut her legs off, but hard enough to cut to the bone and hopefully force her into quitting.

[The Forgotten]

The low, droning hum that emanated from Jessica’s staff cut through the relative serene silence atop the stone pillar. A few waves crashed relentlessly against the base of the tower still, but the washed-out wash hardly reached so high. Only the grating of metal on stone and a surprised yelp sounded through the air now. The hum of her staff was cut short as soon as the insane spark shower showed itself; the yelp was a surprised hierarch not knowing exactly what to do next.

Who enchants their swords to make that many sparks with such little contact? The Warrior’s mind reeled. Someone who doesn’t know how to fight head-on… or can’t fight fair.

Either way, the shower of ground metal did its duty dutifully. The sparks obscured Jessica’s vision and, thanks to the first helping of distraction earlier, she immediately released her staff and jumped to the side. She landed on her shoulder and rolled a little, but the ache was nothing compared to the two blades lunging where her legs had been.

This sight also provided a revelation: Kohaku was blinded by his cover just as much as she was. Sparing a quick glance over her shoulder as she stood once more, she noted that her primary weapon was quite clearly gone. An unforeseen development, but that just meant that things were going to start getting interesting.

Dark violet smoke wafted around the Warrior’s left hand as she switched to something she wasn’t terribly comfortable with… staff combat without her staff. Unlike most fighters, Jessica did not rely solely on her weapon for offense. She kicked, punched, and sliced just to switch things up… and now she was glad her style wasn’t what most people expected. Standing in the center of the ring, an idea flitted through the hierarch’s mind. Hopefully, she’d be able to pull it off. It would be hard enough to win without her staff…

[Kohaku Ryuu]

Kohaku smiled as he looked down at his feet. When he landed, he felt something under him. What he saw surprised him quite a bit: the warrior’s staff lay between his own two feet. He bent over and picked it up. After a second, he decided to get rid of it, and gave it a good toss behind him, over the edge of the pillar they were on, down to the water. That way there would be little hope of the warrior getting hold of it again in this battle.

Now that that was out of the way, the only thing Kohaku had left to worry about was how he wanted to finish this, and quickly. Well now, how to finish this? Hmmm, yeah, that’s a good idea. Why not?

Kohaku had a rather good poker face as he rushed forward, both swords raised in front of himself to protect his upper body. As he drew near, Kohaku quickly raised a hand, sending a fireball at the warrior’s chest. He then waited to see how she dodged the attack, following her. If she jumped into the air, Kohaku would then jump after her, trying to slash her across the legs from under her. If she rolled out of the way, then Kohaku would run after her quickly and try to overpower her with a strong slash down at her. If she just sidestepped, Kohaku would then send a shower of sparks at her by hitting the ground with his sword, jump over her and try to attack her back, flipping in such a way to not reveal his own back to her.

[The Forgotten]

There was a saying Jessica heard shortly after reaching Scara Brae. She had been in Jessie’s form back then and a few thugs with clubs were picking on someone who didn’t seem to have any means of defending himself. Yet before she was able to lend a hand, or staff, an unexpected turn of events graced her eyes. The lone man, against any odds she'd bet on, took down all of his opponents. Perhaps he had known all along that someone had taken an interest in the scuffle; it hardly mattered. What did matter were the words he spoke to the befuddled face gaping at the scene.

“An unarmed man is far from defenseless…” He said.

…And rarely without a weapon. Jessica’s mind finished.

It was hard to lose her staff, but she still had a weapon that hadn’t seen use yet. She was unarmed, but far from defenseless. Kohaku’s face was stoic as he ran, but the quickness of his steps was a sure indication of his confidence. Overconfidence. Weakness. He thought he had won; he was certain that this would be easy now that Jessica no longer had her staff.

He thought wrong.

The smoke surrounding her left arm was excited, waiting for that one command to snap it into a solid form. All she needed was the opportunity to make one strike, a clean shot with her elbow, even a good target to kick would work. Anything that reduced the distance between them and gave her an open shot at part of his exposed skin. Was it really that easy? Her previous plan blew away like so many rose petals and revealed the deadly thorns menacing underneath; yes, it was that easy. The mist surrounding her arm thinned out and spread across her whole body just as Kohaku released an unexpected twist… or to be more precise an unexpected blessing. A fireball sprang to life, quite large compared to the few fireballs she had seen, and the will to survive took over. She zigged to the left, planted her feet, and then zagged to the other side of the fireball’s path after it flew by.

It was almost expected when the spark shower erupted from the smallest strike of his sword’s tip against the engraved surface of the pillar. Almost expected, but certainly anticipated. Two steps brought the Warrior through the sparks; the metal shards stung and burned, but even the volume of sparks made little effect to the Hierarch’s resolve. She made a mental note to have the monks restore her hair and clothing whether or not she died; countless black splotches were so ungainly out on the town. The absurdity of the thought failed to register in her battle-driven mindset.

Through the sparks, she accurately guessed that her guest was going airborne once more. Her staff would have made quick work of him, but that was beyond her reach at the moment. What she did have, however, was a pointy little surprise. Skidding to an almost immediate halt, she ducked down and lunged with her right hand extended, reaching for the first thing she could grab hold of on Kohaku’s body. Jessica was going to get up close and personal with her opponent and show him just what happens when a major artery gets pierced. Neck. Groin. Left or right armpits. Any of those areas would make a nice target for the dagger-like blade condensing out of the mist at the tip of her fingers. A single stab to the jugular… a piercing strike to the subclavian artery… a penetrating blade to the femoral artery. Only a miracle or potent healing magic would stem the flow of blood coming from any of those wounds. Five seconds was all the time she needed; five precious seconds and his heart would stop.

Of course, these vital locations would only work on a human. Or someone human-like. Who knew what kinds of strange veins elves had in their body? All of Jessica's thoughts in that moment could be summed up one simple cry.

I cannot miss!

[Kohaku Ryuu]

Kohaku was taken off-guard by this sudden attack, thinking that it was going to be an easy win. But, he was dead wrong...well, almost. The attack went through. Jess grabbed hold of the ribbon holding his armor together and pulled on him, sending her hand towards his arm. He started to smile, but an instant before he did, he felt a splash of warm liquid fall down his side as her small blade pierced his armpit.

That was something that Kohaku was completely not ready for. He thought that it would be so easy, so simple to strike this person down. But, everything is not how it seems sometimes.

Kohaku instinctively brought his hand up to press on his wound as he stumbled backwards. He knew his time limit, and was well aware of his limitations. But, one thing he was sure was that the warrior didn't know about his 'ace-in-the-hole'.

An instant later, a beautiful pink light started to form around his hand, and glow into his wound. A second or two passed, and as Kohaku drew his hand away and the light faded, they could see the cut, but wast they couldn't see was the blood pouring out of the cut. ”You're not the only one with a bag of tricks my friend. This battle is really starting to get interesting. I haven't had this much fun in quite a while.”

The only problem was that Kohaku would have to be careful. His healing powers aren't strong enough to heal a wound that great with any degree of mastery, and if he strained himself, he would risk reopening the wound. But, he wouldn't need that much time if he was more careful. All he had to do was lay one good hit on her and it would all be over.

Kohaku sheathed his left hand sword, as he didn't want to stress it's wound with the extra weight and movement of attacking. Then he did something stupid, or so it seemed. He rushed her head-on again. But, seeing as she had nothing but a small dagger to defend herself, he now had power and range to his advantage, and also a slight edge in speed, thanks to his elf side.

Kohaku rushed forward, skipping the spark shower, and went for the easiest place to land a hit, the waist, aiming at it with a quick stab. It would be much harder to dodge the attack because it was the center of the body, and any indecision could be a tragic mistake when it came to moving out of the way.