Tournament: Kasai vs Arashi

The tournament grouds have been cleared and prepared for the next two fighters. Kasai makes his way out onto the floor first. He's armed in his usual method, the cait sith's hood pulled up and his weapons sheathed for the moment.

He is doing his best to keep his mind focused, and tune out the crowd. Many of them may know him, if they followed the PvP scene prior to the Apocalypse, though he wasn't exactly known for his dueling prowess.

Once he takes his position, he turns around to face the entrance tunnel, waiting to see his opponent enter the arena. He has no flashy entrance, no fireworks, no great fanfare. For him, all there is in the world is this moment and the person who will be standing across from him.

    Seems these two are cut from one particular cloth. The one that doesn't care for fanfare. Arashi enters with no fanfare, just a calm gait toward Kasai, blades still away, but eyes locked on the Cait Sith. She may be a solo player, but she was going to ask about her opponent. PVP? Ninja? Assassin? The kind of player the were-shire utterly hates.

The arena is cleared and ready for the next match. The audience is ready for the next match, if the cheering is any indication. The contestants are taking the field, displayed on the magic screens despite them trying to not make a display of their entrances.

And a husky, haunting voice familiar to both comes from the announcer's booth. "Goooood evening Breg Epona! Are you ready for some action?" More cheering responds. "Good, because that's exactly what you're going to get!" On the other hand, probably neither is surprised that the performer is EmCeeing a fight or two. "On one side you have the Shadow Blade of the Sleeping Knights, Kasai! And on the other, Arashi, of the Silver Swords! Two fast, slashy, stabby combatants, so this match ought to be a real CUT above the rest! Neehahahah!"

Once his opponent has taken her position, Kasai puts his hands before himself and then bows to her, "It is an honor to face you in combat." He states, plainly. Whether she returns the bow or not, he swipes his hand a couple of times, and sends her the Duel request.

Normally he'd just attack her outright, but there are protocols that have to be followed. So he'll follow them, he'll play by the rules. From his own opposition research, he was surprised to find out she had a guild considering most solo players were just that, but these were unprecedented times that people were living in.

Once she accepts the duel, he steps back, and readies himself for the countdown to begin.

    The stare lingers as the dire-shire menus a bit to accept the request. There's really not a lot of motion from Arashi. She has zero trust when it comes to PVP players. She's just ready to get on with the show. Honestly, couldn't they let them fight -anywhere-? Why did it have to be in the arena. Bluh.

4...
3...
2...
1! FIGHT!

It is absolutely and totally unnessary to do so, but that doesn't stop Kauchemar from taking her ghost sword and using it to hit her ghost shield like the bell at the beginning of a boxing match.

As soon as the one ticks down, Kasai moves. It's a fraction of a second, so that he'll be on top of Arashi as the timer hits zero and the word FIGHT appears.

Intent on taking every advantage he can get, he already plans on strolomh her before she has a chance to strike at him. His daggers are drawn from behind his back as he moves, flames dancing across the twin blades, as he moves to strike rapidly at her, attempting to get behind her and drive his blades into what should presumably be a weaker part of her armor. Or perhaps he'll get lucky and find a non armored spot, not that his blades can't pierce armor and reach the weak parts underneath.

    Seems Arashi is making a token effort against Kasai's attacks. As the assassin moves in, the broken blade moves to intercept for a moment, but is quickly followed up by a massive flurry of slashes from both blades, a bit of fire on the first two, then a flurry of strikes right after. She is -not- playing around.

"And their they go... and while that joke was a real cutup, they seem to have taken me literally!" Her voice is so loud and clear it's hard to tell if Kauchemar is even bothering with the magical sound emitters or just projecting herself. She does have a very strong, magically enhanced voice of her own after all. "Kasai goes for a good hack and stab, while Arashi decides to just get all up in his face in return with some hot and windy action. Looks like they're both just going for the offensive approach!" Pause. "Oh well, I can work with that."

"o/~ There's a place downtown, where the freaks all come around! It's a hole in the wall, it's a dirty free for all!

When the dark of the night comes around
That's the time, that the animal comes alive... Looking for something wild o/~"

She's definately singing on her own, though.

No witty banter between fighters, no fancy magical spells. Just two melee combatants going ham on each other. Kasai dodges backwards as she strikes back, but she catches him along his side with one of her weapons, sending him staggering to the side.

Not one to allow an advantage to not be pressed, however, he drives back in, switching to blasts of wind surrounding his daggers as he moves to strike from her side, still trying to bypass her defenses, without getting caught by the jagged edge of that broken sword again.

    Close as Kasai may get, they'll hear a deafening boom as the mare seems to -vanish- from sight, only to come up beside and behind the ninja. Another flurry of blows is sent their way and then a big wind up follows. It's hard to say what may happen with that strike!

The rest of that song is not going to make sense to the current situation so Kauchemar stops after those first few lyrics. "Don't get me wrong, but it seems like both our fighters are full of hot air tonight!" Literally, seeing as no one is saying anything down in the arena... Granted one is a silent but deadly assassin and the other tries to be the big bad brooding loner, so it's not such a surprise. Good thing Kauchemar is here to take up the slack. "They're both trying to rock each other like a hurricane with those lightning steps and gusty slashes. Hopefully they're not all just bluster!"

Kauchemar then gets a wicked little smirk of hers as she pulls out her lute and puts her amplifying magic through it as well. "So how about we get something going to fit the mood of how much these two want to beat the viscera out of each other, hmm?" Yes, she's going to actually play fight music for them.

Even on the archaic, magically tuned instrument, it's very recognizable what music she is starting to play, at least to the actual Adventurers.

( https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=r7-n6h-e9vI )

The two of them are moving so fast, it's probably hard for the average audience member to keep up with the action. It's a good thing Kauchemar is doing her best to keep them informed as to what's going on down in the arena.

Kasai is surprised by Arashi's movement. He had her pegged for a lumbering tank considering her species choice. He should have done more research on his target! Regardless, he's not done yet. He moves fast, practically breaking the sound barrier as he does so, but it's not enough as that huge wind up manages to catch him, knocking him sprawling across the arena floor. He rolls a couple of times and then gets back up to his feet.

He takes a moment to dust himself off, and pull his hood back up, before he rushes towards her again, using that same burst of acceleration. Then he leaps, the very ground seeming to move under his feet as he launches himself upwards, putting himself between her and the sun. His daggers are gone, replaced by a short sword, which gleams with the sunlight as he drops towards her, letting gravity do the work for him.

    Ouf. If you listen closely you may even hear Arashi say that very word. She put up a token defense, as she has previously, but she's more interested in what's to come. At first she drives forward, her common, yet typical longsword driving forward, directly toward Kasai's hilt before following up with a series of massive overhead strikes.

The upside to now playing a song that doesn't require singing is that Kauchemar can keep up with her commentary as well. "The knives are gone, Kasai is getting out the big boy sword now. Look at that leaping dive. Remember folks: Rogues may do it from behind, but Assassins prefer it on top!" She nicker snorts are her own terrible innuendo humor. "But Arashi isn't taking it sitting do--okay, maybe she is. But there's a method to the madness as she uses Kasai's need to get close to deliver a brutal barrage of her own. She marches to the beat of her own drum... and right now she's trying to use his skull as said drum!"

She's still getting into her musical accompaniment too, as she stands and bellows extra dramatically "ASSESS THY STRENGTH!" just to try and make the tagline sound a little more appropriate to the era.

Kasai drops from off screen, and strikes home, but without warning she manages to knock his blade out of his hand, and then rain down blows on top of him. He doesn't have any of his weapons drawn, and the blows are forcing him down onto a knee as he tries to fend them off.

He could flee, get away from her, but that would give up an opportunity. He doesn't like to give up opportunities even if it means taking damage in the process. So from his position, he drives forward, hands rising up as he deploys his hidden blades from inside of his gauntlets, trying to drive both of them upwards into Arashi's gut, putting all the force behind it that he can manage.

    To be honest, Arashi is showing signs of wear. Maybe a slower step or a heavier breath, but it takes a close eye to see it. It's likely why she puts a little more effort into her defense. How does using her broken blade count? Well it manages to get between the hidden blades, deflecting one, barely missing the other, but the flashstep that follows means she only gets grazed! That's good. Flanking Kasai, she follows up with a pair of fiery slashes from her normal blade.

"Kasai takes a good beating, but he's back on his feet and pulls some shenanigans with hidden blades like a surging wave. But Arashi shows why being a master of blade combat means more than striking with the sharp part, using some fancy blade and footwork to deter his attempt." She may not be the one fighting but Kauchemar is definately enjoying herself and the show. It's almost like the old DJ days in the material world. "About the only thing keeping this from being a real dance of death is the spirit of competitive combat." Pause. "... Well and none of you would understand what's really keeping them from killing each other for our amusement. Tournaments aren't lethal, leave it at that."

She's good. Really good. For a minute Kasai thinks how it's a shame that she's not more into PvP, she'd be quite good at if she were. No one's ever managed to block his hidden blades from that close of a range before. Maybe he's getting slow. No, that's not it. She's just far better than he was giving her credit for.

He dodges backwards as she slashes at him with the flames, disappearing from view for a moment, but not fast enough as the searing heat manages to still get to him. He has to strike hard and fast and put this to bed, before she gets a hit in that finishes him off.

He drives forward again, hidden blades slashing downwards and upwards at the same time. It might look strange but it's hard to deflect from multiple angles like that.

    This is one player that just doesn't care for PVP. They are just applying the tactics they have used to take down extremely challenging boss monsters on their own. PVP requires a little more focus and a lot better reactions, but to Arashi it's just a very clever NPC. She just won't be killing them today.

    Blocking two strikes may be hard for some, but for someone with two blades? Not so difficult. The broken blade goes one way, the full blade goes the other. She catches some of that brutal hit, but she follows up with both blades rushing forward...

"This fight may not be to the death, but that doesn't mean our fighters don't have a Killer Instinct!"

With her musical backdrop complete Kauchemar puts her instrument away for the time being. "There's more nickle and diming down there than a bank vault, but that spare change is going to add up over time. Its back and forth, up and down, and Arashi is probably making Kasai regret putting so much focus on one type of weapon."

The nightmare leans forward from her spot. "Com'n you two, keep it up. Let's see that Primal Rage!" She's getting all these references in while she can.

Kasai was doing his best to maintain his composure, but the fact that his opponent was so equally matched was actually making him question himself. Was he ever as good at PvP as he thought? With everyone being on an even level now, was his weakness showing?

There would be time for self reflection once the battle was over. Win or lose, it was more exhilarating than anything he'd done in weeks. This is what he had been missing, the threat of another player.

As she rushes forward, he does the same, charging straight at her, pulling his daggers out from behind his back and driving forward, trying to slam them into her chestplate with all the force he can muster, even if it means taking damage in the process!

    There's a lot more defense on the way, but that blow just breaks down the equine's guard, sending her to a knee. Though, in a move similar to Kasai just a little earlier, the equine rises with both blades looking to drive into their midsection, the broken one gets an especially brutal twist..

"It's a figurative blood bath down there! Kasai gives Arashi a good womping, but she's... huh..." Kauchemar actually has to pause to double-check, the fast and furious fighting style both combatants is hard to keep pace with. "Normally I'd say using a broken weapon is a bad idea, but that mare is trying to make catgut with it quite effectively! That wound is going to linger. Pay close attention folks or you might miss something. Hell, I can barely keep up and I know Divination!"

This battle is not going the way he wanted it to. He had hoped it would be over by now, but she is proving far more resilient than he could have ever predicted. He moves to flash past her, trying to avoid the blow and the after effects from it, but the twisting blade cuts into him and begins to bleed him. He can see his HP ticking off fast. It's time to start using something a bit more his usual assassin style.

He reaches behind his back, and withdraws a small green mushroom with purple spots. He stops, and throws it overhanded towards Arashi, not needing to hit her with it, as it explodes into a cloud of spores when it nears her. He's been holding off on using it, but fighting fair hasn't been getting him anywhere.

    PAFF. Spores. Playing dirty, after this match has gone so impressively actually throws the-now-poisoned Arashi into a rage. When she comes for him this time, it is with such a fury that the first three blows are only overshadowed by the last, final, flat-of-her-blade blow. Somewhere out there, Shiruba may shiver. PWNY indeed.

"Hold onto your badgers and snakes folks, we've got a mushroom on the field!" Kauchemar couldn't resist, sorry not sorry. "I hope no one here is allergic to spores. Because that's a--" She stops in mid-joke, and actually leans back a bit to the side when Arashi goes into a vicious counterattack. "--Holy shit. I may be the nightmare but right now she's even scaring me a little with that intensity! She's putting that whole sword to use now!"

That was not the reaction that Kasai was expecting at all! He tries to dodge out of the way, and manages to get clear of a couple of her blows, but her third strike, and that final blow with the full sized sword, smashes him through the air and into the wall of the arena.

He slumps to the ground as the bleed ticks over and his HP drops to the danger zone, triggering an end to the duel.

He might not be getting up after that hit though. At least not for a few minutes.

    After that massive exertion, even Arashi drops to a knee again, feeling the spore poision from a little earlier. However, as they said it would happen, Arashi gets the little 'winner' display with the fireworks. Likely prompting the crowd to go utterly insane.

Kauchemar grabs her ghost shield and ducks behind it. "I can't bear to watch!" Of course that's not true at all, as she's peaking around the edge of the shield. That's the joke. She waits a few moments, until the sounds of pummeling stop. "Is it over?" The WINNER pings over Arashi. "It's over, folks! Arashi Wins!" Cue the crowds going into overdrive with cheers and stomping their feet.

Excitedly she tosses the shielf aside as she jumps to her feet. "Arashi has taken the match, and shown everyone why you don't buck with a horse unless you want hoof in your mouth disease! Kasai isn't a Pinto but she exploded him like on, let's just hope the mare doesn't turn out to be a one trick pwn-y!"

She's also a were fang equine, she's allowed to make terribe horse puns when she gets the chance.

Kasai picks himself up after a few moments of resting, and looks across the battlefield to Arashi. He makes his way towards her, and then gives her another bow, "Well fought. It seems I still have a lot to learn."

And with that he turns and leaves the battlefield, so she can celebrate. Or leave, as she's most likely to do. She's not really the 'showing off for the crowd' type from what he's seen.

    Seems Kasai will get the same treatment as when she first arrived. Locked eyes, through the bow, and until he turns away. After he's about half way out, Arashi gives a snort, slowly rises, sets both her blades away, and starts to wander out. She does give a sort of salute on her way out, right at the gate, that can be seen over her shoulder, but she isn't turning to face the crowd for it.