The fight had officially begun, but neither Ikkei or Kosuke were quite eager to attack immediately. The two stared each other down as they slowly circled the mat, trying to get a good read on one another.
Kosuke kept himself lower and preferred to strike at an angle below, whereas Ikkei stood strongly upwards to block attacks from any height. Adverting expectation, Kosuke jumped into the air with a high attack, just above Ikkei. The blue haired boy jerked backward as he blocked the strike, making sparks fly from the swords clashing.
Kosuke followed his failed attempt to get his opponent open with a flurry of forward jabs, thrusting them out as fast as he could. Ikkei spun his sword in front of him, deflecting the attacks with his wrist rotation.
With a smile, Kosuke flung to the side of Ikkei, spinning his sword similarly. The slash didn't connect immediately, but when it did a few seconds later, Ikkei's side had been cut cleanly, leaving multiple thinner cuts around his right abdomen. The boy winced in pain as he stepped backward. His blue undershirt had been slightly ripped open, exposing the red cuts.
"Rotation style...I can do that too." Kosuke smiled deviously, toying with the sword in his hand.
"I noticed your sword is shorter. That makes it harder to do things like this!" Ikkei quickly spun his blade behind him, creating a burst of air that flung him into the air. Once above Kosuke, he then positioned his sword behind him again and performed the same maneuver, bursting him at great speed downward. Kosuke was quick to react and jolted backward, but not before getting caught in some of the impact. When Ikkei landed, the entire mat cracked with pressure, throwing Kosuke off balance.
Noticing an opening, Ikkei quickly recovered from the fall and dashed for Kosuke, his strike being met with a swift block. The two then clashed swords back and fourth, trading blows that couldn't connect, making sparks shoot out in every direction.
Kosuke was faster with his sword due to its shortened length, but in turn couldn't inflict more damage. Ikkei had the weight and damage advantage, but was slower in his strikes.
Kosuke seemed to make up for his lack of damage with his increasingly faster strikes, making it harder for Ikkei to continuously block.
With one fast hit, Ikkei was thrown off, causing him to stumble. With a clear opening, Kosuke wound up a heavy strike, spinning the sword with his rotating wrist. After generating a second's worth of speed, he unleashed the attack across Ikkei's chest, making a large red gash that shot out a bit of blood.
The boy groaned in pain as he reached for the cut, trying to stop any further bleeding. Kosuke then slid behind him from the front, tripping his leg and pinning him to the ground in a takedown position. He then pressed his sword ever so lightly against Ikkei's neck, just enough to make him realize what could happen if he rose up.
"I won't cut you. You'll have to get up from this position yourself. But...if you do, you'll end up cutting yourself. What'll it be? You could always surrender." Kosuke teased.
"Hmf, this is tricky...you did quite a little number on me here...but I can't give up."
"Stubborn one, aren't you? Well, it doesn't matter to me. My goal isn't to win here. I'm here to take something from you."
Ikkei, shocked by that sudden statement, had come full circle in the realization this boy seemed completely different from the cousin he used to know. He already took note of his dark demeanor and wildly different look, but through his malicious declaration and violent fighting style, he came across as someone far more deadly and cutthroat.
"Oh yeah? Over my dead body!" A blue aura began to spark off Ikkei's body, shooting Kosuke off of him. The boy slid across the ground as Ikkei slowly rose to his feet, his wounds patching up. Blue scales covered his cuts before fading into thin air, making them appear as if they were never there in the first place.
"Woah...was that the dragon just now? Man...I guess Fujiko's idea did work...I gotta do that again!" Ikkei said excitedly.
"Dragon? Don't tell me you awoken the Kagemori dragon spirit just now..." Kosuke said in disbelief.
"Yeah, I sure as hell did. I hope you're ready, because I'm going on the offensive now!" Ikkei bursted forward with his rotating sword like before, but instead of using it to hit him, Ikkei came in with a strong right hook to the face. The added momentum created a hit that sent shockwaves through the entire gym, shaking it a bit in response. Kosuke stumbled backward and nearly fell, but not before Ikkei could follow up with another strong strike to the chest with his own sword. Kosuke then shot to the side.
"ROTATION STYLE: ROTOR STRIKE!" Ikkei spun his sword like a propeller, colliding the rotating sheath against Kosuke's body like a fan at full speed. The combination of impacts sent him straight into the ground, causing another crack where he landed.
A bit of smoke from the collision kicked up into the air, and Ikkei stood over his opponent, trying to determine whether he caused a knock out or not. Instead, before the smoke could clear, Kosuke jumped out with a high knee to Ikkei's face, following it up with a fast series of kicks to his chest and head. Each impact grew increasingly stronger, with the last kick to his jaw creating a shockwave the size of the gym--perfectly matching Ikkei's strike from before.
Ikkei tumbled over into a rumpled pile, trying to recover but only groaning in response. Kosuke stood over him and smiled in glee as he jabbed his own sword in the ground. He pulled the blue katana from Ikkei's side and placed it on his waist, leaving the battlefield with it casually.
"SIR! WE HAVEN'T DECLARED A KNOCK OUT! COME BACK HERE!" The proctor shouted.
"I'm done. That's all I came for." Kosuke responded, throwing up a wave as he walked away.
"NOT SO FAST!" Ikkei shouted, running at top speed. The resulting punch from behind sent Kosuke barreling into the gym wall, creating a crater where he landed. The boy then slipped onto the ground and shook off his pain, hunching over as Ikkei approached. The fights going on all around the two boys stopped and watched, as their battle had spilled out of the ring.
"That's a disqualification! Both of those students are no longer eligible for enrollment!" A proctor shouted.
"Sorry, but my cousin here just admitted himself to be a dangerous thief. Cut me some slack here." Ikkei said, turning back to the frantic proctor.
"Oh...what's this? Does baseball boy want his bat back? Too late, Ikkei. No hard feelings, but I have to take this from you. It's better if you don't ask why...or fight me for it. Just accept it. You can tell the school you stopped me or whatever. I'll be leaving."
The same blue aura from before engulfed Ikkei, giving him speed that practically allowed him to glide over the gym floor, swerving right in front of the black haired boy. With a swift smack to the face, Kosuke was sent flying back to the mat.
"No, we're finishing this how we ought to!"
Ikkei's aura gave out just as he returned to the mat. Kosuke, now carrying both his own and Ikkei's sword, stowed away the stolen blade and readied his own.
"Don't tell me you actually plan on taking this back." Kosuke said, circling his cousin.
"I do. Now, if you'll excuse me, I have an exam to pass!"
Ikkei charged at Kosuke with his fists, delivering a low punch to the gut and following up with a combo hit to the face and shoulder, throwing him off balance. The boy gave a barrage of swift kicks, all connecting with a loud "Thok!" sound.
Kosuke, badly beaten and worn down, couldn't hold his stance any longer. Ikkei pinned the boy to to the ground, holding him in place as the proctor hovered over the two. There was ten seconds of total pause.
"Kosuke Jin has been subdued. Ikkei Kagemori is the winner." The proctor declared. Ikkei let out a loud sigh of release, letting Kosuke get up.
"Are you sure we aren't disqualified?" Ikkei asked.
"No. I can make certain exceptions. Your opponent was out of line and was nearly about to steal property from you. You returned the fight to the mat and ended it the proper way. I'll declare this legal."
Ikkei smiled, turning to his cousin who began to walk away in defeat.
"Here. You can take this back, for now. I plan on returning for it soon...when I'm stronger..." Kosuke hissed.
"I don't know what you're up to, cousin, but I'm not gonna show mercy like that again just because we're family. Father entrusted me with this blade. I'm not gonna let anyone just take it from me..."
"I don't need your mercy. Watch your back, Ikkei." Kosuke said, finally walking away out of the gym's exit.
"Mr. Kagemori, right this way." The proctor pointed.
"Where are we going?"
"We'll be taking you to the winner's pool. You'll be able to watch the rest of the student fights until all of them have been complete."
The two navigated through the gym floor until they made their way to the corner of the room, where a very discreet elevator shaft sat. After entering, Ikkei and the proctor had risen to the second floor of the gym--a balcony of sorts that overlooked the entire facility. The divider that had separated half of the gym meant nothing from up here, as anyone looking over the railing could see both sides.
"You're free to walk around the balcony and meet your fellow students. Some of the instructors may be up here watching the fights, I advise you treat them with upmost respect."
"Of course, thank you sir." Ikkei bowed as the proctor returned to ground level.
Immediately, the boy's eyes began scanning the environment for Fujiko, of which he quickly found her on the other side of the gym. Her opponent was a boy with orange hair and what seemed to be an odd looking red katana.
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With the match begun, Fujiko did not hesitate to pounce at her opponent. What resulted was a few large scratches across Hiroki's chest, which he failed to deflect. Now, he stood with blood dripping from his shirt, and his opponent waiting for another key opening.
"Alright. No holding back." Hiroki began, puffing his chest up as his entire body ignited with a fiery aura.
Fujiko took a few steps backwards. The intense heat irradiating from him was already enough to make her watch her distance.
"Fire powers...but that's a shinobi trait. How are you able to do that?"
"You don't know about hybrids? Sometimes, when a samurai and shinobi bare a child, the result can be a person capable of using both virtues and element affinity. I thought the Shimazu would be better taught." Hiroki teased, maintaining a serious posture and tone.
"Don't get me started. A little fire isn't enough to scare me."
"Well then, I should crank up the heat some more then." Hiroki's gaze grew even colder, and his expression was even more focused now. As a response, the flames his body was surrounded in were now much bigger and hotter than before, his eyes reflecting the flickering flames like a mirror.
"Now, let the fight truly begin." Hiroki invited.