Open Log

[kingofheart4711]

Who: Domon Kasshu and whoever decides they want to spar with him.
When: June 7th, late afternoon to about an hour before sirens.
Where: A large clearing surrounded by trees in Sector 7. The clearing is secluded, but far from isolated.
Summery: Domon's gotten rather bored recently, so he decided it's time to see if there are any fighters in Sirens Port

Comments

[ysobritish]

Impatience was definitely something that Liquid could agree with. All the therapy in the world couldn't match up to one decent fight. That was, if the man could provide it. He had left his coat, his gun, anything that might get in the way.

It didn't take long for him to find the clearing. By now he knew a lot about the more neglected areas of the Port. He didn't even pay attention to the weather. The temperature meant nothing. A true soldier went on regardless. So as he stepped out into the clearing, he watched the stranger carefully. "Hello," he offered, casually.

[ysobritish]

Liquid's balance was not easily lost. He stumbled back, finding his footing and leaping backwards to avoid the punch. That done, he lunged to throw his own.

[kingofheart4711]

Domon dodged, and attacked again. The fight continued for a while, both of them remaining fairly equally matched. Unfortunately, there were a lot of other fighters that had responded to Domon's challenge, and he couldn't let himself get too exhausted now.

He put some distance between himself and Liquid, and raised his right fist. For a brief second the King of Hearts crest was visible on the back of his hand, but then it was gone again, and Domon was charging forward to attack. He aimed a punch at Liquid's gut, one that was powerful enough that if it connected it would lift Liquid completely off of the ground and set him up for a single finishing move.

((ooc: I would prefer for them to come to their draw and move into after-battle conversation at this point, if that's okay with you.))

[ysobritish]

Liquid blocked the blow with his own punch, feeling the pain shudder through him as he was thrown back. His body ached and he skidded back across the ground to sink to one knee. Not beaten, but stilled. Incredible. They were evenly matched. Who was this man?

Liquid had more than enough energy to keep going, but he knew when he had met his match... for now. "You're pretty good," he mused aloud. His competitive nature urged him to continue but right now he knew there would be little point in fighting on. They were equals. He would need to train harder in order to beat this one. That was good. If he had been defeated he might have been angry, but equalling someone only gave him a pleased thrill. A decent challenge. Something he'd been missing. "What happened to your hand?" he asked, suddenly.

[kingofheart4711]

Domon only stumbled back a few steps, but that was still a considerable amount since he had had quite a bit of momentum going in the opposite direction. The battle had clearly been tiring for him as well; he was holding his arm from the shock-wave that went through him when their punches collided.

"So are you." Someone that was actually an equal. There weren't many who were equal to the King of Hearts. Good. He had been beginning to worry he'd lose his edge in this place, but if there were people here that could fight at this level...it was the best training he could ask for.

He raised his right fist again, the crest reappeared and glowed with a soft red light. "This is my symbol. The crest of the King of Hearts. It's proof that I'm the leader of the Shuffle Alliance and the strongest fighter in the world. ...At least back home."

[ysobritish]

Breathing came harshly as he relaxed slowly, focusing on the other man in order to recover. Yes, Liquid was good. He knew that, even if it was never good enough. He had to keep getting stronger. He watched the glowing crest curiously.

"...Shuffle Alliance?" he asked, after a long moment. "When we fought. I didn't realise you had that kind of power. Projecting your emotions, I mean."

[kingofheart4711]

"The Shuffle Alliance is a group from ancient times whose purpose is to monitor fighting to make sure mankind doesn't destroy itself. The Alliance worked in the shadows until we were forced into the open to fight the Devil Gundam, so most people wouldn't know about it during the time of the World Wars." More accurately, no one in the current alliance was any good at subtlety or espionage, especially not their leader. But saying they were forced out by the Devil Gundam sounds a lot better than saying they're a bunch of stubborn hot-heads too impatient for secrecy.

Liquid's second comment left Domon looking rather confused for a moment. "A true martial artist expresses their soul through their fists. My Master taught me that, but it's something anyone with the soul of a true martial artist can learn. I'm surprised a fighter like you hasn't learned that yet."

[ysobritish]

"I've... never heard of anything like that. Not the Gundam thing nor this... expressing your soul," he admitted. It sounded like something that was more a deterrant to good fighting than an aid.

[kingofheart4711]

"Gundams won't be invented for another 200 years, but...it's strange. I'm beginning to wonder if fighters from other worlds can't communicate through their fists. Everyone thinks my crest is strange too." He's genuinely upset about this, the ability to express one's soul with their fists is the highest ideal of the true martial artist. At least according to his specific school.

[ysobritish]

"It's not a documented phenomenon in my world. Nor is anything like that crest. Glowing marks... communication through combat. Things like that don't exist where I come from," he admitted. It's probably better that way. The damaged soldier didn't think he'd be willing to wear his emotions so closely. "They'd be classed as supernatural."

[kingofheart4711]

"I'm sorry. It must be difficult, not being able to express yourself."

"But...don't you think calling it 'supernatural' is a little extreme?" His expression is a mixture of curiosity and just a bit of concern.

[ysobritish]

"It's not a trait a human can learn, where I come from. Empathic projection... by my world's standards, it's supernatural," he mused thoughtfully, frowning a little. "But in your world... it's common?"

[kingofheart4711]

"No, only true masters can learn how to do it, but...it's not supernatural either. ...Is that why everyone reacts so strangely to my crest?"

[ysobritish]

"Most likely. Things like that aren't common in my world either."

[kingofheart4711]

He just kind of stares at his fist for a moment, thinking that over. And then he not-so-subtly changes the subject.

"A-anyway, that was a great fight. We'll have to fight each other again sometime, when I'm not already worn out from earlier matches."

[ysobritish]

"I'd enjoy it. It's not often I meet someone who equals me and isn't trying to kill me," he joked, accepting the change of subject. "It'll be good training."