Von Helson Courtyard

VON HELSON MANOR COURTYARD

Fighters will have a grand view of the Von Helson gardens; statues and shrubberies, hedge maze and fountain. And then trash the place when they fight.

Terrain

General - The courtyard is closed off with a twenty foot high wall where spectators may view the fight from. The area within the walls measures fifty feet across and eighty feet long, lined with plants, fountains, and statues.

Weapons - None.

Bonus Effects - Be careful of area damage. It may affect other fights in the area, resulting in a yellow flag. Spectator damage in effect.

Blood-soaked, indeed. Though they'd done a wonderful job of cleaning and bleaching everything, there was always the hint of blood lingering in the air. It was in the soil, feeding the evergreen foilage. The hedgemage... how many had died there? Between the smell of fresh topsoil and vitae long-soaked in the clay, Lazenca had to leave that place. Later, after taking a moment to prepare his senses, he was able to navigate it.

"Urameshi... the name is familiar. I don't know why, though."

It was so long ago, but so recent. His species had long ago resolved any blood feuds between Vampirics and Weres, ending in a treaty that still lasted. But something older than himself made his nose turn up at this estate. Something made him bristle.

"It's cold."

People were arriving, and Lazenca, with arms folded, looked up to see them. A few people recognized the two team members, and pictures were sure to be taken. Most, however, were busy going through pre-spectator routines. Grab some food, grab some drink, visit the bathrooms... nobody wanted to miss anything. This was the first year that three teams would be fighting in a place like this... separated by nothing but walls that had a good enough chance to come down (see: The Firebrand).

"Other people are fighting here... we'll have to be careful not to do anything too big that interferes with another fight."

Lazenca had gone out of his way to see where a certain team was going to be-- something had popped into his head last night that made him kind of worry. If Tiera saw the television while Vahn was fighting, or learned he was around and had a chance to see him, then was the fission mailed? Laz had to know which fights to make sure she didn't see. Imagine his surprise when he learned that they were going to be fighting somewhere in this Manor.

"But more than anything, we can't repeat what happened last time. Those scores were... shameful."

The door at the other end of the wide open section of this high-priced establishment opens. At first, no one seems to come out of it as spectators looking from down above near it look toward it after hearing the door's hinges cringe, awaiting for whoever was on the other side to come out into the light of day.

A foot finally appears from the light, fitted into the comfortable size of black kung fu shoes. Following it was the shin of slightly tanned skin, and finally white leggings that started at the top of the calf of the person's legs and continued upward, where a white shirt dug into it formally. On the person's body was an open green jacket, the hands of this person stuffed into the pockets of the overcoat. And then finally, light passes over the figure's head, and the stranger is revealed.

It was Yusuke Urameshi, captain and one-fourth of Team Urameshi, who had taken a loss to Team Lu Bu by judges' decision. There was no KO, so like in any sport event, it was left up to a panel to decide the victor based on their performance. And unfortunately, Lu Bu was the better. It was a disappointment, but Yusuke had worse. It was a fun event, after all, so that's what he was going to do here, even if it meant having that loss on their record. It felt quite embarrassing and shaming, though, to have lost twice in a row now in the first round of Heaven or Hell. He just couldn't grasp what was missing in the formula of their team, having him stand there for a moment to think over the decision, which he was still shocked about.

He does finally move, however, sulking becoming a little to no importance to the fight that was about to happen. He would be walking down a marble path that was leading him through the courtyard, bypassing some pretty authentic statues and well-groomed plants here and there. He had no idea why Heaven or Hell would feature a fight in a nice place like this, but knowing them, it was probably the fact alone that this place was nice that it acted as the perfect venue for them to perform a sanctioned tournament fight.

He stops a good stranger's distance away from the two who were already present: a girl and a guy, both part of Team Frozen Flame from what he recognized on his FIGHTER and from watching the first round on television yesterday. By research, this team contained two members of the now broken-up Glacier, which may be a blessing in disguise for Yusuke. It would seem like he wouldn't go home unsatisfied, after all. If he could at least just see whether the members were still as good as they were during the last two years, then he would be able to test to see how his skills matched up against theirs. And then, his own questions and wonders will be answered.

He does start a greeting with the other team, offering that cool Yusuke smile that the teen was common for presenting to those he met.

"Hey there. You're Team Frozen Flame, right? I'm Yusuke Urameshi, member of Team Urameshi. We'll be fighting you guys today, it seems. I was kind of wondering if you guys thought that our fighting ring is a little bit too nice for a fight to take place in, too."

He ends it with a chuckle, his right thumb pointing back to designate the courtyard in general.

"The hell you talking about, Urameshi?"

Following behind the team Captain's introduction was another member of Team Urameshi. Clad in a dark cloak which masked the features underneath, the swordsman, Snow, tilted his head to the right, the eyes dulled with a suspicious look in question. The 'literal' unknown person which sat out in the first round, the blunt force of the shame and embarassment which Team Urameshi suffered wasn't that harsh against him in contrast.

It was a bit vexing though, but hey. They're the judge.

"A bit 'too nice for a fight to place in'? I'm pretty sure the judges have some contractors and bulldozers ready to repair the place once we're done with it."

A pause.

The swordsman then glanced off of Urameshi to focus on their opponents.

A girl...

...

And a guy.

Nuff said.

Teira's eyes narrowed at the door a little ways across the courtyard as it opened and a black shoe stepped outwards, followed by a leg and the whole of a man.

"Oh?"

She said curiously as he stopped before crossing to them, seemingly thinking to himself. She continued her stretches, watching him out of the corner of her eye. As he came over, she got to her feet. Dusting off her bum and brushing off her hands she grinned and returned the greeting.

"That'd be us--" she jerked her thumb at herself and Lazenca, "I'm Teira."

Offering her hand for a shake and glancing over her shoulder, she'd let out a low whistle.

"It seems like a waste-- Guess we better get our fill of the view now, before we start--- landscaping, mm?"

She would stretch and look to the two men who had followed shortly behind him.

"Yo!~ More of Team Urameshi, I presume? I look forward to our match. Lets give them something to talk about, eh?"

She said as she spread her arm wide, gesturing to the spectators gathering along the tops of the walls.

Her sensitive ears alerted her to her teammate's approach. Grinning she called out to him, waving her arm excitedly. Man the things she had to tell him!--

"Oi! Silver! You missed the tour! Did you know that REAL vampires live here? This place has got some CRAZY history! It's even got a REALLY creepy dungeon!"

As spectators began arriving-- and no doubt the members of the teams fighting in the two other locations of the castle trudged on by the Courtyard--- one figure in particular was noted.

If at all.

This was solely due to the fact that he was wearing a guy fawk's mask and making his way towards the side of the Manor... apparently trying to get at an open window.

However, as a tv crew hustled on by, and view of this masked figure was obscured... when the coast was clear... that masked man was...gone?

Yusuke presents a nod, answering her handshake with his own, his right hand gripping firmly around hers.

"Nice to meet you, Teira," Yusuke says his hand ungrasping just when the next member of their team runs out. From the silver hair to the trademark apparel, Yusuke immediately knew that was one of the two members Yusuke was expecting. He watches as the team interacts with one another for a moment while he hears Kuwabara talking as he walks up from behind Yusuke.

Kuwabara~Warrior of Love Wrote:

Kuwabara followed in behind Yusuke a few steps back, looking around at the large area that was to be their next fighting area. Kuwabara blinked as he looked at all of the high-class decor of the Von Helson Manor courtyard, having not been around such classy stuff in his life before. Small-town guys from Japan like him didn't run into this kind of stuff very often.

"Gee, Urameshi," said Kuwabara, "I can't believe they're gonna let us fight in a place like this. The guys runnin' this tournament must be pretty loaded if they could rent out a place like this for fighting."

Then again, considering the penalty that would ensue for breaking stuff in this place, perhaps that was just part of the challenge. Either that, or the Von Helsons wanted the money of renting out the place to the tournament without having to worry about damages. Talk about having your cake and eating it too.

Although Kuwabara was disappointed with the judges' decision on the match, he enjoyed his fight, and he knew that enjoying the tournament was what Yusuke wanted all along for the team.

"Yeah, I know," he responds, turning around to face Kuwabara. "If anything, I'm pretty sure they want nothing more than for us to preserve the good nature of this place."

He chuckles at his sarcastic remark, but his eyes catch Snow coming up to them, too, now completing 3/4 of Team Urameshi, though in his usual presence of a cloak over his body. Everytime he saw the fellow, he couldn't help but think of the grim reaper. Or at the least the common image of one in today's culture, when in reality, they did not look so scary or grim. One example being the blue-haired Botan who pestered him whenever he and his friends were doing an important job. He was highly surprised, come to think of it, of not seeing either Koenma wearing that sad pacifier or Botan, believing that they either were busy or got lost on the way here. Whatever the case, he knew they would arrive at their own leisure.

Nightsnow Wrote:

"The hell you talking about, Urameshi?"

Following behind the team Captain's introduction was another member of Team Urameshi. Clad in a dark cloak which masked the features underneath, the swordsman, Snow, tilted his head to the right, the eyes dulled with a suspicious look in question. The 'literal' unknown person which sat out in the first round, the blunt force of the shame and embarassment which Team Urameshi suffered wasn't that harsh against him in contrast.

It was a bit vexing though, but hey. They're the judge.

"A bit 'too nice for a fight to place in'? I'm pretty sure the judges have some contractors and bulldozers ready to repair the place once we're done with it."

A pause.

The swordsman then glanced off of Urameshi to focus on their opponents.

A girl...

...

And a guy.

Nuff said.

"Hahahaha, looks like I'm the only one who thought that. After places like the clocktower being trashed last year, I'm sure this place won't be missed. But as long as we don't get things out of hand, we shouldn't do much to this place. Just remember, there are two more fights happening in the vicinity, so it will be to our best interests to not go crashing through some walls."

He extends his right arm, presenting his right open hand in front of him, lowered to stomach-level, and palm facing the ground as if asking them to join their hands on top of him, like the group of three musketeers.

"Look, guys. I know we took a loss last round, and you're probably a bit angry of it, but remember, it's not about the victory or the defeat. It's about us making sure we take this as far as possible with just the entertainment we get out of fighting. The most memorable things in a tournament come from what a team accomplishes to do out of the ordinary instead of the usual sock n' boxers fights we would do in normal competitions. We have one last chance to progress. Whether we win or lose, I hope we enjoy together the thrill of combat one more time. So....you guys ready to do this?"

If they were, then Yusuke's hand was there waiting for theirs to join it in unity.

[Yusuke Urameshi] Wrote:

He extends his right arm, presenting his right open hand in front of him, lowered to stomach-level, and palm facing the ground as if asking them to join their hands on top of him, like the group of three musketeers.

"Look, guys. I know we took a loss last round, and you're probably a bit angry of it, but remember, it's not about the victory or the defeat. It's about us making sure we take this as far as possible with just the entertainment we get out of fighting. The most memorable things in a tournament come from what a team accomplishes to do out of the ordinary instead of the usual sock n' boxers fights we would do in normal competitions. We have one last chance to progress. Whether we win or lose, I hope we enjoy together the thrill of combat one more time. So....you guys ready to do this?"

If they were, then Yusuke's hand was there waiting for theirs to join it in unity.

"You bet, Urameshi!" said Kuwabara, putting his hand in with his. "Let's give 'em a good fight!"

Kuwabara wasn't sure if Snow would be the kind to put his hand into the mix. He didn't seem like the kind to open up much, but hopefully he would put it in for the sake of team spirit.

But what about Clash? He was coming too, wasn't he? He didn't get too much of a chance to fight last time around since the round had ended too early, and Snow hadn't gotten a chance at all. This time, though, Kuwabara knew they'd have their chance to shine.

Sunstrike let Silver trail up ahead.

Not because he was expecting anything, or because he was gawking at all the architechture. Nah...he was just being himself...

"So ladies, I see your all decked out like the glorious godesses you happen to be.~" Giggles echoed down the hall.

He had about an increasingly growing group of girls in front of him when they'd reached the place where fighters and the crowds could mix, just before entering the location. Luckily for him, all three other members were there by now, giving him a chance to 'mingle.'

Sun had to thank some god, somewhere for making the frozen flame colour a nice stark white...and the t-shirts a few sizes too small. Life was good~<3

"If any of you have a marker I'll sign whatever you like." He'd discovered a valuable gift could go a long way, and more then one bouncy 18-somthing girl would wander off with a nifty pair of drawn wings, or a tribal-esk flame - on some various portion of her body.

Apparently, Sun didn't recognize Kael at all, either that, or he could have been so caught up in it all that he didn't take the time to find out who it was. His ears just perked at a masculine voiced, and the girls went quiet and wide-eye.

"Oh? Did you want something signed too?" Suddenly Kael would be a little more then uncomfortably up close and personal-like with the salamander, who drapped an arm over both heavily clothed shoulders. He got SO close, that a deep breath would mean, horror of horrors, a kiss.

Squeals erupted all around, because even though Kael wasn't exactly visable, it was enough to see one guy just drapped over as Sunny had done. Amusement would be written all over his face, and only then, might Kael see a little recognition there.

Ignoring any embarassment, the colours would swirl in the direction of the refreshment stand meant for the players, the only clue he'd give before tugging at the other man's shoulders, practically swinging Kael around to wander off.

"This is a very CLOSE friend of mine, ladies, now if you don't mind, I'm done with signatures for the day, but I hope you and all the reporters that are hidden among you enjoy the day!" Cue camera flashes and more squeals all around as Sun dragged Kael to the relative saftey of the stand.

Luckily, it was an enclosed room and pretty private on all fronts. A tv would show the benched member of the team exactly what was going on, should they wish to stay in the background.

"Yo. S'been a while! How're things, boyo?" The cheerful greeting was a far cry from the practically whore-like attitude from before.

"Hell, Kael, you should know with the rest of us we needed a straight man/wolf, no pun intended." The handshake was solid in spite of the connotation's Sun just seemed to be made up of.

"I'm sorry to hear bout the team, I've been hearing it's pretty rough. You all seem to get on real well with my captain though." Eyebrow raise. "Should be more careful..." He waved a hand to take some of the harshness out of the warning.

"I'll take care of her as much as I can, but we can't shield her forever, she's going to have to face facts eventually. Otherwise, it won't be Teira's personality that'll win."

Sun wasn't wholly sure about what Vahn had in mind for the girl...and he definately wasn't sure he liked keeping Teira in the dark for this long.

"We'll just...see how it goes." For the first time he looked a little uncomfortable. The result of this whole process seemed a lot easier to stomach BEFORE he'd met the little, not so delicate, shadow and soul creation of Max's, now he just felt like he was about to break her.

But it wouldn't do much good to argue it now, if caught between Vahn and the girl, mixed emotions or no, he'd have to stay loyal...

Wouldn't he?

"...I say we make Silver fight first, for sleeping through the last match." Lazenca yawned.

Actually, the cloak was made for traversing through rough terrain, designed to withstand the brunt force of heavy rain and natural disaster as best as possible. It was also used to take burden against the harshest environment if need be, and although not able to escape some scratches and tears on the lower end of the worn cloak, the swordsman wore it like a ritual to his aimless journey throughout the world of Gaia.

And being compared to a Grim Reaper? If he knew what Urameshi was thinking, then he wouldn't really brush off that thought completely. After all...

Ba-dump.

He shook his head, clearing out a sudden impulse lurking inside his chest. A bit skeptical on what he had just felt, the swordsman brushed the thought aside as Urameshi and Kuwabara began their...usual habit of boosting team morale. Not knowing what kind of act he has to do, as the idea is relatively new to him....

He sighed, raising his hand and planting it down on Kuwabara and Urameshi's hand in a lazy motion.

"In other words, you want us to keep collateral damage low, as well as refrain from interrupting other fights in progress around here, yes?"

The man paused, glancing over at Tierra.

He looked back.

"Well, Urameshi? Would you like me to play with their opponent for a bit, or do you plan on sending someone first to fight against the man oogling over the nearly naked statue?"

Starting to come around? Oh no no no...

He was just acting along with what his Team Captain wants to believe. Whatever the cause, Snow was just acting out of sheer chivalry due to the fact that he was part of a member of Team Urameshi.

And though he appreciates what Urameshi is trying to do, it doesn't necessarily mean that he is fully devoted to the cause.

Especially to what Urameshi said to him now.

"....."

Ba-dump.

Another impulsive rush raged inside Snow's chest, but he pushed the irritation off with a simple sigh, and a small shrug.

"It's your call." Taking a few steps back, the swordsman went towards the sidelines to take his place in watching the fight.

Again; while he brooded over the other possible fighters there, the man had his arms folded, and the hood cast over his eyes as if blocking any trace of expression left on the young man's face.

"Real vampires?! And a dungeon?!"

Silver's eyes went wide with both surprise and excitement. Sure there were jerks all over Gaia that claimed to be such things, but Silver had never really believed any of that. He figured they were just attention starved goth kiddies with fake fangs, something Silver had never been particularly fond of. But if some upscale place like this had presented the idea as believable enough that his captain was on board, his interest was piqued. Silver folded one arm under the other, as one hand went up to grasp his chin between the thumb and forefinger.

"That's... that's awesome! After the fight, let's go looking for them!"

The young man certainly had a sense of adventure. And news like that definitely made the place way more interesting than just having fancy marble paths and expensive looking statues. Statues with...

Silver's eyes had wandered (not purposefully mind you!) to one of the stone beauties that stood near by with the proportions described previously. He couldn't help but stare a moment, c'mon, he was a growing boy! Cut him some slack!

When Tiera had called him back over, he realized what he was doing, his face flushing slightly as he looked around for a moment hoping no one had seen that. He found himself wishing he'd stayed inside with Sun... with the real girls. He moved to step forward, stopping momentarily by the Wolf-Man on his team. He spoke low, as if it would keep everyone whose attention was already fixated on him from hearing.

"Thank a lot, Laz."

Sarcasm, obviously. For either bringing up his short comings in the first match, or pointing him out so he'd be caught ogling the statues. Probably both.

However, before he started moving again, Silver got a good look at the opposing team for the round for the first time. One eyebrow went up, and he remained frozen in place. After a short period just long enough to be awkward, he turned to Lazenca again, this time raising a hand to cover the side of his mouth that faced the others. It did little more than the lowered voice. His eyes constantly bounced back and forth between the other team, and his feral friend.

"Say, do these guys look kinda familiar to you...? I'd swear I'd seen them somewhere before..."

Not even waiting for a response, Silver began to move again. He probably hadn't really expected an answer. He figured his mind was just messing with him and it was something he just wanted to get off his chest. They could have been a team from the previous year, and his head was still fuzzy on those events.

As he approached, he took the time to size up the competition. When they did their cheesy "all hands in the middle" thing, he actually cracked a smile. Anyone who knew Silver knew he was as naive and cheesy as they came. He admired camaraderie like that. It was something he'd personally felt with Glacier, and even though he knew at least half of his former team hadn't been so outwardly friendly, he knew it was something they'd all shared. They might have been seen performing a similar ritual themselves...

Silver shook his head, clearing his thoughts. Now wasn't the time. Nevertheless, this appeared to be a good group of guys. This fight would prove to be enjoyable to say the least, and he was happy he got to go first.

He stepped up next to his captain, rotating one arm at the shoulder to loosen it up, then stretched his neck from side to side.

"You bet! I'm warmed up and ready to go! Which of you gentleman is lucky enough to get to face me?"

There was a hidden double meaning in Silver's choice of the word "lucky", whether he knew it or not. Obviously, everyone wanted a piece of the former Glacier member. Unfortunately for him, it had granted him a reputation which far preceded him. Given the track records of everyone on his team, he was probably the easiest of the four to beat. Or at least, the easiest of which to administer a severe beating...

Silver's grin widened when the opposing captain, Urameshi himself, stepped up to the challenge. From his examination, Yusuke appeared to be the most suitable opponent for him, and was the one he would have liked to fight of the three present. The big guy with the pompadour was kinda goofy looking, and the other was obviously a swordsman, the type of opponent that Silver usually left to the swordsman of his own 'crew'... Vahn.

Whether Vahn liked it or not, Silver was determined to make Vahn prove he was in fact the best swordsman on Gaia, a title that Vahn actually held, or at least had any interest in pursuing, only in Silver's mind. This was, of course, to be achieved by Silver "assigning" Vahn to be the opponent of any sword wielding maniac the happened to come across. Like he liked to say, "The Greatest Swordsman on Gaia. I would expect no less for a member of HoH's Champion Team."

Of course, Vahn wasn't on Silver's team this year... or even around at the moment... so Silver was just entertaining daydreams and affirming what he already knew himself in his own head... for the audience's sake of course! But enough of that...

Silver threaded his own weapon, a wooden black sword that was so fine, it would appear to be ceramic or crafted from a solid piece of obsidian from a distance, through loops on the back of his jacket, which he promptly took off. He wouldn't be needing either for this match, and the jacket was rather clashing and chaffing matched up with his current workout clothes. He handed them off to Tiera, shooting a smile her way.

"Watch these for me for a sec, will ya? Ya can wear it if ya get cold..."

Quite an honor considering how much they meant to him. He wouldn't trust just anybody with that stuff!

"But I assure you, things are about to get quite hot."

Silver turned back into his opponent, his expression becoming more serious now, but still quite friendly. That was just the way he was. The fire of excitement burned in his eyes. Figuratively, I mean, not literally. Though Silver probably could have done that if he wanted...

Suddenly, a voice called out for him from the stands, rather rudely, ruining the moment. Silver just looked confused now. He turned and threw his head back to look up and identify the person who had addressed him.

"What?!"

Silver's eyes narrowed when he spotted who is must have been.

Oh, great... it's him...

Tzenidaar. A guy who Silver couldn't clearly remember, but he remembered enough to know that they had scrapped on more than one occasion, what he did to Vahn, and that the guy was bad news.

"Tch..."

Silver scoffed at the question. He knew exactly who the chimera was referring to. That particular inquiry was doubly annoying to him. Mostly because he got it all the time. Since it was widely known that Silver was Vahn's protege, everyone always expected him to know where Vahn was, when in actuality, he didn't most of the time. At least not exactly. The other thing that made it bothersome, at least at the moment, was that Tiera was around, and Silver would have to choose his words carefully.

"How should I know?! Whatta I look like, his keeper? Go find him yourself..."

That had taken some acting on Silver's part, mimicking the stoic, non-caring badassery of his mentor. Or maybe it was rubbing off. Silver honestly wished he knew where Vahn was, but he had to keep up appearances. In reality, Vahn seemed to always be avoiding him for one reason or another or keeping him in the dark about something. Typical mysterious teacher types. Silver smirked.

"Now, if you don't mind, I'm kinda busy!"

He turned back to his opponent, still smirking in annoynace, before shaking his head again. One hand went up to ruffle the hair on the back of his own head, a habit of his, while the other extended to the other man, offering a handshake, friendly knuckle touch, or what have you for prefight pleasantries.

"Sorry about that... I'm a pretty popular guy, I guess... I'm Silver Alexander, but you probably already knew that... Afraid I missed your name...?"

((tl,dr: howdy, ready when you are))

The detective was a patient person, standing there as he waits for Silver to remove his eyes from the bare-naked statues of women and actually walk up to respond to their sanctioned fight. His eyes divert to his right for a moment as he sees someone shout from the spectator area, a man who stood out more from the usual spectator, someone wearing some armor on his body, toned arms, and other unique features that quickly told Yusuke that he must have been a rival of some sort to the opposing team. Then he realized there was some familiarity to him, until he figures out it was a man he had a short spar with in Leviathan, which unfortunately went sour between the two, having Yusuke give a slight frown. He had forgotten about the trouble, but it was still a knack for having something unfinished.

His eyes return onto Silver and he hears the "lucky" remark, too, though he isn't as cruel in reaction as Snow was, who was going through a side moment that the detective rather not try to dwell himself into. His right thumb coming up, he brushes it across the tip of his nose as he grins cockily, as if proud to be saying that he was the lucky winner to the unimplied lottery.

"That'd be me," was his answer. Turning to face his own team, Yusuke removes his green jacket, the white sleeveless shirt on his upper body shown in view. But because his back was facing the other team, they may notice this kanji written black on the back of the shirt of Yusuke's gi. It had some significance to Yusuke's background, occupation, and the general purpose of its existence on his clothing, but that was probably something that was going to be revealed come the start of the fight.

He turns back around, tapping the tip of his feet in a 1,2,3,4 simultaneously to make sure his kung fu shoes were fit to his feet, then walks forward to meet Silver in the center, or the center of the space between Team Urameshi and Team Frozen Flame.

"I know the feeling," Yusuke replies to Silver's latest comment, as afterwards, a crowd full of girls, noticed by Snow who was embarrassingly covering his face from, shout from the sidelines, raising up a banner that said "GO, URAMESHI!" Kuwabara would likely be displaying the very opposite in reaction, knowing how much he liked girls cheering for him. It seemed like despite last round's loss, they still had fans out there who believed in them. And he could not help but wonder if it was the removal of his shirt in the cold climate of Guldor that had gave them more of an incentive to cheer him on, revealing his bod' to the teenage girl world.

Other than that, Yusuke did not try to look toward the fans, for his focus was only on the man before him, both hands squeezing the first joints of each finger at his sides without having to curl the fingers inward, letting a crack after crack of each sound consecutively to show that the muscles of Yusuke's hands were pretty strong, not needing the aid of the other hand to let the relief of his joints sound.

He meets his right fist with Silver's in the return of a formal match opening, responding with his name: "You can call me Yusuke Urameshi. Well, if we're done with the formalities, how about we get this started, shall we?"

They had made the crowd wait for too long now, who were anticipating the bout that was about to happen. The crowd suddenly came into a roar when they saw the two fighters ready to throw down, the cheerful electricity in the air fueling Yusuke's adrenaline, ready to start this match with a full rush of blood, energy, and sheer confidence to fight at his best.

Taking Silver's coat and bokken for safe keeping as he passed them off to her, she flashed her teammate a grin. Gripping his shoulder as she passed,

"Give 'em hell, just try and keep off the walls. Two other teams fighting here, and spectators above. We don't need any one aside from the six of us getting hurt."

She'd said six, 'cause that was all she counted. 3 per team were on location. She'd pat his shoulder and clear the field, casting a glance at Snow as she joined Lazenca on the sidelines.

"That one seems a bit of a sour puss eh?"

That was when she froze. Turning her head slowly to look up at the wall. Some big, scary looking guy was yelling at two of her teammates. Reflexively her hand reached up to hold her face. Her body crawled with the faint tug of recognition.

She didn't remember him, but he had shattered her jaw last year. Luckily it had been her jaw and not her skull--

"Who's that?"

She asked under her breath to Laz.

"I don't like him...."

Her arms tightened around Silver's belongings as she hugged them to her chest. Her tail twitching like a cat who was was annoyed and ready to lash out at the thing that was pestering it.

Tzen was one of those guys that just breathed 'DANGER'.

She turned to watch Urameshi and Silver as they squared off, but she couldn't help but keep stealing glances toward the chimera from the corner of her eye.

Silver glanced over Yusuke's shoulder, chuckling at his team mate's remark, but he said nothing. He wasn't the first to claim HoH was a popularity contest, and he probably wouldn't be the last. Given the circumstances, it couldn't be helped. No hard feelings, though. Nothing to do but let it roll off his back.

He then turned his head to his Captain as she stepped back to the sidelines to make way for the match about to begin, smirking slightly.

"I'll do my best, but I'm afraid I can't make any promises... you know how accident prone I am..."

Silver then turned back to his opponent to face him with a smile, lightly knocking his knuckles against Urameshi's.

"A pleasure, Yusuke. Let's make those ridiculous ticket prices worth it for these people, eh?"

With that, Silver took a quick hop back to put a few feet between them. He leaned forward slightly, and raised his right hand to eye level, which promptly erupted into brilliant silvery-white flame. He then stood up straight and whipped his hand forward to point with his index finger at Yusuke, the flame on his hand flying off in a thin ribbon to soar through the air and dissipate just in front of his opponent.

HEAVEN OR HELL

MATCH 2, ROUND 1

"Are you ready?"

LET'S ROCK

If Yusuke didn't already know Silver was pyrokinetic, he would now. Of course, just assuming any given opponent was pyrokinetic seemed like a generally safe bet this year.

Suddenly the sun went out, all was black. As the sun relit Undertaker stood in the middle of the Courtyard, pupiless eyes glaring at Yusuke.

URAMESHI!!!!!!!!!!!

He pointed a finger at Yusuke!

REEEEEEEEEEEEEEST IN PEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEACE!!!!

Undertaker leapt in the middle of Yusuke's charge, hitting him with a big boot so mighty that the earth itself cracked open and hell poured forth.

So many things happened all at once!

A judge and a random camp shouting wrestler just flew straight past him, past the crowd and made a firework display against the cement at the bottom of the courtyard.

Sun and the rest of the crowd clapped in appreciation. It was good to know someone was on the ball about these things.

Brave, determined, confident, these were the traits Yusuke wanted any of his opponents to display. If it was nowhere near that, then he usually gave no effort in even trying to match fists with the others. Silver, this guy, at least was capable of making Yusuke smirk. Instead of stand there and wait for him to come like any other fighter he has fought, the guy actually came forward, too. And so, they were both charging head on like two rams ready to bang heads.

Since Silver was running at him, Yusuke would have to change his tactics a little, in terms of what to do to brace the incoming Silver. He still continues his punch forward, while his eyes steadily watch as Silver ducks it. Hair is shuffled by the fist as Silver dives and moves to his right, attempting to smack him hard into the stomach.

And he would succeed, his right fist hitting into Yusuke's gut, causing the guy to gasp in a closed-teeth expression as his eyes sternly look down on Silver. Silver appeared that he was going to do a hit and run, but unfortunately, the hook Yusuke used had his right hand follow back after the crouching head, having his right arm just lower and bend, so that Silver himself would suddenly find the back of his neck gripped into a headlock, Yusuke's right forearm against the left side of Silver's neck and left shoulder, while his feet would be sliding back in a sprawling-like manner. The lock would bring them both to a sudden stop, their charging momentums canceled out into a stalemate for the time being, the smack of their bodies hitting into one another, Yusuke at least giving a grunt.

Payback at its best, the grab came with a right knee rising up and hitting for Silver's own gut within the grapple, as Yusuke's left hand rests in a grip on the side of Silver's pants, to hold him steady as his opponent gets a strike heading for the stomach.

2

The knee came, and it went. By the time Silver's left hand at least would be able to touch Yusuke's forward right leg, it would already have settled on the ground, foot firm against it as it starts sliding back. Since Silver's right hand would have to move off the stop of Yusuke's midsection and out into the opening to grab for the knee, too, it would get there too late as the right foot would be sliding back to readjust his balance, the left hand capable of just stopping it about midway, which then his right hand could follow.

Silver had Yusuke's knee, but Yusuke's foot was already settled onto the ground with the weight between it and his left foot, meaning Silver would have to gather more strength and try the pull one more time, as the first attempt would have Yusuke groan then stop it since he had enough of a position to resist being lifted. But given one more time, Silver would be able to pull it off, which is why Yusuke has to stop him before he can.

Removing his right arm from around the neck, which would place Silver's right shoulder against Yusuke's stomach as the only rest he would have, the teenager grasps both of his hands together, and sends them crashing downward at Silver's back like a club, a hammer strike ready to use its force to knock Silver straight to the ground, while Yusuke would step back and to the left to have the guy's body go falling right in front of his re-facing body.

If this happened, then Yusuke would lift his left foot straight into the air with a half clockwise motion to the left then skyward...

If this all went as planned...

FWOOOOOM!

Silver's back will get an axe kick straight into the spine, the foot ready to stomp with hard force. Just like his punches, his kicks, too, were reinforced with spiritual assistance. So it would not be strange for gusts of wind to move around the bushes a bit that was near them if the kick landed.

3

Yusuke had been correct in assuming Silver would try the throw regardless, so he took the hammer fist squarely in the back before he could muster the strength to lift the two of them. He let out another grunt before he fell forward onto the stone pathway of the courtyard, gritting his teeth as he hit it hard, cracking it slightly, and sent dust and smaller debris, as well as the grass near them waving outward from the impact.

But he wouldn't lay there and wait for any follow-up his opponent should choose to administer while he was down.

Silver quickly escape rolled to his own left off the path and onto one of the grassy patches of the courtyard to put some distance between him and his opponent, just missing the foot as it came down. The force of Yusuke's spirit energy would further crater the stone pathway where Silver had landed, sending bits of stone and debris everywhere. Silver could count him self lucky it missed him.

Silver's roll would come to a stop just before he hit a bush, and he would use his momentum to spin up into a kneeling position, a small trickle of blood running down his chin from his mouth. With a steely gaze fixated on Urameshi, he'd raise a hand to wipe it off, smearing the thick red substance on the hand wrapping between his thumb and index finger. The same side of his mouth would twist into a wicked grin, bearing a bloody canine. Silver liked this guy. He was fun.

He would bolt forward again, continuing his offensive, and re-closing the distance between the two of them. Yusuke didn't seem like one to stand around, so he would probably be moving already, and Silver wouldn't want to be caught down.

After taking only a couple strides forward, Silver would make a short leap while leaning forward, and twist his torso back to the right while bringing his fist back as well.

He would then fall forward and shoot his fist down aiming to collide high with Urameshi in the head, or possibly shoulders or chest depending on how he was moving.

"URIYAH!"

THREE! Nothin' wrong with me!

Kraun Wrote:

"Oh, and I dont mean him." He pointed at Lazenca, which was also on the very same team, and also happened to be one of the 'originals' from which he is derived from.

Him. Lazenca kinda sneered, but ended up scoffing.

"I don't know his name... hard to fight. Don't worry about him, I've beat him twice." His eyes went back on the fight with the knowledge that the Judges would prevent the winged guy from dropping down and really starting some mess. However, knowing he was around meant that he had to be on alert... they kept fighting for no reason other than 'cause the guy had some kind of beef or something. And he always seemed to show up when Lazenca was eating.

"This is where it counts. I'll be back."

He patted Tiera shoulder, then walked off after giving Sun a 'watch her' eye signal.

Yusuke started to think that Silver had gone mad when he was coming up from a kneel into an uppercut toward such a kick. If the guy truly saw this type of move as the best defensive measure he could come up with, then what was there to worry about from this guy? However, Yusuke was going to give him the benefit of the doubt that he had more in store for this attack, even if it was upsetting to think about it. And sure enough, he got his answer with heated air in front of him exploding outward from the built up pressure created by Silver's pyrokinetic skills.

"OOf!"

Yusuke's face was in shock, as his kick was stopped right there, the attack halting his body abruptly in the air before he felt a kickback of the force send him falling at the ground just three feet behind himself. His body would be turning to the left in a barrel roll motion. He would complete up to two before he would land right onto the ground with his hands against the stone pavement, smacking his palms and his toes hitting into the ground before his knees followed, trying to absorb the impact, feeling a scraping of his hands against the ground that gave that irritating burning sensation that came from rubbing skin fast along concrete or any other rough surface.

The front of his gi was marked in black created from the burning attack, a little steam rising from the intense heat that was settled upon the spiritual clothing he wore. The Spirit Gi was meant to decrease the damage created from attacks both physically and spiritually, so at least Yusuke did not have to have his chest roasted, even though heat still was able to get through to make it feel like someone just threw a very hot steaming towel onto his body. He just knew that one more shot to the chest like that would destroy the gi's top completely. But he wasn't going to let that happen again. And if he did, he would at least make sure he was ready next time.

Not even giving another second to landing from the attack, Yusuke has the muscles of his legs and his left arm tense as his right raise into a fist, suddenly pushing off back toward Silver's location, though his facing having him not take a straight path toward Silver, but instead, a path that has him moving more to the right as he's coming forth, so that he could curve himself to Silver's position, just to make things a bit more difficult in analyzing what he was going to do next.

It was amazing to the crowd how Yusuke had just gotten himself up out of an attack like that and was still able to commence his attacks, the cause coming from Yusuke's adrenaline having already been driven into enough momentum to give Yusuke an enhanced psychological aspect to bringing this fight into his favor. It was a natural thing any fighter had, where for each attack they landed successfully and consecutively gave them more of a positive outlook on things, calming their minds and giving them more hope. So even after an attack like that, Yusuke was not mentally fazed the least bit by the move, only seeing it as just another attack to take and move onward.

5

The spectators that notice the event would look upon the crumbling wall over where two large participants were having their battle cries and pure strength pitted against one another, many of them going: "What the ********> It almost appeared like actual monsters were fighting against one another to try to see who would claim themselves the king of the giants, and ironically enough, one enough had the racial description of being deemed a monster by the common humans.

Silver's fist came back down into his ready stance, thin trails of smoke seeping off his hand wraps. He kept his eyes on Yusuke, not expecting him to stay down for long. Sure enough, he didn't. Silver smirked slightly. Urameshi really was fighting like this was his last round if he didn't win. He could admire determination like that.

Once again, Silver took off to meet Yusuke head on, moving to his left in a curve that would collide with his opponent's. He wasn't sure what Yusuke's plan of attack would be, but he wasn't gonna sit there on the defensive and take it.

Upon approaching melee range, he would turn his body to the side to lead with his left again as he side stepped in. His right foot would come down hard, as he almost turned his back to Yusuke fully and leaned forward, then shot his left leg up and drove his heel forward, putting his momentum into the kick.

He hoped it would stop Yusuke dead in his tracks, or even send him backwards if he somehow ran into it.

5

"COME ON, URAMESHI!!!!"

From the sidelines of the courtyard, Kuwabara was shouting out to Yusuke, encouraging him to keep fighting. He swiped his hands through the air as if he was boxing with an invisible opponent. Silver was pretty tough, and he was already displaying some really unusual skills. But Kuwabara had the utmost faith in his teammate and friend. He was gonna give him a hell of a fight.

"You know you got more than that, Urameshi! Show 'em what you're made of!"

"Ahh, s**t, I can't believe how late I am!"

Ichigo ran down the hallways of the Von Helson manor, trying to find the location of Team Urameshi's next fight, dressed in a pair of jeans and a blue shirt with the words "NICE VIBE" written across the chest in white. He had already ran into two completely different fights previously, only to awkwardly discover that none of them were the fights he was looking for. But now he was being more careful, making sure that he saw the fighters he was looking for before calling out.

Lo and behold, Ichigo had found the right place.

"Alright!"

That's when the young man started to look around. "Damn..." he thought, "All that rushin' everywhere mustof threw off my awareness a bit. I never noticed how freakin' rich this place is. I dunno whose idea it was to hold three whole matches in here. It's crazy! They're gonna blow up the place or somethin'!"

Not that Ichigo really cared for the Von Helsons, though. He was much more interested in watching the fight.

"Hey, Urameshi!" shouted Ichigo, seeing that the fights were already underway, "Keep it up!"

"I see you've had a little trouble getting here, haven't you, Mr. Kurosaki?"

Urahara would walk into the spectator area shortly after Ichigo, idly fanning his face.

"I saw you running down the halls before when you were trying to get here. I knew where Mr. Urameshi was fighting in the first place, but I didn't want to interrupt your sightseeing. It was quite entertaining to watch."

Urahara knew that Ichigo would probably be a bit iffy with him about it, but that wasn't his concern for now. He had heard about the results of the last round, and Urahara wanted to take the chance to watch Yusuke and his team in person. He wouldn't be shouting out to the teen just yet, though. He simply watched the two fighters as they went at it, his hat shading his eyes from view.

By this time, Snow was busy kneeling on the ground, pawing at a nearby kitten who was scared shitless of the brawling and fighting going on.

"Here kitty kitty ~ Here kitty kitty ~"

SCRATCH.

"...."

And admist the cheering and all the rabid fans duking it all out for both parties, the man was not the least interested in the state of affairs occuring before this round.

And pawing the kitty for the third time, he ruffled the kittens ears before stealing a glance at how the fight is faring now.

The kick to his stomach by the desperate attempt of Silver makes him show agony in his face, the kick causing his body to hop a bit. But because he was so bent over, it only causes him to have his feet slide back a little before he just lunges right back onto Silver's position like a jackrabbit, bringing down a left fist heading straight for Silver's stomach.

The already cratering ground that Silver was lying against would have cracks run through its surface as a mighty pressure of spirit energy is exerted against his body with that fist, causing the entire area to have a vibration sent through the earth within a thirty foot radius. The bushes shoot violently, the water of the fountains swerved a little, some leaking over the walls of the fountain with heavy waves caused by the tremors, and the very beautiful flowerbed just on the other side of the bushes was unfortunately caught within this quake-like move, causing it to instantly have its contents knocked over, its fertile soil spilling out. Even the walls near them showed some cracks in their foundation, but nothing too severe as of yet. But that didn't save the windows from shattering.

After this blow, Yusuke would leap back some distance from Silver on his feet, awaiting for some reaction from his grounded opponent as he pants, out of breath from doing so many actions in such little time. As much as he did not like giving his opponents this type of punishment unless they deserved it, he now knew after the first round matches he saw that he was going to have to bring his A-game if he wanted any chance of giving his opponents something to remember.

7

"That team?"

She asked, answering Sun as she turned her gaze back to the crumbling wall. She couldn't see anyone but Athan, so she didn't identify team as Fracture and shrugged, shaking her head.

"Can't say that I do."

Her attention was fixed on the fight. Things were getting really intense on the field and she even caught herself wincing as Silver took a few serious hits. Getting to her feet, she hugged her arms, watching anxiously.

• RRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRMMBBB!-

Urameshi's spirit force shook the entire courtyard. Some water sloshed out of the fountain she had been sitting on, splashing behind her.

-FWWWIIP-

The rustling of feathers as ebony wings stretched out behind her. Pushing off the ground with her right foot, She lept into the air, her finger triggering a switch on her FIGHTER as it flashed:

FROZEN FLAME: OFFENSIVE STRIKER!

Across the LCD screen. Fast and near silent, the elven demoness swooped in on her prey with a stealthy aerial grace. With all the ruckus from Urameshi's earthquake effect, the sound of wind on wings would be drowned out.

As Urameshi lept backwards, he would be snatched out of the air from behind, before he even hit the ground. Her arms hooking underneath his and trapping him by the shoulders as she soared over Silver carrying Urameshi, she careened toward the crumbling wall.

"SURPRISE!~"

With no spectators above here, it was only the fight on the other side she had to worry about. She aimed at the wall a little ways down from where it was breaking-- Two fighter's on the other side. Having come through the hallway to get to the courtyard, she had an idea of what on the other side, and that memory was aided by a glimpse through a window. Deciding it was clear---

A reporter leaned forward clutching her mic as the cameraman panned across the courtyard to Teira, trying to keep her in focus as she snatched up the opposing team's captain--

"LADIES AND GENTELMAN! Teira, Captain of Frozen Flame, has just STRIKER'D Yusuke Urameshi, Captain of team Urameshi---"

--- She let go of one of Urameshi's arms, the left. Her wings snapped open creating drag as she back winged.

"AAAAARRRRRRRUUUH!!!!

• WHAM!! -

Swinging him by the arm-- likely dislocating or breaking it in the process--- she would slam him by the back of the head, followed by the rest of his body-- Into and most likely through the wall and the gothic window beside it, sending creeping vines, dust, glass and brick everywhere.

The aim of her striker was simple, deal damage and buy her teammate some time. Hopefully that would take the wind out of Yusuke's sails. Possibly broken bones, cuts, good chance he'd have a concussion--- maybe even a KO?

'Forgive me for interrupting your fun Silver' she thought to herself as flew up onto the roof and out of the fighting area before her 10 seconds was up.

A murmur ran through the crowd as the news camera's strained to see the striker'd fighter's state as the dust cleared---

"Teira has THROWN Urameshi into the wall, it's hard to see if the spirited young man is all right---"

The kick causing him to back up for only a moment was all that he needed. The instant Yusuke's barrage was interrupted, Silver had quickly leaned back from his curl and put his hands up behind his head, pulling his legs up and over him at the same time. This would have hopefully avoided the final blow that Urameshi had planned, but thanks to the Striker, his safety was guaranteed.

From his position, he would 'kip-up', quickly shifting his momentum forward again and using it to spring to his feet, ready for Urameshi to come at him again. Only he wasn't there. He looked around frantically for his opponent, expecting him to be coming from another angle again.

Where--

Spinning completely, he found his captain using her offensive striker to throw the other team's captain through the already crumbling wall damaged by the fight inside. His right fist clenched and and shook slightly in satisfaction. Tiera had saved his a**.

Naisu! I owe you one, nee-chan...

But there was no time to stand around and let Urameshi recover. Silver knew from fighting the guy that it would take more than that to knock him down for good. Silver winced in pain as he willed his sore body into motion, heading for the hole himself. Yusuke had done a number on him, but he wasn't quite out yet, either.

He expected Urameshi would be in there, either waiting, or trying to get out as fast as he could. Silver decided to air on the side of caution as he leapt up for the hole. He twisted his upper body to the left, curling the same leg underneath him. At the same time, he would shoot his right foot forward into a flying kick through the hole.

It would make a nice surprise should the disoriented Yusuke try to escape the Foyer.

6 and a half!

Coming right from the hole of the manor\'s Keep, Yusuke came leaping out with Silver in his arms after catching a painful jump kick to the chest. Silver could probably recognize the brawling, streetfighting spirit within Yusuke now, that will to only continue crashing through barrier after barrier. As reckless of a logic as it was, it was vital for going up against the best of the best. Because just like him, they, too, probably held a similar thinking process.

The airborne body now soaring through the air, Yusuke pushes forward as he pulls on the back of Silver's pants with both hands. Using the descending velocity after the running start to his advantage, he would come zooming down straight, right into the fountain underneath them.

SPLASH!

Silver would be powerbombed straight into the water with Yusuke following, though the shallowness would lead to Silver still taking another heavy blow through the body while causing water to go shooting out everywhere around them like a fissure, both of their bodies getting covered in the wetness of the water as Yusuke would be just above Silver with his hands still gripping around the body before he would let go of them and fall back, stumbling but catching himself within the settling water that was up to his shins, his left arm going over his chest as he hugs it to himself, panting some more.

It's not over yet, Yusuke. He knew that for sure. His left hand against his right arm's bicep, he lets spirit energy flow through that very limb, causing a good amount of it start fueling his muscles as he allows it to settle and concentrate through the appendage. He didn't know how he was going to use this store of energy, but he had a few ideas. But he'll have to see whether it'll be needed at all or not. The game's just beginning.

8

Lazenca groaned... the wall was pretty much down, now. That carefully walking through doors and corridors he did to stay out of the way and not bring attention was now pointless, what with that hole in the wall. He dropped the plate of finger sandwiches he brought for everyone, throwing one of them in the general direction of Silver.

"What the hell is wrong with you people? Stay inbounds, knucklehead! And keep outta the foyer!"

Of course, the sandwich harmlessly split into a division of roast beef and two mayo-spread, wheat bread triangles before getting anywhere near.

Ichigo's eyebrow twitched at Urahara's words. For now, he didn't say anything, or else he'd just lose his cool with him. That wouldn't be good to do while there was a fight going on.

"What the..."

"What the hell are they doin'!?" shouted Ichigo in comical anger as he looked towards Urahara and the others. "Everyone's crashing into eachother's fight! Damn...and I thought it was a bad idea simply because finding the location of the fight was so freakin' confusing!"

Ichigo groaned in frustration. It was best to forget about it and just watch from the area that was originally intended for the fight. He had done enough running around before, so he wasn't going to dash in between arenas again.

"HRGH!"

The two young fighters came flying back out the whole in which they'd disappeared only briefly, Silver once again in Yusuke's clutches. But he wasn't going to just take this one and let Urameshi drive him into whatever he wanted without taking some hurt himself.

With Yusuke wrapped around his lower body, during the entire duration of their airborne trip, Silver would be leaning his upper body back slightly, gripping the back of Yusuke's shirt with his right hand, and driving his left elbow down right into Yusuke's head as many times as he could before they hit the ground.

If his opponent still refused to let go, the final elbow would be augmented with a small, fiery explosive blast. One with enough force to forcibly blow them apart (from each other! Not into pieces!).

Unfortunately for Silver, they were still close enough to the fountain that at least he would still hit it. Only now, he would be propelled horizontally through the fountain head, rather than vertically into it's pool/base. If Snow's water spike assist were tall and sharp enough, it might still catch Silver with the tip and cut a gash down the length of the right side his back instead of impaling him.

"ARGH!"

8

Kurosakii Ichigo Wrote:

Ichigo's eyebrow twitched at Urahara's words. For now, he didn't say anything, or else he'd just lose his cool with him. That wouldn't be good to do while there was a fight going on.

"What the..."

"What the hell are they doin'!?" shouted Ichigo in comical anger as he looked towards Urahara and the others. "Everyone's crashing into eachother's fight! Damn...and I thought it was a bad idea simply because finding the location of the fight was so freakin' confusing!"

Ichigo groaned in frustration. It was best to forget about it and just watch from the area that was originally intended for the fight. He had done enough running around before, so he wasn't going to dash in between arenas again.

Genkai walks up to Ichigo's left side, her arms once again folded behind her back. She was glad that it was nicer here than the snow field they fought in once. She had been here since the start of the match watching from the crowd. But having seen Ichigo and Urahara make their appearances, she had moved closer.

"Yusuke is trying to redeem himself," Genkai simply responds to Ichigo's outburst at the way walls were being destroyed.

Ryugi snagged some snacks from a person passing by selling them. Popcorn was tasty... He kept an eye on the fight going on and blinked when he saw that Yusuke was glowing, and apparently the wind had picked up a bit. Then he realized, once more, it was coming from Yusuke. Glowing and wind generally meant something big and interesting was about to happen.

He munched popcorn and leaned over to the orange-haired guy next to him, eyes still locked on the fight.

Keep watching. This is gonna be good... Popcorn?

Ryugi would then continue to stare at the fight, and offer some of his popcorn to the person.

-- 1 --

Half correct. Though more known to use ice often, the swordsman tilted his head at the summon, standing in the sidelines, a light breeze flowing in from the destruction just a few moments back.

A flying girl...

He reached up with his hand, pulling back the hood to reveal his bloody red hair, and the crimson color of his iris staring back at the girl who issued the challenge to him.

"....."

"Excuse me for a moment, Urameshi..." He would say, walking past his team Captain as he hopped into the courtyard, tapping his boots to the ground and flexing his hands lazily a bit. Two custom designed katanas were seen on both side of his hips, hanging limply near the belt while the cloak billowed from the passing wind. Unsheathing both blades as he approached his opponent, the swordsman pointed his left blade towards the gushing water left from the destroyed fountain nearby, water beginning to be drawn towards him and quickly encircling about the body before he halted about ten feet away from the girl.

"Well then..."

The swordsman went to a left side stance - left leg first, right leg a medium step behind it - flipping the left katana vertically up, aiming his left wrist towards the girl, while then raising his right blade and letting the dull edge of the weapon rest on top of the left tsuba guard as if readying a stab in the process.

Water began to swirl around in a centrifugal, clockwise motion around his body and cloak, particularly around the blades and both bracers. Concentrating its density bit by bit, little by little...

"Let's dance."

-- 2 --

Good.

It seems that the girl has a sword as well.

Makes things easier, considering how people would talk behind his back if he was the only person in this round with swords against an unarmed individual.

Now, if he could only try not to kill or perform fatal hits for the duration of this tournament...in the last preliminary rounds he was highly scrutinized due to his attempts in stabbing someone through the eye, so...

While his body was getting soaked in the water gathered about his cloth and weapons, the swordsman decides to first duke the first few minutes out with physical combat. At least, in courtesy for the girl before all hell breaks loose afterwards.

As the girl rushed in, the man knew better than to defend. Usually wielding two blades has the set drawbacks of having weaker defenses, due to the weapon being held separately in each hand. But in his posture...

The man flipped his left blade with the tip pointing down, holding it in a dagger hold this time, strafing about in an arc around the girl's left side when she charges while he kept his steps rather close together. Instead of long strides, he was giving his legs medium, ample room for quick response when the time comes for ranged combat.

And just when the girl comes a feet away from his blades' reach - roughly a bit longer than 4 feet from the handle up, he would quickly hold his ground with both legs reasonably spaced out - left leg still in front slightly - and lower the side of his weapon ever so slightly --

Before suddenly stabbing out with his right blade, using the top of his left wrist as the medium to direct and navigate the stab out towards the girl's chest.

His right blade would be held just beneath chest level height, allowing him the opportune moment to deliver a quick stab out and back in a second or two. Provided that he's wearing bracers, and that the dull edge of his right blade was resting against that armor, the attack is rather simple, and perhaps just a bit unexpected in the role of using this type of swordstyle...

The water spike tore into and down Silver's back, sending blood pouring down into the water beneath him. He didn't even have time to react to the pain, as his shoulders slammed hard into the stone fountain head right behind him an instant later.

The stone structure shattered almost completely, sending smaller bits of bloodstained debris everywhere, some landing in the water creating small ripples, others spreading out over the surrounding grass and pathways. The pipes inside that had fed water to the top were not so giving, and merely bent from Silver's impact as he twisted around them and flew past to the far side of the fountain at a slight angle, they now spewing water to one side rather than straight up.

Silver hit the water on the far side with a loud splash, sending out waves in either direction as he slid all the way back to the opposite edge from Yusuke, impacting it hard and knocking off some of the inside tiling or whatever, through not nearly as hard as he had hit the head which had taken most of the force. The open wound on his back quickly caused the water on his side to be filled with a murky red cloud as his blood flowed freely into it.

His arm came up to grab the inside edge of the fountain, which he used to pull himself up out of the water, and then to steady himself as he got to his feet. He coughed several times, probably from accidentally inhaling water while gasping in pain or surprise after he hit it. Blood poured from the wound on his badly bruised back down his side and arms as he hunched over, breathing heavily. After taking several severe blows to his shoulders and back ribs, there was probably something broken in there now. He was gonna be sore for a while.

But he couldn't give up yet. There was still time left in the round, and Yusuke wasn't down. He'd be damned if he'd give up first, even if there wasn't much left in him.

Silver turned to face opponent, his left arm holding his right shoulder. He couldn't reach the wound on his back, but he could feel the excruciating pain all over, which was apparent in his wincing face and gritting teeth. He was soaking wet now, water dripping off of him wherever blood was not. He managed to speak, though quietly, between labored breaths.

"So... had enough yet... Urameshi?"

When Yusuke started to shift his position and draw in energy, Silver knew the answer.

What power... So, it's come to this, has it?

As the wind and waves started to move Silver would shift his position to almost mirror that of Yusuke's, pulling his right arm back to the side and balling his fist. The only difference would be that he would raise and fully extend his left arm forward, and position it and his fingers so that Urameshi would rest in the center of the L shape between the index finger and thumb in his field of vision.

The water surrounding Silver would begin to react to his own energy, although very differently from Yusuke's. Steam would begin to rise off Silver in thin streams as the temperature sharply increased. First, from the water on his bare skin as it evaporated, then from his hair and clothes as they were quick-dried. The water around his feet would start to slowly bubble, shortly before coming to a full boil in his immediate vicinity, releasing more steam into the air. What water that wasn't boiled would begin to flow outward from him in violent waves that would crash against those created by Yusuke's spirit energy in the middle of the fountain. There would be no wind from him. Only heat.

Round Two would be a short one.

9

"Me had enough?"

"Heh, I'm just getting started. You ready?"

The battle was literally becoming heated as the boiling water on Silver's side would come into contact with the less heated water on Yusuke's side. Yusuke just stayed his ground, letting his spirit energy settle itself comfortably into his body. With the way things were looking, especially since Silver was finally showing more of his fire side, this round sure as hell was going to be a short one.

Genkai was now watching. Yusuke knew she was here, recognizing that sense she always carried with herself. After spending so much time training with her, she was second nature when it came to spotting her. But wasn't this good? She could finally watch him perform on his more experienced levels of combat. It was time to show her that he had grew up from that little teenager she had once saw come into her dojo and into the martial artist she sees before her.

The spirit energy he had now gathered was now ready within his body, that glow remaining there. Though temporary, it signified the technique that was about to be orchestrated in front of the whole wide world.

10

|| What is it really that is in your head? ||

|| What little life that you had just died! ||

-SHHHHHKK!-

Her sword blade slid up the bracer before glancing off and traveling past the left shoulder. Even as his left sword, which was crossed over to the right, slid up her left arm. It was almost like a strange mirror image-- except, while her forearms were protected by bracers, the only other part of her arm protected was the shoulder itself.

"HGNN--"

The pale skin split, leaving a line of some blacky, blood-like fluid welling in it's wake. The wound was superficial but it still stung like a bi--! Biting past the pain, even as the blade bit into her arm.

Her left arm, jerked away from the source of the pain. Her elbow bent by her ribs as the hand made a fist by her breast.

'This is nothing.' The thought was there and gone even as she pressed on. Due to the awkward grip and angle of his blade, and her own body moving in the opposite direction, it was more of a glancing blow than a slid strike. A few strands of crimson hair drifted to the ground as the blade passed--

It began to fill her, as her 'blood' ran hot down her arm. The need for to shed his blood, the want-- the NEED to beat him. UTTERLY. 'I'm DEFINITELY going to see him bleed--'

|| I'm gonna be the one that's takin over! ||

|| Now this is what it's like when worlds collide! ||

Her body followed through behind her sword. As it had been pushed to her right, so she stepped in, to the right. Even as he twisted in the opposite direction, he would find her left leg between his, her hip against his inner thigh. The sword's direction was reversed, as the pommel of the sword would connect in a brutal kidney strike.

The pommel of Madryn Thosi or 'Shadow Fire' was of vicious design with blunt attacks in mind. It was made to deliver fatal strikes to the skull if ample force is applied. At first glance it appeared decorative, but in fact-- it could punch small holes through an adversary's skull. But it's target now wasn't someone's skull, rather something soft and fleshy.

• WHAM! -

It SMASHED into Snow's back right where his kidney would be situated and at the same time, the left fist shot up in almost a palm strike, gripping the foremost elbow and shoving Snow's arms in and over his head. Because of the way they were crossed, they would be rammed into his face, blinding him as she pushed him backwards, the kidney shot driving his pelvic area forward, into the left leg, thigh and hip even as her leg pushed him over backwards, worsening the impact. Her feet grounded, she would throw him to the ground if all went well.

She would bring the pommel of her sword, back to her hip. Reversing the sword's direction again, she would stab on a downwards diagonal, her knee's bending--

:: 4/17 ::

"It's been fun, Yusuke Urameshi... but I'm afraid... ASOBI..."

Yusuke just kept his place as he watched that white arm of Silver pull back, a white flame enveloping in that fiery glow he came to know so well through the course of this fight, that flame that had a mind of its own of giving its victims the charring of their life, the pain on Yusuke's chest and his head throbbing the moment he saw it.

"OWARI DA!"

The water did indeed move. Everything seemed to slow down in time as Silver drove his right fist forth and shot it ahead, creating this fissure of water behind him as the mighty attack within the burning flames around his body, looking like a single flaming...bullet.

"MAGNUM SILVER BULLET!!"

Everyone in this world held a destiny, this force of unaltered purpose in life that each person had unique to them. Through this decided destiny under the illusion of you choosing your own path in life, you took up many things that would further place you onto your track of destiny. It could be the friends you make, the places you visit, the things you do...

And even the special abilities you had. Silver had his silver flames...

And Yusuke had his spirit energy. It wasn't right to debate which was better in strength. Like, which would win in a head on clash like they were doing: the silver flames or the aqua-colored spirit energy? Even if Yusuke had confidence he could match and overcome it, he just couldn't take that risk. Not in this part of the match because it could lead to an all or nothing outcome. And Yusuke wanted to come out of this match with something, without leaving with nothing.

"Ain't nothing holding me back now. Let's have some fun, Silver..."

A spray of spirit energy from Yusuke's side, and a spray of silver flame from Silver's, the contact would have the force of this one attack, that right fist of Silver, be caught directly in the left hand of Yusuke.

"WOOOOOOOOOOOOOAAAAHHHH!" The crowd went wild before silencing in a leaned forward position in awe, their eyes wide open as they take on what would probably be the last remnants of this match, so they didn't want to miss any second. Because when they leave today, they want to be able to say: "Remember that awesome fight between Team Frozen Flame and Team Urameshi? I did. I was there. And it was awesome."

The Spirit Wave was a technique that channeled spirit energy across the entire body. It was similar to how Yusuke used the spirit gun, but instead of a single finger to store a ready charge, it was instead his body. Long ago, this type of attack was his desperation move meant to use his remaining spirit and physical energy to give one last decisive blow to the enemy. But he has came so far to where he could use this technique a couple of times before he tired out completely like he use to back at the Dark Tournament. This technique was going to leave him breathing like he had just ran at full speed for an entire mile once it is over, but it'll be worth it.

"Alright, old lady...watch me."

Silently everyone watched the great light show happening within that very fountain that was no longer a fountain, but a pile of rubble with its water spilling out over the ground. The driving force against Yusuke would have the boy's feet digging through the ground as he is pushed backwards across the landscape, his teeth biting down on each other hard as he showed struggle in his facial expression. The Spirit Wave gave Yusuke this enhanced endurance to attacks, as if he had on a suit of armor of sorts. But this was only an illusion, a way to decrease the pain and uncomfortable endurance one got from such things as attacks and this hot flame with a spiritual cushion. Had he not went into this form, the coursing flames would be burning the hell out of his hand.

The crackling of their offending energies, Yusuke could feel his Spirit Wave's power expiring itself more and more just to keep this Silver Bullet's attack at bay. His hand was steadily having the flesh turn dark, the heat from this attack seeming to be hard to sustain away, even with Spirit Wave. Whatever he was going to do, he would have to do it now, as his spirit energy was dying away at the same rate as Silver's own flame that was coming to its end.

The fist is moved to Yusuke's left as he parries it away, exposing Silver's body to a ready hook. But Yusuke's eyes notice something white on the ground next to him, having his right foot kick it upwards with his right hand catching it before punching it within his hand's grasp straight at Silver's head, the forehead of the Greek statue's head that had rolled away earlier from Yusuke storming him through it like a defensive lineback in blitz mode, having it perform a headbutt right against Silver's own.

ClAck!

Yusuke had thought about it and suddenly figured that Silver would like to walk away with something, too. He knew that if he had continued with a counterattack with his remaining spirit energy, he could have crushed Silver's ribs or even do more than that. But Silver was an honorable opponent, even if his little lady friend drove him through a wall. But it wasn't Silver's fault, so for that, Yusuke would give an attempt to send Silver to dreamland with a makeshift headbutt from the Greek head of probably an important past person who figured he should get himself immortalized in stone art. But looked like his immortal days as a beautiful statue was over.

Wait for it...

11

|| Are you going with me? ||

|| Cause I'm going with you! ||

Teira had wondered what the water had been for---The pommel strike felt more like it hit something hard and solid and hard, rather than then flesh and cloth.

Somewhere in the back of her mind she wondered at it, how that worked-- but she didn't know and she didn't have time to focus on it. She could ask questions later--

The tip of the left katana bit across her cheek, opening a then cut on the ridge of her cheekbone. The sword had just barely reached her with his arm shoved back, the only thing that had allowed the maneuver was that dagger grip-- But despite the new cut, he wouldn't shake her.

"Tchhgn--!"

Burn.

Her tongue flicked out, catching some of the 'blood' running down her cheek.

Her left arm continued to push up and back as Snow went on his toes. Throwing her hip against his inner thigh in a check. She was grounded, he wasn't.

Burn.

As she sent him to the ground, she would continue her step in, stomping her right foot down to catch his right blade as he had it crossed over his body/face and trapping the blade.

BURN.

This put her to his left side, her sword coming down in a lunge on the downwards diagonal aimed to stab him in the ribs. Because it was a lunge, the blade would reach him, even if chose to abandon his trapped blade and roll away--

BURN!!

Her desire would well up within her, not energy, but essence. Her PASSION was her POWER--

"DANCE FOR ME!---"

Blackened flames erupt along the length of her sword, reaching forward for Snow as she focuses her harmful intent upon him. A flame that would burn anything, so long as her focus and her desire fueled it to be so. Even other fire users would be burnt to ash in the face of her,

"SHAAADOOOW FIIIIRE!!"

Water-- Ice-- even Fire--- She would burn through it with the unnatural flames.

:: 5/17 ::

|| It's the end of all time! ||

Her wings snapped open, Pushing off her right foot. Flapping those massive wings, they propelled her forwards, less than a second behind him. She was fast-- and she wouldn't let her target get away. He was too interesting to let run off so early in the fight-- She wanted to PLAY!

"I won't let you--"

Her feet were just off the ground as she sped forward, leaning in with her right shoulder. Her right arm, her sword arm was bent at the elbow, holding the blade on an upwards diagonal towards her left shoulder as she raced towards him.

"--GET AWAY!"

As she got close, she raised her elbow so that the sword's length was now angled down and back, past her arm.

:: 6/17 ::

|| What is it really that motivates you? ||

|| The need to fly or this fear to stop?! ||

She would slam into him, but not in a way generally expected--

Further lifting her elbow- she would then draw it back in to her right side, the sword held in that arm's hand slicing through the air in an overhead arch coming down and striking on a downwards diagonal slash,

• CLANG! -

Her blade would connect with the one seeking to impale her, pushing it to the side and creating an opening--

Her right would bend, her left leg extended behind her. throwing her left shoulder in as her body lowered itself, the upper left wing came down for a crushing blow---

:: 7/17 ::

Ryugi Kazamaru Wrote:

Keep watching. This is gonna be good... Popcorn?

"Huh?"

Ichigo turned to the person offering him popcorn. For some reason, he looked a bit familiar...

Wait a minute...

"Hey!" said Ichigo, "You're that guy from one of the fights!" Ichigo had accidentally stumbled in on his fight while he was looking for the right place.

Then he noticed the popcorn.

"Oh...sure, why not?" And the orange-haired teenager would grab a handful. He wasn't able to eat today in his rushing to get to the matches on time.

Ichigo was watching both fights back and forth, as confusing as it was to concentrate. Even so, he would still be able to make things out between each fight. He saw as Nightsnow's left blade shattered and flowed around him, wondering if that was his intention all along. "Shattered sword shards?" thought Ichigo. "Huh...well, now...who does that remind me of?"

Ichigo's eyebrow twitched.

"Yeah...I'd rather not think of him right now."

Fortunately for Ichigo, all thoughts of Byakuya Kuchiki would be wiped from his mind as he sensed something coming from Yusuke's fight. He was clashing against a really powerful attack from Silver, the force of which was strong enough to have Ichigo need to brace against something. Being inside his living body, it wasn't so easy to keep his ground in the same way he would in a spiritual body.

But Yusuke was planning something. Ichigo could tell that very well.

"That spiritual pressure..." thought Ichigo. "What could he be...?"

[Genkai] Wrote:

Genkai walks up to Ichigo's left side, her arms once again folded behind her back. She was glad that it was nicer here than the snow field they fought in once. She had been here since the start of the match watching from the crowd. But having seen Ichigo and Urahara make their appearances, she had moved closer.

"Yusuke is trying to redeem himself," Genkai simply responds to Ichigo's outburst at the way walls were being destroyed.

"Well, then. That makes this interesting."

Urahara continued to watch quietly alongside Genkai, noting the movements of both fighters as well as the abilities that they were using. Yusuke's opponent was tough, just as Urahara expected. He had remembered that this particular fighter, Silver, was a member of the former Team Glacier, a very famous team amongst the Leviathan fighting guild. He would smirk, thoroughly impressed with both fighters so far.

And now, it was Yusuke's turn to show what he got.

"Alright, Mr. Urameshi," thought Urahara, still smiling, "Show them."

-- 8 --

The eyes widened.

A FIRE US --

In a flash, the swordsman was thrown straight into the wall behind him, crashing right into it and enough to make quite a dent within that hardened structure. Debris fell from the top, crashing down and causing clouds of dust to be thrown into the air where he landed.

As he shook his head when the dust began to clear afterwards, the swordsman was found leaning heavily against the crumbling wall while he gasped for breath, coughing and feeling the burning pain ache all over his body.

"...Pant.....pant.....Pant*..."

His right side was badly burned, fire hissing off of his skin and the cloth. Half of the cloth near his arm and right torso was burned clean off, revealing the burned flesh underneath when he tried to twist to the left with his torso, in order to protect his vitals from being hit under those critical moments.

As the remnant water which survived the brief encounter quickly rushed down the burnt skin, it attempted to pat the burns off as fast as possible to stop the fire from spreading, cooling the skin and easing the pain through its dissipation of heat. Glaring at the girl with only one good eye now, the courtesy was gone from his face.

Quite an attack. A very unexpected attack, that he failed to notice...

But he was not one to return the same favor without compromises.

For though her fire may be able to evaporate and burn through his water on the whim --

There's still the steam left from the rapid evaporation coursing straight towards her left section.

Even the girl would get burned in the process as well through different means, as the concentrated water which she boiled over was never fully stopped, lethal hot steam which would then splash all over her face and the entire left side of her body.

Being burned isn't a welcoming experience.

But being burned by hot steam that lingers on the body like napalm is even more painful than having just third degree burns and scars.

His eyes were slightly crossed over, disorientation settling in.

"Urk...!!"

It felt horribly painful to move. Not enough moisture to use to quickly ease the burden off of his system...! Yet amiss all the disadvantage which he is thrown under, he began to chuckle, a broken voice that rang with quite an icy tone.

"Dodge this." He muttered, clenching his left fist slightly.

Meanwhile, the spent water which was trailing the two combatants after his retreat, the very same amount which propelled him back to avoid the girl's strike, the water which was trying to catch up to their master before the fiery explosion, suddenly lashed up from their path without warning like a striking snake, aimed straight towards the girl's backside, just above the butt. Like a drill, it had two objectives --

To break the girl's pelvis bone there in order to hamper her movement, and the other being --

Well...

Blood seeped from his mouth, the swordsman bearing a painful grin on his face.

He'll show what his other objective is on the next post.

-- 9 --

The pain was definitely something that cannot be described. But considering that it would at least reduce a portion the accumulated pain afterwards, it was better than letting his injuries hamper him in the remainder of the fight.

Strangely, in using the water on himself the swordsman was having a different approach to do emergency aids on his wounds. Some of the flesh has gaping wounds which resulted from the skin being burned off. While the water was quickly dissapating the fire off of the flesh, it was also freezing itself right on top of the injuries, creating a form of ice-made bandages that would - at least for the time being - stop the injuries from bleeding or getting any worse.

With ice able to shrink, it acted like temporary stop-measures, sealing off possible infections and using his own water supply circulating inside his body to accelerate the meager patch-up process.

Not a permament measure of healing - as he would have to go the infirmary after this round - but at the moment it'll have to do.

The swordsman tried to move.

"Hugghhnn!"

No deal. He'll have to wait until he gathers enough moisture around him to act like secondary motor joints and functions. But with the girl briefly distracted...

Dammit. And he's not looking forward to reveal all his arsenal for this round.

He was breathing hard when he raised his left hand, pointing a finger towards the watery-formed snake which hissed at the girl, the front end of it opening up as if baring its fangs at her. Using more energy than what he liked, he then aimed the charred remains of his right blade high into the air, loosening his grasp on it.

"Fly!"

The blade left his hand, rising up into the air. Fragments of his left blade, littered about the ground near the two fighters also took flight into the air, whirling and positioning themselves in revolving circulation close to the right blade. While the snake lunged forth in an effort to take a bite out of the girl's upper body - partly to distract her, and secondly to keep her focused at the snake's body, the swordsman was quickly trying to tune in to the environment and atmosphere, controlling his breaths to some degree and his bracers giving off a dull, low hum.

Establishing link.....check.

Configuration....check.

Moisture quickly collected on the airborne weapon. And with a deft aim of his left hand a few seconds after tuning himself in, the celestial weapon tilted downwards, the tip end of its blade pointed towards Tierra...

Before it fired.

Yes. You heard him.

The airborne weapon fired a volley of single, needle-like beam of concentrated water at the area around Tiera, striking the ground with quite some penetration - as the surface in which the beam came in contact with froze over instead of the usual explosion-type beams. How it is done can be explained, as the weapons which Snow wields is partially the secret behind the act.

As the swordsman has no particular method of gathering energy due to a match some years back that caused him to lose nearly all his natural ability to gather and manipulate water, the weapons were of primary importance to him. Designed and created with a special type of material that absorbs and concentrates energy into a single point, the weapons in a sense helps bypass his current weakness in conjuring up powers, by helping him focus the energy without causing negative side effects to occur in his body.

The bracers were made with the similar material as well, but it is the hub that helps him gather the energy from his surroundings easily.

And with those gears and weapons, it has managed to mask the flaws and cons which Snow has deftly tried to hide whenever he fights against people.

It also explains why the swordsman prefers physical combat only, to some certain extent...

But as the talk behind his weapon would inevitably give away the problems which he faces, the attack against the girl continues on.

The water-formed snake attacking the girl's upper body through his guidance, and then the bombardment of tiny beams that packs some punch from the skies above about ten-twenty seconds afterwards...

It's going to take a lot out of the swordsman's magical powers, but he'll try and injure the girl long enough for him to recuperate and regain the energy spent on wounding her.

Kurosakii Ichigo Wrote:

"Huh?"

Ichigo turned to the person offering him popcorn. For some reason, he looked a bit familiar...

Wait a minute...

"Hey!" said Ichigo, "You're that guy from one of the fights!"

Ryugi grinned a bit, his spiky silver hair moving a bit as he cocked his head to the side at the same time. Chuckled shortly after, brushing some popcorn crumbs off onto his outfit before extending his hand for a shake.

Captain Ryugi Kazamaru, of Team Phoenix at your service! Nice to meet you Mr... Ichigo was it?

Ryugi had overheard the guy with the fan speak the man's name, so it was a loose guess.

HonoRaven Wrote:

'You think anyone will get blown up?"

It was then that he heard Rae's voice from behind him and he looked towards her, then glanced back at the fights.

I don't think so, Rae. Though, with things being as crazy as they are this year, anything is possible.

He turned back to Ichigo.

And this lovely young woman here is Rae, another member of Team Phoenix.

Ryugi Kazamaru Wrote:

Ryugi grinned a bit, his spiky silver hair moving a bit as he cocked his head to the side at the same time. Chuckled shortly after, brushing some popcorn crumbs off onto his outfit before extending his hand for a shake.

Captain Ryugi Kazamaru, of Team Phoenix at your service! Nice to meet you Mr... Ichigo was it?

Ryugi had overheard the guy with the fan speak the man's name, so it was a loose guess.

It was then that he heard Rae's voice from behind him and he looked towards her, then glanced back at the fights.

I don't think so, Rae. Though, with things being as crazy as they are this year, anything is possible.

He turned back to Ichigo.

And this lovely young woman here is Rae, another member of Team Phoenix.

"Yeah. Ichigo Kurosaki."

Ichigo returned the handshake. Ichigo wasn't always very friendly, but he wasn't rude to people who didn't deserve it, so he would give Ryugi a smile as he shook his hand.

That was when Ichigo noticed he was being introduced to Ryugi's teammate. So, they were from Team Phoenix, huh? Ichigo didn't know too much about the other teams, but he figured from what he heard that pretty much all of the competitors here were powerful fighters.

"Nice to meet you, too," said Ichigo, extending his hand to shake with Rae.

|| Are you ready to go? ||

|| Cause I'm ready to go! ||

|| What you gonna do baby baby?! ||

-THWK! SSHHHK! -

"--HUGHN!! -- MMMF!! --- ... ... ... --- Tch!"

Even as she spoke, two shards impacted against her body. One hit her from the left side, joining the collection of shrapnel already sticking out of her arm... The other slicing across her right hip, slicing her pocket in half.

• SHHING! -

Her tail knocked a shard away.

Her wings pumped, propelling her forwards as the sword fired it's beam again, but this time at Snow.

'What he-- SNEAKY!' Her teeth gritted as she formed a vague idea of what he was trying to do. It would be like someone tossing a fireball at her-- a source of energy.

MOVE!!

"I already told you! --"

She reached her hands out, a blast of black flame flew forth from each to either side of Snow. One burst of flame leaping from her palm, the other coiling down her outstretched blade. One would impact the ground in front of him creating a fiery explosion. He would either have to stop-- or go through the flames. Or over-- but that would still expose him to the fire and the heat wave that shot upwards.

• TING! TING! -

Two more shards struck at her forearms, but sliced only her sleeves as they scraped across the bracers beneath.

An identical explosion to the first, would take place several feet behind Snow. Cutting off his escape route as the wall was behind him, and the only way out that wasn't through flame was directly towards Teira who was swooping in on him.

"I won't let you-- GET AWAY!"

:: 11/17 ::

Ryugi Kazamaru Wrote:

Kurosakii Ichigo Wrote:

"Yeah. Ichigo Kurosaki." Well, its nice to meet you Mr. Kurosaki.

Ryugi would shake his hand firmly, then return to watching the fights as things heated up in both.

So, Mr. Kurosaki, are you a fighter too? Or just a friend of Yusuke's. Yusuke seems to have alot of friends around here it would seem.

Ryugi chuckled, motioning at Ichigo, the guy in the hat, the loud teammate of Yusuke's, and the pink haired woman as well.

Quite a gathering for just one fighter. I've fought here two times prior to this, and I haven't seen anyone with as much fan base as Yusuke. Well, except maybe Vahn Kyonuske...

"A fighter?"

Well, Ichigo couldn't really lie about that. He was a fighter, of sorts. He wasn't really interested in competitions, but he knew how to fight well. As far as his living body went, he used to compete in things when he was taking karate back when he was younger. Of course, there was a bit more to Ichigo than that. It just wasn't something he'd bring up so readily in a conversation.

"Heh...I guess you could say that."

Now that Ryugi mentioned it, Yusuke did seem to have sort of a fanbase. There were a lot of people rooting for him, and plenty of people who wanted the chance to fight him. It only led Ichigo to wonder what Yusuke had been up to all that time he spent in the Leviathan guild.

"A fight with me?"

That was the second guy who wanted to fight Ichigo. He didn't expect people to be so intent on that, but he would need to expect that from competitors in a fighting tournament. Maybe Ichigo's spiritual pressure wasn't as easily hidden as he had figured.

Not that Ichigo had a problem with fighting just for the sake of the fight itself.

"Heh...why not? Sounds fun."

-- 11 --

Hmph!

Oh, but there was another way. Jumping up towards the wall, the path of ice which followed its wake crept up onto the structure, the boots underneath forming small icy spikes that gave him traction against the vertical slope of the building. Speeding up his process, as he ran directly up the wall without much difficulty, a bright glint of light flashed from both his wrists --

When a loud burst of wind echoed off of his bracers, a nearly deafening blast of air being sucked down the swordsman's arms and straight into his hands.

Now!

The airborne weapon stopped replenishing Snow's supply, changing its target to the fire located to the swordsman's left. Firing off a shot, the conflicting energy came into contact with each other, causing the burning flames to explode on impact, causing quite a shockwave to reverbrate throughout the Courtyard.

The man, at the same time, jumped right off the wall, letting himself fall towards the conflicting energy...

Before the shockwave hurtled him out to the sides from its destructive force, letting him escape the retribution of being burned again.

It was one method to cut a path for escape.

On the other hand, a bit more subtle in the process --

He aimed his right hand towards Tiera's position while he was being hurtled in midair.

There was quite some energy from the shockwave being thrown about. And with his bracers gathering the energy down his arms, the force which hurtled him out was partially absorbed, adding along with his own replenished supply of power now concentrated on his hands.

His left eye narrowed.

Aiming...

BOOM!

A thin beam of light shot out of his hand like a bullet, aimed straight towards Tiera's body -- the same version which the airborne weapon fired out -- as it curved through the air like a bending tentacle.

The left hand was busy gathering as much energy discharged from the shockwave as possible for a secondary shot, if the first one missed.

As for the swordsman landing or possibly moving in midair?

That....he'll do later.

|| Are you going with me? ||

|| Cause I'm going with you! ||

She had the urge to chase him up the wall with her flames but thankfully remembered the spectators at the top of the wall. While they wouldn't get burnt unless she desired them to-- and she didn't-- it would undoubtedly create a bad situation and make things uncomfortable for them, so she held back.

As he flung himself at the explosion, she braced herself-- Nobody pulled something that hair-brained unless they had a trick up their sleeve.

Snow was hurtled off to the side--

Unfortunately, she was at one side and the second blaze was still behind him, that hadn't changed. Either way, she kept moving towards him, and when he was sent sailing by his own volition, the distance was closed much quicker.

He would be disappointed to find out too, that as he tried to draw energy from the explosion, only his own energy could be recalled. Her flames were fueled by her essence, instead of the expected pyro energies. She wouldn't let him have that.

She waved her hand in towards her body-- the blackened flames from the other fire, leaped in a burning wave at Snow. Feeding her will into the flames, the fire would rage, doubling in size.

At the same time--

There was a blinding flash of light that made her wince. The sheer brightness of it dazzled her eyes momentarily-- Even though her shadow shell had adjusted to being in the sun months ago, she still wasn't terribly fond of bright light. Maybe she should invest in a pair of sunglasses?

She raised her sword in a guard before her, as if she'd shield her eyes from the brightness and then swung the blade at the energy rushing towards her.

The energy beam slammed into her, successfully obliterating the remains of her trench coat and shredding most of her battle robes beneath. Inky black ran down her arms and legs and over her stomach as what was left of the attack pummeled her body.

The impact had bruised her ribs, shifting her body's position slightly hinted that two of them were likely cracked. Her wings were notably missing some feathers too--

Spitting out a mouthful of blood, she wipes the back of her left hand across her mouth, smearing the black on her lips.

Her blade, which was capable of neutralizing moderate level elemental attacks, hadn't been able to deal with the amount of energy put into that attack, leaving a good deal of the beam's power left, and so there she was. She hovered, blood dripping from her body, eyes closed.

• BA-BUMP! -

Madryn Thosi pulsed in her hands--

• BA-BUMP! -

:: 12/17 ::

-- 12 --

Oh.

There were spectators above the walls?

Lucky break for him, then. But would Lady Luck now begin to give him the grace he needs, or just laugh at his effort before throwing him into the pits of hell?

Hm. Perhaps the answer to all of this is both at once...

But this was an unexpected timing of events. He could feel only his energy being pulled back, and yet no trace of the girl's powers along with it. Is it that the girl uses another planar essence of magic which he has no knowledge of? Or that his bracers were damaged during the initial blast of flame in the first few minutes of the fight?

Whatever the case, all he knew was that there was an opening chance, and if he doesn't press his strike now, who knows when the next opportune moment arrives?

The airborne weapon that targeted the flames in the previous post shifted its attention to the girl.

Go!

BOOM!

Another beam was fired, the energy arching in a curve through the skies as it careened towards the disoriented girl, for a second possible combo strike.

The fire behind him wasn't particularly important. As his beam struck true at the girl's body, the man did a somersault in midair during his descent, as if preparing to land on the ground.

Only that he didn't.

Ice formed underneath his position in midair-- moistures collected to form a solid state of matter for him to step on -- as he stepped, and leaped off of the mass quickly, using the small pockets of ice underneath him like skipping stones to maneuver about.

Red blood seeped out of his exerting muscles, and his right side began to bleed freely again while he jumped to another location, notably a few meters behind the girl's presence, at height level with her.

This would be his last time of delivering a strong burst of energy before he needs to charge up again. With his eyes beginning to glaze over and blacken from the loss of blood, the pain playing an essential factor in his condition...

A third strike from his left hand - the one holding the third strike back - would hopefully be more than enough to conceal a hidden agenda that would be launched quickly after a few seconds of maneuvering into position.

A few remaining shards of his left blade would be mingled in with the beam he'll fire at her from behind. That way, in case she tries to erect another one of those black fires around herself to protect her body, the shards can bypass the flames just long enough to impale it into her body if possible.

After that...

He'll need to land on the ground and recuperate, just to reapply a bit more emergency aid on his opening wounds as well as recharge his bracers enough to squeeze out another shot or two, hopefully.

There was another style of attack he can perhaps use in this event. Yet, as it is still just some idea, and still too early in its experimental stages, the man dares not to test it out in a live-fire situation for the time being.

Perhaps later, when the battle is over and he recovers from his third degree injuries which the girl so lovingly gave to him...

Lovingly...ha.

He's starting to lose his sanity.

-- 13 --

....What was this wet feeling?

This...thing, that has been jabbed into his body?

He blinked with his eye, feeling his own blood trickle out of the blade inside him as he felt his foot lose the grounding underneath him.

Falling...

Falling...

My, how the world seems to have stopped. To slow down before his very gaze. The darkness which creeps up from the shadows, licking just outside of his gaze. Waiting for him to drop his guard.

Waiting...

His gaze lingered onto the girl's face. That sadistic glare of hers...the blood that soaked her vision.

He was falling.

Falling ever deeper into the darkness within him.

The pitch black darkness that wanted to devour him. To take him to the world of silence.

The world of nothing.

Nothing...

His pupils seemed glassed over, as if just temporarily forgetting his place in battle. Forgetting who he was, or what he is here for.

For what?

For what purpose?

He can't remember, the eye gazing at the girl in front of him.

In that short period, in which everything seemed to stop inside his mindset...

He looked at her.

"You know..." He muttered quietly, blood flowing out of his mouth, too much damage recieved from the strike.

"You're kinda cute."

But that wasn't the case to be. Regardless of whether or not she responded to his loss of reasoning, a soft smile formed on his face as if showing some form of lonely, emotional response.

The darkness devoured him.

Consumed him.

But just as the darkness was about to become one with him....

Blood.

A sudden right grip grabbed hold of her throat, the other grabbing hold her hand, as if daring her to sink the blade further into his body. That brief millisecond of personal emotion now vanishing underneath a hidden, subconscious will. So many things happening in such short a time.

With the cool composition of the swordsman's conscious wavering as he felt his life slipping by, the subconscious took the moment to surface out...

The subconscious that...

A sadistic grin answered her expression.

The swordsman may have depleted his reserves of water for use for the time being, there was still one viable source of supply that he can use.

Right in front of him.

Anchoring his grasp as he felt the wind speed up behind his back, the man did the unthinkable --

He leeched the water supply off of the opponent in front of him. Draining all the water he can from her exposed wounds, leeching her hydrated body for his own use...

Immobilizing her. Tearing off the essential supply that lets her body move.

The grasp made sure she can't escape. Can't deny the inevitable of his own fall.

If he is to fall...

Then so she shall follow him as well.

A laughter that can only be described as someone who enjoyed bloodlust rang off his lips before he looked deep into her eyes, muttering something under his breath.

And with a crash to the ground, spikes came out of the man's body as it impaled the girl in front of him at point blank, piercing through the soft flesh, and to make sure that she would just be as battered as he is if he were to fade off into unconscious.

|| What is it really when they're fallin' over? ||

|| Everything that you thought is denied-- ||

|| I'm gonna be the one that's takin over! ||

|| Now this is what it's like when worlds collide!! ||

She didn't even have time to try and make sense of his words...

Her eyes widened as he grabbed her throat and began trying to pump her body like a well, looking for water.

BLOOD.

She coughed it up into his face. Inky, black blood.

A shield would be thrown up hastily, formed by weaving threads of essence into a metaphysical mesh that settled over her like an invisible second skin. It was a skill that was almost like second nature to her--

Cutting off his contact with her body's supply of H20, Her left handf would release his hair and grab his left arm, digging her nails into the burned tissue.

Gasping around his grip as she would slam him into the ground, the back of his head striking the ground first to knock him all the way out?

SPIKES!

And more BLOOD.

A parting gift?

The spikes stabbed at her body. One caught her in the right collarbone, one through her left and her right upper arms. Two pierced her right inner thigh, another stabbing below her left ribs. Her breast was protected but the pain was overwhelming.

"AAAAAAAAAAAAAGGGGNNNNN! HHRRK!"

She would push herself up, drawing the spikes out of her flesh in a pained push up.

As he was passed out, she would roll off, drawing her sword free of him and kneel on the ground, one hand holding her bruised throat as she hacked up more blood.

The sword hummed happily in her hand, it's thirst whetted for the moment even as the lack luster blade was slick with crimson.

:: 14/17 ::

((edited to account for spikes))

The right fist was parried but Yusuke's left fist follows up in a straight punch for the face as he pulls back the right. Since the length of his arms was longer than a knee strike, then Yusuke's attack was likely to hit first, and thus knock Silver away with a nose-smashing, skull-hitting, and teeth-breaking fist.

14

Yusuke steps up to Silver, aiming his right index finger down toward him. Though he was only bluffing, he wanted to hear the words from Silver's mouth.

"So...going to continue?"

15