Quote:** Wrote:an hour of terror is upon you in this stage. You're fighting hundreds of feet up a massive clock tower with very narrow walk-ways, flimsy railing, and some very small circular stairs that lead up several more stories, although you needn't worry about that. Once participants step foot in the specified area, a gate is placed upon the stairwell, preventing you from going up or down until the fight is finished.
Terrain
General - Two narrow walk-ways on either side of the stairs and small center area is all of the space you have to work with. Either walk way is 7 feet in length and 4 foot in width, not giving you much room in this arena. Watch your footing.
Natural Element Resource - GONG GONG
Weapons - None
Bonus Effects - None
Yasuo vs Gloria
HoH season 11. Source: valucre.net static Gaia dump.
Table of contents
Click! Click! Click!
The light steel at the bottom of his sandals clicked with every step. A clock tower, of all places, seemed to be the arena of choice for his first bout. He had heard about "Qualifyers" in the past, but never thought he'd be able to be in one, let alone WITNESS one. It was exciting, invigorating - and scary. Very, very scary. He wasn't about to let his crack team of unfortunate misfits miss out on the chance to prove themselves and change what they've become known as. This was a year of change, and Yasuo was going to usher it in.
"Well well," he admired as he got into the main area. A small little square of an "arena" stood strong in front of him. Two 7'x4' walkways and a platform with no more than 15 feet of a square area for them to fight on. Not a lot of space. "...This feels familiar."
Yasuo recalled a similar arena being fought in by a teammate in his prior year. Then again, he wasn't always accurate with those details.
His normal attire bore its light weight, save for a new addition to his defense - a chest plate. It was made of dark, thin metal and had a purple hue to it. It was unlike anything he had ever worn before, but he needed a little more physical protection after what he and Fayble went through last year.
His gourd of water was with him, along with his general ninja stuff. Even after a year, not too much had changed. This included the long wait for opponents like this one. This... Gloria? He stood on one walkway with silent resolve, setting down the gourd of water and popping the top off. It's all that could be done for now.
Chakra
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Actions: Waiting
"Well, that bodes ill for me, doesn't it? If you're familiar with this place."
Boots scuffed on the steps as a head of pink hair showed up from below. Her green eyes scanned the room with obvious disdain before she looked at him. She waited on the last step, her left hand already fiddling with her Ka-bar knife. A white tank top and a pair of rugged denim jeans completed her outfit
"A closet," she said before stepping onto the landing. She was as nervous as anyone could be in such a position. Maybe more so since she had less experience than most in the tournament. She heard the gate fall shut behind her and stepped forward.
"Yasuo?" she asked, tilting her head in a slight nod. "Nice to meet you. You fond of heights?"
Solid footsteps were heard as his opponent entered the nigh-claustrophobic arena. Pink hair, green eyes and a tough chick outfit were what greeted the shinobi as she walked in - and she wasn't half bad to look at either. His green facemask morphed a bit, signifiying a smile with the compliment of a cocked eyebrow. These were his kinds of women.
Gloria Wrote:"Well, that bodes ill for me, doesn't it? If you're familiar with this place."
...the woman replied.
"Well I wouldn't say that I'm actually 'familiar' with it," he spoke with a cool tone. He noticed her left hand, and without hesitation Yasuo calmly took his own sharpened Kunai from within his vest's inner pocket. "It just feels like I've been here before. That's all."
He stepped forward, over the railing and onto the platform. Close quarters was as much his gig as ranged combat was. As seconds passed, it became terribly obvious that this girl was a little nervous. The shinobi saw it in her eyes, and found it to be nothing less that cute in his book.
Quote:** Wrote:"Yasuo?" she asked, tilting her head in a slight nod. "Nice to meet you. You fond of heights?"
After hearing her speak again, it was obvious he was developing some sort of attraction to the girl. Not good in these circumstanced. With a smirk beneath his mask once more, he replied.
"A pleasure to meet you, Gloria," he paused for a moment and looked once more over the rail. "As for heights? Hehe... I do very well with them."
Cocky... or was he?
She'd find out soon enough, because Yasuo took a ready stance after his sentence. He was about to take on his first opponent this year, and was already going to give it his all. And through and through, he only had one other thing in his mind.
"Good luck..."
Chakra
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Actions: Battle-Ready
Had she been expecting it, or simply been better at reading eyes, Gloria would've noticed his appreciative glances at her.
"Well darn," she said with a smirk. "There goes my hope of scaring my opponent into forfeiting." Reversing her grip on the blade, she readied herself before bursting forward in a dash. She was glad the arena was bit more sturdy then it originally seemed as she closed in on Yasuo.
"Hopefully, luck won't have anything to do with it."
Lowering herself, she snapped her right leg out as she drew close to him, a quick leg sweep aimed at the side of his knees. She wasn't in any mood to play around like she would normally do; last time she did, she was almost gutted by her own teammate.
As she spun, her knife was ready in her right hand to follow up with a slice at his waist, or to catch any counters he made try to dish at her side during the spin.
Gloria Wrote:"Well darn," she said with a smirk. "There goes my hope of scaring my opponent into forfeiting." Reversing her grip on the blade, she readied herself before bursting forward in a dash. She was glad the arena was bit more sturdy then it originally seemed as she closed in on Yasuo.
"Hopefully, luck won't have anything to do with it."
"We'll see..." his smirk met hers, before he went into a mode of total focus. He caught her movements, lowering herself to the level of his knee. Yasuo did a quick step backwards, getting within inches of the rail behind him before rapidly edging forward after her kick had passed. His hands were loose, his arms flexible. He was ready for anything.
Her arm came up quickly behind her kick - she was quick; nimble. The blade came up to the waist as his left hand short for her wrist and,
RIIIIP-SHNNNKKK
The blade would cross over his vest - and the chestplate beneath it, the metallic dragging stopped by the time his hand reach its destination. It would only be there for a moment, however, because his right knee would rush forth for the center of the womans face, after which his grip would release and a step back towards the rail would be made once again.
No games today...
Chakra
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Actions: Chestplate hit, Opponent Wrist grapple w/ knee follow-up
1/10
Many cheered as they knew the match had begun from outside the large structure. But there was only one voice that seemed to echo through the Clock Tower as though it were in the room.
"WHOOOOO! TAKE YOUR TOP OFF!"
A great deal of the cheering stopped as they tried top figure out if that was directed at Glory or Yasuo. However, the owner of the voice seemed to disappear through the crowd with the sound of quacking to follow...
Quack quack quack.
"Hm. So that's how you handle a knee strike," Gloria thought to herself as she tried to dip her to the side and down to avoid the knee turning her face concave. Even as her ears rang, the knee hitting her jaw, just below her temple, her left fist flew up for the inside of his knee.
[*] Crystal Shard [Immediate - 1 point]
There was a brief sparkle of light before Gloria was holding a fragment of crystal the color of rose quartz. The blade was aimed to drive into the inside of his right thigh before he managed to withdraw as Glory's boots failed to give ground despite the push of his attack. Hopefully his backstep would aggravate the potential wound.
As soon as he let go of her wrist, her right hand dropped back down, as she pushed forward to advance on him on the rise form her crouched position. He was near the railing, so Glory had to play it smart, lest she go over instead.
In the back of her mind, something told her ducks were pervs.
PP: 26/27
2/10
The knee made contact, and solid contact at that. It still didn't stop the girl from doing her own thing. In his retreat, Yasuo would feel a sharp piercing go through his inner thigh from an unknown force. There was no denying it, she got him pretty good. The warm feeling of blood dripped down the side of his leg, a light stream, but one that would be concerning later on.
"Tch..." he mumbled into his steps, taking the pain in. Gloria wasn't done yet it seemed. She took an advance forward from her position as soon as the Jounin hit the railing. She seemed to be suddenly holding some sort of blue crystal s**t in her hand - his blood on its end.
He did not like this. And so... he'd make sure she would get hers.
When she was within range, Yasuo would launch out a kick for her entire mid-section. It was to get her to back off a bit... but this kick had it's own "bite" to it. Yauso had focused his chakra into the bottom of his foot using his "Partial Chakra Strength Enhancement" technique.
So instead of this kick simply striking her in the chest, she'd more than likely find herself hitting the opposite rail instead.
Gloria was in for a surprise if she didn't outright dodge the incoming strike.
Chakra
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Actions: Gashed inner thigh, Heavy kick for mid-section w/ chakra enhanced strength (1 bar used)
2/10
She was more than a little surprised her little ploy had worked. She would have a bruise like no other in the morning, but for now it didn't bother her so much. As long as she didn't try talking.
Karma was a b***h sometimes.
Gloria brought her right arm across her chest to take the kick, her left hand coming across with her crystal blade to cripple this one at the ankle as well. She felt the foot impact her arm and for a moment, there was an incredible amount of pressure on her forearm. Then it was gone, but as her blade came in for his outstretched leg, there was a sudden gap between him and her. She was sure she must've just gotten her depth wrong from the shock from the knee against her skull, but the gap seemed to be growing. It took her a moment to realize she was moving away from him rather quickly.
Struggling not lose too much momentum, a quick flick of her wrist sent the crystal shard flying at Yasuo's face. It was rushed, but hopefully enough to keep on his guard.
There was a thud and Gloria's shoulder blades met the cold metal of the railing with a jolt.
Chalk up one more bruise.
PP: 26/27
3/10
It was a full contact kick to the mid-section. She shielded it quite nicely, but by the look of her face she had no clue what was going on afterwards. The sound of more scraping was heard when that crystal grazed the metal of his sandal as well - Yasuo knew these would come in handy one day. He'd brace himself against the railing for a moment, his eyes fixed on watching her slam against that rail.
It was then that she threw the shard at him. This didn't pose as much of a problem, as a rapid step to his left would allow it to pass by him. The shinobi put away his kunai at this point, seeing very little need for it in his current situation. He had another plan in mind.
"Let's see how you handle this." He mumbled to himself, before bringing his hands up in front of him.
Suiton: Suitenhōfutsu (Water Release: Water Sky Convergence)
The gourd that Yasuo had set down prior to the fights start was about to serve its purpose. Out from the top came every last drop of water that the gourd held, and it was guided very quickly to Yasuo's front. He had set up an offensive barrier between both he and Gloria. It was likely that she did not understand the capability behind his technique, which meant that whether she realized it or not, she was in a whole new ball park now.
Yasuo's leg began to irritate him a bit, but it was still set to the back of his mind for now. She was his main focus.
Chakra
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Actions: Successful kick, distance created, Water Release used to create a multi-use barrier (1 bar used)
3/10
"That's not how you do Cat's Cradle," she said aloud. "And you're missing the string. Or is that some sort of gang--" The random babbling cut off as she watched the water float between them.
"So you're siding with that duck, are you?" she said as she studied the barrier. "I charge decently for a wet t-shirt show, though."
Seeing as how he seemed to be controlling the water directly, Gloria had to assume that it was linked to his concentration. Digging her foot in, she darted forward.
[*] Shove [Standard - 3 Points]
There was no physical response from Gloria aside from a slight nod of her head; she was still trying to get the right reactions without obvious motions. Depending on if the barrier could stop mental attacks that weren't traveling in a line through it, Yasuo would feel his body get shoved back against the railing, as if shoved by someone standing in front of him.
Hoping her ploy granted her some weakness in the barrier, Gloria rushed into it, hoping to assault him again with a knife at abdomen, under the chestplate.
PP: 23/27
Quote:** Wrote:"That's not how you do Cat's Cradle," she said aloud. "And you're missing the string. Or is that some sort of gang--" The random babbling cut off as she watched the water float between them.
"So you're siding with that duck, are you?" she said as she studied the barrier. "I charge decently for a wet t-shirt show, though."
He smirked at her statements under his mask once more. Maybe she was a little more interesting to him than he'd thought. And even more so... maybe she had a potential date after this all. Things would play out after the fight, but for right now they were on an even level. It was nice being able to separate emotions from objectives sometimes. It gave Yasuo the sense of control he needed for situations like this.
His eyes were fixated upon her, and even more so was his stance. It was solid in its place - it had to be, as a fair amount of concentration went into controlling the water. When she decided to charge forward, he would stay firmly in place, ready for anything she had to throw at him.
FRRNK-
This was one exception... an invisible force that shoved his body back against the rail once more. It was like being shoved by a large, drunk guy in a bar. Yasuo's form took the brunt of the attack - he was too focused on his current situation, despite the pressure of the attack. His concentration would not be broken by something like that.
It was then that the girl ran through the water barrier. Not a smart move in the least bit.
Yasuo's hands pulled back towards his chest, before wrapping them both in the air and pushing them forward and up in a speedy succession. The wall of water would split into two parts - one strip on either side of the two. Both of the smaller walls would tail back, twist and collide with each other on both sides of the girl, before lifting the girl up into the air under the power of both his chakra and the waters weight.
If all had succeeded, Gloria would find herself within the grasp of Yasuo's chakra-controlled water - suspended about six feet off of the ground.
"It's never a good idea to rush forward," he would say to her. "It could get you into situations like these."
Chakra
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Actions: Full force psionic shove taken, barrier split and used to entrap opponent (1 bar used)
Light Fatigue, Wound Fatigue
4/10
Gloria had started something new in her life lately: foresight. She was never a person of planning ahead and had always been a reactive individual. It worked well when running from people, but in cases where running wasn't an option, she had tried to work on planning.
So when Yasuo's barrier move around her, she had a moment to react to avoid being caught in what she was trying to avoid in the first place. She had thought the barrier would fold around her instantaneously, but when she saw the gap in the barrier, her plan switched from 'Defend' back to 'Offense'
[*] Burst [Immediate - 1 points]
A swift psionic push carried Gloria forward past the barrier as they crashed together. Her reaction was a bit too slow and the water snagged on her boot, causing her to pitch forward, the dive turned into a roll due to her own power.
Knife still in hand, Gloria attempted to escape the roll to slash at Yasuo's legs when she got in range.
They better not have been recording this.
22/27
The walls of water crashed together, with Yasuo sure that Gloria would have no escape from his tactic. He was wrong. Suddenly her image darted forward, just in time to save herself from the grasp of his technique. Her foot was caught, and her balance was lost in her dash. Her body hit the ground in this sort of awkward roll, headed straight for the shinobi. He reacted promptly, dodging to his left side on his wounded leg.
"Ack!!!" he yelled, pivoting his body to face the girl, bringing his right leg back down to support his body weight. "It's getting bad," he referred to his wound. It was taking it's toll on him now, and his movement was hindered because of it. He had to force himself to get to where he was, the pain increasing with every movement. He gritted his teeth, but took it like a champ. Why? Because revenge was now at hand.
No more playing
No more games
It's time to give her a taste of real pain.
Yasuo reached behind to his back, grasping the hilt of his blade with his right hand. He would draw it, and then quickly bring it down on Gloria's general position. She would just be righting herself from the roll when this attack would come down on her, a finely timed swing if one could call it that.
Chakra
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Actions: Failed water grapple, dodged incoming roll and countered with slash
Moderate wound fatigue
5/10
If she had planned her dodge roll, it would've been a much more impressive manuever, but Gloria had to fight to rise straight up and not miss her target. She heard the yell and saw movement as Yasuo's form moved from her revolving point of view, but really track the movement well enough to adjust.
Rising with her own blade at the ready still in her right hand, she saw the sword bearing down and all but squealed in surprise. Moving her blade over just a bit, she managed to catch it in time and move it away from her neck and shoulder, but lack of power behind the smaller blade couldn't stop it from slicing down her left arm as it passed by. Throwing herself back, she tried to scramble to her feet to avoid getting slashed at more, her left arm cut from shoulder to elbow.
"********! That better not scar!" Although it dawned her that moving back was about just as bad as staying in range now, but she'll burn that bridge when she got to it.
22/27
6/10
Down a few levels beneath the level of the clock tower on which Gloria and Yasuo fought, a figure watched from outside the designated fighting arena. Tres was not allowed to interrupt the fight in any way, so he had not made his presence known in any way that would have distracted Gloria or alerted her to his presence in any meaningful way other than the feeling of a familiar presence. He was here merely to observe his protege in action, he was sure that at this point she was realizing that the heaven or hell was as serious as she had likely heard. Tres himself was bandaged up from his last fight that he considered successful despite the damage, despite Tres's vanity he knew full well that escaping from a fight in the heaven or hell unharmed was very unlikely.
Yasuo reeled his hand back after making the first strike, the girls squeel more than enough of a signal that a hit had been made.
His left hand shot up and gripped the lower end of the blades hilt, readying for a more powerful blow to come down upon the girl. She had taken a step or two back away from the shinobi - a common tactic among many warriors, himself included. Human nature was a funny thing when it came to avoiding more harm.
Gloria Wrote:
He would not answer. He would not even think to do so. His mind was locked into battle mode, his wits steeled by his foresight. He was not going to let up - not for her, not for himself. It was all cards out on the table now.
The Iwa-nin brought himself a stpe forward as Gloria yelled, stepping forward on his right foot and bring his sword down diagonally. It was a heavy blow for a light sword, but it's intentions were hidden to only that of Yasuo's mind - he was hoping she would move; dodge it and avoid it completely. Why?
Well...
When the shinobi followed through with the blade, he would point forward his right shoulder - and let loose of left hand. His fist would clench, and his eyes would focus on her as intently as humanly possible. His right arm would stay low, the blade kept there out of the way.
This was it...
"FLY BABY! FLY!"
He would yell aloud as he turned the left side of his torso upwards and into Gloria's proximity. His left arm would fly up, fist tight and strong, and come up to slam Gloria in the gut - again with a very familiar, chakra-infused blow. He wanted to knock her into the air, towards the support beams and into a storm of structural hardpoints.
If he succeeded, it would be something both he and Gloria would never forgot.
Chakra
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Actions: Successful slash, Heavy slash intended for miss made, heavy chakra-infused uppercut follow up (1 Bar)
Moderate wound fatigue
6/10
Gloria wasn't ready to give up any more of the already minimal ground she had secured in this fight. Backpedaling would get her in a corner and eventually hurt even more. She had to stop his advances and put him back on the defensive, if anything.
[*] Boost [Standard - 6 points]
Her skin seemed to visibly grow taut, as if the muscles underneath strained against it. Her size didn't change at all, but her eyes did seem to shine a bit brighter. As he moved his right foot forward, she sprang into action.
With a step of her left leg she moved in suddenly, her speed increased. Her arms shot up as she moved inside of the swing as it started to come down, her left hand grasping at the hilt of the blade, her right going at Yasuo's left wrist, discarding her own knife in the motion. With their bodies this close together, she had hoped she could inconvenience him a bit more.
As her hands went into action, to hopefully hinder his own, her left knee would snap forward and up. With his right foot forward, there was a decent gap between his thighs, and her knee would aim to impact the sensitive organs between them. Even if he had a cup on, the enhanced blow should atleast warrant her a moment of surprise
16/27
Boost: 2 Posts Remaining
7/10
His hands came crashing down, into the grip of her own protective grasp. She's more than likely have had trouble by the strength of the blow, but that wouldn't stop her from making a low-blow against the shinobi.
DING!
"FUUUUUUUU-" he'd yell, gasping for air like a fish out of water. Her knee hit him - square in the gonads. Padding from his clothing was... well it was futile to say the least. The added impact made it all the more effective too, dropping the shinobi to one knee. He was vulnerable, very vulnerable. Even winded as he was, however, he still had a few tricks up his sleeve.
Yasuo first attempted to recover back rolling back and away. Going up so close to Gloria in her current wounded state only meant more force would be applied by her - hell, it was likely she'd follow behind him. Anything to get the space between them.
When there was enough, the Iwa-Jounin would support himself using the railing, lifting himself off of the ground with his eyes fixed on Gloria's position. She'd be stupid not to attack now - he would've.
Chakra
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Actions: Failed strike, follow-up unused (restore 1 bar), Knee to groin (Dirty shot) successful. Creating distance with roll back.
Moderate wound fatigue
7/10
"Check please."
She hadn't landed a more satisfying hit the entire fight, so it was hard for Gloria to keep the grin off her face. Her ego was tempting her to gloat, but she wouldn't gloat until this was over.
A quick dart forward kept her in close proximity of Yasuo. She had noticed he had managed to keep his sword, probably when his body tensed from the shock due to her attack.
"That doesn't hurt too bad, does it?" A quick snap kick was launched at the stab wound she had inflicted earlier, followed a downward straight that would either impact his face or his chest depending on how fast he rose. With her current strength increased, she wasn't too worried about hurting herself even if she hit his chest armor. "Should I kiss it better perhaps?"
Okay, so maybe she couldn't resist the urge to gloat a little bit.
Boost: 1 Post Remaining
PP: 16/27
8/10
(Edited for puncutation.)