[RP]Obake Blade

[JasraLantill]

"You two go on ahead." he told the others, turning back towards the door they had just left as he unceremoniously held the cat up, leaving it in its jaw-locked position. "I'll join you in a moment."

 

As Kyo headed back to the old woman’s house, Aya quickly sidled past Carwyn, grabbing him by the sleeve and tugging him along as she went. She wanted to get out of there as soon as possible.

 

She practically slid down the rickety stairs, and it was only when they had safely reached the main street that she stopped in her panicked flight.

 

“What was that all about?!” Aya immediately began, her speech rapid and her hands animated from the effects of adrenaline. “All that stuff about translations, and keys, and wielders of spirit powers, and mikos and… I mean, what that all about?! I mean, yeah, I can read and write, but…what, does she think I’ve joined some sort of ‘religious order’ or something?! That I’m a monk now?!” She looked at Carwyn directly. “Do I look like a monk? No!” she answered before Carwyn could even open his mouth. “I’m a merchant! A plain, ‘ol merchant who’s just trying to make a living, not some sort of spiritual wielder of anything! And theses five ‘halves’ of some old prophesy? Five halves? Last I checked a half meant two, not five! And what did she mean about someone making you choose? Choose what?!”

 

She looked over her shoulder to see if Kyo was following. She didn’t see him. “Let’s go,” she said to Carwyn. “Kyo can just catch up with us later. If he wants to,” she added. “Now that he’s got his little ‘puzzle’ thing, we probably won’t see him anymore anyway. And I really want to get back to the market."

[Rogue Nine]

Carwyn was taken aback at Aya's sudden explosion of energy and action. It was as if all of her pent-up nervousness at coming to the old woman's house had unleashed itself in the form of her moving faster than he had ever seen her move. Before he knew it, they were outside the soothsayer's house and she was babbling semi-coherently. He opened his mouth a few times to try and interject, but she just kept rambling on.

 

She looked over her shoulder to see if Kyo was following. She didn’t see him. “Let’s go,” she said to Carwyn. “Kyo can just catch up with us later. If he wants to,” she added. “Now that he’s got his little ‘puzzle’ thing, we probably won’t see him anymore anyway. And I really want to get back to the market."

 

She was still holding his sleeve and she tugged at it with urgency, propelling Carwyn forward. He caught himself from stumbling, then laid a gentle hand on her arm. "Hey, plain 'ol merchant lady, slow down before you have a heart attack." He slowed his steps, trying to catch her momentum short. "That market's not going anywhere, so take it easy. You've been through a lot today, so don't go burning yourself out. A flustered merchant won't be able to sell her wares properly."

[ForceFightWMe12]

Kyo walked up behind the two of them, hardly paying attention to where he was going until he heard the squabbling of a familiar voice. Looking up, he spotted Aya and Carwyn further ahead, Aya currently in the midst of a heated rant. He caught up to them rather quickly.

 

"You two sure took off fast." he said, his tone a bit more indignant than he had meant it to be. He hadn't quite recovered from the old woman yet.

[JasraLantill]

"Well, Kyo, I wasn't going to hang around any more than I had to," Aya replied. Then she shivered. "Creepy old woman." She paused. "You know the first time I went there, I wasn't too bothered by her. I mean, yeah, she's a bit eccentric, and her place is a real mess, but she was interested in some of the artefacts my father sold, so that's why he and I went there. It was only when she...."

 

She looked at Kyo directly. "The last time we were there, my father had an artefact she wanted. She didn't have any coin, and I think he felt sorry for her, so he said he would give her the artefact in exchange for her telling him his fortune. So she did. She told him that he would die in my arms fighting against unsurmountable odds in an attempt to save the lives of others. She told him how, where, and when, but neither one of us believed her." Her expression saddened. "Not until it happened. Not until the very, very end." She wiped away a tear before it could cascade down her cheek. "She tells people things they shouldn't want nor need to know, Kyo. And all this talk about wielders and powers and spirits...." She shook her head. "I don't want to think about it."

 

She managed a weak smile for both men. "So, can we just go back to the market square now? Please? So we can do something more... fun?"

[ForceFightWMe12]

She tells people things they shouldn't want nor need to know...

 

He nodded, readjusting his glove. "Yes, let's." he answered, pocketing the puzzle. "Goods to sell, fireworks to see..."

 

Moving down the main path, he drifted into thought again. He had always been curious about his future...as a man who often didn't know where his next meal would come from, it was usually something to expect.

 

The fact that this woman seemed to really be able to predict the future...

[Rogue Nine]

Glad to have the swordsman back, Carywn trotted with Kyo and Aya down the path leading back to the main square. He looked down at his arm and saw that the young merchant was still gripping his sleeve tightly. "You know, we're out of the house, so you don't have to pull me along anymore," he intoned lightly.

 

"Oh, sorry," she replied, still looking slightly flustered.

 

"Don't worry about it anymore, Aya," Carwyn said. "We're going back to the square, back to your stand." He brightened as a thought crossed his mind. "And I'll bet Gabe has done a fine job selling your items."

 

Before Aya could reply, a loud shout came from in front of them. Crowds of people were standing around, cheering at something towards the center of the square. Carwyn squinted, looking ahead. "I wonder what that's all about..."

[JasraLantill]

Aya looked around for a moment, then nodded. "It's a match, I reckon," she said to Kyo and Carwyn. "A boxing match. They haven't had one of those in a while. Used to be sort of a tradition until Wolf took control of all the betting. Then no one wanted to do it anymore." She stood up on her toes, trying to see above the heads of the crowd. "Bet Wolf's got something to do with this one. Probably conned some poor souls that owe him money into doing it for free, or maybe jail prisoners or...." She stopped mid-sentence. "Oh. My. Gods." She turned around to both men, then grinned broadly. "Looks like Wolf and his son are 'contestants'!"

[ForceFightWMe12]

Kyo grinned cooly at the mention of Wolf as a contestant. "So that filthbag and that rat of a son are fighting?" he pushed forward, closer to the edge of the ring. "Who's he fighting?" he murmured out loud, "I can't wait to see this guy get the living--" he dropped off as he spotted someone in the crowd across the way. "That's Takara! And Katsuro! And if that's them then...is that...Xan?"

[Rogue Nine]

Carwyn had never really liked being in the middle of crowds and the mob he was currently in was getting just a little too congested for his liking. Besides, with all the people milling about, he couldn't really get a good look at the ring. He looked around, trying to find a vantage point where he could climb up and escape the stuffiness of the crowd when he spotted a lamppost not a few meters away. That might work...

 

He felt something brush his arm. Looking over, he saw Aya hopping and straining to see above the crowd, short as she was. Grinning, Carwyn took her hand in his and pulled her gently with him to the lamppost.

 

"Hey, Carwyn!" she protested. "Where are you taking me?"

 

"To a place where we can see things better, your Shortness," the ranger replied. Reaching the lamppost, he scaled it nimbly, finding footrests in the old hardened wood. Leaning down, he offered his hand to Aya. "C'mon, you'll be able to see the fight better from here. I don't think you'll want to miss it."

[Master_Archon]

The unblinking cat had narrowly missed being crushed by the flying door that the girl, or merchant as she called herself flung open. But after all the ranting and panting and semi-sane talk, the merchant, her strange man-friend, and another fellow, went walking off, the wild, scruffy looking cat following close, but distantly behind.

 

It's eyes were squinted on the trio now, intent, distant, passionate, and still unblinking. When the three people stopped at a strange crowd gathering the cat stopped, staring into their backs like the sun beats it's rays upon a blade of grass. The cat however could not enjoy sitting there, because the crowd was so restless, that if he wasn't close to someone's leg, he'd easily get trampled.

 

So the cat, that looked like a miniature bobcat with a tail, approached the trio in an attempt to find some safety from the jostling crowd. It came up behind the three, rubbing against their legs, then finding a spot inbetween the sworsman fellows legs it sat down, looking forward, with it's ever intent, unblinking eyes, occasionally looking up at the three. Though, two of them ran off towards a lamppost, ad began climbing it like two little monkey's.

 

******

((I'm not a boxing expert or fan, so bear with me on this one))

 

Xan got up on the side of the ring, his face set like flint, stern and ready. opposite of him and the strange man, Kai, was Wolf and his Rat of a son.

 

The blacksmith approached, obviously he was overseeing the match.

 

"Alright, here's how everything goes; First and Third rounds will have Xan and Sir Wolfgang facing off as the starting opponents. Second and fourth will have Kai and Crispin facing off as starting opponents." The blacksmith shouted enthusiastically to the crowd. "Remember, each contestant cannot tag out until the first ten minutes of the round has passed, this constitutes that each round is played fairly, and well."

 

"There will be a simple amount of four rounds, each round lasting roughly thirty minutes. If each opponent is still standing after the end of the round the one who took most hits or got most knock outs wins. Knock outs are legal, and counted every time an opponent is knocked to the ground, they do not have to be unconcious to be considered in a K.O.'ed state. The K.O. will become a total knock out if the opponent does not get up after a twenty second count down, at least a decent portion of the person's body must get off the ground before the count down stops." The blacksmith told the contestants and the crowd.

 

"Total knock outs constitute instant round wins, and if an opponent is knocked totally unconcious on the ground, and it is confirmed, then the round is over and the standing contestant wins that round. When an opponent is pushed into a corner, the other opponent giving the blows can only give twenty strikes before a bell is rung and he has to back down. If an opponent falls or gets to a rope in some fashion, the other opponent cannot attack that one for a countdown time of twenty seconds, after which, the one on the rope must let go and cntinue fighting." The blacksmith continued.

 

"Lastly, all rounds must be played, and round wins are exceptional, but they do not win the challenge, though they help, it depends on a specific scoring system ((I'm not going to get into the scoring, so don't even say anything)) after all the rounds, taken up by the different referee's, which will determine the ultimate winners of the challenge." The blacksmith said at last.

 

"Now, will the two starting contestants step into the ring," the blacksmith called out. Wolf stepped in, his face contorted in an ugly scowl. Xan stepped over the ropes and into the ring, standing in his corner, glaring at Wolf tensly.

 

"Are the contestants ready?" asked the blacksmith. Xan only nodded, wolf just grinned, but that was more than enough for the blacksmith to know he was ready.

 

"Garbs off!" Shouted the blacksmith, raising his his hand up to indicate the waiting falg, Xan undid his belt, handing over to Kai, then he removed his tabard, also handing it to Kai. Xan rolled his neck around, stretching his muscles, trying to loosen up, and get ready for the fight, his sizeable, well toned muscles tensing, flexing, and stretching as he moved around, trying to recall some old stances of his.

 

Wolf also removed his upper body implements, though Xan would have prefered not to see him, he was hairy, greasy, and though he had surprisingly more muscle than Xan expected, he was still flabby, and not so well toned and formed as Xan...it was quite a disturbing sight.

 

But the reason behind the no upper garbs rule, was to ensure that no intrument, such as a knife, or something else, could not be hidden, and used to win.

 

"Ready!?" The blacksmith shouted once more, Xan crouching down abit, and spreading his feet far apart, his hands held up in a fighting stance, not quite like boxing, his hands were not clenched in fists either, they were, more or less, loosly open.

 

"Fight!" The blacksmith shouted, dropping his hand, indicating the start of the round. Wolf was surprisingly spry, and obviously wanted to remain out of harms way, wearing Xan down obviously was his goal, because he almost immediately began circling around him, keeping his distance though.

 

As Wolf moved to Xan's right, Xan gauged him for a moment, then as if a pin had hit the ground Xan was at Wolf's throut before he could even block or dodge. Wolf had obviously mistaken Xan for the slow, but hard hitting type, but in truth, he was the fast, hard hitting type. Xan was on him, swinging his right into Wolf's jaw like a sledge hammer.

 

Xan's way of punching was to clench his hand into a fist at the last momentbefore contact, increasing the force at which the punch hits.

 

Xan didn't let up an inch, he pummled into Wolf, gut, face, block a cheap shot, right side of the face, left side, stomach. Wolf stumbled backwards, falling back, he barely caught the rope, Xan let up, and backed a ways away, waiting for the twenty seconds to be up.

 

Then it was, and Wolf moved surprisingly fast, coming at Xan, giving him a good gut strike, then it was an all out punch fest as they traded blows.....

 

((Intermission, please post now, but I would appreciate no round progression, please.))

[Rexraptor2000]

"I sense a challenge," Hoshiko said in a teasing voice. "Care to put your magic where your mouth is?" She shook her finger at him. "And no backing out now," she continued with a smile.

 

"Backing out? Never. And I'll also make you a deal: If I win, you have to pay for lunch. A big one too since I haven't had breakfast yet. If you win, then I'll pay for something you want here from the market or anywhere else if we continue to travel together. I've gotta warn you though, you're going to get a real burn from what I'm going to deliver." Toa said with a playful smirk, a fire now raging in his eyes.

[Jason Skywalker]

"Come on Xan, give it to him!" Akira shouted out, getting closer to his corner, "Take that beardy smile of off him!"

 

Akira then noticed Takara and Katsuro just beside him and Kyo across the other side of the ring.

 

"Hey Kyo, join the party!" Akira told him, waving.

[JasraLantill]

"Hey, Carwyn!" she protested. "Where are you taking me?"

 

"To a place where we can see things better, your Shortness," the ranger replied. Reaching the lamppost, he scaled it nimbly, finding footrests in the old hardened wood. Leaning down, he offered his hand to Aya. "C'mon, you'll be able to see the fight better from here. I don't think you'll want to miss it."

 

"Oh, I definitely don't want to miss this!" Aya said, as she took Carwyn's hand and started to climb up. She wasn't quite as nimble and surefooted as Carwyn was, and her foot slipped. Her hand reached up and she grabbed the nearest thing, which happened to be Carwyn's leg. But Carwyn's grip on her hand was strong, and he kept her from falling as she quickly recovered her footing.

 

She gave Carwyn a grateful look. "Thank the Gods for your magic pants, eh?" she said to him.

[Rogue Nine]

"Thank the Gods for you sewing them so well so they didn't rip completely off me," Carwyn replied, winking at Aya as he helped her steady herself on the base of the lamppost. "That would've been a sight for sore eyes, I think."

[3yks]

Wolf and Xan's fists moved in a blur before Kai's eyes, watching each movement in an almost fast forwarded procession, anticipating his own moment in the ring. Wolf finally had taken enough from Xan and as they circled he shifted and ducked to one side, slapping his son's hand. The younger of the wolve's ducked under the rope's and was soon into the ring. He grinned, wolfishly at Xan, and came in fast and hard. The younger wolf was a good fighter, and Xan had told Kai that the lesser would be his, so he moved toward Kai and slapped out. Kai vaulted himself up and over the rope's as Xan ducked under them.

 

"Ahhhh, now it is Kai's turn to fight." Kai grinned at the lesser wolf, and circled him, he had watched this man's movement's for the few moments he had fought with Xan. Kai shifted away from the lesser wolf's first few blows. Moving easily out of the reach of the punches. He then brough his own to bear, long limbs reached out, and fists colided with flesh.

 

"Let Kai do you a favor, lesser wolf," Kai said after Crispin had taken a few quick jabs to the left jaw. "Kai is going to tell you what Kai plans to do next, Kai is going to punch you in the left shoulder with Kay's right hand, then bring Kai's left fist up to punch you in the right side of your face while your guard is on your left shoulder." Kai did exactly this, but Crispin did not expect that, and blocked improperly, expecting this to be a trick. Cripsin stumbled back from the blow to his head, he stumbled a moment and almost hit the ground.

 

Kai gave him not time to recover, and brought in two rapid left hooks to Crispin's stomach, then a right to Crispin's left temple, and finished it off with a left to Crispin's jaw. Crispin hit the ground hard, a second passed, the blacksmith's hand hit the mat.

 

"One!" Called out to the crowd, cheers erupted, Kai stretched as Crispin shifted, trying to push himself up, star's in his eyes.

 

"TWO!" The blacksmith's voice rang out, more whelps of cheering came from the crowd.

 

"THREE!" The wolf was growling at his son.

 

"Get up you fool! GET UP!"

 

"FOUR!" Cripsin had one knee up, but the rules stated that most of the body needed to be up, granted he had quite a few seconds, but he looked like he was about to go back down again.

 

"FIVE!" Cheering grew even louder in the masses of people, Kai was grinning, his hands held out infront of him.

 

"SIX!" And finally Crispin was up, he closed his eyes a moment as he stood, when they opened they narrowed on Kai.

 

"No more messing around," growled this lesser wolf.

 

"Kai does not mess around, Kai swings with his left fist at your stomach while you block that kai swings with his right at your head again," This time Cripsin learned from his mistake, and blocked both punches easily. Kai smiled at Crispin.

 

"Left hook, right gut punch, left temple punch." Kai taunted, but instead brought out a right to the shoulder, a left to the face, and then a right to the stomach.

 

"Kai does not always tell the truth," Kai laughed as he danced away.

[Master_Archon]

((*slaps forehead* Nevermind my post in the OOC then, I see you just couldn't wait for me to respond to your question...Oh well, as long as I can get back in the ring soon.))

[JasraLantill]

"Thank the Gods for you sewing them so well so they didn't rip completely off me," Carwyn replied, winking at Aya as he helped her steady herself on the base of the lamppost. "That would've been a sight for sore eyes, I think."

 

Aya nodded, but her eyes were trying to focus on the fight. “Oh, I dunno,” she said to Carwyn almost absently. “You’ve never made my eyes sore whenever I’ve seen you without pants.” As she craned her neck to see what was happening in the ring, she suddenly realised what she had said. “Erm,… not that I’ve seen you that often without them. Or was intentionally looking,” she added quickly. She half-closed her eyes and sighed, wondering why she always ended up sounding like a blathering idiot ninety percent of the time when she spoke to Carwyn. She pulled at the collar of her dress, then shifted her footing a bit, then looked up at the sky. “Is it just me, or is the sun getting rather warm out here?”

 

The crowd cheered loudly, and Aya breathed a sigh of relief that there was something else to focus her attention on. In the ring, Xan and Wolf were exchanging punches and kicks, and the crowd either winced or cheered (depending on whether or not they were on Wolf’s payroll) as the two men fought. Aya winced herself when Wolf tagged out and was replaced by his son, Crispin. “Oh, no….”

 

Aya nudged Carwyn. “Now he makes my eyes sore,” she said, nodding towards the ring at Crispin. “And I don’t ever wish to see him without pants,” she added. She snorted. “Did you know that Wolf actually thought that it would be ‘good business’ if I married his… son?” She grimaced. “Like any woman in her right mind would ever consider such a thing. That’s one of the reasons why Wolf took over my old stall,” she explained.

 

As Crispin took his first beating from the one-eyed Kai, Aya cheered along with the rest of the crowd. “You know, Carwyn,” Aya said to him above the roar of cheering spectators, “I hate to say this, since it’s sort of a mean kind of thing to say, but I hope Crispin and Wolf both get so bruised by Xan and his one-eyed friend there that they can’t sit down for a week!”

[Master_Archon]

((Okay 3yks, I'll take your offer up on tagging back in. ))

 

Crispin snarled at Kai, and turning, he hightailed it towards Wolf, tagging out, the young, but disturbingly grotesque man fumbled out of the ring in a clumbsy heap.

 

Wolf stepped in, he looked like he had taken the time to rest well, he sneered at Kai and Xan.

 

Kai danced back towards Xan, until he got close enough to tag out. Xan jumped into the ring enthusiastically, a small grin spreading on his face, but it quickly dissapeared as Xan's face became stern again.

 

Wolf got into a ready stance, while Xan stretched his neck, then took up a fighting stance as well.

 

Then they were at it, Xan came down upon Wolf like lightning, coming up to Wolf quickly, he aimed a downwards punch into Wolf's temple, it connected, sending Wolf stumbling backwards.

 

But Wolf didn't stand as idly by as he had before, he came back at Xan hard, giving him an uppercut to the jaw, Xan stumbled only slightly, but kept his footing. Xan went for a two way strike, hitting the left side of Wolf's jaw, and his stomach at the same time, Wolf dulled the jaw strike but didn't see the gut strike coming,and took it hard.

 

Wolf bent over gasping for air, but Xan wouldn't let up, his adrenalin was going too strong for him to show much mercy for the gasping man. Xan uppercutted him in the nose, sending Wolf backwards, only to have him hit the corner poll, instead of the ground. Xan was int his face in moments, slamming hard strikes all over Wolf's body; one, two, three....And on the punches rolled, until twenty, and the bell rang, indicating he had to back down.

 

Xan was reluctant to stop, but followed the rules. Wolf staggered off the poll, his legs about to give out, he approached the middle of the ring, Xan got back into stance, Wolf doing the same only weakly. Xan lunged out, but Wolf blocked it, then Xan came up and punched Wolf in the side, but before any further punches could fly, another bell rang.

 

"End of round!" The blacksmith called. "The ending opponents are still standing, but Xan got more hits in, as well as Kai, the victors for the round are Xan and Kai!" Shouted the blacksmith in exuberence.

 

"We'll have a ten minute break for the fighters, before the next round starts, this would be a good time to place bets people, my fellow referee, Gabe, will be around to collect bets," the blacksmith shouted out.

 

Xan walked off towards Kai, stepping out of the ring, he stood next to him. "Good fighting there Kai, just make sure you keep hidrated," said Xan, picking up a bottle of water that had been set at his feet, taking a long drink.

 

((Advertisement: "This fight has been brought to you by Aya's odds-and-ends, Aya's odds-and-ends, selling anything from atifacts to sewing needles! Aya's odds-and-ends!" - JK ))

 

((Okay 3yks, feel free to start the next round as you please, I just made the ten minute rest periods so as to make the fight/rounds more realistic and practical. ))

[Rogue Nine]

Aya nodded, but her eyes were trying to focus on the fight. “Oh, I dunno,” she said to Carwyn almost absently. “You’ve never made my eyes sore whenever I’ve seen you without pants.” As she craned her neck to see what was happening in the ring, she suddenly realised what she had said. “Erm,… not that I’ve seen you that often without them. Or was intentionally looking,” she added quickly. She half-closed her eyes and sighed, wondering why she always ended up sounding like a blathering idiot ninety percent of the time when she spoke to Carwyn. She pulled at the collar of her dress, then shifted her footing a bit, then looked up at the sky. “Is it just me, or is the sun getting rather warm out here?”

 

"Aye, just a bit," Carwyn agreed, grinning. Though not as warm as your face probably is... he added mentally. The young merchant had the uncanny knack for constantly putting her foot in her mouth around him and Carwyn couldn't help but wonder if she wasn't subconsciously doing it on purpose. Given what she'd said under Tellis' hypnosis, he could only surmise that she probably had a soft spot for him. He didn't really mind at all, because truth be told, he had taken a liking to her as well. Carwyn wasn't the type to jump headlong into things though, and he valued his friendship with Aya. If she keeps her verbal stumblings up, it'll only be a matter of time before *something* happens, anyway...

 

He shook his head and turned back to the fight. It seemed as if their burly caravan security guard was gaining the upper hand against the hirsute swindler, which didin't really surprise Carwyn. Xan was quite a capable warrior, if a bit broody. He certainly wasn't holding back against the older, fatter Wolf. As Carwyn watched, the rotund crime boss staggered his way to his corner and tagged his son into the ring.

 

Aya nudged Carwyn. “Now he makes my eyes sore,” she said, nodding towards the ring at Crispin. “And I don’t ever wish to see him without pants,” she added. She snorted. “Did you know that Wolf actually thought that it would be ‘good business’ if I married his… son?” She grimaced. “Like any woman in her right mind would ever consider such a thing. That’s one of the reasons why Wolf took over my old stall,” she explained.

 

Carwyn made a face. "You're a good merchant, Aya, but I think that price was a little too much for even your bartering abilities." He eyed the younger Wolf, noting that the boy had certainly inherited his father's "good looks". "You could definitely do much, much better than that."

 

As Crispin took his first beating from the one-eyed Kai, Aya cheered along with the rest of the crowd. “You know, Carwyn,” Aya said to him above the roar of cheering spectators, “I hate to say this, since it’s sort of a mean kind of thing to say, but I hope Crispin and Wolf both get so bruised by Xan and his one-eyed friend there that they can’t sit down for a week!”

 

The ranger couldn't help but chuckle. "It's okay to be mean once in a while!" he yelled back at her as the crowed cheered. "Besides, you're cute when you're angry!"

[3yks]

"Hydrated?" Kai arched his good eye's brow at Xan, then realized what he meant and picked up a jug of water, turning it upside down over his head and tilting his head back, about half ot the water made it into his mouth and down his throat. "Kai is very hydrated now." Kai nodded at this, smiling faintly.

 

"This man Xan fights very well, this man Xan's use of the way of the dragon's open fist is impressive, as Kai is certain Xan has no formal training in the dragon's open fist." Kai reached out taking Xan's hand, "Let Kai show you a trick, when Xan is closing his fist at the last second, as Kai has seen him do, this is the dragon's open fist, but if Xan were to make his fist like ... " Kai shifted Xan's hand around, moving his thumb into a slightly odd position, but it was comfortable, and place Xan's knuckles a bit farther forward than the rest of his hand. "This ... then this man Xan will get even more use out of the dragon's open fist." Kai nodded lightly, and did that odd wink of his.

 

Kai lifted a second jug of water, and again poured it over himself, he had removed his shirt and belt earlier, befre he'd entered the ring, and his body glistened with the liquid that he poured over it, running in rivelet's down his chest, and back. He had smooth skin, very little hair grew on his chest or stomach, and none at all on his back, there were a few scars here and there, a strange one on the right side of his stomach, diaganol. It looked too long for a dagger wound, but too short for a sword or something.

 

"Kai is enjoying beating the lesser wolf, the lesser wolf deserves to be beaten, as does the larger lesser wolf. Xan is doing a good job of this beating the larger lesser wolf." Kai nodded again, and looked around, people were placing bets in the short time between matches. Kai began to stretch, working out any kinks the fighting had put into him, after a few moments the bell rang again.

 

"The next Round is about to begin," bellowed the announcer.

 

"Ah, Kai gets first punches this round." Kai grinned and climbed up onto the stage, ducking under the ropes this time and watching as Crispin joined him in the ring. The blacksmith was standing in the middle of the ring, waiting for them.

 

"Ahhhh, lesser wolf! It is time for Kai to pummel you again!"

[Master_Archon]

"Dragon's open fist?" Xan questioned himself, staring at his hand, making the fist that Kai had shown him. "I don't know about any names such as that, I just use basic Jujutsu fist-fighting techniques to fight him....learned them for defense against opponents who got too close that I couldn't get with my long reaching weapons," Xan told no one in particular.

 

Xan took a deep breath, and sighed, he knelt down and picked up a jug of water and poured the water on himself as Kai had done, so as to cool off. Xan set the jug down and looked towards the ring, he smiled slightly, he had chosen right when he chose Kai to fight with him. Xan looked down in thought, he reached up to his chest where he traced a deep, but small scar running horizontally across it. Xan was unlike Kai in the respect that he had many, many scars, some faint, some promonent.

 

Xan snapped out of his thoughts, looking back up towards the ring, he decided to take what little time to see what the others were doing. He looked around, and not too far off was Takara, Katsuro, and that swordsman fellow, he smiled and called out, "so, how am I doing so far?" He asked Takara and Katsuro, the swordsman he didn't really know, so he didn't concern himself with him for the moment.

[ForceFightWMe12]

Kyo shifted, grimacing as he nudged the cat away from his feet, stepping off to the side. Bloody creatures...as if he hadn't had enough of them today. His hand was still bugging him from earlier when the old woman's pet bit through his gloves. Idiot of a thing...

 

"The last time I was here, I was with my father. She predicted the manner of his death. And she was right. In every detail. But a word of advice? Don't ask her what you don't really want to know."

 

His head popped up as Aya's voice replayed in his head, his curiosity sparked. The old woman had been able to tell Sam S'Ornaku the exact circumstances of his death years in advanced...

 

With hardly another look to the boxing ring, match, contestants, crowd, Aya, or Carwyn, Kyo turned on his heel and bolted down the street. On his way, a man carrying a mug of beer in his hand swayed unsteadily to the side, crashing into Kyo and dropping the alcohol. The drunkard growled, still having enough wits to be able to reach out and snatch Kyo's arm, his voice coming rough and loud, drawing the attention of wandering eyes.

 

"'Ey!! You get yer scrawny lill' ass--"

 

Kyo whirled on the man, his eyes unnaturally light, his voice calming and layered. "Calm." he told the man, holding up a hand, "It was an accident."

 

The man, who had been out for blood only moments before, seemed to mellow out, releasing Kyo's arm. "Right. I guess." and he turned away.

 

Seconds later, Kyo was gone.

[Jason Skywalker]

"Well, you did good for a first round," Akira remarked, "Although never let your guard down, you can never know what's coming Xan."

 

He then looked around. Kyo had vanished.

 

Where's Kyo? He thought.

[Master_Archon]

The cat glared as the fellow he was under nudged him away, and left swiftly.

 

The cat felt as if he should follow, yet it was also drawn in the direction the other two had gone. So the cat scampered out of the forest of legs, and darted into an alley, only to have a fairly large squirrel come out moments later, only it's hair was more wirey than most squirrels, and it had faded blonde fur, instead of grey, or red.

 

It bounded over to the lamppost that the two others were on, and scurried as best it could up the side, stopping next to the merchant's head taking a long studying look, then it moved up, until it perched itself barely above her head on an open handbar. It glanced over at the ranger fellow, then down at the merchant, it's eyes were as intent and unblinking as the cat's.

 

It looked upwards at the fighting match, then around, then soon it went back to staring at everything, and nothing at the same time, on the occasion, glancing at the ranger or merchant.

[Grace]

"You're doing well," Takara told Xan, nodding her approval. Katsuro grinned.

 

"Never seen a boxing match before," he admitted. "It's cool!"

 

Takara smiled faintly and shook her head. "Oh, the mind of an eleven year old," she concluded, "a place where beating people up is 'cool'. However, in the case of your opponent, I must say... he's right. Though I think I'd more use the word 'appropriate' in relation to the level of beating you're giving him."

 

The faint smile slowly faded, replaced by a blank look as she stared across the ring into nothing. Slowly, her hands clenched into fists and a flicker of anger passed over her face. Then it was gone and she smiled again, her eyes refocusing on Kai and Crispin as they began another round.