itsjustagamerp | Fire with Fire

Characters: Riku, Xion, and any onlookers on that level
Content: Xion and Riku spar for the first time in ages for either of them with their weapons of choice!
Location: Rec Deck
Time of Day: Afternoon
Warnings: Onlookers should stay far back. This is live steel, err, key, afterall. (Onlookers may not be replied to.)

Riku stood atop the shorter diving board, waiting for Xion to come in. He could watch for her easily from there, and to be honest, he felt outright empowered. There was a thrill to having his Keyblade back and the distinct comfort of feeling he could take on whatever threatened the satellite this week. ...Well, aside form bad movies. However, if this week super-villains appeared or old nemeses, he had the power to fight for everyone's safety.

It felt good.

But even then he hoped he hadn't grown rusty. That was the best part about this. He enjoyed sparring, but making sure his skills were sharp was important. Way to the Dawn was a reassuring weight in his hand. He couldn't wait to feel the rush of a contest of skill.

Flat | Top-Level Comments Only

Riku indeed blocked, and easily. When she made contact, he pushed back hard, but didn't counter. The teen wondered if she might remember Sora's fights with him at their home. If so, she might catch on to what he was doing. It was nearly a game of red hands, but with weapons.

He smirked at her, Keyblade still held up and ready to block again. "What're you so afraid of?"

Xion was mostly just trying to get warmed up. Sora might prefer to run in swinging, and there were times on missions where she'd done that herself, but she hadn't used her Keyblade in nearly a year. She needed time to get used to it again.

She'd anticipated his block, and moved back out of striking range easily. The commentary should have been expected, too--she knew that Riku's snark tended to turn into goading during a fight, even if was just sparring. After a moment of surprise she managed to come back with, "Says the one who wouldn't make the first move."

"That's just called 'strategy.' The first move isn't always an attack." She might have been out of strike range, but his range was very long thanks to the reach of Way to the Dawn. Regardless, still in a defensive stance, he moved forward, stepping easily within her reach, yet he still didn't attack. Every step he took, though, he kept his feet far apart, meaning it would be hard to unbalance him right now.

Riku had fought Sora many times, and she seemed to fight similarly. However, anyone who watched him would possibly figure out what he was doing. Riku was sizing Xion up. "You got what it takes? C'mon, show me." And now, though he was within her reach, he began to circle her.

She decided to merely raise her eyebrows instead of answering verbally this time. She needed to keep her focus on actions rather than words, especially since he was moving now. Not attacking, but...observing. Trying to size her up like she'd used to size up Heartless she hadn't fought before.

The bad thing about him being within striking of her meant that she was back in his strike range. She could try to move, but he'd just adjust his circle for that. So instead of even trying, she kept her stance wide and well-balance, waiting until she could read his movement better. Once she could, she aimed a combo attack where she predicted he would be just at the moment it hit.

Riku knew Sora well enough to know she'd attempt an attack eventually, and a combo didn't surprise him, though it was certainly harder to block. As such, he didn't push back like he did with the previous attacks, but focused instead on defense. The best offense is a good defense, after all...

As such he blocked one attack, using the length of his blade to place his arm pulled back. In a quick two flashes he's dismissed and resummoned his keyblade to wield it backwards, and swung his pulled-back arm forward in a slash.

A game of red-hands it was.

In a similar way, Sora knew Riku enough for Xion to know that getting him to take a more direct offense was tough--though how much of that was a result from years of trying to counter Sora's style was anyone's guess. She'd expected the block. What she'd only half-expected was his follow-up.

Not that she'd thought he wouldn't attempt a counterattack at all. She just hadn't known the form it would take. So she was just able to block it, and then moved in for another strike at his side.

Edited 2012-10-01 13:41 (UTC)

Clever move. With his arm swung around, his side was vulnerable, and Riku whirled around to catch her blade just barely with the teeth of his. While under normal circumstances it would be a great way to wrest the weapon from someone's hands, Riku was unused to using his Keyblade backhanded, and having been caught partially off-guard he didn't have the leverage needed to do so properly. As such he disengaged, leaping back and swinging his Keyblade back forward. He moved a distance from her.

But it all did give him an idea...

Riku flipped his Keyblade so the teeth were on the opposite side from the way he normally wielded it. With that, he charged, his head kept very low...

Well, she was a clever girl even if she wasn't a raptor. Fighting Heartless tended to encourage making use of any opening possible. She disengaged at nearly the same time he did, mostly to avoid the very sort of maneuver that might have left her disarmed. Fortunately it left her a moment to gather her bearings and see what his next move would be.

She hadn't expected the charge, managed to move in an attempt to evade at the last moment.

That wasn't the reaction he'd hoped for. However, her evasion again gave him distance from her, and Riku planned to make use of it. Again he charged Xion, head again held low and Keyblade drawn back. If she reacted the same way, he'd try something else, but he'd at least know she'd tend to react that way when charged.

That could be useful if he needed to force distance from her.

Xion had fought enough Heartless that liked that method of attack that she'd developed a bit of an evade reflex. Not surprising, particularly since getting knocked down in a fight with one of them was a bad idea. When Riku charged at her again, she evaded a little more neatly.

And now Riku knew. It was time for a more direct approach. Rather than charge, he moved towards her and close within the reach of her weapon... Unusually close. His form for his attack was unusual. He planted his right foot firmly forward, bearing his weight, while his left stayed on its toes. With a wide sweep he slashed across at her...

...And about half a beat later he swung his left foot around towards hers.

The direct approach was fine. It gave Xion a chance to try to get close enough to try to trip him up--it had worked with Axel a few times when they sparred. Not that what worked against Axel would necessarily work against Riku, but at least she knew she could try.

The unusual attack surprised her, though, and she was so busy dodging the slash that she didn't notice his foot. Instead of her tripping him up, it turned out to be the other way around. She stumbled, managing a few steps but never really regaining her balance. Fortunately, she at least remembered how to fall without hurting herself. Bad enough to be tripped and fall to the floor without adding injury to he deal.

Sighing, she picked herself up. "I guess you win."

It's funny how one thing in a battle might work how one wouldn't. Riku's original plan was to charge and wait for her to take a swipe at him. He'd hoped to drop and slide to catch her feet with his Keyblade. And yet this hadn't worked.

"This time." Riku offered her a hand and a smile as she got up. "Want to try again later?" He never was adverse to taking score.

Really there was never a sure technique that always worked. Sometimes what hadn't worked previously did, or vice versa. Fortunately, while annoyed at losing in the way she did, Xion had inherited Sora's inability to mope for long.

"Sure." She returned the smile as she accepted the hand up. "Best two out of three?"

Out of sheer habit, Riku clapped a hand on her shoulder and shot her a smirk the same way he would with Sora.

"After lunch? You got it."

Fire with Fire

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(Done?)