[CoolNard]

Originally Posted by Kanji_The_Wanderer

**Tat would slay Bahamut. Down with the King of Dragons! XD**[/b]

New character: Bahamut
Appearance... LOL

Jokes aside, nerve-wrecking and graphic choreography, Kanji! I could just imagine the jumps and lash-outs here and there. I have virtually nothing to add, so I'm gonna resort to the paraphrase/put-the-fight-in-my-shoes technique.


Tatsu crouches down on his haunches and plants his feet into the soil, then shuffles sideways. He has concentrated all his potential force into his feet, sealing any opening he may have had. Eyeing me with an intensity so paralysing, as if subliminally snuffing out worldly priorities, Tatsu physically answers my challenge - "you asked for one, and you're getting no less."

I nonchalantly tilt my head to one side - the side to which Tatsu has sidestepped to avert a head-on attack. I have not moved an inch the rest of my body, I will myself not to succumb to the prospective of rushing in blindly and being entranced by the fresh devastation of our powers. His strength is incomparable to when I last fought him, to when we burnt down Thâk Sûl's naturally overgrown vegetation. If I place a numerical ratio on it, I say his overall prowess has multiplied by, at least, 3- no, 4 times more, almost immeasurable by my memory of our previous encounter. The only reason I am able to stay unfazed and rational is because my own abilities have not paled in reflection to his. But I can't very well go all out; this is my first mock duel, and I have Suzette and the others to mind. I will need something more vivacious, than before, to give a revamped Tatsu a run for his money and not harm anyone, as well. I won't be able to avoid using one out of my seven aspects.

"Fiery, come forth," I command, in my heart. A spontaneous tsunami of unidentified rage courses over me and spreads though my veins. I feel ablaze, physically and mentally, for no causal reason. My body coercing my thoughts, I channel the surging, eruptive anger toward Tatsu. It looks like this will be my temporary basis for the strength I need.

Tatsu stretches out his hands before himself and, with his fingers moving back and forth in unison - first indicating at me then to himself, signals at me to wage the first move. Very well, I'm bringing it on, Tatsu!

"Lightfoot." Without further sizing one another up, I suddenly dart at him, my adornments flowing proudly behind; my skull-shaped earring sways nostalgically. Unexpectedly, my advancement seems to have unnerved Tatsu and he lets loose his openings, caught completely unaware. Is a showy facade all he has? Sorry, old buddy, but you accepted my challenge and if I don't keep to it, I'm not Swiftant. I dissimilate Fiery from myself to avoid afflicting a fatal blow, and instead, have it on standby, in a shadow image, lest Tatsu pulls a fast one on me. If he is, the unaccountable embodiment of my innermost aspects ought to snap him to his senses.

I smile, at an unforeseen but imminent victory. In that contrasting instant, Tatsu's dazed eyes focus and regard mine. I grin more, at an unforeseen and unpredictable myriad of life-staking exchanges and versatility. His expression tells me the feeling is mutual. I assimilate with Fiery, again, pull my fist back and launch a merciless swing at his heart...

... And miss. I am in appalled disbelief. What happened is a complete illogical upset. Just a hair's breath away from his chest, a distance from which I could already touch him, and he just disappeared. Gone, zip, nil, zero existence. It is like he disfigured time and space, and slipped through to another dimension, altogether. He certainly didn't possess this high level of a mechanism, elven or not. My fist swings downwards and hits nothing but air, the wasted force tipping my balance.

My sensory perception, ameliorated by Fiery's nature, warns me of the danger yet to transpire. Again, matter before mind, my feet veer forward, displacing me by hundreds of metres. Then, realizing a suspicious formation of a rapid, sharp fissure in the air pressure surrounding Tatsu's disppearance, I infuse mental control into my body and increase my velocity even further.

What cannot be more than a second later, I feel Tatsu's presence materializing at the exact spot I've just ejected myself from. I whirl back, without bothering to brake, the sides and rears of my boots scrapping sparks and smoke in the soil. As I drift along the ground using my dagger-boot, in an attempt to make an acute turnabout, my eyes eagerly devour the landscape in anticipation; and I see it - the astonishment on Tatsu's face as plain as day, presumably about my lightspeed getaway. Without Fiery's enhancements, I might have already been knocked out at the start.

But with or without any supplements, I don't have time to sink back and relax. Tatsu is strong, very strong, and he's been communicating that point very intensely to me, throughout our entire duet of duel. Crimson on the brink of my eyes and Fiery dispatched within myself, I register a twitch on Tatsu's face for an instant, so fleeting I can't tell if I imagined it or not. Is it, perhaps, the cost of his new powers? Either way, I don't feel any less confident than I did when I ambushed him, but I am definitely returning the blows this time, maybe, in a sort of repayment for the debt I'd ignorantly incurred in Thâk Sûl'.

The wind is throwing a fickle tantrum. Tatsu closes his eyes. Without opening them, he charges at me. Despite his hefty physique, few of his steps cover yards. Lightfoot?! Tatsu elaborately unsheathes Sora, his eyes opening in uncanny synchronization. My reflexes, aided by Fiery, aren't sufficient for an unscathed dodge, however, I still have enough to timely alter the course of collision and whip out Zeus, to deflect his whole attack. I make off for Tatsu's side, and at the moment we become in range of each other, his eyes and blade open fully. We clash.

The force practically expels us from one another. Déjà vu, from our first brawl. Somersaulting backwards, Fiery guides my feet to a tree branch. A higher-than-ground-level vantage point - a strategic advantage in battle. As I stay perched on the tree, calculating my next plan of action, Tatsu leaps at me unrelentingly. No choice, then; I produce Raijin, as well, from my holster and slam-dunk myself into his trajectory.

Prior to the impact this time, we refuse to budge, instead, we read each other, pervading into the other's irides. Tatsu obviously has used little or none of all his elven magic, but he isn't mocking me, either. He wants to test me and test himself. In honesty, I get the feeling that Tatsu has done everything he can to achieve that. Most of all, his strikes bear no menacing motives. I'm just thrilled to be part of it and inject my element of lightning into my katars to convey that. We smile knowingly, we laugh, and then we release ourselves.

In midair, I recede a tactful distance from Tatsu and execute a quick touchdown onto the ground, dropping one knee down on it to get a breather. Fiery's warnings have subsided, but I don't want to take it for granted. I draw myself to maximum height and face Tatsu, my katars still lusting for action, cackling with electricity. Or maybe, it's me. Sora is firmly secured in its sheath. His hood is lopsided, although he has a look of contentment across his face; it is a healthy red with fast-running blood circulation, from the fight and mental capacity involved in it. I imagine the same shows on my own face.

"Well Swift." Tatsu shouts out into the wind. "How was that?" A smile curls up into his right cheek.

"Not bad for child's play," I holler back, "considering you couldn't put a hole in my sakkat, and I couldn't lay a hand on that big hood of yours."

"Business, then?" he asks, as if expecting a declaration of Round 2.

"Business, now," I reassure him. And we head back into Aisha's house.