Ryo Misaki Vs. Nakakami Seno -MB Title Match Pt. 1-

[Jushiro Ukitake]

*Z-Udgey walks into the arena*

Good morning, ladies and gentlemen! Today, two legendary swordsmen wil face off to claim the title of Best MB Warrior!

The playing field is the grass field - soft, loamy soil underneath, and healthy turf on top. Either contender can use the field to their advantage.

Now for the contenders!

Out on the left, is Ryo Misaki! He wields his old, trusty bokken, but don't be fooled - while old, this has the capability to end matches quickly!

*crowd cheers*

Now to the right, the newcomer with amazing skill, Nakakami Seno! Although a newcomer, he has shown his stuff in the Fanfic Division, with his holy sword, Shinaijou, right by his side!

*crowd cheers again*

Just a reminder, "matches are not to the death. They last until one combatant yields or submits to the other. This is to prevent the loss of useful warriors to the Motoko brigade."

Swordsmen, shake hands... *Ryo and Seno shake hands*

Okay then, I expect a good, honorable match. Ready.... DUEL START!

[Nakakami Seno]

The swordsman had retreated almost immediately to the far end of the field, and dropped down onto his knees. Removing his sword from his left hip, he laid it across the ground before him, the sheathed blade pointing outward. Was he surrendering already?

Hardly.

Closing his eyes, the swordsman placed his hands on his knees, hands turned in slightly, elbows bent, and simply sat there, taking deep, slow breaths. No, not surrendering. He was preparing himself. For now, until points down the line, this would be the battle of his life. He knew what was at stake here. It was something he was not willing to lose.

And so he waited, remaining kneeling in this semi-meditative state.

[Ryo Misaki]

Ryo stood rather casually, holding his bokken to his side with his right hand...

He backed up a bit at Seno's sudden 'retreat', but stopped and watched while he got into his meditative position. Watching a bit perplexed for a while, Ryo finally spoke...

"...that's it? Not one to attack first, I imagine? Well... Nor am I. This should be interesting."

He smiled lightly and stood there casually watching Seno, still holding his bokken casually and unoffensively at his right side.

[Komm Kayriel]

A single man broke from the crowd and rushed the field. With one bountiful leap, he took to the edge of the grassy area with a wireless mic in his hands, his eyes darting left and right to security.

He cleared his throat loudly and yelled into the microphone for all to hear...

"HEAVEN OR HELL? ROUND ONE, FIGHT!"

With reflexes making a mockery of feline grace, the blue-clad man pushed off of the nearest security manager's shoulder and disappeared back into the crowd.

[Ryo Misaki]

Ryo looks over in the direction of the random audience member and watches confusedly...

He closes his eyes and sighs lightly, shaking his head. "Yare yare..."

Ryo turns back to Seno and watches quietly...

[Nakakami Seno]

Kneeling still, the swordsman's only visible reaction to the crazy buffoon jumping up and making his announcement was a smirk.

Figured you would, Haiken... he mused. You can't resist your game ripoffs any better than I can.

Finally, he opened his eyes, took sheathed blade in hand, and stood. Gone were his idle casual clothing, buddy Jesus t-shirt and jean shorts. His attire was closer to traditional samurai clothing, but in a testament to the strength of his own personality, it still managed to be a game ripoff.

From the expression on his face, the look in his eyes, and the way that he held himself, it was obvious that he was in anything but his usual state of mind, or even his standard battlemind. When he spoke, his voice was calm and collected, and seemed to match the manner in which the character whose garb he had stolen would speak.

"This is the first time we have truly met, or crossed blades," he said. "For that, I apologize for this. However, I cannot allow myself to lose to you here."

With that, he drew his blade from its sheath, a metallic ringing sound accompanying the draw, and held both blade and loose scabbard back behind him, scabbard left-handed, sword right-handed. And then he took off into a sprint, heading directly towards his opponent, his brilliant green eyes betraying nothing but steadfast determination, as they locked directly onto his target.

[Ryo Misaki]

)Ugh... I can already see that I'm going to be horribly lame in comparison to you... Sorry... T___T)

Ryo's careless atmosphere seemed to stand out in stark contrast to Seno's own seriousness.

"Hmm...? A Kendo Gi? I feel under dressed now."

Ryo wore loose black slacks, and a white, chinese styled top with some black accents... He looked down at his clothes and shook his head lightly... Ryo looked at Seno again as he spoke...

"Ah... I understand your will... But I must apologize, as I too do not intend to lose. I suppose that poses a bit of a contradiction, though... So may the best will be decided."

Ryo smiled, and Seno advanced. Ryo stepped forward and began to spin counter clockwise to the right as Seno approached. He flipped his hold on the bokken so it was underhand in his right, and brought it up to meet Seno's blade. He continued the spin, and aimed the side of his left hand towards the back of Seno's neck as he completed his rotation.

[Nakakami Seno]

It became apparent very fast what the swordsman's early game-plan was as the reverse of Shinaijou met with the bokken, and the knife-edge strike came for his neck.

Stepping forward to put his weight behind his momentum, the swordsman lifted his blade up, pushing the bokken above his head. But at the same time, he pivoted the weapon as if on a fulcrum, levering it back so that the sharp edge of the blade was now pointed outward, directly in the path of the incoming knife-edge. So his opponent's choices were simple: Stop the strike or get his hand mauled.

And that led directly to Seno's counteraction. He was in a gods-be-damned perfect position. The way he had locked blades with the bokken had forced his opponent's right arm up, and the positioning of his own blade meant that his enemy's left hand was well away from his centerline, leaving Ryo's midsection momentarily exposed.

Golden opportunity.

Forming his free left hand into as tight a fist as he could manage, he drove it in toward the temporary opening in his opponent's defense, aiming for Ryo's exposed armpit, and the cluster of nerves and blood vessels therein. If this strike connected, he could temporarily disable the man's right arm and gain a quick and handy victory.

[Ryo Misaki]

As Ryo brought his hand towards Seno's neck, he realized the blade now in his way. He quickly changed course, bringing his hand back inward but keeping his arm in motion. He ducked downward slightly and brought his hand in but his elbow out, bringing it aside Seno's blade and hard into his back. Just after impact, Ryo brought the same left arm across himself and under his arm to catch Seno's fist with his palm.

Still holding Seno's fist, he pulled his bokken free of the lock with Seno's blade. Pushing off of his hand, he spun away from Seno and into a more safe position out of his range...

"...not bad at all... This should proove interesting after all." Ryo said with a smirk.

[Jushiro Ukitake]

*Z seems ticked off*

We can't have intruders in this sacred match... security seems a bit sluggish, I may just have to....

*Z walks into a shaded area, is not noticed by the general crowd*
*Z draws blade*

Shadow Clone Copy! *clones of Z appear* You guys know very well what to do!

*Z clones run off*

That should take care of that intruder... *Z walks back to the field*

[Nakakami Seno]

(hate my ******* computer ><)

The swordsman leapt away at the same time his opponent did, effectively doubling the distance between them. Then he leaned his head to either side, until the joint popped. And then, he nodded to Ryo.

"I commend you for landing the first blow of the match."

Was this guy channeling Jin Uzuki or what? He even went so far as to bring his sword up and hold the weapon vertically before his face, the blade turned out, in a salute to his opponent. Then he dropped the weapon to his side, spun it once in his right hand, and charged.

He intentionally came up just a hair shy, not even really noticeably so, and swung the weapon in a diagonal cleave up and to his left. His intent was not to hit Ryo at all with this strike, rather spook his opponent into leaping back, and he followed through with a mirroring strike, from left hip to right shoulder.

Only this time, not only was he fully within melee range, but his left hand, hitherto loosely holding onto the hilt of his sword, was curled into a tight fist and moving at the same time as his blade, driving directly toward Ryo's solar plexus.

[Ryo Misaki]

Just as expected, Ryo jumped backwards at the sign of the first slash. Not necessarily because he wanted to, but because it was too close for him to do anything else without leaving himself too vunerable.

However, Seno had expected this, and quickly closed the gap. He swung a mirror attack of his first strike at him. Ryo, who had been holding the bokken straight down at his side, quickly allowed his grip to flip as he brought it up, so he was once again holding it underhanded. He brought it across to his left and up slightly, with the blade downward, effectively blocking and holding Seno's own sword at bay. However, he noticed Seno's follow up a bit too late, and tried to bring his own left hand in to block Seno's attack. But it wasn't enough, and the top of Seno's fist grazed the bottom of Ryo's arm as it slid under and hit it's target.

It was enough to slightly lessen the blow, but Seno's strike still sent Ryo careening backwards with great force. He stopped himself and cluched the hit area with his left hand, gripping his bokken tighter with the right...

"Kuso..."

He took a few deep breaths, but otherwise, nothing else.

[Nakakami Seno]

The swordsman watched his opponent carefully as the man jumped away, obviously harmed by Seno's strike. A smirk. The first strike had gone to Ryo, the first punishing one to Seno. An equitable trade, but if things followed that pattern, it meant the first win would go to Ryo, and that wasn't acceptable.

He took the time to analyze his opponent. The man had barely made any offensive moves, and only when Seno was within range and had already made a move of his own. A clearly-defensive strategy. Hearkening back to the Spartans at Thermapolyae, perhaps. How bothersome.

Well, time to start prodding that shield wall, then. Standing up, the swordsman drew his blade across the opening of its scabbard, then sheathed the sword. It seemed apparent that he was either going to use iaijutsu or surrender, and the fact that he immediately rushed toward Ryo reduced those options from two to one.

Once within the ideal range, his right hand gripped his weapon to make the iaijustu strike. But, something was off. Indeed, it became apparent that he was not quick-drawing his blade, he was pulling his entire damn scabbard out of his belt and swinging it up, directly toward Ryo's face.

Ahh, but master of distraction, round two. As the sheath-and-sword pain couple was heading for a date with Ryo's nose, Seno was sliding his own body down, his again-empty left hand reaching out to secure a grasp on Ryo's leg and see just how effective tripping would be.

[Ryo Misaki]

Ryo straightened himself up when Seno sheithed his sword... He wasnt foolish enough to think Seno would quit just after gaining the upper hand.

Ryo prepared as Seno dashed. As Seno reached for his sword, Ryo switched his bokken to his left hand and swung it across and down. He didnt expect that the Scabbard would come too, but the block was effective either way.

Fortunately, his view on the sword let him notice Seno's hand that was making it's way towards his foot. Using the left leg in rear and the pressure of his bokken against Seno's sword for support, he shot his right leg straight up and past Seno's advancing hand. He brought it up and then down in an axe kick at Seno's left shoulder.

[Nakakami Seno]

So the attempted tripping failed but you know what, this worked just as well to the swordsman's advantage. As the axe-kick came down, he rose his shoulder up toward it to lessen the blow and catch his opponent off-guard.

As soon as that leg connected with his shoulder, his left arm came up and locked in a vice grip around the offending limb. Grinning from ear to ear, he dropped his sheathed sword from his right hand and used the open hand to seize the front of Ryo's shirt. With a burst of leg power and a flex of his back, Seno heaved his opponent up off the ground and slammed him down to the ground.

Standing at Ryo's feet, the swordsman grinned again as an idea came to him. With his opponent likely dazed from the throw, he had a few seconds to act. Seizing Ryo's right foot, he lifted the limb up and stepped his left leg over it, then turned to present his back to the downed combatant. He folded his opponent's right foot over his left knee, then dropped onto his own backside and levered his left knee over Ryo's foot, pressing down to apply a painful amount of pressure to his opponent's legs and probably his lower back as well.

And as the gathered crowd realized what the swordsman was doing, they let out a collective "WOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!!!" that echoed over the battlefield.

Yes, that's right. Seno had just shown his character again by stealing a move from the WWE great, Ric Flair. One figure-four leglock, fried up to order and served to go.