(Untitled)

[shred_the_sky]

Format: Log.
Characters: Serenade, Sho Minamimoto, Nina Windia [closed]
Location: Duelist Arena
Time: After School
Summary: Serenade stands in the arena, sword in hand.
Warnings: None.

Comments

[m1n4m1m0t0]

Sho strode up the last stair of the spiral.

In his left hand he held a cleaving blade, distinguished by it's hilt. There a lion roared, and from it's gaping jaws protruded the length of deadly steel. It felt like it was pulsing, calling for battle. Or was it his own hand trembling in excitement?

Yes, this is what he wanted, this is what felt right. He was not a student, he was a fighter by nature, he knew it. And not for sport, or to pass time, but to destroy. Completely obliterate. Erase. Even if the rules of the duel forbid him from killing, he needed to satisfy that urge somehow. It was part of his being.

From beneath the brim of his cap, he grinned with a leer at Serenade.

The game was beginning.

[shred_the_sky]

His motions came to a halt as smoothly as they began, the large blade making one final spin in the air and freezing in his hand. Its trail, a sea of silver particles that look so much like stars in the sky, shines up together into a form that resembles the now familiar rose symbol, and then fades away into nothingness.

Serenade stops and straightens up. His school uniform, normally so disheveled, looks strangely smooth with the black bodysuit formed beneath it, and the combination of a clawed gauntlet on his left hand and an ornate vine on his right one provides a strange sense of duality. His gauntlet rises to his face, letting the thin fingers conceal a part of his face, and his eyes glitter from the gaps between his fingers.

It is nothing like the usual disheveled Serenade from the campus. The way he holds himself is proud, almost regal, and it feels like he's fully prepared to shred through this battlefield. After all, no matter what he thinks, he keeps feeling like this is what he was born for.

"Are you ready, Sho?"

[m1n4m1m0t0]

"Always," He replies simply.

His boots against the marble made a delicious, almost tangible thudding sound as he paced around to face Serenade, his first opponent. Honestly, he knew nothing about him, he hadn't even heard his name or seen his face until now. Even with all the flashy sparkles and face of confidence, such a girly looking kid couldn't be a proper match for him.

Sho gripped his blade so tightly he could feel his pulse pound against the hilt. From that tattooed hand came what looked like wisps of black smoke, almost solid in appearance. The flames engulfing his wrist began to move further up his arm.

[shred_the_sky]

The flames seemed strange, but not much stranger than the shimmering coming from his blade. It all seemed right somehow... Like the power of their hearts somehow came to life and materialized in front of their eyes. Is that what they meant, the potential for receiving the power to revolutionize the world? Was that the part they needed to polish to perfection.

There was only one way to answer that. He had to become stronger.

He didn't bother answering with anything more than a passing nod. His feet suddenly pushed off the ground, sending sparks where the harsh metal of his greaves collided with marble, and then the distance between him and Sho suddenly turned shorter. The sword spun in his hand in order to allow a backward grip, and then he suddenly brought it up in an attempt to deliver a harsh uppercut with the blade.

As more sparks flew into the air, it became obvious. The first duel has begun.

[m1n4m1m0t0]

Sho's blade was more than thick enough to provide some sort of defense, but the force of Serenade's uppercut sent him into the air.

And he didn't came back down.

The smoke had materialized into ribbons of a black, inklike substance that formed two devilish wings sprouting from his back. Of course, the design was outlandish, like a tribal tattoo, and couldn't truly be functional. It was more of a symbol of flight.

A thin cut bled underneath his right eye, where Serenade had managed to hit. Sho grinned and licked up some of the blood that had dripped down his cheek, before diving into a high speed lunge at his opponent.

[shred_the_sky]

The wings were unexpected, but Serenade didn't let himself be surprised. This was no longer a world they lived in a few hours ago. This was a world of fairy tales, of knights, princesses and monsters, of swords and magic. Of revolution. The kind of world he could believe in much easier than the one he came from.

He raised his left hand as Sho moved close, letting the robotic armlet on his wrist take the bulk of the blow. The metal screeched loudly as it shone up with sky-blue circuitry, and then squealed as Serenade suddenly dashed back in order to keep the damage from spreading. His steps proved too fast at first, almost like he was about to fall, but then his hand lunged back and slammed the sword into the ground. A large jump followed, and Serenade spun in the air before landing back onto his feet and sliding away from Sho.

He wasn't done yet, no. But he needed distance.

[m1n4m1m0t0]

With one great, shuddering heave, Sho pulled his sword out of the reluctant marble with a horrid screeching noise. He turned back to face Serenade, unsure of what to do next. Surely another head on attack would be foolish, his opponent already knew how to deal with it. He had to be cleverer than that.

A cross-shaped projectile made of the same inky substance as his wings formed into his free hand, and he threw it with great force, hoping for it to prove a good distraction while he lept back into the air, utilizing the shadow of the spinning castle above to his advantage.

[shred_the_sky]

A thin grin crossed Serenade's face as the projectile rushed toward him. It was a good decoy, no doubt... But it was also a decoy he could turn around. He merely needed to time his movements and strike, ensuring that the projectile is destroyed without burning him down. If he could only do that...

Somehow, the world 'if' sounded really strange in his mind. If he could do that? No. He could do that. And for that, he needed to strike... Now!

As the black cross almost rammed into Serenade, he suddenly shifted his grip on the sword and made a powerful lunge forward, ensuring that the tip of the blade smashes into the projectile while keeping it away from him. If his calculations were correct, the explosion would be enough to raise some dust and hide him from sight.

[m1n4m1m0t0]

Sho wanted to go in for a second dive as soon Serenade was struck by the projectile, but all the dust the explosion kicked up made it close to impossible to see. His instincts told him to get closer, letting the enemy leave your sight was never a good idea. But his opponent had already proven himself more than capable in close combat.

This left the reaper hanging awkwardly in midair, trying to think of a second course of action, to little benefit.

[shred_the_sky]

A foolish decision... Or so he thought. In this smoke, Serenade also had very limited vision; if Sho would attack blindly, he would at least plow through the smoke and end up somewhere beyond his opponent's reach. As it was, he simply left himself within reach

[m1n4m1m0t0]

Robbed of his sense of direction, Sho had no choice but to be victim to the attack. He hit the ground hard, skidding along on his back, sending chunks of marble flying this way and that as his fall ate up the arena floor. Such a descent probably would have killed a lesser being, but his wings helped cushion the blow, his sturdy nature taking the rest.

However, the attack was still effective. The back of his coat had all but been ripped clean off, and his skin showed some rather nasty looking burns and gashes. He was able to stand again, with the help of his blade, but by no means looked ready to attack again.

It irritated him. Not only that he was losing to someone like Serenade, but that he knew, he knew that capable of more than this. He knew that he was powerful. He knew that he was to be feared.

His legs began to waver. From a distance, it might look as if he were shuddering in pain or exhaustion. But closer, it was more like the sparking distortion of an electronic device.

[shred_the_sky]

The marble floor scraped quietly as Serenade landed back on his feet, his body no more damaged than in the beginning of the fight. Yes, his school uniform had quite a few tears from the explosion he took head-on, and his cheek even had a small trace of baked blood on it. But was that enough to stop him from fighting? It didn't look like that. He still stood as proudly as in the beginning of the battle, the blade ominously shining in his grip.

"Do you intend to keep going..?", he muttered as he pulled his blade back and placed it on his side, as if holding it in a sheath by his side. His right hand hovered over the handle mimicking the traditional Iaido stance. "Good."

[m1n4m1m0t0]

Sho growled menacingly under his breath, looking quite intent on an unseemly demise for his opponent. The kind that would need a hazmat team to clean up afterwards.

The wavering in his legs continued, until suddenly, he vanished.

And just as suddenly, reappeared mere inches from Serenade's face, bringing down his blade in a vicious swing.

How did he do that? Even he wasn't quite sure.

[shred_the_sky]

Serenade froze when Sho disappeared from view... His hand gripped the sword with all of its strength, while his eyes narrowed into slits. Was that another ability he knew nothing about? In that case, why couldn't he use it as well? Was it because he didn't manage to realize it yet, or because it was something unique to Sho? In that case, did he have something special of his own? As numerous questions rushed through his mind, his mind focused on attempting to find his opponent and something started happening

[m1n4m1m0t0]

The swing hit, but lightly, also scratching him diagonally in a way similar to how he had hit Serenade. Quickly, he hopped backwards, out of range of another attack, and watched carefully

[shred_the_sky]

He should have known already... That strategy wouldn't work. It wasn't that Serenade was stronger, and he was definitely not faster the way he was. He was a better swordsman, but that was it. But there was something else, something that aided him during the previous strike and would certainly aid in this one...

He wasn't human, was he? The way his senses slowed down and vision turned into monochrome, no human was capable of that. But if he wasn't human, what was he? What was Sho, with his distorted legs of a feral beast? What was that onlooker girl with her wings of black? What was Melusine, who was probably sitting under his door right now, disappointed that he wouldn't come taste her newest cake?

But what were they all, if not human? Why couldn't he remember? And why did that idea frighten him even more than that of him not remembering who was he