[closed] Back off, I'll take you on

[coughcoughshank]

Characters: Hawk and Daitou
Date/Time: Saturday April 2nd
Location: The Dojo
Rating: PG-13
Summary: Daitou and Hawk meet for a spar, and some long-held-off conversation

Comments

[coughcoughshank]

Daitou watched as Hawk warmed up - the motions were unfamiliar to him, but the way he held the practice blade bespoke familiarity. Practicing against someone who's style was very different from his own would be interesting. It was always trickier, certainly - he'd learned that fast enough the hard way, with Samehada. But being able to face off against people who didn't share is style was an important strength, and it would be good to cultivate it now, while he could.

When Hawk finished his warm up, and bowed, Daitou did likewise. Only polite, after all. "Certainly." There was a few seconds pause as Daitou switched into an attack stance, and then he moved, aiming a blow at Hawk's right shoulder.

all my fighty icons have the wrong weapon, sob

[crimson_seeker]

Daitou's speed shouldn't have come as a surprise. Hawk shifted his weight back, caught the blow--though not easily, his arm bending more than he would have liked--and deflected the path of Daitou's sword to the right of himself. He carried on the motion, dropped his own weapon level and swung it in a sharp arc towards Daitou's hip.

This was still warming up, testing the waters; while he didn't believe in going easy even in a practice match, he didn't quite trust his own skill at the sword as far as he would have handling a spear.

All of mine have crazy faces XD

[coughcoughshank]

Hawk's reflexes were good, clearly - though Daitou didn't miss the slightly awkward angle of that block. He seemed to recover fast enough, though, and Daitou skipped backwards as the arc of Hawk's blade came inches away from his waist. Once the blade cleared, though, he pushed off to move towards Hawk again, and brought his own blade in at an angle to aim for a diagonal torso cut.

/skips ahead a bit, hope that's okay?

[crimson_seeker]

Hawk opted for a sidestep this time, knowing that he had reach but not necessarily speed on his side. Daitou seemed to alternate between a one- and two-handed grip of the sword, and that was another advantage his opponent held. He couldn't really trust his maimed left hand to grasp a weapon properly. That was part of the point. He had to adjust his swordwork to compensate.

They traded a few more testing blows, circling, ducking. He noted, to his satisfaction, that Daitou certainly wasn't playing, either. While the shinai were unlikely to leave more lasting damage than bruises or scrapes, the spar was keeping Hawk on his toes.

He blocked another swing at his left side, barely thwarting Daitou, and spun to keep the other man from his more vulnerable side.

"You're not bad," he chuckled, something fierce and joyful in his voice, in the entire confrontation. It was good, he decided, to square off against someone who wouldn't let him off easy. "I'd ask who taught you if I didn't know it was a pointless question."

Totally fine o7

[coughcoughshank]

Even mock-battle like this was always an adrenaline rush - doubly so when he realize Hawk's skill rivalled his own, that he didn't have to hold back or pull blows. He loved this - the fighting, the rush, the swift attacks and clean blocks, all of it. He had named himself for his blade, and with reason.

Daitou shoved back from the block, shifting into an easy guard stance as Hawk spoke. "Mm, well. I have a guess, but I'm not sure I'll ever confirm it," he replied with a grin. That body had been skilled with a sword, too, if in a slightly different way than he was used to. And the vice commander was older, too - so it made a certain amount of sense.