Shin V.S. (Open)

[Shin]

It seemed the two would be destined to dance forever, each always seeming to have an appropriate response to what the other planned. With Hildas ability to teleport Shin would be hard pressed to trap her and with Shins speed he was likely able to get out of whatever Hilda threw at him, such as now.

Shins grip tightened on his scabbard, he had been prepared to strike out with it but the moment Hilda teleported Shin also ‘vanished’ from the area, sort of. In reality he channeled his Chi into his feet and with a burst of power was shot forward about fifteen feet, his body turning and sliding into a crouch that faced Hilda, the Shiden blade held out wide and to the right.

Though Shin was fast Shunpo was his answer to what he couldn’t react to quickly enough and that technique is what carried him out of harms way now. He was thankful he learned from Kaiser when he had, it was one of the few chi techniques he had learned simply by watching its application multiple times.

Despite the intensity of the battle Shin was breathing easy, his smile was clear as day and his eyes showed his obvious excitement.

“Tricky tricky.” He commented just loud enough for Hilda to hear, though he stayed in his seemingly awkward three point stance.

“That is a superb weapon you have, ugly, but functionally beautiful.” Shin could admire a weapon even if it wasn’t Cizokian, though in his mind it was obviously inferior to the Katana. But than again, wasn’t every weapon?

Shin didn’t move to attack, instead he waited, fully expecting her to teleport again. However, he had yet to think of a way to counter it but he knew it was there somewhere just eluding him, a weakness to her that he would be able to exploit and he would find it, of that he promised himself.

[Paroxysm]

Hilda, still perched alongside her weapon, vertical though it was, nodded in acknowledgement; she agreed completely with Shin’s assessment, though, if he had voiced it, she would have disagreed about it being inferior to a katana. Both weapons had their advantages.

“Isn’t it?” She said, shrugging. “I don’t like it. It’s too large and brutish looking,” she admitted, “and it hates me, I think. It’s always trying to kill me.”

Whether or not Hilda Ansgard was serious was for Shin to decide, himself; she could have been joking, but who knew? Not that it mattered, at any rate.

Using Weltuntergang as a launching platform, Hilda redistributed her weight, kicked off from the side of the weapon, swung her body around and above the sword, her grip changing to meet the demands of her body, and, unsheathing it from the earth, she brought the weapon high above her, still mid-air, and swung down with all her might; she was suddenly in front of Shin and her weapon was coming down in a powerful, smashing swing from above.

[Shin]

Shin let out a chuckle, his form going even lower to the ground, the tips of his toes find purchase in the soil as he readied himself. Hildas display of power, finesses and skill with her weapon were notable indeed and he was sure he would remember her name along with a few other warriors he had fought over the years.

When Hilda teleported in front of him Shin reacted the best way he knew how, he went straight into the attack with Shunpo. The move would bring him under Hildas weapon before it could fully descend, his left hand reaching in front of him and placing a golden shield for but a second close to the base of the blade, to steal momentum from her swing and giving Shin the time he needed to strike out with his Katana.

With the weapon held only in his right hand, his left hand before him creating the shield, he stabbed the blade forward, planting his feet firmly in the ground and though he was dangerously close his smaller weapon (in comparison to Hildas) was much easier to maneuver, he put all of the momentum Shunpo gave him into an incredibly fast stab. It was a modified Gatotsu, but it would still have its use and allow Shin to follow up with another attack if need be, block or roll out of the way. It had been the ultimate technique of the Shiden Style, until Shin created his own, and was the most powerful in his arsenal though, not his fastest which was how Shin gauged the strength of his moves.

[Paroxysm]

In reaction to Shin Shiden’s denial of her sword, Hilda released the weapon altogether, sending it flying moments after it impacted with his shield, and, knowing an attack was forthcoming, she allowed her form to deviate, her trajectory altered by a combination of conscious effort and having given up Weltuntergang; it was a lifesaving decision, to be sure: Shin's stab did, indeed, find flesh, but, given the nature of Hilda's descent, it immediately ceased to be a stab wound; it pierced her shoulder clean through on the right side. Although a bad wound, Shin would find it was not a deciding blow.

If there was one thing that could be said about Hilda, it was that she was a persistent woman, and when Shin’s attack struck her in the shoulder, she went with it - no, it was a bit more than ‘went’ with. She used it.

Falling, Hilda seemed to glide down the length of Shin’s blade, her left arm had already come down, freed from Weltuntergang now, it called into being a long, thin sword and, unlike Shin’s attack before it, it was forced into a thrust on purpose, a thrust with all the weight and power behind her fall applied to it.

Ser Hilda Ansgard’s arm extended with this new sword - a Rapier, it was called - and then she blinked forwards, a perfect transition down the length of Shin’s katana, preventing the man from simply pulling out or attempting to cleave the woman’s shoulder open, and, fortunately, it would also increase her reach by a few inches, enough, perhaps, to not only inspire deception but total disbelief. For all intents and purposes, Hilda Ansgard was mutilating herself to match Shin’s attack.

And she was grinning.

Once she had teleported far enough along Shin’s sword, Hilda’s free arm’s hand, slower than the left for obvious reasons, moved to clutch Shin’s katana at its base, absolutely refusing to let go. It was the same grip she had used to not only hold her in stance along the broad side of her sword, which had been planted vertically in the ground, but it was also the same grip that allowed her to swing Weltuntergang in the first place. It was not something to underestimate.

[Shin]

Unlike Hilda, Shin could simply not let go of his weapon. The Shiden blade was too important to him, and though he was no longer a samurai that katana had seen him through nearly every fight. It was the one constant in his life and he would die before he let it go willingly.

There were two advantage Shin had over Hilda that he fully intended to employ. Power and speed were derived from a solid stance, it was the basis of nearly every martial arts, but it was hard to have a solid stance without having your feet fully planted on the ground. Shin currently had that advantage. The second was that because Shins sword had been stabbed across from his right hand to Hildas right shoulder the sword was between them and so when Hilda went to strike Shin dropped to a knee, using the fact that she had to attack above to strike him in his shoulder, using his sword as a barrier he successfully evaded the attack.

There was one problem however, Hilda had an iron grip on the base of his blade and it had already been proven that Shin was not match for her in pure strength. With his left arm retracted he reached above him and gripped the hilt tightly with both hands, pulled himself up, forcing Hilda to support his weight as well and kicked out with both feet at that incredibly short range.

Now, Shin wasn’t normally strong, but his leg muscles were something freakish in comparison to the rest of his muscles. They had to be to propel him at the speeds he traveled. Shin kicked out, but more than that, he would use Shunpo at the last second. Using the force of the chi technique to try and kick Hilda away. Of course there was a draw back, Shin had no where to go but back and down in to the ground, but it was worth keeping his sacred blade. Not to mention the ‘kick’ would be powerful enough to crack if not break ribs out right.

[Paroxysm]

Now she was just getting annoyed.

When Shin ducked, she cursed and threw the rapier away as well, her brow grew knotted in anger, but she kept her calm well enough. Originally, this was just a match meant to allow her to judge Shin and for him to leave an imprint of sorts - and she had gotten what she needed from him long ago. Everything after that had been for pleasure . . . Up to this point.

There was one thing that Shin Shiden was forgetting during all of this. Although strong in the ways of martial combat, his opponent was not just a swordsman, but one who teleported in a very special way. When Shin made to kick and right before using shunpo, he would find that the space around Hilda and himself was in the process of rippling not unlike water; under normal circumstances, it would have been a very hard thing to notice, because it had normally only been Hilda and whatever weapon she was holding at the time. It was a tad bit different this time, however: right now, Hilda was holding the Shiden blade and, likewise, so was Shin Shiden. Both were refusing to release it, too.

If Shin remained in the area, kick or not, he would find that reality was shifting, breaking and re-knitting itself. A series of long, never-ending halls, each splintering off into more areas, lined and decorated with various items from a variety of places, were being super-imposed over ‘the reality’ of their battleground. Every fraction of a second, it all became that much darker, more real and cemented in existence.

This was not a terribly slow process.

Shin’s kick, if he had, indeed, chosen to continue with the attack, would seem to have to travel a vast distance to even reach Hilda, but, fortunately, mid-way through his kick, Hilda would release her grip and remove herself from the blade. Of course, this brought up balance issues for Shin, but, if Shin had fallen, Hilda was not particularly interested in pursuing a downed opponent and would, generously, allow him to stand back up.

Shin would find Hilda a short distance down a hall that forked in two. Not in an attacking stance, she seemed to be waiting for him to approach.

[Shin]

It was too late for Shin, he had already committed to the attack. Had he been on the ground he could have readjusted or simply retreated, but that wasn’t the case. He cursed.

The air rippled around Hilda and Shin had a pretty good idea of what was going to happen before it did. To Shin, whom was still brand new to teleportation, the effect was slightly disabling and he landed with a resound thud as his back hit the ground.

Shin kipped up to his feet, blade being sheathed during the process. He was prepared to defend himself, again, his application of Shunpo had been wasted and he didn’t feel like using another one to close the distance. If the technique was used too much it would wear on his body.

Seeing that Hilda was not in an attacking stance Shin crossed both arms over his chest, a stance he constantly borrowed from a good friend, and took the time to survey his new surroundings. This was…unexpected to say in the least.
“Where have you taken me?” Shin asked calmly, his azure eyes would eventually come to rest on a Hilda, a look of amusement stretched across his face.