Sho Me What You've Got

This is a challenge to Taboo Sho for a one on one battle. Characters will be distinguishable as tier 3, with slight supportive Psionic capabilities. Our characters will be allotted one melee weapon on person; magical effects or otherwise may be imbued within said weapons, save for it being indestructible and/or able to simply destroy everything and anything it touches of course; think creatively, think strategically.

Our characters will not be familiar with each other in any capacity. This includes weapons and abilities.

Being that I've set the character rules, you may decide on a setting for the battle.

Name: Arashi Hayabusa
Titles/Nicknames: Kamikaze no Kishu
Age: 22
Gender: Male

Appearance: http://i602.photobucket.com/albums/tt101/Wolfmaster91/Decorated images/Picture169.jpg

Skills & Abilities:

• Adept Maneuverability - Hayabusa is a skillful and controlled mover, and is capable of maneuvering himself with a dancer's grace through most typical environments. He is capable of precise control at high speeds as well as low speeds.
• Endurance - As a warrior, Hayabusa is gifted with a high level of stamina and endurance, and in theory can last for several hours in the heat of battle before losing steam.
• Expedited Reflex - Hayabusa's reaction in response to sensual stimuli is roughly three quarters of the time it would take for an average human.
• Kinetic Resilience - His body has a high tolerance for high levels of physical force, both internally and externally. Through this he is able to safely stand against high levels of concussive force as well as kinetic changes under the effects of gravitational force.
• Selective Sensory - Hayabusa can consciously control his five standard senses of sight, hearing, touch, smell and taste, to such extremes as to be able to eliminate one or many of them in order to reinforce his others.
• Aerial Maneuverability - Through the use of base level psionics, Hayabusa is able to achieve a rudimentary level of aerial maneuverability, which most resembles acrobatic feats. Though incapable of true flight, he can utilize this ability in quick, short bursts for immediate directional changes while in mid air, and for achieving safe landings.

Weapon of Choice; Kamikaze no ken - The blade is something of a legend around Hayabusa's neck of the woods. Visibly it isn't much different from most Katana. It's blade is crafted from a fine, polished steel as any other, and is extremely durable and murderously efficient in respect to its cutting and puncturing capability. It's handle is crafted from silver, and is studded along the grip allowing it to be held without slippage. The bottom end of the handle appears to e crafted in the head of a flacon, while the hand guard at the top resembles a pair of wings. The blade is slightly longer than that of a normal Katana, measuring roughly 28" in length. It is typically carried at the waist or slung over Hayabusa's back, and housed in an ornate sheath made from an avian decorated outer shell of polished silver and steel and an interior of hardwood. The sheath provides a safe carrier for the weapon as it locks the blade in against superfluous motion (motion not directed at removing the weapon).

The blade possesses a distinct mystic property, from which its name has been inspired. When the blade absorbs the impact of incoming strikes it literally absorbs the force. The kinetic energy of each strike or force block or otherwise taken by the blade is absorbed and stored in the weapon itself as potential energy. In turn, when the blade is moved in striking fashion, the energy is channeled back out, either augmenting the force of the strike, or, at the user's discretion, being thrown out of the blade as a projected kinetic force. The more energy absorbed by the blade, the more energy it has to draw from, allowing a greater number of attacks to be mounted, or for more powerful forces to be projected.

Basic Combat Approach: Hayabusa is generally a non-aggressive individual, and would rather not fight if he doesn't have to. His preference in combat leans towards defensive and evasive maneuvers, utilizing his speed, mobility and endurance to outrun and outlast his opponents as they tire from drawn out battle or otherwise turn away from the battle. Offensively, he relies on a mix of physical strikes, tripping, throws and generally anything that can knock his opponent off balance and set them up for fist or sword strikes. He makes regular use of Kamikaze's kinetic absorption through intentionally allowing himself to fall on the defensive in most battles.

 

A strange place.

Arashi Hayabusa made light footsteps down the most bizarre corridor he had ever seen. It was often that the shadow warriors of old lands would create off-kilter architectural structures to throw off their would-be assailants, but those such structures were often limited to mild trickery, the likes of which included slanted floors and rooms in which the ceilings were made to look like the floors and visa versa. Both effects were manageable within the confines of human ingenuity. Yet the hallway here seemed to twist in a corkscrewing fashion while somehow managing keep its occupants rooted upon the carpet; truly a work of constructive wonder if be had ever seen one. And after the chambers that had preceded, it was a perfect capstone.

What time has gone since I came here though?

The number of hours that Hayabusa had spent in the corridor's prior ruins had gone uncounted and he could speak to no time of day at which he had entered; the thick, overgrown forest ceiling had prevented that. He surmised it had been some time since he had arrived though, as he had taken his time to explore the manoresque building. Of course, there was little to nothing he could find that had been worth finding, the ruins having been thoroughly scoured of all but the most well-protected of treasures, which Hayabusa had no interest in pursuing.

By the miraculous wonder of the hallway, he stood in the archway between it and the next chamber; it was a dead end. He glanced over his shoulder quickly, finding that the way he had come in had somehow vanished. "I guess there's no turning back for now," he muttered. He stepped through archway into the dimly lit room. Before him stood a short path, leading up into a large circular space beyond. His hands converged at his left hip and gripped the hilt of his sword as he walked into the space. He took a look around the room, noting that it was nothing terribly impressive; just a large room with four large, scenic paintings hanging on the walls marking four different directions.

A slamming sound echoed through the room, prompting Hayabusa to about-face. "Damn." The entrance to the room had shut itself behind him. Then there came a metallic sound; a gate had lifted between the circular room and the path from the entrance. "What now?" Hayabusa's focus faded in and out as the sensational signals between his brain and taste and smell senses. These signals shifted to reinforce his sense of touch, such that the very air around him seemed to tickle at his skin. Indeed, there was something surreal at work.​

 

Click Clop Click Clop Click Clop

In the center of the place so noticeably silent as that circular room, the slightest sound was cause enough for alarm. Hayabusa's ears tuned into these instantaneously. A swift pattern of hard feet falling upon an equally hard surface beneath them. A horse. But from where? The sound didn't appear to have anywhere from which to originate. Had there been anything in the room with him, Hayabusa would have surely known it as soon as he had arrived, perhaps even before.

Whoosh.

"The paintings." Were he the type to scold and punish himself for his mistakes he might have done so right then and there. A portal emerged out of a painting to his right. From the painting emerged a most gruesome, demonic creature mounted atop a grotesque horse. The demon charged forth from its Hellish gateway, and Hayabusa prepared to meet his attack head on.

Within seconds the horse and rider were upon him, and his blade popped but an inch out of its sheath. Nearly ready to strike, however, the horseman made an unexpected move. Rather than faced with a forceful impact of the trident in the rider's hand, Hayabusa found himself in the line of fire of a descending shot of lightning. He sprung off to his right and crouched into his landing some twenty feet from the center of the room. The hairs on his body were stood upright by the static residue dispersed by the blast. "Almost slipped there," he muttered under his breath.

Though slightly flustered by the attack, Hayabusa was undaunted. His assailant had given him the most conventional of advantages: being so quick to strike the demon had both alerted him to its presence and given him knowledge of its capabilities; even if only the most basic knowledge, it would come in useful. He also knew that his ears would be vital to his success in the battle, and thus reinforced the stimulation to his sense of sound. He would be eyes and ears for however long it took dismount the horseman.

The sound of galloping bounced about the room again. The acoustics of the room made it sound as though the sound was coming from everywhere. Locking onto the first instance of hooves falling, Hayabusa managed to determine the horseman's position. It was coming from behind him that time around. As the rider emerged, Hayabusa waited. Only when he heard the cackling of another shot of lighting directed to him would he then spring into action; he would go airborne, blade drawn, and push himself up slightly above the horseman, and take it on with a spinning slash as he descended.​

 

Easy prey.

Just as Hayabusa had banked on, the horseman approached and prepared another lightning strike. The cackle of electricity filled the room, though emanating from a different direction than he had expected. Indifferent to this "change of plans," he sprung into action. Leaping into the air with a dancer's spin, he pushed to his left from where the lightning was being charged. Either against thin armor or against pure flesh, Kamikaze made a viscous slash against its target.

A second later, Hayabusa made a rolling landing on the floor. Propped up on one knee, he bore his sword to strike again if need be. But one look around told him that whatever damage he had done had been enough to drive the demon back into hiding. That, of course, was more unsettling than having missed his mark entirely; the thing could lash out again at its leisure, and though certain he could take it, the warrior's nerves felt strange even on their preferred defensive. "Coward," he spat out as he darted back towards the center of the room. That was the best vantage point, perfectly poised equidistantly from walls that seemed to be the demon's portals for entry.

There in the center of the room, Hayabusa made steadily tread circles as he rotated his eyes and ears about the room. Even if he didn't catch the horseman in time to strike, the movement would at least allow him a head start to evade its attacks.​

 

Waiting game.

Utter silence had filled the room in the beast's stead. It was an unnerving silence to which Hayabusa was acquainted; one that reeked of a calm before an inevitable storm. There was no denying that he was on edge, but he was determined to and successful at keeping that adrenaline in check and in a useful focus. He was making himself as aware of the entire room as his senses would allow, still forgoing his taste and smell for the more useful sight and hearing. The minutes piled up with utmost tension.

But then...

There you are!.

The horse burst out from a painting, charging overhead. Expectant of an attack Hayabusa prepared to block or evade. Yet no such offensive measure was mounted. The horse instead charged past him from above, and he declined the chance to attack, uncertain of his ability to take the horses charge without compromise. He allowed it to pass by. But he followed its movement towards the next painting, and just as it neared its destination, noticed that it was, then without a rider.

A diversion?

Arashi's careful strides grew increasingly so. His eyes darted from one painting to the next in the hopes of spotting the rider in a separate charge. He had connected the paintings to the tactics of the horseman, and thus, in those he was searching for it. But after a moment's worth of searching, he resigned himself to the thought that the horseman might not be so upfront about a sneak attack.

That was when he took notice of a particular change in the room. The dreary, dim chamber had grown just noticeably brighter. It was an observation that he was inclined to dismiss as a trick of the dark and his eyes growing more used to it. However, he took it more to heart when that brightness grew more intense still, and the subtle peaking of his shadow underfoot before drew him to a conclusion.

Behind me.

He wheeled around to the orb on a collision course with him. Though not nearly as fluid and graceful as his first strike, his blade managed to make its way around to meet with the orb. To his surprise, the cut of the sword hit the orb, which was practically solidified in density. In rapid, nearly simultaneous succession, the sword's innate functions kicked in. Invisible and inaudible, the force of contact between sword and spell was sucked into the blade and released in what small an amount it could be. The orb was rebounded back, at a slightly quicker pace than it had been thrown.​

((Basic knowledge used - lightning generates light. And I assume that the end of your post is an invitation to a nice match of tennis)).

 

Hayabusa's blade was able to effectively propel the orb back at its practitioner. However, said practitioner was able to knock it back in his direction. He wasn't up for an endless back-and-forth; but it seemed the orb was the best way to arrange landing another hit against the demon.

Once more, Hayabusa made a slash with his blade, and once more, a slight jolt of force enabled the orb to return to its owner just a little bit faster than it had been hurled. Arashi then made a move that he hoped would throw his opponent off: rather than waiting for the orb to be knocked back in his direction, he moved forward, cutting underneath where his opponent was floating; the short distance between him and the beast and the speed of the orb would (or could) allow him to pass through with little worry of being struck.

He stopped as soon as he had passed under his opponent, so that he was standing behind it. He turned around, and made an upward leap, pushing himself successively over the short distance between him and the demon. With his blade drawn for a piercing blow, he made to mount atop the demon's back, and drive his blade through its neck.​

((This move, I imagine, would inadvertently spare Hayabusa his run in with the clone for the time being. Also, I'm curious as to how the Phantom's "stealth" helped him knock its orb back at Hayabusa)).

 

Rushing upwards, Hayabusa's target was within sight and nearly within reach; but then, in passing of mere seconds, it was gone. The beast had vanished into the room's low ceiling leaving the swordsman on a collisision course with its orb of energy.

There was only just enough time to figure a reaction. Hastily placing the hand he would have used to mount his opponent's back onto the hilt of his blade, Hayabusa raised his blade and twisted into a horizontal full-body spin. He caught the orb at the base of the blade, and used its motion to carry it around with his spin. The maneuver seemed to last for an eternity as the backlash of the orb's power and prolonged proximity caused some of its energy to filter through the conductive blade, sending a shock through Hayabusa's hands and arms.

When he reached a 180, he pushed off against the orb, sending it driving towards the opposite wall. He pushed backwards as a result, and slid to a landing about forty feet off the center of the room. His arms still felt the shock from the orb, but remained capable of movement. He made a practice slash; it was a bit a slower than he'd have wanted, but still enough to put up a fight. He'd have to wait until he could rest to truly recover his truer speed though.
​

 

Silence again...

The room once again fell into the unnerving quiet. Hayabusa, however, had learned a valuable lesson from the last bout: his ears alone wouldn't be enough to thwart the foe he was facing; perhaps, even, none of his senses would be able to forge the edge he'd need to overcome his enemy. Vigilance, full awareness, and staying prepared for anything would be key, especially with the agility of his arms lessened. This in mind, he took up an evasive strategy. Rather than standing around, waiting for what he might not see or hear coming, he went on the move, following something of a circling motion keeping his gaze and focus fixed on the edges of the room. His blade was held out in front of him, from where he could more quickly make cuts and blocks to compensate for his arms.

On a chance, he turned about coming face-to-face with the horseman, once more mounted upon its steed. About three feet separated the Hayabusa from the tip of tip of the rider's trident. He pulled off to the side of the rider's wielding arm, avoiding being skewered by a gap of mere inches. With a conservative motion, he made a side cut into the horse's side.​