[fieldbox=Jouta Shizuka VS. Arara Sakande, #a3c2c2, solid]
[Month of Origin, 5th / Haschou Village, Castle Grounds/Arena]
The rugged man glancing over at the scroll across the room, he stopped chewing the short stick in the corner of his mouth for a moment, before giving a short, sharp exhale through his nostrils as if mentally preparing himself.
Arara. He knew why and how she fought, but he didn't know much about… well, her.The way she fought was a tricky matchup for his bare-handed style, but as long as she gave her best shot, he was ready to give his. Was she a crowd favourite? Jouta didn't really know how to gauge popularity, but people always seemed to clap for her pretty loud.
The mixture of love and hate for the contestants would - he at least hoped - make for a pretty memorable match, if anything. Fighting to potentially injure someone so highly regarded by Cirika wasn't something he was excited about, but… it was what it was.
"Alright, looks like it'll be me and you. Definitely ready to start?" Jouta asked the sunset-eyed servant in a gruff yet chirpy tone, as if they were going somewhere for lunch as opposed to having an all-out battle. Already having what he needed to fight on him, he was ready to go, but he wasn't sure if Arara had any pre-battle rituals she needed to do.
"If you need a sec to prepare your stuff or have a toilet break, I don't mind waiting. Meet you there!"
A brief thumbs up flashed from the man, before he started to tuck in his scruffy collection of clothes to make himself look somewhat presentable as he began to saunter over to the arena, the wind and dust in his smoky-red hair.
"No need," was her curt response, Arara turning and following the sand-infested man to the final field of battle. Even as the crowds worked themselves into a fervor, the guardswoman was deaf to it. There was only one person she needed the acknowledgement of, no familial obligations to consider in the face of the pride and honor one would gain from being one of the finalists in this tournament.
Sakanade rested in the palm of her hands, the indigo blue shaft warm in her touch, as if her beloved blade knew as well that they would have to perform at their very best here. Regardless of how easy going he was, how much of a spineless, pacifistic herbivore he was, Jouta was still someone who made it through this bloody tournament without causing his opponents any degree of harm as well.
Those sunset eyes narrowed as she imagined how humiliating it'd be if she was also subject to such a fate.
No slacking.
Amidst the cheers and jeers of the crowd, Arara bowed once to her opponent, before taking her stance, shifting her feet apart and bringing the blade of her naginata back, the butt facing Jouta.
"Arara Sakanade, retainer of Lady Cirika Ikkikari, wielder of the Dragon Spear, Sakanade."
Thumping a clenched fist against his heart, the man returned the bow.
"Jou-"
Before he could finish his sentence, however, a sudden haze of boos and hatred overpowered the young man's voice. A grey blur suddenly came from behind Jouta from the crowd's direction, and what looked like a small but sharp rock impacted hard against the back of the man's head mid-bow.
The match spectators whirling around in fury as a scene began to erupt to find the rock-thrower within the crowd, a little blood was trickling down the left side of the man's forehead when he stood up from his bow.
"Jouta Shizuka, the exiled. Sorry. Tough crowd today."
He smiled slightly, before raising open palms in front of him instead of clenched fists, bending his legs and keeping very low to the ground in a somewhat strange, hunched-over fighting stance.
It was unclear if the man was waiting for the crowd to settle down or for Arara to make her first move, but for now, as dust whirled and the earth gently and melodically rumbled at the Akumagrapher's presence, Jouta didn't show any intention of making the first move.
If this had been an actual fight, she would have struck the instant after that rock had landed, taking advantage of the 'environmental' hazard that afflicted Jouta. But this wasn't an actual fight. Just a competition.
So Arara gave him three seconds to compose himself instead.
Searing brilliance coated the length of Sakanade as her eyes became sunrise, a hot breath hissing out from clenched teeth as blood-warmth spread through her entire body. Red highlights appeared in her obsidian hair, an unnatural updraft causing her hair and robes to billow. If he wasn't ready before, he'd have to be ready now.
With one swing, Arara split the clouds, an edged shockwave rushing towards Jouta.
The shockwave's target crouching even further in his hunched position for a moment, the blade-like projectile seemed seconds off hitting the bulky man, before the man suddenly seemed to be launched upwards by something, travelling high enough for the shockwave to pass under him.
His launched body flipped once in mid-air. Thumping his hands together in midair as he was upside down, Jouta's emerald-green eyes had suddenly locked right onto Arara's; his smile and laid-back demeanor disappeared completely.
I can see your will to win. If there was another way to do this, I'd do it. But… I've got to stand and fight. That's just how it is.
As the dust cleared, a small 'board' of earth broke his fall as the man gracefully landed back onto his feet, which was probably what had launched him into the air as well. Crouching as soon as he'd landed on the board with arms either side of him, the piece of earth suddenly shot forward at a considerable speed towards his opponent, dust and mud scattering either side of the makeshift form of transport.
Going head-on to a polearm seemed a questionable approach, but just before he entered the weapon's range, Jouta skidded the board sideways, kicking up a wave of mud and dirt in front of him to obscure his next move.
Straight afterwards, slid off the sliding board, using its momentum to slip off the board whilst crouching down, a trial of dust coming behind him as he attempted a sliding kick against the sunlight-eyed servant through his wave of mud and dust.
Her polearm rattled as another blazing shockwave dispersed the wave, just in time for Arara to see the incoming kick. Crossing the shaft over to intercept the kick, the guard withstood the attack, sliding against terrain as Jouta's momentum pushed them both back and back and back. Shoulders stinging from the impact, the obsidian haired pushed her opponent back, ready for a counterattack now that both of them were in close combat. Her blood pulsed and her heart beat, as sh-
"FWEEEE!"
A whistle sounded. A victor had been decided. And, as Arara looked down, she realized the cause for that.
Out of bounds. Wrapped up as she was in defending against Jouta's kick, she had been knocked out of the arena, falling victim to the third method of 'loss', and thus…
Her eyes returned to sunset even as the boiling heat within her veins persisted. Turning stiffly to her opponent, Arara betrayed no emotion as she bowed once, willfully deaf to the voices of the crowd.
"Well fought."
Springing back up to his feet, the gruff, now dust-caked man seemed expressionless and in deep thought as he acknowledged his opponent's parting statement with another one of his heart-held bows in return.
"...Yeah. Thank you for the match." he replied simply, his eyes scanning the crowd around him for a moment. There was no applause, despite such a feat being accomplished. Just hushed whispers. Eyes from every direction, staring at him. Eyes that glanced from him to others in sheer confusion and disgust.
Smoky-red hair covering his eyes, it looked like Jouta was about to turn away and leave, but he suddenly caught the attention of one of the overlookers of the match, the spectating area still in somewhat of a ruckus after what had happened at the start of the match.
"Stop looking for who threw that at me. I did it."
Ignoring the confusion that had started to stem from the crowd around him, Jouta turned, his signature smile returning as he looked back to his opponent.
"...Any of my other opponents would've attacked me there. But you didn't. Even when there were no rules stopping you. Even when I've seen you beat your opponents in the blink of an eye. You still held back."
At this point, Jouta was deaf to the crowd - who were simply talking and bickering amongst themselves rather than celebrating his victory - as he began to walk off the stage. Before he left, however, he halted and turned his head back to his opponent.
"...You're one of the strongest people I've ever met. Cirika is lucky to have someone like you at her side," the man commented, a small smile on his face,
"we both know who would've won if this was the real thing, anyway."
With that, the two left the arena, and the match was concluded with Jouta Shizuka as the winner.
[/fieldbox]
