Master versus Eiji

Transcript wrote:Eiji Igami’s travels had taken him across the world many a time. In the many years that he had traveled, the Samurai had lived, loved, fought, and in a way, died. But the spirit was unbreakable, and it kept him strong, even in times when his body would not cooperate. The aged individual now found himself in a grassy field, a solitary tree adding to the tranquility of the area. Features were weathered, and he appeared to be tired. For hours, he had leaned against tree, reading glasses set crookedly against his nose as his eyes poured over the book that he’d kept in his light cloth bag. Four hours he’d waited, until finally he felt it. That surge of power that had left an impression upon him long ago, before the Grand Tournament had become a thought in his mind.

"Ah. The time has come."

For times long forgotten, Master had sought reason for life's very existence. His way was well worn into his manner, as the very threads which bound him to life were those that he was so inclined to spite. He had seen nations rise and fall, and empires swell and collapse; he had seen entities wax and wane, friends and foes indiscriminately fall at the hands of death. He walked forth unto the plain, his body floating as if it were a mass of suspended liquid, superficially gliding across the ground, his feet carrying him along like inconsequential extensions of his fluid presence.

"Indeed."

Marking his page and closing the book, Eiji tucked it in the cloth bag. He stood and removed the frames, folding them and placing them in the bag as well. At first glance, one would assume that Eiji was nothing but an overworked father who wished for a better hand to be dealt to him in life. Alas, that was not the case. His feet carried him towards his opponent, calmly. Gaze attempting to meet his. His hands rested in the pockets of his khaki slacks. A breeze caught his shirt, ripples carrying across his chest.

“I will call you friend, when this conflict has been resolved.”

Master's progression had halted, and he held his ground, nearly five yards from his opponent.

"Your sentiment is noted, and reciprocated," he returned, placing his left foot slightly behind his right. His body was in a circumstantially casual stance, his feet not even shoulder width apart. His right shoulder was angled only slightly towards Eiji, placing his chest at a nearly square angle to him. His weighted cloak fell nonchalantly across his body, with the hood down. His burning red eyes pierced the pristine air around him, their gaze making its way to Eiji. His fiery red hair was exposed, and only served to be accentuated by the oddly colored irises his optic orbits held. He was ready as he would ever be for this match, and continued his comment.

"Shall we begin?"

Eiji's stance too, was casual. He kept his hands in his pockets, keeping his upper torso leaned back to some degree. The intensity of his opponent's visage was remarkable indeed, and Eiji noted that. But this was not the first time that the two had met in combat. Lightly touching the only weapon he carried with him, a pack of matches in his pocket, he nodded.

"Indeed."

Master took no hesitation as the word escaped Eiji's mouth. His relaxed form suddenly snapped into rigidity, and would appear to snap forward into a dash of blistering speed towards Eiji. His pupils had dilated, the only physical cue of the true action Master had made. He had released a strong psionic invasion upon Eiji, intending to bring Eiji to see that he had moved. In reality, he stood in the same place with his body tensed for just a few moments longer.

What appeared before Eiji did take him by surprise. Had the motion been genuine, Eiji would've been caught off guard by the blinding speed. However, where his thoughts told him that he was indeed in danger, the vibrations around his body told him otherwise. And training and conditioning had taught him long ago to trust those just as much as he had trusted his mind. Master had made no movement as of yet, the kinetic energy given off would've indicated the truth to him. Closing his eyes, Eiji merely nudged Master back psionically, informing him that he was indeed aware of his actions.

Pushing forth with his spectral form, he pushed it through the form of Eiji in jest. It dissipated and faded away, providing Master with the opportunity to release the tension coiled within his legs. This carried him into a bursting rush of speed towards Eiji, this time turning his body to the left. His right shoulder took the leading edge, and split the wind around him as he seemed to defy the very mechanics of reality. He took the nudge and tugged, pulling at the synapses within Eiji's mind, homing in upon his target through the motion which his even his own brain was incapable of rendering at such a speed. With his both arms trailing him, his right shoulder drove in towards him as he approached, both fists clenched and legs extended.

There was no time to move out of the way, the collision would be inevitable indeed. When Master tugged, Eiji responded in the only way that he could, pulling back, but not psionically. Instead, Eiji redirected the energy that Master had released in the instant he'd made his charge. This caused Eiji's body to strengthen immensely, and his density increased. Master would be surprised to find that the form he struck would not bend or break easily. Instead, it would be like colliding with a granite wall.

Master had little time to react, and slammed shoulder first into this solid figure. His momentum held strong, and his right arm extended out along the center line of Eiji towards the ground. Involuntarily, this distributed the impact along his arm, preventing his entire shoulder from crushing under the impact. He felt his collarbone give way, whether it shattered, snapped, or merely fractured he didn't know - all he felt was the sudden rush of pain that was soon suppressed by the result of his years of training. Kicking off the ground at the trail end of his sudden deceleration, he directed his body using the remaining momentum up and over Eiji's left shoulder, rotating his body through the aerial-like maneuver to land behind him, facing Eiji's back. His right arm dragged across his opponent's solid body, keeping a level of touch to be aware of Eiji's movements. He took the absorption of his psionic ability and force fed it directly into Eiji, using a schema of balance to assault his mind with this lash of energy. He directed it this time to a more direct result, aiming to overload the pain synapses within his mind, to make him undergo the brutal onslaught of his own bodily responses.

Eiji's body surged forward, he knew just exactly what was going on, but that didn't mean that he liked it. Master's attack was so well timed that his defense mentally was minuscule, try as he might, Master held the upper hand at that moment. But Eiji still clutched on to the kinetic energy that Master himself had released - and now it would be Eiji's turn to do the very same. Taking hold of a match from the pack in his pocket, Eiji quickly produced it, keeping his motions rigid and quick so as not to alert Master. Striking the match, Eiji spun at a speed that matched his opponent's. He let it fall, and in that instant released the Kinetic energy he'd stored, mixing both the intensity of the energy and the heat of the flame to cause a powerful stream of fire to race for Master, equaling the speed that he himself had accelerated at during his first attack.

"Flashbang!" He called out, hoping that the offensive maneuver would force Master out of his mind, enough to allow him to collect his bearings.

Master couldn't determine the exact motions of Eiji, and snapped his hand back to his body, still feeling the repercussions of the impact. His left hand, having held idle until now, instinctively snapped up across his body, placing his palm between him and the mass of fire heading so suddenly for him. His mind was suddenly withdrawn from Eiji's, leaving a vacuum in its wake as it swung through and exerted itself upon the flames before him. His eyes dilated further as the horizontal column of flame was frozen in timespace, leaving only the crushing pressure of the ambient energy to implode upon the void, Master's attention having been displaced.

Through the wake of his attack, Eiji approached again at a blinding speed. As he moved for Master's form, he began to touch the connection that had been formed when their mental battle had begun, poking and prodding, attempting to send Master a variety of signals that varied in strength, if only to disorient him for but a second. He had no doubt that Master's ability to recover and adapt was great, the only thing he could hope for was a one second window. In that one second, Eiji would bring his palm hurtling for Master's center, to strike his chest and send him flying.

Master had been struck, the attack placed perfectly in his lack of attention and the sea of distraction. He felt this blow come like a sudden breath of air after nearly drowning, and it brought him immediately to focus. His left hand snapped shut, gripping tightly the harness of energy he had around the very same column of flame. His body was thrown back from the impact, and was sent careening across the area to come to a skidding halt at his feet, his head to attention upon his foe. Through the motion, a very slight tug and release was provided to this harness, and the flames were pulled into Eiji's back just as they began to fizzle out.

Eiji's body lurched forward, feeling the heat sear his back. Instinctively, he pulled at his long sleeved dress shirt, throwing it to the ground as it burned. The damage had been done, and Eiji regarded his opponent with a growing respect. He relaxed his body, closing his eyes and taking in the breeze that swept through the plains, tall grass bending to the will of the elements. He had made his attack, and would now wait for his opponent, all the while taking in the energy from all of the motions around him, the grass moving ever so slightly, the breeze, and the raw power that Master exuded.

Master sprung directly out of his impact with the ground, coming out of the fumbled rush with reserved tenacity. He came in towards Eiji with less speed, angling his second pass towards Eiji's left. He waited for the last instant of range to turn his back upon his foe, rotating around to extend his right foot back into the right shinbone of his target. His right hand swung out to balance his motion, extending high over his head and away from Eiji. His body tucked low to the ground, leaning at a proper angle to provide the attack with leverage, as his left hand curled in to his chest to prepare in chamber his next combination.

A combination of things took place as Master moved for Eiji. Not being one to underestimate the martial prowess of an opponent, Eiji relaxed his body and watched for the attack while at the same time releasing an attack of his own. Once again taking the great amount of energy that Master had given off in his approach, though not as strong as before, he combined this with the energy he had taken in in the moments prior to Master's advance. Using this deadly combination, Eiji released that build up in Master's body. The result would've been immediate. The friction caused by the energy would pit Master's muscles against one another, forcing immensely painful spasms all over. Every single motion that he'd made leading up to his attack, including the foot sent hurtling for the shinbone was now working against Master. Just as he had done to Eiji before, when he'd made him experience the pain that he himself had inflicted, Eiji was now giving Master a dreadfully painful consequence for his actions. Even then, he did not doubt Master's ability, and leaped into the air to distance himself from the oncoming attack, in the case that Master would still follow through, regardless of what Eiji had unleashed upon him.

Master's psionic defenses seized the thrust upon his body midstream, and tore it to shreds. Leaving the remnants of the assault to fall away around him, he realized that his attack had indeed been interrupted, if only for the notion of a second required to allow Eiji to escape. His body felt an ever so slight shudder from the definite strength of Eiji's attack, and he noted in his mind that such a respectable psion should have been found earlier. Perhaps he had discounted his ability, and this particular psion had enough power to mask it from others, much like his own. He allowed his lips to curl a hair upwards into a hidden smirk, accepting the challenge presented. His right foot immediately hooked around behind him, halting his motion where he was. Master rotated his body over to the right, barrel rolling into a dive towards Eiji's front right side. He aimed only to place himself out of the way of the descent, which he intuitively felt may be brought about much quicker than natural mass and gravity would allow. Through this twisting motion, he released the charge he held in his left hand, launching it upward into the abdominal area of his opponent, taking care in the placement, noting the possibility of the rapid change of position.

The charge slammed into Eiji's abdomen, forcing him to grit his teeth as pain erupted throughout his body. He had been fortunate, however. As Master had brought that attack towards him, Eiji had reacted quickly, pulling apart the energies that had formed the charge, absorbing them into his form to strengthen him. This hadn't prevented the attack from succeeding, and Eiji had regretted this. His reflexes had indeed slowed in the many years that he'd been fighting, this much was evident as his body came crashing to the ground, smoke rising from his form. But again, he stood, fortified by the power given off. His eyes glowed for but an instant, and his vigor seemed renewed. His body had been put a short distance from Master's, and indeed, it looked odd when Eiji threw a hard, fast punch at the air itself. But the attack became apparent when Eiji took the kinetic force given off by that rapid motion, and surged it for Master, directed at his spine, while at the same time tugging at the mental connection the two seemed to share, attempting to disorient him yet again.

Master honed in upon his opponent, taking attention to him as he fell. He was ready for it this time, and met Eiji's mental assault with his own, matching the energy with the exact same retribution, meeting his assault. He took a step to the left as he rose from the roll, moving into the right angle to Eiji's right side, his position now at about three yards. The arm circled up and through the energy that was shooting its way hastily for his form, diverting it away to collide with the ground behind him. This very same hand propelled itself forward, launching a counterattack of similiar proportion and nature towards his counterpart's side. He carrying forth with the momentum, not stopping as he returned fire on Eiji, but instead moving into a standard strafing maneuver.

Sensing his opponent coming for him, Eiji only need a moment to process what had taken place, pivoting to avoid Master's attack, Eiji followed through with his motion, moving to come into the range of Master as he began to strafe, accelerating a downward open palm blow for his shoulder. Fueled by the energies given off during the fight, Eiji's intent was to bring more pain coursing through the area that Master had injured previously during the beginning of their bout.

Master clenched his teeth as he saw the impact coming, but could only continue his motion through the strafe. His left foot took a wide berth behind him, absorbing his slight stagger from the strike on his shoulder. He felt it now, his clavicle had snapped cleanly in half - there was little mistake about it as the shock wave from Eiji's palm strike echoed across the broken bone. He shot his left arm forward with another attack as he stepped into the backpedal with his right foot, sending another wave of energy across his body into the man's side. His eyes gazed straight into Eiji's as his body dulled the pain that was his shoulder, and he held his voracity firm.

Master's reaction was immediate, and pain once again gripped Eiji. His vision blurred, threatening to betray him, giving him away to the darkness of unconsciousness. But he held on. The blast would've thrown him back, but somehow he managed to redirect the energies again, fortifying his body enough to steady his foot, digging into the ground. This didn't stop the blast from pushing him back several feet, leaving his form smoking once again. He tried to shake the pain, but it was to no avail. Pushing it aside, Eiji charged for Master once again. There was no eloquence in his movements, this was combat at the most primal level. He wanted to give Master the idea that he was leaving himself defenseless. He brought a powerful right hand careening for Master's face, while at the same time sending a psionic attack of equal intensity, meant to overload him. It would be easy enough to dodge one or ward one attack off, but both?

Feeling the thrust of the psionic energy before he felt the impact of the fist upon his face, he was still stepping to the left as he countered the assailant's mental capacity. His left hand snapped upward instinctively, but only deflected the fist after it had struck him. His lip split, and blood pooled in the pocket to the point of flowing over and down to his chin. His eye had now expanded to black lightless orbs, surrounded by the corneal white of normality. His body was shoved back out of the sidestep, and being off balance, he was thrown back. But he didn't care - he was countering with a massive psionic wave, manifesting it so extensively that it had a sort of physicality to it. He aimed the strike straight to the cortex of Eiji, intentionally placing his focus upon the energy. His eyes were blinded by the deluge of light through his open pupils, but he could care less.

For an attack of such a cataclysmic nature to have an overwhelming effect on Eiji, he would have to drop his defenses fully. There was no doubt that regardless, he would be find himself torn asunder by the brutality of the attack. Rather than fight it, Eiji countered in an abstract manner. Opening his consciousness fully, Eiji pulled not only Master's attack into his mind, but Master as well. The resulting effect caused Eiji's body to arc, gaze tilting to the sky, he fell to his knees. Had he been completely aware of what was happening in the field, he would've noted the first rain drops that had begun to fall around them, but that was not where his focus lie. His mouth opened as the blinding pain washed him away, but he held on without regret, attempting to capture Master's psionic presence in his mind. It was here that Eiji pulled at their connection the hardest, releasing a pain that Eiji had carried with him for more than a millenia. Loss. Eiji had no doubt that Master was familiar to such a feeling - but the pain Eiji carried with him and compounded throughout the years, it had become the weight on his back, it was his burden, the scar that would never heal. And Eiji unleashed this upon Master, just as Master had unleashed the full potential of his power in one attack upon Eiji, an eye for an eye, so it would seem.

Master unknowingly shoved this wave directly into his foe's mind to little effect, until he noted the tug upon the remaining controls he had upon the wave. By this point, it was nearly too late. Master's mind had been pulled to the very mouth of Eiji's formidable and now possibly lethal mental abilities. His body fell to the ground out of his realm of consciousness, and he dedicated his remaining attention into his attack. He shoved it right into Eiji's throat, forcing his energy into a swollen fury. There were no holds barred, now - he too was fully attentive to the psionic energy flowing between the two of them. It was not a last ditch effort quite yet, but it would surely be a clash of titanic proportion.

Eiji's facial features contorted to reflect the severe pain he was experiencing, forcing him to the brink. He had told Master that they would be friends after the battle, but that was only after. There would be no camaraderie shared between the two on the level that they'd reached. It was obvious that they'd transcended melee combat. Their minds would solve what their fists could not. Indeed, the energy that Master controlled was formidable, deadly, and extremely powerful. In all of his battles in the Tournament, it had never quite come to something like this. For that much, he had truly been humbled. But he would not concede defeat. As the pain overwhelmed Eiji, he returned with an equally powerful attack, one that he had attempted before. But instead of redirecting the energies to assault Master's body, he attempted a different approach, focusing the energies into his mind, so long as Master focused his attack on Eiji, he would experience a pain that was double that of what was tormenting Eiji. He hoped that each muscle in his mind, each signal sent would conflict with one another. But one could only hope, and try.

He felt the response from Eiji, and was respectfully unrelentless in bolstering his own attack, holding his ground with every ounce of his psionic ability. He shoved back with an intensity designed to brutely overcome Eiji's, thrusting his focal energy into the brunt of the attack. He felt it then, in light reflection his own exertion, the manner in which Eiji had directed his remaining energy. The pain coursed deep through his mind with every ounce of extra power he put into the attack, yet he was stubborn. He extended his energy as far as he could tolerate, pushing the very limits of Eiji's willpower. If he did not find a breaking point, he would be forced to let off for fear of his own mental integrity. Eiji would likely not be able to know this, being a motive and not an energy. Master exerted his efforts here, in full hearted assault.

For an instant, Master broke through the storm, Eiji couldn't keep his concentration up long enough to mask it. Their connection revealed a small image, for just an instant. A woman and a small child, happily smiling. And that image shattered. The pain of that loss was stronger than the pain that Master had inflicted upon Eiji. That knowledge gave him power for but an instant, and he used that power to fight back, redirecting everything Master threw right back at him. He focused those attacks like a Javelin, intended to pierce his mind. The regret and agony over losing the two individuals seen in that image was fueling Eiji, the burden had become the strength, but it could only last for so long. Still, Eiji too, was stubborn. He fought on, just as his opponent did, never relenting.

Master's actions had proceeded to shatter the resistance, but were suddenly snapped back to defensive positions, diverting all but a pocket of energy to absorb the psionic stab at his mind. They seemed to be exchanging blows, an encounter of willpower, no longer of strength. He returned the smaller pocket of energy to his body, bringing this slight attention back to the physical realm. He could only hope that Eiji's unsettlement of memory was enough to hold his facade of wholeheartedness in the psionic realm, perhaps augmented even by the overpowering of his own energy to allow the strengthened Eiji to strike at his mind, though somewhat lessened. He held his physical attention upon not permitting his body to move from the pain, as the timing wasn't quite right yet.

Eiji continued in his attack, at one point assaulting Master's mind, and another attempting to pull his consciousness back into the struggle. Shock waves of pain were still reverberating through his body. His body lurched forward, and somehow, his palms touched the ground, keeping him from sinking fully to the ground, which was now soaked from the rain that was pouring down around them.

Master took the moment to divert the majority of his psionic energy into motivating his pain wracked body out of its near-comatose state to pull his knees up underneath him, lunging forward through the torrential downpour that had begun on the physical plain. His hands groped outward, reaching for the point at which Eiji's energy had placed him. He stumbled through the mud and rain, his psionic ability pushing his pupils beyond that of their normal range, placing his entire eye as an unnatural black, with a single point of white light shining brightly from their cores. His gripping and clawing hands lashed through the scene, mirroring the primal fighting instincts that had happened only moments before in real time. Lacking his normal discipline, blood wept from his eyes, rolled across his face to his lip, to mix with the rain, seeping down across his chest. A truly primordial sight it must have been, these last moments of desperation between the both of them.

Eiji's body lurched forward, as he became aware of the material plane. He felt the rain first, but it did little to relax him. He was still fighting the damage already done by Master throughout the fight. Blood poured profusely from his nose, and his body sizzled as the water made contact with his skin. His gaze fell to that of Master, who was now crawling for him. Unexpectedly, Eiji fell forward yet again, palms striking the ground, flinging mud into the air. He attempted to move, but found that he couldn't. His body simply wouldn't let him. Everything in him told him to give in, to fall, to rest his body. And then he heard it, the crack of lightning. The rain intensified, and Eiji knew what must be done. With his opponent drawing closer, Eiji drew upon the energies given off by the lightning strike. He held still as his counterpart closed the distance, expanding his consciousness. It was there that he felt it, and using the energies he had stored, Eiji directed the next bolt of lightning, manipulating it so that it would indeed strike Master.

Master's body fell to grip upon the nape of Eiji's neck in a clinch just as he felt the hair on his own neck raise. He took little note of it, and pulled Eiji with his remaining strength face first towards his right knee. He had aimed to strike him into submission, but little did he know what had already been set in motion when he heard the distinctive crack overhead.


Eiji felt himself jerked downwards, his face colliding with Master's knee. It broke instantly, and blood poured forth from his nostrils once again, spilling into the dirt to mix with the water. His eyes rolled into the back of his head as the bolt of lightning crashed down. Fighting for consciousness, Eiji gripped to the thought of the two most important people that he'd lost, allowing that to keep him awake, aware, to some extent. The pain racing through his head seemed to drown out the loud thunderclap that accompanied the bolt that would've struck Master's form.

Master's body clenched tight, his muscles spasming from the bolt of lightning. His head pounded, and time slowed as millions of volts of electricity coursed through his body, seeking the quickest path to the ground. His hearing was deafened by the vacuum of atmosphere created by the miniature fusion reaction from the bolt, and he smelt the flesh searing upon his back and along his arm. The bolt had found its way: through his left shoulder, down to his right side and back to the shoulder, to pass through his left arm into the form of Eiji below. He did all he could to maintain the focus upon the single point that he knew, clenching on to it as a figurehead of his consciousness: Eiji`.

The energy carried through to Eiji, the effect overwhelming. Muscles spasmed just as Master's did, and his mind exploded as millions of signals raced throughout his body, warning him of what was happening, but he knew all too well. He drew himself from the mud, how exactly would quite possibly never be explained. But it was obvious that the two combatant's were summoning a strength that was unearthly, beyond comprehension. His gaze met Master's for a moment, but there was no intensity there, no willingness to defeat his opponent, but a profound respect that rose far above the struggle that the two had been locked in for what had seemed like an eternity. Eiji had absorbed some of the energy from the attack that he had directed down towards Master, which in turn had struck him as well: The lightning bolt. That energy resided in his palm, which he brought hurtling for Master's head.

His hands clenching tighter and tighter from the muscular convulsions, Master's sightless eyes stared straight back into Eiji's, placing his last touch of consciousness into a psionic stab into the point he held onto. The point faded, and his will to remain conscious waned.

Eiji brought his fist crashing down against Master, seeing as how he'd made no real attempt to dodge his attack. But it then became apparent why. Pain lanced through Eiji's body, the psionic attack had left an imprint in his mind, like a knife embedded in the heart. He followed through, releasing the energy stored from the bolt of lightning, and fell forward, crashing on top of Master, the mud kicking back up into the air as his form lay there, the rain continuing to pour down around them. He attempted to draw breath, feeling his chest rise and fall, but even that action caused him great pain. Tunnel vision took effect, reality beginning to narrow, pain becoming the most apparent thought in Eiji's mind.

Through the mere exertion of his psionic energy, his mind snapped - the bolt had hit his face, and he felt his chest caving in on him. Master had little enough mind about him to feel it as the lightning's effects, when in reality it was the impact upon his face and the weight of Eiji falling upon him. He felt as if he were sinking deeper into the earth: in reality, he was being ground a few inches into the mud. However, this feeling was compounded by the exact reason he was so interrogative about life. His attention had always been focused upon it, a certain root of sinful nature within him. He felt the cold core of this being held not within him, however - it was part of him. He had held it at bay so long that he had nearly forgotten of the potential consequences of failure. He had the rudimentary will to fight back, and so he kicked out with both of his feet. He kicked with all that he had, torquing his hip upward and to the left.

Eiji was thrown back, his body sailed from Master's, landing in the mud with a loud splash. He lay there for a few moments, his head spinning, bile rising into his throat. When he attempted to rise, he turned to his left, heaving a mixture of saliva and blood. Slowly, he stood, agony holding each and every single one of his muscles in a vice grip. But he wasn't finished, and it wasn't over.

Master's torquing motion turned him over to a crouching position, the massive amount of energy involved bringing his body completely around. He saw the world around him not with his eyes, but with the burning passion that he had for keeping things right. His head turned to the right as he rose, facing the general direction of Eiji. His optic focal point simply didn't exist, as his eyes had inverted further, and were now a large circle of white rimmed by black where corneal tissue had been normally. He couldn't feel the internal injuries he had sustained; surely nearly every organ in his abdomen was seared and hemorrhaging. His body had little time, but his will - it had returned with a vengeance.

Eiji could see Master clearly through the rain. Try as he might, it was too difficult to stand up on his own two feet, let alone stand up straight. His gaze dropped to the ground, and he spat out excess blood. Exercising his control over kinetic energy, Eiji formed a pocket of air around him. The rain ceased to wash over his form. He placed his hands back into his pockets, watching and waiting.

This was it, he made his move. He stepped off to his right hand side, changing the direction of his torso as his right hand came up across his chest, bending slightly irregularly at the shoulder as his collarbone stretched with the motion. He threw the kinetic energy with a slinging motion, again beginning to strafe, yet this time in more of a limping and dragging motion. His body shrank back towards the ground as his right leg failed him, placing his weight upon his knee. He lifted his left arm outward to place it between him and his opponent grasping metaphorically for the very soul of Eiji.

Every fight, in essence, came down to a gamble. This had always intrigued Eiji, and it was one of the prominent reasons why he continued to fight. But where he sought to quench a rage in him that was undying, now he fought for other reasons, reasons that would've left others puzzled. These reasons drove Eiji forward, head on into the blast of kinetic energy that Master had sent at him. This was it, he had made his move. The blast struck him. This would be the end. He had only a small window, and it would indeed come down to a gamble. Taking a piece of the energy that had been extended into his body, Eiji approached Master at a blinding speed, bringing two open palms for his chest. The strike would release that energy, the energy from Master's final attack, as well as the energy of the storm all around them, nature's storm, and the storm Master and Eiji had created themselves. Eiji had drawn it all in for this final blow. The strike would release stored power, with devastating effect. With the two combatant's so close together, Eiji's gaze met Master's. And it was there, that Master would find a determination that matched his own.