Gen & Joel
Gen had explained to the young shinigami his situation. While he didn't care much for watching over a bunch of noisy girls it meant he might get a good word or two to the noble houses. Then again he wasn't exactly being the best escort at the moment. His patience was running thin with these girl hence why he'd like to fight this kid. Gen quickly walked back to where the girls stood, "So I need you girls to stay over there for a bit,"he gestured towards where his opponents friend stood, "I'm going to have a quick duel with a fellow I know." The girls simply looked at him, the youngest even looked a little disappointed but he didn't pay mind to it.
With the girls in tow Gen brought them to where the girl (Shizuna) stood. Afterwards he stepped into the Hakuda ring, making sure to roll up the sleeves of his uniform. " Names Gen by the way. So what brings you here my fellow comrade in arms? On a date with the pretty miss over there now that your friends are gone?" He let out a chuckle as he got into a stance. "Well pleasantries aside let's get this show on the road and as a heads up, I'm a very competitive guy." He grinned at Joel and awaited the signal for the ref to give so they could start.
Joel stood silently looking at his opponent. Though his demeanor was calm, it was just a facade for his hindered nerves. Usually it would be normal for a little adrenaline to rush through his veins in a fight, but this was more of a competition, and though he wasnât the type of person to shy away from a challenge, this was different. Maybe it was the first time since his graduation exam that he had a diverse set of eyes staring at him. His eyes wandered around the crowd, scouting for nothing in particular, but still, he caught a vibe that made his heart rate rise. When his opponent stepped into the ring he was more than relieved. For at least now he had someone he could focus on. Before Gen had took his stance he said something about a date, which took Joel a while to register. He would have answered, if he knew what to say to that type of question and if the shoutcaster for the competition didnât start his spule. Joel ignored the words waiting for the man to just say âFightâ already, though he had to admit the manâs voice was good background noise. Now that his ears and eyes were both focused he paid attention to his body making sure that it was focused enough to bring about the muscle memory he trained it to have. He was ready as far as he was concerned and soon everything went silent. Everything exceptâŠ
âFight!!!â
Once the word had been said Joel dragged his right foot in front of his left planning on letting loose a hard sidekick, though from the distance between the two all he would end up was kicking air. Thatâs what it looked like from the start, though he had other plans. Before letting loose the kick, the shunpĂČ user used his left leg to push himself forward, flexing the muscles in his calves before rocketing forward. The bullet like speed would have been good enough for most, but Joel didnât want to underestimate someone whom he had just met. After all, someone trusted in this man to guard their kids. So instead of extending his leg onto the man, leaving himself available for counter, he used a faint, kicking just passed the side of the man resting all his weight on his ball of his left foot. Once past the man he used his abdominal muscles to pull back on his extended right leg, swinging it as hard aiming his kick to the back of Genâs neck.
That one word was all Gen needed to hear and it would seem he wasn't the only one who thought so. The young man before him lifted up his right foot in a position to give Gen a good kick however the seasoned shinigami knew that the kid had a trick up his sleeve. There was no way he'd attempt to kick him from so far and the only way to do so was by using shunpo. Joel shot forwards with surprising speed. While Gen did not specialize in shunpo like this kid he certainly knew how to handle shunpo users when the need arises. Gen quickly stepped to the left not realizing until it nearly too late that Joel's first attack was a feint. He just barely had time to throw himself forwards, a bit clumsily actually, to avoid the kick to the back of his head.
He was quick to recover though and retaliated with his own kick. This one was aimed at the left leg to trip him up. Regardless of whether it worked or not Gen jumped back onto his feet. For the briefest of moments he thought of doing one of two things. Throwing a couple jabs at Joel's midsection or rush him and hope to throw him out of the ring. Deciding the the former was a lot safer, Gen pulled back his left arm and would then punch Joel in the midsection with an open palm.
Joel pulled his leg, checking the kick to avoid joint injury, but was left with only one leg to balance his stance. Usually he wouldnât mind taking a few blows, though when Genâs palm reached his abdominal center, it was as if he insides were trying to shrink, with all of his muscles flexing and nerves trying to focus on that one spot. Of course, that was all within the contact of the blow. After the glimpse of pain, Joel was sent off of his feet to his back, where he rolled with until he was back on his knees.
The tumble was gritty, given the make of dirt the fights were set on. Still, it didnât phase the man, so much as make him wonder what kind of power a person could put into a palm strike to damage one's insides. He also noted that the placement of the strike was almost expertly planned, seeing as Joelâs core was a major backing to his power. If Joel was worried on time, it may have been his downfall, but he doubted the fight would last long enough to break his strongest area. Still, he didnât want to take many more blows such as that one, Seeing as he just ate, heâd imagine heâd be re-tasting a few delicacies that probably would be abominations the next time he saw them.
It was obvious that the best way to approach Gen was to keep constant flow of movement while using his ShunpĂČ, but the question was, how was he supposed to go about doing it. The strength in his legs (if used to exert max potential) would cause him only a bullet line of attack. If Joel knew how to stop, or even make hard 180 degree snaps, heâd probably have a better chance. Joel took a few seconds to look around the ring while bouncing from side to side on the balls of his feet. He had a plan made by this point, and with his last bounce, he shot from one side of the ring, to another, completely missing Genâs path. Once he approached one of the poles that held the ring ropes in place, he pushed his foot against it, bouncing off and gaining more momentum. He did this four more times, each time hitting a pole and making noises that rung and cracked like thunder. On his fourth and final trip, the thunder wasnât heard, and his after image went away until finally a monstrous bang sounded and he came back into view, midway in the air and landing for Genâs direction like a bomb. Though, it seemed there was an explosion of air and dust, there was no impact, which his opponent should have noticed. Either way, the whole show was enough for Joel to get behind his opponent, appearing from the opposite side of his speeded dopple, to grab his waist and slam him back first into the concrete. All Joel needed was to grab hold of the man and let his strength do the rest.
He was rather happy that he had gone with his second choice although thinking back on it Gen could definitely done more damage. Alas now wasn't the time to thinking about such things. Seated shinigami kept his distance from Joel, not quite sure if he should cover the distance to get to him or wait. Gen's biggest concern was his opponents shunpĆ. There was no real way of determining his skill level with the technique in the little time he had. His eyes watched Joel closely as he bounced back and forth on his feet while Gen himself took on a more still but relaxed stance. It would seem the two were waiting for the other to make a move but Gen had no intention of approaching Joel first however it would seem Gen needn't worry. Suddenly Joel shot forwards like had earlier but he had completely missed hitting him.
Gen made sure to dodge him by a wide margin just to be on the safe side. All the while making sure he faced Joel headon. The shinigami's eyes watched Joel as he bounced off the poles. Each time letting loose a sound reminiscent of thunder. There were a great many ways that Joel could proceed with this and Gen standing there waiting for Joel to attack annoyed those watching. Finally they had enough and yelled for Gen to move or do something. It was then that he noticed that Joel had bounced a fourth time but there was no impact. Gen knew in an instant what had occurred but hopefully his body would have the speed to react.
Hands grabbed at his waist and he could feel himself being pulled up and backwards. Almost immediately his hands pressed down on the arm lock as his leg hooked around the outside of Joel's leg. Gen acted on instinct and hopefully he was quick enough to have halted Joel's move. If it did succeed Gens opponent would undoubtedly fall backwards with Gen on top.
Feeling Genâs struggle, Joel was starting to feel the burn from exerting his speed. His legs were barely strong enough to life the man off the ground and there he was struggling and making Joels time all the more difficult. He ended up falling on his back with Gen on top. His only chance was to take Genâs neck, but with shortness of breath from the fall he found himself just wrestling with the man instead. Besides from a few hits and knees here and there, Joel wasnât able to do much and since his clothes were dirty anyway he rolled away in order to get back to his feet. Once Gen was back up, Joel didnât wait a single second before throwing fast strikes at the man. The strikes were just as blinding as before, but he could feel the weight his limbs carried from his muscles to his bones. Gen was a good fighter. It made the young shinigami want to fight him even more. Though, as much as he fought, he realized that he didnât have the endurance at the moment to fight for much longer. Had this been on a different day, heâd figure itâd probably end the same too. Just wouldâve took longer. The winner and loser would be the same. That very thought made him want to beat this guy. A guy who seemed to endure over his endurance.
He looked his adversary in the eyes, still unaware of the gap between them. With a final thrust of his fist, all of his speed and strength went to discharge his foe.
They did indeed fall back with Gen still on top. The two made a loud thud as they hit the ground and Gen winced as he had landed on his leg a bit awkwardly. Gen struggled with Joel who he guessed was aiming to take him by the neck. Wrestling around for a moment as he was kneed and elbowed, Gen was finally free from Joelâs body lock as the younger Shinigami rolled away. The seated officer was quick to jump back on his feet as well but as soon as he did so Joel started to throw quick punches and kicks.
He had some difficulty avoiding every single one of them. A few he dodged and deflected although he could feel the power behind the ones he pushed away. A couple managed to make hits but not after Gen had moved away enough to where he didnât feel its full impact. The last one hit his arm but Gen could feel that with each strike Joel made, the weaker they became however the speed at which they came was still somewhat consistent. Suddenly seeing an opening Gen made two quick jabs but only one was actually able to land albeit it was light.
The pair looked into each otherâs eyes and Gen could see the weariness creeping into Joelâs. While he was a bit sad that Joel was already slowing down Gen applauded his opponentâs determination to win this match. The final move was made while Gen was contemplating the future matches he could have with this new recruit. As such he was just barely able to dodge the blow. He could feel Joelâs fist brush against his cheek and despite not making actual contact Gen could feel the pressure behind his fist. Turning on his heel, Gen brought up his elbow to hit Joel in the side of the head. The blow made contact, causing his opponent to stumble to the side and eventually fall to the ground.
Gen had landed the first solid blow between the two of them and the overseer saw this. Waiting for Joel to sit or stand back up for a minute or two, Joel remained on the ground for that duration. It was just enough to call the winner of the fight. Gen was actually tired from the fight. He didnât get much chance to fight offensively against Joel since the kid kept him on his toes for the majority of the fight. [b] âWow. I canât remember the last time I had such a decent fight. You did good kid.â[/color] Gen staggered a bit on his bruised foot to where Joel was still on the ground, offering his hand as a show of good sportsmanship.