Round 3: Fight! Mika Sasaki vs. Mason Walker

It's the second day of the spring tournament! The sun is low in the sky, the flowers are blooming and the roar from the battle arena can be heard all over the castle. Students have been welcomed to participate in the Spring Tournament for the glory of their dorm and to show of their skills in combat with powers.

It is late in the day as students and teachers alike wait for the second match to begin. In the middle of the battle arena a large and expansive stage has been raised in the center - the only two ways to enter it being on opposite sides by stairs. Up high as well are posts for the teachers to stand in, to supervise the fight in case it gets to out of hand. All around the battle arena, the students of Foresta cheer to see the second match of the day.

Near the entrance of the battle arena is a check in for the competitors. Once the competitors check in they are assigned a side of the stage and have a table next to the stairs full of water bottles for before they go up and fight.

The fight will be finished when either student is knocked unconscious or incapable of fighting anymore.


IN CHARACTER RULES
1.) Do not throw the other student off the tournament stage.
2.) Do not attempt to kill the other student, this is a tournament meant for fun and exercising your combat skills and powers.
3.) Do not direct your powers at the students in the audience, forfeit will automatically be assumed with a student in the battle arena audience is injured by the competitors.
4.) Do not bring weapons unless it applies to your power! You will be checked at the entrance! This is a fight for you and your power.

OUT OF CHARACTER RULES FOR THIS THREAD
1.) Be realistic! I trust that everyone can, but even mythical beasts and scientific experiments can only take so much damage before being knocked unconscious, etc.

More rules can be added as the thread progresses.

Lastly, this thread is open for everyone to join! Spectators are welcome, please understand that if you join @mika and @mwalker are perfectly allowed to skip over you as they continue on with rping their fight if you are taking too long to respond.

Enjoy!

ooc - just as a note, Mason will be using his staff in the tournament. It not equipped with any hidden blades or something of the sort, but it can be used as a glider as well. I check with Seren as she approved it.

ic-
    Mason could not wait for the tournament to begin. It was finally a chance to show what he had to offer, while at the same time, getting to know and understand other students. He took his day easy; keeping himself relaxed, having a large lunch but a small carbless dinner, stretching, and doing other various things to ready himself for his upcoming fight. He didn't know who he was facing—not having met many students at the school yet—so he wanted to be in prime shape for this fight. As the sun began to set in the sky, Mason made his way to the large Battle Arena. The large stadium was designed to fit a large number of people while having the focus on the action in the middle.

    Mason made his way down with a light jog to encourage blood flow, while his ever faithful companion Lupo trotted beside him. Ever from a good distance, Mason could hear the audience in the stadium and he couldn't help but have a smile on his face. Win or lose, it didn't matter at this point.

    A woman sat behind a table, glasses rested on her head, with a large sign reading "CHECK IN", and Mason walked over. "Hi," he said politely. "Mason Walker, from Lyra dorm. I have my fight soon," he said with a smirk. The woman, smile back at Mason and flipped some pages on her clipboard before checking something off. "Just be sure to fill out the waiver form," she told him, pointing to a pile of papers. He quickly read though the agreement, which basically said that the participate understood the risks this tournament may or may not involve. "Any weapons?" she added as Mason signed and passed her his form, obviously seeing his staff and dog.

    "Just this," he said, holding up his staff. "Lupo here," he said, nodding to the dogs direction with his head, "is just spectating. He won't be fighting with me." The woman took the staff and inspected it. It was a light weight, though durable material, and the tops of the staff were flat. "Any hidden weapons?" she asked, raising an eyebrow, giving Mason the feeling that people in the past have tried before. "No ma'am," he said, accent heavy, as he took the staff back. "It's used in tandem with my abilities. The only thing it hides are these," he said, spinning the staff to reveal wings. After another quick inspection, Mason returned the staff to normal and walked through one of the vomitoriums to head to the stage in the arena.

    The crowd was even louder now and Mason emerged to be greeted to a massive stage surrounded by a loud audience and bright lights that covered the stage from all directions, washing it in light. "Stay here pup," he told his dog, who sat by the vomitorium entrance they just emerged from.

    Mason walked up the steps to stand on stage. He breathed in deeply and then tensed, flexing his muscles. Not in a manner to show off, though he doubted anyone was paying attention yet, but rather to engage his muscles and ready his reflexes. His outfit was comfortable and form fitting, allowing for a variety of movements. "So, who am I facing?" he though to himself excitedly.

Mika was admittedly nervous about the fight she was about to take part in.  Sure she had always had good offensive skills as long as she could remember, but it was still odd for her to have signed up for this.  Still she made her way to check in, her normal stormy eyes rimmed in an icy blue for the first time since arriving here.

As she approached check in she fiddled with the edges of her sleeves.  The same questions were possed to her as her competitor.  She signed the same forms and wavers.  When asked about any weapons she shook her head with a small smile.   "I'm all the weapon I've ever needed."

Slowly she made her way to her side of the arena.  She wore an outfit much the same as her usual attire.  Something she had made, but was fairly free flowing allowing her movement.  Her wings twitched behind her as she pulled her hair back from her face.  The nervousness on her face was an odd juxtaposition with the interest hiding deep within her eyes, swirled in the light blue.

    Mason looked around at his surroundings as he waited for the match. The ring was much larger than in person than Mason expected, which was good to note. The surrounding areas filled by the audience members covered their view, though allowed for great air flow as the top of the stadium was uncovered. Mason jumped for toe to toe as he waited, trying to pump himself up. When he saw his opponent however, he stopped.

    The girl he was facing was small, more than a head smaller from what Mason could see. She appeared to be very light and not too physically strong. As Mason had learned though, looks could be deceiving, and he did not choice to pass off his opponent, but rather thought of ways her frame could help her in this fight. Mason wouldn't let his guard down, not yet. 

    He rolled his head on his shoulders, and then walked towards the centre of the ring to shake hands. No one had declared the match to begin, so Mason wasn't trying to trick the girl into something, but rather, he just wanted to put on a good fight. As he walked, the shirt around his waist bounced a bit. He had removed his training jacket and let it hang off his hips, his torso covered by a form fitting tank top. 

    "Let's have a good fight, yeah?" he smile at the girl, as he waited for her to shake hands. Once the match began though, he would be serious and not let her out of his sight. This was his first fight at this school and he was determined to not make a fool of himself at least!

Mika stepped to the ring biting at the corner of her lip, a sure sign of nervousness in the girl.  She had always been wary of using her abilities due to their tendency to do more damage than good.  But this was part of the reason she had come to this school, to be able to control her powers, to not lose control of herself.  Reassuring herself of this she stepped into her corner.

As soon as she did she saw her competitor across from her.  Her eyes darted over the boy quickly, taking in his build.  It never surprised her to be significantly smaller than anyone she was paired up against, she was used to that.  Her wings stretched outward to their full span as they readied themselves for the upcoming match, as she noticed the boy walking to the center of the ring, before they curled in on themselves.  

As she stepped towards him the electricity of the atmosphere started to settle into her.  As it did the nerves washed away some.  It was almost as if a feeling deep inside her was pushing her forward.  It was felt foreign and somehow natural at the same time.  The ice around her irises sparkled softly as she extended her own hand to grasp his.  "I'm sure we will have a good fight.  Hopefully good tidings will be with both of us."

One of the raised podiums nearby, Valentina raised her hand to silence the chatter of the crowd - offering a smile toward Mason and Mika. "It is time to begin, fight when ready."

All around students busted out in applause, with the cheering flowing through the stadium the audience was excited to see how this fight would pan out.

    Mason shook his opponents hand polietly and with a large grin. His grip was firm, and the grip of the girl seemed to fit her well. "So she's not physically stronger than she looks. Unless she's gotten really good at hiding it," Mason thought as he walked back to his side of the arena. He doubted it though, since the girl seemed younger than even himself, and that would be an impressive skill to hide already.

    As he turned around faced his opponent, a podium raised with a professor, declaring the start of the match. From all around him, audience members of staff and students alike roared loudly, cheering various chants, though Mason's focus was on only one. He looked intently, but didn't grin, taking her seriously.

He considered on taking the offensive, but thought against it, not wanted to reveal his abilities. One of the advantages of air control, is that it can not be seen like other elements. It was clear when rock flew through the air, or when water ran wildly, but air was invisible.

    Ultimately he decided on baiting her, rushing towards, though at a normal human pace and, with staff in hand, quickly made his way across. He jumped into the air as he got close, and moved to swing his staff down like a sword. This attack didn't leave much choice in terms of defence, as only side stepping would be met with a follow through with his staff.

The girl was nothing if not quick on her feet.  As he approached her wings extended out to their full span.  With a single strong beat of those ebony wings she arched herself straight backwards.  Her feet lifted off the ground a few inches as she quickly swept backwards.  She landed approximately three feet behind where the tip of his staff would have come down.  Her feet were in a position where she could easily respond to any direction in a moments notice.  

From where she landed wisps of fire began to lick around the girls feet.  Her eyes sparkled and a small smile crept into the corner of her mouth.  Within seconds the small wisps began to form into something akin to whip like structure.  With an extension of her right hand a small shot of fire went whizzing towards his left side.  The first shot was not intended nor aimed to strike her opponent, but to give a quick display of the first of her elemental abilities.  The shot itself was aimed to miss him by a berth of 6 inches on his left.

    The girl was quicker than he expected, though was not surprised by it. Mason watched her intently, his eyes focused on her movements. Her wings seemed not only strong, but dependable as well, able to adjust and work as the girl intended. It was clear from the sharp movement an the gust of wind from gliding back at the girl was quite proficient in flight. As she landed, fire began to grow and rise around her feet and he smile lightly. This was an element he was quite confident in facing, especially with his spares with his friend Feos.

    Mason watched as the girl threw a flame towards him. He side stepped lightly, still in good positioning, but away from the fire. It would have missed either way, but Mason was not going to take that chance. Either she had bad aim and it missed him, or she was good enough to aim an attack that purposefully missed him as a demonstration.

    From he decision to fly so far from Mason's first strike, plus the use of fire, it seemed that his opponent was more adept at long range combat, which made sense with the girl's small frame. Having flew so far back, his opponent was pressed closer to the edge of the ring, which gave her less space to move.

    Taking advantage of this, Mason charged again, quickly bounding towards the girl. As he got close, he extended his stance, squatting and sweeping his leg to trip the girl. He expended her to dodge his attack, but being fluid, used his momentum to carry him to standing and then continue with a roundhouse kick. If the girl just jumped over his sweep the roundhouse would connect with her ribs, if he flew, the kick would connect with her face.

    "How quickly can she think in combat?" he though to himself during his attack.

The girls eyes darted around quickly, surveying his movements and approach.  She pushed her body far enough off the ground to avoid the sweeping kick.  She realized a moment to late she had miscalculated and felt the impact against her ribs.  The force sent her small body tumbling like a rag doll off to the side, where she came to a stop her hands planted on the ground.  The impact had made her exhale sharply and she gasped to get air back into her lungs.

She looked up at her opponent, the icy color creeping further into her irises.  Her left hand fell on the impact location surveying the damage as she muttered under her breath.  "I should have seen that coming."  Her left hand in the air she conjured a fireball to serve as a distraction.  Quietly from her right hand, still on the ground for balance shadows raced towards her opponent.  They roiled up from his feet like tendrils.  If he wasn't quick enough they would ensnare his legs.  If he did notice the attack there was still quite a bit of force behind the darkness.

    A small smile spread on Mason's face as his roundhouse kick connected with the girl. The momentum brought him back to standing, and he watched as the girl rested on her hands and knees, breathing sharply. Again he surveyed his opponent. He knew now that she could at least fly and control fire, though what else he was not sure. She didn't have super speed, else she would have evaded the attack, and she didn't have super strength or durability, as the kick wouldn't have done as much damage as it did.

    Regaining herself, the small girl gathered fire in her hand and threw it towards Mason. He debated how he should proceed.He had the advantage since she knew nothing on his abilities, and if he could win this fight simply with his martial arts skill, then he could keep his abilities under wrap, which would help in future fights in this tournament. On the other hand, he was sure that the fight would be easier if he used his abilities, especially since his air bending would be extremely useful against her flames.

    Ultimately, he decided to try and go as long as he could without revealing his abilities. As the fireball flew towards him, he prepped himself to jump out of the way. As he went to jump however, he found himself planted to the floor, some force holding him down. He ducked instead, barely and ineffectively dodging the fireball. "Shadows?" he thought to himself. "This could be trouble."

    Now knowledgeable of her shadows, he could clearly see the shadows etched in the ground from her hand to his legs. He cursed to himself, angry he wasn't paying enough attention. He had to act quickly, lest he got completely wrapped on the shadows. With a forceful lift of his right leg, with the help of an unnoticeable air blast from his right foot, broke free of the shadow. Partially free, he swiped his staff across the ground, freeing his other leg, and quickly sprung into action. He charged again, jumping between the shadows. As he got close, he jumped towards her, grabbing her shoulders and falling on his back, pulling her down with him. He rolled on his back, and kicked the girl into the air, the grapple disrupting the shadows.

A faint smile tugged at the corners of the girls lips as the shadows curled around his legs.  However just as the shadows begn to construct around their target they were thrown loose.  They tumbled to the ground before melting back into the arena floor as the boy sprung forward.  A frown flashed across her face a she struggled to react in time, flames curling around herself as a makeshift barrier.

The flames would lick at his arms as he grappled with her.  As he was kicked into the air she let out a short cry.  While in the air her wings quickly spread catching herself before she could crash to the ground.  She flew backwards a few feet before landing working to catch her breath.  Instead of clutching where the kick landed she clutched the side of her head.  She shook it violently, the flames curling around her growing darker until they were a deep crimson.

Biting her lip as a wild look flashed across her stormy grey eyes she darted towards him.  About halfway towards him the shadows below her curled around her before they melted into the ground.  A moment later she was behind him.  The flames around her grew increasingly violent and would happily lash out at him if he was close.  Without hesitation she sent two x shaped blasts of fire at him, one hidden directly behind the first.

    Regaining his up right stance, Mason glared at his opponent as he threw her into the air. He wined, realizing that the flames had singed his arms, but even as he looked down, he could see the pink burn marks healing, and fading back to normal. "Well, unless she's also blind, she at least knows I have healing abilities," he thought to himself as the girl, with the help of her wings, floated back down to the arena. He prepared himself.

    His eyes narrowed as he watched the flames around the girl growing, turning into a deep unnatural crimson flame. Was that due to the help of her shadow abilities too? Or was it simply an effect of her powers? He wasn't sure, but he also wasn't taking any chances. As Mika dashed towards Mason, he gripped his staff harder in preparation to an attack. He was just about to attack when the girl sunk into her shadows and melting into the arena floor. Despite the cheering going around him in the stadium, Mason's world went unnaturally silent. He relaxed, softening his eyes and expanding his hearing, searching for the girl.

    Because of the natural or the tournament, the girl had to attack eventually, so he waited, trying to expect a surprise attack. It was the sound of flames dancing through the air that caught his attention, coupled with the heat emanating from the attack. He spun around to see two, though to his knowledge only one, large "X"'s flying towards him. His eyes widened, and he fell to his back to narrowly dodge the first x. Trying to keep his momentum, he rolled on his back and returned to standing only to be confronted with the second x. He cursed, as it was too late to dodge, and brought his arms up in a similar fashion to the flames, to protect himself.

    "Ahhhhh!" he screamed as not only he was burned by the fire, but was also sent flying across the stadium and rolled to a stop. He panted, trying to calm himself as he felt his skin blister from the heat of the fire. He was hotter then he expected, and stronger too. "Now's it's getting interesting," he thought to himself as he brought himself back up to standing.

    He looked down once more to check on his burns. They were fully healed yet, still having pink fresh skin cover his arms, but he didn't have time for them to fully heal. He charged towards the girl, wanting to keep pressure on her, as well as use her knowledge of his healing abilities against her. If it looked like her could take any attack she could muster without a scratch, it could very well unnerve her, as it has with most opponents.

    As he got close, he could feel the flames around Mika lash out at him, but he ignored it, blocking a couple of her punches before he swiped the feet from under her, grabbing her shoulder, and spinning her around she her back pressed against her chest. He wrapped his arm around her neck, fell to his back, wrapped his legs around hers, and squeezed. The hold was, based off the position and pressure, clearly not meant to kill her, but it was meant to knock her unconscious. If he could keep her there long enough.

The girl in front of him took in the surroundings with quick darts of her eyes.  She noticed the healing abilities and frowned deeply.  That always made for a more irritating fight.  Shaking it off with a sigh she continued in the same vein.  As her double attack hit its target a frin flashed across her lips.  There she had made solid progress in the fight.  With that knowledge she let her guard down just a little.

As soon as she did that the next attack came.  Before she knew it she was struggling to get air into her lungs.  She clawed widly at his hands as her vision dimmed.  Just before the light in her eyes faded, her irises turned completely to ixe.  The same shadows curled around her again and she disappeared.  A moment later an icy laugh echoed across the arena and the girl stood with her hand on her hip.  Her demeanor had completely changed.  "And here I thought I wouldn't get out to play."

ooc - I'm so sorry! I didn't realize my response didn't post before! Sorry for the wait!

ic - Mason grunted as the girl slapped and scratched as his arms and face, but didn't relinquish his grip. He was confident he had won the fight when suddenly the girl was shrouded by shadows and disappears from his grip. Mason curses quietly to himself, though quickly recovers when he hears a voice behind him. Grabbing his staff beside him, Mason stand, spinning to face Mika.

    Something about her had changed, though her physical appearance seemed almost exactly the same, save her eyes and demeanor. Mason starred for a moment, trying to understand the sudden change in his opponent, though something told him this fight was getting much more serious. He wasn't necessarily surprised that the fight had taken this turn, though it did catch him off guard as different this girl seemed. 

    Mason growled. "There's no point in drawing this out," he thought to himself, as he dashed towards the girl. Her shadows would make it hard for a choke out, so he figured he'd have to go for a powerful enough attack to knock out the girl; that, or he would have to tired the girl enough enough so she couldn't fight. Either way, he needed to keep the pressure on her. As he got close to Mika, Mason swung, throwing a number of attacks, both punches, kicks, and swipes from his staff.