caughtinanetwork | .11

Go for it.

[Shiro will be on the defensive to start out with, mostly just blocking and dodging and making no real attacks of his own. He wants to get a feel for how skilled Hubert is first. He uses the wooden sword in a rather strange stance, though, and it doesn't quite fit the style of blade he's using.]

[Well it's not like Hubert's style is any less strange.

Seeing Shiro on the defensive, he decides to start off simply, and with a spin of both blades, he brings them together with a faint click, locking them in to a dual-bladed staff. That done, he darts forward, swinging upwards with the rather large weapon.]

[It's bigger than he imagined, but it appears to work like he had expected. Since he only has one sword, he'll have to be mindful of whatever side he doesn't block at any given time.

When Hubert swings upwards, Shiro takes a half-step back, letting the attack whoosh by right in front of him. Then he brings his sword up, ready to catch the blade on the down-swing and block it properly.]

Tiger Blade!

[It does come back down, but with it a crackle of energy following that cry. Blocking it will prevent it from hitting, but there might be a bit more strength in it than Shiro would be expecting.]

[That attack does hit stronger than Shiro had been expecting, and he has to bring up his second hand to brace the sword and keep it from pushing back and hitting him. When Hubert had mentioned artes before, Shiro hadn't expected much from them. He's pleased to see he was wrong, though.

Once the attack is stooped, Shiro will twist to the side and try to angle his sword so Hubert's slides off to the side and away from Shiro. He's thinking that making the blows glance off will probably be safer than trying to completely stop them.]

[The blade goes sliding off, and Hubert bounces backwards to regroup.]

Impressive. That's not an easy move to block.

[He'll take a moment to shake out his hands there, because he can still feel the tingling in them.]

Ah, well, I've had a lot of experience in fights.

[Usually with much bigger things, though.]

I can see why you were hesitant at first, that could really hurt someone if it hit them.

That's still a fairly light attack, all things considered... honestly I only ever go up against human opponents if it's absolutely necessary.

[Outside of training, of course, but people in his world are sort of conditioned to be able to handle what Arte users can dish out.]

I'm willing to up the level of my attacks, but only if you're sure you can take it.

[He probably could handle those attacks, he's used to fighting demons. But the question is if he really wants to deal with achy muscles later or not.]

Let's focus more on the form, rather than just hitting hard.

[He's also going to be redirecting the attacks more now, so that should help avoid hurting his arms too.]

Alright.

[That he's willing to work with. He has trained people, after all. He knows the value of form over power.

A nod, and he returns to his stance before swinging out and at a downward angle.]

[Shiro blocks again, and he finds that this attack isn't nearly as strong as that last one. Those words Hubert had said, they must have been an incantation of some sort. Blending magic with fighting, now that sounds useful.

This time Shiro adds a twist to the movement of his sword, trying to force the point of Hubert's swords off to the side and to the ground. It's mostly to see how Hubert reacts to it, since such a move with a large blade can throw someone off-balance sometimes.]

[It does throw him off balance, but he recovers very quickly, snapping the two blades apart at the staff. One still goes down to the ground, yet even as he winds up dropping to one knee the other blade goes up, getting very close to Shiro's neck.]

[Well that's an effective thing to do. Shiro ends up having to pull back from his previous maneuver to pull away from Hubert's second blade, effectively freeing both of Hubert's swords again. He's just outside of stabbing range, unless Hubert lunges or something, but the point has been made. Still, Shiro is impressed.]

Ha! Wasn't expecting that little move there.

[A noticeable smirk appears on Hubert's normally stoic features. It's not an attempted lunge or stab that comes Shiro's way next, but shots.

As soon as Hubert has straightened out, there's an audible click from the weapons, and with a flick of his wrists the two blades go back.]

Flare Shot!

[From the now transformed pistols, somewhat weak shots of fire and energy are launched at Shiro.]

[Cheater!!1 Shiro thought this was going to be swords-only, or else he would have kept the rest of his (fire-resistant) clothes on. There's an 'oh shit' look on his face for a moment before he dives to get out of the way of the fire, rolling when he hits the ground and ending up bracing himself on one knee when he comes to a stop.]

Oi oi, don't burn off my eyebrows!

[A lesser man probably would have laughed at that, but he is smirking still.]

I did warn you I use multiple styles. One can't always rely on allies to be at your back when you're surrounded, after all. I'm capable of taking on long and short range attackers, regardless of the situation.

[He snaps the guns back down, momentarily halting the sparring match.]

If it's any consolation, it does make me a weaker attacker over all. I'm not nearly the powerhouse people like the Captain or my brother are.

[Shiro will go ahead and stand up now, stretching out his arm as he does so. He wasn't expecting to suddenly roll around like that, and already he can feel it in his bones. He's going to be sore tomorrow.]

There's no shame in that, versatility is a skill worth having. I couldn't complain about it anyway, I did the same exact thing.

[Though he's better with guns than swords.]

It sets me apart from other Strahtan soldiers, certainly. But I can still see where Yukio gets his skill from.

[Shiro's movements gets a frown from Hubert, and whatever triumph he was feeling leaves quickly.]

I'm sorry, that was a bit of a cheap shot, wasn't it? Are you alright?

[Shiro chuckles at that.]

I've been using swords and guns longer than you've been alive. At least give me a little credit.

[Cheap shots he can tolerate, demons don't fight fair anyway. The big thing is he doesn't want to go all-out on Hubert yet, partially because he wants to keep some things a secret and partially because the last thing they need is an escalating conflict that destroys parts of the island. If that fireball was a weak attack, he can only imagine what a strong one is like.]

[He hasn't even broken in to Mystic Artes yet, Shiro. Destroying the island would be an understatement.]

I'm allowed to be concerned. I'd rather not have the wrath of your sons coming down on me for a poorly dodged shot.

[Again, it's not an age thing. Hanging out with Malik, Hubert got first hand lessons on how a seemingly calm old man can nearly take down a building if riled enough. He really just doesn't want to accidentally injure Shiro and have it turn in to an incident with either Okumura twin.]

[He was about to argue that his kids are smart enough to figure out this isn't an actual fight if something goes wrong, but he stops. No, Rin would definitely assume something was up. By the time he got healed up and would be able to run damage control, things would have probably escalated too far.]

You're right, if I just keep messing around like this, an accident could happen. I'll go ahead and treat it more seriously, then.

[And he'll ditch the wooden sword for the more dangerous one he brought.]

[And Hubert, through at least some second hand knowledge through Asbel and having been present when Vatheon nearly burned, knows that one of them does have a temper. His concerns are somewhat valid.]

Good.

[Bringing the blades back to staff form, he takes a stance.]

Whenever you're ready then.

[Well, Shiro already got a feel for how Hubert handles attacking, so he decides to see how he handles being on the defense. He'll run up and do a horizontal swipe at Hubert, aiming a bit low, at about knee-level.]

[It's a close swing, enough that he actually feels it pass very near his clothing, but a quick downward swing keeps it from clipping too close. The blades clank together noisily, but rather than retaliate, Hubert lets them deflect and returns to his defensive stance.]

[In a fluid movement Shiro pivots on one foot, sliding his sword out and to the side, and continues on with his turn to bring the sword in a wide arc and aim it back at Hubert again. This time it's also moving upward and in, so it's aiming a bit higher.]

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