The Snow Dragon Takes Flight [Damien/Training]

Holds. Grabs. Throws. All of them were nothing but a constant reminder to Iris Walker of just how reliant she was on her sword. However, that was the path she had chosen. The girl and the sword she named White Dream were two halves of a whole when it came to fighting. The young Samurai looked slightly different than usual today as she sat on a rooftop in the Market Place. She sat with her legs crossed and eyes closed, as if meditating as her sword resting directly in front of her. She was wearing a black tank top, black cargo pants, and surprisingly she was wearing black combat boots instead of her standard white tennis shoes. The contrast between the black clothes and her pale skin and jet-black hair almost made her look ghostly as her hair swayed in the wind.

"I need a technique to counteract grappling moves... I can't just lose every single time someone gets past my sword and grabs me. Using the sheathe works if I still have an arm free, but what do I do when both my arms are locked...?" she thought to herself.

The image flashed back of that Demon Weapon... on top of her in such an awkward position. She never wanted to feel that helpless again. She grabbed her sword, which had its reverse-blade installed today, and laid on her back, trying to emulate her positioning on that day. She had to assume her legs were immobile like this. The only thing she might be able to move were her forearms. She unsheathed the sword to further her re-enactment of that hold. The sword itself was being held normally, while the sheathe was being held upside down, like it would be if she was carrying it.

This was how her fighting style worked. The sheathed sword was carried in her left hand, the handle facing outwards so she could draw it at high speeds, reaching velocities so fast that it made up for her relative lack of strait-up muscle power. How to deal with this... she opened her eyes and flipped her right hand over to reverse how she was holding the sword, allowing her to move her forearms just enough to start the re-sheathing process. However, the positioning here was crucial. She had the idea now. And idea she was kicking herself in her mind for not using in the actual fight. It might not have worked, but this was better than playing "dead" like she did. The sheathe's entry point was just outside where the arm holding her left arm down would be, and she positioned the sword and shoved it downward as hard as she could, letting go of it to let it fly down into the sheathe. Instant high-speed pinch, or a cut depending on which blade she had installed. That would have undoubtedly made him lose his grip.

Still, it was just an escape maneuver. What she wanted to come up with today was a technique. Something that could be used against someone who primarily relied on grabs. In her experience these people focused on counter-attacks, so she needed... a counter-counter-attack! Obviously a name with a little more... dramatic effect added to it. She stood up and re-sheathed the sword. She brought the still-sheathed sword up in her left hand, as it going for a hit with the sword still in the sheathe. This would be a feign. They'd no doubt grab it since it was still sheathed, and that would be the surprise. Still holding to the sheathe in her left hand, she'd bring up her right to draw the sword out of its sheathe. Obviously since she was training alone right now she needed to hold on to that sheathe, otherwise this move would send it flying off the roof.

She did this slowly at first, getting the sword out of its sheathe and trying to turn her body as she did so. She really needed to hold on to that sheathe. Unfortunately, the length of the blade made it very difficult to get it completely out of the sheathe before she needed to let go of it for a full draw, causing to move about a foot away from her and land on the ground with a series of clacks. She went through the motion as if the sheathe was still there, pulling it out strait across, then doubling back for a quick, two-handed slash to where the opponent's shoulders would be, then immediately brought it back across for another slash while stepping forward. It was all smooth, slow motions right now. The idea behind the attack was to lure the target into a false sense of security for stopping the blunt attack, then come back around for two very fast two-handed slashes while advancing, forcing her opponent to either back off or get slashed.

There was the possibility that they wouldn't drop the sheathe if they grabbed it, though. Before she picked the sheathe back up, she went through the two-handed motions again. They were always uncomfortable given her fighting style, but the point of this was to make a quick attack that could either end a fight or put her opponent on the defensive. From the sheathe, strait horizontal strike coming from the right, then immediately bring it back from the left while stepping forward.

"Yukiryu no Tsume." she said to herself. She named the attack, even though it wasn't complete. Claws of the Snow Dragon was what it was supposed to mean. Her Japanese might be a little rusty, though. The attack had a name but there was still something wrong.

The slashes were fine, the execution was not. As she picked the sheathe back up and placed the sword back in its white embrace, Iris pondered how to make the attack more effective. She may have her chance soon enough, as she asked Damien to come help her with this. He should be arriving any moment.

Damien grinned as he sauntered through the town, simply enjoying the fresh air. He gotten a free meal from those wonderful girls at Chupa Cabra again, and he was thinking about applying for an apartment, since Lord Death was so kind in giving him an actual allowance. Him! He had never had so much as chump change to spare, and now he had an allowance comparable to a salary man's paycheck back home! For just attending the school! Damien shook his head at his incredible look. His future seemed so bright, even Damien had to shield his eyes from it sometimes.

He had gotten a call from his friend Iris a while earlier, asking him to help the samurai-to-be with a couple techniques. Of course Damien had said yes. "Oh, I had better start warming up, shouldn't I?[/i]" Damien realized with sudden clarity. Skipping from side to side, Damien slowly became faster, his fists blurring in the air. Spectators gasped at the display as Damien appeared to almost ghost across the ground with his impeccable footwork. He had decided to wear his combat clothing, which meant black combat boots to perfect his footwork and technique, black sweatpants for ease of movement, an easy to remove undershirt, his favorite hoodie, and boxing hand wraps.

If nothing else, Damien would make damn sure his friend was ready for just about anything that came her way. He had an inkling of an idea of just what she wanted, and he had a couple downright evil ideas that would (doubtlessly) help her. And if not... well, she had been a good friend. Damien would bring her flowers in the hospital.

Laughing from simple joy and the power he felt running through his veins, Damien sprinted to where he promised to meet Iris, treating every bystander like an enemy boxer, or an obstacle to be avoided. He ducked, dipped, jived, spun, and ghosted his way through the walkers, never touching even one. Finally he caught sight of Iris, just lying down on the ground. Shrugging, Damien decided to lie down himself, and just relax. He would announce his presence... eventually.

"Yukiryu no Tsume."" She muttered, and Damien decided that it had been long enough. "Heya, honey. What's up? So, are we just gonna be lying down the entire time? I don't think I would quite mind it, though." Damien laughed, a rich, full sound, before he threw himself backwards.

Using his immense strength, once Damien had gotten his hands underneath him, he was able to jackknife his body and throw himself into the air, only to land on his feet. His perpetual grin plastered on his face, Damien slowly loped towards Iris. "Pretty smooth moves there, honey. So, what did ya call me for?" Damien couldn't help discreetly checking out Iris' sword, seeing which of her blades she had equipped. Damien did not like knives used against him, and he liked a massive curvy sword even less. Some tension left his shoulders when he confirmed the reverse blade was currently locked into the hilt.

Iris was lost in thought and didn't even notice Damien had arrived. She was so focused on trying to develop this attack that she was going far beyond simply thinking of the attack itself. She was starting to consider creating her own set of techniques to compliment her Iaido swordsmanship. The first statement Damien made completely flew by her, but as soon as he jumped up to his feet it caused Iris to react, almost jumping in a panic. She quickly regained her composure and stood to face him, nodding her head and giving a slight grin.

"Pretty smooth moves there, honey. So, what did ya call me for?"

"Well... I know you're more of a boxer than a grappler, but I need a bare-hands fighter to train against." she explained in her usual hushed and raspy tone. She took a short breath before continuing. "... I'm trying to develop some attacks to deal with people who get too close. If you don't mind I'd like to try them against you. I won't..." Iris raised her right hand to her mouth and let out a single cough as her voice got noticeably more strained as she tried to start a new sentence. She lowered her hand and sighed, her gray eyes closed for a moment and her head fell low just a bit as well.

She had to resort to trying to pantomime to convey that she wasn't going to be attacking fast or with too much strength. She raised her left hand and opened her eyes again, still holding the sheathed sword and resumed eye contact with Damien. Iris quickly got in a stance and drew the sword at full speed and strength, leaving a whooshing noise in its path and causing her black hair to sway in the direction of the slash just a bit, then placed it back in the sheathe. Then she stood back up straight and pointed at the sword with her right hand, then shook her head with a grin on her face. Hopefully that conveyed it.

Damien nodded slowly as Iris tried to explain herself in her usual, halting manner. Not for the first time did Damien wonder to himself just what happened to cause such an injury to the girl. She'll explain it in due time, I reckon. I can rein in my curiosity until then.[/i] Even as he was thinking this, however, Damien couldn't help but admire Iris. Thinking back to the few battles he had seen her in, she had indeed been taken out by extreme close quarters combat, where that sword of hers was all but useless.

Well, if Iris wanted to better herself, Damien was fully willing to help. After all, what were friends for, if to not make sure you can kick seven kinds of ass when necessary? After a few awkward seconds spent in silence as Iris did her usual pantomine routine, Damien finally understood. He was rather good at charades, having 4 siblings who often did nothing but play that game to show what they wanted. Shaking his head, Damien grinned as he already felt the adrenaline pulse under the skin as he made his proposal. "That's no good, sweetheart. No one is gonna come at you at half speed. You've gotta do it at battle speeds or you're gonna be screwed when a real fight comes around."

Stretching his arms out, skipping in place for a moment, Damien grinned. "I can take a hit or two, honey. Just please- I don't wanna find my guts spilling on the street, so if you could use just the blunt side, I would appreciate it." Nodding slightly to himself, Damien breathed in deeply, exhaling slowly as he got himself into his usual fighting mindset. Gently taking off his sweatshirt and iPod, Damien shrugged off his undershirt until he stood before Iris, his chest bare. Placing all of them in a safe place, Damien turned back to Iris. "With that, honey, shall we start? I'll go first."

Damien raised his fists, his front right hand slightly lower, exposing his grinning face. Rocking slightly, Damien started the boxer's bounce, staying light on his feet. This was the sight so many other boxers quailed at and fell to. A single grunt was the only warning Iris had as Damien started his attack.

His footwork only magnified by the supportive boots, Damien dashed diagonally to Iris' sword hand, almost freakishly quickly. Though he was far slower than Iris, he was able to mask his movements and thus fool Iris into a false sense of speed. Just need to stop that initial draw and we're all good.[/i] Damien thought as he cocked his right fist. The moment he saw Iris draw, he planned to rocket his hand into hers, either forcing her to drop her sword or blasting it backwards. With that, the force of Damien's attack would twist his body, perfectly preparing him to rock Iris with his beloved left straight. Sorry honey, but I promised you a fight, and a fight is what you're gonna get![/i]

A look of worry creeped over Iris' face as Damien started to make it clear that she was going to get a real fight. It was really hard to try developing new techniques in a live combat situation. Things like this needed development, time to develop the motions before going full-force with it. As Damien took off his shirt Iris started to have a familiar feeling creep in: fear. His physique was frighteningly similar to that man's... she was still frightened of him. The only person she was afraid of. That Demon Shield? He got lucky. The Demon of the Fist, though... just the thought of it caused a cold sweat to come over Iris' pale skin. A single drop from that cold sweat dripped off her chin as she staggered into a fighting stance. It was her typical once: right shoulder pointed at the opponent, the arm ready to draw the sword, left arm drawn backwards, holding the sheathed sword with the handle pointed out to her left for a wide-arc drawing motion, her right foot forward and left foot back, knees slightly bent in case she needed to make a quick jump.

"Just keep it calm... Damien isn't here to hurt you. He's here to help. Just fight. ... I don't want to hurt him though..." she thought, feeling conflicted about this. He said he could take some hits, but if she really put everything she had into a slash it could seriously injure him, sharp side or not. Just because the striking side was blunt didn't mean it did less damage, it just meant it dealt a different kind of damage. Less lethal, to be sure, but still dangerous.

These conflicting feelings quickly proved to be a liability, as she barely paid attention to the incoming attack. He was much faster than she expected. Definitely faster than that man was, but still not as fast as Iris. She started to draw her sword, placing her right hand on the handle, but immediately recognized the most basic tactic for getting someone to drop their weapon: attacking the hand that's holding it. She quickly removed her hand from the handle and leaned back, letting the punch fly between the handle and the hand. She then noticed he was using the force from that punch to start twisting his body to throw out a far more devastating punch from his left arm, so she decided to lean back further so she could roll backwards, away from him. She came out of the roll mostly in her regular stance, only kneeling on her left knee. She sprang up by pushing with her right leg, jumping into the air.

She jumped just high enough to go over Damien's head, planning to draw her sword and strike him in the head. She reached for the sword, but couldn't do it. She simply sailed over his head, landing and rolling on the other side of him. He probably could have dodged the attack, given the predictable trajectory, but if he didn't... the metal clashing with his head could have been devastating. She sprang back up to her feet, standing straight up. She lowered her head and spoke up.

"I can't fight you like I would an enemy... I'm sorry..." she said, turning her head away from Damien as she said it. However... just because she wasn't fighting him as an enemy didn't mean she'd hold back. It was time to try the technique.

She quickly got back into her stance, but she quickly moved the sword and sheath into her right hand, holding them by the sword's handle, then used her left hand to throw the sheath off, practically firing it at Damien as a projectile aimed for his head. She quickly followed behind it, in a rare display of holding the sword in both hands to her right side, the plan was simple, the sheath was a distraction. Whether it hit or not was of no consequence. The actual attack followed from it either being tossed aside, hitting and bouncing off, or even if it's dodged entirely. The actual attack was two very quick slashes, coming in horizontally from her right side first, then quickly making another slash from her left side.

"Yukiryu no Tsume!" she shouted it with a degree of enthusiasm, finally having a chance to make this attack.