Morning Training (Ryouji vs. Ace)

It was still early morning. The last of the morning dew had not yet fallen from the tall blades of grass. Ryouji stood in the center of the field, eyes closed and arms stretched out on either side. He began to move, almost dance around. His movements were so fluid that it was almost as if he himself was a blade of grass swaying calmly in the breeze. Then, with a quick spin, he sent drops of water flying up around him. His eyes shot open and his arms swirled around. Now at first it seemed like he was just wildly slicing the air with his hands, but in reality he was on the mark with every swipe, breaking the droplets of water with precise thrusts and slices of his open hands.

Once the last of the dew had fallen back to the ground, Ryouji stood silent. He brought his arms back to his side. With a huff he reached into his pocket and pulled out a breakfast bar. He twirled it around in his hand and slammed it against the side of his leg, opening the wrapper by pushing the bar out. He took one bite of it and sighed.

“Still was not quick enough,” he muttered to himself. “but still better than last week.”

Ryouji closed his eyes as he sensed a nearing power. He was mentally prepared for a quick little morning fight and was happy to not have Broly here to hog all the fun.

'Perfect timing. I could use some cardio.'

(WC: 216)

Ace swooped in on his jet-bike which he had borrowed from an innocent bystander on his way out of the city. The red hooded warrior caught a glimpse of a familiar figure in the distance and decided to investigate. The engine roared loudly as he put the pedal to the metal. He swerved to a stylish stop in front of the purple haired boy and looked over at him with a grin. It was most definitly Ryouji, just as he had thought.

"Well, if it ain't our fearless leader."

The blond youth kicked the kickstand into place and shoved off of his vehicle for the day. A small breeze blew by and knocked his hood off which completely exposed his blond locks. He crossed his arms over his chest and looked the youth over. From what he gathered on his way here the boy was training. No wonder the boy managed to beat him, he had been keeping his skills sharp. Most kid's these days tend to try out martial arts for a bit and find it boring or too hard and move on to something else. At least that's what Ace heard.

"Well," the youth pulled his hood back over his head before sinking into his shaolin fighting stance, one palm facing outward and the other behind him. "I know this is a bit sudden but I could use the exercise. So how about it?" He watched Ryouji expectantly, waiting for his answer.

WC: 245

Ryouji watched silently as his red hooded comrade rolled up on a motorcycle. With a kick of his stand, Ace hopped off and took up a fighting stance.

"Well, I know this is a bit sudden but I could use the exercise. So how about it?"

Ryouji was impressed at the man’s intuition, how Ace knew that he was ready for a fight, he did not know, but he cared little to think about it long.

“Sounds good to me.”

With little warning, Ryouji sprung forward his arms drawn back and his fingers extended. Ryouji had preferred long range combat, but knew it was unwise not to be somewhat proficient in all aspects of the martial arts. He also thought it wise to hone his hand to hand combat with someone like Ace rather than his other comrade Broly, who would as soon rip your arm off than hold back, even if it was just training with a partner.

Ryouji had gotten in close enough to his opponent to unleash his technique. He aimed one slash for the right side of Ace’s neck while his other hand whipped around in an attempt to stab him in the ribs. A thin layer of magical energy lay around his hands and as the boy lunged, stabbed and slashed his hands the energy amplified the effect, making him as strong as any of those inhumanly powerful fighters.

(WC: 234+216=450)

“Sounds good to me.”

Ryouji didn't waste any time to begin his assault. Ace swiped his closest arm upward, and knocked the first strike off course with his forearm. The second strike hit it's mark, the red hooded warrior's face twisting in pain as Ryouji's fingers dug into his ribs. Ace gritted his teeth and endured the pain as best as he could. Shaking off the pain, Ace took a step inward towards Ryouji with his left foot and extended his fist towards the purple haired warrior's face.

This attack was no more than a feint, as the blond warrior had thrust his other fist forward simultaneously, towards the dead center of his stomach. Many martial artists knew this technique as the Yamatzuki. It wasn't a shaolin technique, it was more or less a move he picked up during his time with the Red Ribbons. He often spared with the men in his squad, and each of them well inverse in several different martial arts. Yamatzuki was a Karate technique that he learned from Captain Brown, one of his highest ranking subordinates. He and Captain Brown never got along.

The pirate-dressing Captain was always jealous and suspicious of General Ace. The two joined the Red Ribbons at the exact same time and Ace rose up the ranking ladder a whole lot faster than Captain Brown. Brown hated Ace for that. He felt as if he deserved it more. He should have what Ace has. His jealousy got so out of hand that he even plotted against Ace and his closest allies, but he needed an opportunity, and judging by the red hooded warrior's merciful display towards enemies of the Red Ribbon army, he likely wouldn't have to wait very long at all.

Word Count: 293
Total Word Count: 538

Ryouji watched in excitement as his arm was easily deflected by the red hooded warrior. He hadn’t had the chance on their first encounter to really test his skills, but was certainly glad to see such masterful work from an ally. Ryouji’s other hand connected as he felt his fingers strike one of the man’s ribs.

Normally an opponent would back away at such a strike, but Ace closed the gap even further with a punch to the face. Ryouji brought up his arms and caught the fists in his hands, but no sooner had he grabbed the blond haired man’s fist had a second punch landed directly into Ryouji’s stomach.

The force of the surprise blow was amazing as it knocked the air right out of the boy. With a few staggering steps backward and the clutching of his stomach, Ryouji gasped for air as his lungs slowly recovered from the initial shock.

The purple haired boy looked up at Ace with a smile on his face. What a beautiful move, such imagination it takes to pull off something like that. It was with that single technique that Ryouji knew that this man, this passionate red hooded warrior, was the perfect addition to his plans for the future. The future could wait however as practice was now.

Ryouji jumped up as his hands lit up with a purple energy, thrusting his arms downward, Ryouji attempted to drive his fists into the top of the man’s skull. Right before his hit would have landed, he thrusted his leg forward in an attempt to kick the man in the chest all in the same stride.

(WC: 274+450=724)