imeeji_frontstage | Too Young To Die

[he pays attention. he knows he's being stalked.

...also let's be real, Miura Hiroto is not subtle in the least. so he's heading somewhere where he has room to move and there's also somewhere where he can go up high.

so the park it is.]

["Stalking" is a strong word. It's really just "following menacingly from a distance so you don't have to talk". An assassin he is not.

So once they're somewhere alone and open, Hiroto will approach. He could explain himself, but on the off- chance that this person might agree to die, he doesn't, simply drawing his naginata and unfolding it.]

[and reaching into his sash for a certain jade cylinder, and unfolding it into a certain polearm.]

Tch. What do you want?

[not expecting an answer: just preparing for a fight.]

Blood.

[It seems he has not gotten his fill of slaughter after all. He doesn't like it, but if he's to have to kill once more...

Well anyway. He's given his heads-up, so he rushes towards Xiao, blade-first.]

[and dodging out of the way. since Hades has fought Xiao before, he knows his fighting style is fast and mobile (and startlingly aerial) and he's going to absolutely make sure that he can't be caught, as best as he can.]

[He is very aware. It is not entirely a new fighting style to him, and Hiroto will do his best at redirection rather than trying to keep speed with someone he isn't capable of keeping up with. He isn't a fool, after all.

His first move will be to sweep beneath Xiao's legs. He knows he will dodge, but there is an art to fighting someone who is simply faster than you.]

[dodging, but trying not to let Hiroto set the tempo for this fight. he's not simply going to let himself be on the defensive, especially with someone so much taller than him. plus his fighting style being fairly offensive, too.

so he's going to definitely attack Hiroto, in that graceful, deadly way he has.]

[He doesn't have the same speed or grace, but cutting out any flourish in his motions allows him to at least defend himself by lifting the handle of his naginata up and taking as big a step backwards as he can manage in one go.

He's not faster than Xiao though, and he only barely manages to avoid greater injury, still taking a slice to his hand that he barely notices before it is too late to prevent it, which causes his to swear beneath his breath.

He can't afford to keep at a low and steady pace it seems, so Hiroto then throws his body forward again, using the naginata to swipe once in a wide arc around his head, letting it come back around and go low on the second swipe, only to throw his head forward in an attempt to headbutt him somewhere.]

[he absolutely can't afford to keep at a low and steady pace vs. Sakura, who doesn't remember his past but has two thousand years+ of muscle memory of fighting an unending war against demons. because given opportunity, he'll attack again.

he dodges the naginata strikes, but the one thing he isn't expecting is the headbutt, and can't quite cleanly dodge that. that certainly is a 6'5" man that headbutted him, in the head, and while he's not knocked off his feet, or knocked unconscious, he's knocked unsteady and dazed for a moment.]

[Hiroto knows that he can't beat someone as speedy as Sakura by playing defensively. He won't be able to wear him down by just trying to block attacks that he is too slow to really block, so he has to get aggressive.

After headbutting him, Hiroto will just hold the naginata between both hands, then punching at Xiao. It's unorthodox, but that's the way he'll get an upper hand here.]

[he can't cleanly dodge both blows, not with his briefly unsteady footing, and prioritizes getting away from the blade. the staff does hit, though nowhere near as well as Hiroto would have liked, but that's...definitely a sickening crack sound and a quiet cry of pain.

his body remembers, however, how to push through it. (what kind of life has he led?) and he's taking advantage of Hiroto's bad defensive stance to try to do as much damage as he can, trying to disable him.]

[Hiroto's jaw clenches as he misses with the blade. Smart.

But he's not here to appreciate the ability of the other man, he has to kill him. Hiroto will shove forward through an attack to at least avoid taking damage directly to his hand or joints. It is only partially successful of course, and he will take blows to his arms.

Still, he has to remain aggressive, trying to take advantage of the fact that one would expect someone to shy away from injury while Hiroto pushes into and through them to continue to press his attack.]

[this kind of battlefield is not Sakura's forte. his fighting style is high-mobility, darting in and out, and while he's extremely skilled, it's clear that he's at somewhat of a disadvantage.

...they're both kind of aggressive fighters, though. Sakura is trying his best to at least avoid as many blows as he can while he continues to attack, but he can't avoid all of them. that's another sickening crack sound.]

[Hiroto hears the crack, and while he is relieved he's doing damage, his face betrays no emotion. It helps to temper his relief, every time he takes a blow himself, each injury stinging as he continues to work his arms through them.

He grunts at the pain he had to fight through, but he keeps the stakes in mind: this guy will be revived in this place, but Hiroto can't return to Creation without his victory. He falters for just a second when he remembers how he doesn't want to return, long enough to take a pretty bad attack before he returns in full force, swinging the naginata out blade- first again to try to get a scratch, rather than simply crushing the guy.]

[this time, he doesn't dodge quite fast enough, hampered by the fact that he's definitely got some bones broken. so he definitely gets that scratch in, though Sakura is definitely still attacking, again.

(because there's forcing his body to do what it needs to, even when injured, and there's what he does, which is even more so, and will probably kill him if Hiroto doesn't kill him first.).]

[That gets a sigh of relief from Hiroto, though he hates himself for it. It is a sign that something he is doing is working outside of just his overwhelming physical strength. That said, that's what he has over Sakura, so it is what he must use.

Hiroto will swing a foot out then, attempting to use a swift kick to trip Sakura up before jabbing the naginata at him again.]

[he avoids the kick, so isn't tripped up, and tries to parry the naginata. it's not a clean parry, either, so he's taking another blow: less deadly than Hiroto would have surely hoped for, but blood blooms against his dress.

this fight is probably every bit as difficult as he would have expected, but Sakura is definitely weakening. but he's not going to make this at all easy.]

[Hiroto is glad that the fight isn't easy. He isn't looking for easy. He has to make a decision about going back or not, and the best coinflip, he decided, was to choose a victim that would put up a good fight. If he wins, he goes back, if he loses, well... The decision will have been made for him.

He puts everything into the fight though. He couldn't throw it if he wanted to, and so he pushes through the injuries he has, taking short steps closer in order to force Sakura back with his attacks, his teeth grit as he puts as much force as possible behind the naginata, hoping to break through a guard on sheer strength alone.]

[there's only so much Xiao can try to dodge, especially at the current moment. not with how his opponent is forcing him back. he switches to try to parry instead, but while he can manage it at first, Hades is much stronger than him, and unfortunately for Sakura, breaks through his guard on that sheer strength alone.]

[There is no time for second thoughts, for hesitation. He knows Sakura is a good fighter and will no doubt be upon him again quickly, so Hiroto presses his advantage while he has it, bearing down on his opponent with his full strength, naginata used crudely, almost as a battering ram as he tries to skewer Sakura once the guard has broken.

He knows it could leave him open to attack if he's not careful, but it will be worth it if he can truly injure Sakura.]

[Hiroto does, in fact, manage to successfully leverage his advantage, because Sakura can't get out of the way and he doesn't manage to quite bring his polearm up in time. so ker-stabbed, and that's definitely a fatal injury.

but even dying, he's still going to try to fight. Hades wasn't careful enough, so he's going to attack while he still can, with the last of his strength, and activate In Solidarity.]

Too Young To Die

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