Sasuke found himself shifting automatically to a defensive posture. This guy had muscles on his muscles, and there were many little nonverbal cues giving him reason to feel nervous.
Unlike the "Ranma" personality/form the Fight card had manifested, this male form was radiating menace. At the most, the "Ranma" form had seemed to have a whimsical yet eager for violence air about her.
"Wagh!" responded Sakura, halfway behind Sasuke after one look at the guy.
"Whoa, now that's different," remarked Naruto, sounding completely clueless. "So who's this form?"
"Raoh, also known as Ken'ou," said the large menacing figure, slamming his fist into the palm of the other hand. That there seemed to be a shockwave radiating from that casual demonstration was not lost on Sasuke.
"Uhm, well, that's a name," admitted Naruto. "So this guy was a serious martial artist?"
"Raoh was a superior martial artist even among other martial artists of his time," agreed the rumbling voice of the Fight card, each syllable seemed to carry the indication that bones would be crushed and bodies broken once a fight actually occurred. "He never once turned from his path, his final gesture being that he would defy the heavens themselves rather than back down an inch."
"Cool!" declared Naruto. "That's my ninja way too!"
Sasuke looked at Naruto, then back at "Raoh" then back to Naruto again. "I see no resemblance. At all."
"We have to fight THAT?" asked Sakura. "You can't go back to Ranma again?"
"No," rumbled Raoh, who settled into a stance. "You may begin."
Sasuke lunged to the side before the massive fist could strike him.
Sakura realized what was about to happen and tried to jump. Instead she shot away from the point of impact, bounced off the street, and slammed into a wall.
"First lesson," rumbled Raoh as he turned towards where Naruto had just used Wood to put a solid wall between him and his opponent. "Techniques require time to activate, a straight attack can interrupt such things. Second lesson."
A single punch plowed through the barricade, striking Naruto on the other side. As had Sakura, his body bounced once before being stopped by a wall. Unlike Sakura, he hit the wall one floor up and then fell back to street level.
"If you're going to block line-of-sight with an opponent," rumbled Raoh, not even facing Sasuke. "Use the advantage immediately and move to a different location. The only unfair advantage in a fight is one you don't have."
"Grand Fireball!"
The ball of flame hit and consumed the area, lighting even the pavement of the street on fire.
WAP!
Sasuke went down, clutching the back of his head.
"Lesson three," rumbled Raoh from his position behind Sasuke. "Using an attack that blocks YOUR OWN line of sight to the target is just asking for trouble. You should always move after firing it off. Waiting to see if the attack hit is just asking for someone to hit you."
"Ungh," said Sasuke.
"I hit you lightly," said Raoh, turning away. "Try not to be so disappointing next time."
"I'm not finished," said Sasuke, trying not to puke.
"The only reason you're not unconscious is someone needs to take care of your team," said Raoh, walking away. "The nausea will pass in two minutes. Get stronger."
Sasuke spat, watching the Fight card walk away. Someone else he needed to get stronger and beat.
"So..." Kakashi let the word trail off as he took in the sight of his three genin. "Let's see if we can get a D-Rank mission that isn't too physically challenging."
"Never again," said Naruto.
"Damn straight," said Sakura.
Sasuke grunted.
Watching the three genin hobble, shuffle, and limp their way along the trail, Kakashi had to wonder exactly what had happened and how many injuries they'd taken. Naruto usually, from what he saw, shrugged off injuries in short order. Yet this morning he still looked as if he'd been beaten with a stick and was limping along.
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(Posted Wed, 12 Dec 2012 16:08)
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らんま1/2 © Rumiko Takahashi
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