07-29-2017, 01:11 AM
The short break it took to manifest a new ball, Takezo was busy formulating how this game should be played. By the rules he had been told, there was apparently one left out. No excessive force. Measured strength must have been an unspoken rule to qualify as a foul. He had paid special care to watch how Dust had served, though Gildart's return was... basically a punch, which the ronin did not believe an accurate way to attack the situation.
Gildarts soon enough had a ball in hand and was giving it a good toss to test its weight. "That feels about the same," seeing as he had basically tried to copy the previous ball from the brief moment he held it. He casually tosses it over the net at Dust, letting this first little mishap slide.
Dust caught the ball and was ready to serve again. This time he knew exactly who to serve to. His eyes flick to Takezo. The Ronin seemed in a slack position, unprepared and easy prey. He knew the Ronin was tough, he had seen it in action, and knew the man would not mind taking a hit to the face for fun. The scar upon the man's chest, kept past reincarnation, was clear he enjoyed competition. With a wolfish smirk, he tosses the ball. As it descends back to earth, his hand reaches to smack it across the net.
Takezo was already in motion. POW! The ball hurtles across in the blink of an eye, but Takezo had already leaped in a burst of movement to place himself in perfect position. His arm was up and by the time the ball arrived, he snapped an open palm to the ball with a sharp but mighty "HA!" In the span of a second, he had returned fire. Dust did not even have the benefit of regret before he feels a breathtaking force take him off his feet.
There was no crater, but he was knocked out of bounds and left gasping. After a moment of recovery, his chest burned! The broad red welt Takezo had left stung like a million hornets. The ronin retook his position as he called to the giant; "No hard feelings, my friend. I will not strike children. You are the only viable target on your team." He naturally assumes this is why Gildarts chose Dust as well. The warrior did not know you could simply aim for the sand. After all, he was supposed to make them drop the ball. That sounded like a test of strength.
Takezo flicked his hand a bit. Even he was not immune to the sting the ball had left behind. At least with as spread out as the impact was, on both ends, the ball did not pop or explode. Some of the stitching of the outer layer was coming undone, but it did not demand immediate attention. "N-no problem... We're good..." Needless to say, Dust was still reeling. After two high force impacts, he was somewhere between pain and adrenaline. He had to remind himself this was not a fight.
"I believe it's our turn now?" Gildarts chimes, a slight smirk at the Swordsman's display. The man's mix of brutal competitiveness and morality was almost uplifting. Almost. "Dust?"
"Yea, I'm up." With a flick of his tall form, Dust is back up on two feet. He still rubbed his chest. "Dirty move, Takezo."
"Me and a friend used to play a game similar. We would take the severed head of Generals and try to hit one another, without tripping on corpses." Takezo was grinning, but there were more than a few eyes staring at the man. His brow furrowed at the odd response. "What?"
Gildarts soon enough had a ball in hand and was giving it a good toss to test its weight. "That feels about the same," seeing as he had basically tried to copy the previous ball from the brief moment he held it. He casually tosses it over the net at Dust, letting this first little mishap slide.
Dust caught the ball and was ready to serve again. This time he knew exactly who to serve to. His eyes flick to Takezo. The Ronin seemed in a slack position, unprepared and easy prey. He knew the Ronin was tough, he had seen it in action, and knew the man would not mind taking a hit to the face for fun. The scar upon the man's chest, kept past reincarnation, was clear he enjoyed competition. With a wolfish smirk, he tosses the ball. As it descends back to earth, his hand reaches to smack it across the net.
Takezo was already in motion. POW! The ball hurtles across in the blink of an eye, but Takezo had already leaped in a burst of movement to place himself in perfect position. His arm was up and by the time the ball arrived, he snapped an open palm to the ball with a sharp but mighty "HA!" In the span of a second, he had returned fire. Dust did not even have the benefit of regret before he feels a breathtaking force take him off his feet.
There was no crater, but he was knocked out of bounds and left gasping. After a moment of recovery, his chest burned! The broad red welt Takezo had left stung like a million hornets. The ronin retook his position as he called to the giant; "No hard feelings, my friend. I will not strike children. You are the only viable target on your team." He naturally assumes this is why Gildarts chose Dust as well. The warrior did not know you could simply aim for the sand. After all, he was supposed to make them drop the ball. That sounded like a test of strength.
Takezo flicked his hand a bit. Even he was not immune to the sting the ball had left behind. At least with as spread out as the impact was, on both ends, the ball did not pop or explode. Some of the stitching of the outer layer was coming undone, but it did not demand immediate attention. "N-no problem... We're good..." Needless to say, Dust was still reeling. After two high force impacts, he was somewhere between pain and adrenaline. He had to remind himself this was not a fight.
"I believe it's our turn now?" Gildarts chimes, a slight smirk at the Swordsman's display. The man's mix of brutal competitiveness and morality was almost uplifting. Almost. "Dust?"
"Yea, I'm up." With a flick of his tall form, Dust is back up on two feet. He still rubbed his chest. "Dirty move, Takezo."
"Me and a friend used to play a game similar. We would take the severed head of Generals and try to hit one another, without tripping on corpses." Takezo was grinning, but there were more than a few eyes staring at the man. His brow furrowed at the odd response. "What?"