Colosseum - Round 2 - Strazio Rockwell vs Kakashi Hatake

[Strazio Rockwell]

A veritable torrent of red poured forth from Strazio’s stomach. Every survival instinct flared to life. Strazio panicked and slammed his opponent into the steel platform. Energy charged into his muscles and hot sparks pumped through his veins. The fear of death scratched at the back of the Avatar’s mind and he knew he had to get away from Kakashi. With his supercharged muscles he gripped his opponent by the back and lifted him from the ground. Another liter of flowed from his gut as he threw the shinobi away from himself. Kakashi tumbled across the arena leaving behind a trail of blood and porcelain shards. Strazio’s energy cocktail faded and the devastating mixture of exhaustion and anemia assaulted him. Trying to take a step sent his world tumbling and he fell to his knees. Heaving pained breath punctuated the sounds of gushing blood. The gash was deep and wide, it was a wicked wound that would bleed a man dry in mere moments. Around the edge of the laceration hungry white sparks danced. These lightning bugs cauterized the wound, searing the edges of arteries and veins. He staunched the majority of the bleeding. Around his neck hung the crest of Darkshire, the crest was a heavy reminder of his promise to Demitri.


“Fuck,” Strazio muttered, “I canth die.”


Shuddering and sputtering Strazio forced his defiant body to stand. His legs shook underneath him and thick blood seeped from his charred wound. He stood because he had no choice, to die here would be unacceptable. He stood because it was all he knew how to do. His village burned and he rose from the ashes and blood. His entire life was a defiant progression forward. A guttural roar erupted from deep in his gullet and cascaded across the battlefield.


Nothing would stop him.


Nothing could stop him.


The crumpled scarecrow crawled to his feet. Shattered and crumbling the canine mask fell from his face in large porcelain shards. His red eye watched Strazio, the sharingan analyzed every minute movement. Sparks crawled across Strazio’s flesh and began to wreath his arm in destructive lightning. The shinobi was already moving as the Avatar let loose a world-ending bolt of roiling magick. Kakashi slid under the attack and returned a volley of metal stars. The shuriken bit into Strazio’s leg and he yelped in pain. Several more shuriken whizzed past his head and he dove to the edge of the platform.


Frustrated at his opponent’s unwillingness to fight Strazio’s eyes scanned the battlefield for respite. Hiding wasn’t his style, but neither was eating volleys of throwing stars. He scrambled to the edge of the platform and peered over the edge. A circular landing sat below his own and in the center of the platform was a tin shed. This would be his bulwark against the ninja. Strazio gripped at his wound, covering his hand in fresh blood. Under the cover of an explosion he would escape into the shack and lie in wait. The blood started to spark and he scattered it in a wide arc around himself. Another series of explosions rocked the arena. Using the cloud of debris as cover Strazio jumped to the lower platform and hid inside the darkened shed.


An eerie silence followed the explosions. This was a risky gambit, he had no idea if Kakashi could sense his presence. Strazio’s mouth filled with cotton and his throat refused to swallow. His entire body threatened to fall apart and his heart tried to leap from his chest. The door to the shed creaked open and the silhouette of the ninja appeared in the threshold. An inhuman battle cry escape Strazio’s lungs as he charged the shinobi outside. A burst of white struck Kakashi square in the chest and his form exploded in a puff of smoke. “Not thith time!” Strazio yelled and whirled around to face the shinobi hiding in his blind-spot. Hoping to push him over the edge of the platform the Avatar charged. Surprised at the reckless aggression Kakashi raised his blade in defense. The two collided with each other and tumbled over the edge. With a thunderous slam they crashed into the poisoned ground. The toxic air chewed into their flesh.


Strazio laughed and picked himself from the ground, “I can handle the pain, can you?”