[Graded] Daggers, daggers, we all fall down

[Ace Trainer]

As Kozan descended, he would see Yuuto prepare his counter attack and quickly grab onto a branch, flipping himself into the air and landing on a branch. This is getting no where, he thought rather uncharacteristically. Kicking off the branch, he’d propel himself back towards the lake until he was in the opening. Throwing his hands in the air, he would drop to the ground, signaling to Shinji that he was done fighting. ”I’ve used up too much chakra, I can’t win this.”, he would say with a defeated sigh.

[Trusted Grader]

The shockwave of the sword hitting the shield forced Yuuto to focus on his footing in order not to fall, unfortunately Kozan their equal strength and the fact that he lacked any footing himself made sure that their connection kept him suspended for a brief moment, what came next, which gave Kozan plenty of time to wrap his tentacle around his ankle but also Yuuto enough time to realise what was happening, he slipped and fell with Kozan and felt how he tried to push to slam him on the ground, this move would be detrimental for both as it would not end up benefiting any of them. This is going to suck!

See, Yuuto had spent a good portion of a year training with Mondai to learn how to always be prepared to defend your body with the shield whilst focusing on attacking, he bet that Kozan lacked that skill so when the predator dragged him, he would unsheathed Judgement and aimed to pierce Kozans thigh, opting to tank the slam instead of attempting to escape and force Kozan to choose between attacking or being attacked.

Due to him being forced to curl inwards to cut Kozan thigh, would cause the boy to slam into ground as a roll, right as Kozan would land his side, causing him to cough up blood. He knew the pain of breaking bones and knew exactly how many ribs he had broken. His left arm broke as well, a price he was willing to pay if it meant that his spine was still intact, not to say that he was fine, no, no, the boy was in serious pain but knew that there was no chance that the monster before him would just end it without trying to hurt him even more. The sword would draw intense amount of blood from his thigh as its blood drinking effect kicked in the second sword pierced him.

The human body only stored 5 litres of blood and losing one litre was enough to seriously turn one seriously woozy, especially if one had already exhausted oneself, with that said, it wasn't like the Karagata was in his prime shape either, he struggled to breath for a second as he pushed to slide away from Kozan, he made sure to kick sword as means to make sure that he would bleed even faster, for deep down he knew that this wasn't really over.

---

JutsuShow

What's the limit?
D-Rank Discipline Taijutsu
This is a simple discipline Yuuto has trained, to always keep in mind of his limits, how far he can push and where the edge of his determination can drive him. This technique is an important part of his lifestyle, to always stay one step ahead, to always mind yourself.

Shifting Hands
D-Rank Discipline Taijutsu
This simple discipline allows Yuuto to utilize both his hands flawlessly and can control them equally as good,
whether it would be using his sword or fists.

[Kabu]

Asuna took a deep breath as she surfaced from the depths of the pond and climbed back up onto dry land. She felt a bit bad about leaving Nozomi down there but the girl didn't need to breathe so she would be fine. Right now she had other things to worry about, like the fact that one of her arms was in pain and beginning to swell up and that there were others still left to fight. Luckily she was otherwise largely unharmed and even still had her other arm to use.

Pushing through the pain she felt she began running through the trees, occasionally ducking behind trees as she kept an eye out for Kozan and Yuuto, unaware that the former had already left. As she kept running she eventually heard the sounds of a scuffle nearby. It was faint but still enough to keep track of so long as she paid careful attention.

Eventually she spotted a human form, ducking behind another tree as it came into sight. Taking a deep breath she swapped to her uninjured arm, placing it on the hilt of her sword and began channeling chakra into her sword, stepping out from behind her hiding place and dashing forward in her Iaido stance, charging towards the man she now recognized as Yuuto and drawing her blade at full speed, stabbing forward towards his side with a speed that only those trained in Perception could witness, attempting to slash into, possibly even through, his side and releasing a burst of chakra at 15 Strength as her blade began to dig in.

Jutsu usedShow

Ninjutsu • Impact Burst
D-Ranked Ninjutsu
After channeling chakra into a weapon the user then makes their attack, upon impact releasing concussive force in the form of an outward explosion with a strength equal to the user's [Control]. The user has five posts to strike a target before the chakra dissipates.

Iaido • Ambidexterity]
D-Rank Taijutsu Discipline
After practicing for a long amount of time with the concept of using both of their hands with equal skill, the user has developed a level of ambidexterity that allows them to utilize both hands equally and as effectively without any penalty. This extends to other methods of combat or simple everyday life as well.

Iaido • Death’s Gate]
C-Rank Taijutsu Maneuver
Prerequisite(s): 15 Speed.
Drawing upon the superlative speed of Iaido, the practitioner momentarily torques the muscles in their body to draw their sword from its scabbard and deliver a blindingly fast slash before sheathing their blade. Properly reading this attack requires the opponent to have a Perception technique of equal or higher rank than this technique. Otherwise, they cannot accurately read the attack and will be unlikely to completely avoid the attack, if at all.

[Trusted Grader]

Yuuto huffed and puffed, he was surprised to see Kozan give up the fight, but before he could fully process the situation Asuna arrived, she reached for her sword and so did Yuuto, he made sure to watch out for the tail but wasn't perceptive enough to fully move out the way from the incoming slash. No matter, for the boy, was a tad bit suicidal in his combat style, he put his bet on his regenerative capabilities carrying him out of this tough situation. This is it! This is the final part of the trial, Kozan is out and I guess since Asuna is here, Nozomi is out as well.

The boy shouted as Amendment came crashing down towards Asuna, forcing her to choose between fully committing to the strike or dodging out of harm's way, the massive bat would bounce her if struck properly and possibly knock out her clean. On the other hand, the sword cut right into the boy's side and push inwards at an alarming strength, he coughed up blood, his endurance was being pushed to the max but he knew that he had one more in him, so he would attempt to pull out the sword if time was of the fortune before he would attend to whatever happens to Asuna, lest she dodged his strike clean, then he would fall to his knee, before pushing up to strike her midsection and send her flying towards the lake.

The fight was on and Yuuto wasn't about to falter now, he was ready to take on Kozan but Asuna would have to do. I'm Sorry Nozomi, I wish I choose the other option... He wanted to curse but he had more important things to deal with at the moment. First was trying to stop the bleeding.

---

MetaShow

Watermelon
B-Rank Maneuver Taijutsu
Yuuto flips as he raises his weapon and wacks the weapon on top of the target's head, aiming to knock them out cold with a solid wack. If the user's Strength is higher than their Endurance then the target will pass out, and those with higher stats will experience a strong daze. (-3 Endurance, -3 Will Power) for 5 posts.

Solar Plexus
C-Rank Maneuver Taijutsu
Yuuto uses the sheath to smack the target on their solar plexus, hoping to wind the target if they fail to protect themselves. (-3 Endurance) until they regain their breath after 3 posts.

[Kabu]

Even as the sword came down towards her Asuna still pushed forward with her attack, pushing her blade deep into Yuuto's side which would as a result hinder his regeneration. As she did this however her arm was still swelling, the girl wincing as the pain intensified. Luckily it wasn't her sword arm but nonetheless the pain was growing too great to really ignore, she needed to end this quickly.

Unfortunately this would leave her unable to dodge the incoming strike, the blow landing true and knocking her unconscious, her blade falling from her hands and bone tail shattering as she fell to the ground.

[Trusted Grader]

I can't believe it, she fell for it! Fight throug the pain and the victory is yours! Yuuto swollwed the pain, everything was moving in slowmotion, from Asuna's blade piercing his side, his sword coming down to smash her skull and spine. Her blade stuck to his spine as she bounced off the ground, he fell to his knees as Asuna passed out.

A cough of blood proceeded as he did his best to stabilize himself, Yuuto couldn't believe how lucky had been that she chose to continue with the attack rather than deflect and sidestep, the answer was there but the option wasn't taken, but that was the purpose of this event, to train and learn from their flaws. Kozan had thought him that he needed to work on his shield style and to not abandon hope while Asuna thought him that he could fight if he put his heart in to it.

All he had to do now was survive.

With that, Yuuto fell to the ground and looked up towards the sky, he yanked out the blade then slowly started to drift away, exhausted, but still alive.

I can't believe it... I won.