Re: As Swift As A Coursing River(Rio/Nanashi)

Wed Jun 29, 2022 1:04 am

As Swift As A Coursing River(Rio/Nanashi) - Page 3 LIpCg8u

RIO SHIHOIN

Eh? Clap her cheeks? For a moment, her stance faltered as those words reached her ears. That was an interesting way of phrasing you'd defeat someone or overcome them, she thought. Was it some sort of slang-like phrase she was unfamiliar with? Whatever it was, the shield of the Shihoin had no intent of letting it distract her from the spar. She'd just search it up later or inquire about it with one of her peers. The momentary falter in her stance allowed Nanashi to land a few strikes at different parts of the woman's body, just as she had instructed earlier.

It wasn't enough to take her down by any measure of the word but Rio marvelled at how grounded they felt, noting the increase of focus Nanashi was employing with each strike. There was a particular sense of pride burning within her at how well the pink-haired vizard was picking up on her teachings. The pride of a teacher? Definitely. Focusing on the woman with amber eyes burning with competitiveness, Rio would remain grounded as she followed her with a prideful gaze, curious to see what else she could employ.

The combination attacks were a magnificent approach. They hadn't taken her off of out of her element entirely but they could be an issue if she allowed her to keep piling it on. As such, rather than employ deflection, Rio would use her dexterity, trained to it's upper limit in the past, to shift from side to side and move in alternating patterns to confuse her, forcing Nanashi to pick her spots more diligently than at first.

SHIELD OF THE SHIHOIN

Sun Sep 11, 2022 10:56 pm

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HEHEH! Those solid hits of contact made her swell with pride and self satisfaction! Of course she was just THAT awesome! All the same, watching the woman suddenly starting to shift to avoid her attacks caused her to double down! Panting as she began to exert herself! Less and less control, as she PUSHED herself to punch faster and faster! Struggling to keep up not only with her own speeds, but also the shifts of Rio's body!

She wasn't thinking about her ...studentry all that much. Her pride was in HERSELF! And all the more she was pushing and pushing herself to get stronger. To BE stronger. to be MORE! More than what she was! Her breath came in short little huffs and she was starting to wear down, but she didn't let up! Even as she felt sweat start to bead along her skin, she continued with that aggressive assault! A slow, building grunt welling up as she focused! Intent on landing a decisive hit that would.....win? All the same, her technique started to noticeably get more and more sloppy as she pushed herself, any notion of strategy getting a bit pushed to the wayside!

Wed Sep 21, 2022 7:21 pm

RIO SHIHOIN

Rio was quite impressed to see Nanashi finally push her into a defensive position. There was a degree of poise that was noticeably absent during their first clash, but it seemed as if the woman had picked up on the basics at least. To be honest, that is all the shihoin shield could ask for, given her lack of teacher experience. Of course, as Rio weaved from side to side, she began to see those strikes declining in quality, launched sloppily in hopes of landing a decisive blow. It wasn't entirely the most sound approach to winning any battle.

She was losing poise, and rather than allow her to keep that declining display up, Rio would swiftly reach an arm out to pull at Nanashi's arm. If her hand connected, she would step in with her leg, planting a firm shoulder strike against the woman's abdomen. It lacked any real striking power to take her down entirely, but it would take the air out of her a little - to prove a point. If it landed, Rio point something out.

"Impressive, Nanashi. You had me cornered but you got a little sloppy at the end. Battle basics 101, focus. Let us do that one more time..."

Rio opened her arms, positioning herself before Nanashi, seemingly giving off the illusion that she was opening herself up to a myriad of attacks. A test to see if Nanashi would listen. Her abdomen was especially wide open.

SHIELD OF THE SHIHOIN

Wed Sep 21, 2022 7:44 pm

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GUH!

Nanashi's eyes widened when the woman suddenly YANKED her arm and then slammed their shoulder into her chest! The wind almost getting completely knocked out of her, before her arms promptly locked around the other woman! Even as she was sucking in air, she had the gall, the focus, the WILLPOWER! Well no, it was actually just the fact that she was a goddamn tank.

Her fingers LOCKED together around the other woman and her mask suddenly blazed to life across her features, as her spiritual pressure SOARED! "GUOOOOOOOOOOH!" She croaked out, that strength of hers suddenly powered just as much! FAR stronger than she'd been able to muster from her mask moments before, as she attempted to HAUL the other woman clean off the ground and SUPLEX them clean into the dirt with enough force that the ground COMPACTED into a crater! That sudden savage hollow strength possibly catching BOTH of them by surprise as Nanashi promptly crumpled after the move, coughing and attempting to get the air back in her lungs as she lay on her back. Sadly, her will wasn't that strong, as soon as she'd gotten off the 'plan' she'd gotten into her own head, she promptly panicked and let go of her opponent, but the hit was what mattered right?

"Buwh....buh.....Booyah." She finally managed to croak out, her lungs promptly reinflated as she peeled herself off the ground.

Fri Sep 23, 2022 1:19 am

RIO SHIHOIN

To say Rio expected Nanashi to tank her shoulder strike would have been a lie. The pink-haired Shinigami's arms wrapped around the shihoin, trapping her in place. Rio had quickly aimed to pull away, but Nanashi's strength suddenly skyrocketed, granting her the strength to successfully pull Rio off of her feet.

"Hn!?"

With a resounding throw, Nanashi had hoisted the woman off of the ground, performing a fierce suplex that created a crater in the dirt they both landed on. It hadn't been enough to finish Rio off, but it had certainly rattled her, catching her off-guard with such an immense expression of strength in one single burst. An impressive, albeit unorthodox, counter. Rio rose up, breathing deeply to regain her composure. She had definitely got a good one in, which meant she had passed the test.

"Owow... I didn't expect a counter like that at all. Very good, Nanashi. You pass." With a soft smile, Rio walked over to offer Nanashi a hand, patting her on the shoulder.

SHIELD OF THE SHIHOIN

Fri Sep 23, 2022 5:51 pm

It didn't take Nanashi long to recover, ESPECIALLY with her mask on! And she sprang to her feet! And perhaps something very surprising would be noticed by Rio: her mask remained on! What had once seemingly only been on in short little bursts, it seemed that Nanashi had ACTUALLY reached the level where she could wear her mask for lengths at a time! Well, so far at least, who knew when it would shatter! All the same, NAnashi let out a HOOT and pumped her arms into the air!

"HAHA YEA! Uhhhh, what did I win?" She asked with a slight tilt to her head, having not really expected this to be a pass-fail kinda deal. Reaching up, she allowed the mask to fade, not wasting any further energy as she took the time to peer a bit at Rio. As if expecting some sort of prize for her efforts! Or ...praise. Maybe like a Title. Truly she was expecting a lot from the feat she'd managed. Super one hundred percent deserved. Yepyep.

Fri Sep 23, 2022 7:35 pm

RIO SHIHOIN

Heh. This pink-haired woman certainly impressed Rio. A moment ago, she had catapulted her off off the ground, creating a crater in the wake of her suplex, and now she was upright once more. Truly amusing. Another curious sight was the fact her hollow mask remained on rather than dispersing immediately after its use.

Had she been getting some extra training on the side? She wondered. Observing the woman as she celebrated, Rio tilted her head, a curious glint her eyes as the woman asked what she had won. Hm... is that how these things went? Whenever she passed a test, she usually got a compliment and a pat on the back.

Had times changed now? Did teachers gift better rewards for successful efforts? What would Nanashi find particularly rewarding after her successful body slam? She gave a light shrug as she gazed down at her, ruffling her hair.

"Well, obviously you win my praise and respect for strong-arming and throwing down the Shield of The Shihoin," she remarked with a hint of prideful humor in her tone, flexing her arm before Nanashi. She took pride in her skill and her durability, of course she'd praise someone who could land a good one in, through unorthodox means or otherwise.

"Outside of my praise, I don't really know what students view as fun rewards these days. Got anything in mind?"

SHIELD OF THE SHIHOIN

Sun Sep 25, 2022 5:42 pm

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"Eh?! Well I guess that's plenty." She murmured, promptly putting on a VERY smug grin as she was so thoroughly praised like this. Heheh~ All the same, she ....DID pause just a little and smiled at Rio. She made her way over to the woman and promptly thumped the woman on the sternum with the bottom of her fist, smirking as she did. "I'm proud of you too ya know? I mean uh....I don't mean to be disrespectful. And we kinda touched on this before. But this doesn't seem like your kinda deal. But even if the teaching thing hasn't panned out very well. You STILL have been a great sparring partner, and I can tell ya I've grown a lot." She noted with a big grin on her face.

"So uh, rather than you know. Teacher and student. How about we just be friends?" She offered, and promptly turned her hand to offer a handshake with the other woman. After all, it couldn't JUST be her. There was definitely a kinda ......not very teacher-studenty vibe going on. INITIALLY she had thought that well, it was because the woman was just hot. But after all this? It hadn't felt like a class at all. And that had frankly been GOOD! She learned by doing things, not being lectured, and Rio was a great person to train with because of that! True, she was saying that the woman was a poor teacher, but maybe admitting that would help them both grow!

Sun Sep 25, 2022 7:03 pm

RIO SHIHOIN

The thump against her sternum had elicited a light chuckle as Nanashi expressed her opinion on this teacher-student dynamic that currently existed between them. There was no disagreement to be offered on her end. She wasn't certain if the spar had brought her further towards this conclusion, or if she had recognized this discomforting energy at some other point beforehand, but Rio was no teacher. She was clearly out of her element when it came to instruction, and trying to lecture a energetic woman who thrived on acting on the fly like Nanashi was nothing short of an exercise in futility.

Rio preferred herself as more of a friend who could offer advice, truth be told. It almost felt like a weight had been lifted off of the Shihoin woman. A friend who could offer opinions and hang out with her seemed far more fitting than this... stringent dynamic where neither of them felt they could be more carefree. Rio had to admit that, on some base level, she felt a tinge of excited competition when she was thrown to the ground, as though she desired to rise up and return the favor.

Extending her hand forward, Rio shook Nanashi's hands as bright smile lined her lips. She reached in with her other hand to nudge the woman's shoulder with her first, to truly drive home the agreement. No longer teacher and student, they could now view the other as a friend with whom to laugh and enjoy the other's company, spar like they did today, and have fun together.

"Heh, you know what? Friends it is. Besides, you can learn more in a spar than receiving instruction in most cases, anyway... Friendship also means..."

She'd reach in almost playfully, twisting the woman's arm as if she was about to return the favor and swing her forward in slam before pausing her movement.

"I can return the favor and hit you with a body slam of my own," she'd remark before letting go of her arm. Nanashi would quickly notice one thing about Rio outside of those stoic layers she tended to hide behind - confidence in her own skill and a strong sense of competition.

SHIELD OF THE SHIHOIN