Scores To Settle

Yin sat cross legged in the field he had been training on. His eyes were closed as he replenished his strength and his aura. He felt so calm just sitting there, listening to the sounds of nature around him. Finally, he opened his eyes, feeling re-energized. He slowly unraveled his legs and rolled his neck, taking a look at the blue sky. He got up deliberately and thought, Might as well find the other guys.

He looked around at his handiwork, seeing a number of dummy targets destroyed and in pieces around the field. A smile touched the edge of his mouth before he turned and began walking towards the arena where his team was training. He put his arms behind his head, put his face to the sun, and broke into an actual smile. He was feeling good today.

Dante grumbled under his breath, several tools strewn about in front of him. He had started fiddling around with different dust types on his ammunition, and was hoping to have finally gotten the mixture right this time. "Come on!" he shouts, trying to force an external magazine into Zorro's gun form. After a few smacks, it slides in, and Dante lets out a puff. "Might have to trim it down some," he comments, picking it up and flipping the safety off. Extending his elbow, he activates the targets, bringing the gun up to bear. The first target popped up, he pulled the trigger, and...

"Pinche!" He drops Zorro, visibly frustrated as he tugs at the magazine. "Sick of this drek!" Pulling the magazine out forcefully, he tosses it to the side, sliding in the standard magazine instead, and starts to control his breathing, bringing down his heart rate. He'd gotten the length wrong. Again. Turning around, he begins to pace, trying to let off some steam. He was starting to succeed until he saw Yin, and his heart rate picked up again. His eyes narrowed looking at his teammate, keeping his mouth shut to avoid any added trouble.

Yin noticed his teammate struggling with his weapon. As he strolled up to him, he simply couldn't resist the temptation, "Having a bit of trouble there?" He asked a small laugh in his voice.

He couldn't say that he liked his partner, but he most definitely enjoyed watching his squirm. The fact that he was angry at his own weapon was just too funny.

Letting out a long sigh, his hand tightens around Zorro's grip. "Just a few quirks I need to work out," he says. "You might not know, but it takes a lot of trial and error when you're dealing with custom stuff." He didn't even want to imagine what would happen if he fixed the round length but had the wrong caliber. "Course, considering the shoddy work on your weapons, I'm starting to understand why they don't let the mutts near the tools."

There he goes. Yin thought. "Shoddy work?" He replied, shaking his head, "You clearly aren't a good judge of a blade." He unsheathed his longer weapon, purposely holding it too close to Dante's face, "This classic piece of weaponry is still incredibly deadly and I suggest you don't forget that." He said as he donned a mischievous yet threatening smirk.

Dante continues to stare Yin down, sighing heavily at the display of bravado. "Just because you think it's cool doesn't mean it's a classic." He hefts up Zorro, batting the blade away from his face. "This thing's effective out to one thousand yards. At a close enough range, it'll sink rounds into an Ursa's skull as though it were butter. And, when you're getting chased, you'll grow to yearn for the sounds of my shots ripping through the air to cover your stupid behind." He lowers the barrel, taking it in both hands and holding the sleek weapon casually. "I don't need you to like me," he says. "And I certainly don't need to like you. But the sooner you fall in line, the better. Got it?"

"Well," Yin remarked, "I don't think a rabbit would be very afraid of an unloaded, non-functioning gun, much less an Ursa." He continued, "As for the team, what do you think this is? The military? I'm certainly not going to blindly follow your orders." Yin scowled, "The only reason you're leader is that the harebrained staff of this school saw something in you. That gives you absolutely nothing over me." He looked Dante hard in the eye, "And if you want to prove to me that you can be a leader, go right ahead."

"The team is whatever I make it," he snaps. "Maybe I'm expecting too much from a mutt like you, but maybe you'd consider the fact that I might offer something you lack." Sophistication? Refinement? Ingenuity? Gotta be something to work with, here... "A little forethought and intelligence would go a long way with you, Keeb," he says, sighing in frustration. "So, what, you can't be civilized? Need to fight in order to show dominance? Reduce me to your own savage level? No, I'm better than that. I'm better than you. But otherwise, sit down, shut up, and stay put. Maybe I'll throw some scraps your way if you're good. Otherwise, I'll put you down myself like the rabid dog you are."

"You can't be the leader of a team that won't follow you, my friend." He said, his temper starting to rise, "As for your little superiority complex, I beg you to show me how much better you are than me. If you think you can do that by talking me to death, you're dead wrong."

"Maybe I have something to bring to the table that you lack," he says. "Intelligence, civility, refinement, ingenuity... I'm not from some backwater town, after all. I grew up with books and school, learning and knowledge. And, unlike you, I certainly know how to act around people. So, it's less of a superiority complex and more... fact." He takes a step back, shaking his head as Zorro begins to shift and morph back into its melee state. "I don't act this way because I think I'm better. I act this way because I know I'm better." His hands tighten around the shaft, muscles flexing under his shirt as he sighs. "I don't condone violence, to be honest. Very uncivil. Impolite to my common man. Thankfully, you're not one." With that, he swings the haft of the axe at Yin.

"Ha!" Yin exclaimed as he flipped away from a swing he thought was painfully slow. "I've been waiting for this!" A brutal smile crossed his face as he unsheathed his blades. "Let's see your true colours!" He snarled as he hurled himself at Dante.

He fed small amounts of aura into his legs to send him flying at his foe. At the last moment, he ducked and rolled to the right of the older boy, aiming a fast, but ultimately harmless swing at his knee with the flat of his blade. He also used his aura to propel him quickly away. He popped up to his feet, a fierce smile on his face as he assumed a proper fighting stance.

Gritting his teeth, he watches Yin, feeling the blade hit his knee as the boy slides past. He falters a bit, shifting his weight to his other leg. "True colors? Yes, let's talk about me, because we haven't done nearly enough of that yet." He raises his axe, exhaling heavily. "Always so eager to fight, aren't you?" He pushes forwards, approaching Yin in a wide arc to the fauna's left. "You need to learn some tact and humility!" Coming in for the swing, he shifts his weight and stance, turning clockwise as he shifts more to the Yin's right before bringing the axe back around.

Yin followed his movements, turning to face him as he strafed. When the blow came, he was ready. As Dante's axe came around, he flipped to the side and over the swing. The top of his hair was grazed by the axe, a few strands being sliced off. As he landed, he brought the pommel of his longer blade humming towards Dante's exposed side. He laughed aloud as he said, "Too slow! You'll have to do better then that, oh leader!"

Dante gritted his teeth, his blade hitting little more than air. He had gambled, and lost, and now hah to pay the price. "Pinche!" he shouts, lowering his axe as he slides back, clutching his side. Grunting, he raises the axe, taking a defensive stance. The magazine ejects itself with a hiss, flying to the ground and bouncing against it, making a hallow sound against the stone. "I'm getting real tired of this," he says, waiting for Yin's next move.

Yin smirked as he saw Dante back off and go on the defensive. He pressed his advantage, hurling himself towards his opponent. He brought his longer blade forwards in a swift strike aimed at Dante's weapon. As their blades met, Yin spun, bringing his right shoulder back with his longer sword. He used this momentum to bring his shorter blade hurtling at Dante's side, aiming lower so as to hit his upper leg.

Dante's eyes tracked Yin, grinning as the blade met his axe. He brings his axe back, swinging it behind and under him, his body radiating orange for a moment as his aura projects itself, the fauna's blade clashing with it just inches from his body. He changes his stance, moving onto the balls of his feet. "Forgetting something?" he asks, pushing forwards, swinging the axe in an upwards slash.

Yin clenched his teeth as the impact of his blade on Dante's aura jarred his arm. He was just barely able to register the axe coming at him from below. He had left himself in a bad position with that strike, and needed to react quickly. He quickly tucked and rolled to the right, getting him behind the older boy and bringing his longer blade in for a swing at his exposed back.

Dante cries out, the blade slashing along his back, both ruining his shirt and opening a respectable wound. Bringing his axe to bear, he pushes fourth, ducking and making a wide swing, trying to catch Yin's leg in the heel of it in an attempt to trip him.

Yin attemptted to leap over the axe, but was still recovering from the strike to his opponent's back. His left foot got caught on the haft of the weapon and sent him to the ground in a heap. He knew that Dante would need to take time to bring his weapon back around, though, so he aimed a kick at his heel in an attempt to distract him long enough to get back to his feet.

Dante grunted as he was thrown off balance, using his axe to support himself as he squandered his time to recover. He glows a faint orange as his wound slowly begins to close up, and he takes a few steps back, his axe shifting in shape and form. Grabbing it by the grip, he slides a new, slick magazine off of his belt, slapping it in before readying himself. "Do you really want to continue this?" he asks. "Or would you rather we both walk away?"

Yin quickly regained his feet, never taking his eyes off of his opponent. He watches as he shifted the weapon from an axe into a firearm. That's unfortunate. He thought. Yin smirked as he heard Dante's ultimatum, he replied, "The way I see it, this has to be resolved one way or another. If you refuse to see me as an equal," He shrugged, "There's only one way to solve that."

Dante rolls his eyes, his grip tightening on the handles. "You're a fool to ask for that," he says. "As foolish as our bickering." He shudders, gritting his teeth as his wound heals over a sensitive spot. "If I call you an equal, it's only due to force, which means I was right about you. It's a hallow -- and false -- victory." He lowers the barrel, standing up straight and wincing.

"Is that really what you want?"

Yin sighed heavily and closed his eyes, letting his adrenalin lower and his mind clear. Dammit, I really can't argue with that. He thought, As much as I hate admitting it, he's right about this. He opened his eyes and looked carefully at Dante.

Maybe he's a bit smarter then he looks. He thought as he sheathed his blades. "I suppose I can't argue with that." He said, "However, if you think that I have something to prove to you, you're wrong. I've had to deal with people like you my entire life, and I had to work for their approval since I was a kid." He clenched his fists as the memories began coming back to him, "I'm done."

"Too bad, Keeb," he says. "This drek takes time, and the sooner we're both on the same page about that, the better. That being said..." He rolls his shoulders and twists his head, causing an audible crack. "You're a part of this team, which means I'll be covering your sorry rear and tanking when you're in a tight spot. That's the best you're going to get until you act with a bit more civility." He releases his hand form the foregrip, slinging the barrel over his shoulder. "Basic drek. 'Person to person' drek. Since we've both forgotten. Right?" He cocks an eyebrow, hoping the fauna would understand.

Yin heaved another heavy sigh, I suppose that might be a step in the right direction. As much as he hated it, he was forced to concede, "I suppose." He said, with no small amount of reluctance. He then realized that he had gotten him pretty good with Flare. He asked, "How's your back?" Trying desperately to keep the disdain out of his voice.