Transitionist Training

Itsuki, Yohime took a stance, her right foot sliding back while both hands rose to chest-height as if prostrayed in prayer. Slowly the sclera of her eyes engulfed the iris, eating away at the pupils until there were nothing but a pair of milky white orbs. Veins protruded from pale skin while the woman's vision expanded [1].

Two opponents, one of whom had already proven to be superior to her before except now there was a solid goal in sight. To become better and continue improving there was a need to expand the abilities she already had, thus bringing the Itsuki closer to her dreams [2].

"Ready whenever you are." Yohime intoned, squarely set in the stance of her people, the Lunar Dance while mentally preparing for the harrowing experience to come. While she had trained -hard- she still had some misgivings about how effective this would be but she would be damned if her best wasn't offered [3].


Itsuki, Yohime shifted her weight, Jecht's strike coming in only to be seamlessly avoided through a pivot, the Itsuki sweeping low as she did in order to try and strike at him with an open palm-thrust to the side. It was clear the level of reflexive ability had increased considerably as well as the mastery of what little knowledge she already had.[4]

Dancing out of the way, one could note the familiar movements of Baguazhang in how she carried herself in order to strike from a new position, attacking gracefully. "Thank you both for doing this." [5]


Itsuki, Yohime thanked her lucky star that Near was still not moving all too agressively which gave the Itsuki space. "Do you utilize essence a lot, Jecht or do you focus solely on pure use of the blade?" Yohime questioned while attempting to slide out of the way once more with her arms moving up to block at the same time. [6]

She was in the middle of the circle, the dark side and the light side of the moon clear before her mind's eye with the pair this close to her now, within the effect of a technique she needed to grow stronger in order to put to full use.
As the strike connected, white wisps of essence exploded out from her skin in a swirling shockwave and with it came pressure [7].

To some, the heavy weight felt like suddenly attempting to fight through cement and to others it was a minor annoyance at best, a blanket to be shrugged off with ease and keep on fighting. To Yohime though it was the epitome of what she had fought hard to learn in order to give herself an edge in engagements such as thes [8].

When everyone was faster than her one way to bridge the gap was trying to slow them in any way possible and this was one of them. Yin-Yang, one of the crowning techniques of her clan, taught to those who had reached a certain maturity within the Lunar Dance [9].

With surprising ruthlessness, an open palm strike surged forth towards Jecht's throat, Yohime trying to catch him by surprise with a burst of speed. Even though it wasn't a dramatic shift in power it was retaliation nonetheless, progress being showcased in a very real manner [10].

Itsuki, Yohime slipped low, continuing to pivo--
No, a hand crashed against her cheek with the area of his hand making sure the area around her eye was hit too, the strike too fluid to avoid as a riposte was perfectly made. Her head snapped back, water spewing out of the other Yatogari's mouh. Good thing it had worked on him at least [11].

That still left her with one overwhelming opponent and while her confidence had risen in the last month she knew he was still far superior, having landed a solid strike without using any techniques just yet. A humbling experience but a necessary one. [12]

With Near temporarily out of the fight, her focus rested on the other and the difference was noticeable as attacked, own hand surging forward to strike at him from a new position only for the woman to pivot  A feint.[13]

It was too fluid to be a simple spur of the moment attempt at offense, the shift in stance heralding the use of some kind of technique with a perfectly executed feint followed by an attempt at two rapid strikes to Jecht's back if her repositioning was successful; blasts of white essence accompanying them with her speed increasing further [14].

Itsuki, Yohime lacked speed and it frustrated her to no end, marred red skin lining her cheek and eye from the hit that connected earlier but through the frustration came a smile of all things even as she shifted to try and move along with the strike.
The reason for this became clear as she posed a simple question, attempting to strike at the incoming jab. [15]

If it connected the effects of it became clear quickly as a second strike followed in an attempt to thrust a palm against the other's right side in a move similar to the riposte maneuver he had performed previously, clearly learning from the exchange. [16]

If it didn't then her own strike came too slow, the jab hurtling closer as a result of Yohime overreaching which was unfortunate in and of itself, a soft wheeze passing her lips as a result of the strike only to expel even more essence, this time covering a large area yet again as the explosion of power curled around the Itsuki to repel both of her assailants in a show of force; negating some of the damage that would otherwise befall her form. [17]

Itsuki, Yohime found herself once more faced with two opponents as Near closed the distance. Two people to worry about, Yohime's eyes narrowing while her mind worked fast to try and figure out what exactly to do [18].

With Jecht in front of her and Near to her left that meant moving right was the correct course of action while at the same time trying to retaliate only for that line of thought to be cut short, a blast of killer-intent catching her offguard enough to make Jecht's attack even more effective. [19]

      A n n o y i n g.

But it needed to be done and so she worked on it even as her shoulder was struck with force sending the woman careening off to the side, crashing against the ground. Steady inhales accompanied her rolling along the ground, tucking her knees to her chest briefly only to extend, bootclad feet hitting the ground heels first to move into a crouch[20]

Like droplets of ink blotted on paper dark blotches took form in Yohime's eyes, before long becoming her pupil and iris as she held up both hands. She had tested herself and found one of her many limitations; a lack of experience.
"That will have to do, Jecht, Near." [21]

What was vision without training and skill without proper conditioning to utilize it? Jecht's speed coupled with Near's unpredictability made for a duo posing a challenge even as she could feel the child's lacking reserves which limited the possibilities [22].

In the context of fighting though the idea of reacting to two or more opponents became something she pondered as a single truth rose above the others; that of unpredictability inherent in the addition of actors to a combat-scenario. With the addition of another individual the list of available avenues to attack increased exponentially and that in and off itself made it a solid advantage [23].

Yet, putting that into perspective, she wouldn't be able to win the current bout except it felt like she had accomplished her goal in a way that could prove invalueable in other fights. There was a skeleton there, a skeleton for a style and a way of fighting which would help in these types of situations... [24]

Like droplets of ink blotted on paper dark blotches took form in Yohime's eyes, before long becoming her pupil and iris as she held up both hands. She had tested herself and found one of her many limitations; a lack of experience.
"That will have to do, Jecht, Near." [25]