Yasei was a little disappointed as the ball returned to him just as lightly as Cyran had served it before, but it was short lived. His eyes opened wider in surprise as the ball he was about to hit to send back over the net suddenly veered to the side like it was dodging his hand. It was lucky for him that he had good reflexes. With swifter movement than he might have appeared capable of given his rotund stature and large size, he shot his hand to the side and hit the ball up with his palm.

In trying to be quick enough that the ball wouldn't move out of the way again, he used a bit more force than he'd used previously. The ball shot high, high up into the air. It was a barely visible dot in the sky when it started to descend back down toward Cyran's side of the court. The ball would land just barely within the court's borders, behind where Cyran stood.

"My bad!" Yasei laughed as the ball took its time falling back to the earth. He held a hand over his eyes to shield them from the sun as he watched the ball descend from the altitude he'd sent it to. He scratched the back of his head and looked at Cyran apologetically for a moment before putting back on his game face.

"That's a fun trick, but not quick enough. Show me something good." Yasei half taunted jokingly. The spell was fun, but he wanted to see something more flashy. Little tricks like that weren't what he was interested in.

Just as he suspected, Yasei was fast, faster than his stature implied, but Cyran knew better than to assume that all brawlers were big, slow tanks. Power was nothing without speed to put force behind it, after all. Still, that much power to send the ball practically to the heavens was… more than he’d anticipated dealing with. Cyran’s fighting style was less about tanking damage head-on and more about using people’s momentum against him. It flew so high it practically blotted out the sun for a moment, cloaking them all in shade. And then Yasei looked up at it and went, ‘My bad!’

My bad? Just how much was this man capable of that something like this was merely a little accident?

Suddenly Cyran was having second thoughts about this ‘game’.

He offered a small, only somewhat nervous smile at Yasei’s demand for something good. Therein lied the problem, as Cyran’s skills and the magic in his repertoire was very much geared towards killing his victims from the dark and making the job quick.

Perhaps a stronger bit of misdirection was required…

It only took an instant. Within the shadows cast from the ball in the air, Cyran called upon the shadows at his fingertips, figuring that magic was fine as Yasei had asked for something a bit more impressive than a party trick. And it seemed like he could handle it… Cyran wouldn’t hurt him with anything particularly aggressive. Resolve affirmed, he created a ball of pure shadow, sending it right in Yasei’s direction.^[1,2]. The Komainu would suddenly find that his vision had been robbed from him. At the sametime, Cyran backed up, volleying the ball back with his arms, holding back a wince at the pain from the impact -

Because in the blink of an eye, Cyran was no longer on the other side of the net but behind Yasei in the shadows, completing the return volley with as much force as he could muster straight into Yasei’s back.^[3,4,5]

A little dirty, but he had a feeling Yasei was looking more for a fight than a game anyways.

---

1. Zone of Shadows
2. Mass Shadow Control
3. Blink
4. Back Stab
5. Ebon Eyes

Yasei looked around as a bubble of darkness enveloped everything around him. Normally, he could still see even in the dark, but this was a different kind of darkness. This was advanced darkness. That was definitely something more than moving the ball a bit. Cyran gave him what he'd asked for, but that definitely wasn't all there was to it. Why would he put Yasei in darkness if he didn't have some way to follow up?

Yasei closed his eyes that weren't helping him at the moment anyways and listened. A sound behind him made him move on instinct. With an upward flick of his tail, the ball impacted and was sent flying upward again with a sound as if it had been hit by something far harder than the giant fluffball that was Yasei's tail. Yasei himself didn't know exactly what had happened, but he did feel an impact on his tail. Was that the ball, or had Cyran thrown something else at him? He couldn't really tell anything for certain in this darkness.

Yasei let out a laugh. "I said to show me something good, and now you made me not see anything! How mean!" He called out with mock sadness, pretending to be hurt by Cyran's actions.

---

Wild Mane- Prehensile Tail

Yasei made no escape to flee the shadows which Cyran had trapped him in, which was a good sign. However, his blow to the Komainu’s back seemed to have less of an impact, which… was not so good. What Cyran lacked in strength he made up for in speed and precision, which usually worked well enough to cover any of his weaknesses. But at this range against someone whose body was pure solid mass, Cyran truly was a little bit outclassed when it came to ‘mock fights’.

Yasei didn’t even let out a sound of surprise when the ball thudded against his tail.

Cyran blinked, admittedly caught off guard by this series of developments.

“Um. Okay. My apologies.” He said, only because he had no idea what he was supposed to say. He made his way back to his side of the net and dispelled the darkness with a wave of his hand. “That point belongs to me, I believe.” He gestured towards the ball at Yasei’s feet. It was his move now, and Cyran wanted to see more of what he was capable of as well, if they were to play this game.

"Ha, don't worry about it! I was only teasing you, you know." Yasei said as he held his hand to block the sun from his eyes once the darkness around him vanished and made everything suddenly way too bright for him on the sunny beach.

"Eh?"

Yasei looked down at the ball on the ground beside him.

"EH!?"

He was truly surprised to see the ball there. He thought he hit it over the net! Did he fumble it in the dark without realizing? Ah! He messed up and let Cyran score a point! His competitiveness only grew stronger now. He didn't even consider the illegality of the move Cyran pulled, being on his opponent's side of the net. He wouldn't want to win on some technicality anyway. He huffed in frustration a little as he picked up the ball, but it didn't last long. His mouth widened into a big smile again as he faced Cyran with a glint in his eyes.

"Like master, like students huh? They got one point too, but that's all they got, and all you're gonna get." Yasei pledged with a loud laugh as he got into position to serve the ball.

With a quick crouch, Yasei leapt into the air and served the ball like a meteor headed straight for the sand beside Cyran. White flames clung to the ball as it flew through the air, the same flames surrounding both of Yasei's hands and feet.

---

Art of the Burning Fist
Angelic Light
Bull's Strength

Earning a point, no matter how technically illegal it might have been - that was what seemed to do the trick, lighting the fire of Yasei’s competitive spirit. Quite literally. Cyran was not expecting the man to burst into flames like a Winter’s Crown candle. He braced himself for the ball hurtling towards him like a meteor. If he’d only been playing with his own skill, he would not have been able to withstand it.

Unfortunately for Yasei, he had a little more up his sleeve than his students.

The second Cyran volleyed the ball, a coating of ice grew on his forearm, the one bearing the brunt of the weight - and at the same instance, a sturdy, spectral figure manifested around him, invisible to all, including him.^[1,2] The meteor impacted his arm with a force Cyran hadn’t been anticipating. The assassin grit his teeth, skidding at least five feet backwards in the sand, but he held strong.

The ball soared directly upwards, Cyran’s redirection not having enough power behind it to send it where he wanted. Higher, higher, higher it went… Cyran clutched his arm, where the ice had splintered, which was only a touch sore. At least it, and the spectral aid, had protected him from the worst of the damage. Maruyama still hovered behind him, ready to intervene again if need be - but Cyran was not paying attention to his ghostly help. The Specter summoned the shadows, a pair of spectral wings bursting from his back, a serious expression on his face as he shot into the air after the ball.^[3]

He was not the most competitive of people, but even he could not deny being determined to prove himself against such a capable enemy. In their present arena, the stakes were low… but the spirit of competition was high. The assassin reached the ball in a matter of seconds - it was still on fire, and his arm still stung from the force of the first blow, but no matter. His legs always were stronger than his arms, anyways. Whirling around on the air, Cyran brought his leg up and immediately chopped it downwards in an angled axe kick, propelling it straight towards Yasei at a devastating curve, with all the force of a fallen star.^[4]

---

1. Cold Fist
2. Spirit Guardian - Maruyama (½ hit preventions used)
3. Bat Wings (Post ⅓)
4. Boomerang Arc

"Hohoh?" Yasei let out a small sound of surprise and smiled as Cyran withstood his flaming serve with a coating of ice on his arms. Now that was an interesting spell. Impressive, but that alone wouldn't be enough to win. The Liondog still had plenty of tricks up his sleeves. He followed the ball and Cyran with his eyes as they both soared into the air, his opponent now sporting a pair of wings.

"Ha! Now this is what I wanted to see!" He laughed excitedly.

Yasei could tell immediately that that ball was dangerous. The spin and speed it was coming at him would really hurt to be hit by, even if he was pretty tough. Worse though, if he hit the ball and couldn't take the impact, he might let it touch the ground and let Cyran score another point right after telling him he wouldn't let him score any more!

With a quick step forward, Yasei let out a growl as he lunge one palm forward and then up while the ball was still far out of his reach. The flames on Yasei's hands and feet extinguished and were replaced by a wave of energy that flew from his palm and hot the ball while it was still ten feet away from him, sending it soaring back up into the air, arcing toward Cyran's side of the net.

While the ball fell toward the sand, Yasei wouldn't give Cyran the chance to save it. He pulled his fist back and punched straight toward Cyran twice in rapid succession, sending two waves of energy flying at him, one right behind the other.

---

Sworn Enemy
Art of the Soul
Angelic Light
Bull's Strength
Hands Are Weapons
Two Piece

Their game was beginning to pick up now… at this point more closely resembling a spar with limitations rather than a volleyball game. This high up, Cyran could see Yasei’s interest as the game picked up, and his students gasped at the sudden excitement. Andromeda’s eyes sparkled, but she was not the kind of person to cheer - merely observe and watch all she could while her teacher and the man who’d kicked her ass sparred. Cyran supposed that was all the more reason he had to win… to safe face in front of his students and ensure he still held Andromeda’s respect.

Meanwhile, Oriole, who loved his master and liked Yasei, politely clapped and raised his fists in the air. “Go Master Cyran! Go Uncle Yasei! … Have fun!” He said nervously, unsure who to root for.

Cyran smiled and took a second to wave at his students right at the moment Yasei’s flames suddenly extinguished, and he kind of just punched the air to volley it back over the net. Yasei wasn’t going to give Cyran an inch of maneuverability, throwing a one-two punch that rippled the air and flew straight at Cyran.

Fortunately, the Specter recognized this kind of attack. It was commonly employed by his fiancé, and the fighter he had the most experience with - Del.

Cyran might not have been able to dodge but that didn’t mean he was without options. In the sands below him, the darkness cast by his flying form, the shadows stirred - creating a single copy of him that dashed for the ball.^[1] Yasei likely was only expecting Cyran himself to deal with the ball. It allowed the shade to volley, not feeling any pain from the impact of the blow, all the way back to Yasei’s side of the net.

Maruyama blocked one of the blows for Cyran with a spectral arm, knocking the blow out of the way - the other, Cyran had nothing to block with, and took it in the gut.^[2] The air was promptly knocked out of his lungs, and he wheezed as he clenched his fist, sacrificing his own defense for offense. Now, it was Yasei’s own shadow that obeyed Cyran’s command, shooting upwards in the form of spectral chains that wrapped around his ankles, preventing him from chasing after the ball.^[3]

---

1. Shadow Clone
2. Spirit Guardian - Maruyama hit prevention 2/2
3. Shadow Binding

Yasei was about to dash to volley the ball back when he suddenly felt something tighten around his ankles. He glanced down for a moment to see the shadowy chains holding him in place. It looked like Cyran was full of all kinds of tricks when it came to manipulating shadows. Areas of darkness, a clone, and now chains. This was getting really fun!

But, he still wasn't going to let Cyran score another point. Yasei's hands and feet burst into white flames once more, the light of the flames dispelling the shadows around him. Before the ball could hit the ground, Yasei dashed to it, diving into the sand to hit it back into the air, flying straight up toward the sky.

With the ball taking off like a rocket, Yasei had a moment to run over to the umbrella where he'd left his staff and grab it. With the fight Cyran was putting up, he figured it was time to take this battle- I mean, this friendly game of volleyball- a little more seriously.

"Time to really start playing!" Yasei announced with confidence.

Now with his weapon in hand, Yasei waited for the ball to come back down before leaping into the air as he'd done when he first served it, but this time he swung down in an overhead swing with his staff like he was playing an entirely different ballgame and sent the ball at Cyran's side of the net even faster and with even more force than he'd done with his bare hands.

---

Art of the Burning Soul
Hidden Blossom Blade
Titanic Reach
Bull's Strength
Angelic Light
Sworn Enemy (2/3 posts)

The burst of light reduced Cyran’s shadows to smithereens, the darkness shrinking back from him. Clever. It allowed him to dash for the ball that his double had smashed to the other side, his limbs erupting into flames once more. Cyran hit the ground, his wings fluttering and tucking into his back like a long cloak before melting back into his scar, the assassin massaging his arm while he caught his breath, watching Yasei… dashed for his belongings, grabbed a staff, and dashed back. Then he leapt into the air, tearing back and SMASHING the wood, and as the ball hurtled back to his side of the court Cyran had a moment to consider whether he was well and properly fucked in this game.

But he wasn’t out yet.

Okay. It was a bit dirty, but the assassin hardly got anywhere in life by playing fair. He couldn’t properly block the blow, so the best thing he could hope to do was catch it with his body and hope for the best… as the assassin readied himself, the shadows from around his feet crept along the sand and latched onto Yasei, binding them through the darkness.^[1] This blow was about to hurt, but hopefully it would do as much damage to Yasei as it did him.

And hurt it did.

Like teacher like student, Cyran risked absorbing the blow with his body to keep it in the air - the sheer force knocked him to his back, unable to breathe from how much his chest burned, while the ball soared directly into the air. The assassin brought an end to the spell, picking himself up and resting on his knees only for a moment. Grabbed a silver bauble still hanging from a chain around his neck and downed the contents of the potion.^[2] It burned like a shot of hard liquor going down, but it would help with the aches and injuries somewhat. Enough for Cyran to hold his hands out to the sand, summoning a pair of sticks from the ground, the sand coalescing and darkening as the shadow bound it.^[3] Two could play at that game. He jumped up and whacked the ball to the other side of the net with the sticks, not with much force, but his eyes weren’t on the ball in that moment. They were on Yasei, analyzing the man’s every move, every expression - the killer’s mind working on overdrive, seeking out any sort of weakness he could exploit.^[4]

---

1. Soul Shackle
2. Essence of the North
3. Desert Blessing - Fighting Sticks
4. Heart Seeker (1 Post Charge)

Yasei landed after sending the ball hurtling at Cyran and felt a sense of victory. There was no way Cyran would take this hit head on, he'd have to be crazy- Oh shit. He took it head on.

At the same time as Cyran was smashed into the sand, Yasei grunted in pain and tensed up slightly as he suddenly felt as if he's taken a heavy blow to his chest followed almost at the same time by a pain in his back. He glanced down just in time to notice a shadow snaking its way from his foot to Cyran's just before it dissipated.

"I see... That's pretty sneaky..." Yasei chuckled to himself, smiling. So that was what it felt like to take one of his blows. He'd have to apologize some more to Andromeda for hitting her in the face. That had really hurt more than he thought it would. Maybe it had hurt even more for Cyran since he didn't look as sturdy as the Koma-Inu. It looked like he needed to hold back a little more.

Yasei straightened up and smiled as if nothing had happened to him. He casually batted the ball back toward Cyran and let out a hearty laugh.

"Ha! It's been a long time since something hit me that hard, and it was my own blow! Are you okay? I know that really hurt. I could feel it. Literally!" Yasei asked jokingly, though he was genuinely a little concerned. Cyran drank some sort of potion, but he didn't know what that potion did for sure.

Yasei noticed as the ball was slowly arcing over the net just how intensely Cyran was staring at him now. He couldn't help but crack a joke to ease the tension.

"Why are you staring at me like that? I'm married-" He started teasing, defaulting to his go-to joke whenever another warrior stared at him on the battlefield before realizing. His smile dropped into a frown for a moment. He'd have to stop using that joke from now on.

He took a deep breath and smiled again. He'd just focus on the fight in front of him. Ah, the volleyball game in front of him! Not a fight. A volleyball game.

The ball was falling toward the sand on Cyran's side of the net, Yasei watching it as if it was in slow motion, waiting for Cyran's next move. As much as he had to remember this was a game and not a real battle, he felt the same sense of anticipation he would feel waiting for someone to swing a sword at him. This was proving to be quite the game of volleyball.

“Pardon?”

Cyran had to do a double-take when Yasei shrugged his own blow like it was nothing. The force from his blow had been staggering - it had forced Cyran to his knees, broken limbs. It could have killed a lesser person, and if he hadn’t had his failsafe, it was liable to kill him from internal bleeding, too. He’d cast that spell in the hopes Yasei’s damage reflected back at him might give him pause, but it was as if he’d barely felt it! He stood, brushed himself off, and continued the game. Like master like student, in some ways.

“I’m fine, I’m fine…” He winced, feeling the tear in his muscles that screamed you are most certainly not fine!

At this point it was less fear and more the desire to actually make a dent in this man’s defenses that Cyran charged his next attack. He held a stick in each hand, his grip similar to the way he’d dual-wield knives, watching Yasei for any signs of weakness, anything that might give Cyran an opportunity to strike and secure another point…

Until Yasei made a joke that broke his concentration entirely.

Cyran fumbled, so bewildered that he nearly tripped on the sand, accidentally losing his grip on one of his makeshift fighting sticks. Missing the ball entirely, when he’d intended to hit it with the stick to target Yasei’s vulnerable points. The ball just kind of… fell in the sand. Plop.

The assassin’s face was beet-red, stammering.

Like master like student, truly.

“No, that wasn’t - I wasn’t - I’M A MARRIED MAN!” He buried his face in his hands, lest he actually explode. “Wait. Set to be married! I swear, I was not making any untoward advances, I was just trying to play the game…”

Seriously. Someone kill him.

In his embarrassment he’d failed to notice Yasei falling silent, unable to complete his joke. Normally he might have been perceptive enough to pick up on cues… but he was too busy drowning in his own mortification. Not to mention he’d lost that point. Now, the score was tied one to one - the fighters, nearly evenly matched thus far. It might go on forever at this rate if one of them didn’t yield.

Yasei clutched his stomach as he doubled over laughing hysterically. Cyran's reaction was just too good! Ah, that joke had reminded him of a something painful, but seeing how flustered it had made Cyran gave him a good enough laugh to make up for it. As sneaky and cunning as this Cyran guy was, he sure showed his emotions really obviously just now. Looked like talk about love made him embarrassed.

Yasei tried to straighten out and get back to business, but it took him several tries before he didn't just double over again. And even then, he was still laughing so hard he had tears streaming down into his fluffy mane.

"So, ha, so you're engaged?" He asked between bursts of laughter. "Congrats!"

He pointed a shaky finger at the ball on the sand on Cyran's side of the net. "Point for me!"

He hadn't really intended to make Cyran lose concentration like that. He didn't like to use underhanded tactics like that, but it already happened and he wasn't about to try and say that point didn't count. That would just be disrespectful toward Cyran. The sensai clearly wasn't an easy opponent, so he wouldn't treat him like some kid who had no chance against him.

After how long that last volley had lasted, Yasei had an idea though. This game could last all day if they really expected the winner to get to 15 points, and he didn't want to use all their time at this beach party on a single game of volleyball. That wouldn't be fun.

He finally got over his laughter, taking a deep breath and holding a fist up to his mouth and clearing his throat. He gave Cyran a serious gaze and a toothy smile.

"Let's change the rules. The score is even now, so how about the next point wins? Don't want this game to last all day. You must have a fiancé to get back to, right? How does that sound?" He offered with a chuckle.

Well, at least one of us is laughing right now.

It had finally sunk in that Cyran was only being toyed with, and Yasei didn’t truly believe that he’d been solicited. The assassin’s face burned with a different kind of shame now, barely peeking at the guffawing komainu through his fingers.

“Ah… thank you.” He murmured, glancing back in the direction where he’d left Del. The two of them had been investigating tide pools and enjoying a picnic spread when he wandered over here to check on his students. He’d gotten… a little sidetracked, but it was still a novelty to be able to look forward to being by her side when all was said and done. He truly had fallen, and the most frightening thing was that he found he didn’t mind.

The sound of Yasei speaking pulled Cyran out of his thoughts. He wheezed, composing himself and trying to smooth his face into a more neutral expression; but his cheeks were still pink while he listened to the man’s suggestion. He did make a good point. They’d been fairly evenly matched just far, and it seemed prudent to go all in, as it were.

Besides. Cyran didn’t think he could take many more hits from a beast that ferocious.

He nodded, bending down to pick up the ball and dust sand off of it. “That is agreeable.” For the sake of his physical and mental health. Despite the horrifying nature of his profession, the blood that stained his hands, his heart was deceptively honest, and he was afraid if Yasei teased him anymore he might simply perish. “One more point. The winner takes it all.”

He brought the ball up for a serve, summoning the shadows to his aid once more. Around Yasei’s side of the court, the ground sprout up, the darkness taking the form of spikes and twisted vines in the sand that would grab at his feet and restrict his movement.^[1] Yasei was a formidable foe, and all Cyran had at his disposal were dirty tricks and sleight of hand. But it was still an innocent enough game, and he was determined to look good in front of his students. That meant doing whatever he could to win.

And with the last point kicking off, Cyran served the ball.

---

1. Stinging Nettles

Yasei nodded with a smile of serious determination and got ready. One last round, winner took all. He wouldn't lose now.

He didn't flinch when thorny, stinging tendrils of shadow sprouted up from the sand around him and tangled around his feet. With his staff in hand, he didn't need to worry about not being able to move from this spot. He'd expected some more tricks from Cyran after all the shadow magic he'd used so far, and strategically positioned himself in the center of his side of the court. From there, with his staff in hand and his ability to send his ki out from it, he could reach anywhere on the court he needed to without moving from this spot.

In fact, if Cyran looked closely, he might even notice the thorns poking Yasei's legs weren't even able to pierce his skin. They actually looked as if they were being absorbed by him as the tendrils touching him slowly became thinner. The pain Yasei felt in his chest grew duller and faded away as he healed from absorbing Cyran's magic.

Yasei breathed slowly, as if he was more relaxed now. He watched the ball closely. With a swift movement, his hand shifted the the very end of his staff as it shot forward. He blocked the ball before it hit the sand and sent it into the air above himself, before swinging his staff up high and bringing it down onto the ball, launching it back toward Cyran's side of the court.

The distance between him and the ball hadn't been great enough to need to use his other technique yet, so the staff was still coated in flames which spread to the ball. Now though, those flames that had been pure white before had streaks of black flame swirling through them.

---

Spell Drinker
Sworn Enemy
Titanic Reach
Art of the Burning Fist
Angelic Light
Tranquility- Dark