Island of 1,000 Condiments

Good Luck & Fight!

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Kei

OOC: Lol @ me having to fight you. I was really deciding whether to just give you the win so I wouldn't have to worry about this, to keep up with the fic. But, eh. I want to fight Fury. >_> Oh, good luck, though everyone knows I'll need it.

Stepping in to the arena, Teresa held her right hand on the hilt of her large sword, awaiting her opponent. The wind picked up soon, as if it were foretelling the epic battle that was about to take place. With the wind, her hair flowed gently in the moving air, covering a bit of her face; though, she didn't seem to mind it, the female never attempting to move it away.

Behind the mobile hair, her lips had moved into a gesture, that same action she was known for. The smile didn't seem to cover any more area than her usual expression, but it was there. Anyone could see it. That same smile seen when she was slaying Yoma after Yoma in villages that had paid for her assistance.

Silver eyes locked on the entrance, Teresa didn't seem to even budge while she waited for her opponent--that same girl who she had her eye on when she signed up. But, that wasn't the only thing she seemed to be thinking about, when she heard news about two others joining, wearing the same attire Teresa did.

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JAIF

OOC-Good luck to you as well; I've never really faced you in a tournament battle before, right?

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The blonde female clothed in the raggy brown cloak seemed more than a mismatch for the woman in the bright shining armor, despite her having a claymore of equivalent size strapped across her back.

"Bisho no Teresa, eh?"

Galatea's thoughts were racing as she slowly proceeded to walk through the large doors, leading from the insides of the registration building to the arena where the battles would take place.

"So early in this tournament..."

Treading lightly, her bare feet only caressing the marble tiles, she walked ahead, her blindfolded eyes apparently not hindering her movements at all.

"This feeling..."

Galatea began climbing the few steps that led to the arena floor, her covered eyes transfixed on her opponent.

"It's been too long..."

Finally, the ex-Claymore positioned herself opposite to Teresa, holding a similar stance, her hand brought up to her sword's hilt, a smile on her tightly pursed lips.

"...too long since I've felt a fear deep like the raging seas, cruel like the fires of hell, devastating like the strike of a thunderbolt..."

The sun's rays reflected upon the broad edge of the massive blade, as Galatea drew her claymore forth, half-kneeling to balance the weigth.

"Teresa... this bout may be my last..."

Kei

OOC: Nah, I don't believe so. I think I've only fought Nikushimi, and lost both times. =/

"I have a few questions for you, before we begin this battle," Teresa spoke when Galatea stood in front of her. Her smile still remained on her face, probably due to the fact that she was extremely confident. The blind woman standing opposite of her had an impressive flow of Yoki, but it didn't bother the current Number 1 of the organization.

"...As I have never seen you before, who are you and how did you get that claymore? More importantly, do you really think you have a chance, being blind?"

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JAIF

OOC-Btw, we're totally screwing up Claymore with this. We're using 4 Claymores from totally different times. Priscilla didn't become a high-ranked Claymore except after Teresa's defection, Clare didn't become a Claymore before Priscilla Awakened, and Galatea only got blind after Clare fled from the Organization O_o. But who cares.

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"My name is Galatea - I can say no more." The lean woman said, her voice more serious than her light-hearted expression.

"But rest assured - I never killed a fellow warrior to claim this sword, neither did I steal it from a grave. It rightfully belongs to me."

"Please do not get into the trouble of naming yourself." Galatea continued calmly. "I know who you are - Bisho no Teresa, the Organization's top warrior, the strongest of all 47 Claymores by far."

"And I will have to try and kill you."

"Whether I have a chance..."

"A chance?" Galatea thought bitterly. "I'd probably have only a meager shot even with my eyes intact... yet somehow, I have to manage."

The fighter slowly moved her sword in front of her, pointing it at Teresa - in that position, she could easily shift her stance between offensive and defensive.

"...why don't we find out."

Kei

OOC: Lol, I know.

"Galatea? And you didn't steal that blade? Strange; I've never heard of you," Teresa spoke, raising an eyebrow. She couldn't make sense of any of the situation, but it didn't matter. She was going to win or lose, and knowing why her opponent had the same blade as her didn't seem to have any relation to that. Of course, it didn't help that Teresa was the type to not want alot of information and just wanted to get down to fighting.

Taking a step forward, the "strongest of all 47 Claymores" gripped her sword even tighter when she noticed that Galatea was ready to battle, wiping the confused look off her face. It was time. To any of the spectators, it would seem as if she had only been standing there for a second, most likely less. But to the two combatants--who could see things a normal eye could barely even imagine--it felt like an eternity, as if they were waiting for all of the sand in an hourglass to drop to the bottom half.

Cutting through the eerie silence after her words, Teresa's body simply vanished, only to reappear behind Galatea's cloaked body, the massive blade that was pinned to the Number 1's back being brought up and over her head, then down in an attempt to quickly slash through the blind woman's body.

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JAIF

Steel cringed against steel, as the blinded woman hurled her right arm backwards, supporting her wrist with her left as her massive blade collided against Teresa's. The ground below Galatea's feet subsided by the ferocity of the impact, forcing the ex-Claymore to kneel slightly in order to hold her ground. The audience held their breaths as the two women struggled to gain the advantage, unable to understand how exactly a blind woman had reacted to a movement their eyes could never even hope to follow.

"Quite as expected... blinding speed, overwhelming strenght..."

"...however..."

Backing off half a step, Galatea retracted her blade, letting Teresa's claymore sweep vertically through thin air. Subsequently, she lightly kicked the sword's broad edge with her foot to throw Teresa off balance by shifting the weight of her weapon, while simultaneously launching her own blade forwards in an attempt to behead the top-ranked warrior with a single strike.

"It will take much more than that to defeat me."

Kei

When Galatea blocked Teresa's attack, Teresa felt relieved that the blind female wasn't just a joke, that she could really fight with the massive sword. But when her sword was kicked to throw her off balance, she was surprised for a moment. Strangely enough, her smile never moved off of her face. Galatea's claymore rushing through the air caught Teresa's attention, only making her malicious smile grow even more.

"You know..." the Goddess-named being spoke before her right arm, the same arm that held her blade, jerked back. Turning the tip of her weapon towards the arena, she smashed it into the ground, so that it stood upright, the hilt facing where she had hoped Galatea would be attacking--if it was successful, Galatea's claymore would smash against the sword guard. Using her left hand, the half-Yoma reached down to the ground and pushed up, spinning her body over the claymore, into a standing position.

"...you should have just given up when you heard my name," Teresa finished. Her back was now facing Galatea, her wind blowing in the increasing wind that seemed to be foretelling a tremendous battle.

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JAIF

OOC: Wtf, I didn't understand some parts of your post. "her wind blowing in the increasing wind"??

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"Che."

The only visible sign of a scowl on Galatea's face was the slight pursing of her lips that transfigured her smile into a more serious expression, as the powerful Claymore whipped her body around to once again face her opponent.

"I would have, but..."

Raising her sword once more, Galatea brought it down on Teresa with her full strenght, a swing powerful enough to cleave a stone wall in half - and that would, with luck, do the same to the opposing warrior.

"...I wasn't really given a choice."

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OOC: Galatea's Yoki controlling abilities suck against Teresa >_<.

Kei

OOC: I meant her cape. >_> And, lol. To me, it seems like, if these two fought with even power, they wouldn't ever touch each other because of their Yoki sensing abilities.

Teresa's right hand clasped the hilt of her blade, bringing it up to stop Galatea's attack. At this point, she didn't seem to be struggling any more, with that faint smile still etched into her face. Now, her eyes had changed, from her usual silver color to a light orange, almost yellow, variant.

"If you plan on beating me today, you had better try harder. Your current state couldn't possibly even touch me," she commented, obviously speaking the truth.

Keeping Galatea's sword steady with her own, Teresa cocked her left fist back before swinging it forward, towards the blind Claymore's cheek.

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JAIF

OOC: Teresa doesn't use her Yoki powers, unless it's like a super-powered opponent and then she only uses 10% or something.

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The punch connected with a loud thud, launching Galatea off the arena floor. She backflipped in mid-air, trying to catch her balance, then thrusted her blade into the ground, using it to slow down her course and skid to a stop just a few inches short of the arena's edge. The announcer rapidly got out of the way to avoid getting struck.

Panting slightly, Galatea wiped a trace of blood off her mouth, retracting her claymore from within the confines of the now shattered floor tiles.

"Your strenght is as impressive as your skill with the sword." She said, facing Teresa.

"However..."

Her left hand was brought to the back of her head, slowly untying the bond that held the bandage that covered her eyes in place. Finally, she let the piece of fabric fall aside. Along the upper part of her face a horrible scar left its mark, having obviously disabled Galatea's ability to open her eyes.

"...not only does this make me ugly, but since this scar, it has become quite painful... but, under these circumstances, I should have known it was neccessary from the start."

Slowly, the skin covering her eyes seemed to open, with strain, as a purple aura materialized around the raggy-clothed woman. The aura began expanding, generating a strong breeze that pushed the announcer out of the stadium. Many hats and drinks that were held by the spectators were lifted into the sky, launched away by the intense force exuded by Galatea. The ground underneath the Claymore's feet began breaking further, the debris knocked aside opening a small crater right beneath the blind warrior.

Finally, the chaos calmed down, and Galatea's eyes were now almost visible, half-opened and pure gold within the irises.

"Of all the 47 Claymores of my time, I am the one who receives the strongest power increase when releasing my Yoma energy."

Suddenly, she vanished - the match announcer, who had just managed to get back on the stage of fighting, was tossed aside again by the strong wind generated by Galatea's nigh-sound barrier-breaking movement - only to materialize again behind Teresa, bringing her sword forth to pierce her heart through the steel armor.

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OOC: Kind of a crappy post, but... trying to write the next chapter, so... >_>

Kei

OOC: I know she doesn't, but it was getting boring. I didn't think you'd try anything if I didn't push you. =/

Teresa was, again, caught by surprise, but she had enough time to raise her sword over her head, only to bring it down behind her, using the weapon as a shield. It was strange how much of a boost Galatea had received just from using only a tad of her Yoki powers. Teresa was even stunned on the inside, but she couldn't show it. To be honest, had it not been for her excellent skills in sensing the Yoma energy, Teresa may have been hit by that attack.

The sound of the clashing swords pierced through the crowds, making much, if not all, of them cover their ears. Adding to the effect, a wave of colliding energy rippled from the two swords, causing much of the arena floor to suddenly explode and fly up, away from the combatants.

Sliding her sword back up into the air, Teresa spun her body around her foe's blade. Using the momentum of her spin, she brought the claymore down vertically, twirling once again and attempting to slice completely through Galatea's neck.

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JAIF

OOC: Considering the lack of special abilities and/or Awakened forms, this battle is pretty much going to be an exchange of easily avoidable due to Yoki-sensing sword strikes and cheesy lines >_>.

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Bending her body backwards, Galatea let Teresa's sword slide only a few inches above her, saving her from a probably lethal strike - but rather than sticking to the defensive, she used her own heavy blade to balance her movement, raising her left leg in an almost 180 degree angle in an attempt to kick Teresa on the chin.

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OOC: Yeah, I'll get owned in this fight. >_>

Kei

OOC: Lol. It would probably be easier for you if you just finished a chapter of the fic, and in between writing the chapters, do a post or two here. Though, you can do what you're doing now and not wtfpwn me. >_>

The kick was only a few inches from her chin by the time Teresa reacted, grabbing hold of the tip of Galatea's shoes. Her sword still swinging vertically through the air, Teresa dropped the sword down into the dirt, slowing it down. She grunted soon after, the sword sliding through the dirt towards Galatea and lifting up, aimed for Teresa's adversary's leg.

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JAIF

Her leg within Teresa's firm grip, the spectators gasped in horror as the sword closed in the blind Claymore's leg. However, Galatea quickly slammed her palm on the ground, using her arm to support her weight as she spinned as far as the hold her opponent had on her leg allowed her, using her free leg to kick against Teresa's sword's broad side, knocking it off its intended course and narrowly saving her from dismemberment.

However, being in that position, she had no opportunity to escape, so she whirled horizontally her sword-wielding arm instead, sweeping it so that it would cut Teresa's legs, unless the Claymore moved - hopefully also releasing her in the process.