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I wasn't going at it half-baked! [England grits his teeth. but fine. they're going to play dirty? then he will play dirty.

he rushes at Dotanuki again, this time slashing over and over, with barely any breaks in between. he'll lose more stamina this way, but England really wants to land a hit. the man just brought out his competitive side]

[He dodges back out of the way, using his sword to block when the claymore gets too close. He's thrown England into a rage, but that's what he wanted to see. The metal rings off each other, singing like a blacksmith's hammer in the air, and Dotanuki feels bruises forming along his side.

Damn England hits hard.

One hit in particular is hard and it pushes Dotanuki's blade aside. He doesn't have time to bring it back up before the claymore is coming back at him, so he turns his side and curls up, using the armor on his arms to take the brunt of the blow. Even so, it hurts like a bitch, and he's thrown to the side, rolling twice before he can come back up. The sword spits some blood from his mouth and grins wide.]

That's the spirit!

[England pants roughly and rests a bit when Dotanuki is knocked down. he didn't actually expect to get a hit on him. and that grin? it makes the nation weak in the knees.

no, focus, England.

he manages to smirk back, his upper lip red thanks to the bloody nose, eyes slightly narrowed. a witty response escapes him now, but he's certain he'll think of one later. currently, he's waiting for the next move]

[Dotanuki pushes himself up from the ground, and brings his sword around again, pointing it at England.]

My turn.

[He dashes forward again, trying to catch England before he can get his breath back. He slashes at England, knowing that one will likely be blocked, then begins his assault, using fists and his sword wherever he can to drive the nation back.]

[England does manage to block that first slash, but Dotanuki's strategy of getting him to move back works. he's holding his own, but, as he thought, England is doing more defending. he's pushed back further and further, and he's slowly becoming exhausted]

...!

[Like the odachis, the claymore needs space to swing and Dotanuki knows not to give that to it. His bones ache from hitting the blade, but it's a good one - the sort of pain that he lives for.]

KEAAAAAA!!!!!!

[He lets out a ferocious cry and pushes forward again, bashing up against the blade. He catches England's eye then and smiles before going for a leg sweep.]

[yikes! England drops down and quickly rolls out of the way, on the opposite side of the slash. when he comes back up, he is behind Dotanuki. his arms ache, but England raises the sword one more time, and brings it down with a cry of his own]

RAAAUGH!

[Blocking an overhead blow like that would be suicide, so he somersaults out of the way, coming up to England's side. He aims a quick (blunt-edge) slash at his knees.]

[whoops! there's no way England could block that in time. should've grabbed a smaller sword, but he did not know how their sparring was going to go.

he drops to his knees, to symbolize being wounded, but he's got his claymore ready to block if Dotanuki comes down on him. if this wasn't just a test run, though, he would have lost by now]

Edited 2015-07-08 02:39 (UTC)

[Dotanuki twists to come back at England, but sees him already preparing to block. Instead he takes a few steps back, wiping at the corner of his mouth. Losing a leg in battle would be a mortal wound, even if the killing blow didn't come next. He'd seen men taken off their feet and stabbed through the neck. And he's seen them left to crawl through the muck only to die days later. Either way, this round is over. ]

Yeah that was good. I haven't been able to go all out in awhile.

[He holds a hand out to England with a crooked grin. ]

That thing you have has got some bite to it.

[thankfully, England has yet to lose a limb in battle. back in his world, that would not have been fatal, at least for him. but here...? well, he just didn't know.

he grins tiredly before setting the claymore on the ground. ah, his arms are going to be so sore tomorrow]

I'm glad you like it. It didn't seem to help me, though. [still, he felt good. got to work off some aggression]

[Yeah plz don't die here. Dotanuki needs his war buddies.

Dotanuki carefully wipes his blade off, inspecting the new scratches. Only a few. It means his bruises won't be so bad. ]

Maybe get something you can move more easily. That thing can take and deal a punch but it'll slow you down.

[He slides his sword back into its saya. ]

Or just be willing to leave it if you have to.

I'm not leaving this baby anywhere. I spent good money on it! [sniff. oh, right, his nose...

England seeks out a handkerchief from his pocket and uses that to clean up a bit] If I do get another sword, it'll be a smaller one. For now, I think I'll just stick to my gun.

[Meanwhile, Dotanuki doesn't care that he's bleeding. It's the mark of a good practice!]

You'll want a dagger - something small and light, easy to put in the boot or on the waist. Guns can run outta bullets at the worst time.

[He doesn't carry a dagger or a gun, but usually he has a tantou backing him somewhere. Or one of the wakizashis. Or Mutsunokami.]

But money can be replaced. Your life? Not so much.

Back at home, I never had to worry about my life. [England massages the back of his neck, closing his eyes] No weapon could kill me, and I healed faster than humans. Here? It varies. I think I'm still able to heal faster, but if I die, that's a crap shoot.

Heard about that - something having to do with you bein' a country's tsukumogami, right?

[It's about as close to what Dotanuki knows.]

I heard about one of you that died here. Heard his code went back into the system [He says that like he's reciting it from memory, which he is.] and then he came back.

Yeah... that happened to America. [he tucks his handkerchief away and then stands up, brushes off his pants] He shot himself, and it killed him. But he popped up a few days later as though nothing'd happened. Normally, a gunshot wound wouldn't do anything to us, so it was quite a surprise.

...

[Give him a second to process what England just said.

America, the country and tsukumogami, shot himself in the head. ...What.]

Why the hell did he shoot himself in the first place? Even I wouldn't do that and I'm practically unbreakable.

[England rolls his eyes, not at Dotanuki, but at America's actions]

Part of it had something to do with CERES, and some spell they put us under... I don't think that was all CERES' fault, though, since America's always doing stupid shite like that back home.

A spell...? They have some magic that can make people kill themselves?

[THAT is alarming. How the hell is he supposed to fight against magic? The keibiishi were bad enough, but magic?]

[England makes a thoughtful noise]

Magic... or science. I'm not sure what it was. [a short pause as he tries to recall what happened. honestly, most of the day is a blur. a messed up, jumbled blur] ...I think it had something to do with a tarot reading. The ones who got cards started acting strangely, based on what they got, myself included.

[To Dotanuki magic and science are closely intertwined. He recalls days when medicine was magic and now it's called science.

And when England mentions the "tarot" thing, he assumes one thing:]

So a curse.

[He lets out a sigh and wipes at the last remnants of blood at his lips with the back of his hand.]

Seems to be in line with the rest of this stupid place.

[a curse! that was a better way of putting it, so England nods at that]

I have been alive for a very long time, and I don't recall ever being as confused about something as I am Cerealia. I have witnessed so many bizarre, terrifying things here, and I still don't think I'm any closer to getting home as when I arrived.

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