Worru took the hit through clenched teeth. He clutched his stomach, feeling some blood seep through the jerkin he wore. Better use it... he thought, holding out his hands again. Feeling the energy bend around him, he spoke. "Elemental Burst, Shadow!" he yelled, aiming for the samurai.

As he felt the blast leave his arm, Worru bent down to the ground, closing his eyes in concentration. Shadowmeld, shadowmeld, shadowmeld..., he continusly thought, just hoping that it would work.

Darkness wraps around Worru's hand, reminiscent to the crowd of a few fights ago when Alpha had masterfully fired off Bursts of this same element time and time ago. As the blast manifests itself in the Ranger's hand, Tarlen laughs and claps his hands in delight. "Oh boy, now this one'll deal some damage! Get ready, fight-fans, this one will be good!" Worru unleashes it, but in the time that it has taken for the Ranger to prepare his opponent has also made preparations of his own. It still manages to strike the samurai, but due to his defenses Dogura only takes half of the damage he normally would have - though it is still a rather painful 9 DMG that results from it.

Dogura: 36 HP, 14 SPL
Worru: 20 HP, 11 SPL

OOC: Sorry Worru, but since this is official stat-based fighting, you can only use one attack/technique per turn. So I can't let you do Shadowmeld until after ZV has had a chance to counter.

Dogura smiled, as his blades met their mark. Suddenly, it looked to Dogura, as if Worru was finished. The samurai was still within close range; close enough, that even after Dogura realized what Worru was planning, it would have been impossible to dodge. Holding his arms up in a defensive manner, Dogura heard the words "Shadow" being spoken. "Damnit!" Dogura cried out. His mother's side of the family (one half of Dogura) was Hylian, who who were very weak to shadow based attacks. However, his father's side (the sheikah side) was resistant to such a blast. Perhaps if it weren't for that aspect, Dogura would have lost this fight. Cursing under his breath, Dogura took the blast, enduring it as best he could. The shadows engulfed him for what seemed like a hellish eternity.

Finally, light flittered throgh the murky darkness that surrounded him. Dogura felt his mind slipping. The darkness really messed with his concentration. And then... A new voice erupted from the stands. How the samurai had heard the voice over the roar of the crowd, he could only describe as Darkin using magic to amplify the noise. The cry rang out in Dogura's mind.

"Pull through sensei!! Fight it! Get back in there and win this!"

Dogura's heart skipped a beat. He came! He came to see me my match! Dogura smiled confidently. "Alright kid... I'll show you the fruits of my training..." The shadows were weakening. The spell was almost over. However, Dogura didn't plan to wait long enough for his oppoent to get back into a defensive position. Using all his might, the samurai busted out of the shadows at break-neck speed, both of his weapons pointed forward, his arms stretched out at his sides. The samurai lept into the air, and twisted into a big spin of violent steel. Like a spinning bullet, Dogura shot straight at his opponent, the encouragement of his student fueling his will to strike. [Dual Wield L2]--X--[3Will]

"What's this?" Tarlen says as a voice as loud as his own magically amplified tones emerges from the crowds. His eyes jerk up to the audience, scanning through the onlookers before finally settling on a Rito standing next to a young kid. 'Hey! Voice amplification is my thing!' is his immediate response, but he shuts out the angry part of his brain and focuses on his job. "Well, seems like a student of Dogura's has arrived to watch his sensei's match!

"And it looks like it's definitely helping the Hylian out!" Tarlen cries as Dogura launches out at Worru, twin swords flashing around as the samurai charges his fellow Ranger. Empowered by his student's cries, the Hylian fighter once again manages to break through the Sheikah's defenses and lash into the man (11+6+3[Roll+AGI+WILL]). The Dual Wielded blades once again deal a devastating 16 DMG, bringing Worru closer to the end of his rope. "What an attack! Can Worru manage to mount a counterattack?"

Dogura: 36 HP, 14 SPL, 2 WILL
Worru: 4 HP, 11 SPL

Worru gripped his daggers tightly, so much even that his knuckles showed signs of discoloration. In between pants, he managed to say "No...I came too far for this to be the end...I have to win this thing..."

He still had that fire in his belly, this time not from an earlier meal, but from sheer determination to win. He new of a skill that Sheikiah had naturally, the Shadowmeld, and he needed it badly. Crouching down, he tried to concentrate on the skill, trying to ignore both the exhaustion, and the pain.

Worru centers himself as best as he can...but in the end, it seems that is not enough. The Sheikah is unable to focus enough to activate his race's innate talent (9+1[Roll+INT] vs. 15), and remains completely visible...and, quite possibly, completely vulnerable to a final strike from Dogura.

Dogura: 36 HP, 14 SPL
Worru: 4 HP, 11 SPL

Dogura watched as Worru focused as best he could, still failing to perform an attack, or even a defense for that matter. He seemed fatigued, and out of options. Dogura sighed, and put away his dagger. One more attack should finish this thing. The samurai pointed his sword at Worru, the blade gleaming in the light. "You fought well, Worru. You should be proud of yourself for comming this close. May you susatin a full recovery, and cross paths with me again..." Dogura positioned himself in an attack ready position, and lunged forward, hoping to end the battle with final stab.

OOC: Sorry for such a meteocre post, I would have done more, but I'm short on time, and Draug is leaving on vacation tomorrow, so I at least wanted to post. Worru, thats the best I've ever seen you RP. I used to think of you as a complete spammer. You've earned respect from me.

Dogura's blade slice through the air one final time, jabbing directly into Worru with amazing accuracy (17+6[Roll+AGI]). "Oh my! That attack was absolutely spectacular!" Tarlen cries as the samurai closes the distance in an instant to deliver the final blow needed for this battle. Worru crumples to the ground, exhausted and lacking all energy.

"And with that, the third fight has finally found itself a winner!" The Rito dashes through the air and comes to a quick landing right next to the Hylian. "Give it up for Dogura the samurai, and our next participant in the second round!" The crowd's applause resonates throughout the stadium as they continue to cheer for both contestants, amazed by the incredible swordsplay from the two Rangers.

Tarlen nods over to the front row, motioning towards the place where several other fighters in the tournament rest. A couple of clerics rush forward again to revive Worru, and Tarlen shrugs. "He'll be up in a minute or two. If you guys want to join your friends, we can move on to the next fight."

Worru, after being healed, slowly stands up, his bones still aching from the fight before. He makes his way over to Dogura, and holds out his hand to shake. "That was a good fight, Dog-man. Hopefully, next time I get to fight you again." he says, smiling.

"We'll get them both," stated Wasp.

"I agree," replied Dagger.
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"Hey, Worru, I saved a seat for you," called Orpheous. "Don't mind Simon talking to you about the fights, he has been pestering me this whole time. Good job, man." Orpheous braced himself for his fight. He would be fighting the Rebel Flame, and it wouldn't be easy. "Good job to you two, Dogura," he said to Dogura, to make him not feel left out. Not that he didn't mean it, though.

Dogura finished off the fight, and cleaned his sword. Returning it to it's sheath, the samurai turned around, and watched as Worru was healed. After the ranger stood up, Dogura smiled, knowing his opponent was sustained a full recovery. Dogura shook the man's hand, and nodded in afirmation. "We'll fight again sometime, and I expect you to train hard until then!" Dogura finally proceeded into the stands, where he mat Darkin, Norog, and Alex on the stairs. "Good work Dogura!" Darkin chirped, patting his friend on the back. Dogura nodded a thank you, as Alex nearly pushed right over Darkin. "Sensei! That was incredible!" Dogura nodded and smiled. "Hey listen kid.. I've been a little hard on you... I'm sorry about being such a... Well, I'm just sorry. I was afraid you weren't going to make it to my match!"

Alex punched Dogura on the arm, "Are you crazy? I wouldn't miss this for the world!!" The samurai smiled warmly. He felt good. Better than he had in a long time. He's like the son I never had... Dogura finally took his seat, reading the small chart posted on the poll near his seat. "Well, well, well, Kasei VS Orpheous. This should be pretty interesting." Darkin nodded. "Well, these seats are reserved for the contestants, so we'll leave you for now." Alex tossed Dogura something shiny. Dogura held it in his hand, and looked it over. It was a sort of golden cross. Alex gave Dogura the thumbs up. "Its my good luck charm! It'll do the same for you sensei! Later!" Alex followed up after Darkin. Norog remained still. "You be carrrreful out therrrree..." The samurai closed his eyes. "I'll make no gurantees. But I'll do all I can." Norog started up the stairs. Dogura turned to the arena, awaiting the familiar voice of the announcer to annouce the next match.

Worru walked down to the seat Orph had saved for him, and plopped down, sighing as he began to rest his aching body. "I'm going to need some training next time if I want to even try and match him, Orph." he said, letting his head fall back. "What's worse is, I'm going to get a mouthful from Ryk after all this. He's not going to like having me losing to Dogura." he added, before that familiar demonic voice spoke up in Simon's, Orph's, and Worru's mind. You're right you're gonna get a mouthful, boyo! You lost to him! When you had a perfect chance to strike back, you try and run away. See what that got'cha!?" he yelled, causing Worru to groan.

"Tough spirit," muttered Simon. "I sure wouldn't want to have him as my teacher when it comes to fighting. Luckily, I have somebody like Orpheous to teach me." He leaned down to Worru,"He is a total push-over," he whispered to him.

"Hey," said Orpheous, who had apparently gotten back some mind reading ability. Not that he would be able to use it on the battle field against Kasei. Knowing his name would soon be called, and that he would have to rush up to the arena, he said to the group, in case if he couldn't latter, "Wish me luck."

OOC: The rest of Orpheous posse are scattered behind Simon, but Bou and another strange man sit to Simon's left and right.

I know you're right on that one, Bookwyrm. joked Ryk, as he spoke to Simon. But, Worru, after all of this, it's training, training, training! he added, not wanting Worru to forget his loss so quickly. Worru looked up, searching for Dogura. "D'You think he'd want another student?" he asked, keeping on with his search.

OOC: Okay, I hate posting in the fights like this, but I suppose it's already been done. I at least want to do this in case people were wondering what happened to Saber, since he seemed so beat up at the end of the fight with Alpha.

IC: Saber ran across half the arena quickly. He had been fallen asleep in his seat since his bout with Alpha ended, but unfortunately slept through the fight between Rose and Azador. However, he had awoken halfway through this fight, rested and nearly back in perfect condition. If anything, he felt stronger after the fight with Alpha--it had given him great practice in bearing against powerful magic attacks. He arrived panting and slumped into a chair by Dogura's group. "Great job, Dogura. I'm sorry I missed the first part of the fight, but I saw the ending. You did well. I look forward to the future rounds." He sighed wistfully and looked back down at the ground. "Although I won't be in them now..."