Heart Of The Dōjō [Meninas, Mura]

A rather noticeable figure walked through the doors of the dojo at that point. A tall, well built, pink haired woman who looked as though she could carry a truck without the slightest issue. Meninas had heard of the open day through a flyer that she’d come across during her trip across Japan and it had managed to stir something within the Sternritter. Normally, she’d be anxious about attending anything that would involve a group of strangers but the thought of honing her abilities was enough to be able to push past that. These dojo members wanted to test their skills and she felt that perhaps she could offer them something different.

Given her distinctive look, it didn’t take long for her to attract some attention and before Meninas knew it, a rather young looking fellow approached her, bowing his head as a sign of welcome. He was wielding two wooden swords and the Quincy mused that it might just be an awkward fight for her. Still, that was kind of the point and as he explained the rules to her, the eyes of the tall Sternritter locked onto him, as she entered her combat mode, as she called it. The Quincy just tossed everything else that she was thinking about aside, dedicating herself entirely on to what was about to happen. A lot of people called her rather single minded but Meninas just shrugged the criticism off. Combat was where she truly felt like she belonged, finding the rest of her life just so awkward in comparison.

Agreeing to his terms, Meninas would follow the young man, finding herself on a large mat soon enough. Drawing both swords, he would start to twirl them around in an exuberant display although if he was expecting anything other than a blank look from the Quincy then he’d be disappointed. She simply raised her hands in an orthodox boxing stance and waited for the start of the spar, her focus on his face rather than the twirling swords.

A call would come from the sidelines, starting the contest and Meninas would waste no time in closing the gap, hunting down her opponent. He was quick on his feet and responded by unleashing a flurry of strikes from his swords, whistling towards her at a quick pace. Yet, Meninas didn’t seem overwhelmed and she was hardly a slouch either in terms of speed, able to duck and weave away from his blows. The problem was getting a strike in though, as his offence proved to be a formidable defence too. Still, she persevered and as she began to press him, pushing him back towards a corner, the Quincy began to see just a shimmer of panic in his green eyes.

That was what she was waiting for and as she evaded yet another strike, Meninas would then unleash a powerful right straight that would smash into his face like a hammer. It was what she needed and pouncing on the chance, she’d start to find her range, delivering a barrage of one two’s that were starting to turn his face into a bit of a mess. He was tough though and fought back but unfortunately lost his composure, allowing Meninas to get behind and throw him, knocking the wind out of him completely as he struck the mat.

It didn’t seem like he had the strength to continue after that so she stopped, walking over to her downed opponent and helping him up. He might have been cocky but he’d given her a nice warm up, which she appreciated.

The eyes of the Sternritter watched her opponent as he appeared and introduced himself to her, noting his stance and apparent lack of limb. Meninas was wise enough to know not to underestimate him because of it and she didn’t doubt anything that he said. After her spar with Ehefra, she was well aware that there were plenty of tricks and combat styles that she wasn’t aware of and she did her best to keep her eyes open. Still, she was an up front brawler at heart, a style that she’d honed since she was a young child and it’d served her well. She couldn’t help but wonder how the man before her compared to the first she’d fought, something that she’d no doubt learn soon enough.

Bowing her head as a sign of goodwill, she’d reply. “I’m Meninas, Meninas McAllon, of the Sternritter and a member of the Vandenreich. The honour is mine, Mura and I look forward to seeing what you can do. I won’t disrespect you by holding back and will hit you with everything I have, as I do with everyone I face. I treat all my opponents in the same way.” It wasn’t complicated or anything but she’d never been one for that. Simplicity was perfect for her and always had been.

Taking a breath, Meninas would once more slip into her combat mode, her gaze becoming far more intense as she watched him, waiting for the call to begin.

The second it did so, she was moving, closing the gap just as she had in the first spar, attempting to find her range. The fact he wielded a bamboo sword didn’t make any difference to her plan and similar to the previous duel, she would soon enough start throwing left handed jabs, looking for the moment where she could follow it up with her more dominant right. He’d receive just what he wanted from her, a full on spar right from the start.

There was an eyebrow raise from the Sternritter as she felt the floor mat suddenly crack, followed by her opponent suddenly making a rather swift movement to his left and launching an attack towards her. Clearly, he had a few tricks of his own and the speed that he managed to manifest was decent. The blade came towards her right shoulder quickly but rather than evade it, Meninas tapped into her Blut instead, resulting in blue veins to appear across her top half as the bamboo struck her. There was no doubt that without her powerful defensive ability, she would definitely have felt the blow but as it was, she was able to take it well. It did tell her though that he was going to be quite the challenge.

Shrugging his sword away from her, Meninas would take a step forward, her body pivoting in order to increase the power of her blow, before launching a punch from her more dominant hand towards him. It might’ve just seemed like an ordinary punch but if he was observant enough, he’d notice the veins on her body changing from its defensive blue to a red hue. The increase in her strength would be noticeable and if he did get hit then it would do more than just tickle. There was nothing special about the strike though beside that though, just a run of the mill right straight, albeit thrown from a woman who’d been training since she was a child.

Honestly, she just wanted to see what he’d do.

His sword didn’t encounter Meninas’s Blut but a pink and fluffy gauntlet instead this time around, as the Sternritter released her main spirit weapon in order to defend herself. She was trying to keep him off balance, throwing in something new on occasion to keep him guessing. The pink haired giant was savvy enough to have been to simply block with her Blut but that would have been a little predictable and she didn’t want that. If her spar with Ehefra had taught her anything, it was that she needed to use all of her skills in battle rather than relying simply on one.

With Bonebreaker activated, pretty much the entirety of Meninas’s arms would be covered with spiritual energy at that stage, looking rather ominous and as she briefly took a step back to give herself some space, her right gauntlet would start to glow more powerfully. She was charging something up all right and as she threw that particular punch, a discharge of her power would be unleashed, releasing a blast in a cone like shape which would travel about 10 metres or so. Even if it missed, the attack would be a perfect example of what she could do.

Mura would have to be on his toes otherwise he just might find himself on the end of something he didn’t want. Slowly but surely, she was opening up her power set to him, interested in the powers that he possessed. Spiritually aware humans had all kinds as far as she knew, each unique and that definitely made her curious.

It was no ordinary palm strike and as Meninas brought her gauntlets up to block her face from the blow, she felt herself leaving her feet and being pushed a fair few metres backwards. The Sternritter wasn’t harmed as such but her gauntlets certainly didn’t like getting hit with that, looking a little worse for wear. He was certainly serious and considering he’d been so swift to fight her even without his weapon, the pink haired warrior mused that he was definitely more than a simple swordsman. No, he was just as skilled with his fists alone and that brought just the smallest smile on her face. She respected his boldness.

There was no verbal response from her though, preferring to remain quiet for the moment, figuring out her next move. In the end, it wasn’t all that complicated and the Sternritter would move in close again, her boxing stance once more coming into place as she closed the distance. If he wished to fight without a blade then so be it, there would be no difference in Meninas’s approach. She’d shown him enough to keep him guessing and while there were a few more tricks in her arsenal, she was satisfied with remaining in her current style for now.

Of course, her gauntlets alone were capable of heavy damage and as she returned to her trademark jabbing, she would be again looking for that moment to unleash another mighty blow or Bonebreaker Bash as the technique was named. It could come at any time from either fist although for now, she was simply testing his martial basics. She did wonder though about just what else he had in his locker though. With as good a handle as he had on his powers, she mused that there must be more somewhere.

Eventually, the moment came and her right hand would once more glow with energy as she channelled her power into it. Yet, that was not all, as the red veins from before would form across her frame. With her Blut behind the blow, it would only increase the power of the incoming blast.