The banner flashed, then came up:
ROCK LEE VS BAXTER NATHAN
"Lee-kun, huh?" the latter breathed, while the weeping and shouting coming from the other end of the balcony revealed how thrilled his opponent was with the match. After a moment of thought, he shrugged his jacket off and laid it carefully on the ground. Most of those present were unsurprised by the unexceptional shirt and harness of kunai holsters and scroll pouches, but only those who knew him best were expecting the close-fitted steel armguards that had been hidden by the bulky garmet's sleeves. Then he put one hand on the railing and hopped over to land on the arena floor with a slam.
Lee gave him an enthusiastic thumbs up as he walked over to their initial face-off, then blinked when he saw him slipping on the knuckle-dusters he'd pulled from a pair of slots along his lower back. "My foe, what are you doing? How can the spirit of your youth allow you to adopt so dishonorable a measure as... those." He waved a hand, indicating the linked metal rings. Hayate coughed discretely into the silence, then flipped a hand up between them, beginning the match.
"Honor's for games, buddy, and that kind of youth's just another word for stupidity. Only a fool turns down an advantage," Neshan sniffed.
The taller Genin's florid complexion and bulging eyes made his expressions a little hard to read, but he still seemed distinctly condescending as he explained, "Depriving yourself of the ability to form hand seals and ninjutsu can hardly be counted as an advantage - particularly against an opponent of my strength."
Neshan laughed in his face. "That makes no more difference to me than it would to you."
"Ah! You seek the glory of the challenge!" Lee grinned and threw out a single hand with its thumb held up. "I approve!"
"Challenge, my ass. Glory's a delusion - and I haven't got the power for ninjutsu. You and I... we're practically the same, that way, though fortunately few others."
That shocked him. He rocked back, then looked solemnly at the floor. "Then... why so hateful?"
Neshan shrugged. "It's a mindjob to throw you off. I think you're annoying. I think you're too loud. Your outfit offends me. Pick whichever you like, any'd be enough. Mostly, though, because someone so thoughtless as you would never be any kind of shinobi, and needs to be kept away from authority over others at any cost."
"Unforgivable!" Lee snapped, lunging into an attack. "To say such things about my dreams! I will show you the power of youth!"
"Bring it!" his target roared, and threw a blow of his own - not at Lee's body, but at his incoming fist.
Given that their similarities are nearly as numerous and striking as their differences, I have a hard time imagining an alternate match-up more appropriate.
Ja, -n
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"V, did you do something foolish?"
"Yes, and it was glorious."
ROCK LEE VS BAXTER NATHAN
"Lee-kun, huh?" the latter breathed, while the weeping and shouting coming from the other end of the balcony revealed how thrilled his opponent was with the match. After a moment of thought, he shrugged his jacket off and laid it carefully on the ground. Most of those present were unsurprised by the unexceptional shirt and harness of kunai holsters and scroll pouches, but only those who knew him best were expecting the close-fitted steel armguards that had been hidden by the bulky garmet's sleeves. Then he put one hand on the railing and hopped over to land on the arena floor with a slam.
Lee gave him an enthusiastic thumbs up as he walked over to their initial face-off, then blinked when he saw him slipping on the knuckle-dusters he'd pulled from a pair of slots along his lower back. "My foe, what are you doing? How can the spirit of your youth allow you to adopt so dishonorable a measure as... those." He waved a hand, indicating the linked metal rings. Hayate coughed discretely into the silence, then flipped a hand up between them, beginning the match.
"Honor's for games, buddy, and that kind of youth's just another word for stupidity. Only a fool turns down an advantage," Neshan sniffed.
The taller Genin's florid complexion and bulging eyes made his expressions a little hard to read, but he still seemed distinctly condescending as he explained, "Depriving yourself of the ability to form hand seals and ninjutsu can hardly be counted as an advantage - particularly against an opponent of my strength."
Neshan laughed in his face. "That makes no more difference to me than it would to you."
"Ah! You seek the glory of the challenge!" Lee grinned and threw out a single hand with its thumb held up. "I approve!"
"Challenge, my ass. Glory's a delusion - and I haven't got the power for ninjutsu. You and I... we're practically the same, that way, though fortunately few others."
That shocked him. He rocked back, then looked solemnly at the floor. "Then... why so hateful?"
Neshan shrugged. "It's a mindjob to throw you off. I think you're annoying. I think you're too loud. Your outfit offends me. Pick whichever you like, any'd be enough. Mostly, though, because someone so thoughtless as you would never be any kind of shinobi, and needs to be kept away from authority over others at any cost."
"Unforgivable!" Lee snapped, lunging into an attack. "To say such things about my dreams! I will show you the power of youth!"
"Bring it!" his target roared, and threw a blow of his own - not at Lee's body, but at his incoming fist.
Given that their similarities are nearly as numerous and striking as their differences, I have a hard time imagining an alternate match-up more appropriate.
Ja, -n
===========
===============================================
"V, did you do something foolish?"
"Yes, and it was glorious."