Free Form Spar [job~Doppo]

Ah yes, sparring! It was one of the few common practices in the Rune Knights that Chiyuki actually enjoyed, although he didn't quite clearly express it. It was the sort of thing that he looked forward to and used to motivate himself when brooding at his desk all day or feeling the soles of his feet grow tender after patrolling for too long. The rawness of men and women striking one another in combat with only mild concern for their well being was absolutely exhilerating to the redhead and marked one of the only times he was visibly cheeky. Of course, it wasn't a daily routine but happened often enough for him to expect it routinely.

Chiyuki was so pleased by these trials and sparrings that he quickly became a favorite for his superiors to select for them, and was even quicker to garner a title of his own among his peers—The Red Demon. Chiyuki had defeated every officer that he was put up against in both physical and magical combat, always reigning the winner swiftly and without a doubt. He never made it a competition and never tried to, but every other officer ended up competing among themselves to see who would be the first to defeat him and many had given up quickly, so they ended up competing to see who'd last the longest against him instead. It had escalated to even betting on people for some tangible prize or bragging rights—Chiyuki was blissfully unaware of his reputation among the Combat Corps.

So today's match would be a magical trial (allowing the use of magic, that is) and his opponent would be Recruit Jin Suzuka. Chiyuki reckoned that he was in the Combat Corps but didn't pay enough individual attention to others to know for sure, and both the Combat Corps and Special Operations were so equally competent and skilled that they were only barely distinguishable—so equal that perhaps every member of both groups could switch places for a day and complete their tasks with almost equal precision and tact.

Mister Suzuka? Well, Chiyuki couldn't be so sure about his corps so he certainly knew nothing about the man himself. In fact, he had never even spoken to him until two days ago. It was then that he invited the seemingly recluse man to spar with him today. He didn't invite him to make a show out of their spar or to boost his own ego but needed to replace Private Hoggins who was supposed to be his partner but reported in ill the same day. Everyone else who participated in the spars would already be paired up and thus set him out to seek another partner, who just happened to be Mister Suzuka.

Today in Era was a cloudy one, not a single ray of sunshine breaking through the salt-and-pepper colored clouds that blanketed the sky from pole to pole. It was somewhat dim outside as a result and akin to a gloomy, rainy day, but the Rune Knight HQ thought differently. The match was held in front of the HQ where the widest field was, without obstructions or hazards. It was completely flat and the ideal place for trials of combat. Men and women gathered around the two partners, absolutely mad with excitement. There was wolfish roars rising and falling, doggish whistling, and it was overall like beligerrent sports fan crowding over a television watching some big sports event.

"Kick his ass, Suzuka!" one man hooted from the crowd.

"Like this guy is gonna beat the champ! Get out of here!"

"Thousand jewels—no—three thousand jewels on the private!"

The crowd was bursting with these sorts of comments, and while the sergeants who were faciliating the matches demanded there be calm and stillness, they were all equally excited to see the brawls. The Combat Corps was always easily excited, and this was made obvious when many of the receptionists and "spec ops" fellows glowered at them like looking at some bugs from inside HQ. Finally, one sergeant, a slimy looking man whose skin always felt sweaty and was overall rather lean, spoke loudly over the noise, "Allllright, allllright! Settle down, knights! You know how it goes, the first man down or surrenders loses!" he shouted, but many of the knights continued to mumble over him. Chiyuki was completely unaware of his speaking and continued to stretch.

The redhead was wearing his black uniform, the simplest and most modest of them all, and only removed his gloves in preparation of the trial. Mister Suzuka started saying something, and Chiyuki only smiled wildly, "Yeah, well, stay out of practice too long and you won't be any good when we actually need it, ya know?" he scoffed cheekily. It wasn't from a place of confidence, arrogance, or even mocking Mister Suzuka. It was an honest jest, but the air of the man had been so completely different from his usual lackadaisical one that it could easily be taken as taunting. In the simplest terms to explain this difference, when Chiyuki was not using his magic, he was tired and listless, but when using it, was completely energized and enthusiastic!

The sergeant glared to both of the partners in a short pause before raising his empty palm. The crowd looked at the two eagerly, and once assessing both of their readiness, the hand fell abruptly. "Begin!"

Chiyuki dashed forward with such incredible speed that a trail of dust followed behind him. He had pracitcally thrown himself at that speed—his toes only scraped the ground—and would appear just before Mister Suzuka with a bare fist beginning to try to roll into his stomach in an uppercut. It held such a force that one could see the veins in his hands bulge and was overall a bold move.

Chiyuki's fists rammed into the transparent barrier as if striking a wall. Well, it felt like a wall but in truth, the redhead wasn't entirely sure just what he was hitting. So he would have to stick another toe into the water just to be sure of its heat.

He struck again, this time with his other fist briefly reeling back next to his waist and thrusting forward to strike the barrier again, bracing himself for his strike to be stopped abruptly. Despite this bracing, he didn't decrease the speed or force in which he struck, a strength that could easily rupture the bones and tissue of the hands if he were to strike, say, a much more powerful wall. But the waters between he and Mister Suzuka were deep and still and he would not drink nor swim in its liquids until he had known just what lurks beneath. He started many battles like this, tinkering around with his opponents until he could make a confident blow. But he was so pumped with adrenaline and excitable during combat that he could easily break some bones and not even realize it until after the fighting had stopped.

The crowd shared a similar adrenaline just by watching the two graze each other with fists and magic, roaring with thunderous cheers. Chiyuki didn't say anything in between his heavy punches, noticing the magic circle appearing just before him but choosing not to reposition himself. Mister Suzuka muttered something but the redhead wasn't paying attention, eager to see just what his second blow would do to the barrier.

The spell was almost done casting and Chiyuki kept reeling his fists back and striking the wall, watching Mister Suzuka with a wild stare. His eyes were ferocious and sharp like those of wolves on their prey, unmoving and glossy with bloodlust. Compared to the lackadaisical, listless impression he set just moments before their battle, he had become a completely different entity. He glared at Mister Suzuka through his messy, unkempt shock of red hair like a patch of vines hanging from high jungle trees and watched as the red magic circle's light beamed underneath him. The magical pressure of its casting swelled and laid on him like weights, and the windows for escape became smaller and smaller until it was only a paltry sum of time for any wizard. Then suddenly, the space spreading on for over two dozen meters in diameter simply vanished. It looked like someone had finely and precisely, without mistakes, cut a piece of the earth out, and Chiyuki was nowhere to be seen.

It looked like the redhead had vanished with that patch of earth for several seconds. But this wasn't the case! Appearing directly behind Mister Suzuka was a black and viscous figure that outlined the physique of Chiyuki almost identically if it weren't for its pulsating form, bubbling like hot tar and dripping like it, too. "Give me a break!" the sludge crowed, "Why are you holding back? Think I'm weak? Is that it?!" Through the black, bubbling, viscous sludge suddenly protruded one large and toned head full of red hair, and then some fingers and the soles of his shoes. The sludge began to disappear back into his flesh, hiding in his pores and suddenly Chiyuki was there again, so close to Mister Suzuka that his hot breaths could kiss and brush against his skin if he paid enough attention to it.

This sludge was not in fact slude, however. It was slime. A slime so awfully thick and viscous and pulsating with magical energy that it eventually became an organism on its own. Their history was ancient when it came to the magical world, but none of that really mattered at the moment. Chiyuki's history with this slime dated back to his childhood, and ever since his encounter, it has stuck itself and lived within the pores of his body. He was able to utilize it well and it served as a perfect defense mechanism. So, combined with his Insatiable Hunger, it was an excellent offense-defense strategy.

"Don't cast half-assed spells on me!" His voice became clearer now that the slime had disappeared, and he began to move his arms in an attempt to wrap them around Jin's body. One had went for his neck and the other his waist. The speed was incredible and his relocation behind him mimicking an equally mighty speed. After all, both had been some of his most powerful spells at his disposal, and if this chokehold would land—and at this position he was sure it would—Mister Suzuka would be rendered immobile and somewhat defenseless.