Tiebreaker: Cloud vs. Yuffie

[Tasuke]

If the audience hates one thing, it's lose ends. Such was the resolution between two kindred heroes, Kuraudo Suturaifu and Yufi Kisaragi. Thrice they've partaken in friendly violence, with each boasting a win; last time, they'd scuffled in a glittery winterland, where, despite use of both the elemental Conformer and crystalline Ultima Weapon, as well as an appearance by the majestic Leviathan, neither could snatch victory from the other; what they took from one another was a surplus of respect. Now the tie must be broken.

Deep within the lush forest of her homeland, the rambunctious kunoichi again awaits arrival; a clandestine flower tucked within towering oaks and natural music. The reversal of their last locale, comfortable warmth and mellifluous chirps and buzzes permeate the atmosphere as birds and insects sang as one; gentle breezes carry their voices and rustle the leaves. It's a recipe for peacefulness that's sadly soon to shatter.

High above the leafy forest floor nests the waiting Yufi, arrayed in her usual attire of shorts, knee-high boots, and flower-etched blouse overlain with an unbound, hooded jacket. She's sat upon a branch, propped against the thick trunk as her left leg dangles in a slight, playful sway. The right arm, clasping her hoary Kyohaku by one of its four limbs, similarly hangs and moves in reverse motion; the other rests across her lap, covered by the familiar armguard containing her assortment of materia; her fancied tricks of the magical trade. Her smile is small but sweet, her dark stare slow to scan the sanctuary all around.

Then her face centers and her eyes close for a full breath of crisp, fresh air. They open slowly and she looks up at the canopy perforated by leaking bars of light. A blank mind endures many minutes before youthful timbre vocalizes complaint. “Late as usual...”

[Kuraudo]

Four months ago, in the august snow, there was an intense battle. A fight that not only uncovered power, but the truth of the heart. Yufi Kisaragi, the self-professed materia hunter extraordinaire, exposed her deep-seated pain to her comrade. A claim that no one, especially the ex-SOLDIER, doesn't respect her. It was the brunt of the brawl. The reason why the northerly fracas began. Though before the battle found its conclusion, Earisu's influence opened up her eyes. She became aware of her faults and began anew. For our hero, it was an act of trial and error.

Once again, the spiky-haired warrior from Nibelheim take up arms. He's to have another bout with Kisaragi on native soil, her birthplace, Wutai. Kuraudo arrives on the wutainese shoreline in a large, cinereous ship. On its front, near the camber in bold white letters, is the WRO insignia. An organization taking the reins as the protectors of Gaia and her people.

The WRO armada patrol the seas four times a year, and headquarter their vessel once per season. They rotate crews, training new naval operatives for life on the waves. Sometimes, the ex-SOLDIER board the ship to deliver his merchandise. There are some locations, faraway locations the swarthy beast Fenrir cannot reach. So in cases like these, he asks the leader of the WRO faction, Reeve Tuesti, for his assistance. But Reeve always tell Kuraudo that he's open to help any of his friends, the radicals of AVALANCHE.

In the freight, Kuraudo is mounted upon the motorbike, waiting to storm off into the horizon. To his right, a male cadet with light-brown hair and green eyes tells him the ship is ready to dock. He cranks the ignition, revving up the engine as the automatous roar fills the carrier cavity. But if it weren't for his know-how, the knowledge to restore Fenrir after the Leviathan mayhem, these droning hums would've been missed.

Meanwhile, the ship eases into a gradual stop and slowly drops the hatchway. Pressure is released from the hydraulic pumps as the door touches the ground. It gives the salesman the go-ahead, causing the back wheel to squeal and create a smokey husk. This cloud born out of friction dissipates, stretching thinly when the ex-SOLDIER darts out. He drives off into the valley to meet Yufi in a wooded area. Their next stage to decide a definitive winner.

[Tasuke]

Before Kisaragi can become antsy with impatience, the mechanized rumble of Kuraudo's mount shreds the tranquil from afar. It tickles her ears, for the moment too distant to ascertain its direction of origin; soon enough, she pinpoints the increasing roar to be coming from her right. Yufi halts the pendulum movement of her arm, her glistering stare unblinking upon the horizon whilst she awaited her compeer. It's then that a thought for disabling repetition struck; to again frustrate the stride of the swarthy Fenrir.

Her full grin accents the familiar jingle of channeled materia, her lithe figure shrouded in magic's vert. Yufi lifts her left arm, the gloved wrist flitted upward and slender fingers curled in as if to silently welcome the blonde brute closer. But below, something more sinister is afoot. The lane that he may cross had become soft and brittle in a thirty foot radius several yards from her person; deceptively unfettered to the sight, though hungry for the unwary. Another simple opening to frustrate his initiative.

Nevertheless, in her heart, she knows this bout will be their most challenging yet.

[Kuraudo]

Unknown to him, the ex-SOLDIER is being watched from the branches above. It's a similar setup she'd enforced in their previous battle. And like then, as always, her fraudulence is first to be implemented. She creates a ruse that fronts as solid ground, which will cave in to a weighty touch. But the question is will Kuraudo somehow avoid this foul impendence?

The polished and sable Fenrir speeds into the forest. Though as the path becomes enshrouded with thickets and other wild plants, Kuraudo slows down. He no longer sees a stretch of road ahead. No artery that leads into the heart of the Wutainese forest. It prompts him to ease off the accelerator and come to a successive break. After that, he quiets the mechanical beast when turning off the ignition. What he does next is to gather his provisions of warfare. The First Tsurugi ensemble.

With his right hand, Kuraudo presses the button that opens up the armoury hatches. The internal compartments that houses and reveals the fusion swords. Though three of the auxiliary brands are faceted in the right wing of the motorbike. One back blade, and both of the switchblades are all that remains. The mainblade, impact blade and the other back blade had been sheathed in his harness beforehand.

Kuraudo reaches over and grips the black hilt of the back blade. He pulls it from the slot and slides into the harness band. The switchblades or side blades, are next to be assumed. Spiky places them into the last two openings of the harness. And in pairs, each of the swords are situated above one another like a row of xes. It was then, after equipping himself and dismounting Fenrir, Kuraudo continues his journey on foot.

He walks straight ahead, ignorantly heading in the trap's direction just yards away.

[Tasuke]

The waning drone of Fenrir purred into a hush preceding their rendezvous. To Yufi, it's a peculiarity which piques curious thought. Mayhap Kuraudo has been intercepted and forced to partake in happenstance battle before the true contest may commence; some unsightly beast, food for the Lego-like First Tsurugi. Or even an ambush enacted by marauding forest hermits. Fortunately, nothing of these sorts could fell the heroic phone man.

Time slithers into refreshed quiet, once more saturated by the medleys of birds and buzzing insects. Kisaragi anticipates a resounding rumble of Fenrir's throat, but as seconds wax into minutes, such a thing appears increasingly unlikely. Either Kuraudo truly has become distracted by unkind interlopers, or he's simply chosen to hoof it further into the woods. The second case diminishes the effectiveness of her sand trap and she can't dismiss the possibility of the first.

Desire for understanding prompts the movement of her left hand toward the same ear, filled by a device hooked around its lobe; her hands-free communication device. A light press by her thereafter stationary finger provokes the chirp of its auto-dialer, and before long, it rings Kuraudo's phone repetitiously. His answer will put her mind at ease, and, if he's close, alert of possible proximity.

Then, she catches sight of him while he unknowingly treks toward; she keeps the call going, compelled by the prospect of being given an opening. Yufi latches onto him with a twinkling, entertained stare. Her heart boomed and the tingle of adrenaline filled her veins; all she had to do now was wait.

[Kuraudo]

A sinking doom awaits. If he goes unswerved, steadfast in his path, then Kuraudo will meet an earthy immersion. A scenario that'll be more than he bargained for. Though something unexpectedly happens. The ex-SOLDIER recieves a phone call from Kisaragi.

She's been watching him from afar, and for some reason, decided to ring him up. His ringtone "Let the Battles Begin" catches his attention. Thereafter he stops, reaching into his pocket and pulls out his cellphone. Kuraudo flips it open, reading the message that says: 'Incoming Caller... Yuffie Kisaragi'. Holding the phone to his right ear, Kuraudo greets Yufi with a monotonous 'hello'.

Whether it was serendipitous or on purpose, Yufi's interaction sways her comrade from the pitfall. For now.

[Tasuke]

The ex-SOLDIER's smooth timbre flecks Kisaragi with pernicious satisfaction. What should be her reply; a simple greeting? An inquiry of safety? She quickly formulates an adroit return that will serve to gift surprise, delivered a few octaves above a whisper. “What's keepin' yer slow ass, huh?”

She allots little time for response before she slips away within a pocket of space, her movement threaded in warm wind that robes him like softest silk that's perfumed with cherry blossoms. In instants, a shing of luminous pink revelation at his rear has the pair of warriors back to back. Yufi stands at a left-legged slant, her guarded hand on her hip and center-clutched Kyohaku tapping one of its slender tips against the outside of the opposite knee. The calmness she portrays is accented by a timely rightward cant of her head, turned for a peripheral look abaft as she smoothly added, “I was startin' t'worry.”

All the while, her circle of quicksand stole inches in all directions. One might suppose she's compromised her advantage of stealth; like any crafty kunoichi, what's on the surface is a cover to the depth of material written underneath.

[Kuraudo]

After being phoned by Yufi, the ex-SOLDIER answers her query. "I'm taking another route. The path ahead is blocked." But before he can ask a question of his own, Yufi comes out of hiding. She warps herself from the woods to stand directly astern Kuraudo. Her hallmark of twisting sakura petals lets him know she's here. Closer than he would've guessed.

Now that she's arrived, there was no need to keep the line open. So with his middle and index finger, Kuraudo closes his cellphone. He slips it back into his pocket while gazing at the forest floor. His eyes wander, not focusing on anything in particular. But the moments after, something seizes his roving. A large rock, behind the aperture of hanging leaves, appears to be moving. Rather, it was being demitted by the bog and reducing its size, little by little.

The shrinkage of the stone is only the beginning. More victims are claimed by the silent destruction lain upon the forest. Trees and other feral plants, slowly gives into the ground-gnawing phenomenon. They all lean in the direction in which the land became the weakest. Some pointed to the east, others lie towards the south, while the remaining few are contrary with the rest.

The ravenous quicksand, at Yufi's behest, continues to expand and swallow the boonies from below. Kuraudo looks onward, having some idea as to who's the brunt of this catastrophe. "I suppose this is your doing.." While turning his head to peek over his left shoulder he adds, "..Yuffie?"

[Tasuke]

Yufi keeps her giggle caged behind a full grin and plays with the words of her response. “Oh, well...” She turns her head frontward and sets her eyes on nothing in particular. “You know what lack of care does to the environment... who can say what's caused that?”

Kisaragi kept close count of the seconds and the sandy centimeters each devoured. Her pause breaks with a tagged on inquiry of her own. “This one's for all the marbles. No holding back, 'kay...” Another look over her shoulder. “...Cloud?”

[Kuraudo]

As their words ensue, Yufi asks the ex-SOLDIER to go all-out. No exhibition--just straight to the main event. And the one that comes out victorious will receive the spoils of their game. A splendid trove of materia. It appears that old habits never die, at least for Kisaragi. Kuraudo nods once, agreeing to the terms before looking forward.

Those blue eyes settles on the quagmiry body, watching it erode the forestal floor centimeters at a time. If it was an inborn occurence as hinted by Yufi, it would take years for the land to change. But the ground becomes increasingly flabby as time steadily passes. For something like that to happen, its development will have to be aided by an unnatural cause. This means that her words, all though jovial in tone, are filled with deceit.

What Kuraudo suspected has been confirmed. He saw through her lies and takes an underhanded hold of the mainblade's florid hilt. Though with his right hand gripping the haft, extending from the small of his back, will he make a move? He is sandwiched between Yufi at his rear, and the quicksand just yards ahead. It's dilemmatic but a way out will be exploited.