A Tale of Two (Really Big) Swords (Brandt/Ask if Takeda)

[Miyamoto Kenji]

(( OOC: Takes place chronologically before my thread with Naotora. ))

Passing through the lands of Kofu, home to the Takeda and their fearsome cavalry, was always an exciting ride for Kenji. He could expect to see the famed horsemen running drills on the open plains at least three times during his trek, depending on how much of the clan's lands he wandered through at the time. In this particular case, he'd witnessed two already, and he hadn't even gotten halfway through the Shinano fief. He pondered if they were going to war soon for training so much, or if he'd simply been lucky enough to catch them early on.

It was in one of these great, grassy, open plains as far as the eye could see that Kenji decided to take a break, dismounting from his reliable mount, Aozaki, and tying her to a fallen tree. Reaching behind him, he pulled his nodachi, scabbard and all, off and set it against the same tree, taking the opportunity to stretch freely. Relief... His mare snorted as he settled back down, prompting a chuckle from Kenji. "Alright, alright, I've got it right here..." From within his sash, he drew out a ripe apple, acquired from the last town he passed through, and offered it to Aozaki as he stroked her mane.

[Brandt Solveig]

(OoC: This would take place after Brandt's meeting with Takehiro)

Brandt couldn't help but to let the scenery grown upon him. He was becoming more at home with Japan the more he explored it. It surely was a beautiful country thus far. He had spend a good part of this day traveling by foot. Brandt didn't mind horses, however it was finding one that could properly toat the giant around without breaking its legs.

While scanning the path in front of him, those pale green hues would pick out figures a few hundred yards away. The nord would not pause however, and continued to move forward. The breeze that rolled over the plains tugged his reddish brown cloak against his form as he cleared the distance between what he now recognized as a man with his horse.

The viking would pause about ten yards from the stranger. The hulking mass would not say anything for the time being. His experiences thus far had varied. He did not know what this mans reaction would be. Arms at his side, he stared defiantly, his face hidden within his cloak.

"...."

[Miyamoto Kenji]

As Kenji fed Aozaki and continued running his hand through her mane, he could hear someone walking up from further off. Though the grass muffled one's footsteps to a certain point, the fact that he could hear someone without them being too close was curious. The merc glanced past his shoulder, and found a hulking giant of a man standing some ten yards away from him. Jutting out from over the stranger's shoulder was the pommel and hilt of what must be a very large sword. Why was he here?

Kenji turned fully toward the man, patting Aozaki gently before leaving her be. This person didn't seem hostile, or else he might've attempted a charge instead of standing still. Deciding it was more considerate to be accomodating than to antagonize the stranger, Kenji waved. "Good afternoon! You're traveling as well, I see?"

[Brandt Solveig]

Brandt had been half expecting the man to pull his weapons and ready them. Instead he would simply wave to him. Brandt wouldn't wave, rather he would give the man a nod, before his hands lifted to pull his hood back. It would be clear the extent of his battle experience. The scars which laced his face told tales all of their own. Only a few tufts of dark brown hair could be seen at the top of his head, as his forehead was bandaged up.

"Indeed..I am always traveling."

His accent was thick and his japanese was horrendous. But he was sure the male would get the gist of what he was saying. Alone at times he practiced speaking to himself. Brandt had at least improved a little bit since his arrival in the east.

"You travel by horse.. You come from afar?"

[Miyamoto Kenji]

When the man drew back his hood, Kenji noted - even from this distance - the extent of his facial scarring. It made him wonder just how many there were on his body in total. Not to mention the bandaging... He must had been in combat very recently. Certainly, this giant was a practiced, well-fought warrior.

Also foreign, judging by his accent, were his face not enough.

Not exactly the worst accent that Kenji had heard. Far from it, infact; the merc could rattle off names of western men and women whose accents were the stuff of legend, in the worst sense of the phrase.

This was hardly the time to recollect on such things, of course. Kenji nodded in response to the stranger's inquiry, turning to gesture to Aozaki as he spoke, "I do. Infact, I'm returning home after having spent time in Owari, and on great Kyushu to the west." He paused to turn back to Brandt. "What of yourself? You travel by foot, so I must guess that you either prefer walking, or that horses are not your strong suit."

[Brandt Solveig]

"They tend to give at the knees.."

Brandt had not been able to find a horse yet that was able withstand the giants weight without crippling itself after a short while. He had grown use to walking though, so it bothered him little. It also gave him chance to be more cautious. Those pale eyes of the warrior scanned Kenji for a few seconds longer before his hand would lift and his finger would extend.

"Your weapon.. How does it handle?"

Brandt was referencing the nodatchi upon his new acquaintances body. The nord found himself curious, due to the fact that it was similar to ma y of the small, sharp curved blades he saw the locals carrying, only much larger.

"..I like it.."

[Miyamoto Kenji]

Kenji decided not to think too hard about the giving at the knees statement. Given the foreigner's size, and how he could be called a giant, he kind of got the idea.

When the man pointed his finger in the direction of Kenji's nodachi, still resting against the fallen tree, he glanced back at his sword for a moment, then back to the foreigner, smiling. "You have an interest in weapons, huh?" He stepped back to pick the nodachi up, doing so gently and without haste to both treat the weapon with respect, and to make sure this man did not suspect him of hostilities. Drawing the sword slowly, he set the scabbard back down against the wood, laying the flat of the long blade in his free palm. For a two-handed weapon, Kenji mentally reminded himself, this was fairly lightweight. He had to know where that entity had acquired it...

"This weapon is called a 'nodachi.'" As he spoke, he would turn the blade skyward, holding it vertically and continuing to keep his palm against the flat. "It is a sword that requires two hands, more often than not. It has the cutting power of our katana, but greater length, allowing for superior reach. It's also an ideal mounted weapon because of that length, and at the same time, it can be used to cut down a horse. Not that I make a habit of that, anyway..." He paused, thinking about how to proceed. Due to his time travelling and meeting plenty of foreigners, Kenji had some reasonable experience with learning and speaking a certain foreign tongue, and if he enunciated words carefully, he could even conquer his peoples' apparent native inability to pronounce the mysterious 'l' sound... To a point, at least.

Still sounded awkward compared to a native Englishman.

"In Eng-lish, I believe the term for nodachi is... '/fie-ld sword/'? I don't know if you are Eng-lish or not, so I apologize if that came off as offensive." Kenji chuckled nervously, sincerely hoping that wasn't the case.

[Brandt Solveig]

Brandt stared intently toward the man as he removed his weapon to show it off. It was by far the most interesting weapon Brandt had seen thus far. It was closest to what he had. But he wagered he might be able to wield two at once. Brandt was so use to a much thicker, heavier blade. The giant assumed other weapons would be far easier for him to hold.

"It is.. fancy. But it looks brittle like a child's bone.

Brandt's right arm would lift up and over his shoulder, grasping the handle of his blade.before he would tug it up and over, holding it horizontally toward the still unnamed man. Brandt's pale hues would seek to meet the other males, stone faced as he spoke again.

"With this I can cleave through the steel and bone of five men deep.. Easy."

The Nord was intending to be slightly intimidating. After all, five men was putting it lightly. With a good swing it was closer to ten. He would cknti ue to stare toward the man. Maybe it was Brandt's way of trying to make judgement of the man who stood before him. The stranger seemed alright thus far, but he felt it still remained to be seen what would come of this meeting.

[Miyamoto Kenji]

Kenji whistled after the giant introduced his massive sword. A whistle signifying that he was impressed. Such a great blade would make for a formidable adversary's weapon, assuming they had the strength and discipline for it. The same could be said of the nodachi, often a weapon to be put on display in a blacksmith's forge, as proof of his great craftsmanship.

"Sounds like you speak from experience," quipped Kenji in regards to the claim of cleaving through five men in one swing. "I like your sword, but I wonder about its weight. Even for one of such prodigious height, is it not a chore to wield?" The question he offered had two meanings. On one end of the spectrum, he asked because if a weapon was too taxing to swing in combat after a while, or at all, it generally wasn't worth using unless trying to quickly end a fight. On the other hand, he intended to counter the foreigner's 'brittle' comment. Granted, it was a polite way of doing so, and not nearly the most foul inquiry Kenji could think of.

"If you have no pressing business, why not we put our two swords to the test? Your great sword against my nodachi," the shugyosha offered. It had been some time since he'd engaged in a duel, and he sensed more than excessive strength and muscle from his adversary. If they fought, it had the potential to be a splendid match...

[Brandt Solveig]

"I accept. I am only learning the lay of the land.. I have time to spare, Stranger.."

The viking continued to stare toward Kenji. Still studying the man as if hr was contemplating how to move forward with this. While he was a relentless warrior, he had always chose to act cautiously. Unless of course he was mad, then things didnt quite matter as much. 

Brandt would begin to move toward his new duel-mate, both hands gripping the handle of his sword as he held it in front of him still, balanced near his waist as he began to clear the distance as a steady pace. Once he was within range, he would pause with eyes watching carefully.

"May the gods smile upon us this day.."

[Miyamoto Kenji]

(( OOC: As a note, the nodachi's power is cutting anything that doesn't explicitly have Unbreakable/Unpiercable as a power, but I'm going to argue that Kenji and wielders of similar weapons can control when this is in effect. I'm not going to break that big damn sword in a friendly scrap. :3 ))

As the giant approached and settled into a stance with that huge cleaver of his, Kenji too moved away from Aozaki, in order to not accidentally hit her. When the two of them were just within range, and the great man paused, the merc took his nodachi into both hands, holding the blade at his side, its length trailing behind him, the edge glimmering in the midday sun.

When the foreigner offered his request for the gods to smile upon the two duelists, Kenji smiled. "I bet you have some interesting gods watching you," he commented, wondering indeed what kind of pantheon the man worshipped. Silently, he wondered if Amaterasu were observing him right now... Nah, that'd be too egotistical of an expectation.

Not that he couldn't hope, anyway.

His mind steeled for the fight ahead, Kenji made the first move. In one fluid, swift motion, he took a lunging step toward Brandt whilst swiping his lengthy sword up. The blades of grass beneath its path were kicked up into the air, its refined steel intending to contact with the giant's own weapon. Were his first contact successful, he'd follow through by deliberately bouncing the nodachi off and coming around for a second strike, bringing it down in an overhead swing for the giant's center using the earlier momentum.

[Brandt Solveig]

It was quickly apparent to Brandt that this stranger was no one to take lightly. He was fast and by the feel of the strength behind his first blow, it seemed similar to that of someone else he had faced just recently. Brandt did not fight first strike, just letting his blade bob up from the blow.

However the giant would not let the blade drop back, instead holding it vertically in front of his and side stepping away from his opponents blade. His goal was to block the second strike and attempt to return fire in his own fashion.

His right foot would lift as he aimed to full on big boot his opponent from underneath his defense. He wasn't the fastest, but sometimes all it took was good timing. At close range, speed didn't mean nearly as much. Especially when someone of Brandt's size had the kind of reach he did.

If his kick connected, Brandt's blade would already be in a position in front of him to just lift upward and then heave the massive slab of metal toward Kenji after the kick.

[Miyamoto Kenji]

In the bottom of his vision, Kenji saw one of the giant's legs lifting, and he suspected it wasn't to take a step. Heeding his instincts, he sidestepped in time to observe his opponent's huge foot kick into where he'd been a couple moments before. That would've sucked, probably... The merc acted fast, swiping his own leg into the man's standing knee in an effort to unbalance him. If successful, he would bring the nodachi across in a horizon cut meant for the man's ribs, all while stepping back to distance himself from those thick limbs.

[Brandt Solveig]

Brandt watched his opponent side step, but it was too late to retract his kick. He would feel the sting of Kenji's kick to his knee and his leg shift backwards from the force. As a natural reaction his left hand moved outward. Using that to advantage, along with the fact his opponent was within arms reach, Brandt's left hand would grasp for the neck area.

Whether a shirt he grabbed, or Kenji's neck itself. The giant would use it to counter his fall, tugging the man's head closer as he aimed to slam his bandaged wrapped head against Kenji's face. His blade resting behind his own head, upon his shoulder.

If he was successful, Brandt would then attempt to knee Kenji in the stomach to knock him away to get some distance. More then likely Brandt's head would be hurting and bleeding again, bit the Nord didn't care. It was the heat of battle, what he truly lived for.

[Miyamoto Kenji]

Kenji saw the giant's hand moving, then reach for him. This gave him an idea. He took a breath and tilted his head in time for his neck to be taken, nodachi held tightly in one hand as his head was pulled closer to Brandt's own, which begun to rear back. Having been on both ends of such a maneuver before, Kenji knew what was coming, and responded in kind, dipping his head back before making to slam it against the foreigner's oncoming headbutt.

For someone of lesser strength or constitution, this would be a bad idea.

The mutual impact certainly hurt Kenji, threatening to split his forehead, but it could've been a lot worse. He heard something moving beneath him, and swiveled around in the giant's grip to narrowly avoid receiving a knee to the stomach. In response, the shugyosha turned the nodachi in his hand and made to punch the pommel solidly into Brandt's ribcage. If successful, he'd pull his neck from the man's hand and step back to put distance between the two.

[Brandt Solveig]

Brandt's head certainly felt the force of the headbutt met straight on. The gash on his forehead letting lose more of that crimson life blood. But the look of pain wouldn't cross upon the Nord's face. Instead there was something of a sadistic smile. He was thoroughly enjoying this.

Brandt's knee wouldn't land as he wished, and instead he would feel a sharp strike to his ribcage. A grunt would escape his lips, and Brandt would allow his right hand to release its hold upon his own sword, the tip sinking into the earth behind him. His right hand dropped, and that was when he would activate the power of his glove.

Kenji would feel an incredible pull as Brandt would magnetized the blade of his nodachi to his glove. Brandt's grip with his right hand would only tighten upon Kenji's throat as he would flex and aim to literally toss the little man into the sky and separate him from his weapon.

If all went well, the nodachti would drop to the ground and Brandt would grasp the handle of his sword to swing it up and over, aimed to bat Kenji out of the sky with the flat of his massive sword.