A Worthy Opponent (HunterxHunter)

Chapter 14: Practice Makes Perfect

"Can I play too?~" Hisoka wandered towards her, hoping to test the waters of her potential. And as expected, she was already awaiting his presence from her bland expression.

What are you planning?~

A brief flash of light caught his eye from the floor, a pair of shiny weapons laid by her feet. "New toys?~"

She nodded innocently and wiped the sweat off her forehead. Although you could tell from her body she trained for hours under the heat, the energy around her was very full. That determination still blazed in her eyes.

Bisky was the first to respond to him. "You know...that's not a bad idea." She turned to Raine. "Practice close combat with him while working on attacks with the blades, but this time, we'll work on slicing the opponent instead of thrusting, so whatever you do, those blades do not stop spinning." Raine picked up her blades preparing. "Hisoka, I want you to simply dodge accordingly."

Bisky walked away and sat on a bench. "When I yell 'SWITCH', you will switch roles. Hisoka will change to physical attacks and Raine will dodge. Blocking will not be allowed, only dodging, so no contact unless someone strikes and the distance between you both should never increase. There will also be no Nen allowed, pure skill and strength. This will help Raine become familiar with the variety of options that comes with fighting while dual-wielding."

Hisoka studied her. Judging by her power, she will be slightly faster on offense with the advantage of knowing how I'll dodge her attacks. But while on defense with weapons spinning, her focus might shift slightly, finding it difficult to evade with them in the way. Even if she did know where I was going to attack, she would need to come up with new strategies as she won't be able to put her hands on the floor, so most of her evasions would be aerial.

Raine glared at him as they positioned themselves. A rush of adrenaline pumped through his veins from the little game. This was only the beginning of their bloodshed. And if any other person were to be in his position, surely, they would be cut up in no time. Her blades started spinning.

"Go!"

Raine lunged at him without hesitation. Every step and attack she took was followed by another, more continuous and planned than any opponent he faced. Her movements never stumped; her arms continuously swung, then followed with kicks. Hisoka found himself getting creative with each dodge from the complexity of her angled attacks as she swung high and low. The sheer match etched without a sound beat except for the blades slicing the air like mini helicopters. It was almost like they were dancing, matching each other's movements, both adjacent and reversed. When she struck forward, he swayed back, when she twisted left, he ducked right. But he quickly caught on to the subtle shifts of her footing and became predictable to dodge knowing how she'll strike.

"Is that all you can do?~" he instigated, ducking another kick. Raine hissed and Hisoka immediately launched himself in the air, reading her moves, and twisted sideways as she struck both high and low at the same time. Hisoka chuckled giddily, while her face contorted fiercely, irked at his counter. But that annoyance quickly turned to comprehension. Raine stepped right to strike and Hisoka prepared to dodge left but she faked it out for a spin kick with her opposite foot, almost knocking him to the side. Hisoka grunted as she simultaneously followed with a spinning flip to hide how she would strike. At that moment, his disbelief turned to caution, barely able to evade it in time. A cut slashed his shoulder and Hisoka's eyes widened, pleased.

"A person who is arrogant is also ignorant," she warned.

"SWITCH!" Bisky called.

"Oh, my sweet, we have only begun~"