rakuen | A challenge!

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A challenge!

Russel Tringham vs. Edward Elric
Weapons: Fletcher Tringham and Mei Chang

There was a quote from some famous general about making your opponent angry that probably applied here. But Russel didn't know it, because he didn't care about things like that. All he knew was he was furious, and someone had to pay. The best option he had was Ed. So he dropped a note on his table subtlety at lunch to meet him in the courtyard later. And he brought Fletcher out on the pretext of inspecting what plants were out there, only to discover he couldn't identify most of them. That only made him angrier.

On top of all of this, his nightmare was still haunting him, and mixing with the content of nightmares he'd had in the past. He was not a very well-rested individual.

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Fletcher could tell that his brother -- Russel, his name was Russel; knowing that made it so much better -- was upset. He stuck close to him, trying to do what he could to help him calm down.

He hadn't been expecting to run into Edward here.

Ed wandered toward the courtyard, hands tucked into his pockets, frowning thoughtfully. He honestly didn't know what this was all about, though he did get the feeling that it wasn't going to end very well. It was the same guy who'd gotten angry when he wasn't recognized - at least Ed felt fairly sure he was. The name was on the tip of his tongue but he couldn't quite grasp it.

And hadn't he just learned it? ... Oh well.

He let out a breath as he arrived at the courtyard. Might as well get this over with.

"Is that all the note said?"

And where Ed went, so did Mei.

Why was Russel passing notes to Edward? She had witnessed it. Not surprising, since she's been taking any chance to hang out with the alchemist ever since he ended up trapped at the school. Lunchtime sure counted into that. So, when Ed had left to go see what was up, the tiny girl had tagged along, whether she was invited to or not. Just in case.

Russel put on an incredibly fake smirk. "Hey, Ed!" He took one hand out of his trouser pocket and waved. "Wanted to run an idea by you."

"Yeah, that's all it--"

He cut himself off when the other boy approached, frowning at him. Ed knows what it looks like when someone's putting on a fake expression; he's done it enough times himself.

"Yeah? And what's that?"

"Sorry for that little mix-up earlier." Russel was apologizing? Don't have a heart attack. "After all, if I knew you were such a dick that you'd just forget about what I did for you, I would have let Mugear and his guards kill you and Al when they had the chance." The eeriest part? His almost-cheerful smirk never faded. "At least that way I'd have something to show for everything I had to give up."

"Brother!" Fletcher almost couldn't believe he had just said that. Almost, because he knew deep down in his heart that his big brother really was kind of a jerk. He tugged on Russel's hand, not particularly minding if it hurt a little.

What what WHAT? Mei stopped to stare. He would have let... people... kill... oh no he just didn't. If the girl could puff up like an annoyed cat, she would. Actually, she was doing her best impression of it right there and then. Ffff. "Hey! You shut up! As if Edward and Alphonse would have needed your help to get away from some dumb guards!"

Ed's eyes narrowed. Where the hell did this guy get off with this high and mighty attitude? He stepped forward, getting in front of Mei to block her off in case she attacked or something. He wanted first dibs.

"If I actually let an asshole like you help me and Al out, I must've forgotten all about it on purpose. It must've been the biggest humiliation of my life to know that we had seriously fallen that far. So y'know what?"

He moved closer, a challenge in his eyes, the hands in his pockets balling into fists. His voice dropped into a low, dangerous growl. "I'm glad I don't remember."

"I don't know about that, I think I can prove you wrong. Right here, right now. What do you say?" he pulled his other hand out of his pants pocket. He already had his glove on.

Ed raised an eyebrow, glancing at the glove on his hand. He was this stupid? Really?

"...Fine." He pulled his hands from his pockets, taking the glove out as well and slipping it on. "But don't start crying when I grind your ass into the dirt."

Russel didn't hesitate, he reached right back, and put his hand on Fletcher's chest. He didn't take his eyes off of Ed as he pulled the bow out, and pulled back its "string" all in one motion. Between his hand and the bow, a green arrow of light appeared, shimmering slightly and casting an eerie green glow on his face. He paused only briefly before letting it go.

"Brother!" Fletcher shouted again, stunned. He staggered backward and steadied himself by grabbing the back of a nearby bench, dazed by the sudden drawing of his weapon. Had Russel really just-- he had! Fletcher watched in disbelief.

Later, he might wonder why his bow didn't display the same odd, pseudo-alchemic symbol that Russel's shield had when it was drawn. Right now, the thought didn't cross his mind.

There was a moment of complete and utter confusion when that bow first emerged out of Fletcher's chest. In which one of the only thoughts that entered Ed's mind was "What the fucking hell have I gotten myself into?!" The other was "Oh fuck no."

Ed reflexively ducked under the path of the arrow, hitting the floor and quickly kicking at Russel's legs with his automail in an attempt to knock him off his feet. He glanced quickly over at Mei.

"MEI, HOW THE FUCK DO I GET YOUR WEAPON THING?!"

"Aah! Fletcher!" Mei would have ran past Ed to go check on the boy, but, as luck had it, the arrow that had been ducked hit the spot she'd just been about to dash through. That stopped her right there. It was just as well. She couldn't leave Edward unarmed. Not that he needed a weapon to put Russel's teeth out, but...

"Weren't you paying attention?! You need to use the glove and pull the weapon out! Just like he did!"

Russel jumped over and back from Ed's leg. "Come on, you can do better than that! This is going to be an easy win if you don't step it up!" He fired again and again while Ed was in close range.

Hey, he'd been paying attention. Fletcher had looked horrified while his brother just looked like a dick, yanking shit out of his body without a second thought.

"WOULDN'T THAT SHIT HURT?!"

Shaking the thought off, Ed rolled out of the way of the arrow, sprung to his feet and made a mad dash for where Mei was standing. A weapon would be good right about now. A sword, a spear - something with a blade that could do some damage. He slid to a stop next to her, hand over her chest and his eyes back on Russel.

"Ready?" Only once he was sure she was did he pull her weapon out, eyes still focused on Russel in case he did something. And then he looked down at the weapon now in his hands.

"...What the hell is this?!"

This fight was off to an interesting start...

"Well yeah! Of course it hurts! You're yanking a whole weapon out of someone's chest!" Mei gave Russel a particularly mean look. "But I'll be fine! Do it!" Though once the set of kunai were in Ed's hands -- six of them in all -- she turned her glare to the alchemist.

"Throwing knives!" They were still blades, just not the sort he'd been hoping for. The girl checked her pockets and got a ring out, putting it on. Upgrade engaged! "Don't worry about it! You'll be able to hit him fine!" The ring would see to most of that. She looked up again.

"And if that doesn't work, PUNCH HIM IN THE FACE!"

A lot.

Russel did take advantage of Ed being guaranteed stationary for a moment, and fired a couple arrows while he pulled out Mei's weapons. While he was counting on accuracy through volume, he was quickly getting better at aiming and he took full advantage at Ed's being guaranteed stationary for a moment. In his mind, there was no way he could miss.

This was really happening, right in front of him. No way. Russel was really...

Fletcher just continued to watch, frozen in horror. The only thing he could think was, Why?!

Throwing knives. Seriously? Of all the bladed things Mei could've had, it had to be those little dagger things that she liked to throw around. Ed had to raise an eyebrow when she slipped that ring onto her finger, and he was just about to ask her something else... when he was hit.

He hadn't noticed the arrow at all until it had hit him solidly in his left shoulder, the sharp pain blossoming there momentarily blocking out everything else. He grit his teeth, growling out an angry curse as he turned his attention back on the fight with the other blonde. He readjusted the hold on the throwing knives.

"Don't have to worry about missing, right?" he grumbled, half to Mei, half to himself. He reared back and threw two of the kunai at Russel hard as he could, then sprang to his feet and moved in. Fast.

She cringed at the cursing. That was such a cheap shot! Was it even allowed to start the fight before both weapons were drawn? Apparently so. There hadn't been any sign of a warning penalty for it. Figured. The rules kept siding with the bad guys.

"Uh, yeah! This is supposed to help with it!" Mei hadn't seen her own weapon's upgrade in action yet, but the ones she had used before made it seem that easy. In this case, the ring raised the accuracy of a ranged weapon. Now that the fight had really begun, Mei moved to what was hopefully the 'sidelines'.

Russel sidestepped one of the kunai, the other he felt graze him on the side. Whether it was Ed being a good shot or Mei's upgrade, he didn't care, because damn, that hurt. He flinched, one eye closing, but he didn't make any sound. "Is that all you've got?" he taunted, continuing his barrage. He went off to one side instead of back, luring Ed into chasing him, and making him easy pickings with the bow.

He didn't realize it in the moment, but he'd completely forgotten to consider where Fletcher was in this area.

As Russel moved, Fletcher made up his mind. He couldn't let him attack Ed again. He had to stop this fight somehow.

He ran to his brother and took his chance. He threw his arms around Russel's torso, clinging tightly, to keep him from getting into position to attack again. "Leave him alone! Don't do this, Brother!"

Though the kunai had been dodged Ed wasn't discouraged in the least. After all, he hadn't even thought they'd hit as close as they had. He zigzagged as he ran, weaving back and forth as quickly as he could to avoid the energy arrows being shot at him. Not for the first time, he was grateful for the speed these lighter automail limbs afforded him.

As he got closer, Ed adjusted his hold on the kunai, making it so that it became something like a makeshift version of the blade he normally transmuted out of his automail arm. And as he closed the space between them, in the mere moments before Fletcher had grabbed hold of his brother, Ed swung that arm forward in a bladed jab. He aimed for a non-vital point, but with the way everyone was moving...

Russel noticed Ed had gotten faster. But he wasn't worried. He was going to kick his ass like he always did, and he'd be satisfied--

Until then.

Until the projection of that knife sank into his stomach. Fletcher had grabbed him. Ed had lunged. Russel didn't even have a chance to yell at his brother. But he screamed. Oh did he. He fell to the ground, holding his stomach. He looked down, expecting to be bleeding like a stuck pig, but he wasn't. Sure, his shirt and vest were torn, but nothing came from his flesh.

He shot a glare up at Ed, but his head was swimming too much from the pain to form any kind of insult.

"Br--"

No, no, he hadn't meant for that to happen. He'd just wanted them to stop, both of them. He just stared from Russel to Edward, feeling panic welling up in him.

Ed's eyes went wide. He hadn't intended to get him right in the stomach. For a moment all Ed could do was stare as his mouth went dry and his own stomach twisted into a tight knot.

"Shit... That wasn't..."

The wound wasn't bleeding, oddly enough, but Edward was beyond confused. He looked to Mei for help, then looked back at Russel and Fletcher. He didn't know what to say. 'Sorry' wasn't a strong enough expression.

Mei put her hands to her mouth to cover the gasp, cringing at the scream and Russel's fall. That looked... bad, even if the weapons weren't real. Catching the look from Ed, she took off from the sidelines to run over towards the three. She came to a stop behind Edward, almost hiding behind him and looking around him at the Tringhams.

"Um, the fight ends if he gives up?"

Mei doesn't sound too certain right now. It wasn't that a forfeit wouldn't work, it was that she wasn't sure if Russel would swallow his pride long enough to even consider it. "Or if he can't get back up..." Or if the weapon gets broken, but that could never be an option. Especially not with Fletcher.

Edited 2011-02-15 22:43 (UTC)

Give up? Like hell. Not get back up? Like hell. He was going to clean this brat's clock. He got back up on his feet, and lowered the hand on his stomach. He was still obviously in pain, but if his Weapon had been a glare, Ed would be in worse pain than automail surgery.

He stood their, bow at his side, and panting. Then he curled back and swung a punch at Ed, as quickly as he could.

"Brother, no!" Fletcher hung back, though; it was his fault Russel had been attacked once. He wasn't going to get in his way again.

He looked over to Ed and Mei desperately.

Ed's eyes went wide. Was he insane? He was. This guy was nuts. How desperate was he to win this? It wasn't even over anything important, and he was pushing himself this far?

Anger made attacks easy to read, especially when they were in a desperate situation. So the punch was avoided easily, Ed raising an arm to block it and hold it steady in one place. His eyes narrowed.

"What the hell do you think you're doing? Think you're tough shit just 'cause you got up? You're scaring your brother, dumbass!!"

And there goes Russel. With the fight picking up again, Mei darted away from her spot standing behind Ed. She went around the two older boys and made a grab for Fletcher's hand.

"We gotta move!"

Since he knew holding his fist like that would limit his movements, Russel jerked his knee up, aiming for Ed's gut.

"But-- but--!" Fletcher stumbled as Mei pulled him away, looking back at Ed and Russel. They couldn't do this... They couldn't!

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A challenge!

Russel Tringham vs. Edward Elric

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Here's your cue, Nii

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