In the Land of My Ancestors [[Closed || Tsumi and Kouzai Only]]

The Hooded Man looked around at his surroundings.  A small island in the middle of the ocean.  It wasn't on any charts, on any maps, and only reachable by those who knew the location, and those of a very special bloodline.  Many called it Sozin's Island because of its shape, and named it after the comet that was used by the ancient Fire Lord to wipe out the Air Benders centuries ago.

It had existed much longer though, for almost two millennia it had been the final resting place of every single member of the Ezofuji bloodline, from the days of Fire Lord Konoe until today.  All Fire Lords, Fire Ladies, and all of their children were buried here.  And now, the Hooded Man stood on this island once more.  For the first time in a very long time, the Hooded Man was standing on the land of his ancestors.

Prince John Itaruki followed him shortly after, appearing through the portal opened by the Hooded Man earlier.  He was new to traveling through the Spirit World and Spirit Portals.  It was only normal that it would take him longer.  "You are new to this, boy," said the Hooded Man, throwing the other girl, Una onto the ground.  She was on her knees, unconscious and facing towards the prince.  The Hooded Man smiled beneath his cowl, it was funny.  She would remain unconscious forever soon.

With his hand grasped firmly on the top of her head, the Hooded Man drained her spiritual energy.  Taking it like a reaper taking souls.  Her eyes and mouth glowed with white columns of light.  Her skin shriveled, her mouth opened in a constant, silent scream.  Her life force drained from the light and as the Hooded Man raised his hand from her head, it formed into a ball inches from his palm.  With a wicked smile, the Hooded Man inhaled the spiritual energy and made it part of his.

Looking back towards the young man, the Hooded Man laughed.  "Yes, very new," he smirked, "But you shall soon grow accustomed to this very life.  All shall.  But this is not why I called you here.  I called you here so that we could fight."  The Hooded Man scanned his opponent, and after a sizable amount of time, he spoke once more.  "You are a non-bender and a former Prince of the former Itaruki family of the former Light Kingdom," said the Hooded Man, explaining all he knew about the boy, "You are royal, but have no skill in lieu of Light Bending.  You intrigue me, child.  And remind me of someone I once knew.  Many...many...years ago."

Raising his staff, the Hooded Man's wooded and gnarled staff grew a blade and became a scythe.  "I shall make things fair for you," explained the Man, "For I know bending skills and have powers that could kill you faster than it takes you to inhale a breath.  But for your sake, and because you intrigue me.  I shall sink down to the level of non bender, and I shall fight you as...level....as I can make it."

John “Bloodstreak” Itaruki, prince of the Light Kingdom, floated aimlessly through the craziest place he had ever been. Colors swirled without definite form, and random thoughts floated around him. Mundane things, such as “I wonder what she's cooking for dinner.”, or “Perhaps I could sell for a bit more...”, swirled in his head, melding with his own thoughts, and his consciousness seemed to fade...



He groaned, slowly picking himself up. “You are new to this, boy.”, said the hooded man, who stood ominously in front of him. John didn't have time to think- his mouth went faster than his still-rattled brain. “Yeah, mom never took me to F**KING TELEPORTING SCHOOL.”, John said, as he observed his surroundings, getting a feel for where he was. He didn't recognize the area- he had been many places, but never here. This put him at a disadvantage- he wouldn't be able to utilize the terrain to its fullest, like this. He needed time, to learn the ins and outs of the area. Alas, he doubted that the hooded man in front of him would allow him such time.

The hooded man grabbed the unconscious girl's head, and......drained her. John knew that he couldn't reach her in time- not as he was now. All he could do was watch, and hope he could avenge her somehow. Yes, very new....But, you shall soon grow accustomed to this very life- All shall, But, this is not why I called you here.  I called you here so that we could fight.”, he rasped, a smirk evident in his voice, though John could not confirm this on his covered face. He grew silent, evidently sizing John up. In response, John put on his mask- the Mask of Ambiguity, an experimental Bloody Rose design, which changed the color of John's hair, turning it black, and causing it to become slightly shorter. Though, the mask's function was more than simply dying his hair- his emotions were now hidden from his enemy, and he could now blend into shadows more easily, without his annoyingly bright hair giving him away.

John took the rest of this time to size up the Hooded Man- he, very obviously, was not in peak physical condition, judging by how he hunched over. This, likely, was the reason he was draining people of their...whatever, in the first place- stealing their power. He was likely a bit stronger than he was before, given that he had just finished draining two people of their....whatever's.  Given the chance, a low attack could veritably knock the man off balance. To be honest, John doubted the man could even REACH him, if he got that low, stiff as he was.

The hooded man spoke once more, interrupting John's train of thought. "You are a non-bender, and a former Prince, of the former Itaruki family, of the former Light Kingdom. You are royal, but have no skill in lieu of Light-Bending.  You intrigue me, child...and remind me of someone I once knew.  Many...many...years ago.", the man rasped. “Yeah, do me a favor, and save 'story-time' for someone who cares.”, John replied, taking a low stance, ready to counter anything the Hooded Man may have had in store.

"I shall make things fair for you, for I know bending skills and have powers that could kill you faster than it takes you to inhale a breath. But, for your sake, and because you intrigue me, I shall sink down to the level of non bender, and I shall fight you as...level....as I can make it.", The Hooded man finished. John so longed to reveal that he was, in fact, a bender, though he supposed that he could use every advantage he could get. He thanked his lucky stars for the blacked-out eye-holes, on his mask- he couldn't have this lunatic seeing the fire in his eyes.

John charged forward, easily used to the weight of the Claymore on his back. He had no time for his inhibitions about using it- it was do or die time. He took the claymore off of his back, and swung at the man's feet, attempting to simultaneously disarm his now-a-scythe and trip him, in one fell swoop. It was reckless, but effective, nonetheless. All John could hope for was a bit of luck...

The Prince put on a mask, which made his hair change length and colour and covered his face.  It did not do much more than than.  A shame, The Hooded Man actually thought it was going to have some interesting powers.  Though, not everyone could be as powerful as he, supposed the Hooded Man.  Then the Prince attacked, causing the Hooded Man too sigh, as he watched the boy charge right at him.  Yes, come at your opponent with your only visible weapon on your back.  What was next?  A sword slash to the legs?  "What do you know, a sword slash to the legs," sighed the Hooded Man in boredom, "Predictable.  And here I thought you were going to be interesting."  Spinning his scythe around so that it caught his opponent's blade in the crutch of where the haft of the blade met the pole.  It made a sickening clang, scrape and subsequent thunk as the claymore hit the scythe, grazed across the bladed edge, and then embedded itself into the surface of the wood.

"I may look old, but I am not weak," said the Hooded Man in warning, "Keep your guard up if you wish to leave.  Because the second I touch you, it's all over."  The Hooded Man extended his hand towards the Prince.  Aiming for anything he could grab.  Of course the Hooded Man never expected it to be that easy, but the way this boy was currently performing anything was possible.  If he HAD been performing at even the sliver of power he was currently forced to call full power, he could have ended this in a second.  A quick jump, teleport behind the poor, innocent child, and wipe him of his life force permanently.

The Hooded Man was like a tax collector.  He hounded his adversaries until they either died, or paid with their life.  In this case, you did both at the same time, and paying with your life was a literal term.  The Hooded Man couldn't help but smile from the thought.  And suddenly there he stood, his hand inches from the boy's throat, and the Hooded Man froze.  Pausing, smiling from beneath his hood.  He jumped back, bringing the scythe back with him, spinning it around a little in a show of skill.  "I change my mind," sighed the Hooded Man, this time mockery in his voice, "I'm going to make this a BIT easier on you.  I won't kill you so fast...no.  I'm going to have my fun ripping you apart, piece by piece."

"Think of me as a the Giant Eagle Spider that inhabit the Huan-Shi mountains of the Earth Kingdom," continued the Hooded Man, "Oh...sorry, it's the Huan-Shi Basin now, isn't it?  A plateau of flatland, barren and rocky.  I forgot, maps changed after that last fight my siblings and I had.  I do miss those days."  The man raised his scythe, and dashed towards John.  This time, he was going to show John what a real attack looked like.  Raising his scythe above his head, the Hooded Man skidded to a halt before John.  Looking as if he was going to bring his scythe down from above, he began to lower it.

But in midair, as the blade sank lower towards its opponent, the Hooded Man swerved it right, changing its direction.  Curving it around John entirely, and going for his right side, slashing to the left outwards.  A fake out, a much more reliable method of direct attack.  You appear as if you're going to attack one way, and once you're sure your opponent will block the way you're appearing to attack, you change course and strike from a different.  An opponent would need to be faster than most in order to change defensive positions or dodge in time.  The Hooded Man was not usually used to fighting with a scythe, or with simply a weapon and no bending.  But he would have to make do for now.