Yamada Brothers vs. Takeda Double Braves

Sporting Event / Competition

As the sun passed its zenith and entered into the afternoon, manifold guests of the Mōri Clan returned to Shimonoseki and its arena for the second set of the day's matches. Starting off the second bracket of team battles, the representatives of two clans had already taken to the field. On one side stood Yamada Arinaga and Yamada Arinobu, the Yamada Brothers representing the Shimazu Clan. Opposing them were Sanada Yukimura and Sarutobi Sasuke, together making up the Double Braves and representing the Takeda Clan.

It was difficult to tell which team had the advantage. While the Takeda girls had put up an excellent showing in their first match, the Yamada Brothers were not alone. Standing in front of Arinobu was a rare, dangerous True Wani in humanoid form. Her horns, tail, claws, longsword, and wakizashi all mixed with her practiced stance to give an air of dangerous battle acumen. Those more keen-sighted or attuned to ki in the crowd also noticed a large, jellyfish-shaped presence lurking nearly invisibly in the waters of the arena's canal.   The rules set by the Mōri had been explicit: two people to a clan team. A murmur passed around the crowd at the presence of three, or even four individuals representing the Shimazu. With an air of confusion, Sarutobi Sasuke voiced the crowd's zeitgeist to the Mōri box, asking why the other team was allowed to fight with more members. The answer, coming from both Mōri Motonari and Kikkawa no Myōkyū, was succinct. Because the Yamada Brothers were summoners, the use of familiars fell under their own abilities. Therefore, so long as they restricted themselves to one shikigami each, they were permitted to bring bound creatures into the fight. Arinaga laughed this off, saying that his brother was the skilled summoner, and he'd be fighting with a katana. While this was true, it was also a ploy to deflect attention from the fact that his own shikigami was missing or, in this case, hidden. This explanation mollified Sasuke, although she still seemed wary of fighting an uneven match. However, a calm word from Sanada Yukimura about how a strength "may also be a weakness" dispelled any remaining doubts she might have had. With such concerns out of the way, the Mōri spouses gave their signal for the match to begin. Kurasame, for that was the name of the True Wani protecting Yamada Arinobu, readied her blades and began to move toward her opponents. Before she could take more than a step, however, Sarutobi Sasuke was already there. Having bounced across the canal bridge, twirling her quarterstaff, the Saru Yōkai engaged her opponent with a few feints and dodges. No actual blows were exchanged, but Kurasame was successfully locked into place for the moment.   While this was happening, Sanada Yukimura took a longer route around to flank Yamada Arinobu from behind. The young onmyōji was not quite caught by surprise, but his steel fan was still not enough to block a powerful thrust from Juzumaru Kanetsugu. The tip of the spear passed through Arinobu's chest, bursting out his back and leaving him collapsed, unconscious, as it withdrew. Yukimura had been skilled enough to avoid skewering any vital organs, and so the boy still lived, but his wounds were too severe for him to continue to fight.   This circumstance brought up a question, and almost as one, the crowd's attention turned to Mōri Motonari in her viewing box. Sensing the confusion in the air, Motonari voiced that as long as the summoner was alive, his bound creature would continue to fight. Should Yukimura wish to remove Kurasame from the fight, she would have to end her opponent. That thought left a sour expression on the beautiful samurai's face, and she made no move to kill Arinobu as he sprawled on the dusty ground.   Kurasame's face had likewise darkened at the fall of her master, and she voiced a short sentiment about revenge as she disengaged with her current opponent. Sasuke lashed out with her staff, landing a glancing blow on the departing Wani, but it was not nearly enough to slow her. With a clash, Kurasame met with Yukimura, and the two began an intense melee. Attacking once with her longsword, then following it up with a wakizashi, Kurasame's blows were skillful, but not so deadly that Yukimura could not dodge them. As the dragon girl attacked again, and again, and again, however, even the heroine of the Sanada began to tire.   Five strikes later, the Wani's blade finally found its mark. Yukimura was caught by the calf, her foot cleanly severed as the momentum of her dodge sent her spiraling to the ground. Kurasame raised her heavy tail, apparently intending to crush the samurai while she was down, but stopped upon seeing that Yukimura was no longer conscious.   Sarutobi Sasuke now found herself in a dangerous situation. Sanada Yukimura, a legendary fighter objectively more skilled than herself, had just been cut down in front of her eyes. As she looked between the bristling Wani and the chanting Arinaga, something crept up on Sasuke from behind. Her first indication was a tentacle, crackling with electricity, pressed directly into the small of her back. Sasuke leaped forward with a yelp, but was not seriously harmed by the shock. Behind her, a large, vaguely-humanoid jellyfish yōkai which must have been Arinaga's hidden familiar floated forward menacingly.   With a sigh of resignation and a glance at Kurasame's steely gaze, Sasuke finally gave up. The crowd roared their approval, no doubt happy to see a deathless match at last, while Sasuke shooed the floating jellyfish away from herself. Medics collected Yukimura and Arinobu's unconscious forms, and the others returned to their seats. From anywhere in the arena, viewers could see Sasuke bowing apologetically as she explained what had happened to Yukimura's father.