Being ready is an understatement

Koudo, along with his weapons, Maina and Naina, stood in the ranking exam field, plain, Colosseum, whatever and waited for a proctor. They were all serious and no one said a word, they only wanted to get in, get their rank and go. Hopefully this would go will but.... you never know.

As Koudo stood there, a man walked up from the distance with a girl that looked similar to him walking beside him affectionately. The man's eyes were closed and he looked rather stern. He continued to walk until he stood right in front of Koudo, face to face.

"... You are here for a ranking exam, am I correct?"

Koudo didn't move, none of them did, they stood there and all looked at the man before nodding and saying in unison ( with the exception of Naina ).

" Yes. "

That was all that really needed to be said.

A man of few words, it seemed. Much like himself... Maruze was fond of that. Maruze loved to get right to the point when it came to most matters. He opened his eyes and viewed his opponent, his stern expression unchanging.

"... I figured."

Maruze looked down at the girl next to him, who simultaneously looked up at him. Their eyes locked and Maruze only said one thing to her.

"... Meo."

That was her name, of course. Maruze grabbed her hand as she started to glow.

"... I am Maruze, the Dividing Enigma, and this is my daughter and Soul Weapon, Meo. I shall be your proctor today. Your task is simple; Come, fight me with everything you have. Do not hold back."

By this time, Meo had transformed into a traditional Katana... Nothing too special about her in her weapon form... But that was how Maruze liked it. He was an old-fashioned kind of guy.

"Before we begin, I must ask your names out of respect. You all are...?"

" The names Koudo, This is Maina.. that is Naina. We plan to sweep through this right? "

Maina: " I'm fired up!!! Lets do this. "

Naina: " ... "

Koudo hadn't really been working on a fancy way to get them to transform with him just yet, but for this first part of the test he only needed one of them and that was Maina. He took her wrist and squeezed it before he transformed into her weapon form, a larger than average Chakram. He held it up in front of him before cocking his arm back.

" Naina... stay back but stay on standby. I'll use you soon. "

He instructed as she stepped out of the way of the battle and Koudo threw Maina with all his might at their proctor. Since it was with all his might, she was spinning pretty fast through the air, not at an air splitting speed, but you could clearly see that she was in perfect rotation. Before she was even halfway between him and the proctor, Koudo opened his mouth and released his Scream of Despair technique, not to deflect Maina, but since she was flying in the way the soundwaves he released were traveling, he used the soundwaves to increase her speed while also increasing her rotationally speed as well.

Maruze stood there, unwavering and unfaltering. Meo was in his hand tightly as he waited for the exact moment to make his move. Despite the speed of the rotating chakram, Maruze's sword not only slipped upward through one of the gaps in the chakram, but also flung it back at Koudo in a more threatening way. In a moment after that, Maruze took off running at a high speed, running side-by-side of the chakram and brought his sword in front of him. He ran past, then behind Koudo, making a swift slash at his side at the same time, continuing to run. Maruze looked back only for a moment as he turned around about 200 feet away and started running back.

So it didn't work, Koudo hadn't spent a lot of time coming up with that first move... no matter, he would just reassess the situation and come up with a counter method. He watched, using his eyes to follow the movements of the man as best he could, but it was no good he didn't see the slash coming to his side and as such, he felt it but didn't let himself falter because of that. As for the Chakram coming back at him, he put his hand out and caught it, feeling it damage his hand a tiny bit, but not enough to restrict him from throwing her again if he needed to, which right now he did.

" Go wait with your sister. "

Maina: " But... "

" Do it.. Now! "

Maina reluctantly went back to human form and started towards her sister, after Koudo removed the mafia ring on his finger and the box weapon at his hip and toss them to her. He cracked his knuckles and took a stance, watching the man as he came back around. He didn't move, only watched to see what was coming.

Maruze saw the actions Koudo had just taken and was a little bit questioning of them... Did he plan to fight Maruze weaponless? Though, Maruze was a swordmaster, so fighting him without a weapon was reckless within itself. No matter.

Maruze wasn't one to let up on an opponent. He continued toward Koudo at a moderately fast speed, though this time when he was close, he flung his sword at Koudo, the blade whirling toward Koudo's torso.

" Bingo. "

Koudo said turning into water as the sword slashed through the watery torso that replaced his own. From his fight with Priere he'd learned something, underestimating an opponent was foolish and letting your guard down was foolish as well because you never knew what the person had up their sleeves. Koudo walked out from behind his partners, as the water that his proctor slashed through fell to the ground.

" Leaf... Dancing Shadow. "

Using his own intense speed, which he hoped was fast enough to get this off, he appeared in front of his proctor after running there and brought his leg up for a kick to his proctor's chin to lift him off his feet and into the air. Koudo wasn't holding anything back like his proctor had asked so he was using every ounce of physical strength that he had.

With his slash slicing through the water, Maruze was slightly impressed by his tactics. Seemed as though he was more cunning than he led on. Though, when Maruze finished up, his keen eyes noticed that Koudo was coming toward him and his foot was rising from the ground. Naturally, his blade started to fly back toward him at this point. With great reflexes, Maruze would block the leg with a hand and propel himself over Koudo's head and grab his sword, finishing his combo with a slash to the back of the head with the blunt end of his sword. It all seemed like one swift, connected motion.

"... Hm. They don't come like you anymore..."

Maruze landed on the ground, flipping his sword back to its edged side and waited to see what Koudo would do next.

Koudo stumbled forward from the blow to his head, but not enough to fall forward and on his face. He smirked before lifting his hand and showing the man a gun that he had summoned prior to the dancing leaf shadow. It wasn't that he hadn't said the word needed to summon the semi-automatic handgun, it was that he spoke in such a low tine that it wouldn't have been able to be heard even if the man was close by. Koudo pointed the gun over his own shoulder at the man.

" Is that right... I bet they don't make them like you anymore either. I'll be glad to take your spot in the future. "

With those words he pulled the trigger and fired off ten shots of bullets made of pure chakra, mixed with his infestation energy which he'd learned to control a little better from all the practice he had been getting. Koudo wasn't an expert marksmen, but from this close a range, he was able to pinpoint key places to fire at. The left and right shoulders totaling two bullets, the left and right kneecaps totaling two bullets, the chest close to the heart and both lungs totaling three bullets, the forehead totaling three bullets, making all ten of the pullets have a set destination in mind. With that done, Koudo stood and turned to face his opponent, before he set himself up once more.

" Leaf Dancing Shadow. "

This would be the second time he tried this move, and probably the last for a little while if this didn't go as he planned. He moved at his own intense speed, and even used chakra to enhance the speed at which he was moving, hoping to land the dynamic kick to his proctor's chin. He was sure that with his kicking speed and power, he would lift his proctor off the ground, but he would need more than one kick to get his proctor really flying and he was prepared for this. Koudo had planned this so that if the bullets had no effect, then his kick should come as a surprise. Though if the bullets did have an effect, then the kick would be the perfect follow up attack. All of this strategy was being created in Koudo's head as he went along and was being changed constantly with the more power his proctor displayed.

As Maruze waited for the attack, he indeed heard what Koudo mumbled, though it was incoherent. Koudo didn't know Maruze's intensely heightened senses through masterful training, which is why he, as a human, could fight so easily using none of his powers.

"... I would be happy if you took my place in the future..."

The bullets came now and Maruze gripped his sword tightly, bringing it up to block the bullets in a blurred motion. Even though the bullets were aimed at various different parts of his body, Maruze was able to quickly determine and deflect the bullets using pure eyesight and reflexes alone.

"... But do not get ahead of yourself..."

As the final bullet came to Maruze, he noticed Koudo had begun to move... So, he did not deflect it this time. In a slow motion view, Maruze would have his sword right under the chakra bullet as it came, touching it, thus causing it to slow down ever so slightly from the friction of grazing against the sword. Maruze then spun around at an incredible speed with the bullet still 'gliding' across his blade, thus causing the bullet to slow even more, also being guided by his own sword to spin around with him. When Koudo appeared, Maruze made a sudden stop, flinging the chakra bullet being guided by his sword at Koudo's foot, as he figured that Koudo would use the move again, and the bullet should throw him off his balance if it hit the correct way and cause Koudo's leg to miss Maruze's face. At the same exact time, Maruze smacked Koudo's other leg holding him up with the back of his blade once more, which, in turn, would trip him up, probably causing him to fall.

Koudo had less than a split second window to calculate everything that was about to happen, and he started to calculate with his brain running at full capacity. He was no super genius or anything, but he was a very good computer and wouldn't let this end in a miscalculation. As the bullet came back at him, it indeed threw off his balance and as such Maruze's next attack would have been quite enough to sweep him off his feet... however, the split second window that Maruze had given him to react to such a feat was more than enough time for Koudo to use his speed once more, but not to put a huge strain of distance between them, instead he used it to regain his composure and not fall while also moving behind Maruze at the same speed he moved when using Dancing Leaf Shadow.

" You're speed and reflexes are great. Maybe I should train a little bit with you after this... I could get so much faster. "

Hey, Koudo wasn't opposed to complimenting his opponent on their skills, in fact he did it when the opponent showed that they were highly skilled. Koudo brought his leg around, using all the speed that he had as well as all the power, for a kick to Maruze's torso just as he had done to Priere. This time however, Koudo used more chakra to increase the speed of the kick. He also bathed it in his Infestation energy, hoping to at least get this hit and get the infestation energy inside his proctor's body. From there, the battle would only get more interesting.... but that sword.... he'd have to do something about it eventually.

Maruze nodded at Koudo, already ready for the next attack if need be. Yet, at the same time, the next attack had already come about.

"... Would you like to know how and why I can predict your attacks...?

Maruze's eyes darted over to Koudo, and also his sword would be brought up to block the attack that Koudo had done. The moment it was blocked, Maruze flung Koudo aback with his sword with a great power, the impact resembling something like a Guard Impact from Soul Caliber.

"... It's all in your movements... Even the slightest movements in your body can predict your next attack... No matter what it may be..."

Maruze had already decided that he wasn't going to use... his power... Unless Koudo wished it. Yet, how would he know that Maruze was holding back? Regardless, Maruze was ready to see more of what Koudo could do...

Stopped again, Koudo was starting to get annoyed, he back tracked and made sure to put a little bit of distance away from his proctor and listened to what he had to say before cocking a brow and smirking. If that was true then all Koudo needed to do was be unpredictable. The only problem with that was that Koudo was an analyzer more than anything and never really fought on the fly unless he was randomly attacked and had to fight before he could think. His thinking was getting him no where, so he figured that it was time to just wing it... analytically.

" Maina... Naina. I need you both. "

Maina: " FIANLLY!!! I was starting think that you had forgotten us. "

Naina: " ... "

" Weapon forms. "

Koudo took their hands and squeezed them before using his strength to flick his wrist and toss them in the air. As they came back down, they were automatically in weapon form and he gripped them tightly before cocking one of his arms back and throwing Maina like he had done earlier, but this time around he aimed to throw the Chakram past Maruze. Naina was also thrown the same way her sister was but was aimed not at Maruze but his sword. Koudo released a scream of despair to increase the rotational speed as well as the rate at which they traveled. He was winging it... analytically.

Maruze saw the sudden change in his fighting tactics... He must have taken the words that Maruze had just said to heart. Hm.

"... Even the unpredictable follow an unspoken and unseen pattern... And I am the one that can see it."

Maruze waited for the first chakram to come, which he could see was obviously made to be thrown past him, because of the angling and way that Koudo threw it. So, when it came near, Maruze pursued it, jumping into the air once it came and landing on top of it, spinning along with it. When he saw the second one in range, he pushed off of the first one so very hard that it would be launched directly to the ground, stopping all momentum it had and allowing Maruze to land on the second one. He purposely landed at an angle on this one, for when he pushed off of it this time, the angling of the second Chakram gave Maruze the power to forcefully launch himself at an insane speed toward Koudo, sword ready for a blow to his torso right from the front while also launching his other Chakram down to the ground. Being one of the few humans here with basic powers and abilities (to an extent), Maruze needed to be much more resourceful than most. And it always paid off.

Off the fly... wing it... off the fly... wing it. Got it! Koudo didn't let himself over think the situation like he normally did, in fact when his chakrams were forced to the ground Koudo's strategy had already been change to that of something else. The only thing that he wasn't expecting was for Maruze to be coming at him, he figured he would have retreated to a certain extent and then attack. Then it hit him, as Maruze came closer and closer to him Koudo closed his eyes for a brief moment before opening them and in one swift motion, that he was sure would take tons of training to do again, he moved his hand and clamped it down tightly on the sword, feeling it pierce the flesh of his hand but he cared nothing for that since his other hand cocked back and was thrown at full speed and power, chakra being used to enhanced the punch this time instead. This full powered punch was aimed at Maruze's face which had come closer because of the stopped attempt to slash him.

" Really... did you predict this! "

Maina: " I doubt he was expecting this! "

Maina's voice announced from where she was forced to the ground. It was all a part of the plan. She was in human form, but her sister was not. Her sister was being held in Maina's hand tightly. Maina cocked her arm back and threw the other chakram with so much power and speed behind it, it seemed to match the power and speed of the punch that Koudo had thrown, meaning they both were closing in fast on Maruze who looked to be trapped between them. Koudo was sure that this sudden change in tactics and events would be surprising to Maruze, but Koudo was trying to do exceptionally well in this exam, not just well.

It was indeed a surprise to Maruze to have his sword caught by Koudo, and even greater a surprise to have him try to punch like that. It was commendable, brazen, and seemed to work, since it caught Maruze by surprise and whatnot. Even still, Maruze's great reflexes and keen eyesight took over, moving his head enough to not take the full blow of the punch, for something like that could mess up Maruze's flow.

Upon taking the punch to the face, Maruze was shocked for only a moment as right after that, he gripped his sword tighter and now with both hands, planted his feet into the ground and flipped Koudo, who was still holding onto the blade, over his head and smashed him into the ground with his sword.

".. Enhanced with chakra..? Hm. I don't see much of that anymore, either..."

Maruze forcefully plucked his sword from Koudo's hands, probably causing his hands to become rather damaged from such a feat. Though, there was little to no time to be talking so nonchalantly with the chakram closing in. So, the best course of action here was to jump over it and let it continue to pass. Once over it, Maruze stroked his chin a bit, still feeling that good punch let out by Koudo, smiling slightly before retaining his stern face and lowering his hand again.

"... Get up, Koudo. This is not your limit."

Though from the slam to the ground he wanted to wither in pain for a little while, or rather if he wasn't who he was now after all the encounters he'd had and all the battles up until this, he would have wither in pain for a long time and complained about Maruze being too hard on him and to let up. But Koudo was much stronger now, and he stood with pride, looking at his now damaged hands and smirking a little to himself.

" This is good... really good. A handicap. "

He slipped both his hands in his pockets and planned to battle Maruze without them for the rest of the match. He would fight as if he didn't have hands at all which meant that he wouldn't be able to land any dynamic ass punches but that was all good. His chakram reared itself back around and came back towards Maruze and Koudo's direction, still spinning just as fast as it was when Maruze had jumped over it. Maina looked displeased that her dynamic throw had been easily countered with a simple jump, Koudo was glad it missed since this gave him another chance for a sneak attack. As the Chakram closed in, Koudo used his speed, to try one more Leaf Dancing Shadow, swinging his leg blah blah blah you know with the full speed and power and chakra enhanced all that, anyway he was low to the ground and was kicking up so that he could connect with Maruze's chin. This wasn't to send him flying, though it would be welcomed, but this was to distract him long enough so that he didn't notice the chakram coming back towards him.

Maruze closed his eyes again, observing the area with his other senses. Naturally, Koudo continued with a repetitive attack, which now Maruze would be able to avoid with no problems and little effort, since there was no surprise this time around. In fact, without opening his eyes, Maruze dodged the attack by leaning slightly backwards, then swiftly retaliating with a grab at Koudo's leg.

Because the Chakram was coming back at such a high speed, Maruze did not have to hesitate in this next attack, but instead could swing Koudo around like a bludgeoning object and smack him into the oncoming chakram, deflecting it away before dropping Koudo to the ground. Maruze said not a word this time around. He opened his eyes only to look at Koudo now with his generally stern look.

Out of nowhere, Meo finally started to speak. Seemed as though she was keeping quiet this entire time to ensure complete concentration of both Maruze and Koudo... Since she had tendencies to break the tension of epic battles with her friendly speech...

Meo: ... Daddy, maybe you should ease up on him? He seems to be just finding his way...

Maruze didn't say a word to Meo, and she would become silent again.

Laying on the ground once more. He did not grovel in agony even though he was a little hurt... ok a lot of hurt. He stood as if nothing was wrong and even did one better by putting some distance between him and Maruze with a few back flips. Maina rejoined Naina as she went back to human form and they both ran to Koudo's side, both offering something for him. One offered his mafia ring and the other offered the box weapon, he took neither.

" I got this... I wanna show this guy my own power. I can't rely on you two and weapons all the time. "

There was no need to talk anymore and he shushed them before they could say anything. Using Dancing Leaf Shadow seemed to be too predicable so he needed to use something else but he wasn't sure what. He took to a running start now, towards Maruze. He signed the fastest he could before placing his hands together and a sword of water manifested itself in his hands. It was made of water but still able to cut and clash with real swords as if it was one. He planned to show Maruze his power, he wouldn't give up.. He aimed to slash through the right side of Maruze's torso but kept his form loose, just in case he needed to make a speedy retreat... or something else....

Coming at Maruze with a sword was not very wise at all... For Maruze was the master of swordsmanship. Though, if Koudo wished to clash swords, then so be it. Perhaps Maruze would teach him a thing or two in this battle if he planned to use this sword even more...

".. Let us see how well you know the Way of the Sword..."

Maruze blocked the oncoming sword with ease, parrying it and delivering a flurry of very violent, precise slashes to Koudo's body... Aimed at his torso, his arms and his legs, though Maruze made sure that if he were to hit, his slashes would not cut deep.

"Koudo..."

Koudo tried to break through the block but was easily parried because Maruze had more skill than he did when it came to the way of the sword. Koudo usually never used the sword, but since it was in the same family as a chakram, or maybe a little less in that family, Koudo had the jest of how to use it down as he did with all weapons that were new to him. He only went off experience with other weapons. He blocked as best he could for the next barrage of slashes from Maruze, but they were a little too much. When the barrage was finished, the Koudo that was there with the sword seemed to drift off his feet before vanishing and being replaced with a log, a jutsu Koudo hadn't used since he was in the academy. He reappeared right behind the log, unlike some people do when they use replacement, and used the smoke from the log appearing to move lower to the ground for the slash to Maruze's torso, swinging the sword at full speed. He didn't increase the speed with chakra this time around however... it was safe to assume he had something up his sleeve. He also kept his form pretty loose just in case.

Maruze thoroughly was not expecting the very seldom seem Substitution Jutsu to be used in this way... however, when he saw the smoke, he quickly realized what it was. He just needed to know where Koudo was now... and even with the smoke, Maruze could hear him from behind, so he was still on guard just in case. However, when Koudo made his attack, Maruze didn't block with his sword, but with his bare hand... Perhaps because he didn't have time to react to the sword? No, not in Maruze's case. Maruze made a swift slash at Koudo's neck... with the back of the blade, mind you... trying to inflict some sort of pain because of it.

"... Not everyone shall be fooled by simple tricks... Think much farther than your opponents... Outside of the box."

As the smoke cleared, Maruze jumped away, fiddling with the ground with his sword before stabbing his blade into the ground, leaning on it slightly.

When the back of the blade from Maruze's sword came close to connecting his neck, Koudo's body turned to water before reforming when the sword passed through and Maruze put distance between them. Koudo's sword was gone now, but it would return, this he was quite certain of. He fixed himself and turned to face Maruze with the closest thing he ever had to a smile, a smirk.

" I know that, but you seemed to be. I'm reacting from your reactions... thinking inside the box, but acting outside of my normal circle of attacks. "

Koudo signed but nothing happened, or so it seemed. He clapped his hands together before the sword reappeared in his hands before his hands started to glow a silvery blue color and the color covered the sword, engulfing the sword with his infestation aura something he hadn't used during this fight, and if he had then he didn't really remember. He pushed off the ground, using chakra to increase his speed and rushed towards Maruze in a zigzag pattern before he got in close and started to go around him in a circle pattern, circling him round and round and round before he jumped from the circle for a swift attack to Maruze's arm before he returned to his circle running and jumped out once more for another swift attack to Maruze's other arm. These attacks weren't meant to harm Maruze severely, no they were for something else... a distraction perhaps?