Venomous Kyoru adjusted his glasses, his hand covering his face. "Jihara Akatsuki. Excellent perception and speed. A former student of the Shinku monastery -"
"Wait." Tendou Hibiki was suddenly sitting bolt upright. "This guy was raised by those damn Shinku monks?" A huge, sharklike grin spread across her face. "Now that's interesting. I almost want to switch places, Arashi."
Jihara studied her. "... I thought there was something familiar about you, Tendou-dono. Did you study there as well?"
"Did I study there? I learned everything they had to teach - and it was worthless."
There was a mild note of surprise in his voice. "Then, are you the Peregrine?"
"Tch, is that what they're calling me? Look, I don't really care, I turned my back on them and their useless methods years ago. But if you abandoned them as well, that makes you - very slightly - more interesting." She glanced over at Kyoru. "Uh, right, get back to your duel," she added, waving a hand dismissively.
Kyoru continued. "A former student of the Shinku monastery, who still uses their most powerful technique, the 'Lord of Emptiness'. You are capable of perceiving your opponent's throw in time to counter it. While you retain this advantage, you are essentially unbeatable. And yet, it makes me wonder..." He raised his hand to begin the duel. "What happens when you face an opponent who is faster than you?"
Jihara inclined his head slightly. "Shall we begin, Kyoru-dono?" They raised their hands for the first throw.
"Rock! Paper! Scissors! Shoot!"
There was a flash of movement as they made their throws with incredible speed, their hands in a blur. When they came to a stop, both were showing Scissors - a draw.
"Incredible," whispered Mizumigawa. "He matched Ji-kun's speed so effortlessly."
"In that movement," Jin whispered back, "they must have gone through half a dozen throws, each trying to shift ahead of the other. But it looks like they're evenly matched in terms of speed - it's going to come down to endurance."
The duelists raised their hands again - these two seemed comfortable remaining silent between throws.
"Rock! Paper! Scissors! Shoot!"
Another flash of movement, as Jihara and Kyoru cycled through the three signs in rapid succession - Jihara formed Scissors, but Kyoru was already making Rock, so Jihara switched to Rock, expecting that Kyoru would reflexively switch to Scissors to counter Rock's counter, but Kyoru had transitioned immediately from Rock to Paper - all of this in the fraction of a second before their throws landed.
In the end, both had thrown Rock - another tie.
The Bosatsu duelists on the sidelines watched them carefully, looking for any sign of how the stalemate would resolve.
"It must be an immense strain," said Yukimura. "There's no way either of them can maintain that kind of speed for much longer."
"Rock! Paper! Scissors! Shoot!"
But they weren't slowing down - if anything, they were getting faster! They shifted throws in a complex pattern, fighting furiously over a vanishingly slim advantage. At the same time, they each maintained a calm, unreadable expression.
And once again, the throw ended in a tie - two throws of Paper.
"Ji-kun... you've got to win," said Mizumigawa, thinking back to their sparring matches. She'd been training her speed non-stop, and still she couldn't earn more than a single point against him. He was unbeatable - wasn't he? "Ryo-kun, can you figure out who has the advantage?" She looked over at Ryoichi.
He was breathing hard, his knuckles whitening from the strength of his grip on his chair. His eyes were wide as he watched the match unfold. "Ji-san..." he said in a choked voice.
"Jihara-san," said Kyoru suddenly, as the duelists were raising their hands for the next throw. "Do you know why they call me 'Venomous'?"
"Rock! Paper! Scissors! Shoot!"
Again, that same flash of movement - but something was wrong.
"Gyah!" Jihara cried out in pain.
Kyoru stood silently, holding out his throw of Rock.
Jihara was clutching his arm, the hand hanging limp.
"That," said Kyoru, "is called Envenomation."
Ryoichi leapt out of his seat like a steel spring. He was at Jihara's side in a moment.
"Impossible," whispered Jin. "Kyoru-san wasn't trying to beat Ji-san in speed - he was deliberately holding back, using his pattern of throws to force Ji-san into a sequence that would cause extra strain on his wrist..."
"The human body is delicate," said Kyoru philosophically. "Motions can have subtle effects on internal processes. Muscles can twist and tear, certain chemicals can be released or absorbed... if you can control someone's movements, you can make their own bodies poison them."
"You have to forfeit this match," said Ryoichi to Jihara, gripping his shoulder.
"I can still duel," replied Jihara.
"I'm your captain! That's an order!" Ryoichi spun around to face Kyoru. "We forfeit! You win!"
Kyoru was looking at Jin directly now. "Do you see, Kotei Jin? You have no hope of winning against someone who has mastered the Toxic Principles." He nodded at Tendou, who kipped up from the bank of seats she was lying on and walked over to join him. "We are done here." They turned to leave.
The Bosatsu duelists had all gathered around Jihara by this point, trying to see how serious his injury was.
Kyoru paused at the door. "There is one other thing," he said as though just realizing something. "What are you doing here, Basilisk?"
As the Bosatsu duelists looked around in surprise, she walked past them from behind, from the back of the arena where she had been watching unseen - the silver-haired girl.
Her voice was soft, melodic, yet cold. "You're as sharp as ever, Kyoru."
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