After having sparred against Kuroki, Hattori was eager to put Takēshi's skills to the test. Times were changing and he couldn't simply coast through life relying on his rank as Prince for much longer. Regardless of how it might seem, there was a place for him in the Empire, he simply had to find it. And if the Shogun had to apply more pressure to move things along then he was more than willing to do so, as was his duty as Father and Shogun.

Standing amongst the remains of the makeshift battle ring, Hattori tipped his head back and called for his youngest son. Draped in his equipment with his companions flanking his sides, he would fight him just as he had Kuroki before him. No holds barred, firm but fair.

"speech"

Takeshi had been spending most of his time trying to recover from the craze that had taken him over the past few months. Sparring with his companions helped to clear his mind, but he’d also spent time working on his voice. It was coming along swimmingly, he felt, and while still a little raspy, it was beginning to sound more and more like...his. A typical teenager, with the occasional crack in his voice and randomly high pitched intervals, but it was clear that his voice would smoothen and deepen to a nice, deep baritone much like his father’s. He hadn’t let any of his family know about his new development, partly because he wanted to blow them away on the first go, but also partly because he was afraid it was all a dream and it would be taken from him upon waking. A little over a month in and it hadn’t proven true yet, but the fear was still there.

The boy was humming quietly to himself in a more secluded part of the Shrine when his father’s call rang out, summoning him to the battle ring. His auds perks, nervousness fluttering in his chest, but he rose to his paws and gave himself a shake anyways. He told Benjiro to go gather his armor before joining him, heading toward the ring at a trot. Soon, he arrived, offering a respectful dip of his head. It wasn’t a few moments later that Benjiro returned with his claws, the one thing he felt he lacked in his family who had almost all inherited sharp talons. But, he made up for it with his hard scales, most shimmering a bright red, but 5, odd scales shimmering a vibrant blue. He looked to his sire, automatically getting into his fight stance knowing that neither of them were much for pomp and circumstance. If the Shogun wanted a spar, then he wouldn’t keep him waiting.

"Speech"

Hattori's gaze lingered on the odd blue scales that clustered along his son's shoulders. Since when did he have those? Beyond the weariness everyone seemed to be carrying, as though no one had gotten a good night's sleep in weeks, the yearling seemed well enough. Then again, when it came to his youngest son it was always hard to tell what was going on in his mind and life. Not because he was mute, but rather because he had a habit of tucking himself away, out of sight and mind.

Well no longer.

Without any delay or hesitation, Hattori went about testing his son. Eager to see if his natural, inborn talent would take hold like it had done with Kuroki. Dashing in quick, Hattori went to shoulder check the boy, his strengthened bones more than strong enough to bear the brunt of such a quick and decisive blow.

Hanzō vs Takeshi  for spar
Round 1/2
Age: over 1
Size: Dire wolf
Build: Medium
Offensive Battle Accessory: Tanto
Defensive Battle Accessory: Shinobi cuirass
Companion 1: Asian Golden Cat, Male - Battle
Companion 2: Mountain hawk-eagle, Male - Battle
*Companion 3: Akita, Male - Battle
Mutation 1: Eagle talons - Offensive
Mutation 2: Antelope horns - Offensive
Mutation 3: Reinforced bones - Defensive
Skills: Master Fighter & Master Hunter
Specialty: Weaponsmaster

"speech"

Things were a bit different for Takeshi this time around when fighting his father, the biggest difference now being that they matched each other in height. No longer did the Shogun tower over him, looking down on the boy with his cool, steady silver gaze. Now he looked dead on. He even had a bit of bulky muscle on his father, his body thicker and not as streamline as the man before him, rather built for power than speed. But, he knew that just because they were the same height, it certainly didn’t mean they were the same skill. The koi man had years on his son and it would always show in their fighting techniques. Takeshi still had a lot of catching up to do.

His father made the first move, sweeping forward to try and shoulder check him. Instead of trying to dodge, knowing his father was faster, Takeshi spread his legs and bore down, rooting himself to the ground. When his father’s shoulder met his he grunted in pain, knowing that it would bruise the next day. His head snapped sideways, reaching over his father’s back to try and grab onto his scruff. If he succeeded, he intended to pull and flip the Shogun over using his superior weight as leverage.

Takeshi vs Hanzo for spar
Round 1/2
Age: over 1
Size: Dire wolf
Build: Heavy
Offensive Battle Accessory: Reinforced tiger claws
Companion 1: Akita, Male - Battle
Companion 2: Japanese serow, Female - Battle
Mutation 1: Ram horns - Offensive
Mutation 2: Scales - Defensive
Mutation 3: Scales - Defensive
Skills: Expert Fighter & Expert Hunter

"Speech"

Instead of moving out of the way to dodge the attack, Takeshi simply held his ground as though he was overly eager to prove a point. That he was able to withstand the brunt of Hattori's force, in no matter what shape or form it came in. The Shogun supposed it made sense given how bulky his son was, but on the other paw taking a hit simply because he could was never a good idea. From many of the lessons that had been drilled into his head early in life, Hattori knew it was always better to dodge if he was able to as bruises and small wounds could pile up and weaken him as a whole.

And that would just not do.

Seeing a flash of teeth as his son reached over to grab a mouthful of scruff fur, Hattori snapped his head up as he aimed to jab the hell out of his chin with the pointed tips of his horns. If his hit landed it would hurt, probably a lot. But Hattori felt no guilt, it would be an important lesson in risk assessment. That good breeding and training wasn't enough to coast him through fights, he had to think and think hard.


Hanzō vs Takeshi  for spar
Round 2/2
Age: over 1
Size: Dire wolf
Build: Medium
Offensive Battle Accessory: Tanto
Defensive Battle Accessory: Shinobi cuirass
Companion 1: Asian Golden Cat, Male - Battle
Companion 2: Mountain hawk-eagle, Male - Battle
*Companion 3: Akita, Male - Battle
Mutation 1: Eagle talons - Offensive
Mutation 2: Antelope horns - Offensive
Mutation 3: Reinforced bones - Defensive
Skills: Master Fighter & Master Hunter
Specialty: Weaponsmaster

"speech"

As Takeshi went to lunge for his father’s scruff in an attempt to body slam him, his father parried his attack by jamming his head upward toward the underside of his chin. The yearling jerked, doing his best to avoid the brunt of the blow but the underside of his jaw still managed to get a glancing smack from the hard, curved horns. He clenched his teeth, pain radiating up his jaw and into his head, damn that had been a good hit. Backing off, the boy went to circle the Shogun, his glowing red gaze narrowed as he searched for an opening on the large man. But, his father was well guarded, a true testament to his years of experience, so Takeshi went with his only option. The boy charged forward, attempting to ram himself chest to chest against the man in hopes of toppling him.

Takeshi vs Hanzo for spar
Round 2/2
Age: over 1
Size: Dire wolf
Build: Heavy
Offensive Battle Accessory: Reinforced tiger claws
Companion 1: Akita, Male - Battle
Companion 2: Japanese serow, Female - Battle
Mutation 1: Ram horns - Offensive
Mutation 2: Scales - Defensive
Mutation 3: Scales - Defensive
Skills: Expert Fighter & Expert Hunter

"Speech"

And the winner is...

Takeshi

Hanzo must give up by submitting, fleeing or passing out. Totals: OPPONENT1: Attack Roll: 21 Defense Roll: 75 Agility Roll: 84 Perception Roll: 72 Total: 252 Attack[21] + 115% Bonus[24.15]: 45.15 Defense[75] + 20% Bonus[15.00]: 90.00 Agility[84] + 0% Bonus[0.00]: 84.00 Perception[72] + 0% Bonus[0.00]: 72.00 Total[291.15] + 25% Bonus[72.79]: 363.94 OPPONENT2: Attack Roll: 74 Defense Roll: 84 Agility Roll: 89 Perception Roll: 76 Total: 323 Attack[74] + 70% Bonus[51.80]: 125.80 Defense[84] + 20% Bonus[16.80]: 100.80 Agility[89] + 0% Bonus[0.00]: 89.00 Perception[76] + 0% Bonus[0.00]: 76.00 Total[391.60] + 20% Bonus[78.32]: 469.92