[Overdriven]

The elbow found it's mark, knocking the man away and apparently relieving him of one of his teeth. The man then raised his blade, in an attempt to come at Kurayami. Even as The Reikoku was preparing to defend himself, the man lost his balance, dropped his blade, and dry heaving racked his body.

Kurayami merely stood as the man gained his composure, dark, merciless eyes watching him with pity. On the battlefield, Kurayami had been called The Ruthless for he showed no quarter. He would hesitate to cut down no man, no matter what his condition or status. Peasant or Warlord, Kurayami did not fear them and did not give them any advantage. It was war, after all.

This, however, was not war. He was not fighting for pay or for a just cause. Kurayami was battling for honor and glory. And honor and glory required a certain amount of challenge for it to be worth anything at all. For this reason, Kurayami didn't take the time to cut the man down on the spot.

However, this did not mean that the Ronin let his guard down, or that he underestimated his opponent. A wounded tiger was the most dangerous. This man, sick as he was, would be willing to try things he never had, in a desperate attempt to secure a victory. Desperation sometimes won out when coupled with determination.

It was one of these desperate maneuvers that almost struck Kurayami in the face, as the man suddenly slung his left arm up and toward him as though it were a weapon in itself. It became obvious that the man didn't have full, if any, use of his arm and as such decided it would make a decent bludgeon.

Kurayami took a half step back, turning his face away from the blow, and avoiding it by a hair. The arm flew past his head with a parting of the air, and already Kurayami was responding in kind.

His right foot came up quickly as the Ronin rotated his hips, putting as much leverage into the movement as he could. Kurayami thrust his foot outward toward the man's stomach with a side kick. With the close proximity his opponent held, and the way he would most likely be off balance by his vain attempt to attack, it would be difficult for him to avoid the kick at all.

Kurayami snapped his leg back down, lowering himself into a defensive stance, and gripping his secondary blade tightly. His eyes remained locked onto his foe, as he patiently awaited a counter attack.

Or, perhaps, another round of retching.