While I charged at Ike, he jumped backwards, backflipping in the air. I continued rushing at him. Ike swung his sword a few times, and energy waves rippled out of it. I jumped over all of them while still dashing forward, and clashed with Ike moments later. I still couldn't see his face, but his eyes seemed to be glowing yellow. He threw me aside, and I skidded before stopping.
"You're stronger than before... it would seem I've underestimated you," Ike called out. "Even so, you're still not good enough to beat me, both in terms of strength and skill."
"You really believe that?" I asked, letting my Cursed Seal flow more freely. Even as I did so, white lightning began flowing around Ike. I dashed at him, performing a wide swing. Ike ducked and made a swipe at my feet, but I jumped over him and tried to elbow him in the back. He had raised his sword to block my move, and jumped back. He turned around to face me.
"Well, I guess I'll have to really get serious. It's been quite a while since I actually tried in a battle," Ike said. I heard a tone of cold resolve in his voice. I sheathed my sword and made the hand seals for Chidori. Moments later, the sound of a thousand chirping birds surrounded me.
"Then I'll get serious too!" I yelled, charging at him with the Chidori. When it seemed I would finally land a blow, Ike sidestepped, then knocked me aside with his sword. I skidded into a wall, and my Chidori was squandered on the crystal. Even so, I got to my feet, running toward Ike. When I got near him, though, time seemed to stop, even for me...
I was surrounded by green, glowing circles with Japanese characters in them, and in the center stood Ike in the middle of a Yin Yang symbol. He had his eyes closed (I could tell because they weren't glowing)... or did he?
"Eight Trigrams, Sixteen Palms!"
Time resumed, and Ike was smashing my arms with his first two fingers of both hands.
"Two palms! Four palms! Eight palms!"
The pain in my arms and fingers was insufferable...
"Sixteen palms!"
I was thrown backwards again and slammed into some crystal, spitting up a little blood. I staggered to my feet... even though I had released my Cursed Seal, it wasn't enough...
"Now you can't use that technique anymore... at least for now. That move's really annoying, anyway..." Ike muttered, massaging his wrist.
"Yeah... koff... right! I knew you were strong... koff... but I didn't expect a skill like that! Even so..." I managed, "without Byakugan, that fighting style is useless!"
I made the hand seals for the Chidori again, closed my eyes, placing my left hand on my right wrist.
Let this work! Come on!
But no sound surrounded me...
"So what? I've got other moves!" I shouted, making the hand seals for Katon: Gokayakku no Jutsu. I breathed a fireball at him, but once again, he seemed unfazed by it.
"You... you wimp. Don't you see yet?" he asked. "Such simple techniques can't beat someone who's faced half a decade of carnage. You've improved. but you've still got a long way to go."
"How do you figure that?" I asked indigniantly.
"Because now, I'm going to end this scrap with three moves," Ike replied.
"Oh, yeah? Let's see you try!" I shouted.
"So be it..." he muttered.
A sphere of crimson energy formed in his hand.
"Why... I know that technique. But why is yours red?" I asked him, pulling out my sword. Even though I can't use my energy, I thought, I've still got my sword!
"My soul is stained with the blood of innocents..." he muttered.
"Your soul is... stained?" I asked.
"I wouldn't expect you to understand..." he said. "Some wounds will never heal."
Ike dashed at me with his Crimson Rasengan. I jumped back and stood on the crystal, but Ike came charging forward up at me. I had just about cleared the attack by jumping up, but Ike chased me into the air. Just when it seemed Ike didn't have enough momentum to get me, I began falling...
"Damn it all!" I shouted as I fell toward him. I held out my sword, hoping my greater range would impale him before Ike could get me with his Crimson Rasengan. But even that sort of defense wasn't enough... Ike disappeared and slammed me in the back with his Crimson Rasengan. I was sure it wasn't fatal, but I was thrown down onto the hard crystal ground... and I thought I heard something snap...
I don't think I'll be able to stand after that... I thought to myself. I tried to get on my hands to get on my feet, but the pain was searing... so was trying to get on my knees first...
"So, that's your limit. Not bad, considering how short of a time you've been actually fighting. You've improved," Ike taunted me.
"Shut... koff... shut up..." I managed through spitting up blood.
"Well, I suppose now is the part where you'd expect me to turn around, cloak flapping in the wind, and wander off. Then time would resume, leaving you broken, battered, and bloody, here to be found, huh?" Ike asked.
"Wh... koff... what?"
"Well, it won't be that simple. You're not ready to face your inner darkness... not yet," Ike said cryptically. "So I'll help seal away your darkness... for now, anyway." Ike walked over to the pool of blood I had coughed up. He then tightly gripped his left hand into a fist. It started bleeding, and Ike ran his left thumb, then his other fingers across the cut. Ike then dipped his bloody fingers into my blood, then stood back up.
"I've never tried this one before... then again, I need my blood and the other person's blood to actually use it," Ike said. "Here goes!"
"Stop being so reckless!" I managed to shout.
Ike seemed to hesitate.
"I'm not afraid," he muttered. Ike then slammed his palm onto the ground, and five beams of white light shone out of the ground. They warped over me, then hit my arm... right on the Cursed Seal, which I felt be restrained...
"That's my Judgment Seal. You won't be able to use that Cursed Seal of yours while it's there, and only the deepest darkness will be able to break it," Ike told me. "Well, so long."
Ike turned around, causing his cloak to flap from the sudden movement. He then wandered off, and as soon as he was out of sight, time resumed. I passed out almost instantly from the almost instant beating I got from time restarting...