( from yuuta's perspective, there's nothing to necessarily criticize or judge amos for. it's not as though any cursed spirit has ever stopped itself from preying upon a human being just because they were young — the universe was cruel and vacuous in that way, thoughtless and uncaring in the way that people could be towards one another. he had been sixteen years old, only freshly discovering a personal purpose and reason for living after having tried to end his own life before being accepted to jujutsu high, and getou suguru had targeted him specifically, believing if he could merely kill the cursed human that she was bound to, that he would be able to take rika's limitless power for himself.
in that way, he can almost respect amos. he might be coming at him with lethal intent, but at least he was trying to kill him as an adversary, not to simply get at something (or someone) else that was linked to him. there's a bizarre sort of respect inherent in something like that... or perhaps yuuta's just got a skewed understanding of people trying to kill him.
the blow is a relief, both in that it connects solidly with his opponent but also because it saves him another crushing blow to the face (he's certain if he got one or two more of those, he'd be out like a light regardless of what supernatural energy he might have swimming through his body). there's an uncharacteristic moment when amos is crumpled to the ground that yuuta... hesitates. what do I do? if he had been an enemy curse user, he certainly would have picked up his sword — he would have plunged it unswervingly into his heart, or perhaps attempted to lop off his head with one clean swing. or perhaps he would have forsworn his sword entirely and tried to wrap his arms around the man's neck as he tried to get back up, twisting until the vertebrae were all shorn apart. but he doesn't know how to do what he wants to do, which is just incapacitate him. he can just hit him again — he'll just hit him again, and it's when he makes this decision, cursed energy pooling around a raised and clenched fist in a ghastly pale aura, that amos takes advantage of his pause to get back up and lunge at him, less like a human combatant he's ever fought before and more like a pouncing tiger (the urge to write descending bear here was very strong, but I mostly resisted it).
when set opposite him, yuuta's reinforced strength can match amos', but throwing himself at him bodily like this — cursed energy can do a lot for him, but it can't make up for mass. he tries for a valiant moment to hold his ground and go back into a grapple with the man, but he ends up getting bowled over and sent crashing into the ground. the impact forces the air out of his lungs, stunning him for a moment — or, at least, a moment that lasts long enough for him to realize that the man is going for his shard, as brutal and straight-forward as an animal going for the throat of its prey. an instinctual, existential horror grips him; he's not sure he's felt afraid like this, not in months and months. it's enough to force his breath out of him again in a hoarse whine, desperate; he strikes at amos, pushes at him, trying to put enough force and cursed energy into the attacks to get him away from him, but he doesn't seem to be able to —
sensing his real distress and fear, the invisible, spiritual line connecting yuuta and rika goes taut. this whole time yuuta has been imploring her to stay where she is and do as he asked for her to, but now the programming left to her by the original rika overrides his commands; the cursed spirit leaves the room that the fight for vaeka is taking place in, flying at top speed to where amos wrestles yuuta to the ground, teeth and claws having torn through layers of clothing running red with blood to try to get at the shard that rested just above his heart, having just started to prise it free — )
YOU!!
( on either side of amos' head, two massive, pale hands appear; ghastly and large enough to perhaps wrap fully around his torso, they instead attempt to enclose crushingly around his neck and shoulders, to slowly force him back and lift him up. )
You hurt him... You—!!( the voice is high and shrill, like a young girls, though heavily distorted.
yuuta barely has the time or the wherewithal to think about the situation, or what it might mean that rika had suddenly abandoned her mission to come save him. she had probably saved him from something terrible in the long run, regardless. )
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in that way, he can almost respect amos. he might be coming at him with lethal intent, but at least he was trying to kill him as an adversary, not to simply get at something (or someone) else that was linked to him. there's a bizarre sort of respect inherent in something like that... or perhaps yuuta's just got a skewed understanding of people trying to kill him.
the blow is a relief, both in that it connects solidly with his opponent but also because it saves him another crushing blow to the face (he's certain if he got one or two more of those, he'd be out like a light regardless of what supernatural energy he might have swimming through his body). there's an uncharacteristic moment when amos is crumpled to the ground that yuuta... hesitates. what do I do? if he had been an enemy curse user, he certainly would have picked up his sword — he would have plunged it unswervingly into his heart, or perhaps attempted to lop off his head with one clean swing. or perhaps he would have forsworn his sword entirely and tried to wrap his arms around the man's neck as he tried to get back up, twisting until the vertebrae were all shorn apart. but he doesn't know how to do what he wants to do, which is just incapacitate him. he can just hit him again — he'll just hit him again, and it's when he makes this decision, cursed energy pooling around a raised and clenched fist in a ghastly pale aura, that amos takes advantage of his pause to get back up and lunge at him, less like a human combatant he's ever fought before and more like a pouncing tiger (the urge to write descending bear here was very strong, but I mostly resisted it).
when set opposite him, yuuta's reinforced strength can match amos', but throwing himself at him bodily like this — cursed energy can do a lot for him, but it can't make up for mass. he tries for a valiant moment to hold his ground and go back into a grapple with the man, but he ends up getting bowled over and sent crashing into the ground. the impact forces the air out of his lungs, stunning him for a moment — or, at least, a moment that lasts long enough for him to realize that the man is going for his shard, as brutal and straight-forward as an animal going for the throat of its prey. an instinctual, existential horror grips him; he's not sure he's felt afraid like this, not in months and months. it's enough to force his breath out of him again in a hoarse whine, desperate; he strikes at amos, pushes at him, trying to put enough force and cursed energy into the attacks to get him away from him, but he doesn't seem to be able to —
sensing his real distress and fear, the invisible, spiritual line connecting yuuta and rika goes taut. this whole time yuuta has been imploring her to stay where she is and do as he asked for her to, but now the programming left to her by the original rika overrides his commands; the cursed spirit leaves the room that the fight for vaeka is taking place in, flying at top speed to where amos wrestles yuuta to the ground, teeth and claws having torn through layers of clothing running red with blood to try to get at the shard that rested just above his heart, having just started to prise it free — )
YOU!!
( on either side of amos' head, two massive, pale hands appear; ghastly and large enough to perhaps wrap fully around his torso, they instead attempt to enclose crushingly around his neck and shoulders, to slowly force him back and lift him up. )
You hurt him... You—!! ( the voice is high and shrill, like a young girls, though heavily distorted.
yuuta barely has the time or the wherewithal to think about the situation, or what it might mean that rika had suddenly abandoned her mission to come save him. she had probably saved him from something terrible in the long run, regardless. )