A Sirius Match [Jack & Karen]

Jack rolled his shoulders and wings as he would begin to approach the stadium once more. Another round had come and gone, and while it was comparably less eventful in comparison to the first round, it was still enough to keep the dragon boy's blood pumping for Day 2 of the tournaments. He had the courage to actually win this thing, which is why he practically sprinted to the arena as the time for the next fight to begin came closer. Especially as he would recall who it exactly was that he was fighting.

Admittedly, he was half hoping to save this round for the finale, but if it had already been decided to come during the Semi-Finals, then he was by no means one to complain. Karen was someone who he had been working alongside with for the entire year, so he had grown to respect her and her abilities as a result. He knew well that if any fight was going to be equal, it was going to be one with her. He was also more than glad that she had made it this far, assuming that she also had a run-in with one of the other schools as well. If there was anyone able to win this thing, it would likely be either one of them.

All the more reason not to let the crowd down, he supposed.

He looked around at the arena they were set in this time around. He frowned lightly at this one, wondering if they had Jack in mind when it came to the design of this arena. Dragon fights in movies and games were often in areas like this...well, all the more fitting, all things considered. He did question, however, whether that was actual magma below them, but he doubted it. Too much risk of death then, he thought. Then again, he's seen plenty of weirder things. 

As Karen also began to approach, Jack couldn't help but grin widely at her. "Right back at ya, amiga. Not fitting for either of the strongest in our year to lose so easily, yeah?" he replied as he approached. His hands began to morph into draconic claws, shimmering blue against the black scales of his hands. "That being said...all the more reason to be excited." He smirked up at his classmate, getting into his own fighting stance. His claws and teeth were bared, his eyes were already burning yellow, matching with the environment around them a little. 

He exhaled a little steam through his mouth, watching Karen warily. He already knew that between the two of them, she was faster. To charge in headfirst would be foolish, and he knew that well. He would wait to see what she would do first, and be ready to try and counter whatever she through at him. Plasma arced around him, his chest glowing as plasma already began to build up inside of him. He smirked ever so lightly as she said to make it a serious match. More like a Sirius match, he thought, thinking about his hero name. Nonetheless, it all remained the same...it was now or never, he supposed.  

"Let's dance, amiga!"

Jack didn't really have much time to think as he eyed her down, but he did his best. What could Karen do? From what he remembered, her Quirk relied on her aura making her fly and durable...so that meant she would have to get in close to do any damage, even if the main problem with that was that she could do it quickly. An idea quickly began to form in Jack's mind, the dragon boy knowing that he would probably only have a split second to react, but, if he could just time it right...!

As the match began, Karen wasted no time in closing the gap. However, Jack didn't react. If he acted too hasty, for all he knew she would try to just send him off the ledge immediately. He conserved his energy for the moment, hoping to at least get in one decent hit before he transformed. He simply waited, his body tense as he tried to time his movements just right. The gap between them was there, but not un-counterable. Especially if she assumed he was just going to go in guns blazing, which she seemed to be.

As Karen then quickly went in for a flurry of attacks, specifically to Jack's face, the boy struck! Karen would manage to get in a good pole smack to the face, before he would suddenly grab at it the moment it connected! If successful, he wouldn't waste any time, gripping the pole with all of his strength so she couldn't grab it back, and fired off a sudden, full powered plasma shot from his mouth! His jaw hurt a lot from the strike, but if he could at least get in this first strike, it would be worth it.

Nonetheless, he would then attempt to yank the staff away from Karen, assuming at the least he had the advantage in the strength department. If she was smart at would at least try to let go, Jack would leave it at that and jump back a little bit, though would make it a point to throw the staff out of the ring behind him. If she didn't, for whatever reason, though, as he would try and yank it, he would also go in for a sudden right hook to her own face, as a light bit of payback for going for there immediately. Not that it was at full strength, of course; he decided after a split second to just go for broke and give his opponent what she wanted.

After whatever that exchange would be, Jack would take a deep breath, then let out a sudden roar, aiming to make the magma around him explode around him dramatically with the force of it. With it, a practical light show of plasma would explode behind the walls of plasma for a moment. As they would both fall, in the small boy's place was now a full-sized dragon! His scales and horns glimmered in the light the magma gave off, his yellow eyes narrowing as he gained his bearings. 

With that, though, the mighty dragon would roar yet again, this time following another plasma shot from his maw at his opponent. This one was at a reduced strength, of course; he knew that she would likely just dodge it anyway. The plan remained the same; he just had a bigger frame and defense to work with. He would then await Karen's next move, hopefully sending off the message that he was prepared to counter if needed. He just needed to be sure she couldn't get off too many hits before he himself fell...his jaw still ached from that initial strike, even if his increased defense numbed it a little.

Jack snarled a little in annoyance as Karen quickly just snapped the tip of her staff off in order to avoid his plasma shot. It only barely managed to graze her aura, which obviously didn't do squat. So a direct approach wasn't the solution by any means; she was too fast for that. The only thing Jack had going for him in any regard here is his strength and durability; if that was the hardest she could hit, then it would take a lot to bring the dragon down. However, that didn't mean a whole lot if he couldn't hit her at all. 

As Jack took the moment to transform, he tried to use the time to think about his next move. How could he deal with such a fast opponent? There's always a solution, no matter the odds. It was just a matter of trying to figure it out. He roared as he transformed, now also having a size advantage against her. Whether that would help him much is up for debate, but at least it was there. He fired off a warning shot, to keep her moving while he thought. He paid close attention to her movements, trying to think of anything he could do. Was there a pattern? Maybe he could just wear her down and bide his time? While he had some breathing room, he didn't have much time.

Karen would then try to fly right over the dragon, towards his back. While it wasn't exactly rocket science to figure out what she was trying to do, her pure speed made it difficult to try and counter. However, while he was bigger than before, if one were to assume that he was any slower himself, they would be mistaken. Jack would attempt to quickly jump to the side to at the least avoid a direct hit, but Karen would find herself able to hit the side of his wing in the process. While it was by no means the worst hit he's taken, it was enough to make the dragon exhale a puff of steam in response, and he snarled lightly. "Fast little puta..." he grumbled, not really thinking that some of Meara's brashness may have rubbed off on him from all the times they've sparred. Even a dragon could be impressionable, who knew?

It was then that something began to click. A direct approach for him was foolish; he needed to use his head more rather than rely on his instincts mostly. If she was faster, he needed to predict where she was going to be. If she doesn't have projectiles, there was only one way she could hurt him. It wasn't much, but it was most certainly the best he had for the moment. Whether it was the key to winning here, though, was up for debate.

Jack would tense his body for a moment, watching his classmate closely. It was all a matter of timing, he decided. He would wait for her to move, craning his neck all around to see where she was going. The moment she went in for an attack, Jack would fire off another weak shot at her, before aiming another strike right above or next to where she was going! It was a bit of a long shot to start with, he just needed to time his shots right the more he did it. However, his accuracy was rather sharp as well; it was all a matter if Karen could really see where his thought process was going. Nonetheless, he was taking time to learn her movements and strategize. Sometimes that's all one could really do in times like this. He was at the least thankful he had time to actually do so.

Jack frowned lightly when he would begin to notice that Karen wasn't really flying around; mostly trying to stick close to his body. He was going to attack, but firing off any sort of blast would be difficult with her doing so. He wasn't exactly wanting to take one of his own hits so early on. His eyes then narrowed slightly when he realized that's exactly what she was trying to go for. He questioned what exactly she was trying to go for in that regard; she would have a much easier time trying with guerrilla tactics, at least in his opinion. 

Especially when her opponent's weakness wasn't exactly his size.

As Karen would start to jab into his side, rather than try to fire off a laser of any kind, she would quickly find herself getting jabbed in her back by something - his ever trustworthy tail! He supposed that she didn't likely know about how flexible not only his tail, but his entire body was. He was a weapon in his entirety; even if some methods were rather odd. He would hit her as hard as he could with the unlikely weapon, hoping to use the split second moment to knock her down to the ground enough to follow up with a nasty stomp by his front paw, aiming to keep her in place with his pure weight and strength! 

He would dig into the ground with his claws as hard as he could, preventing any obvious way to escape immediately. "I'm going to be blunt and say trying to keep close like that was a bad idea," he snarled, looking a bit annoyed at the tactic than anything. He was much more than just a basic dragon or giant monster boss from a video game; he still retained any skill that he had from any other form, even if some needed to be adjusted. He was a little disappointed that Karen didn't seem to get that immediately.

If she tried to struggle, Jack would press down once more with his paw. If this were at all successful, Jack would wait to see what his opponent would really do. Even if she used her staff to try and escape, it could only last for so long. If she did manage to escape, though, Jack would again attempt to slash at her with his other paw at the ready! He would watch her carefully, now that he was much more aware of what she was going to try and do. After all, his tail wasn't exactly his end-all tactic.

Jack couldn't help but smirk a little bit the moment he felt his tail smack Karen right in the back. Honestly, he wasn't sure how well that would have worked - he would have assumed his classmate would've already been wary of that. Especially with admittedly how often he allows himself to flaunt it about. He was admittedly a mixed bag of emotions when it came to his Quirk. On one had he was as prideful as can be in regards to any of his forms, but at the same time a bit regretful at it all. On the bright side...at least he was good at this.

As he attempted to pin Karen down, he could instantly feel the snapping of Karen's staff as she used it to get away in time. A low growl emitted from Jack's chest, but not necessarily a malicious one. He respected the quick thinking - he would have honestly been surprised if she didn't think of that. However, now it left her without her trusty weapon, especially as Jack made sure to swipe away the broken pieces out of the arena just in case, just as he had attempted to in his first round. Even a broken weapon had it's uses, and the dragon was more than aware of that.

As he swiped at Karen, he would make the comment on why keeping so close to him was a bad idea. However, Karen showed a lot of spirit, exclaiming how she wasn't about to give up yet. "I'd be disappointed if you did, heh," he replied, chuckling a bit. He honestly felt a little similar to how Karen did herself. His blood was pumping, his mind was in overdrive. It was more than just a battle of strength and skill - it was a battle of wits and minds as well. He did get quite wary of people always assuming him as someone who didn't think about what he was doing.  Of course he did - he just didn't outwardly show it all the time. There was a reason his grades were as good as they were in all regards, after all.

After that little exchange, Karen would still try to stick close to Jack, now actually trying to stick to his underbelly. He raised a non-existent eyebrow at her, making him wonder if she had actually listened to what he said. Especially right there?? Even without his tail, there were still multiple ways to react here, all of them at least being somewhat effective. He thought about dodging for a second, before a plan started to form in his mind. 

After all, she was technically right where Jack would want her, when he thought about it more.

As Karen would attempt to hit at him more, Jack's chest would begin to light up a brilliant azure hue, a clear indicator to the fact that he was about to fire off another laser of some kind. It was more of a pseudo fake out, however. He just needed her to try and get away. If she didn't get psyched out, he would attempt to try and wiggle around to avoid getting immediately hit, really only needing just a second or two to enact what he had planned. The moment that she would try to move, the dragon would strike! He would suddenly extend his wings a little bit, like he was planning on taking off, and hop up a little bit. However, instead of flying, Jack would spin himself sideways, trying to smack Karen away with his wings! His tail wasn't his only unorthodox weapon, after all.

If successful, Jack would then follow up by firing up at the sky, doing a neat little trick he had learned from training. A single, large plasma ball would rise up into the air, before exploding outwards, creating a sort of meteor shower all around him! If Karen wasn't careful with dodging, she could just as easily run right into another projectile! He hoped to deal a decent amount of damage with this tactic - if he could, he could hopefully try and wrap this up quickly. 

Jack growled lightly in annoyance as Karen seemed to dodge his attack in it's entirety. While he respected her skill, at this point she was acting more like a fly - annoying and hard to hit. He needed a surefire way to try and knock her out of the sky for even a moment. It was just a lot easier said than done. Especially as Karen continued to fly around with speed that Jack couldn't hope to keep up with properly in his current form. It was possible, but with the amount of time they probably had, it was by no means an idea sitaution.

Jack went on the defensive for a moment as Karen would actually make use of her equipment for the first time during this match. He used his wings to quickly shield himself from the oncoming debris that she would throw at him. In the meantime, he was trying to come up with a solution. He could feel his energy dipping lower by the moment, and he was sure Karen was likely at the same point. He took a deep breath, trying to think.

Then, an idea struck him. It wasn't dissimilar to what had transpired in the first match - he just needed cover. And, luckily, their battle ground held a perfect solution. It was unorthodox, but it may well be enough. Jack, with his wings still covering his head, would suddenly fire a blast right at the ground! Steam, debris and fake lava would shoot up all over the place, creating a sort of thick fog around the immediate area. Assuming he was successful, Jack would immediately start to shrink down, though not into his normal state. He was taking advantage of his more compact form that was surprisingly very handy - it was Tiny Dragon time!

It would take a few moments for him to morph, but once he was, Jack was quickly and quietly on the move. He would keep his distance for a bit, trying to catch his breath and charge up an attack. As a distraction, he would actually fling a piece of debris across the arena, hoping to catch Karen's attention with that for a moment. If successful, he would attempt to throw a much larger piece of debris in that same direction, aiming to strike her right there with a full force attack!

Even if it wasn't successful, though, Jack would make sure that he wasn't stuck in one place for too long, keeping on the move so that he had enough time and space to try to enact a final attack. He just hoped that his efforts would actually be successful here.