He's not expecting the gunshot. Were it not for the ever patient Tokugawa, who observes all and says little, he would likely die. His life flashes before his eyes. He's brushed death before. He doesn't consider at all that his life could truly end. Such concerns are not the concerns of a beast. He's just a dog in human skin. Dogs don't think about things like that until it's too late.[break]
Tokugawa strikes with a samurai's precision before he returns to a sitting position. He regards the newcomer like a shogun welcoming someone to court. Hitoshi is his master, but he believes he rules the roost here. The Kingambit allows his retainer to speak for them. With a glance, Hitoshi starts to talk. It's only a coincidence, really. Hitoshi doesn't think about any deep ramifications regarding their relationship. He jumps up, arms spread wide.[break]
"Yeah, man! Yeah, Jetto-chan! There ya go! You get it!! You understand! This time, we gotta fight for real! To the death!" He looks at Tokugawa, who sighs.[break][break]
"Come on. Send out your Pokemon. Let's do this right."

“That’s right! Yer gonna need that, if you wanna beat me, Jetto-chan. Especially now that Tokugawa’s all fired up.” His Kingambit’s nostrils flared underneath his proud help. He huffed out hot air. He still sat on his seat, surveying the battlefield. He’s sad that he doesn’t have a kingdom to run, but what can you do? Hitoshi isn’t the type to keep duplicates of his Pokemon.[break]
“Oi, Shogun, you reckon you might do that dance, too? I wanna see yer swordsmanship. I’m gonna need some lessons after this.” The metal samurai sighs. Against his better judgement, he complies with the order. He engages in his macabre dance. It’s an enka dance, almost. Swaying, his sword glistening in the dim light of the cave. He focuses his killing intent into the blade on his head. Tokugawa stands up. He paces forward.[break][break]
It's like the moment before the strike in a samurai film. Standing in the coral field, which sways as if blown by the wind, he says nothing. Waits. His opponent must advance. And then, they will dance.[break][break]
“Come on, Jetto-chan! We’re gonna have a good time! That’s what this is all about!” The dog keeps yapping, despite his orders.

He knows a thousand different slashes. Tokugawa is a master of the art of cutting. No. Killing. There is no other word for what he does. There are other tasks one might do, other meanings one might ascribe to the blade. This creature, raised from infancy by the man sitting on the rock behind him, understands a blade's true purpose. It is a thing meant to kill. He knows so many ways to tear flesh from bone. It is only through carnage and bloodshed that he himself can evolve.[break][break]
He meets the charge. Like a proper samurai, he bellows out a battle cry. He puts his heart and soul into the cry. And then, he rushes up. His kowtow cleave is empowered beyond its normal might. Tokugawa feasts upon blood. He waits patiently. He takes in the strength of the fallen. Only then does he strike. A patient hunter. A perfect killer. The ultimate reflection of the man sitting on the rocks behind him. That's all that could ever be said about Hitoshi Inoue. A doggish killer with a good sense for how to end life.[break]
"Don't you get it, man? Yer alive! Right now! You can't tell me y'don't appreciate bein' alive! You can't wait to kick my ass and go on living! So come on, kick my ass! Be the man yer supposed t'be!"

He's hit. Arcreus, it hurts. It hurts so good. What's the point of having all that strength, all those muscles, if you're not going to use them? That's how Hitoshi thinks as he cackles. He's lost in the throes of madness. Whether it's who he truly is or the persona he garbs himself in so a callous world can't hurt him, who can say? All that matters is the fight. He thinks, for a moment, he will be shot. Realization dawns this thug is using the gun to aid his martial arts.[break]
"Dude," Hitoshi sways on his feet, falling into a crossed pose. Kicking up, aiming a sharp jab of his leg at the man's gun arm. "you fight like a total badass. Why the hell didja even put a cap in that thing?!"[break]
Their Pokemon battle as well. Tokugawa huffs. He is not normally the sort to exert much effort. He watches others fight. When he comes out, matters are dire. The time for waiting is past. It is time for action. Energy gathers along his blade.[break][break]
It's not so much a blade as he goes in again. It's a metal claw. An extension of this metal man's fighting spirit. He gives out another yell and charges into the middle of the field of reeds.[break]
This sea watches their battle with quiet indifference.

It's astounding how little Hitoshi cares about pain. When he was a little boy, the other whoresons beat him when he lashed out at them. He fought people for insulting his mother for laying with foreigners. He bit like a vicious dog and put all of his heart into the fights. So when a simple gun bashes his ribs and sends him sprawling, he accepts the pain. Understands pain is just part and parcel for his existence. The mad dog of Rocket cackles. He's already twisting in mid-air.[break]
He lands on his feet. For a moment, more a cat than a dog. He falls into a squat, pulling his knife out. Funny how there can be so much beauty in a broken thing. It's just a broken sword, but he's still using it to such great effect. Since the two last saw one another, he's killed plenty with this knife. He wonders how many orphans he's made today.[break]
No time for thought. Just time for action. Time for the rush as he stays low, guarding most of his body with his shoulders. Tucking his head. Lunging up with the knife, laboring through the pain. This is just too damn fun. Why would he ever wanna stop?[break][break]
"Good, you'd better break that promise!" Says the dog. "If you don't, I'm gonna kill yooooou. Gonna kill everyone ya love, if I get paid to do it!" He lies.[break]
Tokugawa is bitten. He feels his metal joints creak and groan under the strain. It was unexpected. Something has the power to break through his armor. It's impressive. Most impressive. He tries to shake off the crab, but realizes another attack might be in order.[break]
Everyone on both sides of this skirmish is about to have a bad time. All three of his fellow combatants. Tokugawa opens his mouth. He unleashes an ear-shattering metal screech. To call it nails on a chalk board is an exercise in understatement. It doesn't inspire pain. It inspires sensations worse than pain. That feeling of something incessantly digging into your spinal column. Displeasure in its most potent, distilled form. Hitoshi's used to it, and it almost makes him want to puke.

Ironic, that a man who defines his life by blood would be brought down by blood. The blood spatter from Jet gets in his eyes. Stumbling back, he tries to force himself to see. The screech hurts his head. Tokugawa harmed Hitoshi as much as he helped. Reeling from that sound, he’s taken aback. Caught off guard. Yelping, howling when he is brought low. [break][break]
He’s impressed. Really, truly impressed. There aren’t many people who have the balls to shoot through their own hand. Hitoshi wishes this guy was on his side. That’s what he thinks when Jet is on top of him. [break][break]
“You’re somethin’ else!” Hitoshi says with a smile. He starts clawing up, trying to push the bigger man off of him. It’s a bad situation, no two ways around it. [break][break]
Tokugawa does not help. He presses his own offensive. He charges, blade first, at the crab. His sharp horn blade is pointed out. A second kowtow cleave, as he has now been emboldened by his own performance.