Vergil thinks little of Mizu's decision to readjust his kimono. He assumes it's something idle to do while he takes a moment to reset and reassess his options for approach. Vergil remains in his stance, waiting until Mizu is ready to strike. In some ways, Vergil isn't surprised to see the fire return to Mizu's eyes. He's had enough attempts at trying to bring Vergil down or gain the upper hand at the very least, and he's made very little progress. To the half-devil, it's training. It doesn't carry the same intensity as a proper match between them. But Mizu has something to prove to himself, and he clearly won't be satisfied until he has a taste of success.
He has a moment of it at the very least. Vergil continues to block or slap aside Mizu's attacks, occasionally returning with jabs and kicks of his own when he spies the potential opening. He's pleased to see these are not left unanswered. Mizu is just as aggressive as before, but it appears he's finally understood where he could potentially best someone of a greater size and strength than him. Vergil doesn't let Mizu get a hold on his neck. Opponents Mizu would would face would never allow it to happen and Vergil hardly wants to patronize anyway. But in the absence of his trickery with teleportation—which he is notably not using while they spar like this—there is only so far and so long he can go before Mizu is able to latch on and he's forced to tuck his chin before making a quick decision.
Vergil could wrench Mizu's arm off not just from around his neck, but clean out of whichever joint or socket Vergil preferred to take it from. However, considering he's not even so much as willing to break one of Mizu's limbs given how much it would delay their next sparring match, Vergil opts not to utilize such brute strength to free himself. Besides, anyone else Mizu might grapple with like this won't have that kind of strength. It would do little good to unleash that sort of strength on him now when his skills are still developing. There can be another time for that as there could be for the use of any of his other skills and abilities.
Thus, the primary issue to address is their distance to one another. Mizu is just short enough relative to Vergil that with the right application of strength, angle, and/or sweep, he could pull Vergil down to the floor. Or Mizu could simply hop straight onto Vergil's back. Either way, it puts Vergil at a disadvantage for escaping when not using brute strength to free himself as it's distance that he needs and either leaves him without it.
With few options, once Mizu has latched on, Vergil quickly strikes behind himself at Mizu with a sharp kick to his groin. It's not a precise kick given their angle to one another and he's more than willing to kick several times if that's what it takes, but hitting the mark isn't the point. The point is that if it connects, it's enough force to knock Mizu back. If it doesn't, it should force Mizu to naturally step back (albeit not for the reasons Vergil assumes Mizu would want to protect that area). Either way, it forces a loosening of the hold on Vergil's neck and provides him with the opportunity to slip free. Vergil's hand is like a vice against Mizu's wrist as he slips out. He's quick to twist that arm behind Mizu's back and draw Mizu in close against him where striking will be far more difficult, the motion so fluid that to an outside observer it'd look more akin to a dance than fight.
no subject
He has a moment of it at the very least. Vergil continues to block or slap aside Mizu's attacks, occasionally returning with jabs and kicks of his own when he spies the potential opening. He's pleased to see these are not left unanswered. Mizu is just as aggressive as before, but it appears he's finally understood where he could potentially best someone of a greater size and strength than him. Vergil doesn't let Mizu get a hold on his neck. Opponents Mizu would would face would never allow it to happen and Vergil hardly wants to patronize anyway. But in the absence of his trickery with teleportation—which he is notably not using while they spar like this—there is only so far and so long he can go before Mizu is able to latch on and he's forced to tuck his chin before making a quick decision.
Vergil could wrench Mizu's arm off not just from around his neck, but clean out of whichever joint or socket Vergil preferred to take it from. However, considering he's not even so much as willing to break one of Mizu's limbs given how much it would delay their next sparring match, Vergil opts not to utilize such brute strength to free himself. Besides, anyone else Mizu might grapple with like this won't have that kind of strength. It would do little good to unleash that sort of strength on him now when his skills are still developing. There can be another time for that as there could be for the use of any of his other skills and abilities.
Thus, the primary issue to address is their distance to one another. Mizu is just short enough relative to Vergil that with the right application of strength, angle, and/or sweep, he could pull Vergil down to the floor. Or Mizu could simply hop straight onto Vergil's back. Either way, it puts Vergil at a disadvantage for escaping when not using brute strength to free himself as it's distance that he needs and either leaves him without it.
With few options, once Mizu has latched on, Vergil quickly strikes behind himself at Mizu with a sharp kick to his groin. It's not a precise kick given their angle to one another and he's more than willing to kick several times if that's what it takes, but hitting the mark isn't the point. The point is that if it connects, it's enough force to knock Mizu back. If it doesn't, it should force Mizu to naturally step back (albeit not for the reasons Vergil assumes Mizu would want to protect that area). Either way, it forces a loosening of the hold on Vergil's neck and provides him with the opportunity to slip free. Vergil's hand is like a vice against Mizu's wrist as he slips out. He's quick to twist that arm behind Mizu's back and draw Mizu in close against him where striking will be far more difficult, the motion so fluid that to an outside observer it'd look more akin to a dance than fight.
"Better. But I won't submit that easily."