Four Seasons Style

poorly edited placeholder image of the four dojo masters: Natsu (left), Fuyu (back center), Haru (front center), Aki (right)

### Inventor

* Haru, Natsu, Aki, and Fuyu (main techniques)
* Saigo (Reaper techniques)

### User(s)

* Haru
* Natsu
* Aki
* Fuyu
* Saigo
* Inari
* Hayashi
* Nabe

### Class

* martial arts
	+ offensive techniques
	+ defensive techniques
	+ evasive techniques

The Four Seasons Style is a martial arts style with four facets, each focused on a single aspect of combat. The style is taught by the masters of the **Four Seasons Dojo**, each of whom are dedicated to one of the four parts of the style.

## Overview

### **Offensive arts: Spring**

The Spring arts of the Four Seasons Style are taught by Haru, the eldest of the four masters of the dojo. These techniques are focused on defeating your opponent with raw power, though "are never to be used to start a fight, only to help end one," as stated by the master herself.

#### **Techniques**

* Flowering Cherry Fist - A decisive set of actions in which the user delivers swift blows to the knees, elbows, and/or shoulders of their opponent, then finishes with a single straight palm strike to the sternum. Despite the name of the technique, none of the motions involved require the user to close their hand into a fist.
* Sprouting Blades - A series of 4 rising kicks executed with rotational momentum, followed by a single heel drop on the opponent's head.
* Azure Gale - A technique in which the user rushes towards their opponent at full speed, throws them into the air or over their shoulder, then jumps up and unleashes a powerful downwards kick while the opponent is still in the air, or on their back if thrown over the shoulder.
* Equinox: Vernal Storm - The apex of Spring techniques. The user unleashes an all-out high-speed attack combining many of the other Spring arts, sparing little to no opportunity for an opponent to strike back. This technique is exclusive to Haru.

### **Parrying arts: Summer**

The Summer arts of the Four Seasons Style are taught by Natsu, second-oldest of the four dojo masters. These techniques are focused on turning an opponent's offense against them by countering incoming attacks, rather than attacking outright.

#### **Techniques**

* Hurricane Toss - A technique intended to counter a punch. When an opponent swings their fist, the user catches them by the wrist with both hands, then tosses the opponent forward with a twisting action, creating a disorienting spinning motion while they're off the ground.
* Rising Heat Wave - A technique intended to counter a kick. When an opponent raises their leg in an attempt to strike, the user uses their own leg to grapple that of the opponent's as hard as possible, then pulls towards themself in an attempt to make the opponent fall over.
* Vermillion Claw - A technique intended to counter close-range weaponry such as swords, spears, etc. When an opponent makes an attack with such a weapon, the user performs a kick high enough to knock the weapon out of the opponent's hands; they then proceed to catch the weapon and use whatever blunt side it might have to render their opponent unconscious.
* Solstice: Warm Front - The ultimate Summer technique. The user takes up a stance said to be capable of countering any and all attacks, even ki-based attacks. This technique is exclusive to Natsu.

### **Evasive arts: Autumn**

The Autumn arts of the Four Seasons Style are taught by Aki, third-oldest of the four dojo masters. These techniques are focused on dodging attacks and causing opponents to waste their energy and time in a fruitless attempt to land a blow against the user of these skills.

#### **Techniques**

* Bending Maple - An evasion technique where the user roots themself to one spot and relies on the flexibility of their upper body in order to avoid incoming attacks without moving from where they stand.
* Harvest Moon - A technique in which the user can turn the environment into an advantage. After dodging their opponent, the user grabs the opponent by the shoulders and pulls them to the ground, then holds them down for as long as possible in an attempt to wear them out.
* White Shrouded Sky - The counterpart to the Black Starless Sky technique of the Winter arts. The user loosens up their joints as much as possible in order to evade their opponent with ease.
* Equinox: Hundred Falling Leaves - The zenith of Autumn capabilities. The user enters a sort of trance in which she blocks out all thoughts and focuses only upon avoiding all forms of physical contact. This is the closest technique within the entire Four Seasons repertoire to Ultra Instinct, and is exclusive to Aki.

### **Defensive arts: Winter**

The Winter arts of the Four Seasons Style are taught by Fuyu, the youngest of the four masters of the dojo. These techniques allow the user to withstand their opponent's onslaught thanks to their highly-trained bodies and minds.

#### **Techniques**

* Stalwart Evergreen - The most basic defensive technique taught as part of the Winter arts. The user stands with their prominent foot forward while their other leg braces backwards, and they align their arms vertically to shield both their face and torso.
* Snow Drift - A technique which uses defense as offense by the user first rushing towards an opponent, then locking their joints in order to essentially become a human boulder.
* Black Starless Sky - The counterpart to the White Shrouded Sky technique of the Autumn arts. The user stiffens their palms as much as possible and uses their bare hands to block the swing of a weapon. This technique is seen as particularly difficult to master due to the inherent danger it poses to the user's hands.
* Solstice: Cold Front - The greatest of Winter defenses. The user braces in preparation for anything that might come his way, becoming seemingly invincible. This technique is exclusive to Fuyu.

### **Saigo's Reaper arts**

The Reaper arts are a distorted version of the Four Seasons Style created by Saigo, a former student of the dojo. Whereas the original four facets of the style are only to be used for taking opponents down without killing or causing major harm to them, the Reaper arts, like their creator, have no such moral boundaries.

#### **Techniques**

* Ghost Willow - A technique derived from the Spring arts of the Four Seasons style. Saigo rushes towards his opponent from a blind spot and first stuns them with an elbow strike to the back, then wrestles them to the ground with a pivoting motion and holds them in an arm lock. This technique is often used as a follow-up to the Falling Rain technique, as the aforementioned technique allows Saigo to disappear from his opponent's field of view with ease.
* Illusory Haze - A technique derived from the Summer arts of the Four Seasons style. Saigo counters an opponent's weapon-based attack by striking one or both of their wrists, depending on the handedness of the weapon, with a well-aimed jab just moments before the attack lands, then stealing their weapon away and using it against them.
* Falling Rain - A technique derived from the Autumn arts of the Four Seasons style. Saigo moves swiftly and silently between objects in the environment, seeming to vanish into the scenery. This technique is often followed up with the Ghost Willow technique due to the fact that the aforementioned technique requires Saigo to find his opponent's blind spot, and the Falling Rain technique is useful in doing so.
* Frozen Grasp - A technique derived from the Winter arts of the Four Seasons style. Saigo takes hold of the nearest heavy object and holds it in front of himself to defend from all sorts of attacks. He is not above using another person as a shield, hence the name of the technique implying his cold-hearted nature and referring to the "cold touch of death".
* Finality: Memento Mori - A technique intended to finish fights in the most complete way possible. After vanishing via the Falling Rain technique, Saigo readies his blade, then strikes with ruthless precision. His first target is his opponent's arms, then their legs, heart, and finally their neck, with the aim of removing their head. He disappears again after each connecting slash, making it exceedingly difficult to stop him from completing the series of attacks.

## Trivia

* Saigo's addition to the Four Seasons Style being referred to as the "Reaper" arts is a reference to a lyric in the song "*(Don't Fear) The Reaper*", by the band Blue Öyster Cult.