Pain Killer vs. Kyukaku

[Dain Gavyns]

This time we're using a perennial favorite, you're all fighting in a refurbished gym owned by Dain himself for the sole purpose of this league, in a twist on the ol' Cage-Match idea.

Two domed steel cages, connected together by a path just seven feet high and three and a half feet wide, just big enough to allow the largest contest to pass comfortably. The crowd's all around the cage watching and cheering you on. The acoustics of the place are ridiculous, however, and it's going to get loud. Hope you can concentrate.

Have fun.

[Pain Killer]

Alright, let's get this show on the road.

Fresh off of yet another loss, Pain Killer walked through the doors of the gym, in an unusually good mood considering the circumstances. Whatever had been hindering him before, whether it simply be bad luck, a lack of interest or any other number of reasons, it didn't matter, as tonight would be different. Tonight, he'd put everything he had into it, and come Hell or high water, he'd come out victorious.

Or at least, I'm gonna make sure whoever's fighting me doesn't walk away from this without feeling it.

Confidence in full swing, Adam moved through the gym, not really paying attention to where he was going until he'd nearly walked into the very structure he was going to be battling within. The somewhat-hourglass figure wasn't something Pain Killer was familiar with, but the concept was very recognizable from all the TV he watched.

"A steel cage... awesome. This is just... awesome."

A wide grin split across Pain Killer's face as he stepped into the closest dome, figuring that his opponent would enter the further one to put them on even starting terms. Each dome was large enough for a decent fight, though the path connecting would make things much, much harder. Potential uses of the cage made Adam lick his lips in anticipation, his imagination already running wild as he took off his trenchcoat and flung it to the side. There would be no playing around this time. No matter who entered the opposite dome, he'd tear them apart.

[Kyukaku]

"What in the world..."

Kyukaku stopped as he entered the gym doors, his eyes gazing over the entire room. He had fought in a cage before, but never two cages. Especially never two cages with a caged pathway. Taken aback for a moment, Kyukaku felt a little nervous, as he did before most scheduled fights. He had a habit of doubting himself given the time to think about it before hand. Smiling, Kyukaku buried the self-doubting as usual, proceding towards the back where he assumed would be some sort of locker room.

Given the scenery, Kyukaku couldn't help but go for a more sporty approach than his last two matches. He removed his moccasins, jeans, T-shirt, necklace and bracelet. He slipped on a pair of his old kickboxing pants, black in color with red, white, and blue stars trailing up the calf on each pant leg. They were the most comfortable pants he had, extremely light and flexible. If forced to pretend to know something, Kyukaku would say they were silk, but really, he didn't know in the slightest.

Kyukaku wrapped his fists and wrists with tape, reinforcing the joints but leaving no padding. He didn't know what, but something seemed different tonight. Whether it was just the dome cages or something more, Kyukaku began to grow even more excited for the coming action than usual. Kyukaku went out to his given cage. In comparison to whom his opponent was, it was surprising that Kyukaku was the one who had not been planning any sort of attack plan ahead of time. Say what you will, but Kyu just wasn't the planning things out type.

Looking directly through the middle pathway, Kyukaku saw who his opponent was. Kyukaku grinned wildly, looking forward to finally getting the closure the two of them almost never had.

"Hey butch! Wanna' come over to play?"

[Pain Killer]

"The goddamn kid..."

From the quiet way Pain Killer referred to his newly-arrived opponent, one might expect that he wasn't pleased with who it was. However, the wide grin spreading across his face would put to rest any suspicions of that nature, as well as what seemed to be a wild look in his eyes.

This was going to be much more fun than he thought.

"Too lazy to come here? How 'bout I meet you halfway?"

The passway Adam found his way into wasn't large, as Pain Killer found himself barely fitting both height and width-wise. It didn't appear to be too long, either, probably just five or six feet between the two domes. This, of course, meant it was perfect for the self-proclaimed Pain Killer, who took three steps in and then waited, his hands waiting loosely at his sides.

Looks like a nice choke point to me...

Still grinning, Pain Killer would wait for his opponent to come to him, not content with trying to chase Kyukaku around his dome, or being ambushed as he made his way out of the enclosed area to the more open area of the dome. Instead, he'd wait for the fight to start on even ground, telling himself that he didn't want the kid to start making excuses when he was beat into the ground.

"Alright, Kyu. Let's see just how good you really are."

[Kyukaku]

Adam grinned Kyukaku's way, not exactly the usual face the smaller student received from the self proclaimed Pain Killer. Now a frown, grimace, or scowl would have made him feel much more at home. Alas, it was not meant to be. Adam remarked back at him, Kyukaku raising his right thumb in the air to acknowledge he agreed to the terms. The terms that could very well end up spilling his brains atop the cage's floor.

Yeah, that's the way to think positive.

As Kyukaku entered the walkway, he sized up Adam to himself, and the very walkway they stood in. Adam still stood a good six inches taller than him, and at least fifty pounds heavier. Not exactly the best size match up, but like everything it had its positive and negative aspects. One positive aspect of being stuck in a cage with a gorilla, was the cage might be a little small. In this walkway, Adam could move forward and backward, and possibly turn his body given the right degree.

"Tests make me nervous."

Kyukaku slouched his shoulders, shooting his opponent/rival/friend/enemy a worried glance. Disappearing as quick as it came, Kyukaku stood back up straight as his face uncontorted naturally. He'd pause another few moments, letting enough time pass between words as to not count the initiated strike as a cheap shot. After all, when Kyukaku ended Adam's streak, he didn't want to be called out on a fluke. In a quick burst forward, Kyukaku would get close enough to just snap his left hand out in a jab, aimed at Adam's solar plexus. While just a jab, Kyukaku never through out an ineffective move, and if it landed it would be solid enough to hurt even Pain Killer. As quick as it snapped out it snapped back in, Kyukaku preventing any dragging ass on his part.

[Pain Killer]

"Good."

A one-word response was all Kyu would get from the self-proclaimed Pain Killer, who began to lift his fists up close to his face, his elbows still out to the sides of his body in a sloppy boxing stance. His feet didn't move from how he was standing before, which was shoulderwidth apart, while his wide eyes watched Kyu's torso, attempting to read the possible moves coming before they were thrown.

As soon as Kyu began his jab, the tightly-wound youngest living Rydell would spring into action as well, his right fist pulling away from his face towards his shoulder while he stepped forward with his right foot. In the same motion, Adam would twist his upper body to the left, whipping his right fist forward in a hook aimed for the side of Kyu's head, just above the ear, while his left fist would drop close to his left shoulder, pulling back towards his body.

Even though he had been poised to attack the moment he noticed Kyu move, Adam still could only react so fast. A jab was still much faster than a hook, forcing Adam's punch to be thrown just before Kyu's jab would begin retracting from it's movement. However, as Pain Killer had been turning his body to put more force into his own attack, Kyukaku's jab would give him a glancing blow across the chest, sliding off the rounded muscle and doing far less damage than the younger male had intended.

[Kyukaku]

Kyukaku's jab struck a stronger part of Pain Killer's body, not surprising him in the least. Given where Kyu's fist had landed, the turning of Adam's torso initiated a reaction in Kyukaku. Given the two fighters extensive history, Kyukaku flowed with Adam in a fight, giving off a much more graceful look to the crowd than a typical fight looks.

As the jab retracted, Kyukaku intantly dropped his weight by benidng his knees and shifted to the left. Swivelling right under Adam's hook, Kyukaku would narrowly doge the strike, moving to the larger man's outside. As he ducked and weaved around the hook, the back of Kyukaku's right hand would serve as reinforcement, pushing against Adam's arm just above the elbow and aiding in the larger man's momentum.

Given Adam's momentum plus Kyu's addition, Adam's fist would slam into the cage wire. Continuing to push the arm against the fence, Kyukaku would hold Adam in place for a moment. While Adam was easily stronger, he couldn't stop his momentum quick enough to keep Kyukaku from adding to it. Just milliseconds after Adam's fist would strike the fence, Kyukaku's left fist would be striking out again, his index and middle knuckle slamming into the exposed right ribs underneath the hook.

Preferring to keep from staying in too close for too long, Kyukaku would instantly push off his feet, sending himself backwards and out of reach. Landing just outside the pathway entrance and barely into the dome on his side, Kyukaku would get into his favored karate stance, bringing his left foot forward and raising his hands in half-fists, keeping his right one just under his jaw.

[Pain Killer]

As usual, Kyukaku's speed was difficult to overcome for the larger male, making up for the difference in strength between the two. Having fought against the younger man as often as he had, Pain Killer wasn't surprised at the fact Kyu had managed to evade his hook, merely mildly disappointed at the fact he'd missed. Still, there were several reasons he had baited the smaller man into fighting in such an enclosed area, the first of which being that Kyukaku wouldn't be able to get around him, meaning all attacks would be coming from just one direction. While this may not seem like much to another man, for someone like Pain Killer, it meant that he wouldn't have to worry about Kyukaku ducking underneath his attacks and managing to get at his back.

The second and perhaps more important reason, at the moment, involved the very nature of the cage itself. Every cage had a certain amount of "give" to it, enabling it to absorb an impact by spreading out the force being driven into it. The self-proclaimed Pain Killer's hook would be no exception, his fist slamming into the metal wires and pushing the cage back a few inches, bringing the attack's momentum to a stop once the cage would not "give" anymore. However, as the cage would return to it's original shape, it would push against Adam's fist, jump starting his own momentum as he began to turn to his right in the follow up attack he'd planned before.

Pain Killer's left hand, which had begun to dip before, would fall further still, reaching waist level as he began his turn to the right. His right arm would push against Kyu's hand, easily overpowering the smaller man in no small part due to the cage's transfer of momentum as it regained its original shape. Unlike the squatting Kyukaku, Pain Killer still had a decent stance for balance, and the push against Kyu's hand would force the younger man to work harder to keep his balance in order to attack.

Even as Pain Killer began his attack, however, Kyu's attack to his exposed ribs would be thrown, albeit a little off target. If Kyu had intended to hold Adam's arm against the fence, he would have been forced to use considerable weight in an effort to overpower the larger male. When such efforts failed, however, Kyu's upper body would be pushed to his left, throwing his attack off course, unless he managed to redirect it in mid-air.

With Kyu's right arm being pushed out of the way, however, Pain Killer had a clear path to his rival's head.

Adam's turn to the right had not been planned for any sort of defense, as to put it simply, it wasn't his style. Instead, his turn was aiding his attack, the left handed uppercut that would now be heading towards the right side of Kyukaku's forehead. Should the smaller man follow through with his planned move of jumping backwards, the blow would hit in in the cheek instead, just below the eye, both possibilities having a fairly high chance of ending the fight right there. Fast as Kyukaku was, there was only so much that could be done in such close quarters, which had been Pain Killer's plan from the moment he'd seen the younger man as his opponent.

[Kyukaku]

Just as Kyukaku had been aware of the limited space in the pathway, it seemed Pain Killer had been as well. Still, it would hardly play into any strategy of either man. It narrowed down possibilities, making it simple to expect what came from both of them. Adam rarely changed his strategies (as they rarely failed), making it all the more simpler to expect what came next.

Kyukaku had not intended to hold Pain Killer's arm for long. It wasn't necessary in order to throw his uppercut, Kyu's hand merely acting as a guard to prevent Adam's elbow from snapping back to hit him in the face. Even more importantly than acting as a guard, Kyu's right hand would be able to feel the impact against the fence, and even more so the rebound. Nothing reacted quicker than the sense of touch, and the contact would let Kyukaku know exactly how much time he would have. Since Kyukaku had just narrowly ducked and weaved Adam's hook, his weight wouldn't have dropped too significantly, leaving him with slightly bent knees as his uppercut would slam into Adam's side.

Kyu was as balanced as he could be, and therefore prevented his attack from being thrown off, but Adam would still began to make that balance more difficult, preventing Kyukaku from retreating before Adam's next attack would be thrown. Following his uppercut Kyukaku would hop back, the delay Adam caused putting him on target for Adam's own uppercut. Luckily, Kyukaku's right arm was already raised near his head. Moving his hand back a few inches, Kyukaku cupped his ear, rotating to his left slightly to reduce a portion of the force as Adam's fist would collide with his bicep.

Kyukaku would tactically retreat to his planned area, working into his dog-like fighting strategy with Adam-moving in and out. Once in place, Kyukaku would get into his loose karate stance. His two attacks hand landed relatively around target, and though Adam's fist landed on Kyu, it was a blow easily taken and causing little to no pain and damage. Rather than risk being forced to take another such hit to a less protected area, Kyukaku would rather have more room to move around.

"Okay, time outs over Big Guy. You can come out now."

[Pain Killer]

OOC: Sorry. I meant to get to this earlier, but I got called into work unexpectedly on Sunday, and today's been busy too.

IC:

He's definitely gotten better.

The half-amused thought ran through Pain Killer's mind as his left fist struck Kyukaku's bicep, the pain in his right side a strong indication of just how far Kyukaku had come. While Adam had certainly never been able to beat Kyu in the past without taking some damage in return, he'd never been hit cleanly so early. However, every blow added up, even blocked ones, especially considering how Pain Killer was putting a good deal of his weight behind each punch, which left the older man with a good deal of confidence that Kyu had felt the last strike. While certainly not a crippling blow, that uppercut would at least make it painful for Kyu to bend and extend his arm for a while.

Of course, Pain Killer refused to let it end at that. Years of fighting smaller fighters had given him the same instincts any other larger man would have during a battle, the same desire to keep his smaller opponent from escaping once he was in range. As such, once Pain Killer's left fist collided with Kyu's bicep, the larger male would continue to push towards Kyu and upwards, his hand sliding off the rounded muscle as his fist unfurled. Adam's left hand would grasp Kyu's right forearm, his fingers digging into the flesh as he pulled the arm back towards him.

It didn't particularly matter to the youngest living Rydell whether Kyukaku resisted or not, or whether he could hold on to the smaller man indefinitely. Instead, he simply needed to keep Kyu from escaping for a few seconds longer. His right arm would have halted its momentum by now, coming to a stop in front of his chest, as Adam would have started to bring it to a stop once he felt Kyu's hand move, as after all, the sense of touch worked both ways. His left leg would take a step closer to Kyu to close the distance, while at the same time, his right hand would whip forward, fingers splayed open in a palm strike directed towards Kyukaku's nose. Since Pain Killer had stepped closer, it would be harder for even Kyukaku to dodge such an attack at such close quarters, though it wouldn't have the same power behind it from the lack of extension. Still, Adam was expecting the body's natural reaction to a blow to the nose to make up for the lack of knockout power.

[Kyukaku]

(OOC: Its all good.)

Crap crap crap crap...

Following the punch, Adam continued to push his body weight into the left arm. If Kyukaku had been fighting anyone else, he would have chalked it off to his opponent inadvertently assisting in the escape. However, Kyu didn't have the luxury of fighting anyone else today. Once again Kyukaku was against Adam "Pain Killer" Rydell, and he had a good guess what was coming from him.

Once again thanks to the quick reactions by the sense of touch, Kyukaku threw his right side back harder, beginning to turn his body to the side. Kyukaku dropped his arm, spinning his hand in small clockwise circles to prevent a firm grip. Adam's hand wouldn't stay on Kyu's arm for long, if at all, but forcing him to throw his right side back would indeed prevent him from escaping regardless.

As the short palm strike came in Kyukaku's left hand, which would have found its way back to guard through muscle memory, would slam downwards. In a balled fist, Kyukaku would swing down in a short hammerstrike to the top outside edge of Adam's wrist. If Adam's arm had been extended, Kyukaku would have deflected it in front of his body. Since Adam had thrown it closer, the arm would still extend past the deflection, striking Kyu above the right pectoral between the shoulder. The hammerfist could have done some damage as it hit a joint, at least making it somewhat sore or stiff. With Adam's palm strike coming from a short distance, it had insured it would have the range to strike, however that same close distance would save Kyukaku from too hard of an impact in relation to the deflection strike.

More than ever intent on keeping some distance, Kyukaku would push off his rear right leg, swinging his left back to insure a quicker way of gaining more distance than a typical backstep. Kyukaku flashed a smirk, pleased with his choice of attire for the night. Given all their other fights where Pain Killer would send an open hand, Kyukaku would deflect it to an area only for him to grasp. With no jacket, no shirt, no karate gi, Adam would be hard pressed to instantly follow up and keep Kyu still before he could push backwards.

[Pain Killer]

As expected, the grip Pain Killer had on Kyukaku's arm did not last long, the younger male working quickly to remove his grasp before anything could come of it. However, the "damage", in a manner of speaking, had been done, Kyu's defensive moves keeping him from slipping away from the youngest surviving Rydell, at least for the time being. As Adam's palm strike was being deflected downwards, however, what could be considered a plan had formed in his mind, not with words, but rather just the knowledge of what to attempt next.

In much the same fashion as his last attack, Pain Killer thrust his right arm forward, his hand pushing up Kyu's chest to grasp at his throat, lifting the heel of his foot off the ground as he shifted his weight forward. His left hand curled into a fist, pulling back a short distance towards his shoulder to prepare for another punch, fully intending to put this match away with one clean hit.

First, however, would come a dirty one.

In a move incredibly unlike the self-proclaimed Pain Killer's usual style, his right foot would lift off the ground completely; performing a soccer-style kick aimed directly between Kyu's legs. If the smaller male hadn't moved back during this action, he would be struck by the shin rather than Adam's boot, likely to be the lesser of the two evils, but still enough to accomplish Pain Killer's goals. The simple-minded Senior had come to the realization that Kyukaku knew his style from the many, many times they'd battled and seen each other fight. With this in mind, he had purposefully set up for another punch, knowing full well Kyukaku's knowledge of his own fighting style would likely cause the younger man to start reading the "attack" being prepared from the punch-oriented fighter.

Should the attack on Kyukaku's genitals succeed, it was likely to be quite the shock, enough for Pain Killer to capitalize on. His left fist would swing forward, throwing what could very well be the last blow of the fight towards Kyukaku's right temple, using his momentum of moving forwards to aid in the power of the strike.

[Nathan Branigan]

Ok, lemme just say this was incredibly difficult to judge. Partly because there weren't that many posts and it was very evenly matched. Also because it's hard to factor in endurance. However, it seemed to me that Kyukaku and a near miss to a possibly finishing move and I was not able to get a response on Pain Killer second big attempt. Add in the fact that it seemed to me that Pain Killer seemed more "at home" with his environment and you get the winner.

Pain Killer wins by a hair. Good luck on the next round guys.