Taiku VS. Tiao

[king]

"Welcome to the Hircine High "Fight 'till you Faint" tournament, where all your sick sadistic bastards get your full on bloody, bare-knuckled action. In the first ring here in our semi-final match, we have Taiku vs. our very own school Pillar, Tiao!"

"Who will turn out on top in this conflict, will our hero Tiao come back on top, and will you end up going home broke for betting on the wrong guy? All this and more, here in this explosive ring of T.V.T. action. Keep your eye on this fight folks, it's sure to be dynamite!"

"And in this second ring...."

Kurtz's attention turned to announce the second fight in the late matches, leaving the weary fighters to continue their efforts.

[Kazuki Akimoto]

He had been granted the luxury of his previous match ending far quicker than his first, as such Taiku had exploited every precious moment of time he could to rest...His shoulder had been gradually dwindling in its pain, and considering he had not had to use it in the fight before, was quickly becoming much more comfortable to use as long as the painkillers were in effect.

Not to say that he wasn't uninjured by any means, he was still feeling the effects of the last two matches in quick succession. Whilst his head was awake thanks to the few extra hours of sleep and his body in better form due to a lack of exertion before, he was still physically drained somewhat. It would be a long night, and that one was for sure...His opponent, it would seem, was one of Hircines pillars. If memory served him correctly, it was the same pillar that Leon had endured an encounter with in the riot a while back.

'Well, talk about karma or some bullshit...I guess I should count on his opponent having given him a hard time in the last match. If nothing else, I'll have the earlier advantage if he's suitably tired. On top of that, he's not a damned ogre, so I don't need to worry about the power issue mattering.'

Whilst his thoughts were true, subconciously one thing was on Taikus mind...His last two matches, his fight strategy had been devoted to giant-killing tactics, picking away at fighters using his speed and forgoing the matter of his strength. Tiao, he remembered from seeing before, was a suitably swift fighter. It would be interesting at least to see if the older man was able to re-adopt his traditional fight-plans to deal with the more nimble youth.

He smirked from his corner, the corner of his mouth curling as a few teeth showed through his lips, he mouthed over at Tiao with a sneer...

-Better be ready, kid-

[Tiao Lei Shen]

"So you're Taiku Akimoto, the legendary fighter from Varron? I gotta say, after what Mason's lackey did to you the other night I'm starting to think your stories are exaggerated..."

Tiao had originally planned that he would start this out of respect for Taiku, therefore making the crowd believe he gave a damn about the Varron populace. When the club owner decided to sneer at him however, Tiao could no longer bite his tongue. No one, especially of japanese decent, would ever look down upon Tiao. The japanese were always pompous, believing themselves to be the elite of the East. They felt it necessary to exert that belief over the chinese for years, and Tiao wouldn't let that repeat over to him in any way, shape, or form.

He smirked back to Taiku, pacing towards him from his own corner. It was true that Tiao certainly had not had an easy match like Taiku, but Tiao had not sustained any injuries. Luckily, Dain had not struck Tiao, merely caused him to work harder to keep from getting caught in a lock or slam. It was nothing the hours of rest didn't cure for him however. Tiao was allowed to sleep during school, and whatever fatigue was left over was easily depleted after a following nap. Dain was the toughest match Tiao had ever faced, save of his one and only defeat to Darren.

Tiao extended his left hand with the palm side up, expressing how generous he was as he continued his speaking before Taiku could say anything in response.

"Since you're getting slow in your old age, I'll allow you a head start. Do your best not to dissapoint alright?"

[Kazuki Akimoto]

The sharp tongued remarks from the young man raised a touch of ire in the older fighter, an eyebrow rising amusedly as he was spoken to in a manner he had recognised very quickly. The kid was Chinese, and whilst he hadn't expected such old politics to appear here, he was mildly interested at the irksome nature of Tiaos words.

"Not quite exaggerated, more like dramatised. As for you, boy, I see manners are out of your limited capability..."

He was smart enough not to be baited out by a quicker fighter, but at the same time, he was keen to test the young man and see just how good he was, if Hircine had him in the position of Pillar. Tiao approaching him somewhat as he made his gesture gave Taiku a brief moment of interest. A clever fighter would not have closed the already short distance between them if he was not either fully confident, or foolishly arrogant. Tiao had apparently heard about his fight with Adam, and it should have been recognised by the younger fighter that Taikus speed was the primary asset seen.

He had not, in either of his previous fights, relied on the power he could muster when needed. That would be one of the things he would focus on surprising Tiao with in this match. However, for the time being, he was intent on baiting the young man. Given the comment made before, he was fairly sure he could raise the young mans temper very quickly given he was clearly irritated by a smirk. Speaking in reasonably skilled Cantonese, he gave the little Chinese boy one last smirk.

"You will be wise not to expect little of me. I was beating kids like you into the ground when you were in elementary school..."

His footsteps led him slowly toward the slightly taller youth, surprised that so far, every person he'd fought had been taller than him. Even now, he was just edged out by the young man. Pausing only a moment, he approached as he paced around Tiao before firing at him with a single punch, a right jab, to the young mans chin. Even now, after two fights, he would be quick enough to likely surprise his foe here.

'So, the Pillars like to compete as well...Let's see if you deserve that reputation of yours, kid...'

[Tiao Lei Shen]

"So the Jap can speak in tongues? Tiao returned in cantonese, raising an eyebrow. "Its you who should prepare youself for me. I was beating kids like me into the ground too... back when I was in elementary school."

While Tiao's hand positioning had seemed like nothing more than a mere hand gesture, it was in fact a non-chalant way of preparing a guard. Taiku had a hurt left shoulder and Tiao knew it. Of course Taiku would start with a right sided attack, and by positiong his body and arm the way he did, Tiao was more than prepared.

Tiao slid forward with his left foot, flicking out his wrist counter clockwise as his palm flipped outwards against the forearm and deflected Taiku's jab to the outside. Continuing with the motion, Tiao torqued to the left, shooting his right hand swiftly forward in a cobra hand, the middle and index finger of Tiao's hand aiming directly for the ligaments attaching Taiku's left shoulder to his body.

Taiku was quick, that much was true. But the two men's builds were very close and by what Tiao could tell, neither man would have any real advantage in strenght or speed. Tiao had reach over Taiku, but enough to play that as a strength. By torquing over as he did, Tiao stretched so that he would thrust his fingers into the older fighter before he could reach him.

Tiao knew Taiku was injured, and had no intentions of letting opportunities to inflict real pain into him pass by. Hopefully, Taiku would be able to man up enough to not cry after one hit, even to a tender area.

[Kazuki Akimoto]

"That's nice, but you should have stuck with wrestling in the sandpit, youngster..."

His jab was almost immediately parried, and his eyes left Tiaos chest to see the initial stages of the blow surmise. A faintest of smiles emerged as he went with the deflection, dropping his right arm and retrieving it as he twisted sharply a quarter turn in towards the younger fighter. Bringing his left arm up, his palm still close to his body, the elbow would snap out toward the oncoming digits, surprisingly fast due to his twist occuring almost immediately after the deflection.

Intent on using the dulled limb to counter, injured indeed but very desensitised in that regard as a result of the painkillers he'd taken, he was expecting the sudden reaction to be able to surprise his opponent.

Surprise him enough, hopefully, that he would pay much less attention to the knee that would have begun upon the sharp turn he had made to bring his elbow into close striking range of the oncoming strike. The knee was intended to be discreet enough, the attack with his left arm reacting just a moment before he fired out the attack in order to bring Tiaos attention away from it. In doing so, he had aimed to drive his knee very harshly into the top of his younger opponents thigh, crushing the muscle under the blow and possibly able to remove his balance, weakening the leg.

'It'll likely do little to him besides make it clear he won't escape this fight without a few hits...Pompous little prick needs brought down a peg or two.'

[Tiao Lei Shen]

It was a common tactic to go with the motions of the opponent. Since Taiku was by no means a large fighter, it was something that came as no surprise to Tiao when the japanese man came forward with an elbow strike.

Tiao kept his momentum forward, though bending his right arm back at the elbow. As a result, Taiku's strike would miss the intended digits on Tiao's hand by a narrow margin, colliding instead against the hardened muscle of Tiao's tensed forearm. The pillar hoped it would shockwave pain back to Taiku's hurt shoulder, as even he felt the force of their collision. If Tiao hadn't broken down his nerve endings in his arms years ago, he was sure it would've hurt him too.

As soon as Taiku's strike was blocked, Tiao torqued farther to the left, keeping his arm at a ninety degree angle as his palm slammed inward, striking Taiku's left side of his face. The heel of the palm aimed for just below the older man's eye, Tiao intent on redamaging the sealed cut from Taiku's previous fight against Pain Killer.

About the same time as his palm strike would hit, Tiao felt a knee strike his inner left thigh. It would likely bruise, but Tiao held firm and thankfully avoided a cramp. Tiao had stopped Taiku from fully exerting his momentum, and therefore took just enough power out of the extended knee strike to avoid any major damage.

"What's wrong? Don't tell me my sandbox moves are overwhelming you already."

[Kazuki Akimoto]

He would be lying to say the impact with Tiaos forearm didn't sent a jolt of pain through him, but he had quickly adapted to it through the last two fights and, despite his tiniest falter, bore through it with little concern for the moment. Hospital work would have to wait until he either won this tournament or was sent home...For now, he had to deal with this slippery fighter. He held more than a sliver of amusement that his opponents had gradually decreased in mass and increased in speed, and he was quickly re-adapting to the manner of fighting he was most comfortable in...

"I doubt that highly. If this is the best you can do, I'm disappointed..."

He continued to react to the right hand after it was defended against, his own forearm extending to quickly grasp at the limb as his fingers curled around. The tips of his nails, clipped short but still present enough, clamouring to press into the skin as he took the brunt of the blow against his weaker arm. Instead of Tiaos hand being sent to his face, it was being dragged slightly to the young mans right. The slight decrease in its speed as a result of Taikus interference hopefully giving the older man the necessary moment to step through and in towards Tiao much closer than before, his head firing toward the kids face with a roughneck blow that would, if successful, not only come as a massive surprise but likely deal a fair whack to him.

There was still the connection of his knee to consider of course, and whilst it had done little to his opponent, it left him with an idea he quickly set about exploiting. It would, considering the speed of the other movements, not occur until the same time-frame his headbutt was sent at Tiao. However, with his left leg impacting aganst the thigh, his foot would push forward to attempt driving his heel against Tiaos right knee with the weight of the kick along with a fair chunk of force added with the forward lunge for the headbutt.

[Tiao Lei Shen]

OOC: Got bored waiting for you as you're not on when I'm around anymore, so I'm just going to go with what I think it means now. Feel free to disregard the PM. If something is off, let me know.)

Tiao was impressed by Taiku's reaction speed, especially through an injured limb. Despite the swiftness of Tiao's solid block and strike, Taiku had managed to reach out and grip Tiao's arm in an attempt to protect his face. However, when Taiku's hand intended to sink a grip into the flesh of Tiao, he would find the cloth guards along Tiao's arms. Where his fingers grabbed, it tore Tiao's accessory, slowing his momentum long enough to save his eye. However, the cloth didn't hold long at all, freeing Tiao's arm as it slingshot back in, smacking into Taiku's ear as the older man charged forward.

Tiao declined his head in a sharp motion, countering with his own headbutt of sorts. The visor of Tiao's cap would strike down before Taiku's head would meet his own face, aiming for the bridge of the nose upon his opponent. While not containing as much force as the older man's headbutt would, Tiao was able to change the direction of Taiku's head by striking a more tender area, likely catching him off guard and causing him to jerk downwards away from the pain on reaction.

In case that wasn't enough to deter the man, Tiao pushed backwards off his forward left foot. As his body moved backwards, Tiao's right hand found a grip upon the hair on the back of Taiku's head, tugging forward and down. It would be hard for Taiku to stop, as he moved forward with a strike and leaving Tiao's right hand past his peripheal vision. By moving backwards, Tiao had inadvertently removed Taiku's target of the kick, causing him to strike air. Having only one leg planted upon the ground, Taiku would find himself even harder pressed to defend Tiao's next move.

With the new handhold upon Taiku's hair and the sudden jump back, Tiao would likely pull the man forward with him. If it went according to plan, Taiku would be pulled forward in a fall to the ground from only having one standing leg. If not, Taiku would likely stumble forward at the least in an attempt to regain balance. Either way, Tiao's follow through would be quite effective. As quick as he leapt backward, he leapt forward yet again, jumping off his right foot as he brought it to the forefront for a hard flying knee to Taiku's face as he held his head in place by the handful of thick black hair.

Fuck you, jap. I'll make that face of yours concave.

[Kazuki Akimoto]

ooc: Yeah, today seemed to end up being 'Tax forms' day. The computer's been in use most of the afternoon. Excuse the delay and all that, and if this doesn't make sense (wouldn't surprise me), PM me again and I'll change it.

ic:

With Tiaos fist catching his ear sharply, the blow would, considering the older mans forward momentum, glance off partly along with its impact. The ringing in his ears was likely a temporary setback, and he pressed forward through the dull ache the blow would leave behind. However, Tiao made a mistake that Taiku almost couldn't believe his luck.

The visor of the cap would, indeed, collide with the bridge of his nose. Taikus head would, indeed, tilt downward to avoid the edges catching his eyes, but at the same time, unless the hat was glued to the younger fighters head, it was going to be dislodged with that slight downward momentum, pulling the visor down over Tiaos eyes and the upper section of his face for the time being as his head cracked against the youths with less than the intended strength, but enough to hopefully matter. The key situation Taiku had here, however, depended on how tightly Tiao wore his hat. If it were loosely worn, it might well have fallen off. Tightly worn, it would likely stay on his head, just displaced to pull the front of the cap, visor and all, to cover his eyes from seeing straight ahead properly.

Right now, it would seem Tiao had other things in mind when he felt a handful of his hair be grasped tightly. The kick he had shot out would never find its target, but for now it was a lesser factor to be concerned about. Whilst he was off balance, he had kicked forward with his foot, not from the side. The jolt forward would simply send his foot to the ground quicker than before, returning some semblance of balance to the older male before he lunged himself forward, his back foot pushing as hard as he plausibly could along with his left bending somewhat, pressing firmer against the ground into the pounce as he shot upward and in toward Tiao once again. His left palm, free from the tussle with Tiaos right arm, would slap down against the knee. Not with the intent of stopping it by any means, or to redirect the limb, but to use the force of the blow to add with moving the older fighter forward. Driving his right hand up, the fist balled as he travelled toward Tiaos midsection, the strike aimed squarely for Tiaos groin where, as the knee strike would impact into the left side of his chest, via his hand, as opposed to his head, he would crush the young mans...pride, so to speak, as the wind was knocked clean out of him from the blow.

[Tiao Lei Shen]

(OOC: Thats alright, I don't mind a wait as long as your reasoning doesn't involve rum )

Tiao's hat was indeed, not glued to his head. However, it wouldn't have the same effect Taiku would of hoped for. As the visor smacked into Taiku's face, the hat would stay in relatively the same place, while Tiao's head continued to move downward a few inches. Tiao's hat would of flipped off his head completely, if his thick braided pony tail didn't stick out the back whole. It would sit lightly upon Tiao's head, elevated and crooked which made Tiao look rather goofy up until the point Tiao leapt back in. From there, the hat had caught wind resistance and pushed up, sliding off Tiao's pony tail down to the mat.

Taiku rushed in, slapping Tiao's knee as it struck against his chest before Tiao's attack could fully develop its full momentum. It hit with a resounding thud, but it was to a muscular area, and therefore would do little more than bruise, unless the shock had irritated Taiku's hurt left shoulder. Taiku sent a hard right strike to Tiao's groin, intent on taking him down with a strike to a vulnerable area.

Grinning, Tiao's free left hand shot down in a diagnal line across his body. Tiao's palm would smack against the forearm of Taiku's punching hand, sending it down and to the older man's left. Taiku's arm however had already built up speed and was too close to deflect fully, and as a reslut Taiku's fist would glance Tia's inner left thight before shooting past underneath his leg. Tiao had expect a hit to his genitals, as it was the most open, and vulnerable part of his body and not a target Taiku had to stress for. As a result, all he had to do was wait and position himself until the right moment to complete this counter.

As soon as the knee struck the chest, Tiao had begun to bring his foot back. In the short time it took to bring it back, Taiku's arm would be underneath Tiao's groin. Tiao brought his leg in and back, hard, trapping the arm against his inner thighs. He twisted to the right, intent on breaking Taiku's elbow from the pressure upon his upper arm and forearm moving different directions. Whether this was successful or not, mattered to Tiao only by personal preference of making Taiku feel pain, as it was only the distraction as the real attack commenced.

With Taiku's head held low, and his left side open, Tiao hadn't wasted a single second. As soon as Taiku's punch was deflected, his left arm reared back, curling the fingers in halfway so the middle knuckles portruded. Tiao sent his left hand in quick, intent on striking Taiku upon the right temple with the middle knuckles of his hand. All Tiao need was a moment of distraction from Taiku, and with his arm occupied and his mind on pain killers, Tiao thought this would do the trick.

"This is the part where you fall down."

[Kazuki Akimoto]

ooc: Yeah, if the reasoning involved rum, this'd have been a MUCH longer wait. I think I'll be abstaining from the alcohol for a little while after the last spectacular. >.>

ic:

Exhaling sharply at the knees impact against his palm, taking the blow as well as could be done given the situation, Taiku felt something strike his arm as it neared Tiaos crotch. It could only have been a deflection of sorts, and in doing so his fist began to outstretch. Not fully, by any means. He didn't have the time to use his fingertips as he would have liked here by driving into the soft, fleshy area on the inside of where his hip and thigh connected. Instead, his fingers clawing out roughly, they would slam into the leg as Tiao sent his palm striking against it. Fisting the material between his fingers tightly, the forward drive would pull Tiaos leg off-kilter for his landing somewhat, though the chances of it felling the Chinese youth weren't likely.

Regardless of such, the grab would effectively leave Taiku with his arms focused on Tiaos right leg, and in doing so, with HIS feet closer to the ground, he would lean into the younger man a little further, trying to turn Tiaos body-weight into its own weapon by tilting him backward and sending him into the floor of the ring with his back and shoulders to hit the mat first. Of course, Tiaos left leg still had the chance it would hit the ground first, but with Taiku holding the position for strength at the moment, he would be hard-pressed to prevent the landing from being viciously awkward if he attempted to use the foot.

'A hit like that would be enough to stun him, maybe daze him if he hits his head...I'm not as strong as Adam so I can't count on my own force doing any extra damage to him...'

If he were successful, he would simply let Tiao hit the ground and back away, taking a moment to re-establish the situation. He was a quicker opponent than he had credited him for, and at the moment he was starting to feel the effects from two straight fights in 24 hours, the third one was quickly taking its toll on him. A definite hit soon would be needed to turn the tables, because he was quickly starting to tire from the initial scuffle. Before, he'd not been forced to utilise all his speed, but if he wanted to land a hit on Tiao, he would need to move quicker than him. Right now, he wasn't going to have any luck with the two tied together...

[Tiao Lei Shen]

(OOC: I think you going sober is the biggest shock since the resurrection of Christ.)

Tiao didn't seem to be the only one who could manipulate his hand shape. Immediately after Tiao's deflection, he felt a churning pain upon his leg that actually caused him to grunt from the surprise. However, the pain Taiku inflicted into his leg wouldn't deter the young pillar, only piss him off all the more.

The footing began to give underneath Tiao, Taiku driving him forward down to the ground. He tucked his chin forward, keeping his head from hitting the mat as they went down. Taiku had saved his arm, but during his take down Taiku would fail to protect his head while he was too preoccupied to defend against an attack outside his peripheal. Tiao didn't get his solid plant, but it wouldn't keep him from throwing his attacks.

As they fell, Tiao sent out multiple strikes with his middle knuckles. He shouted in anger as he sent his strikes, hitting Taiku thrice around the temple before his back slammed into the mat. It hurt, that much was true, but the shouting had saved him from losing his breath as they went down. Tiao's adrenaline kicked into overdrive, causing him to strike out quicker, stronger, and more agressive than he usually was. No one had ever made things this difficult for the pillar, and Tiao would be sure to make sure this one never would be able to again.

Upon hitting the mat, Tiao would shove Taiku to the side as he rolled out from under him, ending up in the rear corner for a moment to catch his breath. Taiku would most likely be unconcious from the strikes, or at least dazed enough to allow Tiao to regroup.

[Kazuki Akimoto]

ooc: My only quibble, and it's a very small one at that, is questioning Tiaos ability to focus not only on bearing the brunt of hitting the ground, but still being able to throw a series of blows to Taikus head at the same time as being dropped, effectively upside-down, onto the ring floor. However, it makes for a much better fight all in all, so I'm going to go with it and say 'hey, if it's entertaining, it's good'. ^^

ic:

With Tiao in the air, the split moments before he would be crashing into the floor, Taikus head was perhaps the only vulnerable part of his body. Granted, he had not counted on his younger opponent having the dexterity to continue hitting him as he was sent to the ground, but as the first blow collided with the side of his head, he let out a sudden bark of pain before his head began to move forward quickly, effectively trying to stop the blows striking flush against his temple. Both of the following punches landed, but with his head moving as he was, they landed more like glancing blows, being forced to deflect off of his head upon the impact. One of them, he was certain, opened up a cut in his scalp. He wasn't paying enough attention to it, right now he was determined just to get this little bastard off of him and put some distance between the two for now.

The blows, in admittance, were strong enough to shock him into reacting. However, he was only mildly dazed from the hits, considering the first would have been the only one to land flushly. His head was aching from the impact, and he couldn't deny that in the last moment of the drop to the ground, his eyes had effectively blacked out from the hits. In doing so, something happened that hadn't yet happened to the older man in this tournament, that hadn't happened to him for a fairly long time.

He lost his temper, he got angry at the thought that such a hit could take his eyes from him and in the briefest, tiniest moment of blind panic, his entire body would surge down to drive Tiao into the ring floor with an extra jolt of power. Regardless of the outcome of it, he would immediately back away, blinking and shaking his head to clear out the fog that had descended over him from the first punch. His eyes, of course, quickly returned to him but as it stood it was too late to completely calm the older male. He was furious beyond compare for the damage taken from that hit to his temple, and as he half-stood, half-crouched on the opposite corner to Tiao, he watched him with a ferality that had just pushed its way out. His composure and calm in the fight was shattered, and this time when Tiao attacked, he would act upon it savagely.

"A very good hit, youngster, but it will take more than a single clean punch to end this fight. You've heard about me, I'm not so easily beaten."

His mind raced as he spoke, the thoughts much more rampant than his calmly spoken, if not complacent words.

'It's the semi-finals, Taiku...It's one more fight and you can challenge Odin again. This kid has no place in a fight between Varron students. Finish this, somehow, you've got to FINISH this...He could beat you, he's had easier fights than you've had, he's fresher...No, that's a losing way of thinking. I've beaten better than him, I've beaten stronger, I can still get past this round...I just need to wait for him to fuck up and it's my win...'

[Tiao Lei Shen]

(OOC: Preparing for a fall comes as instinct to those that have practiced break falling many times, becoming natural for when it happens. As for the hits, you forced him to fight harder, which is exactly what he did. If you still need more explanation I'll give it to you on MSN or something.)

The first strike smashed into Taiku's temple, making the older fighter move his head away in an effort to get away from the pain. The second struck farther up, and Tiao felt the moisture from both sweat and blood upon his knuckles. Throwing in the last one, Taiku had moved his head so Tiao struck closer to the cheekbone.

Taiku drove in harder than ever following the strikes, seemingly intent on driving Tiao straight through the springboard canvas mat. Tiao's arms naturally went out behind him in a wide arc, slapping the ground with his forearms and palms a split second before his back made contact. It didn't take away the force by any means, but it prepared Tiao's back for the impact after having a feel for it on his arms.

Tiao cursed in his head, the shock creeping up his spine and feeling ever so unpleasant. It seemed neither fighters were in a hurry to continue a barrage upon one another while tied up against each other, as both Taiku and Tiao retreated in their own way. Tiao eyed Taiku from the opposite corner, spotting the apparent aggression in his face. Tiao grinned at Taiku's words, preparing his response in English to settle some curiosity within the crowd's minds.

"Just as I'm sure you know the same of me. I won't submit to you the second I'm on my back, unlike that Kira Karyuudo of yours."

There were a few murmurs and chuckles within the crowd at Tiao's statement. He had heard from Darren on how Taiku had been over just the night before last, and if that wasn't a tip off of his relations with the girl who had protested against the pillarship within five minutes of arrival, Tiao didn't know what would be.

"Though...." Tiao started in English, switching to Cantonese as he continued. "I wonder if she'll submit just as quickly once I get her there...."

Tiao brought his hand underneath his chin as if he was ponderin the idea. A grin spread accross his face as he eye Taiku yet again. The man was angry enough at Tiao as it was, it would be interesting to see how angry he could get before popping under the pressure. If Taiku cared for Kira as much as Tiao betted on, he'd likely attack in plain anger, clouding his mind.

I've heard he's their greatest. Once I bury him, tearing through their last champion will be a cinch....

[Kazuki Akimoto]

His eyebrow would raise very sharply at the first remark, a look of mild surprise on his face that Tiao would get so personal in a tournament designed for recreational fighting, at least for the competitors. There was no denying he was less than impressed by the childish words the young man spoke, but his own rebuttal, also in English for the sake of the crowd, was designed for two single purposes. Humiliation and diversion of attention.

"Who said she was the one who submitted? Clearly you don't know much about a real woman..."

Immediately following his own comment, a few people stifled smirks and glanced away, not willing to show their own amusement at the Varron graduates words against one of their own. Regardless, Taikus eyes did not leave the younger man at any point, watching him with his own pleasant smirk spreading across his face. He would give the young man some credit, he was a good fighter, but if he wanted to make things personal...

"Doubtful. A kid like you couldn't hope to meet the needs of a woman like her."

He began to chuckle himself, very mildly at first before a few peals of laughter rolled from his lips. Again, Tiao had massively underestimated the older man in trying to play mind games. Angry he was, there was no doubt about that. Even now he was holding back his temper for the sake of delivering his point.

"Don't try and use her to get to me. Plenty of people have given that a shot, and I'm not one to fall for it again. Besides, it's not just ME you'd have to worry about, laying a finger on her. You might be able to beat one or two of them, but you could do nothing against a lynch mob."

His teeth bared with the end of his grin, he stood straighter, rolling his neck with a low, subtle crack of the joints and stretching out his left arm tentatively. The muscles were cramping from keeping it protected as much as he could, if he wanted to avoid the unneccesary pain, he'd have to start using it. The smile, now long since gone, was replaced with the same dark glare he had worn before Tiao had been so foolish as to try and tamper with Taikus mind. As he had curtly put it, he was used to people threatening her to get him angry. He had dealt with it from Kvist enough times, the risk was always there, but he knew one thing very clearly in his mind, calming and restraining the spike of anger he felt at it. His language switched to his native Japanese a moment as he snapped out one last remark. Whether the young man spoke anything besides his own tongue and English was left to nothing, but part of him hoped the Pillar would understand him.

"Ballsy, for a little Chinese boy, aren't you?"

[Tiao Lei Shen]

"Yeah? I thought this fight showed me plenty."

While Tiao knew his own comeback wasn't anything overly clever, it still kept Taiku from having the last word, and it was at least no worse of a rebuke than Taiku's last.

"Don't get me wrong, I don't give a shit about your woman. I only have an interest in what MY needs would be with her."

Tiao smirked in response to Taiku's chuckle. While Tiao was quick to anger, he had learned better than to act on impulse when regarding it. Instead he could hone his anger, bottling up until the right time to use it. It was true you could only push a man so far, but so far Taiku had done little more than nudge him.

The pillar's smirk faltered a moment as Taiku continued, speaking down to Tiao in regards to numbers. The thought crossed his mind to speak on how many Varron student's he'd already taken out, but decided against it. He'd just wait until Taiku laid in front of him, broken and beaten, before he would be added to the list as well.

Tiao shifted his weight to balance evenly on both feet for more comfort. Taiku was busy cracking his neck along with other gestures to just prolong his inevitable hospitalization. Tiao was hoping Taiku would of attacked him by now, but it seemed to be a false dream as Taiku spoke yet again. It took a moment to sort out that he wasn't trying to say something in Cantonese, but that he had switched to Japanese. Tiao was familiar with a few phrases and words, but he failed to form a coherent sentence from Taiku's words. What he pulled from the sentence was just "little chinese", and from there he filled in the rest of the meaning with Taiku's tone.

"Japanese trash! You're nothing compared to me, do you understand that!?"

Tiao glared at Taiku, raising his voice to a shout in Cantonese as he leaned forward. While Taiku's words were aimed for Tiao, the pillar had only understood it as a racial slur and therefore a remark he couldn't get away with. He burst forward at Taiku, running at an impressive speed compared to most, but controlled enough for him to refrain from over extending his momentum. Approaching Taiku's front left side, Tiao sent his left hand accross, leaving his chest and moving outwards til his arm would straighten and strike Taiku in the left side of the jaw with the outer edge of his palm.

[Kazuki Akimoto]

ooc: Yes, big post, but it's likely the ONLY one I'll write this size for the match, I hope. ^^;

ic:

He shot back a light smirk at the rebuttal. It wasn't bad by any means, it was petty, once again, but thus far this fight had turned into nothing more than a playground squabble to the older man. He preferred only to talk when necessary in a fight, and Tiao seemed to like firing out his trap until he was blue in the face. That was nothing to him in the long run, and he would contentedly meet the young mans requirements as he saw fit.

"Just in case you misunderstood me, boy...I wasn't referring to the school-going Varronites. Remember that."

His smirk rose up one last time as Tiaos stammered briefly at the comment. He was confident the pillar had punched his way through several of the smaller fish in the school, even knew he had put Leon through a hard fight, but they were still the younger generation of Varron students. Taiku remembered a day when he fought under a different name, back when the fighters in Varron listed Shamino, King, Maverik, fighters of that amazing calibre under its name. They were far and beyond at the top of the ladder with him, and even among them, he was still not the top of the list. The graduates of Varron were some of the most brutal and powerful fighters he had ever met, people that made Tiao look like a puppy with its tail between its legs, and he gave off the faintest of audible sighs at the thought.

It would seem, however, that when he made his small remark in Japanese, it had given the younger man the 'incentive' needed to react. React, just as Taiku would have hoped. He'd expected that either way, whether he understood the words or not, it would infuriate the young man enough to make his move. Given the small size of the ring, the timeframe between Tiaos comment and his burst would account for a few seconds, tops. Time enough for the older man to shift his feet as he set his eyes back upon Tiaos chest, not watching him, but letting his peripherals watch everything else the younger fighter did. It was clear from his rush that he was angered by the words, perhaps not to the stage of losing his temper, but a few choice words would more often than not be enough to set the best fighters to see red. It would clearly seem Tiao was more than a little unfond of the Japan-China pride disputes that lingered.

'Bingo. We have a button to push...'

He expected his left side to be a target. With his arm weakened, it was likely Tiao would attempt to utilise that knowledge to his advantage. The way he approached was almost too easy to see, and it was a similar mistake he himself had made against Adam.

He held his ground from the corner with his feet loose, his left palm held back in order to guard the limb as Tiao neared, his move occurring at the very last second he could risk waiting to have the younger man left with little he could do. Whilst weakened, his left arm still wasn't completely out of commission. Considering it would apply the least amount of strength, it wasn't impossible in the slightest for Taiku to step forward a half-pace, changing his footing enough as his left palm shot up in a tight grip around Tiaos wrist. Flowing suddenly with the motion, his right palm would match the movement in firing a palm-strike against the outside of the younger fighters elbow to continue to throw him out of balance as his left knee shot forward in a sudden, sharp blow to strike Tiaos left thigh. A complicated move on paper perhaps, but one of the simplest disarming throws taught in Aikido and a very useful cornering attack.

Tiao, should he be caught in the movement, would likely find his balance gone as his thigh takes a hefty knee-strike into the meat of the muscle, deadening it a moment as his upper body was directed, with Taikus twist, to go in to the corner as the older male effectively switched the positions of the two, bringing Taiku into the open space of the main ring and leaving the younger man, with his back to Taiku, in the corner. Whilst it was entirely possible for his young enemy to remain on his feet, the stumble would put him off balance and it was extremely possible that the younger fighter would strike his head against the cornerpost of the ring. A desired outcome, perhaps, but not a guaranteed one by any means.

[Tiao Lei Shen]

The pillar bounded towards Taiku in a matter of moments, swinging out his arm for the intended jaw strike. Tiao wouldn't be surprised by the movement from Taiku's left arm. The older man had already proven he wouldn't hesitate to lash out or defend with it previously, and therefore Tiao had expected no less this time around.

Darren and Tiao often sparred in down time, keeping them both in peak physical condition while retaining sharp skills. On more than one occasion, Darren had caught Tiao in a simple arm bar. The feeling of Taiku's counter, arm bar or not, triggered a natural response from Tiao's years of training from both the many years with his father, and the past few with his Captain.

None of the sense reacted as quickly as the sense of touch, and as an effect, Taiku's hand would barely make contact with Tiao's wrist before it spun in a swift, counter-clockwise circle. It was a common drill for many of Tiao's forms: his preferred Tiger, Wing Chun, Snake; they all insured the proper timing and motions of escape. Preventing Taiku from establishing a tight enough grip, Tiao pivoted on his right foot to face Taiku, pushing himself backwards as his right palm crossed to strike Taiku's left wrist, not intended to cause damage but to reinforce Tiao's slip out.

Taiku's right palm came forward, pushing into Tiao's bare left bicep. The possibly intended arm break from Tiao's perspective only ended up aiding in his retreat, pushing him past the range of Taiku's knee strike as his left leg went back to gain stability. Tiao brought his left leg forward, angling the foot into a light cat stance as he brought both claws out in front of him, leaving the right one slightly closer to his body.

"And that's what you aren't getting." Tiao started in plain English, allowing everyone to hear his words that came across as frustrated with Taiku's perspective. "This isn't your glory days anymore. This isn't Varron. This is San Fransisco, Timber Wolves territory. You're days are over now Akimoto. The days of Varron are over now. This is Hircine....and this is my time. I'm not part of your generation, and frankly, I don't want to be....I'm better than them. I'm better than you."

Tiao lowered his head in solemn glare at the older fighter, eyeing him from one of his basic stances. Taiku had successfully maneuvered Tiao out of the middle of the ring during their smaller exchange. However, it was true when they say that a tiger never lashes out so strongly then that when he is cornered....

[Kazuki Akimoto]

Somehow, with speed that could only be said to surpass his own reflexive movements, Tiao had seen through the entire hold and managed to weave through the older mans intended throw, going so far as to twist himself around and place himself in the corner. However, Taiku would not give the young man time to fire out his little speech, instead continuing forward as his left foot, the knee strike never landing, shot back and pushed him forward into Tiao as he turned. His right palm would find itself without use as a result of Tiaos evasion as well, and the older man would adapt into the approach by shooting his palm into Tiaos, his fingers linking into the fist.

He would have caught only one fraction of Tiaos words, and he replied once again in English to condemn the young man, "Stop. Fucking. Talking.".

He was quickly getting tired of the chit-chat, it was a waste of time, and this young man was not worth his words as it stood. As his fingers caught with Tiaos, his grip would sharply push back, using the added height he had with the younger mans lowered stance to buckle the wrist back as he continued forward, attempting to drive his opponent fully into the corner. Still moving forward, his left leg would be moving forward with the stride due to making the initial thrust. Bringing it forward quickly, he attempted to force the young man to defend against the oncoming limb, using the force behind his movement and the assumed theory that Tiao would not have fully established his balance yet from turning around to push his opponent onto the back foot fully.

Regardless of the situation, Taikus left fist would fire out a couple of sudden blows toward Tiaos face as he moved forward, intent on baiting the young man into protecting his nose and eyes.