Shamino VS August

[Odin Reeves]

Ring one, Third Fight.

[August Velway]

A nice, fresh tournament to start the day...

August Velway strolled out of the locker room, pondering the rules that the event's apparent host, Odin Reeves, had gone over. Fifteen minutes of combat... it was definitely intersting. Those fighters that were built on endurance and speed were obviously going to do well in such a situation. August liked to think that he was strong in one of those attributes, but he wasn't so sure about the second.

In any case, he soon found himself standing at the edge of his assigned ring, his feet bouncing a bit as the adrenaline in his form began to accelerate his movements and emotions, his competitive side already edging him toward yelling and punching the air. He had yet to learn who he was actually fighting, only that he was meant to fight whoever stood on the other side of the ring.

Well, whoever it may be, better put up a good show...

[Shamino Warhen Ph.D]

One man flanked each shoulder as he strolled across the space towards the ring, past crowds, pillars, and various objects and people that littered the space around the squared circle. Stopping at one side of the ring, opposite of August, he shrugged his shoulders, and the two men took each shoulder of his jacket in one fluid motion, one of them tucking it under his arm neatly. He removed a watch, and patted his pockets for any other loose items. finding none, he placed the watch in one of the man's hands, and mentioned something about taking care of the tin in the jacket.

He took a single step back, then leaped forward into the ring, slipping under the rope and leaning casually back in his corner. He hadn't heard of the individual in front of him before- must be a Hircinian. New he thought, tightening his gloves around his wrists. New is good. He decided. He looked to his left (his glance never staying anywhere for more than a handful of seconds) and to his right, wondering when he's to start. My name's whispered only on the lips of the dead, nowadays. Time to show San Francisco what I do for a living.

[August Velway]

It seemed Velway's opponent finally arrived, and if his entourage was any sign of influence, then it meant his opponent was either a hot shot, or truly one of the best. Or it meant that he had too much money for his worth, either way, August had no qualms with fighting him.

Entering the ring on the opposing side of his opponent, August smirked to notice the other man's preparation. "I'm not here to chat, as I'm sure you're not either," August introduced, "so know that the name's August, and that's all ya need."

Cracking his knuckles, August brought both arms above his abdomen, left arm hooked towards his head, the right lower in another defensive form, following a common boxer/street form. Edging himself towards the center of the ring, left leg leading with right leg leaning behind August's back, Velway's ebony eyes motioned for his waiting opponent to make the first move.

"You're last, so you're first. Come on, let's see if you can beat me."

[Shamino Warhen Ph.D]

They always make the same mistake.

As August spoke Shamino had walked towards the center of the ring, bending his knees slightly and placing his left leg slightly forward, and the other back, as if in position for a run. But his waist was somewhat straight. As he did this before August was done speaking, he had dominance of the center of the ring, and before August would begin to move towards the center Shamino would already begin his assault.

He seemed to stand up and shake out of his stance as if it was nothing at all but a stretch. Walking with his back and head tall, shoulders straight, arms by his side, once he was in range he shifted his right shoulder forward slightly, then immediately shot up his left fist for a direct impact shot to the jaw of August, his knuckles scraping up against the front of August's chest before his fist would attempt to impact with full force into his face.

[August Velway]

Well, isn't this interesting...

August's opponent had used his brief introduction as a period to prepare whatever strike he had in mind, setting himself up for what brought him to appear as a charge. Catching the clue that there would be no need to reach the center of the ring, August instead ended his walk forward, preparing his stance there, changing nothing.

The older man came in within seconds, his upper body straightened as if simply walking, and for a moment August believed that he may have been planning to use his right arm to attack because of the movement in his right shoulder, but was surprised to instead hear the whistle of wind as his left arm came from underneath in a hook strike instead.

Tricky guy, ain't he? August pondered, allowing his waiting right arm to open its palm above the attack, easily catching the fist in its grip and killing the momentum. August had the choice to either grab the hand or chase after it when his opponent would predictably retract, but decided against it, knowing it would take too much effort for its worth.

Instead, August kept his right arm in its place, and keeping his left arm in a defensive position near his head, quickly prepared to switch the positions of his legs for his following action. His left leg, first at the front, now slid behind his form to act as his anchor, and his right leg prepared to slide forward as his left arm stood ready to attack.

With his left leg in back, August quickly pulled up his right leg and prepared to land it close in front of him to act as his lead leg, yet as he did, his hooked left arm prepared to strike forward, keeping its form and aiming towards the upper defense of his opponent, most likely to strike his chin, but otherwise unsure, never extending, and always keeping in its hook form. Since the two men were so close to the other, there was no need.

[Shamino Warhen Ph.D]

He felt the comfortable fit of August's palm encase his fist, as predicted. His heightened, almost animalistic senses that had instinctively kicked his left leg forward as the fist was caught did its job well. As the feet of August switched themselves in mid catch, his loafer would slip inbetween his legs, his knee shooting up sharply when he had decided August had no chance of stepping back, or forward, or side to side, to escape. Now being close enough to be intimate, with no chance of dodging, countering, or dampening the blow... Shamino's knee shot up into the left inner thigh of August, and just as quickly as it shot up, the foot of Shamino's leg snapped back to slam directly against the side of August's right ankle. During this time he would hopefully feel the grip on his fist loosen, so that he could drive his elbow back several inches, and try once again for a direct shot to the jaw of August.

[August Velway]

OOC: As a reminder, the switch of the leg positions was not simultaneous. The left leg slid back first, and done just after the catch of Shamino's hook, and then followed by the right leg being picked up and landed forward just as his left arm was attacking. That leads me to believe that Shamino's left leg would land in between August's legs just as the left leg is moving back, so it not only nulls your inner left leg attack, but also means that August's right leg continued to move forward. You also forgot to mention any sort of counter to August's left arm attack, but I guess that means you expected the left leg to make me null that attempt.

In any case, my reaction is based on your reaction.

IC: It seemed that his opponent made no attempt at retracting his left arm - at least fast enough - leaving August to easily grip and capture the hooked left hand in a loose hold. Yet as he did so, he soon found his opponent's left leg to pull into the air and land itself in the center of August Velway's legs.

However, the move occurred just as left leg was sliding back into the rear, and a moment or so before August pulled his right leg upward to plant it in the front of his form. It now seemed that, instead of having his opponent's weight still outside of his own ring, he now lay his formerly leading leg in the center of August's own position, not only spreading out his weight, but also bringing August dangerously close to his opponent's body.

While August did not know it, his opponent's apparent target was now much more difficult to reach; thanks to his switch of legs, his left leg was in the rear, making any hope for a knee kick towards the left thigh require a hasty tackle forward, instead of simply pulling upward. And instead, it seemed that it was now August's right leg that flanked his opponent's left, allowing for an easy escape or even twist of legs if necessary.

His opponent's left side was now completely under his domination, and he had even forgotten on how to deal with August's left arm.

With Shamino's (OOC: Sorry for using the name, I'm just tired of saying "his opponent") left arm loosely caught, and his left leg uncomfortably surrounded by August's leading right leg, it opened August's unstretched left arm to clearly attacking Warhen's chest area, now only defended by his right arm, and difficult to escape from due to his spread out legs. With this in mind, Velway grinned as he continues his hooked left arm towards his opponent, now aimed in the center of his chest, intent on striking as much power into the heart of his opponent as possible. Since it was unstretched, if his opponent attempted to escape somehow by falling backward, he would still have enough length open for August to land his hit; while it would be lessened in power slightly, it would be far too difficult to completely escape.

It seemed that Shamino Warhen had thrown himself into a trap.

[Shamino Warhen Ph.D]

He didn't see what so ever why a simple mis calculation of the legs would stop Shamino's animalistic action to strike. Instead of firing directly forward, it wouldn't take much for Shamino's knee to bash violently to the right, hitting whatever leg was there for him to hit. He would continue to bash at it three times while his hand caught in the grip of August would continue to pull back. All part of the plan, he would duck down slightly and violently pull his hand back. August, most likely not letting go of Shamino's hand in this situation, would eat his own knuckles in a violent push upwards that combined Shamino's fist with August's. At the time, the ducking down motion would be a great unplanned dodge to the fist towards the center of his chest.

[August Velway]

As August's hooked left arm jolted forward, he soon felt air as his opponent surprisingly threw himself into a crouch just below the attack, placing himself in an even more awkward positioning of his weight between the far off right leg and the left leg in between August's own two feet. In his own attempt to regain control of the situation, the opponent instead chose to use his inserted left leg to send swift, rapid knee strikes into the inner build of August's leading right leg. Gritting his teeth at the frustrating pain, he soon realized that the damage was nothing terrible; the worst he'd receive after three of four shots from such an awkward attack would be a cramp, and since his right leg was meant to be his lead weight, it was only a matter of tensing the limb and placing more weight in the muscles to resist the damage done.

Yet again, his opponent was only proving to delay the inevitable. In order for his opponent to even barely avoid the punch August had sent, he would have had to force himself into a crouching position that placed himself in a difficult split of his left and right leg, and he still left his upper body clearly open to attack by August's left arm, yet now it was even easier to strike without fear for escape. As Warhen prepared to veer his left fist back, August allowed the caught fist to retract by a few inches, before tensing his own arm at a 45 degree angle and tightening the power of his right hand around the fist of his opponent, increasing the resistance to the force back, and slowly, August began to press the strength of his arm forward, hoping to press his opponent back even further.

Finally, with his opponent's leg still between his legs in an awkward lean, and his body crouching with strong resistance in August's right arm, the ebony eyed fighter turned his hooked left arm back down towards the mass of his opponent, now much easier to volley strikes down, whether hooked or extended. August began to strike down his left arm onto his opponent's neck, shoulder and head as many times as possible, extending his reach if necessary, and using the weight of his left leg to thrust more power into the attacks. No matter how often his opponent tried to continue his knee strikes, August suspected that they would never significantly harm him, and with his right arm continuing its push forward, his opponent would have a difficult time in pressing Velway back, especially with his left leg supporting his weight.

Too bad this match will end so soon...

[Shamino Warhen Ph.D]

As Shamino felt the man's hand fall back a few inches, as if he was psychic in Shamino's actions, Shamino shrugged mentally and decided that now was not a good time to continue his course of action. Very calmly and digilently, completely in control, Shamino's left foot skittered forward, and Shamino fell. He fell onto his back and his left leg and right leg both retracted. August's punch would hit absloutly nothing except maybe the sole of his loafer. Time seemed to slow down for Shamino, and as August's left hook came down, swiped just past his feet- and due to no Shamino being there- continued to swing to the left, Shamino took this opportunity. He took the opportunity to deliver a devastating, double legged gun packet right over August's left arm and straight into his face. With August's body slightly turned to the left, and his fist continuing to fly after a miscalculation of where Shamino would be, the legs would slam with authority, and do possible permanent damage to the facial structure of the combatant.

[August Velway]

This bastard's everywhere... I need to end this right now! August yelled in his conscious mind, as his opponent evaded his punches yet again, this time acting on something near-predictable: a complete fall to the ring below. Both of his feet were now off of their own weight, bringing all of his opponent's weight to his back, anchoring him still.

Quickly enough, August realized why; as his arm extended in attempt to follow his opponent's body fall down, he saw the man's two legs prepare to strike upward in a paired kick attack instead. August felt a panic run up his spine, and his eyes caught sight of one foot flying up at his nose, and in a last ditch effort to evade, ducked in head just enough, the sole's heel crashing against his thick skull instead, shocking him for a moment, yet fortunately forcing his bodily weight against his supporting left leg, helping him to avoid the paired second kick.

Son of a bitch is going to pay for that! August roared mentally, as the majority of his weight slipped to his left leg, and his struck head began to recover as his left leg then sprung his body to the right. As his left leg landed a foot behind his right, August then began to twist the grip of his opponent's fist as far to his own right as possible, not caring if he broke a bone or dislocated the shoulder, so long as it kept his opponent's mind struck with sharp pain.

With the twisting arm in place and August's own left arm preparing a defense for a potential reaction from the legs, he began to transfer his weight into his right leg to allow his left leg to be used to finish the fight at last; August began to kick the tip of his left foot as hard and fast as possible into the vulnerable left side of his opponent's body, ending only after resistance ended. August had had enough of the fight; he was too frustrated now; he was going to end his opponent's resistance as best as he could.

OOC: Sorry for misinterpretting your post; I've made the changes that were necessary.

[Shamino Warhen Ph.D]

When his legs had swiftly connected, he was not going to let his wrist idlyt stay in the grasp of a shocked and awed fighter. He had rolled his wrist one eighty, turning his hand to grip August's own wrist, and attempt to gently tug him forward while he was off balance- right on top of Shamino. With Shamino's legs retracting once more from that brutal kick, he would attempt to jerk August towards him, so his chest would land against his loafers. This would allow him to spring board August violently back while he jerked his fist on the opposite direction to wrench it free. The kick wouldn't do anything too damaging as much as it would give the fighters space.

Upon a successful completion of the kick and a jerking free of his wrist, Shamino would calmly get up to his feet, smoothing out his suit and looking at August, who had been at this point fluing back into the turnbuckle where he began. "Well, you're second. So come at me, and all that." Shamino blinked twice, getting his bearings.

[August Velway]

The twist to his opponent's arm never even had a chance to succeed, as he took advantage of the force from the kick against August's forehead, turning his own grasp into Velway's hold, before bringing his legs back to finally kick Velway out of their ground combat, his back springing against the ropes behind him.

His head was in a slight spin from the sole crashing against his skull, and his chest felt the intense pressure from the board kick moments ago, yet beyond that, August was still in fighting condition; he'd probably be damn sore after the fight, but so long as he could keep going, he was mentally satisfied.

Although, without attempting to hold it back, Velway felt a scowl cross his face as he glared back at his opponent. I was so close! I could have ended it right there if his legs didn't stop me! It was truly a sign of just how capable his opponent was in flexibility and resourcefulness, yet it could not stop the man from venting his regret to losing his competitive edge from just a moment ago. Now he was down two hits, and his opponent had simply gone through a work out of movement.

Listening as Warhen spoke out for August to come at him once more, something in his instinctual mindset clicked. Lightly standing back up once more from the reclining position he had been forced in, August cracked his knuckles, holding his scowl and glare strong, before standing two and a half feet in front of his opponent, with the exact same form as before: left arm defending the head, right arm near the chest, left leg in lead and right leg in anchor.

With his stance quickly set, August felt the muscles tighten around his lips as his right fist struck forward, elbow keeping tense as the forearm continued forward, the momentum of the attack aimed at Warhen's left quandrant of defense, and allowing a good deal of the momentus weight transferring from the anchored right leg to enter the attacking arm, and the leading left leg as well.

[Shamino Warhen Ph.D]

With his arms slightly upwards towards the top of his chest, Shamino held a boxer style approach that he had been rarely seen using. He had leaned into the punch that August had swiftly shot forward- and few people would have been able to dodge or stop such a well placed attack. Shamino had to admit, August had a decent amount of fighting talent compared to talent seen from the past and recent present.

But Shamino had not only a reputation to develop, but a careful plan that he had to keep rolling if his stay in San Francisco was to stay a prominent, long lasting one. With his life in Sweden, the corporal punishment system had seemed like a joke to him... He had always been convinced, from his first day enrolled in an American school, that it would develop nothing but second rate brawlers and men on top of each other, pounding their fists into each other's faces mercilessly. Those weren't fights...

But this one is Shamino reminded himself as he flexed his left arm and brought it up so that August's quick jab would slam painfully into Shamino's arm. This would give him added momentum, because August's attention on a decent hit would take away from the fact that Shamino's right hand was coming for a quick strike that would land roughly on August's cheek to jaw. A quick jab was a funny thing during a fight- while they can be anything from annoying to a match ender- a quick jab was always that. Quick, and nearly impossible to dodge due to the incapability to human reflexes. The best one could do is wait for one to come, and try your best to soften the blow- and dish it out twice as hard. With a second blow to the head of August, the fight wouldn't be too far from over.

[Zeniro]

Good show. Shaminho Warhen progresses. August gets a well deserved round of applause.

Finish up as usual.