Round Two: Shamino Vs Dain

[Odin Reeves]

Ring one.

[Shamino Warhen Ph.D]

A quick massage would have his arm in top condition. This time, unflanked by any suits, he would grab the top rope and hop over the top of it with a slightly balanced grace. He'd hop back, placing both feet on the second rope and sitting on the turnbuckle. He tightened his gloves around his fingers and wrists, giving an audiable yawn. The last fight had almost been bothersome, and he was hoping that this one would awake his senses for the finals. He placed a hand to his mouth, attempting to stifle a second yawn and rub his eyes with thumb and forefinger.

So i've fought a newbie... Now the only possible fight next is one by a Varron veteran, or something. They'll try and throw something big or someone ridiculously skilled my way. But since Masahiro didn't make the trip, I highly doubt there's anyone in the building with those credentials...

Shamino hopped off the turnbuckle, looking to his left and right as he mumbled: "We'll see."

[Dain Gavyns]

Like Shamino, Dain had also suffered minimal, if any, injury during his last battle. As Shamino had entered from one end of the gym area, Dain had from the other, albeit a bit more slowly than he had. Thus, as Shamino had casually strode in, looking more or less bored with himself and the tournament as a whole, Dain had, almost as casually, watched his opponent stifle a yawn and hop off the turnbuckle, muttering a barely audible phrase that Dain was just within earshot of.

~"We'll see."~

"Guess we will, eh?" Dain said as he slid under the bottom rope, likely just out of Shamino's immediate view. He looked his opponent up and down as he stood up, noting that he was still, as always, impeccably dressed. Dain, on the other hand, hadn't changed his wardrobe at all from the last fight, still sporting blue track pants and no shirt, with grey athletic tape around his wrists.

He leaned against the ropes, letting them hold up his weight as he rested his arms on the top rope. "Been a while since our last fight, Shamino." Bouncing back into a standing position, Dain stood ready, and said nothing else, waiting for Shamino's reply, whether it be verbal, or physical.

[Shamino Warhen Ph.D]

"Oh yeah." Shamino said, sheepishly and truthfully. "We've fought before, haven't we?" He pivoted on his foot to face Dain, while Shamino stayed in his corner, close to the turnbuckle. "I can't quite recall the exact details, but I know for certain..." Shamino said as his left foot drew a visible half circle motion in front of him. "You lost." Shamino nodded firmly.

Okay... Its Dain. I knew my big competition theory was right. From what I can recall, he's a big softie and goodie with decent fighting capabilities... But I don't know how he's progressed in the past months. Shamino thought as his foot completed the half circle, and his hands came up to his chest in a loose fist fashion. But I do know I haven't been getting any better. He thought truthfully. Twenty two, and his skill had gone from exponential growth to a parallel line with the x axis. Raise my fighting spirits, good guy

"So with that in mind, and hopefully with your memory far greater than mine... C'mere and try and fix your mistake." Shamino's left fist became a palm for only a moment before slowly curling back inwards twice, then going back to a fist.

[Dain Gavyns]

Shamino turned and spoke a few words to Dain, reminding him of just exactly what had happened the last time they had fought. One thing was correct: Dain's memory was a little sharper than his opponent's on what had transpired the last time around...

A sneak attack, albeit a clever and legal one, after a declaration of a final pass. Dain vividly remembered that day, the dust on his body from the constant falls, the gash through his abdomen that had since healed, and, somewhat fuzzily, the foot that came out of nowhere and struck his chin, sending him down and for the count. As he faded out of consciousness that day, he clearly remembered Shamino's quiet, almost off-handed compliment.

"Good fight, kid."

Dain's eyes narrowed slightly as Shamino beckoned him forth with his fingers, telling him to fix his last mistakes. He had neither planned nor expected to meet up with Shamino ever again, considering the circles they ran circuited far away from each other, but here, and now, Dain realized he'd been given a chance: The perfect shot for a rematch against the first person to ever truly outclass him in a fight thus far.

Let's do this.

Assuming his go-to stance, right hand up near his face, left hand at waist-height and about a foot away from his body. His hands were forming half-fists in the same fashion as Shamino, ready to close or open as the need suggested, and his body was tilted away from Shamino's at a forty-five degree angle away from parallel.

There was little ground to cover between the two fighters, and Dain covered it quickly. He stepped forward with his left foot, quickly following up with his right directly behind, and, as his left foot landed upon the mat, his left hand balled into a fist as it uppercutted toward Shamino's midsection in a body blow. The strike was fast and accurate, if not a bit simple. Hopefully, Dain could use it to either draw out Shamino's defenses or create an opening in the near future.

[Shamino Warhen Ph.D]

Close to over before the bell even rings...


Shamino stepped forward slightly as Dain's his left foot landed on the mat. A good idea to do when an opponent has hands close to the chest is to work the legs, or strain the hands with one attack and focus your intent truly on another. Instead Dain had gone for a direct approach with great force to probably the most well defended part of Shamino's body. This would prove disasterous for the fighter because Shamino's stepping forward would follow with Shamino's right hand pushing downwards. The right hand would catch quickly with Dain's fist and push it directly to Dain's left, turning him slightly while Shamino's (dominant) left hand would launch a direct punch to Dain's nose.

Dain's fist would be traveling off to the side, over Dain's other arm as to eliminate a possibility of an upper cut counter or some sort of hand catch to Shamino's own left hand. Dain was also close enough to remove most margain of error, so the chances of Shamino breaking Dain's nose within seconds of the fight were very high. And I had such high hopes...

[Dain Gavyns]

Dain's punch was blocked, as expected. After all, he was throwing an attack directly into the most guarded area of Shamino's body. The typical block-and-counter followed, as Shamino's right hand shot downwards, grasping the attacking hand and shoving it off to Dain's side, following up with the grace and quickness that only Shamino could pull of with a direct punch towards the bridge of Dain's nose. If connected, it would be a painful blow, likely ending the match then and there with a broken nose. Unfortunately for Shamino, he was, as well, attacking into an area that was already being defended by Dain.

When Shamino pushed Dain's fist off to the left, Dain turned as well, adding to the momentum that Shamino had given him with the forceful shove of the arm. With that, his right hand, still waiting up by his face, didn't need any other movement at all. The hand crossed the path of the punch before it could strike home, as Dain's hand opened slightly to palm the affronting fist away. As soon as the blow was no longer able to strike Dain's face, he continued with the motion of his right arm, cocking it at the elbow and swinging hard across Shamino's own face with his elbow, where, if it would connect, the bony end would smash across the bridge of Shamino's nose, breaking it in a similar fashion as he'd intended to do to Dain. Unless Shamino could work magic with his hands, they'd simply be too tied up blocking and attacking to do much to stop the attack.

Dain would not let up, either. As he swung his right elbow to the left for his initial attack, Dain's right foot would also swing up, coming up quickly afterwards in conjunction with the rest of his body. His right foot would smash downwards at an angle, using the close proximity to his opponent, not to mention the messy entanglement of arms, to obscure his vision somewhat to the fact that his heel would be smashing down hard into the top of Shamino's foot, right where it met the ankle, with intent on breaking or dislocating the bones there, as well.

[Shamino Warhen Ph.D]

Hand near the head, an awkward style, but effective against me... I don't forget that.

That was his next thought as both his elbows flexed forward and extended, pushing Dain back a few inches that was aided heavily by adrenaline and a need. His head also cocked dangerously back when he saw Dain's intention with the elbow. Before Dain could keep up the offensive he'd find as Dain flew to his left a right knee by Shamino violently shoving its self against his ribs once, and then very quickly twice, before Shamino's foot could even touch the floor again. This would also make Dain's attempt to smash at his foot null and void, as Shamino's knee would cancel out Dain's in its quickness and its force. With both his hands in the hands of Dain, he would take the opportunity of Dain's undefended stomach being hit to quickly jerk his expanding arms back, out of the grasp of Dain, and his fists quickly becoming palms to push Dain unsteadily to the center of the ring. All of which was an act of calculated desperation.

[Dain Gavyns]

His initial attack dodged, if only just barely, and a knee coming up hard to his midsection, Dain quickly abandoned the idea of stamping on Shamino's ankle, working in a manner similar to Shamino, calculated desperation. With few options available to him, and fewer still that contained any sort of grace or technique, Dain simply stopped swing of his leg, aborting the stamp and stepping back onto solid ground to prepare himself.

Dain could feel the shift in weight at such close quarters, saw his opponent dip slightly to compensate for the sudden change in balance, and heard the rustle of pants legs, and could assume what was coming. With the distance between them, though, Dain had precious little time to react accordingly, and could only plan for what would happen after, which would, hopefully, secure the match for him.

Dain wasn't much taller than Shamino, only about four inches or so, but that bit of height came in handy at this point in time. Shamino would not be able to directly knee Dain in the ribs, especially from this close of proximity, without first bending Dain over. Thus, the attack would hit instead somewhat high upon his abdomen. With this in mind, Dain tensed his abdominal muscles as tightly as possibleand grit his teeth, exhaling quickly as the knee struck to avoid getting the wind knocked out of him.

The second knee strike would not come, however, for as soon as the knee had struck, Dain's left hand flew into motion again, pulling free of the grip Shamino had upon with with a flourish of his wrist and instead grabbing the top of Shamino's right wrist in a tight grasp with his left hand and pulling both of their arms underneath the crook of Shamino's raised knee, holding it tight against his stomach. At this point, Shamino was essentially helping to hold his own knee against Dain's stomach, keeping it from any further attacks and neutralizing just a small bit of force of the attack.

Dain grit his teeth as the knee came in, but held it tight, regardless. It hurt, no doubt, but it had missed the ribs and thus, any major damage. Plus, now, Shamino's entire right side was held against its will, with his arm held firm in Dain's hand and his leg held tight by his arm. Dain still had his formerly elbowing right arm free, hanging over Shamino's right shoulder. Thus, Dain jerked himself back a little to his left, using his grip on Shamino's body to pull the lighter man forward as well, tucked his chin in a bit, and swung his right elbow back again, this time in a straight instead of swinging motion, the target being Shamino's right temple.

Dain may not have been as fast overall as Shamino, but if there was one thing Dain specialized in speed in, it was his punching and arm striking speed. With one arm caught in a grasp, the other arm too low and improperly positioned to even attempt a block, and the distance between elbow and temple too short to attempt a convoluted dodge and counter, not to mention that Shamino only had one leg to stand upon, the likelihood of not taking a direct, knockout blow to the temple was very low.

Regardless, Dain would keep his tight hold upon Shamino's arm and leg until he was certain his opponent had fallen unconscious, knowing Shamino too well, even if mostly by reputation, to count him out until one knew for certain the battle was over.

[Shamino Warhen Ph.D]

Dain's assumption was that Shamino was, indeed, a fucking rag doll, and that Shamino's gift to Dain to see what he would do was, in fact, his hands. Shamino was not a stump, he was not an idiot and, when Dain magically had been able to assume with split thought reflexes that a knee strike was in order, Shamino abandoned the thought and while he had, in fact, extended his elbows for a reason, Dain's movement of hands would allow Shamino to jerk his hands violently back- in a very non professional, non sophisticated manner. Like a father shaking his baby's body, he quickly retreated his hands.


Does this idiot think he's the mother fucking Houdini? He thought as Dain's hands moved, Shamino violently broke free, and his head was sent forwards to crash violently where ever. It was aimed essentially, since it was oh so close, at Dain's head. With Shamino's left arm hooking around straight out of Dain's vision to quickly wrap around and grip the bits of hair that adorned Dain's head. With this, Shamino would throw Dain's head forward and into Shamino's skull once more.

Shamino had rarely been angry during a tournament, but this was certainly one of those times. Shamino's right leg surged both fighters forward slightly, before he felt it buckle. Dain's fancy pants trick of manuvering his hands like some sort of mannequin had riled him greatly, and his violent shake and, at the same time, a head butt, would hopefully put Dain, who thought of Shamino as a far more sophisticated fighter, slightly off balance. Because when his leg buckled, Shamino's left arm would surge to the right(Still briefly holding Dain's hair) as his right arm pushed Dain's right knee forward, in on its self.

This would cause a migrane enduced Dain to stumble forward slightly- except slightly would be face first into the turnbuckle.

[Shamino Warhen Ph.D]

(Take your time.)

Didn't think it'd be 12 hours late, though... )

[Dain Gavyns]

(Yeah, how 'bout that? Damn real life screwing up my tournament. Apologies for all involved.)

Well he seems pissed. The obvious statement, thought in a rather deadpan tone in Dain's mind, was most likely the first fully conscious thought the young man had made in the fight, period. Shamino had, without any warning or grace, jerked his hands back, away from Dain. The anger was evident on his face, that Dain had, somehow, someway, really pissed Shamino off. Even with his mind clearing for a normal thought, however, Dain's eyes and senses were alert for the next thing to happen. Fearing the worst out of a pissed-off Shamino, Dain took a half-step back, deciding that, at best, the two simply backed off each other and began fresh, at worst, he'd be a little better off to escape whatever Shamino had planned for him next.

And then Shamino's head came flying out at him.

Finding himself with a lack of options and an even bigger lack of time, Dain simply reacted like anyone would do in the situation: Both hands came up and pushed at Shamino's body, fumbling to create more space between the two fighters. Dain leaned back as well, the top of Shamino's head slowing much to close to his nose for comfort. Dain's right hand dropped, and his left hand followed through with the push, and whether it pushed Shamino back or helped push Dain back, it got that much-needed separation, but only for the moment. Dain winced as he found the back of his head being gripped tightly and painfully at the hair.

In his desperation to stop the headbutt, a move Dain wouldn't have suspected at all, (Note to self, expect the unexpected with that guy, he'd think to himself later) Dain hadn't seen or even noticed the left hand snaking around his head until it was too late. As such, he was thrown off guard once more when he pulled forward, trying to pull of another headbutt, this time by bashing Dain's head into his own skull.

One last chance was the thought that flashed through Dain's mind with rapid speed. His left hand, at Shamino's right shoulder area, slid across to the young businessman's throat as he pushed with it, attempting to keep separation while depriving his opponent of air simultaneously. Dain, also not a rag doll, tried to pull his head back as Shamino pulled it forward, slowing the speed, though not considerably. It gave him just enough time, however, to throw a hooking right uppercut aimed towards Shamino's jaw.

It was a fairly inaccurate punch, as Shamino's face was still angled down, making a direct blow to the jaw difficult to obtain. The angle of the punch, however, dictated that, at this range, unless Shamino abandoned the headbutt and retracted his arm, that something, whether teeth, his nose, or something else, could be broken once the fist connected. All the while, though, Dain's left fingers would tighten around Shamino's throat, closing off the oxygen flow to the brain and hopefully clouding his judgment in dealing with the punch.

[Shamino Warhen Ph.D]

THE THROAT?!

Shamino's eyes widened and went bloodshot as his right arm moved up in a professional manner to slam the bottom portion of his right palm against Dain's elbow, cracking it upwards in a direction not natural to the elbow. With this motion he would also bend his palm back towards himself, bending his arm up for a quick shot to the chin of Dain- not enough to be lethal, but enough to leave a considerable mark on Dain's chin and accomplish Dain's objective: Distance. A hit like that combined with no arm grabbing Shamino would send Dain back a few feet to the center of the ring, perhaps to the floor depending on the ferocity or how Dain took the action.

Upon completion of space, Shamino would roughly grip his jacket and push it downwards on his body, spitting to the side, out of the ring. "God DAMN."

[Odin Reeves]

[I'm going to make this known to all competitors rather then PM'ing Shamino, but if anyone leaves the ring then they are forfeiting. Whether this is his intention or not I don't know, but I'm making this known before Dain replies.]

[Director Troutman]

reeves said:

[I'm going to make this known to all competitors rather then PM'ing Shamino, but if anyone leaves the ring then they are forfeiting. Whether this is his intention or not I don't know, but I'm making this known before Dain replies.]

Nothing was stated to the character leaving the ring. I see where misinterpretation can be made, but nothing was hinted to it. Shamino merely spat out of the ring.

[Dain Gavyns]

Shamino reacted quickly to Dain's choke, his eyes going wide as he swung upwards with his free hand, striking Dain's outstretched arm right at the elbow. Dain felt the sudden sharp pain of his elbow being hit, and instinctively did the only thing reasonable in the situation. He released his grip on Shamino's throat, moving his thumb back over to his other fingers as his hand was knocked high over Shamino's right shoulder. The arm would quickly wheel back over Dain's head and come back down at his side, as quickly as possible, yet still to slow to react to any followup attacks Shamino would make.

As he had made no effort whatsoever to deflect, dodge, or do anything to Dain's aforementioned punch, the fist would sail upwards, and since Shamino had seemingly lifted his head in order to deal with the choke, the uppercut would catch him full on the jaw. The strength put behind it would straighten Shamino out and lean him over backwards, but not before Shamino, also attacking, would send an elbow strike toward Dain's own chin, though notably with a bit less force behind it. As it hit, Dain lifted his own chin, his head snapping back from the shot, stepping back in pain as he tried to regain his balance from the sudden-ness of the shot.

Dain would step back getting some distance from the lethal other fighter as he cracked his knuckles and eyed Shamino warily, ready for any followup.

[Shamino Warhen Ph.D]

Shamino's snap elbow originally wouldn't have required it, but Shamino leaned his body to the left slightly in order to capitalize on the elbow. In doing this, Dain's fist slammed into and then quickly slid along the hawk like bones of Shamino's lower jaw. His tooth bit into the side of his cheek, instantly drawing blood. But he ignored it for the satisfying pain of his elbow having connected briefly and briskly with Dain's chin. Shamino fell back against the turnbuckle, both arms swinging out, albeit in an accidental casual way, to land himself against the top ropes. His arms kept him suspended a moment before he stood up on his own accord, shaking his head and spitting once more off to the side- blood. Dain had, indeed, drawn blood.

"God damn." Shamino whispered. "Gawd damn."

Silently, and for the two advanced fighters, albeit slowly, Shamino walked up, arms pointed downwards at the ground, before they were raised up slightly, his left foot rising up from the ground to show Shamino's flexibility in a swift, rapid kick that was aimed directly at Dain's right shoulder. His other foot stayed planted solidly on the ground, facing Shamino's exact right.

[Zeniro]

Good exchange of blows, I would have liked to have seen more from this bout to get a good idea of a clear winner. Or to see one man truly dominate the fight. A tough call, but I'm going with Shamino.