Valhalla: Warrior's Paradise - Part 2

OOC: Part one available here

Part 2 - A Friendly Fight

Tatsuya woke up at day break and gingerly got out of bed without waking Sumiko. He quietly walked over to the bathroom and quickly washed his face with cold water, rinsing off the sleep from his face. Once he finished he went over to the far end of the bedroom and performed his morning routine. One hundred push ups and one hundred sit ups. Just enough to wake up his sleeping muscles. As he finished the last of his routine, Sumiko was watching him through drowsy eyes and nappy hair. "Good morning." She brushed her hair from her face and let out a yawn. "Morning." Tatsuya got up from the ground and went to sit down on the bed next to Sumiko. He briefly rubbed his right shin with his right hand and grimaced slightly at the pain. It was still a bit sore from his previous match, but not as bad as the day before. "Is it still bothering you?" Sumiko straightened up on the bed as she watched Tatsuya rub his shin. "Yeah, but I've been through worse. A little bruise here and there is nothing like being stabbed and clawed." He turned and smirked at Sumiko. "I should be alright as long as the next guy doesn't continuously aims for it." He eased out of bed and went to his luggage. "You want to shower first, or should I?" He turned to Sumiko as he pulled out a polo shirt and jeans, only she was already heading towards the bathroom. "Heh. Guess that answers that." He lay his clothes on a chair and waited his turn.

Once they both finished getting clean and dressed, they left their room and headed toward the dining hall. None of the other guests seemed to be late sleepers either, they noticed as they walked into the dining hall. There was a buffet style breakfast at the other end with a line of guests picking at the food they wanted. They fell in line behind the last person and steadily moved through the buffet. There was a wide variety of food to choose from. Everyone was bound to find something to fit their taste. Just as Sumiko was reaching into the buffet, she was abruptly forced to the side by a man. "Hey!" Sumiko shouted as she was pushed causing everyone to glance in their direction. He was about 6'6" tall, had black eyes and swept back black hair that pointed out from the back of his head. He had some scars on his face which added to his menacing expression. "HEY!" Tatsuya dropped his plate on the table and stepped around Sumiko. "You need to watch where the hell you are going." Tatsuya yelled at the man, who barely turned his head and let out a low growl of annoyance before turning his back to Tatsuya. "Don't you walk..." "Comin' thru." A man stepped in and pushed Tatsuya hand out of the way as he tried to grab the disrespectful man. The interrupting man grabbed a piece of toast and stuck it into his mouth before turning and stepping in front of Tatsuya again, keeping him from chasing after the man. The man acted as if he didn't know what was taking place and looked back and forth at the two men with a confused look on his face. "Di I miff sumtin?" He asked with the toast still in his mouth. "Gio..Out of my way." Tatsuya said when he finally looked at the other man who interrupted him.

"Buongiorno, Ms. Olivia." Gio greeted her after removing the bread from his mouth. "Good morning, Mr. Gabrieli." She smiled and turned her gaze to Tatsuya. "Everything alright Mr. Okibi?" She turned to where his gaze pointed. "Fine." Tatsuya said in contempt when she turned back to him and turned back to Sumiko. "Are you okay?" He rubbed her shoulders. "I'll be okay. He just caught me by surprise." She shrugged off Tatsuya's hands and turned back to the table to pick out the food she had originally wanted before getting shoved. "Well, everything seems to be in order here. You all enjoy your meal." Olivia said before grabbing a few things from the table and walking away. Gio was helping himself to the buffet, adding to his plate anything that would fit. Giovanni Gabrieli, one of the... more friendly combatants at the tournament; around 6'2" tall with scruffy black hair and dark brown eyes and a small patch of facial hair just under his chin. He had a generally pleasant attitude and was the only fighter to approach Tatsuya. "You are welcome." Gio said before turning his head from the table to Tatsuya with a look that said he knew exactly what he was doing. "I could have beat him, Gio." Tatsuya said to him with the name he liked to be called. "Aye, ya prolly coulda, if da guards didn't step in." Gio replied in a friendly tone and turned to walk away from the buffet. Tatsuya quickly realized what he meant and grabbed his plate to follow Gio to a table, with Sumiko following closely.

Spoiler:

"Thanks for stopping me, Gio." Tatsuya finally said when they reached the table. "Nah, don worry bout it." He said as he sat down. "Personally I think he likes ya. Does da same thing all da time to fighters who 'stick out.' Always tries to get'em thrown out." He said as he looked over to his table. "It sounds more like he's scared." Tatsuya replied as he cut into a slice of ham on his plate. "Now don' go thinking that. Others thought that 'n' it didn't turn out so well. Maksimilian Pavlovski is a certified killer." Gio said while shaking his fork at Tatsuya. "Guy was former Spetsnaz. Rumor has it he was kicked out after his commanding officer was found dead. They didn't get long well 'n' figured he killed da poor bastard, but couldn't prove it. He was ready on thin ice for other crap, so they cut'em loose." Gio generously shared the information while he ate. "If someone ever managed ta get close to the bastard, I'm sure they could pull da stick out his ass and he'd be a decent guy." He said causing Sumiko to choke when she took a sip from her orange juice. "I'm sorry, Sumiko." Gio apologized, but not without laughing at her predicament. "You alright?" Tatsuya said as he rubbed her back. "I'm fine." She stated trying to catch her breath and with watery eyes.

Spoiler:

"Oh my." She said once her breathing returned to normal. "Not exactly a nice thing to say." She pointed out Gio's statement about Maksimilian. "Aye, prolly not, but it's true. He cares only for da money he's paid with. 'N' even then, it won't save ya if someone else pays more." Gio replied before scarfing down some eggs. "A greedy mercenary, that's a surprise." Tatsuya sarcastically stated after biting into his toast. "I wouldn't get to worried about him right now. You'd best be worried bout your next opponent." Gio mischievously smiled at Tatsuya. "I'm not worried. I hear he's a real pansy." Tatsuya chuckled. "Hey hey hey. Don' be gettin head of ya'self. We don' wan'cha gettin cocky only to be lookin up at me from da floor." Gio stated in friendly banter. "No need to worry about me getting cocky. I came to fight and no one is going to surprise me because I take them lightly." Tatsuya said in a playful seriousness. "Aye, that's good. Your fight with da french man certainly proved that. Not very often he gets beat. In da first round no less. I can name da few fighters to beat him and da ones you really need to watch. Maksimilian is one of them, Jyu Jik Chuyhn the second, and me. At least those are the one's that beat him that showed up this time." He smiled as he mentioned himself. Tatsuya thought for a second when he heard the second name. He remembered watching his fight during the first round of the tournament. A chinese man about 6'0" tall, with black matted hair, black eyes and a fu manchu on his face. He used mixed martial arts in the fight and had a lot of power in his attacks. His opponent was down and out in less then a minute.

Spoiler:

"Well first on my agenda is to get past this next round. Then I'll worry about the other two." Tatsuya said as he took another bite. "Good luck my friend. So long as I'm first on your mind. No need to get head of ya'self" He replied in good humor. "No need to worry about me getting ahead of myself, Gio." Tatsuya stated with a smile. "That's what I want to hear. I don' wantcha holding back either." He said before taking a mouthful from his plate. "Tch. If it's one thing I don't do, is hold back when I fight. And I expect the same from you." Tatsuya said before drinking from his glass. "Ya will only be gettin hundred percent from me." He smile at Tatsuya. The rest of the breakfast was pretty much the same. A little friendly banter back and forth between bites of food. Once they finished and rested a relaxed a bit Tatsuya and Sumiko excused themselves from the table. "I'll meetcha at da gym 'n' a bit, ay Tatsuya." He called out as Tatsuya and Sumiko walked away. Tatsuya didn't answer him out loud, but instead waved at him without turning around as they left.

Both made it to their room and Tatsuya went straight for the luggage. "When is your match up?" Sumiko asked as she took a seat next to the window. "Second match, right after Max's. So I don't have much free time before I have to head over to the gym and get warmed up." Tatsuya replied as he sorted through his clothes. "But you'll have me all to yourself afterwards. Though maybe a little black and blue in some places." He turned to smile at Sumiko after pulling out a pair of red fight shorts and plain white t-shirt. "Oh great. So I get the leftovers." She crossed her arms and pouted when Tatsuya smiled at her. Tatsuya gave her a questioning look for a second before Sumiko started to giggle, unable to hold the look. "Well I guess your right." He walked over to her and quickly picked her up, causing her to yelp in surprise. "It's no fair when you only get leftovers." He gently placed her on the bed and passionately kissed her before she had a chance to object.

Tatsuya walked out of the room and quietly closed the door behind him as Sumiko lay asleep underneath the bed covers. He walked through the mansion dressed in the red shorts and white t-shirt he had retrieved earlier. He carried his fight gloves and a roll of fighter's tape for his ankles as he made his way to the gym. No one paid any real attention to him as he walked into the gym. A quick glance at the new figure walking in was all the others did. "Damn, bout time you show up. I was bout ta send a search party for ya." Gio walked up to Tatsuya from the side and patted him on the back. "Come on, I need a spot." He said, making his way to an open bench. "You wanna put an extra fifty on that side for me." He said as he picked up a fifty pound weight from the other. "Sure thing." Tatsuya said as he grabbed for a fifty pound weight and placed it on the bar. Gio laid back on the bench and did ten reps before switching out with Tatsuya. After a few sets, they moved on to a heavy bag, and then from there they would switch between arm pads.

After a while, a voice over the intercom announced that the matches would be beginning shortly and all fighters and guests wishing to view the fight were required to head over to the arena. Tatsuya and the other fighters in the gym began taping themselves up if they used any, while others who might have already been prepped made their way over to the arena. Tatsuya and Gio made there way once they had finished, and took their seats next to the arena cage door. Once it looked like everyone had arrived and taken their seat the first two fighters of the day were called in. Maksimilian walked into the cage with gloves and a off white pair of fight pants with flames on the legs. There was no mistaking that he had seen battles. His body had many scars on it, big, long scars. It looked like he might have taken on a hungry lion barehanded. The other man, Jamaican, by the looks of it, wore green and yellow fight pants. The fight bell was quick to sound off. Max took up a loose fighting stance while the Brazilian started his Capoeira with the basic ginga. That ginga quickly turned into a flurry of flips, kicks, and other flashy show off moves that only annoyed Max, but had the crowd cheering. The Brazilian cart wheeled towards Max, probably thinking he would be distracted by the flashiness of his moves. Max on the other hand jumped forward and planted one hard punch into the Brazilian's face, dropping him down to the ground, unconscious, and without breaking a sweat.

"And that is way you don't show off." Gio said after he finished laughing. The referee quickly went over to the downed combatant and just as quickly determined that the match was over. The referee walked over to Max, and claimed him the winner of the match. When he tried to raise up Max's arm, Max jerked it from the referee's grasp and gave him a evil scowl. He looked around the arena, searching. He stopped when he spotted Tatsuya and locked eyes with him, with that same scowl he used on the referee. Tatsuya merely looked back at Max, with a cold stare and leaned back crossing his arms. "See. It's amore." Gio said keeping his eye on Max as he walked out of the cage. "Amore?" Tatsuya asked not knowing what it meant. "Love. I told ya earlier that he loved ya." He said chuckling. "Please. He's just scared." Tatsuya reminded him of what he earlier said. "I warned ya not to think that way." Gio replied before getting up from his seat. "Come on, we're next." Gio patted Tatsuya's shoulder as he made his was to the gate. Tatsuya slowly got up and made his way to the gate. when he got there, there were men helping the Brazilian out after they used smelling salt to wake him up. Once he was escorted out Gio walked in first followed closely by Tatsuya. The speakers in the cave came on when the gate was closed behind Tatsuya. "In our next match we have Giovanni Gabrieli, a favorite for most, and Tatsuya Okibi. The newcomer who surprised us with his size as well as his skill." A voice introduced the two fighters in the cage.

Tatsuya and Gio were warming up, throwing a few light punches and kicks as the voice announced. "Gentlemen. When your ready." The voice said, indicating they could fight. Tatsuya and Gio walked towards each other and shook hands. "Good luck." Gio said with a smug grin. "Same to you." Tatsuya replied with a similar grin. Tatsuya stood with his arms hanging on his sides in a south paw stance. Gio only let his right arm hang, keeping his left arm up, also in a south paw stance. Tatsuya jerked forward snapping his right arm low in a fake attack making Gio flinch. Both smirked and Gio did the same with his left hand, but it didn't have the same effect as it did on him. Gio held his smirk as he turned his face the other way before quickly attacking with a right back hand. Tatsuya guarded with his left across his face and waited a split second before countering with a right back hand of his own. Gio quickly blocked and countered in the same fashion as Tatsuya. They circled each other until they were just past 180 degrees from where the other stood previously.

Tatsuya snapped his right knee up and Gio quickly lifted his to block, but both put their legs back on the ground at the same time. A couple of seconds passed before Tatsuya kicked at Gio's right leg with his own. Gio swung his leg back and quickly countered before Tatsuya could put his leg down, kicking at Tatsuya's midsection, blocked by Tatsuya's right leg, and then head, which Tatsuya blocked with his left arm. Gio continued with a right backhand to Tatsuya's face. Tatsuya blocked the backhand with his right arm and swung it out of the way with his left hand before punching at Gio's face. Gio swung his left arm and deflected Tatsuya's punch, and threw a wide and powerful right backhand. Tatsuya ducked under the backhand and swung a wide right. Gio blocked the swing with his left arm and swayed to his right as Tatsuya followed up with a left uppercut. Gio returned with a strong left elbow, blocked by Tatsuya's right arm. Tatsuya quickly countered with a left punch Gio's left bicep and then a right hook to his face. Gio ducked under the hook and quickly turned to his left, bringing around his left leg at Tatsuya's head, who only swayed his head back to avoid the hit.

Gio grinned and took a couple of small steps to his right before feigning forward and moving back half a step before shooting forward with a right jab. The punch barely missed Tatsuya as he stepped back and dodged to the left then to the right as Gio continued with a left cross. Gio followed with a right hook which Tatsuya ducked under and countered with a left cross and then a wide right. Gio swayed and ducked under the punches and blocked with his left arm, an elbow from Tatsuya's left. Gio grabbed the arm and took Tatsuya around in a bent position as he held the arm straight out before kneeing Tatsuya with his right leg. Tatsuya blocked the knee with his right arm and quickly turned back throwing his right elbow at Gio's head. Gio blocked the attack while still holding on to Tatsuya's left arm. Tatsuya reversed and twisted Gio into a bent position as he then locked his left arm. Gio blocked Tatsuya's attacking right knee with an open palm strike and then punched at Tatsuya's right quadriceps. Tatsuya's gripped loosened and Gio dashed forward trying to get around Tatsuya and into a choke hold from under his right arm. Tatsuya's big frame saved him from that predicament as he grabbed Gio's left hand and then raised his right arm, dropping it and breaking the grip. Tatsuya threw his right elbow back while still holding onto Gio's left hand and managed to land a clean hit to his head. Tatsuya tried to flip him to the ground, but Gio quickly recovered and cart wheeled back to his feet and getting out of Tatsuya's hold.

Both grinned at each other as they took a slight breather, before walking towards each other. Tatsuya threw a quick double left round kick to Gio's gut then to his head. Gio was able to block the two hits, and quickly turned to his right, dropping to the ground and trying to sweep Tatsuya's legs with his right. Tatsuya jumped into the as he had tried to connect with a back heel kick before Gio dropped to the ground. Gio got to his feet as Tatsuya landed and quickly threw a left round house at Tatsuya's head. Tatsuya blocked the kick with his right arm and then ducked as Gio turned back around with a left crescent kick. Tatsuya leaned back as Gio finished off with a butterfly kick. Once again they stopped only momentarily, setting themselves back up. Tatsuya attacked with a low right round kick, connecting with Gio's side, just graving his block. Gio threw a right punch into Tatsuya's gut which made contact just like Tatsuya's kick, slowing down with a grazing block. Gio came across with a wide left and got blocked by Tatsuya, who then turned to his right and came around with a right elbow, pushing Gio back when he blocked.

Tatsuya turned back to his left and charged forward leading with a left punch and jumping into a right elbow. Gio blocked and then ducked a reverse right heel kick from Tatsuya, coming up with a wide right at Tatsuya. Tatsuya blocked and then both locked shoulders and turned each other around. Tatsuya was able to land a right knee into Gio's left side before Gio hooked Tatsuya's leg fell down to the ground. Gio was able to lock Tatsuya's arm, keeping him pinned with a leg across his neck and over his right leg. Gio tried hyper extending Tatsuya's arm, but Tatsuya fought back. A couple of seconds of stalemate quickly ended when Tatsuya brought his left leg across and planted a kick to Gio's head. Gio rolled to the side and both of them pushed off the ground and flipped to their feet. Gio stepped back and forth before moving closer. Gio dashed forward only to be stopped by right thrust kick from Tatsuya and then sent back with another thrust kick from Tatsuya's left leg. Tatsuya quickly shuffled forward and jumped into the air launching a double round kick to Gio's mid section with his right leg, and to his head with his left. Gio blocked both kicks and countered with a connecting right hook to Tatsuya's face and then kicking him away with a thrust kick.

Gio continued forward and jumped into a butterfly kick, landing his right heel against Tatsuya's chin, forcing him to one knee. Gio didn't capitalize on the hit, instead allowing Tatsuya to shake it off and get back to his feet. Tatsuya recovered fairly quickly and approached Gio. Both wound up in roughly the same stance as the started the match, only reversed. Tatsuya jerked forward making Gio flinch once again. Tatsuya went forward kicking low and drawing out Gio's guard and coming across with a right backhand right against Gio's face and forcing him back. Tatsuya performed the same moves and landed another backhand against Gio's face. Gio shook it off and squared off with Tatsuya once more. Tatsuya swung his right leg forward and kicked at Gio's blocking right leg. Then snapping the same leg up, he kicked out across Gio's face, intentionally missing and drawing his guard away to plant the same leg square into his chest and then against his face.

Tatsuya quickly closed the distance between them as Gio stumbled away. Gio recovered and kicked at Tatsuya's lead leg, which was raised to block. As soon as Gio's leg hit the ground it quickly shot back up towards Tatsuya's face. Tatsuya blocked the kick with his arm and kicked away Gio's follow up kick. Gio tried to come back with another kick, but had his standing leg kicked out from under him, sending him to the ground. Gio was getting winded already. It took him a few seconds to get up and he looked a little dazed as he looked at Tatsuya. Gio shook it off and tried to attack Tatsuya, but was forced to sway back when Tatsuya quickly did a reverse right heel kick. Gio got back to where he was and tried to attack once again, but was thrown off when Tatsuya swung around to his right, lifting his right leg. Tatsuya didn't try to strike Gio this time instead faking hm out. Gio threw a front kick once he thought Tatsuya was done, but was quickly floored when Tatsuya hit him with another reverse heel kick. Gio got to his feet, but was dazed and dizzy as he stumbled back and forth.

Tatsuya didn't attack. He allowed Gio to get his bearings as they circled each other. Tatsuya slowly closed the gap between them and raised his arms. He threw a low left jab which was deflected by Gio, but quickly came around with a left hook, connecting with Gio's cheek and dazing him further. Tatsuya continued his attack with a round house to Gio's gut. Though dazed, Gio tried to punch Tatsuya, but failed when Tatsuya quickly countered with a punch square in the face and then a wide left punch. Gio tried to throw a wide left, but Tatsuya quickly threw a powerful right uppercut into his chin. Tatsuya followed thru, turning around and lifting his left leg and dropping it on Gio's left shoulder. Gio grabbed hold of Tatsuya's leg in an attempt to drop him to the ground, but Tatsuya jumped into the air and twisted, bringing his right leg over and putting it on Gio's other shoulder. Tatsuya was in between Gio's legs as he flipped him over. They quickly rolled on the ground until Tatsuya made it on top of Gio and pinned him to the ground while locking his leg.

The referee quickly ran over to the combatants as Tatsuya took hold of Gio's leg. "You had better tap out." Tatsuya said to Gio as he applied pressure to his locked leg. Gio grunted in pain and tried desperately to get out of the lock to no avail. Once he realized he was trapped, he tapped Tatsuya's leg. The referee quickly called for the bell and got Tatsuya off Gio. "Winner by tap out, Tatsuya Okibi." The referee announced. Tatsuya turned to Gio, who was still on the floor, and offered his hand to help him up. Once Gio was up, Tatsuya gave him a pat on the back. "Come on, lets get some ice on that knee." Tatsuya chuckled as he helped Gio out of the cage. "Ya got lucky, ya know that." Gio said in a friendly jab at Tatsuya. "I'm sure your right. We can have a best two out of three after the tournament if you want." Tatsuya responded with a laugh. "Please, you couldn't take me next time." Gio bellowed conceitedly. "We'll just have to see about that. Now come on. I don't want to have to carry your sorry ass." Tatsuya replied with a laugh. "Just cause ya beat me once, doesn't mean ya can look down on me." Gio said in mock annoyance. "Me? Look down on you? Never." Tatsuya stated with playful sarcasm as they walked out of the cave.