Valhalla: Warrior's Paradise - Part 3

OOC: Part one & Part Two

Part 3 - The Last Day

"One..." The referee started the ten count as Tatsuya laid on the ground breathing heavily. "Two..." His right knee was injured, hyper extended and twisted by his opponent. "Three..." His face was heavily cut and bruised from the punishment he took. "Four..." He rolled over on to his stomach and looked in front of him seeing only a blur of the crowd. "Five..." His vision started to return to normal as he looked through the crowd, still on his stomach. "Six..." He saw someone. Someone familiar. "Sumiko." He thought out her name to himself as he looked at her face. It was full of worry and sadness, yet at the same time, something else. "Seven..." He continued looking at her and she looking right back at him, clutching her dress by her leg. Her mouth was moving, two syllables. Tatsuya tried to hear what she was saying, but the crowd's cheers drowned her out. "...Up!" Her voice starting to carry over the others as she jumped out of her seat, repeating herself. "GET UP, TATSUYA!!" She screamed out as loud as she could, finally reaching Tatsuya's ears.

-Earlier-

"Come on, that all ya got?" Gio asked in a playful jab as he held the pads for Tatsuya. Tatsuya took a moment and stopped attacking the pads. "Hey, it's only supposed to be a light workout. I got to conserve myself so if I make it to the last round I still have energy." He said before lightly attacking the pads. "Doesn' mean ya gotta hit like a lil' girl." He said as Tatsuya continued his assault. Tatsuya quickly jumped into the air and threw a powerful right roundhouse. "Shit!" Gio braced for the impact. A loud thwack was heard when Tatsuya connected. "Better?" Tatsuya asked after he landed and sent Gio stumbling back a couple of steps. Gio only responded with a quick series of profanities in Italian. At least that's what Tatsuya assumed after he laughed. Sumiko couldn't help but laugh herself at the two as she sat close by watching Tatsuya train. "Just hit Jyu like that, and ya have a chance of winnin." Gio stated once he composed himself and then went back to his previous spot.

Tatsuya continued working on the pads lightly for the next thirty minutes until the intercom went on calling the remaining fighters and guests to the arena. Only six fighters remained after round two. The semi-finals and the final match would take place in one day. Tatsuya was lucky enough to have the first match. So that meant he had just a little longer to recuperate and he was happy to take any bit extra he could get. But first he had to get through the next match. The three made there way to the arena and quickly took up open spots while Tatsuya entered the arena. Mostly everyone had taken their seats and Tatsuya's opponent had yet to arrive. Tatsuya kept himself moving, not wantin to cool down. A few more minutes passed before the opponent showed up. Jyu Jik Chuyhn arrived wearing black and red kung fu pants with a red sash. "Ladies and Gentleman, the announcer spoke into a microphone. We begin our semi-finals with two fine competitors. Jyu Jik Chuyhn, last years runner-up and Tatsuya Okibi, the new fighter who has impressed us all. Gentlemen. When you're ready." The announcer shut off the speakers after giving the fighters the go ahead to fight.

Both men approached each other, eager to fight. Jyu struck first with a left round kick. Tatsuya blocked the kick with his right arm, putting all his weight into the block. Jyo quickly followed up with a right hook. Tatsuya turned left and swayed back before moving forward and attacking. Tatsuya threw a right jab, left cross and then a right hook. Jyu was fast, he dodged the jab with a swift jerk of his head to the right then blocked the cross and then finally jumping back away from the hook. Jyu shot a left front kick at Tatsuya, who blocked and quickly countered with another left cross and right hook. Jyu quickly deflected the cross and blocked the hook, countering with a right cross in front of Tatsuya's face to draw his attention away from a right round house kick. Tatsuya knew better then to fight with his eyes and raised his left arm to block the kick. He countered with a wide right which Jyu ducked under. Jyu followed with a hard kick to Tatsuya's legs. Tatsuya jumped over it and landed at Jyu's back, quickly turning around to his right as Jyu circled around.

Tatsuya went forward throwing a wide left, right cross, a left hook, and then a wide right. Jyu blocked the wide left and easily dodged the next two punches, before blocking the wide right with his left. Jyu threw a strong straight right, missing Tatsuya as he dodge back, but quickly following up, turning to his left and coming around with his left elbow. Tatsuya blocked the first elbow which was quickly followed by Jyu's right elbow. Tatsuya blocked the attack and pushed Jyu away from him to give him a little breathing room before moving up. Jyu kicked at Tatsuya's lead leg and then his other when Tatsuya lifted and took a step back to dodge. Jyu threw a hard front kick making Tatsuya jump to the side to dodge. Tatsuya countered with a wide left. Jyu successfully blocked and countered with a reverse right back hand. Tatsuya ducked underneath and came back with a wide right. Jyu blocked and quickly countered, landing a strong wide right. Tatsuya didn't miss a step and quickly returned with a right round house kick to the back of Jyu's left leg, making him stumble to his right.

Jyu was able to quickly regain his balalnce and charged Tatsuya with a double jump front kick and then a round house kick. Tatsuya blocked all three kicks and quickly had to jump to avoid Jyu's drop sweep. Jyu quickly got back up just as Tatsuya landed and threw a round house kick. Tatsuya jumped into the air and blocked the kick with his left arm, quickly following with a right cross to Jyu's face. The punch connected but didn't faze Jyu who jumped back immediately after the punch and kicked Tatsuya in the gut. Tatsuya stumbled back as Jyu hit the ground, giving Jyu enough time to push off the ground and flip to his feet. Tatsuya quickly ran forward and wrapped his hands around Jyu's head, pushing him back against the cage. Tatsuya tried to hit Jyu with two knees as he held him against the cage, but Jyu blocked both attacks and maneuvered out of his grasp. Jyu quickly attacked with his right elbow, but met with Tatsuya's forearm in a block. Tatsuya quickly ducked underneath a left hook and blocked another elbow with his left arm. Tatsuya attacked with a quick right uppercut connecting Jyu's jaw and stunning him for a left and right cross punch. Jyu fell back against the cage, but kicked Tatsuya away at the same time anticipating a follow up.

Jyu recovered quickly and chased after Tatsuya, launching a right round house kick. Tatsuya swayed back to dodge the kick. As he straightened up Jyu had already came back around with another round house kick. Tatsuya stepped into the kick a grabbed onto this leg and swept the other, taking Jyu to the ground. On the ground Tatsuya punched into Jyu's gut, who only tried to cover his face. Jyu finally grabbed onto Tatsuya's arm after the fourth punch and hooked his legs around Tatsuya's head. Tatsuya quickly centered himself and lifted Jyu into the air as he held on, before slamming him onto the ground. Jyu let go as soon as he was slammed, but quickly kicked Tatsuya away before he could take advantage of the situation. Jyu flipped to his feet but stayed back. Both fighters danced around for a second before Tatsuya went forward throwing a one punch that connected followed by a one-two punch. Jyu blocked the follow up punches and threw a left round house kick. Tatsuya turned to his left and blocked the kick with his right hand behind his head. Tatsuya turned back around and quickly blocked a right kick with his left foot. Jyu quickly turned back to his right and came around with a right heel kick. Tatsuya dodged and came back with a wide right. Jyu ducked and countered with a left hook that was quickly stopped when Tatsuya grabbed onto his bicep with his left hand. Tatsuya quickly dodged Jyu's follow right hook and blocked his return right elbow, before pushing his right shoulder. Jyu used the momentum of the push and continued turning swinging around his left arm in a wild attack. Tatsuya dodged the attack and then blocked Jyu's follow up hay maker when he continued turning around. Tatsuya blocked a thrown left uppercut and quickly slid around Jyu when he tried to attack with a reverse right side kick.

Tatsuya quickly threw a wide right which was dodged, but quickly returned with a right back fist that connected against Jyu's face. Tatsuya threw a successful left cross and followed up with another wide right. Jyu blocked the attack and maneuvered himself behind Tatsuya and placed him into a choke hold. Tatsuya quickly ran backwards and slammed Jyu into the cage, before planting two right elbows into Jyu's ribs and then flipping him over onto the floor. Tatsuya went at Jyu and leaned over to attack just as rolled back and kicked up with both feet into Tatsuya's gut, making him stumble back. Jyu flipped up and attacked Tatsuya with a left round house kick. Tatsuya blocked the kick and punched Jyu in the face with a right jab, briefly stunning him. Tatsuya followed up with a right jab and left cross, that were deflected by Jyu. When Tatsuya threw a right hook, Jyu hooked the arm and kneed Tatsuya in the gut before flipping him onto the ground on his back. Tatsuya rolled over quickly and began to rise to his feet while blocking three kicks from Jyu. When he made it to his feet he fought back with a left cross and a wide right. Jyu dodged right to avoid the cross and then once again hooked Tatsuya's right arm, bending him over with a punch to the gut. Jyu rolled Tatsuya onto the ground and went with him, grabbing his right leg and putting it into a lock.

Tatsuya groaned loudly in pain as Jyu applied pressure to the lock trying to force Tatsuya to tap out. Instead of tapping out, Tatsuya reached for Jyu's right leg and rolled them over to his left one time, before kicking Jyu right in the mouth. Both quickly rolled over and got to their feet. Jyu didn't hesitate and quickly went at Tatsuya with two round house kicks. Instead of dodging or block the kicks, Tatsuya instead punched Jyu's legs making him open for a strong uppercut. Jyu stumbled back after the uppercut but quickly regained his balance and charged Tatsuya with a butterfly kick. Tatsuya ducked under Jyu's attack leg and swung at his idle leg making Jyu lose balance in mid air and fall hard on to the ground, enough to gain an extra bounce. Tatsuya allowed Jyu to get back up and waited for him to move in. Jyu was blinded by anger and threw a wild right hay maker which Tatsuya dodged. Jyu followed up with a right back fist, but was blocked then grabbed by Tatsuya right hand. Tatsuya threw his left elbow into Jyu's right elbow, hyper extending it. Tatsuya then swung the arm around and hit Jyu's chin with a vertical right elbow. Jyu stumbled back into the cage and bounced back with a left hook at Tatsuya. Tatsuya blocked and grabbed his arm with his right and quickly attacked with his left elbow across the left side of Jyu's face. Without letting go of Jyu's arm, Tatsuya twisted it around and went down to one knee using his left arm to sweep Jyu's legs out from under him and flip him to the ground. Jyu was quick to get up but struck with a flying right knee to his jaw.

Jyu refused to give up, quickly returning with a right round house kick. Tatsuya hooked the leg with his left arm and with his right he reached out and grabbed Jyu's throat, choking him. Tatsuya let go of his throat and quickly flipped Jyu over by his right leg, onto his back. Tatsuya quickly locked the leg at the shin and went to the floor, not letting off on the pressure. He leaned back and applied more pressure making Jyu yell in pain, but he refused to give up. Jyu reached for Tatsuya's left leg and tried to do the same, but his position didn't allow him to properly lock the leg. Jyu was not giving up, Tatsuya could sense this. He switched the hold on Jyu's right leg and brought his leg onto his should and his arms over the knee. Tatsuya slowly applied pressure to Jyu's knee, surely bringing on intense pain, but Jyu refuse to tap out. Tatsuya, wanting to end the fight did the only thing left to do. He pushed down with both arms on Jyu's knee forcing it into the opposite direction with a loud crack. Jyu screamed out in horrific pain, finally tapping out after Tatsuya broke his leg. The referee rushed over and sepereated the two. Tatsuya rolled to his feet while Jyu could only roll on the ground, groaning in pain as he grasped his broken leg.

Tatsuya was quickly announced the winner before he left the arena, meeting Sumiko and Gio on the other side. "Did you really need to do that?" Sumiko she crossed her arms and asked when Tatsuya approached them, cringing at the thought of Jyu's broken leg. "I tried to avoid it, but the guy refused to tap out. If I had let go, the fight would still be going on." Tatsuya justified his action, with certainty. "Aye, da dumbass neva knew when ta give up. Was lucky ta survive da finals match last time." Gio quickly went to Tatsuya's defense. "Guy he fought didn' believe in grappling and beat Jyu ta within an inch of his life. Maybe less." Gio added as a matter of fact. "Still seems a bit much." Sumiko said as she looked to the arena. "Nah. Occupational hazard one might say. Might actually teach da guy ta know when ta give up. If he ever gets back ta fighting." Gio said with a chuckle. "I guess." Sumiko said as she turned around. "Try not to think about it." Tatsuya walked up and put his hands on Sumiko's shoulders. "Come on, lets go relax in the main house." Tatsuya suggested, moving Sumiko along. "Don'cha wanna watch da next fight?" Gio inquired as he stepped along side Tatsuya. "Nope." Tatsuya simply said as he walked.

"Fair nough. Just thought ya would wanna see who ya would be fighting in da last round." Gio said without implying anything. "It doesn't matter to me who wins." Tatsuya honestly replied. "It should." Said a menacing voice with a heavy Russian accent behind them. "Know that it will be me who you'll be fighting." They turned to see Maksimilian walking towards them with a cold stare. "And why should that matter?" Tatsuya asked with interest as he stared down Max and stepped towards him. "I've seen how you fight. You will lose." He stated bluntly. "Why dontcha go back ta da hell dimension ya spawned from." Gio said as he stepped over to Tatsuya and Max. "You won't be able to save him this time, Gio." He said as he looked towards him and then back to Tatsuya. "It's just going to be you and me in there." He said with a sinister smile. "I'm looking forward to it." Tatsuya replied with a grin of his own. "You shouldn't, accidents do happen after all. I'm going to show the crowd that even a so called titan can be struck down by a mere mortal." He said, causing Tatsuya's eyes to frown and narrow on him. Max was about to turn and leave but stopped himself. "Oh, by the way." He looked dead in Tatsuya's eyes. "Once I'm done with you, I think I might turn my attention to the little slut next to you." He stared right at Sumiko, who was shocked by the statment. "YOU BASTARD!!" Tatsuya roared and charged at Max. "No Tatsuya!" Gio quickly grabbed on to Tatsuya and started holding him back. "TATSUYA STOP!!!" Sumiko yelled at him. "LET ME GO, GIO!! I'M GONNA KILL HIM!!" Tatsuya yelled and struggled to get free. "COME ON! COME AND GET ME! I'M SURE I CAN GET THAT LITTLE BITCH TO SQUEAL NICE AND LOUD!!" Max shouted and laughed at Tatsuya, antagonizing him to charge him. "DON'T, IT'S WHAT HE WANTS!" Gio grunted as he tried to hold Tatsuya back. "I DON'T CARE, LET ME GO!" Tatsuya continued.

By now the guards had already made it and started to restrain Tatsuya. Some others got between them and Max, who only grinned evilly before he turned to walk away. Tatsuya struggled to chase down Max, but couldn't overpower all the people holding him back. It took a minute before most of the rage left Tatsuya. Tatsuya let out a short guttural yell before he finally stopped struggling. "OKAY!" He shouted to get everyone to let him go. Once the guards did, they stood in between him and the way to the arena so that he couldn't go after Max. Tatsuya turned and stormed out of the cave, followed by Sumiko, Gio and a couple of guards. He hastily walked through the mansion to the gym, where he shoved open the doors and barged in. There was no one else in there as everyone was at the next match. The two guards waited outside of the doors. "Damn it, Tatsuya. That's what he wanted." Gio finally said something as Tatsuya paced back and forth trying to work of the extra rage. "I don't care!" He replied before walking over to a heavy bag and punching it. His punches were slow, but powerful. "ARGH!" He couldn't shake off the rage. "Tatsuya, it's okay!" Sumiko tried to calm him. "No it's not! If he threatened me, it would be fine, but he didn't. He threatened you." He said while tightly holding onto the heavy bag. "He can't do anything to me, Tatsuya." She said reassuringly. "That's not the point." He punched the bag one more time before heading over to a padded wall. "Then what it the point?" She asked as he jumped and attacked the wall with his right knee, connecting with a loud thud. "He threatened you." He said hitting the wall again, making it shake with the impact. "He could threaten a lot of things in my life, but I can't ever let anyone get away with threatening your well being." He turned around to see Sumiko standing right behind him.

"Señor Okibi." A deep male voice with a Spanish accent called from the gym entrance. "Señor De La Vega." Tatsuya acknowledged in a bit of surprise when he looked over to the entrance. Right next to him was his assistant, Olivia. "I must say Señor Okibi, that I am a little disappointed in you." He said with a disappointed tone as he walked over. "I believe the rules were quite clear, weren't they?" He asked, but Tatsuya wasn't sure if it was a rhetorical question and answered. "Yes sir." He answered briefly. "And yet you chose to ignore them." He said in an accusing tone. "Look, I'm not sorry for what happened. But that man chose the wrong person to threaten." Tatsuya started to defend himself. "Maksimilian, is a dog without a leash and is just begging to be put down." He added. "Maksimilian you say? I believe I know of his attempts to have other fighters thrown out. But still the rules we have are clear." He said in disappointment as he placed his hands behind his back. "Fine, so you're telling me I'm to be kicked out of the tournament. I'll go pack my things." Tatsuya stated as he started to walk passed De La Vega. De La Vega allowed Tatsuya to almost get to the door. "Señor Okibi." De La Vega stopped Tatsuya from reaching the door. "Answer me one question." Tatsuya turned around with an annoyed look on his face. "What?" He asked bluntly, making De La Vega raise an eyebrow. "Did either of you throw a single attack?" He asked making Tatsuya look at him suspiciously. "No. Nothing happened." He stated a bit confused.

"Well then, it will be an interesting final match then." He said with a smug look on his face. "What?" De La Vega asked Tatsuya, who looked even more confused. "Well you just said neither one of you threw a single attack. I hardly think that qualifies as fighting outside of the arena." De La Vega stated with a smile. "Do me a favor." Tatsuya said after getting the hint. "Hmm?" De La Vega began to walk towards the door. "Keep that asshole away from us." Tatsuya bluntly stated his request. "That shouldn't be a problem. Right, Olivia?" De La Vega turned his attention to Olivia. "Certainly, Señor De La Vega. I'll take care of it immediately." She finally spoke for the first time during their interactions. "We'll have to schedule the gym for each of you." She looked at Tatsuya. "That won't be a problem. I'll take the first block, then finish my warm up in the arena." He said without hesitation. Anything to stay away from Makisimilian. "Alright then." Olivia replied. "Well then, If that's all that's necessary we'll take our leave." De La Vega waited a second for anyone else to speak before leaving with Olivia. "You Lucky bastard." Gio finally spoke out with a huge grin. "Looks like you'll get to give it to Max after all." He said with a chuckle. "Aye. Help me out will you." He walked over to the open floor and waited for Gio.

The rest of the day was uneventful. Olivia did a great job at keeping the Max away from them. Tatsuya was already in the arena. Gio was in the arena with Tatsuya, lightly working out, while Sumiko sat by the cage on the outside. Soon people started to walk into the cave and take their seats around the arena for the final match. "Guess that's it for me." Gio said before patting Tatsuya on the back. "Kick his ass." He said with a wide grin. "Yeah, I got this." Tatsuya replied in a serious tone before Gio walked out and took his seat. Minutes passed as the arena filled up, but Max had yet to arrive. Tatsuya guessed the Olivia and De La Vega wanted everyone to arrive before letting Max into the arena. Thinking that both fighters would attack each other on site. Not a bad assumption for the most part. Even the announcements of the fighters happened before Max had arrived. "Ladies and Gentlemen, welcome to the final match of the tournament. Tatsuya Okibi versus Maksimilian Pavlovski. We're sure all of you saw or at least heard of today's earlier confrontation between the two and we are all waiting to see all that hatred unleashed inside the arena." A loud cheer came from the crowd from the anticipation and as they cheered the gate to the arena opened up. On the other side, Max stood looking at Tatsuya with a confident half smirk before walking in. It took a lot for Tatsuya to not attack Max as soon as he stepped foot inside. Max walked to the other side of the arena and stood there confidently. "Gentlemen. When your ready." The announcer said and both fighters quickly went towards each other.

Tatsuya ducked and weaved left, coming up and swinging with a left hook, quickly followed by a right cross and left cross. Max ducked under the hook and dodged both crosses, before firing back with two incredibly fast strikes to the Tatsuya's face. Tatsuya didn't even see them coming and stumbled back, stunned, before charging forward once again, throwing a left round house kick. Max simply swayed back and let Tatsuya continue. Tatsuya followed up with a left hay maker and a low wide right. Max ducked under the hay maker and blocked the low punch with his left arm. Tatsuya was quick to continue with a wild right hook, but Max ducked under and Tatsuya made a full turn around. When he turned all the way around Max connected with a quick left cross to his face. Tatsuya stumbled back but quickly regained himself. He shot forward with a left jab, but Max quickly deflected it with his own left hand and countered with a fast wide right at his face. Tatsuya swayed back and quickly threw a right front kick. Max blocked the kick and waited a split second before turning to his right. He made Tatsuya think he was going to kick, but instead continued forward, closing the gap and pushing him back.

Max kicked at Tatsuya's left leg and then quickly jumped and threw a right round house. Tatsuya had a solid stance and was unaffected by the kick to the leg, able to take the hit and then block the round house with his left arm. Max quickly followed with a reverse heel kick that Tatsuya ducked under. Tatsuya kicked at Max's left leg and then jumped, throwing a left round house at Max's head. It was the same as Tatsuya, he had a solid stance and blocked the high kick. Max quickly fired back with a left jab and right cross. Tatsuya deflected both punches and returned with a left hook. Max ducked and countered with wide right, that Tatsuya ducked under and then circled around. Max followed Tatsuya and around went at him with a left jab. Tatsuya deflected the jab and quickly threw a left front kick at the same time Max threw a right cross, kicking his fist and hurting him slightly.

Max jerked forward trying to fake out Tatsuya, before shooting forward with a two quick left jabs and left hook. Tatsuya was able to deflect the two jabs, but tried to counter with his right and ended up getting hit with the left hook. Tatsuya didn't let that faze him, quickly countering with a right hook and a left shovel hook. Max successfully blocked the two punches and ducked underneath a follow up wide left. Tatsuya was quick to throw a right cross, but Max side stepped to the outside and connected a right ridge hand to Tatsuya's gut. Max quickly pulled his right arm back and returned with a right back hand. Tatsuya blocked with his left and countered with a wide right. Max quickly ducked under and at the same time came across with a left hook right into Tatsuya's gut, leaving Tatsuya open for wide right into his face. Tatsuya took the hit and immediately returned with a left back hand right into Max's face. Max moved to his right as Tatsuya followed up with a right hay maker and blocked the punch. Tatsuya continued with a left punch to the gut, but Max deflected it, making Tatsuya only graze Max's left side. Max quickly countered with a flurry of gut punches. Tatsuya took the flurry and ducked under a right cross, throwing a strong right punch into Max's gut, stunning him, and then hitting him in the cheek with a right cross.

Max recovered fast enough to duck under a wide right and countered with a quick right backhand slap to Tatsuya's head. Stunning Tatsuya, Max quickly grabbed him into head lock and tried to knee him. Tatsuya blocked the knee and Max threw him slightly away, quickly following up with a wide left. Tatsuya couldn't block the punch and got hit on the right side of his face. Tatsuya let the momentum from the punch turn him to his left, swinging his left leg in a reverse heel kick right into Max's face. Max shook off the hit and threw two quick front kicks and a left round house kick. Tatsuya blocked all three kicks and started to throw a left punch, but Max struck first with a right hook to his face. Tatsuya quickly threw a left round house kick into Max's back and then a wide right at his face. Max stepped in and quickly grabbed Tatsuya and flipped him onto the ground. Tatsuya held onto Max's left arm as he hit the ground, quickly turning around and wrapping his legs around Max. Max showed extraordinary strength when he lifted Tatsuya into the air and tried to slam him back into the ground. Tatsuya let his upper body fall, placing his hands on the ground and flipping Max over with his legs.

Max rolled onto the ground and to his feet, into the cage. He smiled as he turned back to Tatsuya and casually stepped closer. He quickly shifted his feet making Tatsuya flinch and back up. He turned quickly to his right then reversed and right hound house kicked at Tatsuya's left knee. Tatsuya lifted his leg to avoid the attack and stepped and swayed back when Max continued all the way around throwing the same leg at Tatsuya's face. Max's right foot touched the ground and quickly shot back with a heel kick. Tatsuya dodged the kick and quickly side flipped to his right as Max tried to kick out his legs with a left kick. Tatsuya circled around and quickly deflected three straight punches from a charging Max. Tatsuya shot back with a wide left. Max swayed back and countered with a wide right and a left cross. Tatsuya swayed back away from the wide right and dodged to the outside of the left cross while grabbing onto to Max's left arm with both hand and bending him over. He quickly threw a left front kick and a left knee at Max's bent body. Max blocked both attacks with ease. Tatsuya twisted Max's arm in the other direction in an attempt to flip him around. Max was quick to counter with an open hand strike to the left side of Tatsuya's head, stunning him and then planting two strong punches into his left ribs before whipping him across the arena.

Tatsuya ran into the cage and quickly turned to charge at Max. Max charged back at Tatsuya with a jumping front kick forcing Tatsuya to dodge to the right. Tatsuya darted forward, right arm cocked, but Max stunned him with a quick left jab before running and jumping into the cage. Max kicked off the and turned around throwing a strong right round house kick right into Tatsuya's face. Tatsuya spun to his right and stumbled back from the kick. Max walked up slowly and threw a low right round kick and then a wide left punch. Tatsuya blocked the kick with his left leg and then the punch with his right arm before throwing a left hook and a right elbow. Max ducked under the hook and blocked the elbow with both arms, leaving him open for a left gut punch. The punch connected and made Max bend over. Tatsuya threw both his arms around Max's head and pushed him down into two right knees. Max anticipated the attack and blocked both, quickly dodging a left knee from Tatsuya and escaping his grasp. Tatsuya had exposed his back to Max, who quickly punched his left kidney, making Tatsuya throw his arms back in pain. Max quickly grabbed and pulled Tatsuya's left arm, turning him towards a powerful right cross knocking out blood and his mouth guard.

Tatsuya turned and stumbled into the cage, grabbing onto it so he didn't fall to the ground. Everything was a blur as he held on trying to shake it off. Max was behind him, arms raised, claiming his superiority as the crowd cheered loudly. Tatsuya roared in frustration when he finally saw straight before turning. Max had already started to close the gap to finish off Tatsuya, but stopped when he turned and threw a reverse left heel kick. Tatsuya quickly went from the reverse heel kick straight into a reverse side kick, nailing Max straight in the gut. Tatsuya pushed back on Max and continued forward, not wanting to give Max a chance to fight back. He attacked with a wide right, left uppercut, left round house kick - straight into a jumping left knee, right uppercut, and finally a strong wide left punch. Max stayed with Tatsuya's pace, successfully blocking and dodging all, except the final punch. Max turned to his left after getting hit with the punch. Tatsuya jumped and turned in the air, kicking his left leg over Max and coming down hard with his right leg intending to finish the match.

Max had other plans though. He grabbed onto Tatsuya right leg as it came down, twisting and redirecting it over him. Max dropped to his right, bringing Tatsuya's right knee over his left leg as he hit the ground. Tatsuya groaned in pain as his stretched knee hit Max's leg stretching it further in the opposite direction. Before Tatsuya could do anything, Max held on to his leg and slammed Tatsuya's knee over his leg once more. Tatsuya yelled louder at the pain and then even louder once more when Max twisted his knee hard. Max held on to Tatsuya's now injured leg as he applied a steady pressure on it. Tatsuya lifted on his hands and kicked at Max's face. Max blocked the kick, but it was still strong enough to make him let go and push him away.

Tatsuya got to his feet as quickly as possible and stumbled against the cage, holding on to his right leg in pain and hobbling on his left leg, keeping his weight off the other. Tatsuya breathed heavily as he hobbled closer to Max, who had a smug grin on his face as he easily walked up to Tatsuya. Tatsuya threw a left hook dodged easily by Max, who then returned a quick one-two punch to Tatsuya's face. Max took the advantage and continued with a right back hand to his face then a left round house kick to his bad leg. Tatsuya grimaced as Max attacked his leg, trying to hobble away from the attack to no avail. Max quickly kicked at Tatsuya's leg two more times, forcing Tatsuya to retreat backward while turning. Tatsuya gripped his right leg with his right hand before darting forward with a straight right punch. Max deflected and retaliated with a quick straight right to his face and then a round kick to his left leg and then another to his injured right leg. Tatsuya hobbled quickly then lunged forward with a wild right. Max easily blocked with his left arm and at the same time chopped at Tatsuya arm with his right hand. Max then started a full assault on Tatsuya's face. A hard right-left combo, followed by a right back hand, straight left. Tatsuya tried to punch Max but it was only deflected and Max followed with another right-left and then a right back hand. Max turned to his right following the back hand and then quickly jumped into the air, rotating quickly to his left, coming around with a highly powerful right round house kick.

Tatsuya couldn't have blocked or countered even if he had wanted to; which he did. The kick connected with his face and sent him flipping over onto his back. Tatsuya rolled back and forth dazed and in pain while Max lifted his arms in the air, basking in the crowds cheers. He lowered his arms as he turned to Tatsuya who was getting to his feet. Tatsuya feel back against the cage and held on so he didn't fall again. "Come on. Come on." Max taunted Tatsuya who pushed away from the cage and charged Max with a punch. Max simply deflected the punch and once again left round kicked Tatsuya's right leg, continuing with a right round kick to Tatsuya's chest. Max carried on with his assault, planting a left then a right cross on Tatsuya's face. He kicked Tatsuya back against the cage which only propelled him back to Max, who turned to his right and reversed kicked Tatsuya's chest flipping him backwards onto his stomach. Tatsuya's spit blood as he tried to get up. When Tatsuya made it back to his feet, he was quickly side kicked in his face, sending him back against the cage. Tatsuya pushed off the cage and punched at Max with his left arm.

Max side stepped to the outside and grabbed Tatsuya's outstretched arm with his left hand, quickly planting a right front kick to Tatsuya's face from behind. Max held on to the arm and right round kicked Tatsuya's back swing him forward. Tatsuya broke the grab and ducked under a reverse right heel kick. Tatsuya charged and tried to wrap Max. Max turned ninety degrees to his right and jumped into the air, rotating around and dropping his right heel across Tatsuya's face. Tatsuya was once again flipped over onto his back. Tatsuya rolled on to his stomach trying to get up as Max stood back and bounced left to right allowing Tatsuya to rise. Max moved up and threw a left hook, that got blocked, but quickly kicked Tatsuya's bad leg with a right round kick, and then delivered a right cross to Tatsuya's face as he dropped his guard in pain. Tatsuya stumbled briefly, then raised his arms to block a round kick and returned with a wide right in desperation to hit Max. Max ducked the punch and returned with a right back hand then a quick double round kick to Tatsuya's leg then stomach.

At this point Tatsuya was unable to raise his arms to defend himself, completely at the mercy of the unrelenting opponent. Max unloaded punch after punch into Tatsuya's face and chest before taking a half step back and turning to his right. Max came around with a right heel kick that connected ruthlessly against Tatsuya face, lifting him off the ground and spinning to the ground. Max stood over Tatsuya breathing heavily as he looked at the near unconscious opponent. Max turned around and raised his arms in the air once again, enjoying the cheering from the crowd. The referee slowly walked over to Tatsuya's prone body. He made sure Tatsuya was still conscious before he started the ten count. Tatsuya rolling to his side was all the confirmation he needed when he started counting.

Every sound was distant to Tatsuya as he tried to get his bearings. "I can't lose." He thought. "Not to him." He slowly started to come around. "He's only human. There's no way I should lose to him." The thought echoed in his brain. "Come on Tatsuya. If you can't beat him, what makes you think you stand a chance against Raiden?" The doubt went through his head louder then the other. "I won't lose." He forced the thought into his head to overwrite the last one. "He won't beat me!" He forced the thought and looked over to Sumiko. "Get up." He thought to himself as he looked at Sumiko his thoughts in time with Sumiko's moving lips. "Get up!" The words became louder. "Seven..." He heard the referee. "GET UP, TATSUYA!!!" He heard Sumiko over everyone else. "Eight..." He started to push up from the ground. "Nine..." He was more than half way up now and made it to his feet a split second before the referee counted to ten. He gave a quick nod to the referee indicating he was okay to fight. Everyone went silent as Tatsuya stood up after receiving the beating that Max gave him. Max wondered why everyone suddenly got quiet and recalled that he didn't hear the referee make it to ten. He slowly turned around to see Tatsuya on his feet and face, though cut and bruised, was full of determination.

"Impressive." Max said before he started clapping for Tatsuya. It was the only thing audible in the arena. Tatsuya let out a deep breath and slowly hobbled over to Max, who met him more than half way and was still clapping. Tatsuya stared into Max's eyes as he clapped, before laying on a quick right sucker punch into his face. Max was surprised Tatsuya had done that and retaliated with a right back hand and a a left haymaker. Tatsuya took both hits only grunting and turning his head upon contact and then slowly looking back at Max. Max quickly threw a punch in front of Tatsuya to draw out his guard and prepared to follow up with a left punch. Tatsuya had quickly turned to his right however and came around with a right elbow into Max's gut and returned to his left, coming around with a right hay maker. Max stumbled back and the arena remained silent. Max walked up while Tatsuya remained still, and threw a right round kick at Tatsuya's head. Tatsuya blocked the attack with both arms and Max turned back around with a right heel kick. Tatsuya swayed back and came back up just before Max threw another right round kick. Tatsuya quickly struck first, kicking at Max's standing leg with left leg, sending him to the ground.

Max landed hard on the ground and Tatsuya got into a fighting stance. "Tatsuya. Tatsuya." One of the guests started chanting, slowly gathering others in the chant, getting faster. Tatsuya had circled around Max as he got to his feet. Max moved slowly towards Tatsuya and then quickly threw a left jab then a straight cross. Tatsuya deflected the jab and stepped to the outside of the cross, grabbing it with his right and throwing an uppercut from behind and into Max's chin. Tatsuya held onto the stunned fighter and hooked his arm, throwing his legs into the air and flipping Max over. Tatsuya suffled over on his knees, ignoring the pain and getting between Max's legs. Tatsuya started throwing punch after punch. Wild punches. Some hit, some didn't. Max managed to swing his left leg over Tatsuya and rolled him to the left, rolling with him as he went. They rolled twice over with Tatsuya once again getting on top and continuing his assault.

Tatsuya started to rise to his feet and Max kicked Tatsuya back to gain breathing room, but only to charge and try to tackle him. Tatsuya instead tackled Max and slammed him to the ground. Once again Tatsuya was on top and started wildly punching at Max. Max was able to grab hold of Tatsuya's right arm when it went down in a punch, and rolled over once, putting him on top. That didn't stop Tatsuya however, who threw left after left into Max's open right ribs. Max straightened up over Tatsuya's stomach to begin his assault, but a hand to his face quickly stopped that. Max tried to remove the hand from his face, but when he did, Tatsuya connected with a left punch, making Max roll off of him. Tatsuya got to his feet faster then Max could get to his. He went forward trying to attack Max, but Max kicked at Tatsuya's bad leg, sending him to the ground. Tatsuya managed to punch Max with his left on his way down though. Both feel to one knee, Tatsuya on his bad one, and both threw a right cross connecting at the same time. Max recovered quickly and grabbed at Tatsuya's neck, rising and taking him along. As soon as the made it all the way up thought, Tatsuya grabbed the hand on his neck and punched Max with his right.

Max spewed blood and returned with a wide right. It connected with Tatsuya's head, but not like he had wanted. Tatsuya tilted his head in the punches direction and made it hit the crown of his head. Hitting the hardest part of the body cracked Max's hand. He dropped his hand in pain and opened himself up for a left hay maker. Max stumbled back against the cage from the force of the punch. Tatsuya hobbled on his left leg as he tried to regain his balance, placing it behind him. Max stepped up to Tatsuya and kicked at his bad leg. Tatsuya jumped into the air, swung his bad leg back and his body forward, throwing a right punch right into Max's face. Now it was Max who was unable to defend himself as Tatsuya continued with a right hook to the face and two punches to the gut. Tatsuya threw punch after punch into Max's face, landing five hard punches and knocking out his mouth guard.

Max tried to hit Tatsuya with a wild left haymaker, but Tatsuya ducked under. Tatsuya then jumped and swung his left leg back, hitting Max on his head. Max stumbled away into the cage while Tatsuya landed on his back, quickly flipping to his feet. Tatsuya quickly chased after Max and jumped, spinning in the air into a left crescent kick. Max ducked under the kick and Tatsuya landed back on the ground, on his bad leg, but kept turning, going around again into a reverse heel kick. The kick connected sending Max against the cage and Tatsuya fell briefly, having landed on his bad leg. Max grabbed onto the cage but still fell to the ground. Both got to their feet and looked at each other. Both let out a war cry as they launched their next attack. Max threw a right round kick, while Tatsuya turned around to his right and jumped, throwing his bad knee right into Max's kick. A loud crack could be heard when they connected and Max screamed in agony as he fell to the ground. His leg had broke at the shin making it loose and floppy as it held on only by muscle. Everyone had gone silent. The referee quickly stepped between Tatsuya and Max, and call the fight over. "Ladies and Gentlemen. Your tournament champion. Tatsuya Okibi!" With that the crowd on cheered at the unbelievable fight they just witnessed.

Tatsuya started to hobble to the gate, but before he could make it Gio and Sumiko entered. "Tatsuya!" Sumiko ran up to him and gave him a big hug while Gio quickly went to Tatsuya's right side and offered him support. "Thanks." Tatsuya said as he hugged Sumiko and then let Gio carry some of his weight. "Don' worry bout it." Gio replied as they slowly made it out of the arena. Slowly but surely Tatsuya made it to one of the rooms designated for injured fighters. Gio helped him sit down while Sumiko prepared a bag of ice for his knee. "Here." Sumiko gently placed the ice on his knee, making him grimace and flinch in pain. "Son of a..." He shouted at the pain. Sumiko could tell it wasn't broken, since he was still able to walk, kind of. But she knew it would take time to heal if she didn't tend to it with kido. All she could do was wait until the left the mansion, the next day. Tatsuya would just have to take some pain medication in the mean time. It took a while for Tatsuya to see the physician, after all, he was in better shape then his opponent. But the doctor only confirmed what Sumiko knew. Once the doctor cleared Tatsuya to leave, he went straight to his room. It was still relatively early, but Tatsuya only wanted to rest. De La Vega eventually stopped by the room and congratulated Tatsuya for his victory and the performance he put on. He didn't stay long though.

They eventually fell asleep, waking up late the next morning. Woken up by a knock at the door. A butler walked in after getting permission with a tray of food and placed it on the table by the window. Both ate what they were given before they packed up their bags. House staff took their things to the limo as Tatsuya slowly made his way out. De La Vega was waiting by the limo. He once again offered a congratulations before letting them leave. The trip to the airport was quiet. Tatsuya felt content now. He didn't feel the need do actively look for a fight. Once they made it to the private plane, Sumiko set to work healing Tatsuya. By the time they made it back to New York no one could tell what Tatsuya had been through.