maskormenacelogs | Throw Down [ OPEN ]

Entry tags:

Throw Down [ OPEN ]

WHO: Open to everyone to tag around
WHERE: Maurtia Falls Underground Fighting Arena
WHEN:Throughout September and into October let's say
WHAT: FIGHTS FIGHTS FIGHTS and training, naturally
WARNINGS: Violence

You've heard of it somewhere...

Maybe it was by accident. Or maybe it's because subconsciously, you were looking for it. Maybe you just like your knuckles bloody and yeah, you have powers, but you just want a fight without depending on them. A fight that's just you and someone else and fists and body, the intimate sort of fight, one that gets your muscles pumping and your sweat thick. ImPort or not, you can still get that urge, and you can't always take advantage of it in this world. Saving people, running them down, it's catch and release to authorities most times. Even spars you set up with other imPorts usually involve powers in some way, you can't just go rough for the fun of it. Akihiko knows it. Feels it. He's got super strength and while it does a hell of a lot it seems like it still hinders him from really enjoying the feel of his muscles tightening.

He's goes for a fight, he doesn't mind pulling punches against nonImPorts, he will, he'll just focus on his boxing technique, on the rough tumble of it all. But sometimes? He can really go all out. Sometimes he can even let some of that super strength ripple through his arms and send it full force to another imPort that's found the same venue he has. Maurtia Falls was shit some people say, no where to be, no where to live, but it had things going for it.

Seems like lately too, more people are finding out about this fighting ring. Underground, an area there loud with pipes and hard to get to unless you know the right building and where it's basement doors are,a nd even then that changes every few months. There's a hall after it, a long one, and you can start to hear and feel the rumble of a crowd as you get deeper until you're looking at a rather thick armed man at the door. He'll give you a look, a- 'are you a cop looking for trouble look', and if you're not? Welcome.

Welcome to the smell of old water, sweat, blood, and money. Welcome to a place riddled in bets and tears, screaming and echoing as fans cheer and curse at fighters slamming eachother in and down inside a wide metal bar contained arena. It's one on one, and while some fights are scheduled, those aren't till the end of the night, the prime events. Until then? It's open for anyone willing to go in. Always one on one though, and the doors are managed by a few people.

No powers preferred they'll say, don't fuck up the arena, just fuck up your opponent. They want a mess and they want it bloody, they want to give the crowd a reason to keep coming and betting they're cash. And they want a reason to get through their day jobs, if only to enjoy that one night every few weeks to watch two people wreck eachother.

And good news, ImPorts? You always get to fight before anyone else, especially if it's imPort v imPort. For some reason the people of this world really like to see imPorts mess eachother up. Wonder why that is?

OOC: Feel free to make open top levels as much as you'd like and date them or not. It's a free for all. Any questions? Just PM Akihiko's journal and I'll do my best to answer.

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"This is the place." Excitement in his voice. Before this he was near dry in attitude, but the closer they got? Akihiko was always the sort to wear his feelings on his sleeves. He's excited and Kaneda will be able to tell.

The building that's apparently 'the place', is some run down industrial building on the outskirts of town. Not a lot going on, not a lot of cops either, best that way, though the cops in Maurtia Falls doesn't really give a shit one way or another. That's why this is the place.

Whole building looks barely used and a dog knocks over a garbage can not far away. Some cursing from a local in the same alley, and then it's followed by the shrill sound of the side door Akihiko opens. He steps in without hesitation, feeling a fire spark up in his gut.

"Still think you're ready for this?"

It was almost night and day, the way Akihiko seemed to shift from short on words to saying almost too many. His hands shove into his pockets as they arrive, sizing up the place with a whistle as he rocks back on his heels. Per-retty nice place.

You know, for an underground fighting arena. There was nothing to it on the outside, but Kaneda knew that's how places like this worked. The Clowns? Their headquarters were in a run down bowling alley. The flashier it was, the more suspicious it was.

So this? Perfect.

Following him to the side door, he leans over to look at that dog that's in the trash, slightly reminded of Capsule as he hears that scream, attention drawing itself away from the dog and to the door. He had to admit, it was hard not to feel that adrenaline pumping already.

"Heh, more like I've never BEEN more ready."

You could say that, yeah. but everyone had their interests right? Everyone had a reason to get excited, Akihiko was the same, and he was terrible at hiding it. But why should he?

It definitely looked the part of sketchy anyway, this place, but it didn't disappoint. It was huge down there, an underground store room at some point probably. The building was own too, by who? No idea, but who ever it was owned it and either knew nothing about this, or planned it themself. The set up was good, it worked, and there was a lot of excitement buzzing around that Akihiko couldn't be blamed for.

Definitely worth the effort to get here. At least in his opinion.

He'll move in, it getting a lot darker when the heavy door closes behind Kaneda. They'll barely be able to see, but a looming orange glow shines in from a few spots from street lights outside- well the ones that work anyway.

"Sure about that? But you would know. I haven't found anything else like this in this world yet, but I know there's more around. Apparently there's one closer to New York that's a lot more intense than this one." Said as he moves in, his shoes a bit rough against the beaten down floor. Tiles and debris everywhere and in a lot of areas the walls are cracked and stained. This building sees a lot more action currently than it seemed, well- under it anyway.

"Do you have anything like this where you're from?"

It takes a moment for Kaneda's eyes to adjust to the dark, working out Akihiko's vague outline as he continues to follow. The roars of excitement ring in his ears, such a huge difference from the quiet of Nonah, or even the eerie silence of Maurita Falls after dark.

"So it's like a full ring, huh." His boots fall in time with Akihiko's as they walk, putting a hand to the wall as they make a turn.

At the question, his eyes could practically light up the dark.

"Definitely." He had no doubts that Neo Tokyo had an underground fighting ring. It had everything else--drugs, bike gangs, trafficking of all kinds. The Government didn't care what they did; the Olympics were the top priority at the time, and police were only meant to deal with riots. "Never went to one myself, but I was busy doing it on the roads."

He flashes a smile, peeking around a corner. "The only way it can get better is if you put it on bikes."

The roars are still pretty quiet right now, more like a rumble, until they start to head down some stairs, and then more stairs, and go down a hall. All pretty dark, but that roar, it's slowly growing, makes your heart start to pace faster. Makes you feel excited- or at least it does for Akihiko. That energy, it rubs off on him quick, and anticipation really gets to him.

"A full ring with caged walls, yeah. It keeps the fighters in and the audience out. The fights are stopped when one side is knocked out or it looks too one sided. They don't tolerate death either, so any flashy powers, elemental and the like, they're not allowed. It's all about your physical ability."

"Fighting on the roads?" A glance back, unsure of what he means. "Street fighting is a popular concept, but I haven't seen it much around this place. Not with how intense a lot of the regulation is in this world."

On... bikes. Wait okay he misunderstood.

"You fought on bikes?" That sounds. Fun as hell but also stupid as hell.

He follows Akihiko the closer they get to the action, the blood in his veins pumping faster the more he hears the crowds and the bells ringing. The noise was comforting--sometimes nights were too quiet back in Nonah, when you're coming from a world where sirens and car horns were synonymous with crickets chirping. It's hard hiding the smile as he turns another corner, going down the hall, listening to Akihiko talk.

And the more he hears, the more he likes it.

"Don't really got anything flashy anyway." Just his fists and a little help from durability.

...

He flashes a smile at that.

"Biker gangs and all, you get knocked off, you're a giant smear across the intersection!"

Nights in Nonah were too quiet because Gamagori made fucking sure of it, okay. You can sleep peacefully thanks to him, so away with your complaining! But Akihiko would agree, for a world and cities full of super heroes (and villains), this place sure could be quiet at times. Not that he'd complain about it either though, it was a good thing people weren't suffering or having to handle too difficult of situations. Not that those situations didn't arrive, case in point, Crane.

But there could be energy and spice in your life that wasn't bad or negative, this place- Akihiko never saw it as that. It was a place to better himself and have fun doing it. And he liked the feeling of getting whipped around a ring and doing the same to his opponent.

"You don't? The Porter didn't give you much then? Not that that's bad, you ca better focus on training your body then. It took me a while to get to use to one of the powers the Porter gave me. I had to better master it before I could do anything else." Fucking annoying too. The last thing he needed was to turn into electricity in the showers at the gym or something and kill everyone in the room...

"How the hell did you guys get away with something like that? What was your world like?"

Thanks you could help Gamagori, now he has to do double the reckless driving to make up for it! But he guesses he can't blame them for wanting the quiet. After things like August's swear in, a little peace can go a long way. And for most people, that was quiet.

And it's feelings like that that Kaneda can agree with. There was a certain aliveness to the building. Things were happening here, and you could feel the heartbeat of almost everyone in there, whether they were fighting or cheering. Say what you want about the legality of this place, but saying it didn't bring people together would be a lie.

"Oh, it gave me powers alright. Just not much I can really control." Two of them were passive, and the third one was something he'd already had back home--his bike. "Durability and luck. Good or bad."

But he slides against the wall, peeking around the corner as the continue to walk. "Neo Tokyo? It was a shithole. And I mean every ounce of it." It's hard not to crack a smile. "Drugs, crime, you name it. Neo Tokyo had it, and it was everywhere."

Double the reckless driving??? He'll have your head! But maybe not so- close to that swear in, it's true. So many people were on edge now, many licking their wounds, or trying to get better prepared if something else were to happen. Akihiko wasn't either really though, he was always preparing on his own, for himself. With what happened with Shinjiro... it made him aware of his difficulties talking to him if anything, but he didn't feel 'unprepared'. Not in the physical sense anyway.

"You can't control them?" A look at him, not understanding really until Kaneda comes out with the names of those powers finally and he looks away again.

"Not bad ones to have though, is the luck good luck for you, or bad luck for others?" Akihiko's luck wasn't terrible, but he understood it enough to ask. Usually an ability like 'luck' would mean your own luck though, and the higher the better for you. He's not sure if 'Luck' here qualified as a stat though, or what it meant for Kaneda to really have it as an ability. Could just mean he's 'luckier' now, than the average person.

At the question, Kaneda rubs the back of his neck. It was an odd thing to explain, really. It was passive, much like his durability, but it certainly had its drawbacks. "It...depends on the day. Sometimes it gives me a break and I don't get anything. Other times, it's either a really good day or a really bad day."

He huffs out a sigh. "And it can affect people around me."

Some might call it annoying and unpredictable, but--here. He'll tilt his glove back to pull out a 1 yen coin twirling it in his fingers.

"It's why I double check."

"Good and bad luck? So you just have the same luck as anyone else, but more intense?" Since everyone has good and bad luck. But Kaneda would be the sort to find a one thousand dollar bill or something, and then the next day break his leg instead of just sprain it. Sounds like a lot of give and take... And to affect those around him?

"Sounds like a trip."

"Has it hurt anyone yet?"

"Pretty much. They call it 'manipulation'." But from Akihiko's thought process, that would be a good set of examples. "But I can't manipulate anything except by being there."

A pause.

"Don't tell anyone. I like to keep that secret. ...Both of 'em."

...

"Only me, on bad days I tend to do my own thing." He's...also been considering good luck charms for those days. Is that crazy? That's crazy.

"So it's just some effect coming off you. I get it." He shrugs.

"Why would I tell anyone? It's not my business to unless you make it an issue." Like get into some massive trouble and make Akihiko have to come after you. But even then he's more likely to only do it himself than to tell anyone and get help.

He turns, giving barely a glance to the doorman as they approach. He's giving more thought to Kaneda's ability right now. Something like that, it could be useful but sounds like a lot bigger annoyance than anything else to him.

"So what have you been doing then, not being around that many other people?"

He relaxes slightly at Akihiko's answer. Both because he wanted to keep it secret from the contestants that were fighting, and because there's an air of secrecy around his powers too. Thankfully, Aki didn't really seem to pry into people's business.

He follows him past the doorman, shoving his hands back in his pockets as he looks around.

"Exact opposite. I mean...I avoid people when it's bad luck day! You don't want to even know what happens when that coin flips tails."

A pause.

"But like I said, it's usually neutral. It's just when it's good it's good. When it's bad it's....bad."

He didn't pry mostly because he needed a reason to, also he wasn't exactly a curious person, a bit self concerned. But powers pulled at his nose a little so he's asking a bit more now than he normally would.

"Good to hear it then. Hope it keeps at a heads up while you're here." Said with a smirk and that's all, he knows better than to keep speaking when that door opens because at the volume they're at? It'd be drowned out.

The door man's expression is emotionless as he lets them in, feeling no need to intimidate people of their age, no matter how ripped Akihiko was starting to get by now, or the fact that he could easily point them out as imports. Yeah, this doorman's good, he had to be. But they smell right, so the way is paved for them and they're beaten with the sound of hollers and cheers when the door widens out.

The air is thick with salt and blood and sweat, and Akihiko seems more delighted about it than concerned as he already moves in. Better keep up, Kaneda. Akihiko's not really the sort to wait up or slow down for others.

That's his hope too, Aki. And with a nod of his head, he's glad at least someone understands. In this world, you use and abuse what you're given.

He's a little guarded at the doorman--it's not the first one he's had to sneak past despite everything, but with a nod to him as he's let in, he immediately hits the wall of noise and lights. Eyes widen, as well as his lips just taking it all in. The noise, the screaming, the sound itself...it was like Neo Tokyo, and in a good way.

It was the first time in a long while he felt like home had come to him. He pauses for only a minute to soak it all in, getting a good look aroun--HEY!

"AKI!"

Hey, wait for him! He has to power through some of the crowd to catch up.

Dude run, he's still going!

He doesn't even hear his name either as he tries to get closer to the ring in the center. The noise stays intense but once Akihiko stops and Kaneda stands beside him, they can talk at a volume enough so eachother can hear.

It takes some maneuvering and shoving to get through the crowd, a fuck you or two, but they'll make it. Akihiko stop and finally decides to glance over or behind him to locate Kaneda.

He'll smirk, a glint in his eye, still just as excited- no, more. Definitely more.

"Get left behind? You gotta keep up in a place like this."

He has to shove his way through a few groups, but he finally catches up as Akihiko stops to let him catch up. He's small, but certainly no pushover as he shoves the people out of the way, dusting himself off as he finally makes his way over. Damn...longer legs.

He looks back, a little, as he walks up, that smile slowly forming back on his face.

Even more so when Akihiko says that. "Me? Left behind?" Yes. "Not a chance."

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Throw Down [ OPEN ]

[CLOSED to Kaneda]

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