Throw Down [ OPEN ]

[ktfod]

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.

Comments

Akihiko Sanada

[ktfod]

A - Did you see that!?

[ktfod]

"Ho damn- that slam down, looks like someone's got a glass jaw." Grinning ear to ear as he watches the cage from not too far off. The crowds not that thick tonight so he's got a clear view. Akihiko's in between fights and you can tell, he reeks of sweat but so does this whole place so it's hard to tell. That and he's still nursing a bloody nose with some tissue shoved up a nostrils. He looks happy though. And honestly? He is down here. It's no Tartarus. He can't just blaze through it every night, but he can come often enough that it's become a bit of a hobby.

He likes to fight.

Loves it.

And he feels alive when he's working down every muscle and getting them stretching. He's in such a good mood he just talked to a stranger standing next to him after all. It's- different seeing Akihiko like this if you've ever met him outside of training or fighting. He tends to be cold, aloof at times, or mysterious depending on who you talk to.

But down here? His smile's a split from ear to ear, one hell of a lot bigger than the swollen split over his left eye. Always he left...

"Thick he'll recover? Been on the ground a while now."

Kaneda Shotaro

[rassera]

B - 1 v 1

[ktfod]

You got in. Not that it was hard. You're an imPort and you were willing to fight anyone else so they'd find a match for you. There was a good amount of people looking for the attention after all. But you managed to climb the list fast and are already being called out to be shown into one of the side doors of the caged arena.

People are screaming.

They're pumped for it. And it makes you feel alive when they're already choosing you from looks alone.

But your opponent? He's a regular, and seems to have a good backing of supporters because of it. Akihiko liked a show, and he went in hard, and people loved it. But he loved it, and that's all that mattered.

Grey haired and a heavy gaze. He's already got a smirk on his face as he steps into the ring across from you, adjusting the wrapping on his knuckles and slamming them into eachother before hopping a bit on his feet, limbering up. He's slender, not the tallest, but Akihiko's managed to go up a few weight classes since arriving in this world, he doesn't look the type to go down easy. And maybe you don't either.

But it doesn't seem to intimidate him at all.

"You already say your prayers? There's not much time left."

C - Cut me open, cut me!

[ktfod]

"Ha shit I can't see-" A mumble, near it, hopefully he's already befriended someone since showing up tonight, or maybe he came with someone. But he's a bit of a mess. Smiling like a fool though, his face is red, bloody, and a lot of it's from out of his mouth and nose. That's not the problem though. The problem is his damn eye. Swollen all to hell and giving him a headache with each pounding throb.

Hell of a fight, real good, and his whole body's lit up, stimulated from it. Be he can fucking see.

Catch the fight? Catch him stumbling out? He could use a nice cut against his eyebrow to relieve it, and maybe help out of here and a drink. Don't heal him too well though, he likes to feel the ache! He could heal himself if he wanted it all gone, though he doesn't have his evoker on him. Crowd's thick enough to make it a problem too if he's still having trouble with his eye sight.

Still smiling though, you bet he is.

[CLOSED to Kaneda]

[ktfod]

"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?"

A-arashi

[rassera]

Now THIS was what Kaneda had signed up for. A way to put those powers (if passive) to use in this world, and even make some cash out of it. And as an added bonus, it just happened to be one of his favourite pastimes. After Akihiko had shown him around, he started appearing regularly (probably against Kasumi's advice to not wander Maurita Falls after dark, but she just didn't understand exactly who he was). After all, any way to make some decent cash by the one thing you know you can do? You take it.

Stepping into the building, he immediately throws his arm up to someone giving him a shout out, although it was the only one. He hadn't exactly made a name for himself just yet, after all.

Not that it mattered. He's off to drop off his outfit to something a little more fight worthy--only keeping those red gloves and white tank top. He can't fight in what he's got. Bull was bound to notice the Boxing boots and raggedy red pants replace his old bottoms. His hand tilts back, a 1 yen coin sliding out as he gives it a few flips.

Superstitious? Well, that's one way of describing it.

He's not set to go out just yet, he's got a few hours. But from the crowd cheering in the distance, he knows he's going to have to put on a show. Good thing that's what he's there for.

B-gareki

[rassera]

"Shit!"

Black eyes glistened as Kaneda watched from a far off sideline, the cage practically rattling like a maraca from the fight that was taking place inside it. Really, it almost wasn't fair, the set up they had. But it made for an interesting show, and both were certainly giving it their all.

One just didn't have the strength to back it up.

"Oohhh that's gonna leave a mark. Or five." A slightly entertained wince as he whistles. He's...pretty sure teeth were knocked out. Hope he wasn't planning on using those for the next ever.

Kaneda himself is looking a little worse for the wear, sporting a few bruises and maybe a black eye from his last fight. But he seems to be in good enough spirits. Might as well join him, right?

C-honoo

[rassera]

A sickening crunch sounds as he hits the bars of the cage, the whole thing rattling as if they'd just struck metal themselves. In a way, they weren't wrong--Kaneda's power given to him was durability, and you might as well have translated that into 'bones made of titanium'. They weren't, of course, that'd be stupid. But they might as well be.

The arena said no powers, or discouraged them, but in his mind, this wasn't something you could really turn off. So...why not abuse that?

It hurts, being thrown against them, and his hands grip for stability as he pushes himself back up. His opponent seems none too eager to continue where they left off, advancing just as quickly as he'd been thrown.

His split lip cracks a smile--blood softly running down it. Good. Give them a show.

As for him? He's not ready yet.



Not yet.

D-kakera

[rassera]

The worst part of his strategy in the ring? You ended up with bruises no matter what. Granted, it was only one of his strategies, but by far his most effective. And some of the imPorts really packed a punch. A hard-won victory, to be sure. But even he had to admit he needed a breather. His back screamed for a break, his arms trembling from using muscles that were only just starting to form.

But he couldn't have been happier. Adrenaline was high, endorphins running through his system to try and relieve what ached. He missed this from back home--the biker gang fights, feeling knuckles against a guy's cheek, kicking them back onto the ground. Maybe it was a little rough--but it was one thing he was able to keep that reminded him of Neo Tokyo.

Anything normal was welcome.

But for right now, he's taking a seat, grabbing a frozen bag of peas and slapping it on his eye, which sported a nice shiner.

Lucky shot.

[unbreaker]

Josuke can't quite remember where or when he'd caught wind of this so-called underground fight club, can't recall who it was that had told him where to find it, but he remembers with perfect accuracy its address and when to be there.

Fighting for the sake of fighting—for the blood and sweat of it, the sick thrill of bodily slamming another to the ground, knocking out teeth, breaking bones with bare hands—that's not him. He manages, of course, not to cringe like someone so green to violence you'd expect them to hide their face or run away, but throughout many of the matches he's straight-backed and wide-eyed at what he's witnessing.

One fighter in particular draws his attention. An imPort like himself, Akihiko looks to be a veteran to this particular type of arena, but even more important than that...he has the sort of fighting spirit Josuke's really only used to seeing in other Stand users.

Maybe that's what draws him toward the fighter when he finally stumbles, grinning, out of the cage, his eye swollen and sweat dripping from his chin? Josuke just has to know more about him. Even if it means squeezing through that roaring, closely-packed crowd to get within earshot.

"Hey—hey! That was one hell of a fight!" When he's sure he has Akihiko's attention he'll gesture to his eyebrow. "Need a hand?"

He's got the feeling he oughtn't call out his Stand in this place, so he won't. Doesn't need to, either, though. Knows enough about basic first aid to deal with Akihiko's type of injury, provided the other teen wants the help.

E-machi

[rassera]

Training.

Whenever Kaneda wasn't in the ring for the night, he'd go to the gym that was near there, removing his jacket and tossing it to the side. Just because he wasn't the star for the night didn't mean he couldn't get some hard work in.

He certainly wasn't the tallest or the most muscular, but that's what this was for, right?

At least for the latter.

Rolling his gloves so they fold over at the wrists, he makes his way to the punching bag. "You ready this time? I've been practicing."

Is he talking to the bag? Or maybe someone else there?

[rassera]

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."

[ktfod]

That's how it worked, a whisper, a bump and tell, maybe you just got out of a fight and someone saw some of it and hushed you the information. Or perhaps you found and address scrawled on some dirty and maybe bloody piece of paper somewhere. You just found out, and probably in some way you don't even recall. You just knew where, and when. And here you are.

It's okay if you do cringe though, Josuke. You're not the only one here that isn't ready. People have brought friends, or happened to find that address and date without knowing what it was for. A girl will gasp 'oh my god' when a tooth very much flies out of a stricken fighter's mouth and through the bars. This place is for new and old, hey- they need fans of all sorts. Newbies could become regulars after all.

'Long as you ain't some cop.

"Yeah? Damn straight it was." Hearing that, Josuke will get a wide smile full of blood stained teeth.

"Nah-" Ah, he always declines but, looking up? he can't... actually see right now. So... for once yeah, he does. Akihiko will raise a hand up, as if searching for who ever is speaking to him.

"Wait, yeah- I can't see, just help me to the bathroom."

[ktfod]

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?"

[unbreaker]

Some cop...

Yeah—no, Josuke's no cop. Not yet, at least. He'd be lying if he said he's never thought about it, though. His grandfather had been an officer of the law, after all, and Josuke and his mother had lived with him for as long as he can remember. At least, they had lived with him until his life had been taken by another Stand user...

After that, Josuke'd often felt like he was protecting Morioh in his grandfather's stead: an honorary policeman until one day he could make it official.

That's just one possibility, however. He has as much interest in healing others as he does following in his grandfather's footsteps. And right now? It's that interest that takes precedence over any moral streak he possesses. Besides, what does he really care if a bunch of people want to sign themselves up for an ass kicking in a cage match? If they've all agreed to do it, that's their prerogative.

Seeing Akihiko's outstretched hand, Josuke nods and holds out his arm for the fighter to take. He's not really sure how bad the other teen's vision is, but if how hard he's squinting is any indication, it's probably going to do wonders to take that swelling down a notch. Again, he thinks of how quickly he could do that with Crazy Diamond, but the thought is dismissed when he's asked simply to escort Akihiko to the bathroom.

"Yeah, sure. It's uh..." Actually, he's not really sure where it is, but he'll figure it out on the way. Giving Akihiko's arm a light tug, he says, "...this way, it's this way."

[rassera]

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."

[ktfod]

A bit young to be a cop, yeah, that's what helped him get in, though considering imPorts these days... it was hard to tell. Still this play was more lenient with imPorts because they wanted the good show.

A first grip when Akihiko finds that arm. He's not the sort to seek out help and most of the time, runs himself right into getting battered and broken. Asking for help just wasn't his style, but he's gotten more okay with it after all that... loss. It makes him just want to become more capable too though, more ready. It's what led to all this fighting, wanting to be strong, able to protect people, especially those he cared about.

Definitely his prerogative.

"You sure?" Said nearly sternly, but he'll follow. "Thanks." Near roughly, again not really being used to asking for any assistance. He'll smile again though, turning his head to try and glance back but whenever he tries to open his eyes it's just blurred darkness. Not terrible damage, just the result of a growing headache and some heavy swelling.

"You see that final hit? Got me real good before I knocked him out."

[ktfod]

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.

[rassera]

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!"

[ktfod]

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?"

[outlawrain]

Moses has felt week these past few months. The last fight wasn't good enough to keep him alive. And although he's sure that he'd get yelled at by most of the people he knows if they knew he came here, he's not going to back down. He's dropped his spears off at the outside of the arena, and kicked off his sandals.

There's something about this kind of a fight. It gets his blood boiling, sends chills down his spine. It's like the crowd is craving the action, and Moses is nothing if not a showman.

And man, he'll give them a show.

He cricks his neck hard, licking his lips as the sweat rolls down his face. His outfit hasn't changed since he arrived, but all the jewelery is off it, and back at home... in case anyone got any ideas. Moses is a lean man, but anyone could tell you that appearances meant nothing.

The proof is in the action.

"Yeah I did." He cracked his fist. He stood six feet tall, and while he wasn't the biggest guy, he certainly looked down at Akihiko.

"After all, looks like you'll need more than yer own."

The countdown began.

3.

2.

1.

The bell went off and the crowd went up as Moses moved in, pulling his arm back to slam an elbow towards him.

[rassera]

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."

[unbreaker]

"Yeah, yeah, don't worry about it, I know where I'm going." A lie. But look, most places equipped for fighting—even the underground sort—would have a bathroom nearby, right? So Josuke figures that it can't be too far from the room they'd used for their arena, especially given the expectancy for blood spatter in each of the fights.

And there had definitely been a lot of blood.

Once they've put a little distance between themselves and the crowd, taken to the series of hallways winding outwards and away from the arena like veins from a heart, Josuke keeps his eyes peeled for a restroom sign.

"I saw, yeah." Saw Akihiko take the hit and counter with one that was twice as nasty. Obviously there hadn't been a healer on standby, and if Josuke had to guess why, he'd say it was because these people actually liked a little brutality. Still, they'd signed themselves up for it knowing what they were getting into. He can't feel too sorry for them given that. "I thought you might be down for the count but you came right back. Where'd you learn to fight like that?"

[ktfod]

Well this place wasn't about anyone else but yourself, right? It was about you, the opponent (maybe) and the fight. He didn't really talk about this to those close to him either, why should he? It'd just worry them anyway and there wasn't any point to doing that when he knew he'd be fine. He was used to this. And if he really got roughed up, he had his Evoker at home and he could heal up with a single shot.

The pressure in the room gets to you, it's true. Even Akihiko who's both used to fights in a ring and this place will feel it. The heat in here, how it's already making him sweat too. It's good though, how thick it is. How the smell, energy, and stares at belting against his skin. He feels damn alive and it'll be even better when he gets to moving.

"You think so? I don't need to pray, I'm always prepared." A smirk, and they're announced. Or the little about them they can give is, and then the count down and it lights a fire under his feet till he's finally jumping to action. Quick to get into a defensive stance though, seeing Moses come in on the offensive. Akihiko turns, shifting to the side and away and the elbow attack means Moses will be a lot closer to him and more prone. He swings hard, aiming to get a shot around Moses and against his stomach.