Archive of Our Own

You typically don’t expect some underground fighting shenanigans to take place in some beat up parking garage. Though considering the likes of Tokita Ohma and Sekibayashi Jun had so freely fought here, perhaps it wasn’t as unexpected as one realized. 

Any place away from the eyes of the typical common man was good. A shadowy organization makes use of every last pocket of darkness. Some hobble of a parking garage wasn’t too out of place, especially when the guards could be so easily bribed. Well, assuming the garage they picked wasn’t already owned by a company in-the-know about the entire ordeal.

It was business as usual for the Kengan Association. Some tech company went under after their higher-ups started rigging the books, everything was liquidated and suddenly there was some free real estate. One of them would become a point of interest for two particular companies. The first was Furumi Pharmaceuticals while the second was a pharmaceutical company from overseas that was trying to gain more footing in Japan called Angstrom Laboratories.

Furumi Heihachi was in a small camp with his fighter. The Wild Tiger, Wakatsuki Takeshi, listened to music to calm his nerves. No matter how mighty and feared he was, he always felt nervous before a fight. He supposed that’s what it meant to be human past everything his condition had turned him into.

Heihachi put a hand on Takeshi’s shoulder. “Hey there sport, you ready?”

Takeshi took off his earphones. Which were custom made for him so that he wouldn’t easily crush them. One would think it pointless to try and make durable earphones for a man who could crush titanium controllers at age ten, but Takeshi’s since improved his control over his strength. The durability of the phones were for those little slips of control.

Then again, wouldn’t a slip of control cause him to almost certainly smash the durable earphones then? Takeshi couldn’t ponder about that further as he tucked his earphones away and made his way through the crowd. All parted as they saw the hulking beast of a man move past them.

“Alright!” boomed a man. He was no ordinary man, he was the referee. It could be seen on the stripes of his shirt. “We’ve got a battle for a nice lil’ lot down in Nagoya! We have two pharmaceutical companies right now, are both heads and their respective representatives present?”

“Present,” Heihachi raised his hand and gave a sheepish smile. 

“Present,” said the foreigner, Armand Angstrom. His arms crossed and his eyes firmly on his opponent CEO. Japan was a different jungle compared to back home, but it still had some familiar rivers and crannies. He can navigate it if he just had a sharp enough knife, and luckily for him, he might have just gotten the sharpest knife money could buy.

That was of course the absolute unit of a man that stood right behind him. The man who towered above everybody else and threatened to touch the ceiling of the parking garage. Honestly the fact that he was even able to fit under here was a marvel of engineering no doubt. Everything was usually so much smaller in Japan. Perhaps this hobble of a parking garage was actually built with gargantuan fighters in mind. No, that couldn’t be it. The ceiling would be even higher than it was now if that were the case, some tall fighters loved to jump.

“Then I suppose it’s time to get this show on the road!” The referee wheezed, with all on-lookers cheering, excited for the main event of this little night. There were a couple other fights regarding other disputes prior to this one, and much like a show of pro wrestling on TV, it was time for the main event of the night. The referee extended his arm over to his left.

“Representing Furumi Heihachi of Furumi Pharmaceuticals! He is the man with muscles 52 times greater than the average man! The Wild Tiger, Wakatsuki Takeshi!”

All cheered and clapped as Takeshi walked on forward. He took off his shirt, which left him in his combat trunks. His muscles were absolutely packed, they were neither akin to a bodybuilder’s which was fine like sculpted stone, nor like that of a powerlifter’s which were usually so smooth in their exterior despite their toughness. They appeared as if they were teetering off the edge. With the fall in question being the muscles just bursting from right under Takeshi’s skin.

“Let’s go Waka!” clapped the young grappler known as Imai Cosmo. He was here with his master, Kureishi Mitsuyo. The younger grappler actually participated in an earlier match against Tommy Strummer, which he of course won. Other underground fighters in attendance (be it from participation earlier in the night or just stopping by to watch) were Sawada Keizaburo, Lihito, and Liu Dongcheng.

“Hey halfwit, who’re you placin’ your bets on?” Keizaburo couldn’t help but ask Lihito. The two were a little too tired for their usual bickering tonight given that the former just got off of a successful win for Murder Music while the latter actually had work to do given that he was the president of Super Frozen Cold Storage. Honestly it was surprising Nogi would just let Lihito keep that job and all the responsibilities therein, but The Superman managed to make it work, somehow.

“Hmm? Oh. Waka, of course!”

“I wouldn’t go around discounting Toa now,” interjected Liu Dongcheng. “Toa’s still quite the fearsome foe. He has his not-so-savvy moments, but he’s not to be trifled with.”

“I don’t know man…” Lihito scratched the back of his head. “Waka did beat Julius, and Julius beat your buddy.”

“That victory was a couple years ago, I doubt that holds much weight.”

“Whatever you say, man.”

“And now introducing his opponent!” the referee motioned to his right. “Representing Armand Angstrom of Angstrom Laboratories! He hails from the fabled Maori bloodline of Mudo! The Beast of Destruction, Toa Mudo!”

The crowd clapped once more, cheering and whistling for the Maori monster. Many of those who cheered for him were fans he’d gained since his days in Heroic Tales, and then afterwards Purgatory. He was a man of unbelievable strength and power, and he would squash all comers, with the only ones ever hoping of standing a chance against him being men who operated on an echelon of power within proximity of the title Fang .

Was Wakatsuki Takeshi one such person? Only one way to find out.

“Alright! I want a good clean fight! I know you’re both used to the Kengan way of fighting but the new rules say usuals aren’t allowed to be to the death anymore,” explained the referee.

“Saving the spectacle for the big ones, I get it,” Takeshi breathed out. He looked up at Toa, sizing him up. He was as big as Julius. Perhaps slightly taller and almost certainly heavier. If his battle with Julius a couple years ago during the Kengan Annihilation Tournament was anything to go by, this fight was going to be a tough one. He could at least take some solace in the fact that this wasn’t to the death. Perhaps then Toa would not be as vicious as Julius was.

“And… that’s about it! Ready?” The referee raised his hand up in the air.

Both Takeshi and Toa said nothing, instead entering their fighting stances.

“FIGHT!!!!!”

Takeshi made the first move. His approach was slow and controlled. Toa stood still in his signature defensive stance as the karateka tested the waters by leading with a calf kick. Toa however was familiar with calf kicks. Being a tall man, getting kicked on his lead leg was actually a pretty common strategy against him. Rolon in particular used it against him during their first ever bout. A means to soften up his defense and set him up for a devastating elbow.

Toa raised his leg, pivoting slightly as the calf kick whiffed, and then stomped hard on the ground to push himself forward as he unleashed a devastating counterpunch. Takeshi however would block this strike, taking a couple steps back as they once more found themselves in a neutral position.

This would go on for a few more minutes as the two went back and forth with their controlled exchanges. Takeshi maintained an upright stance as he went for quick strikes. He was unable to land any desired kicks, but he was able to get a jab in, though he was unable to lead it into any follow up. Toa likewise kept trying to rack up some damage on Takeshi’s arms, eager to eventually cause the man to break his guard.

Of course this was much easier said than done. Other fighters would have red sore arms at this point, but Wakatsuki Takeshi was no ordinary man. He had the fabled Superman Syndrome, and with it his arms were as solid as a fortress. 

Though Toa Mudo was no ordinary fighter either. With his hands he shaped the landscapes of New Zealand’s Fiordland National Park. 

And perhaps it was time to go ahead and show the tiger what he’s made of. He was a seeker. THE seeker. He was going to surpass God! He may not have been able to showcase it during his clash with that darned Julius Reinhold, but there was nothing he was not able to do.

So Toa Mudo planted his foot on the ground, and then took another step as well, committing himself to offense as he went ahead and unleashed a more dedicated offensive. 

[Both Hands]

Toa Mudo swung forth with both of his hands, ready to smash into Wakatsuki Takeshi. The Wild Tiger however saw an opening, and being the quicker of the two, he quickly cut The Beast of Destruction short by rocking him with a front kick.

Takeshi’s foot went right up Toa’s chin, cutting the man’s attack short as the sound of the impact echoed through the parking garage. The strike would have torn any man’s heads clean off their shoulders.

But like Toa was no ordinary man.

[Wai] was the name of this technique. One of the two key elements of the Mudo family fighting style, which took the almighty principle of limpness to disperse the impact. Normally, going limp should only weaken damage somewhat, but the world worked in mysterious ways. Going limp at this day and age was a virtually unstoppable catch all. Going limp in the head area shouldn’t even be either possible or effective, yet considering Toa’s two hands would slam right into Takeshi’s thigh a second later, it was clear that the fight was far from over.

Takeshi groaned in pain as he hobbled back. His thigh managed to tank the hit, though it was undeniably sore. And there was more where that came from as Toa began to throw several more punches. The Beast of Destruction swung at Takeshi, causing him to put up his guard as he was forced to weather the blows.

Though a man of Toa’s size couldn’t keep such a rush for long, he was forced to pull back. As Toa tried to catch his breath, that was when Takeshi stepped forward with his own attack. 

“Nngghh!” Toa’s eyes bulged as he saw Takeshi take a familiar stance. The stance of a reverse straight punch. Toa immediately locked up into his familiar defensive stance, ready to go ahead and take The Wild Tiger’s signature attack.

Though no punch would come, Takeshi quickly turned it into a kick onto Toa’s lead leg. It was like kicking a tree stump. The two returned to neutral positions as both gathered their breaths. Their bodies all warmed up and ready to push on. It was only going to get bloodier from here as they now knew where each other stood in the battle. Now it was merely a matter of who could go deeper, and who could then return to the surface first in order to drown the other.

“Alright! Things are finally picking up!” Lihito pumped his fist. “I thought these guys would just play all coy forever!”

“They were clearly testing the waters around each other,” Dongcheng rubbed his chin. “Even though they’re both some of the toughest fighters in the underground, they’re also some of the hardest hitters. They need to know where they stand, especially with what’s at stake.”

On the other side of the crowd, Kureishi Mitsuyo and Imai Cosmo stood, watching the match.

“No point in not addressing the elephant in the room,” Mitsuyo grinned as he put his hands on his hips. “Both are wary of each other’s trademark move.”

“Yeah,” Cosmo nodded. “Wakatsuki’s got his Blast Core, but that’s exactly what Toa wants him to do. He’s got mang… manga… mauna loa… moana… manhwa… the demonsbane looking thing!”

“Maungamanawa,” Mitsuyo laughed. “Quite the mouthful, isn’t it? Makes your tongue right out of spit. I’m sure you’re familiar with how the Demonsbane was key to Tokita Ohma’s victory over our karate friend over here. Turning the power of his Blast Core right back at him. Maungamanawa employs the same concept, and that’s exactly what Toa wants to exploit.”

“But that approach is entirely reactive,” Cosmo crossed his arms. “Waka decides what’s going to happen, and he knows Toa is fishing for an opportunity to use it against him. He can use that to his advantage, much like how he did just now, feinting a Blast Core to catch Toa with a calf kick.”

“And while they’re both tough enough to take one, maybe even two, of each other’s moves, one thing is clear…”

Takeshi and Toa neared each other slowly, ready for another exchange. 

“...every success counts.”

Toa was once again the one to take to the offensive. This time it was an open palm strike coming from his right. Takeshi tucked himself in as he then ducked under the swing and hit Toa with a punch to the gut, only for Toa’s [Hau] to have the giant tuck his chest inwards as he pivoted slightly to the right, causing the strike to merely graze his abdomen at best.

Now as close as possible to Wakatsuki, Toa Mudo quickly locked the man in a bear hug. It wasn’t a proper bear hug, as the actual bear hug didn’t fasten the opponent’s arms, but considering who he was up against, that was something Toa couldn’t afford. Toa lifted Takeshi off the ground and squeezed him. Toa smirked as he had his opponent in his [Awa Riu Kuiti] . It was a technique he developed as he continued to broaden his horizons. In this case he learned more on how to better incorporate the Mudo family fighting style when it came to submitting opponents.

The opponent’s muscles are used against them. The natural reaction of the opponent when grabbed is of course to try and force themselves free. Grappling was a game of leverage and sometimes you just need some sufficient force to open the gaps you need. But these muscles are now turned against the user as Toa begins to alternate between [Wai] and [Hau] to absorb and divert as much of their struggles and put them right back. The technique was one that demanded utmost precision, and thus took most of Toa’s concentration.

But considering this effectively gave him some kind of slow-cook Maungamanawa, he’d say it was good.

“It is over, Wakatsuki Takeshi, there’s nothing you can do now to stop me,” Toa taunted him. “Your strength has betrayed you, for it belongs to me.”

Takeshi grit his teeth, his mind immediately flashed back to when Julius had him in this exact position. Though this time, he had a neat little trick up his sleeve.

With a loud shout and a burst of sweat, Wakatsuki Takeshi would break free of Toa’s hold. Toa was stunned as his arms and chest felt sore. Not hurt, just sore as they found themselves forced open. Takeshi fell to the ground on both feet and immediately entered a low stance, ready to go ahead and strike Toa with his big move.

Toa once again instinctively entered his signature defensive stance, or some cruder panicked version of it, and once again, Takeshi would instead use this as an opportunity to instead kick Toa in the calf, this time with a sweep kick. Toa would not lose balance however, having the [Wai] principle lessen the damage, though he was unable to punish the low attack.

The Beast of Destruction sighed as he looked at his lead leg, it was beginning to get a little sore. It was clear to him that The Wild Tiger was setting him up to be unable to evade his blastcore, or fall back from a dedicated push.

“Tch,” Toa was unamused. This was the best he could do? “You unleashed all of your muscles at once throughout your body to break out of my grip. Like some kind of full body Blastcore, but entirely defensive.”

“Yep. [Blast Escape] is the name I have for it right now. I needed something to take on grapplers. They’re becoming more numerous nowadays. Plus the Niko style’s water kata is no joke. If Ohma could use it to trump Cosmo, it would trump once they get to the ground.”

“Hey!” Cosmo yelled, offended. “That was a long time ago!”

“But it comes at a cost. I can see it in your form. You’ve exhausted your muscles. Your dense and hard composition has gone… soft ,” Toa rushed forward. He moved dangerously quick, enough to cause many onlookers to flinch as he bolted in with [Both Hands] . Waka would crouch down as low as possible to fire off another low kick at the leg he’s been targeting.

The kick would land, but the leg was limp. The momentum of the kick caused Toa’s leg to swerve, and Toa’s entire body swerved with it, spinning as Takeshi realized what just happened.

Toa managed to turn his simplistic [Both Hands] attack into a spinning elbow drop. Takeshi would try to bolt out of the way, only for Toa’s elbow to land right on Waka’s right tibial plateau.

[Maungamanawa]

Takeshi yelled in pain as he crawled backwards, holding his hurt leg. It wasn’t as devastating as it would’ve been, but an elbow to a spot like this was still a dangerous strike. As he laid there, Toa quickly tackled him like a football player, and then mounted him.

“Looks like Toa’s got the advantage now!” Lihito gasped.

“Two big meaty men slapping meat, yep. This is how we’re spending our Friday,” Keizaburo laughed to himself.

“Looks like Toa’s really learned from his defensive mistakes. He’s managed to force Wakatsuki Takeshi into giving into his Maungamanawa,” Dongcheng commented. “And now he’s got him right where he wants him. I doubt he can withstand an assault from this angle. It might already be over.”

Toa wasted no time pummeling Takeshi, his ground and pound was so strong it caused cracks on the cement. The crowd hollered and howled, some begged for Takeshi to break out, or even just slip out, while others were eager for Toa to win. They put in quite some money into his potential victory.

Toa hammered away at Takeshi, who kept his guard up as his arms absorbed all of the hits. Though as Toa kept punching the man, he couldn’t help but feel like the man’s muscles were already beginning to harden again. Worse, they were getting harder and harder than ever before.

Toa decided to shift a bit to hit Takeshi’s softer areas like his side, though these sections were rock hard as well. But it was nothing he couldn’t handle! He’s shaped landscapes! Toa extended his arms out wide before raising both of them up and then slamming them down on Takeshi.

[Ngaru Pakaru]

Toa’s enormous arms crashed onto Takeshi’s guard like a powerful wave, causing large cracks on the floor now. Everyone took a step back, knowing full well in their hearts they would have died had they taken such an attack.

Takeshi however was still conscious, and still blocking, his arms were now red from punishment. He grit his teeth, he still felt a chunk of that attack’s damage, and rightfully so. Ngaru Pakaru was a technique which took Toa’s simplistic two-handed assault and unified them as a single overhead strike, like a crashing wave (hence the name). It utilized the Wai principle by having Toa go limp during the attack’s wind up, and then hardening at the moment of impact, allowing most of his body weight (if not all of it) to crash into the opponent. 

It was an attack of limited accuracy due to its awkward posturing, so it was optimal as a finisher on grounded opponents. Unless of course your name was Wakatsuki Takeshi, certified sandbag.

Takeshi saw Toa breath, trying to catch his breath. That was when he struck. He crossed his arms into an X position and then struck Toa with a backhand to both sides of his jaw, stunning the Maori warrior. At that moment, a window opened for Takeshi which allowed him to slide slightly free from Toa’s mount. Toa would try to swing at him upon seeing him escape, but Takeshi would beat him to it by punching him in the left pec, staggering the beast as Takeshi managed to slip free.

With that, Takeshi was able to slowly get back on his feet. Toa spat out some blood as he stood up as well. Just like that, they were back to neutral.

“That’s odd… why didn’t Wakatsuki hit him with the Blast Core there?” Cosmo asked.

“He couldn’t,” Mitsuyo grinned. “The Blast Core is a technique that requires great muscle control, but the position Toa put your friend in made him lose control of his muscles.”

“Huh? What do you mean, sensei?”

“Okay, perhaps not literally. But look at him,” Mitsuyo pointed at Takeshi. “Look at his body. See how rigid it is? It’s all tense and hard and-”

“That’s pretty sus”

“Listen to what I’m saying!” Mitsuyo smacked his student on the back of the head. “His body is locked up, like a stone. Toa forced him into the defensive and he couldn’t un-tense himself to perform the Blast Core.”

“Hmm… yeah, I can see it,” Cosmo nodded along. “The Blast Core is a technique that demands Waka to have control over his muscles, binding them up and then releasing them. He can’t do that if his muscles are always all hardened. He needs them to soften too. It would be like riding a bicycle. You need to swerve to the left first in order to turn right. It’s a game of balance.”

“And Monsieur Mudo over here has turned him off balance.”

Meanwhile with Lihito, Keizaburo, and Dongcheng…

“Wakatsuki’s looking pretty stiff, even more than when he was getting absolutely pummeled by Fei,” said Dongcheng. “I’m familiar with a style of endurance training known as Kongoken in Chinese Kenpo. All about hardening the body. Perhaps that’s what your friend is doing.”

“Wait, isn't Kenpo a Japanese term?” Keizaburo raised a brow as he looked at the man. “Aren’t you supposed to be a China-Taiwan kid? Why would you-”

“When you learn stuff from the mainland, you inevitably learn stuff from the islands,” Dongcheng sighed with a shrug.

“I don’t think that’s what he’s doing at all. This is definitely closer to the Niko style,” Lihito noted. “Specifically the Adamantine Kata. Where the body hardens up all at once to be as durable as possible. Wakatsuki’s been trying to create a martial art for himself focused on countering the Niko Style for a while now.”

“And the best way to learn how to counter something would be to take parts of it for yourself.”

“Actually, the closer I examine it, the more I think Waka’s a lot closer to Mark Myers when I fought him in the Berserker Bowl,” Lihito added. “He was all stiff and as a result I knew I would struggle to cut him. But he also couldn’t move really well, he needed to loosen up in order to be more mobile. The same principle likely applies to Wakatsuki.”

Takeshi exhaled, his hard muscles softening once more. Now they were more stable again. Still, he hissed as he felt a lingering sting on his right knee, Toa caught him good there. Just when he was working to soften him up, Toa got him good. “I can’t afford any more setbacks. One more misstep like that and I’ll play right into his trump card! I need to get the jump on him fast!” Takeshi thought as he started taking more steps forward.

Toa mirrored him, approaching as well. Though he took bigger strides. He strided in with a forward jab to which Takeshi would tank the attack head on and counter with his own. A blatant exchange of punches to the face.

“Nngghh!” Toa felt his nose bloodied on that one. He should’ve gone limp. Worse, it felt as if his punch did not hurt Takeshi at all! Takeshi stood there with a big smile, he moved slower and with more commitment, though Toa knew the impacts would be tough.

Takeshi followed up with another punch, this time, Toa had him where he wanted him. [Wai] came in for his body to disperse the damage as the punch went straight for his gut, and [Hau] came as he spun off it, countering with a mighty [Maungamanawa] in the form of a backhand to Takeshi’s head.

There was only one problem.

There was no damage!

Toa’s [Maungamanawa] took the form of a simple backslap. Well, backslap relative to a man his size. But to a man of Takeshi’s constitution, it was nothing. Toa found himself in an awkward spot as Takeshi instantly fired a kick to the side of his knee. Having just come off of his counter, Toa could not go limp in time as he instead stumbled backward, and in doing so exposed his leading left leg to another calf kick. It was a light one from Takeshi’s own leading left leg, though he quickly followed this up with a more powerful kick from his slightly injured right leg.

Toa was quick to raise his leg to punish the shot, but Takeshi was one step ahead of him again as he did not aim for Toa’s calf, but instead his midsection, landing a solid roundhouse kick to the man’s abdomen. Once again, Toa was not able to disperse it with his [Wai] , and thus the man staggered, left open for Takeshi to get low and enter his finishing stance.

It was time.

[Blast Co-]

“Nngggh!!” Takeshi winced as he stopped before he could unleash his coup de grace. He grabbed his knee. The muscles in his leg were roaring out as they threatened to crush his very bones. As he did, Takeshi helplessly watched as Toa managed to limp away a solid distance away from him. “Damn it!”

“What’s the problem?!” Keizaburo yelled out, his patron and buddy Yoshiko trying to calm him down. “He had him!”

“It’s his leg,” Lihito and Dongcheng said in unison. The two looked at each other, giving an amused nod at their shared conclusion. 

“From what I can gather, this Blast Core technique that Wakatsuki Takeshi uses demands the use of all of his muscles. This of course includes the leg. As martial artists, we’re all aware that the power of a punch takes much of its strength from how we push off of the ground. A strike as powerful as the Blast Core would no doubt hinge upon such a principle,” Dongcheng noted, his eyes focused on Takeshi’s swollen tibial area. “Takeshi gathers as much power as he can, pressing off the ground as it all transfers from the earth to his legs and then finally to his fists. All of his muscles uncoiling at once. It’s like Fa Jin, though in this case it demands much muscle control.”

“And since his leg’s too strained from using it for kicks plus that nasty elbow drop earlier, he botched his blast core attempt,” Lihito shook his head. “Darn. So close. Do you think he would’ve won then and there?”

“I wouldn’t go so far as to discount Toa,” Dongcheng huffed. “He can tank at least one.”

“You’re really biased towards your old buddies, huh?”

“Wouldn’t you?”

Lihito couldn’t argue with that.

Takeshi and Toa roared as they darted towards each other, their fists collided, causing everyone to flinch upon the raw power of the clash. Takeshi was the one to take initiative as his body hardened and he threw another punch at Toa. Toa would once more utilize his [Maungamanawa] to take in the damage and counter through an uppercut, only this time Takeshi’s arm shifted, hitting him in the collarbone instead of the neck, where Toa went limp.

Toa coughed as his counter was cut off. Takeshi threw another one, a liver punch. Once more the same exchange occurred as Toa used [Wai] to disperse the damage there, only for Takeshi’s muscles to oddly spiral, eerily similar to Julius’ frightening rock drills, as he redirected it to Toa’s ribcage. Toa spat blood at the hard hits as he found himself open.

“What’s happening?!” Toa panicked. He had flashbacks to Julius’ Gott-Toter Steinbohrer. How they spiralled perfectly, swerving where they needed to swerve to take advantage of the gaps in his seemingly almighty defense.

Toa tried to move back, but his hurt calf made it hard to be mobile. He moved as if he were stuck, and Takeshi pounced to finish the job. His muscles were incredibly hard, but they softened now into a more balanced state before suddenly twisting again. Moving as if they were ready to unleash a powerful slingshot of tension.

It was time to end this.

[Tiger Claws]

Takeshi unleashed a powerful punch which Toa failed to counter, hitting the Maori giant on his right pec. And then another to his solar plexus, and then one more to the spot where he struck him on his ribcage. Toa believed he could disperse that one, only to get hit in the liver instead, the opposite of the earlier interaction.

The air knocked right out of him, Toa was left staggered as Takeshi finished his four-punch combo with one more powerful punch right in the spot where he kicked him earlier.

His liver.

Toa reeled back, spitting out blood and spit as he stumbled and then fell. The ground shook upon the giant’s fall, and Takeshi let out a triumphant yell.

“Well I’ll be,” said a mysterious American man. He looked like a cowboy. Down to the fact that he had a straw of wheat in his mouth. “That looked an awful lot like that Agito feller’s Dragon Vein. I take it he divided his Blast Core into smaller punches he could control much easier to prevent soft style counters.”

“You got all that out of four punches?” said a tall and corpulent Chinese man who stood beside him.

“More like out of all the fights I’ve seen Mr Wa-Cat-Zoo-Key take part in,” the cowboy tipped his hat. “He struggles with soft style users. Folks that go limp or use his Herculean strength against him. This is his way of trying to get past that.”

“Rawdog!” said another man, accompanying the two as he sat on all fours like a dog, tongue out as he watched the fight unfold.

They all watched as Toa got back up slowly. He wiped the blood off of his lips as they stained his beard. His body was a wreck, he’d taken in all four devastating shots. He couldn’t afford that. He could not afford another loss like this! He watched as Takeshi caught his breath and closed in again.

Toa had learned from his years-old mistake of being defensive, and in that brief instance a couple seconds ago he had forgotten it. Well not now. He was taking the initiative once more. He was a seeker! He was going to show this “superman syndrome” what a REAL freak of nature was!

He pointed up to the sky, “your lucky streak ends here, Wakatsuki Takeshi.”

“Not luck,” Takeshi zoomed in, pushing off the ground mostly with his left leg, “skill!”

[Tiger Claw]

Toa slammed into Takeshi with a full shoulder bash as the karateka swung back. As Takeshi swung, Toa’s [Hau] allowed the giant to pivot slightly, though it was less about dodging this time as Toa instead caught the blow. He now had his left arm wrapped around Takeshi’s right arm, and then placed his right to lock his left.

Toa wasted no time and tried to place a leg against Waka’s injured right leg and jerk him that way, a takedown. Though Takeshi did not move. He did not budge one bit. Toa struggled to move him.

“You’re not taking me down that easily!” said Takeshi as he stood there, refusing to budge.

“There’s no tree stump I can’t uproot,” Toa pushed Takeshi’s left arm further away as he pressed the man’s face into his chest, “sideways or backwards, you’re going down!”

The two wrestled with each other for a bit in a test of strength, the parking garage floor continuing to crack some more under the immense pressure of both men.

“Yo Lihito, look at his toes,” Keizaburo tapped Lihito’s shoulder and then pointed at Takeshi’s feet.

“Woah. They’re digging into the floor! It’s almost kinda like my thing. Or Albert’s.”

“Wasn’t that the Singaporean weeb who kicked your ass in the Purgatory Tourney?” Keizaburo raised his brow with a grin. 

“Yes, yes it was,” Dongcheng grinned, answering Keizaburo’s rhetorical question. Lihito grumbled at how the two joked at his expense.

Takeshi looked to his right, where Toa’s injured left leg was around his injured right. It was so close and just out of reach, and unfortunately Toa took the initiative to stomp on his left foot, pinning his left leg.

Takeshi took a deep breath. His opponent had jailed him into a new spot. He didn’t know if he could suffer another pummeling on the ground. His arms were already screaming when they weathered the catastrophic melee Toa unleashed earlier, and now they were being forced through strain to grapple with the larger man.

The Superman Syndrome clashed with Mudo genes as the wrestling match continued. Takeshi can still make the push. He can! He dug his toes even deeper into the concrete as he wrestled his hands to hold Toa’s biceps as he extended both his arms out, pooling whatever muscle power into his legs as he pushed against Toa. His knee felt like it was on fire, but he powered through some more. This battle was his, he just needed to power through some more!

The floor cracked as Takeshi pushed against Toa.

[Hau]

Good. Just where Toa wanted him. Takeshi had made Toa do an old mistake of being defensive. Now it was Takeshi’s turn to make an old mistake of his own. Never commit yourself against a soft style user. Though in this case, the choice was no longer Takeshi’s.

Toa pivoted to the left as Takeshi ended up pushing himself forward. Toa moved both his hands onto Takeshi’s right arm as he tripped The Wild Tiger and then locked him into a Fujiwara Armbar.

“Oh! He’s got him now!” Cosmo exclaimed.

“That he has,” Mitsuyo affirmed. “Toa’s got your pal locked in good. Wakatsuki’s strong, no doubt about that. But Toa’s got both of his arms on only one of his. But then again…”

[Blast Escape]

Takeshi’s muscles went into overdrive as all of his effort went into his arm. He moved his shoulder for better leverage, as Toa had been careless to not keep it as bent and pinned as possible, he twisted his constrained right arm against Toa’s hold, breaking free of his grip and wrapping his arm around Toa’s head before finally smashing it into the ground.

Takeshi groaned as he held his arm and tried to get up, but stumbled. His muscles screamed, he felt lightheaded, and worst of all, Toa would get up, angrier than ever before. Takeshi’s muscles felt soft and weak, and he forcibly hardened them as he tried to raise his guard, only for Toa to punt him in the head, powering through the haphazard block and knocking Takeshi down.

Toa then grabbed Takeshi by the jaw.

[Te Riri A Whiro]

He would throw Takeshi upward, sending the karateka’s entire body straight into the ceiling, forming cracks as Takeshi then fell back to the ground, only for Toa to unleash a wound-up punch with all of his strength, sending Takeshi flying a good distance.

Furumi and a part of the crowd ran out of the way as Takeshi slammed straight into some poor sap’s car.

“Takeshi! Are you alright?!” Furumi instinctively called out.

“No!” Takeshi spat out some blood as he got off the car and its dented hood as well as shattered windshield. No glass shards could cut through his tough skin as Takeshi tried to stand, only to fall to his knees.

“Alright. I’ve seen enough,” the referee stepped in. “This battle is- woah!”

Toa Mudo pushed the referee aside. “Don’t you dare cheapen this victory for me. Sit and watch, curr,” said Toa. He pressed one side of his nose to forcibly shoot out some blood from his other nostril. He tried to catch his breath and as he did, he could see that Takeshi’s muscles could no longer harden. 

Good. The match was drawing to a close then. He could already taste it.

“Stand and face your defeat like a man, Wakatsuki Takeshi. You deserve at least that much.”

Takeshi stood, forcing himself to be balanced. “You’re wrong. I’m not going down so easily!”

“My fighting style counters your core strengths, the next exchange is mine.”

“You have no idea what I’ve got in store.”

Toa lunged at Takeshi.

[Both Hands]

[Tiger Claw]

Takeshi once more countered the attack with a front kick to Toa’s jaw, though this time Toa caught him by the foot. His right foot no less.

“Kicking with your bad leg? Now I know I’ve really done a number on you.”

Now standing on one foot, Takeshi breathed in as he hopped off the floor.

[Blast Core]

Toa’s head fell back as Takeshi kicked him right in the jaw with an extremely powerful spinning back kick. All of his muscles had bundled up perfectly into this attack, right where he wanted him. 

Only for Toa’s own leg to slam right into Takeshi’s face as the giant fell down.

[Maungamanawa]

Both men fell down. Bleeding and gasping for breath.

Though only one would go limp, while the other would weakly raise up his arm in triumph.

“You need to stand if you want this to not end in a draw,” the referee told the man. “At least a sitting position will do.”

The winner groaned as he then tried to roll over, blood dripping onto the ground as he tried to stand, only to fall to his knees, exhausted.

“Close enough,” the referee shrugged as he observed the other fighter, who had now fallen unconscious. “The winner of this fight is Toa Mudo of Angstrom Laboratories!”

The crowd cheered and hollered as Toa laid there, kneeling over the defeated Takeshi. Toa placed a hand on his chest, and then even bowed down to place his head on it, as if praying over a dead body. Toa then tried to walk off, but he stumbled down and fell back onto his knees, his body still undoubtedly damaged by the many high-powered strikes he’d felt.

Armand Angstrom snapped his fingers as some of his bodyguards walked on over to assist the enormous fighter. All the while Heihachi Furumi walked on over to his unconscious fighter. He wasn’t disappointed or angry or anything. It was just a lousy spot anyways. He was just worried about Takeshi was all.

The two businessmen gave each other a thumbs up. It was a great fight. They could both agree on that.

“Waka’s not going to be happy when he wakes up,” Cosmo frowned. “He’s worked so hard and yet he’s come short.”

“I don’t think Waka made any real mistakes here. The fight could’ve gone either way,” Mitsuyo commented. “Maybe if he peppered pineapple-head with more of those muscle-controlled punches he might’ve tenderized him enough to leave him open for Blast Core. Relying more on his kicks seemed to work for him, maybe that was his next step.”

“I hope so,” Cosmo shook his head as Takeshi was stretchered out of the battlefield.

“He almost had him,” Dongcheng crossed his arms. “If he’d just used another one of those twisty muscle strikes instead of a committed Blast Core, he could’ve done him in. Be it through that shot alone or with Blast Core as a devastating follow up.”

“Honestly with how hair-thin the fight became in closeness, I don’t think we can shame Wakatsuki for going for Blast Core right there. I’m pretty sure he just shattered Toa’s jaw,” Lihito replied. He sighed, oh well. Takeshi lost. Better luck next time. He knew that feeling, he had to incur quite some losses before he could truly undergo his sweet transcendence. 

One day, Wakatsuki Takeshi shall truly overcome the soft style. One day, he shall develop the ultimate way to defang the two tigers of the darned Niko Style.

But that day was not today.