[Round 3] Thoma vs. Thurgood

Description: It's the Chinese New Year! There's celebrations going on all around the GTB areas! Festivities such as dances and fireworks. It's just one exciting attraction after the other. There's even a parade happening today going through the action-packed streets. Guess who is riding one of the floats?

The tournament fighters.

A big float is driving itself through the streets at a slow pace, allowing all spectators up and down the street to see it. There are giant televisions displaying the action from many angles, too, allowing for anyone who isn't nearby to watch what is happening. The railing is made of red-painted metal and the floor of this moving platform is paved stone, much like the platform of the previous fighting area.

The fighters will be fighting upon this mobile platform. The float is moving rather slow, so things such as balance and movement should not be much of a problem.

Field Measurements: The entire platform is 50 by 50 ft, and raised up four feet off the ground. Outside the float, the street is about ten feet on each side, though obviously the distance is very large both in front and back of the float. There are other floats in line with the fighting platform, but the distance is about thirty feet in space to decrease the chances of disrupting the fight.

Ten Count Boundary: Once your character touches the street, the ten count starts. So best get back into the ring OVER the railing and then touch the platform before it counts out. Obviously, if your opponent disrupts this, the ten count is reset.

Fight Ends: Friday, Feb 24, 9:00 PM central

Thoma Shinuchi

About ten pats and one swoosh, that is, the in general onomatopoeias that would announce Thoma's arrival were this an arcade game, adding drama to his... Well, fairly dramatic entrance. Where exactly he came from would be anyone's guess, unless the indeed saw him arrive, but Thoma would quickly run up behind the float and applying chakra to his feet easily run up the railing for a final back flip on to a corner on the opposite side of the float as his competitor. The crowd raves at his entrance and Thoma waves, swaying his body back and forth along with his head. In appearance it's just to wave to the crowd, but his eyes were doing a lot more... The arena this time was smaller leaving his kunai to be not as useful, well, at least not as far as basic distanced combat goes. Thoma also took into account the lighting, even though the stage was fairly well lit the lights canceled out each of the others shadows for the most part. That wasnt to say they didn't exist, but even for a trained eye like Thoma's, they would be more of a hassle finding then they were worth.

Thoma also took into consideration that while only slightly, the float was elevated and their were rails not to mention that the float was moving. This meant that even if he only managed to break one of the mans arms, he still might be able to manage a win by ring out, though breaking a leg would be much more effective. Speaking of which, it was good to see that his opponent in this case was a normal human like himself, sure he couldn't leave out the thought of transformations or special powers but it was simply easier to face.

After his quick preliminary scans, Thoma got down from the corner railing and walked to the center of his side of the float, still distanced from his opponent. Thoma didn't even bother to speak yet, not because he didn't want to greet his opponent but because the distance was still a bit too much. Thoma would simply wave and await his opponent's first move, at least for now...

Thoma Shinuchi

Thoma grinned, this boy was pretty smart. The simple matter of things is that Thoma's ranged advantage had been reduced. Not only was the arena smaller but his opponent was faster and was moving at a pace that would allow him to dodge, though in one sense the advantage was still there as his opponent was now much fleshier...

With that said, Thoma may as well get rid of his basic stash of kunai that only served purpose in a ranged fight. Thoma would reach into his jacket with both hands and first with his right, then with his left while he reached back in with his right, then with his right while he reached back in with his left he would throw the kunai in a non stop motion. Twelve to be exact, all lacking tags. What would be interesting though is that almost every other kunai would miss, that is, miss to such an extent that one would have to question if Thoma was even trying to throw them at Thurgood. If one were to examine the arena floor, they would notice that these six formed a perfect circle, all aiming towards the center of the arena, what that meant though was anyones guess... As for the other six, they would be adjusted if Thurgood moved, but they would all be aimed to his the mans thighs which were the most exposed part of his body aside from his arms and would serve the greatest purpose to harm to immobilize the boy.

Thoma's next actions of course, would depend on the boy. Thoma was pretty sure he would keep up his charge, if he could that is, but knew better than to stake on anything. As such, Thoma would merely continue to wait, and watch...

Thoma Shinuchi

Oh no... Close quarters combat... Thoma was a ninja, he couldn't deal with stuff like that! The question he needed to answer now was how to delay his inevitable defeat in a close ranged fight with the man... Well, their was one answer, the same tactic he used to delay the horrifying thought of actually fighting in the last round. When Thurgood was almost on him, Thoma thrusted his arm out and caught three smoke balls and threw them down, the three were lined up so that Thurgood likely wouldn't be able to escape the smoke, one being in front of him, the other being behind him, and one actually striking him.

To be honest though, this time the tectic served much more than the simple yet effective purpose of burning him, Thoma needed to see how he reacted, while escape may very well be impossible, depending on his actions Thoma could gauge whether or not he saw his last fight or not, at least enough to make a good guess on it anyway. At any rate, Thoma's would not be standing still while he threw the bombs, nor would his actions be mirrors of the last match, this tactic served a new purpose and the arena has changed... As he threw the smoke bombs, he would also leap back, reaching into his jacket and pulling out a kunai with a fire tag on it, he would lob it into the air while activating it, this would give him enough time to hit the railing and leap off of it to the side so he could get a glimpse of Thurgood before the the kunai hit the fire and set the smoke ablaze. All in all, this series of actions would take the whole of about a second, maybe two, and once the smoke was on fire it would be out within less than a second, as it's true power came from the extreme hit of the fire and not how long it lasted.

Assuming Thurgood was facing forward for all of this, Thoma would be at his ten, crouching and ready to spring in near any direction depending on what his senses and his logic give him to work with...

Thoma Shinuchi

Hmmm, the boy made some interesting moves, and tried to be clever, but overall was foolish. His first mistake was trying to bat the smoke balls away, this would actually leave Thoma to assume he didn't watch Thoma's fight with the scorpion man as he very well should have known that the balls explode on contact if he was paying close attention in that match. Overall it wouldn't matter to much, he would still receive the same kind of burns as if he had just let the balls hit him in the first place. Due to him running to the edge, it wouldn't be severe, the smoke would trail in front of him flightly, so for the most part he would receive first degree burns on his back, any showing skin on his arms, and slight burns to the chest.

Trying to deflect the smoke balls wasn't exactly the boys most foolish move though, it was leaping over the railing while holding onto it, this would force him to take his eyes off of Thoma while Thoma had his eyes locked onto the boy. His next move was simple, reaching into his jacket he pulled out a kunai with a flame tag, the flame wouldn't do him any good in this case but it didn't need to. The moment the boy removed one hand from the railing the other would be struck dead on by the kunai, possibly even severing a finger, not to mention the pain that would come from the fall. Thoma was quite the humanitarian, so he didn't really enjoy things like this, but between being a ninja, and knowing there were medics on standby for situations like this, he could over see injuring people to this degree...

Thoma Shinuchi

What Thurgood wouldn't know is that Thoma never left his "read to leap" position. This placed him very low to the ground and actually even placed his left hand on the ground for added support. This did not mean that Thoma would be unaffected by the jerk, it only meant that he would be able to flow with it. When the jerk happened, Thoma would be sent backwards, or in other words, the direction away from Thurgood. Due to his positioning though, Thoma was actually able to turn the boys strategy against him.

Thoma would roll backwards with the force, and this role would not be wasted. As the role started Thoma saw Thurgood leaping in his direction over the railing, when Thoma was facing up in the roll, he flicked both of his wrist placing a smoke bomb in each hand. When he was facing down he slammed his hands down on the ground causing two large plumes of smoke to rise. Obviously though, one roll would not be enough to compensate for the tug, on the second roll when he was facing up he pulled out a flame kunai. When he got to the point where he was facing forward he would turn his roll into a controlled skid, placing his left hand on the ground along with the sole of one foot, his other leg resting on his knee and his right hand throwing the flame kunai. At about the time it passed threw the smoke, it would begin to burn which would ensure that the smoke would remain where it was. If Thoma's calculations were correct, the kunai would be aimed right for the boys abdomen, on contact the flames would leave first or second degree burns depending on how well armored the boy was.

Now was a good time for recap as Thoma awaited for the boy to come through the smoke... The boy had taken a kunai to the ribs and ear, as well as had one bash his knee. He has received small burns over the majority of his body, taken a major wound to two of his fingers, and likely hurt himself on the fall. Throw in the high success rate of his last attack due to the smoke screen cover, and while Thoma wasn't feeling cocky, he was feeling lucky. The boy seemed to be built for close range combat and he had the oppurtunity to take the fight in that direction but he blew it to try a rather risky tactic against a ninja. From this point on, the fight might start taking a more serious approach as Thoma found it unlikely he would be able to keep the boy at a distance much longer, but at least he could enter that phase of the match with the upper hand...

Thoma Shinuchi

Thoma waited silently for the man to appear. He once more got into a position to leap at anymoment, the lighting wouldn't allow him to see behind him due to shadows but he could see in front of him and to his sides, he also should be able to hear most of what would happen... That said, for now he would wait...

Thoma Shinuchi

Seeing the charge Thoma knew what he had to do, he had to end this. As unfortunate as it was, it was getting to the point where it almost seemed like this boys strategy was to have Thoma kill him. As the boy became close, Thoma jerked his arms and let two smoke balls fall from his sleeves into his hands.

After Thoma threw the two smoke balls on the ground between himself and the boy Thoma would take one strong step forward, leading with his right foot and standing sideways, as he did this he thrust his right arm out in a back hand. If the boy kept up his charge, which would have been his only salvation, the back hand would have struck the boy right in the gut. This would be no ordinary backhand though, it would make use of Thoma's bracer which would not only mean he was striking with hard metal, but it would also send a weak electric current through the boys body on impact.

The boy had little chance to dodge, the wall of smoke would separate the two visually and given all of Thoma's actions up to this point, him making a direct attack like this would be likely not even be considered. If the attack was successful, the boy's upper body would likely be sent forward in pain, leaving Thoma's left arm to deliver a quick chop to the back of the neck to knock the boy out. He would not let the child fall though, but would instead set him down on his back, assuming everything went according to plan.

Thoma Shinuchi

After making contact then feeling a punch to the ribs Thoma would quickly leap back and keep pace with his opponent by jumping back and to the sides if he was approaching the edge of the arena, an easy stunt for a ninja. The question was how? How could this boy not even flinch from a full force punch reinforced with thick steel to the gut by a shinobi... Thoma could only think of three answers... He was a highly powerful demi god, though that was unlikely considering tournament regulations and how deep his kunai stuck into the boy. He could see through the smoke somehow and prepared his body ahead of time, though even with the off ability to see through smoke the chances of being able to prepare your body to that degree, especially after taking so much damage, was very unlikely. That left Thoma with only one option, at least as far as quick to think of options went. The boy was strung out on some severe drugs, it would explain the unflinching body at such a powerful attack and the ability to keep going after taking such heavy damage.

This left Thoma with another question though, how to stop a relentless tank without killing it... Electrocution could be an option, but Thoma didn't want to have to resort to showing that so early in the tournament... Getting close also seemed to be an issue, he was confident in his ability to out fight the boy, but if the boy didn't flinch it would make things much to risky. This left Thoma to have to resort to distance attacking again, but it would have to be different, simply launching attack after attack like he has been would probably have the boy die of blood loss before collapsing so he would have to make his attacks count.

He was running low so he would have to make these count... Assuming the boy kept up his charge, Thoma would pull out two flame kunai. Thoma would aim and throw the first at the boys big toe on his right foot while continuing to leap back. The second kunai would be thrown almost immediately after the first aimed at the same target, however it's aim would be dependent on how the boy moved to dodge the first. As far as distanced fighting goes, it would likely be impossible for him to disable the boys legs so the next best option would be to unbalance him.

Thoma Shinuchi

The second kunai would indeed miss, but that was... More or less fine...The real issue was his movements, after having his big toe lobbed off, how was he still able to move like that? It seemed he was indeed a tank. Still, with his toe chopped off, Thoma had done all he could do and couldn't do anymore, if he continued to abuse this boys body the boy would simply die and he would be disqualified. Thoma leaped away from the boy until he reached the railing, of which he back flipped upon, due to the boys motion, Thoma was able to build a decent distance between them, but during the back flip Thoma noticed something... Well no, he noticed it since he began the fight, but only now did the possibility of it holding significant value rise. There was a car following their float driven by a beautiful young woman, and it... Stood out from the rest of the parade. The only two guesses was that it was either a really lost driver or it was this boys driver...

Landing lightly on the rails, more or less ready to deflect the kunai that the boy picked up, Thoma would thrust his right arm out towards the boy with his palm raised, "Hold on my brother. Tell me, do you know the beauty that seems to be tailing us?" Even if Thoma could not stop the boy physically, maybe he could mentally.

Thoma Shinuchi

Crap... She heard him. For Thoma, there was nothing worse in this world than making a woman feel negatively. He would sooner have someone rip his arm than bear the knowledge that he has wronged one of the opposite gender, still, what was done was done and he would have to atone later. As Thurgood continued his advance, Thoma waited patiently for the perfect moment, when Thurgood would be close and on his final stride to Thoma's left side. That is when Thoma would break right along the railing, though he would keep his eye on Thurgood, awaiting his attack. To many, Thoma's actions might seem cowardly, but for a ninja who's goal is to win, especially without killing, this was the obvious choice. At this stage of the match he was inflicting more damage on the boy just by moving than he would be in a fist fight with him due to blood loss.

As Thoma rounded the corner on the railing Thoma started to speak, "I can see your determination my brother, but I ask of you. Please look yourself over!" Though it was unfortunate that the girl overheard him, at least she cleared any suspicions for him of who she was, "We all have our circumstances so I won't try to act like i know yours, but I do know if you continue like you are you will die soon. To die for others is just selfishness masked by nobility, have you considered what life will be like for those you leave behind?" Thoma began to lightly pant, being a ninja meant keeping your breath regulated at all times but that only applies when possible. A prolonged battle of evasions and jumping, not to mention a punch to the ribs surely was an excuse for a light pant?

Thoma Shinuchi

Thoma looked on, not liking the match anymore... What didn't he like? Well a number of things really. The first of which was how much physical damage he has done to his opponent, not to mention how much damage the opponent was doing to himself. Thoma kind of hoped that if he died of blood loss that it would be blamed on him and not Thoma... The more selfish reason why Thoma was annoyed with the fight was his inability to act, sure he was causing great pain to his opponent by simply making him move, but for instance, if he used a flash bang right now there is a strong chance that the fool would continue to charge and ram one of the kunai in his chest even deeper into himself and die...

Still, this did give Thoma an idea for the next round, though that would have to wait. As Thurgood approached, Thoma waited until the last moment to leap to the side and run along the railing once more to the next corner, momentum was useful in some cases, but stopping and turning were definitely not one them. As he ran he spoke some more, the chance was off but maybe he could get through to thurgood if he kept it up, "Tell me my brother, why do you fight?" In this life, almost nothing was more important than understanding.

Thoma Shinuchi

When the boy went flying through the rails Thoma saw his chance. Even if he could do no more physical damage to the boy maybe he could get him by ring out, though interference restarts the count so he would have to act quickly.

As soon as he saw the boy fly through the railing Thoma would stop his foot down on the railing and out of his pants sleeves would come a flash bang. With a quick grab and a push of the button, Thoma threw the flash bang which would go off a few inches from Thurgooods face as he tried to get up. With the flash bang thrown and Thurgood on the ground outside though, Thoma had no more reason to be on the railing, he would jump down and make his way to the opposite side of the arena as Thurgood, keeping his eye on him as he moved.

Thoma Shinuchi

Thoma walks forward towards Thurgood at a slow pace. He was making sure to be cautious but he could see it in his opponents face, this fight was over and he had to be there, ready to help should he start to fall.

notmuch_23 Wrote:

> Indeed the fight is over, and it ends in one of the only two ways fitting for a determinator: > > One is complete dominance over his opponent, > > > and the other is death. > > Thurgood goes limp and inside his brain white tuns to black as he slips first from consciousness, and now slipping from life, as a pool of burgundy blood grows under the end of the embedded kunai.

A white light pours itself over Thurgood's body. The float came to a stop as the tournament medics immediately rushed themselves onto it. The spell being cast stabilized his body's life force, so he wasn't going to be dying just yet. Merely in a coma until they could fix his body back at the medic.