Realistic or Modern Great Ganbatte!!!

[Shotgunpenguin]

Getting rid of them? Like, killing them?

Up to this point Connor hadn't feared for his life. Sure, Daoud had pulled a knife on them, but it was clear he wasn't much of a threat. The men he sent after them had slowed them down, but it was clear they weren't fighters. He felt confident that while he may have taken a hit or two, there was no real danger to be had. But this was different. After Donavan's recounting of his confrontation with Bek, and Kipsang's statement it was clear that things were going to get worse. The realization that his life would be in actual danger slammed into him like a ton of bricks.

"S-should I call my parents? No, what if they listened in on the call, and tried to do something? Could they even do anything?"

"Shit." Connor whispered to himself, his face becoming pinched as his mind fought with itself. Did he even want to contact his parents? If he did, what could they even do besides demand he come home that instant. He could listen to them and get on the next flight back home, but if he did he'd have to drop out of the tournament. This was a once in a life-time chance, and if he dropped out now there was a good chance he'd never be invited back. But was it really worth his life? He still had boxing, something to go back to in the states, and while it wouldn't be as prestigious as winning the title here he could still make a name for himself. And what about his new 'team'? Sure they hadn't known each other for long, but the thought of just up and leaving them to deal with this didn't sit right either. Could he trust them though?

"One thing at a time. I can worry about this later, for now just focus" He took a deep breath, eyes closed as he held a hand over his heart. After a few seconds he exhaled, still nervous but calmer than he was a second ago. He turned to Donavan, shrugging his shoulders at his question.

"This is my first time out of the states, but how hard can it actually be?"

He vaguely knew that guns weren't as easily available outside of the U.S., but he figured it couldn't be as hard as everyone made it out to be. Some paperwork, a background check and maybe a day or two of waiting should be all that it took, right? Besides, he wasn't suggesting they go in and buy a whole armory. Just something to have in case they had to face against Bek. His dad had a revolver, although it practically lived in a safe, and he never used it for anything other than target practice. His dad always told him that guns were meant to be an absolute last resort, something that you only used when you or someone you cared about were in life-threatening danger. He doubted that his dad would fault him for thinking about carrying one with him now, given the current circumstances.

"Just need to find a gun shop, or even a hunting store. If it's a cash issue we still have the cards. Not sure how I feel using them now, but as long as we're still competitors they can't take them away. Not unless they want people to start asking why they're getting so involved."

And that was something they could use at least. As long as they stayed in the tournament, they could fall back on the rules to protect them. If competitors started ending up dead, especially those that made it to the later rounds, people would start asking questions. And from what he could tell, that was something these people wanted to avoid at all costs. He turned his head, calling out to Rivera as she walked away.

"Alright. Hopefully they can tell us something. If not, I guess we could just hand them over to the police." Connor crossed his arms, before flinching and remembering what Donavan said about the police. They'd closed off the street when he had confronted Daoud, which meant they were probably in on it too.

"Or not. Okay, any ideas on what to do with them? Because I've got nothing."

Mentioned: PiePillager BakaTheIdiot obscured_light

 

[PiePillager]

He probably shouldn't have been surprised. Good ol' Daoud let far too much of his hand slip and now the gang had some tidbits they definitely weren't supposed to see. Sobek, the mafia, his ties, this guy was clearly in hot water. They could probably use that, but how? "You sure take your sweet time getting outta bed, old timer. You're lucky I like you."

"I had to get my own breakfast first!" Kipsang grinned, raising his bottle of rum. He then turned to Connor and Rivera. "Guns would be inadvisable. They are not legal in the tournament after all. Unfortunately for us, there is nothing banning the entry of crocodiles. The issue is this now., Bek and his master will be after us. He has the police in his pocket for the time being, but he is on a short leash himself so he will be desperate. It may be that we have little time to prepare and so the solution is simple...we must use the time we have now to get ready to face a fearsome foe."

BakaTheIdiot obscured_light Shotgunpenguin

 

[BakaTheIdiot]

Unfortunately, Kipsang had a point: nobody was safe. Daoud had now revealed himself, and that made him vulnerable, meaning it was only a matter of time before he took initiative and beat them all to a pulp. Donavan liked to consider himself as "pretty hardy" when it came to fights, but surely he couldn't stand up to... however strong a crocodile's bite force was. Probably a lot.

But what if they didn't have to?

No, seriously, what if they didn't need to?

Sure, Sobek was a beast, but Daoud held the card. For all intents and purposes, Daoud was the competitor. It didn't matter if Sobek won or lost, so long as they got the card by any means necessary. After all, that crocodile can't rules-lawyer its way out of a situation like a human can. Once Daoud was out of the picture, it was just a matter of getting some animal control on the scene, or even just the police.

There's no protection once you lose.

"I have an-" Donnie stopped, and reprocessed that statement, "I have part of an idea that might work. Lets get some food though. I dunno about you but I just did two olympian-grade sprints in 10 minutes. I'm beat." He began his trek towards the markets, out for some good food. After all, fight or no fight, this was still Ecuador. Might as well do as the locals do!

"You coming?"

PiePillager obscured_light Shotgunpenguin

 

[Shotgunpenguin]

More liquor? This early? Seriously, if Connor didn't know any better he'd think that the old man was somehow powered by the stuff. He shook his head at Kipsang, half for the partially drunk bottle of rum, but also as he informed the group that firearms weren't allowed in the competition.

"Shoot. Okay, guns are out, but what about other weapons? If I remember right they were allowed, so long as you didn't end up killing your opponents. So maybe we can grab some bats or something like that?" Those would probably be a lot easier to get than a gun at least, and it didn't exactly take a genius to swing a club. Crocodile or not, you hit something enough with a bat and it's bound to go down sooner or later.

A slight growl escapes from his stomach at Donavan's mention of food, his mind suddenly filling with thoughts of meat and spices. Their conversation about how to kill a croc and survive could wait for another time, preferably after they all got a bite to eat.

"Honestly? Food sounds heavenly right now." All he had last night were those nachos, and while they were certainly good, they weren't exactly filling. Combined with the two recent brawls, his stomach was just begging for something meaty and delicious.

"Wait here a sec, I'm going to go see if Rivera wants to join us. If she's not too busy with those guys upstairs that is." Shrugging his shoulders, Connor turned and made his way to the elevator, popping in once it opened and hitting the button for his floor. Hopefully she managed to get some info out of them. Or at the very least, think of what they were supposed to do with them.

PiePillager BakaTheIdiot obscured_light

 

[obscured_light]

Rivera, in her impatience, had admittedly pressed the button of their floor an unnecessary amount of times. She knew it didn't change anything but it made her feel better. It didn't last long as the elevator doors opened and she nearly knocked down an older woman in her haste to get out. The old woman didn't even looked surprised. She just smiled at Rivera who apologized profusely, stepped to the side, and power walked her way down the hallway.

The guys had been left near the elevator. Rivera had only made her way down to see if maybe they were still skulking around somewhere but as she sort of half jogged up and down the hallway, she saw no sign of them. They weren't even in the stairwell they had used earlier to chase after Daoud.

"Fue como quince minutos..." Rivera muttered to herself with some annoyance as she slowly made her way back to the elevator.

 

[Shotgunpenguin]

The elevator doors opened up, Connor's eyes immediately taking in Rivera as she approached. Judging from her expression, either she didn't get anything useful out of their captives, or she never got a chance to ask them.

"Ahh crap, did they break free?"

He leaned out of the elevator, looking past Rivera towards where he had left the men. They were gone, but he swore he could make out a discarded belt-buckle or two on the ground. Guess they broke free from their bindings and split. Or maybe Daoud had more guys at his disposal and had them swing by and free them. Both were possibilities.

"Well, that sucks." He let's out a sigh, rubbing the back of his head with his taped hand.

"On an unrelated note, we're planning on running out and grabbing some food. Well, me and Donavan. Pretty sure the old man is somehow replacing solid food with liquor. But anyway, Donavan says he has some sort of plan to deal with Bek. And Daoud, but I'm pretty sure we're more scared of the crocodile than we are of him. At least I am."

Holding his hand in the way of the door sensor, he hits the button for the lobby and nods at Rivera.

"You in?"

Mentioned: BakaTheIdiot obscured_light PiePillager

 

[obscured_light]

Rivera cast one last look at the empty hallway before nodding and hopping into the elevator.

With a small laugh, she asked, "You think there's a place around here that serves alligator?"

 

[BakaTheIdiot]

It turns out, ordering food is surprisingly difficult when you don't speak a country's language.

After stumbling around an alley market for roughly 30 minutes, trying desperately to get into a short enough line, he finally wound up in front of a small food stand, with sizzling kitchenware hissing violently behind the little counter. Then, after trying - with little success - to articulate a sentence to the owner, he was handed a menu, chose something at random, and waited. Donavan had no idea what he ordered, only that it was called Bolon de Verde, and that he had managed to get four little trays of them. They resembled... dumplings? Bread rolls? They were vaguely similar to a great many things he had, but tasted like absolutely none of them. Still, they were passible, with the pork and cheese center offering a pleasant surprise, and he was too hungry to care all that much. Kipsang probably wasn't hungry, right? Either way, the green card basically made it free to him, so Donnie carried on.

---

In the distance, at least a solid half-mile away, footsteps echoed throughout the street. An unnamed individual bolted through the bustling Ecuadorian concrete jungle. Their breath was fast and heavy, not from effort, but from sheer homicidal intent.

---

"Where the fuck are they?" Donavan had gotten himself somewhat lost, and a series of random turns had actually managed to get him somewhere close to the hotel. Some 50 yards away, the entrance was in sight. He sorely wished he had gotten at least the Kid's phone number before taking off, but such was life, and hindsight was 20/20. Finally making his way back to the hotel from whence he came, it was time for a much deserved break. At least, until somebody got smart and tried to get the drop on them. That was absolutely possible.

obscured_light Shotgunpenguin PiePillager

 

[PiePillager]

Around the city, there was a noticeable amount of people in suits running around, almost as if they were on patrol or something. Even stranger was the fact that there seemed to be two 'factions' of them. One group appeared stern and taciturn, quietly observing the tournament and remaining relatively low key. The other was more jumpy and frantic. Always looking over their shoulder and acting standoffish once approached. This latter group of suits was often seen being questioned by the first.

What was discussed was unknown, but the conversations seemed tense. Other than, that, however, it seemed the tournament had proceeded as normal.

***

Over at the hotel, Kipsang, rested his elbow on a table in the hotel's dining area, chin in his hand as he looked out the window and sighed. "Hope those kids'll be back soon with breakfast. ...and perhaps something to drink as well!" he chuckled wistfully, humming the tune of the music blaring down from the speakers

 

[Shotgunpenguin]

"Honestly? I've never had it, but I heard it tastes like chicken. You think that's true?"

The elevator doors closed, and soon the same annoying tone that had played on his way up was once again playing for their descent.

The doors opened back onto the main floor, although Donavan and Kipsang were both nowhere to be seen. Stepping out into the lobby, he briefly wondered if they had already left before turning his head, spotting the old man sitting by himself at a table in another section of the lobby. And soon after, Donavan walked in through the front doors, with some sort of food balanced in his hands.

"What, you already ran out and grabbed some food? Thought we'd all go together and find something."

Connor stepped forward and grabbed two of the trays from Donavan, nodding his head over to the table Kipsang was seated at. Walking over, he slid the tray in front of the old man before taking a seat for himself. He wasn't sure what exactly he was about to eat, they kind of looked like fried meatballs if he had to compare them to anything.

"So Donavan-" Picking up the strange ball, he took a tentative bite of it, eyes widening in delight at the gooey cheese within. The rest of the ball quickly followed, alongside half of another before he remembered that he wasn't the only one at the table. Swallowing, he placed his half-eaten ball back onto his tray before coughing and wiping his hands on a napkin.

"R-right, like I was saying. You said you had an idea on how to deal with Bek and Daoud, right?"

PiePillager BakaTheIdiot obscured_light

 

[BakaTheIdiot]

Finally reaching the lobby of the hotel, he spotted Rivera and Connor and made his way over. The suits around the city had come out into broad daylight, and given how frantic some of them seemed, maybe it was better to get off the streets. Still, food in hand, at least a break was upon him.

---

Clearly, he made the right choice. Before he could even start on his next little ball, Connor was already throat-deep in his next. Good to know that his stereotypes of Americans liking to eat wasn't entirely off-base. He offered a quick snort, before taking a bite of his own. "I don't have an idea, I have part of an idea." He leaned forward. "OK, so, Daoud is the cardholder for Bek. Sobek is the one that does all the fighting. If Sobek was an actual person, we would have to really and truly knock him out before we could claim a victory. Odds are he's marked down as a regular competitor in the records, probably using Daoud as a human stand-in.

"But the only thing that actually matters is the card. If you get your card forcefully taken from you, doesn't that still technically count?" He continued, quickly swallowing a mouthful from his own meal. "By that metric, we don't actually have to beat Sobek - only distract him long enough to sack Daoud for the card. After all, to the public, what's the difference? It's Daoud they've been seeing all along anyway. Now, that does still leave the problem on how to deal with a 500 kilo croc... and for that, I've got nothing." Donavan shrugged, leaning back in his seat. "But it lowers the goalpost a little bit."

Briefly checking his phone, he had sincerely hoped that he would've heard something from Bella by now - maybe she had some freaky connection underground bullshit or something of that nature - but alas, she was still absent. Oh well, they would make do. "So, how about your captives? I'm assuming they were carrying something good on them, what with their affiliation with Daoud and all."

Yet, they were suspiciously absent.

"You did interrogate them, right?"

Shotgunpenguin obscured_light PiePillager

 

[obscured_light]

Rivera finished biting into the plantain ball, chewing rather slowly as she avoided Donavan's gaze.

"Well, we definitely would have if they had still been there," she answered not so helpfully before elaborating, "They were gone by the time I went back to grab them. I saw belt pieces which I assume Connor used on them but my guess is that someone helped them out while we were distracted. We beat them pretty thoroughly so I doubt they were able to abscond on their own."

 

[Shotgunpenguin]

Connor listened to Donavan's plan, nodding his head as he laid out his at least partially thought out plan of attack while one of his hands slowly slinked towards his half eaten cheese ball. Now that everyone else was eating he felt a little less awkward taking another bite of the ball, before stuffing the rest in his mouth and swallowing. Seriously, whatever these were he'd have to try and get a recipe for back home. That is, if his parents didn't kill him the second they saw him, but he was sure it'd be fine. Hopefully.

"That could work. You're probably right about Daoud being a stand-in for Bek, and as far as the public knows he is Bek. So if we knock him out and Bek isn't eliminated, people would notice and start asking why he isn't eliminated. But how are we going to get the drop on him? If he knows we're onto him I don't think he's going to be wandering around out in the open for us to try and jump. Especially now that we aren't going to blindly follow him somewhere secluded for him to call out Bek." For all they knew, Daoud could have gone completely underground after scaring away Donavan with Bek. There was no rule that he could remember that stopped someone from just sitting out on fights and waiting for everyone else to pick each other off. And if he did have some sort of backing from the organizers, they could shield him away somewhere that Connor and everyone else would never be able to get into.

He reached out to grab his last cheese ball, only to pause midway as Donavan asked about the guys they had tied up upstairs. Connor couldn't help but flinch slightly as Donavan's question, sinking slightly in the dining seat. He was honestly hoping that none of them would bring it up so that he'd have more time to think of how to explain it. "Uhh, well we were going to but-"

He was interrupted as Rivera spoke up, explaining what she saw when she first arrived.

"Yeah, I made sure to tie them up with their belts before I came down." He nodded his head at Rivera before continuing. "They didn't seem like they were going anywhere, so I thought I'd find one of you guys so you could.... you know." He didn't really want to say that he expected one of them to rough them up for information, but there really wasn't any other reason he could give. He didn't know how to interrogate someone, the only example he could think of were those good cop bad cop scenes he saw on TV, and he doubted that those guys would buy him being either. Kipsang may have been able to get something out of them, but Connor had absolutely no idea if he'd even be sober enough to ask questions. Which left Donavan and Rivera as his only options.

"I didn't think they'd be able to get out of them so quick."

Mentioned: PiePillager obscured_light BakaTheIdiot

 

[PiePillager]

"We could try and track them down!" Kipsang cheerfully noted, through bites of plantain. "There are sure to be those within the tournament that are experts in that field. Though not usually for free. And if money is an issue, not all seek monetary gain. The competitors of the Great Ganbatte....they have many goals. Not all seek the grand prize. It would be wise to find these combatants!"

Shotgunpenguin obscured_light BakaTheIdiot

 

[BakaTheIdiot]

Donavan was mid-chew when the news dropped. He glanced over at Rivera, then Connor, before swallowing and meeting his face with his palm. "Jesus Christ." Tying people up with belts? What did the kid expect? Anybody with a sharp object and a vendetta could get through a belt, even somebody as weak as those goons. Still, what's done is done, and there was no point worrying about it now. "Absolute amateur move, kid. Doesn't matter much now."

---

Heavy breathing fumed from the person's mouth and nostrils, their lungs working overtime to fuel the absolute machine behavior that the body put itself through. Faster and faster, footfalls getting heavier by the second, the hotel was just ahead.

And He was there too.

---

"There's gotta be a pharmacy around here somewhere. City seems big enough. Maybe we could get some cough medicine and just pump the gator so full of the stuff... who am I kidding, that's stupid. There has to be a better way," He sat there rubbing his temples, grumbling under his breath trying to decide a new course of action. "You don't happen to know any chemists or anybody, Rivera? I'd ask my handler but she won't be here for another 6 days, and we ain't got that kind of time."

Except maybe they did. Just before he was ready to admit defeat, Kipsang had a surprisingly great point: the competition was a big place, and not everybody was motivated by money. Donavan certainly wasn't. Maybe somebody knew how to deal with the bloody thing - or at least, could give them some tips. Wasn't there some ninja dude? And at least a couple of hard-boiled warriors, more so than the kid at least. Surely at least somebody could take a croc. Maybe that Samurai guy.

His train of thought was interrupted by what can only be described as sheer homicidal intent as it manifested its way through the hotel door. A small crowd near the door parted as an absolute blur of a human being bolted towards the whole table, steam practically flying out of their ears.

"DONAVAN!!!!!!!!!!!!!"

He only had enough instinctive push to dive away from the table, just in time for a soaring kick to fly right past his head, narrowly avoiding a catastrophic blow. The person flew right past the group, crashing into the next table over and scattering the nearby inhabitants. When the person - a woman, with ginger hair and a heavily freckled face - rose to her feet, wiping away the blood on her now-cut lip. A devilish smile emerged from her mouth.

"YOU!! I've been waiting for this day for a long time, you little bastard, ever since you marooned me in Ottawa!" Her voice was drenched in anger and malice, all directed squarely at the Canadian. Ottawa rang a bell, and even the face seemed a little familiar from a long time ago. A simpler time, tucked away from the complications of beating people to a pulp. Donavan remembered a fond little connection with a local girl...

...Nope, he absolutely couldn't remember her name.

"I'm sorry, who are you?"

"What-" She was completely baffled, even taking a step back in shock, "You seriously don't remember me?! How could you?! I thought we really had something, Donnie! Surely you haven't forgotten... your old flame?"

Donavan was actively straining his memory now, trying desperately to place that... bubbly personality. C something. C. C...

"Claire?"

"IT'S CASSANDRA YOU PIECE OF SHIT!" Donavan leaped to the side to avoid a very full bottle of liquor hurtling towards him at roughly 2% the speed of light. Clearly, he had struck a nerve, but that was her name! He was almost right. Mostly. Okay, it was a stretch, but it was a long time ago.

"Cassie! Long time no see-" He ducked away from a stray punch, "But didn't I date you for like a week? Like a decade ago? ...and you're still angry about that?"

He briefly turned to Rivera and Connor. "Uh... friends, my ex. Cassie, this is Rivera, Kipsang, and-"

"She your new sidepiece, Donnie?!"

"What? No! Fuck's sake, Cass-"

His rebuttal was interrupted with a sharp pain in his jaw as he took a sucker punch to the face. Now, granted, he probably deserved that one, but he was tired, hungry, and frustrated. His ex from over a decade ago was now standing in front of him, fists raised, and blood on her mind. Donavan was simply standing there dumbstruck. A single droplet of blood made its way down his lip and to the floor, prompting a reactionary wipe from his knuckle.

That just so happened to be the first real punch he had taken all tournament thus far. It also just so happened to be the final straw.

"You know what, Cassie?" Donavan cracked his knuckles, that razor focus in his eye returning. "If it's a fight you want, it's a fight you'll get."

That, however, seemed to be a mistake: what initially appeared to be a prime time to blow off some steam had now morphed into something much, much worse. Cassandra's smirk grew wider by the second, and after a short laugh, flashed - what else - a tournament card. This blasted girlfriend had traveled thousands of miles, signed up for an illicit fighting ring, risked her life, and fabricated her identity, all just to punch Donavan in the face, if not simply murder him. Now, not only was his ego on the line, his place in the competition was now staked for him.

But it was too late to back out now. "I've waited a long time for this, Donnie," She pocketed the card and resumed her confident stance, "and now, I will finally have my revenge!"

This day couldn't possibly get any worse.

"Stay out, jump in, do what you will," He offered a quick invitation to the rest of the gang, whom he was sure had several questions that simply had to wait. "Not sure how much experience you have hitting a girl, Connor, but now's a perfect opportunity to learn.

Spoiler: Enemy Card

-Cassandra Le'Garde-
Age: 26
Height: 6'1"
Weight: 211 lbs
Fighting Style: Krav Maga, various influences
Threat: Low-Moderate
Ranking: 116th

PiePillager obscured_light Shotgunpenguin

 

[obscured_light]

It all happened pretty fast. Rivera was reaching for the last plantain ball, wondering if the 'chemist' she knew would be of any use, when a shriek yanked her out of her thoughts. She saw Donavan pushing back and a blur followed moments later. A loud crash and some back and forth later, Rivera was finally up to speed on their new situation.

And she was definitely out.

"Eh, I think you got this Donavan," she said in a sort of bored tone as she began to dial a number. "I don't deal with psycho exes and I need to call someone who could help us."

It was a risk for him seeing as his ex was clearly gunning to take him out, but Rivera was confident Donavan could handle it. If not, then...

"I'm assuming you guys are helping?" Rivera asked, looking over at Kipsang and Connor, as she held the ringing cellphone up to her ear. If not, then hopefully their little group could.

 

[PiePillager]

"Now, now, gorgeous..." Kipsang chuckled as he approached the agitated woman, holding two glasses of orange juice in his hand, both of the alcoholic variety, of course. "Revenge is not the answer. How about a cool drink to wash alllll of your troubles away, eh?" he guffawed before he took a sip from one glass and offered the other up to the woman.

 

[Shotgunpenguin]

"Hey, it seemed like a good idea at the time! And what was I supposed to do? You all just left me alone with a bunch of guys and told me to figure it out." Connor felt more than a little defensive about his actions, and was going to continue his defense, before a voice screaming bloody murder caused him to turn his head as it grew closer and closer.

He only briefly caught sight of whatever had flew over the table, but whatever it was had startled him enough to send his chair toppling backwards with him in it. Back slamming painfully against the floor, he scrambled to his feet, heart pounding in his chest as he looked up and took in the scene. Connor's mind raced, adrenaline spiking as he prepared for the worst, only for it to come to a screeching halt as the scene in front of him unfolded. Apparently Donavan had dated this woman some time ago, and judging by the fact that she was currently dripping with murderous intent to the point that it sent chills down his spine, it hadn't ended well.

"Should we do something?" His eyes bounced between Donavan and Cassie, unsure of whether he should try and step in. Could he even step in at this point? It looked like both of them were about to tear into each other at the drop of a hat. He turned his head, looking to Rivera and Kipsang for guidance only to find each had already made their respective decisions.

Okay so Rivera wasn't going to jump in, but she was apparently busy trying to get some help with their Bek problem so he guess he couldn't really complain. And Kipsang... was trying to offer her a drink. At the very least it wasn't liquor, if this woman was already pissed off he didn't exactly think trying to get her drunk would help anyone. Or would it? He knew that some people got really tired when they drank, but he doubted that the woman would start slamming back liquor just because someone offered it. She'd more likely just throw it at Donavan was his guess.

"Look.... Cassie was it?" He hoped that he got the name right, both for his sake and Donavan's. Stepping forward, he put his hands up to signal that he wasn't trying to step in-between the two If she wanted to start swinging. Idly, he noticed that the girl was a bit taller than him, which only reinforced his desire to stay out of her way. He wasn't about to get decked by a girl just because of Donavan, no offense to him of course.

"I'm sure that you have every right to be pissed at Donavan, but do you think it could wait? We're kind of in the middle of something a lot more important than...." He gestured to the two of them, the overturned table that Cassie had crashed into, and the small crowd that they were gathering. "-all of this."

Mentioned: PiePillager BakaTheIdiot obscured_light

 

[BakaTheIdiot]

While Donavan was a little surprised Rivera decided to bounce, he shouldn't have been: clearly this was his beef, and it was more or less his job to settle it. Still, it wasn't like she was doing nothing, she was getting help for the significantly more important matter- another jab narrowly dodged out of reflex. He had to stop thinking about this and do something.

Kipsang, unfortunately, wasn't much help either. At the offer of orange juice, Cassandra did seem momentarily distracted, but quickly scoffed at the elderly man and returned her focus to Donavan - only for Connor, that's right, Connor of all people, to be the one trying to keep the peace. He was absolutely, unquestionably, one-thousand percent right: they absolutely had something better to do. They were in the middle of some inter-mafia megalomaniac clientele control bullshit, and did not need someone breathing down their neck waiting to get the first strike in without noticing. Cassandra was messing everything up.

And, for a moment, it almost worked.

Her eyebrows softened, if only slightly, and she eased up a bit, turning her full attention to Connor. He made some sense, especially throwing himself in the middle of their little row. There were eyes everywhere, cameras were emerging, and the tension was so palpable you could cut it with a fingernail. She straightened herself up, and - shockingly - took a sip from the offered orange juice, before setting it down. "Listen, kid," she started, "You got guts. I can respect that."

A hand landed on his shoulder, and she offered a quick smile.

"Now get out of my way."

In one fluid motion, Connor was shoved off to the side, ideally landing harmlessly among the crowd of onlookers, before her other hand hurtled the glass of orange juice directly at Donavan - glass and all. He had maybe half a split second to react before it met a nasty collision with his face. He could either try to duck out of the way, doubling over in the process and putting himself at a considerable disadvantage, or try and deflect it with his forearm. However, instinct is one hell of a drug, and he did neither, his hands instinctively blocking his face off from the oncoming barrage of blown glass and squeezed oranges. Upon meeting his hands, the glass shattered and splashed across him like a rigid wave, the liquor and citrus stinging his eyes slightly on contact. He had fallen for quite the trap, as immediately after his stomach met the gentle grace of over 50 kilos of muscle mass slamming into his abdomen, before being followed up with a quick backhand to the face - doubling him over, and knocking him briefly to the floor.

Thankfully, he managed to roll out of harm's way before Cassie's foot could collide with his back, but he could only just barely scramble to his feet before things got really messy. If the fight hadn't started a minute ago, it had well and truly started now. No turning back. Donavan, being the adrenaline fueled machine he tended to be, did the only thing he really knew how to do:

Knuckles up, chin down, he took the offensive. Now, he had to find an opening.

Shotgunpenguin BakaTheIdiot
VERSUS
Cassandra Le'Garde

Also mentions: obscured_light PiePillager​

 

[Shotgunpenguin]

"Okay, this is good. We might actually get out of thi-"

For a second it really looked like they'd be able to avoid the fight altogether. She put a hand on his shoulder and even accepted one of Kipsang's drinks, and he felt himself relax, only for his eyes to widen in surprise as he was shoved off to the side. He stumbled over his feet, trying to stay upright as hands came out from the crowd to stop him from colliding with them. Rather than the concern and worry that he expected, he couldn't stop himself from letting out a shout as he was suddenly shoved forward, hands coming out to catch himself before he hit the ground. He turned, his confusion swiftly turning to understanding as he saw the excited looks on the faces of the crowd. The crowd, which had previously only consisted of those in the dining area, had quickly ballooned in size until their numbers were blocking the entrance. People pulled out their phones, shouted and muscled against each other to try and get a better view.

"Come on, get up and get in there!"

"Don't let them have all of the fun!"

"Damn, is that Kipsang? Thought he died after the last tournament."

He turned his attention back to the fight just in time to see Donavan get floored by his ex, before narrowly avoiding getting stomped on. It looked like there was no way around it now, his ex wasn't going to give up until they slugged it out. He was pretty sure Donavan could hold his own against her, but with everything that was going on, could he really take that chance? If Donavan got eliminated, not only would their group lose a member and drastically reduce their ability to fight back against Daoud and Bek, but his life would probably be in even more danger than it already was. One of their few advantages was that they were competitors in a highly televised and public tournament, and so long as they kept in the public eye Daoud and the people behind him wouldn't be able to act openly. But if one of them were to be eliminated, who's to say if anyone would care if they went missing after they lost? Most people would just assume that they went back home, or maybe wanted to drown their loss in liquor and just ended up stumbling off somewhere.

He was reminded of last night when he was in danger of getting his ass kicked by those assholes, and how Donavan had jumped in to help him out. Both with them, and with rinsing out his eyes when they got back to his room. He owed him, owed them all really, but right now he could at least pay him back for his help last night. Bringing his guard up, he rushed forward and circled around Cassie, throwing out a quick jab to try and ward her off before coming to a stop besides Donavan. He'd probably get chewed out for not just hitting her while her back was turned, but that wasn't how he fought. If he was going to fight, it would be face to face.

"Anything I need to know about her?"

Mentioned: PiePillager BakaTheIdiot obscured_light

 

[BakaTheIdiot]

Well, they right and proper had a crowd now. No sense trying to back out.

The last time Donavan had gotten into a fight with Cassandra, she wasn't in a position to drop him to the floor and kick his teeth out. The same could not be said now, but it shouldn't be a problem: her legs were fierce, but her upper body lacked the same motivation and training. Even now, she was carrying her forearms too low, which might be enough to protect the gut... He began circling her, matching Connor's rotation so that they would be on exact opposite sides of their assailant. "Watch your fucking knees," he mouthed to the kid, hoping he would get the message. "I'll keep her busy."

It was time to probe. He faked a step forward, instinctively making Cassie recoil, before following it with a right jab and quick left hook. The jab was blocked, albeit she had to bend over to catch the impact, however the left made perfect contact with her cheek, sending her reeling. While his left was significantly weaker than his right, this was only to probe her defenses and look for a weakness. The head was poorly guarded, sure, but she was faster and much more flexible than he. A good blow to the head would end things quickly, but he needed a window - or, rather, he needed to make one for Connor.

Another quick attack, this time significantly more vicious; two quick jabs to break her guard, followed by a punishing hook to her other cheek. She had no choice but to back off, briefly lowering her guard, and giving Connor a vital window!

"Now, kid!" With his own lower body, a quick shove from his left leg sent her tumbling just past Connor, rebounding off of the gathering crowd. If he was going to make a move, now was the perfect time.

-Condition-
Donavan - 98%
Cassandra - 98%
​

Mentions: Shotgunpenguin

 

[Shotgunpenguin]

The two of them began circling the woman and forcing her to constantly look over her shoulder to make sure they weren't moving in behind her. Not that Connor would do that, if he would he would have done it when she had first turned her back to him, but the same couldn't be said for Donovan. As they circled her, he noticed that her head looked rather open compared to the rest of her. She held her hands down low, looking more like she was more focused on guarding against body blows, and it looked like Donavan knew that too. They circled one more time before Donavan acted, surging forward and going on the attack. He managed to land a clean hook against her before firing off a quick combination that had her backing up, only to be tripped up by his leg and stumbling past Connor and straight into the crowd, pushing her forward much like they did with him. "Right!"

If this were a boxing ring she'd be right against the ropes, just where Connor was at his best. He quickly closed the distance between the two of them, throwing out a trio of jabs as he approached. Two of them flew just past her head as she weaved her upper body from side to side, while a third caught her on her cheek a satisfying thud. Pressing the attack, he stepped into her guard and feinted a hook with his left. Cassie leaned back to avoid the blow, only for him to stop the punch short and shift his weight to his right, firing off a body blow that slipped past her low guard. His fist impacted against her stomach, causing her to bend forward slightly and expose her head even more.

"There!"

It was a perfect chance, a body blow followed by a full power straight, a combination as powerful as it was textbook. Connor reared his left fist back, legs tensing as he twisted his hips and fired off a left straight aimed directly at her chin. Just before he made contact, she suddenly ducked to the side, meaning his punch was now heading straight towards a wide-eyed woman in the crowd. Panic shot through him as he was forced to check his punch at the last second, stopping a few inches from from the frightened woman's face. "Oh crap, so-" Before he could finish his sentence, pain exploded from his knee as Cassie used his lapse to great effect, her leg impacting against the side of his knee and forcing him to buckle it onto the floor. Down on one knee, his eyes widened as she brought back her other leg, lashing out towards his head with another kick. He barely got his guard up in time to block the kick, the impact rattling his bones as he fell backwards, scrambling to his feet and bringing his guard up once again.

"Ow! He wasn't kidding, I thought my knee was going to snap!"

It was slight, but he found himself favoring his un-injured knee as he slowly began to circle Cassie again. He fumbled the opening Donavan gave him, and it only served to once again remind him that he was out of his field. This wasn't a ring, and his opponents wouldn't just plant their feet and slug it out with him like he wanted. There were no breaks, no downs, and nothing to stop them from kicking him when he was already on the ground. "You weren't kidding, those legs are no joke."

Condition: 91%
​

Mentioned: BakaTheIdiot

 

[BakaTheIdiot]

Solid hits, and a good follow through. Donavan wasn't exactly familiar with fighting alongside another person, but so far, the kid showed promise. Just as he had hoped, Connor saw the weakness he had created and capitalized on it - or at least, best as he could. Now Connor had made an honest mistake here, forgetting about her dexterity, but it was punished swiftly and brutally: he was on his knees in one second, blocking away her foot in another, and back on his feet in just a short moment.

Connor - 100 -> 91
Cassandra - 98 -> 82
​

But he had definitely softened her up. The barrage had left her somewhat winded, and with her newly bloodied lip she turned her attention to the kid, a humiliated flavor of anger dotting her eyes. Clearly, she had underestimated Connor - they both had - but she was going to teach this cheeky brat a lesson, she thought to herself. Stepping forward towards the kid, ready to go on the attack once more.

And that right there was the fatal mistake.

In her distraction, Donavan had been given a crucial chance to reevaluate. The kid was limping, and if he didn't step in it was going to get ugly. Sure, Connor could probably ward her off all on his own - and he would make a massive ass out of Donavan in the process. After all, this early in the game, he really needed to make some friends. Despite his confidence in Connor, it was time to show the kid what a proper underground bout looked like. Naturally, Cassandra likely picked up on the increasing humidity coming from behind her and instinctively threw an elbow to catch him, but Donnie was prepared: in a flash of preparation and sheer speed, he slipped under her elbow and linked his shoulder with hers.

Now they were stuck together - and he could get to work.

His left arm was preoccupied with keeping her grappled, so his right half opened the assault with a jab to the cheek, distracting her and breaking her concentration - a headbutt here would not be ideal. Now that her senses had been thrown off, he half lunged and half fell to one knee, taking Cassandra with her thanks to their linked grip. She tried to use her free hand to block out his face, maybe stick a finger in his eye while she was at it, but some well-placed blows to the stomach quickly broke that defense. She had bent over, so Donavan followed this attack with a sharp elbow to her collar, trying to break her grapple and free his left arm.

She fought back, and ferociously. Sensing the predicament she was now in, Cassie began thrashing about as rough as she could to break the grapple. If Donavan lost control of his grip and slipped out, she could counter with her kick, but he - just barely - managed to hang on. He wasn't going to be able to get out of this grapple easily, and certainly not on the terms he was shooting for, so Donavan had to change plans.

Now, he couldn't get her slipped and into a forward grab, so he would have to use his body weight and try a throw. It had been literal years since he had done any Judo, but all of the pieces were there, and he was running out of grip strength. So, he locked his free hand under her torso, and swung all of his weight into his grappled shoulder - tossing her towards the crowd, and onto the floor. The grapple was broken, and he rose to his feet as quickly as he could. Now, she didn't fall far, maybe a full 12 inches if he was optimistic about it, but she did land on her back. The sudden force of impact, combined with a sudden sensation of being flipped over, had completely knocked the air out of her lungs. She laid there, wheezing and desperately trying to catch her breath, before literally dragging herself to her feet with the help of the crowd. Her chest heaved in exhaustion and a hunger for air.

She was getting tired.

Donavan - 98
Cassandra - 82 -> 65 (winded)
​

Celebration wasn't in order just yet, however. As soon as she was back up, she threw off Donavan's guard by feinting a punch before following with a sharp kick directly to the stomach. Doubled over, her heel found its way to his back in almost an instant, and just like that, he was being driven straight into the ground, face first. His head collided with the tile below, a sharp pain coursing through his forehead. It was a devastating strike, and left him completely disoriented. Not unlike the cranial trauma he had burdened the airport thugs with. At best, his forehead was definitely bleeding, but at worst that was at least a concussive strike. It was a wonder he was still conscious.

Seeing the blur of her legs coming in for a kick, he rolled out of the way, hoisting himself up and gripping his forehead. Blood dripped down his slit brow, oozing through his knuckle as he tried to clear his eyesight of his own injury. She was standing right in front of him, a devious smile across her face.

Donavan - 98 -> 63 (head trauma)
​

Shotgunpenguin

 

[PiePillager]

Kipsang sat on a table next to Donovan as he reeled back. "Watch out for that feint!" he called out far too late after Donovan's head had already collided with the floor. "Oh..." he hiccuped, with a frown. As Donovan stood up, attempting to clear his eyesight, Kipsang, stumbled across the table for the bottle. "Here's some water, my friend! It will help wash the blood out of your eyes!" he added, helpfully, his own drunken vision perhaps too blurred to see he had grabbed a bottle of whiskey instead...

As the fight continued, drones circled around the three combatants, filming the battle. "What a brawl, what a brawl!" came the southern drawl of Gus Hankerton, one of the two commentators being broadcast to all English-speaking countries throughout the world.

"Now uh, correct me if I'm wrong Guss, but you sensing some kinda history between these two?" came the voice of his counterpart, Fly Flow. "Can't say I know the exact details, but this seems kinda personal, you feel me?"

"A lovers' spat if I ever saw one, that's fer sure! But who's in the right? Who's wrong?" Gus inquired. " No amount of finger-pointin' or legal papers, or petty arguments can determine that!"

"That's right, we decide our shit out here with our fists!" Fly agreed. "But for all of our beautiful viewers at home, what do you think? We're gonna throw up a poll on the official Ganbatte website just for y'all. In this battle of he said, she said, who's gonna get their lights knocked out first:? Answer fast for a chance to win a free ticket to view the first round of the tournament live! if you got it on the money"

 

[obscured_light]

Rivera's eyes were on the match even as her conversations on the phone were on a different matter entirely. Helping Connor with random jackasses was an entirely different matter than helping Donavan with his ex. Not interfering in past relationships was a rule Rivera had stuck with for years and she wasn't going to break it for a guy she had met mere days ago, notwithstanding their past interactions.

Still, she watched, hovered at the front of the wall of people that now surrounded the competitors. One hand held her cellphone but the other stayed at her side even as she strained to catch the words of rejection she received. She kept constantly shifting her weight from one leg to another as she looked for the number of one last contact. Her muscles tensed when she saw the guys getting smacked and she made a step forward when Donavan began to bleed.

A voice answered though. Rivera stepped back. Would it be disrespectful to enter the match now? Rivera's thoughts scattered when the voice began trying to get her attention. One last try.

"Trent!" Rivera said loudly, trying to make sure she was heard over the roar of the crowd. "Hey, you wouldn't happen to know how to take a giant crocodile out, would you?"