How did he get himself into these messes? Of course she'd choose arena 4. It was more and more obvious, the closer he got to the docks, that she intended nothing less than to make an example out of him. Probably want to 'punish' him for not listening to her speech. He had absolutely nothing against parahumans, but that was just cruel. Shotaro may he been an asshole, but Alexia made him look like a saint, and he barely knew her. With a sigh, Junkiro arrived at the arena, and slipped through the already amassing crowd to the locker rooms. Luckily, he kept his Speedo on him at all times, just in case something happened again. It occurred to him he hadn't messaged Kyami about the situation; no doubt he had already heard from his other friends. If he had told Kyami first, no doubt he would have tried to stop the fight...and he couldn't have that. Surely he'd understand.
As he suited up, he couldn't help but wonder if he could make a stand here. He was better than last year's beatdown, though he knew Alexia was much less likely to go easy on him than Shotaro was. Perhaps he ought to set a goal for himself...last one minute in the ring without resorting to running away. That seemed like a good start. Perhaps he could convince her to go again in the future...and use her as training while she used him as propaganda. Not a terrible idea, all things considered.
Changing didn't take long when all you wore was a Speedo, and he was the first one out to the arena. And boy, was it packed. Not as many parahumans as he was sure Alexia wanted, but enough to make a decent amount. Most of the seats were filled by average students, probably excited to see Junkiro get pounded into a mulch on day one for a second year in a row. He couldn't blame them; he made for good entertainment when he was being made an example of. He spotted his friends and boyfriend, and he waved to them awkwardly as he got inside the octagon. The cage could provide him a minimal advantage if he stuck to it like Spider-Man, but that tail of hers could probably pick him off...he knew he was going to lose, so at this point, his goals were to last a minute and make a show out of it. Surely Alexia would appreciate him cooperating, at least.
That was exactly what was going on, in fact. With the layout of Arena 4, the hustle and bustle of the first day of classes, and the fact that so many knew about how LAST YEAR kicked off? It was the perfect way to make an example of the reigning Freshman Champ. It was just good business. Get the fight seen by as many people as possible, look strong, and bring more publicity to The Parahuman Initiative. All she had to do was kick Junkiro's ass. A simple task, considering the fact that she was significantly stronger, better trained, and frankly... more evolved for combat. This victory would set the course for the rest of her time at New Peaks.
Stepping out of the locker room and heading to the octagon of Arena 4, Alexia walked into the cage with a confidence unlike any other. It was plain to see that she knew exactly what was about to happen: a squash match. Did she care that her opponent had done nothing to deserve it? No. Did she care that some might think she was just being a bully? No. All she cared about was showing that parahumans belonged at New Peaks just as much as any of the 'normal' students did. If that meant she had to use force, then so be it.
Alexia impatiently slammed her tail against the mat a few times as she waited for the judge to start the fight. ]"Yo, Mr. Overmeyer. You gonna start this shitshow or not?" Mr. Overmeyer, the gym teacher and judge for this fight, was less than amused by Alexia's attitude, but did figure it was time to get things underway. Immediately after he raised one arm and declared the match to have started, Alexia dashed from her side of the ring and pressed the attack. She would give the kid thirty seconds before he quit, a minute if it came to Mr. Overmeyer calling the fight. But a fight was won one blow at a time, and her first blow would be a heavy leg kick, aimed right for the outside of Junkiro's left quadriceps.
Junkiro had spent a lot of his time gazing about the crowd. Some were calling for his blood; he recognized some as fellow Imperius Gloria members giving him shit, a few of them loyal followers to the Initiative. A few were even rooting for him to kick Alexia's ass; he recognized one or two from prior fights Alexia had ended a little too decisively. Most were just cheering unspecifically, probably just hoping somebody broke a leg or something, which inadvertently meant his. But as the gym teacher declared the fight open, it was clear Junkiro wasn't ready yet. Not that Alexia seemed to care. "H-Hold on a-"
Not much of a chance to get a word out as Alexia's first attack was already coming in hot. Junkiro, obviously unprepared, danced out of the way awkwardly in a stance none would recognize from any popular fighting style. Junkiro ducked out of the way, glaring at both the judge and Alexia. "Before we get to the kicking of my ass...if you're that eager, can you at least be civil for one moment? You dragged me out here, so I at least want to do one thing..."
Not listening to the pleas of her opponent, Alexia followed up her kick with a tail slam aimed for Junkiro's ribcage. This was a ring meant for fighting, not talking. If he wanted to talk, he should have done it before stepping into the octagon with her. She was not his friend. She was not obligated to listen. She was here for one reason, and that was to kick ass. Mr. Overmeyer considered putting things on hold momentarily, but the fact was that both of them should have clearly heard him begin the fight. It was not Alexia's fault that her foe was not prepared or ready. Still, he would take note of her blatant aggression. That kind of anger was rather unbecoming of a martial artist, and he knew it could lead to problems for everyone.
Well, that stung. Junkiro, who already had to awkwardly hop out of the way of the first strike, was struck dead on by the second. However, instead of flying into the cage, he remained largely where he was, his arms wrapped around her tail as it stuck to his midsection. "Fine." It was a simple word. He had wanted to be friendly, to show he truly had no aggression to her or her kind, but if she wasn't willing to even spare a moment to hear him out, then why even bother? He wasn't stuck for long; he wasn't going to make the same mistake of leaving himself open again after Ethan's match had knocked him out for three months. Instead, he quickly threw her tail to the floor, crunching on top of it with his full weight before somersaulting backwards, keeping himself a moving target as he got back to his feet.
What the hell had he- right, sticky power. But then the upstart sophomore sealed his fate by stomping on her tail as she stepped in for a follow-up hook to the jaw. The spike of pain that shot from her tail momentarily halted her attack, allowing Jun some temporary breathing room... note, temporary. With the fury of a rabid wolverine, Alexia rushed in once more. The first few times, near misses, and even a counterattack that saw Junkiro punch her in the side of the head. Thankfully she had those solid horn-like growths, or that might have turned the tide of the fight out of her favor. ... but then she led off with a stab of her tail. It was covered and only as dangerous as a fist or foot, but it was certainly more intimidating. However, she purposely stabbed AHEAD of where her foe was moving. Cut off the escape, cut down the opponent.
She would immediately follow that up with a heavy kick from behind, attempting to hamstring the reigning Freshman Champ. He was certainly between a rock and a hard place, that was for sure. One way, he gets the equivalent of a heavy jab. the other way, he gets kicked hard in the leg. Neither option was very fun, and dodging would be extraordinarily difficult. His next action would dictate what sort of beating Alexia would rain down on him... hopefully for him, he picked the less painful option.
Had Junkiro had a bit more ring practice in the last few months, perhaps he might have found a better solution. Had he had a little more time to spar with his friends, his fighting mind might have been a bit fresher to react to the situation. As it was, he was lucky he had gotten two strikes in on his opponent. It was obvious he was outmatched in his current state, though very few people had really given the sophomore much of a chance, given he had only just come back from a crippling injury. Regardless, his reaction times were off a little bit more than he would have liked, and he very quickly found the tail he had stepped on thirty seconds prior smacking him dead in in the face, sending the sophomore crashing into the cage.
He wasn't out quite yet. Shaking himself back to alertness and waving off the stars in his vision a moment, Junkiro took to the one place of safety he could find. Using his ability, he scrambled up the cage to the top of the ring, just out of range of any conventional attack, and quickly scrambled atop the ring, a move that had Mr. Overmeyer smacking his forehead. He stood up high now, looking down at his infuriated opponent. He didn't know if it was the concussion talking or if he truly thought it was smart to try, but it wasn't like he was going to win one way or another. Might as well go out with an injury and a bang.
He swung down from the top of the ring, planted his feet in the cage and...went nowhere for a brief moment as he stuck to the cage. Only after that split second's confusion did he bend his knees a bit further and spring horizontally, looking to tackle and pin his opponent, praying the misdirection was just enough to throw her off. Probably not, a voice told him in the back of his head. In fact, he was probably going to regret it. But his battle mind, dazed as it was, was prepared to face the punishment.
The slippery little sod. He had taken the tail to the face, yet slithered out of her ground and pound trap. Initially, Alexia was downright livid as a result of the development... until she saw what the dumb bastard was doing next. Did he think this was "professional" wrestling or something? As he bent his knees to prepare for a jump, it was clear that he must have indeed thought that was the case. And worse, such a basic and telegraphed move? Seriously. A flying tackle? All she had to do was step to the side and let the kid slam into the floor of the ring at full force. Still, letting a foe defeat themselves was no fun. Time to deliver the finishing blow.
Taking two short steps to where Junkiro lay, Alexia lifted one foot into the air and said one single word: "Loser." and with that, she brought her heel screaming downward toward Junkiro's ribcage. That was enough, and Judge Overmeyer stepped in. Placing himself between the heel kick and Junkiro, he bore the brunt of the powerful attack with nothing more than a light grunt of discomfort. Impressive, considering the foce behind the kick.
Yeah, no wonder it was a bad idea. Junkiro groaned a bit, having landed back-first, but was quick to scramble back to his feet, only to find the judge having taken the attack that was meant for him. Junkiro scratched the back of his head. "Well. I suppose that means the match is over, then." He laughed weakly as the crowd yelled at Judge Overmeyer, chiding him for not letting him get his recompense for such an idiotic attack. It seemed the crowd wanted a more realistic second act of Junkiro Gets Into Fights. He had recalled the beating he took the first time...nothing broken, but everything was sore for two weeks...two weeks Shotaro had made him do as many physically exhausting things as possible while he was the senior's bitch.
Junkiro sighed. "I suppose I did better than I expected." Glancing at the clock, he spotted the time: 4:07. The fight had started at 4:05. He had survived at least a minute in the ring, more than what he had been anticipating. Junkiro pumped his fist in the air. "I met my goal for the fight. I have much I am needing to learn, including shaking the rust off. Thank you for an exhilarating return to combat." He offered Alexia his hand, which he had intended to do from the very beginning, were she not so eager to pound his face in. His smile was bright.
Right... judge interference. How quaint. More importantly, how fortunate for her opponent. That kick would likely have busted one or two ribs or even cracked the sternum if she had hit it. As she lamented the fact she hadn't done more damage, her opponent got up and tried to be the typical good guy. That was fine... humans always tried to play the good guy when they knew they were outmatched. That said, Alexia was having none of it. "Cram it, 'champ'." she said as she batted his hand aside with her tail. "You better be keeping your manners about you next time I see you, or this will happen all over again." Her peace spoken, she walked out of the octagon... whispering "And next time, no fucking judge will be able to save your sorry ass."
Contrary to what a normal intimidated person would do, Junkiro's smile did not falter. "Looking forward to it!" Though he had a feeling this was likely to happen again. In reality, probably multiple times, if this year were to end up anything like freshman year. The arena, seemingly filled with the entire school at this point, began filing out, leaving Junkiro alone in the octagon with the friendly gym teacher. "It's obviously been a while. It's not like I could really practice." Junkiro laughed weakly, then shook his head. "Seems I still need some lessons before I can take her on realistically. I suppose that's what the upcoming year is for." Junkiro never seemed down on himself; rather, he was identifying his mistakes and what he needed to do to correct them. Pro wrestling moves had gotten him through the first year, but things were getting more serious now. He'd need to find something more to supplement his skills. He was not sure if he was speaking to himself or Mr. Overmeyer.
"If you really want to improve, I suggest meeting me in my office after classes tomorrow." It was his only words, though he gave Junkiro a friendly pat on the shoulder as he left, letting him know he was more disappointed in the sophomore than angry. Junkiro knew the flying leap was a terrible move, but he was backed into a corner and it was all he could think of. It seemed he wanted to teach the young man something, however. Junkiro took note of his statement and walked out of the octagon, hoping to find his friends...and not get pummeled by Kyami.
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