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Fudou the Mountain	THe opening rounds of the tournament are under way and as described they are focused more around qualifying matches and, effectively, a bit of a culling of the weak from the strong and the worthy from the unworthy. Given the size of the event, The Congregation of Victory had amassed a considerable number of would be participants. Many have hopes for glory and victory but there, of course, those who are simply here to test their mettle and know good and well that as the heroes gifted with the exigence and those who are Chosen of the Earth begint o make their presence known..they stand little chance of moving far up this ladder or past this round. But that doesn't stop them from trying. Sadly, bravado and willingness only takes one so far as a burly bruiser of a man, sporting chain wrapped gauntlets, a bearded visage and a barrel like towering physique discovered. Wins that left opponents with borken bodies and smashed faces rushed to the healer tents had earned the large brawler a name for himself and caused some to take notice. Recruiters, mercenary captains and the like. He postured and flexed and roared as he entered the designated ring area for his next match. And then fell to a gaping slack jawed silence as The Mountain slowly rumbled his way into the ring. Fudou's arrival something of a trundling rumbling earthquake of flesh and power even with his casual gait bringing him forward. He's neither rushed and almost seems to be sleepwalking his way into matters, absently rubbing his nose with the gesture of one who just woke up and is busy still wiping the sleep from their eyes. As his shadow passes over unlookers and rivals alike, stark silence rolls behind. Though he's a sight in and around Great Forks..many here are seeing this "Exigent" for the first time..and his carefully, deliberately acted lethargic bored movements send intimidation and fear rolling off of him as if he were essentially a walking natural disaster barely paying attention to attempts to stop him. It's a good performance.
Misa	The prior match was considerably... quieter. First off- no rumbling footsteps. Second- neither combatant was all that talkative. Still, some upsets here and there. The swordswoman never drawing her blade might be part of that. A strike to a knee, then a sweep, and then driving her opponent into the ground before he had fully fallen from the sweep. Misa kept it mercifully brief. She's in the stands now, hardly seeming to have fought at all, smiling with some amusement at the sight of the massive man's sleepy display.
Fudou the Mountain	"I've slain rampaging oxen your size with a single punch!" boasts the Bruiser after getting his wits about him. He points at Fudou as the giant finally steps on the stage and looms over him. Whereas the former is used to having a good foot or two on his opponents, he is forced to stare up at the gigantic Mountain who clears overhead by two to three feet on him. To that challenge, Fudou says nothng but simply arcs an eyebrow as if awoken slightly. A curious look in his eyes now. "Hmm...." Begin!" rings out over the match..and Bruiser lunges forward at the beheomth infront of him, winding his arm back to deliver the promised blow. Fudou just stands there, waiting, arms at his sides. Or does he. From Misa's perspective she can easily see that he has other sinewy warrior before he even clears the distance. There is a subtle coiling of energy. A readiness that has long outpaced the other man long before his muscles launched him off the ground. The match was decided as soon as the call to fight happened. Yet Fudou allows the blow to land. It slams into his midsection producing a thunderous *BOOOM* that rockets over the area and then Bruiser strikes again - his fist plying upwards into Fudou's monstrous chest and then again around into his flanks. Each strike echoing like the sound of a hammer plying into the ground. Fudou barely blinks and doesn't move where these blows have sent other opponents off their feet. Bruiser pauses in his assault as if realizing this. "Whaaa---mmmph!" and then promptly has his head swallowed up as Fudou's enormous hand lunges out and swamps over his face with a vice like grip. What happens next occurs too quickly for the mortal eyes to see but Misa sees it as do others. Fudou's free arm whips around, a blur of movement that sends a fist the size of Bruisers torso into the mans stomach. The force of the impact lifts him upwards and then suddenly launches him into the air hurtling up and up and up, body limp and unconscious. An instant later the loud *BOOOOM* from Fudou's strike ripples across the field and into the stands.
Misa	Her brow quirking upwards, Misa shifts in her place absently as she considers the scene before her. There's the barest hint of a wince as the final strike of the match connects. Her hair blows a moment in the wind of the strike's sound reaching the crowd, and she moves from her position to approach the victor as the match's completion is announced- and to gesture at the spot where the man will fall momentarily for the sake of the medical attendants at the stage. "I have a suspicion you could have ended that with... less time in the infirmary for the fellow, my large friend. Shall I take it his attitude dissatisfied you?"
Fudou the Mountain	"Hmm.." Is Fudou's response. It's a tone that says 'guilty as charged'. He seems indifferent at first, not quite looking at Misa. And then he breaks keyfabe as a slight smile presses across his tight lips which slowly part to reveal his full toothed grin. "No fooling you." he surmises before suddenly reaching his huge hand up and with a loud meaty (thwack* catching the falling Bruiser just before he hits the ground, rather like a sack of potatoes. It's not gentle but it's better then him striking the ground. The mammoth man has some mercies after all. His gesture draws some sighs of relief from some onlookers and some jeers from others but he ignores them all and instead roughly deposites the man to the ground before turning fully towards Misa. "He was overdoing it, I thought, so I felt it only fair luv. Do you think I went to far?"
Misa	A shake of the head, and Misa shrugs a little. "I think the single-strike loss might have served enough- I suspect his rib cage may nver quite recover, after... that," she notes as Fudou catches the man. She rests her right hand absently on the scabbard of her gently curved, orchid-stylized blade where it disappears into her sashes. "But, well. There are any number of things one could say- and perhaps this man is a cheat or murderer or some nonsense in his off time. Just a minor observation on one's conservation of force, I suppose."
Fudou the Mountain	"Oh now you're just making me feel bad." remarks Fudou sounding clearly as if he doesn't feel bad in the slightest. "This one here has broken bodies and bloodied opponents on his trip to me when he discovered that there is always a bigger siaka. As the saying goes." He absently looks his massive hands over and then finally turns towards Misa. "Worry not. He will recover. This...organization..the one behind this tournament..has employed healers of some renown and skill including the outrageously beautiful temptress you may have seen the other day." Fudou looks briefly bewitched, his gaze flickering away from MIsa before sighing a little. Paradoxically hard on her and yet enamoured with her it seems. "Rishi will attend to them and make sure he can fight again and then she will scold me in her Ysyr thick accent no doubt. But this is the only the beginning." He looks back to MIsa now and notes, "You were effective, fast and effecient as well. Kinder, I suppose."
Misa	"I did not wish to overly draw out affairs. Though- I am not generally given to knocking people into the sky, so there may be a lack of -ability- involved as well," notes Misa with a wry sort of smirk. She shrugs that off for the moment. "Glad to know they are able to do... more than the norm, we shall say. Certainly helps manage, say, the burns of a fire dragon." She glances across the crowd a moment, thoughtful. "Though, I tend to... remove limbs or other, more vital portions, if I do bring all to bear. Which I may still shy away from, for the moment, until proven otherwise."
Fudou the Mountain	"If necessary, Rishi is capable of such restorative magic." Fudou says as he begins walking back towards the staging area. He slows long enough to turn to see if Misa is following as he is merely moving locales to discuss things better and then he continues onward, rumbling, "If not clear before it should clear to us now that it will not be mortal practicioners that entertain this crowd or rule the day. This tournament is to large. Exigence mercenaries and chosen of the earth abound and are making themselves known. I would suggest you be prepared to -attempt- to remove limbs since undoubtly there will be those attempting to remove yours..." Fudou pauses upon reaching the staging area and grabs a towel to beginw iping the dirt from the arena from him, sweat and any splattered blood. He then grins at Misa. "I think you know this though...yes? In fact, no doubt it excites you more then simply upsetting stuffy stern dojo masters.."
Misa	"Certainly the element of their attempts to do me harm is interesting- though I suspect if I really put full effort into these initial battles they would not last terribly long," Misa notes, smiling wryly. She shakes her head, falling into step next to the man. She's light and quick on her feet- thankfully, given the comparative strides of the two of them. "That is certainly somewhat heartening- I find it personally fairly immaterial what results, but admittedly would prefer my repute not come to be that I am not to be trusted as an opponent. I would rather not -scare off- potential challenge, you understand."
Fudou the Mountain	"Oh come now." responds Fudou in a chiding voice, 'Scare them off you say? Or invite someone of sufficient power and challenge that wants to put you in your place! A proper villain persona can do wonders for drawing out the right challengers.. Though it might take time to undo it. I suppose you could just..move.." Fudou grins. He could be joking or..maybe not. "You know before I came here and 'settled down' more.. I spent time acting more as a ruffician. A bandit some might say. There's a thrill to it but I suppose reputations matter. But if you manage your reputation here during this tournament you'll no doubt have them seeking you out. Isn't that what you want?"
Misa	"It might also behoove me to point out that in the rest of my time I engage in investigative work, so repute has multiple purposes," notes Misa with the very quietest of chuckles. "Which means the approach of being as terrifying as possible may help in one manner and hurt in another, you know? Hard to be paid to track down a loved one if it is assumed you will kill said loved one should things go slightly wrong."
Fudou the Mountain	"Ah. Context." It does matter yes. Fudou can't exactly refute that no. He purses his lips and nods as he takes a seat onto a bench that happens to be wide enough for him but is still too low, meaning his legs stretch out versus bend at the knees. "Alright that's fair. I think your point is taken. You do you. But perhaps you've some wisdom there to share with me, luv. I get the feeling Tiziri thinks I'm too overt in everything I do and I don't -have- to be that way I suppose. I'll keep that all in mind..."
Misa	"And what exactly do you wish for me to share?" Misa questions, amusement creeping back into her tone at the idea. "I doubt I need to be the one to remind you that you are perfectly capable of not being that size at all hours of the day, given what I know of you. Nor that launching men into the treetops is... eyecatching, to crowds. But then, if you prefer to do things the obvious way, I see no grand issue with that. Tiziri is... fearful." She shrugs it off for the moment. "Perhaps rightly so, but perhaps not. One will not know until something bad happens."
Fudou the Mountain	"Mmm.." Fudou considers her and then says, "Yes..and no. What you see is ..me..but..I could alter this but instantly but to truly reshape myself smaller I'd require..another form all together. I was this large before I was chosen, or close to it I suppose. I've become stronger, larger, since but of my own merit. I suspect my origins have something to do with it all." Fudou then grins slowly, "Tiziri..well..I used to think she was fearful but I think now she simply operates much as say, a spy would or a someone for whom subterfuge and battle not for its own sake but as a tool..is her way of seeing things. Believe me when I say that knowing who her mentor and teacher is..she's quite used to grand displays. None of this, however, suits her.." He looks around and rumbles, "This tournament will and -has- attracted those with great power. It's foolish to presume we should hold back for -that- reason, no? Nobody else is going to after all."
Misa	"A mentor prone to extravagant displays- certainly sounds familiar," says Misa with a small, more private smirk at that. She shakes her head in passing by that thought. "Well, again, I would prefer not to simply make my name by being the woman who bisected each opponent in turn, for reputational reasons, but indeed. At a certain point one will need to push.I suspect the challenge, in the end, is less how to go about being obvious or subtle, but rather knowing the when of doing each."
Fudou the Mountain	"Well if it helps matters we know that killing opponents is frowned on though it is understood accidents happen." notes Fudou, "So watch your back as that means that there could be those that might try and 'arrange' accidents. That said, we battle with lethal weapons. A fist is just as dangerous as a sword in this place. Simply facing an unarmed opponent doesn't mean they don't have the capacity to harm you just as much as if you stabbed them so don't hold yourself back on that account simply be mindful of their surrender and not seeking a mortal strike. I think that's fair." He gestures absently, "So my suggestion to you is to just 'do it'. Don't pacify and mollify your skills on account of knowing that you could kill if you wished. Many here can. Set a boundary for yourself and keep your eye open for a surrender or a opponent that has fallen. Simple." He stretches to his feet now. Lurching up and stretching, "And now ..I wish to find entertainment. You?"
Misa	"I am required for a minor investigation not long from now," Misa says simply, shaking her head. She waves it off, half-turning for the moment. "But do enjoy your entertainment. Much as I protest, I suspect I will give proper attention to a fight sooner or later. Part of me simply wanted to... 'field-test' a new style I've picked up." With that, she offers a slight nod. "Do take care, however. I am sure we will see more matches from one another before too long." And on that note, she walks off.