"I see," for the first time, the leader of Elysium smiled with his scarred lips, "Then neither of us can afford to lose here, then."
"Yeah."
Staring each other down, what came was a bout between local legends:
Forward through the wind, he moved like a leaf carried by a powerful breeze, closing the distance in an instant as he opened with a low kick–but it was a faint; he dropped down, using his hands to reposition himself and spin around into another kick aimed for Takehiro's side.
Takehiro raised just his right arm, defending against the tremendous kick. To his surprise, the kick didn't even budge the Elysium leader from the spot he stood.
"--"
He jumped back up to his feet, having to step back as an unexpected headbutt came his way, packing behind it as heavy force as Takehiro's forehead slammed forward through the wind.
A headbutt? He thought in surprise.
Countering the failed headbutt, he pivoted off of his left foot, swirling around like a top as he launched a brutal kick against the side of Takehiro's head.
THUD.
The impact was unquestionably strong, yet with his shoe pressed against the man's head, he looked to see Takehiro still not budging.
What the hell is this guy made out of…? He thought.
Takehiro looked up at him with that same dead calm in his black eyes, rearing his fist back as he threw it forward with an inelegant blow.
It was easy for him to dodge, sidestepping it as he watched the gang leader carefully.
…He's not very skillful, but…He thought.
As he retaliated with a blow straight to Takehiro's chin, though it budged his head just a bit–there was no visible effect.
…He's tough–too tough! He realized.
While he wasn't using his most powerful techniques yet, the attacks he was throwing were more than enough to lay out any normal people.
Surprised by the sturdiness of his enemy, he was nearly caught off-guard as a punch was thrown with all of Takehiro's weight behind it.
It was sailing towards him like a hammer being tossed forward with those onyx eyes watching him widely now; there was no time to evade it with those pale, callused knuckles being more inches from his face.
"Heavenly Daigo Style: Overflowing River."
Just as the knuckles grazed his nose, he moved with the flow of power, allowing the force to guide him as he spun around and used the strength of the "Devil of Osaka" against himself, spinning into a devastating kick.
The stoic gang leader was visibly taken by surprise by this, taking the full-force of the kick to his head.
"--"
He looked at Takehiro, who had his head tilted from the counter-kick, but was still standing on his feet with his shaggy, jet-black hair obscuring his eyes.
"I see."
"--"
The fact that Takehiro was even able to still speak, without slurring no less, was a surprise to him as a kick of such strength should've easily granted him a night with the stars.
Takehiro wiped the blood from the edge of his lips, standing straight again, "...The nickname "The Martial Arts King" is much more fitting than "The King of Brawling", isn't it? I initially thought you'd just be another brute with too much strength for your own good, but you're the opposite."
"Chickening out now?" He asked with a smile.
Takehiro held a slight smile, clenching his fist, "I'm just getting started."
Without any warning, he dashed forward, slamming his fist right against the Elysium leader's nose with a powerful blow.
"--"
Takehiro reared his head back as blood spilled from his nose, but again–he pushed through it, stomping down and pushing forward as he retaliated.
Is this guy a zombie?! He thought.
He swayed through the incoming fist, feeling the power backed behind it as he countered with a gut punch, and again, found himself having to jump back as Takehiro retaliated as if not feeling any damage from the blow.
While Takehiro clearly had no martial arts training, there was a dangerous amount of power backing up his fists–that much was felt as he weaved through his blows.
Deciding to kick it up a notch, he stomped down, rearing his fist back as he penetrated the gangster's guard:
"Heavenly Daigo Style: Titan Shot."
The powerful straight right thrown with immaculate technique packed a devastating amount of force behind it as he slammed his explosive knuckles against Takehiro's abdomen.
"Ghh-!" Takehiro clenched his teeth.
Such a blow blew Takehiro back several meters with his feet sliding across the ground.
He looked in with an excited smile, still holding his smoldering fist forward as Takehiro remained standing tall, with steam emitting from the spot of impact, billowing from his black t-shirt.
"...What're you made out of, man?" He asked.
"I should be asking you that," Takehiro replied.
This time, he was taken aback as it was Takehiro that took the initiative, who jumped towards him and stomped down with tremendous force, forcing him to flip backward as he breathed sharply through his lips.
"Heavenly Daigo Style: Void Fist."
Even the stoic Takehiro held surprise in his dark eyes as the silver-haired opponent of his vanished from his eyes before what appeared next was a sting against his cheek.
It was a punch that surpassed the Elysium leader's reflexes entirely, sending him flying back though Takehiro managed to catch himself on his feet.
He landed as well, looking at the gang leader, checking for any damage done only to see a small bruise left on Takehiro's cheek.
"Not even that, huh?" He mumbled.
So, he's not just using some instant reinforcement technique to defend against my attacks? "Void Fist" would've bypassed his ability to time a defense like that, so…he's just naturally that tough, he realized.
It was beginning to feel like a silent challenge issued to him; each time he landed an attack and Takehiro remained unflinching, still standing, it felt as if the man was telling him "Is that all?"--the next time he rushed forward, he accepted this challenge.
"Heavenly Daigo Style: Fang of Heaven."
The technique launched was a spinning elbow aimed for the man's ribs, landing with a brutal impact before he immediately spun in the opposite direction–
"Heavenly Daigo Style: Fang of Heaven."
Repeated once more, he slammed his elbow, sharpened with the intent to win, against Takehiro's left side.
It was a merciless assault; for the first time, he felt pushed.