Round 1: Morei Haji vs. Sanada Yukimura

[Takeda Shingen]

(OOC: Stats are in effect, as this is a stat-based board, but will be used more as a guideline than strict adherence. Please post your BASE STATS WITH FACTION STAT BONUS ONLY in your first post, at which point, they will be locked. No Musou is allowed. This fight ends on March 3rd. Good luck.)

The both of you are led to a castle of a former daimyo and into a circular room on the higher floors of the tower, the referee already there and awaiting your arrival. Two walls are decorated with paintings: the inside wall features a tiger in long grass, and the other a dragon. There are red stairs leading upwards behind the tiger wall, but be careful, you can be pushed through windows, onto a lower-leveled roof and then into a walled-up courtyard outside. Standing fire torches are placed around the courtyard, so take care to not get burned.

"Ready? Fight!"

[Sanada Yukimura]

(OOC: Yukimura's Stats:

Str: 24
Dex: 19
Con: 19
Wis: 18
Spr: 15)

Led into the castle of a former daimyo, Yukimura would marvel at the area, but also lament the fact that he would have to fight in such a incredibly looking castle. It would be made even worse by the fact he would be fighting someone he considered a good friend. Leaning in for a closer look at the paintings decorating the walls, he would also take the time waiting for his opponent to arrive to note the surrounding area, including the staircase located behind the wall.

When his opponent finally arrived, his eyes would widen in shock, before turning to a look of sadness. He had dueled against Haji once, but this time, there were no weapons involved. Only their wits and guile. Easing into a simple stance once the referee spoke, regardless of who won or lost, this would be a clean fight.

"... I wish you luck Morei-san... But I am afraid I will fight to ensure I advance."

[Morei Haji]

(OOC: Str: 14 Dex: 18 Con: 18 Wis: 11 Spr: 18)

A former Daimyo's castle... it was quite the fancy place. Having been born of common blood, this wasn't the kind of place I ever expected to set foot in. As I proceed up the tower, I found myself intrigued by how nice the place looked. Finding my way into the circular room near the top, I was greeted to more decorations, and two beautiful paintings on either wall. In the center of it all stood...

"...Sanada-san?"

He was to be my opponent? We had dueled once before, and Yukimura held the upper hand due to his experience. I dreaded the fact that it was he I would face, if not more for the fact that he was now someone I considered a great friend, especially after we went to Numa Castle together.

"I see... I hope I do not disappoint you, I have trained since we last fought."

I too would adopt a fighting stance, staring Yukimura down. I did not know if he wished to make the first strike or not. Either way, I knew this would not be easy. I couldn't pull my punches here, even if he was a friend. I had to steel my will to fight.

[Sanada Yukimura]

Giving Haji a respectful bow of his head, he would suddenly take off without any warning or indication towards him, moving at a fast but controlled speed. He wasn't going to move at full speed just yet, because one, he would just tire himself out more quickly, and two, it also would run the risk of him being sent into and falling through one of the windows, and that was not something he wanted to happen.

As soon as he was within range, he would pull his right arm like he was going to launch an uppercut, only to halt dead in his tracks and launch a swift left jab not for Haji's chin, but for his left shoulder, to try and hit it with enough force to dislocate and crack the humorous bone, while simultaneously shifting his right arm back in front of his sternum, in case he needed to block or counter.

[Morei Haji]

Yukimura was fast, and my eyes saw a blur moving towards me. I kept my body at the ready, trying to anticipate an attack... There! He was going for an uppercut! I was prepared to step back, before he stopped, my eyes widening as he feinted into a different attack.

As his fist came towards my shoulder, my eyes barely caught it at the last instant, and I would attempt to turn my body with his attack, allowing him to strike my shoulder, but hopefully taking a lot less damage in the process. I winced. My left leg would go back, and my right leg would step forward as my right fist would aim straight for his solar plexus in return. If this was successful, I would instantly turn that right fist into an uppercut immediately after the first initial strike connected.

[Sanada Yukimura]

Though his left fist connected with Haji's shoulder, the damage done would be much less than he intended, as Haji had turned his body with the attack, but it would still hurt nonetheless. Moving his right hand to catch Haji's right hand, his hand would enclose around it while his left hand moved back, and with a quick tug of his arm back, would try to hyper-extend Haji's arm while his left hand simultaneously shot out and try to hit the back of Haji's elbow with a flat-palm strike, the angle of his left arm also serving as a guard of sorts in front of his chest.

[Morei Haji]

My eyes widened as Yukimura had caught my fist. He was much better than I had initially anticipated. As he straightened my arm out, I realized he planned to break it. We were friends, but he was dead serious about winning this tournament. I would try to bend my arm in as he pulled on it, placing my palm on the elbow as he struck. Pain would shoot through my arm, but this would prevent it from snapping at the limp. No sooner had he struck would my hand shoot out, planning on chopping him on the side of the neck. If this was successful, I would kick Yukimura away from me and get some distance between us.

[Sanada Yukimura]

As Haji's hand shoot out, aiming to karate chop Yukimura's neck after managing to prevent him from breaking his arm, Yukimura would try to shove Haji backwards, releasing his hold on Haji's hand, in an attempt to send him off-balance, and would try to lean his body forward, to take the chop to his shoulder, as opposed to his neck.

If he was successful, he would dart forward and try to send a flat-palm strike into Haji's stomach, hopefully knocking the wind out of him, before following up with a quick jab to the side of Haji's head, to disorient him.

If he was not successful, he would then try to catch Haji's foot in his hands, before attempting to lift Haji's leg up high enough and send him toppling to the ground, then quickly sit on top of him and let loose a barrage of punches, to try and knock him out.

[Morei Haji]

Yukimura had caught my foot, lifting me up and sending me falling to the ground. I didn't have much time to react before he climbed on top of me an started to punch the crap out of me. Jesus, Sanada-san!

I took a few punches to the face, and was disoriented and pain was shooting through me, before bringing my hands up in an attempt to grab his hands and stop him. My leg would shoot up while he sat on me, attempting to knee him in the back and hopefully send him through the window behind me, if not at least getting him off of me.

[Sanada Yukimura]

"AHHHHHH!"

Yukimura would scream as Haji's knee hit him in the back after he brought his hands up to grab Yukimura's hands and stop him, as he did not have eyes in the back of his head and could not see Haji's leg shoot up to evade it, and if he did evade it, that would be God-Modding. Instead of sending Yukimura through the window though, he would instead be sent... straight down at Haji's face, and would inadvertently end up headbutting him in the forehead. And unfortunately, neither of them had their helmet or mask to prevent them from ending up dazed.

"GAAAAH! OH GOD THAT HURTS!"

Though his head ached, Yukimura would try to rip both his hands free from Haji's grip and if he was successful, fighting through the pain shooting through his head, would try to swing his fist in an underhand hook at Haji's jaw while adjusting his positioning on Haji to prevent the further usage of his legs against him.

[Morei Haji]

Yukimura, instead of being sent flying, would faceplant directly with my face. It hurt like a biiiitch! And before I knew what was going on, we were having a total gay moment, and I got dazed as hell suddenly, not being used to being hit without my mask on.

"AHHH! SANADA-SAN, STOP TRYING TO KISS ME!"

One of my hands came up to my face in pain, which inadvertently caused his fist to hit my elbow instead without me even realizing he was striking. My arm shot up above my head, and my other hand balled into a fist and swung at his face. We really weren't going to be all honorable about this, it was probably just time to scream at each other.

"AND GET OFF OF ME! THIS FEELS SO WEIRD! KATSUMI WOULD KILL ME!"

[Sanada Yukimura]

"WHY WOULD I WANT TO KISS YOU MOREI-SAN!? OH GOD MY HEAD HURTS, WHY WOULD YOU KNEE ME IN THE BACK!?"

His body instantly shooting straight up so he was now sitting up, instead of lying face forward on Haji, he would unintentionally avoid Haji's fist swinging at him as he cradled his head in one hand, which also acted as a shield for his face, since his other hand had collided with Haji's elbow instead of his jaw. Pulling his free arm back, he would wind up and wail on Haji's head.

"WHO'S BRIGHT IDEA WAS IT TO PIT THE TWO OF US AGAINST EACH OTHER!? THIS IS YOUR BAD LUCK SURFACING AGAIN MOREI-SAN! AND I'LL GET OFF WHEN YOU'RE KNOCKED OUT, SO HURRY UP AND BLACK OUT ALREADY!!!"

This was becoming less of a fight, and more of a screaming match between these two.

[Morei Haji]

"PEOPLE MAKE A LOT OF MOVES ON ME, SANADA-SAN! I BET YOU FELL FOR ME TOO! AND YOU TRIED TO BREAK MY ARM!"

I would attempt to parry Yukimura's punch, pushing his arm to the side as I attempted to move my body up in order to headbutt him this time. It wouldn't be the smartest move, and the backfire on me would also hurt like a bitch. Because nobody wins in a headbutt.

Regardless, I would still find time to shout during all of this.

"/MY/ BAD LUCK?! COMING FROM THE ONE WHO SET ALL OF THE TRAPS OFF AT NUMA?! MAYBE YOU SHOULD BE THE ONE TO BLACK OUT, YOU'RE AN ABUSIVE FRIEND!!"

[Sanada Yukimura]

"WHY WOULD YOU EVEN SAY THAT!? THAT'S NOT SOMETHING I'D WANT TO ADMIT MOREI-SAN!"

His arm parried and sent to the side by Haji, Yukimura would use the momentum from the push to swing his fist in a hook at Haji's jaw once more as he tried to sit up and headbutt him, which would hopefully not only disorient Haji, but also knock him into the elbow of Yukimura's other arm, which was still currently cradling his head.

"I ONLY SET ONE TRAP OFF! THE REST OF THE TRAPS I HAVE NO IDEA HOW THEY WERE EVEN TRIGGERED! AND I'M AN ABUSIVE FRIEND!? YOU TRIED TO SEND ME OUT A WINDOW! ... I am sorry I tried to break your arm though Morei-san... I got caught up in the moment."

[Morei Haji]

"I'M SORRY! I'M JUST FRUSTRATED, SANADA-SAN!"

Yukimura stopped my attack yet again, this time a fist to the jaw. This sent my head into his elbow and knocked me back to the floor. I was really dazed by this point, and getting extremely dizzy. I think my nose was bleeding too. I couldn't tell right now. My hand came up to my head in pain.

"YOU'RE THE GUY THAT POKED AT GIANT BIRDS WITH A SPEAR WHEN YOU HAD A PERFECTLY GOOD WHIP SWORD! And... It's okay Sanada-san, I forgive you. Sorry I tried to send you out the window. Was the adrenaline and... I am sorry."

I would lay on the floor for a moment, catching my breath and rubbing my head. Then, after a short time had passed, I would get up and start swinging at Yukimura's head again. As much as I wanted to just make peace and walk away...

"WE HAVE A FIGHT TO FINISH!"

[Sanada Yukimura]

"FRUSTRATED FROM WHAT!? I DOUBT IT'S FROM YOUR RELATIONSHIP WITH KATSUMI! AT LEAST I DIDN'T DOUBLE THE SPEED OF THE TRAPS IN THE LEFT CHAMBER! And... It is alright Morei-san, we all have our moments."

Catching his breath while rubbing his forehead with his hand, as Haji got up and started swinging at his head, Yukimura would shift his arm to block the strikes and counter with swings of his own, launching a rapid barrage of punches at Haji's head.

"THEN LET'S FINISH IT!"

Yukimura would roar, as he would pull his arm back and send his fist hurtling towards Haji's fist, to try and counter it, and if he managed to, despite the pain that shot up his arm from the collision of fists, he'd try to quickly enclose his hand around Haji's fist before trying to sharply twist it to the right, hoping the pain was enough to distract Haji long enough for his other hand that had been cradling his head to shoot out from beneath his arm and punch Haji in the jaw and knock him out.

[Morei Haji]

"FROM YOU TRYING TO BREAK ME! KATSUMI GIVES ME NO REASON TO BE FRUSTRATED! AND YOU'RE WRONG, THEY WERE TRIPLED IN SPEED!... I'm terribly sorry, I must have put you through hell that day."

Yukimura countered me. AGAIN. My fist rocked with pain as he punched my fist. And while it was super cool, it left me open as his other fist came in. Yukimura's fist came in and struck me dead in the jaw, knocking me back onto the ground. Consciousness began to fade. Maybe I was just keeping my eyes shut, I don't know. I just didn't wanna get punched anymore.

"Sanada-san... you are... number one..." I said before I passed out. Totally not ripping off Vegeta.

[Sanada Yukimura]

"AT LEAST THE BIRDS DIDN'T TRIPLE IN MOVEMENT SPEED! ... I think all of us went through hell that day... But it was worse for you most of all."

His punch decking Haji dead straight in the jaw and knocking him back to the ground, the moment he saw Haji pass out, he would get up off him and sit down cross-legged beside him, staying beside him until he woke up.

"... No Morei-san, I am not. We both are number one. Both of us fight to protect someone we care deeply about, and would willingly die for. But you love Katsumi deeply, while I cannot say I love someone like you love Katsumi..."

Not yet. Maybe one day eventually, but today wasn't that day.

[Morei Haji]

I smiled as Yukimura spoke. We were both number one, huh? This guy was humble, that was for sure. Katsumi was the source of my own strength, my goals, my desires, my motivations. All of it came down to her. I was hopelessly in love with her, a fool in love. Maybe that's what I was. But there was a happiness there that nothing else could compare to. And Yukimura needed to find that too, someday. I was curious though.

"You ought to tell me about the girl you love someday, Sanada-san."

I spoke, getting up slowly and aching. I just pretending to pass out so he'd stop hitting me so much. And just in case Yukimura decided to wail on me again, my hands would come up. "And I surrender, by the way. You won this anyway, I'm no match for a fighter like you, Sanada-san."

I sat near him, rubbing my jaw. If I was a jerk, I'd have used the element of surprise to get the upper hand just now, but I wasn't. Yukimura was a good friend, and the fighter who truly deserved to go on.

"I wish I could be strong like you."

[Sanada Yukimura]

"Maybe... If that day ever comes. But you will be the first person I tell... Haji-san."

A smile on his face after he had seen Haji smile, the fact he had called Haji by his name with an honorific attached, as opposed to his last name and an honorific attached, which he had done all this time, indicated Yukimura considered Haji a good friend and great ally. Seeing Haji sit up and quickly hold his hands up, if he was a jerk, he could've resumed striking Haji right here and now, just as Haji could've used the element of surprise to strike, but neither of them would fight dirty.

"You're already strong Haji-san. You have something motivating you that no one else can claim right now. You have Katsumi, and love her so deeply that you would be willing to risk everything to protect her. And that, I cannot say I have."

Gently clapping one hand on Haji's shoulder, he would give the younger man a kind smile, before letting go soon after.

[Morei Haji]

I looked at him in amazement as he had called me by my first name instead. It definitely carried a more personal feeling with it, and it made me feel glad. Yukimura, he had seen me as a true friend by this point. And I could see him the same way too. We had gone through a lot together, and there was only more adventures to be had and battles to be fought. I knew we'd be standing together through them, at the least.

"I suppose you're right... I would rather die than to let harm befall her." Although, I had already failed to uphold that once... Never again. "But, I know your reason is waiting out there too, Yukimura-san. You merely have to find it, and once you do, do not let go of it." I would give a reassuring smile. We all had our reasons to live and fight. Yukimura was strong, and if he applied to that strength to a greater purpose... who knew what he'd be capable of.

[Oda Nobunaga]

As soon as Haji was knocked out, the referee raised his flag, and was about to speak, before Haji got up! Confused, he called the match anyway!

"By knock-out... uh... The winner is Sanada Yukimura!"

+1 Exp to both participants. Sanada Yukimura will be advancing to round two.