Ali has just unveiled his new gloves. He and Raijin stand in front of each other, preparing to fight again. Ali moves first! He steps forward, WAY far from Raijin, yet he winds up a punch! Right as he begins his swing, his glove almost pulses with energy, Raijin sees a fist approach him at breakneck speed and he swings himself to the side, narrowly avoiding it as there's suddenly a glove-shaped hole in the wall behind him. "Huh. Well, that's a whole lot more interesting!" He says smirking back at Ali who's already mid-way through another punch. Raijin feels that glint in his eye again, before he shoots to the side, dodging Ali's 'ranged punch' with ease as he approaches from the side, Ali, clapping his bachi together as they crackle with electricity. MEIRAIJIN! However, as he closes in Ali is prepared with the counter hook from the other side, Raijin's bachi giving him the reach advantage. Once more Ali's gloves pulse as his fist is surrounded by what appears to be a slightly larger glove, extending his reach. BEE STYLE: MEGACHILE! The two moves send both fighters flying back as they connect at exactly the same time. Neither of them takes even a moment's rest it seems! They both get their bearings at the same time, running straight at each other again, however, Ali clearly has the advantage close up as he dodges Raijin's strikes with ease and counter using his extended reach with his gloves.
Sonny clenches the edge of his seat up in the stands. "So… intense. I've never seen the champ struggle with HITTING an opponent like that."
Mike scoffs. "Only a matter of time before that Raijin gets hit one too many times!"
"YEAH! GO CHAMP! Beat his ass!"
Icarus looks down at the boxers from up at their vantage point. "Yeah but… what even ARE those gloves?"
Pandora rubs her belly where the swirling void is. "They're the weapon given to him by Pandora's Box. It lets him infuse his gloves to strike from afar with the same power as up close. He's using it to extend his reach just a few inches to let him keep up with Raijin up close! And when Raijin retreats he can keep striking at him!"
Icarus smirks. "That's a pretty amazing pair of gloves you made him,"
Pandora nods excitedly. "Yeah! My dad's box is amazing! Creating JUST the weapons needed! Like heightening Ali's use of boxing's second specialty! Strikes! GO CHAMP GO! Sting him!" She excitedly chants!
Icarus looks a little confused. "Your father's box?" He mutters under his breath, wondering who her father is.
Raijin and Ali once more approach each other, Raijin throwing out a flurry of bachi-strikes. Down, Down, Across, Left, Double-strike! Ali dodges each strike, Raijin finishing as he jams one bachi into his shoulder, which launches his arm forward at immense speed, striking at Ali, who manages to put up a block, but Raijin hits too hard, knocking Ali back, Raijin instantly following up with another attack, Ali holding one hand up as he unleashes a flurry of jabs at the air, sending them forward at incredible speed like a machine-gun using his golden gloves, Raijin forced to shift to running to the side, Ali shifting around to constantly face him. Raijin pauses for a brief moment, concentrating as time slows down around him and he sees a WALL of fists approaching him. BEE STYLE: APIS DORSATA! Raijin keeps dodging as he tries closing in a few times, but Ali's strikes are too numerous and fast. Ali eventually stops, taking a few deep breaths. "Got a little excited there. Calm down, champ," He says smacking his cheeks a bit, hopping in place as Raijin pauses and dashes forward, Ali preparing to counter whatever attack he sends out, but Raijin speeds straight past him, and when Ali spins on his heel all he sees is Raijin staring rather intently at him.
He lets on a rather creepy smirk. "There it is. Found it," He says before shooting to the side, with his bachi empowering his legs. KARAIJIN! Ali once more spins to face him, only to feel a slight wind behind him and he throws his head aside, Raijin coming in from BEHIND all of a sudden with a double dropkick, Ali looking after the lightning god, only to find him disappearing again. He jumps back as suddenly Raijin comes in from the side, then the other side! BEHIND! Side! Side! Ali's eyes dart back and forth to try and lock onto Raijin.
Ra smirks. "It's over. Raijin realized Ali's weakness. That guy. He's not as dumb as he appears."
Osiris tilts his head. "Ali's weakness? His dodging capabilities and striking strength seem to be FAR superior to Raijin's from what I can see. The problem is that Raijin is fast enough to compensate for both. But Raijin cannot hit him back either. You're saying Raijin has found a flaw in the human techniques? How wonderful!"
Raijin smirks as he hits Ali in the back, sending him stumbling forward where Raijin is waiting with a bachi-strike directly to the head with FULL force, Ali managing to just BARELY not have his head taken clean off, and as he gets to his feet he throws a swift straight with his glove, Raijin dodging it with ease. "Your weakness! It's so freaking simple! You should be EMBARRASSED! You can't face an opponent who can get behind you! You boxers! It's a one-on-one sport! In a TINY ring! Your normal strategy of strafing is only effective in the smaller ring we fought in yesterday!" He says feeling his heart pounding as he springs forward, raising his bachi, Ali suddenly shuffling his feet back and forth at incredible speeds, Raijin pausing for a brief second to observe what he's doing before he's suddenly hit with a straight punch directly to the face, sending him flying back as Ali follows up with his ranged straights while he slowly steps forward, closing the gap between them, each one hitting Raijin while he's tumbling, only sending him further back. Raijin stands up slowly, against the ropes, holding up his hands in front of his face as Ali's barrage keeps going until he's too close for Raijin to move out of the way! Ali moves in swinging at the lightning god, Raijin swaps one of his bachi to a backward grip and jams it directly against Ali's glove, the two struggling a bit before Ali feels himself get pushed back, Raijin giving one final push before he shoots to the side, and he STRIKES; STRIKES; STRIKES; from multiple angles with his bachi, Ali struggling to keep up. "What was it you said, human?! CAM ON! Right!?" He calls out, knocking Ali off his feet with a swift leg sweep, Ali feels his back hit the ground for the first time in AGES! However, this is no boxing match and he quickly throws up his guard to block whatever Raijin's got coming, as he tries to get up only to find Raijin passively standing and spinning one of his bachi. "What's the matter, 'champ'? Got you rattled?"
Ali gets to his feet and taps his chest, dusting himself off. "I ain't rattled. Just lost my footing is all!" He says as he gets up, feeling himself bleeding from all the strikes he's taken. "Damn… you really got me good huh?" He says stretching his arms out to the side a bit.
Raijin smirks. "I sure did. I wasn't even using Karaijin either. I can go faster if you want it to end quicker?" He asks before Ali takes a deep breath and puts his arms in front of him, defensively.
"You wanted me to say it didn't you? So CAM ON, RAIJIN! I'm ready for ya'! I swear you won't be getting in any easy hits again! I'm too pretty and too fast for you to ruin this face!" He declares proudly.
Raijin feels a shiver run down his spine. "RIGHT! Let's go!" He says holding up his bachi excitedly, slamming the tips together, Ali winding his fist back for a HARD punch. BEE STYLE: MUTILLIDAE! He throws a powerful strike at incredible speed, sending it forward with his golden glove, Raijin's bachi jittering with lightning as he thrusts them forward at the same time as Ali's punch. SAKIRAIJIN! A ball of lightning blasts forward from the tips of his bachi, the two moves clashing in the middle. However, while everyone's eyes are on the two clashing techniques, both fighters have already rushed around the side of the energy clash and Ali throws another couple of strikes at Raijin, the lightning god ducking as he approaches, kicking at Ali jamming his bachi into his own legs. KARAIJIN! Ali dodges with a nearly 90-degree lean backward, stepping back to regain balance without falling, the two smirking at each other as they both spin on their heel and try landing a solid blow to the face, but neither of them hits, as they both tilt their heads aside, and pull back. "You're not half bad, human. Nah. Ali. But I STILL have your weakness down pat!" He says shooting to the side, Ali smirking as he takes a deep breath.
"You think I wasn't prepared for somethin' like that?" He whispers as he suddenly steps back, dodging Raijin's attack, without even seeing it, Raijin blasts around as fast as he can to attack again, but Ali just steps out of the way again. Again! Ali ducks! AGAIN! Ali steps aside! BUTTERFLY STYLE: HESPERIIDAE! Raijin doesn't let up getting behind Ali but once again Ali swerves aside in time, somehow dodging each strike Raijin sends at him, taking short breaths in between strikes!
Up on the balcony above the entire audience, almost opposite Pandora and Icarus sits a man in what can only be called a floating wheelchair, with a soft smile on his face. "That human. He's feeling the wind of Raijin's attacks and dodges them before they even come close. Amazing. I didn't think a human could pull that off. That must make you happy huh… Raijin?" He says looking with a smile as Raijin struggles to hit Ali.
The entire arena has mostly been silent for the whole fight! Why? Because to them, they barely see a thing, but the blurs of these two fighters, shooting around at unfathomable speeds. "Who's winning?" "I… I don't know! Raijin?" "You know? Or you want him to win?" The gods mutter, Ra scoffing.
"They call themselves gods, do they? Yet they cannot even follow their movements," He comments.
Osiris scratches his cheek a little sheepishly. 'Well I am struggling but I can make out about every third strike.' He thinks.
Raijin keeps trying to hit Ali from the sides, or back, or all around, but he eventually goes in for an attack from behind, but finds Ali's fist suddenly right in front of him, causing him to try and break, redirecting his rush into a kick, kicking Ali's arm upwards, before taking his distance. "You're damn good. Covering your weaknesses. Playing to your strengths. I can't believe it's only been five minutes and I'm ALREADY going to use it!" He says as he holds out his bachi, and starts banging on his chest, his body pulsing and the black lines on his skin start to glow a little as all his muscles seem to pop a bit, his bachi also becoming coated in electricity. YAKUSA NO IKAZUCHI! He suddenly shoots forward, WAY faster than anything seen before striking Ali as he passes, turning around as he reaches the opposite side of the arena, and blasting back towards Ali, JUST in time for him to turn around, striking him again. Ali winces in pain, trying to find Raijin, but he's WAY too fast this time! And again he's hit, stumbling as that hit ripped through his skin a little! He throws up his guard to block the strikes! Again! Over and over Raijin comes in from a new direction! Ali however is starting to see it. A pattern! His glove glows radiantly! HERE IT COMES! Raijin finishes his eighth and final strike with a leap, raising his bachi over his head as a lightning bolt strikes his bachi from the clear sky above. However, he finds Ali striking at him from below, his fist seemingly multiplying and growing into a giant flurry of fists creating a bigger fist from the smaller ones, each striking with the full power of humanity's greatest boxer! BEE STYLE: APIS MALLIFERA! The two attacks collide as Raijin's 'lightning strike' comes down, Ali's strikes come up! No one sees a thing, except the sudden and abrupt explosion in the middle followed by the way fighters being flung back, finally giving the audience a few seconds to breathe as they both lay on the ground.
Heimdall gulps. "And finally! The two fighters are BOTH knocked to the ground! Who will get up first!?" He comments finally seeing something he can comment on. Both of them start to stir, Raijin sitting up first, preparing to get up.
"Hey," Ali speaks, laying completely on his back still, not even trying to get off the ground. His voice is calm, not cocky. "You act like a fool, yet you have intelligence." He says, sounding completely serious. There's no hint of a taunt in his voice.
Raijin raises an eyebrow. "What the hell're you on about?"
"You act like a delinquent, yet you have principles. You say you want to win with ease, yet you smile when I counter your moves. Tell me. What's wrong?"
Raijin stands and walks over, heaving a bit, putting a foot on Ali's chest. "Nothing's wrong! What are you talking about!?"
"Who'd you hurt to think you gotta act like this?" Ali asks. "It don't make no sense. Coming into my gym, lookin' for a fight, like you wanted to make me hate you. There's somethin' there. I know there is. Something that makes me wanna NOT hate ya'."
Heimdall looks shocked as Raijin sits himself down next to Ali who finally sits himself up as well. "I-it appears the two fighters are… talking now!?"
Raijin scoffs lightly. "Heh… damn you…" He says feeling a little tense in his chest as he gently grips the green cloth around his arm. "It's… my brother. Fujin... ..."