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Vanguard wasn’t a boxer. He wasn’t even a real martial artist. What he knew, he’d gained from watching Television. Well, the voices in his mind had helped just a bit in that, they were really good fighters. Up until this point, Vanguard hadn’t really used the knowledge they were continually spitting into his head. Of course, as the truth would be revealed someday, the voices weren’t real. They were just Vanguard’s way of having friends. Splitting his mind, his personalities, into several voices, each with different bits of knowledge. They were him. They continued spitting knowledge, the only difference was that now he used it.

“Quick, Vanny, shift to the right, and back, let the hand miss your face, then….”

Vanguard didn’t hear the rest of what Carl was saying. He just moved. The hand passed by the front of his face, barely. He let out a small whistle as Kenji’s body twisted, carried by his momentum. Then, of course, Vanguard turned his head to look back at Kenji’s face.

“You ******** ignorant fool. Attack him.” Roger said.

”No.” Was Vanguard response. ”He’s already hurt. He doesn’t have much left in him, this is just the desparate throes of a losing opponent. I may be angry, but I’m not without mercy.”

Vanguard could tell that Kenji was in pain with almost every movement. He wasn’t completely heartless, and wasn’t about to hurt him any further. To Vanguard, it seemed that this fight was over. If Kenji continued to try and over-use his body, he could end up dying. That blame would fall on Vanguard, if he continued to throw punches and to continuously hurt the man. It wasn’t unheard of for another to be blamed for someone else’s persistence, their mistakes.

Vanguard turned his attention away from Kenji, and raised his hand. He was signaling a referree, someone to call this match before Kenji killed himself. As his hand raised, he released the swelling, tumulting fury within. His skin instantly turned back to its natural color, and he shifted his body one step back from Kenji, signaling that he wouldn’t continue to attack unless a judged deemed that Kenji could still fight, without killing himself.

He was completely open, more or less, but he was also guarded and mentally prepared. Hopefully, though, Kenji would see the futility of continuing with a rib broken and so close to his lung.

Vanguard had let his guard down, out of respect for his opponent’s life. That opponent had, by all means, insulted Vanguard’s heart and undermined the respect he’d initially had for him. Instantly pain ripped through his body. Having passed from Berserk mode, he was no longer red and could no longer just shrug off pain. The same pain that the opponent was inflicting on his burns with just a single, grasping, touch. God, did it hurt. It was enough to enrage him.

For several moments, neither person moved. Then Vanguard shifted, his body instantly turning red, though a bit darker than before. He was, now, in a complete and total rage. He jerked his left hand back, once more completely ignoring the pain he was in. The jerking of his arm could have two effects. First, Kenji Hood would release the hand, and it would be his own to control again. Second, Kenji could keep a hold of it, and then he would be jerked forward.

The jerking forward was what Vanguard was hoping for, was actually counting on. If the man allowed his body to be jerked, he would almost instantly meet Vanguard’s knee. Which was well aimed, and well timed, to raise up and smash the fractured rib, into a completely broken rib. Even a little jerk would pull Kenji forward, and the pain inflicted on the man would be almost double what it already had to be, however, if he didn’t jerk forward, another plan was already in action.

If Kenji released the hand, and Vanguard jerked back, he’d lift his left leg from the ground and swing his foot up from the ground, throwing it between the man’s legs. So, if he didn’t jerk, the top of his shin would plant itself in the man’s testicles. Still, though, Vanguard was hoping for the jerk.

( OOC: Until now I didn't realize he was actually trying to rip my muscle out, and since I didn't defend against it, it'll happen. But, keep in mind, as a Berserker, if it's not life-threatening, I don't quite feel it off the bat. )

Vanguard turned his attention toward the incoming threat, almost immediately after losing a large chunk of his left arm. He felt the dull, throbbing pain of all his inflicted wounds, but he ignored them. Ignored them to the point that they simply didn’t seem to exist. Already the voices in his mind were reeling once more, already giving him more input and insight on how to evade the blow that was launched almost instantly after his foot was blocked.

”Twist your torso away from the hand, let it pass by you, then reciprocate the blow in kind.” Vanguard was beyond showing mercy now. His opponent was in pain, but so was he. The opponent had pretty much ******** him over, ruining his left arm completely, well not completely ruining the arm, but the hand for sure. He couldn’t close his hand anymore, he’d ripped out the tendon that controlled that muscule function. He could still move his arm, but the throbbing, ignored pain only increased when he did. s**t, even when he twisted his body away from the hand pain racked his body. He’d have to fight through it.

The second the other hand passed by his bicep, his hand came upward and curved at the elbow. His hand wrapped around his opponents, pulling it against his side and locking his arm to hold it in place. Now he had a small amount of control over his opponent, and he planned to used that. He twisted his body back around, throwing his weight behind yet a third knee. This one aimed directly, once more, at the man’s midsection. Hoping to break the opposite-side rib of the first. If the man moved his only free hand to block it, he’d feel one hell of a broken wrist rip through his body. If he didn’t, he could very well lose any chance he had of winning the fight.

Vanguard’s assault, once more, was halted before it even really began. The man was putting up more of a fight now, probably hoping to save his life, or his reputation at the least. Vanguard wasn’t about to let that happen though. The moment he felt the fouch touch down on his own, he swung the leg backward and let his torso bend forward with the added momentum of his swinging leg. His head instantly moved, all before his foot had even touched the ground. His head rocketed directly at the nose of Kenji Hood.

Impact with the nose would be a tremendous force, powerful enough to break the bone, and cause another -- smaller -- bout of disorientation. It wouldn’t be as effective as the punch to the man’s throat had been, but it’d be one helluva nice attack should it land. The head butt, if it landed, would land almost simultaneously as the knee Kenji’d launched. Maybe a second before or after, but within enough time-span that being hit himself wouldn’t detract from the consequences of his own punishing blow.

Truthfully, he felt the intense strike of the knee. He felt the tell-tale snap of a bone breaking, one of his ribs. Damn, he was taking some heavy hits. His body was, in truth, painfully broken, shattered. But he wasn’t down and out. He could continue, and would continue right up until he was either killed, beaten, or pulled off the opponent, especially now. Especially after what Kenji had done.

Vanguard, though berserk, had kept a short leash on his temper at first. Not letting himself get out of control for fear he’d kill the man he was fighting. Now, he didn’t give one single ******** what happened to the opponent, so long as he felt pain. Mercy had been Vanguard’s weakness, a weakness that he wouldn’t show again. That he’d NEVER show again after Kenji’s actions.

He was severely pissed, but he was also severely focused. Though berserk, and so angry that he could barely see things without them having a tinge of red, he was focused on beating him quickly, and efficiently. He wanted this over. The blow to the nose would be the coming end. Sure, Vanguard was in more pain than ever with the blow to his ribs, the ripped out muscle, and just the overall exertion of energy on his body, but he didn’t really feel it.

A few days stint in the infirmary would be needed after the bout, of course, but for now he felt fit and firm as ever. So, with the impending head butt, his head bending forward, and the damage to come, he released Kenji’s arm, letting it fall to his guarded side, outside of his right arm. As soon as the head butt hit, he’d be in motion again. Throwing his right hand up between them when the space opened -- either from his unbending or Kenji being knocked slightly backward.

With his knee imbedded in Vanguard’s side, it’d be more than obvious to think that the head butt would throw the man off-balance, and cause him to stumble backward. Almost in the same, fluid, motion of the pit viper’s unbending, the right hand of Vanguard would launch up between them in a fight-ending uppercut. The powerful blow of his musculature would be enough to knock Kenji right out if it hit him, especially considering the pain and exertion Kenji would have to of been feeling by this point.

”Hm. Vanny, we have a slight issue.” Vanguard’s inner mind practically screamed out the warning. His body reacting almost instinctively. Sure, the man was holding his left forearm, and the pain was ******** intense, but he continued to ignore it like it wasn’t there. What did worry him, was the elbow swinging right at his face. Man, this guy just didn’t seem to let him up. While the man had a hold of his arm, that didn’t stop Vanguard from leaning backward and letting his arm be straightened out to a minor degree, allowing the elbow to fly by his head with all the velocity and momentum put behind it. Vanguard now had a small surprise for Kenji Hood.

While he’d not been using his left arm, mostly from the inability to clench his hand, and the severe burns that covered it. The surprise though, was that he could use it. The burn was third-degree, sure, but it was only the layers of skin and fatty tissue that was burnt. The nerve-endings were intact, and that meant he should have been in intense pain, but again, due to the anger, it was dulled way down.

The surprise would come for Kenji, the moment he let the man dig his fingers into his arm so deep, that they couldn’t easily be removed. He winced a bit, showing that he could feel the pain, but moved anyway. As the elbow missed, the body of Kenji would likely be carried, if only a bit, with the momentum of the blow. Vanguard shifted his body to move the opposite direction of the spin, to get around behind Kenji. His right arm came around the man’s head, and locked around his neck from behind.

He ripped his left arm back, tearing out yet another chunk of his flesh. He didn’t care, the marble below was already coated in a thick layer of blood. Both from the nose of Kenji, and the wounds of Vanguard. That didn’t seem to matter much to either of them though, the blood didn’t hinder their movements, it only made the crowd more intensely interested in the fight. Spectales were raised, binoculars were pressed so tight against the eyes that they may never come off, but the fighters fought on, not caring, or even paying attention, to the fans.

With the chunk of his arm ripped out, the crowd screamed in disgust and elation. With the second chunk, they cheered for more. It didn’t matter though, Vanguard’s new strategy was coming to fruition. His right arm began to pull back on the man’s throat, and his left crooked elbow locked onto his right wrist. He began to pull back, all the pressure of his right arm’s relatively unused muscles being sent against the man’s juggular, and windpipe.

He slipped his feet between the man’s legs, and then twisted his body, using his leg to trip the man and throw him to the ground. With his arms wrapped around him, twisting the man would throw them both onto their bellies, him on the opponent’s back. Once they hit the ground, he’d attempt to finish his manuver by wrapping his legs around the man’s hips and adding more pressure against the man’s neck. If this were to happen, the fight would pretty much be over. Impact with the ground would knock the wind out of the man to begin with, especially if he didn’t know how to take a fall.

The movement of Kenji’s forearm colliding with his bicep didn’t actually knock his arm away. The implied force of both was very close to equal, and so they just met. It was almost the result of an unstoppable force meeting and immoveable object; complete stoppage. Vanguard didn’t mind though, sure he wanted this to end, but he was having fun. Apparently people were talking about how Vanguard shouldn’t be able to do any of this, though it is recorded elsewhere that he’s capable of such feats as not feeling non-life-threatening pain, at least not showing any perceivable signs of it. The crowd was alive with people wondering if he was cheating in some way or another, but who cared what the people said. What mattered was the opponent, the man turning his body, and already beginning to lift his right hand up for the blow.

What was Vanguard’s plan to halt this powerful movement in its tracks? Well, He didn’t have on to stop it. But he did have a plan to keep it hurting him too bad. The distance between him and Kenji wasn’t much. The man hadn’t moved back in his spin, just spun away from his arm. That opened up a huge array of possibilities. Vanguard was, in the general sense of the term, ******** pissed. As the hand came up, and around, he moved his body into the man’s guard. This kept the hand from hitting his head, and really would only allow the crook of his elbow to hit him, making the arm go behind the position his head now in, but Vanguard wasn’t done.

As his body launched into the form of Kenji, he pushed his arms outward, and then tackled Kenji to the ground. A spear delivered from close-range, that would throw Kenji to the floor on his back. Of course, it held the potential to knock the wind out of Kenji, unless he knew enough to know how to take the fall. Regardless, the moment they began to fall, Vanguard shifted his knee in place. Once they hit the ground -- if they hit the ground -- his knee would embed itself deep in Kenji’s groin, crushing his balls against his body. Pain would be the only effect, deep-seated, unyielding pain.