Division 4 - Round 1 (Taido VS Piyano)

Standing calmly in the ring as he waited, Piyano was pleased to see that his fellow contestant wasn't going to make him wait long. Despite Piyano's serene patience the crowd did not feel the same as the Namekian fighter. As soon as Taido, or Tai Mei as some knew him began his walk down the paved slab that lead to the raised arena a thunderous boom exploded from the gathered Earthlings. "Mhm, home field advantage." Piyano whispered to himself as those gathered to watch the event cheered strongly in young Tai's favor. As much as it never felt good to be the underdog Piyano was actually quite pleased to see so many people supported his opponent, if nothing else it meant that Taido was skilled.

Watching as the purple haired youth begin his walk towards the stage, arms overhead to wave to the crowd; Piyano reached out with his senses to feel the boy's power. The Namekian was surprised to sense such a low level of energy coming off the boy, but surprise did not equal belief. Many times Piyano had witnessed children, teens and other individuals of youth reveal that they possessed powers far beyond the realm of many adult figures. Plus Piyano had read the rules of the tournament, fighters had been placed into their divisions based on a reading of ones unrestrained capabilities. Tai Mei may currently read weaker than a wet napkin, but the Namekian didn't buy that for a moment, it simply meant this child was smart enough to conceal his true strength.

Finally reaching the stage Taido placed his knuckles to his open palm and bowed in polite greeting, even offering Piyano a few words of luck. Bringing one arm to his side and bending his other at the elbow to lay across his abdomen Piyano bowed in greetings as well, believing respect should always be returned when offered. "You as well young one, may you fight to the best of your skills." Piyano replied after returning to a upright position. Seeing both contestants ready and in the arena the announcer swung his microphone into a quick spin by it's cord before catching the mouth piece with his clenched fist.

"Alright, alright, ALRIGHT! The moment you have all been waiting for ladies and gentlemen! Let the Division four first round BEGIN!" the shade wearing man yelled into his mic before spinning in place and jumping off the side of the arena to get clear of the fighting zone.

Cleared to begin the contest Piyano quickly eyed his small challenger, the kid would likely have to utilize speed to make up for Piyano's larger size and limbs, which meant the Namekian would have to corner the youth; or at least surprise him. Grinning the Namekian came in with a fast charge, seemingly stepping from across the arena in a single fluid motion of speed. Appearing before Taido with his right side leading Piyano's right arm was raised as if to swipe his clawed hand down upon the youngster, light glinting from his talons. The Namekian's claw never came down however, as his trailing left leg swung in for a swift kick at the purple haired fighter, intending to kick the child right out of the ring!

Charging forth with his attack Piyano watched as the purple haired youth braced himself for the Namekian's strike, but the boy's eyes were focused upon Piyano's raised claws. His kick slammed home with enough force to send most foes flying, yet Taido grimaced through the pain. Wind left the youth's lungs and he slide back several feet, but the child remained well within the official arena signaling that Piyano wouldn't managed to win this fight so quickly and easily. Recovering quickly the young Saiyan/Elemi hybrid came back with a smile. The kid stretched and waved his arms as he hop stepped the distance between them. The gravity of Tai Mei's hop came with added weight as the young man released his restraints; suddenly the boy went from no power at all to a massive amount. Energy radiated from Taido in waves, the sheer amount of power from one so young was plenty impressive in its own right, but how effectually the child had kept his strength concealed was something truly deserving of respect in Piyano's eyes.

Watching as Tai took to the air to equalize the pair's height however Piyano was forced to smirk at the kids inexperience. By flying to equal Piyano's eye level the child had set himself up not just for attacks from below, but had also allowed Piyano to attack from any number of formations. Had Tai Mei stayed upon the ground Piyano would have been forced to fight at a downward angle, restricting his methods of assault. Still Piyano could not judge the child too harshly, not long ago Taido would have been his equal; not to much longer ago than that the kid would have flattened Piyano without effort. Given time and proper training Taido could like surpass Piyano's current abilities in just a few weeks time.

Taido launched several punches than, quick short jabs designed to find openings in Piyano's defenses. The Namekian efficiently blocked or evaded the small assault, waiting to see what the Saiyan boy would do next, a honest curiosity requiring him to allow Taido the chance to attack him back. Once Taido felt he had found a opening the kid attacked for real, a hard clenched fist snapping out for Piyano's cheek! Oddly enough the kid shouted along with his technique, seemingly screaming some kind of warning in line with his fists taking shape before launching forth. Tilting his chin out to the side and leaning back Piyano avoided Tai's rock fist, seeing to fingers extend on the lads hand Piyano brought his palm up in a straight line before his nose, catching the youths scissor attack.

Last came the open palm, Taido shouting something about paper with his attack, already leaning back from the first two blows the Namekian simply decided to let himself fall backwards and avoid the blow. Taido's palm slammed nothing but air as the flexible Namekian fell into a backwards somersault, rolling several feet back before springing to his feet with a grin lighting his features. "Your not bad kid, a few people in the earliest rounds of this tournament would have been left blacked out from that attack." Piyano said with honest appreciation of Taido's speed and power. "You wanna see something cool?" the Namekian asked suddenly.

Not truly waiting for a response Piyano punched his arm forward, seemingly for no reason as nearly seven feet of arena separated the fighters. When the Namekian's arm reached what should have been the limit of his reach however, his arm simply stretched and kept going! Snapping forth like a green missile Piyano's fist flew across the arena, aiming to slam Taido right between his eyes.

The youth Taido took Piyano's stretchy punch right to the face! Which in turn knocked the lad on his rump and pushed him back along the surface of the arena a few feet before Piyano's arms sucked back into him, returning to normal size and length. Piyano expected the lad to charge him in anger from the way the fight had been going so far, but was surprised as Taido got back on his feet and assumed a defensive stance. If Piyano had to guess the young Tai Mei was used to dominating opponents in fights, his unnaturally high level of power for his age carrying him to victory every time. It was why the child didn't practice any particular martial art style, it was why he shouted his Jan-Ken-Pon before he attacked. In truth Taido was actually quite a skilled fighter, he simply came less prepared than Piyano had.

"You possess great potential young man. I sense a untapped wellspring within you, the capacity for great deeds. Should you brush with a little training of course." Piyano said as he watched Taido assume his defensive stance. The boy made a smart decision in waiting for Piyano to attack next, it would allow him a better opportunity to formulate a counter against the bigger, stronger Namekian. However it also meant Taido would have to be reactive instead of proactive throughout the rest of the fight, the child was gambling he could take whatever Piyano could dish out. "If you ever find yourself upon planet Namek do please look me up. I would like to see how you grow in the future." Piyano finished standing calmly straight and tall, his hands clasped behind his back patiently.

Than the Namekian began to whistle, a soft tune native to his people. At first it seemed as if Piyano was attempting to wait Taido out, a test of patience; such was not the case however. Ki focused along the base of Piyano's throat and jaw as his lips released his mystical tune, a simple assault with energy laced sound waves flowed off the man, filling the arena with static power. Once the sound of Piyano's whistle was heard it was near impossible to escape, a attack meant to be suffered through instead of avoided. With a quick intake of air through his nose Piyano suddenly and sharply changed his pitch, the sound of his whistling taking on a sudden sinister set of ambient tones. The space all about the arena suddenly turned from static to charged as electric zaps crackled all about the two fighters and Piyano knew that soon too would Taido feel the shocking sting of his technique.

Much as Piyano had suspected the young fighter would, Taido's curiosity got the better of him and the purple haired youth allowed Piyano to whistle on uninterrupted. Such a mistake was costly on a battlefield and could have potential cost Taido his life if he made such poor judgments in the future. Piyano could not fault the boy to hard however, Piyano himself had made similar mistakes in his own adventures and he had been much older at the time. It wasn't long before Taido suffered the effects of Piyano's technique, the haunting whistle once heard, could not be avoided, only by blocking out the sound instantly could the pain be stalled. Watching as Taido dropped to his knees, hands cupping his ears as he dealt with the shock no doubt crippling his ears.

Part of Piyano felt bad about using such a technique on a child, but it wouldn't kill Tai Mei, Piyano was sure of that. Seeing the boy endure was endearing in its own way as the crowd was now largely supporting the youth, a underdog story of the ages. Piyano truly wished he could allow Tai Mei to win, but the prize money could do a lot of good on planet Namek. Plus Piyano knew some of the people Tai Mei would battle against next even should he pass the first round. Despite how it all seemed the Namekian was taking it easy upon Taido, many of those to come wouldn't. Killing may be against the rules but injury was not, and Piyano suspected the next few rounds would witness no shortage of violence.

Seeing Taido upon the ground Piyano decided it was time to end things, there was no reason to test the youth any further, no reason to cause him more pain. Still whistling despite the power of his assault having begun to wane, Piyano seemed to take a single step across the arena to appear before his opponent. The Namekian didn't gloat or smile, he offered no words as he pulled a fist from behind his back, cocked it at the elbow, and attempted to drive his fist home with a powerful punch to Taido's stomach. The attack could send the kid flying out of the ring to the soft grass surrounding it, or it could merely double him over in more pain. The only thing Piyano hoped the blow would do was end this fight.