Battle Royale

[Ryu Hikari]

(OOC: Oliver)

"Kee-yah!"

The sound of a martial artist's cry could be heard, lost in the various sounds bombarding from every direction throughout the gym, a lone figure could be seen kicking away at the heavy bag chained to the ceiling beside the boxing ring. Sweat running down his face, Kazuki had a look of intense concentration on his face as he struck the heavy bag with an inward crescent kick. Now you're probably wondering, why was Kazuki here on summer vacation, in a public gym, when he could be practicing in private and without any possible interruptions at home, in his nice dojo? Well, Kaori was currently drawing at home, as she always did in the afternoon.

Instead of disturbing her with the occasional loud martial arts cry, Kazuki decided to head to a nearby public gym for his training. Relentlessly pushing himself, Kazuki was determined to become the strongest he could be, though he knew no matter how strong one was, there was always room for improvement. That was something he learned from his dad a long time ago. Landing a roundhouse kick on the heavy bag, beads of sweat ran down and off his face, landing on the floor. Highly focused on his training, although he was able to refine his current abilities, what Kazuki really wanted right now was an opponent, someone stronger whom he could spar and fight against, and learn where he need to improve, and what more he could learn.

[Oliver Throne]

For someone who didn't care about a whole lot in life, you'd think that Oliver wouldn't keep up on his martial arts training, but that was far from the case. He knew that sooner or later his father's men would get him to take on his responsibilities, and if he refused for too long they would more than likely use forceful tactics to convince him. So, even if all he wanted to do was smoke a blunt and chill in his apartment, he forced himself off of his comfy couch and made his way to the garage elevator of his apartment building. He could hear Olivia's music blaring from her apartment that took up the other half of the floor, so at least he wouldn't have to worry about her keeping tabs on him.

Exiting the elevator, he would make his way to the ivory Mercedes Benz he inherited from his father and drove out into the traffic of New York City. It was late evening, and a number of people were on their way home so the streets were packed, but lucky for Oliver his local gym was only a few long blocks away from his apartment. As he slowly inched his way to his destination, his cellphone started ringing from in his pant pocket. He knew that ringtone, belonging to none other than Olivia, so he had no choice but to answer it. With a long sigh, he'd push the green answer button and put the phone on speaker, placing it in it's holder on his dashboard.

"Yeah?..." He'd say in gloomy and questioning tone.

"I can see your car below. Where are you heading?" She had a worried tone to her voice, knowing the lifestyle her brother had taken to since their parents' deaths.

"Just getting some air, Liv. No need to worry, I promise." The slight hint of sincerity in his voice seemed to calm her down, but he knew that her trust in him was shaky at best.

"Fine... But if you come home all messed up again I'm not letting you leave my sight for a week. Got it?" She sounded more like their mother the longer they went without her, but he could only gain a half smile as he shook his head to himself.

"Yeah, I got it. Later Liv." And with a push of a button her strict and worried voice was silenced. That was one of the great things about technology. If you didn't want to continue a conversation it could be stopped without hassle, unlike if you were in person. Oliver had to remember that for when he would have to do "business" in the future. Only have face-to-face meetings with those that don't make you want to strangle them. The rest can be over phone or some sort of video chat. At least his sister had made the drive to the gym that much quicker, as he made his way into the small parking lot.

He had a small duffle bag filled with a change of clothes for working out, and a roll of athletic tape for wrapping the appropriate parts of his body. He could hear the sound of someone yelling as the attacked a punching bag, but he didn't pay attention as he made his way to the liked room to change. Taking off his street clothes, he would put on a tight white Underarmor muscle tank and a pair of navy blue athletic shorts. He would then wrap his hands, knees and feet in athletic tape an proceed to the gym. He was sure that he fellow gym goer would wish to be alone as much as himself, or that was his thought until he got a glimpse of who exactly was practicing.

It was none other than Kazuki Hikari, the son of family friend and business partner Kazuya Hikari, and a long time acquaintance of Oliver. He was surprised to see Kaz in such a common gym, especially with the knowledge of the private dojos that his family had, but he figured it better to ask than simply wonder. "The great Kazuki Hikari, working up a sweat in the common man's gym? Now I've seen everything." His lack of excitement or interest was evident in the lack of enthusiasm in his voice, but the slight of his eye brow showed curiosity at the very least. "Don't mind me. I'm just here to try and blow off some steam in a more productive way than I have been. Carry on."

With that, Oliver would make his way to a nearby punching bag and begin his own little workout, sending a quick flurry of punches before taking a quick backward leap and kicking the bag while in the air. It had been quite some time since he had been in a fight, or even sparred, and his right leg was still a little sore from the bullet wound, but he had ways of dealing with it. He had promised not to dope up tonight, but he had some coke in his bag just in case. For now though, he would send three swift kicks to the bottom, middle and top of the bag before jumping up in the air, spinning and sending his heel deep into the sand filled bag. Nothing like working out the toxins he loved so much.

[Ryu Hikari]

"...?"

Hearing a familiar voice speak up from somewhere behind him just as his roundhouse kick connected with the heavy bag, turning his head slightly to look behind him, he would see it was none other than the great Oliver Thorne himself, in all his Russian head mobster glory.

"... I could say the same to you. The great Oliver Thorne himself in a public gym? Now I've seen it all. I would think you'd be anywhere else but here, especially to blow some steam off. I'll try not to get in your way."

Returning to his training, Kazuki sending a one two combo kick to the heavy bag, the sounds of the punching bag getting wailed on somewhere behind him, stopping, he'd turn and watch Oliver beat on the bag while adjusting the bandages wrapped around his hands and arms.

"... Is that all you've got, Oliver? I expected more from the head of the most powerful Russian mob gang in New York City..."

[Oliver Throne]

Kazuki and Oliver had a decent understanding of each other, at least the business end of their lives. Kaz was in line to head up the Japanese sect of Yakuza, and Oliver technically was the current head of one of the most powerful Russian mob families. Yet even so, the two of them lived their lives as normally as two hiers to the darker side of life could, and he knew that no one would suspect violence and bloodshed from such "charming young men".

So as Kaz commented on his statement, basically mimicking him for the most part, Oliver would just shake his head as he continued to send a couple of hook punches to either side of the punching bag. He wasn't there to socialize, even if the two of them had somewhat of a past. This was his time to keep up with his training, work up a sweat and then get back home. The latter was something he would probably put off, knowing that Olivia would check him from head to toe for cuts, bruises, red eyes or track marks. She meant well, but she needed to realize he wasn't going to change anytime soon.

After acknowledging Oliver, Kaz went back to his own training. Oliver didn't care to pay any attention to what sort of attacks his acquaintance was working on, but he could tell that he was putting forth a decent amount of force in his attacks. Realizing this, Oliver would give himself some space from the bag and send some powerful waist level kicks with his left leg, switching to his right with a quick hop and doing the same but aiming up at head level. He knew that Kaz had more traditional training than himself, but that didn't mean he was without martial talent or strength.

The bag began wobbling in an odd fashion, causing Oliver to adjust accordingly. He heard Kaz taunt his abilities, if only playfully, but Oliver took that as invitation to show him something a bit more impressive than the norm. So as the bag rocked to the right, Oliver would shift quickly to the left and leap into the air at the bag. Both of his feet would connect at chest level at the same time, as he used the combine force of his kick and the the momentum of the bag to allow him to propel him into a backflip. Landing with his legs spread and fists at the ready in front of him, he would look over at Kaz with a slight glare.

"You forgot about Florida and Asia, but I'm no leader." He would stand up straight and walk the few steps needed to get within arms length of Kaz. He'd look him up and down, sizing up his possible strengths and weaknesses. Their fathers had exchanged blows in the past, as both friends and foes, and Oliver knew that the Hikari's weren't a family to take lightly. "But if you think I'm so underwhelming, why don't you put your kicks where your mouth is?" His legs would once again spread into their fighting position as he got ready to start, whether Kaz wished to or not. "Wait... I guess I'd be the one to do that."

With that said, Oliver would launch his right shin at Kaz's neck, twisting on the ball of his foot as his cocked back right leg whipped with decent force toward it's destination. Oliver hadn't had a real fight for ages, even if he considered this one to be nothing more than a friendly spar between longtime acquaintances. It was a long time coming, and he wanted to know just what he'd have to compete with in the future. The alliance of their fathers wouldn't be passed down them with certainty, so he needed a better understanding of future investments. What better way they with an exchange of blows?

[Ryu Hikari]

"Oh, my sincerest apologies comrade, it sincerely slipped my mind that your strings of control extended all the way down to the swamp land and across the Atlantic Ocean, across Europe, and to Asia."

Bowing lowly but mockingly to Oliver, straightening up, Kazuki would see Oliver had come within arms length of him and was looking him up and down, a slight smirk slowly forming on Kazuki's face. Despite his mocking teasing of Oliver, Kazuki knew the Throne family members were not ones to be underestimated.

"... Bring it on, Oli. I'll make you eat your words... literally."

Spreading his feet apart, now shoulder-width apart, his left hand lightly curled into a fist and held in front of his chest, his right hand flat and in front of his torso, his left arm would shoot upwards and easily block Oliver's shin kick to his neck. Kazuki was a little surprised, Oliver was less stronger than he remembered him to be.

Then again, it had been years since the two of them last sparred against each other, so Kazuki couldn't really say for sure if Oliver had gotten stronger or weaker. Grabbing hold of Oliver's ankle, driving forward, he'd attempt to raise Oliver's leg until he toppled over sideways. If he succeeded, he'd twist Oliver's foot, flipping him onto his stomach, drop to one knee, grab a handful of his hair, and try to slam his head against the floor once, twice, three times.