2. Nanuq V Kang Fera@

Nanuq had forgotten something. As he moved his hand to bend the ice coating Echo, and had not removed his hand from the whip, the electrical loop was broken, sending thousands of volts throughout his body. The only respite from the lightning's onslaught was the brief moments when Kang had hit his chi points.

"Mmmm!!" Nanuq groaned, his eyes piercing with anger as he let go of the chain and turned around, his back facing his opponant and then and only then did his smirk appear. Using the technique he had used before, Nanuq spun around and shot lightning from his finger tips, channeling those volts of electricity and forcing it out of him and into Kang. It didn't matter if you could bend lightning or electricity, if someone shot you with the lightning counter Nanuq did, it would still hurt. But the hurt from the chi still was prominent as Nanuq lost his stance and stood still. Images of his life flashed before his eyes; his mother, father that had disapeared when Nanuq was only little, and most of all, his fiance awaiting his return from this fight. He could not give up, not without seeing her face for the last time and by god would he allow himself to give up and or die here in this arena in front of all these people.

If Kang was going to win; he was going to not only destroy Nanuq's body but also his soul. A soul that fed from his love of his friends and their love for him; a soul that refused to be broken. With pain coursing through his body, Nanuq forced himself into his stance once more, this time mumbling to himself, "She never gave up. Don't you dare. Don't you dare" over and over again until finally the stance was locked in. Kang had weapons and tricks but Nanuq had heart and determination, something that his opponent could never kill.

The lightning shot back at Kang as Nanuq turned it back on him. Kang grabbed it with his free had, but it scorched him all the same. He held the lightning in, then lunged at his opponent who was chanting something to himself.

Kang tossed the whip at Nanuq's feet, then began chi blocking once more, and now his fingers were laced with even more lightning. With both hands free he pushed further and further forward, trying to back Nanuq up against the wall.

Kane's hands moved in a flurry of motion, aiming for one pressure point after another. With the amount of electricity rushing through him, even one hit was enough to numb entire body parts. One hit in a chi path? well...

Nanuq smiled childishly and waved his arms and got into the octopus stance; with each strike Kang threw at him, he would simply nudge his body at the hip to disrupt where his finger ended up. Several times Kang's fingers hit the water and jolted Nanuq but that seemed only to enhance Nanuq's persistent foolery. Breaking from the stance after get shocked for the fourth time, Nanuq realized something while inside the dome of the octopus. Where Kang was aiming his hits. Like a mime, reading off of a person on the street, Nanuq began hitting and aiming for charka and pressure points; his own concentration causing him to swerve past many of the attacks opposed to two which hit is left arm and rendered it dead for two straight minutes.

Nanuq laughed hearty as he jumped and used water from the arena ground around them to grow up in size, making sure Kang didn't know what he was doing as he continued his copied pressure point barrage.

Kang faltered when Nanuq started jabbing at him, but he payed it no mind.

He stepped back and launched a lightning spear at the octopus's head, hoping to shock Nanuq. He followed it closely with another lunge. He barreled right through the watery dome, hoping to tackle the persistent water bender.

The shocks stunned Nanuq momentarily before the tackle from Kang shocked him out of drowsiness. Realizing what was going on and where he was, Nanuq bent some electrically charged water as they fell through it and ordered it to swarm his hand. The water, obeying it's master, manifested around Nanuq's right fist then froze itself just as Nanuq lunged his newly frozen fist to the gut of Kang as they were still intertwined in the tackle. With the ground fast approaching behind him, Nanuq prepared a soft cushion of water in the pits where he hoped to stage his next offensive and defensive.

"He didn't dodge!" That was Kang's first reaction. He went wide-eyed in amazement as they fell. "He was supposed to dodge... Either way, on to stage two."

Kang grabbed two of his lightning rods and swung them down at Nanuq's falling form. As he did a fist buried itself in his gut. Kang's head snapped back as he coughed blood into the air.

Blood.

His blood.

Blood...

He flashed back to that day.

Blood everywhere.

He roared. His vision went red. "GYYYYAAAAAAHHHH!"

He had Nanuq pinned, and the two lightning rods were still headed to bury deep within him.

The fall to the arena floor gave Nanuq the time to witness and hear the cry from the young man as they fell. It was the same that he had done after his father went missing; the day he felt loneliest in the dark corners of his mind. His opponent may be bent on killing him, but inside, morally he could not do the same to Kang with such a youthful and abundant life ahead of him. Instead of bending the water, forming an ice spike and driving it through Kang while he aimed and thrust down his lightning rods, Nanuq bent the water and formed a thick sheet of ice just above his body. The lightning rods struck forcefully into the sheet of ice and penetrated to the point where they nearly hit Nanuq in his forehead as his body fell to the arena floor, only to be caught softly by a wave of water that rushed from the pit across from him.

The battle had taken a tole on Nanuq who forced himself to stand up; his body drenched in water and hair now untied from it's bun and it hung loosely in his face as he glanced up at the sheet of ice which he had formed to stop the deadly rods. Peering down to his iced fist, Nanuq quickly made his left fist engulfed in ice and hit them together as he poised his body into yet another stance, this one offense.

Kang's Lightning rods stuck in the thick sheet of ice, his opponent stood preparing a few feet away.

Kang stood up, pressing the button on top of each rod to collapse the grappling spikes.

He would not let his rage take control.

He turned and walked back to were his swords and remaining lightning rods rested. He collapsed the rods and sheathed the blades, taking his time and breathing deeply.

Kang looked back at Nanuq as he finished gathering his things. "Why do you fight?" He asked.

Nanuq sighed and took in a deep breath, relishing in the moment of pause and rest his opponent was giving. He lowered his stance as a sign of respect then replied, "For five straight months my fiance fought against her heart condition while we were tracked and hunted by Vermilion hunters. Night after night she fought against the condition..and i never stopped worrying about her" he coughed with a slight chuckle, "She made it through. Despite everything. Now..we're ready to open up a tea shop and the money from this tournament with help with that. I fight for her...and if she can fight through what she had then i can get through this". He explained, a smile making it's way onto his face as he thought about Lullabia standing there in the door way of the Eastern Air Temple when he returned; Gozu leaning up against the door with his usual smirk and Talem practicing outside. They were his family and they brought him happiness and strength but what worried him now was the young man who stood across the way, "And you? Why do you fight?" he yelled over to him curiously. The arena viewers becoming impatient of the conversation and wanted the fight to continue.