Obai waited patiently, his grip tightening on the bokken's handle, as he watched the net open once again. Stepping through the entrance was Teddy's supposed older brother. And wow...
'They aren't alike at all!'
After his short talk with the scrawny man, Obai assumed that his opponent wouldn't be too different, maybe a bit buffer and taller, but certainly not this.
Standing in front of him was a giant of a man, at least six and a half feet in height, and covered in bulky muscles. He was dressed similarly to Obai, simply wearing some battered trousers with a tan, breathable shirt. The bokken he held was screaming under the pressure of the mans firm grip. The brother must've hunted bears barehanded growing up to have ended up with this body.
'Well... if Teddy isn't very skilled, maybe he isn't either.'
Of course, Obai wasn't stupid enough to convince himself of that possibility. Even if the giant didn't have any skill, just two or three hits would for sure take Obai out of the fight, while Obai himself would need to deal at least twenty to bruise him. However, if the man did indeed know how to fight, then Obai was in deep shit.
Taking a few extra steps back, he raised his bokken just above his forehead, pointed it up towards the sky, and gripped the hilt with both hands. He'd need to play this fight much more carefully so watching how the giant reacted could be very helpful.
'No matter what, I'll need to find ways to use his weight against him. If I can outclass him right from the start I could convince him to give up. Ah... but I shouldn't assume he's as timid as Teddy. Would it be better to test his skill first, or go all out to frighten him?'
Unfortunately, the brother didn't react that much, if at all. He moved his bokken to protect his front, pointed slightly toward Obai. The stance was common, but highly effective. However, it was still possible that the man didn't know what he was doing, the stance was very natural for many people.
Obai narrowed his eyes.
'I'll knock his stick away then rush to his opposite side. Who knows, it might break under all the pressure. Fighting an unarmed enemy would be quite nice.'
He smiled as he stepped back up, blocking the rowdy cheers around him from his mind to focus on the enemy. He planted his feet, ready to dash forward.
A low bell donged and carried itself through the arena, bouncing off all six walls.
Not wasting a second, Obai shot forward already bringing his bokken down to blast through his opponent's defense. The giant reacted too late, only being able to lift his sword half an inch without putting any force behind the block. His sword was pushed over to the side, while Obai already moved to poke the man's knee on the way up and quickly preparing for his attack to the side.
However the giant wasn't as slow as he had hoped. Pivoting off his right foot, the giant then pushed himself back before the tip of Obai's bokken flew through the air that had filled the empty space.
The crowd erupted from the violent initial display, eager to see more. Most of the other matches started off very slow, which only gave Obai more reason to end his fight in one move.
"That was one hell of a surprise," the brother chuckled, talking in a deep strange accent.
'The man's hair is brown, perhaps he's half Iorellan? Would explain how he got so big too.'
Obai didn't like to chat during his fights, instead opting to chase after the man to attack again. However, this time it seemed it would be harder to land any hits. The knee would've slowed him down if he was using a real sword, but the brother didn't seem deterred at all.
'I've got to aim for more power.'
After a couple failed swings had bounced back, Obai pursued until the two reached one of the nets, blocking the man off from retreating further.
Kicking up some sand to hide his attack, Obai quickly raised his sword high and brought it down once again, putting all his might into bashing the man's head.
But now it wasn't above him. Obai's eyes widened as he realized that the giant must've ducked.
'Swipe to the legs.'
He paused his swing and focused on jumping as high as possible. Hopping up into the air by nearly two feet, the swing that he'd expected cut the sand and passed under his feet, leaving the man open from above. Obai's swing resumed, and as gravity aided the fall, his bokken landed squarely on top of the giant's head, rewarding the attack with a loud smack.
Cheers erupted again as Obai instinctively moved to block the counterattack, but it seemed that the giant had different plans.
The massive shoulder met Obai's own, and as the brother charged through with his body slam, Obai was sent flying back, landing on his back in the middle of the bloody sand.
It was difficult to send Obai flying around. He was fairly built himself thanks to all his travels and he ended up growing to be six foot, even if his sister had insisted he'd forever be a shorty.
'That beast's got some brains to him it seems.'
He groaned as he quickly rolled back up expecting a follow up attack. However, as he looked up he saw the man backing away and rubbing his head, chuckling once again.
'I spoke too soon.'
"That was a good attack. What's your name? I've never experienced something like this before."
'Why does Teddy's family have to be just as chatty?'
Obai ignored him once again, setting himself in a new stance, the same one that the giant had started in.
The man's face drooped a bit, having noticed Obai's lack of words. His smile still remained though, as he spoke once more. "Ah, so be it. My name's Bolin by the way."
Bolin raised his sword once again as the two started circling each other, making their way back to square one. The crowd continued their lunatic noises as tension sparked across the stands. This fight was certainly building to be a long one.