Hashing it out - One Drink and Bout at a time... [Jagaimo]

The taller woman swayed unsteadily on her feet and spat out a mouthful of blood into the dirt underfoot as the smaller Zoan approached her across the sand, the look on his face one of worry rather than outright aggression now. It said much about the man's character that he would suspend adrenaline rush of combat to check on her rather than simply push his advantage. Jagaimo nodded slowly, a thin smile on her lips as she wiped her mouth with one hand, tail curled up round her waist loosely while the other hand rested where his knee had impacted a few times before waving it at him in a dismissive manner.

"If it takes you...a whole minute...to dispatch a fallen foe...you need more practice..."

She was still struggling to breath, the muscles of her abdomen tight as her chest tried to rise and fall, while the bruising on her rips brought a small grimace to each word between breaths. When he smiled and said something about small fists and impact she couldn't help but laugh with his chuckle, a cough escaping her at the same time.

"Oh thats evil! Gonna torture me with your bad humour now instead?" 

She slowly straightened herself up, hands brushing sand and stone from the creases in her dusty clothes, a hand shaking her hair a little to remove the debris from the wild strands. A quick glance above told her the crowds were still watching, still eager for a show and man of the bookies and customers seemed to be trapped in place, seemingly lost on how to call this match right now. She could feel her own power fluctuating, not even half of what she was capable of but when she tried to call it to her there was simply nothing there, her body refused to heed her commands, refusing bubble to the surface. Even the Beast that goaded her at times like this was silent in her mind. She could feel it there, sat in the darkness but it seemed subdued, less aggressive and eager for blood for once. Dammit, it didn't even try to challenge her!

When Yakito stood there with his hands clasped in front of him and a neutral expression on his face, Jagaimo shook her head, holding up one hand in protest, mouth opening and closing a few times before she let her shoulders sag just a little, tension easing from her face before she let a smile creep back into place. She moved both hands over her stomach, smoothing out the material and showing off the growing bulge in her belly that was usually hidden by the heavy folds of her outfit over her slender frame.

"I wouldn't call my condition an invisible force."

Her head shook slowly from side to side,

"But I won't give you any excuses, I may have some...control issues...from time to time but you did nothing other than best me in a duel regardless of what may have occurred. You just caught me by surprise, blacked out for a moment, couldn't think straight is all. But that airborne counter was smart I'll give you that, how you changed the direction...thought for sure I might have you tapping out."

When Jagaimo looked up she caught sight of Kinoko scowling at her, face dark despite the one sided smile she always wore thanks to the scar on her face. She gave an apologetic nod to the old Saiyan who simply glared daggers at her before stomping off back through the crowd and out of sight again. While they wern't related, ever since Jagaimo had told her what was going on she'd taken on more and more of the work at the bar and scowled more and more often whenever she thought her 'boss' was doing something stupid. She was right most of the time.

"A rain check then..."

She offered her arm, palm open for a warriors grip and leaned in,

"Just don't get to much stronger, I won't be able to train much soon."

She winked down at the fox boy with a glint in her eye as the boo's began, the grumblings a rolling murmur through the crowd above before it was silenced by the small Earthlings booming shout and challenge. Not surprisingly, no one jumped in to take him on after what they had just witnessed of his power but all the same Jagaimo could see he was making no friends with his words. She smirked to herself then stumbled over, suddenly grabbing the fox by one wrist and hoisting his arm into the air, turning him slowly for them all to see. She didn't shout or scream, she didn't need to, they would all understand what the gesture meant and the word would spread. Yakito had won fairly and his victory wasn't to be questioned.

"Your winner, a good match. As promised, see Kinoko to clear your tab at the end of the week."

A few small cheers went up followed by more as the word spread, not quite the rowdy riotous volume from the last time Zuqetta fought here but a cheer non the less. Jagaimo leaned close to the foxling's ear even as she held his arm aloft.

"Play to your audience. Making them fear you is all well and good, but make them love and respect you and they'll take on everyone in the universe to fight at your side. A warrior is a warrior, Imperial or otherwise."

Jagaimo slowly lowered his arm, releasing the Zoan from her grasp, a hand moving to her lower back to rub the ache that was forming there before fingers moved to check the bruising forming across her shoulders and numerous other places on her body there the blows had landed and where Yakito had used her as a battering ram to delve into the rock wall. Her eyes moved to the impact crater shaking her head slowly. It would need some work to get filled again, maybe some rubble or something to fill it then a patch work of stone to smooth the edges a little. They hadn't done to much damage so there really wasn't anything to worry about but having felt just how stronger her opponent had been she knew they could have done much much worse to the surrounding area if they'd both gone all out. She felt as thought she might have had an edge in power but Jagaimo couldn't convince herself that she would have been able to beat the fox boy, at least not without suffering a few days in a healing tank for the trouble. A stale mate was more likely but looking at him now she wondered if that would have been enough for him.

"From what I've seen and heard you'll fit right in no matter where you go. The Empire is lucky to have you in their ranks. Can't say I always agree with everything your Emperor does but there's no faulting he has an eye for recruiting talent to the Imperial way. Just make sure you don't lose your way, always remember what your fighting for."

She smiled as Yakito moved away from her, feeling the nervous awkward energy faded now compared to how she had first sensed it in him. His expression was neutral and stern, nothing there to give him away but a body had more than just its face to give away signs...and that was before you delved into sensing what a person's power might be doing even without them knowing. Emotions could trigger all sorts of responses from a person's Ki that their body might otherwise hide unless they'd spent some time learning to control themselves. From what she could glean, Yakito was somewhat anxious, which she figured had something to do with the pregnancy reveal and the fear of hurting an unborn...but other than that he seemed to be as genuine as he presented himself. It could just be the Zoan was a very good liar but she doubted he was one for tricks considering the way he fought. Jagaimo had always been told to watch her opponents and held the strong belief you could learn a lot about a person from the interactions in battle you had with them. So far it held true for most fighters she'd met.

Jagaimo smiled at him when he spoke again, a hand on her hip as she pushed it out to the side a little while massaging her shoulder with the other one again before her face shifted to a warm grin, despite the flecks of dried blood on her skin.

"Can't make that promise...who knows if this won't be the first of many, but I'll listen out for stories of a grand Imperial hero ok? And if i hear your anything but the honest fighter you were today I'll come find you again and remind you to be him again."

She met his gaze and regardless of the look on his face, the two didn't match. There was no malice or hatred there, only a mild disappointment, presumably because they hadn't gone all out from the start. That would change one day. Fighters like Yakito always came round the circuit to test themselves even if they never admitted they wanted to feel that fighting thrill.

The young Saiyan woman began to lift from the ground slowly to make her way back to the railing when the Earthling leapt clear of the pit and disappeared into the crowd that was lingering in the yard. She could sense his energy in the bar as it moved through the people but she stopped tracking him when a scowling face emerged from the crowd and practically dragged her from the air and onto her feet. Kinoko was not looking best pleased and before she could verbally assault her boss, Jagaimo held up her hands in apology and moved towards the dormitory entrance, figuring she should go get some rest and avoid an argument before she was confided to quarters for the next month or worse...have Zuqetta come calling round to tell her off...