To Perfection (Open)

The red ogre came charging at Derry as he prepared to defend himself from the incoming assault. With breakneck speeds, Yanwang suddenly leaps up into the air while infusing his right leg with what appeared to be ki. It was clear at this point that Yanwang was intent on landing a kick on top of Derry, likely aiming for the head. With the amount of time he had, he couldn't completely avoid the attack, so he had to focus on minimalizing damage. He begins by backing up while raising up his arms in a guard stance, fully prepared to receive the kick. The key here was to keep his guard somewhat flexible, and move with the kick to reduce the force of the blow instead of remaining completely rigid. The leg clashes with Derry's forearms, and a sudden surge of pain courses throughout Derry's arms. He grunts at the sudden pain caused by such a powerful strike as small droplets of sweat already begin to appear on his forehead. Derry might've broken his arms had he stayed rigid, but because he let the kick push him down a bit, the impact wasn't nearly as devastating as it would've been. It was clear from their first interaction that Yanwang was certainly more physically capable, so Derry had to rely on fighting smarter than harder, and maybe even fighting faster than his opponent could react. After Yanwang finishes his kick, Derry immediately follows up by feinting a right hook, only to instead lift his left leg and attempt to land a blow against Yanwang's head instead. Should he be quick enough, the reprisal can succeed, but now it became a matter of how fast this ogre was, and how much punishment he could take. "My turn," Derry mutters as he begins his counterattack.

Derry successfully landed his attack directed at Yanwang's face, but even though the attack launched the ogre back a few feet, he appeared to be mostly unfazed. Yanwang then talked about the significant difference between the two of them, only for Derry to reply, "Yeah, I guessed as much. No matter, if I can't fight harder, then I'll just have to fight smarter." It was then that the ogre charged at him, and Derry responded by raising his arms, still stinging from the previous blow delivered. Instead of leaping into the air, however, Yanwang opted to land a gut punch. Derry couldn't easily back out of this attack, so he had to come up with a different plan. He begins charging two small fireballs in his hands and aims them at the ground beneath him. The moment the punch landed in Derry's gut and took the wind out of him, the fireballs were released, and the force generated from the twin blasts launched Derry backwards a few feet. He lands on his right knee, and remains in that position for a few seconds while he was catching his breath. It felt as if his stomach was on fire, and not because of Derry's own flames. "Nice... shot," Derry mutters under his exasperated breath as he began to rise up and onto his two shaky feet. For the first part of the fight, he's been playing defense and committing to counter play, but how well would the ogre do on the defensive? The gangster dashes forward as soon as he collects himself, and before he reaches Yanwang, he drops down to the floor and begins to swing his legs directed at the ogre's feet. "Best stay on your feet," Derry shouts as he executes his attack. Should he be fast enough, Derry could sweep Yanwang off of his feet, allowing him to press the advantage. Afterwards, he'll get back up as soon as he can and stomp down on the ogre.

As Derry succeeded in sweeping his opponent off of his feet, he got a little bit excited. Now the ogre was in a prime spot for some stomping! Before Derry could slam down on Yanwang's chest, however, that same bag that was glowing earlier shot out some sort of fireball directly at Derry's own chest. It looks almost like one of Derry's own fireballs, pink flames and all. Derry wasn't prepared for such a counter attack, and he took a direct hit from the fireball, sending him several feet backwards. The gangster landed on his knees and prepared some extra flames within his palms. "Neat trick ya got right there," the gangster mutters as he stands back up, "but you'll have to do better than that." Even when Derry gets the jump on Yanwang, the ogre was always fast enough to avoid his follow-ups, or he would even be able to just tank each hit and brush it off like it was nothing. It appears as if Derry had to prepare some contingency plans if he wants to be able to gain as much of an advantage as possible. He began by raising his right hand and firing off several pink fireballs as both harassment and to act as a distraction. If he was able to close the distance, he will attempt another sweep at his feet. Should it work, Derry's next plan was to shoot more fireballs instead of attempting a stomp to switch things up. However, if the ogre anticipated the sweep itself and jumped above him, shooting off more fireballs wouldn't exactly hurt.

Derry was honestly surprised the fact that the sweep landed once again, but he had no time to celebrate as he continued his barrage of fireballs at Yanwang. Suddenly, the ogre sprang back up from the ground and launched himself directly towards the gangster, clashing heads in the process. A surge of pain echoes throughout Derry's skull as he was temporarily disoriented from the headbutt, leaving him little time to defends himself against the ogre's incoming onslaught. Yanwang lands a heavy blow directed at Derry's jaw, and almost immediately afterwards, the ogre swings his hands downwards and slams directly onto Derry's skull. The gangster immediately collapses to the floor, and lies down on the ground for a good couple of seconds. Eventually, Derry's eyes opened up, but now they've gone back to their normal, boring brown color instead of the pink flames. Apparently, Derry's own body has accepted defeat, for no matter what Derry did, it was finally clear to him that he was outmatched. He could plan as far ahead as he possibly could, and yet the sheer difference between their speed and power was too great. "Ow," Derry muttered under his breath while attempting to get back up on his two legs, "Alright, I admit defeat. Gah, really should've kept my mouth shut, huh." With one hand, the gangster pulled his sunglasses out of his pocket and placed them back onto his head while the other hand was used to rub the top of his head. "Well, this certainly isn't your first rodeo, huh."

After Derry rolls his head around and hears a couple of tiny pops from his neck, the still transformed Yanwang approaches the gangster and questions if he's alright. He raises his eyebrow, noting that beforehand the ogre was all about fighting and 'being awesome,' but not seems more like his usual self, or at least when he was a little gremlin. "Well, the concern is appreciated, but I think I'll live," the gangster joked while rubbing the top of his head. Yanwang was certainly able to pack a serious punch alright. The ogre kept on apologizing, however, and insists that he lost control while the two were duking it out with each other. Perhaps Derry's theory about the ogre possessing multiple personalities might not be true, although it was certainly interesting to think about. "Oh, I could tell you were really into it," the gangster responds while looking into his pockets for the box of cigarettes, "that happen often?" Of course, Derry wasn't exactly a stranger to losing himself in the middle of a fight, although it was usually due to... different reasons, not to mention that once Derry was done with his episode, wherever he was fighting was typically burnt to the ground.

The ogre later responds to Derry's inquiry about his fighting experience, stating that he's fought plenty of strong fighters here and there and that he does all of this in order to better protect his friends. If there was anything the two would agree on, it would be protection of the ones they care about. Yanwang has his friends, and Derry's got the Dirty Snakes. "Yeah, that goes for me as well. I've got my 'family' back in Central to worry 'bout, but you already knew that." Derry was, of course, talking about their previous meeting in North City before they were so rudely interrupted by that bio-android. "So, I suppose we share some common ground."

From the looks of it, the ogre still has concerns regarding Derry's current health. There certainly was a bit of a sore at the back of his head and his arms specifically ache from the attacks that he blocked, but otherwise, the gangster thought he was fine. Soon, however, Yanwang responds to Derry's question regarding the whole control issue, claiming that it was likely that he was stressed. "Well, that makes two, then," Derry replies as he finally finds the pack of cigarettes in his pocket and pulls out a single stick. He sticks it in his mouth and snaps his fingers, creating a small pink flame at the tip of his finger. He lights the cigarette, and proceeds to take a couple of puffs as the ogre talks about sparring at a later date and proposing a mutual relationship where both protect the other's allies. The gangster takes the cigarette out of his mouth and replies, "Ah, that would certainly be useful. 'Course, I wouldn't wanna rely on you as a crutch. I myself have to get stronger, after all.  Say, what are your folks like, anyway?" Learning more about the friends of such a powerful fighter could give Derry the chance to gain more and more ties with similarly powerful fighters. In the case that it's just some regular old family, however, it would still be useful information to carry around in... certain events.