It was a good thing that all previous injuries - be they serious or not - had been mended.  Niko had awoken today displeased with himself.  He ate breakfast in silence, bombarded by his own thoughts about yesterday.  He'd made it through the preliminaries, but he'd been sloppy.  At least, that was the young soldier's estimate.  One could say that a career combatant's measure of self was that of a man on a razor's edge, each perceivable flaw weighing down his overall efficiency, a mistake made that - in a serious battle - could cost lives.  You don't go into the service without thinking like that, and if you don't, then you might not make a very good soldier.  Or worse, you could be an [i]excellent[/i] soldier as far as killing goes, but lose your humanity in the process.  In any case, he felt like that wild man had exposed holes in his method of combat, making it exploitable.  Niko wasn't certain, but he felt like it jeopardized everything he was here for.

He spent his hour preparation alone, practicing some of his moves and trying to regain some confidence in his well-honed skills.  He had capabilities, skills that definitely set him apart from other people.  That much was clear in his presence here.  This was, after all, the [i]World[/i] Martial Arts Tournament!  Even if those who qualified among him here were just a [i]fraction[/i] of the fighting community, it meant that he was ahead of most people on the planet!  That should mean something, shouldn't it?

[color=92278f][i]Yeah, it means don't get TOO confident.  Cocky attitudes get you killed.[/i][/color]

He trained himself a bit, getting the body oriented for combat, and then reported with the others as the balls with their numbers were chosen.  As Niko watched, he started thinking of Angela.  He didn't want to face her too soon.  She really seemed to enjoy this event, and it wouldn't be right to inflict her with his serious-as-hell personal mission, at least not until later, assuming they won their fights.  The young soldier now waited for the results of the drawing...