The awaited results came in, and he could see the tournament brackets posted on a wall.  It actually gave him some relief for two reasons.  First, the returning champion was in the first half instead of the latter, where he was, and that would mean he could study him when he fought without having to worry about him until maybe the finals.  Of course, the champ could also do the same with [i]him[/i], but the advantages of knowing the man's style far out-weighed the chance of him studying him.  There was so much more TOO learn from Michael Miocic.

Anyway, his second relief was that if he and Angela were to face off at all, it would only be in the semi-finals.  Hoenstly, he wanted to be able to enjoy this, be more laid-back like his brother, but he couldn't.  The first real chance at getting a proper investigation underway...  The money would pay for such an investigation, and if he actually became the World Martial Arts Champion, any case erupting from the information gathered would become so high-profile that the world would be set on its ear and out for blood against the Martian Mining Corporation.  The loss would be paid in full and his family would be vindicated.

But that was in the future.  Right now, the tournament was getting a move on and Niko stood close to ringside, waiting for the first official match to begin.  According to the listings, it was Rhine VS someone called Bakuto.  Niko regretted not paying attention to the other fighters before now.  In the Preliminaries, there were just too many people to really notice all the rising stars.  He could not forget that those who won their fights today would be known as eight of the strongest people in the world.  Now, he HAD seen a little of Rhine fighting, because he'd been very quick.  The man exuded confidence and even a smile.  More to the point, he was a strong man with enough style to send people out of the ring very quickly.  He waited to see what would transpire between him and Bakuto.  Surely now, that they were down to the sixteen, it would be more difficult for him...

Bakuto was excited, eager even.  Like Angela, he was enjoying this.  Who knows?  Maybe this would be a fun fight, since both opponents were in high spirits.  After all, [i]he[/i] was the serious one.  [color=92278f][i]Maybe I should cool down a little, try to enjoy myself.[/i][/color]  He flagged someone down for a drink as it got started.  The ring was bigger and the two of them were not being reckless.  Rhine was feeling this one out for now, waiting for his opponent to move.  Niko was worried about something like this.  He'd been rather quick and offensive in his own fights, and defensive opponents might be prepared for that.  In a flash, then, they attacked each other, a flurry of blows!  Bakuto seemed to jump right in there and open up, not strong but swiftly to get in the first hits, keep his own damage to a minimum!  And right from there, Bakuto was suddenly leaping around, avoiding all attacks from the strong man's counter-attack.

[color=92278f][i]He's quick, too quick for Rhine.  It may take him a while to wear 'im down, but it might just happen that way.  It's how I SHOULD be doing things...[/i][/color]

The swifter opponent revealed that the way Niko had been trying to win the Prelims was more like how he seemed to fight in reality.  He was greater in the attack and speed.  Niko had been trying to fight that way, but his concern for opponents wearing him out too early caused him to incorrectly focus and he'd been overcompensating.  Rhine was soon taken down by the very real gap in ability.  If Bakuto was [i]this[/i] strong, what was the [i]champion[/i] like?