[b][color=gray]Athena:[/color] [color=ec008c]So, how's it going?[/color]
[color=gray]Niko:[/color] [color=92278f]It's going.[/color]
[color=gray]Athena:[/color] [color=ec008c]Fantasia wasn't bad.  I'd put more money on Rica, myself.  She looks alot more collected an individual.[/color]
[color=gray]Niko:[/color] [color=92278f]You'd know.  Wait, are you taking [i]bets[/i] on this?[/color]
[color=gray]Athena:[/color] [color=ec008c]Couldn't hurt.  Don't say nothing, okay?[/color]
[color=gray]Niko:[/color] [color=92278f]Yeah, alright.  Just...don't lay any bets on my matches.  I dunno if that's right to do...[/color]
[color=gray]Athena:[/color] [color=ec008c]Niko, lighten up!  It's just a friendly wager or two.  And besides, if I wasn't willing to bet on my own student, even take the loss with dignity if you fell, what kind of teacher would I be?  Now, calm yourself down, study your opponents, and try to kick some ass![/color]
[color=gray]Niko:[/color] [color=92278f]Okay, okay.  I will.[/color][/b]

To be fair, he [i]had[/i] been watching the fights with interest, or maybe as though his life depended on it.  True, there was no thought of dying here, but he had to give this tournament the seriousness it deserved, if not for [i]his[/i] reasons, then for the importance accorded to the very event.  And so, he watched as Jackson hunkered down and took the blows from Fantasia, waiting his chance to strike back and take victory in a patient brawl.  Then, he saw the King of Europe get knocked out of the ring all of a sudden, and Niko's eyes were like [i]'What the hell?!'[/i] as he stared at Lee.  True, Wallace was a more dedicated leader than fighter, but he'd made it into the tournament proper.

[color=92278f][i]I guess these are the moments that really draw out the hidden potential of the fighting community.  God damn...[/i][/color]

Then, of course, all eyes were on the Champ's first bout of the Tournament.  As returning Champion, Michael was able to skip the Preliminary fights, so nobody had had a chance to see how well he was fighting [i]lately[/i], as opposed to his win five years ago.  The match between him and Ivanik began suddenly and forcefully, the two opponents taking and giving blows.  Michael kept switching combat styles in the middle of the fight to change the flow of battle.  What surprised Niko was how he managed to do it so naturally, so seamlessly.  This was going to be tough for him, if he made it that far.  That said, whatever Michael's skill, at least he was lucky enough not to have to face it now, like Ivanik.  One thing that [i]really[/i] stuck out, though: Michael's speed.  He had the focus and control to get in close to an opponent after having dodged a punch by a small margin.  Niko felt he could possibly achieve that sort of feat if he tried, but he was untested in that regard.  He preferred to by completely out of an opponent's threat area in terms of an incoming attack than anything else.

Michael had won and next came Rica and Sammy.  Okay, let's see if Athena was right, then.  Sammy was a cage fighter, vicious and brutal, and Rica was completely unknown, except perhaps to Lee.  Perhaps they were past opponents somewhere?  Trained together?  Who knows?  Niko watched carefully and...yeah, he could see it too.  Rica was collected and capable.  More to the point, when she took damage, she seemed to have the focus to ignore it in the [i]moment[/i] and react to Sammy quickly and dangerously.  Rica walked out with cuts and bruises, but otherwise intact.  And that left [i]his match[/i] now.  He was fighting...

[i][color=92278f]Oh shit...  I forgot![/color][/i]

...another protege'.  Win or lose, it was he who Athena had chosen to carry on her skills into the new generation.  Maybe he wouldn't be her only true student, but he was the first, and facing him now was a man called Kyro...who trained under Michael Miocic himself.  He was nervous for a moment, but then...he stopped.  All of a sudden, the tension released, and it wasn't because he was told to or because of his training or what have you.  He just realized that...making it up here was an achievement beyond anything he thought possible for himself, and anything he learned from this tournament could only benefit him.  He was standing in a ring before a man trained by the Champion, looking to perhaps surpass the Champion himself.  Standing here like this, his other problem - the reason he came here, initially - didn't seem so difficult.  Not in the face of those who could move in the blink of an eye, at any rate.

[color=92278f][i]Alright...  Let's see what I can really do.[/i][/color]