Niko had been properly bandaged and given a Senzu Bean before beiing told to rest for a while and just let it take the full effect.  He lay there, still concerned over the fight between Angela and Ace.  It'd been his intention to stick around in a moment of solidarity to cheer her on, encourage Angela to emerge victorious and allow them to fight out their respective struggles.  Yes, this tournament had really grown on him.  He was starting to enjoy it, though the fight with Rica had been a stark reeminder that this was no walk in the park.  Still, the way it had ended kept playing over and over in his mind.  What had happened there?  Surely, you'd want to give it your all here, even if your goal was simply maney for the sake of it.  You'd get healed up afterwards, no questions asked, regardless, so what was the deal?  Niko couldn't fathom it.  Unless Ace had been [i]forced[/i] to quit somehow, he just couldn't understand why it had happened, and he hoped that it didn't happen again.

Time passed, and with the Semi-Final Rounds being announced to begin soon, Niko got up of his place of rest, pulled out a new shirt from his quarters, and came to the tournament ring area proper to witness the return of Lee and the battle of Bakuto.  Lee had already shocked the world by defeating the current champion, showing that whatever standard the multiple-tournament winner had set was now broken and that it was [i]anybody's[/i] game.  More to the point, Lee worried him because Michael Miocic had a technique that involved whirlwinds, air power, and Lee managed to get through that.  Knowledge of how to get through an ability like that would put Niko at a disadvantage if he got to the finals and used his [i]own[/i] technique, learned from Athena up in the mountains.  Niko would watch this fight carefully, studying either opponent's moves to determine the best strengths and weaknesses of either man.

What surprised him, though, was how quickly it had ended!  Bakuto had once again shown his sheer incredible speed via the technique that allowed images of himself to hang for a second or two in the air - something to do with moving so fast that the perception of his placement fooled the eyes as they tried to catch up with the action - and...and...he completely skunked Lee in quick order!  Was he really [i]that good?[/i]  Or was Lee feeling down and out, drained from beating the champ?  No, that couldn't be it.  Senzu Bean!  They worked!  They healed and invigorated!  Either Lee had been thrown off by Bakuto's actions or even something unrelated...or Bakuto was greater than both the former Champion AND the man who defeated him, making him now a VERY significant hurdle!

[color=92278f][i]I... I must not reveal my own technique in my fight against Angela.  If I can't catch this man off guard, I dunno if I can beat him.  He's good, he's focused, and he's fast like me.  I'll do what I have to against Angela.  She'd expect no less.  But I have to at least TRY to use the Tatsumaki-Ken to full effect.[/i][/color]