Link lunged in, battle-rod whirling in his hands. Finnick was a talented staff wielder. If he wanted to defeat the Zora, then he needed to keep him on defence. Link lashed out, driving Finnick backwards with a furious combination of thrusts and strikes. The Zora stumbled slightly, bringing up his own rod to defend himself. He seemed surprised by the ferocity and skill of Link's attack, but the shock lasted only a second, and within moments the boy had narrowed his eyes, manoeuvring his weapon to counter Link's offensive. Link smiled inwardly. Time to let him think he had the advantage. He stumbled slightly, pretending to get his foot caught on a section of long grass. Finnick capitalised on the moment, delivering a powerful thrust at Link's abdomen. Link twisted, dodging the rod and grabbing the staff with his free hand, using the momentum of the thrust to launch him into a spin. He whipped his rod over his head, using the spin to build power, then brought his weapon down with both hands in a stroke set to pound into Finnick's ribs. The Zora curse and leapt backwards, dodging the blow by inches. Link pressed in, unrelenting. Letting Finnick recover would mean giving up the advantage. Right now, he was wrong-footed and surprised. Link launched forward, drilling the boy with a set of swipes and uppercuts meant to disarm him. It was an advanced combination Quinn had drilled him on for weeks, and one of the most lethal battle-rod attacks. Murmurs of exclamation rose from the crowd, and a few of the veterans even whistled. Rookies like Link weren't supposed to be this good. Finnick staggered backwards, trying to defend against the vicious onslaught of Link's attack. Even with the boy's skill at staff, he was clearly outclassed. It was only a matter of time until Link's weapon slipped through his guard. So he decided to play dirty. Dropping his staff, the Zora ducked under Link's next swipe and lunged forward, ramming his head into Link's gut. Link gasped as all the air was forced from his lungs, and crashed to the floor, Finnick on top of him. Groans rose from the crowd, and Yunobo even booed. A move like that wasn't strictly prohibited, but it was a dirty trick. Link coughed, trying to regain his senses, but Finnick's fist slammed into his nose. Stars erupted behind his eyes as pain exploded in his face, and Link's head snapped back onto the ground. Holy SHRAT that hurt. He had been hit by Quinn several times, but never in the face, and never with force like that. But now, fueled with the fear of losing to a superior foe, Finnick was throwing everything he had into his blows, trying to knock Link into submission before he got back up. And STORMS if it didn't hurt like the goddess herself. Another strike crashed down, pounding into his ribs, then his stomach, then his temple, then his-- Link deflected Finnick's fist mid-strike. The Zora hesitated, confused, then lurched back as Link's fist crashed into the soft flesh beneath his chin, knocking him out instantly. The field went quiet. "Congratulations, Link." Rauru finally said with a proud smile, "Please enter the center ring to battle the other victor." Link wiped a stream of blood from his nose and nodded. "Yes, sir." He coughed, then stood up. His ribs ached, but weeks of getting pounded into the dust by Quinn had taught him to ignore bruises and aches. He strode towards the main ring, where Teba stood waiting, a large smile on the rito's face. "Nice job, Link," Yunobo said, falling into step beside him, "For a second, I thought you were done, but then you came out of nowhere and ended that fight in one hit." "Thanks." Link grinned. "Let's hope I can do that again." Yunobo frowned at Teba. "If you win, it's because I loosened him up for you." He said. Link laughed. "By getting your butt kicked?" He asked. Yunobo scowled. "Just go whoop him, okay?" "If you insist." Link said, entering the ring. Yunobo stayed just outside the painted circle, and was soon joined by the other cadets and veterans. "You okay there?" Teba asked, gesturing to his bloody nose." "Just had to let him feel like he was winning." Link said, wiping the blood away again. "Maybe I should try that strategy on you." Teba grinned. Link smirked back. "I bet if I was about to lose, I'd say that too." He said. "Mister Link, Mister Teba," Rauru said, stepping into the ring with them, "I must offer my congratulations, you have both performed far better than I anticipated. But there can only be one winner in Battle-Ring, and I must say, I am curious to see who will triumph over the other." "Because this is the final round of our tournament, it will be held as a legitimate Battle-Ring match." Link raised his eyebrows as Rauru pulled a large silver coin from his pocket.
"In matches, a coin is flipped to determine who will choose the technique being used." He held up the coin for them to see. one side was stamped with an intricate picture of the Hylia Academy coat of arms, and the other with the Battle-Ring symbol. A sword, a battle-rod, a dagger, and a fist forming an X against a red backround. "Seeing as Teba won the last round first, I'm giving him first choice for the coing flip." Rauru looked at Teba with a raised eyebrow. "Heads." The rito said. Rauru nodded and tossed the coin into the air. It flipped cleanly, turning end over end before landing back in his palm. Rauru held it up for everyone to see. "It is heads." He declaired. Teba cheered, along with some in the crowd. "Teba, what technique do you choose?" Rauru asked. Teba thougth for a moment. "Link," He asked, what's your best technique?" Link hesitated. Was this some sort of trap? "Blades." He finally said. He didn't know what Teba was planning, so best to be honest. "Then I choose blades." Teba said, winking. Link rolled his eyes. Some might see the rito's choice as kind, but Link knew that it was just Teba being competative. He wanted to beat Link at his best skill. Rauru sent Quinn to retrieve the wooden swords from the shed, and Link siezed Teba up, trying to decide a strategy. The Rito was extremely skilled, possibly even more so than Link. His only real weakness was his pride. If Link could somehow get him to let his guard down, maybe gloat and brag, then he could end the match cleanly. Quinn returned with the blades, and handed one to Link. "Good luck." He winked, before delivering the other sword to Teba. "Contestants ready?" Rauru called. Link and Teba saluted, then took up stances. "Commence!" Rauru called. Teba imediatly lunged forewards, flapping his wings to give him an extra boost of speed. withing seconds their blades were clacking against each other, each trying to force the other into defense, neither gaining the upper hand. Link tried to force Teba into a retreat by fenting like he was lapsing into one of Rauru's base drills, then quickly countering to press with a complex attack Quinn had taught him. Teba faltered, but recovered quickly, whipping his blade to defend against the anslaught. Link cursed under his breath, then disengaged. They circled each other, blades ready, searching for an opening. Teba was far more skilled than Finnick had been, and he was smart. The rito knew how to read a blow or strike to predict where the next attack would come from. So he would need to get inside Teba's head. If the boy could predict his moves, then why not let him predict them? Or at least, let him think that. Link rushed in again, blade swishing in to attack Teba's left. The rito raised his own sword to block, but Link pivoted, using his momentum to divert the swing to attack the boy's right side instead. Teba adapted mid block, swinging his blade down and knocking Link's out of the way. Link grinned inwardly. He let his weapon fall, then spun and drove his elbow towards Teba's head. And met only air. Panic bloomed in Link's gut as his strike swished through empty space. Teba lept up from his duck, drilling his sword into Link's gut. Not a stab, that could be fatal, but lengthwise, shoving it under his sternum and throwing him back. Link crashed to the ground, gasping as the air was knocked from his lungs. That had happened way too much today. He rolled, dodging as Teba's blade crashed into the ground where he had been laying. Ignoring the pain blossoming in his abdomen, he rolled to his feet, gripping the sword he had dropped earlier. "Come on, Link." Teba said, striding forewards, weapon held casually in one hand, "You're in pain, you're faltering. You're beaten. Just admit it." Link closed his eyes, forcing air back into his lungs. Teba walked closer. "Come on dude," He said, "I don't want to hurt you. Just surrender." Link shakily got to his feet, one hand gripping his weapon, the other cradling his stomach. Teba sighed. "Okay then." He swung his sword in a viscious two handed stroke, sending it screaming at Link's left side. He stumbled backwards, feeling the tip swish through his shirt as it passed. Teba pressed in, switching his grip and nthrusting at Link's right side. Exactly as Link knew he would. It was just like Quinn had taught him. Attacking right after swinging left felt natural, so most Ringers followed through with the move. But that let you predict what they were about to do, and capitalize on the knowledge. In a second Link dropped the act, letting his hand fall from his stomach and twisting around the blow. His palm shvoed Teba's blade away, throwing the Rito off balence. Teba stumbled, and Link swept his sword beneath the boy's feet, flipping him onto his back. Teba hit the ground hard, gasping as the air was knocked from him.
