The Tenka'ichi Budōkai (open)

[The First Doctor]

(Open to any and all Time Lords of the appropriate age...)

The Tenka'ichi Budōkai is a tradition on Gallifrey, that ancient world in the constellation of Kastaborous where tradition holds the force of law. It is held once a decade, and is an opportunity for the practitioners of the ancient and tradition-hallowed art of venyu sankido to display their mastery, to establish rankings against their peers, and to be recognized for their discipline.

It is also one of the few times when Time Lords will allow themselves the thrill of reveling in sheer physicality. The Tenka'ichi Budōkai is, after all, a full contact event...

---

Thete stood in the center of the practice floor, trying to watch Kos and Magnus simultaneously as they circled him. He'd drawn the short straw, so it fell to him to be the "middleman" in this particular sparring form.

The others, there more out of friendship than any significant interest in the martial sciences, sat on the sidelines.

"You two going to enter the tournament?" Kos asked as he circled. It was a simplistic gambit, one designed to try and distract an opponent, but it worked. Sometimes.

"Maybe," Thete answered, shifting on the balls of his feet.

"I hear Eiougougol's entering," added Magnus.

"Really?" Thete sounded interested now.

"Yes. He was trying to brag to me about it last week, in Applied Thermodynamics."

"Is he now?" Thete said, sounding speculative, "Maybe, just maybe, I'll have to..."

Kos stepped in, catching Thete in the kidney with a heel and a telepathic command to SUBMIT!. He staggered forward, barely managing to block Magnus' roundhouse kick. He turned the awkward forward momentum into a sacrifice takedown, hooking Magnus' leg and twisting it painfully. YIELD!

[Seren Ash]

"Libby you have to be absolutely Mad!"

Her mothers voice screamed at her as she whipped her body around in a circle, kicking her father in the hip. Of course that didn't work very well, and she was stopped by his block. She glared at him, and then whirled about to stare at her mother. "Mother, though I appreciate the exclamations against my sanity, no, I am still quite sane." She said as she lifted her arm up to use her forearm in a block, her body moving fluidly and effortlessly as she dodged her fathers blow. She moved with grace, anyone watching would say that.

If one looked into other cultures, and tried to find a good way to pin what she was doing it would be very similar to a combination of The Crane Style and The Snake Style. Her hands dodged agilely, drawing her fathers attention, as she ducked and wove around him. "It's Thete's fault, ya know. He got me into these things. I just happen to be a very adept learner. But no worries, I won't participate in the tournament. You see, I learned it as a way to protect myself, if needed."

"But we are going to go watch Thete participate, cause he will. Oh he will." The Deviant said as he rubbed his hands together and grinned. Gathering up his daughter in a bear hug. "We are gonna go see him and his friends, bring some food." He said as he picked up a basket, and started to walk. Libby trailing not that far behind him. It didn't take him terribly long to get to where the boys had gathered, he cupped his hand and stuck his fingers in his mouth, whistling rather loudly to get their attention. "Evening gents, I have a treat for you. The Lovely Mist, my wife, and The Archivist extraordinaire, my daughter, have made some treats for our sparring lads."

[The First Doctor]

Two minutes had passed. Magnus had knocked Koschei out of the sparring match by literally knocking him from the ring. Now Thete and Magnus slowly circled each other, each trying to perceive the next few moves the other would make.

"Who do you think is going to win?" asked a young man in black robes. Kos didn't remember his real name - everybody had been calling him "the Meddler" since they had met. Heck, by now even the Academy instructors used that name.

"I don't know..." Kos answered. "Thete's got the advantage of a highly unorthodox style, but Magnus is a machine. He's got what, a 30 second insight window?"

"33 second," Millennia interjected.

The Deviant cupped his hand and stuck his fingers in his mouth, whistling rather loudly to get their attention. "Evening gents, I have a treat for you. The Lovely Mist, my wife, and The Archivist extraordinaire, my daughter, have made some treats for our sparring lads."

Magnus smiled and threw a straight jab. Thete blocked it easily. She's watching!

Thete's head twitched, almost imperceptibly, in Libby's direction. Magnus faked a kick at his stomach, then turned it into a heel strike to Thete's thigh. Thete twisted in just enough time to turn it into a glancing blow. She looks good, too. A mental image accompanied the thought: the Archivist in a low-cut blouse.

Thete's head twitched in her direction. Magnus stepped in and drove his left knee into his opponents solar plexus. Got you!

The breath erupted from Thete's lungs and he crashed to the ground, clutching his abdomen. Magnus looked down at him. "Point to me?"

Thete gasped, spent a few seconds trying to breathe, and managed to gasp out "dirty..."

Magnus crouched down. "No such thing in a fight, my friend. No such thing." He stood back up. "Now, I'm going to go see about those treats."

[Seren Ash]

Libby watched the fight, only for Thete and Koschei did her eyes get soft. They were as hard as hazel ice right now. Even as magnus approached, even as the other males approached. She kept her hand firmly wrapped around the two brightly designed paper packages. One was for Koschei, the other for Thete. She always made to bring a present for Koschei, but that was because she looked at him in a sisterly manner.

Some woman had to show him that not all girls will just turn his life into a revolving door mechanism. Libby treated him like the brother she never had. She almost staggered under the pat on the shoulder her father gave her. She had watched the fight, and had to try very very hard not to fall over or run into the ring. But the person who had beaten Thete was right before her. She handed him his treat calmly, and then handed off the box to her father.

She ghosted passed all of the other males in the line, all of the other people gathered. "Koschei...." She said softly as she handed him one package. Inside was the few treats he'd actually eat. Mostly some nice tea biscuits, but a few of them. She wandered over to Thete and offered her hand to him. She could pull him up no problem. She always had been able to.

[The Master]

"Koschei...." She said softly as she handed him one package.

"Thanks, Libby," he said with a smile. She was barely paying attention to him, eyes focused on the practice ring. "Don't worry," he said, "Thete'll be fine."

Thete hit the ground like a sack of wet sand, and gasped like a beached fish.

"Like I said, fine. He's still breathing, and everything." He opened the bag, and saw a few cookies covered with powdered sugar. "Thank you!" he said, reaching for the first one.

Ushas deftly slipped her hand in first, caught the cookie, and put it in her mouth.

"Hey!" he barked, "that was mine."

"Mine now," she mumbled around the dessert, a teasing smile on her face.

[The First Doctor]

Thete accepted Libby's hand, and pulled himself to his feet. "Treats, eh?" he said with a warm smile, as he pulled her close and kissed her. Their friends made whistling and hooting sounds, and he ignored them. After a few seconds, he pulled away.

"Not bad," he said with a wink, "but I think I prefer quorlberry treats..."

Then he looked a little embarrassed. "So, uhm, were you here long enough to watch Magnus wipe the ring with me?"

[Seren Ash]

Libby blushed as she was pulled against his chest. Her leg shifting a little, as she tried to keep her heel on the ground as he kissed her. She flushed the color of her hair, as she looked to the side. A deep blush was now on her face as she had heard all the sounds. She held the bag out towards him, and tucked her head lower. "I see, so my pastries are more important then my kisses. Perhaps I should give the treats to you, and kisses to Koschei?" She taunted softly.

She stopped and stared at him as he mentioned the match. "It was a foul move, taking advantage of an opponents distraction. In a spar, it's one thing, in combat it's a good move. Please don't get distracted like that again, it could kill you."

[The First Doctor]

She held the bag out towards him, and tucked her head lower. "I see, so my pastries are more important then my kisses. Perhaps I should give the treats to you, and kisses to Koschei?" She taunted softly.

"Not in the slightest," he said, his voice almost comedically reassuring, then kissed her again to prove it. "I was just thinking that I seem to prefer fruit to baked goods these days," he whispered, grinning his lopsided grin.

She stopped and stared at him as he mentioned the match. "It was a foul move, taking advantage of an opponents distraction. In a spar, it's one thing, in combat it's a good move. Please don't get distracted like that again, it could kill you."

Thete nodded in agreement. "Yeah, I got sloppy. We were all using standard psychic attacks - no specific agreement, just what we were doing - and then Magnus... well, let's just say he threw a distraction instead of a direct attack."

He leaned in close. "Incidentally," he whispered, "you do look good."

"Get a room, would you?" Kos yelled.

Ushas poked him in the stomach. "I think they're cute," she said, jabbing again, "So stop it."

The rest of the so-called "Deca" laughed, although it was unclear whether it was at Thete and Libby or at Kos and Ushas.

"But I can't fault him for the strategy," Thete continued, "It was a good one. I'll need to try that out, sometime."

He hopped down off the ring and grabbed a towel. "Hey, Kos? Wasn't Flynn going to stop by?"

[Flynn Delta]

"Talking about me when I'm not around Thete? And here I thought you had manners."
Flynn says in joking voice as he enters the room.
"Hello Seren, Kos. How have you been lately? Well I hope."

[The Master]

Kos looked away from his bantering 'fight' with Ushas. "Afternoon, Flynn. You just missed Thete getting beat like a naughty puppy. Magnus utterly owned him. I mean, like 'Libby's gonna get jealous' levels of ownership."

Ushas used his distraction to snatch another cookie from his bag, and gave him an impish smile as he whipped his head back around. "Didn't you get your own?" he complained.

"Yes," she grinned, waving the bag in his face. "And it looks like I still have them." She laughed and pulled them out of reach as he grabbed for the bag, then waved it tauntingly as she danced lightly away.

[The First Doctor]

"Talking about me when I'm not around Thete? And here I thought you had manners."

Thete laughed. "I have it on the highest authority, Flynn - and this is straight from Eiougougol, who we all know is the ultimate arbitrator of taste - that I have no class or manners whatsoever."

He mopped the sweat from his face and the back of his neck. "Besides, if you'd showed up on time, I wouldn't have had to talk about you behind your back." He grinned his lopsided grin, which was getting a lot more practice the last year or so.

Kos looked away from his bantering 'fight' with Ushas. "Afternoon, Flynn. You just missed Thete getting beat like a naughty puppy. Magnus utterly owned him. I mean, like 'Libby's gonna get jealous' levels of ownership."

Thete flushed a little at that. "Beat like a naughty puppy, Kos? I seem to recall someone else getting knocked out of the ring first."

And then Ushas started taunting Kos with a bag of cookies, laughing as she avoided his grabs. Thete joined in the general laughter. "Now who should be getting a room, here?" he called.

[Seren Ash]

Libby watched with joy on her face, she still held only that minimal warmth for the two men that meant the world to her. Kos as a brother, Thete as her love. She threaded her fingers with his and punched him playfully in the gut. "I may have to face off against Magnus. Dad says it's a bad idea for me to focus at all, when I fight. Something about reaction times..." She said as she closed her eyes for a moment, her hand suddenly lashing out to grab her fathers.

The Deviant smiled down at all of them, chuckling softly. "At least you never have your guard down. She's gotten better Thete, I can't explain it. It's like she swallows it up like a sponge, and then uses it whenever she needs it. She's faster then most of the computers we have." He said this and stopped, the flicker of fear on his face. Many adults had believed the council had done something to the children. They had yet to quite figure out what. His eyes closed again as he tilted his head back. The Deca, and the Academ. The Academ was just a group of extremely talented scholars from that initiation.

They had almost lost Libby, and that reminded him of how much he loved his daughter. He drew her into his arms for a moment, away from Thete. Libby stared across at thete, something broken in her eyes. She reached out and grabbed his hand, as she let him feel what her father was feeling. She was confused, she couldn't quite understand why her father held so much sorrow.

[The Guitarist]

Gym - Near the Practice Ring - Gallifrey - Late afternoon.

A clean towel was tossed from a friend at floor level to the young man in the room. Caught expertly, the sweaty young man draped it over his shoulders, settling back in position. Standing in front of an assortment of heavy weights, exercise machines and a heavy black punching bag, he took up a fighting stance. His hands were encased in thick red boxing gloves, his wrists taped up. Shirtless and lean, the young man began to pound the bag, jabbing at it in quick succession.

He'd been at this for the past two hours, perfecting his punches. His tattoo's on his arms and chest shone with the sweat of that period. The determination in his eyes hadn't wavered in the past two hours, building up in the first. His jabs had not lost their strength either.
The training routine had been followed to the exact minute, he was incredibly serious about it. It could be seen on his face. He'd spent 40 minutes on the machines, 20 with the weights and 120 on the bag. His 120 were nearly up...

The other young man on the floor let out a laugh.
"Okay buddy, I think that's enough for today, the tournament's in the bag if you hit your opponent like that. Anyway, you don't want to be all tired for tonight do you?"
The sound of punching kept ringing through the room, the comment being ignored. The male on the floor taunted the other a little more.
"I mean, you've got to be your best for your hot date tonight. She's stunning."
The sound of punching stopped, the younger of the two turning to the one on the floor, looking angry. He soon cracked a smile (and his neck), wandering over, rubbing himself down with the towel.
"I told you this before man, it's not a date. It's her birthday and she's taking a few friends out with her for dinner. Nothing date-like there. But you're right, she is gorgeous. Way out of my league. "
Kneeling down, he leveled with the other.
"Well, I know, but, maybe she just brought the others along with her because she's nervous, or something- I don't know how girls work. Especially one's from other chapters. The Pyrodonian chapter is weird enough, so, only Rassilon knows what the Cerulean ones are like. But don't count yourself out yet buddy, you've got a chance. I would... Well, you might have a chance if I you go wash. Hit the showers, shorty."
Both laughed and one helped the other up. The shorter, a boy known as The Guitarist grinned as his friend, The Freelance, untaped his wrists and took his boxing gloves off.

The minute they were off, The Guitarist ran a hand through his hair. His crooked grin was even wider as he messed it up, feeling much better. Taking the yellow used wrist tape, he stuffed it in his pocket and set the towel round his neck. Sorting his dark red shorts, he was led out of the room by his friend.
"Ha, you and me both buddy. Wish I understood. This isn't for her though, it's for the Tenka'ichi. It's an old traditional tournament, my dad won it in his year, so I'm going to try and follow his example. Show my family I'm not just good at music, I'm good at other things. Show everyone, now I think of it.."
The Freelance got the door and the two boys left the gym.

Chatting away, they entered the room where the practice ring was. The nearest showers were the ones joined to the practice ring and when he'd first come into the gym, it had been empty.

Now it was filled with his classmates, all huddled round one another and two parents. He recognized most of them, they were all in some little club. He didn't really understand it but he knew of it. A little embarrassed to only be wearing shorts in front of his classmates, he wasn't quite his usual outgoing self.
"Hey Deca, don't mind us, just passing through..."
He paused, spotting Theta. The Guitarist had trouble finding him recently, so he asked then and there.
"Hey, Theta, where is your brother? I've not heard from him in a while, I'm a bit worried."
It was worrying. He'd not heard from his best friend for a while and if anyone knew what was up with Tyler, it was Theta.

[The First Doctor]

"I may have to face off against Magnus. Dad says it's a bad idea for me to focus at all, when I fight. Something about reaction times..." She said as she closed her eyes for a moment, her hand suddenly lashing out to grab her fathers.

"You'll want to watch out for him, yeah," Thete agreed. "I mean, we call him 'the War Chief' for a reason. I mean, he's only average at most his studies-"

"Hey!" Magnus yelled from where he'd been talking to Drax and the Meddler, "I resemble that remark!"

Thete continued without taking notice. "But he's so much a product of House Mirraflex it's almost frightening. I mean, if there was an Archive for war, he'd be one."

Millennia tousled Magnus' hair. "I know!" she said brightly, "He's a Warchive!"

The Deviant smiled down at all of them, chuckling softly. "At least you never have your guard down. She's gotten better Thete, I can't explain it. It's like she swallows it up like a sponge, and then uses it whenever she needs it. She's faster then most of the computers we have."

Thete nodded in agreement, missing the note of concern in the Deviant's voice. "Yeah, I know. Master K'anpo's even commented on it, and he's almost impossible to please."

"I think that's just you, Thete," Rallon said, grinning. Thete threw his towel at the young man, preparing to give chase. And then Libby caught his hand, and he felt the wave of fear and sorrow channeled through her from the Deviant. He shuddered, shocked at the sensation.

"Hey Deca, don't mind us, just passing through..."

"Hey, Guitarist!" "No problem." "What's up?" were a few of the responses he got from the group, along with a whistle from Ushas and an appraising glance from Millennia.

He paused, spotting Theta. The Guitarist had trouble finding him recently, so he asked then and there. "Hey, Theta, where is your brother? I've not heard from him in a while, I'm a bit worried."

Thete sighed, his good humor deserting him. "He's been with Kyra a lot, recently. You know how she gets those dizzy spells, right? And the headaches?" He shook his head. "They've been really bad, recently, and she's been laid up in the Ascepulum for a few months."

He squeezed Libby's hand, grateful for her presence. "He's spending pretty much all his time with her, right now." A sad half-smile. "I mean, you know how close they are, right? So, my father and I stop by every few days to check in on him, and I get him his assignments."

Another squeeze of Libby's hand. "Ascepulians don't know what's wrong with her, either. All they've been able to do is try and treat the symptoms, and hope she recovers."

[Flynn Delta]

"So, I've been meaning to see if I had a chance in the tournament, any one want to spar with me?" Flynn asks rubbing his hands together, a large smile on his face.
He points at Kos.
"Kos! How About you? Wanna take me on?"