It had been about 30 minutes, the ring at the center of the cavern had been littered with rubble, pillars and earthy construct, protruding out the ground.
Absolute silence settled in the atmosphere as the crowd on their seats had a their jaws opened on shock.
Xin Fu had his eyes twitching, as he tapped his finger on his folded arms, the announcer carrying a dark cloud as he said.
"The winner yet again.... Is the Grey Salamander-"
A"Woohoo!!!" Son Kuro jumped up and down the large ring as the dust cleared, a mile of qq came into view, each groaning in pain and agony as one of them cried.
"I think... I think he broke my leg!!!"
"This kid is something else, and yet so young." A spectator whispered
"They be allowing anyone into this world these days..." Another muttered.
Xin Fu jumped down into the ring, causing the ground to tremble. Son Kuro turning to him.
"Indeed, you've proven your craftsmanship..." Xin Fu leaning closer, Son Kuro recoiling from his heavy use of hair shampoo, "...Boy. almost perfect form and most of all precision." He analyzed.
"Your style is an all rounder with each area maxed out to 90 out of ten... But I'd consider myself impressed after you've defeated our champion-"
"Oh sorry, I'm not here to impress you or to win this for just the championship, that's more like just the bonus..." Son Kuro tipped his hat, "I'm here for the prize money, that's all."
Xin Fu furrowed his eyes before turning back, "she's running unusually late, but she's here..." He looked behind his shoulder at Son Kuro, "good luck, you'll need it.."
Son Kuro titled his head with an innocent gaze, the announcer back in commission as loud cheering started all of a sudden, chanting.
"THE BLIND BANDIT SEES ALL!"
"THE BLIND BANDIT SEES ALL!"
"THE BLIND BANDIT SEES ALL!"
"You're dead kid!!!"
"Now you're in trouble!!"
"Don't take it the personal, but I'mma bet on the blind bandit today." One of the gamblers muttered with a huge grin.
Son watched in wonder, seeing the now hyped up crowd. The drums beating in accordance to the sound of his heart.
"The moment you've all been waiting for..."
But despite the sounds of discouragement was shot at him... His grin was the only response he got from the crowd, his straw hat casting a shadow over his face.
"The Blind Bandit!!" The announcer yelled at the top of his lungs, his veins bulging around his neck.
The ground instantly had a crack, splitting in two as the hand holding a belt came into vision.
Ladies in skimpy wears walked around this figure, Son's eyes shimmering in excitement... An excitement that was quickly shattered.
A short young girl, her hair tied up and hovering above her head, her eyes was blank of thought it's pupils devoid of color... Just milky haze.
Son Kuro held his chuckle, his face turning red, "blind bandit? So like, you're really blind?"
Toph didn't respond to his mockery, giving her large earth champion belt to one of the ladies.
But Son didn't even think less of her, looking past her appearance and what she possibly could do to make her the one holding the earth championship title. She could be older than him... No, she's definitely a bit older than him.
But skill and expertise plays a huge part in a certain area one sets out to learn, but another deciding factor is if one has that affinity to learn something... Or some would say, 'Talent.'
"Shut up, lizard. You're asking about my eye sight when you're all scrawny. You should eat more." Toph spat.
Son pointed at himself, but Toph continues, "seems like I'm not the only person who's blind around here."
Laughing erupted from the crowd. Son turned to look at Toph, his grin disappears as he said a bit too calmly.
"Well then, we didn't come here for chitchat, did we?"
Toph who had her hands pointed at him brought it down, her feet sliding on the ground and coming to a stop.
Xin Fu with a smirk gaze a go on signal from the platform he stood on. The announcer wasted no time.
"Without further ado, the match begins... Now!"
The drummers picked up the pace, hitting the drums faster.
The men brought out coins attached to strings, drinks pouring into cups, eyes Lazer with focus on the ring.
Son waited... And waited... But no movements by Toph.
He shifted his weight on his right leg..
Boom!
A rock shot out the ground, but with quick reflexes, Son jumped out the way, soaring up to the sky.
He landed behind her with a dull thud, his eyes seeing that she snagged on to him somehow, The blind bandit weaving specific hand motions, causing the earth to turn on themselves towards Son.
Kuro responded sharply with a wall of rock, planting his feet on the ground from budging, but the wall split into two! The blind Bandit peering through the narrow crack of the wall.
Her hands hovered above her head, before slamming them together, the rock between Kuro shutting themselves on him. Kuro curved his hands, chipping the colliding rock before flipping over the other half.
The Blind Bandit waited again as Kuro hadn't made contact with the ground for the split second.
Crack!
A ball of rock shot from the ground at The Blind Bandit but she raised her hand catching it and crushing them between her fingers.
Kuro dug his hand into the floor, as soon as he made contact, Toph's ears perked up, her limbs moving on her instinct.
Son Kuro peeled the floor, sending a storm of rocks and dust at her. Toph shot
Toph moved, halting the projectile in the air, she shrunk them, each carved into hardened rock bullets before hurling them at Son who just landed on his feet.
As soon as Son landed, a plate of rock ascended from the ground, covering his entire body except his eyes. The rock bullets hit his rocky armor, deflecting each hit.
With the wave of his hands, Toph moved again sensing his quick movements, with a cutting motion, a pillar of rock hit Son's arm, preventing him from weaving his form.
But Toph wasn't done yet, with another fluid motion, she raised her foot--
"Huh?" She muttered, something preventing her from moving her left leg. An encased and uncomfortable feeling holding down her leg.
Son Kuro had buried her leg with a cubicle rock like structure.
He rubbed his arm that had been decked by Toph earlier, a small grin forming on his face.
"I see... You aren't joking with being blind, I noticed earlier when you're gaze wasn't on me the entire time..."
"Good thinking Lemmy lizard, at least it's good to know your brain's in good shape."
Son chuckles as he replied, "Tick... tock..."
Toph's mocking expression turned into that of confusion, "and what the heck you 'tick rocking' for?"
"That's cause I cracked how you do it~"
"... Do what...?" Toph asked, her lips poking.
"Let me show you."
Then the drums started howling, the rhythm coming to life in the crowd.
Toph crushed her hands into a fist, the rock pinning her foot crumbles. Son Kuro puts on an eerie like calm expression, his stance changing, mimicking that of Toph.
Toph who had an unworried expression suddenly had a look of... Rather amusement, a smile reaching the side of her ear.
"So that's how you want to play it Lemmy Lizard~"
"I hope you get to see me win... Oh wait, you can't!" Son Kuro mocked back.
"I don't need to." Toph said as she moved swiftly, her feet gliding against the floor surface and coming to a stop, hitting the floor.
'She's faster than me, and her moves are calculated and precise, none wasted. I thought it was just an abnormal thing going on with her, but then I realized... Her feet. She may be blind, but her feet lets her see more than those who has their sights intact... Paired that with cutting instinct, you get a sharp reflexes.'
Son analyzed, he closed his eyes and let the earth beneath him do the talking. Everything stood on the earth, that's another level of omnipotence a bender could have. Their positions, their thoughts all the way up to their movements.
All was in his grasp at that moment.
A huge boulder hovered above the ring, Toph handled it like a piece of cotton as she seized the fluid motion of her arms, and balling her fist. The boulder crushed under it's own weight, covering the ring with dust, blinding the crowd.
"What's this? Trying to blind me seeing as I'm the only one in the ring with eye sights? Cute."
Toph didn't respond, Son kept his eyes closed, host feet still on the ground, until...
He felt vibrations, it echoed through his body all the way through his limbs, a shiver ran down his spine. He moved left, a flying pillar of rock flew past him.
Then another came from the right, he weaved without much effort, dodging the second.
He continued his fluid and graceful movement, each pillars flew past him like they weren't trying to reach him.
Toph kept her patience, but it was running thin, as her attacks weren't even grazing her target.
Then she utilize a rocky disk of earth, spinning it at her speed through the air, cutting through dust ridden ring towards Son.
But the gust of wind and pressure the disk carries alerted Son of the danger.
Heaved up a wall of stone, the disk cutting off the upper part while Son took cover at the lower part, sending it skidding towards Toph.
Toph perked up, her seismic sense alerting her, she jumped the wide cube, her feet still on the air.
Son moved quickly, hitting the floor, his feet sending rubble to Toph, as she made contact with the rubble that was right underneath her right foot, it dragged her feet wide.
Son Kuro spread his arm in a swift motion, the dust on the ring cleared up, the spectators had their clothes blown up.
"What-" Toph muttered, legs in different area code.
Son kicked the ground once more, sinking Toph to the floor, only her head poking out as she pouted.
"What?" Was the only words that could be repeated around the crowd.
"I placed a hundred silver coins on you blind bandit!!!"
"Same!" The gamblers all cried in unison, possibly loosing all their cash they made as they bet them all on this match.
"Well, I think it's time to become homeless again..." A father muttered to his son.
"What are talking about Father, remember you told me gamblers never give up!!" The son argued.
Back on the ring, Xin Fu jumped down, his eyes twitching in annoyance, as he called fourth.
"As a man of my word... The earth championship title goes to, THE GREY SALAMANDER!!!!"
"Boooo..." The crowd booed, the seats going empty as people made their way home.
Xin Fu turned to Son Kuro, "here's your prize kid." He dumped a bag of silver on Son's hands, Son's eyes lit up with excitement.
"Yo!" He exclaimed, counting the coins with his eyes.
"Tch!" Xin Fu expressed his annoyance, walking away.
"Heyyy, Lemmy lizard!!"
Son looked up and down, his glowing eyes meeting Toph's devoid color pupils.
"You... You copied my style! Not only are you a slithering reptile, you're also a copy cat!"
"No I'm not." Son replied calmly.
"Yes you are!"
"No."
"Yes you are."
"Not too."
"Yes?"
"No?
"No?
"Yes."
(I don't know what's up with me when I was writing this, lol!)
Son stared at her head poking out the ground with an unreadable expression, "okay, I'll be ignoring you now." He said as he swung his bag of coins, walking away.
"Hey, wait..."
Son stopped, "what now?"
"How did you do that?"
Son picked his nose, genuinely thinking, "I don't know dude..."
Toph went quiet, before the floor shot her out like a champagne cock, landing on her foot
.
"You got moxie kid, seems like you're eyes aren't the only thing strange about you."
Son's body stiffens, watching Toph walk away as she made a cave like opening on the wall before disappearing.
"I should get a blindfold..."