Disclaimer: I don't own Tekken
A/N: As you probably read, this is a bonus chapter. I know bonuses normally come at the end, but this one would be awkward at the end of the story. Anyway, this chapter focuses on the progression of Leo Kliesen, and, for those who don't know, she is one of the new characters set to debut in Tekken 6. Out of the four new challengers, Leo is my favorite, and I just wanted to write something centers around her. I must warn you: I played on her androgyny, so there's a brief 'Yuri' moment although it is unintentional (story-wise). The first part is some of her official bio, which is property of Namco Bandai, although I took some liberties with it.
The King of the Iron Fist 6: When Souls and Hearts Clash
Bonus Chapter Leo's unexpected popularity
Leo (pronounced Lay-Oh) Kliesen was a young woman from Germany who had become an orphan because of the murders of her parents. After the police refused to investigate the crimes very far, Leo decided to investigate the murders herself. Over time, she came to find out that the murderer was most likely Kazuya Mishima, the head of G Corporation, and immediately she started to seek revenge on him. However, because of his newly-acquired status as a hero within the company and because of the company's recent push toward militarization, Leo found it near impossible to do so. Then, The King of Iron Fist Tournament 6 was announced, and, after finding out that Kazuya would be participating, Leo quickly entered as well, thinking this might be her only chance for revenge.
During her investigation, Leo figured that Kazuya and his bodyguards, Anna Williams and Bruce Irvin, would obviously be targeting Jin Kazama, the head of the Mishima Zaibatsu; however, she also found out that Jin had bodyguards of his own, Nina Williams and Eddy Gordo. This meant that, when the time came, she would probably have to go through at least two people before getting to Kazuya, but that also meant that there would probably be a showdown between those six, making the chance of Leo actually encountering Kazuya rather slim. Because the Mishima Zaibatsu was sponsoring the tournament, Leo figured that that was how the bracket would fall, but fortunately, there was an odd quirk in the placement: Instead of an immediate showdown, one of the body guards was on a different side of the bracket than the others. So, after all of the parties involved including Leo won their first round matches, the second round fell in into place with Eddy Gordo facing Christie Monteiro, and Bruce Irvin going against Nina Williams, which pitted Leo against…
Anna Williams
Arriving in an area named 'City After Dark', Leo was taken and dropped off in a small corner of a city that was lit by the light of the surrounding buildings and the nearby subway. The corner itself was overlooked by a large billboard that had the word 'Tiger' on it in bright, glowing letters, and above that the name 'Setsuka' was written. Somehow, Leo felt the name was familiar, but she couldn't exactly say why. In any case, as she slowly entered the
stage, Leo saw Anna, wearing her trademark Japanese-style Red Silk Dress, standing at the opposite end of the stage with her back turned, and quickly approached her.
Anna couldn't believe her luck. She had ended up on the side of the bracket opposite to Nina, and the same side as Kazuya, meaning that if she wanted a rematch with Nina, she would have to win all her matches including the one she would probably have with Kazuya. On top of that, there was no guarantee Nina was going win all of her matches either. For Anna, this seemed like a total bust, and, with a rematch against Nina very unlikely now, she figured her only reason for staying in the tournament now was to make sure Kazuya got to the final round. Just as she was running the whole scenario through her head again, Anna heard someone coming up behind her.
"Anna Williams, Leo Kliesen, Get ready for the next battle," the announcer's voice boomed over the area speakers as the tournament helicopter could be heard flying overheard past the arena.
Hearing the name of her next opponent and hearing that person stop approaching, Anna let out a disappointed sigh at the newcomer and slowly turned to face the person, but, not expecting much, was surprised upon seeing Leo. Observing this (what she perceived to be) young man with golden hair and Steel Blue eyes, Anna actually found 'him' cute; a bit young-looking but cute.
Not noticing Anna observing her closely, Leo asked, "You're one of Kazuya Mishima's bodyguards, right?"
Anna was interested in this young 'man', but 'his' question slightly puzzled her. In any case, 'he' was still an opponent, and Anna didn't know much about this new fighter. So, half out of interest and half wanting to gauge Leo, Anna decided to test 'him' and began to flirt.
"Maybe; why would such an attractive person like you want to know," Anna replied suggestively with a slight air of seduction.
Leo did not expect that kind of answer. Definitely sensing the suggestion, Leo paused for a moment, completely confused and slightly unnerved by Anna's reply. Anna easily noticed Leo's reaction to her comment, and decided to turn up the charm in an attempt to further distract Leo.
Eventually, Leo shook off her reaction, and replied, "Actually, I have a score to settle with your boss…"
Anna, turning the pressure up, interrupted, "And you want me to step aside, right? Or you'll do what?" Anna's tone then turned seductive as she continued, "Are you going to hurt me?"
Just as Anna said that, she gave Leo a wink. Leo was completely taken aback by this gesture; she hadn't expected it at all. Not even sure how to respond, Leo was completely speechless, and any attempt to speak again failed her. Happy with the effects of her speech, Anna chuckled quietly and started to say something when the tournament helicopter could be heard flying back toward the area.
"Hold that thought; we'll talk more in a minute," Anna said as she flashed Leo a sly grin.
Anna then assumed her fighting stance. Leo, still shocked over Anna's actions, realized that the conversation would cease for the moment as she recognized the sound of the tournament helicopter approaching, and assumed her fighting stance as well. Just then, the helicopter flew over the area with its spotlight focusing on the two fighters.
"Round 1! Fight!" the announcer's voice boomed over the area speakers.
With that, the helicopter sped away, and the fight began. Leo, still shaken from earlier, couldn't seem to find her fighting rhythm as she found herself making some rather simple mistakes such as mistiming her juggles and whiffing some of her power moves. Anna's exploits didn't help much either. Throughout the round, Anna toyed with Leo in attempt to further throw Leo of 'his' game even going as far as angling some of her kicks to buckle some of Leo's vest. With that and her earlier comments having the desired effect, Anna could tell Leo's focus was off, and, not one to pass up an opportunity, she quickly took advantage. Eventually, Anna got Leo into a position, and, just as Leo was coming closer, hit Leo with a 'Hunting Swan' unblockable attack, causing Leo to crumble to the ground with a pained cry.
"Anna Williams wins," the announcer's voice boomed through the area speakers.
Leo knew she hadn't fought very well as she struggled to her feet, and tried to pull herself together. She didn't notice Anna approaching her, and stopped at her knees when she looked up to see Anna standing right in front of her. Really turning it up, Anna knelt so that she was eye level to Leo, and began to brush the back of her hand against Leo's cheek.
"You know it's really cute when you cry in pain like that," Anna said seductively.
Slowly, Leo felt blood rush to her face and felt her face get warm; she was starting to blush as Anna continued the gesture. Still not sure what was happening but making sure it stopped, Leo quickly swatted Anna's hand away. Slightly surprised but intrigued by Leo's panicked reaction, Anna jumped back a good distance, allowing Leo to get up, Leo quickly jumped to her feet, and both reassumed their fighting stances.
"Round 2! Fight!" the announcer's voice boomed over the area speakers.
In the first part of the round, Anna continued to have the upper hand and, for a time, looked as if she would sweep Leo right out of the tournament. On the defensive and feeling her fight with Kazuya slowly slipping away, Leo resolved to not let her mother down so easily, and came roaring back into the match. With her focus back, Leo found her offensive pulse as she strung several impressive moves together, surprising Anna and putting her off balance. Finally, Leo showed she was truly back in the fight by defeating with Anna with an impressive 7-hit juggle.
"Leo wins," the announcer's voice boomed over the area speakers.
Anna was impressed with Leo's renewed fervor, and, as she rose to her feet, said, "Wow, you're pretty strong. So you're not just a pretty pushover; I like that."
Leo was slightly taken aback by this comment, figuring that the intensity of the fight would stop the banter and being surprised when it didn't. As such as, Leo again started to become anxious once more, but also found herself slightly irritated with Anna's advances. Quickly running through the fight in her mind, Leo figured that Anna probably noticed her anxiety, and thus Leo tried to keep her emotions from showing too much.
"Please, let's just finish this," Leo said as coldly as she could manage, and as she maintained her fighting stance.
Anna only smiled slyly as she reassumed her fighting stance.
"Final Round! Fight!" then announcer's voice blasted over the area speakers.
For most of the round, Leo and Anna were dead even, trading blows of equal damage throughout. Finally, as the match came down to the wire with both nearing their limits, both fighters began to trade reversals and
counters in attempt to catch the other off guard. After a string of quick, successive reversals, Anna decided to take Leo out of 'his' game by commenting on how the two looked, constantly reversing each other.
"And you're a good dancer too. My, aren't you a catch," Anna said as Leo reversed one of her strikes.
Caught off guard, Leo briefly stopped attacking, and replied in irritation, "Would you knock it off?!"
Leo's brief lapse of judgment allowed Anna to connect with a 'clean' Blonde Bomb attack, which sent Leo tumbling backward end over end. The force and accuracy of the attack also managed unbuckle the last of Leo's vest, an action that neither fighter noticed until later. Leo, not defeated yet, managed to roll through, but she didn't notice Anna running right toward her. Before Leo could react, Anna reached Leo, tackled Leo to the ground, and sat on Leo's gut in a mounted position. Not expecting the attack, Leo accidently hit the back of her head on the pavement, leaving her temporarily defenseless as she tried to bring herself back to attention.
Anna started to attack but stopped when she had a realization. From what she'd seen throughout the match and noticing 'his' strange anxiety around a woman, Anna figured she had a more effective way of disabling Leo. Anna, instead of attacking, brought herself close and began to kiss Leo. Quickly brought back to consciousness, Leo's eyes grew as wide as they could get when she realized what Anna was doing, and, with no idea of what to do, Leo just froze in shock, surprise, and panic. As Anna continued the shallow but long gesture, whether she did it naturally or just got caught in the moment, she was not sure why but she let her hand slip into Leo's vest and… Anna quickly shot back up into seated position, a thunderstruck and horrified look on her face.
"W-what the…" Anna managed to choke out.
Taking advantage, Leo kicked Anna off of her, rolled forward, and attacked as she sprang to her feet; she connected with a flying double scissor kick that sent Anna straight up into the air before Anna hit the ground. The match was over.
"Leo wins! Please proceed to the next stage." the announcer's voice loudly proclaimed over the area speakers.
Shock set into Leo as she realized just what Anna had felt, and she quickly began to buckle her vest back up. Meanwhile, Anna sat up slightly as shook her head in pain. Then, she looked at Leo again, simultaneously amazed that she had noticed earlier and horrified by what she'd just done. Leo, continuing to fix her vest, only looked with astonishment evident on her face back at the fallen Anna.
Anna, barely able to form words, then stammered, "Y-You're a … w-woman?!"
Leo, still in considerable alarm, couldn't speak, and just nodded in affirmation. She then began to nervously walk away, her hands actually shaking from what had just happened.
"… I have no idea what just happened, but I don't think I want to know. Let's just move on," Leo thought to herself as she left the area. Just then, Leo realized her lips were still tingling, and all she could do was shutter.
Lee Chaolan
Leo arrived at an area called the 'High Roller's Club', a fancy, extravagant casino, but her challenger had not arrived yet. After her 'encounter' with Anna, Leo was set to fight Lee Chaolan, who she immediately recognized as a major shareholder in G Corporation. This meant that if she could defeat Lee, she could be a lot closer to facing Kazuya than before.
Lee, wearing his tuxedo and having a fresh-cut rose in his front chest pocket, arrived at the 'High Roller's Club' for his next match. In the previous two rounds, Lee defeated two of his old friends from training in America, Marshall Law and Paul Phoenix, so Lee had already taken a nice trip down memory lane, but he knew it was time to get down to business. Walking into the arena, Lee noticed the young woman, who seemed lost in thought, across from him and felt slightly taken aback by her appearance. Having been in the tournament for many years, Lee had become accustomed to many of the ladies fighting in the tournament wearing rather revealing clothes and having rather 'extreme' attitudes; Lee even rolled his eyes when he thought of Anna Williams, but this young woman was different. In a similar vein as Julia Chang and maybe even Jun Kazama, This young woman was fully covered, and, for this young woman in particular, seemed to not want to draw attention to her looks. As he continued to look at her, Lee found himself admiring her because of her modesty and thinking of her as a welcome sight; he had to introduce himself.
Leo quickly spun around when she heard someone coming, and put herself on guard when she saw Lee Chaolan walking towards her.
Stopping in front of her, Lee said in his most cordial tone, "Well, hello. What might your name be?"
Leo, slightly confused by Lee's friendly tone, replied, "Uh… my name is Leo Kliesen."
Lee in the same tone as before then said, "Ah, so you're one of the new fighters. Well, welcome to the tournament ranks."
As he said that, Lee extended his hand to Leo. Confused further and slightly apprehensive, Leo hesitated for a moment, but eventually embraced Lee's hand with her own. However, instead shaking her hand, Lee bent forward and kissed the back of Leo's hand.
Definitely not use the gesture, Leo, as she had a brief flashback to the previous fight, thought to herself, "Oh great. Not another one."
As he stood back up, Lee said, "It's a pleasure to meet you, Leo; my name is Lee Chaolan. So what's a young lady like yourself doing in this tournament?"
Leo was completely surprised not only by Lee's behavior but also by the way he referred to her. This was the second time in as many fights that she'd drawn unwanted attention to herself from her opponent. Like the first time, Leo was speechless, and, like Anna the first time, Lee noticed Leo's anxious appearance.
Hoping to see what was wrong, Lee said, "You seem surprised."
Leo, trying not to reveal too much, replied, "Not many people have called me 'young lady' before."
Lee chuckled and said mostly jokingly, "Well, they don't mistake you for a young man, do they?"
Immediately, Leo replied, "It happens," and began to remember the whole previous fight. In response, she frantically told herself, "Move on, move on, move on!" Changing the subject, Leo then asked, "Anyway, Lee Chaolan, you're a major stockholder in G Corporation, right?"
Taking a small step back as he sensed the seriousness in Leo's voice, Lee nodded in affirmation as he plainly replied, "That's correct."
Leo continued, "That means you know Kazuya Mishima, right?"
Lee took another small step back, and replied, "Unfortunately. But why are you ask…" Lee suddenly realized something and asked, "Wait. Kliesen. You wouldn't happen to be the daughter of Emma Kliesen, one of the G Corporation executives who died recently, would you?"
Leo replied, "Yes, but I have reason to believe that she did not die accidently; I believe she was killed, and that Kazuya Mishima is the one who killed her."
Lee folded his arms across his chest, and shifted his weight as he said, "Hmm. Well that sounds like something Kazuya would do."
Just then, the announcer's voice could be heard over the area speakers saying, "Leo Kliesen, Lee Chaolan, get ready for the next battle!"
Leo then took a small step back as she said, "Then you understand why I have to defeat you," and assumed her fighting stance.
Lee stood straight up again, and said in a serious tone of voice, "I'm afraid it's not that simple. You see, although I'm technically his partner, I too have a disdain for Kazuya, so naturally I want to be the one to defeat him. The one who wins this fight will probably face Kazuya in the next fight, so I can't just lie down." And with that, Lee assumed his fighting stance.
"Round 1! Fight" the announcer's voice boomed over the area speakers.
For the beginning of the first round, Leo and Lee were even, with both being equally aggressive. Eventually, however, Leo proved better at this approach than Lee; while Lee was no slouch when it came to applying pressure, Leo just had more weapons and attacks to use for that strategy. After moments of fighting, Leo defeated Lee with a stiff shoulder charge.
As Lee rose to his feet, the announcer's voice boomed through the area speakers, saying, "Leo wins," and, as Lee reassumed his fighting position, boomed again, saying, "Round 2! Fight!"
As he regained himself, Lee decided to adopt the completely opposite strategy, and actually turned down his aggression to allow Leo to come to him; Leo, seeing how her persistence aided her in the first round, continued with the same strategy. As part of his game plan, Lee started to operate solely out of 'Hit man' stance, using it to counter or reverse any of Leo's attempts at attack; the tactic proved very successful. Leo ultimately couldn't break through Lee's defense, and Lee defeated Leo with an 'Acid Storm' barrage.
As Leo rose to her feet, the announcer's voice boomed through the area speakers, "Lee Chaolan wins!"
Leo, trying to calm herself, thought aloud to herself, "Relax. You can do it," as she reassumed her fighting stance.
Lee, seeing how well his strategy worked and determining to continue its use, thought to himself as prepared for the last round, "Kazuya, here I come."
"Final Round! Fight!" the announcer's voice blasted out of the area speakers.
Again, Lee and Leo were even in the beginning parts of the round, only this time both were intent on stopping or countering when the other got too aggressive. But, like the second round, Lee seemed to have the advantage with this strategy although Leo got in her share of damage. Then, in the waning moments of the fight, it looked as if Lee would take the match after landing a nice combination out of 'Hit man', but, although he was near his own limit, Lee became a little 'excited', beginning to rush his attacks and slowly drifting out of his patient strategy. So, in his excitement, Lee ultimately mis-timed his 'Death Touch' unblockable attack; Leo managed to quickly sidestep it, and rushed forward, connecting with a surprisingly fast and strong, charging punch to Lee's gut, ending the fight.
"Leo wins! Please proceed to the next stage," the announcer's voice boomed through area speakers.
Not wasting any time, Leo simply turned around and began to leave until…
"Wait! Please, wait," Lee called out as he saw Leo walking away.
Leo, although she slightly dreaded what Lee might say or do, stopped upon hearing him call her, and turned around as Lee rose to his feet.
"Congratulations. That was a great match, and you fought brilliantly," Lee said, and he then bowed to her in respect.
Leo, pleasantly surprised by an actual show of respect, returned Lee's bow ,and replied, "Thanks. You're pretty good yourself."
Then, Lee began to casually approach Leo as he took the somehow-still perfect rose out his tuxedo jacket. Leo, not sure what Lee was about to do, again felt herself become anxious.
"Oh no. What now," Leo though to herself as Lee stopped in front of her.
Lee then extended the rose toward Leo, offering to her, and said, "Good luck in the next round against Kazuya."
Leo, not sure what to think about Lee's gesture but not wanting to be rude, hesitantly took the rose from Lee, accepting it out of courtesy, and, with a somewhat half-hearted smile, replied, "Uhh…thanks."
Lee smiled, and then began to leave in the opposite direction. Just then, realizing where he stood, Lee began to run through his current situation (and what he needed to do next) through his mind. After lining it all up in his mind, Lee began to resolve himself.
"Guess I'm watching the rest of the tournament from the sidelines. But no matter; I still have Plan B up my sleeve. I'm still going to get you, Kazuya; I'm going to get you yet," Lee thought to himself as a sly smile spread across his face.
Leo stood in the same place she'd stopped, alternatively watching Lee leave and looking at the rose in her hand.
"Man, there are some weird people in this tournament," Leo thought to herself as she placed the rose in the pocket on the inside of her coat.
Her goal was now in sight; Leo had earned her way into the next fight, the fight the Kazuya would be in with a win on his part. After so much time, investigation, planning, and fighting, the time was finally at hand.
"Alright; I made it. All that's left now is to wait for Kazuya," Leo silently said to herself as she hurriedly proceeded to the next stage.
End Chapter
A/N: Please forgive me for not being really specific with Leo's moves; I've seen a lot her moves in videos, but I don't know the names yet, but Ihope you liked the bonus chapter anyway. We'll get into the main story next chapter. Thanks for sticking with me on this exploratory tangent about my favorite new Tekken character. Please R and as always, Rant, Rave, and Review.