As she predicted, Tien charged first. Kit used her lithe body to twirl out of his way, his punch slicing through thin air, but his body quickly tracked her, and he turned on his heel even while still in midstride. His other fist darted out and Kit had to quickly swipe her forearm at it to block it from connecting. As she shoved his fist to the side, she dove in for her own hit, using her other hand to dart out, hand open, making to smack her palm on his body. She saw Tien's eyes flick to catch her movement and he grunted in protest as he thrust up a knee.

His knee slammed into Kit's gut. Damn, first blood belonged to him. He knew she had been trying to place the Sly Touch on him. She felt his hand closing around her upper arm as her body bent forward with the blow, the air retreating from her temporarily crushed lungs. Kit quickly gained it back, gasping in a breath and twisting around elegantly, breaking Tien's grip on her arm and swinging out a high kick. She felt satisfaction ripple through her when her heel collided with his chin, sending him staggering a few steps back.

Kit used this to get some distance, landing both her feet on the ground then jumping backward just in time to avoid a revenge swipe from Tien's knuckles. For a heartbeat, a mere heartbeat, they looked at each other, and then rushed in to meet each other once again. With a running start to give her momentum, Kit gathered the subtle energy on her palm, watching Tien's movements closely. He was aiming low, his eyes betrayed that, and so Kit jumped just before they met in the center. She flipped over him, body arcing gracefully, and reached down to smack the back of Tien's head. But Tien wasn't there. Kit gasped when her hand went through this air, and before she landed, a knee slammed into the middle of her back, making her crash onto the stage floor.

Damn, that man hit like a truck.

Kit hissed in pain as she got to her knees again, and turned to see Tien hovering in the air where she had been hit, a dark smirk on his lips. She realized that where he had hit was slightly left to her spine. It was lucky it hadn't been directly on the spine, otherwise he may have broken her back, or worse yet, severed her spinal cord.

"Keep up, Kit," Tien spat, "Can't you track my movements, or is the fox's sense of smell gone?"

"Shut up and fight!" Kit leapt at him, fist held back.

Tien raised his arm to block it, but Kit smirked and opened her hand at the last second, pressing her palm to his forearm while pushing up a knee to catch him in his exposed gut. She heard Tien growl in annoyance, realizing that she had tricked him, making it look like a standard punch instead of the Sly Touch hidden in her palm. It wouldn't take too long for him to start to feel the effects of it in his arm. Meanwhile her knee hit home, and he gasped as her bent over double. Kit used the opportunity to slam her elbow into the back of his head, making him crash to the ground. She landed with one foot planted on his back, a hand on her hip.

"Keep up, Shinhan," she goaded, "Or is the crane's wings gone?"

"Bitch!" Tien raised his hands then slammed them on the ground so hard it made the tiles there crack and it sent him blasting upward and to his feet again.

Kit didn't have time to remove her foot from his back, and was unbalanced, nearly falling onto her back, but a powerful hand snatched her wrist, holding her up. She looked for a moment into Tien's eyes, thinking that for once, he was going to show some honor, and steady her before continuing the fight, but no. The dark smirk played on his lips, and with a mighty flick of his own wrist, he snapped hers.

Pain laced up Kit's arm and she cried out in agony, her eyes watering.

"Bastard-" she gasped, but Tien made no allowances for her. He used his other arm to swing a heavy punch, catching her hard across the face while she was dazed from the pain of her wrist.

However, with sweet satisfaction, Kit heard Tien howl in pain and his grip of her shattered wrist fell. She caught herself on her right hand and rolled away from Tien, cradling her left wrist, biting back the pain and looked around to see him clutching the arm he had punched her with, also the arm that she had placed the Sly Touch on. They were both down an arm it seemed.

"That's just the beginning, hot shot," said Kit, winking slyly at him, "Soon, even twitching that muscle will make it sear in pain."

Tien glared at her, "You think you're clever, do you?" he snarled, "You think pain is going to stop me?"

"I can think of a few other things if that doesn't work," Kit grinned crookedly.

"Stupid bitch, you really don't get it do you?" Tien glared down at her, a new fire in his eyes, "Nothing is going to stop me! Not you or Roshi's stupid words of 'wisdom', not your pathetic fighting technique, and not my conscience!"

"We'll see about that," Kit stood fully, facing him with her injured wrist tucked carefully behind her back, ignoring the deep throbbing pain coming from it, "Now how about we cut the petty chatter and get down to business? I must say I think I like tangling bodies with you."

Tien's cold stone face faltered a moment, a look of shock at her words, and she could have sworn she saw his cheeks pink a bit. But his face hardened again, a look of rage crossing his handsome features, "Enough!" he cried, and rushed at her, his good arm hooked back for another punch. Kit swiftly ducked it and swept her leg at his feet, but Tien wasn't falling for that. He jumped up into the air just in time, and his knee shot upward to meet her face.

Kit pulled back just in time, his kneecap making her hair flicker as the wind licked by. She snaked out her good arm, wrapping it around his lower leg while it was still up, and turned, hooking Tien's entire body over her shoulder and slamming him into the ground. He cried out in pain, and Kit knew the shock had reached his arm. As time passed, that arm would continue to grow more and more painful, eventually it wouldn't even take movement to make it hurt.

Tien kicked out furiously with his free leg while Kit was still hugging the other with her right arm, and landed his foot under her chin. He hit so hard that she was knocked back on her ass, and had to swiftly twist to avoid a punching hooking down at her. Tien's fist slammed into the tiles, smashing them, and Kit kicked off with her legs, tacking him into the ground, using her right arm to cover her face and use her elbow as a protruding weapon. Tien caught the elbow in the center of his chest, but his good arm came flying out of left field, crashing into the side of Kit's head and making her fall to the side, her back hitting the stage hard as he leapt over her in their wrestle.

Kit felt his legs straddle her hips and he snatched her left wrist while she tried to scramble away. He twisted its already broken contents, and Kit wailed in agony, swinging wildly with her right fist and clocked him under his chin, sending him falling off her to the side. She felt his grip loosen on her broken wrist, and with a sharp stab of pain, she wrenched it free and rolled to swiftly get atop him, using her lower legs to pin his upper arms and her hands to pin his wrists to the stage floor. Luckily, her broken wrist and his bad arm were on the same side, so despite having a weak hold, he didn't have the strength to push passed the pain to free himself on that side. Yet.

"Well I didn't know we were going to skip the PG13 part," she whispered in his ear, "But maybe you should at least take me to dinner first."

Tien let out a grunt of anger, "Get the fuck off me!" he cried, straining, but Kit kept her hold, even though her eyes were watering in pain from her wrist.

"Now now, you started it by straddling me," said Kit, smirking crookedly at him.

"Stop toying with me!" Tien shouted, "No matter what tactic you use, I'm still going to finish what Tao started!"

Kit froze, her heart seeming to stop.

Time seemed to stop. No. How could… how could he know?!

Tien saw the look on her face and he began to laugh, not even struggling even though then would have been a perfect time to break free, as Kit's strength seemed to have been sapped, "So I was right," he said, smirking darkly, "There was a little girl in that house that Tao set on fire sixteen years ago, and when Kaijo went in, he saved her, even though Tao was certain that he was going in to find nothing but crisp bodies," he laughed again, wild bark like laughter, "That's why you looked so fucking scared that day- you weren't scared for me- you were scared for yourself! You were terrified that Tao would see you!"

Kit snapped back, her grip tightening again, and slow rage began to fill her. She glared down at him, and something in her face muse had registered to Tien, for he stopped laughing, and his smirk of victory faded.

"That's not true," Kit said, her voice barely more than a whisper, and her tone cold as ice. She had never experienced such a fury, and she wasn't even sure why this was what made her so mad.

"Don't deny it!" Tien shouted, his face angry again, "I know it's true- you by some miracle escaped Tao and-"

"Shut the fuck up!" Kit screamed, "I wasn't scared of Tao! I'm still not scared of that bastard, even if he IS stronger than me! Even if he DOES want me dead! I wasn't scared for myself, you son of a bitch!" She glared down at him eyes lit like green flames, tears starting to stream down her cheeks, whether from the pain in her wrist or the passion alight inside her chest she didn't know, "I was scared I was going to see an innocent boy die, and that there was nothing I could do about it," this last part she could barely manage to whisper, and a single tear dropped from her chin line, and she saw it land delicately on Tien's cheek.

And then, without warning, her body completely locked up. Kit gasped, eyes widening as her limbs went stiff, and her grip on Tien lost hold completely. Tien was frozen for a half a second, still stunned by her outburst, but once he felt her grip was gone, he lurched upward, closing his third eye and slamming his head into hers. Kit cried out in pain as her body came to again, and she fell back onto the stage, landing on her bad wrist, making pain shoot up her arm like lightning.

A hand closed around her throat, and Kit was lifted off the ground. She grabbed Tien's wrist with her right hand, gasping as her airway was threatened.

"Innocent?" he snarled, and she opened one eye to see he looked livid, "How dare you, you stupid, clueless BITCH!" he threw her to the side, and Kit landed roughly, but as she did so, she heard Tien gasp in pain.

Biting through the pain, she opened her eyes to see he was clutching the arm she Sly Touched, pain twisted in agony, but his three eyes were on her, and within a heartbeat, he was charging her again, a battle-cry fresh on his lips. Kit had to react fast. She rolled backward to get on her feet again, cradling her injured wrist close to her, and readied herself. It was time to pull out all the stops. She remembered how close that one blow was from her spinal cord. Tien wasn't just fighting to win, he was trying to kill her.

She focused as he approached, gathering a gentle energy around her, coating it over her flesh, and with a harsh shift of it with her own mental prowess, she smirked crookedly at Tien one last time before her body vanished from sight completely.

*"*"*"*"*"*

Tien came to a halt, casting out his hearing to find out where she had gone. Anger was bathing his very soul, fierce pain was lacing his right arm, and it hung loosely at his side, too stiff to move properly anymore. But he couldn't hear a thing- his sharp ears couldn't pick up a single whisper of where she had jumped to, or where she was running. He had experienced this once before, speed so fast that the opponent appeared to be invisible, he just had to hear where she was running, and he could easily track her with his sight after that.

But there was nothing. Not a single wisp of sound on the stage. Tien had enough confidence in his hearing to know that this only meant one thing. She wasn't running so fast that she appeared to have gone invisible. She WAS invisible.

But how? He had never heard of such a technique! And how was it that his eyes couldn't track her- HIS eyes, his perfect sight! His arm throbbed, and he darted this three eyes around, then returned to the spot where she had been. If he hadn't heard anything- that meant she hadn't moved.

"Amazing!" The announcer was saying, "This is truly a spectacular final, ladies and gentlemen. What a wild start, and now, Kit had vanished completely! Is this the skillful speed of the fox hermit, or something else? A truly impressive technique!"

"More like cowardly," Tien hissed under his breath, and smirked, "She moves one inch, and I'll hear where she goes. So let's make her move!"

He charged toward the spot where Kit had been and as he guessed, he heard the soft scuffle of feet as she jumped out of the way. His left hook went through thin air and he paused, listening hard.

Tap.

There!

To his right, he heard the soft clip of her feet hitting the tiles, and he whirled, swinging out a kick. His ears picked up the sound of the air rushing up against a body undoubtedly going down for it to kiss from under. He paused his kick directly above where he had heard this, and then thrust his heel down. He heard the soft gasp of surprise and the noisy scramble as a body rolled away just in time, but now, with that much racket, Tien knew exactly where she was.

However without seeing her movements, he couldn't use his speed to accurately block an incoming attack he heard whistling toward him. Something hard slammed into his gut, but the feel of it, he guessed a boot. He bent double, but he also saw Kit's image flicker back for a moment, as if he were seeing her reflection in a pool of wavy water for a heartbeat before vanishing again.

So physical contact made this technique of hers falter. Tien held his gut for a moment, listening. No movement, she knew ever every sound gave her away, but lack of movement gave her up just as much. He let out a battle-cry and swung out his left arm while charging forward, making to hook her in to stop this charade. He heard the subtle, quick witted footsteps retreat from his attack, and another whistling sound as an attack rushed for him. Without enough data to block, he instead jumped backward, and heard something slice through the air not but a few slim inches from his nose. He quickly pushed forward again, not allowing her time to recover her stance, charging with his shoulder.

He hit home.

Kit let out a gasp of pain and shock and her image flickered into view as she was sent collapsing onto the ground. Tien leapt at her, but she rolled to the side, and he landed on nothing, his executing move instead wasted on the tiles, one sliced in half by his open palmed chop that had been intended for Kit's neck. He turned to see that all was not for naught, however. It appeared Kit's technique had faded, and she was panting, cradling her broken wrist to her protectively. It seemed that this invisibility technique of hers cost her some energy. Interesting how this fox hermit style worked. Instead of using energy to blast and pierce in one go, they used it subtly and in a much quieter manner.

"You have so much talent." Kit said, seeming to slowly recover, and straightening a little as he stood and glared at her, "Why are you wasting it under a false Master?"

"You watch your mouth, bitch!" Tien snapped at her, "What do you know of true Masters? The two you seem to admire are both fools and cowards, hiding their weakness by what they call 'honor'! You are no different, and I've had just about enough of this!"

Kit held her feet apart, getting to her toes, her knees bending slightly, and her good arm ready, "We're not the ones hiding, Shinhan," she said softly.

Tien cried out and rushed at her. He ducked low at the last moment to hook his elbow up into her gut to unbalance her. But he saw her eyes track his movement, and her body begin to respond to it. He wasn't going to land this, she was going to block- but then her body seemed to lock up, and his attack hit its mark, making her crash backward. Tien frowned at this, hesitating for a moment over her, just long enough to give her a chance to recover and roll away from him, making him lose his opportunity to end her while she was down.

"What the hell even is that?" Kit spat, "You call us cowardly when you use cheap tricks!"

Tien perked a brow at her, for a moment, all his anger forgotten in his confusion, "What are you talking about?"

Kit hissed, "Bastard, don't play dumb!" she rushed him again, and Tien quickly crouched to meet her.

She jumped just before she ran into him, twisting gracefully mid air, a leg coming down to heel him across the face. Tien would have to move his crippled arm to block it, there wasn't enough time to dodge. With a great deal of pain and focus, he snapped his arm up, and her heel hit his forearm right where the Sly Touch had been applied. The pain exploded on his arm and he howled in agony as Kit landed on her feet.

She was about to take advantage of his temporary immobility, but once again, he saw her body seem to lock up. Tien gasped, recovering, and to his surprise, after that initial burst of pain, his arm seemed to ease. Somehow, applying that harsh pressure directly on the Sly Touched spot on his arm had negated it. Sweet relief went along his arm and he would have grinned wickedly at his fresh advantage, bit Kit was still frozen on the spot.

"This is fucking cheap!" she cried through gritted teeth, "I never saw you use this stupid freezing technique in your other fights- what is this?!"

Tien stared at her as she stood rigid, completely exposed to attack, to a killing blow, but instead of carrying it out, he looked toward the audience.

There!

Master Shin was grinning darkly, and Chiaotzu was there, pointing at Kit, a look of concentration on his face.

"CHIAOTZU!" Tien bellowed.

His little friend flinched, hand falling and looking at Tien sheepishly.

"What do you think you're doing?!" Tien cried in outrage, "I don't need your help!"

"Chiaotzu was acting on MY orders, Tien," Master Shin's voice echoed in Tien's mind.

Tien felt a flicker of annoyance, and he thought back, "With all due respect, sir, I don't need his assistance, I can handle Kit on my own!"

"Then prove it! Are you taking your time or are you incompetent?!" Shin's voice snapped back.

Tien grunted in irritation and he looked at Kit as she gained her body back again, and looked at him darkly.

"I had nothing to do with that," Tien said quickly to defend himself, "I would never allow Chiaotzu to sabotage my opponent for me," he shot a cold look to his friend and Master, "And I promise there will be no more interference."

Kit's expression softened a little as she looked at him, "You fascinate me," she said.

"What do you mean by that?" Tien asked, narrowing his eyes dangerously.

"You say you're merciless and a cold blooded killer, yet you refuse to cheat," she looked him over, as if seeing him for the first time, and a soft smile came to her lips, still slightly crooked in her way, but not the same snarky smirk he had seen so much, "You do have some honor. I knew it."

Tien crouched, shaking out his freshly recovered arm, "Don't think this changes anything," he snarled, "Your end is still at hand!" and he rushed her again, despite the strange feeling he had gotten in his chest when she had smiled at him like that.

*"*"*"*"*"*"*

Kit noticed that Tien had regained the function in his arm again. How had that happened? She remember Kaijo telling her something about how the Sly Touch could be removed just the same way it was applied, but how- oh. Right. Her kick. The energy behind it must have hit directly on the spot she had planted it. Stupid! Now what was she going to do? Her wrist was still crippled, and though both of them were getting exhausted and were both pretty beat up, she knew that Tien had the upper hand now thanks to Chiaotzu's interference.

She had to act quickly as his fists came rushing for her, his speed uncanny. She twisted her body swiftly to the right to avoid the first hit and used her good arm to twist the second one away from her while shoving her shoulder into him with the same motion. This staggered him and she whirled as fast as her body would allow, shoving her knee upward. But she felt an arm lace under her knee and hug her lower leg to his chest. Tien smirked at her and shot upward into the air, taking her with him. Kit was upside down, feeling thankful that she was so flexible, else the strain gravity was putting on her with her leg bent like this would probably be painful. She looked down as the stage shrank beneath them.

"So the crane had caught the little fox kit in his talons," said Tien, pausing at last, holding her high above the stage- they had to be seventy stories up- "It pains me to say it, but you might have made a good crane student."

Kit laughed, "I don't think so," she pressed her chin to her chest, looking up at him, and lacing her hands behind her head casually, wincing slightly in pain from her wrist, but the pain there was starting to dull from consistency, "If I were you, I would have beaten the shit out of that old bastard you call Master a loooong time ago," she smirked.

"Shin is a great man-" Tien began hotly.

"Is he?" Kit tilted her head, "Seems like he doesn't have any confidence in his prize student at all if he thinks he has to use cheap tricks to help you win."

Tien opened his mouth to retort, but the words seemed lost on his tongue.

Kit smiled crookedly at him, "Exactly."

With that, she hiked up her free leg, pressing her knee to her chest, that shot it upward, if she were right side up, it may have appeared a stomping motion. The heel of her boot caught on his chin, and Tien lost his hold on her.

Kit fell like a rocket, making sure to keep her body pencil straight as she dived so that she could keep up speed to stay ahead of Tien, else he catch her again. The stage grew close and closer, and within the last few yards, Kit flipped and landed on her feet, bending her knees to take the brunt of the landing, the tiles cracking under her feet slightly, but her lithe body was unharmed. Long drops usually weren't an issue for her- it look a much longer fall than that to hurt her practiced body.

She looked up to see Tien land a few feet away from her. He wiped blood from his lip, looking at her carefully.

"That was crafty."

"Why thank you, thought it up all by myself, you know."

Tien grunted, crouching again, a slight smirk coming to him, "It's a shame this is coming to a close, I haven't had this tough a fight in a long time. You are by far my most difficult opponent I've ever faced."

Kit felt a little pride swell in her at his words, "That so? Well I gotta say, you pack quite the punch yourself," she shifted her stance very slightly.

Tien was still looking at her eyes, "Understand that I have to do this," his voice was hard now, eyes like stone, "My honor and Tao's reputation can only be redeemed by your death."

Kit made her move. With her new stance, twisting around Tien was easy, her movement like fluid, her body arcing through the air and she locked her good arm around Tien's neck while he was still crouched and accessible at her height, snapping up her other forearm across the first, pressing Tien in a headlock. It was rather brutish, which wasn't exactly her style, but how else was she going to talk to him without anyone else hearing?

"Astounding! Kit moved so fast, I couldn't even track her movement- but now she has Tien in a perfect headlock!"

She felt Tien's hands grab her forearm that was across his neck, and felt his body moving to straighten, but she swiftly crushed a knee into his back, making his body arch and his gasp tightly in pain. She planted a foot in the small of his back, straightening her leg ever so slightly to keep him from using his height to his advantage.

"Damn- it-" Tien choked.

"Do you really believe a word you're saying?" Kit whispered in his ear, and his body tensed, stopping it's struggle for a moment, "Tien watching you has taught me more about you than you seem to know yourself- don't you realize that deep down, you are pure at heart?"

"Wh-what?" Tien gasped, "You're fucking crazy- I'm not pure- the things I've done- I'm a killer-"

"Are you?" Kit demanded sharply, "Or were you just raised and trained to be? Are you really a monster, or were you manipulated into something you're not so that you could just be a tool to be used?"

Tien's body was completely still.

Kit pushed on, sensing that he was finally listening to her words, "Think about it!" she said, "When was the last time you did anything you truly wanted to? You've been pushed and beaten into thinking that you're some killing machine beyond redemption, that you have nowhere else to go because Shin is scared of losing his best tool. You could be so much more- so much better- you could use your skills to help instead of hurt, don't you get it? You know it, deep down, I KNOW you do! You have a conscience, you have a sense of honor, and you have a purity in your heart that's still there, even after being poisoned so harshly. You truly are, Tien Shinhan, and amazing person. Don't let Shin take that from you!"

Tien was breathing in gasps, and Kit could feel his heart hammering in his neck under her arm.

"Kit-" he breathed.

"TIEN SHINHAN!" Shin's scream came from the crowd, "What are you DOING?! I trained you better than this, get out of that hold and KILL her already!"

Kit felt Tien's body tense again.

"Do you hear me?" Shin demanded, "I'm giving you an ORDER, Tien! Break free and murder that girl like the inferior bitch she is! Show her no mercy! Kill her NOW!"

Tien let out a roar, and Kit was caught off guard. She ripped out of her grip, pushing her aside and on the stage floor where she crashed roughly on her broken wrist, making her yelp in pain. For a moment, she thought this was it, that she was going to turn just in time to see Tien's hands coming down to snap her neck, but to her surprise, when she looked up from where she had fallen, Tien was glaring out at the crowd- right at Shin.

"LEAVE ME ALONE!" he bellowed, fists clenched, body rigid with fury, eyes wild.

Shin stood there for a moment, astounded. The entire crowd was silent. Kit realized that they must have been cheering and yelling the entire fight, for the silence seemed piercing now. She must have been so focused on the fight that she didn't even notice what they were yelling through the whole thing.

"Tien Shinhan," Shin finally snapped, "Have you forgotten your PLACE? You're a killer! Embrace your destiny!"

"No, Shin!" Tien yelled back, "My destiny is NOT what you would have me believe!" his voice grew softer and he looked at the ground, "I'm no killer."

Kit felt her heart nearly burst. She couldn't fight the smile that came to her face and she gazed up at Tien as his eyes flicked back to his Master's, defiant and sparkling with new life.

"What is this treason?!" Shin bellowed, "You would betray your own Master? Chiaotzu! Paralyze them both, I will end this myself!"

Chiaotzu looked up with wide eyes at Shin, "You know I would obey everything you say, Master- but- but-" the little one seemed to steel himself, his face also growing defiant, "But I will not hurt Tien Shinhan!"

Kit felt a new admiration for Chiaotzu. Such loyalty to his friend, it was truly amazing. Shin growled in fury, and snatched Chiaotzu by the front of his shirt, lifting him. Tien took a step toward the them, eyes wide with horror, "Chiaotzu!" he gasped.

Shin was holding back a hand to attack, but something caught his wrist. Kit beamed when she recognized Master Kaijo. Shin looked back just in time to receive a head butt that shattered his sunglasses. He dropped Chiaotzu and the crowd around them yelped, scattering back to give them space. Shin was cover his face, snarling defiantly.

"Fly away, crane!" Kaijo cried, "Your students have finally seen you for the cowardly piece of filth you are! Do yourself the only honor you can accomplish now, and leave!"

Shin was backing away, the crowd parting for him to pass, "This isn't over! Tien Shinhan, you will pay most dearly for this betrayal, and as for you, Kit," he spat her name with fury, "I will ensure that Tao knows of your continued existence, and your end will be a merciless one!"

Before any more could be said, Shin twisted and shot off into the air, rocketing away until his vanished from sight. Kaijo looked down at Chiaotzu and offered him a hand up. The little one blinked at it and took it, allowing himself to be pulled up.

"Are you okay?" Kaijo asked as Roshi appeared at his shoulder.

"Yes," Chiaotzu nodded, hardening his face a little.

"I'm glad you two finally saw reason," chuckled Roshi.

Kit was distracted when a hand came down toward her as well. She turned, amazed, to see Tien was standing over her, offering his hand. She looked at his face, assessing it. He looked… ashamed. Apologetic, in fact, he wasn't even looking at her directly, staring at his feet as he held out his hand to her.

Kit placed her good hand in his, and he swiftly pulled her up and released her, finally meeting her eyes.

"I can't thank you enough for opening my eyes," he said softly, "I won't kill you, Kit, but I'm still going to win this match. Just dodge when the time comes."

And with that, he launched up into the sky, pausing a good three stories up and turning, making a triangle with his hands just below his face and in front of his chest. Kit could see his three eyes trained on her through the triangle he made with his hands.

What was this? Kit glanced at the now settled crowd to see that both Master Kaijo and Master Roshi had looks of horror on his face.

"Just dodge when the time comes," Tien's voice echoed softly in her mind.

Right. Whatever Tien was doing, it must be some bad shit. Noted. Kit looked up at him, at the look of concentration on his face. She looked around herself. How was she going to dodge… whatever this was? What even WAS it?

"Tri Beam!" Tien began to cry.

Beam! Okay, energy wave- or shot- or something- but where- where would she be safe? Her mind went off wildly, as she looked around herself. There was only one place that she knew for certain that she would be safe. Tien was up in the air, aiming down, so where wouldn't that beam go? Up.

"HA!"

At Tien's cry, Kit bunched up all her muscles, used up the rest of her energy, and jumped as high as she could. As she rocketed upward, she looked down and to her astonishment, a massive blast of energy shot out of Tien's hands and consumed the entire stage. Well. Good thing she jumped.

As she soared higher and higher, she shielded her eyes from the brilliant light, and as the dust cleared, she saw to her continued shock that the stage was gone. There was nothing but a massive pit where it had been. Kit was going above clouds now, still rising up from her leap, and felt the temperature drop. Wow. That… that could have easily killed her, could have easily left not a single trace left of her. How did Tien even HAVE that kind of power?

"There you are."

Kit turned in the air to see Tien, his arms crossed and a small smile on his face. He was flying up with her a few yards away.

"What WAS that?" Kit gasped.

"Tri Beam," said Tien, "It's a very tricky technique. It takes the energy from one's self and projects it out."

"Like the kamehameha?" asked Kit.

Tien shook his head, "No, much more powerful. This takes vital energy, your life source, your strongest energy in your body, rather than what you can spare. If done wrong, or too much, it can leave the user dead."

"That was reckless!" Kit scolded, "You mean you could have died?"

Tien looked away, "I have long since perfected that technique, I know how to use it, but it was the only way to ensure victory without killing you."

"Yeah, thanks for warning me to dodge, I would have been toast for sure if you hadn't," admitted Kit, "But what do you mean you won now? When we land-"

"Ah, but that's just it," said Tien as gravity finally took Kit and she began to fall instead of rise. He descended with her, flying along easily, "There's no stage to land on, Kit. You have to hit the ground eventually, but me? Even with as little energy I have left in me, I can still stay up here for hours by flying."

Kit gaped at him, "You've got to be kidding me!" she wailed, and sighed in defeat, "Well, I suppose you have me beat then. What a fight…"

"I agree," said Tien thoughtfully, "I haven't fought so hard in a long time…" he trailed off, looking toward the horizon, "I can't believe how easily I've been manipulated all these years without even realizing it."

"If a dog is raised to be a vicious beast, it will do so thinking that that is how it is," said Kit simply, then added hastily, "Not that I'm comparing you to a dog!"

Tien chuckled softly, and Kit felt a thrill in her gut at the noise, not being able to help but smile.

"I can't believe I used to actually look up to Tao," Tien said after a moment, as the tournament grounds below grew closer and closer, "I mean, he murdered without a single thought, no remorse, no mercy, nothing but a sick joy. Roshi was right, I couldn't become as skillful at that dark art as he, because he truly does not have a conscience."

Kit felt her good mood bubble away and she sighed, "I have to wait three more years to track that bastard down now."

"What do you mean?" Tien asked, looking at her with a frown, "What's stopping you?"

Below, Kit could hear the crowd of the tournament crying out at the sight of them.

"Master Kaijo made me promise I wouldn't go looking for Tao until I won the World Martial Arts tournament. He said that once I won it, it would prove I was ready for the challenge. But now I'll just have to wait three more years to start tracking him down."

Tien looked down and he seemed thing think for a moment, face hard with thought. His eyes snapped up at last and his face was determined, "No, Kit, you won't have to wait," he said.

"What-?" Kit could barely hear herself over the roar of the crowd a mere story beneath them.

Tien suddenly closed the distance between them. Kit was so surprised she didn't have a chance to even move before his arms, strong and warm were beneath her, hooking under her knees and her back, and their decent slowed abruptly, and then stopped all together.

There was silence- the crowd had stopped roaring, and Kit looked down in astonishment to see Tien's feet on the grass outside the crater he had made where the stage had been, and her own body held up by his arms, safely off the ground.

Tien had touched the ground first.

The crowd suddenly erupted into wild cheers and roars after soft surprised mutterings. Kit remained in Tien's arms, shocked numb.

"Ladies and gentlemen, this is by far the most interesting ending of a World Martial Arts tournament I've ever encountered!" the announcer bellowed in his microphone over the crowd, "Tien has caught Kit in his arms and landed his feet first- by the rules he is disqualified, making Kit the new World Martial Arts Champion!"