Aoi slammed her opponent to the ground hard, getting one last groan out of them before her bracelet beeped and flashed to signal the match's end. She exhaled, returning to a more relaxed stance before making her way to the locker rooms of the dojo.

"Looks like the Princess is tough after all."

"She really does counter everything That was one brutal throw."

She paid the onlookers no mind as she walked into the locker room to change. That was the fifth opponent today. Ever since her lost at the exhibition several people had challenged Aoi, likely thinking she was easy prey. It was somewhat annoying after the first day, but as the jeers and insults went on she went about proving the rumors about her weakness false with swift ferocity. All her matches were won by either knockout or submission, namely the latter given her repertoire and almost always with a snapping limb. Four days had pasted since then, and she only had five loses on her after her first official match since the tournament out of the twenty matches she had.

Twenty matches… Fight City indeed. Her body was starting to feel it now. The small aches and bruises that were gained in previous fights were starting to catch up to her. This was a ruthless tournament for sure. Five fights a day had been the norm for a while now. Not even at her own dojo was she pushed this hard. Most fights ended quick with a hard throw and bone-breaking counter, but the longer ones were agonizing on her body. I never thought I'd look forward to sleeping in that small apartment…

After a quick shower she changed into civilian clothes, and headed to her apartment. The dojo most of her challenges and battles were done had recently became known as the Princess's Castle. As annoying as the name was, she did like the idea of having a specifically location to herself where she always had a stream of fighters to face. Yuka and Kuro even frequented the place from time to time due to the large influx of fighters, being seen as her knights to the other fighters, much to Kuro's annoyance.

Speaking of…

"I'm back," Aoi walked into her apartment, seeing Kuro in her gi. I guess she's heading out soon.

"Hey sis, surprise to see you're alive," She said.

"Just barely," Aoi said, forcing a wry smile. "After all the challenges I took at our dojo I thought I'd be used to this exhaustion."

"Looks like that reputation of yours is a double-edged sword,"

"Indeed…" Aoi sat in her bed, letting out a sigh. "It's been awhile since I've been pushed this far." She turned to Kuro, examining her gi. It was the standard one from their dojo, nothing specialized like her own. "You have a challenge?"

"Yup," Kuro pulled out her phone, shaking it in front of Aoi. "Got a match request from the forum, so I'll be at the Castle for a bit."

"Please don't call it that, it's just a dojo you, Yuka, and I frequent."

"Nope, it's the Castle, Princess. Take it or leave it."

"I'd rather leave it,"

"Well sadly neither of us are going to get our way."

Aoi let out a heavy sigh. "Please, not today Kuro, we can argue tonight when I have the energy." Aoi leaned back, lying on her bed. "In any case, that match request forum really works it seems."

"Yeah, it's pretty handy when you aren't some famous or sponsored fighter."

"Kuro…" Aoi forced herself up. "I doubt you want all the attention I'm getting right now, considering what it means for my body."

"True…" She tightened her belt. "Still, it'd be nice to not be in your shadow."

Aoi paused at that. All things considered, Kuro wasn't being as annoying as usual outside her usual quips. Maybe she was showing Aoi some mercy for once. We haven't seen much of each other these last few days. This might be a good chance to connect with her sister before she ran off, make up for threating to snap her limbs apart last week "Hey Kuro,"

"Yeah sis?"

"You haven't fought me yet."

"What, you think you're special?"

Aoi held back a huff, narrowing her eyes. "No, I was just curious why you haven't yet."

"There are a lot of other fighters here from other places around the world." Kuro explained. "It'd be a waste to come here just to fight my sister over and over. I can do that anytime."

Glad to see you respect me. Still, she understood Kuro's logic. It was the same reason she wanted to participate in the World Fighting Tournament. She still remembered her siblings being jealous of that fact, even if she lost badly her first two attempts. "I see… In that case, at least try to have fun with this. You might not get another chance."

"Yeah," Kuro canted her head, giving a confused look before shaking her head. "Well, I'm heading out."

"Alright, do your best."

"Yeah… thanks sis," With that, Kuro left, and Aoi was alone. Guess I'll check the forums myself. Aoi pulled out her phone, checking the J6 forums. Things had indeed changed as Smith said. The tournament rules no longer were based on points, but by consecutive losses and popularity rankings.

"In a nutshell, losing so many times in a row will have your rank drop, and at the end of each week the lowest 5000 in the rankings will be forced out of the tournament, at least the total will be 5000 at the end. Gotta' include those that can't continue due to injury and all that."

Those were Smith's words, and double checking the rules of the tournament on the J6 forum, that seemed to be the case. Aoi herself was within the top 1000 in the ranks, likely thanks to her several wins and reputation from the World Fighting Tournament. In fact, the top 1000 included all the World Fighting Tournament alumni. Akira, Kagemaru, the Bryants, the Chans, Shun Di, the list went on, but she didn't both with reading through them. She had so many fights she lately that the rankings didn't bother her for the moment. She knew she was in a decent place, and that was the most important thing.

"Hm?" Aoi got a notification on her phone, someone sent her a fight request. She frowned, pulling it up. It was from Sarah Bryant of all people. "The Jeet Kune Do fighter?" She knew of the woman, a bit about her reputation and fighting style, but nothing outside of that.

Fight Request

Challenger: Sarah Bryant

Location: Genbu Dojo

Time: 11PM

Genbu Dojo… ah, right. Aoi nearly forgot the name of the dojo she frequented. It felt odd hearing the true name of it now. I don't mind, but… Eleven? She had 8 hours until then, it was enough time to rest and eat before that fight. "Alright then," Aoi got out of bed and did a bit of stretching. Her body was still a little sore, but a little rest would put her back into fighting shape.