Master Tigress vs Ke Pow
"About time." Master Tigress cracked her knuckles as she jumped down in the fighting zone with a glare. Po, Yukan, and the others could tell she needed to let some of her anger out after what happened to Crane a few moments earlier. Her opponent was a male croc holding a spiked club and a metal shield.
"She looks very pissed off," Shining Eagle remarked. "It's almost scary."
"I wonder if she's as strong as they claim," Yukan said.
"Are both fighters ready?" Nunzio asked. They both nodded in agreement. "Very well. Let the sixth match of the second phase... BEGIN!"
Tigress wasted no time charging at her opponent with both her paws pulled back, ready to go for her double palm strike. Ke Pow attempted to protect himself behind his shield, but the feline's raw strength easily broke through it, hitting the croc in the chest and sending him crashing hard into the arena's wall. He then fell flat on his face and did not get back up.
Nunzio went to check on the croc and couldn't hide his surprise. "... Ke Pow is no longer able to continue. The winner of the sixth match is Master Tigress."
"A-Again?!" Yukan exclaimed. "That's the second time it happens in this phase!"
"Hm, maybe she and I could have a pretty good match?" Siax mused to herself.
As Ke Pow was escorted away by the medical team, Tigress returned to the platform with the remaining participants not daring getting in her way after what she did. "Nice job, Tigress!" Po congratulated her. "You totally dominated down there!"
However, Tigress still felt angry after what happened to Crane and did not return her friend's enthusiasm. The other participants started mentally hoping they wouldn't have to face her in the upcoming phases. "Very well, without any further due, let's move on to the seventh match," Nunzio announced as the screen started rolling with the remaining names.
"Seven match out of eight and none of us has passed yet," Kivuli told Shining Eagle. "We have good chances of passing soon."
"I just hope it won't be against one another," the golden eagle replied with a gulp.
"Girls! Look!" Yukan suddenly said and pointed at the screen.
Shining Eagle vs Hong Ze
"Aw, finally!" Hong Ze said, throwing a fist in the air. He looked over at Shining Eagle. "Looks like I've got the luck of getting the smallest apple of the bunch."
Ignoring this comment, Yukan patted his eagle friend on the shoulder. "Come on, Shining; show them what you're capable of."
Shining nodded and flew down in the fighting zone while Hong Ze jumped and landed gracefully with an impressive flip. As they stood across from each other, Shining couldn't help but stare at the elk. She remembered how they briefly struggled against each other during the first phase. "So this guy is good at running on tree branches and doing flips... but what else?"
"Participants, are you ready?" Nunzio asked both fighters.
"Yes... I guess."
"Let's get this started so that we can move on to the next phase already."
The elephant nodded. "Very well. Let the seventh match of the second phase... BEGIN!"
As soon as he said this, Hong Ze charged rapidly with his two little feet and delivered the first blow of the match by planting his elbow into Shining Eagle's unprotected abdomen. She found herself spitting saliva as the air was knocked out of her lungs and was sent flying a few feet back. Somehow, she managed to stop herself by planting her talons on the floor.
"Not a good start," the avian said, clutching her belly with her wing and glaring at the elk.
Hong Ze gave a confident smirk. "You already wanna give up, Master Shining Eagle? I'd like this match to last long enough to at least get some fun out of it, please." He charged at his opponent and went for a running kick. However, this time, Shining was prepared. She moved sideways to avoid the kick and flapped her wing to shoot a gust of wind that hit her opponent, sending him crashing into the arena's wall.
"Still not having fun?" Shining asked with a grin.
Hong Ze kicked up and glared at her. "Alright, this fight is on."
Both fighters charged forward, Hong Ze running on his feet and Shining Eagle flapping her wings for a boost, and met in the middle of the fighting zone. Fist and wing collided hard, creating a small shockwave that was felt by the other participants. The avian then flapped her wings to back away, narrowly avoided a spin kick from the elk, and taking to the skies. Hong Ze might be strong in close combat, but Shining Eagle had the high ground.
"Let's Go, Shining! Kick his butt!" Yukan cheered for his friend.
However, if she thought she was in a safe zone, she was wrong. Hong ze started running along the arena's wall and used the watchers' platform to jump up. Shining was caught off-guard by a big kick to the beak which caused her to lose balance and fall toward the floor.
"Having the high ground doesn't mean having the advantage, birdy!" Hong Ze taunted her with a smirk.
The eagle's golden eyes narrowed into a glare as she flapped her wings to regain her balance and charged at the elk, plunging her beak right into his stomach. This caused him to spit some saliva just before crashing on his back while Shining Eagle landed gracefully. Coughing a bit and holding his guts, Hong Ze slammed his fist on the floor out of frustration.
"Wow! Master Shining Eagle is very strong!" Po beamed.
"I have to agree," Tigress said. "I'd say she's around the same level as Crane. But... there's something missing in her fighting style..."
As Hong Ze recovered, Shining Eagle flapped her wings to push herself up and went for a dive, ready to hit a rocket charge at her opponent. However, she failed to notice the elk coming out with a plan. As she approached him, Hong Ze took out two strange swords out of his robes and smirked at the incoming avian. This last one could only widen her eyes in shock as she realized that it was too late to turn around and dodge.
Hong Ze swung his swords, and blood was sent flying in the air. Shining Eagle fell down on the floor, rolling for a few feet before coming to a stop. Feeling the pain rushing in her wings, she secretly begged for the damage to not be too bad as she got up and inspected her wings.
To her shock, blood was pouring out of deep cuts on her wings. Not only that, but most of her primary feathers got cut in the process as well. It would take them a while before growing back up. But for now... it meant she couldn't fly anymore.
"It hurts?" She turned to see Hong Ze chuckling at her. "I would've expected a bit more intelligence from the daughter of Master Eagle." He then pointed a bloodtainted scimitar at his opponent. "So what we're saying is true: you truly are the shame of the Eagle Clan."
As he said this, Shining's angry expression softened and turned into one of sadness and she looked at the floor.
"Hey! What is he talking about?" Yukan asked, shocked by this sudden insult that seemed to have hurt his friend.
"Dude, you don't remember that Shining is the daughter of Master Eagle?" Kivuli asked him. "We met him at the feast, a few days ago."
"Yeah, I do remember. But what does it have to do with this fight?"
Kivuli sighed in a rather sad tone. "You know what happens when you're born the kid of a legendary person? People are expecting you to follow in your parent's steps and be just as great. In other words, they have very high expectations for you." She then pointed her wing at the fighting zone. "Shining Eagle is no exception and... she suffered because of it. As the daughter of Master Eagle - considered the best aerial fighter of all time - her fellow masters were expecting her to become just as great as him."
Kivuli started frowing. "The unfair thing is that on her own, Shining Eagle is a very good aerial fighter: she mastered the Crane Style of Kung Fu and can stand against other fighters like Master Crane." Her frown intensified. "But... being the daughter of a legend, good isn't enough. The other masters of the Aviation Kung Fu Academy constantly pressured her to become better and even her own father barely acknowledged her accomplishments. This caused her to develop self-doubts and a desire to prove herself to everyone."
Yukan blinked his emerald eyes a few times in shock. "So... Shining Eagle is seen as the shame of her clan?!"
Kivuli nodded. "Pretty much. You might know her as a cheerful and lively girl... but back when she trained at the Aviation Kung Fu Academy, she was very silent and distant. This only changed when she joined the Frog Dojo to train under Master Shujinko - much to her father's disappointment. She might have become different now... but her goal hasn't changed. She still wants to prove that she is worthy of being called a warrior."
Yukan's gaze slowly turned back toward the fighting zone. Shining Eagle groaned in pain as Hong Ze kept giving her blows and kicks during Kivuli's speech. "Shining..."
"It's over," Hong Ze said as Shining Eagle laid on the ground following a kick across the beak. "Be a good girl and stay down so that you won't have the embarrass yourself any further." However, the avian did not listen to her opponent and stood up despite being hurt and bleeding from her beak and wings. "Are you kidding me?!"
"I... can't... lose...," she panted, weakly looking up. "I must... earn... my father's respect." She coughed a bit. "There's no way... I'll be the only one of my friends to fail this phase..." Not caring about her wounds, Shining flapped her wings, giving herself the smallest push she could get and charged at her opponent.
But the expected had to happen.
Hong Ze jumped up to avoid the avian's predictable attack and slashed his scimitar across her back. The poor eagle fell down on the floor as blood covered her back. When she did not get back up after 10 seconds, Nunzio went to check on her. He sighed sadly and looked at everyone. "Master Shining Eagle is no longer able to continue the fight. Therefore, I must declare that the winner of this match is HONG ZE!"
"Shining!" As soon as Nunzio called the match off, Yukan and Kivuli jumped down in the fighting zone to rush at their friend's side. Yukan took her wing into his while Kivuli held her head in hers. "Are you okay?"
Shining weakly pushed her golden eyes open to look up at her two friends. "Y-Yukan... Kivuli..."
"Yes, we're here. Don't worry. It's over," the martial eagle said in a reassuring tone.
"Guys... Did... Did I make... a good fight...?"
Seeing her in such a weak state, Yukan couldn't prevent his black beak from trembling a little bit. And his emerald green eyes started getting wet. Before he could answer her, she closed her eyes and fell into unconsciousness. "Move!" a member of the medical team ordered as he arrived with his team. "We're taking her!"
"Hey, birdbrains!" As Shining was getting pulled on a stretcher, Yukan and Kivuli turned around to look at Hong Ze who pulled his two scimitars back in his robes and glanced at them. "If I were you, I wouldn't waste my time with this avian." He pointed a finger at Kivuli. "You still have your match to do. And you," he pointed at Yukan, "don't try to convince her that she did good. She hasn't. She isn't a good fighter and she never will be."
Yukan's wing clutched into a fist and was set on fire. Any trace of sadness faded from his face and was replaced by a burning anger. "How dare you... I'LL TEACH YOU TO MOCK MY FRIEND LIKE THIS!" It took the combined efforts of Kivuli and Po, who walked down in the fighting zone earlier, to prevent the sun parrot from turning the elk into a pile of ash.
"Yukan, calm down!" Kivuli said. "I'm mad at him too, but attacking him between two matches will only get you in trouble! Wait 'till the next phase to kick his butt and knock him out of the tournament, okay?"
Knowing his friend was right, Yukan sighed, pulling the fire off his wing and calmed down. "You're right..." He then glared at Hong Ze, pointing a feather at him. "But this isn't over. I'll see you again in the next phase..."
Author's note: Tigress qualifies after a squash fight (what? We all need jobbers once in a while) and Hong Ze qualifies after defeating Shining Eagle. I hope you enjoyed the way I used your OC, The Grey Coincidence.
This was probably one of the most emotional fights I have written so far. I wanted to give a little backstory for Shining Eagle without making one of those endless anime flashback sequences. There is some truth behind this theme: whenever you're the kid of a legendary person, people are expecting you to be like this person. Being a wrestling fan, I've seen many wrestlers' children trying to be like their parents, but failing because of their legacy's pressure. Very sad.
Anyways, the final match of the second phase is for the next chapter. You'll tell me which match has been your favorite. May the gods watch over you all ;)