Marlene laid down on the couch, looking up at the ceiling. She was trying to figure out why Master Shi would give her such a short training regiment, and couldn't come up with any logical reason. Suddenly, Marlene's Mother entered the room. "You alright Mar? You've been laying here for a couple hours now." Marlene's Mom asked. "I finished My training... But it doesn't feel right..." Marlene responded. "What do You mean it doesn't feel right? Did they not teach You what You wanted to learn?" Marlene's Mom asked. "Nah, they taught Me what I wanted, it's just... It ended so fast and I don't know why..." Marlene responded. "I'm sure it was because You are naturally talented Mar." Marlene's Mom commented, leaving the room. "I hope You're right..." Marlene said to herself, dozing off on the couch.
After several hours of rest, Marlene woke up and got properly dressed for the Tournament. "Today's the big day..." Marlene said to herself, looking at the Gi She wore hung up in her closet. Instead of wearing the Gi though, She took the belt from it and wore it as a headband. She also tossed on a tight black crop top and black shorts, her usual sportswear. Now that She was ready, She hugged her Mom and headed straight to the Tournament. When She got there She saw thousands of people in the spectator seats, and also saw a few of her opponents. "This is... A little more than I expected." Marlene said to herself as She headed over to the Fighter Waiting Room. A man in a tan suit approached Marlene and handed her a sheet. "Aight this is the fight order. You're first up missy, don't disappoint the crowd." The man said, handing the other fighters copies of the same sheet. "Alright... Here goes nothing." Marlene said, heading out to the ring.
Marlene took her corner on the left and her opponent took theirs on the right. "Ladies and Gentlemen!" The Announcer started. "Our Round One Fighters are here! On the left We have Marlene Krueger!" The Announcer stated. The Crowd had some light cheers for Marlene but nobody really knew her, so there wasn't much hype. "And on the right We have Casey Elvet!" The Announcer continued. The Crowd roared with cheers as Casey Elvet was a semi-famous boxer who wanted in on the tournament. Marlene looked at Casey and tried to figure him out. He had short brown hair and wore a white tank top and red shorts, a pretty simple look. "Let the battle... Begin!" The Announcer said, starting the match. Casey stepped up and stared Marlene down. "Ya better put up a fight pretty lady." He said, taking his stance. Marlene ignored his comment and took up her stance. Casey launched a right hook at Marlene that She quickly ducked under. Marlene launched an uppercut into Casey's jaw as She got back up.
Casey took the attack and spat out a cracked tooth. "Not bad lady." He said, slamming his fist into her face. Marlene wasn't ready for the attack and was pushed back. "I didn't come all this way just to lose in the first round, especially not to some rookie." Casey said, slamming his fist into Marlene's gut. However, Marlene wasn't too phased by the attack and jumped up with a knee to Casey's gut. Casey quickly fell on one knee and held his stomach. Marlene took the opportunity to kick Casey in the shoulder and held him down on the ground. "I ain't being pinned this early on!" Casey shouted, headbutting Marlene off of himself. "Come on dude, just make this easy for Me!" Marlene said on the ground. "Never lady. Sorry in advance." Casey said as He stomped his boot down onto Marlene's neck, not snapping it but definitely doing damage. "Now You're pinned by my boot. How does it feel?" Casey asked with a smirk. Marlene responded to Casey by slamming her fist into his ankle as hard as She could, bending it.
Casey fell over and held his ankle. "Come on at least take the attack like a man." Marlene remarked. Casey stood up in anger, but was slightly limping with his injured ankle. "A'ight lady I see this ain't a normal fight." Casey said, getting into his boxing stance. Marlene launched a strong punch at Casey, but He ducked under it and slammed Marlene's chin with an uppercut. Marlene took the hit and kicked Casey's shin, causing Casey to fall onto one knee. With the opening there, Marlene slammed her fist straight into Casey's forehead.
After the attack, Marlene jumped back and watched Casey to see how her attacks had affected him. Casey had his hand on his head in pain, and stood back up again. "Jeez Lady, You really don't wanna lose huh? Guess I'll have to pummel You." Casey said, getting into his stance yet again. Marlene ran straight in this time, preparing to punch Casey in the throat. Casey was actually expecting the attack though, and wrapped his arm around her neck before She was able to launch the punch. "Time to pay You back with some hits." Casey said as He began pounding her head with his free hand. In response to this, Marlene bit the arm around her neck trying to get Casey to let go. Casey released Marlene, but also slammed her with a full force punch that knocked her flat on her back. "Crazy bitch bit my Arm! Who does that in a fight?!" Casey exclaimed as He looked at the bite wound. Marlene laid on the ground in pain with her eyes closed, and began thinking to herself.
"Damn this guy is tough. Tougher than I thought." Marlene thought to herself. "I ain't done yet though... I got plenty more to show 'em." Marlene said to herself as She hopped right back up. "Aw c'mon now, I got other shit to do today. I went easy on ya cuz You're a beautiful woman, but I guess I gotta beat You harder than my punching bag." Casey said, getting into his usual stance again. Marlene got into her stance and glared at Casey. "Hell no. You're coming to Me this time." Marlene said. Casey cracked a smile and ran in. "No problem!" Casey said as He began launching punches left and right as fast and hard as He could. Marlene wasn't able to dodge or block the attacks, they were just too much for her. At this point, Marlene was just being pushed back by dozens of punches that She could barely see. As She was being hit though, She could feel a strange feeling building up in her. Marlene kept getting pushed farther and farther with each punch, most of which were hitting her face.
Eventually one of Casey's punches cracked Marlene's nose out of place, and her face was covered in blood but Casey didn't stop. It was brutal to everyone watching, Marlene couldn't even fight back and was about to fall off of the arena edge now. Right as Marlene was going to be knocked off though, She suddenly headbutted Casey, discombobulating him. "Not too shabby. Let Me try." Marlene said, cracking her nose back in place before launching punches even faster than Casey's that started pushing him back. "I would say it was nice meeting You, but You really seem like a bit of a dick." Marlene said as She finally brought Casey to the edge of the Arena. "Oh and stop calling people 'Pretty Lady', it's kinda creepy to Me." Marlene said as She slammed one last punch into Casey's nose, knocking him out of the arena. "It seems that our Winner is newcomer Marlene Krueger!" The Announcer exclaimed. The crowd erupted with cheering, though some boos from fans of Casey could be heard.
Marlene stretched a little bit in front of everybody and showed the peace sign before heading to the waiting room. The moment She entered the waiting room, She collapsed onto one of the chairs and sighed in relief. "That was... way rougher than I expected." Marlene said to herself. As She was laying on the chair though, She felt a tap on her leg and looked over. "Krueger was it? I believe You will be facing Me next." A Cloaked fighter said with a bow. "Eh? So what's Your deal?" Marlene asked as She tried to relax. "I am a new Descendant of The Goki Clan." The Warrior responded. "The what?" Marlene asked, not knowing what He was talking about at all. "Ah... The Goki Clan is a Clan of what I believe most people would call Ninja. I am Nasku, a Goki Initiate." Nasku explained. "An initiate? What is a Ninja Clan doing sending a newbie into a tournament?" Marlene asked. "The Goki Clan believes that even a trainee can beat the best normal fighters. I am here to prove that." Nasku stated.
"Ah. Alright. Well, I'll gladly battle You as soon as I'm done with My nap." Marlene said, instantly snoring to sleep. Nasku turned away from Marlene. "Get Your Rest Warrior. You will need it." He said as He walked away.