If it wasn't obvious, I've been in a real fighting game mood as of late. And for that, have this story to highlight that.
This is yet another old story that has been in my docs for four years. I did however work quite a lot on it when I initially began, and eventually finished it so yay me!
But as always, thank you for reading.
The early morning sun hung low in the sky as Asuka quickly made her way to her destination. At this point, she knew the route like the back of her hand yet reaching it, even though she had practiced it many times, was no easy feat. The location was hidden deep within a village near the mountains, concealed by trees and rocks with an equally grueling path that separated it from the small settlement. But it did not matter now; she had found it, which was the critical part.
With hasty steps and pumped muscles, Asuka stomped her way to the steep staircase, overrun by vines and untamed plant life. It looked like no one had been here in ages, but Asuka knew it wasn't exactly accurate as the locals of the village made claims of a "lone wolf" living alone at the top of the stairs. His appearances were so sporadic that his mere existence had become a myth but for Asuka, she was certain that this person was the real deal.
The architecture was really neat, and Asuka could not help but study every feature with a sparked interest once she reached the top of the stairs. It was as if someone was taking care of it in their spare time. Asuka headed past the gates and into the courtyard, her heart skipping a beat when she saw Feng at the far end. Her mortal enemy was now only a few meters away. It was enough to make her heart race.
However, now was not the time to get caught up in emotions. Not when the man, responsible for her father's injuries was right before her, oblivious to Asuka's presence. Seven bowls of water were conveniently placed on Feng's head, his arms, and his knees while he sat there with his eyes closed. There was a slight possibility that he hadn't heard her coming. In that case, she'd give him a rude awakening.
"Good morning, asshole! I'm here to beat you down for my father!" Asuka asserted and only received a response from birds chirping nearby. Not a single muscle on Feng's body did as much as twitch. For what reason though? He heard her, didn't he?
"Hey! I'm talking to you! It's only getting worse for yourself if you ignore me!" Asuka raised her voice and still, Feng showed no change in his disposition. What a son of a…!
Despite being known as the Gang Meditator, she had unfortunately been born with a fiery temper and nothing angered her right now in record time than this jerk ignoring her. Then again, she had no qualms about dropping the civil act, especially when she was dealing with the likes of Feng.
"Hmph, you asked for it. Don't tell me I didn't warn you when I beat your ass!" She made a run for it, quickly going for a kick when the bowls suddenly sprang from Feng's body and he swiftly thwarted her move with one hand, sending her spinning around herself. How, Asuka didn't know, but it did not matter.
What mattered was getting this guy defeated. She lunged forward again; he was wide open, but she now knew better than to take him on directly. She needed to hit Feng where he least expected it. Asuka went for a jab to the abdomen, anticipating for him to evade the move. And so, he did as she saw her chance.
Promptly, she attempted an uppercut, hitting him directly in the chin…or so she thought. Looking up, she saw, much to her horror, her fist in Feng's. He slowly but surely squeezed Asuka's hand as he caught his precious bowls on one arm. Not what she expected but she could work around that. With a confident smirk, Asuka swung her leg at a rapid speed, inches away from the impact before her hand was released and a hard blow to her abdomen, sending her flying across the ground. Before Asuka could process what just happened, Feng stood above her, arms spread for his bowls to rest on.
The fight ended before it even began, and it frustrated Asuka even more as it reminded her of all the damn times when she had been laying on the ground with her opponent staring down at her. It was not fair. This time, things were going to end differently, she hoped.
"I'm not done…" Asuka gritted her teeth as Feng disappeared from her line of sight. Not hurt in the slightest, she swiftly stood up. "You gotta try harder than that!"
He said nothing to that, instead preparing himself for battle.
"Huh, well I'll show you just how serious I am!" Asuka delivered a combo of punches and kicks, all of which Feng dodged. But she did not give up; she pushed harder. She went for the Ultimate Tackle. Unfaced, Feng positioned himself for impact. Asuka ran as fast as she can, launching herself at Feng and wrapping her arms around his torso as they both fell to the ground. She proceeded to shower him with punches, the next one harder than the last. The bowls fell to the ground and broke into small pieces, spilling their clear liquid.
"I will avenge my fath-"
Suddenly the wind was knocked out of her lungs as she felt a sudden blow to her stomach, and she was sent flying. It felt like someone had squashed the air out of her. Asuka landed on the ground once more, grunting as she made impact before rolling over, gasping for air. She clutched her stomach, internally cursing Feng's strength. Heavy footsteps against the dirty terrain closed in on her. This guy had definitely been training as well. Intensely it seemed since Asuka could not remember him being that strong. She glared upwards at the man staring callously back at her.
Asuka stood up and charged forward with a Triple Spin Kick. But Feng blocked the attack and delivered a palm directly to the side of her head. It was like being hit by a paddle and Asuka was pretty sure, her brain may have been shaken a little. Her vision began to melt; smells and sounds soon faded away from her consciousness before she was thrown into deep darkness.
When Asuka woke up, the sun had begun to set, glowing a strong orange through the trees as she sat up. She touched the side of her head; that sore place where Feng's hand had planted itself, aching and tender upon physical contact. Standing, she swayed a bit before dusting the dirt off her clothes. Her back was aching from slamming against the ground so much.
There were scrapes on her limbs from rolling around across hard surfaces and they had begun to sting a little. She looked around; it seemed that she had been unconscious for a good while and in all this time, Feng had been sitting with a new set of bowls. Or rather, he stood on one leg while balancing the bowls. His eyes were closed, again in deep concentration.
Yet one discovery made her gasp rather loudly; Feng had bandages over his nose. Asuka managed to break his nose during her flurry of punches after the tackle after all. She had to bite her bottom lip to stop a smile from spreading across her face.
"I'll get you next time…" Asuka groaned in discomfort. She clenched her fist, resisting the urge to stomp over and punch him square in the face again as exhaustion washed over her. She needed to get even stronger, she needed to find a way to defeat him. She would not give up, no matter what. But he had grown much more powerful than before and she had spent her time tracking him down, neglecting her training.
The realization of her lack of prowess dawned upon her, causing her to grit her teeth. And then, a sudden idea popped up in her mind. An idea that made Asuka shiver a bit by the sheer ludicrousness. But…maybe it was the right path to choose. And if she could defeat Feng at last, then she would take the chance. In a way, it actually made sense.
"You have gotten stronger. Not bad for a juvenile" Feng suddenly said, his eyes opening. That was perhaps the closest thing to a full sentence he had said in her presence, let alone compliment her and she hated to admit that she was surprised. That was until she realized what he just called her.
"Screw you! I'm not some kid!"
"If you say so" he resumed his training, closing his eyes once more.
"I'm serious! Let me train here and prove you wrong!" it suddenly flew out of Asuka's stupid Osaka mouth; words that her brain did not agree with. In her mind, setting her plan in motion was to happen a lot more elegantly. But it was already too late as Feng had caught wind of what she just uttered. He put the bowls down.
"Very well." He simply nodded after a long, musing pause.
"Wait, you're not joking?"
"There is no joking in martial arts."
"I got classes tomorrow though. When I'm done, I'll be here." Asuka said after a pause to collect her thoughts. Well then, after all her idea was being realized without proper planning or consideration. It was one hell of a gamble but maybe it was what she needed to find his weaknesses.
Feng said no more. Instead, he nodded, watching Asuka's back as she jolted out of the courtyard. Her heart raced through her chest as her thoughts went into overdrive. Finally, near the end of the staircase and into the thick, dense forest, she stopped, panting. Her entire respiratory system hurt with each breath, and she felt like collapsing at any second. She looked behind herself, noticing how the area had been completely concealed by the tall trees.
Asuka wiped off some sweat from her forehead and proceeded to walk instead, constantly reflecting on the mission, she had just embarked on. She would love to turn back time and word herself differently. The first part of her controversial idea had been realized albeit be it unexpectedly. But that did not matter, what mattered now was getting to know Feng's moves inside out and finally beating him at his own game.
Whereas the sun had shined so brightly yesterday, thick streams of rain fell from the heavens. Instead of listening to her professor explaining the essence of modern societal structures throughout history, Asuka instead stared out the window as she thought about the recent events; she could not stop thinking about yesterday and the future that it now presented to her.
The image of Feng's bloodied nose, his nonchalant acceptance of her sudden request. It all just seemed so unreal. She was surprised and relieved that he refrained from seriously injuring her but part of her felt somewhat insulted that he hadn't tried harder. He had gone easy on her but why? Because she was female?
That would mean that he was not a complete uncultivated bastard, but it also meant that he underestimated her because of that. Then again, she did chastise him for not treating a lady properly after their first fight. Ugh, if only she had been born a male. Regardless, he had given her a few nasty bruises and a night-long headache, that robbed her of sleep. Speaking of which, her tired self looked forward to a good night's rest later.
"Asuka Kazama?" someone suddenly called for her to which she gazed upwards, uninterested.
"That's me. What do you want?" Asuka mumbled through the hand her head rested on.
"Oh, I'm Miharu Hirano! We're in a study group for the last two semesters. Pleased to meet you!" A young woman, around the same age as Asuka, stood before her. A big smile was plastered on her lips. That was a thing that Asuka had completely forgotten; the study groups. She had always held disdain towards group work as it hindered her in doing things her way. Sure, her grades would have benefitted from it but what was the point if her work was to be monitored by a couple of smart-asses?
Miharu pointed towards a table nearby where someone else sat. They were facing their back until they suddenly decide to turn around and much to the misfortune of Asuka, they recognized her, and she recognized them. Lili waved with teasing glee as she stood up and headed towards the pair. Running a hand through her blonde hair, she smiled that condescending smile of hers.
"Asuka Kazama. What a coincidence that we happened to be study buddies~" Her voice was overly sweet and polite, almost to the point of subtle insolence.
"What the living hell are you doing here?!" Asuka scowled, cringing as her rivals' heavy perfume hit her nose like a truck when the princess decided to sit down.
"What do you mean? I'm a student here" Lili firmly planted her elbows on the table leaning in. "I look forward to our time together~! Don't you too?"
Asuka was not amused.
"Not really" She frowned and decided to look elsewhere. As if she didn't have enough problems with Feng.
"Aw, don't be like that. Let us enjoy time together during these six months, shall we?"
"You are a smart young lady. We just want to make sure you have as much brain as you got brawns." Asuka's mother had said before her daughter left home, worried that she may have lashed out at some delinquents. Asuka didn't have much of expectations for her university life, but she had not expected it to be spent with Lili of all people.
At that same moment, the professor demanded attention and class was about to start, implying that there had been a quick break. Students returned to their seats and Asuka fetched her textbooks, barely mentally prepared to be studious but within the first ten minutes, she already found herself staring aimlessly out the window once more, bored out of her mind. So much for raising her grades.
"Son of a bitch, why are you following me?" Asuka glared at the smirking Lili, who happily skipped next to her instead of walking like a normal princess.
"Why, I'd hope you'd show me around. Prove yourself to be civil for once~" she leaned dangerously close to Asuka, her blonde strings brushing against parts of the bike.
"Why doesn't your butler do that for you?! I have better things to do!" Asuka quickly backed up and unlocked her bike. From the corner of her eye, she saw Lili shrug her shoulder and head towards the limousine that had just pulled up. Asuka reserved the urge to throw her bag at the vehicle, especially when Lili decided to roll down the window and wave at her.
"Lighten up, Asuka. We have so much time together. I bet it will be most delightful, don't you agree?" the blonde smirked with mischief, disguised as friendly playfulness. Without providing the princess with an answer, Asuka mounted her bike and rode off, making sure to take a sideroad that ensured that the limousine couldn't zoom past her. No need to look at Lili's face more than necessary.
The university was located in a district somewhat devoid of anything but housing for students and other educational facilities, with many interconnecting paths that lead far away. Thus Asuka had little trouble with leaving the populated area until she found herself in a more isolated territory. The village was located an hour of biking away from her university; one could even see the taller buildings of the city on the horizon from certain fields so riding there didn't take too long. Besides, it was good training for the legs.
Through the dense forestry, and rocky terrain, Asuka realized that she couldn't bring her bike with her any longer as it would only hinder her, so she begrudgingly locked it and made way for the long staircase. Her foul mood began loosening upon walking through the beautiful scenery of the forest and she found it hard to remain angry for long even if she was still mildly aggravated, once she reached the top of the staircase.
Upon entering through the gates, Feng noticed her; he stood in the middle of the courtyard with a raised eyebrow as if he could feel her annoyance. Asuka ignored his questioning gaze and adjusted her gloves. She had been carrying them for most of the day as her schedule didn't leave her much time to get all the way home to change, only to ride all the way here to train.
"…Just don't ask" Asuka growled. She was aware that Feng was technically her master and that was no way to greet him. Still, that was in name only and she couldn't be bothered to treat Feng with more respect than absolutely necessary, considering their circumstances. He didn't ask thankfully and seemed to forget it like it didn't matter. In actuality, it mattered a lot to Asuka although she didn't expect him to care. After all, he wasn't the one who had to go to school with a snooty princess that couldn't leave him alone. Again.
"All right" Asuka began, positioning herself for a fight. That hasty bike ride had successfully warmed her up and her frustrations made her pumped to blow some steam.
"Should we get started?"