Disclaimer: See previous chapters
AN: Having writers' block and going through a hiatus (my first) really, really sucks. I'm going to have to focus on fewer fanfics to get through them. Fortunately, this one will be one of them so hang on everyone.
airnaruto45 - Sorry. I'm keeping this a strictly team fanfic. No romance. Or at the least, a hint here and there, but nothing too detailed for anyone.
SulliMike23 - You'll have to wait on that. Hopefully, it won't be too long
Nightwing 509/undaed15 - I'm trying to. I really am.
-0-
-"You are to be the storm. The heart and mind are the center calm. Everything else is fury."-
True to his teacher's words, Cage was unleashing a fury of attacks on his opponent. However, his mind and heart were nowhere near the calm he was supposed to be. The gloves his opponent wore were studded with spikes and had made more than a few marks on the body of the action star. While wounds and bruises were to be expected in any fight and Cage was normally professional enough to not let it bother him too much, this time, it only served to incense him.
And with it came more fury…
Meanwhile, Kalus took a step back to re-evaluate his opponent. Like their unnoticed spectator outside the ring, the Black Dragon was surprised by Cage's unusual fury. He expected a more laid-back opponent, not this. It didn't matter to him though. He could give as good as he could get and he didn't get to his position among the Black Dragon from softness.
Bracing his fists upright, Kalus charged in, his spiked knuckles gleaming forward as he struck out at Cage. Cage deflected the blow, to which Kalus pressed with two more and followed up with a knee. Being too close, Cage was slammed by the knee, but managed to brace himself for it, staying upright and catching sight of Kalus readying his fist for another strike. Cage sidestepped, but too late realized that the move was a feint and managed a sloppy spin as he was struck by Kalus' other fist.
'!'
The spin spared him from much of the injury, but the spikes had made their mark on Cage's side, leaving a bloody gash on his ribs. A burst of anger made him see red, but Cage didn't rush in to attack; he was too much of a professional for that. In fact, he staggered back and held his bleeding side, letting out a low groan as though he was hurt more than he seemed. Buying into it, Kalus shot his leg in, hoping to nail Cage in the face with a brutal kick. But at the last moment, Cage brought his head back and up, causing Kalus to miss him totally and stumble a bit.
Giving Cage a slight, but decisive opening…
His stance low, Cage shot his fist straight into the side of Kalus' opposite leg, hitting the inner kneecap and causing the larger man to shout in pain and limp back. Cage rose in ready stance, but again he didn't press the advantage, at least not immediately. He didn't have to. His strike had disabled Kalus, making it difficult for the Black Dragon to stand properly and leaving a hard-set grimace on his face. The Black Dragon began to move into a defensive stance, but it was during that shift that Cage attacked.
Kalus managed to guard against the first attack, a reverse hammer-fist. But the heavy blow put pressure on his hurt leg and Kalus faltered back. Seeing that he was exposed, Cage stepped in and ruthlessly sent two rapid snap kicks to the injured kneecap. From the outside, Sonya winced at the probable sound of popping bone in the aftermath of the attack. Kalus had come close to screaming and was forced to now hobble back on one leg.
Cage advanced quickly, the fury within translating into a sharp coldness in his eyes and as he methodically attacked Kalus and broke him down piece by piece. While before, Cage fought simply and stylishly, now he used sharp precision and cold efficiency. Already he was attacking the opposite leg, with Kalus trying to return some sort of offense/defense, but with little avail.
Meanwhile, Sonya watched the change of the fight with a mix of astonished surprise and foreboding dread. The surprise was from how efficiently Cage was taking down Kalus, a viscous violent member of a criminal organization. It wasn't the same style of fighting she used, but she recognized quickly enough what he was doing and how he was doing it. But that's where the dread came in. By all rights, the fight was well and over, but Cage kept going, breaking the man down further. It wasn't until Cage dislocated the man's shoulder that she started to believe that he was going too far.
That belief became reality when he continued punishing Kalus after that.
In the ring, Cage was almost lost in his rage…no, not rage; hatred. He hated this guy, this chump, this low-life thug who had the temerity to cut him with his spiked knuckles. Another flurry of punishing kicks soon brought Kalus to his knees and in near-desperation, he struck out at Cage, hoping to nail him in the chest as he was now low enough to easily stab him through. But the action star anticipated the move and deftly deflected it, managing to grab hold of the back of Kalus' arm right before his leg went into action again, snapping upward with enough force to dislocate the man's shoulder, causing him to howl in pain.
"Guuuaaahhh!"
Stepping back, Cage glared at the man as he painfully grabbed hold of his shoulder, all the while still on his slumped knees. But Cage wasn't finished, no; he wasn't getting off that easy. His stance lowered once again, with Cage focusing his strength into his legs and readying his famed Shadow Kick. With his opponent on the ground and helpless, the attack would surely hit home. And by home, Cage had one particular target in mind.
Kalus' skull…
Bridge/Pit
-0-
"I can't believe he ditched us like that; and on my match too!"
Normally, Sakura would have smacked Naruto over the head at that loud comment. But she was just as baffled by Kakashi's disappearance as Naruto was. It wasn't like him to just up and leave like that, at least not without saying anything to them. As lazy as he was (or seemed), Kakashi was quite serious when it came to his mission, and this one was no exception in the least.
"I don't believe he was here at all." Liu Kang said suddenly.
"Huh? What do you mean?" Naruto asked.
"I had arrived at your match mid-way, so I noticed you companions watching. There seemed something off about his chi. I suspect it is that technique you ninja employ…Kage bushin."
The two of them were a little bit surprised at his knowledge of the technique, but that was quickly dispelled by concern. If what Liu Kang says was true, then Kakashi could have been gone much longer than they thought. For all they knew, he probably wasn't with them during the start of the match.
"But why?" Sakura thought out-loud. "Where did he have to go without telling us?"
Naruto pouted. "And he was supposed to be training us, too."
"Training?" Liu asked.
"To deal with…well, you know."
At this, the Shaolin turned and stared directly and Naruto, causing him to flinch somewhat. In a way, it reminded him of Shang Tsung's gaze at the opening of the tournament, a penetrating gaze that seemed to look right through a person. But there was no sense of threat or dread in Liu Kang's gaze, merely an examination.
"Ah. So it is a matter of focusing your anger then." Liu said finally. "Perhaps I can help."
"Huh? You can?"
"There are a few meditation exercises I know that work with anger" he explained. "I can show you one that you can use, at least until our next matches, or whenever your teacher returns."
Naruto's eyes widened at this and a smile wasn't too far behind. "Really? That's great!"
"But…why are you helping us?"
This came from Sakura, who was less trusting than her teammate. On the one hand, she felt bad about asking him this as it appeared that they were being ungrateful for his help, which, if he was able to, would really be a great benefit to them in surviving this tournament. But, Sakura was practical and Liu Kang was still something of a stranger to them. He may have basically said he was on their side, but there was too much happening now for her to walk into something blind. She had to at least be reasonable about that. And as if understanding her, the Shaolin gave her a slight nod and his gaze became distant and after a brief pause, he replied.
"Because Shang Tsung must be stopped." His gaze fell back on Naruto. "And I think you can be the one to do it."
Shang Tsung's palace
-0-
"Please, let our guests in."
The shadow monk silently opened to door to the great room and allowed the aforementioned guests in. Shang Tsung kept a steady gaze from the head of the table where he sat as Sasuke, Karin and Suigetsu walked in. But while the latter were amazed by the elegance of the room and the banquet at the table, their leader was unconcerned, almost bored.
"Hey." Suigetsu commented. "Not too shabby."
Rising up from his seat, Shang Tsung spread his hands in a welcoming gesture. "Please make yourselves comfortable."
With a grin, Suigetsu took a step forward to the table, and Karin seemed to be considering doing the same. However, both that thought and his movement were cut short by Sasuke's sharp words.
"What do you want?"
"Not one for formalities, eh?" the sorcerer commented lightly. "Very well. I believe the time has come for your destined match."
Shang Tsung didn't even need his abilities to see the focused rage in Sasuke's eyes intensify at his words. 'Such hatred for one so young.' But then, that's what Shang Tsung counted on.
"However, you have one more match to contend with beforehand. Win that and you'll have Itachi."
"Fine" Sasuke snorted before turning about and leaving. Karin followed close to him and Suigetsu reluctantly did so as well, groaning that he wouldn't have a bite of any of the delicacies at the table.
"Are you not curious as to who your opponent will be?" Shang Tsung called out.
Sasuke's retort was short. "I don't care."
The door slammed shut and Shang Tsung let out a light sigh. The youth was quite the driven weapon. It was such a shame that his presence here was to only to serve as a distraction. While it was true that the Akatsuki was a possible threat to his plans and Sasuke could be useful in that regard, that wasn't the main reason he called for him to be there. Sasuke was merely a means to an end.
But if he managed to take out one of the Akatsuki, then all the better…
"Send for our next guest."
A half an inch…
That's how close it was between the side of Kalus' head and the heel of Cage's foot. The attack was flawlessly executed; the opponent was disabled, on the ground, and posed to be finished off by the attack. Yet for some reason, the action star stopped short of delivering the final blow. Actually, that was the reason why he stopped.
The blow truly would have been truly final…
He had been breaking down his opponent, using techniques with more damaging effects than he normally would. And he did this without pause or hesitation, thinking of nothing save crippling his opponent for this moment. And his Shadow Kick, with that mindset, would have done more than knock Kalus out, it would have split his skull in two, if not that, then knock his head off from his body entirely. And it was that fact that he managed to realize through an odd moment of clarity that brought his attack to a halt.
Outside, Sonya had watched the fight with a growing sense of horror. At first, Cage had been coming close to fighting feral, but then he switched tactics and began to mercilessly break his opponent apart. She wasn't concerned about Kalus' well-being, but she sensed that Cage wasn't going to stop until the Black Dragon was dead. In fact, she was close to shouting for him to stop when he launched his Shadow Kick, only to be surprised and a bit relived when he stopped.
Slowly, Cage eased his leg back, bending his knee and lowering his foot to the ground. He was watchful of Kalus in case he decided to take advantage and attack, but that was the last thing on his opponent's mind seeing as he had blacked out long a moment before Cage even used his Shadow Kick and now his body slumped to the ground in a beaten heap.
"Johnny Cage wins!"
Despite the win, Cage was feeling less than victorious. Just at the start of this match, he had been worried about the conduct of some of the fighters in the tournament and now, he had been close to acting the same way. Things were getting out of hand and for the life of him, he didn't know why. Exiting the ring, he numbly took notice of the blond-haired woman who apparently was their only spectator. Normally, he would have grinned and probably flirted with her, but he wasn't feeling up to either now. He began to walk past her, but to his half-surprise, she turned to him.
"It's not you. It's this place."
Blinking, Cage stopped and turned to her. "Huh?"
Sonya took a short breath. She hadn't really expected to say anything and simply let walk by. But she had, and she might as well finish.
"It's this place. It's a long story, but it's something about this place that makes people act that way."
His face turned to a considering frown and then he replied. "What the hell did I get myself into?"
Sonya found herself thinking the same thing…
"I've gotta say, you do have some nice digs here."
Entering the room as soon as the servant opened the door, Kano grinned as he took in the surroundings. But unlike the previous guest(s), the Black Dragon casually seated himself before the foot and grabbed a large leg of meat.
"A modest reward for my service to the emperor." Shang Tsung answered as Kano began eating. "In fact, once this tournament is finished, I will be granted a greater reward."
"Hm, a payoff, eh? I can respect that."
The sorcerer's eyes narrowed "I suppose you could, considering your reasons for being here." When Kano paused in his meal, Shang Tsung continued. "I'm well aware of why you've come to my island as well as I know who you are, Black Dragon. And…I have a proposition for you."
Swallowing another chunk of meat, Kano glared, the cybernetic eye making him look all the more menacing. "Go on."
Shang Tsung's lip curled up in a smile. Despite the man's manner-less appearance and disregard, there was a sharp and cunning mind there. It wasn't all that different from Shang Tsung himself, which is why he could see Kano as a potential ally.
Or pawn; whichever suited Shang Tsung best…
"I can provide you with the finances you are seeking. In return, all you need do is to make sure to kill off one of the competitors of the tournament."
"Who do you have in mind?" Kano grinned, knowing a job when he heard one.
"His name is Liu Kang."