The Best: The Tale of Eikei
Once a year, the World Martial Artist's Federation held a tournament of champions. It was an old-fashioned "winner takes all" match-up that pitted the greatest fighters of the world together in a one-on-one brawl. Ever since the first tournament in Solis 1, warriors and hometown heroes had gathered at the tournament to test their mettle in an attempt to claim the prize. Many champions had gone on to become legendary names in history; others still vanished into the mists of obscurity.
Last year's champion stood proudly as he surveyed his competition. Out of the one-hundred twenty-eight contestants that had entered, only sixteen of them would proceed onto the actual matches. There were many veteran faces and a few hopeful rookies in the roster, but none of them would be able to take down Huwango.
Huwango was a mountain of a man, although in terms of height he was average. Claiming to be a samurai warrior from regions east of Zexen, Huwango was perhaps the fiercest human opponent that the tournament of champions had ever seen. For twelve straight years, Huwango had held the title of World Champion, and for good reason.
His strength was brutal and quite legendary. Rumors flew around that Huwango wrestled bears when he was ten years old and tamed warthogs when he was eight. If a weapon ever found its way in his hand, the end result would have been devastating. Huwango looked like an average traveler from the far east, with short dark hair tied up in a bun and a ceremonial kimono with intricate designs woven into it, but the people of the world knew better than to make assumptions.
Huwango couldn't help but smile as he read over the names of the people that had made it this far. His first opponent would be a blossoming boxer named Git Gowan. Git was a svelte and tall man, with a fierce hook and a fiercer stare. The well-traveled Huwango found a similarity between Git's appearance and General Hauser of Muse.
As for the other opponents, they all sounded worthy but otherwise unchallenging. To his great dismay, Huwango discovered that Morgan the Invincible Gladiator would not be participating this year, nor would the famous Ron Chan-Chan. In their stead were the twin sisters Angela and Demona--great fighters in their own stead, but hardly worth mentioning alongside their predecessors.
Sir Marc du Frene of Harmonia had came, naturally, as had Pahn of Gregminster. Huwango would have little trouble with the wiry du Frene, but Pahn was a different matter. Last year, the "Boar Warrior" had almost clenched the title, but a split-second sweep-and-toss gave Huwango the edge.
Only two other contenders were veterans; everyone else was a fresh face. Lepant's prize champion, a muscle-bound military man named Grat, had made it, and the terrifying warrior Tigris also made an appearance. As for the newcomers, few names stood out to Huwango: Ucher, Kleik, Rogue, Oldsneer, W, Eikei, Rodrigo L. Seed, and Fionn. Huwango knew better than to underestimate a new face, though. After all, even he had been a rookie at one point in time.
For the 450th Tournament of Champions, the famous announcer Fu Tan Chen had been summoned. The locality would be in the courtyards of Gregminster palace, which would make it only the eighth time that the capitol would host the event. The ring was several tiles larger than usual regulation rings, which made for better fighting, and the stands were built to suit more patrons. Huwango smiled as he scanned over the presently-empty arena, and eagerly awaited the morrow, when the fighting would begin.
"Ladies and gentlemen!!" Huwango snapped out of his trance, and smiled as he saw Fu Tan Chen walk across the ring. "Welcome to the 450th annual Tournament of Champions!!" A loud roaring came from the crowd, and Fu bowed.
"From across the world we have gathered here sixteen of the most brutal fighters imaginable!" he began. The audience screamed every time Fu so much as paused. "They've all done well to make it this far, but only one of them can leave here as the True Champion!! Let's give it up for our lineup!!" The audience roared out in rapture, and Fu motioned for the fighters to present themselves.
"In the first match, we have former world boxing champion Git Gowan! His opponent will be the wiry and fast Sir Marc du Frene!
"In the second match, our illustrious returning champion! He's gone twelve glorious championships without once ever being defeated! It's the warrior Huwango!!" Huwango smiled humbly and walked onto the ring, waving at his screaming fans. His unfortunate first opponent, Rodrigo L. Cid, was a tough customer but no match for the champ.
"In the third lineup," continued Fu, "we have the devilish Demona! Her opponent will be last year's runner up champion, Pahn!
"In the fourth round, last year's world wrestling league champion, the ambiguous 'W'! His unlucky opponent is a master of the secret arts of Hhadadokukhen, E. Rogue!
"In the fifth match, hailing from an obscure town of farmers and merchants, the swordsman Fionn! His opponent is no stranger to the ring: that soldier from Kouan, it's General Grat!
"In the sixth match, we have the heavenly Angela! Her opponent is the aged and experienced Oldsneer, who many of you remember as retiring after he won his tenth championship! Can he make a comeback?
"In the seventh match, the ferocious warrior Tigris squares off with rookie Kleik! What sort of tricks can we expect from this unknown fighter?
"And finally, we have martial arts master Eikei going up against the heroic ham-lover from Highland! It's Ucher!!" After each and every fighter made their way to the ring, the crowds erupted in a volcanic cheer, and streams of confetti were already flying. Fu waited until the pre-game celebrations had quelled before continuing.
"LET'S GET THIS PARTY STARTED!!!! LADIES AND GENTLEMEN, I HEREBY COMMENCE THE 450TH ANNUAL TOURNAMENT OF CHAMPIONS!!!! FIGHT!"
Git Gowan and Sir Marc du Frene stood facing each other. The windless open gave way to a fairly warm day, the perfect weather for fighting. Git was better-built than Marc, but the wiry one was much more thin and flexible. Huwango didn't even bother to look at the match; he knew who would win.
Fights lasted up to thirty minutes each. If a victor was not determined after the allotted time, the decision would go to the judges. The rules were always the same: no shots to the groin, throat, or eyes; no killing; an "out" was declared if the referee counted to ten or else the fighter was thrown out of the ring.
It only took two minutes for Git Gowan to slug du Frene to the ground. The thinly boxer was tougher than he looked, but he certainly didn't pack much of a punch. Git escaped the fight with little more than a tiny bruise on his torso.
The second match lasted longer than it needed to. Huwango was desperate to see what kind of fighter his opponent was, and deliberately prolonged the battle in order to ascertain this. Poor Rodrigo actually thought he had a chance.
The third fight was the first one that actually looked close. Both Pahn and Demona were magnificent fighters, although Pahn might've had a slight upper edge in brute strength. His skills were far from perfect, and he wasn't exactly the fastest thing on land. But, twenty-five exciting minutes later, he had somehow beaten Demona to the ground.
Nobody knew who the mysterious E. Rogue woman was, but everyone recognized the man known only as "W". "W" was a huge behemoth on the outside and a simple-minded child on the inside. He had earned his wrestling title through sheer practice and training; now he wanted to clench this new title. Ms. Rogue was no pushover herself, but she was hardly strong enough to tackle "W". Only when she used her secret (and somehow legal) skill of invisibility was she able to topple the mighty champion.
Grat, on the other hand, was a washed-up soldier who was giving his skills away to the highest bidder. His current superior was the famed Lepant. Grat smashed the wily Fionn in the ground, and effortlessly won himself a trip to the quarterfinals.
Back in his youth, Oldsneer was a ferocious opponent that many thought unbeatable. An exhibition match between himself and Huwango had been set shortly after he retired; the match ended in a disappointing tie. Oldsneer was still pretty spry for his age, but he could not keep up with the gentle Angela, and was conveniently tossed outside the ring (Angela expressed great disappointment that she was unable to duel with Demona this year).
Kleik was a stranger to the ring; Tigris was famous. Kleik was a human, Tigris was… well, a tiger. Kleik was strong and fast, Tigris was powerful and ferocious. Tigris left the match without a scratch; the same could not be said of Kleik.
By the time that Eikei had defeated Ucher, the crowds were in a tizzy. Already they had seen several wonderful battles, and some swore that none of the upcoming fights could be as exciting as the previous matches. Many great and worthy warriors were progressing onward; disappointment awaited the losers. During intermission, Huwango politely introduced himself to his competition, but was surprised by one fighter in particular…
"I don't believe it," muttered the champ, examining the two runes. "This Double-Beat rune does not surprise me. You have fought well, Eikei. But the Lion's Gate Rune!! Where did you attain it!?"
"HAHAHAA!!!" Eikei chuckled heartily, and slapped Huwango on the back. Surprisingly, the champ was nearly tossed to the floor. "I won't tell you that, Huwango! Then you might get one attached as well!!" Huwango's throat constricted as he realized what sort of dangers this man now posed.
Use of runes in the tournaments were not illegal, as long as they weren't magical runes. The Double-Beat one in particular was a favorite of fighters. But no living person in the world bore the Legendary Lion's Gate rune--the rune that summoned mystical creatures for training purposes. If Eikei had it with him, and if he had been using its powers for this tournament……
Huwango could only imagine the results.
The quarterfinals got off to a powerful start as Huwango knocked Git Gowan out in less than fifteen seconds. The poor guy never stood a chance. Secretly, Huwango was rooting for Eikei--after all, he greatly desired to test the martial artist's mettle later on.
A disappointing surprise struck the arena as Pahn lost to E. Rogue. Although the strange warrior-woman was not nearly as powerful as Pahn, she still had her vanishing trick, and she had even used the legendary Hhadadokukhen (roughly translated as "Dragon's Breath") attack on him. Needless to say, the spectators were irritated that a Pahn-Huwango rematch would not take place.
Angela somehow managed to squeak on by General Grat; Eikei had little difficulty in taking town Tigris. Apparently, he had been training himself against similar creatures, so he was very much prepared for whatever was thrown at him.
Eikei sighed, nursing a bump he had received from the tiger warrior. Sitting across from him in the men's locker room was Huwango, who was stretching out his calves. The two warriors had struck up a rather quiet conversation.
"I hope to see you in the finals, Eikei," said Huwango, reaching for his toes. Eikei nodded his head, deep in meditation.
"You will." Huwango smiled.
"Ahh, that's what I'd like to hear!" He sighed, and leaped to his feet. "Say, have you ever heard of this Rogue girl?"
"Nope."
"Me neither. Sounds sketchy."
"Yup."
"You know, they should ban that vanishing trick of hers. That's downright cheating."
"Don't forget the Dragon's Breath," noted Eikei. Huwango sneered.
"Yeah, and that. Hey, where do you think she learned that? I thought it was just a myth."
"Don't know." Huwango smiled broadly.
"You really aren't much of a talker now, are you?"
"Nope." The champ chuckled and finished his stretches.
"Anytime you're ready, Ms. Rogue," sang Huwango. The blue-skinned warrior-woman grinned playfully and stuck her finger in her mouth.
"I'm always ready," she replied. Eikei and Angela both covered their eyes.
BAM! BIFF! POW! WHACK! CRASH! BANG! SPLAT!!
"Ah…" Both Eikei and Angela sighed, and shook their heads in shame as a semi-conscious Rogue laid twitching on the mat. Huwango nudged her beaten body out of the ring, and declared victory as she fell on the grass. Eikei smiled, and helped her up.
"You were obviously not ready for this battle, miss Rogue," he said. The beaten lady chuckled weakly and rubbed her bluish body. Spots of red had erupted on places where Huwango had struck her.
"Guess you're right," she moaned. "Oh, well. I still have plenty of time before next year's tournament."
"A whole year, in fact," noted Huwango from the ring. He smiled and extended his hand. "Good match. But a true warrior is in tune with all their senses. I could smell your scent and hear you attacking me, even though my eyes could not." Rogue managed a wry smirk.
"Yes, well, I certainly felt you attacking me!" Huwango broke out in riotous laughter, and soon even Fu Tan Chen was laughing with them.
"Amazing, folks!" he declared. "Looks like Huwango's returning to the finals again! Will Angela or Eikei defeat him and claim the coveted prize?! Or will Huwango go for lucky number thirteen!? There's only one way to find out!!!"
"Right, right," sighed Eikei, climbing onto the ring. "Don't need to tell me twice." The martial artist sighed, and got into a classical defensive stance. Angela pumped herself up, spread her wings, and stormed after the other warrior…
Finals. High noon. Two warriors. One would go home in disgrace, the other would march triumphantly as a champion. Ten-thousand spectators screamed for the two warriors. Fu Tan Chen blurted out the statistics. Huwango crossed his arms and grinned. Eikei returned the grin.
"Thanks," said Huwango as he gazed back at Eikei. "I really wanted to fight the bearer of the Lion's Gate rune."
"And I desired to fight the champ," replied Eikei, cracking his knuckles.
"You sound confident," noted Huwango.
"No more than you do," retorted the other fighter. They both smiled, the gong sounded, and the crowd went berserk. Two master fighters got into fighting stance.
"This should prove interesting," noted Huwango, a bit of hope in his voice.
"Just be quiet and fight!" roared Eikei. Huwango grinned, donned a "if you say so" look, and dashed forward. Eikei sidestepped the charge and slammed his knee in the other man's gut, promptly halting his actions. Huwango bowled over slightly and grinned.
"That's more like it!" he groaned. His arms went for Eikei's neck, and he slammed the warrior onto the hard mat with a THUD. Huwango leaped out of the hold and awaited Eikei's counterattack. Nothing happened.
"One… Two…" Huwango cursed out loud, already feeling sore over his easy victory. As the referee counted towards ten, the crowd began to boo and hiss over the bland action they had seen.
"Five… Six…"
"Get up, fool!" spat Huwango, tapping Eikei's unresponsive arm. "I didn't hit you that--"
BOOM!!
Huwango choked and lurched forward as Eikei buried his fist in the other man's gut. With blinding speed, the holder of the Lion's Gate Rune got to his feet and gave a very sharp kick to Huwango's shoulders. This sent the champ flying halfway across the area, and Eikei dashed off after him in hopes of a victory. The fans ate it up.
Huwango recovered quickly and got to his feet. He charged Eikei as the other man ran towards him, and knocked his intestines loose as he bulldozed at the man head-first. Eikei slammed into the ground, his lungs screaming out loud, and he coughed out something he probably shouldn't have.
"Impressive," said Huwango as Eikei coughed. He smiled, feeling the reward and pride of a job well done. The referee resumed his count… Eikei suddenly swept at Huwango's feet, sending the warrior plummeting towards the ground. Huwango caught himself and made a counter-sweep; Eikei quickly leaped over it and gave a roundhouse kick at Huwango's head.
After the brief brawl, both warriors locked in a blurry of combat: fists flew, legs sliced through the air, shouts puffed out of the men's mouths, screams erupted from the audience, and not even the great Fu Tan Chen could keep up with their movements.
Eikei finally found an open spot in Huwango's defenses and smacked him a good one with his fist. He scored another shot with the help of the Double Beat Rune, and this sent the champ flying. Eikei leaped through the air with inhuman grace, and slammed his elbow into the ring just as Huwango bolted away. He did not scream as his arm broke through the hard stone tiles of the ring.
Huwango saw a split second of opportunity, and tackled Eikei as he was recovering from the assault on the ring. Eikei was struck hard, and was pushed near the edge of the ring. Soon his mind came to him again, and he used Huwango's momentum against him by spinning around and tossing the champ outside of the ring.
"VICTORY!!!!!!! VICTORY!!! EIKEI HAS DONE THE IMPOSSIBLE BY DEFEATING TWELVE-TIME CHAMPION HUWANGO!!!!!! GIVE IT UP FOR EIKEI!!!!" The hysteric crowd didn't need to be reminded twice, and a cry went up from the stands that was so loud, it could have been heard across the entire world. A riot nearly occurred as streams of confetti and ribbons washed over the arena, and hundreds of roses soon plopped on the ground.
Huwango coughed, shocked to find himself out of the ring, and quickly stood to his feet. For perhaps the first time in his fighting career, the crowds weren't cheering for him. He crossed his arms and let out a laugh, and climbed back into the ring to congratulate the man that had defeated him.
"Well done, champ!!" yelled Huwango over the berserk crowd. "It seems as if thirteen was my unlucky number after all! Well, I guess we can't win them all! You've earned this!!" And, as all former champions did, Huwango removed his championship belt and eagerly handed it over to Eikei. Their arms shout up to the sky in a victory cry, but it was Eikei's hand that was proudest. It would take days for it to dawn on him that he had beaten a hitherto-unbeaten adversary; perhaps longer if he considered the fact that he was now champ of the world.
"I have one question for you, my worthy opponent!!" shouted Huwango as Eikei pulled the belt around his waist. "Just who are you, anyway?" Eikei looked at the former mountainous champ, and grinned with victory.
"The best," he answered. Huwango smiled.
"Good answer! HA, I'd second that notion!"
Five years later, the champ would participate in the Liberation War.
The End