Yoshimitsu eyed Bryan as he stepped out onto the fighting grounds. He looked haggardly and restless, but alert and sharp as always. He stared right through Yoshimitsu as if he were not there. He must have been concentrating on something else, as could well be imagined. The Manji alien drew his sword and met Bryan a few feet away, nodding with a sad determination to win. He didn't really want to hurt Bryan; he knew his body was falling apart as it was. But this was his only option now.
"Yoshimitsu and Bryan Fury, please enter the fighting arena." The announcer called.
To Yoshimitsu's surprise, Bryan jumped like a scared rabbit at the sound of the overbearing voice, almost as if it were God himself coming down on him. Sadly, it became clear now that Bryan was losing it. His nerves were wracked and his body was wearing down, and he would not let anyone help him.
Hwoarang watched from the sidelines, watching Bryan curiously before turning to his two friends. "Come on, guys, lunch is on Hwoarang, winner of the Zaibatsu fortune!" he declared smugly, despite the fact that the very last reason he had joined the tournament was the money.
"Free food!" cheered Miharu.
"But…don't you want to stay and watch the fight?" Julia inquired. "To study your next opponent."
Hwoarang opened his mouth, about to say something before he was interrupted by Miharu. "Aw, come on. You beat Lei in a snap and you've never watched him. Aren'tcha hungry?" she smacked Hwoarang's stomach.
He grunted and guarded his abdomen protectively. "I don't know, maybe Julia's right."
"You've seen both of them fight before! How hard can it be?" she said, looking over at a nearby café. "We can just go over there."
"I guess." Hwoarang caved, motioning for them to go.
Bryan swallowed dryly, cracking his knuckles as he stood in the middle of the arena. He was going to fight Yoshimitsu, and he was going to win.
"Round one…" the announcer started. "Fight!"
Despite the cheering of the crowd, there was a calm rush over both fighters. They stared at each other for a long while thinking a million things at once. With a sigh, Yoshimitsu finally initiated the first step, turning his sword horizontally in front of him. Bryan assumed he would attack after this, but instead he hesitated, about to say something. "…I want you to know, Bryan…before and even after this is over…not all hope is lost."
He looked down, than up into Yoshimitsu's gleaming eyes with a snarl. And so the fight began. Bryan led himself in a circle with his left foot, one behind the other over and over. Yoshimitsu, however, did not move. Instead he turned his head to watch his enemy while carefully studying the options he had. "I LOVE YOU, YOSHIMITSU!!" shrieked a girl from the onlookers.
Yoshimitsu struggled to suppress a laugh, but could not, and Bryan looked at him as though he were insane. And then at the girl as if she were insane. But Yoshimitsu's train of thought was broken now, bringing a great opportunity. Bryan spun around and swung his elbow backwards into Yoshimitsu's head, throwing him forward into the cement. The crowd gasped in astonishment, watching as Yoshimitsu gathered himself painfully off the ground. "Alright, Fury, point taken." He said, gripping his sword tightly. He then unexpectedly turned around, his back to Bryan. This confused him so greatly that he merely stood there with his fists raised. Yoshimitsu held his sword low on the handle, pumping it up and down in a meditating stance. In one sudden explosion, Yoshimitsu flipped backwards, hitting Bryan in the head and flipping again. Bryan instantaneously rolled backwards, looking frantically back at his foe as he shook of the daze of the hit.
Yoshimitsu sprung again, striking Bryan in the chin with his fist and again in the cheek with his other. It very quickly became clear to Bryan that this fight was not going to be won easily. He pulled himself up from the ground, sending a deadly uppercut into his challenger, who practically folded in half around his fist and fell to the ground with a cry of hurt. While lying on his stomach, he placed his hands on the ground and used his wings to push himself into a handstand, upon which he kicked Bryan in the face twice. Before Bryan could recover, Yoshimitsu flipped to his feet and kicked his sword from the ground to his hand.
Bryan shook away the pain and tried desperately to regain the vision in his left eye. Yoshimitsu sat on the ground to dodge Bryan's outward, random punch, and twirled around, pouncing at him and sending him flying towards the edge of the crowd, where he lay still. His vision was completely gone now. He tenderly reached to feel his face, and his head buzzed as he did so, ensuring him that he would now lose. Yoshimitsu was wrong…there was no hope left. Now he would die, die alone and no one would even remember, for as far as they were concerned, he was merely a robot. He was, in all aspects, dead already, and had been for quite some time. Another project. But Bryan bled inside like anyone, and he was still alive, by whatever means. He was still alive.
Bryan suddenly wrenched his body forward as a mechanic scream roared in his head. It stung so terribly that tears dripped from his eyes, mixed with hot blood and a horrendous shudder. The color dripped back into Bryan's world like a fountain of life, forcing him to see anything and everything. Yoshimitsu was across from him, looking down sadly and still sure that he had just beaten Bryan for good. The android could feel another swift rise of rage within him.
He was suddenly up, bursting towards Yoshimitsu, fists flying. Yoshimitsu looked up just in time to see a flurry of motion before he was knocked flat. He lay on the ground, dizzy and watching the world spin before him.
"Bryan Fury wins." A loud voice stated.
Yoshimitsu's eyes were wide with shock. Bryan had come back to win the first round, and now stood a chance for winning the tournament altogether. The only opponents he would have to beat were Hwoarang, Lee, and Heihachi if Yoshimitsu fell. But when Yoshimitsu sat up, his shoulders dropped at the pitiful sight of Bryan Fury. His arm was shaking riotously and his eyes were bleeding in thick streams, dribbling down his chin and slightly tainting his silver hair. He stood hunched over, gritting his teeth and beginning to show bruises on his paling skin. He could not go on much further, that was obvious. It was possible for a good night's rest to heal a fighter as much as he needed for the next day, but there were parts of Bryan's body that could not heal over any span of time. Most of his right arm and left lung were composed of metal and wire, and also various other parts of his mangled figure. The Manji leader looked down, unable to watch this broken creature before him any longer.
But inside, Bryan felt the fire of determination again. He could not lose now. After Yoshimitsu, he had but three obstacles left, all of which he would destroy immediately. One more round…if he could endure one more round, he could save himself.
"Bout two in five minutes."
Author's notes: First off, I'd like to make a recommendation for ya'll to read a story called 'Light and Dark' by Ikhan11, okay? ^_^ It's a very good story, and if you like mine, you love this one.
Second of all, some of you are probably saying, "Hey! Isn't this a Bryan story? Where does Hwoarang come in?" Well, in answer to that, Hwoarang plays a relatively important role here, not to mention the fact that he's another of my best fighters and fav. Chars. So is Law, but he's not in this story. Anyhoo…we like Hwo, though, right? Next, I'll apologize for knocking Lei around…but I HATE Lei. Sorry! And juuuuuuust in case there's someone out there who doesn't know, Miharu is not my character, she is Ling's friend in Tekken 4. I'm sure most of you know that, though. Thanks, just thought I'd say some stuff. Next chapter, round two of the battle…