Chapter Nine: The Jig Is Up (Calleigh's POV)

The next five bouts were just as simple as the first. Jin and I dominated as a team, and all in all, I was beyond glad he chose me as a partner. Just before ending the final round of the sixth bout, with Nina and Anna Williams, I turned around and flashed Jin a devious grin. Nina was standing before me, awaiting my next move, and I wanted to take her by complete surprise. Any other time, I would have been classy and cool about everything, but she picked the wrong guy to vendetta against. I went into hypnotist stance, which is when I menacingly walk in a circle around my opponent, and then wound up, and gave her the hardest shoulder tackle I had ever given in my life. Nina clutched her left side, and fell to the ground in pain. Another KO for the Kazama/Williams (or, in all technicality, Kazama/Phoenix) team.

I turned around, and approached Jin, placing my arm around his shoulders and smiling wide. We gave the crowd a victorious wave, and Jin lifted me into the air. As soon as I touched the ground, I turned to him, and gently shoved him. "I wonder who we're fighting next…" I eagerly shouted.

He smiled at me, but I could tell he was the slightest bit distracted. "I don't know, but after the next fight, we're fighting my father and grandfather. I'm warning you now, they don't go lightly on people…"

"I can handle it!" I nodded, then cracked my knuckles, and anticipated the announcement of our next opponents. "If I can handle the cat sisters, there…I can handle anyone!" I grinned, then started to tap my foot.

"Round seven will be Jin Kazama and Katelyn Williams versus Marshall Law and Paul Phoenix. Will all combatants please report to the beach arena?" a woman's voice came over the intercom. "I repeat, Jin Kazama, Katelyn Williams, Marshall Law and Paul Phoenix, please report to the beach arena…"

I covered my mouth, and sighed. "I should've seen this coming, shouldn't I?" I asked, moving my glance to Jin, from the intercom. "What are we going to do, or do I just have to face the music?"

Jin's confidence was unwavering, as he pulled his jacket off again, and put it over my head. "Just tie the strings tight enough so that you can see him, but he can't see you…" he explained to me, a smile on his face.

I grinned, then tied the strings the way Jin told me to. "You're a genius, have I ever told you that?" I asked, hopping onto his back, and wrapping my arms around his neck. "To the beach arena!" I ordered.

Jin laughed. "What are you two?" he asked, holding onto my legs, then walking toward the beach arena. "Oh, wait, let me guess…you just fought a strenuous battle with the cat sisters, and you think you deserve a break before fighting your overprotective, overbearing father?"

I laughed, and nodded. "That sounds good to me. I was going to go with the fact that I'm just lazy, but I like your way better…" I rested my head atop his, ruining his 'just rolled out of bed look.'

When we got to the beach arena, Jin dropped me to the sand. "This is where you get off…" he grinned, as he looked at my hooded face. "Ooh, now who's got the air of mystery thing going for them?" he asked me, jokingly.

I grinned idiotically. "Damn right I do!" I spoke a little louder and clearer than I probably should have. "The inner machinations of my mind are an enigma-…" (LMAO I'm quoting Spongebob in a fanfic…so help me Lord…)

Jin almost fell to the ground laughing. "Please tell me you understood at least a word of that last sentence, Cal?"

"I did, so shut up!" I stuck my tongue out. "As I was saying, though, before I was so RUDELY interrupted…no one knows who I am, or what I do…or how I act, how I speak or how I think-…"

"CALLEIGH?" I heard my father's voice ring from right behind me, and whirled around immediately. "What in the hell are you doing here? I thought I told you to stay away from ANY tournament!" he asked, as his long hair got in my face, as he stared me down.

My hand immediately covered my mouth. "How did you know it was me?" I asked, backing up a step. "You couldn't see my face or anything…"

"Lee Chaolan told me he saw you, and said you'd be hanging out with Kazama…" he glared at Jin. "Another rule broken…"

"Ok, dad…A. Jin is my friend…B. I'm a damn good fighter, I've made it this far, haven't I? And C. HOW in the HELL did Lee Chaolan know it was me? I didn't even know he existed before today, and I have a code name!" I pulled back a finger at each point I made.

"Lee did some research for me, because I kind of got the idea that you were thinking of rebelling when I saw you sneak off with Kazama a month or two ago…" he nodded his head toward Jin, who was already in fighting stance. "You should have stayed in the dark, you know? You'd have been way more successful…"

"Well, I'm here…and we're going to fight, so take it or leave it!" I told him, crossing my arms at my chest. "And I suggest you take it, because if you leave it? I'll fight you when you're unsuspecting!"

Jin came up behind me, and gave me a reassuring pat on the shoulder. "Calm down, Calleigh…we still have to fight with them, you know?" he told me, pulling me back away from my father. "Not that I think we'll lose, but the more you taunt, the harder he'll come down on you…"

I sighed, and nodded at Jin, knowing he was right. "You can go first, ok? Just so I can regain my composure?" I pleaded.

"Sure…" he put his hand on my shoulder, then took the fighting position. He looked at my father, his eyes narrowing more with every nanosecond.

My father cracked his neck, popped his knuckles, the pointed at Jin and said, "You're going down, Kazama…"

Jin adjusted his arm guards, went back into fighting stance, and "Not if you go down first."

I could barely watch. I didn't want to see my father hurt Jin. I knew Jin was very skilled, but I also knew that my father was near unbeatable. After a couple quick punches from Jin, he pulled out his ace in the hole, as he called it, the burning fist. He pulled back his fist, concentrated all of his energy to it, then knocked Jin to the ground at my feet. Jin's nose and lip were bleeding, and he had the imprint of my father's ring on his cheek. He looked up at me, ready to reenter the fight, until I reached down and grabbed his hand, forcing him to tag me. "Calleigh!" he yelled after me.

I came on strong, shocking my father with the quickest ten-hit-combination he'd ever seen. Then, as soon as he hit the ground, I spun around, and kicked him in the ankles twice. I knew you had to hit him quickly, because he could pretty much kill you with three or four hits with his fists. As soon as I stood back up straight, I was knocked in the nose with a brutal uppercut. My body flushed with anger, as I did yet another hypnotist stance, and then a spin kick, knocking him out.

I rushed back to Jin, to see if he was ok. "Jin?" I asked, wiping a spot of blood from his lip. "Are you all right?"

"You should have let me go back in…now your father thinks I'm weak!" Jin snapped, standing up.

"It's better to be weak than stupid!" I yelled, looking at my father, who glared right back at me. If there were any gene I received from him, they were my drive, determination and anger. "He didn't even tag Marshall in! Plus, we both know full well you're not weak."

Jin sighed, and wiped the blood from under my nose. "Are you all right?" he popped his knuckles, then took a drink of water, ready to fight my father again.

"I asked you first!" I grinned slightly at him. "But I'm fine, thanks…what about you?" I asked, grabbing the water from his hand and sipping at it.

"Ok, then…and I'm ok, too…" he went back to the fight area, only to be standing face-to-face with Marshall Law, rather than my father. Regardless, he opened with a double high kick, and then a roundhouse, to send Marshall away from him a couple feet. He then got a chance to contemplate his next move for a split second.

Marshall responded with a flip-kick, and another punch than sent Jin flying back almost into me. He stood up, and didn't give me the chance to tag him. He rushed back into the arena, and kicked Marshall in the face, causing him to tag my father in.

My father knocked Jin back into me again, and he willingly tagged me this time. "I don't think I can take your father down…" he told me as his hand touched mine. He sounded very discouraged.

"I'll do it in your honor, then…" I smiled at him, then rushed to fight my father. For some reason, I was filled with anger, and fought viciously. My father didn't get a move in, and in about fifteen seconds, he was knocked out on the ground. I glared angrily at him, then turned to walk back to Jin. "I got my revenge…" I smiled, as I got into his earshot.

Jin and I waved to the audience again, and when we finished, he looked at me. He looked nervous, like he had just realized something that may incriminate him in the future. He seemed to shrug it off, and looked at me and said, "Shall we go to the next bout?"

I nodded, wondering what could be so serious. I was going to find out soon enough. And it would hit me harder than a ton of bricks…