Author's Note: Going on vacation for a few weeks. Apologies in advance for the delay of the next chapter.
Chapter 4: 3 Fights
~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-
As Ayane and Hayate neared the shrine, they began to converse.
"Hayate...what will we do about the runaway?"
Hayate continued to walk forward, Ayane having to break into a brief jog to keep pace.
"We will worry about that when the time comes. But right now, we have more important matters on our hands."
Ayane looked down, her eyes becoming a bit pained. She didn't want Hayate to see her like this. She knew that he was talking about Genra...Genra needed to be eliminated. It was Hayate's responsibility as 18th Leader of the Mugen Tenshin clan to do the deed. But, she couldn't let that happen. She shook her head violently. She would deal with her foster father herself....it was fate. After the torment that DOATEC put him through during Project Omega, he deserved to die. Ayane didn't want Hayate involved...by now they had reached the shrine. Hayate was meditating near a gold statue, while Ayane stood leaning against a wall outside, peering in every once in a while. Ayane remembered what Hayate said: "Hm.....she'll be back." Why does that stupid girl keep risking her life? She wanted to see Hayate again...did she have a death wish!? Always stealing all the attention....even Hayate's. Ayane was tired of always living under Kasumi's shadow. Kasumi got all the praise, even as a runaway! It was pointless...
"Something wrong, Ayane?"
The voice came from the trees. It was Hayabusa. Ayane looked up quickly, and saw his face emerge from some of the leaves.
"Ayane...you're crying. What's the matter?"
Ayane shook her head again. It was none of his business. However, she'd tell him anyway.
"I was thinking about my father....Genra. I don't want to kill him, but I must. He is miserable."
"Hm...you're also thinking about your sister."
Hayabusa hopped down from his tree branch, to come face to face with Ayane. Ayane's eyes went wide for a moment, but her brows furrowed, as she looked away angrily, folding her arms.
"I don't care about her! Stupid runaway....I hope she never comes back!!"
Another tear rolled down Ayane's cheek.
"Ayane...I know that you're going through a lot right now. But, I also know that deep down, in your heart of hearts, you do care for your big sister."
"....Oh, what do you know!? Besides... she's going to be killed."
"She won't. Have you forgotten my promise to Hayate? I cannot stand by and let her die."
Ayane mumbled something under her breath, her whole body slightly shaking. Without warning, she broke off into a run, dissapearing into the forest. Hayabusa sighed, watching her go. At that moment. Hayate emerged from the shrine.
"Ryu...what's going on?"
"Ayane's upset. I think she's going to go kill Genra."
"I won't allow it!"
Hayate then leapt into the air, vanishing in a swirl of black feathers. Hayabusa sighed again, vanishing into a whirlwind of leaves.
~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-
A shadowed figure appeared in the walkway, and began to walk toward the ring. The spotlight was trained on him as he entered. It was Jann Lee. Ren heard many of the females in the room start to cheer. Jann was shirtless, with black, baggy pants, and yellow low top shoes on. The pants had the image of a golden dragon stitched in on one of the legs. Ren could feel Jann Lee's ki, his will to fight. It was incredible. He had the look of a true fighter. Jann Lee danced in place for a bit, striking the air a few times as Bass's hulking figure emerged from the shadows, with a heavy metal guitar riff blaring from the speakers as his accompaniment.Bass entered the ring, and the gate closed. Bass was wearing a white shirt, with black pants and a black jacket. He also wore sunglasses, and a black bandanna. Bass played to the crowd, flexing his muscles. A few moments later, electricity began to course throgh the wires lining the fences. The two warriors stared each other down, as their fight started.
Bass ran at Jann without warning, attempting a wild clothesline. Jann ducked effortlessly, yelling a war cry while swinging a fist back behind him to hit Bass in the back of the head. Bass was sent off his feet, flying into the fence. An explosion erupted on impact, causing Bass to rebound backward, onto the floor. He got up, a grin on his face. He walked toward Jann Lee, this time a bit more cautiously. Jann stuck out with a series of quick jabs. Bass blocked these with his arms, catching the last jab to lift the arm, slamming Jann to the floor forcefully. Jann rose with a sweep kick, dropping Bass to the ground. As Bass got up, Jann Lee grabbed at Bass's arm, lifting him up. He then grabbed Bass's leg, hoisted him onto his shoulders, and with a low voiced growl, flipped him onto the cold metal floor. Jann then follwed up with a soccer kick, rolling Bass onto his stomach. Bass used the momentum to rise, kicking Jann in the gut. As Jann doubled over, Bass grabbed him, lifting him high into the air, for a Powerbomb. Bass turned to face the wall, then slammed Jann right into it, another explosion occuring, then allowing him to drop to the floor. Jann Lee lied there momentarily then got up again, his back to the wall. Without warning, Jann hopped into the air, with 2 kicks which lifted Bass and knocked him back some. Just as Bass started recovering, Jann started a run, leaping into the air. Jann let out a fierce cry, nailing Bass in the face with a powerful Dragon Kick. The force from the kick knocked Bass's sunglasses clean off. Bass snapped backwards, landing on the ground face first. Jann then jumped into the air once more, landing in the middle of Bass's back. He let out another battle cry, shifting his feet in Bass's back before jumping off. Jann Lee won the fight. The crowd cheered, especially the female members. The gate opened as Jann left the ring. Bass had a little trouble getting up, but with the help of a couple security guards dressed in black, he was on his feet, leaving the ring too.
Eric folded his arms, a grin on his face. He looked at Ren.
"Man, Jann Lee is the best! He should win the whole thing!"
"I don't know about all that....we've only seen two fighters so far. Let's see how the others are."
By this time, another figure had appeared on the walkway. This figure was lean, streamlined. She walked to the ring, spotlights shining on her while her theme song came on. It was Tina Armstrong. This time, the males went crazy. Tina was wearing her wrestler outfit, black leather bra and panties, silver boots and a silver sleeveless jacket. Connected from each wrist to the elbow was a silver piece of material, with long silver streamers that hung down from them. Tina beamed, waving to the crowd. Jessica cocked an eyebrow, looking at Tony, Ren and Eric. She sighed, hands on hips. Leon came out, wearing a black tanktop, red pants, and black dress shoes. He also wore a pair of expensive black sunglasses. He got into his Russian style fighting stance, as the gate closed again.
Leon approached Tina, moving slowly. He then attacked with two quick jabs. Tina ducked under the first, grabbing the second. She planted her feet firmly into his side, falling back to roll on her shoulders and upper back. This sent Leon's head straight into the metal floor with a clang. Both fighters got up at the same time, Tina quickly planting both feet into Leon's chest in a drop kick. She seemed determined to win, even though her father wasn't so lucky just a few minutes ago. Leon rose, dodging a swift jab to the head, countering with a sudden tackle. Leon followed up with 4 mounted punches, each aimed for Tina's head. Tina pushed Leon off of her, rising into her own tackle. From this postiton, she clutched Leon's legs, spinning him round and round in a Giant Swing. After gaining enough momentum, she let go, Leon sailing straight into the fence. He collided with a forceful explosion, slumping to the ground in a sitting postion. He sat there for a moment, as Tina posed for the crowd.
"Rolande.....I won't let you down!"
Leon got up, Tina turning her attention back to him. Leon stuck out with a backhand which hit Tina in the cheek. She recovered with a jump kick, which knocked Leon into the air. While he was airborne, she grabbed him, slamming him to the floor in a Powerbomb. He got up, lunging out with a side kick that sent Tina sprawling, giving him some space. The two fighters then ran at each other, both stretching their arms out for a clothesline at the exact same instant. Both clotheslines hit their targets, as Tina and Leon fell to the ground. This fight was classified as a double K.O. Both were relatively uninjured enough to get up again, and leave the ring. The crowd still cheered for Tina, even though she didn't officially "win" this fight. Tony grinned, folding his arms.
"That was a good fight!"
Ren nodded, though Jessica looked at them sternly.
"...Were you even watching the fighting...?"
Tony chuckled nervously.
"Well...of course! Besides, one more fight's left!"
Another figure appeared through the smoke, this one even smaller. She walked to the ring, her long brown hair flowing freely behind her. It was Kasumi. She wore a white kunoichi outfit, with red trim. Ren was awestruck. He couldn't take his eyes off the girl. He suddenly wanted her to defeat whatever they put in front of her. Her opponent followed behind, her slightly darker brown hair also flowing behind her. This was Hitomi. She wore a white karate gi, with a Phoenix insignia on the back. Under the gi, she also wore a white shirt, the same phoenix design on it. Both fighters entered the ring, the gate closing one last time. Hitomi bowed to Kasumi, who followed suit. The girls took fighting stances, the final fight began.
Hitomi attacked first, a high kick. Kasumi grabbed the leg, while hopping up to jumpkick Hitomi in the face. Hitomi quickly rebounded, with two punches to the gut, followed by a power punch to the same area. Kasumi flew back, crashing into the wall. She got up, seemingly unfazed. As Hitomi approached, Kasumi striking with 2 quick punches at the face. Hitomi's hands shot up to cover her face, but Kasumi grabbed one, swinging Hitomi back into the wall she just came from, adding a spinning side kick to Hitomi's gut to trigger an explosion from the wall. Hitomi fell to one knee, one arm still leaning against the wall for support. She breathed heavily, one hand closing into a fist. She got up dodging a spinning roundhouse from Kasumi. At that moment, she leapt into the air with a powerful spin kick, sending Kasumi's back into the wall again. Hitomi didn't let up, punching Kasumi two more times in the stomach, following with a knee to the stomach. Each hit triggered an explosion. Hitomi grinned, stepping back. Kasumi almost instantly rose without warning, jumped into the air, placing both feet on Hitomi's face. Kasumi then stomped down several times, each stomp bringing Hitomi closer to the ground. Kasumi finally stepped off, waiting for Hitomi to rise. Ren noticed Kasumi make a strange movement with one of her hands as Hitomi rose. Hitomi unleashed an angered power punch, aimed for Kasumi's nose. Though right before impact, Kasumi wasn't even there! A few cherry blossom leaves appeared, and Kasumi ended up behind her! Ren went wide-eyed.
"What the...!?"
Kasumi grabbed Hitomi's neck, rolling backward until Hitomi was face down on the ground, Kasumi sitting on her back. Kasumi raised an arm, chopping at a specific spot in Hitomi's neck. Jessica had a panicked look, to go with her voice.
"She killed her!"
Ren shook his head.
"No she didn't. If she did, she'd be disqualified."
Kasumi got up, turning her back. She hadn't killed her, only knocked her unconscious. As a matter of fact, Hitomi had regained consciousness already. She sat up, realizing that she lost. She frowned, punching at the ground. Ren stared at Kasumi once again, as she looked out to the crowd. Eventually, her gaze fell on him. Ren leaned forward, staring blankly as Kasumi locked eyes with him. Kasumi showed a light smile, and waved. Ren nearly fell out of his seat, but managed to smile back. Jessica scowled at him, punching him in the arm.
"What's the matter with you!?!?"
Kasumi turned to Hitomi, helping her up. They both left the ring together, Hitomi still managing to smile. At least she wasn't eliminated entirely from the tournament. She'd have a chance to redeem herself later on. Ren suddenly got up enthusiastically as people began to file out, taking his backstage pass from a jacket pocket. The others looked at him, furrowing their brows at almost the exact same time.
"Hey....we got passes, right? Let's go back there and meet the tournament fighters!"
Jessica folded her arms, looking away.
"Sure....but I know there's only one that you want to meet..."