Chapter 4
It had now been a week since the tournament begun, and the fighters with true talent were beginning to shine. Not many contestants were left at this point. Anna, surprised at herself, was still in after winning her last 6 fights, as well as Kunimitsu and Nina. Heihachi was steadily and easily earning wins much to the disgust of Kazuya and a young Japanese woman by the name of Jun was doing well for herself. Also Paul, Law and Yoshimitsu had reached the finals.
Anna was up early again. It was her day off and she was on her way toward the outdoor fighting arena to cheer on Kunimitsu in her next fight. The morning was dull as the sky and sun were covered by swollen grey clouds
"You can never rely on the weather around here," Anna thought, as a chilly breeze suddenly came up and she wrapped her arms around herself. Dressed in dark denim jeans and a knitted pink jumper, she arrived at her destination and squeezed through the excited crowd to the edge of the arena and spotted the young ninja.
Her long, red ponytails fluttered in the light wind as she stood in the center of the grassy arena, psyching herself up for the battle. Her trademark cat mask was worn over her face as usual, the fine workmanship of it made it appear delicate and fierce all at once. Kunimitsu's opponent had not yet arrived and Anna had forgotten who it was going to be, so she just waited. After only a little while he arrived, walking into the arena with a tall and proud posture, he stopped about a meter away from Kunimitsu and got into his fighting stance and she did the same. Marshall Law was his name and he looked like tough competition, he was dressed in a simple outfit of baggy black pants and a red sash around his waist leaving his chest bare.
"Fight!" bellowed the announcer.
The two fighters wasted no time and both of them leaped at each other, they both matched each other's agility and for a while every move was blocked. Law was the first to get a successful hit with his somersault kick. Kunimitsu cried out as his foot connected with her chin and sent her into the air then she landed hard on her back, but she wasn't down for long, she thrust her leg out toward his ankles and he stumbled backwards, giving her time to get back on her feet. She ran at Law and jumped in the air just before she reached him, performing a forward flip she landed with her feet on his shoulders briefly then pushed off again forcing his head down almost to his knees with the power of Kunimitsu's stunt, she landed back on the ground with perfect cat-like balance. Law wouldn't stay down either and attacked the ninja with a series of powerful punches as soon as he got close to her. Kunimitsu blocked them all, although the strength of the attack made her feet slip a little on the grass. Suddenly Law rushed at her but faked the attack and just stepped back, Kunimitsu got put off and the moment Law saw her confusion he slammed his fist hard into her stomach. Some people in the crowd gasped as Kuni doubled over and dropped to her knees, and Anna winced at her friend's painful cry. Law watched the girl with a satisfied grin, he was sure she couldn't go on now, but her was unpleasantly surprised when she struggled back to her feet. Kunimitsu was starting to get mad with this rather annoying man and she clenched her teeth, reaching down to a sheath tied to her leg and pulling out her Kunai knife. Gripping it tightly she glared at Law through the eye slits in her mask, a low growl emitted from her throat and she lifted the knife over her head, then down toward his chest in one lightning fast motion, but it was blocked and a roundhouse was swung at her side, Kuni jumped out of reach just in time. By now both fighters were getting irritated, they were very equally matched and it was hard to for them to even hit each other, Law got close again attempting more punches and Kunimitsu faked a punch to his gut, then threw another at his nose while he was open from trying to block the other. There was a dull crack and blood began to flow, Law was temporarily blinded by tears and she took advantage of this by slashing at his face and chest with the knife, the grass was splattered with deep red spots. The crowd was going crazy with the bloodshed, some cheered Kuni on and others shouted at her, but it looked like she'd won, Law was on the ground bleeding heavily and the medics were on their way.
"Kunimitsu wins!" declared the announcer. A huge, roaring applause went up.
Later that day Anna went from fight to fight, checking out her opponents-to-be. At one particular fight she found Kazuya watching too, she came up beside him and he greeted her with a silent smile. He stood with his powerful arms crossed over his chest, shoulders square and legs parted slightly, he wore a deep purple suit, black hair was slicked back to a point as he watched. Kazuya was tall and Anna's cheek only reached his shoulder. She directed her gaze to where his was and saw another two fighters, one was a tall, blonde American man in a red judo gi named Paul Phoenix and the other, a pretty Japanese woman, Jun Kazama. Kazuya seemed to watch Jun intently and Anna felt a twinge of jealousy as she too let her eyes follow the graceful fighter. The battle seemed to go on forever and Anna let her mind wander, she watched the fight without really seeing what was happening, the roar of the crowd dulled in her ears. Anna turned her attention to Kazuya who was still busy watching the scene the only movement was his eyes and the rise and fall of his breathing. Anna's eyes took in his finely chiselled features and dark almond shaped eyes under thick eyebrows, his hair pulled back off his face in his unusual yet fetching style.
"He's really cute," Anna thought suddenly, "Too bad I'm just… me."
An image of Nina popped into her mind with her nasty sneer and equally nasty words, always telling Anna about her downfalls and imperfections, blue eyes that almost burned with hatred of her younger sister for no spoken reason.
"Anna… Are you okay?" Kazuya asked raising a brow at her, and she blushed realising she'd been staring at him, the fight had finished and Jun had won.
Anna tried to laugh off her embarrassment as she replied, "Sorry, I was away with the fairies," she smiled and Kazuya chuckled in a low, rumbling voice as he turned to leave, Anna at his side.
It had now been a week since the tournament begun, and the fighters with true talent were beginning to shine. Not many contestants were left at this point. Anna, surprised at herself, was still in after winning her last 6 fights, as well as Kunimitsu and Nina. Heihachi was steadily and easily earning wins much to the disgust of Kazuya and a young Japanese woman by the name of Jun was doing well for herself. Also Paul, Law and Yoshimitsu had reached the finals.
Anna was up early again. It was her day off and she was on her way toward the outdoor fighting arena to cheer on Kunimitsu in her next fight. The morning was dull as the sky and sun were covered by swollen grey clouds
"You can never rely on the weather around here," Anna thought, as a chilly breeze suddenly came up and she wrapped her arms around herself. Dressed in dark denim jeans and a knitted pink jumper, she arrived at her destination and squeezed through the excited crowd to the edge of the arena and spotted the young ninja.
Her long, red ponytails fluttered in the light wind as she stood in the center of the grassy arena, psyching herself up for the battle. Her trademark cat mask was worn over her face as usual, the fine workmanship of it made it appear delicate and fierce all at once. Kunimitsu's opponent had not yet arrived and Anna had forgotten who it was going to be, so she just waited. After only a little while he arrived, walking into the arena with a tall and proud posture, he stopped about a meter away from Kunimitsu and got into his fighting stance and she did the same. Marshall Law was his name and he looked like tough competition, he was dressed in a simple outfit of baggy black pants and a red sash around his waist leaving his chest bare.
"Fight!" bellowed the announcer.
The two fighters wasted no time and both of them leaped at each other, they both matched each other's agility and for a while every move was blocked. Law was the first to get a successful hit with his somersault kick. Kunimitsu cried out as his foot connected with her chin and sent her into the air then she landed hard on her back, but she wasn't down for long, she thrust her leg out toward his ankles and he stumbled backwards, giving her time to get back on her feet. She ran at Law and jumped in the air just before she reached him, performing a forward flip she landed with her feet on his shoulders briefly then pushed off again forcing his head down almost to his knees with the power of Kunimitsu's stunt, she landed back on the ground with perfect cat-like balance. Law wouldn't stay down either and attacked the ninja with a series of powerful punches as soon as he got close to her. Kunimitsu blocked them all, although the strength of the attack made her feet slip a little on the grass. Suddenly Law rushed at her but faked the attack and just stepped back, Kunimitsu got put off and the moment Law saw her confusion he slammed his fist hard into her stomach. Some people in the crowd gasped as Kuni doubled over and dropped to her knees, and Anna winced at her friend's painful cry. Law watched the girl with a satisfied grin, he was sure she couldn't go on now, but her was unpleasantly surprised when she struggled back to her feet. Kunimitsu was starting to get mad with this rather annoying man and she clenched her teeth, reaching down to a sheath tied to her leg and pulling out her Kunai knife. Gripping it tightly she glared at Law through the eye slits in her mask, a low growl emitted from her throat and she lifted the knife over her head, then down toward his chest in one lightning fast motion, but it was blocked and a roundhouse was swung at her side, Kuni jumped out of reach just in time. By now both fighters were getting irritated, they were very equally matched and it was hard to for them to even hit each other, Law got close again attempting more punches and Kunimitsu faked a punch to his gut, then threw another at his nose while he was open from trying to block the other. There was a dull crack and blood began to flow, Law was temporarily blinded by tears and she took advantage of this by slashing at his face and chest with the knife, the grass was splattered with deep red spots. The crowd was going crazy with the bloodshed, some cheered Kuni on and others shouted at her, but it looked like she'd won, Law was on the ground bleeding heavily and the medics were on their way.
"Kunimitsu wins!" declared the announcer. A huge, roaring applause went up.
Later that day Anna went from fight to fight, checking out her opponents-to-be. At one particular fight she found Kazuya watching too, she came up beside him and he greeted her with a silent smile. He stood with his powerful arms crossed over his chest, shoulders square and legs parted slightly, he wore a deep purple suit, black hair was slicked back to a point as he watched. Kazuya was tall and Anna's cheek only reached his shoulder. She directed her gaze to where his was and saw another two fighters, one was a tall, blonde American man in a red judo gi named Paul Phoenix and the other, a pretty Japanese woman, Jun Kazama. Kazuya seemed to watch Jun intently and Anna felt a twinge of jealousy as she too let her eyes follow the graceful fighter. The battle seemed to go on forever and Anna let her mind wander, she watched the fight without really seeing what was happening, the roar of the crowd dulled in her ears. Anna turned her attention to Kazuya who was still busy watching the scene the only movement was his eyes and the rise and fall of his breathing. Anna's eyes took in his finely chiselled features and dark almond shaped eyes under thick eyebrows, his hair pulled back off his face in his unusual yet fetching style.
"He's really cute," Anna thought suddenly, "Too bad I'm just… me."
An image of Nina popped into her mind with her nasty sneer and equally nasty words, always telling Anna about her downfalls and imperfections, blue eyes that almost burned with hatred of her younger sister for no spoken reason.
"Anna… Are you okay?" Kazuya asked raising a brow at her, and she blushed realising she'd been staring at him, the fight had finished and Jun had won.
Anna tried to laugh off her embarrassment as she replied, "Sorry, I was away with the fairies," she smiled and Kazuya chuckled in a low, rumbling voice as he turned to leave, Anna at his side.