25. Kensou and Bao
Sakura K. turned her attention to a Japanese teenager wearing blue jeans with a blue and white designer shirt. He had short, light brown hair and eyes with white fighting gloves and sneakers on. He was walking over to the two girls with a smile on his face.
"Are you, okay, Athena?" he asked as he got close enough.
"Yeah, I'm fine." Athena replied while still lying on her back. "I just hope I got enough power to use my healing power."
"You're kidding, right?" Sakura asked in disbelief. "You can heal yourself, too?"
"Yeah. but I didn't want to do it in the match," she explained. "It wouldn't be fair to you."
"You got that right. I know a little healing, myself, but I can only do it on other people."
Athena looked at her while brushing her hair out of her face. "You can't be serious, right, Sakura? You can actually do that?"
Sakura nodded her head. "Yep! Just learned it two days ago from a teammate of mine."
"Excuse me." the announcer broke in the conversation. "You still have to finish this match. Can you hurry up with your business so that we can continue, please?"
"Sorry," all three responded. The boy turned Athena and asked, "You need help getting out?"
Athena shook her head as she stood up, brushed her skirt off, and exited the ring, leaving Sakura to do battle with the teen standing right in front of her. She took a good look at him and sighed.
{I can't sense anything very interesting about him. Maybe he's masking his energy.}
"Now, ladies and gentlemen! Round 2 has Sakura Kasugano taking on Sie Kensou. Now, fighters. Are you ready?"
Both got into stance to signal the fight start.
"FIGHT!!"
{His name's Kensou.} Sakura thought to herself. {That's the one Athena was talking about the other day. He doesn't have any Psycho Powers anymore. but he must be able to use his fists well.}
"Okay, Sakura. I know that you took a huge beating from Athena, so I'll try to make this quick on both of us," Kensou commented.
"All because I got whipped doesn't mean I'll be easy to beat."
"Sakura. your vitality and energy is dangerously low," Kensou reminded her. "If you want to make it hard on yourself, then fine, but don't come crying to me about it later."
"You know, I think I've heard enough out of you." Sakura muttered. "Let's go."
Kensou shrugged then dashed in with a strong punch to the face that Sakura evaded. He immediately followed using a rolling sobat-type kick, catching Sakura in the head and sending her reeling.
"Dah, dah, tyaah!!"
Sakura tried to recover, but Kensou didn't let her as he performed three rising spinning kicks into the air, taking Sakura with him. The last kick sent her flying to the other side of the arena where she landed on her back.
"Kensou opens up with his SenShippo special move, already knocking Sakura on her back and after a few moments, she's back on her feet. How long can she keep going?"
Sakura tried out her Shouoken on Kensou, but he easily blocked. and he proved that he wasn't playing around as he charged up a big move on her decent.
"Now the finish! Shin Ryu Sei Ou Rekkyaku!!"
Sakura couldn't block in time as Kensou exploded with a SenShippo, then going up with two long bursts of kicking combinations, finally ending 21 hits later, allowing Sakura to drop to the ground.
"Kensou immediately punished Sakura with his Shin Ryu Sei Ou Rekkyaku super move from the start of the round. She's down, so here's the count. 1."
"I'm sorry. I wanted to enjoy this fight, but you were just too tired."
Kensou let the announcer finish counting her out. and just as he got to 9, Sakura tried to get up. but she just didn't have it in her. She collapsed. and Kensou heard the announcer let everyone know what just happened.
"Okay. Sie Kensou just let loose and won the second round over Sakura with no problem whatsoever. The series is now tied at one win apiece, so can we get the next fighter on the field?"
A moment passed before another fighter got onto the field. As soon as he saw who it was a smile crossed Kensou's face.
"Looks like I got a challenge ahead of me."
The fighter was Darrell Markis, who immediately went over to see how his friend was holding out.
"Hey, Sakura. You okay? He beat you pretty quickly."
Sakura moaned in his ear as she spoke up. "I. was tired. I guess I couldn't do much for you here."
"Don't worry about it. I'll handle him with everything I got. Hinata!!"
Over on the warm-up bench, Hinata lifted her gaze up to Darrell and asked, "What's up?"
"Can you do me a favor and get Sakura over there out of the way?"
Hinata nodded and as she made her way to the ring to help her friend, Darrell got up and into his fighting position across from Kensou.
"I can see that you aren't one to be taken lightly," Darrell said while stretching his legs out. "You don't need to worry about anything while fighting me. I'll take you on full strength."
Kensou smiled. "That's how I like it! Let's go, then!"
"I guess I don't need to give an introduction for this bout. Round 3 has Darrell Markis vs. Sie Kensou. Ready? FIGHT!
"Since you ended Sakura's match quickly, I'll end yours just as quick."
"Don't go counting your chickens before they hatch," Kensou taunted. "You have no idea what I got in store for you."
Darrell grinned as he did something completely new. He swung his arms in a smooth, circling motion in front of him, his red-orange aura appearing right in front of him. He then put it in a 'chamber' position at his sides. then shot the left arm out.
"Shakunetsuken." he yelled as both fists went into flames, but the left flame shot out in a line. Darrell then pulled his left back while grabbing the energy flame rod with the right.
"SWORD!!" he finished as he test swung it in the air before holding it down to his side. Kensou was pretty surprised by the kid's sword move.
"I've just been working on this. for a while, now," Darrell announced as he got ready. "I've got a longer reach now. so don't think you'll be playing keep away from me."
{I can only hold this thing for a minute and a half before it dwindles. I wish it was like my real Shakunetsuken. 15 minutes of pure slashing.}
"Okay, let's see what you got!" Darrell yelled as he ran forward, slashing at Kensou's chest. His opponent backed away as he changed his tactics and spun along the ground, nailing Kensou as he landed from his back dash. Kensou recovered and tried to knock the sword out of Darrell's hands, but Darrell blocked it with the sword like an expert, causing Kensou's glove to catch on fire. He immediately withdrew, leaving himself open to Darrell's spinning head slashes.
Kensou groaned as he was sent to the right, reeling. Darrell managed to sidestep Kensou's recovery punch and made him pay with a hard slash to the back.
"Kensou's trying, but trying isn't doing. He's getting murdered by Darrell's new technique, the Shakunetsuken Sword."
Darrell anticipated Kensou's next wake-up move and dove backwards, then thrusted his sword into his body ala Xianghua from Soul Calibur, making his opponent fly back to the ground. Darrell smiled at his handiwork.
"Kensou. I know I've just made this move up. but your defense. AND offence is terrible against me. You're just talking shit!"
Kensou didn't reply as he got to his feet again. He saw Darrell attempting another slash and dodged it, retaliating with a fist to the side of Darrell's face. He was expecting Darrell to reel from the move, but he was surprised to see Darrell roll with the attack and return with a roundhouse kick to his back.
"YOU!!" Kensou yelled as he rushed toward his opponent, ready to attack when he saw Darrell perform a high-aimed slash. Kensou ducked low and did his SenShippo special move again. This time, he hit cleanly, kicking Darrell away. and making him drop his sword. As soon as it hit the arena floor, it fizzled out.
"Alright!" Kensou congratulated himself as he got back into stance, eyeing his opponent. "That takes care of your new technique. Now, let's see how you fare, knuckle to knuckle."
Darrell got up, just realizing that he lost his sword.
{Crap. I dropped the sword. Oh, well. I guess I can go basic on this guy now. The swordplay was getting a tad old.}
Darrell dashed in and Kensou followed suit. When in range, Darrell fired a swift jab that Kensou swatted away. Kensou followed with a right hook that was ducked and returned with a Shakunetsuken Upper. Kensou jumped backward to avoid being nailed and came back with a short Ryu Enda, totally catching his opponent off guard and sending him reeling. Kensou used that time to charge up to a very familiar move.
"Shin Ryu Sei Ou Rekkyaku!"
Darrell saw him coming. and decided to pick him off.
"Rekka. NAKKURA!!"
The two performed their moves, punching and kicking at each other. There was no defense in the matter as everyone in the stands who was watching their fight from the door paid even more attention to it. or as much as they could keep up with it. Both finished their super combos. but Kensou ducked the Shakunetsuken Straight and went into his latter combination kick, knocking his opponent back again.
Darrell managed to roll to his feet, but as soon as he got up, Kensou was right in front of him to grab his arms. then knee him in the stomach a couple of times before rolling backwards, flipping Darrell over. Once again, Darrell rolled to his feet, just to be met in the face with another strong fist from Kensou. but he wanted to eat it. Darrell rolled with the punch, catching Kensou off guard.
"Furi-sutairu. Tatsumaki Senpu Kyaku!!" Darrell yelled out as he performed the two initial spinning roundhouse kicks, then the long Hurricane Kick. but instead of just doing the traditional Tatsumaki, Darrell performed mid- air axe, side, and heel kicks, ending with a strong spinning kick that nailed Kensou square in the mouth.
As Darrell's opponent fell to the ground, the announcer decided to brief it.
"In a blaze of attacks, Darrell emerges with the advantage with a Furi- sutairu Tatsumaki Senpukyaku taking Kensou down. 1."
Darrell shook his head a bit then put his hands on his hips while trying to breathe deeply.
{Kensou is pretty good. when he fights his way. If I could tweak my sword attack a bit, he wouldn't touch me.}
After 7 counts, Kensou got to his feet, hands on his knees. He's stronger than I am. There's got to be a way to take him out... I got an idea.
Kensou got back into stance and Darrell followed. Neither shared words. They just wanted to end this fast and get it over with. After a few seconds, Darrell hopped into the air with a move he hadn't used in a while.
"Senpukyaku!!"
Kensou grinned, for this was the break he was looking for. He ducked down.
"Ryu Enda!" he yelled out as he pummeled Darrell with wildlike blows and knocked him into the air. As Darrell flipped in mid-air to recover, Kensou charged up once again.
"Shin Ryu."
"You using that move again?" Darrell asked while going defensive, sure that Kensou would use that same combination attack on him. He was wrong.
"TEN BU KYAKU!!" Kensou roared, going low first. then the rest basically resembled what his other super move was. After about 7 seconds, Kensou finally finished his move. Darrell was down, breathing through his mouth and his body bruised.
"How's that for a trick move?" Kensou asked as his opponent struggled to get up. Darrell shook his head while sitting up, his vision starting to blur in and out.
{Crap. His moves are getting to me. I got to end this quickly, or else we're in trouble.}
As Darrell stood up, Kensou saw the orange aura coming up. and knew what was coming next.
"It's your signature move, isn't it? I can tell. I've been studying you. You won't be able to nail that on me, Darrell!"
"Oh, is that so?" Darrell asked with a smile on his face. "Who said that I was going for that Shakunetsu Shinku Hadouken?"
"What?"
"This one goes a lot farther back. SHAKUNETSUKEN!!!"
With that, Darrell's fist erupted into flames, just like they always did. Kensou braced himself.
He must have known that the move was too slow. He couldn't nail it on me. so he used his special move. He still can't get to me.
Kensou got himself on the defensive as Darrell dashed in. but instead of using his fists to hit his opponent, Darrell turned around and nailed Kensou in the temple. that's right. the temple with a quick Senpukyaku. Kensou immediately dropped his defense as his vision blurred. but Darrell wasn't done. He added a roundhouse kick with his left foot then a flaming uppercut. then super canceled.
"Rekka. NAKKURA!!!"
Kensou's cry of pain could be heard all throughout the arena as Darrell nailed him with every flaming blow in his disposal, ending with the Shakunetsuken Straight. This time, Kensou hit the edge of the arena by the blow. and didn't seem to get back up from it.
"That's what you get for trying to anticipate me." Darrell said as he turned off his Shakunetsuken flames and listened to the announcer count for the final time in the round.
"That's it for round 3! Darrell just beat Kensou with his Raging Knuckle, stemming from a Senpukyaku combination and is moving his team one step closer to a 2-0 listing. Now, may the last fighter on the opposing team step up?"
Darrell stared at the other end of the ring, waiting for his next opponent. and when he saw who it was, he jaw dropped. Immediately he spun around to the announcer and protested.
"NO WAY!! This has to be a violation of the age requirements. This kid is WAY too young to be in this tournament!"
"What are you talking about?" was the announcer's response. "Bao is 12 years old. That's the minimum requirement for this tournament."
Darrell just shook his head as he looked at the short boy in front of him. He had an orange outfit on with a cap and sneakers. and his height barely came up to Darrell's upper chest. He looked so innocent as he got into position and looked up to Darrell.
{I really don't believe this. Either he's insanely strong. or he's asking to get his ass whipped.}
"Round 4 is starting now! Darrell vs. Bao. Are you ready? FIGHT!!"
"Well, then. I guess I can't do anything about this." Darrell submitted, but he didn't go into stance. He squatted down to look at Bao at his height level. "But before we get started. I just want to ask. did you have any fighting experience, Bao? Once we start, I can't guarantee going easy on you."
Bao nodded a 'yes'. "It's okay. I get that a lot. I'm just looking for a place to fine-tune my abilities. I saw the entire match between you and my friend Kensou. and I can't wait for this. Don't go easy on me. I won't learn much if you did."
Darrell actually smiled while jumping up into his fighting stance. "Okay, kid. You got a deal! Let's go!"
{I know that I said that I wouldn't go easy. but just this once, I won't use my Shakunetsu attacks. Let's see what I can do with the basics. hey! Where did he go?}
In a flash, Bao disappeared from Darrell's sight. He couldn't track him, even though he had his eyes on the kid the whole time. He looked to his left to see if he was there. He wasn't. Behind him? No. The right! No?
"Bao.?" he asked. then felt something he didn't like. A large source of Psycho energy. from above him.
"Psycho Ball Crash!!"
"What the.!?" Darrell gasped as he looked up... only to be face to face with Bao. who was covered with Psycho energy. He collided into Darrell like Athena did with her Phoenix Arrow, but it was more powerful. A lot more powerful. Darrell was sent flying across the ring, landing in a skid before stopping. He stayed down for a second, getting his thoughts straight then got up to his feet, still in stance. Bao was right in front of him, about to knee him, but Darrell blocked. He countered with a sweep kick, but once again, Bao warped.
{Not again!}
Darrell spun around, to meet Bao's Psycho Ball Attack in his face. He reeled from it, not expecting it to be so strong.
"Psycho Ball. DX!!"
Without thinking, Darrell looked up to see what Bao was doing now. and when he did, he couldn't block. Bao threw a small, very slow verion of the Psycho Ball, but when Darrell laid eyes on it, it sped up and exploded in his face. Darrell was once again blasted across the ring. but this time, his energy was just about depleted. The DX move took ALL his vitality. Bao looked on as his opponent fell down a couple of yards away from him and stayed down.
"Wow! The little wonder just knocked Darrell senseless in two big blows. Age doesn't seem to matter to this kid! He comes and kicks butt! Now then. 1."
Bao smiled at his performance. "I know that Kensou weakened him for me. but that was still pretty cool. He couldn't even touch me! I must be getting better."
At 8 Darrell was just getting to his feet. but his fatigue was apparent. Bao left two huge bruises on his body, which was shown through the openings in his clothes. He was breathing very hard through his mouth as he stood on failing legs, his arms at his sides and out of energy.
{I. can't believe that. he's that strong. Darrell thought through his clotted mind. Maybe. I should have. gone. all out.}
And with that, his eyes closed. and fell back down where he came, unconscious.
"That's it, folks! Darrell's just passed out on us, so this round goes to Bao!"
Bao smiled as the crowd cheered for him just as the announcer made his next announcement.
"Okay, may the next fighter from C-8 come into the ring?"
Shortly after, Hinata Wakaba came back into the ring, this time ready to fight. Both fighters got into position to fight it out as the announcer started their match up.
"Round 4! Hinata vs. Bao. Ready? FIGHT!!"
"Okay, Bao," Hinata said. "I'm not going to go easy, unlike Darrell did. He wasn't expecting you to be so strong.. But I do, so you can expect to earn this one."
Bao's smile remained intact on his face as he answered with, "Like I said before, I don't want you to go easy on me. I'm looking forward to this."
Hinata nodded then waited for Bao to make the first move.
{I'll wait for him to use his Psycho Attacks, then I'll counter. That's all he has running for him, so I basically got this in the bag.}
"Here I come, then!" Bao yelled out as he charged up, his Psycho aura around his body. He raised both hands infront of him, a small Psycho Ball appearing.
"Psycho Ball. MAX!!!" He yelled out as he launched his energy at the waiting Hinata. The blast immediately quadrupled in size and turned a light blue color, totally catching Hinata off-guard.
{I can't block that!}
Hinata rolled to the right, letting the Psycho Ball explode on the ring barrier. She got up and decided to let Bao know some things about hand-to- hand fighting.
"Rengakiken!" she called as she dashed forward to deliver her speed barrage, but before she could even get to him, Bao teleported again. Hinata sensed him coming behind her and ditched to the side, avoiding a punch to the head. Hinata countered with a kick to the back to Bao's head, resulting in him falling face-first into the pavement, losing his cap in the process. Suddenly, Hinata was rethinking her 'not-going-easy' promise.
Oh, man! I didn't mean to do that so hard!
Hinata went over to Bao, who was just pushing himself off the canvas, to console him.
"You okay? I really didn't mean to do that. It was a reflex."
Bao didn't respond as he turned around to Hinata. and snuck her.
"Psycho Ball Crash!"
Hinata gasped as Bao performed his special move straight in her face, making her fall back.
{That kid! I got to stop acting like Darrell did. That's how he lost. I've got to worry about myself, or else I'll end up jacked up like he was.}
Hinata braced herself, a blue-green aura covering her body. She waited a bit for Bao to descend before using her stored special move.
"Kikou Shoueti!"
She unleashed her flower projectile attack on Bao, but he was ready.
"Psycho Ball Attack. Reflect!!"
Bao used his aura to redirect the Kikou Shoueti. right back at Hinata. She ate all the hits of her own special move before being hit to the ground. She groaned while holding her stomach a bit from the pain.
"Crap!" she said out loud. "He can reflect any energy attacks. but that isn't saying much in my case. I'm better with my fists."
Bao finished his reflect move and instantly went to another move. He charged up.
"Psycho Ball Attack. DX!!!"
Hinata sensed Bao's energy as he threw his cannonball straight to her head.
{That's the same move that he used to K.O. Darrell. I've got something for you.}
"Eat this one!" Hinata yelled out as she got ready, her right foot with a trail of fire on it.
"Fire Senpukyaku!!!"
Hinata performed her own version of Ryu's Shinku Tatsumaki Senpukyaku, hitting Bao out his super move and burning him 5 times before kicking him away. This time, she didn't show any compassion for the younger fighter as he stayed down from her burning vigor attack, the announcer counting him out. At the count of 5, Hinata started to have a thought.
{Weird. Normally, most people would be up by now, even if they were nailed by super moves. Maybe. it has to do with those attacks he keeps using. It takes up a lot of his energy to perform those moves. so. right now. he's already on his last legs, even though we just started.}
Bao got up fully at 8, shaking the dizziness out of his head. He looked up to the high school student in front of her and observed her.
{She has a lot more vitality than I have. and my moves are taking a lot out of me. I can't keep this up. and I don't have enough for the Psycho Ball SP. but I don't want to give up. I guess I need to try out this new move Athena taught me. It could knock us both out, but I got to at least get her out.}
Hinata was about to charge in to finish up when Bao concentrated, his aura surrounding him. She stopped on a dime to see what he was doing.
{What the.? His energy. is increasing, but his vitality is decreasing. What's he doing??}
She got her answer.
"Psycho. Desperation!"
Bao's aura immediately shot outwards, nailing an unsuspecting Hinata. She didn't go into hit stun, though. She just stood there, paralyzed, looking at Bao as he raised his left hand up, his head looking down to the canvas.
{Oh, man. this isn't good.}
Bao held up his hand for a quick second, clenching it into a fist, then swung it across his body, as if to punch someone right in front of him. Hinata just stared at him for a bit. then her left arm rose. without her doing it herself.
"Hey! What the-!"
Hinata was cut off by her own fist as it struck her hard on the face. Her head was forced to the right as Bao performed an uppercut. and Hinata followed suit. on herself. She reeled backwards, trying to keep her fists down, but she didn't have any control over her body. Bao owned her.
"Bao pulls out his desperation move. and it seems that he's controlling Hinata's body. Whatever he does, she does also on herself, and she can't guard her own attacks. It seems as if Bao's got this one won."
{Thanks for the support, announcer.} Hinata muttered in her head as she decked herself again, causing her lip to bleed. Bao still threw random attacks and Hinata couldn't do anything but follow his command. The move continued for another minute, but it was a long minute to Hinata.
{There. has to be a way to get through this move. I got to think.}
She was standing on weak legs, breathing hard and staring through dazed eyes at Bao, who did seem to be tiring from his Psycho Desperation move. He threw a right hook and Hinata blasted herself, making her fall to her hands and knees. She shook her head, staring at the white canvas. that started to fizzle in and out of view.
{I'm. passing out. Come on. Hinata.}
She looked up to see Bao and saw something interesting. He was sweating and breathing just as hard as she was. His hands were on his knees, the Psycho aura dwindling.
{Hey. Bao's weakening. Does this mean.?}
Hinata forced her battered body to stand up. something that she couldn't do under Bao's Psycho Desperation attack. and she succeeded. At first she just stood there, delirious. then she got her senses up. Without wasting time, she ran forward, catching him off guard.
"Hisshou!!"
The little Psycho Soldier was nailed with 10 fast Rengakiken punched, followed with the flaming Shouyouken, knocking him back in a blaze to the ring floor. Hinata landed and rested her body on the ropes as the announcer recapped what just happened.
"After about 2 minutes of being under Bao's control, Hinata wakes up and gets her opponent down with her signature move, the Hisshou Rengakiken! Will Bao get back up? Let's see for ourselves. 1. 2. 3."
"Hinata!!"
The teenage fighter moved her glance to Sakura S., who came back from her search for a good match and saw her in action. She had a smile on her face. causing Hinata to do the same.
"Looks like you win this for us again, huh?" Sakura said.
"Yeah. but this one wasn't easy. He's just a kid, but he's pretty strong."
Hinata looked back at Bao, who didn't move from his position. He was out cold.
"That's it for this match! Team C-8 wins again to move up 2-0 while C-6 goes to 1-1. Thanks for watching this bout and can we get the next two teams here? This one is C-23: Rungo, Tracey, Sofia, and Neru vs. C-31: Rock, Terry, Andy, And Mai."
Hinata hopped out of the ring and met up with Sakura's twin.
"Come on. Let's get these two to the hotel," Sakura S. said while pointing to her sister and friend, who were on the bench.
Hinata smiled again. "Let's."
End of Chapter 25
Sakura K. turned her attention to a Japanese teenager wearing blue jeans with a blue and white designer shirt. He had short, light brown hair and eyes with white fighting gloves and sneakers on. He was walking over to the two girls with a smile on his face.
"Are you, okay, Athena?" he asked as he got close enough.
"Yeah, I'm fine." Athena replied while still lying on her back. "I just hope I got enough power to use my healing power."
"You're kidding, right?" Sakura asked in disbelief. "You can heal yourself, too?"
"Yeah. but I didn't want to do it in the match," she explained. "It wouldn't be fair to you."
"You got that right. I know a little healing, myself, but I can only do it on other people."
Athena looked at her while brushing her hair out of her face. "You can't be serious, right, Sakura? You can actually do that?"
Sakura nodded her head. "Yep! Just learned it two days ago from a teammate of mine."
"Excuse me." the announcer broke in the conversation. "You still have to finish this match. Can you hurry up with your business so that we can continue, please?"
"Sorry," all three responded. The boy turned Athena and asked, "You need help getting out?"
Athena shook her head as she stood up, brushed her skirt off, and exited the ring, leaving Sakura to do battle with the teen standing right in front of her. She took a good look at him and sighed.
{I can't sense anything very interesting about him. Maybe he's masking his energy.}
"Now, ladies and gentlemen! Round 2 has Sakura Kasugano taking on Sie Kensou. Now, fighters. Are you ready?"
Both got into stance to signal the fight start.
"FIGHT!!"
{His name's Kensou.} Sakura thought to herself. {That's the one Athena was talking about the other day. He doesn't have any Psycho Powers anymore. but he must be able to use his fists well.}
"Okay, Sakura. I know that you took a huge beating from Athena, so I'll try to make this quick on both of us," Kensou commented.
"All because I got whipped doesn't mean I'll be easy to beat."
"Sakura. your vitality and energy is dangerously low," Kensou reminded her. "If you want to make it hard on yourself, then fine, but don't come crying to me about it later."
"You know, I think I've heard enough out of you." Sakura muttered. "Let's go."
Kensou shrugged then dashed in with a strong punch to the face that Sakura evaded. He immediately followed using a rolling sobat-type kick, catching Sakura in the head and sending her reeling.
"Dah, dah, tyaah!!"
Sakura tried to recover, but Kensou didn't let her as he performed three rising spinning kicks into the air, taking Sakura with him. The last kick sent her flying to the other side of the arena where she landed on her back.
"Kensou opens up with his SenShippo special move, already knocking Sakura on her back and after a few moments, she's back on her feet. How long can she keep going?"
Sakura tried out her Shouoken on Kensou, but he easily blocked. and he proved that he wasn't playing around as he charged up a big move on her decent.
"Now the finish! Shin Ryu Sei Ou Rekkyaku!!"
Sakura couldn't block in time as Kensou exploded with a SenShippo, then going up with two long bursts of kicking combinations, finally ending 21 hits later, allowing Sakura to drop to the ground.
"Kensou immediately punished Sakura with his Shin Ryu Sei Ou Rekkyaku super move from the start of the round. She's down, so here's the count. 1."
"I'm sorry. I wanted to enjoy this fight, but you were just too tired."
Kensou let the announcer finish counting her out. and just as he got to 9, Sakura tried to get up. but she just didn't have it in her. She collapsed. and Kensou heard the announcer let everyone know what just happened.
"Okay. Sie Kensou just let loose and won the second round over Sakura with no problem whatsoever. The series is now tied at one win apiece, so can we get the next fighter on the field?"
A moment passed before another fighter got onto the field. As soon as he saw who it was a smile crossed Kensou's face.
"Looks like I got a challenge ahead of me."
The fighter was Darrell Markis, who immediately went over to see how his friend was holding out.
"Hey, Sakura. You okay? He beat you pretty quickly."
Sakura moaned in his ear as she spoke up. "I. was tired. I guess I couldn't do much for you here."
"Don't worry about it. I'll handle him with everything I got. Hinata!!"
Over on the warm-up bench, Hinata lifted her gaze up to Darrell and asked, "What's up?"
"Can you do me a favor and get Sakura over there out of the way?"
Hinata nodded and as she made her way to the ring to help her friend, Darrell got up and into his fighting position across from Kensou.
"I can see that you aren't one to be taken lightly," Darrell said while stretching his legs out. "You don't need to worry about anything while fighting me. I'll take you on full strength."
Kensou smiled. "That's how I like it! Let's go, then!"
"I guess I don't need to give an introduction for this bout. Round 3 has Darrell Markis vs. Sie Kensou. Ready? FIGHT!
"Since you ended Sakura's match quickly, I'll end yours just as quick."
"Don't go counting your chickens before they hatch," Kensou taunted. "You have no idea what I got in store for you."
Darrell grinned as he did something completely new. He swung his arms in a smooth, circling motion in front of him, his red-orange aura appearing right in front of him. He then put it in a 'chamber' position at his sides. then shot the left arm out.
"Shakunetsuken." he yelled as both fists went into flames, but the left flame shot out in a line. Darrell then pulled his left back while grabbing the energy flame rod with the right.
"SWORD!!" he finished as he test swung it in the air before holding it down to his side. Kensou was pretty surprised by the kid's sword move.
"I've just been working on this. for a while, now," Darrell announced as he got ready. "I've got a longer reach now. so don't think you'll be playing keep away from me."
{I can only hold this thing for a minute and a half before it dwindles. I wish it was like my real Shakunetsuken. 15 minutes of pure slashing.}
"Okay, let's see what you got!" Darrell yelled as he ran forward, slashing at Kensou's chest. His opponent backed away as he changed his tactics and spun along the ground, nailing Kensou as he landed from his back dash. Kensou recovered and tried to knock the sword out of Darrell's hands, but Darrell blocked it with the sword like an expert, causing Kensou's glove to catch on fire. He immediately withdrew, leaving himself open to Darrell's spinning head slashes.
Kensou groaned as he was sent to the right, reeling. Darrell managed to sidestep Kensou's recovery punch and made him pay with a hard slash to the back.
"Kensou's trying, but trying isn't doing. He's getting murdered by Darrell's new technique, the Shakunetsuken Sword."
Darrell anticipated Kensou's next wake-up move and dove backwards, then thrusted his sword into his body ala Xianghua from Soul Calibur, making his opponent fly back to the ground. Darrell smiled at his handiwork.
"Kensou. I know I've just made this move up. but your defense. AND offence is terrible against me. You're just talking shit!"
Kensou didn't reply as he got to his feet again. He saw Darrell attempting another slash and dodged it, retaliating with a fist to the side of Darrell's face. He was expecting Darrell to reel from the move, but he was surprised to see Darrell roll with the attack and return with a roundhouse kick to his back.
"YOU!!" Kensou yelled as he rushed toward his opponent, ready to attack when he saw Darrell perform a high-aimed slash. Kensou ducked low and did his SenShippo special move again. This time, he hit cleanly, kicking Darrell away. and making him drop his sword. As soon as it hit the arena floor, it fizzled out.
"Alright!" Kensou congratulated himself as he got back into stance, eyeing his opponent. "That takes care of your new technique. Now, let's see how you fare, knuckle to knuckle."
Darrell got up, just realizing that he lost his sword.
{Crap. I dropped the sword. Oh, well. I guess I can go basic on this guy now. The swordplay was getting a tad old.}
Darrell dashed in and Kensou followed suit. When in range, Darrell fired a swift jab that Kensou swatted away. Kensou followed with a right hook that was ducked and returned with a Shakunetsuken Upper. Kensou jumped backward to avoid being nailed and came back with a short Ryu Enda, totally catching his opponent off guard and sending him reeling. Kensou used that time to charge up to a very familiar move.
"Shin Ryu Sei Ou Rekkyaku!"
Darrell saw him coming. and decided to pick him off.
"Rekka. NAKKURA!!"
The two performed their moves, punching and kicking at each other. There was no defense in the matter as everyone in the stands who was watching their fight from the door paid even more attention to it. or as much as they could keep up with it. Both finished their super combos. but Kensou ducked the Shakunetsuken Straight and went into his latter combination kick, knocking his opponent back again.
Darrell managed to roll to his feet, but as soon as he got up, Kensou was right in front of him to grab his arms. then knee him in the stomach a couple of times before rolling backwards, flipping Darrell over. Once again, Darrell rolled to his feet, just to be met in the face with another strong fist from Kensou. but he wanted to eat it. Darrell rolled with the punch, catching Kensou off guard.
"Furi-sutairu. Tatsumaki Senpu Kyaku!!" Darrell yelled out as he performed the two initial spinning roundhouse kicks, then the long Hurricane Kick. but instead of just doing the traditional Tatsumaki, Darrell performed mid- air axe, side, and heel kicks, ending with a strong spinning kick that nailed Kensou square in the mouth.
As Darrell's opponent fell to the ground, the announcer decided to brief it.
"In a blaze of attacks, Darrell emerges with the advantage with a Furi- sutairu Tatsumaki Senpukyaku taking Kensou down. 1."
Darrell shook his head a bit then put his hands on his hips while trying to breathe deeply.
{Kensou is pretty good. when he fights his way. If I could tweak my sword attack a bit, he wouldn't touch me.}
After 7 counts, Kensou got to his feet, hands on his knees. He's stronger than I am. There's got to be a way to take him out... I got an idea.
Kensou got back into stance and Darrell followed. Neither shared words. They just wanted to end this fast and get it over with. After a few seconds, Darrell hopped into the air with a move he hadn't used in a while.
"Senpukyaku!!"
Kensou grinned, for this was the break he was looking for. He ducked down.
"Ryu Enda!" he yelled out as he pummeled Darrell with wildlike blows and knocked him into the air. As Darrell flipped in mid-air to recover, Kensou charged up once again.
"Shin Ryu."
"You using that move again?" Darrell asked while going defensive, sure that Kensou would use that same combination attack on him. He was wrong.
"TEN BU KYAKU!!" Kensou roared, going low first. then the rest basically resembled what his other super move was. After about 7 seconds, Kensou finally finished his move. Darrell was down, breathing through his mouth and his body bruised.
"How's that for a trick move?" Kensou asked as his opponent struggled to get up. Darrell shook his head while sitting up, his vision starting to blur in and out.
{Crap. His moves are getting to me. I got to end this quickly, or else we're in trouble.}
As Darrell stood up, Kensou saw the orange aura coming up. and knew what was coming next.
"It's your signature move, isn't it? I can tell. I've been studying you. You won't be able to nail that on me, Darrell!"
"Oh, is that so?" Darrell asked with a smile on his face. "Who said that I was going for that Shakunetsu Shinku Hadouken?"
"What?"
"This one goes a lot farther back. SHAKUNETSUKEN!!!"
With that, Darrell's fist erupted into flames, just like they always did. Kensou braced himself.
He must have known that the move was too slow. He couldn't nail it on me. so he used his special move. He still can't get to me.
Kensou got himself on the defensive as Darrell dashed in. but instead of using his fists to hit his opponent, Darrell turned around and nailed Kensou in the temple. that's right. the temple with a quick Senpukyaku. Kensou immediately dropped his defense as his vision blurred. but Darrell wasn't done. He added a roundhouse kick with his left foot then a flaming uppercut. then super canceled.
"Rekka. NAKKURA!!!"
Kensou's cry of pain could be heard all throughout the arena as Darrell nailed him with every flaming blow in his disposal, ending with the Shakunetsuken Straight. This time, Kensou hit the edge of the arena by the blow. and didn't seem to get back up from it.
"That's what you get for trying to anticipate me." Darrell said as he turned off his Shakunetsuken flames and listened to the announcer count for the final time in the round.
"That's it for round 3! Darrell just beat Kensou with his Raging Knuckle, stemming from a Senpukyaku combination and is moving his team one step closer to a 2-0 listing. Now, may the last fighter on the opposing team step up?"
Darrell stared at the other end of the ring, waiting for his next opponent. and when he saw who it was, he jaw dropped. Immediately he spun around to the announcer and protested.
"NO WAY!! This has to be a violation of the age requirements. This kid is WAY too young to be in this tournament!"
"What are you talking about?" was the announcer's response. "Bao is 12 years old. That's the minimum requirement for this tournament."
Darrell just shook his head as he looked at the short boy in front of him. He had an orange outfit on with a cap and sneakers. and his height barely came up to Darrell's upper chest. He looked so innocent as he got into position and looked up to Darrell.
{I really don't believe this. Either he's insanely strong. or he's asking to get his ass whipped.}
"Round 4 is starting now! Darrell vs. Bao. Are you ready? FIGHT!!"
"Well, then. I guess I can't do anything about this." Darrell submitted, but he didn't go into stance. He squatted down to look at Bao at his height level. "But before we get started. I just want to ask. did you have any fighting experience, Bao? Once we start, I can't guarantee going easy on you."
Bao nodded a 'yes'. "It's okay. I get that a lot. I'm just looking for a place to fine-tune my abilities. I saw the entire match between you and my friend Kensou. and I can't wait for this. Don't go easy on me. I won't learn much if you did."
Darrell actually smiled while jumping up into his fighting stance. "Okay, kid. You got a deal! Let's go!"
{I know that I said that I wouldn't go easy. but just this once, I won't use my Shakunetsu attacks. Let's see what I can do with the basics. hey! Where did he go?}
In a flash, Bao disappeared from Darrell's sight. He couldn't track him, even though he had his eyes on the kid the whole time. He looked to his left to see if he was there. He wasn't. Behind him? No. The right! No?
"Bao.?" he asked. then felt something he didn't like. A large source of Psycho energy. from above him.
"Psycho Ball Crash!!"
"What the.!?" Darrell gasped as he looked up... only to be face to face with Bao. who was covered with Psycho energy. He collided into Darrell like Athena did with her Phoenix Arrow, but it was more powerful. A lot more powerful. Darrell was sent flying across the ring, landing in a skid before stopping. He stayed down for a second, getting his thoughts straight then got up to his feet, still in stance. Bao was right in front of him, about to knee him, but Darrell blocked. He countered with a sweep kick, but once again, Bao warped.
{Not again!}
Darrell spun around, to meet Bao's Psycho Ball Attack in his face. He reeled from it, not expecting it to be so strong.
"Psycho Ball. DX!!"
Without thinking, Darrell looked up to see what Bao was doing now. and when he did, he couldn't block. Bao threw a small, very slow verion of the Psycho Ball, but when Darrell laid eyes on it, it sped up and exploded in his face. Darrell was once again blasted across the ring. but this time, his energy was just about depleted. The DX move took ALL his vitality. Bao looked on as his opponent fell down a couple of yards away from him and stayed down.
"Wow! The little wonder just knocked Darrell senseless in two big blows. Age doesn't seem to matter to this kid! He comes and kicks butt! Now then. 1."
Bao smiled at his performance. "I know that Kensou weakened him for me. but that was still pretty cool. He couldn't even touch me! I must be getting better."
At 8 Darrell was just getting to his feet. but his fatigue was apparent. Bao left two huge bruises on his body, which was shown through the openings in his clothes. He was breathing very hard through his mouth as he stood on failing legs, his arms at his sides and out of energy.
{I. can't believe that. he's that strong. Darrell thought through his clotted mind. Maybe. I should have. gone. all out.}
And with that, his eyes closed. and fell back down where he came, unconscious.
"That's it, folks! Darrell's just passed out on us, so this round goes to Bao!"
Bao smiled as the crowd cheered for him just as the announcer made his next announcement.
"Okay, may the next fighter from C-8 come into the ring?"
Shortly after, Hinata Wakaba came back into the ring, this time ready to fight. Both fighters got into position to fight it out as the announcer started their match up.
"Round 4! Hinata vs. Bao. Ready? FIGHT!!"
"Okay, Bao," Hinata said. "I'm not going to go easy, unlike Darrell did. He wasn't expecting you to be so strong.. But I do, so you can expect to earn this one."
Bao's smile remained intact on his face as he answered with, "Like I said before, I don't want you to go easy on me. I'm looking forward to this."
Hinata nodded then waited for Bao to make the first move.
{I'll wait for him to use his Psycho Attacks, then I'll counter. That's all he has running for him, so I basically got this in the bag.}
"Here I come, then!" Bao yelled out as he charged up, his Psycho aura around his body. He raised both hands infront of him, a small Psycho Ball appearing.
"Psycho Ball. MAX!!!" He yelled out as he launched his energy at the waiting Hinata. The blast immediately quadrupled in size and turned a light blue color, totally catching Hinata off-guard.
{I can't block that!}
Hinata rolled to the right, letting the Psycho Ball explode on the ring barrier. She got up and decided to let Bao know some things about hand-to- hand fighting.
"Rengakiken!" she called as she dashed forward to deliver her speed barrage, but before she could even get to him, Bao teleported again. Hinata sensed him coming behind her and ditched to the side, avoiding a punch to the head. Hinata countered with a kick to the back to Bao's head, resulting in him falling face-first into the pavement, losing his cap in the process. Suddenly, Hinata was rethinking her 'not-going-easy' promise.
Oh, man! I didn't mean to do that so hard!
Hinata went over to Bao, who was just pushing himself off the canvas, to console him.
"You okay? I really didn't mean to do that. It was a reflex."
Bao didn't respond as he turned around to Hinata. and snuck her.
"Psycho Ball Crash!"
Hinata gasped as Bao performed his special move straight in her face, making her fall back.
{That kid! I got to stop acting like Darrell did. That's how he lost. I've got to worry about myself, or else I'll end up jacked up like he was.}
Hinata braced herself, a blue-green aura covering her body. She waited a bit for Bao to descend before using her stored special move.
"Kikou Shoueti!"
She unleashed her flower projectile attack on Bao, but he was ready.
"Psycho Ball Attack. Reflect!!"
Bao used his aura to redirect the Kikou Shoueti. right back at Hinata. She ate all the hits of her own special move before being hit to the ground. She groaned while holding her stomach a bit from the pain.
"Crap!" she said out loud. "He can reflect any energy attacks. but that isn't saying much in my case. I'm better with my fists."
Bao finished his reflect move and instantly went to another move. He charged up.
"Psycho Ball Attack. DX!!!"
Hinata sensed Bao's energy as he threw his cannonball straight to her head.
{That's the same move that he used to K.O. Darrell. I've got something for you.}
"Eat this one!" Hinata yelled out as she got ready, her right foot with a trail of fire on it.
"Fire Senpukyaku!!!"
Hinata performed her own version of Ryu's Shinku Tatsumaki Senpukyaku, hitting Bao out his super move and burning him 5 times before kicking him away. This time, she didn't show any compassion for the younger fighter as he stayed down from her burning vigor attack, the announcer counting him out. At the count of 5, Hinata started to have a thought.
{Weird. Normally, most people would be up by now, even if they were nailed by super moves. Maybe. it has to do with those attacks he keeps using. It takes up a lot of his energy to perform those moves. so. right now. he's already on his last legs, even though we just started.}
Bao got up fully at 8, shaking the dizziness out of his head. He looked up to the high school student in front of her and observed her.
{She has a lot more vitality than I have. and my moves are taking a lot out of me. I can't keep this up. and I don't have enough for the Psycho Ball SP. but I don't want to give up. I guess I need to try out this new move Athena taught me. It could knock us both out, but I got to at least get her out.}
Hinata was about to charge in to finish up when Bao concentrated, his aura surrounding him. She stopped on a dime to see what he was doing.
{What the.? His energy. is increasing, but his vitality is decreasing. What's he doing??}
She got her answer.
"Psycho. Desperation!"
Bao's aura immediately shot outwards, nailing an unsuspecting Hinata. She didn't go into hit stun, though. She just stood there, paralyzed, looking at Bao as he raised his left hand up, his head looking down to the canvas.
{Oh, man. this isn't good.}
Bao held up his hand for a quick second, clenching it into a fist, then swung it across his body, as if to punch someone right in front of him. Hinata just stared at him for a bit. then her left arm rose. without her doing it herself.
"Hey! What the-!"
Hinata was cut off by her own fist as it struck her hard on the face. Her head was forced to the right as Bao performed an uppercut. and Hinata followed suit. on herself. She reeled backwards, trying to keep her fists down, but she didn't have any control over her body. Bao owned her.
"Bao pulls out his desperation move. and it seems that he's controlling Hinata's body. Whatever he does, she does also on herself, and she can't guard her own attacks. It seems as if Bao's got this one won."
{Thanks for the support, announcer.} Hinata muttered in her head as she decked herself again, causing her lip to bleed. Bao still threw random attacks and Hinata couldn't do anything but follow his command. The move continued for another minute, but it was a long minute to Hinata.
{There. has to be a way to get through this move. I got to think.}
She was standing on weak legs, breathing hard and staring through dazed eyes at Bao, who did seem to be tiring from his Psycho Desperation move. He threw a right hook and Hinata blasted herself, making her fall to her hands and knees. She shook her head, staring at the white canvas. that started to fizzle in and out of view.
{I'm. passing out. Come on. Hinata.}
She looked up to see Bao and saw something interesting. He was sweating and breathing just as hard as she was. His hands were on his knees, the Psycho aura dwindling.
{Hey. Bao's weakening. Does this mean.?}
Hinata forced her battered body to stand up. something that she couldn't do under Bao's Psycho Desperation attack. and she succeeded. At first she just stood there, delirious. then she got her senses up. Without wasting time, she ran forward, catching him off guard.
"Hisshou!!"
The little Psycho Soldier was nailed with 10 fast Rengakiken punched, followed with the flaming Shouyouken, knocking him back in a blaze to the ring floor. Hinata landed and rested her body on the ropes as the announcer recapped what just happened.
"After about 2 minutes of being under Bao's control, Hinata wakes up and gets her opponent down with her signature move, the Hisshou Rengakiken! Will Bao get back up? Let's see for ourselves. 1. 2. 3."
"Hinata!!"
The teenage fighter moved her glance to Sakura S., who came back from her search for a good match and saw her in action. She had a smile on her face. causing Hinata to do the same.
"Looks like you win this for us again, huh?" Sakura said.
"Yeah. but this one wasn't easy. He's just a kid, but he's pretty strong."
Hinata looked back at Bao, who didn't move from his position. He was out cold.
"That's it for this match! Team C-8 wins again to move up 2-0 while C-6 goes to 1-1. Thanks for watching this bout and can we get the next two teams here? This one is C-23: Rungo, Tracey, Sofia, and Neru vs. C-31: Rock, Terry, Andy, And Mai."
Hinata hopped out of the ring and met up with Sakura's twin.
"Come on. Let's get these two to the hotel," Sakura S. said while pointing to her sister and friend, who were on the bench.
Hinata smiled again. "Let's."
End of Chapter 25