Author's notes: Ack. Sorry it took me so long. I'll try to update faster

Remember to still check back often, because you just might miss my update and not even notice. Anyways, enjoy!

The flowing waves of the clear blue ocean were soothing yet peaceful. Lounging around on a quiet beach after rough, seemingly endless days of training was the perfect antidote for Lei Fang. She walked across the sandy surface of land, barefooted, taking in the beautiful scenery that surrounded her. Often the beach was a place for her to unwind and relax, to get away from problems and stress that tormented her daily. There was no other place quite like it. At the beach, nobody disturbed her, for there weren't that many people that knew of its existence to come and cause a distraction. It was a special place to come relax and enjoy the brightness of the glaring sun.

As she lied over in the bedded sand, Lei Fang gazed up at the sun and thought about the Tournament that was drawing in closer and closer with every passing day. In the beginning her purpose for joining was Jann Lee, but now she just wanted to participate and have fun with the other fighters. He really wasn't roaming her mind as much as before. The training she endured over the months made her more confident. In truth she knew what was at stake. Jann Lee had turned his loss into a huge personal issue. It was driven up to the point where he promised to severally hurt Lei Fang and bring misery and fear into her life. At first his plan was working, but now it was starting to go downhill. In reality, he was just being ignorant and immature for showing a lot of hatred towards a person for beating him. Lei Fang didn't have such strong hateful emotions for Jann, even before the Tournament. She only wanted to test her skills against his after he beat up a gang of thugs that tried to ambush her long ago. Once she defeated him, the rivalry between them would be over and done with. But Jann still wanted it to continue forth, he didn't want to let things go peacefully. He was willing to sacrifice anything to win the competition.

The arrival of the Tournament

At last, the big event had finally arrived, the event everyone had been waiting for. The high-leveled screams of hundreds to thousands of rousing people were heard outside the stadium arena, building up at the front gate. Expecting to see a good and entraining show, there was no doubt they would soon get what they wanted.

Dozen upon dozens of competitors were already entered and signed up to compete, a lot more than last year's. This made things much more interesting and less dull, for it made things less predictable in a way. New fighters could mean anything, such as more challenges and surprises or more people to just use as punching bags. There were so many people coming in to see the competition it was unbelievable. The tickets being sold did better then expected and surpassed the sales of even the previous Tournament. By the beginning of the event, the place had been completely packed full of screaming spectators.

Rising down from the rafters was a large TV screen containing small brackets of all the Tournament participant's names. The brackets were mixed around and then displayed to crowd to see whom each fighter would fight against.

An announcer dressed in a fancy, black tuxedo stood in the center of the stadium welcoming everyone for showing up and addressing the rules and regulations of the Tournament. Once he was done giving out all the necessary information, he did the honors for announcing the first match.

"Ok, ladies and gentlemen, up first we have Helena versus Ayane!"

Helena was the first to come out from the back stage area. She came to a bridge that sloped itself automatically into a slanted ramp for her to walk down on towards the fighting ring. The crowd screamed and whistled from seeing her bright and well-ordered appearance, but she didn't take any notice to their cheers, screams, or whistles. Ayane came out seconds later doing the same thing as Helena, not paying any mind to the crowd. Both their minds were focused more on fighting and winning than to pay attention to the crowd reactions. From the entryway of the stage, Hitomi and Kasumi watched to examine and study their opponents. To them, it was always best to study an opponent and get an idea of what they were capable of.

Lei Fang was present as well with her back arched up against the wall, seeming a bit relaxed and unworried at the moment. She didn't appear to be taking the situation seriously like the other fighters. Jann Lee, on the other hand, was nowhere to be found or seen. Most would think he would already have arrived with as much determination and willingness he showed with wanting to defeat Lei Fang. Ayane and Helena's battle lasted at least a half an hour before it ended with Ayane gaining the upper hand and scoring her first victory. The second upcoming match was between Lei Fang and Bass.

Lei Fang stood in the fighting floor alone, moving around gracefully, practicing her combat stances and techniques while she waited for Bass to show up. She wore her trademark red dress with a gold dragon designed on the front, along with her favorite open toed heeled sandals that she often wore in battle.

"I don't see how Lei Fang fights in that getup," Hitomi unknowingly said, while watching Lei Fang warm up. "I know I wouldn't be able to fight in heels like those, my feet would hurt so much I would have to take them off. And that dress of hers is so nice, I don't see why she would want to ruin it."

"I don't understand it either," Kasumi replied, "but it's the way she prefers to fight. There's nothing really wrong with a girl beating up people and looking good doing it, is there?"

Hitomi shrugged apathetically and drew her attention back to Lei Fang. Finally, an emerging shadow could be seen reflecting off the walls of the entryway. The figure seemed like a big heavyset fellow, most likely Bass.

But everyone's hopes were crushed when they found out it was Jann Lee and his elderly trainer passing through to see the next match. It wasn't hard to figure out that the young dragon had came out to taunt and watch Lei Fang compete in her match. His desire of wanting to see how much she had improved from the previous Tournament far exceeded anybody else's.

His devil like eyes glared at her menacingly, motioning with his hand that the end for her was only hours away. The pounding heart from inside his chest was beating with uncanny excitement. Now the time he had longingly awaited for was here.

Lei Fang returned his wicked gaze with a stone cold stare of her own and plunged the back of her sharp, heeled sandal straight into the cemented floor, creating a small hole in the ground. Lei Fang could tell by his look that the battle between them was going to be fiercer than the one they had before. Their intimidating stares were soon interrupted when Bass stumbled his way to the ring from the backstage area.

Bass stomped up to Lei Fang, creating small foot holes in the ground from the heaviness of his feet. He practically stood over her like a towering giant. The size difference between them was very noticeable and not very surprising. The heavy American wrestler didn't see the Chinese college student as very serious in being a challenge.

"I suggest going home, little girl, I wouldn't want to flatten a little thing like you," he insultingly chuckled, looking down at her like a small toddler.

Lei Fang folded her arms behind her back timidly, stepped closer to the brawny fighter and smiled.

"Aw, that's so sweet. You know, I feel the same way about you," she giggled.

Bass's face turned blazing red from her response. He didn't find her commenting insult very funny or cute. He thought because of his large size she would be afraid of him. But he saw no signs of fear in her eyes, only a want to fight.

He hauled off with his fist balled high up in the air and drove it downward into her face to deliver a crashing blow to start things off. Lei Fang, seeing his fist coming, caught his arm with precise timing before his hand nearly touched her skin. She twisted his arm around quickly and flipped him over her shoulder on his back. The ring floor shook up as if a rapid earthquake had just hit. Bass was laid out flat on his back, leaving a large crater in the cemented ring floor. Dazed and confused, he could not understand as to how Lei Fang managed to flip him over so easily.

"Take it easy, old man," she said with a playful grin.

Bass sat up from the ground brushing the dust and rocks off his tank top from the concrete. He felt a little embarrassed by being slammed so easily by a girl way smaller than him. Usually, nobody was able to slam Bass down before, but somehow Lei Fang was enabled to do it.

This was the first time he had been put on his back in a long while. His ego crumbled even more when he attacked Lei Fang with angrily with everything he had at his disposal. All his moves were countered with the slightest ease and thrown right back at him. His fighting technique became sloppy, making it much easier to dodge his attacks and counter them.

Before Bass knew it, he was done and defeated after being knocked out by one of Lei Fang's sharp kicks to the throat. After her victory, Lei Fang could tell that the training she went through was paying off. Being a good sport, Lei Fang helped Bass up off the ground and to his feet. He looked down at her, wondering why she was being so nice after the way he treated her.

" Are you ok? That was a good match, but next time you should be more focused during the fight," she said, winking at him.

Bass seemed happy from the encouragement given out to him. He liked her for being a good sport and showing respect for him, unlike his rebellious daughter. The two fighters extended arms and shook hands respectfully before walking out.

Next up was Jann Lee's match.

Lei Fang walked up the ramp as Jann Lee walked passed her from the opposite direction. Their eyes connected only for a split second before they were out of each other's view. It was at that moment Lei Fang could feel the wind sweeping heavily against her, forcing her to turn and look directly at Jann. She could sense some kind of strange presence dwelling within him, one that wasn't noticeable from before.