Five minutes into the match, Jann Lee seemed to be having fun at the expense of neutralizing every one of Ayane's attacks. His movements were unpredictable, always mixing his techniques up into something different each time. Ayane would generally use swift speed and agility to confuse her opponent, but somehow Jann's speed was on par with hers, enabling him to keep up with her. His trainer Shen soon expressed great frustration and often shouted frequently at him to finish the ninja off and stop toying around.
"All right Jann, enough kidding around. Finish her, now! He shouted"
Jann purposely ignored Shen's words and continued to do as pleased. To him, the match would be soon over when he was ready to end it.
"I thought I gave you an order, Jann Lee. You finish this fight, now!"
Jann Lee's eyes then drifted off Ayane and focused on Shen. It would seem the two were having a disagreement with one another. Jann wanted to continue having his fun with Ayane, but Shen pointed Jann Lee to the real reason he entered the Tournament. This was all about Lei Fang, not the purple haired ninja that was breathing rationally in front of him. After awhile, the yelling began to bother Jann and disrupt him from the fight. Slowly he rotated his head, clinching the bottom half of his teeth.
"Shut up! I know what the deal is old man, I haven't forgotten! He barked in annoyance.
"How dare you speak to me like that?" hissed an angry Shen. "You better keep in mind, it was me that put you where you are right now!"
Shen immediately scratched his head in wonder as to why Jann would have such a violent outburst.
"That's strange," he thought. "He isn't supposed to talk to me that way. The Kagai must not have taken full control over his mind and body yet. Hopefully by the time he fights in his next match he should be much easier to manipulate."
Jann Lee competently retraced his eyes right back on Ayane, and was greeted by the head of her foot, which kicked him backwards. After making a few stumbles, he recovered and landed a couple of jolting blows to her ribs in return. She tried desperately to attack before another strike was landed, but it was too late to make any sudden movements, for Jann's bruising fists collided with the side of her face.
Ayane crashed into the ground and used every bit of strength she had left to stand. Her knees, now weak and numb, wobbled as she stood up from the floor, heading into a blocking stance. Jann's elongated legs stepped backward a couple steps, his arms moving around in a constant swaying motion. He dashed forward, screeching his infamous battle cry before concluding the attack. With a big leap, he snap kicked Ayane out of the ring. He could see her glove-covered hands gripping on the outer edges of the grounded concrete to reach and climb back in, but they suddenly stopped and remained still.
The count was started, and Jann waited patiently to see if his foe would get up again. After reaching ten, the referee raised his arm up. Ayane was now defeated and out of the Tournament. After witnessing the fight was over, Lei Fang and Kasumi immediately came into the ring next, following the ending of the previous match. Jann's eyes refused to make contact with either fighter as he left the ring furiously, with his attention aimed only on his trainer.
"There. The match is done," Jann grunted.
"Gladly. Its about time you came to your senses and realize what your really after .Lei Fang should be your only main concern," said Shen.
Lei Fang and Kasumi stood separated away from each other on the outer regions of the ring. Now it was time for their fight, but neither appeared ready to start fighting just yet. An exchange of words was in order before anything got underway.
"Well, this is it," said Kasumi with a convenient grin.
"Yep. Sure looks like it," Lei Fang replied, smiling back.
"Don't think I'll go easy on you."
"I don't expect you to. I wouldn't want that anyway, Kasumi."
"Good, if you want to get to Jann you'll have to go through me first in order to do so."
"Sounds good to me."
The two fighters prepped themselves for battle and wiped the proud smiles from their faces into more contemplative expressions. Both circled around the ring, keeping their distance and being cautious of each other's movements. Kasumi spaced her hands and legs apart a few inches away and broke into her fighting stance. Lei Fang followed suit and moved her arms around in a circular motion into her fighting stance.
Kasumi's hair had been untied from its usual ponytail and hung down, draping past her ears and shoulders. This meant she was going to be very aggressive and use all her abilities to the fullest.
Lei Fang also made certain Kasumi knew she wasn't fooling around either and brought one foot out in front while the other dragged itself backwards until it became idle. With their attitudes and minds in focus, the two friends facing off against each other shifted their weight forward and charged at full speed. When their bodies drew closer into a near touch, Kasumi vanished, leaving a swirl of floating flower pedals.
Lei Fang decreased her speed into a slow trot before stopping herself. Her eyes wandered all over the ring alarmingly, searching for the vanished ninja. Suddenly, Kasumi reappeared from behind and harshly nudged the bone of her elbow into Lei Fang's backside. The classy teenager fell and dropped to her knees, her face kissing the rocky concrete surface of the ring floor.
When she could stand up again, Kasumi had gone airborne, falling from the sky with both of her feet pointing diagonally. The bottom of her sandals kicked Lei Fang's chest and vaulted her backwards. Kasumi saw her opponent staggering, tripping over her own feet. This now a good time to take advantage and induce more damage. She quickly went airborne again and clamped her legs around Lei Fang's neck into a tight firm choke before bending all her weight backwards into a flip. A loud thud shook up the ground after the two had crashed into the floor. Kasumi sat up and skipped backwards, vanishing again.
Lei Fang, after regaining a few seconds of rest, wearily shot up and went into a guarding stance to avoid another surprise attack from her speedy foe. Kasumi zipped around her at blazing speed, appearing in one spot than reappearing in another. Seconds later, Lei Fang saw herself surrounded by several running Kasumis. Her eyes ran from side to side, following their patterns as she conjured up a plan.
Finally, the Kasumis put a stop to their running and charged at Lei Fang, swarming her with a barrage of punches and kicks. Lei Fang shielded herself with her arms for protection, but Kasumi easily broke through the concealing barrier and knocked her around like a piñata. The relentless assault ended with a roundhouse kick that lashed across the middle of Lei Fang's stomach. Her body flipped backwards, landing face first in the dirt.
The referee started his count, as Lei Fang lied motionless. It was painful for Kasumi to have to do that to her friend, but this was a competition after all. It didn't matter who you fought, everyone was your enemy whether they be a real life friend or not.
As the count neared seven, Lei Fang's head drudged back up a little and gazed at the stage entrance. She could see Jann watching her narrowly, his eyes refusing to blink and miss any of the action. He was the one responsible for convincing her to join this Tournament. She couldn't just lose after coming so far. It was at that moment Lei Fang would summon all the strength in her body to stand up and continue. The crowd was amazed that she was still able to compete. They applauded and cheered to see the match go even further.
Witnessing the crowds strong reaction, Kasumi made a few back flips with Lei Fang following her to the edge of the ring. Kasumi was looking to lure her opponent into another painful assault, but when she halted her flipping and went into jabbing that was when Lei Fang caught her arms and held them into a tight squeeze. Kasumi wildly swung her feet around, hoping to kick her smiling friend off of her, but Lei Fang tilted her head from side to side, avoiding contact with the heel of the ninja's sandaled feet.
After thrusting up another couple of kicks, both Kasumi's feet were captured by Lei Fang's arms and pulled into her chest. Kasumi, unable to use her arms or legs, fell backward and hit the floor, but after she took a plunge, the Chinese fighter was still gripping her feet. She was then brought back up and driven back into the cement after Lei Fang whipped her into the air by the foot and sent her crashing back down. Jann Lee and Shen watched in amusement from the barricade, loving every minute of seeing the two friends fight each other.
Meanwhile, Kasumi's body was laid still on the ring floor, leaving a slight marking of her backside in the rugged concrete. Lei Fang sat in front of her, down on both knees, panting uncontrollably.
There was a brief momentary silence that spread out around the arena. The crowd edged their eyes closer to try and get a view and see if Kasumi was moving or not. Her eyelids stayed closed with her arms spaced out wide to the sides. The referee began counting as Lei Fang rolled herself back up until her two feet were able to stand again.
Author's notes to the reviewers kuzuryuzen08, James Hanson, and Seekerofrarepairings
(This goes out to the following users. Ok, first off, I do not have anything against Jann Lee. I'm not using this story to criticize or show a dislike for him. I really have no problem with him at all. I ask that the Jann Lee fans not take offense to this fic. I have another fic in the works coming up after this one, and Jann Lee will be in it, but in a different role. This is really just something I wanted to write about and have fun with. I do not display a grudge against a certain character or characters in any of my stories. If you are offended, please accept my apologies.
This story will continue as planned and I will not change anything or spoil what will happen. If you're interested, keep reading and do as if this whole ordeal had never happened.
Also, please refrain from spamming my review list. I do not like to receive emails for one of my stories thinking it's a review but then find out its really just a paragraph written to attack or insult another user who posted something in response to what another user wrote. If I get anymore of those they will be deleted immediately.)