Author's notes: Whoa, sorry for the late update. If you havent seen the last chapter, please do before viewing this one. I also address that this story isnt meant to bash Jann Lee or show a dislike for the guy. I have no problem with him or the other fighters of DOA. The story will not be alterted and will go accordingly to the way I have planned it out since the beginning. Please refrain from spamming the reviews with insults directed towards other users. I really don't like to have an email sent to me and discover it has nothing to do with my story, and is only meant to take a jab at another person. This story is just built for fun, nothing more. Not trying to be mean, just making a statement. Now, on with the chapter.
Another count was initiated by the referee's gruff voice, nearly reaching eight, so close to ten, but Kasumi bounced up from the web shaped cracks made in the ring floor, ready, coming back into Lei Fang's territory at full speed. Witnessing this, Lei Fang felt foolish, thinking she had put Kasumi out of commission for good. The speedy ninja revealed she still had some juice left and was coming at her friend with everything.
Lei Fang blocked a thudding elbow with her hands being pressed close to her face by the force of Kasumi's arm trying to press through. Speed was Kasumi's key to victory, an advantage she held over Lei Fang, and one that she was putting to good use. Some of her attacks came from the air and others came low from the ground, unpredictably.
Lei Fang managed to catch one attack and counter it with a blow to the back of Kasumi's head that sent her to her sagging knees. Shifting her weight back into a backward cartwheel, Lei Fang's feet flung upward and kicked across Kasumi's hanging chin. A few watchers in the crowd laughed as they could see up Lei Fang's skirt as she performed the acrobatic maneuver. But that didn't matter to her. Kasumi was taking damage and that was most important.
Both fighters were pulling out a few tricks they thought the other would not anticipate and even saving some for later if they felt they needed to, just to keep some in reserve. Kasumi rubbed the small cut she got from Lei Fang on her chin, checking for signs of blood. It was ok though. Her face wasn't bleeding, and even if it were it wouldn't stop her from fighting.
"This match is mine!" Kasumi shouted, dashing toward Lei Fang, her hair withdrawing behind her ears.
"I don't think so!" Lei Fang said, belting forward.
Their bodies came into close contact, but Kasumi did a high jump into the sky that stopped Lei Fang from touching her. The crowd looked up into the air to see Kasumi descending downward, sticking her feet out into a missile kick. Lei Fang anticipated this move. She knew there was a chance Kasumi would try to do it again. This attack was aimed directly to hit Lei Fang's upper body section.
Stepping back and readying up for a high counter, Lei Fang waited for Kasumi to land closer to the ring. Seconds passed and Kasumi was closer than ever, but a surprise turn of events shattered Lei Fang's plan. Kasumi shifted her legs down swiftly and notified Lei Fang that the attack was now aimed for her lower mid section. It was too late to change the counter, and Lei Fang found herself getting knocked backward.
Kasumi had tricked her, playing games with Lei Fang to make her think she would do the same exact attack again after having abused it so many times during the match. It was the same attack but modified to hit another location on the body.
A burning pain hit Lei Fang's stomach as she was laid outside the ring. Her eyes were aimed toward the sky, trying to regain the sight they had lost temporarily. She felt woozy, wanting to throw up after taking such a devastating blow. It was like an angry mule had kicked her right in the stomach.
In the ring, Kasumi stood with her arms crossed, waiting to see if her friend would either get up again or decide she had enough and admit defeat. Lei Fang, of course, wasn't going to quit, not for Kasumi, not for anybody. She rose up from the outside floors and came back in for another try at Kasumi.
With a confident wave, she dared Kasumi to come near her, which she did. But the moment Kasumi came close enough she started eating foot again with Lei Fang's backward cartwheel. Kasumi stood stunned for a short second, allowing Lei Fang to spin around and nail her right in the face with a stiff kick before turning around and knocking her down with a backhand. Kasumi got up and charged. Lei Fang was ready and raised her arm up over Kasumi's head, and lowered it when she passed by and back elbowed the ninja on her stomach before ending the attack with a stomp.
The referee started the count again and he could see Kasumi moving slowly to get up, but then, she fell back down and crashed into the dirt. She wanted to get up again, but the damage she had taken was too overwhelming to rise up from, feeling the bruises everywhere on her body. The count was close to nine and Kasumi still couldn't lift her legs to stand up. Seconds later it was over, and Lei Fang had won the match as the declared victor.
To help her friend, she brought Kasumi up from the floor and shared a sporting hug while sitting on her knees.
"You ok?" she said with concern.
"I'll be fine. These wounds are nothing compared to the other battles I've been in. Thanks for the match. Now go get Jann Lee, ok?"
"I won't let you down," Lei Fang replied, reassuringly.
Four hours had passed with Lei Fang still suffering from some of the bruises she received from Kasumi. It didn't seem like enough time to recuperate for a match like the one earlier, but this was the final day of the Tournament so it was understandable, but still seemed unfair. Lei Fang waited in the ring alone, her blood constantly rushing through her veins to eagerly see her last and final opponent, a man with a mission, a man that was looking to permanently disable her life and reputation.
Kasumi and some of the participants that lost earlier stayed to watch, getting a good view from the barricades. Even though they had lost, they were interested to see the final outcome of the Tournament. Some were betting for Jann to win with others betting for Lei Fang to climb the mountain and snatch the gold as winner of the Tournament. No one knew who would be the victor for sure, but they knew as soon as these two stepped in the ring, it was going to be a great show to watch.
Storm clouds hovered above the ring and crowd, crackling thunder through the sky. This was the match, the moment Lei Fang and everyone else had been waiting for, the rematch between her and Jann Lee. She was not scared nor excited, just calm, waiting for the young man to step through the stage entrance and disclose himself.
With a crackle of loud booming thunder, Jann Lee's face appeared from the shadows of the stage, his face no longer baring a confident sadistic smile. He appeared serious, just like Lei Fang, while ripping the white shirt off his body bit by bit with each button popping off until the bare flesh of his upper body was exposed. It seemed like Lei Fang was miles away in the ring because of his anticipation to reach her. Shen, of course, accompanied his proud new student to the fighting square, and as they stepped in, Lei Fang paced quickly toward Jann Lee, remembering the horrible things he had done since his weird attitude change: the constant death threats, hospitalizing Hitomi, knocking Zack out the ring while he was hurt, and nearly injuring all the Tournament entrees and frightening the rest to pull out of the competition.
His foot stepped into the ring along with the other and met Lei Fang face to face by the pointed edge, her face boiling with heated anger. Seeing his opponent like this, Jann smiled and lightly patted Lei Fang on the head as if she were some little cute child pretending to be tough. But Lei Fang wasn't pretending and harshly slapped Jann Lee's patting hand away, still locked in her angry gaze.
"I've been waiting for this a long time," Jann Lee snorted, looking down at her.
"So have I," Lei Fang added.
"Don't whine if I crush you too hard."
Jann noted Lei Fang's still expression, sending him some sort of message.
"Grrrr…..you don't think you'll win do you?" he growled.
"I see it as a possibility. Things can happen as long as anyone puts their mind to it."
The two moved closer into the center of the ring, staying close, not retracing their eyes away from each other. The referee signaled for the fight to begin with the ring of a bell, but neither fighter moved an inch of their body. Jann and Lei Fang were still fixed in their glaring stares. An impatient crowd became angry, shouting at both of them to throw a strike, but they ignored the crowd's pleas and demands.
Rain poured from the cloudy sky, drenching both them and the crowd in wetness. The weather's timing was bad, but this wasn't going to deter the match, and if it did, Jann and Lei Fang would still fight regardless. This rivalry between team had gone far enough. It was time to put a stop to it once and for all. If Jann Lee were to lose again, he didn't know what he would do. As for Lei Fang, there was something more to lose in this fight than what Jann Lee had and that was her life. A loss bestowing on her would equal automatic death, something Jann Lee promised to fulfill by the end of the Tournament.
Suddenly, a minute into the stare off, Jann Lee threw a punch, expecting it to knock Lei Fang off her feet, but she surprisingly blocked it and smacked it away as if it were a fly. Jann Lee didn't appreciate that and threw another swing of the fist, but Lei Fang blocked it again and shooed it away.
"Well, I can see your blocking has become much more accurate this time around. But don't think two lousy punches is all your going to get."
"Quit talking, Jann, and fight!" Lei Fang wittily demanded.
Jann Lee moved back, throwing his concentration into place, inhaling and exhaling deeply, drawing in the energy that surged within him. Quickly, he shot at Lei Fang with a blaze of punches. This time he managed to catch her with a few blows as she started to cover up and kneel down. He grabbed hold of her head with one arm and used the other to summon a ball of strength to knock her in the noggin. Letting go of his opponent after he pounded her, Jann Lee pushed her to the floor and stomped the bottom of his shoe into her face, screaming out in his frequent battle cry.
A count was started, but Jann interrupted it and yanked Lei Fang off the ground to do even more heavy damage. He beat her in the same exact way he beat Hitomi, smacking her senseless with the back of his hands before pounding her with heavy punches. Lei Fang's head bounced in different directions from the strikes she was being pelted with. She felt Jann's strength had improved greatly with every smack his hand made with her face. If she didn't do something quick, it could be all over for her.
Seeing Jann's next slap coming toward her, Lei Fang caught his arm and yanked it hard so his body would come falling into her raised knee. Jann bent over from the blow to the midsection but shook it off, and punched Lei Fang in the stomach. He moved behind her as she bent over and slipped his arms underneath her armpits into a full nelson submission hold. Lei Fang tried to break out, but Jann increased the pressure, holding her much tighter than before. Lei Fang screamed as she could feel the stiff pain in her back. She never encountered a full nelson before and wasn't sure how to pry out of it.
"What's wrong, little girl? Are you feeling angry? Are you feeling humiliated? Is that it? Jann barked in her ear. What's that? Have nothing to say? Of course you wouldn't because you DON'T…..KNOW…..WHAT….HUMILATION… IS!" He screamed, as he rammed his knee into her lower back each time individually with every single word.
"That's it! Teach the girl! Teach her to suffer like you did!" Shen cheered from outside the ring, grinning a smile of appreciation.
Lei Fang could feel the strength in her fading, her legs coming to kneel down on the floor. Although she was in pain, she couldn't help but bring up a smile, a smile of confidence.