The Game of Death

A tribute to the last movie of the world's greatest fighter, Bruce Lee

Disclaimer: I do not own DOA, you know, all the jazz.

Three

Jann glanced at Kokoro as they two headed for the stairs, following right behind the other three.

"So...since we've got time, why are you here?" Jann asked.

"Well, see...I'm a Maiko." Kokoro glanced up at Jann, who wore a confused expression on his face, "It's a Geisha in-training..." Kokoro continued.

"Geisha? Maiko?" Jann was confused.

"Well, Geisha are entertainers of a sort. Dances, play instruments...you've never heard of them?" Kokoro asked.

"Sadly, no." Jann replied.

"Well see, I belong to a house and just recently...that house was burned down. We were about to have no place to go...then Hayate confronted us. He offered that I help with this Pagoda thing and he'd have a new house built for us. Of course I couldn't turn that offer down. So...what about you?" Jann took a deep breath,

"Well, I'm a teacher of the martial arts style known as Jeet Kune Do. I only had one student but things were working out well. Then she was kidnapped and I was forced into this. Hayate isn't as friendly to men, obviously." Jann said. They reached the top of the stairs with the others. Before them two people sat in foldable chairs on a large wrestling mat, surrounded by metal railings. One was a man. He was big and buff. It was a suprise he was able to fit into his shirt, it looked as if it was about to come apart. He wore shades, just for the cool factor as the room as dimly lit. The person sitting next to him was a woman. She had shoulder length blonde hair and wore an expression signaling she was bored.

"Welcome to Level 2. I assure you...this won't be such a push over fight." Bass said, laughing as he finished his sentence, "This is a tag team match. Please tell me you understand how these work?"

"Enlighten us." Ryu said, folding his arms. Bass grinned,

"See two people start out in the ring. They fight and when they want out, call Tag. Their partner can come in and take their place. The battle ends when both contenders on one team are knocked out. Come on, any of you guys watch wrestling?" Bass replied, standing up.

"I don't enjoy watching two men in their underwear grabbing eachother. It's quite an un-honorable fight as well...sometimes they use items such as ladders and chairs, correct?" Ryu replied.

"With such a big mouth, you must be offering to come into the ring." Bass said, standing up.

"I guess I am." Ryu stepped into the ring. Bass nodded and Tina collected both chairs. She leapt off and threw the chairs to the floor.

"Who will be your partner?" Bass asked, cracking his knuckles. Ryu glanced back,

"Kasumi...want to go?" Ryu asked.

"Sure." Kasumi replied, nodding. Before Ryu could turn back around, a bell was rung. Bass lunged forward and grabbed Ryu by the waist. He lifted Ryu high up and threw him back down to the floor. Before Ryu could recover from the cheap shot, Bass threw his large figure on top of Ryu.

"I am the champion!" Bass shouted, standing up. Ryu lay on the floor, unmoving, "One hit knock out! Ha ha!" Bass pumped his fist.

"Not quite." Ryu said. He disappeared from the floor and appeared behind Bass. He thrust his fist forward, nailing Bass in the back of the head. Bass stumbled forward, coughing out a wad of blood.

"You..." Bass whirled around, swinging his fist wildly. Ryu ducked beneath the attempt and rushed forward, ramming Bass in the chest with his shoulder. Bass hit the railing and flipped over it, hitting the floor, "Tag." he said as he lay on the ground. Tina leapt in and dove forward, going for a grapple. Ryu leapt above her attempt and planted a foot to her throat. He landed on his feet as she landed on the floor, coughing.

"Wrestling. What a disgrace to fighting." Ryu said.

"At least it's not cheap like your ninja crap." Tina said, standing up and rubbing her throat.

"You'd do best not to say things about what you do not know." Ryu replied, shaking his head. Tina lunged forward, this time pulling Ryu into the grapple. She held him by the waist and moved her foot forward. She twirled behind him and kicked him in the back of the knee, causing him to fall to his knees.

"Tag!" Tina called, back flipping out. Bass rushed in before Ryu could get up and grabbed him by the face. He threw him into the railing and backed up, raising both arms in the air.

"So, doubles are allowed, huh?" Ryu raced forward. Bass attempted to throw a punch as Ryu closed in, but Ryu leapt up to the ceiling. He pushed off it and rocketed downwards, tackling Bass. Ryu backflipped off Bass and placed his foot underneath Bass's large body, "Tag." He raised his foot up, sending Bass flying upwards. Kasumi rushed in and grabbed Bass's legs before he could hit the floor. She leapt up even higher, dragging him up with her. In mid-air, she let go and raised her arm high up in the air. Before gravity could pull them down, she slammed her fist into Bass's beer belly. He flew downwards and hit the floor with a loud thud. Kasumi landed back on the floor, light as a feather.

"Is he knocked out?" Ryu asked.

"I think..." Kasumi kneeled beside him and felt his pulse. He suddenly raised his arms and wrapped them around her, he stood and threw her to the floor. He grabbed her by the head and held her in the air. He began to twirl around, so fast that he became a blur.

"WAAHHHH!" he screamed as he let go of Kasumi she flew into the railing, hitting it so hard she flew right through it. She skidded across the floor and lay there, knocked out. Tina stepped in and gave Bass a high five, both of them cheering like animals. Ryu grit his teeth and leapt in. He grabbed them both by the head and slammed them together. They both stumbled back, it seemed as if Bass's nose was out of place. Ryu stood in-between them and leapt out, sending his feet both ways like a split in mid-air. Both feet found their target, nailing Bass and Tina in the face. Tina flew back and out of the ring, she was knocked out. Bass however only took a few steps back, "That ain't how the fight goes. You broke the rules..." Bass said, his glasses were now broken. He reached down and grabbed one of the foldable chairs from the floor. He swung it at Ryu, screaming. Ryu held his fist up, blocking the chair. The chair split in half and fell to the floor,

"If I were you...I would hope we never meet again." Ryu said. He leapt up and planted a foot on Bass's shoulder. ith his other foot, he kicked Bass in the head. Bass flew out of the ring and hit the wall. The wall crumbled from the impact and Bass flew through it, falling one floor down.

"Kasumi, get up." Hayate said, standing over her, not doing a thing. Ryu rushed over, ripping off his sleeve.

"Get me some help over here..." Ryu said. Kokoro kneeled down and lightly held Kasumi's head up as Ryu wrapped the cloth around her head as the impact had injured her head severly. Hayate turned his back and walked to the ring, seemingly inspecting it. Jann walked over,

"Family can be such trouble." Hayate said to Jann, rolling his eyes.

"They're family to you?" Jann asked.

"Kasumi is. She's my sister."

"Then why aren't you over there helping her?" Jann asked, balling his hands into fists. Hayate didn't answer, he glanced over to see that they had finished up.

"Is she still out?" Hayate asked, not a hint of emotion in his voice.

"Yeah...but she'll be fine." Ryu replied, picking her up and holding in his arms.

"Then let's move on. Kokoro...you're up." Hayate said.

"Right." Kokoro took the lead and begun heading up the stairs.

"Plan on fighting today?" Jann asked. Hayate didn't answer, he simply kept moving. Jann shook his head and rushed to keep up with Kokoro.

Author's Note: I rushed that last one out and really felt I had to return to it and re-do. I made a few minor changes in this one, but whatever. Thanks for the reviews everyone, I hope you keep reading.