Chapter 12: Fight!
Julia strapped her headband on as she walked forward through one of the hotel's many parks. Today was going to be her first match. Her match was against a newcomer named Sasha Abhaya. Julia had never heard of her before, so she was unsure of how she worked. She had, however, gotten the name of her fighting style. It was something called Soul Technique.
When she had talked to Peter about it, both of them were puzzled. Was this Sasha a threat? Only time would tell, as her match was approaching it's deadline. There were plenty of interesting characters this time around. Most fighters looked at Yoshimitsu as if he were outer worldly, but the new challenger named Ghoul put him to shame. As a matter of fact, the two creatures were to battle each other soon. Julia and Peter had never seen him, just heard about how grotesque he looked.
A week and a half had passed by and a few matches had already been won. Each fighter wanted something, and they would stop at nothing to achieve it. Julia was on her way to the hotel's garden. Many of the female fighters had said that the garden was their favorite place to fight. Although she was a girl, Julia had to admit that she was quite the stereotypical tomboy. While most of the girls played with flowers and dolls, Julia was busy climbing the Arizona cliffs with her mother, Michelle Chang.
Here, in this garden, Julia's destiny could possibly unfold for the better. If she lost, then her goal of reforestation would be destroyed. Reaching forward, she grabbed hold of a beautiful red rose. She noticed that the thorns didn't cut her.
Suddenly, Julia looked to her left and saw a beautiful woman. She looked of Middle Eastern descent. The girl looked around Julia's own age, and she was adorned in violet puffy pants, with gold slippers. She wore a violet bra-top with her hair braided in one piece behind her head. She wore a violet headband and something very interesting. It looked like a black scarf/shawl that was attached to the bra. It reached from the top left corner of the bra and extended all the way around her back, ending in a gold ring around the girl's middle finger.
The girl spoke, with an accent that complimented her beauty. "In India, there are things that are more beautiful than flowers." Julia let go of the rose and turned to her, saying "Like what?"
The girl smiled and replied "Like the soul, the body."
Julia smiled at the remark before asking "Sasha right?"
The girl in front of her nodded, a small smile forming on her full lips. Sasha stepped forward to shake Julia's hand. "It is Julia no? I am not familiar with American customs completely. At least not yet."
Julia shook her hand firmly before looking around her. All around the two women, were crowds of people waiting for the fight to begin. The announcer stepped forward to begin the event.
After explaining the rules, he stepped away and got ready to announce the beginning of the fight.
Julia dropped down into her stance, both fists held away from her chest, with most of her weight balanced on both legs. Sasha went back into what almost looked like a dance. She slowly swung her hands in front of her, one in a fist, before popping her left arm back behind her. She continued to loop this maneuver, making Julia ask "So what exactly is Soul Technique?"
Sasha smiled and replied "You shall see."
Tribal drums began to beat wildly through the air as the announcer put the megaphone to his lips.
"Fight!"
Julia was the first to move. She jumped forward with a fist, aiming for Sasha's midsection. Surprisingly, Sasha moved her stomach flexibly to the right of the attack. Using Julia's disorientation to her advantage, Sasha grabbed hold of Julia's fist before she pulled her closer. Then, she charged her right fist from behind her head, over the back of her neck, and into Julia's face. Next, she bent forward, bringing her right leg over her back, crashing into the top of Julia's head.
Sasha jumped backwards with grace, offering a smile of sportsmanship. Julia underestimated this girl. Her small physique seemed to pack more punches than it looked like it could. Julia quickly put together her opponent's style in her mind. She seemed to rely on flexibility to attack.
Julia ran forward and dropped to the ground, sweep kicking at her opponent. Sasha jumped over her leg before slamming her right foot down into Julia's thigh. Grunting in pain, Julia rolled backwards to avoid a follow up attack.
Sasha moved forward, shaping her body like an arrow as she flung her protruding fist at Julia as she rose to her feet. Julia reacted swiftly, grabbed her punch before returning one of her own. Sasha jumped backwards, grabbing her nose. Using this moment, Julia spun around, whipping three powerful kicks into Sasha's side.
Before Julia could put her leg down, Sasha grabbed it and spun around, slamming her hand across the back of Julia's head before spinning the opposite way and sweep kicking her to the floor. Julia looked up to see Sasha bending over backwards, slowly bringing her legs crashing down towards Julia's face. With a quick roll, Julia moved out of the way and slammed her fists into Sasha's back. Sasha flew forwards, hitting the dirt in front of her.
Jumping into the air, Julia held her feet together and aimed them at the bottom of Sasha's back. Being caught off guard, Sasha had only time to gasp for air as Julia landed on her backside. Upon hopping off of Sasha's back, Julia assumed that she was done for. Something surprised her, for Sasha was rising to her feet. Swiftly, Sasha charged at Julia and wrapped her shawl around her throat, as she tripped her to the ground and held her there. Julia felt like she was going to lose, but suddenly, Sasha collapsed to the ground.
"T.K.O.!"
Sasha moaned in pain and discomfort as Julia helped her up to her feet. Smiling, Julia said "You fought well."
By this time, Julia had determined that Soul Technique was heavily based on Yoga.
Victory. Julia had won and she felt thrilled. Suddenly, she remembered that something was happening. Her new friend Miharu was going up against Marshall Law…