鉄拳
Tekken: About the Story – Chapter 4 – The King of Iron Fist Tournament - Opening
20 years after Kazuya's fall...
Inside Mishima Zaibatsu, Heihachi Mishima stood up making an announcement to the media. The reporters surrounded the desktop and Heihachi didn't seem to care about it, he really wished all the possible attention for the announcement he was about to make. The office was crowded and microphones were pointed to Heihachi from all the room. There were positioned cameras because the company CEO have promised an event that would please many and would involve the entire world. It was a busy morning and even so the businessman seemed very cheerful.
"Good morning, ladies and gentleman. I, Heihachi Mishima, Mishima Zaibatsu's owner come to announce the registrations to the fighting tournament "The King of Iron Fist" are already open. At this tournament, it will be allowed any style of martial arts and any nationality. It will not have invitation, the registrations to enter are free. I as the sponsor will be the last fighter. The fighter who wins the tournament will have to fight me in order to obtain the title of strongest fighter of the world and a cash prize evaluated in millions." The event was announced and there was no turning back, all one could do now was to wait.
"Sir, when the tournament begins?" One of the reporters charged anxiously some news to Heihachi, when would be the start of the tournament. "A year from here on, train and be ready. Hahaha!" Heichachi warned from the beginning and the advertising persons were already ready to spread the image and video content that would promote the tournament.
One year after the tournament announcement...
Several Fighters were at the arena. As advertised it was necessary to win a large quantity of opponents to reach the main stages which would start by the round of 16, where the fights would get most attention from the media. Heihachi Mishima was there waiting for the first fights to begin and watching the several tournament participants which were arriving. Among the participants, a shirtless man arrived the place, he had a spiked back hair and a haughty look.
"That man?! It can't be..." Heihachi saw the man and notice the man resemblance to his son Kazuya Mishima, the same one he threw on the precipice. He was stunned and even so didn't expect anything bad to happen to him.
"Something wrong, sir?" One of his black suited bodyguards asked noticing him a little nervous. They were sitting on special benches in a place around the arena where only the sponsor would have the right to stay. Heihachi watched from the cameras.
"It's nothing." Heihachi answered with his eyes back to the distant audience and away from the security cameras. He seemed worried besides of also having a portion of trust after fighting several experienced fighters on his own past experiences and turned out to win.
The days kept passing by while Kazuya were ranking up at the tournament. Until he crossed his path with an adversary he made even before the tournament. The blond man with his strange hairstyle, he used a red kimono and seemed to be American.
"You, I remember you." The man said stopping to talk with Kazuya which seemed to don't care too much until he remembered that he was not able to beat him.
"Paul Phoenix? We fought before the tournament, didn't we?" Kazuya said serious because besides not knowing to socialize very well he also didn't like to lose. The two have fought each other in a dojo and none of them have won the battle, it was a real draw.
"Yeah, don't lose, because, I want to fight you again." Paul said worried with his rematch, he also didn't accept to lose. Paul wanted to prove being the strongest man in the universe.
"That is my line, don't think you will have the same luck again." Kazuya said and left walking without giving him so much credit. He was a very proud person and he didn't have so many affections, a feature from Mishima family maybe.
The fights went on and finally it was round of 16, the best sixteen. It cost days for that and the sixteen were welcome on a special area from the challenge building. There, each one of them would take part of a new draw. The place was similar to a wide dojo, Heihachi had shown to the sixteen alongside his bodyguards. It was time to take a sphere with a written number and form the table keys from the round of 16.
"Good evening, gentleman. If you arrived to this point, you deserve my compliments. But, from now on, it is necessary that each one of you take a sphere similar to a table tennis ball from a box. Each one of those spheres will have a number from one to sixteen. That is how you will decide which one of you will fight against who at the next stage until the finals. And after the finals, the winner will have to defeat me to be a real champion." Heihachi said while the box with wheels was brought being pushed by members from Mishima Zaibatsu.
"Who would like to be first?" Heihachi asked waiting for someone to approach the box for the others to do the same later.
The sixteen presents were Kazuya Mishima, Paul Phoenix, a shinobi with a sword and a hannya mask called Yoshimitsu, a brawny shirtless man with a jaguar mask called King, another brawny man using a black jaguar mask called Armor king, Wang Jinrei, Lee Chaolan, a kunoichi also wearing a hannya mask called Kunimitsu, a fat man sumo fighter with the title of yokozuna called Ganryu, a bear that knew how to talk called Kuma, an Indian woman called Michelle, a Chinese wearing yellow clothes called Marshall Law, a blonde woman wearing blue clothes called Nina, a black-haired woman wearing a red shirt called Anna, a brawny man with the looking of a robot called Jack and the last one looked like him when it comes to body shape but without skin indicating he was definitely a robot, his name was Prototype Jack.
First was Kazuya, he walked to the box and withdrew a numbered sphere realizing that his number on the tournament bracket would be 14.
Paul Phoenix hurried to discover his place too, and then he took the sphere number 5.
Yoshimitsu walked soon after Paul and took the sphere number 4 from the box.
King alongside his Jaguar mask went to the object and took the sphere number 8.
Armor King doing the same withdrew from the box the sphere number 7.
Wang Jinrei with his serenity withdrew from the box the sphere number 2.
Lee Chaolan even without saying a word about recognizing Kazuya, he went to the box and withdrew the sphere number 13.
Kunimitsu watching the others withdrew from the box the sphere number 11.
Ganryu worried with the cash prize also arrived to the box and withdrew the sphere number 3.
Kuma watching Heihachi withdrew from the box the sphere number 6.
Michelle Chang walked to the box and sending a prayer she withdrew a sphere number 12 from the box.
Marshall Law hurried to the box and withdrew the sphere number 1.
Nina Williams with a closed feature and a cold look went to the box and withdrew the sphere number 10.
Anna Williams with a more seductive way of being went to the box and withdrew the sphere number 9.
Jack walked to the box with a very high intent to kill and withdrew from the box the sphere number 15.
Prototype Jack walked to the box and withdrew the sphere number 16.
And then, it was decided all the bracket from the round of 16. Hereafter, the history and personality from each one of these sixteen would be known around the entire world.
"Very well, we have already registered the numbers from each one of you. We will begin the first fight soon between Marshall Law and Wang Jinrei. We asked for the two participants to go to the arena and the remaining participants get together the spectators on your respective seats in the area reserved to you." Heihachi acted sincerely with his fighters and expected a great entertainment from what was yet to come. He was a fighter which had not known defeat on his life and didn't expect the tournament fighters were be able to defeat him, even so or maybe exactly because of that he used to enjoy every moment of challenge that poured from his possible future opponents.
The sixteen fighters obeyed and walked to the place destined to each one of them. Already around the arena, they had an area with numbered benches too for them to watch the fights and could even interact between each other while the judge was already in the arena center awaiting the arrival from the two first combatants that were already on their way in.