Disclaimer: I don't own Tekken
A/N: Hello, everyone. First, I apologize for such a long delay. Computer viruses and hectic work schedules do that. Now, we're getting into the tournament with the character spotlights. Please note that all spotlights take place after the first round, so that's just something I thought you should know. Now, without further ado, let's get started. And here … we … go:
The King of Iron Fist Tournament 7: A Final Tragedy for the Finest Future
Miharu Hirano: The Key Alternative
Miharu Hirano, the major change of this tournament… Miharu was called upon to fill the place in the roster left by Ling Xiaoyu, who was expecting. Having never competed in the tournament before but seeing all the ones that Xiaoyu competed in, it was understandable that she would nervous, never mind the fact that she was graded as 'bottom tier' by outside sources. Now, Miharu has to look deep within herself, and call upon strength she never knew she had…
Some kind of machine
Pink … everywhere. As soon as Miharu entered her fighting arena, she surrounded in a sea of pink. All over the room were pink balloons, pink streamers, and stuffed animals. The floor was covered in pink carpet and in the far corner was a mountain of wrapped presents. Miharu was in 'The Playroom', and the first thought that entered her mind was … Xiaoyu would have loved it in there.
Soon, her opponent, a girl, came walking up. She had pink hair with two flowers in it on the right side, and green eyes. She wore white shoes, brown stockings, white gloves that covered her hands, and long purple gloves that covered most of her arms. She also wore a purple and pink dress with her breasts covered in a bra-like manner with the strings going around her neck. In truth, she looked like she belonged in this particular place.
As the girl continued to casually approach and her face came into focus, Miharu realized that she recognized her, though the girl's name escaped her; she recognized her from the last tournament, and, that's when Miharu made a stunning discovery… Unbelievably, this girl hadn't aged at all in four years.
"Miharu Hirano, Alisa Bosconovitch, get ready for the next battle!" The announcer's voice suddenly blared throughout the room.
"Hello, I'm Alisa." The girl cheerfully introduced herself.
Slight confused by her opponent's casual tone, Miharu stammered, "Um … Hi. My name is…"
Before Miharu could even finish, Alisa chimed in, "Miharu Hirano, personal assistant at Kazama G Incorporated."
A cold bead of sweat formed on Miharu's temple as she thought, "Okay … I'm scared now."
Seemingly oblivious to the surprise she had caused, Alisa cheerfully continued, "It's a pleasure to meet you, Miharu… Now, you must die."
Taken off-guard completely, Miharu nervously stammered as Alisa got into fighting position, "Wha … W-What?!?!"
Suddenly, The Announcer's voice rang out again, "Round 1! Fight!"
Immediately, Miharu could tell something was off. So far, Alisa's graceful, dance-like fighting style wasn't unusual … but fighting her was gradually unnerving for Miharu. First, she noticed her attacks didn't seem to be affecting Alisa the way they should. The attacks, even the clean ones, just didn't seem to elicit much of a reaction from her. In truth, even actual impact with Alisa didn't feel right. No matter what Miharu did, she couldn't seem to get a good hit in: Alisa wasn't pushed back as far when she was hit cleanly, and she didn't fly very high when she was launched even on counters.
Nevertheless, Miharu chipped away at Alisa's health, defending as necessary and causing damage where she could get it. To end it, Miharu executed a very fast back flip, kicking Alisa with both legs into the air with a 'Back Layout', but, with that one attack, Miharu got the surprise of a lifetime…
After the attack, Miharu landed and looked up just in time to see … Alisa's head come flying off of her shoulders and her decapitated body land awkwardly on the ground!! Right away, the horrifying sight went right to Miharu's stomach. She fell to her knees and began heaving as she desperately tried to hold her lunch down.
The Announcer's voice soon resonated through the room, "Miharu wins!"
Like something out of movie, Alisa's headless body incredibly began to naturally move, lifting itself up and calmly walking over to her head. Miharu almost instantly fell backward, gripped with terror and bewilderment. Alisa's body effortlessly tossed her head into the air, and her head landed perfectly on her neck and reconnected to it with a metallic CLICK!
"That was fun!" Alisa exclaimed with a smile.
Alisa simply went back into her fighting stance, as if she hadn't just lost and reattached her own head. Miharu, still in utter shock over the whole ordeal, slowly rose to her feet and reluctantly got back into her fighting stance.
"Round 2!" The announcer's voice resounded through the room, "Fight!"
This round was a regular flurry of strange occurrences, Alisa's showcase to Miharu. Throughout the round, Alisa's head constantly flew off. In fact, she seemed to have trouble keeping it on her shoulders. Her arms would collapse and fall off when Miharu blocked certain attacks, all while her body parts were regenerating. That wasn't worse of it. Several times, chainsaws sprouted from Alisa's upper arms, just above her wrists. Then, wing-like jets came out of her back, propelling her as she rocketed around.
Rightfully so, Miharu couldn't figure it out or keep up. Just when Miharu couldn't be more panic-stricken, Alisa suddenly removed her head and placed it into Miharu's hands, much to the latter's horror and disgust. She was so shocked that she was practically frozen until… BOOOOM!!! Alisa's head exploded right in Miharu's face, knocking her a good ways backward.
The announcer's voice immediately blasted through the room, "Alisa wins!"
"Are you alright?" Alisa asked as she approached Miharu and offered her hand, her head already regenerated back on her neck.
"… No," Miharu replied with obvious confusion as she hesitantly took Alisa's hand.
"We should stop," Alisa cheerfully suggested as she helped Miharu to her feet, "Or…"
"Or what?" Miharu asked, partially dreading the answer.
Alisa smiled and said happily, "It's not my fault if you get hurt."
Miharu was rendered speechless. What does one say to that? No matter what way she looked, the whole encounter was just too strange … and trying to figure it out was just too much. Ultimately, she did the only thing she could: Miharu simply reassumed her fighting stance once more, as did Alisa.
The Announcer's voice rang out, "Final Round! Fight!"
From the start, Alisa was a machine … literally. She was a steady whirlwind of attacks, spinning, jumping, flying, and hovering all over the arena. As best she could, Miharu desperately tried to weather Alisa's offensive hurricane, with some success, and she took advantage of the openings to cause damage. Eventually, a stroke of fortune landed in Miharu's favor.
Taking one of Alisa's attacks, Miharu was knocked back, but, instead of immediately pressing the advantage, Alisa hesitated for a brief moment before running in. Miharu rolled through right into a crouch, where she noticed Alisa coming at her. In panic, Miharu quickly switched into 'Phoenix', and threw out a desperate attack … just in time to catch Alisa closing in. She surprised Alisa with a perfectly –timed, rising triple spiral kick, a 'Phoenix Talon'.
Without delay, the announcer's voice resonated with the decision, "Miharu Hirano wins! Please proceed to the next stage!"
Alisa sprung to her feet with the help of her jets, and complimented joyfully, "Wow! You're pretty strong."
"Um … thank you?" Miharu managed to force out.
Suddenly, Alisa's jets shot out of her back again, and began to buzz and glow with blue light.
"I have to go now…" Alisa said happily, "I must meet Anna and Nina Williams."
After a friendly wave of her hand, Alisa turned and shot into the air, flying straight up through the roof of the room and out of sight. Miharu could only stare in wonder and shock at the now-present hole in the ceiling as she struggled to make sense of what she had just gone through. The ringing of her cell phone eventually snapped her out of her confusion-induced trance.
"Hello, Xiao-chan," Miharu answered her phone.
"Yo, Miharu-chan!" Xiaoyu excitedly exclaimed from the other side of the line, "I watched your match! You did great!"
"Thanks, Xiao-chan," Miharu replied merrily before presenting a question to her best friend, "About that girl I fought … do you have any idea … what in the world she is?"
---
Fighting Backwards Uphill
Shinjuku was once again alive with tournament fever as it was once again tapped as a fighting arena, this time in the shopping district. Miharu gazed around in slight wonder at the many tall buildings and shops, walking underneath the glow of multicolored lit signs. Soon, she arrived at the fighting area with a crowd of people watching through the shop windows and from behind the gates used to close it off. There waiting was a face that instantly recognizable to her: wearing her trademark purple, camouflage print cat suit, personal bodyguard to Jin Kazama, the 'Silent Assassin' herself, Nina Williams.
The announcer's voice quickly rang out through the area, "Miharu Hirano, Nina Williams, get ready for the next battle!"
After spotting Miharu coming toward her, Nina let out a scoff and said, "You're my opponent? This will be easier than I thought."
"Excuse me?" Miharu asked with slight confusion.
"Think about it," Nina frigidly continued, "I'm a personal bodyguard for arguably the strongest man in the world, Jin Kazama … and you're his secretary. You should quit now while you can."
For a moment, Miharu paused as the thought rolled around in her head. After all, part of her believed what Nina was saying and had already considered that option. Ultimately, however, she reached the same conclusion she held onto the whole tournament.
"… I won't give up. I can't." Miharu said with resolution.
"Really?" Nina frostily inquired, "And just what exactly could you be fighting for? What could be so important that you're willing to get hurt … badly?"
Reaching within herself, Miharu rather adamantly replied, "I'm fighting for my friend. She needed me to be in this tournament for her, and I can't let her down."
Nina let out a scoff as she shrugged her shoulders and said, "Suit yourself. This is just going to hurt you more than it hurts me."
Miharu assumed her fighting stance, truly unsure of what she getting into. Nina, also preparing to fight, gave Miharu a beckoning hand gesture.
"Come on, baby," Nina said as she got fighting stance, "Show me what you got."
The announcer's voice suddenly blasted through the street, "Round 1! Fight!"
The first round was all Nina. Right from the beginning, she showed why she's a tournament mainstay … and why competitors fear her. Nina skillfully implemented her vast set of poking strings and combos, and successfully cut off every attempt by Miharu to use any of her stances. Plainly put, Nina ripped Miharu apart. Soon, Nina drove her hand in Miharu's chest, and gave a forceful twist with her clawed hand, finishing the round with a 'Sadistic Cupid'.
The announcer's voice immediately blared through the area, "Nina wins!"
Watching Miharu struggling to her feet, Nina callously said, "You can't be serious… My offer still stands, and judging from that last round, you really should take it."
"No," Miharu replied, "Xiao-chan and I have worked too hard for me to just walk away."
"That's another thing," Nina explained further, "I already know all of your teacher's tactics, and how to combat them. You can't win."
At soon as Nina said that, Miharu got an idea. Nina was familiar with all of Xiaoyu's tactics. However, even though they use the same fighting technique, Miharu was not Xiaoyu. Feeling the tension mounting, both fighters slipped back into fighting position.
"Round 2!" The announcer's voice reverberated into the street, "Fight!"
Much to Nina's surprise, Miharu took a decidedly bold approach: she fought straight up, not trying to use her stances to go around, over, or under. This time, Miharu fared much better as she took a natural strategy. In truth, Miharu wasn't nearly as fast as Xiaoyu, meaning she could 'stance around' like Xiaoyu could. However, Miharu was physically stronger, meaning she could deal more damage.
This derailed Nina's strategy for a while, but, true to form, Nina clawed her way back into the fight, simply adjusting enough to compensate without straying too far from her own offensive strengths. Soon, Nina began to pull away, and the reality that she had a good chance of being swept right out of the tournament began to clutch Miharu's heart. In her desperation, Miharu's mind turned to a technique that she hadn't perfected yet … one of her own design. At first, she was hesitant to throw out an unpolished attempt, but, facing elimination, Miharu decided to go for it.
Gathering some space, Miharu back dashed, and, as Nina started to pressure her, Miharu transitioned into a different stance, shifting her body sideways and holding her hands more forward, a 'Hypnotist' … only she was stationary, not sidestepping. Nina closed in, throwing out the starter to one of her deadly combinations, when Miharu revealed her new technique. Just as Nina's attack came out, Miharu spun forward toward her, brushing the attack aside, and landed a clean strike to Nina's abdomen that knocked her a good ways backward, a 'Spin Sticker' but in a much different form … as a reversal, a parry attempt.
"Miharu wins!" The announcer's voice boomed through the area to the cheers of those watching.
Nina commented as she got to her feet, "Not bad. There's some fight in you after all…"
"Thank you," Miharu responded unassumingly.
Nina quickly continued, "That wasn't a compliment. It just means this will be a lot more fun."
With words no longer needed, both fighters reassumed fighting stance once more.
Quickly, the announcer's voice rang out through the street, "Final Round! Fight!"
Knowing that one worked, Miharu began to pull them all out. Thanks to her reversals, Miharu put out a much more even fight.
As for the reversals themselves, Miharu developed them on her own mostly out of necessity. Over her training, she realized that she just wouldn't be able to 'stance' as quickly or effectively as Xiaoyu, but she did figure out another way to use them to her advantage: since faster opponents would definitely attack her to knock her out of them, she came up with ways to parry and counter-attack out of her stances. Now, after developing the stance parries, Miharu was getting the timing down to where she was using them effectively … in the middle of a fight no less.
Nina keeps the fight tense due to her skill and experience, but, with Nina being a relentless pressure machine, Miharu's parries were especially disruptive for her as they threw of her rhythm and caused her to start guessing whether or not to attack Miharu when she would go into a different stance. Eventually, frustration starts to creep into Nina as Miharu's confusing tactics and timely counters eventually caught up with her.
Miharu dropped into 'Phoenix' stance, and Nina, tired of guessing games, used her strongest low attack, 'Wipe the Floor', to knock her out. Reacting perfectly, Miharu spun through with her parry and … SLAM!! Instantly, she let out her counterattack, a rapid 'Storming Flower' palm thrust, sending Nina flying backward … right through a telephone booth, thoroughly destroying it. Miharu had completed a huge upset by tournament standards.
Immediately, the announcer's voice blared through the air to cheers from the audience, "Miharu Hirano wins! Pleas proceed to the next round!"
Angered by her defeat, Nina rose to her hands and knees as she said to herself, "Impossible! How could I lose…"
At that moment, Nina just in time to see Miharu bowing to her.
Showing Nina respect, Miharu courteously said, "Thank you. It was an honor."
Needless to say, Nina was speechless over this unexpected show of admiration. Eventually, however, she had but one choice; to swallow that bitterest of pills, pride. Slowly, Nina rose to her feet and returned the bow. After all, the girl did win fair and square, a rather impressive feat considering all things.
Just then, Miharu remembered something and said, "Oh! A girl named Alisa is looking for you."
"I'll keep that in mind," Nina said as she turned and began to walk away. Halfway, she suddenly stopped, and turned back to Miharu, saying, "Hey … good luck."
Miharu shed a smile and nodded approvingly as Nina began to leave again. It wasn't long before she got another call.
As soon as Miharu answered the phone, Xiaoyu elatedly exclaimed through the phone, "That was incredible, Miharu-chan! Where did you learn those moves?!"
Miharu, flattered by her friend's reaction, replied, "Well … I kind of came up with them myself."
"Wow!" Xiaoyu excitedly continued, "That's great. Promise me you'll teach them to me next time, okay?"
Miharu happily replied, "I promise. Thanks, Xiao-chan … Hey, you don't know who I fight next, do you?"
End Chapter
Next Time: "Well, we meet again … and I must say you're even more beautiful now than the first time.''
A/N: There's chapter 2. Again, sorry for the delay, but you won't have to wait that long for the next one, should everything go the way it should. So, I hope you liked it and I hope you come back. Take care and, as always, Rant, Rave, and Review.