An hour before dinner was to be over, Ryu and Ken were seen sparring once more at the arena, this time with a single spectator: Ivy. Ivy had been interested in Ryu ever since the two talked yesterday at dinner.

In the end, Ken came out on top. He and Ivy were to be the last to fight today. In the sidelines, Ivy clapped.

"An impressive display, Masters," Ivy commended. "You and Ryu were trained well."

"You could say that," Ken said to Ivy as he helped Ryu up. "We might've trained together and grew up like brothers, but our personalities are very different."

"Do tell."

"When I was a kid, I acted like a spoiled brat. That all changed when my dad, who was fed up with my obnoxious behavior, sent me to Master Gouken, where I was to stay until I had a major attitude adjustment. At first, I thought it kinda sucked, but my perception changed real quick."

"And not a moment too soon either," Ryu chimed in. "We didn't get along well at first, especially after Ken snuck a spider on my face while I was sleeping." The two laughed at that before Ryu continued. "In time, however, we became the best of friends."

"Whose idea was it to enter the tournament?" Ivy wondered.

"Actually, Master Gouken recommended it to us," Ken replied. "Thought it'd help us improve our experience."

An hour later, many people were present in the audience, including Ryu. A skeletal figure in shogun armor and bits of human skin leftover, named Havik, emerged from the ground as if rising from a coffin vampire-style.

"Greetings," Havik announced. "Belial was unable to be here because he had some... business to attend to. I am Havik, and I will announce the last fight of the day." After clearing his throat, he shouted out, "Ken Masters..."

"Guess that's me," Ken said as he walked to the arena.

"...vs Ivy Valentine." Ivy walked onto the arena across from Ken with her sword in hand.

"This shall be an interesting experience," Ivy commented as Ken got into his fighting stance.

"Begin!" Ken darted forward with a Hurricane Kick, which Ivy countered with her arms and legs. She countered by planting her sword into the ground and performing a spinning top attack with her feet outward. This knocked Ken back only slightly, but he quickly recovered and got back on his feet. He hopped forward for a straight left kick, hitting Ivy right in the cheek, knocking her to the floor.

Not bad, Ivy thought to herself as she got to her feet. With her willpower, she transformed her sword's blade into a whip-like weapon and lashed it forward. Ken, surprised at this, dodged it immediately and countered with a Hadoken. Ivy nullified the projectile with another swing of the whip and smiled.

Ivy then swung the whip above her head as Ken rushed towards her to perform a fiery Shoryuken at her, launching her into the air with him.

I've never seen anything quite like this, Ivy thought to herself. His fiery spirit is matched only by his fighting skill. As a last resort, Ivy wrapped her whip around Ken's body and, as she descended to the ground, swung the whip downward. When they landed, a large dust cloud appeared, obscuring the scene. When the dust cleared, Ivy stood victorious with her sword in hand with Ken lying down on his back. He was still conscious, but was unable to get back up. "You're... not bad," he said in between breaths.

"I could say the same about you," Ivy replied.

"Winner: Ivy Valentine," Havik announced. "Finish him!"

Ivy looked at Ryu, who shook his head no. She then looked down at Ken with a smile. "I will not," she said as she helped Ken to his feet. "Rarely have I met a fighter with such courageous fighting spirit. And might I say you are one of those fighters, Ken Masters. You have my eternal gratitude." The crowd then roared with applause after she says this. In the audience, Ryu smiled.

to be continued...