Chapter Twenty

Strawberry Fields – Denmark

The drones that filmed the match announced that they were in Denmark. To tag team partners and Keisei natives Talim and Yun-seong, they weren't sure if that meant a city or a country. One thing was for sure... while standing on a dirt road, the sight of growing green vines and bright red strawberries ready to be picked was all around them and as far as their eyes could see. The only other thing in their sights was a wooden-built windmill off in the distance. The weather was perfect with a cloudless sky and comfortable temperatures even this early in the morning.

It almost felt like home.

"The wind is really nice today," Talim soon commented aloud.

That caused her tag team partner to roll his eyes. "Is that all you care about? The wind?" the young man groaned.

Talim simply smiled at Yun-seong. "That's because you don't understand the nature of the wind. Maybe if you actually listened to what you call my 'lectures,' you wouldn't think that way."

"Yeah, whatever," Yun-seong grumbled as he began to pace around the field while he stretched his arms above his head. He was definitely itching to get the match going. He hated waiting longer than he needed to. The passing time at the hotel was agonizing enough as it was.

At that moment, their two male opponents showed up and the drones announced them as Byrne and Conall. Blonde and brunette respectively, they both wore minimal silver-plated armor over black leather pants and shirt with matching gloves. They also each held a five-foot long halberd, the axe-like blades in different colors – Byrne's was gold and Conall's was blue.

"Ah, weapon users!" Yun-seong called out with a grin as he pulled out his beloved longsword named White Storm. "Now that's what I'm talking about!"

Without even discussing it first, Yun-seong walked halfway towards the pair. Talim could only sigh in defeat as she pulled out her two bladed tonfas and prepared herself for the battle ahead.

It was Conall who chose to go against Yun-seong. The brunette met the Keisei native halfway. He started to get into a fighting stance, but Yun-seong decided to get the fight going. With a yell, Yun-seong jumped forward and swung his longsword at Conall, who immediately blocked it with his halbred. Their weapons clashed with a loud clang!

For what felt like a minute, the two went back and forth in an effort to try to overtake the other. Meanwhile, their respective tag team partners waited patiently for their chance to fight. In her mind, Talim wasn't sure whether Byrne would initiate their battle once the five-minute wait was over. Either way, she kept a good grip on her tonfas as a precaution while she kept an eye on both him and the fight in between them.

Eventually, Conall was able to push Yun-seong away just by a couple of feet. Conall then attempted to swing his weapon at his opponent, but Yun-seong managed to duck underneath before it connected to his head. From there, Yun-seong moved forward and, once within reached, grabbed Conall, shifted him to the side, then performed a roundhouse kick that sent Conall stumbling back. Yun-seong then attempted an upward kick, which his opponent backed away from. Upon noting how that left Conall open, Yun-seong jumped forward in a somersault motion, and his foot soon connected to Conall's shoulder with enough force to knock him face first into the dirt.

Yun-seong chuckled after he got himself upright again. He realized that he had the upper hand in this fight. "Damn, I'm just way too good!"

Meanwhile, Talim kept her eyes on the fight. Though she was happy that her tag team partner seemed to be winning for them so far, she couldn't help but shake her head over his display of arrogance. The young man had a good heart - Talim always knew that ever since they met - but she just wish that he didn't let his overconfidence get into his head so much.

Just as that thought left her, Talim suddenly heard footsteps to her right. She didn't have to turn around to see that Conall's partner, Byrne, was coming after her. The five-minute wait was already over.

"Wind, guide me," Talim whispered to herself as she got herself into her fighting stance. She stayed in her spot until Byrne was close enough to swing his halbred at her, which she immediately blocked with her bladed tonfas.

"Two-on-two battle initiated by Team Byrne and Conall," one of the drones informed.

Yun-seong hadn't heard that announcement. Instead, his focus was on his opponent, who was on his hands and knees and faced down towards the dirt road they were on. A pained sound emitted from Conall as he scrapped his nails over the dirt.

"What the..." Yun-seong uttered in disbelief. "You can't be hurting so badly already, man! We barely got started!"

Then, a inhumane growl emitted from the back of Conall's throat. Yun-seong just began to wonder what that was about when suddenly, Conall launched forward in fast speed. That was when Yun-seong saw Conall's face... it was no longer human, but instead the face of a wolf!

"WHOA!" Yun-seong shouted just as the changed Conall knocked him onto his back. As he was thrown down, he lost his grip on his sword. The impact nearly knocked the wind out of Yun-seong, but it was nothing compared to the menacing glare of the wolf that was on top of him. The wolf bared his teeth at him with a threatening growl, and Yun-seong was certain that the beast was going to rip his throat out at any second.

"Okay, I don't know if you can hear me in there, but this is awkward," Yun-seong said to him. "I seem to recall a rule in this tournament that if you kill me, accident or deliberate, you and your partner will get disqualified from the tournament altogether. Is that what you really want?"

Conall huffed at that through his nose, his breath smacking into the Keisei native's face.

"Also, you really need to spruce up that breath with some minteu," Yun-seong added right before he coughed.

That was when Conall moved off of Yun-seong. Relieved that he wasn't going to die, he quickly got himself back on his feet. "There," the Keisei native said as he brushed the dirt off his arms. "I knew you'd come to your-"

Before Yun-seong could finish his sentence, he was suddenly knocked down again. This time, it was from a beam-like projectile that shot out from Conall's wolf eyes.

"Hey!" Yun-seong yelled out as he sat back up after the hit. "That wasn't funny!"

"Who said it was?" Conall said. At this point, he changed back into his human form. "I just wanted to see your reaction to my newly discovered abilities."

Yun-seong immediately kipped up before he reached down to grab his sword. He then faced his opponent. "Yeah, well... I'm done wasting time! Are we gonna fight or not?"

Conall sighed at that, disappointed by his opponent's reaction. "Very well."

With that, Conall jumped towards Yun-seong before he once more swung his halbred at him. Yun-seong was able to duck underneath the attack before he stepped closer and landed a punch into Conall's gut, the only part of his torso not covered by armor. The punch immediately caused him to keel over while he gasped for breath.

"Ha!" Yun-seong yelled as he pulled back. From there, he jumped and performed two upward kicks, one following the other, both which connected to Conall's chest. He then crouched low and tripped Conall off his feet with his sweep before he swiftly spun himself and delivered a roundhouse that sent Conall flying sideways before he crashed into the ground just inches from a strawberry patch.

Yun-seong spread his arms open, a scowl on his face. "As you can probably tell, I'm not going to lose to fools like you."

For some reason, hearing that pissed off Conall. After getting back up, he ran towards Yun-seong with a roar and aimed his halbred at him. Once more, Yun-seong blocked the maneuver with his sword. They once more went back and forth, the sound of steel hitting against steel ringing in their ears. Then, with a quick spin kick, Yun-seong managed to knock his opponent's halbred out of his by kicking his wrist and caused it to twist to the near point of breaking.

"Argh!" Conall yelled as he held his wrist close to him.

Yun-seong then closed in on him before he jumped up and landed two forward kicks to his face. The force of the kick sent Conall flipping back before he landed headfirst into the dirt before he fell completely. Once that was done, Yun-seong got back on his feet and remained in a fighting stance while a drone hoovered over where Conall fell...

A few moments passed before the drone declared, "Knockout detected."

Yun-seong grinned upon that announcement. "These skills... it's all talent."

Back nearby, Talim continued her own fight against Byrne, both aware that their respective partners' own battle was over. Talim could tell that Byrne was more determined to win just by how much more muscle he put into his attacks. Talim decided to use this to her advantage.

She ducked underneath Byrne's next attack before she performed a low sweep in hopes of tripping him. However, Byrne backed away in time. While he did, Talim quickly straightened back up and attempted to lash her weapons into a criss-cross motion, which Byrne once again pulled away from. He then tried to slash his own weapon at her, but then Talim jumped up and over his attack and she managed to get herself behind him. Before Byrne could react, Talim kicked his back, which thrusted him forward.

Even with the amount of stumbling he did after the hit, Byrne was able to keep himself upright. He quickly turned to face his smaller opponent, who started to close in on him. Talim jumped and performed a twisting somersault and attempted to land both feet on his chest, but Byrne moved away again. Back on her feet, Talim twirled herself while kicking her foot, but it was once again avoid. Finally, she followed with a backhand, which landed hard against the side of his face.

"Argh!" Byrne growled as he held his cheek after the backhand. He shook his head in order to quickly get himself back into the fight. He closed the space between him and his young opponent. Once again, the two went back and forth with their weapons, but it wasn't long before Byrne managed to push her back a bit. With that, he quickly turned and performed a back kick onto Talim's chest, which thrusted her away from him.

Talim flew back until she landed hard on her rear into a patch of strawberries. Some of the berries squashed under her weight and a couple of vines snapped. She was sure that some of the squashed berries stained her pants. Of course, she just happened to decide to wear white pants of all colors today...

"This... is embarrassing..." she uttered. Despite her feelings, Talim got herself back up before she got herself into a fighting stance, ready for more of her opponent's attacks.

"I have to admit, you're cute," Byrne said to her. "But that doesn't meant I plan to let you win."

Talim simply smiled at him. "I'll let the wind judge that."

That statement confused Byrne. "The what?"

Suddenly, Talim shot out her palm towards her opponent's direction. "Wind!" she shouted as a gust of it suddenly knocked Byrne off his feet and forced him to land in another patch of strawberries. The juice stained his armor and clothes as well as his blonde hair.

Talim chuckled after that, especially since she hardly ever performed that move. "I should've told you before we started this fight; I am one with the wind."

"I can see that now," Byrne said as he held up his halbred. "But that still doesn't change anything."

Then with a yell, Byrne closed the the space between them and attempted to swing his weapon. Once more Talim blocked the maneuver with her bladed tonfas. She then pushed the halbred back along with her opponent, which forced him to stumble. From there, the Keisei native spun her weapons and used her speed to build up the wind around her. She then swung them forward and forced Byrne to use his weapon to block and knock the blades to different directions.

That distraction gave Talim the chance to close in on him. I hope I can do this! she thought to herself despite feeling a little doubt. Once she was within reach, she turned and performed a back punch that landed on her opponent's face. The move stunned him. She then went for a roundhouse kick and used the power of the wind to guide the movement. That helped build strength within her kick, which gave enough force to send Bryne flying back before he crashed onto his side with a hard thud.

I did it... Talim thought, feeling relieved that she was able to pull it off.

Upon landing on his side, a loud crack! was heard. At first, Byrne thought a vine had snapped underneath him, but upon attempting to get up, a sharp agonizing pain shot through his arm and he was forced to fold it close to him on instinct while he also removed the gauntlet that covered it. After looking down at it, he saw that a bone in his forearm was pushing up against his skin and muscles...

He knew with this injury that he wasn't going to go on with the fight.

"I... concede..." Byrne uttered in defeat as he held his broken arm close to his chest.

With that declaration, one of the drones said, "Concede announced. Talim and Hong Yun-seong win the match!"

Talim chose to approach Byrne once it was clear that the match was over. "Don't worry, you'll be okay," she promised.

"What are you doing, Talim?" Yun-seong asked as he saw this. He was unsure if he should be annoyed or concerned with what might she had in mind, especially since the latter thought wasn't the first time he would witness it. In the past, it had some consequences for her...

Talim ignored her partner as she kneeled down next to Byrne. "Here, let me help you," she offered as she placed a hand over his broken forearm.

In the next few moments, Yun-seong noticed an increase in the blowing wind, which threatened to rip off the green bandana that capped over his red hair. After sheathing his sword back in it's scabbard, he moved both hands to the top of his head in order to keep his bandana in place. He didn't even bother to watch what was going on.

Eventually, the wind died down and it wasn't long before Byrne smiled at Talim. "Thank you," he uttered quietly to her.

Talim smiled in response despite feeling as though some energy within her seeped from her. "You did your best," she said to Byrne about their fight. "I respect that."

Fighting Pit – United States

Amongst the chanting and yelling from the spectators that surrounded what was definitely going to be a cage match, Forest Law spoke to Abel as he glared at his waiting opponents. "Strange names they have... Razor and Blade? Like... really?"

All Abel could respond with was a simple shrug of his shoulders as he also looked at their opponents – two young men around their age dressed in matching black and white baggy clothes and gold jewelry. One of them, Razor, leaned against a pole that held the black chain-link fence that served as the circular cage, his arms crossover over his chest. The other, Blade, who chose to fight first, stood in the middle of the ring while he flicked a switchblade with his hand.

Eventually, Forest turned to his tag team partner. "So... wanna play 'rock, paper, scissors' to see who gets to go first?"

Abel raised an eyebrow at that. "Why do you want to do that?"

Forest shrugged. "I thought it might make the choice faster than trying to decide all day."

It was Abel's turn to shrug. "Well... all right then..."

They both put their right hands out and shook them three times before they shaped out their hands... both scissors. They went at it again with Abel keeping 'scissors'... and Forest ending up with paper.

"Scissors cuts paper," Abel reminded him.

"Damn!" Forest called out, which made Abel smile a little. "Guess I get to tango first."

With that, Forest stepped into the arena, the chants going around the cage they were in. He stopped once he was about five feet away from his opponent, Blade.

"So..." Forest started to say to this opponent. "Blade, huh? That nickname just something you came up because of your weapon of choice? Or do you just happen to be a fan of Wesley Snipes?"

Blade rolled his eyes. "How about you shut your mouth and let yourself lose this fight, loser."

Forest chuckled at that before he got into his fighting stance. "Sorry to break it to you pal... but winning doesn't come that easy."

Suddenly, Blade jumped forward and began to swing his open switchblade at Forest, who was forced to duck and dodge away before the weapon cut into his skin. "Hey!" Forest yelled out. "Watch what you're doing with that thing!"

That only made Blade laugh mockingly. "What's wrong, loser? Can't handle a little cut?"

"Dammit, come on!" someone in the audience yelled out.

Then, to Blade's surprise, his switchblade was quickly kicked out of his hand and flew right over the cage and into the audience. Before Blade could react, Forest swiftly performed a forward kick which forced Blade to stumble back. As Blade recovered, Forest stood on one leg with his other foot in the air and he mocked Blade with a wag of his finger, a shake of his head, and clicking his tongue a couple of times.

"For shame," Forest said in a mock tone. "Didn't your mother ever tell you not to play with knives?"

This only made Blade even more pissed. With a yell, he reached his right hand into the short sleeve of his left arm before he pulled what looked like another switchblade from the strap he wrapped around his arm. After hitting a button on the hilt, a miniature chainsaw emitted from it with the small buzzing sound echoing around the room.

"Huh... a literal trick up your sleeve," Forest started, unimpressed as he put his foot back down. "Oookay then..."

Blade tried to throw the mini-chainsaw at Forest in an attempt distract him. Instead of moving out of the way like he expected, Forest simply kicked it out of his path and managed to safely hit the hilt with his foot. The weapon just landed at the edge of the cage, but that didn't stop the audience in its path to back up with a bit of nervousness while it flew towards them.

With a yell, Forest swiftly landed a forward kick into Blade's chest, followed with two more kicks before he punched at a downward angle that made Blade keel over. Still, Blade managed to stand on his feet during that.

From there, Forest grabbed his shoulders, kneed his opponent in the stomach, delivered an uppercut, then followed with a flip kick that sent Blade up into the air. Once Blade fell back down, Forest punched his side and sent him flying until he hit the cage wall. From there, Blade fell to the ground. He was stunned, but not out of the game just yet.

"Who's the loser now?" Forest questioned, once again mocking his opponent.

While this went on, the five-minute wait ended and Blade's tag team partner, Razor, decided that he no longer wanted to wait for his partner to tag him in. He attempted to move at an angle he thought was Abel's blind spot. However, even with all the noise surrounding them, Abel was able to hear Razor's approach. As soon as Razor was close, Abel quickly turned around and performed a wheel kick. He then followed with an uppercut that sent Razor off his feet before a forward kick knocked Razor a few feet away, which made him crash into the ground.

"Two-on-two battle initiated by Team Razor and Blade," one of the two drones in the room announced.

Abel tightened his fighting gloves as he waited for Razor to get back up. "Well then... let's begin," he declared.

Abel's response only served to make Razor growl in annoyance. With a yell, he quickly got back up and began to throw various punches and kicks at Abel, who dodged them with ease... at least until a hard kick to the face caused Abel's head to snap sideways. It also made him stumble until his back hit the cage that surrounded them. Abel attempted to move, but a bunched of hands suddenly grabbed his shoulders and arms and pinned him back against the cage's fence.

"Woo! Woo! Woo!" the audience behind him chanted in unison.

That gave Razor - with a big grin on his face - the chance to go up to Abel and deliver a few punches to his face and torso. This went on for a few more seconds until, finally, the audience let Abel go. Feeling dizzy after that, Abel stumbled forward and onto one knee. From there, he attempted to force himself back into the match. He rubbed his face with both hands in order to keep himself focused.

"What's the matter, Frenchie," Razor began to mock with a laugh. "Didn't eat enough croissants today?"

That comment made Abel clench his teeth in anger. Of course guys likes Razor would do the typical thing and make fun of his French heritage based on his accent alone. With a yell, Abel straightened himself up and closed in on Razor. After grabbing him by his shirt, he lifted Razor up and spun him around a couple of him before Abel slammed him into the ground with enough force to make Razor bounce back up.

From there, Abel grabbed Razor again, turned him towards them, then proceeded to deliver various punches to his face and chest. He then grabbed Razor's arm, turned himself around, and jumped up in a forward somersault before he slammed Razor back first into the concrete. From there, Abel rolled forward and got back on his two feet.

"That's what happens when you mock me," Abel told his opponent in a matter of fact.

As he waited for Razor to get back up, Abel happened to look to his left just in time to see his tag team partner Forest 'charging,' his hands, which were surrounded by a yellow chi. He then went in and dazed his opponent Blade with two punches, an uppercut that made him move back, a punch to the chest, and a flip kick that caught Blade under the chin. Even though Blade was able to remain on his feet, the attacks had clearly left him both stunned and dizzy as he tried to keep his balance.

"Wow..." Abel uttered to himself in amazement, more so over Forest's 'charge.' "That's pretty neat." He then quickly got back into focus as he heard Razor start to run towards him again.

Seconds later and at the same time, both Abel and Forest performed their final maneuvers on their respective opponents. For Abel, noting that his opponent was up again, he grabbed Razor and lifted him onto his shoulders. He then began to spin around so fast and rapidly that he created a small tornado around them. Eventually, Abel tossed Razor up into air and waited until he began to fall back towards the ground. From there, Abel jumped up, grabbed Razor again, and delivered his knee into Razor's stomach, which caused his opponent to gasp for air. They then fell back towards the ground and Abel rolled them both a couple of times before he finally let go. Razor crash upside down and back first into the fence.

For Forest, he simply just ran and delivered a flying kick to Blade's head. The maneuver sent him flying into the opposite side of the cage. Both Razor and Blade soon fell onto the concrete floor. By then, they both lost consciousness.

"Knockouts detected!" a drone soon announced. "Abel and Forest Law win the match!"

The two men high-fived each other once their win was known to the watchers. Forest then turned to the two unconscious men and, even though he knew that they wouldn't hear, pointed at them. "You got nothing on us!" he called out.

Beach Resort – Jamaica

Being from Keisei, it was natural for Xianghua to suddenly become perplexed by her new surroundings. Of course she realized that she was at a beach - the sands, water, and palm trees were a huge giveaway since they were actually a common thing Keisei had with Earth. What was different was everything else. The small buildings that surrounded the area looked fresh compared to the ones back home. She couldn't recognize the materials used to build them off-hand. The spectators who watched the upcoming match from the beach wore what she was told earlier were called 'bathing suits. They were also either playing with their 'phones' or enjoying the drinks in their hands. Curiously, she noted one drink that had a tiny pink parasol hanging off the glass. She wondered what that was about.

I still had a lot to learn about Earthrealm.

Xianghua's tag team partner, Elena, smiled as she looked around the area. "This is really beautiful," she said cheerfully. "It almost makes me want to take a vacation."

Before Xianghua could answer, their opponents showed up. The drones announced them as Kaliyan and Rachana, both dressed in yellow and orange sports bras respectively, black skin-tight leggings, and tennis shoes. They also wore black boxing gloves over their hands. Nothing their beautiful tans, Xianghua suddenly felt like a walking piece of paper considering how pale her own skin was compared to theirs and Elena's darker tone.

Disappointingly, none of the two women had weapons, so Xianghua would have to forgo her sword and rely on the dance-like fighting maneuvers she learned as a child. Of course, that wasn't a problem for Elena. Before they arrived at the beach, it was decided that the Earthrealm native would go first. Elena stepped forward to the middle fighting area while Kaliyan chose to go first. She met Elena halfway and stopped just five feet away. The whole time, Kaliyan said nothing and she simply glared at her opponent, a determined look on her face.

"Hi there," Elena greeted enthusiastically as she got into her capoeria fighting stance, clearly ready to go. She smiled at her opponent. "My name is Elena. I'll show you my dance. You ready?"

Kaliyan said nothing. Instead, she quickly dashed forward and began to swing her fists. Prepared, Elena began to duck and dodge from the maneuvers. While keeping a rhythm in her head, she let herself dance around Kaliyan's attacks just long enough until her opponent began to get frustrated and and started to lose her focus.

Soon, Elena flipped herself back in order to give herself space between her and Kaliyan. Elena once again smiled at her. "You're losing focus. Try to feel the rhythm of the fight."

In annoyance, Kaliyan growled and attempted a right hook. Swiftly, Elena ducked underneath the fist before she pivoted on her left foot and swung her right at her opponent's mid-section three times while she moved forward. Elena missed on the first two swings as Kaliyan moved back, but the third swing caught Kaliyan's side and forced her to stumble sideways. As Kaliyan regained her balance, Elena pulled away to give them room and she immediately got back into her capoeria stance, The Kenyan Princess continued to dance to the rhythm she developed in her mind.

Kaliyan then went in for another punch, but Elena flipped herself before she was hit. From there, Elena planted her hands on the ground before she swung her long legs around in a circular motion while she pivoted on her hands. Kaliyan was able to get away before she was hit. After seeing this, Elena straightened herself into a hand-stand before she performed a downward-angled kick. The move hit Kaliyan in the shoulder hard enough to knock her face first into the floor. Once that was done, Elena flipped back a couple of times before she got into her capoeria fighting stance again.

"Try to not think so seriously," Elena tried to advise. "It'll do you good in this-"

"Shut UP!" Kaliyan screamed at her. "And stop being so damn cheerful! This is a match for crying out loud! Try to take it seriously, damn it!"

Elena clicked her tongue in disappointment. "Oh that's a shame. You hold too much anger. Try to relax and-"

With a shriek, Kaliyan went in with the intent to knock Elena out cold and keep her quiet for at least a couple of hours. However, Elena was ready for her by then and went in to perform what she dubbed the Spinning Beat. Elena waited until Kaliyan was close enough before she jumped and performed three flipping split-kicks in mid-air. The maneuver brought them both higher up with each kick. After the third one, Elena landed gracefully on her hands before she slowly moved her feet downward to stand on them again. Meanwhile, Kaliyan crashed hard onto her back into the stoned pavement they fought on.

Afterwards, Elena walked over to where her opponent fell before she leaned over to look down at her. She rested her hands on her knees. "I hope I didn't hurt you too much. I still would like to be friends."

All Kaliyan could do was groan in pain before unconsciousness took over.

"Knockout detected!" a nearby drone soon announced.

That was the cue for Kaliyan's tag team partner, Rachana, to step in. She attempted to go after Elena, but the young woman immediately flipped back until she was next to her waiting tag team partner.

"You ready, friend?" Elena asked Xianghua as she raised a hand up.

Xianghua's answer was to give Elena a high-five before she stepped towards her opponent. Immediately, Rachana ran forward until she covered the space between her and Xianghua and quickly began to throw her fists at her. While keeping her focus, Xianghua blocked each move with her forearms.

Finally, Xianghua saw an opening and ducked down for a low kick, which Rachana managed to jump over. As Rachana landed back on the ground, Xianghua straightened herself up and swiftly grabbed Rachana's arm before she swung it into a full circle. That forced Rachana to flip back into a somersault in order to avoid breaking her arm.

It also gave Rachana full control of the battle and she promptly nailed her elbow into Xianghua's face.

"OWE!" Xianghua cried out as she stumbled back while she held her nose in pain. It was tender, but thankfully not broken. Seeing an opportunity while her opponent was distracted, Rachana began to swung her fists into the young Keisei native with hopes of knocking her down... and eliminating her from the match.

"Come on, Xianghua!" Elena cheered on the sidelines. "You can do it! Remember how I told you to try to feel the rhythm of the Earth!"

Even though Xianghua couldn't quite grasp the meaning of Elena's last sentence, her encouragement was enough to make Xianghua snap herself back into it. Quickly, she raised her hand to block the next incoming punch from Rachana before she swiftly followed with a a spin kick to her opponent's side. That forced Rachana to stumble sideways.

Xianghua didn't let Rachana recover and, getting herself within reach, quickly delivered two kicks before she spun herself and delivered another roundhouse. However, Rachana was able to duck underneath the kick before she was hit. That left Xianghua wide open and Rachana took the opportunity to once again deliver more punches. The first hit Xianghua right below the collarbone and pushed her back. Rachana then went in for a left hook, but Xianghua was able to move to the side and let her opponent's fist go past her face.

Then Rachana went in for a right hook and that was when Xianghua grabbed on to her wrist – a trick Maxi taught her a while back during their travels through Keisei. She then pulled her opponent forward before she had time to react. Once close enough, Xianghua delivered a knee strike to Rachana's stomach. The force knocked the wind out of Rachana and causing her to keel over in pain.

While Rachana was still keeled over, Xianghua jumped up and over her. Upon falling back towards the ground, Xianghua twisted herself in mid-air before she delivered a kick to the back of Rachana's head.

"Gotcha!" Xianghua called out as Rachana went flying across the fighting arena. She only stopped upon crashing into one of the empty plastic tables at the beach resort. The umbrella on the table came loose and landed on its side and right on Rachana's back.

Xianghua then waited until Rachana was ready, but it seemed as though the kick to the head did some damage. Rachana tried to get back up and found that she was struggling. Her dark eyes looked a bit crossed as well, clearly dizzy from the impact. Eventually, Rachana realized that she was not going to recover from the last hit any time soon...

"I... concede..." Rachana groaned in defeat before she collapsed completely.

Upon that, a drone announced, "Concede announced. Elena and Chai Xianghua win the match!"

Xianghua couldn't help but smile after their win. It still felt a little strange to fight without a sword, but it was still fun nevertheless, even if this match was an easy win. If only she could understand more of Elena's wisdom...

Jyurakudai Villa – Kyoto, Japan

The Japanese villa Chun Li and Lei Wulong were brought to by the Mishima Portal was quite a sight. An imperial palace overlooked a large land of forest that - though the trees that contained lush green leaves - would be a beauty to behold during the autumn and spring season with the changing colors and flowers respectively. Also in front of the palace was a large covered platform that clearly served as a training ground for those who visited here. Aside from the four people on the platform, all was quiet around them.

Their opponents were a Korean father/daughter team named Seok and Bora. Both dressed in a white traditional cheogori top. The girl wore a purple chima while her father wore a black paji. Both wore tight slippers that matched the colors of their lower attires.

"I can take on the girl while you fight her father," Chun Li suggested to Lei. At the same time, the older man, Seok, made the decision to fight first. The gray-haired man began to walk to the middle of the platform.

"Guess, I'm going first then," Lei said. Before he moved however, he pulled an object out of his pocket and quickly twisted off the cap of what Chun Li suddenly realized was a flask. Before she could think to stop him, Lei took a long swig of what she was certain was alcohol.

Stunned, Chun Li glared at her husband. "Lei... now? At a time like this?" she asked with annoyance.

Lei twisted the cap back on the flask before he handed it to his wife with a wink. "I know what I'm doing. Trust me."

All Chun Li could do was shake her head as he walked – no... stumbled to the middle of the ring. She also didn't miss how his opponent Seok gazed at Lei with confusion at first before a big grin appeared on his face. He was definitely thinking how easy it was going to be to fight a clearly drunk man.

Still annoyed, Chun Li untwisted the flask in order to sniff the content within. Mainly she wanted to try to figure out how strong the alcohol he drank was, especially since he seemed pretty quiet and composed during their wait back at the hotel. Upon sniffing the flask, Chun Li's eyes widened with surprise when she realized what the drink was...

It was apple juice.

In that second, it took all of her strength to suppress the smile that attempted to appear on her face. She felt awful for doubting Lei. He definitely knew what he was doing.

Once Lei met his opponent halfway, Seok took a step forward. He then closed the space between them and attempted a right hook to Lei's face. However, he ended up missing as Lei pulled his head back. The officer stumbled a little as he did so. Seok then went in for a jab to the stomach, but once more Lei moved away before he was hit.

Lucky guess on his part, Seok thought to himself. From there, he tried to aim more punches and hand chops at his opponent. Even in his supposedly drunken stupor, Lei seemed to have the luck to stumble and swerve away from the maneuvers.

What is with this guy?! The older man yelled out in frustration in his head.

Suddenly, Lei fell back and landed on his side. Seok was just thinking how his opponent finally passed out when Lei sat-up halfway on his side before he propped his head with one hand and waved with the other with a gleeful grin.

"I know you're a drunk, but are you going to take any of this seriously?!" Seok yelled out in annoyance as he walked over to where Lei was.

Suddenly, the moment Seok was within reach, Lei quickly propped himself into a hand-stand before he delivered a kick to Seok's chest, which sent the older man back a few feet. Once he regained his footing, Seok glared at his opponent and noted how focused Lei's expression was.

That was when Seok realized that Lei tricked him.

The grin on Lei's face dropped. "More serious than you realize," he responded as he flipped himself to a standing position.

"Enough games already!" Seok shouted. Suddenly, he threw one arm forward and unleashed a red, arrow-shaped projectile at his opponent. With the close distance between them, Lei didn't have time to move before the projectile hit him square in the chest with enough force to smash onto his back. The landing nearly knocked the wind out of him.

"Lei!" Chun Li called out with worry after that, but remained where she stood.

Despite the pain in his body, Lei pushed off the ground and kipped up to get on his feet again. By then, Seok was practically on him and began to throw punches that seemed to come in different directions with Lei being forced to defend himself. He blocked and dodged the moves as he kept himself patient until he could find an opening.

Finally, Lei moved away from an attempted back-fist from Seok, which left the older man wide open. After flipping himself back, Lei's foot hit under Seok's chin, which caused the older man's head to snap back. Lei then let himself drop onto his back. By then, Seok recovered and tried to move in. However, Seok was met with low kicks, both he was able to jump away from. However, Seok was not prepared for Lei to move himself into a hand-stand again before he delivered a spin kick. The kick sent Seok flying to the side before he landed hard on the ground. From there, Lei flipped himself again and back onto his feet.

By then, Seok was back up as well and didn't hesitate to throw another projectile at him. This time, Lei was prepared and he simply stepped to the side and let the projectile fly off the platform and out towards the field near the villa. Seok then tried to approach again, but was only met with a snap kick under the chin while Lei stood in a crane pose. As Seok stumbled, Lei then moved in and and performed two hand strikes that landed on Seok's shoulder and chest before he crouched down for a sweep kick and knocked his opponent back down again.

Angrier than before, Seok kipped up before he ran towards Lei again with a yell. Once more, he closed to the space between them and threw more punches and kicks, which the detective blocked and avoided with ease. And once more, Lei remained as patient as a saint.

Finally, Seok attempted a kick, which Lei side-stepped from. Lei then followed with two punches to Seok's mid-section from the side, then an uppercut that sent Seok stumbling away. As he recovered, he looked at Lei, who stood in a crane stance. Well... at least before he brought his hands to each side of his head, twisted his face into what kids today would call 'derpy' (at least he thought that's what they called it theses days), then motioned his hands up and down as though he said, 'Na na na na naaa na!'

"Why you-!" Seok shouted, clearly insulted, as he took a step forward... then was suddenly headbutted in the face by Lei. The force of the hit sent the older man flying away before he slammed hard into the ground hard. Seok tried to move after, but hardly could before he let laid down completely.

Seok didn't get up after that.

"Knockout detected," a drone announced.

That was Chun Li's cue to jumped into the fray. Upon seeing this, Lei chose to return to the sidelines to recover, especially after his last attack. Chun Li's opponent - Seok's daughter Bora - did the same. Before they even met halfway, Bora suddenly swung both of her arms forward and, like her father earlier, let loose a lavender colored arrow-shaped projectile towards the direction of the Interpol detective.

Chun Li did the same as she collected chi into her hands. "Kikoken!" she shouted as a blue, ball-shaped projectile shot out from her palms. Within moments, both projectiles collided and created a small explosion between the two women.

Soon, Chun Li and Bora closed the distance between them and began to throw various punches and kicks at each other while they also kept themselves on defense when needed. Eventually though, Bora broke through Chun Li's blocks and landed a hand chop to her opponent's shoulder. As Chun Li stumbled from the hit, Bora went in and delivered a side kick to Chun Li's stomach, which caused her to keel over in pain. From there, Bora performed an uppercut under Chun Li's chin and sent her up in the air before the detective crashed onto her back.

On the ground, Chun Li took a moment to catch her breath, but she quickly moved into a hand-stand as soon as Bora attempted to close in on her. Chun Li then pushed her hands off the ground before she propelled herself forward and spun herself around like a helicopter. Her legs split with one in front of her and the other behind her.

"Spinning Bird Kick!" Chun Li called out as her foot connected to Bora's face. The force of the impact hurled Bora sideways before she hit a nearby pole on her back. From there, she fell face first onto the ground.

"Owe," Lei said aloud from the sidelines. "That's surely gonna leave a mark."

After flipping back onto her feet, Chun Li positioned herself in a fighting stance and waited until Bora stood up again. That took a bit of time, but Bora was able to stand soon enough. Then with a growl, the young woman dashed toward the Interpol detective.

Chun Li sidestepped out of the way as Bora went in for a punch, which caused the latter to miss. With her opponent left open, Chun Li jumped in with two punches to the face, followed by a kick to the chest that pushed Bora back a couple of feet. Before Bora regained her footing, Chun Li quickly went in and kicked the younger woman further back. That sent Bora stumbling before she fell on her back.

Once more, Chun Li waited for Bora, who got back on her feet a little faster this time. "It's a wonder you can move as fast as you do," Bora started as she wiped her face with her hand. She then looked Chun Li up and down before she said, "Especially with how chunky those legs of yours are."

Chun Li huffed at that. It wasn't the first time in her life someone said she had fat legs. Apparently, some people couldn't tell the difference between well-toned legs and actual fat ones. As far as Chun Li was concerned at that point, her next move was definitely one Bora was asking for.

Chun Li moved in for a punch, which Bora sidestepped from. That was what the detective hoped for. After getting herself behind Bora, Chun Li lifted one left and quickly began kicking her back in various spots. The more she kicked, the faster her movements which soon turned her left leg into nearly a complete blur. Bora yelped and screamed with each hit as she tried to move away. Finally, Chun Li stopped and Bora stumbled forward in pain. With one more swift move, Chun Li kicked in an upward motion. Her foot hit Bora under her chin and sent her up into the air. Bora soon came back down and landed hard on her back not too far from where her father still laid unconscious.

It wasn't long until she, too, blacked out.

"What do you think of my 'chunky' legs now?" Chun Li asked her despite the fact that Bora was no longer awake.

"Knockout detected," a drone said. "Chun Li and Lei Wulong win the match!"

The fight came easy to Chun Li, but she knew that the further she and Lei advanced through the tournament, the more challenging the fights will get. Once this day's fight was over, Chun Li met with Lei at the sideline before picked up the flask she left on the sidelines prior to her part of the match. She then handed it to Lei, who promptly placed it back in his pocket.

"Sorry I doubted you before," she said to him as she felt a little guilty over her previous thoughts.

Lei gave her a quick kiss before he pulled back, took a quick sip of his apple juice from the flask, and grinned again. "Don't worry about it, sweetheart. Now that we won the first round though, I think we should go back to the hotel and celebrate with some real sake."

Chun Li rolled her eyes at that, but at the same time she couldn't help but smile.