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darkdevasofdestruction · 1 year ago

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Chapter 23 - The Connector

"Ohhh, that's so awesome! Really?" Ohma's eyes widened a little, watching his wife, upside down on the couch, her long hair sweeping the floor as she giggled on the phone. "Even the Russian Mafia joined? No way! Ha, that's so cool!" it must have been Inaba she was talking to, otherwise she wouldn't be giggling and gossiping like that. "And you've got the Brazilians too? The Portuguese? The Yakuza also? And a lot of cults and political factions too? The Worm's gonna get annihilated in no time, amazing!" she's been talking on the phone for at least an hour - On face cam, no less. Ohma couldn't hear anything they were saying on the TV. "Oh, okay, okay - Go say Hi to Uri from me! See ya, Sadako-chan!" finally, Kisara closed the phone after nicknaming the Black Phantom after the ghost girl from The Ring. Very smart.

"You talked through the entirety of the film. Film that YOU wanted me to see." Ohma grumbled, playfully glaring at her. "Well, yeah, I did - But! Inaba told be about their meeting with the big powers and how their Anti-Worm alliance went. I have to call Raian and see what he knows also, but all in due time. The Kure clan is pretty busy lately." the man rolled his eyes, snatching Kisara into his arms and taking the phone away from her. "Shut up and replay the movie from the beginning." the girl giggled, doing just that before relaxing in his embrace. "Say, have you heart anything of Koga lately?" Ohma hummed in affirmation. "Yeah, he's with Kano and Rolon, training. On a trip with the Purgatory chairman or something." "Oh, is that so? Maybe we should go on vacation soon, how's that sound?" Kisara grinned up at him. "We just returned two days ago, you disaster woman." he ruffled her hair, amused. "Nothing's to say we can't have fun whenever we want. Not like there's anything holding us back, anyway."

True, there was nothing holding them back, except a lowkey duty to destroy the Worm, if the time arose. With a well-planned scheme and lots of people involved, Inaba and Himuro found Xia Ji, the one who brought Ohma's cloned heart to save him, and tried to subdue him; They failed. With the aid of Medicine Man's tracking device, Akoya and Ryuki found him and tried to take him down - They, too, failed, but Ohma was there to make a deal with the Chinese leader. If he doesn't run away, he won't hurt him - Otherwise, he won't be able to move ever again. Tokita guided Xia Ji to a warehouse, where not only those who tracked him down were waiting, but the Heavenly Wolves also, but Kisara and, of course, the main fighter, Narushima Koga who was waiting for his rematch after what happened months ago when Ji and his gang almost killed him and Yamashita Kazuo. Were it not for Ohma and Raian, they'd have been minced meat.

If Ji wins, he gets to walk away without anyone trailing him. This was Koga's closure, and Xia Ji seemed to want to fight him also, under who knows what pretext. He looked desperate enough, and bloody and bruised to the core - Yet his pride, most of all, was destroyed. Just as expected, the enemy pulled out weapons, but it took no time for the youngster to beat punch him away, throwing away any said blade. Punch after punch, Koga kept beating the feral man down, until he god up, more desperate than ever, and like a spiky wolverine, he began attacking with a ridiculous amount of force, almost reminding Kisara of Wakatsuki's punched. Hold up - With how easily he gets up, and his weirdly ferocious punches... Could he also have a milder Superman Syndrome? What a joke. Every word out of his mouth is a lie, and every deed is an act, yet in all honesty, Kisara and Ohma agreed to one thing, watching the fight - He's stronger than Koga is at the moment. Those martial art skills were truly wasted on that rat man.

Every time Koga knocked him out, Xia Ji got angrier, spewing shit about being the ruler of the underworld and that he'll destroy everything - Was he connected to the head of the Worm, then? Did he have all his power taken away from him? That wasn't the behaviour of a leader, he was far too emotional and distraught, not to mention, a complete and pathetic failure. He appeared dangerous, practicing some techniques from Chinese Wushu schools, turning his whole body into a whip, concentrating his strength into his fingers so that he may inflict the maximum amount on damage at a rapid pace - Even so, Koga had the upper hand, chopping at his wind pipe, punching away the weapon he tried to use as a trump card, and using his Crescent Moon Kick as a finisher, Xia Ji was on the ground, groveling pathetically, begging for mercy though contradicting himself - Saying he won't kill anyone, but in the same breath, denying the worth of the dead.

Finally, Ohma stepped in, stopping Koga from killing Ji, and letting him go - A debt, repaid in full. A mercy undeserved. But if he ever shows his face again, Ohma will kill him himself. Nikaido Ren mentioned that, although they had orders to eliminate Xia Ji, they have been revoked - Ji was no longer affiliated with the Worm, he has no power anymore - Still, they will continue monitoring him every so often.

Since then, Koga continued to train with Ohma and the others, preparing for the Berserker Bowl that will be taking place soon enough. They've got some big names getting to fight in the Kengan x Purgatory joint project tournament, including Cosmo and Saw Paing, but also, some of the so-called supernovas. As soon as Kisara heard Rihito's going to enter the tournament, she cringed, calling Yamashita Kazuo about entering. She would rather die than allow that idiot the chance of winning. He had enough luck to get the easiest matches and find his way to the top. She was gonna crush that hope.

"You're kidding." Ohma looked at her, incredulous. "I never knew you were so petty." "That's an understatement, love." Kisara's smile was poisoned like Snow White's apple. "I've been hating that guy even more with each time he hit on me like the disgusting pervert that he is." Ohma huffed, amused. "Alright, Your Majesty. Go win that crown."

Though she entered that tournament, she hadn't told anyone, so it was a huge surprise for everyone upon seeing the Queen of the Kengan Matches in one of the eight pools. She only fought twice - A win and a loss, both in high-stakes tournaments - Yet both fights were at least two years apart, it was as though she had retired. Not only that, but she was still the CEO of the Hasashi Company.

Pool A: Furusaki Jinsei, Leonardo Silva, Hong Xiaohu, Albert Hiruma Poo B: Sakuragawa Arata, Yurikawa Taiju, Tsukamoto Seishiro, Imai Cosmo Pool C: Ilyukhin Asimov, Death Crow Jr. , Yuge Tsuyoshi, Rihito Pool D: Mark Myers, Pitali Klitschijo, Kim Jang-Gi, Onoda Ikkai Pool E: Kim Seung-Yuop, Aki Saito, Narushima Koga, Funayama Yoshiki Pool F: Kono Haruo, Himuro Ryo, Luca Tyrant, Adam Dudley Pool G: Hasashi Kisara, Nam Nhat, Sawada Keizaburo, Yoroizuka Saw-Paing Pool H: Gaoh Ryuki, Ushiroda Takero, Chiba Takayuki, Tokeshi Kota

Each entrant will fight one match every two weeks, so a minimum of four weeks to determine which single person from each pool moves on to the championship. What a pain in the ass, Ohma agreed with Kisara's statement. They were used to fighting everything, all at once - This was far too lax a schedule. Unfortunately, each Pool had fights in different cities, so it was rather a drag. In spite of that, Kisara convinced Ohma to go support Koga, whereas Yamashita Kazuo was in Hokkaido with Ryuki. She was fine with Tsuki-san as her supporter. Her first fight was against Sawada, the fighter using dancing at his core. The red head smirked, knowing she will get an easy win. Coincidentally, just after getting Ohma back, she started taking dancing lessons. Why? Because she noticed her lack of grace, caused by all those manly fighting styles she was using, and how in the world could she be a pretty princess dancing gracefully the bride and groom dance, huh? Clearly, she needed some practice, and what better than to learn those pretty Chinese dances she saw in the Imperial Dramas, alongside with some Wushu schools, to add the cherry on top?

Now, now, Sawada didn't have to see her going all out fighting, he wasn't worth her time, unfortunately, so might as well have a little fun, yes? She fought much scarier opponents before, so this should be a piece of cake. Confident, Kisara initiated the fight, baiting the opponent with a low palm strike, before dodging a chop with her forearm, followed by a kick attempt. Sawada tried to hit her with some roundhouse kicks, but she easily evaded them, before kicking him in the ankle, to make him lose his balance a little. Just as he tried to lunge at her, she went in for a diaphragm kick, an uppercut, ended by an elbow to the back of the head, and a knee in the face, making him fall backwards painfully. Quickly, he got up, jump-leaping at her with a heel strike, but Kisara ducked, swiftly following close behind and kicking him in the butt; As he was down, she hit his head down to the ground with her heel. Not giving him any time to breathe, she grabbed him up, gracefully twirling with two strikes to his vitals, and another palm to his jaw, and another barrage of well aimed strikes. Finally, Keizaburo used his whirlwind strike, which made the fox girl smirk - As he was rotating her way, she swooped to the ground at the single leg supporting him. As he stumbled, Kisara jump-kicked him to the ground, before doing a backflip, hitting him in the head weird her feet - With a graceful pirouette in the air, she landed gracefully on his head, stomping him into the ground into a perfect K.O., as she did a pretty courtesy for the audience.

Hasashi Kisara won.

As expected.

Still, it almost amused her how they still referred to her by her maiden name. Not that it matter, she was still the one and only Kitsune Queen.

Kisara grinned, jumping up and down like a child in front of Takeshi, gleaming with cheerfulness. "Was I cool, Tsuki-san? Was I? Was I?" The man pat her head, humming in amusement. "Of course you were. I told you, you had a real career as a fighter - Not that it's any of your priorities." he said. "Were you so bored that you entered this low-stakes competition? It's not like you." Kisara's smile turned into a mischievous smirk. "I just didn't want to let that blond idiot, Rihito, win." Takeshi's eyes bulged open in shock, only to start laughing. "You're ridiculous." he shook his head at her.

The outcome of the first match was as follows: In Pool A, Leonardo Silva and Hong Xiaohu won. In Pool B, Sakuragawa and Cosmo won. Pool C, Rihito won, unfortunately, and the Russian guy too. Pool D, Myers and Kim won. Pool E, Koga and Aki Saito won. Pool F, of course, Adam won, and unfortunately, Haruo won against Himuro, only to forfeit because of an injury - What a pity. Pool G, Kisara won against Sawada, and Saw won against Nam Nhat. At this rate, she's going to have to fight that hard-headed dumbass puppy. Awful odds for her. Lastly, in Pool H, not only did Chiba win, but shockingly, Ryuki lost.

Two weeks passed by past, and Kisara now had to face none other than Saw Paing - And honestly, what a drag! That guy was as though as it gets, and even crazier than the craziest weirdo in the world! Who the hell could break the ground with their head, anyway? Should she use speed, like Rei? Should she use Aikido? No, most of her Aikido moves involve throwing and head or face hits, that's not going to work on his ironman. Agito's style, maybe? But she'd rather not show everyone her Dragon Shot again, just like in the Kengan vs Purgatory tournament. After two years, people might have forgotten she even knows the Fang's fighting style, so better to use that in the later rounds, and keep diverting now - But Saw was not a person worthy of underestimating, he was incredibly strong, and Kisara feared him. She was sure punching a brick wall hurt less than punching him.

"Haha, sorry, Kisara! Can't believe the first time we meet after your wedding is in the fighting ring!" he laughed, pumped up for the fight. "Forgive me but I'll go all-in with our fight!" "And I promise I'll do the same, Saw!" the girl promised him as they both took their stances.

Saw took his usual Muay Thai stance, whilst Kisara got in a basic Kenpo low stance, hoping she was capable of learning enough Wushu techniques to beat him. Saw charged in, delivering two alternative punches before doing a roundhouse kick to her head and a knee to her jaw, as the height difference permitted, and a kick to her ankle - Though it hurt, Kisara managed to block all attacks, using Indestructible. In retaliation, she got in a crouch, sweeping at his feet and charged with a butterfly twirl kick, only to block again two punches coming her way swiftly. Damn, this man is hella strong, she tsk'ed, aiming a jab move similar to Gaolang's, though she knew very well he knew how to counter it. She couldn't continue blocking his hits, she would soon get too injured to carry on - She had to get on the aggressive at once.

She quickly did a high kick, followed by a few feint jabs at his jaw, an elbow to the diaphragm, and a fast donkey kick with both feet, driving him further behind. She rolled to the ground, jumping up and uppercutting him, continuing with a chop to his wind pipe and a quick fall to the ground, scissoring his feet into stumbling away. As he got up, she jumped and heel-kicked him twice before hooking her foot to the back of his neck and slamming him into the ground - She followed by grabbing his wrist and elbow similarly to what Hatsumi taught her, and falling to the ground, she destroyed his joint so he'd have less use in his right arm.

Facing again, Saw continued using even that injured arm, fighting through the pain, and they hit each other with new techniques, either blocking them or baring through the brunt of the jab - Either way, Kisara knew she must not allow him the chance of using the Hammer of Burma, or she was dead meat. She had to hit his windpipe somehow and knock him out, and fast, otherwise she doubts she can win with her force.

In a quick sequence of movements, Saw managed to score a punch to her abdomen, knocking her backwards, following with a few more well aimed hits towards her head, a shin kick and an uppercut with all connected, leaving the woman gritting through the pain. "Damn it, Saw." she wiped the blood from her chin, jumping up, only for the Burmese to spring at her immediately with high kicks and an attempt at grabbing, which thankfully failed - Her Aikido was always going to save her, it seems. She quickly grabbed Saw's wrist, rotating with him to change the flow of the motion before pushing him away so she can get going and finish this quickly.

Kisara got in a low eagle stance, spring up with two strong palm his to the diaphragm - As she was rotating, she grabbed his other wrist, using her elbow to hit him hard, which she repeated as she faced him again, with an uppercut. Still holding onto his wrist, she dove behind him low, kneeing at his lower spine, swiping back at his feet, dragging him to face her, kicking him in the abdomen and palm-striking him away. Instead of falling back, Saw grabbed tightly onto her arm - He was ready to use the headbutt on him, but he didn't have a good enough grip on her. Before he could charge, Kisara held on his forearm, tripping him and getting to his side before instantly karate chopping at his windpipe, making him fall to the ground - To make sure he would get up, she quickly kicked him in the ribs to roll him on his belly and slammed her knees onto his back, immobilizing his joints again.

"KISARA WINS!"

Oh, thank fuck, Kisara breathed out in relief, shakily getting up to her feet. Somehow, that fight was worse than the one in the Purgatory. Maybe. Whatever. She stumbled slightly walking back to Wakatsuki once again, who gently put a towel on her head, wiping away the sweat and blood. "I never want to fight that monster ever again. How did Gaolang keep up with him all these years, anyway?" Kisara groaned dramatically. "Nah, well, I suppose Gaolang is Gaolang. I doubt I could do that every again though. I'm just glad Hatsumi taught me well enough to do cheap, dirty tricks like that." "A win is a win, don't think too much of it. It was a great fight." he handed her back the phone. "And I filmed everything, as promised." "Sweet! I can't wait until Ohma starts picking apart every mistake I made!" she laughed mirthfully, evidently joking. "Hey, Tsuki, let's go grab Cos and go for a drink, yeah?" "Sounds like a plan." the man smiled simply, waiting for her to get showered, get the medical attention required and change to her civilian clothes before leaving the arena.

From Pool A, Leonardo Silva won. Pool B, of course, Cosmo won with no problem. From Pool C, annoyingly enough, Rihito won. In Pool D, only Mark Myers remained to advance further into the competition. Pool E was easily won by Koga and Funayama. The brawl between Himuro and Adam in Pool F was won by the American who trained hard with Kureishi and Cos. Kisara won and advanced further into the competition from Pool G. And Pool H, well... Ryuki won against Chiba after almost assassinating him. Poor man, he might not be a brilliant fighter, but he's doing well enough for himself. They had to do something about Ryuki before he does something irreversible.

Late into the evening when Kisara finally arrived home, Ohma was already there. He seemed pretty content - Had he just finished a sparring session, maybe? Regardless, she made a beeline to change in her sleepingwear and let herself fall on top of him, exhausted after such a long day. "So, what did you think about my fight? Worth writing in the book of records?" "Hell no." Ohma chuckled. "But considering who your opponent was, you did pretty damn well." he praised her. "Ha! You're getting mellow. It's almost like we're married!" Kisara grinned, nuzzling in the crook of his neck. "So, three more fights, huh?" Ohma hummed. "You really want to win, don't you?" "Oh, I don't care about winning - But losing means getting beaten up to a pulp and getting knocked out. I don't want a reminder of what happened in my fight with Takeshi, y'know? So - By default, I gotta win to avoid pain. That's enough of a motivator for me." Ohma actually chuckled at her hilarious resolve. "That, and I get a rush of dopamine when I beat Rihito." "You're a menace." "You won't be coming to the drawing ceremony, will you?" she asked, raising her head to kiss him. "Nope." he smirked. "I and Yasuo are gonna watch from the comfort of our home, stuffing our faces with a ton of food." "Yeah, that does sound like you, alright. You're such men, it's unreal." she laughed softly. "Don't worry, I'll write my autograph on your forehead after I win this." "And Her Majesty's ego is bursting through the roof again." Ohma rolled above his wife, trapping her face between his hands. "Not only that, but this Queen deserves a little bit of royal treatment, don't you think?" she smirked, her arms wrapping around his neck, pulling him down into a deep kiss. "So demanding."

With the tournament beginning, Kisara dressed in her most beautiful green hanfu dress, flowing around her as if she was a Spring Nymph, with her hair filled with flowers. She might not be Chinese, but considering the amount of things she learnt from that culture, from fighting style, dancing, history and what not, to the time she spent learning from Agito in the years they were away; There was nothing more beautiful than the awakening of one's soul and the happiness achieved through enlightening. Or whatever Buddha Gautama said - He's the top guy, he knows best. Might as well become a princess! Buddha might have renounced his titles and luxuries, but she was far too shallow to let go of her hard-earned possessions. And she liked being pretty! Though she'll have to wipe off her make up before her fight, she wouldn't want to look like a Kiss member after a concert, or a wet, trashy raccoon.

"It's time to begin the draw for the Main Tournament!" Sayaka called out from the stage, next to Alisa. "And now, introducing the Eight Berserkers vying for the top!"

One by one, the champion of each pool walked forward on the stage. Pool A: Leonardo Silva Pool B: Imai Cosmo Pool C: Rihito Pool D: Mark Myers Pool E: Narushima Koga Pool F: Adam Dudley Pool G: Hasashi Kisara Pool H: Gaoh Ryuki Everyone was dressed their best, all of them beautiful and shining - Of course, Kisara, the single woman there, was the most glamorous. If people thought the only woman fighter might have stood out the most, they were wrong. Koga, dressed like a fucking pimp, was the single sore spot on the roster. Poor boy truly needed some female influence in his life. With the draws done, the matches were as followed:

Match 1: Imai Cosmo vs Hasashi Kisara Match 2: Mark Myers vs Rihito Match 3: Narushima Koga vs Leonardo Silva Match 4: Gaoh Ryuki vs Adam Dudley

Finally, everyone could relax and enjoy the banquet at their leisure, for on the morrow, the tournament will be taking place. Regardless, Kisara had a lot of fun with Cosmo and Adam, taking their sweet time laughing and gossiping, catching up and what not. Koga was at the table with all his other supernova friends, Rihito was flirting as always - But Ryuki was all alone, in a corner. Kisara felt like she should try and comfort him in some way, or maybe encourage him, yet she had no idea what to do, so she continued her own fun. After enough pictures taken to commemorate a lovely evening spent, and a flooded social media, they returned home to rest until the tournament.

The Tournament was taking place in the Purgatory-Owned Coliseum, called "The Core", a hundred meters underground. Unfortunately, Nogi wanted to add the pathetic Ringout rule, so Kisara had to pay extra attention to what she was doing. Before the first match could take place, Kisara quickly paid a visit to the manager who was watching from one of the best stands up in the audience. "Hey, hey!" Kisara smiled brightly, flinging around her arms to play with her long sleeves. Though she couldn't wear a pretty dress anymore, there was nothing to say she can't continue wearing her pretty haori or hanfu coats over her equally pretty gym clothes. Gotta be a fashion icon even while sweating to hell! "Oh, Yamashita Kazuo, you've got a friend! You are so sociable, I envy you!" she grinned, turning her gaze to the man who was drinking canned beer with the old man - He was tall and well built, just like a fighter. He had a calm yet almost apathetic or bored look on his face, and he had his messy blond hair kept in a tail. "My name is Hasashi Kisara - Oh, actually, I suppose Tokita Kisara, considering I got officially married recently." The man looked her straight in the eyes for a few seconds, almost making her feel uncomfortable, before he spoke. "Jackie Lee." he said his name. "It's lovely meeting you, Miss Kisara. Your match is coming up soon, isn't it?" Kisara smiled, as if she was sparkling. "Are you Chinese?" she asked. "Oh? How did you know I am a foreigner?" Jackie tilted his head a little in surprise. "Yamashita-san also guessed well. Is it my accent?" "I'm not sure! It's just - I've gotten acquainted with the language over the past five years or so, and I think it has a certain melodicity that Japanese doesn't have. It's like... Like a honeyed mead caressing your soul. Does that make sense? No, of course it doesn't, that was stupid, forgive me." Jackie smiled at the woman, shaking his head. "Don't apologise. I'll take that as a compliment." he said. "I actually think it's remarkable how you picked it up so easily." "O-Oh, I'm glad you think so!" Kisara smiled cutely, bending a little to his level, only for her eyes to widen a little. "Oh, you have such beautiful eyes! I've never seen anyone with Polycoria before! And your shade is truly unique!" "Ahh, you flatter me, Miss." he smiled friendly. "Can I treat you to anything? I wanted to go get more beer for the two of us." the man asked gracefully. "Oh, no, I couldn't ask that of you!" she stammered quickly, not wanting to inconvenience. "Besides, I have to rush to my match. I hope I'll live up to expectations!" Jackie look at her again, almost as if he was analysing every inch of her body, before he smiled again. "Don't worry, it's on me. Good luck with your match, Miss Kisara." "Xièxiè!" Kisara attempted to thank him in his own language, offering a peace sign before rushing back down to the arena so that she can begin her fight.

To think, out of all the possible fighters, she had to be pitted against the one she was most afraid of! Well, Adam was rather fearsome also, not to mention, they both trained with Kureishi. But Kisara was good at taking down huge guys like Adam. But people her size, specialised in grappling? She was screwed. Her joints and limbs were weak, and she has a low pain tolerance. If she lets him grapple her and gets a solid hold on her, she's as good as done for.

"Pity the two of us have to fight, huh? Frankly, you're the one who scared me the most - Such luck I get, huh?" Kisara chuckled softly, looking at the confident Cosmo in front of her. "I thought the same, Nee-san." Cos rose his hand for her to shake. "Remember years ago, when you saw my first fight? Remember how I said I wanted to spar with you one day?" "Your dream came true, Cos." she chuckled, shaking his hand. "Let's have fun, yeah?" "Hell yes!"

The two stepped away from each other and took their stances - For the first time, Kisara actually did a stance - Cos saw her fight before, there's no use bothering to play the stanceless non-fighter card anymore... At least, not against him. Kisara was the first to throw a lazy feint kick, getting him on high alert before stepping away. Just like in a UFC fight, they assessed each other's every twitch of the body, only for Cos to quickly need to block a fast kick to his head, followed by a feint jab to his chest. "Damn, you're fast, sis!" Kisara attempted another blow, only for Cos to duck and grab her arm, pulling her towards him so he could side-step behind her and punch the side of her face. "Not faster than you, it seems." Kisara had a pained smile on her face, stepping away from him and keeping her feet first as Cos kicked at her ankle, but couldn't make her stumble. They had an equal exchange of quick jabs to the face before the boy feinted a jab to her diaphragm before crouching for a low-grab, his hands trying to grip tightly on the back of her thighs, but his had got hold in between her arm and ribs and managed to wrestle him away, leaping backwards. Cos might not be an enemy she's used to, but it was the first time she fights someone close in weight with her - She couldn't believe she could actually fight him, what a revelation. Still, her master plan was to throw him out of the ring - There was no other way around it, and with her Aikido, she might just make that happen.

As Cosmo was doing his footwork, he rushed right in front of her, aiming two straights to her face - Unbeknownst to him, as he was attempting a grab, Kisara fell low to the ground, her arms around his thighs, going for a similar grab as him previously, and as he tried to get out of her grip, she used her weight to throw him to the ground, on his back like a turtle on his shell. She was on her feet, between his legs, trying to land a strike but also guard against his kicks - What a fucking standard UFC moment, she thought, remembering all the fights she saw with Ohma when he taught her how to fight against grappling, her biggest weakness on Earth. She landed a sweeping kick to his thighs, looking down at him, before scaring him with a fake attempt at jumping down on him, as though she was Seki doing a fascinating Pro-Wrestling move. As if!

Sike.

She jumped again, one leg carefully in front of her so her knee and thigh would get caught between his legs and she could hold all her weight concentrated on her knee, down on his abdomen, while she landed a nice punch to his face, and rolling away to safety. She watched the boy pant, evening his breath, his back slightly hunched on the ground and his legs up - She remembers a Baki episode, when Yujiro Hanma proposed that the invincible move. But she had the perfect counter.

Kisara waited for Cosmo to kick his legs in retaliation to a feint from her, so she did a cart wheel, grabbing his legs and rolling him with her - But she couldn't get on top of him, for he wrestled away perfectly. Damn grappler king, his reputation preceded him. "I hate grapplers." Kisara breathed out, making the boy grin and jump to his feet, lunging at her with another few strikes - Once again, Kisara forced another grab by kneeling and grabbing at his thighs and waist from the side, similarly to what Agito was doing, and managed to get him on his back again, her torso against hier crossed shins, and she tried to punch him somehow, but he grabbed her arms and hand. They were in a tight lock and struggling for domination by holding tightly onto the joints. "Where'd you learn to grappler so well?" Cosmo gritted through his teeth as the woman managed to slip from his grip - That sweat was making her slippery. "I have a husband, you know." she grinned at the implication. "The least Ohma can do to be useful is to be a good practice dummy." somehow, she managed to get up and grabbed at his ankle, dragging him around a little, as if to play and taunt him. She was subtly dragging him closer to the edge, whilst also making her unnervingly close. What a gamble. She only bet on people, not on situations like this.

She allowed Cosmo to get up, not wanting to deal with that annoying ground grappling anymore, only to block a few punches with her arm, using Indestructible - But her thigh didn't work as well for that blocking. When he aimed a kick, she grabbed his ankle, throwing herself to the ground, but Cosmo grabbed her head, aiming a hard punch, getting each other in a tight lock and standing up. He landed a painful knee to her diaphragm and a jab to her face, making her gasp, breathless, and be forced to retreat immediately. That hurt like hell. She had to end it immediately.

With a few steps took forward as if to scare him, Cosmo stepped back before grounding himself steadily on his feet. Cosmo lunged and attempted a punch to her face, but just like before, Kisara ducked and grabbed at his knees, trying to wrestle him down - She got her head in a suffocating headlock and Cosmo kicked her feet, making her fall down to the ground. Immediately he got behind her, his arms around her waist, getting her up, holding her so tight that she feared losing her breath altogether. Her nails were digging desperately into his hands, trying to break free in some way - The line was so fucking close, if only she could... If only...

As she was stumbling around on her feet, feeling her vision blur rapidly, she fell to her knees, her forehead planted on the ground with Cosmo still holding her, kneeling just next to her. This was it. It was do or die - Whether she wins or loses, it's in this last move. With her last strength, from that uncomfortable position, she got up, clawing at his hand so hard that she managed to snap away the grip of his intertwined hands, and grabbing his wrist, she dove under his arm, tripping him forward and throwing the both of them to the ground, rolling with him like two children and making Cosmo touch outside of the ring.

"MATCH OVER! KISARA WIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIINS!!!"

Cosmo's eyes shot wide open, and he looked down at the bloody grin of the woman underneath him. "Sorry, Cos. It was the only way I could win against you." "I can't believe I forgot about the Ringout. How annoying." despite the disappointment, Cos smiled and offered his hand to help her up. "Five years ago, you ran away from Senpai after getting him to the ground. To think you'd trick me like that - What a Kitsune!" "That's the only thing I'm good at, after all." she chuckled, getting up and hugging the boy. "You better with this, okay, sis?" they fist bumped, making a promise. "You've got it, Cos!"

She left for the showers and was ready to look for her darling, but for some reason, she found herself returning to the manager. Why, she wasn't quite sure - On the other hand, she knew that multiple rounds were definitely not her thing... Not in fighting, at least. For other things, well - It's not like she's the one doing most of the work to begin with.

By the time she got up the stands, she saw that Koga's uncle, Joji, also joined them in drinking. Those three seemed to be having lots of fun and were getting along well. "Hi, again." she gave a brief wave of her hand, and the trio, as if sharing a single braincell, waved back in unison. Jackie, who was towards the edge, patted the empty seat next to him for the girl to join, before handing her a can of coke. "You fought well. Thought you might need some energy to keep you going." Kisara smiled gratefully at Jackie, sitting next to him and enjoying the cold beverage. "Thank you, Jackie, you're very sweet. I hope we hang around again someday!" she said. "Somehow, everyone becomes friends with Yamashita Kazuo. It's really cool, right?" Jackie nodded in agreement, handing her a plate of sweets. "Enjoy." "Hey, that's too much! You've already got me so many things, I can't --" but the casual look on his face showed her he wouldn't accept a negative answer, and to leave the formalities. "Fine, fine. I'll treat you to something later then." she said, munching on e pocky stick. Coincidentally, Joji and Jackie did the same thing, at the same time. Were they kindred souls?

She took out her phone, taking a winking selfie with the pocky between her lips and sending it to Ohma, texting him about random things as she listened to the old man telling them that Myers was a serial killer pardoned by Idemitsu from his 3000 year prison sentence. He won over two hundred matches with his physical abilities alone, and just in his third year in Purgatory, did he start learning martial arts. "Oh, come on, I don't want to fight a serial killer. I've had it with that." Kisara groaned, leaning back on her seat. "If I knew Rihito would get the short end of the stick and face off against that guy, I wouldn't have bothered entering the competition." she ruffled her crimson hair, pouting in annoyance. "You seem pretty confident that he's going to win." Jackie pointed out. "Yeah, well - I don't give two cents on Rihito. I firmly believe he's the biggest shame of Kengan." she shrugged, bored, looking at his stupid coat with << I'M A SUPERMAN >> embroidered in the leopard patterned material on his back. "The only reason I entered the tournament was to make sure he doesn't win. I couldn't live with the idea of the biggest loser in the world winning out of sheer, dumb luck." "Fascinating resolve." Jackie looked at her with wide, surprised eyes. "You must mean - Ridiculous. Petty. Stupid." she chuckled playfully. "I know, I know. But what can I do? I guess I was a little bored, that's all." "I don't think that matters. As long as you're having fun and enjoying yourself, I think that's all." Kisara looked at the man and smiled, happy that someone was so understanding of her weirdness. "That's a positive outlook, I love it! Thanks!" she hummed, leaning on the side to clink her coke can to his own beer can.

That Myers guy pumped his muscles up with Indestructible and engaged in a barrage of punches, but nothing he received seemed to affect him. There was no way Rihito's finger slicer were going to affect this though guy, Kisara thought, and the two men next to her were munching aggressively on the chocolate glazed sticks. Rihito seemed to be doing well dodging all hits. He must have realised already that the Indestructible, especially used by a newby, was heavily flawed a technique - The sturdier he was, the more rigid - Rihito was attacking his knees until Myers gave out - And he slashed at his face - Uh, mask - With his Razor's Edge technique, making him bleed heavily, and fall to the ground, needing a medic urgently.

"You canNOT be serious! That was ridiculous!" Kisara groaned, slapping her forehead. "Look at the bright side. You'll get to defeat him in the semifinal." Jackie pointed out. "Well... Yeah, true, but..." she muttered softly. "But Ohma got a scar from him, you know? It's pretty bad, and it still hurts him, with the change of the weather. I'm a girl, I don't like scars. That guy's a menace to fight." "If you know where to strike, you won't need to worry about that." Jackie said. "You've got a good handle on Aikido and Wushu. Grab his wrist after he tries to slash you and knock him out with a good hit to the face." "Glabella, philtrum and chin." Kisara gasped in realisation, earning a nod from the man. "Jackie, you're a genius! If you're not a fighter already, you should be! You'd be the new star of Kengan!" she grinned, newfound vitality energizing her again. "I'm not that good." he dismissed her claim. "But I'm glad I give off that impression."

Next was Koga's fight against Leonardo Silva, and as expected, Silva lunged first ready for a low grapple, only to miss and get a hard punch to his face. Instead of stopping him, Silva continued him torso-grapple, throwing him to the ground - Only for him to be forced to let go of the clutch. Good work, Koga. Your Redirection Kata worked wonders. Your hard work and dedication bore fruit, after so long. Koga tried to punch his with the Ironbreaker, but got redirected, thus had to engage in a rush of hits with his opponent. Parry and counter, parry and counter, until Silva found his hand aching like hell trying to hit Koga's forearm. Once Leonardo stopped countering and began ducking, it was Koga's time to realise that his Adamantine technique expired, and his fist was twitching - He got distracted, allowing himself to get tackled to the ground. The two grappled and wrestled, his head kept in a tight rear naked choke.

The only way for Koga to get out of that hold was to bite down on his arm while breaking it with the Ironbreaker, causing Silva to leap away - His bone was cracked and in agony. Ohma was very proud of his student. Koga used his finisher on Silva before following close behind with a flying knee, and punched his down with Ironbreaker once again.

Koga won.

"He's a wonderful fighter." Jackie said. "That's my nephew. As in, my relative." Joji spoke blankly, while Yamashita was cheering, excited. "You might just be fighting him in the finals if he continued fighting like this." Jackie turned his gaze at Kisara. "I like the confidence you have in me." she teased him. "I wonder if I can beat him. I'm already feeling as if a panzer tank ran me over... Though, I don't think he's doing much better anyway." she chuckled lightly. "Still, he's been training hard every day for the past years. I've just been dancing and traveling." she laughed leisurely. "What's life without some fun, huh?"

As Koga existed the arena, he was met with Ohma who praised his wit and craft, even going as far as to suggest teaching him another move before his match against Ryuki. Hopefully, he won't use it on Kisara though, should they meet in the finals - Though, Ohma has the feeling that his wife could easily defeat Koga, considering she is the most familiar with his Niko style and all the people that helped train the boy. That tricksy little vixen always ended up surprising, one way or another - Though, he was very proud of her ground grappling. His husbandry work was well done. How funny.

Jackie came over with a whole bag of cans and sweets, wearing the same apathetic look on his face. "Thank you so much, Jackie! You can sure poind these back, can't you?" Yamashita was blushing with glee and a little drunk. "I'm just, how you say... Boozing and Schmoozing, you see?" how could he say that with such a straight face? "Jackie, nobody says that anymore. It's not Hip." Joji informed him seriously. Out of nowhere, Yamashita's other CEO friends, Yoshitake and Ken came over with more booze, just as hammered. "Narushima, that's pretty old-fashioned too! Hey, Kazzy! I brought us some good sake!" Ken chirped. "Oh, my word! Who's that dandy over there~?" Yoshitake flirted with Jackie, most likely. "Kenny! Mr. Yoshitake! Let me introduce you! This guy came all the way from China." Yamashita explained as Jackie bowed to them humbly, telling them his name and everyone started drinking. Only Jackie made sure Kisara had a nice and cold coke to drink, as she had to fight again soon, in the semis. Men and their drinks.

The fight between Ryuki and Adam began soon and Ryuki started swinging in a way similar to that of Agito's Formless stance, and in the blink blink of an eye, he was on the ground, attacking Adam - But unlike his past mindless brawler style from before, he was much better prepared, especially in fighting theory, and he hit with a high stick shot, and many other hits and kicks, even easily managing to evade an eye gouging attempt by throwing himself shoulder-first into Gaoh's pelvis, making him fall down. When Adam tried to kick at his fallen opponent, but Ryuki got in a handstand, kicking him away, getting his ankle caught in a tight grasp and twirling him around like he was a toy, and from the friction with the ground, his back was bleeding heavily. "Ah, damn, I know those moves. That damn Setsuna... No wonder Ryuki's so hell-bent on killing. How frightsome." "You seem to know quite a bit about this." Jackie noted. "Oh, yes, well - I got in quite a scary encounter with the man who taught him these moves, you see. Quite very scary. If it weren't for my husband, I don't know what would have happened. He was rather mentally unstable also." Kisara shuddered softly, remembering that day when Kiryu took her away, saying he wanted to save her or something. "At the end of the day, I'm still a girl, you know? I don't like fighting that much, but I like knowing I am safe even if there's no one protecting me all the time." she smiled softly. "You, men, are something else, you know? Going out of your way to get hurt, and all that, just for some adrenaline rush. It's kinda adorable." "Interesting. You say all that, yet you're going to fight again soon, under the pretext of boredom." Jackie could feel a smile tug at his mouth. "Ah, well - You won't see me fight again. I've had it with tournaments, officially." she declared. "But I can't deny, I like learning all sorts of things. And encouraging my friends. I don't like watching them lose, but I like seeing them win and be happy." "And if they die?" his question rang somber. "Jackie... I don't want to think of death." Kisara shuddered, uncomfortably. "I... My husband died in my arms. I mourned him, almost three years." she spoke softly, looking down with a sad smile. "I thought life ended for me also. Well... In a weird way, I've got someone to thank for saving him. He might be an enemy, but he brought my husband back to me. Xia Ji might be a pathetic rat man who killed hundreds of people, but for that at least, I can thank him." "Xia Ji, huh?" Jackie muttered under his breath. "You heard of him? He looks like a weirdo, and he doesn't take care of his hair. It looks like hay." she chuckled at him. "No, never heard of him." he shrugged carelessly. "At least you are happy." "Yeah, you're right." Kisara smiled at him kindly. "I am happy."

Adam continued to punch and kick Ryuki, easily tanking his hits, and even if they did hit, he wasn't all that shaken up. Adam was so used to Cosmo's speed, Ryuki was in slow-motion for him, hence why it was so easy to predict his moves and kick him to hell, following up with a rush of heavy punches to the face and even a stomp to the belly, and kicked him into rolling to the other side of the ring like a soccer ball again and again.

Adam didn't beat down a fallen enemy - Instead, he waited until Ryuki stumbled to his feet and tried to block a hit, only for Adam to play with him like a rag doll, slamming him into the ground. When he wasn't looking, Adam got a small Setsuna-like attack on his forearm. The flower of carnage has blossomed, and Ryuki was ready to kill. Ryuki wasn't broken yet - He knew was being beaten to hell meant, he was trained by his grandpa after all, and just like Ohma, he had to almost die, to become this strong and resilient. The young boy took more and more hits, like a Kamikaze soldier, and before he knew it, Adam's latissimus dormi muscle was completely twisted to hell my Setsuna's Rakshasa's Palm technique - It only left the hockey master lack-luster in his attacks. Ryuki used his assassin fingers to shrike at Adam's neck, knocking him out - He was in a critical condition and needed emergency care.

With all the drama from the last fight, the four went down to congratulate Koga on his win, and wish him good luck on the semis - Unfortunately, by the time they arrived, the two friends were in a deep argument, with Ohma hiding behind a wall, motioning for them not to interfere. There was no chance to save Ryuki while he was still under the clutches of Setsuna - Surely, Ohma realised that too, as he comforted the depressed manager.

As soon as Ohma saw Jackie however, he looked weirdly at him. "Have we met?" "No..." Jackie almost seemed to hesitate. "This is my first time talking to you." "I see. Sorry, I must've been mistaken." Ohma shrugged, unbothered. "There are a lot of lookalikes out there." as the old man pointed that out, Kisara felt a weird, uncomfortable pang in her heart, as though there was something odd, not only about Ohma and Ryuki and their cloning, but of the Worms, the Connector and all these coincidences going on. "This is Jackie Lee, Ohma. He's Yamashita Kazuo's and Joji's new friend. He's been getting us drinks and snacks all day. He's really cool!" Kisara skipped to her husband, getting on he tippy toes to steal a kiss, her arms wrapped around his torso. "He even gave me an idea on hos to defeat Rihito without getting injured at all. Girls care about scars, you know?" Ohma nodded, smiling down at his wife. "Glad to hear you're having fun." he said. "The intermission is about done. Isn't it time for your match? Why are you loitering about, you little dumbass bookworm?" "I wanted to see my stupid gym rat for a lucky charm kiss." she smiled innocently at him, before stealing another kiss and rushing towards the prep room to change in her fighting clothes.

"The first match of the Semifinals - The Trickster Kitsune, the Queen of the Kengan Matches, Hasashi Kisara! - Versus, The Superman, Rihito!" Sayaka called out loudly. "And, in the second match, The First Eye, Narushima Koga! - Versus - The Dragon King, Gaoh Ryuki!" she continued, waiting for the chanting and cheering to subside. "All four are powerful fighters, but two will be eliminated! Their chances are half and half! Who will be in, and who will be out?!"

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