{"sf1_id":852947,"sf2_id":null,"title":"Chapter 2: The Competition","author":"Volcan MacAingeal","words":18126,"posted_at":"2015-04-27T00:45:00.000Z","tags":["Death","Equine","Jaguar","Kitsune","Phoenix","White Tiger","canada","combat","competition","japan","martial arts","murder","tournament"],"url":"https://fse.anthro.fr/stories/852947-chapter-2-the-competition","original_url":"https://sofurry.com/view/852947","image_url":"https://www.sofurryfiles.com/std/thumb?page=852947\u0026ext=.jpg","description":"","content":"The Os-Nàdarra Sentinels\nArc Three:\nThe Overlords\nChapter 2: The Competition\n-January 18th\n2011-\n            Two weeks had passed since Volcan's\nnear-death experience of having the darkness within his body separated from\nhim. In that time, the Fire Phoenix had shown little change; he could walk\n-with some help, but was not yet able to move around for long, nor perform\nanything that was barely strenuous; even the act of lifting up a cup was\ndifficult for him in his current condition. He'd never said so, but it was\nobvious, especially to Vinge who visited twice a week, that Volcan was\ndistressed at how weakened he was.\n            Not that anyone could blame him.\nPrior to this event he was the most physically powerful person in all of Unity\nFalls; now he was about as sturdy a pane of glass.\n            With Volcan down, Winged Fury had\nbeen forced to announce a temporary retirement until their lead guitarist was\nback in action. Leadership of the Os-Nadarra was, however, still up for debate;\nthe only one to step forward for the position was Lighris, but nobody would\nnominate him, stating he was too hot-headed for the role. He hadn't been happy\nwith the decision, of course, but he respected it. Everyone else seemed to be\nsuggesting Vinge or Rikyuu, the latter of whom was quick to remind them he\nwasn't technically a full-time member.\n            It wasn't a decision that needed to\nbe rushed, though; things had been quiet, and the Os-Nadarra had little reason\nto be active. Petty crimes across the city were something the police had\ncovered, the I.T.O.U.E were gone, and Unity Falls was otherwise quiet. However,\nin light of the appearance of Volcan's evil counterpart, they thought it best\nthe team stay in contact; if the dark phoenix somehow returned, it would be up\nto the six of them, plus three with Rikyuu, Obsidian and Ayane serving as\nhonorary members as well, to stop him.\n            In regards to Volcan's absence, Vinge\nhad offered to take care of the phoenixes' apartment as well; once each week he\nstopped by there to check things out, sort through the mail and inform him of\nbills in need of being paid -which Degra handled, rather than Vinge, and he\nalso had to explain to the landlady that Volcan had been injured in an accident\nand would not be home for quite some time. She agreed to keep his apartment\nrented to Volcan as long as the rent was paid -although she also agreed to\nlower it by half until he came back, bless her heart.\n            Vinge was making his weekly stop;\ndust had settled over all surfaces, so he sought out cleaning supplies to give\nthe place a touch-up. He started with the kitchen, using a lemon-scented\nsurface cleaner and a rag to wash the dust off of the counters, stove, out of\nthe sink and off of the cupboards, both inside and out, and finished by mopping\nthe floor with the same surface cleaner. Afterwords, he retrieved some wood\npolish -basically wax, from the cabinet and went to work on Volcan's wooden furniture,\nconsisting of his coffee table, TV stand, and a reclining armchair with wooden\narms and legs. Like the surface cleaner, this wood polish was also lemon\nscented. 'He really likes the smell of\nlemons, it seems,' thought the ice phoenix.\n            Just after finishing with the coffee\ntable, he heard footsteps at the door; glancing over, he saw a familiar figure\nstepping inside, and sat up to see Tsume looking back at him. \"Oh, hi Vinge; so\nthat was you I could hear,\" she said.\n            \"Yes; just making my weekly stop,\" the\nice phoenix returned, standing up. \"How are you, Tsume?\"\n            She shrugged. \"Work's been a little\nslow; all of the gardens at the estates are doing fine. Besides that, I'm doing\nokay,\" she replied. \"And you?\"\n            \"Fine. Just making sure Volcan's\naffairs are in order,\" replied Vinge, draping the rag he was using over the\nwood polish spray and setting it aside, dusting off his hands.\n            \"How's he doing?\"\n            \"Very little change, but I think\nhe's recovering; he can almost walk again.\"\n            Tsume sighed sadly. \"Poor kid...\nwhy'd that have to happen to him?\"\n            Vinge arched an eyebrow at Tsume.\n\"'Kid'? Correct me if I'm wrong, but are you not only seventeen years old?\"\n            Tsume chuckled and put a hand on her\nhip. \"Eighteen in a few months; it's just an expression. Besides, he is still a kid as Phoenixes go; so am I,\nand so are you.\" She smiled at him. \"You shouldn't take everything so\nliterally.\"\n            \"Sorry,\" returned the Ice Phoenix,\nbefore he glanced around the apartment. \"Um... would you happen to know where\nVolcan keeps his vacuum cleaner?\"\n            \"Closet, in the entryway,\" replied\nTsume, jerking her thumb over her shoulder.\n            Vinge nodded his thanks, walking\nover to the indicated closet; Tsume stepped aside to let him pass, watching\nhim. \"Want any help? I can start cleaning the kitchen or the bathroom.\"\n            Vinge paused as his hand grasped\nVolcan's vacuum cleaner, considering her offer before he answered. \"I already\ndid the kitchen, but cleaning the bathroom would indeed be helpful; thank you.\"\n            \"I've got to admit, Vinge,\" began\nTsume as she headed over to the bathroom. \"You're the first guy I've met who's\nactually good at cleaning a house.\"\n            Vinge chuckled. \"I watched my mother\ndo it all the time; I guess I picked up on it,\" he returned as he found an\nelectrical outlet and unrolled the vacuum cord, finding numerous tangles in it.\n\"He's not very good at storing this,\" the ice phoenix remarked in a low\nwhisper.\n            \"Say something?\" Tsume called.\n            \"Sorry, just talking to myself,\"\nreplied Vinge.\n            \"Oh, okay.\"\n            The two carried on with their work;\nVinge vacuumed the carpeted floors of the living room, hallway and both\nbedrooms, detaching the hose to get into the tighter corners the front could\nnot, sucking up all of the dust and dirt. Tsume adorned a pair of gloves she\nfound under the sink in the bathroom -gloves that were much too large for her\nhands, but they did the job- and started with the bathtub and shower. Clearly\nthis part of the bathroom didn't see much use; it had no soap scum or\nwatermarks anywhere; understandable considering the heritage of the person who\nlived in this apartment. The shower was followed shortly after by the toilet,\nthe sink, the mirror and the floor; she cleaned it all in a short time, and\nstood by the door to admire her work for a moment before she put the gloves\nback where she found them, and stepped out to see how Vinge was faring.\n            The ice phoenix was emptying the\ndust cup of the vacuum cleaner into the garbage bin in the kitchen, looking up\nwhen he heard Tsume approaching. \"All done?\"\n            She nodded. \"Yep; clean as a\nwhistle.\"\n            \"Then I think we're finished,\" the\nice phoenix said, tapping the cup against the side of the garbage bin before he\npulled it back, and placed it back into the vacuum. \"So what do you have\nplanned today?\"\n            Tsume shrugged. \"Just my yoga\npractice this afternoon but besides that, nothing,\" she replied. \"What about\nyou?\"\n            \"Was thinking of heading over to the\nmuseum to see my mom today, and see how she's doing,\" the ice phoenix returned\nas he carried the vacuum back to where he'd found it, coiling the cord neatly\nbefore hanging it over the back of the vacuum handle.\n            Just as Tsume was about to respond,\nthere was a buzzing sound from her pocket, followed by what sounded like words\nspoken in first-nations tongue; three words which even Vinge didn't understand\ndespite being fluent in five languages. But it made Tsume smile as she reached\ninto her pocket and pulled out her phone, pressing the button on top to\nactivate the display, her smile widening and she was almost squealing with\nglee.\n            \"What the heck was that?\" Vinge\nasked.\n            \"A recorded ringtone by my teacher,\"\nreplied Tsume. \"So I'd always know when he's messaging me.\" She giggled as she\nthought back. \"Took me months to convince him to get a modern-day cellphone,\nand just as long to teach him how to use it; he was a little old-fashioned\nuntil I came along.\"\n            \"Your teacher?\" Vinge asked.\n            \"Red-Grass; my knife-fighting\ninstructor.\"\n            Vinge gawked at Tsume as the name\n'Red-Grass' left her beak, his eyes widening in clear surprise and his beak\nhanging open in awe. \"You're joking,\" he stated, \"Red-Grass, as in the nine-time international champion\nknife-fighter and the winner of four regional archery contests?\"\n            Tsume smiled. \"The very same; you\nreally do know your stuff.\"\n            \"I once sought him out to train with\nhim!\" Vinge returned. \"How long have you known him?\"\n            \"Since I was eight; he was a friend\nof my dad's,\" replied Tsume. \"Red-Grass was looking to buy back some land that\nonce belonged to his family; my dad used some of his connections and made it\nhappen. Since then they became close friends; I asked Red-Grass to take me\nunder his tutelage, and he taught me knife-fighting, archery, and even got me\nstarted on martial arts.\"\n            \"Martials arts; what does he\npractice?\"\n            Tsume smiled, setting her phone\naside and taking a deep breath before she jumped backward, landing on her hands\nand performing several sweeping kicks with her legs, attacking imaginary foes\nas she moved. She followed up the sweeping kicks with a high-kick that would have\nstruck someone across the face -which, had once already; Vinge recalled the\nscarred man, Adrian Broadside, of the I.T.O.U.E, whom the Os-Nadarra had fought\nthe year before; As he watched the way Tsume moved he was suddenly reminded of\nthose deep gouges in Adrian's face when the police apprehended him and the\nother I.T.O.U.E members. Those scars must have been caused by Tsume's talons\nwhile using that kick.\n            He took note of her technique\nthrough the five second demonstration she gave, using her hands for support\nwhen she went low and only using her legs to attack. When she stopped and\nhand-sprinted back over to him, landing in front of him and taking a breath, he\nanalyzed what she had been doing. \"Capoeira,\" he stated.\n            \"Give the man a prize,\" returned\nTsume.\n            \"Red-Grass taught you that?\"\n            Tsume shook her head. \"He got me\nstarted on it; he used a few techniques in his knife-fighting styles,\" replied\nTsume. \"I took the other courses at a martial arts school here in town.\"\n            \"How does Red-Grass combine leg-strikes\nand knife fighting?\" Vinge asked, curiously. \"Knives require hands, Capoeira\nuses only the warrior's feet; how can he hold a knife and kick like you were\ndoing?\"\n            \"Let's just say his knuckles look\nlike ground meat,\" replied Tsume, grimacing slightly.\n            \"Oh... dead nerve endings?\"\n            \"Oh\nyeah; couldn't feel a hammer hitting his fingers.\"\n            Vinge nodded. \"So... what was he\nmessaging about?\"\n            Tsume reached for her phone, picking\nit up off the table where she'd placed it, and pacing around the room a little\nas the read the message. Her eyes widened slightly as she read, and another\nlight smile appeared on the fleshy root of her beak. \"Another tournament coming\nto town, apparently.\"\n            \"Knife-fighting?\"\n            \"Nope; martial-arts,\" replied the\nEarth Phoenix. \"It's being hosted at the McKenzie College, at the Convention\nCenter's basement. Just a regional tournament so mostly only locals are going\nto be here.\"\n            \"You're planning to enter, I take\nit,\" said Vinge.\n            \"How'd you guess?\" Tsume asked,\nrhetorically, although Vinge still answered. \n            \"First reason; why else would\nRed-Grass be messaging you about it? Second reason; remember that day Volcan\nand I stopped by your apartment to borrow some cooking supplies that he was out\nof?\"\n            \"Yeah?\"\n            \"I saw the awards on that shelf next\nto your family photo,\" replied Vinge. \"You've placed the top four in three\nregional tournaments already, one of them martial arts.\"\n            Tsume smile faded, eyeing Vinge with\nan almost intimidated expression. \"You know, it's scary how you can notice that\nmuch; you were only in my apartment for two minutes.\"\n            Vinge tapped the side of his head\nwith a finger. \"Photographic memory.\"\n            \"How photographic?\"\n            \"I remember every word in a lullaby\nmy mom sang to me when I was two.\"\n            \"Aww, that's so cute.\"\n            Vinge cleared his throat. \"But yes.\nClearly, you like to compete.\"\n            Tsume put up her hands. \"Guilty as\ncharged,\" she returned. \"The thrill of competition is a thrill I'm sorry to\nmiss.\"\n            Vinge nodded. \"Well, all I can do is\nwish you luck, then,\" he said.\n            Tsume irked an eyebrow at the ice\nphoenix, eyeing him curiously. \"What, you don't want to compete?\"\n            \"I did not practice martial arts to\nuse them for fame and glory,\" returned Vinge, waving his hand dismissively. \"It\nwas a coping mechanism to...\" He cringed. \"Deal with my past.\"\n            \"Be that as it may haven't you ever\nwanted to test yourself against another combatant?\" Tsume asked.\n            \"Anyone who practices will have\nthought about it, but I don't have a competitive spirit like yours,\" Vinge\nreturned. \"And for the record, I have tested myself against others; I fought\nVolcan when he and I first met, remember?\"\n            \"Didn't he beat you?\"\n            Vinge shook his head. \"It was\ninconclusive,\" he replied. \"Now we just spar, but I usually win because his\ntechnique is fairly raw.\"\n            \"And of course, you've tutored\nPavan. But wouldn't be nice to just branch out?\"\n            Vinge crossed his arms, eyeing Tsume\nirritably. \"I already told you, I'm not competitive. I have nothing to prove.\"\n            Tsume returned his irritated stare,\nthe two falling silent as their eyes met, standing in the apartment, standing\nstill and exchanging no further words. Vinge's gaze never left hers, but it did\nchange to a curious look, irking an eyebrow at her. \"Why are you staring at\nme?\"\n            \"Get your feathery white ass to the\nregistry,\" Tsume stated with a firm tone.\n            \"No.\"\n            \"Go.\"\n            \"No.\"\n            \"Go.\"\n            \"No.\"\n            \"Go\ndammit!\"\n            \"No.\"\n~~~~~\n            \"I'm so glad you agreed to this,\"\nTsume said to Vinge as they approached the registry office, stationed outside\nof the convention center where the tournament would be held. \nThey'd already been standing in line for a few\nmoments, with three other competitors ahead of them and six more behind them. The\nspectator line for selling tickets was placed adjacent to the competitor's\nline. That line stretched back all the way to the sidewalk and branched off to\nthe right, extending for another fifty or so bodies before a back could finally\nbe seen, and every moment more and more were adding to the lineup, word having\nspread like wildfires around the city about a new competition. The competitors\nwere of course much fewer in number, but there were still at least sixty in the\nlineup, most of them carrying the look of seasoned fighters, the rest appearing\nless convincing, but some looked very athletic.\n\"I don't know how I let you talk me into this,\"\nVinge said, shaking his head with an exasperated sigh.\n\"Come on, you really have to live a little!\" Tsume\nteased, giving him a playful backhand slap in the abdominal muscles; he gave a\nlight grunt, more from not expecting it than it actually hurting. \"And I've\nbeen dying for some action; I like the idea of having someone to aspire to meet\nin the arena.\"\n\"You're referring to me?\" Vinge asked, curiously.\n\"Well yeah; I heard you practiced several martial\narts,\" she replied. \"I want to see how I fare against a mixed-martial arts\nfighter.\"\n\"I have achieved black belt status in four,\" replied\nVinge. \"Kung Fu, Taekwondo\n, Judo and Aikido; I am also practicing Karate but haven't made black belt yet -I'm\nonly a yellow belt.\"\n\"Still means you know some moves, anyway,\" returned\nTsume.\n\"True,\" admitted Vinge. \"Either way, I just don't\nfeel like I belong here.\"\nTsume laughed. \"You're a martial artist; you fit in\nhere perfectly.\"\n\"I meant about how I'm not competitive,\" returned\nVinge.\n\"Just try to\nhave some fun, will ya?\" Tsume said, groaning.\nThe ice phoenix did not reply. \nFinally, they reached the booth; Tsume went first,\napproaching the counter to sign the waivers, some additional information, and\nthen her name, being assigned a number and stepping aside to let Vinge do the\nsame. Unlike Tsume, who was already experienced with entering these\ntournaments, Vinge read the waivers to learn their details, reading them over\nwith impressive swiftness. The waivers declared the hosts of the tournament\nwere not responsible for any injuries received in combat during the tournament,\nsomething Vinge understood, and there was also a list of rules to go over, such\nas illegal techniques to use against an opponent, an agreement to not use\nsuperhumanoid powers -like his Cryokinetic abilities, and an agreement to never\ninterfere with medical crews if they are in the ring at any time.\nVinge concluded his reading, signing his name, and\nfollowed Tsume to the side, letting the next competitor move in to sign their\nname. Tsume was holding her jacket tightly against her body, shivering from the\ncold. \"All done?\" She asked.\nVinge nodded. \"I am,\" he replied. He turned his gaze\ntowards the convention center, grimacing as he saw the building and thought\nabout what was to come, feeling himself start to sweat a little. Turning his\ngaze back to Tsume, he eyed her expectantly as he asked, \"are you really sure\nwe should be doing this?\"\n\"Why shouldn't we?\" Tsume inquired, shrugging at the\nice phoenix. \"It's just a contest; people enter them all the time.\"\n\"Well I...\"\n            \"Move.\"\nA short-statured figure pushed their way between the\ntwo phoenixes, their shoulders bumping those of Tsume and Vinge, stumbling them\nboth.\n\"Hey! Rude much?\" Tsume scolded, glaring at the\nfigure as she regained her balance, but they didn't even look back at her. \nThe offender was a feline, with white fur, striped\nwith black, and long black scalp hair tied back into a ponytail, grown down to\nthe middle of their back. They were roughly the same height as Tsume, if maybe\nan inch taller, dressed in a green short-sleeve shirt and black jeans.\nProtruding from the back of his jeans was a tail, long and thin, covered in\nblack ring-stripes from the root to the tip. A white tiger, evidently.\n\"What's his problem?\" Vinge asked, staring daggers\ninto the tiger's back for his rudeness.\n\"You don't recognize him?\" Tsume asked.\nVinge glanced at her curiously. \"Should I?\"\n\"That's Carlos Chang,\" explained the Earth Phoenix.\n\"He's the manager at the Casa 'Del Gato over in C-Plaza.\" She quickly took note\nof the Ice Phoenix's unaltered expression, a frown crossing her features.\n\"Across from the apartment where Volcan and I both live; please tell me you at\nleast went there once while staying\nwith Volcan?\"\n\"I didn't.\"\nTsume slapped herself in the forehead with her hand,\nrolling her eyes back in her head and groaning. \"Mon dieu you are a complete stone! Are you so shy that you won't\neven go to a night club for a drink and some dancing? Even on a date with\nYurui?!\"\n\"Yurui maybe have a fully-matured body but need I\nremind you she is technically only a few years old, if that?\" Vinge pointed out.\n\"Maybe they wouldn't believe that, but think about how young she does look; do you really think they\nwouldn't believe she isn't a minor?\"\nTsume's eyes narrowed as she tried to come up with a\nretort, only to turn up blank. She hummed in annoyance, before looking back at\nVinge fully. \"Okay, I got nothing for that one,\" she admitted.\nVinge nodded to her, in a manner that seemed to say\n'my point exactly' with the way he was looking at her, arms crossed. Tsume\nscowled at the Ice Phoenix. \"Anyone ever tell you they hate it when you make\nsense?\"\n\"It's starting to become a trend,\" Vinge returned.\n\"So, you were saying about Carlos?\"\n\"Oh, right.\" Tsume cleared her throat. \"Carlos\ncompeted in the last tournament that camp to town; he placed second, right\nbehind some guy from Toronto. I didn't get the chance to fight Carlos himself,\nbut I saw one of his matches, seeing how he fights, and then learned that he\napparently teaches Karate on Mondays and Wednesdays at a mini dojo downtown.\"\n\"He's not my teacher, if you were going for that,\"\nVinge pointed out.\n\"I know he's not, but he apparently also used to be\na cop,\" Tsume carried on. \"He combines the takedowns he learned in that, place\nthe techniques of Karate and he's got a pretty good mixed style. Not to\nmention, as you just witnessed,\" her voice took on a sarcastic tone. \"He's a\nreal ray of sunshine.\"\n\"Indeed. With such a personality it's a wonder\nanyone wants to learn anything from him, or that he even made it as a police\nofficer.\" He tapped his chin in thought. \"Maybe there's more to the story.\"\nTsume shrugged. \"Who cares? He's an asshole,\" she\nstated. \"I hope someone clobbers him this year, really; Obsidian told me that\nhe even told off her and Gregory when they went to the club to speak with his\nboss; actually told them to 'fuck off' like he were dealing with every day\npunks.\"\nVinge turned to glance in Carlos' direction again,\nonly to find the tiger was already gone, having vanished in the crowds around\nthe convention center. He looked around for a moment, trying to locate him to\nno avail, before he gave up, and turned to Tsume again. \"So when does the\ntournament start?\"\n\"Thursday morning, eight A-M,\" replied Tsume. \"Don't\nbe late for your first match.\"\n\"I won't.\"\n~~~~~\nTokyo was vast indeed. As the dark-feathered avian\nstood upon one of its highest structures, surveying the city all around to take\nin his surroundings, he studied the buildings that ran from one end to the\nother, not a one of them only one story in height; the smallest structure he\ncould see at all was at least five stories, but it was just an office building.\nThe bright neon lights all around the city lit up the night-covered streets,\nilluminating and bathing the pavement with colours. Thugs pretending to be\nordinary citizens stood in dark corners, whispering to each other, or\noccasionally making provocative remarks to people who passed them, though most\nof the time they were ignored.\nIn the distance, a few kilometers from where he\nstood, was the great escarpment of Mt. Fuji, one of the most famous and\nwell-known landmarks in all of Japan. Known as one of the Three Holy Mountains,\na dormant stratovolcano, and the highest mountain in the country, Mt. Fuji was\nfamous for its beauty, is vastness, and its exceptionally symmetrical\ncone-shape, capped with snow almost year-round. But what stood out most to the\ndark phoenix was how the mountain stood alone, surrounded by land but no\nadditional mountains, weathering the passing days alone, and staying strong in\nthe face of every calamity.\nEven one such as himself could appreciate the\nwonders of nature; the dark phoenix found his urge to destroy calmed as he\nstared at the mountain. To imagine himself, ruling this land from atop that\nvery escarpment, was an enticing thought; turning the mountain into a fortress\nfrom which he could slaughter and take at his leisure. Oh, it was quite an\nenticing thought indeed, and actually brought a devious grin to the face of the\navian. Volcan...\nNo... he was not Volcan Skilerain. That little\nweakling was gone; he was free now. But every horror that found its way to the\nworld needed a name of course, so what could he call himself? What title should\nhe take to inspire fear in those who would make themselves his enemies;\nsomething for them to scream when his wrath fell upon them, and something that\nwould be carved in stone when he dominated all mortal life on this world, and\nany other that came within his reach.\nHe pondered this for some time, losing himself in\nhis thoughts as he considered a name for himself. He certain wouldn't let\nhimself be called 'Black Volcan' anymore; to do so would imply that he was some\ncopy, but he was much more than that; he was everything Volcan Skilerain should have become. Powerful, ambitious,\nand born without fear; nothing on this world, not even the Demigod who had\nattempted to stop him in Egypt, could intimidate him. He was born of demon's\nblood and phoenix fire; he was demon fire, hell incarnate.\n\"Demon fire...\" He whispered. \"That could be\nsuitable...\"\nA blood curdling scream broke the silence, followed\nby a diabolical laughter that echoed through the air; the screaming continued,\nbefore becoming wet and gargled. Curiosity was piqued, and the dark phoenix\nstarted to make his way towards the sound, spreading his wings and taking\nflight. He passed over several buildings before he found the location of the\nscreams; an alley, between a pair of tenements which left it bathed in shadow.\nThe alley was filled with garbage, falling from overflowing dumpsters and trash\ncans, some of it piled into a corner where it looked like someone had been\nusing it as a bed.\nAnd that same someone was now lying in a pool of\nblood; a young anthro siamese cat, as bony as a skeleton and just as pale, with\nnow-lifeless eyes staring up towards the night sky as blood poured from his\nmouth. His tattered, dirty clothes and filth-ridden fur told the dark phoenix\nhe was likely homeless, living in these allies to find meager shelter from the\nnight's chill and piling garbage to serve as a temporary bed. But now, there\nwas a knife in his throat, every single artery slashed and bathing the cat in\nhis own blood, inflicted by a single assailant that was standing over him.\nThe phoenix could make out a vulpine figure in the\nalley, with fur as dark as ink and scalp hair grown down to his shoulders that\nmatched. He wore a leather body suit with no visible accessories, not even a\nholster for the short blade they were carrying, or additional weapons of any\nkind. He had a rather lithe figure; not scrawny, but certainly not brawny\neither, more like the kind a runner would have. But what stood out most of all\nwith this figure were the tails -yes, tails,\nthat swayed behind him, sweeping over the pavement and brushing dust and\nlitter about. A quick count showed the figure had seven tails; the dark phoenix\nhad seen another fox with eight tails back at the place where he and Volcan had\nbeen separated.\nA kitsune.\nThe dark phoenix stared for a moment longer, and\nquickly noticed, the kitsune's tails weren't sweeping absently, they\nwere...wagging, like that of an excited dog, and he was shaking with what the\nphoenix quickly realized was anticipation. He watched at the fox pulled his\nblade free of the cat, rearing back his head and sighing in a pleased manner as\nhe examined his little curved knife, hearing them utter something in Japanese,\nbut of course the phoenix did not know the language, and did not understand a\nword of it.\nAnd then, with that, the fox turned and began to\nleave the alley. As the dark phoenix watched, the fox transformed, shrinking\nrapidly until it was no larger than a feral fox, which is just what he had\nbecome; feral, walking down on all fours, and crossing the street with slight\nsnicker eliciting from his feral muzzle.\nOverwhelmed with curiosity, the phoenix followed the\nfox. He tried using infrared vision to track them, but their body was cold,\nleaving him unable to see them in the gloomy shadows they used to travel. As\nsuch, he had to simply stay on him and watch with his normal sight, following\nthe kitsune all the way to a park. But they didn't venture far into it, just\nover to a statue, ducking around to a shadowed side of the piece of stone\nartwork. As before, the phoenix followed, but when he appeared over the other\nside of the statue, he found the kitsune fading into a swirling, blue wormhole\nthat had appeared in the statue's base.\nJust like that, the kitsune was gone.\nThe phoenix flew down to the ground, approaching the\nstatue and examining it. He ran his hand over the side of the base where the\nkitsune had vanished, but it was solid; no wormhole, no hologram and no secret\nswitch of any sort. He had simply stepped into the statue, and disappeared from\nthis plane of reality. The dark phoenix knew, or rather his former host with\nwhom he shared memories with, that it was rumored a kitsune could create their\nown pocket dimension, and enter it from anywhere they chose as an access point\nfor it, or at the expense of their own energy, create one on the spot. In this\ncase, it was the former, and the kitsune had placed his access point in this\nstatue.\nThe Dark Phoenix looked up at the statue, and saw a\nweathered face of a man wearing Warring States era armour, carrying a Yari -a\nlong spear with a sharpened head easily a foot in length, meant to be used like\na short sword on the end of a staff. There was an English translation on the\nplaque resting on the statue's base, identifying the man as 'Hattori Hanzo'.\nThe phoenix grinned as he thought back on what he\nhad seen this night. \"How very fascinating,\" he whispered, chuckling lightly to\nhimself. \"A kitsune with a taste for blood instead of mischief...\"\n~~~~~\nThe day of the tournament came. Vinge left his house\nand was on his way to meet Tsume, flying over the prairies of southern Alberta\nas he made his way towards Unity Falls. His broad, pale wings carried him\nthrough the air. A bag of items was tucked under his arm; some stuff he thought\nhe'd need for the tournament, such as sports tape, a first-aid kit with\ndisinfectant spray, some water and a few energy supplements. All the things\nthat a warrior should keep, for before and after a battle, he felt.\nHe began to think a little about the tournament;\ndespite his reluctance to join it initially, Tsume had somehow managed to nag\nhim enough to convince him to sign up. Not often someone could do that,\nespecially to him, but she had managed, and now there he was, about to join a\ncompetition where most of the competitors were in it either for the fat prize\nmoney or for bragging rights about how tough they were; neither interested him,\nbut Tsume was in it only for the thrill of competing, not because she needed\nmoney or because she wanted to gloat, it was just something she wanted to do.\nIf there was\nany more of a fire in that girl, I'd mistake her for a Fire Phoenix instead of\nan Earth one, he\nthought.\nBefore long, he reached the city, flying over the\nbuildings until the college was in view. He set his sights on the convention\ncenter and began to descend, lightly beating his wings to maintain his balance\nand to prevent himself from dropping too quickly, widening his eyes and\nshrinking his pupils to use his telescopic vision to get a look at the crowds\noutside of the building. Mostly spectators, but he spotted a few of the\nfighters making their way towards a separate entrance. Adjusting his path\naccordingly, Vinge changed his descent to head towards that door, understanding\nit was probably meant only for contestants.\nAs he drew closer, he spotted Tsume waiting near the\nentrance the fighters were using, bundled up in a jacket and leaning against a\nwall as she stood patiently. He made his presence known by calling out her name\nas he came in earshot, landing nearby before turning and walking up to her.\n\"Hey, you made it,\" she bade, putting a hand on her\nhip as he approached. \"I was worried you'd chicken out.\"\n\"No,\" Vinge returned bluntly. \"How long have you been\nwaiting?\"\n\"Just ten minutes, give or take,\" replied Tsume. \"First\nround doesn't start for another half hour, but we should probably head to the\ncontestant's room.\"\n\"Do you know where it is?\"\nTsume nodded. \"I've been there before. Follow me,\"\nshe bade, turning towards the building and tucking her hands into her pockets\nas she began to approach, with the ice phoenix following close behind.\nLike the arena itself, the waiting room for the contestants\nwas under ground in the basement. It had once been a locker room, clearly, but\nthe room had been gutted except for a row of lockers along the wall opposite\nthe entrance -enough to accomodate the belongings of a few hundred, but the\nmiddle lockers had been replaced with seating arrangements and a mini bar where\nan array of refreshments could be found. There was also a first aid station,\nalthough it didn't look like it was up-to-date, but some of the items such as\nthe gauze wrappings were still serviceable.\nMost of the competitors in the room were of various\nnationalities, identified by how they spoke as conversations carried throughout\nthe room, each one of them bearing the appearance of a seasoned fighter\n-although there were a couple that appeared to be inexperienced. Carlos Chang\nwas over in the corner, avoiding everyone else, dressed in a karate gi with his\nblack belt holding the front of it closed, part of the front open to show his\ntoned form underneath, which stood out against his black striped fur.\nNow that Vinge could see Carlos from the front, he\ngot a better look at his face. He had an interesting mark on the front of his\nface; a wishbone-shaped marking, jutting down from beneath his scalp hair, in a\nsingle line before breaking off into two lines, extending symmetrically over\nhis eyelids, and tipped with crescent moon markings, the lower tips of which\npointed towers one another between his mouth and nose, creating an intricate\nfacial pattern Vinge had not seen on an anthro tiger before, and it\ncomplimented his ice blue eyes quite well -even made him look intimidating, or\nperhaps it was the permanent scowl he seemed to have.\nVinge did not watch Carlos for long, and instead\nregarded the room as Tsume found herself a seat in an armchair. \"This seems\nrather luxurious for a fighter's waiting area.\"\n\"What makes you say that?\" Tsume asked.\n\"I guess I was expecting benches rather than couches\nfor seating arrangements,\" returned the ice phoenix. \"Or a bar, for that\nmatter. What if a fighter has some drinks before he goes out to the ring?\"\n\"First, the beverages in that bar are\nnon-alcoholic,\" Tsume pointed out, explaining the purpose of the room.\n\"Secondly, anyone who'd be stupid enough to get drunk before stepping into the\nring probably doesn't deserve to be here in the first place. And third, you're\nright; in most places we wouldn't have such a plush waiting room but the guy\nwho runs this building is a big softie and wanted to make sure the fighters -or\nanyone else who uses this room, is comfortable.\"\n\"Sounds like you know him?\"\n\"My dad sold this place to him,\" replied Tsume. \"The\nprevious owners, who built this place back before the college was constructed,\nwent through a foreclosure because of bankruptcy. My dad's company was hired by\nthe bank to sell it, and the current owner won the bid for it, converting it\ninto a convention center.\"\n\"Won the bid,\" Vinge repeated. \"Someone else was\ninterested in this place?\"\nTsume nodded. \"The college being here is no\ncoincidence; they wanted to renovate this place into a dormitory. Instead, they\nlost the bid, but it's not completely out of their favour; the owner lets the\ncollege folks rent the rooms here for large-scale class projects, or the high\nschool eight blocks down for career shows, which also helps the college because\nmost of the careers that're put on the shows can be taught there.\n\"In the end, the existence of this place works to\nthe benefit of the College, especially when the Unity Falls FanExpo comes every\nOctober; students are a regular attendee, and people from other parts of the\nprovince or even the country that come here know there's a college near where\nan exposition takes place -it encourages them to enroll here.\"\n\"Sounds like they should've made the owner of this\nplace a business partner instead of going into a bid war with him,\" Vinge\nremarked.\n\"I know, right?\"\nAt that moment, the doors to the waiting room\nopened, and a cheerful voice announced their entry. \"Good morning, fighters!\"\nThe loud voice spurred the competitors to their\nfeet, turning to face whoever had stepped into the waiting room. Tsume stood up\nas well, standing by Vinge as he turned to face the entrance. An anthro calico\ncat had stepped into the room, dressed in business attire and wearing a big grin\non his face as he stepped in, his tail swaying behind him with each step he\ntook, green eyes filled with intrigue scanning over every fighter in the room.\nUnder his arm, he carried a stack of various items, none of which Vinge knew\nthe purpose of; a harness, a pair of... stockings?  \"Well now, we have quite a few capable\nfighters here today, don't we?\"\nVinge leaned over to Tsume. \"Who's this?\" He asked,\nkeeping his voice low.\n\"Peter Rand; he's the owner of this building, and\nthe host for the tournament,\" replied Tsume, whispering back. \"Personally, I\nthink he might be gay; he always makes moon eyes at men while they fight, but\nnever at the women.\"\n\"Is that a problem?\" Vinge asked, as if suspecting\ndisgust from the Earth Phoenix.\n\"No, I don't m...\" She looked at Vinge suddenly. \"Is\nmy big snowy buddy a bi-birdy?\"\n\"No, I'm not, but I have nothing against\nhomosexuality,\" the ice phoenix returned.\nTsume shrugged, and went back to listening to Peter.\n\"Now,\" the cat began. \"Some of you may or may not be aware, but there are rules\nto this tournament that may seem geared towards certain species. In some ways,\nthey are, but in order to keep the fights even, they are a necessary\ninconvenience.\"\n\"Rules like we saw on the waiver forms?\" One of the\nfighters inquired.\n\"Exactly. Even though most of you probably read\nthem, I am to repeat them; there are some rules not listed in the waivers, such\nas ones that are racial specific and I show you equipment you will need for the\nring. Standard boxing ring rules; no biting, no strikes to the groin are allowed,\nattacks to your opponent's neck, front or back, are strictly prohibited,\nalthough grappling moves like a the sleeper hold that involve the neck are\nexempt, although if you overdue it you will be prosecuted,\" the cat explained.\n\"And, before I forget, weapons, including knuckle-dusters or metal items hidden\nin your gloves, equal an instant disqualification, and you will be arrested.\nAnd finally, no use of superhumanoid traits such as pyrokinesis, teleportation,\nmagic or telepathy; if you have superhumanoid strength, we strongly urge you to\nlimit the force of your blows, for any fatalities that occur as a result of\nyour recklessness can and will result in prosecution.\"\n\"For racial-specific rules, winged beings such as\nWestern Dragons or Avians must wear one of these wing-harnesses,\" the cat went\non, setting down the items he carried, picking up the harness that was part of\nthe stack. \"This will help confine your wings, keeping them pinned to your\nback; this will protect them from being grabbed as well, so they cannot be\ndislocated and you will not be able to fly during the fight. These must be worn\nat all times while you are out in the ring; if it comes off by accident, the\nreferee will stop the match to let you put it back on, or call for a\nreplacement one if yours is broken. If you take it off yourself and refuse to\nput it back on, you will be disqualified.\"\n\"That looks uncomfortable,\" Tsume pointed out.\n\"It does,\" the ice phoenix returned, though did not\nseem worried about it.\nPeter began to move on. \"This next one also applies\nto dragons and avians, but it can also be applied to cats -like myself, or\nanyone with claws or talons on their feet.\" He held up one of the 'stockings'\nhe'd brought, only for the fighters to see it was more like a big sock, three-toed\nand long, clearly meant for an avian's foot. \"This is a protective sleeve for\nyour legs; meant to protect your opponent from having their flesh shredded that\nis. It comes in multiple sizes, and covers your talons or claws with a sturdy,\ndense layer of fabric, as well as round-tipped sockets for the tips, made of\nrubber to expand around your toes. They will feel rather snug, but they will\nallow you to fight without worry of clawing your opponent.\"\n\"That fabric doesn't look like it has much friction\nthough,\" Vinge pointed out. \"Won't the fighter be at risk of slipping while\nthey wear it?\"\n\"A good question,\" the cat returned, nodding to\nVinge. \"That would normally be the case, but the genius who engineered this\nsafety device thought ahead.\" He turned the sleeve over, and revealed the\nunderside from the tips of the toes all the way to the heel was made of a\nshiny, latex-y material. \"They added this, so that the fighters can safely move\naround without fear of slipping. I know it looks like rubber but it is actually\na form of latex with the same level of friction as the underside of a human\nfoot; enough grip to allow you to walk without slipping, but with just enough\ngive that you can also rotate on your heels with it, giving you your full\nmobility.\"\n\"That's... impressive,\" complimented Tsume. \n\"Fighters with claws on their hands are required to\nwear a similar item, a glove, with the same designs; failure to do so could\nresult in prosecution, as claws are counted as weapons if used in the fight,\"\nPeter stated, showing another sleeve, this one conformed to fit a hand rather\nthan an avian's foot. \"There is also a device of similar design for hoofed\nspecies, although this one is designed to reduce the impact of kicks performed\nby said species; all of these mandatory items will be brought to all of you\nshortly.That concludes the rules for safety equipment. Any questions?\" No one\nreplied. \"Good. One last thing; as you all may recall, every fight is only one\nround; there is no best two out of three here; when you step in there, it's for\nkeeps. If you fall out, by the force of another and not by accident, you lose.\nNow, if I can have you all turn your attentions to the monitor.\"\n\"What monitor?\" One of the fighters asked as the\nothers looked around the room for the object in question, but from what they\ncould see of the room, there wasn't one anywhere.\n\"This one,\" Peter returned with a sly grin as he\nplucked an item from his pocket, a remote control with only four buttons, which\nhe aimed at the ceiling and tapped the first.\nA hidden compartment in the ceiling opened up; the\nsound of the sliding doors alerted the fighters, making everyone in the room\nspin around with a start to find the source of the noise, looking up as a\nfour-way television monitor was lowered into the room, hanging down from the\ncompartment and switching on when it locked in place, displaying a\ntournament-style roster template with numerous intersecting lines. At the\nbottom rows of the template were numbers, from left to right in order, with\nsixteen in total.\n\"Sorry; I like doing that,\" Peter remarked.\n\"A little theatrical, wouldn't you say?\" Tsume\nasked.\n\"Just a little,\" Vinge returned, irking an eyebrow.\n\"At the registration, each one of you were assigned\na number,\" Peter carried on. \"When your numbers are called, proceed to the ring\nthrough those two doors back there.\" He pointed to the doors at the back of the\nroom, next to the lockers on both ends. \"Odd numbers go through left, even\nnumbers through the right; both lead you to the ring. There, your contest will\ntruly begin.\" He left the remote on the bar counter. \"Each button displays its\nfunction; you can switch between viewing this roster or the fights as you see\nfit. Please do not lose the remote, though.\" He turned to the door. \"That's all\nI have to say for now if none of you have any questions; I look forward to\nseeing you all in the ring.\"\nWith Peter's departure, the fighters began to check\ntheir numbers, and sought out their opponents in the room. Already the trash\ntalking was starting as some of the fighters located their adversaries, and\nsoon Vinge was happy for the security cameras in each corner, meaning if any\npre-ring fights broke out, someone would come to intervene.\n\"What number did you get?\" Tsume asked, looking at\nVinge.\n\"I'm number six,\" replied the ice phoenix.\nTsume looked disappointed. \"Damn... that means we\nwon't meet until the finals, if both of us get that far. I was actually looking\nforward to taking you on.\"\nVinge eyed her curiously. \"You brought me to this\ntournament just because you wanted to fight me?\" He asked. \"Why did you not\njust ask for a sparring match?\"\n\"Now where's the fun in that?\" Tsume asked, looking\nat Vinge smugly. \"Besides, the other guys would never believe me if I told them\nI won; they'd have to see it.\"\nVinge frowned at her. \"Something tells me I've\nbeen... what's that word Volcan uses?\" He rolled his eyes as he thought for a\nfew seconds, before he went 'ah' in realization. \"Right... schnooked.\"\nThe first fight began a while later. Fighters one\nand two were called out to the ring, departing through the doors as they had\nbeen instructed before. One of the fighters was an anthro wolf trained in Taekwondo,\nand his opponent was an equine who was trained in Sikaran; this caught Vinge's\neye as Sikaran was a rarely practiced art in this time. Although having some\ntechniques similar to Karate, the art itself was much like Capoeira in the\nsense that most of its attacks focused only on the feet, using the hands for\nblocking while Capoeira was centered on maneuverability. Taekwondo was an\nall-out offensive fighting style, also utilizing kicking techniques, but less\ndefensive than Sikaran.\nThe fight was over quickly; the Sikaran-using equine\nwas much more skilled in defending himself than the wolf, and eventually scored\na punishing counter-kick that launched his foe out of the ring, scoring a\nring-out victory. The second fight was between a fox woman and a male German Shepard,\nthe former being a jujitsu fighter and the latter a boxer. It was close, with\nmany close calls by the shepard, but eventually the vixen scored a victory with\na counter-throw that sent the Shepard face-first into the floor, knocking him\nsenseless. Having failed to get up before the countdown finished, the victory\nwent to the vixen girl.\nIt was Vinge's turn next, and even as he glanced\nover at his opponent he was already putting on his safety gear.\nFighter number five, one of the less-experienced\nfighters he'd seen outside. His name was Oliver, an anthro rabbit from\nCalifornia, and a practitioner of American Kenpo, dressed in a black and white\ngi with elbow-length sleeves, white top and blak bottom... and rather than\nspeak with a Californian accent, he actually talked like... Elvis Presley.\nVery... very... poorly. \"Yeah, I'm finally going to get to use my moves to make\nit to the top, baby!\"\nVinge regarded the rabbit; brown fur, average\nheight, and athletic build. He bore a cocky smirk, filled with glee in his\nbrown eyes, followed by an obvious expression of overconfidence. \"Oliver?\"\nVinge asked, getting the rabbit's attention. \"Tell me; you're a fan of Elvis\nPressley?\"\n\"Sure am,\" the rabbit replied, still making the\nPressley voice. \"Thank ya very much for noticing.\"\n\"Then tell me; is the reason you studied Kenpo\nbecause you knew Elvis Pressley himself practiced it?\" Vinge inquired further.\n\"You got it, baby!\" He replied, giving Vinge a\nhearty clap on the shoulder. \"You know your stuff! You a fan of the king too?\"\n'An\nimitator... and not a very good one,' thought Vinge. \"I'm partial to Joakim\nBrodén, myself,\" he replied.\nOliver shrugged. \"To each his own, baby,\" he said.\n\"See you in the ring!\"\n\"They haven't called us...\" Vinge began to say, only\nfor the intercom to buzz over his head.\n\"Fighters five\nand six please proceed to the arena.\"\nVinge shut his beak. 'And now they have,' he thought, shaking his head as he proceeded\nto his door, knowing he wasn't going to enjoy what he was about to do.\nHe exited through the door, travelling down the\nshort corridor to the main room, stepping out through a pair of double doors\ninto a massive room lined with bleachers, overlooking a square-shaped fighting\nring with no ropes; thousands of people were in there, along with dozens of\nvideo cameras aimed towards the arena, broadcasting the fighting tournament\nlive to interested parties. \nThat only made Vinge feel worse as he approached the\narena, climbing the short steps and standing on his end, the referee\nintroducing him via microphone as he emerged, and doing the same for Oliver as\nthe rabbit sprinted out to the arena, making a mighty jump over the stairs and\nlanding on his spot, holding up his hands for all to see. Vinge watched him,\nshaking his head slightly, before they met at the center of the ring. \n\"Let's put on a show for the crowds, my friend,\"\nstated Oliver.\nVinge regarded the rabbit with a sad expression,\nwatching him for a moment before he spoke. \"You should forfeit,\" he stated.\nThe rabbit's ears perked up. \"Excuse me?\"\n\"You aren't ready for a tournament like this,\" he\nstated. \"You're a beginner -believe me, I can tell.\"\nThe rabbit, scowling at Vinge, lost his 'Pressley'\naccent as he retorted. \"Now who are you to tell me what I am or am not ready\nfor?\" He asked, backing up to take his position. \"I've been...\" He realized how\nhe was speaking, cleared his throat and faked the accent again. \"I been waitin'\nfor this moment for months; I'm not backin' out. I'm the next King, baby!\"\nVinge sighed. \"Then, I apologize,\" he said as he too\nbacked away.\n\"For what?\"\n\"For what's about to happen.\"\nThe rabbit eyed him quizzically, before he shook his\nhead. \"What you talkin' about son? I'm the next king; I'm going to win this!\"\n\"Begin!\" The referee declared.\nThe rabbit rushed at Vinge, making a lunge right for\nthe ice phoenix and thrusting his palm straight towards Vinge's chest.\nVinge stepped back, out of range of the attack, and\nagain as the rabbit tried a second time with his other hand. This time, Vinge\nside-stepped out of the way, darted forward past Oliver's left, before he\njumped up and spun around, landing a whirling aerial kick directly to the\nrabbit's shoulder blades, sending him sprawling across the arena. Oliver\nstumbled, struggling to regain his balance, but found himself standing tip-toe\non the edge of the stage, eyes wide with horror as it dawned on him what was\nabout to happen.\nHe abandoned his accent once more to utter three\nsimple words. \"What the hell?\" He asked, and then fell out of the ring, landing\nbelly-down on the floor.\n\"Ring out!\" The referee called, gesturing to Vinge.\n\"The winner!\"\n            The audience sat in stunned silence,\nsome moaning with disappointment, others laughing or applauding Vinge's clear\nexpertise, turning his opponent's reckless behavior on them and costing them\ntheir victory. Oliver pushed himself up on his hands, a stunned look on himself\nas he propped himself up on his knees, turning to look over his shoulder at\nVinge; the rabbit was clearly dumbfounded by having been beaten in only one\ncounter-attack. But Vinge bore no expression of triumph on his face. He was\nsimply... plain.\n            Meanwhile, in the locker room, Tsume\nhad seen Vinge win the match, the other fighters in the room were either\nlaughing or insulting Oliver, or both. Tsume's eyes were only on Vinge, though,\nat how non-chalantly he'd just trounced Oliver; clearly the kid was a rookie,\nbut Vinge had ended the fight in less than a half-minute of time.\n            \"I wonder what this guy can do when\nhe isn't holding back...\"\n            A few minutes later, Vinge and\nOliver returned to the waiting room, and immediately Oliver became the target\nof the earlier insults, the other fighters ridiculing him for his idiocy. One\nof them even dumped their bottle of soda pop over his head, drenching the\nrabbit in sticky, sweet liquid that clung to his fur and stained his gi.\n            \"What an amateur; lost without even\nlanding a single blow!\"\n            \"Go back to basics, you little\nrunt.\"\n            Of course there was more, but so\nmany were speaking at once that the other insults were indecipherable. The\nrabbit covered his ears, trying to drown out the insults. One of the fighters\ntook offense to this, and pushed him roughly from behind, sending him falling\nflat onto his stomach and almost knocking the wind out of him.\n            \"Hey, just like when he was out of\nbounds; right on his face!\"\n            \"Guess his embarrassment is so heavy\nthat it added to his weight on the front.\"\n            \"For the better, really; he doesn't\nhave to show his face in public if he falls on it!\"\n            Again came the mixed words, and once\nmore Oliver tried to cover his ears, on the verge of breaking down and crying\nas he curled up into a ball...\n            \"ENOUGH!\"\n            The level of the voice froze all of\nfighters. The room fell silent so suddenly, it was like being in a tomb. Oliver\nopened his eyes, uncovering his ears to listen, and then pushed himself up,\npropping himself up on his knees before turning around to see the other\nfighters in the room parting as Vinge pushed his way past, approaching Oliver\nslowly; at first Oliver thought the avian was going to kick him, but there was\nno hostile intent on his face, and the rabbit did not try to scurry away.\n            Vinge eyed him apologetically, a\nsympathetic expression on his face as he offered his hand to Oliver to help him\nstand up. \"I'm sorry all this happened.\"\n            Oliver glared at him. \"Thanks for\nthe pity party, hot-shot, but I don't need it,\" he said, scornfully, looking\naway from Vinge. He wasn't even using his Pressley accent.\n            \"It's not pity,\" returned the ice\nphoenix, maintain his position. \"It's simply being a good sport; you made a\nmistake. Everyone does, especially when they're new.\"\n            \"What mistake?\" Oliver asked. \"I'm\nnot a newcomer to martial arts; I'm a red belt in Kenpo, a qualifying rank for\ntournaments! I should've done better than that...\"\n            \"You started too high,\" returned\nVinge. \"This is a regional tournament; a place favored by veteran fighters. You\nshould've started on the minor circuit -I don't even know why they let you in\nhere, but you shouldn't have come.\"\n            The rabbit looked back at him with a\nfrown. \"Is that your way of trying to make me feel better? Because it really\nisn't working.\"\n            \"I'm trying to tell you that you\nstill need more training,\" stated Vinge. \"Courtesy advice, from one fighter to\nanother.\"\n            \"Really?\" Oliver asked, turning over\nto sit on his haunches and look up at Vinge, staring at his hand for a moment\nbefore he reached out and let the ice phoenix help him to his feet. From there,\nVinge walked him out of the room, out of earshot of the other fighters. \"Then\ntell me this; you're clearly not much older than I am, so how did you manage to\nget so skilled?\"\n            \"Let me answer that, with another\nquestion,\" returned Vinge. \"How long have you been practicing Kenpo?\"\n            \"Five years; since before I was in\nhigh school.\"\n            \"I have been studying and practicing\nmy chosen arts since I was ten,\" replied Vinge. \"And I am almost twenty now.\nFurthermore, I did not consider my training in any of them complete until I was\nable to defeat my sensei's in a sparring match. Believe me; that took the\nlongest. My taequando sensei defeated me seven times before I ever managed to\nwin against her, and my kendo teacher did not pull any punches against those\narrogant enough to challenge him.\"\n            Oliver looked at him with mild\nsurprise, but his expression softened shortly, gaze falling to the floor. \"I\nguess I got ahead of myself.\"\n            The announcement for the fourth\nmatch buzzed over the intercom. Vinge let it play through, knowing Oliver\nwouldn't hear him over the speakers, before he continued. \"You let yourself get\noverconfident; it could've happened to anyone. Don't aim for the top too soon;\nmake your way gradually. Learn, advance, grow; that is how you become stronger\n-it does not just happen.\" \nVinge put a hand on Oliver's shoulder, which was\nstill sticky from the beverage that had been dumped on him. \"Go back to your\nsensei, train a little longer, and then ask him if you can find a minor circuit\nto hone yourself and develop, but don't lose heart even if you don't win.\"\nOliver glanced at him. \"How did you become so\nknowledgeable about combat?\"\nVinge smiled. \"Let's just say I have a rather worn\nout copy of Sun Tzu's 'The Art of War' back home,\" he returned with a chuckle.\nOliver was silent for a moment again, before he\nvoiced his next question. \"Think we could spar again sometime? Maybe after I've\nlearned a little more and,\" he grinned. \"There isn't a ring for you to kick me\nout of?\"\nVinge actually chuckled at that. \"Sure thing, but do\nme one favor.\"\n\"Yeah?\"\n\"Don't strive to be the next Elvis Pressley,\" Vinge stated.\n\"It is fine to idolize someone, but trying to become them is doomed to fail.\"\nHe shut his eyes, and recited in a very poetic voice, \"'If you know the enemy\nand know yourself, you need not fear the result of a hundred battles. If you\nknow yourself, but not the enemy, for every victory gained you will also suffer\na defeat'.\" His eyes reopened. \"But, 'if you know neither yourself or the\nenemy, you will succumb in every battle'.\" He patted Oliver's shoulder. \"Be\nyourself, do not try to be someone else; that's what I ask from you.\"\nOliver nodded. \"You got it... thanks Vinge.\"\n\"Anytime.\"\nWith that, the rabbit departed, walking slowly at\nfirst as he proceeded down the hall. But part way, he developed a spring in his\nstep, as if a new vigor had arisen in him and drove him to sprint, heading for\nthe exit. He was gone within a minute, Vinge watching him every step of the\nway, and when he was gone, he turned to return to the room, but found Tsume\nstanding there, freezing in place as his gaze met the brown eyes of the earth\nphoenix.\n\"You handled that beautifully,\" she complimented.\nVinge frowned. \"You were watching?\"\n\"The whole time,\" she returned, smiling. \"You should teach martial arts, you\nknow?\"\nThe ice phoenix shrugged. \"Maybe one day, I will.\nOliver will find his own path; all I've one is give him a nudge out of the\ndoor, but it will be up to him to take a step in the right direction.\"\nTsume nodded. \"That's true,\" she returned, and\ngestured back to the waiting room. \"Come on. Let's see how the next match is progressing.\"\nVinge nodded back, and walked with Tsume back to the\nwaiting room, looking back only once in the direction Oliver had gone, silently\nwishing the young martial artist luck in his future endeavors.\nThey returned to a room of silence except for the\nsounds from the television monitors... they stepped into the waiting room,\nexpecting to hear the fighters spouting more slander, either towards Oliver, to\neach other, or to the fighter who was losing in the current match while they\nslammed back their drinks and waited for their upcoming turns. But there was no\nsuch sounds; the room was quiet, once more feeling like a tomb to the ice and\nearth phoenixes. \n\"Did someone die while we were gone?\" Tsume asked,\nlooking at Vinge.\nThey turned their attention to the monitors, and\nfound to their dismay, the fight was already over. The defeated fighter was\nlying in a heap on the floor of the area, blood pooling out from his mouth\namidst two broken teeth, unconscious and being examined by the on-site EMT's,\nwhile the winner of the fight stood over them with his arms crossed, and that\nscowling face ever-plastered on his features.\nCarlos Chang had already won the fight...\n\"He's fighter number seven,\" whispered Vinge.\n\"And he's your\nnext opponent,\" added Tsume.\nSeveral more battles took place before Tsume's turn\nfinally came.\nHer opponent was a male jaguar from Columbia,\ntrained in Juego de maní -literally meaning 'game of war'; a battle-dancing\nstyle. Only that it was a highly acrobatic fighting style; lots of jumping and\ndodging, centered on the fighter remaining mobile throughout the fight. The\njaguar's name was Edwardo, a resident of Montana having immigrated to the\nUnited States. He was average height for a Columbian -roughly five feet, ten\ninches, a little taller than Tsume, but he was thick with muscle, bigger than\nVinge and no doubt had the strength to show for it. He regarded Tsume behind a\npair of sunglasses, leaving her unable to see his eyes. Tsume returned his\nlook, no mask to hide behind and let him see her confidence and determination\nwritten all over her face. \nThey shared that stare for a moment until the\nannouncement for them to proceed to the arena was heard, and through their\ndoors they went. Vinge stood watching the monitors as Tsume proceeded to the arena,\nabsently glancing at the clock on the wall to check the time. It was already\npast noon; the tournament had been going on for several hours, and they were\nalmost down to the eight contests for the second round; with Tsume being number\nsixteen and Edwardo fifteen there would only be two more to go before the\nquarterfinalists would be decided.\nVinge didn't know anything about Edwardo's fighting\nstyle, beyond that it was an acrobatic and constantly mobile style, much like\nTsume's, but he was bigger than her; if he could match her speed and agility,\ncombined with his felinoid reflexes, she was in for a difficult battle -maybe\none she could not win. \"Be careful, Tsume,\" he whispered.\nHe hadn't mentioned it to her; hadn't had the chance\nto do so... but Vinge could tell by looking at Edwardo that he was dangerous\n-far more dangerous than he appeared... a man who had killed someone before.\nThose sunglasses may have hid his eyes, but not his body language, which could\nbe just as easily read if one knew what to look for.\nAfter stepping out into the area and being\nintroduced by the referee, Tsume took her position on her side of the arena,\nwith Edwardo taking his own. He removed his sunglasses and the vest he wore,\ntucking the former into the pocket of the latter before he dropped it over the\nside of the arena, revealing a set of azure eyes that stared emotionlessly at\nthe Earth Phoenix.\n\"You know, if not for that icy stare, you might\nactually be rather cute,\" Tsume remarked before she widened her stance and\nstood half crouched, watching the leopard.\n\"Yo no estoy aquí para hablar , niña,\" retorted\nEdwardo, taking his own stance with legs half-bent and one paw on the ground,\nalmost like a running position, staring down Tsume.\n\"Sorry, mon ami; I don't speak Spanish,\" the Earth\nPhoenix pointed out to the jaguar as she waited for the referee to give the\nsignal to begin.\n\"Go!\" The referee barked.\n(Play 'Break Stuff ' by Limp Bizkit for this part)\nEdwardo made the first move, making two long strides\ntowards Tsume before he sprang into the air, spiralling around before\nperforming a heel-drop kick towards her; the deft Earth Phoenix hurriedly\nstrafed out of the way, evading the attack, and retaliating by dropping onto\nher left knee and both hands, twisting her body to attack Edwardo with a\nhead-hunter kick; he tried to lean back, feeling her foot graze across his\nforehead; he stepped back, turned himself around and then performed a sideways\ndouble-kick at her -he pounced towards her, twisting in midair and kicking at\nher with both feet, forcing her to once again dodge.\n'He's quick,'\nthought Tsume. 'Really likes to hop\naround too.'\nEdwardo rushed at her again, jumping once more and\ndrop-kicking towards her; she evaded, he jumped again as she tried to\nsweep-kick him in the shins, and this time when his leg came down it caught her\nin the back, sending her face-planting into the floor. She managed to catch\nherself with her hands enough to prevent herself from being stunned by the hit,\nand tucked her arms against her chest as she rolled away from Edwardo when he\nattempted to pounce and pin her.\nScrambling back to her feet, she stood up in time to\nsee Edwardo charging at her, jumping into a flying kick; she bent her body back\ninto a bridge position, catching herself on her hands and letting Edwardo fly\nover her like a jaguar-shaped missile. She looked at him as he landed, seeing\nhim skid, and already running back at her again. With a thrust of her hips and\na push with her feet, she brought her legs up in an arc and double-kicked\nEdwardo in the chest just as he attempted to spring again; his own momentum,\ncombined with the force of Tsume's kick, sent him flying across the arena.\nHe landed dangerously close to the edge, but managed\nto land on his feet and fought to regain his balance before he could fall out.\nHe fixed his eyes on Tsume, once more cursing her in Spanish as he returned to\nhis battle stance, eyes fixed on her as if she were prey and he was hunting\nher. Tsume, back in a proper stance by this point herself, returned his glare,\nand spoke to him, with the only Spanish word she knew: \"Hey, pendejo,\" she\ntaunted. \"Are you a jaguar or a rabbit? I can't tell with all your bouncing\naround!\"\nIt had exactly the effect she wanted.\nEdwardo's pupils narrowed to paper-thin slits\nfollowing her insult, and he rushed at her again. She waited, reading his\nmovements, and just as he started to jump she tumbled forward, performing a\nhalf-somersault and placing herself directly under him before she lashed up\nwith both legs, letting gravity do most of the work as he came down at her,\nmissing his outstretched leg he was bringing up for another heel-drop kick, and\nstriking him right in the stomach with a heavy impact. \nHis cheeks puffed out and his eyes went wide as\ngravity became his enemy upon Tsume's kick, knocking the wind out of him and\nsending rising limply into the air by only a few inches before he started to\ndrop; Tsume rolled back to where she'd been standing prior to her attack, and\nEdwardo fell to the floor awkwardly; first his pawed feet touched down, but his\nentire body went limp and he fell like a puppet with its strings cut,\nfaceplanting into the arena floor and coughing.\nThe referee counted, reaching ten before Edwardo\ncould fully recover, and that was that; Tsume was declared the winner, and the\naudience roared with applause, screaming out her name in cheers. Some of them\nhad clearly seen her fight before, and were excited to see her back in the\nring, but those who were laying their eyes on her for the first time were\nequally impressed by her performance. She held her hands up high for all to see,\nletting them praise her a little.\nAlthough, she was at first oblivious to what was\nhappening behind her. Edwardo was getting back up, his eyes fixed on her with a\nmurderous look. Back in the waiting room, Vinge saw that look even from the\ndistance the camera was from the stage, eyes widening as he realized what\nEdwardo was about to do. \"Tsume, look behind you! Look behind you!\" He exclaimed, resisting the urge to shake the\nscreen as if it would help get his message to Tsume.\nIt was the referee shouting 'stop!' that warned her;\nshe looked over her shoulder, just in time to see Edwardo jump at her again;\nnot a technique of his fighting style this time, he was pouncing at her, paws\noutstretched and aimed right for her throat. \nReacting purely on instinct Tsume put up her arm in\ndefense, the jaguar slamming face-first into her elbow and nearly dislocating\nher arm with the force of his impact, along with dazing himself on how\nsurprisingly solid her bones were; the two went down, and the referee was on\nthem before Edwardo could do anything to Tsume, throwing the Columbian off of\nher, where two Security guards seized him by his arms and dragged him out of\nthe arena.\n\"Whoa... that guy has anger problems,\" muttered\nTsume, shaking her head before she turned away, stepping off the arena platform\nand leaving the field.\nWhen she arrived back in the waiting room, Vinge was\nat Tsume's side at record speed, asking her if she was alright. She assured him\nhe was, and made her way over to an armchair to sit, and relax. \"That guy was\ngood, I'll admit,\" she stated, staring absently at her lap as she let herself\nwind down.\nShe felt something cold touch her hand, and looked\nover to see Vinge offering her a bottle of water. \"Oh, thank you,\" she said,\naccepting the bottle from him. She uncapped the top, opened her beak and tilted\nher head back with the opening held between her beaklips, the water flowing out\nfrom the plastic bottle and down her throat, quenching her dry mouth. She\ncarefully tilted the water bottle back upright before she shut her beak and\nswallowed, passing it back to Vinge. \"That did the trick.\"\nVinge nodded to her. \"You did well. I wasn't sure\nhow the fight would go since I know very little about Juego de maní,\" the ice\nphoenix confessed.\n\"Clearly you know enough about it to recognize it\nthough?\" Tsume asked.\n\"Actually I heard it from one the fighters,\" replied\nVinge, jerking his thumb over his shoulder at no one in particular. \"Someone\nwho actually faced Edwardo before, although they neglected to mention he was a\nsore loser.\"\n\"So I noticed,\" Tsume agreed with a scowl. After a\nmoment and a second swig of water, she looked at Vinge. \"So... you ready to\nfight Carlos?\"\n\"I don't know what to expect,\" admitted Vinge. \"We\ndidn't get to see his battle; it ended so quickly it was like he won before it\neven started.\" He frowned. \"I don't have a strategy for this one.\"\nTsume chuckled, leaning forward in the chair and\nspeaking in a low voice to Vinge. \"Sometimes, Vinge, you can't plan ahead.\nThat's what we call flying by the seat of our pants; fighting someone we know\nnothing about, we just do what we can, and adapt when we figure out their own\nstrategy.\"\n\"I'm not sure I know how,\" said Vinge. \"I've always\nplanned ahead for my opponents; it's how I've always won.\"\n\"Because you always knew who you'd be fighting?\"\n\"Because I knew who wanted to.\"\nTsume rolled her eyes up in thought, thinking back\nto the recent months, until something crossed her mind, and she looked back at\nVinge. \"What about when we fought the Cyber Wyvern?\" She asked.\n\"What about it?\"\n\"You didn't plan ahead for that one,\" she pointed\nout. \"None of us did; none of us could. The damn thing came out of nowhere and\nleveled a chunk of the city. Hell the only reason we even managed to stop it\nwas that... sudden power boost Volcan got -like something straight out of anime\nif you ask me.\" She shook her head. \"Anyway, we were given our shot but it was\nyou who found how best to use it; even though Volcan's the one who got that\nserious power-up, it was still you who destroyed the wyvern.\"\nVinge grimaced. \"I'd hardly call that a strategy; I\ndidn't even know it was going to work.\"\n\"Then it was a gamble,\" the Earth Phoenix carried on\ninsistently. \"Sometimes gambles pay off; that one did, thanks in no small part\nto your brain.\" She tapped his head. \"If you could use that to defeat a big\nmechanical wyvern that cancelled out the powers of anyone near it, then you can\nfigure out how to defeat a tiger who has no powers at all; you know he\npractices Karate, so you know he has some moves you'll be familiar with, and\nyou've probably learned another martial art that can combat it. Meet him on\nlevel terms, adapt to his fighting style, hell do what I did to Edwardo; insult\nhim, get in his head and make him mess up. That always seems to work.\"\nA light seemed to flash in Vinge's eyes as those\nwords left Tsume's beak; he perked up, eyes widening and then he went still,\neven after Tsume spoke his name. Immediately, he adopted his 'thinking' pose;\nhe crossed his right arm over his torso, resting his left elbow in his hand to\nprop it, bringing his index finger of his left hand to his beak, where he bit\ndown on it gently, eyes shut and remaining motionless for a moment.\nTsume watched him that whole time, glancing side to\nside as if expecting to see something out of the ordinary. She nearly jumped\nwhen Vinge's wings twitched and his eyes re-open. \"If you know the enemy, and\nknow yourself, you need not fear the result of a hundred battles...\"\n\"You said that to Oliver before,\" Tsume remarked.\n\"There's another passage that may be applicable\nhere,\" said the ice phoenix. \"'If your enemy is of choleric temper, seek to\nirritate them'.\"\nTsume irked an eyebrow. \"You actually want to make\nthe guy you'll be fighting pissed off at you? Isn't that a little\ncounter-productive?\"\n\"Angry warriors often make mistakes; for a savage or\nraw fighter, rage is a good weapon, but for a more focused fighter, losing\ntheir temper can cost them victory,\" Vinge went on. \"You mentioned Carlos has\ncontempt for the police, because he used to be one; has it ever been mentioned\nwhy?\"\n\"Yeah; he shot a person by accident once. He's a\nformer sniper for SWAT; tried to take out the perpetrator before receiving the\norder to fire, ended up taking out the hostage instead,\" replied Tsume. \"Since\nthen he became... well, I don't really know what he was like before that, but\nhe was kicked out of SWAT and now seems to hate everybody.\"\n\"That may present me with a nerve I can strike,\nmetaphorically speaking,\" stated Vinge. \"Talking isn't restricted out in the\nring; I can use that.\"\nTsume rolled her eyes, this time in slight annoyance\ninstead of thought. \"So much for flying by the seat of your pants,\" she said.\n\"You still found a way to plan ahead.\"\nVinge smiled. \"I have you to thank for it,\" he said.\n\"But it doesn't change I don't know how he fights. That, I'll still have to\nadapt to.\"\n~~~~~\nThe quarter finals had begun; fighters fifteen and\nsixteen concluded their matchup, with fifteen as the winner. Now, only eight\nfighters remained; the first two, the Sikaran-using equine and the Jujitsu\nvixen, battled well. Vinge watched this fight carefully as he knew that if he\nmade it to the semi-final rounds -assuming he could beat Carlos, he would have\nto fight whichever of these two won the battle. The vixen was quick, the equine\nwas larger and stronger; the vixen had a fluent technique Vinge knew well,\nbeing a black-belt level in Jujitsu himself, but the equine as using a fighting\nstyle few people even knew existed. He was intrigued by the aspects of Sikaran,\nand how it balanced offense and defense -using the hands defensively, and the\nfeet to attack.\nIt made Vinge wonder... maybe Sikaran was just what\nhe needed to perfect the fighting art he had been trying to develop for\nhimself.\nHe glanced over his shoulder as he heard the\nfootsteps of another fighter, spotting fighter #12, a female panda and Tsume's\nnext opponent ironically, and got her attention. \"Excuse me,\" he asked. \"Would\nyou happen to know who that equine is?\" He inquired. \"His name, or where he\npracticed?\"\nShe looked at the screen, spotting the horse man in\nquestion. \"Yeah; his name's Colman Olson, apparently a teacher.\"\n\"Martial arts teacher?\"\n\"No; history,\" she replied. \"He works at a high\nschool in Lethbridge. My son goes there; that's how I know him. Seems to have a\nlove of the Philippines and their culture.\"\n\"Explains his choice of fighting style,\" remarked\nVinge. \"Thank you.\"\n\"No problem,\" she returned, and continued on her\nway.\nHe glanced back at the TV screen just in time to see\nthe fight was over; Colman had won the match, having knocked the vixen out of\nthe ring. He was seen on the camera helping her to her feet, shaking hands with\nher and then both going on their own way, the announcer referring to it as a\n'fine display of sportsmanship', before the screen darkened.\nVinge turned to the door where Colman would be\nstepping out of, waiting for the equine to appear. When he did, the ice phoenix\napproached him carefully, their eyes meeting as he neared, and Vinge nodded to\nhim. \"Afternoon, sir,\" he said.\n\"Hello,\" the equine returned, politely. \"You're...\nVinge, correct?\" He asked.\n\"Yes sir,\" he returned.\n\"Please don't call me sir,\" the equine said,\nchuckling. \"Just Colman or Mr. Olson will work; I'm used to both.\" He looked up\ntowards the monitors, looking at the graph. \"You're fighting next; shouldn't\nyou be getting ready?\"\n\"I'm prepared,\" assured Vinge. \"This will only take\na moment. I have a request.\"\n\"Okay,\" Colman returned, crossing his arms. \"Let's\nhear it.\"\n\"I notice you practice Sikaran; a rare martial art\nthese days.\"\n\"It is,\" returned Colman, nodding. \"Damn shame, too;\nit's a beautiful style, and very effective, but everyone prefers the more\noffensive-styles like Taekwondo and Karate.\"\n\"Not me, Mr. Olson,\" assured Vinge. \"Honestly, I do\nbelieve that the best offense is a good defense, keeping the offense for after\nyour opponent wears themselves down. I'd like to be able to do that more\neffectively,\" he put his hands together, feeling somewhat nervous; he wasn't\nused to talking to people like this. \"Would you be willing to teach me Sikaran?\"\n\"Oh?\" Colman asked, interest piqued. \"For what\npurpose?\"\n\"I admit I have practiced Taekwondo and Kendo, so\nhave studied offensive styles,\" said Vinge. \"But my favorites of all the\nmartial arts I've studied have been Fencing, Judo and Aikido -mostly defensive\narts, but I cannot combine them. However, seeing how you perform Sikaran, I\nbelieve I can combine it with some of my other arts to create a new one.\"\n\"You wish to develop a new fighting style,\" Colman\nconcluded. \"Admirable...\" He smiled. \"Alright, I'll tell you what,\" he began.\n\"Beat that tiger you're fighting, and meet me in the semi-final round. If you\ndo, then consider that battle to be your first lesson in the capabilities of\nSikaran.\"\n\"You mean you'll take me as your student?\"\n\"Don't get too far ahead of yourself; I want to see\nwhat you can do first. I battled that Carlos guy last year, and though I did\nwin, he was tough. If you can beat him, and make it to your battle with me in\nthe semi-finals, then regardless of whether I win or you do, then I'll teach\nyou Sikaran.\" He clapped Vinge on the shoulder. \"We'll discuss dates and times\nafter the tournament, alright?\"\n\"Absolutely; thank you for this opportunity, Mr.\nOlson.\"\n\"You're welcome,\" the kind equine returned, and\nstepped aside. \"Now, I believe it's your turn.\" He said, gesturing to the door\nout to the arena.\nVinge looked over his shoulder, seeing Carlos\nheading through the other door without giving him so much as a look before he\npassed through, proceeding to the fighting ring. Vinge adorned a scowl at how\ndisregarding Carlos was, looking back at Colman and nodding to him. Before he\nwent through the door, he noticed Tsume watching him from the side; she looked\nconcerned, but she gave him an encouraging smile and a nod to him. He returned\nthe nod, and then faced the door, stepping through and proceeding to the\nring...\nThe crowds were watching with eagerness and\nanticipation as they waited for the two fighters to begin. Carlos had forsaken\nhis gi top and tossed it aside, wearing only the loose-fitting pants, tighter\nat the waist so that they did not fall down. The only accessory he bore was a\nnecklace designed to resemble a dog tag, engraved with the Chinese symbol for\n'trust', but there was a slash across the symbol, as if it had once stopped the\ncut of a knife. Vinge stood across from him, both mentally and physically\npreparing himself for the battle ahead, standing with his arms at his sides\nwhile Carlos stood with his arms crossed, staring daggers at the ice phoenix.\nThose eyes... Carlos had the same colour eyes Vinge\ndid, yet the two were nothing alike. They were full of rage that was directed\nat nothing and everything; he was hard to read, which to Vinge, only made him\nall the more dangerous. He could not predict him by meeting his gaze; he would\nhave to watch his body, and that would take greater concentration.\nThe two approached the center when prompted. Vinge\noffered a handshake to Carlos, but the tiger never uncrossed his arms, and\nspoke softly as he finally opened his mouth. \"You're only an obstacle;\nobstacles are kicked down, not respected,\" he said coldly, before backing away,\nfinally uncrossing his arms. \"If you want to leave with all of your bones\nintact, you should do so now.\"\n\"I'm not leaving,\" stated Vinge. \"I made it past the\nfirst round, and a friend wants to meet me in the finals.\" He stepped back to\nhis position. \"I'm going all the way.\"\n\"Then your friend better steel themselves for\ndisappointment,\" stated Carlos, adopting a typical karate stance, standing\nsideways with their foremost leg stretched forward the other leg bent and\nsupporting the shifting weight, his right arm held tucked against his side and\nhis left raised to eye level, fingers half-open. \"You do not have the\nexperience or the resolve to win here.\"\n\"And what resolve do you have?\" Vinge asked,\nstancing himself as well. \"What is it that drives you, Mr. Chang? Fame, wealth;\nyou're too quiet to want bragging rights.\" Now\nI'm sounding like Tsume...\n\"My drive?\" Carlos asked, his gaze hardening further\nas he replied. \"It is simply that I am unbound.\"\"Begin!\" The referee called before Vinge could\ncontemplate the meaning of Carlos' words, and the tiger attacked.\nVinge blocked Carlos' first strike with a backhanded\ndeflect, parrying a fist that was aimed right for his eye, and retaliated by\ndelivering a palm-strike to Carlos' face, only for the tiger to lean out of the\nway, stepping back and lashing out with an inverted spin-kick, aiming to slam\nthe heel of his foot into Vinge's head. Vinge promptly ducked under the kick,\nputting one hand on the floor and performing a low-sweeping kick towards\nCarlos' left side, opposite the leg he had just kicked with; ideally, that\nwould be a good place to attack, because Carlos would be standing on only one\nleg now, and would be easy to trip.\nBut the tiger had his foot back on the ground,\nclenching his left fist and performing a backward parry, his fist meeting\nVinge's shin with force equal to that of his kick, the two attacks cancelling\neach other out. Vinge paused for a split second out of sheer surprise; 'I've heard of 'cat-like' reflexes, but not\neven he should've been fast enough for that,' he thought. 'This man has over-developed his reaction\ntime!'\nHe saw Carlos raising his other arm, noticing him\nbring it up over his head, and knew immediately what was coming. Pulling with\nboth hands and his remaining foot, Vinge yanked his leg free before Carlos\nmanaged to grab his ankle, evading what the ice phoenix perceived was an\nattempt to break or dislocate a leg joint, which would leave Vinge slowed and\noff balance. With a tuck \u0026 roll, Vinge was back on his feet, ignoring the\nache that formed in his wings in the brief moment he had rolled over the\njoints, and turned to face Carlos.\nThe tiger was already coming again, and soon it was\nan all-out exchange of blows; strike, block, strike, block, high-kick,\nmid-punch, parry; the way they clashed was like watching the fight scene of an\naction film, both of them using advanced martial arts techniques relative to\ntheir own fighting styles. Carlos was definitely faster and quite plausibly\nmore skilled, but Vinge was taller, and he too had highly developed reflexes,\nnot to mention his keen avianic eyesight that made it easier to read his\nopponents by muscle-movement.\nBut then, when Vinge made a move to attack by\nsending a palm thrust towards Carlos' face, the tiger surprised him with a\nchange of technique, catching him by the arm, twisting himself around and then\npulling Vinge's arm straight downward, redirecting the weight of the ice\nphoenix into this throw and sending him flying through the air. Vinge hit the\nfloor hard, nearly being dazed by the impact and crying out as he felt his\nwingjoints be crushed under his body weight.\n'That was no\nkarate move; that was a Judo throw,' Vinge realized instantly, being a\npractitioner of the defensive art himself. 'I\nwas right; he does know more than one\nfighting style! Now Vinge had a better grasp of what Carlos could do,\ncombining Karate and Judo with his high reflexes. Now was when Vinge had to\nturn this fight into his favor; to make Carlos play by his rules... \"According as circumstances are favourable, one should\nmodify one's plan,\" he muttered, reciting a passage from 'The Art of War' as he\nturned onto his front. \nCarlos heard it, but by his curious expression, did\nnot understand it. \"What're you babbling about?\" He asked as he watched Vinge\nget to his feet; the tiger had stopped to gain a breath, and let Vinge stand\nback on his feet. At least he had the courtesy to not kick a man while he was\ndown.\nVinge looked at Carlos. \"I had heard you practiced\nKarate,\" he stated. \"But I had heard nothing of you also knowing Judo. Did you\nlearn that prior to joining the police force?\"\nA moment of silence from the tiger, but he did reply\nto the inquiry, although he had visibly twitched at the mention of the police.\n\"Yes,\" he replied, honestly.\n\"Karate and Judo go well together,\" Vinge went on.\n\"You mentioned earlier, you were fighting in this tournament driven only by\nthat you were unbound. What did you mean by that?\"\n\"None of your business,\" returned the tiger,\nblatantly.\n\"What is it you feel you were bound by?\" Vinge went\non, pressing him harder. \"The rules; the need to await orders? Being forced to\nhave others dependant on you, like your old SWAT team?\"\n\"Keep your beak shut, kid; you don't know anything\nabout me, so stop pretending you do,\" stated Carlos, his eyes furrowing to a\nsharper stare than ever.\n\"And what will you do if I refuse?\" Vinge asked.\n\"Break every bone in my body?\" His gaze was firm, but the soft portion of his\nbeak showed a wry smile. \"Or are you going to shoot me with your sniper rifle,\nlike you tried to do when you were still on SWAT?\"\nCarlos' eyes widened, rage burning like a wildfire\nin them. \"Shut up!\" He warned.\n\"Is that what you meant by unbound?\" Vinge pressed\nfurther, readying himself; he had almost brought Carlos to the point, and there\nwas just one more little push needed. \"Because you no longer have to wait for\norders to kill someone, or that you can choose who or what you aim your rifle at?\"\nThe final button was pushed. Carlos roared in fury\nand rushed at Vinge, the claws on his feet pushing visibly against his\nprotective gear as his muscles tensed following his lunge. Vinge, seeing his\nplan in action, changed his approach; he refrained from attacking Carlos unless\nnecessary, relying on Judo and Aikido maneuvers to keep him off balance,\ntossing him around and evading his onslaught; at one point, after taking a hit\nin the face, Vinge performed the Aikido reversal, yanking Carlos' arm as he tried\nto punch him and keeping a firm grip on it as he brought his other hand to\nstrike Carlos in the chin, instantly transferring all the mass from the tiger's\nintended attack to his head and sending him flying face-first into the floor,\nbloodying his nose and only making him angrier.\nBut at this point, Carlos had slowed, and now Vinge\nhad little effort defending against him; the smile was gone from Vinge's face,\nbut the satisfaction was clear in his eyes as he continued to parry, block, and\nredirect all of Carlos' attacks. Despite his growing frustration, even Carlos\nstarted to notice that the ice phoenix was no longer having any trouble\ndefending against him; his body felt heavy and his fur was soaked with\nperspiration. When Vinge used a judo throw to send him back-first onto the\nfloor, he finally stopped, long enough to try and assess his predicament.\n\"What's... going on?\" He asked, panting. \"How'd you\nsuddenly become so fast?\"\n\"I didn't,\" replied Vinge. \"I'm going the same pace\nI was before.\"\n\"That's bullshit,\" Carlos retorted, turning onto his\nfront and pushing himself up. \"You're a phoenix... you're probably drawing\nenergy from something; cheating! You have to be!\"\n\"There's nothing in this room I can draw energy\nfrom,\" Vinge returned. \"I am a phoenix of the Ice Element; only cold winds,\nfalling snow or the energy within frozen water can be used to reenergize me. I\nhave simply been winning this fight with more than brute force.\" He took a deep\nbreath, readying himself as Carlos regained his footing. \"Allow me to tell you,\nin verse, how I have been winning this fight.\"\nCarlos yelled weakly at Vinge, charging at him again\nand swinging awkwardly for his head, which Vinge dodged easily, and began to\nspeak. \"If your enemy is of choleric temper, seek to irritate him.\" He\nbackhanded a punch from Carlos away from its target, and then retaliated with a\npunch to the tiger's stomach, making him grunt and back away, holding his belly\nin pain. \"Pretend to be weak, that he may grow arrogant.\"\n\"You're just saying words!\" Carlos roared, once more\nattacking Vinge with a kick towards his chest.\nVinge side-stepped out of the way. \"Strike him where\nhe is not prepared,\" he said as he lunged past Carlos, elbowing him in the\ncheek -only a graze though as the phoenix passed, barely hurting him at all.\nCarlos spun around to face him, only to see Vinge was not there... until he\nheard his voice below him. \"Appear where you're not expected.\" He looked down,\nand there was Vinge, in a low crouch so that his head was barely level with\nCarlos' thigh, only to launch himself up and deliver a powerful uppercut to\nCarlos' chin, snapping his head back with such force he felt a mild whiplash,\nas well as his feet leaving the floor as he fell onto his back.\nVinge stood, triumphantly, where Carlos had been\nprior to the punch, and concluded his quotes with only one more. \"Now the\ngeneral who wins a battle makes many calculations in his temple ere the battle\nis fought. The general who loses a battle makes but few calculations beforehand.\nThus do many calculations lead to victory, and few calculations to defeat: how\nmuch more no calculation at all! It is by attention to this point that I can\nforesee who is likely to win or lose.\"\nCarlos lay there, stunned and gasping for breath,\nhearing Vinge conclude his speech, barely hearing the referee count up to ten,\nand officially declare Carlos beaten. The tiger was clearly conflicted, no\ndoubt deciding whether he should be angry about losing, or that he had let\nhimself lose. Slowly, he sat up, propping himself up with one hand and draping\nhis other arm over a bent knee, looking at Vinge.\n\"You... led me... like a puppet,\" he said.\n\"I turned the battle in my favor,\" corrected Vinge.\n\"Didn't you understand anything I said before?\"\n\"Should I have?\" Carlos asked, spitting out a wad of\nblood; the uppercut had caused him to bite a corner of his tongue -not serious,\nbut deep enough to draw some blood, and pool in his mouth.\n\"Everything I just said, every word in each verse,\nwere from passages in Sun Tzu's 'The Art of War', all of them located within\nchapter 1: Laying Plans,\" Vinge returned, his brow furrowing with clear\ndispleasure. \"The fact you did not recognize it shows me you care little for\nthe history of your own nation; you are Chinese, I am Norwegian, yet you did\nnot know that everything I was doing was inspired by the designs of a famous\nancestor of your people.\" He shook his head. \"Your ignorance to the past is\nstartling, yet you cling to your own past so obsessively; it's such a\nhypocrisy.\" He turned and began to leave the arena, gaze lowering as he stepped\noff the raised platform and onto the walkway. \n\"But then,\" he whispered, \"who am I to talk about\nclinging to the past?\"\n~~~~~\nTsume was at Vinge's side in an instant, practically\ndancing with ecstasy as she arrived to give her congratulations to the ice\nphoenix. \"Vinge, that was the most awesome fight I've ever seen! And to top it\noff, you won! You actually beat Carlos, who's placed first in four tournaments\nalready!\" She grabbed him by the arm and started shaking him. \"You amazing\nbird!\"\nVinge chuckled nervously, eyeing Tsume with a\nquizzical look. \"I didn't know you'd be so excited by me winning.\"\n\"Are you kidding me? I'm still hyped up from\nwatching that fight!\" She returned. \"And...\" She suddenly paused, and raised a\nhand to touch him on the side of the head behind his eye; he felt a sting, and\nnoticed blood on her fingers when she pulled back. \"Looks like he got you good\nat least once though.\"\n\"That must've happened when he caught me upside the\nhead,\" remarked Vinge.\n\"Come on; sit down. I'll grab the first-aid kit,\"\nsaid Tsume, pulling him into the room and over to a set of chairs.\n\"Not that one,\" the ice phoenix refused, pointing at\nthe first aid station mounted on the wall. \"Bring my bag, please. It's in locker twenty.\"\n\"Okay.\"\n            Vinge seated himself while Tsume\nwent to retrieve his satchel, groaning with exhaustion; the fight with Carlos\nhad drained him somewhat, but he felt some satisfaction for his victory over\nthe tiger. What had begun as a competition to the ice phoenix had suddenly\nbecome a learning experience, and a way to gain some for himself; he was\nbattling some of the best fighters in the country, learning from every battle\nand even helping others learn. Even if he had not initially joined this\ntournament of his own choosing... he was strangely glad to be there now.\n            But for the moment, he was even\ngladder for the rest, though still looked forward to his match with Colman,\nwhere he would learn the basics of Sikaran...\n            ~~~~~\n            Out of the shadows of the statue,\nthe seven-tailed feral fox emerged, eyes of solid amethyst peering out as he\nstepped into the light of a nearby street lamp, searching the park for any sign\nof people. Despite being in a feral form, he wet his lips with anticipation as\nhe searched for whosoever would become his next victim, his seven tails swaying\nbehind with his eagerness as he crossed the park.\n            The first unfortunate soul to find\nthemselves in his gaze, though without any knowledge of it at that moment, was\na policeman patrolling the park. He had only his flashlight in hand, shining it\ninto the shadows cast by the trees and shrubberies along the path; what he was\nlooking for, Kumori did not know, but he didn't care; he'd found a warm body to\nwet his blades with, and so rose up on his hind legs, his body rapidly growing\nto a humanoid height and clothes appearing over his fur, in the form of a\nleather body suit. Wakizashi blades materialized from nothing into his pawed\nhands, and a devilish grin crossed his face as he neared the police officer.\n            As if sensing the murderous intent,\nthe Japanese officer spun around and saw Kumori approaching, immediately\nnoticing the blades. He drew his gun, taking aim at the seven-tailed vulpine\nand shouting at him in their native tongue, demanding he drop the blades and\nput his hands into the air, but Kumori didn't comply; he continued to stalk\ntowards the man, that wide grin on his face enough to make the officer shudder\nin fear, putting his finger to the trigger of his pistol...\n            The metal gun suddenly glowed\nred-hot. The officer shouted in surprise and pain and dropped the gun, sending\nit clattering to the ground with a flash of sparks following its impact with\nthe pavement. Kumori paused mid-step, his smile fading as he saw what happened\nto the gun; he had not done that, he had no such power.\n            As if to answer his curiosity, a\nfireball fell from above and struck the cop; flames of inky black engulfed the\nofficer, the violet hot center of the flames giving a mild visual of the man,\nbut he was mostly hidden behind the curtain of fire. The officer's screams\nstarted immediately, a mix of terror and agonizing pain as he burned in the\nflames, stumbling to and fro and dropping to the ground to roll in an attempt\nto put it out, but to no avail. The flames continued to burn, and the man's\nscreams finally faded when he stopped moving.\n            A figure fell from above, landing to\nKumori's left; the nogitsune spun towards the intruder, blades ready, and saw a\nblack-feathered avian with a violet undertone staring back at him, an\nankh-tipped staff -or perhaps spear, judging by the leaf-shaped blade at the base\nof the lengthy, metal weapon- rested upon his shoulder. A smug grin was visible\non the soft portion of the avian's beak, two purple, hawk-like eyes staring\nback at Kumori.\n            \"Now that I have your attention,\"\nthe avian said, speaking in western English.\n            Kumori glared at the avian, and\nretorted in English as well so that the strange bird could understand, \"I'll\nmake you bleed for interrupting my kill, mortal!\" He bellowed, before he lunged\nfor the avian, clearing the distance between them in a mere two strides and\nthen slashing at him with his left-hand blade.\n            The avian gripped his staff with\nboth hands and blocked the sword swing, easily parrying it, but Kumori used the\nreversed momentum of the parry to go into his other swing; rather than resist\nit he let himself be tossed a little by the avian's counter, and, using his\nfoot for balance he turned himself about he brought his other blade around, to\nslash him in the arm. But, the avian managed to see that blade coming, raising\nhis arm out of range and twisting himself just enough that his golden cuirass\ntook the hit for him, although he still suffered a graze to the pit of his arm.\n            With his other arm, Kumori came down\nwith an overhead swing for the avian's skull; he blocked it with the staff\nagain, but left his underside wide open, Kumori's other blade heading right for\nhis throat. The avian's eyes glowed a bright purple, and beams of matching\ncolour erupted from his eyes, striking Kumori in the chest and sending searing\nheat into his body; yelping in pain and surprise Kumori jumped back to get\naway, abandoning his assault and dropping one of his blades to hold his chest\nwhere he was burned.\n            \"Nice try,\" the avian mocked. \"But\nit's not going to be that easy.\"\n            Kumori looked at the avian closely,\neyes narrowing with suspicion. \"A fire phoenix,\" he said plainly as he\nidentified his opponent.\n            \"Not an ordinary one,\" the avian\nreturned, never lowering his guard. \"I'm something different from any phoenix\nyou'd have ever met.\"\n            \"I already figured that part out,\"\nKumori retorted. \"For one thing, no species of phoenix is inherently\nblack-feathered except as an undertone; they're always coloured based on their\nelements.\" He returned to a battle-ready stance himself, keeping his eyes on\nthe strange phoenix before him. \"I'm guessing you're a hybrid of some kind.\"\n            \"In a way, yes,\" the avian returned,\nsuddenly relaxing and standing normally, holding his staff weapon upright. \"But\nI didn't come out to fight you, so you can relax.\"\n            \"Why?\" Kumori asked, that devilish\ngrin returning to his face, and a feral growl in his voice as he spoke. \"It's\nbeen about fifty years since I killed a phoenix; fire types have such hot blood\nand I love to feel it in my fur.\" He snickered with malice, eyes widening as\nhis foot shuffled forward across the pavement, fighting back the urge to attack\nthe phoenix outright, more out of curiosity than a sense of reason. \"So, start\nexplaining; if you're not here to fight, then what do you want?\"\n            \"I saw your work on that homeless\nperson last night,\" the phoenix returned. \"I rather like how you handled it.\"\n            Kumori's insane expression was\nsuddenly gone, his face softening; now he was\ncurious, and regarded the avian such. \"Really; you were watching me?\"\n            \"More happened upon by chance,\" the\nphoenix corrected. \"I'm new in town, see; I was seeing the sights, I heard the\nman scream while flying by...\"\n            \"Fib,\" Kumori interjected.\n            \"Excuse me?\"\n            \"You weren't flying,\" Kumori\nretorted. \"As a kitsune I detect lies almost like a scent.\"\n            \"Fair enough; I was on the roof\nnearby. But I'm not lying about hearing the scream and being curious.\"\n            Kumori detected the avian was\ntelling the truth, and lowered his blades, finally. \"Go on,\" he said.\n            \"It just so happens I could use\nsomeone of your skill,\" the phoenix carried on. \"I'm looking to get back to\nCanada, but there are some people out there that don't like me very much, and\nwould probably kill me the moment they sensed my presence. I'd like to enlist\nyou to get them first.\"\n            \"And just what would I be facing out\nthere?\"\n            \"Five\nphoenixes, each one a different element,\" returned the dark avian. \"There's\none out there who's a fire-type like me; he's weakened from his last encounter\nwith me. If you get the opportunity I'd very much appreciate it if you\neliminated him. Do that, the other four will come to you, and you get to soak\nyour blades in the blood of five elementals. Possibly more, as well; he has\nmany friends of other species, including a couple of dragons.\"\n            Kumori's eyes seemed to light up at\nthe idea, that grin returning to his face as he considered the offer; fighting\njust one phoenix could be exciting but five different species of phoenixes,\nalong with some wretched dragons as well, made his body tingle with glee. \"I am\nquite interested,\" he returned. \"Although I do like some compensation for my\nwork.\"\n            The avian eyed him curiously. \"You\nmean like an assassin?\" He asked. For a moment, the phoenix went silent; Kumori\ncould see the dark avian studying the blades in his hands, before his eyes\nrolled to his upper left corner in reminisce, thinking back to earlier in their\nmeeting. Kumori waited patiently as the stranger thought, and listened\nattentively when he spoke again. \"So, that's what you are then; you're not just\nan ordinary murderer. You're a ninja.\"\n            \"Well, I used to be,\" the nogitsune\nreturned. \"A story for another time though.\"\n            \"I see,\" the black phoenix\nacknowledged, nodding to him. \"Fine... In return for your success, I'll reward\nyou. But, first I must get back to Canada, and find a new home for myself.\nAfter that, I'll make compensating you my utmost priority.\"\n            Kumori detected no lie in the words\nof the phoenix; he actually meant to reward him for his work, rather than let\nhim do the dirty work and write him off. The nogitsune had also seen first-hand\nthat this avian was just as much a cold-blooded killer as he himself was by the\nact of immolating the police officer before. And, the idea of getting to kill\nnot just one phoenix, but five, was making Kumori's entire body shiver with the\nanticipation; a promise of reward and of the infinite pleasure of taking the\nlives of others, how could he pass it up?\n            \"Alright, it's a deal then,\" Kumori\nagreed. \"My name is Yaiba Kumori; by what name should I know you, dark\nphoenix?\"\n            \"My name?\" The phoenix returned, and\nonce more he seemed to slip into thought. \"A fair question, I admit,\" he said.\n            In truth, the black phoenix was not\nsure how to respond to the nogitsune's inquiry; now introduced as Kumori, it was\nonly right that the phoenix return the gesture. However, until now, he hadn't\ngiven much thought to an identity for himself... he knew little of names beyond\nthose he remembered from his time as part of Volcan; he knew not how people\nchose the names for their children, or gave to themselves new names with which\nto change their identities and become different people.\n            But he was a warrior... a warrior's\nname is what he would take, and it would be by that name that everyone who\ndared cross his path or challenge him would know him. It had to be something\nthat would be eternally lodged into their memories, but unique in nature -a\nname no one else had. It would be his and his alone. He thought back to Volcan;\na phoenix of Gaelic descent... Gaelic was a dead language, and few would be\nusing any name from that culture, or a word from that time as a name.\n            Warrior...\n            The avian grinned, and looked at\nKumori. \"Call me... Calhoun. Calhoun Demonfire.\"\n","previous":"https://fse.anthro.fr/stories/834302-pokemon-qatm-chapter-1.json","next":"https://fse.anthro.fr/stories/875108-chapter-3-the-bloodletter.json"}