They Say Dragons Never Truly Die(Kenichi/Vanyel)

The announce would nod his head as he shrugged his shoulders, gazed at Kenichi and the women sharing his side, and the raucous crowd, turning his attention back to Vanyel.

"Well if you're still rearin' to go... Keichi Omaeda, please make your way to the stage." With that, the next fighter would make his way to the arena as he turned his gaze towards Vanyel. He was a slightly more burly man than the last. Even so, his body was still muscular and well-defined enough that mobility would be far from an issue. He would stand before Vanyel, taking a low and defensive stance. The bald-headed warrior would allow Vanyel to make the first move.

"Let the second match... begin!"

The next fighter was brought to the arena and announced, and Vanyel took in a deep breath, slowly moving into the same Tai Chi stance that he started with before, though his footwork and stance seemed far more aggressive. His foot was lifted halfway, giving him the opportunity to start moving quicker. As the next combatant stepped into the ring, the man took a moment to size up his opponent.

A bit bulkier than his last opponent, but still looked to be able to have a decent ability to move. As he shifted to his own stance, Vanyel noted the low, defensive style, not too dissimilar to his own. He could be practicing Tai Chi as well, though, he had his doubts. As the announcer gave the go-ahead for the two to begin, Vanyel immediately switched his stance, turning to his own personal style once again as he lashed out with a powerful overhead kick, before crouching down and aiming a fierce kick at his opponent's legs.

While he wasn't entirely sure of how well a mix-up like that would work against a style like this, Vanyel had no problem in making an attempt and trying to take advantage of the low stance that his opponent had taken.

Like a speeding bullet - surprising for a man given his stature - Omaede would shift from his low defensive stance into an offensive position, his left foot kicking off of the ground, propelling his body forward at a remarkable speed, allowing him to evade the overhead kick a well as shift his center of gravity away from the leg sweep. Charging towards Vanyel from the side, he would execute an overhead strike with his right hand towards his hip before turning his body forward, executing a swift and unrelenting kick towards Vanyel's ribs.

He had not yet shown much of what he could do just yet nor any indication of what his style was. After seeing what he did in his battle against the first contestant, the tall and bulky man was not going to allow Vanyel to en the round as quickly as he may have desired.

Vanyel was surprised to see the man move with such speed as he neatly slid out of the way of his attacks. He quickly turned himself to face his opponent as he retaliated, and he managed to block Omaede's overhead. But, as Vanyel shifted his stance, the kick to his ribs knocked the air out of him and send him stumbling back a few paces.

Coughing as he took a brief second to get his breath back, Vanyel quickly stepped forward again. The guy was intent on making sure the match lasted longer than the previous one, keeping his style under wraps as a primary strategy in doing so. But, Vanyel hardly cared -- he was there to rise to the top, and he knew that he was going to fight his hardest to reach it. So, taking in a deep breath, Vanyel pushed himself forward, carrying the surge of momentum into his attack as he unleashed a brief flurry of attacks once again.

A mixture of high punches and low kicks, he continued using his own style, while keeping a cautious eye on his opponent, ready to switch and utilize Tai Chi again at a moment's notice. He might have been there to win, but throwing caution to the wind and not taking note of whatever kind of potential hints the guy could throw out was basically asking for a loss.

Omaeda had thought he gained a significant advantage in the battle but Vanyel's strength, yet lo and behold, the dragon of kyushu found himself to be a fiercer opponent than initially expected. He did not expect the man to choose the rushdown and flurry approach and as such, found himself readily subdued, falling off somewhat embarrassingly out of the arena. The announcer looked on, relatively surprised by the sudden shift of events as he looked back at a visibly impressed Kenichi who gazed down at Vanyel with a profound curiosity gleaming in his eyes. It was clear that expression indicated he desired to face this man and truly put on a show he did not believe the other contestants would match in kind. Rising from his chair, meatbun in hand, Kenichi would point towards the announcer and do something that left the entire crowd stunned in silence before raucous cheers rose again.

"This Vanyel fellow is a fine contestant so far, is he not? What say you, crowd, to the idea of moving things along and seeing how this man fares against the remaining opponents before he goes against yours truly~?"

Both the announcer and the contestants gazed on, not expecting this turn of events, though Kenichi was a man of such whims and the idea of seeing 3-on-1 was certainly enough to put on a show. He wanted to see the extent of that man's abilities, to fire him up and face him in brilliant display of will and martial prowess.

"What say you, Vanyel? Care to entertain the crowd?"

Maybe it was because he had managed to trip up Omaede, or maybe it was just dumb luck that he was able to defeat him with the non-stop flurry of attacks from his Dragon Dance Style, but Vanyel breathed a deep sigh of relief as Omaede continued to retreat on the defensive. He felt even more relieved as he tipped over, falling out of the ring.

A bit of an embarrassing way to end the match, but, he won, and he hoped that his opponents would keep growing into greater martial artists. But, his attention turned to the master of ceremonies, Kenichi, the man who organized the entire thing, proposing the idea of having the last three contestants fight against him at once, and afterward, whoever won would get the chance to fight Kenichi himself.

He had to admit, the idea was interesting. He wasn't really one to entertain the crowd usually. But, in this instance, with how excited everyone seemed to be, and the prospect of fighting three people at once was enticing, as well as being able to potentially cut through the rest of the competition and reach the top that much quicker.

So, walking up to the announcer, he took the microphone from him, tilting his neck to each side and hearing a satisfying crack. He brought the microphone to his mouth, a grin forming at the ends of his lips as he spoke.

"Sure. Let's do it. I usually don't like showin' off or do things to entertain a crowd, but, what the hell. Let's put on a show."

Passing the microphone back off to the announcer, Vanyel slipped his gloves off, tightening the bandages around his hands before sliding them back on and shifting into a standard Tai Chi stance. He could feel excitement burn in his heart. It had been a long time since he felt this excited for a fight, and the first time he had ever gotten this excited for a tournament like this.

Akemichi. Hao. Takeda. Those were the three that remained. Each contestant still getting over the fact that Kenichi had singlehandedly turned the tournament on it's head. Kenichi, from his seat above the arena, was amused beyond compare. There seemed to be a showman in this man yet! He leaned into his chair as he gazed on, clearly no longer paying heed to anything but the sight that unfolded before him. An uncontainable thirst for battle. An adrenaline that could be felt from his aura as his eyes aimed settled on Vanyel.

In the arena, the three contestants turned their eyes forward with confident smiles in each of their expressions. They leaped onto the arena, settling into fighting stances as they circled around them, each launching themselves towards him, without caring for technique because with three men against one, there was no way they were they destined to lose, right? The crowd looked on, cheering for the man they had chosen as the martial hero, the one they desired to root for in Vanyel. Would he live up to the challenge?

It didn't take long for the last three contestants to enter the arena, and Vanyel could feel his pulse quicken. His fingers lightly trembled, his stance briefly faltering as he eyed the three fighters up and down. But, before he had a chance to analyze and guess what their fighting styles would be, all three of them lunged at him. They were trying to overwhelm him with raw numbers, forgoing style and technique entirely. He took in a deep breath as he saw two of the fighters moving slightly faster than the last one.

So, changing his stance, Vanyel brought up both of his hands as the two on the edge of the trio surged forward, one with their hand in a simple punch, the other aiming for a kick. With a simple move, Vanyel redirected the momentum and energy of the two fighters, causing them to fly to the side. With little time to act, Vanyel quickly switched back to Dragon Style once again, this time aiming a fast and relentless kick to the chest to knock the middle fighter away.

While technique wasn't always the defining trait that settled a match, it was certainly one advantage that he held over the other three. But, he knew that he had to act quick. Immediately after the kick, Vanyel started into a run, closing in on the one he kicked away, before leaping into the air and coming down hard with another relentless kick. Even if the attack missed, it would certainly have cracked the arena. Setting his other foot down and taking his stance again, Vanyel slid back into his former Tai Chi stance, ready to redirect and counter, should the opponent in front, or the others manage to recover and continue their brutish assault.

Fly to the side the first two fighters did, meeting the same fate as Omaeda as they fell from the arena, resulting in a ring-out. The remaining fighter Hao, dumbfounded by the sequence of events, could only stare on with a stupefied expression as he was readily handled by the man displaying his martial prowess in the realm of Tai Chi. The first kick disoriented him and the second kick sent him flying out of the ring as well, falling in line with the other men, each handled within the span of a few moments. Perhaps if they had offered more in the realm of technique rather than sharing the belief that an all-out rush could've produced victory, they would still be standing here but as it stood now.

Three had exited the ring in emphatic fashion, a display that only caused Kenichi to grin from ear to ear as he stared down at the last man standing - Vanyel Xiaoyang. No doubt, this is the entertainment he desired, what he aimed to ignite the passions of the crowd and ignited they were- they cheered Vanyel's name as the thunderous applause within the entire arena grew ever louder. The announcer stared on in awe himself as he turned to Kenichi then turned his eyes back to Vanyel. He had to do his job and announce!

"Hao, Akeichi and Takeda have all been eliminated. Vanyel Xiaoyang is the last man standing. He has singlehandedly handled all three men. What a momentous event, ladies and gentlemen! Entertaining, truly! It seems the time for the man of the hour draws near. Rising dragon, our most esteemed.. it is time for you to grace the stage."

All three, defeated in moments. What did they expect, rushing someone in a martial arts tournament, without using their martial arts? Honestly, it was pretty disappointing. But, he couldn't deny the pride that he felt. He still had it, even after all these years, and he had reached the top. Yet, he knew that he wasn't done. There was still one more challenge left to face.

The MC himself, the man that the announcer had introduced as the Rising Dragon. Vanyel couldn't help but grin at the name. Twin dragons, perhaps destined to clash at the apex. But, only one of them would reign supreme within the skies. So, as Vanyel took a few paces back, the Dragon of Kyushu took a different stance this time. No tricks, no deception, no counters to start the match.

A simple, yet unassuming stance -- versatile, but also guarded to ensure his safety. Vanyel's small grin grew wider as he held his stance, lightly fidgeting and bouncing in place as he prepared himself for the final match. He was excited to see what this guy could do, to possibly test his limits and have an even greater fight than he had in this entire tournament.

Everything had been building up to this. Now, the moment had arrived.