Chapter 2: Tournament's Challenges

     Mai sat in the crowd as she waited for the guys. She brushed her hair away from her big brown eyes as a young man sat next to her. Mai looked at the youth, and saw he looked more like a boy than anything. "Hi, I'm Mai," she smiled.
     The boy looked up at Mai with brown eyes. "I'm Mikey," he said fixing his blue cap. "You fighting?" he asked.
     "Yeah, my boyfriend's signing up right now. You look a little young to be fighting here... no offence."
     "No problem. But I am old enough to be here."
     Mai looked at Mikey's clothes and noticed how baggy they were. "That looks like that'll be hard to fight in," she thought. "Oh well, I wish you the best," she chimed.
     Mikey smiled at Mai, making himself seem even younger. "Thanks a lot Mai. Same goes for you." Mikey stood and sighed as he looked around. He smirked slightly as he saw Joe, Andy and Terry walking towards him and Mai. "I'll see you around," he told Mai just before leaving. Mikey walked away and accidentally bumped into Terry. "Sorry," he smirked as he walked by.
     Terry nodded as he looked at Mikey. "He looks familiar," he thought.
     "So, who's up first?" Mai asked.
     Andy looked at a slip of paper. "Joe is," he answered. "Tomorrow at 8:00 a.m."
     "Well then, let's go and rest up," Mai said grabbing Andy's arm.

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     An hour later, Andy, Joe and Terry sat at a table by the pool of the hotel. Joe looked at the Bogard brothers and smirked. "One's brooding, and the other is trying not to notice his girlfriend," he thought. "Hey Terry, you've been out of it since before signing up. What's on your mind?"
     "Yeah Terry, you've been really quiet," Andy said trying to distract himself from Mai's swimming.
     Terry shook his head. "I was just thinking," he said.
     Joe raised an eyebrow and smirked. "Who was she?" he asked.
     "What?" Terry asked stunned.
     "Come on, what's her name? What'd she look like? Was she hot? Does she have a sister?"
     "Joe," Andy said quickly.
     "Ariana. Like a woman. Oh yeah. And I don't know," Terry answered lowly. He looked at both Joe and Andy and saw their next question. "When I was walking in the park earlier. I saw her and she looked like an old friend of mine, so I went to say hi."
     Joe and Andy looked at each other. "So, Terry, do you think you'll see her again?" Joe asked carefully.
     "I doubt it. She left pretty quickly," Terry answered lowly.
     "Do you like her?"
     "Joe," Andy said. "We don't need to know that. Terry's entitled to his privacy."
     Mai ran over to the table and sat next to Andy. "What are you boys talking about?" she asked lightly.
     "A girl Terry met," Joe answered.
     Terry sighed. "I'm going for a walk. I'll be back later," He said just before leaving.
     Everyone watched Terry as he walked away. Mai sighed as she took Andy's drink. "Maybe the tournament'll be good for him."

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     Terry sat in his locker room tying his shoelaces, when Andy walked into the room as well. "Hey Andy. You ready to go?" Terry asked.
     Andy smiled as he looked at his older brother. "Hey, so far we've been winning. The semi-finals shouldn't be too hard."
     Terry chuckled. "You sound like Joe," he said.
     Andy shrugged. "Maybe. But it's true."

*~*
     "And now, for our first semi-final match..." the announcer said over the PA system.
     Andy stood in the center of the ring a few feet away from Mikey. Both men stood waiting for the referee to call the fight. "Ready..." the referee called. "GO!"
     Both Andy and Mikey started to circle each other. Andy watched his small opponent carefully. "This kid looks good. His clothes will probably cripple him though," Andy thought. His eyes slightly narrowed as Mikey charged him. The younger Bogard planted his feet on the mat and covered his front from any blow.
    Just before Mikey was in striking distance, he jumped clear over Andy's head. As he started to land, Mikey kicked Andy in the back of his head.
     Andy stumbled forward and grabbed Mikey's shirt collar. Andy easily flipped Mikey over his shoulder. Just as Mikey landed on his back, he spun around onto his shoulders and up into a full handstand. At the same speed as Andy's "Hisyo Ken", Mikey quickly spun around. Andy blocked almost every kick Mikey threw at him. Just when Andy moved to one side, it seemed that Mikey was right there. Andy landed a solid combination to Mikey's chest and stomach. Mikey's eyes widened as Andy's elbow flew to his face at a barely visible speed.
     Mikey fell back and rolled almost out of the ring. Mikey got up, and his brown eyes glowed a sick crimson.
     Terry, Mai and Joe all stood in shock as Andy and Mikey ran at each other at the same incredible speed. Everyone in the arena covered their eyes as the ring lit up in a combination of yellow and red.
     Andy's eyes narrowed as he and Mikey fought blow for blow. He felt Mikey punch and kick him repeatedly before falling back onto his shoulders. Andy instantly sprang up into his "KuHa Dan" and aimed straight at Mikey.
     "Raywing!" Mikey called as he stepped to the side. As Andy sailed past him, Mikey slammed his fist into Andy's spine. As Andy's back arched from the blow, Mickey jumped up and axe-kicked Andy in his stomach.
     Once the aura around the ring cleared, Terry, Mai and Joe all stood stunned as Andy laid on his back unconscious.
     "The winner, Mikey Avire!" the PA system announced.
     The referee raised Mikey's hand, who instantly pulled it away. He knelt next to Andy and started trying to wake him up. "Hey, Bogard. Come on, I didn't hit you that hard," he said lowly.
     "Yes you did," Andy moaned. He opened his blue eyes and slightly smirked when he saw all of the cuts Mikey wore on his face. "Congratulations. Now you can go and fight my brother."
     Mikey smirked as he helped Andy slowly to his feet. "Thanks," he said as Terry, Mai and Joe ran over to them.
     Mai and Terry both helped Andy. "Andy, are you alright?" Mai asked quickly.
     "I'll be okay Mai," Andy grunted. "I think I have a couple of broken ribs."
     Mikey looked at Mai and Andy, and then smiled. "If you want, I'll pay the hospital bill," he offered.
     Joe looked at Mikey and his eyes widened slightly. "He looks familiar," he thought as Andy declined the offer.
     "Well, if you say so," Mikey sighed. "See you in an hour Bogard-san," he smiled looking at Terry.
     Terry's eyes widened as Mikey winked at him. "Ariana?" he thought as Mikey bowed to Mai and walked off.