***Secret Temple, Odaesan Mountains, South Korea***
A shockwave trembled the heavens and earth as thunder and lighting paired
together to strike at the Odaesan Mountains of Korea. Sheets of untainted
rain hammered down onto the temple rooftops creating thick saucers of
collected water throughout the sacred grounds. The dark grays of looming
thunderclouds did little to disway the vibrant colors of the temple,
washing over its vitality with a dull, blurred coat of nature. Kim Kaphwan
stood at the center of the temple courtyard, unshielded from the onslaught
of rainfall. His bright white and blue sleeveless jacket clung tightly to
his taught body, almost as if trying to absorb the warmth he radiated. The
drenched uniform would hinder most fighters, adding too much weight to
effectively allow quick striking and blocking. Like many who had been
invited to the King of Fighters gathering, Kim Kaphwan was unlike any normal
fighter.
A rusty creak cried out through the temple, as the double-doorway gave way
to a gently push. Kim refocused his eyes, sharpening them through the
mistlike camouflage of rain. A distortion of dark blue, black, and flesh
emerged from the open gateway, slowly making its way towards Kim. With
every closing step, details of the figure fell into place. First the outline
and shade of jacket and pants, dark blue, baggy, soaked through entirely.
The man didn't shiver from the blanket of cold which wrapped itself around
him, as his short wild hair clung to his forehead, hovering above furious,
arched eyebrows. Fei Long's hardened, emotionless face gave way to a small
smirk as he stood several feet away from Kim.
"Nice weather you have here in Korea," smiled Fei as he shook some of the
moisture from his black locks of hair.
"Well, we enjoy the touch of nature here," replied Kim. "Secluded from man's
aggressions so we can perfect our arts. Justice shall always prevail here."
"Well we shall see if 'Justice' prevails today, Kim," said Fei Long. In a
smooth, liquid motion the Hong Kong martial artist undid his rain-soaked
jacket and tossed aside, revealing a slick sheen of wetness which clung to
his skin. An incredible musculature rippled and tightened as Fei tensed and
relaxed his form, cycling through the positive and negative energies which
fluxed through his body.
Kim crouched down slightly, arms cocked and angled in a tense lock. A swirl
of energy disturbed the rainfall around him, swathing his body in a small
vortex of moisture and spirit. Relaxing his stance, Kaphwan stood ready in
front of his opponent, a fizzle of energy still shimmering around his tall
frame. He flashed a tight smile to Fei, who responded in kind with a slow
nod.
Fei decided to open the match, thrusting forth his fist in a hazed lunge
punch. The Rekkaken glanced off of Kim's blocking arm, the slick sheen of
rainwater deflecting away the brunt of the attack. The fiery martial artist
swiftly followed the strike with another Rekkaken, smoothly flowing into a
blurred body blow, only to have it parried away by the Taekwondo master.
Kim retaliated with a swift, low shin kick, smashing into Fei's firmly
planted right leg. Dropping down into a low crouch, Kaphwan rotated on his
planted foot and lashed out with a side snap kick, connecting once more with
Long's forward shinbone. In a fluid burst of energy, the white and blue clad
Taekwondo fighter vaulted towards the rummbling sky, lashing out with a
powerful flip kick. The powerful blow connected with a loud crack against Fei
Long's jaw, sending the proud warrior splashing into a pool of rain water.
Training and inertia pushed Long into a smooth roll and he quickly regained
his footing, ready to launch another attack.
Kim barely replanted his footing as the fiery martial artist dashed in after
him. Swift, piercing knifehands and bodyblows launched themselves at Kaphwan,
each gauging and testing the Korean's defenses. A volley of slicing blows
threw Kim off balance and Fei saw his opening. Long's hips swiveled in a
powerful turn, thrusting up his torso into a mighty uppercut, connecting with
Kim's jawbone. Retracting his fist, he pushed off from his stance, lunging
into the beginning of his Rekka Ken combination. Kaphwan's body shuddered and
snapped back as each thunderous blow connected, the final backfist sending
the Korean flying onto his back.
Pushing the advantage, Long vaulted himself high into the air. Gravity
rocketed Fei back towards the hardened temple floor, speeding towards his
downed adversary foot first. Kim blinked back his composure and rolled onto
his right side as Fei Long's assault crashed into the temple floor. A shell
of air tore past his arm, the swift strike ripping past his prone body.
The Flying Dragon drew back his leg then twisted into a low shin kick,
letting the blow home in onto Kim's exposed backside.
In a horizontal spin, Kim pushed his torso off of the ground, bringing his
arms to capture the incoming attack. Kaphwan crossed his arms in front of
him as the kick smashed into his body. Before Fei could bring his leg back,
Kim reached out and clenched firmly down around his opponent's ankle,
locking it with a vice-like grip.
"What!?" shouted Fei Long with a look of utter shock on his face. Kim
smirked briefly before he yanked visciously down on Fei's leg, throwing the
Hong Kong fighter off balance. Rolling along his backside in an upwards spin,
Kim burst forth with a powerful thrust kick, catching Fei Long square in the
gut. Long skidded several feet back, splashing a small wake through the cold,
thin puddles.
Fei Long pulled himself out of the puddled water, tasting the sharp tang of
blood in his mouth and on his lip. He wiped the trickle of crimson from his
chin, feeling a small sting as he brushed past the cut.
Kim flipped his powerful body back into his ready stance, shifting slightly
as he eyed his opponent as the shivering rains fell upon the battleground.
Their breath fogged into vaporous clouds as they looked over at each other,
summing up potential strengths and weaknesses the other might have.
Fei began to advance, his ever-changing stance slicing through the watery
footing which lay between the two fighters. His hands were open, fingers
outstretched and relaxed, yet ready to transform themselves into striking
spears of flesh and bone at a moments notice. Kim raised his loose fists in
front of him, his still body awaiting the moment to counterstrike whatever
Long planned to unleash.
The rain continued to beat down upon the pair.
Like a snake striking at its prey, Fei Long dashed forth with near inhuman
speed. His fist spread into a long knifehand strike, slicing towards
Kaphwan's solar plexus. With years of training logged into his fighting mind,
Kim advanced and parried away the strike. It deflected away easily as Kim
brought up his guarding arm to sway the blow. The Taekwondo master saw soon
after why.
Long spun immediately into a close elbow smash, slipping up from beneath
Kaphwan's close guard. The strength Kim had put into the initial block left
him unprepared for the attack which followed the feignt. The elbow knocked
some wind out of Kim, causing a brief, wheezing exhale. Long pushed the
offense, throwing a combination of knifehands into straight punches. His
blows were compact and efficient, making it hard for Kim to counterattack
between his blocks and guards.
Fei Long stabbed low with a crouching double palm strike aiming for Kim's
gut. Kaphwan deftly avoided the blow, sidestepping in time to dodge the
powerful double palm. Responding in kind, Kim ducked low and spun into a low
sweep, hoping to push his adversary back and buy some time. The Kung-fu
master hopped up over Kim's long arc and came crashing back down with an
overhead heel kick. Fei's ankle smashed down into his opponent's right
shoulder, causing Kaphwan to grimace in pain.
Long did a short hop towards Kim, thrusting out with a strong forward kick.
Kim rolled away from Lei, his left hand cradling against his heavily bruised
shoulder as he avoided the blow. Kaphwan winced in pain as he crouched down
before Long. Heavy beads of water streamed down his face, his eyes squinting
slightly in order to focus through the intense downpour. Fei Long began to
advance once more.
"Give up Kaphwan," sneered Fei Long, his thin, blade-like hands dancing in
front of him as he slowly paced towards Kim. "You don't need to do this to
yourself, I'll gladly except your resignation of this battle." Kim winced
once more and glanced down at his shoulder. It had begun to tint purple and
red, swelling slightly as he clenched his fists. Fei shook his head, thick
droplets of water shimmering off of his wild mane of black hair, and leapt
high into the air towards Kim.
Kim glanced up, unmoving as Fei blurred into the falling rain. Hazy, misty,
more of an apparition than his adversary. He waited, paused and prone as
Long dove down towards him. Details filled once more and Kaphwan could see
Fei falling into a double stop. Motion and time seemed to grind to a slow
halt as adrenaline and desire and fighting passion flooded the courtyard
battlefield.
'Just a little longer...' thought Kim. Fei Long's attack was akin to a human
missile. Or in this case, a human bomb. Falling, totally focused on his
target, his mind on his emminent victory. A smirk graced his lips, blood
trickling down his chin. Kim's eyes locked with his opponent's. His mouth
curled into a smile.
Kaphwan leapt back from his crouching position as Fei Long crashed down in
front of him. His footing planted firmly onto the stone courtyard floor, the
muscles in his body straining against its inertia. Fei mouth opened with
surprise, fiery, angry eyes flying up towards Kim as his body flexed
against the impact of his attack. Kim's eyes gleamed with victory as they
gazed into Fei's furious and confused growl. The Taekwondo master flew forth,
his spiritual energies exploding in release from his body.
Kaphwan went into a furious barrage of attacks, each blow connecting square
with Fei Long's stuttering body. Kim flowed from shin kick to axe kick,
thrusting stab kick to reverse crescent, blasting into his opponent with all
of his energies. The Taekwondo fighter lashed out with a swift body blow into
a close knee before finishing his ground combination with a vaulting flip
kick, catching Long under his jaw and knocking him into unconsciousness.
Long landed onto his backside, a shuddering splash echoing through the sacred
grounds. Kim landed shortly after, gliding into a small pool of water with
hardly a ripple. He grinned at his victory and at his fiery opponent.
"Justice..." whispered Kim, his eyes pausing on Fei Long before focusing on
the double doorways to the temple. The unrelenting downpour slowed to a light
drizzle, the rage of the storm depleted and
spent as it moved onwards towards the Odaesan Mountains.
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