Part 7     Part 6 - Part 8

Ling's match was a piece of cake for her. A little Art of Phoenix here, some Storming Flower there, maybe a Mistrust or two (of course, followed by some juggle combos), and Forest was down. Kechara noticed that Ling had decided to wear her school uniform and tried to flash a bit of what she wasn't supposed to at Forest. And he looked.

Pervert, Kechara thought.

The thing that made it worse was he wasn't really trying to fight; he seemed more interested in catching a glimpse of her blue underwear.

Ugh.

Kechara felt Griffin squeeze her hand as Ling caught Law in a throw and slammed him to the ground. As Griffin edged nearer to her and her heart, she worried about Jin. She couldn't help but love them both; Griffin with his energy and good will, and Jin with his sincerity and power. Jin was much more in the romantic side but Griffin was more fun-loving. Kechara sighed.

Griffin looked over at her and smiled. She returned the expression, then abandoned her thoughts to watch Ling beat the crap out of Forest.

The battle actually didn't end up with many injuries on either side; Forest just declared "Enough!" and Ling was announced the winner. She giggled happily, then followed Law out of the ring. Kechara shook her head as they disappeared around the corner, Forest goosing her and Ling slapping him playfully.

"That guy's sick," Griffin remarked disdainfully.

Kechara laughed and led him out of the arena.

"What are you doing next match?" Griffin asked her as they walked.

"Well, I'd love to see Eddy's Capoeira in action but since my match is after that, Im gonna go down to the beach and exercise and stuff. I've got to be loose to fight or I'll embarass myself," she explained.

"Tchah, I doubt you could do that," he replied. "Do you mind if I come with you?"

She rolled her eyes. "I just can't get rid of you, can I?" she sighed. When a hurt expression passed his face, she quickly added, "Dude, I was just kidding. I don't care if you come. Don't you hurt from your fight though?"

He grimaced. "Hell, yeah, but it doesn't matter. I'll live."

Kechara laughed. She now suspected Griffin was crushing on her, and that made her happy.

She looked around for a clock and found one on the arena wall. "Okay, it's about 3:30 now and my match is at 5:00. I'm gonna go work for 45 minutes then I'll shower and get dressed and stuff. Good with you?"

"Ooo, you get to fight at sunset," he mused, arching an eyebrow. "Okay, maybe not quite, but if you stretch it out long enough, we get to see your pretty hair turn gold." He sighed dreamily, teasing.

She shoved him playfully. "You're so strange!" she giggled. "Race ya!" She took off towards the beach.

"Hey, no fair!" he cried, and ran after her.
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Griffin eventually caught up to her, and surprised her by picking her up and carrying her the rest of the way to the beach. He purposely scared her twice by pretending to drop her, and she vowed to challenge him to a match when the Tournament ended.

The afternoon sun was pleasantly warm and Kechara broke into a sweat as she then layed a short game of tag with Griffin. After they were done running, Kechara sat on the sand for a moment. She then got up and started stretching. Griffin mimicked her and even gave her a few tips and different ways to warm up, even though he was hurting from his battle with Julia.

After Kechara felt totally loose, she dashed into the lapping waves of the ocean and just floated for about a minute, relaxed with the sun's bright rays upon her face.

Suddenly, Griffin grabbed her foot. She screeched and chased him out of the water, laughing.

"Hey, it's 10 after 4!" Griffin called.

"How do you know?" Kechara said from the water. He flashed a watch at her.

She sighed and reluctantly went ashore. She put her clothes on (since she had planned this, she had worn her swimsuit under her clothes) and started back into the island.

She and Griffin got a few odd looks as they passed people on the way to their rooms. There weren't many though; Kechara guessed the Eddy Gordo/Kuma match was still underway. She was happy she wasn't facing the bear the first match.

They reached Room 17, and then Griffin asked if he could come in. Kechara remendered Kunimitsu and said, "Here, wait. Stay right here." She slipped through a crack in the doorway and found Kuni drinking a Pepsi on the couch.

Kechara shut the door. "Kuni, do you think you could hide in my bedroom? I have somebody wanting to come in," she pleaded.

Kunimitsu nodded, understanding. She carried her Pepsi, mask, and both weapons down the hall and turned. Kechara listened for the door to shut and then let Griffin in.

"I'm going to go take my shower," Kechara said. "Don't destroy anything." Griffin giggled. "Here, go ahead and check out the Playstation." She silently thanked Jin for the black box, which was the best way to handle guests.

Griffin eagerly took the controller and Kechara left him. She took a 10 minute shower the blow-dried her hair (even though it would just get messed up anyways). She threw on her first fighting outfit: an orange tank top and baggy nylon dark blue with a blue camoflauge-stripe-down-the-side pants.

She stood in front of the full length bathroom mirror and struck a fighting pose. Satisfied with how she looked, she walked out into the living room with the PS2-playing Griffin.

He paused his game of Gran Turismo and looked at Kechara. "Whoa, a bit bright, aren't we?" he said, shielding his eyes.

"Oh, shush." She stuck her foot on the wall and touched her forehead to her knee, doing a final stretch before she left. "Come on, it's time to go," she said to Griffin, slipping on a pair of blue and orange sandals.

He reluctantly turned the PS2 off and followed Kechara out the door.

She was just about to close and lock the door when she remembered Kuni. "Oops, forgot something," she said and went back in. She quietly told the cat ninja that it was okay to come out and then left. Kuni still happily raided her candy box.
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Kechara's match was still 10 minutes away and she took the opportunity to calm herself down and loosen the few tight muscles left after her workout. Griffin gave her a hug and wished her luck, promising to cheer her on, then left into the crowd of spectators
already gathered.

Kechara stood behind the small entranceway that had been constructed and continued to calm herself. She glanced out of a small hole into the crowd, looking for people she knew. Griffin had, of course, shoved to the front of the group, and would cheer her on from ring-side. Ling and Forest sat on a grassy knoll above the front crowd where they could see all the action. There was that Allison girl, Anna Williams, Julia Chang (who looked very mean), King, and Jin Kazama looking very serious in a patch of grass that was equivalent to the V.I.P. box. She was just about to peep out and wave when she felt someone come up behind her.

Kechara whirled around to meet the hawk-like face of Hwoarang. He wore his white gi and famous smirk. "Ready?" he whispered.

She glared at him then walked away as he laughed.

Less than 5 minutes left. Kechara's stomach was turning. She spent the 5 minutes taking deep breaths and stretching her hands and fingers.

She felt a bit less than ready when the announcer blared, "Round 1, Fight 6," and then called her name.