The arena was a buzz with the excitement of a new tournament. People from all over Gaoling poured into the packed underground arena eager to watch their favorite Earthbenders provide them with a display of their mastery in the art of Earthbending. People had their favorites but they could not deny that the best benders in the tournament were The Boulder and the mysterious reigning champion. For some the tournament was a source of entertainment, for others it was a chance to see the best Earthbenders in the area, for Ranma it was an opportunity to see his sister being completely free, and for one little trio a chance to scout out the perfect Earthbending instructor.
Ranma watched as they came into the arena, two that were dressed in blue with dark hair and one in the uniform of Master Yu's academy. He could tell right away that the two in blue were a set of siblings from out of town most likely visiting Gaoling. Ranma's assumptions placed them as guests of the kid in the uniform being shown the tournament by a citizen of Gaoling. However, Ranma was only partially right in his guesstimates. The kid had indeed attended Master Yu's academy and the two in blue were visiting siblings. The rest was not as it appeared to him.
As the trio of kids entered into the arena, they sat down in one of the five empty rows closest to the Lai Tai table. Ranma let out a small chuckle at the obvious error the kids made. If the boy in the green uniform had been to a tournament before he would have known not to sit in the first five rows. Ranma figured the kids would understand why those particular rows were empty once the next match in the tournament began.
Aang could not believe his eyes. The arena was full of people crammed into row after row of seats. For some reason the first five rows were completely empty. It was a mystery as to why the first few rows were not occupied and the audience spread out more in the stands. Shrugging his shoulders, Aang led the others to the very first row in the stands.
“Hey look front row seats! I wonder why no one is sitting in them,” Aang was unaware of the dangers of the front row as he took his place in the stands.
The moment Aang, Katara, and Sokka sat down a large boulder flew straight at them. The kids jumped out of the way immediately realizing why no one sat in the first few rows. When the cloud of dust settled the three friends were covered in dust and debris.
“I guess that explains why,” Sokka began to brush off the dirt and stone from his shirt as the action on the Lai Tai table continued.
On the Lai Tai table stood two men. The one with his back to the kids raised his foot and slammed it down onto the table causing a large column of stone to lift the second man into the air. With a wave of his hand, the man caused the stone column to fall back sending the second man out of ring.
From his position, several rows up Ranma watched as the kid in the uniform and the boy in the sleeveless blue outfit watched the ring closely. The girl, on the other hand, appeared to be bored and looked around the arena in a disinterested manner. It was clear she did not care to be at the tournament.
“Definitely a group of first timers,” The trio in the first row amused Ranma greatly as he continued to watch them.
Ranma could tell the matches were about to begin as he saw the crowd around the kids turn their attention to Xin Fu the tournament announcer and organizer. Ranma was weary about the man and those he associated with but Toph had assured him she could handle herself around Xin.
“Welcome to Earth Rumble Six! I am your host Xin Fu!” the crowd erupted in a burst of loud cheers while Ranma for his part just sat and waited for the matches to begin.
Katara could not believe she was sitting at a tournament for Earthbending. To her it appeared all they would be doing was tossing rocks at each other, “This is just going to be guys throwing rocks at each other isn't it?”
Sokka did not care if his sister enjoyed the tournament or not. He paid to see big burly men throw rocks at each other and that was what he would hopefully get, “That's what I paid for.”
“The rules of the tournament are simple, just knock the other guy out and win,” with a quick stomp of his foot Xin Fu created a pillar of stone that lifted him up to the tower where the announcer would call each match.
The crowd grew excited as the first contestants took their positions on either side of the large circle in the middle of the Lai Tai table. They knew the matches were about to begin and everyone was optimistic for an exciting Rumble. On one side of the circle stood a bare-chested muscular man with elaborate markings on his back in green pants. Opposite the man on the other side of the circle stood a tubby overweight man dressed in green pants and a vest. The muscular man raised his arms in salute and grinned confidently to the crowd eliciting a loud cheer from the crowd.
Xin Fu played on the excitement of the crowd. It was his job after all to keep the crowd interested and excited in the matches, “Round one! The Boulder versus The Big Bad Hippo!”
The Big Bad Hippo opened his mouth revealing just why he had been given that name. In his mouth were four rather large teeth. The overweight man let out a loud yell directed at The Boulder. The Boulder looked none too impressed with the Big Bad Hippo's display of his vocal strength.
The Boulder slipped into an exaggerated display of gestures and over the top sayings designed to work up the crowd and get his fans cheering for him, “Listen up, Hippo. Now you may be big, but you ain't bad!” The Boulder began to grin insanely, “The Boulder's gonna win this,” the dramatic pause along with the pointing at the opponent had the crowd wrapped around his little finger, “in a landslide!”
The Big Bad Hippo played right into The Boulder's hand as he raised his hands high into the air, “Hippo mad!”
The Boulder stomped his foot down upon the ground hard causing a large boulder to appear out of the ground. Catching the boulder in his hand the muscular bender threw the stone at his opponent. The Big Bad Hippo caught the boulder in his mouth crushing it with his large massive teeth. The Hippo returned the attack with one of his own. Jumping up and down as hard as he could The Hippo began to shake the Lat Tai table causing The Boulder to topple backwards.
Xin Fu played up the drama of the scene from his tower, “This is unbelievable ladies and gentlemen! The Hippo is rocking The Boulder!”
The Hippo played right along with Xin Fu's commentary and began to pander to the crowd in the Arena trying to get them to cheer for him. Turning around, The Hippo faced the stands behind him and raised his arms once more. Not wanting to lose to the overweight bender The Boulder swept his hands upward causing a sheet of stone to rise up from the side of the Lai Tai table. Kicking at the stone sheet The Boulder sent it flying at The Hippo hitting him in the back. The Hippo, feeling the blow to his back, turned around and faced The Boulder ready to make his counter move.
The Hippo, however, never had the chance to make a move. The Boulder once more made a sweeping motion with his hands as he widened his stance. Straining with all his might, The Boulder caused a large pillar to rise up from the Lai Tai table lifting The Hippo several feet off the ground. Then, with one tremendous push of his body, The Boulder sent The Hippo flying off the Lai Tai table ensuring his victory.
“The Boulder Wins!” The Boulder raised his arms high into the air in victory as the crowd exploded in loud cheers.
Katara was now paying attention to the commotion on the Lai Tai table weighing the possibility of The Boulder teaching Aang Earthbending, “Aang, how about learning from The Boulder? He has some decent moves.”
Aang, however, knew The Boulder was not right for the part of an Earthbending instructor recalling Bumi's words, “I don't know Katara. Bumi said I needed to find a teacher who listens to the earth. That guy just listens to his massive muscles. What do you think Sokka?”
Aang's quest for input from the older male in the group turned up empty. Sokka had joined the throngs of Boulder fans screaming and cheering for the flamboyant Earthbender, “Ha, ha! Whooo!”
From his position in the stands, Ranma watched as two of the three kids studied every move The Boulder made. He could tell they were watching how The Boulder fought his match. He knew they had come to the Rumble for a specific purpose.
“I don't think The Boulder is what they're looking for. Maybe just maybe what they're looking for is Toph. I have a good feeling about those three,” silently Ranma hoped and prayed he was right and that Toph would finally have friends of her own.
Those thoughts were quickly pushed aside as the next contender was about to be announced.
(Posted Thu, 22 Mar 2007 02:59)
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