Yuki's Sequel, Part 1 - Mari
By Otaku-chan (aniko@otakumail.com)
Written: 10/20/2001
Official Message Board - http://pub101.ezboard.com/brpgotaku
DISCLAIMER: King of Fighters and all related things do not belong to me. They never have, never will, unless by some stroke of luck I become the head of SNK/Eolith. Which is as likely as the possibility of me getting rich off these fanfics. 'Nuff said about that. The King of Fighters series is property of SNK Asia/Eolith, and has no connections whatsoever to me. However, this piece of fanfiction does belong to me, and if you'd like to use it on your site, PLEASE request written permission first. I'd hate to set Orochi on you. Publications are expressly forbidden from using this material, but first off, why would they want to?
NOTE: Alright, first off, this has been in my head for over a month now, three, to be exact. The background story for this fic revolves entirely around the God Caliber Team's ending (in KoF '97). Yuki dies, tells Kyo she'll be waiting for him. And I started thinking. What if reincarnation exists and Yuki's body returned, but with a different spirit in it? Also, all the members of the KoF cast have NEVER had a predicament with love (besides Andy, but we know he loves Mai, ne?), so what if one suddenly happened? And then there's the fact that I just watched Fatal Fury 2. And half-swooned over Terry's voice. And the rest of the story... you're welcome to read it now. ^_^;;
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Prologue – There's Nothing to Be Afraid Of
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She blinked, her head dazed. All she knew was that she was in an alleyway of some sort, and several men were crowding around her. She caught a glimpse of their yellowed teeth in a flash of light from a nearby street lamp and crawled back, scared. For some reason, though, a part of her mind was telling her to fight. She didn't know how to fight, though. She didn't even remember her own name.
And then, her body just stood up and ran towards one of them. The men, startled by the sudden movement, broke up. The one she ran at had a knife, its blade glinting in the soft light, most of it hidden in shadows. He slashed at her as she ran, but her body somehow knew what to do as she sidestepped it and let loose with a low punch that quickly turned into an uppercut. The other men - there were seven of them in total, counting the one whom she had just punched in the groin and chin - snarled in a low voice and began to gather around her again.
"Damn bitch. You'll pay for that." The speaker rushed towards her, head lowered as if to headbutt her. As she dodged his rushing attack, she felt a slight pain coming from her left arm. The man had managed to slice through her sleeve with his small pocketknife and into her flesh. Blood welled out as she watched with sickly fascination.
A roar drew her attention back to the men who were harassing her and she barely managed to jump over another one, leapfrog style, before he could grapple her. Thrusting with her legs, she leaped off his back, pushing him into the brick wall with the force of her thrust, and landed on the head of another one. She had a slight build, and wasn't very heavy, but the second man groaned and collapsed to the ground, unconscious.
The remaining four men hurriedly dismissed the girl's quick disposal of their comrades as beginner's luck. One of them started to reach into the interior of his jacket before being stilled by another who seemed to be the leader - the one who had slashed at her arm. "We came here to have a little fun. You ain't gonna ruin that now, are you? Lookit her. If we get her under control, we're gonna have one hell of a good time."
"B-but boss...!"
"Shuddup. It's four to one. We can beat her easy," muttered the boss and he slowly approached her. The girl backed away until she was nearly up against the wall, her progress hindered by a trash can. Jumping backwards, she pushed with her hands against the wall and did a triangle jump, landing behind the leader. With his back unguarded, she did a low roundhouse kick, aiming at his ankles and sweeping him to the ground. With a grunt, the leader got back up and began walking menacingly towards the girl while she was dealing with the other three goons.
Jumping midway into the air, she managed to plant a kick at one of the men's forehead, and punched another one in the stomach as she landed. The third one, the man who had reached into his jacket, began punching wildly. She found that she was able to counter the punches easily, blocking and countering. As the girl knocked the man away, she dusted her hands off and began to walk off. The leader's hand thrust out and clenched her arm tightly, to the point where he might've been cutting off her circulation.
At that point, Terry Bogard decided it was time to intervene. The other three men who had recently been defeated were getting up, anyway. He summoned his chi and punched the ground with his right fist, channeling the fighting energy into the ground and sending a wave of orange-colored power at the leader. "Power WAVE!"
"Huh? Whuzzat?" muttered the leader, noticing the attack too late. He was engulfed by it when the girl managed to twist a bit to the side, and as he flew back, knocked by the force of the attack, she wrenched her arm away and found her benefactor dispatching the other three with a single "Burn Knuckle" and a "Rising Tackle".
Marveling at his power, the girl noticed his arrogance as he waved a finger, scolding, "This is what makes a legend!". She found it mattered little to her as he walked out. Immediately, she followed.
"Su-sumimasen."
"Eh? Oh, it's you. What are you doing?" He spoke perfect Japanese, only a slight American accent gave away his origins. That, and his looks, she noticed, as he took off his red and white cap, emblazoned with a "Fatal Fury" logo on the white patch in front. Dusting off his knees with it, he stuffed it in the back pocket of his faded blue jeans. He also wore a sleeveless tank top and a red vest over that. His waist-long blond hair was drawn into a ponytail, and his blue eyes sparkled with the excitement of having fought a successful battle.
"C-could you teach me? I mean, back there, you saved me using only a few moves..." She trailed off, unable to recall their names in her excitement and nervousness.
"Hn. Those goons? They weren't up to fighter standard anyway. And I'm sure you could've handled them yourself quite well. You were doing quite well, knocking 'em away with a basic move."
She blushed at the thought of being called a good fighter by this man. Modesty wouldn't allow her to accept the compliment - it was untrue, so she replied, "No, I'm not good at all. That was the first time I have ever fought in my life. So I want you to teach me, be my sensei until I can be almost as good as you."
Terry blinked in astonishment. "That was the first time you've ever fought? Well, you're a real natural. Tell you what, I'll accept your request - I'll teach you."
"Really?"
"Yeah." The girl smiled, reminding him remotely of someone. What was her name again... Yuku? Yuuko? Aa, Yuki, Kyo's girlfriend. Of course, she had died in the fight against Orochi, so this couldn't be her. "I'm Terry Bogard. What's your name, anyway?"
"I-I..." she stammered. What could she say? She couldn't remember anything, much less her own name. "I don't know."
Terry contemplated this predicament, scratching his head. "Ah, heck, we'll call you Mari for now, how about it?" She nodded enthusiastically and began to follow him once more as he returned towards the hotel he was staying in. He began to ask her to go home, but figured she probably couldn't remember where she lived anyway.
***
"Go take a bath first, and then I'll help you bandage up that scratch," he ordered as they returned to his room. Mari complied, locking the bathroom door. Hearing the sound of running water, he relaxed a minute and then went to open the couch-bed, still wondering how he had gotten into this predicament so suddenly after his landing in Japan.
20 minutes later, Mari stepped out, dressed in nothing but a towel. Sighing, Terry covered his eyes and tossed Mari some spare clothes that would hang on her, but at least keep her decent. Had she forgotten decency as well as her memory? Another minute passed as Terry reclined in an armchair, closing his eyes and thinking of Blue Mary, a fellow fighter for justice whom he had an interest in. She'd be coming to Japan in a few days as well. Perhaps, between the two of them, they could help Mari regain her memory.
***
Mari looked at herself in the full-length mirror while changing. The steam from her shower had fogged it, but she wiped it away and looked at her body. She was small, not petite, but small. Her red hair, partially matted down due to the steam, was cut short, to her chin. Her lips, though not thin, weren't full, either. And her partially-wide eyes had a yearning look to them.
She blushed and began to dress. Why was she studying herself like this anyways? Hurriedly slipping on the loose T-shirt (It could've very well been a nightgown on her) and blue shorts, she brushed her hair out with a comb and bounced out of the room.
***
"Teri-san?" He smiled slightly at her Japanese modification of his name and pushed her down into the armchair next to him, rolling up her left sleeve as he did so. The gash was still flowing, to her dismay. Taking some gauze, he wrapped it tightly around her arm. "There, that should do it." She thanked him rather enthusiastically, hugging him before bounding off to the couch-bed to sleep. Her gentle snores soon pierced the air and he went to change and shower.
Within a few days, Blue Mary would come... he thought to himself as he scrubbed off a bit of blood that had leaked from Mari's arm onto his leg. Of course, what he didn't know was that with Blue Mary's arrival would come a whole lot of trouble...
*~*owari (for now...)*~*
Otaku-chan ni Omakase: Maa, anyone notice how Mari is the Japanese version of Mary? And how her looks are kind of like that of Blue Mary's? Coincidence that Terry gave her that name?... or not? I'll let you decide. About Mari's scene where she comes out from the shower dressed in only a towel... ^_^;; No, I TRY not to have any hentai references in my fanfics. Yes, I'm 14, so I can handle it. But I'm not used to it. But wasn't it cute anyways? For three lines only? I thought so. ^.^ Stay tuned for the "trouble" known as "jealousy" and "indecent thoughts" in the next chapter! ::starts laughing hysterically because she had too much Coke again::
"Hakaru mono ka." - Orochi, King of Fighters '97
(It's such a short-lived life.)