It was a great joke among the few citizens who lived in the small town of Shady Trees that there weren't any shade or trees to speak of.
For the most part, you had to let the citizens have their little joke, since there wasn't any other good humour to find in the landscape. Shady Trees nestles in the middle of a few good square miles of barren gray fields. Of note was a small roadside bar, down by the highway. Also of note were its lack of customers: only three motorcycles propped themselves up against a lone fire hydrant.
Inside it wasn't much better: old wood floors, wood walls, a couple lamps to give it a good old dusty dark feeling, and a couple tables. The bartender himself wasn't much of a man to speak of either: short, scrawny, old and quiet.
The whole bar was quiet and that was the way K' liked it. Most of all, he liked its in-between nature: the bar was somewhere along a road going from somewhere to somewhere else and K' himself was in-between – not sure where he was going and not sure where he came from.
There was only the modest present: K' on the little creaky stool, sipping his creaky drink, watching the dust swirl. Quiet.
The door slammed open. "K', baby!" Shingo cried. "What's happening? We've been looking all over for you!"
K' flinched, then turned slowly to look at the newcomers. Unhappiness: Flanking Shingo was Kusanagi, the evil Kyo clone, and K9999.
"Don't think this means I won't kill you later on, K'!" K9999 snapped. "This is just a short truce!"
"Truce?" K' asked. "Shingo, what-?"
"Check it out, baby!" Shingo cried, slapping a brochure down on the bar. "The Maxmillion Tournament, happening in Basil Town, USA! Just a four-hour bus ride from here."
K' didn't pick up the brochure. He glanced from Kusanagi to K9999 to Shingo. "Yabuki," he said. "If you don't explain why you're talking to me, I'll-"
"Try anything, punk!" K9999 snapped. "We're ready for you!"
"Hold on," Shingo cried. "Listen, the sponsor of the tournament is Maxmillion Beauregard and he's putting up a prize money of twelve million dollars to the team who wins. The tournament has four to a team, so that's three million dollars each!"
"And you want me to join your team, is that it?"
"Yeah!"
"Why me?"
Shingo grinned, then leapt back and landed in the midst of the two others. "Because we'll be the Kyo Team!"
"You're actually putting together a team of Kyo Kusanagi impersonators, are you?"
"Impersonator!" K9999 snapped. "I'm not just a clone like you and that other one there, you know! I'm perfection! I'm what Kyo Kusanagi can only dream of being!"
"Yet he beats you in every tournament."
"Shut up!"
"And you, Kusanagi," K' said, turning his attention to the clone. "What interest do you have in this farce?"
Kusanagi stared at him for a moment, then began to full out laugh. His guttural laughter fell away into giggles, and then Kusanagi fell silent, just looking at K'.
"Uh huh," K' said. "Yabuki, you're out of your mind. Hell, why not get Kyo himself on your Kyo Team?"
"Man," Shingo said, stuffing his hands in his pockets and snorting. "I tried. Honestly, I did. But Kyo's already got the Japan Team back up and running. And I thought Benimaru and Daimon liked me more."
"Uh huh."
K' heard the motor of a powerful sports car roar up into the parking lot outside and he knew his quiet day was no more.
The door opened and all eyes in the bar were drawn to a strange sight in Shady Trees: two gorgeous women in business dresses just didn't happen very often.
"What are you doing here?" K' asked.
"Funny you should ask," Mature replied.
"We've been trying to track you four down all day," Vice said, pulling a chair out and sitting down.
"Thank God for spy satellites," Mature replied. "We're doing the registrations for the Maxmillion Tournament and Yabuki needs to sign up his team."
"Right on!" Shingo cried.
"Wait," K' said. "You guys are on the staff for the tournament? Now I'm really suspicious."
"Aw, baby," Vice mewled. "That's how we want you to be."
"But there's nothing actually there to be suspicious about, K'," Mature replied. "Think about it: We've been involved with clerical duties with a lot of the King of Fighters tournaments, right? So our resume appealed to Maxmillion Beauregard and here we are; registrars and judges."
"This place stinks," Vice said. "I mean, literally. It physically has a stench."
Mature produced a clipboard and a pen. "Yabuki, get your team down on this."
"Right," Shingo said and took it. He glanced at K'. "K', you in?"
K' thought a moment and reflected on how far away from civilization three million dollars could get him. The dark heart of Australia, maybe or Tibet. "I'm in," he said.
"Right on!" Shingo whooped.