I.
"I can't even go to the store without you attacking me?" Kaori Shiranui shouted. She postured herself in a fighting stance, a signature stance used only by the females of the Shiranui clan. Kaori shook her auburn bangs out of her eyes and focused in on her attacker, Malin Sattori.
The day had begun simple enough. Kaori awoke, dressed, and let her mother know she was going to the store to pick up some food for breakfast. Kaori didn't expect for her self-appointed rival to intersect her on her journey and start a fight right in the street.
It had been that way for the past several months actually. From nowhere, Malin would erupt on the scene and start a huge fight with Kaori, pulling out all the stops. Kaori hadn't been beaten yet, but Malin seemed to be improving with every fight. Malin claimed that she was attacking her because of their clan rivalry.
Kaori didn't really understand how the rivalry even got started. She figured that Mai had taught the girl a lesson and so Malin decided to enact revenge on everyone with the last name of Shiranui. She wondered if Hokutomaru ever had this much trouble.
"Shiranui trash! I'm determined to take you out, Kaori. And today will be the day," Malin smiled evilly while she talked. In a quick move, Malin pulled out two automatic batons, crackling with electric energy, and without hesitation, dashed at Kaori.
Kaori immediately produced two fans, still folded, and successfully blocked Malin's strikes. The electricity produced sparks every time Kaori blocked, creating a light show of sorts with every strike. Kaori's graceful moves were more like a dance than fighting. There were plenty of spins and twirls in each block, making the fighting much easier and fluid from Kaori's end. But Malin's attacks were fast, sharp, and deadly jabs and strikes meant to hurt or worse.
Malin retracted her automatic batons and stepped into a high kick as a blade erupted from the front of her shoe. Kaori heard the snap of the blade as it popped out and dodged in time for the blade to barely miss her face. Catching an opening, Kaori made her first aggressive move.
"Ryu En Bu!" she shouted. The two dangling pieces from her belt, situated on both hips, burned with flames as Kaori twirled in the air towards Malin.
Malin dodged the first spin but the second and third spin caught her off guard. The force of the mystical flame attack knocked Malin back, but she regained her balance in mid-air, flipped, and landed on her feet. Kaori landed on the ground as well, as the flames of her maneuver dissipated with the wind.
"Why don't you stop this, Malin? I can't help that Mai beat you in last year's tournament. There's no reason for you to go after me. Besides, I thought we were friends."
It hurt Kaori to refer to their friendship as a thing of the past. Before last year's tournament, Kaori and Malin had been best friends, attending the same high school, enrolling in many of the same advanced classes, and even sparring together. However, since the tournament last year, when Mai soundly beat Malin, she carried around a grudge toward Mai which bled over to Kaori. Malin hated everything having the name Shiranui and wanted nothing more than to obliterate it from the face of the earth, beginning with Kaori.
"I'm not friends with my rivals."
Kaori felt slapped by Malin's response, but didn't show it. Though she valued their friendship, if Malin decided to categorize herself as Kaori's enemy, then so be it. Kaori decided that she wouldn't hold back. Maybe she would knock some sense into her to stop this madness.
"You're being overdramatic," Kaori flatly replied.
"And you're breathing my air."
"Malin, this is crazy. We don't have to do this."
Malin cynically laughed. "Mai Shiranui humiliated me at the tournament last year. I won't let any Shiranui best me again. Not at this tournament."
Kaori froze. Did Malin know that she was invited to the preliminary King of Fighters tournament? And more importantly, was Malin invited too?
As if she had read Kaori's mind, Malin continued. "I'll face you in this tournament and ensure that I gain a spot in the King of Fighters tournament. Then I'll show Mai what a real ninja can do."
"Real ninjas don't brag about their abilities, they show them!" Kaori leaped straight into the air. "Ka Cho Sen!" she shouted as three fans sailed soundlessly towards Malin. Malin performed three back handsprings, effectively dodging the sharp fans as they impaled themselves in the concrete. They then vanished into hundreds of specks of bright light as Kaori landed back on the ground.
"It's about time. Let's see what you've got!" Malin dashed forward and snatched a yo-yo from somewhere on her person. The children's toy quickly became a deadly weapon as blades snapped out from around the yo-yo. Malin swung it with deadly intent.
Kaori dropped to her stomach, holding herself up with her hands and feet, her body not touching the ground, as the yo-yo whistled over her. Malin quickly adjusted her continuous attack and brought the yo-yo in a downward arc, never breaking its momentum. Kaori rolled to the left, still balancing on her hands then did a walk over, the next swung of the yo-yo barely missing her. Malin grunted as she swung the yo-yo yet again, but Kaori quickly produced another fan and deflected the weapon, breaking Malin's rhythm.
In a swift maneuver, Malin hid the yo-yo back in its secret compartment and slapped the back of both her wrists. Three claws erupted from yet another secret compartment hidden underneath her long sleeved shirt.
Kaori wasn't surprised that Malin had something else up her sleeve. She was well-known for her use of weaponry, speed, and tactics. Kaori wouldn't categorize Malin as fighting dirty, but she definitely treaded a thin line.
The claws whistled though the air, missing Kaori by inches, not because Malin was not aiming for Kaori's face and body, but because Kaori's speed matched and even surpassed hers.
Malin swung once more at Kaori, who gracefully blocked the attack with one of her fans when she felt another presence. Actually, she felt four other people with strong fighting auras. And one of them was another Shiranui.
Malin leaped back as shuriken rained down in the spot where she was standing. Malin landed and looked toward the sky, where a figure sailed downward, landing in between Kaori and Malin.
"Hokutomaru Shiranui. I should have known you would make a dramatic appearance," Malin disgustedly stated.
The young man stood a few feet in front of Kaori, effectively shielding her from Malin, now poised several feet away. He wore a black t-shirt underneath a Shiranui-style, red and white uniform. A billowing crimson scarf was loosely draped around his neck and his dark brown hair waved in the breeze.
"What are you doing here?" Kaori whispered. She was grateful for her cousin's sudden appearance, but the fact that he was in full uniform alarmed her. He couldn't have possibly known that Malin was going to attack her, so he must have come for another reason.
Hokutomaru ignored the question and kept his focus on Malin. "This is no place for your foolish rivalry."
"Who do you think you are, Hokutomaru? You can't waltz in here and rescue dear Kaori from the wild card ninja. Besides, you're on my hit list too. Maybe it's convenient that you showed up. I can take you both on."
Hokutomaru showed no expression. "Leave, Malin."
His words were icy, leaving no room for discussion or argument. Though Malin's face flushed with anger, she rethought going through with her plan for right now. Not only was Kaori fighting better than expected, she now had two Shiranui ninjas to worry about. And Malin knew she was in no position to win against two of them. If only her partners were here, she could simply challenge them to a fight in the name of the tournament. Then she could confidently challenge the two ninjas, her two partners ready to back her up whenever she needed.
"Whatever. We'll face each other soon enough in the tournament. I just wanted to make sure you were up to the challenge, Kaori. And Hokutomaru, don't think you'll get off any easier. Once I beat Kaori, you're next."
Malin leaped vertically in the air and in a flash, she had vanished.
Kaori was relieved the fight was over. Though Hokutomaru had turned into a brooding, silent-type like Andy Bogard, he was reliable. He took his training seriously and his fighting prowess as a Shiranui ninja was unmatched.
"Hokutomaru, thanks for the help," Kaori brushed her bangs out of her face and threw her fans into the air, where at the apex, they burst into thousands of tiny lights that floated off and faded away.
Hokutomaru turned toward her, his expression more serious than usual. "Have you caught wind of the tournament?"
Kaori nodded. "I got an invitation this morning from a strange man. I don't know what this is about though. And I'm not sure that I want to enter, especially if Malin is in it."
He shook his head. "Mine was delivered by probably the same strange guy who reeked of unimaginable power. I think there may be trouble brewing somewhere behind the scenes of this tournament."
Kaori had heard of the underlying dramas that surrounded the tournaments. Most of the time, they were just a cover for some sinister plan to unfold. And this time seemed no different. Though now, it seemed whoever was behind this scheme wanted to entrap the families and friends of the most popular members of the King of Fighters tournaments.
"Maybe we should tell Mai and Andy. Andy can get Terry and Joe then they can—"
Hokutomaru frowned. "We have to take a stand on this, Kaori. And we're capable of handling this on our own. We were invited for a reason, so let's see this through to the end."
"I don't know if I'm ready," Kaori regretfully admitted. It was one thing to fight against Malin, but to enter a fighting tournament with powerful and dangerous opponents was a daunting commitment.
Kaori Shiranui had trained with Hokutomaru and Mai over the past few years, but she was always hesitant to explore her fighting prowess. Kaori knew she could fight from her random battles with Malin, but she hadn't been in any other fights with anyone but Hokutomaru. And she knew he went easy on her.
Hokutomaru placed his hand on her shoulder. "I know that you're ready. We've trained for situations like this for years. Now is our time to step to this challenge."
"You have to be my partner then," Kaori demanded.
He shook his head. "My partners have been chosen for me. I'm going to fight with Rock Howard and Jean D'Aubigne. I believe your partners have been chosen for you as well."
"I don't understand. What's going on?"
Hokutomaru regretfully replied, "I don't know myself. I'm sure Rock and Jean won't mind investigating though. And I want you to do the same with your team."
Kaori nodded in understanding, but she still felt numb and confused. She didn't know why suddenly she and Hokutomaru had been thrust in the middle of something that seemed way out of their control. On top of that, she was forced to team with people that she more than likely didn't know directly. How could they possibly defend themselves without having ever worked together as a team?
Though she had more questions, Kaori realized that she would have to find the answers alongside Hokutomaru and her new partners. She didn't like the situation, but it was her duty as a Shiranui ninja to ensure that any threat to anyone's everyday well-being was vanquished. And she was determined to test herself by fulfilling that mission.
"Okay, I'll enter the tournament. I'm a little scared though. I don't know if we'll be strong enough."
Hokutomaru smiled, an unusual sight. "Don't worry. You're much stronger than you give yourself credit for."
"Excuse me, are you two okay?" Shingo Yabuki ran toward them with a concerned expression, followed closely Sho Kusanagi. "We rushed over when we saw Malin attack you two. She's a dirty fighter."
Kaori smiled. "She's just a little misguided," Kaori blushed as she caught herself defending the girl that only moments ago wanted to seriously injure her and Hokutomaru. Deep inside, Kaori still held Malin as a close friend and hoped, maybe unrealistically, that she would come to her senses and stop her quest for revenge.
"Well, hi. I'm Shingo Yabuki and this is Sho Kusanagi. We're headed to look for his other two partners for the new tournament."
Sho elbowed Shingo sharply. "You really don't have to tell everyone we come across."
"What? You want to get out of the shadow of your brother, right? Well, you're not going to do that without a little P.R. And I'm just the man for the job!" Shingo thrust his fist in the air and grinned, hoping to elicit the same response from Sho, but he only glared at Shingo.
"Are you done making a scene?" Sho said.
A mother and her young daughter passed by and the girl asked, "Mommy, what's that man doing?"
The mother looked away nervously and ushered the girl on. "He's being strange. Now don't pay him any attention." The mother and daughter picked up their pace and didn't look back.
Shingo looked like he had been shattered into a thousand pieces.
Sho laughed heartily and Kaori followed suit. Hokutomaru gave a reserved chuckle.
After she finished her bout of laughter, Kaori smiled at the two and said, "This is my cousin Hokutomaru Shiranui and I'm Kaori Shiranui."
"Kaori Shiranui?" Sho said. "I've been looking for you. I got an invitation to the tournament and your name was in my letter. I think you're my first partner."
Hokutomaru gave Kaori a knowing glance but said nothing. He realized that she had been paired with the legendary Kusanagi clan, renowned for their control of the mystical crimson flame. Because their own flame was a variant of that same power, Hokutomaru wasn't surprised. Whoever had organized the tournament knew exactly what they were doing.
Kaori and Sho together had boundless potential and ability. But being younger than some of their other clan members made harder for them to master and control their birthright. With time though, they would surely become the next leaders of their respective clans. Even in this tournament, the two potentials had been paired together probably for the organizer to watch them closely. But Hokutomaru kept his speculations to himself. At least for now.
Instead, he said, "I'm in the tournament as well. So hopefully we'll be facing each other. I look forward to the match." He gave Kaori one last look to let her know that they would be in touch. He then kneeled and held his fingers in the air. With a swipe of his hand, fresh spring leaves floated though the air and Hokutomaru was no where to be seen.
"I've got to learn that move," Kaori smiled. She knew that Hokutomaru had her best interests in mind and that whatever was going on behind the scenes, he wouldn't let anything happen to her.
"Kyo's moves are better," Shingo crossed his arms and frowned, pride still damaged from the scene moments ago.
"So, we're partners, huh? I've watched your brother, Kyo, in some of the past tournaments. I'm sure you've got some pretty good moves of your own, don't you?" Kaori asked.
Sho blushed slightly and sheepishly replied, "Sure."
She could tell that he suffered from the same weight that she did—shouldering the responsibility of their family name while trying to step out of the shadows of some of the older clan members. For him, it was his brother, Kyo. For her, it was her cousins, Mai and Hokutomaru. Maybe this tournament was the chance for both of them to establish themselves as formidable forces without being constantly compared to their older counterparts.
"Well, you said I was your first partner. Who's the second?"
Sho fished the small piece of paper out of his pocket. "Mikado Asahara. He lives on Fallen Oak Drive."
"That's a few blocks from my house. I was on my way to the store to get some food for breakfast. I'm sure my mother won't mind the company."
Shingo grinned. "I was getting hungry. Let's grab breakfast at Kaori's, Sho."
Sho nodded in agreement. He was glad that he had found Kaori so easily, but something told him that their pairing was no accident. And on top of that, Hokutomaru Shiranui was also in the tournament. Which begged the question, just who else would they have to face once the fighting began? Though Sho felt slightly nervous, his soul began to burn in anticipation.
II.
The tournament announcement was as unexpected as an ice shower in the middle of summer. The information was made public over the morning news, much to everyone's surprise.
People rushed to tell their friends, co-workers, and peers about the tournament's announcement. The word quickly spread, the citizens of Southtown already making assumptions about the tournament, which inevitably led to rumors and exaggerations. Whether what they heard or not was true, people were quick to strike up a conversation or a debate about the new fighting tournament.
The one fact that made it so important for the people of Southtown was that the popular and beautiful reporter, Nadia Vanelli, announced that all of the locales for the fighting would be within the borders of the city. Basically, the people of Southtown had front row seats to this new fighting championship which was a prelude to the next King of Fighters tournament, one of the most anticipated events around the world.
Rock Howard watched the announcement as it came over the television in the gym lobby. The usually bustling area was silent as people kept their eyes glued to the television, hanging onto every word of Nadia Vanelli.
He closed his eyes, remembering what Terry had told him about the tournaments up to this point. The King of Fighters tournament began as an unhanded scheme led by his father, Geese Howard. Terry trained with Master Tung Foo Rue and honed his skills until he was ready to face the villain. Though Geese was strong, Terry, teamed up with his foster brother Andy Bogard, and Muay Thai kick boxer Joe Higashi, defeated Geese. However, their fight was not over.
Wolfgang Krauser then challenged the fighters. Now expanding their team to include Mai Shiranui, an unlikely heir to the Shiranui martial arts, they overcame this new challenge. Soon thereafter, Rock's father, Geese Howard, returned with a scar and a desire for revenge deeper than the physical gash across his chest. Once again, this team of fighters was able to battle their way through the other challengers and finally defeat Geese, once and for all.
Before they knew it, a new sponsor took hold of the tournament, expanding it worldwide. This brought in an assortment of characters, all with their own fighting styles, and reasons for entering. However, the annual tournaments soon became grounds for clandestine organizations and grandiose battles for the fate of the world.
From what Terry had told him in the past, Rock knew that something was amiss with the abrupt announcement of the tournament.
First, it was out of the annual cycle that the tournaments were usually held. It had been about a year and seven months since the last one. Secondly, invitations usually coincided with the announcement of the tournament, but he hadn't heard of anyone receiving one. Terry hadn't said anything and neither had Andy or Joe. Lastly, a sponsor hadn't been announced, which meant it was either being kept secret or the sponsor was keeping everyone in suspense for a surprise announcement to draw the masses in.
Whatever the situation, Rock didn't like it.
He turned to head out the door when he spotted an envelope on the ground.
An envelope? Rock questioned to himself. He glanced around at the other patrons, but no one seemed to have even noticed the vanilla-colored envelope sitting on the floor. There was no writing on the front, no indication of where it might have come from, nothing.
Rock picked it up, an uneasy feeling creeping over him. He didn't understand why though. It was just an envelope. Someone probably dropped it on their way in or out. Still, rock felt compelled to see what was inside. He flipped it over, tore it open and pulled out a tri-folded white sheet of paper. He opened it quickly and felt his heart begin to race.
Mr. Rock Howard,
You are cordially invited to participate in the first-ever Regal Tournament, a preliminary tournament for the 11th King of Fighters Tournament. We greatly appreciate your acceptance to attend this grand event set to begin in three days.
The rules will be the same as the King of Fighters Tournament. You will enter as a three-man team, participating in the single elimination tournament to ultimately face the sponsor of the tournament. Your team is eliminated from the tournament when all three of your team members are defeated in a single match.
The winner of this tournament will earn a guaranteed spot in the upcoming King of Fighters Tournament as well as a $10,000 grand prize.
Again, we look forward to your team's participation in this tournament.
Sincerely,
Mr. Shinjo Takabayashi
Rock immediately scanned the lobby, searching for anyone that seemed out of place. Someone that would have done the bidding of his employer, followed Rock to the gym, and surreptitiously left this invitation right in Rock's path. No one in the gym seemed to have such an air about them.
Slipping the invitation back in the envelope and putting it into his gym bag, Rock gave one last glance at the television before heading out into the street.
Rock readjusted his gym bag and shielded his eyes from the midday sun. He looked to the rooftops for someone watching him from above, the puppet master behind the invitation, but he spotted no one. Suddenly, there was a presence to his right.
Rick spun quickly and found Hokutomaru Shiranui striding toward him, as a long red cloak billowed behind him. It was unusual to see a Shiranui ninja in uniform unless there was something of monumental importance happening. And if Rock's suspicions held true, Hokutomaru wasn't here for a cordial visit.
"The messenger that left the invitation is long gone, Rock," Hokutomaru stated. He stopped walking and met Rock's gaze. "And I received an invitation as well, only mine had my partners included."
"We're together, aren't we?" Rock asked but already knew the answer.
Hokutomaru nodded. "Our third partner is Jean D'Aubigne. We should go to La Illusion. I understand that he works there during Summer Break with his older sister."
"King," Rock clarified. After Hokutomaru validated the connection with another nod, Rock asked, "What is this about?"
"I'm not sure. My cousin, Kaori, Sho Kusanagi, and Malin Sattori received an invitation as well. That is all I know at this point."
Rock ran his fingers through his sandy hair. "And I thought Summer Break was going to be boring. Let's go talk to Jean."
With that, they both climbed into Rock's car, a Nissan 350Z convertible, fire red, and zipped down the street. A figure stepped out of the shadows and watched as the car disappeared around a corner.
"Very interesting," a man stepped from the shadows with a mischievous smile on his face. "Let's the games begin."
Notes:
King of Fighters and all characters belong to SNK.
Darth Riven: Thanks for my first review for this story. As you see, Kaori is Mai and Hokutomaru's cousin.