Disclamer Time!
Shikkoku: I do not own The King of Fighters or it's various assortments of weirdoes. If I did, I would make it my business that Athena Asamiya never sings on any form of media again.
Athena: HEY!
Shikkoku: Oh, hush. I like you, I just don't like those glass-shattering atrocities you call songs. (Ducks a Psycho Ball.)
Athena: I don't need you! I got plenty of fans who appreciate my music! (Stomps off.)
Shikkoku: (Sighs) Whatever. Enjoy the story.
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Kurai Tenshi: Keppaku
By Shikkoku Kiyoshi
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Malin and Epsilon entered the house, both soaked to the bone with rain.
"I'm sorry I got you wet." Malin said, removing her wet shoes.
"AIt's okay," Epsilon said, throwing his jacket on the floor. "When you're like me, you get used to working in all sorts of crappy weather."
Looking around the house, he noticed that there was no one else there. "Where are your parents?"
"They're gone on a little trip." Malin smiled. "They're gone most of the time." She took a picture of them out of her wallet. The father was a tall man, blond hair tied to a ponytail like her. He wore black clothing and had an huge grin on his face. Her mother was a black-haired woman who wore a warm smile and was flashing a 'V' sign at the camera. Epsilon sighed. They were just like his own parents.
Malin noticed the look in his eyes. "Why don't you go to the bathroom and dry off?"
Epsilon nodded and went up the stairs to her bathroom. He walked in expecting pink crap all over the walls and candles and designer soaps. Luckily, he only found white tiles and normal soaps. Removing his shirt, he noted that the bullet had hit an already bandaged area, which cut the blood flow. Epsilon redressed his wounds with bandages, even thought they were starting to heal nicely. He wrapped them in a way that they wouldn't peek through clothing.
"Yo." Malin called from the other side. "Do you think you could give me your shirt, so I can wash it?"
"Sure."
Malin opened the door just in time to see Epsilon throwing his old bloody bandages away. Most of his upper body was covered with bandages, but she could see some skin. His work gained him a slight outlining of muscles. He didn't exactly have a movie star physique, but she was liking what she saw.
Malin wanted to slap herself. What in the heck was doing peeping on some guy in the bathroom? She sure wouldn't like it if Eli was trying to check her out without her notice. Or would she…
"Is that bullet still in your arm?" She asked in a desperate attempt to change the subject before her nose started bleeding. Epsilon nodded. "Then come to my room, and I'll take it out for you."
Epsilon hesitated, but Malin had already yanked him out of the bathroom and Epsilon found himself in her bedroom, on her bed, watching Malin get her supplies ready. She walked out with some alcohol. She dabbed it on his wound, and Epsilon seethed.
"Don't worry, you won't feel a thing..." She took out a switchblade. "Until I shove this into your shoulder."
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Five excruciatingly painful minutes later, Malin took the bullet out. Epsilon lay there, staring at the floor, while his wound was being wrapped up.
"How did you find a person like me?" Epsilon asked.
"I heard the news talk about a shooting. When I saw you at the mall, I put two and two together and figured it out. Wasn't really that hard."
Eli laughed. "I know that it was a bit too obvious, but I there was this new game at the arcade…"
"You risked your life so you could play a video game?" Malin frowned. "Some assassin you are."
"What do you expect? I'm only seventeen years old." Eli rolled on his back.
Malin nearly fell off of the bed. "YOU'RE ONLY SEVENTEEN?!?! What kinda parents would let their kids do that?!"
"The kind of parents that have an assassin background themselves." Eli stated coldly. "Besides, even if they did have objections, it wouldn't matter, because my father and mother are DEAD."
Malin swallowed nervously. She had pissed Eli off thanks to her big mouth. "Sorry…"
Eli sighed. "It's alright. I just don't like talking about it."
Malin gave a relieved smile and rummaged through her closet for a second before pulling out a sleeping bag.
"Since you're hurt, you can sleep on the bed while I sleep in this flimsy bag." she grinned.
Epsilon fell asleep as soon as his head hit the pillow. Malin laid back and stared at the ceiling till sleep claimed her as well.
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The smell of a fresh breakfast woke Epsilon out of his sleep. He was sore enough that it took a couple of minutes for him to get out of the bed. After dragging himself to the bathroom, he stripped off all his bandages. Though the bleeding had mostly stopped, the wounds were still fresh, and he was still sore. Still, he felt better than two days ago, when he had to remove the bullet himself.
"The things I do..." Epsilon shook his head while reaching for fresh bandages. He wrapped them around his upper body. As soon as he was done, he went downstairs.
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Malin didn't hear Epsilon come down the stairs. As she made him breakfast, the assassin sat down and decided to get a good look at her. She was still wearing the same stuff she wore the last time. Did she ever take them off, or are there multiple versions of the same one? Malin stretched and looked at him.
"Good morning, Epsilon." she said with a sunny tone. "I fixed you some stuff to eat."
The assassin looked at the food she placed in front a him. It looked edible enough. He gulped it down without hesitation. Malin blinked. "You're pretty hungry."
"I didn't eat much this week." He smiled.
"Well, you'll need some new clothes, so I'm glad you're ready." Malin leaned over and smiled "You probably stink as well. Please wash up."
Epsilon got up and went to the shower. As he turned on the water, the wounds littered on his body stung. He washed, trying not to get blood all over the floor. After a while, he washed his hair, with some of the shampoo he found, till it was a nice shiny silver. Eli thought briefly about dying his hair a more normal color, but decided to worry about that at a different time.
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After he was done and dressed, Malin dragged him to the mall. Epsilon was wary, but she assured him that nothing would happen. She sent him off to pick his own clothes (much to the Eli's relief), and he went to the first store that caught his eye.
"The assassin must always remain in the shadows, only appearing to kill, then go back into the darkness."
Those words struck a cord with him. He always wondered if he can truly live normally. But he didn't need to think about things like that now. Epsilon saw a shirt that caught his eye. It had two colors, a black base, and white lines covering it, sort of like a grid of circuits with no point of origin. He grabbed it immediately, and set off to look at the other clothes in the store. Pretty soon, he had a fair amount off nice stuff to wear.
After paying, he took off to look for Malin. But he didn't know where she went, so he decided to sneak off to the arcade. The sounds of gunfire and screaming filled the air, and Epsilon was salivating at the new gun games they had.
"Bullet Zone 3! I heard about this game!" he nearly fell over trying to get to the cabinet. He loved the light gun styled games as he though of them as practice for his skills, the many styles of guns they had was good for learning how to deal with different weapons, and the many enemies was good for high pressure situations when you have to plow through an entire gang to leave a building. Assassin's blood ran through his veins, and he couldn't escape from their calling.
The first level started, and Epsilon got his senses ready. As soon as the first enemies came out, he started take each and everyone down. They didn't have a chance, as he seemed to shoot them as soon as they came out of hiding. Every bullet hit their target, no matter how they tried to evade, or hide. The kids were astonished by the fact that the young boy was killing enemies like he played the game before, even though it was installed just today. The levels passed, Epsilon's score got higher, and before he knew it, he was at the final boss. The assassin didn't seem to care about the high level of difficulty that was rumored about defeating the boss, and was quick to point out all his weak points. The whole arcade. Amid the clapping, he saw Malin smiling at him.
"I shouldn't be surprised." she said, taking Epsilon out of the crowd.
"You must be prepared for ambush. There's always a chance that the enemy is one step ahead of you, so you must be one step ahead of them." He rubbed his hair. "That's a rule I live by."
"Why did you get shot, then?"
Epsilon just glared at her.
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Malin decided to take Epsilon to a movie. Unfortunately, she unknowingly chose a tacky, unoriginal movie, and they were bored to tears.
"I appreciate you doing this," Epsilon whispered. ABut this movie sucks."
"I know." Malin yawned. "I'm going to sleep. Wake me when it's over." She slumped in her seat.
Epsilon noticed some suspicious people talking down the row. Not wanting to ruin the good mood that he was in, he snuck up on them, and was greeted by 2 barrels. But the men were too scared to fire.
"Tsk, Tsk, Tsk." He shook his head. "You just don't get it." A dark smile formed on his face.
"I'll just have to burn it in your mind..."
It only lasted about three minutes. Afterwards, he went back up and finished watching the last of the movie.
"Malin, the movie's over."
The girl slowly woke up, and fell off her seat.
"Ow!" she rubbed her butt. Epsilon helped her up. "Thanks."
"It's no problem." A blank look crossed his eyes.
"What's wrong?"
The assassin shook his head. "Nothing. I just got a little distracted."
They left, not noticing the traces of smoke that was rising a few seats below.
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"So you were in the King of Fighters?"
The duo was resting under a tree in Malin's back yard when Eli had asked the question.
"Absolutely!" Malin jumped up. "I've competed twice before."
"And by the lack of any trophies, You lost twice before as well." Eli commented. Malin stomped on his injured shoulder. "OW!"
"Serves you right." She muttered. "Anyway, do you know any fighting skills?"
"I do know some." The assassin got up. "You can't kill people with weapons alone, you have to have some physical skill to go along with it or you'll end up in a bad situation."
Stretching, Malin followed him back to the house and up to her room, where Eli noticed the giant mallet that sat in the corner of her room. "What's with that?"
"I got it custom made for me by my parents." Malin beamed, taking the weapon and hugging it. "I love it so much! It's my pride an joy."
"I don't see how using a heavy, unwieldy hammer is very effective in a tournament. You obviously have been reading too many mangas." Eli stated.
"I'm tempted to smash you across the neighborhood, but I'll just tell you that my hammer is lighter than you would think."
Eli hmphed and went downstairs. "Whatever. Now if you excuse me, I have to go do some things."
Malin nearly tripped down the steps. "WHAT! Are you nuts?! You're still hurt!"
"Don't worry your pretty blond head off. I'm just going to take care of some things in a part of the town that has a bigger police presence, so I'm less likely to get hurt."
"Why can't I go with you?" Malin tugged at his sleeve, but the look Eli gave her quickly stopped that.
"It's my problem. Let me handle it on my own." He said with a slight coldness, before walking out the door. Malin fumed.
"JERK!" she shouted at the closed door. "Go ahead and get yourself killed, asshole! See if I care!"
"I can still hear you behind this door." Eli stated. "Such dirty language. What would your parents think?"
"SHUT UP!"
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Shikkoku: Another short chapter. It's longer than the last one, but still…
Notes:
Since nobody knows jack shit about Malin's past, I decided to make up a family for her.
Expect Hinako and Kasumi Todoh to make an appearance next chapter.
Also expect a fight next chapter too. Between who exactly? Who knows.
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Shikkoku: Alright, Next Chapter…(Gets hit by a Shining Crystal Bit.)
Athena: That ought to teach you to make fun of me!
Shikkoku: (Rubs head in pain.) I'm sorry, okay? I didn't mean to hurt your feelings.
Athena: (Smiles) It's okay, I'm not angry anymore anyway.
Shikkoku: Good. Now let me finish the chapter…
Next Chapter: Eli finds another person wanting to cash him in, and what happens to that person isn't very pretty. And there's a fight too!
Shikkoku: That reminds me, you need to get ready. The Psycho Soldiers have a big fight coming up too.
Athena: Really? I gotta get ready! TELEPORT! (Disappears.)
Shikkoku: (Sighs before smiling and waves) Keep a look out for the next chapter of New Blood too! Until next time, Bye bye!