Chris was gone.

Yet, the audience was all cheers. Even now, they were on their feet, stomping, clapping... chanting Iori's name in praise. They didn't like Chris. They didn't know him. Their minds were too fueled, too drunken by the excitement and loudness and energy of the moment, to realize the boy's body had disappeared: his soul ascended... or descended... back to the afterlife, indefinite to return.

The only ones aware of the situation were those on the ground: the ones at the forefront of the drama. None of them had much to say, as they themselves were never intimately connected to the boy. Even Rose, the hostess in charge of their health, looked upon the boy's departure with little less than a passing glance. Perhaps she was relieved that Chizuru had one less obstacle. The more probable reality was, she was freaking out about her brother's decisive battle... which was only one away.

Yashiro had yet to abandon his position on the ground. Slumped on his knees... arms still around his torso, like he was trying desperately to cling to whatever fabrications of a physical form remained... but he knew, deep down, there was nothing to grasp.

Three sets of feet scuffed through the dirt, closing fast... when the shadows began to loom overhead, Yashiro at last looked up; his face curled to an expression of half-shock, half-disgust... when he saw who it was.

Iori, hands in his pockets, looked down on Yashiro with no contempt, no smugness... just a solemn sympathy.

"I'm sorry, Yashiro... but it was him or me. He wasn't gonna stop."

All at once, Yashiro's rage fueled his bones. "RRRGH!" he growled as he lunged up, towards Iori, fist cocked back. Iori remained calm; not even removing his hands, he stood perfectly still.

Mature was quickly there to shut it down; she stepped in front of Iori, shoving Yashiro sharply back down to the ground. Right back to where he was kneeling... when "it" happened.

Shermie took a step forward, like she was entertaining jumping in... Vice stepped forward in return, as a menacing expression fixated on the Frenchwoman's lack thereof.

"Enough!"

Chizuru was ultimately the prevailing intervener...with some help from Saisyu, that is, as the Kusanagi head unleashed a brief, but repelling stream of fire between the two factions.

"If you want to settle things..." Chizuru looked up at the giant screen, which proudly displayed the next fight. "...Get her in that ring."


ROUND 3 FIGHT #6: CHIZURU KAGURA VS SHERMIE

Shermie appeared unnaturally delighted to step in the ring with the #1 betting favorite to win the tournament. The slightest of smiles teased on her lips, as she began to take a step forward...

...Only to feel two arms cling to her legs. She looked down; Yashiro was against her, his body shuddering, as if fighting tears...

"Sh-Shermie... please..." he pleaded, with a voice that was only a whisper, no energy, no fire in his words. "I n-need you... to fight for me... I don't have the strength anymore..."

It was hard to gauge Shermie's feelings, as always, as she stood there, a sobbing Yashiro clinging to her. Seconds and seconds ticked by, that the woman just stood there and allowed to continue.

Finally... the Frenchwoman slowly knelt down. Her hand found Yashiro's head, and she gently ran her fingers through, stroking his hair.

"I promised I'd win for you, didn't I?" she spoke warmly. "Just sit back and let me handle this, sweetness. I'll make all the bad people go away~"

Finally, with a kiss on the forehead, Shermie pried Yashiro loose, and proceeded to the ring.


Chizuru was already waiting for her. The two, at last, were given the chance to stand before each other...

"Maki." Chizuru closed her eyes, as she spoke to the soul of her long-gone sister. "Please watch over me... I'm going to put an end to these devils, once and for all."

Shermie remained silent, her face ominously stiff, as Chizuru at last opened her eyes once more, and assumed her fighting stance. While Chizuru was prepared to throw down... Shermie mysteriously stood there, in a passive stance, one hand reaching up to gently play with the bangs hanging over her eyes.

"For what it's worth," Chizuru spoke aloud to her opponent. "I'm sorry it had to end that way with Chris. But you guys should have know-"

"Teeheeheeheeheeheehee~"

...An inappropriate, child-like giggle escaped from Shermie's lips, as the Frenchwoman showed a smile in response to Chizuru's genuine sympathy. It was incredibly out of place... and that just made it creepier.

Chizuru felt herself slightly flinch, as her face turned to angry confusion. "Wh-why do you laugh?! Aren't you sad?"

Shermie struck a cutesy pose, popping her hip out, bending her left knee slightly. Her forefinger rested on her lip. "Well of course I'm sad! You took my little buddy away~"

Chizuru felt her lip slightly tugging, until her teeth displayed in a grimace. "You... there's something incredibly wrong with you. I don't know what it is, and I don't think I ever will... but the world is better off without you here!"

Shermie pouted in an exaggerated manner, leaning over, wiggling her backside prominently. Her palms were on her cheeks. "Now Chizzy, you can't go and say hurtful things like that to people. The world would be a sad, sad place without a cutie like me in it. That's why I had to come back... I just can't get enough of this place. My little sandbox, and so many fun, FUN toys~"

Chizuru's eyes narrowed, as she strengthened her stance. "Your mind games won't work on me. Now... fight!"

Shermie just giggled again, as she finally assumed a fighting stance. "Let's roll around together~"

FIGHT!

As desperately as Chiz wanted to vanquish her foe, the woman took a deep breath, relaxed herself... she stood defensively, awaiting Shermie to make the first move.

Shermie thought about it for a few seconds, but the Frenchwoman was already taking the bait... she inched closer... closer... until she was finally in kicking range. That's when she attacked: stepping in with a series of front kicks, straight up the middle, her go-go boots allowed her a little extra range than most.

But Chizuru commanded the range well, making sure Shermie's kicks only bounced off the surface of her forearm. Shermie threw a third kick, this time putting a spin into it, but Chizuru simply slapped the foot away, still leading the dance.

Shermie finally got in close, attempting slap... Chizuru caught her wrist, slung her body around, and let her go, causing the Frenchwoman to stumble into open space.

Shermie spun back around quickly, measuring her opponent: Chizuru looked like she had yet to exert a sweat bead of effort.

Her face unchanging, Shermie charged forward with another kick: Chizuru caught the foot in her hand... and the trickery of the Yata Mirror activated.

"Huh..oooogh?!"

As the solid Chizuru held the foot in place, an Astral Chizuru sprang from her body and slid low, taking out Shermie's stationary foot. Shermie hit the ground hard, landing on the side of her head, as she was now flanked by a Chizuru on the left, and the right. The Astral Chizuru eventually vanished.

Shermie got back up, dusting herself off... her face teasing a hint of anger. She charged at Chizuru recklessly, throwing a leg kick that was checked, before coming at her with a barrage of openhanded slaps. Chizuru remained calm, avoided the strikes... and then she saw her opening once again.

Shermie threw a telegraphed strike, and Chizuru was able to catch her arm, spin her around, and shove her forward. As Shermie stumbled, an Astral Chizuru shot from Chizuru's body and phase-shifted to the other side... greeting Shermie with an elbow to the face.

Shermie was ping-ponged back in the direction of the real Chizuru, who met her with a palm to the body, and finally, grabbed her face and used the Frenchwoman's momentum to slam her on her back with one downwards shove.

A normal human would have had breathing problems with Chizuru's hand smothering their face, but Shermie had no lungs; thus, she was able to quickly attempt to counter, locking a leg triangle around Chizuru's neck and bringing her hands up to wrap around the back of Chizuru's head. Chizuru stood up immediately, and was now carrying Shermie's full weight, as the Frenchwoman held onto the triangle for dear life. Chizuru wasn't exactly a strong woman, so she simply tried to get some momentum going, spinning around and around to try and get Shermie to fall off...

...But Shermie knew how to use momentum too, and she smoothly turned the triangle into a DDT, as she dragged Chizuru down into a backwards flip, sending the Kagura maiden flying over her head. Chizuru hit the ground and tumbled a few feet... but she sprang back up, no worse for wear.

Shermie was getting confident. She tried to walk right up to Chizuru and deck her in the face... but she quickly was reminded who she was dealing with.

As her hand hit Chizuru, it passed THROUGH the woman, as Chizuru's body became a flicker. Before Shermie could realize she had struck an Astral Chizuru, the real one was behind her, snaking her arms around her neck and putting her in a headlock.

"Ngh!" Shermie was now at Chizuru's mercy. The Astral Chizuru in front of her cocked her hand back, and slapped her across the face, then brought that hand back and backhanded her, then brought it back forward with a THIRD slap... before finally disappearing, and the real Chizuru slung her by her neck, tossing her on her face.

Shermie was cussing mad now. On her hands and knees, she tore up the dirt around her crawling forward... when she was in range of Chizuru's lower body, she SHOT foward, seizing her in a body lock. She pushed up with her knees and tried to take Chizuru through the air with a textbook suplex...

...But Chizuru's evasion was almost broken-tier. At the apex of Shermie's lift, Chizuru phase-shifted out of Shermie's grasp, leaving a fake Chizuru behind for Shermie to slam. By the time the Frenchwoman realized she had suplexed an astral projection... she spun around on all fours, only to receive a kick to the face.

Chizuru was ever-calm, retreating back to a safe distance, resuming her fighting stance. Shermie, meanwhile, was throwing a temper tantrum: pounding her fist against the dirt repeatedly.

"Not fair! Not fair! Not fair! Not fair~!"

"You want to see unfair? I'll show you."

Shermie sprang back up; the Frenchwoman's mouth dropped as she witnessed the multiplication occuring in front of her, courtesy of the solid figure standing yards away. Chizuru's body was glowing, her hand above her head, as she continued spawning figures.

One Chizuru. Two Chizurus. Three Chizurus. Four. Five Chizurus. Finally... six Chizurus, standing all around her, all of them looking as solid and intimidating as the real one, right down to the fighting stance.

Shermie lost her cool. She immediately ran forward, trying to rush the front one: Chizuru #6 shot out and dived low, clipping her legs. Shermie tumbled forward into a roll... into the waiting arms of Chizuru #1, who put a hand to her face and shoved her away.

Shermie stumbled, out of control, into Chizuru #3's vicinity... and was met with a forearm to the face, that sent her back in the other direction.

Chizuru #5 continued the onslaught, shooting forward and slamming a palm into her vertebrae, and Shermie froze up all at once... setting her up for Chizuru #4, who leaped at her with a flying palm strike to the face.

And finally... Chizuru #3, who walked up to Shermie without fear... cocked her hand back, and backhanded Shermie across the jaw, with a thunderous SLAP! that the entire Stadium winced upon hearing.

Shermie spun around multiple times, like she was the spin cycle in a washing machine... before her legs gave out, and she hit the ground.

At this point, the Stadium was in a nuclear EXPLOSION of cheers. Fans, oddsmakers... everybody loved Chizuru Kagura. To see her doing well, against a relatively unknown (albeit attractive) figure in Shermie, one who had a bad reputation already... Allianz Arena was feeling bliss.

The fighters were also close to calling it. They seemed genuinely convinced that Shermie was done for.

"YEEEEAHHHHH!" Yuri was pumping her fist in the air. "CHI-ZU-RU! CHI-ZU-RU! CHI-ZU-RU!"

"Remind me not to EVER mess with Chizuru freaking Kagura!" King laughed wildly as she and Yuri embraced where they stood.

"She's good. She's damn good." Beni coolly chimed in.

...The only one who was, incredibly notably, ABSENT from the cheers... was Mai Shiranui. With good reason. She knew better than any of them... this wasn't over yet.

"M-Mai?" Yuri nudged her kunoichi counterpart. "What's eatin' you?"

Mai told them as such. "Guys... take a rain check on the cheers. Trust me."

Back in the ring, Shermie was crawling up to her feet... she looked absolutely befuddled. Like she had never fought a day in her life. Her hair was all messed up, lipstick smeared... her pink outfit dirty.

Chizuru was the epitome of fresh. Her white top had some dirt stains on it, but overall... she was looking pristine.

...But Chizuru herself knew better than to count her chickens. She was aware that this fight was far from over, thus she didn't break her concentration- or her fighting stance - for a second.

...Sure enough, in the midst of Shermie looking absolutely flustered from the beatdown... a curving of her lips into a coy smile revealed the truth.

"Hee hee hee~"

Shermie raised her hands high, then slowly lowered them... tracing down the square inches of her body: her chest, her stomach, her legs... before slowly bringing her fingers back up...

Chizuru began to notice it: a darkness, creeping over the Stadium. She looked up; her face widened when she saw a massive congregation, a dark FLEET... of cumulonimbus clouds, gathering over the Stadium. In a matter of seconds, it looked like a 100% chance of rain.

"O-oh my god...!" Rose gasped, as this was the first time she actually witnessed Shermie do this. She threw herself against Adelheid, who was sitting next to her, and she opened her parasol as some miniscule form of defense.

"Whooa, did anyone check the weather report today?" Shen Woo ignorantly questioned.

"It's HER doing!" Mai pointed out.

Chizuru steeled her resolve, as ominous, low crackles began erupting, in the skies above...

...Until a bolt finally came down.

KAKRACKLEEEEE! The lightning bolt struck Shermie's body dead-on, enveloping her in a neon violet hue... in an instant, her appearance was different: red dress, dark skin, purple hair... and even under her bangs, the glow of ominous red from her eyes couldn't be hidden.

Shermie's eyes glowed even brighter, as she extended her hand: all at once, a volley of lightning bolts began raining down, assaulting the dirt circle.

"Ahh!"

"Agh!"

"Auuh!"

"Unhhh!"

The Chizurus all yelled in agony as their bodies were ran through by fatal strikes, leaving sizzling craters in their chests, as their bodies vanished. One, two, three, four, five... they all fell, one by one, until only the sixth and final Chizuru remained: the real one.

KAKRACKLEEE! The lightning bolt struck down with a menacing clap, right where Chizuru was standing. She would have been vaporized right there, had she not thrown herself sharply to the side, and replaced her body with an Astral Chizuru, which took the hit.

The shockwave still hurt plenty, however; Chizuru found herself unable to land properly, as she was thrown into a messy tumble through the dirt, finally skidding to a painful halt.

Chizuru barely had time to recover, before Shermie was on her; with fingers outstretched, hands rigid, her arms swung like electric blades repeatedly, the strikes dangerously close to hitting Chizuru, who was swaying her head with dear life to avoid them.

She dodged two, three... Chizuru fired a palm in return, and Shermie shrugged it off, as Chizuru followed up with another, and Shermie spun around to dodge it, and came around with a massive strike. Chizuru backpedaled to dodge it, right into Shermie's kicking range, and the Frenchwoman wasted no time throwing a left roundhouse. Chizuru ducked under it, but instead of putting her foot down, Shermie curved it the other way and tried to catch her on the rebound. Chizuru caught the foot and seized Shermie's leg, throwing her aside.

Shermie hit the ground, but rolled smooth, back to her feet; with a sultry snigger, she put a hand to her lips... and blew an electric kiss.

"Chu~"

"AGHHH!" Chizuru took the electrically-charged projectile to her stomach, launching her halfway across the Stadium, well out of the confines of the dirt circle.

Safe to say, Chizuru's untouchable streak was finally well-broken.

The tide of the battle seemed to change dramatically; at first, it was Shermie who was laying on the ground, dirty, hair messed up, confused... now Chizuru was taking up that role, as the menacing Shermie slowly approached her, body sizzling with an aura that could kill painfully.

Well out of the dirt circle at this point, Shermie met Chizuru on the grassy field. She got about ten yards away, before bringing her first two fingers up to her lips... kissing them... and extending the fingers like a pistol. From her fingers spawned a small, orb-shaped, electrically-charged ball, that soared at Chizuru with the speed of a baseball.

Chizuru sprang into action. She leaped up high, using her phase-shifting ability to bounce off of an Astral Chizuru. The electric projectile soared and struck the fake one, destroying her.

Chizuru dived into a roll, springing back to her feet, and she sprinted quickly to close the distance between the two of them. But Shermie had no intention of letting that happen: the lightning bolts started crashing down, with deadly precision. Each one hit their mark perfectly: it was only the Yata Mirror that saved Chizuru's life, as she kept throwing herself out of her body, and letting a fake Chizuru take the hit. It allowed her to keep moving forward... and keep her speed.

Chizuru was finally in her face again, and Shermie once again formed an electric blade and rammed her fingers forward into Chizuru's chest.

"Auuuughhh...!"

Shermie's lips curled wide when she heard the death scream... but they turned back to disappointment when the body vanished. Another fake!

The next thing she felt was a palm to her stomach, as the real Chizuru struck back! Shermie grunted in pain as she recoiled, but she shot back forward with another openhanded slash, right across Chizuru's throat... once again, Chizuru phase-shifted out of it, and an Astral Chizuru was destroyed.

Shermie took another palm to the stomach, and a clean palm to the face, staggering her backwards... she was recoiling fiercely, and Chizuru felt the momentum regain...!

"...Heeheeheehee~"

Chizuru's eyes widened at the giggle... and before she knew it, a lightning bolt had crashed down...!

...But it didn't hit HER. It hit, about three yards away, and Chizuru was caught in the shockwave, as her body was propelled forward uncontrollably...

...Right into the waiting legs of Shermie, who had leaped airborne and met her in the sky with her legs around her neck!

The two hit the ground... and Chizuru was trapped. Her neck was being crushed, between two sets of thick legs... and just like Vanessa, she had a feeling Shermie was NOT letting go.

"GGggh...ghhhhkkk...ggghkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkk...!" Chizuru groaned and gurgled desperately against the chokehold, as she felt anguished tears began pooling in the corners of her eyes... she tried to concentrate and dummy herself out of the sticky situation once again... but the constriction was so tight, her brain felt like it was shutting down.

"Go to sleep now, Miss Kagura~" Shermie cooed with a disgusting bedside manner. "Go to sleep and never wake up...!"

Chizuru's arms were flailing desperately, reaching out, trying to grasp something... anything... some miracle that would bring her back...!

...That's when she noticed, out of her hazy peripheral vision... Shermie always had two ponytails, dangling super low. She never thought she'd have to fight like this; it was perhaps the dirtiest move a woman could do... but she was desperate. Desperate for her life. Desperate for the well-being of the world.

Thus, she swallowed any foolish pride... and she grabbed and yanked.

"OWWWWWWWWWWWWWW~!"

Shermie's chokehold loosened up, for a split second... and that was all Chizuru needed to switch bodies. As fast as humanly possible, Chizuru threw herself yards away, leaving a projection to suffer between Shermie's thighs.

As soon as Shermie saw what had befallen... she puffed out her lip in a disappointed pout. "Hmph! You are just no fun, Chizuru."

Shermie twisted; with a sickening crack, the neck of the fake Chizuru was broken, and the phantom screamed as she faded to nothing.

The real Chizuru was still on her hands and knees, coughing, hacking... spitting up strings of drool, as the tears on her eyes stained her mascara. Her eyes were red, borderline bloodshot... it was nothing short of a miracle she was still breathing.

"Now Chizzy baby, I need you to be a good girl and die for me." Shermie spoke with a sugary voice and a cat-like smile... but the subject matter was anything but. "You see, you're cutting into my fun time now, and I don't like not having fun. It's counter-productive."

Chizuru groaned as she slowly raised herself back up... she wiped the slob from her mouth, wiped her eyes free... and with a violent scowl, she resumed her fighting stance.

"You see, Chiz... this world is my playground. And you're all my playmates." Shermie spoke with that same smile. "I don't love you. I don't hate you. You're nothing to me but a game: a schoolyard activity, that brings me cheap thrill."

She stepped forward, electricity crackling through her skin. "See, in the end... as long as I have fun, that's all that matters. Everything exists for this purpose. It's all about me. Me, me, me, me me me me... ME. Yashiro and Chris, the little darlings... they exist in the same space as me, and we share the same circumstances... that's why I don't mind sharing my world with them. One of them, after all, has his uses, heeheeheeheeheehee... my only regret is that the whole world has to die for me to get my way. I do LOVE people! But it's okay: I guess being the Queen of Nothing is still better than BEING nothing. I'm sure there's still adventures to be had, games to play, scenarios to create...I'll just have to be more creative without all my little toys around~"

It was at this moment, Chizuru finally understood what lie beneath Shermie's bangs...

Nothing.

The woman was a true sociopath and narcissist: alluring to look at, desirable to be around... but she, perhaps above all other of her Hakkeshu counterparts, desired a world where only she mattered. She didn't inherently believe in a world where everyone was dead: she'd rather they all be alive, so they could provide her with the thrills she enjoyed. Any time she felt like being nice, or cruel, any time she felt like fighting, or performing... any time she wanted "love" or sex...

...This whole world was her game.

Did she believe in the Hakkeshu's goal? Was that just entertainment for her? Was giving Yashiro and Chris a feeling of family and companionship, standing by them in something they believed in... was that all just another of her "schoolyard activities"?

The madness of the mystery threatened to drive Chizuru insane... the woman had to mentally fight, just to get her head back on what mattered. Back to what was right in front of her.

This woman was an enemy of their way of life. She had to go.

"You're insane." Chizuru shook her head. "I still don't know what's in that head of yours, if ANYTHING... but you're not gonna threaten this world any longer."

Shermie let out a loud cackle. "In the very close future, it's going to be my world, with a big ol' SOLD tag slapped on it. ZAPPITY ZAP~!"

...The next few seconds happened fast enough to give somebody whiplash.

A lightning bolt struck down on Chiz; the maiden phase-shifted and dodged it, letting an Astral Chiz get zapped.

Chizuru ran at her. Suddenly, her body split into three: a Chizuru was now flanking her, on the left and the right. The two of them broke off, while the center Chiz kept running forward.

Shermie's concentration broke from the center Chiz; she turned her attention to the left one, as it was trying to circle around her! She extended her hand, fired a lightning bolt; it struck, and felled the Chizuru.

...By then, it was already too late.

"H-huh? Eek!"

The right Chizuru circled behind her, kicking her in the back of the leg, dropping her to her knees...

...And the center Chizuru ran up to her, cocked back her first two fingers... a blue flash twinkled in her fingertips...

...And she thrust those two fingers into Shermie's chest.

"SEAL!"

A rippling shockwave resonated upon those fingers impacting. The fake Chizurus vanished at once, leaving Chizuru standing there, two fingers in her chest... and Shermie frozen there, mouth agape...

"A...ahh...hh...ahh...h-haa...haaah...?!'

Chizuru at last retracted the fingers, and took several steps back.

Shermie stood up. Her legs, like a baby deer, wobbled without control underneath her... she was stumbling around like a drunken fool...

...The sky cleared up.

The clouds were gone.

Shermie was back to her normal, pink self.

"Y...you...!" Shermie spat, as she finally hit the ground. She tried to stand back up, but her legs failed her, laying still and straight, unable to even bend her knees. With furious desperation, her fingers dug into the grass as she crawled towards the woman.

"What did you... do to meeeee?!"

She managed to crawl until she was two feet away... before finally going dead weight, the last of her strength gone from her arms. With a smile, Chizuru rested a foot on her backside.

"Game over."

WINNER: CHIZURU KAGURA


The audience was back to roars of positivity, hailing their hero for stepping up in the face of adversity, and putting an end to the witch who made the sky go dark.

Shermie, amusingly, perhaps for the first time in her life... was showing genuine emotion. And she. Was. PISSED.

"Guhh... get off of me! G-get... ahhh... get OFF! Get offfffffffffff!" Shermie's voice started out with seething rage, and ended on a rather whiny, whimpery note, as she was all but helpless to get Chizuru's foot off of her butt.

Finally, granting the girl some mercy, Chizuru removed her foot. After all, she wanted to go out and embrace her girls.

...Before she could do that, Shermie had managed to get back up. But rather than embarrass herself more with retaliation, Shermie instead limped away in retreat, pushing past paramedics and personnel.

"This isn't the end!" her voice trailed off more and more. "YOU HEAR ME?! This is MY world! All of you are my playthings! I w-won't... g-g-get away with being disgraced like this! J-just you wait! I'll get stronger! I'll come back! N-none of you are prettier than me!"

Chizuru rolled her eyes and finally turned away from the Frenchwoman for good. Just in time, too; she was assaulted a second later, by the bodies of her former teammates.

"CHIZZZZZZZZZZZZZZ!" Mai threw herself against her, planting a huge smooch on her cheek. "YOU ARE A GODDESS TO ME!"

"YOU DID IT! YOU DID IT! YAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAY!" Yuri hugged her left side and started bouncing up and down, making Chizuru wobble like she was on a massage bed.

Chizuru was reduced to loud, unsubtle gales of laughter, as King was the third and final to approach. Unlike the other two... she played it cool and gave Chiz a little kiss on the forehead.

"You did good, Chiz." King winked. "You uh... you're..."

The blonde kickboxer's head hung down. "You're a better fighter than me, okay? There, I said it! You... you deserve to lead the... my..."

...King's cheeks flared up with red, as Chizuru snatched her and pulled her against her chest, wrapping around her in a tender hug.

"Cecille..." Chizuru softly spoke, as she stroked her back. "Being a leader isn't just about how you fight. I could never lead the Women's Team, because you're already perfect for it. Trust me."

"Y-you promise?" King stammered. "B-because I'll give it up to you, Chiz! Seriously! After seeing what you're capable of, I'd rather you didn't usurp me physically..."

"KING." Chizuru laughed. "I'm not vying for your spot. I promise!"

The two finally broke apart, King scratching her arm nervously. "O-okay... well uh... for god's sake, enter a tourney with me sometime! I'd sure love to win one for once!"

Chiz bowed. "Just give me the year, King. I'll be there."

Thus, the Heavenly Kings are no more! Is it a time of celebration for the heroes of SNK world?

Well... not quite. There's still one more threat looming: will Adelheid have the strength to put an end to Mature and Vice for good? Or will the son of Rugal succumb to his injuries? FIND OUT NEXT TIME! ONLY TWO FIGHTS LEFT!

But first... BONUS SCENE!


BONUS SCENE

"Urghhh...uuuurghh... that rotten... ugly... trashy... ratchet... little...!"

Shermie had to hug the walls of the locker room just to sustain herself, as she slowly crawled towards a place she could at least rest. Finally, after a gruesome struggle... she collapsed on the closest bench she could hit.

"SHERMIE! SHERMIEEEEEEEEEEEE!"

Yashiro, who had also retreated to the locker rooms in a fit of weakness, pursued the noises and was able to pinpoint where she had touched down at. He raced in there, crashing on the bench as well, scooping her up in his arms.

"Are you okay? Speak to me! Speak to me!" he begged.

"Tha... tha...ghhh...cough cough! Urggh... that bi...itch... took my powers!" Shermie cursed. "I have no s-strength in my bo..ghgkkkk...body!

Yashiro hugged her tight against him... tighter than Chris, as he wanted to make SURE she didn't slip away. "It doesn't matter anymore. At least you're alive... Shermie... if I lost you, I'd have NOTHING. I... I'd go insane..."

The two softly shifted a few times, getting comfortable on the bench, finally settling on a position, Yashiro on his back, Shermie resting peacefully on top of him.

The woman, with no strength left, collapsed against him.

"Shermie..." Yashiro whispered from the bottom. "Please don't leave me. I need... I need you."

"I'm not going anywhere, Yashiro darling." Shermie mumbled atop him. "We can still do it. We can still win."

"How?"

"Have you forgotten who's still in?"

"Th-THEM?"

"They're all we have left... we don't have a choice but to put our faith in..."


BONUS SCENE 2

"Darling Mature?"

"Yes, precious Vice?"

"This is a happy, happy moment for us."

"Fufufufufu... why is that, I wonder?"

"Kukuku... well a good hint would be, that those annoying pests were finally swatted away."

"Too bad they didn't vanish back into the afterlife."

"If we didn't have to deal with that Bernstein brat... I'd go kill them myself."

"Oh well. Plenty of time for that later."

"For now..."

"Let's focus on the task at hand."

"This will be a real blast from the past, eh Mature~?"

"Fufufufufufufu... yes it will, sweet Vice. Yes it will."