DAY 6
For the fans, it was Day 5 of what will be a week-long monument to sports and violence. Even now, they still wanted more. Today, 8 would become 4... the endgame was upon them.
For the fighters themselves, it was Day 6 in Munich, Germany, as they had all attended the orientation the day before the tourney. For them, it was a more exhausting affair; fatigue had kicked in for pretty much all of them. These fighters, these heroes, these gods among men and women... even they were sick of it all. It was time for this thing to end already... for both their sake, and the sake of humankind's safety.
"Damn, we've come a long ways." Ryo echoed the sentiments of what they were all thinking.
"Yeah... I love KoF and all, but after these last two 'Kumite's, I don't want to even hear the letters for a good while." King responded in agreement.
"True dat, tall blonde and sexy!" Joe responded with a goofy smile. He extended his hand for a high five... which was never reciprocated.
"Yeeeep... I wouldn't mind this coming to an end already..." Kensou chimed in, draping a leg over his lap, his hands resting behind his head... the boy had a grin on his face, like he was utterly satisfied.
Athena shot him a sour look. "You just want to end on a high note."
"Wh-what are you guys talking about, Athena-nee?" Momoko inquired.
"...Don't worry about it."
ROSE'S VIP BOOTH
As for the Bernstein siblings, the "stars" of this show... things were getting dicier by the second.
"Brother..."
Rose called out his name with hesitance, from where he stood a fair distance away. His head was down, eyes closed... his body twitching ever-so-often. He looked to be in great pain... or some kind of intense struggle. Beads of sweat could be seen on his temple, so solid in form, they were drizzling...
Finally, after being unable to bear seeing him like that, Rose at last stood from her seat... with a handkerchief in hand, she approached him.
"You... you haven't said a word all morning. Are you...?"
She slowly reached her hand over... he didn't show any signs of resistance, though she took it slow as a precaution. She gently presented the cloth to his skin, and began dabbing the wetness that had accumulated.
He said nothing. Didn't move an inch. Just like it had been... all morning...
"Brother, what happened last night?" Rose addressed a dangerous subject. "You haven't... been yourself this morning. Y-you're scaring me."
Still silence. This was getting them nowhere.
After wiping the sweat away, she tossed the hanky aside... and just looked at him. So handsome, so majestic in his every word, mannerism, movement... but this person, standing before her right now... he was nothing like her brother. Her brother never stood so... reserved... never twitched and sweated with restraint, never held his tongue out of fear. Her brother, though cool and collected, always was an expressive being...
This shell was something entirely different.
"Adelheid... is there anything I can do for you?" Rose called out. She reached a hand out, to caress his cheek...
...Adelheid forcefully slapped her hand away. Rose yelped, taking several steps back; this attracted the attention of Silber, who stepped forth and teetered on the brink of getting between them.
But there was no need. Adelheid, without a word, turned and left the VIP booth quickly after.
QUARTERFINALS FIGHT #1: BENIMARU NIKAIDO VS CHIZURU KAGURA
Benimaru was understandably pissed. Last night, at the dinner, he'd been the one to take initiative and voice his desire to rematch Terry, to redeem the loss he'd taken.
...So why the hell was he here? Rose had used him. Dangled a carrot in his face, only to snatch it away. She was obviously trying to serve him up to a certain former hostess, and he didn't like it one bit. That spoiled brat was, now and forever, on his shit list.
His anger was reflected in his offense, as he came at Chizuru with a relentless barrage that had the Kagura maiden feeling the pressure for the second time in this tournament.
"Hrrrah! Hyaah! Hyaaaah!" Beni's kiais were like the lightning and thunder he commanded, as he drove his leg through with a nasty low kick, and even after Chizuru lifted her leg to defend, instead of returning his leg to the ground... he brought it up, and put it in reverse, coming across her head. Chizuru ducked it, but Beni was still coming forward: a body punch, a head punch, just barely blocked, and he spun with a back elbow that struck her forearm, but stumbled her back.
Chizuru needed to regain some respect, FAST. When Beni came in again, she sprang into action. She checked a low kick, dodged a left hand... when Beni fired the right, she caught his arm and reversed their positions in a flash, leaving a puzzled Beni with his back to her. Naturally, he tried to swing around with a backfist; Chizuru's counter beat him, as she spun around and went low with a sweeping forearm, clipping his leg out from under him and flooring him.
Beni was back up in seconds, barely even phased. "You got tricks up your sleeve like usual, Chiz. This a real blast from the past."
Chizuru took the momentary break to return to safe distance, regaining her stance. "I'm quickly remembering what a capable opponent you were as well, Benimaru."
Beni flashed a grin, to assure things were in good sport. "Heh... well as long as you're remembering things... remember who delivered the last hit on you in 96."
Chizuru, despite her... emotions... managed a small smile. "I assure you, repeating that will be much more difficult."
Benimaru charged forward. He set up his offense like he usually did: opening with a kick. This one went low, striking Chizuru's lower calf clean. She chose to tank it, knowing that a more important punch was coming after... as soon as Beni's fist closed in on her, she caught the arm.
The Yata Mirror trickery commenced, as Chizuru used the arm to vault over Beni's head, bending the arm behind his back in the process, yet leaving a Fake Chizuru where she once stood.
Beni grunted as the Fake Chizuru in front kicked his leg, buckling him... and the real Chizuru, behind him, used the momentum to throw him over her head. The blonde took a harsh tumble in the dirt, but he sprang back up, seconds later... his body sizzling with electric fury.
The ground around him sparked as he charged in, his body almost a blur, like he was a human time machine. In seconds, he was in front of Chizuru, throwing a low sweep, his foot leaving a trail of lightning behind it. Chizuru jumped back to dodge it, and Beni used his hand for balance to lift himself up and throw a back kick to the midsection, but Chizuru was still out of range. He returned to his feet and shot forward with a double kick, his shins bouncing off of Chizuru's forearms, but coursing with his lethal electric chi... Chizuru looked down and noticed the sleeves of her favorite white top had been scorched away, down to almost her elbows.
Beni's offense still didn't stop. He appeared to throw low; it was a feint, and he instead delivered a pump kick to Chizuru's chest, knocking her back several steps. While she was off-balance, he closed in and clinched, and fired two sharp knees to the body... Chizuru sucked in painful air, as she felt her body succumbing to the strength of his clinch. He was controlling her.
To avoid further punishment, she did what only she could; her body phase shifted through Beni, leaving him holding an Astral Chizuru. The real Chizuru, from behind, fired a hobbling kick into his back knee, and the Astral Chizuru from the front put her hand on his neck and took him down, her "weight" topping down on him and pinning him.
Before the Fake Chizuru could achieve a mount, she vanished. Beni took the opportunity to scramble back to his feet... but Chizuru's long arm was waiting for him, with two openhanded jabs.
Having re-commanded the range, Chizuru held her stance, arm outstretched, and waited... waited for Beni to be the aggressor.
Aggressor he was. Beni lunged in with a front kick... Chizuru caught the tip of his foot, and merely jerked him downwards, like tugging on a rope. Beni, surprised by her strength, hit the floor, landing awkwardly on his knee... and a Fake Chizuru shot out of her body, slamming into his face with a flying knee, flattening him, as the astral projection collapsed on top of him. Again, she vanished.
Benimaru got up... sizzling mad. He felt his advantage slowly slipping away... and the inevitable return to his legacy of "Secondary Champion". He was NOT. GOING. TO LET. THAT. HAPPEN.
Benimaru rushed her again, and fists went flying. He swung at her with a high volume of hooks, Chizuru barely able to dodge and parry them all, and he mixed it up with another leg kick. Chizuru lifted her leg high enough to dodge it, but Beni spun through the motion and came around with a backfist, just barely grazing her chin. Chizuru flinched, and Beni followed up with a front kick towards the face...
Chizuru caught the leg, putting Beni at her mercy again. Holding it in her arm, she began rapidly rotating the leg, around and around, like turning a crank... Beni didn't know what to think, as he felt his balance completely destroyed, as well as any chance of counter attack.
"Wha..wha... whooah...?!"
Finally, after effectively discombobulating him... Chizuru lifted the leg high, and her body twirled with a beautiful grace... she switched hands, now in orthodox, without letting go of Beni's foot for a second. The final stage of her attack commenced, as she brought her foot out, cocked it back... she unleashed it across the ground, clipping Beni's foot out... and she slung the captured leg.
Benimaru must have spun at least 2,880 degrees in mid-air, before his body harshly landed on the ground in a huge puff of dust.
At this point, the audience was chanting Chizuru's name. Three energetic syllables, rocking the Stadium in rhythm... Chizuru only wished she could enjoy the moment more.
As for Benimaru... he wasn't enjoying this one BIT. He had fought too hard, too long.. even came back from ELIMINATION... to get to this point. To have it all snatched away, in such a humbling manner? It would kill him.
Lightning crashed down on the blonde man, and he sprang back to his feet with newfound energy. His eyes were almost devoid of white at this point, his body so consumed with chi, he was a living conduit.
"HERE I F***ING COME!" he yelled as he once again charged at Chizuru, his body moving like a shadow. In an instant, he was back in her face, and he popped her with a startling jab.
"Ngh!" Chizuru took it on the chin, and slightly backed up... Beni was on her!
He used his right foot for propulsion as he pumped a left body kick... a second one behind it... both connected on her armpit, and Beni spun around with a back kick so vicious, a literal CRACKLE! rang out, and Chizuru went backwards like she was hit with a shotgun.
"Nnnghhhh...!" Chizuru yelped as she started to go down... but she stopped herself with a hand, and her body just skidded a few yards. She had to stop Beni's aggression.
Chizuru tried some trickery. She charged at Beni naked, and appeared to go into a slide... but her body became transparent, and her real form went airborne, attempting to vault over Beni's head... the blonde took the bait, as he was so focused on defending the low Chizuru, that the real Chizuru was able to get over him and to safety. After landing on her feet, she took a harsh barrel roll, but was successful nonetheless.
Benimaru pumped a straight left. Her hand knocked it away. He drove that same left towards the body; she again parried it. His third attack, a leg kick, drove hard into Chizuru's calf, nearly buckling the Kagura maiden.
Benimaru felt himself catching up. He got bold, bringing his left foot high for a head kick; Chizuru swayed to dodge it, but instead of returning his foot to the ground, he brought it back the other way and tried to catch her again. She evaded.
Beni brought his foot low, as if he was returning it to the ground... THIS is where he caught Chizuru with the most damning hit of the fight. It was a beautiful, beautiful feint, as he instead shot his entire knee up in a BLUR, blasting Chizuru's chin with his patented Iaido Kick.
Chizuru felt her lights go black. By the time her butt hit the ground... color had returned, and she was looking at Benimaru's feet. She shook the cobwebs desperately; she HAD to get back up, or this fight was over!
Ignoring the taste of blood, Chizuru rolled backwards desperately, leaving behind an Astral Chizuru to try and hold Beni off. She heard her fake mirror image cry out in pain a second later; Beni had ran through her with an electrically-charged swipe of his hand.
Chizuru was back up, but wobbly as HELL. She tried every reversal in the book to buy time; Beni charged at her with a left hook, and she spun and rolled him past her. He rushed her again; she dived into an Imanari Roll and hooked an arm around his calf, causing him to stumble forward uncontrollably. Precious seconds, to let her coherence return...
"YOU'RE NOT GETTING AWAY!" Benimaru roared as he came at her again, prepared to end it.
Chizuru felt herself greatly winded... but she knew she had to roll the dice and assume Beni was tired as well, from the onslaught. Thus, with a close of her eyes, a sharp breath... Chizuru opened her eyes again, and awaited him.
Benimaru's feet trailed sparks, as he leaped at her with a spinning back kick. Her body spun to the side, and he tried to nail her with a left roundhouse. The thunderous kick slammed into her forearms, and Chizuru was knocked back. He fired low, attacking the leg; Chizuru caught his foot, but he yanked it free, and came around with a spinning roundhouse. Chizuru was wise to sway her head.
Beni came forward with the hands again... and Chizuru lit him up with a beautiful combination. As his fist approached, Chizuru spawned a Fake Chizuru... inside her own body!
The end result was Chizuru's every action having a double effect. She parried his fist. The Fake Chizuru smacked him in the face. The Real Chizuru hit him to the body. The Fake Chizuru backhanded him in the jaw. The Real Chizuru hit him again to the body. The Fake Chizuru drove a reverse knifehand into his nose... finally, after battering him with five unanswered hits, the Real Chizuru seized his neck and drove him to the ground, flattening him.
Beni, despite being dazed, was running on pure instinct; he pressed a foot into her stomach and flung her off him, to avoid getting pounded. He returned to his feet... and now HE was wobbly!
Beni, despite the nasty combo, persisted forward on shaky legs... Chizuru, despite the previous scare, and the blood drizzling down her mouth, looked like she was back in control.
The blonde shambled forward, panting strenuously... he threw a weaker-looking kick, and Chizuru swatted it away. The parry knocked Beni off balance, and he stumbled forward... Chizuru extended her foot to halt him, holding him there... from her body spawned an Astral Chizuru, that flew up and kicked him in the face, before vanishing instantly. Beni recoiled hard, spinning around in a daze... he presented the back of his knee to Chizuru, and she drove her foot into it, buckling him... as soon as Beni was knocked down a peg, Chizuru sank her arms around his neck and collapsed on top of him, squeezing him with a rear-naked choke.
It was bad enough Beni's consciousness was being crushed from him... but Chizuru's full weight on top of him, was forcing him to carry it completely, and he couldn't get her off him. It was a miserable, hopeless position...
...Of course, Chizuru forgot one thing. Benimaru was a living lightning rod.
"Gasp!" Chizuru felt the hit coming, when she felt his body heat up, strings of lightning course on his being...
"HRAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAGH!"
CRACKLEEEEEE!
His body exuded tremendous voltage, frying Chizuru atop his back!
The audience screamed, as a lightning bolt struck Benimaru's body kicking up a dust cloud so powerful, it obscured the entire battlefield.
"CHIZZYYYYY!" Mai squealed.
"Oh my god... he got her...!" King yelled aloud.
The dust slowly began to clear...the entire Stadium went silent, as audience and fighters alike were on the edge of their seats, awaiting the horrific sight of a deep-fried Chizuru, laying on the ground, twitching...
...But this sight never came to pass.
The audience was once again given a moment to let out a collective SCREAM of excitement; Chizuru was not fried, but back on her feet, panting hard... and Benimaru Nikaido was standing yards away, utterly dumbstruck at how she survived.
"H-HOW? HOWWWW?!" Beni could do nothing but roar with disappointment.
Chizuru just smiled, wagging her finger. "Same way I dodged Momoko's hyper beam. I switched places with a fake and let it take the hit."
"There's no WAY you saw that coming! NO WAY!" Beni snarled. But the more the blonde tried to deny it... the more plausible it seemed. Chizuru simply had a power above his comprehension. Just like Kyo. Just like Iori.
With this revelation... Beni could only bring his fist up and watch the pathetic reserves of his chi flicker out. "Grrrrrr... god damned Sacred Treasures..."
Chizuru smiled at him sympathetically. "Sorry, Beni. If it was anybody else, they'd be a piece of bacon on the ground right now."
Despite his inevitable defeat... Beni smirked. "Heh. I'm looking forward to seeing what it takes to stop the Yata Mirror. YAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHHH!"
Benimaru, gassed, winded, heaving, charged forward with the last of his might... Chizuru sent a clone at his legs, tripping him. He stumbled forward... right into a waiting palm, which struck him in the jaw and sent his spit flying. The blonde got at least three feet of air, before landing on his back... down for the count.
WINNER: CHIZURU KAGURA
All at once, Chizuru gave out. Thankfully, Mai, Yuri, King were there to tend to her, before she collapsed completely.
"Chiz!"
"Chizuru!"
The girls held her up for support, as she breathed tired words. "I barely made it out of that one..."
"As someone who lost to both Beni and Shermie... which one was more difficult?" Mai asked, desiring the perspective of someone who had BESTED both.
Chizuru shook her head. "Hard to say. Shermie had me in trouble a few times, but Beni... Beni just never quit."
She noticed him back up, limping away... but as he hadn't escaped earshot, she made sure her next words were loud and able to be heard.
"He deserves all those KOF trophies he's won. Every last one of them."
...Beni, who had been wearing a defeated scowl, felt his lips shoot upwards with newfound self-esteem.
QUARTERFINALS FIGHT #2: TERRY BOGARD VS IORI YAGAMI
Just fight.
Just.
Fight.
Unleash.
Channel the hate.
Channel the scorn.
Fight and keep control.
Terry pumped a right jab; it missed, but it got Iori backing up, and the Wolf charged forward with two massive straight lefts. They both crashed into Iori's shoulder, and Iori stepped in and caught him flush with a counter right hook.
Terry absorbed the hit and kept on trucking, coming around with a spinning backfist that missed, but let him press the offense again, as he tried to come in with a close knee. But Iori won the rock-paper-scissors with a body kick, nailing Terry in the ribs... their bodies were on a collision course, and they crashed into each other. Iori was the first to take advantage, and he toppled Terry with a sloppy takedown, achieving top position.
Terry felt the elbows start coming down, across his forehead. One, two...
The Wolf acted fast; using raw strength, he scrambled and got Iori off of him. But Iori didn't let him get up clean; Terry paid the price with an uppercut before he was allowed back up, and the blonde was put on roller skates.
Mary sucked in air. "That was a hard hit..."
Terry was slightly wobbly, but didn't appear to be close to quitting. They circled around a bit, feeling each other out... Terry finally charged in with a left roundhouse, spinning into a backfist. Both missed.
He fired a crisp 1-2; the first hit landed on Iori's cheek, but the redhead ducked the second and pressed into Terry with a clinch. He didn't so much level change as COLLAPSE into Terry's body, pressing his head against his stomach while simultaneously hooking an arm around his leg to bend the knee and achieve leverage. While bending one knee, he hooked a leg around the other, to further increase his chances. The crude takedown succeeded, and Iori once again found himself on top of Terry, though he was still in the Wolf's guard.
Iori made it ugly. He pressed his forearm HARD against Terry's throat, to make the Wolf uncomfortable... and the punches started raining down. Hard, unrestrained fists, crashing into Terry's cheek. One, two, three... at this rate, Iori could very well knock him out from a grounded position.
Terry wasn't going to let himself get pounded out like this. He hooked his legs around Iori's waist, pulled down on the head to negate his posture... then raw strength did the rest, as he rolled and wrestled Iori free of him.
They both scrambled to their feet. Terry got into stance... but Iori did something weird.
"GUURGH!"
He stopped completely.
"Gurrghh... gurrrhkkkk..." Iori began hunching over, hand on his mouth, coughing... something was clearly wrong.
Chizuru saw this, and fear spread on her face all at once. "I-Iori! No...!"
YOU'RE GOING TO LEARN YOUR PLACE, YAGAMI PUP...!
The next thing Iori felt was a truck hit his face. Or, the closest thing to it... the fist of Terry Bogard. It was enough to put Iori off his feet, and his back skid across the ground for a good few seconds.
Terry wasn't happy to get a free hit that way... it felt morally wrong to take advantage of someone like that. But on the other hand... this was Iori Yagami. He had to take what he could get.
"You good, dude?' Terry, in good nature, addressed his opponent.
Iori was back up... his body hunching twitching, but his eyes were still his own. "Nevermind me, Bogard! Just keep coming... hit me harder!"
The Wolf cocked an eyebrow. "Whatever you say, Iori. You're always a weird duck."
Iori roared, saliva leaking from his lips, as he charged at Terry with a combo: a step-in leg kick, which struck clean, followed by a wild, whiffing 1-2, and a spinning backfist. Terry did well to evade the hands, and he pummeled Iori's midsection with a 1-2.
Iori backed away. A stiff jab came from Terry and busted his nose. Terry sensed Iori's lights flicker; he tried to follow up with a left hook, but Iori caught his arm and spun him around.
"Hnnnghhhh...!" Terry winced, his teeth grinding hard against each other, as he felt the piercing power of Iori's fingertips sink into his ribs... not lethal, of course, but hard enough to break the skin... hard enough to draw blood.
Iori took advantage of his momentary pain, and seized Terry from behind in a rear headlock, their backs to each other. Iori's next takedown was a rather unorthodox one, as he took a tumbling somersault forward, taking Terry's body with him. The end result was them rolling across the dirt, and Iori achieving a back mount in the ensuing scramble.
Still persisting with the headlock, Iori began cranking on the neck... not choking, but a more pain-inducing submission, as he sought to bend Terry's neck until the agony forced a tapout.
"Gh...ghhhrrrrr... gaaaaahhhhhhh...!" Terry strained hard under the intense pressure, fearing that he would lose mobility of his head the next morning at this rate.
"Cmon Terry! Get out of it! MAKE IT DIRTY!" Mary urgently coached.
"Don't lose to this schoolyard bullshit!" Joe added in.
Terry, although in intense pain, scrapped it out. He rammed two back elbows into Iori's ribs, to soften the man's grip... the grunts of pain indicated they were successful. Finally, he brought his leg around and kicked Iori's knee, to break the stance, and he finally flung the redhead off of him.
"BURN KNUCKLE!" he made Iori pay for the fail, as he shot forward like a meteor and rammed his chi-fueled fist into the man's face.
Iori was laid out for the second time, looking up at the sky, the sun bearing down on him... for a moment, he thought about just staying here. Calling it. Making everyone safe from him.
...But a more selfish part of him wanted to continue. Wanted to keep channeling. Every hit, whether he dealt it or received it, made him feel better. He wondered if he could just... PUNCH out the sickness. To cure it, blow by blow.
YAGAMI...
Who was he kidding? He shouldn't have even come here. From the BEGINNING.
YAGAMIIIIIII...
He was a ticking time bomb. Every second spent here, a second closer to...
DON'T YOU DARE SIT THERE... I COMMAND YOU TO GET UP! GET UP AND SLAUGHTER! KILL!
He had pushed Chizuru away. He found comfort in the arms of the Hakkeshu. He... he was a bad guy. Without Kyo here to keep him in check, he was so easily subjugated to the other side...
GET YOUR ASS UP! SPILL BLOOD! SPILL IT ALL! KILL! KILL! KILL! KILL! KILL! KILL! KILL!
"GURRGHkkk... GRRGHHH...! GURRRGHHHHHHHHHHHHH...!"
Chizuru could see it in his eyes. "Oh my god... he's losing it... I-I have to...!"
Iori got back up... but his demeanor was much different. He was almost... inhuman... in the way his legs picked him up, with no use of his arms, pure upper body... as he returned to stance, he made no effort to put his arms up. He just stood there... awaiting whatever Terry had to offer.
"Bad idea to lower your guard against me!"
Terry rushed in and lit him up with a combo; leg kick, body kick, a vicious right hook to the face.
Iori's head snapped sideways... but returned a second later. He acted like he didn't feel it.
"Wh-wha...?!"
Terry growled and threw another right; Iori caught his arm, and twisted it in a way it wasn't supposed to go.
"Aghhhh!" Terry winced hard, as he looked into Iori's eyes... and saw the very boundary between humanity and monstrosity.
Iori cocked his arm back slowly... and it shot forward, BRUTALIZING Terry's face with an elbow. He cocked it back again... another elbow of the same intensity hit the same mark. Terry was busted wide open, and pouring blood in an instant.
"T-TERRYYYY!" Mary cried.
"BRO!" Andy echoed.
Terry started to go down... but as soon as his head went low, a knee came up and cracked his jaw, sending him down the rest of the way.
THAT'S HOW YOU DO IT, YAGAMI! BUT WHY DO YOU HOLD BACK? RAM YOUR FINGERS INTO HIM! STROW HIS GUTS!
"Sh...shut... SHUT THE FUCK UUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUP!" Iori roared to the high heavens. "I CONTROL THIS! ME! NOBODY ELSE! THIS IS ME! ALL ME!"
No... he was done with this. He wanted out. NOW. As hard as he tried to defy, he could feel it coming close. He had to end this.
Terry limped forward... and all-but presented his neck to Iori, who seized it with one land, lifted Terry high... with a menacing smile, his eyes glowed red.
"AHH! AGHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!" Terry yelled in pain as he felt his body being bathed, painted with a faint curtain of purple, not enough to do serious, third-degree burns... but still enough to hurt worse than any pain Terry had ever felt.
"GET OFF HIM! GET OFF HIM YOU SON OF A BITCH!" Mary was out of her seat in an instant, as was Andy, Joe...
"Iori... don't do this..." Chizuru cried as she too took the field...
Iori lifted his hand, fingers curled... a ball of flame rested in his fist, and he closed his fingers, engulfing his fist with purple.
He drew his fist back, and drove it into Terry's stomach. The Wolf went limp at all once.
WINNER: IORI YAGAMI
...But Iori didn't let go. He instead lowered Terry to the ground, hand still around neck...
"RRRAGH! RAAAAGHHHHH...!"
The punches started coming. One, two, three, four... he wanted to just punch himself out. To leave nothing in his body. He had to get it out... get it out, and regain control... but not kill...
...No. This wasn't the way. Just let him go. Let him go and walk away...
...But he NEEDED this! He needed to channel the violence before it consumed him!
...He couldn't just hurt an innocent like this. He was ruining everything Chizuru worked for. He was ruining the positive image. He could hear them now, booing... cursing him... spitting at him... he was the bad guy.
PUT HIM DOWN.
KEEP GOING.
KILL HIM!
PUT HIM DOWN!
KEEP GOING!
BATHE IN HIS BLOOD! COMPETE THE FINAL STEP!
He could feel it: the internal struggle, wrestling against the walls of his skull. He felt lost in his own brain. He was about to snap in two. He... he was about to go crazy...!
BZZZZZZZZZZZZZZT!
The next thing Iori felt was his muscles seize, his entire body stiffen... and he fell over like a wooden plank.
...The last thing his eyes saw before he went dark, was Mary standing over him, a taser in her hand.
"That's it, you are not going near him EVER AGAIN. You son of a..."
He lost consciousness.
Whew... that got a little rough. Okay, story time; I'm not happy with the way I ended Chizuru vs Beni. This was originally going to be a squash match for Chiz, but then I realized... Beni can't go out like that. Not at this stage.
...Well, I went too far with it. The ending turned out more bullshit than a wrestling match, as Chizuru "kicked out" of Beni's finisher. So, by all rights, BENI SHOULD HAVE WON. Gah, your brain just takes you places.
Also, sorry to have Terry job so hard like that. He just... he had his big moment in Round 3, and I really couldn't go anywhere else with him :(
NEXT CHAPTER: Adelheid finally confronts a shadow that has loomed over him since the beginning; a man with prejudice in his heart, despite his good nature. In a match as gray as it gets, Adelheid vs Saisyu!
But first... BONUS SCENE!
BONUS SCENE
"Fufufufufu... that was delicious, Vice."
"Kukukukuku... very much so, Mature."
"Our boy just set the wheels in motion."
"And now Adelheid will finish the job."
"The Kusanagi patriarch still bears a bitter heart... his hatred will bring out the darkness in Adelheid's soul."
"I can't wait to see it! The glorious moment that Adelheid snaps, and murders that Kusanagi bastard... whilst also completing our plans. Talk about two birds!"
"Yes... this is it."
"Our moment-"
"-has finally"
"-come."
Yamazaki, who was standing a fair distance away, rolled his eyes with a smug grin.
BONUS SCENE 2
"Oh Rodem Jr... what am I going to do..."
Rose talked to her pet panther, gently stroking the smooth, black fur. "Our beloved Adelheid isn't himself anymore. Ever since we started, he'd been showing... strange signs... but today, it's worse than its ever been. Now, he won't even talk. He just... stood there... like he wasn't even inhabiting his own body. I just... I can't deal with this. Is this all... somehow my fault? Should I have even started this tournament in the first place?"
She cupped the cat's cheeks, staring into his eyes. "...Be honest with me. I've ruined everything, haven't I? I... but you have to believe me, I came into this thing with honest intentions!"
The cat, naturally, just stared blankly back.
Rose brought her face closer to his. "I'm not a bad person, Rodem Jr! I just... things got so confusing, really fast. I... I'm scared I'm going to lose my brother!"
The cat, who didn't know what was going on, took her close proximity as a sign of affection, and nuzzled his face against her chin.
Finally, Rose let out a sign... giving her cat one last good pet, she slumped backwards in her seat. "I'm ready for this to be over..."
The onesided conversation was suddenly interrupted by the loud and abrupt sound of ruffling feathers, followed by cursing from Silber.
"Ahh! AHH! GET OUT! DAMN BIRD! OUT! OUT!"
Rose jumped out of her seat at the newfound chaos, looking over at Silber, who was flailing his arms wildly, trying to fight the brown intruder off. But the bird was going nowhere...
"Silber wait!" Rose commanded.
The Bernstein princess slowly approached the hawk, which had perched itself atop a nearby table. She looked carefully in its beak: a piece of white paper.
Rose took the paper, opened it up, scanning the contents inside...
Dear Hostess,
Bad things coming tonight. About 20 men are going to make an attempt on your life. Assemble all your security. Keep you and your brother safe. The cosmic balance depends on it.
Sincerely, Nakoruru
