I'll admit, I was in a cold sweat since the moment they revealed the next character silhouette for KOF 15, already resigning myself to the return of Ash. But nope, that haircut threw me off and it was just my girl King. Let us rejoice, King Of Fighters fanbase, that was a hell of a bullet we just dodged...for now :(
SECOND BRACKET ROUND°1 FIGHT #5: LEONA HEIDERN VS RALF JONES
The public was extremely curious about the upcoming match. In past editions, there weren't many opportunities to see teammates square off. But with this new formula, those limitations went out of the window, with many people online spending hours on end speculating about the limitless possible dream matches.
"Well, it was bound to happen at some point, people." Clemence conveyed that pretend-disappointment perfectly. "The first instance in New Horizon of members of the same team being forced to fight one another. I don't even wanna start to imagine how badly this will affect the two Ikari Warriors psychologically."
"Man, of all the possible teams, we're the suckers who are gonna decrease in number no matter what. What a garbage rule!" Whip lamented, while Clark who was sitting right next to her merely nodded in reluctant agreement.
Out in the middle of the stadium, Ralf and Leona were still standing at attention waiting for the bell to ring, so seemingly immovable that even a biblical apocalypse probably wouldn't have faze them.
"We have been put into a significant disadvantage, Colonel. How do you intend to proceed with the operation?" Leona sternly asked.
"You don't need to use military terms 24/7, you know. Anywho, I'm warning you right away, princess. If you don't fight like you mean it, I'll consider it an official form of disrespect towards a superior officer."
"...The line is always blurred when it comes to your selective seriousness, Colonel." Leona chuckled.
"Hey, I can be a man of mystery when I want too. Now Let's get to KOF business, I've been itching for a good brawl since the day of the announcement."
"Understood. Leona Heidern, starting mission..."
The two soldiers saluted each other like so many times before, in silent acknowledgement of what they were supposed to do, affiliation and personal feelings be damned.
FIGHT!
Ralf was so ready to go that he probably sprinted to his subordinate before the match officially started. He went for a downward punch right away, which Leona ducked with all the calm in the world. She then rammed her combat boot deep into Jones's gut, which would've been pretty damn crippling for anyone else if the colonel's muscles weren't forged in steel with decades of training. He recovered worryingly fast and tried a jaw-crushing hook to the left, but Leona's reflexes proved too much for him as she deflect it back with little difficulty. Wanting to capitalize on their vicinity, Ralf went for a headbutt which missed again, only serving to give Heidern a nice hand rest to lift herself behind him and leave a slash mark on the back of the Colonel's neck to really rattle him up.
"For a war veteran, Ralf's approach is too simplistic." Clemence admonished. "He needs to expand his repertoire or Leona is going to overwhelm him in the blink of an eye."
Ralf instinctively touched the interested the area...yep, already there was blood pouring out. The colonel thought of something to return the favor in kind. He lifted his right leg as much as he could afford it to give a pretend opening to Leona. A favourite tactic of the colonel, one which Heidern tried to navigate around. She skipped back to avoid the stomp and the following hammer fist coming from her left. It's a good thing Leona's speed was unparalleled among the KOF's usual participants, which allowed her to manage each every shot thrown at her. God only knows how many concussions Ralf's absurd strikes have caused to the lot of them.
Finally, she managed to snatch her superior's arm, with the plan to break it so the onslaught of potentially fatal strikes will end. What she didn't count of was being lifted out of the ground with the sole strength of his right arm and delivered an excellent backbreaker, slamming with such vigor into the ground Leona looked in the middle of free falling. Her attempt to distance herself as soon as she landed proved to be a terrible idea, as the pain of her back only intensified, having strained herself more than necessary just to get out of danger. Not to mention, Jones was breathing down her neck soon after, with a haymaker avoided at the last second. Sadly, the same couldn't be said for the ensuing right jab, which nailed her fully on her temple, opening it cleanly like a mature melon.
"By god, at this rate they will seriously injure themselves." Chizuru expressed her doubt like any person with functioning eyes.
"You wouldn't know, but they're actually being pretty lenient. I've got the first row view of some actually grisly stuff back at the base." Whip reassured.
From here on out, Heidern could only count on the assassination techniques learnt by her father to prevail, but she needed to force the Colonel to run out of gas first. She thrusted her fingers in the direction of Ralf's midsection, if only she wasn't so obvious about it. Ralf sidestepped it with ease and responded with a running elbow on Leona's face, opening her already damaged temple even further. The blue-haired soldier scolded herself for allowing so shots to land, reluctantly opting to go for the defensive until the colonel was in the right spot for her counter-measure. The latter was getting his confidence back, going for a drop-kick for the ages in hope of finishing her off. While a brave attempt, it was a tad too showy of a move, with Leona managing to hop to the left despite her taut back. This cat and mouse chase continued as Ralf charged like a raging bull, planning to nail with her with a massive knee, aware that she will surely try a wide slash to keep him at bay. The intuition was correct, but he overlooked one crucial detail. Normally, Leona would rapidly avoid and then slice away, but the colonel would've never guessed she would take him by the metaphorical horns, or by his inseparable bandanna in this case. Heidern held the colonel down just long enough to readjust her footing, putting her right boot in front of the other. Then, without warning, she basically phased through Ralf like a poltergeist, exiting his grabbing range with a Moon Slasher left behind.
"Her craftiness is quite impressive, even more so considering it's a fight against her own teammate. He stupidly betted that Leona would resort to her usual tactics instead of improvising. Now I wished I was in the same bracket as hers." Eiji uncharacteristically praised.
Fast as a lightning bolt, Leona kept running through Ralf one slash at a time, chipping away at him like the most unresponsive practice dummy imaginable. Actually, it's not like Jones wasn't trying his damnedest to stop her, throwing one clothesline after the other in an attempt to sweep her off her feet, it's just that he didn't compute that such a strategy wasn't working at all. Then again, Jones never was a pinnacle of intellectual acumen, whether in the battlefield or KOF. It was becoming clear that his legs were giving in, they were shredded up so badly; He needed to stop playing statue and halt her assault as soon as possible. Jones made a run for it with whatever adrenaline remained in his damaged limbs, his only option being to pin her on the ground and knock her out cold with a good old dose of knuckles medicine. Unfortunately, Leona was wise to his plan and decided to bait him now that his superior is in full stampede mode.
Heidern stopped zipping across the ring and went into a kneeling position, like a runner waiting for the blanks-loaded gun to shoot. The colonel was too distracted by his pain and burning desire to win to notice he was walking right into her trap. Just as he entered Leona's range, she ever so slightly lifted her right foot...and darted up in a millisecond, jumping over her rampaging opponent. Seemingly, she didn't even graze him, but Jones realized all too late what a foolish mistake he just made. He spun back immediately in a last ditch effort to prevent the inevitable...but alas, Leona put herself at a good enough distance to avoid any repercussions. Completing the technique by slicing the air in front of her, Heidern completed the V-Slasher, exploding in Ralf's face like a block of C-4. After that, the only thing the Colonel could muster was a few trembling steps forward before collapsing on the ring completely, accepting defeat.
WINNER: LEONA HEIDERN
Against all odds, the two Ikari Warriors delivered a fantastic match. No holding back punches, no kids gloves, only pure spectacle and the crowd certainly took notice. Despite the beating he just received, Ralf was laughing his ass off uncontrollably, letting out the satisfaction of a good scuffle for the both of them. When Leona went to check up on him, Jones didn't care how much trouble was to get back on his feet, he wanted to raise her arm with pride, which elicited an even bigger reaction out of the stands and an embarrassed expression from his subordinate.
"I-i would appreciate a warning next time, Colonel."
"Hah hah, duly noted. Man, I know for a fact I'll be this month's easier target back at the base and I'm not even mad, it was that good. Make sure to bust those moves on those Hizoku assholes tomorrow too, got it?"
At the end of it, Clark is relieved of only one thing. For once, he's not the one forced to put back together Ralf's pieces. Oh well, at least there were no misused explosives this time around.
SECOND BRACKET ROUND°1 FIGHT #6: JESS VS BLUE MARY
The next two contestants made their way into the ring fairly quickly, most probably because of wanting to get this fight out of their mind as soon as they possibly could. While Mary was able to not reveal her anxiety, the last member of Team China was already tapping his foot, looking around the ocean of spectators staring down at him.
"Uhm, you okay there, buddy? You seem very close to blowing up a fuse." Mary noticed.
"..."
"Can't say I've seen you before. Weren't you quietly hanging around those of Team China or somethin-"
"Damn stage-fright, already messing with my concentration." Jess finally spoke up with someone outside his own circle. "Couldn't those people, I don't know, look at literally anything else instead of me?"
"Considering they've paid good money to be here...that's unlikely to happen." She said, trying to break the ice.
"Figures. Knew I should've invested better than in those phony self-confidence sessions. Still, must return the favor to the others somehow."
"Jesus, it's not the end of the world if you're on national television for a few minutes. Tell you what, I'll stomp your ass real quick so you can return to the stands where the peace and quiet is at, how about it?"
"Pfft, thanks for the offer, comedy queen, but I'm afraid I can't let that happen." Jess laughed while pointing back to the zone where his team was sitting. "See, before meeting Li and the others my typical day was only work, house, training, work, house, training and nothing more. This is the first sort-of leisure time I've ever had, so if I get eliminated immediately after all their work to give me an actual life, I'll never forgive myself."
The young chinese then put his foot in front of him and moved it extremely carefully from left to right, some undecipherable purple markings appearing during the motion. Entering his fighting stance, conviction was written all over Jess's face.
"Well damn, now you're making me curious. Guess I'll play the role of the bad guy today and kick you out of New Horizon anyway. Put on a good show and I'm sure they'll appreciate the effort no matter the result."
FIGHT!
The purple glow underneath Jess's feet seemed innocuous at first, leaving Mary perplexed to say the least. What's so incredible about this magic circle that he felt the need to give it a presentation?...Then Jess bent down and his arm disappeared inside the white ring, hauling out a Dao of the same color that the South Towner dodged by a whisker.
"What the shit? Where in hell did he pull that from?" Shen asked before anyone else, startled by the sudden weaponry appearing out of thin air.
Mary had to evade two more slashes before composing herself and not without receiving a nasty cut on her right cheek. Before she could respond in any way, Jess switched out with a swift spin to a Qiang, sacrificing weight for speed and range. The chinese stabbed the air various times before nailing her on the forearm; A bit more to the right where the elbow bone was and the battle could've easily ended right then and there.
"Jess is unleashing a full-blown arsenal here, people. Over the years, there's been many like him in KOF, but never have I seen a fighter employ multiple weapons in a single match." Clemence stated, astonished like the rest of the Dodger Stadium.
This was far from a great start for Mary, but things could still be turned around if her theory were to be proven correct...Yes! The South Towner grabbed just before the tip of his spear and slammed it on on Jess's left eye, causing the weapon to dissolve in many little particles and him to step back in pain. This proves that when in use, they aren't some incorporeal crap that only the chinese can hold in his hands. Mary will surely remember this for later but right now, she could finally retaliate with a high front kick that floored the poor, distracted Chinese. With the opponent on the ground, she slid right next to him and grabbed his left arm, snapping it in two like a worn-out pencil.
"That's the stuff, Mary! Some more of that!" Terry enthusiastically cheered.
"She's wise to the mechanism already, stick to long-range!" Cao instructed.
With his arm burning like hell, Jess rolled away while keeping in mind his teammate's suggestion. They fiercely stared at each other for a few seconds before the chinese took out a Guan Dao and threw like a javelin at Mary's head. She had to swerve her head to the right to avoid getting skewered, not having much time to watch the opponent's next move. Like the master acrobat, Jess jumped over her to where his weapon sticked and reacquired it, ready to make good use of it once more. The chinese brought it down like an executioner, so strongly one could reasonably assume he wanted to cleave her head off. With the one good arm he had left, Jess wouldn't let Mary one step near him, like a circus tamer keeping distance with a lioness. He tried a couple of left-and-right slashes to her midsection without any good result except forcing the South Towner to keep walking back, unable to see so much as a cinch in the wall Jess erected.
Left pretty much cornered, Mary came up with something that could easily backfire. She tip-toed forward a little to bait Jess into giving another slash. From his perspective, the chance was too good to pass on, obliging with a fourth, potentially lacerating attack. Unfortunately for him, the South Towner proceeded to swerve backwards and kick the chinese halberd in the other direction. Having now created a wide opening to run into, Mary finally reached her opponent, who didn't have nearly enough time to raise the Guan Dao again, and nailed him with a direct swing to the head, sending to him to roll on the ground like clothes in a washing machine. She then laid down as quickly as she could to avoid any more of that magical blacksmith bullshit and immobilized him in a brutal headlock, which quickly closed all possible respiratory tract. Caught off guard and forced on his knees, Jess some improvised elbow strikes to escape, but after just one sort of effective shot, Mary officially lost her patience and bombarded the chinese's back with one knee after another and without even being able to scream out the shooting pain. After five successful landings, his resistance decreased significantly, now focusing only on finding an exit out of that cage.
"I think you've lived up your Rambo fantasy long enough. Go take a nap, will you?" Mary muttered through gritted teeth.
No matter how much he tried to wriggle his way to freedom, Blue Mary tugged him back even harder in her arms. In less than ideal situation, the only alternative was to invoke another weapon...but he simply couldn't. The motion needs to be absolutely precise, like drawing a line in the sand with a stick; Precision wasn't exactly affordable when you're writhing on the ground gasping for air. The chinese's vision kept getting foggier and every movement he could possibly think of to escape proved useless. Far be it from him to disappoint his teammates, but Jess would much prefer that the damage remained physical. Having ran out of options, he frantically tapped out on Mary's arm; The first inhale must've felt like heaven after that painful ordeal.
WINNER: BLUE MARY
The South Towner let him go in a split-second when her victory was made official. Enrapturing applause rained down from the public but those two poor souls couldn't exactly answer them, being tired beyond imagination. Yet in spite of this, the biggest smiles in the world were painted on their lips...the reason was clear as day when they glanced back at one another, still panting without end after such a demanding match.
"Man, I've worked up a good sweat there. Never would've figured you for a weapon nut."
"Says the woman with bear traps instead of arms. Seriously, I tried to get out of that hold like my life depended on it and nothing worked." The two tiredly but gladly shaked hands, implicitly thanking each other for the great match just held. As the paramedics arrived, their respective teammates wanted to at least see them off before taking them away.
"I'm sorry, Cao. Still haven't repaid you all-"
"Don't give me that, buddy. You were the kind of nigh-unstoppable monster you only hear about in legends like mine. If you have to promise me something, be sure not belittle your performance when you meet Li back there, okay?"
"Yeah...I can do that."
Terry and Mary didn't even need to exchange words. A knowing smile and the mutual, proudest thumbs-up in the universe was all they it took to convey the message perfectly. If anyone deserves some rest now, it's certainly Blue Mary.
NEXT TIME: When brought to the infirmary, Mary meets among the other wounded Hotaru, still inconsolable after her sudden "reunion" with her father. There, she will be forced to make a choice based on the knowledge received from Gato. At the same time, Kensou is determined to prove himself against no other than the Invincible Dragon, Ryo Sakazaki, the last hope of remaining in the tournament for Team Kyokugen.