In a world of darkness sanctioned by evil,
where the only light of hope is a group of unlikely heroes,
the legend's final chapter is about to begin...

- TOH SHIN DEN III: Walking Into Ruin -

a Battle Arena Toshinden 3 fanfiction by Athena Asamiya and Kasumi Todoh


CHAPTER ONE: Forewarned



Translations:
ne - word used to ask for agreement to the statement made
-san - honourific used for respect; somewhat like our "Miss" or "Mr."
tasukete - help
niisan - informal version of oniisan; elder brother
konbanwa - good evening
minna - everyone
-kun - honourific used for respect towards colleagues; same as -san but is used for younger people
-chan - honourific used for children, pets, or close friends
arigatou - thank you
anou... - um...
sumimasen - excuse me
gomenasai - I'm sorry
iie - no
arigatou gozaimashita - same as arigato, but more polite and final


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After fierce combat at the Toshinden tournament,
the Secret Society was crushed.
It seemed that the underworld tournament had fulfilled its purpose.
But as the fighters returned to their everyday lives,
a new enemy arose to confront them.
An enemy that hungered after their blood...

***************


It was nighttime in a remote part of the city of Kyushu, in the southern region of Japan. A shadowy figure runs down the street and into an empty alleyway. A young woman, and on her face is a look of pure terror as she turns and looks behind her while gasping for breath and struggling for energy to keep moving. Suddenly she crashes headfirst into a trash can and falls to the ground with a small cry. The girl looks up at the young man standing over her. A man carrying a long sword with an evil smirk on his face.
"W-what do you want with me?" the girl quavers, her voice shaking. She turns around to run again, but finds her path blocked a slinky woman wielding a long bullwhip. She turns around again, hoping and praying for a possible escape, but only to see a young teenager standing in front of her, holding a pair of tube-like objects and giggling almost hysterically. She whirls the other way, only to see another young woman carrying two double-tonfa rods in her hands advancing on her. The girl whimpers piteously, and backs away, then trips and falls over again. The sword-bearing young man, apparently the leader of the group, smiles coldly. Cold and evil. "Don't worry. We won't hurt you if you give us the information."
"What information? What do you want?"
The woman sneers. "We need you to tell us where he is."
"Who? And why would I know?" she questions, shaking.
"You see, we know that you know," the youngest one says calmly, even after stopping his hyperactive laughter.
"Where is the one named David?" says the other young woman, twirling her rods relentlessly.
The man steps up to the girl and points his sword at her throat. "Talk. Or else."
"But...I don't..." the girl stammers, and then looks up. "Oh, I know! You're those warriors from the Toshindaibukai? Ne?"
The man smiles again. "Not quite." He motions to the other three, who were eagerly waiting for the hopeful command. "Kill her. Now."
Her last words were choked out. "Shizuku-san!! Tasukete!!"
She screams...

***************

The roar of the motorcycle's engine drowned out every bit of the noises of the outside world, which was coming upon evening as it was, as it speeded along, unheeding of anything around it. As did the driver, his red-gold eyes focusing only on the dirt road and where he was headed next. Everything was tuned out to him; that is, except for that nagging flashback.

Niisan, what is destiny?
Why do you ask, Eiji?
It's just that...well...everyone says that you have a great destiny.
That is true.
How, niisan?
Eiji, it was destiny that gave me the sword. It will also be my destiny when I fight in the great tournament. It is your destiny to be my brother. And, one day, you will have a destiny as well.
I will?
Yes. Destiny is the wheel of unavoidable fate, that decides our ultimate goal in life, who we are, and what we are meant to be. Everyone has a destiny to live up to. That is all, Eiji.

He shook his head, attempting to put it out of his mind. That's over. It's over and done with. You decided to put that all behind you, remember? He sighed at his own thoughts, narrowing his eyes in determination. I'm not living under niisan's shadow anymore. He's out of my life now, and it doesn't matter anymore. He's chosen his path, and I've chosen mine.
The motorcycle roared down the dusty road towards its destination. He smiled as he saw it appear in the distance: a large group of caravans, all parked together, the ornate colourful tents adorning the ground and bright ribbons flailing their tails in the air.
Inside the main tent, the teenage Ellis was in middle of one her more spectacular dance routines. As the star attraction of this gypsy dance troupe, dressed all in white chiffon with pink ribbons, the young eighteen-year-old certainly had a reputation for not disappointing the audiences. As she leapt into another cartwheel followed up by a backflip and a low spin, she quickly glanced toward the audience where she knew they were sitting. In the third row sat three people, one man and two women. The man was wearing a crimson red jacket with heavy armoured shoulder pads and a pair of dark black pants. His long blond hair was tied in a ponytail that was tucked inside the back of his jacket, and a small silver cross on a brown cord gleamed around his neck. One of the women was wearing a black leather jacket with gold buckles over a black leather bodysuit, with matching knee-high boots and gloves, her blond hair done up in a high ponytail. The other woman was in a green tube top and matching green denim shorts over top of a pair of black biking shorts, with a baseball cap turned backwards over her blue hair that was now cut short to above her shoulders. Now, to any who didn't know about the four's past together, then they would have naturally assumed that they were just ordinary people. Although this theory went out the window when the weapons were seen, in plain view. The man's sheathed sword hung at his hip, while the woman in leather carried a bullwhip and the one in green, a pair of tonfa. This sight was quite out of the ordinary to the rest of the public (most of which were trying to avoid eye contact with the three), but not to Ellis and anyone who had heard of their legendary escapades of "saving the world", so to speak. They were her friends in battle Kayin Amoh, the Scottish bounty hunter, Sofia, the Russian secret agent and dominatrix extreme, and Tracy, the violent-obsessive New Yorker cop. They were watching her with great interest, and a huge grin broke onto Ellis' face at the knowledge of it. She had invited them all to Japan specially herself, and felt it was her duty to give one of her best performances. Ellis had also invited another friend, Eiji Shinjo, who was practically the leader of the group, but so far she hadn't seen any sign of him.
It had been nearly a year since the group of friends had destroyed the evil underground crime organization known as the Himitsu Kessha. The fall of the organization also ended the weaponry tournament in which they had all met and become allies, the Toshindaibukai. Since there was no longer a tournament to participate in, everyone was more than happy to get back to their normal lives (or what could be considered normal for them). They all made sure to keep in touch, and get together once in a while, which was one of the main reasons why they were together that day. That, and coincidence that Ellis's gypsy band was on tour in Japan, and Tracy also had been sent to Japan on a police assignment.
Ellis started into her finale, a hand jump followed by a backflip and ending with another spin, striking an impressive pose at the end. When she had finished, she received a standing ovation, the trio cheering louder than all. Ellis was still grinning as she took a bow. Definitely one of her better performances.
After the show was over, the group gathered in the back of one of the trailers to catch up -- after all, it had been the first time they had seen each other since the previous year, 1995.
"I'm glad you all could make it," Ellis was saying with a hint of sadness, "but it's too bad Eiji-kun missed seeing me perform."
"Who said I missed it?" came a Japanese-tinged voice from near the door.
They all turned to look, knowing fully well who they would see. There stood a handsome young man with auburn hair done up in elaborate spikes, wearing a gold and red jacket and motorcycle pants. A long sword, in its sheath, hung from his belt. He winked and saluted the group. "Konbanwa, minna. It's been a while."
"Eiji-kunnnnnnnn!!!" Ellis ran forward, jumped, and threw her arms around him, laughing in her usual girlish manner. He smiled and hugged her back, holding her for just a bit longer than friends normally would, both enjoying the moment. "Good to see you again too, Ellis-chan."
"Glad you could make it," Kayin replied, placing a black-gloved hand on Eiji's shoulder. Eiji grinned, knowing that Kayin was trying not to be emotional, and hugged his best friend. "Kayin-chan, how are things?"
"Same old, same old. Go out every day, kick some more asses. The usual for the best bounty hunter in all of Her Majesty's Britain."
"Same old ego as well," Eiji whispered to the trio of girls. The three giggled, and Kayin looked mildly insulted, as he was apt to do.
"I arrived in time to see the last part of your act," Eiji said, turning to Ellis. "You were great. One of your best."
Ellis bowed enthusiastically. "Arigatou, Eiji-kun!" She was not naturally fluent in Japanese, but it was one of her main languages other than Hungarian and English, since both her father and mother had been Japanese as well. Ellis knew quite a fair bit of many other different languages too, on account of travelling so much -- she took some pride in that fact. As for Eiji, the two were very close, closer than anyone else in their clique of fighters. There was just something about both of them that did the other some good. Their relationship was nothing big, more of a mutual attraction, probably because of the rather large age gap between them.
The five talked for a few more minutes about the fights they had recently been in, old times, and new experiences, before they heard a quiet voice behind them. "Anou...sumimasen."
Everyone turned around to see a young woman standing behind them. No one had even heard her enter. The woman had brown hair in a ponytail and wore a brightly coloured and decorated kimono that was rather low-cut on one side. She was watching all of them with a curious look on her face. Ellis was the first to speak to her. "Gomenasai, but this area's restricted to all spectators."
At first, the woman bowed low to the group in respect, but then responded in a quiet voice. "I need your help."
Ellis nodded. "Sure. Are you lost? I can show you where the audience exit is."
The woman laughed. "No, it's nothing quite so simple as that, Ellis-san."
The dancer was taken aback. "How do you my name?"
"First of all, my name is Fuji Shizuku, a wandering gambler. And I know all about all of you. You are the ones that destroyed the Himitsu Kessha in the last Toshindaibukai, are you not?"
"Yeah, that's us," Eiji answered, getting up. "But how do you know all this? And what did you come to us for?"
"I came to request your help, and bring you a warning: the Soshiki is after you."
"An organization...?" Eiji murmured in confusion, trying to make sense of what she was saying. Hearing what Eiji said, Sofia broke into the conversation. "You are not making any sense whatsoever. We destroyed the Himitsu Kessha once and for all. They are, how you say, out of the picture."
Shizuku bowed her head, closing her eyes. "Iie. This is not the Himitsu Kessha. It's a different organization. One that was secretly at war with the Himitsu for many years. After the destruction of the Himitsu Kessha at the hands of you five, the Soshiki was free to do its bidding. It was their plan all along to crush the Himitsu Kessha, and I'm afraid your actions last year only helped them. But they are in no way grateful to you, as you might have guessed, and want to make sure that you don't do the same to them. Sinister as they are, they want to make sure you pose no threat to them.
"This organization is even more ruthless than the other one," Shizuku went on. "They are brutal killers, merciless and without feeling. They don't just target you, but your friends and families as well. Anything that will cause their enemies pain." She turned to Ellis. "They're already targeting your circus, Ellis. And they're also targeting your father."
Ellis drew in her breath and looked very pale.
Eiji stepped forward, looking quite concerned. "Does that mean my niisan is--"
Here, it was noticeable that Kayin flinched slightly, no doubt at the mention of Eiji's brother (for obvious reasons of his own), but Shizuku just shook her head. "They're not that stupid as to challenge your brother, Eiji-san."
"That's why I was sent to Japan," Tracy muttered, almost to herself. "My assignment was to investigate rumours of a new crime organization. But I never believed it, since we whupped the Himitsu's sorry ass last year."
"Actually, the Soshiki is after all fighters who took part in last year's tournament, not just you five."
"But HOW do you know all this?" Kayin asked, standing up in exasperation.
"The Soshiki worships a being called the Toshin. Agon Teos, the true overlord of their organization," Shizuku explained. "A few months ago, they tried to bring the Toshin to earth, using a young boy to serve as a host body for it. The boy escaped however, and soon after my younger brother brought him to me. The boy told me everything that he'd found out about the Soshiki.
"Now the Soshiki is after him," she continued sadly. "They want him back...to finish the ritual. The boy is staying with me at the moment, and so they are after me as well. That is why I came looking for you." Tears glistened in her dark red eyes. "They have already killed so many around me...just last night, the minions of the Organization murdered Sayuri, a good friend of mine...and why?" Shizuku shook her head angrily. "Because of me. They are all bloodthirsty monsters who must not win and must never be allowed to take this world. You are the only ones that can stop the Soshiki. So please, will you help us?" She looked at them with hope in her eyes taking the place of the tears.
The others looked at each other for a few moments before Eiji walked over and put a hand on her shoulder.
"Shizuku-san, I'd be glad to help you. We all would."
"Same here," Kayin added, tightening the collar of his jacket around his neck. "Looks like we're still a part of this."
Sofia joined them. "I, too, would like to finally destroy their evil being."
"So would I," Ellis replied, nodding in determination. "I couldn't bear to have the ones I care about most in danger."
"Well, Tracy?" Eiji asked her, the only person still sitting, and it looked as though she was deep in thought about her new 'assignment'. The question shook Tracy out of her own little world, and she answered sarcastically, "Hmph. If you guys think I'm going to just sit around here and miss out on all the ass-kickin', then you need to have your heads examined. Of course I'm in."
"Arigatou gozaimashita!" Shizuku cried enthusiastically, dropping in another low, respectful bow. "We're both very grateful."
Eiji turned away from the group for a moment, unnoticed, opening the flap of the tent and gazing out in the twilight sky. Well, as much as I tried to separate from your path, niisan, it looks as if we may cross yet again.
Meanwhile, outside, none of the people passing by the trailer took much notice of the woman standing near the trailer door, despite the fact that she was clad in a slightly odd tight-fitting cat costume. The catwoman was trying to look nonchalant (not an easy task), or at least one of the performers, as she eavesdropped intently to the conversation that was going on inside. Upon hearing that Eiji and the others were going to help Shizuku, she let out a small gasp, hopped into the bushes and vanished into the forest behind the trailer.

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