KOF 2001
by Darth Wraith

Disclaimer: Ranma 1/2 and KOF is not mine.

' ' - thoughts | " " - speaking

"Pig-tailed goddess! Tendo Akane! Let me embrace you so your love for me shall explode like fireworks!" Kuno flung out his arms wide, brandishing two large bouquets of red roses, running towards them in the speed of light (not literally).

*Bonk!* Kuno went flying. "Oh, I'm flying like an angel in love..." 'So much for that freak,' Ranma muttered. 'Can't he figure out that I am his pig-tailed goddess? Same hairstyle, same clothing, geez!' "Come on Akane, we're gonna be late for school." Akane nodded and followed Ranma to class.

During lunchtime, Shampoo, Kodachi, and Ukyo were fighting for their 'Airen'/'Ranma-sama'/'Ranchan' while Ranma tried to crawl away from the middle, only to bump into a pair of pants. Looking up, Ranma sighed. 'Oh boy, more fighting with bacon breath.' Typical in Nerima huh?

"SAOTOME! What a dishonorable way to face your defeat! Crawling in front of me for me to beg your forgiveness?" Ryoga sneered. His only response was a headbutt to his chin when Ranma abruptly stood up. "Sorry Peee (emphasizing the P) chan. You think I'm that stupid? C'mon let's get this over with." What turned out to be a near-fatal battle ended up being childish roughhousing. As the two eventually went out to the open a strong gust of wind blew, distracting the both of them.

"Brrmwph!" Ryoga shouted. A piece of paper flew right at his face. Ranma burst into laughter, clutching his stomach as Ryoga unsuccessfully tried to get the paper off his face, all the time flailing his arms wildly. After 10 min, Ryoga finally got the paper off him and angrily tossed it in some random direction. "You think this is funny huh Ranma?! Well try laughing at this! SHI SHI HOK-" Chi started to build up as Ryoga prepared his deadly shi shi hokodan, but stopped abruptly when Ranma took the piece of paper. A grin spread across his face. Ryoga's depression haltered and the shi shi hokodan faded. Curiosity got the better of him this time. "What now?!"

"Ryoga, check this out." The paper read: [King of Fighters Tournament 2001 held in Nerima Stadium! Tickets in sale now!] Ryoga looked over Ranma's shoulder. "Hrm...I've heard of tournaments like that while I was uh...travelling...the fighters there are incredibly powerful. This year's tournament is going to be in Nerima? This should be quite interesting."

"Hey pig-boy. You think they accept new fighters?" Ranma asked. 'I'd like to see how powerful these fighters are for myself! Hah! I bet I can beat them all, no problem!' He smiled his cocky grin.

"Don't even think about calling me that hybrid-boy or you will regret it." Ryoga growled. 'I wouldn't mind joining,' he thought after hearing Ranma's question. "Our score will be settled later, you hear Saotome?! For now, let's check this out."

"Sure thing." Ranma ran towards the stadium while Ryoga ran towards Dr. Tofu's clinic. *Smack!* "Ryoga you fool! Don't you know how to follow people?! Your disorder isn't that bad is it?!" Ryoga cursed, really wishing that he can strike Ranma here and then, but this was far more interesting at the moment.

Somewhere in the bushes, a bruised Kuno muttered, "King of Fighters...mmm. Such a fitting name for one such as I. For I, Tatewaki Kuno, the Blue Thunder, shall smite all, and then, maybe the graceful Tendo Akane and the fiery pig-tailed goddess will swoon! Saotome Ranma, how I spite that name, though it is a matter of time until I can purge the world of his vile presence." Kuno stood up and followed Ranma and Ryoga to the stadium.

And somewhere in the sky, a nerd-like duck thought, 'What is Ranma and Ryoga and that weirdo about? I'll check it out.' Swooping down, he stealthily followed the three men.

Inside a cafe, two men were eating lunch, enjoying themselves. Oddly enough, everyone was still and silent, some with food sticking out of their mouths, as if frozen. But why not? These men were people to be feared. After some time, one of them, a blond with long, spiky hair raised his hand. "The bill please!"

The poor waiter who responded could only mutter, "Uh...i-it's-s-sa on t-th-th-the ha-hou-house."

"Sorry?"

"It's on the house!"

"How kind of them, eh?" The blond punk-like dude smiled. The other man, a normal looking Japanese though with a white jacket and a black shirt with a white cross in the middle rose up and thanked the waiter, who could only nod dumbly in response. "Darn," he chuckled, "we should've ordered abalone instead of spaghetti." The blond guy laughed. "We would've willingly paid, but I guess they were just too kind. OOOF!"

"C'mon Ryoga! You're too slow!"

"Damn you Saotome. One day...one day..." Ryoga followed in hot pursuit.

"Sorry P-chan, did you say some-OOOOF!" Ranma turned and ran into somebody.

"What the?" Ryoga slowed to a walk. Meanwhile Ranma was bowing, apologizing to the man he bumped into. Ryoga caught up with him and motioned for him to stop, all while gazing at the man whom Ranma bumped into.

"Oh my god, it's...."

NOTES: Hi y'all. I guess this isn't a real good attempt at a cliffhanger, since most KOF fans can recognize who I'm talking about anyway ^_^. Apparently my other story with the fusion with Journey to the West isn't getting any reviews...I guess JttW is too elusive. This story is basically a tournament + the storyline in KoF 2001 (NESTS and stuff). R & R, C & C please. Thanks!