Placed between a construction site and slum-like buildings and alleyways, the only beacon of neon light in the darkest part of town, it seemed like the worst place ever to have a nightclub in. Which reinforced Christina's comment about them allowing murders next month; After seeing three consecutive Iori Yagami look alikes with switchblades in their hands, that didn't seem like it was a joke.
It might have seemed silly to the casual observer, and, OK, maybe it was. Chasing all around town, betraying the confidence of his most trusted friend, and entering (as a minor too) a notorious club to attempt to buy some drugs. And all of this, to top it off, on a piece of paper and a hunch.
"Rock...pssst...Rock!" Even when Shingo tried to whisper his voice came out imposing. Only a voice, though, since he was hidden behind one of the steel pillars of the half-finished building.
"What?" A hushed, yet snappy, reply.
"I still haven't found a way in!"
"That's not really my problem," Rock said. He had never been this rude before to anyone, and Shingo still didn't seem to get it. From where he was, he could see the entire Second South like it was a distant town. This area was what remained of the first Southtown after that fated explosion, but no one seemed to have bothered to even fix anything, especially the electricity, here.
This really was the darkest pit.
"Oh Rock, honey!" The melodious voice of the Cristina beckoned him from the entrance. "Come on, let's go already."
"Pssst..."
"What now?" Rock rolled his eyes.
"Are you OK?" Shingo said.
"What do you mean?"
"You seem to be...sweating."
He looked at his 'date', totally unwilling from his part, rushing towards him and his throat did clench. Normally when someone approached him like that he'd get ready for a counter move, but no move could ever prepare him sufficiently for this.
"Come on!" He yelped as she slithered her arm around his. Exposed arm, no less. She was dressed in a purple fluffy dress, something resembling the old gothic clothes, with the sleeves and area around the stomach cut off, and leather mini skirt. Everytime she tried to get too close with her body he squirmed away, but she didn't seem to notice.
"You'll be fine, really," she said. He couldn't muster the strenght to say a word. "I'm sure the guys'll accept you.
"Hey," she froze dead in her tracks as if she had just remembered something. "Oh, right, do you know how to fight?"
"No.." Biggest Lie Ever award would go to him.
"I coulda sworn you could," she looked sullen. "I guess they're just for show and not for use, huh? No problem, there's a lot of wanna bes who're all talk and no action. Just stand there and look intimidating, I'm sure you could do it, and no one will bother you. You're with -me-, remember that."
"Oh, and," in one unavoiadable swoop, she traced her palm across his chest till his shoulders, and flicked away his jacket like one would flick away a fly. "There, now you look much bettter."
He looked back, at the fallen red material. "But..."
"We'll get it later," she said as she locked him in a tight hug. "Loose the puppy dog cornered look. It might be cute outside, but it'll look totally wrong here."
Chasing all around town, betraying the confidence of his most trusted friend, and entering a notorious club to attempt to buy some drugs. And this, Rock felt, was his punishment for doing all these things.
After the long tunnel connecting the entrance to the main club, it was hard to believe they were still in the same area. What was a run down and gray washed stone structure from the outside was actually a house for some of the most luxuriously decorated places he'd seen before. The floors were polished black marble, with white for the bar counter. Stools were provided with velvet coushins, standing opposite to an entire area with nothing but velvet coushins (with a guy attempting a menage a trois on them). The entire wall was filled with red and gold dragon-patterned tapestry. On the other side of it all was a string bead curtain with two body guards at opposite ends. Rock took note of that last detail.
He sat down at the stool, pretending to drink what Cristina ordered him. It was more than a little uncomforting. With the mental map of his younger memory, this place seemed all too familiar to him. Place Where Dad Used to Settle His Shady Business type of familiar. His heart started to beat shallower as he stared into that guarded entrance. The entrance that, for all he knew, could contain the source of his fears.
Cristina came back with a few people around her. They had their backs turned to him, but from the back, he could see the style ranged from the thug look to the psychopath look. And they probably followed their roles too.
Standing next to her, with his hands on her hips, was the guy Rock recognized from the arcade the last time. Smiling smugly like he did back then. All the other circled around the happy couple there. Rising his hand to the air, like a politician to the crowd, the Spiral guy announced, "any of you losers want to try your luck tonight?"
Far from being offended at his arrogance, the group cheered and laughed, as if there was a joke Rock hadn't caught on, and one of them stepped up. Both he and Spiral looked similar, neon dyed hair over one eye, and leather clothing. If it weren't for the different choice of dye color it would've been nearly impossible to tell the difference.
The fight itself was far from being the hardcore level Rock was used to see Terry participate in, but still seemed painful enough. After delivering three punches to the stomach, dodging a kick, and grabbing the opponent's hair, he finished it off with a knee to the face. The opponent was bleeding majorly by now, but the crowd seemed to be only cheering. Rock could've sworn the fallen fighter was laughing too.
Another of them broke the circle and approached Cristina with a wink. "Say, do you know how to fight as impressively as your boyfriend here..."
"What an old pick up line," she giggled. "You know I'm not his girlfriend, and no, that doesn't mean you can try too."
As if on cue, they laughed.
"Fighting, huh?" She winked. "I only know two things: kick straight-"
She crouched, using the floor as a spring board to devlier her kick. "- and high."
The cheers and whistles grew wilder with that final attack which threw back a few feet at least. She smiled innocently. Both she and Spiral then came to sit down.
The man, tall, bulky, bald, your usual brute in open denim jacket, grunted and inspected him. "Don't recognize you," he said gruffly. "Got an invitation?"
Shingo scratched his head. "Well, inside you see."
The body guard grimaced. "Sure, I've heard that one a million times. Go home, kid."
He could hear the music from outside, and the light at the end of the entrance tunnel called him to what could be another great battle to prove himself a hero. Now he just needed a way to get in.
Heels dug firmly on the ground, much to the irritation of the line behind him, Shingo tried once again. "Don't you know who I am?!"
"Would you try something -original-?" The brute leaned down. "Humph, the least you could do is pretend to look the part."
Shingo looked down at his blue and white attire, perfectly well. "Didn't you see the couple entering here? I'm with them!"
"Tough." He crossed his arms.
"Moh," he had just about enough of this. The problem was quite easily handled, without the mess of having to negociate over and over. Just one quick punch knocked the body guard cold.
Loud music, screaming Cristina, Spiral laughing loudly, but the strongest voice, almost defeaning, was "what if" screaming in Rock's ears. He hadn't stopped staring at the beaded curtain, which might as well have been the portals to hell. His mind was screaming: what if...this was it. If Geese, or the imposter, was behind these curtains. And he could be face to face with him soon enough.
"Something wrong, hun?" She placed her hand on his, which he pulled away quickly.
"Huh, no."
"Pretty, isn't it?" She said.
"Uh-huh..."
"Just wait till you see the inside, absolutely amazing."
"You mean...?"
"Yep!" She beamed. "But only at the end of the night. Want to be fully in control when the competition starts."
"Competition...?" Still staring at the doors.
"Don't bother with that detail," Spiral said smugly. "You'll only be humiliated if you try to go up against me."
"Sure, whatever, pal." He had just about enough of that jerk's attitude.
"Don't let it bother you," Cristina said. "It's just his nature, you understand, right? Birds chirp, dogs bark, and Spiral overcompensates. It's the laws of nature."
A crackle of loud sound wave silenced everyone. An announcer called up for this mysterious competiton everyone talked about. Spiral, not without lot's of loud encouragement from Cristina (and probably half the place), headed for the stage and grabbed the guitar there. Loud music started playing, and the guy played along with near perfect tune to the beginning of the song Lightning Kiss. Another guy went up stage and timidly grabbed the guitar.
The song played on, both went against each other to follow the tune. It wasn't an easy one, as the middle part had an especially expert-style solo. Sure enough, the other lost. Red and face to the ground, he was laughed and cheered off stage by encouragement from good ol' Spiral. Just like in the arcade.
Rock really started to hate that guy. The neon lights got blinding in their flashing blue hues. Dried ice filled the stage. All these distractions could prove enough to go one key off tune, or miss a beat.
"And that's yeeet another win!" The announcer said. "Will anyone be stupid enough, without any sense of shame, who'll try to challenge the great one?"
Great one? In a sense, he wasn't surprised. But that was it. The arcade was an entierly different situation. But this was his turf.
The loud sound of the mob erupted once more as he passed on stage. But he made a rule to ignore it. Only the music would be important now. "Let's make this tough," Spiral, from the other side of the stage, smiled and signalled something to the top.
It was an unfamiliar song. The prelude had a pretty standered beat. Everything drowned out except for his hands on the strings, and his ear on the rhythm. He closed his eyes, followed the first few beat, and smiled. "Let's begin."
"Roooooooock?! Roooooooooooooock!!!"
You knew music was loud when his voice could get drowned out. He navigated around the crowd of dancing people, barely able to see with all the flashing lights. It was almost as bad as a NEST's base about to explode.
Except they were less crowded.
He saw a special entrance guarded by bodyguards. That had to be their target. But first he had to find his partner.
The roar of guitar caught him off guard. A tone higher than the others. He looked up and sighed in exasperation. On the stage, fighting against the same person who was at the arcade the other day, using musical instruments, of all things, as their choise of weapon. They were both matched up, with only a margin open for any of them to gain advantage over the other. A large number of people were drawn them.
Good for him, Shingo thought, but here he was struggling to get to the root of the wrong doers, and Rock was having a nice leisurly play all this time.
It hadn't been long since he could afford to get himself a real guitar. But ever since he could remember he'd play air guitar to whatever tune he could hear. Before long it became like second nature. Some people fidget without noticing, but Rock would sometimes catch himself playing along to a beat without conscious notice.
So it was natural that this would be to his advantage. To Spiral's credit (unlike some people, extreme public humiliation was not his job. People could do it themselves without help), he could catch up. But Rock heard a slightly off key, so subtle most save the closest people could notice it. Soon enough, that gap turned bigger, in an attempt to catch up rather than play at his pace, and turned into an all out fumble.
The long haired man dropped his guitar, causing an awful screech to ripple through the speakers. His eyes, devestated. A strike to the ego just couldn't be handled. He froze, literally, as if unable to move.
A silent awe filled the hall. A hesitant clap. Another, untill the entire room roared.
Rock placed the guitar on the floor and smiled. That took care of that.
"Aaaayeeeeee!"
"That's so greaaat!"
"And he's cute tooooo!!!"
Before he new it, much to his dread, a swarm of girls stampeded towards the stage. Without any place to run away, he whimpered nonsensical strings of syllables, before breaking out in a sweet. Now he was paralyzed too.
"C'mon," someone pulled him by the arm. He never expected that he could actually be glad to see her. "It's our turn."
With the anxiety, the screech still echoing from the loudspeakers, and the horde of girls, Rock felt like he could be getting sick really soon.
Shingo turned around, after almost being run over by a stampede of fangirls, trying to regain his balance and find out where his partner disappeared to. He found him, entering with that girl, passing by the bodyguards and into the mouth of the enemy.
Shingo straightened his gloves and smiled. This would be it.
Smoke twirled around the four corners of the room, giving a strange incense aroma to the place. Which fitted the red cushoin, gold countor atmosphere well. There were eight guards surrounding the palce. They meant business.
"Is it always this dramatic?" He said.
"Nah," she whispered. "But apparently the boss himself is here tonight. Exciting, huh? I wonder if he's part of the mafia."
"You mean no one's seen him?"
"I never asked," she shrugged. "Rumor has it that he visits once in a while. So I thought, why spoil the surprise? Heh, listen to me, surprise. As if some mega crime lord runs this cruddy place."
He found himself joining her in the giggle. It did seem really silly put that way. But put another way, as in, having an entire circle of bodyguard accompanying the 'boss', face conveniently concealed, this could be something big.
This was it.
"I suppose you're enjoying yourselves in our little...establishment."
"Who wouldn't?" Cristina chirped.
"Good," he said. The voice was definately familiar. But his memory of so long ago was very vague and, more importantly, very selective. "We always aim to please."
"Excuse me..." Patience could only go so far. Rock took a few steps forward, arm outstretched, to the boss. Naturally, the bodyguards reacted quickly by gripping him.
The man, still concealed, laughed. "Do not be so impatient, boy. This pilgramage to the past is still in it's early stages."
The words shot through him like electricity. "What the...?" Cristina's voice was silenced by groans from the outside. The two bodyguards came flying through the bead curtains, and in came Shingo, bursting forth like an action hero.
"Stop!" He said. "Aaaaah, we've finally caught you!! Now, the flames of justice will make sure to purify all that is wrong!"
The man didn't laugh, from behind the protective wall, one could almost feel the seething. "Kill them."
"No...!"
The boss, who by all means could have been Geese Howard now, exited through the back door. Rock pushed through the guards, but it was too late by then. He knocked them down, joining up with Shingo. The third person had disappeared by now.
Outside, they heard a shrill cry, "FIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIGHT!!!!"
Three guards confronted them as they passed through the curtains. Both judged their punches, and landed a punch of their own. The third experienced a kick from the two fighters.
But the toughest part was to get through the chaos surrounding the bar. Dust unsettled from everywhere, and there wasn't one person left who didn't enter the group battle that was going on.
Rock was about to move.
"Rock," Shingo said.
"Again...!"
"Don't," he said. "Don't hurt them. Or not too much."
He Noded.
Dodging people who wanted to fight with the closest people available was no easy task. Navigating through it, avoding the stray punch of kicks, was practically impossible. Rock tried to softly counter, Shingo tried to dodge, but by the end they were both bleeding one place or another.
The sound of breaking glass rang through Rock's ears. From the counter, a girl with a brocken bottle in her hand charged at him with full speed. Murders being legal in a month, huh? He melted back into the fighting crowd, rolling once, twice, against the barrage of punches and kicks.
Shingo shook his head. This was like seeing an animal stampede. He had to physically restrain himself from letting his instincts take fight and strike back any of the innocent (Innocent? Didn't seem like it now) people. Which was a gigantic task, when assulted by elbow strikes and shoulder dashes. He might've struck one or two people in the furious chaos, but everything was too much of a daze to remember.
A great fighter needs composure, to be able to stay true to his mind in whatever situations. The fact that he had lost it made frustrated him.
They looked back, seeing the entire fight from a relatively safe standpoint. The tunnel to the exit just in front of them. Rock punched the wall. "Damnit..so close."
"Whaaat?" Shingo cried out, barely audible from all the noise. "You're not giving up already!"
"Let's face it," he said. "We lost."
"That's crazy talk," Shingo shook a fist. "We can go back and..."
"Stop that," he shouted. "It's over, done with. A stupid idea, and none of your business. Okay?"
Before Shingo could reply, he found himself on the floor. At the entrance of the tunnel was the not-so-dynamic duo, Cristina and Spiral.
She delivered another kick towards Rock, he stepped back. "What's the matter?" She said, smiling cherubically, "you're the one who started it. And you said you couldn't fight, too. Ain't having fun?"
She launched in the air with another kick. He dodged again, not wanting to deliver any blows. Spiral twisted his body and tried to deliver a punch. It was countered, but Cristina's axe kick managed to connect.
Shingo took a few steps back. The aggressive team up also managed to catch him offguard. Both Shingo and Rock backed up into the corner. The female fighter-to-be delivered another high kick, missing ROck's face by an inch. Which was her intention. With a smile she said, "nothing personal, y'know."
Another high kick, this time fully entended to connect, was delivered. "I'm sure it isn't," Rock said, and ducked the incoming attack. Cristina took a few hops back, not noticing that her opponent was now standing behind her.
He stealthily moved forward, trying to restrain her with minimum damage. She stood silently, seemingly unsuspecting of his approach. Just as he was about to grab her, she delivered an elbow to his stomach. The surprise, rather than any pain, caught him off guard.
Shingo didn't fare any better. Spiral's attacks were more aggressive. His punches forced Shingo to take steps back, and they kept getting more and more relentless. When one did connect, the long haired fighter took steps back. He then charged like a torpedo at Shingo, delivering a flip kick once he reached the target. Shingo blocked. But, like Rock after being backed by Cristina's kicks, was trapped into a corner.
They looked to each other and nodded. Spiral and Cristina got ready for a jump kick. Shingo dodged her attack, having her hit the wall and lose balance. While Rock dodged, pushed Spiral, who landed on top of Cristina. Without a moment's hesitation, the two fighters left.
Outside, the silence of the night was incompattible with the chaos inside. The knocked out bouncer was no where to be seen. In this silence, a peircing shreik broke the calm, followed by a megaphone. Only assailing red flashes color was to be seen, and cries of "you're under arrest!" filled the place.
_______________
Notes: A nightclub chapter. Because every FatalFury/King of Fighters fanfic has a nightclub chapter!
*phew* I'm sorry if this seems a bit fragmented. The chapter was written in the beginning, during, and the end of a block. There's two (or three, depending) chapters left now, and hopefully they'll take less time than this did. Thank you for the feedback, it was really motivating to finish the chapter ^_^
It might have seemed silly to the casual observer, and, OK, maybe it was. Chasing all around town, betraying the confidence of his most trusted friend, and entering (as a minor too) a notorious club to attempt to buy some drugs. And all of this, to top it off, on a piece of paper and a hunch.
"Rock...pssst...Rock!" Even when Shingo tried to whisper his voice came out imposing. Only a voice, though, since he was hidden behind one of the steel pillars of the half-finished building.
"What?" A hushed, yet snappy, reply.
"I still haven't found a way in!"
"That's not really my problem," Rock said. He had never been this rude before to anyone, and Shingo still didn't seem to get it. From where he was, he could see the entire Second South like it was a distant town. This area was what remained of the first Southtown after that fated explosion, but no one seemed to have bothered to even fix anything, especially the electricity, here.
This really was the darkest pit.
"Oh Rock, honey!" The melodious voice of the Cristina beckoned him from the entrance. "Come on, let's go already."
"Pssst..."
"What now?" Rock rolled his eyes.
"Are you OK?" Shingo said.
"What do you mean?"
"You seem to be...sweating."
He looked at his 'date', totally unwilling from his part, rushing towards him and his throat did clench. Normally when someone approached him like that he'd get ready for a counter move, but no move could ever prepare him sufficiently for this.
"Come on!" He yelped as she slithered her arm around his. Exposed arm, no less. She was dressed in a purple fluffy dress, something resembling the old gothic clothes, with the sleeves and area around the stomach cut off, and leather mini skirt. Everytime she tried to get too close with her body he squirmed away, but she didn't seem to notice.
"You'll be fine, really," she said. He couldn't muster the strenght to say a word. "I'm sure the guys'll accept you.
"Hey," she froze dead in her tracks as if she had just remembered something. "Oh, right, do you know how to fight?"
"No.." Biggest Lie Ever award would go to him.
"I coulda sworn you could," she looked sullen. "I guess they're just for show and not for use, huh? No problem, there's a lot of wanna bes who're all talk and no action. Just stand there and look intimidating, I'm sure you could do it, and no one will bother you. You're with -me-, remember that."
"Oh, and," in one unavoiadable swoop, she traced her palm across his chest till his shoulders, and flicked away his jacket like one would flick away a fly. "There, now you look much bettter."
He looked back, at the fallen red material. "But..."
"We'll get it later," she said as she locked him in a tight hug. "Loose the puppy dog cornered look. It might be cute outside, but it'll look totally wrong here."
Chasing all around town, betraying the confidence of his most trusted friend, and entering a notorious club to attempt to buy some drugs. And this, Rock felt, was his punishment for doing all these things.
After the long tunnel connecting the entrance to the main club, it was hard to believe they were still in the same area. What was a run down and gray washed stone structure from the outside was actually a house for some of the most luxuriously decorated places he'd seen before. The floors were polished black marble, with white for the bar counter. Stools were provided with velvet coushins, standing opposite to an entire area with nothing but velvet coushins (with a guy attempting a menage a trois on them). The entire wall was filled with red and gold dragon-patterned tapestry. On the other side of it all was a string bead curtain with two body guards at opposite ends. Rock took note of that last detail.
He sat down at the stool, pretending to drink what Cristina ordered him. It was more than a little uncomforting. With the mental map of his younger memory, this place seemed all too familiar to him. Place Where Dad Used to Settle His Shady Business type of familiar. His heart started to beat shallower as he stared into that guarded entrance. The entrance that, for all he knew, could contain the source of his fears.
Cristina came back with a few people around her. They had their backs turned to him, but from the back, he could see the style ranged from the thug look to the psychopath look. And they probably followed their roles too.
Standing next to her, with his hands on her hips, was the guy Rock recognized from the arcade the last time. Smiling smugly like he did back then. All the other circled around the happy couple there. Rising his hand to the air, like a politician to the crowd, the Spiral guy announced, "any of you losers want to try your luck tonight?"
Far from being offended at his arrogance, the group cheered and laughed, as if there was a joke Rock hadn't caught on, and one of them stepped up. Both he and Spiral looked similar, neon dyed hair over one eye, and leather clothing. If it weren't for the different choice of dye color it would've been nearly impossible to tell the difference.
The fight itself was far from being the hardcore level Rock was used to see Terry participate in, but still seemed painful enough. After delivering three punches to the stomach, dodging a kick, and grabbing the opponent's hair, he finished it off with a knee to the face. The opponent was bleeding majorly by now, but the crowd seemed to be only cheering. Rock could've sworn the fallen fighter was laughing too.
Another of them broke the circle and approached Cristina with a wink. "Say, do you know how to fight as impressively as your boyfriend here..."
"What an old pick up line," she giggled. "You know I'm not his girlfriend, and no, that doesn't mean you can try too."
As if on cue, they laughed.
"Fighting, huh?" She winked. "I only know two things: kick straight-"
She crouched, using the floor as a spring board to devlier her kick. "- and high."
The cheers and whistles grew wilder with that final attack which threw back a few feet at least. She smiled innocently. Both she and Spiral then came to sit down.
The man, tall, bulky, bald, your usual brute in open denim jacket, grunted and inspected him. "Don't recognize you," he said gruffly. "Got an invitation?"
Shingo scratched his head. "Well, inside you see."
The body guard grimaced. "Sure, I've heard that one a million times. Go home, kid."
He could hear the music from outside, and the light at the end of the entrance tunnel called him to what could be another great battle to prove himself a hero. Now he just needed a way to get in.
Heels dug firmly on the ground, much to the irritation of the line behind him, Shingo tried once again. "Don't you know who I am?!"
"Would you try something -original-?" The brute leaned down. "Humph, the least you could do is pretend to look the part."
Shingo looked down at his blue and white attire, perfectly well. "Didn't you see the couple entering here? I'm with them!"
"Tough." He crossed his arms.
"Moh," he had just about enough of this. The problem was quite easily handled, without the mess of having to negociate over and over. Just one quick punch knocked the body guard cold.
Loud music, screaming Cristina, Spiral laughing loudly, but the strongest voice, almost defeaning, was "what if" screaming in Rock's ears. He hadn't stopped staring at the beaded curtain, which might as well have been the portals to hell. His mind was screaming: what if...this was it. If Geese, or the imposter, was behind these curtains. And he could be face to face with him soon enough.
"Something wrong, hun?" She placed her hand on his, which he pulled away quickly.
"Huh, no."
"Pretty, isn't it?" She said.
"Uh-huh..."
"Just wait till you see the inside, absolutely amazing."
"You mean...?"
"Yep!" She beamed. "But only at the end of the night. Want to be fully in control when the competition starts."
"Competition...?" Still staring at the doors.
"Don't bother with that detail," Spiral said smugly. "You'll only be humiliated if you try to go up against me."
"Sure, whatever, pal." He had just about enough of that jerk's attitude.
"Don't let it bother you," Cristina said. "It's just his nature, you understand, right? Birds chirp, dogs bark, and Spiral overcompensates. It's the laws of nature."
A crackle of loud sound wave silenced everyone. An announcer called up for this mysterious competiton everyone talked about. Spiral, not without lot's of loud encouragement from Cristina (and probably half the place), headed for the stage and grabbed the guitar there. Loud music started playing, and the guy played along with near perfect tune to the beginning of the song Lightning Kiss. Another guy went up stage and timidly grabbed the guitar.
The song played on, both went against each other to follow the tune. It wasn't an easy one, as the middle part had an especially expert-style solo. Sure enough, the other lost. Red and face to the ground, he was laughed and cheered off stage by encouragement from good ol' Spiral. Just like in the arcade.
Rock really started to hate that guy. The neon lights got blinding in their flashing blue hues. Dried ice filled the stage. All these distractions could prove enough to go one key off tune, or miss a beat.
"And that's yeeet another win!" The announcer said. "Will anyone be stupid enough, without any sense of shame, who'll try to challenge the great one?"
Great one? In a sense, he wasn't surprised. But that was it. The arcade was an entierly different situation. But this was his turf.
The loud sound of the mob erupted once more as he passed on stage. But he made a rule to ignore it. Only the music would be important now. "Let's make this tough," Spiral, from the other side of the stage, smiled and signalled something to the top.
It was an unfamiliar song. The prelude had a pretty standered beat. Everything drowned out except for his hands on the strings, and his ear on the rhythm. He closed his eyes, followed the first few beat, and smiled. "Let's begin."
"Roooooooock?! Roooooooooooooock!!!"
You knew music was loud when his voice could get drowned out. He navigated around the crowd of dancing people, barely able to see with all the flashing lights. It was almost as bad as a NEST's base about to explode.
Except they were less crowded.
He saw a special entrance guarded by bodyguards. That had to be their target. But first he had to find his partner.
The roar of guitar caught him off guard. A tone higher than the others. He looked up and sighed in exasperation. On the stage, fighting against the same person who was at the arcade the other day, using musical instruments, of all things, as their choise of weapon. They were both matched up, with only a margin open for any of them to gain advantage over the other. A large number of people were drawn them.
Good for him, Shingo thought, but here he was struggling to get to the root of the wrong doers, and Rock was having a nice leisurly play all this time.
It hadn't been long since he could afford to get himself a real guitar. But ever since he could remember he'd play air guitar to whatever tune he could hear. Before long it became like second nature. Some people fidget without noticing, but Rock would sometimes catch himself playing along to a beat without conscious notice.
So it was natural that this would be to his advantage. To Spiral's credit (unlike some people, extreme public humiliation was not his job. People could do it themselves without help), he could catch up. But Rock heard a slightly off key, so subtle most save the closest people could notice it. Soon enough, that gap turned bigger, in an attempt to catch up rather than play at his pace, and turned into an all out fumble.
The long haired man dropped his guitar, causing an awful screech to ripple through the speakers. His eyes, devestated. A strike to the ego just couldn't be handled. He froze, literally, as if unable to move.
A silent awe filled the hall. A hesitant clap. Another, untill the entire room roared.
Rock placed the guitar on the floor and smiled. That took care of that.
"Aaaayeeeeee!"
"That's so greaaat!"
"And he's cute tooooo!!!"
Before he new it, much to his dread, a swarm of girls stampeded towards the stage. Without any place to run away, he whimpered nonsensical strings of syllables, before breaking out in a sweet. Now he was paralyzed too.
"C'mon," someone pulled him by the arm. He never expected that he could actually be glad to see her. "It's our turn."
With the anxiety, the screech still echoing from the loudspeakers, and the horde of girls, Rock felt like he could be getting sick really soon.
Shingo turned around, after almost being run over by a stampede of fangirls, trying to regain his balance and find out where his partner disappeared to. He found him, entering with that girl, passing by the bodyguards and into the mouth of the enemy.
Shingo straightened his gloves and smiled. This would be it.
Smoke twirled around the four corners of the room, giving a strange incense aroma to the place. Which fitted the red cushoin, gold countor atmosphere well. There were eight guards surrounding the palce. They meant business.
"Is it always this dramatic?" He said.
"Nah," she whispered. "But apparently the boss himself is here tonight. Exciting, huh? I wonder if he's part of the mafia."
"You mean no one's seen him?"
"I never asked," she shrugged. "Rumor has it that he visits once in a while. So I thought, why spoil the surprise? Heh, listen to me, surprise. As if some mega crime lord runs this cruddy place."
He found himself joining her in the giggle. It did seem really silly put that way. But put another way, as in, having an entire circle of bodyguard accompanying the 'boss', face conveniently concealed, this could be something big.
This was it.
"I suppose you're enjoying yourselves in our little...establishment."
"Who wouldn't?" Cristina chirped.
"Good," he said. The voice was definately familiar. But his memory of so long ago was very vague and, more importantly, very selective. "We always aim to please."
"Excuse me..." Patience could only go so far. Rock took a few steps forward, arm outstretched, to the boss. Naturally, the bodyguards reacted quickly by gripping him.
The man, still concealed, laughed. "Do not be so impatient, boy. This pilgramage to the past is still in it's early stages."
The words shot through him like electricity. "What the...?" Cristina's voice was silenced by groans from the outside. The two bodyguards came flying through the bead curtains, and in came Shingo, bursting forth like an action hero.
"Stop!" He said. "Aaaaah, we've finally caught you!! Now, the flames of justice will make sure to purify all that is wrong!"
The man didn't laugh, from behind the protective wall, one could almost feel the seething. "Kill them."
"No...!"
The boss, who by all means could have been Geese Howard now, exited through the back door. Rock pushed through the guards, but it was too late by then. He knocked them down, joining up with Shingo. The third person had disappeared by now.
Outside, they heard a shrill cry, "FIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIGHT!!!!"
Three guards confronted them as they passed through the curtains. Both judged their punches, and landed a punch of their own. The third experienced a kick from the two fighters.
But the toughest part was to get through the chaos surrounding the bar. Dust unsettled from everywhere, and there wasn't one person left who didn't enter the group battle that was going on.
Rock was about to move.
"Rock," Shingo said.
"Again...!"
"Don't," he said. "Don't hurt them. Or not too much."
He Noded.
Dodging people who wanted to fight with the closest people available was no easy task. Navigating through it, avoding the stray punch of kicks, was practically impossible. Rock tried to softly counter, Shingo tried to dodge, but by the end they were both bleeding one place or another.
The sound of breaking glass rang through Rock's ears. From the counter, a girl with a brocken bottle in her hand charged at him with full speed. Murders being legal in a month, huh? He melted back into the fighting crowd, rolling once, twice, against the barrage of punches and kicks.
Shingo shook his head. This was like seeing an animal stampede. He had to physically restrain himself from letting his instincts take fight and strike back any of the innocent (Innocent? Didn't seem like it now) people. Which was a gigantic task, when assulted by elbow strikes and shoulder dashes. He might've struck one or two people in the furious chaos, but everything was too much of a daze to remember.
A great fighter needs composure, to be able to stay true to his mind in whatever situations. The fact that he had lost it made frustrated him.
They looked back, seeing the entire fight from a relatively safe standpoint. The tunnel to the exit just in front of them. Rock punched the wall. "Damnit..so close."
"Whaaat?" Shingo cried out, barely audible from all the noise. "You're not giving up already!"
"Let's face it," he said. "We lost."
"That's crazy talk," Shingo shook a fist. "We can go back and..."
"Stop that," he shouted. "It's over, done with. A stupid idea, and none of your business. Okay?"
Before Shingo could reply, he found himself on the floor. At the entrance of the tunnel was the not-so-dynamic duo, Cristina and Spiral.
She delivered another kick towards Rock, he stepped back. "What's the matter?" She said, smiling cherubically, "you're the one who started it. And you said you couldn't fight, too. Ain't having fun?"
She launched in the air with another kick. He dodged again, not wanting to deliver any blows. Spiral twisted his body and tried to deliver a punch. It was countered, but Cristina's axe kick managed to connect.
Shingo took a few steps back. The aggressive team up also managed to catch him offguard. Both Shingo and Rock backed up into the corner. The female fighter-to-be delivered another high kick, missing ROck's face by an inch. Which was her intention. With a smile she said, "nothing personal, y'know."
Another high kick, this time fully entended to connect, was delivered. "I'm sure it isn't," Rock said, and ducked the incoming attack. Cristina took a few hops back, not noticing that her opponent was now standing behind her.
He stealthily moved forward, trying to restrain her with minimum damage. She stood silently, seemingly unsuspecting of his approach. Just as he was about to grab her, she delivered an elbow to his stomach. The surprise, rather than any pain, caught him off guard.
Shingo didn't fare any better. Spiral's attacks were more aggressive. His punches forced Shingo to take steps back, and they kept getting more and more relentless. When one did connect, the long haired fighter took steps back. He then charged like a torpedo at Shingo, delivering a flip kick once he reached the target. Shingo blocked. But, like Rock after being backed by Cristina's kicks, was trapped into a corner.
They looked to each other and nodded. Spiral and Cristina got ready for a jump kick. Shingo dodged her attack, having her hit the wall and lose balance. While Rock dodged, pushed Spiral, who landed on top of Cristina. Without a moment's hesitation, the two fighters left.
Outside, the silence of the night was incompattible with the chaos inside. The knocked out bouncer was no where to be seen. In this silence, a peircing shreik broke the calm, followed by a megaphone. Only assailing red flashes color was to be seen, and cries of "you're under arrest!" filled the place.
_______________
Notes: A nightclub chapter. Because every FatalFury/King of Fighters fanfic has a nightclub chapter!
*phew* I'm sorry if this seems a bit fragmented. The chapter was written in the beginning, during, and the end of a block. There's two (or three, depending) chapters left now, and hopefully they'll take less time than this did. Thank you for the feedback, it was really motivating to finish the chapter ^_^