Fatal Fury: Mark of the Wolves
Disclaimer: I do not own SNK or any of Garou: Mark of the Wolves' characters. This is only my first attempt at a fanfic and hopefully, it's not bound to fail in misery. I am also using this as a tool to improve my writing, so comments from you readers would be welcome and acceptable.
Also, many, many, MANY kudos to Kailu Lantis' storyline FAQ's in GameFAQ's (see Chapter 1's disclaimer for the link), whom I basically read over and over again before writing this thing.
Lastly, many kudos to SNK for making this awesome game to begin with.
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Chapter 3 - The Kyokugenryuu Disciple
The same day Terry and Rock arrived in Second Southtown...
In between all of the forests in Second Southtown, the one people most seemed to talk about at the moment was the Sarah Forest. Since Kain R. Heinlein announced that there'd be once again a KOF tournament...that forest has been rumored to be fighting grounds both day and night. People who lived near the area could hear the noises of breaking trees, grunted yells and different energy flashes every time they peeked at the area. But unfortunately, they could not do a thing about it, seeing as they would probably get killed if they tried to stop it from happening. To them...Second Southtown was just about to revive the old dirt road the first Southtown took years ago.
However, inside the deepest trees on Sarah Forest, there is a small bamboo cabin that seems to be used as a home. That could be seen mainly because there were a few clothes hanging onto a set-up of wood three feet away from the cabin. As you went further to the right, you could see this gigantic iron ball hanging from the tallest tree in the forest. There were also the remains a tree, now lying down on the grasses, forcefully torn apart by whoever was doing all that training inside the forest. A few animals also seemed to live in the area, as a couple of wolves and their puppy took cover under the destroyed tree. It also seemed a lot of wild animals used that area as well, like two squirrels that were playing around on the trainee's bar bell (which was made up of two giant rocks and probably some strong wood), a bald eagle that sat upon the broken tree trunk, a little bear pacing back and forth near the bamboo cabin and two bunnies that lived under the trunk of a small, destroyed tree.
All the sudden, a huge battle cry was heard from the above. All the animals looked up in the air, as they saw two figures coming down from the trees, with their right legs extended. There was a clash in between the two figures, before they came down into the grounds. The impact on the ground made the squirrels quickly jump onto the tree trunk, while the bald eagle was already in the air, with its wings beating fiercely. The people from above were now both on one knee, with their right fists onto the ground, but their body features can't be seen thanks to the shadows of the trees. At the same time, they stand up to their feet and the sun from above then shines in, taking the shadows away. The man in the left, a dark-skinned man with a small afro of sorts, a black goatee and small sideburns, dressed up in a white gi with a black belt tied around his waist. He seemed to be in his late thirties, early forties. The other man...wasn't really a man to be quite exact. It was a mountain panda, who also had a small white gi that barely went through its arms. Surprisingly though, both it and the man placed their hands in front of their waist and gave each other a small bow, before the man started to laugh:
"Hey, hey, take it easy there homen," said the man in a cheerful way "If you keep it up like that, you'll probably surpass me...and you can't even shoot ki blasts!"
In approval, the panda placed his paws down onto the soil and started to charge towards the man at an amazing speed. The man tried to make him stop by placing both hands forward, but it was too late as the panda jumped upon his arms and his weight made the man fall down onto the grass. Being on top, the panda then started to lick the man's right and left cheeks simultaneously, showing affection.
"Hey, hey, calm down there..." said the man laughing hysterically "Really, knock it off, I'm kinda sensitive y'know."
He then pushed the panda bear aside and proceeded to use his hands to clean up the mess the panda made on his face. The man then turned around and started to walk towards his cabin, as the panda went towards the chain ball and he started to whack it around with a couple of punches that made the ball go back about half an inch every time the panda punched it. The man looked back and saw the panda practicing his punches and he could never be prouder. After all, to learn the ways of martial arts is already a feat in itself, but for a panda to learn it...well, if you had given him books he'd probably have become Einstein by now.
At last, the man entered his cabin and it was quite small inside. There was a small table on the center with small cushions around it. Then, there was a sleeping bag to the far corner, near the bamboo walls and a counter with tea cups in it. But instead of doing anything, he looked to his right and saw one of his greatest responsibilities: a dojo's signboard. The man looked at the sign for a few seconds, before he started to think deeply...
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The man is now seen training inside what it seems to be a dojo. He is punching and kicking the air with determination, as if trying to perfect his technique, when all the sudden the sound of an opening door is heard. The man quickly turned around with his right hand extended, as a small orange energy ball came out of it within less than a second. The man who opened the door quickly extended his right arm as well, but out of it came a small blue shield of sorts that looked like a small energy ball.
"KO-OU KEN," shouted both men.
The blue and orange ki balls crashed and both disappeared from the men's arms. The man who had just defended himself then stepped in further, with a smile on his face. He has short very light blond hair, a small beard, an orange gi with a black belt around it and he has both his hands and feet taped.
"You're as good as always Marco-san," the man said, with the smile still on his face.
"Arigato...sensei," Marco replied "I try my hardest, as you know."
"I'm well aware of that...and even at your age, you've been growing tremendously, someday you might even surpass me. And please Marco, call me Ryo," added in Ryo Sakazaki, now the master of the new Kyokugenryuu school in Second Southtown.
"Sem problemas...Ryo" said Marco, trying his best to not sound uncomfortable "Well, I assume you came here to talk".
"There are two things that I do need to speak with you about, but first...let's sit down".
Both men then sat down on the wooden floor, as Ryo then started to speak:
"Let me lay it out flat for you...I'm going to take a trip to the mountains. It will be both a personal and training journey for me".
"Very well sensei Ryo...I'll take care of the dojo while you're gone."
"That's the other thing I wanted to talk to you about. I've decided to leave the dojo on the hands of someone else, because I have an assignment for you. You have heard what that maniac Kain is now planning, right?"
"That he wants to make Second Southtown an independent city where only the strong live...yeah, I've heard," Marco said, disgusted just at the thought of it.
"It seems like anyone who wants a shot at proving the man wrong will have a chance," Ryo said, as he reached onto under his gi and pulled out a flyer, which he then handed to Marco "I never thought there'd be another one of those after what happened in 2004..."
"It...it can't be. You're telling me that there will be ANOTHER King of Fighters tournament?" Marco said, shocked.
"Yes...and this one might be perhaps a nice break from what's been happening on the other years. As always, we will need a representative of the Kyokugenryuu on the tournament, and since I'm going to the mountains...guess who gets to go?"
"Wait a minute, you're asking ME to represent the Kyokugenryuu on this thing?" Marco asked.
"Exactly...of all the students here, you are by far the best one we've had in a long time. Because of that, I would also like you to take this".
Ryo then turned around and walked towards the wall to the corner of the dojo's main entrance. From there, he grabbed a wooden signboard and carefully walked back with it in hands. Marco couldn't hide his look of surprise, as he was looking at the biggest responsibility anyone's ever given him.
"This is the school's signboard Marco," Ryo explained "It means a lot to myself and all other Kyokugenryuu students...display it proudly during the tournament".
Ryo then brought the sign forward, as Marco slowly extended his arms to take the sign in hands...
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Marco then grabbed the signboard with both of his hands and walked away from the cabin. He then saw that the panda was laying down a few feet from the cabin, looking at him with those puppy eyes.
"I'm sorry pal, but I really have to go," said Marco "I'd like you to keep an eye on things for me though...alright?"
The panda nodded, as it then felt Marco's giant palm stroking its head lightly before walking off into the dark shades of the Sarah Forest. As Marco walked off with the signboard now tucked under his right arm, the wildlife nearby just fixed their eyes at him. Marco looked back and started to wave the panda goodbye. Immediately, the panda stood up and started to wave as well, while the other wildlife grouped around him, as if trying to say goodbye as well.
Alright, thought Marco. I will show those bozos at this tournament what the Kyokugenryuu is all about...or my name ain't Rodriguez!
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Two days later...
Inside an airplane, both a small kid with spiky black hair and weird clothes and the Kim brothers are looking from their windows down at Second Southtown, with an amazing look on their faces.
"Unbelievable," exclaimed Dong Hwan "A big city like that has got to have hot chicks...oh, this trip is going to be a lot of fun".
"So that's what a city looks like..." said the little kid.
"I can tell you're not quite from a big city" said Jae Hoon "Where do you come from?"
"I hail from the mountains of Japan" said the kid proudly "And I've come to compete at the King of Fighters tournament".
"A kid like you at the tournament? That's hard to believe..." said Dong Hwan, trying his best not to laugh before getting a punch to the ribs by Jae Hoon "Hey, what was THAT all about?"
"So kid...what's your name?" asked Jae Hoon kindly "And if you don't mind me asking, what's your fighting style?"
"My name is Hokutomaru, and my master's trained me on the Shiranui ninja arts, alongside the deadly Koppo-ken arts..."
Both Jae and Dong's eyes were wide-opened at the same time; just of thinking such a kid could have learned both these arts.
"But, I'm still a disciple so to speak...my master Andy just decided to send me to Second Southtown, so I could get some fighting experience".
Then suddenly, the airplane started to make its way down towards the airport, which scared poor Hokutomaru a bit, seeing as he was now holding on to Dong Hwan for support...
"Someone help," yelled Hokutomaru "This big bird thingie is falling down, ahhhhhhhh."
"Jae, GET. HIM. OFF. ME!" exclaimed Dong Hwan, as he struggled to get Hokutomaru off of him. "This kid is grabbing onto me like a monkey...geez..."
But Jae was too busy laughing his butt off at the situation, as the plane then made its landing on Second Southtown's airport.
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Homen – Man in Portuguese
Sem problemas – No Problem in Portuguese
Well, hopefully you guys enjoy this chapter and my characterizations of Marco (...whom I prefer not to call Khushwood Butt for obvious reasons). I also felt like some comic relief at the end between Hoku-sama and the Kim brothers would be quite nice. And trust me, things are going to get intense by Chapter 4. How intense though? You just wait and see...