A Ranma ½ King of Fighters crossover fanfiction

Disclaimer: I don't own Ranma ½ and King of Fighters characters. Especially some macho chick! That's built like a stick! Dumb as a brick! Thighs are too thick! Can't even kick! WHAM! WHAM! WHAM! WHAM! Ugh… shutting up now… oi…

Flames of Destiny

By Insane Blight

Chapter 16: Broken Souls III: The Real Me

"Date?! What date?!"

Ranma scowled as he was just finished being patched up by a doctor inside the clinic. His left eyebrow was starting to twitch a little from the annoying smirk that Chris has on. Bad enough he came barging in here to say that he couldn't even win the match but now the little runt was saying that he promised Shermie that they'll go on a date one of these days.

When did that happen? For the life of him, he really can't remember promising her anything. "You're joking, right? I don't remember making that kind of promise to her at all."

Chris' smirk widened, making Ranma very nervous. "Remember the time where you fought the Ikari Team? You know… the one in which I found you drunk at a bar a few hours after the match. Do you remember it now?"

===Flashback===

"Oh, just leave me alone will ya? I can hick go home by hick myself."

Chris gave Ranma a 'yeah right' kind of look. "C'mon, let's get out of here before I use the Bakusai Tenketsu on you."

A very intoxicated Ranma chuckled and poked Chris on the nose. "Not gonna hick work, it's only effective on rocks, not on hick humans. Now, leave me alone."

"Really…?" Chris asked in a deathly calm tone.

"Really, now go bother hick somebody else. Like Shermie or your other friend, Yashi- hick -what's his name or somethin'."

Chris' eyebrow shot up and a grin slowly made its way onto his face. "Alright, I'll leave you alone sensei but on one condition. You see, I think Shermie is quite fond of you and I think that she would be delighted if you can take her out on a date one of these days and-"

"Yeah, yeah, whatever…" Ranma mumbled before passing out.

===End Flashback===

"Why… you… sneaky… little…"

Chris merely shrugged. "Takes one to know one. At least I got back at you for that Bakusai Tenketsu training. Well, are you gonna do it or not? A promise is a promise…"

Ranma huffed and crossed his arms. "W-Why should I? It's not like I was aware of what I was doing and besides, why would I date one of my students… if you can call her that."

Both blue-eyed boys stared at each other, neither one moving an inch, that is until Chris lowered his head and looked at the floor. "It's not about that Ranma. I just… I just think that you can help her with something. She's really depressed these past couple of days and I thought you could cheer her up a little…"

"… Is it about your team's fight with the Art of Fighting Team?"

Chris went silent for awhile. "Part of it, yeah… we don't know what really happened to Yashiro but he certainly has changed. He apologized for what he did but ever since then he was starting to avoid the two of us. It's as if he wants nothing to do with us anymore and that's too much for Shermie and I to take."

Ranma had a thoughtful look as he leaned back on his bed. "Hmm… I don't know… I mean, I do want to help but I feel that it's not my place. I've only known her for about a couple of weeks and I haven't even talked to her that much during that time." 'Not to mention that I suck at dating women.'

"I see…" Chris said sadly. "I guess she'll simply continue sulking inside her room, with no one to comfort her besides her 'little brother', who doesn't even have the slightest idea of how to do it. Maybe she'll get really depressed when she thinks that CYS is going to break up and… oh no! She may commit suicide because of it! Isn't there somebody-"

"Alright already! I get the point!"

KOF Tournament Ship: Late Afternoon

"I know I agreed to go along with this but… a tuxedo?"

"Quit complaining, you're here to help, right?"

"Yeah but this thing's tight, you sure I have to wear this?"

"Yes, so stop whining already."

Ranma crossed his arms and frowned half-heartedly. It's no use trying to argue with Chris any further, he somehow knew that he'll never win no matter how hard he tries. He turned to his left when something caught his eye and froze. There was Shermie, coming down the stairs with a very noticeable blush. She was wearing a black, long, silk satin dress with a matching pair of high heels. She had her hair down and her bangs were brushed slightly to the side, revealing her emerald-green eyes.

Chris whistled and nudged Ranma on the side. "Told you it was worth it." He mumbled before noticing that Ranma was still in a trance. He grabbed his ear and whispered, "Hey! Remember what we talked about!"

That snapped the ponytailed boy out of his daze, letting out a dumbfounded 'huh?' before realizing what Chris was getting at. He walked towards Shermie, held out his hand and assisted the redhead down the stairs. To the side, he could hear Chris' somewhat suppressed laughter. He ignored it for now as he spoke, "Uh… s-shall we go?"

Back to Chris, he watched the two leave with a smile but that smile quickly turned to a frown when he sensed an unwanted presence come up from behind. "Leave them alone. It'll be just you and me for today's match so I don't want to hear any kind of crap from you."

Ranma and Shermie walked around a local park after an interesting dinner conversation. Who'd have thought that Shermie knew Picolet Chardin? It made sense though, Shermie is French. Ranma felt a little angry when he heard that Mr. big lips tried to make Shermie as his bride but he relaxed when she said that she made it 'abundantly clear' that she wanted nothing to do with him, and the details about it really were not for the faint of heart.

The two continued to walk for awhile. Both had their heads turned to the side and by the way they moved it was quite obvious that the two were a little uncomfortable for some reason that only they themselves know. They stopped every now and then when they noticed a few familiar faces along the way.

First was Terry, although still injured, was busy taking to that girl, Blue Mary about something. After saying a quick hi and a few heated exchanges between the two men, they soon met Kyo and Yuki. After a couple of denials from both Shermie and Ranma, Yuki decided to thank the ponytailed teen for saving her life back in Tokyo. Ranma shrugged it off, although he was starting to get annoyed by the guarded stare Kyo was giving him.

Then after awhile they met the most obvious couple amongst the fighters, Andy Bogard and Mai Shiranui. The two girls hit off from the get go, they had so much to talk about, mostly about the men they want in their lives. They went to get some refreshments while the two men sat on a park bench, both were pretty much exhausted already as they gave each other a look that says 'I know your pain man'.

"So your Terry's younger brother?" Ranma asked out of the blue.

Andy glanced at him, realizing that this was the one that fought his brother. "Ah, you're the one that defeated Ter. I never really thought someone as young as you could do it."

Ranma laughed. "Defeated him? You've got to be kidding me. He got me right where he wanted me and I was just lucky that I slipped and got my move through that knocked us both out, my team only won because my partner Mature was the only one conscious after the fight. If you have been there, maybe you guys were the ones that should be advancing instead of us."

"Never met someone like you before, but I have to ask why are you partnered with that woman with Orochi blood or something?"

"It's because I am of Orochi blood as well." Ranma said with a dejected sigh.

The blonde blinked, he thought about leaving in disgust, remembering what Goenitz did to thousands of people with that huge void in the sky, but he knew that this kid really is just a normal teenager. "Oh, did you know about what happened last year?"

Ranma nodded slowly. "Yeah, Goenitz slaughtered all of those people and sent the rest to some kinda large wind void right? Mature and Vice were his accomplices, though they turned on him in the end."

"Who or what is Orochi? What are those two planning anyway?"

"I don't know." He lied. "She doesn't open up to me much either so I can't say much about it." Well, part of it was true. Mature really hasn't told him anything despite a couple of coaxing from him. He shook his head and tried to think of something to change the subject. "Er, um, how about you? Mai, I mean. She really likes you, huh?"

Andy snorted. "Maybe… but I don't like her the same way she likes me. She's always following me around, trying to get me to marry her. I don't like it and I don't love her-"

"Liar." Ranma accused.

"What did you say?!" Andy shouted, standing up and glaring at the ponytailed boy. "Who are you calling a liar?!"

Ranma just smiled and shook his head sadly. 'I can't believe I'm going to say this to someone older than me.' "Would you calm down? I called you a liar because of two reasons. One is because your feelings for her are pretty much obvious to everyone and the second reason is because those feelings are the exact opposite of what you were saying."

Andy growled. "What would you know? You're just a young punk!"

"Maybe so, but I'm a young punk who already went through the exact same thing you're going through." Ranma snapped back, standing up and matching Andy's intense glare. "I know where this is going, you blatantly deny any sort of feelings for her but you'll quickly drop that charade and risk your life once she's in danger."

The younger Bogard paused, his hands clenching and unclenching. He couldn't reply to what Ranma had said so he broke his gaze and looked to his side, where Mai and Shermie were busy talking.

Ranma placed a hand on Andy's shoulder. "I just hope that your relationship doesn't end up like mine. If you really love her then just tell her already, there is no point in delaying it because you'll never know what will happen tomorrow. Who knows? Maybe it'll be too late to tell her by then…" he trailed off, leaving Andy behind.

"And what about you? What are you doing now?"

"I…" Ranma hesitated. "I just want a place to belong… a place to come home to… and perhaps, even a place to be loved for what I am…"

"Soooo… what did you and Andy talk about?" Shermie inquired.

"Uh, nothin'." Ranma babbled out.

Shermie giggled. "Uh-huh, and I'm a ditzy blonde. Now what did you two really talk about? Is it by any chance, about me and Mai?" she teased, trying to cover up a blush of her own.

Ranma frantically shook his head. "It's really nothin' Shermie. It's just something about the fight with his older brother Terry, that's all it is! Honest!"

"I guess so…" she said sadly. "Hey Ranma, care to dance?"

"What? Right here? In the middle of the park? I-I-I'm not really that good a dancer and I would probably end up stepping on your foot or something… Ack!"

The redhead smiled, grabbed his arm, and literally dragged him to a spacious spot beside a fountain. She clasped his hands and began to show him the steps in her own version of the waltz. Ranma fumbled a bit but he never really let Shermie hit the ground when he made a mistake. After a few embarrassing situations, he finally got the basics down and was able to dance with her in rhythm.

Soon, Ranma was enjoying it as much as Shermie is. The feel of the wind blowing through your hair as you spun around, it made him feel… free, without any burden, without any problems whatsoever. They finished their dance by spinning one more time and then clasping each other's hands as they looked at each other with cheerful smiles. Then they heard a thunderous round of applause that brought them back to reality.

It seems that a large crowd has gathered to watch their performance. They quickly parted and laughed a little before Ranma, by some near-impossible chance, got splashed by the fountain water which the transformation made the crowd stare at her with wide eyes. The two chose this time to run away and head back to the tournament ship. Both panted as Onna-Ranma escorted Shermie back to her room.

"Thank you for showing me a great time Ranma. I can't remember the last time I truly felt so alive like this…"

"Shermie…"

Onna-Ranma twitched when she noticed that Shermie has inclined her head, closing her eyes as she slowly removed the distance between their faces. The ponytailed teen was at a loss for words, her brain was running into overdrive and her emotions were fighting it out. 'I shouldn't be doing this, I haven't even told her about my heritage yet. What would she think when she finds out that she kissed someone who isn't even human? And I'm currently a girl! Wha… wha… wha…?'

It was too late now, Shermie pressed her lips into hers and Onna-Ranma's eyes were now as wide as saucers. Sure she has been kissed when in female form but never by another woman! Shermie broke the kiss and immediately ran to her room, leaving a shell-shocked Onna-Ranma behind.

Shermie leaned on the door and immediately clutched her chest as she took a few deep breaths. After a few minutes, she finally regained some sort of composure. That wasn't anything like she imagined, it was far more wonderful than what she ever hoped it could be. She ran a finger on her lips and couldn't help but giggle at the look on Onna-Ranma's face. 'She may be female but she's still a man inside…' she thought with a sigh.

She leapt forward and spun around, giggling to herself as she did so. Her little dance was cut short when she noticed the piece of paper on the table. She picked it up and began to read it, her eyes widening by the second as she let off a surprised gasp. "Oh my, the fight!"

The redhead was about to head for the door when she noticed a few electric arcs coursing around her hand. She took a few steps back, not sure what to make of this. She tried touching them but all it ever did was sent the electric arcs all over her body, making her scream out loud before dropping to the ground, with the electricity still coursing through her unconscious body.

Southtown: Tournament Arena

"Not very talkative this time around, eh?" Iori asked, punching Yashiro a couple of times in the gut. Then he kicked the New Face Team leader on the chest, sending him skidding back a few feet. "Hm hm hm, and you're a lot tougher than I remembered…"

Yashiro's stoic demeanor remained unchanged. He hunched forward right before rushing into his opponent. He grabbed Iori on his right shoulder and tossed him up high. He looked at Iori right before he slammed his fist into the ground, causing the floor to explode upon impact and making a few large rocks go up towards his descending opponent.

"Is that all you've got?!"

Iori punched right through the rocks but after breaking the last one, he was sent right back up by a kick to his stomach. He instinctively clutched it but that proved to be a huge mistake when Yashiro decided to go after him. Yashiro grabbed his shoulder, flipped over him and threw him right onto the floor. He winced as he got up, only to go back down when a huge rock struck his chest, causing him to cough up blood.

Yashiro stared coldly at Iori's downed form. He knelt down, grabbed him by the head, and slammed it right back to the floor several times. To add insult to injury, Yashiro stood up and stomped on Iori's chest as he grinned to the thousands of fans watching their fight. The worst part is that most of the crowd loved it, they haven't forgotten what Iori did a year ago when he turned into a berserker on television.

"Beat him up!"

"Make him pay for the people he murdered!"

"Yeah! Kick his ass!"

Yashiro chuckled. "You heard the crowd. They want you to pay…" He leaned in closer to Iori with a wide grin and whispered, "…for going into the Orochi Riot of Blood, eh, dog-boy?"

Iori's eyes widened but before he could react any further, Yashiro lifted him up, wrapped both arms around his waist and held him in a crushing bearhug. "And I think now is a good time for you to pay up, dog-boy!"

"I'm down here!" Chris crouched and kicked Vice's left foot, which forced her to lose her balance. He jumped up and then dove for his opponent with his hands extended forward. "Sorry about this lady!"

Vice looked up and caught his hands without any real effort. "Sorry? I should be the one who should apologize… for doing this!" She held on to his hands, sprinted forward and slammed Chris to a wall. "Hmph, so arrogant, you act as if you know everything. But this should bring you down a peg or two."

"Really? Well, look behind you!"

Vice jumped from the voice, she took a second to look at the wall in front of her, only to find out that the blue-eyed boy was now gone. She spun and received a blow to the head for her troubles. She recovered but got a few more kicks to her face and an intense palm strike to her chest, sending her to the wall she was facing a moment ago.

Chris stood in front of her and cupped his hands to his side. "I think that this is enough for you… Mouko Takabisha… BURST!" he shouted, a light blue, short-range ki blast swallowed his opponent whole and destroyed the wall in the process.

'Why do I feel like I'm on fire?' Chris thought, clutching his chest tightly as he gasped for air. He stared forward intently, trying to look past the thick cloud of dust that has accumulated around the area.

"Too slow!"

A set of hands suddenly emerged amidst the dust and clamped onto Chris' neck. Vice stepped up, sunk her fingers into the boy's neck and then performed a slashing motion which brutally tore the young man's skin. The wound wasn't as deep as the crowd thought it would be, but it was enough to send Chris to his knees as he struggled to breathe.

"Kutabare!"

Vice grinned when she grabbed Chris by the head and forced the boy to look at her eyes, which were now slitted. The blue-eyed boy screamed as Vice forced her energy into him through her hands. "Let's see if you really are the one we are looking for."

Chris screamed and called for Yashiro but the blonde blatantly ignored his pleas for help and continued to tighten his hold on Iori. A few moments passed, and Chris finally gave in to whatever attack Vice pulled and passed out.

The redhead reluctantly released her grip and let the boy's body slump to the ground. For the life of her, she couldn't explain what happened during her attack. She did the same to Saisyu, and nothing of the sort has ever happened before. She lost her powers temporarily, yes, but she did not receive a few garbled images from the minds of her victims except for this one. 'This is a problem… does this mean that there are two vessels…? Damn it Goenitz, why didn't you tell us about this?!'

"What's wrong? You're not smiling anymore, Yagami."

Yashiro tightened his hold, forcing another scream out of Iori. A few cracks from the redhead's body were already being heard by the crowd, making them turn their eyes away from the fight between these two. "Isn't this your line? Cry and scream in pain!"

Iori rapidly shook his head as he continued to struggle against Yashiro's grasp. Blood was starting to come out of his mouth once more and he could feel that his body would not be able to resist much longer. "You… forgot… one… thing…"

"Eh? What's that, dog-boy?"

"DIE!!!"

The redhead delivered several consecutive headbutts to Yashiro, causing him to stagger and loosen his hold. He used the remaining amount of strength he had left to completely break free of the hold. Iori went to his knees and gasped for air. 'How in the hell can he stand up after that? No one can take that much punishment and not go down… what is this guy made of?'

Yashiro let off a sinister laughter as he focused his attention back at Iori with those vicious red eyes. "Who's the weakling now? Ya can't beat me Yagami, but I sure as hell can beat the crap outta you!"

"Hm hm hm hm…"

Yashiro frowned slightly, not sure what in the world Yagami is doing at a time like this. He hardened his gaze, leaned closer and asked, "What's so funny, dog-boy?"

Iori placed a hand on his face. "Heh heh heh heh… Hah hah hah hah!!! Oh, what a moron! You fell for it! Raku ni wa shinenzou!"

A circular energy of purple flames erupted from under Yashiro, instantly paralyzing his entire body. Iori used this chance to pounce at the still frozen blonde with the intent of finishing the fight. He tore through Yashiro's clothes and gave his opponent multiple slashes all over his body, and then he topped it off by performing a light shoulder tackle, into a face grab and he buried Yashiro's head into the ground. "Shine!"

Iori sent a few small flame bursts into the hand that was still clamped onto Yashiro. He ended it by pounding both of his flame-covered fists to Yashiro's chest. "If I recall, this is your line… STAY DOWN!!!"

Yashiro reflexively gasped for air as the attack connected. He did it for a few more seconds before his eyes rolled back and eventually lost consciousness as he muttered, "This… isn't… over…"

The winner of the match… the Yagami Team! The semi-finals matches have been set. The first match is going to be between the Hero Team and the Yagami Team while the second match is between the Boss Team and the Hakkeshu Team! Please look forward to it soon!

Iori started muttering to himself as he left the arena, with a smiling Vice right behind him. Had he stayed a little longer, he would've eventually noticed the knowing smile on the face of the supposedly out cold Yashiro.

AN: Alright, the polls will resume right now but it will close when the next chapter is done.

There are only two girls this time, Shermie and Chizuru were tied in the votes last time so we'll start the voting from scratch, those who have voted can vote again and those who haven't, here's your chance. Please take time to vote. I've already finished the two outlines; all I really need now is the person Ranma should end up with. Your votes will also determine what the ending will be (semi-dark, happy, etc…), so please vote, onegai!

I'll get into Vice eventually, if that's what you're wondering. The Resurrection arc starts next chapter. It's nearing the end and I promise that questions will be answered when everything is over. Ja ne!

Next Interlude IV: A Life to Live…

A side story on the lives of the Ranma cast, along with Ranma's thoughts with the people around him.