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 19: Losing Oneself

Orochi Temple of Worship

"I kinda like seeing you in this miserable state."

If looks could kill, Vice would've died a hundred times over from Iori's murderous glare but instead, she merely shrugged it off and continued to slap the bounded man silly. "You should've taken my offer. It would've spared you the pain that awaits you once Orochi-sama has been resurrected."

"And what? Become one of you? A lapdog? Heh, come to think of it, it's really quite fitting in your case… a good for nothing bitch!"

That remark earned him yet another hard slap. "I don't know to whether to like you or hate you. That attitude is what drew me to you a year ago but that same attitude makes me want to rip your head off and mount in on a wall. Oh, Iori, what shall I ever do with you?"

Iori scoffed. "Well, you can release me and let me beat the crap outta you. It'd surely bring one heck of a smile to my face and knowing you, you'll probably enjoy it too."

"Hahaha… I should say the same to you. After all, your father did a pretty good job turning his little boy into a spiteful and vengeful young man…" Vice hopped back when Iori literally tried to take a bite out of her neck. "…oohh, feisty, aren't we? I told you before, you and I are so much alike, especially when you go into a murderous rampage."

"Bah, yeah right! Just the thought of the Riot of Blood scares the crap out of you! I really don't see you, hell… I don't see anyone in their right mind liking me in that damn state!"

Vice surprisingly just stared at him for a few moments. "You do have a point, Yagami…" she paused as she pulled out a small knife from her clothes. "But I'm not in my right mind, at least, not at this time."

She swiftly slashed at her arm and watched with a smile as blood started to flow out of the wound. She looked back at Iori and flung her wounded arm forward, splattering Iori's face, more specifically the eyes, with her blood. "See the blood that you have spilled, see the countless lives that you have taken, see all of your deeds as Orochi's servant!"

"Guidel's daughter…? Hmph, you're just a good for nothing half-breed!" Mature bellowed. It was quite easy breaking through this girl's mental barriers, mostly because deep in her heart, she still has this small belief that she's still the one to blame for her tribe's massacre. The blonde guessed that Ranma was the reason as to why that belief of hers has dwindled in such a short time.

"You can't fool me. You were enjoying it, right? When your fingers tore through the flesh of your family and friends, I bet that you were savoring every second of it. Oh, those large amounts of blood all over your little body… that must've made you crave for more, right? After all, you did hunt down the ones that escaped and then tore them limb from limb!"

Leona fought back tears as she frantically shook her head. "No! I didn't do those things! I didn't do those things! R-Ranchan…"

Mature smirked. "Ranma? Oh, right. Your childhood buddy? Well, if you must know, he's the one that told me about your past… you can add to that Goenitz' entry on his journal describing how a mere child could wield the power to wipe out a tribe of the Orochi clan."

"No, I didn't have control over myself… I wasn't aware…"

The blonde rolled her eyes and slapped her forehead. "And thus begins the same old cliché, the denial by the 'oh so innocent girl' and the persuasion by the 'mean ol' bad guy. The fact of the matter is that you still killed them! You killed your friends, you killed your tribesmen, and you killed your parents! You killed your mother and your father, nothing you say can ever change that! Everything was all your fault!"

"Nooooo!"

"Wake up, Chris. We still have a lot of things to do."

The brown-haired teen groaned as he started to come to. He shook his head a bit before a hard slap snapped his eyes wide-open. He turned to his attacker and it was none other than Yashiro, at least, he still hoped that it was Yashiro. Last thing he remembered was getting out of the clinic after being patched up and then… nothing. "Yashiro, where am I? Huh? Chains? The heck…? Get me out of here!"

"As you wish…"

Chris was couldn't help but blink when Yashiro casually walked up to him and, well, simply unchained him. "Hey, what's the matter with you anyway? Why are you acting so creepy? And where the hell are we now?!"

Orochi Yashiro shrugged as he leaned on a wall. "I recently found out that I'm not human." He paused, looking at his hand with a small frown. "It scared me at first, but then I came to realize how wonderful it feels to have this much power flowing inside your body. I also realized how much these humans deserve to die. These insects… these plagues need to be destroyed before they take the entire world with them."

"What are you babbling about? You look human to me Yashiro. Hey, stop this nonsense and let's go home, okay?"

The Hakkeshu of Earth chuckled slightly. "Even after everything that I did, you still find it in your heart to trust me. I'm sorry Chris but I already made my choice. And now it's your turn to be awakened, it's your turn to make a choice."

"Awakened? Wha…?! Ahhh!!!"

Child…

Yashiro watched with a slight look of concern when Chris suddenly clutched his head, hunched over as he aimlessly walked around the room. "My head…! Get out! Get out of my head!"

Remember, child… remember who you are… remember what clan you are from!

Chris screamed as purple flames slowly started to come out of his hands and began to encircle his entire body. After a little while, his pained face was soon replaced with that of anger and hatred, right before his clothes burst into flames. It continued for a while until the flames seeped back into his body as he limply fell to the ground.

Serve me to the fullest! Child of the sacred tribe!

KOF Tournament Ship

"Reiko, did you find anything?"

"No, I'm afraid not, my lady."

"I see… please order an immediate search for the missing fighters. I want them found right away."

"Yes, my lady."

Chizuru was inside Ranma's room with a worried look on her face. It was obvious that there has been some kind of struggle but she knew that the ponytailed boy would not go down that easily, but she also knew that the stress on his mind and body may be at its limit. She bit her lip when she recalled something a while back, something that made her change her opinion of him even more.

She was also at a loss for words that night. She could clearly hear the pain in his voice as he spoke those words. Pain that seems to be eating him alive but it also made her wonder, did he somehow knew what was going to happen to him? No, that's not it, his demeanor… it's that of a man who was clinging on a small thread of hope.

Never before has she seen someone like him, especially from the Orochi clan, someone who still has the innocence in him but was unfortunately burdened by a cursed fate. Shaking her head, she stepped outside and tiredly leaned on a wall. 'I was too careless, I assumed that they won't make their move until at least after the tournament. Now, I can't sense any of them anymore, were the Hakkeshu really the ones that took him? If so, then where? Where did they go?'

"He still hasn't regained consciousness yet?" Daimon asked.

"No, I'm not surprised though, considering the seriousness of his wounds." Benimaru replied with a sigh. He leaned back on his chair and placed his hands behind his head. "I guess the only thing we can do now is wait for him to recover. The tournament is practically over anyway."

"I guess you're right…" Daimon sighed out. "…by the way, have you seen Yuki? I thought she'd be by Kyo's side the moment he was injured but I haven't seen her anywhere. I wonder what that girl is doing."

Benimaru got up and shook his head. "I dunno, maybe she went back to Osaka to get Kyo's parents. Since Kagura pretty much cut off the satellite feed, they haven't received any news about Kyo's current condition. They probably are worried sick back there."

"Probably… but… we should've been there…"

The blonde let off a frustrated sigh. "Oh man, don't start that again. What's done is done. We chose to sit out the fight due to the injuries we suffered fighting Kagura's illusions, that's it, plain and simple. Besides, what could we possible do against Yagami? Remember how he thrashed us last year just so he could get his hands on Kyo? Well, I have a feeling that we could've suffered a whole lot more had we interfered in this year's match."

Daimon tiredly leaned on the door. "I know that, Yagami can become too powerful for us at times. I'm even starting to believe that he may someday be unstoppable if he continues whatever it is that he's doing. The way his power grows is simply astounding!"

"You may be right. I guess when that time comes… our abilities will be pretty much useless."

"How is Joe Higashi anyway? Is there any progress on his condition?"

Terry shook his head. "No, there isn't. He suffered a broken neck, he's really lucky to be alive after that attack by Mature. But the good news is that the doctors back in Southtown say that Joe will make a full recovery if he does what he's told for about a year or two."

Blue Mary sighed audibly as she continued to walk alongside the lone wolf. "Geese Howard couldn't have his way after all. He's lucky to have even survived his encounter with Ranma."

"Yeah, I didn't like how the match turned out though, Geese using underhanded tactics, thus forcing Ranma to kill in front of thousands of people…" Terry said with a frown.

"You really care for him, huh?"

Terry laughed a little. "It's like having another little brother, though he'd prefer to call me old man but I guess that's understandable, his real father wasn't really one you could look up to."

Mary raised an eyebrow. "Oh, come on, he can't be that bad, can he?"

"I saw him wager his own son on a damn card game in Southtown a few years back." He said bluntly, almost making Blue Mary lose her balance. "If that isn't a sign of a bad father then I don't know what is."

"I see… but if it was me that saw him, I'd probably break every bone in his body just so that he'll never do anything like that to anyone ever again. Wagering his own child?! I, I, really can't imagine someone doing that but from the tone you used, you left absolutely no room for jokes."

Terry sighed yet again before he suddenly punched a hole in the wall, startling the short-haired blonde. "What happened to him? Why is he so damn negative all the time? So what if he has Orochi blood? It doesn't change anything! He's still the confident and prideful little kid that I raised for almost a year!"

"Terry…"

Mai was a little bit nervous as she waited for a certain long-haired blonde to come up to her room. Andy came up to her one day, finally apologized about his remark about her not being able to handle the fighters in this tournament, and asked if she could talk to him in private. She, of course, was ecstatic that is until she finally noticed the seriousness in his voice. In her mind, it could only mean two things. The first one was fairly obvious; it was what she wanted all this time but the other one was… better not think about it right now.

"Mai? It's me, open up."

The kunoichi gasped as she fumbled her way to the door. "Ouch, I-I-I'll be right there Andy! Ow, what the heck is a cat doing here anyway?"

Andy almost had the urge to sweatdrop when he heard a number of things breaking inside the kunoichi's room. "Is she redecorating or demolishing the place?"

"Ah, um, hi! Er, welcome Andy!"

"Is… everything alright in there? It sounds like there was a wrecking crew in there a minute ago." Andy joked with a small smile.

Mai pouted a little before clinging onto one of the blonde's arms. "Oh, never mind that. Come on… let's go inside, it's getting cold out here."

The two took a seat, facing each other but they went silent for quite a long time. Mai was very nervous about this meeting, mainly because Andy never really took time to 'talk' with her, especially inside her room. Oh, there were times that they would have a decent conversation but Andy almost always makes up some kind of lame excuse when they start talking about their relationship.

"Um… Andy?" Mai began. "W-What did you want to talk about?"

Andy sighed, gently held the kunoichi's hand and looked at her with a sincere smile. "About us…"

Mai felt like she was going to faint. Fortunately, she was already seated as she leaned back on her chair. This was the first time Andy talked to her like this, well, the first time that doesn't involve fighting powerful people. Usually, the blonde would jump in and save her from someone, like a prince saving a damsel in distress. Frankly, she hated that one, because once she was out of danger, Andy would wimp out and would try to get away from her as fast as he can.

"Y-Yes…? What about us?"

"I-I, uh, how can I say this… um, argh, I'm not good at this sort of thing… you see, the thing is… um, er…"

The kunoichi twitched a little. 'Here he goes again…' "Spit it out already, Andy Bogard! Are you a man or not?!"

Andy frustratingly slammed his hands on the table before he turned it over. He walked up to Mai, held her hand once more, and kneeled in front of her.

Needless to say, the entire floor was introduced to a certain kunoichi's deafening shout of joy.

Temple of Worship

Yamazaki was currently standing next to an unconscious Yuki as he talked to someone through his cell. "Eh? I get it. Yeah, yeah, I understand already. What? Like hell! I'm not under your employ, remember? I'm only doing this because it's big business and I know you'll pay big money for the information I have obtained right here. Eheheh, speaking of which, how did those bone-crushing punches feel? Right, right, never mind. Hmm, looks like sleeping beauty is waking up, yeah, I'll contact you as soon as I get outta here."

"Uhn… where… where am I…?"

"Gee, I'd like to say 'hell' but I guess this is as close as you can get to it at the moment."

Yuki let off a startled gasp when she found herself face to face with a grinning Yamazaki. She tried to sit up but her arms and legs were tightly chained to the altar, pretty much making sure that she cannot escape. She also noticed that they were in an open area, probably on the top floor of some old ruins or something. "Where am I?! What is this place?! Where have you taken me?"

"Whoa! Take it easy there little girl! First off, Yashiro was the one that kidnapped you because if it was me that took you, you would've been slashed all over. That's just the way I am. Well, in response to your question, you are in some old ruin. Heh, I don't even care what the place is called so sorry, can't tell you that one."

Yuki trembled as she fought back tears. "W-What are you going to do to me?"

Yamazaki shrugged, his grin never leaving his face. "Who knows? I'm just being paid to do as they say which is to kill those that try to stop their ritual or something along those lines. It's my kind of job anyway so I don't mind."

"No… K-Kyo… help me…"

The psychopath couldn't help but laugh at that. "Eh? I wouldn't count on that punk to come and rescue you. Yagami did a pretty good job tearing him limb from limb! Eheheheh!"

"You know, it's really useless to fight it."

Shermie looked up and stared at Vice with tear-filled eyes. The pain was starting to be too much for her body to take and the only reason she hasn't succumb to whatever was calling to her was because of a certain someone whom she believe was still fighting it. "Ranma… help me…"

Vice smirked, not a good sign. "That kid? Ah, now I get it. He's the reason as to why you're still resisting Orochi-sama's will, isn't he? I hate to break it to you but he has already given up, along with that brown-haired kid."

"No…"

"Unfortunately for you, it's all true. I'll tell you anyway even if you don't understand a word I'm saying… both Ranma and Chris have awakened. You see, they know now that they're not human and they realize that they have more power than any of those insects could ever hope to achieve."

Shermie shook her head. "I don't understand! What are you telling me? They're not humans? I don't believe it! Ranma, Chris and I are just normal people!"

Vice sighed. "Persistent little girl. You continue to deny it but deep down, you know that I'm telling the truth. Ranma's not human, and so are you! It's a cold, hard fact! Besides, what the hell do I have to gain by lying to you?"

The twin ponytailed woman choked back a sob. It was all true. No matter how much she denies it, it was all true. Her foster mother told her something along those lines, saying that it was her real mother's last words. She thought that it was some kind of joke but now…

"Why fight it? Like it or not, you are one of us Shermie. Don't you want to be with him? Don't you want to be by his side? What else are you waiting for then? Just give in and everything will become clear for you, I promise."

'Ranma…' Her final thought as a human. With her decision made, electric arcs began to go into her body. Together with him, that's all she cares about. She only wants to be with him, be it in heaven or hell…

'People want me for different reasons, but… the bottom line is that they all simply want to use me. Almost everyone wanted something from me…'

"What's the matter? You haven't said a thing ever since we brought you here."

Mature was starting to get irritated by the silent treatment she's receiving from the ponytailed teen. You can add to that the fact that his violet eyes were devoid of life, it was like talking to a corpse really. All there is to him was that eerie blank stare as he muttered the same gibberish every now and then.

"Well, has he talked to you yet?" Orochi Yashiro asked as he casually walked into the room.

Mature sadly shook her head.

"Let me take over, will you?" He grinned, knelt in front of the chained Orochi half-breed, and cupped his face. "I never knew you that well, but you've made such an impact on Shermie and Chris that I'm actually a bit jealous. Heh, but I'm afraid that they have already chosen to accept their fate rather than fight it."

Orochi Yashiro tilted Ranma's head to the side and the half-breed's eyes widened just a little before he went back to his blank stare. Orochi Chris, who was the one standing on that side, frowned when he saw this but kept his mouth shut. Orochi Yashiro removed his hand and stepped away from the half-breed.

"What happened to your enthusiasm? Where did your desire to save them go?" Mature said albeit a little shakily. Getting no response whatsoever, she knelt down, leaned in, and whispered something to his ear. "Please Ranma, just join us. You can talk to him in this temple right? I know your tribe can still communicate with him so please try and speak to him…"

"I… am… so… tired… so tired… of everything…"

Then accept who you are, my child, accept who you are and be with your true family…

Ranma's face was suddenly contorted in pain. A few moments later, he bowed his head and closed his eyes as his struggles slowly came to an end. 'So… tired…'

AN: Just another chapter about the Orochi Hakketsu Shuu and some of the fighters. We're nearing the final stretch of the Orochi saga. Only four more chapters to go, er, make that three, because I can probably finish the next one today as well. Ja!

Next The Riot of Blood

"God, what the hell is he?!"