Disclaimer: Uh… I dunno… I just write fanfictions…
Chapter 5: I Choose You!
"You think you've got me don't you?" Rina growled as she glared at the bane of her existence that is now on her desk. Sitting there, mocking her.
"I am my father's daughter! I fight to kill! I fight for power! I fight to survive! You are nothing but an insect, do you hear me?! YOU ARE NOTHING!"
There is no response…
"GAAAAAH!! SHI-NE!" She threw a dark thrust, quickly incinerating the entire desk and everything that was on top of it!
Rina growled again but in victory. But then again, her enemy could never truly be defeated.
"Damn History project… DAMN THEM ALL!" Rina yelled.
::Knocking is heard:: "Come in!" Rina said without turning towards the door. Kasumi walked in with a worried expression on her face.
"Is everything alright?" she asked. She then noticed the charred remains where her desk used to be. "Homework huh? Well, you ought to stop using your father's way of solving problems all the time. Do you have any idea how hard it is to replace PARTS of furniture sets?!"
"Yea… well, it's either that or my nice comfy bed..." Rina mumbled as she rolled her eyes. "Hey Mom, listen… I need your help with my History project. I need some info on our family history."
Kasumi nodded. "I can try, but you ought to ask your father also. I don't know everything about your father's side of the family."
"Uh… yea. That's not a problem. I can always say 'Help me, or magneta jeans.'" Rina replied.
"Magneta?"
"Well, I'm feeling quirky. Anyways, I also need to know about you two and um… how you got together and stuff…" Rina rushed the last part of her sentence.
"Really? Is that all?" Kasumi wondered aloud. "I thought you already knew?"
Rina only chuckled. "I keep getting different accounts on how it happened. Terry keeps telling me he hooked you and dad up and how dad owes him a life debt. Kyo says he had to lock you two in a room in order for the both of you to get out your…ugh… 'Frustrations' and admit your feelings."
"Oh my…"
Rina only nodded. "Then there's Athena. She said you two hated each other but then you had a romance online without knowing who the other really was."
::Kasumi sweatdrops:: "That never happened! That's just a really old movie…"
Rina blinked twice at the revelation. "Well, I thought it was a bit strange…"
"Well, never mind that. I'll give you the real scoop on how it happened!"
Rina quickly grabbed a notebook and a pen and waited for her mother to starting talking so she could take notes. "Oh, hold on a sec." Rina reached into her school bag and took out a tape recorder. "Okay. Go!"
"NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!!!!!" A voice screamed. Suddenly the door broke down and Iori stormed in! "Don't even try it!"
"Iori! What's wrong with you?! I JUST REPLACED THAT DOOR!" Kasumi yelled. "It always has to be the house and our wallets to suffer isn't it?"
"Huh?" Iori looked down at his feet. He was directly on top of the door and the hinges were still stuck on the frame of the door. "Eh… casualty of war. Anyways don't even try it Kasumi!"
"Try what?" Kasumi asked.
"Don't you dare make me look like a… a Kusanagi!" Iori bit out. "First you're gonna say I got you roses, sang boy band songs to you under your bedroom window, and proposed to you in some place like France or something!"
"Did you?" Rina asked as she shoved the tape recorder in Iori's face.
"Of course not!" Iori said as she pushed the offending device away. "If you wanted to know, you should have come to me!"
"I did, last night to be precise." Rina stated.
"You did? I don't remember that happening." Iori stated bluntly.
"Of course you don't remember. You came back from where ever you were, piss drunk, and you were singing 'We are the Champions' all night!"
"Uh… heh…heh…" Iori looks over to an irate Kasumi. "Rina… Ix nay on the alcohol nay! Anyways… uh…"
He looks over to Kasumi, who is readying her headband as she always does before a tough battle…
"I'm going to sit right here… and monitor this conversation closely… But I'll be damned if I let either one of you make me look like a pansy!"
Kasumi smiled and started to tell the epic tale of her and Iori's past.
"What?! NO! NO! NO! THIS CAN'T BE HAPPENING! SONS OF SLUT MONKEYS! DAMN IT ALL TO HELL AND BACK!"
Athena only watched her husband react in his own little way to the difficulties of life, in this case the letter in which he held in his hand. Hard to believe he actually calmed down from his King of Fighter days.
"I am not going! I don't care what's at stake, I don't care who's gonna die or be sacrificed, I just don't care! Ya hear me Rugal! I don't care! I'm not going!" Kyo yelled at the ceiling as he waved his King of Fighters 20XX invitation letter, marked with the traditional emblem of Rugal.
Of course with all of the tournaments Rugal has held over the years, it'd only make sense to save money that way instead of printing the exact year, hence 20XX. "By all that is holy and sacred, this is just one tournament too many!"
"Why don't you open it dear…" Athena replied as she sipped her tea.
"Eh? What for? We already know these 2 invitations are for us! Damn that Rugal, doesn't he have anything better to do?!" Kyo then examined the two engraved envelopes again. "Maybe it'll say April Fools? He hasn't sent us one of those in a while."
He ripped open the sticker-sealed envelope and he took a peak at the invitations. He blinked at what he saw.
"…Well, this is a first... It's the first time he's misspelled my name. And look at this, he printed our daughter's name instead of yours!" he said as he leaned over to Athena to show her the letter. "If he weren't a modern day pirate with a thing for explosives, I'd call him a goofball..."
"And look at these weird rules! 'Rule #12: Teams must stay in one place of residence until called for a match which may or may not occur in the near foreseen future' Ridiculous! 'Rule #31: The tournament can and will last to a minimum of 1 year.' A year?! What the hell? We have bills to pay ya know! Not all of us have an unknown source of money, RUGAL!"
"Dear…" Athena adores her husband but sometimes he just couldn't put two and two together until it was too late.
"You agree with me don't you?" Kyo turned around at Athena, silently begging her to agree with him. There's no way he would want anything to do with this tournament. It was just insane!
"Oh Kyo…" Athena said as she affectionately patted his cheek. She silently cursed his good looks. "Don't worry. Besides, has it occurred to you that they are for Kenji and Hikari?"
"Honey… I love it when you have confidence in the kids and all… but… Why would Rugal want to hold a King of Fighters Tournament for Kenji and Hikari? I suppose he even sent out invites to the Bogards, that Howard kid, and even Rina Yagami?"
::Athena sweatdrops:: "…Maybe?"
Rina looked at her mother with a raised eyebrow as she tapped her pencil against her notebook. Kasumi remains to look cheerful but a bit nervous while Iori snickered in the background as he sat Indian style on the floor.
"That was unbelievable on so many levels, it's not even funny…" Rina remarked.
"Of course! That was the watered down version!" Iori cackled insanely. Kasumi only grimaced. "There's no need to rub it in you know…" she replied.
"So could I pleeeaaase get the real scoop already? This thing is due in…" Rina looked at her alarm clock. "…15 hours!"
"Fine fine… let me handle this one!" Iori replied as he shuffled himself over in front of Kasumi.
"Bill… Bill… Bill… Latest news on those weapons shipments from Brazil… Bill… Oooh, Time magazine's Man of the Year! Me!" Geese laughed manically, ironically looking exactly like his picture on the magazine. "Hmm? What's this?" he wondered as he picked up a white envelope with a seal on it.
"A King of Fighters Tournament! About damn time I got invited to one of these! Hah, it'd be a grand opportunity to try out my latest technique, The Raging Storm!" ::Close up of Geese smirking sinisterly:: "Sideways!"
Geese continued to laugh manically until his eyes reached the name inscribed. 'To Rock Howard'.
"What the bloody hell?" Geese winced at his own remark. "Ugh, note to self, stop hanging around Billy. His fake British accent and slang is wreaking havoc on my vocabulary!"
Geese then realized something. A King of Fighters Tournament is Rugal's territory! And he's working with Athena and Kasumi and Chris! "So this is the great plan? God I need a drink…"
"Well… This is surprising…" K' muttered to himself as he looked at the paper he held in his hands. Kula stood behind him with her arms crossed. Fio and Felicia were looking nervous.
"Girls, you know I keep my promises right?" Fio and Felicia nodded. K' got up from his chair and continued. "I CAN'T BELIEVE YOU FAILED EVERYTHING EXCEPT FOR GYM!"
"I'm surprised at you Fio, the most. You're the oldest! You're supposed to set an example!" Kula reprimanded.
"I'm only 5 minutes older!" Fio protested. Felicia only laughed.
K' cleared his throat. "As your punishment…" Fio and Felicia sat in the corner of the living room hugging each other for dear life. They've seen their father 'punish' someone once and it was very… messy…
"I'm sending you to your first King of Fighters Tournament!" K' finished. ::Fio and Felicia sweatdrop::
"K'!" Kula yelled in astonishment.
"Woohoo!" the girls yelled as they've just avoided a serious punishment for failing the entire semester except for gym.
"Why doesn't anyone let me finish around here? I'm not done yet damnit! Your mother and I will be participating as well, but we won't be together like usual…" Fio and Felicia stopped dancing, wondering what he meant.
"We'll be working with Benimaru and someone else. So just remember, don't expect mercy when I'm beating the two of you into the ground!" K' smirked as he rose from his chair again.
"You better start training harder!" he laughed as he walked away with his hands in his pockets. The twins only looked to their mother, who only shrugged in return.
"But you can't do this! It's against the law! It's freakin' child abuse!" Felicia whined.
"Well, it's your father's wish. Besides… I always did love his creativity!" Kula grinned. "Besides, it's not like you're gonna learn anyway else, so you'll learn as we've learned, and that's by having it beaten into you."
"What if we win against either of you?" Fio demanded.
"You win... If you father or I win, well, you'll just be grounded until the school year starts."
"Awww!" Fio and Felicia groaned.
"You want me to what?!" Benimaru yelled. He was shocked, to be called up by one of his former teammates K', to join the latest King of Fighters Tournament. "Is it the end of the world? 'Cuz if it's not---"
"No, but it'll be fun! It'll be like old times! You know you want to!" K' argued back. "It's not like you haven't kept in shape! I saw you in that Street Fighter Endgame Tournament last year!"
"Ah! So you saw my victory over that Bison guy?" Benimaru asked eagerly.
"Yes! It was the work of a genius! You were great! You were kicking ass! You were the Mike Tyson of the damn tournament!" K' took a breath. Inflating Benimaru's ego always does wonders.
"Heh heh heh… I was that damn good wasn't I? Well, I don't suppose why not! I'll get there as soon as I can!" Benimaru wrote down the address K' gave him and hung up. He wondered if he really should go for it. It really has been a long time… That big green thing with the electricity and that pansy with the stupid looking armor and military fatigue did give him a run for his money…
"No! I said I would and I'm going! Besides, I whupped all their asses anyways! This'll be a piece of cake!"
Benimaru ran to the stairs of his house and yelled loudly. "HONEY! PACK WHAT WE NEED AND GET THE KIDS! WE'RE GOING TO AN OLD FASHIONED ASS-KICKING!"
"That never happened!" Kasumi yelled at her husband as she choked him with all her strength. As Iori was on the floor with an irate Kasumi straddling his midsection, he only laughed harder at her futile attempts to take his life.
Rina, only covered her face with the palm of her hand. She knew that never happened because it was just too out of character. She also knew it was like foreplay for her parents. "Would you two behave already?"
"He started it!" Kasumi yelled as she stuck her tongue out at Iori who only grinned in return.
"And you tried, and I say that in giant neon flashing letters, to kill me. Your point? Also, don't stick it out unless you plan to put it to good use!" Iori said as he licked his lips, which only infuriated Kasumi more.
"ARGH! DAMN ARROGANT BASTARD!" Kasumi, in one of her rare moments of Yagami like rage, picked up a chair and smashed it into Iori's face at blinding speed, and fully knocking him unconscious. "You're sleeping on the couch tonight, buster!" she said as she slammed the door closed on her way out, leaving a swirly-eyed Iori on the floor.
Rina only chugged her soda, knowing it was just one of those nights where she has to fix everything and get her project done in time.
"Hey, take a look at this!" Terry shouted as he came back from work. "We're going to The King of Fighters Tournament!" Jenny, who was helping her mother cook dinner, quickly rushed out.
"No way! You mean the same ones you and mom used to be in?!" Jenny quickly snatched the letter away from her father's hands before he could respond.
"The one and the same kiddo!" Terry said with good cheer. "That's one's yours, I have mine and your mother's invites right here." he said as he patted the right pocket of his jacket. "I even got word your cousin Yusuke and his family are invited to the Tournament too."
"Really? That's great! At least there'd be friendly faces there!" Jenny sighed in relief.
Terry only chuckled. "Everyone's friendly until the fight starts, that's when things get hairy."
Mary finally came out of the kitchen. "Another one?" Terry and Jenny only nodded enthusiastically. "I don't know if we should go, it always involves some grand scheme for world domination and power! I definitely don't think Jenny should go. It might get too dangerous!"
"It's always dangerous when it comes to her! She dares to hand around Yusuke even though he's on Rina's hit list!" Terry said affectionately as she ruffled Jenny's hair. "She'll be fine. We started out young and look how we managed!"
Mary looked unconvinced but nodded slowly. "It's a good thing we'll be there to at least watch over you," she muttered. Her muttering turned to screams of outrage when Terry and Jenny snuck behind Mary's back to 'sample' dinner.
"TERRY! PUT DOWN THAT SPOON OR YOU'RE GOING TO WORK TOMORROW MORNING WITH A BROKEN ARM!"
Rugal sealed up his last few invitations and sighed happily as he looked at his pile of letters. "I can't believe it'd take this many fighters to resurrect that stupid god. But I have to admit, all these new fighters are definitely going to make things worthwhile." Rugal grinned greedily as he thinks about stealing all their abilities afterwards.
After almost taking that worthless fighter Akuma's energy in the Capcom VS Snk 2 Tournament, he has perfected the ability, to take the abilities of others.
"All that is needed is their soul energy to resurrect Orochi, and that is what the tournament is for… when it's too late for them and Orochi is here, I'll take their powers for myself due to their weakened states! With that, Orochi is next, and then the world!" Rugal started to laugh until…
"Boss, why are you talking to yourself?" Vice asked as she slammed the door open on her way inside.
"Yea, that's just crazy. What are you, some sorta psycho?" Yamazaki added in. He followed Vice in casually with one hand in his pocket and a yo-yo in the other.
"Shut up! You've never been the major villains in any serious plot to take over the world, and if you were, you'd understand the things I do!" Rugal huffed.
"Yea yea. So what's the deal calling us down here in the middle of the night?" Vice asked.
"Simple. As your duty as my secretary, your job here is to deliver the rest of these invitations." Rugal stated simply as he push the small pile towards Vice and Yamazaki. "Now, hurry! I want these mailed out ASAP!"
"You have got to be kiddin' me…" Yamazaki muttered. "I came all the way down here for this?!"
"Forget it Rugal, I'm leaving! See you tomorrow morning!" Vice yells.
"Wait one second!" Rugal bellowed.
Vice only turned around halfway. "By the Orochi, are you REALLY that lazy? How hard is it to get that butt of yours out of that chair and downstairs to the mailbox?"
"Well, pretty easy, it's just this that makes it frustrating." Rugal replied as he hit a button on one of his many remote controls. One of the walls of the office slid open to reveal at least 20 man-sized bags of mail. "That's why I called Yamazaki down here, to help you out. Besides, this is a extremely comfy chair!"
"Also, there's another thing I'd like to discuss with you 2. I want us to work together for this upcoming tournament! I have a foolproof plan to take over the world!" Rugal cackled like mad while Yamazaki looked on impatiently and Vice was yawning.
"Rugal, do you have any idea how many time's you've lost?" Vice asked.
"Or come close to being killed?" Yamazaki continued.
"Or how many secret bases you had to destroy?"
"The damage repairs to the Black Noia? The reinstallation of explosives into the frame of the Black Noia?"
Rugal growled but held his temper. "OKAY! OKAY! SHUT UP! Geez, make a few mistakes and you're crucified for it! But this time it's really fool proof!"
"If we're gonna go 'blasting off' into that wild blue yonder, I swear I'll come back from the dead again, just to kill you!" Vice snarls.
"Ditto!" Yamazaki added in.
"Relax! Anyways, here's the plan…"
The Next Day…
Rina was the very definition of a zombie the next morning. Her eyes were practically pupil-less and her arms were dead as she walked in a slight crouch. "Stupid Project…" she muttered.
Kenji suddenly turned the corner and noticed Rina in a bad mood. "Oi! Yagami! Something the matter?" he asked as he cast a critical eye on Rina.
Without warning or even a 'Shi-ne', Rina caught Kenji in a variation of her father's Maiden Masher, which she calls the Kenji Masher. Soon after the 20 hit combo, Rina continued on her way to class as Kenji was slumped on the floor, more than halfway singed.
"Hmm… no insult today… I think she's actually starting to tolerate me…" Kenji muttered as he puffed out a ring of smoke.
"Rina! Glad you made it on time for tomorrow!" The history teacher replied as Rina came in late. The teacher looked at her Rina's attendance in disdain. "At this rate you won't ever need to come to first period."
Rina glared at the teacher. "Glad you're the same old worn out gorgon with a barb wired nightstick up your rectum." Rina replied as she went to her seat.
"Hmph! Just for that, I want YOU to give your report first!"
Rina growled menacingly. She threw her book bag onto the desk and pulled out a 10-page report (with a summary, bibliography such as newspapers and tabloids, and list of various sources) and stalked up to the front of the room.
"As everyone knows, my dad is the famous and notorious killer," she turned around when she said that. "Iori Yagami. My mother is the famous Aikido warrior Kasumi Todoh. There's been a lot of speculation into that and my family history, and this," she said as she held up her ten page report with color photos, "Has everything you or anyone else would want to know. Also, don't look at the pictures if you can't stomach them. Many of them are from the King of Fighters and Fatal Fury Tournaments."
"It all started when—"
--- Chzzk --- Is this thing on?? Okay… This is Vice Principal Howard speaking… GET YOUR LAZY BUTTS INTO THE AUDITORIUM OR I'LL DRAG YOU OUT BY THE ROOTS OF YOUR HAIR! …Thank you, and have a nice day…
"Well, looks like you're safe for the moment Rina." The teacher said. "Class, line up, single file!"
"Good morning all." Geese said as he addressed the students after they've arrived in the auditorium. "Now, I'd like to address two things. First, I made Time Magazine's Man of The Year!"
::Silence::
"Fools! Congratulate me now, damn it!"
::Everyone stands up clapping loudly, even louder whistling::
"Thank you! Thank you! You're just too kind! Really! …Okay now… STOP CLAPPING! …erhm… Anyways personally I'm glad it's not another doctor or humanitarian! Now, second, I'm here to announce, since it's going to be summer soon, I've decided that there will be… NO SCHOOL UNTIL THE FALL SEMESTER!"
::Loud cheering, hats thrown in the air, gun shots in the air, random sailor guy kisses a girl in a 1940's style dress::
"BUT, only if you're participating in the King of Fighters Tournaments or invited to it. The rest of you maggots will stay here. BWahAHAHahhaAhAHahAHAhaHahAHA!"
::Loud protests of anger, confusion and general whiny behavior::
"Hey! You got a problem with it, take it up with the Deans!" Geese hollered. Immediately everyone's heads turned to the back where the sound of a whip was heard.
There was Rugal, Vice, and her partner, Mature who just recently joined the school staff. Rugal looked all around threatening while Vice was standing by Mature who's holding a bullwhip menacingly.
"ANNNYWAYS… You'll have a chance to sign up for the Tournament up here! If you're worthy you're in! Good luck and try not to get killed to easily! We need ratings because it's gonna be on prime time! You could always try to stall for time and run around the ring for a while I guess…"
Chizuru rushes out and drags Geese behind stage. "What kind of speech was that?!" Chizuru demanded.
"I'm a man of action, you know that! I did my best!" Geese said defensively.
"I had someone write a speech up, FOR you! What the hell happened to that one?!" Chizuru yelled, coming to point of ripping her hair out and maybe even Geese's hair.
"Well… it didn't have the right flair to it. It just wasn't me so I did that speech off the top of my head. Why does it matter anyways? It got the job done."
"Never mind… What's done is done… But look at what you've done!" she cried as she pulled the curtain back to reveal the entire student body fighting to get at that sign p sheet.
"What's wrong? They're showing they have the fighting spirit that they'll need to survive the at least the first draft! Hey, did you just see that girl's right hook! I can't wait to see how that one turns out! I may even corrupt her and turn her into my personal assassin…" Geese rubbed his chin thoughtfully.
"It'll be a bloodbath!" Chizuru screamed as her hands gripped the sides of her head.
"I know! I'm so proud to be their vice principal!" Geese said slightly tearing up.
TBC:
Finally, the time has come… The moment everyone has been waiting for… Bigger than wrestling, funnier (hopefully) and better than that Robin Williams HBO special! THE DAMN TOURNAMENT HAS FINALLY STARTED! Will Kenji and Rina get together? Will Kenji survive it? Will Geese ever get back to his normal job? And what happened to those damn French fries, Vice?!
Sorry that I took so long in updating, just a lot of stuff happened, slight dry spell here and there. However I'm glad to report I've diverted my attention from this chapter (in order to get rid of the dry spell) and wrote a special. That'll take some time since I've developed a writer's block for that one… (.)
Well, read, review, and if you're gonna flame, at least make sense! Or at least be valid…
Good night everybody!