Curse of the Jin
Disclaimer: I own none of these characters. All characters that come from Fatal Fury, etc. come from SNK.
Author's Note: Important. This fanfiction assumes that Real Bout Fatal Fury (and all events associated, including stuff that happened in RBFFS and RBFFS to an extent) happened in 1996. Also, the events of King of Fighters 2000 has happened.
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Chapter 3: Out-of-the-ordinary Escort
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"Ugh…" Chonshu said, his head aching when he awoke. Everything seemed fuzzy, and he felt a need to rub his head. He tried to lift a hand, but he couldn't. His view eventually cleared…
Was that a dream? That was crazy- oh what the...! Chonshu was shocked to find himself tied up on a chair, rope bound tightly, sitting in some warehouse. There were crates, a wall… A damn wall, Chonshu thought bitterly. He couldn't see much of anything. He could hear a forklift lugging around boxes. He could also hear someone talking outside in Chinese. Being Chinese himself, from the conversation he was able to easily able to find that he was in Hong Kong.
Help!, he shouted in his native language. They didn't hear him as he heard what seemed to be the warehouse's doors slam shut.
… I can break myself free, easily. Chonshu thought to himself, scoffing inwardly. But time to figure out who these jokers are and what they're up to. They think they can capture a member of the Jin family, ha!
"Well lookie, lookie, he's awake!" What appeared to be your classic shirtless blue pants-wearing black Hong Kong thug said. He brandished a club, and Chonshu could've laughed and teleported out of these ropes, and kick him in the face with one hit. Chonshu decided to humor the thug, though.
"Wh-wh-what do you want?" Chonshu stammered, pretending to be afraid. If he hadn't pursued Tae Kwon Do, he probably would've made a good actor.
"Ho, boy. Hey kid!" The thug smacked Chonshu with his club. Chonshu faked pain by crying out- but that hit was enough to make any serious fighter laugh.
"Ouch, you didn't have to do that- hrrk!" The thug suddenly grabbed Chonshu by the collar.
"I don't have to do anything. But I did. Everywhere left and right, people have been stealing opportunities from me. Not this time! I was desperate for a job, anything. You can't possibly know what it feels like, you little runt. But boy, was I lucky, you were an easy target. Just your regular TKD kid, 'cept lying on the floor unconscious. Oh man, the money I'm going to get out of you-" Chonshu could not take this anymore, and laughed.
"Regular TKD kid?" Chonshu said, glancing at his training uniform. "Buddy, you're kidding me. Oh, and I don't need to hear your life sob story."
"Nobody talks back to Michael Max!" The thug said, hitting Chonshu again. Chonshu decided he had overstepped things a bit, as he wanted to know who was out to get him.
"Ow… Ow… Please don't do that again…" Chonshu said, sobbing. Good thing Max wasn't good at reading emotions, because he was crying with tears of laughter, not of suffering. Michael Max, the WASHOUT BOXER? AHAHAHAHAHA!
Max was starting to get annoyed that Chonshu was choking up with laughter, but Max didn't know this, so he growled, "Quit sniveling. Jin said I could rough you up, but not too much."
"!? Jin!?" Chonshu said, suddenly alert. He quieted down when Max threw him a glare. Chonrei…? No, it can't be…! Could it? Tung's letter… Was there more to it than I thought?
"Wouldn't you like to know." Max said, turning away from Chonshu and walking over to a crate and inspecting it. "Hey, Grey! Throw me that crowbar!"
Okay, keep calm Chonshu… Stop sweating. I said stop sweating, damn you! It's not what you think. The possibility that Chonrei has set a boxer-reject-turned-Hong-Kong-reject is slim to none. Hell, that's something you'd do Chonshu. Okay, what is this moron doing?
"Hey," Chonshu said all of a sudden.
"What?" Max snapped, struggling to pry open the crate.
"Snnrk… It opens the other way."
"Okay, that's it chuckles, it's time to go back to sleep."
Okay, crap, that looks like it's definitely going to hurt this time... Me and my big mouth… Time to teleport-
"LET'S BURN IT UP!"
Right before Michael Max's crowbar was going to land on Jin Chonshu's voice, someone howled in pain.
"HWARGH!"
"OOF!"
"OUCH!"
"What in the heck?" Chonshu said, perplexed. Only one man says something like that… Wolfgang Krauser?? WHAT THE HELL IS GOING ON!?!?
"Ho… Holy…!" Max said, dropping his crowbar. "No way, man! Just no way!"
"What, you idiot! Turn me around so I can see! Nggh! N-" Chonshu said, struggling to hop and turn around. Then he stopped. Chonshu… You idiot… You can just teleport…
Before he could, a body soared above and past Chonshu, and slammed into the wall, the impact making a small crater. Chonshu could see Max reluctantly putting up his fists.
"I'm not gonna let this happen, you bastard! We're going to get our due from the kid, or my isn't Michael Max! TORNADO UPPER!" Michael Max brought his fist back, crouched a little, and threw his fist upwards, throwing a small tornado at whoever beat up Max's posse.
"That little thing isn't going to stop me," Krauser said. "Blitzball"
"AUGH!" Michael Max was blasted into the wall by Krauser's Blitzball, out cold.
Chonshu could hear the clanking of Wolfgang Krauser's boots as he came into view. Dressed in his trademark Strolheim armor, Krauser examined Max, then shrugged. "You can get up by yourself." He turns to Chonshu. "Well?"
"Uh…" Chonshu said, not sure what to do. He wiggled around a bit. "I… I kinda can't."
"Don't take me for a fool, Jin Chonshu. I know what your clan can do… I know a lot about the Jins, actually. Get out of those ropes, and follow me. I'm afraid Tung could not make it, but we will meet him in Hunan province. Make haste."
Chonshu teleports off his chair, appearing in front of Krauser. He stretched a bit and yawned. "What do you mean, 'we'? What business do you have with that old man?"
"I have no time to explain." Krauser said, turning away from him.
"Wait just one minute," Chonshu said quickly, "Everything's been happening too fast for me. Was it my brother who had me unsuccessfully kidnapped, Krauser? I want some explanations, and I'm pretty sure I can get it from someone like you. After all, what the heck would the great scion of the Strolheim family be doing here, in a noisy and corrupted place like Hong Kong, of all places?"
"As I said before, now is not the time to elaborate on the situation, except for one thing." Krauser said, nearly at the door of the warehouse. "Your brother, Chonrei- he is dying."
"You're joking!" Chonshu explained. "We Jins have an immense resistance to sickness. Nothing could take down my brother-"
"I'm afraid that your brother did not come down with anything," Krauser said. There was a strange hint of sadness in his voice. "… Your brother was attacked. He has suffered grievous wounds… Maybe fatal wounds."
"Attacked!?!" Chonshu said, shocked and horrified. "I… I can't… Krauser, you swear that you aren't lying?"
"I wish I weren't, little one…" Krauser said, stopping outside. It was raining, and the sky was literally pouring.
"… … Please… If you aren't… Lead me to him…" Chonshu said, running outside with him.
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End of Chapter 3.
Author's Note: After an appearance by Michael Max (who I think is an effing' wimp, he got knocked out in one hit in the anime, a scene that's easy to miss), things get from bad to worse.