Chapter 3: Blast from the past
Disclaimer (Riddle me this. Riddle me that. Who's afraid of the big, black... Disclaimer?): I, Grey Rayne, do not own anything, whether it be items, characters, place names or anything within The King of Fighter's universe. I do own a few miscellaneous characters within this story, but they may be used freely by all.
King of Fighters is a trademark of SNK Playmore.
Another slow night dragged on. King looked up at the wall-mounted clock across the room. '11:15, damn...' She thought woefully. La Illusion shut its doors to the public at midnight, and then King, Sally and Elizabeth would be able to sit down and have a quiet drink to themselves. King's eyes wandered over the patrons and met Elizabeth's eyes. The poor girl looked tired, but she put on a jovial face and waved slightly. King smiled and then turned her eyes back to the bar.
"I'd like one of them whiskeys, please." An old man said, popping his head between the shoulders of two burly men. King recognised old man Jack, one of her regulars, and quickly slid his drink across the bar. "Thank ye' kindly, King." He said. King wasn't really listening. Not only was the constant din of voices, music and furniture moving beginning to grate on her nerves (It did every night) but she was also looking across the room concernedly at a man who had had one too man drinks...
Billy Kane shifted in his seat, almost falling off the edge of it, and looked up as he noticed someone standing a few feet away from him, looking down at him. To Billy's blurred vision, he saw a young man with blonde hair and wearing a barman's outfit staring at him with a strange expression. The voice that came to his groggy senses was distinctly female though.
"Billy, don't you think you should go home now?" King asked the intoxicated man. Billy grinned up at her and patted the side of his nose in intoxicated knowingness.
"The bar not shut tul m'dnight." He slurred happily. King was impressed, he could tell the time although she doubted he could even see the table in front of him clearly. He held up his index finger suddenly, as she was about to speak. She realised he was listening to what music was starting up. He listened for a short while and then said a quiet 'Bah.'
"What, you don't like Britney Spears?" King said sarcastically. Billy snorted and slumped back in his chair.
"Fur a secund, I thought it was Ir'n Maiden." He mumbled. King decided to leave him to it, just until closing time anyway, which was fast approaching. She fought her way through the patrons and behind the bar. Sally was being chatted up by a young man a few feet away from her, and she listened half heartedly.
"My name's Dan, what's your name pretty lady?" He was asking, his voice brimmed with confidence. King noticed Sally blushing shyly, the poor girl got hit on quite a bit but never seemed to get used to it. The young man was quite handsome though, King had to admit, but if it had been her, he would be flying out of the bar and landing amongst the trash cans across the street. King's attention was drawn away as a customer was asking for a drink. She heard the main doors open and shut and apparently someone had entered, which was odd, because the bar would be shutting soon. She didn't look that way though, or pay much heed as the din of voices quieted and then resumed its normal level as the patrons glanced at the newcomers. She served the woman who had called her over a vodka tonic.
"Last orders, please. Last orders!" She called out, and a few patrons made for the door. She looked over to where Billy Kane was seated, and sighed in relief as she saw him down his last drink and unsteadily pull himself to his feet, assisted by his fighting pole. Billy looked towards the doors, which he was about to stagger towards, and his blood suddenly stopped flowing. His jaw flapped noiselessly and his eyes widened.
King watched Billy in interest as his mouth moved wordlessly and he seemed to be rooted to the spot. She followed his gaze and saw the newcomer for the first time. She noticed a woman wearing a karate outfit, and she gasped slightly. The woman looked uncannily like the deceased Vice, except for the clothes, which alone were attracting peculiar looks from people. She could hear a few 'Just come from Karate practise, darling?' remarks from some of the more courageous patrons. If it was indeed Vice, King thought it a good idea to stop her patrons before they get hurt. One of the two burly men standing at the counter moved, and King realised that Vice wasn't alone... Standing beside her, wearing a karate outfit himself, was Rugal Bernstein. King decided immediately that it wouldn't be a good idea to be seen by either of them, and quickly ducked down behind the counter, to some of the patron's at the bars confusion. Billy Kane had snuck behind a group of people as well, and was watching Rugal with sudden sobriety. Rugal was walking over to the bar with the attractive woman he had brought in with him, whom Billy's eyes scanned a few times before he could help himself. He recognised her as Vice.
"It can't be Rugal or Vice, they died..." He whispered, trying to convince himself that he should quit drinking this instant. "You're seeing things, Kane." He continued to himself. He then noticed that several people were looking at, moving out of the way of and talking to/about the two. Billy realised he wasn't imagining it. He didn't even know why he was hiding, but he didn't fancy the idea of being recognised as a fighter and challenged to a fight, not when he had downed so many pints. He had Met Rugal and Vice before, only briefly, in a 'business' arrangement. Nothing special, of course, just a few bags of heroin Geese had decided to acquire as a special treat to some of his 'employee's.' But it was enough for Billy Kane and Geese to know that Rugal meant serious, and often deadly, business. Vice and Mature had been welcome distractions from the grim statues that seemed to stare back at Billy from every wall. He didn't pay them any heed until Rugal had kindly explained there true nature, and then even Geese was slightly freaked out by the insane man. Vice seemed right at home amongst it, although he had heard later that she would have preferred a room covered in blood. Those two belonged together, although Vice apparently despised Rugal. Billy gasped as Rugal turned his gaze towards him and met eyes with him, giving Billy a funny look as Billy was staring at him, but then turned away. Billy was both slightly relieved and slightly annoyed that he had apparently remained unrecognised.
King peeked out and saw Vice push through the crowd towards the bar. Sally, who was still chatting shyly to the young man she had met earlier, was both relieved and annoyed at being distracted. A woman in a karate outfit was talking to her.
"Hey, are you the owner?" Vice was asking. Sally looked over to where King was ducking down. King shook her head and waved her hands.
"No, I'm afraid she's busy right now, but can I help you?" Sally replied.
"Yeah, I think so. Where exactly am I?" Vice asked in a tone suggesting she was hiding embarrassment.
"Why, this is the famous La Illusion bar, of course!" Sally said proudly. "I'm surprised you missed the sign, it's about 7 feet high and glows neon." She continued with sarcasm. Vice, unusually, didn't seem to get angry at the remark, although King was fearing for Sally's life.
"No, no, I mean-." Vice seemed to lean over the counter slightly and began to whisper something to Sally that King couldn't hear.
"uh, this is Southtown." Sally said more loudly.
"South Town, where's that?" Vice asked uncertainly. There was a moment were the voices had died down in the bar, before someone, who King recognised as Henrique, shouted out.
"It's in the southern hemisphere!" Which was followed by laughter from many of the other patrons.
"Be nice to the lady." Rugal's voice could be heard, sharply cutting off the laughter. Rugal seemed to whisper something to Vice and they both left. King stood up to see Vice's back quickly disappear as the door shut behind her. She didn't know what to do now, but these events troubled her. She glanced over to Billy, who met her gaze. She could practically see his mind working as his eyes turned quickly from slight shock to his 'money!' eyes. Billy had an idea about how this new information could make him some profit, but he would have to hurry, before someone else snatched up the opportunity. Billy exited the bar and made a run for it.
King looked about herself. She was glad that she had got through this without losing a single patron. She looked across the room at the wall-mounted clock. Midnight. She didn't think she could trust her voice, so she looked over to Elizabeth. Elizabeth could tell that something was wrong just from the look in King's eyes, so she took command of the situation.
"Closing time!" she shouted over the din. The patrons began to walk, stagger, wheel, hobble or be carried out by Elizabeth, Sally or other patrons. King was relieved when everyone was gone, but then grit her teeth and walked across the room. She kicked the Stereo viciously, and it practically exploded. Peace reined over the bar as Sally and Elizabeth stared at King's back in mute shock and worry. King needed to sit down and, she thought glumly, she needed a tequila sunrise.
They had learnt that the city they had come out into was called South Town. Which they thought strange, because it was far too large to be a town...
They walked along in silence for a while, not looking at each other or anyone they passed, ignoring the strange stares they received.
"I think they thought I was crazy..." She said suddenly. He considered this for a moment.
"Probably." He said. "They were also rude and obnoxious, we should avoid public gatherings in future." She agreed whole-heartedly. He suddenly stopped with a slight gasp of pain. She turned to see what was wrong to see him staring at the bottom of his foot.
"What's wrong, did you stand in some dog..." She trailed off as she saw a red liquid on his foot, which she instantly recognised as blood.
"No, on some glass." He said as he wrenched it out. It wasn't a large shard of glass, but it had still drawn blood. She felt strange as she looked at the red substance, it was like a low boiling in her own blood as she stared fixedly. Her heart skipped a beat and her eyes narrowed. Suddenly she was ripped out of her trance-like state as she heard his voice.
"Is something wrong?" He asked her with a hint of concern. He had torn a strip off his right sleeve, because he didn't really need it from the elbow down, and tied it around his foot in a makeshift bandage.
"N-no..." she quavered before turning her gaze away. He scrutinised her for a few seconds. 'Maybe she has a phobia of blood' he thought dismissively, averting his gaze. They walked along in silence for a while longer, unsure of exactly where they were going in the first place. They turned down a dark alleyway, unaware that it was a dead end.
A shadow moved, the light of the streetlamps illuminating a sharp metal object in its gloved hand. The dark shape slid into the alley behind them.
They stared up at the large brick wall blocking their path and turned around to go back. A man had appeared behind them. He was quite small and had a certain hunch-back look to him. His brown coat looked rather tattered, like a person who had been on the streets for a long-time, although the gold ring on his finger and the gold teeth they saw as he smiled at them proved otherwise. The butchers knife in his hand waved through the air threateningly.
"Hand over anything, like, valooable." He said in a deep accent they didn't recognise, waving his knife inches from her nose. They both knew that they had nothing of value on them, which presented a problem. They didn't know if the knife-man meant business, but they didn't like the idea of being stabbed in a dark alley.
"I'm afraid we don't have anything of worth on our persons." He said with a calm tone, which surprised him, because he didn't feel calm at all. The knife-man scowled and stared at them in turn. They could practically see his brain working as he glared at her for a long while, his beady eyes examining her longer than she felt comfortable with. He suddenly turned and held his knife closer to the one-armed mans face.
"You, beat it." The knife-man growled. "Me and your friend are gonna have a good time." he sneered, taking his eyes off of the one-armed man, which was a costly mistake. The knife was suddenly yanked out of his fingers and tossed to the ground, too quickly for him to react to it. The knife man leapt back, throwing back his coat to reveal a belt with a selection of knives hanging from it that would make a butcher blush. This was the type of person who, when deciding to do something, would go overkill. If he decided to go out and threaten people with knives, he wouldn't be able to decide which one to use, so he would just take them all. Another butcher knife flashed in his right hand and he pulled out a fork in the other. They stared at the fork for a while, not knowing what to think.
"A fork?" She said, suppressing laughter. The knife man growled. He then threw the fork into the air. They watched it in wonder as it plummeted to the ground. Before it could reach the ground, his foot shot forward and the sound of metal-on-metal filled the air. Something flew by her ear and she turned at the sound of something hitting the wall behind her. The fork was imbedded in the wall about an inch. She gulped...
King lay back in the comfortable armchair, an empty wine glass hanging limply in her fingers.
"That hit the spot!" she announced happily. Sally and Elizabeth, who were seated on a couch opposite her, smiled and exchanged glances.
"So, what happened. Why all the stereo smashing, suddenly?" Asked Elizabeth, with a tint of sarcasm. King looked back apologetically.
"I'm sorry about that, I don't know what came over me. How much will that set us back, do you think?" She asked concernedly.
"I know someone who can hook us up." Sally said, her usual shyness disappearing around her friends. King nodded glumly. The events of the night coming back to her as the alcoholic beverage thinned out in her blood. She sighed, wondering what to do next. She remembered Sally and Eliabeth staring at her, waiting for an explanation.
"Rugal's alive..." she said quietly.
"What, the big freaky guy who you told us about?" Sally asked. King nodded.
"He was in the bar earlier with his ex-secretary." King muttered. Recollection dawned on Sally.
"What, you mean that one eyed guy in the karate suit?" she whisper-screamed. King nodded again. "He didn't look that evil..." Sally muttered. Elizabeth suddenly laughed.
"How would you know? you were too busy talking to a cutie pie!" She chirped, nudging Sally lightly. Sally blushed. "So, what's he like, do you think he's the genuine article. If not, I'm sure King will beat him up for you!" Elizabeth laughed playfully.
"He was sweet!" Sally defended. "He gave me his telephone number and told me he would always be in. He didn't even ask for mine." She said.
"How's that sweet?" Elizabeth asked. Sally gave her a blank stare.
"It means he won't be calling up every five minutes and pressurising me. I like considerate men." She reasoned. King, having listened to the conversation, had an idea. She stood up suddenly, a large grin on her face.
"I have to call Ryo!" She announced, slightly more cheerfully than was necessary. Sally and Elizabeth giggled, which made King glare at them. "I mean, to tell him about Rugal!" she defended.
"King, honey. Ryo's cute, in his own way. coughas I'm sure you've noticedcough And he's strong, too. But if Rugal's as powerful as you told us, won't Ryo get, kind of, bitch-slapped?" Elizabeth said. King flinched. 'She has a point, if he still has the Orochi power... and he has Vice as well. Best not concern Ryo with this...' King thought. An idea hit her, and her pretty face hardened in determination. She went to the phone and dialled Ryo's number...
Ryo was in mid-kick when he heard the phone ring, and an observer would be impressed at how fast his reaction time was. He went from kicking at a wall-mounted punching bag to making a dash towards the phone in a second. He picked it up and quickly wiped a few sweat beads from his forehead before answering.
"Sakazaki Kyokugenryo dojo, Ryo Sakazaki speaking." He said politely.
"Ryo, It's King." He heard King's welcome voice on the other end and couldn't help but smile.
"Hey, how's business?" He asked. King scratched her head.
"Actually, Ryo, It's kind of the reason I rang up." King confessed. Ryo wasn't bothered, though.
"No problem, what do you need?"
"Kyo Kusanagi's phone number."
