A/N: I'd like to apologise for the amount of time this update took (again).
Events on day 5 include ping pong (or Table tennis whatever you want to call it) and the Bao toss and two mystery events.
The teams had arrived at the ping pong venue which was the same one used for the weightlifting. Some people wondered why it was called ping pong and not table tennis like it should be.
"Welcome again, I hope you got a good days rest… with the sports up today you may need it" Heidern said
We look at Gato who seems to be looking even more ticked off then usual.
"Hey. Not that I care but what's eating you" Billy said
"Yes brother why are you so tired" Hotaru asked
"Do not call me that… and I'm not tired, and if even I was it would be none of your business" Gato snapped back looking away from both of them
"You chased down this guy, just because he's your brother? If I found out this guy was my brother I would deny all knowledge of him" Billy said
"He's a good person, I know deep down he has a heart" Hotaru replied
Heidern then announced the new teams entering…
"The US team from way back in KOF 94 is back and with them is Iori and Foxy. In addition we have another new team in the form of the high school team. We have Hinako and Xiangfei as well as Jae Hoon and Dong Hwan who are both Kim Kaphwan's kids. Oh and also, Saisyu Kusanagi has replaced Iori Yagami for the Japan team" Heidern said
After the murmurs died down Heidern spoke again.
"The first event is Ping Pong, or Table tennis… It's a first to 5 points game. Usual format for these kind of games, choose 1 person and we will sort out a tournament" Heidern explained
The teams on the most part had already figured out who would be competing today.
Ikari Warriors: Clark
Psycho soldiers: Athena
Outlaws: Billy
Fatal fury team: Joe
K' team: Whip
Woman's team: Chizuru
Ash team: Shen Woo
Japan team: Shingo
Korea team: Chang
Art of Fighting team: Ryo
Sports team: Foxy
High school team: Jae hoon
The draw came out as
Chizuru vs. Chang
Jae Hoon vs. Billy
Joe vs. Shen Woo
Whip vs. Shingo
Foxy vs. Athena
Ryo vs. Clark
It didn't take long for some of the matches to be over. Chang beat Chizuru with 5 straight points with his good use of controlled power, while Whip easily defeated Shingo using good placement abilities, Clark was also given a 5 to 0 thrashing against Ryo, although that was partly because he always overestimated the amount of power he should put into the ball and always sent it off the table.
Billy and Jae Hoon however were in a tight match, 3 to 2 in favour of Jae hoon with him serving. He put the ball in while Billy returned it, Jae hoon then tried to put a decent amount of force into it however he swung too hard and it crashed into the net. Jae Hoon then breathed out trying not to give into his frustration. He already has his first chance to block the outlaw team, he can't afford careless mistakes like that.
Foxy and Athena was another close encounter tied at 2 points each, both had very strong minds as Athena returned Foxy's serve, Foxy tried to drop it towards the front part of Athena's side but Athena predicted it and she stretched out her arm returned the tactic to Foxy, however Foxy was one step ahead as she then put the ball deep into the right side of Athena's side of the court. The game moved much faster so Athena had no chance of getting the ball back.
"Well done…" Athena smiled
"Thank you, you aren't bad yourself" Foxy replied
While this was going on Shen Woo had a 4 to 2 lead over Joe, Shen Woo was ready to serve, as he sliced the ball very close to Joe who was forced to play a shot he wasn't quite happy with due to the ball coming a little closer to him then he thought, Shen Woo saw the chance to seal it as Joe put it clean into centre allowing Shen Woo a very easy swing to put it away, Joe guessed Shen would go right but he was wrong as he aimed left. Joe was obvious outplayed as he and the ball went in opposite directions, giving Shen Woo the game.
After the short psychological slip from Jae Hoon earlier he refocused and it was all he needed to put away Billy two points later. Foxy and Athena was the only match left to be played out as they were tied at 4 points a piece, the winner of this point won the match. Athena served the ball and Foxy returned it with a good deal of power which caught Athena off guard a bit but she blocked the ball just in time to send it back to Foxy forcing her to move a little bit out of position to get it, Athena noticed this and she put the ball away on Foxy's weaker side winning the point and the game.
The next round was prepared
Ryo vs. Athena
Shen Woo vs. Whip
Chang vs. Jae Hoon
While in the losers bracket just to speed things up the teams drew numbers from 1 to 4, however there were two 1's and two 2's but only one 3 and one 4. Drawing the same number as another person resulted in a match with that person. Billy and Foxy were the fortunate ones to avoid the wooden spoon.
Clark vs. Shingo
Joe vs. Chizuru
There was also a new trick with the table for this round, it had a slightly different surface then standard so the ball bounce was more unpredictable, but nobody knew this. However as soon as the ball bounced on the table it was something that Ryo knew all too well from the old family table tennis table, and as a result Athena's predictions of where the ball should be ended up being a little off, allowing Ryo a quick victory.
Shen Woo also had problems adjusting to the strange surface, while Whip was able to adjust to the game better allowing her an early two point lead however Shen wasn't about to give in. Whip served and the balls bounce was a bit twisted, however Shen Woo was slowly getting used to it as he put the ball into Whip's side of the court in the centre which ended up being more on Whip's left hand side, Whip just took it in her stride as she let loose a powerful ball down the line overwhelming Shen Woo.
"This surface is dodgy…I'm convinced it is" Shen Woo touched the table with his hand
"I don't know… they like to change the rules on us so maybe this is just another version of that" Whip said "Typical of Heidern I'd say" Whip concluded rolling her eyes
In the all Korean match up, Chang and Jae Hoon had played a few times before and Chang almost always won, this time would prove no exception as Chang defeated Jae Hoon 5 to 2. It was a mystery to everybody why Chang was good at ping pong, it just was something that seemed to be and they weren't about to ask questions now.
Whip was now at 4 points to 3, Shen Woo had started to come back… she had blown the last 3 points, and she only needed one more the win the match, her performance hadn't been that great recently and she really needed a medal here. Shen served and the ball again curved the wrong way although Whip wasn't quite caught out as she dipped the ball just over the net, Shen struggled to reach for the ball but he managed to get it back, Whip watching closely as the ball went into the air, it happened really fast and it looked as if it would go out, Whip backed up a bit just in case it hit the edge of the table but it would turn out to be unnecessary as the ball bounced off the table ending the game.
In the play off for the wooden spoon it would be Joe who narrowly lost to Chizuru and Clark was this time too cautious allowing Shingo to avoid the spoon.
In an even stranger turn of events, a new table was brought out yet again, however instead of the usual two ends, this one had three. To add to the confusion there were some large holes in the table. The single ends were connected to form a Y like shape.
"This is a new variation, there are holes in there tables because if you drop the ball into the holes it is considered to be out as if you dropped it off the table" Heidern explained "The winner is the first one to reach 3 points, but if you hit the ball out the person who's play area is closest wins a point, every 2 points you will move around the table in a clockwise direction" Heidern finished
Athena, Shen Woo and Jae Hoon would be first to play off for the aluminium foil. By drawing numbers Shen Woo would be the first one to serve. He noticed that there was a big hole in the very front of the net which would mean he could stand a bit further back as nobody could do a drop shot. He served it to Jae Hoon, he then returned the serve deep into Shen's court, Shen then charged his strength, and hit the ball hard into Athena's court, however he didn't see the hole on the left hand side near the rear of the court, the ball dropped through giving Athena a point causing the Athena fans in the crowd to cheer out.
"Damn it!" Shen Woo shouted out as Athena retrieved the ball
She served towards Jae Hoon who then placed into it Shen's court however it was a little short dropping right into the hole.
"Ah no…" Jae hoon shook his head, Athena was on 1, Shen Woo was on 1 and Jae hoon was yet to score. They moved around the table. Athena stood where Jae hoon was, while Shen Woo moved to where Athena was. Athena looked at the court, this time the hole was on the lower right hand side. Shen Woo served towards her, as she then went for a very risky aggressive shot straight back at Shen's right side, it would prove to pay off as Shen was not expecting the ball to come with such pace causing him to lob it into the air, it sailed out just on the left hand side of Athena's court giving her a 2,1,0 lead. The next point would give her the foil. She served it towards Jae Hoon but it dropped straight into the hole at the top of the net.
"Whoops" Athena laughed as Jae Hoon took the ball. The crowd gave a disappointed groan
Jae Hoon served into Shen Woo's court, Shen was aiming towards Jae Hoon however he changed at the last second putting his swing towards Athena, she then deflected it back towards Jae Hoon with a long ball. Jae Hoon thought it would go out as he watched it move through the air, Jae Hoon stood back as it bounced on the edge of the table, he stepped in and put it back towards Athena, however he put it too deep onto Athena's right side causing it to drop right into the hole yet again giving her the match and the aluminium.
"Yay! I did it!" Athena smiled and waved her hands in the air. The crowd cheered yet again as Athena got her aluminium foil from Vice. Meanwhile Joe and Clark played on a standard table. It seemed Joe was finally able to get something to work and Clark just didn't seem to get his mind going for this game, not able to find the right balance, Joe took advantage and saved himself from a wooden spoon while Clark got the Ikari team their first one.
In the final it was between Whip, Ryo and Chang.
"It's obviously a game of who makes the fewest errors" Diana said to Whip
"Yes, but you can't be too passive either" Whip replied
Diana nodded to this as she took her seat.
Ryo was the first one with the ball... he served to Chang, but a slight oversight saw the ball immediately go out giving Chang an early point. Chang took the ball and served it to Ryo but he wouldn't make the same mistake twice as he had worked out Chang's table a little better, and hit it with a lot of power, Chang was caught off guard and lunged at it and while he did hit the ball it bounced well and truly out of Ryo's area. Ryo then chipped the ball close up to Whip, she hit it back to Chang who charged his power and swung hard to catch Whip completely off guard. Chang was now one point away from giving Korea its second gold medal. Chang served the ball to Whip again, but she managed to get the ball off to Ryo, who then hit across back to Whip, she hit it back to Ryo but the ball was long, this put Ryo equal with Chang, who was now also in a position to claim the game as his own.
"Wow this is tense" Choi commented biting his claws
Ryo served to Chang, Chang went for an all or nothing shot to Ryo, he swung hard and it bounced in, it looked like Ryo would have no chance of getting it back however Ryo swung backwards causing the ball to lob into the air, a gasp of excitement filled the crowd as the ball headed straight for Whip, she smashed the ball downwards into the very exposed area of Ryo's table who was still covering the distance and won the point. Whip took the serve and gave the serve to Ryo again, it bounced on the edge of one of the holes, but didn't go through. Taking advantage of the lack of speed in the ball, Ryo charged his strength and smashed to Chang, Chang was too slow and the game was won.
"Ryo is the winner" Heidern announced
The fans cheered, the Art of Fighting team finally had a gold medal. In the final results, Ryo got the gold, Chang the silver, Whip the bronze, Athena with the aluminium foil and Clark got the wooden spoon.
Now it was off to the event a lot were looking forward to, the Bao toss. This event would take place in the stadium again. Even the crowds knew what was coming in this event.
"The rules are very very simple" Heidern was almost smiling, although he wouldn't get the pleasure of throwing Bao himself it would still be great watching "All you need to do get the little turd to go the furthest distance. You can do this by throwing, punching, kicking, using a weapon, whatever you want as long as you don't step outside the circle, and you can only make contact with him ONCE after he leaves the cage" Heidern explained
There was a hammer throw like cage however this time the teams would run in reverse order based on rankings. After a few arguments over who would get to punish Bao the teams had decided.
High school team: Dong Hwan
Sports team: Heavy D!
Korea team: Chang
Japan team: Daimon
Ash team: Krauser
Woman's team: Mary
Art of Fighting team: Robert
K' team: Maxima
Fatal Fury team: Tizoc
Outlaw team: Billy
Psycho Soldiers: Kensou
Ikari Warriors: Ralf
Dong Hwan was first up, although Hinako was probably more suited to this task Dong Hwan insisted he said he had a move that could sent Bao flying. Interested Jae Hoon allowed it.
Bao was placed in the centre of the ring.
A/N: Bao haters, I hope you will enjoy this, especially those who enjoy using Bao as a sparing partner.
"Are you going to play marbles with me?" Bao asked innocently as Dong Hwan approached the circle completely unaware of the pain he would go through
Dong Hwan paid no attention as he stomped the ground causing a bolt of lighting to put Bao into the air, Dong Hwan repeated the move quickly to get Bao further in the air, he did it a third time and Bao was now well above the ground, Dong Hwan then jumped high into the air to meet him with a sharp kick sending him soaring and Bao cried out as he crashed into the ground and also landing on a landmine that Heidern forgot to tell everybody about sending Bao even further. Amazingly (or predictably) Bao was not dead as he stood up and raised his hands in the air as if he done something fantastic.
"Dong Hwan has 127 metres" Yashiro called out and then Dong Hwan's score appeared on the scoreboard.
"Oh yes, something I forgot to remind everyone of. There are a total of 4 land mines positioned somewhere in the field, but one of them contains a more powerful blast and another has a blast that is even stronger and our judges planted them so only they know where they are" Heidern explained
Next was Heavy D! As Bao was moved back into position, Heavy D! had already charged up his D! Magnum. Almost a second later there was dust accompanying where Bao was once placed as he was sent soaring yet again but unfortunately Heavy D! didn't trigger any land mines even though Bao rolled quite a good distance when he finally landed on the ground.
"Heavy D! has 124" Shermie said over the loud speaker to confirm what Yashiro had recorded, as Heavy D!'s score was behind Dong Hwan.
Next up was Chang… Bao still hadn't worked out what was going on as Chang picked him up. Chang swung him around and around hammer throw style spinning around in the process. Unfortunately (or fortunately depending on your view) when Chang let go he misjudged the angle causing Bao to crash right on top of the left side of the cage. It seemed he was stuck there too as he had been caught by the wiring sticking out.
"4 metres" Chris said
A/N: This actually happened in the Hammer throw in Athens, it's what motivated me to do this event. Oh and I know how much most people hate Bao.
Chang shrugged as he left the circle and Bao came crashing back down. Next up was Daimon, he stepped into the circle, grabbed Bao and slammed him to the left, then the right, then to the left again before throwing him high into the air. Daimon's throw was a little off centre however this would work to his advantage as when Bao landed he landed on the very edge of a land mine causing him to fly into the air yet again. When he finally landed Yashiro walked over and looked between the markers.
"Daimon 135" Yashiro called out
The Japan team cheered as Daimon was well ahead of Dong Hwan, they looked strong so far. Krauser was next.
He grabbed Bao and pulled him to the rear of the circle before throwing him forwards slightly as he jumped into the air with a dark energy coming from his foot as he went through the air kicking Bao in the process sending him flying at a good angle. Krauser meanwhile charged his Kaiser wave and released it when he saw Bao come back down. It was not to be as brilliant as it first seemed, Bao had drifted slightly to the left causing Krauser's attack to miss. As a result his score was considerably lower then expected as 92 appeared near the bottom only ahead of Chang.
Blue Mary stretched and got into the ring… Bao still sat in the circle waiting for somebody to play marbles with him. Mary picked him… it was pretty obvious what move she would try for. She jumped into the air catching Bao, slamming his head as she came back down.
"Mary!" Mary called out slammed Bao downwards "Dynamite!" Mary said again vaulting over slamming Bao's head again "SWING!" Mary smiled as she spun around many times and then released him.
Sadly for her, she had spun around so many times she didn't release she had indeed swung him the wrong way. Unlike a usual hammer throw cage, the back was not concealed allowing Bao to go backwards.
"AHHHH!" Mary shouted out noticing what had happened
"Minus 118 metres" One of the Ikari's called out when they finally got over there
Mary sunk to the bottom of the chart.
Robert warmed up by throwing some kicks into the air, he came to Bao and kicking Bao 5 times, once low, then a bit higher, then another low shot followed by another high and then booted him sending him a good distance.
"Haoh Sho Koh KEN!" Robert released his fireball and as Bao came back down and unlike Krauser this one had perfect accuracy sending him even further creating a GASP of surprise and admiration from the crowd. Bao finally came rolling to a stop. However even this double blow would not prove good enough to faze the leaders.
"109 for Garcia" Shermie called out. This put him ahead of Mary and Chang who were way out however behind Shen Woo, Heavy D, Dong Hwan and Daimon, meaning he would not get a medal.
The next person up was Maxima, he came closer to Bao and then…
"Bunker!" Maxima went into the air sending Bao into the air too "BUSTER!" Maxima came back down but at a different angle then usual in order to get to Bao to go a distance however it didn't work out as well as he had hoped as even though he was high when he made contact with Bao, his trajectory was downwards which meant he wouldn't end up going very far, if it weren't for the land mine that was placed around the 30 meter mark sending him soaring even further then a usual land mine.
"112" Yashiro called out. It was good but only good enough for provisional fourth and it was unlikely that he would hold onto that. There was still one land mine left on the field somewhere. Was the one Maxima uncovered the extra powerful one, or was only slightly stronger.
Tizoc was ready to go, he wasted no time in grabbing Bao and jumping into the air with him, when he reached the height of his jump he threw him like a javelin in midair. Typically Bao nose dived into the ground slamming his head into the grass; Yashiro yanked him out and measured the distance.
The score of 96 appeared which was a bit surprising to the Fatal Fury team considering Tizoc strength. With only Billy, Kensou and Ralf to go the standings were, Daimon leading, Dong Hwan in second, Heavy D! in third and Maxima in fourth.
Billy came into the circle with his pole. A few where surprised that they chose Billy for this event and not Yamazaki but you never knew just what the outlaws would try, so a lot of eyes were watching this one. Billy put his stick into Bao's shirt and swung him around and around like Chang had done except he wouldn't make the same mistake as Chang as he released him sending him flying off to the right…
Well off to the right, and he nearly landed on top of Shermie, but she got out of the way just as Bao came crashing down. Annoyed Shermie put the distance into the computer causing a score of 115 to appear which was good enough to displace Maxima but not Heavy D!
Kensou stepped into the circle and if Bao was hoping for some compassion, he would not get any.
"Ah brother
Kensou" Bao jumped up and down in an excited manner even though he
had been thrown into the air and beaten up in several ways.
"I
really wish he'd stop calling me that" Kensou muttered to himself
"Say something?" Bao asked
Kensou didn't reply as he grabbed Bao before using his psychic powers yet again creating bursts of blue energy to send his team mate into the air again. It would not prove too effective but nonetheless, Kensou still seemed somewhat satisfied. The score of 89 appeared which only put him ahead of Chang and Mary.
"I've wanted to do that for ages… the other teams think they've got it bad just because they have to see him in KOF, we have to live with him!" Kensou shouted out
The only competitor that remained now was Ralf, again it would be obvious what move he would go for, and even before he stepped into the circle he charged it up as soon as Bao was placed.
"Galactica Phantom! A real man's punch!" Ralf added the usual line to the move as he hit Bao causing him to fly at a perfect angle, would it be enough to steal Daimon's lead putting the Ikari's with 3 golds, or would it fall short giving the Japan team the lead in the medal tally. Bao crashed into the ground and Yashiro rushed over to measure him, the crowd were completely silent. The score appeared on the screen.
Ralf 121
It would prove only good enough for aluminium. Daimon had won quite convincingly. The Japan team was in the lead. Final results were Daimon in first, Dong Hwan with second, Heavy D! with third and Ralf with fourth.
With the two mystery events still to go what will happen? How long can the Japan team hold their lead? Will Iori help or hinder his new team? Can the two newer teams even hope to catch the leaders? Oh and where was that other land mine?
The Tally with 2 events on Day 5 to go
1. Japan team: 2 gold, 1 silver, 1 bronze, 1 wooden spoon (Kyo, Benimaru, Shingo, Daimon, Saisyu) 8+7
2. Ikari warriors team: 2 gold, 1 silver, 2 aluminium. 1 wooden spoon (Ralf, Clark, Leona, Heidern) 1, -1
3. Psycho soldiers team: 2 gold, 2 bronze, 1 aluminium, 2 wooden spoons (Athena, Kensou, Chin, Malin) 2, -1
4. Outlaw team: 1 gold, 2 silver, 1 bronze, 2 aluminium, 2 wooden spoons (Geese, Billy, Yamazaki, Gato, Hotaru) 3, -1
5. K' team: 1 gold, 2 silver, 1 bronze, 2 aluminium, 1 wooden spoon (K', Maxima, Whip, Kula, Diana) 4, -1
6. Fatal fury team: 1 gold, 2 silver, 2 aluminium, 1 wooden spoon (Terry, Andy, Joe, Rock, Tizoc) 4, -2
7. Art of fighting team: 1 gold, 1 silver, 2 bronze, 3 aluminium (Ryo, Robert, Yuri, Takuma, Kasumi) 10 +3
8. Woman's team: 1 gold, 1 silver, 2 bronze, 1 wooden spoon (King, Mai, Mary, Angel, Chizuru) 6, -2
9. Ash team: 1 gold, 1 silver, 2 bronze, 2 wooden spoon (Ash, Duo Lon, Shen woo, Krauser) 7, -2
10. Korea team: 1 gold, 1 silver, 1 bronze, 2 aluminium, 2 wooden spoon (Kim, Jhun, Chang, Choi, May lee) 9, -2
11. High School team: 1 silver (Jae Hoon, Dong Hwan, Xiangfei, Hinako)
12. Sports team: 1 bronze (Lucky, Heavy D, Brian, Foxy, Iori)
5 hours later in the darkness of night
"Hey guys? Where did you all go! Can I step outside the circle now?" Bao shouted "I suppose I can…" Bao walked about 5 meters backwards before being blown up by the super explosive land mine sending him out of the stadium.
