In a high school far away in Japan, a few students are curiously looking over a newspaper. The Title reads:
Taiyo Press:
We Kick Other Papers' Buts On a Daily Basis!
The Opening Headliner reads:
Brave Brawler Dismantles Gedo Goons
A tall young woman with long blonde hair grinned in amusement. "Wow, orange head, didn't know you had it in you!"
"WHAT ARE YOU TALKING ABOUT!", a rabid, orange-haired teenage boy shouted back.
"Says here a guy named Kyo creamed about half the student body of a delinquent school. All by himself. It certainly sounds like you!", she grinned rather mockingly.
"SHUT UP! YOU KNOW I'VE BEEN HERE THIS ENTIRE TIME! I'VE NEVER BEEN NEAR NO STUPID DELINQUENT SCHOOL!", Orange-haired Kyo yelled.
"Relax, Kyo, it was just a joke! You know how many Kyos are running around Japan nowadays?", the blonde-haired girl laughed.
"Oh yeah! You know, you're REALLY STARTING TO PISS ME OFF AGAIN!".
Orange-haired Kyo rose to his feet, ready fight. The amused young girl gave him one good punch and downed him easily. "Wow, that was easy. Guess I could take on three school's worth of goons, huh, Tohru-kun?".
A cheerful, browned-hair girl laughed. "I'm not sure about that, Uotani! But look at this picture a few pages back!"
The continuation of the headliner revealed a clear picture of one of this story's REAL heroes: Kyo Kusanagi. Not this random Kyo with the orange hair.
"Oh, him! Yeah, I think I remember that guy! We used to go to the same Junior High together! Now HE was a real fighter! I never could seem to take him down, but any other challenger who fought him went down hard! He some creepy flame powers, though, but he almost never used them... unless he got really pissed. Then that was awesome!" Uotani responded.
"HEY! THAT WAS CHEAP SHOT AND YOU KNOW IT!", Orange Hair Kyo got back on his feet in no time, ready to settle their age-long feud.
"Hah! You're no "Flame Boy", so this is gonna be easy, as usual!" Uotani retored. She definately looked ready to kick his ass once more.
"You make sick", Orange Hair Kyo scoffed.
"I know", Uotani simply grinned.
Little Tohru Honda simply laughed at this as the two opponents quickly got into fighting stances.
So then, life goes on in this somewhat typical high school filled with comical hi-jinx. Sure, there's also some prettyboy with grey hair, a creepy psychic girl with an unusually cute voice, an overly-stiff student council president who's WAAYYYYY to dedicated to his position, and an army of said prettyboy's fangirls with an established disturbing cult, but this has nothing to do with the REAL story at hand. This isn't even a Fruits Basket Fanfiction, for crying out loud! And yes, for the record, I don't own Fruits Basket.So for everybody wanting to get back to the real story, please accept my most sincerest apology.
Burning Justice!
The Kusanagi Chronicles
A Rival Schools and "Kusanagi" Fanfiction
Chapter 3:
A Jump, Kick and Punch Away
The school day approached its lunch period, and Kei is once again wandering the halls of Taiyo High. Poor Kei looks extremely uneasy. "That woman next door is my new teacher, there's a younger looking girl in our class, and to top it off, Kyo just beat up half of an entire dangerous school! I have a really bad feeling where this could be heading. What I'm wondering is, exactly how could Kamiya-sensei forget about what Kyo did?"
Indeed, how exactly would any normal being forget what Kyo pulled off? While Kei was helplessly watching in the background, Kyo was showing off his martial arts moves to her while bragging about beating up dozens of school punks in every school he got expelled from. Unlike the rumor about Kei being a elementary schoolgirl-dating perv, this was true. He even almost went as far as try to pull off his fire techniques in front of her, but Kei reacted just in time to pull him off. The only possible way she could even forget about that kind of thing is if she wasn't paying attention at all, and had something way more important going on in her head. But what could be more spectacular than a guy manipulating flames? Whatever must've been going through her mind, I guess...
So Kei continued to wander the halls as usual, until Kyo caught up to him. "Kei! Hey Kei! I got some great news!", Kyo shouted from behind.
Despite all the trouble his cousin was calling, Kei looked relieved. "Oh, hey, Kyo. What is it? Did you save a bunch of car insurance by switching to---"
"No, not that stupid joke! I think I finally found the ideal martial art for you!", Kyo said.
"What? Really? After spending a long time making this promise, you find the ideal martial art NOW!", Kei asked in frustration. "What about not letting me take that Saikyo-ryu correspondence course? Chairperson herself said it's a good style for beginners!".
Kyo shook his head. "Nah, nah! I heard about Saikyo-ryu! It's a martial art for clowns! I've heard a great deal about it, and they say it's practically useless as a form of self defense! Besides, the Master and Inventor of that style is Dan Hibiki. He's a friggin' creampuff who wears pink! PINK!".
Kei sighed. "Okay then, Kyo... what do you have in mind?".
Kyo grinned. "Glad you asked. Hey, Kyosuke, come over here!".
The cool and quiet Kyosuke Kagami of the Morale committee walked forth. He still didn't seem to be in the mood to talk, but he was willing to make an appearance, which was enough for his fan girls.
Kei groaned. "Kyo, please don't tell me you chose him just because he happens to have your name in his...".
Kyo shrugged. "I didn't really recognize that. But you know, maybe his "Kyo" in "Kyosuke" uses a different Kanji, but I'm sure people paying attention to this kind of stuff wouldn't really understand what we're blathering on about, so I'm going to stop that subject there".
He then turned to Kyosuke. "Y'know, I just figured that with this guy's calm attitude, I'm pretty sure he'd have the kind of patience to teach you martial arts. And anyone going to teach you will require LOTS of patience, considering your weak, wussy body!" he teased.
Kei groaned. "Can you quit calling me a wuss?" he whined.
"No", Kyo said apruptly. "Anyway, I went a round with him myself after he broke up a fight between Batsu and I, and, well... he's pretty damn good, Kei! I'm pretty sure you're capable enough to learn some of his moves! Of course, whether or not he decides to teach you any of his signature attacks is up to him, especially his nifty projectile. Which may actually suck if he decided to do so. I mean, I got through numerous battles without some stupid projectile! Ryu had his hadouken, Sagat had his Tiger Shot, and my rival Iori tosses purple fireballs on the ground! Not me, though! I rely on my fists! You, however, might need a projectile, seeing as how a hand-to hand brawl might likely be your downfall, my friend". Kyo started to laugh heartily to his intimated cousin. Kyo's starting to sound like a jackass, isn't he?
"Are you sure he agreed to this?", Kei groaned, " I mean, this guy barely even speaks. Maybe you misinterpreted a gesture or something!"
Kyo thought for a bit. "Well, that's true. People rarely hear him speak at all, but yeah, he actually did confirm this arrangement. I was all, "So, man, you wanna teach my cousin some martial arts?", and after a long pause, he was all,"sure", and that was about it".
Kyosuke noddded in agreement. "Yes... something like that", he confirmed.
Kei was a little started to actually hear Kyosule speak, but he recovered quickly.
"Yeah, you should probably do something about that twitch reaction, cousin. Kyosuke's going to be giving you plenty of directions. We can't have you twitching every time he instructs you, ya know". Kyo suggested.
Kei glared at Kyo with an acqward, tired, yet angry expression. He then turned to to Kyosuke, who didn't quite seem up to teaching him martial arts.
"... this is all very dubious", Kei said to himself.
"Oh, sorry Kei. I dunno what dubious means, but maybe I could look it up sometime. Anyway, have fun with Kyosuke, then! I'm gonna go show that Batsu Ichimonji who's boss!". Kyo walked off, looking very excited for his upcoming bout.
Kyosuke turned his head and clutched it for a few moments, looking really frustrated. He then immediately dismissed his thoughts and turned to look at his new pupil. "... you possess enormous potential... for being a great martial artist", he cooly noted.
Kei laughed nervously, unsure if Kyosuke's remark was even serious.
Kyosuke took a moment to adjust his glasses, then started walking off. "...Please come with me", he ordered. Reluctantly, Kei follwed behind.
On another note, Ace Reporter Ran Hibiki just happened to be listening in on the conversation. For some reason, the name "Dan Hibiki" made her shake in terror. Despite that, she continued walking onward, determined to get some quality scoops for the Taiyo News.
Kei and Kyosuke entered a room with special tatami flooring. It appeared to be a personal dojo.
"I've heard some things about the Kusanagi Clan, and their ability to wield flame", Kyosuke admitted. "Your cousin Kyo showed me some of that ability, and I was quite... intrigued". His narrow eyes carefully scanned his pupil. "I have a feeling you won't believe me when I say this, but... it seems you have some astounding capabilities with your flame as well".
Kei was definitely confused by this. Throughout most of his life, he remembered Kyo being able to wield his flame effortlessly, like a toy. Kei wasn't even part of the immediate family, so he couldn't even summon fire, much less wield it.
"Uh, Kyosuke-sensei. What are you talking about?", he asked.
"Trust me", Kyosuke assured his new pupil, "you have the Kusanagi Flame already. You just haven't been able to unleash it, yet".
He then walked to the other side of the room and stood very upright, almost at attention. Again, he adjusted his glasses. "For this first lesson, I am going to teach you most of the basic martial arts. Fundamentals are key to everything, especially martial arts", he stated, "but I am also curious in seeing if you can tap into your ki, so after the first thirty minutes, I will show you the secret to my special techniques. I am... curious to see what results your variation of those attacks will be...".
Kei looked nervous, but was relieved that he will finally get to learn some martial arts. Many bad things have happened to him in the past, and he always lacked an adequate form of defense, so he has plenty of reasons to be excited.
Thier sesion began with Kyosuke teaching him some simple kicking and punching methods.
Although Kei wasn't getting so much power out of his strikes, his movements were impressively crisp and swift
Kyosuke then showed him some throws, which required a personal demonstration, meaning lots of pain for Kei Kusanagi. Somehow, Kei always managed the strength to get back up. After being shown the throw a few more times, it was Kei's turn to throw Kyosuke around. Kei struggled a little with this first, but then he got the hang up it, being able to throw Kyosuke a few feet away and into the air. Unfortunately, this wasn't too fair when the tables were turned, especially when Kyosuke could easily make a back flip recovery in midair each time.
After a few more throws, Kei and Kyosuke went into meditation. Kei really liked this the most, although on occasion, Kei accidentally fell asleep with images of both the beautiful new teacher and the mysterious cute brunette girl who watched the slaughter at Gedo High along with him. Kyosuke, being the nice guy that he is, didn't smack him upside the head in religious fashion, but took a more patient approach and waited for him to wake up.
"Did you have a nice sleep?", Kyosuke asked unperturbed.
Kei rubbed his eyes, then, after gaining full consciousness, apologized to Kyosuke in a panic.
"Alright, now that you are well rested, I shall begin teaching you some of my special techniques", he announced.
First, Kyosuke shows Kei his Cross Cutter projectile technique. He waved his hand together and shot two mauve fireballs in unison. One went higher and the other went lower. The two then joined together mid-distance to form a crest.
After two demonstrations, Kei had to try it himself. The first time, he concentrated really hard, waved his hands, and nothing came out.
"Try again", Kyosuke commanded.
This time, Kei concentrated even harder on making the flame. Again, nothing was produced.
"Don't try and force out the ki. Let it flow from your body. Try again, and relax this time", Kyosuke suggested.
This time, Kei concentrated again, but his body wasn't as quite as tense, though he was still nervous and desperate to release some form of energy. He made the motion for the Cross Cutter again, but this time, only one really tiny fireball went only about a few inches from his body, then dissipated.
"Oh, I did something! Am I getting the technique right?", Kei said excitedly.
"That WAS a projectile of sorts, but it wasn't actually the Cross Cutter. It's a technique Martial Artists call, the 'Gadouken", Kyosuke explained.
"So, then I at least did something correct then?", Kei asked.
"If you're learning Saikyo-ryu, then you're making wonderful progress", Kyosuke said in a sarcastic tone. Although it's really hard to tell with the way he speaks... maybe he was serious after all. "The point of the Cross Cutter technique is to gather a great amount of ki to be split and released upon summoning. It can act as an anti-air maneuver when used properly as well, making it fairly versatile", he explained.
Kei noded. "Okay, it's just... I have a really hard time having it come out properly. Do you have any other tips, sensei?".
Kyosuke thought for a bit. "Most good martial arts techniques are about releasing, not pushing. It seems you are pushing too hard. I think that perhaps a decent method of release would be to focus on someone or something that really frustrates you, as if you are intending to strike that target", he explained.
"Right, got it!", Kei said. He then focused on gathering the energy again. He tried to think of a face that would rile him up enough that he would actual strike out. Interestingly enough, he envisioned Kyo's face. He then waved his arms, then a crimson version of the Cross Cutter release, which created a gigantic roaring flame when the two initial waves joined together instead of Kyosuke's purple crescent.
Kyosuke was astounded. Or at least seemed astounded. Again, it's difficult to pick up on Kyosuke's emotion, since he's so quiet and poker-faced. Well, he almost twitched, then nodded to himself silently, if that's a gesture of astoundment,
"That is most definitely the Kusanagi Flame", Kyosuke said to himself. Again, he adjusted his glasses, then he calmly walked toward Kei.
While it is still uncertain whether or not Kyosuke was amazed, Kei certainly was. "Wow... did I just... do that on my own?", he said, completely startled.
"Very interesting variation. Just remember that feeling you had when you released it, and you should be just fine", Kyosuke commented.
Speechless, Kei simply nodded.
"Now then, with that done, now it's time I teach you the Gen'ei kick". He then jumps in the air and does a backflip kick that allowed to gain even more air and defy gravity. He then landed smoothly. "This is perhaps the most difficult technique from my arsenal of moves, but it is an ideal anti-air maneuver. Watch again, and please take any necessary mental notes". Kyosuke pulls of yet another perfect Gen-ei kick, with another smooth landing. "Carefully go through the motion in your head first, then try it yourself".
Kei tries to picture how the movement of the kick, and tries to get a decent feeling of performing it in the air. He then starts to attempt the maneuver.
His first attempt, he jumped in the air, and attempted to back flip, he ended up falling on his back. HARD.
The second attempt in the air, he made it halfway through the technique. He nearly fell on his head, but he managed to further his flip and landed face first instead.
His third attempt came really close, but then he couldn't position himself correctly for the fall and landed on his knees.
A few more attempts later, he continually made the same mistake that had him landing on his face. His "progress" showed with the numerous bruises in that particular part of his body.
To be completely honest, it would take a miracle in real life for ANYONE to perform that technique, unless you were some experienced ninja.
Kyosuke adjusted his glasses and decided to intervene on his student's numerous attempts. "Make sure to take advantage of the gliding motion", Kyosuke instructed, "Focus your ki across your entire body, and you should be able to find the perfect landing form".
Although his body was beaten soundly by his numerous other attempts, Kei was determined. He leapt up into the air once more to perform the attack. This time, he made a spectacular gliding double black flip moving forward... only to land on his back once again.
"Ow! Ow!", Kei cried out. "I'm not sure if I'll be able to ever do this, sensei!", he admitted.
Kyosuke stood over his seemingly-defeated student. "I'm sure you'll be able to pick up on this attack... in time".
Kei let out a loud groan. He wasn't sure how long he could take this. He was happy enough to learn the Cross Counter technique awhile back, but this Gen'ei kick stuff seems to be way too much for him.
"I suppose you have made significant process in the Gen'ei kick thus far. How about we move on to my most famous technique, the Raijin Uppercut? It requires the most amount of ki to use, but it requires the least amount of concentration than my other techniques, and is actually very easy to use", he explained?
"WHAT!", Kei leapt out of his rested stated. "YOU MEAN TO TELL ME YOU HAD A REALLY EASY SPECIAL MOVE TO TEACH ME ALL THIS TIME, AND YOU SPENT MOST OF IT TEACHING ME THE MORE DIFFICULT ATTACKS?".
"Exactly", Kyosuke noted, "it is important to understand the fundamentals of controlling ki before recklessly throwing it about. If one was to use a technique that easily conjured up ki without the proper training, he may causing more harm to himself than your opponent", he explained.
"WHAT ABOUT THE FUNDAMENTALS OF NOT BEATING YOURSELF UP!", Kei whined.
Kyosuke was about to respond when Chairperson ran into the dojo. "Kei! Kyosuke! Come quickly! Some guys from Gedo High are looking to cause trouble at the schoolyard!", she cried.
"It seems there is an emergency", Kyosuke noted. "We will finish our lesson another time".
"Yes, sensei!", Kei shouted. To be perfectly honest, he was relieved he didn't have to repeatedly humiliate himself anymore.
The two of them quickly ran towards the school entrance to see the trouble, with Chairperson shortly following suit.
Many Taiyo High Students watched helplessly as Akira, Gan, and Edge from Gedo High marched towards the school.
"ALRIGHT, WIMPS! HEAR ME OUT! I WANT KYO KUSANAGI AND BATSU ICHIMONJI RIGHT HERE THIS INSTANT! GEDO HIGH IS CALLING 'EM OUT!", Akira shouted.
"That's right!", Edge grinned, "Our boss has been gone for a long time now. We're lookin' for some answers, and we're lookin' to kick every one of your asses! I'm especially lookin' forward to nailing Batsu's for payback!".
Gan simply stood there looking menacingly. He isn't really good at shouting threatening things.
"C'MON KYO! AFRAID YOU CAN'T TAKE OUT ONE MORE GEDO PUNK! GUESS IT DOESN'T TAKE MUCH EFFORT TO PROVE HOW MUCH OF A WEAKLING YOU ARE! I ALREADY KNOW HOW MUCH OF A FAKE YOU ARE!", Akira shouted out.
Pissed, Kyo Kusanagi ran off to face the Gedo gangsters, with Batsu Ichimonji tagging along.
The two of them stood right across from the menacing three in fighting positions, ready for a showdown.
"Looks like OUR fight will have to wait", Kyo growled.
"Agreed", Batsu said.
A panicked Hinata jumped to Batsu's arms, refusing to let go of her embrace.
"Batsu, dear!", Hinata cried, "Please let me fight alongside you this time! I've gotten much stronger than the last time! You won't even have to worry about me! We can take them on together!".
"No can do kiddo", Batsu groaned, "Just sit this one out and wait for Kyosuke to get here. The new guy and I should be able to handle them in the mean time".
Kyo nodded in agreement. "This isn't a brawl for a little girl. These guys are thugs. Who knows what kind of lameass tricks they have in store. Just leave it to us".
"BATSUU! YOU ALWAYS SAY THAT! LET... ME... FIGHT!", Hinata whined.
Kei and Kyosuke soon arrived on the scene. Kei took strong notice at the angry Akira. Something about him was very familiar.
"Hey Kyosuke, wanna lend a hand?", Batsu asked his comrade-in-arms.
"Will Kusanagi be joining this fight?", Kyosuke asked.
"Sure", Batsu responded, "it seems Kyo here has a score to settle with these punks", Batsu answered.
"Then I will not be necessary", Kyosuke responded. "Hinata should be safe with the two of you".
"WHAT! HINATA!", Batsu shouted. "But... but Hinata isn't as powerful as us!".
Hinata pouted and got into fighting position alongside Kyo and Batsu. "I'll show you that I'm just as strong as you guys!".
"K.. .Kyosuke, what are you saying? She'll just hold us back! Kyosuke, c'mon! Join in!".
Kyosuke simply closed his eyes. Kei looked even more bewildered than Hinata's concerned "boyfriend". "W-w-what are you doing? Hinata's just a girl! She'll get killed by those guys!", he shouted.
"Relax", Kyosuke uttered. "You both overestimate the power of Gedo's fighters and underestimate Hinata's determination. This battle may prove to be a useful experience for you, Kei. Now pay attention".
Kei groaned helpless. "This school is nuts, isn't it? That's the only reasonable explanation I can see right now".
"Alright Akira, or whatever you name is, it's time I bash your brains out!", Batsu threatened while pointing his fist at the mysterious biker man.
Akira scoffed. "I'm not after you, I wanna peace of the one who disgraced my name!". He pointed his red gloved finger towards an antsy Kyo.
"Oh, so that's how it is, huh?", Kyo shouted back. "Alright. I'll take you on. Maybe you should've let me hold on to that special helmet of yours. I'm pretty I could've made you look REALLY good!".
Akira and Kyo cautiously approached each other.
"Batsu, I owe you a serious beatdown!", Edge sneered. "My knives thirst for your blood!".
"Bring it, Broomy!", Batsu shouted. "Your little toys mean nothing to me!".
"THE NAME'S EDGE, BASTARD!", Edge shouted across the schoolyard. "IT'S ABOUT TIME I MAKE YOU REMEMBER IT!".
Batsu and and Edge both rushed each other head on.
"Alright then, I guess it's just me and the big guy, right? How did that one saying go: the bigger they are, the harder they fall right? Don't worry, I'm going to make it a REALLY hard fall for you, then, tubby!".
Gan made a really hardy laugh. "I'm the district's top Summo, pipsqueak! One day I'm looking forward to gain tutelage under the great E. Honda! You think you honestly think you stand a chance against me?".
"You're nothing but a really big target! It'll be easy to take you on!", Hinata shouted.
"Come, then!". Gan stomped both his feet, causing an earth-shaking rumble. He then squatted to assume a proper summo stance. "DUSKOI!", he shouted with great resolve.
Surprisingly, as Kyosuke watched this dramatic display, his right eye squinted a little.
"Don't they realize how much of a waste of time their useless banter is? Do they really think it makes them sound that much cooler? They have no clue how foolish they all truly sound", he thought to himself.
Kei sighed to himself. "I knew Kyo's outing from before would cause some sort of future ruckus. And now here were are now. He's facing down three of their toughest fighters, and I doubt they'll go down as easily as the rest. Especially when they're after revenge".
Kei bent his body forward and let his loose arms sway in the air. "We're just going to get into more trouble at this rate. This sucks!".
Kei eyed the mysterious biker again. Something about his presence really bothered him. "I know I saw Kyo in a similar outfit earlier, but I can't get this out of my mind. For some reason, there's just something REALLY familiar about that biker who calls himself Akira. I wonder why?".
Kei Kusanagi spent some time pondering this conundrum, while Kyosuke stood witness as the fighting was about to begin. Chairperson simply watched on in amazement.
Kyo, Batsu, and Hinata stood side by side, right across from Akira, Edge, and Gan, all in their respectable fighting stances. All six had a fire in their eyes. Their showdown was inevidable.
Meanwhile, Ran Hibiki was on the scene with her trusty camera at her side. "Awesome... awesome... this is just AWESOME!", she shouted at the top of her lungs. "Ran Hibiki: Journalist Extraordinaire is on the job once again! That's right! Taiyo High is getting a REALLY special treat, thanks to yours truly! Now to get in there to get some AMAZING shots for the paper! Everybody smile now! I sure will be!". Without a moment to spare, Ace Repoter Ran Hibiki rushed towards the battlefield with only the big scoop on her mind.
Secretly, the male Taiyo students who weren't as close to the fighting grounds were drooling over Ran Hibiki, but they don't matter to the story at all. They're never going to fight in this story, or even make a move on Ran, so they're boring and insignifacnt.
In unrestrained excitement, Ran Hibki shouted out "Saikyo!". This has definitely been a lucky day for her.
End of Chapter 3
All Characters in this story are created by Capcom, SNK, and the guys who made Please Teacher!... inexplicably. While the story is loosely based on the Rival Schools Storyline, this fanfiction is a written product of me, Chicken Yuki. I hope you had fun.