Unmei Force Gaiden: KOF XV Reactions
Chapter 2: Power of the Third Eye (Team Indivisible)
.A while had passed since the tournament's start and Team Strategist's early Ambush. Right now, Ajna found herself at a beach resort in South Town as the sun was currently setting.
"Hmm." Ajna hummed as she was thinking.
"What's on your mind, Ajna?" Ginseng asked, herself and the rest of Ajna's Incarnations inside her Inner Realm.
"That girl, Isla I think her name was. Her iddhi flow definitely matched Shun'ei's." Ajna said.
"True. And she had a pair of astral hands at her side, much like the ones Shun'ei summoned during the opening ceremonies." Qadria said. "Is it possible the two are connected?"
"Could be. But if we want to know more, we must gather information on the street artist." Dhar said.
"That might be kinda hard." Kampan said. "She's always around that military guy and that shaman lady."
"Perhaps the stealth skills of an assassin will be more effective to gather intel." Naga Rider said.
"And I'm the perfect man for the job." Ren said.
"Y'wanna leave the info stuff to Ren, hayseed?" Baozhai asked. "I know you wanna focus on the fightin' part of the tournament."
"Yeah, I know he can handle the info gathering. I'll leave it to you, Ren." Ajna said as Ren materialized.
"I shall see you all later then. Ta ta!" Ren said as he flash stepped out of sight.
"With Ren handling reconnaissance, we can now focus all of our attention on the Survival Round!" Naga Rider said.
"That's true, but…" Dhar said. "Ajna, do you even know where we're going?"
"Well, any of the teams could be anywhere across the world, so we can just keep walking around and-" Ajna said before she bumped into something. "Ow!" she stumbled back. "Sorry! I wasn't watching where I was going- oh boy."
(Track Startup: KD-009q- KOF XV)
Standing in front of Ajna was none other than K', accompanied of course by Maxima and Whip.
"You're the one who bumped into me while you were talking to yourself." K' retorted. "You got a few screws loose there, kid?"
"Um, no?" Ajna said.
"Not exactly subtle about lying, are you?" Maxima asked.
"She's one of the challengers. Ajna, isn't it?" Whip asked. "What's she doing all alone?"
"Who cares?" K' said. "If she just bumped into me like that, she must be asking for a beating." he said as flames came off his red glove.
"Oh boy, not the best encounter by a mile for Ajna." Sanae grimaced. "Team K' isn't going to make this win easy."
"Have a bit of faith, she can handle herself." Sumireko scoffed. "After all, I didn't pick her team just because she was a famous character. Her position as a hero amongst us all is not for show."
"Either way, let's see how this plucky heroine handles her first few foes." Richard remarked.
"A new sparring partner, eh?" Ajna asked as she assumed a fighting stance, both Dhar and Naga Rider materializing next to her on both sides.
"Careful, he's dangerous." Dhar said.
"Come on, we faced worse than this guy." Ajna said.
"They materialized from her head?!" Whip said in shock.
"They're her teammates." Maxima said. "Now it's a fair fight."
At that, Whip and Maxima faced off with Dhar and Naga Rider as Ajna and K' had a stand off.
"You really think it's a good idea to take me on?" K' asked as he scoffed. "You must be really stupid." he said before putting his red gloved hand in his pocket.
Ready…GO!
"Come and get it." Ajna said.
They engaged one another. K' proved to be an early challenge for Ajna, as despite his demeanor, he lived up to having the moniker of the Beast of Prey by overwhelming her with a barrage of deadly strikes as well as flaming punches with his right hand.
"Get lost!" K' said going for a powerful flaming right hook to Ajna's face.
Ajna grabbed it as she soon transformed into her first Heruka Form before launching K' into the and dealing a barrage of homing kicks before landing on the ground as she gathered iddhi into her hands. "Haaaaaa!" she called, firing a massive beam of iddhi as K' fell down into her line of sight.
K' was able to dodge out of the way as Ajna was still in the middle of her attack.
"Where are you looking!?" K' asked as he caught Ajna from behind, blindsiding her as he caught her with a devastating combo, ending with his Chain Drive. "You better run." he said, unleashing a barrage of punches and kicks before finishing with a one inch punch.
Ajna flew backwards before she recovered.
"You're good, but I'm not gonna go down that easily." Ajna said before transforming into her Tara Heruka Form as she concentrated before her third eye opened as she released her inner potential, dealing massive damage to K'.
K.O!
The devastating attack sent K' flying up into the air, before he crashed down on the sand hard.
"That's that!" Ajna said.
"Woah, what was that move!?" Popol exclaimed, remarking about Ajna's Tara Heruka form. "She literally blasted the entire field with her own mental will-power. And she looked like some sort of saint."
"Hmph, she is indeed a good challenge for a Saiyan with how dedicated her forms are to battle." Raditz stated. "I think that she'll be an interesting person to take note of."
"Well, like brothers you are with Goku." Richard chuckled. "You both really have an eye for the strong and a chance to fight with them."
"Too much alike if I say so myself." Raditz grunted. "I've been taking my time training with anyone possible, including Siege and his own little group."
K' sat up after a bit as Maxima and Whip came to his side.
"That could've gone better for you, partner." Maxima said.
"Shut up." K' said. "We can't waste time with these guys. We got bigger fish to fry."
With that, Team K' departed, Naga Rider and Dhar coming to Ajna's side.
"Whew. That was a tough fight." Ajna said.
"That man was an ex-operative of NESTS, a secret organization that specialized in making super-powered individuals." Dhar explained. "Of course he was tough."
"I like his style." Razmi evilly smirked. "He definitely knows his way around burning things he hates."
"He looked like he was occupied with something else though." Zebei said. "Does it have to do with that man, Krohnen?"
"It makes sense. Since that young girl that's with him is usually with that man and cyborg you fought." Thorani said.
"Should we do something about the situation?" Qadira asked.
"Nah. I think this is something they need to deal with themselves." Ajna said.
"Hey now, that's not like you at all, Ajna." Kampan piped in, giving her signature smile. "Ain't you the type of person to jump in and help solve any problem, reason be damned?"
"Yeah, but I don't think this is one I can help resolve." Ajna said.
"Huh, how come?" Nuna asked.
Well, I guess it was worth it to check things out here after all." a voice interrupted Ajna before she could answer.
(Cue- Everything is for the Awakening- KOF 97)
She and her teammates turn to see Yashiro casually approaching them. "Splitting up at the start was a good idea. I just stumbled upon something pretty interesting. Wanna tell me what kinda power you're packin' under that body of yours, kid?"
"Who, me?" Ajna asked. "I'm not a kid!"
"You. You're on Team Orochi." Dhar said. "Not only that but one of its heads."
"You're making it sound like I'm the bad guy here." Yashiro said as he cracked his knuckles.
"Here we go again with Team Orochi. Wanna bet that the next team we follow is going to have to deal with Chris?" Sanae sighed.
In response to this, Richard, Sumireko and Kaguya all raised their hands, with annoyed expressions.
"You look as if they're going to be nuisances. I understand that they're prickly and arrogant, but aren't a few of the previous teams like that, too?" Taiga asked Richard.
"The main problem lies with Chris. He's the one who actually can be used to bring Orochi back down to earth, and if he comes, it's a real big mess." Richard stated. "...Hopefully, we won't have to clean that mess, in addition to what likely might be the next big threat."
"Both of you stay back. I shall handle this." Dhar said as he readied his sword. "If you want Ajna, you'll have to go through me."
"Jumpin' right to conclusions there, huh?" Yashiro asked. "What's wrong with a guy being curious?"
"The simple fact that a Heavenly King shows interest in Ajna's powers." Dhar said.
"Yeah, that's the reason." Yashiro smirked, slamming his fists together. "Shame I gotta bust that face of yours up in front of your girl." he said as both fighters took their combat stances.
Ready…GO!
Yashiro came in hard and fast, throwing the first of his many trademark blows at Dhar.
"Not quite!" Dhar said, forming a shield in front of himself to reduce the damage from the attack. "Earth!" he called stabbing his sword into the ground as multiple earth fragments floated behind him as he countered with a few attacks of his own, multiple pillars erupting towards Yashiro in sync with each of his attacks.
"Hey! Geomancy is my thing, bastard!" Yashro said, smashing through Dhar's enhanced attacks and landing some blows on him.
"Aerial Assault!" Dhar said, jumping into the air and executing a downward slash as some of the fragments formed into a wall of spikes, dealing additional hits. "Fall to dust!" he said, stabbing his sword into the ground and pulling it out as a stone pillar encompassed the blade. "Feel the Earth's Rage!" he roared, slamming it down on Yashiro and dealing massive damage.
K.O!
"(WHAT?!)" Yashiro yelled, falling to the ground in defeat.
"Honestly… Ajna is not my girlfriend." Dhar said with a small blush.
"Ajna, you better split before his teammates get here!" Zebei said.
"R-Right! Let's get out of here!" Ajna said as Dhar and Naga Rider returned to her Inner Realm as she flew off at high speeds in her Tara Heruka Form.
"Hah, that's what you get, you big gorilla!" Eruza laughed at Yashiro's defeat. "You don't bad-mouth one's love before their very eyes."
"Pft, the more I watch these fools, the less hope I have for them. If I were there, I would make doubly sure they wouldn't get up to cause trouble." Raditz stated.
"...You won't do a repeat of what you did in Killing Bites, right?" Koyomi asked with concern.
"Hnnn…" Raditz sighed. "...Not quite. Unlike that tournament, I would have to settle with only a few broken bones at most. But they wouldn't be walking for a while after I'm done."
"Oh, you seem to be confident." Sumireko stated. "Maybe you want to have a go yourself?"
"Didn't I make myself obvious before as well?" Raditz remarked with a smirk.
"Alright, Team Orochi jobbing aside… Let's see where Team Indivisible is going to go next."
A little while later, somewhere in the Sahara Desert….
Ajna landed down near an Oasis as she reverted to human form.
"That was a close one…" Zebei said. "I didn't like how interested he was in you."
"Yeah! He was super scary!" Nuna said.
"What is the Goal of those three Heavenly Kings?" Naga Rider asked.
"To resurrect Orochi, probably." Ajna said.
"I'm not sure that's what they had in mind. They just came back to life after all." Dhar said. "They may be just here to inspect the field. What enemies are in their way, and who to not pay mind to."
"Even so, I could feel the malice he was hiding." Thorani said. "I've never felt such evil since Kala."
"Well whatever those Orochi guys are after, if they start trouble with us again, I'll just kick their butts." Ajna said confidently.
"You… did you just say Orochi?" a voice asked.
Approaching Ajna was Leona Heidern.
"I received a report that Orochi was revived, and sealed again by the Sacred Treasures' hands." Leona said. "Even so, my blood remains unstable as ever. Tell me, what's happening with Orochi?"
"I don't really know, I only just met that guy on Team Orochi, so I don't know what him and his friends are up to." Ajna said.
(Cue Music: Great Grit- King of Fighters XV)
"I see… that is unfortunate." Leona said, her stoic expression coming to fruition. "It was foolish of me to ask, this makes you just an opponent." she said brandishing her right arm like a sword. "Nothing personal, but I must continue my mission."
Ajna stanced up, Naga Rider and Dhar appearing to back her up.
"Oh boy, two of our picks are fighting each other for the first time in this survival round!" Richard exclaimed with excitement, before turning to Taiga. "So, how do you rate Team Ikari's chances here?"
"I doubt it would be a clear win." Taiga stated. "While I concede to the fact of her team's strength, the soldiers did not earn their place against thousands of potential candidates by being incapable in the face of such opponents. And I do sense a wild power within that girl, Leona, if I recall."
"Well, you're right about that." Richard nodded. "Let's see how this fight goes."
"Leave this to me!" Naga Rider declared, Ajna and Dhar nodding in approval and stepping back as Naga Rider stepped up. "As a fellow defender of the innocent, let us have a good match!" he said, assuming a fighting stance.
"Roger. Commencing battle." Leona said, assuming a fighting stance.
Ready…GO!
Both Naga Rider and Leona wasted no time trading blows. Leona for her part fought in a similar manner to Heidern, executing similar moves but in her own style, wide arm slashes, along with forming a swirling energy attack right in front of her.
"Ha!" Naga Rider called, executing multiple backflip kicks that sent Leona and himself into the air. "Rider…KICK!" he called, iddhi surging around him as he launched his signature Rider Kick, dealing massive damage to Leona.
Leona was able to recover on the ground, able to survive.
"He has an advantage in the air. In that case, I have to ground him." Leona said.
Leona executed her new strategy with precision, executing versions of her adoptive father's moves in midair as she sent Naga Rider down to the ground. "(Here I go!)" she said, her hair turning red as she launched towards Naga Rider.
"I shall meet your attack in kind! Power of the Naga, come to me!" Naga Rider called, charging in and performing a mighty strike, clashing with Leona's Leona Blade as the image of a naga appeared over the rider. The two passed each other as it seemed like they both came away without a scratch.
"It's even!" Ginseng said.
Or was it? As soon as Naga Rider collapsed on one knee with a bit of a crack on his mask, Leona was hit with a heavy dose of damage.
K.O!
"(Mission…failed.)" Leona said as she lost consciousness and fell to the sand.
"You are more than a soldier. You are a strong woman who should decide her own path." Naga Rider said.
After the fight ended Ginseng emerged from Ajna's head, showing concern for her master.
"Are you alright, Naga Rider?!" Ginseng asked, looking at his face crack. "Oh, that looks bad!"
"So, thoughts now?" Richard asked Taiga, after the match ended.
"It was a climactic fight, for a first-round battle." Taiga admitted. "To be able to match themselves until the last blow, they are opponents close to each other's level of power. So indeed, I was right."
"I wonder how the others will fight too." Heiwa stated. "Everyone is really fighting very hard to be the best, and they should be cheered, well, except for the obvious mean ones."
"I'm sure that we'll see even more fights that can be this exciting later on!" Popol added.
"Fear not. It is just a scratch." Naga Rider said as the crack slowly healed itself.
"I guess it was a good idea to have Naga Rider on your team, huh hayseed?" Baozhai asked.
"Yeah, that lady's moves were something else. Dhar and I would be down for the count if either of us faced her." Ajna said.
"I concur, she was very skilled. I see why Commander Heidern took her in." Dhar said. "It was fortunate that she was alone. If her teammates were here, we'd stand less of a chance."
"No one's a match for Ajna! She beats everyone up!" Nuna intervened.
"Hey, even I know not to underestimate every person I come across." Ajna said.
"Didn't stop you from fighting anyone or anything before." Razmi said.
Dhar then noticed someone coming through the sand. "We have more company."
Approaching them was none other than Chizuru Kagura.
"Ajna of Loka, we need to talk." Chizuru said. "It's come to my attention that you and your friends have crossed paths with two people who bear Orochi's blood."
"We have indeed." Naga Rider said. "There was Leona Heidern just now, and before our arrival here, there was another. A man with white hair in a red jacket."
"So you've met Yashiro Nanakase of the Four Heavenly Kings." Chizuru said.
"Yeah. Dunno what his deal was, but Dhar kicked his butt." Ajna said.
"I'm afraid that isn't the case. A Heavenly King isn't so easily beat." Chizuru said. "You are dealing with forces you can't possibly comprehend. Please, resign from the tournament and let us of the Three Sacred Treasures deal with this crisis."
(Cue theme: Fictitious or Real- KOF XV)
"Us, just back out?" Ajna asked. "Sorry, but there's still some unanswered questions around that girl's powers. If you wanna get us out of the tournament, you're gonna have to do it the hard way."
"I see. Very well, I shall judge your power and see for myself." Chizuru said, assuming her fighting stance.
"I do wonder, was the one who I thought an earlier version of her?" Reimu remarked, looking upon Chizuru. "Because I'm pretty sure that this was not the same one I fought a long time ago…"
"Oh right, the trial." Richard stated. "Well, I can tell you this, Chizuru definitely got some familiar moves that you definitely might be able to recognise."
"Well, I'm sure that soft look on her is not good enough to hide her inner strength." Hitomi stated. "Her eyes is enough to tell that she's got the will to fight like the rest of us."
"Alright, I'll show you that my power is more than capable of taking on whatever threat comes." Ajna said as Dhar and Naga Rider stepped back.
"Then show me your resolve." Chizuru said.
"Ready…GO!"
"Take this!" Ajna said, doing her neutral combo attack before finishing with a Kusarigama upward sweep.
"(There!)" Chizuru said as an exact copy of her ran out and launched Ajna into the air with an upward sweep before Chizuru disappeared and reappeared in the copy's place and unleashed a burst of light from her hand onto Ajna..
"So that's the ability of the Yata Mirror, it creates copies of the holder." Dhar said.
"Hmm, so you know of my clan's sacred treasure, then you must also know of its purpose." Chizuru said before another copy rushed out in an attempt to attack Ajna.
"Dodge this!" Ajna said as her hair turned white and unleashed a multi hit combo before finishing with two axe sweeps to the copy, which also dealt damage to Chizuru herself. "Ah so that's it, since those copy's are reflections of her, she receives the damage dealt from her summoned copies."
"Very impressive, but…(Can you see this?)" Chizuru asked as her copy walked forward and did a waving motion with her arms and dealt multiple hits before finishing with a burst of light.
"Not bad, but I'm not gonna lose this one!" Ajna said as she changed into her Tara Heruka form and channeled and released her inner potential, dealing massive damage to Chizuru.
K.O!
"I am…impressed." Chizuru muttered as she fell to the ground in defeat.
"That's the strength of my power to protect my friends." Ajna said, crossing her arms.
"Your skills are impressive. However, I stand by what I said." Chizuru said as she began to vanish. "You and your friends must not interfere. The matter of Orochi only concerns the inheritors of the Three Sacred Treasures."
Chizuru then completely disappeared.
"Another illusion?" Dhar asked. "That means she wasn't really here at all."
"Nor was she fighting Ajna with all her power. I could sense that she was using all her strength to keep the illusion active. Which means, she had casted it from a great distance away." Naga Rider said as he gripped his left hand.
"Was she really underestimating us?" Ajna asked.
"I could see right through that lady." Baozhai said. "She wasn't keen on hearing us out. She's the type of person who only does things one way, and one way only."
"Well that's stupid, there's always another way. And we're still gonna go through this whether she likes it or not." Ajna said. "Besides, this isn't the first time we've faced a godlike entity."
"I hope you're right…" Dhar said.
Meanwhile, all the way back in Japan at a Construction Site in the Esaka District….
Chizuru kneeled on the ground, recovering from her latest illusion casting. Kyo and Iori soon walked up to him.
"No luck convincing them to back out, huh?" Kyo asked. "I told ya David and his friends weren't quitters."
"Annoying pests… they'll just keep getting in the way." Iori scoffed.
"We have no choice then." Chizuru said. "We must take the challengers out of this tournament by force if we must. The threat of Orochi mustn't be dealt with by no one else but us."
"Hey now, who was slated to be the leader at the beginning of this again?" Kyo asked. "Still, when it comes to you Chizuru, I know better than to protest when you get like this."
"Hmph, like I care to obey either of you." Iori said. "Let's go and turn them all to ash already."
"You go over the line with them, you pay the price, Yagami." Kyo said.
"What was that?" Iori asked, staring at Kyo.
"Enough! Your two clans may be at odds with each other because of what happened many years ago, but that does not mean you two should be either. Especially you Yagami." Chizuru said.
Unaware to them, a young man with brown eyes looked down at them.
"Guess coming here was a good idea after all. That white haired bastard in possession of the Azure Grimoire is competing in this thing. All I gotta do is find him, take a piece of the azure, and then…. I'll be able to find Raquel while helping save the other timelines." he said before disappearing in a flash of red light.
"Well, she definitely wasn't holding much back for them, but she wasn't going all out either." Richard stated. "Goes to show that as an old-timer, Chizuru is not to be messed with, even by the heroes."
"I wonder if Orochi is the only reason that she joined this tournament…" Sanae stated.
"...Wait, over on top of that sand dune." Taiga remarked, before gesturing at the figure. "Who do you think that was."
"You saw someone?" Richard stated, before he then rewinded the feed to the exact moment that Taiga was talking about, as the more sharp-eyed of the group indeed saw the person. "...Hm, I can't see it clearly enough, but there IS someone there."
"Definitely not one of the team competitors, from what I can see." Chen stated. "Figure doesn't match anyone we just saw."
"Say, do you recognise any men with brown hair?" Eruza stated. "He looks like one of the shonen protagonists from a good manga."
"Rings not many bells." Kaguya stated. "Guess we'll just have to watch on to see if we can get a closer look on him."
