I know you're waiting for the main story to resume but don't worry, New Horizon will return soon...as in tomorrow.
LOS ANGELES ROOFTOPS
The bustling L.A. shows no signs of stopping even in the middle of a new KOF mania taking it by storm, everyone completely unsuspecting of the deranged fighter observing them. In the crowded streets of the city, especially in this day and age, you never know who could be watching you from afar. Stalkers, private detectives or, in this case, soulless murderers with a seething hatred for "weak" people.
The assassin with the crow mask, Jyazu, was sitting on the edge of an apartment complex with a bottle of Vermouth that he stole from a liquor shop, waiting in the agreed upon place. Getting himself a little drunk was kind of a necessity, as his urges needed to be suppressed somehow...so many pathetic cockroaches scattering about below him, the temptation was hard to ignore. However, the assassin's rational side knew that causing such a scene wouldn't have done him much good, so better to suppress the need to hunt for the moment.
That's when Jyazu felt it. An overwhelming presence appearing before him...about time.
"How is it that I always find you hogging a bottle? At our age it can't be very healthy."
"Hah! Don't say stuff you know to be completely false." Jyazu responded, as he stood up from the edge. "What took you so long, Silber?"
"With this new KOF tournament, there's way more people around than I'm used to. Had to reach this place with caution." The mysterious man-beast Silber, known in the underground world for his interruption of the Buriki One tournament, remained perfectly composed in the face of someone like Jyazu. Then again, his herculean strength doesn't leave much to be afraid of. "So...what are you waiting for?"
The crow started walking up to Silber's face with abnormal calm. The glare they exchanged emanating such an intensity that wake up a dormant volcano. Closer and closer, no signs of hesitation from neither of these two titans of combat. When the two were finally at arm's length from one another...the hug they shared made up for all the months they weren't able to contact each other.
"Words cannot express what a bore it's been for me without having you around, you old bastard." Jyazu admitted.
During the eleventh KOF, the two were among some of the "unofficial guests" of that tournament. In the shadows, the two wanted to test their respective mettle against someone who could actually put up a decent fight. What followed was a gruelling battle where neither of them could deal a finishing blow due how exhausted the pair was at the end. Nonetheless, Jyazu and Silber never felt as alive as in that precise moment, praising each other's strength as one of a kind, as well as discovering just how like-minded they were.
The desire to become stronger above everything else, the dream of a world where only eternal conflict and never-ending battles would make humanity better, the mutual agreement that Vermouth was indeed the best booze on the market. Since that day, the two became one of the most dangerous duo of the criminal underworld, despite periods of distance due to hit-related travels here and there, and the only people either of them would ever refer to as friends.
"Well, you could show your appreciation by handing over that bottle." Silber proposed.
"You wish. I stole it, I'll finish it." Jyazu declared as he invited his friend to sit next to him.
"How do you like Los Angeles so far?" Silber asked.
"Unbearably noisy, like any other metropolis. If it wasn't for the chi in the air, I would turn this place into a massive graveyard in an instant."
"Looks like you won't have to wait long for that." Silber heavily inhaled, like a climber reaching a high enough point of a mountain to feel the clean, unpolluted air in his nostrils. "It's faint for now, but it's definitely there. Slowly but surely, the chi is converging in the direction of the Dodger Stadium, just like Sima Jian said."
"All those ants down there aren't even aware of being at ground zero of an impending disaster. Just look at them." Jyazu pointed at the pedestrians with open contempt. "Ignorant flocks of zombies, wasting their existence hyper-focusing on the minor nuisances they encounter in their worthless lives. No one cares anymore about the fact that mankind has become stagnant, indolent, complacent of its meaningless milestones, except us. That, or they are intentionally not addressing such a crisis, which probably makes it even worse."
"Easy now, no need to be so harsh on them. It's not like they know any better." Silber sighed, trying to give humanity some slack.
"I'm dead serious, Silber. With every passing year, I felt like my head was about to burst in rage about this. I thought I was only one on Earth that was seeing this garbage...until I met you." Jyazu paused himself, with Silber immediately noticing just how much weight this matter really had for the crow.
"Someone who shared my vision, someone that could fully and truly understand me...what I'm getting at is, I know I don't say this often enough but...I'm really glad that we've met, Silber, I really am."
"...The feeling is mutual." Silber firmly put his massive hand on Jyazu's shoulder. "Our dream will become reality, no matter what it takes."
Jyazu was internally dying of laughter. To think that him of all people, an unabashed misanthropist, would be happy, even grateful, of having met another human being. Before XI, he would've laughed in the face of anyone suggesting such...and probably carving them up too for good measure.
"You know what? I've changed my mind, you do deserve the rest of the Vermouth." Jyazu claimed while throwing the bottle over to Silber.
"That was actually my plan all along, you fool." Silber heartily laughed before taking a sip. "So, I'm guessing the schedule hasn't changed much from what we've agreed on the phone, right?"
"Right. We meet up with those lunatics of the Hizoku to see what kind of deal they want to offer us and then we'll focus on getting you into KOUF...by force, of course." Jyazu snickered.
"I can only imagine how well THAT meeting is going to go." Silber remarked, already bracing himself for the worst. "I'm right behind you."
After finishing their drink, the two vanished leaped into the city, suspicious but without a single trace of fear in their spirit. If it comes to blows, Jyazu and Silber will watch each other's back, as they've always done for years by now, until their ideal world comes to pass.
Enjoyed this budding romance? In all seriousness, I swear these two have to be some of the most criminally overlooked bosses in fighting games. Probably has to do with coming from games that only five people remember nowadays. I mean, they have great movesets without being too cheap(and for SNK bosses that's a breath of fresh air), their design screams badass, what's not to love? With that being said, thanks for your patience and I'll see you in the next chapter.
