Yeah, you all knew what this "special test" would entail, didn't you? Then again, I wasn't really trying my hardest to be vague about it. Consider this a preview to what you can expect to see at the tournament.
DOWNTOWN L.A., AN UNDERGROUND PARKING LOT
After travelling for a good twenty minutes across the city, the taxi Xiao and Vanessa took left them in front of a giant call center situated in Skid Row at the former's request. From there, they walked to the entrance as inconspicuously as humanly possible and took the elevator to floor -1. The agent had a sense of mild curiosity regarding what could possibly happen, though it wasn't outright replacing her caution. This place looked straight-up out of a horror B-movie.
"Okay, you dragged me in the middle of nowhere. Care to explain what this test consists of finally?" Vanessa asked impatient.
"No need to rush things. You'll understand soon enough why this is the perfect place for us." Xiao took a few steps away from Vanessa while deep in thought, as if she's thinking what is the best way to approach this whole thing.
"You see, normally the clan's rules would be rigorously strict when someone requests the Hizoku's aid...but for the obvious reasons, today we'll have to improvise in many aspects." Xiao explained. "To put it simply, the Hizoku wouldn't offer their services to any sniveling coward who knocked on our gates, naturally. They had to prove deserving by surviving four minutes against one of the Four Devas. The vast majority of them failed and were punished appropriately, of course, but you won't have to worry about that."
"My, I feel so relieved." Vanessa replied sarcastically. "Still, sure doesn't sound like the most difficult test in the world. I've went toe-to-toe with the best of KOF, need I remind you."
"But here we are not bound by tournament's rules. Everything goes, every dirty tactic you can think of is fair game. The one rule I want to impose? No firearms. They were prohibited back then and I won't allow their use now."
"Fine by me, I wasn't planning on using it anyway." The agent couldn't help but feel a little better knowing she wouldn't be forced to do any criminal underground bullshit to earn Xiao's alliance. She was breaking enough rules and protocols already as is.
"If you win, I will accept the help you and Master Lin are offering. If not, I will continue to my mission alone...and trust me when I say you won't find me ever again after KOUF is finished."
Her declaration ended, Xiao crossed her arms and protracted her fingers outwards. In a flash, her business suit was shred to pieces, revealing her much preferred Hizoku attire underneath.
"You were wearing two layers of clothing during the L.A. summer?! How in hell have you not died of heatstroke?"
"Practice..."
"That's not a real answer!"
HIZOKU'S TEST OF STRENGTH: XIAO LON VS VANESSA
There wasn't time to dissect the weirdness of her clan's customs, Xiao launched from her large sleeve a rope with a sharp hook attached, aiming for Vanessa's right shoulder. It was nothing that the boxer's exceptional reflexes couldn't avoid, of course, but it sure showed the ruthlessness in combat the Hizoku were known for. Vanessa tugged the rope towards herself with the intention of sending the opponent off-balance and open for a flurry of jabs, but all she managed to do was give Xiao a further boost to a palm strike right into the chin. The Hizoku tried to capitalized on her advantage, bringing down a large glaive over Vanessa's head with all its might, but she hopped back just in time, leaving only cracked asphalt behind her.
Never underestimate a boxer's jaw however, as Vanessa simply spitted out a small drop of blood and continued fighting unfazed. Xiao tried a front kick, segued into a chop with her left hand. The agent swerved hard on her knees to avoid the first shot, but deflecting the second came easily. Finally moving into the Hizoku's personal space, Vanessa opened with two quick stings to the face which were sloppily blocked, then finished with a lower, much harder punch to the stomach, flinching her considerably. Vanessa went for an uppercut, which Xiao still managed to parry despite her conditions. To escape this predicament, the former Hizoku pushed her back and whipped high by spinning her body 360° and striking the agent with her braid. Damn near the left eye too, just make it even worse by impairing her vision; Those Hizoku sayings about transforming every inch of their bodies into a weapon wasn't simple bragging, apparently.
To make her pay, the boxer opted to follow the advice of given to her before. As the gears in her head started spinning, Xiao continued her attack undeterred, going for a wheel kick that was narrowly dodged by the red head, before coming forward with that annoying glaive of hers; About time someone showed her how it feels like when your arsenal is turned against you. After raising her right arm to avoid the worst of it, Vanessa catched it and kepi firmly under her armpit. While the lifting was particularly taxing, she managed to slam the Hizoku into one of the nearby cars, breaking one of the front lights in the process. Xiao tried to went back on her feet before the agent arrived but luck wasn't on her side; Vanessa stopped her dead in her tracks with a boot to the face, then grabbed her by the ridiculously long hair and nail her on the hood with a brutal elbow, with the crack generated being so loud that it echoed throughout the parking lot.
As Vanessa let Xiao's body flop to the pavement with blood pouring out uncontrollably, she had a panic attack, thinking she went too far with the "dirty tactics" and actually killed her. These fears were quickly put to rest when the Hizoku's stood up like she merely scraped her knee, accompanied by the disgusting sound of bones and tissue reassembling themselves. Her face was indeed covered red, but a casual wipe made the signs of the last attack disappear almost entirely.
"If it's any consolation, you almost split my skull in two. It hurt about as much as you would expect."
That half-compliment served little to improve Vanessa's confidence, since no matter how hard the agent literally bashed her head in, Xiao jumped back in action each and every time without any sign of lasting damage. Again Vanessa had to sidestep two swipes from the former Hizoku's blades, the second one even slicing away a lock of her hair. Vanessa tried to find a way past her seemingly impenetrable defenses, ducking under the massive left glaive and going for a downward fist. Sadly, that move proved way too desperate, with Xiao having little difficulty in avoiding that shot and throwing her into the dusty ground afterwards. Vanessa tried to maintain a bit of grace in that landing but a drawback was inevitable, with her elbows forced to absorb a lot of the impact.
The agent was starting to feel really spent, every shot was either dodged, countered or healed completely seconds after landing and her usual swarmer tactics all proved ineffective. Despite being on the ropes, the boxer decided that if she was gonna fail the mission and go back to Lin empty-handed, at least she would go down in a blaze of glory. Xiao sprinted towards Vanessa with her spiked lance ready to use, her eyes bore no emotions as she thrust her weapon at her opponent's head. Risking everything, the agent waited until the very last moment to dash on her left side and advance with her corresponding arm, with her corresponding forearm getting slit up during the motion. Bearing the pain as best she could, the agent managed to land the entirety of her gloved fist at the center of Xiao's face, making her stumble heavily...only for her to regain her footing almost immediately in spite of her bleeding nostrils. That was it for Vanessa, there was simply no way for her to achieve victory. Disheartened by the pitiful result of her last stand, the boxer stood immobile still processing her won disbelief as Xiao lunged forward in her neck's direction...and yet she suddenly stops, the tip of the blade barely grazing the middle. It took a couple of seconds for Vanessa to realize the reason, but that glorious beeping coming from her own watch was loud and clear. She managed to last the required four minutes, causing one of the most wild morale uplifts in existence.
WINNER: VANESSA...SORT OF
The former Hizoku was standing there unblinking, with her blade still at one centimeter from Vanessa's throat and her nose having already repaired itself, making her seriously worry if she broke some other cryptic rule of the test or something. Thankfully, the genuine smile Xiao gave calmed her down.
"Truly impressive." Xiao praised while finally retracting her weapon back inside her sleeve. "Less than fifteen people ever passed and even fewer by displaying such impeccable technique."
"That's fine and all but did you have to scare the shit out of me in the process?!" Vanessa rightfully questioned.
"My apologies, just a reflex from my training days." The assassin felt appropriate to honor her promise in an official manner. "More importantly, you've proved to be a formidable opponent. In the name of the Hizoku's sacred code, ours is now a shared goal." Having declared that, she proceeded to extend her arm."
"No need to be so melodramatic, I'm just glad we came to an agreement. Honestly, for a moment there I nearly forgot you had hands like anybody else."
"I wouldn't be so careless, Heidern's mutt. Who knows what disease she could infect you with."
Their handshake was cut short by the shrill voice of the little grey figure appearing out of thin air behind them, accompanied as always by his much larger associate. Vanessa's expression quickly turned from relief to nervousness.
"...Friends of yours, I'm assuming?" The agent whispered.
"Tch, always capable of staying out of sight, that viper." Xiao commented. "No sudden movements or you will perish in an instant, understood?"
Feeling absolutely no pressure at all, Vanessa needed to feel the iron of her gun brushing her fingers just in case. She knew for a fact that whatever is about to go down will escalate really fucking fast. As for the Hizoku members, the animosity was palpable despite everyone involved hiding it behind their usual expressions, especially the now disfigured Chat, who didn't feel threatened in the slightest. Instead, he wanted to make sure his intentions were abundantly clear.
"Don't look surprised, Xiao. You knew the New Hizoku would've found you at some point."
NEXT TIME: The New Hizoku has pinned Xiao and Vanessa against a wall and they have no interest in resolving their quarrel peacefully.
