Disclaimer: SNKPlaymore owns the rights to the KOF Brand and it's respective characters, blah blah blah, I own the OCs, yadda yadda yadda, Enjoy the story.
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The King of Fighters: New Blood
Act 1: Arrival
By Shikkoku Kiyoshi
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"Okay, listen. I have some important stuff to talk to you about today's match."
Irena had arranged a team meeting early in the morning. As expected, she was met with groans and grumpy faces. Krysten kept switching between watching her and playing his video game, Xion looked like he was about to fall back asleep and Zyon seemed to be disinterested in whatever she had to say.
She sighed; it was hard being a girl trying to lead a team made entirely of teenage boys.
"Anyway, we kinda have a change in plans." She continued. "My sponsor decided to have a little fun with both teams in this match and decided to buy only one set of plane tickets."
"Uh, then how are we going to get to the area where our quarter final match is set to take place?" Raven asked.
"That's what I need to tell you. You're match is this evening at the airport, and the team that wins gets to get on the plane to the semi-finals."
"So the loser has to stand there and watch the winner fly into the sunset?" Zyon perked up. "Sounds good to me."
"I'm glad to see that there's no problem. I'll see you guys later. I have to go talk to the other team. Zyon, I'll tell Whip that you said hi." She winked at him before leaving.
Krysten sighed. "Your attraction to women is going to be the death of us."
Zyon rolled his eyes. "Krysten, you're just jealous that I'm a magnet for pretty girls, unlike you, who gets scared when one even talks to you directly."
Krysten calmly turned off his game before jumping on Zyon.
Irena shook her head as she heard the sounds of fighting coming from the door. "What am I going to do with them?"
She walked down the various hall ways of their hotel. She didn't really want to lie to the team, but she didn't really want them to know were she was really going either.
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Quietly opening the door, Irena took a quick peek outside before she continued. Upon seeing the person she had intended to confront, she gave a small smile.
"I knew you would be here…" She said.
Irena walked towards the brown haired girl that was currently on the roof of the building. Whip didn't turn around to look at the girl.
"Why are you here?" She asked.
"I'm their representative. That's my role in the scheme of things." She shrugged. "I'm not going to do anything evil to them, if that's what you're thinking. "
"So you haven't told them yet?"
"Told them what? The reason for this tournament?" Irena scoffed. "Nobody needs to know for now."
"And if they do make it to the finals, what do you think will happen?"
"I'll deal with that when the time comes. But since we're asking questions, why are youhere? You decide to leave us, and then all of a sudden, I see your face on the tournament listings. What's the deal?"
"Don't play stupid. You know why I left, and there's no reason for me to explain it to you." Whip turned around. "You, of all people, is the last person I expected to still be there."
"I owe them a lot, so I'm not going to leave." Irena she walked towards her. "Unlike you, I don't think only about myself."
Whip only stared at her. "You've always been stubborn, Irena. You should know better."
"I should kill you right now, but I guess that the SSC eliminating your team from KOF should suffice for the moment." She smiled, and pinched Whip in the cheek."It was good to see you again, Muchiko. Zyon says hi, by the way."
Whip smacked the girls hand out of her face, but she only laughed lightly before slinking away to the door. All she could do afterwards was stand there as she tapped her head with the handle of her weapon. This was going to be a long day.
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By now the SSC had already stopped complaining about their weird fight venues, but it still didn't change the fact that a busy airport was a very ridiculous place to have a battle. The sun was close to setting among the shining city lights, and sitting a ways back was the plane that was prepared to take the winners off to meet their semifinal opponents.
Both teams had been told to pack, obviously, so the SSC were stuck dragging their luggage with them, while the Ikaris had some colleges hold theirs for them at the moment. Irena was busy shooing away spectators, telling them that they can watch the fight inside with a video feed her sponsor set up. Zyon, who the team had decided would go first, was getting warmed up while his Krysten would be the Striker for the match.
"So Zyon," Irena said after getting the crowd to disperse. "What wild power are you going to use this time?"
"Hopefully, none." Zyon jumped around a little. "But if need be, I'll try to stick with lightning, since I have more control over that."
Irena nodded. "Could you promise me one thing?"
"Hmm? Of course. What is it?"
"If you end up facing Whip, please, please don't hold back on her." Irena eyes pleaded with him. "I don't really want you to lose just because you seem to be on good terms."
Zyon smiled. "Don't be so concerned. I like girls, but that doesn't mean I give them a handicap I promise I won't take it easy on Whip-Girl over there."
Irena walked up to him and whispered in his ear, "Thank you." Before kissing him on the cheek. Zyon's face flushed for a second, before he shook it off and continued his warm up routine.
Whip eyed the two across the field with a combination of distain and something else she couldn't put her finger on.
"KILL!"
Whip jumped back to avoid Leona's Moon Slasher.
"Don't get distracted." She said sternly. "If I find you not doing your best, you're going to be spending the rest of this tournament in intensive care."
"Yes Ma'am." She saluted.
After Irena finally got the video feed to the airport working, she assembled both teams before making her usual pre match speech.
"This is the quarterfinal match in The King of Fighters 1999. My name is Irena Toryu, and I will be in charge of calling this match today between the Shin Sekai Chitsujo, and the Ikari Warriors. The winner will face the winner of the earlier match, which I will reveal after the match is over. Will the first two competitors please step forward?" Zyon and Ralf stepped forward. "You should know the rules by now. Try to keep this clean."
"There's nothing that's going to be clean about this match." Ralf grinned. "You're going to wish you never entered this tournament, kid."
Zyon didn't say anything.
Round 1: Zyon vs. Ralf!
"GWA! Let's get it on!" Ralf seemed ready for the match.
Zyon reached into his pocket and took out the pendant he always wore. He kissed it before putting it around his neck and under his shirt.
Fight!
Ralf immediately went to work, grabbing Zyon by the neck and tossing him in the air. The blonde was caught off guard, so he barely was able to land on his feet.
"He seems ready for action." Zyon thought. "I have to be careful."
"Dark Moon!" Zyon threw his ground based projectile, but he was so far away, that Ralf easily dodged it.
"Hah!" Ralf laughed. "You're going to need to do more than that!"
"Fine then." Zyon replied. In an instant, he was right in front of him, and his foot connected with his face.
"YA! YA! YA!" He continued to kick Ralf three more times, each hit sending both people into the air, before the last kick brought him back down to the ground.
"Didn't expect that, did you?" Zyon taunted as Ralf eased back up.
"RALF KICK!"
Zyon found himself getting knocked a few feet across the field with that surprise attack.
"Shit." He groaned. He tried to get to his feet, but he was quickly tackled back to the ground and battered with punches.
"Here you go!" Ralf shouted over his assault. "Now, one more!" He sent the younger boy sliding across the pavement with his last hit.
Zyon had an even harder time getting up from that one, but he eventually did, and he didn't waver a bit. "You're not done yet."
"Oh yeah?" Ralf leapt up into the air, ready to use the Kyuukouka Bakudan Punch.
"Striker."
All of a sudden, a chain shot up and wrapped around his neck.
"Ochiro!" Krysten pulled on his chain and sent Ralf crashing into the ground. "Are you okay, Zyon?"
"I'll be fine, thanks." Zyon flashed the younger Kirishima a smile. "Now, to end this before he recovers."
Taking a deep breath, he spread his arms apart. He focused his energy towards his hands, and soon, they glowed with a pure white energy. He slid towards Ralf when he was getting up and thrusted his glowing hands forward. Ralf buckled over a bit before falling to the ground, unable to continue.
Irena waited to see if he would get up, and after he didn't announced. "Ralf is obviously unable to continue. Zyon wins the round."
"Hmph." The blond put his hands on his hips. "I clearly overestimated your weakness."
Whip felt a chill go up her spine. She was up next, and by the way he quickly took down Ralf, Zyon was taking every bit of this battle with deadly seriousness.
"I can't promise that I will not kill you."
Would he really be willing to go that far? Whip hesitantly walked to the fighting area, her precious weapon in hand. Zyon gave her a reassuring smile, which made her feel a little less anxious. Maybe this won't be as bad as she thought…
Round 2: Zyon vs. Whip!
"Are you ready?" She unraveled her weapon. "Because I am!"
Fight!
Rather than wait for Zyon to make a move, she immediately struck out her whip, hitting him on his clothed arm.
"Ow!" He rubbed his arm furiously, before the whip hit her in the leg, causing Zyon to hop around on his leg for a few seconds.
The next two minutes was spent with Zyon trying to get past Whip's namesake with little success and a lot of pain.
"I'm going to have marks for days after this is over." He thought while dodging another strike. He had already decided that he would sit out the last battle, even if he won, if his strategy worked. "I need to get closer."
As soon as he saw an opening, he dashed towards her, disappearing only for a second or two before reappearing near the girl.
"Eyah!" Zyon turned his back to her before flipping and kicking Whip in the face and sending her flying. She managed to recover quickly enough that she landed on her feet, and she sent her whip out to wrap around Zyon's neck, and with a quick tug, he was on the ground. She slowly drug him across the unforgiving concrete till he was at her feet.
"No…fair." Zyon lifted his head up a bit, before Whip's foot forced it back down again.
"I told you earlier, my precious Widow wants blood." Whip ground her heel into the back of the boy's head. "And I'm going to give it to her, even if you are cute." She laughed a little as she continued to torture the boy, with the rest of the SSC watching.
"This is just great." Raven muttered. "If he loses this match, I'll have to go against her."
"Zyon must have said something awfully racy to deserve that." Krysten added.
Xion just sighed. "Idiot."
Whip took her foot off the poor blonde's head. Zyon rolled over so he was facing her; his forehead was bleeding from rubbing against the ground and his eyes were dim.
"So, do you accept defeat?" Whip asked. She didn't really want to continue hurting him anymore than already necessary.
"No. I'm still alive, aren't I?" Zyon's hair slowly turned white and his eyes a sharp blue. Without warning, he twisted his body around so his legs took out Whip's and knocked her onto the ground.
"I'm not that easy to beat." Zyon got up. "Don't get cocky, or it'll be the death of you."
"Can it!" Whip said in a voice louder than she had wanted it to be.
Rather than give out a reply, Zyon just swept his hands across his body and launched a insanely fast ball of crackling electricity at her. Whip took it right in the chest, and she fell to one knee as her body throbbed for a few seconds. "You're just a kid, like me. Don't speak to me like you're grown." He took out a cigarette and used his electricity to light it.
Whip was starting to get incensed with his comments. She grabbed Widow and struck out again, but he didn't even bother to dodge it, and it hit his cheek, leaving another mark.
"That really hurts, you know." Zyon said in an even tone, blowing out some smoke. "Stop doing that."
Whip tried again, but in an amazing feat of timing, Zyon caught the end of the weapon.
"You're too easy." Zyon grinned. He quickly jerked his arm back, and Whip was pulled along with her Widow. The boy pulled his other arm back, charged it with electricity and punched the brown haired girl right in the face. The impact nearly made her drop her weapon, and she fell on her knees, clutching her face in pain.
Zyon laughed a little. "I'm sorry." He kneeled down a little. "Let me see your face."
He moved her hands from her face, and saw that she was bleeding. Zyon's face softened a bit. "I guess I went a bit too far.
Whip took the distraction to her advantage, and she struck him with her whip again.
Zyon frowned. "Or maybe I haven't gone far enough." He said, venom dripping from his voice.
With a flash, he disappeared. Whip couldn't believe her eyes. "Did he just teleport somewhere?"
"Up here!"
She looked up just in time for Zyon's foot to land right on her face. He used the force to push himself off of her, then teleported again in the air. He re appeared right next to her, and did a complicated-looking somersault kick, sending her in the air a bit before she hit the ground with a thud.
"Tch, Tch, Tch…" He waved his finger in a mocking way. The girl quickly got up, and before he knew it, her whip was wrapped around his neck once again. Instead of trying to choke him, though, she jumped in the air and returned the favor by kicking him in the face as well. Zyon recovered quickly, and jumped backwards to gain some space.
Whip was getting tired, both emotionally and physically. This wasn't what she expected at all and she blamed herself for not taking this fight seriously enough. At this point she didn't really care if he killed her or not, she just wanted this battle to end quickly. She got up and quickly regained her composure, and prepared for whatever was about to happen.
Zyon's mind, on the other hand, was telling him to get a grip, as he was starting to drift into THAT state of mind again and needed to get back to normal before he 'accidently' kills someone. He took a deep breath and regained some sense of control over his actions. It was really time that he ended this match. He put his cigarette behind his ear for the moment, he needed to get ready.
Whip started to run towards him, trying to use a last ditch attack to catch him off guard and not give him enough time to plan a countermove.
Zyon, however, had already started to charge up his attack. The flow of electricity was starting to increase, and the sparks that would occasionally show up in that form started to multiply.
"Just a little bit longer." He thought, as he pulled back a bit. Whip got closer. "A few more seconds and…" Zyon felt him reach the point he was aiming for. "NOW!"
Before Whip had a chance to comprehend what Zyon was even doing, he had already hit her.
To put it simply, Zyon had charged towards her, teleporting before he could run into her, and reappearing behind her, back in his normal state.
But the large jolt of electricity, however, didn't follow the same course and Whip felt the full force of his attack.
"I can't believe it." Whip dropped her Widow. She didn't seem to move for quite a few seconds before falling to her knees and collapsing to the ground.
"I guess I win." Zyon panted. Attacks like that drained him of energy more quickly than his states usually do. He doubted he could even fight normally for a while.
"Thank goodness…" Irena let out the breath she was holding. "Whip is unable to continue, so Zyon wins the round."
"Ugh…" The boy felt light headed. With his adrenaline gone, all the pain he has been inflicted with was making itself known again. He slowly made his way towards Irena. "I'm opting out of this next match. I'm pretty much out of energy."
Irena smiled. "It's okay. I understand." She turned to Raven. "Raven, Zyon's dropping out of the match, so you're up next."
The older Kirishima grumbled. "Thanks a lot, Zyon." He said, stepping up to the fighting area.
Leona was, in a way, at a disadvantage. Her two teammates had both been taken out by a kid, and now she had to win two straight matches in order to save the Ikari's chances of winning. Even with her skill, it would be difficult.
She went over, got Whip from off the ground, and carried her over to her team's side of the field. "Clark, take care of her for a while, but still be ready for if I call you."
"Yes, Ma'am." Clark sat her down next to a crate.
"You did a better job than I expected." Leona thought to herself. "You managed to hurt the kid enough that he couldn't continue fighting, so it wasn't all in vain. You have my respect."
"Come on! Stop socializing and get to the field!" Irena yelled. "We need to finish this as soon as possible before we start getting complaints from the people in the airport!"
Leona glared at the representative for a moment before walking on the field.
Round 3: Raven vs. Leona
"I'm not holding back." Raven said simply.
Leona nodded. "Neither will I."
Fight!
Raven threw one of his fireballs at her. Leona managed to use a Moon Slasher to cut the projectile in half, and it faded away before Raven could smack his fist and make it explode.
"Wait, how could she do that without hurting her hand?" Raven said to himself, but didn't have time to dwell on that, as Leona went on the offensive, wanting to get through him as quick as possible.
She performed the Baltic Launcher, and the green energy ball hit Raven in his shoulder a few times. It wasn't too serious since it wasn't his primary arm, but it still really hurt.
"You're not putting up much of a fight." Leona said as she continued to attack. "Were you hoping your friend would do all of the work for you?"
"No!" Raven shouted, not wanting to look weak in front of the Orochi girl. "I just need you to show an opening. Like…" He jammed an elbow into Leona's ribs. "…now, I suppose." He spun around a bit before kicking her in the chest.
"Rekkou!" Raven hit Leona with a flying uppercut. She fell to the ground with a thud.
"Not so confident now, are you?" Raven landed on his feet. But before he could think of his next move, Clark ran in and lifted him on his shoulders. "Hey! Let go of me!"
"Not a chance, kid." Clark gave him a smirk. "Running Three!"
"What?! Krysten! Keep Leona at bay!" He shouted.
Leona got up, a little dazed, but confident. Clark had given her some time to breathe, and to get her wits together again. However, she was too far away to hear Raven call for the striker, so she didn't notice Krysten rushing towards her, and by time she did, his foot was already in her face. Krysten had hit Leona with a very fast combo of punches and kicks before hitting her with a somersault kick, sending her into the air.
"Ochiro!" Krysten brought her back down again, the same way he did Ralf, before leaving.
During this time, Raven was hit with the Running Three, and he was on the ground after being slammed.
Clark had taken notice of the fact that Leona was getting beat up by Krysten, and turned his back to him. Raven took advantage.
"Kiren'eki…" He whispered. He didn't even bother to charge the thing up, he just let it go. It hit Clark in the head, and he fell down to the ground. Raven got up (making sure to step on his body on the way), and rushed toward the fallen Leona.
"Let's hope this works." He thought. Focusing a bit, he formed two sharp, fan-shaped blades of energy in his hands. As soon as Leona got up, he unleashed his attack, slashing and spinning with precision not normally seen from him. Leona felt the blades cut through her skin, and she could do nothing, as it was so fast, Leona couldn't put up a defense.
With one final blow, the blue-haired soldier was sent flying to the ground.
"Leona is out, so Raven wins the round." Irena said happily. "The Shin Sekai Chitsujo wins the round, and will be moving on to the semi-finals."
Raven fell to the ground in relief. "It's over, thank god."
Irena rushed over to him. "I'm happy you won, but we need to get on the plane NOW."
And so, the SSC rushed off to board the plane that would lead them to their next match.
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"I see…"
"Yes, sir. They pretty much took out the entire team." Irena was on another part of the plane, talking on the phone to one the main sponsor..
"Hmm. It looks like we have a dark horse in our mist. I would have never imagined it."
"Well, considering their next opponent, I'm not too sure about their chances."
"Who are the opponents they will face next, Irena?"
"Fatal Fury."
"Well, I can see your concern." The man chuckled a bit. "Be sure to keep me informed, okay?"
"Yes sir." The line went dead.
Irena sighed and held her head in her hands. The Ikaris was tough, but, as far as she knew, the SSC was going to need a miracle to get to the finals.
"I'll tell them tomorrow, I guess." She thought, as she started to doze off.
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Shikkoku: I did this chapter in twelve days! A new record, LOL…
The fight scene turned out better than I expected. I'm very pleased about how it turned out. Overall, this new writing routine is already starting to pay off. I'm already started on Kurai Tenshi chapter 7…
Notes:
Obviously, the long saga between Zyon and Whip is far from over, but it'll be a while before we return to that. The next chapters are going to be Raven-centric.
Of all three of my stories, this is the one that is closest to being finished. The SSC saga isn't even close to done, however. This act, however, will probably be ending in four or five chapters. Then it's going to be a brief, but important side story, introducing more OCs, (one of which will have an impact on the second Act, another a daughter of a certain KOF Boss whose name is NOT Rose.), a slight crossover with Street Fighter (though it should be obvious if you look at Raven's moveset), and character development! Everybody loves that.
Speaking of which, it's time for the last of the SSC bios…
Xion Xinlon (or Shinlon, depending on your spelling.)
Fighting Style: A hybrid of Chinese Martial Arts
Birth-date: February 23
Age: 17
Birthplace: China
Blood Type: O
Height: 5'10
Weight: 140 lb
Hobbies: BMX racing, collecting swords
Favorite Food: Anything that doesn't involve him actually cooking. (He can't cook.)
Best Sport: BMX
Most Important: Zyon, and all of his friends.
Dislikes: His past, people who look down on him.
Xion may tend to act uncaring and bored all the time, but he is really a nice person. He's one of the people most loyal to Zyon, who he believes helped turn his life around. Despite his looks, he possesses greater than average strength, and a keen sense of battle. He enters the tournament to keep his skills sharp.
Next Chapter: SSC vs. Fatal Fury. Guess who wins?
Until Next Time…