Chapter 8: The Pride of Two Girls
Daikenjuro could not believe what just happened. Karin literally talked some truth out of him and it turned her into a completely different woman right before his very eyes. Since his daughter wasn't depending on him anymore, he had to think long and hard about what he should do now. For now, though, he stayed in solitary confinement in his room where he stayed away from the suspecting public.
As for Ibuki and Karin, they just came back to the Street Fighter HQ to alert the others about their plans.
"You're gonna do what now?" Sean asked with shock after Ibuki and Karin explained the situation. "You're gonna bring down VanoDragon on your own?"
"What other choice do we have?" Karin asked. "My Father wanted them to get Link in the first place, so we figured payback would be the best solution. If they want Link, they'll have to go through us first… and it won't be easy for them."
"What about Derryk?" Ryu asked with concern. Karin bowed her head and turned her back on the others with shame. Ryu got the message and gasped. "You dumped him, didn't you?"
"I had to… for his sake. If we were still a couple, he would be a target in the case and I don't want to take that risk. I love him too much to do so."
"Damn…"
"But, on the bright side, he has more important things to do… like maintaining his two jobs simultaneously."
"What about Link?"
"He's safe with the Glade of Ninjas." Ibuki reassured. "As long as Don keeps him safe there in the safety of my room, Link will be fine."
"Whew! Good. Well, I guess you two do have your work cut out… but how can you pull all of this off? Knowing VanoDragon so far, they won't stop at nothing to gain the possession of Link."
"Well, they're gonna have to… because the pride of two girls saving one little alien from greed is enough to make society gravel at our feet."
"Mm! Enough said there." Birdie agreed.
"You said it, Birdie." Ryu agreed. "Well, I wish you two ladies the best of luck. Is there anything you want us to do in the meantime?"
"Yes." Karin replied. "If you happen to spot any sign of VanoDragon at all, whether it's a spy or Marshall himself, alert the Glade immediately. Ibuki happily agreed to allow her village to assist us with more than just protecting Link."
"You got it… but what about Stitch? We've haven't seen nor heard from him in a while."
"I'm sure his assistance won't be necessary for a while. He has to maintain his ohana anyway he can."
"Got it. Be careful, girls."
"We will." Ibuki and Karin replied together before they departed outside to begin their epic mission.
Meanwhile, just outside the building…
"Okay, Ibuki…" Karin started as the two just walked out of the door. "…we need to break it down into several plans, just to make it easier. Plan A is a gimmie, but it's a start… and you are the owner of this plan."
"Okay." Ibuki replied. "What do I need to do?"
"Well, you know how there are zakamon all over the place, right?"
"Yeah."
"Well, I've heard of one zakamon that Derryk must not know about until we're done with VanoDragon. He makes the perfect ninja assassin assistant, but he's a quadruped which makes it fun for him to be sneaky."
"Really? That's awesome!"
"I know, but get this: He looks a lot like Kunimitsu!"
"…whaaaaaaa… it's that kunimito thing, isn't it?"
"Yeah. He's made his home in a secluded area in downtown Beijing, but you won't find him…"
"He will find me."
"…exactly. Wow, Ibuki… your… uh… ninja instincts are really ahead of your age."
"Thanks. So, now that you mentioned that Plan A is all me and this cool kunimito, what exactly is the plan?"
"Isn't it obvious?"
"…?"
"I need you to sneak back into VanoDragon's main headquarters and see if you can find some kind of upcoming threat. If you happen to get that information, do whatever you can to stop it from happening. Meanwhile, I will… uh…" Karin paused as she walked over an alley not too far from where the ladies stood and she walked into the alley for about five seconds before a male scream with heard with a strong gripping of leather before she walked back out with a VanoDragon spy being held by her strong hands before her, which made Ibuki softly applaud with satisfaction before Karin finished. "…talk and, possibly beat, some sense into this spy here."
"Ugh! HEY! LET GO OF ME!" The cowardly spy begged. "HOW DID YOU KNOW I WAS BACK THERE?"
"I heard you trying to get yourself comfortable between the trash cans during our conversation. Apparently, you're a brand new spy and your amateur skills are already showing your extremely terrible inexperience. Personally, I think Ibuki can do better."
"…bitch."
"Nice." Ibuki commented, refering to Karin's sudden capture of the spy. "I guess this plan can work out. I'll head on over to downtown Beijing and see if that kunimito can find me."
"Good, but just one word of caution when he encounters you…"
"Shoot."
"…if he finds you in an ambush type of attack, don't fight back. Quickly explain to him your purpose for invading his personal space in the most peaceful manner possible, so you won't sound like your finding a reason to fight."
"Gotcha!" Ibuki placed on the sash that covered the lower half of her face before she swiftly dashed off into the city. When she was gone, Karin turned the frightened spy around so he could face her before she spoke.
"Now, I have tons of questions for you…" Karin stated before she walked over to her Jaguar XJ220 that was parked not too far from where she stood and tossed the tied-up and gagged spy in the back seat of her car before she closed the door and got in the driver's seat. Seconds after she inserted her key into the ignition, she faced him with a smug look on her face. "…and I expect you to answer every last one of them or else." Karin paused as she cracked her knuckles to prove her point. The spy gulped with extreme nervousness before she turned back around, buckled up, and started to drive towards the most secluded place she could find:
Vargasuki National Park
Meanwhile, in downtown Beijing…
Ibuki just stopped her leaping spree above the streets and landed on a horizontal flag pole for a quick look-out before she spotted the shadowed alley just a few buildings away. She smiled beneath the sash before she dashed off towards the shadowy area. When she landed in the dark space, she took off her sash and walked further into the darkness she had already grown accustomed to. She held out her three kunai in one hand between fingers, just in case an ambush was approaching. When she got into the darkest part of the area, she bumped into something solid hard, nearly breaking her nose as she held it in pain with her free hand.
"Ouch!" The young kunoichi exclaimed as she massaged her nose to relieve the pain. "That was uncalled for. Anyway, looks like I ran into a dead end. I know there's gotta be a path behind this wall."
Shortly after that was said, a swift breeze made her bare skin cold as she quickly turned towards where the wind was coming from. She quickly placed the sash back on before she got her kunai ready to go.
"Who's there?" Ibuki shouted before she slowly began to move backwards towards the same wall she ran into, but instead of leaning against it, she unexpectedly fell backwards, making the wall turn into a slide as she slid down. She screamed for her life as she continued to slide down the metallic slope for the next twenty seconds. When she finally made it to the bottom, she landed on her butt on a mat… amazingly… and this shocked her as she shook herself out of the sudden surprise. "What the hell…? That was scary, but why the soft landing?"
"Because I know your purpose for finding me." Replied an extremely deep male voice, which was literally making Ibuki drool with passion as it made her melt. "Are you the kunoichi known as Ibuki?"
"…yeaaahhhh." Ibuki sighed, feeling her heart race with excitement. "Who… who are you?" Immediately after that question, about five bright lights clicked on, illuminating the entire room. The brightness made Ibuki cover her eyes for a moment before she regained her vision to see a tailless dragon-like creature at the size of her tanuki sit on a table before her. It had the exact body skin appearance of Kunimitsu's purple body suit, but his eyes were black, blank, and artistically curved, making him look angry, but he wasn't. He had yellow skin hidden under the purple body suit and wore the black choker with numerous holes in it. His sharp claws showed on his bare yellow toes and he had a pair of long red-haired ponytails coming from just behind his horns. Overall, he sure did have Kunimitsu written all over him as Ibuki examined him up and down before the creature continued.
"Pleasure to meet you. My name is Kunavoxx and I am a kunimito."
"I… uh… I figured that. You… you look totally awesome. Karin told me I'd find you here."
"So, I've heard. I come in peace, young kunoichi. If assistance is what you are expecting out of me, then assistance you shall receive. I understand VanoDragon has really lost their marbles this time, now that the alien known as experiment 251, or Link, is their main target for money acquisition. Am I right?"
"…" Ibuki was literally speechless. Kunavoxx explained her entire situation back at her before she could even get a chance to stand up! The stunned silence explained her internal thoughts as Kunavoxx continued.
"I'm… guessing that I am correct."
"…yeah." Ibuki muttered with shock before she finally stood up and dusted herself off before she continued. "I guess I didn't need to explain it to you. Since you do know about all this, do you know what my side of Plan A is?"
"Now that I do not know. Enlighten me, young ninja."
"Well, while Karin is talkin' some sense into a spy she happened to find, you and I must infiltrate the VanoDragon HQ and see if we can find any possible leads as to what their motive is towards capturing Link. If it turns out to be so deadly that Mortal Kombat gets jealous, then we'll launch a sure-fire assault on those dumbasses before they can even get a chance to get to their expensive rides! Do you understand?"
"I comprehend that completely, but…"
"But?" Ibuki walked closer to the dragon-like Kunimitsu look-alike as Kunavoxx continued.
"…my sixth sense is telling me that their plan is already written down and ready for execution. They just need to find Link and they'll officially commence the attack."
"WHAT? ARE YOU SERIOUS?"
"I'm afraid so, my friend. Unfortunately, for you two ladies and Link, VanoDragon is on to you all."
"…oh, no…"
"But, fortunately, they do not know the location of Link, you, or Karin's whereabouts."
"…whew!"
"While they do have the plan written and have no knowledge of our locations, we are not too late to at least get the details on their proposed plan. As soon as that's covered, then Karin will have to conjure up a Plan B as soon as possible."
"YES! Then, that means that Plan A isn't cancelled after all! We can still pull this off, even though attacking them won't make a difference."
"Attacking the employees themselves won't help in any way regardless. Shutting down their entire company indefinately and permanently would require…"
"…?" The sudden pause confused Ibuki as she stood there, waiting for the dragon to finish. Instead, he bowed his head with deep concentration and said:
"…Mm…"
"…"
"…I can't say it."
"…huh?"
"I can't say the solution to this whole fiasco."
"Why not?" Kunavoxx remained silent as he pointed one of his claws towards a hidden microphone in a wall behind Ibuki, who turned around and saw the same small microphone ingraved in a crack. "SHIT! They know our plan!"
"That's not all. Look around us… above us…" Ibuki did so and she was shocked to see about twenty-five VanoDragon snipers already locked, loaded, and ready to fire their rifles. "They all heard every single word we've just said."
"And you're sounding as calm as if they're not here?"
"…" Kunavoxx didn't reply, but just made a sinister smile, making Ibuki nervous.
"Uh… why the evil smile… huh…?"
Kunavoxx still remained silent before he swiftly dashed off and disappeared, leaving a puzzled Ibuki in the middle of the sniper circle.
"Aw, man… I don't know what he's planning, but it better be a miracle."
Meanwhile, at Vargasuki National Park…
Karin just parked her car at the entrance to the park where her epic battle of life and death took place against Kunimitsu and her evil glitch. She glued her smile of satisfaction on her face as she got out the vehicle, opened the back door behind her and vigoriously grabbed the spy by the collar of his expensive leather jacket with one hand before she dragged him out with all of her strength. Afterwards, she kicked the door closed before she continued to drag the spy with her towards a deserted bench in the middle of the park and sat down while she violently threw the spy on the bloody grass, pulling off the cloth that covered his mouth on the way, nearly scarring his cheeks.
"AAAAHHH!" The spy screamed with extreme pain. "What the hell is wrong with you?"
"SILENCE!" Karin exclaimed before she crossed her legs with an attitude as she continued. "I'm asking the questions! First of all, what's your name?"
"That doesn't matter to you, bitch!"
"Oh, really? Then, perhaps…" Karin paused as she pulled out Mynifuzz from her shirt and held him in the palm of her hand. "…you would like to tell Mynifuzz."
"You two don't scare me. Besides, he's just a puny little worm! What's he gonna do?"
"Funny you should ask. Myni, do your stuff." The little fuzzy worm squealed in response before he gracefully leaped out of Karin's hand and landed on the spy's neck before he wrapped himself around it and started the traditional boa chokehold. "Now, tell me your name or lose your air."
"Ugh!...aaaaahhhhhh… let… go… ugh!...stop-stop-STOP! Okay! Okay! (cough, cough) …my name… ugh… is… Van…cutter… VANCUTTER!"
"At ease, Myni." Karin commanded softly after finally hearing the spy's name. The tailhensile obeyed as he immediately stopped the chokehold and just rested on Vancutter's shoulder as the conversation continued. "Thanks, Vancutter. Now, tell me this. Why did you get my Father involved in this whole mess? He told me everything and I demand your explanation!"
"We, including your father, knew that you would win the battle, obtain Link, and profit from his bluebook amount. Since your Father doesn't like having extraterrestrials near him, we at VanoDragon figured we could make a little negotiation."
"So, you just simply hired him into your little scheme to capture Link, siphon our money into your account along the way, and… NO!"
"…?"
"…Your PAYING my Father to help you all with the capture!"
"WHAT? That's not true!"
"Don't lie to me! I know that's why you've been stealing our money… so you can claim it as your allowance to my Father. You all are monsters!"
"Well, say what you want. We'll eventually find Link and use him anyway we can!"
"Not if Ibuki and I have something to say about this!" After that was said, her cell phone rang as if it was on cue. She paused as she answered it. "Hold that thought. Hello?"
"Karin, we have a problem." Ibuki quoted on the other line. Karin gasped as she went wide eyed.
"What? What's happening?"
"I found that kunimito, but somehow, VanoDragon is one step ahead of us. They already got a plan lined up and the only thing they have to do is find Link and it's on."
"Oh, no…" Karin paused as she made an evil glare at Vancutter. "…you bastards. You knew Ibuki and I were on our way to find out about your plan."
"And that's not the worst part." Karin got back to the phone after Ibuki said this and she listened hard. "This secret location had a microphone engraved in the wall. They heard every last word about our plan and Marshall's probably working on finding Link's location."
"…damn."
"What are we gonna do?"
"Why are you asking me, NINJA?"
"…excuse me?"
"You heard me. Can't you think up an… escape plan… or something?"
"Karin?"
"What?"
"…I'm surrounded by 25 motherfuckin' snipers hovering over my head, ready to blow my cute and sexy head off any moment. What's your excuse?"
"…! Sorry…"
"Thank you. Anyway, Kunavoxx showed this evil smile on his face before he disappeared, so I'm worried about what he's planning. Hopefully, it's something that can get us out of this ring of death."
"I hope so, too. While we're still on the line, I might as well tell you. I've just gotten some crucial information from this spy named Vancutter."
"Shoot." The sound of guns cocking was heard seconds after that and Ibuki quickly reacted over the phone. "NOT YOU GUYS! I'M I YOUR DAMN COMMANDER? SHEESH!"
"…" Karin and Vancutter both showed a disturbed look on their faces during the short thirty second silence after the yell. Ibuki cleared her throat with nervousness before she continued.
"…My bad, Karin. You were saying?"
"…what? Oh, right! Well, Vancutter just informed me that they did indeed know everything that would happen from square one, but get this! They're stealing my zaibatsu's money… to reward my Father for being their ally."
"Oh, hell no!"
"Now, it's getting interesting…"
Back at the sniper circle…
"…and I think it might get even better." Karin finished on the other line of Ibuki's cell phone. "I'll call you back when… I feel that you've gotten out of the sniper wheel of Russian Roulette."
"Okay. Sayonara." After that, Ibuki hung up her phone and continued to look around for Kunavoxx. This was frustrating her and she pulled out her three kunais. "Okay! This is really getting ridiculous! I'm gonna have to take ya'll on… Ibuki style!"
After that was said, Ibuki gracefully leaped into the air and threw one kunai at one sniper's face and it stabbed him right in the left eye, making him scream with extreme pain before the other 24 snipers started shooting at the kunoichi, but she disappeared in the blink of an eye and they shot the stabbed sniper into bloody swiss cheese instead, rendering him dead. Ibuki watched this event from a vent in the ceiling and chuckled with satisfaction before she looked to her right and saw Kunavoxx preparing some kind of… trap.
"What the…? Kunavoxx? I was looking for you! What are you doing?" Ibuki exclaimed as she looked at the hardworking kunimito's back. "Are… are you building something?"
"Yes… but it's not what you expect for you humans." Kunavoxx replied, keeping his focus on his work. Ibuki remained puzzled and curious as she tried to look over the kunimito's shoulder, but he just blocked her view at every attempt. She groaned with frustration as Kunavoxx continued. "Your attempts at trying to see my project are futile, young kunoichi. Why not buy me more time? That slash you did with one sniper was astonishing."
"Thanks, but seriously… do I really need to do this if I wanna see what you're working on?"
"Yes… because as soon as you sucessfully hold them off, it will be unleashed."
"…fine." Ibuki reluctantly placed her sash back over her mouth before she pulled out six kunais before dashing out into the sniper circle, gracefully executing one by one with her professional ninja skills. Kunavoxx watched her assault from his workplace and he whistled in his mind at how impressive she was for a ninja as young as her.
"Hm! I don't see why she refuses to allow her skills to help us out. They are just… exceptionally exquisite! Damn!"
Meanwhile, at the Ziiva Supermarket…
Derryk just started stocking the various cereal boxes with one of his co-workers, Arnold Hilvon. During the stocking, Arnold looked over at the distracted Derryk, who was just taking his slow and steady time placing in one cereal box. The young Italian employee decided to figure out what was wrong with Derryk.
"Derryk?" Arnold started in his deep voice. "What seems to be the matter? You look worried."
"Huh?" Derryk babbled. He really wasn't listening for a moment. "Oh… nothing. I'm just tired, that's all."
"Uh, huh… and you're worried about Karin and Link."
"…" Derryk bowed his head in surrender as he placed the box on the shelf and just stood there with shame. Arnold felt his pain and placed a hand on his shoulder.
"Wanna tell me all about it, chum?"
"…I love Karin, man… but since she left me to deal with this, my head's actually been spinnin'."
"Hmm…"
"I mean, I really care about her safety and everythang… and even though Ibuki is helpin' her out, it's just déjá vu for me all over again."
"What do ya mean?"
"Remember my previous girlfriend?"
"Sasha?"
"Yeah. She was nice and all, but when it came to the point where I ask her a simple personal question, she just left me."
"Yeech! That's… that's bad."
"Tell me about it. Now I've got Karin dealing with her issues and I just can't let her deal with them alone."
"Mmm! I get what you mean. She does have Ibuki to help her, but you're saying that having you along for the ride would make her get through it a lot faster. Am I right?"
"Exactly. Besides, I somehow have the strangest feeling that Karin found some leads."
"Hmmmm… Hey! Look at that!" Arnold pointed towards the huge store window right when about six police cars came driving by. Derryk immediately stood up straight with a serious look on his face before he ran out the exit and took a closer look at where the cars were going. When he saw that they were going to Vargasuki National Park, his worried frown became a passionate smile. "Derryk, where are they goin'?"
"…Damn, baby." Was all Derryk could say.
Meanwhile, at the VanoDragon HQ…
Marshall was sitting in his office twenty stories above the streets as he watched the police cars make their way to Vargasuki National Park. He chuckled with evil in his heart as he stood up and turned towards a shadowy figure behind him while he still sat in his chair.
"Do you see this?" He asked the mysterious figure before him before he turned back around. The hooded mystery man nodded in agreement before he spoke.
"I sure do, man." He replied in a nearly deep male voice with a small comedic tone. "Looks like Karin is really getting close to our main cause for your killer money suckin' shit."
"And she's gone close enough. Ibuki's caught in my latest trap, but she won't last long before she gets her chance to protect Karin… but somehow, there's another zakamon helping her."
"WHAT?"
"Yes. You creatures are multiplying like viruses and it's all thanks to that Derryk fellow. It's actually a good thing that Derryk isn't involved in all this. All we want is Link. Speaking of which, did you ever get that alien's location?"
"Not yet, I'm afraid. In the meantime, though, what do you need me to do?"
"Help those snipers out… and kill both Ibuki and that new zakamon."
"No problem, dude." After that, the mysterious figure dashed off towards Ibuki and Kunavoxx's location. Marshall chuckled with even more evil in his heart as he spoke.
"This is perfect. All of this is according to plan. Pretty soon, we'll proceed with actually pinpointing Link's location. Jason, do you have another spy out there?"
"Yes, sir." Jason replied from a distance, typing on his computer. "He's actually on his way to Karin's mansion."
"Excellent. Both Karin and Ibuki have taken the bait. Pretty soon, Link will be mine and the Kanzuki Zaibatsu will bow down to me! AAAAHHHHAHAHAHAHA!"
To be continued…