Read and Review please~ I can only do so much without your support!
The King of Fighters: Regulation Blue
by Natsuke Takeda
Chapter Three
"Pride of the Dragon"
"So now what?"
Kensou found himself walking down an empty street, the birds chirping as he crossed a bridge, talking to himself. It was only now that his decision hit him, and he wandered down the sunny streets, backpack on hand, walking around in shock.
"I'm out of the tournament." He told himself.
"Should I try a single entry?" he shook his head immediately afterward, "There's no way I'd win on my own, and that would only prove Athena's point." He sighed a little, his eyes closed as he continued forward, "I guess I'm pretty useless after all."
A sudden rustling of bushes behind him caught his attention, and he turned his head back, staring intently at the bushes before continuing on. A shadow, however, emerged slightly from the bushes.
"Useless…?" the shadow spoke to himself.
"I guess you don't need your powers, after all, now do you?"
-----
"Finished!"
Shingo wiped the sweat off his forehead, smiling as he looked at the newly-repaired porch railing he had fixed. Taking a few deep breaths, he put the tools back into the toolbox and turned towards the front door of the Todoh household.
"Hey Kasumi, I fini- oof!"
A slipper made contact with his face.
"It's Todoh!"
"S-sorry. I finished the porch!"
Kasumi exited the house and squatted down, examining the finished railing. Giving a nod, she looked at Shingo and gave the same approving gesture.
"Alright!" Shingo gave a sheepish smile. Beginning to stand up, he took a deep breath and straightened his body out. The two looked at the beautiful sunlight that pierced through the thick trees of the Todoh estate, with the birds chirping in the air as they remained silent.
"Well, I think I'm gonna go home."
"Oh." Kasumi nodded. "Thank you for fixing my porch." She gave a bow, and Shingo nervously scratched his head, giving an awkward bow. "You don't have to be so formal, Todoh. I broke it, after all."
Kasumi could only glance to the side of her, giving a nervous grin. (Except you didn't break it…) She quickly turned and nodded, "You're right. Besides, I think it was cheaper for both of us to just make you fix it. You're a strong guy, so it couldn't have been that tough."
Shingo tried to keep himself from chuckling, prompting Kasumi to puff her cheeks. "What's so funny?"
"I'm just not used to such a compliment."
"A-ah… It wasn't a compliment! YOU HAD TO DO IT ANYWAYS!"
Whack.
Shingo was met with another slipper to the face. "Ow! I didn't even say anything!"
"Serves you right!"
A sweatdrop on his face, the slipper slowly peeled away and fell to the floor. "S-such violence…"
He was met with a demonic face, making his skin shiver in fear. "I-I mean, yes I deserve it!"
"Hmph! Let's hope our third member isn't as stuuupid as you are."
"HEY! I'M NOT STUPID!"
"YOU ARE, TOO!"
"I BEAT YOU, DIDN-"
A silence overcame the two as a sudden realization hit them.
Followed by a scream.
"THIRD MEMBER!"
Kasumi had her palms gently on her face, shaking. "I had forgotten!"
"We still have time though! We have until the 15th!"
"Oh." With that, Kasumi breathed a sigh of relief. "When is the 15th?"
Shingo, looking at his planner, had a sudden look of disdain on his face.
"T-Tomorrow…."
"WHAT?!"
"Oh crap! We spent too long planning our battle and fixing this horrible porch!"
Whack.
"MY FATHER MADE THIS PORCH!"
"…Wow. Really? This old thing?"
Whack.
"HEY!"
"STOP MOCKING MY FATHER! When he comes back I'll tell him to crush you, Yabuki!"
"N-now's not the time for this kind of pride, Todoh!"
"You're right." She sighed, "We have to find a third member quickly!"
"But how?"
"What do you mean 'How'? You are a multiple-crowned champion and you are asking me how to make a roster?"
"Well, to be honest, I was always following Kusanagi-san's or Nikaido-san's lead. They always made the roster list."
Kasumi could only blink in shock. "Yabuki… I don't get it, how can such a decorated fighter be so… spoiled?"
"H-Hey!" Shingo glared in anger, "I'm here, aren't I? I want to do this on my own! If it means starting from the ground up to prove myself, then so be it! I refuse to live in my sensei's shadow anymore!"
Kasumi could only stand in silence, watching Shingo boil himself up. She realized to herself that he was quite serious about trying to make it on his own.
"Don't you have something to shoot for, Todoh?!"
With that question, Kasumi's eyes widened, her mouth slightly open, taken aback. Looking down at the porch floor, she tried to find the answer.
"I…"
"Well?"
"…I want to find my father."
Her body suddenly shook as he felt Shingo's hands grab her arms, her head shooting up towards him with him gave a stern face towards her.
"That's not what I meant!"
"W-what do you mean?"
"All you need are eyes to search! But your fists, Todoh…! What do you want to shoot for with your fists alone?!"
"I…!" Kasumi pushed forward, wanting to exclaim what her goal was. But nothing came.
"I… I don't know."
She didn't have an answer.
"Todoh…" Shingo didn't know what to say, calmly taking his hands away. Kasumi could only take a deep breath, looking at the floor as she wondered. Her senses suddenly caught wind of movement, and as her head shot up once more, she eyed a fist coming straight at her and immediately snapped back with a short hop. Her eyes narrowed, looking at Shingo who had stopped his punch the moment she moved.
"What's wrong with you?!"
"If you don't have an answer, then maybe that's why you're fighting, right?!"
"What?"
"I want you to remember something, Todoh!" He brought his hand back, opening his fist, then clenching his hand again and pumping his arm back to himself.
"Someday, we're going to have a rematch! And with those fists of yours, you're going to tell me what your goal is!"
"Yabuki…"
"This tournament is a new beginning for me AND you! I'm here to prove my worth, and you're here to find what it is you truly want to do! We're fighters, aren't we?!"
He pumped his fist forward.
"As fighters, we'll just have to battle our way forward until we reach what we've been looking for!"
Kasumi's eyes widened at his proclamation as Shingo stood, like a prideful lion, his fist roaring with the same ferocity as his words. From the front door of her house, her mother, wearing a beautiful pink kimono, cooled herself down with a folding fan, looking at her daughter with worry but giving a smile.
The silence was everywhere before Kasumi gave an awkward look.
"What kind of speech was that?"
Shingo almost fell flat forward, his sudden adrenaline rush stopping. "What?"
"While you were speaking all gallantly, I was standing here thinking about who our next member should be."
"O-oh, right! Sorry, I got a little ahead of myself."
"Now's not the time to dawdle, Yabuki! Let's go!"
"Right!" Shingo smiled and nodded. With that, he began to walk away.
"Yabuki!"
Shingo turned around.
"Did you really mean that?"
"?"
"A rematch, between you and me someday…"
Shingo's suddenly smacked his fists together with a huge prideful smile on his face. "Of course!"
Kasumi, in turn, smiled back. "I will honor your promise, then. We will settle this in the future with our fists."
Shingo nodded and began to walk away again.
"Yabuki!"
He stopped again.
"Where are you going, you don't even know how to make a roster…"
"…Oh yeah."
"Dummy."
--------------An hour later--------------
"Excuse me! Is anyone here?"
Shingo continued to press the button of a gate leading to a gigantic mansion with a large parking garage next to it. "H-Hello?"
"Are you sure this is a good idea, Yabuki?"
"I called Bogard-san and said that this guy was now living in Japan. He didn't do pretty good with his team, so maybe we can try our luck with him!"
"Yes, but-"
"I know it's kind of weird, but everyone seems to have already made their roster."
Silence.
"Ne, Yabuki."
"Huh?"
"Didn't Athena-san sound weird on the phone…? You know, when I tried to invite her?"
"Come to think of it, she really wasn't energetic at all. She's always happy when the tournament comes around, but she sounded depressed, didn't she?"
-------Flashback, 30 Minutes Ago------
Riiing… Riiing…
"H-hello…?"
"Ah, Athena-san! It's Kasumi, Todoh Kasumi!"
"A-ah, hi Kasumi."
"Um, I was just wondering if perhaps you might consider joining our team this year?"
"Your team? Sorry, Kasumi, but I already finished my roster."
"Oh no. That's a shame. I'm sorry for disturbing you, then. Are you already at the tournament site?"
"Yes."
"Oh no, that means my team will probably be one of the last to get there." Kasumi shook her head. "Well, I wish you good luck at the tournament!"
"Yes, you too."
"By the way, Athena-san, who's on your team this year?"
"…"
"Athena-san?"
"I'm sorry… I have to go."
Click.
Kasumi blinked, closing her cellphone. Turning to Shingo who had heard the entire conversation, they could only give confused looks toward each other, visible worried about Athena.
-------------------------------
Athena put down the colorful cellphone gently on the coffee table.
A small, continuous knocking sound was heard on her hotel room door.
"Athena? Are you there, Athena?"
The gentle knocking continued.
"Momoko's worried about you, Athena! Are you in there?"
Inside Athena's room, her luggage remained unopened, bar one that had her normal clothes in it. Athena however, sat silently on the couch, her eyes covered by her silky purple hair with her slender arms hugging a couch pillow. The room was dark, with light peering through the curtains of the balcony as she didn't speak a word.
Taking a deep breath, she hugged the pillow tighter as a cold chill ran through her body.
"He's not coming."
-------------------------Normal Time-------------------------
Shingo sighed, "I hope she's okay."
"Maybe she's nervous?"
"Can't be! She's a world-famous singer, even I have her album! There's no way she'd be nervous on any kind of stage."
"You have the newest one?"
"A-ah, I can't afford that yet."
Kasumi smiled proudly, lifting her chin up. "I have it already!"
"Is… Is that so?" Shingo had a small sweatdrop running down his head as he laughed nervously.
"WOW! Looks who's here!" a voice was heard from the other side of the gate, which opened. Shingo and Kasumi looked up, being greeted by a very tall dark-skinned man with sunglasses, smiling as he looked at Shingo.
"I would have never thought you'd come by, Shingo!" the man smiled brightly.
"Good afternoon, Heavy D-san!"
Heavy D, the boxing leader of the original Sports Team, hugged the much smaller Shingo, suffocating him a little before looking at Kasumi who nervously watched from a short distance.
"And who would this lovely girl be? Is this your girl, Shingo?"
"A-ah, no. She's my teammate!"
"Nice to meet you." Kasumi bowed respectfully, though she still felt awkward. "My name is Kasumi, Todoh Kasumi."
"Nice to meet you, Kasumi!" He bent down and looked at her. "Have we met before? I feel as if we've met some way or another. Like a dream of ULTIMATE proportions!"
"I-I don't think so, sir."
"Oh well." Heavy D shrugged and smiled as he turned back to Shingo. "So what can I for you, champ?"
"Ah, well, Bogard-san said you're living here now, so I wanted to know if you were still interested in joining my team?"
"Really now?"
"Yes! We're short one member, so we really need someone strong to fill in!"
Heavy D laughed and patted Shingo on the shoulder. "How ironic. Every time I wanted to enter, I keep getting my invitation stolen. Now an invitation comes to me like this when I wasn't expecting one!"
"Huh? What do you mean?" Shingo said with a dejected face. Heavy D laughed again and looked at the house, "Unfortunately, I can't join The King of Fighters tournament right now!"
"Why not, if I may ask?" asked Kasumi.
"Well, I'm kind of busy doing a favor. You see, Terry was a little misinformed."
"I don't understand."
Heavy D turned and looked at the modern house, raising his sunglasses and winking. "This house ain't for me, miss. I'm not moving here. This is for an old buddy of mine."
Shingo and Kasumi looked at each other, confused. Heavy D nodded, knowing they still wouldn't understand.
"I wasn't expecting a KOF invitation this year because I told the committee that I had a title bout coming up, which is actually true. But the other reason is because I had to find a place for my old fighting buddy for his big day! That's why I couldn't tell Terry because he's such a big mouth and would give it away!"
Shingo scratched his head as he tried to put the pieces together. "What's so important that Terry shouldn't know?"
"It's Ryo, kid!"
"Ryo? …Oh, Sakazaki-san?"
"Yeah! Old buddy Ryo needed a favor and I decided to help him out this year by finding him this place for the reception!"
"Reception?"
Heavy D leaned forward, smiling at the two as he whispered.
"He's gonna propose to that lady, King!"
The amount of shock on the faces of the two kids could not be described in words.
"EHHHHHHH?!"
"That's why I can't join KOF this year. Ryo asked me to help prepare a western-style wedding for the big day, and this mansion will be used for the reception. If Terry knew, he'd blab to Mary and… well, you know how it is. But I'm real sorry, Shingo. I wish I could be there, but I do have a title bout coming up so I have to train for that, too! It just so happened that Ryo contacted me at the right time."
"Oh, it's fine!"
"So Sakazaki-san is proposing." Kasumi thought. "But wait, why prepare for the wedding when King didn't say "yes" yet?"
Silence.
The sound of someone's fists clenching was heard, and Kasumi looked up at a ticked Heavy D.
"D-don't JINX it!" Heavy D started shadow boxing the air. "I gotta knock out the negative energy you made!"
"I-I'm sorry!" Kasumi bowed, and Heavy D calmed down, breathing a heavy sigh.
"I'm a bit worried about it, too. But hey, let's just leave it up to fate. Ryo's a smart guy, I'm sure he can pull this one off!"
After a bit of silence, Heavy D took a big breath and laughed. "Anyways, I gotta set some stuff up, and you guys have to hurry up and get a third member!"
"Ah, yeah! You're right! Sorry to disturb you, Heavy D-san!" Shingo bowed.
"Just call me Heavy D, I'm not into formalities!"
Shingo nodded.
"Don't worry! I wish you luck at the tournament! And HEY! You have to keep this a secret! So far only you two know along with me, Ryo and Robert! Don't mention this at ALL to his sister and father or to Terry, AND ESPECIALLY THE LEADING LADY!"
"Will do!"
"Oh, he knows, too! Crap I'm opening my mouth too much! I forgot that another fighter passed here and I told him about it! If you see him, tell him what I told you!"
"?"
"He's that kid who hangs around with Asamiya, that singer! Um, Sie, was it? Yeah, I saw him pass by an hour or two ago and we got to talking."
"Wait, but that's not possible." Kasumi interrupted. "Kensou should be at the KOF site by now. Athena-san said she was there already."
"Athena wasn't with him."
Shingo looked at Kasumi, "I don't get it, is Kensou not joining the tournament?"
"Maybe he's training again?" Kasumi asked.
"Hey." Heavy D interrupted, "If he doesn't have a team after all, why not ask him to join your team, then?"
The two kids looked at each other again and nodded. Shingo turned to the tall man and smiled, "We're going now!"
"Have fun! And hey, crack a few heads for me this year, won't you?!"
"Will do!"
And with that, the two began to run until…
BOOM!
A loud explosion was heard, bringing the attention of the three. Heavy D adjusted his sunglasses and looked up, seeing a large cloud of smoke coming up. "Woah! What the?!"
Shingo and Kasumi traded looks, with both nodding. "Let's go!"
---------------------------
"AGGGH!"
A body fell hard on the cement floor with his bags and other belongings scattering behind him. The body known as Sie Kensou slowly got up, wearing the attire he wore at the last tournament, with fire in his eyes as he stared at the assailant that had just attacked him with an explosive device.
"W-what the hell…"
A bit of blood dripped from Kensou's mouth, his teeth grinding as he tried his best to keep himself up. His vision finally focused back to its original state and locked itself with the enemy.
"W-who the heck are you?!"
A corpse-like man with mid-length hair that fell just halfway down his neck was before him. His face was half covered, wearing a black robe with red designs. A sudden party of people appeared behind the man as he gave a cruel laugh towards Kensou.
"Ron." Was all he said.
"Ron?! You were the one who was with Zero at the KOF tournament years ago!"
"Oh, you remember me quite well just by word of mouth, boy."
Kensou's eyes moved along the masses behind Ron. "And you…?!"
A woman wearing a skimpy white dress was behind Ron.
"…I remember you…! You and Igniz..!"
She smiled, "I'm happy you remember me as well, little boy. But…"
Kensou's eyes widened as he was met with a powerful force of energy hitting his stomach. He fell on his knees, looking up and seeing the woman with her palm extended to him, a small bit of smoke coming from the extended hand.
"…Don't say Lord Igniz's name so casually, heathen." The woman turned her head in a high-class mighty manner, with her white hair moving along with her as she looked away from him, gently putting her hand down. Ron chuckled and walked closer to Kensou.
"Your memory is quite good. Perhaps another gift from your Dragon?"
"A-ah! How do you know about my Dragon Spirit?!"
"We know many things, young man." Ron replied. "We also know… that the Dragon Spirit is wasted in your incapable hands."
Kensou immediately got up, but a sudden dizzy feeling put him back down on his knees. (H-how the heck… ) He was confused, and the woman giggled.
"Don't bother getting up. That blow was enough to keep your limbs unusable for a few good minutes."
"W-what do you want from me?"
"I thought it was already clear. We want what's inside of you." Ron gave a dark laugh soon after. "Don't hate me, boy. But your abilities are not capable of showing the world the Dragon Spirit's true power. You are not that woman, after all, who has complete control of her powers."
Kensou grit his teeth and looked down at the floor. They were obviously talking about Athena.
"Your vessel is just not good enough."
Like sand, Ron suddenly appeared right in front of Kensou's disabled body. Kensou's eyes looked up defiantly. "Get away from me!"
"I can't do that." His hands calmly wrapped around Kensou's neck. Kensou's eyes widened, feeling his fingers begin to stretch into his neck as if roots were being planted inside of him.
"N-No!"
Kensou's hand suddenly rose up, thrusting his palm onto Ron's midsection.
"SENKI HAKKEI!"
"What?!"
A powerful blue light flashed before Kensou and Ron. Kensou continued to thrust his powerful blast forward as the burst burned through Ron until the final flash of light. Ron exploded into dust suddenly, surprising Kensou.
"Ron!" The woman shouted.
"Incredible. Simply incredible." A voice spoke. To Kensou's shock, the dust began to reform into a skeleton, then again into Ron's original body. "To think the Dragon Spirit was this powerful." Kensou slowly staggered to get up. He needed to run, but his legs still weren't good. (Where has all my training gone to? I can't move at all!)
"Good job, boy. I thank you." Ron suddenly thrusted his arm forward, his arm eerily extending a long distance to grip Kensou's neck again, sending Kensou down to one knee. "To show me such a power, I shall give you the honor of being extracted slowly and painfully!"
"A-AH!" Kensou brought his hands up to pull Ron's hand away, but Ron's fingertips were already spreading, rooting itself onto his neck.
(D-Damn…)
(I thought I could do better without you, Athena. But I couldn't even step foot into the stage at all.)
(it's not fair. It's not FAIR.)
"THIS ISN'T FAIR!"
"SILENCE!" Ron gripped his neck harder to silence the boy, raising his other hand and thrusting towards towards Kensou's heart.
"SHINGO SPARK!"
Ron's chest was met with a powerful kick followed by a loud explosion, once again blowing Ron to dust.
Kensou could not understand what transpired, only realizing a blue-clothed boy landing in front of him, the haze of dust disrupting everyone's vision.
The white-haired woman exploded in anger and extended her palm forward. "Who dares…?!"
A sudden female palm wearing a blue forearm guard pierced the dust and stopped right in front of her face. "W-wha-"
"SHIRANUI!"
A powerful force sent the white woman traveling backwards violently, crashing and rolling on the floor with her clothing now dirtied in filth.
Ron's party backed up to where the white woman was, and the dust settled.
Shingo and Kasumi kneeled right beside Kensou. Ron reformed once again, his arms crossed as he watched the two newcomers.
"What do we have here?"
"Shingo?! Todoh! What are you two doing here?!" Kensou was in absolute shock, blood slowly pouring through his mouth. Shingo however was not looking at Kensou, but rather at the opponents in front of the three. "I don't know what's going on here, but this doesn't look like an official KOF fight at all!"
"Yabuki." Kasumi spoke, "Should we be getting involved in this?"
"I'm not gonna ignore a good friend getting his butt kicked by a walking corpse and an old lady."
"W-WHO SAID I WAS GETTING MY BUTT KICKED?!"
"D-DID YOU JUST CALL ME AN OLD LADY?!"
"…I don't look like a walking corpse do I?" Ron turned to his party, and they shook their heads. "How dare he!" Ron turned towards the three, nodding. "Ah, I see… A former KOF champion has arrived. Yabuki Shingo, is it?"
"…You're Ron." Shingo clenched his teeth. Kasumi could only look in confusion.
"Ron?"
"A real bad guy. A tough cookie!"
"I don't think he ever participated in the KOF Tournament."
"H-he used to be Zero's right hand man back in the tournament a few years ago!"
"I see! …Which Zero?"
"The real one." Kensou noted
"The one with the mustache?"
"The good looking one." Shingo nodded.
"Oh, the one with that huge black tiger!"
"it was a lion, wasn't it?" Kensou questioned.
"No way, it was a panther, I tell you!" Shingo nodded.
Kensou looked at Shingo oddly as Kasumi smacked him.
"Panthers are almost bare!"
"So does a tiger!"
"Oh! So I WAS RIGHT! It was a LION!"
"ENOUGH!" Ron's booming voice got the attention of the three. "I'm growing tired of this circus."
"Circus?" Kasumi went into her Aikido stance. "I don't think he knows who he's dealing with."
"Heh!" Kensou went into his stance. "He never knew from the moment he saw me!"
Shingo smiled. "I guess I'll give him a taste of what I got! Extra bitter!"
Kasumi nodded, "I'm in."
Kensou spit the blood out of his mouth, "I'm just getting started!"
Shingo clenched his fists and went into his stance, "Three extra servings of bitter medicine for Old Man Ron…" Shingo suddenly dashed forward towards Ron, "COMING RIGHT UP! HYAKU SHIKI!" Shingo immediately crouched and sprang right up, spinning his body as he went for an uppercut; his anti-air move. Ron immediately backed up, but Shingo grazed him fairly well, leaving a trail of Ron's necromantic dust in the air.
Kasumi appeared above Shingo and jumped over him, stopping suddenly in mid-air with her hands above her head. "Kasane Ate!" She brought her hands down, bringing forth a small wave of cutting energy. Ron ducked down and allowed the cutting energy to pass above him.
"Useless!" he taunted.
"I told you…!" a voice was heard. Ron's eyes widened as he suddenly found himself face to face with Kensou who lunged forward with an elbow.
"I HAVEN'T EVEN STARTED YET!" The elbow made contact with a true solid Ron. "RYU RENGA: CHIRYU!" Ron , after being hit, sidestepped away, but Kensou immediately tapped his foot on the floor and changed direction, hitting Ron again. Ron moved again, but Kensou tapped his foot again and smacked Ron's face with a devastating kick which sent him flying and landing on hard concrete, albeit Ron creating dead sand to soften his fall.
Kensou landed in front of Shingo and Kasumi.
The three shouted in total unison.
"KAKKATE KOI (Bring it on)!"
Ron stood up slowly, his party rushing to him. He turned into sand once again but remolded, standing up.
"Miss Misty." Ron spoke.
"Yes?" The white woman known as Misty responded.
Ron snapped his fingers, "Assistance."
"Yes." She suddenly smacked her hand onto the concrete floor.
The eyes of the three young fighters widened, and they all were brought to their knees.
"What just happened?!" Shingo spoke, "My knees just gave out!"
"T-that Lady in white… She can disable your limbs!" Kensou grit his teeth again. "You remember her, don't you Shingo?"
Shingo took a good look at her and suddenly grit his teeth. "She was with Igniz during that tournament!"
"I remember her, too! She was looking down from the royal box during the tournament finals!" Kasumi noted. "I thought she died with Igniz!"
"No." Misty shook her head, her eyes closed. "I survived… But because of you insolent pieces of trash…" her eyes opened, narrow and full of hatred, "My one and only love SUFFERED UNTIL DEATH!" Her eyes suddenly became fully white as she pointed her fingers straight at Shingo.
"DIE!" Her palm opened up, and a large white ball of energy formed before her. Shingo tried to pull back, but his legs were still disabled.
"Crap! That's Igniz's move!" Shingo exclaimed.
She released the ball, moving its way quickly towards the Kusanagi disciple.
"Shingo!"
"Yabuki!" Kasumi immediately raised her hands with her eyes becoming white as well. She brought them down in full force, still on her knees. "CHOU KASANE ATE!" A gigantic wave of energy released from her hands, slicing its way towards Misty's energy ball. The two energy blasts collided, but Misty's power got the better of it, breaking through Kasumi's attack. "No! I need to use my legs for more power!"
"Cho Kyudan!" Kensou fired off a Psycho Ball, with the ball colliding with Misty's shot. It failed miserably as well. "Oh man! SHINGO GET OUT OF THERE!"
"YABUKI!"
"aaarrrrrggghhh….!" Shingo slowly but surely began to get on his feet, his teeth grinding together as he staggered, not fully standing but enough to balance himself, his body leaning forward and low. Misty was caught by surprise.
Misty took a step back, "How did he get up?!"
Ron's eyes narrowed.
Shingo looked forward, his intense eyes staring right at the blast. "I won't lose. Not yet…!"
He winded his left arm back.
"NOT TO YOU, OLD LADY!"
He shot his hand forward like a shotgun, smashing the energy ball right down to the ground and making it explode in front of him. His arms flew up to protect his face as the tremendous explosion pushed him back, but he stood his ground.
The dust settled, and Shingo, breathing heavily, looked back at Misty with a wild smirk.
Kensou, Kasumi, Misty, Ron… just about everyone there stood in absolute shock.
"Y-Yabuki… How did you…?!"
"Woah! Shingo!"
Shingo raised his fist up in front of himself, the bandages that were wrapped around his fist and forearm now tattered from smashing Misty's blast right down. A crater stood before him as he glared at her, clenching his fist defiantly.
"COME ON!"
His fighting spirit resounded with his voice, echoing loudly.
His eyes suddenly widened, his body suddenly feeling heavy as he dropped down completely.
"YABUKI!" Kasumi screamed, finally able to get up, she rushed towards him. Shingo was still awake, his eyes open, but he body unable to move. A sudden string of needles shot through the air, aiming right towards Kasumi.
"CHO KYUDAN!" The needles were blown away by Kensou's Psycho burst. Kensou was now able to move, and he landed right in front of the two, still in his stance as he narrowed his eyes. "Todoh, is Shingo okay?!" Kasumi put her hand on Shingo's face, a stern look on her as he checked her teammate. "I think he's been poisoned!"
"What?!"
"His body's shivering too much. Something's entered his bloodstream, I think!"
"Ah, excellent." Ron spoke, catching the attention of Kasumi and Kensou. Shingo could only move his head, his eyes looking up at Ron.
"Thank you for the job well done…"
A sudden dead dust began to form into another being. The man stood there with his fingers dripping with poison, his narrow eyes glaring at Kensou.
"…Lin."
Lin emerged from the dust laughing with his familiar dark tone. Kensou slowly took a step back.
"LIN!?" Shingo screamed, his body shaking. "No way! What the heck are you doing! I thought you were going after Ron!"
Lin did not say a word, and instead raising his poison-soaked hands and charged at Kensou. "LIN!" Shingo screamed, but it did not make a bit of a difference. Kensou jumped back, kicking Lin's hands away, forcing Lin to move back. Kensou remained in his position, trying to protect Kasumi who was keeping Shingo calm.
"This… doesn't look good at all, guys."
Lin stood at the center, walking towards Kensou as Ron and Misty remained as spectators from behind. Kensou clenched his fists harder.
"Guess I have to pull my trump card."
"Sorry, boy. But that's not going to happen." Ron said, snapping his fingers. Lin was already behind Kensou, his hand winding up and about to strike. Kensou could only turn around in shock. "D-Damn!"
Kasumi suddenly appeared on top of Kensou's head and smashed her palm onto Lin's face.
"SHIRANUI!"
Lin's face suddenly smashed to the ground with a loud thud. Kensou and Kasumi immediately jumped over Lin to grab Shingo and step a few feet back.
"Shingo, you okay?!" Kensou looked at Shingo.
"I can't move!" Shingo grit his teeth.
"He's completely paralyzed! We have to retreat!"
"No!" Shingo tried to move. "We can't lose like this! Not in our first team battle!"
"Yabuki! Now's not the time to think so selfishly!"
"NO! This is our first battle as a team...! I won't go down so easily!"
"Team battle?" Kensou looked confused. Shingo weakly turned his head and smiled. "O-oh yeah… I heard from Heavy D that you passed by. You're not on A-Athena's team this year… right?"
Kensou was hit hard by Shingo's statement. Looking down, he nodded slowly. "Y-yeah."
"You wanted to… step out of the shadows too… right?" Shingo spoke, his eyes closing slowly.
"YABUKI! DON'T PASS OUT!"
Kensou's eyes widened and turned towards Shingo, who had hit the bullseye. "Shingo…"
The blue-clothed boy turned towards him again, "As I said… This… is our first team battle." He gave a weak smirk.
Kensou looked at Shingo for a long moment before looking at Kasumi, who was concerned over Shingo, his arm slung over her. (First team battle…)
(Yeah…)
(I want to step out of Athena's shadow, too!)
Kensou smiled back at Shingo and nodded. "Yeah. Our team battle!"
"Haha… perfect…" Shingo's eyes closed completely.
"YABUKI! "
Kensou slowly let go of Shingo and stood up, his body standing in front the other two. He pumped his first towards his new teammates.
"K-Kensou-kun…" Kasumi looked at him.
"We're not gonna lose this!"
"Are you crazy?!"
Kensou gave a cheeky smile. "I won't let my teammates down, Todoh."
Lin was already behind Kensou, who didn't move an inch. Lin thrusted his hands right at Kensou. His eyes hidden underneath his hair, Kensou smiled.
"Not this time."
A sudden wave occurred around Kensou with a green aura of energy surrounding him, burning Lin's right hand severely. Lin could not escape the aura, as if being sucked in before an explosion occurred. Kensou's clothes ripped to shreds and revealed traditional Chinese-style clothing underneath. It was colored an elegant jade green, his sleeveless shirt having a beautiful red lining finish and a dragon pattern on the front.
As Kasumi looked in awe, Shingo, who was held by her, gave a huge smile, his eyes also covered by his hair as his head slung down.
"We got a good one, Todoh."
Kasumi looked down at Shingo, holding him tight as she looked at Sie Kensou, the newest and final member of this makeshift team.
A green, transparent dragon swirled around him with Kensou's eyes following it until it wrapped itself around its head and wrists, forming a red headband and wristband and completing his Psycho Soldier outfit.
Lin stood up silently, watching as Misty and Ron were behind him. Looking at his burnt hand, he wrapped it in brown bandages as the hand was now rendered useless. He looked at Kensou, the aura slowly diminishing as he turned around.
Lin's eyes narrowed.
"Dragon Spirit." was all he said.
Misty grit her teeth and eyed Lin who nodded in return. They began to prepare for an attack when…
Kensou suddenly appeared between the two, a green streak trailing his path as he extended his palms on each side, towards both of them.
"Cho Kyudan!"
Two jade green Psycho bursts blasted from his palms, connecting with Misty and Lin and exploding on impact, sending them flying away from Kensou. The two got up quickly, but Misty's legs gave out for a moment, forcing her to kneel. "H-hey…!" Looking down, she noticed an odd green spark move along her body that gave her an eerie tingle. "What is this?!"
Lin breathed heavily, with one of his eyes closed as he felt the same tingle in his body. Ron's eyes narrowed again, "A burst from each hand, and enough power to stun." He analyzed.
"Lin! Misty! FINISH THIS NOW!"
Misty got up slowly, her face full of anger as she extended her hand to the side. A sudden sword dropped from the sky which she caught it by the handle. It was the sword of Nests, her former leader.
The two charged, and Kensou went into a kung-fu stance, taking a deep breath as the dragon appeared, swirling around him before disappearing again.
Lin hopped up and went for multiple kicks in the air. Kensou backflipped for each kick, and Lin winded up for a faster kick, delivering it at a speed tenfold as before. Kensou however, did not backflip for the final kick, and chose instead to jump up, landing his feet on the leg that Lin was using to thrust down towards him. Lin's foot painfully smacked onto the concrete. Kensou hopped up, driving both his feet onto Lin's chest, sending him flying back as Kensou used the momentum to flip himself a large distance towards Misty.
Misty looked up, preparing to bring her sword up when suddenly Kensou was enveloped in a green aura again. In a flash, his backflip turned into a twirl which completely cut his trajectory. His entire body thrusted towards Misty like a spear, leaving a jade trail behind him. She reacted just in time, bringing the sword up just quick enough for Kensou to kick the sword only.
Misty flinched as she feele an enormous weight from the kick that crashed the tip of the sword hard onto the ground. Kensou slid down the sword like a skater, green sparks appearing under his feet as he slid. The minute he reached the end of the sword he jumped up, the aura exploding under him.
"Ryu Renga: CHIRYU!" Kensou suddenly thrusted his elbow up at Misty and smacked his elbow right at her chin. Grabbing the handle of the sword, he pulled his body up to give her a swift mule kick, a green wind indicating the impact of the blow as she was sent flying. Using the handle again as leverage, he catapulted himself towards her, ready to deliver a final third kick to send her a long distance.
Lin suddenly appeared before them in mid-air, striking Kensou towards his face with his poisonous nails. Kensou tilted his head to avoid it, his eyes locking with Lin's intensely as he kicked Misty on her side, flipping her over in midair and using her body as a surface to step on. He then jumped up, the force of his jump sending Misty faster towards the ground as he hopped over Lin's head. Twirling again, with Lin unable to turn as he descended down, Kensou delivered a ferocious kick to the side of Lin's head, sending him flying away from him. Kensou flipped forward in midair and landed on the body of a disoriented Misty as they descended quickly. He once again used her body as a base to jump towards Lin.
Lin was prepared, thrusting his hand forward, his arm stretching towards Kensou who narrowly avoided the attack. Before Lin could retract his arm, Kensou grabbed onto it and flipped himself to stand on his arm, smiling as Lin's arm retracted automatically, thus pulling Kensou towards Lin. Lin immediately turned into dust and avoided Kensou's kick, appearing behind Kensou and grabbing his arms in a Full Nelson hold.
Lin's eyes widened, looking at Kensou's red headband, thinking it was only his blurry vision as he witnessed a dragon symbol roaring at him. Still in Lin's grasp, Kensou lifted his feet and slammed them down on top of Lin's feet, catapulting the two back down to Earth. Lin flinched hard again, and as the dust settled he found his feet driven straight through the cement, himself unable to move.
Kensou slid away from Lin as the latter ached in pain. He turned around and placed his palms gently on Lin's stomach.
"Sikkuzan Ryuu Kyaku!" Kensou's eyes flashed the color of jade for a moment as he suddenly began to pummel Lin's stomach like a Gatling gun, relentlessly punching Lin's midsection over and over. Lin coughed up blood through the cloth that covered his mouth.
Kensou leaned back, waving his hands calmly in front of him, as if gliding through water, before pulling it back.
"RUSH!" He thrusted his palms forward, a green blinding light exploding on impact as Lin flew once again. Lin flipped back to his feet, but an incredible disorientation hit him, sending him to his knees as Ron looked on.
Kensou breathed heavily, the sudden adrenaline and power slowly sapping his strength quickly. "I've got to end this as quickly as possible." He whispered under his breath. His eyes widened as he saw a gigantic sword swinging towards him with clear intent to cut his head right off as he ducked. His body was getting heavier by the second, and he rushed towards the one who held the sword, a battered Misty.
Misty swung again, her strength gone and just wildly swinging as Kensou dodged each one.
"Stand still, heathen!"
"Sorry, I don't follow the elderly's pace!"
Lin appeared again, with only the use of one arm. He began disappearing and reappearing like dust around Kensou, appearing only to deliver hard strikes, but Kensou avoided each one and countered, hitting Lin hard enough to turn him back into dust. The battle was relentless as Misty and Lin continued to pour attacks on Kensou who was getting weaker and weaker but continuing battering the two harshly.
Misty and Lin attacked together from both sides, but Kensou ducked, and Misty used all her might to not hit Lin who stopped his hands from stabbing Misty.
Kensou, from below them, planted his hands to the ground.
"Shinryuu!"
He lifted his legs up and began to twist his body from an upside down positon.
"RYU GAKUSAI!" He catapulted his body up, with his feet smacking the chins of the two opponents as he continued to twist up to the sky, sending them up as a green tornado surrounded them. The winds punished them viciously as they were sucked into Kensou's jade vortex. A sudden gust from within sent the two flying and crashing to the ground.
They did not get up.
Kensou landed, breathing heavy and falling to one knee, his vision blurry.
He smiled.
"Knock Out."
"KENSOU-KUN!"
Kensou's eyes widened as his eyes met the tip of three blades, each being held by the other three unknown members of Ron's party. Kensou was too tired to continue, and he turned towards Kasumi and Shingo, but Ron was right beside them.
They were surrounded. But moreover, they lost.
"D-Damn…!" Kensou cried out.
"Incredible; just what I would expect from the holder of the Dragon Spirit!" Ron laughed out loud.
Kasumi put Shingo down and went for a thrusting palm towards Ron, but her neck was suddenly constricted by Ron's quicker hand, strangling her.
"TODOH!" Kensou tried to get up, but physically could not. Even if he could, the underlings of Ron pushed their weapons onto Kensou to keep him down.
Kasumi struggled to break free, her eyes glaring at Ron. "Let… go… of… ME!"
Ron simply looked at her and raised his other hand. "I've grown tired of these two obstacles." He thrusted his hand forward at Kasumi.
"KASUMI!"
A hand suddenly grabbed Ron's wrist before he could kill Kasumi, and Ron looked down. Shingo had grabbed Ron's hand, his body still shivering.
"S-sorry… I meant Todoh. Regardless…" His eyes narrowed, gripping Ron's wrist even harder. Ron even flinched from the power. "Don't touch her!"
"Boy… You are making this a VERY STRESSFUL DAY!" He thrusted his foot at Shingo, but his other hand grabbed that as well. Unable to take the pain of Shingo's grip, he backed away, releasing Kasumi and stepping back. Kasumi fell forward, but Shingo caught her just in time, himself weakly getting up to his knees. "Todoh, you okay?"
"Y-you idiot… You s-said my first name again."
"Heh." Shingo gave a weak smile, his eyes never leaving from Ron. "Sorry. But this isn't turning out very well for our first day."
"My bad, Shingo." Kensou shouted towards him, his body feeling heavy. "I couldn't win it after all."
"This doesn't count, Sie. They had more than 3 fighters. Not fair at all!"
Ron, in total silence, took up an open stance, with his hands to his chest and pointing his fingers at Shingo as he leaned back. Lin, who looked up, noticed.
"T-The Mantis Stance?!"
"Enough of this."
Lin's eyes opened, "W-wait!"
Ron thrusted forward.
A sudden arm from underground sprouted up, attempting to strike Ron who quickly avoided it by turning into dust and appeared a bigger distance.
"Who dares?!"
Lin looked around, still unable to move his body as he tried to scan the area.
A sudden barrage of weapons began to fall from the sky, striking the members who held Kensou captive and forcing them to move back. Kensou looked around in confusion, as did Shingo and Kasumi.
"What's going on?" Kensou asked.
"That's as far as you go… father." Shingo and Kasumi witnessed a shadow slowly becoming a body, and a man with a familiar purple attire and long braided ponytail stood before them. Ron narrowed his eyes as he lowered his hands.
"Duo."
"Duo Lon!" Shingo said in shocked.
"W-wow. I'm way too popular for my health…" Kensou joked, limping his way to his teammates. "You guys okay?!"
Shingo and Kasumi nodded.
"So much for our first battle…" Kensou joked. He suddenly felt his legs collapse and began to fall. Shingo and Kasumi were unable to catch him but…
Another figure caught Kensou as he fell, wearing attire similar to Duo's style, with the color of jade matching that of Kensou's. Duo averted his gaze from Ron to the other figure.
"Xiao."
The figure was Xiao Lon. The young assassin looked up to Duo, nodding. "Yes?"
"Is he okay?"
She checked his pulse, but Sie slowly came to. Trying to get up, he placed a hand on Xiao's bare shoulder, which made her nervous and shiver. Realizing her reaction, he looked up, his face mere inches from the woman. They both blushed.
"H-Hi…" Kensou spoke softly.
"H-hello."
The two immediately turned away from each other, with Kensou pulling away and forcing himself to stand on his own. He looked at Duo.
"You okay?" Duo asked
Kensou nodded.
Duo immediately turned back to Ron and his battered party. "You don't look so well, father. Perhaps you once again bit off more than you can chew?"
"Hmph. What a surprise to see you here."
"Make no mistake. Wherever you will go, I will be there as well to stop you… you traitor."
"Brother!" Xiao exclaimed, running to him. "You can't kill our own father!"
"Though he is indeed my parent, I cannot simply turn a blind eye to his sins. He committed murder upon our own clan!"
"Are we not assassins, Duo?" Ron asked his son, "Is it not our life to kill for our benefit?"
"Don't you give me such contradictions, father!" Duo stepped forward, "We, the Hizoku Clan, have been made aware that you have been observing this boy, Sie Kensou and his powers. What you are planning to do with him, however, is a mystery. I would rather stop you here and now than find out at all!"
"Why are you doing this, father?" Xiao pleaded. "Why did you murder our own brothers and sisters, your sons and daughters!"
"Are you to oppose me as well, Xiao?"
"I… I…" She could not respond.
"Step aside, Xiao. I did not bring you here to fight." Duo pulled her gently behind him as he stepped forward again.
Ron chuckled, "Are you serious, Duo? You against my current heed?"
Duo sharp eyes narrowed. "Are you forgetful, father…? Or do you really think your current hold is strong enough to go against me, your flesh and blood?"
Ron chuckled again, but he stopped dead cold as he saw a figure step forward as well.
A battered Sie Kensou, slouching forward in pain, stared defiantly at Ron and his group.
"Sie Kensou. I can handle this." Duo said.
Kensou merely shook his head. "It's not over until one of us goes down in defeat." He smiled weakly, "And I'm not knocked out yet!"
Duo nodded, "Spoken like a true warrior. Very well. "
Ron's eyes narrowed. After a small yet silent staredown, Ron crossed his arms. "…We're leaving."
"Wait." Misty got up slowly, leaning on one knee for support. "What about the boy?"
"All will be dealt with soon. Let's go."
The party began to turn into dust.
"Father!" Xiao pleaded.
"You won't get away!" Duo rushed forward, but stopped suddenly as poison needles whizzed past him. Turning back to Ron, they had already gotten away. "Che!" Duo grit his teeth and turned towards the direction the needles were thrown at.
Lin stood alone, his body slumped forward as he breathed heavily, looking at Duo.
"Lin."
"…"
"Will you betray the Hizoku clan as well?"
Lin did not say a word, and slowly turned into dust as well, disappearing. Duo Lon breathed a sigh of relief, turning towards Xiao and the others.
"My apologies. We have been here for a quite a while, but we needed to observe what my father, Ron, was planning to do. Unfortunately, we did not gather much information. Please believe me when I say that we had no intention of letting you three die."
Shingo grit his teeth, his strength still weak as he ached in pain. Duo kneeled down and checked Shingo's pulse, closing his eyes to concentrate, "Do not worry, the paralysis poison is will pass soon with no permanent effects." Shingo looked at Duo and nodded. The Hizoku assassin then turned his attention to Kasumi, who shook her head. "I am not hurt as much as they are." He nodded.
Kensou staggered, coughing as he tried his best to keep standing. A pair of slender hands held him, and he turned again to find Xiao holding him up. He smiled, thanking her, and she smiled in return.
"Are you okay?"
"Yeah, I'm alright. Thank you for your help."
"Do you need any sort of medical aid?"
"No need." Kensou shook his head. The two did not realize that they had been staring at each other for a long while, smiling, until Duo intentionally cleared his throat.
"Back to the matter at hand… We are well aware of the powers you possess, Sie Kensou. Today was certainly a testament to your strength. The Dragon Spirit is truly a formidable power."
"Why do they want my power so badly?"
"We do not know yet."
"Man… I've got enough problems."
"I as well. Believe me when I say that I wish for this fiasco to end as quickly as possible. However, in order to do that, we need your full cooperation."
"Cooperation?"
Duo nodded.
"I would like you to join my team for the upcoming King of Fighters tournament with me and Xiao."
"What?!"
"H-hey…!" Shingo tried to stand up, but he was too weak with Kasumi trying to hold him steady.
"Relax, Yabuki!"
"N-no way… we saw him first!"
"Excuse me?" Duo did not understand what was going on.
"H-he with us! Y-you can't just take him like that!"
Duo turned towards Shingo, then towards Kensou and nodded. "I would prefer if Sie Kensou said it himself."
Kensou turned towards Kasumi and Shingo, who stared right back. Turning to the side, he looked at Xiao who was only a few inches from him, smiling. He smiled back.
("You wanted to… step out of the shadows too… right?")
(Yeah…)
(I want to shine bright, too!)
"I'm sorry, Duo Lon-san." He slowly moved away from Xiao, who looked down. "I already have a team."
"Really now?" Duo looked at the three, one by one. Crossing his arms, he took a deep breath and nodded. "I will admit… you three did a very good job of handling Lin and NESTS' Misty." He shrugged. "Very well. I wish you luck in the tournament."
He eyed Kensou again, "But I would still like to work with you, Sie Kensou, and bring my father… bring Ron down and end this dark tirade once and for all."
Kensou nodded, "Of course!"
Duo nodded back and turned to her sister. "Report back to the clan, Xiao. We will find a suitable member to fill the third spot."
Xiao nodded and turned to Kensou.
"…Y-you fought really great today."
"O-oh… Thank you."
Xiao smiled, walking backwards as she and Kensou continued to look at each other until she disappeared. Kensou took a deep breath, his cheeks flushed, not feeling any pain at all as he stared at where she was last.
"Wow. She has such a soft voice. And soft hair. She's beautiful. She's-"
"She's my little sister."
Kensou turned to Duo who leaned down to stare at him eye-to-eye.
"O-oh… Your sister."
"Are you smitten?"
"A-ah… w-…"
After a moment of silence, Duo stood up straight and walked away, his back facing the three.
"I have no intention of giving her up to you, Sie Kensou."
"W-what..?!?!"
He disappeared.
After a brief moment of silence, Kensou fell to the floor, breathing a sigh of relief.
"What just happened…?"
Kasumi sat down as well, making a perfect triangle between the three. "I don't understand quite well, myself."
"Hehehehehehe….!" Kensou and Kasumi turned to Shingo, who was chuckling, a big smile on his face.
"What's up with you, Shingo?"
Shingo only continued to laugh. "Yabuki?" Kasumi spoke, trying to get his attention. Shingo burst out into laughter, leaning back and lying flat on the pavement. Kasumi and Kensou only looked at each other, confused.
"This… This is absolutely awesome!" Shingo sat up, smiling. However, a few tears were on his face. "I can't believe it."
"Shingo?"
"This. I actually made a team… I actually made a real good team!"
Kasumi watched him as she hugged her knees. "Hey now, you mean WE made a real good team, you didn't even know how to make a roster, Yabuki."
"No way!" Kensou laughed, "You don't know how to make a roster, Shingo?!"
"Hey!"Shingo stuck his tongue out, "I know how to make one NOW!"
Kensou and Shingo laughed.
Kasumi stood up, sighing. "There's no more time for this! We have to register our team by tomorrow!" Kensou got up, alerted, "Oh yeah! Registry deadline is tomorrow, I forgot!" He dusted himself off, staggering a bit before beginning to walk.
"So… it's official right?"
Kensou and Kasumi once again turned towards Shingo, who remained seated.
"We're a team now, right?"
"Yeah." Kensou nodded. However, realizing what he was saying, Kensou blinked and looked at Kasumi, who was looking at him.
(I'm…)
(I'm not with her anymore.)
(I'm with this team now.)
Kensou smiled. "Yeah."
Shingo grinned. "Yeah!"
The two turned to Kasumi, who looked back and forth at both of them. Crossing her arms, she turned her back to them, her hair flowing with the wind. "Sure."
"Todoh." Shingo spoke, catching her attention. Shingo gave a sheepish grin as the sun began its final hour burning the sky. "Thanks for protecting me."
"Ah…" Kasumi looked at Shingo, turning bright red for a moment. "I did no such thing…"
Kensou looked left and right at the two of them. "Hey now…" he murmured, "This is new." He smirked, scratching his head and turning around, a little embarrassed at the scene he saw.
"Hey guys."
Kasumi and Shingo turned towards Kensou.
"I… I want to win this tournament." He turned his head to them, smiling, "I want to prove how strong I've gotten!"
"Strong?" Kasumi asked.
"Yeah." Kensou nodded. "I want people to see my real strengths. I want people to know that all the sacrifices and hard work I made have paid off." Kensou looked up at the sky, the stars now beginning to show. "I've… always been in her shadow." He looked down, the two others immediately knowing who 'she' was. "I want to know, if only just once, to see if I can shine as bright as she did. Maybe even brighter!"
Shingo stood up, nodding. "I feel the same way, too."
The two boys turned to Kasumi, who was taken off guard.
"Ah… I…"
Kensou looked at her quizzically.
"I…" Kasumi lowered her head, unable to respond the same way Shingo did. She felt a hand touch her shoulder and looked up, seeing Shingo in front of her, smiling.
"You can tell us when you want to." Shingo looked back up at the stars. "I'm just happy enough as it is." He laughed again, spreading his arms out as the sun had already faded, the stars shining brightly.
"I've got a great team." Shingo grinned.
After a bit of silence, they began to walk away.
"By the way…" Kensou spoke to break the silence, "You guys got some new moves I haven't seen before! Shingo Spark was awesome! It blew Ron to dust!"
"Yeah, but I don't think I've ever seen your Dragon Spirit like that at all! You even got a new wardrobe."
"Actually, it was under my clothes, and this wardrobe is a little old, to be honest."
"You've gotten much faster, too."
"Yeah? Thanks! But when you hit Misty's energy blast and smashed it to the ground; that was pretty incredible. You've gotten loads stronger, Shingo."
"…Hmph!" Kasumi interrupted their conversation, prompting them to notice that they didn't compliment her yet.
"A-ah…" Shingo nervously spoke, "I really liked your Aerial Shiranui! I never thought Aikido could be done in midair!"
"True! That was pretty cool. Oh, and thanks so much for bailing me out when Lin had me caught from behind, Todoh!"
"…You're welcome."
"Oh, and you should thank Shingo for helping you too, Todoh! He grabbed Ron before he did anything worse to you!"
"O-oh yeah. Thank you, Yabuki."
"No problem!"
"By the way Shingo, did you know you called her by her first name at that time? That sounded like a real hero!" Kensou laughed.
Shingo froze, and Kasumi stopped dead in her tracks. Kensou looked at the both of them, confused. Shingo began to sweat bullets. "W-what, Todoh… I did say I was sorry when I-"
"It's…. TOOODOOOH!" Kasumi took her slipper and began to smack Shingo with it. Shingo ran around, trying to avoid her.
"I said I WAS SORRY!"
"TODOH! It's TODOH! We're not THAT CLOSE, DO YOU UNDERSTAND JAPANESE AT ALL?!"
"You don't understand a lick of ENGLISH!"
"ARRRRGH!"
"Are you guys sure about that?" Kensou asked.
The other two stopped, with Kasumi on Shingo's back, holding on with a slipper on hand as the two looked at Kensou.
"You look pretty close to me. I never realized it till now."
Shingo looked at Kasumi who was bright red.
SMACK!
Shingo dropped like a fly as Kasumi stomped away from them, fuming. Kensou panicked, looking at both of them before chasing Kasumi.
"W-wait…! Did I say something wrong?!"
"I… said… sorry…"
"WHAT IS WITH THIS TEAM?!"
End Chapter Three
Next Time:
Shingo, Kasumi and Kensou have finally entered into the King of Fighters tournament! But before the battles begin, the three, along with the multiple teams joining this year, are faced with revelations one after the other during the opening ceremony! What awaits our heroes at the starting line? How will Athena react to Kensou's presence? What happens when Shingo and Kasumi have nothing to do but sightsee… with just the two of them? And their first opponent is finally revealed!
And what the heck is their team's name?!?!?!?
All this on the next chapter of The King of Fighters: Regulation Blue!
Author's Notes:
Sorry for the delay. I had major surgery done so I was sidelined. Pretty bad, but the surgery was successful. And unfortunately, no side story this time around! Sorry guys!
Hope to get some more feedback!
~Natsuke Takeda
