Heat of the moment caused Athena's anger and subsequent walkout to be more hasty than by her normal standards. It wasn't until she got out of the Stadium, got alone, away from roaring crowds and endless cameras, that she was finally able to slow down a bit, and collect herself.

Kensou... he didn't mean any harm. Never did. All he ever thought about was her well-being. She didn't deserve him.

"Oh Kensou..." Athena whispered his name. How could her partner care about her so much, yet be so infuriating? Even if he did what he felt was right, it still did more harm than-

"Aha! Found you at last, Asamiya! Prepare to be vanquished!"

Athena froze; a vengeful voice yelled her name. Krauser?! No... this voice was much more feminine, and much more ANNOYING.

Athena tried to turn around and discover the identity of her intruder, but she was forced to cover up, as she was blinded by a dazzling assortment of colors.

"WATER, EARTH, FIRE, AND AIR! ELEMENTS, I COMMAND YOU TO STRIKE DOWN-"

BOOOOF!

Athena's assailant did not deliver an awesome strike; instead, the person was overcome by a multicolored explosion of her own making, producing smoke clouds of red, blue, yellow, green, but leaving her on her backside, coughing up black soot... which now coated her head to toe.

"COUGH COUGH COUGH COUGH! Ugh! Mignon never gets that one right."

The name finally started to match with appearance, after the figure stood up and shook herself off in utterly comical fashion. The soot disappeared, revealing indeed a person Athena was reluctantly forced to rival. Ridiculous bubblegum hair, a getup that far surpassed her own in theatricality and absurdity... she was Athena's "evil twin", who ironically also fought for the forces of good.

Athena was less than shocked, and even less worried. "What do you want, Mignon?"

Mignon dusted herself off, before striking a dramatic, pointing pose. "What do you think I'm here for?! Mignon is here to defeat and take the entry card of Meany Weeny Atheeny! So cmon! Put up your dukes! Ring the bell! I'll fight you fair and square, no magic! Uhhh... w-well... okay, a little magic! Slightly moderate, generously frugal but not stingy magic!"

"Mignon... I can't even with you right now." Athena dismissed. "Look, I've got other things to worry about. Can't you... feel it?"

Mignon's first instinct was to get defensive. "O-Of course Mignon can feel it! Who do you think I am!? Um... feel what?"

Athena rolled her eyes. "Darkness. Evil is growing, Mignon, and the source originates at this tournament. I felt it more faint at first, during the orientation, but after everything that's happened today... it's getting stronger. It feels like those old days, when the Orochi seal was on egg shells... I know Chizuru can feel it too."

Cartoony clouds full of question marks floated around Mignon's head. "H-how can we stop it?!"

...But Athena just looked back at her, shaking her head solemnly. "We can never truly stop it, Mignon. The best we can do is hold it off a while."

Back in the Stadium, the situation was elevated. The crowd was unsatisfied, the fighters on the sidelines awash with mass perplexity. And then there was Rose: the poor girl was slumped in her VIP booth, forehead resting on her hand, a long, drawn-out sigh reflecting her stress. It was funny how things could seem so fun one moment... then the next, walking away felt like the only decision left. Things had slipped away so EASILY... and she never saw it coming. It wasn't just humiliating, it was DEMORALIZING; how could she keep a lid on things from here on? How could she even salvage the situation now?

Just when she thought her world was over, a soothing hand presented itself to her shoulder.

"Rose." an assuaging voice called to her, giving her the strength to pick her head up and look behind her. It was him: just who she needed more than anybody.

"B-brother..." Rose jumped up and nearly glomped him... but she composed herself in public, wary of the thousands of eyes watching. Instead, she straightened her clothes and presented herself before him with poise.

Adelheid gave her a stern look, but his voice was calm. "Everything's going to be okay."

"I know it is." Rose fired back with credence.

"Get this back under control. I'll talk to Krauser for you."

Adelheid started to turn, but a firm hand snatched his arm. "No!"

He stopped, facing Rose again, surprised at the volume of her command. Rose's grip remained tight for only a second, before loosening back up, as well as her voice softening.

"No. I won't have my big brother handling my problems for me. This is MY tournament, and it's my responsibility. I shall quell Lord Krauser's anger myself. You... go back with the other fighters. You're a contestant."

Adelheid expressed maybe the slightest bit surprise at how easily Rose dismissed him... but not enough for any other human being besides her to assess. With a slight nod, he backed away from her and turned around. "As you wish."

Rose gave a slight nod, and watched as he walked away. It wasn't what she wanted to do; it was the easiest decision ever to simply bury herself in her brother's arms, and let his embrace shut out the world around her. But reality stood tall and mean before her, and she had no choice but to face it down. She was the hostess... this all stood on her shoulders, and nobody else's.

Thus, she took a sip of her tea, put on a smile, and turned haughtily towards her bodyguard. "Come along, Mr. Silber! I may need you if Krauser is swinging mad."

As beautiful calamity echoed outside the walls of the locker room, three agents of chaos congregated within: the luminous remnants of the Four Heavenly Kings, shed of their mortal coils, but still imposing themselves in the realm of existence, to continue the same terrible goal that transcended their very beings, from one life to the next.

"Can you feel it? Can you feel yourselves getting stronger?" Yashiro presented this question to his two longtime colleagues, fellow musicians, brother and sister of the same pedigree cult.

Chris looked down at his own hands, repeatedly flexing his fingers. "It definitely feels easier to maintain a tangible form. It used to require such concentration, my head hurt! But now... it's easier. It's much easier."

Shermie slowly, sensually traced the curves of her body. "Mmmm yessssss. I feel like I can use all of my power now. Chris is right; the strain it took to be able to do physical things here feels a lot looser now."

Yashiro grinned. "Good. Orochi's will is being done. The more their lost, misguided hearts fester with despair, contempt, hate... the more his power grows! It won't be long until we're at full strength again, and our mortal forms restored. The seal weakens by the minute, and that power nourishes us, strengthens our cause!"

Shermie's lips crept with a smile. "If the six of us can actually organize properly, and break the seal... ooooh! The world will become such a fun, fun place~"

"That's a pretty big 'can', though." Chris cynically stated.

"Don't worry about it." Yashiro assured. "Just go out there and do your best. REMEMBER... make them hate you, make them despise you, but most importantly... make them lose hope. With each heart we mar, our strength grows and the seal weakens. We'll be back to our former glory in no time!"

Chris flashed two thumps up, giving a gleeful smile that was simply too inappropriate for the nature of these circumstances. "Alright! Wish me luck guys~!"

The two older figures watched as the young man raced out of the locker room, with youthful excitement.

"...Hey. Shermie."

"Hmm?"

"Come here."

The brown-banged woman answered Yashiro's call, approaching him and closing the gap between them, until their bodies nearly touched. Looking deeply into her (lack of) eyes, Yashiro closed in... and kissed her softly. Shermie gave a soft, barely audible moan, as she tightened her lips against his, holding the kiss for a handful of seconds, before slowly pulling away, severing the suction with a brief smooching sound. A tiny thread of saliva connected them, dissipating upon further separation.

"I love you." he whispered as she pulled away.

Shermie flashed a catlike grin as she traced his jawline. "You don't love me. You just lust for me."

Yashiro tried to step forward again, but a gentle boop on his nose halted him, as Shermie turned and strutted away, giggling as she wiggled her hips back and forth, mesmerizing to his gaze.

"...She's damn right." he muttered shamefully to himself.

OPENING ROUND FIGHT #8: RAIDEN VS CHRIS

Chris unfortunately wasn't going to score much points, taking down a heel like Raiden; the people didn't so much hate him, as simply NOT CARE about him. Thus, Chris took this as less an opportunity to further the mission... and more to test out how much of his fighting ability had been restored.

FIGHT!

Raiden's openhanded strikes were so slow, lumbering... Chris easily detected each slothful strike and used all fours to evade them, with panther-like agility.

Two swings missed. Three swings. Four swings.

"You little runt...!" Raiden grunted. "One hit! One hit and I'll squash ya!"

Raiden took to the skies, attempting to come down on Chris with a splash. If the big man actually landed, he would crush Chris like a plummeting piano. Of course, Chris refused to make that a possibility: a quick prance, and the young man was safely out of the crash site.

Raiden was back up soon after, roaring angrily; Chris just stood there, hands at his sides, with that classic "eyes closed, lips wide" type of smile.

Raiden charged at him and swung wildly: Chris gently moved his head, swaying past each strike as they kept coming. Left, right, a quick weave backwards: Raiden's meaty arms couldn't touch his angelic face.

At this point, a couple minutes had passed of just Raiden attacking, and MISSING, and the man was understandably getting winded. Chris could hear his disgusting overweight huffing and puffing, a sign of lack of discipline, of regard for self-health. He was a big, strong, impressive man... but his muscles couldn't hide that severely neglected gut, and the bad cardio that came with it.

Chris decided he'd help reign in that gut a bit.

"OOOOORAAAAGH!" Raiden took a step back... and came forward with one last MIGHTY chop.

Chris phase-shifted backwards, his body disappearing from Raiden's swing with a blur. His body appeared yards away... and then became a mere after-image, as the real Chris emerged and ROCKETED forward with a deep elbow, smashing into his stomach and drilling a crater inches-deep in his fat.

"Auuuughhhhh..kkkkghhh...?!"

That blow alone was enough to render the big man at Chris's mercy... and that angelic face turned into a devilish smirk.

"Pitiful."

Chris brought his hands in succession upside Raiden's chin, uppercutting him high into the air, a blue crescent aura emitting from his strikes. Chris followed Raiden into the air, juggling him with a second double-handed uppercut... and the kid, with insane speed, did a mid-air somersault and brought his heel down on Raiden's head, sending the man back down to Earth with a hard crash.

A tremendous dust cloud kicked up from the gigantic impact of the stout man. It took a moment for it to clear, and the audience to see Raiden's face in the dirt, his limp body twitching where it lay.

Moments later, Chris landed feet-first on the man's back, his hands in his pockets, the innocent smile back on his face. Not a bead of sweat was broken.

WINNER: CHRIS

OPENING ROUND FIGHT #9: SHERMIE VS VANESSA

The red-haired boxer would be a much more valuable mark than the likes of Raiden. A one-time winner of King of Fighters alongside Ramon, she was already nice and pissed at how Angel had treated the man who was nothing but patient with her. That anger fueled her fists, and while she didn't have the opportunity right now to pound on Angel... Shermie was the next best thing.

If Chris was adorable enough to put in one's pocket, Shermie was the sexiest ghost this side of the River Styx. But the pleasant exterior didn't matter... deep down, she was twisted. She sought a goal that would mean the end of humanity. Right here, right now, she would fight for that goal with conviction.

FIGHT!

Unlike Raiden, Vanessa was long, fast, and mean; right from the start, Shermie tried to get close but was met by the redhead's halting jab.

Vanessa popped her once. Twice. A third jab, and she set up a 1-2 behind it, blasting Shermie on the cheek and stumbling the Frenchwoman. Vanessa didn't have as much power in her punches as a heavyweight, but she made up for it with relentless volume.

Vanessa didn't quit. She charged in, fearless, and let loose a telegraphed uppercut, literally lifting Shermie off her feet with the overabundance of power behind it. Vanessa held that awesome pose, fist reaching high, her face intense, as Shermie landed on her butt... if her eyes could be seen, they were probably far-off in a dazed space.

"Vanessa caught her good!" Benimaru announced. "That's a mean woman!"

"Not enough." Iori dismissed the blonde. Upon hearing his voice, Benimaru turned to face him with an displeased face.

"Well well, nice to hear from you, Mr. Deadpan. Where you been this whole time?"

Iori was quick with a comeback. "You've been looking kind of lonely, Beni. Made me want to stay away from you... no telling what you might try."

"Oh I wouldn't touch you with Billy's pole."

It took a moment for Shermie to get back up, and the woman was oddly focused more on her cosmetic well-being. She took several fleeting moments to dust her pink outfit off, smooth out wrinkles... and the insane woman even pulled out a compact and checked her hair.

"You actually hurt me." Shermie whined. "I don't like being hurt!"

Vanessa returned to boxing stance. "Then this isn't the place for you, Barbie Doll."

Shermie pocketed her compact, and leaped at Vanessa with a foot flying forward, doing a nice mid-air twist for extra speed and power. Vanessa easily dodged the attack, and fired back with a liver punch that drilled into Shermie's stomach. The brunette gasped as she doubled over, clutching her midsection... and her face was wide open for Vanessa to catch her chin with another, shorter uppercut, and a monster left hook behind it.

"Damn!" Shen Woo grinned. "How's that bitch still standing?!"

Shermie was retreating backwards, on wobbly feet; Vanessa pushed forward and put the pressure on her!

Everyone who was watching came to the same conclusion when Vanessa drew her arm back; the redhead was going to end this fight right now, with her leagues-better striking experience, compared to Shermie's little kicks and slaps. This wasn't even close.

...That's exactly what Shermie wanted. As the boxer prepared a fatal swing, a devious little grin crept upon her lips... and she snickered.

"Tee hee~"

The knockout punch would never arrive: Shermie vaulted up and flipped over her head, using a hand on the back of Vanessa's neck to control her descent, and in an instant...she wound up behind the girl, hands around her waist in a bodylock.

"Wha- AHHHHHH!"

THUDDDDDDDDDDDDDDD!

Vanessa never saw it coming; Shermie lifted the girl with ease, and hit her with a textbook suplex, slamming the woman on her head, while Shermie maintained her grip post-throw.

"...Ouch." Joe winced. "This table just did a 180."

Shermie wasn't done. With crazy agility, she flipped back over Vanessa's downed body, lifted, and suplexed her AGAIN. A third flip followed, Shermie back on her feet, and she lifted...a THIRD suplex!

In the span of a 30 seconds, Vanessa had gone from a masterful boxing performance... to being handled like a stuffed animal. Each of those three slams took away a piece of her, the first one setting her brain abuzz, the second one robbing her muscles of their fortitude... and the third one to expel whatever wind she had left in her body.

Shermie was back on her feet, mounting Vanessa's back; the boxer was now completely at her mercy.

"Excellent, Shermie, excellent!' Yashiro cheered. "Now finish the job!"

Instead of suplexing Vanessa a fourth time, Shermie dragged her down, putting the boxer on her butt, with Shermie latched on from behind. She slid her legs around, hooking one foot against Vanessa's diaphragm, applying pressure. The second leg slithered upwards and wrapped around Vanessa's neck, crushing her throat within the jaws of her calf and thigh.

"GUUUkkkhhhh...ggghkkkkkk..."

Vanessa, being choked out by a lovely pair of legs, held on for only a few seconds before her consciousness started to slightly fade. With an annoyed rasp from her throat, she tapped.

...Shermie didn't let go.

"H-hey, she tapped!' Joe pointed.

"What's she doing?!" Shingo seconded.

The audience broke out in collective jeers as Shermie, smiling wider and wider, continued to hold Vanessa there in the chokehold, as the redhaired boxer's face grew desperate, and her tapping more aggressive. Still, Shermie held tight.

"H-hey!" Rose squealed. "Let her go, right now! THIS IS UNCOUTH!"

"That f***ing bitch..." Iori cursed.

"SOMEBODY STOP HER!" Chizuru pleaded.

"Go out there and get disqualified? Be my guest!" Big joked, with a beckoning gesture.

Shermie just feigned innocence, shrugging as if she had no idea what people were fussing about. All the while, her legs continued to squeeze the light from Vanessa's eyes, the boxer rasping and wheezing as they began to roll backwards. Surely she wouldn't let Vanessa...?

...They all got their answer a second later, as Shermie, with a lyrical giggle, released the grasp... but it was too late. Vanessa was out cold, head hitting the grass upon release.

WINNER: SHERMIE

Shermie rolled backwards and sprang to her feet. She then did a cutesy little pirouette, striking a pose, hands on her hips, upon completion. The woman had no remorse, borderline no self-awareness of what she'd just done, even as the crowd booed and cursed her name. She just kept smiling... even as she walked away and had garbage thrown at her.

"That was a bitch move." King snarled. "Disgraceful and uncalled for."

"She deserves to be booted for that!" Yuri complained.

"I'm pissed now." Benimaru seethed. "I'm seriously f***ing pissed now. There was NO CALL FOR THAT! God, I want to fight soon, so I can f*** up somebody..."

"I'm going to break that bitch's kneecaps." Mary threatened.

The only one seemingly getting enjoyment out of this was Yamazaki. "Ha ha ha ha haaaaaa! Ahhhhh Shermie's a mean-ass bitch."

Shermie strutted away from a Stadium of haters she just produced, smiling cockily ear to ear. She walked right back to Yashiro, who was waiting with open arms to embrace her.

"Mmmmmm heeheeheehee~" Shermie purred in his ear, her finger traced the curvature of his pectorals. "So how did I do~?"

Yashiro tightened his grip on her, his hand dipping towards her hips. "I'm so hot for you right now."

Shermie accepted his advance, going so far as to place a hand on his intrusive one, and guide it towards her backside. "Did you see the looks on their faces when I put poor Vanessa to sleep? Priceless."

"That's exactly what we need." Yashiro grinned. "When the Hakkeshu win this tournament, their souls will be so crushed, they'll want to kill themselves. All of this... this whole world can be ours... just the two of us..."

"Mmmhmmhmmhhmmhhmmmmm~" Shermie giggled. "Don't get a swelled head now, Yashy baby. We still have to share with a few others."

"I don't care." Yashiro whispered. "As long as I can rule this world with you, screw the others."

"Even Chris?"

"...Well, except Chris. He's fine."

Their sensual moment was interrupted by a loud, assertive tone. "THERE YOU ARE!"

Shermie broke away from Yashiro and turned around: she was met with a steamed Rose Bernstein, hands curled into fists on her hips, while Silber flanked her from behind, arms folded.

"Miss Hostess!" Shermie waved. "Hiiiiiii~! Did you like my performance?"

"I did NOT like your performance, thank you very much!" Rose scolded. "You're lucky I don't disqualify you for that!"

Shermie's lips puffed out in a joking pout. She put a finger on her chin, bent over, and started wiggling her booty back and forth. "Awwwww was I a bad girl? I pwomise I won't do it again~"

Rose's eyebrow twitched slightly. "Y...y-you better not. Or I'll see to it you're violently extracted from this Stadium. Hmph! Come along, Mr. Silber. These people are driving me stark raving mad."

Shermie and Yashiro just watched with delight as she stomped away, taking utter satisfaction in her discord. The two troublemakers embraced once more, and their lips came together for an unhurried, chaste, celebratory kiss.

"We're going to tear this world a new one." Yashiro whispered to her.

In a Stadium wrought with turmoil, Iori Yagami paid no heed to things. At least, he TRIED not to... he admittedly felt violent anger well up at seeing Shermie finish that fight the way she did. A big piece of him wanted to storm out there and snatch Shermie up by the hair, with a grip so hard his fingers dug into her scalp. He of all people didn't care about being disqualified, since he minded so little about this whole thing to begin with. Chizuru was the one who really-

"Iori. A word please?"

...Speak of the devil. Iori's private bubble was invaded by the woman in question, a look on her face indicative that official business was underway. The kind of thing he couldn't shy away from... easily.

Thus, Iori decided to entertain her. He got up, followed her over to a secluded area, before finally stopping and demanding an explanation.

"What is it?" he grunted with no abundance of politeness.

"Things have got to change." Chizuru stressed. "The tournament can't keep going the way it is now. The people... I can sense a tremendous negative force flowing from them."

"Is it really that big a deal?" Iori shrugged.

"Yes!" Chizuru exclaimed. "Don't you get it, you dummy? This is the largest event in the WORLD right now! All the world's energy is gathering in this one focal point, and it resides in the hearts and souls of 75,000 people out there, and the millions watching on tv! If the Hakkeshu have their way, and disrupt the balance of light and dark, the seal could..."

"Well, what do you want me to do?" Iori snarked. "Tell some jokes? Do a juggling act? I can't make em damn happy and giddy."

"But we can make sure the Hakkeshu don't win this tournament. We have the skills to do it. It's our job, Iori. We have to-"

"Forget it." Iori cut her off, immediately turning his back, hands in pockets. "You want a big hero, go talk to Adelheid. This whole tournament's rigged for him to win anyway."

"Iori!" Chizuru shouted his name as he walked off. Still, he didn't stop. "IORI!"

"Will you stop nagging me?!" Iori shouted. He stopped, turned back around, and started looming back towards Chizuru twice as fast, until he was in her face. She reflexively backed up a few feet, tensing ever-slightly in his presence.

His voice was much calmer as he spoke. "Look.. you want to restore the balance? What better way than Germany's golden boy winning it all? Just let it go, Chiz. Let it GO. Everything is going the way it's supposed to. We don't have to do a damn thing. So, chill the f*** out, have some fun, and most importantly... leave me alone. I don't want to hear about any damn Hakkeshu nonsense."

Having said his piece and thoroughly shut her down, Iori pocketed his hands once more and stomped away with great haste, leaving her dejected and in no better state of mind.

"Iori..." Chizuru groaned. God, he could be stubborn. Kyo was bad enough to reign in; between the two of them, she was sure to sprout gray hairs at a young age.

A consoling hand greeted Chizuru's shoulder from behind. She turned: it was Saisyu, who greeted her with a warm smile.

"Nevermind that whelp, Chizuru." he reassured. "You have MY support. As a Kusanagi, I never forget my duty to dispel the evil Orochi's followers wreak. We'll get those bastards, mark my words."

Those illuminating words put a smile on her face, as she bowed. "Thank you, Saisyu-sama."

...She turned and looked back at Iori, watching him walk into the distance. "But I just hope Iori is right..."

The Hakkeshu have gotten a foothold in the tournament! Will their venomous grip tighten, or will heroes rise up to bring light back to the viewing world?

NEXT CHAPTER: Fights. That's really all I can say. Fights. I'd like to get this back to an even number rhythm, so I'll try for three next chapter lol. That'll put us... officially halfway through Round 1!

Oh, and shoutout to Mignon, the first Maximum Impact character to appear in Kumite. Will more appear? Wellllllll anyone who knows ol RootBeerGuy knows I LUUUUUV guest appearances ; D

Until next time!