The Beast Within
Disclaimer: By now you know the routine. Everything and everyone mentioned in this story isn’t mine, but I wish they were.
[ ]: French Language
{ }: English Language
< >: Thoughts
Chapter 13
World Tour Part 2
Gathering of Fighters
In
Kasumi smiled as she looked over the picture of Nabiki at the ancient ruins of
At that point, Kasumi began to read the letter.
To my family,
How are things going
in
Genma moaned and shook his head, while grumbling. “NOW she tells us!”
Kasumi read on.
If you happen to be
buried under a thick carpet of hair, Shampoo did tell me how to stop it from
growing. Apparently, the Miracle Grow formula’s effects can be reversed by
bathing the victim in a special mixture of various ingredients for about a day.
With this letter I’ve provided you a list and the instructions on how to make
the Anti-Hair Grow formula. You’ll also find the ingredients in the crate I
sent to you.
Akane walked over to the crate the postmen had left and opened the wooden container. She then took out several bottles and containers. Her expression soured as she read the labels.
“Skunk oil… concentrate of poison ivy… bat saliva… yak hair… Chinese monkey fingernails… ewwwww, where did Nabiki GET all this stuff?!”
Her elder sister nodded as she continued to read.
You’d be surprised
what one can get when you happen to be friends with a rich family like the Talbanes. In any case, I hope this helps. I also sent some
souvenirs from
Soun perked up at the thought of tasting European alcohol. Sake was good, but he had always wanted to sample those beverages from the West. After a moment of dreaming of imbibing French wine, he went back to cutting down Genma’s hair.
As always, I love you
all and I hope to see you again.
Nabiki
At that point, Akane went over to Kasumi and took the recipe for the Anti-Hair Grow Formula. She read over the instructions and smiled.
“This is an easy formula! I could make this stuff up, no sweat! Leave it to me!”
The rest of the Tendo family and Genma turned pale at her announcement as she went off to get some cooking pots and equipment. Kasumi looked down at the letter and read the last part…
P.S. Kasumi, please do
NOT let Akane try to mix the formula. Even Shampoo
and her great-grandmother aren’t sure what the side-effects will be if she
makes it wrong.
In
“Ooh! What does this say?” Nabiki asked as she held up a bottle of red liquid in a local wine shop.
Matthew nodded as he knew how to read French. “It says Chateau Basque… year 1973.”
“That’s a good year.” Jon concurred as he selected three
more bottles of fine liquor and paid for them. After making the arrangements to
have the wine delivered to the Tendo Dojo, the group
left the store and headed out toward the
“It’s a shame that Felicia and her group couldn’t come with us.” Nabiki remarked.
Matthew’s father nodded. “Yes, well her show had already
toured
Flashback…
“Can you believe it? Caesar’s Palace is actually offering
TEN TIMES as much for us to do our show for a month.” Felicia said as she and
her troupe prepared to head out overseas to the
“Congratulations, Felicia.” Jon said as he and his son were saying their goodbyes to the catwomen and the Gerdenheim siblings. “So you’ll be gone for the next month?”
“Not really. I agreed to a two-week contract. Say, why don’t you and your son join us?” The sexy catgirl walked up seductively to the elder werewolf, then traced a finger on his well-muscled chest. “I’m pretty sure I can work a couple of werewolves into the act.” She then leaned forward and whispered intimately in his ear. “And I know of some VERY nice places in Vegas we can visit afterwards.”
Matthew’s sire cleared his throat and said in a polite tone, “Sorry Felicia. I’m afraid that finding the other pieces of the medallion takes priority. Thanks for the offer though.”
“Awwwww!” The feline female pouted. She then sighed and nodded. “Yeah, I suppose you have to help that Tendo girl. But keep me updated on your quest, okay? Maybe, we’ll run into each other again soon.”
End of flashback…
“In any case, we still have about 11 more pieces to go.” Jon remarked as he held up the incomplete medallion. “According to the legend, this was broken up into 13 pieces and scattered all over the Earth.”
“So why was the medallion broken, and spread over the world?” His son asked.
“Hard to say, really. The legend gets fuzzy over the reason.”
It was at that moment that the trio noticed a large crowd that was surrounding a ring. In the ring were two fighters. One was a huge Frenchman, using the martial art known as Savate. He wore hard, rubber shoes, loose pants and was bare-chested.
His opponent had long, blonde hair tied in a stylish ponytail. He was wearing a red, baseball cap with a metal plate, a sleeveless red jacket with a large star on the back, fingerless leather gloves, blue jeans and high-top shoes. He was lean, but muscled and was obviously American. He gave his foe a friendly smile and dared him to attack.
The Talbains and Nabiki stopped to watch the spectacle and Matthew pointed to the American fighter.
“Hey, don’t we know that guy?”
Jon Tabain chuckled and nodded. “Indeed we do son, indeed we do. And he’s not the only one.” He gestured to two other people who were standing beside the ring. One was a blonde man who was wearing a kind of sleeveless tunic, matching pants and ninja tabi shoes. Hanging lovingly on his arm was a voluptuous, large-breasted woman with long, red hair done in a topknot, ponytail. She was dressed in a simple ensemble of blouse, skirt and low-heeled pumps.
“Come on son. It’s time for the Talbain Wolves to meet with the Hungry Wolves again.”
Back in
“Akane, please! Let me make the Anti-Hair Grow formula.” Kasumi pleaded as she watched her younger sibling stir the brew in the kitchen.
“I can do this!” The stubborn girl insisted as she haphazardly added the ingredients to the pot. She had already added several dubious foodstuffs that weren’t on the list. After barely glancing at the recipe, she looked about the table for the next component to the formula. “Hmmm… I don’t see any of the powdered butterfly wings. Oh well, this powdered sugar should do fine.”
“Akane!” The elder sister pointed to the correct ingredient that was on the edge of the table. She would have rushed in to stop her; however the fumes that were emanating from the pot were so noxious that she couldn’t get past the kitchen doorway.
Behind Kasumi, Soun and Genma cowered in absolute terror as they too had serious misgivings to letting Akane make the formula.
Then Akane proudly turned up the heat on the stove and said, “Now the recipe says to add one teaspoon of this secret ingredient. That doesn’t sound like it would be enough. It would be better if I just use all of it.” With that, she dumped the entire contents of the bottle into the pot. This made the brew begin to violently bubble and give off sparks.
At that point, Kasumi, Soun and Genma ran for cover. However, since the father of ‘Ranma’ was still under the effect of the Miracle Hair Grow Shampoo, he tripped over his ever-lengthening beard, causing him to fall flat on his face. He also knocked into Soun, causing him to trip as well. Only Kasumi managed to get far enough away before…
KA-BOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOM!!!!
The entire Tendo compound shook violently as the explosion sent a fireball through the halls. Kasumi shut herself inside a broom closet and was thus spared from the blast. Her family and their houseguest however, were not as fortunate.
When she finally emerged from the closet, Soun’s eldest child was horrified at what she saw. The walls of her home were blackened and smoking. There was a pungent smell of burned wood, leather and fabric. Then she walked over to the kitchen and saw three figures sprawled on the floor. She breathed out a sigh of relief as they moaned and groaned, indicating that they had survived. And there was some good news.
The good news was that ensuing fireball had seared off all the hair on Genma’s body, and gave him some impressive burns, thereby preventing his hair follicles from growing any more.
The bad news however, was that the blast had burned off Soun and Akane’s hair as well. The kitchen was in shambles and when Kasumi sniffed about, she discovered the second effect of her sister’s concoction.
“EEEEEEEEEEEWWWWWW!!!”
Later at Dr. Tofu’s clinic…
“What is that SMELL coming from the waiting room?!” The good physician and shiatsu master said as he held his nose. The odor was so overpowering, that he felt none of the Kasumi-itis with her in the office. In the waiting room, were Genma, Soun and Akane. The other patients immediately left the clinic once they got a whiff of the stench that clung to them.
“So do you smell rotten eggs and sakura petals?” The brown-haired girl asked. (1)
“Actually, I smell ginseng tea with sulfur.” Dr. Tofu replied.
“That’s strange. One of the patients swore he smelled okonomiyaki and burning truck tires. Another one said that Akane, Father and Mr. Saotome smelled like rotting fish heads and gumballs.”
“What exactly happened?”
Akane’s sister paused for a moment to collect her thoughts, and then she replied, “Well, it all started when we received a package from Nabiki…”
Ten minutes later, after finishing with her tale, Kasumi handed Tofu the recipe for the Anti-Hair Grow formula. He looked over the ingredients and nodded before addressing her again.
“This is a Chinese Amazon potion. It’s very ancient, but it’s an effective antidote to the Miracle Hair Grow Shampoo. I happen to have the same recipe in my files. However, you must mix this very carefully and in the correct proportions. Too much or too little of even one ingredient can be disastrous. Adding other ingredients is just as hazardous. And from what you just told me, Akane didn’t follow the instructions properly.”
Soun’s daughter nodded sadly. “Unfortunately, Akane becomes over-enthusiastic whenever she tries to cook. However, she becomes very careless as well.”
“Yes, I thought as much. And from what I can gather, she produced some kind of potion which caused her, Mr. Tendo and Mr. Saotome to give off an odor that varies from person to person. That’s why everyone is reporting a different combination of liked and disliked smells.”
“Oh my! Is there any way that you can get rid of the odor? They’ve already taken three baths each, and they still smell!”
“Unfortunately, I can’t prescribe any remedies until I know exactly what Akane put in that potion and in what proportion. If it was just the skunk oil, then I would have simply had them soak in tomato juice and peroxide. I’m afraid that they’ll just have to wait until I can research the proper antidote or until that scent wears off. Until then, I would suggest that they stay downwind from any populated areas. I’m going to need to fumigate my clinic after today.”
Kasumi could only shake her head in disbelief and made a
note to purchase a
“CRACK SHOT!”
Terry Bogard swung his right leg in a vertical arc, which connected solidly with his opponent’s temple. This caused the French fighter to hit the floor of the ring. When it was obvious to everyone that he wasn’t getting up anytime soon, the referee declared the American the winner. Andy’s brother gave his signature victory pose by tossing up his cap into the air and cried out.
“OKAY!”
A pair of medics came in to check in on the fallen Savate expert. After signaling to the judge, they carried
the man out of the ring. The announcer then said in French, [“Monsieur Terry Bogard wins again, demonstrating why he is such a great
champion in
At that moment, a certain figure leapt from the crowds and landed lightly in the ring. Everyone, including the one who defeated Geese Howard, was surprised at the sudden appearance of a tall, slender, dark-skinned girl with short, white hair. She had a cute appearance and seemed to move with a subtle grace. She was dressed in a simple outfit of slacks, t-shirt and sneakers. She gave everybody a friendly wave and spoke in English.
{“I will challenge you!”}
Terry smiled at her enthusiasm and responded. {“You’re very direct. I like that. You sure you want to do this? This contest only allows you to attack with just your legs. You can block, but no hand strikes.”}
{“That’s fine with me! I never use my fists! I thank nature for my strong, flexible legs!”}
Using a fancy twirling maneuver, she shed her civilian clothes and was instantly garbed in a kind of ceremonial bikini, and was barefoot. There were several whistles of appreciation from many of the male spectators, as she displayed a lithe figure with lean, muscular legs. She got into a crouching stance on the balls of her feet.
{“I am Elena, and it is a pleasure to fight you, Mr. Bogard!”}
The Hungry Wolf nodded as he assessed her fighting stance
and movements. {“Capoeira-style eh? This could be interesting.”} He then got into his
basic stance and waited for the bell to ring.
“Capoeira-style?” Nabiki asked.
Jon nodded as he
explained. He had been all set to enter the ring to challenge his old
acquaintance, but Elena had beaten him to the punch. “Capoeira
is a fighting style that has its origins in
“Do you think she
has a chance against Terry Bogard?” Matthew inquired.
“Let’s just wait
and see.”
At that point,
the bell rang signifying the start of the match.
Meanwhile in Nerima…
“There’s no more
Miracle Grow Hair Shampoo?!” Genma exclaimed.
Kasumi shook her
head while keeping her distance from the smelly houseguest. “I’m sorry Mr. Saotome. Dr. Tofu only had enough in stock for my father
and sister.” <And I thought you had learned your lesson from the last
time.> She silently added to herself.
At that moment, Soun and Akane entered the room,
both with their hair restored.
“Whew! It’s a
good thing Dr. Tofu had a supply of that shampoo. The smell I could probably
live with, but there’s no way I could go to school bald.” Akane
remarked.
Genma growled as he
looked upon his old friend, who had not only a full head of hair again, but had
gotten his mustache back as well. Not only was the Saotome
patriarch still bald, but he would have to wait a long time for his eyebrows
and the rest of his body hair to grow back naturally. It was then that the
front door opened and ‘Ranma’ entered the house.
“Whew! I finally
found my way back!” The false heir to the
The automatic
response to his comment was of course…
“RANMA NO BAKA!!!”
CRASH!!!
‘Ranma’ was then shot into LEO via Akane’s
rage, where he promptly got lost again, after he landed some distance away. The
short-tempered girl smiled in satisfaction, then sniffed the air around her.
Even though she knew that it wouldn’t do any good, she decided to take another
bath,. Just to relax from the tension of course. It
wasn’t because she happened to smell like roses and wet water buffaloes.
In
Terry Bogard knew that he was in trouble as his opponent kicked
and danced about him. Elena’s fighting style allowed her to move with impressive
speed and agility. She wasn’t a power-hitter, but her quick strikes were
starting to add up. He was at a very big disadvantage without the use of his
fists. Her long, tanned legs gave his opponent an extended reach. Then she
suddenly glowed with a bright aura and shouted out.
“BRAVE DANCE!”
<Oh boy, this
is gonna hurt!>
In an instant,
Elena began delivering a flurry of kicks and knee strikes in a graceful
symphony of movements, all while standing on her hands. To all those who
watched, it was as if it really was a dance. Terry managed to block most of the
blows, but the attack pushed him back toward the edge of the ring. He knew he
had to do something. Then he saw his opening as she tensed on her hands, about
to push off and strike with her legs at full force.
The Hungry Wolf
ducked down and struck out with a sweep kick. His foot connected with her
wrists, knocking her off-balance and throwing off her rhythm. Then he pushed
off with his own hands and went shooting upward inverted.
“RISING TACKLE!”
The extended foot
caught Elena in the midsection, sending her sprawling. Unlike his usual
technique, Terry did not lash with his fists as he went spinning upward, since
the contest did not allow for hand strikes. As he came down, he caught sight of
his opponent as she struggled to get to her feet. Knowing that this was his
chance, he swung his left foot in a wide arc while spinning his body about.
“CRACK SHOT!”
The glowing foot
caught the African girl in solar plexus, knocking her out of the ring. She landed
roughly on the ground, but got back up. Since she had been forced out of the
ring, she was automatically disqualified, leaving Terry as the victor. She
acknowledged her defeat with a wave and a smile.
There was a large
round of applause as Terry was declared the winner for beating ten opponents in
a row. As he waved to his fans, Terry locked eyes with another ‘wolf’ fighter.
Jon Talbain.
Later…
“So you’re here
for a fighting tournament?” Jon asked as he and his group joined the Bogards, Mai Shiranui and Elena
for lunch at a French café. Matthew’s father and the Elder Bogard
Brother were sitting at a small table while the others conversed at a larger
one.
“The French are
holding their version of the King of Fighters competition.” Terry replied. “I
got an invitation to participate. Personally I don’t care much about the prize
money, but I heard that there were some strong fighters here, and you know me.
I’m always looking for a challenge. That little contest you were watching was
just one of the practice rounds they allow for the competitors to warm up
before the main contest begins tomorrow.”
“I see. Are your
brother and his girlfriend competing as well?”
“Yes, they both
received invitations.”
“Where’s Joe?
Didn’t he get an invite?” (2)
“Actually he did,
but he had to turn it down. He has several matches coming up and it’s his
obligation to defend his title as the Muay Thai
Champion.”
“I see. So it’s
just you, your brother and Mai then?”
“That’s right.
There’s also another reason why Andy and Mai came to
“Ahhh.” Jon nodded knowingly. “So I take it Mai finally
got him to pop the question.”
Terry chuckled a
bit. “Yes. Mai wants to wear a western-style wedding dress and there happens to
be a famous dressmaker here in
“No need to
explain any further on that part.” Matthew’s father chuckled again. “Although,
I am a little surprised at this news. I’ve always thought Andy was too
conservative around Mai. What made him decide to finally tie the knot?”
Terry grinned
even further before explaining. “I’m not too sure of the details, but from what
I can gather, Mai finally cornered my brother at this hotel and… well, there’s
no way I can say this with any subtlety, but she… uhm….”
“Seduced him?”
Jon supplied.
“THAT would be
the understatement of the century. Judging from what the hotel manager told me,
they didn’t check out of that room until FIVE days later. Afterwards, Mai told
me that she owes a lot of thanks to a pen pal of hers. She says her pen pal
gave her some very helpful tips on breaking down Andy’s resistance to expressing
his feelings for her. After that time, Andy tells me that it’s almost
impossible for them to keep their hands off each other, and they’ve been doing
the ‘deed’ nearly every night.”
“A pen pal made
suggestions to Mai on how to seduce Andy?”
“I was told it
was someone from
Jon could only
stare in total disbelief for a long while, making his friend somewhat confused.
Finally, he started to chuckle and chortle at the irony, and then he burst out
into laughter.
“What’s so
funny?” The Hungry Wolf asked.
In
“Well now, this
is a surprise.” The succubus in question remarked as she looked over her
e-mails. Like the Talbains, the Aenslade
Clan had several connections to the human world, which included a private
mansion in
<So the little
ninja girl finally snared him. Good for her! I knew those pointers I sent to
her would come in handy. She had all the goods, but didn’t know how to present
them properly. Ah, it looks like I have an invitation to her wedding.
Excellent! I’d like to meet this Andy Bogard… and his
brother. From what Mai told me, he’s almost as delectable as her fiancé.>
At that moment, Morrigan’s daughter entered the house and took off her
shoes.
“I’m home!”
The older
succubus nodded as she signed off on her computer and went to meet with the slender
youth. Giving her child a warm hug, she asked, “Welcome home, dear. How was
your day?”
Lilith shrugged
as she replied, “Fine, Mother. Although something strange did happen near the
Nerima district.”
“Oh? What was
it?”
“I’m not really
sure. I was just flying past someone’s home, and it suddenly began emitting low
levels of magic. Then there was this explosion, which caused the house to
shake. Then I started smelling something REALLY foul! It was even more
disgusting than anything I’ve ever smelled in the rankest, slimiest pits of the
Makai!”
“Foul you say? I
can’t believe that you actually came across a stench that could be worse than
what we’ve encountered.”
“I’m telling you
the truth! I swear I smelled a combination of ogre dung and lilies!”
In
“It’s a pity that
you didn’t get an invitation to this competition.” Terry said. “We never did
get to finish that match of ours three years ago. I would have liked to see how
much stronger you’ve gotten since then. I can sense you’ve improved a lot.”
The werewolf
nodded. “I wanted to fight you as well, but Elena beat me to it. Perhaps
another time. My son and I happen to be on a bit of quest and…”
BZZZT! BZZZT!
Jon stopped as
his cell phone buzzed on his belt. Taking it out of its case, he excused
himself from his friend, and walked over to a secluded corner of the café. He
then flipped the device open.
“Hello?”
On the other
line, William Dubroke smiled as he replied.
{“Ah! Master Jon!
It is so good that I managed to get a hold of you.”}
William’s
employer smiled as he replied. {“Good to hear from you, William. So what’s the
reason for calling me here in
The loyal butler
nodded as he held up a letter. {“A correspondence came to the castle just today
addressed to both you and Young Master Matthew.”}
{“Really? What
did it say?”}
{“It says that
you and your son are cordially invited to compete in a freestyle martial arts
tournament in
Jon immediately
became intrigued at this new development. {“Now there’s an odd coincidence. I
just ran into Terry Bogard and his brother just an
hour ago. He told me that he was taking part in a tournament in
{“Well, you do
have one, Master Jon. Both you and your son will be able to compete.”}
{“But we can’t
just take part in a tournament with our passes still at the castle.”}
{“Not to worry
Master Jon. Simply give this invitation number to the judges when you arrive
and they shall confirm your right to participate. Your number is 1449A. Your
son’s number is 1449B.”}
{“Very good,
William. It looks like I will get my chance to test my skills against Bogard after all. But I’m not really certain if we should
take time off from our quest to compete in this tournament.”}
{“Actually sir, I
think it would be a good idea that you and Young Master Matthew take part. Are
you near a fax machine?”} William walked over to an office fax.
Jon looked about
and saw a coin-operated photocopier/fax machine near some public phones. {“Yes,
I can get to one. Why do you ask?”}
{“The letter came
with a photograph of the tournament’s trophy. Once I fax it to you, you shall
understand.”}
Matthew’s father
nodded as he went to the machine and slipped in some coins in the slot. After
punching in the correct button sequence and set it to receive, he then directed
his butler to fax the photo. A minute later, the machine printed out the photo
facsimile, which depicted a large, ornate trophy… with a certain pattern design
etched on the top. Upon closer inspection, Jon realized what his faithful
servant was telling him.
The trophy had a
medallion fragment imbedded in it.
So the next
course of action was clear. To get the third piece of the medallion, Jon Talbain the Werewolf would have to win the tournament, and
beat Terry the Hungry Wolf Bogard.
Tomorrow was
going to be a very big day…
Akane grumbled as
she trudged to school. Despite having taken more than a dozen baths and almost
drowning herself in perfumed body wash, the stench that she had created in the
kitchen STILL clung to her. Since she had been next to the pot when it
exploded, her odor was by far stronger than Genma and
Soun’s combined.
She couldn’t
understand it. She was positive that she had followed that stupid Anti-Hair
Grow formula exactly. Surely she didn’t make any mistakes, right? The recipe
had been written wrong, that was it. And she didn’t smell THAT bad, right?
“Ewwww! What is that STINK?! Did someone bring in dirty
gym socks and ginger snaps?” One student said as he pinched his nose with his
right hand.
“Peee-Yeeew! Did a sewage line just leak near a flower shop?”
Another student said.
“I smell tennis
shoes and fudge cake!” A third one added.
“You’re all
wrong! It happens to be lilacs and cow manure!” A fourth declared.
Soun’s youngest
daughter growled as she hurried into the school before people realized that the
smell was coming from her. She was certain that amid her classmates, her odor
would mix in with all the other smells. As she entered her homeroom and sat
down, she let off a sigh relief.
She was safe…
NOT!
In that confined
space, her unnatural odor was intensified and…
“AAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHHH!!!!”
“WHAT IS THAT
STINK?!”
“AIR! I NEED AIR!”
“WHO BROKE THAT
WIND?!”
Several shouts of
anguish and disgust were heard, as the room suddenly shook and trembled by the
impacts of over thirty students and their teacher struggling to flee the
immediate area. The door was knocked down as a dozen teenagers attempted to
squeeze through. The windows were immediately shattered as more high-school
attendees leapt through them. The teacher immediately scrawled a brief message
on the chalkboard which read:
SELF-STUDY PERIOD ON ACCOUNT OF STENCH FROM HELL!
Nearly all of Akane’s homeroom gasped for air, with several students
vomiting their breakfasts. Some of the girls fainted and had to be carried out.
In less than a minute, the entire classroom was empty save for one.
Akane let off a
sigh as she stood up from her desk and walked dejectedly out the door.
Back in
[“Oui, Monsieur Talbane. You and
your son’s invitations are verified.”] One of the judges said as he looked up
the invitation numbers on his laptop at the entrance table. He then switched to
English as he addressed Matthew who stood beside his father and Nabiki. {“We welcome you and your father to ze tournament. Now please register to ze
Junior Division Section.”} The man pointed to an area of the large stadium,
where the competition was to take place. There was a large crowd of teens
present.
{“Junior Division?”} The young werewolf asked. He had been expecting to go up against the more
seasoned adult fighters.
{“Oui.”} The judge nodded. {“This tournament is divided in
two sections; ze adults for those 19 and older, and
for ze youngsters 13 to 18.”}
{“But…”} Matthew
began to protest, and then he felt a hand on his shoulder. He looked over to
his father and saw an encouraging expression.
{“Don’t worry
about it, Son. I hear that there are some very strong and impressive fighters
near your age. And keep in mind the reason why we’re in this tournament.”}
Jon’s son paused
in thought, and then glanced over to Nabiki, who gave
him a shy, yet reassuring smile. Nodding to his father, he and the Tendo girl walked over to the Junior Division Section.
Since he was the one who had received the invitation, Soun’s
daughter would have to be content to cheer him on from the sidelines.
Not that Nabiki was complaining. Though her skill level had
improved, she didn’t feel confident enough to go up against opponents that had
been training longer than she had; werewolf abilities or not. And there was
always the risk that her secret could be exposed if something were to happen to
the pendant she was wearing. As she looked about the throngs of martial artists
and fighters, she began to recognize several styles. Some groups were
advertising their schools and inviting others to sign up for classes. This made
her think about her own family and wondered what they were doing right now. She
was so deep in thought that she didn’t watch where she was going and
inadvertently bumped into someone.
“What the?! Watch
where you are going, you peasant!”
The haughtiness
and arrogance of the tone of voice almost made the middle Tendo
girl think she bumped into Kuno. However, as she
gazed into the face of the individual, she knew for certain that it was not the
Blue Blunder.
The girl was
about her age, and wore what appeared to be a red, sailor fuku
school uniform. However, instead of panties, she wore mid-thigh length shorts,
and red sneakers. On her hands was a pair of leather gauntlets. She had
shoulder-length, blonde hair, done up in a series of fancy ringlets, with a
blue ribbon tied at the back in a large bow. She had light, brown eyes and a
snobbish attitude about her.
“Well? Aren’t you
going to beg for forgiveness for intruding upon myself?” The girl demanded.
Just as Nabiki was about to reply, Matthew held out a hand in front
of her and addressed the haughty girl.
“Hey, it was an
accident. No harm, no foul. Just let it go.”
“What?! How dare
you presume that I would let such an affront go unpunished?! Do you have any
idea who I am?!”
Matthew gave the girl
a slight once-over, and then nodded. “Yeah, I’ve seen your picture in
magazines. You’re Karin Kanzuki of the Kanzuki Family, one of the wealthiest families in the
world. You’re also the heir to the Kanzukiryu Kakutoujutsu martial arts style.”
Karin smirked at
Matthew’s casual reply. “So you know of me. Not surprising. My family’s style
is world-famous, known by all, even to simple commoners like you.”
Jon’s offspring
shrugged, then said, “As I recall, the Kanzukiryu Kakutoujutsu took a real blow to its image, when a commoner
soundly defeated you.”
The rich girl’s
expression became even more irritated as she responded to his statement. “That
is a black mark, which I shall permanently erase when I defeat her in this
tournament!”
At that point, Nabiki tapped her boyfriend on his shoulder and inquired,
“So who defeated her?”
“NOOOOOO! DON’T
START WITHOUT ME!!!”
As if by magic,
the answer to her question came barreling into the area. She was a skinny,
teenage girl, who wore a blue-colored, sailor fuku, had
short brown hair, and a white, hachimaki on her
forehead. On her feet were sneakers, and like Karin, instead of panties, she
wore shorts under her skirt. She came to a screeching stop with her arms
flailing, and then stooped over to catch her breath.
“(Huff) Whew! I
made it! I… (Puff) thought I was going to be late!”
“Heh… you haven’t changed, have you Sakura Kasugano?”
At the sound of
Matthew’s voice, the person in question looked up, and then let off a whoop of
joy as she leapt toward him, ending in a fierce hug.
“MATTHEW!”
At this sudden
display, Nabiki’s eyes narrowed.
A little later…
“Oh come on,
Nabs!” Matthew said as he and his girlfriend walked toward the main stage where
the official opening of the tournament would be held. “Don’t tell me you’re
jealous of Sakura. She’s just a friend of mine that I met during one of the
competitions I took part in.”
“No. Don’t be
silly! Why would I be jealous?” She shook her head in denial, though a small
voice in her head was repeatedly saying ‘liar.’ “I was just a little surprised
that you knew someone like that.”
“Yeah, well
Sakura’s more interested in a certain fighter named Ryu
than anyone else. She’s got this obsession over finding him and becoming his
disciple. This probably means that he’s taking part in this tournament. That
could also mean that Ken Masters would be here as well.”
“Speaking of
fighters, you seem to know a lot of them.”
Jon’s son nodded
as he began pointing out some people in the crowds. “You get to know the
competition really well, after you been around the fighting circles like my Dad
and I.” He first gestured to a short-haired, Japanese girl who wore a yellow
training girl and a long, hachimaki about her neck.
Her intense expression reminded Nabiki of her sister Akane. However, unlike her easy-to-anger sibling, this
person had a kind of determined aura, and possessed far more skill and power.
“That’s Makoto,
heir to the Rindoukan Dojo. She practices a very
brutal form of traditional-style karate. She’s been trying to revive her
family’s dwindling school of martial arts ever since her father died.” He then
pointed to a couple of Chinese boys; one of them was wearing a baseball cap.
Both were dressed in Kung Fu outfits. “That’s Yun and
Yang from
Nabiki nodded as she
then noticed a familiar face. Elena waved to the pair as she stood in the
crowds. After her match with Terry Bogard, she got
along very easily with her new friends and rivals. Then her boyfriend pointed
to a trio near the podium.
“Over there, you
can see the three disciples of the Kyokuganryu Karate-style. The guy with the orange gi happens to be Ryo Sakazaki.
Beside him is his little sister Yuri, (whom I’ll probably be fighting against
in the Junior Division), and their friend from
The second daughter
of Soun Tendo took in all
the information as they waited for the sponsors of the tournament to show up
and begin the competition.
In
another area of the arena…
“Come one! Come all! See for yourselves the true power of Saikyo-ryuu! After I win this tournament, I will be accepting all applicants for my dojo! Take advantage of my special, low-rate entrance fees! Buy my merchandise!”
Terry and Jon could only shake their heads in disbelief as the fool in the pink gi continued to advertise his dojo, and hand out gaudy, 8 x 10 autographed photos of himself.
“How did a moron like Dan Hibiki get invited?” Terry wondered.
“Most likely he sneaked in.” The werewolf suggested. “Either that or the sponsors probably thought he’d make good comic relief.” Then Jon noted another person. “Unlike Hibiki, I’m not so certain to let THAT person compete. This is supposed to be a friendly competition, and he’s more likely to turn it into a bloodbath.”
The individual he was referring to was a tall, lanky individual with red hair, and sported a leather jacket that had a crescent moon pattern on the back. Iori Yagami looked on with cold eyes that could give shivers to even the dead.
“If I were to guess, I’d say that Yagami is here because of him.” Terry noted another person who was dressed in a white shirt, leather jacket, jeans, running shoes and fingerless gloves. Unlike the Hungry Wolf, Kyo Kusanagi didn’t wear a baseball cap.
Matthew’s father nodded and considered the consequences of going up against opponents such as these two. Both used pyrokinetic flames that were magical in nature and connected to the Yamata No Orochi legend. That meant they had the power to seriously injure, or even kill a lycanthrope. He would have to face them with caution.
At that point, he
also caught sight of some other notable fighters such as the Americans, Colonel
William Guile and Ken Masters. He also saw Interpol Agent Chun-Li and Cammy from Delta Red. Jon
and his son had helped them out with several missions in the past. The massive,
rotund figure could only be Sumo champion E. Honda. The large, muscular man
with scars was Zangief from
The aged master
walked toward the pair and waved to them. With his other hand, he slyly pinched
the derriere of one of the female fighters present, who immediately belted him
in the face. However, the old pervert easily shrugged it off as he approached
them.
Terry bowed and
showed him the proper respect, even though he was a lecher. Jubei
had also been a very close friend to the late Tung Fu Rue; the former master of
the Hakkyokuseiken style, and Terry and
Andy’s mentor. He was also Andy’s master in the art of Judo. He was grooming
him to take over the Yamada Dojo, in addition to carrying on the Shiranui Ninjitsu school, after he had married Mai and finished training under
her grandfather Hanzo Shiranui.
“Good to see you again, Master Jubei.” Andy’s
brother greeted, then gestured to Jon. “I didn’t know that you were going to
compete in this tournament. May I introduce you to Johnny Talbane?
He’s a good friend of mine and a great fighter.”
“Actually, I’m here as one of the judges. As for your friend, we’ve met
before.” The aged Judo master gestured with a finger for Matthew’s father to
lean toward him. As he did so, Jubei whispered into
Jon’s ear and said, “You’re looking quite well, Jon Talbain.
I know why you’re going under a different name. Don’t worry, I won’t tell
anyone.”
The lycanthrope nodded as he stood up and explained to Bogard. “Jubei Yamada used to be
my old Judo instructor sixteen years ago. It’s been a long time, Master Jubei.”
The blonde
fighter nodded in understanding, then caught sight of his brother and future
sister-in-law. The couple came up, both dressed in their fighting attire; Andy
in his tunic, leggings, and tabi boots, and Mai in
her revealing ninja outfit, complete with swishing tails and plunging neckline.
This of course,
got Jubei immediately groping for her chest. “Mai! Andy! Good to see you again and…”
WHACK!
Before he could
get a hold on Mai’s bosom, he was immediately stuck upside the head by one of
her fans. He staggered back a bit and rubbed his left temple.
“Keep your hands
to yourself, you old pervert!” The red-haired ninja said in disgust, and then
she cuddled against her fiancé. “The only one who gets to touch me like that is
my future husband!” She gave her love a seductive smile and added, “Just like
last night, right darling?”
Andy blushed a
bit as he recalled the activities of the previous night. No sooner had they
gotten back to their hotel room, when Mai jumped him and got his hormones
raging. He wondered just where she had gotten such seduction techniques. Even
the Kama Sutra would be considered tame in comparison. They had already gone
through twelve boxes of condoms, just only a week after he had proposed to her.
(3)
It was at that
time that a loudspeaker announced that the opening ceremonies of the tournament
were about to begin.
Back in
In a large, Army
Surplus store, the owner scratched his head in befuddlement as he looked over
the recent sales report. He couldn’t understand why his entire stock of gas
masks would be bought out by the student populace of a local high school…
To be continued…
Author’s Notes
This chapter was
getting a bit long, so I decided to cut it here. As for the next part, we’ll
see some more of your favorite KOF and Street Fighter characters as Jon and
Matthew fight their way to the top to get the next medallion piece. See you
then!
(1) Got this idea from an episode of Danny Phantom.
(2) Joe Higashi, friend of the Bogards from Fatal Fury and KOF.
(3) When Morrigan gave her those seduction tips, Mai REALLY put them to good use! ^ _ ^