[Okay, here's the first REAL part of KoF: OMNI. I have a chapter and a half of Volume Zero in Houston, but it's uncooperative... anyway, if you don't know this happens in 2012. Well... read on]
[Oh, and none of these characters are mine. yadda yadda.]
The King of Fighters: OMNI
Volume One: The Path of the Kusanagi
Chapter One: Dimly Lit Hall
Kyo Kusanagi sat in his dojo, staring out the window. In the twelve years since the King of Fighters 2000 he had done a lot.
He had learned a lot. He had gained a lot. He had lost a lot.
In the six years from KoF '94 to KoF 2000, he had done, learned, gained and lost much more.
Fighting Rugal was the hardest thing he had ever done to that point. Then fighting Omega Rugal was. Then, it was Goenitz.
Then, finally, he fought the Yamata no Orochi itself. He had fought the Nests cartel afterwards, but they were pushovers
compared to the might of a resurrecting god.
(Now he has to beat up a dojo destroyer every now and again, or maybe kill a minor spirit at worst.)
And through all of this, his skills had only increased. With every battle, he grew as a warrior, a dragonslayer.
(Now he just mows the grass*^E how fitting.)
He had found his greatest friends during those tournaments: Yuki, Shingo, Benimaru, Goro, Mia and especially Mary. If it
wasn't for that damn Orochi, he would never have met Mary.
(You're lucky if you find a new student, now.)
But he had lost so much. Yuki was dead. Benimaru was lord-knows where, and his eye^E
(You've still got Mary and Shingo, but they're fading with time and restlessness.)
Kyo Kusanagi sat alone, staring at nothing. He had accepted the invite to the KoF '12. He hoped it was the right thing to do.
Shingo Yabuki ran through the streets of Houston, trying to get to the airport on time. He knew it was probably hopeless, but
Shingo was always determined, against all odds. Or stubborn. Or maybe just stupid. Oh, well. He had a half hour before the
flight left, so it should be alright, provided he find a cab.
In Houston? Good luck. Damn^E
If only he'd spent less time dallying with his fiancie, this wouldn't be a problem. Of course, he barely ever got to see her,
and he never could say no to that girl, anyway. But still, five hours? Five? That's pretty damn exhausting, even if you are
possessed of the legendary Yabuki tenacity. He couldn't blame her, though. He was in the same way when he met her in the
hotel room. They had planned to go out, but that was^E preempted.
Now if only she could control that chi^E it was a pretty expensive to wreck so many hotel rooms, and all because she got,
um, overexcited.
"Yo! Taxi!" Shingo yelled, breaking his train of thought.
The cab slowed and pulled to the side of the road. Amazingly, he had actually found a taxi on the north side of town. He
couldn't believe his luck. Hell, it was even a convertible.
"Hey, where to, buddy?" The cabby asked, leaning over the backseat, Hawaiian shirt open.
Shingo struggled with the door a moment before realizing it didn't open. "Intercontinental, and fast!" He shouted, hopping
into the back seat.
Suddenly, the cab blasted forward with a roar, shoving Shingo flat against the seat. As the cab came to a constant speed,
Shingo relaxed a bit. Then he looked up. The car was swerving from side to side, avoiding the other cars, which could have
been standing still for all it mattered. Shingo was going to complain as he got tossed around, and nearly out of, the back seat,
but realized that he really was in a hurry.
"Five hundred dollars, thirty-eight cents, mac," the cabby named Gus said.
"Yeah, here youWHAT?!?" Shingo shouted, feeling the numbers sink in.
Gus gave him an exasperated look. "C'mon, I don't have all day."
"Are you sure that's right?"
"Yes!" Gus said hurriedly, looking at his watch, "Now hurry up! If I don't make five-thousand dollars in the next^E forty
seconds, I'm fired!"
"That's harsh," Shingo said, handing the huge sum of money over. He had enough money, and plus, he could borrow some
from Sakura if worse came to worse.
Before Shingo could finish his thought, the cab was off, hunting down its next passenger. He would have gawked a bit, but he
didn't have time for that. He had a half-hour before the cab ride, and the ride took^E twenty-nine seconds! WOW! That's a
hell of a taxi driver!
"Mom, is uncle Shingo really coming over?" Mia Bogard asked.
Mary Kusanagi looked down at her daughter, warmed by the smile on her face. "Yes, dear. Your father's gone to pick him up
at the airport."
Mia stuck her bottom lip out, switching to English as she did when she though about^E him. "He's not my real dad^E When
can I see my real dad again?"
"Soon^E he'll be visiting soon, I bet^E" Mary said painedly.
Mia brightened at this, as she always did when she heard Terry was going to visit. "Yay! Can he and Kyo fight? I wanna
see!"
Mary sat down at those words. "Kyo is your father just as much as Terry is, Mia," she said, trying for the nth time to
convince her daughter of this. It might have helped if she had believed it.
"Is dad gonna stay here with us?"
"^E No, I don't think so," Mary said, much to Mia's dismay. Having Terry and Kyo in the same house was like asking for a
tornado to hit. They weren't exactly on the best of terms, especially since Terry showed up drunk at the wedding.
Mary wasn't on the best of terms with him, either, for that matter. He'd been the best and worst thing to happen to her. He had
really loved her, and probably still did. She might even have loved him. Without him, she wouldn't have her daughter. Mia
was a reminder of all the good things about that man. She even looked just like him. When she'd 'burn knuckle' the bullies at
her school, she could see what she saw in Terry so long ago. He was a hero. A nice, kind person with his heart on his
sleeve.
But then they'd meet again. At Mia's tenth birthday last month he reminded her once again of why she'd left him. All he could
do was drink and fight, when not teaching his daughter all the wrong things. She shouldn't have to get into the same line of
work as her father. She shouldn't have to deal with all they pain both she and Terry had dealt with.
And that Rock. That was the final touch. When Geese disappeared in 2002, he'd left a son behind. A shivering six-year old
trying to make do in an orphanage. Apparently even Geese didn't know about him. Either that, or he didn't care.
But it wasn't TERRY'S responsibility! He didn't have to raise Rock! He already had a child, damn it! Mia was their
daughter, but Rock was HIS son. It was the subtle things that drove the wedge. He would favor Rock over Mia when it came
to their attention. His endless training with Rock was definitely not appreciated by either female in the family. And still, he
felt some kind of onus^E some perverse debt to the son of the man who had killed his father. It eventually became too much.
Mary needed a way out, and Kyo was that way. Having lost Yuki to cancer, he needed a way out, as well. Now he treated
Mia like she was his own, just as strongly as Terry had. It was hard to learn Japanese, but she could do well enough. It was
a good life they had. He had his Kusanagi-ryuu lessons, and she sad her Sambo classes. Together they made a good living
and supported the dojo.
But somehow, she missed her old life.
"Kyo!"
"Shingo!"
It had been almost two years since they had seen each other. While Kyo had stayed put, living as close to a quiet life as he
could, Shingo had been traveling the world, trying to live up to his dreams. Kyo hoped that Shingo had done it.
"How's the hero biz going?" Kyo asked with more enthusiasm than he'd had in months.
Shingo shrugged. "Good enough. It's not what it used to be, but I get by."
Kyo squinted his good eye. That didn't really answer anything. Shingo seemed more preoccupied than usual. Maybe he
wasn't doing as well as he let on, or maybe he didn't like having to live under the shadow of his fiancie. Benimaru had made
similar complaints when Kyo and he were fighting together.
"Why did you call me here, Kyo?" Shingo asked abruptly, "Is it about the King of Fighters?"
"Yes."
"You want me on your team, don't you?"
"Yes."
"And you knew what my answer would be, didn't you?"
"Yes."
Shingo wouldn't mind fighting alongside Kyo again. It had been years since he'd ever done that, and never in a KoF. Shingo
thought for a moment about who the third member might be before realizing the obvious. Of course, that meant she might have
to fight Terry^E
Oh, and Shingo might have to fight Sakura! He hadn't thought about that. He didn't know how much he liked the prospect of
beating up his fiancie. Sure, they'd sparred enough times, but they'd never FOUGHT. Well, with any luck, it wouldn't be an
issue. Except that he didn't want her to lose, either. And if she didn't lose, and HE didn't lose^E Damn, there's no good way
for it to work out.
"Hey, Shingo, what's up with Houston?" Kyo asked, snapping Shingo out of it.
"Huh?" He said turning to face the driver of the car, "Oh, yeah, Sakura was doing some shooting there on their new movie, so
I took the opportunity to visit her."
"Really?"
Shingo began scratching the back of his head. "Well, there was a big gang war there, too, so I was sort of already cleaning
that up^E Two birds with one stone, I guess."
Kyo looked at the road a moment before saying quietly, "You're a better hero than me, Shingo."
"^E"
"I was cocky and arrogant, and I dropped out of the running after^E I got tired of it."
Shingo opened his mouth to interrupt, but Kyo continued.
"But you? You're a real hero. You don't try to show off, or humiliate the other guy, or try to kill your rival. You just^E you try
to help people, and you always have."
"I've never lost everything," Shingo noted, looking out the window.
"I guess you haven't. I hope you never do."
"Spider!" Mia shouted, leaping at Shingo and grabbing him by the head.
Mary laughed nervously as Shingo lost his balance and fell over. Perhaps she shouldn't have taught that to her daughter.
"Oh, no!" Shingo shouted in mock-distress, "Don't break my arm!"
"Don't worry, I'm just kidding," Mia said, getting off of Shingo's prone form.
As Shingo stood up next to the ten year old girl, Mary realized again just how tall she was. Five feet is a big height for a
little girl, especially in Japan. Of course, neither was the blond hair or the blue eyes, but the same was true for Mary.
Finally getting a good look at him, Mary noted that Shingo looked almost the same as he did years ago. He still wore a blue
jacket, and still had that same silly haircut and headband. At least Kyo had given that up and grown his hair long^E Of
course, both men now had rough-and-tumble stubble, or at least the best a couple of Japanese guys could do. They were
hairy for their race, but still nothing compared to Terry^E In more ways than one.
Mary gave a start as she caught herself. Thoughts like that only made it harder for her to face Terry.
"Mia's getting big, isn't she, Mary?" Shingo asked, holding her by the head as she attempted to attack him, giggling the whole
time.
"Yeah, she is."
"Just like my dad!" She proudly proclaimed.
Shingo laughed for a moment before he realized he was the only one.
"When do we have to register?" Shingo asked as they drank their coffee in a small shop.
"In two weeks. The tournament itself doesn't begin for a month."
Shingo nodded his assent while taking a sip.
"Also," Mary added, "We have to provide a battlefield."
Shingo looked up. "How do you mean?"
"Each team has to provide one battlefield for the tournament to use. For example, we could give the use of the dojo," Kyo
answered.
"Um, bad idea, darling," Mary said, putting her hand on Kyo's.
"Why?" Shingo asked.
She turned and began to explain. "Well, there's no guarantee we'll get to use it, first off. It's chosen randomly for each fight.
So some crazy fighters might come wreck the dojo on us. We should pick somewhere else."
"So it can be anywhere?" Shingo inquired as he set the cup down.
"As long as we have permission."
Everyone was silent for a moment before Shingo suddenly stood up.
"I know somewhere! Somewhere really cool!"
"Is that you, Shingo?" Chizuru Kagura asked as he strode into her office.
"Chizuru! It's good to see you!" Mary said jovially as Kyo admired, or rather shied away from, the view. Ever since he lost
his depth perception, he hadn't liked heights all that much.
"Mary? And Kyo? Kyo Kusanagi?" Chizuru exclaimed, getting out of her chair, "Have I even spoken to you since '97?"
Kyo turned, exposing his eternally shut left eye. "No, I don't think so."
Chizuru blinked, at a loss. She had vaguely remembered something about Kyo being injured in 2000, but^E
"So, what can I do for my old friends?" She asked, genuinely glad to have such nostalgic company.
"We need to use your roof," Shingo stated.
"What?"
Mary sat in one of the many recliners in the penthouse of the Kagura building. "We need a field for KoF '12, and we wanted
to know if we could use the roof of your building."
"We'd appreciate it," Kyo added.
"Well^E It's a little^E dangerous, but, I guess you can use it. I can have a guardrail put on, I suppose. Just give me the
paperwork and I'll sign it."
"Thanks," Shingo smiled warmly, "I'll make sure you don't regret it."
Kyo already did.
[There's the first bit. Well, I'm gonna start posting these once a day until I run out... anyway, you can see my site at http://DUNOTS.tripod.com and all replies should be sent to Big_Joe@n2.com. Peace out.
-FOrrest "DUNOTS" Walker]
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