Repost, since it didn't seem to go through the first time... either
that or I was a doofus and didn't actually send it. Okay, chapter 2
is ready for initial posting. I'm still open to revisions, so PLEASE
C&C this. (whimpergrovelbegwhine:) C&C to the list would also be
cool. ^_^
--
Ranma 1/2 meets The King of Fighters:
Orochi's Curse
by Deuce (deuce@classicgaming.com)
Everyone's heard of Ranma 1/2. Not everyone is familiar with The King of
Fighters, however. It is a series of fighting games created by SNK for
the Neo*Geo platform. It's filled with a large set of very interesting
characters, all of whom are developed far beyond the scale of the games
themselves.
I saw extreme potential in this merging, and hopefully, so will you once
you begin reading. Now, if you are NOT familiar with the game and its
characters, the best course of action, obviously, is to play the games. :)
However, I realize this isn't always possible. So, I've found a few
resources which should help fill you in.
The KOF General Info FAQ: Storyline, small character profiles
http://www.geocities.com/TimesSquare/9673/KOFINFO.TXT
Chika's King of Fighters Zone: Detailed character descs, pictures
http://members.aol.com/iorin/chika/index.html
The two of these should fill you in plenty... any further questions, please
feel free to email me and ask. Previous chapters can be found here:
http://www.scsn.net/users/deuce/index.html
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Chapter Two:
What Old-Fashioned Charm Can Do
Inside the Tendo Dojo, many things were happening at once. Ranma was
busy smirking. Akane was busy fuming. Genma (in panda form) was busy
attempting to heal wounds which had been inflicted on him only a short time
ago. Soun was busy in his room, trying to calm down and get the Head of
Death(tm) back to normal size. Chin was busy being abused by Athena.
Athena was busy abusing Chin. Sie was busy agreeing with everything Athena
said. And Kasumi, of course, was busy keeping house.
"You never had the AUTHORITY to make that kind of decision for me!" cried
the young psychic idol singer.
"Yeah!" said Sie definitively.
Chin cringed. "But--"
"And even if you did, what gives you the right to decide who I should
marry?!"
"Yeah!" said Sie declamoratorily.
Chin continued cringing. "But I--"
"I can't BELIEVE you would even think of doing this to me!" said Athena.
Ranma spoke up again, having finally stopped smirking. "Where my father
is concerned, any kind of marriage agreement is possible."
A bit surprised at having her train of thought so effectively derailed,
Athena glanced at Ranma. "What do you mean?"
"Well," said Ranma, smirk now firmly back in place, "because of him, I've
been betrothed to at LEAST four women, and who knows how many else along
the way? He sold me for food several times."
Athena and Sie gaped. "That's horrible!" said Athena.
"Yeah!" said Sie angrily.
Athena rounded on him, severe annoyance evident in her unusually dark eyes.
"Sie, would you QUIT THAT?!" she shouted. Out of the corner of her eye,
she spotted her sensei attempting to slither away on his back.
"And just where do you think you're going?" asked the psychic girl.
"Umm," said Chin, "I need to, uh... use the bathroom?"
"Not surprising, with all that sake you keep drinking," said Sie. "I'll
never understand how you can stomach that horrible stuff."
"Go ahead," said Athena, "but don't think for a moment that I'm through
with you yet." She glared at him and he continued slinking away upstairs.
Once he was gone, she vented a little more. "The NERVE of that man!" she
muttered, her pretty face twisted into an ugly grimace.
"I've said that many times about Ranma's father," said Akane. "I can
sympathize."
Athena's angry look gave way to one of puzzlement. "What do you mean?
Don't tell me he's tried to engage you to someone as well."
"Sort of," said Ranma. "Our fathers engaged us without our consent."
Athena felt the irresistible urge to gape once more at the two of them.
"You mean I was supposed to be engaged to you even though you're engaged
to another girl?!"
Sie just plopped down on the floor in confusion. This was way too much
for him. Ten hours of solid practice was better than this, and for him,
that was saying a lot.
Ranma made a very sour face. "Actually, four other girls at last count."
"And you go along with this?" asked Athena.
"HE does," grumbled Akane. "He's always flirting with the other three
girls, letting them cook for him and fawn all over him and such."
"I do not!" yelled Ranma. "In case you're not paying attention, I didn't
ASK for any of them to start coming after me!"
"You don't exactly do anything to get them to go away, either!"
Sie grinned. "Akane-san, you're jealous."
"I am NOT jealous!" cried Akane, blushing heavily. "It just irritates me
to see Ranma up to his womanizing ways all the time!"
The grin did not fade. "Sure, sure... whatever you say. OW!" The
interjection of pain was due to a little mental "sting" which Athena had
given him. He looked up at her with a hurt expression. "What did you do
that for?"
Athena gave him a stern look. "Behave yourself, remember?" Sie sighed and
nodded, grumbling to himself about being treated unfairly.
Ranma was just as eager to change the subject as Akane was. "So, are you
three planning on sleeping here tonight?" he asked.
"I don't think we were planning to be here this late, but I guess so," said
Athena quietly. "I hope we're not too much of an imposition."
"Oh no!" said Akane. "It's no trouble at all! Athena-san, you can stay in
my room with me. I'll protect you from the resident pervert."
"Pervert?" asked Athena.
"She means Happosai," said Ranma. "A really old coot who's staying here
too... our fathers' master. Real twisted guy. He's probably off stealing
panties somewhere." At the rate things were going, Athena was going to
need a brace to hold her mouth shut.
After another hours' worth of explanation of The Way Things Are(tm) in
Nerima, everyone retired to bed. Sie and Chin slept in Genma and Ranma's
room, cramped as the arrangements were, and Athena slept in Akane's room.
Not surprisingly, the two got little sleep, as they stayed up into the wee
hours of the morning, talking.
For the moment, all seemed well.
***
The next morning, a worn, bedraggled figure wandered around the yard of the
Tendo Dojo. He appeared to have been on the road for days, and who knows
how much of that time had been spent with no food or shelter? Still, he
treaded onward, steadfast and determined to reach his destination.
Unfortunately, despite the fact that his destination was in plain sight
and not fifty feet away, he was still having a bit of difficulty. "Ranma!"
he called. "Are you around?"
Ranma, in his female form, walked out of the house and waved. "Yo,
Ryouga!" she said. "I was beginning to worry that you wouldn't make it
back in time for the tournament. Where've you been?"
Ryouga grimaced and walked over. "The Sahara, I think."
Ranma shook her head. "Whatever... shouldn't we be training for this
tournament?" she asked. "After all, if we're going to take this seriously,
I want to WIN."
Ryouga nodded, "Yes, we do need to train, but I had to make sure I had
something, or else we wouldn't be able to get into the tournament."
At Ranma's puzzled look, he continued. "Well, the KOF tournament is
invite-only, it seems."
"And how did you scrounge up an invitation? Meet the tournament heads
while on one of your trips or something?"
Ryouga smirked, "Not quite... I did run into one of the other competing
teams, though."
"Were they hurt?" grinned Ranma.
"Har har." Ryouga smirked and held out the flyer he had presented before.
Ranma glanced at it and noted that it was, in fact, the same flyer which
had been presented to her a few days before. "I've seen this, Ryouga.
Are you going somewhere with this story or are you lost as usual?"
"I'll let that slide this time," said Ryouga. "This is important.
Anyhow, these three seem kind of weird. Always talking about some kind of
'awakening.' And they're really irritable, from my short time around
them." He shrugged his heavy backpack to the ground.
"Did they look strong?" asked Ranma, more concerned about finding out what
kind of competition they'd be facing.
"I couldn't tell. There was a big man, a girl who looked about our age,
and some little kid. Really weird."
"A little kid?" snorted Ranma. "In a tournament? You've got to be kidding
me, right?" She laughed lightly at the idea.
"Well," said Ryouga, "that's where it gets weird. Sit down and I'll tell
you the whole story." The two sat, and Ryouga began to relate his slightly
sordid tale....
***
Ryouga padded along the street, looking rather worn out and leaning on a
small staff. It had been a few days since he'd last seen the dojo, and he
remembered sand... a lot of sand. He appeared to be back in Tokyo now, at
least, judging from all the Japanese writing everywhere. But despite his
wanderings, he had not been able to find what he had sought.
But as luck would have it (such a rare thing for Ryouga), he happened
across an odd trio walking through the streets. A young boy, a teenage
girl, and an older man... possibly in his mid-twenties. They made for an
interesting sight, but their behavior seemed fairly routine.
"Shermie!" complained the young boy. "This is not the time to be hanging
around a mall!" He sighed inwardly. His erstwhile teammate had dragged
him into the nearest mall and proceeded to do a lot of shopping. He
wasn't happy about it. No, not one bit.
"C'mon, Chris," said the attractive girl attempting to drag him along.
"You'd think I was trying to get YOU to try on some clothes, by the way
you're reacting."
Ryouga chuckled at this, observing from the distance. They seemed pretty
harmless, despite their odd appearances.
The eldest of the three walked up behind Chris, giving Shermie a stern
look. "Chris has a point, Shermie," he said. "We are not here for
pleasure. This is business. Time is of the essence."
Business? thought Ryouga. Businesspeople dress like THAT?
Shermie folded her arms and pouted from underneath her long bangs. "Oh,
come on, Yashiro-san. You mean we don't get ANY recreation time at all?
It's not like we have to attend the tournament tomorrow."
Ah! They're involved with the tournament? Is it the same one? Ryouga
pondered this. He wondered if they could procure an invitation for him.
Chris glared at her with a fury far beyond what his prepubescent features
should have been able to convey. "Recreation is not important. The
awakening is what is important. Your duty is what's important." His voice
took on an almost ethereal quality, and he drifted closer to her quietly.
"Or have you forgotten the vows you took?" he asked, when he was directly
in front of her. Shermie paled and shook her head violently, backing away
quickly. Yashiro bowed his head respectfully.
Ryouga stared curiously. This little boy had just cowed his companions
with a simple look and question. And what was this "awakening?"
"Of-- of course not!" she stammered. "I swore to serve!"
Yashiro placed a calming hand on Chris' shoulder. "We all know why we are
here, dear Shermie," he said. "We must take care not to forget. We need
to train." She nodded and sighed, and the three began to walk off.
Ryouga moved to follow, but as was so common to him and others who were
similarly afflicted, cold water had a habit of finding him. In this case,
it had been a fairly long chase, and it caught its quarry unawares. It
pounced from a wash basin being held out of a window overhead, and overtook
him easily.
The change overtook him, and P-chan grumbled to himself. So much for
asking these people for help with the tournament. "Sorry!" came a female
voice from the overhead window.
Shermie glanced around at the sound and saw the little black piglet which
was currently attempting to squirm its way out of a set of clothes. "Oh,
how cute!" she exclaimed and ran over to it.
"Hello there, little fellow!" she said, kneeling down and holding out her
hand. P-chan found his way out of the shirt's collar and looked up at the
girl in surprise.
Oh please, don't let this one be another Azusa, he thought frantically.
She nudged her hand closer. "Come on, cutie, I won't hurt you." The
little pig took an apprehensive sniff, and relaxed. She seemed a little
more normal than Azusa, at least. Not to mention, she was rather
attractive. More voluptuous than even Shampoo.
Somewhere inside his porcine brain, Ryouga mentally smacked himself for
thinking such thoughts about someone other than Akane. Still, this could
be a good opportunity to find out how to get an invitation to this
tournament.
Shermie picked up P-chan and cuddled him. "Oh, he's so cuuute," she
squealed. She carried him back to her companions and asked in as cute a
voice as she could manage, "Can I keep him?"
P-chan squealed in protest. This wasn't part of the plan. Fortunately
for him, Chris and Yashiro were both giving her very stern looks. He
relaxed as he sensed they were going to give her a rather hard time. It
was a shame, though... she did seem nice enough. But still, anyone seemed
kind in comparison to Azusa Shiratori. Even Ranma.
Yashiro scowled and was holding one hand behind his back. "You really need
to grow up, Shermie," he said. Producing a slip of paper from behind his
back, he waved it at her as if it was a gun. She paled visibly and gasped.
"Do you know what this is?" asked Yashiro in a dead monotone.
She shivered, "I-- I'm sorry, I didn't realize." This was one hell of a
strange group of people, thought Ryouga.
Yashiro took a step closer and stared into the girl's face. "Without this
invitation, we couldn't attend the tournament. And that would ruin our
master's plans."
Ryouga could feel, she was trembling like a leaf in gale force winds.
Something was vitally wrong with these people. But still, that was an
invitation to the tournament! If he was quick, he could simply leap out
of Shermie's arms, snatch it and run....
It would be risky, but judging from the looks that Chris and Yashiro were
giving, no less risky than staying here. Besides, she was squeezing
rather hard, apparently out of fear. So if he wasn't killed in the
oncoming crossfire, she might just crush him.
Time to go for broke. With a herculean effort, P-chan squirmed out of
Shermie's grip and sprung for the piece of paper Yashiro was holding.
Once again, luck was on his side, as the man was too focused on the object
of intimidation to realize he'd been hoodwinked.
The piglet hit the ground running and dashed off like hell itself was hot
on his heels. Little did he know how accurate he was. The girl and man
chased after him, but thanks to Ryouga's remarkable talent for getting
lost, they had no hope of finding him once he was out of their sight.
***
Ranma gaped. "You STOLE the invitation." This was not the outcome to the
story she'd been expecting. "You've sunk pretty low."
"Yeah," snorted Ryouga, "I must have been spending too much time around
you, I think."
"It could only improve your personality," said Ranma. "So let me see this
invitation you lifted, anyhow?" Ryouga handed her the piece of paper
after fishing it out of his backpack.
Ranma scanned it for a moment. "Damn lucky thing it doesn't specify their
NAMES, don't you think?"
Ryouga shrugged. "Give it a rest, Ranma. I got the thing, and we have a
way into the tournament. So did you ever come up with an idea for who we
can have as our third teammate?"
"Actually," grinned Ranma, "I did. He's pretty powerful too, so he should
be a good addition."
"So who is he?"
***
"It was NOT my fault!" roared Yashiro. He paced about the room angrily,
avoiding the grim stare Chris was giving him, and wanting so very badly to
slap the smirk right off of Shermie's face.
"Well," said Shermie, "it WAS you who was holding the invitation when the
pig took off."
Yashiro rounded on her and pointed an accusing finger. "If you hadn't been
so frivolous in the first place, none of this would have happened! You
were the one who found that stupid animal!"
Chris coughed. "All right, guys, let's give it a rest," he said wearily.
"You've been at each other's throats for the past 36 hours, and we can get
another invitation. All I need to do is contact Miss Kagura."
Yashiro let out a long sigh of relief, glad to hear that the incident would
not cause any major upheaval in the plans. "So what should we do in the
meantime?" he asked.
"Scout around, I guess," said Shermie. "Maybe we can find a few suitable
candidates. Martial artists seem to be all over the place here."
"Most fortuitous, that," agreed Yashiro.
Chris nodded, "Yeah... you two go ahead and look around. I'll see if I can
contact Miss Kagura." And so, the two elder members of the mismatched team
left the hotel room and wandered off into the streets of the district of
Nerima. They felt they were prepared for virtually anything.
Not quite.
***
"Mai, are you going to sit in this place forever?" asked a young, beautiful
blonde woman with short hair. She and her companion sat in an ice cream
shop, though said companion was the only one doing any eating.
Mai was a voluptuous young Japanese woman, with long, flowing hair and a
body most women would kill for. And most men, actually. The state of this
body did not, at the moment, seem to be a primary concern for her, as she
was scarfing down various sweet treats left and right.
"Just one more bowl, Mary," she said, putting another heaping spoonful of
the remains of her banana split into her mouth.
"Shouldn't you be training?" said Mary. "Hell, for that matter, shouldn't
*I* be training? You know how terrible that stuff is for you."
Mai delicately wiped her mouth with a napkin and grinned. "C'mon, a little
treat every once in awhile isn't going to hurt you."
"Right before a tournament though?"
Mai shrugged, and her grin subsided into a somewhat bitter smirk. "Sure.
Not like it'll make any difference. I don't think Terry would toss you
out on the street for putting on a few pounds."
Ah, thought Mary. The light is shed. "Okay... I know you're depressed
about Andy...."
Mai glared at her friend. "Why should I be depressed?" she said coldly.
"I finally think the man I love is going to pop the question, then
something stupid happens and we get into the worst fight we've ever had."
Mary winced.
"You tell ME, Mary," continued the Japanese girl, "what reason could I
possibly have for being depressed about Andy?" She pushed the dish of ice
cream away in disgust.
The American girl sighed. "Come on, Mai... I'm sure it's not that serious.
I know Andy loves you, and you know it too."
"I'm not so sure he knows it," said Mai.
"Now that's no way to talk." Mary covered Mai's hand gently with her own
and said, "I'm sure now that the two of you have cooled off, you can get
past all this.
"After all," she said with a wink, "it's your duty to make sure he knows
what a great catch he'd be giving up otherwise."
Suddenly, the two of them simultaneously noticed that someone had walked up
to their table. They looked up. It was a tall Japanese man... about
twnety years of age, with short hair and a winning smile. If not for the
hakamas he was wearing, and the boken he carried, he might have come off
as simply a charming young man.
"Pardon my intrusion," said Kunou calmly, turning his gaze to Mai, "but I
could not help noticing your distress."
Mary's jaw flopped about at a loose end for a moment, wondering who in HELL
this guy was. Mai just blinked in confusion.
"I shan't trouble you long, fear not," continued the boy. "But it saddens
me to see a visage so lovely as yours, stained with the tears of sorrow."
What a ham, thought Mary, but she decided to let him say his piece before
she decided to break a piece off of him. She was somewhat amused and also
somewhat alarmed by Mai's blush and the very obvious fact that she was
eating up this attention like a starving man at a banquet.
>From seemingly nowhere, Kunou produced a large bouquet of perfectly red,
perfectly formed, perfectly arranged roses and handed them to Mai. "I ask
that you accept these blossoms, fair one, in the hopes that they may
brighten your day. But know that their beauty could never for a moment
outshine thine own."
Okay, he's a ham, but he's a good one. Mary chuckled as Mai searched for
the words to respond. Andy would have had a flaming fit if he'd been
around to see this... literally. The phrase "ChouReppaDan" sprang
irresistably to mind.
"May I ask your name, fair one?" said Kunou, all but totally ignoring the
fact that Mary was sitting across the table.
"I'm... ah... Mai Shiranui," stammered the current object of Kuno's
attentions. This was definitely an unexpected development. He was much
too young for her, sure, but few things swelled the ego like a handsome
stranger coming up, lavishing flowers and compliments. And she could most
definitely do with a bit of ego-swelling at the moment.
Kunou bowed deeply and said, "A lovely name for a lovely woman. My name
is Tatewaki Kunou. I hope that the shadow over thy heart lifts soon."
Both of the women continued to stare in bemusement. In a rare show of
good judgement and timing, Kunou chose that moment to make his exit. "But
for now, I must take my leave. Mayhap I will encounter thee in the future,
beautiful Mai."
With that, he turned around silently and walked out, leaving two confused
young women in his wake.
"Weird guy," said Mary. "There's one for the record books."
"Too bad Andy never acts like that," sighed Mai dreamily.
Mary fixed her with a steely gaze. "Mai, you know that he's too young for
you... and besides, you're in love with Andy, remember?"
Mai shook her head, both to clear it and to dispel Mary's subtle
accusation. "I know, it's just that no one's ever done that before. It
feels nice." She took a sniff of the roses, which smelled perfect. Of
course.
Mary laughed softly. "I can only imagine. The guy didn't even look at me
the whole time!" The two girls laughed, both their moods considerably
better than they had been only fifteen minutes ago.
Outside, Kunou walked away, chuckling to himself. He felt he was in rare
form today. He had impressed a lovely woman (almost as beautiful as the
pigtailed girl), and he had not once today run into--
"Hello, Kunou-chan."
Nabiki. Of all the rotten timing in the world, she had to be here now.
Squaring his shoulders and letting out a small sigh of resignation, Kunou
turned to look at her. "Hello, Tendo Nabiki."
She smiled at him congenially (always a bad sign), "Up to your old tricks
again, I see?"
"What tricks would those be?" asked Kunou, deliberately looking down his
nose at this scourge on his life. She was worse than that accursed
Saotome sometimes....
Nabiki stepped closer and waved a hand. "Oh, just trying to woo every
pretty girl you see," she said, and glanced at the window of the ice cream
shop where Mai and Mary sat. "I must say, your tastes are improving."
Kunou was not really in the mood for this. "What do you want?" he asked
curtly. "If you are here simply to mock me, I have other business to which
I must attend."
"Oh, Kunou-chan, you know me," she said, drawing a regretful look from him.
"It's business that I want to discuss with you."
"Have you not taken enough of my money for one week?" he asked.
She grinned sharklike at him. "Do you *really* want an answer to that?"
"No."
"Didn't think so... now, it seems you've found yourself another woman to
lust after," said the Tendo girl with her characteristic smile. Most
people recognize this. It's the sort of smile a hitman wears just before
he earns his pay.
"Would you like me to see about obtaining some pictures for you?"
Kunou flushed a deep shade of red. "What kind of man do you think I am?"
The smile vanished. "The kind who'll pay money for risque pictures of the
object of your baser desires." Nabiki's cordial mood was gone, and she now
meant total business. "I know you too well, Kunou-chan. This offer
expires in three seconds."
Damn her, he thought. What do I do?
"One."
She does know me too well... dare I betray my other two beloveds?
"Two."
Can I truly feel for another what I feel for my dear pigtailed girl and
the spirited Akane Tendo?
"Thr--"
"All right, yes," said Kunou. "I would like you to procure pictures for
me, if you would."
Nabiki grinned. It was like shooting fish in a barrel. "3000 yen up
front, and I'll determine the rest by how much trouble I have getting the
shots."
"Three thousand up front?" he exclaimed in outrage. "That's highway
robbery!" He couldn't believe she was demanding so much. Well, actually,
he could, but he had been hoping against hope, regardless.
"If you don't want the pictures," said Nabiki calmly, "that's your own
choice. I'm just telling you the cost." With a sigh, Kunou fished out
three thousand yen and handed it to her.
Nabiki pocketed the money and her cheerful smile returned. "Thank you,
Kunou-chan, it's always a pleasure doing business with you," she said.
"So when can I expect some results?" replied Kunou testily.
Nabiki raised an eyebrow. "Now now, don't be in such a rush. The best
opportunities arise at unexpected times. I'll have to trail her a bit to
see when those opportunities are."
"Fine, just let me know when you have something for me," came the more
than slightly defeated reply. "I have other things I must do, so I will
see you later." He turned and began to walk away.
Nabiki chuckled to herself. She really hoped Kunou would never change.
She was on a gravy train as long as he was his usual philandering self.
There was the slight concern that he might shift focus. It would be a bad
thing if he lost interest in Ranma or Akane, though that was rather
unlikely. He had enough obsession in him for at least three or four women.
Grinning to herself and pondering how to best obtain the pictures, Nabiki
walked home and had the distinct impression that the weeks to come would be
extremely profitable.
***
Shermie stood in the shadows and peered at the young Japanese man carrying
the boken as he trudged to his destination, wherever that might be. "How
about him, Yashiro?"
Yashiro fixed his gaze on Kunou and hmmmed thoughtfully. "Perhaps... you
think he has the potential?"
Shermie nodded silently, then said, "We'll have to observe him a bit more
first though... just to make sure." She rubbed her chin as Kunou walked
away and said, "Come on, let's follow."
Figuring this boy was just as acceptable a candidate as any other, Yashiro
followed along, sincerely hoping that this wasn't some wild goose chase.
Also, he hoped that Chris was having as easy a time with getting another
invitation to the tournament. He'd have to squash that little piece of
bacon if he ever saw it again....
Kunou stopped and glanced around, having the vaguest feeling that he was
being watched. Sensing no immediate danger (not that he was all that hot
at sensing danger to begin with), he picked up his pace once more and
strode off toward the Kunou estate... completely unaware of the four eyes
which followed his every movement.
***
TO BE CONTINUED
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-Deuce
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Systems of Choice: Neo*Geo, TurboGrafx-16 and PlayStation
The Ninja Gaiden Home Page: http://www.classicgaming.com/ninjagaiden/
My Fanfiction: http://www.scsn.net/users/deuce/
"How beautiful is death. Death and his brother, sleep."
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