Fatal Fury Fan Fiction ❯ South Town ❯ Welcome Back ( Chapter 1 )

[ T - Teen: Not suitable for readers under 13 ]

Here's the first chapter. This is a fic that a friend and I have been working on for quite some time, and we actually have the story extending over a decade.

The first chapters are going to basically establish new characters in the KOF setting, hopefully you'll stick around as the story progresses and you'll see plenty of action, comedy, and a bit of romance.

Enjoy!


Disclaimer: King of Fighters along with all its characters is the property of Playmore.

()= thoughts

December 26, 1995

The sun set in the quiet mountainous regions of Japan, the colors of the sky shown bright oranges, yellows, and reds. On a hill, a well built home with a large garden stood against the landscape. The serene silence was pierced by a high-pitched cry of a falcon in flight. The large bird of prey landed on the steady, gloved hand of a young woman.

"Had enough fun for one day, Mika," the young woman asked her winged companion. The bird screeched in reply and then took its place on its favorite roost.

"Achika!"

The young woman turned to see a man approaching her. "You have trained her well, Achika. I'm impressed. Come inside. Dinner is about ready to start."

"I will, father." She watched as the man returned to the house. She sighed. "It's now or never."

Achika came into the house and sat down at the dinner table. She glanced down the other end, nodding at her relatives. All her life, she was taught the traditions and respect that were deemed important to the Himuro family. Those lessons were put to the test every time she and her father would travel to Japan to visit the family. This time, it was no ordinary visit. It was an annual reunion that was held in honor of the clan leader, her great-grandfather. This was one reunion no one would forget.

Her father sat on the opposite side and began to eat. Achika just sat there fidgeting with a crumpled piece of paper.

"What's the matter, Achika," he asked, noticing that she hadn't taken a bite off of her plate.

"Well, Dad," she began nervously. "I... I've decided to return to South Town."

"What!?!" He nervously glanced around, seeing that people had paused from their meal and focused on them.

"You heard me," she said looking away.

"What about college," he asked as calmly as he could.

"I've already been accepted to STU. I won't fall behind."

"It's too dangerous there, Achika!" He could no longer hide his anger and ignored the whispers coming from other relatives.

Achika turned back towards her father. "This is something I have to do, Father."

"I will not have my only daughter move to a city that is practically the fighting capital of the world!"

Achika stood up from her sitting position. "Father! Quit treating me like a child! I'm going there even if I have to hitch hike it to South Town!" She slammed her fist on the table. "I'm sick of running!"

"We are not running," her father stressed. "Don't even think of going there to finish what I started twenty years ago."

"Then how can we live in peace if things like this continue."

"What?"

"I found the letter in the trash can last night. Why didn't you tell me?"

"I have my reasons," he replied calmly. "Don't throw your life away, Achika."

"We won't have a life if these threats don't stop," she yelled and threw a crumbled piece of paper on the table. Then in a furious rage stormed out of the house, leaving her father to think about the consequences of his decision to leave South Town all those years ago.

Mikado Himuro picked up the paper from the table. The past few months, he had been receiving the threats once again. Mikado had tried to get away from his former life and protect his child from the dangers from it. Now his old enemy had surfaced once again and began this cycle once more. This time it was his daughter who would try to end this some twenty-year-old conflict.

"Damn you!" he swore. He swallowed hard. He turned to his grandfather and then to the others. "Sumimasen. Gome nasai." He then excused himself from the dining room.


Later that evening, Mikado wandered through the grounds of the Himuro residence, thinking about what his only daughter said to him. He sighed, knowing that no matter what he does, they will never live in peace.

"What troubles your mind, cousin," a voice asked.

"Yoshihiro," replied Mikado. "It's my daughter. She insists on living in that city of nightmares."

"South Town? Remember, cousin, you were no different from her when you were her age."

"Easy for you to say. Your father was smart enough to leave the city before things went out of hand. I was stupid enough to remain there."

Yoshihiro shook his head. "Grandmother has pleaded with you several times to quit your job and return here where it is safe. You know that the role as leader of this family will soon rest upon your shoulders. Why must you continue with your current occupation."

Mikado smiled. "Do you honestly believe that I will set aside all that I have worked hard for? Besides, I rather enjoy doing what I do."

"A lawyer? I am clueless on how the system works in the United States, but here...."

"Here? Are you saying that I should take the coward's way out? I lost two of my best friends to the madness of power. Someone we know is after me, and I am not going to allow him to win. I left the city for Achika's sake, not mine. I am not afraid of the city or of its people, but Achika comes first. When it comes to the lifestyle the city is known for, she is clueless. We both know that."

Yoshihiro laughed. "Listen to yourself, Mikado. I'm afraid that I'm going to side with Achika on this one. She is no longer a child. Let her experience the lessons that we learned while we were there. Just think about it. You and I are the only ones to have experienced living outside this country and look where we stand. Everyone here follows the path that is set before them, but we did what we wanted to do. Remember how your father reacted when you disobeyed him and accepted our invitation to live with us in the United States."

Mikado smiled as he recalled that fateful day. "How can one forget. He nearly disowned me. He didn't feel that the next clan leader of the Himuro family should be 'brainwashed' by western nonsense. As a matter of fact, it was on a day similar to this." He laughed quietly.

"If my memory serves me correctly, cousin, it was grandfather's birthday, and you made the announcement over dinner." He laughed out loud. "It would seem that history is repeating itself."

"Speaking of which...."

Yoshihiro laughed even harder. "After you left, grandfather burst out with laughter."

"He what?!"

"He even said that she clearly takes after her father."

Mikado began to laugh. "If only her mother were alive to see this. She would have been proud of our little girl." He calmed down and stared at his reflection in the pool of water filled with koi. "I guess I was a bit harsh on her."

"Look, she already said that she's set, and you can't stop her. The only thing you can do know is to accept her choice."

"I guess I'm going to have a talk with her." Mikado turned and headed back to the house.

Yoshihiro followed, but then realized that Mikado was heading somewhere else. "Where you headed, cousin?"

"I need to make an important phone call."

*****
Achika sat in the room that was given to her, trying to finish the last chapter of a book she was currently reading. After a few minutes, she slammed the book shut and threw it onto the floor. She felt angered as well as guilty. She humiliated her father in front of the family, wanting him to show how frustrating it was about their situation. Now the entire family knew about their dilemma. "Why can't you understand," she whispered. "I'm doing this for you."

Her thoughts were interrupted by a knock on the screen door. "Come in."

Mikado walked inside and shut the screen behind him. He noticed the book on the floor and picked it up. "Les Miserable. This is the twelfth time I've seen you read this."

"I'm not changing my mind," she said flatly.

"I know," he replied and sat down. "I'm going to set a few ground rules. First, you have to understand that South Town University is very deceiving in appearance. The professors may look like old goats, but eighty percent of them are accomplished fighters. Fights on campus are a regular occurrence, and there are policies on when and where a fight can be held. Second, finding a place to live is harder then it would seem since the well-to-do area is boring as hell. I've made arrangements for you to stay with the...."

"What did you say? I mean, you're saying I can...."

"As long as you keep a low profile and contact me now and then so that I may know on your progress. The only thing I'm forbidding you to do is to act like a bounty hunter. What's going on is my problem, not yours. I will deal with it in my own manner. Whatever you do, do not go into the slums. You are safe as long as you remain outside that territory."

"Father, I don't understand what you're saying. 'Territory?'"

"Once you get used to that place, you'll understand."

Achika smiled and hugged her father. "I'll stay out of trouble."

"Don't get me wrong. I'm letting you go there because of schooling. I'm not going to cheat you out of this opportunity."

"Huh?"

"Oh. I thought you knew. STU has one of the best journalism departments in the state. Isn't that why you wanted to go there?"

"Uh, yeah. Of course I knew."

Mikado suspiciously eyed his daughter. He knew that she had hidden agendas. "Now about living in South Town...."

*****
A few days later....

"Father," Ryo began to ask as he shoved his hands in his pockets, "Just exactly who are we looking for?"

"Achika Himuro. She's the only daughter of an old family friend."

"Himuro, Himuro... oh her!" Ryo exclaimed. "Now I remember. She's the one who always had her nose stuck in a book. Say, it's been nearly..." Ryo paused to count his fingers, "Thirteen, fourteen years since we last saw her. How do you know what she looks like?"

Takuma only gave his son a smirk and pointed to one individual coming out of the gate. She had long dark hair the hung loosely past her shoulders, her bangs helped to conceal her eyes as she looked down into the pages of a book. Her body was lean from training, and she mildly showed it off with a pair of tight jeans and a form fitting t-shirt. "There she is now. Her father told me ahead of time what she was wearing."

"Or that she'd be reading a book," Ryo noted as he observed the young woman look up from her reading material and glance around the crowd.


Achika scanned the crowd and stopped at the sight of a familiar face. "Sakazaki-sama!" She waved and carefully made her way through the crowd to where Takuma and Ryo were standing. "It's been a long time," she said at the same time she bowed.

"It certainly has," Takuma said, exchanging her greeting. "I must say, the last time I saw you, you weren't even up to my waist." He then glanced at his son. "Well? Don't you have anything to say."

"Uh-huh," Ryo barely managed to squeeze out.

"Ryo," Achika said and reached out to shake his hand. "And how are things going with you?"

"Uh-um-huh," he replied still shaking her hand. Ryo smiled shyly and asked what was probably the most stupid thing ever. "So, still reading?"

Without missing a beat Achika replied, "Why not, still training?" Achika could not help but snicker at Ryo's obvious discomfort from the question. "Oh, yes. Father wanted me to give you this," she said to Takuma as she frisked the inside of her jacket. She pulled out an envelope addressed to Takuma. "He also sends his thanks for agreeing to allow me to stay with you."

Takuma smiled. "Ryo, please go and get her bags."

"Oh, no it's...." Achika began to protest, but then was shocked to see Ryo run off towards the baggage claim area without hesitation. "Never mind." She then focused her attention towards Takuma. "I see you still have the iron fist. Some things never change."

Takuma let out a laugh. "You can put it that way. Well, we'd better catch up with him. He may grab someone else's bags. After that, we'll head home. Yuri is very excited to see you again."

*****
Later that day, Ryo and Robert began to spar under the watchful eye of their master.

"So," Robert asked as he took a defensive stance.

"So what," Ryo replied as he got back on his feet.

"Come on, admit it," Robert teased and charged towards his friend.

"Admit what," Ryo said in frustration as he dodged the attack.

"She's a babe. I know how nervous you get when you're around pretty ladies."

"Why you no good....!"

"Hey, is it my fault that you don't know how to handle yourself around the opposite sex?" Robert teased.

"It's not like that," Ryo snapped as he delivered a right cross to Robert's chin.

Robert responded with a swift kick, only to have Ryo counter and knocking him onto the floor. Ryo then began to laugh and held out his hand towards Robert.

Robert grasped it and stood back on his feet, laughing at the ordeal. "Can't even take a joke lightly, can you."

They both turned and bowed before Takuma.

"Good," commented Takuma. "Now if Himuro-sama was here, both of you would be trying to get down to the floor." He pointed to the rafters above them. "He's very protective." He smirked and left the two alone.

Ryo gazed up on the rafters, imagining the horrid picture of him hanging. He swallowed hard. "Remember, Bobby. You said it, not me."

*****

Meanwhile Yuri was helping Achika unpack. "So, have you enrolled for the upcoming semester," Yuri asked as she hung up some of Achika's clothes in the closet.

"Not yet. I need to see what's still available before the semester begins. I've been accepted and all that, and I need to meet my counselor. I hope some of my classes transfer. I don't want to take any math courses over again." She opened one bag that was full of books. "Is there a place where I can put these?"

"I have some plastic shelves. I'll let you use one. That's quite a collection."

"This is just a small percentage. My father said he'll send the rest a bit at a time."

"Small percentage?" Yuri said, realizing that the bag was large enough to fit a five-foot tall person with room to spare. "You have your own library?"

"Sorta. Some books I have to special order." Achika set the bag aside and opened another. She began to pull the contents out. "When do classes start here?"

"I think around the second week of January. I need to double check." Yuri opened a dresser drawer and started placing clothes in as Achika handed them to her. "Why did you decide to come back here?"

"There's nothing wrong with coming home," Achika replied with a smile. "So, what's on the agenda?" She laughed as Yuri began to explain what she had planned, and they continued to talk as they had several years ago.

*****
The Sakazaki's had long since turned in for the night, but their guest only tossed and turned. Achika wished she could tell her friends the truth behind her return or to know that her father was only a room away, but he could not be there for her in this time of her life. She had too many unanswered questions involving his past in which he would never reveal willingly. As her thoughts turned towards her father, Achika picked up and re-read the letter she had written before trying to go to sleep.


January 4, 1996

Dearest Father,

As you know, I've arrived safely in South Town. Sakazaki-sama is just as you described him. He sends his greetings and hopes that he will see you in person soon. South Town doesn't appear as hostile and wild as you told me. I think the area has changed since the last time we were here. I have already enrolled at South Town University, and luckily, my classes did transfer. I was so pleased to see that several classes I needed still had openings. As soon as things fall into place, I will go and check up on the old home and start cleaning it out.
Remember not to work too hard and please do not worry about me. I'll write to you every week to let you know how things are going. Well, I have to go now. Yuri and I are going shopping for some new clothes. Take care, father. I miss you!

Love,
Achika

*****
Well, there's the beginning of our journey! Please review. I can take it!