Ranma 1/2 Fan Fiction ❯ A Fighter's tournment ❯ AFTCh4 ( Chapter 4 )

'Oh, my. This promises to be a most spectacular event,' thought Bast as she checked up on the current KOF 2001 roster.

The original Team Japan has returned consisting of Kyo, Benimaru and Daimon. They also have Kyo's first pupil, Shingo Yabuki with them who plans on backing up his words of helping his master's team advance all the way to the end.

K' and Maxima are back to take out NESTS once and for all. Lin has joined them for a chance to stop Ron. Whip is with them as well as she wants to find out the key to her missing memories.

The only way to get into KOF 2001 was to have a four-man team. No single entries allowed. Thus, Iori Yagami had to get three other people who would join him so he could have another shot at facing Kyo Kusanagi. And if NESTS has something up their sleeve, they will BURN!!! Vanessa, Ramon and Seth have proven to be fairly competent in battle.

The Ikari Warriors, interested in taking out NESTS and getting some payback from K9999, consisted of Leona, Clark, Ralf and Heidern.

As you've seen in the previous episode, the Fatal Fury team has not been changed since 2000. Terry, Joe and Andy along with Blue Mary plan on taking down NESTS before things get hairy.

The Kyokugen Karate team has entered for a few reasons. Robert Garcia was having a bit of financial trouble and the future of the Dojo's expansion is at stake so Takuma 'generously' decided to help out. He also wanted to make sure that NESTS doesn't try anything else again. Ryo was looking forward to battling Ranma while Yuri brought a camera to take some snapshots of the pigtailed boy.

The Women's Team consisted of Mai Shiranui, King, Hinako, the Sumo fanatic, and Chizuru, who had replaced Kasumi.

NESTS sent in their own team to deal with K'. Kula Diamond, K9999, Foxy and Angel were ready to go more or less. Angel was still trying to figure out how to thank Ranma for his kindness when he let her go after she revealed herself.

The Psycho Soldiers team had not changed for the past 2 years since the four-man team system was introduced so they still had Chin, Kensou, Bao and Athena. Athena was wondering if that boy she saw in her vision is entering the tournament. Maybe she can talk to him and get some eye candy to boot.

While Kim and May Lee fight for Justice, Choi and Chang fight so they can use NESTS' equipment to get them back in their rightful bodies. In any case, Team Korea is ready to go.

Ranma had his own team. He had Rock Howard, Geese Howard's son, Mignon Breat, and Chae Lim. And he really should pick out a cool team name.

Last but not lease, the new Boss team is coming to play. Geese Howard, Wolfgang Krauser, Mr. Big and Rugal Bernstein who was itching to show off his alternate Omega form.

When Zero and Igniz go through the registration forms and find out about Rugal, more planning will be needed. And this means, they have to spend more money for travel costs since the various battle stages are around the world. Ah, well. Igniz could always steal Rugal's power to use against Ranma.

Bast gave a small smile. 'Everything is in place and the play will be ready to begin.'

Chapter 4

Scene: N.E.S.Ts' Headquarters

The NESTS team meeting had been finished hours ago and Igniz was left alone to think about the new developments. He even declined spending time with Misty, his other half, which was quite rare. This new warrior could cause so many problems for him after he breezes through the tournament.

As soon as he thought of the tournament, Igniz had a new idea. Perhaps he could alter the rules, throwing everyone off balance. This could work well to his advantage.

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"Is there something bothering you, Angel? You have been fairly quiet for the evening." Zero waited for her response.

"Igniz to Zero. I would like to speak to you about a particular matter."

"Acknowledged." He turned to his subordinate. "If you wish to talk, you know where to find me."

As he left, Angel clenched her fists. 'How can I talk to you about what just happened to me? You taught me that kindness was a flaw in humanity. Ranma was kind to me and he never appeared to be flawed at all.'

"You wanted to see me, sir?" asked Zero.

"Yes. I have been thinking of revising the tournament rules."

Zero smirked. "Ah. Trying to duplicate the shock effect that Krizalid created in the 1999 tournament?"

"Somewhat. The striker system hasn't been changed. Strikers can only be summoned up to three times for the first fighter. Unused striker summon credits can be passed on to the second and third players. And they each gain one new credit when they enter the battle. Strikers can only be on the battle scene for a maximum of seven seconds. Any longer and we'll have to deduct points."

"Points, sir?"

Igniz showed Zero a rough draft of the new rules. "I was thinking of going with a points system based on how long fighters last in combat, the amount of time they take to finish the opponent off and some other details. Victories will be determined by how many points they score instead of knock outs."

Zero read it over a few times. "I see."

"There will be three preliminary rounds. Two matches a day for three days. Then one break day to schedule the next match. This goes on until the third round has ended. The fighters then get two days rest while we figure out who the top eight are. The top eight teams with the most points shall square off for a quarter-final round, a semi-final and a final before you perform the closing ceremonies." Igniz noted that Zero was focused more on his rough draft. "I see you found my revamped team system interesting."

"Indeed. Think of the mind games that can be played."

Igniz smirked. "Instead of going with a classic three on three match with one striker available, the teams will have the option of having one fighter fight with three strikers who can be summoned up to three times each, two fighters with two strikers, three and one, or all four fighting with no strikers at all. Of course, the type of team that they choose will also affect their points so they would have to be most careful in the preliminaries and the finals."

He paused for a moment before speaking to his subordinate again. "So what do you think? You can speak whatever is on your mind. After all, you are my right hand man."

Zero shook his head. "While it may be a good idea, it favors the strongest fighters too well sir." "Oh, what do you mean?" "I have already looked through the people attending the tournament that are signed up so far... If say... Shingo Yabuki and Wolfgang Krauser were to fight, Krauser could rip Shingo apart and not get tired from it, nor get hit, wracking up a rather large amount of points for his team and he wouldn't even have to beat the other members."

Igniz nodded. That made some sense... "True... The fighters may all just show up at the same time in the finals to get back at us. So what do you suggest?" Zero smirked dangerously. "How about... Unlimited switching sir?" "Hmm? What do you mean?"

"While there would still be a striker as before, the other three members of the team can switch back and forth as much as they want, like a tag-team pro wrestling match, allowing a fresh man to come in and there won't be any rounds this time... The match starts and goes until all three members are defeated on one side."

"Hmm, no rounds, three people can fight, and one person can only be the striker huh?" The leader of NESTS frowned. "Why not just have all four fight?" "You're decision sir."

"Well..."

Scene: Team Iori

Seth was wondering why he had to join up with Iori's team. Frankly, the guy is a fruitcake but he won't say that out loud.

Ever since Iori formed the team, he did only four things:

1. Sleep.

2. Train for the day where he would have his hands soaked in Kyo Kusanagi's blood. Talk about focus.

3. Eating. All his meals consisted of only one thing. Meat. If Vanessa didn't get some other foods soon, she was going to go nuts.

4. Occasionally talk to his teammates. Very rare though.

Currently, Iori was focusing on a new Desperation Move follow up. His 1207 Shiki YamiSugi wasn't very effective in the 2000 tournament as a separate DM so he's integrating it into his Ya Otome DM. So far, it has worked quite nicely.

However, he was starting to get on everyone's nerves when he constantly shouts "PLAYTIME IS OVER!!! CRY, SCREAM AND DIE!!!!" every time he performs Ya Otome.

Ramon looked wearily at the others. "You want to try and convince him to take a break?"

Vanessa shook her head. She just stopped caring after day two after the team formed.

Seth wondered how Iori came up with that line when he was performing his Ya Otome move. All he knew was that the guy had issues.

Finally, there was a bit of silence as Iori Yagami had stopped for a break. "Training hard?" mumbled Ramon.

"That's right. Now where's the meat?"

Vanessa stood up. "ARGH!!! I am sick and tired of meat, Iori!!! I want something else for a change!!"

Ramon looked panicked. Did she have a death wish or what?!? He hoped that Iori wouldn't tear her apart. He still wanted to try and get a date with her.

Iori looked at her once before shrugging. "Fine. You can go out and get your own dinner."

Vanessa blinked once. "I...can? I thought that you wanted us to eat together or something for a team bonding experience."

Iori looked at her for a moment before doing his trademark laugh. "Hm hm hm hm, heh heh heh heh, HA HA HA HA HA!!!!!" He snapped out of it quickly. "Why would I really care for that team bonding shit? Any of you can do whatever the hell you want. As long as you three are there with me when the opening ceremonies for the KOF 2001 tournament start."

With that piece of new information, all three fled from his training ground, leaving him alone. Just the way he wanted it.

'It's time to settle this, Kusanagi.' His right hand created a purple flame, which combined with the light of the moon created an eerie effect.

"So any thoughts as to who your fourth teammate will be?" asked Bast.

Scene: with Ranma

Bast had showed up and he told her how well he was doing and that he did make some new friends. Then the topic had went to the tournament. "So any thoughts as to what your team name will be?" asked Bast.

Ranma shrugged. "I'm not sure, we are going to meet later for dinner at an all you can eat buffet. We can talk about that matter then." Bast made a mental note to full compensate the restaurant after Ranma eat almost everything.

Then she noticed an odd look on her avatar's face. "Is there something troubling you?"

"Somewhat. My new strength combined with my old martial arts abilities makes me feel invincible but then I would not be able to fully compare myself with the other fighters of this world."

"What are you getting at, Ranma?" asked Sara.

"Bast, I would like for you to seal my transformation along with their new abilities away for the time being. I'm not saying I want to repress them but I just want to use my own skills and my own experiences for the tournament. If a dangerous emergency arises, then the seal can be unlocked temporarily so I can have access to my transformation and deal with it."

Bast nodded. "I figured that you would ask a favor like this considering how you live for the fight."

Sara blinked. "But how will Strike Claw be affected?"

"I have an idea. Rather than having my avatar having full access to it all the time, I can give Strike Claw direct control over Ranma's new abilities. Then Ranma can simply request his new power when things get out of control. Does this sound good?"

Ranma waited for a bit before nodding. "Strike Claw agrees."

He was bathed in a soft glow for a moment before feeling the change. Now he felt more like his old self again. And in his lesser state, he would have to train extremely hard to get himself ready for KOF.

"Thank you. Now if you excuse me, I have to go get ready for dinner."

Scene: N.E.S.Ts Headquarters

All her life Angel was told and taught that kindness was a weakness to be taken advantage of yet the strongest warrior she had ever seen was one of the kindest. It is true that she had been taken in by Zero from the orphanage and she was grateful for that. The training had been hard yet she had passed it.

'Ranma had let me go.' Angel thought to herself. 'He broke K-4-9's like it was a stick but he didn't show any cruelty. He knew he had stop the attack to protect the people behind him. How can anyone be so strong yet so kind?'

Angel was confused. Her adopted father always taught her kindness was a weakness yet Ranma had shown no weakness from being kind. He had let her go when a lot of the fighters there would have liked nothing better to kill her on the spot.

Angel's head popped up when she realized the answer. It was so simple and there it was staring her in the face.

'He's confident in his own strength to be kind to others. He does not care what anyone else thinks of him.' Angel finally realized. Angel had a lot of thinking to do and a short time to do it in.

Scene: Team Ranma

Ranma was feeling even gladder that the team went to a buffet instead of a normal restaurant. There was no way his wallet would be able to pay off the enormous bill at a normal restaurant and NOT feel any after effects.

Everyone got along quite quickly. Everyone was discussing everything, to moves, to team names to Ranma himself. Rock took another sip of his drink. "So guys...we need to figure out two main things. Getting a name for this team and devising a training schedule. Got to be in tip top shape for the tournament!!"

Ranma nodded before scarfing his face with more noodles. "Why me? Why did I have to go for the buffet business? I knew I should have become an accountant." The owner was grumbling under his breath.

Scene: Team AOF

Takuma was somewhat surprised that his daughter's attitude towards the upcoming KOF tournament had changed. She had not taken it well when Takuma laid down a little rule: Fight with Team Kyokugen in 2001 or I'll cancel your credit cards.

Apparently, something had helped change her mind. When he asked her about the change, she simply replied that she met a new friend who was planning to enter the tournament as well. As her older brother, Ryo had a responsibility to pry into Yuri's business. They eventually found out that she had met the martial artist who defeated Yamazaki swiftly. Needless to say, it was a long night as they interrogated her. In the end, Ryo was dying to get a match in KOF against Ranma and Takuma was forming his own plans of getting another pupil for his school. Yuri didn't really care about what her family thought. She was more interested in getting some photos of Ranma.

Scene: King's place.

The normal customers at King's bar were surprised to see that King was not working tonight. She had taken some time off to draw up a schedule to get more training in. After all, if she wanted to make a good impression on Ranma, she would have to be at a higher level.

Scene: Todo dojo

Kasumi was bemoaning her fate about how she would not be able to demonstrate the power of the Todo style in front of Ranma, her new friend and potential boyfriend.

Scene: Kagura Manor

Chizuru had been meditating in her tranquil home. Well, it looked like she was meditating. In fact, she was doing a bit of daydreaming. Just making up a few 'what if' scenarios if Ranma had battled Goenitz and Orochi side by side with her along with 'what if' futures about dating and marriage.

Scene: N.E.S.Ts HQ

Back at NESTS, Angel still continued to ponder about Ranma. One thing was for sure though. She was no longer going to focus her attention on K9999. When he first came out of the cloning chambers, she thought she could see something good in him, through all the arrogance. Sadly, she was mistaken. Boo hoo. On to greener pastures. It was nice that fate was kind enough to provide her with someone new to focus on.

Scene: With Lilly.

Lily had been thinking how nice if Ranma could become Billy's brother. Then Billy would have someone to rely on in case he gets into a hairy situation thanks to his job. The thought of marriage never really crossed her mind.

Scene: Ikari warriors

Leona was on her own trying to figure out how a romantic relationship worked. It would be awkward (and possibly painful due to Rugal killing Heidern's family) asking her commanding officer and her adoptive father for advice. And she was certain that Ralf and Clark would be of little help.

Scene: With Mai

When Mai bumped into the Fatal Fury team, they were expecting her to shout "ANDY!!!" in delight and then attempt to glomp him. The younger Bogard would run while the other three got their entertainment for the night. However, she just gave a quick smile and a hi to everyone before walking on. Andy was somewhat relieved and utterly confused.

Joe came up with a theory. "Perhaps she found someone else to glomp or something."

Terry shook his head. "I really don't know. Mai's been chasing Andy for years. It's doubtful that she would just drop her pursuit so quickly."

Mary put her hands into her green jacket pockets. "Maybe she's trying a new tactic on Andy. Some sort of psychology to get him to chase after her for once."

Andy never heard what the trio had said. He was still lost as to how Mai passed him up for a change. Maybe she was actually getting it through her head that she was coming on too strong. If that's the case, then there could be an actual stable relationship and that would be nice. If there was another guy though, then Andy would have to figure out how to deal with that problem.

Scene: With Ranma

After dinner the guys settled on Team Ranma also Ranma had faith in his teammates to tell them a secret that he had. He showed them his were form and they were in shock. They promised that they wouldn't tell anyone about it and they went inside of the manor to get some sleep.

End for now