Chapter 2. All pants and typhoons... A murmer filled the air, intermittent with random idol name-screaming and whoops of laughter. The Stadium was packed to full capacity on this, the 1st day of the K.O.F. 1997 Tournament. At the time drew closer to 1 pm, the murmur rose in volume and the crowd became more restless. As the clock struck 1.00 pm, a gong sounded. The sound reverberated over the people, heightening the tension. All eyes centered on the large ring in the center of the stadium. It was double the size of a normal ring, and it's ropes had been replaced with steel bars. Two paths led from the ring to the sides of the Stadium, closed off from public view by heavy black curtains. A fanfare rung through the air. And the curtains on the left side drew apart. A small figure emerged from the shadows. It was the ring announcer. The announcer walked coolly to the ring, hopped over the bars, and placed a microphone to her lips. "Ah hm." A hush fell over the crowd. "Welcome Ladies and Gentlemen to the King of Fighters Tournament nin..." At this point she was drowned out by the crowds enthusiastic cheering. "Ah hm". The hush returned. "The matches will be undertaken as follows. The teams of 3 will be randomly selected and then pitched against each other . The teams will put forward one of their members, who will fight the opponent's team member. The winner will score a point for their team, and the loser is out of the tournament..." The announer's eyebrow raised as she noticed the front row had fallen asleep. "AH HM!" The front row awoke with a start. "The first match will be..." The announcer fumbled with a gold envelope. Upon pulling out a card, she read it out. "Round 1 will see Team Fatal Fury versus Team Yamazaki!!!" The crowd went wild! The first fight was gonna have some real stars to see! "The live broadcast will be accompanied with commentary by our guest, Ms. Nakoruru!" The sound of an eagle caused the crowd to look skywards, and down from the sky flew a young japanese girl, carried by an eagle! Within jumping distance from the ring, the crowd gasped as she let go and somersaulted into a two footed landing! The applause defeaned the announcer. The front row held up cards... 9.0, 8.9, 9.2, 9.8... "Hello everyone!" Nakoruru adjusted her headset and hopped over the bars onto her seat at ringside. "Well, we're in for a treat! The famous Fatal Fury team will be starting the tournament against the new Yamazaki team. We have seen Blue Mary, Billy Cane and Ryuji Yamazaki before, but not together as a team! Will this new joining of forces be a new strength to be reckoned with? Ah, the announcer has heard of the 1st match up. The teams have made their choices..." The announcer held her hand up for attention. "The first match will be ... Joe Higashi versus Blue Mary!" One fan turned to the other and said "Hey, that's typical, always putting their weakest fighters first. Dumb! Joe has to deal with Blue Mary! Awwww man! It's like a sacrifice to tire her out!" ............................... The crowds screams like maniacs as the curtains on each entrance simultaneously drew apart. Joe appeared first, running like some wrestler on steroids towards the ring, huffing and puffing. He sailed over the bars with a Golden Heel kick. Joe raised his hands into the air in clenched fist and screamed for approval. The crowd screamed right back. He had stolen Blue Mary's attention quite easily. He made a motion to the crowd that he couldn't hear them and they screamed their hearts out! Nodding his satisfaction, he went into some muscle poses. "OOOSHAA!" Blue Mary had already taken her jacket off and was hopping lightly from one foot to the other. She watched the flamboyant Higashi, and could'nt help but smile. Back in the dressing room, sitting next to his brother in front of the monitor, Terry could'nt help it either. The announcer called the two contestants to the middle of the ring. She reaffirmed the rules, and bid them shake hands. As they did, the crowd whooped with delight, because there's nothing better than friends kicking the stuffing out of each other and remaining friends. A gong struck. Joe set his eyebrows straight. His jaw shut. His nostrils flared. Mary checked her bra strap. Then ran straight at him. ............................... *Well that was dramatic, no?* :) ............................. Joe hadn't really studied Blue Mary, at fighting, that is. He didn't mind learning the hard way. He enjoyed the fight so much more, when he can't predict the opponent and STILL kick his ass. He sensed Mary's Punch coming a mile away and dodged to the side and threw a counter punch. This is where he was suprised as he felt his arm being grabbed, his body following, and then thrown into the air. In the split seconds that followed, Joe hit the floor and rolled it off with a veteran's ease. He pointed at Blue Mary: "Hey, that felt familiar. Remind's me of that old bastard Geese. Those techniques won't get you far!" Blue flicked her hair to the side. "We'll see, Higashi, we'll see." The crowd noise became more eruptive, with manly shouts of encouragement: "Joeeeeeeeee you're the best!" and "GO TYPHOON, GO!!!" and "Get your Joe Higashi action figures here! Comes with "Yosha! Weenie King!" Speech!" Joe stamped his foot down, and an aura of power glowed over his frame. "Check this out babe, real POWER!" Joe swung two mighty uppercuts with such force, hurricanes of wind burst forth towards Blue Mary. She rolled back, then leapt into the sky above them. "Power without Perception, my son" She taunted him, inches away. "Oh, so you watched Fist of the Northstar too, huh? .. TIGER KICK!!!" replied Joe with a grin, as he connected his knee into her side with a gut busting crunch. Mary fell back, without so much a wince of pain. She fell onto her feet, but then down onto one knee, clutching her side. "I don't wanna hurt you too much, cutie! Why don't you throw in the towel?" Blue Mary did not reply. She looked up, and the crowd fell silent. A breeze blew... The fighters stood and took a good look at each other... Silence hit like a deadweight. Then... "A-choo!". Athena wiped her nose and looked around "Go...Gomenasai!"(Sorry). The man sitting behind her bent down and adjusted his japanese sandals, muttering "Damn white cotton socks. They get dirty much too easy..." With that he sat back and the two men in black beside him relaxed. "YAAAAAAAAA!!!!!!" "HOOOOOOOOO!!!!!!" The Two combatatants ran at each other. "THRUST KICK!!!" Joe flew through the air towards Mary, who stopped and blocked. "This is it! SCREW UPPER!!!" The gigantic tornado buffeted Mary into the corner, with her arms over her face. At this point Blue Mary's dog appeared at ringside, barking like crazy! Joe dropped to one knee, exhausted after executing his special attack. He looked at Mary, who had slumped onto her hands and knees. He couldn't see her face, as her hair hid her expression. But he could tell she was breathing heavily. He turned to the barking dog. "Hey... Give it a rest will ya! It's over!" he said. The dog seemed to get more aggrivated and bark even more! Joe stood up slowly. Looked around, then pulled his pants down. The Bogard brothers slapped their foreheads simultaneously. ....................................... The next thing Joe saw was a fuzz. The fuzz turned into the faces of the Bogard brothers looking down at him. "Baka."(idiot) said Andy. "Joe... you okay?" said Terry. Joe looked around. He was in the dresser room. He felt his head. It swam. "Don't tell me..." Joe closed his eyes and groaned. Andy shot him a disappointed look, but then smiled. "Don't worry, I won't. We got it all on tape! Better luck next year Joe!" ...................................... "'97 Damage" by Gunsmith. All characters are copyright by their respective companies, especially SNK. This is a fan fiction, and may waver from the official storyline *to make it more interesting, ne?* ;) . thegunsmith@hotmail.com