Chapter 87

The Next Morning, I woke, dressed, and got ready for the tournament's official start. Unfortunately, I wouldn't be able to use any of my gear for this, as it was against the Rules of the Tournament. However, I shouldn't need any of it, at least not yet. If the Yamata-no-Orochi woke up, that'd be another story, but I should be able to do well enough without it for now.

Kensou and Athena woke up at around the same time and I met with them in the Lobby for the Trip to Kagura Stadium Two. Even for the notoriously built-up Tokyo, the Stadium stood out, a large dome of glass and metal dominating part of the skyline of Roppongi. Electric signs on the outside of the stadium proclaiming the Opening of the King of Fighters Tournament, presented by Kagura Enterprises were lit, not that folks wouldn't be able to see a normal sign in the daylight like this.

Regardless, we headed over to the stadium, stopping to grab drinks on the way. Interestingly, the Stadium had both the Japanese non-licensed, knockoff brands like Coca-La Cola and Bepsi, but also had regular Western Brands of Coca-Cola and Pepsi. It was likely to placate international visitors, but I wound up buying a Coca-La and a normal Coke just to see what the difference was. Kensou wound up buying a bottle of Pocari Sweat, a home-grown, non-knockoff brand from Japan that was marketed as a sports drink. Meanwhile, Athena grabbed a can of cold green tea from a vending machine instead of paying stadium shop prices.

I couldn't exactly blame her for that. The Stadium Shop Prices were a lot, even though the shop was supposedly a Dawson Franchise. Because it was in the Stadium, it could afford to charge more than normal Dawson Convenience Stores, and we didn't get any discounts for being competitors either. Fortunately, I was already rich and with this being Japan, my dollar went a lot farther than it normally would, given the exchange rate to Yen.

By the time we were caffeinated and headed down to the Arena Floor, the time for the opening ceremony was less than an hour away. As I sipped my Coke, I reflected that the differences in the knockoff brand produced in Japan weren't exactly very large. It was enough that I could taste them, but I doubted anyone who didn't have the advanced senses of a Goa'uld-Human Hybrid would be able to tell that they were two different formulas.

For me, though, I could taste the difference and it was distracting me. Idly, I realized that was just one more thing that I could thank Ba'al for, that his creation of me using Goa'uld DNA utterly screwed my enjoyment of this. Then I just shrugged and suppressed my enhanced senses back down to the level of a normal human. No sense in getting all in my head about that now, after all. Once I'd done that, the taste flattened out into normalcy and I was back to enjoying the Coca-La.

Regardless, we checked in at the desk and they gave us our field passes, before waving us on through to the Arena. A number of teams were already out there. From teams I expected like Team Korea Justice, Team Hungry Wolf, and Team Japan, to ones I hadn't seen yet. I recognized the Gi of the Kyokugenryu Style of Karate on a pair of fighters who were standing next to a man who looked to be at least partially Latino. I knew the fighter in the Orange Gi from my Downloaded Memories to be Sakizaki Ryo, the current Grandmaster of the Kyokugenryu Style, which would make the Girl with the short brown hair and red bandana his Sister Sakizaki Yuri, and that Latino man in the fancy outfit with the slicked back hair, Robert Garcia.

I also spotted a trio of Soldiers. One was a woman with Dyed Blue Hair tied back into a spiky pony-tail, another was a muscled man in a white tank top, bandana, and fatigue pants, while the last was another muscled man in a Tactical T-shirt, Fatigue Pants, and BDU Cap. I didn't recognize any of them, as they clearly weren't members of the Special Forces. A JSDF Unit maybe? But that made no sense, given that none of the soldiers were Japanese. A Private Military Company seemed more likely, something like the Urban Rehabilitators that spun out of the OCP Takeover by the Kanemitsu Corporation a few years back and wound up bankrupting both companies. Either way, it wasn't super important for the Tournament proceedings.

Aside from that, there was an All-Woman Team including a Muay Thai Fighter I didn't recognize, who seemed to prefer androgynous outfits, the Chairwoman of the Tournament's Sponsor Company, Kagura Chizuru, and a Kunoichi of the Shiranui Shinobi Clan who I didn't recognize. I had hopes that the last meant that the Shiranui Clan was around and would intervene to help out if the Yamata-no-Orochi woke up. I wasn't holding my breath, however. Shinobi were just as much mercenaries as any of the PMCs out there. I wasn't sure if they would intervene if there was no profit in it for them, even if they were hanging about in the shadows.

The final team I spotted was a Trio of Native American Fighters. One woman in a Leather Jacket, Denim Shorts, tank top, and a beaded headband in a Navajo pattern. Another was a large man in denim pants and a denim vest with an eagle feather headdress that I didn't recognize the tribe of origin for. The last was the most interesting to me. A man in a leather vest and blue pants with the traditional headdress of a Shaman of the Matoka Tribe. He not only pinged off my Chi Sense but my Mystic Radar as well as my ability to sense other Champions. A name bubbled up in my mind, Nightwolf, also known as Grey Cloud.

He looked over at me as I realized this, seeming to see something similar in me, before nodding. I nodded back and mouthed the words 'we should talk' at him. He nodded once, mouthing 'after the tournament ends for the day' at me, then returned to his conversation with his teammates. With that, I turned back to watching the other fighters. No other teams were around just yet, but that didn't mean there weren't other competitors. For instance, there was also a pair of Single-Entry Fighters who I'd never seen or heard of before.

One was red-haired and serious, wearing a lot of black clothing, who pinged off my mystic radar and smelled of fire. I got a faint hint of gemstone and ancient power when I tried a more active scan, but without going more in-depth and tipping the guy off that I was scanning him, I couldn't say for sure what that could mean. I figured I would find out eventually as the tournament progressed and turned to look at the other Single Fighter.

The other Single Fighter was a brown-haired, smiling, Guy wearing a lot of Denim. His Chi was extraordinarily well-controlled for someone his age, the sort of thing you only tended to see on those rare fighting geniuses who could do things like copy techniques after only seeing them once. I'd have to be careful about showing too much of my repertoire around that guy too quickly if I wanted to avoid technique theft. I should warn my teammates about that too, and I tapped Kensou and Athena on the shoulder as I did so.

"What's up?" Questioned Kensou.

"Be careful with busting out techniques early on. That guy standing by himself in all the denim feels like he's able to copy techniques after seeing them performed once or twice." I cautioned.

"He also has a notebook in his jacket pocket. He's not even hiding his intent to crib techniques." Huffed Athena.

"What, the big Native Guy? He doesn't seem like he needs it?" Questioned Kensou.

"Not him. The Smaller Japanese Guy." I responded.

"Yeah, though did you feel what I felt off the Big Native?" Queried Athena.

"Yeah, that's Nightwolf of the Matoka Tribe. He and I have agreed to talk after the matches are done for the day. You're welcome to tag along." I nodded.

"I think I'll do that." Agreed Athena.

"Let me guess, more secret Champion Stuff?" Asked Kensou.

"Sorry, but yeah." I affirmed.

"Typical." Grunted Kensou.

"Oh don't be such a spoilsport, Kensou." Hissed Athena.

"Yeah, trust me. Being a Champion isn't all it's cracked up to be. Not all the time, anyway." I added.

Fortunately, more of Kensou's teenage angst was pre-empted by the last team to show up. All three of them stank of the Yamata-no-Orochi, almost so much as to blind my mystic radar. One was a Redheaded, Twenty-Something, Woman in hot pink. Another was a Younger Teenage Boy in a blue shirt who couldn't have been older than fourteen, fifteen tops. The last was a Platinum-haired Man who wore a red leather jacket over his bare chest.

Those had to be our primary opponents. We'd need to defeat them somehow in order to prevent the Yamata-no-Orochi from waking up, though whether we had to kill them to do that or not, I wasn't sure yet. Doing such a thing would disqualify us, mind you, but if it came down to having to kill them or the Yamata-no-Orochi laying waste to a vast swathe of East Asia, I knew which one I would pick. I'd murder those guys in a heartbeat to avoid the hundreds of millions of deaths that the Yamata-no-Orochi's rampage would cause.

However, I was brought out of my thoughts by an announcement that the Opening Ceremonies would be taking place in the next fifteen minutes and that all fighters should be on the arena floor and all spectators should take their seats before that time was up. I couldn't think about that right now, instead, I had to get my head in the game. Gazing over at Team Korea Justice, I instantly picked out Kim Kaphwan as the Energetic, Brown-haired, Man in the Taekwondo-style Dobok. That would be my primary opponent, with Athena and Kensou taking on the Small, Weasely-looking Man with the Hand Claws and the Large, Burly, Bearded Man with the Ball and Chain respectively.

I spent time studying how they moved and realized that Choi was the fastest while Chang was the slowest, both lacked the level of fluidity of motion that Kin had, even though Kim seemed slightly slower than Choi, if anything. Likewise, while Chang's motions were powerful, Choi's weren't, likely relying on those claws to do much of any real damage. Kim had power, not to the level of Chang, but still enough that when Chi backed it, it was dangerous. As I sussed that out, however, the lights dimmed as the opening Ceremonies started. 

"Head in the game, Ulysses." Cautioned Athena.

"Yeah, focus up." Agreed Kensou.

"Right." I nodded.

Then the announcer came out and the opening ceremonies began in earnest. . .

XXXX

The opening ceremonies featured some Idol Group performing that I didn't care about but had to be in the arena for. Instead of watching that nonsense, I lit up a Red Apple Cigarette and smoked through the performance. By the time the Idols had performed their song, I was part way through my second cigarette, stubbing it out on the ground, smashing the butt, and using Prestidigitation to clean up the refuse.

Once the Idol Group had finished up, the big screen flipped over to show the Bracket Randomization Algorithm, apparently an innovation of the Mishima Zaibatsu for the King of Iron Fist Tournament, they'd licensed the software out to Kagura Enterprises for a fee to use in the King of Fighters Tournament this year. I watched as the announcer, a suited Japanese Man with a pompadour haircut, hit the switch to show what the brackets were that the Algorithm had previously determined.

The screen lit up and showed, just like Athena's info had predicted, that we would be facing off against Team Korea Justice first. However, because there were only ten competing teams, we would face off against Team Hungry Wolf afterward, who had gotten a bye. Then we would face off against the winner of Team Japan and Team Ikari Warriors, which I took to mean the PMC Team, judging by the camouflage color scheme of the team name on the screen for tomorrow's semi-final.

With that out of the way, it seemed like we and Team Korea Justice would be up first, followed by the match between Nightwolf's Team and Team Women Fighters, the winner of which would go on to face Yabuki Shingo, who I took to mean one of the two single fighters, for their second match of the day. The winner of that match would go on to face the winner of Team New Faces versus Yagami Iori in tomorrow's Semi-Final. The Finals would be held following a lunch break for the fighters tomorrow, with closing ceremonies the following day.

As we entered the ring, I noticed that team Korea Justice sent out Kim Kaphwan first. I nodded to Athena and Kensou at that and stepped up into the ring first. Of course, I got a dirty look from my opponent as I did that, though I was confused about just what that was about.

"Something wrong?" I questioned.

"You were smoking earlier." Pointed out Kim.

"Yes, and?" I queried.

"Cigarettes are bad for your health and the industries that make them are full of bad people. You know this, yes?" Asked Kim.

"If I have to suffer through an Idol concert, I'm going to need to have a smoke. Besides, you of all people should know that the health effects aren't exactly pertinent when Chi is involved." I huffed.

"Fine, but when I beat you, you'll give them up!" Decided Kim.

"You want to wager on this match then?" I questioned.

"I dislike Gambling, but it's for the Greater Good." Nodded Kim.

"All right, then when I win, what do I get?" I queried.

"What would you like?" Asked Kim.

"How about a training manual detailing the Techniques of Bonghwang Taekwondo?" I questioned.

"You want my Techniques?" Queried Kim.

"Why not? They're clearly good enough to get you to this level." I asked.

"Very well, I accept your challenge!" Nodded Kim.

"All right, are both fighters ready now?" Demanded the Announcer. I nodded and took my stance, Kim did the same.

"All right, then let's get this show on the road! Match One of Team Psycho Soldier versus Team Korea Justice, Ulysses Laertiádēs against Kim Kaphwan! Begin!" Called out the Announcer.

For a few moments, nothing happened. Kim and I stood there in the ring, staring each other down, measuring each other's guard and movements. However, my Powers of Analysis gave me a unique insight that Kim didn't have. Judging by his stance, his style was based on charging in to keep the opponent on the backfoot, maintaining momentum with a constant output of attacks. I would have to break that momentum to seize control of the fight.

When the spell broke, and Kim let out a battle cry and charged me, I would be expecting that thanks to my Analysis. He charged forward with a sliding kick that I sidestepped, only to hop up on one leg and lash out with a leaping axe kick. I blocked that kick by crossing my arms above my head and felt the weight of the Chi Powered strike as my forearms were bruised from the blow. I shoved up, knocking him back and forcing him to backflip around in mid-air to land on his feet. However, I was already blurring forward into the Senshippou of Master Tung Fu Rue, the dashing punch and kick combo, forcing Kim to block both Chi-powered strikes. He grabbed onto my arm and pulled, tossing me over his shoulder only for me to do the same thing he had and flip around mid-air to land on my feet.

As I stood, I nodded at Kim and said, "Not bad."

"Take this Seriously!" Chided Kim.

"Fine, if you insist." I agreed.

We took up our respective stances and began to circulate our respective Chi much less conservatively than we had been doing just now. When the fight recommenced, the feeling-out process would be over and we would both be fighting in earnest, just as Kim wanted.

Hopefully, he wouldn't be sour when I beat him. . .

XXXX

AN: All right, so here's the next chapter. We get a look at the other teams, which includes a crossover team that wasn't present in the Canon Tournament with Michelle Chang, T-Hawk, and Nightwolf. After all, Ulysses beat up Mister Big and Billy Kane badly enough that their team never had a chance to go to the tournament. I had to fill that bracket somehow, and this way we get another Champion in the form of Nightwolf for the inevitable Yamata-no-Orochi issues.

Other nineties Stuff this chapter includes mentions of Coca-La Cola from Angel Densetsu, Bepsi from various anime including Lupin the Third and others, Dawson Convenience Stores from Kaiji, Ba'al and the Goa'uld from Stargate, Red Apple Cigarettes from the Works of Quentin Tarantino, T-Hawk from Street Fighter, Nightwolf from Mortal Kombat, Prestidigitation from Second Edition Dungeons and Dragons, and Michelle Chang and the Mishima Zaibatsu are from Tekken. Everything else is from King of Fighters.

At any rate, the next chapter will be the actual fights with Team Korea Justice, including the rest of Ulysses' Fight with Kim Kaphwan.

Stay tuned. . .