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Shanghai
7 a.m.
The streets are already bustling
with activity while the steam and
aromas from open-air shops and stands
ascend into the sky.
It is amply bright outside, but the
sun has not completely risen; dark
shadows dance on the ground in between
the shops of the marketplace.
Alone, a behemoth of a man stands
out from the throng.
"Nuts. That Ash. Calling me here
at this time of the morning."
Dressed in his usual ultra-casual
style, a jacket slipped over his
bare torso, anyone passing along
the street would recognize him. In
Shanghai he is the man called "Shen
Woo." Shen means "god" and Woo the
Chinese word for "battle." Naturally,
this isn't his real name.
"Ah, ha, ha, ha. You're here. Shen,
long time no see! So, where is a
place that will feed us some delicious
crabs? You must know, right Shen?"
"Ash...who'd eat crab at this ungodly
morning hour?!"
"Lighten up there, pal. Then how
about a little dim sum before Duo
Lon gets here?"
The young Caucasian with platinum
hair gathered up in a katyusha is
Ash Crimson.
Alabaster skinned with blue eyes.
Freckles still remain on his cheeks
positioned over the edges of a mouth
contorted into an impertinent smirk.
You could call him a handsome lad
or not, but it is certain that he
is enveloped in a strange sort of
magnetism that garners glances. His
body is slight but sinewy.
"Crab, this early in the morning..."
Thrusting forward through the crowd,
Ash finds Shanghai crabs dumped into
a wooden crate, wriggling gloriously
in the display window of a shop.
"Look, look. They look spunky. Your
buying, right?"
"Who's buying? Give it a rest. And
in the first place, do you even eat
crab? Tourists from Europe tend to
shy away from our local delicacy,
you know?"
"I love crab. And after you hear
what I got to tell you, I think you'll
gladly foot the bill."
Ash's mischievous expression is reflected
in the window of the shop.
"One guy said the clown who ate Shanghai
crab for the first time was extremely
courageous...or just amazingly intelligent.
It's the truth, Ash. So what's your
important story?"
And then: the reflection of the figure
of another tall man appears in the
glass of the show window which would
be difficult to be called polished.
"......"
Ash and Shen, without looking back,
continue pretending to keep judging
the quality of the crabs.
Shen clicks his tongue slightly.
Although distracted by the conversation,
being snuck up on so easily...?
"Ah, ha, ha, Duo Lon. It's been awhile.
How have you been? How about we talk
somewhere out of the way while we
fill our bellies?"
"This place looks good."
Even the fresh air of morning becomes
cold and gloomy around this guy.
The figure of the tall man, dressed
in a costume luxuriously embroidered,
appears from the pallid shadows between
the buildings. Duo Lon. All but the
age of a young man, he is actually
a member of the "Flying Brigands,"
a group of assassins who reside in
the back regions of China.
He is laconic with a presence that
naturally overwhelms people, and
bears a sad countenance.
"Ta-dah! Can you believe it? This
came to me in the mail."
What Ash produces is an envelope
sealed archaically with wax.
THE KING OF FIGHTERS.
The world's largest tournament of
varying fighting styles.
Both Shen and Duo Lon are aware of
this.
And they both know it is a team event
of teams consisting of three fighters
each.
Annually some sort of crisis accompanies
it; in other words, an event with
attitude.
"I won't pull any punches. I want
to join this thing. So, I'm hoping
you'll feel the same. How about it?
Will you enter with me?"
"Sounds like fun. OK, I'm in! I've
always wanted to be in KOF, at least
once. I'll go anywhere where strong
opponents can be found."
"That's the ol' pepper, Shen. Happy
to hear it. How about you, Duo Lon?"
"...Yeah, OK."
"Ah, ha, ha, ha. Then it's all decided!"
"As a matter of fact, the application
of we three has already been made.
It would have been a real bummer
if either of you had refused to accompany
me."
"Say what? You already entered us?
...Ah, whatever. I'm pumped up for
this!"
"...What are you scheming? Huh, Ash?"
"Oh, come, come, Duo Lon. It's nothing
of any consequence."
"And if I had said I wouldn't do
it...What would you have done?"
"...Hmm. What would I have done?"
Grinning like the Cheshire cat, Ash
laces the invitation between the
fingers of his left hand and plays
with it.
Supple fingers are they, which look
like they have nothing to do with
combat. And his nails are adorned
with nail art.
From the four corners of the invitation
interlaced in Ash's fingers burst
emerald flames.
The entire invitation is swiftly
consumed by flames, but the vigor
of the flame does not abate and a
pillar of flame bursts from Ash's
left hand.
A spiral of wind breaks out at his
feet, blowing up Ash's platinum blond
hair, and the flames burn even higher
and stronger. He laughs. At the depths
of his innocent and capricious giggle
an inscrutable something certainly
squirms. A few passers-by notice
the green pillar of flame but are
dumbstruck with astonishment.
Ash shakes his left hand dramatically
outward.
The emerald flames jump from his
arm. Drawing a gentle arc that slips
between Shen and Duo Lon in an instant,
it brushes by the face of a girl
passing nearby and then disappears.
The draft blows the girl's hair.
Promptly thereafter at her side,
the thing that was a bee a second
before falls to the earth motionless,
burnt to a crisp, in a pile of white
ash.
"That was close, young lady. Ah,
ha, ha."
"Uh, th-thank...you."
"Il n'y a pas de quoi."
Ash replies with an exaggeratedly
old-fashioned bow
"OK, playtime is over. To make things
worse I'm totally whacked from being
called out so early in the morning."
"I love mornings in the spring. They say, 'The season
is spring. The time of day is morning. The time of
morning is seven.'"
"Who says that?"
"Hmph. For someone raised in France, you have strange
tastes."
Duo Lon breaks out in a rare wry smile. Although he
feigns a cool, adult air, his youth is given away when
he laughs.
Ash continues.
"As God makes evident in the sky. All in the world
is nothing.
Well, that's it. Take it easy. Just take it easy. Ah,
ha, ha."
ASH CRIMSON
DUO LON
SHEN WOO
Their participation in the tournament had already been
confirmed by the KOF Management Organization three
days ago. |
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