I'm going to pout a bit now.  I have this vague feeling that this message will not be properly formatted for the list, but being the hotmail-using fool that I am, I can't figure out how to work the bleeding composer to send this properly.  At any rate, if this does not come out as planned, I'll repost once I've solved the problem.  For those interested (that means me), I've severed my left leg for the insolence of my brother using my hotmail account and choosing rich text format, which I apologize for not noticing TWICE, the mite...
So here is the original message that never had the privelage of being sent outside of HTML format:

Excuse the brevity of this piece, for I have been away on a lovely vacation as of late.  This chapter
seems rather boring to me, but it is an important piece, and I do not do but a single draft for my
fun writing unless it is well warranted.  Despite my poor work ethic relating to this piece, I hope
you all enjoy!

King of Fighters: The Cloak of Yen Shui Fahn
by Anita Ashworth
Part II

    Athena darted up to the pair as they arrived at master Chin�s.  The place they would soon
be training at was a long field surrounded by tall grass on all sides, providing much privacy for
their bizarre psychic techniques.  The master�s hut was nothing more than a few square feet of
bamboo construction that would keep him dry in the rain.  As usual, there were plenty of barrels
containing the master�s favorite wine.  They were nondescript, but Kensou was sure of their
contents, and the were stacked in sets of two all around the hut.  Master Chin was just emerging
as Athena spoke with her fellow students.
    �What took so long?� she asked, folding her arms.  She looked sidelong at Kensou with an
unsuspicious but accusing stare.
    Kensou just pointed a thumb at Bao and said nothing.
    �Blaming little Bao, huh?�  Athena put her hands on her knees and came eye-level with the
boy.  She swivelled her eyes at the other and accused, mockingly, �I bet it was all Kensou�s fault,
wasn�t it?�
    Bao shook his head and waved the Dragon in front of Athena�s face.  She crossed her eyes
at it, and Bao said, �Kenken bought it for me!�
    Athena smirked, nodded, and stood.  �Well,� she stated, turning to Kensou, �I suppose we
should talk with master Chin.  He wouldn�t tell me anything while you two were away.  Let�s go.�
She darted off toward the hut where here teacher stood, and the two followed her.
    Master Chin nodded as they approached.  He leaned forward, draping a gourd of wine
over his back by the rope tied to it.  They lined up, bowed to him, and stood at attention.
    �I�m impressed with your skills in last year�s King of Fighters tournament.�
    They all smiled at his words.
    �However, you�re still amateurs.�
    Their smiles fell.  They watched their master parade up and down their short rank, staring
amongst them with the keenest of eyes.  He stopped in front of Athena.
    �You!�
    Athena straightened.
    �You are my best student.  You�ve advanced farther than anyone I�ve taught in controlling
your psychic powers.  But when you fought Terry Bogard at last year�s tournament, you lost your
nerve and forgot how to fight hand-to-hand.  Your psychic powers were not yet honed to
compete with the power of his final attack.  As my best student, you should be able to combat
without your abilities as well.  Even young Bao fought without his powers, and I have barely
taught him since we first met.
    �And as for young Bao,� he said, moving to his next victim.  Chin looked the boy up and
down.  The boy merely smiled back.  �You need work.  Your power is greater than Athena�s, but
you have little control over it.  I will have Athena work with you on that.  As for the hand-to-hand
combat...I would have let Kensou teach you, but he will not be harsh enough, I�m sure.  You will
train with me later.�
    Kensou was next.  He swallowed as the master approached.  Beads of sweat trickled
down his forehead.
    �You, Kensou, have done greatly in hand-to-hand combat.  You may not have reached the
level of some of those who entered the tournament last year, but I was proud of your quick
victory over Shingou Yabuki.  However, your psychic abilities were not enough to save you from
that Sakazaki boy.  While I will continue to train your body, you must practice more often with
Athena.�
    He gleamed inwardly at that thought.  Kensou took his training very seriously, keeping all
relation (little that there was) with Athena outside of practice.  However, it was nonetheless more
time with the most beautiful woman he knew.
    �Pay attention, boy!�
    Kensou snapped to attention.
    �Today I will begin to teach you my personal technique.  It is the finest martial arts style in
the world, if you master it.  But you must work hard.  What I have put you through before is
nothing in comparison.  Are you ready for that?�
    Kensou nodded, holding his breath.  He remembered the absolute torture of training under
his teacher�s strict guidance.
    Chin smiled to himself and spun his gourd round on one finger.  He caught it and looked
sidelong at his students.  �Let us begin!�


    Forty-six...forty-seven...
    Athena struggled to lift herself once more.  She hadn�t realized how weak she�d become.
She had never really been strong, but Kensou had already done one hundred push-ups and was
barely slowing his pace.  Athena felt her arms begin to shake, but she continued.
    There was a sharp, stinging sensation on her back.  Master Chin waved the thin reed he�d
struck her with and said, �Keep your back straight!�
    Athena persevered as best she could, but her arms finally gave out after a mere one-
hundred push-ups.  Kensou was just now finishing at two-hundred and fifty.  He was quite strong
for his size, though his strength was dwarfed by most other fighters in the tournaments of past
years.  Ralf and Clark, two men who seemed for all the world that they were serving in the
military rather than fighting a tournament, had both in previous tournaments tossed Kensou
around like a rag doll.  Perhaps his chances would have increased had he used his psychic powers
during the fight, but master Chin had told him specifically not to do so.  He�d wanted Kensou to
experience a real hand-to-hand fight, and it was certainly something Kensou would not forget.
    Athena was snapped back into reality as her teacher approached.  �Remember the basics,�
he stated, looking up at them, �Speed, strength, and precision are all important in a fight.  Practice
until you can strike an opponent anywhere with power and speed, and practice until you can do so
without thinking about it.  Now each of you will find a tree and strike at it with jabs one thousand
times for each hand.  From there, practice striking an opponent at ankle, knee, and abdomen
height with a side kick.  Three hundred for each foot.  Come back in the evening, and we will
begin new training.�
    The master returned to his small hut to rest.  No matter how amazing a fighter he was, the
fact remained that he was an old man.  As he made his way inside and his students wandered off
to batter their limbs endlessly, he contemplated how he was going to handle the situation.  He
should face Arinori himself, he knew; but should he die, there would be no one left that knew how
to fight the dangerous man should he acquire what he even now sought out.  Having his students
take on this treacherous task was cowardly, he thought at first.  After all, Chin had never before
been beaten.  Still, he was the key to stopping an absolute madman from gaining unearthly power.
He would have to hope that the next week�s training would be enough to help them succeed.  He
doubted there was more time than that.


    There was absolutely no mistaking the figure ahead.  Kyou Kusanagi had earned his fame
in past King of Fighters tournaments, and Eiji Kisaragi had kept an eye on him for a long time
now.  What the hell was the boy doing here, outside of the city?  Eiji paused as the figure stood
before him, his back turned.  Slowly, Kyou�s head tilted slightly to one side.
    �Eiji Kisaragi...�
    �What do you want, Kusanagi?�  Eiji straightened.  His eyes narrowed as Kyou turned to
him, eyes ablaze with an inhuman fire.  His fists burst into flames, and Eiji could see the boy�s
eyes narrowing in hatred.  Where was Kyou getting his power from?  Hadn�t the Orochi been
sealed away with the boy, Chris?
    But Eiji could clearly see that Kyou wasn�t himself.  There was no reason the boy would
want to attack him.  Something was wrong, and he found out exactly what it was the moment
Kyou spoke.
    �Where is the cloak?� he demanded.  He was being controlled by Arinori, no doubt about
it.  Eiji waved a hand at him, taking a step forward.
    �I have no quarrel with you, Kusanagi, but if even you stand in my way, I will crush you.
A fight will get you nowhere right now.�
    �The cloak!  Where is it?�
    �You�re being controlled, you fool!  If I surrender the cloak, it will put you and everyone
else in danger!  Get out of my way!�
    Kyou�s eyes lit up.  There was no way around it.  Eiji Kisaragi would have to fight the
powers of the Orochi once more.  He smiled slightly at this thought, but wished it didn�t have to
be Kyou of all people.
    �Very well!�  He drew his blade, and they both took stance.
    Neither moved for what seemed like whole minutes.  They just gazed into one another�s
eyes, looking for some glimmer of weakness.  Eiji knew that Kyou would try to break first, and he
had full intention of letting him.  Kyou was not in control of himself at the moment, and he would
be forced to finally engage the target he�d been sent to destroy.  For a moment, Eiji wondered if
this was another clone, but the eyes alone gave the boy clearly away, and Eiji always looked at the
eyes.  Very few men could hide the thoughts that escaped via the eyes.
    So Eiji was immediately prepared for what came next.  Kyou shot his hand out, releasing a
wave of fiery energy that trailed along the ground at a quick pace toward the ninja.  His target
merely rolled off to the side, and with a flourish of his sword, extinguished the flame with a single
cut.  Enraged, Kyou rushed his opponent, his arm bursting into flames as he swung with all his
might, but Eiji once again could read the attack, and he quickly fell back, waiting for the second
attack.  Once more, the boy swung a powerful fist at him, and now Eiji lowered his sword and
watched the flames, felt the heat searing its way toward him.  It flowed through him, emerging
from his body in a burning force of his own.  There was a flash, and the marionette Kyou fell to
his back, quickly springing up and backing away to study his opponent more carefully.  Eiji had
successfully reversed the attack.
    There was a long pause, longer than should have been, in which the air between them
filled with the sparking tension of two warriors who had underestimated each other.  Eiji gripped
his sword at his side, breathing noticeably.  His counter-maneuver had been no simple task.  Still
he was not depleted from the fight so far, and he readied himself for whatever was coming next.
Kyou had attacked rather sloppily the last time�something he would never have done if he were
under his own control.  Now he would surely be more careful.
    Eiji was shocked when Kyou finally broke off his gaze and smiled.  For a moment, Eiji
worried that he�d missed something; but he suppressed the thought and stayed focused on his
opponent.
    �You�ve improved greatly since you disappeared at the �95 tournament.  Don�t think I�m
not without a few tricks of my own!�
    There was a tremendous heat-wave that blew over the grassy fields like a burning wind.  It
scorched Eiji�s eyes, and he had to blink momentarily to keep them open.  He raised a hand
protectively and watched in stunned silence as Kyou began to glow red-hot, like a burning coal.
White flames erupted all around him, and in an explosion, he shot forward and covered the
ground between them in a matter of seconds.
    It wasn�t possible!  Whatever power this was, it was not Kyou who had summoned it.  Eiji
quickly tried to feel inside the warrior�s mind, but Kyou�s direct thoughts lay dormant under the
control of another.  There was still the energy, though.  Eiji had to mentally scan the boy, head to
toe, trying to figure out the power he was releasing.  The air around the ninja thickened and
heated as he caught onto the energy, and his sword hand began to tingle, the power surging up his
forearm.  Just as the other was on top of him, bearing down in a raging inferno that left a trail of
burning grass behind, Eiji made three quick, short figure eight slashes that left sparking, red trails
before him.  Kyou crossed his arms and burst forward, releasing as he leapt an explosive blast of
white-hot radiance that surged past the ninja on all sides.
    Kyou�s eyes went wide as he crossed the line of energy Eiji had created.  His attack had
seemed to pass straight through the ninja, dying out just behind him.  The ninja had been thrown
back, but was unscathed.  Kyou landed, stumbled for a moment...
    Eiji got unsteadily to his feet, gazing back at the shaking body of the warrior before him.
Slowly, Kyou�s eyes shut and he fell softly to the ground.
    Eiji released a sigh of relief and staggered forward.  He would easily have been dead were
it not for his last-second thinking.  By absorbing the attack into his own body and channeling the
energy behind him, he had been able to give his own energy a push forward, hitting Kyou with a
force equal to his own.  Eiji did not possess the power that had been released, so it was the only
way.  He knew, however, that Kyou possessed no powers like that himself, and that they had
come from the one who was controlling him.  If he could manifest that much power at a remote
distance, Arinori was sure to be more than Eiji wanted to handle.
    He looked over the body before him. The boy would live, but he would be out for a while.
Undoubtedly when he came to he would have no recollection of how he�d gotten here.  However,
there were greater concerns, and Eiji was forced to leave him.  With an enormous effort, he ran
on toward the one man who could help him protect the cloak and defeat Arinori.


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