***King of Bands***

DISCLAIMER - I don't own King of Fighters. SNK Playmore does!! ;c)

Another year of KOF, but instead, they battle each others' bands!!!! [guitar wail!!!!!!!] Enjoy!! :c)

All-business Chizuru was flipping curiously through a brochure. She wanted to pick the perfect venue for this. In fact, she wanted it to be the biggest thing she's ever sponsored. Why not? She DEFINITELY has the money for it. "Hmmm…" she

looked around her, inspecting everything around her, and eying the space. "Seems big enough." The owner of the building was getting very anxious. It had to be a done deal. After all, he was getting LOTS and LOTS and LOTS of money. He

saw a smile slowly arise on the modest businesswoman's face. "It's a deal." They shook hands. His heart did a dance. Chizuru paid an advance, out of her pocket. She was secure in the fact that this would be the best competition held in the

world.

"So….I heard you're starting a band…." Mai said to Terry in a suspicious tone, slowly glancing towards Andy. Andy was getting nervous, but he held in strong as he sat down near his brother, who was at a drum set. Terry twirled his

drumsticks. "Yeah, wanna join The Wolfpack?" Mai tried to stifle her laughter, and almost got spit on Terry. "It's called what???" she chortled, wiping the spit from her mouth. Terry could see she wasn't taking this seriously. "Well, if you take

Andy away from me, I'll be The Lone Wolf," he joked. Mai found this to be a bit tongue in cheek. "Fine," she huffed. She walked away haughtily.

Kensou strummed his guitar as he sat on Athena's bed. "Athena," he began. "I don't mind doing stuff for you, but I would like to get la-erm, paid…." Athena grabbed one of her CDs, took out the booklet, flipped through it and pointed to

Kensou's name. Kensou glared at her. "Money…?" Athena huffed. Then, Kensou was thinking of something. "What if we sang together, like a duet?" Athena shot him down quickly. "I don't think so." Kensou sulked. "Why do I let women do

this to me…?" Athena's room was littered with pink and posters of her. So much that one could almost suffocate by just entering her room. Kensou seemed immune, even if the air smelled of Athena's perfumes. One day, one day, she would

be his girl. Only in his dreams right now though.

Iori was trying to avoid Vice and Mature at all costs. He knew EXACTLY why they were trying to get in contact with him. "Fuck this shit," he muttered, as he sipped wine out of a clear Charlie Brown and Snoopy cup. He was relaxing in a

recliner in the living room. He just wanted to relax. The girls knew who to go to. They knew he played bass, guitar, and sang. Suddenly, he heard knocking on his door. "Pizzaaaaa!!" a female voice trying to disguise herself as a man's voice

announced. Iori wasn't falling for that. "I didn't order any goddamn pizza. Leave me alone," he mumbled to himself. He sat back in a chair, put down his glass and smoked a cigarette when suddenly, his front door fell down. He jumped in

surprise. "What the shit!!!" Mature and Vice had ropes in their hands. "GET HIM!!!!" Iori was ready. "You try and your bodies will make a nice chandelier for my dining room. Got it?" The girls abruptly stopped and dropped the rope. "Iori…

please…," Mature begged. "Let's be a band." Iori stood unmoved but was annoyed. "You got 30 seconds to convince me." Vice and Mature exchanged looks. Vice put her hands on her hips and whispered something. Mature whispered back,

and Vice snapped, but not too audibly. Mature snapped back. Iori still stood. "Ten….nine…" Mature took a deep breath, and stepped ahead of Vice on the task. "What is love….baby don't hurt me….baby don't hurt me….no more…" she sang.

Iori was visibly irritated. Then, he relaxed. "Fine, but we have to write our own shit. I got some equipment upstairs."

"I'll beatbox, and you rap, Lucky," Heavy D said. Brian moaned. Lucky and Heavy D turned. "Brian, what's up?" Brian threw his arms up. "Like we're gonna win!!!" Lucky sighed. "It's just going to be like every year of KOF…." Heavy D tried to

snap his friends out of the glum. "Whoa, whoa, whoa, boys. We SIGNED up. No invitations. We signed up. We'll do good. Plus, we've got access to a studio. We're good!" Brian lightened up. "Guess you're right, man." Then, suddenly, they

noticed their equipment was gone. They all sulked. "Life's a fucking bitch," Heavy D! muttered.

Shingo had been bugging Kyo all day about KOB. "Kyo, you looking for bandmates??" Kyo folded his arms. "No…" Then, Benimaru came by. "So, when do we practice…oh, hi, Shingo…" Kyo glared at Benimaru. "You did that on purpose."

Benimaru shrugged. "Shingo, wanna join our band? You can't always be a fan." Shingo got excited. Kyo, not so much.

King shrugged when Mai suggested the KOB. "I can't play an instrument…." King flatly told Mai. Her friend frowned. "Andy's with his brother…" She whined angrily. King rolled her eyes. "Find someone else." Mai wouldn't give up. "You know,

King, I heard you sing before…" King froze. "That wasn't me." Mai focused her eyes on King. She found this to be a lie. "I heard you sing in the shower. It was very good." King paused for about a good thirty seconds, then sunk. "Fine…"

Leona crossed her arms. "NO." She was upfront. "Aw, c'mon!!! Think of it as a mission!!" Ralf urged. Clark adjusted is shades. "Yeah! Commander's helping out, too! Let's go to the base, and talk to him."

At the base....

"So, how's it coming along, Commander?" Ralf wondered. Heidern was at his control panel, checking the screens and removing the headphones off his ears. "Pro Tools was a great buy. This may be of interest to you." Heidern turned up the

volume of his computer, with Leona slowly making her way out of the room to avoid embarrassment. The music played and bass rattled the subwoofers, and Ralf and Clark danced about, as Heidern bobbed his head. "C'mon, Ralf, spit

some!!" Clark motioned. Leona groaned and sat in the hallway. She decided to play a game on her phone. Ralf prepared to rap. "Sup name is Ralf and I've got big guns, me, Clark, and Leona go on runs, we take 'em out, without a doubt,

we've got clout, Clark's gonna tell ya what we're all about." Clark continued on, "Yo, this is Clark, and I do more than bark, I even bite and my shades are dark. We're decision makers, we're the mission takers, mess with me and get an

argentine backbreaker. Leona cuts 'em, I just slam 'em, here comes Ralf with a Galactica Phantom!" The three guys applauded and laughed. Ralf and Clark hi-fived. "Great work, soldiers!" Heidern applauded. He noticed his daughter wasn't in

the room. "LEONA, promptly get your butt in here. That's an order." Leona made her way in the room briskly, but reluctantly. Heidern looked at the three while handing them a CD. "Your mission, the King of Bands! Good luck!"

"Is Yagami signing up???" Yashiro was getting frantic as Shermie checked the official website to see who signed up. He absolutely HATED Iori, and his music. Shermie tried to be positive. "Don't worry about him," she chirped. Yashiro was

about to yell, but stopped himself, but he was still loud. "I just want to beat his ass! Schadenfreude feels awesome, and not in the name of Orochi for once! Yagami doesn't deserve shit!" Shermie looked over the list "The Wolfpack signed

up. Must be Terry." Yashiro nodded coolly, arms crossed. "He's cool." Shermie continued to look. "Athena and The Shining Crystals. Ikari Warriorz. With a 'z'. Y-y…yep. Iori signed up. Crescent Crisis." Yashiro wanted to smash something, but

Shermie hushed him. "Calm down, hun. Don't get so worked up." Chris came in the living room eating a popsicle. "I heard we're entering KOB, Shermie!" Shermie nodded. "Uh huh, Chris! We are!" She looked at Yashiro. "Yep, bud. We are."

Iori sat at the computer. "Okay, let's fucking write something." Vice crossed her arms. "I gave you that song…." Iori grumbled. "We're not singing about love. Let's make that clear, whore." Vice growled. "It's not about love, asshole…it's

about turmoil…" Iori whipped his head towards her. "Same thing. I bet you were a slut in high school. I bet my money on it. Slut." Mature held her hand up. "You two, STOP. Iori, stop being an ass, Vice, stop being dumb." Vice and Iori

simmered in anger. "Now, I have an idea for a song. After all, Yagami's letting us use the equipment, and he agreed to work with us, so let's do what he wants." Iori was a bit relieved. Vice huffed and turned her back towards them. She was

extremely angry and felt betrayed. Iori smirked.

"I'll be the lead singer….naturally," Benimaru said. Kyo rolled his eyes. "Sure, girly boy." Benimaru crossed his arms. "Don't be sad, Kyo. I'll help us get the girls, and I'll leave some for you." Kyo grumbled. "What the fuck ever, let's just win

this thing." Shingo came in with a contraption of some sort. Benimaru and Kyo stared. "Ummmm….what's that?" Kyo said before Benimaru could. Shingo beamed. "It's a drum machine!!" The other two actually smiled. "Atta boy, Shingo!!"

Benimaru said, almost condescendingly, but genuinely.

Chizuru received all the sign ups. She looked through. "Alright, The Wolfpack…Athena and The Shining Crystals….Crescent Crisis….King Me….Flames….Ikari Warriorz…Orochi Beat…" She stopped. "O-o-rochi B-be-be-b-beat??!"

"Okay, Benimaru," Kyo started. "Shingo will start the beat, and I'll play a riff. You improvise, and we'll work from there." Benimaru winked. Kyo glared. "Don't ever do that again." Shingo pushed play on the drum machine. The beat sounded

very cookie cutter. Kyo started playing his guitar, in somewhat of reluctance, after hearing what Shingo made. Benimaru found a point to sing. "Look at my hair, yes, take a stare…" Kyo abruptly stopped. Shingo didn't realize this was a sign

to press stop. When Kyo wasn't playing for at least 15 seconds, he fumbled to press stop. Kyo seethed. "We sound like shit. Beni, don't sing about yourself. That won't win us the prize." Benimaru bit his lip. "Well, then let's write

something…" Shingo perked up. "We can write about the struggles of fighting Rugal!!" Benimaru and Kyo stared at Shingo. "You weren't there for that. You saw us on tv fighting Goenitz." Shingo sighed. Benimaru lit up. "Let's sing about

wielding flames." Then, he looked at Shingo. Shingo knew this was a jab. "Hey!!" Kyo shrugged. "I guess. But you guys know nothing about that. Let's just write about love."

Yashiro was banging his head to the steady, but heavy four on the floor beat Chris was supplying with his electric drum kit, with a few breaks every eight beats. "Nice!!! NICE!!!" Shermie made some programming adjustments to her keytar.

Then she played a heavy synth riff. "FUCK YES!!!" Yashiro was getting pumped. He played a few things on his guitar and started singing: "Possessed you are, you're wearing the scar! Before you know, it'll take control! You're a beast! Enjoy

the feast! Here comes the riot! YEAH! The riot! The riot! The riot of blood!" He played a riff, banging his head. They stopped momentarily and took in what they heard. "We're going to win!!" Shermie exclaimed, beaming. Yashiro's adrenaline

was running overtime, and he was ecstatic. "We're getting that prize money, guys. It's ours. Fuck Yagami."

Iori was getting frustrated. "Vice, I'll rip you into fucking shreds if you don't SHUT UP!!" Vice growled. "Fat fucking chance, asshole!!! I'm giving you suggestions and YOU'RE being a stupid douchebag about it!! Go fuck yourself!!" Mature was

annoyed. "GUYS!!! HEY!!!!HEYY!!!!! SHUT UP!!!! IORI, FUCKING PICK SOMETHING!!! VICE, STOP BEING A BITCH!!!" Vice turned to slap Mature, but Mature grabbed her hand, and they were bickering and almost fighting. Iori felt like

kicking both of them out. Getting prize money felt good though, so he decided to cooperate. "FINE!!! Fine, Vice. Give me that one song about newborns or something."

Terry and Andy were discussing something while Joe adjusted the microphone. "I think that song should be good." Andy looked. "A ballad? Joe's not going to sing that one…." Terry looked at one of the four pieces of paper laid out before

them. "I think it's a winner. Plus, Mai will be happy you wrote something about her."

"Not singing it." Joe firmly declined. Andy looked at his brother. "Told you." Terry adjusted his hat.

"LA LA LA LA LA LA LA LA!!!!" Yuri sang obnoxiously, cracking at a few notes. King and Mai cringed and covered their ears. With Yuri having a higher voice, it sounded extremely bad. Iori once described it as 'screeching kittens that take away

their cuteness appeal, though I'm not saying I like kittens anyway'. "Yuri…." Yuri didn't hear them as she was too busy being offkey. "Yuuuriiiii….." Again, doesn't hear Mai. "YURI." King bellowed. Yuri stopped. "So, you like?" Mai modestly

clapped. King stopped her. "You're not singing." Yuri frowned. "Alright…I'll like, stick to the computer stuff…"

HOUR LATER...

Mai looked at what Yuri was doing on the laptop. "Good thing we have someone who follows the latest stuff!" Yuri smiled. "Hey, which track do you guys like better?" She played the first one, which sounded like an exercise song. Mai and

King liked it, but they wanted to hear everything first.

Athena wanted to try something different. "Look, I'm sorry Kensou. I didn't mean to disrespect you. I have an idea though." Kensou looked up. "You like video games, right?" Kensou wasn't sure where she was getting at. "Let's make 8 bit

music!!" Kensou gleamed. "Sweet!!! Let's get to it!!!"

Kim Kaphwan looked over lyrics that were submitted. He was in charge in approving which songs were acceptable. He stopped at one. He was not happy. "Nope! This is unacceptable!!" He slammed down the paper he was reading.

"Absolutely not!! I do not, and I REPEAT, I do not advocate drug usage. That is a no no!! Terry knows better!!! Crack Shoot?? How could he??" He was too furious to read the other entries. "This HAS to stop." Kim took a deep breath. "I

mean it. This has to stop. Don't make me call Mary and put everyone in jail, because I will!!" He took another breath. He thought for a minute. "Oh, man. I'm getting carried away.

""You guys look like rock stars," Mai teased Ryo and Robert. "Especially Ryo. I mean, your hair is so early 90s." Ryo took a deep breath, then replied. "I thought the early nineties meant if you had long hair in the 80s, you cut it." King laughed.

"What kind of logic is THAT??" Yuri encouraged the fire even more. "Having a rockstar brother is cool. I'm sorry, but you guys look the part." Robert facepalmed. "It's my hair, isn't it?" He sighed.

"I'm NOT rapping," Iori snapped at Mature. Mature stamped her foot. "Well, goddammit! Pick something!" Iori could foresee two bodies lying helplessly on the floor, but that was not the focus. The focus was to come up with some songs for

the contest and win money. Iori took a deep breath. "Fuck….okay, let's give it a go…."

"I'll make you dream forever, and you'll wake up never ever! I'll make you dream forever. You'll scream forever," Mature softly sang, as Iori played a mid 90s eurodance track he made on his computer. Iori, in a way, was embarrassed, but he

wasn't going to show it. Mature looked at Iori when his part came up. He rolled his eyes and did his rap, "Rippin, shreddin, you've hit a dead end, it's the bass that I let in. Love is deadly and will kill you, you ordered porn? they will bill you

(Mature and Vice exchange looks). Thanks to me, you have no mother. If I were you, I'd hide your brother (Mature and Vice are confused and look at the paper). Kittens are not that cute. Gimme a gun, and I'll shoot. You better act right or I'll

give you the boot. the rest is moot!" Iori started dancing a little, then he abruptly stopped. He whipped his head around. "You tell NO ONE I danced, or you will suffer horrible deaths!" he threatened.

THE PERFORMANCE NIGHT!!!!!!!!

"AHHHHHH! YOU! OKAY? BUST AH WAAAAOOHHLFFPHH!!!!" Terry's band was playing. The audience sang along to their first song. Mai, King, and Yuri were trying so hard not to laugh. "That's…wow…" Mai smirked. "I'm going to make fun

of Andy for the rest of his life and make when we have kids, that they know of this debacle." King shook her head. "That's just cruel…haha." Yuri looked at Robert and Ryo. "You guys are the true rockstars." Ryo grumbled. Mai lit up. "Don't

forget to wear your rockstar makeup when we hit the stage!"

"Chang looks like a metal artist," Kensou mentioned to Athena. She motioned a finger to her lips to softly let him know to be quiet. She attentively listened to everyone. Kensou was nervous, but was ready. He heard Choi and Chang's metal

band, "The Rippers". To make it more exciting, Choi dressed up as Freddy Krueger. Like he doesn't already look like him.

"The fire is hot, but you are not! That's who we are. This burning inside, the feelings inside youuuuuu…," Benimaru sang as Kyo played guitar and Shingo played the keyboards and drum machine. There were scattered snickers in the audience.

"Wow, that's pretty fucking horrible," Iori spoke. "Then, again. What do you expect from Kyo?" Vice looked like she was having a headache. "Please tell them to stop for Orochi's sake…" she muttered.

Kensou pressed a few buttons and little beeps and chirps emanated from his laptop. Athena made a small announcement of their song before they started. "This song is called 'Magical Computer'." Maxima clapped loudly. "Yeah!!!" Someone

was louder than him, however. Jhun was practically screaming….and sweating. A lot. "lalalala lalala…I am a magical computer….magical…"

Vice, and Mature were on stage. Iori had a brief word with the women. 'You fuck this up, you may not live to see who won," Iori threatened. Mature balled her fists. "Stop it." Vice bit her lip. Then, all three turned to the audience with fake

smiles. "Damn, Yagami's a pimp," Robert whispered to Ryo. "I know, it's the assholes who get the women." Iori walked up to the microphone. "Hey, shitheads. We wrote a song. It's called "Maiden Masher". Yashiro scoffed. "That's stupid as

fuck.' Shermie patted his hand and held it. "It's okay….babe, it's okay." Yashiro leaned his head against a propped fist. He held his lady's hand. The music began, and it almost sounded like motown. Mature vocalized while Vice sang a few

words. "Maiden….made to mash…" Iori sang. "Oh, you good for nothing. I'll make you into something. I'll give you purpose, and it'll be like this." Then, the girls joined in after the small drum break. "I'm gonna mash you. I'm gonna smash you

up. I'm gonna bash you. Well, I'm gonna slash you up!" Despite the lyrics, it was catchy. Shermie caught herself humming it before Yashiro said anything. "Not bad, but he ain't shit," Yashiro said. Chris liked the song, but he didn't want his

legal guardian to be angry so he entered denial. Daimon now wondered if it was such a great idea bringing his child….Even Kula began to cry.

"Drinks on me, it's means they're free. Come on. Come on. I'll give you a round if you stick around, whoa oh…" King sang. Ryo played a mean guitar while Robert was a monster on the drums. Yuri smiled as she played keyboards. She was so

happy. Mai played the cowbell. "How fitting…" Iori grumbled. "Fucking cow."

Yashiro was excited. Extremely excited. Shermie was hooking up her keyboards. Chris programmed his drum machine. Yashiro smiled at his band. "We're gonna win. Yagami won't stop us now! We got the prize!!

Kyo sunk at the fact they probably lost. 'Thanks a lot, girly boy," Kyo spat. Benimaru gave Kyo a "who me?" gesture. Kyo rolled his eyes. Suddenly, Chizuru approached him. She was breathing quite heavily and she looked worried. "Kyo, I

need you immediately," she demanded. Shingo and Benimaru looked at Chizuru then at Kyo. "What's this about? Did we win???" Chizuru nervously chuckled, and looked away. "Anyway, I need you right away."

Iori went to the bathroom. "Haven't took a piss all day. Shit," he muttered as he was about to take out a cigarette as he exited the bathroom. He almost got careened by Chizuru. "Thank GOD I found you. I need you NOW." Iori seemed

puzzled. "Since when?" Chizuru seemed really flustered. "We're wasting time!! Come with me!! Backstage!!!"

Suddenly, the lights dimmed and the smoke machine went off. Yashiro emerged from the smoke in a jazzy purple suit. He firmly held a mic. The music began, as light swirled about on stage. The audience was wowed. The smoke began to

clear and Shermie had a purple gem studded cocktail dress, and Chris was wearing a purple vest and pants, and had a gold necklace on. They began to play very heavy, dancy, industrial music. Yashiro began to sing. "This year, Orochi will

awake. Thanks to you, you've done it all for us. The words I speak are not fake. We need more energy, so come chant with us! Oh oh oh oh oh!!!! Orochi's here!!!!" The drums pounded the floor as if meteors had hit the earth. The band was

getting pumped. The audience was unaware that this band had a huge surprise for them. However, when the song ended, a woman ran onto stage. "YOU!! I know what you're up to!!!" There were gasps! Gasps rang about and scattered

voices in confusion. They didn't know if it was part of the show, or if they should run for safety. Yashiro turned and saw the sponsor before his very eyes. "Don't interrupt our fucking performance," he started. "We've got another song to go."

Chizuru nodded. 'I know. We're going to battle you for it!!!" Kyo comes out with a guitar and Iori comes out with a bass, and hands Chizuru her keytar. "Thanks, Iori," she thanked. Iori grumbled. "I felt really gay holding it." Shermie giggled.

"Now, this sounds like fun!!!!" The audience was really into it now. Yashiro thought for a moment. "Hmmm, we do need more energy for Orochi to awake! This is perfect!" Yashiro looked at Chizuru. "You're on!!! Bring it!!!"

Chris' drumsticks were now engulfed with purple flames, Shermie's keyboards were now more electrifying, and Yashiro had booming vocals. "Kyo, take Chris, and Iori, take on Yashiro. I get Shermie," Chizuru instructed. Kyo ran to Chris

playing some guitar riffs that shot out fire as Chris ran to Kyo swirling the sticks around, making flames. Iori ran to Yashiro and started shredding out some pounding basslines as Yashiro began to sing some brutal lyrics that were "in your

face". Chizuru and Shermie stood opposite of each other and had a keyboard duel. Weirdly enough, as everyone's fighting, everything is on rhythm. Strangely enough. Weird how that happens, huh? Chris falls over after Kyo does a solo that

surrounds him completely in flames, and as he holds a note, he releases it like his Orochinagi. Chris is pushed aside, but he is not down. He awaits. Chizuru outdoes Shermie in the duel, with wailing cheesy keytar sounds, yet she played a

classical masterpiece on it. "Ha!! I have had classical piano training!!!!" she beamed. Shermie was out of bbreath, but she was not deterred. She smiled. Yashiro's voice was giving Iori a bit of trouble, then, Iori decided to play a 70s bass riff.

"Slap bass may work!!!" He was right. Those sounds slapped Yashiro constantly in the face, and he fell down and screamed, but he was not finished. He snickered. "WOOOOOOOOOOO!!!!! That was a FUCKING blast." Shermie wiped the

sweat from her forehead. "Hehehe!" Iori was angry. "Well???" Chizuru was in shock. "Thanks. I couldn't have asked for any more help," Yashiro smirked. "OROCHI'S HERE!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!"

Chris floated in the air over everyone. The audience was in some type of amazament. "Wow, I hope this is televised..." Mai wondered. Yuri was recording the whole thing with a camcorder. "Youtube!!!!!!!" Yuri giggled. Mai lit up. 'You have an

account?? What's your name on there??" Yuri let her know,"yuri94." Mai gave her hers,"mailife". As this is going on, Chris is still floating. "Bullshit," Joe thought. Terry looked at Joe. "Why, man?" Joe explained. 'It's gotta be strings or

something. This is looking too much like a musical." Andy chirped in. "Well, Joe, except something always happens every year at KOF." Joe rolled his eyes. "It's KOB this year. Get it right. Haha."

When Chris got to a certain point in the air, he began his transformation to Orochi. Vice and Mature waved, and took pictures. "There's our God," Vice mentioned. They held our their hands in a "rock" gesture. Yashiro stood strong and looked

up. Shermie bowed. Kyo and Iori stood and wondered what was going on. Chizuru looked up, yet was looking for a different instrument in the sound bank of the keytar. She backed towards Iori and Kyo. "Hopefully you can sing and play

guitar simultaneously, Kyo," she whispered. "He's a one man band."

TO BE CONTINUED........(have to leave soon, but will post the other fic)