Tokyo, Shibuya.
Night fell, and this city known as "Asia's pulse of fashion" finally awakened from its daytime slumber.
Neon lights of every color splashed across the towering skyscrapers like God's overturned palette, casting the cityscape in surreal, mirage-like hues.
At this moment, on an abandoned coastal highway in the Shibuya district, a scene utterly at odds with the glamorous metropolis was unfolding—a wild, primal "underground party."
Dozens of heavily modified motorcycles, looking like unrecognizable steel beasts, growled with low, menacing rumbles in the darkness.
Biker gang members in outlandish outfits gathered in clusters—bragging, shouting, chugging cheap beer.
The air reeked of low-grade gasoline, alcohol, and youthful testosterone, creating an atmosphere that set nerves on edge.
And our protagonist Cloud was currently wearing a leather jacket he'd apparently scavenged from some flea market—absolutely dripping with "vintage" energy—hands in pockets, casually blending in among these "delinquents."
He wasn't here for some "bosozoku" rally, of course.
He was "fishing."
Based on his investigation and analysis, his "target"—Chizuru Kagura—despite being a shrine maiden of the "Three Sacred Treasures," was secretly obsessed with speed and adrenaline: a full-blown "motorcycle girl."
And tonight, on this famous "midnight racing holy ground," there was a ninety percent chance of a "chance encounter" with her.
"Sigh... for the sake of saving the world, I, the King of Fighters, have really... worked my heart out."
Cloud leaned against a lamppost, releasing his forty-third sigh filled with the loneliness of a "world savior."
Just as he felt he might die from secondhand embarrassment at these "edgy boys'" chuuni energy, a crisp engine roar with explosive penetrating power came from the distance, instantly drowning out all noise at the scene!
That sound was like a Valkyrie's war song—sharp, clear, overflowing with unmatched confidence!
All eyes instinctively turned toward the source.
At the end of the highway, a red streak of lightning was hurtling toward them at air-tearing speed!
"It's the Crimson Comet! Big Sis Kagura's here!"
"Holy shit! We get to see the Wangan Queen herself tonight?!"
Waves of awed and fervent gasps erupted from the crowd.
Cloud narrowed his eyes and looked over.
It was a red Ducati V4S, its lines flowing and beautiful as a work of art.
And straddling that steel beast was a stunningly gorgeous young woman!
She wore a matching red-and-white fitted leather racing suit that outlined her golden-ratio figure bursting with power and beauty.
Her lustrous black hair was bound in a high, efficient ponytail that danced wildly in the night wind.
That exquisite face carried an innate queenly pride and confidence. Her phoenix eyes, bright as black obsidian, shimmered with a thirst for speed and freedom!
She was like a burning flame, a blooming rose—brimming with lethal allure!
Chizuru Kagura!
[Ding! Target character Chizuru Kagura detected! Guardian shrine maiden of one of the Three Sacred Treasures—the Yata Mirror!]
[Power Rating: S+]
[Bond Potential: SSS]
[System Commentary: Host, stop staring! You're about to drool! Reminder: This is the most well-hidden rich beauty and super big-shot in the KOF world! If you can bag her, you can run the "married couple team comp" when fighting Orochi!]
"SCREEEECH—!!!"
With a screech of tires, the red Ducati executed a gorgeous drifting tail-slide, stopping precisely at the front of the crowd.
Chizuru Kagura removed her helmet and casually flicked her black hair. That dashing pose instantly drew excited wolf-howls from the surrounding bikers!
But she paid no attention to those "adoring" and "reverent" gazes.
Her bright phoenix eyes, like the most precise radar, cut straight through the shifting crowd and locked firmly onto that man... leaning against a lamppost, wearing an awkward smile, completely out of place among the "edgy boys"...
Him. Cloud.
"Hm?"
A flash of barely perceptible surprise and curiosity crossed Chizuru's eyes.
For some reason she couldn't explain.
The moment she saw that man, the shrine maiden blood of the Yata clan—dormant for a thousand years within her—stirred uncontrollably!
It was a peculiar feeling.
Like two magnets, across vast distance, producing a faint but undeniably real resonance!
Her blood was telling her—
This man was "special."
He carried an aura that shared her origins!
Kusanagi?
Or... Yasakani?
This warm flame sensation... definitely Kusanagi.
"Hey."
Chizuru Kagura—the motorcycle girl known as the "Wangan Queen"—spoke to a strange man first for the very first time.
Her voice was crisp and pleasant, carrying a girl's natural liveliness, yet also an unquestionable queen's commanding tone.
"You there. In the leather jacket."
"Yeah, you. Stop looking around."
"You here to race too?"
Cloud smiled at this.
He stubbed out the cigarette he'd "borrowed" from some punk and slowly stepped out of the shadows.
"Race?"
He raised an eyebrow.
"No. I'm just... a lost tourist."
"Lost?"
Chizuru clearly didn't buy his bullshit.
"This isn't a road tourists should be on."
Her gaze swept over Cloud like an X-ray.
But strangely...
No matter how hard she channeled her "shrine maiden powers" that could see through hearts, all she sensed from this man was... chaos.
He was like an abyss shrouded in mist. You could see him, but you could never see through him.
...
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