The King of Fighters 2000 (drama)

The King of Fighters 2000 Drama CD is a dramatization of the events predating the King of Fighters tournament for that year. It originally aired on Game Dra Night before its CD release on September 20, 2000 with Scitron and Art. The CD itself is the last drama CD release before the company's bankruptcy. Both stories begin the same despite their different point of views.

Story
Continuing from the events of the last tournament, K' and Maxima continue their hunt for NESTS while evading the pursuit of Heidern's troops. A year passes and their journey takes them to Indonesia. Maxima explains that their mission is to investigate a suspicious group of terrorists who seem to have ties to NESTS. While walking away from their lookout point, K's flame briefly acts up. Although his partner is concerned, he tells him it's nothing and they proceed.

At the airport, Benimaru Nikaido and Whip walk off their American flight into the same country. Whip asks why he brought her there, which Benimaru answers with a flirt and an offer for a date. Eventually, she gets him to spill his real motive: information about NESTS. Although she warns him to return to America, he leaves to look for a hotel and walks off with her in tow.

The scene shifts to a place full of water. A girl sees K' there and asks who he is. He responds that even he doesn't know the answer and is currently looking for the real him. He says that she is the same and she pouts that she isn't. However, when the girl can't give him a straight answer about her identity, he walks away and leaves her crying for an answer. The water splashes and the girl wakes up to Foxy knocking on the door. Assured that she's fine, Foxy tells her to get out of the bath. Although her guardian forbids her from going outside, she sneaks out and runs into the city. Foxy notices her absence later.

In the streets, Benimaru loses sight of Whip and wanders around looking for her. He witnesses a struggle with a peddler and a rowdy girl. They argue about her method of payment, a card that has no money on it. She reasons that she paid him properly which upsets him even more. Picking up the card, Benimaru interrupts the scuffle.

Meanwhile, Athena hears about the King of Fighters tournament. Much to her manager's dismay, she sneaks away from her concert in Japan and leaves for the airport.

A Line
Alone in a park, Whip reviews recent information about the terrorist activity in the country and quickly identifies it as NESTS' movements. The bitter feelings she has sparks a brief flashback of her time at NESTS where she protests erasing the memories of their newest experiments. Her superior, Zero, says the men's memories are of no importance and rejects her complaints. In response, she brandishes her whip and states that she won't allow it. An intruder snaps her away from her thoughts and she demands that they reveal themselves. Maxima comes out and greets her as Seirah. K' also appears before her to say that she's intruding on their operation. Whip replies that she has the same desire they do but is much more eloquent about it. She offers to join forces but Maxima reminds her that it will only be a blood fest and is unfitting for a person of rules and fairness. K' departs, saying that no one will believe her honesty in this world.

Back in the city, the girl follows Benimaru and whines for attention. Annoyed, he gives her money for some snacks and she runs off. He plans to ditch her until he remembers that he forgot to return the card she dropped. Once he takes a good look at it, he realizes that K' and Maxima also held the same type of card. He is shocked to learn it's a ID card for NESTS.

At a secluded room in a church, K's glove malfunctions and bursts out a painful burst of fire. He figures that the glove's safety must have cracked and the flame is getting harder to control. Maxima enters and demands to see K's arm. Once he sees the glove's depleting state, he tells him that if it continues, K' will most likely die. Maxima warns him to not use his flame on threat of a Vapor Cannon to the face and walks out. While thinking of their next move, he meets up with Whip. Knowing the state of K's glove, she asks if there is anything she can do to help. Once he tells her that he needs a NESTS engine to fix it, she presents a microchip of NESTS' location to him. When they show it to K', he refuses to accept her help and leaves to take care of the terrorists by himself.

With the girl, Benimaru treats her to tea and snacks, wondering how a normal girl could be associated with NESTS. The girl reasons that she has always played alone so she doesn't know how to react to the situation. He asks if she has siblings and she responds that she has none. Curious, she asks if he has any and he replies that he has two people he thinks as his younger siblings as they inexplicably bring a smile to his face. She attempts to ask for him to be her "brother" but gets embarrassed and drags him somewhere else. They walk along a beach and she enjoyed herself since it's her first time seeing so many places at once. She tries to guess what he does for a living based on his "fake" name, which gets a laugh from Benimaru. Seeing his happy face, she names him her brother.

She takes him to her home and shows him around. Foxy finds them and is surprised to hear Benimaru's name. She tells the girl to get behind her as she faces off with him. Their conversation is interrupted when the ceiling is blown apart by K', who is fighting minor members of NESTS above them. Foxy tries to snipe him with her gun but he retaliates by shooting fire at them. The girl, who is shielded by her guardian, is angered that someone would hurt the ones she cares about. She freezes the room and confirms for the audience that she is Kula.

She blindly attacks K' but he quickly overpowers her. He sees her as the same as him and is upset that NESTS would send a child against him. He tries to finish her off until Benimaru electrocutes him. As her "brother", he tells her to run away from NESTS and live a life of real happiness. Kula reluctantly flees and Benimaru covers her escape. He gains the upper hand in the fight due to K's glove acting up. Before he can deal the final blow, Maxima assists and effectively stops them. On his comlink, Whip confirms that she acquired the engine they needed and signs off. Though K' protests being saved, Maxima knocks him out with a punch. He bids Benimaru a peaceful farewell before retreating.

In the wreckage, Kula is in tears and cries that she doesn't understand why NESTS is evil. Foxy arrives at her side, assuring her that it is the world that is wrong, before she sprays Kula's face. She reports over a handheld transceiver that she captured the Anti K' subject and erased its memories. In her thoughts, Kula promises to meet her brother again someday.

K' awakes hours later with Maxima at his side. He asks why Maxima saved him and his partner replies to repay the favor if he breaks down. Whip meets with a solemn Benimaru at the airport and calmly states that the next tournament's coming up in Southtown. She warns him that NESTS might be there and wishes him well. Before she leaves, Benimaru asks if he'll have enough strength to go up against them. She thoughtfully gives him advice her colonel once said to her: "When you protect other people, it isn't about how much power you'll need for the job. It's the heart that wants to protect that counts."

B Line
Athena arrives to her master's hut and is startled to see that no one is there. She wonders if they left for King of Fighters already until she spots a note. She reads it aloud, learning that her master and Kensou left to talk with Kim yesterday. Hoping to catch up with the rest of her team, she rushes off to Kim's place in Korea. There, she sees a very happy Choi slacking off. Before he can say where Kim and company went, Jhun barges in and announces his intentions to train Choi in Kim's place. He sees Athena, quickly exits, yells a fanboy scream of delight in the next room, and enters again with a refined presence. After hearing her situation, he tells her that they already left for China. He elates her spirits by saying they left mere hours ago, meaning that she could still catch up to them. Although she tries to leave, Jhun declares that the idol dine with him at a delicious restaurant and swears to still have time to make Kim's flight. He drags Choi along to pay the bill.

While waiting in line for their seat, Athena points out K' and Maxima across the street. Choi and Jhun obnoxiously yell their names, wondering what they're doing. Maxima tries to signal for them to shut up but loses his patience and punches them out. He tells them that he's in the middle of an important job and it would be best if they forgot they were there. After the trio eats, an explosion erupts which shows K' and Maxima fighting terrorists. Offended that they would disturb the town's serenity, Jhun rushes off to serve justice. Choi tags along to avoid later punishment. The Taekwondo master's long entrance speech is silenced by K'.

At the airport, a frustrated Athena scowls that she couldn't make the flight for China in time and is lagging behind her team more so than before. To make matters worse, Jhun and Choi search for her with intents to be her bodyguards and possible teammates. Worried that she will never get to KoF with them around, she runs away and boards the nearest flight she could find. Unfortunately, in her rush, she misreads "Boston" for "Bombay" and lands in India. She also doesn't have much money left so she is stuck in a rut. By some stoke of luck, Choi and Jhun also made the same mistake and they find her. Jhun once again assures that everything is fine with him around. She mentions her money problem but it turns out the duo used most of their money to catch up with her. Jhun then suggests that they do some street performances for money.

Elsewhere, Lin sneaks amongst the luggage while keeping an eye on his target. He plans to use the weapons he hid in his bag and is surprised to see it have clothes and hairspray. At this time, Athena bumps into him by accident and she quickly leaves with her bag. Lin, taking an interest in her mannerisms, tracks her down since he has time before he needs to do his job. Some time later, Jhun and Choi perform a knife throwing stunt with Jhun as the one tied to the board. Humorously, Choi remembers his days as a stalker and accidentally nicks his target. Their act is halted by a smoke bomb and Jhun bumps into Lin during the panic. He orders Choi to take Athena to safety while he holds Lin off.

Despite these efforts, Lin catches up with Athena. He intimidates Choi and he runs away, leaving a scared Athena with the ninja. She screams for him to explain himself but he only walks closer and frightens her. When he's standing next to her, Lin points to her bag of luggage and utters that it's not hers. He hands out her real bag and trades it for his own. After the luggage is returned to its respectful owners, he snarls to forget their encounter and leaves. Athena, still determined to get to Southtown in time to meet her teammates, tries her luck a third time at the airport. In her daze, she unintentionally bumps into someone ahead of her. To her shock, it's the renegade Kyo.

When her plane arrives on land, she joyfully reads "Welcome to Mexico". Somehow, both Jhun and Choi follow her there. At a local restaurant, Athena mentions that the shock of seeing Kyo jumbled her thoughts and landed her on the wrong flight. However, the trio spot Kyo at the restaurant and call out for him like they did for K' and Maxima. Both men are punched by an annoyed Kyo who warns them that NESTS is somewhere nearby. He leaves and Athena chases after him. Jhun, hearing the word NESTS, blindly charges with Choi to hunt the villains down.

The idol stops Kyo and pleads that he talk with her. She explains that everyone at his home is worried about him and asks why he can't return. Although he misses them, Kyo answers that everyone involved with him will be in danger as long as NESTS exists. As soon as he defeats NESTS, he will go home. He shows her a charm that Yuki bought long ago and says that as long as he has it, he won't die before then. When Athena stops him once more, he asks her reasons for fighting and she states that it's to see everyone smile. He clarifies that other people think differently and won't understand her reason. He relates that he maybe just testing himself again. Kyo repeats that she leave the town and departs.

Fourth time at the airport and Athena finally finds the right flight. She wonders what happened to the Korean pair and turns on the TV, which reports a large public disturbance. The track ends with Jhun and Choi charging against the local military in the (mistaken) name of justice.

Cast

 * K' - Yuuki Matsuda
 * Maxima - Katsuyuki Konishi
 * Whip - Shiho Kikuchi
 * Kula Diamond - Yumi Kakazu
 * Benimaru Nikaido, Choi Bounge - Monster Maezuka
 * Athena Asamiya, Foxy - Haruna Ikezawa
 * Jhun Hoon - Kazuya Ichijo
 * Lin - Takaya Kuroda
 * Kyo Kusanagi - Masahiro Nonaka
 * Zero, Narration - Kinta Futogane
 * Soldier, Research Worker - Yasuhito Abe
 * Athena's manager, TV Announcer - Kotaro Nishimura
 * Peddler - Keinosuke Watanabe