Deceiving yourself

Author's Note: This story takes place after the events depicted in "Taking control", and it's placed in the same universe. For the purpose of this story, Athena, Kensou, Kyo, Mai, King and the Sakazakis live in the same town. I know this is not canonical. Athena lives in Osaka, I think… Or somewhere in China, training with Kensou, Chin and Bao. If you want, you can imagine that all of them have come to Southtown for whatever reason. Maybe to prepare themselves for the upcoming KOF tournament. It's up to you.

Disclaimer: I don't own any of the characters portrayed here.

Chapter 1: People who quit smoking usually gain weight

It was a warm afternoon, and King and Mai were sitting together at a café.

"I can't believe you did that, Mai", King said. "I mean, you're the one who said that people should decide such things by themselves. I don't know… I'm afraid that you've done more damage than good."

"I know.", Mai replied. "But you didn't see him last night. He looked so miserable. When I approached him, he covered it up, but I'm sure he had been crying. I just wanted to do something to help him. And he was starting to get drunk, but he also seemed like he was gonna throw up any minute. He obviously doesn't handle alcohol well. I just couldn't let him keep ruining himself like that."

"Yeah.", King agreed. "It would be a real shame for such a promising fighting career to go to waste because of a drinking problem. I'm quite surprised, actually. I thought Kensou was more stable than that."

"I guess last night was the final straw.", Mai said. "It was his birthday, you know."

"And she forgot about it?"

"That's what I asked him, too.", Mai smiled slightly. "But, no, she didn't forget it. He planned to spend that night with her, but he didn't tell her anything, because he wanted it to be a surprise, but she told him she had to go with Kyo somewhere instead, I forgot where, because she had that thing arranged weeks before. She also told him that her schedule is really full and that if he wanted to be with her on that night, he should have told her that at least a month in advance."

"Don't you think it's a little weird that he's taking her somewhere on his birthday?", King asked. "I mean, when it's your birthday, others should do all the work, right?"

"I guess she was just too busy."

"I'll bet. Being a pop star and a fighter sure consumes most of your time.", King sighed. "I don't think you should neglect your friends because of it, though. But I think she had it all planned out."

"What do you mean?"

"She knows Kensou is crazy about her. And she doesn't feel the same, right? Well, maybe she just felt too uncomfortable talking about it with him, so she decided to do something like that, so he would… cool off a little, if you know what I mean."

"I don't know… That would be really cruel, though.", Mai said. "I don't think Athena's like that. I mean, they have practically grown up together, she knows him better than anyone. She must have known how he would react to something like that. And he was really upset last night. I was shocked when I saw him. I mean, that's why I told him all that. I wouldn't have done it, if he hadn't looked that awful."

"Speaking of which, what exactly didyou tell him, Mai?"

"Well, basically, all the things I realized when I broke up with Andy. You know, how life is too short, and that he can't waste it waiting for someone who doesn't love him to change their mind. That he will never be happy if he doesn't move on… That he should find a girlfriend, have a normal relationship and… well, lose his virginity," (at that point King rolled her eyes) "because that's what all the boys his age have done already… instead of being obsessed with Athena for the rest of his life… That it is not good for him… You know, stuff like that. I was tactful."

"If that's what you call tactful, then I sure don't wanna see what you consider tactless.", King said, rolling her eyes again. "You probably messed him up even more."

"Oh, please!", Mai protested. "I'm sure he'll be fine. …OK, I'm not sure. But what was I supposed to do? I couldn't just walk past him and say nothing, and I certainly couldn't assure him that Athena is crazy about him and that she'll profess her love to him in a matter of days!"

"I hope you're right", King sighed. "Kensou is a nice guy, and I would hate to see him struggling with alcoholism, depression or something even worse."

"Certainly, it won't go that far!", Mai exclaimed. "Jeez, now I feel responsible for him. I guess I should talk to him again, before he does anything stupid."

"I agree.", King said. "Besides, don't forget it took you two years to get over Andy. Kensou surely won't become completely happy and carefree just over night. …It's getting late. I have to go to the bar."

"OK. Don't worry, I'll pay.", Mai said when King took out her wallet. "I'll see you tomorrow?"

"Sure. At Yuri's party. Be there around 8."

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Next day, Mai got up, took a shower and just as she was getting out of the bathroom, the phone rang. (Author's Note: the words in italics represent the speech of the person calling.)

"Hello?"

"Hi, Mai, it's me, King."

"Oh, hi, King! What's up?"

"I didn't wake you, did I?"

"No, no, I was just getting out of the shower."

"Oh, OK then…", the other side of the phone went silent.

"King… is there something you wanted to tell me?"

"Uhm, well… yeah, I guess. I mean, you know I'm not a person who likes to gossip…"

"A gossip?", Mai interrupted her. "Well, I'm always up for some of that! Is it juicy?"

Mai could hear that King was uncomfortable, but it was kinda amusing to her.

"Sort off… Well, I don't usually go around babbling about other people's personal stuff, but it's not really personal since it happened in my bar last night…and…"

"What's the matter, King? Is it about Andy? Did he hook up with someone else? Because, if he did, it's OK, really. You can tell me. I told you I was over him."

"Uhm… no, it's not about Andy."

"Oh, come on, King, out with it already!", Mai lost her patience. "You're the one who called me, remember? That means you think I should know this, right? So stop beating around the bush, and just tell me."

"OK, you're right. Well, it's about Kensou."

"Really? What about him?"

"He came to my bar last night and…"

"Oh, no, he got drunk again, right? Did he get into a trouble? You shouldn't have let him drink!"

"First of all, I wasn't working behind the bar, Sally was there. I was in one of the back rooms, sorting some things out. I saw him before I went there, and he wasn't sitting at a table, even though there were lot of free tables, it was a slow night, you know. Anyway, he sat at the bar instead. And he seemed to be in a very good mood, which surprised me, after all those things you told me yesterday…"

"Hey, you didn't actually tell him that I told you everything, did you?", Mai interrupted her.

"No, of course not. I didn't even talk to him, I just said 'Hi' and asked somethig like 'what brings you here?' and he said that it was time to change some things. This didn't really sound good to me, but I didn't have time to chat, so I just went back there. Then, somewhere before midnight, I came out to check on things, and I noticed Sally wasn't there. And then Elizabeth told me that she had gone away with Kensou!"

"I'm sure you'll reduce her wage for leaving the job early.", Mai laughed.

"Oh, get serious! Well, that's what I wanted to tell you. Do you think they'd… you know?"

"Spent the night together, so to speak?" Mai was careful not to use any of the more vulgar terms when talking to King. King was always very proper. "I don't know. I don't think that they have gone out just to talk about poetry or something."

"Yesterday, you told me that you will talk to him before he does anything stupid. Well, I think he did it last night. But, still, have a word with him. He must be very insecure. I mean, he obviously tried to use Sally as an instant rebound. You should have foreseen that. You know how people who quit smoking usually gain weight? They need to have something in their mouth so they replace cigarettes with food. This is something like that. If he gave up on Athena, it must have left a huge void in his life. He needed something to fill that void with, and he, obviously, wanted to do it right away. Now you should do something, talk to him, explain him that it won't make him feel better. Don't just encourage him to stop doing the thing that consumed most of his time without offering any alternative. And don't tell him I told you about last night."

"All right, I'll do that, as soon as I see him. I mean, I don't know when that'll be. I don't have his number and I don't know where he lives…"

"You'll see him tonight", King interrupted her.

"What?", Mai asked, confused.

"I asked Robert to invite him to Yuri's party. I didn't tell anything to Robert. Kensou will maybe tell him something himself, I don't know…" (Author's Note: Robert and Kensou know each other and are presumably buddies, but not really close friends, because they have a special pre-fight intro in some of the KOF games.)

"You're such a mastermind, King", Mai said ironically.

"I know. Unlike most of my friends…"

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It was 1 pm and Kensou took a glance at himself in the mirror. He wanted to make sure that he didn't skip a button on his shirt and that the rest of his clothes were fine, also.

"Well, I'll be going now.", he looked at Sally, confused, and started walking backwards towards her apartment door.

"Uh, do you want me to call you a taxi?", she asked and couldn't help but smile. That question was such a cliché.

"Uhm, no, I'm fine. …Well… uhm…", he stuttered.

"Yes?", Sally smiled slightly and raised her eyebrows.

"What?"

"Nothing. I thought you were about to say something to me.", she said, still with a smile on her face.

"Oh, yeah. Well, I… uhm… I don't want you to think that… I mean, I didn't do this last night because of…"

"Listen, you don't have to explain anything to me.", she interrupted him gently. "I did that last night because I wanted it, and it was nice. But that's it. We're not dating now, or anything. And you don't need to feel like you used me. I wasn't the one that was drunk last night, remember? "

"Yeah, I know", Kensou rushed to say, blushing in the process.

"So, if you want, we can do it again sometimes, just don't think it's more than it really is."

Yeah, I won't make that mistake again, Kensou thought bitterly. He turned around and got to the door. "So, I'll see you around?"

"Sure.", Sally smiled. "Bye."

"Bye."

Kensou heard Sally close the door behind him as he headed down the stairs. He felt dirty.

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That evening, Mai rang the doorbell at the Sakazaki house.

"Mai!", Yuri greeted her cheerfully and gave her a hug holding a glass in her hand that was filled with something Mai assumed was vodka. Loud music was coming from the inside of the house. "Come on in!", Yuri invited her. "Don't worry, we managed to get the old geezer (Author's Note: Takuma) out of the house for tonight."

As soon as Mai took off her jacket, she was approached by King.

"Well, so nice of you to drop by.", King said in a playful voice. "Now, get to work. He's in the living room, sitting next to the window, and as far as I've noticed, he hasn't talked to anyone for more than 30 seconds."

"Well, look who's being Miss Bossy tonight.", Mai said, complaining.

"Hey, you wanted to help him before, so help him again. If you don't do something he'll be bored to death."

Mai entered the living room and said 'Hi' to a few people there. She noticed Kensou slouched near the window.

"Hi, what's up?", she greeted him as she sat next to him.

"Oh, hello, Mai", he said without enthusiasm.

"Is there something wrong? You look down."

"No, nothing.", he replied. He was obviously in no mood for conversation.

"Well then, why are you sitting here all by yourself? You should be having fun with others."

"I'm just tired, that's all.", he lied.

"Look, I've been meaning to talk to you about that conversation we had the other night. I just want to make sure that you have understood me properly. You know that…"

"I really don't feel like talkinig about it now.", he interrupted her.

"Very well then, you don't have to say anything, just listen to me. I shouldn't have told you those things back then, I mean… I should have been more tactful." Damnit, I hate it when King's right, she thought. "I should have guessed that after what I told you, you would just run off and do something stupid." He looked at her quizzically. "I know about you and Sally", she answered his unspoken question.

"How? Did King tell you?"

"Well… yes. I told her that I wouldn't tell you that she was the one who told me about it, but you figured it out yourself, and, right now, I'm not feeling creative enough to come up with a convincing lie. Anyway, I can understand why you did it. It's like with people who quit smoking. They usually gain weight. (I'm sure glad King can't hear this, she thought.) You know, replace one bad habit with another. But it doesn't make them feel better. And I'm sure last night didn't make you feel better." Kensou started to blush slowly. Mai pretended not to notice that. "You know, if you have decided to stop waiting for Athena to change her mind, and I assume you have, it has certainly created a void in your life. And I know that you need something to fill that void with. But you can't do that instantaneously. It requires time. A lot of time, actually. I needed two years to get over Andy completely, and I needed most of that time to deal with myself. To face the fact that I was deceiving myself. You also need something like that - time to get things straight with yourself. No instant solution is going to help you. And I want to apologize if anything I said last time… about losing virginity and all…" Kensou's face was now completely red. "…if that provoked you to do some of the things you did last night."

If it was at all possible, Kensou blushed even more.

"Once again, I'm sorry. My intention was to help you, and, somehow, I don't think I achieved that. Well…", she grabed a pen and a piece of paper from a nearby desk, "this is my number. I see you're not very talkative tonight, but if you ever feel like talking, just give me a call, OK?" He didn't say anything, but he nodded his head a little. Mai got up and started walking away, but she turned to him again: "And, if you're feeling really bad tonight, just go home. This bunch of happy, noisy people is just gonna get on your nerves, and you'll be feeling even worse." Kensou gave no sign that he heard her.

She left the living room and got to the kitchen. King was there, holding a glass of wine. "So, what did you tell him?", she asked.

Mai stood next to her, put an arm around her shoulder, and said: "Pour me one, will ya? …Well, I had no inspiration, so I had to quote a certain mastermind friend of mine a lot. I felt really bad." "Oh, and King?", Mai said as King was pouring her wine.

"Yeah?"

"Next time I try to interfere in other people's lives… just kick me."

"No problem", King smirked.

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OK, so this is the end of the first chapter. I'll try my best to post the second (and probably the last) chapter as soon as possible. In it, the focus will shift on Athena and the way she perceives this situation. Meanwhile, please review! Cheers!