Bittersweet Symphony

Pairing(s): Alba/Nagase, Duke/Lien (primary pairings)

Rating: M (or R...whatever)

Warnings: Sex, Violence, and Naughty Language (XD)

Summary: It was odd how they came together. Love had fucked them over royally; neither could never find a true grip on the concept, a true grip on the emotion. That thing in common shoved them into one another's worlds.

Things You Need to Know:

- This is completely Alternate Universe. This means that Soiree isn't gone, Jivatma isn't immortal (he still has the ability to come off as creepy in appearance though), Luise doesn't have all her powers and the uncanny ability to know everything, Judeim doesn't exist, and as far as it goes Alba and Soiree are still two separate brothers with a very strong brotherly bond. Names of some stages in KOF2006 have been renamed to other locations. Infernal Gate Club. More to come when I can think of them. [hit

- Secondly, Duke and Nagase are related (ages have been upped a little), and Jalange is a cut throat businessman who taught Duke everything he knows. I'm sorry but you won't be hearing Duke yell DOS DUN DUN and cracking up the ground, and Nagase hitting on Duke. That's just a no no.

- The first chapter may sound a little confusing but it's recapping events up until the meeting at the bar happens! So when the story jumps from Nagase to Alba, don't panic or freak out or anything xx.

Disclaimer: I don't own any of the King of Fighters Characters, they belong to SNK/NeoGeo/Falcoon. I'm just using them to write a fanfiction. I do however own the friendly bartender! I also don't own song titles/songs unless stated otherwise. I'm also not responsible for the weird pairings breaking your brain. I don't like most canon/semi-canon things. I defy the majority of it.

Chapter One: Trouble in Loveland (Parts One and Two)
Part One: Nagase

Nagase despised the men she labled 'pretty boys'. Oh God was she aware that they were hot when they wanted to be, but they had this nasty habit of deciding some other chick was better after she herself was willing to commit. Nagase never bothered to pinpoint why the hell they did it. It pissed her off after she went through it three times. Maturity was something she looked for. Well Maturity and older men.

For a while flings with older men were nice, but they were the first to leave, mentioning something about the wives they forgot last night. Blankness might've been the expression Nagase had on her face when they told her she was this 'adorable kitten', but a brief amount of hurt stung at her insides. For everytime that happened, feelings of anger and infuriation were unleashed, which resulted in something expensive being broken. And you couldn't exactly replace two hundred dollar phones so easily when you wanted to be independent.

On one particular morning after another stale evening of being called 'adorable', Nagase decided it'd be best to visit her brother, hoping he'd give her some type of advice on men. She was close to taking any advice she could get, even though she preferred to do things on her own to assert her independence; it took a lot of convincing to get Duke to agree to letting her move to Southtown. Punching in the numbers on her phone, she patiently waited for an answer on the other end.

"Nagase." a deep voice answered on the other end.

"Yeah hi..." the female began, running her shower before going into her bedroom and opening a dresser and pulling out some undergarments followed by tossing them onto the messy bed, "Look I need to talk to you. It's kinda important." She knew she shouldn't have been speaking so casually about this situation

"Kind of important?" the voice questioned on the other end. "You're willing to drive up here?"

"Yeah, so long as you gimmie some gas money to get back. Tank's half full."

"Done."

"Mhm. See you in two hours or so."

The conversation was over as fast as it began and Nagase debated on bringing one of her friends, but decided it was best they not know just yet. She wasn't sure how Chae Lim would take it, and she didn't want longtime pal Yuri Sakazaki barging in and saying something out of line that would in turn piss Duke off, therefore that meant Nagase wouldn't get anywhere except off the premesis and Duke wouldn't answer her calls for three days or so.

She spent a good two hours going upstate, and and additional fifteen minutes at the front gate trying not to smack the guard's face in. When walking down the gravel pathway with her brother (who finally got there; he always greeted her in person) toward the mansion he resided in, she opened her mouth to speak.

"Duke, why are men such assholes?"

Duke cleared his throat, continuing his trek up to the door, "Why are most women bitches?"

"Don't answer my question with another question!" Nagase insisted, following in his footsteps and up the stairs, "And did your wife do something again?"

"She's been a little more snappy than usual as of late." was Duke's reply.

"It's probably PMS, I wouldn't dwell on it. Now answer my original question. Why are men such assholes?"

The both of them entered the Study of Duke's elaborate and spacious home, and the much taller man gestured for his loving sister to take a seat in the brown leather chair before he sat down in his own across from her.

"Well?" Nagase began again, watching her brother slip on his glasses and direct his gaze toward his flat computer screen. If it were any other man she would've demanded his attention, but this was her older brother, the older brother who practically raised her since Daddy dearest wasn't exactly around all that much, especially after their mother had died giving birth to Nagase. Just call it the infamous case of Daddy eventually going quietly insane temporarily, leaving Duke to take care of everything.

"...It would help if you elaborated. I'm assuming some backstreet boy looking idiot pissed you off?" Duke said finally, running the mouse across the black pad.

"...Yeah." Nagase half lied. Someone pissed her off, but it wasn't a pretty boy. It was a married man.

"He doesn't wanna sound gay and tell you that he'd rather not be in a committed relationship." Duke replied. "Is that all?"

Duke's words didn't exactly help, not with what Nagase was going through. How exactly were you supposed to tell your overprotective older brother that you merely fucked around because committed relationships brought you nothing but hurt, anger, and in some cases left you the task of getting rid of items of sentiment that you thought you'd keep as a reminder of the good times in your relationship?

"It's not that...they just have this stupid habit of calling me 'adorable'. I'm not a fucking kid." Nagase answered. "To top it all off, they leave the next morning."

"...I usually don't pry into your sex life, but we are talking about some type of a relationship, right?" Duke questioned, finally setting his eyes on his sister, who shifted in her chair nervously. "As in two people only?" he finished.

"More like...fuckbuddies." Nagase replied finally.

When Duke rubbed at his temples, that's when Nagase knew he was angry, or at least getting there. They didn't have to have some talk about sex (she was twenty one years old for God's sake), it was just that Duke didn't like the thought of his sister and...some guy as fuckbuddies. But then he remembered she said 'they' and not 'he'. Oh God, this meant this was a series of one night stands.Oh God. Duke tried to process this news slowly, and the more he thought about it, the more angry he became. Did he fuck up somewhere in the midst of raising her? Did their father fuck up when he actually tried his hand at raising her when he wasn't grieving? No. No, Duke did not fuck up, and their father didn't either.

It was Southtown, the town that might as well have been Sin City on the eastern side of the states. He knew damn well he shouldn't have let her move out. He shouldn't have listened to their father when he told Duke to let Nagase fend for herself. This had to be rectified, simply because Duke hated errors. While something like perfection didn't exist, the man just absolutely hated making errors. Fixing them up was utter hell.

"...You see what happens when I let you move out? You move to a fucked up place like Southtown, and then you pass yourself out like you're the local bicycle!" Duke finally blurted.

"Whoa, whoa, whoa!" Nagase blurted, standing up. "I may fuck around and have relationships that last for a month or two at the most, but it's not like I'm your whore-turned-wife Lien!"

"Fuck you!" Duke roared. His issues with Lien were none of Nagase's business, but oh was there the feeling of Nagase knowing more than he himself did simply because of the fact that Lien made frequent trips to Southtown, and they weren't an effort to keep tabs on Nagase. Duke had Blackberry phones and closet security for that. Duke? Overprotective? Never.

"Why? Is Big brother angry because wifey is still fuckin everybody except him?!" Nagase spat, "I didn't come up here for this shit, I came up here to get some advice!"

"You want some advice?! Close your legs!"

"Tell it to your wife!"

With that, Nagase stormed out of the study and directly toward the exit, pushing past a rather calm Lien.

"...You sure have a way of ducking the central issue." Lien pointed out, which made Nagase stop mid walk and turn around.

"You're the last person who should be giving me advice when you can't even talk to your own husband!" she spat, exiting. She stomped down the pathway, cursing under her breath.

She didn't even get her gas money.

After two and a half hours of cursing, some Avenged Sevenfold and a speeding ticket, Nagase finally arrived back in Southtown completely pissed off and stressed out.

"Stupid..." she huffed, leaning against the steering wheel of her car, "How dare he judge me?! Can't even talk to his own wife, but he can reprimand me like it's nobody's business!"

In frustration she slammed her fist against the car horn before gritting her teeth. She wished that she was back upstate so that she could punch the hell out of Duke. Sure, it would hardly phase him, but she would feel good. A loud honk from another car made her realize she wasn't exactly out of the clear just yet, so she pulled off again headed for home.

On Nagase's elevator ride, her phone began to ring and she pulled it out of her pocket looking at the backlit screen. A frown crossed her features before she pressed the talk button and put the device to her ear.

"Your son is a pain in the ass." she snorted.

"Well, he did call in a blind rage, blaming me for teaching you some of the things I was taught..." Jalange trailed off, sitting at his desk and shuffling through some papers, "So I suppose I can let you get away with that remark. What's this about you and casual fucking?"

"So the relationships I have are based on sex...and only tend to last about a month or two. I'm not a whore."

"Of course you aren't. I didn't raise you to be one. I raised you to take my place."

"I hate business. I prefer hacking." Nagase replied, fishing around in her bag for her keys so that she could open her door.

"It has ended up being your forté, hasn't it?" Jalange replied. "By the way, I must thank you for that Christmas present last year. A rival company declaring bankruptcy after having their files hacked into is always fun to see. Jivatma said it was your doing afterall, you left no trails. Perfect to a T, my dear."

"I'm sure that put a smile on your face, Dad."

"Oh honey, you know I never smile anymore." the reply was smooth as ever. Duke told Nagase that their father was the man she inherited her sarcastic and snappy attitude, red eyes and black hair from.

"Of course. Send Jivatma my regards." Nagase's reply was almost monotonous. She had seen the man once or twice, and they set it off on the wrong foot already. Nagase had won the latest feud between them with the stunt she pulled last Christmas. Currently she was waiting for a response, as feuding with Jivatma was risky as it was fun.

"I always do. Let your brother pull his panties from his ass before you try talking to him again." Jalange replied.

"Whatever. Call whenever." Nagase hung up and entered her home, tossing her bag aside and letting it bounce off the couch and onto the cream colored carpet below. She entered her room, tossing herself onto her bed face down, sighing into her pillow. Almost immediately did the scent of sex and heavy colonge fill her nostrils and she paled. That's right, she hadn't bothered to change her linen before she left and the current smell just brought back a night she wanted to forget. And maybe a little nausea.

Getting up, she proceeded to remove the linens and blankets leaving them there in a pile.

"What to do with them..." she began, finger to her chin before her eyes lit up. Taking them toward the fireplace, she grinned, tossing them in there, adding a little flammable alcohol and then tossing a match.

Nothing like doing a little burning before cleaning.

After said burning, Nagase immediately dialed up some friends of hers and demanded they meet at Infernal Gate. This called for some impromptu drinking and man bashing. It became a ritual after Nagase, Chae Lim, and Yuri had been broken up with at the same time, in different places. When something happened to any one of them involving a man, this small party was assembled. Cosmopolitans, Martinis, and Afterburners would be shared, and men would be insulted for the evening.

The drinking was much more appreciated than the man bashing for Nagase.

Infernal Gate was one of the local clubs that resided in Southtown. It was one of the places you actually had to watch your back in when you visited, simply because there was a rumor about some gang called the Sons of Fate that owned it. But damn it if Infernal Gate didn't serve up a nice cocktail or three. Whereas the Pao Pao Café was the place people gathering to abandon senses of peace, Infernal Gate was the best place to catch a club fight or two if the wrong set of people entered and pissed one of the club goers off.

"Honestly, instead of using sex as relief," Chae Lim spoke, poking the highball glass her drink came in, "Find another outlet. For me, its Tae Kwon Do."

Chae Lim had rightfully owned her title of 'Tae Kwon Do Zeyphr' when she found said outlet after having her heart broken one too many times. Instead of simply mulling over what had been done to her, the black and silver haired beauty just decided it would be nice to envision her kicking her heartbreaker's head in for being a fool who left her for something as simple as 'not being girly enough'. She wasn't looking to be a damsel in distress. Two days later, an ad in the paper lead her to the Tae Kwon Do Genius, the ever righteous Kim Kapwhan.

"I should take up fighting, shouldn't I?" Nagase mused aloud, looking at her friend. "I do love challenges, and I always have the urge to smack a guy for being an ass."

"Yeaaah, but don't take Tae Kwon Do," Yuri Sakazaki chimed in, holding her cocktail glass loosely which caused for some of her drink to slide down the glass and onto the table, "Take Kyokugen Karate! I'll even get Dad to give you a discount cause we're friends!"

In attempts to duck the option of considering taking up either martial art (this would cause debates between the other two women), Nagase immediately raised her shotglass of Tobasco sauce and put it to her yellow painted lips and downed it swifty. Immediately she chased the Tobasco sauce with the shot of Vodka, letting both liquids slide down and burn her throat, rendering her incapable of speaking for a few seconds.

"We know you're just ducking us!" Yuri huffed, glaring. Nagase grinned sheepishly before breathing through her nose momentarily. Afterburners always did the trick.

"Yeah, yeah. I'm gonna go back to the bar and get another one just incase you think it's fun convincing me to test out the 'Greatest styles of fighting' ever." she finished, sliding from her seat and pushing through the throng of dancers, who were currently lost in the catchy yet soothing beats of Marrakech or in their dance partner's eyes, if only for the next three minutes before the DJ would put on something entirely different and watch the dancers slink into that one.

Reaching the bar Nagase took a vacant seat, her red eyes settling on the bartender. Ibiza Euphoria had switched on, and it was always a personal favorite of hers so she had been tapping her boot to the beat as the bartender made his way over to her.

"Another Afterburner." she requested. When the two shot glasses slid her way seconds later, she raised both with her hands and made an invisible toast.

"Here's to finding something new to work with."

Chapter One: Trouble in Loveland (Parts One and Two)
Part Two: Alba

Alba Meira wouldn't deny it. He was a ladies' man. He looked when the opportunity came to him. Casual encounters with said beautiful women lead to casual fucking. First there was Lien Neville. She came off as frigid and arrogant the night he met her in a bar, and that melted away after shots of tequila and some sloppy kissing. Alba knew it wasn't really going anywhere, afterall the next day they crossed paths, she was with her husband.

Then came Mai Shiranui. Asian beauty indeed. Apparently, Alba wasn't cute enough to go steady with, but he was cute enough to fuck for the night. She kept mentioning some guy named Andy, and the fact Mai tuned Alba out with Andy never sat too well with him. Needless to say Mai only experienced foreplay before Alba was out the door.

The next casual encounter he had was with a fellow German. Luise Meyrink. Luise was definitely the looker. Smooth, beautiful silver hair, mesmerizing sapphire colored eyes, a body to die for. This, Alba thought, had to be more than just a night in a bar. And so the chashing began. She shied away from him, played hard to get, and of course, this only made him want her more. Sadly, some routines got entirely old and Luise finally came around. Sex with Luise was amazing, Alba wouldn't deny this. It made him think that maybe his lady chasing days would come to an end. And they did.

There was a little trouble in paradise in the future however.

While Alba loved Luise's passion for the arts (he liked the way she played the piano for him), Luise didn't like the fact Alba had the habit of interrupting her for sex ontop of said piano on some occasions. While Alba loved going out at night and coming back at dawn, Luise didn't. She didn't like waiting up for him that long. At first it was flattering to him that she worried, but when she started turning over faking sleep, that's when it picked at Alba.

Then, there was the issue of Alba's twin brother Soiree. An issue that never shouldn't even have counted, but it served as some type of fuel toward the fire that burned Alba's relationship with Luise to nothing. Soiree took that 'Bros before Hoes' saying to heart, so he didn't bother trying to hit on Luise (although she was awfully pretty). Soiree liked Luise as a potential friend, and he was happy because his big brother had found somebody instead lazing around at Infernal Gate.

In the midst of Soiree's admiration for Alba, he kinda spilt how the crimson haired man found comfort in something as dark as a bar (No, he didn't tell Luise about the sex parts). That didn't sit well with Luise, and so there began the process of her and Alba going out to theaters, dancing, operas. Alba caught on but said nothing (when he usually would have); he simply loved it when Luise smiled.

Next, It seemed to be the fact that Luise didn't like the marks leftover on her neck, hips, thighs (she wasn't vain, she just didn't like lying to mommy and daddy dearest). Alba was willing to be gentle for her, but that failed. Especially with his belief that sex unleashed a person's primal instincts in combination with bringing two people closer together. Luise couldn't accept the first belief, but the second part of that she was all for. Alba couldn't exactly see himself holding back during something as wonderful as sex.

"Sometimes," Alba mumbled to himself, "I don't wanna 'make love' to you. I want to fuck you, Luise."

When that came out in front of Luise the afternoon before the birthday they happened to share in some odd twist of fate, Luise believed that it was time for them to end.

For the first time, Alba believed his heart got broken. His heart broken over sex, technically. When he returned to Southtown later that evening, his destination was Infernal Gate. Two Tequila shots and two glasses of Caipirinha did Alba in, and left Soiree with the task of bringing the crimson haired man back home when normally Alba could control himself, even breathe away the traces of the drink he had.[

On the morning of his and Soiree's birthday, Alba spent it in the bathroom, tossing up the contents of his stomach. No, he wasn't about to resort to locking himself in his room and listening to melodramatic music talking about the love he wanted back. It was Luise's loss, not to mention a clear reminder that there were other fish in the sea. It just stung like hell at first.

"Are you sure you're willing to go out tonight, Bro?" Soiree questioned, handing the glass of ginger ale and two pills to Alba, "It's okay if we stay in for our birthday."

"Soiree it's fine. Besides, you don't have to go out with me on our birthday. You can turn 24 wherever you want to. We'll just meet back here later on for some cake. Ann insisted she make us a birthday cake, and you know we've all been through too much to break that tradition." Alba replied, chasing the two tablets with the warm carbonated liquid.

"Of course! Promise you won't get too smashed though, Bro.." Soiree reasoned before grinning at the memory of a drunken Alba. It was a sight to see, considering the 'older' man slurred along to old songs like 'Love Rollercoaster', 'Harder, Faster', and 'Kickstart My Heart'. Wiping the grin from his face, he retrieved the bread from the toaster and reached in the refridgerator for butter and strawberry jelly and proceeded to fix up his breakfast.

"I promise Soiree." was Alba's calm reply as he downed the remainder of his ginger ale and squeezed his eyes shut as they teared a little from the ingestion of said soda. Shaking his head, he watched his brother bite into the piece of bread and wash it down with some juice before he himself exhaled loudly, putting his face in his hands. He wasn't exactly sure what to make of what happened the previous night. Luise had left him. She left him.

Alba let this set in and he rubbed his temples slowly. Would this happen all the time if he sought out long term relationships? No, but in his current state of mind, he was close to believing it.

"Bro, you alright? You need to lay down?" Soiree questioned, frowning. Just what the heck did this chick do to him? Whereas Alba kept this...straight poker face on most of the time, the silver haired man could see just about every emotion playing across his brother's face. Confusion, hurt, and maybe a little anxiety; they were all readable, and Soiree didn't like this. If any rival gangs saw this, who knew what might happen to Alba? Soiree wasn't one to think of the worst case scenarios for he was a rather optimistic man, but now they were coming a mile a minute and he didn't like it one bit.

"I'm alright Soiree. I think I'm gonna lay down for a little bit..."

With that said, Alba pushed his chair out and promptly made his way back to his room, one of two kittens following him. The second kitten hopped up into Soiree's lap, purring as the man pet her behind the ears lightly before flicking the diamond collar around her neck gently.

"Yeah girl," Soiree began, "I'm worried about him too."

It was well into the early evening when Alba woke up, and he was feeling much better physically as opposed to this morning where he thought he'd throw up his insides from the heavy drinking. He may have had four drinks, but each of them were potent and did their purpose in erasing the blue eyed woman from his thoughts temporarily. Sure they brought on thoughts of sex and violence, but at least it wasn't Luise.

Unfortunately, now that he wasn't inebriated anymore that same stinging feeling he felt the evening Luise broke up with him was present again. The scent of cake reached his nostrils, and it caused him to leave the room in search of the origin of the scent. Upon his entry into the kitchen he discovered a familiar blonde haired female in the kitchen, humming.

"Ann?" he said finally.

"Oh! Alba! Soiree told me you were asleep before he went out with Noel and Gallagher for birthday drinks and partying at the Pao Pao Café. How're you feeling?" the eighteen year old replied, pulling two small mini tubs of frosting out of a canvas bag and setting them onto the counter. Ann was one of the first handfuls of people that Alba and Soiree met upon their arrival in Southtown. The two brothers had saved her from a gang of thugs, and since then they were inseparable. Ann was there as Soiree helped Alba work his way up the ladder of Southtown, reaching the status of 'King'. While Alba believed he couldn't quite measure up to Fate's status yet, he carried the title of 'King' well. It took some time to adjust to his followers calling him by the other man's name, but eventually Alba adjusted and things went smoothly.

"Better than this morning, Ann." Alba replied finally, watching as she removed the foil covering on the frosting tubs, the scent of Vanilla and Chocolate reaching the man's nostrils this time.

"Good! Are you staying in tonight?"

"Well, I've debated on going out and having a drink or two before coming back for cake."

"I think going out would do you some good!" Ann said, reaching for the spatula that would aid her in the task of frosting the cake, "...You weren't in there listening to Justin Timberlake were you? Cry Me A River is just...eeeew."

"I was actually in there sleeping things off." Alba replied, "And I prefer Pistolero."

"Well the cake will be done in another hour or so, now get out and kill some time!" Ann insisted, pointing to the door.

"Yes ma'am."

At this exchange, Alba smiled a little before proceeding to wash up and get dressed, and head out the door and into another lively evening in Southtown. Red shades on and smile gone, the older Meira brother looked like he was back to his old self, but that couldnt've been further from the truth. It was amazing what women did to men physically and emotionally.

Entry into the Infernal Gate was quick and effortless, security making way for the King with two bouncers clearing a path toward the bar. Apparently tonight was a busy night for the place, seeing as that Alba could barely spot any vacant seats. He didn't exactly want to make someone move either, for he wasn't in the mood for any bickering or violence. He feared his opponent would end up with some broken limbs when the dust settled.

When one person finally got up, Alba moved in and made himself comfortable and scanned the bar for his favorite bartender and then signaled her over. She worked here every night and even stayed until clean up, and was always one to use formalities in a place where things like that were completely abandoned.

"The usual, Mister Meira?" she questioned, a smile on her face although the crimson haired man could see signs of fatigue and annoyance. It was nice she made a little effort to appear happy in front of him, despite the arduous task of serving drunks for hours on end.

"Mhm." although the reply was low, the nod accompanying it was all the bartender needed before she scurried off to fetch his drink. When it arrived, she reached for a set of tongs and placed the lime inside the long necked bottle securely and Alba left the money on counter.

"Enjoy, Mister Meira."

"I always do, Miss Maiya."

"Here's to finding something new to work with."

Amongst the driving beat of Ibiza Euphoria, Alba heard these words and immediately turned to his left. That was something he could drink to.

"I couldn't agree more." he spoke over the music and raised his bottle to the female.

- Alba, in his little MI2 novel (it's written in Japanese and it takes place after KOF2006), could breathe away the traces of the rather strong Cairpirinha drink that Richard had given to him at the Pao Pao Café during his Soiree angst session before he started to kick some group of thugs' asses after leaving through the back exit of the Café. While it doesn't sound logical XD apparently in the KOF verse it's very possible.

- Now, let's clear some things up in case you were wondering! I like the other KOF girls; I like the majority of them. Most of the ladies will be making some type of appearance in this fanfiction too. If it sounds like I'm bashing them, I apologize as my intentions weren't for that. I know Mai is devoted to Andy, but that Asian Beauty remark was too good to not play with. And I know Lien lets it hang out and does use any means necessary to achieve her goal but I don't hate her! I swear I don't!

I do hope you enjoyed this chapter a little and that you stick around for the next installment!