And I start off with a KoF fic. Pretend this takes place in an eternal '98, because dream match never ends.
"Oh...oh, that's too bad. Well, if you can't, then you can't. Don't worry about it." King put the phone down, stretched until her back popped, and sighed. "Kasumi can't make it. Her mom got sick, so she's staying home to take care of her."
Beside King, her so-called team leader gave her own massive sigh. "No Kasumi, no Chizuru, no Yuri...everyone's got other plans! How could they do this to us?"
"Well, perhaps if a certain unnamed someone had remembered to account for not having Yuri again, like we haven't for literally years, maybe we wouldn't be calling every single woman fighter we know the day before registration!"
Mai pouted.
King let her head drop to her hands. "All right, all right, no use crying over spilt milk. How about that waitress you mentioned? What's her name...Shang-something?"
"Xiangfei!" Mai's face brightened for half a second before falling again. "No good, I already called her. Said she has a stomachache."
"A stomach...does she know the actual tournament isn't for another month?!"
Mai shrugged. "That's what she said. And something about school? It was pretty loud over in the restaurant, I could hardly make out a word." She idly spun a fan around her fingers as she spoke. "Oh, I wish Yuri hadn't left us. She was so cute and sweet."
"Can't be helped. Once Takuma retired the Kyokugen team needed a third member. And Ryo is her brother."
"He's your boyfriend." King's glare just made a long, slow smile spread across Mai's face. "How is that going, by the by?"
"None of your business." Mai's mouth opened again, but King beat her to the punch. "And I notice you aren't exactly on the Hungry Wolves team."
"Oh, that," Mai tossed her fan in an airy wave. "I prefer the freedom of the Women's team."
"You just like being able to call yourself leader while not doing any of the work," King grumbled, but quietly.
Silence fell across the pair as they stewed, deep in thought.
"...Leona?" Mai threw out, cautiously.
"Will never leave the Ikari Warriors team and you know it," King replied. "How about Blue Mary?"
"Going with Yamazaki and Billy again. You know, I still don't know how that team gets along enough to make it past the preliminaries."
"There are some mysteries better left unsolved," King said with finality.
Mai made a vague noise of agreement. "Oh, but thinking about it...why not Lily?" At King's blank look, she elaborated: "You know, Billy's little sister?"
"...Billy has a little sister?" King blinked. "Billy has a little sister who can fight? How have I never heard of this?"
"Well..." Mai waved her fan again. "She does know bojutsu. She's not as good as Billy, of course, and she doesn't really like fighting, but she's so cute! You'd never believe she and Billy are related! She's got those big, clear blue eyes and long blonde hair and never has a bad word to say about anyone, and-"
"Mai."
"What?"
"The Women's team is not the place to assemble girls you think are cute!"