To the Darkest of Nights We Go
~Dystopian AU ~
Chapter 74
Written By: RinoaDestiny
King of Fighters, Chizuru Kagura, Kyo Kusanagi, Iori Yagami, Terry Bogard, Andy Bogard, Mai Shiranui, Blue Mary, Rock Howard, and Joe Higashi all belong to SNK
"How is he?"
"Sitting on the stairs talking to himself." Terry glanced at their classroom's sliding door, as though directing their attention to what lay beyond its threshold. "He didn't return until several hours later. Don't think he even noticed me when I went to check on him."
"Is he…all right?" Mary asked, tilting her head slightly, hair brushing her shoulder.
"Physically, maybe."
"He's not…" A pause, sentence trailing. Mary looked at the door, frowning. "He hasn't cracked, has he?"
"Not sure. He kept repeating Kagura and Yagami's names. It's…" His dad shrugged, a helpless gesture. "If he did, can't say I blame him."
"Poor Kyo," Mai said, tone sympathetic.
"Are we going to leave him there?"
"If he doesn't want us there, then…" Another hopeless shrug from Terry. "Don't feel like imposing on him."
"So he…"
"He cremated Iori last night." Dawn light through the window, beautiful but harsh in light of their present circumstances. "I don't think he slept."
Silence.
"So what should we do?" Joe asked, looking baffled. "He's muttering to himself, O.R.O.C.H.I.'s gone silent, and we're just gonna sit here while Kyo goes nuts? How's that gonna help us or him?"
"He needs time, Joe." Mai's sorrowful gaze swept the room, finally settling on the man himself. "He's mourning. Lost his companions."
"But if he's talking to himself –"
"Is there anything you can do to stop that?" There was a sudden sharpness in Mai's tone. Rock blinked, startled. The others around him exchanged glances, just as surprised by this unforeseen internal conflict. "Are you going to go up to him and demand he stop? What can you give him to ease that pain?"
Somehow, Rock felt Mai wasn't just referring to Kyo anymore.
"I don't –"
"When he's ready, he'll come to us." Gone was any sign of weakness or discomfort from the injury Mai suffered a few nights ago. The woman's face was stony, eyes hard. "You go to him now and he'll withdraw from us."
"If he doesn't go mad first!" Joe retorted.
"Kyo's stronger than that!" They had gone beyond discussion now and into quarreling. "He just lost them! You want to tell him to forget them? Just like that?"
"I wouldn't…" Joe's mouth drew into a firm line. "Unfair, Mai."
"You gave me time to grieve when Andy died." A faltering in her voice on those last words, but Mai rallied back quickly. "Doesn't he deserve the same courtesy?"
"You weren't rambling to yourself in some dark corner."
"Stairs aren't dark corners!" Rock couldn't tell how much of this stemmed from Mai's self-blame regarding Andy's death. Had Kyo's own losses reminded Mai of her emotional turmoil? Of her suffering? "Maybe he just needs to figure things out."
"By repeating their names?"
"He's the last Sacred Treasure, Joe!" An uncomfortable hard silence. Rock wanted to squirm. There was an expression in Mai's face that he hadn't seen before – unyielding and angry. "He's probably just remembering them. O.R.O.C.H.I.'s not doing anything, so leave him alone."
"You see yourself in him, don't you?"
"What if I do?"
The others, Rock noticed, also sat frozen, watching this argument spin out of control. Terry stepped forward, but seemed uncertain on how to address the issue. Kyo was outside, sitting on the flight of stairs. Was he listening to this – did he realize that he was the unintentional center of this squabbling? Would he ignore it or would it drive him away? The other man was vulnerable, having only lain to rest a long-time companion and ally a few hours before during the nighttime.
Or was Kyo, like Joe said, losing his mind?
Would he even care what was said here?
Rock shifted on his desk, throwing a troubled glance at the door. If it slid open, revealing a rumpled and distant-eyed Kyo Kusanagi, then…. He wondered again at the rising volume in Joe and Mai's clashing voices and wished they would find resolution and stop. They hadn't fought during Andy's struggle against the infection or after Andy's death. There hadn't been any blame imposed except by Mai on herself, but now that Kyo was here without the other two…
They were arguing because they didn't know what to do with him?
Wasn't he an ally? Someone suffering an immense amount of pain?
"He can probably hear you," Rock said, his quiet voice cutting into the loudness like a well-aimed blade. Mai snapped her mouth shut, glaring at Joe. Joe stuttered for a bit, indignant and then proceeded to do the same. "He didn't come here to divide us. He didn't ask for Iori or Chizuru to die."
"Is he still outside?" Mary asked, remobilized into action now that the argument had come to its frigid end.
"I'll check." Terry moved towards the door, sliding it open. His dad seemed eager to make his escape. Now, with this uncanny silence from their enemy, Kyo's equally unsettling quiet and isolation, and the fiery eruption of emotion and disagreement between Mai and Joe, everything felt strange. He saw the same feeling reflected in his dad's weary face.
The sliding door closed.
"What was that about?" Incredulousness in Mary's tone. The blonde woman looked at Mai and Joe, confusion obvious. "You should be helping him, not blowing up at each other."
"So we should just let him sit there, saying their names over and over?"
"If you want to intercede, go ahead, Joe."
"Stop it." Mary didn't raise her voice – probably didn't want to after that display – yet, it was unnecessary. Some people didn't need to holler to get their point across. "Mai is right in part, Joe. Kyo needs time to himself – why do you think he hasn't approached us?" A quick gesture with her hand, forestalling Mai's protest. "And Joe is concerned. If Kyo does snap, what happens then?"
Having an unstable Sacred Treasure around would be…dangerous.
If O.R.O.C.H.I. came back and their one ally was incapable of helping, that'd be…. Disastrous wouldn't even describe the outcome. They'd be slaughtered – both them and Kyo. It was difficult to fight when the mind got clouded by grief.
"So we…" Hesitation for the first time in Joe's voice today.
"We check on him but let him be until he's ready. He's…in a fragile state. I'd rather not push."
"I see we agree." The door slid open and closed. Rock turned to see Terry, whose face was drawn tight with worry and concern. "He's still there, holding something in his hand. I didn't want to disturb him, but I don't think he heard us." A swift glance towards Mai, Rock marked. "If you and Joe have disagreements, we can discuss it. We can't afford to be split up now, especially over Kyo's mental state. O.R.O.C.H.I. hasn't been defeated yet, I think."
Probably not. There were still soldiers, despite what happened a few nights ago. O.R.O.C.H.I. was licking its wounds and biding its time.
"So what do you expect us to do, man?"
"Stop arguing. Be there for him and each other by understanding. We lost Andy –" and here, Rock heard the slight break in his dad's voice before he continued on, " – but Kyo lost everyone else on his team. We still have each other. He…doesn't."
Kyo Kusanagi sitting on the stairs, saying the names of his dead teammates. It was…sad to envision and all he needed to do was walk outside to see it.
Rock had a strong feeling he didn't want to do that – to see Kyo at his most vulnerable, mind altered by the shock of those deaths.
"We're twitchy. I get that. But…" A glance from Terry that took in both Joe and Mai, who were attentively watching his dad's expression, hostility between them gone for the moment. "We need to be there when he comes out of it. Don't give him the impression that any of this is his fault."
None of it was Kyo's fault.
Kyo didn't cause Andy's death. Kyo didn't even know he was the catalyst for the sudden division – hopefully temporary – in their team. As far as Rock knew, Kyo was in his own world, seeing and remembering those who died.
Mai and Joe looked chastened, but still didn't glance at each other.
"Maybe we all need rest. It's been…stressful."
They all got enough sleep. Dad meant something else when it came to "rest."
"Has Kyo eaten yet?" Mary's gaze was fixed on Terry and sympathy softened the worry lines etched in her face.
"Don't think so."
"I'll leave some food by the stair landing."
"Sounds good, babe."
Mary stepped away. Rock heard her rifling through her bag.
"I'm going to the roof soon, son. Need a second pair of eyes. Want to help me out again?"
"Sure."
