The idea of Iori and Chizuru getting together is something I always liked to think about and made many headcanons about, but never properly tried to tackle in a story. I had written something, many many years ago, but it was cheesy and embarrassing, and I ended up deleting it from the italian site where I post my stories, during a moment of "spring cleaning" of old cringy stuff, lol.
This one has been born also thanks to some chats in a couple of KoF discord servers I'm in, that helped me shaping some old headcanons into something new and more interesting (and fitting these two better). Also, that "Chizuru Yashakani" still keeps me awake at night (kofaniv dot snk-corp dot co dot jp/english/history/kofxi_story/index dot php?num=kyo_iori)
This story has some "spicy" bits but nothing graphic. More explicit works will be posted only on my AO3 (linked in my profile) so keep an eye on that, if you're inclined.
More infos and explanations in the notes at the end. The fanart can be seen bigger either on my tumblr or twitter (both linked in my profile).
I hope you'll enjoy it!
Mana
In the corner of the broken world, we are looking up at the sky.
I'm going to go searching for your warmth.
The first time he meets her, it's far from the Tournament spotlight.
Iori is heading to rehearsals with what would later become his band. He has no interest in the feud with the Kusanagi or in anything related to Orochi or the curse of his family, but the girl before him is adamant and tries in every way to make him listen to her words.
Iori finds her almost annoying.
For a split second his eyes rest on the other girl, identical to the first.
Twins of the Yata clan.
She watches him silently, her dark brown eyes fixed on him. In her gaze there's no sign of the disgust Iori would expect from anyone towards a Yagami, it seems more like… concern? Compassion?
It doesn't matter.
Iori just takes his leave and goes on his way.
It's their first meeting, but not the last.
He will later learn the name of the girl who looked at him worriedly - Chizuru Kagura.
"She's dead."
Iori offers no other explanation as to why he's in the rain, soaking wet, when Chizuru meets him again months later.
"Kikuri is dead" he keeps whispering, as she convinces him to tell her where he lives and walk him back home.
Yagami is certainly not someone who likes to talk a lot, but with some patience Chizuru understands what happened: Iori's girlfriend died and when she met him the funeral had just ended. The cause seems to be linked to a previous illness, yet Iori continues to blame himself.
Gradually that semblance of conversation stops by itself, and Chizuru doesn't feel like insisting on making him talk.
That silence is almost comforting though, she says to herself.
She hopes Iori thinks that too.
For some reason, Iori occasionally finds himself gravitating around the Kagura temple.
It's not entirely clear to him why he does this but, although Maki can be particularly annoying, Iori finds that Chizuru's company isn't all that bad: her sermons about the importance of their mission against Orochi are the most boring thing in the world, but she's smart, beautiful and gifted with a sarcastic streak that he doesn't mind at all; the fact that she doesn't seem scared by him also intrigues him a lot.
He also discovers that, in spite of her polite and refined manners, Chizuru's hobbies are as far from the idea of a "young lady from a wealthy family" as one can imagine.
And he has to admit it, that biker suit looks pretty good on her.
Going on a bike ride with her, on the other hand, is something he'll never do again.
The night Maki has been killed is still vivid in Chizuru's memory.
Part of the temple in pieces, the seal destroyed.
Her sister motionless in a pool of blood.
She could barely catch a glimpse of Goenitz before he disappeared.
That's the only time she allowed herself to scream at the top of her lungs, to cry, to let the pain and thirst for revenge devour her. She cried until exhaustion, until she passed out.
The rest is still confused in her mind: she vaguely remembers having raised the alarm to the rest of the clan, having tried in vain to track down Goenitz through the Yata Mirror.
She knows she somehow organized Maki's funeral, though she's not sure how she did it. Probably some members of the clan helped her and she just mindlessly focused on that.
Chizuru tries with all her strength not to collapse under the weight of fatigue, both physical and mental: the preparations have been infinitely long, and the memorial they held the night before has only aggravated her situation. Trying to rest knowing that her sister's body was there, a few meters from her, had been impossible.
As she watches the preparations for the cremation, a thought torments her.
Where are the Kusanagi and the Yagami? Why aren't they here?
The ungrateful task of sealing Orochi and guarding the seal has always been entrusted to a pair of twins from the Yata clan. This, and fight side by side with the other two clans should Orochi awaken.
And apparently trying to get the heirs of this generation to work together, as if it was easy.
Wouldn't have been fair for them to forget their feud for a moment and at least show up to offer their condolences, as a sign of respect? Not even some kind of message? Nothing?
Are we really taken for granted? Are we expendable pawns?
Her rational side knows that it's the pain that speaks for her, that she's just trying to project the grief onto something else in the absence of the real cause - Goenitz - to let some anger off.
Knowing this doesn't make it easier to endure it, though.
The cremation ends, what remains of the skeleton placed on a table, pieces of bones carefully removed and placed in the urn.
After the ritual prayers, Chizuru runs out of the structure.
Air, I need air.
And that's where she sees him, at the entrance to the parking lot.
Yagami…?
"What… what are you doing here? How did you-?"
"I have my sources."
She has no idea who he might have gotten information about the funeral from, maybe King?
"I'm sorry."
Chizuru doesn't even have time to formulate the question because Iori takes her by surprise again.
Yagami is not one for small talk, and hearing him say those words is enough to make her collapse: in a few steps she erases the distance between her and Yagami, throwing herself into his arms crying, screaming, wondering why neither his clan nor the Kusanagi were there to give support, why they hadn't rushed to her aid, why it had to be Maki and not her.
Iori has no answer to offer, but that strong hug - so not like him - is enough to give her the comfort that in the past few days she had not found anywhere else.
He keeps telling himself that he only does it out of courtesy, that there's no other reason behind it.
Nonetheless, Iori finds himself more and more at the temple to make sure Chizuru is okay.
At least two weeks have gone before the temple resumes its regular activity.
Months before she can talk about Maki without crying.
The two bikes are still locked in the garage, waiting to be used again.
Yagami caring so much about her and her well-being was a strange thing in itself.
But for Chizuru to begin to consider those visits her favorite time of the day… that was definitely unexpected.
Iori is certainly not known for his affable and company-loving being; yet, since Maki's death, his presence at the temple became a constant.
"Thanks for the charm, Kagura-san!"
Chizuru says bye to the students and glances at Iori, busy playing with her pet sparrow Chee-chan.
"Bird, shit on my head and I'll flambé you."
She barely hides a laugh: she heard him threaten Chee-chan more than once, but he never dared to put into practice what he said, instead treating the bird with such gentleness and care no one would ever associate with him.
A whistle in time to the music distracts her again from her thoughts, offering her the (absolutely adorable) vision of Yagami whistling a tune and the bird following him.
Chizuru smiles, and finds somewhat amusing that none of the Tournament participants, not even Kyo (especially Kyo) have ever seen this side of Iori Yagami.
It hadn't been easy to get him to open up to her, and she'd often feared he might get away from her entirely, because Iori wasn't all that different from the feral cats he unsuspectingly takes care for - aggressive and unwilling to trust anyone, but deep down (definitely deep down) still hoping to find someone who would accept him as he is.
Chizuru wanted to be that someone, and she worked hard to succeed. Helping him is part of my duties as a member of the Three Sacred Treasures she told herself, ignoring that annoying little voice that kept telling her that it wasn't the only reason.
Figuring out how to do it had been a problem, though.
When no one looked, Iori often indulged in kind smiles he usually carefully hid from prying eyes, but which had not escaped her; when she had pointed this out to him, however, Iori withdrawn himself once again, so much that she feared he would never show up at the temple again.
It took her time and patience and several failed attempts at approaching him before she realized that the best way was to let him be without interfering: to let him relax enough to tell her more about himself, to let him forget to be seen when doing silly voices to the stray cats who dwelt in the temple garden, to allow himself to smile openly without panicking shortly after.
He hadn't run away from her since.
Chizuru watches Iori play with Chee-chan again and thinks she's probably lucky to be able to witness scenes like that one.
Iori doesn't remember exactly how it happened.
He remembers yet another visit to the temple, a chat, one beer too many.
He remembers Chizuru's face suddenly close to his, too close.
He remembers the sudden desire to kiss her, their lips barely touching, uncertain, and then indulging in a deep and intoxicating kiss like he hadn't felt for a long time.
He remembers the clothes falling on the floor and their feet stumbling towards the sofa, that annoying voice in his head screaming that no, it's wrong, that he can't afford such levity.
He also remembers silencing it, deliberately ignoring it as he kisses Chizuru on the neck and caresses her breasts, for once in his life determined to let himself go.
Chizuru is soft and quiet, her gasps growing higher only when he caresses her between her thighs, moving his fingers in rhythm with her moans.
He doesn't remember when was the last time he felt so elated, if it ever happened. Maybe with Kikuri, he thinks, but it was a long time ago, so long ago that he has almost forgotten how intoxicating the need to touch someone, to be touched, can be.
He forgot that he could be still capable of desiring something.
Iori grabs her hips harder and pushes inside her, whispering her name, and when he finally comes he thinks that maybe, just maybe, he too can be fine.
Chizuru's hand caressing his face brings him back to reality as she draws him close to her, smiling. Iori lets her do it and that night falls asleep next to her, his face hidden against her chest. For the first time in years he's able to sleep a dreamless sleep, without nightmares about his father's outbursts, without Orochi constantly reminding him that he can't escape from him.
Maybe it's the effect of the Yata power, or perhaps it is the mere presence of Chizuru that calms him, perhaps both.
He knows for sure that he can no longer do without it.
Every night he looks for her in the hope to find some peace, just that, he keeps repeating to himself.
However, Chizuru doesn't ask or expect anything from him. She just accepts that thing as it is, maybe she too is lost in that vortex of sensations that neither of them seems to be able to control.
Part of Iori wonders if it's right, how long this precarious balance between them can last.
But for now, lost inside her again, he refuses to think about it.
"What are we, you and me?"
Iori turns to her, one eyebrow raised, an unlit cigarette between his fingers.
It was only a matter of time before that question came up.
For months Chizuru told herself that the thing between them, whatever it was, was enough for her.
That there would be nothing else - that there couldn't be nothing else - but in the end it was okay. Sex without any commitment or promise, just a pastime.
But over time she found herself wanting more than Iori on top of her whispering her name every night, much more than having his mouth between her legs wanting to drive her crazy.
Iori looks away nervously.
Even Mai and King had noticed that something was wrong with her, even though she has never told them anything about the situation.
"I... I don't know."
At least it's not outright rejection.
"Haven't you ever thought about it?" she asks shyly, mentally calling herself stupid. I look like a girl crying over her first crush she thinks, even if it's not that far from the truth.
She totally fell for Iori Yagami and secretly hopes that he will reciprocate her, as if they were two teenagers.
Incredible, and yet...
"Yes" he admits, after a brief silence that seemed endless. "And all the possible scenarios don't end well. You should know it better than me."
"You can't be sure-"
"Do I have to remind you what happens to all women who give birth to a Yagami?"
The answer takes her by surprise. "It... it seems early to think about children, even if I understand your concern" she replies after a moment of uncertainty. Then she takes some courage: "But those women weren't members of my clan."
"Hm?"
"You often say that when you're with me you're able to relax... that you can finally sleep at night without nightmares" she explains. "It's as if my Yata powers somehow manage to keep your curse at bay. And if you think about it, it makes sense since we are the ones in charge of keeping Orochi sealed."
Iori watches her thoughtfully, probably wondering how much truth there is in Chizuru's theory; she had been mulling it over for a while, coming to the conclusion that she was probably really capable of putting a stop to the worst effects that the Yagami curse can bring.
Maybe that's not enough to eradicate it entirely, but it's a start.
"And you would stay with me just for... this?"
Iori's words shake her from her thoughts.
"Do you want to ruin your existence just to help me?" he goes on, sitting next to her on the bed. "It's a mistake I've already made. I'm not one for happy endings."
His fear is more than justified. But Chizuru doesn't give up.
"That... that's an extra" she admits, feeling her cheeks flush but keeping her gaze fixed on him. Iori widens his eyes - those beautiful blue eyes she can't stop thinking about - only to avert them quickly. But her disguised declaration seems to have an effect on him.
"It's not something I can afford" he whispers, "it's too risky."
"For you or for others?"
Her provocation hits the right spot, forcing him to turn his attention back to her.
"When was the last time you allowed yourself to be happy?"
Iori observes her for a few seconds, then lowers his gaze: "I... I can't. Because, every time it happens, I end up destroying everything."
"But you've been happy once."
"...when she was still alive."
Chizuru was expecting that answer.
"You couldn't do anything for Kikuri," she says, knowing she touched a sore spot. "It wasn't your fault."
"With my other relationships things certainly haven't gone better" he smiles bitterly.
"Maybe because you haven't really tried to make them work. You were already convinced that it couldn't last, and when it was over you did nothing to fix things. Going away was easier."
Still silence, but his expression confirms that she's right. She decides to insist: "Besides, yours doesn't seem like a no to me… so I wasn't the only one who thought about it much more than wants to admit. Am I right?"
Being so direct with Iori had proved counterproductive in the past, when she was still trying to win his trust; but things are different now and she's willing to risk everything.
He doesn't answer but seems to study her face in silence instead.
Then a corner of his mouth lifts, his fingers searching for Chizuru's.
"You're really stubborn" he smiles, moving closer until he brushes his forehead against hers.
"I have to, it's the only way to deal with you and Kyo" she smiles back. "Sometimes I feel like I'm your babysitter". As a response, Iori rolls his eyes: "Perfect timing to name him, really" he snorts, but he doesn't seem particularly bothered. Chizuru chuckles: "Sorry."
Iori caresses her face and lifts her chin: "You'll end up regretting it" he whispers to her, "it happens every time."
"Let me decide it" she smiles, placing her lips on his and drawing him close to her, his hands already under her kimono: "Yes, sir, Kagura-san" he whispers in her ear, before kissing her neck and slowly descending between her legs.
Then it's just delightful oblivion.
I was just reaching out my hand, even though I had nowhere to go.
I hide my loneliness, and fumble around as I walk.
What exactly happiness was, he had often wondered.
Iori wasn't even sure if he had ever really been happy.
Certainly not during his childhood, when he still lived in constant fear of his father beating him because he wasn't interested in fighting or feuding with the Kusanagi.
It's to make you stronger he always said after giving him a black eye or yet another bone fracture.
Certainly he had created a monster, he told himself.
As he watches Chizuru leafing through ancient manuscripts and scrolls, Iori still ponders about happiness.
Kikuri had made him happy.
Though his memories of her still hurt, he couldn't deny that the time he had spent with her had been one of the best of his life; forming his band and becoming famous had been a different kind of happiness, but undoubtedly one of the few joys in his life.
"Hmm..."
The noise distracts him from his thoughts: Chizuru, in front of him, seems to have dozed off with her head resting on her hand.
"Chizuru."
"Huh? What?"
"If you're tired we can stop here."
"Oh no, don't worry, I can do it" she smiles, stretching a bit, "it was just a moment. I've been sitting for too long in the same position."
Iori doesn't insist and just nods, back to focusing on a manuscript dating back to who knows when.
She had taken the idea of helping him get rid of his Orochi's curse seriously, therefore spending a good chunk of their afternoons locked up in the archives of the Yata clan was now some kind of habit, but aside from a few clues here and there, at the moment they were lost in the dark.
Having access to the Yagami clan's archives would certainly have made the search easier, but it was an option currently not viable as Iori had not returned home since he left when he was sixteen.
Giving up on the Magatama and his flames would have been the quickest way to free him from the curse… but that's not a path he's willing to take.
"Hmm..."
Iori looks up from an old, worn notebook and sees Chizuru barely stifling a yawn, but not interrupting her reading.
A question arises spontaneously.
Am I happy now?
He still watches her as she tucks her hair behind her ear, rubbing her tired eyes but still focused on the task she has set for herself.
And the answer sounds even more natural than the question.
Yes.
He's happy every time he wakes up next to her, when he looks at her as she moves her hips over him and then hides her face against the crook of his neck, giggling.
He's happy every time he recognizes her in the crowd at his concerts, or when she tells him how her day was or enthusiastically announces that she has found a new type of hot pepper to use in her ramen (from which Iori carefully stays away, because unlike her he's keen to keep his taste buds intact).
He's happy every time Chizuru smiles at him, not with that slightly broken smile she usually gives to anyone, but a real, sunny smile that he'd never seen on her before - before that something between them became a relationship, before Maki's death.
A beautiful smile that reminds him that after all the world is less ugly than he thinks, and that makes his life a little more worth living.
"Hey. Hey, Chizuru."
"Hm? What's up?"
"Come on, let's go."
"Why? We've only been here since-"
"Hours. And you're literally falling asleep over that manuscript" he explains, putting the documents away and stretching his back muscles. "You're tired, and honestly I'm starting to feel tired too. We both need to get out of here and relax."
Chizuru raises a brow, clearly amused: "Are you suggesting something in particular, Iorin?" she asks, using that silly nickname he's got used to without even realizing it. He gently grabs her by the wrist and forces her to get up: "I'm okay with that, but are you sure won't fall asleep over me like you were doing with that document?"
Chizuru laughs in response and shoves him out into the hallway and then into the bedroom, their clothes thrown haphazardly on the floor.
That evening the sky is clear and the moon can be perfectly seen, a crescent moon identical to his clan's crest.
"I could ask the Kusanagi if they let me take a look at their archives."
Chizuru is lying next to him on the porch, her head resting on his legs. "If I go alone, maybe they'll agree. There may be useful information about the curse, anything that can help us…"
Iori gently caresses her face and hair; he doesn't answer, but studies the frowning expression of the girl, still busy thinking about what to do.
"Your family archives probably have the information we need" he hears her sigh, "if only there was a way..."
He remains silent, still pondering, in the background Chizuru who still talks about alternatives, speculates, hopes.
Iori barely holds back a smile.
Stubbornness is one of the things about her that had intrigued him right away, and that, according to the girl, they both share. And while his response to that statement was almost always a sigh, he can't deny it's true.
But he has learned over time that it's not the only thing they have in common, that it's not only the war against Orochi that binds them: Iori is not the only one who has been imposed a fate he hasn't asked for and is still trying to fill the void left by someone who is no longer there; Chizuru also tries to put her pieces back together, but unlike him she accepted her role in that battle without complaining, carrying on her shoulders the weight of a task that once belonged to two people.
In their being broken, they had both found solace.
And now she's bending over backwards to free him from his curse.
"Are you okay?"
Chizuru's brown eyes scan him from below, her head still resting on his lap.
I am happy.
"Iorin?"
"The moon is beautiful, isn't it?"
"What?"
"The moon. It's beautiful."
Chizuru sits up, red cheeks and an adorable shocked expression on her face. He's never been one for mushy things and lovey-dovey stuff - well, he's never been one for so many things - but he has other ways to let her know his feelings.
"Say it again."
Iori brings her face close to hers: "The moon is beautiful, isn't it?"
Chizuru smiles - that beautiful smile that makes his world less ugly - gently caressing his face: "It has always been."
As he kisses her, Iori thinks that for once he's really happy.
Because Chizuru understands.
Because she wants to take on his problems even though she doesn't have to.
Because she accepts him as he is, and has shown him that his demons can be silenced.
He's happy because Chizuru is here with him, and Iori can no longer even imagine what his life was like before her.
He really wishes that moment would last forever.
I felt it for the first time on the night your weren't there,
The pain in my heart.
Some people say that the most beautiful things are also the most short-lived.
That's probably why Chizuru isn't really surprised when their relationship ends.
Part of her knew that Iori's problems were many and that they went far beyond Orochi's curse, but she had hoped. She had hoped until the end that everything would have turned fine, she had done everything to make it work.
Fate clearly had other plans.
A little voice in her head tells her not to stop fighting to change things.
She would like to believe it.
After all, she can't even hate Iori, she knows it's not his fault.
For now the only thing she can do is jump on the bike after more than a year from the last time she did it, and run at breakneck speed in the hope of forgetting the sadness and pain at least for a while.
Happiness is not contemplated in the existence of a Yagami.
Deep down Iori always knew that loneliness would have been his only companion.
His father hadn't randomly picked the kanji for hermit for his name, he's sure of that.
He's used to seeing the few good things in his life disintegrate around him, people important to him die, hurt them himself, dreams shattered
His fingers absently pluck the strings of the guitar only to stop a few moments later.
Leaving Chizuru was his deliberate decision, perhaps the most painful he ever made.
She deserved to be happy, to have someone next to her who wouldn't risk losing control of himself because that was the will of a creature who seemed to have the right of life and death over him. She had enough problems already, she didn't need to take on his own too.
The kami know how happy Chizuru made him, but they probably also know how the terror of hurting her and not even remembering it had eaten him alive.
How much he had feared that one day he would have no longer been able to control himself, of silencing Orochi's voice in his mind, and then‒
Iori shakes his head to chase that horrible thought away. He tries to focus on the guitar again, but he no longer remembers the song he wanted to play.
Leaving Chizuru had devastated him, but it's perhaps the only act of love he could offer to her.
At least that one beautiful thing in his life will remain intact, albeit far from him.
She doesn't hate him anyway. He knows it, he reads it in her eyes every time he sees her, when she calls both him and Kyo on matters related to their mission. She also silently accepted this.
And it hurts like hell.
His fingers move automatically, playing a melody he composed a few days ago.
Taking refuge in music had been the only thing that kept him from collapsing on himself. The tournaments, the feud with Kyo, all valid distractions, but the music remained his lifeline.
The songs that Iori has written in the last few weeks are all for Chizuru.
"So it's true. You can't fight anymore."
Chizuru nods, absent-mindly observing the now orange sky outside the window.
The recent battle against Ash Crimson had left incredible damages to both her and Iori, but if the latter seemed to have adapted to the absence of his flames, Chizuru had found herself lacking in strength and fighting skills: her clan's fighting style was deeply tied to the Yata Mirror, and without it she was completely helpless.
Taking part in another tournament in these conditions would have been a suicide.
"What about you? Have you found a solution?"
"I'm back to basics" he replies with a half smile, flexing his slender fingers and showing off his claws.
"I see" she nods. Slashing and claws are the basis of the Yagami style.
They remain silent for a while, only Chee-chan's twittering in the background to keep them company. It's not an embarrassing silence, one of those that asks to be filled with random words: it's a silence that tastes familiar, a moment like many others they had. Not too long ago she thinks, with a hint of sadness.
The mattress moves, Iori slightly changes position and their fingers find themselves close enough to touch.
Chizuru instinctively looks for his fingers, she doesn't even know why. It's such a stupid thing, she tells herself, but against all her expectations Iori doesn't back away; instead, he squeezes hers and with his thumb tenderly caresses the back of her hand.
She smiles, even if that moment that tastes of beautiful things that are no longer there hurts.
"You know, maybe… losing your flames isn't inherently bad."
Silence.
"Without the Magatama you are free from the curse."
Iori doesn't answer. He caresses her hand one last time and squeezes his fingers around hers before letting them go.
"You'll have your mirror back in due time" he promises, heading for the door. Chizuru sighs and nods, looking at the sunset sky.
"The moon is beautiful."
Iori stops at the door.
Her words came out instinctively, without even thinking about it. Another spur of the moment that won't lead to anything good.
"It has always been."
Iori, however, surprises her once again.
He leaves shortly after without saying another word, leaving her alone with the meaning of that answer.
Chizuru smiles softly.
The moon is still beautiful.
I bang on the door of "I want to see you", but I pretend I didn't.
Once morning comes, will this feeling as well sink the bottom of the ocean?
Sadness sinks, and look, the night comes to an end.
Let's go searching for you
And your warmth, in a world yet unseen.
Nirvana - MUCC
*First meeting: Canonically Chizuru makes her first appearance in 1996, where she organizes the tournament to contact Iori and Kyo about their mission. But I've always liked the idea that her hunt for the other two heirs started well before, with Maki helping her.
*Kikuri: Up until KOF 2000, Iori's official profile mentioned a mysterious girlfriend who then disappeared into thin air. In one of his drama CDs, Iori plays in a band with a girl named Konoe whose sister, Kikuri, is infatuated with Iori but she is dying of illness. SNK has never given more details on Iori's girlfriend or if it's really Kikuri (imagine if they go into detail, between them and Namco I don't know who is worse), but I have noticed that the fandom often tends to overlap the two figures. In addition, on at least a couple of canonical occasions (at the beginning of KoF XIV, for example) he visited a tomb. And unless he has the hobby of walking around cemeteries, it's easy to think that his mysterious girlfriend is dead.
* Maki: Speaking of SNK being vague on various things, Maki Kagura is one of them, we only know that she died and was a sub-boss in KOF 2003. In the few images that exist of her she always seemed a bit more cheerful than Chizuru, so I always imagined "my'' Maki capable of annoying Iori when talking about Orochi (according to the canon they shouldn't know each other buuut... whocares. Headcanons, baby.). Also, the information about her death is also vague: the wikia says that "ten years after Maki's death, Chizuru became a career woman" but Chizuru is 22, so did her sister die at 12? But then in the few images that exist of that scene Maki is clearly adult, so… wtf SNK?
*Yata powers: Among my obsession with this ship and the role of the Yata clan in the war against Orochi, I wondered if Chizuru really can be able to keep the effects of Iori's curse in check. If she can keep Orochi sealed, she can do the same to Iori whenever he's with her, can't she?
*Iori's blue eyes: canonically, his eyes are naturally blue, where the red represents the Riot of Blood in him. And I know everyone draws him with red eyes, but not me. I'm faithful to his blue eyes. :p
*Yagami senior: Although his appearances are limited to non-canon mahnwas, Iori's father is somewhat universally believed to be a bastard who made his childhood hell (confirmation in KOF: Kyo, when Athena briefly sees inside Iori's head and sees him as a child crying).
*Iori's band: Another headcanon of mine (because giving more detail is bad, right SNK?): while many in the fandom seem to think of Iori as a musician who does it just for fun, I always thought that, if he already has to live a life miserable life because of Orochi, childhood traumas and also knowing that you will probably die before your 30, why not live to the fullest and do everything to become a famous musician? If he can be so obsessive with something he hates (Kyo), he certainly can't be less dedicated to something he loves. XD
*"The moon is beautiful, isn't it": Author Natsumi Soseki, when he was teaching English, saw one of his students translate "I love you" quite literally (ware kimi no aisu). Soseki suggested instead that he could translate it as "The moon is beautiful, isn't it?", because of japanese people being very reserved at the time and expressed their feelings less directly. It has since become a common way of saying "I love you", which is usually answered with "it always has been". More info here: www dot tsuki dot world/world/the-moon-is-beautiful-isnt-it
When I read it I immediately thought of Iori, with his obsession for the moon this screamed perfection. 3
*"Hermit": the meaning of the kanji used for the name of Iori, according to this translation: behindthename dot com/name/iori/submitted