Japan

Ryu was meditating near the waterfall, training for the upcoming Millennium Tournament that he heard about from Ken. The Shotokan fighter stood up and turned towards the waterfall. He begins charging up his Ki energy as a blue projectile begins glowing in his palms until it is big enough for him to fire it. "Hadoken!" He shoots out the projectile as it slices the waterfall. He smiles at this outcome. The Shotokan looked at the invitation which was right next to his duffle bag, walked towards it and picked up the letter. It was no ordinary letter, it was an invitation to the upcoming Millennium Tournament.

'The Millennium Tournament,' Ryu thought. 'It's been a long time since I've heard about it. I'm surprised that Ken brought the tournament back.' He looked up. 'But since the tournament has been announced, that means I might see them again.' The Shotokan, thinking about a certain flame-wielder and a karate fighter who's fighting style was similar to his. "Well, since the tournament will begin in two weeks, I might as well get going." Ryu said as he grabbed his duffle bag and started making his way to South Town. "Ken, I got your message. I'll see you in South Town if I can make it there on time."

Osaka, Japan

Kyo Kusanagi was spending a nice day outside with his girlfriend, Yuki.

Yuki sighed happily, "Isn't this nice, just the two of us relaxing on this beautiful day?"

"Yeah, I'm glad that I get to spend this day with you." Kyo agreed. The flame-wielder was definitely having a good day. It's been months since the latest KOF has ended, which he and his teammates, Benimaru Nikaido and Goro Daimon, have won that tournament as Daimon took the belt home with him. Before the flame-wielder went home, he, his rival Iori Yagami, and Chizuru Kagura went to Hungary to seal a revived, yet weakened Orochi. They might've sealed it, but it leads to one question: How did Verse get Orochi's soul? That's something he wants to know. Kyo shakes it off and decides to relax on this good day with Yuki.

"Say, Kyo," Yuki began, "I heard that you guys got the championship belt after winning the tournament, but who gets to keep it?"

"Daimon." The flame-wielder answered, "It actually fits him when Beni and I saw him wearing it."

"Oh, I see." The girl said.

"I talked to them a couple of days ago. Beni's doing model business as usual and Daimon is training his students at his dojo and taking care of his son. So, I say they're both doing fine as always."

"Well you need to do something, like training if you don't want to lose to him." Yuki smiled.

"Hey, I do train." Kyo rolled his eyes. "It's just that he doesn't know when to quit." He sighed, "Let's just have a good time on this day."

"Yeah." Yuki agreed. She rested her head on her boyfriend while Kyo put his arm around her shoulder as the couple enjoyed the beautiful scenery around them. 5 minutes later, Kyo's phone vibrated as he pulled it out of his pocket and read the message.

From: Dad

"There's a surprising letter that came from the mail and it's for you. Come home if you want to find out what it is."

The flame-wielder sighed, "I'm just having a good day here."

Yuki read the message, "A surprising letter? Kyo, you might need to go home. From what your father, that letter might be important."

"Yeah, I should." Kyo agreed. "Wanna come home with me?"

Yuki smiled, "Sure." The couple got up and began walking to the Kusanagi Residence.

Kusanagi Residence

Kyo opened the shōji screens as he and Yuki walked in. "Dad, I'm home." He said.

Saisyu Kusanagi, the father of Kyo, was sitting on the floor with his legs crossed with a letter near him. "Ah, you took your time to get here."

"Good afternoon, Saisyu-san." Yuki said with a bow.

"Good afternoon to you too, Yuki." The Kusanagi martial arts master replied with a bow of his own.

"Okay, dad, I got your message, so where's this surprising letter?" Kyo asked.

Saisyu picked up the letter and showed it to his son, "Right here." He said.

Kyo took the letter and looked at it. His eyes widened. This letter was an invitation, but it wasn't an invitation for KOF, it was an invitation for a tournament that he hadn't heard for a long time, the Millennium Tournament.

Yuki looked at the invitation, "The Millennium Tournament?"

Kyo chuckled, "Well, well, I haven't heard about this tournament for a long time."

"You know about this tournament?" Saisyu asked while getting up.

"Yeah, it's a tournament that happened a long time ago. Robert and another fighter hosted it twice." The flame-wielder explained. "I'm surprised that those two brought it back."

"Are you going to enter the tournament?" Yuki asked.

"It's not KOF, but yeah, I'm entering." Kyo said.

"Hello, Kusanagi family!" A voice shouted. The Kusanagis and Yuki turn around and see Benimaru Nikaido at the doorway. He wasn't alone, Goro Daimon and Shingo Yabuki were with him.

"Benimaru-san, Daimon-san, Shingo-san." Yuki said.

Benimaru notices the girl, "Yuki, I didn't expect you to be here too."

"Kusanagi-san, I've been training lately so I could enter the next KOF." Shingo said.

"Heh, I see." Kyo said in slight amusement. "Anyways, what made you guys come here?"

"We're here to tell you that a familiar tournament is back." Benimaru said.

"If you're talking about the Millennium Tournament, I already knew that. Besides, I just got an invitation for it." Kyo said, showing them the invitation.

The three fighters were shocked, "Oh. Well I got an invitation to the tournament too." Benimaru said, showing the invitation to his friend.

"Is that so, huh?" Kyo grinned, "You better hope I don't burn your hair off if we go against each other."

The model smirked, brushing his hair with his hand. "Oh I'll never let that happen." He said, "By the way, we won't be the only ones to get an invitation to the tournament." Kyo raised an eyebrow in confusion. Benimaru turned to Daimon and Shingo. "Show it to him." They both pulled out a letter. Much to Kyo's shock, those weren't just ordinary letters, they were invitations to the Millennium Tournament.

"Daimon, Shingo," Kyo began, "Don't tell me that you two…"

"To answer your question, yes, we both got an invitation to the tournament." Daimon said with Shingo nodding in agreement.

Kyo was speechless for a moment, he then grinned at what the judo master told him. "Well this tournament is about to get more interesting."

"So, when will you start going to South Town?" Saisyu asked his son.

"Eh, maybe the week before the tournament starts, we do have enough time to relax after all."

"Well, I'll wish you all good luck in the tournament." Yuki said. She turned to her boyfriend and hugged him. "Especially you, Kyo. I hope you'll be careful."

The flame-wielder hugged her back. "Don't worry, Yuki, I will."

"So we'll go to South Town the week before the tournament, right?" Daimon asked.

"Yeah, I did say we have enough time to relax." Kyo said. "I can't wait to see that guy again."

"That guy?" Shingo repeated, "You're talking about someone else other than Yagami?"

"Yep, he's a fighter that I haven't seen in a long time." Kyo said, before turning to Benimaru, "You saw him before, right?"

The electric user had to think for a moment until he realized what his friend was talking about. "Ohhh, him." He said.

"If I can remember correctly, his fighting style is different from Kyokugenryu." Daimon pointed out as he also realized who Kyo was talking about, even though he didn't enter the first two tournaments.

"Yeah, especially when he shoots a projectile with both hands unlike how Ryo shoots a projectile with only one hand." Benimaru said.

"Umm, who are you guys talking about?" Shingo said, looking lost.

Kyo puts a hand on his shoulder, "You'll see who we're talking about when we enter the tournament." He looks at Benimaru and Daimon, "So, everyone agrees that we go to South Town on the week before the tournament?" His friends nodded, "Okay then, we'll all meet at the airport once it's time."

"Right." Benimaru, Daimon, and Shingo said.

The flame-wielder looked up, 'Ryu, I can't wait to see you again.' He thought.

South Town, USA - Kyokugenryu Dojo

Ryo was currently training for the Millennium Tournament.

'Ryu, I hope you can get here soon so we can have a match between Kyokugen Karate and Shotokan Karate, if we go against each other.' Ryo thought.

Japan

Ryu was currently making his way to South Town.

'Kyo Kusanagi, Ryo Sakazaki, I'm looking forward to seeing both of you again.' Ryu thought.

Ryu and Kyo Kusanagi have decided to enter the upcoming Millennium Tournament. Ryo Sakazaki is going to compete as well. Who else will enter the tournament?