For These Scars

~Chapter 12~

Written by: RinoaDestiny

King of Fighters, Kyo Kusanagi, Iori Yagami, Saisyu Kusanagi, and Benimaru Nikaido belong to SNK

His phone buzzed next to his head. Reaching out from under his blanket, Kyo swiped and grabbed a hold of it, blinking the sleep from his eyes. When he saw the name on the screen, he immediately accepted the call. "Shit, it's four in the morning, Beni. You couldn't have called tomorrow?"

"Better now than during the daytime, since you're sending me sneaking." A small pause from the other end of the line. "I found him."

"What?" Now he was awake. Kyo sat up, the blanket slipping off and folding around his waist. "Where is he?"

"At his home. Kyo, he's in a bad way, man. If you want to do something, do it quick."

"What do you mean?"

"He's sick. Looked ready to drop. Couldn't have me out of there fast enough."

"What do you mean by 'sick', Beni?"

"I mean 'sick'. Guy's lost weight – almost didn't recognize him – and he was sweating like crazy. Looked like he could barely breathe. Couldn't walk straight."

"What?"

"Yeah. I'm not kidding." A heavy sigh. "Something happened to him, Kyo. You got any ideas as to what?"

"He was healthy the last time I saw him." That had been two months ago, the last time being a little after Iori's birthday. The other man had been hale and in his prime. Iori had just turned twenty four and couldn't have looked better. "If this happened right when…" He stopped, not liking where his thoughts led. "Did you talk to him, Beni?"

"Yeah and there's something weird about that, too."

"What about?"

"I asked him if he had anything to tell you. He looked like he did but refused to say. He's fucking scared of something, Kyo. Dunno what."

"Scared?"

"Yeah. Scared. You should've seen the look on his face. As though something was gonna get him. I've never seen him scared before. You?"

Just the thought of Iori Yagami being terrified was…well, it wasn't an image that came to mind at all. Yagami stared the world down and dared it to do its worst, always knowing that he'd come through just fine. He'd never seen Iori scared before. It just didn't happen. "Beni…did he say anything at all to you?"

"He asked if you were okay. Asked me twice. I told him you were."

"Did he know I was trying to –"

"Yeah, he did. But when I asked him why he didn't get back to you, he said he couldn't."

"He couldn't?"

"More like, he can't." A lengthier pause this time. "Kyo, I think it all goes back to the same thing. He's scared of something."

"Or someone." There was only one possibility and Kyo didn't like it. At all. "Beni, he was fine a few months ago. My dad told me he found out last month. The same day I couldn't reach Yagami."

An indrawn breath on the other end. "Shit. No way that's a coincidence."

"I asked my dad if he did anything to him. He said Yagami didn't concern him."

"And yet, you couldn't reach him."

"That's what bothers me. And now, you're saying he's sick as hell and…"

"Sick as hell and afraid to talk to you. To relay word to you. Kyo, you think your dad –"

"I don't think. I know." It was the one thing Kyo was afraid of, and this latest speculation by Benimaru seemed confirmation enough. Everything lined up – Iori's disappearance, the absence of response on that same day, the hardline rules laid down by his father, and now Iori suffered from some kind of ailment and still wouldn't get back to him. In the end, everything pointed towards his dad and Kyo was unable to shake his gut feeling that that was true.

Somehow, his father had done something to Iori. The question was what?

"So, what are you gonna do?"

What was he going to do? He wanted to get into his father's face, ask him some hard questions and demand some answers but… "Dunno where to start, Beni. Not like I can leave the house."

"You have people tagging along?"

"Yeah. My uncle and some other dipshit from the clan. To make sure I'm 'on my best behavior'."

"Well shit, that makes things difficult. Look, don't do anything stupid, Kyo."

"Whaddya mean?"

"I mean, don't go screaming into your father's face. If Yagami's that scared, your father's got some leverage on him. I asked him if someone had threatened him. He told me 'no'. I'm thinking he's lying on purpose."

"He doesn't want you to know."

"That, or he doesn't want me to dig deeper. If it's your dad, what could he possibly threaten Yagami with?"

Kyo frowned, shifting the phone slightly. "You said he's weak?"

"Kyo, if I wanted to, I could've crossed the room and strangled him. I don't think he's capable of fighting back…not successfully."

"Then, it's not a beating. Yagami could rebound from that."

"You think –"

"If he's that weak and you're capable of killing him…" Kyo took a deep breath, trying to settle his nerves. "The only thing my dad could've threatened him with is death."

"But I thought Yagami wasn't afraid of death."

"Not the idea, no. The method, the way out...it all depends."

"So something less than glamorous."

"Something shameful. Something even he can't tolerate. He has his pride, Beni. You know that."

"Of course I know that. Don't we all?" The other man huffed over the phone. "Well, whatever your dad's done to him, he hasn't lost his charm." That last word was delivered with heavy sarcasm. "He's as unfriendly as usual. Whatever do you see in him, Kyo?"

"It's not something you'll understand, Beni."

"Do you understand it?"

"Sometimes, no but does it matter?" He'd thrown the covers aside and swung his legs over the side of the bed. His eyes having adjusted to the darkness, Kyo made out the outlines of his room – all the corners and shapes. His phone was a faint source of illumination in the dark. "He's fine with me and I with him. Good outcome, don't you think?"

"You still have Yuki."

"I know that."

"How are you gonna deal with that?"

"You let me figure that out, okay?" He hadn't meant to get testy but Yuki was a delicate situation that he was still wracking his brains about. He had no solution yet.

"Do right by her, Kyo. She deserves more than this."

"You think I don't realize that?"

"Then why did you get involved with Yagami? Like that?"

"Things just happened. Can't really give you an explanation at four something in the morning."

"I get it. I get it. Sheesh." There was a brief pause as Benimaru stopped talking. When he resumed, his tone was more restrained. "I gave him my business card."

"He has your number."

"Yeah. Hope it does something."

"Beni, you're the only link between us right now. If he calls you –"

"He won't call you back, Kyo. Hope you understand that."

"If it means he dies, then I get that. Okay, if he calls…can you set up something between us?"

A slight hesitation from the other end. "Like what?"

"Oh, I dunno…like some business call. Your family does it a lot, right?"

"You mean a conference call? On a separate line?"

"Something like that. Something where he doesn't have to be afraid to talk to me. If he calls and you can talk him into that…"

"I'll do what I can. But he needs to call, Kyo. If he doesn't –"

"I know." Iori Yagami afraid and his dad the culprit behind it. What the hell did his dad do to Yagami that he was that weak now? Kyo made a mental note to check the ancestral records; perhaps, he could glean some knowledge from there. Like Benimaru said, if Iori's life was on the line, he absolutely could not confront his father about this. Even an accusation would tip his hand and point the finger at some contact with Yagami. That would be fatal for the other man, and Kyo would never be able to live that down. "Thanks, Beni."

"Yeah, no problem. I'll let you know if he calls."

"Do. I want to talk to him."

"I'm sure he does, too. Just gotta get him past that fear."

"He just doesn't want to die. I'm sure it was a bad death my dad threatened him with."

"Shit." The other man over the phone made a sound. "You know, your dad doesn't seem like that kinda guy."

Kyo scoffed. "He's been a hardass ever since he found out. You haven't seen this side of him, Beni."

"Nor do I want to. Okay, I'll let you go. Gonna be five soon if we keep talking."

"Yeah. I need my sleep."

"So do I. Just giving you an update, that's all. I'll see if I can stop by sometime soon, 'k?"

"Sounds good. See ya, Beni."

"Good luck, Kyo. You're gonna need it."

Kyo scoffed again. "Thanks, man." He waited until the other hung up and his screen returned to its default display. Turning the phone off, he put it back on the bedside table and gazed into the darkness. So now that he knew what was going on with Yagami, he'd better start moving fast. His date with Yuki was in three weeks but according to Benimaru, he didn't have three weeks to spare. Not if the other's condition was deteriorating and who knew what that'd do to Yagami as time went on.

He had to see him soon. He needed to speak with him first.

Dammit, Yagami. Call Beni. I need to talk to you.

He didn't go back to sleep for a while. Not until he was able to quiet the tumultuous thoughts in his head. Yuki. Yagami. Dad. Beni. Mom. All his relationships and the entanglements between them. His little spy game against his dad's. His mom's own network and her involvement in this. Yuki's sheltered innocence. Yagami's reticence and unheard of fear. His father looming in the near distance, always watchful and baleful – all in the name of the Kusanagi clan.

Try to stop me, Dad. I'm not playing your game much longer.

He went to sleep, holding onto that thought like a talisman.

First contact had been made. Now, he just needed to wait for Yagami to make his move.

He hoped he'd call. He needed him to call.