For These Scars

~Chapter 16~

Written by: RinoaDestiny

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

Iori's voice resonated in his head. Broke his heart. He'd never heard the other man like that before – never in such despair, with resignation behind the melancholy and the deep-seated grief lingering in his tone. His volume had been low, Kyo recalled, except for the times when he'd raised it in alarm. There was also the silence. The pervasive silence – the times when he wasn't sure if Yagami was still on the other line. The times when Yagami never directly answered his questions.

Somehow, his father had managed to terrify Iori into forced acquiesce.

He may never know exactly how.

Iori didn't want to tell him. There was a technique involved, however. Yagami had confirmed that much. But the details weren't permitted to him, and Iori didn't want him to go against his clan. Both clans didn't forgive betrayal – punishment was harsh and there were no amends to make – so while Yagami suffered alone, he was also worried about him. Iori knew him – knew what he was capable of when enraged.

So did Kyo.

It was the reason why he was in the training hall going through his forms, working off his frustration and rage through exercise. Now was not a good time to talk to his father or even his uncle. Particularly his uncle. He had his own suspicions that Uncle Hajime suspected something, and giving his thoughts validation was the last thing he wanted to do. No. Best play it safe and practice, channeling fury into fighting and bettering his skills.

No telling if he would need them.

He wanted to see Iori but Benimaru would sort that out with the other man.

He also had Yuki's date in a few weeks.

You have to choose, Kyo. You can't leave both of them like this.

But the choice was hard. Whoever he chose, the other would be left aside. He didn't want to do that to Yuki. Faithful Yuki, who was always waiting for him. But at this juncture, neither could he do that to Iori, who was in desperate need and yearned to see him. Iori Yagami had lived his whole life around his and if he shunted him aside for Yuki…

Kinder to just cut his throat then.

Kyo couldn't do that to him. Wouldn't.

That didn't mean he'd decided, though. He was trapped between two impossible choices and didn't know which way to go. There was no easy solution for him here.

You need to decide. No one's gonna do it for you.

His mother had left it in his hands – he was an adult, after all and this was a quandary of his own making. If he hadn't gotten involved with Iori, then this struggle would be nonexistent. But if he'd gotten Iori to that point of realization and then just left him…

Wouldn't that have been crueler?

Better for the other to continue hating than have love rejected.

Kyo couldn't do that to him. Hadn't.

So here they were, separated and both of them trying to cross that divide made by his father. Kyo threw a punch and then followed up with another, arms straight but limber and his feet shifting to accompany his movement across the polished wood floor. His movements were precise and decisive, unlike the tangle of thoughts in his mind. Each blow would hit, would wound, would leave an opponent reeling or gasping at his feet for breath. He could do that to people; problems couldn't be resolved in the same way. If they could, he and Iori would've done it by now.

Sixty-seven kilos, and Iori said he was still losing weight.

Kyo tried and couldn't even imagine what he looked like now. With everything else, could Iori still be considered a fighter? Or was that path barred to him as well?

Would he be able to stand before long? Or was death a very real possibility?

Iori believed it to be so. "I might not make it past this month."

Kyo hadn't wanted to believe that. Still didn't want to but what he wanted and the reality were two very different things. If Iori couldn't sustain himself, couldn't regain any weight, then…

He'd still die from the blood curse. You know that.

That gave them time, though! A chance to…a chance for Iori to live.

What the hell had his father done to shift his death date so close?

And why? All because Iori fell for him? He'd done the same! Why was Iori punished so brutally, and he not even a member of the Kusanagi clan?

Kyo stopped in the middle of a transition. Lowered his arms.

Because he's not a member of my clan. If he was, this wouldn't even be an issue. But because he's not…

Uncle Hajime's words coming back to him. "He took what did not belong to him."

As though he was a possession, unable to make his own choices. Iori didn't take; Kyo himself had freely given, had permitted the relationship to happen. None of it was Yagami's fault; yet, that was how the clan (except him and his mom) saw it. So, Iori was brutally put in his place and now, Kyo found himself in a hard place while his lover faced the possibility of a slow lingering death alone.

He couldn't – wouldn't – permit that to happen.

So what are you going to do about it, Kyo? Are you all talk and no action? What are you gonna do?

Iori Yagami had and was still continuing to pay for a choice he'd made. That was unfair. Kyo wasn't going to sit here and wait for fortune to fall into the right places – to make right all the wrongs, because that was a child's fantasy. He couldn't rely on his mom – it was his problem, not hers. Benimaru was the go-between but he could only do so much. Yagami was fighting to survive, with enough burdens to bear, and Kyo didn't want to put any more on him. In the end, trapped though he was, he still had more options than Yagami did and he was the heir, was he not?

Why not put that to use?

Grabbing his towel, wiping the sweat off his face and flinging the towel over his shoulder, Kyo headed out of the training hall. The clansman's expression was inscrutable. Kyo only gave him a mere glance and continued towards his room, passing by all the screened paper walls facing the courtyard. He still had Yagami's spare key, secured in a place that only he knew. Souji was in Tokyo – had moved there shortly after relinquishing his position as heir years ago – but his other cousin, Aoi…was she still around?

Did she know about his disgrace? Would she even care?

Come to think of it, Aoi was a bit of a rebel as well.

Do I have her phone number? I don't usually call my cousins.

Well, if he didn't, maybe his mom would know.

He wasn't allowed his bike but Aoi was a biker. Could possibly even have a spare helmet.

Could she do him a favor?

Most importantly, would his dad trust her with him? She was family, after all.

Not everyone in the clan is in opposition to me. Or to Yagami. Maybe she's another one. Should've considered her sooner. Then again…

Then again, for the past few weeks, everything was a blur of rage and disbelief and shock and he didn't know who his allies were. He couldn't just trust anyone. He didn't know who sided with him or would rat him out to his dad and uncle. And so, Kyo treaded with caution and suspicion – feelings that he never associated with his clan before. If Aoi would be willing to help him, then…

If you can do this, Kyo, and not get Yagami killed…

Well, he'd cross that bridge when he got to it.

Benimaru could continue his arrangements with Yagami.

Kyo had more immediate plans.

Comments: Aoi Kusanagi now enters the story. She's always been a side character even in KoF: Kyo (the game where she first shows up, I believe), but since I'm delving into the Kusanagi clan, why not bring her in? She doesn't seem to toe the line – did request Orochi-tainted flames, which Shermie gave to her – so she might be interesting here.

Also, she is a biker. Kyo needs transport. Let's see how this pans out.