A little more Women's Fighters Team hijinks. This basically sprung to me as soon as that 'silhouette teaser' for Mai in KOF XV popped up last week.
In the recent months, the King of Fighters tournament hyped up their fans weekly with showcases of the competitors, setting a scheduled spot within each week to show one talent of the many.
From mainstays like Joe and Iori, to long-awaited returns like Chizuru and just a couple weeks back the back-from-the-dead Yashiro, to the occasional Meitenkun, everyone was allowed a minute to provide hype for each week-in, week-out basis...
…and even within the roster, there was much discussion.
"They really thought I was Mary?"
"Or Whip, or whoever that 'Ash' guy is..."
King was conversing with Yuri on a Wednesday morning, the former visiting Japan for the tournament, in the week after the bartender's kickboxing skills were given a spotlight in the KoF's hype-train.
However, in the first couple weeks, the KoF Committee provided a new notch to the speculation, that being a teaser that showed simply the shadowy-outline of who was to be revealed the next day – and it worked a treat with the first couple, especially where it started, which confirmed the return of 1997's 'New Faces' with the revived Yashiro.
"I can see why some people can be surprised, though," King noted. "Some people see things differently from others..."
"This is really some 'mystery box' stuff~" Yuri said. "Not gonna lie; didn't realize how hard it was to guess someone from just a shadow.
"Something tells me you've never really faced down a shadow before. You know how to work out shapes, right?"
"D-don't try to poke me on this!" stammered back Yuri. "You know school-smarts fall out of my head sometimes!
"Refresh yourself real quick; what time is it again?"
"Uhhhh..."
"Yuri, just open your phone."
And so she did.
11:01. A little past the dot in Japan's 'standard timezone', where the teaser would usually emerge on these Wednesday mornings - followed by the full Thursday exposé...
Naturally, she instinctively jumped into the furthest end of the news pool in search for the next incoming 'silhouette' – and when she got there...
"...Oh crap, Mai's next!"
"Hmm? Like, no-bullshit announcement?" King was really confused at the sudden confirmation without even the slightest bit of extra thought.
"Seriously, you just said that and made it seem like they didn't need a silhouette this time."
"That's the thing, King; it is one of those~" Yuri flashed her phone, having clicked onto the KoF's hosted Twitter account...
...and the newest image posted was a very familiar outline – featuring ponytail, fan and several more Mai-resembling details that didn't need to be given full color to make out with precision.
Swiping the phone out of the Kyokugen girl's hands, traced over the outline of the comically-obvious shadow – and she was oddly more filled with an underwhelming feeling with how Mai's unique presence shaped her outline.
She needed to 'crack some wise' in order to not let those feelings get to her – at Yuri's expense, of course.
"Well, what do you know, Yuri? I guess you can figure out 'shapes and shadows' after all."
Yuri blushed with a slightly uncomposed half-smile. "Shut up."
"Hey, don't act surprised if even Mai's outline wants to be so overt," King shrugged back.
"Neither of us are responsible for how she does her 'business', King-san. Besides..."
Yuri winked in King's general direction. "...what do you say at the odds of the three of us teaming up again for this year?"
King giggled back with a smirk, raising a finger to her lips. "Shhhhh..."
The public had yet to know just how these ladies composed their partnerships for the coming tournament...
…
"...Uh, King-san?"
"Hmm?"
"Can I have my phone back?"
"Désolé..."
PS: This was started up the night of the Mai silhouette, but I finished it in the last couple days before the next week's teaser – so while I know the '94 Women's Team isn't a thing for KOF XV, that still means by the time this posts that we don't know yet just what sort of team composition is going on for Yuri, King and Mai.
