A/N: I don't own KOF. Anyway, I think King owns a bar but I changed it to a café (I don't remember why but it was a good reason…really). Sorry I took so long to update (ha! Just wait 'til the next-and last-chapter…yes, I am a very lazy ass…). I didn't think people were actually reading this. Thanks, anyway, even if you don't review, I hope you enjoy it. Cheers.

It's strange, how worried I am now. I want the turbid feeling in my stomach to go away, but it lingers like a bad omen. Even still, I continue on with my cooking, waiting for the pot to boil, the meat to tender.

Kyo Kusanagi and his fiancé, Yuki, will be having dinner with me tonight. Kyo had dropped by the cafe to tell me about the engagement, and I had told him that I would invite them over for lunch sometime. That was a few months ago. In a week, they'll be married. Things got busy, I say to myself, it's easy to forget something like this. But not for me. Anyone but me.

My eyes wander from the stove, looking over my tiled kitchen floor and tiled kitchen counter. Everything is set up neatly, the dishes gleaming against the light of the sun. Bright red, blue, and yellow plates sit squarely in the middle of red place mats with matching napkins. A hissing sound reaches my ear and I turn around in time to see the pot boil over. I curse to myself and turn down the heat. The scorching water trickles down the side of the pot and into the bottom of the stove. All this trouble for a distant friend and someone I have never met before.

I head toward the bathroom and grab some Pepto-Bismol from the medicine cabinet. Pressing down on the lid, I turn the cap and take a short swig, licking off the excess. The doorbell rings and I quickly put away the medicine. Kyo and a girl in a bright green turtleneck dress greet me at the door.

He grins at me and says, "King, this is my fiancé, Yuki." The girl extends her palm out toward me. I shake her hand and smile, but I am studying her face very carefully. She looks so familiar to me, how she smiles so coyly. I must be staring too closely, gripping her hand too tightly, because she looks away uncomfortably. I blush from anger and embarrassment.

"Come in," I welcome them and show them toward the dining room. "Dinner will be a bit late. I hope you don't mind?" They smile together, without saying anything. I look at them oddly. I guess they don't mind. "So," I call out from the kitchen, "are you two all ready for the big day?"

"Yes," Yuki calls out. "Quite ready. It's going to be a western style wedding." Her voice. I remember her now. The girl from the café.

Every day for a week in March she had waited in Pao Pao Cafe-my cafe-for a handsome boy. Business had been slow that week and I had found it amusing how secretive they seemed, the way they were alone in the whole place, besides me being there. They had looked so perfect together, a pretty girl, a pretty boy. But that boy wasn't Kyo.

"How long have you been together?" I ask as I set the food down onto the table. I can feel sweat travel down the back of my neck.

"A year," Kyo finally replies. I glance at Yuki, but turn away quickly. I don't want her to think I know anything. Not yet, anyway. I need to know if it was really her. Making an assumption is the first step to making a mistake. The problem is, I know I can't confront her with Kyo there. Using all of my brain power, I come up with a plan...

"How about some drinks?" I ask. Kyo's plate is almost empty.

"Sure," Kyo replies happily. He chugs down the orange juice like there's no tomorrow, and I keep refilling his glass. After his tenth drink he looks at me, not saying a word, his eyes narrowed and his mouth set in a tight line.

"The bathroom is the last door to the left," I advise him. Quickly he dashes toward the hall. A strange muteness fills the room and I look Yuki straight in the eye. "Have you cheated on Kyo?" I ask quietly.

"Wh-what?" she asks, taken aback, but I have already seen the fear in her eyes.

"There was one week sometime in March. You came in almost everyday with this guy and then suddenly you stopped coming." I leaned in close, almost whispering to her, "I own the Pao Pao Cafe and I was your waitress. And I saw you kiss that guy." She opens her mouth as if to speak but just leaves it hanging in mid-air. Kyo is still in the bathroom. I shake my head sternly.

"I...don't know-"

"Don't deny it. How could you do that to Kyo? With all his faults, he'd never do anything like that to you." She doesn't reply.

I remember when I had asked Kasumi what she would be giving for a wedding gift, she had replied bitterly, "Nothing. Gifts at an occasion like this are supposed to wish the people the best of luck. Would I want that in truth, King?" I see now, why Kasumi is so bitter. Yuki really doesn't deserve Kyo.

The sound of the bathroom door opening breaks the silence.

"If you don't tell him, I will," I order. She looks at me frantically.

"Please don't! I can't tell. I-I just can't," she whispers. She looks as if she is about to cry. Kyo enters the room and sits back down beside her. Neither of us say a thing.

"What is it?" he asks, looking at Yuki. Her face is pale and stressed, as if she had just seen a ghost.

"Can we go now?" she begs. "I don't feel well."

"Lunch was good. Thanks, King. We wish we could stay longer, but if Yuki's sick...well, you know how it is." I take a sip of my juice but keep my eyes on Yuki.

"Yeah, Kyo. I know exactly how it is." She turns away and heads toward the hallway.

"Come on, Kyo. Bring me home." I stare at her and she stares back, a look of terror possessing her face.

"Wait here for a sec, okay? Since we parked so far away from here, I don't think you'll like walking such a long-"

"No!" she blurts out, almost shouting. "Just-I can walk. I can walk, Kyo." He waves away the suggestion.

"Forget it. Just stay here. You and King can get to know each other." He leaves her at the door before she can respond.

"I don't need to ask much, Yuki. I already know a lot about you," I murmur sharply. "And once you get to know me, you'll find out. I don't like to keep secrets." She looks at me with revolting hatred.

"You can't do this to me!" she screams, her breath uneven and heavy.

"Then tell him yourself," I reply. The room seems to shrink around us.

"I can't," she wails, "I can't do that to Kyo. He wouldn't trust me anymore. I didn't mean to do the things I did with that guy...I don't even remember his name." I blink in surprise. She looks so pathetic, hunched over and trembling, I almost feel sorry for her. We stand in silence for a few seconds.

"Come on, Yuki, let's go." Kyo calls from behind the door. I jump in surprise. I wonder how long he had been standing there, if he had heard anything. Yuki heads toward the door.

"Remember what I said," I warn her. Kyo stares curiously at us from the other side of the door. Yuki brushes past him without saying a word. His eyes follow her until she is out of sight.

"Thanks, King." I nod and watch him leave, his shadow following close behind. If I told him, it would crush him, but what Yuki did shouldn't be hidden from him. This was who he would be spending the rest of his life with. What if she does it again? It depresses me, the thought of a girl as young as her having an affair. I let out a scream of hopelessness that rattles the pictures on the wall. Just one week left, I think to myself. But a lot can happen in one week.

Rows and rows of chairs filled with people greet me as I enter the church. I sit down in the back where there are few people. The church smells of fresh flowers and incense, and I can barely breathe. I go into the main hallway of the church. the place is massive, the ceiling far higher than any building I've ever seen. the main hallway looks almost like a school corridor, wooden doors plastered against the granite walls.

I stand frozen for a split second, clenching my fists, and then I begin to move. I walk rapidly, scanning the names on the doors, none of them telling me what I really wanted to know. the music from the main building echoes through the whole church and suddenly I've never felt so alone in my whole life. Bright kaleidoscopic colours shine through the stained glass windows, casting dim shadows that streak across my face as I walk past them. I see someone loitering around in one of the hallways. I race toward him.

"Can you tell me where the bride is getting ready? It's urgent," I pant out, a sharp pain gripping my lungs. I can't believe I'm so tired.

"Well," he sighs, "if you say it's urgent. She should be in one of our spare rooms." I thank him and turn around. I had seen those rooms two hallways back. The music pulses through my ears and I can feel my adrenaline rush to my legs. I curse to myself as I see one of the rooms lit up. A shadow moves through the light. I open the door slowly.

Yuki is sitting there alone, looking blankly into a mirror. A single lamp stands lit in the corner. I close the door quietly. Still, I can hear the music being played.

"You're not dressed," I comment dryly.

"No, I'm not," she snaps back with little spirit.

"Did-did you tell Kyo?" I ask quietly. She turns around to look at me. Red blotches ring the bottoms of her eyes.

"No," she whispers hoarsely. I lean against the door and fold my arms.

"So all you've been doing is sitting here, crying?" I question. To my surprise, a pang of guilty conscience hits me, and before I know what I'm doing, I mumble an apology.

"It's true," she retorts. "That's all I've done."

"It's a little too late to start being up front about everything-" She covers her face with her hands.

"Y'know, I was really gonna go through with it." I look at her in shock. Was? "I wasn't gonna tell him a thing, not one thing. Stupid eight maiden blood," she mutters, almost jokingly. I close my eyes. "I wrote him a note. It'll explain everything. Would you...would you give it to him?" She places it in my hand.

"There's a back exit to the left of this hall. I don't think anyone will see you leave." I open the door for her and she steps out. "What are you going to do?"

Pondering for a moment, she answers, "I think I'll leave Southtown. Start fresh, y'know?" She smiles weakly. "It always works in the movies, right?" I don't know if I should laugh so I just do nothing. For the first time I notice that the music has stopped.

"They must know something is up. You'd better go," I announce hesitantly.

"Tell Kyo I'm sorry, okay?" she says over her shoulder. I really did want our destinies to be fulfilled." I shrug.

"We make our own destinies, Yuki. It's not something you find in a crystal ball. Clichéd, but true." She opens her mouth as if she is about to say something, but all that comes out is a small whimper. I head in the opposite direction without looking back and head to the main hallway. I am weary and exhausted mentally and physically. Offhandedly, I look down one of the sub-corridors. Someone is walking down it. Everyone should already be seated already and I begin to wonder if he is a guest. From what I can see, he is wearing a tuxedo. I walk after him. He stops when he hears my footsteps. Slowly he turns around to face me. A sliver of light hits the side of his face.

"What-" he starts.

"-Are you doing here?" I finish. "You're not supposed to be here."

"Neither are you," he retorts indignantly.

"Kyo..." I gulp. "She's-"

"I know," he says quietly. "I know." I run over and embrace him in my arms. At this moment, all I compassion I have for Yuki is completely destroyed.

But.

Still...

I can't help but feel like this is all my fault.

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