Wow, it's been a minute since I've written something other than a quick drabble, so… hi. I've been working on this on and off for a long time — since Seclusion Stories, even, as I knew where I wanted to take things even before that ended. Anyway, this takes place within a few days of SS's final chapter with King and Jean, and… yeah. As you have come to expect, there are definitely, definitely, definitely notes at the end, so…

Onward~


King stood outside the Kyokugen School of Karate, arms crossed and sans mask, her lips pressed in a thin line. She hadn't set foot inside the building since before the pandemic hit, so standing in front of the entryway was somehow foreign to her despite how often she used to go there. Nevertheless, it had been so long since she had fought in any capacity; she was chomping at the bit to go inside, see her friends in person, and shake off her ring rust. She shouldered her gym bag and eagerly stepped forward, but, the second her foot moved, the door flew open, and Yuri Sakazaki bounded outside of the building. She practically jumped into King's arms, which drew some stares from the passersby on the street.

"Céccy!" The younger woman all but screamed. "Céccy! Oh my God, I've missed you so much!"

King chuckled as she somewhat awkwardly hugged Yuri back, as she had never been much of a hugger, and, on top of it, the outside temperature was already dangerously close to triple digits.

"The feeling's mutual," she said while wriggling out of the tight hold. She looked Yuri over; it was the first time she had seen her in the flesh since the pandemic started, and she looked great — probably because Ryo and Takuma were keeping her busy with their training.

"I'm so happy," the karate girl gushed as she grabbed King's hands and led her inside. They walked past the small reception desk and up the stairs to the training area, where King placed her bag in a corner and took out her hand wraps. She glanced over at Yuri, who was lazily flapping her arms up and down at her sides.

"Ryo's gonna come over in a bit," she informed. "You know he's gonna wanna fight against you, right?"
"I'll take him on, no problem," King replied as she finished with her right hand.
"Céccy? Please don't kill my brother."
"I'm not going to kill him."

King finished with her other wrap, keenly aware that Yuri was watching her every move.

"Yes?"
"Oh! Ummm… well… I was just thinking that we should do some stretching. But you especially..."

King nodded. She sat down on one of the floor mats and pressed her lips together as she extended her long legs, a little curious, as she had a feeling that Yuri had something she wanted to tell her. After all, her interactions with the Kyokugens had been a bit weird — and even a little strained — before everything shut down. Although she and Yuri were definitely back to normal (awkward questions about scissoring notwithstanding), she was still on pretty shaky terms with Ryo, whom she hadn't really talked to that much at all. Cordial happy birthday texts and the occasional "How are you holding up?" were pretty much it, which was honestly a bit sad: Before the incident, the two were very good friends — to the point that King had even developed a bit of a crush, and though she was long over that, seeing him was always nice… until it wasn't. The then-traumatized bartender had closed off and distanced herself after the assault involving Mr. Big's thugs because she knew that, despite being her friend, Ryo would see her differently. A one-on-one conversation with him after he found out the truth confirmed her fears; everything she was told she was being paranoid about was — unsurprisingly — true. But it was fine… because she had decided some time back that she would take Ryo's new, changed view of her and have a little fun with it…

"Céccy?"

Yuri's voice brought King out of her reverie. She blinked a few times before looking over at the other woman, who was doing her own stretches a few feet away.

"Are you okay? You're making one of your faces."
"Oh, no, I'm fine," King answered. "Just thinking…"
"What about…?"
"Things I'd rather not think about."
"You mean my brother?"
"Yeah," she replied. She took a moment to stand up before adding, "It's probably going to get a little weird, you know."
"Yeah… But I'm kinda looking forward to it," Yuri stated somewhat cheerfully, which made King quirk a brow.
"What? Why?"
"Because I know you, Céccy. You've always been a troll, and after the ice cream thing I just know you have something good up your sleeve."
"Maaaaaaaaaybe," King drew the word out with a grin. "So. Are you ready to do this?"
"Oh, for sure," Yuri declared while hopping to her feet. "I'll go easy on you since you haven't been able to fight at all."
"Don't you dare!"
"Okay, then… don't complain when I wipe the floor with you!"

###

King couldn't help laughing as she blocked a high roundhouse kick. It wasn't that there was anything funny about nearly getting hit in the face; she was just happy that she was finally able to spar again.

"This is great," she exclaimed while throwing a quick knee that Yuri barely avoided.
"You hella missed doing this, huh?!"
"Yes! God, yes," King responded gleefully before dashing forward. She tried to strike with an elbow but, instead, found herself getting pushed backward — hard — by Yuri's "Butt Press." She stumbled briefly but regained her footing in time to grab the karate girl by her shirt and toss her over her shoulder like it was nothing. King then made to go on the offensive once more but detected a very subtle change in the air. She spun around just in time to narrowly sidestep a very familiar red and white object.

"Nice job, Kingy," Mai Shiranui called from her place on top of a high shelf in the rear corner of the room.
"Where the hell did you come from?!" King asked incredulously, as the entrance was on the opposite side of the open space.
"Not important! Let's go!"

With that, Mai jumped down and tried to smack King with the fan she hadn't thrown. King, however, parried the blow before throwing a Muay Thai roundhouse kick. Mai rolled out of the way, picked up the fan she had previously tossed, and then tried to sweep King's leg. The Nak Muay blocked the attack but was nearly hit by an uppercut from Yuri, who enthusiastically hopped into the fray.

"Both of you?!"
"We've gotta test those reflexes, Kingy!" Mai sang while she went for a Musasabi no Mai.
"Test this," King yelled as she flipped out of the way. Mai's whiffed attack left her wide open, allowing King to land a vicious one-two combination. Unfortunately, this left her open, which allowed Yuri to connect with a knee to the midsection. King bent double (that hurt!) but immediately picked herself back up — just in time to dodge a sweeping strike from one of Mai's fans. She made to counterattack but had to turn her attention back to Yuri, who almost connected with a spinning back fist. She blocked it but was hit from the other side by one of Mai's fans. Momentarily stunned, King found herself flanked by both women.

"We've got you, Céccy," Yuri stated with a triumphant smile.
"You're done!" Mai grinned while holding her other fan out toward King's chin.

King, meanwhile, narrowed her eyes as she assessed her situation. Finally, she took a deep breath and dropped her hands.

"You're right," she conceded. "I can't take the both of you on if I plan on having enough energy to kick Ryo's ass." She then strolled over to her bag, grabbed a bottle of water from it, and plopped down on a raised platform near the back of the area.

"That was a good warm-up, though," she stated happily.
"It definitely was," Yuri agreed while rotating her shoulders.
"It's been way too long," Mai chimed in. She sat down next to King, threw an arm around her, and pulled her close.
"Wha —?!"
"I haven't seen you in person in… I don't even know how long, girl! You're not getting out of this one!"

Mai immediately pulled her cellphone out of nowhere and snapped a selfie with King still in her grasp.

"Please don't post that," King told her as she maneuvered out of the tight hold.
"Aww, come on — it's cute," Mai replied while looking down at the photograph.
"Well, okay, sure, but —"
"But nothing! Besides… you aren't a ghost, Kingy. My followers do know you exist."

Mai placed the phone down with a very serious expression on her face.

"You should consider actually appearing on my channel," she remarked. "And not just under a hoodie in your little cave. A real appearance now that we're vaccinated!"

King frowned; the only time she guest-starred on Mai's YouTube channel was… an interesting experience that took her out of her comfort zone. Since then, she continually dodged the kunoichi's attempts to get her to guest star once more, as she simply preferred to stay out of the limelight and remain as anonymous as she possibly could anyway — a feat that was already made more challenging by the fact that people far and wide knew who she was. However, they didn't know who she was, and she liked it that way; hell, she needed it that way. The less people knew about her, the better.

...Especially after the incident.

"You totally should," Yuri spoke up before King could decline (again). "You'd be great, and people like you, and you can plug the bar!"
"You mean the bar that could be in danger of closing again at any second? I still think the governor might have reopened the state a little too early…"
"Oh, Kingy, don't be such a pessimist," Mai chided.
"Well, pessimist or no, I'm not doing another video."
"Why not, Céccy? Fans ask about you all the time you know."
"I'm sure they do — particularly after that little tweet of yours," King responded, her tone a little icier than intended as her mind drifted back to that strange occasion. Although it had happened some time ago now, a single, nonsensical stoner thought from Yuri during a migraine attack had been a shitshow: The younger woman's Twitter had been flooded with messages inquiring not only about her personal life, but about King's as well, even after the tweet was deleted. The mess only served to solidify the enigmatic bartender's desire to remain as far under the radar as possible.

"You're never gonna let that go, are you?" Yuri asked miserably.
"Not any time soon, no."
"Aww, don't be like that, Kingy," Mai laughed. "Yuri and I have already debunked it a bunch so it's not like anyone still thinks that you guys have ever been inti —"

Suddenly Yuri, whose face was an interesting shade of pink, cleared her throat loudly, which interrupted the flow of the conversation. Puzzled, King started to ask what the problem was but stopped when she heard sounds coming from the stairwell.

"Dude, I'm telling you," the voice of Robert Garcia was slightly muffled and distant, "just be cool."
"What does that even mean, 'just be cool?' What is that?" came Ryo Sakazaki's somewhat impatient reply.
"It means try not to be a dick when you see her!"

The three women made faces at one another just as Ryo and Robert entered the training space. With a deep breath, King stood up and approached the pair but stopped a few feet away. Sure, sparring would involve getting up close (and she just fought against Yuri and Mai…), but she had grown so used to keeping her distance from other people that she simply couldn't help standing back.

"Hey strangers," she greeted casually.
"Heeey, King!" Robert replied. "Long time no see! How you doing?!"
"Well, I'm still alive, so that should tell you all you need to know."
"You stayed healthy, though? No problems?"
"No problems," King answered. "You?"
"You know, I had some sniffles not too long ago, and I started freaking out a little, but Yuri over there talked some sense into me."

Almost as if on cue, Yuri hopped over and grabbed Robert's arm.

"It was just allergies. This big dope hadn't touched grass in so long he somehow forgot about sagebrush pollen," she giggled.
"Why am I not surprised," King said dryly. She then turned to Ryo, who was looking down at the floor, fidgeting where he stood, and raised her eyebrows. "You seem a little tense, Mr. Sakazaki."
"I, y-yeah," Ryo faltered. "It's just been a very long time, is all."
"Since what?"
"Since actually seeing you."
"It's a little weird, huh?" King asked, point-blank.
"A little bit, yeah."

King pressed her lips in a thin line, bothered, as Ryo hadn't looked directly at her at any point since entering the room. She narrowed her eyes and stared at him for just a moment before glancing at Robert, who was glaring at his friend with an expression that practically screamed, "Dude, what the fuck". She then turned to Yuri, who subtly shrugged her shoulders and stepped away from her beau.

"Hey, brother," she began. "Why don't you and Céccy have a friendly match? I know you like sparring with her, and we just finished warming up, so..."
"No, I'd actually like to take you on. King and Robert can go up against each other," Ryo responded.
"What?!"

Everyone — even Mai, who wasn't exactly part of the conversation — exclaimed in unison. All eyes turned to Ryo, who looked positively mystified.

"Why is everyone looking at me like that?"
"Because you've fought me a million times during this thing!" Yuri pointed out.
"Okay, fine. In that case, I'll go up against Mai instead. Her fighting style is one that I haven't practiced against too much, so I'm sure I can learn a lot."
"Mmmm… No —" Mai shook her head — "I'll go up against Robert, and Yuri can take a breather before she goes against you."
"No, it's fine," King told everyone. "I can practice against Robert. We might get a kick out of it, huh, Garcia?"

Robert groaned as he face-palmed, Yuri hung her head, and Mai lowered her face behind one of her folding fans. Ryo, however, didn't react to the bad joke at all; he simply raised his eyebrows and looked from person to person… except King.

"So it's settled then," he said while enthusiastically rubbing his hands together. "Let's do it!"

King thoughtfully observed Ryo as he crossed the room to grab some gloves he kept stashed on one of the shelves. Although their last in-person meeting had ended on a somewhat uncomfortable note (thanks in part to her own trolling), she thought that, based on the handful of brief text and FaceTime interactions they had over the pandemic, they'd be able to get back to a more normal place… somehow. But, obviously, that wasn't happening any time soon, as it was clear that Ryo's antiquated beliefs about love and sex had a much more significant impact on how he would treat her than previously thought — which made King furious. The fact that she wasn't some pure beacon of virginity shouldn't have had a single impact on their friendship; the fact that Ryo was so bothered by her body count — particularly after a rape — didn't make sense. All it did was create unnecessary tension, hurt feelings, and a general sense of unease.

...But that was okay. Because if Ryo Sakazaki wanted to act weird around her, she was at least going to give him a valid reason to do so. With that in mind, she tugged at the hem of her low-waisted shorts, squared her shoulders, and walked directly in front of the elder Sakazaki.

"What's up, King?" Ryo queried without even raising his head.
"It's very... hot in here. Is the air conditioner broken again?"
"No," came a matter-of-fact answer. "I can turn the temperature down a degree, though."
"That won't be necessary," King replied. "I can just remove my tank top."

The second the words were out of her mouth she grabbed the hem of her shirt and very deliberately started to pull it up, making sure to expose her toned abdomen.

"What the hell are you doing?!" Ryo practically screamed, his face reddening as he finally looked at King. She stopped removing her top but kept it firmly in her grasp.

"It's hot, and I don't want you to run up your electric bill," she replied innocently. She started to lift her shirt again, higher this time so that the bottom of her black sports bra was exposed, but was instantly stopped when Ryo placed his hands on her elbows and firmly pushed her arms down.

"It's fine, King, it's fine," he said hastily. "Just… don't take anything off!"
"Okay, you're right," King agreed. She pulled her shirt back down but made sure to stretch the loose-fitting fabric so that a good portion of the top of her bra, and the cleavage peeking out of it, was visible instead. She then stood up very straight and took a deep breath before sticking her chest out.

"Wh-what are you doing…?"
"I'm just waiting," King nonchalantly replied as she started rocking back and forth on her heels.
"For what?"
"For you, of course. I know I just said that I'd spar with Robert, but I'm just itching for you to get in there and have some fun with me."

A strangled sort of snort behind her caught King's attention. She glanced over her shoulder to see Mai and Yuri hanging onto each other, with Mai using one of her fans to hide their faces as best she could. Off to the side was Robert, who looked both fascinated as well as disgusted.

"King," Ryo started, his tone laced with aggravation, "I've already made my decision."
"Oh, come on," King mock pouted. "It's been such a long time! There's only so much I can do with myself, you know."

She had to keep herself from laughing, as her very deliberate wording caused more hushed cackling from her friends.

"You know what? Change of plans," Ryo stated curtly. "Yuri, you and King go. It's been such a long time since you've fought anyone other than me or Dad that I'd like to observe your technique against styles other than our own."
"But Céccy and I already —"
"It's okay, Yuri," King interrupted while she sauntered up to the karate girl. She winked at her before draping an arm over her slender shoulders and walking her away from Mai, who was still hiding behind her fan. "I'm sure there's plenty I can teach you. And, now that he's here, Robert can watch. He might even learn a thing or two..."

At that, Yuri tensed up, and Robert choked on his own spit. Mai, meanwhile, tightened the grip on her fan as she let out a very loud snicker.

"You're right," Ryo affirmed, all business as usual. "It's been a while since Robert has seen you fight. He actually might learn something that could come in handy later!"
"So handy," King replied in a low, sultry tone. Yuri did a double-take, which very nearly broke her composure, but she was able to recover just in time to make eye contact with Robert, who appeared as though he was watching a snuff flick.

"I'm sure you'll find my extensive… experience… very educational," she told him with a smirk.
"Experience?" He asked, a little flustered.

King didn't reply. Instead, she leaned close to Yuri's ear (the girl's posture somehow became even more rigid) and muttered, "Fake an injury." She then patted her back, crossed to the other side of the training mat, and put her fists up. She bent her leg slightly before making eye contact with her opponent, who nodded from her place across from her.

"Getting to that experience thing, I started a bit young. Some would say a little too young," King began. "And, in retrospect, that is true… but that first one was special. And it was so exhilarating! Practicing and trying new things until I really got good at it…! Nothing beats that feeling of pure... ecstasy. It's so much different with girls, though. In some ways it's a little easier to get close and really make an impact because I already know all of the right spots."

There was a collective pause in the room as, once again, everyone's attention shifted to Ryo, who was squinting down toward the floor.

"That is an excellent point — about women," he responded thoughtfully. "I never really thought about it, but… yeah! It really is different than fighting against Robert or Dad, or anyone else...!"

At that moment, there was a loud clatter as Mai's open fan fell from her hand and hit the polished floor. The kunoichi, who was trying very hard to hold in laughter, hastily stooped to retrieve the item, her cheeks just as red as the tassel that dangled from the wooden handle. Meanwhile, despite being in her fighting stance, Yuri was the metaphorical deer in headlights, rooted to the spot, and Robert, who wasn't too far away from Ryo, was bewilderment personified.

"Bro," he sighed while smacking his forehead.
"Anyway," King went on. "Women… men… they're all fair game. But you do have to be open to certain possibilities…"

Yuri cleared her throat when King gave her the go-ahead, hopped up and down a few times, and then rushed forward with a flurry of punches that were all blocked. King mumbled, "Now," and then threw a very weak cut kick that connected with Yuri's ankle, resulting in an exaggerated howl as the younger woman hit the floor mat.

"Céccy," she wailed while rolling around and clutching her leg. "Céccy, why did you have to hit me so hard?!"
"Oh, no —" King said as she went over to Yuri and extended a hand to help her up — "I'm so sorry! Are you okay?"
"I'm okay, but there's… there's no way I can possibly continue. Brother, you're just gonna have to take my place."

Yuri's suggestion was met by a deep scowl from Ryo.

"You'll never be able to truly master Kyokugen if you're that fragile," he chided while stepping forward.
"Whatever, you suck," Yuri retorted while hopping on one leg. "Robbie? Help me. I'm hurt."
"Riiiiight," Robert sighed but went over to her anyway.
"Sorry again," King remarked. "I guess we'll have to get a bit more hands-on another time."
"Girl," Mai wheezed. She finally stowed her fan so she could help Robert with Yuri, who, despite being very red for some reason, flashed her a grin. It was then that Ryo walked over to where his sister stood moments before, his jaw set.

"Mr. Sakazaki," King drawled while bowing formally.
"Is there anything specific you wanna work on?" Ryo asked while running a hand through his unruly hair. "Since you haven't been able to practice properly?"

King shook her head and carefully watched Ryo as he squared up, his features very serious. He was in full-on Karate Guy mode, which would probably make it more difficult for her to keep up her suggestive teasing. She was going to have to get a little more explicit if she wanted to throw him off.

Just a little.

"You ready?"
"You better give me more than just foreplay, Sakazaki."

Momentarily taken aback as the words registered, Ryo's face turned a slight crimson before he shook his head. He then took a deep breath, moved forward, and threw a few short jabs to test his range with an evidently renewed sense of focus. King kept her distance, though, as she was familiar enough with Kyokugen to know which strikes Ryo would throw and when. She used a few short attacks to gauge her own reach and hopped back as her opponent made to sweep her leg with a low roundhouse kick.

"Come on, Céccy," Yuri cheered from the sidelines. "Get him!"
"Use those legs, girl!" Mai added enthusiastically.
"Don't be so limp, bro!" Robert chimed in with a laugh.

Ryo, who appeared perturbed, finally connected with a fierce punch that hit King's arm and created a welt immediately. Although her first instinct was to swear loudly, she held it in and, instead, let out the best provocative moan she could muster in that situation.

"Almost forgot what that feels like," she commented before landing a very hard kick to Ryo's shoulder. Next, she struck with a blow to his hip, then hit with a vicious front kick to the abdomen. Finally, she bounded toward him to finish with a Trap Shot that, unfortunately, missed. However, she went right into a Tornado Kick that hit Ryo square in the chest.

"Geez, King! What's gotten into you?!" He grunted while taking several steps backward.
"Nothing these days."

Loud laughter from Yuri and Mai, in addition to a choking noise from Robert, nearly made King lose her focus, but she was able to regain her concentration just seconds before blocking an uppercut.

"Damn it!" Ryo swore while ducking out of the way of a roundhouse kick.
"Is this your idea of teasing me, Sakazaki? Because you're going to have to do way better than this if you want me to feel anything —!"

Suddenly, Ryo sidestepped King's next attack, grabbed her, and executed a shoulder throw that sent her crashing to the floor. She swiftly kipped up but was met by a three-punch combination that she barely blocked. She immediately capitalized on an opening with a downward roundhouse kick that hit Ryo's bicep. She then tried to go for a horizontal knee strike but was countered with a straight punch. It hurt like hell, but, once again, she held in a pained swear in favour of responding with a borderline horny noise.

"Nice try, Sakazaki, but you just can't seem to compare to the others that came before you..."

A loud giggle-snort from the rear of the room told King that her friends were still figuratively dying from laughter as they watched the skirmish unfold. Her eyes flicked toward them for a very brief moment (Yuri's face was beet red, Mai looked like she might have been tearing up a little, and Robert appeared to be having a stroke) before shifting back to Ryo, who tried to sweep her leg again. She hopped back a few paces, dodged a straight kick, and then retaliated with a flying knee that split Ryo's lip.

"Why the hell are you going so hard?!" He exclaimed while backing up.
"Sometimes I like going hard. It feels good," came a biting answer.

The two exchanged several more blows, with Ryo gaining a bit of an upper hand when he landed several punches before knocking King off of her feet with a Hien Shippu Kyaku. There was a loud thud as she landed on the hard floor as opposed to the training mat.

"Céccy!" Yuri cried from the sidelines while Mai gasped.
"Oh, shit —" Ryo's eyes went wide as he went over to survey the damage — "I didn't mean for that to happen! Are you okay?!"
"Haven't had one like that in ages," King laughed while ignoring the pain and standing up. She dusted herself off and immediately hit Ryo with a slapping foot thrust that he obviously wasn't expecting. The blow pushed him away, which let King go on the offensive once more.

"Looks like it's getting a little messy," she commented as she noticed that her elbow, which had scraped against the floor when the kick knocked her down, was bleeding a little. Ryo made a puzzled face in response right before blocking a straight punch. King immediately pivoted so she could perform a backfist strike that took him by surprise. He made a low grunting sound as the hit connected but recovered almost instantaneously; he went for a kick designed to take out King's legs, but she saw it coming and blocked it.

"Another lightweight thrust? This is getting embarrassing," King stated despite having to block a barrage of different strikes.
"Are you even taking this seriously?!" Ryo inquired, a slight edge to his voice.
"Okay, okay — you're right… it's not all fun and games. There are times where it's just… disappointing," King began. She snatched Ryo in a Muay Thai Clinch and hit him with two curving knees before he freed himself and used a palm strike to push her away.

"Sometimes it's not what you were hoping for or what you even wanted," she continued as she bombarded Ryo with a variety of elbow and knee strikes. "Sometimes it just goes wrong. It's weird or uncomfortable, or you just feel nothing. Or maybe you do feel something — but it's not the rush of any sort of enjoyment. Instead, it's… cold —" King knocked Ryo back with a basic roundhouse kick — "or maybe even painful. And the only thing you feel is hurt and humiliated because you should have done better! You should have been faster, or you shouldn't have made that move! You should have been able to win, but instead, you find yourself wondering how the hell things went so wrong; you wonder how it could have been had you not been taken down by a cheap shot!"

Each sentence was punctuated by an attack that was more forceful than the last. Smash Downward Elbows, Horizontal Knee Strikes, and Muay Thai Roundhouse Kicks all made guest appearances as King spoke.

"You wonder how it could have been had you not let your guard down —" she landed a hard Jumping Push Kick — "had you just been more aware of your surroundings!"

With that, King hit Ryo with another blow that had enough force to finally stagger him. She hit him again, then launched into an aerial backflip that was designed to create a little distance between them should he suddenly recover. She immediately used her momentum to sprint forward, but, instead of starting her notorious Illusion Dance combination, she decided to do something completely different that she knew Ryo would never see coming: She went low, hitting him with an incredibly fast sliding kick that wobbled him; as he lost his balance she crossed her ankles around one of his and jerked it so that he landed on the floor hard, his foot still in her grasp. The second he was down, she locked his entire leg, grabbed it, and twisted it at the knee.

"Had you just done something as simple as turn around, you could have ended it, but, instead"— King started to apply pressure — "your own arrogance costs you! And it all led up to something I didn't have control over — something I didn't want — changing everyone's opinion of me even though it wasn't even my choice!"

King tightened her grip on Ryo's knee — immensely — before a pained sound from him, as well as the calls of her friends, snapped her back to reality. Abruptly she realized that first: she was about to dislocate her opponent's knee; second: her teasing had turned into word vomit of the worst kind, and third: a few errant tears were streaming down her cheeks. She broke the hold and sat upright before scooting away as fast as she could.

"Brother! Céccy," Yuri exclaimed while she ran over. "Are you guys okay?!"
"Peachy," King answered in a far-off tone as she hastily wiped one side of her face with her palm. She stared ahead at Ryo, who was being helped up by Robert, then placed a shaking hand over her mouth and forced herself to swallow the bile that had suddenly risen to the back of her throat. It was then that Mai knelt down beside her.

"Kingy, come on," the kunoichi soothed while helping her up. "Let's get you some water, okay?"

King nodded and allowed Mai to usher her to the benches where their bags and bottles were. She sat down and placed a hand on her head, which was starting to ache thanks to a tension headache that abruptly set in.

"Are you alright?" Mai asked gently. She handed King's water bottle to her, her eyes full of concern.
"I… I don't… I mean… Yeah. Sure. I guess..."
"Breathe, okay?"

At that moment, Ryo marched over, his face unreadable as he stood over the two women.

"Okay, what on earth was that?!" He asked, his tone a little agitated.
"Straight Slicer into a Crab Clutch," King answered. "Mary showed me how to do it."
"That's not what I'm talking about! I'm talking about —"
"Ryo, don't," Mai interrupted.
"Mai, this doesn't concern you," Ryo said while turning his attention toward the other woman.
"Actually, I think it does."
"Mai," King mumbled weakly. "It's fine. I —"
"It's not fine, Kingy! This whole thing is royally fucked up!"

King looked at Mai, wide-eyed, as it wasn't every day that she threw out F-bombs in conversation. The bartender watched as her friend stood up and stepped in front of her like a shield.

"This whole time, you wouldn't even look at her until it was time to fight," she yelled while jabbing Ryo's chest with her finger. "Don't think we didn't notice that!"
"Oh, for crying out loud," Ryo groused. "Excuse me if —"
"...if what?" King asked quietly from her place on the bench, her head pounding.
"If… I mean…"
"Listen," Mai started, "We've all been cooped up, away from one another for who knows how long now while some stupid virus is killing people left and right, and you're still concerned with how many people she's slept with?! Are you kidding me right now?!"
"Mai, chill," Robert said calmly as he and Yuri walked over. "It's —"
"Don't tell me it's 'cool' or it's 'nothing,'" the enraged woman spat. "You —" she produced a fan and pointed it at Ryo — "have only made Kingy feel worse than she already does about what happened! We all believed that you'd be a supportive friend to her! Your sister, me, Mary! All of us said she was being paranoid, but then what did you do?! You turned around and you told her what you told her — which is not forgivable, by the way — and now you don't even have the decency to show her some basic respect?! The things that happened that night were bad enough on their own, but for you to see her differently because of it or because of anything she's done — consensual or not — is bullshit!"

At that, Mai narrowed her eyes, igniting the tip of her fan with her clan's mystical Shiranui flames.

"Mai," Yuri spoke up sheepishly. "Mai, maybe you should put the fire down…?"
"Hush, Yuri, I'm making a point!"

Ryo set his jaw as he looked at the flaming object pointed directly at him.

"This is between me and King," he stated tersely.
"Who you've barely even acknowledged outside of the fight!" Mai exclaimed angrily.

King rubbed at her temples as Mai and Ryo continued to argue about her among themselves. She felt like such a fool; every time she thought that damn incident was behind her, something made it resurface: a particular sight or smell, a nightmare, or even an innocent phone call. Or, in this case, her old-fashioned friend thinking she was a whore because she had one too many sexual partners — despite one of those "partners" being the stranger who violently raped her. Her old-fashioned friend whom she crushed on for a while because he actually was kind and treated her with respect. She hated to think of what would have happened had she not been over that crush and was still harboring some kind of attraction to him.

Truth be told, it probably would have really made her feel disgusting and useless, and stunted her recovery. Thinking of how much more of a mess she would have been in that scenario made her angrier than she had been in a long time.

"For fuck's sake, I'm right here you know," she exclaimed as she hopped out of her seat. "Mai, I love you, and I'm glad that you've got my back, but put that away!"

There was a brief pause as Mai silently extinguished the flame, lowered her weapon, and stepped out of the way. Once she was off to the side, King approached Ryo, who quickly fixed his gaze elsewhere, took a deep breath, and pressed her lips together in a thin line as she made a note of every single bit of discomfort on his face. She narrowed her eyes and then looked around the room. The others didn't need to be around for this.

"I need everyone to leave," she announced. "Now, please."
"Kingy —?"
"I need to talk to him alone."
"O-okay," Yuri faltered. "Ummm… let's go, guys."

Mai, Yuri, and Robert shared concerned glances before turning and walking toward the stairs.

"Tread carefully, dude," Robert called, which made Ryo frown.

Once King was positive that the trio was at least out of earshot, she exhaled, fixed her eyes on the man in front of her, and waited. He didn't say anything — just looked away again —, which plunged them into an incredibly uncomfortable silence. An uncomfortable silence that King was going to break with some very uncomfortable words.

"Do you remember when you came to my apartment before the pandemic started?"
"Yeah —" Ryo quirked a brow — "what about it?"
"You said you wanted to squash this."
"Well, yeah — I do!"
"And yet you won't even look at me," King remarked. "We've seen each other on FaceTime, and we've texted a couple of times, but you're so uncomfortable now that we're physically here that you can't — or won't — make eye contact. Does what I did haunt you?"
"What you did?" Ryo finally set his eyes on the bartender but appeared genuinely confused. "Haunt me? What are you even talking about?"
"Vanessa. How did it make you feel when I told you that I fucked her?"

Instantly, Ryo's face turned a shade of crimson that King didn't think she had ever seen before in her entire life. Somewhat amused but also maybe a bit unsettled, she felt her own cheeks flushing slightly because she was about to vocalize something she had pondered for hours on end, something she was relatively sure was a factor in Ryo's opinions about her. She forced herself to stare directly at him before continuing.

"I bet you've thought about the things we did after you saw us at Pao Pao that day. The things I did. With my fingers, my tongue… I bet you've thought about it a lot. Maybe even while you were in the shower."
"WHOA! WHAT!?"
"Every. single. touch. And every. single. gasp and moan," King exacted while circling Ryo. "Or… maybe you thought about me with... Jess. It was probably a little harder to imagine since there's no face to visualize, but you thought about what I would do to and with her. Probably with PornHub in your browser."
"Céc...!"
"Oh, look — my real name! Guess I must be on to something, huh?"
"I — that's… I mean… I, umm…"
"It gets you hot, but because it's someone you know doing it, you feel conflicted." She paused and then asked, "Did you think about what I would do with Serge, too?"

Unsurprisingly, Ryo, whose face was insanely red, averted his gaze.

"And did you think about what… he… did to me?" King's voice hitched, but she went on: "Not in the same way as the others, of course — unless you're secretly a sick bastard — but it must have crossed your mind on some level. Because despite the blood, and the tears, and the begging for him to stop, it's all the same to you, isn't it? It all boils down to me with my legs spread for somebody."
"That's not — of course that's not what it boils down to!"
"Okay, then —" King stopped moving and crossed her arms — "So what is it?"

There was a very tense silence between the two as Ryo turned to face her. He then cleared his throat and started to fidget with his belt.

"I just… think you're better than that."
"Better than what?"
"There are certain… standards that you should —"
"Don't pull that 'standards' bullshit on me! I was in two monogamous relationships with people I loved before… he...!"
"What about Vanessa?" Ryo prodded.

With a deep sigh, King shut her eyes and aggressively rubbed her temples because her head felt like it was legitimately going to explode.

"That... was something I've never done before. I still can't really explain why I did it, but it's not like she was some random stranger. Not that it matters, of course, since you're here acting like I open up for anyone and everyone! And even if I did, it's not your business anyway!"
"Then why even bother telling me about your exes in the first place?"
"Because I felt like I could be completely honest with you! I felt like I could be myself, not closeted or ashamed of who I am because of my upbringing."

King stopped talking. She pressed her lips in a thin line and waited for Ryo to say something, but he stayed quiet, evidently lost in thought for a good minute.

"Listen," he finally said. "I just… I think that… sex should go hand in hand with love and mar —"
"I loved Jess, and I loved Serge, and I really believed they loved me back," King retorted, her temper starting to rise a little. "So don't give me that! And, yeah, Vanessa was a fling, and something I never plan on doing again, but the other guy was a faceless thug who took pleasure in hurting me! What he did wasn't just about getting off; it was about exerting control over me and inflicting as much damage as he could!"

The discomposure radiating off of Ryo Sakazaki bordered on mind-blowing, but King had no intention of letting up, so she took a few calming breaths and went on, her voice lower.

"I had… a complete stranger inside of me, not because of a drunken one-night stand, but because Big got bored and ordered a hit. Do you honestly think that I enjoyed it? That I enjoyed being forced to tell him triple ex-rated things in French while he choked me and laughed and…?"
"No! No, of course not!"
"So why are you lumping him in with the people I actually liked fucking?! Why do you even care about what I do in the bedroom in the first place?! I mean, you had to have known that I wasn't a virgin when we met, so why was the revelation that I had not one, but two serious sexual relationships before ever meeting you or your family such a big deal?"
"I don't… I don't know," Ryo responded lamely. "I guess I just… wasn't expecting it."

King pressed her lips together once again. Ryo's logic didn't make any sense to her whatsoever; in fact, she felt like she was in danger of doing nothing more than talking in circles. The conversation wasn't going anywhere, just like they hadn't gone anywhere when she had that crush so long ago. Eyes narrowed, she walked back to the bench so she could take a sip of her water and sit down once more. She leaned back in her seat, placed her bottle against her forehead, and made a face when Ryo sat down beside her.

"Hey."
"What?"
"For what it's worth, I'm sorry."
"I don't want your apology unless you understand exactly why you're saying sorry in the first place. And I don't think you quite understand."

King felt an all too familiar sting in her eyes, which made her feel more annoyed than anything else. The involuntary tears from earlier had been bad enough; a full-on crying spell would be disastrous.

"But I'm trying. That counts for something, doesn't it?"
"'Trying,'" King sniffled, then immediately made a frustrated sound.
"Hey," Ryo stated gently. "Don't cry."

He made to put his hand on her shoulder but she immediately slapped it away.

"Hands off," she growled while trying to hold everything in.
"Okay. Hands off."
"Thank you."

Silence.

"I know that what I said wasn't cool," Ryo began out of nowhere. "It was a shitty thing to tell you. Don't get me wrong, though: I still stand by my beliefs, but I shouldn't have said that."
"You really shouldn't have," King replied while leaning forward. There was more stillness before Ryo awkwardly placed a hand on her back. She tensed up but didn't move; somehow, she didn't mind the gesture and even found it a little comforting. After a moment she leaned over, rested her head on his shoulder (something she never would have been able to do in the past without feeling butterflies), and swallowed hard.

"Knowing that you do think differently of me in light of this hurts," she told him sadly. "It sucks, and I don't think we can ever truly move past it… but I accepted it a long time ago. You're going to have to accept it, too."
"I know. I'm trying," Ryo replied. He paused and added, "For the record, I don't think you're a whore."
"Thanks for saying that, but you can't have it both ways, Sakazaki."
"Yeah, but… I've had a lot of time to think. Obviously what happened to you was forced — I do get that. But the other decisions you made leading up to it — and after — were all you. And I just don't agree with it."

King moved away from Ryo and began removing her hand wraps. She felt incredibly beat up, both physically and emotionally. It would probably be best to just leave things alone for a while; go home, decompress, maybe have a massive drink or two or three even though it was only a little after eleven in the morning…

"I should go," she sighed while standing up.
"But —"
"Thanks for the workout —" King stowed her water and her wraps — "but I'm done for the day. I'll try not to tease you too much anymore."
"Uh, appreciate it."
"Bye."

With that, King picked up her bag, gave a two-fingered salute, and walked off toward the stairwell. When she got to the bottom she rounded the corner to see Yuri and Mai waiting for her while Robert sat behind the reception desk surfing the internet.

"Céccy…?" Yuri ventured while she and Mai started forward. The pair shared a glance before turning to King, who quietly shook her head and sighed when they pulled her in for a hug.

"I should probably head back up," Robert said while rising from his seat. "Am I gonna need to smack him? I'll smack him around a bit."

He then exited the area, leaving the three women in the quiet lobby.

"Kingy…?" Mai prodded softly.
"I'm okay," King responded. She drew in a deep breath while pulling back. "It was a lot, but… I'll be okay."
"Are you sure?" Yuri spoke up.

King considered the question and the concerned gazes from her friends very carefully. She didn't like the new dynamic between herself and Ryo, but, as was a recurring theme in her life, she had no choice but to just accept it and keep going. She glanced over her shoulder, toward the stairs as Robert's muffled voice floated down from the second floor, and laughed to herself upon hearing words and phrases such as "seriously," "dude," and "dumbass." With a shake of her head, she adjusted her bag again and then flashed her friends a wan smile.

"I have to be."


Alright! Notes! A lot of them!

* If you've been going here a while then you know that King's fanon name that should be canon is Cécile Levasseur, or Céccy, as Yuri dubbed her in Hurt, or Céc, which is a play on "Sis," the only thing she's ever been canonically called other than King. Go tell SNK that I'm a genius and that they should adopt this. (You think I'm joking.)

* King has not been able to properly fight since before the pandemic began, since she quarantined herself pretty much the entire time, save for a few "emergency" meet-ups with Mary at her apartment. She still managed to stay in decent shape, though.

* It's clear that the training area of the Kyokugen school is on the upper level of a building, as seen in Team AOF's stage in KOF XIII, where building tops are visible through the window.

* Mai's YouTube channel was her pandemic pet project which took off. The video King was a guest for involved listening to the song WAP by Cardi B. and Megan Thee Stallion. If you don't know the words, well… Google it. In incognito mode.

* Yuri's stoner thought was a line from KOF '98 UMOL: "King is so handsome I almost fall in love with her" It should be worth noting that Yuri is a bit bi-curious and might be crushing on King just a little bit, despite what she says (in private, to Mai)

* Robert has allergies, and, unfortunately for him, Southtown's allergy season is a year-round deal.

* The things King says while teasing Ryo are inspired by Guilty Gear's I-No, who has some of the most suggestive lines ever.

* King and Mary are besties, and, as such, have trained together and taught one another their moves. If you ask me, Illusion Dance's start-up into an EX Straight Slicer into a Crab Clutch (King wouldn't have a stun gun so no Stun Fang, so...) would be dope as fuck. Fight me. Anyway, worth mentioning is that King doesn't quite have the maneuver down, seeing as how Mary flips the opponent all the way over before locking their leg, whereas King pretty much just tripped Ryo before going into the Crab Clutch.

* In case you're new or forgot, the crux of the Ryo-conflict here is that he told King that she has been with "too many men" after finding out about her assault.

* King fucked Vanessa. Twice. (See: Red)

* There are a couple of lyrical callbacks/references in King's convo with Ryo to a song called STUPID by Ashnikko.

* King saying her ex-girlfriend's name is actually kind of major because she never wants to hear it again, and even experiences a visceral reaction upon hearing it thanks to how badly Jess burned her. (See: Sad Transmission)

* Serge was King's first, who was much older than her and has only been mentioned here and there (see: The Window and The Wall and Xanny). When she says that she started too young during her monologue with Yuri she's referring to the fact that she started sleeping with him when she was fifteen.

* When King refers to her upbringing, she is talking about being brought up in a Catholic household. Even though her parents died before any conversations about love and sex could ever be had with them, her aunt and uncle were more than eager to slut-shame her when they found out about Serge.

* Big flat out tells King that he ordered a hit on her because he got bored. (See: Oxygen to Breathe Chapter 13 - King Rat)

* Sorry, shippers, but in illyverse King and Ryo are platonic af. His feelings are a bit muddled, and her crush has been referenced in the past, but it's something she eventually got over (I mean, you have been reading this, right?).

Well, shit. That was a lot but I think I'm done. If you have any questions, don't hesitate to ask! Hell, if you have any thoughts or feels please let me know, be it in that blank box below or maybe even on the bird app if you know me from there. Was it good? Was it weak sauce? A heifer would love to know.

As always, thank you for taking the time to read, and be safe out there!

Cheers~!