And now, the conclusion of "A Matter of Trust."

All characters are the property of SNK/Playmore. I don't own them, the video games, or the anime.

CLANG! CLANG! CLANG!

The sound of leather battering steel echoed through the locker room as Yuri Sakazaki repeatedly punched her locker door with gloved fists. Her outburst had scared everyone else from the room, but at the moment, Yuri had a hard time caring about anyone else's feelings. She felt hurt, angry and betrayed. That combination had only made her want to hit something as hard as she possibly could. The door to her locker had seemed like a good target.

Yuri's big brown eyes burned with unshed tears as she slammed her fists repeatedly into the door, denting the metal with each strike. Things had been going so well. After feeling like she'd been living in a prison for most of her adult life, she'd finally made some friends, true friends, and had formed a team with them. Those feelings of warmth, camaraderie, and togetherness had shown her a larger world, one that before she felt she had only been watching from the outside in. Her teammates, Mai and King, treated her like a person, an equal, and hadn't cared about the famous reputation of her father.

They loved Yuri for Yuri. Now, the karate girl was afraid that she might lose that. King had been keeping secrets from her, secrets that Yuri felt she'd had a right to know. That wasn't bad enough. What had really made it cut deep was that King had known since the night she met Yuri that the two had shared a connection with the past, so for all the weeks they'd gotten to know each other, King had been hiding this from her. Yuri had needed to find out through someone else telling her.

Can I find it in my heart to forgive her? Yuri thought to herself as she continued her assault on the locker door. What if I can't? And then Mai is stuck in the middle. What if she's forced to make a choice between me or King? Who will she choose?

The door to Yuri's locker was hanging off its hinges now. With a final cry of impotent rage, Yuri unleashed a spinning kick that snapped the door off completely and sent it clattering to the floor. She then stood there, breathing hard, wanting to hit something else, if only to offset the old feelings of helplessness that threatened to overtake her.

"I think it's dead," a familiar voice said softly. Yuri turned to see her brother, Ryo, standing not far away.

"Boys aren't allowed in here," Yuri grumbled as she grabbed a towel from her now open locker and started to dab at her face.

"Well, you know me," Ryo said with a shrug. "I have no respect for my sister's boundaries."

"I don't think you even know the meaning of that word," Yuri shot back.

Ryo was about to retort, but then he recalled how when Yuri was a teenager, he'd assisted their father in the weekly inspections of Yuri's room, searching for "dangerous contraband" like joints or condoms. Instead, he simply said: "You... really did a great job out there against Choi. You've... got skill. More than I realized."

"How nice of you to notice," Yuri said dryly.

Ryo blew out a breath and sat down on the bench. "Yuri, I'm sorry I didn't tell you that I knew King. It's just... after her brother's operation, she begged me not to tell anyone about our history. Also, Robert's only condition for giving her the money was that she never tell anyone where she got it from."

"Is this supposed to make me feel better?"

Ryo did not feel there was a right answer to that, so he kept silent.

Yuri then went on: "Because it will take more than that. It's not just what I learned today. You and dad... have been keeping shit from me my whole life. I can't live like that anymore. I'm... starting to wish dad had kicked me out. Only problem is, I have no place else to go. Mai and Andy are planning a wedding, I'm not gonna get in their way by squatting in their guest room. And King... well, I'm still not sure I can speak to her right now. I'm tired, Ryo. I'm tired of all the overprotectiveness. I'm tired of being lied to, being held back, tired of having my life planned by other people. I'm just... so... tired."

Yuri's emotional fatigue finally overrode her anger, and she dropped to her knees, buried her face in her towel, and started to cry. Ryo sat there, wanting to say or do something to provide comfort, but uncertain if that was what Yuri wanted. So he remained on the bench as his sister poured out her sorrow, sorrow that he knew was partially his fault, which only made it sting even worse.

Finally, Yuri seemed to have spent her tears, and she wiped her eyes with the backs of her hands. "Sorry," she muttered, her voice quaking slightly.

"Don't be," Ryo told her. She looked up at him, and noticed that his eyes seemed to have taken on a thoughtful gaze. "I don't know if me or dad have ever mentioned this, but... you look just like her."

Yuri cocked her head slightly. "Who? You mean mom?"

"Yeah. I've seen one or two pictures of her from when she was a child. When you were small, you reminded me of those pictures, and the resemblance has only gotten stronger as you've grown up. You have her eyes, her laugh, that peppy attitude. Dad could probably tell you about more similarities."

Yuri snorted, and rose to her feet. "Dad's not speaking to me, remember?"

"I know," Ryo said with a sigh. "I was just saying, that's all. Yuri, how well do you remember her?"

"Scattered images, mostly," Yuri said. "Nothing concrete. I guess the clearest image I have was her putting candles in my fourth birthday cake. I remember that her hair was in a braid, just like this one." Yuri reached back and touched a hand briefly to her own long brown hair.

"I remember mom pretty well," Ryo said. "It was hard on all of us when she died. And then dad disappeared for so long, and... for a while, all you and I had was each other. Do you remember that?"

Yuri couldn't help but laugh a little."How could I forget it? The first night you cooked for the both of us, we got food poisoning. After that, I asked you to take me to get a library card, so I could check out as many books on cooking as I could carry. But... you took care of everything else."

Ryo nodded. "Like I said, all we had back then was each other. I mean, you did the cooking, but you looked to me for everything else. You relied on me. Providing for us was what kept me going. I... took your kidnapping really hard. I guess because I was scared... that you might die just like mom did. And... you look so much like her, it's like you're the last reminder of her. And if... anything happens to you, I feel like mom will disappear forever. I guess... that's why I treat you the way I do, and... maybe it's one of the reasons dad does it, too." Ryo stopped talking then, and turned his gaze towards the ground.

After a few moments, he head a scuffle as Yuri sat down on the bench next to him, then he felt her hand on his shoulder. Her other hand gently gripped his chin, turned his head to face hers.

"I miss mom, too, Ryo," she said. "But... I'm not the only reminder of her. She's alive inside of us both. I may look more like her, but you carry a part of her, also. Ask yourself, this, though: if she were here now, what do you think she'd say if she knew that you and dad were trying to dictate my entire life?"

Ryo laughed a little. "She'd slap us both and tell us to knock it off."

"Probably," Yuri said with a laugh of her own. "Ryo, I'll always be grateful for what you did while dad was gone. You stepped up when we needed you to. If you hadn't, we would probably have wound up on the streets. But times change. People change. I'm not that helpless little girl anymore. I'm an adult now, and I need to live my own life, and make my own decisions. I'm not letting you or dad live my life for me."

Ryo smiled, a tear forming in his own eye. "How did you get so independent? You've grown up so much in such a short period of time. I remember how scared you looked when we untied you from that chair. Now, you're fighting in tournaments, beating the shit out of guys with knives for hands! Okay, Yuri. I... I promise that I'll try to back off, and let you have a life, but it might take me a while to learn to do that. I mean... you're still my baby sister."

Yuri laughed, and then hugged him. "I'll always be your baby sister. You just... need to remember I'm bigger now."

Ryo hugged her back. "I love you, imouto-chan,"

"I love you too, nii-san. That's one thing that isn't going to change."

After moment, Yuri pulled away. Then she cleared her throat. "So... I hate to seem like I'm running off again, but... I'd really like to find King. I have to talk to her. If... you and I can talk things out, then maybe... I can save my friendship."

"I understand," Ryo said with a nod. "Go."

Yuri got up from the bench, and was halfway out of the locker room when she heard Ryo say her name. She turned back to him. "Look, Yuri... maybe I can talk to dad again, convince him to do a sit-down with the two of us. I... think he needs to hear what you just told me."

Yuri nodded. "I appreciate that, Ryo. Thank you."

He laughed and waved a hand. "Sure. Now go on, get outta here."

As Yuri exited the locker room, she came face to face with Robert Garcia, who looked like he'd been milling around outside. "Hey," she said to him.

"Hey," he said back. "You okay?"

"I'm getting there," Yuri answered. She started to walk past him, then paused. "Is it true, Robbie? You paid for King's brother to have his operation?"

"It's true," he said. "But I wanted to be anonymous. I never told you because... I know what you think of me, Yuri, and if you found out about it you'd probably have assumed I was just throwing my money around."

"Why would I think that?"

"Isn't that what you've always thought of me?"

"But... why would you assume I'd think that about King's brother? Robbie, you gave someone a new lease on life. That's not just throwing money around."

Robert shrugged. "I didn't do anything special. King's brother needed help, and I had the money to help him. The surgeons who did his operation are the real heroes, they're the ones who did all the work."

Yuri couldn't help but laugh a little. "Do you really know what I think?"

"I guess not," Robert answered. "But, your opinion is important to me. It... has been for a while... I guess, because... because I..."

"What am I so afraid of?" Yuri asked out loud, gazing at Robert with a new understanding.

"Are you asking me? Or are you talking to yourse-"

Robert was cut off mid-sentence as Yuri closed the gap between them, stood up on tiptoes, cupped his cheeks gently in her palms, and pressed her lips to his. She held them there for only a second, then she let go.

"I promise I will talk to you later," she said to him, and then ran off, leaving Robert Garcia standing there looking very puzzled...

...but also very satisfied.

A short time later, Yuri ran into the members of the Fatal Fury Team: Terry Bogard, his brother Andy, and their friend Joe Higashi. Terry nodded at her, and touched a finger to the brim of his cap. "Hey, Yuri. Nice job on your win this round!"

"Thanks," Yuri told him. "I wish I could chat more, but I'm looking for King. You haven't seen her, have you?"

"Actually, we have," Terry answered. "The three of us were chatting with Mai just now when King came running past. Mai took off after her."

"I asked Mai if everything was okay," Andy added, "and she said it wasn't, but she would have to explain later."

"Yeah, I don't really have time to explain, either," Yuri said. "I need to find my teammates. Which way did they go?"

"That way," said Joe, pointing towards an exit from the arena that led out to the souvenir stands.

"Thanks, guys." Yuri gave them a nod, and ran out of the arena. After searching the grounds of the pavilion, it became apparent that King and Mai were no longer there. So Yuri tried to think about where they might go.

King is upset, she thought. So she would go somewhere that makes her feel comfortable. It didn't take Yuri long to figure out where that would be. She ran outside, hailed a cab, and gave the driver the address for La Illusion.

After arriving and paying the fare, Yuri peeked inside the window. It wouldn't open until 4:00 PM (Sally and Elizabeth were running it while King was participating in the tournament), so the lights were off, and Yuri saw no sign of movement within. The entrance doors were locked, so Yuri cast a quick look around, and when she was satisfied no one was watching, she pulled her trusty lockpicks from her braid and set to work.

After she was inside, she allowed her eyes a moment to adjust to the dimness, and then she saw a hint of bright red towards the back of the bar. She started to make her way back, and as she got closer, she saw Mai and King seated at a table, an open bottle of wine and two empty glasses sitting between them. Mai had King's hand in both of hers, and was speaking softly to the blond kickboxer. Yuri could not hear what Mai was saying, but the calming effect of her words was obvious. After Mai was finished speaking, the two women rose from their chairs and hugged each other.

Yuri waited until it looked like they were done, then she cleared her throat. "Hey, girls."

King and Mai both turned their heads at the voice, and Mai raised her hands almost defensively. "Listen, Yuri," the kunoichi told her friend. "King just told me her story. And you have every right to be angry with her, but please... just listen to what she has to say."

"I'll listen," Yuri said simply.

"That's all I ask," Mai said. "I'm going to let you ladies talk now." Mai walked to the front door and exited the bar.

Yuri took the chair that had just been vacated by Mai. King poured a little more wine into her empty glass, and offered to top off the empty glass in front of Yuri. Yuri shook her head. "No, thanks, I hate red wines. I think they taste like feet."

"This is a bordeaux imported from the Rhone River Valley," King explained. "Moves pretty fast every time I get a shipment."

Yuri gave a small snort. "So, you have a lot of customers who are willing to pay for a glass of feet? Alcohol does do funny things to people."

"I could tell you," King said with a nervous laugh. She then quickly downed half the crimson liquid in her glass."Look, Yuri... I'm sorry I didn't come clean with you before. But... I am willing to do that now, if you'll let me."

Yuri nodded. "I said I would listen. Just tell me one thing first: how much of what you have told me about your past was a lie?"

"None of it," King answered her. "I was a student, then I dropped out when my brother got sick to find a way to raise money for his medical expenses. I also wasn't lying when I said that I worked as a bouncer. I just... left out what I did in between those two things."

"When you worked for Mr. Big?"

"Right, when I worked for Big. Like I said, I needed money fast, and I also knew that I had a unique skill set. I didn't want to enter the KoF tournament in those days, because that was back when Geese rigged it so that Billy Kane always won. I thought about working for Geese Howard, but he was a little too dangerous, and the rewards didn't seem worth the risk. So I chose one of the bosses under him instead.

"When I started to work for Big, I actually had to hide the fact that I was a woman. Organized crime is still largely considered a man's world, after all. So I cut my hair short, changed the way I dressed, glued on some fake eyebrows, got an Ace bandage to wrap my boobs in... I told the other members of the gang that I sang soprano in high school because my voice never changed. They bought it. I mean... we've established that I'm good at deceiving people." King gave a small, nervous laugh then.

Yuri simply sat there, listening. Then she asked: "What did you do for them?"

King took another large sip from her wineglass. "Sometimes I was a bodyguard, sometimes an enforcer. When I had to do that second thing I tried to justify it by telling myself that the people I shook down were drug and/or gambling addicts, while I was actually trying to get money for something good. It almost worked. I still had plenty of nights where I'd need to down a few snifters of brandy and then cry myself to sleep.

"And then... came the night of your kidnapping. Up until that point, my involvement in Big's gang had been tolerable, but when I saw you tied to that chair, your eyes glassed over from the sedative they'd shot you full of, just looking so disoriented, so frightened... I seriously began to question what I was doing there. I still followed orders and watched over you, but when we were alone, I tried to give whatever words of comfort that I could, saying things like it would all be over soon if you cooperated."

"I remembered the sound of your voice," Yuri said grimly. "Not so much what you said."

"Your hair was shorter, then," King went on. "That's why I didn't recognize you at first when we met here last month. It only clicked after you said the name of your family's karate style, and then I remembered your face. But getting back to the night of your kidnapping: after a few hours, Big decided to have his men move you to a new hideout. He ordered me to slow your brother down as much as I could. Ryo and I fought each other for a while. Then I made the mistake of looking into his eyes. I saw a lot of things there, but mostly fear. The fear of not knowing where you were, if you were even still alive, and if you were alive, the fear of not knowing if you were safe, or if you were being beaten and raped. In that moment, I put myself in his shoes, and I thought about how I would feel if Jan, my brother, had been kidnapped by someone. I would probably feel the same terror I saw in Ryo's eyes.

"So I threw the fight. Ryo launched an extremely powerful Haoh Sho Ko Ken at me, and I probably could have dodged or countered with some chi of my own, but I didn't. I lowered my arms and I took the full brunt of it. I was so ashamed of myself at that point, I felt I deserved it. I survived, but the energy tore my clothes to shreds, revealing my secret to several other members of Big's gang. I didn't care at that point, anyway. I wanted out of that gang. Them finding out my true gender just gave me the excuse I needed.

"I was... too injured to go with Ryo and Garcia, otherwise I'd have helped them rescue you. But I gave them the address you'd been moved to, and I gave them my key, and also told them about another entrance in through the roof that Big didn't know about. I just... wish I could have done more.

"After that night, I told Big I wanted out. I think the only reason he let me go is because he knew I had no plans to snitch. I didn't want to subject my brother to Witness Protection, and force him to uproot his life because of my stupid mistakes. Also, the South Town PD was still in Geese Howard's pocket back then, so who could I have snitched to? I did come clean with Jan, though, and God bless him, he begged me to take all the cash I'd been saving for his operation, and give it anonymously to charity. He said he didn't want his life to be saved with dirty money, especially considering that I'd needed to hurt people to get that money. So I started over, working as honestly as I could this time. I thought I'd never see Ryo again, and then imagine my shock when I found out that he'd asked Garcia to pay for Jan's operation. I was extremely grateful, but I did ask Ryo never to tell anyone about it. I guess... I was afraid that it might get Ryo in trouble with you, if you learned that he had helped one of your kidnappers?"

"This is why we shouldn't assume things," Yuri said.

King nodded, then, and turned away from Yuri's gaze. "And... that's my story. I'll understand... if you don't want to see or speak to me again. If I... need to leave the team, I will. I won't like doing it, because it will disqualify us, but I also... don't want to have to force you to be in the same room with me, if you'd prefer not. I think... I can find someone to replace me, if the judges will allow that..."

"Shut up, King," Yuri cut her off. King raised her head to look at the other girl again. "Seriously, just shut the hell up and stop talking crazy," Yuri went on. "No one is leaving this team. Because friends don't bail on each other." Yuri reached over and took King's hand in her own. "King, after hearing your story, I'm not mad that you used to work for Big. I mean, you still had a conscience, and at the end of the day, you did the right thing. I don't care about who you were. I only care about the good person you are now. I'm angry because you've known who I really was ever since we met, and you never told me. I had to find out through someone else's slip of the tongue."

"I'm sorry, Yuri," King said. "Like I said, the past is not something I like to reminisce about. But more than that... I haven't had many friends in my life. I mean, I got along fine with Big's gang, but any single one of them wouldn't hesitate to stab you in the back to climb the criminal ladder. Even after I left the gang, it's been hard for me to make friends. I think most people are put off by the way I dress, the fact that I study martial arts. But, you and Mai... you offered me a spot on your team, and just accepted me for who I was, no questions asked. You're... true friends, something I haven't had in a very long time." King's eyes began to water as she spoke. "I guess I was scared... that if you knew who I really was, I'd lose that. But that's no excuse. Yuri, I am so sorry I didn't tell you the truth sooner. I... I should have had more faith in you."

Yuri could feel her own eyes starting to mist over. "Will you knock that off? You're making me do it, too." She leaned forward and gave her friend a hug. "It's okay, King... it's okay. I'm... willing to move past this if you are. But please, don't be afraid to trust me from now on. I want you to trust me. Because I'm your friend."

King hugged Yuri back and squeezed her eyes shut to try and stop her tears, but a few of them still slipped out. "Thank you," she whispered.

"Oh, this is so sweet!" They heard a familiar voice shout. "I love you girls!" A few seconds later, they felt Mai glomp into their hug,wrapping her arms around them both.

After a few moments, the three of them then straightened up. Yuri asked Mai: "I thought you went outside. How long have you been standing there?"

"Long enough to hear King say we were true friends! I'm just so happy I could burst! We're all a team again!"

"No," King shook her head as she rose to her feet. "We're friends!"

"Right!" Yuri stood up, as well. "Best friends!"

"Should we change our name to Team Best Friends?" Mai asked.

"Nah," said King. "Doesn't sound tough enough."

"King, Yuri..." Mai told the other two. "I was going to invite you to my wedding, but now, I'd like you to do more than just come. Right now, all I have is a Maid of Honor. I would love it if you two would stand up there with me as bridesmaids."

Both Yuri and King looked slightly taken aback. "Really?" King asked. "You'd want me up there with you?"

Mai nodded. "You and Yuri. I want all my true friends standing next to me on that day. Will you do it?"

Yuri quickly answered: "Yes, Mai. I'd be honored."

"Do I have to wear a dress?" King asked. Then she added: "That's a yes, by the way."

Mai laughed. "Well work out the details later. For now, we should probably get back to the pavilion."

"Right!" King said, suddenly remembering the event that had brought the three of them together. "We have a tournament to win!"

"Hopefully, we can get back in time to see who we're fighting tomorrow," said Yuri.

"I also hope I didn't miss seeing my Andy fight," Mai said, suddenly getting a dreamy look in her eyes.

Soon, the three women were back outside and making their way down the sidewalk. "When we get back, I need to find Robbie and talk to him," Yuri mentioned to the other two. "I... kind of kissed him before I came over here."

"Kind of?" Mai asked.

"Yeah," said King. "If your lips touched, that's not 'kind of.' You kissed, period."

Yuri rolled her eyes. "Fine, then. I kissed him. Happy?"

Mai leapt about a foot in the air. "I'm VERY happy! That is awesome, girl! I knew you had it in you! All in a day's work for Team Women Fighters! Kicking butts and breaking hearts!"

"Breaking hearts?" King remarked.

"Well, sure," said Mai. "Imagine how many single men are gonna shoot themselves when they look up at the scoreboard at next year's tournament, and see that my last name is different?"

"We should let them shoot themselves over that," said Yuri. "So they can be removed from the dating pool." The three of them shared a laugh over that as they continued down the sidewalk.

And although they wound up losing the tournament that year (after getting defeated in the Quarterfinals by Team Japan), the members of Team Women Fighters still felt like winners. Because they walked away with something more valuable than money or personal glory.

Fin.

ADDITIONAL NOTES

And that's it for my AU timeline for a while. Next up is a main timeline fic I started working on that got pushed off to the side while I wrote this.

Hope you enjoyed! Please feel free to review.