Preemptive Strike (Or Why Y'All Gonna Regret Coming Back)
Chapter 2
Written By: RinoaDestiny
King of Fighters, Kyo Kusanagi, Iori Yagami, and Chizuru Kagura belong to SNK
A month and a half passed in relative bliss and boredom, unless he spent that time with Benimaru and Goro. Most days, Kyo took it easy. Enjoyed the weather, drove around on his bike, spent some time at eateries checking out the latest food fads, and did some light training. He was still young – had survived some incredible things at his age – and didn't let any of that time go to waste. After Chizuru Kagura's meeting with him and his rival, Kyo knew to cherish the free days he had.
On the best days, he spent them with Yuki.
And of course, on one of those days, Yagami showed up nice and personal. Asshat.
He had invited Yuki out for a movie – some romantic action comedy that entertained him and made her blush and giggle – and then armed with snacks and drinks, they found a delightful little park to while away the time. Yuki sat down on one of the benches – looking pretty in her yellow dress – and Kyo sat next to her and they began to talk. It was amusing and since Kyo didn't work, hearing Yuki's stories of her daily work life allowed him a glimpse into her days. She was in the middle of describing a hectic day at the office, complete with hand motions, when she stared behind him. Stopped and said, "Kyo."
Well, fuck. Who else could it be?
"Yagami," he said without turning back to look at the other man.
"Kyo," that familiar baritone replied. Goddammit. Why now, of all times?
Yuki gazed at him, worry apparent in her face. "Kyo, should we leave?"
"Should be okay. Right, Yagami?"
"Tch. Don't waste my time. You know what this is about."
Yeah, he knew. Yagami's tour was done and he'd found him, true to form. His own personal stalker. "Yuki, wait here. I'll be back soon."
"You sure it's all right, Kyo? You two tend to fight a lot."
"I'll be okay. Just wait for me."
"Okay."
He stood, turned to find Iori Yagami standing behind him – creepy as hell – and motioned with a jerk of his head towards the side of the park next to some trees. Whatever Yagami had planned, he didn't want it within earshot of Yuki. The other man didn't say anything, just casually strolled over to their destination and waited with a hint of impatience. Kyo followed, keeping his stride fluid and carefree, matching Yagami's nonchalance.
Two could play that game.
"Shit timing, Yagami," he said as he approached the redhead, glaring. "You follow me around all the time like this?"
His rival didn't react. Just handed him an envelope.
Kyo took it, quickly taking in the pinstriped lavender shirt and white jeans the other wore. Yagami's fashion sense was atrocious but this actually looked normal. Must be crazy. He turned the envelope over, saw the tucked in flap, and opened it. Inside was a flight ticket.
He removed it, skimmed through it, blinked once, read it again and then looked at Iori.
"France? Yagami, I don't speak French."
The other man didn't say anything.
"You don't speak French. Why the hell are we…oh. Crimson."
"Bastard owes me. Needs settling."
Kyo read the ticket again, taking in the details. One way trip to Paris, France from Kansai International Airport, Osaka. Great. That meant close to a thirteen hour flight. Economy class. Of course. Yagami went on tour, had money – had bought his flight ticket – but couldn't afford to shell out more cash for something more comfortable. His legs already felt cramped; he didn't know how Yagami handled it with how tall he was.
Air France. Standard. He looked at the seating and was suddenly suspicious. He looked again at his rival – stared hard this time.
"Yagami. Where's your seat?"
Iori handed him his flight ticket; face straight the entire time.
Kyo found his impossible to maintain once he saw what the seating on both tickets confirmed. Thrusting the tickets in his rival's face, he refrained from throwing them back at Iori. "You trying to kill us both before takeoff? Or are we taking the plane down over the runway?"
"Look at the date, Kyo."
Reading the date and time only made Kyo moodier. "Really, Yagami? Tomorrow morning at ten? Shit timing and short notice."
"It was."
"We don't speak French. Don't know if you noticed but we had translators during the last tournament Crimson was in. Most I know is 'bonjour.' Couldn't even get breakfast with that without the team translator speaking to hotel management."
"Your accent's terrible."
"Yeah, well, fuck you."
"My ticket. Don't want you burning it. You may not work for your money, Kyo but I do."
"You go crazy again or something? Why right next to each other?"
"Told you. Short notice."
"Short notice my ass. You did this on purpose, didn't you?"
The lavender-dressed redhead just returned his glare with a cool gaze. "My ticket, Kyo."
"Window seats. Why not aisle?"
"Short notice. I like window seats. My ticket, Kyo or I will kill you."
Shoving Iori's ticket back at him, Kyo figured this was the worst mistake he made in his life. Thanks, Verse, you asshole! If he went along with the plan like they'd discussed, he needed some quick parental one-on-one. Might be able to persuade his mom but his dad... Somehow, he wasn't too optimistic about that discussion. Hey, Dad. Yagami and I are gonna go globetrotting to put down some bad guys. No, he won't kill me. No, I'm not killing him. Yes, we worked as a team before. Several times in fact. You know Chizuru Kagura, Dad? Ask her for details. Yeah, Dad – I'll be fine.
Yeah, wasn't going to work. Saisyu Kusanagi trusted a member of the Yagami clan as far as he could spit and that wasn't far. There was no way in hell he'd trust his son to go off with his known enemy and make it back home in one piece. Not only would his ticket be confiscated (burned), unless his mom got involved – Shizuka Kusanagi was scary in that calm way – but he'd get an earful and could his dad talk.
Ugh.
"You going or not?" Iori's question broke through the momentary diversion playing out in his head. He was becoming a master of glaring today. "Not sure after your little bitch fest if you're still interested."
"Are those tickets refundable?"
"I take it I'm going solo."
"Dammit, Yagami. You could've…I don't know…given me a heads-up before springing this on me while I'm on a date!"
"Those snakes won't wait for us. You want to wait until the next tournament? I'll see you there, then."
"Dammit, stop!"
Iori, who had turned and was preparing to walk away from him, turned back, still coolly assessing him. Kyo had no idea if he'd ever looked that smug; the expression on the other's face alone warranted a punch. "Look, you just sprung this on me and all. Still don't get why you got the seats the way you did but…"
"You want to come, don't you?"
"You've made your points. Just –"
"What?"
"You gonna survive the flight?" Hell, am I? What does Yagami do on a flight, anyway?
"It's thirteen hours, Kyo. Find something to do. Leave me alone. Play some music. Do something."
"Hah. Easier when I'm not sitting next to you."
"Hmph." The redhead looked off to the side. "Your girlfriend's still waiting for you. I got the window, by the way."
"No fair. You did do it on purpose."
"If you were paying, it's your call, but you ain't, so I choose. I mean it, Kyo. Find something to do. Glare at the kid kicking your seat. Sweet talk the stewardess. Don't care. Just leave me alone and we're fine."
"And you?"
"You'll find out." Ah, yes, Iori Yagami always being the secretive one. "Ten in the morning tomorrow, Kyo. You know the drill. I'll see you, then."
Kyo watched as Iori left for good this time – that lavender shirt was hideous – and walked back to Yuki, still holding his ticket. His ticket. That Yagami bought for him. He guessed he should be grateful but damn if the other man had no sense of proper timing. As he approached the bench, Yuki stood, a bright presence. Next morning. If he survived this – if he survived seating, takeoff, landing, and everything else – he was coming home and meeting up with Yuki first thing. Remembering her was what kept him going through NESTS and already, she was a soft comfort that offered him strength of a different sort.
He sighed.
"What's wrong, Kyo?" He loved how she said his name. "Is everything all right?"
"Have a flight to catch tomorrow morning. With him."
Yuki's eyes widened. "But that's so…"
"Sudden. Yeah."
"No. I mean…don't you two fight? You won't hurt each other?"
"Not if he wants to live. You know I do. Have to come back to you, Yuki."
That made her color, a faint flush in her cheeks. He had thanked her so many times over for waiting for him – such a long wait years before – and here he was off again. Such was the life of a fighter and the Kusanagi heir.
"But Kyo…your parents…"
"Yeah. Not looking forward to that."
"Your father…"
"Yuki?"
"Yes?"
He handed her his ticket. "I'll get it back from you later. Dad'll just burn it. I should know. Was tempted to do the same myself."
Comments: So, first thing I heard in my head when starting this was "We don't speak French." That was before words got written down. Which leads me to wonder how the hell everyone seems to understand everyone else during the tournaments – I highly doubt certain characters are fluent in Japanese and I highly doubt the Japanese fighters can understand the language of the other fighters who are not (Ramon, Kim, etc.). This especially pertains to the introductions, which I believe is SNK hand-waving a fictional Babel fish, which is great in-game and has so much misunderstanding potential outside of it.
Also, I really like Yuki, as little as she shows up. There's so much that can be done with her in Kyo's life even if she doesn't take front and center, but the fact that she shows up in the canon Sacred Treasures ending in '97? She means a lot to him, so I like exploring their relationship whenever it becomes relevant in my fics.