Disclaimer: I don't own the King of Fighters

A/N: Hello and welcome to my story. I want to thank you in advance for reading, and I hope you like it. This time, we'll go on to another side-story, one that RenkonNairu mentioned wanting to see; we'll see the formation of perhaps the most intriguing team in this tournament, with probably the most surprising set of teammates. But enough posturing, let's get to it. And here … we … go:

The King of Fighters XV

Gorgeous' Third

London, England 10:38pm…

Leona Heidern was covertly following one of the ladies she was supposed to team with in the upcoming tournament, looking down from the rooftops through binoculars. This 'target' was an attractive woman with long brown hair in a ponytail, and wearing casual clothes, simply blue jeans and a black jacket over a white t-shirt. She was heading toward a bar and restaurant called the 'Illusion' to meet her teammate, the second of Leona's 'targets'. As she continued her 'reconnaissance', Leona could hear her commander, Heidern's words clearly in her mind.

"Your next mission…" Heidern started as he handed Leona two photos, "You are to find these two women and infiltrate their group. It's important that you gain their favor, and compete alongside them in the upcoming tournament… Well, there are many methods to complete your objective. Personally, I find it effective to give compliments and present a relaxed disposition. Also, if you want to gain favor, try giving some first." Heidern's tone softened as he continued, "I know you will find this personally challenging, but I again stress that it is imperative that you succeed in this. You can do this… You'll start first thing in the morning…"

Leona continued to ruminate over this mission when doubt began creep in again, as it had ever since she got the assignment. This was one of the few times she was truthfully and genuinely nervous about an operation. This one required special skills, skills that she was not strong in … social skills. Leona had tried approaching it like any other mission, but it was just not possible. In fact, she was very lost to how approach her objective at all, let alone carry it out. Leona was seriously unsure of if she could succeed this time. Suddenly, her thoughts were interrupted by an abrupt noise behind her. Leona instantly spun behind cover, and waited for any further sign of activity. After a moment of silence, Leona figured nothing else was coming, and turned back to find … the woman she was watching completely gone without a trace! Leona quickly sensed a presence bearing down on her.

"HWOOOOAH!"

Immediately and with great speed, someone went flying down at Leona, who dodged the airborne attack just in time. The attacker, a woman, quickly launched three flaming projectiles at Leona, but the Ikari Amazon destroyed them by generating a sphere of cutting energy in front of her, a 'Baltic Launcher'. The mystery woman then leapt into the air where she spontaneously burst into flames, and went tumbling toward her. Leona leapt forward out of danger while managing to toss an earring explosive at her assailant. The mystery woman landed nimbly on the roof's edge and repelled the explosive by summoning a pillar of fire around herself.

Resting on one knee, Leona finally got a good look at her attacker: it was the woman she'd been 'tracking', only now she was wearing a loose and rather revealing red outfit, a Kacho-sen fan in one hand. As Leona remembered, this woman was named Mai Shiranui, and was described as a 'ninja'.

Leona thought to herself (without realizing she was speaking aloud), "What an odd choice of battle attire."

Mai hostilely retorted, "Hey, watch it, sister! You're already on my short list. Now, spill it! Why are you following me around?"

Leona took a chance, speaking honestly and awkwardly, "Well, uh … Alright, the truth is … My name is Leona Heidern. I know you're short one member, and I wanted to offer to join your team…"

"Is that right? Well, in that case …" Mai continued before … cheering instantly, saying as she happily waved her fan like a metronome, "Why didn't you say so? Come on; I'll introduce you to my teammate…"

Leona was completely confused by the sudden shift, but decided to go along with it, as she was closer than she had been since the start… Together, Mai, back in her casual clothes, and Leona entered 'Illusion', a beautiful bar and restaurant. The entire establishment was done in an art deco style, dark purple and burgundy colors throughout. The only thing that could have enhanced the look was if it were actually open. Closed for the night, the chairs were placed inverted on the table, and the lights were dimmed slightly. The only area with everything still on and with people around it was the bar.

Mai called out merrily from the door, "Yo, King-chan?"

Drink mix in hand, King rose up from behind the bar, saying, "About time you got here, Mai. You get stuck in traffic or some…" King stopped as soon as she saw Leona and said assumingly, "Uh, I'm sorry, miss, but we're closed."

Mai quickly said, "Oh, it's alright; she's with me."

King put the mix down and asked out of confusion, "Okay… but why is she with you?"

Mai replied as she and Leona approached and sat at the bar, "Don't be so suspicious, King-chan. She's here to fill the empty spot on our team."

King gave a nod and extended her hand saying, "Right. Well, as my spirited friend said earlier, my name is King. What's yours?"

Leona slowly returned the gesture, nervously answering, "Uh, Leona Heidern… Nice to meet you."

King gave her a slight smile, and continued as she took two glasses from under the bar, "Well, Leona, welcome aboard. We've never teamed with someone with military training before…"

Instantly nervous, Leona responded, "Um… excuse me?"

"Yeah… you're wearing fatigues and boots, so I thought…" King pointed out.

Leona awkwardly said, "No, you're right. I just … forgot I made it that obvious."

King gave a brief look of suspicion and confusion, but moved on, asking, "So, can I get you anything to drink?"

"Water, please."

King took one of the glasses, filled it with water and slid it to Leona, saying, "Alright… Well, Leona, why don't you tell us about yourself."

Leona uneasily offered, "What … do you … want to know?"

Mai began, asking, "Well, where are you from? Where do you live?"

Leona confessed nervously, "I … don't have a definite home, per se. I live in many different places."

"Fair enough…" King said, "Have you seen any good movies lately?"

Leona answered in stilted honesty, "I don't … watch movies or television even."

Mai pushed further, "Well, have you heard any good music lately? You must listen to the radio every now and then."

"Actually … I don't. I don't listen to music at all either."

Going for anything, King asked further, "Do you play any sports? Do you have a favorite food?"

"No and … vegetables are good, but mostly … no." Leona conceded as she felt like she was sinking, this casual questioning beginning to feel like an interrogation to her.

King giving a subtle, astounded look, Mai asked in almost desperation, "Okay; well, tell us… What do you like?"

Leona paused to think, distressed by her own lack of attributes, and finally forced out, "I … don't really … have anything. I use to visit factories; I liked to see how the machinery works … but I've even stopped doing that."

With that, Mai and King were at a loss. The Shiranui kunoichi exhaled with slight shock, while King gave a look of slight disbelief and dread before turning to look through her fridge. Meanwhile, Leona was losing it. She was mortified and starting to panic, nervously sipping her water. Leona had shocked herself by how little she actually related to the others. She had heard new recruits being asked these same questions all the time, and they could answer them easily. Yet, she found herself here, not only unable to answer the questions, but not having anything close to a possible answer. This all made Leona feel like she had no idea about the world everyone else lived in, like she was born only minutes ago.

The Ikari Amazon quickly realized how even more tough this would be. Leona had been trained to withstand torture with ease, but this situation was nigh unbearable. Finally, she decided to take a leap…

Leona uncomfortably asked, "So, um … do you … play anything?"

King casually replied, "I'm pretty good at billiards, if I do say so myself. You don't happen to shoot pool at all?"

"No, but…" Leona said slowly, "I would like it if … you taught me."

King turned with some surprise, but soon broke into a smile, responding, "Now, that sounds fun. Sure, I can teach you."

The three soon made their way into King's break room. Under King's teaching, Leona found that she had some skills, and was progressing. Still, she was very uneasy at times, and often unsure of her pool shots.

As Leona made a strike, King said, "Good shot… So, how did you find out about us in the first place?"

Leona revealed what she could, replied, "My father … told me about you, said I should join your team. I watched some of your matches, and … you're both really strong. I thought it would be a good idea… How about you? Why do you fight?"

"Because Mai drags me into it…" King said jokingly at first, "Honestly though, nine times out of ten…" King continued as she lined up a shot, "I fight for my little brother, Jan, so he will be proud of me."

Mai merrily answered Leona's question, "I fight to improve my skills, but above everything else … I fight to be close to my love, my fiancé, Andy-kun Bogard."

Leona innocently said, "Oh, um, congratulations. When is your wedding … and shouldn't you have an engagement ring…?"

"We haven't set a date, and our love goes beyond any ring."

Not understanding, Leona asked, "But I thought … a marriage proposal usually comes with a ring."

King chuckled on the inside as Mai responded, "Well, Andy-kun didn't propose per se. He never was good with words."

Really confused, Leona asked, "So, he didn't actually ask you to marry him? Then, what … Hmm. So, where is he now?"

Mai became slightly agitated, replying, "I have no clue; I hope he's with Terry. Geez, you'd think he was allergic to making a phone call."

Leona, only more confused, asked, "So, he hasn't directly proposed to you, doesn't really keep constant contact with you … but he's still your fiancé?"

Catching on to her tone, Mai quickly defended, "Hey, don't give me that look. It's a lot better that it sounds."

Leona spoke honestly and rather innocently, "It sounds like you might be stalking him…"

King flinched at the comment, saying to herself, "Ooh, here it comes…"

"WHAT?" Mai exclaimed, upset and shocked.

Leona explained, "Stretching logic, assumed feeling of affection, one-sided communication… I've only seen this type of scenario have two causes: either he's manipulative and you're delusional or he's uninterested and you're wasting your time."

Mai angrily proclaimed, "No, you're wrong! Andy-kun loves me, and I love him!"

Leona unknowingly said, "I can tell. I'm just saying; it doesn't sound very healthy."

Mai said with even more anger, "Oh, I'll show you healthy!"

Fuming, the kunoichi almost jumped the table, the only thing sparing Leona from her fury being King holding Mai back. Mai was absolutely livid, literally clawing at King to get to the target of her anger. Meanwhile, Leona was caught completely off-guard by Mai's rage; she genuinely had no idea what she said to incur such wrath. Leona was merely speaking her mind.

Still holding Mai back, King suggested, "Leona, for your safety, I think you should go now."

Mai lividly yelled, " Yeah … and don't come back!"

She quickly saw this was her only option, and rightfully so. Leona slowly backed away, and exited the place…

Wriggling out of King's grasp, Mai raved as she paced around the bar, "Oh, can you believe her? What nerve! Acting like I'm some kind of yandere fan girl."

Trying to ease her friend, King said, "Calm down, Mai. I don't think that's what she meant…"

Mai, still upset, responded, "Whatever. I hope I never see her again!"

King sighed, and continued to talk though she knew Mai was no longer listening, "You don't think you're overreacting. No, of course not…"

On the outside, Leona was stuck, just left staring at the door as she was still piecing together what just happened. She was still disturbed by her lack of actual answers, but she quickly realized it was worse than that now. Doubt again began to flood into her psyche. She had made it into their group, but had lost it in an instant. And she still had little idea how either things happened. It again only got worse because she was lost what to do next; she started to think this would be unachievable. Slowly, Leona walked off…

The next afternoon, Mai and King were discussing things in 'Illusion' before it opened. King was setting things up along with the help of her two waitresses, Sally and Elizabeth…

Mai said in frustration, "Ugh! Is there anyone else we can get?"

King replied as she checked the bar's stock, "No one we've met, and even Mary is busy this time."

Mai sighed, lamenting, "You'd think with more spots, there'd be more people."

King cautiously suggested, "Well… if she's still around, there is one other option…"

Knowing the person she was speaking of, Mai instantly denied, "No, no, no. No way, No how. Not her…"

King tried to talk her down, "Come on, Mai. You don't think you're being too harsh on her."

"And she wasn't?" Mai retorted, "She didn't even act like she did anything wrong."

King came to Leona's defense, "Honestly, she just looked really confused, and I don't really blame her."

"Well, I bet she understands now…" Mai said with finality.

King could only groan with exasperation as she secretly face-palmed herself… Leona, standing across the street, was still stuck, vigorously thinking of what to do next. Suddenly, she got a surprising reprieve: a suspicious-looking man approached 'Illusion', slipped on a balaclava right outside of the door, and pulled out some kind of weapon. Quickly, Leona readied herself, and headed across the street… The women of the 'Illusion' were roused by a knock on the door.

Preoccupied with something else behind the bar, King requested, "Elizabeth, Sally, could one of you get that please?"

Elizabeth, the closest to the door, did as requested, slowly opening the door … only to have a loaded shotgun pointed right at her. She immediately backed up as he entered, and attempted to scream but, in her terror, could only muster a whimper.

As all the women became aware, the gunman ordered, "Give me all your money now!"

King waved the eager Mai off, and calmly said, "Okay, buddy; just relax."

Alternating his aim between all four ladies, the gunman barked at them, "All of you against the bar, no sudden movements or I'll blast you. Just give me all the money in the safe."

Not wanting to rouse the erratic assailant, all of them did as asked. Sally and Elizabeth were simply terrified, and Mai held herself back, but all three cooperated. King ducked down to open the safe, and extracted the money, but she had no plans to simply forfeit to him. She had dealt with these kinds of thugs all the time back when she was a bouncer, and, based on the looks of this one, she'd scrapped bigger threats off her shoes. King knew all she had to do was wait for him to reach out for the money to flatten him.

As King finally arose with the money, the gunman ordered, "Alright; all hands up where I can see them… Now, hand it to me slowly…"

All four of them put their hands up, but King's plan was working. She slowly approached with both arms up and extended the money. The gunman cautiously came closer, right into King's trap. The time was ripe; all he had to do was just come a little bit closer… KA-SHING! There was a sudden light blue flash in front of King, and the shotgun unexpectedly fell to the floor in four pieces! The gunman looked up to see the culprit standing between him and the ladies: Leona!

The gunman tossed the gun handle aside and frantically reached for a hand gun, but this didn't even phase the Ikari Amazon. Leona swiftly disarmed him, and slammed him in the nose with the handle of the gun, knocking him flat on his behind. As the stunned gunman looked up at her, Leona held up the handgun, and sliced it in half with a lightning-fast swipe of the same hand.

Leona grabbed him up by the shirt, and threatened, "Leave now, or be slashed next!"

The would-be robber simply nodded, and ran out of the bar. What he failed to notice, however, was that Leona had covertly stuck an explosive to his shirt. The Ikari Amazon waited for five seconds before pressing a button on her watch… KABOOM!

King, surprised by the implication, asked, "Did you just … Did you just blow that guy up?"

Leona explained, "It was just a concussion blast. He'll just be unconscious until the authorities pick him up."

Mai, incredibly still holding a grudge, forced out, "So… you came back?"

Leona humbly replied, "Yes. I … have to speak with you."

Mai hostilely spat back, "Of course… Well, you can forget it. Give me three good reasons why I should listen to anything you have to say."

Elizabeth quickly said, "She just saved our lives…"

Sally rapidly added, "She just cut a shotgun to pieces with just her hands…"

King swiftly said, "She's our only chance of getting into the tournament…" After Mai couldn't refute any of those points, King offered, "Now, go ahead, Leona. We're listening."

This was good; she had their attention … but now what? She had no experience to fall back on, was lost on what to say, and nothing was coming to mind. Quickly, she fell into alarm when one thought emerged: Heidern telling her that to gain favor, you had to try showing some first. This left her one alternative… Leona took a deep breath, and spoke as it came to her.

Leona spoke honestly and modestly, "Uh, okay… It's obvious I'm not really good at this. The truth is: I've been training and fighting since I was young; it's all I really know … so when I try to talk or interact with others, I just have no idea what I'm doing. A lot of times, I do wish I could be more … expressive, that I could talk to people outside of my squad without feeling like I'm drowning or skydiving without a parachute, that I could be … more like you I guess… I really would like to be on your team. If you let me, as far as fighting goes, I promise I will use every skill, every weapon, and every ounce of strength I have to fight alongside you… Everything else, I'll need some help with but I promise I'll get it… So, please, allow me to be your team member…"

Instantly, King got it, understanding and feeling for Leona and it really only made her like Leona more. Mai at least understood her now, and warmed to her again. The Shiranui kunoichi gave her teammate a simple nod of approval.

King finally responded with a smile, "Well, how can we say no when you ask like that? Oh, and if you're going to team with us, you have to loosen up. There's nothing to be afraid of; we're all friends here."

Taken aback slightly, Leona thought to herself, "… Friends?"

King gave a reassuring nod, and she, Sally, and Elizabeth went back to setting up 'Illusion'. Mai then started to walk off…

Feeling compelled and while her mind was still racing, Leona called, "Mai, wait a second…" When Mai stopped and turned back, Leona spoke, "Mai, I'm … I'm really sorry for what I said about you and Andy Bogard. I didn't mean to offend you or hurt you at all. It's just another thing I don't understand yet I suppose."

Mai sighed, as if exhaling any remaining hostility, and replied with a smile, "Hey, don't worry about it. Andy-kun and I can be a complex pair sometimes." She quickly got an idea and suggested, "Speaking of which: What about you? You have a special guy?"

Leona asked out of confusion, "Uh… excuse me?"

Mai continued as she put an arm around Leona's shoulders, "Oh, come now. A girl like you… You probably have your eyes on some lucky guy… or at least some guy has his eyes on you."

Leona thought for a moment, and said with slight embarrassment, "Well, um … actually … no. It never really crossed my mind."

Mai cheerfully suggested, "Well, that's it. An easily solved problem… If you really want to understand, we'll just have to get you a sweetheart."

Leona, skeptical to this idea, voiced, "Uh, thank you … but I doubt there's actually a match out there for me."

Mai retorted encouragingly, "Oh, don't think like that. Trust me; if you keep an open mind, I promise you'll find a real nice guy."

Still not really sold, Leona said, "You sound pretty certain, but … I'm not so sure."

Mai continued, "Don't worry; if you need me to, I'll help anyway I can. Who knows? It'll probably happen sooner than you think and probably in the last place you'd expect."

End Chapter

A/N: There you have it. Thank you for reading, and I hope you liked it. This is not the last time we'll see this team, and I think you'll be surprised how they come up later in the story. Next time, we'll get to the main storyline and see how the other teams interact. Again, thank so much for reading, I hope you liked it, and I definitely hope you come back to read more. Please R&R, and, as always, Rant, Rave, and Review.