Disclaimer: I don't own the King of Fighters (though I wish I did)…
A/N: Welcome to all. I want to thank you for stopping by and I hope you like what you read. As Japan recovers from two natural disasters and struggles to prevent a third, I just want to again voice by support and condolences to the Japanese people. I've been endlessly inspired and motivated by this nation, and my hopes and prayers are continuously with them. I sincerely wish for the Japanese: Kami-sama no Omegumi ga Arimasuyo Ni. Nevertheless, this is our final chapter; there are some dialogue updates and an obvious glimpse into the future. Let's get to it; and here … we … go:
The King of Fighters XV
Let's Get Together
"Go on, kid; do it." Mature requested.
"You know, after all this time, I still don't get you two's sense of humor." Hiroshi reacted.
Vice also persisted, "But it's hilarious when you do it. Give us a break; come on."
Two months had passed since the final of KOF's 15th competition, and Vice, Hiroshi, and Mature had just settled back into each other's company. This night, they had stopped in London at an outdoor café, the smell of recently passed spring rain in the air. Hiroshi cleared his throat as he prepared for a 'parlor trick' he'd learned, one that his 'sisters' had taken a particular liking to. Once ready, he waved down a young-looking, obviously new waiter…
The male attendant eagerly said to his 'high-priced' attendee, "Yes sir, Mister Amaterasu? What can I do for you, sir?"
Hiroshi acted out an acceptably hoarse rasp, "Well, uh… there, uh … seems to be something off about my drink… It's… It's, uh… Excuse me…"
Hiroshi turned his head and coughed twice … before letting a small, steady stream of his white flames shoot out of his throat into the air! The baffled waiter looked on in shock and horror while Vice and Mature silently laughed to each other over his reaction…
Hiroshi, after several seconds, stopped the stream with a cough and said with now genuine, even hoarser voice, "It's a little hot… Can I get some more ice in my drink please?"
The still shocked waiter simply nodded as he shakily picked up the glass of dark red liquid, and hurriedly scurried off. Vice and Mature immediately burst into riotous laughter afterward…
Hiroshi cleared his throat, and said remorsefully, "I hope you enjoyed that. I'm gonna have to pay that guy extra and try to thwart a nervous breakdown."
Vice answered, still half-laughing, as she wiped tears from her eyes, "Oh, you have no idea! The look on his face was priceless!"
Soon, Hiroshi had to stave off his natural urge to laugh as well, but he soon went on, "Okay, can we stop scaring innocent people for a moment? There's actually a reason we stopped here."
Mature, still chuckling from the earlier incident, pointed out, "You mean, other than to visit your barkeep girlfriend a few streets over?"
"Well, yes and no. It's actually because of something you and Ms. King have in common, Mature-chan: a birthday…"
Mature reacted with a slightly jeering smirk, "Look, I know you're a softie, but my birthday isn't for another week and a half."
Hiroshi explained with a smile, "I know, but I'd figured that since I was hand delivering one gift, I might as well give out the others."
The Son of Amaterasu lifted up a medium-sized box in dark blue wrapping paper from under the table and placed in front of her. Mature, at first, eyed the gift inquisitively before opening the top with a slicing trace of her finger and lifted the contents up and out…
Mature chuckled as she looked at the domed headgear and transparent eyewear, saying, "A helmet and goggles… This is the best you could think of, huh?"
Hiroshi simply gave a knowing smirk, and encouraged, "That depends. Look inside the helmet…"
Vice and Mature looked at each other in brief thought, and Mature did so; she extracted an envelope from inside the dome, and opened it…
Mature acknowledged the contents aloud, "A round-trip airplane ticket to British Columbia, Canada for 7 days and… What have we here? A week long pass to … Whistler Blackcomb? But that's one of the best winter parks in the world; it's a snowboarding Mecca."
Hiroshi's smirk grew to a smile as he said, "Exactly; that's why I'm sending you."
"Whoa… But wait. I don't even have…"
"A board…?" Hiroshi said, finishing her sentence for her, "Sounds like you expected me to forget that. I've already had a custom one made just for you. It's back at the house."
"Hiro…" Mature expressed, lost for words, "That's… Wow."
Vice, making sure they knew she was still there, chimed in, "Sounds pretty exclusive. You really lay it on thick, don't you, kid?"
Hiroshi's smile brightened and his eyes glinted momentarily as he reacted, "It gets better. Mature-chan, please look back in the box. You should see an envelope in there… That is for you, Vice-chan…"
Mature and Vice looked at one another again, and Mature again did as she was asked. She looked through the box, found the envelope, taking it out, and handed it to her counterpart. Vice immediately tore the manila open, and pulled out an art-decorated comic book in a plastic cover…
Vice reacted with a playful jab, "Dan Brereton's newest special edition… Hah! You've misfired on this one, kid; my birthday isn't for months. And besides…" She then slid the comic back across the table to Hiroshi, continuing, "I already have this book."
His smile withstanding, Hiroshi said, "Again, I know; you can give me some credit. Check page 30…"
Vice took back the book, slipped it out of its cover, and flipped through it. Inside, she found several papers and a laminated pass clipped to the page…
Just like Mature before, Vice went through the contents aloud, "A round trip ticket to San Diego, CA and all-access pass to… What the h- is Comic-Con?"
Hiroshi explained, "Comic-Con is only the biggest American comic book convention in the world. That pass will get you into an exclusive press conference with Dan Brereton himself."
"What?" Vice exclaimed out of surprise, "You're not serious…"
"No, I'm serious. Do you know what I had to do to get these vacations set up?"
While his 'sisters' marveled at their gifts, Hiroshi was met with an odd sight. The waiter came back with Hiroshi's glass filled to the brim with ice along with five other glasses, also filled with frozen cubes. A pungent acidic smell soon wafted into Hiroshi's nose as the waiter placed the glasses in front of him.
Feigning his rasp again, Hiroshi discreetly and graciously offered, "Thank you very much … and here's a little extra. Use it for some new pants, okay?"
The Son of Amaterasu handed the waiter a good amount of Euros. Wondering about Hiroshi's suggestion, the waiter soon caught the odor as well, checked himself … and nodded as he nervously took the money and ran off.
"Poor guy…" Hiroshi reacted with even more regret.
Mature then asked out of uncertainty, "Hiro… These gifts; why give them to us now? I mean, they're kind of far off, not to mention we, uh … just got back."
Hiroshi explained, "Honestly… I couldn't wait any longer. I'd been deferring on these trips for months, and the companies finally said I either buy or let them sell to someone else. I was planning to give you these trips last year, but… Anyway, these things are so rare that I had to book them months in advance. A head start for you both couldn't hurt."
The two ladies sat in stunned silence at this revelation, but moments later Hiroshi was met with a welcome surprise. He looked off by chance, and caught an entrancing sight: wearing black denim jeans and a black bomber jacket with a fur collar … was Leona, her blue haired ponytail swaying as she slowly walked, looking contemplative as she stared at the ground! Vice and Mature easily noticed Hiroshi gazing.
Vice commented to Mature, "Okay, that crazy look is new to me."
Mature called out, "Hey, kid… What are you looking at that's so interesting?"
Hiroshi distractedly answered, "It's… It's her. S-She's here."
The two ladies spotted Leona, and Mature wondered, "Oh, that Ikari girl. That is odd; what's she doing here?"
Vice added her own inquiry, "Better question: why are you looking at her like that?"
The Son of Amaterasu shot up to his feet as he stammered, "I'm going to talk to her… Shimai, would you, uh … Would you excuse me for a moment?"
Before Vice and Mature could even react, Hiroshi took off behind Leona…
Watching as he went down the street, Mature mused, "I guess our little boy's finally trying to catch himself a little girl."
Vice added, "Yeah, and he'll probably get her too."
Mature figured, "Actually, I doubt that. That particular girl is a rabbit with fangs: half-timid, half-rabid. He might not even get a word out of her."
Vice reacted incredulously, "Um, have you seen him? He's rich, powerful, and a whole bunch of other things these girls go crazy over. It's not even an opinion; it's a fact. That kid is walking catnip. He can barely keep the masses off him now."
Mature retorted, "Maybe, but he won't get that girl… I'll bet you on it."
Vice responded with a smirk, "Now, you're talking…"
Hiroshi sprinted across and down the street after Leona, but had to walk a ways behind her when he finally caught up to her to calm himself…
Hiroshi thought to himself, "Alright. I just need to calm down, and talk to her like every other woman, every other … absolutely stunning woman. I probably shouldn't start with that. Aw, man; here goes nothing."
Finally, he walked next to Leona, who actually almost jumped when she saw him walking next to her…
Hiroshi cordially and as calm as possible started, "Hi. You're Leona, right?"
Her mouth slight ajar, Leona nodded in the affirmative, but she couldn't speak…
Hiroshi continued after the response, "Yeah. Well, you probably don't remember me. I'm Hiroshi Amaterasu; we met at the KOF Tournament…"
Leona gave the slightest of smiles before looking ahead where they were walking again…
Taking the smile and going with it, Hiroshi continued, "I suppose you're here visiting King and friends. You all getting along?"
Leona slightly nodded but remained reluctant to speak…
Hiroshi kept going, keeping with the positive response, "Right so… Have you been in London very long? Do you come here often?"
After that question, Leona looked inquisitively at him as she tried to figure out where he was going with the conversation, but responded with a shake of her head to the negative.
Seeing the chance, Hiroshi drudged up some courage, psyched himself up … and went for broke, "Then, if you're interested … I'd be more than happy to show you around some time."
Leona immediately stopped, causing Hiroshi to stop as well, and looked at him with a slightly confused and almost stunned look…
Hiroshi couldn't help but see her look, and decided to go with sheer honesty, conveying, "Or maybe we could do something else because … I think you're very beautiful, and I really would like to get to know you."
At that request, Leona went through a quick series of reactions. Her eyes glimmered for a brief moment, but her look quickly became anxious. That's when her face flushed red, something she didn't recognize was even happening. Hiroshi took special note of all of this, and it all pointed to a certain conclusion to him.
"Okay, um… I'll just go…" Hiroshi said, trying not to sound disappointed, "But, if you change your mind…"
Getting an idea, Hiroshi took out a blank business card and a pen, wrote something on the card and handed it to Leona. She briefly scanned the series of digits, recognizing it as a Japanese phone number.
Hiroshi offered, "You can reach me at that number… You know, if you want."
The Son of Amaterasu slowly backed away before turning to walk back. Not moments after he had stopped talking to Leona, Hiroshi got a phone call…
"Hello… Hey, Adel-san…" Hiroshi answered, "I do? Well, don't worry about it. It's just … something didn't go the way I'd hoped… Anyway, what can I do for ya…?"
Meanwhile, Leona was left looking at the phone number, then at the still departing Hiroshi, and back again. She had never gone through what had just happened to her, and now had to sort through all the unfamiliar feelings she that currently grasped her. Ultimately, she was taken back to a conversation she'd just had not long ago with her friends.
Sitting at the bar of the 'Illusion', King, Mai, Yuri, Blue Mary, and Leona were simply laughing and talking, enjoying a rare moment they could gather in this way…
"By the way, Mary, is your agent friend doing any better?" King asked, as she wiped out a glass.
"Vanessa?" Mary explained somberly, "Actually … no. Doctors are still trying to figure out the extent of the damage. She'll live, but it seems something else keeps appearing. It'll be a while before she's back up to full strength."
Mai said, sympathizing, "Wow, that sounds horrible. And, to think … you almost went with them, Mary-chan."
Blue Mary, opting to turn the mood back around, pointed out, "I know, but at least Southtown is doing well. Right, Mai?"
King asked, more than a little surprised, "Is it? Last I heard, things were getting dangerous over there. Are you guys really bouncing back so quickly?"
As Yuri silently agreed, Mai voiced, "Yeah; weird, isn't it? Andy told me that Rock, Terry's boy, and some of his friends managed to force some huge crime lord out of town a few weeks ago, and they've been cleaning things up ever since. The city's still up in the air, but we really seem to be making it. Everything really did start getting better after old man Geese got sick."
"Yeah, and good riddance…" Yuri added.
Mai noted with a chuckle, "Actually, Yuri-chan has been doing her part too, in her own way."
King continued with a smile, "Really, and does it have anything to do with that shiny new jacket you have on?"
Yuri happily acknowledged the blue jacket with '#1 Sensei' on the back with satisfaction, "Oh, the girls got me this. After that fight, I got sooo many students, and we've been having a blast! Everybody's been learning really well, and they're all enjoying themselves. Some of them have even taught me some things. As a bonus, Ryo and my dad can't figure it out, but they can't get mad because of all the money I'm bringing in. Things couldn't get any better!"
Mai gave her friend extra credit, "Yeah, and it's hard to attack the women in the city now because half of them know how to fight."
"It sounds like you're really doing well…" King said before turning her attention, "And that leaves just one girl."
Mai asked as they all looked at Leona, "Yes, Leona-chan, how's is everything going? Have you found anyone yet or should I ask… Have any young, kind billionaires found you yet?"
"Right… You mean him…" Leona said solemnly, "No, I haven't and … I'm not so sure I want to see him again."
Expressing the slight surprise of them all, Mai asked, "Really, Leona-chan? That's too bad. What went wrong?"
Leona spoke deliberately as she tried to find the right words, "Really… Nothing; it's just … something about him confuses me. When I saw him, it… He gave me a kind of panic that I've never had before. It was like I wanted to just run away from him… Then, I got really hot and I couldn't think of anything to say, even more than usual. But even though I couldn't speak, all these questions rushed through my mind; I can't believe how interested I was or how much I wanted to know about him… But the oddest part was … I wasn't distressed by any of this. In fact, I was mostly … overjoyed during the whole experience. That probably sounds crazy, but it felt even more bizarre."
Leona looked for the others' reaction to find her friends looking back at her in confusion, silence pervading the room. Finally, Mai, Yuri, Mary, and King looked to each other, knowing exactly what Leona was talking about … and broke into fits of chuckling.
Unsurprised, Leona commented, "I knew it sounded crazy."
King quickly said through her laughter, "No, no. We just know exactly what happened to you."
"You … do?" Leona reacted with mystification.
Yuri continued to explain as she patted Leona on the back, "Absolutely! Congratulations, Leona; you just met your very first 'crush'."
Leona said with even more confusing, "First 'crush'?"
Mai put her arm around Leona ad continued on, "Mm-hmm. All those feelings mean you like him very much. Trust us; we're the poster girls for this kind of thing."
"She's not lying there." Mary concurred as she sipped her drink.
Leona , still in the dark, replied, "Um, alright… That explains why I've thought about him so much, why I want to see him again. But, what do I do now?"
King articulated reassuredly, "Well, I don't know how he'd feel about me saying, but I can personally guarantee that he feels the same way about you."
Yuri added, "And that's a very good thing. If a guy is interested, believe me, eventually he'll come to you."
Leona then pointed out with anxiety, "Okay; that answers one problem, but raises another… I could barely look at him very long; how am I going to carry on a full conversation with him?"
Mary said with a smile, "That's another area where you're in luck, Leona. It just so happens that this particular young man is very good with words, and such a nice guy. If he's true to form, he'll do his best to put you at ease."
Still reluctant and uncertain, Leona didn't speak as she thought about the advice she was receiving…
Mai said eventually said reassuringly, "Listen, don't sweat it, Leona-chan. It's just one guy; there's nothing to be anxious about. On top of that, the guy you like is a real sweetheart who's dying to get close to you. That's a rare thing around here, believe us… Just be yourself and you'll do fine…"
As she continued to stare at the phone number, Leona determined to follow all the advice she was given, and looked up just in time to see Hiroshi disappear down the hill… The Son of Amaterasu eventually got back to the table, still on the phone…
"Yes, I understand…" Hiroshi said to the person on the other side, "Alright; I'll have an answer in a few days… Okay; talk to you soon."
CLICK! Hiroshi closed his phone and put it away, sitting down with a pondering look. Vice and Mature looked up from their gifts long enough to see , and they instantly knew something was up…
Mature nonchalantly asked, "Who was on the phone?'
Hiroshi chuckled and relayed, "That was Chizuru-sama and Adel-san."
As Mature silently bristles at one particular name, Vice asked, "And what did they what?"
"They…" Hiroshi said with a chuckle of slight disbelief, "They asked me to be a sponsor for the next King of Fighters."
Both women stopped cold and gave him an inquiring look. Hiroshi responded with a look of surprised confirmation…
"So…" Mature eventually said, "What did you say?"
Hiroshi sighed and answered, "I told them I had to think about it."
Vice chuckled at the out-of-character answer, "What's to think about? Sponsoring that thing is like stealing; a company can run for years after just touting that thing once."
Mature added, "Frankly, kid, I can't believe we actually have to sell you on this… As faithful as you are to those things … I don't think there's anyone else who would be as eager to do it."
"Okay, but I'll need help from both of you." Hiroshi conceded.
Vice exclaimed in disbelief, "Us? What do we have to do with this?"
Hiroshi explained, "Well, you both helped set up the very first two. I'll need your help figuring out what I'm actually supposed to do."
Seeing no point in protesting, Mature sighed, "I guess it's a good thing we have these vacations then. We're gonna need all the rest we can get."
"Thanks a million, shimai." Hiroshi gave with a smile.
Suddenly, the two ladies remembered their wager, almost forgetting it completely amongst the proposal, and quickly set out to settle their dispute…
Vice feigned casualness, asking, "So, kid… With that girl ... how did it go?"
Hiroshi paused as a look of disappointment covered his face, relaying, "Like the Hindenburg; crash and burn…"
Driving the point home, the Son of Amaterasu simulated a small fiery explosion in his hand. Mature tapped her companion under the table…
"Oh, that's too bad." Mature said, trying to hide her satisfaction.
Vice irritatedly handed over some money under table, before reaching for some kind of consolation or explanation…
"Look, kid, are you sure she wasn't interested?" Vice said, "Maybe you two got off on the wrong foot."
Hiroshi replied with obvious disappointment, "Maybe, but the way she looked at me… I think I'll be lucky to ever see her again."
Hiroshi didn't know how ironic his statement would be … or how soon it would be proven so. Mature and Vice looked up and instantly stared in surprise at someone approaching. Hiroshi followed their path of vision and immediately shot up upon seeing the person. It was Leona, nervous and holding up the card with Hiroshi's number on it…
Leona uneasily asked, "Do… Do you, uh … have any more of these?"
Hiroshi quickly handed her a blank card and a pen, saying, "Oh, yeah. Here you go…"
Leona quickly scribbled something on the card, and placed the card in Hiroshi's hand, folding his hand around it.
She tentatively and kindly asked, "Call me … please."
Hiroshi responded with a smile, "Sure thing…"
Just as her counterpart did moments before, Vice tapped Mature, giving a 'let me have it' gesture, and Mature reluctantly handed the money to Vice for a bet won. Meanwhile, Hiroshi and Leona were connecting for really the first time. Even after Hiroshi's assurance, Leona continued to hold on to his closed hand, he simply giving her a smile when he realized. She was quite simply stuck in their held gaze, staring in his eyes and at his warm smile . Momentarily, however, she realized she was staring and that she was still had his hand … and immediately stepped back, letting him go as her face flushed red again. Finally, she flashed him a brief but tender smile before starting off…
"I'll talk to you soon." Hiroshi happily called out.
Leona looked back once more before disappearing down the street, and after a moment, Hiroshi slowly drifted back down into his seat…
Mature commented, "A KOF tournament to set up and another girl added to the mix… Well, this year should be eventful."
Hiroshi distractedly expressed as he happily looked over Leona's number, "Yeah, I hope so…"
End Story
A/N: There you have it. Please see the credits for further notes and comments.