Disclaimer: I don't own The King of Fighters…
A/N: Hello, fellow readers and writers. Yes, I'm back a lot sooner than expected, and we've come to the end of another entry in the saga. This chapter is back to the usual length of the others, unlike the shorter ones I've been publishing. It'll touch on a few outstanding plots and even foreshadow some conflicts in the future. So, with that, let's get to the wrap-up. And here … we … go:
The King of Fighters XVI: Where the Heart Is
Many Ways to the Heart
Two men traversed the halls of Firmament Mansion in tandem, the older one helping the younger one prepare for a journey. The younger one adjusted his clothes, taking constant stock of his physical state, and even ran his finger of over the smile-widening scars at the corners of his mouth.
"So, Maxwell-sama, how do I look?" Hiroshi asked.
Maxwell replied somewhat somberly as he looked over his young charge, "The best you've looked in weeks, sir… How do you feel?"
"Well, I hope I won't have to start any fires, but I feel really good."
Maxwell then requested with some dejection, "On your way, please be careful. We've gotten quite use to you being up and about, Almeida and I… I don't think we can take almost losing you again."
Hiroshi replied reassuringly, "Please don't worry. I'll do everything I can to come back in one piece, and I'll be with friends this time."
The two came to a certain bedroom, which Hiroshi knocked on the door…
"Vice-chan?" Hiroshi called inside, "We need to get ready to go."
"Oh, s-t…" A muffled voice exclaimed from the other side followed by the sounds of sudden activity.
The initial reaction in the room was followed by another muffled flurry of activity as well an indiscernible exchange of words from inside the room. The door soon opened to the exiting Shanghai hooligan Shen Woo, messily getting dressed: his hair was tousled more than usual; fresh bite marks lay on his body; he hopped to put his shoes on even as his pants were falling down, holding his gloves in his teeth…
Shen Woo casually said as he put his gloves on, "Hey, kid… Hey, you haven't seen my belt, have you?"
Hiroshi replied, hiding his mortification, "It's on the door knob. You … left it the last time."
As he saw, Shen Woo nodded in thanks, removed it from the door, and slipped it into his pants. That moment was when he realized that he was missing something…
Shen knocked on the door as he asked inside, "Babe? You have my shirt?"
Vice opened and leaned on the door, wearing the aforementioned shirt and nothing else, seeing but not acknowledging the other two men in the room.
Vice replied in a seductive hiss, "You want it? Come and take it."
Shen said as his voice adopted the same tone, his teeth playfully barred, "Come on. You know I have to collect today."
"Ooh, leg-breaking without me…?" Vice purred as she grabbed his belt buckle and pulled him close, "That's going to cost you."
Shen distractedly conceded, "Scratch that. They ain't going anywhere."
Vice clutched his hair, Shen lifted her up into his arms, and the couple disappeared back into the room with a slam of the door. Hiroshi wretched uncomfortably after the slightly troubling yet amorous dynamic of his sister and her paramour.
Maxwell sighed with dismay, "I can only imagine the damage in that room this time. Sir, I think we should get them softer furniture or some things more indestructible at least."
His stomach souring at the mental image, Hiroshi said as he held down his discomfort-induced nausea, "I think… We'll just let them… We'll give them some more time.
Vice, Hiroshi, and Mature jetted in route to Adel's Sky Noah, Hiroshi and Mature talking while Vice simply looked out of the window with her mind on pleasant reminiscing.
Mature expressed, annoyed, "So, Kusanagi, Yagami, Kagura, the two military meatheads, and the walking pipe bomb herself all under one roof in the sky? I genuinely can't think of anything worse."
Hiroshi tried to calm her, "It's only for a few days, Mature-chan. It'll be over in no time."
Mature replied skeptically, "You sure sound confident about this glorified stake out."
Hiroshi explained, "We're just staying close, in case they try to finish what they started. It would be very unfortunate if they finally succeed right under our noses."
"I still think we're wasting our time. They had two clear shot at it and blew both of them."
Hiroshi pointed out further, "Skill notwithstanding, they still managed to force the issue through pure nerve. The fact that they willingly gave up their lives when they are only tangentially knowledgeable about the rituals … is very confounding and frightening. They're certainly more different than any other group that's come along."
Mature mused, "Let's hope they're not too different… The other factions wouldn't expect this kind of ambush."
Hiroshi and Mature fell silent in thought as the sky carrier came into view… Adel stood on Sky Noah's main deck, awaiting any news.
Aya, his assistant with flame-shaped tresses, reported, "Sir, the Amaterasu transport is landing aboard."
Hermione, pushing the black hair of her bobcut out of her face, also reported, "Ms. Chizuru Kagura has barded safely, and she's brought a guest."
Adel responded, "Thank you, Aya and Hermione. Everyone's here now; set a course for Rose Stadium and get us there as fast as possible."
"Done…" Hermione responded.
"And done…" Aya added.
Moments later, Adel senses two people enter behind him, one of whom he recognized…
Chizuru cordially greeted, "Thank you having us on your ship, Adel. I brought one more person if that's alright."
Adel said as he turned, "It's no problem at all. We have enough room and every extra fighter helps…"
Adel then saw Cassandra next to Chizuru. It took him a moment for his mind to register her, but once he saw, he could not look away. At that moment, his mind completely cleared like birds escaping a cage, all his thoughts frantically fluttering away as soon as they appeared. He rapidly tried to come up with any kind of thought, but the tires of his mind simply spun in place while going nowhere. Soon, he started wondering what was wrong when his body temperature suddenly plummeted as his mind continued to draw a blank.
Chizuru introduced them, "Adel, this is Cassandra Murata; Cassandra, this is Adelheid Bernstein, the captain of this ship."
Meanwhile, Adel continued to have trouble. Chizuru's introduction made him realized that what felt like minutes were really seconds. Cassandra then extended her hand to him, and returning the handshake felt to Adel as if he were weightlifting his own arm. He then endeavored to speak and opened his mouth to do so, but no sound or even rush of air came out; he thought for a moment that he had said something and felt like something had come out but there were no words. Finally, all he could manage was a nod of acknowledgment that itself took great effort.
Chizuru then offered, oblivious to Adel's struggle, "Well, thank you again, Adel. I'll show Cassandra to the room, so we can get settled in; we've had a long flight."
Adel awkwardly nodded again to the suggestion before turning back toward the front of the ship. Chizuru and Cassandra departed as Vice, Hiroshi, and Mature arrived on the deck.
Hiroshi happily exclaimed, "Adel-san! It's been awhile; how are you doing?"
Adel replied in confusion, "I … I-I don't know."
Hiroshi asked with concern, "Really? Why? What's wrong?"
Adel paused to collect himself then asked, "Hiro, was it… Did you feel … strange the first time you met Leona? I mean, did it throw you off, make it hard just to think?"
Now, Hiroshi was confused. It was a particularly strange question since Adel was there and knew how his friend reacted to the experience. He then noticed that Adel looked a bit shaken. One look back and Hiroshi saw Cassandra staring back at Adel as she was walking away. Immediately, he figured what had happened moments earlier.
Hiroshi said with a smile, "Adel, my friend, I think if you have to ask, then you already know."
"Right…" Adel sighed, before resigning, "Well, hanging out with you, I guess I should surprised it didn't happen sooner."
Hiroshi patted his friend on the shoulder and reassured him, "Don't worry; you'll be fine… Speaking of which, where is Leona?"
Hermione chimed in, "She's on the observation deck."
Hiroshi quickly took the information and said as he headed to the location, "Thank you. Shimai, I'll see you around."
Adel then offered as he began to focus on other duties, "Vice, Mature, please make sure yourselves at home."
Left alone together, Mature and Vice and Aya and Hermione stood with a chill between the two pairs that could freeze air solid.
Aya sniped, "Well, I'm betting you two are getting pretty excited right about now."
Mature replied in irritation, "Oh? Why would you think that?"
Hermione added, "Why not? After all, isn't your master set to make his return? You know, the one who's got everyone panicked and scrambling to stop him, the one's who's trying to kill us?"
Mature replied, trying to stay calm, "First of all, our … 'Master', as you say, is not a 'him' or 'her'…"
Hermione quickly cut her off, "Yeah, because we wouldn't want to offend two parts of the eight-headed snake."
Mature responded with a somber threat, "You know, if dying is what you're worried about, we could send you both along now, so you would miss everything."
Aya revealed, "It's just unbelievable to us. Why are you both even here…? We don't know a lot about all this, but we do know that the last time this happened: we lost our boss, Adel and Rose lost their father, we lost our entire crew, and just about everything else. H-l, even you two almost died. Now, it could all happen again. So, if you're just going to run back to 'it', then why bother?"
Incredibly, Mature offered to their rivals, "Look, whether you believe us or not, even if it's just to keep this other group from messing things up… We're here to stop them no matter what, just like everyone else here."
After some silence from Mature's unexpected concession, Hermione noticed Vice and wondered aloud, "What's her problem? She forget how to talk?"
Vice quickly quipped, "No, my man and I just had a very long night last night. My legs are still weak."
Aya reacted, incredulous, "You?! You have a boyfriend?!"
Vice responded, "Yes. You two have anyone visiting you at night?"
Aya and Hermione looked at each other and groaned in disbelief and disappointment.
Gazing at the serene sky's immaculate blue color and the voluminous and complete clouds surrounding the vessel like a sea of cotton, Leona sat alone thinking about its peace and calm in spite of the haste around it. She could not help but dwell on the issue that loomed large in her mind: the last appearance of their encroaching foe. One recollection however managed to break through the surface.
Another enemy threat was thwarted ... but the enemy managed another inprobable escape. With disappointment and exasperation, Leona returned to Sky Noah and to her sweetheart's side, but something about him was amiss: his body was flushed and was slightly disheveled.
"What happened to you?" Leona asked with immediate concern.
"Ralf, Clark and I ran into ... an old friend." Hiroshi explained somewhat reluctantly.
"You ... left the ship?" Leona reacted incredulously.
Hiroshi quickly apologized, "Yes, it was a mistake. It was reckless and dangerous. I'm sorry."
"But ... why? Why did you go with them?"
"I wanted to help you get something you all wanted, something you've been looking for. And ... we got it."
Confused and still a bit upset, Leona simmered as Hiroshi reached into his pocket, but her mood quickly flipped to suprise and wonder when he produced the incredible recovery: Heidern's eye patch, stolen by Those From The Past some time earlier!
As Leona could only stare in disbelief as he placed it into her hands, Hiroshi expressed tenderly, "I thought it might cheer you up, help take your mind off things."
Hiroshi naturally found her, his heart skipping a little and a smile growing on his face as usual, and eagerly sat beside her.
He silently took her, and Leona simply smiled at him before her mind drifted back onto the issues at hands. Hiroshi sensed her preoccupation and affectionately brushed her hair away from the side of her face, nonverbally asking what was wrong. Leona tried to wave away his concern, simply shaking her head in the negative, but he insisted, rubbing her back with an understanding look. She turned to him, warmly laid her hand on his face, and lightly traced her fingers along the scars on his mouth. Leona turned somber and looked away out of sadness and shame. Hiroshi instantly kissed her on the cheek and rested his head on hers to comfort and support, but Leona simply shook her head with uncertainty.
Trying to switch focus, Hiroshi felt and began massaging her back, and Leona turned her back to him in unspoken acceptance and appreciation…
Deftly working the tension out of his sweetheart's body, Hiroshi began to muse adoringly for her sake, "It's still incredible. Before all this, I had seen you fight a few times and had some interest, but when I saw you in person … you completely blew me away. And that was before I even got to know you. Leona-chan … you amaze me. You're so strong and brave and full of hope."
Leona replied with subdued surprise, "I'm … full of hope?"
Hiroshi stopped his hands as he continued his praise, "Oh, yes. You've had to face this condition most of your life. And you've never backed down to it. You've fought it so long and kept it down many times. And you've never stopped believing and hoping that you could beat it. Not many people could handle it, let alone live with it as you have. Honestly, you're one of my heroes."
Though touched, Leona pointed out, "It's not just me. There's everyone I care about, especially you; you're always taking care of me, like you're doing now."
As he resumed the massage, Hiroshi humbly and tenderly expressed, "You were doing fine before I came along; I'm just happy you allowed me to join you… Of course, there are a lot of little things you do I love too … like the way you hug your knees when you sit on your bed… and the way you stop to help me riddle out any problem I have… that sparkle in your eye when you've discovered something … the way you figure out and plan things so quickly when someone needs help… Then, whenever it happens, your smile… It gets me every time."
"That's just it. That's why it's on my mind." Leona said as she turned to him, words coming easier than they ever had, "I was surviving before, but with you, everything is just better. You… You're one of my heroes too: you're kind, smart, funny, you always know the right thing to say… You always find a way to smile, and make others smile, make me smile. You make me … happy, really and actually happy ; I'm not use to that at all. I can't… I won't let anything happen to you; there are … too many things I love about you too."
Without hesitation or checking for others per usual for her, Leona kissed Hiroshi, surprising him with her suddenness, but he simply reciprocated the secure gesture. They separated only for Leona to embrace him with affection and ease, clearly not wanting to be anywhere else and expressing it thus. Hiroshi hugged her in return with warmth and comfort, silently pledging that everything would be fine as they were together. The couple just held each other, a sign of their harmony no matter what would come next.
The End
A/N: Whew… That is it. We finally reached the end. I know it took quite a while, and I want to thank you for staying with me for the duration. I hope you enjoyed it, and that you come back for the next entry. The next entry has some very big developments and very important battles ahead, and I'm excited to get them to you. Now, I'm going to try to get started as soon as possible, but I'm not sure when I can get the first chapter up, so I will do my best to … dfmaimkma'axkmakvbc –oomiamo ma=ormooa… … … ….
…
…
…
BWOAR! BWOAR! BWOAR!
A loud, bloodcurdling siren wails frantically in terror…
BWOAR! BWOAR!
Miles away, Chin, Kyrie, Athena, Kensou, Momoko, and Bao all are hit with the same sudden and intense alarm, and reflexively look in that direction…
BWOAR! BWOAR!
As he spends time with Terry and Andy, Rock's powers suddenly go wild, a reaction … that only happens when danger comes near…
… … …
Takuma, Robert, Ryo, and Khushnood stand in the middle of Kyokugen practice, and all of them clinch and tighten with stress…
BWOAR! BWOAR! BWOAR!
Vice and Mature feel a familiar pull in their very beings, an urgent call…
BWOAR! BWOAR! BWOAR!
Chizuru freezes as a bolt of danger and dread rips through her like lightning…
THUMP-THUMP! THUMP-THUMP! THUMP-THUMP!
Leona and Iori experience the same wave of distress as their hearts beat wildly… Iori wretches as the taste of blood hits the back of his throat… Leona grips Hiroshi even tighter in shock…
BWOAR! BWOAR! BWOAR! SECURITY BREACH! SECURITY BREACH! REPEAT: THERE IS A LEVEL-OMEGA SECURITY BREACH AT … ROSE STADIUM!
…
…