The Shocking Match
"The next match will be Heihachi Mishima versus Yayoi Takatsuki!"
Heihachi Mishima versus Yayoi Takatsuki!
Heihachi Mishima versus Yayoi Takatsuki!
Iori was completely frozen stiff. Every idol, every competitor, on their side of the arena's first floor knew that soon, they would be watching a fourteen-year-old girl get brutally murdered through this glass. Yayoi herself was shaking, trembling, frozen in fear. She was petrified of facing that man. All of the idols were.
"Yayoi Takatsuki?" the announcer called. "Yayoi? Where are you?"
Yayoi made a choked noise and started to cry. "I...I can't…!"
"Yayoi? Would someone please get her down there?" the announcer sighed. Heihachi looked like he was getting impatient.
Yayoi broke into sobs. "I can't! I can't go, I can't fight Heihachi-san, I can't die, I'm terrified, I can't move…" She trailed off. "Someone help me!"
Iori flinched and tried to keep herself from crying. She had to be strong for her best friend's sake. She took a few deep breaths and tried to smile past the pain in her back…and in her heart.
Makoto grabbed Yayoi's shoulders and spun the girl towards her. "Yayoi."
"No! Y-you don't understand, I-I can't—"
"Yayoi. I am not going to let you die. OK?"
Yayoi sniffed. "What…?"
Makoto smiled grimly. "I said I was going to protect you guys. I got you into this mess, and no matter what I am going to get you out of it alive. I promise."
"W-what can you do…?"
"If things look grim, I will personally throw myself into the center of the arena and kill Heihachi Mishima three-thousand-fifty-two times over. I won't let him kill you. I promise," Makoto said seriously. "I mean it, Yayoi. You'll be fine. Just listen to Iori's advice and run as much as you can. Try to trick him into hurting himself."
Yayoi nodded. "Right. I…r-right!" she yelped. "…Makoto-san, can I have a high touch?"
Makoto chuckled. "Sure." She held up her hand and Yayoi gave her a high touch. Then she ran to Iori, all the while listening to the announcer, the crowd, and Heihachi himself angrily muttering about her whereabouts.
"High touch, Iori-chan!" Yayoi giggled. "Make it a good one!"
Iori sniffed and gave her a hug instead, then pulled away and gave her a high touch, and then another hug.
"…Yayoi?"
"Yeah, Iori-chan?"
"…I love you, Yayoi. Be careful out there, OK?"
"I love you too, Iori-chan. Thank you for everything."
Iori sniffed again and smiled. "Yeah…thank you too. You've shown me there's more to life then just being rich and beautiful. I really appreciate your friendship."
"Iori-chan," Yayoi whined, "you make it seem like I'm going to die. But Makoto-san isn't going to let that happen. Right?"
"Right," Makoto agreed. Yayoi grinned.
Iori retreated from the hug, wiping her eyes, and sent Yayoi off. The young girl ran around giving everyone a high touch before happily bounding down the stairs. As soon as she had left, Iori whirled angrily on Makoto.
"You!" she shouted. "You had better not break that promise! If that girl dies, I am holding you one-hundred-percent responsible!"
"She won't die," Makoto replied. "I promise you she won't."
Iori glared at her for another moment before turning her attention to the arena, where Yayoi had just joined Heihachi. She was smiling.
"Heihachi-san!" she cheered. "Heihachi-san, I know you are very strong, but I don't really know how to fight. Please take care of me, and if you could go a little easy, my friends and I would appreciate it."
What is she doing? Iori wondered. She giggled. That girl…she's so energetic all the time. …I'm scared for her.
She cast a glance at Makoto, staring intensely at the man named Heihachi, just waiting for him to go too far so she could jump in and stop him. It was almost as if she was looking forwards to attacking him. Iori looked over at Ritsuko.
"Hey, Demo—Ritsuko-san," she said.
Ritsuko turned. "Yeah, Iori?"
"Is it—you know, legal—for someone to jump into the arena for the sake of saving a life?"
"Iori, this is the King of Iron Fist tournament. Everything is legal."
"Oh. Good."
Iori turned back towards the arena. The match was just starting.
Heihachi ran straight at Yayoi immediately, one hand extended towards her neck and the other balled into a fist. Yayoi screamed and ran away, towards the opposite side of the arena. Iori clenched and unclenched her fists furiously to keep from throwing something sharp at Heihachi.
Heihachi growled and jumped at the girl again. Yayoi ducked beneath him and ran.
"Go, Yayoi-chan!" Iori yelled. "You got it! Tire him out!"
"You got this, Yayoicchi!" Ami/Mami screamed.
Yayoi took a few deep breaths to calm herself down and dodged Heihachi's next oncoming attack. She faced him always, never letting the man out of her sight. For just a second, her vision flicked to a large, jagged rock over by the edge of the arena, but it was all the time Heihachi needed. He ran over to Yayoi faster than any man his size and age should have been able to run and grabbed the girl by the arm. Yayoi screamed and slammed her fist onto his wrist, trying desperately to free herself, but it was no use. Heihachi lifted her off the ground and placed the girl across his shoulders to that her back was on his body.
Makoto tensed and placed one foot on the ledge in front of the glass separating her from Yayoi. Iori watched her. Satisfied, she turned back to the arena.
"Come on, Yayoi-chan! You can do it! Roll over…roll over, Yayoi-chan!" she shouted.
"You're such an annoying little bug," Heihachi hissed. Slowly, he moved one arm across Yayoi's neck and the other across her knees. "I'm going to enjoy crushing you!"
"P-please!" Yayoi begged. "Please let me go! I-I have a family…and they need me! I'm the oldest of six siblings and my parents are always working, and they need my income as an idol, so please! You have to let me go, Heihachi-san!"
In response, Heihachi pulled down and Yayoi's back cracked loudly. She let out a pitiful wail.
"Tch, all this talk of family makes me sick," Heihachi snapped. "You're such a pitiful creature, Yayoi Takatsuki! Did you actually believe you had any chance of beating me?!" He cackled evilly.
Makoto was poised to spring. Iori ran to her.
"Do something!" she ordered.
"Not yet," Makoto hissed. "Just be patient. I know what I'm doing."
"He's going to kill her!" Iori shrieked. "Do something already, stupid!"
"I said, be patient!" Makoto lashed. Iori grunted and faced the arena.
"Come on, Yayoi! You can do it!"
Heihachi pulled down again and Yayoi's back broke even more. She screamed in agony and Heihachi laughed.
"NO!" Iori yelled. "Makoto, you IDIOT! Do something or she'll die! You promised us she wouldn't die!"
"Just a little longer…"
"What the he** are you waiting for, dangit!?"
"Just hold on, will you?!"
Heihachi pulled yet again. This time, blood splattered from Yayoi's broken back and she cried out in pain. Heihachi closed his eyes and broke into an evil laugh. The second he did, Makoto lifted her arms to her face to shield it and sprang into the glass. It shattered to pieces, and Makoto fell to the arena floor, landing in a crouch.
Heihachi, preoccupied with his evil laughter and listening to Yayoi's screams, didn't seem to notice her. Iori suddenly understood the delay.
"Heihachi!" Makoto yelled, immediately running at the man. Heihachi bent Yayoi's back even further and it seemed as though any second now, the girl would break in half.
Iori counted down the feet until Makoto would reach him. 20…15…10…she's right there…!
And then, all at once, Heihachi's eyes opened and he spotted the other girl running at him, looking entirely prepared to kick him in the face, or twist his arm off of Yayoi, or grab him by the neck—which was exactly what Heihachi did to Yayoi now. Clutching the smaller girl by the throat, he swung her around, off of his back, and towards Makoto. Makoto only had time to let out a small gasp before Yayoi's legs slammed into her face, and she was forced backwards against the wall. Yayoi choked and grabbed desperately at the hands around her neck.
"YAYOI!" Iori screeched. "Yayoi, no! NO!"
Makoto wiped her face and stood slowly, prepared to attempt to attack Heihachi again, but before she could even move, Heihachi threw Yayoi against the wall and the girl's back exploded in blood. She coughed and fell to the floor. The next few seconds passed in slow motion. Makoto ignored Heihachi and instead ran to Yayoi, calling her name. Yayoi cough and spluttered and bled and cried, until at last, her ragged breathing faded to nothing and her heart ceased. By the time Makoto reached her, she was already dead.
Iori was frozen. "No…no…no, no, no, no…NO! Yayoi, you…you…!"
The crowd applauded, as if they found the idea of a grown man mercilessly killing a little girl the most incredible thing on Earth. Heihachi cackled and faced Makoto, staring down at the dead Yayoi and whispering to herself.
"Do you see now?" Heihachi laughed. "None of you will ever defeat me! NOBODY will ever defeat me! Do you understand?!"
"You monster!" Makoto yelled, turning her furious gaze on the man who'd killed this innocent little girl. Heihachi chuckled and turned away.
"I've been called that before. It doesn't bother me, little boy."
"I'm a GIRL, da** you!"
"Whatever." Heihachi vanished. He was soon replaced by Iori.
"You!" she screamed. "You promised us that she wouldn't die! You promised her! She trusted you!"
"I'm sorry, OK?!" Makoto snapped. She turned back to Yayoi. "I'm…I'm sorry."
"Sorry doesn't bring my best friend back to life!"
"Well, neither does screaming at me!"
Iori let the words sink in before she collapsed on the ground beside Makoto and started to weep. Makoto slipped an arm around her shoulder, but Iori shrugged it off. Makoto frowned.
"Iori…"
"You liar!" Iori wailed. "You were supposed to protect them!"
"Why didn't you do anything, huh?"
"I…because you were supposed to do it!"
Makoto shook her head. "Forget it. It's done. I'm really sorry, Iori. I tried, but he was just too quick."
Iori stood, sniffling piteously. She shook her head. "You know, I never really cared about you much before, but now I really hate you, you know that?!"
"I'm sorry."
"Just stop it already!" Iori cried. "Just…just stop it! She's dead and there's nothing we can do!"
Before Makoto could say another word, Iori turned and ran out of the arena. Makoto sighed and faced Yayoi again.
"You're really gone, aren't you?" she whispered. "I'm sorry. I was supposed to protect you, huh?"
Yayoi twitched, a last involuntary action before she fell completely still. Makoto lifted her into her arms slowly and stood. She started walking out of the arena, but paused in the middle. Iori re-entered the first floor waiting area to stand with Azusa and Ami/Mami. She watched as Makoto did something most surprising to her.
She laughed.
Iori bristled. "How dare she…?!"
But the longer she listened, the more she realized how insane Makoto's laughter sounded. She looked down at Yayoi, dead in her arms.
"You know what I'm going to do now?" she asked loudly between fits of mad laughter. "I'm going to go get you all cleaned up, and then we can take you home. You must be tired after all that running, right? That's why you're sleeping. But don't worry! After I clean you off, I'll take you home to your family, and you can sleep as long as you like. Doesn't that sound nice?" She paused to laugh again.
"What is she…is she alright?" Iori whispered to Azusa.
Azusa smiled grimly. "Iori-chan, you've forgotten that you aren't the only girl who will grieve for Yayoi-chan. Makoto-chan was supposed to protect her." She turned to face Iori. "It's obvious she blames herself for Yayoi-chan's death. She may be grieving harder than any of us."
Iori listened sadly, allowing her anger towards Makoto to melt away. She listened as Makoto's maniacal laughter turned to loud sobs, and she collapsed in the middle of the arena, crying loudly over Yayoi's body.
Iori's eyes softened and she leaned against Azusa's body. "She's really upset. So am I."
"We all are," Azusa soothed.
"No, I mean the two of us are really upset. More so than the rest of you. That girl was my best friend, and she was in Makoto's care. I don't think any of you will ever understand how we feel."
The group returned to silence, except for Makoto's sobs. Yukiho moved closer to Haruka and took her hand. Takane and Hibiki huddled close together. Ami/Mami (Iori felt fairly sure it was Mami today, since she was being silent and still with grief instead of cracking some weird joke to try to make everyone smile as Ami probably would have done) reached out and grabbed Iori's hand. Iori herself just watched the crowd murmur amongst themselves, and watched the girl named Xiaoyu sniffle loudly and move against her friend Alisa sadly, and watched Makoto continue to switch between her insane laughter and loud sobbing, all the while crouched over Yayoi's body.
Iori descended the stairs behind her on the floor and re-entered the arena. She paused beside Yayoi's body, crouched down, and closed Yayoi's eyes. Makoto was almost completely still aside from her shaking. Iori closed Yayoi's mouth slightly, then motioned for Makoto to move away a bit. She obliged. Iori took Yayoi's hands and folded them over her chest, then sat back to observe her work. All-in-all, Yayoi looked a lot more peaceful now aside from the scarlet blood all over. She sat beside Makoto and placed an arm around her shoulders.
"She's sleeping," she soothed. "See? Doesn't she look peaceful?"
"I killed her," Makoto muttered. "I'm so sorry, Iori. I killed her."
"Heihachi killed her," Iori corrected. "It's OK. Well, no…it isn't OK. But it will be. I hope. Alright, let's just say for the purpose of cheering up that things will be OK."
Makoto shook her head. "I was the one who brought the tournament up in the first place. Miki and Yayoi are both dead because of me."
"They chose to sign up," Iori said firmly. "It had nothing to do with you. I forgive you, alright? Now, come on. Yukiho is waiting for you. Let's get back up there."
Slowly, Iori coaxed the grieving Makoto up the stairs, where she immediately curled up on the floor beside Yukiho and fell asleep. Iori returned to Azusa.
"I still hate her," she admitted, "but she's grieving just as much as I am. It isn't fair to let her blame herself, even if a large chunk of it was her fault."
"We had no way of knowing Yayoi-chan would ever fight Heihachi-san," Azusa pointed out. "I'm proud of you, Iori-chan. Now…I suppose we just wait?"
"Um…due to the events that have happened today, we're going to take a break," the announcer announced. "All competitors are free to return to their home for a two-hour break before returning to matches."
Ritsuko examined the idols, all of them crying at least a little (herself included). With a decisive nod, she went to Makoto and lifted the younger, sleeping girl into her arms, then turned to the others.
"We should all go home and rest," she advised. "It's been a long day. I can carry Makoto."
Iori nodded slowly. The idols started to leave, but before they got all the way out they were joined by the four girls they'd met on their first day. Lili placed a hand on Iori's shoulder.
"That girl," she began, "she was very close to you, correct?"
"She was—she still is—my best friend," Iori sad quietly.
"I'm very sorry for your loss," Lili mumbled. "Are you going to be alright?"
"I hope so," Iori replied. "Well…we're heading out."
"Iori," Xiaoyu called. "Iori, I'm grieving too. All four of us are, because we had grown to love Yayoi. She was so cute, and always so energetic, and all of us hate Heihachi anyways, so now we all despise him even more, and I thought you should know that you guys aren't alone. A lot of us had grown used to Yayoi and not having her around is really going to hurt."
Iori smiled slightly. "Thank you, it means a lot to hear that she was able to impact you guys in such a way. I'm sure she'd be really happy to hear that."
"If you are ever in need of friends," Alisa started, "then…you can come find us. And we will be here to grieve with you."
"Thank you," Iori repeated.
Leo looked over at Makoto, cradled in Ritsuko's arms. "Is she gonna be OK?"
"I don't know and I honestly don't care," Iori answered.
Leo shrugged. "Hey, when she wakes up, will you tell her what we said? You may not realize it, but she needs to hear that just as much as you did."
Iori nodded slowly. "Alright, fine. We should go. Thank you all again. It's nice to have support."
The foursome waved goodbye, and Iori followed the idols out. When the now-nine idols reached their place of residence, all of them slowly drifted into sleep.
Iori knew better than anyone that this was not the last time they would lose an idol. She had nightmares of Yayoi's death the whole two hours.
(A/N: OK, so those two points with the first two letters of the word and then the asteriks? Well, me being me, there was no way I was going to actually write out a cuss word, but, heck, Iori's best friend was dying and Makoto just let her die and then got called a boy. I'm pretty sure they would be cursing at that point. Hence, the asteriks. I'll probably do that a lot in this fic, so...yeah.
In other news, writing this chapter actually made me cry a little.)