Why hello there!
As you guys no doubt know by now, Mana_Sputachu and I have become partners in KOF fandom crime, committing atrocities together whenever we can, and this is one of them. Not that it's an atrocity at all — far from it we hope! — but there are those out there who might cry about slice of life, characterization, and their favs. (Stay mad; this is our house, and we like giving the fighters three-dimensional personalities and traits — even the grumpy assholes who have bouts of madness.)
With that being said, this was a fun little project that just sort of came about after we were inspired by a very specific YouTube channel (more on that later), and we hope you enjoy it! Also, I would like to note that it was MANA who did most of the heavy lifting here, providing the meat and potatoes for this little labour of love, so make sure to give her the credit she deserves!
Anyway, this takes place after all of the other illyverse KOF XV fics (which, if you're reading this on AO3, can be found in a neat little collection around the corner :)). (For FFN readers, please refer to the list found in my profile.)
Onward~
(- illy)
"Fuck…"
Muttering to himself, Iori Yagami closed the hotel's internal fire escape doors, sat down on the first step, and quickly produced a cigarette from his pocket that he lit with his flames.
A deep drag began to soothe his terrible mood.
It had been a somewhat uneventful second day of the King of Fighters tournament until Kyo decided to be even more insufferable than usual. Somehow, the Kusanagi heir discovered Iori's love for cats (and animals in general), and suddenly, it became his new favorite way to make fun of him.
"Awww, look at you! Deep down you're just a big softie, aren't ya?"
Another deep drag.
For a brief moment, Iori thought the French woman, King, might have told Kyo about his affinity for felines, but she wasn't even around when the young man started to mock him. Even worse was that, soon after, the even more insufferable Joe Higashi and that other idiot, Ramón joined in. The trio had kept following him around the hotel lobby, using their phones to try to show him videos of cute animals in an attempt to get a reaction, which was how Iori came to understand how Kyo made that discovery about him: the jerk had stumbled upon his Twitter profile, which was full of pictures of his cats.
(Hell, even his bandmates joked about him promoting his furry companions more than their music…)
Luckily, no one else banded with those three dipshits who shared a single malfunctioning brain cell, as there were a lot of other animal lovers among the tournament entrants, but it wasn't enough to stop the trio… at least not until Iori got tired and threw Higashi right into the pool.
The kickboxer was lucky; Iori's temptation to hit him with a Yamibarai was strong.
Of course, Kyo kept joking for the whole evening, to the point that Iori decided to get room service rather than dine with him and Chizuru. The last thing he saw while leaving the restaurant was the priestess slapping his rival on the head.
That was nice.
And now, after a scrumptious dinner in the comfort of his own room, he decided to quietly have a smoke away from everyone. To avoid any possible complaint from the hotel's staff about smoking inside his room or annoying someone in the outdoor lounge, he settled on going to the fire escape stairwell.
Disposition still a bit sour, a few texts from Chizuru asking if he was feeling better, in addition to his bandmates wondering how things were going, helped snap him out of his bad mood. With a soft smile, Iori answered the messages, then checked his Twitter account to see the comments to one of his most recent tweets, all while mindlessly humming a song.
"What the hell?! You heard that?"
Suddenly, a loud voice came from below, startling Iori.
"I did; it was like… someone's singing?"
Oh. So he wasn't exactly humming…
"Who would sing like that?! It sounded like a fucking demon!"
"Maybe not a demon but… it was kinda creepy…"
Finding those voices unmistakable, Iori quietly lurked from behind the door: In the middle of the corridor stood Kyo and Higashi, who seemed like they were searching for something or someone. A soft "Ew" escaped Iori's lips when the Muay Thai champion — who was in his boxers because, apparently, he didn't wear anything else ever — pivoted, the way too low fabric revealing his flat ass.
Kyo, meanwhile, wasn't exactly a better show between his briefs and a frankly ridiculous t-shirt with Doraemon on it. At least his butt was way better than Joe's, though. Kyo was an asshole but a fine one, and Iori was, at the end of the day, a young bisexual man… though, as of now, someone else was on his mind, whereas the Kusanagi heir was just nice eye candy.
"Maybe it was just someone blasting music from their phone," Kyo mused.
"In the middle of the night?"
"It's just half past midnight, dude."
"Well, it was weird and you know it!"
"Oh come on…!"
Kyo liked to play tough, but Iori knew his rival well enough to recognize that he was at least nervous.
…And that gave him an idea.
Without making a sound, Iori left the door ajar and climbed up to the middle of the stairs. He then sat back down, and quickly scrolled his playlist and Youtube on his phone, searching for inspiration. He smirked a few seconds later as he found exactly what he needed.
This was going to be fun.
Iori shifted to make himself more comfortable, then switched the ringer on his phone off (there couldn't be any interruptions…), took a breath, and began to sing slowly and in a ghostly cadence:
"I can see you from behind, you can hear me in your mind…."
The young man's deep voice reverberated through the dimly lit stairwell, eerie and almost otherworldly.
"Holy shit, man, do you hear that?!"
Higashi's tone was slightly higher-pitched than usual, indicating a state of panic.
"Wh-what is that?" Kyo asked in his usual dimwitted manner, though Iori could hear his unease.
"It's singing! Someone — or something — is singing!"
"Something? Come on, man; it's probably just some drunken guest or —"
At that moment, Iori stomped his foot once. The loud sound echoed, along with his song, which clearly upped the ante from creepy to outright scary for the two men in the hallway.
"I-I don't like that," Higashi sputtered. "Kusanagi, we-we should get the hell outta here!"
"I bet it's… I-I mean… there must be a normal explanation…"
"Yeah, the explanation is that it's fucking haunted! Any minute now the lights are gonna go out, and something's gonna come screaming out at us, and even your flames won't be able to do anything, and —"
Higashi stopped talking when Iori, who, at this point, was working to suppress a wayward chuckle as he imagined the other men's scared faces, stomped his foot again. He wished he could actually see Kyo and Higashi, but their quivering voices were enough for the time being.
Right at that moment, a buzz from the phone in Iori's hand and a text message banner appearing on the screen almost stopped his song dead, as the correspondence was from Chizuru and read:
"Iorin, there's been a new development with the tournament. Please meet me on the roof so we can discuss it in person. (I don't feel like texting it)."
Brow furrowed, Iori put his phone back in his pocket and gradually moved his voice to a whisper, tapering his song off completely.
"It… it stopped…?"
Higashi sounded relieved.
"Seems like it," Kyo replied with a slight edge.
"Then let's get the hell out of here!"
Two sets of footsteps followed by doors slamming told Iori that the pair was gone. With a quiet snicker, the young man rose to his feet, rotated his head and shoulders so that his neck cracked several times, and — since he was already in the stairwell — climbed up to the twelfth floor of the hotel, where the rooftop lounge was located. Once there, he spotted Chizuru sitting on one of the wicker chairs near the center of the area, scrolling through something on her phone.
"Ah! Iorin," she said while looking up from the screen. She fixed her gray eyes on Iori, who subtly cleared his throat (don't… make… direct eye contact…) and flashed a warm smile, which he couldn't help returning. However, Iori quickly realized that anyone could come walking out of the building at any second, so he had to put his Stoic Pants on, lest any one of the aggravating tournament entrants see that he — never mind.
"This better be good," he huffed while crossing his arms.
"Well," Chizuru began, "that depends on your definition of 'good.'"
"What do you mean?"
"There's been some kind of booking conflict with the next venue for the tournament."
"So?"
"So, Anastasia sent out an announcement stating that the remaining teams will have to be on standby for a few days while her staff sorts out the problem."
"Alright so what does that mean for us?"
"It means… that we get a mini-vacation of sorts because, if there's no venue to fight at… we can't fight."
She said it as if it was the simplest thing in the world.
"So what you're saying is we're stuck here. Does Kyo know?"
"Does Kyo know what?"
Almost as if on cue, the other Sacred Treasure strolled out into the area, now wearing actual pants — and a slight frown.
"We're stuck here," Iori deadpanned.
"What?" Kyo made a face while sitting in the wicker seat beside Chizuru. "Stuck? What do you mean 'stuck?'"
At that, the priestess quickly explained the situation, albeit more firmly and deliberately than she had to Iori, as Kyo sometimes needed things spelled out for him.
"So we're staying… here —" Kyo pointed a finger downward toward the floor — "for a bit longer?"
"Yes, Kyo. That is correct."
"We can't."
"And why is that?" Chizuru prodded, her brow quirked.
"Because this place has ghosts!"
Iori had to hold in a snicker and keep his Mean Face on since he was ghosts.
"Ghosts?" He scoffed. "The hell are you talking about?"
"Yes, Kyo, what are you talking about?"
"Joe and I heard it! In the stairwell! A ghost singing!"
"We've been here for three days, dipshit. We would have heard something about ghosts or hauntings by now."
"Not necessarily," Chizuru stated thoughtfully. "It's not like people normally hang out in stairwells in the middle of the night."
"Yeah, why were you two in the stairwell anyway? Got something to tell us?"
"We weren't in the stairwell; we were in the hall!"
"You and Higashi. Together."
"Yeah, sometimes people hang out, something a ragey asshole like you wouldn't know about," Kyo shot back.
"Wow, Kusanagi, you hurt my feelings. How can I keep living like this?" Iori snarked in an overly dramatic tone, accompanied by his hand over his chest.
…but to be fair… that comment stung a little. However, Iori didn't want to give Kyo more ammo for his mockery arsenal or reveal anything about his private life, so he instead responded with an icy glare.
"Boys," the priestess sighed, trying to stop their bickering as she always did, "we have some free days, so let's try to make the best out of it. We can start by avoiding useless fights."
Kyo shifted in his seat, visibly uncomfortable.
"Well, I guess the ghost will keep us company."
"There's no ghost, Kyo," Chizuru sighed once again. "Besides. I'm a Shinto priestess; I would notice any kind of paranormal presence. And aside from the underlying Orochi energy, I can't feel anything else."
"I know what I heard," Kyo retorted. "It didn't sound human."
"Well, now you have a couple days to play Ghostbusters to your heart's content," Iori stated, trying very hard not to burst into laughter. "Say hi to Sadako for me."
Kyo scowled and held up his middle finger.
"Wow, so mature," Iori retorted while rolling his eyes.
"Said the pot to the kettle."
"Boys…!"
A low growl from Chizuru managed to end the stupid quarreling.
…And awaken something in Iori.
No. NOT NOW.
"If there's nothing else to say, I have a few calls to make," he said, abruptly turning towards the door. "Thanks, Chi."
"What, gonna tell your cats dad you won't come home anytime soon?" Kyo called.
Iori had to muster all his willpower not to throw a chair at Kyo.
"Some of us have real jobs and careers to take care of, but you wouldn't know that."
"What does that even —"
"How's life without a diploma?" Iori interrupted.
"I SWEAR I'LL SMASH YOUR ASS!"
"Wow, didn't know you had that fantasy about me…"
"Wha—N-NO, THAT'S NOT WHAT I MEAN —!"
Watching Kyo struggle because he lacked a brain-mouth connection was always a treat.
"Enough, you two!" Chizuru intervened, now sounding quite annoyed. "Goodnight, Iorin."
…Gotcha.
Iori calmly walked towards the elevators, hearing both the priestess and his rival muttering among themselves.
Maybe she was scolding him… or possibly showering him with insults…?
Nah, that wasn't like Chizuru. But it was fun to imagine.
While waiting for the elevator to arrive, Iori took his phone from his pocket and quickly typed in his band's group chat. It was already 4 PM the next day in Osaka, and since their schedule was pretty packed it was better to give them a heads up. He then did the same with their manager.
Now he just had to find something to do for the next few days…
###
As luck would have it, it turned out that Iori didn't need to travel far to find a pastime because the Universe provided him with free entertainment right at the hotel.
"Are you two sure about all this?"
"Absolutely!"
"Give it time, you'll see."
Hiding in the stairwell, the young man peered into the corridor while thinking about what happened in the morning. Higashi had stopped at the restaurant table where the Treasures were having their breakfast with a proposal for Kyo: Go back to the stairwell that night, hoping to catch the ghost and prove to others that it did, indeed, exist.
It would have been rude not to show up, wouldn't it?
"Guys, really. This is dumb," the one and only Terry Bogard groaned as he stood near the two wannabe ghost hunters, arms crossed over his broad chest and clearly perplexed, as, somehow, catching the ghost became a group activity. Aside from Bogard and his brother, Iori could also see Mai Shiranui, who was probably just following her boyfriend around. Still, given the expression she was sporting, she perhaps hoped to see Higashi shit his pants, as he knew there was no love lost between those two. Rounding out the group were the Yabuki kid, Nikaido, and the pop idol and quasi-psychic, Asamiya.
"Are you sure you heard something, Kyo?" The girl asked, her voice full of doubt.
"Sure I am! I couldn't mistake that creepy voice and the stomps for something else!"
"You once thought you caught an alien on camera while you were half drunk in your courtyard," Nikaido pointed out. "In fact, I still have the texts saved."
"Beni we've fought deities and crazy scientists and people have come back to life during the tournament! Would an alien or a ghost sound that weird to you?!"
Sadly, Iori had to acknowledge that Kyo had just made a damn good point. Compared to their daily lives, aliens and ghosts sounded almost trivial, if not outright boring.
"I can't believe you're actually doing it."
Chizuru appeared then, clad in her nightwear and eyeing Kyo with the most judgmental face Iori had ever seen on her. He briefly thought that the priestess should have worn the oversized shirt and shorts combo for the tournament instead of her usual uniform because those legs could distract any oppone —
Okay, STOP.
Leaving the door slightly ajar, Iori carefully crept back to his spot on the steps, picked up his phone, and disabled the sounds. Unlike the night before, he was prepared this time. He made a mental apology to Chizuru, who would be collateral damage, and started to sing:
"Ring around the Rosie…"
"What the hell?!"
"See! We told you there's a ghost!"
Iori grinned.
"A pocket full of posies…"
His deep voice echoed through the stairwell, quickly followed by screams and yelling from the hallway. He then stomped once, which was followed by more yelling. He sang another bar, which he followed with another stomp, before raising his voice a little.
"ASHES! ASHES!"
"Is… is it really in the stairwell?!" Asamiya squeaked.
"Joe, go take a look!" Terry ordered.
"Why me?!"
"Because you and Kyo had this amazing idea!" Mai exclaimed.
It was very hard to not laugh, but Iori managed to keep his composure. He stomped his foot once more.
"WE ALL FALL DOWN!"
Hearing some of the strongest fighters in the world screaming like little girls because of a supposed supernatural presence had to be one of the funniest things ever.
And being the source of all that?
Priceless.
Unable to contain his curiosity, Iori moved to peer through the small opening to enjoy watching the group freak out. He would have loved to snap a pic of Kyo and Higashi's terrified faces —
"So it's you. You're the ghost."
"What —!?"
Iori whirled around to see Chizuru standing behind him, her hands on her hips and an… amused smile on her face.
"Shh! Come here," he requested while he gestured for her to come closer. "How did you —?"
Chizuru snorted.
"No one wanted to check in the stairwell so I decided to take a peek while they were all screaming and arguing over it."
"Okay, well, keep it for you. I don't want them to find me."
"Don't worry, Iorin," the priestess assured with a giggle. "I won't spoil your fun. Though this isn't really something I would have imagined you doing. Isn't it a bit childish?"
Now it was Iori's turn to snort.
"You're the one who always says Kyo and I are tall toddlers."
The priestess playfully smacked the young man's shoulder, which — to his chagrin — made his cheeks heat up a little. However, he couldn't give it much thought, as a new voice spoke up in the hall.
"What is this mess?! Why are you all screaming and disturbing everyone else on this floor?!"
Iori quickly moved to the door to see the newcomer, who was none other than Elisabeth Blanctorche. Also in nightwear, she stood among the other fighters, going on some pissed-off diatribe about others trying to rest.
"Crimson's pal," Iori grumbled while she scolded everyone in the vicinity. "God, she's such a bitch."
"She truly is."
Iori blinked and did a double take. Chizuru very rarely threw insults like that around.
"Excuse me?"
"What? She is," the priestess responded with a shrug. "Belittling me when we didn't even fight? As if she did a better job at keeping an eye on her teammate. My mirror and I remember."
There was anger in Chizuru's voice, which Iori couldn't blame her for, since Miss Blanctorche had decided to extend her "courtesy" to him as well — all unprompted.
"A slave to your impulses and a failure to your family! You disgust me," Iori muttered in a ridiculous, high-pitched imitation of what Elisabeth had told him when she saw him earlier. "Meanwhile, you let that twerp steal my Magatama and cause the biggest mess ever, you stuck-up twat!""
Chizuru threw a hand over her mouth and laughed.
…that was nice.
The two fell silent for just a moment, listening to the commotion of the other fighters. Iori peered at Chizuru, surprised to see that she was watching him very carefully.
"Wh-what?" He somewhat clumsily blurted.
"Do you mind if I join you in your little game, Iorin?"
Curiosity piqued, Iori quirked a brow, disbelieving that Chizuru would ask to be part of something she had just described as "childish."
"What are you thinking…?" He asked cautiously.
"Sing, but keep an eye on the hall," she answered while untying her hair band and letting her long hair fall loose in front of her face. "You'll see."
With a nod, Iori did what he was told:
"Ring around the Rosie…"
The group started shouting again, prompting Kyo to conjure his flames briefly — only to be smacked upside the head by Mai's fan.
"Kyo, seriously?!"
"You'll set off the fire alarms!"
"S-sorry! Force of habit!"
Unfazed (but amused!) Iori kept going, slowly raising his voice as he did.
"I swear if I catch whoever is doing this," Elisabeth grumbled as she combed the area, her riding crop suddenly at the ready. Where the hell had she been keeping that thing?!
Whatever.
"A pocket full of posies…"
At that moment, a shadow appeared behind the Frenchwoman, who was too busy bitching to notice it.
…A shadow in a white shirt, with long, black hair draped in front of its face, that was making weird, guttural noises.
Suddenly, the creature screamed at the top of its lungs and grabbed Elisabeth, who let out a blood-curdling shout in return.
"WHAT THE HELL IS THAT?!"
"THE GHOST! IT'S REAL!"
Iori couldn't believe what he was seeing. He turned to Chizuru, who quickly called her copy back.
"And I was the one having fun with childish things?" He chuckled, sincerely impressed by her idea.
"So —"
The sound of steps getting closer stopped Chizuru from saying anything else. She silently pointed toward the upper floor; the pair hastily climbed the stairs and flattened their backs against the wall right before hearing the door being pulled open with a loud squeak.
"There's no one here!"
"Not even the ghost…"
"Or maybe whoever was here ran away?"
Iori and Chizuru stayed quiet, hoping no one would check the stairs more thoroughly. After what felt like forever, the group left, still carrying on among themselves, so the two Treasures took the opportunity to escape the stairwell, emerging two floors above where the others were. The priestess quietly shut the door before leaning her back against it.
"That was… fun," she said with a smile.
"It was," Iori agreed while putting his hands in his pockets. "The strongest fighters in the world, screaming like banshees because of a supposed ghost…"
"To be fair you did sound creepy while singing and stomping," Chizuru grinned. "You really went the extra mile there."
"Go big or go home, as people say. And I just wanted to scare Kyo and that Higashi dumbass as payback for all of their bullshit. I didn't think they would organize a ghost hunt involving everyone else."
Chizuru averted her eyes and bit her lower lip.
"Well… I wouldn't have had the chance to have fun at Elisabeth's expense, otherwise…."
Iori couldn't help letting out a soft laugh.
"Both of us deserve some fun every now and then," he declared. "And Miss BlancBitch deserved that little heart attack."
"I feel bad for the rest of them, though," Chizuru stated.
"Oh please, it was just harmless fun," Iori replied. "And I'm not sorry about scaring people I don't like."
"Come on, poor Yabuki-kun did nothing to you, nor did Mai."
"Fair enough. And I'm sure she enjoyed seeing Higashi scared shitless, anyway."
"That's… very likely," Chizuru chuckled. "But still, they didn't deserve it. The Bogards have always been nice to you, as well. Asamiya-chan, too."
Iori rolled his eyes.
"What can I say, they were collateral damage! And I'm sure both the mighty Hungry Wolf or whatever and the kid with the psychic powers will overcome this big scare."
"She's not much younger than you, Iorin."
"Still a kid, and I don't like to have them around," Iori told his companion. "If I wanted my patience to be tested twenty-four-seven by a teen I would just date Kyo."
Another laugh from Chizuru lit up her face, making her appear even prettier — it was time to go to sleep before saying or doing anything dumb. Quickly, Iori pulled his phone out and feigned surprise as he looked down at the screen.
"Better go back to our rooms before the hotel staff starts searching for us too," he declared as he speedily moved to the elevators. Chizuru followed him.
"Say, Iorin…"
Iori gulped. Stoic Pants, dammit.
"Huh — hm?"
"Can I help you do this again, should the opportunity present itself?"
Oh. That was… unexpected. But a welcome surprise nonetheless.
"...Sure. Be my guest."
###
As luck would have it, another opportunity presented itself the very next night. Iori heard whispers of Elisabeth's encounter with the "apparition" (read: Chizuru) throughout the day, which seemed to drum up the curiosity of even the most disinterested tournament entrants, who planned to meet up at around the same time and place the others previously had. Because of that, Iori decided to set up shop a little earlier, which would also allow Chizuru time to square her affairs away before sneaking off to join him in their joint endeavor.
And so, Iori, who had already selected his musical inspirations in advance, sat on the familiar stairs, scrolling through his band's social media while periodically peering over the railing, where he had a clear, bird's eye view of the stairwell door.
The stairwell door that, out of nowhere, flew open. With a grimace, he quickly pulled himself out of sight as a woman sighed.
"I'm just tired of playing nice in front of that leggy bitch," a tired voice lamented.
"I get it," came another female voice, this one much higher pitched than the first. "But you know what's at stake here."
"I know, but… well, I don't have to tell you about how much of a mess everything is because of her."
Iori leaned slightly so he could lay eyes on the owners of the somewhat familiar voices: the Amazonian secret agent, Vanessa, and her shredded teammate, whom he knew was Bogard's girl — and a detective. Right away, he could see that the boxer — who was almost as tall as he was — was very obviously pissed off. Bogard's girl — Mary — wore an equally angry expression; hell, even her freckles looked displeased.
"Oh, I know," she was saying. "Real talk, I'm surprised you haven't maimed her yet."
"Give me time."
"You've gotta play nice for just a little longer, 'Nes."
"And you had better start, Blue," Vanessa responded.
"Biiiiiiitch," came a playful, sing-song retort.
There was a chuckle, followed by another sigh from Vanessa, who shut her eyes and blew some crimson hair out of her face as she leaned against the wall.
"If I get a divorce because of that hare-brained floozy? That's her ass. Period."
"Okay, but I don't wanna sound insensitive but please don't do anything to her until after she gives me the intel?"
"I'm working on it. I just need to blow off some steam or something."
The smaller woman snickered.
"Oh, not like that, you little pervert!" Vanessa exclaimed.
"Not gonna go for round three?" Mary teased.
"Listen, I'd be lying if I said I didn't want to, but after what happened? I don't think it would be a good idea."
"'Nes. I assure you, she's… I mean, okay, yeah, something in there got set off big time, but that's not your fault."
"Yeah, but seeing her acting like she's fine now after the other night…"
"Yeah, it can be a bit of a mindfuck if you can't read her like I can."
"Maybe I should ask you to teach me."
"That's not something that can be taught."
"I suppose you're right. Your guys' connection is borderline spooky, though. You know that, right?"
"Spooky? Like this ghost everyone's talking about?"
Iori watched as Vanessa's face instantly paled.
"Don't," was all she said with a slight shake of her head, her voice slightly shaky.
And in that moment, he knew what he had to do. Although sitting and listening to the rapid-fire conversation had been surprisingly enjoyable, not capitalizing on Vanessa's apparent fear of the paranormal would be criminal.
He had to do this. So he shut his eyes, took a deep breath, and then:
"Go tell Aunt Rhody,
Go tell Aunt Rhody…"
Instantly, Vanessa stood at attention, eyes wide and outright trembling. Meanwhile, Mary, who had been holding the door shut, let it go and pulled out a taser.
"Oh my God, we need to get out of here," Vanessa frantically exclaimed while grabbing her friend.
"No, we need to run up there and find the son of a bitch who's doing this!"
"What?! Nuh-no! No! We need to go!"
"'Nes —"
"We need to go! NOW!"
"Okay you know what? You go, I'm gonna catch this bastard!" Mary declared while shrugging out of Vanessa's grasp. She only made it to the second step before the boxer snatched her by the arm and pulled her back.
"Go tell Aunt Rhody
That everybody is DEAD…"
"Don't you dare leave me here, Blue!"
"Then come with me!"
"Fuck that! Let's GO!"
With that, Vanessa pulled the door open, snatched Mary's hand, and broke into a sprint. The cop had only a split second to take a glimpse at the steps, her brow furrowed, as she was hastily dragged out into the hall.
"Did you really have to do that to them?"
Chizuru's voice issued from behind Iori just as the door closed.
"ACAB," he stated with a shrug.
"Vanessa's not a cop."
"But Bogard's girl is."
"That doesn't mean she's inherently bad."
Iori didn't say anything. As far as he knew, Mary wasn't a bad person… but she was still a cop. And, in his experience, it took a special kind of asshole to wear a badge in the first place. Nevertheless, it wasn't his problem, and he had more important things to do anyway.
"So what's the story out there?" He asked, effectively changing the subject. "Are they coming yet?"
"I heard a few people say they were on their way now."
"Who?"
Chizuru ticked her fingers one by one as she started naming the curious parties set to make guest appearances: Of course, Kyo and Higashi would be there, as they were the ringleaders of the whole thing, but others joining them included that dumbass, Ramón, Team Hero as a whole, the new kid, Isla (apparently all the new young fighters were excited to possibly see a "real ghost"), the Sakazakis and Garcia, as well as the guests from the previous night.
Just then, loud chattering outside distracted the pair, so they checked to see what was happening.
"Wow. So many people came…"
"Even the most unsuspecting ones," Iori grinned. "Can't wait to scare the everloving shit out of the Ikaris over there."
Chizuru snorted.
"You really dislike every form of authority, don't you?"
"Yes; especially cops or military or the likes," Iori said while making a disgusted face. "My father and some clan elders held onto the idea of serving your country no matter what. I do not. I already have someone in my head who tries to dictate my life, and that's more than enough."
The priestess placed a supportive hand on Iori's back and rubbed lightly. It was a silent but small gesture that he appreciated, as talking about his father was never pleasant.
"Oh, she's here. Good."
"Hm?"
Iori glanced back toward the others and immediately noticed Elisabeth standing in the middle of the hallway intersection, blabbering about "punishing the culprits of this debacle!"
"Hey there, Miss BlancBitch," he said with a sneer. There was a pause as he fixed his eyes on the person next to the ornery aristocrat and, attitude subsiding, mused, "Oh, and there's her poisonous, undead 'shawty' friend — the only good thing about that team. What's his name…?"
"Duo Lon. And… poisonous what?"
"Yeah, I mean, do you see him?" Iori told Chizuru with a shrug before nodding toward the other man. "Quiet, soft spoken, well mannered, long dark hair… it checks all the boxes for me."
"Oh, really?"
"Really," he confirmed. …Only to start panicking a second later upon realizing what he had done. The priestess's grin was proof he'd let her know a bit too much about his obvious tastes in people. And possibly about his growing crush on her.
But maybe he was lucky and she didn't get it?
Chizuru giggled.
No; she wasn't dumb by any means. She did get it.
Stoic Pants, Iori. Stoic Pants.
"So, where's this supposed ghost?"
One of the kids, Shun'ei, snapped Iori out of his internal turmoil.
"Are you sure there's one?" A girl's voice spoke up. "Ya don't look too bright or reliable!"
"You little shit," came an agitated response from Kyo.
Iori and Chizuru had to muster all their willpower to not laugh at the young fighter, Isla, as she made fun of their teammate in front of everyone.
"This kid will go places," Iori snickered. A lull, and then:
"So, you ready for our show?"
"Absolutely," Chizuru replied, pulling her long hair from the headband. "Too bad we can't turn off the corridor lights; it would help the creepy mood…"
"Ah well, we can do without. …Okay, three, two, one…"
"I was raised in a deep dark hole,
A prisoner with no parole…"
A choir of screams and yells greeted the pair.
"Oh… oh my God, it's REAL?!"
"TOLD YOU ALL BUT NO ONE WANTED TO BELIEVE ME!"
"They locked me up and took my soul,
Ashamed of what they'd made…"
"A GHOST! A REAL ONE! THIS IS FANTASTIC!"
"Should we try to take a picture for Master Tung…?" The Chinese kid, the sleepyheaded one, asked with a yawn.
"It's a ghost with fine tastes if it sings the folk song from Resident Evil…"
Iori raised one perfectly shaped brow at the elder Bogard's comment. Good to know that the "Legendary Wolf" played horror games….
"Enough! Whoever is behind this better come out! Or I'll give you hell!"
Iori rolled his eyes in annoyance at Elisabeth.
"You're already giving us hell every time, Miss BlancBitch…"
"Don't worry; I'll take care of her," Chizuru said with a smirk. A few seconds later, one of her copies crawled behind Elisabeth and let out a horrifying scream that startled not only the Frenchwoman but the rest of the group as well, causing a chain reaction of shouts and people running, some in circles, and some away entirely. Those who stayed included Vanessa, who was literally climbing over Mary, who had whipped out her taser, and the kids, who were yelling with excitement about actually seeing the "presence."
"Oh, come here you —!"
Elisabeth tried to hit the apparition with her riding crop, but, luckily, Chizuru was able to call her copy back just in time to avoid the strike.
"That was close," Iori whispered while keeping an eye on the crowd, especially enjoying seeing a couple of the Ikari Unit members panicking a little at the idea of a "real" paranormal presence in the hotel.
"Don't worry, I have an idea," Chizuru stated with the tone and expression of someone ready for war. "Keep singing. Stomp. Confuse them a bit more."
"Your wish is my command."
Iori moved a bit up into the stairwell, where the echo would be more robust and harder to pinpoint from those out in the hallway, and then stomped with all his strength. More loud shouting confirmed that he got the desired reaction. He paused before slowly descending the stairs, singing:
"I called to him and he will come,
She'll answer him like he's the one…"
Now near Chizuru once more, Iori quickly peered out into the hall, where multiple copies of the priestess were circling the terrified group like a pack of wolves. He very nearly lost it right then and there but swiftly pulled himself together.
"Woman, you're seriously scary," he told his companion with a grin that was met with a low giggle.
"You just realized it?"
"Oh no, I'm not Kyo. I know that you're a walking, terrifying powerhouse."
"And you like that."
"I do — I mean — it makes you a strong opponent."
Iori made a face; that was… not what he wanted to say. Hopeful that he had at least salvaged the statement with the addition at the end. However, Chizuru's satisfied smile instantly let him know that he had failed.
The Stoic Pants and Mean Face were quickly losing their power.
Deciding it was time to focus on their little game, Iori stomped again and resumed singing:
"His arm's outstretched but when she's done,
He'll be torn apart…"
Out in the hall, the deep voice starting up again alarmed the group, except for Terry who was… singing along?
"OUCH!"
A sudden outburst from Chizuru instantly grabbed Iori's attention. He stopped singing to peer at the priestess, who was frowning and holding her side.
"Hey, what happened?"
"Kyo got me," she replied. "I'm okay, but he hits hard."
"Wanna stop?"
"Oh no —" Chizuru shook her head — "I can keep goi — ouch!"
"What?!"
Iori hastily peeked into the hall to see that Kyo had managed to grab at one of Chizuru's copies, briefly making contact before it disappeared.
"I touched the ghost —" Kyo shouted.
"What, how?!"
"— and it disappeared…!? Wait a second!"
The Kusanagi heir was able to grab another copy that immediately dissipated in front of his eyes, which he promptly narrowed.
"...Chizuru. THE GHOST IS CHIZURU!"
Iori watched the scene in disbelief.
"Oh, so he can be smart when he wants," the priestess grumbled. "It appears as though he has caught us…"
"Then let's go out with a bang."
"What do you mean?"
With a smirk, Iori cracked the door a little more, just enough to make his voice clearer.
"Go tell Aunt Rhody,
Go tell Aunt Rhody…"
"There! It's coming from there!"
Kyo vaguely gestured in their direction and started running, followed by an enraged Elisabeth and the rest of the group.
…Just according to plan.
"Go tell Aunt Rhody,
That everybody's…"
A little closer…
"Everybody's…"
Kyo, who was now a few steps from the stairwell's door, barked Chizuru's name.
"Come he —"
"EVERYBODY'S DEAD!"
Iori bellowed as he suddenly jumped out in front of Kyo, causing his rival's exclamation to devolve into something of a shrill, choking warble as he stumbled backward. He regained his footing and glared.
"Yagami!? What the actual, flying fuck?!"
"You finally caught your ghosts, Kyo," Iori proudly announced while stepping out into the hall, followed by an amused Chizuru. The pair had to stifle their laughter as they took in Kyo's features, which were a mix of shock and possibly anger.
"YOU'RE ALSO THE GHOST?!" He exclaimed.
"What, you think Chi's voice goes baritone when she sings?" Iori deadpanned.
"Well. I, uh… I don't know what baritone i —"
Kyo was suddenly cut off when Chizuru punched his shoulder.
"OW! What the hell?!"
"That's for hitting me," Chizuru explained. "Twice!"
"I d-didn't know it was you! And anyway, you deserved it! Both of you! Why the hell did you do all of this?!"
The members of the large group nodded while voicing their aggravation in unison, which Iori simply shrugged off.
"Well, you have to thank yourself for this," he remarked. He then nodded at Higashi and Ramón. "And those other idiots, too."
"What? How is this our fault now?!" Higashi exclaimed.
Iori rolled his eyes.
"You three had the amazing idea of annoying me just because I like cats."
"And this was your revenge for our joking?!" Kyo shot back.
"No it wasn't," Iori growled. "At least not until you and Higashi heard me singing in the stairwell a couple nights ago."
"So it was you?!"
The young man made a face. Hadn't they literally just established that he was behind the spectral voice?
"Yes," he declared proudly but also with slight exasperation. "I thought it would have been nice to make fun of you two idiots as payback for how you stressed me out the whole day. I never thought you would have turned it into a ghost-hunting group, though, so they all have you to thank for that."
Everyone glared at Kyo and Higashi, who — understandably — didn't know what to say.
"Well, I don't care who started all of this! You two dragged us all into this stupid, mindless prank," Elisabeth complained while stepping forward.
"Yeah, and?" Iori queried. "Is this the part where you try to punish us?"
"You both should feel ashamed," Elisabeth went on as she stepped in front of the pair. "This isn't the kind of behavior I'd expect from members of the Three Sacred Treasures!"
Now, it was Chizuru's turn to roll her eyes.
"Yes, you have already told us your opinion — very loudly," she snarked. "Even though you should be the last one to speak ill of us."
"Excuse me?"
"We might be something of a messy team, but up until now, we always did our job. You, on the other hand, lost sight of Crimson for one second, and he stole mine and Iori's treasures and made the biggest mess ever, plunging everything into chaos!"
There was silence as the crowd watched, unsure of what to do or say. Meanwhile, Chizuru stared at Elisabeth (who was just as silent as the others) intently, though her eyes showed a pleased glint.
Near them, Iori couldn't help smiling just a little. He was enjoying all of this, oh, so much.
"How dare you?!" The Frenchwoman spat. "You don't even know what you are talking about!"
"Same goes for you, bitch!" Iori snapped. "You don't know anything about Orochi or our mission, so shut your mouth and keep Crimson on a leash!"
"I swear I'll make you regret —"
Suddenly, Elisabeth's eyes rolled back in her head and she fell unconscious. The only thing that kept her from hitting the floor was Duo Lon, who had scooped her up in his heavily tattooed arms.
"I think that's enough for tonight, Betty," he commented in a soft voice that sounded almost weird coming from someone so tall and imposing.
"What did you do?" Kyo asked, alarmed.
"Just used some pressure points to make her relax," the mysterious man explained. "She will sleep soundly for a while. I apologize on her behalf."
Chizuru raised her eyebrows as Duo added, "Betty isn't bad. She's just… how can I say…"
"A bitch?" Iori asked, without expecting a real answer.
Duo opened his mouth as if he wanted to say something, only to slowly close it and avert his eyes.
"...goodnight, everyone."
With that, Duo effortlessly carried Elisabeth away. Iori watched the two disappear around a far corner before turning back to Chizuru, whom he was about to instruct to run away. However, a shoe hit him on the side of his head before he could speak.
"Who—?!"
"You! You scared me to death," Vanessa yelled as she ran up to Iori. She tore her other shoe off and struck him with it several times as though he were an unruly child.
"YOU — DAMN — KID!"
The boxer punctuated each word with a strike, each one harder than the last.
"YOU SCARED ME!"
"Ouch! OUCH! Goddamnit! Van! Calm down!"
"Ooooh no no no no no, young man, I'M NOT 'VAN' FOR YOU RIGHT NOW! COME HERE, YOU BIG BRAT!"
There was something absurd — and even hilarious — about being treated like a child by one of his old teammates (who was an actual mom).
"Ooookay 'Nes, c'mere, it's time to go," Ramón said somewhat nervously as he intervened by stepping behind Vanessa and picking her up by her waist (which he seemed rather pleased to do… the pervert).
"Put me down!" Vanessa exclaimed while struggling. "I have to make him pay!"
"Just ignore him! You said it! Yagami's a kid and you're an old wo —"
There was a collective grimace as Ramón abruptly cut himself off.
"Okay, you're, like… dead," Mary stated while stowing her taser.
"Older. Older woman — compared… compared to him of course," the Luchador sputtered. "I -I didn't mean you're old! No, you see, you're a beautiful milf —"
With a low growl, Vanessa freed herself from her associate's grasp, picked up her shoe, and whirled to face him.
"I-I-I mean! I love milfs! Everybody loves milfs! An — ouch! Don't hit me with — ow!"
Ramón broke into a run, screaming and yelling at Vanessa as she followed him down the hall, brandishing her makeshift weapon as they disappeared. At the same time, Mary picked up her teammate's other shoe, which had been left behind, and pointed it at Iori and Chizuru.
"I'm gonna be keeping an eye on your two jokers," she promised before spinning on her heel and sprinting after her colleagues.
"ACAB," Iori muttered, which earned him a slap on the shoulder from Chizuru.
"What?"
"She probably heard you," the priestess hissed.
"And?"
"Aren't you ashamed of yourself?"
Iori and Chizuru's banter was interrupted by Leona Heidern, who stood at attention before them, expressionless (as always) and flanked by two members of her unit.
"Why should we be?" Iori asked, his brows raised.
"Why? You involved half of us in this prank, wasting our time and scaring several! Do you really think this is funny?"
"Actually, yes. And congratulations, Leona, you've finally felt a new emotion completely different from your usual apathy. Aren't you happy?"
"What?!"
"Wanna sit?" Iori asked with an amused grin. "I know it might hurt the first time."
Evidently annoyed, Leona balled her hands into fists and scowled fiercely at the young man. Her displeasure was only made funnier when someone to Iori's right laughed.
"So-sorry," Kyo apologized while fighting and failing to keep his chill.
"Okay, you know what? Better go before we all lose our marbles," the Colonel, Ralf Jones declared while moving toward his teammate. "But Leona's right. Aren't you two too old for this type of shit?"
"...I'm twenty-three —" Chizuru raised her brows — "and Iorin is twenty-one…"
There was a brief pause before the youngest Ikari — the one who always fought with a whip — tilted her head and regarded Iori and Chizuru with an unreadable gaze.
"You two look much older," she remarked.
"Wh-what?!"
"R-really?"
"Yeah. Well, except right now," the soldier added. "You should dress like that more often."
Iori frowned at his outfit — an XL Queen t-shirt, black sweatpants, and sneakers. Additionally, he was also wearing his reading glasses, which many people didn't even know he needed.
"But these are my pajamas."
The Ikaris ignored his statement and took their leave, Leona still frowning (...maybe? Or was that her usual glare?), while the younger girl and Ralf discussed ages and appearances. It was then that Kyo finally stopped laughing.
"You're welcome, anyway," Iori told him with a sideways glance.
"For what?"
"You laughed at my joke."
"A joke at Leona's expense," Chizuru specified, to which Iori shrugged. He fell quiet for a brief moment as he took in all of the familiar faces in the crowd, which had started to disperse.
"Well, what now?" He asked no one in particular. "Someone else wanna say how disappointed or angry they are with us? Or both?"
"Well, I have something to say," Joe started, but Terry put out a hand and silenced him.
"Leave 'em be," the elder Bogard said with a yawn. "Let's all just go back to our rooms."
"What, why? Weren't you the one who said all of this was stupid?!"
"Well yeah, but… it was just harmless fun and they always look so sad. They deserve something fun for once."
Iori and Chizuru exchanged confused stares.
"Do… Do we look sad?"
"Yes," Kyo confirmed with a sage nod. "Yagami more than you, though. Especially with those dumb eyeglasses."
At that Iori clicked his tongue.
"Well, I'd rather look sad than like a dumbass without a diploma."
"Again with that?!" Kyo exclaimed.
"Oh, always and forever!"
"Okay — enough!"
Swiftly, Chizuru placed herself in between the two men.
"There's no need to escalate the situation! And you!"
Without warning the priestess punched Kyo's shoulder again.
"Ouch! What was that for?!"
"You hit me very hard earlier!"
It was at that moment that Kyo's flamboyant bestie, Nikaido, sauntered up to the trio, wearing an easygoing smile.
"Forgive him, Kagura-san, but Kyo truly lacks manners," he said with an exaggerated bow. "We're all surprised he still has a girlfriend — Yuki especially."
"Hey!"
"You shouldn't hit women outside of the tournament, especially one this pretty."
It wasn't like Iori was suddenly jealous or anything, but the way Nikaido winked at Chizuru made him want to set his blond hair on fire. The priestess, meanwhile, raised her eyebrows before flashing a polite smile.
She wasn't interested in someone like Nikaido… was she?
…Why the hell was he wondering this, anyway?!
"I didn't do it on purpose, I just wanted to stop the ghost!" Kyo protested. "She's the one who's still hitting me!"
"That was the last one, I promise," Chizuru told him. "Unless you decide to upset me for good, then I'll make you cry for real."
"...Seriously?"
"Seriously. It's true that we always do our job as a team, but what I didn't tell Elisabeth is how I always have to drag you by your ear like a child."
"And Master Tung really wanted us to train with him…?" The little sleepy boy — Iori suddenly remembered that his name was Meitenkun — asked with a quizzical expression. "Can we just train with you two instead?"
"YOU LITTLE SHI—"
"Kyoooo…."
At the same time that Nikaido tried to calm his bestie once again, the younger fighters surrounded Iori and Chizuru with excited faces. The boy with the headphones, Shun'ei, patted Meitenkun on his head.
"I like the idea," he said before staring into Iori's face. "Kyo's techniques are cool, but I also saw Yagami-san's slashing style last time, and it's very interesting too," he explained without breaking eye contact.
It was a bold move that was much appreciated.
"Hey, I wanna learn your slashing moves too!"
The new girl, Isla, joined the talk, loudly declaring her interest in Iori's old Yasakani techniques.
"I'm sure I could teach it to Amanda too!" She chirped, happily nodding toward the spectral pair of hands that appeared behind her.
…so there was some kind of ghost.
"But I also want to study your techniques, Kagura-san," Shun'ei went on. "The way you move almost seems like a dance, but those copies? They're incredible!"
Chizuru smiled, blushing a bit, and Iori had to muster all of his willpower to not smile as well.
"I wanna join this training session, too!"
Another loud voice joined the group: the cheerful and excited one of Yuri Sakazaki. The younger woman marched through the crowd until she reached Chizuru. She took her hands and resolutely stared into her eyes.
"Kagura-san, please, let me train with you!"
"Oh, w-well—"
"You know I can mimic almost every fight move I see, right? I even managed to copy one of Yagami's moves!"
"What?!" Iori frowned.
"Please please please, can you teach me some of yours?"
"Yuri! Stop pestering Kagura-san and have some respect!"
Yuri's brother, Ryo, entered the talk with the usual borderline disappointed visage he always sported around his sibling.
His sibling who didn't wait a second to clap back at him:
"Respect? Like the respect you and Dad refuse to show me, despite being a genius fighter compared to you?!"
Ryo's eye twitched, but he stayed calm.
"You still have a lot to learn —"
"Well, I'd love to learn, but you two keep thinking I'm too 'bubbleheaded' or 'undisciplined!'"
"We don't —"
"Come on guys, no need to make a scene," Garcia intervened, stopping Yuri from tackling her brother right there on the spot. He gently took Yuri's shoulders and moved her backward, his brow furrowed.
"But, I gotta say," he spoke up after a second. "Ryo… bro. She's not wrong."
"Dude, please, don't fuel her ideas!"
"Your friend here's right! Let your sister train with us!"
Strangely enough, Isla, who had previously acted very standoffish, defended the younger Sakazaki, with "Amanda" wiggling behind her, making what seemed to be supportive gestures.
Among the mess, someone suddenly grabbed Iori's arm.
"Yeah, we should all train with jie jie and dà gē…"
Meitenkun happily leaned against him, as if it was a normal occurrence.
"Ah… excuse me, what?" Iori made a face. "What are you doing and… what do those words mean?!"
"Big sister and big brother," the kid, who was still holding on, said with yet another yawn.
"S-since when the hell am I your big brother?"
Meitenkun raised his head to Iori dead in the eyes.
"I saved you from the shadows using my pillow last year. You maybe don't remember, but I do, dà gē."
Iori was dumbfounded, first by the kid, but also by Chizuru, who was covering her mouth with a hand.
"Is he serious?!"
"Aw come on, it's adorable. He adopted you."
Adopted by a child he barely spoke to. That had to be some kind of cosmic joke.
Meanwhile, the rest of the group was still carrying on: The Sakazaki siblings were griping at each other, with Garcia trying to calm them down, Kyo was complaining because that was what he always did, the kids were pretty much organizing a training session with the two Treasures, and Terry was just smiling peacefully and even complimenting Iori's singing.
Too many people.
Too loud.
Too much.
As fun as everything had been, Iori's patience and (very poor) social skills were quickly draining, pushing him near the edge of screaming out of frustration.
"Hey, Iorin," Chizuru whispered in his ear.
"W-what?"
"Take my hand."
Iori didn't have time to say a word, as his teammate swiftly grabbed his free hand. A second later, they found themselves at the hotel's rooftop lounge.
The young man took in their surroundings, confused.
"Wait, what happened?! How —?!"
Chizuru showed him her mirror, then flopped onto the sofa. She appeared very tired all of a sudden.
Iori, meanwhile, pulled one of the wicker chairs closer to the sofa.
"Hey, you okay?"
The priestess nodded.
"Yes, don't worry. I'm just not used to teleporting more than one person, and I wasted a lot of energy when I made multiple copies of myself," she explained with a sigh as she leaned back.
"Just… need to rest," she intoned. "Do you mind if we stay here for a bit?"
The rooftop lounge, a beautiful view, and Chizuru as company?
"Absolutely," Iori answered while making himself comfortable on the chair. "Need some peace after all that mess… Why do people have to be so damn loud?"
"I also prefer the quiet, but… it was fun, not gonna lie."
Iori softly chuckled at how informally the priestess was speaking to him.
"Yeah… it was," he agreed. "And we should do it more often since apparently we 'look sad.'"
"And older than our actual ages," Chizuru added. "We're old-looking and sad."
"At least we don't look as dimwitted as Kyo or Higashi. I'm proud of my diploma and my covered ass."
Chizuru laughed and this time Iori couldn't help but join her.
"I agree, though."
"To what? Us looking sad?"
"No, that we need to have fun more often. We're always so busy with our jobs and our mission as Treasures that we never have a chance to relax and… well… act our ages."
Iori solemnly nodded.
"Yeah. But now it will be hard to scare them again, since everyone knows we were the ghosts of the stairwell."
"Well… maybe not more hijinks, but something else that's fun?" There was a pause before she went on with a light expression.
"Maybe we can try one of those escape rooms — like those horror-themed ones. Or video games?"
Iori raised his brows.
"I didn't know you were the gamer type."
"I'm not, but who knows, with the right company…"
Chizuru trailed off, an unmistakable glint in her eyes.
And it once again, awoke something in Iori.
"Well —" he cleared his throat — "I do have a gaming PC, so we should be able to find something to play."
"At your place, then? Sounds nice."
Iori nodded again, desperately hoping she wouldn't notice the blush he felt creeping into his cheeks.
"We can also just talk."
"...About what?"
"You know, your taste in people has me curious…"
Oh no.
Stoic pants! STOIC PANTS!
"Long dark hair, quiet, well-mannered, soft-spoken…"
Iori fiddled with his glasses, unsure of how to escape this situation.
"I like those too."
…oh.
"But I think I like vibrant colours more."
…Oh?
There was a long stretch of silence while Chizuru leaned her head back and shut her eyes, her features peaceful.
"I think that's a subject for another time, though," she said. "For now we can just enjoy the silence… because we deserve nice things, too."
Iori fixed his eyes toward the skyline as considered his companion's words, the corners of his mouth turning slightly upward. Their sad, old-looking asses did, indeed, deserve nice things.
Alright, party people!
There you have it — another installment in the bag! Of course... notes!
*A siren, for those who may be unfamiliar, is a mythological creature that would use songs to lure fishermen toward their deaths. Of course, Iori isn't luring anyone to their death here (obviously), just toward shenanigans, instead. Hence the title of this fic.
* The inspiration for this came about after seeing videos on Lauren Paley's YouTube channel. She's a woman who goes into her apartment building's stairwells at weird hours and sings (beautifully, I might add) ghostly songs to try to scare the other residents.
* The songs Iori sings are, in order, The Ghost (NIVIRO), Ring Around the Rosie, and Go Tell Aunt Rhody (from Resident Evil 7).
* Despite his grumpy disposition and moments of what look like sheer insanity it is clear that Iori can and does lead a functional life outside of the tournament. Also, let's keep in mind that his outright villain status has been retconned/changed over the years so that he's more of an anti-hero type. And it has been established in other places/sources that he's lowkey tired of fighting with Kyo all the damn time. (Can we just ignore the generic "Let's Fight!" ending of KOF XV? Gods, that shit's tired.)
* About the mentions of Twitter: Yes, we are aware that it's "X" now, or whatever the fuck, but this was started, and takes place, before the name/brand change. So... Twitter it is. (And STILL is, damn it.)
* Doraemon is a Japanese manga series written and illustrated by Fujiko F. Fujio. Google is your friend.
* Yes, Iori is bi in both our ficverses. Haters please exit to the left.
* The location of the hotel is still (as has been seen in the other KOF XV fics) the H Hotel in Los Angeles, which is not far from So-Fi Stadium.
* Sadako is the creepy antagonist of The Ring series
* This is an IorixAthena-free zone (same with IorixLeona)
* Iori's mocking of Elisabeth includes her quote against him in XV, which is... weirdly savage. Her quote against Chizuru is, too. Why so mad, Betty?!
* illyverse canon alert: Vanessa is putting on an act for Luong, who has done something I haven't elaborated on just yet to put her marriage in jeopardy. As such, she is separated from her husband (again) during this story.
* Van and Mary are talking about King, referencing the events of Come a Little Closer, where King's PTSD is set off for reasons. Despite actually interacting with King while her episode was happening, Iori didn't quite put together that she was the subject of the conversation.
* Vanessa canonically dislikes ghosts
* ACAB = All Cops Are Bastards
* Mary started as a beat cop for Southtown PD, left to do the private eye thing, then went back as a detective for stable benefits and PTO (paid time off). However, she is (still) taking side jobs that involve investigating Geese.
* "Poisonous, undead shawty" refers to some tumblr tags on a post about Duo Lon. Since birthdays in illyverse have been moved up by a couple of decades, Iori using this term is not unheard of, since he's in the "right" age group to know it.
* In regards to Duo, this version of him very heavily borrows from WriterPerson78, who has given their blessing. Hence, the heavily tattooed arms.
* Baritone: a deep, male singing voice
* Even though Ralf has seen some shit throughout his military career (and otherwise) he's not quite with it when it comes to ghouls and ghosts. Just an FYI.
* Meitenkun helping Iori is a direct reference to the A New Beginning manga, as is Yuri's statement about being able to copy moves
* Jie jie and dà gē are, as is said in the story, mean for "big brother" and "big sister" (in Mandarin). However, jie jie is used in both Mandarin and Cantonese
Alright, I think that's it for me. A lot to unpack there; hopefully I didn't forget anything! Anyway, thank you for taking the time out to read and, hopefully, review! Mana and I super appreciate it!
Cheers~!
(- illy)