The Colour Purple Chapter 23: Kaerimasu, a king of fighters fanfic

The Colour Purple... The King of Fighters '95

pointblankassassin . com

This (chapter) fanfiction was originally written circa: [XX.96] (Thank you)

"Which Character are you?"

Chapter 23: Kaerimasu

"Love?...it's never enough, it's never enough until your heart stops beating.. the people you meet, it's sweeter than pain, don't give up the game until your heart stops beating..."

-New Order (improvised lyrics of SHELLSHOCK)

...

Iori walked down the hill and as the afternoon sun set, the shadows grew longer for all to see. Next to the telephone pole stood a figure, hidden by the dark. He stood up from his leaning position and exposed part of his face into the light.

"Iori.. Yagami..." Kyo Kusanagi whispered to himself. Kyo crumpled the piece of paper in his hand that had the name of his father's assassin.

...

Sometimes in a perverse kind of way, the daily routine you do keeps you alive and sane, may it be schoolwork or your everyday job. How else can you explain the phenomena of 'the lazy summer afternoons'? You hate everyday, how monotonous and draining it is... but in truth, you LOVE it, you RELY on it. The schedule, the hate. Without it to guide you.. there is nothing...

Day in and day out, it is the same old routine. Acting out your part and taking your share of suffereing and punishment... Then it ends, and you realize for that one brief moment of peace, when you conquer the sadness and pain; that you've suffered so much that you don't know what else to do, or how to handle "the end of suffering".

In a perverse way, you've grown accustomed to the pain. It makes happier moments seem better. Dear friends... Each with their own dream. What is a dream? It – that not merely accomplishment, but more of the task - The hardships. Without it, the dream would have no meaning... Such a mundane experience... Day in and day out...

If you are knowledgeable, you see the hate and suffering, and are miserable; if you are ignorant, you are simple, yet happy. The true meaning is the hardship, and once you find the hate, you will soon learn to love your suffering, once it's all over.

How self loathing... Ironic isn't it? How much we have changed? What do we have left besides these memories? Of those dreary nights that the suffering made times together and accomplishments seem like the best events in our lives.

When Iori left home, left behind the memories... of father, of Miyuki, of that blasted cat, of that innocent servant girl, of his own teacher... he was free, but was it all worth it?

...the bell chimes repeatedly, and the peace that Iori found in that walled kindergarden were engulfed again by the outside world.

...

Iori walked slowly down the street. Kaerimasu, to go back home. Not caring if Billy or Eiji were still at it, throwing garbage cans at each other, he didn't slow his pace or turn around to look back at the two morons.

"Yagami sensei! Yagami sensei!" A middle aged voice shouted from behind.

Iori turned his head around hesitantly and behind him was a lady, holding on to one of Iori's students. She was presumably a parent.

"Yagami sensei! Hiro-kun told me that you were showing your class how to play with fire today." She said quite infuriated. "Just what kind of teacher are you, trying to set such a bad example to these kids? Showing them how to play with matches and the like. That's horrible!"

Iori's hands were safely in his pockets at this time, lucky for her. Lucky as well for her, that Iori's fuming temper didn't show through his blank pokerface. Iori didn't even bother to completely turn around to adrress her. Iori still had his hands, his fists in his pockets, and was looking smugly over his shoulder.

She would never understand. She was like the rest. Mothers... I love my mother, yet I hate her at the same time. Sure they are loving and caring, they naturally are, no matter what some abused or neglected kid may think. They really do love their children in the most primal way. Most of the time, this love clouds all judgement, warps it, and makes it selfish. They love their children so much that their feelings explode and most of the time become a reason to make everything in the world perfect. They love their children so much they don't want their families to look bad at all, they'll do it with any means possible.. women... heh!... But the most horrifying is when...

"Well, will you answer me?!" She said more forcefully, rashly.

It is most horrifying when they love their families so much that they begin to not care about anybody else. Such a confusing line of thought I just had... How can she trust anyone else? How she begin to trust my responsibility to my students as a teacher. She would never understand what it means to have a 'fire' inside? The fire burns out when you grow up, when you leave the school, your own world, those wonder walls, when you get married, when you go through the same routine, when you die. No one preaches about the 'fire' anymore.

When I go to someone's funeral I will say all these good things about that person, all the love she did.. all of it.. then I will end by screaming out... "but YOU'RE DEAD! DEAD!" I will shout and laugh, everyone will think that I am insulting her.. and there is no other person more perfect than a dead woman because everyone remembers her for her love, and the living are remembered by their faults. I will say that "YOU'RE DEAD!" not because I hate her, I say it because I loved her and say that it's such a waste for her to have died. No one will understand me then, much like how they don't understand the 'fire' inside.

A few more words came out of her mouth, some of which were not pleasing at all. The last thin line was about to break, and luckily Seirimi chan came in between them.

"Takagi-san.." Seirimi bowed low. "Please don't get angry, all that Yagami sensei was doing is showing the class NOT to play with fire. I am sure he wasn't trying to be a bad influence. Please pardon this misunderstanding. HONTO NI GOMEN NA SAI (We are TRULY, VERY sorry)." Seirimi bowed low again and said it quite forcefully to make her point that she wanted to break the whole conversation, while still allowing Takagi-san to keep her dignity.

"Well... Well.. make sure you don't do it again.. I don't want my Hiro-kun..." She began... but neither Seirimi-chan, nor Iori (ofcourse) couldn't care less. Seirimi -chan had got him out... again... He calmed down.. relatively. And proceeded to walk down the steep road.

Se ran down the path to catch up, thinking of - "Well..." Seirimi-chan began her hint...

Iori said nothing feeling somewhat immersed in his Sex Pistols tape.

"IORI!" Seirimi yelled.

It took a few seconds for it to register in Iori's mind.

"Eh?" Iori grumbled as if he was trying to get rid of some nasty aftertaste.

"THANK YOU?!" Seirmi said quite annoyed.

"...You're welcome." Iori replied automatically, a visage painted caught between confusion and and something else, not really understanding the situation at hand.

"IORI!"

"What?"

"Don't you even have the decency to thank me for what happened back there?"

"Oh.. sure... I didn't need you though."

At that point Seirimi just gave up. "Oh well.. bye.. See you tomorrow." she said bluntly. Iori didn't look back, he THOUGHT and imagined himself turning back to face her and stuck out his two fingers of his left hand. Goodbye.

Billy sat on top of the school walls. Grinning to himself. {What an idiot...}

...

Iori was too immersed in his slump that he never realized Kyo Kusanagi following behind, trying with all his might to conceal his presence from Iori Yagami. Kyo is rash, and irresponsible, but not stupid. This was obviously a very, VERY serious situation, and he could feel the power radiating from Iori Yagami even in Iori's suppressed state, and it even scared him more when he felt Iori next to that bickering parent. Kyo was scared. He never had to be in school, no one was really a match for him there. For once though.. he was in a situation in which he didn't have full control over. Beyond those school walls, he was like anyone else, and anyone else could be as good as him. None the less, his anger slowly resurfaced. This was Iori Yagami, the one who killed his father. The ruthless child assassin of Yagami clan.

Ten minutes had passed as he stealthily followed Iori through the maze of streets in USA town. Up until he had reached a quieter, more peaceful place. It was a village, the suburbs probably. They were both in a park, a dense park which could be like a forest. Kyo thought this was as good place as any other and ran his hands through his hair. Feeling no more need to conceal himself, he dropped his bag next to the tree softly and with clenched fists, let the magatama flames engulf him. There was a slight heat, a strange feeling caught between warmth amidst the autumn chill. The air around him started to become visible like gasoline in the air, amongst traffic. Then a soft yellow glow, gradually getting brighter. Kyo's power gave life to the dried up leaves in the park. Slowly, with the light seeping through the branches, you could see the leaves twiddle, and sway even though there was hardly any wind. The sand started to float. Within a few seconds, near close to a minute, the magatama flames began to excite the gravel beneath his feet. Kyo cocked his bent arms by his side...

Then there was a snap. Kyo was taken fully by surprise, and he stopped. Kyo looked up, around, behind him and to the side. His gaze darted skywards, spinning amongst the canopy of trees, spinning franticly – staticly fast - around in a hope to find some sort of movement. Spinning around in stillness where the light pentrated the shades of dark. He was sure that there was no one else in that part of the park.. He was sure. Sure as he could be. The thought of someone watching him was deathly frightening, moreso the fact that someone was able to conceal himself from him. He could find nobody, but he was certain that he had heard a brittle branch snap. When he looked back to find Iori, Yagami was gone.

...

Up high on a tree branch stood Eiji, motionless, you could mistake him for a block of wood. His eyes were still and solid, but his mask hid one of the biggest smirks Eiji would make. In his hands he casually held a short brittle twig snapped in two, each piece, clipped between each of his thumbs.

{Keh! Gaki ga... (heh! Stupid brat...)} Eiji thought to himself. {I wonder where that stupid foreigner is?}

AND...

Unknown to Eiji this time, from the edge of the park, by the fence, was Billy who leaned on his staff, and had his back to the iron boundary. Taking pride, for once, he had been 'invisible' to Eiji.

"Well, blimey..." Billy laughed to himself at the cheesy line he couldn't help but force out. Everyone was immersed in their own private joke right about now.

...

A few minutes later Kyo was sure he felt a familiar aura coming from somewhere in the park, getting closer, he noted. First it was coming from behind him, but when he turned around, it was gone, then to the side again, then from another totally different direction, but everytime he would face that direction it would vanish. It was as if someone was mocking him, now Kyo seemed to be the one being stalked.

"Oi, teme! (bastard!)" Boomed a voice from the shadows between the trees.

{Oughk!} Eiji gulped, as the silhouette presented himself. {What the hell...}

"Shit." Kyo cursed under his breath.

It was Iori, the pokerface now showing wrinkles of angst. Walking a slow firm pace, Iori marched towards Kyo, and stopped about 4 meters away from him.

At the edge of the park, Billy too put up his guard, expecting the worst from his young master.

"Iori Yagami!" Kyo mustered enough courage to shout out. "The Kusanagi blood is back for revenge." With that he summed up enough anger and continued to build up his energy.

Eiji noted that there was definitely something wrong with Iori, it was more than the fact that he had come back to pick a fight, it was his face. It seemed evil and disfigured, and Eiji could hardly not notice the erratic twitching of Iori's eyebrows, and the taunt features of his face. This time, Eiji thought, there was something different.

"I'll kill you, Iori!" Kyo called, and he could feel the anger boil within him. The flashes of Saishyu Kusanagi rocked his mind, and he could slowly feel the will to fight. "Give me back my father! You goddamn son of a bitch!"

At that moment he saw it. Kyo saw in the depths of his mind the smile on his father's face and the look of anguish and pain as the flames consumed him...

...

"Oto-san! (Father)..." ...hoarse cough as his own blood choked him... he could see was crimson, streams of his own blood. ...staggered in front of him.

"Run away, K..kk..Kyo..." His father Saishyu beckoned with an outstretched hand. "Run... run..."

Instinctively, Kyo ran to his father's arms, cursing his weakness, for the unknown assailant had swatted him aside as if he were a mere fly... Flames... red... white... no, it was purple. It came towards him hungrily and hoped to devour him whole. In an instant, Saishyu grabbed ahold of his son's blue denim jacket, now stained maroon... body.

The footsteps came slowly, and softly, but to Kyo it seemed as loud as thunderclaps, mocking his insolence with every step.

"Kyo..." came a faint whisper. "Son, I plead you... run away. Worry not about me, my life is over. I have to atone for my crimes..."

"Escape..." Saishyu gasped, "Grow strong... avenge me, but do it out of honour, not hate... I am ... those words a hand gripped Saishyu's head and lifted him up with ease. Kyo staggered ...only watch as his father burst into... it was over and the unseen assassin merely,... embedding his head in place. Kyo cried tears flowed from his eyes, but the fear chained him down.

...

A smile cracked Kyo's angry face... At that moment, he had started THAT fire inside. A life of regret, from that one time of fear, he could finally put behind him.. The flashes, the memories were jagged, spastic erratic, but he remembered the feeling he had that time. Nothing else mattered now. Only the fight. All logic left his mind, only one sole purpose remained. Tatakai.. To fight... Kyo ran his hand through his hair once again, and cocked his head back, sending his brown locks back.

"Ikuzo! (Let's do it!) Yagami!" Kyo yelled as he made the leaves beneath his feet alive again.

...

{K...Ku...Kusanagi...} the name boomed in the depts of Iori's mind. He broke in a cold sweat and shiverred, he didn't understand what was going on. {Kurosu.. Kill} The thought beat him down. Iori bit on his lip, and it bled. Eiji's eyes widened when he noticed the crimson streak racing down the side of his lip. Then came something fully unexpected. Iori slammed both of his palms to the side of his head and gripped it so hard it looked like he was going to squeeze it until it shattered. Iori looked skyward and roared an inhuman growl. Eiji felt a familiar aura... a feeling he had felt once before, a long long time ago. Iori Yagami's eyes, became totally white, and the veins on his temples were pumping feverishly...

...

As Iori clutched the sides of his head, he felt like it was going to explode, he could hear his own heartbeat slamming down like a jackhammer, like drops of water amplified a thousandfold. Then there were voices, some familiar, some totally alien to him. Laughter echoed in his mind, and a chanting.. Kurosu.. Kill... Nikui.. Hatred... Shinda.. Dead... chi.. blood... The world around him blacked out, Iori saw instead of the trees and grass, he saw darkness, the darkness of his own mind. He wanted to scream, he tried screaming, but no sound came out of his mouth. He was aware that his skin felt cold, but inside he felt a strange warmth. {WHO ARE YOU!?} Iori screamed in his thoughts. {'To-san (father) IS THAT YOU!? GoDDAMN IT, ANSWER ME!}

Eiji felt uneasy on his perch high on the tree, so uneasy that he had to hold on to something to make sure he wouldn't fall off if anything were to happen... which he was almost certain of.

"My God... Hakai.. the ultimate will of destruction..." Eiji mumbled under his mask. "Kaori..."

"AARRRAGGGHHHHHH!" Iori let out. This was his final burst of will, before he succumbed to the fire.

...

"Ikuzo! (Let's rock!) Yagami!" Kyo bellowed when he charged himself slowly but finally to his maximum capacity. Kyo's eyebrows tensed and the flames enveloped him in a soft glow, the glow becoming raging flames and then calming down again... This was as powered up as Kyo dared to go, and the way his hair seemed to dance on their own impressed him, made him feel more confident. Kyo looked Iori over, nothing significant had changed with the inceasant screams and growls. Iori Yagami didn't look powerful at all.

"Iori!" Kyo called again. "I'll kill you, you animal!" In a mocking tone at Iori's pathetic appearance.

Kyo was suddenly taken aback when the screams stopped in mid breath. Iori's shoulders jerked suddenly, and he looked up slowly, menacingly. His eyes were almost milky white and the cold sweat beaded down his temples and face, drenching his shirt completely. Then for the first time, Kyo heard the laughter.. The terrifying laughter that neither Billy nor Eiji could ever understand.

"Hnnn hnn hnn..." Iori mumbled. "Kusanagi..." he said in a slurred chucking tone.

Iori's eyebrows were twitching. The feeling of a girl in love. The sudden rush, The ecstacy of anticipation. Ready to tear the high school student into shreds.

"Yagami..." Kyo said again... Making his flaming aura brighter and...

"...and I will cast as well, the angels from this earth. The saintly and the weak willed who stand in my way..." Iori began.

"...who stand in the way of my ambition, and my conquest for power and the ultimate destruction." Kyo mumbled, almost automatically to himself. Kyo tried so hard where he had heard that line before...

Then to Kyo, Eiji and Billy's horror, everything stopped. The birds stopped chirping, the wind died and made no sound, no grass, no leaves, nothing. The trio witnessing Iori couldn't even hear their own breaths or feel their own heart beat.

"SHI-NE! DIE!" Iori echoed, breaking the eerie silence. In that instant, iori EXPLODED into purple flames. "AAAARARRARAAAAGGHHHH!"

"Oughk! Hakai..." Eiji mumbled, trying to cover his face.

"Ugh! Sugoi.. sugoi... (incredible)" Kyo said in fright. "Tsuyoi! (It's strong).. Kono teme no chikara da! (This Bastard's power...)"

What Kyo took close to a minute or so to accomplish, Iori had done tenfold in a split second. Kyo didn't spend anymore time rationalizing about the situation and with flames in his hands, charged straight on to Iori, his right elbow leading the way.

"Kuresento Surashyu!" Kyo called...

"KOI! (come!)" Iori answered in a voice evil, echoing, hollow and otherworldly...

{Shimata! (SHIT!)} Eiji snapped.

Time stopped then. Billy, stood up straight, and cocked his Bo (stick) back to his back.. Eiji bent his legs. Kyo ran, and Iori smiled. An evil smile indeed, some unknown hate denied vengeance for so long. The leaves flew up and encircled the pair of Kyo and Iori. Dust got into their eyes, but neither would dare to blink...

...