Categories > Games > King of Fighters
"What do you think Kusanagi-san?"
Shingo's expression was as joyful as always, his dark brown eyes looked at him curiously, waiting for an answer.
"The kimonos are nice" Came the answer from Kyo. They were sitting in a small cafe nearby Shingo's new part-time job. The place was comfy and Shingo often went there because they offered Soy milk and other plant-based milk with all their coffee and tea options.
Recently Shingo went on a holiday trip with his new girlfriend. Kyo never thought his disciple would end up going out with Chizuru since she had never shown direct interest in him, but 5 years passed, and now Shingo was 22, in college, living by himself, and holding a part-time job.
Maybe Chizuru was a bit hesitant before, since they come from such different worlds, she was the heir of a clan, worked as a CEO of Kagura Enterprises, and had a huge responsibility on her hands, while he was... well he was just a regular dude.
In any case, Kyo felt happy for them, although looking at the selfies Shingo took with Chizuru on a beautiful street in Kyoto wearing kimonos, he felt a tang of jealousy.
"Chizuru-san ate a big bowl of rice jelly before that, " Shingo added with a smile. He and Chizuru spent a week in Kyoto because the priestess finally took some days off from her company.
"You guys make a great couple."
"You think so, Kusanagi-san?"
"Yeah."
There was a short moment of silence in which Shingo looked a bit nervous. He toyed a bit with the spoon in his cup of latte and avoided eye contact.
"You can ask," Kyo prompted.
"Umm... how about Yagami-san?"
Kyo lay back on the sofa with a confident smirk.
"Everything is fine."
Shingo quickly recovered from his nervous state and smiled widely.
"I know you need to be discreet but... I was wondering if you have photos together."
"Photos? What do you mean?"
"Photos doing stuff... couple stuff." Shingo looked a bit embarrassed, but his eyes showed an honest curiosity. "I know Yagami-san doesn't look like the type of person who will casually take selfies but... since you have been together for so long... I thought..."
Kyo wanted to say something witty and snarky but hesitated. Shingo's question made a lot of sense. And in that moment, he realized that in fact, he never took photos with Iori.
"The beauty is back!"
Benimaru exclaimed dramatically while approaching the table.
"You took so long in the restroom, I thought you have the runs."
Benimaru quickly punched Kyo in the shoulder and sat next to him on the sofa.
"I was fixing my hair, smartass."
Shingo giggled at the scene and sipped a bit of his soy latte.
"What did I miss?" The blond asked while Kyo laid back on the sofa again.
"Shingo showing off his 'kawaii' girlfriend," Kyo replied with a yawn.
"Calling Kagura 'kawaii', is a death sentence," Benimaru replied hastily. That was an inside joke, they both knew Chizuru was always poised and ladylike but secretly liked girly stuff like cute pins and stickers. She never showed that side to anyone besides Shingo, but Kyo and Benimaru found out by accident because they run by her in Harajuku when she was trying cute accessories in a shop.
"Well... she likes cute things, like puppies," Kyo continued then he smiled cheekily at Shingo.
Benimaru quickly picked up the joke and added.
"Right, she is with Shingo after all."
"Nikaido-san is jealous because he doesn't have a beautiful girlfriend," Shingo replied innocently. Benimaru showed the most dramatic offended expression ever.
"I had the most gorgeous girlfriend in the entire universe, but she..."
"Oh my god, we know, she dumped your ass like a month ago." Kyo interrupted with a bored monotone voice. Benimaru was known for changing girlfriends every month, so Kyo and Shingo were used to his rants about how his relationships didn't last, to quickly move on and find another model to date.
Benimaru threw another punch, but this time was quickly blocked by Kyo's forearm.
"You're such a jerk, no wonder why you get along with Yagami."
Shingo giggled again agreeing with the statement.
"Anyway, talking about more pleasant people..." Benimaru continued with a sarcastic tone while Kyo smirked "My Agency is throwing a party at Roppongi next Friday, you're all invited."
"Can I invite Kagura-san?" Shingo asked sheepishly.
"Of course, you can! Mai-chan and King will go too." Benimaru replied with a flourish.
Then Kyo realized both of them looked at him in silence.
"What?"
"You can bring your psycho too, Kyo-chan." Benimaru said with a teasing voice, especially when he added 'chan' to his name at the end.
"You want the place to burn?" Kyo joked in response with a sarcastic tone. Benimaru chuckled but didn't insist on the topic because he knew the answer was no. Then continued to sip from his frappuccino.
"Umm... wouldn't it be nice if Yagami-san can go?" Shingo added after a while. "Like... seriously, I mean... I have never seen you together on a date."
Kyo raised one eyebrow at Shingo.
"I'm just curious... that's all." He added feeling embarrassed, but Benimaru turned to Kyo and looked at him with a puzzled expression on his face.
"Hold on, I'm also curious."
"Curious about what? What's special about it?" Kyo shrugged a bit embarrassed to be on the spot out of a sudden.
"I wonder how Yagami behaves on a date."
Kyo took a moment to think about it, he knew neither Benimaru nor Shingo will leave him alone if he didn't answer.
"I honestly don't know, I mean... we don't really go on dates," He answered and drank a bit of his Expresso.
Benimaru and Shingo looked at him bewildered.
"Wait... what? Seriously?" Benimaru asked, feeling even more intrigued.
"Why are you surprised? is Yagami we're talking about." Kyo answered boldly. As if they didn't know Iori's temperament.
"But... then... what do you do together?" Shingo insisted.
Kyo sighed, there was no way he will escape that conversation.
"He isn't my girlfriend, I'm not his girlfriend, so we don't do girly things like going shopping or shit like that."
Benimaru and Shingo looked at each other and then at Kyo again. Kyo noticed they were trying to wrap their heads around it.
"Don't think so hard about it, it is what it is," Kyo assured them.
Benimaru awkwardly drank a bit of his frappuccino, and Shingo kept staring at Kyo.
"But Kusanagi-san... are you happy?"
The question took Kyo off guard, he never gave it too much thought, because he was the kind of person who took things at his own pace and never overthought the situation.
"Sure, I am." He replied seconds later.
Shingo showed him an honest and bright smile.
"Then, it doesn't matter if you don't go on dates or take selfies Kusanagi-san, as long as you're happy."
Kyo smiled back and was a bit relieved when Benimaru changed the subject of the conversation.
*
Around 6 in the afternoon, the Kusanagi heir went to his lover's apartment. He spent the whole afternoon chatting with his friends and was feeling a bit hungry. Although they didn't talk about it again, Kyo kept thinking about the fact, that he never really went on a date with Iori and that, they didn't have a single photo together.
Sure they traveled half of the world together, and had their pictures taken by professionals for photoshoots and other merchandise for the KOF tournament, but that didn't count. And while he looked at the photos Shingo took with Kagura on their trip, he felt jealous.
When was the last time he had a proper date? He thought about it while walking on the sidewalk of that residential neighborhood. It was with Yuki, and that was before NESTS kidnaped him! It was ages ago!
He remember going to an Italian restaurant with her and how she dressed in the cutest yellow dress. Suddenly he found himself missing those days.
He knocked on the door, and after a while, a scruffy redhead peeked through the door. Looking like he was about to commit murder.
"Ah, it's you."
It was the 'welcome' he got from Iori, who let him in and went back to the living room.
"Were you waiting for someone else?" Kyo asked. Then he plopped on the sofa after taking his shoes off.
Iori's apartment was quite big for a single person, with a spacious living room, one bathroom, and two bedrooms. Iori transformed one of the bedrooms into a small recording studio by soundproofing the walls. He also had a nice kitchen equipped with all the necessary stuff, because he liked to cook.
"I've been working on a melody all afternoon, but some annoying idiot kept calling at the door to sell some crap." He growled. Iori was dressed in a long sleeve black shirt and trousers, he looked distressed. Kyo knew how much he hated being interrupted while he worked in the studio.
"Did you eat already?"
"What time is it?"
" Dinner time."
"Oh shit... I lost track of time."
"You always do when you're playing," Kyo smiled warmly.
Iori turned around and checked the fridge in the kitchen, there were some vegetables left, 3 eggs, and half empty milk carton. Beer bottles occupied most of the space. Kyo noticed there wasn't any rice left in the rice cooker. But there was a forgotten pack of buckwheat noodles in the pantry.
"I'll order something," Iori said while closing the fridge. He took his phone out of his trousers' back pocket.
"Nah, no need, I can cook"
Iori turned his head looking a bit surprised. Kyo was lazy, and Iori often cooked the meals when they were together.
"I just saw the buckwheat noodles and feel like making something with it." Kyo replied putting his hands inside his pockets "Or you want something else?"
"Don't care."
Kyo shrugged and went to the door where his leather jacket was hanging next to Iori's trench coats. He put on his jacket, Iori guessed he was going out to pick something from the 7/11 nearby, so he threw his keys, and Kyo caught them mid-air.
Although they have been together for around 2 years now, Kyo didn't have a copy of the keys. Iori liked his privacy and has always lived alone. Kyo had no intention of moving out of the Kusanagi manor either.
He was the heir of the clan, it was his responsibility to stay in the manor and care for his parents. His family was old-fashioned in that regard.
In contrast, Iori cut ties with the remaining members of the Yagami clan when his father passed and went to live alone.
They managed to make the relationship work despise their 'flammable' temperaments, and somehow reached a silent agreement in which Kyo could crash at Iori's place at any moment and stay there a couple of days without asking first.
10 minutes later, the brunette returned with a plastic bag full of random stuff from the 7/11. The living room was empty, a faint murmur could be heard coming from the studio. Iori was busy playing so Kyo went to the kitchen directly to start dinner.
He spent 20 minutes putting two bowls of buckwheat noodles together. He added the carrot and radish he found in the fridge although it was not part of the original recipe, but Kyo often put random stuff in his dishes without thinking much about it. He also cooked some pork belly in soy sauce for Iori and quickly braised a tuna steak with rice vinegar for himself.
He left the bowls on the small table in the living room (Iori didn't have a dining table so they often ate on the couch) and went to the studio.
Iori sat on a chair in front of a big rectangular mixing console. He wore black professional headphones and had the bass resting on his legs. It took him a whole 5 minutes to notice Kyo standing by the door.
" Dinner is ready."
Iori took off the headphones and put them on the desk, then looked at Kyo and repeated the melody he was composing.
"What do you think?" He asked, looking at Kyo with his intense crimson pupils.
" Is coming along nicely, but still needs some work." He replied bluntly.
"Something is missing... maybe if..." Iori replied and turned the page on the music score he had handwritten on the desk.
"Maybe you can think clearly with a full belly Yagami."
Iori sighed and stood up, he even skipped lunch, but Kyo didn't need to know. They went back to the living room and sat down on the couch. Kyo placed the two bowls of noodles side by side and the pork and fish on separate plates on top.
"This looks good," Iori noticed and dug in. The broth had a rich flavor, and the vegetables and tofu went perfectly with it.
" I'm surprised you can cook so well considering your mommy does everything for you." Iori's voice was sarcastic. Kyo chuckled.
" Ha!, funny, coming from someone who forgets to eat on a daily basis... I wonder how have you survived alone all this time." He replied with the same sarcastic tone.
"Point taken," the redhead conceded.
They ate in silence for a while, and Kyo remembered the conversation about dating.
"I met Shingo and Benimaru for coffee," Kyo started casually, "There is a nice café nearby where Shingo works part-time, they got all kinds of coffee preparations and some teas too. Very tasty stuff."
Iori kept eating without making any comment about it. It seemed as if he was not paying attention, but Kyo knew him very well. Iori was not a talkative person, in fact, Kyo was sure he was the only person Iori talked to beyond greetings. Iori was known in the tournament for being rude and unpleasant to be around in general, he seemed to be in a perpetual bad mood and on the edge of burning something.
Kyo knew him beyond that. Even before being in a committed relationship, he could see something that nobody else could in Iori. It was perhaps that while fighting, somehow he could see his heart more clearly. In any case, Kyo knew, Iori was paying attention.
"Shingo and Kagura went back from their trip to Kyoto." He continued, and Iori just let out a grunt as acknowledgment.
"They took a shit-ton of photos wearing kimonos and doing stuff," he said while chewing on a piece of tofu. Then he hesitated a bit before adding, "Maybe... we could... "
"What a drag," Iori mumbled, his eyes glued to the noodles in front of him.
"Taking photos? wearing kimonos? going to Kyoto?" Kyo asked arching his eyebrows.
"All of it."
"But traveling can be fun if you are in the right company," Kyo pointed out.
"..."
"Come on, we did have fun while traveling for the last KOF, didn't we?"
"If by fun, you mean half dying while fighting some weird ass interdimensional bitch... then yeah, it was fun" Iori's voice was cynical, and looked at Kyo with the only visible eye while holding the chopsticks in the air.
"I'm talking about the other stuff dumbass, I mean like going to South Town and hanging out at the beach," Kyo responded with a smirk.
"The hotel was nice." Iori conceded.
"You're not an outdoorsy person, aren't you?"
"My favorite outdoor activity is going back inside."
Kyo choked on a piece of fish and then laughed, but Iori was deadly serious, he was not even joking.
Kyo sighed. For a moment he thought that they could go somewhere on his bike. Having a small trip outside Osaka didn't sound bad, perhaps they could find some nice Onsen in the mountains or a cozy restaurant on the road, but Iori would probably hate the idea.
Kyo continued eating without saying anything else, sometimes he wondered if Iori was not born in the Yagami clan, would he even be interested in training as a martial artist? He didn't enjoy fighting in KOF.
People often mistook his violent fighting style, with his actual desire for fighting. Outside of the ring, Kyo found out that Iori was interested in playing music and nothing else. He was very dedicated to his career as a musician and never skipped a rehearsal with his band.
He was a textbook introvert. He enjoyed reading while drinking coffee on rainy days, watching cat videos on youtube, and of course, playing the bass.
Kyo was not an extrovert like Benimaru, he wasn't overly friendly or by any means, a party animal, but he enjoyed outdoor activities like sports or riding his motorbike. He liked to be physically active, and he enjoyed sparing in Goro's dojo from time to time.
"Anyway, Benimaru's agency is throwing a party at Roppongi next Friday, so he invited us."
Kyo didn't ask Iori if he wanted to go, he knew the answer to that question, so he left the conversation end there. And Iori didn't ask for any details.
*
Later at night, Kyo took a shower first because Iori went to the studio again and continued working until midnight. Kyo was planning to stay over the weekend. The last time they saw each other was almost a month ago. Iori has been busy with a series of shows with his band, and Kyo with his clan duties. The Kusanagi clan wanted him to be more involved, so now Kyo was studying finances and getting some tutoring in accounting.
After putting on a white t-shirt and shorts, he went to the Studio and saw the redhead writing notes on the music score with a frustrated expression. Kyo knew better than to interrupt Iori's creative process but was dying for some contact.
A hug, a kiss, something. A whole month without seeing each other was hard enough, and it didn't help that Iori was not very chatty on the phone either and usually left Kyo's messages on 'read'.
While watching Iori work, Kyo wondered what kind of relationships he had before. He couldn't imagine a woman accepting that sort of treatment. He knew Iori had a lot of fans, he was handsome, strong, and a musician. He surely didn't have any trouble getting laid, but keeping a relationship? with his aloof and reclusive personality?
It was hard to imagine. Even at moments like this Kyo wondered if he was crazy for liking being with him despite all of that.
"I'm gonna head to bed first," Kyo announced, Iori was so focused on writing that he just moved his head in acknowledgment.
Maybe he lied to Shingo when he said he didn't want to go on dates and take silly selfies with Iori, he thought while laying alone in bed.
*
The next morning, Kyo woke up with the smell of freshly roasted coffee beans. It smelled so good, he opened his eyes and thought he was transported into a different place. But he was in Yagami's bedroom, dim sunlight came between the window's curtains, making it difficult to know what time of the day it was.
He got up, stretching his arms and back like a cat, and then followed the coffee's bittersweet aroma to the kitchen. He found Iori busy in there, moving pans and cups from one place to another. The smell of bread and butter mixed with the coffee, made Kyo's stomach grumble in response.
Kyo didn't notice when Iori went to sleep and he also didn't notice when he woke up.
"Did you sleep at all?" He asked with a yawn.
Iori didn't turn his head and continued cutting something on the counter.
"Yeah, I went to sleep around 1am."
Kyo wondered why Iori was cooking so much. Usually, they would just get some steamed buns and soy milk from the 7/11 for breakfast or eat the leftover rice from the previous day. He also noticed that the coffee was in a paper box and it has a logo on it. Iori didn't have a coffee machine because he usually drank instant coffee.
"Did you got freshly brewed coffee?"
Iori turned around, after turning off the gas stove, then with a bit of hesitation, he took the coffee from the paper box and gave it to Kyo.
"You mention a small café nearby Shingo's job... you seemed to like it,"
Kyo looked at Iori perplexed. Then he realized the bag had the same logo.
"You went there in the morning? wait... wait, how do you know where is it?" he asked confused because he knew the place didn't have a delivery service.
Iori looked a bit embarrassed for some reason and avoided Kyo's gaze.
"Yabuki sent me the metro route, it was easy to find" Iori replied after a short silence.
"What the hell? is like an hour's ride!" Kyo exclaimed bewildered. The café was on the opposite side of the city. Did Yagami wake up early and took an hour metro ride to get some random coffee?
Also, did Iori talk to Shingo on the phone? With Shingo?
"Are you going to drink it or not?" Iori grunted.
"Or course I will!" Kyo smiled widely, suddenly feeling warm inside (and it was not because of the coffee). He sat down on the sofa and waited for Iori to join him minutes later.
Iori brought a bunch of dishes from the kitchen and placed them on the table in front of the couch. There were fluffy pancakes, French toast with butter, and scrambled eggs. That was definitely not the kind of breakfast they used to have. Kyo felt a bit overwhelmed.
"Are we celebrating something? What's up with all of this?" Kyo asked while grabbing a French toast. He bit a chunk of it and felt like fireworks suddenly blow up in his stomach. It was delicious!
-No hay nada que celebrar, sólo quería cocinar algo diferente, eso es todo-, dijo Iori y mordió una tortita
"There is nothing to celebrate, I just wanted to cook something different, that's all," Iori said and bit a pancake.
"You didn't have to go all the way there to get coffee... you know, we could get some at 7/11" Kyo said while munching on the bread.
"You said the place was tasty," Iori replied sipping a bit of the hot black coffee.
Then Kyo suddenly realized that Iori did that for him. It was his way to show he cared. His way of expressing his feelings without words. Otherwise, he wouldn't take the time to personally go and get that coffee or prepare all of those Western dishes to go along with it.
Kyo felt very warm and fussy inside as if he had alive butterflies dancing around in his belly. He got excited and took his phone that was on the shelf and took a photo of the food and the coffee. Iori looked at him puzzled.
"What are you doing?" Iori asked when Kyo placed the phone in front of them and snapped a selfie without asking first.
-¿Qué estás haciendo?- preguntó Iori cuando Kyo colocó el teléfono delante de ellos y se hizo una selfie sin preguntar antes
"Indoor date!" The brunette replied cheerfully.
"A what?"
Kyo looked at the screen and noticed that the photo was blurred.
Kyo miró la pantalla y se dio cuenta de que la foto estaba borrosa
"Ah man, this camera sucks ass" He complained.
"You suck" Iori snapped the phone out of his hands, opened the app, and placed it in front of them again. Kyo was so surprised by the action that when Iori took a second photo he forgot to smile.
The selfie look weird, Kyo had a startled expression and Iori was frowning as if he was about to snap at someone.
Kyo se rió entre dientes, tenían un aspecto horrible pero eran ellos
Kyo chuckled, they look awful but it was them.
"If you share it, I will kill you." Iori threatened him.
"For real this time?" Kyo replied with a teasing tone.
Iori grunted in reply.
The end.
Shingo's expression was as joyful as always, his dark brown eyes looked at him curiously, waiting for an answer.
"The kimonos are nice" Came the answer from Kyo. They were sitting in a small cafe nearby Shingo's new part-time job. The place was comfy and Shingo often went there because they offered Soy milk and other plant-based milk with all their coffee and tea options.
Recently Shingo went on a holiday trip with his new girlfriend. Kyo never thought his disciple would end up going out with Chizuru since she had never shown direct interest in him, but 5 years passed, and now Shingo was 22, in college, living by himself, and holding a part-time job.
Maybe Chizuru was a bit hesitant before, since they come from such different worlds, she was the heir of a clan, worked as a CEO of Kagura Enterprises, and had a huge responsibility on her hands, while he was... well he was just a regular dude.
In any case, Kyo felt happy for them, although looking at the selfies Shingo took with Chizuru on a beautiful street in Kyoto wearing kimonos, he felt a tang of jealousy.
"Chizuru-san ate a big bowl of rice jelly before that, " Shingo added with a smile. He and Chizuru spent a week in Kyoto because the priestess finally took some days off from her company.
"You guys make a great couple."
"You think so, Kusanagi-san?"
"Yeah."
There was a short moment of silence in which Shingo looked a bit nervous. He toyed a bit with the spoon in his cup of latte and avoided eye contact.
"You can ask," Kyo prompted.
"Umm... how about Yagami-san?"
Kyo lay back on the sofa with a confident smirk.
"Everything is fine."
Shingo quickly recovered from his nervous state and smiled widely.
"I know you need to be discreet but... I was wondering if you have photos together."
"Photos? What do you mean?"
"Photos doing stuff... couple stuff." Shingo looked a bit embarrassed, but his eyes showed an honest curiosity. "I know Yagami-san doesn't look like the type of person who will casually take selfies but... since you have been together for so long... I thought..."
Kyo wanted to say something witty and snarky but hesitated. Shingo's question made a lot of sense. And in that moment, he realized that in fact, he never took photos with Iori.
"The beauty is back!"
Benimaru exclaimed dramatically while approaching the table.
"You took so long in the restroom, I thought you have the runs."
Benimaru quickly punched Kyo in the shoulder and sat next to him on the sofa.
"I was fixing my hair, smartass."
Shingo giggled at the scene and sipped a bit of his soy latte.
"What did I miss?" The blond asked while Kyo laid back on the sofa again.
"Shingo showing off his 'kawaii' girlfriend," Kyo replied with a yawn.
"Calling Kagura 'kawaii', is a death sentence," Benimaru replied hastily. That was an inside joke, they both knew Chizuru was always poised and ladylike but secretly liked girly stuff like cute pins and stickers. She never showed that side to anyone besides Shingo, but Kyo and Benimaru found out by accident because they run by her in Harajuku when she was trying cute accessories in a shop.
"Well... she likes cute things, like puppies," Kyo continued then he smiled cheekily at Shingo.
Benimaru quickly picked up the joke and added.
"Right, she is with Shingo after all."
"Nikaido-san is jealous because he doesn't have a beautiful girlfriend," Shingo replied innocently. Benimaru showed the most dramatic offended expression ever.
"I had the most gorgeous girlfriend in the entire universe, but she..."
"Oh my god, we know, she dumped your ass like a month ago." Kyo interrupted with a bored monotone voice. Benimaru was known for changing girlfriends every month, so Kyo and Shingo were used to his rants about how his relationships didn't last, to quickly move on and find another model to date.
Benimaru threw another punch, but this time was quickly blocked by Kyo's forearm.
"You're such a jerk, no wonder why you get along with Yagami."
Shingo giggled again agreeing with the statement.
"Anyway, talking about more pleasant people..." Benimaru continued with a sarcastic tone while Kyo smirked "My Agency is throwing a party at Roppongi next Friday, you're all invited."
"Can I invite Kagura-san?" Shingo asked sheepishly.
"Of course, you can! Mai-chan and King will go too." Benimaru replied with a flourish.
Then Kyo realized both of them looked at him in silence.
"What?"
"You can bring your psycho too, Kyo-chan." Benimaru said with a teasing voice, especially when he added 'chan' to his name at the end.
"You want the place to burn?" Kyo joked in response with a sarcastic tone. Benimaru chuckled but didn't insist on the topic because he knew the answer was no. Then continued to sip from his frappuccino.
"Umm... wouldn't it be nice if Yagami-san can go?" Shingo added after a while. "Like... seriously, I mean... I have never seen you together on a date."
Kyo raised one eyebrow at Shingo.
"I'm just curious... that's all." He added feeling embarrassed, but Benimaru turned to Kyo and looked at him with a puzzled expression on his face.
"Hold on, I'm also curious."
"Curious about what? What's special about it?" Kyo shrugged a bit embarrassed to be on the spot out of a sudden.
"I wonder how Yagami behaves on a date."
Kyo took a moment to think about it, he knew neither Benimaru nor Shingo will leave him alone if he didn't answer.
"I honestly don't know, I mean... we don't really go on dates," He answered and drank a bit of his Expresso.
Benimaru and Shingo looked at him bewildered.
"Wait... what? Seriously?" Benimaru asked, feeling even more intrigued.
"Why are you surprised? is Yagami we're talking about." Kyo answered boldly. As if they didn't know Iori's temperament.
"But... then... what do you do together?" Shingo insisted.
Kyo sighed, there was no way he will escape that conversation.
"He isn't my girlfriend, I'm not his girlfriend, so we don't do girly things like going shopping or shit like that."
Benimaru and Shingo looked at each other and then at Kyo again. Kyo noticed they were trying to wrap their heads around it.
"Don't think so hard about it, it is what it is," Kyo assured them.
Benimaru awkwardly drank a bit of his frappuccino, and Shingo kept staring at Kyo.
"But Kusanagi-san... are you happy?"
The question took Kyo off guard, he never gave it too much thought, because he was the kind of person who took things at his own pace and never overthought the situation.
"Sure, I am." He replied seconds later.
Shingo showed him an honest and bright smile.
"Then, it doesn't matter if you don't go on dates or take selfies Kusanagi-san, as long as you're happy."
Kyo smiled back and was a bit relieved when Benimaru changed the subject of the conversation.
*
Around 6 in the afternoon, the Kusanagi heir went to his lover's apartment. He spent the whole afternoon chatting with his friends and was feeling a bit hungry. Although they didn't talk about it again, Kyo kept thinking about the fact, that he never really went on a date with Iori and that, they didn't have a single photo together.
Sure they traveled half of the world together, and had their pictures taken by professionals for photoshoots and other merchandise for the KOF tournament, but that didn't count. And while he looked at the photos Shingo took with Kagura on their trip, he felt jealous.
When was the last time he had a proper date? He thought about it while walking on the sidewalk of that residential neighborhood. It was with Yuki, and that was before NESTS kidnaped him! It was ages ago!
He remember going to an Italian restaurant with her and how she dressed in the cutest yellow dress. Suddenly he found himself missing those days.
He knocked on the door, and after a while, a scruffy redhead peeked through the door. Looking like he was about to commit murder.
"Ah, it's you."
It was the 'welcome' he got from Iori, who let him in and went back to the living room.
"Were you waiting for someone else?" Kyo asked. Then he plopped on the sofa after taking his shoes off.
Iori's apartment was quite big for a single person, with a spacious living room, one bathroom, and two bedrooms. Iori transformed one of the bedrooms into a small recording studio by soundproofing the walls. He also had a nice kitchen equipped with all the necessary stuff, because he liked to cook.
"I've been working on a melody all afternoon, but some annoying idiot kept calling at the door to sell some crap." He growled. Iori was dressed in a long sleeve black shirt and trousers, he looked distressed. Kyo knew how much he hated being interrupted while he worked in the studio.
"Did you eat already?"
"What time is it?"
" Dinner time."
"Oh shit... I lost track of time."
"You always do when you're playing," Kyo smiled warmly.
Iori turned around and checked the fridge in the kitchen, there were some vegetables left, 3 eggs, and half empty milk carton. Beer bottles occupied most of the space. Kyo noticed there wasn't any rice left in the rice cooker. But there was a forgotten pack of buckwheat noodles in the pantry.
"I'll order something," Iori said while closing the fridge. He took his phone out of his trousers' back pocket.
"Nah, no need, I can cook"
Iori turned his head looking a bit surprised. Kyo was lazy, and Iori often cooked the meals when they were together.
"I just saw the buckwheat noodles and feel like making something with it." Kyo replied putting his hands inside his pockets "Or you want something else?"
"Don't care."
Kyo shrugged and went to the door where his leather jacket was hanging next to Iori's trench coats. He put on his jacket, Iori guessed he was going out to pick something from the 7/11 nearby, so he threw his keys, and Kyo caught them mid-air.
Although they have been together for around 2 years now, Kyo didn't have a copy of the keys. Iori liked his privacy and has always lived alone. Kyo had no intention of moving out of the Kusanagi manor either.
He was the heir of the clan, it was his responsibility to stay in the manor and care for his parents. His family was old-fashioned in that regard.
In contrast, Iori cut ties with the remaining members of the Yagami clan when his father passed and went to live alone.
They managed to make the relationship work despise their 'flammable' temperaments, and somehow reached a silent agreement in which Kyo could crash at Iori's place at any moment and stay there a couple of days without asking first.
10 minutes later, the brunette returned with a plastic bag full of random stuff from the 7/11. The living room was empty, a faint murmur could be heard coming from the studio. Iori was busy playing so Kyo went to the kitchen directly to start dinner.
He spent 20 minutes putting two bowls of buckwheat noodles together. He added the carrot and radish he found in the fridge although it was not part of the original recipe, but Kyo often put random stuff in his dishes without thinking much about it. He also cooked some pork belly in soy sauce for Iori and quickly braised a tuna steak with rice vinegar for himself.
He left the bowls on the small table in the living room (Iori didn't have a dining table so they often ate on the couch) and went to the studio.
Iori sat on a chair in front of a big rectangular mixing console. He wore black professional headphones and had the bass resting on his legs. It took him a whole 5 minutes to notice Kyo standing by the door.
" Dinner is ready."
Iori took off the headphones and put them on the desk, then looked at Kyo and repeated the melody he was composing.
"What do you think?" He asked, looking at Kyo with his intense crimson pupils.
" Is coming along nicely, but still needs some work." He replied bluntly.
"Something is missing... maybe if..." Iori replied and turned the page on the music score he had handwritten on the desk.
"Maybe you can think clearly with a full belly Yagami."
Iori sighed and stood up, he even skipped lunch, but Kyo didn't need to know. They went back to the living room and sat down on the couch. Kyo placed the two bowls of noodles side by side and the pork and fish on separate plates on top.
"This looks good," Iori noticed and dug in. The broth had a rich flavor, and the vegetables and tofu went perfectly with it.
" I'm surprised you can cook so well considering your mommy does everything for you." Iori's voice was sarcastic. Kyo chuckled.
" Ha!, funny, coming from someone who forgets to eat on a daily basis... I wonder how have you survived alone all this time." He replied with the same sarcastic tone.
"Point taken," the redhead conceded.
They ate in silence for a while, and Kyo remembered the conversation about dating.
"I met Shingo and Benimaru for coffee," Kyo started casually, "There is a nice café nearby where Shingo works part-time, they got all kinds of coffee preparations and some teas too. Very tasty stuff."
Iori kept eating without making any comment about it. It seemed as if he was not paying attention, but Kyo knew him very well. Iori was not a talkative person, in fact, Kyo was sure he was the only person Iori talked to beyond greetings. Iori was known in the tournament for being rude and unpleasant to be around in general, he seemed to be in a perpetual bad mood and on the edge of burning something.
Kyo knew him beyond that. Even before being in a committed relationship, he could see something that nobody else could in Iori. It was perhaps that while fighting, somehow he could see his heart more clearly. In any case, Kyo knew, Iori was paying attention.
"Shingo and Kagura went back from their trip to Kyoto." He continued, and Iori just let out a grunt as acknowledgment.
"They took a shit-ton of photos wearing kimonos and doing stuff," he said while chewing on a piece of tofu. Then he hesitated a bit before adding, "Maybe... we could... "
"What a drag," Iori mumbled, his eyes glued to the noodles in front of him.
"Taking photos? wearing kimonos? going to Kyoto?" Kyo asked arching his eyebrows.
"All of it."
"But traveling can be fun if you are in the right company," Kyo pointed out.
"..."
"Come on, we did have fun while traveling for the last KOF, didn't we?"
"If by fun, you mean half dying while fighting some weird ass interdimensional bitch... then yeah, it was fun" Iori's voice was cynical, and looked at Kyo with the only visible eye while holding the chopsticks in the air.
"I'm talking about the other stuff dumbass, I mean like going to South Town and hanging out at the beach," Kyo responded with a smirk.
"The hotel was nice." Iori conceded.
"You're not an outdoorsy person, aren't you?"
"My favorite outdoor activity is going back inside."
Kyo choked on a piece of fish and then laughed, but Iori was deadly serious, he was not even joking.
Kyo sighed. For a moment he thought that they could go somewhere on his bike. Having a small trip outside Osaka didn't sound bad, perhaps they could find some nice Onsen in the mountains or a cozy restaurant on the road, but Iori would probably hate the idea.
Kyo continued eating without saying anything else, sometimes he wondered if Iori was not born in the Yagami clan, would he even be interested in training as a martial artist? He didn't enjoy fighting in KOF.
People often mistook his violent fighting style, with his actual desire for fighting. Outside of the ring, Kyo found out that Iori was interested in playing music and nothing else. He was very dedicated to his career as a musician and never skipped a rehearsal with his band.
He was a textbook introvert. He enjoyed reading while drinking coffee on rainy days, watching cat videos on youtube, and of course, playing the bass.
Kyo was not an extrovert like Benimaru, he wasn't overly friendly or by any means, a party animal, but he enjoyed outdoor activities like sports or riding his motorbike. He liked to be physically active, and he enjoyed sparing in Goro's dojo from time to time.
"Anyway, Benimaru's agency is throwing a party at Roppongi next Friday, so he invited us."
Kyo didn't ask Iori if he wanted to go, he knew the answer to that question, so he left the conversation end there. And Iori didn't ask for any details.
*
Later at night, Kyo took a shower first because Iori went to the studio again and continued working until midnight. Kyo was planning to stay over the weekend. The last time they saw each other was almost a month ago. Iori has been busy with a series of shows with his band, and Kyo with his clan duties. The Kusanagi clan wanted him to be more involved, so now Kyo was studying finances and getting some tutoring in accounting.
After putting on a white t-shirt and shorts, he went to the Studio and saw the redhead writing notes on the music score with a frustrated expression. Kyo knew better than to interrupt Iori's creative process but was dying for some contact.
A hug, a kiss, something. A whole month without seeing each other was hard enough, and it didn't help that Iori was not very chatty on the phone either and usually left Kyo's messages on 'read'.
While watching Iori work, Kyo wondered what kind of relationships he had before. He couldn't imagine a woman accepting that sort of treatment. He knew Iori had a lot of fans, he was handsome, strong, and a musician. He surely didn't have any trouble getting laid, but keeping a relationship? with his aloof and reclusive personality?
It was hard to imagine. Even at moments like this Kyo wondered if he was crazy for liking being with him despite all of that.
"I'm gonna head to bed first," Kyo announced, Iori was so focused on writing that he just moved his head in acknowledgment.
Maybe he lied to Shingo when he said he didn't want to go on dates and take silly selfies with Iori, he thought while laying alone in bed.
*
The next morning, Kyo woke up with the smell of freshly roasted coffee beans. It smelled so good, he opened his eyes and thought he was transported into a different place. But he was in Yagami's bedroom, dim sunlight came between the window's curtains, making it difficult to know what time of the day it was.
He got up, stretching his arms and back like a cat, and then followed the coffee's bittersweet aroma to the kitchen. He found Iori busy in there, moving pans and cups from one place to another. The smell of bread and butter mixed with the coffee, made Kyo's stomach grumble in response.
Kyo didn't notice when Iori went to sleep and he also didn't notice when he woke up.
"Did you sleep at all?" He asked with a yawn.
Iori didn't turn his head and continued cutting something on the counter.
"Yeah, I went to sleep around 1am."
Kyo wondered why Iori was cooking so much. Usually, they would just get some steamed buns and soy milk from the 7/11 for breakfast or eat the leftover rice from the previous day. He also noticed that the coffee was in a paper box and it has a logo on it. Iori didn't have a coffee machine because he usually drank instant coffee.
"Did you got freshly brewed coffee?"
Iori turned around, after turning off the gas stove, then with a bit of hesitation, he took the coffee from the paper box and gave it to Kyo.
"You mention a small café nearby Shingo's job... you seemed to like it,"
Kyo looked at Iori perplexed. Then he realized the bag had the same logo.
"You went there in the morning? wait... wait, how do you know where is it?" he asked confused because he knew the place didn't have a delivery service.
Iori looked a bit embarrassed for some reason and avoided Kyo's gaze.
"Yabuki sent me the metro route, it was easy to find" Iori replied after a short silence.
"What the hell? is like an hour's ride!" Kyo exclaimed bewildered. The café was on the opposite side of the city. Did Yagami wake up early and took an hour metro ride to get some random coffee?
Also, did Iori talk to Shingo on the phone? With Shingo?
"Are you going to drink it or not?" Iori grunted.
"Or course I will!" Kyo smiled widely, suddenly feeling warm inside (and it was not because of the coffee). He sat down on the sofa and waited for Iori to join him minutes later.
Iori brought a bunch of dishes from the kitchen and placed them on the table in front of the couch. There were fluffy pancakes, French toast with butter, and scrambled eggs. That was definitely not the kind of breakfast they used to have. Kyo felt a bit overwhelmed.
"Are we celebrating something? What's up with all of this?" Kyo asked while grabbing a French toast. He bit a chunk of it and felt like fireworks suddenly blow up in his stomach. It was delicious!
-No hay nada que celebrar, sólo quería cocinar algo diferente, eso es todo-, dijo Iori y mordió una tortita
"There is nothing to celebrate, I just wanted to cook something different, that's all," Iori said and bit a pancake.
"You didn't have to go all the way there to get coffee... you know, we could get some at 7/11" Kyo said while munching on the bread.
"You said the place was tasty," Iori replied sipping a bit of the hot black coffee.
Then Kyo suddenly realized that Iori did that for him. It was his way to show he cared. His way of expressing his feelings without words. Otherwise, he wouldn't take the time to personally go and get that coffee or prepare all of those Western dishes to go along with it.
Kyo felt very warm and fussy inside as if he had alive butterflies dancing around in his belly. He got excited and took his phone that was on the shelf and took a photo of the food and the coffee. Iori looked at him puzzled.
"What are you doing?" Iori asked when Kyo placed the phone in front of them and snapped a selfie without asking first.
-¿Qué estás haciendo?- preguntó Iori cuando Kyo colocó el teléfono delante de ellos y se hizo una selfie sin preguntar antes
"Indoor date!" The brunette replied cheerfully.
"A what?"
Kyo looked at the screen and noticed that the photo was blurred.
Kyo miró la pantalla y se dio cuenta de que la foto estaba borrosa
"Ah man, this camera sucks ass" He complained.
"You suck" Iori snapped the phone out of his hands, opened the app, and placed it in front of them again. Kyo was so surprised by the action that when Iori took a second photo he forgot to smile.
The selfie look weird, Kyo had a startled expression and Iori was frowning as if he was about to snap at someone.
Kyo se rió entre dientes, tenían un aspecto horrible pero eran ellos
Kyo chuckled, they look awful but it was them.
"If you share it, I will kill you." Iori threatened him.
"For real this time?" Kyo replied with a teasing tone.
Iori grunted in reply.
The end.
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