KOF Evolution
written by kyoji

Evolution Toward the Future...

Prologue:

An infant's cry pierced through the silence of the emergency room in the hospital. Outside, a young man looks up, startled from pacing the floor that probably had a 10-inch deep groove worn in it. He adjusted his gloves nervously and tried not to show it, but it was evident to the doctor when he emerged from the emergency room that he was.

"W-Well?" the young man stammered. The doctor simply smiled and patted his shoulder.

"It's a healthy baby boy." the doctor replied, grinning a little as the young man slumped over, relieved.

"Thanks Doc...So...can I see her?" the doctor nodded.

"Yes, but, take it easy okay? It wasn't an easy birth so she will be feeling tired for a while."

"I understand, thanks a lot." the young man bowed slightly in gratitude, then entered the emergency room. Inside, he quickly scanned the area, taking in the surroundings, before heading over to the bed on which a young girl with short darkish-blonde hair is lying, cuddling a baby wrapped up in a towel. The crying infant cuddled in the girl's arms gradually quieted as he took the baby from her, leaning down and planting a quick kiss on her lips.

"Have you decided on a name?" one of the nurses asked, smiling at the couple. The girl appeared to ponder, then looked up at the young man, smiling.

"Ne, how about 'Kenji'?" the young man looked up from the shining face of his newborn son and turned his gaze down to his wife, returning her smile.

"Mmm...sounds good to me. He does look courageous, strong, resolute, takes after me for sure...ow! hehe." the girl withdrew her elbow, giggling.

"I hope he doesn't inherit your overblown ego as well, I have enough trouble dealing with you as is." a few of the nurses giggled at this. The young man simply grinned and looked down at the now-sleeping infant in his arms.

"Kenji...yes...it's a fitting name." he said softly.

**********************

The boy clapped his hands over his ears, desperately trying to drown out the yells coming from outside his room. Granted, it happened often enough that he should have been used to it by now. But it still does not lessen the pain that a child has to endure whenever parents fight.

"What do you mean you're not going to do it?!?" a female voice shrieked in frustration. "You agreed that you'd go yesterday!"

"That was then, I changed my mind." a low male voice replied calmly. "I won't waste my time humoring your pointless notions."

"Pointless? POINTLESS?!? This is your LIFE we're talking about!!"

"So?"

"What do you mean, 'so'?!...You're going to....and you....oh for god's sake!!...What on earth is WRONG with you?!?"

"Absolutely nothing...Unlike you, I don't waste my time with foolish notions that are doomed to failure. You've convinced me before, and we've visited numerous...'experts'..." the word was spat out in disgust. "...Each and every time, it was a failure."

"Yes but this time it's going to work!!" the woman screamed, her voice starting to break. "...Why can't you even...You've already given up before trying! What do you expect to come out of that?!?"

"I've accepted my destiny, so should you."

"Destiny? DESTINY?!? Don't give me that shit about destiny!" the boy scrunched his eyes shut and pulled the pillow down over his head, trying to block out the screaming, to no avail. Almost every night, they would argue. What started as a simple debate would always break down to full blown screaming as frustration grew night...by night...by night. Tonight was no different. "...Is it your destiny to die before you're even 40?? Are you trying to tell me it's destiny for our son as well?!?...Destiny...If that's destiny, then it can go to hell!!" the woman broke down, sobbing. "...I can't believe you're taking this so lightly...Has the thought ever crossed your mind that I don't want you to leave me?!? Can't you even understand?!? Oh, kami-sama...Why?...Why me? Why at all?!?"

"You knew it would come to this when you chose to be with me...No one forced you to." was the calm reply.

"Yes...it was...wasn't it?...I'm such a fool..." the woman continued to sob, her own cries matched by that of the boy hiding in his room...

**2 Years Later**

"So, what's so important that you had to tell me now?" the young man asked, sitting on the couch adjacent his wife. A little boy lay asleep curled up on the couch with his head in her lap.

"Umm...it's...well...you know..." she began, looking a little flushed. "You know that I've been feeling a little sick as of late?"

"Um...ye~ah...you've been throwing up a lot in the mornings...i thought it was just the weather though. It's almost summer and the weather change can be pretty ugly..." the young man stopped for a moment. "...Wait...are you trying to tell me something?"

"No, I'm only trying to tell you something...Ba~ka!" she giggled at the sheepish look on his face, then got up and walked over to him. "You know what you did last week hmmmm?"

"Errrrr...refresh my memory...I did a lot of things last week..." the young man scratched his head and shifted his weight a little to get comfortable again as she sat on his lap.

"What memory? *giggle*" she gave him a smirk.

"Now hey!! Just 'coz I forget things once in a while doesn't mean I don't remember anything!"

"Mmhmm...okay, so when's our anniversary?"

"....." *5 mins later* ".....Don't rush me! I'm thinking!..." *10 mins later* "...Uhh...."

"*giggle* We~ll? Seeeeee?" she cupped both hands to her mouth and giggled at the exasperated look on his face, trying hard to not look smug.

"You know, you can cut that out anytime now..." he deadpanned. "...So what's this 'important thing' you wanted to tell me anyway?"

"Mouuuuu..." she shook her head and leaned up to whisper into his ear.

"WHAT?!? AGAIN?!?"

"Shhhhh!! Not so loud!" she hissed. "You'll wake Kenji!". After 5 minutes making sure that his jaw wasn't going to stay on the floor and that his eyes weren't going to out, she sighed and cuddled up against his chest.

"B-B-B-B-B-But...." he stammered. "W-W...No...no way....come on, joke right?" she shook her head, and frowned at the look on his face.

"Mouuu! It's not the end of the world! Stop making a scene!"

"B-But....." he tried again, still disbelieving. "...It's only been 2 years since...oh maaaaaan...". That promptly earned him a whack upside the head. "Ow....."

"You know, MOST husbands would be overjoyed to hear something like this...and MY sad excuse for a husband thinks it's the end of the world! Hmph!" she grumbled, arms folded.

"Okay okay okay already...I'm sorry okay? It was just a shock is all..." he muttered, looking sheepish.

"Uh huh, you just don't want to have to think about actually getting a JOB now to be able to feed the kids right?" right about now, he wished he were 1000 leagues under the ocean, in jail, under a volcano...ANYWHERE, just to get away from that shit-eating grin on her face. That, and also because her statement was dead on the money.

"Yeah, well.....you know how it is...I got this little allergy to that Supreme Evil(tm) called Work(tm)(R)."

"Mouuu..." she sighed, shaking her head. "...Isn't it time you stopped slacking off? What kind of example are you setting for our son anyway?"

"Umm...take your breaks when you can, run like hell when you can't?...Ow!" that earned another thwap. "Hehehe...okay, okay, you win...I was just kidding anyway..." he said, smiling at her, then over to his still-asleep child on the adjacent sofa. "It is kinda time I got off my ass eh? Haven't seen Yagami for years now so I guess I can't use 'deranged psychopathic son of a bitch out to kill me' as an excuse anymore." he grinned up at her, but both of them knew it was about as real as the 30th of February.

"Ne...you miss him, don't you?" she asked softly, tracing patterns on his chest.

"Who? Yagami? Hell no!...Why would anyone miss that loser? I can sure do without him jumping me every single time I'm out on the street just coz he thinks he can beat me still!...Not to mention all the times...when...he...you know...uh..." he slowly trailed off at the serious look she was giving him. "...Ah hell...who am I kidding...Yeah, I do miss the bastard...Haven't had a decent match for ages too...if he were around now he'd probably shit me off for getting slack, heh."

"Do you think he's okay? I mean...it's like you said, no one's seen or heard from him for a long time now..."

"Don't worry...I'm sure he's fine." she gave him a rather uncertain look, which was promptly dissolved by a kiss. "Besides, don't let him hear you, he'd throw all kinds of crap about pity being for the weak, hehe."

"I guess you're right...but still, I can't help wondering how he is time to time...I mean..." she sighed and rested her head on his shoulder, "...He's been a part of our lives for so long...not always in the best sense but...oh get that look off your face, you know what I mean!...Ba~ka!" she shook her head at that smirk on his face.

"Yeah, I know what you mean...I got so used to him jumping my ass eve...No, geez! Now who's the one thinking stupid thoughts?" he groaned and shook his head as she giggled.

"Gome~n, hehe...When you said that I just got all kinds of mental pics and...hehehehe." she cupped both hands over her mouth and giggled, trying to stop.

"Yeah, yeah...geez, you know...You have a real weird mindset sometimes." he deadpanned. "You SURE you're not looking at those yaoi magazines that were on your table the other...OW! Hey!"

"I told you those weren't mine! Noriko-chan left them here by accident!" she rubbed her hand after the bap. "...Owww...and you gotta hard head too..."

"Ok, you got some weird friends then." he snickered, ducking the first swing, before getting clocked by the second. "Okay, okay, cut it out already!"

"Well if you'd stop giving me reason to hit you!...Honestly..." she grumbled, still rubbing her hand. "...I hope he's okay though..."

"Don't worry, that son of a bitch is probably out enjoying the nightlife or something right now..." his voice betrayed the uncertainty he felt in his own words.

"I hope so...anyway...have you thought up a name for our child yet?" she asked, giggling at the look on his face.

"Umm...err....boy or girl?...if it's a boy...heck if I know...if it's a girl...heck if I know too...don't rush me here!...Ummm..."

"Mouuu..." she groaned. "...How about 'Souji' for a boy and 'Asuka' for a girl?"

"Sounds pretty good to me." he replied, unable to think of anything else, not that that was a surprise by any means however. She gave him a playful slap and slid off his lap, then sat back on the sofa adjacent him.

"Ne, do you think that Yagami-kun is really okay?" she asked after a few minutes of silence.

"He probably is...when have you known him to NOT be okay?"

"I don't know...I just have this strange feeling..." she crossed both hands over her heart. "...Something's not right...I've been feeling a weird 'stirring' for the past few days..."

"Probably just our child wanting dinner." he shot her a grin. "Hint hint, wink wink?"  she shook her head and sighed, then smiled at him.

"Okay, okay! I can take a hint, dinner will be about 30 minutes." she stood and headed off to the kitchen after giggling at the kiss he blew at her. Moments later, the sound of pots and pans being rattled was heard, followed by the tantalising aroma of cooking food. He paused a moment to take in the delicious smell, then reclined with both arms behind his head, staring up at the ceiling.

"Yagami...omae ga nani o suru ka...ima wa..."

********************

"Father? Father! What's wrong?!?" the boy ran over as the tall maroon-haired man by the window collapsed to one knee in a fit of coughing. All around the room were signs of a fight, either that, or someone stumbling around and grabbing at everything he possibly could to remain on his feet.

"N-nothing...don't worry..." the man growled in a low voice, devoid of any strength or menace. The boy hesitated before going over to support his father. The man leaned heavily on his son, holding his chest with his right hand. "...Don't worry boy, I'm fine!"

"No...No you're not! Wh...What's going on father?...Tell me, please!" the boy pleaded, tears forming in his eyes, threatening to spill over. "W...What was mother saying?...About you...Is it true??"

"Bah...it's nothing..." the man noticed the tears in his son's eyes and angrily shoved him away, causing both him and the boy to fall over.

"F-father?!?"

"Look at yourself...*cough*...Pathetic...dry your eyes and stand up this instant!" he growled. "...The strong do not show such pathetic weakness!"

"B-but father!" the boy scrambled to his feet, but was unable to stem the flow of tears. He may be young but he knew full well what was happening. The past 2 years of tormented, sleepless nights, in which he'd cried himself to sleep almost every time after listening to his mother and father argue. Then just last month when his mother had declared that she'd had enough of his father's ways and had left. It wasn't a surprise then, not at all, he knew it was far in coming. Even the rage that his father flew into after reading the letter left behind wasn't a surprise. He'd smashed almost everything he could get his hands on...The result was still noticable today, many of the items around the room were not replaced due to lack of money. All this, the dysfunctionality of his family, his mother leaving him and his father...and now, his father about to follow suit. "Why?...Why is this happening?? Father? WHY?!? WHY ME? WHY US?!? WHYYYYYYYYYYYYYY?!?"

The frustration of helplessness had built until he could tolerate it no longer. Then, all at once, it broke...like a dam on a mighty waterfall, it finally broke, and came spilling forth. The boy screamed...With all the rage, fury, and sadness he could muster...He screamed, loud and long, years of pent up emotion boiling forth like an erupting volcano. Then...it happened...

"Wha? What the?...F-father! Wh...what is this? H-HELP!!" the boy screamed again, this time out of fear as the violet flames erupted from his hands, then slowly creeped up his arms. "Father?!"

"Shut up!" the man growled, a half-smile on his face. "Be silent...and behold your true birthright!", the boy struggled to calm his voice, but failed as a sharp stabbing pain struck, almost like a wrench at his heart. He fell to both knees, screaming, as the flames 'bled' off his arms and fell to the floor, slowly creeping into a circle around him.

"Wh-what is going on? Father!?..AAARGH!!....Ugh...oh....uhhhh....Father....it hurts....help!"

"Be silent or I will rip your tongue from your head boy! Endure! You must endure!" the man growled, then doubled over as he was seized by a bout of coughing. Blood fell onto the carpet...

"Father!?"

"L-Listen to me boy..." the man gasped and spoke, his voice hoarse and distant. "...The flame...the flame...is your birthright...*cough*...It is your life, your death, your heart and soul..." the boy looked down at the flames, now flickering quietly in his hands.

"B-but...I don't understand! Why?...Why do I have this flame? This power?..."

"The flames you wield...are the sign of your birthright as a Yagami...It is a great power, and a curse...*cough*...it is this curse which is why I..." he was seized by another bout of coughing before he could continue, but the look in the boy's eyes betrayed his understanding.

"The flames...are killing you....father?..." he looked down at the quietly burning flames in his hands, then clenched his fists, trying to kill the flames. "I don't want them! I don't want a power like this! Father!"

"Shut up! *cough*" the man growled again, noticeably weaker now. "...The flame is not your enemy...it is your friend...the only thing you can trust. Everything else is but a pittance, like a candle in the wind...Friends will leave you, society will shun you...But...you will always have the flame..." the man struggled to push himself up to a sitting position. Blood soaked his once white shirt as it trickled down his chin. "...Never forget that...the life of a Yagami is cursed to be short and stained with blood...We are those cursed to live in shadow, forever hiding from the masses...Don't make the mistake I did...and think that you can live as others do..." the boy inched his way over to his father, the flames having flickered out as he realised the inevitable.

"Father...no....don't die...don't leave me, father!" he sobbed, now unashamedly, not caring of the fact that his father will disapprove. "Mother left...and now you...I have no one else left! Father! Please..." the man raised an arm as if to strike the boy, but strength failed and his arm fell limply on the boy's shoulder.

"Silence...." the man's voice was now barely above a whisper. "...Life is but...as fleeting as a rose...you must accept your destiny...as I have...*cough*...accepted mine...Your mother was foolish to think she could challenge fate..."

"I won't accept this fate! Father! I will make my own way, even if I have to kill to get it!" the boy grabbed his father's shoulders. "...Even if I have to do it alone...I will make you proud!"

"That's...my boy..." the man whispered, smiling weakly. "...Never forget...you will always have your flame..." he looked up at the ceiling, staring at a crack in the paintwork. His face, once full of life and a ferocity that would make even the Gods themselves tremble, was now a shadow of it's former self. Just the face of a man awaiting his end. "Boy...Seto...give me....your hand...now..." the boy blinked in surprise, then held his right hand out to his father.

"What...are you going to do?"

"My end is near...but...yours has just begun...Do me a final service....and take my life...I will not die easy, if it were to be at the hand of God...I will die by your hand...so that it be known, that even God could not conquer me...This is my final wish."

"No! What are you saying? I can't!...I won't! Father! You won't die! I won't let you!" the boy snatched his hand away, then froze at the look on his father's face. Gone was the fearsome look of ages past, all that remained now were the eyes of a defeated man, lost to the ravages of time. The boy understood...it would be a mercy, an act of honor. He closed his eyes, then forced himself to look, ignoring the tears that spilled, and brought his hand back. The man leaned back against the wall and stared up at his son's face, as if committing every single feature to memory, to take as a final parting gift into the afterlife.

"Saraba da...Kusanagi Kyo..." he whispered. "...I will be waiting for you...to conclude our final battle, in heaven..." he took a last, deep breath, then exhaled slowly. "...Forgive me...Mika..." the boy screamed and shut his eyes, then thrust his hand forward at his father's chest...a sickening tear, then blood. So much blood...the blood of a Yagami.

The boy slumped forward and cried, unable to do anything else, as his world vanished in a burning violet haze...

*******************

The young man jumped from the couch as he felt a sharp chill in the air, then turned and ran into the kitchen as he heard a shriek and the sound of a large pot falling onto the floor.

"Yuki? Doushita? YUKI?!?" he ran over to steady her as she fell heavily against the kitchen counter. The large pot of broth lay where it fell, it's contents spilled.

"K-Kyo...I felt...cold...it was...cold...dark...this feeling...oh no..." she turned and buried her face against his chest, crying quietly. "I saw...everything just went black for a moment...and I saw...it was..."

"I know...i know...I felt it too..." he replied, hugging her tightly, eyes closed.

"D-do you think....is he...it can't be...ne?..ne?!?" she looked up at him expectantly, and her hopes faded at the somber expression on his face, only to be confirmed when he shook his head.

"No...it's over...Yagami...Iori is...gone....." he managed to get out in between shuddering gasps as Yuki sobbed into his chest. So much that had been said and done, and many mistakes made. But, in the end, it came to pass as history had dictated...

"Saraba da...Yagami Iori..."

            "...Unto death, will come life, and from life, will come death...the first step on the Wheel of Fate hath been taken...and thus the brush shall fall onto the pages of the book once again..."

To be continued...

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