Fatal Fury Fan Fiction ❯ South Town ❯ Memory Lane Part 1 ( Chapter 12 )
[ T - Teen: Not suitable for readers under 13 ]
By: arshesnei13 
Anime/Manga: Fatal Fury Fan Fiction | Genre(s): Action / Martial Arts / Comedy | Type: Alternate Universe | Uploaded On: 07.25.2003 | Pages: 4 | Words: 2.8K | Visits: 365 | Status: Work In Progress
Anime/Manga: Fatal Fury Fan Fiction | Genre(s): Action / Martial Arts / Comedy | Type: Alternate Universe | Uploaded On: 07.25.2003 | Pages: 4 | Words: 2.8K | Visits: 365 | Status: Work In Progress
I want to thank those who have reviewed this story. Your comments welcome and are much appreciated.
Disclaimer: King of Fighters along with all its characters is the property of Playmore.
()= thoughts
**= actions
Memory Lane
Part 1
After an uneventful drive, the girls made it back to the Himuro family estate and entered the house to begin their task. As they looked around, they saw mostly sheet-covered furniture, which in turn was covered by a lot of dust. Achika and Iris began their task by uncovering the furniture.
"Jeez," Achika said between coughs. "It's hard to *cough* breathe in here. Ugh, I think *cough* something went in my mouth."
"Oh, god. You can practically plant life in here," Iris responded after a fit of sneezing. "Well, where exactly do you want to start?"
"Let's start up front and work our way to the back." Achika lifted a sheet that was covering a table and a cloud of dust spread throughout the room.
Iris waved her arms around trying to keep the dust away. "Maybe we should open some windows first. *achoo!*"
"Bless you." Achika looked around. "Yeah, you're right."
The girls opened up all the windows and began to clean the living room. Iris began to sweep around the front while Achika started to remove the remaining covers. Then an odd feeling began to develop as she approached the entrance to the hall that led to several different rooms.
Curiosity got the best of her and Achika headed down the hall. She sighed thinking about how this was her first home. She couldn't recall much of her childhood except for times when the nanny chased her around the courtyard and the constant begging she did to get her father to read her a story. "But was it this house," she thought to herself as she stopped at the first room she saw.
Shelves aligned the walls and a desk was shoved to the side. A sense of familiarity developed inside her. Achika could recall returning to South Town on occasions and to a place where it seemed so empty.
"Father's den," she whispered to herself. "I remember now." Achika began to rummage and sort through the remaining items.
*****
Meanwhile, Terry and Torch walked down the street arm in arm, talking and laughing. Not far off, Joe smiled as he watched the happy couple. "He's got it bad," he commented.
Andy observed his older sibling's behavior and smiled. "It's better than seeing him moping around. I'm just glad he decided to move on. " He then changed his tone of voice. "I hope he hasn't forgotten why we're here."
"Nah," replied Joe. "Oh, here they come."
"Hi, guys," said Terry, "I'm sorry about not introducing you earlier. This is my younger brother Andy and our friend Joe Higashi." Andy nodded and Joe just waved.
"This is Torch Kipagami," continued Terry.
Torch smiled. "Hi, guys. It's a great pleasure meeting you."
Andy reached out and shook Torch's hand as he began to recall something. "Kipagami," whispered Andy, "As in Yosho Kipagami?"
Torch nodded. "Of course, he's my father. Well, adoptive father. He runs the flower shop where I work at."
"Speaking of the flower shop, I still feel kinda bad about what happened to that girl the other day," confessed Terry.
"Oh that." Torch began to feel some guilt as well. "It's all right. She's a forgiving person. Knowing her as long as I have, she'll just tell you to forget about it and move on."
Just then, the town clock began to strike four, echoing throughout the streets.
"Oh, s***," Torch said in disappointment, remembering that it was her turn to cook dinner. She stood there in silence for a few seconds until she once again smiled. "Say, Terry, why don't you join us for dinner tonight?"
Terry smiled and shook his no, kindly refusing her offer. "I really don't want to trouble you."
"No really. It's not a big deal. The others won't mind at all."
"In that case, I'll be more than happy to," Terry said, giving in.
"And in the morning, she'll make him breakfast," Joe whispered to Andy. As Joe looked up, a black tennis shoe hit him square in the face.
"Jackass," Torch said flatly as she withdrew her foot from the air. Everyone began snickering and laughing as Joe wiped the grime off of his face as he got up from the sidewalk. "I was about to extend the invitation to you and Andy too, but I guess I can scratch your name off the list."
Terry stopped laughing. "He didn't mean anything. Joe's always been like that for some reason." He smiled and cleverly added. "Notice that she said 'us.' She shares the apartment with two other young women."
Joe's eyes lit up as he came to. "Really? Two young women? Two young _college_ women? Are they single?"
Andy hid his face in shame. "Idiot," he mumbled.
Terry laughed and whispered something to Torch. She thought for a moment and a smile returned to her face. "All right. He can come too, but if he keeps acting like some testosterone driven juvenile...." She finished her sentence with the sound of her knuckles cracking.
*****
Back at the Himuro Residence....
"Hey, Iris!"
Iris paused from her sweeping. "Yeah?"
"Could you come here? I'm in the first room to your right when you enter the hall!"
"Coming!" Iris entered the hall and carefully made her way to the den. "Geeze, I feel like I'm trapped some sort of labyrinth." When she reached the den, she carefully maneuvered around some boxes.
"Sorry," apologized Achika. "This is my father's den."
"Well," asked Iris. "What's the problem?"
"We need to move this desk. Ready?" Iris moved to one end. "1... 2... 3...!" They managed to move the desk away from the wall. "Let's see? What do you think?"
"Hmmm...." Iris walked around the desk and studied the layout of the room. "How about here?" She stood to where the entrance was to her left and her back towards the shelf.
"I think it may work. Ready?" The girls once again moved the desk. "Yeah, it might," added Achika once she saw the finished result.
Iris was nearly out of breath. "If it doesn't work out, we'll have someone else to move it. *Phew* Is that desk made out of solid oak?"
Achika slowly nodded in agreement as she stretched out her right shoulder. She was also tired. "Another manly task for Ryo and Robert." She stood up straight and brushed off some of the dust that was on her pants. "What time is it anyway?"
Iris glanced at her watch. "It's a quarter after four. We'd best be heading back."
"Yeah, " replied Achika. "Let me look around one last time." She headed towards the closet door and opened it. "Hey, my father was wondering about this jacket...." She paused when she noticed a box sitting on the shelf nearby. "What's this?" She picked it up and placed it on the desk. Achika opened it, revealing a stash of old photographs.
"Well, it looks like a bunch of old photos to me," Iris replied with her usual sarcasm and a rare smile.
"Yeah, yeah, very funny." She began to thumb through them and was surprised at the amount. "There's so many. Let's finish up what we can for now. We can look through these when we get home."
Iris stopped at the doorway and stared blankly at the floor. "Home," she whispered and then a worried look developed. "I hope Torch remembers it's her turn to cook...."
"S***!"
Iris was stunned by Achika's sudden outburst. "What's wrong?"
"It was my turn for groceries. Sorry!"
Iris calmed down. "It's nothing to cry over. We'll get what we need tomorrow."
Achika sighed with relief. "Thanks, Iris."
Iris returned to what she was doing while Achika finished dusting the den. After an hour or so they were done. After locking up, they headed to the apartment. Achika was carrying the box she had found earlier.
"Do you think she's even home," asked Achika.
"Who knows," replied Iris as she pulled into the parking lot of the apartment complex. "She's so enraptured with the blond she's practically in another world. We'll be lucky if she's still on earth. I wonder what type of injuries I'll be walking away with this time round...."
"Iris."
"I was only joking."
They finally reached the apartment. Iris could hear at least three voices talking through the door as she fiddled for her keys. She and Achika exchanged glances when they realized that the voices were all male.
"What followed her home this time," whispered Iris, took a deep breath and turned the knob. "We're back," she said as she opened the door. Iris paused when she spotted three men in the living room. "Sorry to intrude."
"No, no," Torch called out as she came from the kitchen. "Um, fellas, these are my roommates, Iris Kipagami and Achika Himuro. Iris, Achika, meet Terry Bogard, Andy Bogard and Joe Higashi."
"Hi," said Terry and then looked at Iris. "Look, I'm sorry for what happened the other day with the hose and all."
"Don't worry about," said Iris, "It wasn't your fault." She then glared at Torch.
Torch gave Iris her innocent eyes in return and quickly snapped to. "Dinner's almost done."
"I'll give you a hand," said Iris.
Achika shrugged her shoulders and placed the box down. "Well, nice meeting you, guys," she said. "I've heard so much about each of you. Mr. Higashi, congrats on defending your title."
"Uh, well, thanks. And it's just Joe," replied the proud kick boxer. Andy and Terry only rolled their eyes.
"So where have you've been all day," asked Torch as she carefully brought out plates.
"We were cleaning out the old home," said Achika.
"That explains all the dust," noted Torch. "And what's with the box?"
"It's a bunch of old pictures, but it can wait. What's for dinner?"
"Spaghetti," she replied. "I didn't really have much for anything else, especially to feed all these people."
Iris walked in with a huge pot of spaghetti noodles and carefully placed them on the table. She returned to the kitchen to retrieve the sauce. Iris was still wary with Torch's behavior and did not want to risk any chance of being burnt. Andy smiled in satisfaction, as did the other men, from the meal. Torch convinced Iris to stay put while she went to the kitchen to retrieve some dessert and drinks. For another hour the group did nothing but talk, with the exception of Iris who only sat down and listened. The conversations ranged from fighting tactics to Joe's numerous victories in the ring. Terry then began to ask Achika about her life and what brought her to the city of shattered dreams. She began to tell the others about her father and the reason why her family decided to leave the city.
"So that's why you guys left," said Terry.
"Terry, haven't we met Himuro-sama before," asked Andy.
"I guess, but I wouldn't know," he replied.
"Oh, yeah. The photographs," remembered Achika. She quickly stood up and brought the box to the table. She opened it and picked up the first picture that was on top.
"Y'know, I really don't want to see any baby pictures of you taking a bath in the sink or nothing'," Torch teased before Achika opened the box.
"Oh, no. They're nothing like that. Trust me," she replied and pulled the first photo from the box.
"Hey, that's Master Tung," said Joe as he glanced over Achika's shoulder.
Terry and Andy glanced at the photograph as Achika placed it on the table for everyone to see. It was a group photo of a bunch of men. Master Tung stood on one side with several men to his left. Terry immediately recognized the situation, as did Andy.
"It's the Hakyokusaiken School at that time," noted Andy. "There's our father and ... Geese."
"That's Geese," Achika asked in astonishment.
"Yes," Andy responded while Joe and Terry remained silent.
"Is something wrong," Achika asked when she noticed the silence in the room.
Torch shook her head in amazement. Achika was obviously completely oblivious to the harm Geese Howard had inflicted on these men. "You don't have a clue, do you," she asked. "You should have heard what happened, even in San Francisco." Achika only shrugged in response. "I'll let these guys tell you, that is if they even want to." Mana looked over to see the rather silent trio of friends.
Both Andy and Joe looked towards Terry who nodded in response. "It started when I was about nine years old," Terry sighed. "That's when Geese killed our father."
"My brother and I went our separate ways and spent the next ten years training to defeat him," Andy continued. "When we returned to avenge our father, Terry was able to defeat him, but...." Andy's voice trailed off, not wanting to continue.
"Not only did Geese steal our father from us, Achika," Terry's eyes showed a long existing sorrow, "but he also killed Master Tung and... Lily."
"I'm sorry," Achika said in a sincere voice and looked around at her companions. "Terry, I know who Master Tung was, but who was Lily?" Both Andy and Joe glared at Achika, who began to squirm under their gazes.
"I'd rather not talk about her," Terry mumbled quietly. "Excuse me." Terry stood and walked out onto the balcony outside the living room.
"Terry?" Torch said as she followed him outside.
"Real smart, girl," Joe commented in an exasperated tone.
"What'd I do," Achika asked angrily.
"You just had to ask about her, didn't you," Joe accused.
"What are you talking about?"
"Are that naïve," Iris asked.
"Listen, Achika," Andy began. "Around four years ago, we returned and Terry defeated Geese. But he happened to fall in love with a girl that worked for him. Her name was Lily McGuire."
"You mean..."
"Yes," Andy looked outside to see Terry hunched over the balcony railing and Torch nodding as she listened to his brother. "Geese killed her because she was trying to buy us time to escape. Terry still blames himself for it. It doesn't help that his last girlfriend, Sulia, also died while trying to save all of us over a year ago."
"He's finally been getting over it, especially since he met that friend of yours," Joe added. "That is until you asked him about Lily."
"Don't give her such a hard time," Iris said as she smacked Joe in the back of his head. "She's still new around here. It's not her fault she didn't know."
*****
Outside on the balcony, Terry still leaned on the railing as he finished telling Mana of the demise of the last two women he had been involved with.
"Are you going to be okay, Terry," she asked as she took hold of his hand.
"I suppose," he shrugged. Terry's eyes followed the shape of her hand until his gaze flowed up her arm and came to rest on her concerned face. (What the hell was I thinking... I can't endanger her life. There's no way I can ensure her safety... I don't want her to die because of me) he thought. "Mana, I don't think we should see each other any more," he closed his eyes and said softly. It hurt him deeply to say those words.
"What did you say?"
"I don't think we should see each other any more," Terry repeated a little louder. He opened his eyes to see her looking rather furious.
"Why," she asked in a flat tone.
"I don't want you to be hurt because of me."
"How am I going to be hurt because of you," she asked. "To be perfectly honest, Terry, for you to back off and leave now would do a lot more damage than anything else."
"But...."
"Terry, I understand your concerns, but give us a chance," she smiled. "Hey, it's been a week and nothing's happened so far," Mana joked.
He softly chuckled at her comment and determination. "Are you sure I'm worth the risk?"
"Definitely," she brushed his long blond bangs away from his eyes. "I don't want to look back on this and regret we didn't give it a shot, okay?"
"You'll have to forgive me if I get a little overprotective," he warned.
"Just so long as if any idiots come after me to get to you, you leave some of them for me to kick the crap out of," Mana said.
"Deal," Terry gave her hand a squeeze. "Let's head back inside."
********************************************************* ****************************************
Well, it may be a while before the next update. We'll be showing just how connected Achika's dad really is to the characters of KOF. Unfortunately we have to introduce another character some time soon, and we're still debating on how to do it (a friend/co-worker of Billy Kane). Not to mention having to start everything up with KOF '96.
Thanks, people!
Please review.
Disclaimer: King of Fighters along with all its characters is the property of Playmore.
()= thoughts
**= actions
Memory Lane
Part 1
After an uneventful drive, the girls made it back to the Himuro family estate and entered the house to begin their task. As they looked around, they saw mostly sheet-covered furniture, which in turn was covered by a lot of dust. Achika and Iris began their task by uncovering the furniture.
"Jeez," Achika said between coughs. "It's hard to *cough* breathe in here. Ugh, I think *cough* something went in my mouth."
"Oh, god. You can practically plant life in here," Iris responded after a fit of sneezing. "Well, where exactly do you want to start?"
"Let's start up front and work our way to the back." Achika lifted a sheet that was covering a table and a cloud of dust spread throughout the room.
Iris waved her arms around trying to keep the dust away. "Maybe we should open some windows first. *achoo!*"
"Bless you." Achika looked around. "Yeah, you're right."
The girls opened up all the windows and began to clean the living room. Iris began to sweep around the front while Achika started to remove the remaining covers. Then an odd feeling began to develop as she approached the entrance to the hall that led to several different rooms.
Curiosity got the best of her and Achika headed down the hall. She sighed thinking about how this was her first home. She couldn't recall much of her childhood except for times when the nanny chased her around the courtyard and the constant begging she did to get her father to read her a story. "But was it this house," she thought to herself as she stopped at the first room she saw.
Shelves aligned the walls and a desk was shoved to the side. A sense of familiarity developed inside her. Achika could recall returning to South Town on occasions and to a place where it seemed so empty.
"Father's den," she whispered to herself. "I remember now." Achika began to rummage and sort through the remaining items.
*****
Meanwhile, Terry and Torch walked down the street arm in arm, talking and laughing. Not far off, Joe smiled as he watched the happy couple. "He's got it bad," he commented.
Andy observed his older sibling's behavior and smiled. "It's better than seeing him moping around. I'm just glad he decided to move on. " He then changed his tone of voice. "I hope he hasn't forgotten why we're here."
"Nah," replied Joe. "Oh, here they come."
"Hi, guys," said Terry, "I'm sorry about not introducing you earlier. This is my younger brother Andy and our friend Joe Higashi." Andy nodded and Joe just waved.
"This is Torch Kipagami," continued Terry.
Torch smiled. "Hi, guys. It's a great pleasure meeting you."
Andy reached out and shook Torch's hand as he began to recall something. "Kipagami," whispered Andy, "As in Yosho Kipagami?"
Torch nodded. "Of course, he's my father. Well, adoptive father. He runs the flower shop where I work at."
"Speaking of the flower shop, I still feel kinda bad about what happened to that girl the other day," confessed Terry.
"Oh that." Torch began to feel some guilt as well. "It's all right. She's a forgiving person. Knowing her as long as I have, she'll just tell you to forget about it and move on."
Just then, the town clock began to strike four, echoing throughout the streets.
"Oh, s***," Torch said in disappointment, remembering that it was her turn to cook dinner. She stood there in silence for a few seconds until she once again smiled. "Say, Terry, why don't you join us for dinner tonight?"
Terry smiled and shook his no, kindly refusing her offer. "I really don't want to trouble you."
"No really. It's not a big deal. The others won't mind at all."
"In that case, I'll be more than happy to," Terry said, giving in.
"And in the morning, she'll make him breakfast," Joe whispered to Andy. As Joe looked up, a black tennis shoe hit him square in the face.
"Jackass," Torch said flatly as she withdrew her foot from the air. Everyone began snickering and laughing as Joe wiped the grime off of his face as he got up from the sidewalk. "I was about to extend the invitation to you and Andy too, but I guess I can scratch your name off the list."
Terry stopped laughing. "He didn't mean anything. Joe's always been like that for some reason." He smiled and cleverly added. "Notice that she said 'us.' She shares the apartment with two other young women."
Joe's eyes lit up as he came to. "Really? Two young women? Two young _college_ women? Are they single?"
Andy hid his face in shame. "Idiot," he mumbled.
Terry laughed and whispered something to Torch. She thought for a moment and a smile returned to her face. "All right. He can come too, but if he keeps acting like some testosterone driven juvenile...." She finished her sentence with the sound of her knuckles cracking.
*****
Back at the Himuro Residence....
"Hey, Iris!"
Iris paused from her sweeping. "Yeah?"
"Could you come here? I'm in the first room to your right when you enter the hall!"
"Coming!" Iris entered the hall and carefully made her way to the den. "Geeze, I feel like I'm trapped some sort of labyrinth." When she reached the den, she carefully maneuvered around some boxes.
"Sorry," apologized Achika. "This is my father's den."
"Well," asked Iris. "What's the problem?"
"We need to move this desk. Ready?" Iris moved to one end. "1... 2... 3...!" They managed to move the desk away from the wall. "Let's see? What do you think?"
"Hmmm...." Iris walked around the desk and studied the layout of the room. "How about here?" She stood to where the entrance was to her left and her back towards the shelf.
"I think it may work. Ready?" The girls once again moved the desk. "Yeah, it might," added Achika once she saw the finished result.
Iris was nearly out of breath. "If it doesn't work out, we'll have someone else to move it. *Phew* Is that desk made out of solid oak?"
Achika slowly nodded in agreement as she stretched out her right shoulder. She was also tired. "Another manly task for Ryo and Robert." She stood up straight and brushed off some of the dust that was on her pants. "What time is it anyway?"
Iris glanced at her watch. "It's a quarter after four. We'd best be heading back."
"Yeah, " replied Achika. "Let me look around one last time." She headed towards the closet door and opened it. "Hey, my father was wondering about this jacket...." She paused when she noticed a box sitting on the shelf nearby. "What's this?" She picked it up and placed it on the desk. Achika opened it, revealing a stash of old photographs.
"Well, it looks like a bunch of old photos to me," Iris replied with her usual sarcasm and a rare smile.
"Yeah, yeah, very funny." She began to thumb through them and was surprised at the amount. "There's so many. Let's finish up what we can for now. We can look through these when we get home."
Iris stopped at the doorway and stared blankly at the floor. "Home," she whispered and then a worried look developed. "I hope Torch remembers it's her turn to cook...."
"S***!"
Iris was stunned by Achika's sudden outburst. "What's wrong?"
"It was my turn for groceries. Sorry!"
Iris calmed down. "It's nothing to cry over. We'll get what we need tomorrow."
Achika sighed with relief. "Thanks, Iris."
Iris returned to what she was doing while Achika finished dusting the den. After an hour or so they were done. After locking up, they headed to the apartment. Achika was carrying the box she had found earlier.
"Do you think she's even home," asked Achika.
"Who knows," replied Iris as she pulled into the parking lot of the apartment complex. "She's so enraptured with the blond she's practically in another world. We'll be lucky if she's still on earth. I wonder what type of injuries I'll be walking away with this time round...."
"Iris."
"I was only joking."
They finally reached the apartment. Iris could hear at least three voices talking through the door as she fiddled for her keys. She and Achika exchanged glances when they realized that the voices were all male.
"What followed her home this time," whispered Iris, took a deep breath and turned the knob. "We're back," she said as she opened the door. Iris paused when she spotted three men in the living room. "Sorry to intrude."
"No, no," Torch called out as she came from the kitchen. "Um, fellas, these are my roommates, Iris Kipagami and Achika Himuro. Iris, Achika, meet Terry Bogard, Andy Bogard and Joe Higashi."
"Hi," said Terry and then looked at Iris. "Look, I'm sorry for what happened the other day with the hose and all."
"Don't worry about," said Iris, "It wasn't your fault." She then glared at Torch.
Torch gave Iris her innocent eyes in return and quickly snapped to. "Dinner's almost done."
"I'll give you a hand," said Iris.
Achika shrugged her shoulders and placed the box down. "Well, nice meeting you, guys," she said. "I've heard so much about each of you. Mr. Higashi, congrats on defending your title."
"Uh, well, thanks. And it's just Joe," replied the proud kick boxer. Andy and Terry only rolled their eyes.
"So where have you've been all day," asked Torch as she carefully brought out plates.
"We were cleaning out the old home," said Achika.
"That explains all the dust," noted Torch. "And what's with the box?"
"It's a bunch of old pictures, but it can wait. What's for dinner?"
"Spaghetti," she replied. "I didn't really have much for anything else, especially to feed all these people."
Iris walked in with a huge pot of spaghetti noodles and carefully placed them on the table. She returned to the kitchen to retrieve the sauce. Iris was still wary with Torch's behavior and did not want to risk any chance of being burnt. Andy smiled in satisfaction, as did the other men, from the meal. Torch convinced Iris to stay put while she went to the kitchen to retrieve some dessert and drinks. For another hour the group did nothing but talk, with the exception of Iris who only sat down and listened. The conversations ranged from fighting tactics to Joe's numerous victories in the ring. Terry then began to ask Achika about her life and what brought her to the city of shattered dreams. She began to tell the others about her father and the reason why her family decided to leave the city.
"So that's why you guys left," said Terry.
"Terry, haven't we met Himuro-sama before," asked Andy.
"I guess, but I wouldn't know," he replied.
"Oh, yeah. The photographs," remembered Achika. She quickly stood up and brought the box to the table. She opened it and picked up the first picture that was on top.
"Y'know, I really don't want to see any baby pictures of you taking a bath in the sink or nothing'," Torch teased before Achika opened the box.
"Oh, no. They're nothing like that. Trust me," she replied and pulled the first photo from the box.
"Hey, that's Master Tung," said Joe as he glanced over Achika's shoulder.
Terry and Andy glanced at the photograph as Achika placed it on the table for everyone to see. It was a group photo of a bunch of men. Master Tung stood on one side with several men to his left. Terry immediately recognized the situation, as did Andy.
"It's the Hakyokusaiken School at that time," noted Andy. "There's our father and ... Geese."
"That's Geese," Achika asked in astonishment.
"Yes," Andy responded while Joe and Terry remained silent.
"Is something wrong," Achika asked when she noticed the silence in the room.
Torch shook her head in amazement. Achika was obviously completely oblivious to the harm Geese Howard had inflicted on these men. "You don't have a clue, do you," she asked. "You should have heard what happened, even in San Francisco." Achika only shrugged in response. "I'll let these guys tell you, that is if they even want to." Mana looked over to see the rather silent trio of friends.
Both Andy and Joe looked towards Terry who nodded in response. "It started when I was about nine years old," Terry sighed. "That's when Geese killed our father."
"My brother and I went our separate ways and spent the next ten years training to defeat him," Andy continued. "When we returned to avenge our father, Terry was able to defeat him, but...." Andy's voice trailed off, not wanting to continue.
"Not only did Geese steal our father from us, Achika," Terry's eyes showed a long existing sorrow, "but he also killed Master Tung and... Lily."
"I'm sorry," Achika said in a sincere voice and looked around at her companions. "Terry, I know who Master Tung was, but who was Lily?" Both Andy and Joe glared at Achika, who began to squirm under their gazes.
"I'd rather not talk about her," Terry mumbled quietly. "Excuse me." Terry stood and walked out onto the balcony outside the living room.
"Terry?" Torch said as she followed him outside.
"Real smart, girl," Joe commented in an exasperated tone.
"What'd I do," Achika asked angrily.
"You just had to ask about her, didn't you," Joe accused.
"What are you talking about?"
"Are that naïve," Iris asked.
"Listen, Achika," Andy began. "Around four years ago, we returned and Terry defeated Geese. But he happened to fall in love with a girl that worked for him. Her name was Lily McGuire."
"You mean..."
"Yes," Andy looked outside to see Terry hunched over the balcony railing and Torch nodding as she listened to his brother. "Geese killed her because she was trying to buy us time to escape. Terry still blames himself for it. It doesn't help that his last girlfriend, Sulia, also died while trying to save all of us over a year ago."
"He's finally been getting over it, especially since he met that friend of yours," Joe added. "That is until you asked him about Lily."
"Don't give her such a hard time," Iris said as she smacked Joe in the back of his head. "She's still new around here. It's not her fault she didn't know."
*****
Outside on the balcony, Terry still leaned on the railing as he finished telling Mana of the demise of the last two women he had been involved with.
"Are you going to be okay, Terry," she asked as she took hold of his hand.
"I suppose," he shrugged. Terry's eyes followed the shape of her hand until his gaze flowed up her arm and came to rest on her concerned face. (What the hell was I thinking... I can't endanger her life. There's no way I can ensure her safety... I don't want her to die because of me) he thought. "Mana, I don't think we should see each other any more," he closed his eyes and said softly. It hurt him deeply to say those words.
"What did you say?"
"I don't think we should see each other any more," Terry repeated a little louder. He opened his eyes to see her looking rather furious.
"Why," she asked in a flat tone.
"I don't want you to be hurt because of me."
"How am I going to be hurt because of you," she asked. "To be perfectly honest, Terry, for you to back off and leave now would do a lot more damage than anything else."
"But...."
"Terry, I understand your concerns, but give us a chance," she smiled. "Hey, it's been a week and nothing's happened so far," Mana joked.
He softly chuckled at her comment and determination. "Are you sure I'm worth the risk?"
"Definitely," she brushed his long blond bangs away from his eyes. "I don't want to look back on this and regret we didn't give it a shot, okay?"
"You'll have to forgive me if I get a little overprotective," he warned.
"Just so long as if any idiots come after me to get to you, you leave some of them for me to kick the crap out of," Mana said.
"Deal," Terry gave her hand a squeeze. "Let's head back inside."
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Well, it may be a while before the next update. We'll be showing just how connected Achika's dad really is to the characters of KOF. Unfortunately we have to introduce another character some time soon, and we're still debating on how to do it (a friend/co-worker of Billy Kane). Not to mention having to start everything up with KOF '96.
Thanks, people!
Please review.