KOF Extras

Past Era: Canon or Non-canon, Your Decision (Part Five)

Aiko found her brother near the garden behind the main house. He was sitting on the steps, staring into the moonlit garden which shone just as beautifully as it did in the daytime.
"Niisan," Aiko called as she went to him.
Iori quickly turned to see her. "What are you doing here?"
"I was about to ask you the same question," Aiko sighed as she sat herself beside him. "What's wrong, Niisan? Is something bothering you?"
Iori shrugged. "It sucks to know what's in store for this clan in the future."
"I feel you, Niisan," Aiko agreed softly, putting an arm around him. "To know what happens to this clan, to know what would happen to Kaya..." a tear escaped her eye when thinking about her kind ancestor. "Oh, Kaya..."
Iori pulled her closer for a hug. "It's gonna happen eventually, Aiko. From where we come from, it already has. A long, long time ago."
Aiko sniffled. "Is there any way we can stop the pact from happening? Stop Kaya from getting killed?"
Iori frowned, shaking his head. "Even if there was a way, it could drastically change history. We might not even exist, Aiko."
Aiko realised that undoing a mistake made centuries ago might make more in the coming years. "We aren't even born yet."
"Erasing the pact might not only affect our clan but Kyo's too. After all, we're not the only one intertwined with this, the Kusanagis are too."
"Intertwined with what?" A third voice suddenly asked.
The siblings turned to see Kaya standing behind them, still fully dressed in a red crescent-print kimono.
"Kaya-san," Iori got up and bowed with his sister.
Kaya smiled and bowed slightly as she came to them. "I didn't mean to overhear your conversation, but I did hear something about a pact that would affect the Yasakani and Kusanagi. What pact is it?"
Iori and Aiko gulped, turning to each other in surprise.
"It's nothing to worry about, Kaya-san," Aiko quickly said. "It's just... something that we can't control."
Kaya smiled and nodded. "I suppose it is. But do promise me, that the Kusanagi and Yasakani will have the same harmony as the two clans do now."
Iori nodded. "Even if it takes centuries, I can assure you that our clans will still be reunited in harmony one day. I can guarantee you that."
Aiko smiled as she realised how he was telling her nothing but the truth. Kaya nodded and left after bidding them Goodnight and asking them to return to their chambers for the night as well.
"Yeah, today was a long day, wasn't it?" Aiko chuckled. "I'm getting pretty tired."
Iori nodded, walking alongside her back to their chambers. "But at least we got to eat the tastiest seijo-kankidan ever."
Aiko snorted, remembering how K' had even snuck some out. "Yeah, it was good."
They decided to retire for the night and went back to their chambers.

***

"You gave Yamato the cold formality?" Iori asked in surprise when he and his sister met up with their friends from the Kusanagi clan. "And what did he do? He acted like nothing was up?"
"He realised it and excused himself," Kyo proudly said, smirking. "I know he apologised and all, but that was still dishonourable of him."
"True, but Kyo... he's still your ancestor and also the leader of your clan," Iori pointed out. "You can't do that!"
K' smirked, putting his chawan down on the low table. "Says the one that treated Magai like trash at some point."
Iori fell silent for a moment before speaking. "Magai treated me like trash first, Dash. Just because I wandered around to search a place to take a dump since I didn't want to go in that pot, he thought I was going around in search of food. Food, Dash. Food. That's how lowly he thought of me."
"Well, I'm pretty sure you hated him way before that incident," K' shrugged.
"He did irreparable damage to our whole clan, Dash," Iori explained further. "Aiko and I may have undone it upon ourselves but what about our ancestors? I know, we can undo it now that we're here but... I fear that we may undo... a lot more than just the curse."
"You mean... you might undo yourselves?" K' said in surprise.
Iori nodded dolefully. "Or the whole clan. My parents deserve to be born, undoing this curse might just erase our whole clan, not just the two of us."
"He's right," Kyo sighed. "We've come so far, six hundred years. We can't just undo something that happened that long ago. Both our clans might not exist in the future."
"And then Orochi would be dancing around freely, so no," Iori ended the subject. "Anyway, where's Yamato now?"
"Plucking tomatoes," Kyo shrugged. He realised that the rest of them were giving him strange looks. "What?"
"I thought you were pro in history, shouldn't you know that tomatoes didn't make it here until the seventeenth century?" Iori smirked.
"They didn't?" Kyo said in surprise. "Hey! I really did see him pluck tomatoes. Really! Come with me and I'll show you."
They finished their tea and followed Kyo out to the garden, rather amused that he actually wanted to show them proof. Kyo spotted Yamato among a row of trees and pointed at him. "See? I wasn't lying! He really is picking tomatoes."
"Since when do tomatoes grow on trees?" Aiko asked, smirking. "They grow on plants, Kyo. Not trees."
"Then what's that hanging from those trees?" Kyo pointed at the tomato-like fruit hanging from them."
K' plucked one that looked ripened enough and took a closer look. "This ain't a tomato... look!" He showed it to the rest.
The Yagamis burst into laughter. "That's a persimmon, Kyo. A persimmon." Iori finally said.
Yamato came over after having heard hysteric laughter, a bamboo basket cradled in one arm. "Is something the matter?" He asked, confused.
K' handed him the persimmon he was holding. "Sorry, I picked this. My... brother didn't know the name of this fruit."
"It's a persimmon," Yamato calmly said. "I'm sure you have seen it, we only served it three days ago, Kyo-san."
Kyo nodded. "I know, but I didn't know that they came from trees."
"Kyo-san, did you expect them to be prepared in the kitchen?" Yamato asked in surprise, sending the rest into fits of laughter.
"I thought they came from a plant, not a tree!" Kyo piped up.
Yamato was so speechless that he could only stare at Kyo.
"We know, that's why we were laughing at him too," K' chuckled. "He thought you were picking tomatoes."
"Tomato?" Yamato repeated, confused. "What's that?"
Kyo turned to the rest in surprise. "Guys, he doesn't know what a tomato is!"
"Kyo, seriously," Iori sighed before turning back to Yamato. "Yamato-san, there's this fruit called a tomato. We tried it once in Yezo, it was very limited. It was... it was imported from India, these tomatoes. It looks very similar to a persimmon but it isn't, though some called it Togaki. Indian persimmon. But trust me, it's a lot more different than the persimmon we know, just the skin texture is a little similar."
Yamato had no idea what he was talking about but nodded nonetheless. He handed each of them a fruit and went on plucking the rest.
"Why is he doing the garden work again?" Iori softly asked as they walked away. "Like, he's the leader. I don't think I've ever seen Magai picking fruits before."
"He likes gardening for fun," Kyo shrugged, carefully peeling his persimmon. "I think he mentioned it in his journals too. Like, I've read them before, and he always wrote about gardening secrets and whatnot."
"Who would've thought," Aiko remarked, taking a bite off her persimmon. "Darn, this is one of the best persimmons I've ever tasted!"
"Freshly picked with no pesticides, I guess," Iori shrugged, wiping his before taking a bite as well. "Mmm... should we go back and ask for more?"
"Doesn't your clan grow these too?" K' piped up, shaking his half-eaten persimmon. "Like... persimmons are significant for something, right?"
Kyo nodded. "Especially during the winter. Dried persimmons are one of the staples for winter as it lasts very long."
"Let's see if the Yasakanis grow these too," K' said again. "I really want some more."
Iori stopped short and placed a hand on K's forehead to feel his temperature, much to the latter's surprise. "Is something wrong with you?"
"No?" K' said, swatting his hand away. "Why?"
"Because the last time I checked, K-Dash didn't like sweet things!" Iori solemnly said. "Did something happen to you while we were transported to the past? Did something mess with your head?"
K' just frowned. "I'm trying new things, okay? Also, persimmons are healthy! It's a fruit, not a tub of ice cream or a bar of chocolate. I'm sure Kula would like it too."
"Yeah, I wanna get some once we get home too," Aiko chuckled. "Persimmon juice is really tasty."
"Let's go see if there's any at the Yasakani gardens," Iori smirked.