KOF Extras

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

The camp was fully set up and the four of them followed their ancestors to see what the situation was too. Tents of hemp cloth were being built, the soldiers of both clans bustling around in preparation.
"Are we staying back here too?" Kyo asked, watching as Yamato planted a flag with the Kusanagi Clan's emblem in the centre, right beside where Magai had placed the Yasakani's mark.
"It's up to you, but we're staying," Magai said, coming to them as he dusted his fingers. "Strong fighters like you would actually help."
"Then we're staying," Iori offered. "Aiko, you go back with Dash."
Aiko shook her head. "I'm a fighter too, the same Yasakani blood that flows in your veins flows in mine too."
To her surprise, Magai actually called her to a duel. Aiko promptly shook her head.
"I can't, you're our leader, Magai-san," she reasoned.
"Just come, see me as an enemy of the Yasakani who has come to break the seal," Magai insisted, getting into his stance.
Aiko shrugged and thought of it as a sparring session that she would usually have with her brother. Only, her brother was a watcher and her opponent was an ancestor that closely mirrored his appearance.
The duel, however, was cut short before either of them could trash each other severe enough so that they couldn't move. It still surprised Iori, how aggressive Aiko was in a fight despite being a person of soft-hearted and kind nature.
"Time out, time out!" Iori said, stepping between them with his hands raised to keep them apart. A ball of fire hit him square in the face, the sacred flame trapping him for a few seconds before allowing him to continue. "You guys, stop! If you bash each other like this, how will you face the real Hakkesshu later?"
Kyo and K' burst into laughter, standing at the side to watch with Yamato.
"No test needed, you're strong enough to rip any Hakkesshu to pieces... alone..." Magai panted, using the back of his wrist to mop the sweat off his brow. "You can stay if you like, but there won't be any chamber pots, you will be going in nature instead."
K' snorted. "Like that would make a difference."
Kyo nodded in agreement, flashes of his first night in this era appearing before him.
Just then, Aiko thought of something. "Wait! I think I'll still stay at the main house."
"Why? You just mentioned that you wish to join the camp," Yamato pointed out, confused.
Aiko frowned. "If everyone stays here, then who will protect Kaya-san?"
Magai burst into laughter, much to their surprise. "Oh, Aiko-san. I'm more worried for the Hakkesshu than I am for Kaya if that ever happens. Nothing but a pile of ashes will be left of them if they face her."
The four from the future looked at him in surprise. If Kaya was such a strong fighter, then why did she succumb to such fate in the first place?
"I still think that she needs some form of support," Aiko insisted. "Especially with Itsuki on her hands."
Magai shrugged. "If that's what you feel is right, then I have nothing to say about it. You go on and stay behind with Kaya."
K' suddenly felt as if he was the lost one in the middle of a battlefield. He raised his arm as if in class and stepped forward. "What about me? Can I stay behind with Aiko too? To watch over the Yasakani, that is."
Yamato looked at him. "Then what about our clan?"
"To watch over the Kusanagi clan too," K' quickly added. "After all, how can I let go of my kin? But I suggested staying with the Yasakani since... well, my brother and Yamato-san would be here, the only people I'm close with among the Kusanagi, and there would be no one else to accompany me. Aiko is my close friend, that's why I said I wanna hang— I mean... spend my time with her instead."
"Yeah, we're as close as siblings," Aiko quickly added, afraid that something else would be suggested. "But I still think it's best for you to spend the nights at the Kusanagi grounds, Dash."
K' shrugged. "Fair enough."
"One more thing," Kyo came forward. "What about food? Do we like fish or something?"
"There's a stream nearby," Yamato nodded. "Or we can indulge in nature's bounty as well."
Kyo nodded. "I guess that's good, then."
"We can bring over some food for you if you like," Aiko added with a chuckle. "By the way... where are the Yata people? They have agreed to join you, right?"
Magai frowned slightly. "I was wondering that as well. We'll give them a little more time as the twin heiresses have agreed."
They didn't have to wait long since they soon saw the Yata's flag which had the symbol of a crane spreading its wings. The soldiers, who were mostly women, put up their camp right beside the two clans so that the seal would be fully shielded from outsiders.
The twin leaders came over to them, their hair pulled tightly up into an elaborate wagami do to get the silky strands out of the way if a battle would ever occur.
"Any sign of Orochi so far?" Yamato asked.
The two women shook their heads.
"Not for now," the older twin, who was named Kanami, said. She turned to the four who stood close by and smiled. "Your clansmen are staying too?"
"We are, but Dashi and Aiko are going back," Iori said.
The second sister, Kagami, let out a soft chuckle. "Dashi... what a peculiar name. Your parents must've really liked fish broth to have named you that."
K' simply shrugged. "What can I say, I get no end of teasing because of this name. It's not like I can even complain about it now, can I?"
Kanami nodded understandingly. "But it's good to know that you take no offence for it."
"I did at the start, but I don't care at all now," K' sighed. "You wanna go back now, Aiko?"
"Yeah," Aiko nodded, giving the Yata twins a bow. "I'm sorry, but we have to leave now before sunset. We'll come back in the morning with more supplies."
The leaders of the three clans nodded. Aiko and K' waved at their friends before starting back to the Yasakani clan.
"Can I just stay at your place?" K' said as they walked along the dirt path. "I'd have to walk the rest of the way to the Kusanagi place alone..."
Aiko shrugged. "I don't mind, maybe you can sleep in Niisan's room. But Kaya has to approve."
K' frowned. "Why did you say that you wanted to go back to protect Kaya? I thought she was supposed to get killed?"
Aiko sighed. "Yeah, but... how can I let that happen now that I'm here? After all, her death is the one thing that led our clan to destruction in the years to come. What if I can prevent that?"
"Aiko, like what Iori had said, it will affect the whole clan!" K' pointed out. "You might not exist in the future."
Aiko smirked, just the slightest of smiles on her face. "I might not, but Niisan will. And he will be born without curse, free of Orochi's taint just like all of the other Yasakanis before him."
"Aiko, a lot of people might not exist, not just you," K' reasoned. "There's a chance that Iori himself might get erased too."
"Niisan is the first child, so is my father and all the other Yasakanis directly above him. Believe me, I've checked on our family tree. If my ancestors marry the right people, then Niisan will be born. I'll still be losing a lot of relatives, like my uncle, but I guess... to be honest, I don't know either. But that's the only way to save Kaya."
K' shook his head. "Aiko, please. It's not worth it. All of those people deserve to be born."
"But they don't deserve to be cursed," Aiko countered. "My uncle may not have been the leader at first, but he still suffered to raise us."
"The Iori from that era would not be the same as the Iori from ours. Aiko, you're gonna drastically change history and future if you save Kaya."
"He will be raised by his mother, a person he has never met before. Niisan will have both of his parents by his side, he might have more siblings than just me. What will he need more?"
"Aiko..." K' didn't know what to say. "You're willing to sacrifice yourself for your brother's happiness."
"He sacrificed a lot for me," Aiko nodded, tears gleaming down her face.
"But you're sacrificing a lot more than just yourself," K' sighed. "A lot of other things could go wrong, Aiko. There's more than six hundred years to come. Anything can happen to the Yasakanis during that time. Who knows, something might happen to Itsuki now with Kaya here. We wouldn't know, right?"
Aiko simply sighed in reply as the two of them walked alongside each other back to the Yasakani grounds.
"I just wish that there was a way to keep Kaya alive," she said at last. "She doesn't deserve the fate bestowed on her."
K' desperately thought of a way to change her perception. "What if this isn't the end of her? I read this book where a couple, a writer and a geisha, meets their untimely death only to be born again mere days later. Destiny somehow brings them together in the future, in another part of the world but there they are. Still meeting like how they were meant to."
Aiko chuckled slightly. "I think I know this book. But maybe, maybe you're right. Maybe she will be granted a new life later."
K' nodded. "Yes... that means whatever that must happen in this timeline, must happen. Or else it might end up like Back to the Future II where the future changes so much that it becomes more of a dystopia than present-time reality."
"I guess you're right. But I just can't help feeling useless, like I can't do anything but just... just watch the chaos around me happen without a single way to stop it."
K' had no idea how to comfort her, every single thing he says seemed to be useless in comforting her. He thought that his situation was similar to the one she was put in as well, a watcher of chaos without a single way to curb it.
Only, the chaos was walking beside him, a person and not an occurrence.