The King of Fighters Tournament

Past Rivals

Kusanagi felt strangely good to be back in the spotlight. He realised that his teammates looked like they were used to it, despite how this was their first tournament after years too.
But it's not like he didn't feel that way as well.
"Good to be back?" Kyo-1 nudged Kusanagi.
Kusanagi nodded. "Yeah. It's like I never left. Strange how people are actually cheering for us now..."
"Like they didn't cheer for us before," Kyo-2 chuckled as he posed with his back to Kyo-1's, imitating their usual poster. "But yeah, it's good to be back."
"Who did you say our opponents were again?" Kusanagi asked, grinning at the camera with flames on his hands.
"Don't know, I didn't check," Kyo-1 said, pulling Kusanagi to the middle so that he stood between him and Kyo-2. "But whatever, we can take them down."
"Sure," Kusanagi chuckled and posed with them.
They had a few more shots, even with them giving the cameras a cheerful pose with peace signs, smiling like the group of friends they were. It was clear that they enjoyed each other's company.
The opponents arrived and Kusanagi groaned when he realised that it was Krohnen, Ángel, Nelson. He didn't have much against the latter members, but Krohnen...
"Kusanagi, Kusanagi," Krohnen sneeringly greeted.
Kusanagi scowled and pointed at him. "Now, that's Mr Kusanagi to you, Punk!"
Kyo-2 smiled to himself. "Yep. Just like old times."
"Ah, I actually miss this," Kyo-1 added in agreement.
To their surprise, Mutually Exclusive Dichotomy started playing. The Kyo Clones exchanged smiles while Krohnen scowled. Ángel burst into laughter and placed her hands around him. "Alright, alright, everyone. Let's start this battle." She turned to Nelson. "Amigo? You better go first. Let this guy cool off first." She patted Krohnen's biceps, which sounded more like slaps, then pulled him away.
"Who shall go first?" Kyo-2 asked. His teammates didn't seem interested to reply. "Alright, then. I'll go first."
And the battle began.

Terry adjusted his cap and smirked at his brother who, unlike him, wore a solemn look on his face. Terry snorted and clapped Andy on the back.
"Come on, cheer up," Terry chuckled. "Always with the serious look on your face."
"Quiet down, I'm trying to focus," Andy grumbled.
Terry smirked. "On what?"
Andy clicked his tongue and turned away, making Terry burst into laughter. He turned to Rock to pull him into the joke, but stopped short upon seeing how he stood with a frown on his face. The youth was oddly quiet too, usually he'd be joking around with them.
"Rock?" Terry called, poking his shoulder to gain his attention. "Oi."
Rock jumped out of his thoughts and turned to him in surprise. "Huh? You called me?"
The Bogard brothers exchanged concerned looks.
"Rock, you still feeling that?" Terry asked.
Rock nodded, frowning. "It has gotten stronger. I don't know what it is, but I keep feeling chills."
"Should we take him to a priest or something?" Andy suggested. "Because whatever this is, it may be Geese's doing."
"No, I would know if it was," Rock shook his head.
"But did you know when we were in the Bahamas?" Terry gave him a knowing look.
"Geese didn't come to me, to us, until the last minute," Rock said. "I think he was trying to avoid facing me after... after whatever happened."
"You're right, we didn't feel anything too," Andy sighed. "Even Mai couldn't, even when Geese tried to communicate with her. She thought it was me."
Terry couldn't help but snicker. "True. Even I didn't see it coming. None of us did." He turned to Rock and sighed. "Chin up, Bud. It's nothing we can't handle. We're a team, remember?"
Rock smiled slightly and nodded. "We are. But I'm just not sure, I have no idea what this thing is. It feels familiar, very strangely familiar. I'm not even sure if it's a person, a ghost, or some strange entity."
Andy shrugged. "Well, I won't be surprised if it was either of those. We see stuff like that all the time, no biggie."
"I know," Rock smiled. "I think I'll just leave this thing be. If it wants to show itself, then let it." He groaned. "But it's just so bothersome! Argh!"
"Alright, alright," Terry put an arm around Rock and jiggled him as he laughed. "Let's pose for the camera instead. The Kanes and Joe will be here soon."
That made Rock laugh hard. "Joe and Billy? I almost forgot they were our opponents."
"I know, right?" Andy snorted. "I wanna see how it unfolds too."
Terry snorted. "Same." He pulled Rock and grinned. "Come on, now. Let's pose for the camera!"
The three of them started posing together, mostly with them making funny faces, matching poses, or with the flair of three heroes. Terry even suggested they pose like James Bond, with their hands held like guns. 
"This is more fun than I thought," Rock laughed after the photos were clicked, now doing his signature pose. "But how will we get them?"
"The organisers should give us a print copy once the match is over, I think," Andy said. "Or was it after the tournament?"
"After the battle," Terry said. "They give us souvenirs after each venue."
"That's nice," Rock said. "Kinda miss this detail in KOF."
The Kanes arrived and they started posing for the camera as well. An enhanced and rearranged version of London March started playing, much to their amusement and delight.
"Yeah, I kinda vibe to this," Terry smirked. "Billy!" He greeted cheerfully as he went to the bandana-clad man.
Billy grinned and rested his stick on his shoulder. "You blokes are our opponents? Now this is iconic, isn't it?" He smirked as he turned to Joe. "Must be a bit odd to fight against them and not with them, huh, guv?"
Joe chuckled. "Yeah, but I prefer fighting with you guys." He had an arm around Lilly.
"You prefer fighting with both of them, or just Lilly?" Andy added, giving him a knowing look.
"I guess we all know what the answer here is," Lilly chuckled. "Also, let me go, Joe. I'm not done posing."
"Oh yeah, we haven't posed with you guys too," Terry added.
Rock snorted, remembering how they distracted Billy so that Joe could go talk to Lilly without being beaten up. It was funny, how Billy was always in the way, and how he always pummelled Joe whenever he can.
And now they were teammates, with Billy wholeheartedly accepting his sister's relationship with her. Billie waved at them from the front row, smiling at the thought of her friends competing in a tournament.
It was still funny how she shared a name with her boyfriend.
The announcer eventually urged them to began the battle since they were clearly wasting time with friendly banter and posing for pictures. They reluctantly did, with Terry starting the first round against Billy.