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Instinct and Empathy	By : Fenris30 Category: +G through L > King of Fighters Views: 1607 -:- Recommendations : 0 -:- Currently Reading : 0
Disclaimer: I do not own the King of Fighters fandom, nor anything therein. No money or profit is made from this work.

Chapter List
- 4
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- 6
Greasy diner food seemed to be exactly what Iori wanted right now.
It was only about seven in the morning-three days after the rather intense time he and Athena had together.
Iori had been a whirlwind of emotions afterward, ranging from anger, to rage, to sadness, to frustration, to a very heavy longing...and back around again. This was often nothing new for Iori-though he generally had less sadness and more rage, and not much in the way of longing-but he was in a situation right now where he felt people trying to pry into his most evil side, and someone else making some effort to try to appeal to another side of him which probably still existed-at least somewhat-but was buried by everything else.
And he had no idea where he landed.
The food that was placed in front of him seemed to be exactly what his body needed. Salty eggs, a pile of toast, potatoes, and an enormous assortment of greasy breakfast meat. There were times where Iori could eat for three it seemed; he had no idea what caused it, but he supposed his powers may have had something to do with it.
He had demanded they leave the coffee pot at the table; the look on his face tended to get waiters to listen quickly to him and then leave him alone.
Looking outside of the dingy place in some forsaken corner of South Town, the rain continued. It hadn't much let up, though it was only a few degrees cooler than it had been, turning many places into a sort of sauna. This place was kept comfortable enough, at least. He had slung his long, black raincoat across the other side of the booth.
He stared at the phone on the table before stubbing his cigarette out in the ash tray and setting into the greasy food. There were only a couple of other patrons at this place; older gentlemen, one at the counter drinking coffee and reading the paper, and another in a back booth doing the same. This was not the most patronized diner in South Town and for that he was grateful; it was also close to his apartment so he didn't even need to travel far.
As he ate, he heard the sound of the door opening, punctuated with the fairly hard rain that was still going. He swallowed and glanced up at the person walking close to his booth. He sighed.
“I hung up again,” he grumped.
Athena slid the hood of her own raincoat down, smiling slightly. “You still called.”
“How did you even find me?”
“You weren't home, and this is the only place nearby where I figured you'd have been.” She moved his raincoat over and sat across from him. “You also forget...” she tapped her head and chuckled. She was not able to locate perfectly, but if she was in a general area, she could get an idea if she was particularly close to someone.
Iori waved a waitress over, nodded at Athena, and grunted. Athena held back a chuckle as the waitress went to go get more coffee, along with a menu. When she left, he took a sip of his own and sighed. He scratched at the collar around his neck, Athena thinking to herself that he looked rather good today. His penchant for loose, low cut tank tops during the summer left little to the imagination-he was very well built and defined, given to his life of hard fighting and working out-something that despite having inhuman physical capabilities, he didn't ignore.
The black waterproof coat that he wore with his outfit went stunningly well on top of things.
She decided to take some incentive, reaching over to touch his hand that was lying on the table. He tensed at first...and then surprisingly turned it over to wrap around hers, his thumb tracing over the top. He was sort of staring at his cup of coffee as he did this, though he finally glanced up to look at her. He uttered a small snort of laughter as he let her hand go to continue eating.
Athena accepted the coffee when it came, though passed on food. “We ate already,” she said. “Chin's always up early with breakfast.”
They were silent for awhile as Iori polished off the rest of his greasy fare, sliding the plate off to the side and lighting a cigarette. He blew a thin stream of smoke out of his mouth as he leaned back, glancing around a moment before looking at her.
“Busy?” he asked.
She shook her head. “I was going to call you today anyway to ask you the same.” She noticed he was somewhat awkward right now. She knew that on his best days he chose to withdraw from people, and right now, she figured he was going through a lot.
“Was going to have a walk somewhere after this. Place I usually go.”
“Secret?” Her eyebrow raised.
“Not really. Out of the way.” He waved the waitress over, who placed the bill in front of him quickly. He dealt with everything before standing, slinging his black raincoat back on, and walking out, with Athena following suit.
She kept up with his long strides as he walked under any awnings and the like to try to keep at least somewhat dry. The place was fairly desolate; given the time of day and the fact he lived in a place with a sparse population, the weather caused the few that may have been out to hide inside.
“It's just on the roof of my building,” he said, walking quickly. He sort of wanted a cigarette, but it would be easier where they were going. “There's a place to stay dry.”
“Just a place where you go?”
He nodded, looking at her for a moment as they turned the corner to the alley near his place. He began to climb up the fire escape on the side. It looked a little old, but still sturdy.
The building where he stayed was about ten stories high; Iori took the steps double, with Athena fairly close behind. They eventually hit the top and he quickly led her to this small alcove which was fairly protected from the rain. The ground was fairly dry, and also swept clean; it showed that he came up here fairly often. He sat by the wall inside, digging a cigarette out of the pack in his coat pocket.
Athena joined him, sitting next to him as he lit it. “It does seem pretty nice and out of the way.”
He nodded. “I come here if my apartment isn't working out.”
She remembered the cracks in the walls and understood. She looked up at him, his hair slightly damp.
“How have you been the past few days?”
He shrugged. “Better than I was. Depends.” He looked down at her, a tiny smile creeping into the corner of his mouth. “You?”
“Very nice. I...uhh, after I got back I was surprisingly ready for a nap. Otherwise nothing new. I tried to look into some things about...you know, but nothing came of it.”
He nodded, his eyes darkening for a split second at their thought, but he shook out of it, attempting to keep his mood at least at 'neutral' at the moment. He looked back over at her. “Tired you said?”
She giggled. She was glad for this. He was loosening up, even if it was only a little. “Yeah. I managed to hide everything though.” She flashed her thigh...which held some small bruises on it, obviously from his bites. “I had to wear my longer shorts.”
He looked down at her thigh, smiling a little. The smile had a slightly wicked tone, though he stayed silent.
They looked over the city some more, the heat and the rain causing things to get even more uncomfortable. He stood.
“We can go back.”
She stood. “Yeah, I think I want the air.”
Before he stepped out, he looked down at her a moment, running a hand through her hair. She reached up to touch his face. Hesitating a moment, she decided to try to kiss him to see what his response would be.
Much to her pleasure, he returned it-lightly and slowly-but he returned it. He walked off after it broke letting her follow.
Stopping in to grab cigarettes from the store next door to his place, the two went inside, up the stairs, and eventually got to his place, which had gotten rather damp. He switched on the air to get the extreme humidity out of the room; it did feel quite good on his skin when he tossed off his long jacket. There was thunder rumbling, but he typically didn't worry about storms and electricity; he generally didn't care.
Stretching, he watched Athena as she carefully hung everything up and smiled slightly. He walked over to the window to open it a little; as he was getting his ashtray the little cat jumped up, looking rather damp and cross.
Athena laughed. “Poor thing.” She went over to scratch her ears; she soon started purring.
Iori got the usual food for her, crouching down to scratch her as well. She twined around his legs. “You can stay in here,” he said, quietly. “No place for you out there.”
Athena smiled at that. The little cat rubbed against him, looking even smaller next to his big hand than she was. He stood, letting her go eat as he shoved a cigarette into his mouth.
“Anything today?” she asked.
He shook his head.
“Let me know if you want me to go.”
Glancing over at her as he grabbed his bass and sat on his slightly ratty sofa, he blew a stream of smoke out, though never removed the cigarette.
“You can stay.”
He thought maybe-just maybe-spending another day with her might trip something inside of him. He had no idea. He had been a mess of emotions the past three days.
She grabbed a book and went to go lie down on his bed, mostly eyeing him while he set up. He started with a few scales; she watched his hands maneuver around the strings easily. She sat up, crossing her legs to watch him. Being a musician herself, she of course loved this.
“How long have you played?” she asked.
He set his boot up on the wooden table, pausing his playing to lean his head back and think; a puff of smoke appearing from the side of his mouth. He looked back at her through his hair. “Twelve years maybe. I started on piano. Don't remember much of that, though I can still play a little.” He continued on, the deep rumbling of the bass sounding very pleasant to her ears. He was playing his favorite four-string bass; the five-string and the fretless were propped in the corner.
The cat jumped on the bed to sit next to Athena, having finished her food. She smiled, stroking her.
Iori continued to play. He looked relaxed; leaning back on the sofa, the cigarette burning away in his mouth as he would occasionally take a drag. For once, Athena had a sense of...almost comfort in the place, between him looking somewhat content-though more neutral than anything-the cat next to her, and being in a place where she was starting to like to be more and more, despite it's grim appearance.
After winding up a particularly complicated sounding piece, he set it carefully back on the stand and flicked it off. He tossed his shirt and boots into a corner somewhere, stripping down to his jeans again. He went over to the bed to lay down next to where Athena was sitting, shoving a cigarette in his mouth and lighting it before putting one hand behind his head. He stared at the sparse ceiling, with all of its exposed plumbing.
He hadn't felt as calm as he did now in ages. Oh, he was still mostly on edge. He lived with the constant wonder if today would be a day where somehow Orochi would break the seal again and make him go insane, and with the constant gnawing at his subconscious that he did not belong to himself. It was hard to be calm, but right now, he was at least somewhat content.
He had no idea how long it would last.
The cat sort of curled up between the two of them to nap. Athena laughed, repositioning so she sat next to his head as he lie there. She sort of liked that he walked over to be next to her for once; it showed he was attempting more of...something. Being somewhat personable.
He's never going to be sweet. You know that.
She did know, and she didn't particularly care. She didn't even know where this was going. They weren't an item and they may never not be one, she knew. She would be happy if she even managed to shift a day or two of his to something resembling normalcy, even if his violent thirst never went away.
Looking over at him, she ran a hand through his hair; she did love how it felt. Fairly long, well-groomed, thick, and soft. It was the oddest red color, which was indeed natural.
She could confirm that as of the other night.
He glanced over at her, taking a drag of the cigarette and removing it from his mouth as he blew a stream of smoke up.
Athena decided to take a small bit of incentive here, and leaned down to give him one light kiss on the mouth. To her pleasure, he returned it; he set the cigarette in the ashtray on the table next to the bed and used his hand to slide behind her head, his fingers wrapping in her hair. He returned it rather firmly, his tongue sliding into her mouth, though his other hand remained behind his head.
Breaking, he picked up the cigarette again, glancing at her a moment, giving her a small smile before he looked back up at the ceiling.
He was getting torn several ways again. He liked kissing her. A lot. Every time he did, it actually gave him pleasure.
Then he would begin to think how he'd not be able to do what she wanted most likely, and that turned back into his anger. If he managed to stave off those thoughts, it lasted a little longer.
Athena continued to stroke his hair back as he lie there. The cat decided apparently that they were getting too cozy and retreated to the couch, though went immediately back to sleep, clearly happy to be out of the rain.
“Looks like she's moving in.”
Iori looked over and snorted laughter. He clearly didn't seem to mind. He looked back up at Athena as he put out his cigarette, and then tentatively pulled her down so her head was on his chest again. He was tense, to be sure, but he was trying, sliding his hands through her hair, stroking it.
She relaxed, her stomach twisting in pleasant knots. When he did things like this, it hit her emotionally hard. Not in a negative way. Athena was highly sensitive to people's emotions, and that seemed to go doubly for him, especially at this point. She took anything she could get; it spoke volumes he would even find it in him to attempt this. She could feel he was still hesitant, and trying to fight through whatever was holding him back.
He eventually repositioned after a few minutes, letting her lie on the bed as he propped over her. He looked her up and down before closing his eyes and exhaling.
“Are you okay?” she asked.
“Yeah.” He looked her up and down, wondering when his mind would start being torn in several ways at once again. As of now, he seemed to be okay, so he decided to instigate more.
He leaned over her as she lie there, breathing heavily as his lips barely brushed hers. His tongue slid out of his mouth to flick over her lips for a moment as her mouth opened to let it in; he pressed forward in a deeper, rougher kiss as he began to suck on her lower lip, like he would...even biting a little at it as she moaned.
Athena was starting to enjoy the biting; he usually tried to keep it to more hidden places, and it gave their sessions a more...unbridled feel. She had not really thought about rougher endeavors, but something about Iori's actions just turned her on. Maybe she had another side of herself she had never thought to explore, or maybe it was just something she liked to do with him.
As they fell more into their activities again, their clothing ended up finding its way off rather quickly. It didn't take both of them long to end up completely naked this time.
This was a nice change of pace, as their first day they didn't even get all of it off.
In front of her, Iori slid his hands down to her breasts to tease them with his fingers, occasionally adding a pinch, which made her squeal, though she sort of liked it, since he wasn't too harsh with it.
Meeting in a kiss again, he traced his hand down, sliding a finger between her legs; he got a rather evil grin on his face given what he felt. Teasing her a little, he slid his finger out to lick it off, only to slide it back. She shivered, kissing him again quickly before looking at him questioningly.
Iori moved so he could lay down, which he did. “Get on me and turn around.”
Athena laughed. “Wait...like...”
He helped position her first over him and then around...so her midsection was facing his head. He had wanted to try this on the first day, but decided to opt for other things instead.
She adjusted herself, facing his member and laughing a bit. She had never done this, but she was more than willing to try, particularly with how much he pleasured her their past time together. She tensed and squealed, however, once she felt his tongue begin to give her long licks from top to bottom.
Iori held her thighs, pushing them apart; her entire womanhood was now in front of him, and he could visibly see how wet she was. He moaned very low in his throat as he leaned forward, his tongue tracing around every part of her, going toward her opening, thrusting inside before he slid it down to swirl around her clit.
Regaining some willpower, she started to tease the tip of his member with her tongue; just starting to experiment with things she thought he might like. Taking him into her mouth further, she began to suck, all while teasing it a little with her tongue at the same time.
Iori groaned in pleasure, stopping what he was doing for a moment and leaning back on the pillow to take it all in. She was doing some rather intense things already, and this was not something he had felt in ages. Closing his eyes and breathing heavily, he thrust his hips lightly toward her, moaning low. One hand ran up and down her back, scratching lightly with his nails.
Athena smiled to herself that she actually got him to stop for a few moments; she continued, using her hand to stroke him and tease him underneath a little bit while she sucked. She tasted a tiny bit of salty liquid already, but continued; she took it as a sign of her actions being perfectly appropriate.
Iori continued to moan, though he managed to lift his head; he used his hands to slide her thighs apart again and went back to licking her, this time slowly from one end to the other. Athena began to shake, her actions becoming uneven as she moaned again herself. He raked his nails down her sides here and there, causing her moans to reach a slightly louder tone.
She actually yelled out in pleasure when she felt him start to tug at her clit with his lips, before biting at it very lightly. This caused her to stop for some moments to moan much louder, her body trembling. It felt incredible; there was a tiny bit of pain, but it was...different.
When he heard her moans reach a loud enough pitch, he would switch over to almost soothing licks, swirling his tongue around it slowly for some time before going back to nipping at it...and alternating like this.
It was almost too much for her to bear; she was trembling harder and soaking wet, and it was only getting worse...or better as the case may be.
Trying to concentrate, she took him into her mouth again, sucking and teasing the tip with her tongue; she could taste him again, and she got the feeling he was going to come at any moment if she kept this up. She wanted to get him too soon; both because both of the other times they had sex he had finished himself off, and also she wanted to sort of finish before she lost all control of herself. Everything he was doing with her own nether regions was about driving her mad.
He brought his tongue back to her opening to lap up everything that was coming from her; it was a lot, given his choice of technique.
He would have to remember this for the future. Given their activities at the time, it didn't occur to him at all that he was actively thinking about future endeavors with her.
Iori began to slow down a bit as he felt her try to pick up her intensity; he started to thrust harder, suddenly unable to concentrate very well, given her wonderful actions and the fact her smell and taste were completely surrounding him. He would occasionally stick his tongue out to lick for a few moments, though he was quite distracted; he decided to just thrust it inside of her since it took a bit less concentration.
When she started to suck quickly at the head, taking him deeper, he began to feel himself start to go; he stopped, trying to move...but she stayed, sucking as he came.
He growled out fairly loudly as it happened, his hand gripping the bed next to him, trying not to actually tear into it. It was all he could do to hold his strength back.
Given he could tear into walls, this was yet another great example of his willpower.
He thrust his hips as she continued to suck, her hand stroking him underneath, until she felt him finish. She let him go, her hand rubbing his extremely muscular leg as she panted, the salty taste of him in her mouth. She found she didn't mind it in the least, though.
Iori was panting, his heart pounding; he had not felt anything that good in ages. The sex with her was wonderful, but his first two times back he just didn't last that long, and taking care of himself felt different; the fact she didn't move away actually tied his stomach in knots, though not unpleasantly.
Squeezing his eyes shut, he continued to roughly rub at her thighs; finally putting his head back up, he scratched at them again, stopping to bite again just a little-trying to hit parts that were not already bruised from the first time-before going back to what he was doing, sliding his tongue deep inside of her as he thrust harder and harder, teasing her clit now and then in between with his lips and teeth.
Trembling, her moans became uneven as she felt him swirl his tongue slowly around her clit after a time; he started sucking it again and that was about all she could take. She finally came-her moans louder than they had been, as he pressed his face into her, his hands roughly massaging her thighs, swallowing everything he could. He did not pull away until he was certain she was finished; he finally leaned back on the pillow as she settled on him. He felt the wetness on his chest from this as she shifted, which sort of gave him a rather intense feeling of satisfaction.
Athena was shivering, and the hair on he neck stood up when she felt him lean up to kiss the small of her back, which was in easy reach.
“Iori...” she said, her voice soft.
He kissed her a bit more, right up and down the spine. They finally separated, her turning around so she could lean under his arm.
She was silent for a bit of time before she turned toward him to sit up when she felt rested. The smell of sex was strong in the room. Smiling, she brushed back some of his sweaty hair.
“I don't know what you did,” she giggled. She had no idea what else to say.
Iori only shrugged, his hand reaching up to stroke her face for a moment before bringing it back down.
Just that action gave Athena flutters. He's trying. He's trying so hard.
She didn't expect him to ever be nice to anyone else-she'd be surprised-but if he'd open to her just a little bit more that would be enough.
He suddenly sat up, shaking his head. As usual, he started to feel torn. Grabbing a cigarette from the table, he lit it, sliding his legs off the bed and sitting, his elbows resting on his knees.
“Iori?”
He turned toward her. “I'm fine. I think.” He turned back. This was just something he had to get used to.
She crawled toward him, moving to sit on the side of the bed next to him. He smoked the cigarette quickly, as if he was trying to finish it to continue to run away from something. He paused a second-to slide a hesitant hand around her shoulders, pulling her closer to him for a few moments as he sat there. He slid away as he finished, grabbing a towel and nodding toward the shower.
“I'll be back.” He turned without another word.
Athena leaned back on the bed, shivering a couple of times. This had been a rather intense session, and she suspected she'd be more worn out after this one than the other times.
Iori wandered into the shower, putting his hands on the sink as he stared into the mirror. He had turned the shower on and was enjoying the steam for now, and the mirror was beginning to fog up.
He wasn't sure why he didn't invite her in here-it wasn't that there was anything to 'keep secret' about one another's bodies anymore-but he felt somehow this was his sort of private time to unwind.
He finished fairly quickly-he had just gotten one in the morning-and moved over to the sink. Sighing and drinking a glass of water from the tap-the cold felt good on his throat-he stood leaning against it as the water dripped from his body. He tried to empty his mind; he thought that may help him, but it was impossible. It was spinning; feelings about his own mind, feelings about Athena, and of course his current plans to possibly hunt down his enemies before they got a chance to do something worse.
Shaking his head, he grabbed the towel from the door and dried himself as he stepped out; Athena had not moved from the bed yet, and instead had wrapped the sheet around herself to lie there and read one of the books she had started one of her earlier visits.
He nodded toward the bathroom, letting her know it was ready. She got up and walked by him-a hand brushing over his muscular stomach-and after a few moments he heard the sound of the shower going again.
Looking over at the couch, the cat was still curled up, sleeping. He smirked.
“Staying?” He finished drying himself.
The cat looked up at him for a moment before putting her head back down.
He snorted and scratched his head, having some respect for an animal that didn't quite give a shit. He looked over at the empty coffeepot, wanting to make more, but given he was also hungry he debated going out instead. He figured with the storms the way they were any place would be fairly desolate.
In the shower, Athena let the warm water soak into her; she felt pretty incredible right now, though she had a feeling some of her parts would be a bit sore. Iori was not the most gentle, but she liked that-she may have been a generally happy, optimistic and even calm person, but sometimes one doesn't know that they're into something until they actually try it. While she didn't suspect she'd get too kinky, she was surprised that she liked the things that he tried-particularly when he would use his teeth and nails a little.
Shivering at the thought, she was also rather impressed that he could leave her sore and tired with or without getting into actual sex. They had stopped at foreplay today and she didn't feel any less satisfied.
She was falling steadily for him, though. It was more than just the intense sex; the more she was around him, the more-despite the fact they were very different-she simply wanted to be with him. She had to sort of hold back her feelings, as she had no idea where he was mentally.
Finishing the shower rather quickly, she turned it off, grabbed her towel and walked out. Iori had already started to dress.
“Hungry,” he said, pulling on his tank top and trying to find where he threw his boots again; he remembered he tossed them into the corner. Iori often didn't keep his clothing in one spot, except for his black raincoat, his leather duster, and his half-moon shirt.
Athena nodded; mentioning that made her realize that she was quite hungry as well. She hurried to dress herself.
Making sure he set up some food for the cat, he cracked the window in case she wanted to head out, grabbed his collar, cigarettes, and raincoat, and went toward the door. He actually stopped a moment in the musty hallway when she reached him, turning around.
For once, he instigated a kiss with her, his hand running up and down her back firmly as it would. He pushed her slightly against the wall even; she slid her fingers into his hair, falling into the rather intense kiss.
It broke after a few moments, as he touched her face a moment before exhaling deeply and walking quickly toward the stairs, putting a cigarette into his mouth. He hadn't said a word.
She followed, smiling.
--
“You don't have a favorite place?” Athena walked quickly to keep up; Iori had a habit of walking quickly everywhere. They were already several blocks from the apartment.
He shook his head. “I like to move around.” The place he had his eye on today was a bit of a dank noodle shop, in another corner of some forsaken alley. He had to admit, the food here was pretty damned good for being so out of the way; he hoped tourists wouldn't find out about it, as it was a nice place to go to get away from people. It always amused him how South Town could rebuilt after it's near destruction...only to have most of it fall into some sort of ruin again.
Being run by criminal syndicates did not lend itself to good maintenance.
Pushing his way into the place-it was all counter space-he was pleased to see there were only about two others there, and one of them was slightly drunk. Not bothering to take his coat off, he sat down, Athena sitting next to him after she hung her own jacket up.
The man behind the counter-an older fellow-nodded in greeting, knowing Iori as a quasi-regular. He also knew he didn't like to talk to anyone usually, so he let him be.
Athena inhaled, the smell of oily noodles, broth, and the faint scent of seaweed entering her nostrils; it actually had a bit of a comforting smell. Sort of reminded her of Chin prepping something for them back during their harder training days. The place was rather damp, and it could have been cooler, but the small air unit was clearly on as high as it would go, even drowning out the sound of the small TV in the corner that was on a random news channel.
“You say it's good here?” she asked.
Iori nodded, looking over at her. Thunder rumbled in the distance as he brushed some of his hair back. He looked at Athena a few more moments-she had turned toward her menu-before being distracted by the owner bringing them the requisite tea; he also put a cup of coffee in front of Iori, who didn't even have to ask for it.
After they both placed their orders, they were silent for awhile; Iori breaking out his smokes and lighting one as the thunder rumbled again. The storm was close, though not directly overhead yet.
“When was the last time it rained this much?” Athena asked absently.
Iori shrugged. “Been awhile.” He snorted laughter. “Keeps people inside. I don't mind.”
Athena shook her head, a slight smile on her face. Looking at him, he was hunched over on the stool, the cigarette in his finger as he stared absently at a few things on the other side of the counter. She sensed a sort of...contentment from him she hadn't felt in awhile, though it was by no means perfect.
“Coming back over?” he asked, turning toward her after exhaling.
“You don't mind?”
He shook his head, sparing her a small smile.
Their food came and they set into it in silence; Iori was right, the place was quite good despite looking like one of the dumpiest noodle bars one might find.
They had gotten through a few more bites when he heard the door open behind them, the rather hard rain and thunder punctuated by two pairs of shoes hitting the linoleum floor. Iori sighed, tensing up at the sound, clearly unhappy that more people decided to come into his usually desolate place at this moment.
“Too much rain. Ugh.”
“You insisted that we come out here.”
“I had heard there was a lead.”
The voices were a man and a young woman...and they both recognized them. Almost on cue, the young woman's voice spoke up.
“Athena?”
Iori sighed, finishing off a few more bites before glancing over his shoulder, his usual glowering look on his face.
Standing there, in rain jackets and in various cases of damp disarray, were Yuri Sakazaki and Robert Garcia.
“Yuri? Guys?” Athena blinked, finishing her bite and wiping her mouth. “What...why are you here? Isn't your place all the way across town?” She didn't know why they would come to this out of the way place.
Yuri shook some water out of her hair, looking between the two of them, before blinking and shaking her head as if she couldn't believe what she saw. “We had some problems at the dojo and around the bar.” She looked around. “We were only here because it was the closest place we could find. The rain got really bad. Apparently something was going on at a building down here, but we couldn't find it.”
Robert the entire time had been looking at Iori, also with a very puzzled look on his face. He looked back at Athena, and then back at Iori again, who was lifting more noodles into his mouth, seemingly ignoring them.
“Why...I guess you guys are meeting about...something?” he finally said
It was Iori who answered after swallowing his bite and looking over his shoulder. “We're eating,” he grunted, turning back around. Hunched over his food with his long jacket and his slightly damp hair in his eyes, he looked mildly disturbed; most sane people would have likely backed away from him at this point. Particularly since he had threatened them several times in past tournaments for getting in his way, though he never did carry through with the worst of them.
Athena had to stifle laughter. While part of her wanted him to attempt to be friendly, this was something she knew may have to come after a very long time. If it happened. She'd love him to be completely at peace one day but she didn't expect it...and would take any tiny victory she could.
Robert held his hands up, taking a step back. “Ahh, yeah. So here's the story. We were closed up and Ryo caught a guy trying to sneak in. He startled him, chased him out and roughed him up. The guy didn't seem concerned though-he went on about 'getting lucky this time' and ran off. Ryo went after him, but he was gone. All we could find was a piece of paper with a couple of addresses. One was the bar, and another was down here, but all we saw was a building with a locked door. It was an old restaurant or something. Nothing important.”
Iori finished his noodles, slurped down the tea, and sighed, spinning around on the stool. He lit a cigarette, exhaling in their direction. His mood had not lightened.
“They're looking for areas of power,” he grumbled.
“Areas...of power? They?” Yuri looked confused.
Athena decided to speak up to spare Iori the act of having to socialize. “Like the Gate. Only after all of the things went rampant...spirits waking up...multidimensional rifts...” She took a sip of her own tea. “Remember last tournament. The group.”
Yuri scratched her head. “Yes. They weren't all defeated. And then recently that...thing being destroyed managed to cause some havoc.”
“Those from the Past are still around. Trust me,” Iori did not look happy at this turn of events. He also wondered offhandedly why they had such a stupid name. “I don't know if you've noticed the extra attacks happening around.” He clenched his hand several times.
“Well...yeah, I figured it was standard crap from all of the crazy that usually happens after these tournaments,” Robert replied. And he was not wrong, the tournaments never did pass without something going terribly off-the-rails. It almost amused him the one they could call the most 'normal' was the one where a man destroyed his own aircraft carrier and came back to life some months later.
“They lost members but they're on their same mission, I think,” Athena replied.
Iori leaned back, taking another drag of the cigarette, nodding. “I ran into some.”
Yuri cringed, knowing that they probably were not questioned very hard, if at all, before meeting a gruesome fate.
“Iori, Kyo, and Chizuru had tracked Orochi down before it could regain power, but...they have ways of still trying to unseal things. And who knows what along with it. If that thing came out, that held Orochi's soul...along with apparently other things...” Athena trailed off. Her sensitive psychic powers had been bothering her lately. “They were able to...tap into Orochi's presence. I can confirm that.” She didn't go into the rest.
“They want everything to burn,” Iori said, raising his hand and allowing tiny purple flames to dance on his fingertips. He looked at them for a moment. “And before you decide to be smartasses, it's my job to stop that, despite what you may think.”
“Hey...you guys did straighten everything out before.” Robert gulped. He was an amazingly skilled and strong fighter, feared by about every gang in South Town-but anyone who was anyone in the tournament knew to play it very carefully around Iori Yagami. Most people thought was just as likely within thirty seconds of meeting someone who crossed him to punch them to the ground and try to stomp on their head as he was to shove them out of the way and ignore them.
Iori found that a bit extreme, as he'd wait until they laid a hand on him first.
Athena looked at the two of them. “So why this place? Was it the address?”
Yuri shook her head. “It was just the closest place to get out of the rain.”
Putting his boot on the rung of the stool, Iori blew out another smoke stream. “I'd try something here before you leave.”
They looked at him as if he had just sprouted tentacles. Athena snorted laughter. “Do you guys have that address?”
“Here,” Robert handed it to her. She read it over and looked at Iori. “Maybe we...”
Iori stood, looking at her, and noticing that she had finished her food during the discussion. He stubbed the cigarette out in the plastic ashtray on the counter before collecting his smokes.
Athena smiled, standing to get her coat. She looked over to Yuri and Robert.
“Thanks. We'll see again.”
“Please,” Yuri said. “I'd love to...chat.” It was fairly obvious that she was more than curious about her choice of company right now.
Iori snorted, pushing past them. He turned to offer them a curt nod in farewell, however.
Athena shrugged, a grin still on her face, as she took off after him. She didn't see Robert and Yuri look at each other with looks that went between confused, amused, and back to confused again.
Catching up with him, she moved next to him as he was clearly heading toward the address. He looked down at her as they walked. “You might be able to sense something,” he said. “I hope I don't.”
She knew what that meant; him sensing something would likely mean the presence of things he'd rather avoid. “You were...actually somewhat less hostile,” she said.
Iori rolled his eyes. As they walked, he suddenly took his free hand that was not holding his cigarette and placed it on the back of her neck, rubbing it firmly, their walk slowing somewhat. This surprised her; being in public at all...though 'public' at the moment was a series of alleyways with maybe one or two people able to see, if they had even bothered to look. He eventually slid his hand down between her shoulders...though kept it there as they maneuvered under any sort of cover they could as the sky lit up.
Athena blinked, her stomach fluttering a second. She knew he'd never do this in an actual public place, but she counted it as a small step.
“If I start to sense something there, I'm leaving,” he said.
She nodded, knowing what he meant. Neither of them wanted a repeat of the incident two weeks before.
His free hand tugged at the collar he wore; she knew that the collar, besides fashion, had a personal meaning. It symbolized the bonds that were forever kept on his family. She had actually found this out in one of their small discussions.
They walked in silence-his hand staying where it was between her shoulders-when they finally reached the building. Looking around, Iori scratched at his chest, feeling his heart start to pound. Athena could see the slight distress on his face.
“Want me to go in?” she said. Seeing how he was clearly uncomfortable told her what she needed to know.
He nodded, deciding to stand watch in the doorway. Trying the handle of the heavy back door, it was locked; he was able to kick it off its hinges with surprising ease, causing Athena to jump at the sudden noise, though she laughed after...mostly at the small shrug that he gave her. She stepped up inside, turning around.
“I'll be back shortly. I'm just going to focus and see if I can sense anything.”
He nodded, looking at her a moment before turning around and checking the area. He turned back to watch as she went into the dusty and dilapidated old building, the only things inside being broken tables, worn chairs, and the like. He even spotted an old jukebox in the corner; thinking for a moment that it was a pity it was allowed to go into ruin, as he had a soft spot for anything music related. For a second he considered liberating it for his apartment as a centerpiece and seeing if he could repair it, but that would require him going inside.
Shoving another cigarette into his mouth, he lit it, leaning by the door frame as he waited, hoping he would calm down. He knew she could take care of things if necessary, and he didn't want to risk some power setting him off.
Something's here.
He continued to stand watch.
Athena came out perhaps about ten minutes later. She had a little dust on her, but was otherwise fine. She inhaled, the rainy air-despite South Town not having the cleanest around-being a welcome relief to the stuffy, musty place. Thunder continued to rumble, another storm seemingly about to blow in.
“Definitely something here. But I'm not sure what.”
Iori nodded, lighting another cigarette. “Let's just keep an eye on it,” he replied, blowing a stream of smoke out.
Athena coughed once, dusting her clothes off. She was taken by surprise when his hand reached out to wipe the dust from her face, pausing to run his thumb over her lips lightly. He turned to start walking back to his apartment.
She smiled, pulling the hood up on her jacket and heading back out into the storm, reaching Iori quickly. He looked at her out of the corner of his eye.
The tiny smile that formed may have only been noticeable by her, but she was the only person who needed to see it.
--
A/N: Okay, I admit, I totally made an Another Day reference, thinking of the Soiree vs. Iori fight in this one. (The first time he met Soiree, within roughly half a minute he had punched him in the face and tried to stomp on his head. Never change, Iori.)
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Instinct and Empathy