I don't really want to write up a serious addition here, but I recognize that it's been awhile since we did anything that wasn't comedic. That said... back to King and Ryo? Honestly I think what we've done with Kensou and Yuri is more fun, but this hasn't been wrapped up yet. Also I realize that there's a timeline inconsistency with Botan being around Kim with the tournament still going on, but we're ignoring that for now.

Any fighter that took their competition seriously in KOF kept track of how the other teams were doing. Being one of those fighters, Ryo had been absolutely shocked to learn that King's team had lost, and to the Psycho Soldiers no less. Not that Athena's team was a bunch of pushovers or anything, but Ryo had still expected the experienced women on King's team to win.

Ryo had heard of their defeat from his sister before he had seen it on the news or anything, but even so he had been surprised. Strangely, Yuri hadn't seemed overly disappointed with her defeat. It was obvious that she hadn't been happy about it or anything, but she hadn't even seemed really focused on it. According to her it was fine because something good had come out of it. Robert said that Yuri was smiling a lot more at her phone now, which unnerved him greatly, but Ryo decided that he could knock some sense into him later. For now he was kind of worried about how King was doing.

She wasn't a child of course, it wasn't like she would go pout in a corner or drown her sorrows in alcohol just because she had lost. But she was a warrior all the same, and she would at least be disappointed in her own capabilities. Ryo at least wanted to see if she was doing alright, awkward last meeting aside, but for now he had his own problems to worry about.

Surrounded by a multitude of elephants on the battle stage in India, it was up to Ryo to be the vanguard for his team against their opponents, the strangely composed team of criminals lead by the justice obsessed Kim Khapwan. It was always strange to see the combination of folk hero and hardened criminals, but Kim did a good job of keeping them in line.

Whether or not they would ever be reformed however... that was probably something delusional on Kim's part. Ryo doubted scum like Raiden and Hwa would ever be good people. Not that this stopped Kim from taking on new disciples. Ryo still recalled those other guys he had once tutored, Chang and Choi. He was pretty sure that they had never gotten any better either, but on the other hand there was a new member of Kim's followers, the wayward Botan. Ryo had no idea why she was there, especially since she didn't seem overly enthusiastic about it, but she was nevertheless standing with the majority of Kim's fans.

Ryo didn't know what kind of supporters he and the Art of Fighting team had, mostly because he didn't bother paying attention to such things. However, as Kim launched into his initial speech regarding justice and whatnot, Ryo had a few moments to scan his surroundings. And that gave him enough time to spot the short-haired blonde woman that was standing with most of the Art of Fighting fans, waving to him and blowing a kiss for good luck.

For some reason Ryo was more shocked than he should have been, all things considered it made sense that King would be there to cheer for him, but he found it hard to stop staring at her. That said, his attention on King allowed him to see the expression on her face as it transformed from encouragement to some semblance of warning. It was accompanied by a battle cry from Kim, and King and the rest of the audience cringed as Ryo took one of his the legendary Khapwan kicks to the face.

Ryo woke up on the sidelines of the ring just a few minutes later, tended to by the very woman that had distracted him as Robert fought against someone with kicks of equal power to his own. Before Ryo could feel anything else, he sighed and palmed his face.

"I can't believe I was defeated in a single blow..."

King smiled down at him apologetically as he got to his feet. "Sorry Ryo. I didn't mean to distract you."

"It's my fault for allowing myself to be distracted."

"Well, I guess this just wasn't our tournament huh? We both went out a little too quickly."

Ryo would have normally focused on the fight between his team and Kim's, but with King here he was more focused on her. "Unfortunately. What happened with your fight King? Yuri didn't seem all that disappointed when she told me about it..."

King smirked at the mention of it. "Well, that might be because she left the city with a new boyfriend, more or less."

"Wait, what?! A boyfriend?!"

"Oh calm down Ryo, I was exaggerating. I mean, Yuri seems to want it, but I don't think they're really an item or anything yet..."

For some reason that didn't make Ryo feel any better. "You're talking about that Kensou kid aren't you? I guess it could be much worse. It could be Robert..."

"Yeah, it could be. Count your blessings. Anyway, you have any plans after this match come win or lose?"

Of course Ryo didn't, but he wanted to pretend that he did because he wasn't sure how things would go between himself and King after their last encounter. "Ah, well, I think I have to-"

"Ryo don't even try we both know you have nowhere to be."

Unfortunately King knew him well enough to know that was true, and there was nothing Ryo could say to get out of the situation. "R-right, I don't..."

"Then it's settled. Let's go see what kind of bars they have here in India."

It didn't take long for Ryo to find himself squirreled away by King to a rather classy bar thanks to King's expertise in locating it. It wasn't difficult for such popular essential celebrities to get into classy establishments, but Ryo was unable to really appreciate the atmosphere of the place. It was probably thanks to King's close proximity to him at the bar itself, where she looked far more comfortable than he was. She was a lot more relaxed, whereas Ryo felt like he would accidentally shatter a glass if he picked one up. Needless to say, he wasn't in a rush to say anything that would initiate a conversation.

Unfortunately, King was in no mood to let the silence continue. She was on a mission here, and she wasn't the type of woman to beat around the bush. "So Ryo, you know what I'm going to ask you about, don't you?"

Ryo sighed in consternation. "I have a pretty good idea..."

"Then let's get to the point. You wanted to say something to me before, neither of us is leaving this bar until you actually tell me."

"That's a harsh ultimatum King."

"Maybe, but whatever you want to say is something you need to get off your chest. It might be difficult, but I'm sure will feel much better after letting it out."

"Maybe I will. But that doesn't make it any easier."

King cast a sideways glance at her fighting companion. "Because it's embarrassing?"

"More or less..."

"Right... well, why don't we build up to it?"

Ryo glanced at her as well. "What do you mean?"

"Well... you know, let's start by telling each other some other stuff that's embarrassing. Stuff from childhood maybe. Other things that are a little less embarrassing. Like... the time I accidentally missed some drunk I was trying to kick out of the bar and I ended up hitting that poor girl behind him instead."

"My God King, really?"

"It was a really bad day. So, your turn."

Ryo tried to think back on something embarrassing he had done that he would actually be willing to tell King. "There was... this time when Yuri was just getting into highschool, and I was going to pick her up when she got out. She was walking kind of close to this boy, so I... kind of freaked out. I leaped out of the car and gave him the typical protective older brother tirade. I nearly brought the kid to tears before Yuri managed to convince me that she didn't even know him and that he was just some other student walking home."

"That's terrible."

"Not as terrible as you kicking some innocent stranger in the face!"

"Yeah, but at least mine was an accident, unknowingly or not you decided to attack that kid."

"I guess I did..."

The two of them shared a brief laugh before falling back into silence, though it was Ryo that lead the new tangent this time. "You know King, this is exactly why it's so good to talk to you. You're... you always have been someone easy to talk to."

"It comes from working in a bar. You learn to be pretty charming."

"I don't think you had to learn that King."

The blonde cocked an eyebrow at her karate practicing friend. "Oh? Is that flirting I hear Sakazaki? It's so... unusual coming from you."

"Perhaps... but... it's not like I've never thought such things King, I just... I've never really been vocal about them."

King sported a light blush for a moment before getting her expression under control. "Really? What else have you been keeping to yourself about me Ryo?"

"Well... you know, things..."

"Things?"

"Stuff..."

"What kind of stuff Ryo?"

The Sakazaki family warrior ground his teeth for a moment, temporarily wishing he had longer hair like that scrawny French kid to hide the blush on his face with. "S-s-stuff like... how talented of a fighter you are. A-and, maybe... that you're smart?"

"Whoa, only maybe?"

"I-I-I-I-I meant that you are, of course! A-and, like you said, y-you're ch-charming, and-b-b-b-b-beautiful! Of course!"

King scoffed, then laughed as raucously as she could allow without being rude to the other patrons. "Ryo, you are terrible at this."

Unable to decipher the sarcasm in her voice, Ryo scowled, afraid that King was really making fun of him for his attempt at a confession. Thankfully she continued to speak before he made a wrong assumption.

"But it's an adorable ineptitude, don't worry. Ryo... I know you think the stuff you're telling me is all unheard of secrets nobody has ever heard or known, but I'm pretty sure I've known all of this for years."

Ryo's expression was one of alarm as he looked at King. "What? How?"

"Ryo you weren't exactly secretive about it all these years. Just say it. I think you'll be pleasantly surprised with my response."

Though he was still feeling quite a fair amount of trepidation, Ryo wondered if maybe his problem was completely nonexistent. What if he had been afraid of something that wasn't even a real possibility?

"W-well, I... I mean, I've always..."

Ryo was sure that he was going to stutter through his entire confession, but the smile on King's face as she waited for him to enlighten her gave him strength. She was expectant of him. Waiting for something special.

"I... you've always been special to me King. I've never met a woman as incredible as you."

There was a moment of silence between the two of them, where King's smile widened just a little. "I figured you were going to say something like that."

She scooted a little closer to him, leaning in to whisper in his ear. "Now, let me tell you what you mean to me..."

Elsewhere in the city, Robert scowled, feeling a disturbance in the force. "Why do I feel like the equivalent nature of my success opposed to Ryo has just been destroyed? Has he surpassed me somehow? Nah, that can't be right. I'm sure our love lives are as equally devoid as they've always been."

Short and sweet and to the point. So, are we going to get a KOF Unlimited Match in a few years? I sure hope so. I want Ash as a playable character again ASAP.