The Moon and Polaris

Chapter 16: Blast from the Past

"Come on, Kiki," a voice from her bedroom doorway called out to her. It was her friend and roommate, Forrest. He popped his head through the crack in the door and messed with his dyed green hair, "It's just one little break." With a frown, he observed Kiki's slumped figure at her desk chair, the disarray of textbooks and essays in front of her, and the empty soda bottles littering the floor. A glimpse of worry shone in his green eyes, "You really look like you need one."

Craning her head up, Kiki stared in Forrest's general direction. In a tired monotone voice, she remarked, "This has to get done tonight. I can't--"

Forrest opened the door a tad wider and let himself inside the room. "There's no way you're gonna get one hundred percent on this lab report if you're this exhausted. You're better off just getting some rest, giving it your all tomorrow, and getting an eighty percent at most." Offering a hand and showing her a soft grin, Forrest said, "Now, let's get you into the living room. Kai's been hyping up this tournament for god knows how long. Might as well see what all the fuss is about, right?"

With a shrug and defeated sigh, Kiki took Forrest's hand. He guided her out of her bedroom and onto the couch in front of the television. Kai was already there at the edge of his seat. His blue-grey eyes were glued to the screen; a notebook laid open on his lap with a third of a page already filled with notes. He tapped the eraser end of his pencil in a rapid rhythm. Kiki sat down next to Kai, huddling her knees up close to her face, and Forrest plopped himself down onto the spot next to her.

"You guys are in for a treat!" Kai said with his gaze still on the television. "They're finally broadcasting KOF to the general public, so now everyone can see the best of the best martial artists in action."

Forrest leaned back in his seat, "Now that you mention it if this is the first time they're doing a public broadcast, how did you watch it last year?"

Kai waved his hand dismissively, "Don't worry about it. Anyway--" Finally breaking his gaze away, Kai grinned at Kiki, "--just trust me on this one. Once you see a match, you'll understand." The only response she gave was a small nod.

After a couple of minutes of commercials, the television showed the Satella News Network logo and transitioned to a live broadcast from the KOF Stadium. The reporter on the screen announced, "Here we are, at the KOF Stadium where this year's King of Fighters tournament will commence! I hope all of you at home are excited as we are!"

Kai bounced in his seat as Forrest chuckled to himself, "Jeez, man. No one's throwing punches yet and you're already this fired up?"

"I've been looking forward to this all year! How can I not be?"

The boys continued their back-and-forth, the broadcast droned on, and Kiki wasn't absorbing any of it. Her attention remained unfocused until the first round of the tournament. Two reporters commented on the current bout: a match between a young man in a Japanese school uniform and another young man with red hair.

"--to think he hasn't even graduated high school yet!" One reporter remarked.

"I wouldn't say that to his face if I were you, Jane," the other reporter joked, "You might get burned!"

Kiki perked up and blinked her vision into focus. The schoolboy threw a punch at the red-haired man, and was his fist on fire just now? He threw another punch, and yup, that was definitely fire Kiki saw. He finished off with a roundhouse kick, sending the red-haired man flying across the stage. Kiki's eyes widened as she instinctively leaned forward.

"Told you so." Kai's comment snapped Kiki out of her trance. He continued, "So, who's got your attention?"

"Uh," her mouth hung open as she kept watching the fight. "The schoolboy. Yeah. Him. Who is he?"