King Of Fighters Fanfiction X Dead Or Alive

Tea at Honoka's

"So that's how you two became close," Aiko said, sipping some tea after hearing Iori's story. "So it was all K's doing?"
"Kinda," Iori said with a shrug. "Guess he knows me well."
"He does," Aiko agreed. "He's a lot like you actually. Maybe a grumpier version of you..."
"That I have to agree," Iori said with a smirk. "That dude hardly smiles. But as his best friend, I've seen the rarest of his smiles."
They sat around and Iori suddenly received a text from Honoka. She was inviting the two of them over for tea.
"This can't be good..." Iori said, showing the text message to Aiko. "She wants me over for tea."
"That's nice," Aiko said. "Why are you panicking?"
"She lives with her grandma," Iori added. "A very strict grandmother."
"Alright now that's bad..." Aiko said, equally worried. "But we need to go. We need to act proper. And Niisan? Please mind your Ps and Qs."
"Now that's hard..." Iori said. "But whatever, lets go."
They had lunch and spent hours choosing something to wear. Aiko insisted on helping Iori choose his outfit since she thought that most of his outfits were dark.
"How come you don't have anything bright?" Aiko asked, digging his closet. "All I see is black and red, and very little white..."
"How about this?" Iori asked, taking out a white button shirt. "I can wear this and black pants?"
"Too plain..." Aiko said. "It needs more... oomph!"
"Okay then," Iori said, taking out a red leather jacket. "This? I can wear a t-shirt and wear this on top?"
He put it on and showed her. Aiko looked at him, a finger on her chin.
"Something's missing," Aiko said, going to his accessory drawer. She took out the crescent necklace that she and Iori bought together. She put it on for Iori. "There. That's much better."
Iori looked at himself in the mirror.
"Hey not bad," Iori said, adjusting the collars of the coat. "Not bad at all."
"Alright now it's time for me to get ready," Aiko said, going to her room. "Be back in a few minutes."
And two minutes later, Aiko walked out. She wore similar colours to Iori but decided to add some girly aspects into her outfit.
She wore a light coral frilly top with a short black cardigan and dark red pants.
"What do you think?" Aiko asked, showing herself to Iori in the living room. "Too much?"
"Perfect," Iori said, giving a nod of approval. "Come on."
They jumped into Iori's red Subaru Legacy and drove to the address that Honoka sent. They arrived at a cozy looking home with a pink scooter and a light blue Suzuki Alto parked in the porch. The Yagamis instantly knew who owned what.
They stepped out of the car and noticed that Honoka was waiting for them on the porch. She started jumping in excitement when she saw them come in. She opened the gate and led them in.
A kind-looking old woman greeted them at the door. The Yagamis politely greeted her. Honoka grinned at them.
When they went in, they noticed a woman sitting on the couch. She looked like an older version of Honoka, but with black hair instead of salmon pink. She stood up when they entered. They instantly knew that she was Honoka's mother.
"Welcome!" She greeted with a warm smile. "Have a seat!"
Despite getting such warm welcomes, Iori couldn't help feeling a little awkward.
"I'm Iori," Iori managed to say with a smile. "This is my sister, Aiko."
"Nice to meet you," Honoka's mother said with a smile. "I'm Yuriko."
Honoka sat with them while her grandmother went to the kitchen and brought tea and biscuits. Honoka eventually ran to help her too. They both returned with a large teapot and some homemade biscuits and cream puffs.
"Do you like them?" Honoka asked cheerfully. "I made them myself!"
"They're really good," Iori said. "What's it made of?"
"Well, Honoka insisted on adding meat to it but I restricted her," Honoka's grandmother said with a chuckle. "She says you love meat?"
"Yes I do," Iori admitted sheepishly. "My dad used to call me a carnivore..."
"By the way, I forgot to ask," Yuriko chimed in. "Where are your parents?"
The Yagamis looked at each other. Did Honoka not tell her?
"They have passed," Aiko finally said. "Our mothers died during childbirth and our father died when I was eight and Niisan was eleven. We both grew up with an uncle who eventually died too, so we were left alone."
"I'm sorry," Yuriko said apologetically. "I didn't know."
"It's okay, not many people know of our curse," Iori said and immediately kicked himself. "But don't worry, it's now lifted. It's gone forever."
"Curse?" The old woman said suddenly. "What curse? Your family was cursed?"
Aiko gave Iori a nudge.
"I uh... our ancestors did something bad and that ended up cursing our whole family for generations," Iori quickly said. "It was that all the mothers would die at childbirth and all men would die prematurely. Also, because of the curse, we would have red eyes. So I had it lifted."
"Yeah that's why our eyes are now blue," Aiko added. "This is our natural eye colour."
"I see..." The old woman said. "But your hair? I've never seen anyone with such red hair before, especially of a Japanese heritage. Is it dyed?"
"Nope," Iori said, shaking his head. "They're natural. We inherited it from our father."
"Strange..." the woman said. "It's strange for a Japanese to have red hair and blue eyes naturally."
"Well, Honoka's Japanese too," Aiko countered with a shrug. "She has natural pink hair and red eyes. How about that?"
The old woman zipped her mouth. She knew she was defeated. Honoka suppressed a giggle. Yuriko grinned too.
They talked about casual stuff while sipping tea and eating biscuits and cream puffs. Honoka secretly stuffed her mouth with cream puffs when no one were watching. Well, Iori did but didn't say anything.
At last, they decided to leave. Honoka talked to the Yagamis for a bit outside.
"So how was tea?" Honoka asked.
"It was good," Iori said politely. "I really enjoyed myself."
"I really liked the cream puffs and biscuits," Aiko added. "They were really good."
Just then, Honoka looked around to make sure her mom and grandma weren't listening. She turned back to them and spoke in a low voice.
"Hey what you told my grandmother back there was amazing!" Honoka said in glee. "I've never seen her so speechless! She's always like that, sticking her nose where it doesn't belong. I really like what you said, Aiko!"
Aiko smiled. She only knew Honoka for a day and she already liked her.
"We should hang out sometime," Aiko suggested. "Right Niisan?"
"Sure," Iori agreed. "Well, as long as you don't disturb our dates, it's okay."
Aiko grinned.
"Hey I'm so glad you returned in time to see our performance this Saturday night!" Iori said. "We're all playing for the music fest!"
"Really?" Honoka asked excitedly. "Yay! Will there be food?"
"Of course," Iori said, nodding. "I'm kinda sad that the ninjas aren't here to see me perform, but hey. At least you're here."
"Don't worry," Honoka said. "I've got it covered."
They exchanged goodbyes and went home.
Honoka managed to convince her family that Iori's curse was no more and she was safe. They were still a little sceptical but seeing how confident she was, they eventually agreed.
The Yagamis were happy too. They wanted to hang out the next day with Honoka. It was her last day of semester break so she wanted to enjoy herself the most that day.