Iori stopped eating for a moment and looked at the young idols curious expression. That hesitation wasn't due to a lapse in memory. Far from it. Iori remembered all too well what had happened to Vice and Mature, and the bloody heaps he left them in. Why beat around the bush? "  

I killed them. The Riot of the Blood took me, and that was that." he said, going back to his food, letting his eyes fall down toward the meal.    O-oh… I'm sorry," Athena frowned, more at how Iori was reacting more than anything. She tried to at least change the subject to get his mind off of it, "How's your food, Iori-kun? It looks pretty good."

"You don't need to apologize. Those witches.. they don't deserve your pity." Iori said between bites. Seemed she wanted to change the subject though. That was fine with him. No reason to continue talking about them. Iori didn't even want to think about them considering their reappearance. "It's good. Yours?"
       Their food had come. The waitress set down each of their meals in front of them, and Iori nodded in thanks before returning his attention to the pop idol. Biting into the first hand roll he'd ordered, he pondered her words and remembered their first real encounter. He'd come to attack Kyo at his school in retaliation of his defeat in his first entry into the KOF tournament, and he might have won had Athena not interfered. She'd attempted to reflect one of his attacks, but instead there was some sort of unnatural reaction and she was able to see into his heart for a brief moment. Iori left after that, not feeling up for battle since she'd unintentionally been hurt.

       Iori wiped his mouth with a napkin and finally spoke. "You might know some of my.. torments, but not all of it. Hmph, to think those two demon women are   " Iori paused, almost letting it slip that Vice and Mature had returned. "   were the two who understood most."



   Athena nodded as she took a sip of her soup. She remembered Vice and Mature pretty well. Too well. They easily defeated the Psycho Soldiers during the KOF tournament in 1996… though it was Athena who took the worst of it, thanks to Vice. It served as a painful reminded to always be doubly sure of who she was facing from that moment onwards.

   However, she never learned of what happened to them when the tournament ended. Which made her bring up the question…



   "Whatever happened to them after the tournament, anyways?"

Iori stopped eating for a moment and looked at the young idols curious expression. That hesitation wasn't due to a lapse in memory. Far from it. Iori remembered all too well what had happened to Vice and Mature, and the bloody heaps he left them in. Why beat around the bush? "   I killed them. The Riot of the Blood took me, and that was that." he said, going back to his food, letting his eyes fall down toward the meal.



       He took a moment to wonder if she meant he didn't normally seem like the type of man to have a little class. Normally, he'd probably be offended but it was clear as day why she thought that. No reply at first, and instead he just removed the glasses. Their job was over anyway. "I suppose I can't blame you for being surprised, hm?" he said, taking the cappuccino from the waitress. She'd returned rather quickly with it, but it was probably due to who they were. The food would, of course, take a bit longer.

       "   Thank you though. Not many see me in a casual setting." Iori sipped his drink, looking at it afterward while savoring the taste. It had been made well. Eyes found Athena again and he set the cup back down. ".. Do you find it strange? Seeing me like this, I mean."



   "A little," the popstar admitted, "but I'm getting used to it. It's actually very enlightening to see these other sides of you. A lot of people tend to paint you as a brute, but you're obviously far from that."

   She paused to take a sip from her drink before speaking again.



   "But then… I was able to see you were more than you appeared to be when we first met. Let's just say I had a gut feeling of sorts."

   Which in a sense, was true. When she first met Iori, she could see that, deep down, there was an side to him that had been tormented. Like as if he had gone through his own share of suffering that got him where he is now. It made her feel a degree of pity for him, as she was able to see something no one else was able to see, likely due to how heightened her psychic awareness was. She just didn't know what it was that was tormening him exactly.

   Perhaps that's what helped her to behave in a more friendly manner towards Iori than most people do.

Their food had come. The waitress set down each of their meals in front of them, and Iori nodded in thanks before returning his attention to the pop idol. Biting into the first hand roll he'd ordered, he pondered her words and remembered their first real encounter. He'd come to attack Kyo at his school in retaliation of his defeat in his first entry into the KOF tournament, and he might have won had Athena not interfered. She'd attempted to reflect one of his attacks, but instead there was some sort of unnatural reaction and she was able to see into his heart for a brief moment. Iori left after that, not feeling up for battle since she'd unintentionally been hurt.

Iori wiped his mouth with a napkin and finally spoke. "You might know some of my.. torments, but not all of it. Hmph, to think those two demon women are   " Iori paused, almost letting it slip that Vice and Mature had returned. "   were the two who understood most."