Since the introduction of Iori yagami, one of SNK’ favorite characters in the king of Fighters 95, we were told how much he and the protagonist of the series Kyokusanagi, hate each other. Iori is the ultimate rival and bad ass of any franchise, and quickly took over the hearts and mids of many gaming fans. But why is the hatred between these 2 characters. While some fans might know the lore, and no it is not about who has the cooler hair, or coller look, since we already know that answer don’t we?
Iori and Kyo’s rivalry was not fleshed out until couple years after the Yagami’s debut. While hints of the story were given in kof 95 and 96, it was until The King Of Fighters 97 where things became more clear. So why do these awesome looking characters hate each other?
It all began 1800 years before the events of the first game. Orochi, known as Gaia, or mother nature’s will, manifested when human have started to thrive and the expense of the environment, while never confirmed in the main games, most lore stories about KOF inclduing the recent kof destny as well Iori’s ending in SVC Chaos, show’s that orochi’s manifestation was an 8 headed serpent, reminiscent of the old Japanese folk story Yamata no Orochi. His 8 heads will be the reason of the hakkeshu, or 8 servants existence, which in the current games are cvice matures, chris, shemie yashito, yamazaki and gaidel.
Orochi’s immense power seemed unbeatable, but three warriors form ancient Japan from the glorious clans, Kusanagi, yasakani and ata used the power of thre sacred treasure of each clan to put an end to the demon. While they couldn’t kill Orochi, they were able to seal his soul, and stop it from causing anymore chaos.
660 years before the the King of fighters events took place, the descendants of the Kusansgi, YAsakani and Yata would face a bigger challenge. The seal of Orichi was weakening, and the demon’s pressence was being felt, as his devoute clan the Hakkeshu hatched a devious plan, Wanting to disrupt unity of the three clans, one of the Hakkesshu killed the wife of the Yasakani’s clan leader, Under a disguise, and hid her body in the Kusanagi Clan’s village. the murderer then approached the Yasakani leader and reported that the Kusanagi clan was responsible, saying that it was “atonement” for letting the seal weaken.
Angered by the revelation, the Yasakani made a blood pact with Orochi to gain the necessary means for revenge. Gaining immense power as well as a forbidden technique called “Kin Sen Hyaku Juuichi Shiki: Ya Otome” (Forbidden Method 1211: the Eight Maidens),
As a side-effect of the Orochi’s curse, the once crimson flames of the Yagami turned purple. The curse also causes each heir of the YAsakani to die young and each mother to die in childbirth. Explaining why Iori is always in a hurry to Kill kyo, as his days are numbered. As a result of the blood pact, the YAsakani clan renamed themselves to Yagami.
While these events took place centuries before Iori’s introduction in KOF95, the hatred between the Kusanagi’s and Yagami’s never subdued, and is the driving force for Iori’s stories throughout the franchise.
