History Characters / TheKingOfFightersTheOrochiSaga

[[quoteleft:160:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/souji2_4214.png]]

''Characters/FatalFury'' | ''Characters/ArtOfFighting'' | ''Characters/SamuraiShodown'' | ''Characters/MetalSlug'' | ''Characters/FuunSeries'' | ''Characters/BurikiOne'']]-]]]

''Characters/TheKingOfFightersEX'' | ''[[Characters/TheKingOfFightersMaximumImpact Maximum Impact]]'']]-]]]

''Characters/TheKingOfFightersTheRugalSaga''\\
'''''The King Of Fighters: The Orochi Saga'''''\\

Spin Offs: ''Characters/TheKingOfFightersEX'' | ''[[Characters/TheKingOfFightersMaximumImpact Maximum Impact]]'']]-]]]

''Characters/TheKingOfFightersEX'' | ''[[Characters/TheKingOfFightersMaximumImpact Maximum Impact]]'']]-]]]

!! Index (Mainline Series): [[Characters/TheKingOfFighters Main Page]] | [[Characters/TheKingOfFightersTheRugalSaga Rugal Saga (KOF '94)]] | Orochi Saga (KOF '95-'97) | [[Characters/TheKingOfFightersTheNestsChronicles NESTS Saga (KOF '99-2001)]] | [[Characters/TheKingOfFightersTheTalesOfAsh Tales of Ash Saga (KOF 2003-XIII)]] | ''[[Characters/TheKingOfFightersXIV The King of Fighters XIV]]''
!! Index (Spin-Off Series): Characters/TheKingOfFightersEX | ''[[Characters/TheKingOfFightersMaximumImpact Maximum Impact]]''

!! Index (Mainline Series): [[Characters/TheKingOfFightersTheRugalSaga Rugal Saga (KOF '94)]] | Orochi Saga (KOF '95-'97) | [[Characters/TheKingOfFightersTheNestsChronicles NESTS Saga (KOF '99-2001)]] | [[Characters/TheKingOfFightersTheTalesOfAsh Tales of Ash Saga (KOF 2003-XIII)]] | ''[[Characters/TheKingOfFightersXIV The King of Fighters XIV]]''

* BarrierMaiden: [[spoiler:She is at least a descendant of one, Princess Kushinada. This makes him a prime target for resurrecting Orochi.]]

* BladeOnAStick: A ''[[NaginatasAreFeminine naginata]]'' polearm, which she uses to [[http://mangafox.me/manga/king_of_fighters/v01/c001/71.html peacefully subdue Eiji]] in the manga.

* ParasolOfPrettiness: Has one in [[http://mangafox.me/manga/king_of_fighters/v01/c001/69.html the manga.]] Oddly, it's a Western one that offers quite the contrast with her kimono.

* ZettaiRyouiki: Grade A.

[[caption-width-right:330:Yasakani and Kusanagi. [[CaptainObvious It's easy to see who is who]].]]

-->'''Voiced by:''' Miho Kaneta

* AbsurdlyYouthfulMother: This woman doesn't look like the mother of an older teenager/young adult, ''period''.

* VirginSacrifice: [[spoiler:Intended to serve as one for Orochi's resurrection, as per the real life myth (and in the ''KOF'' story, the tale of Yuki's ancestress). Note that this only fully applies to ''The King of Fighters: Kyo'': In '[='97=]'', the Orochi Team mostly needed {{life energy}} gathered from the tournament grounds in general and planned on sacrificing the winning team to revive their lord. Her situation only comes up if they're fought with the Gods Caliber Team, with Yashiro telling them that they plan to kidnap Yuki to taunt Kyo.]]

** DemotedToExtra: While she isn't the most important character to start with, Ryo Takamisaki's ''KOF: G'' has poor Yuki only ''in one scene at the beginning''. Also qualifies as borderline DerailingLoveInterests: said scene [[{{Flanderization}} makes her few more]] than a ClingyJealousGirl opposing Athena [[MistakenForCheating over Kyo]], and once Kyo explains everything and Yuki relents, she's [[PutOnABus not seen through the rest of the story]].

* MeaningfulName: [[spoiler:{{Fanon}} usually gives Yuki the surname Kushinada due to her ancestry. If this ''is'' true, it hearkens to Kushinada-hime, the eighth maiden Orochi was planning on eating.]] Either way, her role in the story correlates to the Orochi legend.

* SmoochOfVictory: Subverted in the Shonjyouji manga. After [[spoiler:Kyo rescues her from Rugal's DeadlyGame]], she tries to give him one while [[spoiler:crying due to [[BreakTheCutie the terrifying stress]] that the deal brought her.]] However Kyo gently [[FingerMuzzle places a finger over her lips]], smiles sadly and tells her [[spoiler:he's not worthy of a kiss from her since she was kidnapped in an attempt to lure him out and force him to fight.]] She understands his reasons and doesn't insist, only watching him walk away.

* VirginSacrifice: [[spoiler:Intended to serve as one for Orochi's resurrection, as per the real life myth (and in the ''KOF'' story, the tale of Yuki's ancestress). Note that this only applies to ''The King of Fighters: Kyo''. In '[='97=]'', the Orochi Team mostly needed {{life energy}} gathered from the tournament grounds in general and planned on sacrificing the winning team to revive their lord: her situation only comes up if you fight them with the Gods Caliber Team, with Yashiro telling them that they plan to kidnap Yuki to taunt Kyo.]]

* {{Badass}}: Implied. Some non-canon/semi-canon sources show this fully.

* HeroicSelfDeprecation: After her disastrous [[spoiler:GoThroughMe towards Iori]] in ''KOF: KYO'', Yuki tells Kyo that she felt useless upon not being able to stop them. Kyo says it's just because she doesn't know how KOF is like and tells her that she shouldn't blame herself.
* HighSchoolSweethearts: How Kyo and Yuki's relationship began. Not only that, but they're also classmates and in ''KOF: KYO'' [[http://i146.photobucket.com/albums/r270/Yuki_Kushinada97/KyoYukiMai-Tea.png they often go]] [[http://i146.photobucket.com/albums/r270/Yuki_Kushinada97/YukiKyo.png into dates]] [[http://i146.photobucket.com/albums/r270/Yuki_Kushinada97/KyoandYuki.png in their high school uniforms.]]

!!:NPC and characters from related ''KOF'' media]]

-> The biological father of Leona and a member of the Orochi Hakkesshu, Gaidel was an avatar of water. Distancing himself from the rest of his clan, Gaidel moved to a remote village with his wife and young daughter. When Goenitz visited him and asked for help with Orochi's revival, Gaidel refused, prompting Goenitz to activate the Riot of Blood in Leona. Gaidel, his wife, and the entire village was slain by Orochi Leona.

* DeathByOriginStory: Thanks to Goenitz's MoralEventHorizon, Leona was deprived of her parents... ''[[SelfMadeOrphan by her own hands]]''. Granted, it was MoreThanMindControl, but still.

-> An OrdinaryHighSchoolStudent and Kyo's girlfriend. She also has the bad luck of [[spoiler: being the last descendant of Princess Kushinada, the famous BarrierMaiden of the Orochi legend]], so during ''KOF '97'' she's kidnapped by the New Faces Team [[spoiler: so she can be sacrificed in the ritual to bring Orochi back]]; luckily, she's rescued by Kyo and his team. She only had cameos in the proper games, but had her role expanded in the ''KOF: Kyo'' RPG and manga, as well as the CD dramas. Finally, ''VideoGame/SNKGalsFighters'' made her a playable character.

* BarrierMaiden

** LadyAndKnight: [[spoiler:Informal example. Yuki isn't a princess but she ''is'' the descendant of the SoleSurvivor from the Eight Kushinada Maidens; Kyo is ''pissed off'' when told about that by Yashiro, and in the end he's asked to protect her by the spirit of the Yasakani.]]
** LongDistanceRelationship and LovedINotHonorMore: As of ''XIII'', their relationship seems to have settled on this. In NESTS!Kyo's pre-fight talks with Athena, she tells him that he shouldn't push himself too hard and that everyone back at home love and support him, and Kyo guesses that Yuki asked Athena to tell him such things.

* NoBadassToHisValet: In ''KOF: KYO''. She and her friend Sanae [[http://mangafox.me/manga/king_of_fighters/v01/c001/51.html discuss Kyo's behavior before class...]]
-->'''Yuki:''' "He's just a guy who gets flaming mad at times."
-->'''Sanae:''' "That's why everyone's afraid of him. They're just too scared to speak to him!"

* TakeThat: Her entire creation is one to the rabid fangirls of Kyo. Yes, that ''includes'' {{Yaoi Fangirl}}s too.

* TookALevelInBadass: She's a playable fighter in VideoGame/SNKGalsFighters

-> An instructor at the University of Osaka, she is the wife of Goro Daimon. It takes some unlikely matchmaking from the likes of Kyo and Shingo in ''The King of Fighters: Kyo'' to get these two together.

-> Kyo's beautiful, young looking, always calm mother.

->Kyo's cousins, introduced in ''The King of Fighters: Kyo''. Souji was chosen to represent and lead the Kusanagi clan for his generation, but unceremoniously resigned from his duties for an unknown cause and moved from Osaka to Tokyo. His little sister Aoi is something of a rebel, although both siblings dearly love their family and clan.

-> A trio of siblings (Kyoji, Junko, and Syota) who constantly pester Kyo throughout ''The King of Fighters: Kyo'' and try to defeat him so that they can steal his invitation and compete in the ''[='97=]'' tournament. It's revealed that the three wanted their younger brother Keisuke to see them fight in the tournament.

-> An Athena fangirl who is stuck in a wheelchair and very depressed, but regains the will to live and walk thanks to seeing Athena in a TV concert. She sends Athena the letter that motivates her and Kensou to ask Chin forfeit his veto to them going to the 1997 tournament. Kaoru joins up with them at the end of the tournament, starts getting better physically speaking, and ever since then she works as their aidé, taking care of Bao and their Temple when they're not around. She also appears as a Striker in ''KOF 2000''.

* ApologeticAttacker: IDidWhatIHadToDo: [[spoiler:In ''KOF:KYO'', Kusanagi was NOT happy to keep Yasakani prisoner after attempting to betray him, but did it anyway since he didn't have other options. It's not like it worked, since Orochi ''still'' managed to reach for Yasakani.]]

[[folder:NPC and characters from related ''KOF'' media]]

[[foldercontrol]]

* BackFromTheDead: [[spoiler: As of KOFXIV.]]

[[WMG:Gaidel - ''Unknown'']]

* TheCallKnowsWhereYouLive - He managed to hide for several years from the other Orochi, but Goenitz managed to find him. It went FromBadToWorse.
* DeathByOriginStory - Thanks to Goenitz's MoralEventHorizon, Leona was deprived of her parents... ''[[SelfMadeOrphan by her own hands]]''. Granted, it was MoreThanMindControl, but still.
* DefectorFromDecadence - He simply wanted to live a peaceful life in seclusion with his family, with no care for the other followers of Orochi. Goenitz would have none of that, especially when Gaidel refused to help resurrect Orochi.
* TheFaceless - His appearance has never been fully revealed. The best we've received was this silhouette to the right, in ''[='97=]''.

* RazorSharpHand - Leona inherited them from him.
* SpellMyNameWithAnS - Expect his name to also be spelled as Guidel.
* SpiritAdvisor - [[spoiler:[[http://www.vgmuseum.com/end/neogeo/b/kof97ika.htm In 97's Ikari Team ending]], as Leona fully recovers her memories and understandably shuts down, she hears her father's voice in her mind. Gaidel tells her that nothing in regards to her SelfMadeOrphan status was her fault, and that she must keep fighting against her Orochi "destiny."]]

[[WMG:Yuki - ''Japan'']]

* AscendedExtra - First, she was a mere mention in Kyo's profile. The designers started playing around and imagining how Kyo's "girl" would be like, then Shinkiro occasionally included her in Team Japan-related illustrations, and one thing led to another... This was fully sealed in the ''KOF:KYO'' continuity, where she gets quite a bit of spotlight.
** DemotedToExtra - While she isn't the most important character to start with, Ryo Takamisaki's ''KOF: G'' has poor Yuki only ''in one scene at the beginning''. Also qualifies as borderline DerailingLoveInterests: said scene [[{{Flanderization}} makes her few more]] than a ClingyJealousGirl opposing Athena [[MistakenForCheating over Kyo]], and once Kyo explains everything and Yuki relents, she's [[PutOnABus not seen through the rest of the story]].
* BadassAdorable, LethalJokeCharacter ''and'' LightningBruiser - Only in ''SNK Gals Fighter''.

* BreakTheCutie - In the Shingyouji manga, when [[spoiler: she's kidnapped by Rugal and used as a pawn in his cruel DeadlyGame against the Japan Team]]; once she's free and safe, the poor girl is rather shaken by such an intense experience. [[spoiler: It mostly fails in KOF: KYO, as she bounces back more or less well from her kidnapping at the hands of the NFT.]]
* DependingOnTheWriter - Since there weren't many leads on her aside of how she looked like at first, the Yuki from the Tatsuya Shinjyouji manga was a borderline ShrinkingViolet. Then, the ''KOF: KYO'' media rewrote her into a GirlNextDoor with shades of a Type B {{Tsundere}}.
* DistressBall - Before she was caught in the struggles of ''KOF: KYO'' and ''KOF '97'', the ''KOF '94'' manga by Tatsuya Shingyouji handed her one of these. It went more or less like this: [[spoiler: Poor Yuki gets captured per Rugal's orders, then is BoundAndGagged inside an hotel room with a bomb. The Japan team is blackmailed into fighting their upcoming rivals in the streets of Osaka with a time limit, or Yuki gets blown into smithereens. (And they get taunted all the time via cellphone calls.) They manage to win their match and are told where Yuki is. Kyo bails her out with few seconds to spare. The bomb turns out to be a fake, because Rugal was {{troll}}ing Kyo and Co. ForTheEvulz.]]

* ImprobableWeaponUser - Her schoolbag.
* IWillWaitForYou - Her sole quote from ''[='97=]'' ("Matteru kara ne, Kyo!") translates to this.

* {{Joshikousei}} - Almost always shows up wearing her sailor uniform.
* HeroicSelfDeprecation - After her disastrous [[spoiler:GoThroughMe towards Iori]] in ''KOF: KYO'', Yuki tells Kyo that she felt useless upon not being able to stop them. Kyo says it's just because she doesn't know how KOF is like and tells her that she shouldn't blame herself.
* HighSchoolSweethearts - How Kyo and Yuki's relationship began. Not only that, but they're also classmates and in ''KOF: KYO'' [[http://i146.photobucket.com/albums/r270/Yuki_Kushinada97/KyoYukiMai-Tea.png they often go]] [[http://i146.photobucket.com/albums/r270/Yuki_Kushinada97/YukiKyo.png into dates]] [[http://i146.photobucket.com/albums/r270/Yuki_Kushinada97/KyoandYuki.png in their high school uniforms.]]

** LongDistanceRelationship and LovedINotHonorMore - As of ''XIII'', their relationship seems to have settled on this. In NESTS!Kyo's pre-fight talks with Athena, she tells him that he shouldn't push himself too hard and that everyone back at home love and support him, and Kyo guesses that Yuki asked Athena to tell him such things.
* LockedOutOfTheLoop - In ''KOF: KYO'', Yuki knew that Kyo was the champion of the Japanese All-Martial Arts Tournament but had ''no'' idea about the KOF Tournament and the Kusanagi myths. She was ''very'' unhappy when she found out about the first and, while not angry at Kyo, [[WeWouldHaveToldYouBut she resented him for not trusting her]]; some time later she, Athena and Kensou learned about the latter from Saisyu. (Kyo himself only knew two or three things, but not the whole story.)

* LoveTriangle - She, Kyo and Athena ([[MyFriendsAndZoidberg and Kensou]] [[CanonImmigrant and Maeta]]), in ''KOF: KYO''. Luckily, Athena and Yuki actually become ''friends'' after a skittish beginning (mostly due to Yuki being InnocentlyInsensitive towards Athena) and much drama is avoided.
* MeaningfulName - [[spoiler:{{Fanon}} usually gives Yuki the surname Kushinada due to her ancestry. If this ''is'' true, it hearkens to Kushinada-hime, the eighth maiden Orochi was planning on eating.]] Either way, her role in the story correlates to the Orochi legend.

* NoBadassToHisValet - In ''KOF: KYO''. She and her friend Sanae [[http://mangafox.me/manga/king_of_fighters/v01/c001/51.html discuss Kyo's behavior before class...]]

* PluckyGirl - Even when she's no fighter, Yuki still wants to do her best and live life as much as she can. Double in the ''KOF: KYO'' manga, where she stands up to ''Iori motherfucking Yagami'' of all people.
* [[NonPlayerCharacter NPC]] - Unless we talk of ''Gals Fighter''.
* {{Revenge}} - Has some kind of grudge against Iori in ''Gals Fighter'' for some reason.
* SheCleansUpNicely - If not in uniform, she dresses up quite prettily.
* SmoochOfVictory - Subverted in the Shonjyouji manga. After [[spoiler:Kyo rescues her from Rugal's DeadlyGame]], she tries to give him one while [[spoiler:crying due to [[BreakTheCutie the terrifying stress]] that the deal brought her.]] However Kyo gently [[FingerMuzzle places a finger over her lips]], smiles sadly and tells her [[spoiler:he's not worthy of a kiss from her since she was kidnapped in an attempt to lure him out and force him to fight.]] She understands his reasons and doesn't insist, only watching him walk away.
* SNKBoss - In ''SNK Gals Fighters'', where she has the longest combo string of the entire game.
* StoodUp - She does this twice to Kyo in the ''KOF:KYO'' game, and both times are quite plot-important. The first one happens because [[spoiler:Chizuru asked Yuki to not show up and then play along with Kyo's belief that she has been kidnapped, as a SecretTestOfCharacter for him.]] The second [[spoiler:is ''much'' more serious since Yuki now has been ''kidnapped for real'' by the New Faces Team, who want to make her a HumanSacrifice.]]
* TakeThat - Her entire creation is one to the rabid fangirls of Kyo. Yes, that ''includes'' {{Yaoi Fangirl}}s too.
* TextileWorkIsFeminine - In one of the credits illustrations of ''[='98=]'', [[http://i42.tinypic.com/2lt7ko.png she is seen sewing Kyo's school jacket.]]

* {{Tsundere}} - In the ''KOF: KYO'' games and manga. She's a Type B aka Type Dere: sweet, gentle, polite and friendly, [[BelligerentSexualTension unless she's with]] [[JerkWithAHeartOfGold Kyo.]]

* UnwillingSuspension - She finds herself into this position in ''KOF:KYO'', [[spoiler:when Saisyu stages a fake HostageSituation to snap Kyo out of an HeroicBSOD that makes him vulnerable to the Riot of the Blood.]]
* VirginSacrifice: [[spoiler:Intended to serve as one for Orochi's resurrection, as per the real life myth (and in the ''KOF'' story, the tale of Yuki's ancestress). Note that this only applies to ''The King of Fighters: Kyo''. In '[='97=]'', the Orochi Team mostly needed {{life energy}} gathered from the tournament grounds in general and planned on sacrificing the winning team to revive their lord - her situation only comes up if you fight them with the Gods Caliber Team, with Yashiro telling them that they plan to kidnap Yuki to taunt Kyo.]]

[[WMG:Jokyojo Daimon - ''Japan'']]

* BirdsOfAFeather - She's quite serious and straight-to-the-point, just like Daimon. Surely enough, they clicked.
* DatePeepers - Inverted. Kyo and Shingo spy on what they believe to be a private moment between the two - in reality, it was only academic matters. Shingo asks if Daimon already asked her out, which embarrasses and angers Daimon... and then Jokyoko merely replies, "Why couldn't we go out?", leaving Goro speechless. The two ''then'' go out on a date. The rest is history.
* HappilyMarried - To Daimon, obviously.
* HotTeacher - She's a director at the University of Osaka.

* UglyGuyHotWife - Subverted. She is eye-candy, but Goro isn't ugly, [[HollywoodHomely just plain and conventional]]. (Until ''XIII'', where he becomes a case of ProgressivelyPrettier, that is.)
** HugeGuyTinyGirl - They do fit in here much better, since he's ''[[TheBigGuy huge]]''.

[[WMG:Shizuka Kusanagi - ''Japan'']]

* AbsurdlyYouthfulMother - This woman doesn't look like the mother of an older teenager/young adult, ''period''.
* ActionMom - No frontline fighter, but is more than capable of handling a [[BladeOnAStick nagi]][[NaginatasAreFeminine nata]] ''and'' giving any intruders [[ShutUpHannibal quite the verbal beatdowns]].
* BladeOnAStick - A ''[[NaginatasAreFeminine naginata]]'' polearm, which she uses to [[http://mangafox.me/manga/king_of_fighters/v01/c001/71.html peacefully subdue Eiji]] in the manga.

* GuileHero - She doesn't throw herself into fights, but can protect herself solely with her sharp wit and biting words. She proves this via verbally owning Eiji (and pointing her naginata at him) and later via hilariously showing her own husband Saisyu why he should NEVER go out behind her back.
* InformedAbility - Shizuka is implied to be a member of the Kusanagi clan by both blood ''and'' marriage [[note]]so she and Saisyu may fall into KissingCousins, depending on ''how'' closely related they actually are[[/note]], but she isn't seen using the clan's traditional flames. Instead, her WeaponOfChoice is her ''naginata''.
* KimonoIsTraditional - She's seen wearing one [[LimitedWardrobe all the time]].
* MamaBear - Slightly more subdued example, but still there. Get into her BigFancyHouse to look for info when neither her husband nor her son are there? She'll [[DissonantSerenity calmly]] [[BladeOnAStick point her naginata]] at your neck. Then she'll give you [[TheReasonYouSuckSpeech a softspoken but piercing lecture.]] And then [[SacredHospitality she'll make you]] [[SpotOfTea tea]] before sending you off. [[PolitenessJudo And you'll]] [[SilkHidingSteel love it.]]

* OpenMindedParent - For the same reasons as Saisyu.
* SoProudOfYou - She tells this to a young Kyo when she learns he's a BullyHunter instead of a bully.
* ParasolOfPrettiness - Has one in [[http://mangafox.me/manga/king_of_fighters/v01/c001/69.html the manga.]] Oddly, it's a Western one that offers quite the contrast with her kimono.
* PassiveAggressiveKombat and TranquilFury - It's rare to get Shizuka angry, but when she does, she acts like this.
* PluckyGirl - Older version.

* YamatoNadeshiko - Calm and kimono wearing mother, with emphasis on the core of steel. She's also the sanest member of the Kusanagi household, capable of holding her own when her husband and [[spoiler: Eiji Kisaragi]] act almost like kids.
* YouCantFightFate - Shizuka married Saisyu fully knowing about his destiny as the Kusanagi leader, and similarly supports Kyo in his mission.

[[WMG:Souji and Aoi Kusanagi - ''Japan'']]

* AnimeHair[=/=]EightiesHair - Uh... nice mullet, Souji.
* TheAce - Souji, although [[spoiler: by pushing himself to become the best Kusanagi]], he [[spoiler: gives in to his dark side and]] becomes a BrokenAce. [[spoiler: You can see the results of that in ''Kyo'', at some point.]]
* BigBrotherInstinct - Naturally, Souji is like this towards Aoi. The two squabble a lot.
* BigBrotherMentor - Souji is this to Kyo. Kyo highly respects Souji and even addresses him as "Souji-[[UsefulNotes/JapaneseHonorifics san]]."
* BikerBabe - Aoi. Includes HellBentForLeather.
* TheCameo - Souji, in ''KOF '98''. Remember [[http://i50.tinypic.com/30m7pkm.jp the guy who's seen training with Kyo and Saisyu]] in one of these random illustrations you can get when you beat the game? Yep, that's him.

* SharpDressedMan - Souji, when he's not in his sparring clothes.
* YouAreNotReady - When Souji [[spoiler: loses himself to his darker side and begins to fear that he'll end up like the Yasakani/Yagami]], he passes up the succession of the leadership of the Kusanagi clan (which is why Kyo is chosen in Saisyu's stead).

[[WMG:The Sendo Siblings - ''Japan'']]

* BareYourMidriff - Junko.

* FailureIsTheOnlyOption[=/=]GenreBlindness - Being {{Ordinary High School Student}}s, they'll never be able to defeat a trained martial artist who [[PlayingWithFire has pyrokinetic powers]] and is TheHero of this story.

* {{Gonk}} - Syota.
* HairColorDissonance - Kyoji has dark hair (as evidenced by his sprites), but artwork gives it more of [[YouGottaHaveBlueHair a cobalt sheen]].
* MoralityPet - Their younger brother, [[IllGirl Ill Boy]] Keisuke. Ironically, he happens to be a big fan of Kyo.
* PeekABangs - Junko.

* {{Sarashi}} - Junko. It's all she wears under her unbuttoned (not-quite-)BadassLongcoat.
* SchoolUniformsAreTheNewBlack - Junko and Syota. The long skirt she wears is also a trait of female {{delinquents}}.

* UnusualEyebrows - Syota.

[[WMG:Kaoru Watabe - ''Japan'']]

* ChekhovsGunman - It's thanks to her letter to Athena that the Psycho Soldiers team went to ''KOF '97'', but we don't see her until the end.
* DynamicEntry - As a Striker, when summoned she runs towards the other character on-screen and tries to push them to the ground.
* {{Hikkikomori}} - Was in her way to become this. She got better, fortunately.
* IllGirl - As said before, she's in a wheelchair at the start. She has only ''started'' to take her first steps out of it by the time she meets the Psycho Soldiers. Around ''[='99=]'', her health has improved dramatically, [[spoiler:at least enough to have her help the group out of the NESTS base.]]

* {{Meido}} - Her most usual attire.
* [[NiceGuy Nice Girl]] - She's totally adorable, okay?
* RomanticTwoGirlFriendship - She and Athena, as the picture shows.

* ZettaiRyouiki - Grade A.

[[WMG:Rika Kashiwazaki - ''Japan'']]

* BreakTheCutie - See above and below.

* TomboyAndGirlyGirl - The tomboy to Athena's girly girl.

[[WMG:Konoe and Kikuri Tanima, Mr. Kuwahara - ''Japan'']]

* AudioAdaptation - ''The Sun and the Moon ~ Prologue'' canon first debuted as a RadioDrama, and later was given its own CD. [[KeepCirculatingTheTapes Now, about finding it online...]]
* BeYourself - [[spoiler:An hospitalised Kikuri tells this to Konoe, and she hopes Iori will do it as well.]]
* BirdsOfAFeather - Subverted: Kikuri and Iori both like singing and songwriting, but they can't be more different in other ways.
* BreakTheCutie - The Tanima sisters have been quite broken in their lives.
* BrokenBird - Konoe, who has gone through lots of work and heartbreak in her life to support herself and Kikuri.
* BroodingBoyGentleGirl - Iori and Kikuri.
* ContinuityNod - Sorta. The sisters were mentioned in one of the ''Days of Memories'' {{dating sim}}s.
* ChekhovsGun - "The Sun and the Moon" is the name of a song [[spoiler:that Kikuri wrote as a duet. It's ''very'' important for the relationship between Iori, Konoe and Kikuri.]]
* DisappearedDad - The father of the Tanima girls left years ago. He sends them letters and money, but Konoe doesn't want to accept them [[DontYouDarePityMe since he abandoned them]]. [[spoiler:Iori believes that his and Konoe's manager, Kuwahara, is actually their dad. And he's right.]]
* LightFeminineAndDarkFeminine - Kikuri is the Light, Konoe is the Dark. Lampshaded in the ImageSong versions of "The Sun and the Moon": [[http://youtu.be/7MFOhzvooN4 Yumi Kakazu's]] relies on Kakazu's soft-spoken performance and the sound of a guitar, whereas [[http://youtu.be/7u3N2ijLQzg RUMI'S]] has more rhythmic arrangements and is sung by her in a much deeper tone.
* IllGirl - Kikuri. We don't know what she has, but it gives her more than one seizure and an IncurableCoughOfDeath.

* MsFanservice - Konoe has BoyishShortHair, is HellBentForLeather and [[BareYourMidriff wears belly-baring tops]]... She doesn't have ''only'' her looks to go by, though, as we get to learn that she's a kind girl who works hard for herself and her little sister.
* MoralityPet - Iori has displayed [[GoodIsNotNice more gruff kindness]] towards Konoe and Kikuri than for almost anyone in the franchise.
* PerpetualPoverty - The Tanima sisters barely manage to scrap by. In fact, Kikuri doesn't want to have her sister spend money on her medicines, but Konoe will have nothing of it.
* PromotionToParent - Konoe.
* SiblingTriangle - It's implied by [[spoiler:Orochi]] that Iori is attracted to both sisters. A talk between the girls [[spoiler:as Kikuri is hospitalised]] implies that they also love him in their own ways, and [[spoiler:Kikuri]] is well aware of it. [[spoiler:It doesn't go anywhere since Iori leaves Japan to protect them from himself, and Kikuri dies of her illness a while later.]]
* SilkHidingSteel - Kikuri is [[WiseBeyondTheirYears very mature]], [[IncorruptiblePurePureness kind and soft-spoken]], despite barely being a teenager. She's basically a YamatoNadeshiko in training.
* ShipperOnDeck - Kuwahara once comments that Kikuri and Iori would be a good couple. Iori isn't amused.
* TalkingInYourSleep - [[spoiler: Kikuri tells Konoe that she has muttered Iori's name in her sleep for a long time.]]

[[WMG:Jean, Sally and Elizabeth - ''France'']]

* AdorablyPrecociousChild - Jean.
* AGlassOfChianti - In King's ''[='98=]'''s intro, [[http://images3.wikia.nocookie.net/__cb20081115200431/snk/images/9/90/King-sip.gif one of the girls serves her some wine]] before fighting.
* AlwaysIdenticalTwins - Sally and Elizabeth.
* CanonImmigrant - Jean appeared first in King's ''VideoGame/ArtOfFighting 2'' ending.
* DistressBall - Jean is cornered by gangsters in the first volume of the Tatsuya Shinjyouji manga, so Mai and Yuri bail him out. [[spoiler:Then Jack Turner shows up and King rescues the three.]]
* DirtyKid - In the "Original Women's Team"'s ending in ''[='97=]'' (which you get if you swap Chizuru with Yuri), Jean runs off... [[http://www.vgmuseum.com/end/neogeo/b/kof97sp94.htm with Yuri's bikini top.]]
* FanserviceWithASmile - The twins's waitressing outfits are a milder version. They don't have lots of cleavage, but the skirts are short and tight enough [[ShesGotLegs to showcase their really cute legs.]]
* IllBoy - Jean's illness is never specified but it's mentioned that he can only walk short distances, so his sister's main goal is [[HealthcareMotivation to pay for his surgery and later for his treatment]]. He gets noticeably better around ''[[http://www.vgmuseum.com/end/neogeo/a/aof2king.htm AOF2]]'' ([[spoiler:Robert and Ryo paid for his operation as thanks for King's help when Yuri was kidnapped]]) and ''[[http://www.vgmuseum.com/end/neogeo/b/kof96gor.htm KOF' 96]]'' ([[spoiler:he was hospitalized and in treatment as his sister, Mai and Kasumi fought around the world]]).
* MoralityPet - Jean, for King.
* {{Satellite Character}}s - All three, since King is the main reason why they exist and all of their apparitions are related to her.
* SpellMyNameWithAnS - Jean or Jan? His appearances throughout this series and ''Art of Fighting 2'' flip-flop a bit, though Jean seems more likely, as he and his sister are French. (Both Jean and Jan [[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/John_(given_name)#Origins derive from the same Hebrew origins.]])

[[WMG:Takaya Maeta and Sanae - ''Japan'']]

* CanonImmigrant - Both of them.
* DeclarationOfProtection - Maeta declares this to Kyo, in regards to Yuki. [[spoiler:When he can't hack it in the end, he relents and lets her go back to Kyo.]]
* DoggedNiceGuy - Maeta has had a crush on Yuki for a while already.
* GenkiGirl - Sanae.
* GentleGiant - Maeta.
* LoveTriangle - Sorta invoked by Sanae, who is aware of Maeta's interest in Yuki so she tries to arrange a date between Maeta and her. Bad thing, [[spoiler:this brings up a challenge from Maeta ''and'' Daimon (who has come to scout Maeta to see if he can go to the college he works in) to Kyo, who loses. This is one of the factors that start triggering Kyo's inner insecurities and temporary slump (the other being the interrupted fight with Iori) and gets him BroughtDownToNormal, and it goes FromBadToWorse...]]

* YouthfulFreckles - Maeta.

[[WMG:The Ancestors]]

* ApologeticAttacker - IDidWhatIHadToDo - [[spoiler:In ''KOF:KYO'', Kusanagi was NOT happy to keep Yasakani prisoner after attempting to betray him, but did it anyway since he didn't have other options. It's not like it worked, since Orochi ''still'' managed to reach for Yasakani.]]

* {{Badass}} - Implied. Some non-canon/semi-canon sources show this fully.

* DealWithTheDevil - No shit, Sherlock.
* DependingOnTheWriter - The ''KYO:KYO'' manga and game actually differ on how [[spoiler:Yasakani's betrayal]] took place.
* FriendlyRivalry - How the relationship between the clans originally was like, according to ''KOF:KYO''.

* GenerationXerox - The flashback in ''KOF:KYO'' shows the second Yasakani and Kusanagi leaders... and they're both exactly like Iori and Kyo physically speaking, save for their clothes [[SamuraiPonytail and long ponytails]].

* PlayingWithFire - Both of them.

[[WMG: Lei-Lien - ''China'']]

* RaisedByGrandparents - Whether adoptive or not.
* TrueBlueFemininity - As seen above, her {{qipao}} is blue

[[/folder]]

----

And remember: this is just a part of all the characters that comprise the series. For characters who debuted in ''KOF '94'', go [[Characters/TheKingOfFightersTheRugalSaga here]].

For characters who debuted in ''KOF '99'' through ''2002'' (''2002: Unlimited Match'' included), go [[Characters/TheKingOfFightersTheNESTSChronicles here]].

For characters who debuted in ''KOF 2003'' through ''XIII'', go [[Characters/TheKingOfFightersTheTalesOfAsh here]].

For characters who debuted in ''KOF XIV'', go [[Characters/TheKingOfFightersXIV here]].

Finally, for characters who appeared outside the main series, go [[Characters/TheKingOfFightersNonCanon here]].

* [[spoiler:SpiritAdvisor - [[http://www.vgmuseum.com/end/neogeo/b/kof97ika.htm In 97's Ikari Team ending]], as Leona fully recovers her memories and understandably shuts down, she hears her father's voice in her mind. Gaidel tells her that nothing in regards to her SelfMadeOrphan status was her fault, and that she must keep fighting against her Orochi "destiny."]]

* [[spoiler:BarrierMaiden]]

** [[spoiler:LadyAndKnight - Informal example. Yuki isn't a princess but she ''is'' the descendant of the SoleSurvivor from the Eight Kushinada Maidens; Kyo is ''pissed off'' when told about that by Yashiro, and in the end he's asked to protect her by the spirit of the Yasakani.]]

* [[spoiler:VirginSacrifice - Intended to serve as one for Orochi's resurrection, as per the real life myth (and in the ''KOF'' story, the tale of Yuki's ancestress). Note that this only applies to ''The King of Fighters: Kyo''. In '[='97=]'', the Orochi Team mostly needed {{life energy}} gathered from the tournament grounds in general and planned on sacrificing the winning team to revive their lord - her situation only comes up if you fight them with the Gods Caliber Team, with Yashiro telling them that they plan to kidnap Yuki to taunt Kyo.]]

* [[spoiler:DealWithTheDevil - Aoi makes the same pact with Shermie that the Yasakani made with Orochi, thus she could be susceptible to the Riot of the Blood.]]

* [[spoiler:BigDamnHeroes - In the [[http://www.vgmuseum.com/end/neogeo/b/kof99psy_1.htm '99]] [[http://www.vgmuseum.com/end/neogeo/b/kof99psy_2.htm endings,]] she shows up and helps the Psycho Soldiers find their way out of the NESTS base.]]

* [[spoiler:BloodSplatteredInnocents - She once sees Athena kill one of the dinosaurs and get splattered with its blood. Rika is so shocked and traumatised that she almost cuts off all ties with Athena.]]

* [[spoiler:KillTheCutie - ''Almost''. Right after she and Athena had started to rekindle their friendship, poor Rika gets shot by a sniper involved in the conspiracy. Fortunately, once Athena finishes her mission she uses her HealingHands on Rika and she gets better.]]

** [[spoiler:TooGoodForThisSinfulEarth - ... And she does NOT get better.]]
* [[spoiler:ItsNotYouItsMe - Iori tells this to Konoe as the reason why he won't perform with her anymore.]] He reaffirms it when [[spoiler:he goes to CorruptCorporateExecutive Himemiya and accepts an offer to sing for him in the USA, on the condition that he never bothers the sisters again.]]

* [[spoiler:WholeEpisodeFlashback - The story happened five years ago. And it starts with Iori and Konoe finding each other ''in front of poor Kikuri's grave.'']]

* [[spoiler:UnwittingInstigatorOfDoom - Both of them, as seen in LoveTriangle above.]]

* [[spoiler:TheAtoner - [[http://www.vgmuseum.com/end/neogeo/b/kof97sp.htm The Sacred Treasures ending]] in ''KOF '97'' implies that the second Yasakani ancestor regrets his treason, and this is why he briefly acts as Kyo's SpiritAdvisor and asks him to help Iori seal Orochi.]]

* [[spoiler:BetaTestBaddie[=/=]DrivenByEnvy - In ''KOF: KYO'', the second Yasakani betrayed the Kusanagis because of his feelings of insecurity and inferiority towards the other leader as well as his own desire for power, which [[ManipulativeBastard the Orochi spirit took advantage of]]. He then attempted to break the Orochi seal to obtain the power he believed it'd help him to dominate everything, and the DealWithTheDevil followed.]]

* [[spoiler:[[YouKilledMyFather You Murdered My Wife]]]] - In some sources, 660 years ago [[spoiler:the remaining descendants of the Orochi clan threw a wrench in the Yasakani and Kusanagi's deals via kidnapping and murdering the wife of the then-Yasakani clan leader, while he was away and working on reinforcing the seal; then, they set everything up to make it look like the Kusanagi [[RevengeByProxy killed the poor woman as "punishment" for Yasakani not being strong enough]]. This made Yasakani cross the DespairEventHorizon and go through the DealWithTheDevil to have {{Revenge}}.]]