Yagami Clan



The Yagami Clan, formerly known as the Yasakani Clan , is a clan present in The King of Fighters series.

They are well known as one of the three clans who defeated and sealed away Orochi 1800 years prior to the events of the series, as well as their unique fighting style. This clan is also the only to made a pact with the evil entity.

History
1800 years ago in the past, the serpent god Orochi could no longer tolerate the destruction of the Earth as a byproduct of human progression and wanted to completely wipe humanity from existence. It used the powers gained from nature purely as a tool for chaos. Its clan and the human race waged war until the Kusanagi, Yata, and Yasakani clans defeated it with the Three Sacred Treasures. Despite this, Yasakani are aware that they are not as famous as Kusanagi by the Shogunate.

660 years later, Orochi's seal began to weaken. The three clans, decided to move its vessel into another location. Wanting to disrupt their unity, one of the Hakkesshu killed the leader of the Yasakani's wife. Under a disguise, the murderer then approached the Yasakani head and reported that the Kusanagi Clan was responsible, saying that it was "atonement" for letting the seal weaken. To add more fuel to the fire, the corpse of his wife was found in the Kusanagi homeland. Angered by the revelation, the Yasakani made a blood pact with Orochi to gain the necessary means for revenge. Changing the color of their flames from red to violet due to said blood pact, as well as gaining a forbidden technique called "Kin Sen Hyaku Juu Ichi Shiki: Ya Otome" (Forbidden Method 1211: Eight Maidens) and a few other arts akin to its league, the Yasakani renamed themselves as the Yagami clan. The two clans would never see each other eye to eye ever again, and their blood feud continues to this day, with the two clans current heirs, Kyo Kusanagi and Iori Yagami.

As a side-effect of the Orochi's curse, the once crimson flames of the Yagami have a bluish tint, as well as their black hair color transform red permanently, unlike other Orochi cursed individuals like Leona. The curse also causes each heir to die young and each mother to die in childbirth. This curse lives on in the current days, and has a critical effect on the life of Iori Yagami.

Due to time-displaced Shingo Yabuki's interference in The King of Fighters Side Story: The Origin of Flame - Shingo Travels Through Time! Let's Go!, the Yagami Clan's fate, while still cursed by Orochi has had some altered outcomes, as well revealing that the first two victims killed by the Hakkesshu before Magai's wife, Kaya. It was all in order to lure the said current heir of the clan into making a pact with Orochi by force, where Magahito (Magai's older brother) and Yakumo (whose corpse being possessed by Goenitz after he foolishly broke the demon's seal when he thought it was a fake).

Besides Goenitz, the other two culprits who were sent by Orochi to convert the Yasakani/Yagami were Mature and Vice. Despite Shingo's efforts to prevent the clan's tragedy by saving Kaya, the latter found out about his second chance during his time-displacement situation in her timeline, and choose to let herself be sacrificed to save Shingo, having had found peace that Magai and their son, as well as their descendants, despite remaining cursed by Orochi, still having a bit of hope in the future as she decides to accept her fate as per the original timeline.

Because of Shingo's interference however, the Hakkesshu's plans change after using Kaya as a sacrifice to break Orochi's seal, and reveal their true intentions to Magai before implementing the curse on the clan to transform them into Yagami through the said current heir by force. This forces the sole survivors, Magai and his son to use their remaining will to rename their clan name into "Yagami" as a mean to hide their identities from the public eye due to their corrupted status by Hakkeshu (with only both Kusanagi and Yata/Kagura being aware of the Yagami's identities and whereabouts) only until the Yasakani-Yagami name has been cleared in later eras.

Despite the unchanged outcome of the clan's renamed fate, the Yagami are now on a neutral rivalry term with the Kusanagi for generations in a changed present timeline thanks to the time-displaced Shingo, who after serving his purpose returns to his home timeline.

Trivia

 * In The King of Fantasy manga, Iori mentions that he has a younger sister. While yet to make a canon appearance, the presence and existence of Iori's younger sister, first alluded to in story concepts, carries the following implications:
 * If she is his biological sibling, this would mean his younger sister also carries the potential for the Riot of the Blood as well, including the flames of the Yagami. Outside twin births, this puts in question the traits of the maternal mortality curse inflicted at the Yagamis, as it is not revealed who among Iori's parents carried the Orochi blood. This would also mean the Yagami bloodline is not yet in dire danger of extinction.
 * Due to lack of details, it may be also possible they are not related by blood (and may not possess the Yagami blood and by extension, the Orochi blood), possibly from a different father, possibly half-siblings (sharing the same father) or simply being adopted.