108 Shiki Yami Barai

108 Shiki Yami Barai (, lit. "Method 108: Darkness Sweeper") is a Special Move that is shared with several characters in The King of Fighters series.

Description
The user throws a cluster of flames forward that skim across the ground. It is a low projectile that comes out faster than most, but with average recovery.

The strength and distance of the move depends on which button is pressed. The version travels at a slow speed, while the  version travels at a faster speed, at the cost of longer recovery time after performing the move.

Starting with The King of Fighters XIII, this move gains an EX Special Move variant for both Kyo and Iori. Kyo's 108 Shiki Yami Barai travels faster than its  version and does more damage. Iori's 108 Shiki Yami Barai is able to stun opponents on hit, similarly to his Ura 108 Shiki Ya Sakazuki super.

Kyo is known for waving out his leading arm to sling the fire wave forward (Saisyu sweeps it out instead), while Iori as Kyo's foil is known for slinging the wave forward with an underhanded scoop via his following arm.

KOF: Maximum Impact 2/2006 and Regulation "A" are the only games where Iori cannot use the original version of Yami Barai, where it is instead replaced with a double-short-range-projectile version called the 109 Shiki Yomi Barai (lit. "Method 109: Yellow Spring Sweeper"). This version has Iori throw a second short-ranged Yami Barai with his other arm akin to the Double Reppuken and Iori's own Yami Sogi attack.

Later games however with the introduction of moves, repurpose the Yomi Barai to be Iori's -version Yami Barai.

Strategy
Your run-off-the-mill fireball-projectile for keep-away gameplay. In some appearances, it can go right under other fireball-projectiles and will not clash with other projectiles of differing planes, particularly with 95-styled Kyo in The King of Fighters '97.

However, there are certain games where Iori's Yami Barai (and by proxy Kyo's) can hit downed opponents to tack on extra damage (mainly so far in the Maximum Impact games and Neo Geo Battle Coliseum).

Even then, the Yami Barai isn't to be spammed carelessly due to the recovery of throwing it out. Slower versions are meant to force a reaction while faster versions are meant to poke at the foe from further away. Even then especially in Iori's case, while it has remained a strong zoning tool for him, he can still easily be rushed down against deft-attackers that can bait Iori into recklessly throwing fireballs out.

Trivia

 * 108 Shiki Yami Barai's appearance in The King of Fighters XI, when used by the normal Kyo, is the only time the move's motion has changed to a quarter-circle-back motion.
 * Some M.U.G.E.N. implementations of Orochi Chris gives him an attack that is identical or exactly like the Yami Barai, drawing on his antithesis moves opposing the Kusanagi-style.