Tears is a song introduced in The King of Fighters '99 as a theme for Kyo Kusanagi. While Esaka was used as a theme for Kyo in the Orochi Saga, Tears was supposed to be used as Kyo's theme in the NESTS saga, but was used only three times, once in '99, then in The King of Fighters 2002 and again in KOF Sky Stage as the ending theme.
The song is a power ballad that mirror Kyo's music taste. The song is very sentimental as the name says. The song starts with an acoustic guitar and then an electric guitar starts playing the main riff with main keyboard riff from Esaka played each time the guitar take a break. It has a prominent usage of both the acoustic and the electric guitars. The song keeps its sentimentality while getting faster.
The arranged version has an electric guitar solo and the Esaka riff is also played in the background in the ending of the song.
A remixed version of the song can be heard concluding the A line story in the KoF 2000 drama CD.
In the console ports of KOF 2002, the song is also used by the five unlockable characters, when they appear as a Mid-Boss.
The song received a remix in The King of Fighters: Destiny. This version has a bigger emphasis on the electric guitars. It plays during the credits of every episode in Season 1. The song also received a remix in The King of Fighters All Star. Like the Destiny mix, it also has a bigger emphasis on the electric guitars.