The King of Fighters-A 2012

Five years after The King of Fighters XI, Ash Crimson has absorbed the powers of two of the three Sacred Treasure clans—Chizuru Kagura and Iori Yagami—with Kyo Kusanagi left as his final target. Elisabeth Blanctorche, Ash's former ally, is preparing to stop him as a new tournament invitation arrives from the mysterious "R," sponsored by Rose, who is being controlled by "Those From The Past"—the organization working to break the ancient Orochi seal. Their leader Saiki moves at the tournament's end to use the winning team's energy to open a time gate, but Ash turns on him—killing Saiki and taking his power. Saiki's persona overwhelms Ash, who faces the champions, then makes a final choice: he halts the gate himself, trapping Saiki in the present, knowing that as Saiki's descendant, denying his ancestor's existence in the past means erasing himself from the timeline. Ash vanishes. Iori and Chizuru recover their powers. Elisabeth alone still remembers him.