Shaheen had never requested leave before yesterday.
Surprisingly, his wish was granted, and now here he resides in the bustling city of Dubai, one of the most expensive cities in the world. Under any normal circumstances, it would no doubt be an exhilarating visit from start to finish for the hardened military operative who definitely looked like he needed to get away from it all.
Unfortunately for Shaheen, his business was never done.
Shaheen coughed a few times, tightening the red checkered shemagh around his mouth to avoid the bombardment of sand in the air. But even after hiding his stone expression, which repelled any positive vibes, Shaheen still didn't have the look of an approachable person. Perhaps it was his large frame and military uniform; perhaps it was the razor sharp scimitar around his waist. Or maybe... just the very air that surrounds him reeked of a dangerous man. If only these people weren't shallow enough to judge a book by its cover, maybe they'd approach Shaheen and realize that he's actually a gentle, peace loving soul.
Of course, Shaheen wasn't giving off peaceful vibes anytime soon. While it was true that he disliked violence, it would soon become unavoidable once he executed his personal mission: revenge. Revenge against the man he had reason to believe was responsible for the bloodshed... the man who had a demon trapped inside his black, frozen soul.
Kazuya Mishima.
Just the thought of him sent immoral thoughts into Shaheen's head. His fingers instinctively clutched tighter against his shemagh, so tight that the veins could be seen protruding from the back of his hand. He didn't have any solid evidence yet; all he knew was that as soon as his good friend the Oil Tycoon was murdered, G Corporation quickly purchased his company and gave all of his family members a pink slip. The official report was that they retired, but when dealing with someone as ruthless as Kazuya Mishima... retiring could mean something much worse.
Shaheen's eyes grew bloodshot, and not from the sand. His mind was so plagued with dark thoughts he almost forgot where he was. It was like a tumor: a violent, bloody tumor growing in his mind, egging him on... commanding him to seek the ultimate justice in the name of the fallen.
And then... his train of thought was broken.
"What is that noise... music?"
With every step he took, the music grew more prominent. It was like some kind of club music, with that annoying constant beating sound. THUMP THUMP THUMP THUMP... like someone banging on a door. It wasn't really Shaheen's type; he much preferred a good old fashioned sitar.
As Shaheen grew closer to the square, it was increasingly obvious that there was some type of performance going on. It looked like a lot of people... but the gate was shut so he couldn't get in. All he could do was grab onto the wall and lift himself up, getting a glance over to see what was going on.
There was naught but one girl on stage, wearing a microphone headset and singing in what seemed to be Japanese. The girl definitely didn't look Japanese, though; her blonde hair made her look more like an American or perhaps European. Her strange kitty costume definitely had a bit of a Japanese air about it, though.
Shaheen watched carefully as there was a break in the weird, thumping, beeping, electronic song. The cat girl stopped singing and began to show off her other talent, which appeared to be breakdancing. She spun around and flipped in all directions, her little black kitty tail attached to her dress swinging around wildly. Shaheen was nearly mesmerized by her rapid movements; could a human being really move like that?! She was more like some kind of wild animal hopped up on energy drinks!
Finally, the chorus line came once again and the cat girl started singing once again. Her voice, high pitched thought it was, was actually pretty good. Shaheen could tell she was singing naturally, and not using that awful auto-tune like many pop singers used.
With one last high note, held to perfection, the electronic pop song ended and the crowd erupted with applause.
"THANK YOU DUBAAAAAI! I WILL TOTALLY BE HERE ALL WEEK, NYA~!"
The cheerful cat girl was all smiles as she paced back and forth on the stage, both her fluffy white kitty paws waving in the air as cameras flashed rampantly like a volley of machine guns. Finally, after a minute of posing for cameras, the girl finally got off stage and security surrounded her.
"Guess that's over..." Shaheen muttered. With a shrug, he went back to his business. The deep, growing thoughts of revenge began to return when suddenly, the gate doors flew open and out marched the cat girl, surrounded by security.
"Back! Everyone, get back! H-hey, cover left!" the man in a black suit shouted to his subordinate.
"Thank you all, nya~! I love all my adoring fans! Buuut I gotta go now, nya~! I'm tired!" the girl squealed, still waving.
The cheerful cat girl didn't seem the least bit worried that her security was lacking and she was slowly getting surrounded by the crowd. If she WAS worried, she was going a good job of hiding it behind that ridiculous smile that never seemed to fade.
It wasn't until one broke through that her happy shell was finally cracked and replaced with fear.
"CHLOE, BE MIIIIIIINE!" the crazy fan shouted as he plowed into the men in black, his tongue flailing as he tried to get a smooch off the pop singer.
"EWWWWW! S-SECURITY! NYAAAA!"
But it was too late; Chloe didn't make it to her cab in time before security was overrun by crazy fans trying to get a touch of the popular singer. To make matters worse, many of her fans seemed to be creepy middle aged guys that probably liked looking at hentai.
"Ohhhh boy... This is not good... nya."
Chloe backed away in fear, the lusty crowd getting closer and closer to their now unprotected target. She put her hands up, preparing to fight them off one by one if need be. There was no way she could take them all though...
Shaheen felt his military instincts kicking in as he sprinted towards the crowd, his shemagh nearly blown away by his blinding speed. He approached the cat girl from behind and shoved her aside, away from the crowd.
"W-WAAAH!"
Shaheen leaped high in the air and came down on the instigator of the riot like a missile, his hand grabbing the man's face and squeezing tight. His momentum and body weight easily knocked the man to the ground, making him impact hard enough that he wouldn't be getting back up.
Shaheen kept his hand on the man's face to stifle his breathing. He pressed his knee against the man's torso to pin him and then drew his scimitar, brandishing it towards the crowd.
"Back! Get the hell back! NOW!"
Shaheen held them all there long enough for the security guards to regain their composure and arrest the man that had escalated things. While they tended to the situation, Shaheen approached the pop singer and extended a hand to help her up.
"I'm sorry for pushing you."
Chloe looked at him meanly for a second as she dusted off her costume. "Hmph! I hope you're paying for my laundry, nya! Argh, sand sand sand everywhere!"
Chloe finally accepted his hand, surprised at Shaheen's strength nearly lifting her off her feet. When she was back on her feet, she dusted herself off a bit more and then looked into the eyes of her rescuer. She had to admit, he was pretty handsome with his brown stubble and chiseled face.
"What's your name, nya?"
Shaheen adjusted his shemagh a bit as he gave the slightest of nods. "Shaheen. And you?"
"My name is..."
She drew back a bit, as if preparing to unleash some big explosion. And she did just that.
"LUUUUCKYYYYYYYYYYY CHLOEEEEEEEEEE~!"
Shaheen felt himself recoiling ever so slightly at the boisterous girl's loud words. "Lucky... Chloe? Is that your pop singer name?"
"That's my name, nya~!"
"I see... and your theme is cats?"
"Tch, well duuuuh! What do you think I'm wearing, nya~?"
Shaheen took a moment to examine just how cat-themed her attire was. Her pink and black dress, black stockings, and pink shoes weren't very catlike, but the rest of her was. Her pink headphones adorned on her head had big kitty ears on them. That strange jacket she wore was less of a jacket and more a pair of big, poofy white arms with pink paws on the end. And of course, there was the fake black tail sticking out of the back of her dress to complete the image.
"Ummmm... why are you staring at me, nya?"
Shaheen shook his head a few times, not realizing that half a minute had passed. "Sorry. So tell me... can you hear with those things on your head?"
"Heh, as long as I don't have music playing, nya~"
"Hmph..."
Their conversation was cut short when the men in black finally approached Chloe, getting in front of her and blocking Shaheen.
"H-hey! I was talking to him! Nya!"
"Miss Chloe, let's get out of here." one of the men said.
"Thank you for your help, but we'll take over from here." another man said, extending his hand to Shaheen. He didn't look too happy, though; probably because he was a total failure who got shown up by a passing stranger.
Shaheen started to shake his hand when suddenly Chloe pushed back through them.
"Actually, you're all fired."
"W-WHAT?! FIRED?!"
"Uhh, yeah! You totally let a crowd of psycho fans get to me, nya. What good are you guys?!"
Shaheen tensed up when he suddenly felt Chloe's arms wrap around his left arm and hold tight.
"This man's my bodyguard now, nya. All of you, scram!"
"B-b-but..."
"SCRAM!"
"D-do we still get paid for the week-"
"NYAAAAAAAAA!"
The men all threw their hands up in annoyance and stormed off, leaving the two of them alone once again. When they were finally out of sight, Shaheen pried Chloe loose and distanced himself.
"What have you done, you idiot girl? You just fired all of your security, and for what?"
Chloe played with her ears as she flashed a cute little grin. "I told you, nya! I don't need those idiots when I have you, nya~"
"Just because I saved you doesn't mean... look, I don't have time to be your bodyguard."
"Why not, nya~?"
"I'm on a very important mission."
"Really? For who?"
"For myself."
"Hmmmm... interesting. Well then... I have a question for you."
Shaheen grew concerned when the cheery expression on Chloe's face suddenly became an intense, almost bloodthirsty expression. Her teal eyes squinted, her bright pink glossy lips curled into a snarl. She approached Shaheen menacingly, like a panther preparing to strike.
"Tell me..." she said sternly, "...do you work for the Mishima Zaibatsu?"
Shaheen stared into her bright teal orbs, which contained a much different disposition than the sunny one he had been exposed to for the past few minutes. It was almost as if she was prepared to kill him if he gave the wrong answer. But the big question was... what IS the wrong answer?
Shaheen knew no other solution but honesty.
"Of course not. I work for a private military group stationed in Saudi Arabia. That's all I'm at liberty to say."
Chloe stared him down for a second, her face still not changing from its current expression that could probably make babies cry. She put her kitty paw to her chin and nodded very slowly... as if she was acknowledging something. Maybe Shaheen had already said to much...?
And then, as quickly as it came, Chloe's intense face left and was once again wrought with cheerfulness.
"Coolio! Let's take my cab, nya~!"
Shaheen raised an eyebrow. "Wait, that's it?"
"Yeah! As long as you don't work for the Zaibatsu, we can be partners, nya~!"
"Partners? I don't believe you heard me the first time, but I am currently on an assignment-"
"Just come with me, please! I owe you for rescuing me, so consider yourself hired, nya~!"
"How is making me work for you repaying the favor?! I... hey, where are you going?! Strange girl..."
Shaheen found himself in a hard place; he could just walk away, but his conscience wouldn't allow him to leave the harmless-looking girl unprotected. But still, this was getting in the way of his assignment... he had to find a way to ditch her at the first opportunity. Maybe escort her to her hotel? Yeah, that would be noble enough. Leave the annoying girl safe in her hotel and get the hell out. Shaheen was starting to regret being such a chivalrous guy...
TO BE CONTINUED