Chapter Three
"Hey… Could I maybe… get an autograph?" Setsuna asked meekly, tapping the red head on the shoulder. He turned and looked at her, sighing.
".. I suppose…" He agreed, as she handed him a pen and her almost mint-condition CD case. The CD was in her Walkman. He signed it and handed it back to her.
"Thanks, and good luck on your first match!" She said politely, turning to walk away.
"Thanks…" He replied softly, running a hand through his locks, in an unsure manner. He looked almost just like his dad, same unruly flame-red locks in his face, the style a bit different though, and built on the same perfectly muscular frame.
But why, in all hells, had he come to America, to a fighting tournament, to find a girl? A girl that might not even exist. A girl who didn't live in fear of the other part of him, or in a world where she was blinded to his faults.
Because, unlike his dad, Shinya was willing to admit he wanted someone to love. But… to America, with two women who used to fight on the same team as his father? He sighed, walking out of the lobby, down a hall that led… well, he didn't know where it would lead to. It led to a door, which he gently pushed open.
Pure, clean sunlight blinded his sapphire orbs.
As they adjusted, he could see he was in a garden. It was pretty enough. Flowers, benches, trees, a path… He stayed in the shade, where it was cooler.
"Hmm… Ahh…" He heard a voice and ventured from his shady spot, walking down the path. Near the end, sitting under a large red maple tree, was a blodn girl. She was humming a song, a song quite familiar to him…
Because he sang it.
And he started to sing the words softly, stopping after the first word of the chorus, "Angel", because she slipped off the headphones, and looked at him.
"Hi. You must be Shinya Yagami." She said, not shy at all. She probably wasn't one of his fans, he guessed.
"You must be Garnet."
She blinked, eyes wide and showing clear emerald irises. "Yeah I am… My mom told me about you… Your dad…"
Shinya cringed inwardly, hearing her speak about his father. "Your mother?"
"King." She replied, picking the headphones out from under the collar of her blazer.
"Yes. Our parents do know each other then." He agreed.
"So… what brings you out here, Yagami?" She cocked her head to one side, looking up at him.
Immediately, he felt at ease with her. She wasn't giggly, or stupid like most of the girls he met. "Please, call me Shinya."
She shook her head. "No. I don't call anyone by their first names."
"Why?"
"Because… then it feels like I'm fighting a friend, when the Tournament starts." She explained, setting the walkman on the grass beside her. She was smart too, it seemed.
"Oh… That's actually a good idea."
"Thanks. Kunisaki let me borrow your CD. I like the title track."
" 'Angel'? Thank you. Setsuna actually just asked me for an autograph." He said, after a moment of pause.
"Yeah… Kunisaki and that boytoy of hers… Takamoto…" She rolled her eyes.
"Setsuna is not dating Kyo." Shinya corrected, flipping his long bangs back, to get a better look at the female half of the Howard twins.
And he was actually surprised. Garnet was very pretty, for a blond… Possibly because she had shimmering green eyes, and spiky hair that fell to just past her ears, instead of regulation blond hair and blue eyes like most girls. Her cropped off black shirt and open blazer showed her flat and tan stomach off, and a small navel piercing.
"Oh…? I was gonna say…." She trailed off.
"What?"
"What?" She echoed, giving him a funny look, flaxen brows knitting together.
"You were going to say… what?" He clarified.
"It's an expression, Yagami." She said shortly.
"GAR-NET!" Someone female interrupted, loudly.
"Yeah, Bogard? I'm back here with Yagami!" Garnet yelled back, standing.
""Already?" The female Bogard joked, running down the path.
"Shut up." She snapped.
"It's hot as hell out here. How do you two keep jackets on?" Sakura asked, tossing her wavy brown mane back, and looking from Shinya to Garnet.
Regulation eyes, shoulder length hair, but a different color. In his opinion, Garnet still won.
" 'Dunno." Garnet replied, shrugging hers off to reveal lean, tan arms, and the black cropped top more fully. A pair of dice showing snake eyes rolled across her chest.
"Your parents are here." Sakura said blandly. "My parents are here."
"Really?" Garnet smiled, obviously happy that her parents would come, unlike Sakura. "Kick ass." She pulled the lid of her Fatal Fury hat down tighter.
"What? Fuck no." Sakura narrowed her cerulean eyes. "Everybody's parents are here."
Shinya sincerely wished Iori was not included in that.
"Sakura!"
Sakura whirled around, her mouth dropped open in shock. "Mom!"
Mai placed a hand on her full hip. "Where do you learn that language?"
"Hello, Aunt Mai." Garnet waved at the Japanese woman, as she picked up her blazer, and Setsuna's Walkman.
"Hello, Garnet. Your parents are inside." Garnet ran past Mai, not wanting to get any backlash of Sakura's oncoming lecture, and Shinya followed.
"DAD!" Garnet jumped onto her fathers back, while King and Elijah laughed. Elijah stopped laughing when he saw Shinya gazing at his twin.
Rock smiled at his daughter, and tweaked the Fatal Fury cap she now owned. It was somewhat of a legacy now. Terry'd given it to him, and he'd given it to his daughter.
"Thanks for coming." Garnet said, as her mother took off of her fathers back, as though she were 5 years old.
And suddenly, Elijah was rudely jealous of his sister.
On another side of the hotel, sometime later.
"You'll never guess who Sakura caught Garnet outside with?" Jeff remarked idly to Toshiya, as they stood on the balcony, overlooking Southtown.
"Who?"
"Shinya Yagami." Everyone who was involved with KoF, or had a relative involved in KoF, knew that the Yagami's were bad news. Or, at least, when compared to the Kusanagi's, were the bad guys.
"What? Why would she be hanging around with him?" Toshiya turned around, leaning back against the railing.
" 'Dunno. My cousin said they were in the garden together. Alone." Jeff replied, looking over at him. "Thought you'd want to know."
Toshiya's fists clenched. If he didn't calm down soon, the entire hotel would be in flames. His face and hands felt strangely hot. That… bastard! He had some nerve, fraternizing with his teammate, when Shinya's father constantly hassled his entire family! Didn't Garnet know that? Or did she just not care?
"I'll… talk to her later…" Toshiya finally answered, his teeth gritting.
"Oh! There you are!" A red head stepped onto the balcony. Her hair, unlike Shinya's, was actually a brilliant coppery red, falling in waves past her shoulders. "Oh? Am I interrupting? Is the man time?"
And, unlike the other female member of Team France, Iris had great manner, is only jokingly.
"No… but if you see Garnet…"
"You want to speak with her, no?" she finished deftly.
"Yes, thank you."
"Alright." Iris turned to leave the balcony, supposing that she should feel good that Toshiya never wanted to speak with her about anything. But she couldn't help but feel…
Jealous. That Garnet got to spend all this time with Toshiya, because she'd screwed up again, even if the time was spent scolding.
She waved herself off as ridiculous, and went to check on Vice and Mature.
Authors Note: Yes, I think I was putting Garnet Howard on a pedestal… But she does lead a charmed life, and she's probably my favorite character in here. Did I make her seem more like Terry and Mary's daughter than Rock and King's? I dunno… I don't think you can see it now, but it will look more like it after the tournament starts. Which will be in the next chapter or two. (Iwas revising what I wrote the other day! She has so many of Mary and Terry's mannerisms, I almost think I made her a clone! BUT SHE IS THE CHILD OF ROCK AND KING. I just realized that Rock has red eyes, and King has brown… HOW DID ELIJAH AND GARNET END UP WITH GREEN? I just noticed that as I was typing. Did anyone else notice it? Yay.)Review, please!
I've been typing faster than I get reviews, but I won't be typing as much after this week, because the new quarter starts at my school on Monday. Lotsa work to do.