Let's get this started...first of all, I'd like to thank all of my loyal reviewers! XD I, like, love you guys SO much. lol Not THAT way, but, ehrm, yea. Thanks to Alandil Lieng, Sony Love, LegendarySuperNamek, TwilightAoi, Tira-kun, and axel! Thanks bunches!
Disclaimer: I do not own any of the SNK characters...don't sue.
Chapter 23: Paris: The City of Romance...
"You better take good care of my car!" Benimaru yelled out to the man who took his car keys.
"Yes, sir. I will." The man smiled.
"Kami...I just hope he does." Benimaru murmured to himself as he headed over to buy the airplane ticket. That got him thinking...(Where did my other car go to?)
"The Dumps." A sudden voice startled him.
"You! Kami, quit scaring me like that." Benimaru let out a sigh of relief.
"You wrecked it, remember?" Duo Lon let a small smile crack onto his face. It was quickly wiped away as soon as he realized that he had done it.
"I remember that now...I vow never to drink and drive again." Benimaru shuddered slightly.
"Hmm..." Duo Lon agreed silently.
Did you buy your plane ticket yet?"
"No."
"Well, come on, then." Benimaru began to walk to the front.
"I don't have any money." Duo Lon replied.
"What?"! Benimaru slapped his head with his hand. "Oi...well, look-I'll pay for it. Come one already." Benimaru grumbled. Duo Lon smirked while Benimaru had his back to him.
XDXDXD
A few moments later...
"Have you ever flied in-no, wait, scratch that-have you ever even gotten on an airplane before?" Benimaru asked as he settled down into his seat beside Duo Lon, who was already buckled up. "'Cause Lin objected when we tried to fly back in the day..." Benimaru smirked.
"To be honest, no I have not." Duo Lon replied, ignoring the last statement.
"Well...glad to know you didn't lie."
"I may be of the Hizoku clan, but I'm not Lin." Duo Lon responded.
"Whoa, calm down there. It was just a joke." Benimaru laughed slightly. "Anyway, you want to listen to some music?" Benimaru asked him. Duo Lon looked at him, then hesitantly took Benimaru's iPod, and headphones. Benimaru saw the airplane waitress. The 'flirt mode' seemed to turn on suddenly.
"Hello there, miss-" He looked at her tag. "Kahn." He threw a charming smile.
"Hello, there." The young woman smiled back. "What would you like today?"
"Are there any peanuts?" Benimaru asked.
"No, I'm sorry. Someone on this airplane is allergic to them." She responded with another smile.
"Aw, man." Benimaru looked around. "So, nothing?"
"No, sir. Even the scent of peanuts could cause a major reaction." She informed him.
"I see..." Benimaru thought for a while. "You got any Shashimi?" He asked.
"Yes. Of course." She handed him a plate.
"Thank you." He rubbed his hands together slightly.
"Uh, huh." She strolled away with her cart.
"Damn it!" Benimaru still grumbled about the peanuts.
"I'm sure you like all types of nuts, don't you?" Duo Lon spoke up.
"Hey!" Benimaru turned towards him quickly to object. "No I don't!"
"Hmm..." Duo Lon closed his eyes.
"Ladies and gentlemen...please fasten your seatbelts. We are ready to make departure." Another woman announced as the airplane started up. Benimaru buckled up, then looked over to Duo Lon, who still had his eyes closed, but they seemed to be shut very tightly.
A few moments later, they were in the air. Benimaru noticed a pain in his hand. He looked at his hand on the arm rest.
"Umm, Duo Lon? You can let go of my hand now." Benimaru informed him. Duo Lon's eyes opened immediately. He let go slowly, clearing his throat. Benimaru smiled, trying to up some circulation into his hand.
"Anyway, what are you listening to?" Benimaru took one of the earpieces. Duo Lon looked alarmed. Benimaru frowned. He took the iPod from his hands.
"Whadd'ya know?" Benimaru laughed. "It's not even on!" Duo Lon, despite of his pale skin looked a bit flustered.
"Don't tell me you don't know how to use it." He looked at him.
"I don't." He replied.
"You guys are so outdated." He turned it on, then pressed play. He handed it back to Duo Lon. "There you go." He laughed a little more. (Man, this is gonna be one long airplane ride...)
XDXDXD
At the airport in Paris...
"Do-you-speak-English?" Benimaru repeated word for word. The woman frowned. "Japanese?" Benimaru hoped she knew it. She only nodded her head with slight confusion. "Oi...these putzes..." He turned to Duo Lon, who stood behind him. He opened his mouth to say something when-
"Do you need assistance, sir?" A voice suddenly came from behind both of them. Benimaru almost shoved Duo Lon aside.
"Oh Kami, thank you!" He showed him his passport. "Can we get through now?" He asked.
"Yes, of course. I'm sorry for the misunderstanding." He signaled to the door.
"Thanks." Benimaru took his luggage bags. Duo Lon followed him out. Benimaru took out a mini French-English dictionary.
"Okay...we've gotta find a bank so I can change some Yen into French bucks." Benimaru looked around.
He searched around for 'excuse me'. Once he found it, he then searched around to ask someone.
"Um, excuse-moi." He asked a man that was passing by.
"Oui?"
"Um, Parlez..." He searched in his small dictionary. "...Parlez-vous anglais?" He asked.
'Yes." The man smiled at Benimaru's feeble attempts at French. Benimaru let out a sigh of relief.
"Thank you...this is hard." He pointed to the small dictionary. "Anyway, do you know where a bank is? So that I can change my Yen into, like French money?" Benimaru asked.
"Francs are no longer in use, sir. Do you mean Euro?"
"Yea, that's what I meant."
"Three blocks away. Just walk straight over that way." He pointed to his left. "You'll notice it."
"Thanks." Benimaru signaled Duo Lon to follow him.
"Nice French you spoke back there." Duo Lon complimented with a slight smirk.
"Yea. Pretty nice for a beginner, eh?" Benimaru smiled. Duo Lon shook his head. "Ya never know...I can meet some hot chick." Benimaru adjusted his hair slightly as the walked.
A few moments later, Benimaru opened the door to the bank. Cool air hit him.
"Man...do people ever rent cars or something?" Benimaru panted, then wiped off the sweat from his forehead.
"Everyone walks in Paris." Duo Lon responded.
"God, I'm out of shape..." He looked at his rather, formed abs. "I need to exercise a bit more." Duo Lon rolled his eyes slightly. Benimaru watched as a woman in a red dressed walked by.
"Let's go change some money." He headed over to the woman at the front. The woman smiled.
"Bonjour, monsieur."
"Hello. Do you speak English?" He asked her with a wink.
"Yes, how may I help you today?" She replied, noticing the wink.
"Could you change some Yen into Euro money?" He asked. Duo Lon still stood behind him.
"Yes, how much would you like? She asked.
"2,000 Yen, please." He recounted the money before he handed it to her.
"D-accord." She responded, then totaled his money into Euro.
A few moments later, the woman gave him the money. He suddenly heard gun shots.
"Sur la terre, maintenant!" Everyone went to the ground, screams were heard, followed by more gun shots. Benimaru and Duo Lon stood, not understanding one word. They looked around.
"Oh, wow!" Benimaru put his hands in the air as soon as he saw various guns being pointed at him. One of the masked men laughed.
"Regardez, un Américain faible... avec... " He looked at Duo Lon. "...avec cet chose." He laughed out. The others joined him.
"Donnez-moi votre argent, maintenant!" He yelled out in French.
"What?" Benimaru put his arms down. He was suddenly hit in the groin, and his money being ripped out of his hands. "That was not cool." Benimaru leaned over in pain. Duo Lon suddenly joined him on the ground, a gun being pressed to the side of his head.
Suddenly, there was glass shattering. An elegant white horse was seen, along with a woman in a white shirt. She held a horse whip in one hand, and held the leash with the other.
"Ce qui..." Some of the men were kicked down with the horse. The woman jumped off the horse, then kicked the man, sparkle-like powers were suddenly seen. By the time everyone noticed, the men were all unconscious. The woman stood beside Benimaru, holding out his money to him.
"Voilà, monsieur ." She smiled. Benimaru suddenly turned onto flirt mode again.
"Oh, Kami! You saved my life! You deserve a nice hug!" Benimaru wrapped his arms around her. (Damn it! If only I was a bit shorter so I can mash my face in-between those huge boobs) Benimaru thought, all the while, trying to scoot his face closer down toward them.
"That's very...nice." She pried him away.
"My name's Benimaru." He took her hand gently, a charming look in his eyes. "Benimaru Nikaido." He kissed her hand. "What's yours?" He asked.
"Elisabeth Blanctorche."
"Pleasure to meet you, Elisabeth." Benimaru stepped back, then introduced Duo Lon.
"This is Duo Lon."
"Duo Lon, nice to meet both of you." She shook Duo Lon's hand.
"So...who were those guys?" Benimaru looked at the ground, then kicked at one of them.
"Criminels..." She heard the sirens outside. Benimaru and Duo Lon looked confused. "The police will take care of the rest." She petted her horse. It suddenly came to Benimaru. (Oh! Criminal...) She was looking at them for a moment, almost studying them.
"What brings people like you here to Paris?" She asked.
"We're her to investigate some stuff on Ash Crimson." Benimaru stated. Elisabeth's eyes seemed to widen.
"Ash?"
"Yea. Do you know him?"
"Is he entering the KOF tournament again this year?" She asked, ignoring his question.
"Yes, he is." Duo Lon responded. "I was on his team in KOF 2003." He added.
"Oh, I remember now...Duo Lon. Are you joining the team this year?" She asked.
"Well, actually, we're looking for a third member." Benimaru cut in, smiling another charming smile. "We want to stop Ash"
"I'll do the job..." She responded suddenly. (If that's what it takes to reach him...) Her glance was concentrated elsewhere, almost as if she was thinking back on something.
"Seriously?" Benimaru's heard fluttered.
"Yes...we'll stop Ash's plans together." She trailed off.
"All right! Now we get to be 'close' teammates!" Benimaru put his arms around both of their necks, then turned to Elisabeth, and winked.
"What are you looking for him for, anyway?" She asked, getting out of his arms. He now had one armsdrapingaround Duo Lon's neck. He then seemed to turn serious at the topic.
"He used me." Benimaru then quickly slapped himself mentally, realizing just how wrong it sounded. "Not THAT way. He was planning something...I don't think it was his true intention, though. He stole the Yata mirror from Chizuru, and now he's planning to get Iori's power." Benimaru responded. Elisabeth stayed quiet. (Ash...have you forgotten already...?)
XDXDXD
Hehehe. What'd you think of that? Not much action...though, since I don't know any of Elisabeth's powers or anything...Anyway, please review! XD
Translations:
Excuse-moi: Excuse me
Oui: Yes
Parlez-vous anglais: Do you speak English?
Bonjour, monsieur: Hello, sir
D'accord: Okay
Sur la terre, maintenant: On the ground, now!
Donnez-moi votre argent, maintenant!: Give me your money, now!
Regardez, un Américain faible... avec... : Look, a weak American...with...
Avec: With
...avec cet chose: ...with this thing
Ce qui: What the...
Voilà, monsieur : Here it is, sir