Disclaimer: I don't own The King of Fighters…
A/N: Hello and thank you for stopping by. Last time, we saw what the heroes have been doing. This time, we'll meet the third team, and get the details on Ash's 'return'. Warning for those who don't know the storyline for KOFXIII: There are some mild spoilers about the ending, so read with caution. You should be able to tell when they're coming. Thank you for reading and I hope you like it. And here … we … go:
The King of Fighters XV
Up to Speed
After Kyo and Benimaru finally managed to make contact with their friends, it was time for Adel and Hiroshi to meet them, and for everyone to get on the same page. All four had settled in the Amaterasu as they waited for the final three to arrive, the two resident cooks, Hiroshi and Benimaru, working in the kitchen.
"Benimaru-san, would you please taste one of these?" Hiroshi asked as he pulled something out of his oven, "I'd appreciate your opinion on them?"
As requested, Benimaru quickly picked up a piece of the finger food and ate it. What he consumed was a light, well-seasoned golden nugget of cheese and jalapeno pepper, hot but not too spicy. It was quite good and effective for its purpose … but The Shooting Star wasn't going to tell him that.
Deliberately understating, Benimaru nonchalantly commented, "Well, you know… it's okay, I guess."
Hiroshi reacted with slight disappointment, "Oh… Okay. So, what do you suggest I do to them?"
Benimaru sidestepped the question, offering, "Tell you what… How about I make something?"
Hiroshi said in confusion, "Um… Are you sure? You are still my guest after all."
The Shooting Star confidently replied, "Oh, I'm sure I can whip something up in no time."
Hiroshi pushed further, "Really, Benimaru-san, that's not necessary. I've got everything under control. I must insist…"
Benimaru quickly reacted with surprising hostility, "I said … I got it."
Hiroshi could only lift his hands, surrendering to his guest's wish. Benimaru, having made his point, turned only to realize, he'd forgotten something very important.
Benimaru let out a sigh and asked in slight defeat, "So, where is … everything?"
Hiroshi inquired as he was getting the picture, "Benimaru-san, I hope I'm not getting my signals crossed, but … you seem to be really hostile toward me. Did I … offend you in some way? Or insult you at all?"
Benimaru slowly shook his head in the negative and admitted, "No, it's nothing you did… Believe it or not, I guess I'm a bit jealous of you."
Hiroshi continued, "This is going to seem like a naïve question but … why would you be jealous of me?"
The Shooting Star chuckled and replied, "Yeah, that is a naïve question…"
"Humor me, please."
Benimaru soon spoke truthfully, "Seriously… With you just arriving out of thin air, I keep having flashbacks of when we all first started. I mean, the buzz around you is red hot right now. You're in demand, a hot commodity; people are asking us about you. And the worst part… it doesn't seem to faze you at all. I don't know … I guess I'm just feeling a bit old."
Hiroshi reassured with a smile, "Well, I don't think you should worry about that. I've seen a lot of your matches, and you're still 'The Shooting Star' in my eyes. From a fighter's perspective, I pity whatever happens to the opponent who thinks you're 'old'."
"Hmm… You are good at that whole 'saying-the-right-thing-at-the-right-time' idea, aren't you? Still … thanks."
"It's no problem. But you want to know something… There's something you have that I don't too..."
Benimaru replied from a slightly cynical view, "Yeah, right. Like what?"
Hiroshi said honestly, "… Friends and family. All those things you said before, they're nice, but Adel-san, notwithstanding, I don't really have anyone to share it with. Maxwell-sama and Almeida-chan have each other, and Adel-san has Rose-chan … but I'm sort of just a third wheel. Then, there's what happened last year… Because of all that, I can't really enjoy any of this, as much as I should at least."
"Hmm… Now, that's something I can help you with." Benimaru walked over and put an arm around Hiroshi's shoulders, "You can count me as your friend. Anything you need, I'll make it happen."
Hiroshi reacted with surprise, but managed a smile anyway, "Benimaru-san… That's very … gracious of you. Would you really do that for me?"
"Of course…" Benimaru said with a smile, "I might even be able to steal some of that thunder of yours…Still, I do feel bad about being a jerk to you. I could still make something if you want."
"Again, thanks, but I don't think you should. I don't know if our guests will be staying that long. I don't want to be wasteful now…"
Suddenly, an alarm sounded, filling the room with a faraway fire engine-like siren. Benimaru jumped at the suddenness of it and what it could be alerting to. Hiroshi, however, smiled as he knew what it meant.
"Excellent; our guests are here…" The Amaterasu Scion happily said.
At the door, Adel let in the third team, consisting of three young women. The youngest-looking one had her black hair tied in a long ponytail, red eyes, an indigo dress with light blue trim and black sleeves, indigo knee high socks over black and light blue sneakers, a light blue ascot tied in front, and black gloves. The eldest looking was also the most striking, being 6'6" and a half a foot taller than Adel, green eyes, and having purple hair with one long lock arcing backward. She wore orange pants with red flared bottoms and straps on both hips, red elbow-length gloves with flared edges, a black strap necklace, and a purple corset top. In the middle was the most eager one, having red hair and brown eyes. This teen wore a green shirt with a purple heart outline in the center, a white cloth jacket with purple trim wrapped around her waist by the sleeves, a red plaid skirt over black bicycle shorts, green and purple sneakers matching her shirt, colored jewelry of a bracelet and necklace, and gloves.
The enthusiastic red-haired girl and the purple-haired Amazon looked around, while the girl in purple seemed generally disinterested. Hiroshi, Kyo, and Benimaru arrived seconds later to greet them…
The girl in the green shirt ran up and hugged both Kyo and Benimaru, saying, "Benimaru-san! Kyo-niisan! It's great to see you two again!"
Benimaru reacted with a smile, "It's good to see you too; you sure seem to be in high spirits…"
Kyo added, feeling very uncomfortable, "Yeah, you're just as excitable as ever."
The girl went on as she continued, "I'm so glad you called. It's been so long since we've seen each other…" Looking at the other two, she asked, "Are these the two friends you guys talked about?"
Benimaru cordially began, "Oh, right… Ladies, this is Hiroshi Amaterasu and Adelheid…" After deliberately leaving out Adel's last name, he turned his attention around, "Guys, the girl in purple over there is Miu Kurosaki, the gorgeous Amazon standing next to her is Jun Kagami, and this livewire here is Moe Habana."
Hiroshi said as he respectfully began bowing and shaking the girl's hands, "You know, Kyo-san. I think I have to hang out with you more often…" He stopped at Jun and said as he lightly kissed the back of her hand, "Seeing as you keep such beautiful company."
Flattered, Jun said with a smile, "Well, aren't you something? Kyo, you never told us you knew such a handsome guy, and so well-mannered."
Hiroshi said with a smile, "I do the best I can. I believe it's required in the presence of an obviously classy lady such as you."
"Ooh, I guess the rumors of you being a charmer are true."
"Charmer? I simply admire women … especially exceptional ones like you, Moe-chan, and Miu-chan." Hiroshi then turned his attention to the silent girl, saying, "How are you, by the way? Are you comfortable?"
After a half-hearted shrug from Miu, Jun translated, "Oh that just means she's fine… She's not big on conversation."
Hiroshi said with a smile, "That's alright; silence is a respected choice… Now then, if you'll follow me, I'll show you all around the house."
As Hiroshi led them all inside, Moe, Jun, Kyo, and Benimaru looked around the opulent dwelling in silent awe, and Miu was even silently impressed though she only viewed with her eyes. The only two unaffected by the sights were Hiroshi and Adel, the only two having seen the place on a regular basis.
Jun said in awe, "This is quite an impressive place you have."
Moe added with glee, "And it's so big. It's more like a castle than a mansion."
Hiroshi smoothly turned into a moonwalk, and said with a smile, "Thank you. This house was originally a small hotel until my grandparents decided to turn it into a sanctuary, a safe haven for our family and friends… Actually, there are still traces of the hotel around … like this for instance."
As they all entered the new area, Jun and Moe both let out gasps of amazement, and Benimaru let out a long whistle with the same thought. They had entered a large oval, split-level entrance hall resembling a luxury hotel reception area. The floor was covered in dark red carpet with elaborate gold patterns throughout it, and the walls were a pristine white. On both levels were multiple doors.
Stopping in the middle, Hiroshi said, "This is the nexus of the entire house, the exact center of the mansion. Nearly everything is accessible from this point."
Jun asked out of intrigue, "Interesting. So just what do you have access to, if I may ask?"
Hiroshi expressed, "You most certainly may. Up the stairs and forward are the bed rooms and a forked hallway. The right hallway takes you to the pools, the door in the middle is the gym, and the left hallway is the movie theater…"
Confused, Benimaru asked, "Wait? Did you say pool? On the second floor?"
"Yes, two actually; one on the first floor, another on the second, and a waterslide in the middle to connect the two."
Moe reacted excitedly, "Cool. But what about that theater?"
Hiroshi continued, "It has a regulation theater screen and stadium seating… Then, on the second floor behind you, the left hallway leads to the bowling alley and roller rink, and the right hallway leads to the arcade and lounge area, where we can talk things over."
Uninterested, Kyo asked, "This place is a regular funhouse. You got a garage around here?"
Hiroshi simply point to a first level door, and Kyo instantly went toward it. Kyo simply opened the door … and recoiled from what he saw.
Kyo exclaimed, his voice given a prominent echo, "Whoa! How big is this? What kind of cars do you have in here?"
Hiroshi coolly answered, "It's a 20 car garage. My car company keeps all prototypes and concept cars in there, hence the more advanced-looking ones."
"Alright; I give up. I'm impressed." Kyo relented.
"Now, that's something I've never heard before…" Benimaru asked, "Hiroshi-san, I bet you have something outside too?"
Hiroshi was happy to confirm. He snapped the fingers of his left hand, and the drapes to left of the room pulled away. This revealed a glass door leading outside with a large tennis court just beyond it. With a snap of his right hand, the drapes to the right of the room pulled away, and revealed another glass door leading outside, this one having a basketball court just beyond it.
Hiroshi said with a smile, "You would win that bet, Benimaru-san."
Moe, barely able to contain herself, almost pleaded, "Amaterasu-sama, we don't have to have that meeting right now, do we? I mean, would it be alright if … we took a, uh … better look around?"
Hiroshi courteously said, "Of course, my 'castle' is open to you. And please, Moe-chan; 'Hiroshi' is fine."
Moe happily said, "Thanks!"
With that permission, the group scattered. Moe eagerly grabbed Jun's hand, and pulled her toward the roller rink. Kyo headed into the garage…
Hiroshi quietly requested, "Adel-san, could you go in there with Kyo-san and make sure he doesn't get too excited, please?"
"Sure thing, Hiro." Adel asked.
As Adel went into the garage, Benimaru said, "Well, I've got to see this pool… By the way, Hiroshi-san, where is the restroom?"
"This used to be a hotel; there's a bathroom in every room."
Benimaru gave a knowing nod and went off. After a moment, Hiroshi noticed Miu standing in place.
Hiroshi generously asked, "Miu-chan, is everything alright?" Do you need anything?"
Miu simply shook her head in the negative, and, satisfied, Hiroshi started off until…
"You have a nice home. It feels … warm." Miu finally said.
"Thank you. Your compliment does me honor." Hiroshi humbly responded.
Miu heard the humility in his voice, and she could see the honesty on his face. Finally … she cracked the slightest of smiles.
After some time, everyone gathered in the lounge for their meeting. The three women were seated, Jun in a plush chair while Moe and Miu sat on the couch. Kyo and Benimaru played a game of pool. Hiroshi silently sat off to the side, and Adel stood close to the three guests. Meanwhile, Moe was partaking in the 'snacks' Hiroshi had prepared.
Moe raved as she eats another, "Hiroshi-san, these are so delicious!"
"Well, I'm really glad you like them…" Hiroshi shot Benimaru a smirk before continuing, "But don't thank me. Benimaru-san is the one who made them."
"Really? Well, these are excellent, Benimaru-san!" Moe said.
Benimaru gave Hiroshi a grateful nod and said, "Thanks, Moe-chan…"
Getting to the business at hand, Jun said, "So, what's the plan? I know there are already 16 teams set up. How are we getting in?"
"That's where I come in…" Adel handed them individual envelopes with red seals on them, and sat in a chair opposite Jun as he continued, "In sight of last year's success, I've expanded the field of teams to 20. You three are my honorary selection."
"Cool!" Moe exclaimed, "So, there will be extra matches?"
"Yes, but maybe not for you all personally since you'll be placed into the shuffle with the other teams."
Jun then asked, "Alright; so, we're going after this guy who tried to steal the three sacred treasures, huh? What's the story for this Ash character anyway?"
Benimaru told, "Ash had stolen the treasures from Yagami and Chizuru-sama, and then he set his sights on Kyo… But in the thirteenth KOF, he lost. Elisabeth-chan and her team got there before us, and all three saw him perish."
Kyo took a pool shot as he added, "But not long after… he suddenly returned, and I think started stalking me. Finally, Yuki-chan and I were … uh, in the middle of something … when he finally attacked. I held him off when he suddenly disappeared. The worse part of it: even though Yagami and Chizuru-san both have their treasures back… Ash still used some of their powers he got from them…"
Moe asked in subtle shock, "So, this guy just comes back to life, and he's better than ever? Sounds like he's not just any regular jerk. He sounds like … something else."
"All the more reason to stop him before he can execute any of his plans." Adel said.
Kyo added, "Yeah, and it doesn't help that he has two new strong running mates who know all about us…"
The Amaterasu Scion let out a soft groan, and looked down slightly as he swung his barstool around to the side.
Noticing this, Miu asked, "Were you … close to them?"
Adel, seeing his friend's reluctance to answer, replied for him, "Yeah, he was… Hiro took care of them when they were comatose; they were like sisters to him…"
Moe said with compassion, "And they still betrayed you? That's terrible; I can't imagine how it hurt you."
Hiroshi somberly replied, "Yes; they betrayed me … in the worst way. And it does hurt … all the time…"
"I am skeptical." Miu oddly said.
Hiroshi reacted with confusion, "What do you mean, Miu-chan?"
Miu honestly expressed, "I am skeptical about you, Hiroshi-san. You are exceptionally kind, and you obviously still care for them. I wonder about your response if you have to face them."
Hiroshi replied, his solemn tone holding, "I wonder too. But, they made their choice; I always considered the possibility they would leave me eventually, after all. Still, Ash needs to be stopped, and, if we have to go through them first, then … so be it. If necessity isn't enough … I'm sure my anger will carry me through."
Kyo confidently said, "Not if I get to Ash first."
Benimaru finally asked, "So, ladies… We could really use your help. What do you say? Will you give us a hand?"
"Count me in!" Moe enthusiastically exclaimed.
Jun said with a smile, "Of course. Was there any doubt?"
Miu nonchalantly said, "I guess I'll help too."
Adel responded, running down some details, "Good. Simply report to the festival in two weeks. The time and place will be sent to you."
"Cool; I'm out of here." Kyo said.
Agreeing with the idea, Adel said, "Yes, I'm leaving too. See you around, Hiro."
"Come on, girls." Jun said, "We should go too."
Moe stopped and, as Kyo and Adel exited, suggested, "Actually … I don't really want to leave just yet. Maybe we can stay a little longer … maybe even spend the night."
As Jun and Miu looked at Moe in surprise, Hiroshi asked in confusion, "You want to sleep over … in my house?"
"Well, yeah…" Moe entreated, "I mean, this is a hotel and all."
"Hmm. That's a very weird thing to ask someone, but …" Hiroshi said before a slight smile emerged, "Alright. Like you said, there's plenty of room, and company is always welcome."
Moe joyfully jumped up and down, hugged Hiroshi about the neck in gratitude, and ran off into the house.
Jun lightheartedly rolled her eyes and said as she put a hand on Hiroshi's shoulder, "I'm sorry about this. I hope we're not causing you too much trouble."
Hiroshi replied with a smile, "Don't apologize. It's no trouble at all. It'll be nice to hear something other than silence for a change. It will definitely be good to see people, especially you, other than the ones in pictures."
Jun giggled and said, "You know, I'll have to watch out for you."
With that, Jun walked off into the house, and Miu, after flashing a brief smile, disappeared after the others.
Hiroshi then said as he turned, "Benimaru-san, you wouldn't mind staying a little longer and helping me with din… Huh?"
Benimaru was nowhere to be found! Hiroshi took a closer look, and saw the cause: Benimaru was already out the door and starting down the hall…
The Shooting Star exclaimed from down the hall, "Way ahead of you, Hiro."
The Amaterasu Scion let out a brief chuckle, and started after everyone else.
End Chapter
A/N: There you have it. Thank you for reading, and I hope you enjoyed it. Next time, we'll get a look into some of the other side-stories and see the actions of other teams. Again, I hope you enjoyed, reading, I hope you liked it, and I hope you come back to read again. Please review, and, as always, Rant, Rave, and Review