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King of Fighters II
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King of Fighters '03
Shanghai
7 a.m.
The streets are already bustling with activity while the steam and aromas from open-air shops and stands ascend into the sky.
It is amply bright outside, but the sun has not completely risen; dark shadows dance on the ground in between the shops of the marketplace.
Alone, a behemoth of a man stands out from the throng.
"Nuts. That Ash. Calling me here at this time of the morning."
Dressed in his usual ultra-casual style, a jacket slipped over his bare torso, anyone passing along the street would recognize him. In Shanghai he is the man called "Shen Woo." Shen means "god" and Woo the Chinese word for "battle." Naturally, this isn't his real name.
"Ah, ha, ha, ha. You're here. Shen, long time no see! So, where is a place that will feed us some delicious crabs? You must know, right Shen?"
"Ash...who'd eat crab at this ungodly morning hour?!"
"Lighten up there, pal. Then how about a little dim sum before Duo Lon gets here?"
The young Caucasian with platinum hair gathered up in a katyusha is Ash Crimson.
Alabaster skinned with blue eyes. Freckles still remain on his cheeks positioned over the edges of a mouth contorted into an impertinent smirk.
You could call him a handsome lad or not, but it is certain that he is enveloped in a strange sort of magnetism that garners glances. His body is slight but sinewy.
"Crab, this early in the morning..."
Thrusting forward through the crowd, Ash finds Shanghai crabs dumped into a wooden crate, wriggling gloriously in the display window of a shop.
"Look, look. They look spunky. Your buying, right?"
"Who's buying? Give it a rest. And in the first place, do you even eat crab? Tourists from Europe tend to shy away from our local delicacy, you know?"
"I love crab. And after you hear what I got to tell you, I think you'll gladly foot the bill."
Ash's mischievous expression is reflected in the window of the shop.
"One guy said the clown who ate Shanghai crab for the first time was extremely courageous...or just amazingly intelligent. It's the truth, Ash. So what's your important story?"
And then: the reflection of the figure of another tall man appears in the glass of the show window which would be difficult to be called polished.
"......"
Ash and Shen, without looking back, continue pretending to keep judging the quality of the crabs.
Shen clicks his tongue slightly. Although distracted by the conversation, being snuck up on so easily...?
"Ah, ha, ha, Duo Lon. It's been awhile. How have you been? How about we talk somewhere out of the way while we fill our bellies?"
"This place looks good."
Even the fresh air of morning becomes cold and gloomy around this guy.
The figure of the tall man, dressed in a costume luxuriously embroidered, appears from the pallid shadows between the buildings. Duo Lon. All but the age of a young man, he is actually a member of the "Flying Brigands," a group of assassins who reside in the back regions of China.
He is laconic with a presence that naturally overwhelms people, and bears a sad countenance.
"Ta-dah! Can you believe it? This came to me in the mail. "
What Ash produces is an envelope sealed archaically with wax.
THE KING OF FIGHTERS.
The world's largest tournament of varying fighting styles.
Both Shen and Duo Lon are aware of this.
And they both know it is a team event of teams consisting of three fighters each.
Annually some sort of crisis accompanies it; in other words, an event with attitude.
"I won't pull any punches. I want to join this thing. So, I'm hoping you'll feel the same. How about it? Will you enter with me?"
"Sounds like fun. OK, I'm in! I've always wanted to be in KOF, at least once. I'll go anywhere where strong opponents can be found."
"That's the ol' pepper, Shen. Happy to hear it. How about you, Duo Lon?"
"...Yeah, OK."
"Ah, ha, ha, ha. Then it's all decided!"
"As a matter of fact, the application of we three has already been made. It would have been a real bummer if either of you had refused to accompany me."
"Say what? You already entered us? ...Ah, whatever. I'm pumped up for this!"
"...What are you scheming? Huh, Ash?"
"Oh, come, come, Duo Lon. It's nothing of any consequence."
"And if I had said I wouldn't do it...What would you have done?"
"...Hmm. What would I have done?"
Grinning like the Cheshire cat, Ash laces the invitation between the fingers of his left hand and plays with it.
Supple fingers are they, which look like they have nothing to do with combat. And his nails are adorned with nail art.
From the four corners of the invitation interlaced in Ash's fingers burst emerald flames.
The entire invitation is swiftly consumed by flames, but the vigor of the flame does not abate and a pillar of flame bursts from Ash's left hand.
A spiral of wind breaks out at his feet, blowing up Ash's platinum blond hair, and the flames burn even higher and stronger. He laughs. At the depths of his innocent and capricious giggle an inscrutable something certainly squirms. A few passers-by notice the green pillar of flame but are dumbstruck with astonishment.
Ash shakes his left hand dramatically outward.
The emerald flames jump from his arm. Drawing a gentle arc that slips between Shen and Duo Lon in an instant, it brushes by the face of a girl passing nearby and then disappears.
The draft blows the girl's hair. Promptly thereafter at her side, the thing that was a bee a second before falls to the earth motionless, burnt to a crisp, in a pile of white ash.
"That was close, young lady. Ah, ha, ha."
"Uh, th-thank...you."
"Il n'y a pas de quoi."
Ash replies with an exaggeratedly old-fashioned bow
"OK, playtime is over. To make things worse I'm totally whacked from being called out so early in the morning."
"I love mornings in the spring. They say, 'The season is spring. The time of day is morning. The time of morning is seven.'"
"Who says that?"
"Hmph. For someone raised in France, you have strange tastes."
Duo Lon breaks out in a rare wry smile. Although he feigns a cool, adult air, his youth is given away when he laughs.
Ash continues.
"As God makes evident in the sky. All in the world is nothing.
Well, that's it. Take it easy. Just take it easy. Ah, ha, ha."
ASH CRIMSON
DUO LON
SHEN WOO
Their participation in the tournament had already been confirmed by the KOF Management Organization three days ago.
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Characters are brother or sister to one another.
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King of Fighters XI
"Hands up!"
In a small bank, a man holding a gun called out to those around him.
Most of the people did as commanded, except for a blond-haired Japanese man, and a black-haired young man, who gave each other a knowing glance, then followed suit.
(You sure about this, Nikaido?)
(It should be fairly simple... wait for an opening, then deal with the shotgun.)
In southern France, in a small town with a population of only a few thousand.
Benimaru Nikaido and Duo Lon came here to meet someone, and in order to keep a low profile, they lifted their hands above their heads.
Normally, Benimaru would have made a bigger show of the robbers, but there were no women below the age of 50 anywhere in sight.
It was a textbook small French farming town, with a church in the center and small shops around it.
Herd farming was common, here, and cows and horses could be seen everywhere downtown.
The bank itself had only four tellers, and was in an old building, so it was anything but imposing.
Only the customers, including Benimaru and Duo Lon, and perhaps the robber himself, were foreign. Everything else was local.
If they hadn't received an invitation from someone claiming to have close ties to Ash Crimson, it's likely that they would never have come anywhere near this place.
Even though their timing in stopping by the bank to ask for directions had happened to coincide with the robbery, they were not overly concerned.
"P-put your hands behind your heads and lay f-face down! Now!"
The robber was obviously nervous. One could tell that his lips were trembling beneath his cap, and the barrel of his gun wavered unsteadily. No one in the bank had screamed, and the situation continued in an eerie calm.
If one were to look out the window of this surprisingly homey bank, one would see a truck loaded with bales of hay, as well as multiple cows walking by. In the muted winter sunlight, the view from the window almost looked like a painting.
(So, now what...?)
As he lay on the floor in an undignified posture with Duo Lon, Benimaru was calm and collected, and rather enjoyed the atmosphere. Even so, there wasn't a man alive who could properly enjoy the idyllic setting with a bank robber trying to take hostages not twenty feet away.
(...)
(What is it, Nikaido?)
(...A horse.)
(What horse?)
A white horse was walking in front of the window.
(...That horse?)
(...That horse.)
Astride the white horse, there sat a woman.
Though she would normally have been out of view, Benimaru and Duo Lon could easily see her face from their vantage point on the floor. She stretched and took the reins and a riding crop in hand.
With her short hair and the firm set of her mouth, she gave off an air of nobility.
As beautiful as she was, Benimaru felt reluctant to pursue her. Not to mention, anything he could say while lying on the floor, under the direction of a robber's gun, was unlikely to be particularly impressive.
Since this was more or less the worst possible first impression one could make on a woman, he decided to make things a bit more impressive.
Just as he had made this decision, however, the woman came through the front door, horse and all. She pointed the riding crop at the robber and shouted.
"Drop your weapons and surrender! That is an order!"
Her voice rang out clearly in the still air.
It appeared she was not speaking solely to the robbers, though.
After several moments, the villagers-turned-hostages began to speak.
"Mademoiselle Blanctorche!"
"Lady Elisabeth!"
Though her voice gave off a palpable feeling of comfort, it was also plainly evident that she held absolutely no compassion for the robbers.
"Y-you bitch! You want this gun right in your eye?"
***
"Gah, still can barely see. Are you okay, Duo Lon?"
"Yes."
And just like that, the robbery was over.
Through some unknown ability, the woman called Elisabeth had summoned some intense light, leaving robber and patron alike stunned and trying to clear their vision.
Once one could see again, the robbers were already tied up on the floor. The police were there shortly thereafter, and they took the robbers away while seeing to the hostages.
In the course of all of the police interviews and the like, the whole ordeal went on for quite some time, though the event itself had been fairly straightforward.
Some time earlier, the woman called Elisabeth stood before Benimaru.
As before, she stood regal and proud.
Benimaru introduced himself and Duo Lon, then proceeded in his usual fashion to try to win her over with lighthearted conversation.
"Well, I know you were a bit busy with stopping those robbers, but I had hoped to get to have a word with you."
"Is there a problem?"
Elisabeth flatly and fearlessly declared that if he had any strength, he should've taken a stand back there, rather than groveling like a dog on the ground.
"Hey, that's a bit much, don't you think? We had to consider the hostages' safety."
"Big words for someone who was just on the ground."
As effectively as a slap, Elisabeth had effectively muzzled Benimaru.
"Well, it's nice to meet you, Duo Lon and Benimaru Nikaido. I appreciate your taking such pains to see me, but I'm afraid the house of Blanctorche does not associate with cowards. I bid you good day."
As the words were leaving her lips, she was already turning and walking away.
Benimaru gave a small whistle.
"I always knew the French were proud, but that was just snotty... No denying her looks, though."
"Shouldn't we get her to wait?"
Duo Lon called out to Elisabeth's retreating back.
It was exceptionally rare for him to do anything of the sort.
"Ash Crimson has obtained the power of Chizuru Kagura... the Yata's power..."
Elisabeth stopped in her tracks.
"..."
"So, you know about that."
"And you've done your homework. Just as one would expect... for a former member of the Flying Brigands."
"..."
"Ron (Long) says that their village was destroyed, but even so..."
Then Benimaru cut in.
"I have a question. You've learned the proper names of Kusanagi, Yagami, Mukai and Orochi, correct? We were part of last year's KOF. We know some things you don't."
"...Very well. Let us discuss this."
"In spite of our previous dialogue, I wanted to talk to you about joining our KOF team."
"Make your offer and I'll make my decision. Old man!"
An old man, who had previously been holding the reins of the horse just outside the bank, respectfully came over.
"Since you'll be returning first, please show these two the way to the mansion."
"As you wish, milady."
"Later, then. Hah!"
As she said this, she mounted the horse and took off like the wind.
The scenery seemed an ill fit to the 21st century.
"She has always been a rather stern type. I do hope you weren't too offended."
The old man bowed his head in assent.
Both of his hands held the reins. Just ahead, two horses stood tied.
"Once through this pass, you'll find the mansion. The horses know the way. Now, if you would..."
He led their gaze to the cart, led by two horses in fine condition.
"Horses."
"...Horses."
The two walked with the horses back to the house of Blanctorche, and finally made it there as the day reached its end.
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