"Hello,
I am speaking to Goro Daimon, aren't
I? This is the police and..."
Hired by his alma mater as a special instructor, Daimon
has no choice but to cancel practice with this sudden
summons and rush to the police station. He links up
with Benimaru Nikaido who happens to be on his way
to the station for reasons of his own.
"Hey, Daimon, tell me what the heck's going on
here. Or have you only heard the same yadda-yadda that
Shingo's been taken into protective custody that I
have?"
"Yup. That's right."
"Jeesh.... Just what's that clown done this time?"
Without reaching any definitive answer to Benimaru's
question, the two arrive at the police station.
Right away they are led to a room deep in the bowls
of the station, and there sits Shingo Yabuki, who,
even now, looks as if he is about to burst into tears.
"Daimon, and Benimaru! I haven't done anything!
You've gotta believe me!!!"
"Sorry to put you through this hubbub, Mr. Daimon.
This guy was screamin' at us to have you come here."
The officer in charge and Daimon seem to have met before.
In spite of his aloof disposition, Daimon, who also
moonlights as a special judo instructor at the police
academy, is well-connected. But the one who lays into
Shingo is Benimaru.
"So why did you call for Daimon?! Calling your
mommy and daddy would have been more apropos, don't
you think?"
"Are you kidding?! If my parents knew about this...they'd
ground me for life and no KOF this year!"
"What a putz. ...So, what's this guy in for? Murder?
Armed robbery?"
Benimaru continues to rake Shingo over the coals. This
joking is due to the very fact that he knows Shingo
is innocent, but naturally no one finds his attempts
at levity very funny.
"He's in here for attempted arson."
The stern-faced policeman answers Benimaru's question.
Any looks of amusement on Benimaru and Daimon's faces
subsequently vanish.
"I'm telling you it's all a big misunderstanding!"
"I got you dead to rights, punk! I saw you with
my own two eyes in front of a house in the wee hours
of the night and heard you say stuff like, "This
time I'll make fire for sure." "I got a little
flame there." And the coup de grace: 'Burn, baby,
burn!'
The police officer slams an open hand on the table;
Daimon and Benimaru take a glance at each other then
look up at the ceiling as if to say, "Good grief."
(So that's what this is all about.)
The two know Shingo well. They are sure for the most
part that he's incapable of a criminal act, and the
various bad premonitions they had on the way to the
station in spite of this have now faded away. They
are assured their fears were groundless, and now they
are relieved...and a little bit ticked off.
"Looks like this has all been one big misunderstanding.
Daimon and I can vouch for this guy's character. Isn't
that right, Daimon?"
"Yup. That's right."
"Well, if Daimon says so..."
The evidently dissatisfied police officer nevertheless
promptly releases Shingo in deference to Daimon.
The three exit together from the police station's main
entrance. But Shingo takes up the rear, plodding behind
them as if trying not to step on their shadows. And
after a brief time walking...
"Uh...excuse me you two.... I'm sorry for making
such a nuisance of myself!"
Benimaru smacks the back of the head of the deeply
bowing Shingo.
"You got that right. I know you were probably
giving yourself a crash course in the fighting arts
of Kusanagi, but even I would suspect someone ranting
about fire and flames in front of houses in the middle
of the night of being an arsonist."
"Yup. That's right."
"I'm sorry. I just got carried away.... I just
know I made some fire."
"It had to be static electricity or something.
If not that, it was a hallucination. A...hal-lu-ci-nation!"
"Hmm...I guess so, huh?.... No, I know I..."
Benimaru and Daimon ignore Shingo's babbling and head
back to the university.
The two turn to the topic of joining the next KOF tournament.
Yes, the two intend to join the competition once again
this year.
As Shingo catches scraps of the conversation, Daimon
discusses how he wants to see the results of his training.
Benimaru speaks of wanting to see what he's made of...And
another reason is it seems one of the new contestants
has caught their attention. When it comes to the crucial
reason, the level of Benimaru's voice drops, but Shingo
can make out fragmentary words like Lin, flying brigands,
and Seth.
With his head drooping down, Shingo continues to follow
behind the two. Shingo's house, mind you, is in the
opposite direction.
"...Hey, uh, Shingo."
Benimaru turns to look behind him.
"Y-Yes?"
"It doesn't seem like you to be moping around
like that, don't you think?"
"Yup. That's right."
"R-Really?"
"Yeah. You endure Kyo's ribbings with laughter,
cheerfully suffer his bullying, and happily obey his
commands. You're a guy who rushes in where angels fear
to tread with spunk and stamina. That's you to a tee,
isn't it?"
"Yup. That's right."
"Is that supposed to be a compliment?"
"Whatever. Snap out of it because for the next
KOF, Daimon, me and you are going to be a team."
"Yeah, telling me to meekly resign myself to my
just deserts...are you?! You're going to let me join
your team?"
"Why? You got a problem with that?"
"But what about Kusanagi? I thought for sure...."
"That bozo Kyo is traveling abroad. I can't get
in touch with him."
"Yup. That's right."
Certainly this seems to be the case.
After the end of the previous tournament, Shingo periodically
trained under the guidance of Kyo's father - Saisyu
Kusanagi.
The training took place in a corner of the Kusanagi
house, but during that time the figure of Kyo was nowhere
to be seen.
"Well, with a guy like that, he just may be planning
to storm in at the last minute, but we can't afford
to wait for that."
With a swish, Benimaru's body turns and his fist suddenly
stop short of Shingo's face. Shingo moves his body
a few centimeters to narrowly avoid the blow.
A small flash of lightning emanates from Benimaru's
left hand, and he momentarily flashes a fearless expression
from below. Though eclipsed by Kyo and Iori, Benimaru
Nikaido is one of the world's preeminent fighters.
"Well now, you have improved, haven't you? Am
I hearing right? You've been getting special training
under a true slave-driver coach, haven't you?"
"U-Uh, yeah, well..."
"Cheer up there, pal. When you get all gloomy,
it puts me down in the dumps. To add insult to injury,
teaming up with Daimon here, our team image will be
pretty off-putting, so I'm begging you."
"Yup. You got...hey, wait a minute!"
"Very well. I'll do anything you want today and
today only. Just tell me what you'd like."
"Huh?"
"I'm sick of seeing you get knocked around all
the time. So, any request - just to psyche you up before
the tournament."
"R-Really?"
"Yeah. Whatever you want. How about something
you've always wanted to eat?"
When it seems apparent that Benimaru is sincere, Shingo
thinks over all sorts of possibilities with a glint
in his eyes.
"Well, then.... Ah, that's it! There is something
I've always wanted to do! Benimaru!"
"What is it?"
"Bring me some tiramisu! And make it snappy!"
Daimon and Benimaru cringe for a moment that seems
like an eternity.
"Oh, yeah?! Eat this: Heaven Blast Flash!!!"
"Hee-gyaaah!"
Suffering a massive electric shock, Shingo, burnt to
a crisp, rolls to the ground and moans.
"Ow-oooch...I knew it was a bad idea not to have
said, please."
"Putz."
"Uh, but just now...I'm sure I thought I saw bursting
flames. ...From my eyes, that is."
And from that moment on the participation of these
three in KOF was written in stone. |