KOF Extras

Christmas Vacation in Cannes (Part 3)

Shingo and Shun ran as soon as they found a clearing in the crowd.
Shun gasped and pointed into the distance. "Meiten! There he is!"
Shingo grabbed Shun's arm and ran towards the man that held Meiten. He yanked Meiten away from him and confronted the blond man.
"Why do you always appear at the oddest times?!" Shingo shouted, pushing Meiten towards Shun. "Can't you just celebrate Christmas like a normal person?"
As soon as he said that, Shingo stopped short, a slight frown on his face. It was now did he realise that this man... wasn't Rugal. It was just a random guy who happened to be tall and burly, had long blond hair, and was dressed in red.
"Uh... excusez-moi?" The man muttered in surprise. "I'm sorry, is this your boy? I found him wandering about and realised he didn't speak any French. I was taking him out of the crowd since he seemed pretty flustered being alone in the crowd."
"I told him where we was staying and he promised to take me back if we can't find you guys," Meiten added.
Shingo sighed and bowed. "I'm sorry, I mistook you for someone else. When the lady at the shop told me that this boy went with a tall burly man who had long blond hair, I immediately assumed that it was someone we know. Especially since you were dressed in red."
"It's the Christmas season lots of people dressed in red for festive reasons," the blond man sighed. "But I'm glad that you found us, I was already planning to take this boy back to the resort to drop him off."
Shingo bowed again. "I'm very sorry for whatever happened." He sighed. "Thank you for trying to help."
"It's my pleasure," the blond man nodded. He turned to Meiten. "Just don't run off from your big brother again?"
Meiten smiled sheepishly and nodded. "I won't."
Shingo watched the guy leave and turned to Meiten. "Please stay close, especially in crowded areas like this. I know you guys can practically fight your way to help and whatnot, but think of Master Tung. Wouldn't he be worried?"
"Not really," Shun shrugged. "Like what you said, he knows we're capable of fending for ourselves."
Shingo clapped the green-haired boy's back. "Then think of me, weirdo. What will I do if I lose you?"
"Yeah, you'd panic," Shun couldn't help but say. "Like how you just did." He turned to Meiten. "Oi, I asked you to stay close to me. Why did you leave?"
"I thought I saw Tamagoyaki in the stall next door," Meiten sheepishly said. "Turns out, it was some sort of bread. And then I lost you since I wandered too far. I was about to leave the bazaar and wait near the fountain instead when I met that guy."
"I seriously thought it was Rugal," Shingo sighed. "But whatever. Stay close to me, okay?"
"Yeah, Shingo-niichan had been spiralling hard ever since you wandered off like that," Shun chuckled.
"Come on, I wasn't spiralling, I just had a flashback of when my sister wandered off like this in a bazaar too," Shingo rolled his eyes. "It's just a similar experience." He frowned at Shun. "Also, the word is reeling. Seriously, spiralling? Really? Learn the definition of the meaning first, dude."
Shun nodded slowly, as if just learning something new. "Ah..."
Shingo pulled the two of them out of the bazaar and towards a stall to get some treats before making way towards the pirate ship exhibit.

For dinner, the three of them ordered takeaway since they were so tired after their escapade.
"Did you guys have fun?" Shingo asked as he unpacked the tightly knotted plastic bag of food that contained their food. "Today was quite eventful, wasn't it?"
Shun nodded. "Yeah, but it was fun. Except for when we lost Meiten."
"Please don't run off in crowded places like that," Shingo nearly begged. "It's hard to find you guys."
"Well, I always thought we stick out," Meiten shrugged.
"You do, but not with that height," Shingo pointed out. "Especially not in a crowd."
Meiten smiled sheepishly. "Sorry about that."
"It's fine, just don't do it again," Shingo turned back to the plastic bag and frantically tried to open it, then got annoyed with it and just tore the bag open. He handed each of them a pack of food. "Here's your Quiche Lorraine, Meiten, Shun, and mine." Then he pulled out a few boxes and handed them around as well. "Our opera cakes..."
Their mouths watered at the sight of food. They quickly unpacked their meals and started eating. The quiche was amazing, very flavourful, and filling.
"Shingo-niichan?" Shun suddenly said.
"Yeah?" Shingo nodded his chin up as he munched.
"What do people do on Christmas Eve?" Shun asked.
"Christmas Eve?" Shingo swallowed his mouthful. "Well, mostly getting presents and having them wrapped up, Christmas carols, walking around town, having a nice dinner, and basically spending time with the people they love." He frowned slightly. "Why do you ask?"
Shun shrugged. "Well, tomorrow is Christmas Eve, so I was just wondering what we will be doing."
"Oh..." Shingo pursed his lips. He lit up when an idea struck him. "How about this. We can go to the mall tomorrow, and we can shop, get each other small gifts. How's that sound?"
The teens exchanged glances.
"I'd like that," Meiten piped up. "I was wondering when we'd go shopping anyway. I even came prepared."
Shun chuckled. "Yeah, he brought his savings just for that."
Shingo shrugged. "Sure, but just don't go overboard."
Meiten smiled. "I know what I'm gonna get for you guys."

24 December
The mall was pretty crowded but nothing could beat the crowd at the bazaar. Shingo made sure to keep the teens within his sight as he shopped, getting gifts for them as well as getting himself a few things as well.
For Meiten, he decided on a cuddly teddy bear since he loved to sleep and a fluffy blanket. For Shun'ei, he had a little difficulty, but eventually decided on a gadget bag since he's always running about with one gizmo if not another. Other than that, Shingo also got him a portable retro speaker that was on mega Christmas discount.
But now he felt bad to get Meiten just a teddy bear and a blanket.
So he got him a cute little silicon night lamp that activated on touch. It was really cute too, made to resemble a little ducky. Shingo was sure it was some cartoon character, but he didn't recognise it. But at least it was still very cute.
He rejoined the two of them at the counter and found that they had already paid. But now there were the gifts that he was holding.
"Yeah, could you guys like stand over there with your backs turned?" Shingo awkwardly said as he hid the things he got behind his back.
The two of them nodded, grinning, and did as he said. Shingo still had them within sight, especially since they were just at the shelf beside the counter. The cashier was quick with dealing with the purchase, but took forever when it came to wrapping the gifts. Shingo couldn't help but groan, seeing how the guy's gift wrapping looked suspiciously like cooking, how it seemed more like he was delicately making a gourmet dish than wrapping a gift.
"Excuse me, Monsieur, what are you actually doing?" Shingo asked when the cashier suddenly took out a scoop and a tray of dried flowers.
"I'm wrapping your gift, sir," the cashier calmly said, using the scoop to place the dried flowers into a mesh bag. After that, he opened a drawer and pulled out a dainty strand of printed ribbon that wished whoever who saw it a merry Christmas. "We have to give our best to our loved ones, don't we?"
Shingo frowned. "Yeah, but don't you think this is a little much, though?"
The cashier smiled. "Well, your two friends waited patiently as I did this for them. No doubt those gifts were for you, eh Monsieur?"
"Fine," Shingo sighed. "At this rate, you'll only be done next year."
"But isn't that just a week away, sir?" The cashier smirked, carefully tying the mesh bag of flowers to the paper bag that contained Shun's gifts. "Alright, that's half done, now for your other friend."
Shingo groaned. This was just half of it, apparently.