KOF Extras

Halloween: After-effects

This is a continuation of the extra Halloween chapters from KOF Tournament, but it can be seen as a stand-alone too. I didn't want to write this year's Halloween chapter here so I put it up there since it contains some spoilers on the goings-on of that book. If you want to check out those chapters, please read the whole book because you would not understand who some of the characters are if not.

Benimaru went to his usual track for his morning walk, but was dismayed to find a bulldozer in the middle of it with barriers and cones put up around it. Apparently, there were some repair works to be done and they chose to do it today. The blond sighed and turned to go home, but realised that there was another lane that he hadn't thought of exploring before. By the looks of it, it was lined with trees, raining orangey leaves that seemed to create a magical setting. Maybe the road not taken was more beautiful than his usual track?
Without much thought, Benimaru jogged right into the path. It was a woodland area, a place that not many roamed. In fact, Benimaru saw no one else besides himself. It may have been because the place was fairly isolated and Benimaru only found it now because his usual walking spot was occupied.
He didn't regret it, though, it really did seem magical with the leaves raining down like coloured specks of snow. Even the walkway was dyed orange by the leaves, looking like a work of art. Benimaru even stopped to take a few pictures of the scenery,
It was then did Benimaru's foot give way, making him crash onto the side of the path. Benimaru groaned and examined himself, but was relieved to see that he had just gotten a minor scratch on the arm and his leg wasn't hurt that bad too.
But seeing the scene from this angle made it look even more beautiful, made the place seem like a whole other world of orange and brown. He decided to sit on a pile of leaves beside a willow tree that now wept orange tears that nearly swept the floor. It provided a nice shade too and Benimaru couldn't help but relax a little as he looked up at the natural awning it created. The leaves created a gentle rustle whenever the wind blew and it was all so... serene.
Little did he know, this beautiful place hid something something far less serene under its beautiful shades of orange.

It was the day after Halloween and the Yagami siblings decided to clean up after last night's party since they slept on it instead of doing it right after the guests left.
"We should have set a time limit," Iori groaned as he gathered the stinking paper plates and disposed of them into a large trash bag. "And it seems like we would have to do a load of deodorising too."
"Already on it," Aiko pointed towards the glowing humidifier emanating the nice scent of jasmine oil. She frowned at a paper cup with some liquid still in it and groaned. "Whose work is this? I don't understand people who leave their drinks unfinished."
"I'm just glad that we didn't serve any alcohol," Iori sighed. "You know, a sign that some of us wants to stay sober."
Aiko nodded, dumping the cup straight into the trash. "Yeah."
It was a long task to finish cleaning up the remnants of the party, but they managed to get it done. Aiko lit some strong-smelling incense sticks around the living room while Iori made some tea in the kitchen. Soon, they were sitting at the table in their garden to sip some tea with their doors and windows open to air out the place and let the smoke out.
"This is actually really nice," Aiko said, looking at the glass of blue liquid in her hands. "What is this again?"
"Butterfly pea flower tea," Iori said, taking a sip of the tea. "It kinda tastes like hibiscus tea, but not as sour, don't you think?"
Aiko nodded in agreement and took a sip of her tea. She nearly spat it out when she found that she had somehow inhaled a whole flower and spat it into a bush nearby. It had her wondering. How much tea did Iori even put in this pot?
She reached over to take a look at the built-in tea strainer. To her surprise, the strainer was filled to the brim with the flowers. "Niisan?" She said as she looked up at her brother. "How many flowers did you even put in this?"
Iori nonchalantly shrugged as he swallowed a mouthful of his tea. "A spoonful, I think?"
A spoonful?! Aiko nearly spat her tea out in shock. "Niisan..."
"What, it's a big pot!"
Aiko groaned as she looked into the strainer once more. "These are flowers and they expand. You should've just put like five flowers."
"Oh..." Iori realised that this was far more than necessary. "That explains why my mouth dries out after each sip."
"We need to drink a lot of water after we finish our tea," Aiko sighed, closing the teapot and pushing it forward. "To flush it down and rehydrate."
Iori's phone started ringing on the table, so he placed his cup down to attend it. It was a call from Kyo, one that was pretty unexpected.
"Maybe he left something behind," Aiko shrugged, still sipping on the concentrated tea.
"Could be," Iori nodded and answered the call in speaker mode. "Sup, Kyo."
"Yo, Yagami, something's up," Kyo said, sounding a little uncertain. "But I need to ask first. Did something happen at the party last night?"
"Nothing bad that I know of, no," Iori frowned as he wondered where this was going. "You should know, you were here with your parents too."
Kyo sighed on the other end. "I meant with Ben. Did something happen with him at the party? Did you guys have a dispute with him? Something petty like that?"
Aiko was also concerned now. "No, nothing like that happened. We just had a good time. Beni had a dance battle with Yashiro, and then with you, then with Krohnen. He kissed me and left in peace, and even messaged me a few hours ago to tell me that he found an awesome new trail for his morning walk."
"Is everything alright, why are you asking?" Iori asked. "Did something happen to Beni?"
There was a pause on the other end of the call. "That's what I'm wondering now too."
Aiko gasped and leaned forward on the table. "Is Beni alright? What's going on?"
Another pause passes on the other end. "Like I said, I'm not sure. I'm at his house now since he didn't respond to me after promising to meet up with me. His gate was wide open, his front door is unlocked, and his house..."
"What happened to his house?" Iori asked, assuming the worst. "Is it ransacked? Is Beni with you? Do you see him?"
"Yes, he's here and I do see him, but no, his house isn't ransacked," Kyo responded. "I... he blocked all of the windows with sheets, the place is all dark even when it's noon."
The Yagamis exchanged glances. "Sheets?" Iori said, voicing his sister's thoughts. "But doesn't Beni have automated blinds?"
"He does, that's what makes it weirder," Kyo said in agreement. "I dunno what's gotten into him."
"You said you see Beni, what is he doing?" Aiko piped up. "What's Beni doing? Is he... sober? Is he aware of what's happening?"
Kyo groaned on the other end. "I don't know. I actually don't think so. He's been ignoring me while bringing in more sheets to block the light out. Now, he's just sitting on the top step of his grand stairway to stare at me coldly. He's not responding to me, just laughs weirdly or grunts every now and then."
"That can't be good," Iori said, getting up. "Kyo, you stay put. Aiko and I are coming over right now."
Aiko nodded as Iori hung up and pocketed his phone. "I hope he's okay." She softly said.
Iori gave his sister a comforting look. "Come on, I'm sure he's just drunk or going through a really bad hangover. I think it's nothing."
"Yeah, but we didn't even serve alcohol, Niisan," Aiko reminded. "And I don't think he went drinking either, he texted me Goodnight and said he was really tired."
"Maybe that's the case," Iori offered, placing a hand on her shoulder. "Maybe he's just really tired after the party we had."
He gently pulled her into the house and closed the windows while Aiko grabbed her keys, then they both hurried into the garage and took Aiko's car to go over to the Nikaido mansion.