"Like Minds" A King Of Fighters/Extinctioners Crossover Fanfiction By Bloodshade Shadowclaw =Earth, Japan, 03/12/2007= The next KOF tournament was just around the bend, and fighters from across the globe were preparing...Benimaru Nikaido sat on a bench somewhere in a park, observing the scenery and contemplating trying to break away from Kyo and Daimon and attempting to make a name for himself once more, his blond hair down. The sun was beginning to set, and Beni was lost in thought, when suddenly, he heard a very loud and disruptive noise, something like an explosion. He let out a "HOLY FUCKING HELL.....!?" while ducking instinctively, hoping some flaming plane wouldn't come crashing down on where he was. He looked up, and saw nothing except the surrounding park, still as it was, no shrapnel or plane debris anywhere. What the hell made that noise? He slowly stood up, and started on his way to Kyo's place, since he was hoping to see him before the tourney anyways... =Alden, 3/12/2253= "...In other news, an explosion-like noise made itself known today...eyewitness, or rather, "ear"witness..." The felin newscaster droned on through the tv screen as Scarlet Ann Starfox dozed on in her slumber. She was tired after a good yiff with Red, who agreed with her they shouldn't be up all night and turned in at around 11:30 p.m. It was 6:30 in the morning after, and still dark out as she shifted, opened a sleepy green eye, and rolled out of bed, still oblivious to the world in general. As such, she failed to notice the brown-haired human male in a rather compromising position on the bed as she stretched and went to use the powder room. "Mmmmph..." Kyo shifted himself awake, opened an eye, looked around. Something was up, this wasn't his apartment...he knew that right from the get-go. The dresser was littered with small knickknacks, he figured they weren't his, he never saw anything like that mp3 player-looking thing lying against the jewelry box, let alone owned one...and who did those goggles belong to? Not him. He kept the position he woke up in, looking around some more. His fighting clothes he fell asleep in again. Kyo mumbled to himself. "Dammit, I gotta stop dozing off..." His ears picked up the flush of a toilet in the bathroom...Lifting up a hand, he ignited his flame to get a better look around, as the sun hadn't risen yet... "What the Kenal!?" Kyo sat up and looked to where the voice came from."Who the hell...?" A hard punch to the jaw cut him off and threw Kyo against the wall before he could register the newcomer. He had little time to respond, the whatever-it-was slammed her foot into his neck and pinned him. "Alright, human, who are you, how the kenal did you get here, and what have you done with Red? Start talking and make it quick." A soft light filled the room, and Kyo saw his attacker. He blinked as his eyes adjusted...and then stared at what seemed to be a fox-woman, green-eyed, with two-tone hair, in nightwear, her bushy tail swishing in an aggressive manner as she scowled and pressed her foot tighter against his neck to get his attention. "Answer me, dammit!" Kyo coughed as he felt the pressure on his windpipe lighten. "I could say the same about Shingo...I don't know any Red, or how I got here. What I DO know is you punch like Vice...holy hell, you're strong...and have you been living in a cave!? You don't know about the King Of Fighters tournament!?" Scarlet smirked at the small flattery, but her foot didn't lift."Can't say I do...and you still haven't answered the first one, human. Who are you?" Kyo closed his eyes in vexation for a brief moment before replying. "The name's Kusanagi. Kyo Kusanagi. I've been participating in the KOF Tournament since 1994...speaking of which, where the fuck am I?" "Well, more like when too...You're on the planet Alden, in the year 2253. Now, I don't know how the hell you got here, but I'm going to damn well try to find out.....Just lemme get dressed first. Don't try anything stupid, kid...Or the next punch will break your brains in." She removed her foot, and walked into a metallic-looking enclosure as a screen of light covered her, preventing him from seeing anything except her shadow... Kyo was left to chew on the scant, albeit very unnerving information... =Earth, Japan= Benimaru stood at the door to Kyo's apartment, growing somewhat pissy. He never took this long to answer the door. "Dammit, Kyo, stop spankin' it and open the hell UP! It's Beni..." He told the door-knocker irritably as he pounded on the door for the third time. Scuffling noises were audible behind the door, as well as a dog's whimper...Huh? Kyo never had any pets... He checked the door. Still locked. Finally, the door cracked slightly... "It's about goddamn time you ans--HOLY SHIT!!" Beni stumbled backwards a bit, then fell right on his ass as what appeared to be a fox-humanoid THING pulled the door open. Benimaru's power caused his hair to fly up out of pure excitement while the fox-thing just stared blankly, as if he too was trying to believe what was happening. Beni saw it put a hand out slowly towards his face...he stayed still, hoping to whatever god was listening it wasn't hostile...he felt a hand running through his hair. Then... "Maker...You're a human, aren't you?" "...You can TALK!?" "No shit, Captain Obvious. Now, do you mind answering some questions?" ".....I'll answer yours if you answer mine." "Shoot." "First off, What the hell are you? Some sort of Furry?" "Something like that, I think. Where am I?" "It's a planet called Earth. If you wanna be more specific, you're in Osaka, Japan. It's the year 2007." ".....Ah, shitfuck..." "What? Think I'm fursecuting ya or somethin'?" "No, last I checked, where I came from, the planet was Alden, cycle 2253." "Holy.......Time paradox much? .....Damn, where're my manners? I'm Benimaru Nikaido." "Redford Firefox. Call me Red." A quick handshake exchanged as Red pulled Benimaru to his feet. "Don't think the locals see someone like you everyday, but screw it. Let's get inside...we've spent a bit too much time out here anyways...You drink coffee in your homeworld, Red...?" "Not really, but I'm up for something different." A couple hours and a few cups of joe later, they were in an alleyway talking about general stuff... =Meanwhile, in Alden...= Scarlet walked down the corridor, still rather unnerved from the scuffle with Kyo, who was even more shaken, with good reason. He woke up in a world entirely different from his own, he knew no one at all. Scarlet couldn't help feeling a little sorry for him...He was putting up one hell of a show, all unfazed like that...Maybe he was hiding it. "Miss Starfox...?" "Hmm?" "What's your line of work?" They stopped at a door as she punched in some passcode on a keypad as she remarked,"You're about to find out..." The hiss of the pneumatics in the door dulled Kyo's ears for a second as the door slid open... =Earth= Benimaru stood against a wall sipping his cappucino, his hair down, trying not to stare at Red's thrown-together, not exactly fashion-conscious look. Red's vulpin ears poked from under a brown hoodie with the KOF tournament logo imprinted on the front pocket that used to belong to Shingo, with his tail poking clumsily through a pair of black jeans. Beni was trying not to think about Kyo's whereabouts, but seeing the KOF logo kept bringing it back into his head. "So, what's this KOF I keep hearing people yak about?" Red piped up. Beni paused, staring at the Starbuck's emblem on his cup. "It's a fighting tournament. Takes place almost every year. Fighters from all over the globe come around to try and become worthy of the title. Kyo Kusanagi was a friend of mine, as well as a fellow participant. We were teammates for a good chunk of the games..." "...I take it this Kyo guy was the champion?" "Yep, and seeing as I can't find him, I was wondering if y--...Nah, nevermind." "What? Spit it." ".....I was kinda hoping you might be able to take his place...I don't think you'd be up to it though." "What was he like?" Benimaru was getting a little irritated. He dodged the question. "It's not important. Wherever he is, I'm sure he wouldn't want us talking behind his back. Anyways, I want to see if you can somehow replace him." Benimaru set his coffee down, seconds later his hair flew up in a burst of electricity. Red paused."You mean.....you want me to fight you? Right here? Now?" Beni smirked."They say you don't really know someone until you do..." Red flung the hood off his ears. He pulled his sleeves up, as his hand suddenly burst into flame. "I guess not..." ============= =Alden= Kyo hesitated before stepping through the door. A small collection of humanimals were gathered in a small space of the room. A pink-furred ermine looked slightly dismayed as she saw Kyo, but a touch on the shoulder from the brown weasel beside her redirected her attention. Kyo was more occupied, exploring the room with his eyes. Like something out of a really good science-fiction movie...futuristic consoles, scattered around the area. Animal-people too, some looking at him with a hostile expression. One, Warfare, managed to glance into Kyo's eyes. Something about that human was not like the rest of them... Kyo was so caught up in the surreality of it all he didn't watch where he was going, and bumped into a rather headstrong felin girl by the name of Catrina Fela... "HEY! Watch it, skintard!" Kyo snapped out of it, in part from the insult. "Excuse me!?" "You heard me. Get your head outta the clouds. What the hell is a human like you doing here anyways? You don't have a place here..." Kyo came back, "...Funny...I don't see any bodyguards tossing me out on my ass. And why don't you come up with something other than the obvious? Go back to your scratching post..." He walked a little farther before the girl rushed him. Kyo, however was ready for it. He handflipped, catching the girl by the head with his feet, and flung her into a stack of drum-like structures by a large computer tower. She caught and swung herself around the column above the drums, using the momentum to fly back feet-first into Kyo's chest as he left the handflip. Her wavy dark-brown hair hung over her like a curtain as she straddled him upon landing, extended her claws and started to slash for his vitals, or would have if Kyo hadn't caught her arm, throwing her aside and springing to his feet as his hand burst into flame. He thought to himself, "Not bad...but not good enough." Before whipping his ignited hand toward the felin...Wait. Where'd she go...? "Dammit, Catrina, That's ENOUGH!!!" Kyo paused, turning towards the source of the voice. Catrina, who was about to reappear behind Kyo to really hurt him, cut off her hybrid powers at the voice's tone. A red and yellow phoenix-woman stood by Scarlet, who was obviously pissed by the look on her face and clenched fists. What Phenix was staring at though, was Kyo's flame... "Kusanagi Kyo, son of Saisyu, look at me." Kyo turned to look, more like glare at Phenix. "How do you know my--" "It's irrelevant how I know you and your father's name. Explain yourself, and put out your fire before I get Artica to do it, and she's more than enough to do so, even with your bloodline..." The flame in Kyo's hand disappeared... He figured this bird-woman wasn't to be messed with... ================== =Earth= Benimaru met Red's downward fire-claw with his Raikou Ken, cursing his lack of knowledge of his opponent as well as his spur-of-the-moment decision to fight him...Red had Kyo's fire and a spirit to match, not to mention he fought like, well...an animal. Beni's hand hit the ground, and Red was knocked off his feet, then beaten silly by the former's Shinkuu Katategoma. Benimaru decided to chance it and get a bit flashy, going smoothly out of the spin into a handstand, spreading his legs like a gymnast. Red saw his chance and threw a flaming fist into Beni's chest, laying the skintard out flat. He heard Benimaru cough from a couple feet away, then say... "Alright, alright that's good...whoo...Damn...you're fast.......You're right up there with Kyo, if not above him." Red smirked. "Thanks...I think you hit some ribs pretty damn hard, though...Ow..." Red raised a hand to his stomach, but let it drop, due to being really tired in general. "I guess it's safe to say I passed?" Beni laughed, despite having a cracked rib himself. "Bitch, please. With flying colors...I might even enter you in the tournament for the hell of it..." "I might take you up on that. So.--Ow, maker that hurt like a mofo.....where do we register...?"