King Of Fighters Fanfiction X Dead Or Alive

Case of the mysterious bass

"Who could've given me this bass?" Iori still wondered. "Like, it just appeared in the hotel room. How did anyone even get in?"
Aiko shrugged.
"Was it you?" Iori asked doubtfully.
"No...?" Aiko pointed out. "Niisan, I was with you the whole time!"
"That makes sense too..." Iori said thoughtfully. "You were within my sight the whole night..."
"See?" Aiko pointed again. "Niisan, it wasn't me!"
Iori thought for a moment and took his phone out.
"I have a hunch," Iori said, dialling someone's number. "Who gives us gift hampers all the time?"
"Benimaru..." Aiko said, rolling her eyes. "I should've known..."
Iori called the blond and put his phone on speaker mode.

Benimaru was laying on his couch, snacking on chips and cookies. It was his day off, and he decided to cheat on his diet. Not that he actually had one...
His phone started ringing and Benimaru recognised the caller by the ringtone.
Who's theme was Control Crisis besides Leona?
"What is it, Yagami?" Benimaru answered as soon as he picked up the phone. "I didn't do anything, okay?"
"Is there an explanation for the bass in my house?" Iori said in a sarcastic tone. "Or did it just appear out of nowhere?"
"Quit blabbering and get to the point," Benimaru said, bored. "It's my day off, and I don't want anything to ruin it..."
"Did you send me a bass when we were in that festival in Florida?" Iori asked. "It just appeared in our hotel room!"
"Sorry, Yagami, I have no clue what you're talking about," Benimaru said, annoyed. "I was with you the whole time, remember?"
Iori frowned when he said that. It was true. He had seen Benimaru in the crowd while he was playing on stage.
"Do you have a clue as to who it might've been?" Iori asked with a frown.
"Nope, sorry, Yags," Benimaru said and just hung up. "Screw Yagami."
He continued enjoying his chips in peace when his phone rang again. It was Iori again. Benimaru rolled his eyes and answered the phone again.
"What now?" Benimaru asked in an annoyed tone. "Can't a guy enjoy his holiday in peace?"
"No Aiko for you," Iori's voice boomed.
"Hey, what did I do?" Benimaru asked, sitting up in shock.
"You just hung up on us," Aiko's voice suddenly spoke.
"Aiko!" Benimaru called in surprise. "I didn't know you were there too!"
Benimaru heard a taunting noise before they hung up.
"Drat, not again!" Benimaru cursed, annoyed. "Need a Plan B..."
He didn't actually need one because the Yagamis were only joking.

"So who sent it?" Iori asked, examining the bass. "It's really good quality too..."
"Do you know anyone who's rich?" Aiko asked. "Like... filthy rich? Besides Benimaru, of course..."
Iori thought for a moment and his eyes widened.
"I only know a few rich kids," Iori said. "Number one, Ash. Number two, Ash. Number three, Ash."
Aiko joined in and together they continued that until number ten.
"It might be him," Aiko agreed. "Call him."
"But are you sure he was there?" Iori asked, taking his phone out again. "It might, but at the same time...?"
He called the french teen and asked him.

Saiki was sitting with Ash in his room, a victim of another forced manicure.
"Ash, my nails were already perfect," Saiki reasoned. "Why did you peel it off just to do it again?"
"Because it's old," Ash said, doing his nails. "Ya need to keep 'em fresh."
Saiki rolled his eyes. Ash's phone started vibrating, alarming Saiki.
"Ash, why is that thing purring?" Saiki asked, panicking. "Is it alive?"
"No, someone's calling me," Ash said, picking up his phone. "It's Yagami. Why is he calling me?"
Ash answered the phone and put it on speaker mode. He put the phone back down on the bed and continued doing Saiki's nails.
"Yo Crimson!" Iori said as soon as Ash answered.
"What is it, Yagami?" Ash asked.
"What's the meaning of the bass?"
Saiki shot Ash a panicked look.
"What bass?" Ash asked.
"The bass guitar," Iori said. "The Vintage bass that showed up in my hotel room in South Town."
"What are you talking about?" Ash said, trying to hold back a laugh.
"Well, I don't know many people that could afford lavish gifts like that," Iori said. "Besides, you happen to be one of the only ones besides your sister and a few more."
Saiki gave Ash another panicked look.
"Also, my girlfriend told me that you actually came to my house while I was away," Iori said thoughtfully. "She also told me how you looked really pale, almost sickly."
Ash gave Saiki a glare for misusing their likeness. Saiki in turn gave him a sheepish grin.
"I don't know what you're talking about," Ash said, still glaring at his ancestor. "It wasn't me."
"What do you mean by that...?" Iori asked in surprise. "Then who did Honoka see?"
"How am I supposed to know?" Ash said, giving Saiki another glare. "Might've been a lame time-travelling doppelgänger."
Saiki panicked when he said that. He pulled his hands away from Ash's and started shaking his shoulders, ruining his manicure and causing Ash to make unintelligible sounds.
"Ash, what's going on?" Iori asked. "What are you doing?"
Ash reached out to his phone and hung up.
"Why did you do that?" Ash asked Saiki, annoyed. "You've been using our resemblances way too much to your advantage!"
"I actually planned to deliver the bass to him at his home," Saiki explained. "But there was this pink-haired girl there instead. So I asked her where Yagami was."
Ash rolled his eyes and shook his head.
"Now how do we tell him about the bass?" Ash asked and immediately, Iori started calling him again. "See? What am I gonna say? My cheesy ancestor used my identity to ask your girlfriend where you were and travelled through time to come give you the bass? Psyche!"
"Just answer the phone, I'll rig something up," Saiki said, earning himself another glare from Ash. "Just answer. He'll think you're the one who's talking. We sound alike, don't we?"
Ash shook his head in disgust and answered the phone.
"Hello?" Iori said, a little weirded out. "Ash, are you there?"
"Uh yeah," Saiki said. Ash immediately facepalmed. "This is Ash."
"Well, of course," Iori said, annoyed. "Who else would I expect to pick up your phone? Also, what was this talk about a time-travelling doppelgänger?"
Ash snickered.
"Well Umm... um... that was a joke," Saiki said. "I have no idea what I actually said."
Iori and Aiko exchanged confused glances.
"But Honoka said she did see you?" Aiko said, confused. "She said you even asked her where Niisan was!"
"What's Niisan?" Saiki whispered to Ash.
"Brother," Ash whispered back.
"Ash, are you whispering?" Iori asked, surprised. "Are you with someone?"
"Yes, I am," Saiki quickly said. "I'm with Elisabeth."
Iori immediately put the phone on hold.
"This isn't Ash," Iori said. "He doesn't call Elisabeth by her full name. He always refers to her as Betty! Something's wrong. Who could it be?"
"He said something about a time-travelling doppelgänger, right?" Aiko said thoughtfully "I think that was the real Ash."
"Yeah, I think so too," Iori said. "The one that spoke to us now sounded a little different."
"You're right," Aiko said thoughtfully. "This Ash's voice sounds a little... mature...
Iori nodded. "Ash always speaks in this playful tone. This one seems a little serious. Also, his Japanese is more fluent. Ash would somehow slip in some french."
"You're right," Aiko agreed with a nod. "I only met him a few times, but I realised that too."
"I think I know who it is," Iori said, picking up his phone again.
"Hello?" Saiki said, confused. "Did you just put me on hold?"
"Saiki, I know it's you," Iori said in a stern voice. "What you're doing with Ash, I don't know. But if you think about harming him or anyone else in this world, I won't think twice to fly to France to end you."
"Hey, if you end him, I'm done for too!" Ash suddenly said. "You know my life depends on him right?"
"So we were right," Iori said. "Ash, what are you doing with him?"
Ash sighed. "It's a long story," he said. "But now I'm just here, giving him a manicure. Don't worry, he's nothing but a visiting guest."
"What about the bass?" Iori asked. "It was you, right?"
"Yes, it was," Saiki said regretfully. "It was just an apology."
"Yeah, that's the excuse for haunting us with gifts," Ash said in an annoyed tone. "He creeped all of us out with gifts. Imagine, he made me fear a sachertorte."
"What's that?" Aiko asked, confused.
"Cake..." Iori said. "Anyway, Psyche. If you plan anything funny, I'm sending you back to your time."
He hung up and felt a little relieved.
"Case closed," Iori said. "It was Saiki."
Aiko giggled.