Description: Daniel couldn't believe it. Roland S. Brown, his old rival from his Todoh Dojo days, was in the Neo-League. The one-armed bandit was ripping up the girls in the league, though taking a much more rakish approach. The pair have a showdown at the Shitennoji Temple at Osaka, as it becomes a battle between the Lady Killer and the Pervert Master. No matter who wins... no young lady is safe. <Winner: Daniel>
Daniel should have had better things to do.
He didn't even notice the details of it. There was the issue of the UN attack; the possibility of artificial Darkstalkers being created... and the ensuing activities being covered up. There was conspiracy afoot, and frankly, something like the Neo-League was something he would have to be forced to be in, by his Chief. But idly, the fight roster was accidentally clicked on as he was browsing his Outlook, and he managed to have taken a glimpse.
And double taked, when he saw a name on the list.
Oh, his placement wasn't important. But the name on it... he knew that name. He remembered that name. A name of infamy, a name of rivalry. It was not Kyokugen, no. But as Agent Little reads that name, his face goes hot. Immediately, he moves, calling who he can, sending out emails wherever he could. He had to pick a local site in Japan, yes, but he was going to take this fight. Because what he read was the name of the man, who long ago, stole the sacred arts of Todoh Ryuu, and left without a trace.
Roland S. Brown
The fight would be at the Shitennoji Temple, in Osaka. The Buddhist temple was painted pale cream and bright red, with wooden beams of blue holding it up. The paved flagstone paths wind through the complex, around the centerpiece of the great temple: A four story pagoda, standing high above the gardens and waterfalls of the temple grounds. It was a peaceful place, even at night, as it is now.
And Daniel Jack stood there, before the tower.
He was not dressed in his Interpol greys, no. For a fight like this, he only could wear the most sacred of outfits: His Todoh-Ryuu Kobojutsu Gi. It still fit, after all, and bound around his waist was the black belt of his expertise. Daniel Jack considered himself a guardian of Todoh-Ryuu Kobojutsu. As the judges of the Neo-League wait, some armed with cameras, the detective himself stands tall. Arms crossed, face cold and grim in the moonlight. He would eventually come.
And Daniel would soon revisit old rivalries.
It had been years. Years, since the pair had trained together under the same roof in Todoh-Ryuu, spurned by a random bar fight. Always Roland had barely gotten the upper hand, a bastion of talent against the hard work and determination of Daniel Jack. After he had truly applied himself and seemed to turn over a new leaf, he left immediately upon finding the pieces of the puzzle that Daniel's sensei offered, and has not been seen...
Until now.
It seems Roland's personal crusade for power is finally over. His record in the League is strong, two wins and one loss... and the most controversial, perverted escapade in the history of the event. Daniel may be the 'Lady Killer', but Roland was the 'Pervert Master'. He has harassed only females thus far... perhaps not wishing to lose out even in that arena.
"Chump bait." Roland calls out as he approaches, smoking on a clove cigarette. He's still missing an arm, and his trademark trenchcoat, wearing only a black form-fitting shirt with the right sleeve tied into a knot. His fedora is leaned forward, rain beginning to patter down in increasing droplets. "Good to hear you ditched that eccentric freak Todoh, also. Finally find yourself a new job?"
After flaring the end of his cigarette to life, he flicks it hard at Daniel's face.
"Because right now, you're going to temp as my punching bag. Just like old times."
As the words are heard, the detective narrows his eyes.
Roland. Once called Woody, for that stupid cowboy gimmick. They met in a bar, Roland kicked his ass, and then the pair had trained in the Todoh dojo early in the detective's career as a private detective. While Daniel was in the shadow of the natural prodigy Roland, the detective was dedicated in his training, where Roland was... not. He had left the dojo before his training was complete, where Daniel Jack continues to endure through. Roland had the potential to be the greatest fighter
Until he lost his arm when...
No matter.
"Todoh and I left on great terms, Roland. I didn't piss out having half-learned a few moves." Daniel Jack turns around, uncrossing his arms. He ignores the rain beginning to fall on his gi. As the cigarette is flicked to his face, the detective snatches it out the air between two fingers. Rolling it to his finger and thumb, he focuses on it, giving it a sniff. "Clove." He states bluntly. "And a hipster now, too." Daniel Jack states with disgust, before dropping it to the ground, and stomping it out. "Been a long time, Roland."
"Good to see you."
Daniel Jack falls into the defensive stance of Todoh Ryuu, the half-stance of Aikido. Legs spread apart, he turns his body to the side, bringing one hand forward, one hand behind it. With both palms forward, he watches his old rival with focused eyes, a crook of a smile at his lips. "I'm working for Interpol now. Agent Little, World Detective. Saving the world, one criminal at a time." He keeps his stance steady, the raining continue to patter down indecisively. The detective looks over his opponent, trying to case what sorts of hidden weapons he might be keeping on him this time.
"What are you doing with your life, other than squandering it for cheap thrills?"
Woman troubles. That's what Roland would call it. Maybe he's some kind of crazy masochist, when all Ayame gets him is beaten up and his arm ripped off by an ambush from behind by a sadistic serial killer. Certainly a complicated history, although seemingly so far in the past.
Maybe because it was. It's been at least a year or two, hasn't it...? But that time wasn't spent in vain. For some reason he felt driven, possessed, hurtling forward to heights of strength and ability he hadn't thought possible after losing a limb. He couldn't say why, but that handicap was the catalyst for his greatest strength. That much is certain.
"I learned what I needed. You fell for his crazy cult personality. That, or the nice piece of ass he had as a daughter. My guess is the latter. You ever get anywhere with her...?" From the smirk, he's at the very least presuming an answer.
"I was smoking clove since before I kicked your ass for having bad taste in beer." he snaps out. Damn. First shot, glancing though it is, goes to Daniel. Slowly he rotates his shoulder as the rain starts to come down faster.
"Yeah. Always a treat."
He takes no stance, as usual. Just kind of loosely standing there, before he pulls out a coin. Showing heads, he jerks to himself. Flipping it over, tails, and a dip of the head to Daniel.
"I've got my goals. To beat a certain woman. And to have a drink with another. ...latter's more recent. Life's not gotta be complex, save the world bullshit. I heard you aren't a P.I. anymore. What lame-ass job you get saddled with? He flips. And it comes up...
Tails. Roland shifts into a defensive stance, ceding the initiative, minute though it is, to the other fighter!
Always a dame, isn't it Roland?
Roland took what he thought he needed from Master Todoh. As for the cult of personality, well, Daniel Jack did eventually leave the dojo. The shots that Roland fires are merely glancing, though one of them cuts deep. After all, it wasn't just Ryuhaku that was training him, but his fair young daughter eventually, shaping his signature technique into just the place it needed to be. Daniel Jack responds with curt deliberation.
"Kasumi and I are respectfully friends, -Woody-"
Daniel Jack watches the flip of the coin, his body stiff. He was steady, waiting for the next move. As it lands up in tails, Roland concedes the first move to Daniel. The detective takes his steps, approaching Roland with the steady gait of Todoh Ryuu. "I could tell you. But then I'd have to kill you." He states, with a smirk. "World detective business, you understand." Closing in, he decides to open as he almost always had.
With his signature move of Todoh.
Leading in with a palm strike with the right, he steps in, bringing a hand chop with the left. Aiming the first blow at Roland's chest, the second blow comes at Roland's collar. A typical opening, as he takes his next step, to unleash a second palm strike, attempting to hit the same spot again. The attack soon chains with a pivot, the detective thrusting in another palm strike. This time, not stepping in, but stepping aside. He wasn't using the final palm strike to purely attack, but to reposition.
But for what move next.
COMBATSYS: Daniel has started a fight here.
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Daniel 0/-------/-------|
COMBATSYS: Roland has joined the fight here.
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Roland 0/-------/-======|-------\-------\0 Daniel
COMBATSYS: Roland dodges Daniel's Zoot Suit Riot.
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Roland 0/-------/-======|-------\-------\0 Daniel
"Ooohoo, there's a snake in my boot!" Roland states with a confident laugh, knowing his rejoinder about Kasumi would even the odds. Heck, the weight is likely slightly in his favor now. He adjusts the collar of his shirt with his free hand, before leaning back slightly, expecting a strong rush. Daniel's not able to be exhausted... but Roland is not someone who loses by attrition. He either explosively loses, or explosively wins, with little margin between.
"Pfft. Fine, enjoy your useless movie quotes. World detective my ass. I'm not sure what you got downgraded to, but the only reason I want to know is that I can't think of anything worse than what you already did." Looks like he genuinely thinks the entire statement was condescending or a joke.
Of course, the first mistake here is believing that anything but a Kasane Ate can be considered a signature technique learned from Todoh. The Zoot Suit is one of Daniel's oldest and most predictable of techniques. That's a bad thing to use against the elephant's memory of Roland, who twists his chest away, bringing up his forearm to roughly parry the second. When the third comes, he's flexing open his fingers and lunging upwards, already on the attack.
"Eat THIS, Danny Boy!!" His splayed fingers attempt to grasp Daniel by the front of the face, to suddenly cause a blinding flash of energy. The intent is to then grasp him by the back of the gi, supplement this with a horrible one-armed wedgie, and then use that to hurl the man into the ground opposite.
Where'd he learn that, in a school yard?
COMBATSYS: Daniel dodges Roland's Seven Out.
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Roland 0/-------/-======|-------\-------\0 Daniel
Predictable, but flexible.
Roland easily dodges each of the opening moves of Daniel Jack, to zero frustration for the agent of Interpol. Roland was the kind of man to go big, or go out. Daniel was much more steady, much more stable. Roland would be controlling the momentum of this fight, and all Daniel could do was come along for the ride. But where Roland was exploding as a fighter... Daniel had been growing as well, at his own steady pace. It is this growth that comes forth as Roland comes out to reach at Daniel's face.
And the detective pushes the hand aside.
The blinding flash comes, but the timing comes. A blink, and a stare. The flash dazzles him, but it does not blind nor daze. As the arm comes again to grab his underroos, he takes his smooth, steady steps, walking in pace with his opponent. Orange energy surges over him, flowing under his gi and to his arms, as he pushes Roland's hand aside again. The detective smirks, the two students of Todoh in perfect harmony.
And Daniel steps in.
Stepping back into the man, the detective aims to stride beside Roland. "Don't get sloppy, Roland, I know it comes natural to you!" He was circling him, stepping in and circling. Chi energy continues to flow over him as he reaches out to Roland shoulder and waist. Should he get his grips on the cowboy, he would sharply reverse his momentum. With a pivot, he would whip Roland right back, to flip him across the detective's thigh.
And slam him on his back, right on wet flagstones.
COMBATSYS: Daniel successfully hits Roland with Power Throw.
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Roland 0/-------/-======|=------\-------\0 Daniel
Pace, pace, pace. Roland normally gains it by demeaning and ruining his opponent's rhythm, but for some reason, he never feels the need to do that with Daniel. It's as if he is the only person in the world who he can simply fight no-nonsense, with raw skills and nothing further. This is regardless of his cheap tactics; that's simply part of his style, genuinely effective onslaughts that cause untrained instincts to allow him to destroy them. But beyond that, he has no airs or fronts to put on or maintain.
Gripping those Squirrel Girl boxers, Roland is prepared to yank, only to lose his hold. "What--You Deadpool reading son of a--"
Hoof! Roland ends up on his back, looking up through the rain. He... lost. He lost the first exchange. That somehow infuriates him more than he'd like to admit, and he twists up to suddenly lash outwards, twisting into a no-nonsense kick. The fact it's so pure, and at the same time so effective, might come as a surprise; a brutal snap of the heel towards Daniel's stomach, aiming to drive him far enough backwards he can get back up.
"Heh... don't get cocky just because you got hold of me once. I won't let it happen again...!"
COMBATSYS: Daniel interrupts Strong Kick from Roland with Fantastic Todoh Punch EX.
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Roland 0/-------/=======|====---\-------\0 Daniel
Daniel already had his introspection on no-nonsense.
Roland's comical technique was dead serious, even Daniel could tell. The cowboy fought dirty, but that meant he was dead practical. Daniel would not hesitate to admit (to himself) (in private) that Daniel's own technique was influenced by Roland. After all, while Todoh-Ryuu had the fundamental of martial art down, all martial techniques was about winning, or losing. Roland got this early on.
And as Daniel shows, he understood this now too.
After he hurls Roland on his back, the detective was already continuing his deliberate, focused footwork, repositioning himself around to the other side of Roland. As Roland twists up, the detective spreads his stance out slightly. Grounding himself hard on his feet, he brings forward his left hand, as he twists his right hand back. "Fantastic..." He begins, telegraphing what was to come. The kick comes straight to Daniel's stomach, the detective slowing it partially with his forearm. The agent of Interpol grunts as it slams hard, sputtering out the next word.
"... TODOH...."
Orange energy flares out as, he does not stumble back. No, as Roland gets up, the detective takes a heavy step forward. Ripping his palm forward, he smashes it hard straight into Roland's shoulder. Chi energy bursts out on impact, giving a cutting edge to the blow as he smashes hard in. Roland lets it happen again, as the detective finishes his cry.
"PAAAAAAUNCH!!!"
Before retracting his palm, his stance rolling back in place. Daniel was steady, but his smirk was clear. Chi energy continues to roll off his body, as he watches Roland. "This isn't like last time, Roland. I've been places, fought things. Undead. Bears. Gothic abominations. And more importantly, I've learned from one of the best fighters I know personally." He takes another step after Roland, continuing his steady approach.
"You."
Pride on the purity of martial arts is one thing. But when it gets down to it, arts like Krav Maga suit Roland better. There is no taboo for him, and he is exceptionally good at attacking in ways that betray thousands of hours of work, effort and training for one split second... a fatal opening, when up against him. The issue is...
Daniel has always been so damnably unassailable.
He's unflappable, aggravation only hones his determination, and even if he was naked to the nines he'd be the exact same opponent. That is one of the reasons he finds he can truly see his limits here... and is finding himself lacking. There's nothing he can do beyond let out another loud curse as the fist slams into his stomach. Spittle and blood leave his mouth, folding over the punch before he hurtles backwards, slamming upon the street and sliding through the forming puddles as a crackle of lightning storms overhead.
"Haa... haa... this is the best you've ever done... Danny boy..." There's a strange shimmer, before something Daniel's never seen before. It looked like TWO arms were pushing Roland to his feet, the other like some strange green outline. A trick of the bizarre light? "It's true. I don't have the kind of fight experience you do... but if you think that means that you're prepared to deal with me..."
Suddenly he darts forward, and all of the nonsense is gone. He'd be within Daniel's proximity in a heartbeat, spitting blood at the other man's face. "You're DEAD wrong.
An elbow thrusts out, aiming to slam into his midsection. Before in a crackling surge, his right arm manifests from nothing -- with the intent to grasp Daniel by the face, before allowing it to detonate in a horrific explosion of chi energy that billows wildly all around!!
COMBATSYS: Roland successfully hits Daniel with Sleight of Hand.
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Roland 1/------=/=======|=======\-------\1 Daniel
New tricks were dangerous tricks.
The detective was running on pure experience, in compared to Roland's natural talent and potential. Standing tall in the midsts of the storm, the detective was steady. He was strict. And he wasn't going to let a little rain break him. Roland was right; once Daniel got his mind set, he was damn stubborn, and hard to put down. He was almost ready for anything that Roland threw at him.
Almost.
The flicker of green light is what catches his eyes. He knows what we was seeing. Two arms. One real, the other chi. With the energy flowing through Roland, he was a conduit for power. In comparison to Daniel, he was willing to let it flow wild and free. Daniel Jack kept it disciplined and controlled. But as spat of blood comes, he just blinks for a second. The elbow comes, and Daniel catches it, stopping the first blow harshly in his hands, his fingers cracking on impact. He had the arm. But as the other arm comes... he has nothing for it. The grab comes, gripping his face with real force. The explosion comes, knocking the detective backwards. Daniel falls into a puddle, face down.
He rises up without pause.
Unflappable, was how Roland would put it? The detective turns around, letting in a deep breath, before exhaling steadily. His face was burned, with fresh red scabs hot on his face. "We know that we are prepared to handle each other, Roland. We've fought too many times to be otherwise. That's not the question we have now. The question is... who is the best, Roland? Talent or hard work? Genius or dedication?" His gaze locks on hard on Roland, his expression grim. He brings his palms forward, watching the cowboy with careful eyes.
"Lets find out right now."
The detective surges forward, repeating the pattern again. A palm strike with the left shoots out, firing straight for Roland's shoulder, following with a hand chop with the right. Poor, predictable Daniel. The detective fires out a palm strike with the left again, repeating the party that comes in as Daniel throws the palm straight to Roland's gut again...
And cutting short into a grab.
The hand-chopping hand would come down for Roland's arm, as the palm strike comes to grab his waist. Should he get the grip, Daniel would shoot forward, dipping low. And there, he would hurl Roland over his shoulder, across his waist, face first right to the stones. Daniel follows the same scripts, the same patterns. What would come would always be predictable.
But with Daniel, anything could come, at any time.
COMBATSYS: Daniel successfully hits Roland with Skiffle Drop.
* Attack Of Opportunity! *
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Roland 1/------=/=======|==-----\-------\0 Daniel
In the end, there's a major difference coming into play here. Experience is something you can rely in. It is a foundation stone built up that is never worn down. Although Roland might occasionally come up with some way to surprise the other man, to attack him where he doesn't expect, he has none of the mastery in dealing with such by-the-number assaults, when they come from a mind unfettered by his harassment and bizarre antics. It's truly his antithesis...
Precisely why both Daniel and Ayame are his truest rivals.
"Good... I'm just getting warmed up!!" he snarls, spitting to the side. "I can get hard work. I can GET dedication. But you'll never have what I was born with. And you KNOW it. All you can hope to do..." He's then struck at, forearm coming to block. Only for it to be grasped instead.
"IS HOPE TO STAY FAR ENOUGH AHEAD!!"
And then he's crashed upon the wet ground again, rolling away with a laugh. When's the last time he was handled so easily? Has Roland really become so self-reliant on doing petty things like blowing up a little girl's clothing, or making a woman blush? Mimiru did the same thing to him... threw him off-kilter, ruined his game... enough of this.
ENOUGH.
He's not the same, useless man who Daniel ran across before. Slowly he gets back up, turning back with eyes unlike any seen before. Shimmering green, they are focused and determined. His left hand slowly swirls with energy, before he slides forward and charges wordlessly. Direct. Straight at the other man.
And then he brutally descends, a vorpal chop aiming to rake across Daniel's shoulder to his left hip. A shoulder-check follows, before an attempt to sweep his leg at the same time he strikes a brutal, energy-sheathed left right into his stomach in a short hook, and slam him straight into the cobblestones before the shrine!!
That... was the first time Roland has ever just up and attacked Daniel straightforward. With skill and technique...!
COMBATSYS: Daniel interrupts Spanish 21 from Roland with Jumping Jack Flash EX.
- Power hit! -
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Roland 1/-----==/=======|======-\-------\0 Daniel
Honestly, Daniel was jealous of Roland's genius.
It was genius. It was the kind of resentment that came to a head when Daniel Jack fought Rainbow Mika. When Rainbow Mika was turning the entire crowd against him, because he was so dry, so boring, so... routine. Sure, he won. But he didn't have the level of brilliance and confusion that Roland had. Daniel ultimately wanted to learn the structure, the genius of Roland, to tie into his own Todoh-Ryuu.
But ultimately, he could only muster a pale imitation.
"No you can't, Roland." Was the response from Daniel as Roland spits back. "If you could, you would have stayed with the Dojo. I'll never have your spark, Roland. Your natural, unique spark that makes my best moves look like garbage. I'll never have that freedom, Roland." He growls, as the shimmering green energy flashes over his opponent. Daniel Jack draws in a steady breath, as orange chi flows over him.
It was time for the end.
Roland surges directly at the Agent of Interpol, the detective preparing his hands for the defense. The chop comes, and Daniel blocks it, the blow cracking Daniel to the bone. Gritting his teeth at the hairline fracture, the detective catches the shoulder check, redirecting the force around him, not into him. Was the warning from Daniel as the sweep of the leg comes. Stepping into the sweep early, he stops it cold as he dips low. The orange energy surges to his fingertips as he catches the punch with both hands. And there, he stops dead, caught in a stalemate.
Orange energy against verdant force.
"You should have stuck with what you were good at, Roland." Was the response from Daniel Jack, as the stalemate holds. "Skill? Talent? Where are the gimmicks you are good at." The detective suddenly loses some ground, the punch suddenly shoving close. A fake out was coming. Daniel felt it. He had to reverse that. He dips low, a final flood of energy overtaking him... and Roland's own aura. Flooding the spirit of Todoh straight into Roland, he finally lifts up the cowboy up into the air with a heave. Adjusting his hands, he balances Roland in place overhead for a brief second, before hurling his rival straight down, straight down to the flagstones in a crest of energy. Smashing him down, to let him be carried away.
Carried away by the Kasane Ate that Roland was.
The mighty arc of energy slams into Roland dead center. It rips through his shirt, sending tatters of burnt clothing in all directions. Slowly he falls backwards before thumping down. He doesn't seem incredibly injured, but the count begins. Halfway through, he...
Stops.
"You win this time." Roland says, settling cross-legged before he's disqualified shortly after. Rubbing at his chest with a wince, his shirt falls away; revealing the grotesque, horrific scars on his back inflicted by Freeman not so long ago. The savage swipe that forever stole his arm...
Or did it?
"I was off today. You know it. I know it. ...Take your win. In the long run, you're gonna need it." Inhaling deeply, with a struggle Roland gets back to his feet, and staggers forward. "You can run into the horizon all you want... but in the end, you're only looking at people like me from behind. I'll pass you next time, Jackie... You'll see. You'll both see just what I'm really made of!!"
Daniel is declared the winner by technical knockout, as Roland stuffs his hands in his pocket and begins to stride away, whistling a tune in the air. Utterly ignoring Daniel, no matter what he might say; he's leaving. He can be left with a message, or flat knocked out, but for now...
This is how he copes. With the pain of loss. The pain any true fighter feels. Especially one with an ego as large as his own...!
COMBATSYS: Roland is too lazy to get back up. It's cold and wet. Screw it, you win.
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Daniel 0/-------/-======|
COMBATSYS: Roland can no longer fight.
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Daniel 0/-------/-======|
Daniel Jack didn't know how Roland would lose.
As he hurls him down, the detective just watches, palms forward. And there, he just waits. He was waiting for a last ditch dirty trick, a desperate wild card to pull him out. But as he waits there, he studies the scares, the wounds that Freeman had dug so deep into him. Nobody deserved what that psychopath dealt out. Not even Roland. As the count comes, he lets his opponent squat down, to prove just what kind of loser Roland was.
A sore one, it looked like.
Daniel Jack just waits, his defensive stance enduring. The fight was over, and he was a winner. But the fact remained that anything went with Roland. As he stuff his hand in his pocket, the detective's guard begins to finally slip away. He was being ignored now. That kind of contempt should enrage him, but Daniel just... tolerates it. They weren't enemies, after all. Just rivals. But Daniel points his finger at Roland's back, as he walks away. "I'll never see what you're really made of, not until you focus. And let me tell you, scuzzy; Some day you'll get your life together, and you'll really start hitting your full potential."
"And I can't wait to face you then, old friend."
COMBATSYS: Daniel has ended the fight here.
Log created on 21:09:28 01/13/2015 by Daniel, and last modified on 04:39:31 01/14/2015.