Match of the Millennium

Description: Koto has an encounter with Riki while going around Chinatown.

[RIKI]
The sky darkens as evening begins to creep up on Southtown, the sun's golden warmth replaced by the searing glow of neon signs and fluorescent street lamps. Chinatown in particular seems to be quite fond of the flashy allure of blinking billboards with countless shops attempting to pander to the seemingly endless stream of tourists and thriftshop hunters. As the working day winds down the streets become more and more busy with the bustle of moving bodies and it isn't long before a veritable sea of people have engulfed large portions of the city to partake of its glitzy nightlife.

Admist such massive numbers it is quite difficult to stand out, something many Japanese take comfort in. Only the rebellious youths with their colored hair, flashy outfits, and often excessive body piercings tend to draw notice. There are of course the paid cosplayers who stand on the street corners shilling the wares of some local company's products. Everything from restraunts to the latest animes can be promoted in such a fashion and even here in Chinatown such practices are not entirely unheard of.

It is thanks to these strange cultural trends that Riki is able to show her face in the city at all after the recent events that have unfolded. Darkstalkers are not particularly welcome in Japan, a place that was rather xenophobic to begin with. After being beseiged by an entire army of killer monsters, the prejudice levels are at an all time high. The NOL's influence hasn't helped matters on that front either, with their military taking up residence in the city of late and looking for any reason to flex their muscles for brownie points with the locals.

So it might come as no wonder that a nearly ten foot tall giant with a horn growing out of her forehead might set off a few warning bells here and there. Fortunately, people with mutations that allowed them to grow to freakish size aren't entirely unheard of. There's even a few famous examples in the fighting circuits like the wrestler Hugo and the former gangster Abigail. The horn, on the other hand, is a little harder to sell. She could remove it but doing so would divest her of the majority of her power and she simply can't afford that risk soley for a little less trouble in making her way around town. Instead, she's learned to sacrifice her dignity by 'pretending' to be a costumed actor that happens to be an oni.

Riki trundles forward along the side of the street as she makes her way towards one of the local bars, the pavement shuddering underneath each plodding step. She grins every so often at the gawking gaggles of people who stare at her like some sort of space alien, some drawn to her sheer size while others are clearly taken aback by the boldness of her outfit. Ironically, she wears the loose kimono-like robes that she came into this world with, which shows off her legs and a great deal of her clevage to boot. She spouts some canned lines about a new line of baseball bats available in the local stores.

"Want to swing with the power of an oni? Then get your own Kawamoto Kanabo Slugger today!"

It's slightly demeaning to be put in such a position, what with her being a servant of one of the forgotten gods of this country's mythical past. But if she's learned anything since being cast out of the heavens to the land of mortals is has been that of humility. Plus, she's really in the mood to get drunk off her ass tonight and Ayame's managed to find some way to prevent anyone from buying anything other than basic beer for the last couple of weeks. That girl's going to be the death of her and not in glorious battle either!

[KOTO]
Koto had been wandering around, and well... he knew of the DarkStalkers at least. How could he not after running into trouble like that at the Mall?

So, here he was wandering around the Chinatown. Mostly because he was tired of the bland, not quite right food of the Mall itself.

Still in his Pacific High outfit as he wanders the Chinatown district, even he has to stop at the... well, oni?

Okay, looking up /that/ much just to see who in the world it is? That's a bit much, even for Koto.

So, he does the next best thing. Crouches, then leaps and back flips up to an awning over a small store to get a better look.

Finally, he asks the most obvious question, "Isn't that false advertising?" Whether or not the ten foot tall woman hears him, it's obvious Koto probably didn't mean it, but he looks just a bit curious. Not to mention Japanese as well.

And his expression is just showing the utter confusion as to what in the world he ran into now.

[RIKI]
The standard response towards things that stand out in Japan is generally to ignore them. So, as odd as it might seem, most people don't pay much attention to the towering woman after the initial shock of her appearance wears off. It's one of the few things about this human culture that she's managed to figure out since her return and something she had been counting on to serve as a smoke screen. Either everyone would ignore her, assuming she's just some great big PR stunt, or they'd start screaming and running like she's some sort of kaiju in a cheesy old black and white movie.

Everything seems to be going well, until someone decides to break the rules and speak to her directly.

It takes the oni a few moments to realize that the comment was directed at her. She pauses mid-stride, turning to peer around for the source of the brazen individual. The crowds around her scurry away almost immediately like a bunch of cockroaches exposed to the light of day, pointedly staring at their feet as they quickly hurry to be somewhere else. That makes it rather easy to pin-point her accuser as he is A) the only person left nearby and B) the only person standing on a roof staring directly at her.

Riki turns about completely to face the teenager, her brows furrowing at him in a bemused manner. Why is it that the young humans always seem to be the ones that want to cause her problems? A hand rests upon her hip as she eyes the young man for a few moments, noting no obvious marks of affiliation that might make him easy to identify. He wears a student's outfit, she knows that much, but the specifics of the various schools and their individual differences are beyond her limited knowledge.

"Thou claim I speak falsely?" Her voice rumbles out, low and gruff, though obviously still feminine. "Which of mine words doest thou doubt?"

[KOTO]
Koto scratches the back of his head as he looks at the rather tall oni. He seems to be a bit embarassed that he had been singled out so to speak. Even if it wasn't hard. He's on a roof, after all!

Then she's asking the most important question, and her voice and accent has him staring a bit more than usual. His eyebrows furrow a bit, then he seems to consider the best way to respond. "Well, I mean wouldn't the power of an oni require possession or something?"

He holds up his hands rather quickly, saying, "I'm just saying. Not that I don't mind the accent, but just... yeah. 'Swinging with the power of an oni' seems more like something a magic item would do or something equally insane, lady."

Perhaps the student is stepping into hot water, perhaps not. But well... he's speaking his mind, right? The teenager still looks very, very amused by it at least. And he's not exactly going to do much otherwise from the looks so far.

[RIKI]
The towering woman lifts a hand to rub her chin, seeming perplexed by this conversation. She'd seen plenty of absurd claims made by other advertisements during her few forrays into town in the past as well as from the commercials on the television. It had seemed a fairly reasonable assumption that massively over-exaggerating the capabilities of ones wares was the standard operating procedure for merchants in this era. Not that they didn't do that in the past but modern technology has amplified their ability to do so quite considerably.

"Indeed, such strength would be beyond the reach of any mortal without divine assistance," she concedes, finding no reason to lie when confronted on the issue. Maybe she's made a terrible mistake and broken some sort of social taboo. Humans have always had some very strange and complex rules for their societies.

"But, is it not the way of your kind to make such claims in order to make wares more attractive to prospective customers?"

Obviously, the idea of having the strength of a mighty ogre must be quite appealing to such weak creatures. After all, who wouldn't want the power to crush rocks with their bare hands and make mighty leaps across the roof tops? It's certainly more convenient than waiting for the subway. So there can be no flaw in that part of her plan, at the very least.

[KOTO]
The thought has Koto blinking a few times. He shrugs, "Eh, I was just talking out loud rather than thinking it, to be honest. Plus... you do kinda stand out, being ah... tall and all."

He seems to consider things, then hops off the rooftop, gliding seemingly to land on his feet. Complete with his arms outstretched at that! Turning, he looks up at the tall woman. "Well, sometimes the advertisement is false, but usually that gets people into legal trouble if they have some means to track those people down and can prove it."

The young teen blinks a few times. "Say... ah... is that your real height, or is that a costume or something? I mean, it looks soo... life like, you know?"

[RIKI]
She could get in trouble for this? That's not good. Even in her true form, she's not entirely sure a single oni could withstand any sort of concerted effort to bring her down. Humans seem to have gotten a great deal stronger since she last roamed the mortal world, possessing all manner of strange weapons capable of terrible destruction. Even worse, becoming the target of a hunt by local authorities would make surely make Ayame angry at her and that's a far more troubling outcome.

Riki lifts a massive hand to scratch at the back of her neck sheepishly, doing her best to look contrite as she ruffles her thick mane of golden hair and peers off into the distance thoughtfully. How to get out of this situation without making it worse. She's still pretty keen on getting to the bar but it would be preferrable to do so without further complications.

Fortunately, the young man suddenly changes the topic, focusing more on her appearance than her words. The oni blinks at him, the gears visibly turning in her head for a couple of seconds, then gives him a toothy grin that reveals a pair of short curved fangs where her canines should be.

"Doest this form impress thee?"

The gaintess takes a step back and flexes, sending ripples of motion through her meaty biceps and thighs that cause the muscles beneath her smooth skin to bulge like a body builder. If she's wearing some sort of costume, it's quite the elaborate one.

[KOTO]
Considering, Koto looks carefully, even walking around in a wide circle to get a better look. "Hm... a bit? Certainly elaborate. I prefer mine, though."

He shrugs, "Still curious how in the world that was made. I mean, if this was television or an anime I would say CGI, but wow."

He's definitely looking a bit impressed by the muscles at least, not to mention heighth, and well... however elaborate it has to be. Like a lot.

[RIKI]
A close inspecton would reveal that the 'costume' is incredibly life-life. The movement of the woman's limbs is natural and fluid, offering no signs of underlying mechanisms at work to help her move all that mass. The surface of her skin seems quite soft and healthy and the way that it stretches over the large muscles underneath when she flexes is certainly realistic. Then there's the question of how someone would increase their height so such a monumental degree without the proportions getting off. Even her head seems to be far larger than a normal persons, matching perfectly with the rest of her upscaled anatomy. It's quite convincing, really.

"CGI?"

Riki repeats the acronym with a confused look on her face. It's certainly nothing she's heard of before. Perhaps he refers to the strange magic used to make the fake images on the television. She might have heard Ayame mention something about it once in the past, though the girl hardly spent much time with such distractions.

The oni crosses her arms and shrugs, quickly growing bored of the conversation. She came here to drink, not talk about modern commerce laws or how impressive her 'costume' is. As amusing as it might be to toy around with this boy's misconceptions about her, she'd rather be at the bar.

"Well, thy curiosity shall have to be sated another day. I have a great thirst that must be quenched with all haste! Fare thee well, child."

She gives Koto a quick wave and then turns and starts to trundle down the street again, intent on making it to the bar before anyone else decides to start asking questions. Her destination is only a couple blocks away, it can't be that hard, right?

[KOTO]
Koto seems to consider, watching carefully. He's not even sure /what/ he should do in this situation.

The teen scratches his head, "Oh, nice accent, but I think it might work better if you were in a European costume or something." He comments, then shrugs and turns to go.

Well, no one's making trouble... what was he here for again?

Then the growl of his stomach sounds and he sighs, "Oh yeah... tired of the mall food."

He makes his way over towards the nearest restaurant now, intent on feeding his hungry stomach rather than hearing it growl again.

Log created on 17:50:47 11/17/2018 by Koto, and last modified on 12:54:39 12/08/2018.