Match of the Millennium

Description: The mysterious Midori is yet to compete in Rivals due to the strange saga surrounding her match with Mirielle. Perhaps Chinese medicine practioner Tsukiko can diagnose what's been going on when the pair face off on the Justice athletic field!

[MIDORI]
By any reasonable standards, today is a beautiful day. The sun hangs high in a brilliant sea of blue, its golden rays bathing the world below in a blanket of warmth and light. Only a few hazy wisps of fluffy cloud mar the otherwise pristine monotone of the sky, drifting aimlessly on a gentle breeze that pleasantly takes the edge off Sol's over-enthusiastic attempt to drown the world in its blazing embrace.

Beneath this diorama of celestial perfection, the fields of Justice High are abuzz with a swarm of activity. While the 'rival schools', as they are often called, are no stranger to the field of battle known as competitive sports, an event as massive as the Neo Fighting Generation's martial contest is rare enough to draw out a larger crowd than usual. Students, parents, and fighting fans alike all intermingle into a teeming mass of colorful bodies that seems oddly at home on the unnaturally colored arenas.

Large rectangles of pastel green and marble white create a patchwork quilt upon which the elite often indulge in their more refined sports are today instead playing host to a far baser sort of entertainment. With this opening of these hallowed grounds to the general public comes the inevitable issue of seating space. What few areas designated for spectating that existed were quickly overwhelmed leaving the majority of the onlookers to find makeshift alternatives. Here and there small camps of folding chairs mark out the territory of those who had the foresight to anticipate this problem, tiny islands of enviable comfort surrounded by oceans of those who had to settle with simply plopping down on the uncomfortable faux materials of the floor. Every inch of the waist-high decorative stonewalls that surround the various fields have been converted into seating space with dozens of people perched atop them like a small army of birds roosting on telephone wire alongside the road.

With any such massive gathering comes the need for refreshments. Countless vendors, some operated by the students themselves, have been set up along the outskirts of Justice's sports field to take advantage of the wealth of potential customers. Every manner of offering one might expect to find at a carnival or sports event can be found in abundance, from the simple hotdog and hamburger to more lavish local specialities like takoyaki and ramen. An intoxicating aroma of fresh food wafts throughout the event like an alluring perfume, luring those with rumbling bellies with the siren song of tasty treats.

All in all, it's a pleasant and bustling day of fun and outdoor activity.

And Midori hates everything about it.

Letting out a soft sigh around the plastic straw in her mouth, the tiny girl stares with half-closed eyes into the bustling mass all around her with the miserable dourness of a Grinch who has found themselves thrust into the midst of a Christmas party. Bathed in the hateful light of the daystar and entrapped in an ocean of human bodies, her preferred attire of loose fitting black hoodie has proven to be a poor one. She smolders in the heat, her already unwashed greasy hair sticking out in all directions from various unsuccessful attempts to wipe the sweat out of it. Were it a bit less crowded the stink coming off of her would be more obvious but with so many people around and so many other smells assaulting the senses the girl's lack of personal hygiene largely goes unnoticed.

Midori sips at her drink, eliciting the annoying slurping sound that comes from attempting to suck the last few dregs of tasty soda from a mostly empty cup. She ignores this telltale indication that it's time to replace her cup with a fresh drink, as she has done for the past several minutes, unwilling to expend the effort it would take to forge a path through the thicket of bodies to make her way to one of the nearby vendors. Instead, she chooses to annoy everyone around her at random intervals, perhaps hoping that one of them will become so irate at being subjected to the sound that they will go and fetch a new drink for her.

No luck so far but when it comes to being lazy her persistence knows no bounds.

Which begs the question as to why this chronically-late embarrassment to her parents is already present when her own bout is yet a ways off. She could still be slumbering away peacefully, ensconced in the protective cocoon of her comfy blankets, or grinding a few more levels in Last Fiction XXV.

The answer to this question, as it is with all questions regarding any behavior that is vaguely commendable, is unconcealed threats from her parents. With her last match turning into a complete clown fiesta, beginning with her own failure to arrive in a punctual fashion, followed by her completely skipping participation in the following round, she had been told in no uncertain terms that her -punctual- arrival to the current match would determine whether or not she received any allowance for the coming semester; an already potent form of blackmail on any given day but, with several much anticipated games on her wishlist about to be released, any threat to her discretionary funds was akin to mortal peril.

And so Midori sits at the edge of her future battlefield, a tiny ball of black-clad grumpiness amidst a backdrop of colorful happy people, doing her best to chip away at their overwhelming cheer out of sheer spite.

Slurrrrp...

[TSUKIKO]
"If this is the field... where does the baseball team play?" Tsukiko wonders aloud as she walks along the path between the various courts next to her fellow gymnastics team member Sora. With the fact that today's match was announced to be taking place in the field and the with the weather having been forecast as sunny, Tsukiko has opted for her Gorin grey gym shorts and white t-shirt instead of her usual tai chi uniform or gymnastic leotard. Her hair is arranged in a single functional ponytail braid, though her bangs dangle over one side of her face in their usual dysfunctional style.

"I don't think they play baseball here," Sora says as she peers around. "I don't even know if they play /any/ real sports here."

"Maybe they don't want to compete with us. It might mess up their 'super elite' rep if they got hammered by Gorin at soccer and baseball and gym," Tsukiko muses as she finds a spot to sit in with her friend.

Soon, though, she notices the sound of slurping coming from behind her. She looks up and over to one side, soon finding the source. It only takes a few moments of observation to assess the situation and suggest a solution.

"Do you want a fresh drink? I'm thinking of having something myself," she calls out to Midori.

[MIDORI]
It takes an unusually long amount of time for the small grumpy lump to respond. Her sleepy gaze pointedly affixed on some random spot in the middle distance, the girl appears to be outright ignoring the question, displaying some of the typical angst oft associated with teenagers when forced to be somewhere they'd rather not. However, after several moments of being stared at, the extra sense that all humans seem to have sends a prickle down her neck that finally urges the greasy outcast to snap out of her funk and take a glance at her surroundings.

Midori's eyes lazily sweep first away from the nosy student in search of the source of this discomfort, her lips still working at the straw in order to elicit the most nails-on-chalkboard amount of irritating noise possible. Finding nothing unusual there, her stare slowly tracks back the other direction until it comes to rest on the questioning face of Tsukiko and her friend.

A sort of dawning realization quickly spreads across the recluse's face, accompanied by the dread of potential social interaction. Her previously half-closed eyes grow wide in stark juxtaposition to the pupils of her jade-colored irises narrowing into tiny pinpoints. Her obnoxious slurping comes to a merciful halt, only to be replaced by an ear-piercing squeal as the plastic of her straw rubs against the lid when she instinctively leans backwards in an automatic attempt to put as much space between herself and this strange person who ignored all the warning signs that make it very obvious she's not someone who wants to be approached.

Oh sweet kami, someone is actually talking to her?! This isn't part of the plan! Abort, Abort!

Then again, it is very hot and unpleasant, and she has been getting steadily more thirsty as the wicked daystar continues its tyrannical parade across the sky.

Trapped in a paralyzing fog of indecision, the strange girl just stares at Tsukiko like a deer in headlights for several seconds. Eventually, her thirst wins out over her desire to crawl into the nearest hole and pull the entrance closed behind her. Curse you, caffeine addiction!

"I... um... that would..."

Clearly struggling to get her words out, Midori's pale face flushes with color as she mumbles around the straw still stuck in her mouth. Eventually, she gives up on attempting to form coherent words and just squeezes her eyes shut and nods rapidly a few times. This, of course, assaults the ears of everyone nearby with a symphony of plastic squeals as if she were trying to play her used-up cup like some kind of hellish trombone.

[TSUKIKO]
"Great!"

Tsukiko flashes a smile at Midori as the girl ends up nodding. She doesn't react - at least not visibly - to the sonic onslaught of plastic on plastic that the sluggish Seijyun student is supplying. Tsuki fishes a small billfold out of her handbag, letting it rest on the space between herself and Sora. She takes a few notes out - enough to pay for at least one drink, probably two. Prices here at Justice are probably also super-elite. She then stretches her arm out toward Midori, offering the cash.

"I'll have goji berry and chrysanthemum tea if they have it," Tsukiko requests as she allows her imagination to stretch the offerings that a school like Justice might be able to provide, "but if they don't, I'll settle for mugicha. What do you want, Sora-chan?"

Sora's expression shifts from tepid surprise to mild discomfort at the imposition. "Oh, umm... you don't have to..."

"It's okay, she's already getting us two a drink," Tsukiko tells the other Gorin student. "She might as well get one for you, too."

"Umm, bubble tea? But I can help carry it," Sora says, trying to inject some helpfulness.

Tsukiko fishes another couple of notes out of her mini-wallet. "Alright, there you go," she says, thrusting the cash toward Midori again.

[MIDORI]
What luck!

Midori smirks internally, silently congratulating herself on proving once again that the Dao of Laziness is the superior life hack. Put things off long enough and someone else will come along and do it for you. To make it even better, it looks like she won't even have to pay for her replacement beverage! Praise the kami for altruistic suckers.

The crinkle of several bills being thrust in her direction interrupts the small girl's internal gloating. She opens her eyes, hesitantly reaching out to accept the handful of money even as she blinks with obvious confusion at having an order rattled off like she's some kind of waitress.

"Eh...?"

Midori's eyes dart between the two other girls as they waffle about adding another item to the list, as if they're good pals and she's already agreed to go and fetch the next round for them all at the bar.

"Eh...?! But... but I...!"

When yet more money is thrust into her personal space, Midori once again accepts it on reflex. She absorbs the request from Tsukiko's friend with a dazed stare, her face flushing with color yet again. Eventually, she pushes to her feet and mumbles something about doing it herself before turning and quickly vanishing into the crowd.

'That... that bitch!'

Once safely merged into the sea of shifting bodies, Midori's bashful mask melts into an expression of frustrated anger. Her fingers clench into a tight fist, crushing the empty paper cup into a wadded up ball in her tiny quivering hand. She all but slams the refuse into a trash bin as she passes by, growling under her breath.

'Who the hell offers to help someone by giving them an errand?! Wasn't it obvious that I'm already tired and sweaty? And not only do I have to go and get a new drink myself, she expects me to get something for her and her friend too! This is bullying! Bullying!'

Grousing about the unfairness of the situation in her head as she wanders off to complete this unwanted task, Midori finds herself suddenly struck with a rather devilish idea. She pulls up short, almost getting bowled over by half a dozen people as she comes to a sudden dead stop. The sudden threat forces her to hurl herself to one side and she quickly shimmies between a few pairs of legs to avoid the fallout of her distracted behavior.

"Typical," she mutters, nursing a bruised knee. But even her daily dose of being trampled isn't enough to dislodge the sense of amusement that has been kindled by her wicked thoughts. Doing her best not to grin like some kind of slasher villain, the girl makes her way to the refreshment stands and acquires the requested beverages. As it turns out, there are so many varieties of vendor present at the venue that even the strange request made by Tsukiko ends up being available. Bubble tea isn't hard to find at all and her own soft drink rounds out the collection in a mundane way.

With the drinks obtained, Midori glances around and finds a small nook to secrete herself away from view. Well, as best she can manage in such a crowded place, anyways. Setting the coaster containing the cups on the ground, she rolls one of her long sleeves back until a single slender finger protrudes from the opening. Using her body as a shield against prying eyes, she purses her lips and takes a slow breath, altering the flow of chi inside of her body.

From one of the secret pouches concealed inside of her own flesh a tiny bit of poison begins to merge into her blood. She guides it with a thought, directing the venom through veins then capillaries until a single droplet of clear fluid gathers on the tip of her outstretched finger. With a wicked smirk, she flicks the drop into Tsukiko's fancy tea and stirs it with the straw. Another few moments of concentration produces a second drop which she deftly adds to the other girl's drink.

"A little bit of extra flavor for the good Samaritan," she giggles, gathering up the drinks into her arms and wandering back into the crowd.

The round trip takes about fifteen minutes in total, which isn't bad considering how crowded the place is. Midori emerges from the ocean of legs like a crab, waddling sideways in an effort to slither through the tiny gaps afforded to her. Her mask of bashful shyness once more in place, she wanders slowly up to the two girls and holds the fruity tea out to Tsukiko with a slightly trembling hand while staring pointedly at her own feet.

"Um... h-here..."

[TSUKIKO]
When Midori returns with all three drinks in hand, both of the Gorin girls smile appreciatively at her, though the gratitude of Sora seems more apologetic than her teammate, who, by contrast, appears to consider her karmic balance to be in check.

"Thanks! That's so nice of you," Sora says, before turning to Tsukiko. "It's too bad you don't get a personal gofer. I read that one of the girls in the last NFG even had a personal assistant for her pet sloth."

"I think she's just rich," Tsukiko points out. The two bump their cups together, causing sloshing and jostling of tapioca and tea, then Tsukiko turns to toast Midori before both girls slurp their beverages quietly.

"Shirakawa Tsukiko and Himura Midori, to the stage, please," a voice calls out over the sound of the crowd via the speaker system that's been set up.

"Oh, that's me," Tsuki says as she slides off of the bench.

As she does, she realises that something feels... off.

An imbalance of some kind in her chi.

She reaches into her bag and starts rummaging inside, pulling out a few different small bottles one after another. There's way more than one would expect from the child of the most hypochondriac of parents, it seems. Does she even have permission for all of those?

But finally, she settles on one, quickly unscrews the lid, and pops two of whatever's inside in her mouth before sealing it again.

Then, she's casually sauntering up to the stage, past the sea of orange Justice uniforms, casual Gorin summer uniforms and mostly frilly Seijyun outfits. Once she's up on the stage, she starts warming up, trying to blot out the sensation in her stomach and hoping that she's judged that malady - and the corresponding remedy - correctly.

[MIDORI]
With her tainted cargo delivered, Midori quickly shies away from the two lest she get pulled into some sort of conversation. She turns to head back to her little corner of the court, sipping cheerfully on the fresh drink while imagining the looks of pained confusion on the faces of the two suspecting fools. The toast goes unnoticed, her back already turned, but before she can make it more than a few steps away the announcer's voice causes her to pause.

The tiny girl twists her head to peer back at Tsukiko in surprise at the revelation of her identity but quickly looks away again, unable to conceal the devilish smile that blossoms on her face. Oh, what strange fate. This could end up being even more amusing than she thought.

The poison that she'd chosen to punish Tsukiko for the transgression of forcing her into an errand was one of the weaker concoctions brewing within her body. At any given time, she had at least half a dozen different blends secreted away in small internal pouches, each one designed for a different purpose. What she'd given the two girls was a mild paralytic distilled from some local mushrooms combined with the venom extracted from a Japanese sea snake. Diluted as it was in the drink and in such a small dose, it would hardly do much more than give them some joint and muscle aches with perhaps a bit of nausea to turn their day of fun into a miserable experience.

Now, however, she has the opportunity to inflict yet more venomous torture upon the annoyingly chipper teen. The introduction of multiple toxins to a person's system had a way of amplifying their effects as the body's immune system went into overdrive in an effort to fight a war on several fronts. Eventually it would simply prove too much and even an onslaught of relatively weak poisons could bring a healthy person low.

Slurping down a massive gulp of soda, Midori watches the apprentice doctor realize something is off and self-diagnose a cure on the spot. Interesting that she would even be able to tell so quickly. But without knowing what it is that she took, there's so way to say how the medicine will react. This will be a very informative match.

Once Tsukiko has made her way to the stage, Midori sighs and follows in her wake. The cold drink remains clutched in her hands and she sips at it idly as she takes her place on the opposite side of the court from her opponent. Unlike the energetic Gorin student, Seijyunn's unlikely representative does not bother warming herself up. She's already quite hot enough as it is and looks like she would much rather be home in bed than bothering with this nonsense.

[TSUKIKO]
As it turns out, in this case, Tsukiko's assumption was that she was getting a flare-up of hay fever, and her decision was to take an over-the-counter antihistamine. Her mother's side of the family might sell traditional Chinese medicine, but her father, who runs the other half of the shop, is a licensed pharmacist. While it should stop her from breaking out in any sneezing fits - at least, after a half hour or so has passed for it to take effect - it's not likely to eliminate all (if any) symptoms of the concoction Midori has concealed.

"Oh! It's you?"

Tsukiko seems surprised - though, not really /that/ surprised - by the coincidence that Midori is to be her opponent. Truth be told, she's more surprised as she finishes limbering up and takes her position opposite Midori that she's facing her foe eye to eye. Tsukiko standing a couple inches short of five feet and preferring to compete barefoot means that even her average-height female opponents have had nearly half a head of height advantage over her in her past Rivals rounds.

"So you're Midori, from Seijyun. I'm Tsukiko - sorry for not introducing myself properly before."

She brushes her bangs out of her face and bows slightly at the waist, the latter gesture undoing the efforts of the former. "I never thought about drinking soda for energy before a match. I'm guessing that's why you were hesitating so much to get up - you were probably saving your strength. I'm guessing you must have a very intense style that relies on overwhelming bursts of speed. That should make an interesting contrast to my tactics."

Her whole body starts to relax into slow, circular motions, hips, hands and shoulders rotating through the air as she breathes in deeply.

"Well, I'm ready when you are!" she declares.

[MIDORI]
"Unfortunately..."

Too hot and sweaty to act shy any more, Midori instead settles on disgruntled. Eyes half-closed against the sweltering light of the sun, she continues to do what she can to expend as little energy as possible. Tsukiko's formal bow is given the most apathetic response she's probably ever seen as the sweaty little goblin facing her simply tilts herself forward a few degrees. It would be just as believable to think that she simply swayed a little on her feet from heat exhaustion.

The sudden attempt to analyze her behavior causes Midori's brow to rise slightly, first in confusion then amusement. Well this feels slightly nostalgic. Someone who knows nothing about her is attempting to try and rationalize her complete disregard for acceptable behavior as some sort of special preparation. The other Seijyunn students created similar coping mechanisms for the first month or two when she was first admitted to the school, unwilling to believe that some pathetic excuse for a slacker had been given access to their prestigious university. Now they mostly just try to pretend that she doesn't exist which is a state of affairs that Midori finds quite agreeable.

"Mmmhmm..."

Midori offers a vaguely affirmative response to the deluge of speculation about her fighting style. Ironically, the guess isn't that far off, though it is laziness not tactics that has molded her combat arts towards maximum efficiency. Fortunately, her strength and stamina aren't what she relies on, because she very little of either. Honestly, it looks like a stiff breeze could knock the pale teen over.

Tsukiko's enthusiasm for the coming bout appears to be hers alone. Midori responds to the call to arms with another drawn out lazy slurp at her soda before finally shrugging nonchalantly.

"Sure."

COMBATSYS: Midori has started a fight here.

[\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\  <
Midori           0/-------/-======|

COMBATSYS: Tsukiko has joined the fight here.

[\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\  < >  //////////////////////////////]
Tsukiko          0/-------/-======|======-\-------\0           Midori

[TSUKIKO]
Tsukiko also appears to be feeling the heat, despite wearing comparatively breezy attire appropriate for the weather. She runs the back of an arm across her brow. Has she been out in the sun too long, or is that a hint of a fever? A frown flickers briefly on her lips and her eyes dart to the crowd as the same arm shields her gaze. Her heart beats a little harder when she spots her father sitting next to her mother on the bleachers, his form blurry amidst the waves of heat rising off of the metal.

The smile turns into a frown, a weight lifting to leave her mind feeling light as she turns back to face Midori. The hoodie-wearing Seijyun student also appears indistinct and - did she shrink, or is she further away than before?

"I think I might need a little bit more to drink," Tsukiko says, apparently oblivious to the sound of the PFW officials telling her to stay in position for the match. She turns to try to find where her friend is sitting, but blinks several times, squinting as if confronted by a light much more blinding than that which basks the stands. She turns back to face Midori, dropping back into her fighting stance.

"Nevermind... I'll get something later."

With both students in position, the bell rings for the fight to begin, and Tsukiko seems to relax - and then slowly falls forward, hitting the ground with none of the grace one would expect from an elite gymnast.

COMBATSYS: Tsukiko takes no action.

[\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\  <
Midori           0/-------/-======|

COMBATSYS: Tsukiko can no longer fight.

[\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\  <
Midori           0/-------/-======|

[MIDORI]
Midori's expression remains carefully neutral as the sweat pouring down her opponent's face steadily intensifies. Considering the heat, both from the weather and the sheer number of bodies compacted into the small sports park, it's probably not all that unusual a sight. Plenty of fliers have been attached to various standing structures, offering reminders for all of the attendees to keep hydrated. But even guzzling down copious amounts of fluids can only do so much.

Of course, any seasoned athlete would be well aware of such risks. Surely one of the combatants wouldn't be so silly as to let herself be overwhelmed by heatstroke. Right?

With her lips wrapped tightly around the straw, it's easy enough to conceal the faint sinister smirk that works its way onto the tiny outcast's face. Even from several feet away she can tell that her stupid bully is starting to suffer the consequences of Midori's little gift. Intense fever combined with the already sweltering heat seems to be boiling the foolish girl's brain, leaving her disoriented and confused. Now quite what she expected from that particular blend of toxins but it's no less amusing. Perhaps the medication she took is altering its properties? Something to investigate later.

At the moment, Midori's lazy gaze remains fixated upon her would-be opponent as she attempts to shake off the fog in her brain and drop into a combat stance. Once again, the little cave goblin seems content to let her foe make the first move, barely mustering up the energy to shift her feet a little in something that might be construed as preparation for battle.

But, no. She already knows that the fight is over before it began. She can see in the Gorin's eyes, that muddled distant stare that can only be followed by...

Like clockwork, the illusion of bravado that Tsukiko had mustered up vanishes like smoke in the wind as her muscles give out. The paralytic finally kicked in, amplified from mere muscle fatigue to outright system failure by the intense heat. Or a misjudged dosage; she was pretty annoyed at the time. Either way, the student flops over like a boneless jellyfish making it quickly apparent that she's in no condition to fight.

A pair of officials rush forward, along with a man carrying a medical bag. They give the girl a quick check and rapidly make the determination that she's unfit to continue. Midori does her best to feign worry, but considering that she's close to overheating herself, that mostly amounts to lifting her eyebrows in something vaguely resembling concern. Once the call is made that the Tsukiko has to forfeit due to health concerns, Midori takes a long slurp of her drink and then turns and wanders off into the crowd as rumblings of discontent spread through the assembled spectators.

It takes a few minutes of slithering through a forest of legs before the little chemist emerges from the far side of the arena. Moving at a leisurely pace, she begins the slow trek back down to the train station where she can catch a ride back to her dorm. Her lips continue to nurse little sips of soda from the cup as she walks but try as she might she can't keep the devilish smirk of satisfaction off her face any longer and lets slip a girlish giggle.

"Well... I suppose I'll have to mark this batch as a success."

COMBATSYS: Midori has ended the fight here.

Log created on 11:32:54 07/13/2025 by Tsukiko, and last modified on 10:11:38 08/30/2025.