Description: Dan overrates his ability, Lisa's patience, and the quantity of his fans. Lisa agrees to compromise, just to get him out her door. (Originally recorded January 17th, 2004)
Downtown
Without a shadow of a doubt the heart and soul of Southtown, the downtown
area occupies the largest single chunk of the peninsula. A completely urban
area where most of the city's population not only makes their home, but also
makes their living. Dotted with mid-height buildings, Downtown lacks the
elegance of the money-quenched business district...generally middle-class,
crime also happens to thrive here, making even the best parts of the area a
place where many would watch their backs in the thick of night. However,
thanks to the work of the vigilante students of nearby Gedo High School, the
area has become a far more comfortable place to live.
Hunched over her desk, Lisa works on a small stack of papers,
cross-referencing information from no less than five files, tabulating the
results in the black notebook she normally keeps with her. The stack of
files at the corner of her desk is slightly higher than usual, but still
carefull aligned, and in no risk of falling. For now, she aims to get as
much done on this report as possible, what with not having any appointments
today. Of course, there's always the risk someone could arrive unannounced,
which is why she unfortunately is forced to keep her office door unlocked.
Where Dan is concerned, risks pretty much become certainties. At a seemingly
random point in the afternoon, the tromping of footsteps can be heard in the
hallway outside. Once they reach the door, they're replaced by a staccato of
loud, imperious knocks on the door. It's a measure of his politeness that he
doesn't simply throw the door open, but instead waits for an answer.
Lisa pauses mid-scribble as she hears steps from beyond her door. Closing
her eyes as they stop, she almost flinches as sound of knocking ensues.
Setting her pencil down on her desk, she takes a deep breath before closing
the files she was referencing, stacking them neatly even as she calls out
calmly, "Come in." Her annoyed expression becomes faint, almost
imperceptible, as this may well be a notable client.
Dan certainly counts as one of those. Permission received, the door flings
open, revealing Pink. He steps inside, looking as puffed-up as he can be.
Moving to stand in front of the desk, Dan folds his arms, watching Lisa
through squinted eyes, with his mouth formed in his idea of a badass frown.
"I want another match," he declares. "I will not bow out of this tournament
without winning one fight." And nothing less than an okay will get him out
of here, says his stance.
"..."
So stunned is Lisa at having Dan before her, that she immediately can't form
a reply. Her expression, carefully schooled mere seconds ago, slips into a
slightly more noticable agitated visage, one complete with a slight scowl.
She remains silent up until his demand, whereupon she closes her eyes,
audibly sighing. Waiting several counts before opening her eyes again to
look up to Dan, she asks mildly, "When did anyone ask you to bow out? I do
believe you lost two matches, and this was a double elimination tournament."
She resumes re-stacking her files, but keeps her eyes on Dan. Today's
contestant: the Saikyo Menace.
"Flukes!" Dan insists, pulling an arm out to shake a fist at the air. Tears
start streaming down his cheeks as he continues. "My fans...-my fans-...saw
me beaten by flukes! The Saikyo Ultra Hyper Whammo Fist always hits, but
those two made a fool out of me!" He leans over the chair in front of Lisa's
desk, looking down at her with a grim face. "I must have another chance to
prove my strength! Please, Miss Nichols, I will take any fight you can offer
me!" Never a wise choice, but Dan's concern over what his poor fans are not
getting out of the tourney is quite genuine.
Lisa's eyebrows begin a likely long journey to join seamlessly at the bridge
of her nose, raising one hand to massage a temple as Dan's tirade begins.
She keeps her gaze on Dan as he speaks, waiting for him to stop before
glancing off to nothing in particular, mentally taking a moment to estimate
how much aspirin is in her top drawer. "Mister Hibiki, you signed up for the
top tier section of the tournament, against the express advice of the clerk
handling the applications." She pauses to pull a file from a stack, opening
it, and scanning a page. "I believe his exact words were.. Ah, here it is."
She recites in a detached tone, "'Has the dye from that thing you call a gi
soaked into your brain? You'll get killed if you sign up for that.'" Closing
the folder and laying it on the small stack before her, she looks back up to
Dan, a faint smirk on her face now as she waits for his response.
Dan pffffffFFFFffffs. "That brainless lackey didn't know what he was talking
about. -I- am a fighter, a warrior!" He pounds his pink-covered chest. "I
know the limits of my own strength, and I tell you those two punks I had to
fight were -weaklings-. Charlie's hairdo poked me in the eye! The Brit
didn't wash the soap off when he took a shower that morning! He was
-slippery-." Dan shakes his head, bulling on. "But that's all moot. I cannot
let my fans down. They don't want to see other people win, they want to see
-Saikyo- win! Give me another chance, please!" Dan's expression is openly
pleading now, though thankfully he's kept a whining tone out of his voice.
So far.
Lisa leans back in her chair, reclining slightly as she looks up at Dan with
that smirk, less faint now. "Weaklings, yes. I'll note that." She even
reaches for her notebook, opening it to scribble a quick note in a margin.
"Well, Mister Hibiki, the fundamental problem is this.. The tournament is in
progress, with brackets in place. There's no opening for you, so you're a
bit out of luck." She pauses a moment, then raises a finger, as if she just
had something occur to her. Smirking even more, she adds cheerfully, "But, I
had this thought. You could sign up for the next tournament, and see where
that takes you."
Dan breathes heavily, seething. Damn logic. It always bit him in the ass
sooner or later. He stares at her through squinted eyes again as he thinks.
Think, Dan, think. While he could be devastatingly thoughtless at times,
there were opportunities for brainstorms now and again. And Dan's
indomitable will would -not- let him out of this without exploring every
possible angle.
After a moment, he blinks, his expression clearing. "Well. I obviously can't
participate in the upper tier any more." He shrugs one shoulder, his
expression sly. "Rules are rules, even if it was a fluke. But...but! What
if...what if I were to fight the winner of the lower tier?" He turns around,
clasping his hands behind his back. "Naturally, it wouldn't be a -fair-
fight. I mean, I'm just that much better no matter who the champ is. But it
could be, I don't know, an exhibition match. A way to cap off the
tournament. I mean, who better to star in a showcase fight than yours
truly?" He turns around to face Lisa, putting his hands on his hips and
giving her his most winning smile.
Lisa blinks once, surprised by Dan's statements. He managed to come up with
something she had not expected, nor was she prepared for.. Not that this
keeps her from dealing with it. She settles back into her detached (but
smirking) expression, still reclining in her chair. "No." Yes, it's that
simple. Her tone is flat, and she clearly has no intention of rethinking it.
"If you want to independently challenge whoever wins, I'll give them the
option of having it recorded, but I probably won't televise it. I certainly
won't schedule a match between you and the winner, as you are, in essence, a
loser. In several senses of the word." She laces her hands, resting her
elbows on the table, and her chin on her fingers. Smirking.
Dan's grin slips. Well, that wasn't very nice. It's hardly enough to dent
Dan's eg- er, self-esteem, but the flat denial is a little depressing. Well.
Time for Plan B.
You didn't think Dan would -have- a Plan B, did you?
Dan lets out a sigh, hitching his gi up. "Well, if that's that, then I don't
have any commitments for a while." He pulls the chair in front of Lisa's
desk back, settling into it. "Got nothin' to do...yep. My students are at
class, so the dojo's empty." He shrugs. "Kids. Whatcha gonna do?"
Lisa's smirk deepens slightly as Dan's expression falters. That was
certainly worth it. She starts to lean back, then Dan.. takes a seat. Her
right eye twitches. Then Dan announces he has nothing to do. Her eyebrow
twitches with the eye this times. Unlacing her hands, she eyes Dan with a
flat glare, remaining silent for several moments before reaching a hand up
to massage her temple again.
She leans back, considering what exactly it was she did to result in having
a somewhat insane and extremely pink martial artist harass her so. For now,
she stares at the man before her, trying to decide what to do with this
problem.
Dan smiles genially across the desk at Lisa. "So, Miss Nichols. What sort of
movies do you like to watch?" It doesn't look as if he plans on going
anywhere for a while. An impression which is hopefully made all the more
strongly as he looks down, then puts one of his feet on the other knee. Dan
wants what he wants, and he'll get it however he can. Since he can't
challenge Lisa to a fight, other means must be used. "By the way, you
wouldn't have a nail clipper, would you?"
Lisa closes her eyes for a moment, sighing again. "Okay, Hibiki, look. I'm
not going to have you fight the tournament winner, and that is absolutely
final. If you attempt to press that point, I'm liable to ban you from
further tournaments for being a pain in the ass." She looks at Dan with a
piercing gaze, giving him a moment to realize that she's absolutely serious.
She then pauses. "On the other hand, it's possible I may need a substitution
at some point. I can't guarantee anything, but if I need a stand-in during
the lower tier tournament, I will _consider_ you." She places emphasis on
the word, making it clear that he's not even promised a spot if an opening
shows.
Dan waggles a finger. "You can only ban me from tournaments you run." Still,
the possibility of that being most of the tourneys in Southtown is a good
one, and finally he relents. He stands up from the chair and bows to Lisa.
"Very well. You are a strong woman, Miss Nichols,"--anyone who could stand
up to the threat of clippers must be--"and deserve respect. I accept your
offer, and appreciate it." No extreme expressions are on his face; he's
actually being serious for once. "I'll let you get back to your work.
Besides, school's probably letting out soon anyway." With another short bow,
he turns to leave.
Lisa rolls her eyes slightly at Dan's first comment -- not that she can deny
the assertion -- then nods at the rest. Before Dan gets far, she notes in a
slightly cold tone, "I'll notify you if I do have an opening, Hibiki. And..
In the future, I would appreciate it if you set an appointment first, next
time." Not that she wants there to be a next time. That said, she begins
arranging the files she had previously been working with, although she
doesn't open them yet.
Dan waves a hand over his shoulder as he heads out, heedless of the
disruption it caused to Lisa's day. "You got it," he cheerfully calls,
before he exits into the hallway and turns the corner, finally gone from
sight. The door's still open, though.
Log created by Lisa, and last modified on 16:04:55 09/19/2005.