Description:
Thailand.
The country is likely to bring up a wide variety of mental images for any who hear the name. For some, it's a beautiful tropical country surrounded by warm waters and beautiful sights. For others, it's the place where Tsunamis go to raise hell and die. For men of considerably lowbrow standards, it's -the- place to pick up prostitutes and other illicit goods...Shadaloo's presence bolstering the Black Economy ensures that the men, women, boys and girls who call streetwalking a trade have nothing to worry about. Nothing but pimps, disease, and drugs, anyways.
Tony deals with men of a properly seedy outlook on a regular basis. His life was steeped in it, from Metro City to Southtown and beyond, it seemed to be his lot in life. At this particular junction though, he's sequestered himself as far away from that part of Thailand as he could.
For Tony, Thailand was something else--the home of Muay Thai Kickboxing, a training mecca. Thailand to him was what Southtown was for others: An opportunity for him to expand and grow as a fighter, as a human being. It was a place to get away from the Syndicate demands, from worries and concerns that plagued him everywhere else. Thailand was his sanctum, his impregnable fortress of solitude...even though he could be surrounded by thousands when he went to town. Once he was there, Thailand boiled away to base elements, and allowed him to focus on the simplest of things.
-THOK-.
For instance, a roundhouse kick.
Stuck in what seemed to be the middle of nowhere, Tony Styles took over the training field that used to belong to Sagat's /other/ student, the infamous Adon. After beating him handily, Tony felt little remorse over claiming the field that he called home--a fact that would eventually lead the pair into confrontation, but that would be for another day.
-THOK-.
Dressed in his fighting trunks, hands and feet wrapped and ready for war, sweat dripped from every nook and cranny on the Muay Thai Panther's body. How long he was out here was unknown--even Tony lost track of time when he came here to train, another variable that simply didn't matter here in Thailand.
-THOK-.
While Tony oftimes tried to sneak out here quietly, there are plenty of people who make it their business to find people. Given the proper courtesies--money, favors, the threat of a punch in the face or any other agreement--the guides and street rats that called the cities of Thailand their home could easily point someone in Tony's direction.
Someone, say, like Megumi Andou.
Megumi had probably used some of those methods to track Tony down, just not the threat of violence. Eventually though, she makes her way to the field Tony's apparently taken over. As Tony kicks away at training materials, she steps up towards him and looks rather...'quiet' in mood. "I saw some of what you said about your upcoming match. ...Want to talk about it." The choice of words might've suggested a question, but her tone's a little too flat for it to be an inquiry.
-THOK.-
Tony brings his leg down from the latest assault, eyes widened in surprise. Normally, he might've noticed the girl approaching him before she was actually upon him, but...Tony expected solitude. His guard was down, and he ended up surprised. It could've been worse, though...if he had enemies looking for him.
Surprise shifted to a brief moment of anger, before dissipating entirely into a relaxed, neutral expression. Running his forearm across his brows, Tony offers a nod of acknowledgement.
"Shoot."
"I had trouble understanding some of it, you're a little hard to read." Megumi could probably have put that more diplomatically, but she presses on anyway. "But did I get the basic point right, that you're going into a knife fight and...you're not going to use any knives, won't have any with you? Is that what you were saying?" She's standing in a very tense posture, feet arranged in the typical Aiki stance used by people like her and Kasumi, just Megumi is keeping her hands down for now.
"Yeah?"
While Tony might be as difficult to read in text as he used to be to understand in general, Tony never considered himself to be anything more than a straightforward individual. So, then, when the question comes, it seems...a little offsetting. That, or she's leading into something else, using that as the basis.
"Yeah, I'm bringing fists to a knifefight. What about it?"
Megumi holds very still, looking rather upset. Calm about it, but definitely in less than bright spirits. "I wanted to know if that's going to be typical of you from now on. Are you giving those up for good, or is it just for one time?"
"Stand back a little."
Tony turns his attention away from Megumi, and back to the post closest to him. Bringing his arms back up into a high guard, the kickboxer slides forward a half pace and slams his right forearms into the side of the post...earning another loud -THOK- noise in the process. The left forearm is quick to join the right, slamming into the opposite side as the right slides away.
This continues, alternating from right to left, THOK-THOK-THOK-THOK-THOK. The noise echoes off of the relatively quiet surroundings, holding in the air longer than it would otherwise. Sliding away from the post again, Tony answers the question...sort of.
"It depends on what happens. If I win, then I'm obviously doing something right. I can focus on the fight, I can focus on a fight that's important enough to win, and I can win it. When everything's on the line, I can triumph in the way I'm supposed to be. If I lose? Then it doesn't matter. I'm done. I'm a man of my word. I'm off the circuit, off the scene."
Pause.
"Maybe I'll open a restaurant, settle down. I haven't given that side of things too much thought yet anyways."
Megumi gives a confused "Huh?" to Tony's suggestion to back off. Then she sees he's raising his arms, and recognizes the stance, backing away. "I wasn't asking about that part. If you quit or not is up to you, I don't mind either way. I was talking about the knives. Let's presume you win. Are you going to start using them again in every fight after that? Is this a one-time thing, or are you really trying to change?"
"I'm not -trying- to change. I -am- changed. I'm done messing around with the knives. I'm done with all the bullcrap that ends up surrounding my fights. After I wrote it, I realized that I brought damn well near all of that down upon myself anyways. Win or lose, I'm not knifing anybody anymore."
With that said, Tony fires off another roundhouse kick, shin meeting with heavily reinforced wood and drawing another loud -CRAK- out of the abused material.
"This being a one-time thing would defeat the entire purpose. If this was just a one-time thing, I wouldn't be bothering with it to begin with. I'd go in with a knife, and carve Edge up...but I'm not. This is serious, this is for real."
"Then...if you see that, why go saying you'll quit now if you lose?" Megumi is giving Tony plenty of room to work with though, staying back several steps while talking. "That doesn't sound like it makes any sense. You realize what sort of person you were, change, then bet everything right after it? Am I getting that right?"
"..."
It was, in all reality, a sensible enough question. Pragmatic, if nothing else. There was always the off chance that Tony might've had an honest to goodness breakthrough in his life. To Tony, it was more than an off chance, it was certainty. He saw the light, he knew which way he needed to go, he knew what he had to do.
So, then, what if Edge was simply in better shape that night? What if Edge outfoxed him, outworked the Muay Thai Panther, or even worse, merely proved the luckier of the two? Wouldn't it be a waste to throw everything away now?
"You don't understand."
Tony's lips curled downwards, face hardening into a determined grimace. He was starting to tire, muscle fatigue setting in...but then this is where he wanted to be. He wanted to push himself to the point of exertion and beyond, push himself harder and harder until what was impossible before became rote. Pulling his leg around and through in another roundhouse kick, thick waves of chi traced after the leg, coloring the sky black and crashing into the pillar....cutting deep into the wood, knocking chips away into the sand and dirt which surrounded them.
"I...it's hard to explain. I know what I have to do. I have the conviction to do it. I simply need to make that conviction a reality. What good is knowing right if you can't -do- right? That's why I have to put everything on the line. It's going to define me, it's going to define the -new- me. Losing this match after showing that, that's..."
Tony trails off, perhaps looking for the right word, perhaps out of words entirely. He wasn't the most eloquent person in the world, even if he became a little easier on the ears over time.
Megumi doesn't look to be reacting too much to the damage inflicted on the wood; it's not surprising, these are the sort of things she and her peers tend to do as matter of habit. "That's the easy way out. I do understand, because I used to be like that. For different reasons, I think, but it's about the same thing as far as the situation goes. And I think you're being ridiculous."
Megumi starts to move, walking in a wide half-circle to arrive in front of Tony, just beside his 'practice dummy', such as it is. "Part of me still wants to smash you, you know. The things you do make me sick. But you're trying to change, you said...well, you said you already have. So why gamble the whole thing if you're better now? That seems like you're being macho, and trying to have some easy way out of all this if you do lose. I'd say it's like some sort of...'gambling suicide.' Not a physical death, but..."
Indeed, his display of might is considerably less impressive that it could've been--things like that happened everyday, and overexposure did a lot to kill the otherwise spectacular nature of such things. Or, in short: When Vega plows through you, a slap just doesn't sting like it used to.
On the other hand, Tony wasn't doing it to be impressive: Not for Megumi, not even for himself. Being impressive was one of the last things on his mind. "You're allowed to think it's ridiculous. I won't argue that point with you. To a lot of people, it seems ridiculous. It seems childish. Maybe I'm just pouting or something, right? 'Look at me, I'm for real!'"
Tony turned back to Megumi, apparently done with the pillar for the time being. "I've done sickening things in the past. I don't blame you for being resentful, or angry, or anything else. I won't argue that point, either--you're right, I'll concede that any day of the week. I might even come across as just trying to be macho, or just looking for the easy way out. That doesn't change the fact, though...especially at this point."
Another pause, then, before Tony's face unfurls, leaving behind a light smile.
"I'm going through with this. I have to."
Megumi gives a simple head-shake after Tony finishes. "I hate you. I don't need any words bigger than that for it. 'Hate' explains it better than 'resent' or 'angry' would. So really...it's fine by me. If you lose and slip off into some other part of the world, some other life at Tony's Diner or whatever, fine. One less enemy around to deal with." She side-steps, and begins to move away from Tony. "So go through with it if you like, I've debated what I wanted to about it. I just want to know if you're serious about that. That you've changed, that you're not going to stab people and kick them after they've already fought someone else and laugh and celebrate about it. Is that for real?"
"Hate?
Pause. Beat. Beat.
"Yeah, I guess that one works too."
Turning back to the post, Tony gave the legnth of wood something of a sidelong glance before pursing his lips. How Adon kept these things up without blowing them all to smithereens was a mystery to him.
"I'm for real, Megumi. Win or lose, I'm for real."
With Megumi walking away, Tony went back to training in earnest--she's done with him, he'd wager...or at least it would appear to be so.
"Then...good luck with it. It's easy to say things like that, I know." Megumi is indeed starting to walk off. But she has some parting comments, it seems. "I said the exact same thing to myself at least five times...just to lapse back to how I was, and even getting worse on the last time. But if you're 'for real' about being a better person too, then...I can forget about that hate for a bit. See you." She's leaving, but at a walk; still able to hear things.
"..."
Tony managed to shock himself yet again to some degree. He...wanted to say something to Megumi, wanted to throw out some kind of statement--wheather witty, heartfelt, or something else. Instead, he found an absence, a void where words should've been. She was certainly walking slowly enough, so if he could conjure something up it would be heard.
"What do you mean?"
Well, it was something. Curiousity fueled, but something regardless. Maybe she'd feel like opening up a little, maybe not.
Megumi stops, looking back to Tony. "I mean I came here to see if it was just a bunch of talk, and actually...part of me thinks you're lying. That you'll just start cutting him up if you win or if it becomes convenient during the fight, then go laughing about it. I've seen that often enough that it's how I see you. Part of me was expecting you'd act like that if I talked to you. I was ready to hurt you right here and now, just waiting for you to show me you're still the same sick monster I know. But if this really is your turning point...then that's okay."
"I've been like that too. So if you're really changing, or already have, I can forget that idea. I still don't like you, I think you're lying...but if this isn't just for show?" Megumi turns back around, though she's not moving away. "I could go ahead and leave you alone in that case. Hate you from a distance rather than being ready to break your arms."
And so, Tony fell quiet oncemore, mulling over Megumi's words, turning them over and doing his best to poke at them. "Well, maybe I'll prove myself at the fight. Maybe I'll prove myself to you a month from now, in some event down the line. Maybe it'll be next year, maybe it'll be 2010. Maybe it'll never happen at all, and you'll just keep waiting for me to fall, keep waiting for me to devolve and melt away into what I was."
With Megumi watching him, Tony offers a slight shrug of the shoulders, indifferent. "For a while, I thought I wanted to be approved by the lot of you, you know? I wanted to be viewed a certain way by the public. Right now, I still do--I want to be seen as legitimate, but I won't bend over backwards to do it if I know myself wheather or not I'm lying, wheather or not I'm some monster."
Bringing his hand up oncemore, Tony pauses to wipe at the sweat, the wraps stained in a variety of hues...sweat from hours ago turning the fabric odd colors.
"Like me or not, hate me or not, fight me or not, this is who I am, what I am. This is what I should've been a long time ago."
"The lot of you," Megumi says that back, and shrugs, back still turned to Tony. "Using me to gauge the public at large is pretty weird. But just so you know, there's a difference between expecting and waiting. I'm not waiting for anything like what you just said. Just expecting it. Not the same thing. One of them allows you to be pleasantly surprised." Then she resumes walking.
This time Tony merely let it be--she said her piece, and he said his. He could...appreciate her point, to some degree, and had trouble arguing against it. Were the roles reversed, it was entirely likely that Tony would never trust Megumi, and wouldn't bother with talking the matter over before taking vengeance upon her.
Thankfully, the roles -aren't- reversed, and Megumi happens to have a bit more...leniency, for lack of a better term, about her. She had her concerns, her reservations...he would merely have to prove them wrong. He would beat Edge, and he would do so in his way, fighting the way he wanted to, the way he needed to.
-THOK-.
Log created by Tony, and last modified on 16:40:04 12/15/2005.