Description: Yes, this is title is totally relevant to the scene. After his encounter with Reiji, Chizuru decides to confront Iori and berate him about his general tendency to hate everything. It does not go so well. Also starring: joke poses I didn't bother to edit out! Ha ha haaaa!
Things have begun to stir.
With the invitations sent out across the globe, Chizuru Kagura--the last of the Yata--has piqued considerable interest in fighters everywhere. A grand tournament, the King of Fighters, promises to bring glory and fame to its winner.
But really, there's more to it--more that very few would know. She cannot divulge the truth.
Not yet.
An ill wind has begun to wash across the globe. She knows Orochi grows stronger by the day. She can feel it, an off presence that is too familiar to her. But why..? Has she been slacking in her Yata duties? The seal...
Now, more than ever, she /needs/ the assistance of Iori Yagami and Kyo Kusanagi. But they /just won't listen/.
A message is delivered to Iori after one of his gigs in the heart of Southtown:
'Northern Outskirts
'Midnight.'
If she knows the Yagami scion well, the vaguer the letter, the more curious he'll be. Besides, 'Northern Outskirts, FREE KITTENS' isn't her style.
When he gets there, though, there's no one.
But there's a strange presence...
It was only two days ago that Iori Yagami had been trying to do what he always tries to do - be alone - when an irritating little man decided to interrupt his reverie. He never got the man's name. But he talked about teams, and bloodlines, and destiny.
And he talked about joining forces with Kyo Kusanagi.
In essence, he talked about a lot of things that pissed Iori Yagami off. But he had his points - points that just made Iori angrier that he couldn't flat out deny them. And those flames...
It was only this evening that Iori received any more word about whatever that 'stupid jackass,' in his words, had been planning. It came in the form of a letter, but vague as it was, he knew what it was for. What /else/ could it have been for?
Still, Chizuru Kagura waits. And waits. Midnight comes.
Ten minutes after midnight comes.
Twenty minutes after midnight comes.
And, it is just as time drags on to almost hopeless degrees, that--
Iori arrives dramatically late.
"... huh?"
To nothing.
Iori stands there, blandly. He squints. A frown slithers across his lips slowly but surely as irritation begins to rise. Was it a trick? Is someone trying to trap him? He feels -something-...
"... If you think you're smart enough to ambush me and get away with it, think again," he says with growing anger to nothing but the skies.
"Show your face or I'll just start /burning everything/ until I find you!"
Iori: always practical.
Nothing but the silence of the middle of the night greets Iori.
It lasts for some time. But he is aware: someone is out there, watching him.
Waiting. But waiting for what..?
A wind passes through as Iori yells at the darkness. He threatens to raze all of Southtown to find whatever or whoever it is called him out here. However, the Yata heiress is patient. She has plenty of time to spare, to bide, to waste with the Yagami boy.
Minutes pass. Nothing happens.
Then more time passes. Still nothing.
Five minutes. Nothing.
Then--
A soft, feminine voice brushes past Iori's ears. It's very close.
"Do you feel it?" the disorienting but gentle voice asks.
"The rise of that power, the curse in your veins?"
The voice is gone...only to 'reappear' in the distance now.
"Don't you have something you want to protect?
"Someone?"
The voice disappears. It speaks up a few feet from Iori now.
"Your destiny isn't meant to be filled with pain. If Orochi is sealed--
"If you defeat him--
"That awful curse will be gone. You can live a normal life. Don't you want that?"
Before he can answer, /something/ moves swiftly, white robes and inky black tresses blurring in a zig-zag pattern before sweeping low and then rising high, to clip Iori painfully in the jaw with a rising assault with her arm.
COMBATSYS: Chizuru has started a fight here on the left meter side.
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Chizuru 0/-------/-------|
COMBATSYS: Iori has joined the fight here on the right meter side.
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Chizuru 0/-------/-------|=------\-------\0 Iori
COMBATSYS: Chizuru successfully hits Iori with Quick Punch.
- Power hit! -
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Chizuru 0/-------/-------|===----\-------\0 Iori
Violet flames begin to boil at Iori Yagami's fingertips the longer he waits, tongues bleeding upward into his hands, his wrists, his arms. He feels that cursed fire rip his soul apart, but disregards the pain. It looks for all the world as if he's intent on carrying through with exactly what he said.
Iori isn't a man who lies, after all.
"Fine. You ASKED for it, you STUPID--"
'Do you feel it?'
Iori's head abruptly whips around in surprise; by instinct, he whips his right arm out, flames roaring across the air as they burn up oxygen and little else. He is too surprised and angry to recognize the voice he could have sworn was coming from behind him, but he knows whoever it is, is trying to play tricks with him. Just like before.
He hates tricks.
"You think playing these stupid-ass tricks is going to convince me about the bullshit you're shilling? Give me a break!" realization that had already been there is finally touched upon. That voice--
"... Let me put this in as plain of terms you can understand, since you obviously don't know how to listen. I don't--"
Suddenly, there is a white-robed figure in his path, cracking a swift and surprisingly painful strike across Iori's jaw with enough force to knock his face to the side.
"--... CARE ABOUT ANY OF THAT!!"
And in what is certainly NOT equal reciprocation, Iori will try to SLAM his fist across that figure's face before she can retreat, /uppercut/ his right fist into her jaw to send her flying... and then LEAP after to ruthlessly HAMMERBLOW his fists into her midsection.
"GUUOOOOHHHHHH!!"
COMBATSYS: Chizuru blocks Iori's Aoi Hana.
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Chizuru 0/-------/------=|===----\-------\0 Iori
As expected, Iori violently declines.
His response is violent. He lashes out mere seconds after the figure strikes his jaw, meeting with vicious brutality. He swings a fist, but the figure's hand shoots out, catching it. Wincing, black eyes flinch in pain before the other hand moves, intercepting the uppercut and merely redirecting it aside. The final strike, a hammerblow, is intercepted by the same arm; it strikes /hard/, pain reverberating through her very bones as the figure then leaps back.
She can't feel her arm yet.
It's obvious who the person who called him out is. It's Chizuru Kagura.
"Iori, /surely/ there is something in this world you care about?" the woman asks, sounding borderline desperate. Surely he has some kind of heart. He isn't like the others with Orochi in his veins. He's a Yasakani at heart, however tainted their blood is.
"Can't you find it in your heart to put forth some kind of effort to help /stop/ that dreadful power coursing through your veins? I want to help you--but we have to work together /with/ that Kusanagi boy!"
She does not remain passive; instead, the Yata heiress moves swiftly, twisting on her heels and bringing her arm around and down. She doesn't just strike with her arm in the motion; the sleeve moves sharply as well, whip-cracking to add insult to injury and make the strike that much more awful.
COMBATSYS: Iori endures Chizuru's Zheng Zheng.
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Chizuru 0/-------/---====|=====--\-------\0 Iori
The assault doesn't connect, yet Iori still transmits his full ferocity into each blow regardless. When it finishes, he lands in a crouch, breathing out heavily -- not out of exertion, but out of anger.
"Next time you want to have one of your little pow-wows, don't use your annoying little tricks. And next time you send one of your idiot lackeys to try and rile me up, I'll send them back to you in pieces. You get -that- through that thick skull of yours?" Each word is spit out. But still... Reiji had at least convinced him to wait. If Reiji could gather a team... could gather -him-...
But Chizuru talks. And Iori listens, eyes narrowed. Can't he find it in his--
"... Hahahahahaaaaa!!" The laugh is as condescending as it is spiteful. So full-bodied is it that Iori even clutches his head and leans back, belting out laugh after laugh. "What, you think you're gonna help me?" His eyes narrow suddenly, that amusement simply turning to raw hatred. "... Give me a fucking break. Who the hell do you think you are, talking to me about what I care about? I'm gonna die. Well before even an old hag like you does. Are you gonna promise me that you're sure, you're absolutely, 100% sure, this thing in my blood is gonna go away if I beat some stupid, overglorified monster into the earth?
"Don't be so /fucking cocky/! I don't care about your empty promises! You wanna help me?! Then give me Kyo so I can rip him to pieces! That's what I care about! That's the ONLY THING I CARE ABOUT."
The Yata heiress moves, and yet, Iori doesn't try to dodge her. Instead, as that arm swings down, battering Iori with sleeve and hand with a sickening series of cracks, Iori MOVES into it. His head snaps up from the force of the blow, crimson blood flying-- but he LEAPS into the attack, slides his hands together into a fist--
"GRUUUUUUAAAAAARRRRGGGHHHH!!"
And seeks to SMASH a barbaric blow into the side of Chizuru's head with fists full of that violet flame tainted with the very thing she seeks to stop.
COMBATSYS: Chizuru reflects Tsumagushi from Iori with Iotsu no Utamai EX.
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Chizuru 0/-------/--=====|======-\-------\0 Iori
"You do realize how difficult it is to talk to someone as angry as you, don't you?" Chizuru wonders, completely genuine in her question. "It doesn't matter the approach, there's no convincing you most of the time. But there's only one way to get you to listen."
And that is violence, which is precisely what Chizuru uses to get him TO listen. Snapping out her sleeve and arm, the Yagami scion is struck, his head reeling--but that's a part of his plan. Seconds later he LASHES out, bringing his arms and hands together as a horrible curl of violet flames spring to life around his fists.
Chizuru's response is simple and graceful; lifting her hand up, she brings her palm forward. That fists intercept a sudden shimmer of golden light--light that actually repels the energy and sends a jarring burst of pain through the Yagami. She's forced him back with very little effort.
He's certain to get angry at her. But--
"I have tried talking to you. I have tried having /others/ talk to you. Yet, no matter how hard I try you just won't listen. Don't you get it? If Orochi /himself/ can be sealed, who is to say that the Yasakani flames cannot be purified? I will do what I can to PROMISE that, Iori Yagami.
"Just /quit/ being such a damned /fool/ when it comes to that Kusanagi boy!"
Frowning deeply, the woman exhales softly. "I know you won't listen, or believe me...but I do mean it. We are descendants of sacred families--the Three Treasures. We are an important facet to this world, key to stopping the terrible wrath Orochi threatens. Doesn't that /mean/ something to you? Why do you want to waste your heritage?"
Does he realize?
"... tch."
Of course Iori realizes.
It's the best way to stay alone.
His fists swing; and just a second before his flaming fists impact with the back of Chizuru's head -- that golden disk of chi intercepts his flames, and then /redirect/ it backward. He lets out a howl of pain and rage, staggering back. Right. The old hag and her tricks. That, and those little chi doubles.
He /is/ certain to get angry at her, and it shows in his visible eye as he snaps his snarling, bleeding face up to /glare/ at her. Part of what she says does get through, but... it only makes him angrier. The other?
"... keh! 'Do what you can'? I love you 'adults' and your little word games. ... It's fine, though. I don't want your help." He's long since accepted the fact that he's likely going to die soon. He can feel it eating away at him every day. And after he got past the hatred and the spite, he realized--
"'Heritage' is just some bullshit word someone made up by people like you so other people could pretend to give a crap about the past." As he speaks up, that hand boils in violet flames. "I don't give a shit about 'Yasakani' or 'Kusanagi' or 'Yata.' I just...
"... really hate that douchebag."
Those flames bloom. Despite the rage in his eyes, he /feels/ even angrier. That horrible chi, that essence that is a direct opposite to everything human, spikes within him, almost disorientingly so to someone sensitive to such things like Chizuru. He's angry. But he could be angrier. Is he holding back?
"You want me to help you? All you gotta do is 'promise to do what you can' about one little thing."
Suddenly, that arm swings, and a blossom of fire EXPLODES from the earth, a small, violet inferno racing right toward Chizuru and consuming everything in its path.
"/LET ME KILL KYO./"
COMBATSYS: Chizuru blocks Iori's Yami Barai.
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Chizuru 0/-------/=======|======-\-------\0 Iori
"There's power in words," Chizuru calmly states almost immediately in response to Iori's snapping. "The difference between 'adults' and 'me' is that I truly believe in those words. Heritage IS key to this. You, myself, Kyo; whether we like each other or not, that doesn't /matter/. Our power is here to protect this world from that abomination haunting you."
Frowning, the woman stands her ground. "I don't like his attitude any more than you do; however, I will not allow myself to be foolishly blinded by such distractions. Look beyond all of that, and look at this picture: Orochi /will/ break that seal Goenitz and Rugal both broke. I have lost a sister over such stupidity--I refuse to just sit back and let this threat arise. It's too dangerous."
Her frown broadens.
"Iori, I /need/ you to help me. I cannot do this alone. Just cooperate to help me. When all is over, then you can do what you like to Kyo, however foolish it may be to devote your /existence/ to murdering some idiot." Chizuru lightly shakes her head, an almost sad gesture.
When she looks back up, those flames are racing toward her. Bringing her arms together and steadying her legs, she shields her face and chest from the scorching burst, that stinging and utterly terrible power washing momentarily over her. She hates it, that too-familiar power, like the day her sister died--
"Why can you not accept someone /wants/ to help you, you stubborn fool!?" she wonders before she leaps forward, her form flickering before she vanishes. When she 'reappears' she's behind Iori, dropping low and sweeping her leg out, seeking to take his legs out and drop him onto his duff.
COMBATSYS: Iori fails to interrupt Kaiten from Chizuru with Oniyaki.
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Chizuru 1/-------/=======|======-\-------\0 Iori
She's saying so many things he doesn't care about. But combined with what Reiji said, well... certain things slide into place.
1) Iori Yagami can't stand Kyo Kusanagi.
2) Iori Yagami wants Kyo Kusanagi dead.
3) They'll let him do whatever he wants to Kyo Kusanagi afterward.
4) This is a load of bull. But, and this one is important--
5) Kyo Kusanagi will be in a position that will force him to be in close proximity to Iori Yagami.
/That/ is important.
But it doesn't mean Chizuru's words still don't agitate him, even as he steps back slowly. "I don't like his attitude, and I don't like yours, either. 'Wah wah wah, I lost a sister, boo hoo,' stop talking to me about crap I don't care about. Your -sister- probably died because she was -weak- --"
And then she vanishes. Iori knows where she'll be -- he even turns to intercept her -- but something is off. Something throws him. Just like before against Reiji, Iori feels distracted, almost distant for a few, hazy moments where everything becomes a blistering white--
--and then he finds himself snapped back into reality the moment his head hits the back of the soft earth with a painful WHUMP.
"Guh!"
Battered, brutalized, Iori still claws himself up, blood suspending from his lips on precarious threads of saliva as he lurches forward.
"..." His panting is sharp, forceful. His clawed hands twitch into fists. "... let's hope you can fight better than that..." He sounds ragged, and annoyed. But it is, at least, a subtle confirmation of the thing he had told Reiji previously. But for added pleasantries--
"... or you're gonna be meeting your sister real soon." Because now he's just feeling spiteful on top of everything else.
There are few things that get Chizuru riled up:
Insulting her DEAD sister is certainly at the top.
For the briefest of moments Chizuru Kagura looks positively angry, black eyes widening and her face going flush. Seconds later, her face is filling with an agitated, furious red, as thin black brows begin to descend upon her face as her eyes hood. How dare--
"No," the woman says aloud, to herself. She won't let him get to her. That is what he /wants/.
"Say what you will; she was a good woman and /died/ trying to protect this world," Chizuru notes, sounding more than obviously annoyed. "She died so you could continue to live and sulk about Kyo and plot his demise."
Shaking her head as Iori suppresses his rage, the woman exhales in something akin to defeat. "Is there no one that can get through to you, Iori Yagami? I have tried so hard to find /so many ways/ to speak to you, yet nothing works. What can I do, beyond violence, to get you to listen?"
Stepping quickly, the woman seeks to close the gap between them and deliver a swift strike of her hand, followed by a turning kick to his jaw, finished with a palm strike to Iori's sternum.
COMBATSYS: Iori dodges Chizuru's Combo Attack.
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Chizuru 1/-------/=======|======-\-------\0 Iori
"Must not've done that great a job," Iori points out, helpfully.
His eyes narrow as she talks about Kyo and sulking. Irritation wells up inside him. Is there no one that can get through to him?
"No," he responds, flatly.
"And that's /just the way I like it/!"
She springs, her hand thrusting forward; Iori sidesteps with a sudden jolt of speed, outmaneuvering her thrust by seconds. Her kick springs up but is almost artfully deflected by the movement of Iori's hand, transferring her momentum ever so briefly to the side-- before he flips back and /away/ from her final strike.
"You know what you can do? ..."
And then, he SPRINGS forward like a runaway train, intent to do a very simple thing:
Grip Chizuru by the shoulders--
"SHUT THE FUCK UP!"
And then RAM his forehead right into her nose.
"GUUUUOOHHHH!!"
COMBATSYS: Chizuru dodges Iori's Strong Punch.
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Chizuru 1/-------/=======|======-\-------\0 Iori
"Yours is a sad life. How can you be so hateful..?" the Yata heiress wonders.
She shakes her head shortly after, dismissing the topic altogether. "It doesn't matter, though. I /want/ to help you. I want to aid you in freeing yourself of this awful Orochi taint in your blood. But to do this we have to work together? Don't you understand??"
Seconds after she pleads, Iori is lunging and springing out at her like a hungry jaguar. For a split-second, he gets his hands upon the woman's thin shoulders, fingers sinking into her fragile arms--
But then she just /vanishes/.
Another few seconds later she 'reappears' several yards away, frowning deeply at the Yagami scion. "I hope you at least have it in you to participate in the King of Fighters tournament," the woman quietly states. "There, you will have a chance to fight Kyo Kusanagi. I am sponsoring the tournament--consider our little meeting a more 'personal' extension of invite to you."
She'll turn then, to simply walk away into the darkness of the night. Unless he stops her, Chizuru Kagura makes no other hostile motions at the Yagami.
COMBATSYS: Chizuru takes no action.
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Chizuru 1/-------/=======|======-\-------\0 Iori
"Wait!!" Iori suddenly shouts, pleaing for Chizuru to stop.
"I'm sorry... I was... I was wrong. Would you please..."
And suddenly unfolds a table, taking out a tea kettle and a plate of crumpets.
"... stay and discuss alien conspiracies with me?"
Chizuru pauses. Her brow furrows thoughtfully--
But:
"I must decline. However, would you like to hear a story about a bridge..?"
If there's one thing Iori can take from these last two meetings, it's this:
He really, really hates those chi images.
Head smashes through nothing more than air as Chizuru 'reappears' far and away from his grasp. Snarling, he snaps his head to the side, and then--
She speaks. She's -hosting- the tournament...? Iori's brows furrow together, before he remembers what Reiji told him. Oh, right. He frowns, yet -- rage seems to be fading from him, slowly but surely. As angry as he has gotten today... it isn't even really the tip of the iceburg. His muscles gradually relax; he steps back slowly, fingers unclenching. If she's going to leave him alone well--
"... I'll join your tournament. You can even tell your cabana boy I'll join his ridiculous little team." With Kyo Kusanagi--
"But don't even think for a second I give a shit about you or your stupid clan or whatever you think my 'great purpose' is." At this, Iori too will start hobbling off.
"...Because I'm only gonna participate for one reason."
COMBATSYS: Iori takes no action.
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Chizuru 1/-------/=======|======-\-------\0 Iori
COMBATSYS: Iori has left the fight here.
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Chizuru 1/-------/=======|
COMBATSYS: Chizuru has ended the fight here.
Log created on 20:59:26 10/22/2010 by Iori, and last modified on 16:42:01 10/23/2010.