Description: Denji and Farah go to recruit the newest member of their King of Fighters team, even though he doesn't actually know it yet! Thrill at this tale of love and betrayal! Marvel at the incredible forces being arrayed against each other! Watch Denji be a butthole, and more!
In but one of Southtown's many arcades, there is a hustle and also a bustle. People mill about, deciding what to play as fancy takes them. They lack focus. /Determination/.
Or so it seems to Wang, leaning back against a DDR machine's rail, water bottle in hand, a wide grin on his face after humiliating a faceless challenger with his skills. The maddest of skillz, perhaps. Nevermind that, not too long ago, he was just like that, barring perhaps the occasional all-too-temporary obsession with one thing or the next. Now he is a man (boy) possessed, spending time most every day on this very specific machine, refusing to relinquish his spot without fighting to the bitter end.
Nevermind that at this point, he cannot /stand/ this god damned game. Every day, coming to it tired and worn from his /actual/ self-imposed training, dreading stepping upon those foul pads, dancing to those same songs over and over, every day, long after the excitement had gone out of it. It's enough to make him hurl.
Watching another fearful challenger approach, Wang reflects that at least there's still /some/ fun to be had in the entire experience.
Oh man. Oh man, oh man, oh man.
"Oh, man," Denji Akiyama murmurs to himself, not being the sort of man to keep his internal monologues to himself. He is sweating faintly under his obscuring bangs, a fact that is fortunately obscured... by... his bangs. Nervously, he glances over to the girl that has entered the arcade by his side, casually -- read: sketchily -- stuffing his hands into the sleeves of his voluminous purple and black robes.
Oh man. Oh man.
"So, Farah-chan..."
It's like a /date/.
"What do you want to play first!?"
The mountain boy grins widely, his own hair briefly parting in his enthusiasm, revealing uncharacteristically bright and shining eyes. At least, unusual insofar as they are not shining with green chi, this time.
"How about a puzzle game?" he asks gallantly, knowing that, after all, girls are pretty bad at video games. Never mind that the only games he's familiar with are quiz games. And there's no point in playing something he's the best at. Denji is at least sure of that much.
He may or may not have completely forgotten why they came here.
The last time she came here, Farah was surrounded by a gaggle of female Japanese college students who were determined to show her a good time, Japan-style. Naturally this meant a brightly-colored, obnoxiously loud rhythm game played in public. Secretly, they hoped that Farah -- one of those people who's annoyingly good at everything for some reason -- would turn out to have a kryptonite-like weakness when it comes to DDR, which just goes to show that they either didn't know she's also a pro fighter, or they are simply very, very stupid. Possibly both, really.
What they didn't expect was the insane chain of events it would kick off. Farah would meet Wang. Wang would challenge her, and she would accidentally beat the proverbial pants off him (in his mind, they may have been literal pants). He swore revenge! She meets Denji later. They discuss the King of Fighters tournament. Wang comes up. Both fighters realize they met Wang in an arcade. Doesn't take a genius to figure out where to go from there.
Unfortunately now things are going to get strange.
"Well..." the Egyptian says, craning her neck to look around (and keeping a respectable, spinster-y distance from Denji in the process), "it was that... dancing game, that's what I was playing when I be... met him," she murmurs. God, it's so damn crowded. Why does Japan need so many bloody people?! And so many flashing lights for that matter. "Hm. I guess he's not here." Gosh, she gave up fast. Look at her, there. The tall, beautiful, dusky-skinned woman and the crazy-looking sheepdog-boy there in the room full of Standard Issue Asian Crowd Scene Extras. They must be so very noticeable! Maybe!
And then Farah turns with her back to Wang, to smile at Denji. "What sorts of games do you like? I admit I don't play many... my parents didn't really like them all that much." The same parents who ENCOURAGED her to street fight. It's a strange world.
What one person might call 'an insane series of events' another might call 'cupid's hand guiding destiny', especially since one can logically assume that Cupid is kind of a jerk and enjoys seeing Wang suffer, much like basically everybody else, despite how completely unfair it is and how hard he has it and how he's still such a good guy all through it. Ahem.
It's said that, even in a sea of noise, it's possible to hear things if you're really listening for them, like a cricket in a city, or a fallen coin in a crowd. Despite being occupied by the opening licks of Kenny winkler's hit single 'Baby I'm Gonna Love You (Until You're Stupid)', Wang's keen senses pick up signal that he cannot ignore, though it remains faint. Turning away from the game in progress, much to the delight of his increasingly pale opponent, he sees her. Talking to.../that guy/. Cue the Metal Gear alert noise.
Instantly the Gedo schoolboy charges full force at the chatting couple, which lasts all of a half-second before he collides haphazardly with the crowd. Pushing his way through awkwardly, it takes a little while before he stumbles at the edge of Farah's gaijin bubble, falling flat on his face, which cooincidentally happens to have instantly turned an extraordinary shade of red.
"Y-you!" He still manages to scramble to his feet quickly, looking from Denji to Farah and back, as if unable to decide which he should be focusing his attention on. "What are--and--but--" Eventually he settles on Farah, looking up at the exotic beauty.
"What are you doing with a guy like /him/!?"
"Wang!" Denji exclaims enthusiastically.
It never gets old.
"How are you, man?" he continues, as if he has completely missed the unsubtle implications of the currently collapsed otaku's previous statement. (He has.) He's genuinely happy to see his erstwhile adversary again, by all appearances -- somehow never being able to see his eyes doesn't do much to obscure his emotions -- but, let's be fair, being around Farah doesn't really hurt his mood. If he had a tail, Sheepdog Boy would be wagging it so hard right now. So hard.
"I'm still sorry about that lunch of yours," the pseudo-monk says then, extending his palms in something approaching supplication. "I owe you one for sure. Hey, I'll buy you a meal!" He pauses, wrinkling his nose in sudden contemplation. "Oh, no, wait. I'm broke right now." Then he bursts abruptly into laughter. "Ha ha ha ha! Wow, that sucks. Sorry, Wang." How droll.
"I told Farah-chan here that you're a great fighter!" he continues. Wow, he's peppy today. Somebody must have fed him. "We had such a solid match last time, didn't we? You hit me with that one kick; it was great." His memories of the event are somewhat cloudy, but he's certain that Wang was a badass that time. "So we're inviting you! To join our team!"
Pause.
"Our fighting team!"
Pause.
"For King of Fighters!"
At last, the point.
He may or may not have only just remembered it.
Well, isn't it marvelous how fate brings people together? And Farah who has been steeling herself for it since Denji told her, manages not to make ANY sort of facial movement or expression of ANY KIND when he calls Wang by name. After all, she looked it up. It should probably be said 'wahng' in any case. It's a battle she's sure Wang has been fighting his whole life, which must account for how defensive he is. She's sure of it.
Armchair psychology: hilarious, and apparently just a thing Soul Power people do.
"Hello," Farah says brightly, turning toward Wang with a smile. She is now the third point of the inadvertent, perfect triangle that these three individuals have formed, like so:
Farah
/ %r / %r Denji Wang
And then Denji shifts into total exposition mode before the more sedate Egyptian girl can even so much as open her mouth. At the end, she's left with nothing more to do but spread her hands in a 'what can you do?' gesture and smile at Wang with that infuriatingly SINCERE! smile which probably makes it all the worse. "We might have to put our dance game rematch on hold until the tournament is over," she says, "but I mean, I've fought Denji and I know he's strong, so if he thinks you're strong then I'll take his word for it... though I wouldn't mind seeing what you can do for myself." Girlish giggle.
Somewhere, deep in their reptilian hindbrains, both Denji and Wang's subconscious MUST be flashing a fin of warning, saying: there's a chance she's doing this on purpose.
Well, isn't it marvelous how fate brings people together? And Farah who has been steeling herself for it since Denji told her, manages not to make ANY sort of facial movement or expression of ANY KIND when he calls Wang by name. After all, she looked it up. It should probably be said 'wahng' in any case. It's a battle she's sure Wang has been fighting his whole life, which must account for how defensive he is. She's sure of it.
Armchair psychology: hilarious, and apparently just a thing Soul Power people do.
"Hello," Farah says brightly, turning toward Wang with a smile. She is now the third point of the inadvertent, perfect triangle that these three individuals have formed, like so:
Farah
/ \
/ \
Denji Wang
And then Denji shifts into total exposition mode before the more sedate Egyptian girl can even so much as open her mouth. At the end, she's left with nothing more to do but spread her hands in a 'what can you do?' gesture and smile at Wang with that infuriatingly SINCERE! smile which probably makes it all the worse. "We might have to put our dance game rematch on hold until the tournament is over," she says, "but I mean, I've fought Denji and I know he's strong, so if he thinks you're strong then I'll take his word for it... though I wouldn't mind seeing what you can do for myself." Girlish giggle.
Somewhere, deep in their reptilian hindbrains, both Denji and Wang's subconscious MUST be flashing a fin of warning, saying: there's a chance she's doing this on purpose.
Wang's expression slowly shifts as he's barraged with information, information that he can only process so fast. It's a lot to take in, especially given how Denji just /keeps talking/. Of course, stage one is anger, mixed with all-too-familiar embarassment, but though there's plenty reason to get even angrier at the earnest young dogman, it gives way soon enough to out and out confusion as Wang tries to figure out if he is being mocked or not.
It is a far more difficult task than Wang is accustomed to.
Thankfully, he's not really given a chance to react until things are solidly at the point where Denji is (sort of kinda if you look at it right) begging for his help and Farah is (more or less) hitting on him. His lizard brain only has one thing to say on the matter: 'yessssssssssssssss'
A smile comes to Wang's face. He nods slowly, accepting how events have unfolded, the divine providence which has seen fit to finally reward him, giving him not one but two magnificent gifts on this day; a chance to impress Farah, and an opportunity to beat Denji until he doesn't even remember what a lunch is.
"Perfect. This is too perfect." The tiny teen's smile is pure and angelic, the smile of someone who has found true inner peace and contentment.
Then he spins around and tries to plant a roundhouse kick into the side of Denji's head.
COMBATSYS: Wang has started a fight here.
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Wang 0/-------/-------|
COMBATSYS: Denji has joined the fight here.
[\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\ < > //////////////////////////////]
Denji 0/-------/-------|-------\-------\0 Wang
COMBATSYS: Denji interrupts Heavy Kick from Wang with Shizen no Chikara.
[ \\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\ < > ///////////////////////// ]
Denji 0/-------/-----==|===----\-------\0 Wang
Denji's hindbrain really does not deserve that much credit.
What a great day this is turning out to be. Meeting Wang was so easy. And look, now he's smiling. They must have really made a good impression on him. And Farah trusts him, takes him on his word, that Wang is a strong fighter! Now they can go play some video games, and then Farah can buy him some more food.
King of Fighters, here we c--
"Gack!"
Here comes another one of those kicks, is what Denji thinks after he has already parried the sudden fierce strike, smoothly redirecting the momentum of that blow with the abrupt finesse of a true prodigy. The novice chi sage, hapless only a moment ago, betrays an intense focus as his hair whips back to reveal his eyes, hardly those of a puppy dog now. Farah is forgotten, lunch only a distant memory. He is back on the mountain top, alone with nature, embracing him with verdant green.
"Toh!"
It embraces him now, blasting out in thick coils about his hands and feet as he lashes out with a sweeping counter-kick, tripping Wang up before plunging against him to hammer him with several more punches and force him back. Denji ends up in a poised stance, eyes still narrowed, long hair fluttering magnificently in the breeze of his passing, green glimmering about his open hands.
Then he blinks, before his bangs fall in front of his eyes again.
"Ha ha ha, what a strong kick!"
He sure is different when he's not hungry.
Slash in the company of an attractive woman.
Some men have simple pleasures.
Um, well.
Really, Farah had expected something along the lines of 'that'd be great! :D' or 'I might need to think about it/ask my mom :|a' or perhaps, in a distant universe visible only with a special telescope, 'screw you guys I would never! >:|'. She sort of gets that last one, only it takes not so much a verbal form as Wang's words don't register. She just sees the guy blow past her in a sort of teenage blur and then rebound off Denji's shiny green body. It's very Kamen Rider. And while Wang appears to have gotten the worse of that exchange it's not like Denji walked out of like the guy had never hit him.
What would her idols do in this scenario?
SD Rose: 'Reach out to their spirits with your power. Connect to them.'
SD Alma: 'Convince them to make out.'
"Right. Well, I, uh..." ~ This isn't how I envisioned this turning out, ~ she finally admits to herself. At this point, it's really an opportunity to stop, close her eyes, and reach out with her feelings. These are her potential teammates, after all. If she cannot feel their souls -- engage in the sort of gestalt one would expect from people who are so tightly knit -- then what is her power good for?
There is a tense moment while the young psychic communes with both of the radiant spirits before her. Then suddenly, her violet eyes open, her intuition and power having led her to... some sort of conclusion.
Like a zombie, she turns and tries to punch Denji in the face.
COMBATSYS: Farah has joined the fight here.
[ \\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\ < > //////////////////////////////]
Wang 0/-------/----===|-------\-------\0 Farah
[ \\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\ <
Denji 0/-------/-----==|
In the blink of an eye, Wang's life goes from 'perfection' to 'face sliding across the floor', and it's all thanks to that devil of a man. /Denji/. His complete, yet surprisingly fleeting personality reversal doesn't go unnoticed by Wang, leading to an obvious conclusion.
"Hrg...so, you've been faking it this entire time. I knew it!" Wang pushes himself up before he even comes to a stop after taking that hit, annoyed (especially now that he's certain of Denji's intent) but eager, confident in his ability to emerge victorious!
Especially, ESPECIALLY, since Farah has leapt into the fray on his side! As he sees her go into action, Wang can't help but feel like the last piece of the puzzle has fallen into place. This is an obvious sign of her favor, and so Denji, who had hoped to make her fall in love with him through acting like a simple-minded fool, became jealous and began to focus his efforts on social sabotage! It's all so simple in retrospect.
"You poor fool..." Wang shakes his head condescendingly. "...you've already lost!" This battle of hearts already has a clear victor! The only thing left is to make Denji admit it through force!
Sliding forward smoothly, waving his hands in a smooth, mezmorizing pattern, Wang closes the distance between himself and his foe. He then abandons whatever plans he might have had in favor of lunging forward and attempting to plant both of his hands, swathed in golden yellow energy, squarely into Denji's chest.
COMBATSYS: Denji blocks Farah's Strong Punch.
[ \\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\ < > //////////////////////////////]
Wang 0/-------/----===|-------\-------\0 Farah
[ \\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\ <
Denji 0/-------/----===|
COMBATSYS: Wang successfully hits Denji with Very Poorly Concealed Secret Attack.
[ \\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\ < > //////////////////////////////]
Wang 0/-------/---====|-------\-------\0 Farah
[ \\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\ <
Denji 0/-------/-======|
COMBATSYS: Farah has left the fight here.
[ \\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\ < > //////////////////////// ]
Denji 0/-------/-======|====---\-------\0 Wang
COMBATSYS: Denji has left the fight here.
[ \\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\ <
Wang 0/-------/---====|
COMBATSYS: Wang has ended the fight here.
It was all going so well.
In all too typical Denji Akiyama fashion, moments of brilliance and awkward hilarity juxtapose within moments of one another as the novice chi sage flows seamlessly from uber-cool dramatic pose to comical pratfall.
See, fighting as Denji is sort of like Twister.
Bear with me, here.
So his hands are already being utilized, thrust out toward his recovering adversary, and his eyes are occupied by-- his hair. When he just manages to see Farah's oddly entranced attack out of the corner of said eyes, his attention is simultaneously split between both moving opponents, something he is hardly used to. Real-life Denji would probably panic at this many stimuli, but he rides the wave of combat as nature itself embraces the change of seasons, or perhaps just like Denji himself riding a wave, since fundamentally he is kind of a surfer bro, and should probably never take up surfing ever or we will lose him forever and someday he will end up in Santa Cruz having smoked himself to chilessness.
There's a plot for you, Wang, make it happen.
The point is, Denji reacts in a manner that /his/ subconscious perceives as the most practical, which is to say, he blocks with his foot. Not with his leg, but with his foot. This requires a certain amount of contortion, but it's oddly impressive, if only for being impressively odd. "F-Farah-chan!" he exclaims, distraught. "Is this about the hot dog!? I said I was sorry for making you pay for all six! I'll pay you b--"
It's too late for that. Wang's Poorly Concealed Secret Attack (TM) is coming /right for him/. But it's somewhat-- poorly concealed. Even Denji, who cannot see much, can see it coming. But his arms are akimbo, and his foot is occupied. There's only one thing to do. The obvious thing.
Block with the other foot.
Wait a minute.
The result is probably only intelligible to Denji himself, who does not have much to say after being hurled into the side of a game cabinet. Arguably, stopping Wang's burst of chi with his foot was somewhat successful. Not being braced against anything because he more or less hopped into the air to do so was-- well, it was stupid. And now he is woozily staggering to his feet, the Sheepdog Monk bleary-eyed, not that anyone can tell. "G, Good hit," he manages, grinning shakily. He's a bit unsteady still, but being sort of crazy and jerky even under normal circumstances, his movements don't change much when he springs forward, angling toward Wang's side, and unleashes a burst of that vibrant green chi before whirling back, robes swirling dramatically.
He will probably not accidentally hit Farah.
It's probably a good thing Denji blocked with his foot. Why? Because it has the really useful property of being a very strange thing to do. That, combined with Denji's sudden feeling of not-quite-betrayal but obvious surprise, seems to snap Farah out of whatever trance she went into seconds before she turned and tried to clock Denji in the face. In fact, she is only saved from being whomped by Wang's own attack because she briefly steps back and looks at her fist curiously.
The well-featured face is currently working through a menu of different surprise expressions, all of them seeming to say something like 'Whose pants are these?!' or 'Where is my wallet?!' or 'Oh, is this where I left my coiled fist?'
It was the weirdest thing. She tried her best to tune in to Wang's mental wavelength and next thing she knows, she's whirling and trying to take down one of her teammates to be, riding the (accidental) psychic gestalt wave she picks up from Wang in the process. Thus Farah really could be called a 'surfer chick' provided you have a distinctly Freudian read of the word 'surfer' and a much less gendered term for a young woman than 'chick.'
"I... I..." She struggles for an apology, then takes a breath and lets herself go. No reader of the hearts of men (to be, and with a specific number of men indeed) would sit there stammering an apology. She'd get right back on the horse.
This may be why, as she whirls and attempts to trip Wang before shoving him slightly, sending him ass over teakettle, she's wearing that glassy-eyed expression again.
COMBATSYS: Denji successfully hits Wang with Kagerou.
[ \\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\ < > //////////////////////////////]
Wang 0/-------/-======|-------\-------\0 Farah
[ \\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\ <
Denji 1/-------/=======|
COMBATSYS: Farah successfully hits Wang with Medium Throw.
-* CRITICAL HIT! *-
[ \\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\ < > //////////////////////////////]
Wang 1/-------/=======|=------\-------\0 Farah
[ \\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\ <
Denji 1/-------/=======|
Certain that Denji's idiot act is just that, Wang barely supresses his mirth at what is the most obvious pratfall yet. Nobody could be naturally stupid enough to block a deadly kung-fu strike with their foot. It is /inconcieveable/.
"Your compliments won't work on me anymore," Wang states with confidence, recalling their previous encounter in which some small confusion /may/ have arisen. Against all odds. Perhaps. "But it /was/ pretty good, wasn't it?."
The Gedo student stares off into space for a second thoughtfully, which seems to be more than adequate an opening for Denji to ruthlessly and unfairly exploit, hammering Wang in the ribs and sending the nerd staggering back. Which is when Farah comes near, expression blank.
Wang holds an arm out, expecting her to neatly fall into his passionate embrace, nevermind that she will have to fall pretty far for this to have any hope of working. See how /graceful/ she is, how beautiful! She will let the world know /exactly/ how important he is when she is his girlfriend.
And then he is /betrayed/. As his head hits the floor, Wang's expression quickly flits from 'confused' to 'hurt' to the most important part of coping with a painful breakup: 'bitter, self-righteous anger'.
"Y-you, you!!" Wang sputters, the pain in his heart (and also his skull) only spurring him onward. "You...you Desdemona!" Blame the hottest new dating sim, Othello X for that one.
Surging forward, vowing to never love again, Wang punches straight at Farah's stomach, following up the completely inevitable doubling-over in pain to reach up and grab every woman's treasure: her hair. "Ahhhhhhh!" Screaming, Wang tries to use that to his advantage, getting the exotic beauty down to his level so that he can make her real ugly, real fast.
With...with his fist. Punching is the implication, and also severe bruising and swelling.
"Desdemona!?"
Denji falters from his poised stance, the green flames that wreathe his fist flickering as he blinks in surprise, first at his opponent's comment, then as Farah attacks him too, and then as Wang proceeds to utter ignore him in favor of attacking the /other/ person who has injured his pride. Well, Denji isn't very good at indignance, but he is good at confusion, and here, confusion mingles with utter shock.
"Farah-chan, it... it's fine if you're angry about the hot dogs..."
Almost trembling with surprise, the robe-clad mountain boy turns a wide-eyed gaze upon his erstwhile ally, not that anyone can tell through his bangs.
"...but... you..."
And then he leaps, hands glowing with energy.
"You didn't have to lie about your name!!"
Slamming his palms together, he assaults Farah from the opposite side, striking as one with Wang. He would not be so uncouth as to touch a woman's hair. No, he is gallant enough to keep a little distance as he attacks. He is also able to physically, because what emerges from the swirl of chi between his hands is an orb of pulsing energy about five feet in diameter, the force of nature barely contained as it pulses with primal might against her -- /pulses/ -- to hammer through her, uh, defenses. Whatever defenses someone facing the wrong direction has. The mighty Eiffel Tower.
Did I say Eif-- I meant pincer attack.
COMBATSYS: Farah endures Wang's The Tribulations of Wang Long.
[ \\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\ < > ///////////////////////// ]
Wang 0/-------/-------|====---\-------\0 Farah
[ \\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\ <
Denji 0/-------/-------|
COMBATSYS: Farah fails to reflect Hadou Ranki from Denji with Soul Reflect EX.
[ \\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\ < > ///////////////// ]
Wang 0/-------/-------|=======\=------\1 Farah
[ \\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\ <
Denji 0/-------/-------|
Look upon your works, ye mighty, and despair. It's not quite Ozymandias, but the result... well...
Something is clearly Wrong here for Farah. There's a very good chance that Wang will realize it when the first of his blows hits home without any seeming resistance. The truth is on some subconscious level, Farah isn't actually defending herself until halfway through. But there is something solid and real about, well, physical violence, so after the first few blows the Egyptian snaps back to awareness. To her credit, she does so just in enough time to turn, and see Denji, and without speaking her arm moves to sweep her Soul-charged ribbon through the space between them to ward off that flare of green...
...oh, right. This fight didn't start in a proper way. That ribbon's not on her wrist. It's in her pocket. It's also not charged with psychic energy, because it's in her pocket. But she does look awfully silly attempting to ward off that burst of emerald chi with a sweep of the arm, right up to the point that she's sent flying across the arcade into and then THROUGH the side of a SNF vs. Neo League 2010 machine.
The wreckage of which she doesn't quite emerge from just yet, because frankly, now it's even more of a blur than when she was riding the empathic current of the boys' lustful need to prove each other to her.
His fist tired of hitting Farah's surprisingly resilient faceparts, Wang reacts quickly when she is blasted from behind to almost make it look like he's throwing her by the hair in tandem with Denji's blast. Almost. Panting a little, he paces back and forth, looking between his prospective teammates over and over.
"Y-yeah! That's what you get! YEAH! For...for messing with the BEAST! The black beast? Of...the MOORS! That sounds cool, yeah!" Quickly running out of things to say that sound cool, Wang turns his attention specifically to Denji.
"And don't think I forgot about you, either! You and me, come on!" Puffing his chest up, Wang attempts to engage in the classic Gedo pasttime of being an intimidating mofo, which itself is a /clever facade/ (mostly) to buy him time to study Denji's every little movement. Needless to say, it is somehow less than impressive.
COMBATSYS: Wang focuses on his next action.
[ \\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\ < > ///////////////// ]
Wang 0/-------/-------|=======\=------\1 Farah
[ \\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\ <
Denji 0/-------/-------|
"D-Damn."
Denji is not surveying the result of his and Wang's destructive combination. No, he is already looking to Wang, staring in what appears to be some mixture of impressed awe and simple confusion. He's not sure what the Black Beast of the Moors is, but 'cool' is not quite what he'd call it. Rather, he is impressed that Wang seems ahead of the game with this whole nickname situation. If he's going to compete, which he is, and be on the same team, which he probably maybe is, he has to come up with a nickname of his own.
"Well, uh--"
He stumbles forward, which actually appears to be his instinctive idea of a wild lunge; flailing with a bizarre staggered grace, Akiyama sweeps forward into a series of several swift leading kicks, feinting aggressively -- and seeming to half fall over in the process -- before plunging forward with a fierce palm thrust toward Wang's abdomen, aiming to knock the wind and a bit of the pomposity out of him.
"You better not mess with the... green... mountain... uh..."
Denji's bangs flip out of his eyes as he attacks, revealing a faint puzzlement in his otherwise focused eyes, his brow furrowed.
"...crap."
This is actually drawing a crowd, now, not the least of which because if you only came into this halfway through, it would appear that two strapping young men just turned around and simultaneously appeared to collude in sending a poor, defenseless(?) woman flying through the air so hard she just took out a pair of candy cabinets though, let's face it, those things are basically made of plexiglass tempered with tissue paper to make them extra destructible.
And then they turn on each other, Farah forgotten.
Viewed from another angle, this is a bit like a horror movie. A dusky hand emerges from the wreckage and plants itself on the outside of the cabinet. With some effort, it hauls the actual Farah out of the wreckage. Looking the worse for wear -- that shirt is useless now, ripped in a nevertheless censor-approved manner -- she stands up, and takes stock of what's going on with her potential 'teammates' over there, having it out in their own manly way.
And again, that feeling that she had only just recently in an official fight starts to bubble to the surface... that desire to take some sort of, well, revenge. To use her abilities to dole out harm to people who harmed her, *even when she know their intentions were not necessarily bad*. Which might be why she gives the raised finger of 'ssh, don't bother them,' as she slowly reaches into her pocket and withdraws her ribbon, tying it around her right wrist and then nodding in satisfaction.
It comes up to her face, suddenly alive in the mostly dead air of the arcade, glittering with cobalt blue Soul Power. There is JUST enough time, in Denji and Wang's exchange, to hear her say "Well... allow me to test you, just as I am sure you were testing me."
And then she's dancing in place and there are waves of psychic energy blasting across the floor at the both of them, at... pretty high speeds.
She's smiling a smile that says she's all business. That's the purpose of this fight, right? So that everyone can see what the others are capable of and judge their suitability to fight as a team. Right?
...Right?
COMBATSYS: Denji successfully hits Wang with Medium Punch.
-* CRITICAL HIT! *-
[ \\\\\\\\\\\\ < > ///////////////// ]
Wang 0/-------/-----==|=------\-------\0 Farah
[ \\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\ <
Denji 0/-------/-------|
COMBATSYS: Wang slows Heart and Soul from Farah with I Got Something For You.
[ \\\\\\ < > ///////////////// ]
Wang 0/-------/---====|=------\-------\0 Farah
[ \\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\ <
Denji 0/-------/-------|
For Wang Long, his entire world right now is Denji. There's nothing that matters more than absolutely creaming this...this so-called 'Mountain of Green Crap'. Is that right? Probably.
The point is, Wang is a /machine/, a finely tuned weapon with one purpose in his life: /killing/. He does not get tired. He does not stop. He will keep coming until the only possible outcome is reached: /death/. He--is that blue?
"Huh?" Wang turns his head to the side almost at the exact moment Denji decides to fall horizantally at him. Eyes widening, he attempts to reason with Farah. "We can just say I pass with an AAAAAAaagghggh"
And then Denji nails him right in the stomach. Doubling over immediately, the pimple-laden boy simultaneously attempts to suck in air, gather his internal energies, and adequately respond to this latest attack all at once.
"Ch...ch...cheap...gkk," he manages to get out the one word, and then raises a finger to point at the top of the oncoming wave of desolation from Farah. There's only one hope, and that is to chop the entire thing in half WITH HIS MIND.
Swiping his finger downward, a thin yellow blast arcs downward, splashing against the blue soul power like...like piss in an ocean. Which is to say that you can't even tell anything happened. The breakers crash uncaringly on Long Beach.
A handful of heartbeats later, Wang is indeed looking like he just washed ashore, on his hands and knees looking violently ill.
COMBATSYS: Farah successfully hits Denji with Heart and Soul.
Glancing Blow
[ \\\\\\ < > ///////////////// ]
Wang 0/-------/---====|=------\-------\0 Farah
[ \\\\\\\\\\\\\ <
Denji 0/-------/-----==|
"Guuuuohhh!"
Wailing like a man unaccustomed to multitasking, Denji Akiyama twists abruptly from his powerful blow into Wang's stomach to see a wave of psychic energy /coming right for him/. He immediately lashes out with a small burst of chi to slow the oncoming attack and then throws himself to the side; it's not a bad tactic for something he came up on the spur of the moment, and his alertness itself was impressive, but the blast still catches him in the side and spirals him around, his limbs akimbo. He nevertheless lands on his palms, only mostly prone, and snaps his gaze up at Farah.
"Nice, Desdemona-chan!"
He's grinning, having clearly forgiven her for lying about her name.
"Here I come!"
Who could stay mad at a girl like her?
But at least he's warned her this time, as he lunges out of his crouch to rapidly approach his likely teammate, for now ignoring his seasick rival. Like an ocean breeze he comes, long hair whipping about him as his often staggered movements become unusually fluid. He rises like the tide, aiming to sweep Farah up and away with a low grapple enhanced by the force of the chi-sage's natural energy, twirling up into the air with her. It's all rather romantic, for the brief half-second before he promptly attempts to use all that momentum to hurl her down to earth.
"Yeah!!"
He doesn't sound so much intense as pleasantly entertained.
What good friends he has now!
COMBATSYS: Farah fails to counter Yokoburi from Denji with Gensekiju.
[ \\\\\\ < > ////////// ]
Wang 0/-------/---====|=====--\-------\0 Farah
[ \\\\\\\\\\\\ <
Denji 0/-------/----===|
If Denji had any idea of the conflict that rages within Farah's heart right now, he might not be quite so enthusiastic.
Because a tiny part of her, knowing that she got one mostly clean hit and one that was, if not clean, then at least unavoidably fast, exults in having struck back. It is not a feeling to which she is accustomed, and it's quite different from the feeling she had the last time she fought Denji. The circumstances then were not much different; he continued to assault Farah with attacks against which she seemed to have no defense. Yet something in this situation is different, somehow.
What she cannot tell is that this is the inevitable result of a battle in which she has emotional investment. And so rather than her customary zest for self-improvement, her desire to be a shining paragon, as the Egyptian falls through the air, her attempt to catch Denji's outswept hands on the still-charged ribbon having missed by mere centimeters, Farah feels only an ache that burns with a dull, smoldering flame.
~ Is it because Wang is here...? ~ she has time to reflect, as she gets off the floor, stealing a glance at the Gedo student as she gets up. After their dual assault before, and this attack, she's lucky to be standing at all. Rather than a desire to do better, her mental focus is on what she seems to lack. She has on a brave face, a faint smile, but her fist tightens, ever so slightly. Something is wrong... hidden below a well-practiced facade, but it's wrong.
All she can bring herself to say is, "My name isn't Desdemona."
"Urrrrgh..." For the moment forgotten (mostly), Wang has plenty of time to recover. His stomach feels like a ten nauseous cats are being boiled alive inside like some kind of horrific pet sauna slash eatery. Still, they quiet down somewhat soon enough, and he manages to get to his feet.
The Black Beast of the Moors quickly assesses the situation, and before very long one thing is clear: Denji is /still/ sitting pretty. The petty part of Wang (most) seethes at seeing his rival in such good health, and abusing the woman who he has decided to give a second chance! While some resentment may linger, it's important to have a woman who can take a good beating. He read that on a forum somewhere and only here and now does Wang /truly/ understand what it means.
His course of action clear once more, Wang stumbles at Denji (hopefully while he's still distracted) and abruptly straightens just in time to launch a quick series of strikes starting at the shaggy youth's shoulders and moving in to the center of the chest.
COMBATSYS: Denji parries Wang's Combo Attack!
[ \\\\\\\ < > ////////// ]
Wang 0/-------/---====|=====--\-------\0 Farah
[ \\\\\\\\\\\\ <
Denji 0/-------/---====|
COMBATSYS: Farah has left the fight here.
[ \\\\\\\\\\\\ < > /////// ]
Denji 0/-------/---====|====---\-------\0 Wang
COMBATSYS: Wang has left the fight here.
[ \\\\\\\\\\\\ <
Denji 0/-------/---====|
"Your name /isn't/ Desdemona!?"
Denji, hair whipping about, says this as, without evincing even that he was aware of Wang's creeping presence, he turns and neatly slaps aside the boy's first punch, then the second as he continues. "That's funny, because Wang was telling me your name /was/ Desdemona, which I admit seemed a little strange, but you said you guys had met before--" Slap, weave, slap. "--so I thought maybe it was a /handle/ or something, or maybe that 'Farah' was, but I guess that would make less sense, wouldn't it--"
The Green Beast of Crap having finished with his adversary's half-hearted assault, he smoothly and without much fanfare transitions to snapping his own glowing punches at Wang's head and midsection, twisting into a wild cartwheeling kick.
"--so in the end I suppose I was /misinformed/, but we all make mistakes sometimes, don't we Wang, no big deal, glad it's cleared up--"
Which then becomes a sort of impromptu tackle as, with the last of his momentum and surging chi, the shaggy youth seeks to hurl his prospective teammate to the arcade floor.
"--sorry, I mean, 'the Black Beast of the Moors.'"
She really can't do anything but stare.
Denji really is like a fishing bobber in a tidal wave, as far as she can tell. For a moment or two there's a tremendous swell and the universe is topsy-turvy and nothing makes sense and then five seconds later he is bobbing along, unimpeded, as if nothing had happened in the first place. Farah does not claim to be so placid -- could never be so placid, in the sense that she is ruled by her intuition and emotions -- but there is something about the way he just says 'oh, so you're NOT Desdemona?' after casually punching her in the head...
She wants to crack him open like a geode and see what's going on in there.
And on the other hand, there's Wang. Wang, who is trying so bloody hard, and doesn't appear to be getting anywhere. Who felt that great betrayal right as Farah turned to strike him alongside Denji. Farah has never felt someone who NEEDS someone like her so much before. Someone to help him realize his potential, to stop flailing his arms against the world and carve a place for himself. Someone who needs her in a way Denji clearly does not.
And then there's that persistent dark voice in her head, telling her to strike them simply because they struck her. That it would feel really nice to put them in their place. That it's Farah's time to shine. It's a quiet voice, but dark and silky and sinuous, like the curling tail of a serpent.
What's a girl to do.
"Don't give up yet, Wang," is what she hears herself say. She's just trying to be nice, but lord knows what kind of affect that will have on the actual PERSON. It conveniently gives Farah time to sort out her confused feelings, too.
COMBATSYS: Farah assists Wang.
[ \\\\\\\ < > ////////// ]
Wang 0/-------/---====|=====--\-------\0 Farah
[ \\\\\\\\\\\\ <
Denji 0/-------/---====|
COMBATSYS: Wang dodges Denji's Shizen no Chikara EX.
[ \\\\\\\ < > ////////// ]
Wang 0/-------/---====|=====--\-------\0 Farah
[ \\\\\\\\\\\\ <
Denji 0/-------/---====|
For his part, Wang does not back down even as he is unable to land so much as a solid strike on Denji. This already feels like a tremendous success, in part because it's like he's tapped into some previously unknown wellspring of tenacity.
The rest is because somehow (farah cheering), the small Chinese boy displays a burst of energy that he didn't even fully realize he still had, twisting and contorting to ensure that none of Denji's strikes land. None of the physical ones, anyway. His biting mockery stings deep, a wound soothed only by the wonderful tones of a veritible guardian angel, come to Earth to support Wang in all of his endeavors, even if sometimes she's not very good at it. "I didn't mean she was actually named that, stupid! What's wrong with you?" Dancing back a step, he continues. "It was only...good-natured ribbing! Since neither of us would actually ever do anything to hurt each other, I mean, unless she really needed it, and..." Wang trails off, not quite ready to let that thought conclude.
"Look, just don't question it!" With that, Wang launches himself at Denji anew, grabbing for the messy-headed teen's shirt and twisting around, using his small size to his advantage for once in order to more easily get his opponent over his shoulder and flat onto the ground. Or, well, that's the idea, but the throwing part is actually pretty tough and Wang hasn't quite got the hang of it yet, so instead he just throws a quick elbow and tries to back away again.
COMBATSYS: Denji auto-guards Wang's Quick Punch!
[ \\\\\\\ < > ////////// ]
Wang 0/-------/---====|=====--\-------\0 Farah
[ \\\\\\\\\\\\\\ <
Denji 0/-------/---====|
"Oh, is /that/ what it was?"
Denji hardly seems to notice that Farah is cheering his opponent on -- not, of course, because he fails to notice (though you'd be forgiven for assuming so) but because, of course, they are all fundamentally allies, and it would be natural for Farah to want Wang to do his best. Denji wants Wang to do his best, too! In a general sense, of course. As long as it doesn't mean Denji has to wake up too sore. Or hungry. "I guess there was never much 'good-natured ribbing' up at Akiyama Shrine. Only sweeping temple floors, and taking long walks through the forest, and sneaking down to the village to watch TV, and--"
The rest we will never know, for Denji is cut off by, er, well, what appears to be him casually swatting away Wang's effort to grab the front of his robe, the shaggy pseudo-monk stepping back and moving with the momentum of his opponent's strike. "Ho!" An exclamation of surprise, not an accusation. Slipping his arm around and past Wang's own outstretched hand as he avoids the strike, Denji closes quickly and seeks to counter with a more straightforward grapple of his own, slipping his foot deftly through Wang's legs and then bringing it back to trip him before shoving him fiercely, coils of verdant green chi swirling around the effort as he seeks to fling Wang back into a well-used machine of that one game where you put your hand up the butt, whatever that's called.
Well, Farah's going to have to interfere.
Yep.
...any second now.
She is paralyzed with indecision, which is just stupid, as it is so totally against her nature to be so. However, Farah is painfully aware that fighting one potential teammate might show favor to the other potential teammate, and that is not going to help this situation in any way. Long Wang, Potential Project will almost certainly see it as yet another betrayal, while Denji Akiyama, Great Mystery, will probably take it entirely the wrong way because there is basically no way to predict what he will do. This scenario is just too conf--
As if on time delay, her reptilian hindbrain (for even women have one) hears the words 'unless she really needed it' rattle around in the silence of contemplation.
She turns to Wang, with a level expression.
And then she is going to jab him in the face right as Denji grabs him, saying in a... quietly intense tone, "I can tell we all have so much to learn from one another."
Oh, *dear*.
COMBATSYS: Wang endures Farah's Quick Punch.
[ \\\\\ < > /////////// ]
Wang 0/-------/--=====|=====--\-------\0 Farah
[ \\\\\\\\\\\\\\ <
Denji 0/-------/---====|
COMBATSYS: Wang interrupts Quick Throw from Denji with It's a Disaster.
[ \\ < > /////////// ]
Wang 1/---====/=======|=====--\-------\0 Farah
[ \\\\\\\ <
Denji 1/-------/=======|
COMBATSYS: Wang can no longer fight.
[ \\\\\\\ < > /////////// ]
Denji 1/-------/=======|=====--\-------\0 Farah
Growing more and more distraught as Denji continues to be simultaneously /completely unfuckable/ and overwhelmingly insufferable, perhaps more and more from one moment to the next, Wang is on the edge of out and out panic. Thankfully, his inspiration, his magical muse, is right there to keep him on the right track like a hard-bitten detective with a hysterical broad.
Which is to say Farah decks him right in the jaw. Wang's head snaps to the side, his expression brightening because clearly she is one hundred percent doing this to help him. He'll do it...he'll take Denji down not for himself, but for Farah! But also himself after all!
So when Denji sticks his foot between Wang's legs, he is greeted with a /terrible surprise/, in the form of another Wang sticking out of Wang, instantly punching with as much fury as Wang can muster. Then Wang is joined by a Wang sticking out of the Wang from Wang, joining the flurry of punches with his own contribution!
Wang Prime can do no less than aid these noble Wang Warriors. Even as he begins to fall to the ground, punch-drunk though he may be, he spins about to deliver a haymaker right at Denji, twisting about violently before crashing to the earth. He gasps, and manages just a bit more before he falls unconcious.
"It's...all up to you now. My...luuuuurgh." And he's out.
Eventually, Denji gets up.
"...urgh..."
Blinking, a trickle of blood running from his nose, the pseudo-monk coughs once before struggling to his feet, weakly brushing his bangs from his eyes and turning to regard his other teammate. "Right then," he says, breaking into a smile -- only a little grotesque coming from a bleeding face -- and extending one hand pooling with vibrant green chi. "It's you and me, Farah-chan. Sounds like we have a convert in Wang." He does not expound on where he got that impression. "That's just one more to go. Which leaves one important question: what we're going to call this team of ours."
Denji Akiyama. A man who thinks three steps ahead.
"And /I/ propose--"
Or about that which is completely irrelevant. Your call.
"Whoever's left standing--"
Either way, he's coming for you.
"Gets to name the team!"
This is bad.
As it so happens, Denji, eager to fill up the final slot of Team Hot Babes Inquire Within with a desirable candidate, so to speak, is primed for this opportunity, closing in on the occasionally-entranced Egyptian with an orb of pulsating power growing between his palms.
"Show me what you got-- Farah-chan!!"
Seriously, show him everything.
COMBATSYS: Denji successfully hits Farah with Hadou Ranki.
[ \\\\\\\ < > /// ]
Denji 0/-------/-------|=======\==-----\1 Farah
That is getting... somewhat annoying, Farah admits to herself. That emerald energy hurts, much more than it should, and even as she crosses her arms in front of her face to block it, that feeling wells up inside again. Just wanting to bat Denji away with a burst of light, or SOMETHING. Which means that a combination of distraction at that feeling, and Denji's claim that the winner gets to name the team, well... suffice it to say she doesn't do a terribly good job of defending herself.
However.
From the dust and debris of that last attack, comes Farah, advancing on Denji with the fury left to her. "And what if *nobody* is left standing?" she asks, purely as a matter of academics, before her beribboned arm sweeps out and the swirling, Soul-charged tails snap through the air, serpent-like, to wrap around Denji's arm. She doesn't say anything more; if she gets her grip, Denji gets slingshotted into the air, and on his way down, blasted across the room with Farah's own spherical burst of personal energy.
The only fair way is to vote.
If there is a just universe, it will see her point through.
COMBATSYS: Farah can no longer fight.
[ \\\\\\\ <
Denji 0/-------/-------|
COMBATSYS: Denji dodges Farah's Gekirinju.
[ \\\\\\\ <
Denji 0/-------/-------|
As a matter of fact--
"Aaaahh!"
--no one /is/ left standing.
This is because Denji Akiyama has thrown himself flat to the ground, and is trembling, covering his head with his hands. A ribbon of light just definitely tried to kill him, because Farah-chan's clearly pissed about /something/, though really Denji cannot imagine what, or why these people get so worked up. They're so energetic. They must eat well. Eventually, however, the dust clears, and in what remains of this poor arcade, Denji Akiyama gets to his feet...
"Whew."
...inhabitant of an unjust universe.
"That was close."
Looking down at the fallen Wang and Farah, the bloody-nosed pseudo-monk promptly grins to himself and reaches up to rub the back of his head. "Yeah! I'm calling us Team Somebody Buy Denji Dinner. Actually, I'll do it myself, with the money I earn from winning this--"
Oh. Right.
"...urgh... f... from... the money we get..."
And, rallying, he thrusts his fist in the air.
"...from winning King of Fighters!"
That's the spirit, Denji.
One step on a long, long road.
COMBATSYS: Denji has ended the fight here.
Log created on 23:23:14 10/27/2010 by Wang, and last modified on 01:53:51 11/08/2010.